Chapter 14

Don't Underestimate My Feelings

"There's nothing going on between Isshiki and me. Some people probably just saw us together yesterday and made a big deal out of it."

There. A clean and simple explanation that should satisfy Kawasaki.

He didn't mention his deal with Isshiki though, as that was something more private between them. The only reason he had told Yuigahama and Yukinoshita about it was because they knew Isshiki well enough.

"Really?" Kawasaki's tone was still doubtful as they walked through the same damn mall he had somehow visited more times in a week than in the entire year.

"Really." He answered back as he looked at her in the eye, which only lasted a second before she broke it as she nodded to the side.

"That's good." If she was trying to act nonchalant, it kind of failed given the clear sigh of relief she left as she spoke.

"You should have seen her, Nii-san!" Oh right, he almost forgot the reason he was here: The bug that was walking in front of them and alongside Komachi. "She was super worried when people started talking, even though I told her she should trust you more!"

"Taishi, shut your trap." Seeing Kawasaki flush in anger and embarrassment only made it obvious that he was speaking the truth.

"She even called Mom for advice, you know? But all she got was stuff about stealing a man-glurk!"

Well, at the very least, seeing Kawasaki choke the life out of her pest of a brother sure made this trip worth it.

"So… you think she'll like shoes?"

"…"

"You're supposed to help, Hikigaya, not just brood there in silence."

"… Sorry, I just…"

"Ufufufufu."

"… really don't like this store." He decided that, if he didn't look directly at the annoying sales lady, it would be as if she wasn't there at all.

Even if he could feel her gaze glued to his back.

"Well, Ebina recommended this one." Of course she did. "and you know that Yuigahama girl far better than me so… shoes?"

"… You should have just dragged Ebina here." He sighed; his gaze aimed at the obscene amount of shoes lined up in front of him. "Even if I know Yuigahama better than you, does it look like I would know what kind of gift she would like?"

"Well, what did you get her?" She wondered with a raised eyebrow. "I'll feel better if I know you bought her something dumb. Lessens the pressure, you know?"

"I'll have you know I got a great gift." However, given his current circumstances with Miura, getting it from her was going to be more than a bit complicated.

"You sure you didn't get her something dumb like a collar for her pet? Ebina told me she has one."

There was nothing wrong with that as a gift, dammit!

"You could just ask Komachi, she would definitely know more about stuff like this." It was the obvious solution, wasn't it?

Kawasaki's response was to point with her chin behind him, making him turn his head.

"What shade of blue do you think it's better?"

"… They're different shades?"

"Of course they are! C'mon Taishi-kun, you need to step up your game here!"

"R-Right of course!"

"I rather not interrupt their… date?" Kawasaki explained, immediately making his skin crawl.

"That's not a date!" Not over his dead body, it was not!

"If this is a date then that's a date too, Hikigaya." And now Kawasaki was talking as if he was five, but her words took him out of his not-so-kind thoughts towards her brother, only to get him to look at her in confusion.

"This is a date?" He was pretty sure both parties needed to agree on that, and he hadn't even known she would be here!

And that was ignoring the fact that they were also chaperoning their younger siblings, which he was pretty sure was as opposite of a date as it could get.

"It isn't?!" So why was she looking at him like a child who found out Santa wasn't real?

"Perhaps, I can be of assistance? Ufufufu."

And while Kawasaki looked at the newcomer with curiosity, he himself could only feel like a rabbit that had been caught by the snake.

… He was really killing it with the analogies lately, wasn't he?

"No need to be so nervous, boyfriend-kun. I'm sure we can find something together to satisfy the lady here."

He wondered if he could get her fired if he complained loud enough.

"So it does look like a date!"

Not helping, Kawasaki.

"I had no idea they had discounts for loyal customers."

Neither did he.

Also, being called a loyal customer had just ruined his day.

"Just how many times have you come here that you're considered that already?" She asked in curiosity, only making him grunt in response.

"… More than I would like to admit."

"Do you still have that card she gave you?"

"No." He had torn that thing into pieces when no one had been looking, for as far as he was concerned he was never setting a foot inside that place again. "Yuigahama better like those things."

"Well, they looked frilly enough for someone like her." He had to agree with that assessment.

"Hey, you got everything you needed too, right?" His question was aimed at Komachi, who had her eyes glued to her phone as she typed on it relentlessly, all the while the bug struggled to carry the, admittedly, large amount of bags Komachi had gotten. "Because it seemed you bought more than just stuff for Yuigahama."

He didn't approve of it just because it meant supporting that obnoxious place.

But also, since when did Komachi have that amount of money?

"Are you guys loaded or something?" Kawasaki asked, and he couldn't blame her for assuming that.

Actually, were they now? His parents did leave the country to work so they better be loaded now, even if that money was coming from the devil herself.

But if they were going to through their son to the figurative wolves, they better be doing it for a good number of zeroes. It wouldn't justify anything, but it wouldn't make things worse at least.

"I have mom's card, she told me we wouldn't have to worry about money ever again." Komachi answered as if it was nothing, only making him blink in confusion.

"Why do you have it?" Shouldn't it be him? He was the oldest one here.

"Well, someone has to pay the bills."

Yeah, and that someone should be their parents, not them!

"Do you know why she even invited me to this thing?" Kawasaki spoke as she popped a fry into her mouth, her question bringing his attention from his own meal to her at the other end of the table.

"I don't know, didn't even know you were invited until you texted me." He answered honestly, for he was just as surprised as Kawasaki was.

He had assumed it would only be Hayama's group plus a few others like Totsuka, Isshiki, and everyone from the club, so he hadn't expected Kawasaki of all people to have been invited by Yuigahama.

As far as he knew, the two had barely interacted before, so it was certainly strange.

"She isn't trying to pull some trick on me, is she?" With this, she glared at him, pointing at him with another fry. "Your friend or not, I won't back down if she tries something."

"Relax, would you? It's probably just Yuigahama being the social butterfly she is, or maybe she just invited you because of Ebina." He scoffed. As if Yuigahama could pull something like that kind of prank. "It's not like you're forced to go anyway, you do know that, right?"

Frankly speaking, it surprised him more the fact that she had agreed to go rather than her being invited at all.

"I mean, sounds like a pain, but…" With this, she looked at her side, suddenly unable to look at him in the eyes. "But I knew you would be there so, that makes it worth it…"

Oh…

That was flirting, wasn't it?

He wasn't an expert, but the sudden heat that went to his face was enough for him to know.

"We should have gotten just one table." He coughed into his fist with an admittedly lame attempt at changing the subject, his gaze drawn to the table a few spots away from them where Komachi and the bug were currently sitting and eating as well.

"I told you already to just let them enjoy their date." Kawasaki huffed, making him glare at her.

"It is not a date." He grumbled once more for there was no way in hell Komachi was dating in front of his very own eyes.

"Sure, and this isn't one either." He wasn't even going to grace that comment with an answer.

"She isn't going to date anyone while living under my roof-"

"She's paying the bills."

"Under our parent's roof." He corrected himself after her deadpanned comment. "… What?"

He couldn't help but look at her strangely as she suddenly turned silent and seemed to be regarding him with curiosity as she tilted her head to the side.

"Just wondering if you were going to act all overprotective big brother with Keika when she grows up."

"That… would be weird, wouldn't it?" As much as he liked to blame his onii-chan instincts, there was a very big difference between protecting Komachi and someone like Keika, as adorable as she was.

"I mean, she pretty much already sees you as a brother anyway." Kawasaki shrugged off his concern as if they were nothing while resting her chin in her hands, her gaze still fixed on him. "And it will be sort of official if we get together, so…"

And once again, it was he who shifted his gaze away from her first. He was way too vulnerable to direct attacks like these it seemed, but could anyone blame him? It wasn't like he was used to someone… flirting with him? Like this.

"So, you can blush like that as well." Sadly for him, it seemed he wasn't able to hide his reaction from Kawasaki, who seemed to be enjoying it if her smile was anything to go by.

"You would too if anyone told you stuff like that." He was pretty sure Kawasaki was as inexperienced as he was into this, her sudden forwardness notwithstanding.

"I'll probably get more annoyed than anything else." He could see that if they were being honest. "Unless it comes from you of course. Feel free to try, I'm curious to see what you can come up with."

"… I think I'll pass, thank you." If he was bad a handling flirting, he most certainly wasn't going to try and flirt back.

"Tch, coward."

No no, rather than him being that, wasn't she just too strong, especially for a fellow loner?

"Hey, they have a couple's milkshake. Wanna try that?"

See?!

"Can I ask you something?" He said, definitely not looking for an excuse to change the subject with how intently she was looking at that damn picture of the milkshake.

"Hmm?"

"Last year." He started, deciding to satiate his curiosity with something that had been bothering him ever since he had learned about Kawasaki's… family business. "You went through the trouble of getting a job at some bar because you needed the money but… your family didn't exactly hit me as a struggling one."

He knew he was asking for something personal, especially given her surprised reaction, but he had been curious about it for a while now.

Especially since those shoes he saw her buying weren't exactly cheap.

"… I'm not an idiot, Hikigaya." She spoke, her tone subdued and her gaze moving towards the other table, or rather, towards her brother. "I know exactly that whatever money my family gets isn't exactly… clean. Mom might not care, and I'm not going to make Taishi, let alone Keika, worry about stuff like that, but for me? I don't hate my old man but… the less I'm involved with that side, the better."

He could only nod slowly at her words, feeling he understood a bit more at the very least. He had always known she was a stubborn one, but he hadn't known it translated to something like this.

He could respect that though, given her circumstances, especially since he couldn't truly understand what it was to be in her shoes.

"Sorry if that was out of line."

"It's fine, don't worry 'bout it." She shrugged once again, his eyes back on him as a smile smile settled on her lips. "It's good to know the interest is mutual."

He should have seen that one coming.

"But if you feel like making it up to me." She continued, her gaze growing sharp. " You can always-"

"I'm not buying the stupid milkshake."

"Tch, coward."

And right now a very proud one at that.

He was granted a moment of respite as he stood by himself, eyes on his phone as he tried to find a way to distract himself while everyone else went to the bathroom.

Well, Komachi and Kawasaki went there. He had no idea where the bug had gone and he also cared little about it.

He was glad for the break of course, as it let him recharge his already dwindling social interaction battery, which was a thing that was almost empty since like two days ago.

His body was not built for going out every single day.

And yet, with how the week had been going so far, he half expected Yukinoshita to somehow find a way to drag him to this very same place tomorrow as well just to follow up with the obvious pattern.

He doubted it would happen though, mainly because she was currently pissed off at him. Hell, he didn't even know if he would be seeing her tomorrow morning.

But that was a concern for tomorrow, right now he just wanted to rest from this obnoxiously long day.

And it wasn't that he disliked Kawasaki's company, but he couldn't say he wasn't glad they were apparently about to leave.

So the only thing he needed to do was to wait for them and then-

"Hey hey, Nii-chan. You got a moment?"

"Yeah yeah, we just need you for a sec, Nii-chan."

Oh god, he was getting kidnapped in broad daylight.

Oh god, he wished he had been actually kidnapped in broad daylight.

"And as such that is only one of Saki-sama's many, many amazing points."

"Yeah, you tell him, Aniki!"

Sure, it would have been a traumatic experience more likely than not, but this… whatever this was supposed to be, was doing enough damage to his already fragile psyche as it was.

"Did you know she knows how to fight as well, Nii-chan? She can kick anyone's ass as if it was nothing!"

"Yeah, we know that for a fact 'cause she kicked ours already once!"

No but seriously, how was he supposed to handle this?

Getting dragged to some desolated corner of the mall by a pair of… ruffians, as Yukinoshita would probably describe them, one lanky and rather short while the other way taller and bigger than him but unexpectedly calm and well-spoken, had not been in his plans.

They doing so because they wanted to explain all the reasons why he should be going out with Kawasaki? Even less so, especially since the only reason he had gone along with them was the worry that they would have tried something on Komachi or Kawasaki if they saw them.

Better him than them, he had rationalized.

Now he knew he had been worried for nothing as this duo was apparently on Kawasaki's dad's payroll.

But payroll or not, wasn't carrying around a PowerPoint presentation on your phone about how your boss' daughter is a good catch just… weird?

No, it was definitely weird and he wasn't going to try and rationalize this anymore. He was obviously the only sane people here, perhaps even in the entirety of Chiba by how everything had been playing out the last couple of weeks.

"And don't even get me started on her cooking!"

"She is a goddess! You tell him, Aniki!"

Please don't.

"What are you two idiots doing?"

Thankfully, it seemed he was finally being rescued.

By… a black-haired lady wearing a suit?

"A-Aneki?!

"S-Senpai?!"

And judging by their words and the way they were now trembling, something told him this wasn't any ordinary lady.

"Leave, now."

Damn, even he got a shiver down his spine with those cold words, so he couldn't even blame the two guys for running away with their tails between their legs.

The past ten minutes had been so surreal that he had to wonder if he was dreaming.

"Are you well, young master?"

Oh god, another weirdo.

"I'm… alive." That was the only sort of description he could use right now, for anything else would feel like a lie. "And you are…?"

"Makoto." Nothing but what he assumed was her name was given, her expression surprisingly soft as she smiled at him, at least compared to the scary look she had just before. "I apologize for my…co-workers' actions. If you allow me, please let me escort you back."

"I… think I'm good." Or rather, he just didn't want to walk around a possibly dangerous individual.

Her gloved hand was quick to find his shoulder as soon as he spoke, however.

"I insist."

Maybe he spoke too soon and he was actually going to get kidnapped now.

Well…

She wasn't that bad.

At the very least, she limited herself to simply walking by his side in silence, a serene smile present on her lips as he shifted his gaze from the front to her every few seconds.

He couldn't help but be on edge still.

He hadn't signed up to get randomly dragged around by what were most definitely criminals.

"Is this something that is going to start repeating itself?" And as such, he had to ask, just to be sure.

He did not need the extra stress right now.

"I'll have words with everyone so they won't be bothering anymore, young master." She answered in a soothing voice, although the way she addressed him only made him feel even more on edge. "Our boss just got too… excited about Lady Saki finding her beau, and some members saw that as an invitation to… assist, so to speak."

That made as much sense as everything else he kept hearing about their group.

"That doesn't include you?" He decided to not comment on the beau thing, and definitely not because he didn't want to argue with someone who probably, definitely, had a body count.

"I trust Lady Saki enough to know she won't need anyone's help to bag her man." Her sudden lax tone did little to help him. "I'm only around as a security measure. You must understand, after what happened, our Boss is being rather careful."

He supposed that made sense, but even so…

"…Have you been following us this entire time?" Because if she had, he sure had not noticed it.

"This should be close enough, I'll be taking my leave now, young master. Please do not tell Lady Saki about what happened. We wouldn't want to sour her date, now would we?"

"This is not a da-"

"Onii-chan!"

"Komachi?" He was interrupted by her sudden yell, his attention moving to her as she marched right towards him.

"Where were you?! Saki-neesan is still grilling Taishi-kun about losing you!"

He wasn't a damn kid that got lost, let alone under the bug's watch for fuck's sake!

"I was…" He started as he turned his head around. "… huh?"

Only to find no one there, almost as if this Makoto had never been there in the first place.

That was definitely not creepy in the slightest.

"Onii-chan?"

"It's… nothing, I guess." He decided to simply act as if the last ten minutes of his life had not happened.

Not because he didn't want to ruin their definitely not date.

But because, maybe if ignored it, it would be deleted from his memories sooner or later.

A guy could sure hope.

"So… you wanna do this again?"

There it was, that awkward question that he knew was coming from a mile away.

If he was being honest, he was surprised it took Kawasaki this long to bring it up, especially as they had left that god-forsaken mall a while ago.

Her question though, as they walked side by side, also made Komachi's and the bug's attention turn towards him as they walked behind them.

Now, there were many ways he could interpret this, but considering who he was talking with.

"You mean just hanging out-"

"I meant another date." But as he was starting to learn was something she had no issues with, Kawasaki let her intentions be known clearly, almost making him fault in his next as his eyes met hers.

He wasn't even going to bother repeating the fact that this was not considered a date by his, admittedly, non-existent standards, and decided to just focus on how to answer.

After all, it wasn't like he hadn't enjoyed it.

Well, if he was being precise, he didn't have any issues with Kawasaki's presence.

Everything else had been hell, but not her and that was… good? He supposed enjoying the other person's company was the bare minimum for a date.

But did that really matter considering the elephant in the room?

Namely, the fact that he was still fricking engaged.

And while he definitely wasn't a consenting party in that, if he just accepted Kawasaki's proposal without clearing that up first, wouldn't that just be the same as leading her on?

He didn't want to be pessimistic for once in his life, but if he just started accepting her advances to then tell her there was apparently a legal document out there stating who he was supposed to marry, well…

It would definitely be nasty.

"If you really don't want to you can just say it." It seemed his silence was taken in the negative judging by Kawasaki's response, and even though she was acting nonchalantly about it, something told him he couldn't just let things like this.

"It's not that I don't want to…" He was honest here for once actually, as he truly didn't have anything against Kawasaki as a person. "But there's some stuff I need to solve first before I can even think of stuff like that."

Her eyes landed on his own once more, as she seemingly tried to see if he was saying the truth or was just giving an excuse.

He wouldn't blame her if she did.

"Does it have to do with your parents leaving?" She asked, her sharp gaze turning into a concerned one.

He simply nodded in response, earning a humming sound from her, followed by quite the sigh.

"You're lucky I knew what I was getting into when I confessed to you." Well, it wasn't his fault she had such taste in men! "Don't think I'll just stop trying though. You'll have to say yes eventually."

He was pretty sure that was not how it worked.

"We can still hang out though, right? Or are you too busy even for that?" Her snarky comment only made him roll his eyes. Frankly speaking, he was busy as hell nowadays, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of saying that, so he simply nodded with a shrug.

It wasn't like Kawasaki was seeking him out that much besides lunch during schooldays anyway.

He didn't comment on the way her face lit up with his answer though, for the sake of avoiding both the embarrassment,

"Are you not going to tell her?" He asked as he walked alongside Komachi, whose attention seemed to be purely on her phone once again.

"About what?" She responded without even looking up, making him grunt.

"You know what." He knew Komachi wasn't dumb, and it was something that she had to know.

"Do you really think I would go behind your back with something like that, Onii-chan?" She asked after finally looking up from her phone, the subject being more than obvious between them.

His engagement.

"Kawasaki and that… friend of yours might get upset with you if they find out." He reasoned, only getting a hum from her.

"Maybe, and it's not like I approve of you lying to everyone about this." Her lips were pursed for a moment before a rather gentle smile appeared on them. "But I know that if it is Onii-chan, you can reach an ending where everyone is happy."

He could only pause at hearing that, his mind trying to process her words as two thoughts popped into his head.

First thought was that, as happy as the sentiment was, the way she worded it almost made him cringe on the spot. It felt like something Zaimokuza would say, and that was enough to almost make him gag.

He decided to not say that out loud, for both of their sake.

The second thought, however, had him wonder if such an ending was even possible.

The first thing he did when he woke up the next day was to make sure certain accessory that kept magically appearing on his wrist was safely locked in a drawer.

He didn't forget what was going to happen today, and as such he wasn't going to give any more ammunition to Miura by seemingly forgetting to take out that stupid bracelet.

So he double-checked the thing was in a drawer before leaving his room.

There was no Yukinoshita waiting for him at his doorstep today.

He kind of had expected it, given how their last interaction ended, but it still made him shake his head nonetheless as he wondered for how long she was going to give him the cold shoulder.

His answer to that came in the form of a sudden text message.

From: Yukinoshita Yukino

"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun. As I hope you remember, we had scheduled plans with my mother for this weekend, however, she had to do some last-minute restructuring to her schedule. As such, if you have the time, we could all meet for dinner tomorrow at my apartment after school."

He re-read the text a few times just to be sure he wasn't making a mistake, for while a part of him didn't like for the plans to be changed so abruptly, he sure wasn't going to complain about things moving along faster than anticipated.

"I'll be there." Was his immediate answer. Was he mentally ready for this? Probably not, but nothing ventured nothing gained, as they said.

Besides, with Komachi having left awfully early, he had enough time by himself as he made his journey towards Sobu.

And he had to admit, he kind of missed being by himself.

It wasn't like he was completely against the presence of others, but after such a hectic week, this small moment of respite felt quite nice, to say the least.

But all things had to come to an end, so the moment he finally set foot into Sobu, his peace of mind was once again shattered by the pain in the ass that was high school gossip.

Only that this time, well…

"I can't believe Isshiki-san is willing to go that far!"

"I know, right? I had no idea our pres was so kind!"

"I told you voting for her was the right idea."

"That delinquent better be grateful that Isshiki is willing to go this far just to set him on the right track."

"Do you think maybe that's why Yukinoshita-sama is hanging out with a guy like that?"

"I heard Miura-san has also been defending some low-life lately!"

"Damn, those guys sure are lucky!"

He didn't even know where to start with this one.

Was this what Isshiki meant by having a plan? Somehow use the situation to boost her reputation by making it seem like a charity case or something?

A part of him felt offended, as he certainly didn't need any help from Isshiki of all people, but if this avoided any potential issues she could have, he wasn't going to complain with how little he cared about what people were saying.

Especially since, somehow, they still hadn't figured out he was the guy they kept talking about.

A blessing in disguise, in his opinion, but he could only wonder how much that would last.

At the very least, his arrival at his classroom was actually a quiet one.

"Heeya, Hikkitani!"

Well, as quiet as it could be when the first person that greeted him was Tobe of all people.

"Yahallo, Hikki!"

"Morning, Hikigaya-kun."

Yuigahama and Ebina followed suit, the former with an ever-present smile on her face, while the latter was seemingly trying to study him, and it didn't take a genius to know the why.

His eyes moved to the silent figure of Miura, who was simply sitting on her spot, not even looking at him, her gaze glued to the side as she rested her head in her hand.

If she wanted to ignore him, that was fine by him.

"Morning, Hikigaya."

And then, as if waiting for her turn, Kawasaki followed suit, but instead of her usual scowl, her greeting came alongside a small, almost unnoticeable smile.

He wasn't sure if anyone else noticed it, but after returning her greetings, he could have sworn he saw Miura turning her gaze towards him.

Must have been a trick of the mind though, as when he looked, she was still looking to the side.

Without saying anything to her, he went to his seat in silence, for once glad for the distraction that was the teacher's constant droning.

The rest of the day ended up being so unamusingly boring that it brought back a sense of nostalgia.

Outside of eating lunch with Kawasaki, something that had become some sort of tradition by now because he was seemingly too weak to say no when presented with good food, nothing else noteworthy happened.

Which one would assume it would make him relax.

But the only thing it did was to put him even more on edge.

After all, what if it was the figurative calm before he got hit by the figurative sledgehammer?

Or with any luck, an actual sledgehammer.

"Don't forget."

Especially considering the text he had received the moment their last class ended.

He didn't even have time to look at the person responsible for it, as Miura bolted out of the room the moment the bell rang, with Ebina hot on her tracks, making him frown.

Something was telling him this conversation was going to be a complicated one.

"Tell Yukinoshita I might not be able to go to the club today." He said to Yuigahama as he packed his things, sort of expecting her to say something. After all, as… slow as Yuigahama could be sometimes, even she had to be able to figure out by now something was happening between Miura and him.

And yet, when he got no answer from her, making him turn his attention to her, the only thing he got was that smile of hers.

"Good luck, Hikki." She finally said, giving him pause and making him wonder how much she actually knew, before he nodded slowly, another bubble of gratitude forming in him.

"Thank you." He said, ignoring the confused look they were getting from Kawasaki. She would probably ask him about it later, but one issue at a time, please.

And, as he walked towards the rooftop, with the rest of his fellow students still talking about him without even realizing they were doing so, a small feeling of nervousness started forming in his chest for reasons beyond him.

Sure, Miura's behavior had been weird since yesterday, but he was only getting an explanation out of her today, so why was he suddenly hesitating?

It's not like he expected a sensitive reason from her anyway, so whatever she was going to tell him, he was already prepared for it to be something unreasonable.

So when he finally reached the rooftop, he ended up releasing a breath right before he pushed the doorknob, his gaze immediately clashing with those of the girl waiting for him there.

Except it wasn't Miura, but rather Ebina who stood there, a serene smile present on his lips.

"Oh good, for a moment I thought I was to be waiting here for hours." Ebina chuckled in apparent relief, only making his gaze narrow at her.

"If this is some sort of trick, I'm not going to be wasting my time." He really shouldn't have bothered it seemed, if Miura wasn't even going to be here.

"Wait, wait!" But Ebina was quick to yell out, both of her hands raised and a panicked expression on her face. "Y-You're already here, don't you want to hear what I have to say?"

"… Where's Miura?" He answered with his own question, trying to figure out if this was going to be a waste of time or not.

"She's picking up something important. I'm sure she'll be here in no time, really!" Ebina explained, just before a sigh left her lips as she smiled once more. "In the meantime, would you like to know a story, Hikigaya-kun?"

"… A story?" Was that some sort of keyword that the cool kids use nowadays or something? Because if not he had no damn clue what the hell Ebina was talking about.

"Yep!" She said, popping the p as she spoke. "C'mon, I'm sure you'll like it and it will be a quick one!"

"… If this is one of your yaoi fanfictions I swear to god…" He grumbled out, somehow honestly looking forward to Miura being here just so Ebina could stop being… weird.

"How rude!" She was even pouting at him now like a child. "Don't think I don't know how close you've been getting with Totsuka-kun. I have friends in the Tennis club and they told me-"

"Could you get on with it, please?" He would rather not have Ebina start fantasizing about him and Totsuka. Before, it was awkward enough, but now? It was still awkward but for completely different reasons.

"Fine!" She actually blew a raspberry of all things, before she coughed in her fist, her expression becoming far more serious than he was used to seeing from her. "Let me start then, I'm sure you'll like it, it's about two childhood friends you see…"

He blinked, his thoughts stopping for just a second as his face slowly morphed into quite the incredulous face.

Surely, she wasn't going to…

"A lonely blonde that was desperate for friends, and a fish-eyed boy that became her first friend…"

Oh god this was actually happening, wasn't it?

At the very least, he was going to give Miura points, for this was sure an original way of explaining… whatever this was supposed to explain.

Weird as fuck but, original nonetheless.

And it was only really morbid curiosity that glued him to his spot as Ebina continued her… tale.

And what a tale it was.

As in, he could only really describe it as such, because even though this was obviously supposed to be his and Miura's childhood, it sounded so… alien to him.

Which made sense since he sure remembered nothing about what he was hearing right now.

His childhood self protecting her from some bullies when they were kids? Since when did he do stuff like that?

They becoming best friends as seemingly no one else wanted to hang out with them? Why couldn't he remember Miura if they played along for a whole year?!

Especially if they did everything together, as Ebina pointed out. As if they had been attached by the hip, to the point the day the girl had to move out of town became the worst day of her life, to the point the only reason she had stopped sobbing her eyes out was that the boy, him, had made her a promise.

And the bracelets that they had, that Miura seemingly liked to wear proudly and that he had left locked in his room, were actually a symbol of that promise.

And what was that promise?

It was, of course, that they would get married to one another when they grew up.

Because of course they would, right? There was definitely nothing weird about holding up a promise made when they were kids and probably didn't even understand what getting married meant.

But the story wasn't done yet, no, for years later, now in high school, the girl, now a beautiful woman according to Ebina's exact words, not his, finally met the boy again.

But against everything she had predicted, the boy seemingly didn't recognize her, even though she had recognized him immediately. For days she waited for him to realize who she was, expecting their fated reunion so they could carry on together once more.

But that never happened, and with each day, the girl grew anxious as she thought the worst. Had he forgotten about her? Had their time together meant so little to him that she was now nothing but a distant memory, not even worth acknowledging? Or maybe something had happened and he had decided to just ignore her? Had he gotten tired of her?

He had to give credit to Ebina though, as the way she was telling him this actually made him feel bad enough about it.

Especially since they weren't being subtle at all here.

The story took a turn from the depressing to the crazy though, as apparently the girl, afraid of confronting the boy and confirming he had forgotten her, had decided that there was only one logical way of getting his attention.

To make him jealous.

And as such, she enlisted the help of another boy whom she had started a friendship with, a boy who also needed help for his own personal reasons.

Just like that, a deal had been made. The girl would try to make her childhood friend jealous by faking interest in her new friend, and the guy would use that to keep other girls away from him.

A perfect plan, as Ebina described it.

Utterly insanity, as he labeled it.

Stupid enough that he thought Ebina had been joking.

When she didn't laugh, he realized that it wasn't just Miura that was crazy, but rather her whole friend group.

No wonder they got along so well.

Except for Yuigahama who somehow seemed to be the only normal person left in Sobu by now besides himself, which was a scary thought all by itself, but that was a matter for another day as Ebina still continued the story.

And by that he meant that the girl continued her dumb plan for almost two years, hoping her childhood friend would finally confront her about it.

Suffice it to say, such a thing never happened, and with each day that passed, the girl lost a bit more of hope.

But when everything seemed futile, the girl finally saw it with her very own eyes.

A proof that she hadn't been forgotten. Proof that the boy had not discarded the memories and relationship she had held so dear for years.

He was still wearing that promise bracelet.

"And as they say, the rest is history!" Ebina finally finished, even looking a bit out of breath. "So, what did you think, Hikigaya-kun?"

There were no words in the dictionary to express how he was feeling at the moment, or at least not any that he could safely say in a school if he had to bet.

"Don't tell me though, you can tell Yumiko first." Ebina followed, her gaze moving from him to behind him, specifically to the corner beside the door.

And following her gaze, he saw none other than Miura shuffling out from there, a rare, demure look on her face as she was even blushing crimson.

Because of course, she had been here the entire time.

That made as much sense as everything else, really.

"I'll leave you two to it then!" Ebina declared as she passed by him, to then pat Miura on the shoulders while whispering something he couldn't hear. "Good luck you both!"

And then they were by themselves, Miura seemingly too nervous to say anything and him still trying to process everything he had just heard.

If he was being frank here, somehow everything he had just heard was even harder to believe than some of the other stuff he had learned the last couple of weeks, and that was saying something considering he now knew Totsuka was a girl.

"… Did you really have to involve Ebina in this?" It was he who broke the silence with what he considered an innocent enough question. Which only made Miura shake her head, her gaze finally meeting his for a second before they fell to the floor once more.

"I-I was nervous, ok?!" She yelled out, even stomping her foot for extra effect. "T-This is my first time confessing so I just…" Her voice grew quiet until she simply stopped talking, prompting a sigh to leave his lips.

Her wording though, made him pause, as an idea that had been formed in his head ever since Ebina started talking became even more present in his thoughts.

The idea that this wasn't just her explaining an old friendship.

And given the context and how she had been acting as of late, well, he wasn't dumb enough to not figure it out, as impossible as the idea sounded a few weeks ago.

"When you say confess, do you mean…?" But even so, he was not letting anything to chances or misunderstandings here. He had enough of those with not only Miura as it was.

"I l-love you, Hikkio." There, she actually said the thing he had been dreading to hear. "I always had since we were kids… I was just too scared of actually saying it but, those rumors with Iroha… they scared me even more."

So that was why she had acted so erratic? Because she had been jealous?

Is this what Ebina meant by him underestimating Miura's feelings? Because he certainly did if this is how she felt.

But could anyone blame him? What kind of person held onto such a thing for so long?

Sure, he understood having a childhood crush, that much he got, specially given the way Ebina had explained stuff which he could only assume was how Miura felt about everything, but holding onto that crush for almost a decade, specially when they didn't even interact with one another for all that time?

Surely he wasn't the weird one by thinking she was crazy, right? Like, there was no way this behavior could be considered normal by any stretch, right?

There was no way she could actually love him just because they were friends when they didn't even know stuff like math, let alone love.

And that was the kind of reasoning that he wanted to voice out. To explain to Miura how, from his point of view, she was making absolutely no sense whatsoever.

But he didn't

Because as Ebina talked, and as he realized exactly the situation he was in, he came to a simple understanding.

Miura Yumiko was a being of emotions.

As pure and simple as that, and it didn't matter how… illogical those emotions felt to him, it didn't change the fact that she felt that way.

And there was nothing he could say that would convince her otherwise, that much he could tell.

If it was that easy she wouldn't have been pretending with Hayama for two fucking years!

But even with that realization, how he felt about her hadn't truly changed.

Did he feel some gratitude because of her helping Komachi and him that one time? Sure, he would not deny that.

Did she annoy him to no end most of the time? Yeah, definitely.

Were they so different that he didn't even know how they had become friends in the first place? Obviously.

And that was it. As much as Miura might have wanted it so, it did not change the fact that he didn't have the deep attachment she obviously had towards their old friendship.

Because he didn't even remember it happening.

"You… do know I don't feel the same way, right?" Now, while he had called Miura a being of emotions, that didn't mean she was completely stupid. There was no way she hadn't figured out he felt nothing like that towards her by now.

"… I know…" And it seemed she had, in fact, figured it out too, although that didn't stop her shoulders from sagging, or her voice sounding as if someone had told her the world was about to end.

But it wasn't like he was going to lie to her.

Besides, how was he even supposed to have any romantic feelings towards her when he didn't even know her at all?

"And what you're feeling, the kid you liked and me right now… we're pretty much completely different people, Miura." He wasn't going to try and understand her, but he was going to point out the main issue here. "How do you even know you would like me now?"

With every word he said, she dipped her dead down even more, to the point her eyes were hidden by her hair. A sigh left his lips, as his motive behind what he said wasn't to make her feel bad, but rather to just make her understand his position.

He opened his mouth once again, but before he could continue he was stopped by Miura herself as she suddenly raised her head, her previous expression gone, now replaced with so much fire in her gaze that it almost made him give a step back in shock

"You're doing it again!" She declared fiercely as she walked up to him, close enough so she could start poking at his chest with her finger. "Stop underestimating my feelings, Hikio!"

"W-what?"

"Even if ten years have passed, my feelings haven't changed! It could have been another ten years and they wouldn't have changed either!" Her tone was filled with nothing but certainty, as if she was explaining the most obvious concept to the world. "And even if you tell me you aren't the same person I fell for, I know for a fact Hikio is still Hikio."

"So that's why, if you want to go with that excuse, then fine!" She advanced on him, forcing him to give a step back. "I'll just make you fall for me again then!"

That's… that's now how it worked!

"And I'll make you fall in love with me so fucking hard you're going to be the one confessing next time!" That threat of hers would have been far more effective if her lips weren't shaking and the blush on her face didn't make her look like a tomato. "You'll be begging me to be your girlfriend by the time I'm done with you, and you know what? I will still say yes no matter what because someone here has to be mature."

This was literally the opposite of being mature!

"But next time…" Her tone grew unexpectedly low, the blush on her face somehow shining even more, which clashed with the sheer determination showing on her features. "Rather than a bracelet, I'll be expecting a ring."

Oh god.

How could she say something like that with a straight face!

The second-hand embarrassment was so high, in fact, that even he could feel the heat going up to his face!

It reached the point where he had no other choice but to put his hand in his face and quite audibly groan. When he had decided to come here, this was not what he had expected at all.

And when he opened his eyes, it was Miura's triumphant smirk that greeted him first, almost as if she had won something already.

But his attention moved from her to down at his raised arm, at something pocking out of his uniform.

Something that should not be there at all.

It was that damn green bracelet.

'Let's get married when we grow up.' I mean, I could just not not do it, you know? Like c'mon that one's a classic.

And this is my natural extreme take on that.

I had to make a few changes to the last chapter as I apparently don't know my dates. If you're confused about why this chapter went the way it did, it might be because of that.

I wonder how many more times can I put that store lady before I'm forced to give her a name.

Everyone seemed to like my take on Iroha so that was nice. Same with Yui!

Also, The bug has been fixed now so I can actually see the views once again.

Once more, thank you all for reading this far. Hope you've all liked it and thank you for all the favs, follows, and reviews!

Next Chapter: Rich People's Problems

PS: I kind of feel like writing an Oregairu crossover with Oshi no Ko just for the heck of it.

1) Yukinoshita Yukino: "Because of my grandfather, my high-class Club President suddenly became my fiancée."

2) Miura Yumiko: "I discovered the most popular girl in the school is my old childhood friend and now she won't leave me alone!"

3) Kawasaki Saki: "My mundane high school days are being threatened by the Yakuza Princess' constant flirting!"

4) Hikigaya Komachi: "I somehow became the inspiration for my cute little sister's ongoing romantic comedy light novel and now she keeps setting me up with every girl I know!"

5) Totsuka Saika: "My adorable classmate ended up being a girl and now I have to protect her secret with my life!"

6) Isshiki Iroha: "I pretended to be my kouhai's boyfriend to help her and now the whole school thinks we're dating for real and she isn't letting me change their mind!"