"Hikio?" Miura's voice made Hachiman snap his attention back to his notebook, even though it was more than evident that he hadn't been paying attention to it at all thus far. "Oh, c'mon. Don't pull that stupid trick on me. What's wrong?"

Her questioning brought the attention of the other people in the room, who slowed down their talk for a moment. Before resuming it while pretending not to have an ear out for whatever Hachiman had to say.

Damn, and it was already awkward enough to go to Hiratsuka's place with worries and questions that he had to keep to himself. Now, he was made acutely aware that everyone knew that he had been dissociating this whole time. Which meant, they now knew that there were things that were worrying him.

More than usual, that is.

"Nothing much, just something to do with Komachi." Hachiman never knew whether it annoyed or made him glad that these guys would relax a bit whenever he pulled his little sister as the subject of his concerns. It felt like they were both misunderstanding and looking down on him at the same time. Like they assumed he was just worried over something inconsequential.

"Does it have to do with the photoshoot?" Eh? How did she know?! Had Hachiman said something while he was deep in thoughts or something? "Don't look so surprised, I have a deal with that guy too. Remember?"

Oh… Right.

"Right, right. Sorry, I just thought Saitou would try to bail out of our agreements as soon as he could." He did remember the discussion about their new 'jobs', even though he hadn't heard about it recently.

"Yeah, me too." Miura scoffed, holding her chin with her hand and looking away toward their ex-teacher; who was busy checking some papers from her current students. She glared at Miura for a moment, and the blonde went back to her own book with a sigh. "Not like I got anything grand, but the calls haven't really stopped."

"I've been going around castings." Zaimokuza chimed in, sounding oddly subdued while he doodled on his notebook. "Haven't quite landed anything, but…"

"That's not really on Saitou's jurisdiction." Hachiman nodded.

"No, I didn't mean that. More like… It's fun." Zaimokuza smiled to himself. "Only a few lines for super minor NPCs have stuck. But, y'know, trying to bring out the right vibe in front of people that are looking for exactly that is pretty fun."

"Voice acting is not about having passion, but range." Ebina murmured, mainly concentrating in pulling for the gacha.

"Wow, thanks Hina-dono."

"Sounds like someone's salty." Miura scoffed.

"Not really." Ebina looked up for a moment, before tapping on the same button relentlessly. "I'm just saying."

"Right, right." Miura kept the smug expression, shaking her head at Zaimokuza with a strange vibe of being on the same page as him. Odd for her, as they weren't precisely the two that agreed on most circumstances. "If you're having fun, just keep trying. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Right?"

"Right! And it's not my focus anyway. I still want to publish my own series!"

"…Right." And, just like that, Zaimokuza lost Miura again. Mostly. "Do your best, bud."

"I will!"

Hachiman glanced at Miura before sighing.

"I think it'd be for the best to not get involved. So in case Komachi winds up changing her mind…"

"Ah, well…" Miura looked thoughtful for a moment. But ended up nodding to herself while spinning her pen using her index and middle finger. "I don't mind keeping tabs on her at all."

Hachiman knew that it was unfair to let Miura come to her own conclusion about what Hachiman needed but… Asking for help had always been way easier for everyone else compared to Hachiman himself.

"Thanks…" He still sighed, unsatisfied with this resolution. But still tried to concentrate while Hiratsuka stood from her seat to go to the kitchen. Pushing Hachiman's head gently as she walked by.

"She's old enough, Hikigaya. Don't look down on your sister so much." Hiratsuka's comment made Hachiman roll his eyes, settling the awkward silence while everyone got back to their own work.

He'd have let it go but… While it did keep his mind busy, Hachiman did know his little sister enough to let something like this bother him so much.

No. His worries laid elsewhere; on the conversation he had with Saitou Ichigo when he got them home a few days back.

"Hey, Hikigaya." Saitou had called out after the siblings left the car, getting out himself and confusing the hell out of the Hikigaya siblings. Given that they thought he'd just drive off before they even crossed the main door. "Care to stay back for a moment?"

"What is it now?" Komachi jumped at the sight of something being wrong. She'd been pleased enough to go with the flow inside the car, but now her frown resembled Hachiman's own again.

"Don't worry, Komachi-san." Saitou spoke nonchalantly enough, getting a cigar and lighter out while keeping his eyes closed. Sunglasses on the breast pocket of his shirt. "Just the conversation I promised Ruby, it won't take long."

Komachi didn't really buy it, and Hachiman had no idea what he meant by that. So he took a step in his sister's direction, ready to dismiss Saitou like she wanted him to.

"Listen, I know he's your brother. But Ai's my daughter, and if you two will keep seeing each other, then—"

"You're not gonna have 'the talk' are you? Seems a little too late for that." Komachi interrupted him, still looking annoyed.

Saitou only opened his eyes partially, looking at Komachi like she was too far away to distinguish her against the darkness of the night. Or, rather, it was hard for him to stare straight at them when the only light was right above them.

Curious.

"Rude." Saitou stated after taking a drag from his cigar. "Do you want to have that talk?"

"I think you should have it with your daughter." Komachi's expression turned into something that screamed "eww" in every way but with her voice.

Saitou's smirk looked terrible, like it pained him to bring it out.

"…It's like you said." The man tilted his head, letting out a long breath before he realized he hadn't taken another drag of his cigar and fixing that mistake soon after. "It's a little too late for that."

"I think we can talk with Komachi present, if it's that important." Hachiman furrowed his brows for the sake of Komachi. He didn't want to give her the impression that he'd bend at Saitou's whims; but he did promise Hoshino his support. And, the way he saw it, this also included when her father reached out personally to him.

"It's not that important, just something I thought Komachi-san wouldn't be involved in." Saitou shrugged, but the way he eyed the siblings made the tension in the air feel more palpable. More real. "Just a question, really."

Bullshit.

"Maybe Komachi does know something I don't." Hachiman narrowed his eyelids even more. "She's smart and amazing like that."

Saitou scoffed, and his lungs got smoke out when he kept the cigar in his mouth with just his lips. Making it move up and down like he was taunting the siblings by moving his finger smugly.

There was a moment of silence that pissed Hachiman off more, but he had misunderstood it. It was no taunt.

"Has Ai mentioned anything about where the twins came from?"

It was a moment to let them brace for impact.

"Oh." Komachi's bad mood crumbled to dust. Replaced by discomfort. Even she, in her protectiveness for Hachiman, couldn't really stay mad at a father worrying for his daughter. "Ummm…"

Hachiman scratched above his left ear, thinking. The vision of that boy… Young man? Came to mind. He was way too similar to Aqua to ignore, and Hachiman had spent way too much time thinking about all the ramifications even before knowing the relation between him and Hoshino. He couldn't just ignore the fact that Saitou was as much in the dark as everyone else, even though it was very evident that Hoshino didn't want this topic to be breached yet.

Ignorance, in this case, was dangerous. Really damn dangerous.

"No." Hachiman stated, turning to face Komachi while the girl settled down and schooled her features.

"You were right: No idea."

"I see…" Saitou looked just slightly disappointed, like he expected the answer. "Well, it was worth askin'."

"Is it that much of a problem?" Hachiman asked in spite of the very dumb way of wording it. He didn't really know how to breach the topic, but he also wanted to know.

Respecting Hoshino's privacy vs being able to keep her safe more efficiently… When it came to life and death, a lot of rules simply did not apply. And Hachiman had begun to understand this very well.

"Not yours, no." Saitou shrugged. Getting his hands in his pocket before checking Komachi's reaction with a glance.

"Sounds like a pretty big deal." Komachi narrowed her eyes too, kind of looking like she was blaming Saitou wordlessly for this.

"It's a pretty big mistake on my part." Saitou nodded. "Not that I'd say it to Ai's face, but…"

"No, no. I get it." Having kids during her teenage years was… Even though Hachiman tried not to judge, even he understood that it was an awful decision. Life was already harsh; he simply couldn't wrap his head around taking a needless burden on her shoulders and running with it.

"The twins have been a joy to have around, I won't lie. And I know how good they've been for Ai's wellbeing." Saitou really didn't need to explain himself. But, well, guilt was a pretty powerful motivator for any person. Hachiman couldn't really judge him for it, just for the negligence that he was feeling guilty about. "But Ai's been… Heh. I'm not going to bother you with this. It's not your responsibility."

The man got the cigar with his right hand before scratching between his eyebrows with his thumb, looking a lot more tired than before while letting out the smoke through his mouth.

"You've done more than enough."

That… Didn't sit well with Hachiman. Not one bit.

"Yeah, he has." Komachi nodded, which sat even worse with Hachiman's peace of mind.

He hadn't done anything. He couldn't even attempt to, because Hoshino's problems were danger wrapped in danger, wrapped in secrets. He couldn't do anything, and now it was eating away at him after being told that they thought he was. For that was a lie… No, it was worse than a lie. It was wishful thinking. Taking credit for something that should've been a given. For a minimum effort that no one should take for granted.

He wasn't doing enough; he wasn't doing nearly enough at all. And in that moment, Komachi lost a lot of her personal points for the insensitivity of reminding him that.

"Sorry, Saitou-san. Wish I could be of help." Hachiman bowed, not full 90 degrees; but he still chose to show his honesty in this way.

"It's okay, I meant it." Saitou raised a hand, willing Hachiman to straighten his back. "It's on me… Like everything else. Don't sweat it."

"I see…"

"With that said… Komachi-san? Please consider the offer." Saitou dusted his hand on his shirt, taking his car key to go back before the Hikigaya siblings could react.

"Fine." Komachi sighed while shaking her head. She was done with this, and wouldn't actually do as asked. At least for now. "Careful on your way back."

Saitou waved without turning back, getting in the car and starting the engine while Komachi opened the front door.

"Onii-chan?" She turned to Hachiman, but he walked closer to the edge of the sidewalk, leaning in as Saitou moved the car. Making him slow down so that Hachiman could place his arm on top of the vehicle.

"Yes?" Saitou Ichigo looked so old, even though he couldn't possibly even be the same age as Hachiman's parents. His wife was relatively young, and he himself had looked young the first time they met. It was just… Something in his posture, in the tiredness of his stare.

It didn't help that Hachiman had to blink the smoke out of his own eyes, but he still felt some kindred spirit with the man who had failed so badly to communicate that it got Hoshino to have kids at 16, and Hachiman almost killed years later.

"You're a rather shitty parent, did you know that?"

Saitou didn't glare at Hachiman, but he did look rather annoyed at his words.

"Well, sorry about that… And thanks for the opportunity to fix that."

"Don't be sorry." Hachiman growled, not really sure if he was angry at the man or at himself. "Be better. He looks exactly like Aqua."

There was no understanding on the man's face, for a brief moment. His voice did let Hachiman know that he had understood his words, however. Inarticulate and just as small as Hachiman had made his own voice.

He didn't look back; he couldn't do that in front of Komachi.

In front of Hachiman there were two roads: On one hand, he wanted to fulfill his promise to Hoshino. He really felt for the girl he had come to host in mind during most of his waking hours, bringing every last detail together to try to make the right picture; try to understand what laid beneath all the lies she had told herself. On the other, his responsibility toward Komachi, his family, the people that cared about him. He was getting involved in problems too big for him, too impactful to blindly charge forward.

He wanted to respect Hoshino's privacy, but he was tied in this too deeply. The things that scared Komachi, that had made Hiratsuka break her cool and collected demeanor, that had made the Hikigaya matriarch ask for favors and make excuses to see that her children were indeed not too deep into a mess of their own making… The fear of Hachiman's death, it was something that he himself understood very well.

"Onii-chan?" Komachi's questioning gaze was filled with worry. Whether she understood what he had whispered or not, now she was worried about him. It was inevitable, like his friends getting angry upon knowing what had sent Hachiman to the hospital. They feared for his clumsiness, for the shortsightedness that would put him in danger.

"You…" Saitou's speechlessness was magically cured, but Hachiman was already crossing the threshold of his house. Getting to safety, so that no one would have to worry about him for the rest of the night.

"Don't involve me in your mess, Saitou-san." Hachiman hugged Komachi with one hand, prompting her to walk inside with him after he had said his piece. "This whole coddling Komachi thing is cute and all, but what we really want is to be at ease. Do that for us."

Hachiman couldn't help his curiosity and turned around. Saitou had turned his still-alight cigar into a mess of paper and cinder.

Guess he was still willowing in his own misery. Kicking himself for his own shortcomings… Indeed, Hachiman's feelings for the man came from understanding what that felt.

"If you're too stupid to do that… Why not ask Haruno-san? Last time I met her, the birds started following me. Quite the odd day. And it'd be very funny if she was the one being bothered, for once." Hachiman scoffed, but his own worries were already eating him on the inside. He silently offered Hoshino an apology, for he didn't know if this was really in her best interest.

He closed the door behind him, waiting a moment to check if he could hear the car leaving.

The motor roared as Saitou seemingly made the wheels spin too much, not getting any traction and probably burning them a bit against the asphalt. His departure was hurried, messy.

Hachiman could only sigh.

"What was that about?" Komachi wasn't really asking, but demanding an explanation. She looked about ready to get really mad at him.

He placed a hand on her head, shaking his head with tiredness.

"Making life easier for myself." Hachiman sighed again, feeling a bit better upon accepting his own slothfulness in all of this. "It'd be great if this guy really did manage to solve all of Hoshino's problems without me."

Komachi didn't buy it, at first. But she, too, sighed with tiredness after a moment.

"It really would."

Hachiman smiled a bit, lifting his little sister's chin while trying to be reassuring.

"No more getting in trouble. It's not my place, it's not my life." Hachiman's expression changed, becoming more pained as he dragged his thoughts out of the safety of his mind and into the outside. "I don't want to make you worry."

Komachi furrowed her brows, pouting cutely but not pulling away from Hachiman's touch either.

"Just get together with one of your friends, literally just do your magic anywhere else."

Hachiman scoffed at the mere thought.

"I'm not ready to ask Saika out, my heart wouldn't take it."

Komachi scoffed too… Before glaring at the floor in confusion.

"…Saika-kun?"