Come back to FanFiction after 2 long years! This fic came out longer than expected, but I hope you won't feel regret reading my fanfic.

This wonderful novel and its characters belong to Watari-sensei.

Chapter 1

People say: "The eyes are the windows of one's soul." Looking at someone in the eye, one can vaguely perceive what kind of person is standing in front of them. It's like, if a person's personality is a novel, then their eyes are the summaries. You can even guess what they are thinking about at the moment.

I, Hikigaya Hachiman, however, don't find that saying much useful. When I talk to people, I rarely look at them in the eye. My full of DHA dead-fish eyes just graze others' for about 1 second, and then look away. Maybe my personality is unpredictable. Man, I'm so proud of myself, having such an interesting trait.

That said, if I could know exactly what people are thinking, my life would be much, much easier. I wouldn't have to waste my time doubting others because I knew what was running in their head. They would be like open books to me.

XXXXX

Summer afternoons were so annoying.

Although the month was May, it was so hot that I was glad I didn't get burned to ash. The time was half past five p.m now and despite that, the weather was like toying with me.

It was so annoying walking home in this hot atmosphere.

Many things were annoying.

For instance, the scene unfolding before my eyes at the moment.

In a playground, several kids were gathering around something. All of them were boys, and they were about ten years old. Each one of them had a rock in their hand and it looked like they were having fun throwing it at that "something".

I took a closer look. That something was a cat. While being thrown rocks at, it kept letting out pitiful sounds.

Those kids sure were having fun, huh.

Humans were that kind of creatures. They enjoyed bullying the weak, and felt blissful seeing someone suffer.

Normally, I would let them be without saying anything. A loner like me shouldn't involve with other people, or I would cause them trouble. But after taking some steps away, something slipped my mind.

That cat sure looked like Kamakura. And it resembled a certain individual…

"Hey, what are you doing!?" I shouted.

Tch, it was so out of character for me to do this kind of thing.

The kids stopped the moment they heard my voice. They all looked at my direction with a surprised look on their face. Shit, I was getting nervous.

"Cut it out!" I frowned at them.

"Eek!?"

They ended up shrieking.

Eh? Was my face that scary? Or was it because of my eyes? It seemed like the weather not only affected the mood but also the appearance too.

The kids scattered around like little ants. Wow, they were so fast. You guys should join the track and field club and had proper competitions OK?

After they were gone, the pitiful sounds coming from the cat also stopped. It seemed like the cat realized that I was the one who rescued it. It came to me and slowly licked my feet, expressing its thanks. I bent down and rubbed his tiny head. Aw, this cat was so cute~

Wait, was I acting like Yukinoshita here?

I stood up hurriedly and turned to leave. The cat, surprisingly, didn't follow me and just sat there watching me leaving. I just hoped that he didn't change his mind and came to my house later.

And did he have someone to feed him?

XXXXX

That evening, during the dinner consisting of only me and my sister Komachi, I told her about what had happened earlier. She bursted out laughing at my face and didn't believe me. Her attitude was so annoying but I still loved her. Hey, that was so high in Hachiman points. Tee hee~

After dinner, I studied and neatly went to sleep. Just about 10 minutes after I laid down, I heard a strange sound.

Eh?

Was someone here? A thief? I'd be screwed if that were true since I was such a weak and good-nature man.

Having strained my ears, I stayed unmoving on the bed. Then I heard a sound.

"Mew~"

Eh? A cat? Kamakura? As far as I was concerned, he had never once entered my room.

I got up from the bed and looked around the room. Then I saw a silhouette on the ground, next to my bed.

A cat was there. But not Kamakura.

It was the cat I saved this afternoon.

Why was it here? How did it get to my room? Through the window? Sure thing, the window was opened. Man, I was so careless.

I sighed and bent down looking at him.

"What are you doing here at this hour, little guy?" I asked him.

"Mew~" Of course that was his answer. It wasn't like I intended to talk to him. I just did that to calm my pounding heart from earlier.

Then suddenly, the cat leaped on my bed.

"Hey, don't you just get on someone else's bed like that-..huh?"

Under the moonlight, I noticed something was attached on his collar. After taking a closer look at him, I found a letter and a small box.

The letter was folded neatly. I read it with curiosity.

'Thank you for saving my precious friend this afternoon. I had him deliver you a present for your kindness."

So this cat was a delivery man huh? Quiet smart for a mysterious person. Or should I say suspicious? Well, I shouldn't dwell onto this any further. It was a gift for me anyway. Free goods are best stuffs.

The present box was next to the letter. I carefully detached it from the collar. The black box had somewhat a nice feel to it. I slowly opened the thing. Inside the box was a ring. It looked old(?), and it had an unique aura on it. The surface of the ring was carved a weird hexagram on it like in some cheap-looking fantasy movies. There was nothing noteworthy about the ring, but for some reason I felt tempted to wear it. I kept examine the ring for a while.

I should put on this ring tomorrow.

When my eyes finally escaped from my gift, I took a look around the room.

The cat was gone.

Did I focus on this thing that much?

I put the ring back in the box and left it on the table. I closed the window and went to bed with a throbbing chest.

XXXXX

Morning had come.

It was as usual, hot and tiring. But today something felt quite out of place.

My eyes met the black box on the desk. That was right. It was a proof that last night was not a dream. A cat was ordered to deliver me this as a present for saving it. That was reality. Right…

I opened the box and took a look at the weird ring inside. After a while, I decided to wear it on the middle finger of my right hand. It wasn't my style to wear accessories, but I got the feeling I would be lucky if I had it on. It fitted me to an odd degree. Then I felt shiver ran down my spine. What the hell, someone was badmouthing me? Did I become famous somehow? As if…

After all the preparations were completed, I headed downstairs to have breakfast made by my sister Komachi. Today we had toast, salad, omelet and coffee.

"Thanks for the meal." I looked at her and said.

"Thanks for the meal." She said.

'I'm so happy.'

Huh?

What was that?

It was when she was talking that I, for some reason, "knew" that she was happy. Normally I could guess it by looking at her, but this time was somehow different.

It was like I was reading her mind.

But it could just be my misinterpretation. I shouldn't think like this anymore.

We had the meal in silence and when we were done, I headed to school.

XXXXX

Today I arrived at the classroom rather later than usual, probably because I was in a daze for a while on the way to school. Came to think of it, I didn't remember the reason though, not that I cared. I was just in time to not receive Hiratsuka-sensei's iron fists, so I didn't get a chance to talk to Totsuka, my angel. Aw, that sucked…

The classes went by like any other days, but something felt out of place. When the teacher was lecturing about some problems, I already knew the answer before they finished.

It was like I was reading their minds.

This was the same thing happened this morning with Komachi. I felt a little doubtful now.

In break, I pretended to listen to music while observing people. When I looked at their face, I immediately knew what their conversations were about.

I wondered why?

Maybe I could deduce what they were feeling right now, but not to the extent of knowing the contain of their talks. Maybe I was more observant than usual.

After school, I grabbed my bag and went to Service Club room. I was forced to join this strange Club by Hiratsuka-sensei and had a weird competition with …a somewhat special individual.

The Club room was located on another building so it could take a while to walk there. On the way I kept avoiding people but strangely sometimes, I could know what the others were talking about without hearing them.

Finally arrived at the room, I opened the door and a girl was inside. She was always the first one to show up here everyday, like it was her daily routine. She was the president of Service Club, Yukinoshita Yukino. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever met, also the kind of superwoman who could do almost anything. Today she still sat near the window, occupied by a book.

"Yo." I greeted her.

"Good afternoon." She greeted back, also raising her face and looked at me for just a few seconds then back to read her book again. She was reading "A certain magical Kitty"…

Eh?

How did I know what she was reading? That was odd.

"Yuigahama isn't here yet?"

'She had an appointment with her friends so she would be late.' Umm…

"She had an appointment with her friends so she would be late."

Again, I had known the answer before it was voiced out. It was not like I heard a voice whispering in my head or anything, I just knew. That could be just a guess though. Yep, just a guess. There was no way I could read minds.

After those brief exchanges, I went to my chair and sat down. Yukinoshita continued with her book. She and I spent the time in silence. That was a norm between us loners because we didn't have anything to talk about. Loners tend to shut their mouths since they don't want to bother other people.

Now that I thought about it, it had been more than a year since I first met Yukinoshita. This girl didn't change much in the mean time, but I happened to discover many other sides of hers that nobody else knew about. Most of them were cute traits though.

I took a peek at her direction. She was the same beauty as ever. Her silky long black hair streamed down her back like a river. Her well portioned face was showing concentration. Her cheek was a little flushed and sometimes she smiled lightly, revealing the vampire like fangs under the pink lips. They were all cute features. It was safe to say that her face was flawless. And her eyes were gentle, those clear blue eyes like a cat's. I didn't want to admit this, but this girl sure had the most beautiful eyes among those of all the people I had ever met. Her eyes always spoke more than her mouth though.

Her posture reading a book was captivating me, but I managed to control myself to not show it.

'So Matou lost his memories while rescuing Kitty huh?' That was too bad for him, that unlucky guy.

Heh? I suddenly knew what she was reading right now. It wasn't like she was reading it out loud. I just knew.

It was then the door was banged open.

"Yahallo~"

Showed up at the door was a girl. She had chestnut hair tied into a bun, a cute face. Her beauty was a different type from Yukinoshita's. She was no doubt your everyday high school girl.

Yuigahama was another Service Club member besides me. She was Yukinoshita's best friend, or rather, the only friend. That was because our President was too much of an Ice Queen so most people didn't come close her.

After Yuigahama gave her daily stupid greeting which I didn't know its meanings, she quickly went to her usual seat close to Yukinoshita. But she stopped half way and directed her gaze onto me.

"Eh, Hikki, what is that on your hand? Isn't it a ring?"

'Are you trying to be fashionable?'

"No!" Why were you thinking like that, dummy.

"It's not a ring?"

'It looks like one.'

"This IS a ring. What I'm saying is that I'm not trying to be fashionable. This is just a gift."

"A gift?"

"Yeah"

'From who?'

Although I didn't really hear her ask who gave me the ring, I found myself unconsciously blurt out the story yesterday, about how I saved the cat. It wasn't like I was bragging, yeah…

Of course I didn't tell her that that cat brought the ring to me. It sounded stupid, so I said that it was sent by delivery.

After the story was told, it seemed like it took a while for Yuigahama to process it as she just stood there doing nothing. Geez, don't just stare at me like that, I'll get embarrassed.

'As I thought, he is a nice guy.' Yep, yep I was a nice guy. All loners are nice guys. Huh?

Just now I undoubtedly read Yuigahama's thoughts. There was no way that was my guess. Everything happened since morning now felt in place. I had doubts about it but I wasn't sure. But it was clear as day now. Why did I keep denying it until now, geez…

I actually could read people's mind.

Just when did this start? This morning. Were there any abnormal events occurring before that?

I stared at the ring. The hexagram on it once looked stupid, but now it seemed mysterious.

But read minds huh? Imagined how a supernatural power like this would prove its usefulness to me made me grin happily. Now I could safely cheat in examinations. Or I could find out others' secrets so that I could control them? I indulged in my imagination for a while. It was then….

"Your face is so creepy." Yukinoshita threw a fast ball at me. Don't just blatantly call other creepy hey you.

I looked at her.

'His dead fish eyes are twice more disgusting now. Not that I hate them though.'

So the eyes huh? I suddenly knew what she was thinking when I looked at her eyes. It wasn't like I heard her voice whispering in my head, I just knew. And thanks for not hating my eyes.

"Ahaha, it's true that he looks creepy…" Yuigahama, now sitting next to Yukinoshita, agreed with her.

Speaking of Yuigahama…

"Hey Yuigahama…"

"Hmm?"

Good, she was looking at my direction.

"Do you have someone you like?"

Silence…

Dead silence…

Yuigahama stared at me, her eyes opened wide like two crystal balls. Yukinoshita silently glared at me, her eyes were extremely hostile.

Did my body go wrong or the temperature of the room just dropped drastically?

'Why do you ask that kind of question, dummy!? Of course that's…you.'

So that was it.

"Wh, What are you saying, dummy!" Yuigahama screamed. It was true that the ball I threw was a little too fast for her.

"Nothing. Sorry" I brushed it off like nothing.

"Geez…" She sulked and then glued her face on her phone. Silence once again returned to the room.

I had doubts before, about Yuigahama's feelings.

Considering all her actions and attitude toward me, I always regarded them as nice girl acts. But all that was just me being delusional. Actually I wasn't such an idiot or harem main character to not notice about her love, I just unconsciously tried to deny it. However, those feelings she harbored was misplaced. It shouldn't be me, a guy like me.

Besides, as much as I didn't want to admit it, but… I… had someone I loved.

I couldn't return Yuigahama's love for me, although she loved a loser like me.

And at the same time I realized the danger of wearing this ring. It wasn't nice for a person to see through others like this.

However, somehow I didn't want to part with this ring.

At that moment…

"Yo, guys!"

A female suddenly barged into the room. She was my homeroom teacher, Hiratsuka-sensei, the lonely demon who shoved me into this club.

"Hikigaya, you are thinking something rude right?" She glared at me

So scary…

Yukinoshita sighed. It seemed she didn't bother reminding sensei to knock before entering the room anymore.

"What do you need, sensei?" She asked, bluntly.

"That's rude Yukinoshita. It's not like everytime I enter this room I have jobs for you guys."

It's the truth though, but I was too scared to point it out. I looked at her eyes. So she wanted us to find some kind of tools in the warehouse huh…

"Well, this time I have something to ask of you guys… Can you find the etc etc … in the warehouse for tomorrow afternoon? Actually it's a mess in there, it's too much of a trou- ahem, it takes too much time for me to find them, and I have an urgent business right now. So can I count on you guys?"

The truth was that she had a marriage interview tonight huh. Good for her, so I ignored the part she almost said it was too much of a trouble so she wanted to shove the task to us.

"Got it. Then we will find them for you." Yukinoshita said after she looked at me and Yuigahama to find approval.

After that, sensei dashed out of the room as fast as when she came in.

"I wonder what her urgent business is…" Yuigahama said, appeared a little bewilder by sensei's behavior.

"Who knows… Anyway, we should get going." Yukinoshita answered.

Since we thought that the search wouldn't last long, we left our bags in the club room. But that was a big mistake.

XXX

Half an hour later, we still couldn't find all the items. The room was not too big, but it was too dusty and dimly lit. We could hardly find anything like this. It would be easier with a flash light, or my cell phone. Yuigahama was the only one who brought her cell phone with her, but hers didn't have the flash light function. This sucked…

Suddenly, Yuigahama's phone rang. She answered the call.

"Yes…What!...I see…That's great then…Yeah…I'll be there."

Her expression changed rapidly during the call. Shocked, then sad, then relief, then sad again. Apparently, her mother got herself into an accident, but she wasn't injured badly. That was great.

"What's wrong, Yuigahama-san?" Yukinoshita asked, full of concern. Perceptive as always, huh.

"Well…My mother had an accident. But don't worry! There was no serious injury, just some scratches on her legs…" Yuigahama said dejectedly.

"Yuigahama-san… You can leave this to us. Although that man over there is unreliable, but we can handle the rest. Don't worry about us, go to your mother." Yukinoshita showed her concern for her friend, and didn't forget to jab at me.

"Ok... Sorry guys, but I have to leave first."

"It's okay. Bye" I said to her. She should be beside her family in times like this, yep.

Yuigahama then dashed out of the warehouse. She was so worry about her mother that her face was so pale. Well, that was a natural reaction though.

Now it was only me and Yukinoshita in this room. Just the two of us. Shit, I started to get nervous.

"Let's get this over with, then." She said and started rummaging around the room.

I followed her example, got rid of any funny idea that suddenly came to my mind.

It slowly became dark. Eventually, the room was shrouded by darkness to the point that we could hardly see anything now. Maybe it was about 7 p.m right now. Surprisingly, we spent another hour searching in this room after Yuigahama left. Yet, not only we weren't able to find all the items, we forgot about the time as well.

Realizing that it was late now, Yukinoshita said:

"Should we call it a day? We can continue searching tomorrow morning. Sensei needs those for the afternoon, so we don't have to finish the task today. It's dark anyway, we won't find anything like this."

"Right. I'm sooooo tired." This task was so troublesome. I wanted to have a bath now. Really.

We stood up and headed for the door. However, when we were close to the door, it suddenly closed with a loud BANG!, like someone violently slammed at it. I hoped that my eyes had deceived me, but I saw a cat shadow on the wall in the hallway before the door was slammed shut.

I frantically pushed open the door, but it was futile. It was strangely stuck, like something prevented the door from opening and as a result, I couldn't make it outside.

In other words, I was trapped in a dark room.

With Yukinoshita…

With Yukinoshita…

Shit, I couldn't let this wonderful fact get in my head. Think about my sister. Yeah, little sisters. They are the best. You literally don't need a wife when you have a little sister.

After calming myself, I turned to the door. I shouted and knocked on the door loudly but to no avail. Nobody could hear me from here. It was in the evening, and just about time for the guards' dinner. Furthermore, I and Yukinoshita left the phone in our bags, and our bags were left in the clubroom. This was a really bad situation, in many ways.

I looked at Yukinoshita. I didn't know what she was thinking right now because I couldn't see her eyes. She just stood there absentmindedly, as if her mind refused to accept the fact that we were trapped in here, this dark room.

But thinking about it, wasn't this some kind of love comedy situation? The main character and the heroine were somehow trapped in a dark room owing to the door mysteriously being unable to open. The heroine would be scared, and some kind of romantic events would occur? Woahhhhhh…

Well, it's not like I was expecting anything to happen, though. It was The Yukinoshita we were talking about here, right?

"W-Well…" I started to talk to her, but my voice came out a bit too loud due to my nervousness, which cause her to startle. "Let's just calm ourselves and sit down. It's not like we can do anything in this situation but wait for someone to realize that we're missing and look for us."

She stared at me blankly and silently sat down, leaning on a cardboard box. I sat next to her.

We spent the time in silence. But this was not the kind of comfortable silence in the clubroom. I felt kind of hard to breath. I decided to say something.

"Hey Yukinoshita…"

She silently turned her head my way. I realized that since we were trapped in here, she hadn't said a word.

The light in the room was out. The only source of light in this secluded space was the pale moonlight shone through small hole near the roof. But that was enough. Enough for me to make out her face, to see her eyes, her cold but beautiful blue eyes that always managed to capture me. Under the pale moonlight, she looked like a mysterious goddess, her long black hair that looked like it was reflecting the gentle light, her soft, white skin, her straight nose, her pink lips, all of them couldn't simply be described by the word "beautiful" right now. I lost in thought.

Then I suddenly knew. She felt scared right now. I was surprised.

Normally, I would be deceived by her composed face, her calm behavior, the image of a strong girl I got from her. I would think that she feared nothing, she faced everything head on.

But she was just a normal teenage girl. She had her cute hobbies, she liked cats, she blushed like any other girls. Behind her Ice Queen façade was a warm, kind-hearted girl who strived to help others, who didn't lie to others.

She wasn't an untouchable queen, she wasn't the unreachable flower on the mountain.

She wasn't a perfect superhuman.

She was a normal high school girl.

"Don't worry. I'm here with you." I said softly, as I moved closer to her.

She seemed surprised for a moment. However, she nodded lightly and grabbed my sleeve.

She had a habit of grabbing my sleeve, like when we met a dog in the mall, when we were on that train in the School Festival, or when we were on the ride in Destiny Land, and many other occasions. Now I realized that this action actually gave her a peace of mind.

But I wouldn't allow it today, this moment.

I summoned my courage and pulled out my hand, then swiftly grabbed her small hand, entwined our fingers. Her hand was so warm, so soft, so comfortable. Her blue eyes widened in shock, then she slowly closed her eyes and leaned against me. Her head was now rested on my shoulder. Wordlessly, heartily, we leaned on each other while holding hands tightly.

"When I was small…" suddenly, she said. Her lovely lips moved slightly. Her voice was so gentle and had a hint of nostalgia.

"When I was small, my sister and I often played hide-and-seek." Her sister, Haruno Yukinoshita, was a girl who seemed to be capable of anything. "One day, I hid in our house closet. My sister knew I was in there and locked the door. I was stuck in that dark and secluded space for 2 hours."

Woah, that was basically bullying right? Haruno-san sure had a twisted love for her cute sister huh… By the way Yukinon, Haruno-san was literally the source of all of weaknesses right?

"That's why, I always find it uncomfortable when I'm in a dark space."

"Ahahaha…" I couldn't find any words so I only smiled wryly. I imagined the image of little Yukinoshita, confined in a dark, solitude closet, crying desperately, begging for mercy.

So that's why… But…

"You are not alone. I'm with you, so there's nothing to be afraid of."

"That's why I'm afraid, good-for-nothing."

Ugh. Even in this situation, she didn't forget to mock me. I thought of that as cute, though.

I kind of wanted to hug her head. However, I lacked the courage to do so. Furthermore, we were not in that kind of relationship. At least not yet…

Recently, I always wondered one thing. Did Yukinoshita have feelings for me? That question kept appearing in my head whenever she behaved strangely. Yet I unconsciously discarded that possibility because I had always regarded her as someone so amazing, so perfect that she became unreachable. I must have thought that a loner like me, a pathetic guy like me couldn't get close to her. Nonetheless, that idolized image I once got was gradually shattered. Yukinoshita Yukino was just a normal high school girl you could find anywhere, although the fact that she was an excellent girl was undeniable.

The silence between us went on for a while. I literally lost the sense of time when I was with her like this. I suddenly wanted to know what she was thinking right now. I meant, looked at us. We must look like a couple, holding hands and leaning on each other cozily. I wondered what Yukinoshita felt.

I turned my head to face hers. Our eyes locked. Her blue seemed like shining under the moonlight, so dazzling. And I knew it.

I knew that I wasn't the only one feeling blissful at the moment. I decided to tell her.

"Hey Yukinoshita…"

"I love you."

Her beautiful eyes opened wide. Her charming lips shook.

"Do you love me?" How courageous of me to ask The Ice Queen this. I basically had nothing to lose.

"W-Wha… What are you saying?" She stuttered. Her usual composed face wasn't able to conceal the surprise.

"I said: Do you love me?, Yukinoshita."

"L-Love… L-Like I can l-love a guy like you!"

What's with the tsundere act? I had to be more serious.

"I really love you, Yukinoshita. I want to go out with you."

So out of character of me. Maybe because of this ring I was wearing. Maybe I had already known how she felt and I just wanted to establish it. I knew it was unfair.

Like I care.

The most important thing was that I fell in love deeply with this wonderful girl and I was given the opportunity to tell her how I felt.

I looked at Yukinoshita. It could be said that I was glaring at her. That was how serious I was.

Her face had already turned red earlier, and right now it looked like it was ready to explode.

Under my pressure, Yukinoshita lowered her head. And she lightly nodded. Then she muttered

"I-I l-love you, too…"

Her voice was so frail that it almost escaped my ear. However, I felt that that was such a beautiful voice that I would remember for the rest of my life.

Perhaps it was due to the embarrassment, Yukinoshita didn't say anything else. I felt her small and warm hand in mine again. Our head touched once more. The sound of heartbeat could be heard, but I didn't that was her heart that was beating so fast, or mine, or both of ours.

End of the 1st chaper.