I wrote this a while ago and didn't really know when the perfect time to upload it was so I just decided to do it now since I'm not really going to get a chance to write too often from now. Hachiman might be a bit OOC in this fic but I really want him to take the lead and not act like a simp, so yeah.

P.S. To everyone living in COVID-19 affected area, I truly wish you health and hope you make it through. My thoughts and prayers go out to you all.

1

Don't do that. Don't give me hope.

I sighed as I stepped through the sliding doors of the convenience store. So much to do. So much to plan. And at the end of it all, what do I get? Nothing… BUT! That's life, isn't it? You slave away every day, whether it's at school, or at work, for your whole life and at the end of it all, what do you get?

Death. Simple and sweet. That's all.

So then why? Why do we go on? For the progress of humanity? I'm certainly not helping on that front. Neither is the rest of the 95% of the world's population. There are a select few humans on Earth who are actively or passively working on pushing humanity beyond its limits.

People like Elon Musk who is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, James Thompson and Jeffrey Jones who were the ones who started the whole stem cell research branch, Elizabeth Blackburn and Jack Szostak who identified telomerase (why humans age), Charles Babbage and Alan Turing who basically invented the first computer and thousands of others like these once-in-a-lifetime geniuses. They are the ones at the forefront of humanity's advancement.

So, what do the others do? People like you and me. How do we help the species?

I guess you could argue that people like us uphold the economy that helps the geniuses do their work… but even then, we really don't need a lot of people like us. Maybe a couple billion, or even a few hundred million would be enough… but 7.5 billion? Hah. The only significant contribution that I can think of that the normal human populace is making is that when we pass down our genes, a rare lucky bunch unknowingly pass down some genes which have a couple of mutations that will help humans evolve further in the future.

But even still, those are way far and few in between… so… what's the point of living on? Why do we suffer this way? Why do we go through this useless cycle of life? We know we're going to die. And one death of a common man certainly isn't going to make a big difference in this world. So why does it matter if I die now… or when I'm 100?

I shook my head, freeing myself of those depressing thoughts. Let's forget it for now. No point in having an existential crisis when I'm actually supposed to be finding a solution for Tobe's confession to go over smoothly.

Heh, it's kind of funny how on one hand we have people trying to make humans biologically immortal or find a way to travel across the universe, and on the other hand, we have a high school kid requesting another high school kid to help him confess to the girl he likes while the girl in question wants to keep their group as it is. What a messed-up world.

Oh look, that looks like a cool magazine. My tired legs lugged me over to the corner of the convenience store as I inspected the stand.

"Hikio?" A voice stopped me from reaching for the book.

"Hm?" I looked over to my side, not that I really needed to. There's only one person who calls me that and only one person whose voice is as filled with confidence as hers is.

Miura kept her eyes on her own magazine as she spoke. "Listen, what exactly are you guys up to? Could you stop messing with Ebina?" Her mouth twisted into a small scowl.

Wha… Did she really not know? Hah! Some friend she is. I reached over and plucked the magazine I was looking at previously. Science Daily. Yes, this should keep me interested… for the time being at least.

"Are you listening?" she asked with more hostility in her voice.

"I'm listening," I said quietly, wanting her to shut up. "And we're not messing with her-,"

"Yes, you are," she interrupted. "It's pretty obvious." I looked at her once more. As annoying as she was, I really can't deny that she's actually beautiful. Too bad her personality was so shitty. I mentally scoffed as a voice in my head spoke up, Not like you'd have a chance with her even if her personality was any better. Well, yeah. That's true too. No point in mulling over impossibilities. She slammed her own magazine shut and narrowed her eyes. "It's a nuisance, you know."

"Is it?" I asked half-heartedly. Might as well just tell her the truth so she gets off my back. "Well, there's someone telling us to do it. Doesn't hurt you or anything so why do you care?"

"Huh!?" she said with increased aggression. "It's about to hurt me." THAT certainly piques my interest. "If you're with Yui, you should know about Ebina," she said.

I raised an eyebrow at what she was implying. Knowing her, she's probably doing it on purpose just to call me gross when I take it the wrong way. Let's see, to humour her, or not to humour her? As I was about to say something, a reflection caught my eye. Just behind me, two people entered the convenience store. Both had their hoods up, hands in their pocket, and one of each of their pockets was bulging. All the signs of an armed robbery were there. That, or just crackheads, but… I really didn't wanna try my luck. It's been shitty my whole life. Why would it change now?

What should I do? Should I run before they decide to pull out their weapons? Should I call the police and stay so they can track my phone's location and come to the store? "Oi, Hikio," I heard come from beside me and my heart clenched. SHIT! How the hell did I forget about her!? And I'm not even going to have a snowball's chance in hell in getting her out without attracting attention. Not to mention the possibility of these guys wanting to sexually assault her. Goddammit. "Hikio!" she said a bit more loudly.

"Be quiet!" I said hissed.

"Hah!?"

"Miura!" I whisper-shouted. "The two men who just entered are most likely planning on robbing the place. Let's get out of here before anything happens."

"What?" She asked incredulously. "How do you know that?" she asked. Her head turned to look at them before I could stop her.

"Stop! Don't look at them!" I warned a little too late. Immediately both men nodded to each other and jumped into action. One of them pulled out a long knife – almost like a combat dagger – and the other one pulled out a pistol. It didn't look like much and was pretty small, but in this case, size didn't matter. It could still blow both our brains out. Hehe… size… blow… okay, not the time for a dirty joke.

"H-Hikio!" Miura gasped and grabbed my arm, trying to hide behind me. Both of us turned towards the armed criminals.

"I told you so," I said. Yes, I'm petty. Sue me.

"Oy!" The man with the gun shouted, pointing it at the store clerk whose eyes just went wide and instantly started trembling. "Give me all the money in the register!"

I removed my phone from my pocket and held it behind me. Without looking at it, I expertly maneuvered my fingers and dialled '110'. As I felt the phone's headset speaker vibrate a little bit, my thumb slid against another button, silencing it while still letting the call go on. Now, the only problem was to hide the phone. I could slide it under the magazine rack but that'd be too obvious. I could pass it to Miura and tell her to subtly put it behind one of the magazines but… I don't think I can trust her to do it. Only one option left. Hah… I knew I was going to regret this later, but…

I lifted my arm and slid it into my pants. My fingers found my buttcrack and slid the phone between it as far as it could go. (A/N: I know what you're going to say. Just keep reading, okay?)

"Ye-Yes! Just please don't shoot," the clerk said as he removed the drawer and started taking out the money.

While that was happening, the second guy with the dagger made his way towards us. "Hikio, do something!" Miura said, on the verge of tears. She clutched my arm tighter and tried to hide behind me.

"Hey! You two!" The man said as he came closer and pointed the dagger at us both. "Give me your phones and wallet now!" Exactly what I expected.

"Hey man," I said smiling amicably. "We'll do everything you ask. How about you just put the dagger down?"

"Shut up! Phones and wallets! NOW!" he bellowed, making Miura shrink back even further as she started crying.

"H-Hikio," she said, her voice cracking.

"Alright, alright!" I said, trying to calm the knife-wielder. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. "Bro," I said, trying to establish a rapport with the knife-wielding guy. "Can I please just give you the money? I really need to keep my ID and stuff or else I'm going to have to go get them again. You know how much trouble that is. Right?"

"Tch," he clicked his tongue. "Fine, whatever. Do it in front of me!" he shouted as an intimidation tactic.

"Thank you," I said, as I opened my wallet and took out everything. "Look," I said, drawing his attention to my hands. "I'm just going to take out my ID, health insurance card, and learner's driving license. I'll give you everything else. Even my," I clenched my teeth, regretting what I had to do. "Even my Maxx Coffee gift card."

The guy snatched the money and the gift card out of my hands and put it into his pocket. "Your phone!" he demanded.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't bring one," I said, raising my hands.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Suddenly he lifted the knife to my throat, making me flinch and tilt my head up. "Empty your pockets," he commanded.

"T-They're already empty!" I said instantly. "You can check."

He looked at me for a minute before he moved. His hand tapped my jacket pockets, making sure I didn't have anything in them. Then he moved to my pants pockets, lightly tapping them. He tapped the right one and a slight jingling noise was heard. Before he could speak, I exclaimed, "They're just my hotel room keys!" They weren't really my hotel room keys. They were my house keys.

He reached into my pocket, unintentionally bringing the knife dangerously close to my carotid artery and pulled out a couple of keys on a keychain. "Hmm," he nodded and flicked the keys away. Then he moved onto Miura. "You! Phone and purse!"

"I-I left them in the hotel room. Please, don't hurt me," Miura said meekly and for a second I wondered who other than myself had ever heard her like that.

The man narrowed his eyes in anger and growled. His eyes were bloodshot, signifying that he was probably on some kind of a drug. "I," I started before he could do anything. "I can vouch for her. She only came out here to read some magazines and get away from all the people. She wasn't going to buy anything," I lied expertly. "Look, I'll even empty her pockets for you, okay?"

The knife man's lips pulled back in a snarl and he nodded impatiently. I moved to reach Miura's jacket pockets and slid my hand in one of them.

I gulped and paused for a second before I started mentally screaming. THIS IDIOT! I thought as my hand touched the familiar cool plastic of a phone case. SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! WHAT DO I DO!? If this guy finds out, he'll definitely kill us both. His judgement is impaired since he's on drugs. He won't even hesitate!

Okay… time to gamble. I only watched this in Now You See Me 2, but I sure as fucking hell hope Dave Franco didn't lie to us all! I slid my hand even deeper and gripped the farther side of the phone with my middle and ring finger while simultaneously pinching the inside of her pocket with my thumb and index finger. My middle finger slid the phone out and straight into my own jacket's sleeve. At the same time, I pulled out my hand, also pulling out the pocket. "See?" I asked, hoping my sweat wasn't showing as much.

"Hng," he grunted. "Other pocket."

I moved to her other side and thankfully, this time there was nothing in there. Next were her pants pockets and there being nothing in there too, the man was pleased. As the store clerk was finishing up putting the money into the bag, lights flashed from the outside, coupled with sirens. "SHIT!" the man with the gun shouted. "How did they know!?"

"I don't know! Neither of these two have any phones on them!" the knife guy said.

"Dammit!" the gun guy shouted back and went silent, contemplating further actions. After a full minute, he spoke again. "We'll take hostages."

I felt like this was the best time to intervene. I quickly moved in front of Miura once more, sliding her phone into one of her jacket pockets. "E-Excuse me?" I asked meekly, raising my hand as if I was in a classroom.

Both the robbers' heads whipped towards me, glaring holes into my eyes.

"I'm sorry, may I just say something?" I asked.

"What!?" the gun guy – who seemed like the leader – said.

"Alright, hear me out okay?" I started. "The police are here, right?"

"Yeah, so? Did you call them!?" the knife guy shouted, coming towards me.

"NO! NO! No, I didn't!" I said urgently. "I'm just saying that if the police are here, that means that they've probably got this whole place surrounded, right?"

"Kenji, wait," the gun guy said to his partner. "Keep speaking, kid."

"Right, so, it an amazing idea for you to have a hostage, really, but I just had another idea for you guys."

The gun guy squinted his eyes suspiciously, before asking, "what is it?"

"Well, you see how you have three hostages right now? Why not just have one?" I asked.

The two men looked at each other and burst out laughing. "What the hell? You stupid or something kid? The more hostages the better."

I smirked, though it probably looked gross on me. "Ah, but is that really true?" I asked, making them stop laughing. "More hostages mean that the police will make an even greater effort to free them – not to mention there's a woman here. Also, you guys will have to keep a closer eye on all three of us and won't be able to focus on thinking of a proper way to get out of here. It will also give us a greater chance of being able to devise something to escape. Not to mention that having all three of us means that we have a chance, no matter how slim, of overpowering you two. And what's worse? In case this fails, you'll be held responsible for three hostages in court which will only serve to make your sentence worse." Bullshit. Horseshit. Absolute unicorn-shit! There is no way these guys would believe this. I'm going to die here. Oh god…

The two men looked at each other and pondered over my statement. Finally, the gun guy asked. "Okay, that's a fair point. But what do you get out of this? Why are you telling us this?"

Okay, never mind. They're idiots. This stupid, crazy plan might actually just work. "I just want my friend here to be safe," I said, mentally wincing at how Miura was going to call me gross and probably punch me for calling her 'my friend'. "Please, just let her go, and I promise you I will do everything you tell me."

"Hmm," the gun guy hummed. "Alright, so you want me to let you and her go and take this guy hostage only?"

Oh, what a sweet deal I got… But this won't do.

"No," I answered immediately. This was an amazing chance to get away but then the police would lose their only source of information to the inside: my phone call. "I want you to let her and the clerk go. Keep me here."

"Huh!?" the knife guy exclaimed, not expecting that answer.

"Why?" the gun guy asked.

"Because," I said and choked up unintentionally. Hell, I didn't even have to act this part out. Even if I had known this for the longest time, saying this out loud really did hit too hard, too close to home. And what was worse was that I knew that the statement was 100% true. "Because no one will miss me if I'm gone," I said, my voice almost cracking up.

Fukin' hell man. Whenever I've been sad, I've always tried to cheer myself up by thinking, 'at least I still have family'. When that didn't work, I've tried to toughen myself by telling myself, 'there are children out there in El Salvador who work fourteen hours in the mud collecting curiles and forcibly eating pills that keep them awake, in Tanzania who work in mines for twelve hours a day at the age of eleven, in Cambodia working in brick factories at the age of thirteen, in Ukraine being sold off to sex traffickers, in Brazil being forced to smuggle drugs across borders, in Libya and Syria being forced to strap a bomb on their chest and blow up marketplaces, in East Africa being forced to kill their own parents and joining terror groups and you care about what!? Not having friends!?'. In the worst-case scenario, I tell myself, 'embrace the suck.' That usually does it.

But never have I ever really spoken out loud – or even thought deeply about how absolutely, pathetically unwanted I am. Now that I think back on it,

Silence descended upon us like a heavy blanket. "Bro, you okay?" the knife guy asked, feeling sorry for me.

I sniffled and nodded. "I- yeah. Uh, yeah, I'm alright. Hehe," I chuckled darkly. "But please, just let them go. I'll stay here."

The two men looked at each other before nodding. "Yeah, okay. You two, get out!" the gun guy ordered.

"H-Hikio," Miura started but I cut her off before she blew her chance to get away.

"Go, Miura," I spoke, not turning to look at her, lest she sees my tears. "And if I don't make it back alive, please thank Hiratsuka-sensei for me… for all that she's done for me. Oh! Also, tell my little sister that I love her. I always will," I finished and nudged/pushed her towards the door.

"Hikio!" she tried again.

"Go, Miura!" I said more forcefully. As I looked at her, I saw that she also had a steady stream of tears rolling down her cheeks. "GO!" I said and she finally made her way to the exit from where the store clerk had already left.

"Heh," I chuckled after Miura finally left. "Looks like it's just you and me, boys," I said, as I laid down on the ground, trying to not let my phone fall out of my ass. I wiped the tears from my eyes and relaxed. I might die, I might not. Either way, I didn't really mind.

"What do you suppose we do now, kid? Got any ideas for us?" the gun guy asked me.

I turned a lazy eye towards him and contemplated answering. If this was me, I'd probably get away from the windows in case the police are using snipers, use the hostage as a meat shield, negotiate with the police to have a car with a full fuel tank and a boat ready at a dock near the sea, and at least try to make it out to international waters. But no point in helping these guys. "Not really. The police are probably bringing out snipers and getting a SWAT team ready. If you want to escape with your lives, the only real choice here is to surrender. Or, you can just use me as a bargaining chip but… there's something I didn't tell you," I said, my mind going a mile a minute, working and discarding scenarios.

"What?" both of them said in unison with barely reigned hostility.

"Well… long story short: I'm a bad kid. A really, really, bad one. I've gotten suspended multiple times. I've been to juvey multiple times too. For armed robbery, attempted arson, bullying, a ton of other things. Using me as a bargaining chip really won't work," I said, hoping to gods that they buy it. They bought my other plan; why not this one too? "They'll probably storm this place, guns blazing and blame one of you guys in case the police accidentally shot and killed me," I finished.

"YOU BITCH!" The knife guy yelled out and with a speed that a guy his size shouldn't possess, he kicked me right in the abdomen.

"Augh!" I coughed as I rolled over. "Wait!" My shout came out raspy. "I still have one more way."

"Shut up!" the guy screamed again and kicked me over and over. The stomach, the face, the joints; he kicked every place I could possibly think of. These bruises weren't going to go away easily.

"Wait, please!" I begged.

"Stop," the gun guy said, and the rain of pain stopped. "Speak," he ordered me, "and if I don't like your idea this time, you're going straight to heaven."

"Hell," I corrected him on instinct. I wiped the blood off my face. "But I'll talk. What I was going to say was that if you send me out through the front and you guys get out from the back, they're going to be too busy with caring for me and it'll give you a few precious moments to escape."

This SHOULD work. It wasn't even that bad of a plan, save for the part where earlier I told them that they were probably surrounded on all sides. Let's see if they remember that.

A solid fifteen minutes passed with where the two guys pondered over their options and the police kept shouting at them to surrender using a megaphone. I merely laid back down and tried to go to sleep. The pain I was feeling was too much.

...

"Alright kid," the gun guy called me after a while. He nodded. "Go. We'll get out from the window in the washroom."

I nodded back. "Ready?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied, and the two guys made their way to the back as I started walking to the store's exit. Before I reached, I quickly got my phone out and put it in my pocket. Ugh, I'm gonna need a new one for sure.

The door slid open as I got near it and immediately, I was bombarded with shouts of "Hands in the air!" and "Get on the ground!" and guns of all kinds were pointed at me. I silently but swiftly followed instructions, not wanting to get shot. Police officers and SWAT team members made their way towards me and checked me all over, making sure I didn't have any weapons on my person. Quickly after that, I was hauled to my feet and taken to the paramedics.

"Hikigaya!" I heard a shout from somewhere. I turned my head, only to see a concerned Hiratsuka-sensei rushing towards me with an even more worried Miura hot on her heels.

"Yo, sensei," I greeted lazily as usual.

"Hikigaya, are you okay?" she asked worriedly as she started to check me over.

I chuckled, feeling happy that at least there was someone worried enough about me to ask about my health. "Sensei," I spoke in an amused tone. "I not really okay, but that's what the paramedics are here for, you know?"

"R-Right," Hiratsuka-sensei said with a blush, backing off and letting the doctors check up on my wounds. She still stayed right there by my side, not budging even an inch.

"Hikio," I heard a whisper calling out to me. My eyes panned over to look at Miura. Was she okay? Was she also treated roughly by the police? Not that I fault them or anything. They did what they're trained to do. I just wonder if she's hurt.

"Are you okay, Miura?" I asked, genuinely concerned for her. Not everyone is as mentally tough as I am, and this might have actually scarred her for life. "Did you get hurt anywhere?"

Her lip quivered as she looked at me with a complicated expression. "Baka," she whispered, averting her eyes. Did I… offend her somehow? "I'm fine," she said, shaking her head and taking a deep breath. "More importantly," she continued. "Why did you say that in the store?"

Huh? "Say what?"

"That no one would care if you died."

Hiratsuka-sensei looked at me with wide eyes. "Hikigaya…"

I sighed. "Because it's at least partially true," I said. No point in lying now. "And to make the two guys believe me and take pity on me."

Both the women were quiet, looking at me with an indecipherable expression. I couldn't understand because no one had ever looked at me like that before.

"Well," I said as the silence got a bit too awkward for me. "At least it worked, right? That's all that matters." In the corner of my eye, I saw the two men being escorted to a police cruiser in handcuffs. Good. I was able to help.

"Hikigaya-san," one of the paramedics said. "You have a lot of bruises all over your body but nothing too serious. All injuries should be healed within a few weeks, but we can still take you to the hospital if you'd like."

"No," I said immediately. "Don't bother. I'm fine with letting it heal over time."

"Very well then," she said, passing me a couple of forms. "Please sign here, and here," she asked to which I complied.

After finishing up all the procedures – where they also gave me an ointment to regularly apply on my injuries, Miura, Hiratsuka-sensei, and I walked back to the car that she had rented out in awkward silence. Halfway through the drive back, sensei finally spoke up. "Hikigaya."

"Yeah?"

"You're sleeping with me, in my room tonight," she said in a no-nonsense voice. My cheeks heated up a little bit at the insinuation but quickly realized that she was probably only doing it out of pity. I knew there was no point in arguing.

Still, "Why?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Because I need to keep a watch on you in case your health deteriorates," she said.

"I'll be fine, sensei," I protested but was quickly cut off by her.

"Hikigaya," she said in a stern voice.

"Hah…" I sighed. "Fine."

"Good."

The rest of the trip was silent, with Miura shooting me glances every now and then and chewing her lip. Calm down, woman. How much dry skin do you even have on there? But still… I wonder how this affected her.

...

We entered the hotel and were immediately greeted by Yuigahama and Yukioshita. "Hikki!" Yuigahama cried out and instantly ran up to me. Too close! Yuigahama! You're way too close! I mentally screamed as I felt her boobs squish against my arm. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did you get shot?" she asked in succession.

"Sort of, yes, and no," I answered each question respectively. "If I was shot, I would be in the hospital right now."

"O-oh, yeah," Yuigahama said as she smiled, half-relieved, half-embarrassed. "Still, I'm glad to see you're not hurt too badly. Right, Yukinon?"

Yukinoshita smiled. "Yes, Yuigahama-san. It seems Hikigaya-kun's rotten eyes are useful for scaring away the degenerates at least."

Really? "Really, Yukinoshita?" I asked. "You're really gonna act like you weren't worried about me? I know you missed me," I said with a smirk.

Yukinoshita smiled even wider and dangerously. "Ara, it seems that the rottenness had spread from your eyes to your brain also."

"Probably," I replied, defaulting to my self-deprecating jokes before turning to Hiratsuka-sensei. "Sensei, can we go?"

"Yes, Hikigaya," she answered. "My room is just down the hall to the right, second door on the left."

"Your… room? Sensei?" Yuigahama asked suspiciously. She can be surprisingly sharp at times.

"Hikigaya will be sleeping in my room tonight," Hiratsuka-sensei said, quickly adding, "in case something happens to him in his sleep. After all, he has been through a traumatic experience just hours ago."

I scoffed. Traumatic experience? Yeah, sure. This was baby food compared to what I've been through.

"Alright, Hikigaya," sensei said and tapped my shoulder.

"Ow!" I unintentionally said a bit loudly as Hiratsuka-sensei had touched a sore spot. She snatched her hand back as if it had touched lava and started apologizing.

"Oh god! Hikigaya! I'm so sorry!" she said over and over again, while the other three girls were also fussing over me. Had it been any other time, I probably would've felt good and incredibly lucky to have four beautiful women worrying about me, but at the moment, I just wanted to sleep.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I said, waving my hands to stop them. "The paramedics just told me to change these bandages after two hours and apply some of this ointment." I held up a small box. "That's probably why I'm starting to get sore now."

"Right," Hiratsuka-sensei said. "Let's go to my room. I'll help you change the bandages there." I nodded with assent. "And the rest of you," she ordered, turning to the other three. "Go to sleep."

"But sensei, we can help too!" Yuigahama protested instantly.

"I agree, Hiratsuka-sensei," Yukinoshita spoke up. "I believe it would be easier with more people."

"And I want to help too," Miura said meekly. "I mean, it's sort of my fault that this happened to you."

Hiratsuka-sensei's eyes narrowed at her statement, but she didn't say anything. With an almost imperceptible nod, we all moved to her room.

...

"Sit on the bed Hikigaya," sensei commanded, and I followed. "Yuigahama, get a pan from the kitchen and fill it with hot water. Yukinoshita, get some towels from the washroom." The two nodded and immediately went off to their assigned duties. "Miura."

"Yes, sensei?" Miura asked warily.

"I want you to tell me what exactly you meant when you said this was your fault," Sensei said with a serious face.

Miura went stiff before looking down in shame. "I…" she started guiltily. "Hikio told me not to look at the two men that entered the store… but I still did. If I hadn't, they probably would've let us leave," she said. I could tell she was feeling extremely guilty. Hell, even I could almost feel it from all the way over here…

But still, she needed a reality check, and this was the perfect time for it. "What the fuck were you thinking?" I asked with as venomous a voice as possible. Miura visibly flinched back, and Hiratsuka-sensei gaped. "We had a knife, inches away from us, the guy was entirely ready to kill us, and you still lied about having a phone! Not to mention the fact that you didn't even think about how you would save your ass had you been discovered! What the hell is wrong with you!? You had both our lives in your hands, and you were ready to throw them away! For what!?" I asked.

Sometime during my rant, Miura had started sobbing. "I-I had some p-pictures of me and Hayato on there. I didn't want to lose them," she said between breaths

You've gotta be shitting me. "You were ready to get killed…" I repeated slowly. "Because you didn't want to lose some pictures you had of you and a guy that couldn't care less about you?"

Miura's head whipped up at my words. Eyes wide and mouth agape. "W-What?" she stammered.

"Hayato doesn't give a shit about you," I said bluntly.

"Y-yes, he does!" she protested, and I cut her off again.

"Has he ever talked about the future with you?" I asked. Miura stared at me. "Answer me!" I said, grinding my teeth.

"No," she said softly.

"Has he ever talked to you about his family?" I asked again.

"N-No," she answered again.

"Has he ever asked you how you were doing and actually cared about your answer? Has he ever heard you rant about something patiently?" I asked, recalling from a magazine I read in middle school that this was one of the things a good boyfriend should do.

She stared at me. I was sure I had thrown her off her whole life path. But the time for a fun life was over. "No," Miura whispered after a while.

"Exactly. Is that guy you were willing to throw your life away for?"

Once more, Miura looked down, silent as a ghost. Yes, I might have been a bit harsh, but even sensei know things couldn't continue like this. That's why she didn't stop me. Finally, after a long while, she wiped her tears away and did something I never in my wildest dreams expected from her. She took a deep breath and bowed at 90 degrees towards me. "I'm sorry. I'm very, very, sorry. You are correct; I acted without thinking. Please let me know how I can make it up to you."

I blinked, my brain struggling to process what was happening. Before anything could happen, my body moved as if on autopilot. I made my way towards her and gripped her shoulders, bringing her up to a standing position. "Please don't do that," I said sternly. She looked at me, our faces less than half a foot apart. "What's happened has happened," I continued. "We can't change the past. All we can do is learn from it and make sure to be more careful in the future," I finished, not noticing that my hands were still on her shoulders.

Miura's eyes widened a bit before she nodded resolutely. "Thank you, Hikigaya."

I nodded, keeping my face expressionless. No point in ruining the moment with my ugly smile. "No problem. It's my job, after all," I said sardonically and walked back to where sensei was seated and watching us with an amused expression on her face.

"What do you mean, 'it's your job'?" Miura asked.

I turned back towards her, pointing to myself with my thumb. "Service club, remember?" I said, my lips involuntarily twitching into a smile. Great, I just went ahead and ruined it.

Before Miura could say anything or react to the statement, I turned back, not watching to see her disgusted face. Luckily for me, it was then that Yuigahama and Yukinoshita came back to the room. "Sensei! We got everything you asked for!" the airhead said cheerfully.

"Great. Keep the pan here," sensei directed, "And give me the towels. Hikigaya, take off your shirt."

"What?"

"Take off your shirt," she said again. "We need to reapply the ointment."

"But sensei," I said, gesturing around me, trying to convey that there are girls in the room. She seemed to get my point.

"Ah, right! Yuigahama, Miura, help him take off his shirt." NOT WHAT I MEANT, SENSEI!

"Eh? S-Sure," Yuigahama said and got beside me whereas Miura merely nodded.

"Wait, wait, I can do it myself," I complained, shaking my arms for them to back off. Slowly, I went through the motions of removing my slightly torn and bloody t-shirt, wincing at times. Sensei's patience seemed to run thin and she scolded me once more.

"See? It's hurting you. Here, let me help," she said and abruptly started unclothing me, unaware of the massive blushes on the three other girls' faces.

"S-Sensei…" I weakly protested, knowing I wasn't going to get my way. Eventually, it came off and the bloody bandages were laid bare for everyone to see.

Once more, silence descended on us like a cold blanket. My eyes scanned the women in the room. Sensei's mouth hung loosely, and her eyes held a small amount of fear in them, while the three girls meekly looked at me with conflicted expressions. Miura's looked the guiltiest of them all, but that was probably because of my rant. "Shit," Hiratsuka-sensei swore, her face transforming into an even guiltier look. "I'm sorry, Hikigaya," she said.

"Huh? Why?" I asked, truly confused at why she was apologizing to me.

"You are supposed to be my responsibility for this trip. This is unacceptable," she said, berating herself.

"Sensei," I said, rubbing my temples, not to stop a headache, but to compose myself. No one had ever said something like this to me. Forgive me for getting just a bit emotional. "As I said to Miura, it's in the past. All we can do now is make sure to take precautions in the future, right?"

She stayed silent for a while before nodding, conviction palpable in her eyes. "Right. I'll take care of you in the future," she said.

"Eh?/Huh?/Hmm?/What?" the remaining four voiced simultaneously.

Sensei raised her eyebrow in confusion before finally realizing what she had said. Her visage instantly turning a new shade of red I had never seen before, followed by some incoherent stammering. "N-NO! That's not what I meant! I-I mean, n-not that I would mind, but that's not what I specifically meant. T-Though if you want-,"

"Sensei," I cut her off, raising one of my arms. The other one was busy covering my own massive blush. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?" I asked.

"R-Right! Let's take off your bandages," she said, sitting on one side of me and directing Yukinoshita to sit on the other side. Slowly, both of them started unravelling the bloody ribbons while Miura soaked the towels in hot water and Yuigahama watched.

As the bandages started to come off, sensei and both the service club members once more gaped, while Miura gasped, covering her mouth. I looked down at myself and even I had to admit I looked pretty bad. Not as bad as when I got beat up in middle school, but still.

"It's alright," I said, breaking them out of their stupor. "I've been through worse."

Crap. On second thought, I might've just made it worse. Dammit, I'm so stupid.

"What? When? How?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked with an intense glare.

I didn't reply, opting to avert my eyes and look down instead. No point in making it even worse than it already was.

"Hikigaya," she called out to me. I turned my head up, my cold dead eyes boring into her own beautiful violet ones. "Tell me when."

I looked down once more, shaking my head in denial.

"Dammit, Hikigaya, I'm here to help."

"I know that."

"Then talk to me. I can send the girls out if you'd like."

"No. That won't make a difference."

"It's unhealthy to keep it all bottled in," she tried.

"It's unhealthy to smoke. Yet, you still do it."

I looked up again, staring intensely into her eyes. For a few seconds, neither of us budged. Then finally, after what seemed like an eternity, sensei caved. She moved slowly, wiping my body with the wet towels. Once done, she took the ointment, applying some on her fingers and rubbed it gently on my back. Seeing her, the rest also moved, Yukinoshita opted for my left arm, Yuigahama, my right, and Miura my face and chest.

The procedure continued in silence, only broken by my occasional soft hisses when a bit too much pressure was applied somewhere, followed by a quick apology from one of the girls.

Hiratsuka-sensei pulled out a roll of bandages once the application of the ointment was finished and passed it to one of the girls. I didn't know who. I was too busy replaying memories of my middle school days. The kicks… the punches… the juice and dirty water being poured on me… the soccer ball being kicked at my groin… the snowballs with rocks hidden inside them. All the memories that I had once suppressed came flooding back like a broken dam. I took deep breaths to calm myself. It wouldn't do anyone any good for me to have a panic attack now.

"Hikigaya!" my name being called brought me back to the land of the living.

"Huh?" I said, looking up.

"Hikigaya?" came the voice again and I looked at sensei. "Are you okay?" she asked with genuine concern in her eyes.

"Am I? Uh… yeah… I'm fine," I said.

"Are you? Because you were glaring a hole in the floor just now," she said.

Well, shit. What was I supposed to say to that? I merely looked back down and answered, "Sorry."

"It's alright," sensei said softly. "We're finished. Let's get you to bed."

"Right," I replied, my mind going back on autopilot.

"You girls should go to sleep too," the older woman said commandingly.

"Yes, sensei," Yukinoshita said, standing up to leave. "Goodnight, Hikigaya-kun. Take care."

"Bye, Hikki! Sleep well!" Yuigahama also said, following Yukinoshita.

"'Night," I replied blandly, standing up to go to bed.

Miura also got to her feet and before I could move, the young blonde enveloped me in a surprisingly soft hug. My eyebrows shot up as my brain once again struggled to process what was happening. I didn't count how long she held on for, but I knew for sure it was for a solid thirty seconds. Finally, she let go with a soft "I'm sorry… and good night," and left the room.

I blinked, trying to find meaning in her actions. Why? Why would she possibly do that? Did she have feelings-

Before that train of thought could go anywhere, I nipped it in the bud. The only reason she did that was to be nice. She felt guilty for treating me like shit all the time and now that she was 'saved' by me she realized her mistakes. Now, she was trying to redeem herself by trying to treat me better. Well, fuck that. A scowl spread across my room. I didn't want anyone's pity. And even if she felt something for me, it was most likely just the suspension bridge effect.

"Hah…" I sighed softly. Had this been me three years ago, I probably would've confessed and been rejected on the spot. Thankfully, now I have experience and I know… kindness is a fucking lie.

I slid underneath the covers and made myself comfortable. No point in overthinking things... and expectations have always brought disappointments anyway so why even bother?

And so, I stared at the ceiling, trying to go to sleep and failing. Probably because Hiratsuka-sensei was sitting beside the bed on a chair, reading a book. "Aren't you going to sleep, sensei?" I asked.

"I will. After you go to sleep," she answered promptly.

"Why?"

"To make sure you're okay, in case something happens."

"Right…" I said, feeling guilty that she had to do so much for me. "Thank you."

"No problem. You're my responsibility, after all," she said with a smile. Not her usual cheerful one. Not the one that she usually wore when she barged into our clubroom with an activity. Not the demonic one that she showed when I mentioned her age. No… this one was, in a word, beautiful. It was mature, caring, womanly, and goddamn if it didn't make my heart flutter.

I quickly closed my eyes and turned the other way, trying to hide the blush on my face. It was only then that I realized: there was only one bed in this room. Where would she sleep? Did she intend to sleep on the chair through the night? Or did she not mind sleeping beside me? Of course, I was only a student and she was a teacher, so nothing questionable would happen… but still. What if someone saw? Wait, should I ask her?

"Sensei?" I called out.

"Hmm?" her voice was surprisingly melodious, now that I thought about it.

I pulled my thoughts back in the right direction. "There's only one bed," I pointed out.

"Really? Funny, I've been sleeping in this room for two days now, but I just noticed," she replied, voice dripping with humorous sarcasm.

"Haha," I laughed monotonously. We both fell into a comfy silence. "Sensei, where are you going to sleep?" I asked, opting for the straightforward method this time.

"Don't worry about that, Hikigaya," she said softly, snapping her book shut. "I'll be fine."

Great. That meant that she was worried about me. I'd be flattered, if not for the part where my motto was: I'd rather be dead than be a burden on anyone. Especially if the 'anyone' was Hiratsuka-sensei. As if getting almost killed tonight wasn't enough, I was also imposing on her now. "Hah…" I sighed again and pulled the covers off of me. "I should probably go sleep in my own room now," I said as I tried to get up, only to be stopped midway by a firm hand on my chest. "Huh?" I asked. My eyes followed the surprisingly strong arm to a face. The same face that I had seen almost every day for the past year, and yet I never felt like… like this before.

"Hikigaya," her voice made its way to me again and I could do nothing but stare.

"Hiratsuka-sensei," my mouth spoke on its own.

"You will stay here," she commanded, pushing me back down. My brain barely even processed what she said. She withdrew her hand from my chest and stood to her full height again. "Do you understand?" she asked authoritatively.

"Why, sensei?" I asked. I knew why… I just… didn't want her to stop speaking. I wanted to hear more of her voice. I needed her to be there with me.

"So that I can be there if anything happens to you," she answered, sitting back down. Once again, my stomach did backflips.

"But," I started, my brain going a mile a minute trying to argue more. "Where are you going to sleep?"

"It's the teacher's job to worry about the student, Hikigaya," she said with a sincere smile and I couldn't breathe. Not only because of the smile, but also because I just noticed that she wasn't dressed in her usual clothes. Instead, she was wearing her nightwear. When did she change? I could've sworn she was wearing her office clothes when she came to pick me up. "Not the other way around," she finished.

No, don't stop. "What if someone sees us?"

"I have a fairly high position in the school. I'm sure no one would question me. And even if they do, we have a more than valid reason. How about you let me worry about that, hm?"

"But sensei-," I tried again, only to be cut off by her raised arm.

"Go to sleep, Hikigaya. You're going to hate yourself in the morning if you don't get enough sleep," she ordered.

I scoffed. "Jokes on you," I said with a smirk marring my face. "I'm gonna hate myself no matter what."

Sensei jerked as if someone had shot her, before turning her head to look at me. Her eyes instantly went from steely sharp to warm and soft as her face took on a sad aura. "Why do you say that?" she asked, and I realized I basically set myself up for this one.

"Ah, never mind," I said and turned around, pulling the covers as high as possible.

Sensei didn't answer. A few sleepless minutes later, her voice called out to me once more. "Hikigaya, can I ask you a question?" she asked.

"You just did," I said teasingly.

"Alright, smart guy," she replied amusedly. "Why did you scoff at me when I mentioned in the hallway that you had been through a traumatic experience?"

Ah, that. "Because I've been through traumatic experiences before, sensei, and this… this is nothing compared to that." I could hear sensei breathe in deeply at my words. "It's alright," I quickly added to not worry her more. "I'm over it. Whatever happened just made me into a better man. Well… better according to my standards, at least."

"Can you tell me what you've been through?" she asked. I'll admit, I was surprised for a second by how straightforward the question was.

"No," I answered. Sorry, sensei, but my secrets are going to the grave with me.

"And why is that?"

"I don't want to remember those days again. Living through them once was bad enough."

"You know," she started. "They say sharing the pain reduces it."

That got my attention. "Yeah, I never understood that statement," I started, turning back to look at her. She had moved the chair closer to the bed so that now she was sitting right next to me. "Why would you want to share your pain? Yeah, it reduces it – maybe, but isn't that just selfish? Forcing others to sympathize with you and to feel your pain with you – that's just evil. Why would you want to spread unhappiness? Is it so that people can 'understand' you better? Because if that's the reason then that's just straight-up bullshit. If you want to understand someone through pain, then you have to go through the same thing they did. Otherwise, it's just a big farce. Moreover, if you really do make them go through the same thing that you did, then… well… that's literally terrorism," I said, finishing my rant.

Sensei was still smiling at me. She took a deep breath before answering. "I do agree with you on some statements. I agree that forcing others to sympathize with you and to feel your pain with you is evil. But that's where the flaw in your logic lies, Hikigaya. You would only be evil if you're forcing the other person to sympathize with you. What if you're not forcing them? What if the other person truly cares about you and loves you enough to accept all the pain that you have to share? What then? Doesn't sharing the pain make it better then?" she asked, reaching over to pat me on the head. I felt like a kid getting a lecture… but I didn't hate it. And especially since there was no one around, why not enjoy the feeling?

But now, getting back to her question, I replied, "Yes, that might make it better… if you didn't love the other person too. Sharing my pain with the person I love would just make me feel bad. I don't want the person I love to feel pain at all. So why would I do that? And if the person loves me and I don't love them back then that just means that I'm taking advantage of them which is an even bigger 'NO' for me. I don't want to turn into Hayama," I said.

Sensei continued to rake her hand through my hair. "But wouldn't the sharing of pain between the two of you bring you closer?" she asked.

"Well, maybe, but… A relationship between two people that's built on the sharing pain?" I asked, looking up at her. "I'm supposed to be the cynical one, sensei, not you," I said in a teasing tone.

Sensei chuckled, and I could now say that I've heard the most beautiful sound on Earth, hands down. "I guess you're starting to rub off on me, hmm?" she asked. I merely smiled in reply, not knowing what to say to that. "Please, Hikigaya," she said after a while. Sensei stood up from her seat and sat down beside me on the bed. "Please, trust me?" she asked, and my breath hitched.

Could I? After four, maybe five years of hiding these emotions and bottling them up, could I really bring them back out? Maybe it was worth a shot. All I had to do was to make sure I didn't have any expectations. Expectations always bring disappointments.

I shifted and sat up, resting my back against the bed's headboard. "When I was in middle school," I spoke, starting to slowly unravel the long-forgotten scrolls deep in recesses of my memory. "I was bullied. Quite a bit, in fact. There were many reasons for it. My face and eyes being one of them. You know, how Yukinoshita always says my eyes are rotten? Well, they've been like that since I was young. The other kids always used to think I was creepy and stuff. I didn't really mind it since I was mature for my age anyway. I just used to ignore them. Like… it'd still hurt, but I just thought 'meh, whatever,' and let it go.

"But then one day, some genius got an idea to ignore me. Like not paying attention to my presence at all. That really was hell for me. Can you imagine? Every day of your life, being ignored by all your classmates. Then coming home to an empty house. Sure, Komachi was still with me but she'd usually go to the library to study with her friends. Still, I never let it show. I always wore a mask of indifference.

"Then one day, something happened. One of the girls in my class actually talked to me. She knew I was being bullied but she didn't care and still talked to me. I was so happy. I think that one 'Hi' from her lifted my mood for the whole week. She used to treat me like an actual friend. And, well… that gave me the wrong idea," I paused and took a deep breath. "Long story short: I told her that I really liked her and everything and she rejected me. I was crushed. Totally, utterly, crushed. In the end, she was doing it all out of pity.

"What was worse was that she spread the story around the school. Everyone went back to making fun of me instead of ignoring me. The leader of the group of kids that used to bully me found out and he apparently also had a massive crush on the girl. So, his gang doubled their efforts to bully me. Every day, I'd find trash in my shoe locker. When walking, I'd randomly get dumped by dirty water. They made me lick the washroom floor. And if I ever refused, they'd beat me up. Simple as that. I couldn't go to the teachers because they'd tell my parents and then my parents would probably call me a failure. I couldn't commit suicide since I used to regularly help Komachi with her school stuff and if I wasn't there, she'd lose a free tutor."

I took a deep breath once more. I still hadn't told her about my cuts… but maybe I'll save that for another time. I finished by saying, "But again, as I said, this made me into a better man. It pushed me to study harder and get into Sobu. It increased my endurance to being hit. It increased my mental resilience. Ya know that saying? 'Tough times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men bring tough times,'? I think it made me stronger, so I don't really regret it. Not to mention, I also learned so, so much about… just… humans in general. So yeah, that's my story, sensei. Do you like it?" I asked with an amused smile and immediately regretted that last question.

Hiratsuka-sensei gazed at me longingly. At first, I thought it was pity that I was seeing in her violet eyes, but I was wrong. She was looking at me with something more akin to… respect, maybe? We held the mini staring contest for a while before I finally caved and averted my own dead orbs. I probably shouldn't have said the 'do you like it' part.

Hiratsuka-sensei stood up and walked closer to me. I instinctually closed my eyes. Great… I said the wrong thing and now I'm going to get punched. My luck is almost as rotten as my eyes. But instead of a punch, I felt another shift in the bed and two strong arms snaking themselves around me. Before I knew what was going on, sensei had wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a tight but incredibly comfy hug. Her hair tickled my face and the scent of lavender and cigarette smoke hit me. It wasn't strong enough to make me gag or even to make me reel back in disgust, but enough for me to notice. My brain started up and I, too, slowly navigated my arms around her, my rigid muscles melting to match the shape of her body.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into my ear, and the moment was gone. I tensed once more and she must've noticed it because her arms tightened slightly more, trying to keep me from pulling away. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it really was pity that I saw in her eyes.

"I don't need pity, sensei," I said, but before I could continue, she cut me off.

"I'm not pitying you, Hikigaya," she said in a soft but stern voice. "I'm apologizing for all the times that I've treated you wrongly. I'm sorry for all the times I hit you. I'm sorry for all the times I insulted your eyes or your way of thinking. I was blind to the struggle that you've been through and didn't realize how my words might have affected you."

"Words don't affect me," I interrupted quickly. It never ceases to amaze me how easily humans can lie.

"Regardless, I'm sorry for everything that I've said. Heh," she laughed. Not a humorous one, but a bitter self-deprecating one instead. A kind of laugh that would've come from me. "They say hindsight is twenty-twenty. And you know what? They're absolutely right." My arms pulled her a bit closer. She really was regretful about how she treated me, and if that isn't the most thoughtful thing someone has done for me in forever, then I don't know what is. We stayed like that for a long time. I didn't count, mostly because I didn't want this to end, but even so, I could tell that we had held each other for at least five minutes. Finally, she pulled away, and I reluctantly let her go. She cupped my cheek with her palm and looked at me. Her face mere centimetres apart from my own. "I promise," she said, and I could smell the slight scent of mint in her breath. "I promise that from now, I will treat you better."

How was I supposed to reply to that? I honestly had no idea how to respond so I just told her that. "How am I supposed to respond to that?"

"Huh?" she said, tilting her head in confusion.

"Well," I started, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. "No one has ever said anything like that to me… so I don't exactly know how to reply to that."

Sensei's expression morphed into an amused one. "Typically, you're supposed to smile and say 'thank you'," she answered.

I nodded. "Thank you, sensei," I said, and she frowned.

"I said you have to smile too, Hikigaya," sensei reprimanded.

"It'll look gross," I protested.

"No, I won't," sensei replied. "And even if it does, I don't care."

Hmm… I had just told her the entire story of how I was bullied so what's the harm, right?

Reluctantly, I smiled at her. Not a forced one, but one that just naturally came onto my face. "Thank you very much, sensei."

Hiratsuka-sensei's mouth fell and a hue of pink spread across her cheeks. She quickly averted her eyes. "Y-Yes, well. Go to sleep now. It's pretty late." Turning my attention to the clock, I realized she was right. It was indeed pretty late and tomorrow morning was going to be hell for the both of us.

I slid back down inside the covers and sensei got in beside me. Wait… she's really going to sleep in the same bed!? "Good night, Hikigaya," she said and closed her eyes. Within seconds, the older woman was already lightly snoring with a peaceful expression on her face.

"'Night," I silently replied and closed my eyes too. I couldn't believe that my first time sharing a bed with a woman was going to be with Hiratsuka-sensei. I didn't mind it, but I also couldn't believe it.

...

Dawn arrived way too early and Hiratsuka-sensei seemed to share my opinion if the loud groan was any indication. Sensei quickly pulled the covers over her head and snuggled deeper. And by deeper, I mean deeper into me! SENSEI! What the hell are you doing!? I mentally screamed.

I was in the same position that I had gone to sleep in, but Hiratsuka-sensei had basically draped herself over me. Her face was buried into my neck while her arms wrapped around my torso, inadvertently making her large breasts squished up against me and her legs were intertwined with my own. And what was worse? The massive tent in my own pants! Dammit! Just another reason to hate morning wood.

I couldn't even move, since every time I did, my dick would rub against some part of her and my arm would jiggle her boobs. Goddammit! "S-Sensei?" I called out, hoping to wake her up without letting her notice my privates standing at attention. "Sensei!" I called out louder.

"Hmm… Hikigaya," she sleepily moaned and shifted around me, making her legs push up against me and her lips brush my ears. Holy shit! I didn't think I could get any harder, but goddamn was I wrong.

All of a sudden, the situation just became a hundred times worse. A loud knock came from the door, followed by a female shout. "Shizuka-chan!" SHIT! It was one of the other female teachers. "Are you up?"

Sensei stirred and blearily opened her eyes. "Hmm? Hikigaya?" she asked looking at me, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Shizuka-chan! I'm coming in, alright? I need to get the breakfast passes for the students," the female voice said again and both, sensei's and my own eyes shot open. SHIT! We can't get found like this! If we do, it's over for both of us! The sound of the door unlocking came, and I resigned myself to my fate. Sensei, on the other hand, seemed to have a different plan.

"Sorry, Hikigaya," she quickly said and pushed my head down into the covers and pulled me incredibly close. Our bodies lay flush with each other and my head was buried into her boobs. Was it a heavenly feeling? Yes. Yes, it was. Then, one of her legs came up and wrapped itself around my hips, pulling my bottom close to hers as well. As soon as it sat flush, I could see Hiratsuka-sensei regret it as well. Her face blushed a brilliant shade of red, but she still continued and moved so that she was laying on top of me.

"Ah, sensei," the other female teacher said, as she came in. "You're still asleep!? Well, no worries. I just wanted to let you know that the trip was cut short because of yesterday's incident with Miura Yumiko and the other boy. The buses will arrive to drop us off to the station in a couple of hours. Please make sure you don't miss breakfast."

I couldn't see what was happening since I was being suffocated by sensei's boobs, but I could still hear. "G-Got it, Ogata-sensei," I heard Hiratsuka-sensei say.

"And where are the breakfast passes for the students? Some are already starting to wake up now," Ogata-sensei asked.

"Ah, t-they're on the table there," Hiratsuka-sensei replied.

"Hmm… oh, found them! Are you okay, Shizuka? Your face seems a bit red," the other teacher asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Hiratsuka-sensei said. "I just need to shower. Now, can I please get some privacy? I'm… not exactly decent under, you know?"

"Ah, of course," Ogata-sensei said and left.

In a flash, Hiratsuka-sensei was up and off of me. "A-Are you okay, Hikigaya?" she asked as I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with some much-needed oxygen.

"I was in heaven for like three minutes," I answered shamelessly. "Thank you for that, sensei."

Sensei blushed again and shot off to the washroom with a rushed, "I'mgonnagoshowerbye!"

I lay there, mulling over the sensation of sensei's body on me…

I liked it. No, I loved it! I always joked about how if no one found sensei then I might just have to take her myself, but… were those thoughts really just jokes? Or were they my subconscious desires?

...

The morning passed by swiftly. Mostly because I was thinking about these new feelings that I discovered in me. I had quickly taken a shower after Hiratsuka-sensei had finished hers and then made my way to my room. Before I left, sensei had given me another hug and stated how she would always try her best to stay true to her promise moving forward.

After reaching my room, I quickly packed my bags, and now was heading to the breakfast area. My eyes panned over the place as I reached. There weren't too many students here since most opted to eat outside or just buy breakfast from the food stalls or the restaurants outside. Me being me, I could never turn down free food.

I sat down at my table with a cup of coffee, and bread with some peanut butter on it. If there was one advantage of eating by yourself in silence: it was that you could listen to everyone around you and keep up with the latest news and rumours. A very important thing for a loner and introvert, like me.

But… The things I was hearing today… I'd have to say they were beyond even my expectations.

"It's him?" came a whisper.

"He's the guy," another girl whispered.

"He's the one who made the trip cancel."

"I heard he even put Miura-san in danger."

"Maybe he was in on it with the robbers."

I sighed. Of course, this was going to happen. I mean, why the hell did I even expect anything else? I shook my head, internally berating myself for my lapse in judgement and continued eating. No point in stressing over shit like this. It was expected.

It happened when I tried to save the Cultural Festival. It happened when I tried to save Yukinoshita from being burdened by all the workload. It happened when I tried to help Rumi on her trip. Why would this time be different? No reason why it wouldn't happen now. And as always, this will also die out eventually. I follow a simple philosophy. Be calm, for this shall also pass.

As I got a few bites further into my meal, the chair opposite to me was pulled back. With a plop, Miura set down her food, made herself comfortable, and started eating her breakfast. I raised an eyebrow. Mainly in confusion at why she was sitting with me, but also partly because of what she was eating. Milk, with eggs and syrup, topped with applesauce on the side. Like… what the actual fuck? What kinda psychopath do you have to be to eat this?

Seeing me stop eating, she also paused her meal. "What?" she asked with a touch of embarrassment.

I pondered over what I should bring to her attention first. The 'sitting with the loner' part, or the 'psychotic breakfast' part. Eventually, I went with the former, as that was of higher priority.

"You're really going to sit here? With me? When all these people around us can see you?" I asked skeptically. She nodded and I continued. "Why?"

"You looked lonely," she replied as if it was obvious.

"I'm used to it," I replied with an even tone. Miura blinked as her eyebrows raised for a second. She probably wasn't expecting an answer like that.

"You shouldn't be," she said, her eyes narrowed with a hint of determination. "No one should be used to being lonely."

I mentally scoffed. What a pathetically flawed and self-fulfilling way of thinking. I couldn't help but point it out to her.

"And yet, there are hundreds of millions of people all over the world who have adapted but I don't see you sitting with another lonely person even from our own school. So, let me ask you one more time, Miura: why are you here? Is there something you need from me? Because if that's the reason, you only need to ask nicely," I finished and took a sip of my coffee. Mm, tasty.

Miura's eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth, about to scream at me before she thought again and calmed herself. "I saw you and heard the rumours. I thought that if I sat with you, they'd stop," she said.

I tilted my head in mock confusion and clasped my fingers together, resting my elbows on the table. "And why or how would the rumours affect you?"

"What? No, they don't affect me."

"Then why would you care about them?"

"Because they're about you! And I thought you'd appreciate the help."

"I… see. Well, thank you very much for your well wishes, but I still don't understand one thing," I said, raising a finger.

"What?"

"What do you get out of it?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"Why would you go out of your way to help me?" I elaborated.

"What? You're saying I can't help someone who rescued me from death?" she asked, her tone of voice was one that I'd never heard before. A sort of a mix of offended, angry, and… maybe sad, dare I say. I decided to ignore that for now and continued.

"And there we go," I said with a satisfied tone, taking my hands off the table and sipping my coffee once more. Mm, tasty. "You're trying to help me because you feel like you have an obligation towards me. Well, in that case, let me clear it all up for you. Everything I did was on behalf of the service club. You are not obligated to me in any way, whatsoever. If you need to express your thanks, please take your compliments, suggestions, and questions to the club president," I finished. It was for the best. And this way, if I make her hate me, she won't secretly feel obligated to me either. Those kinds of situations are always the worst. Both parties end up feeling extremely awkward in the end. I'd rather avoid that.

Miura stared at me for a second with an indecipherable look in her eyes. "What is it with you?" she said in an extremely accusing and annoyed tone. "Do you hate me?"

"What!? No!" I replied maybe a bit too strongly. Clearing my throat, I began once more. "Look, Miura, I don't hate you. I know my behaviour may seem like that, and I'm sorry about that."

"Then why are you acting like this?"

"I just want everything to go back to normal. I don't want you to feel like I saved you or anything. I just did what I was best at…" and that's sacrificing myself, I thought. "Even if I don't like it, it's the only way I know how to solve problems. So please don't feel like you have to act nice to me. You can go back to ignoring my existence and I won't mind one bit."

Miura was quiet once more before she spoke. "Why won't you let me at least try to do something nice?"

"Because it's superficial," I said immediately. "You don't want to do something nice out of the goodness of your heart-,"

"Yes, I do!" she interrupted. "I don't want anything in return. I just want to try being your friend!" Her words came with a force that shook me.

"…" For maybe the first time in my life, I was rendered speechless. Again, just like last night, no one had ever said anything remotely close to this to me. But this much wasn't enough to make me trust her. "I don't want a shallow friendship that's built on nothing but a weak superficial bond that two people think will connect them."

Once more, she stared at me as if trying to figure out a puzzle. "Why are you so scared of trusting someone?"

Immediately, my brain played back memories of my middle and elementary school years. My face and ears felt hot – almost as if it was hot enough to fry an egg. My stomach started doing backflips as I felt like an invisible hand clasped over my mouth. My breaths came in short uncontrolled gasps.

Ah, shit… It was happening again. I thought I had it under control but I guess I was wrong. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. In… Out… In… Out… Finally, after what felt like an eternity – but was probably only a few seconds – the panic attack finally subsided. I opened my eyes and stared directly into Miura's emerald eyes.

"Because the last time I 'trusted' someone, I ended up being bullied for years on end," I replied with dead serious eyes and more venom in my tone than was intended.

She seemed shaken but still tried to argue with me. "N-Not all people are the same."

"But most humans think alike. That's why I hate superficial bonds, I hate nice girls, and I especially hate kindness."

"What's wrong with nice girls and kindness?" This time, her tone seemed truly confused. Well, I could understand why. After all, not everyone has my realistic outlook on life.

I cleared my throat, preparing for one of my best monologues. "Because they lead you on without even realizing that they're doing anything wrong. If they so much as say hello, it stays on my mind. If they return texts, my heart races. The day one calls me, I know I'll look at my call history and grin. But that's just them being nice. People who are nice to me are also nice to everyone else. I almost end up forgetting that. If truth is a cruel mistress, then lies must be a kind girl. That, Miura, is why I say that kindness is a lie. I gave up on always expecting it, always mistaking it, and even hoping for it. Someone who has worked so hard at being alone doesn't fall for the same trick twice. I'm a veteran at this. I'm the best when it comes to losing. That's why I'll always hate nice girls," I said, standing up and turning around to leave.

"Well then it's a good thing that I'm not a nice girl," Miura said, also standing up. "Let me try. That's all I ask."

I stopped in my tracks and turned back to look at her. Why was she trying so hard? What could she possibly hope to gain from associating with me? Does she want to be friends so that she can have someone at her beck and call who can sacrifice themselves for her? I didn't think she was that shallow, but lately, it was just one surprise after another so I could never be too sure. I studied her a bit more. Her face was set in determination. Her olive-green eyes held unwavering conviction. And a small voice in the back of my head whispered for me to allow it, that I wouldn't regret it…

Well...

Maybe it was correct. Maybe it was time I took some risks. Life was getting boring anyway. Last night in the store was scary but at the same time, it also gave me a new kind of rush. One of a kind that I'd never felt before. Having some excitement in my day to day life might be beneficial for me. I took a deep breath before answering. "Fine," I said with a small nod.

Who thought the day would come when Yumiko Muira, the school's queen bee, would ask me, Hachiman Hikigaya, the school's scum, to be friends? Life is full of surprises, it seems.

Miura followed me as we dropped off our dishes in the kitchen and left the hotel for some downtime to go walk around the city before the buses showed up.

...

"Hng," Miura stretched as we exited the hotel. "Oi, Hikio!" she exclaimed, grabbing onto my arm. "Let's go do some last-minute shopping!"

I deadpanned. "Did you just want a pack mule? Is that why you tried to befriend me?"

"What!? No!" she said indignantly. "I just want to go shopping because I couldn't really do much the other days."

"Riiight," I drawled. "Well, whatever. I need a new hat anyway. Might as well get one from Kyoto."

"I'm serious when I say I didn't get to do much shopping, you know," Miura said as she started to pull me along, down the road. "On the first day we were touring, and we only bought some souvenirs. The next day – which was yesterday – was also more or less the same with… you know… last night," she said, downtrodden.

I sighed. "You don't need to treat it as a sensitive subject," I said, putting her at ease. "It's alright if you say, 'the robbery'. I don't have PTSD. I'm not going to have war flashbacks," I finished with a touch of humour.

"Peetee-esdee?" she asked inquisitively.

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," I started explaining as we entered one of the clothing stores. It was for men AND women so that was a relief. I didn't want anyone seeing me in a women's only store. That would be pretty awkward, even if I had Miura with me. "It's a sort of a condition where, because of immense psychological stress, some people have trouble in their day to day lives."

"Oh," Miura spoke as she picked up a beautiful green dress that would contrast amazingly with her eyes. "So, like when someone starts hyperventilating because of bright flashes and stuff?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…" I said slowly. "But that's an oddly specific example."

We made our way to the fitting rooms. "One of my distant relatives had it, I think. He used to become very agitated when he saw bright flashes or heard loud noises. The doctors said that it was because he was a witness of the nukes that were dropped and was almost blinded."

"Oh," I said. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," she said, shaking her head. "I should thank you for teaching me something new," Miura said as she turned to me and grinned cheekily. "You're pretty smart, aren't you, Hikio?"

"Well…" my hand automatically went to rub my cheek and I averted my eyes as I do in embarrassing situations. "Not really. I just have a variety of information on different subjects but in reality, it's all just surface-level intelligence. I'm really not that smart."

"Hey," Miura slid up close to me and nudged me with her elbow. I looked at her again. "Give yourself some credit, will ya? You got us both out of a dangerous situation. One where both of us might have died. I'd say that type of quick thinking is really smart," she said with a smirk.

I chuckled, thinking about what she said. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course, I'm right. I'm me!" she answered, as she entered the room.

Well, that statement was definitely true. Miura was one of a kind. Even if she had a slightly bitchy personality, once you go to know her even slightly more, you'd see that she was an amazing girl.

That being said, spending time with her was surprisingly fun. It felt different than chilling with Yukinoshita, where we both would just be silent and relied on subtle actions more than words for communication and different than hanging out with Yuigahama, where she'd just go on and on without really paying too much attention to what the other person wanted. When with Miura, I actually felt like she paid attention to me. Having someone acknowledge your existence feels great. I was always right about that… but having someone actually care about – even slightly – about what you want feels even better. Who knew?

"Hikio!" came the voice from inside the fitting room after a few minutes.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Can you help me?"

"With what?"

"Come here!" she said, agitated.

I walked up to the door. "What?" All of a sudden, the door opened, and a slim but strong hand pulled me in, shutting the door behind me. "Huh?" was all I could say as I stared at the half-dressed figure of one of the most beautiful girls in the school.

"Hikio," she called again, snapping me out of my trance.

"Wha?" I said, feeling my cheeks begin to heat up.

"C-Can you help me dress up?" she asked with a massive blush on her face.

Oh, damn. What in the hell was going on here? Shouldn't it be Hayama in my place instead of me? Why was she asking me to do this!? As these questions whirled through my head, my eyes finally noticed what she was wearing. The dress that I had thought was one piece was actually two pieces. She had already put on the skirt, while she was still holding the top. And so, I got to see Yumiko Miura in only a bra and a skirt.

Quickly though, it became clear to me why she needed my help. The chain for the top was on the back, as opposed to the side like the skirt. "Y-yeah," I said. "Sure." Calm down, Hachiman, I told myself. She just needs your help. And even if she's interested in you, don't get your hopes up. This might only be the suspension bridge effect.

I took the top from her and held up. She slowly put both of her arms through it and I adjusted it around her shoulders so that it was comfortable.

"Is that okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, thanks," she said, turning around so that I could zip up the chain. Both of our cheeks had a tinge of pink on it, I noticed.

My eyes took in the full glory of Miura's back. The unblemished, smooth skin looked more like a layer of untouched snow on a wide field. "Wow," I whispered unintentionally but it was loud enough for Miura to hear it.

"What is it!?" she asked, immediately whirling around to face me.

"N-Nothing!" I said quickly.

"Why did you say 'wow'?"

"No reason."

"Hikio!" she said, lightly punching me on the chest. "Tell me!"

"I told you!" I replied. "I was nothing. I was just… admiring your back," I said murmured quietly. Apparently not quietly enough since Miura still heard me.

"O-Oh," she said, also blushing intensely. "T-Thanks." She turned around.

"Hmm," I hummed, keeping my mouth firmly shut, not trusting myself to speak.

I took the two ends of the zipper and pulled them close. "Ah," Miura voiced quietly.

"Sorry!" I said, afraid that I might have hurt her.

"I-It's okay. I was just surprised," she replied, pulling her long blonde tresses out of the way and giving me another stellar view of the nape of her neck. I swallowed the lump in my throat and tore my eyes away, trying to desperately bring the growing tent in my pants under control… and failing.

"Alright. Should I continue?" I asked, making sure she was still comfortable.

"Yeah, go ahead."

At her prompt, I went ahead and pulled the ends of the zipper close again and clasped them. In doing so, my fingers touched Miura's smooth back and she let out another cute sound. "Eep!"

I pulled my hands away in a flash. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Your hands were just a bit cold. Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," she apologized.

"Oh… should I continue?" I asked once more.

She nodded, her blonde locks bouncing beautifully. "Yes, please do."

I held on the bottom of the zipper. The backs of my fingers met her back again and I could feel her shiver under my touch. I slowly zipped the top up, making sure to not go too fast. Even I had to admit, the dress looked amazing on her. It even exposed some of her slim waists which just added to the appeal. As I finished, a devious idea entered my mind. Under normal circumstances, I would never do this… but she wouldn't mind a joke, right? And besides, what did I have to lose? I took my hand and pressed them against the exposed part of her back.

"Haaannh, Hikio!" she cried out and jumped, whirling around to face me. "You're so mean!"

I laughed heartily at her reaction as she pouted, still feeling phantom shivers from where my cold hands had touched her. "Sorry, sorry," I said, still chuckling and waving my hands placatingly. "I just couldn't resist."

"Hmpf," she huffed and hit me lightly in the chest. "I'll get you back, you know," she said with a challenging smirk.

"Sure, sure. I'll be waiting," I answered with a smile.

We went silent for a second before she twirled around. "Well?" she asked. "How do I look?"

I blushed, embarrassed from what I was about to say. "Beautiful," I mumbled. Her face mirrored my own and she smiled.

"Thanks," she said, grinning at me. "Now, can you help me unzip it? I need to change," she asked.

"Right," I said. She turned around once more and I unzipped the top and helped her get out of it. Once more, my eyes fixed themselves on her breathtaking figure. Really, all I could say was that she was straight-up beautiful. No other way around it.

"Hikio!" Miura's voice called out and broke my reverie once more.

"Huh?" I voiced.

"G-Get out," she said. "I need to change."

"Huh? OH! Yeah, of course! Sorry," I said quickly and bolted out. Well… that was embarrassing.

But once I got out, it seemed like I was out of the frying pan, into the fire.

"Hikitani-kun?" a voice said and I mentally groaned.

Oh, god, not now. Please, not now, I thought as I turned around. Nope. "The gods are dead," I said with enough venom to kill fifty grown elephants.

"EH!?" Tobe exclaimed as he jumped behind Hayama, while the rest also jerked back in what I assumed was half fear and half surprise. Not that I blamed them. Hell, if I was in their place, I'd be scared too. Just imagining Totsuka randomly saying something like that in a tone similar to mine was enough to make me shiver.

"H-Hikitani-kun?" Hayama tried once more with a much nicer tone. "Are you okay?"

I sighed. I had to get this guy away from here. Who knew how much trouble it'd be if he found out Yum— Miura was in there? The results wouldn't be desirable, that was for sure. And then shit would become awkward between everyone and this whole atmosphere that we tried so hard to maintain for Tobe would be flushed down the drain. No, there was no way I could let that happen.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," I said. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Are you sure? You seemed a little disturbed just now." Dammit, what the hell was it with this guy?

"I assure you, Hayama. I'm completely fine, and as much as I appreciate your concern, it's completely unneeded at the moment," I replied.

"Ah… well… that's good to hear, I think? So… are you here to shop for clothes?" OOOOOOMYYYYGAAAWWWWDD LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!

"No," I started, my voice laced in sarcasm. "I was here to scope out the place in case I need to plant a bomb somewhere. Why do you think I'm here?"

"Eh? Right… I guess that's the only reason you'd be here. Haha," Hayama said while the other three monkeys looked at me warily.

"Listen, Hayama. Can you please not talk to me? I just want to be left alone," I said in a serious voice.

"Oh. Alright, well I'll see you-,"

And just as he was about to leave, my fears came true.

"Hikio! I'm done. Let's go!" Miura said, as she stepped out of the fitting room. She turned back around and froze like a deer in headlights. "Eh?"

"Yumiko?"

"Hayato..."

"What are you doing here?" Hayama asked, almost accusingly. Almost.

"Uh…" Miura said, trying to think up an answer. "Shopping." No shit, Sherlock.

"I thought you said you wanted to stay in for today?" Hayama asked.

The tension between the three of us was palpable.

"I did," Miura answered quickly. "But then I felt better… so I decided to do some shopping."

"With him?" Hayama asked, talking about me like I wasn't standing right here.

"Yeah, why?" Miura said defensively which definitely didn't go unnoticed by Hayama. "What's wrong with Hikio?"

"Nothing. You could've called us, and we would've brought you along," Hayama said.

"Ah, well... I didn't want to disturb you guys in case you were in the middle of something," Miura said with uncertainty.

"Oh, okay," he said, not completely believing her. "Well, do you want to come with us now?" Hayama asked with a wave of his hand.

"Eh? Uh... no, I... I think I'll just shop around with Hikio," Miura said, and I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. I don't know why I felt strangely relieved, but... I won't lie, it felt good knowing that she'd rather be with me than him.

"Oh," Hayama said. "Well, okay."

"Right," Miura said, about to pull me away but Hayama spoke again.

"Why was he in the change room with you?" This time, both Miura and I could sense some hostility coming from him.

Miura narrowed her eyes. No doubt, she absolutely did not like what Hayama was asking about or implying. Before she could say something that could never be taken back, I spoke up. "None of your business."

Both pairs of eyes turned to me. "What?" Hayama asked as if he couldn't believe what he just heard.

"I said, it's none of your business what I was doing in Miura's fitting room," I repeated.

Hayama looked at Miura with a look as if to say, 'is he for real?'. She didn't answer. "Yumiko, what's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing is going on. Hikio and I are just going around shopping. It's nothing for you to worry about," she answered. Although her tone was placating, I'm sure her words cut deep.

"So... what, like a date?" Hayama asked. He wanted to embarrass us. He knew it. I knew it. Miura knew it. And that was his mistake.

Miura suddenly grabbed my hands, interlacing our fingers. "Yes," she said with a dangerous smile. "A date. I asked him and he agreed. Right, Hikio?" she asked as she turned to me.

Every neuron in my brain screamed, telling me to say no and avoid any misunderstandings while every instinct in my body screamed that saying yes was the right decision. In that nanosecond where I was torn between agreeing and declining, one sentence floated up from the recesses of my memory: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"Yeah," I said, smiling back. "Of course."

Hayama looked at us like we were a circus exhibit. He finally spoke as his brain rebooted. "When did you two get so close?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Miura said, her patient was running thin. I could tell, but Hayama was too flabbergasted to notice.

"I just want to know why you'd be hanging out with him all of a sudden," Hayama said. Well, it seemed like this situation had officially turned to shit.

"He has a name! It's Hikigaya Hachiman. And as for why I'm hanging out with him, it's none of your damn business!" she said a bit too loudly.

Hayama was speechless for a solid five seconds before he turned to me. "Are you blackmailing her?" he asked.

Great. Just great. Now new rumours are going to start.

"No, he's not! I'm with him because he actually knows how to care for a woman, unlike you!" she shouted out at him. It seemed she couldn't take it anymore. Quickly she pulled away and we entered the checkout line.

Hayama merely stood there, mouth hanging open.

Intentionally or unintentionally, I'll never know, Miura didn't let go of my hand, even when waiting in line. Not that it felt bad. I liked it. We swiftly finished our transactions and exited the store.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She had just fought with someone she had been good friends with for over a few years. It had to have affected her somehow.

"Yeah," she said and sighed. "I just don't get what his problem is. Especially when it comes to you."

I glanced at her and she was staring off into the distance with a contemplative look in her eyes. I don't know why, but I decided to tell her what I thought to be the truth. "I believe he's jealous of how close I am with Yukinoshita," I said.

"Huh?" came the question.

"This is just a hunch…" I started, not wanting to make it sound like I knew this for sure. "But I believe Hayama has known Yukinoshita since they were young. You know, how their families are close and everything. I know for sure he doesn't talk very much with her but he probably wants to, while I'm with her on a regular basis." I knew the history between Yukinoshita and Hayama, but I couldn't just give out her secret like that. At the same time, I also felt like giving Miura some answers or at least leading her on the right path would be good for her in the future.

"So that's it?" she asked incredulously. "The only reason he's so jealous of you is because you're friends with Yukinoshita?"

"Woah, pause. Back up, back up," I said immediately. "I never said I was her friend. I only said that I'm with her regularly. That's all." I don't want her to get the wrong idea.

Miura looked at me with a 'you've gotta be shitting me' expression. "That's the stupidest reason I've heard for someone to be jealous of someone else," she said.

I shrugged. "Maybe. But you'd be surprised at how easily girls can cause fights between guys. And it's even worse now."

"How so?" Miura asked.

I looked at her once again and this time looked her in the eyes, showing that I was completely serious. "You're one of the most beautiful girls in our school," I said. Miura looked shocked before she smiled slightly.

"Thanks," she replied.

Ignoring her, I continued. If Hayama's group's dynamic had already been ruined, I guess it didn't really matter anymore if it became even worse. "And again, this is just a hunch, not something I know for sure," I stressed once more, making sure I wouldn't be dragged into the middle of whatever drama may ensue. "I think he sees you as a trophy." Sorry, Hayama… but welcome to the world of politics.

Miura's face paled as she took in my words. I pushed on.

"I mean it makes sense. How he always keeps you at a distance. Never really close enough to call you a girlfriend, but just close enough to give others the idea," I said. "But hey," I nudged her with my elbow and she looked at me with a downcast expression. "You still have friends, remember? You still have Yuigahama, Ebina… me," I added silently.

Miura was silent for a long while. We walked together with no destination in mind, but I could tell Miura didn't care. I doubt she even knew where we were going. I was merely leading her down a path until she finished her thought process. Miura stared hard at the ground while walking. I could almost see the gears turning in her head.

Finally, there was a glimmer in her eyes and not a second later, she looked at me and smiled. "You're right," she said softly.

I smiled back. My task was finished, and I decided to change the subject. "So, where to now?" I asked.

She looked at me, contemplating where to go before she gasped. "Oh! Hikio! I forgot to ask if you wanted to buy anything from there. I'm so sorry!" she apologized.

"Don't worry about it," I said before she could go on. "I can get a new hat online too. I don't like shopping for myself anyway."

"Oh," she said. "Do you, uh... want to go get something to eat?"

"Sure. I'd like some food in my stomach. Especially after that whole… fiasco in there," I said, holding out my hand.

"Huh?" she said, looking at my hand questioningly.

"The bag. I'll carry it," I said.

With a quick thanks, she passed it to me, and we set off, walking side by side, looking for a nice place to eat.

"Hikio, look!" she pointed at a quaint little ice cream stand that wasn't crowded at all. "Let's get some ice cream."

"Sure," I said. She quickly bounded ahead like an excited puppy and I followed her. I couldn't help but notice how normal she was. Usually, in the past, whenever I saw her, she'd always be scowling or very serious when she wasn't pining after Hayama, but looking at her now, I realized: she was also just a normal teenager.

When I got to the stand, Miura had already finished ordering. "What're you getting, Hikio?" she asked.

"Hmm," I hummed, looking over the menu. "I'll take a small Chocolate Cake Shake," I said. The guy manning the register simply nodded and got to preparing our orders.

"Hey, Hikio?" Miura asked softly from beside me.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

I smirked. "You just did."

"Wha- okay, can I ask you another one?"

"You just did," I replied amusedly.

"Argh, Hikio!" Miura cried as she punched me lightly on the arm

I chuckled. "Alright, alright. Go ahead."

"Uh… what… were you planning to do on this trip?" she asked slowly.

"Have fun. At least that was mostly the plan," I said.

"No! I mean with Hina."

I sighed. I guess I could tell her now. No point in hiding something like this. "Tobe likes Ebina," I said.

"Yeah, I know that," Miura replied immediately.

"He wanted to confess to her on this trip, but he didn't know how. That's why he came to us with this request," I said.

"Oh…"

"Ebina came to us also. She didn't want Tobe to confess to her. She would reject him but then the status quo of your group and basically the whole classroom would be thrown off course. So, our job was to somehow convey to him that she wasn't going to say yes, no matter what," I explained and looked over to the blonde fire queen.

Although their group's status quo was screwed up now, I still planned on finishing Ebina's request. After all, the honour of the Service Club was on the line here.

Miura, on the other hand, was silently staring daggers into the ground. After a few more moments of silence, she finally spoke. "I… I'm sorry."

"Hmm? For what?" I asked.

"In the convenience store, I accused you of messing with Hina but instead you were only doing what was requested by her. I'm very sorry for that," Miura said with a solemn expression.

I smiled, truly touched that she felt that strongly. "It's alright. Don't worry about it too much. And besides, you didn't know, so it's not your fault."

"No, it's because I didn't know that it is my fault. I talked and accused you of something without knowing all the details," she said and sighed. "Man… not focusing on studies, pining after Hayato, accusing you of something you didn't do, almost getting us killed… Sometimes, I feel like I'm just a compilation of one bad decision after another." I seemed like what she said came straight from her heart.

I couldn't help but laugh at that. Like, really laugh. I clutched my stomach and almost fell off the bench that we were seated on. "Miura," I said, regaining my composure slightly. "If you feel like that, what the hell am I supposed to feel?"

"Huh?" she asked.

I didn't know what her intentions were for the future or how close we were now, but something in my gut told me I could trust her with some secrets. At least until a certain point.

"I was bullied, I'm an introvert and a loner, I confessed to a girl who was just being nice to me, I tried to save a dog from being killed and instead broke a leg and missed the first two weeks of school, I insulted the festival committee president to 'save' the whole event from becoming a shitshow," I listed all the shitty decisions I made. Still, I didn't regret even a single thing. "Miura, if you're a compilation of bad decisions, then I'm… hell, I don't even know how I could describe myself." Miura went quiet again as she thought about what I said.

"But… you made decisions after thinking things through. I just… followed my heart. And look where it landed me," she said sadly.

"Ouch," I replied mirthfully.

"Huh? Oh! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" she exclaimed, frantically waving her hands.

I chuckled. "I know, I know. Don't worry. I know what you meant," I said. Getting serious, I said, "But I envy you, you know. If maybe I had also followed my heart, I wouldn't have been in such a shitty position in school." Miura simply looked at me with an inquisitive look in her eyes. "But you know something?"

"Hmm? What?"

"I don't regret even a single one of my decisions," I said. It was then that our food arrived. I took my Chocolate Cake Shake and Miura took her own serving of what looked like a bowl of chocolate chips in vanilla ice cream with slices of strawberry around it.

"You don't?" Miura asked.

"No. And you shouldn't either. The decisions you made are what shaped you throughout your life. Don't ever regret them, only learn from them," I said.

"Hmm," she hummed as she ate and mulled over my words. "Well, I guess I'll take that advice to heart," she said as a smirk slowly spread across her face. "Hikio-sensei."

I sputtered at being called sensei while Miura laughed her ass off. My brain automatically supplied an image of me in place of Hiratsuka-sensei. It wasn't unpleasant, but definitely not what I'd want for my career. We finished our food quickly, all the while making some small talk.

I yawned as I stretched. "So where to now?" I asked.

"Hmm…" she hummed as she tried to decide where to go. "Oh! How about the photo booth?" she asked.

I shrugged and looked at my watch. "We still have a bit over forty-five minutes, so I'm cool with that."

"Alright," she nodded. "Let's go!"

We walked down the road and suddenly I heard a snicker come from behind me, followed by a freezing sensation on my back. I howled and jumped as I realized Miura had thrown some ice down my shirt. "Miura!" I said, pulling my shirt to get the ice out.

The blonde simply stood a bit away and guffawed at my pathetic attempts. "Oh! Hahaha! Hikio!" she choked out between laughs. "I told you I'd get you back."

I finally got the offending piece of ice out of my shirt and shivered at the phantom sensations running up and down my spine. "Where the hell did you get that from?" I questioned.

"I asked the store owner for some when you were paying," she said, still giggling.

My left eye twitched at that. No one one-ups me. I'll get her back. "Alright, alright," I said, laughing along with her. "Let's go, shall we?"

She nodded with a giggle and joined me with a merry spring in her step. Well, I was glad to see that she was having fun with me. Funnily enough, I feel more relaxed around her than I've felt around anyone, save Hiratsuka-sensei.

We got to the photo booth and unfortunately, once more we ran into the two people that we didn't want to see. Hayama and Tobe.

"Oh," said Miura stopping as soon as she saw them, her expression souring. "Let's go somewhere else, Hikio," she said, turning to leave.

Though before she could, I grabbed her hand. "Why should we?" I asked. "Why do we have to go somewhere else just because of them? Let's go take some pictures," I said with a smile.

"A-Alright," she said hesitantly and followed, still hand in hand.

Hayama raised his eyebrows as he saw us. "Yumiko," he said.

"Hayato," Miura replied in an equally hostile tone.

Before the conversation could take a turn for the worse, I decided to butt in. "Hayama," I called out.

"Yes, Hikitani-kun?" he asked, and my eye slightly twitched at the name.

"Are you done with the photo booth?"

He looked back and then back at us before smiling his well-known fake smile. "Of course," he said and started walking away with Tobe with him.

Miura and I entered the booth and she huffed. "Why do you always let him call you that?"

I shrugged. "Correcting him is honestly more trouble than is worth," I said. "Besides, I genuinely don't care about him. Not one bit."

"Hmm," she hummed and smiled. "Alright, let's take a picture!" Miura exclaimed excitedly.

"Right," I said and inserted the coin. The numbers counted down from five and when they hit one, I executed my plan. "Hey, Miura. Are you ticklish?" I asked and before waiting for an answer, I tickled her sides.

"Eeeek, Hikiooooo!" she yelled while laughing and squirming in my hands.

I laughed along with her and continued my attack. "This is payback for the ice!"

By the time the four pictures were taken, I finished my tickle attack and Miura stood there, breathless in my arms, occasionally still giggling. "I'll still get you back for this, you know," she said, inclining her head up slightly so that she was looking at me.

"Mmhm, suuure," I said sarcastically, not knowing that I was starting a huge prank war. I looked down at her and realized just how close we were standing to each other. My arms were still on her waist, almost at her hips and she was leaning against me, looking up at me with lips slightly parted.

A tone from the machine broke us out of the moment and we both separated, blushing madly. I moved to take the pictures that came out and my blush disappeared instantly, replaced with a loud laugh. "Miura look at your face," I said as I held up the pictures.

"Huh? WHA! Gimme those!" she said and lunged at me. I pulled the pictures up and away from her grasp just in time. She missed and jumped at me instead.

"Hah! No way! I'm keeping these!" I said, pulling the pictures away from Miura every time she jumped to get them.

"Hikiooo," she whined at me.

I snickered at her attempts and held it close for her to try getting it once more. She pouted and looked away. "Aww, what happened?" I asked in a mocking cutesy voice. "Don't want them anymore?" I held them closer.

Like a viper, Miura's hand shot out and grabbed the pictures from my hand. "Hah!" she said, smirking victoriously. "I got them!"

I observed her childish antics with a warm smile. "Alright, you can keep them," I said as we exited the booth.

The two of us shared another moment of wholesome silence before making our way back to the hotel.

...

The two-day, one-night train ride back wasn't anything too special. Miura sat with her group of friends, making sure to laugh and smile like everything was normal, while I on the other hand was sitting with Totsuka, Zaimokuza, and another nameless NPC. At night, Miura and I met up once more to just spend time together and talk, though it was mainly just her trying to convince me to sit with her and me declining and countering every argument she threw at me.