Chapter 35: Surprising Himself, Hikigaya Hachiman Feels for Hayama Hayato
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With the serious matter addressed, the mood became lighter. Kiss-Shot immediately treated Saki like her friend, not a business partner. She cooked some meals for us and we had dinner together. Saki refused at first, saying that she didn't want to impose on us, but eventually relented when Kiss-Shot told her that her panties hadn't even dried yet. Her face turned into an erupting volcano and Kiss-Shot left with a satisfied smirk on her face.
When dinner finished, Kiss-Shot called her driver. We waited for him to arrive while eating some cookies that I had made the other day. I have been learning how to cook from Kiss-Shot lately and was hooked on baking, so I would bake whenever I had the chance. Saki commended my cookies, saying that the texture and the taste were perfect. Kiss-Shot had always said my cookies were only decent, so I had to gloat about it to her. Of course, she didn't care.
When the driver arrived, we immediately headed downstairs. Usually, we would have just sent Saki home alone; however, we wanted to meet the Kawasaki parents and explain why we stole their daughter, so we went along. Saki said that we didn't need to do that like a child embarrassed by her parent's show of affection. I wanted to say I could relate but then remembered my parents had always treated me like a child.
Should I be sad or proud? Heck, I might even be neglected!
Of course, my parents had never neglected me once. I knew they loved me and they were just shy to show it. After all, unlike Komachi, I did not react too positively toward a show of affection. A quiet ride later, we arrived at Saki's house. We got out of the car and immediately knocked on the door. Saki stood behind us awkwardly. Her head was only visible in the gap above our shoulders.
"Yes? Oh, Onee-chan!" A familiar bluenette boy around the age of Komachi opened the door. She looked at Saki in relief before blushing when his eyes landed on Kiss-Shot. "Oh, hello. Are you Onee-chan's friend?"
"Call your parents, kid," I said, already remembering who the bug was. "We wanted to talk to your parents."
"A-Ah, Onii-san! I thought you were someone else."
"Who are you calling Onii-san? Wanna die?"
The bug ignored me and said that he would call her parents. As we waited, I turned around to meet Saki's murderous gaze. I scoffed and explained that her brother once tried to hit on Komachi. Her murderous gaze immediately disappeared and she apologized to me awkwardly. Not long after, we heard some footsteps coming. A middle-aged couple, each holding some resemblances to Saki, came to us with a tense expression.
"Good evening. I am Kawasaki Naoto," the blue-haired middle-aged man said. "Did my daughter cause any trouble?"
Extending my hand, I said, "Hikigaya Hachiman. Nice to meet you, sir." Naoto-san grabbed my hand and gave me a nod of acknowledgment. "No, Saki didn't cause any trouble. We are here to apologize for borrowing your daughter."
"Borrowing?" the silver-haired middle-aged woman said. "Ah, I am Saki-chan's mother, Kawasaki Reina."
"I am Oshino Shinobu. Nice to meet you," Shinobu said with a bow. "Saki was left exhausted after helping us with the cultural festival. We felt responsible for her, so we took her home. Initially, we only wanted to let her rest and freshen up. However, we got carried away and ended up forcing her to have dinner with us. We are sorry for taking your time with your daughter."
Shinobu and I bowed sincerely, bewildering the pillars of the Kawasaki household. Our apology for taking their time with their daughter away was merely a metaphor for involving their daughter in our mess. The two didn't know that, so they were bewildered. They bashfully told us to raise our heads. They wouldn't have reacted that way if we had told them the truth, so it left quite a bitter taste in my mouth.
"I was surprised, you know? I thought our Saki caused any trouble. She is a good girl but often forgets to consider the repercussions of her actions. I am so glad that it wasn't the case this time," Reina-san said, referring to the Angel Ladder case.
"I am not that clueless," Saki denied in irritation.
"Anyway, why don't both of you come inside and have some tea?"
"We would like to, but we still have some matters to attend to," Shinobu politely declined. "We would like to have the tea some other time."
"By the way, Hachiman-kun, I have something to ask," Reina-san said as she looked at me. "Are you the Haa-chan that Kei-chan mentions a lot?"
"I didn't that Keika mentioned me a lot, but yes, Keika is the only person to call me Haa-chan."
"Oh my…. It's unfortunate that Shinobu-chan has snagged you. We want to have a son-in-law that Kei-chan approves. She has good eyes for people."
"Mom!" Saki exclaimed in embarrassment.
"Reina…" Naoto-san sighed tiredly.
"Fu-Fu-Fu. I'm sorry, Shinobu-chan. Must be hard having an amazing boyfriend."
Shinobu merely smiled. We bade our farewell soon and got in the limousine. Then, we headed to my house. Komachi and Mom greeted me when I entered the house, immediately asking where I had my dinner. When they found out I had it at Shinobu's, they immediately asked what I had done. In Mom's case, she asked me when she should expect a grandchild. She was quite unhinged ever since her working shift lessened.
Nothing worthy of note happened afterward other than that Komachi wanted to sleep with me. I was not a lolicon, but I wouldn't refuse a chance to sleep with my cute little sister. I noted how small and huggable she was. The thought that she would grow bigger and not as huggable almost made me shed a tear. Of course, Komachi wasn't aware of my thoughts. She was too busy admiring how big and tough I had become.
The night passed in the blink of an eye and the morning came. I cooked breakfast for everyone, putting the knowledge I had learned from Kiss-Shot-sensei to use. Komachi cried when she tasted my food, proud that I had finally become reliable. She immediately cried sadly in the next moment, though, mumbling that her Onii-chan would no longer need her. A pat on the head and a heartfelt poem about my love for her were enough to cheer her up.
"Geez. You are creepy, Onii-chan. But you are my Onii-chan, so I will love you regardless!"
I would have also spanked her to oblivion if she wasn't my sister. But she was my sister, so I would love her regardless of her quirkiness. I am not a lolicon, though. Shinobu knocked on the door after we had breakfast. She greeted Mom, causing Mom to fawn over her. It was their first meeting. Mom had never been home when she had dinner with us. After some chitchat, we left for school. We took Komachi to school first before going to our school.
I was quite surprised by the stares I got when we arrived at school. Many people had come to recognize me because of my role in the Cultural Festival Committee and the play. They greeted me and I only returned with a nod or a 'Yo' as I didn't know most of them. When I opened my locker, I was greeted by another surprise. I found three letters inside and I could somehow tell what kind of letters they were. Though, I was hoping they were all pranks.
I asked Shinobu what she did with her confession letters and she answered me by throwing all of the letters she had in her hand into the trash can. I was tempted to do the same but didn't think I had the heart to do that.
When lunch came, I immediately headed to the spot written in one of the letters. My mouth immediately tasted bitter when I found a girl there. I knew the girl. She was one of the Cultural Festival Members. She smiled when she saw me and immediately explained why she asked me to come there. I stood silently and listened to what she said.
"Ever since then, I have always liked you. Do you want to be my boyfriend, Hikigaya-san?"
"Thank you for your honesty and I greatly appreciate your feeling. However, I don't think that I can return your feelings. I am sorry."
"Ah, it is fine. I am prepared to meet this result."
Despite preparing herself, she still ended up crying. I was weak against a crying girl, especially when I was the one causing her to cry. Hoping that Shinobu wouldn't get angry, I approached the girl and enveloped her in an embrace. She hugged me tightly as if I was her last lifeline. She cried her heart out before letting me go. She left with a smile, but I still could see the sorrow in her eyes.
Man, I don't want to experience this shit. No wonder Hayama is using Miura as his girl repellent. Then again, those girls are different. They don't come to like Hayama because they have spent some time around him and seen his admirable quality as a person. They like him just because they think he is nice and good-looking.
I dragged my feet back to class with a sigh of weariness. Shinobu greeted me with a knowing smirk. She was already joined by Saki and Yuigahama, surprisingly. I asked why Yuigahama didn't have lunch with Yukinoshita and she revealed that Yukinoshita was absent because of family matters and the club activity was canceled today because of that. I nodded my head and then kept quiet the entire time. I dreaded what would come after school.
Thankfully, the other two girls only liked me on the surface level.
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Honorary Mention:
Venerable Immortal Bowzer
Venerable Immortal Drowz
Venerable Immortal Funéral
Venerable Immortal Keksimus Rex
Venerable Immortal Orion
Venerable Immortal P. Felipe
Venerable Immortal W. M. Jones
Venerable Immortal x_iLaggedOut_x
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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