Author's notes: It was supposed to be a 5k words story at most, I said. It would be a quick extra chapter, I also said. Not sure how I feel about putting a 10k words chapter right after a 30k words one. But nevertheless, here's something extra for the people who followed this story despite the summary stating that it is a one shot.

Well, hope you'll enjoy it.

Do you remember those joyful, youthful summers where you would run around on the green summer field with the summer sun beating down on your back?

Or perhaps, you remember the summer where you played with your friend at the pool. Maybe, a summer where you and your friends are stuck in a time loop for about 15,000 times because of a god trapped in a high school girl's body? [1]

Yeah, me neither.

Because as a 'working' adult of society, I have more things to worry about other than fun, relaxation and seizing the day, as they would say. In fact, my worries mostly stemmed from my mostly talented yet lazy author who had somehow managed to screw up the release date for his new volume…again.

But that wasn't my biggest qualm with summer. Despite the heat, I really didn't mind as my room was packed to the brim with cool air as the AC blasted away with no care in the world.

My biggest qualm, however, was in the form of a former Sobu high school student. Actually, I think she is currently attending Chiba-U right now, so it would be better to say that my worries come from a university student instead.

Even if she doesn't act like one.

That same university student was currently in my room, absorbing my precious cold air, and being an overall nuisance. She is quite literally annoyance in human form.

"It's sooooo hot…"

For the umpteenth time of today, Rumi whined loudly even though she was directly in front the air conditioner.

"How can it be hot?" I retorted, my eyes still focused on my laptop, "You're sitting in front of an AC."

"But you only set it to 26…"

"Your point is?"

"Why not just set it to 16?" She complained, not taking notice of my disgruntled state, "I mean, it's summer, after all, so it won't be wasting electricity."

I sighed, and put a stop to my incessant typing. Rubbing my face in exasperation, I breathed out another sigh before facing Rumi to educate her about the importance of lowering electricity bills.

But before I could reply with a well thought out retort, I stopped short of doing so.

Without missing a beat, I asked her.

"What are you doing?"

The girl looked around in confusion before facing me again, her face wrought with bewilderment. Hesitantly, she answered.

"I am sitting?"

"Right," I nodded at her reply, "But why are you sitting on my bed of all places?"

With a pout, Rumi replied sharply, "Well, where do you want me to sit? On the floor?"

"There's a chair right there!" I even pointed at the aforementioned object to further clarify my point, but instead of responding to it rationally like a grown up, Rumi just pouted.

That seems to be something that she was doing a lot of lately.

"A chair's not that soft."

"Yeah, then why are you even here?" Even though I said that, I felt a bit guilty since I was the one that told her that she can come visit me any time she wants to.

I certainly didn't expect her to do so every day ever since she graduated from high school. Honestly, what a pain in the ass.

"You have your own home, don't you?" I continued, hoping that my guilt won't be sensed by her.

"Shizuka's not home…"

"And? It's not like you need her to take care of you, right?"

In fact, I think it's the other way around.

Rumi merely grumbled in response, stuck at what kind of answer she should give me. I looked at her tiredly before turning back to my laptop, and typing away at the word document, before realizing why we were having this conversation in the first place.

"Oh, and Rumi?"

"Yeah?"

"Get off my bed."

"Why are you so stingy with your bed anyway?" Rumi replied, tossing and turning in my bed, as evident by the sound she made, "It's not like you have some secret stash hidden under it anyway, right?"

"Idiot," Not one second passed before I replied, "What kind of nitwit keeps his secret collection hidden under a bed?"

"So you do have a stash." Rumi accused me baselessly.

"Maybe I do, or maybe, I don't," I decided to entertain her thoughts for a bit, "In any case, get off my bed."

"Pssh, and you said that I can come visit any time…"

I did say that, huh? To all the future me-s, I sincerely apologize for past Hachiman's stupid actions.

Speaking of visit…

"How did you get in here anyway? The door was locked." I asked her in between keystrokes.

"I have a spare key."

"…from who?"

"You."

Wait, what?

Oh, now I remember. About one year ago, during her one week stay here, I gave her a key so that she could get into the apartment without me being there.

Damn it, past Hachiman!

"Can I see it?" I asked Rumi in faux-curiosity, turning my chair around.

Rumi had somehow entangled herself with my blanket and some of my pillows, effectively getting her perfume all over it. At least, I think she wears perfume. Not that I would know about such information though.

Ignoring her self-inflicted prison of pillow and blankets, Rumi somehow managed to weasel her way out and fished out a small key from her pocket.

"Here."

It shone brightly in the sunlight, almost like an artifact you get after completing a quest.

"And it's confiscated." I said simply as I quickly swiped the key from her hand.

"E-Eh?!"

Rumi became immediately distraught, and tried to reach for her former key, but due to the combination of me keeping it out of her reach, and the fact that her legs were still tangled under my blanket, she didn't put up much of a fight for her precious key.

In the end, all Rumi could do was to pout childishly at me.

Heh, as if that will work against someone of my caliber.

I turned back to my work, and continue typing. At this rate, I'll never finish proofreading if I continued to get distracted. The deadline wasn't that close, but I'd rather finish my work today than tomorrow.

The hum of the air conditioner was the only noise that filled my room for five straight minutes, as both Rumi and I didn't utter a single word. I wasn't sure if something was wrong with her, but it sure as hell was heaven for my work.

"Hey, Hachiman…" Rumi uttered softly. Too softly.

"What? And I'm not giving the spare key back, y'know."

"No, not that, and at least look at me when I'm talking."

I sighed before considering her childish request. Once again, my work was put on an impromptu break.

"So?" I crossed my arm, hoping my discontent would get across to her, "What do you want to say?"

Rumi looked at me before averting her eyes. This went on for a solid ten seconds, before her mouth finally opened up, and a question formed.

"Hachiman…" She swiped a single strand of her behind her ear, "Am I…really that much of a bother to you?"

She even averted her eyes, exuding an aura of guilt and remorse. To any other person, they would see a vulnerable girl begging for forgiveness as she laid her heart out for the world to see.

As for me, well…

"Oh, without a doubt, you are an absolute nuisance."

"Tch." She clicked her tongue loudly.

I sharpened my glare at her, "Don't you dare click your tongue at me, young lady."

My response was that of any immature girl sticking her tongue out, as if to spite me even more. Her intention to spite me was further solidified when she essentially rolled all over my bed, messing up the placement of the blankets and pillows; not to mention, getting her perfume all over it.

Not that I know about such information though.

But, just in case, I'll switch out the bedsheet tonight.

"I'll go get some drinks." announced Rumi, as she hopped off my bed (Finally), and made her way out of my room.

"From the convenience store?" I asked curiously.

"From your fridge, obviously," She replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I'm not going to waste my money."

But wasting my money is A-okay? This is why I can't stand teenagers.

Not long after Rumi was gone from my room, the doorbell rang. But somehow, for the first time in a long time, I wasn't in a hurry to rid myself of that annoying sound coming from the bell.

After all, I have someone to help me with that.

"Rumi," I called out to her, "Think you can go get the door?"

"Already on it." Was her tired reply.

Great, now I can truly focus on my work.

Or so I thought, until the loud slamming of a door was heard throughout the house mere moments after I heard the door being opened. I even jumped a bit when I heard it. While I was worried about the potential of my door being broken, I was even more worried about who was behind such an act.

Actually, I have a pretty solid idea of who did it.

Unfortunately, the prime suspect soon waltzed back into my room, her face indicating that nothing happened while she was away.

Reluctantly, I asked her.

"…who was at the door?"

Placing her drink, a cup of Oolong tea, on a nearby table, she plopped down ever so carelessly on my bed. I definitely need to change the bedsheet tonight.

"Oh, it was just a salesman."

"In this heat?"

She shrugged, "It was a very dedicated salesman."

"I see…then what about that door slam?"

"That what now?" Rumi tried to feign innocence, but try as she might, she couldn't get past my eyes. These eyes were refined with the likes of Komachi, so it stands to reason that no lies ever escape me.

But I decided to be a little patient with her.

"Y'know…the loud sound just moments earlier."

"It was a very dedicated and annoying salesman."

I winced at her obvious lies. At least, try to make up a better excuse or actually put emotions in your words. You're a university student now, aren't you?

But just as I was about to chastise her (Really, I was going to), the doorbell rang once more, this time with even more vigor.

I gestured for Rumi to go get the door again, but she just glared at me and covered her face with a pillow. Once more, I asked her.

"Can you go get the door?"

"No way. Just ignore it." Her muffled yet annoyed voice still reached my ears. Was the salesman really that annoying?

"Fine, then I'll go."

I lifted myself up from my comfortable chair, stretched for a bit and went for the door. That was, until a certain university student somehow got there before me. Her face was stoic as she simply spoke.

Hmm?

"You have work, right? I'll handle the unimportant stuff."

"Right…"

I nodded warily, unsure of what could've ticked Rumi off. One second, she was trying to ignore the door, and the next, she was already on her way there. Curse you, teenage mood swings!

Well, whatever, right? Less work for me.

But just like earlier, as I sat down and hovered my hands over the keyboard, the loud slamming of a door could be heard all throughout the house.

Except…there was no bang.

In other words, something must've blocked it. Something soft or fleshy. Was the annoying salesman really that desperate? I have no doubts in my mind that Rumi could handle it just fine; after all, I taught her my most important self-defense technique, but a part of me couldn't help but be worried.

That was when I heard voices coming from the general direction of the front door.

It started off quietly, like two normal people having a perfectly normal conversation on a perfectly normal summer day. But then, things got louder and louder. At one point, I even heard my name being addressed, so I reluctantly had to go check who was at the front door.

But wait. What if it was the landlord who came by and Rumi basically slammed my door in her face? Aside from the already grievous consequences of shutting a door in the landlord's face, I also feared that the landlord might be suspicious of what Rumi was doing here.

Actually, scratch that, she'll definitely think that I'm illegally soliciting Rumi for shady purposes and will definitely call the police on me if I don't clear up the misunderstanding.

What to do, what to do…

Because I was busy contemplating on excuses that I can use, I didn't notice that Rumi was still talking with the stranger, and at one point, my family name was brought up.

"…-re you Hikigaya or not?"

Instinctively, I responded.

"Yes, I'm Hikigaya."

I even raised one of my hands up, as if a teacher was calling me. In hindsight, that was really stupid. Like Chuunibyou level of stupid.

My responses prompted a surprised glare from Rumi, but I dismissed that.

"E-Eh, Hikigaya-kun?"

The stranger became surprised, her voice suddenly soft and feminine. Somehow, her voice was really familiar to me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"Yeah, I'm Hikigaya," I repeated once more, walking over to the door, "What do you need, Miss…?"

The door wasn't opened to its fullest extent, thanks to Rumi, but once I got past the teenage girl, I was able to spot who was behind it.

"…Yukinoshita…"

I spoke, almost breathless at her appearance. Since the door was opened, the summer breeze had free reign to flow into my house, and with that, her long black hair fluttered around in the wind, causing her to swipe back a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.

It was like a scene from an anime.

Then, as if to add oil to fire, she smiled.

If only WW-san was here to see this.

"Ah, Hikigaya-kun," She said with surprising enthusiasm, "Long time no see."

"…uh, yeah, likewise." I managed to squeeze out a coherent response before realizing that we were standing in a precarious position that might or might not cause suspicious glances from my neighbor.

So, like a true gentleman would, I invited Yukinoshita in. Reasons be damned; I don't want anyone to misunderstand.

"You wanna come in?" I asked her, even though the answer was obvious.

In return, she chuckled, like a bell chime during a breezy summer day, "Well, I would but…"

She droned off, still smiling, but her eyes moved slowly towards the girl besides me. Those eyes scared me.

They reminded me of a shark's eyes.

Amidst all of this, Rumi still held the door tightly. A bit too tightly as it looked like she was going to close the door in on both of us.

"Rumi."

The girl in question was visibly startled as her grip on the door tightened. I narrowed my eyes while she averted hers away.

"Why didn't you tell me? And not to mention, why did you slam the door into her face?"

Even though I couldn't see Rumi's face, I could tell that she was panicking. She wasn't exactly the best when it comes to hiding her body language.

"W-Well…" She coughed into her hand to buy some time for her lies, "I mean, if you really think about it, what kind of woman visits a man on a hot summer day like this? Not to mention, when that man is you, then the chances drastically go down."

"And what if it was the landlord?"

Her body almost froze at the spot as her face didn't hide any of her emotions. She was basically wearing her heart on her sleeve.

"Well, y'know, what kind of landlord looks like her anyway? Exactly, none. Also, it's the middle of summer so you don't have to pay the rent yet, right?"

She repeated her earlier actions of coughing into her hands before continuing.

"So basically, I was taking preemptive actions in protecting your home. Yeah, it's lasically bike that."

Poor girl. Can't even get a sentence out without stumbling over her words.

"Rumi."

"…what?"

"Let go of the door." I said, exasperated at the girl's stubbornness. Even through all of her impromptu rant, she still held a tight grip on the front door. Honestly, she could've used that energy for something way more useful.

Silently, she complied with my demand, looking as guilty as a child who got caught breaking a vase.

I gestured Yukinoshita to come in, and with a smile, she did just that. However, the moment she walked past the door and subsequently, me, I could feel a glare unlike any other emanating from behind my back.

This is gonna be a long day, isn't it.

Short table.

An almost ubiquitous item in every Japanese household. Its uses range from being a footrest to a dinner table; sometimes, it is even used as a study table or a makeshift kotatsu.

It was safe to say that we weren't using my short table for any of those purposes.

A normal short table has four sides, which meant that my short table also has four sides. We currently have three people in the house. So, four sides divided by three people meant that there's enough room for everyone.

After getting three glasses of Oolong tea for Rumi, Yukinoshita and myself, I went into the living room, set everything down and sat down peacefully.

However, due to some unexplained reason, instead of sitting to the side adjacent to mine, Rumi had decided to sit with me…on my side.

Now I know what a canned coffee in a vending machine feels like.

Although I prefer Rumi to not be too close to me, I was way too tired of her antics to properly tell her off.

…Oh god, I'm becoming an old man.

"So…" I broke the proverbial ice, "What are you doing here for?"

"Oh my. It's been about 8 years since we've seen each other, and you immediately assumed that I have an ulterior motive in visiting you?"

She chuckled slightly as she said this, obviously indicating that this conversation was nothing more than the banters that we would have as club members.

I decided to humor her a bit.

"Considering that it's the great Yukinoshita Yukino visiting me, I would be shocked if you have no ulterior motives."

The last time I heard of Yukinoshita was from Hiratsuka-sensei, who told me that the Ice Queen went abroad. I think it was to England? Or maybe, America. I didn't really remember the details.

So despite my joking tone, I still wondered why Yukinoshita was visiting me of all people.

If we go by order of association, then Yuigahama should be the first one to be visited by her.

"The 'Great' Yukinoshita Yukino?" Yukinoshita raised her eyebrow mockingly, "Honestly, you give me way too much credit."

"But you don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all."

Rumi had been silent throughout the conversation, but I supposed that even a girl like her has some etiquette.

Yukinoshita continued talking.

"However, I am a bit hurt that a friend of mine thinks that I only came to his home to take advantage of him."

"Friend?" Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrow mockingly, "I thought you said that we were just acquaintances. No more than club mates."

While harsh, what I said was merely an inside joke that had somehow spiraled out of control during our third year at Sobu. It took many sessions to explain to the then confused Yuigahama.

Those were stress-free times…

"I thought you were sharper than that, Hikigaya-kun. Didn't you notice that it was just a joke between two friends?"

So that's how she wants to play, huh?

"Well, then that jo-,"

"If you two are just going to flirt, then just get a room already."

Surprisingly, despite the harsh content of the statement, the way that it was said was soft. So soft that it almost couldn't be heard. What was even more surprising was who said it.

It was the stoic girl sitting beside me, who wasn't looking at me nor Yukinoshita.

Both Yukinoshita and I were both taken aback by the sudden yet quiet declaration from Rumi. I guess even an introvert like her can feel left out of the conversation.

With that in mind…

"Ah, my bad, I haven't introduced you two to each other yet," I tried to steer the conversation into a more positive route, "Yukinoshita, this is-."

"Tsurumi Rumi-san…right?" Yukinoshita cut me off, her face completely confident.

I was about to continue, but even then, Rumi also cut me off.

"What the hell? How do you know my name? Are you a stalker? You're a stalker, aren't you? I can report this to the police as invasion of privacy, you know." Rumi spoke harshly and quickly, almost as if she was the second coming of Isshiki.

I stared at Rumi for a good couple of seconds or so in disbelief at Rumi's apparent discrimination. She bashed Yukinoshita for remembering her name, yet she berated me for not doing the same? Honestly…

Yukinoshita, on the other hand, was unfazed as she crossed her arms with authority before replying.

"Of course, I would know your name. After all, you left quite the impression at the summer camp. In fact, someone would need to be blind to not notice you at that time."

"…what summer camp?" Rumi's voice was filled with faux innocence as she attempted to lie her way out of this situation again.

"Lying your way out of a tough spot. My, how unsurprisingly childish of you."

I'm pretty sure Rumi knows Yukinoshita's name; after all, she remembered mine, but for some reasons, she decided to play dumb. It backfired miraculously on her as she didn't have any retorts for Yukinoshita's statement, and resorted to incoherent grumbling.

I almost felt sorry for her.

Almost.

"So…" Unintended awkwardness aside, I tried to shift back to what I previously asked, "Why are you here again?"

Yukinoshita's eyes widened with surprise.

"Didn't I already say it? I came to visit my friends."

"I don't quite buy that. What about Yuigahama?"

"She was actually my first choice, but unfortunately, she's out of the country at the moment."

Yuigahama? Out of the country?

"Did she get a scholarship abroad or something?"

In response to my question, Yukinoshita looked at me as if I was the dumbest thing on planet Earth.

"…what?"

"I can't believe you don't even keep track of your friend's life."

"Oi, there's something called privacy, y'know."

"But at least, you should know that Yuigahama-san is a singer, right?"

"…she is?"

Yukinoshita pressed her temple lightly and sighed in exasperation, "Honestly, how could you not know? She's been on the rise recently as an up-and-coming singer."

"Right…

"Though I guess her stage name must've confused you. Do you know Nao Touyama?"[2]

"Can't say I have."

Another exasperated sigh escaped Yukinoshita.

"That's her stage name. Did you not listen to me two seconds earlier?"

"Jeez, my bad then."

To be honest, you can't blame me for this thing. I'm an editor, not an idol-otaku or a music fanatic. The only songs that I know of are from anime or the random radio channels that I occasionally listen to. So really, it's stupid to blame me for not knowing Yuigahama's stage name.

"So you decided to visit me instead?"

"That's right."

"All because Yuigahama isn't in the country," I stopped for a moment before continuing, "So basically, I'm the second choice."

"I wouldn't say that," Yukinoshita tilted her head in contemplation, "I planned to visit the both of you; though, I guess visiting you was the most surprising experience for me."

"And why's that?"

"Well, I know that different folks have different strokes, but I never thought that in 5 years, you would turn into such a…"

She whispered the last part, almost in shame.

"Lolicon."

I was about to logically deconstruct her baseless accusation, but Rumi, once again, beat me to the punch with her own argument.

"Listen here, lady!"

Lady?

"Lady?" Yukinoshita echoed my thoughts.

"You ought to know this since you met me at the summer camp-."

"So, you do remember that summer camp." Yukinoshita interrupted smugly.

"That's not the point!" A flustered Rumi replied, "What I'm saying is that I'm 19 years old and I'm already in Chiba University, so-."

"Do you want a round of applause?"

Again, Yukinoshita cut Rumi off with no consideration for the latter.

"N-No, not that!"

I could feel Rumi's frustration radiating from her very core as her fists balled up. I should stop this, shouldn't I?

But I also don't want to get caught in the crossfire.

"I'm saying that I'm a legal adult. I can get a driver's license, I can drink alcohol, and I can also-,"

"The legal age for drinking in Japan is 20 years old."

At this point, I wanted to tell Rumi to just stop. Yukinoshita left no room for the younger girl to counter attack at all. As a result, all I could see in front of me was the ever stoic Rumi getting angrier by the second.

"Rumi," I whispered to her softly, "You should really stop-,"

Unsurprisingly, she ignored my advice.

"I want to say that even if Hachiman is dating me, then it wouldn't be illegal!"

A moment of silence enveloped the room. It was so silent that you can probably hear a pin drop. Amidst all of this silence, I decided to interject with a statement.

"I'm not dating her, just so you know."

But neither of those two paid attention to me, instead, they engaged in an impromptu staring contest. With the way Rumi was looking at Yukinoshita's head, one might think that she was trying to set the latter's head on fire with her mind.

Oh god, she's really trying that, isn't she?

"Hmph, I was merely joking about Hikigaya-kun being a lolicon. He can be romanced by whoever he likes."

"…I'm glad you understand that." Rumi replied.

Ah, at least, their anger diffused somewhat.

Still, seeing Rumi this emotion was surreal. When was the last time she raised her voice? Certainly not when I'm around. One could say that it might be the stress from college life or even the heat getting to her. Perhaps, it's something else entirely.

Then again, Yukinoshita has the habit of rubbing people the wrong way.

"So, Hikigaya-kun, I was thinking of something." said Yukinoshita as she turned her attention towards me.

"Yeah?"

"Since I'm here an all, why don't we have an outing? Just the two of us."

"Outing?"

"You know…outing. Hanging out. A rendezvous. A date, if you will."

I couldn't help but notice the emphasis on that last word. Was she teasing me again?

"I don't know…I have plenty of work to do."

While that statement was technically true, the deadline for those work wasn't too close for comfort. In fact, I could do 1 hour of work each day and still have some days left for relaxation.

"You precious friend goes out of her way to visit you, yet you let mere work get in the way of a reunion? Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Don't click your tongue at me, dammit.

"Ah, well…"

"Hachiman can't go." Rumi suddenly spoke up.

"What?"

"Look, lady."

Lady again?

"Hachiman's a busy man. Not to mention, he's also technically my guardian so he can't go alone with you."

I wanted to thank Rumi out loud for the assist at that very moment, but held back for maximum effect on Yukinoshita. I didn't know what she meant by 'alone', but I'm sure it was just a mental typo.

"Therefore, I should also go with him."

Wait, what?

What?!

If there was a time to shout 'Traitor!', now would be an extremely appropriate time, but I kept it in. It wouldn't be good for me to have an outburst now, would it?

However, the dam to that outburst almost broke when Rumi looked towards me smugly and gave me a secret thumbs up. She thought that she actually helped. The nerves on this kid.

"And is that okay with you, Hikigaya-kun?" Yukinoshita asked, concern etched on to her face.

I guess even she couldn't know the dismay that I was feeling at that instance.

"I guess that's fine…"

But maybe, having Rumi with me might be advantageous. Since I'm her 'guardian' after all, I can just use the excuse of her passing her curfew to cut this outing short. Not only that, but there's also the option of using Rumi's classes tomorrow as an excuse to leave early.

Argh, but then again, it is summer vacation so there's probably no class. Rumi is also 19 years old as well so I can't really use the curfew excuse at all.

I seriously need to rethink about Rumi's access to my apartment.

"I…see," Yukinoshita spoke in a disappointed manner. With a pause and a sigh, she asked.

"So, where do you want to go?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm talking about what kind of restaurant you want to go to."

Restaurants? Wasn't that too specific? I mean, sure, a restaurant is a great place and all, but why not a shopping mall? Or even a café?

"Don't be shy, Hikigaya-kun. I'm the one who invited you, so naturally, it's my treat."

"You sure?"

With a satisfied smile, Yukinoshita nodded, "Of course. Every fine establishment in Chiba is available to you. All you have to do is pick one."

"I see," I said as I grabbed my chin in contemplation.

I needed to choose a place that serves food that are delicious yet affordable, and also at a reasonable pace. Even if Yukinoshita is paying, it'll make me look bad afterwards.

I racked my brain for a place that fit those descriptions for a good minute or so. Yukinoshita was going to suspect something so I needed to be quick.

And then, a single word popped into my head.

"What about Saize?" I suggested with no hesitation.

Only to be met with an incredulous look.

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

Scratching her own head lightly, Yukinoshita explained, "I think I must've misheard you, because I could've sworn you said…Saize."

"Yeah, I did. What's wrong with it?"

Just like before, my simple inquiry was met with confusion.

"Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita began, "You have the access to, quite literally, every fine dining establishment in Chiba from restaurants with traditional Japanese cuisine to restaurants with authentic French cuisine, yet you chose Saize?"

"Like I said; what's wrong with Saize?" I asked once more. Seriously, what did people have against Saize anyway?

"Why don't I just pick the place then?" Yukinoshita stated, almost in defeat.

"That's not fair," I interrupted her. It was then that a brilliant plan formed in my head, "Why don't we have a vote among the three of us then?"

With this, we will definitely eat at Saize. Since Rumi was coming along with us then she'll be considered one of the voters. So, we'll definitely have an advantage if we do a vote to decide our restaurant.

Oh, Hachiman, you're just too smart sometimes.

I continued talking with a smile on my face, "Between the three of us, we'll definitely have a clear winner. Saize or a restaurant of your choosing."

She can't resist it. If this Yukinoshita is the same one that I knew in high school, then everything's a competition to her.

"So be it."

I smirked.

This was going to be an easy victory.

"The people who are in favor of Saize, raise your hands." I announced in a rather grandiose fashion. In hindsight, I probably didn't need to do that.

Obviously, I raised my hand. Rumi was behind me so I couldn't really see her, but I assumed that she raised her hand. After all, she is an avid fan of Saize like myself.

Yukinoshita was the only one who didn't raise her hand, but she remained dignified, even though she didn't have any chance at winning.

"And for those who are in favor of anywhere else, raise your hand." Leaning back on the nearby couch as I announced once more, I observed as Yukinoshita raised her hand with no hesitation.

Seriously, she should've raised the white flag as soon as I came up with the suggestion.

I smirked to myself as I closed my eyes and stretched, feeling a sense of accomplishment washing over me. When I opened them, they were latched on Rumi.

And for a good reason.

What reason, you ask?

Her hand was raised.

My eyes widened as a soft chuckle was heard to my side. It was Yukinoshita's smug chuckle.

"I guess that settles it then. I'll be choosing the restaurant."

As she said that, I focused my attention onto Rumi, who looked at me, uninterested and apathetic. My eyes conveyed millions of emotions yet by the looks of it, her eyes received none of it.

Et tu, Rumi?

"So what kind of place are you choosing?" I asked Yukinoshita, already accepting my fate.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Yukinoshita gave me a reassuring smile, "I've already made a reservation."

"…what?"

"Like I said, I've already made a reservation."

I held my head in confusion before asking, "You planned all of this, didn't you?"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Who knows?"

No way. If she did plan all of this, then that meant that Rumi must've been in on it. Even though those two obviously rubbed each other the wrong way, did Yukinoshita bribe Rumi in advance or something?

Don't fall to the corruption, Rumi! We already got enough corrupted officials in Japan already!

"However, I must inform you of some bad news."

Yukinoshita's tone certainly didn't indicate urgency, but nevertheless, I asked her a question immediately.

"What is it? You have some important business to attend to so you can't join us this evening? No worries, we can always do this some other time. It's totally fine, and we completely understand."

Rumi's habits were beginning to rub off on me.

"No…where did you even get that idea from," Yukinoshita looked at me in shock, "If that's the case, then why would I make a reservation on this particular day?"

"So you did plan all this."

"Of course, I did."

"Then why-,"

"But that's not important right now," She cut me off before I even had the chance to speak, "What's important is that this restaurant has a very strict dress code."

"Meaning?"

"It means that you have to wear formal clothing, preferably a suit or something similar."

"Sure." I answered, which prompted a rather curious reaction from Yukinoshita.

"I thought you would say th-excuse me?"

I raised an eyebrow at her peculiar inquiry, "I said sure…?"

"O-Of course, you did," It appeared that my response wasn't what Yukinoshita wanted.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that…" She looked off to the side almost in resignation, "I thought that you might not have any formal clothes so I arranged for my driver to pick us up in a couple of minutes so that we can go shopping."

"You seriously think that a worker like me wouldn't have any formal clothes? I still have to attend meetings and events too, y'know."

I was a little offended at her assumption, but suddenly, a brilliant thought popped into my head.

"Since your driver's going be here anyway, why not take Rumi?"

My suggestion immediately caught the attention of the younger girl, who looked at me oddly. Yukinoshita also had the same look, except that it turned into one of doubt seconds later.

"Hikigaya-kun, while I would love to buy a dress for her, I don't think she likes me very much."

I shrugged with indifference, "Ah, but I'm her guardian after all, so I can't really leave her all alone. Guess we'll have to do this some other time, won't we?"

Oh, Hachiman, you glorious genius.

If life is a (shitty, pay to win) RPG, then my intelligence must be through the roof right now.

I actually had to keep myself from smirking from my own ingenious plan, lest I want Yukinoshita to be aware of what I was trying to do.

But all traces of my joy were erased once a string of words was uttered.

"I…I'll go with her."

"…"

"…

"What?"

"Rumi, you're kidding, right?" I looked at Rumi intensely, hoping to send a telepathic message that tells her to knock it off.

"I'm not. If it means that I can go, then I'll go with her."

"Really nice joke, Rumi, but you're not serious, are you?"

With a huff, Rumi responded, "Of course, I'm serious. She will be paying though, right?"

Yukinoshita replied, "Yes, of course. But are you sure? You seem to have quite a bit of contempt for me."

"That was the heat getting to me."

Both Yukinoshita and I winced at her excuse. Never before have I seen anyone this bad at making up excuses.

"I see…" Yukinoshita accepted the lie with a bit of hesitation, "Well then, Hikigaya-kun, I'll be taking Rumi-san to-,"

"Tsurumi." Rumi interjected.

With an understandably frustrated tone, Yukinoshita continued, "…I'll be taking Tsurumi-san to go shopping. I'll mail you the time that we'll meet up later."

"Sure…"

"You don't have to worry too much about this evening, you know. I'll promise that we'll have a great time, even if we do have some…unfavorable disturbances."

I heard a slight growling sound emanating from my side, but I was too tired to affirm that it was Rumi.

It definitely was Rumi anyway.

Yukinoshita stood up seconds later, and took her phone out. She looked at it for a few seconds before she spoke up again.

"It appears that my driver will be arriving soon," She looked at me, or rather, at Rumi, "Let's go, shall we?"

With that being said, Yukinoshita walked towards the door, and ultimately, out of my apartment. She was waiting outside, but for some reason, Rumi had some reservations in following her.

I gestured her to follow the older woman, and she eventually did…after a while. With much reluctance, she picked herself up and followed the same path as Yukinoshita; the only difference being that Rumi stopped right at the edge of the door and looked back at me.

"Umm…bye."

She waved at me, prompting me to wave goodbye to her in return. Before long, both women were outside of my house, leaving Hikigaya Hachiman all alone in his heaven on Earth once more.

If only Rumi expressed that sort of meekness earlier.

But instead of berating myself on past mistakes, I made an effort to prepare for the evening. I'll finish a moderate amount of work and check up on the conditions of my suit.

I miss simple dinners at Saize.

Later that afternoon, I got a message from Yukinoshita, specifying the time and the name of the restaurant that we'll be having dinner at. I, of course, didn't recognize this particular restaurant and made sure to voice my concern towards Yukinoshita.

She simply brushed aside my worries and said that she'll pick me up in the evening.

Somehow, I think this was just another part of her scheme.

But I didn't dig deeper into her plan, and simply accepted it. Most of the afternoon was spent on proofreading and editing the draft that WW-san sent me.

It was only when the sun set that I went to check on the conditions of my formal clothes.

I had bought this suit when we had an editors' party a couple years back. It was way too big back then as I didn't know my own sizes. With some amount of luck, I should've grown enough in the last couple of years to fit in this suit.

At least, I hoped so, for my sake. Don't want to embarrass myself in front of two girls, after all. Especially in front of Rumi.

But even then, I didn't check on the sizes just yet. I had confident in myself after all, and I used all that remaining free time to finish my quota for the day.

When Yukinoshita called and informed me that both Rumi and her have arrived in a limousine, I calmly and meticulously put on my already laid out suit (Really, I did), and went out. Sure, on my way there, I garnered from stares from the neighbors, but they were probably in awe at the sight of Hikigaya Hachiman in a suit.

The word surprise couldn't describe my feelings when I saw the imposing black limousine parked right in front of the apartment complex, thought 'Surprise' was a surprising feeling at the time since Yukinoshita had already told me of the limousine.

I quickly went into it as not get any more suspicious stares from people.

The inside of the limo was like a small room. Y'know, the image of a spacious limo with plenty of room in between each of the seats, completed with a bottle of champagne resting in a bucket of ice.

Of course, that last part was completely made up as we had a minor with us.

Said minor's face kind of, sort of lit up when she saw me, but quickly turned into one of apathy near moments later.

Thanks, Rumi. It was nice to see you again too.

Yukinoshita, on the other hand, smiled at me before giving instructions to the driver. Before the car took off, however, Rumi quickly transfer herself from Yukinoshita's seat to mine. Unlike the situation with the short table, the ample space of the seat/couch gave us plenty of room to work with.

"You look surprisingly sharp, Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita remarked.

"Same to you."

"Are you saying that I wouldn't normally look good in a dress?"

"Now you're just twisting my words…" To be completely fair though, Yukinoshita did look a little…beautiful tonight. Only by a little though.

That woman has an eye for fashion as her dress complimented her form perfectly-and was she wearing pads? I refrained from making such a comment though.

"So you're admitting that you don't think I'm beautiful?"

B-Beautiful? Don't just come out and say it like that!

"Well, I guess you are."

"I am what?"

"…beautiful…just by a little though." I barely whispered. I didn't know what came over me. Normally, I would dismiss such obvious teasing attempts, but I guess time changes people? Yukinoshita obviously didn't change much, and I like to think that I didn't change much either.

Perhaps-

"Ouch!"

An elbow dug its way into my sides. With only three of us in the limo, and Yukinoshita sitting right in front of me, there was no difficulty in finding the perpetrator.

I glared at her.

Rumi stared apathetically at me before speaking.

"Sorry, my elbow jerked." Was her explanation.

I glared harder.

Yukinoshita soon coughed to get both our attention.

"So, what do you think of her dress?"

Her? Oh, right Rumi. The child who had just elbowed me in my abdomen. I could've gotten seriously injured, y'know.

"No comment."

Another elbow.

"Ouch!"

"Come on, Hikigaya-kun. We spent all day picking out that particular dress. Actually, it was her choice to pick that particular dress so you got to give her credit where it's due."

I observed Rumi again. A sleeveless blue dress adorned her rather petite body. Was it cyan? Or turquoise? I didn't care. It's not like my knowledge of colors will matter in the long run. She had eyeliners or mascara or some weird terminology for eye make-up. She also adorned just a slight tint of blush on her cheeks.

She looked like a senior on her way to a prom.

Yukinoshita also had a similar dress on, albeit with a more mature feeling to it. I can't really describe it that well; perhaps, it was just the age difference.

"Alright, jeez. She's the cutest. Number one cutest girl in the world."

It was a phrase that I used often with Komachi. Normally, my little sister would take it in stride, and not let it bother her, but since these two aren't my little sisters, they took it at face value. Especially Yukinoshita.

"Lolicon." said Yukinoshita.

"Now you're just twisting the meanings."

I swore that I had heard a small voice saying 'Thanks' to my side, but I dismissed it. It'd be better to just let it go rather than try to dig deeper into it. After all, it would be less embarrassing for the source of that small voice.

"You know, I expected more resistance from you when you went with Yukinoshita." I directed the question at Rumi, who was sitting beside me, her face filled with confusion.

"I'm an adult, Hachiman."

"Sure, you are."

Her brows furrowed into a slightly frowning face, "What? Did you expect me to say 'Get your mitts off me, you homewrecker' or something like that?"

"An anime reference?[3]" Yukinoshita chimed in, "How unsurprisingly childish of you."

"For your information, it's from a drama."

"How unsurprisingly childish and immature of you."

"You're the childish one since you know that it's a reference to an anime." Rumi retorted.

Yukinoshita scoffed, "Really now? Because I remember a certain someone finally agreeing to put on a certain turquoise dress after two strawberry shortcakes."

Ah, so the color is turquoise.

Rumi, on the other hand, held on to her knee silently.

"Not to mention. That same girl also asked-no, begged me to go to that cake shop again after we finished shopping. I seriously wonder who that girl is." Yukinoshita added.

I looked towards the Ice Queen incredulously. Seriously, Yukinoshita? You would unleash a fatal combo on a kid like that? And judging by the looks of it, Rumi didn't survive the onslaught.

All she could do was barely muttering.

"The heat got to me at the time." Was her simple yet overused excuse.

"We were in an air-conditioned shopping mall."

"…can you please drop this subject?"

"As you wish." Yukinoshita replied with a satisfied smirk. Seriously, how low can you get, Yukinoshita Yukino?

In no time at all, we arrived at our destination. I was the first one to get off the car, and upon doing so, I had but one thought in my mind.

What the f-

"I see you're already impressed, Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita spoke behind me. The light footsteps following her meant Rumi had gotten off the car as well.

And just like me, Rumi was stunned as well for a good reason.

The building in front of us didn't look like a restaurant. It looked like a mansion with its very own garden and a small fountain in the middle of it all. There were also cars as well; not that many however. Actually, no; it didn't look like a mansion. It looks like a goddamn palace!

"This looks like a place that you have to make a reservation one year in advance." I made an off-hand remark.

"Actually, it was only six months."

I turned quickly towards Yukinoshita, staring at her in wonder…or surprise…or shock…or a strange combination of the three.

"You planned all this for six months?"

"I guess you could say that." She shrugged nonchalantly, "Come on. Let's go in, shall we?"

Rumi and I exchanged nervous stares before following Yukinoshita. For this evening, she got her hair tied up in a ponytail, exposing her nape as a result. It looked extraordinarily shiny and pretty that night, but it was just the restaurant's lights playing tricks on me.

We were greeted by a waiter who immediately recognized Yukinoshita. Before long, and with no questions asked, we were seated with menus in our hands.

Yukinoshita opted to ask for our opinions instead, which was idiotic, considering that we don't even know what half of the menu meant.

Seriously, what does Brie en croute means anyway?

In the end, we unanimously decided to have what Yukinoshita was having. After all, she was the only one who knew what she was talking about.

"So, any drinks in particular, Hikigaya-kun?" Yukinoshita asked, her slim pointer finger making pointless circles on the table.

"Coffee." I blurted out.

She sighed before continuing, "Any respectable drinks, Hikigaya-kun?"

"I don't know what land you're in, but in Japan, coffee is a pretty respectable drink."

It seemed my argument had gotten the better of her as she sighed and rubbed her temple in defeat.

"Well, lucky for you, I've already prepared a bottle of champagne that we can enjoy together."

"Wait, wait, wait," I held up a hand to stop her, "I don't like alcohol that much."

"You're an adult."

"Whatever. Besides, we got a minor with us." I pointed towards Rumi, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout all of this.

But, for whatever reason, it was Rumi who got bothered by my statement, not Yukinoshita.

"I'm an adult, Hachiman." She stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"I know that," I half-lied, "It's just that I don't think you're ready for alcohol yet. Hiratsuka-sensei will kill me if she finds out."

"She can't find out if I don't tell her."

"You're only 19, y'know…"

"You don't believe in me, do you?"

Not really but…

"I had spent all day in a shopping mall, went through countless stores and had to endure this stuffy dress-,"

"Which I paid for." Yukinoshita chimed in.

But Rumi simply ignored her. "So the least you could do is treat me like an adult."

I looked at Rumi's face for any signs of weakness. She showed none. Seriously? Am I going to suffer Hiratsuka-sensei's Fist of Justice?

"Fine, fine. Just don't blame it on me when you get drunk."

"I won't." Rumi assured me.

I looked over to Yukinoshita, who called a waiter over and told him of our drinks. But I knew that I couldn't let Rumi drink alcohol. That would be just plain irresponsible of me.

So I stopped the waiter in his tracks (Which garnered a disapproving stare from a couple of diners and the waiter himself).

Without wasting any time, I discreetly told him to get a glass of ginger ale, making sure that whatever I was saying was out of Rumi's hearing range. I saw it in a movie once, and thought that it was pretty clever. [4]

However…the waiter stared at me peculiarly before looking over to Yukinoshita. She made some sort of weird movement with her eyes (or was it her facial expressions?), and the waiter went on his way, presumably to carry out his duties.

The power of social connections cannot be underestimated.

Yukinoshita leaned forward, with her arms resting on the table, once again showing her (pads) accentuated figure. From her body language, it seemed like she wanted me to start the conversation.

Luckily, the flame of conversation was lit by Rumi.

"For a fancy restaurant, I expected a lot more people."

She was right. Despite the multitude of fancy cars parked outside the restaurant, the inside of this fine establishment was barren. Almost empty even.

Sure, you can chalk it up to the large space of the dining room, but even so, I expected a party, an opera singer, or maybe, even a band playing light jazz.

"Didn't you say that reservations for this restaurant are made one year in advance?" asked Rumi.

"It's six months, but generally, you need to book one year in advance." replied Yukinoshita.

"So…why aren't there more people?"

"Obviously, the people that aren't here didn't make reservations one year in advance."

Rumi's face scrunched up, "That doesn't answer my question."

"It does."

That was Yukinoshita's simple reply as Rumi simply resigned herself to incoherent grumblings…again. I guess this is a sight that I have to get used to.

"You're interesting, Tsurumi-san." Yukinoshita said nonchalantly.

"How so?"

"Somehow, you're more intimate with Hikigaya-kun than you are with me despite both of us meeting you at the same time."

"We spent more time together." replied Rumi.

"Is that so? I'm surprised you can put up with him for this long."

"Me too."

"Oi."

"Besides, despite his personality being essentially rotten, he's also insensitive, tactless; not to mention, thoughtless and rude."

"I agree." Rumi nodded her head.

"Am I just a punching bag to you two now?" I seriously questioned my decision to have dinner with these two, "Besides, I'm more curious about you two. One second, you're ready to tear each other's head off, and another, you became best buddies."

"Calling us best buddies is a bit…" Yukinoshita trailed off.

"Too much." Rumi finished her sentence.

"See? That's the point I'm making. What caused this change anyway?"

Women are mysterious creatures, or say so my dad. I'm inclined to agree with him, actually.

"Two strawberry shortcakes, perhaps?"

Rumi just grimaced, avoiding Yukinoshita's gazes, "I told you to drop that topic already."

Our conversation was interrupted when the waiter brought our meals. After our rather fancy-looking meals were laid out, he also brought out 2 glasses before filling them with wine. The last glass was already filled with, what I presumed to be, ginger ale.

Sneakily and covertly, I was somehow able to switch Rumi's glass with the one filled with ginger ale. It seemed that Yukinoshita understood my intention as she kept on bantering with Rumi.

She might be 19 years old, but I wasn't going to let the guilty conscience of a drunk teenager plague my thoughts for days to come. That'd just be a pain in the ass.

Before we started on our meals, Yukinoshita proposed a toast.

I decided to toast for coffee.

Rumi decided to toast for a report-free university life.

Yukinoshita decided to toast for Pan-san.

It was silly, and we were silly. We didn't exactly laugh out loud, nor did we chuckle. All three of us merely exhaled loudly out of our noses in exasperation at the silliness of it all.

In the end, we decided to toast for a long and fulfilling life…or whatever that meant.

But when I took a sip of the wine-filled glass, I felt strange. No, it wasn't like I was getting drunk. I may be a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, but even I can handle one sip.

No, it was the taste that irked me. Was this what champagne supposed to taste like? To be completely honest, it tasted like soda pop. Well, maybe, this is what expensive champagne tastes like. Not that I would know such information though.

"It tastes weird." said Rumi as she put down her glass of ginger ale.

Guess she didn't notice the difference, huh? Not that I would blame her though. The color of champagne and ginger ale are almost, if not, identical.

Yukinoshita didn't let out any snarky remarks nor did she try to let the cat out of the bag. I guess even someone like her can feel guilty.

Our meals mostly consisted of Yukinoshita and I exchanging verbal attacks, with the occasional support from Rumi. While Yukinoshita seemed to gain more gusto as the evening went on, Rumi became quieter and quieter.

I just assumed she was tired.

When our dinner session ended, Yukinoshita paid (Obviously), and we went outside.

And that was when the first sign of a peculiar problem arose.

As we got outside, Yukinoshita linked her arms with mine, citing that she was a bit tipsy, which was evident by her slightly flushed face, which was made even more ethereal under the restaurant's lights, though, I had a sneaking suspicion that she just wanted to trouble me.

Rumi was silent when Yukinoshita paid for our meals. She was also quiet when we left the restaurant.

However, all traces of her inactivity soon ended when I felt a weight descend upon my back as we reached the bottom steps. It was so surprising and heavy that I almost fell down, which would in turn also bring Yukinoshita down.

But due to sheer luck or sheer strength, we managed to stay upright. Yukinoshita looked at me in confusion as I checked on Rumi.

Her face was flushed yet her breathing was steady. It was only when she let out a yawn that I finally knew that happened to her.

She got drunk. Plain and simple.

But how?

"But how?" Yukinoshita echoed my thoughts, "I thought you ordered carbonated water for her."

"It was ginger ale." I corrected her.

"Even so, she got drunk…" Yukinoshita grasped her chin with her hand.

The first thought that came to my head was that the waiter didn't actually bring us a glass of ginger ale. However, the fact that Rumi got drunk, fell on me and somehow, I didn't fall as a result meant one thing.

I didn't get drunk.

This was further supported by the fact that I didn't feel like I want to sleep right then and there on the side of the street.

And if we follow that path of logic, we can only assume that for some god forsaken reason, I had somehow switched Rumi's glass of ginger ale with my own glass of wine.

"I…might have confused my glass with hers." I finally admitted to the less than sober Yukinoshita.

"So you intentionally gave a minor alcohol."

"Unintentionally," I corrected her again, "Besides, she's not a minor."

"But she technically can't drink alcohol either."

"Not like anyone's going to find out."

"Not if I tell them first."

I glared at Yukinoshita, who returned it with an uninterested stare of her own. A deep sigh escaped my lips.

"You won't, though, right?"

"Sure, I won't."

Despite her dubious tone, I took it as it was, and began putting Rumi on my back, effectively giving her a piggy back ride.

"Let's just go home." I said with a tired tone.

Yukinoshita walked past me, "Sure."

And I followed her wordlessly.

The driver didn't ask any question-which was very professional of him-as he observed me taking the then unconscious Rumi into the limo. Yukinoshita didn't have any trouble getting into the car on her own, but I suspected that she just want nothing more than to sleep.

Meanwhile, I was wide awake in this group of drunkards.

When we arrived at my humble apartment, the night had already gotten pitch black, and there wasn't anyone on the streets. Did we stay out that late? I wasn't sure; I didn't have a watch with me.

Getting Rumi out of the car was hard. She was a 19 year old girl, and she was still growing so I had to be careful about where I touch. Honestly, my guilty conscience was a real nuisance today.

Once again, I gave her a piggy back ride, seeing as it was the least strenuous way to transport her way to my apartment. I would've taken her to Hiratsuka-sensei's house, but unfortunately, she wasn't home.

I seriously regretted getting an apartment that was on the third floor. As much as I like the number 3, it was a pain to travel all the way up there. Sure, we had an elevator, but if I lived on the first floor, then it would be way faster.

Also, I didn't want Rumi to puke on me.

Strangely enough, Yukinoshita also accompanied me, citing that she'll make sure that I won't do anything suspicious. She was drunk, so I couldn't really argue with her.

Along the hallway to my apartment, Rumi stirred in her sleep before gaining some semblance of consciousness.

"…Hachiman?" said Rumi in a slurred fashion.

"Yeah, I'm Hachiman."

The rest of her speech was consisted of mindless and incoherent grumblings, comparable to static on a TV. However, one part of her drunken talk caught my attention.

"….wub yu-…"

"The Moon?" [5]

I muttered to Rumi, but by that time, she had already gone back to sleep. Honestly, what do I do with her? What if what she said was a really important habit of her that might or might not decide the fate of her life?

Yukinoshita decided to help me unlock my door, which was one of the useful things that she did today.

She even turned on the lights, and drunkenly tried to guide me to Rumi's room. Obviously, I refused, saying that I was more than conscious enough to do so myself.

In the end, she followed me.

After I laid Rumi on her bed, and brought out her pajamas from the closet (Seriously, when did this become Rumi's room?), Yukinoshita quickly shooed me out, citing that she'll change Rumi out of her dress.

I complied with her. It was less work and less awkwardness for me. Besides, Yukinoshita was more knowledgeable than I am about dresses and stuff.

Since I was the only sober one, which meant that I wasn't drowsy at all, I decided to watch TV. Something that only happens once in a while.

As I flipped through the various channels, from game shows to cooking shows, the door to Rumi's room opened, revealing Yukinoshita with her hair wet, and wearing a pair of shorts and a familiar red shirt. Wait, that's my shirt, isn't it?

She sat down on the couch with me, leaning back as she did so.

"Hikigaya-kun."

"Hmm?"

"Hikigaya-kun." She repeated herself.

"Hmm?"

"Are you listening?"

"I'm listening." I replied, flipping through the channels even faster.

"Can I stay here for the night?" asked Yukinoshita.

It was an unlikely request, but I didn't mind.

"I don't mind," I voiced my thoughts, "But why?"

"To make sure you don't do anything to Tsurumi-san."

"How thoughtful of you." I replied dryly.

"Also, I don't want to deal with my family in this state."

I looked over to Yukinoshita, who still had a flushed face. Each one of her breath smelled like alcohol too.

"You don't say…"

"So…can I?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

"Where will you sleep though?"

"Probably with Tsurumi-san," Yukinoshita leaned back even more, "Although, I have some questions."

"Shoot."

"Why does she have a room here? Is she living here?"

"She's just freeloading from time to time."

"Won't her parents be worried?"

"Her parents…" I suddenly felt a lump in my throat. Do I have the rights to tell her? I felt like it was an invasion of privacy against Rumi.

"They…well, y'know…"

It seemed Yukinoshita got my message as she replied.

"Oh, I see…I'm sorry for asking."

"It's okay..."

She gave a scoff, "No wonder she tried to slam a door into my face."

"Excuse me?"

Without missing a beat, she gave me an incredulous look.

"Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

"I think you might."

A sigh.

"You're probably the closest thing to family for her, so she was getting defensive."

"Defensive over what?"

Again, that stare that clearly stated 'Are you an idiot?'

"She's afraid that I was going to steal you from her."

At this point, I was too tired to think up of a sassy reply, so I merely resorted to a tired 'Sure, whatever'.

Steal me? Pfft, no one can steal me. Hikigaya Hachiman lives a life of independence and freedom.

"Maybe I should take her somewhere tomorrow…" Yukinoshita mumbled to herself.

"Where?"

"A shopping mall. To shop."

"I see."

"You want to come with us?"

"Nah, I'm good. Have fun."

"We will." Yukinoshita replied before standing up and stretched, "I think I'll go to sleep now. There's a futon in Tsurumi-san's room, right?"

"Yeah, in the closet, at the bottom right."

"Alright, good night."

"Yukinoshita?"

"Yeah?"

"Where did you get that shirt?"

Yukinoshita looked down at the aforementioned shirt. "From Tsurumi-san's room."

"I see. Good night."

"Good night, Hikigaya-kun."

With a yawn, Yukinoshita was gone.

Which left me with my thoughts, and the TV.

My first thought was why did Rumi have my shirt anyway? I seriously need to ramp up my own room's security.

The second thought that came to my mind was how incredibly cliché this movie trailer in front of me was. It was a movie about a boy who is trying to make it up to a deaf girl and redeem himself. [6]

The scene that made me sighed was one where the girl obviously told the boy that she loves him yet due to her muffled voice, he confused her confession for the word 'Moon'.

God, what an idiot. If he was any denser, he would be a neutron star.

For some reason, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu; like I had experienced this sort of scene before. It couldn't have been from any draft WW-san sent me. His story was more of a deconstruction of the rom-com genre.

And I don't exactly have the best memories either, so that meant the scene in the movie trailer must've happened to me recently.

Was it the conversation with Yukinoshita? I was a bit drowsy, but I was sure she didn't confess.

Did I pass through a TV drama with similar scenes? No, couldn't be. I don't watch TV dramas.

Ah, if Rumi was here, she would know what show it was.

…wait, Rumi?

In the hallway, Rumi said a lot of stuff; most of them incoherent and random, but the only part that was barely legible was when she talked about the Moon.

Considering the movie trailer just now, and the similarity between it and our situation, could it be possible that Rumi might have-

No, that couldn't be.

It was just Rumi's drunken rant, wasn't it?

It was at that point that I asked myself:

Did Rumi say those things in the middle of her drunken stupor?

Or perhaps, she said all those things due to her own feelings?

Well, whatever the case, it's no use thinking about it. It's like dad always says:

Women are mysterious creatures.

Not that I would know such information though.

References:

[1]: Endless Eight.

[2]: Nao Touyama is Yui's voice actress.

[3]: Saekano reference. Specifically in season 1 where Megumi said "Get your mitts off my Tomoya, you homewrecker."

[4]: Batman reference. Batman drinks ginger ale in the place of alcohol...because he's Batman.

[5]: It's a bit hard to explain. Basically, 'Suki' is Japanese for 'Like/Love' while 'Tsuki' is Japanese for 'Moon'. So add those two together and you get [?].

[6]: Koe no Katachi. You can actually see the previous reference in action if you watch the trailer.

Final notes: Still no Rumi tag.

Update: We did it! We have a Tsurumi Rumi tag now!