The Request

"Kawasaki, what is bothering you?"

I sounded rather harsh when I asked that question and I could see Kawasaki shifting in her seat probably because of the tone on which I asked her the question.

"W-well, it's about K-keika", she answered, stuttering

"What? You afraid that she might never be able to cook a decent meal?", I decided to lighten the mood and it worked wonders as all her hesitation went away and she fixed a glare at me that could give even a certain ice queen a run for her money

"Hikigaya, do you want me to break all the bones in your body and feed them off to dogs?", Ok, I think it worked a little too well , "Keika will be a better chef than even me, I know it", she said like a proud mother would. Oi, control you maternal instincts a bit would you.

"So, what is it about?", I asked

"Oh. You see Keika is being..", she paused, "she is being bullied at her school"

Time had stopped. I processed every single word she uttered like it was a verdict at a court. How can such a sweet girl like Keika be bullied at school be bullied? Right? This must be a prank. She and her brother concocted a plan to make me look stupid infront of a crowd. Now, I just need to find the hidden camera.

But her facial expression rendered all of my hypothesis useless. She was dead serious.

"How is she taking it?", I asked already knowing the answer.

"Well, she often comes home from school and cries. She says her classmates call her ugly and mess her hair and whatnot", I saw the solemn look on Kawasaki's face and felt bad for being so rude to her earlier.

Flashbacks from middle school started to play in my head where I was constantly being ignored or tortured by my peers. They would beat me, put trash into my locker, pour mud onto my lunch and the list goes on. To think that such a sweet girl like Keika must face through the same things as that, no I will not allow it.

"So you want me to talk to her because she listens to me and also because I experienced the same things earlier, is that right?", I said and for some reason, her eyes widened.

"What do you mean you experienced the same things? Hikigaya, were you bullied when you were younger?"

Oh, I forgot. Kawasaki does not know of my past. Hachiman~, how can you be so careless. Bad Hachiman

"Yeah, a little", I answered, "that's not the issue here"

She pondered for a bit before answering with a small 'Yes'.

"Then let's go to your house and do it", her face flushed a bright red color and before long, I realized the implications of my words, "I mean to talk to Keika, Yes, that"

"Oh, okay, let's go then", she said and started packing her bag. Meanwhile, I paid the bill being the.. Ahem.. gentleman I am. What? Didn't thinks I had it in me. Then go and jump into a well. Oh, and I also took a can of MAXX with me. Now can't forget that, can I?

Our trip to Kawasaki's home was rather awkward. We walked beside each other and she would spare me an occasional glance or two before quickly looking away with her face completely red. I wonder what is up with her?

"Hey, Kawasaki"

"Call me Saki, please", she interrupted

"Oh. Hey Kawasaki, do you have a fever?", I asked, my voice laced with concern.

She looked at me with a pout before turning her head away. Hey, why did you do that for, it was excruciatingly cute, come on.

We walked in silence as I would sip away at my MAXX. Everything was fine until she decided to drop the bomb.

"Hey Hikigaya, do y-you...", she hesitated. Oi, out with it woman, "do you h-h-have a girlfriend?"

One, two, three. I spit out the coffee that I was drinking and started coughing due to it. What the hell, women. You just cannot casually drop a bomb like that without prior warning.

"Are you okay, Hikigaya?", she said while patting my back. As if, and I wonder who is the one to blame here.

I stood up and took a few steps away from her. I looked behind and saw the sun was setting.

The orange hue from the sun outlined her form and her glistening silver hair swayed in the slight breeze that was blowing. She tugged a lock of hair behind her ear as she made her way towards me. I was completely mesmerized by the scene. It's when I realized that Kawasaki Saki was a beautiful woman.

I turned around and decided to answer her question with a "No" and I saw her face visibly brighten at that. She is acting strange today, isn't she?

The rest of our trip went by in complete silence and I have to say, I enjoyed this trip quite a bit, despite the relative blandness of it. We arrived at Kawasaki's house and Kawasaki ushered me inside.

"I am home", she said.

"Welcome back home, Saa-chan", a sweet and almost angelic voice answered from inside. I followed Kawasaki to their living room and saw who it was.

There she was, drawing on the papers with that crayon set I presume I had gifted her the last time we met. How sweet, she actually kept it.

She turned her head and saw me and her expression was one of pure delight. She hopped over to me and hugged me and said, "Ha-chan, Ha-chan, where have you been. Do you know how much Keika missed you, Keika will not forgive Ha-chan", she said as she nuzzled her head onto my chest.

I placed her on the ground, went down to her level and said, "Ha-chan has been very busy but he will come to meet you whenever he finds the time, okay"

"Hikigaya, I will go to my room to change, okay", Kawasaki said to me and I nodded. She then left me and Keika and went to her room to do whatever she wanted to do.

Keika was particularly happy to see me. I guess she did miss me these few years I had not been able to see her.

She smiled and ushered me into the living room. I saw the drawings she had made and most of them showcased her with her family.

"Oh, these drawing are very good. Did you make these?", I asked

"Yes", she replied.

"Do your mama and papa like them?"

"Mom and Dad love my drawings. They say I can be an artist when I grow up", she said gleefully.

I scanned through the drawings and saw one particular drawing that caught my eye. It was a drawing of a man, a woman and a little girl. That was not the eye-catching part though. The man in the drawing shared an uncanny resemblance to me.

"Keika, what is this?", I asked

"Oh, this is a drawing of me, Ha-chan and Saa-chan", she said with a smile so innocent that I could not help but internally curse myself as to why I had not visited them earlier and saw this face on a daily basis. Oh, I remember, work.

It was a rather silly drawing, exactly what you would expect from an elementary schooler but yet, I loved it beyond any drawing that even Picasso ever made.

"Can I keep it?", I asked

"Yes, Ha-chan can keep it. I will make more drawings like that for Ha-chan if he tells me a good story"

"Promise?"

"Promise", she said with a smile on her face. I vowed to myself that I would do anything it takes to protect that smile.

I played with Keika for a bit as I waited for Kawasaki to come down so we can start talking about the important topic at hand. She came down after a whole fifty minutes. FIFTY FRIGGIN' MINUTES. What the hell, woman?

"You sure took your time", I said which caused her to blush. She was wearing a blue tank top with blue shorts. It only accentuated her delinquent-like persona.

"Shut up! You jerk", she said before taking a seat beside me. Okay, now lets get to business

"Keika, how is school", I asked. Her facial expression quickly changed into a more solemn look and I internally winced as I was not accompanied to this look on Keika's face. I see now why Kawasaki is so worried.

"I don't like school", she relied while still drawing something.

"Why doesn't Keika like school?", I decided to pry further. I could see beads of tears form around her eyes and I was seriosly regretting ever asking her that.

"The boys at school call me ugly", she said while sobbing, "they say my drawings are bad and that I will never become an artist"

I pondered what to do next and decided. I put my hands on Keika's head and patted it.

"Keika, has mama or papa ever called you ugly?", I asked

"No"

"Has Saa-chan or Taishi ever called you ugly?"

"No"

"Has Ha-chan ever called you ugly?"

"No"

"So you are not ugly", I answered with firmness in my voice.

"Really, Ha-chan?"

"Yes, really, right Kawasaki?", and all the while Kawasaki stood there with a bewildered expression on her face as if not believing what was happening right before her eyes.

"Yes, you are most beautiful girl I have ever seen, Keika", she said with a maternal smile dominating her facial features.

"Thank you, Ha-chan, Saa-chan", she said with the widest smile I had ever seen from her, "Ne, Ha-chan, do you think Saa-chan is beautiful too?"

Eh? Where did that one come from.

I looked at Kawasaki with a blush on my face and saw her blushing as well. Guess the embarrassment is mutual. I took a deep breath before answering, "Yes, your Saa-chan is really beautiful, but not as beautiful as Keika", I said with a massive grin on my face.

I could see Kawasaki pout at that as she playfully punched me. Keika, in the meantime, laughed at our antics and we could not help but laugh along with her. When was the last time I was this happy?

I checked my watch and saw that it was getting late.

"Hey, Kawasaki, I think I should be heading back", I said.

Kawasaki's mood deflated and she replied, "Oh, alright"

But then something unthinkable happened. My stomach growled so loudly that even a lion would cower infront of it. Oi, Stomach-san, why now?

I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment and said, "Guess I am a bit hungry", even though you ate just a little while ago. Who are you, Choji?

They both giggled at that and I was seriously wishing the ground would crack open and swallow me.

"Why don't you have dinner with us, Hikigaya?", Kawasaki asked, blushing a little.

"Ok", I replied shyly.

"Yay, Ha-chan will have dinner with us", said Keika while practically jumping.

I helped Kawasaki make dinner. In the meantime, her parents and brother had come home and there was a rather awkward situation that followed it.

"Mom, dad, this is Hikigaya Hachiman. He was a classmate of mine in Sobu", she said introducing me to her parents.

"Oh, you are the Hikigaya who my Saki talks about all the time, Nice to meet you", her mother with an awfully bright smile. Oi, you could work in a lighthouse, you know?

Her father only shaked hands with me while giving me a glare that could actually burn a hole through me. I ignored that and went to their living room to play a little more with Keika.

"So, how was your date with Nee-san", the insect asked with a smirk. I really wanted to break all his teeth but I decided against it.

"Good", I replied curtly.

"Dinner is ready you guys", their mother yelled and we all made our way to the dining table. I sat next to Kawasaki and saw her father glaring daggers at me. Guess he doesn't like me that much. I think these eyes are to blame.

"So Hikigaya-kun, what do you do right now?", Kawasaki's father asked

"I am currently a teacher of literature at Sobu High"

"Oh, I see", he said, "I am going to be blunt with you, what is your relation with my daughter?"

I almost choked on my food as I understood what he was trying to imply with that question. I drank a little water and said that she was nothing more than a former classmate of mine although I felt something within me stir when I said that.

"Dad, Ha-chan said I am beautiful", interrupted Keika, "he also played with me today"

"Did you really?", he asked me with a rather solid tone. I nodded and I could see his expression soften. I looked at his eyes and what I could see was, respect?

"I asked Hachiman to play with Keika today", said Kawasaki and everyone in the table, save for Keika, understood the underlying message in it.

Her father looked at me and said, "Thanks you, Hikigaya-kun. I am really grateful", and with that he softened up to me. Probably realizing that I was not a threat to his family as he initially thought of me to be. Or was it something else?

As we had dinner, I saw the Kawasaki family enjoying their dinner. Taishi would occasionally talk about how his school went and ask Kawasaki for help with his studies, to which Kawasaki would tell him to do his own things himself. Keika would eat her food but mess her whole dress due to constantly dropping the food fro her chopsticks and her mother would clean it up and reprimand her for it, to which she would pout and say that she was very mean. Their father would smile at the scene and nibble away at his food while occasionally saying something about how one of his employers had messed up during work and how he had to fix the mess by himself. Everything was fine and well.

But then, why do I have this awful feeling in my stomach? Is it because of the food? No way, the food is fantastic and I would give it a 9/10. Then what was it? I was watching a family bonding with each other so why do I feel so bad seeing this?

I finished my dinner, looked at my watch and saw that it was way past my bedtime.

"Kawasaki, I think I should be going now. It is getting late.", I said

"Oh, alright"

"Come back anytime, okay?", her mother said.

"I will"

"Ha-chan will come to see me again will he not?", asked Keika in a expectant tone.

I smiled and said, "I will"

"Take care, onee-chan", said Taishi

"I will"

Kawasaki's father looked at me and gave me a nod and I replied back with one of mine.

"Let's go then", said Kawasaki and escorted me to their porch

I put on my coat and was tying my shoes when I remembered something important

"Hey, Kawasaki"

"Y-yes?"

"Keika will not get over her fears just because I gave her a TED talk today. You must give her moral support and then only will she be able to adapt to her environment", I said in a serious tone.

Kawasaki contemplated my words and said, "I will"

I smiled and exited their house

"Later then. Love ya', Kawasaki", and I don't know why but I could see steam coming out from Kawasaki's ears. I think that girl is really ill.

I walked through the streets while contemplating my earlier thoughts. Why did I feel like that when I was at Kawasaki's house. As I said earlier, it was only a wholesome scene of a family whose members are bonding with each other over a simple dinner. What is there to feel disturbed about in it.

But I already know the answer and yet I am only avoiding it. I envied Kawasaki for the family she had. I was feeling anxious seeing them interact because it reminded me of my one. The one I had lost.

Humans are ungrateful creature. We do not realize the worth of something until we have lost that. I got a first-hand demonstration of that today. I used to despise my parents due to them not spending enough time with me. How foolish I was. I did not realize that it was hurting them more than it was hurting me to do so and yet they kept on swallowing the pain and working just to get food onto my plate. Add to that the fact that I bestowed upon them equal amounts of pain and sufferings, and you have the perfect icing on the cake. Now that I have entered the real world do I realize how difficult it is to survive in this cruel world.

I know this is futile but if I got another chance to talk to my parents, I would hug them and tell them how much grateful I am to them.

And about Komachi...

Oh, I have reached my destination.

Chiba Municipal Hospital.

I wonder how Komachi is doing...