Ah, yes. Lunch time.

A time of quiet solitude and peaceful nourishment. Indeed, lunch time really is the best time of the school day. No boring classes to deal with, and no work to do. Simple, quiet, peaceful alone time.

I think these thoughts as I take yet another bite of my yakisoba bread. The gentle breeze feels quite nice today, and the sun warms my body. In the distance, birds playfully soar around, as the trees rustle and the idle chitchat of others is all but unheard. Truly, this is a wonderful time.

Yet nothing perfect lasts forever. Soon enough, the school bell sounds and I am once again off to class. Why isn't lunch break longer? Teachers should understand that this is the best time of the day, damn it! Don't take away my precious lunch!

I stand up and begrudgingly make my way down the long hallways, passing by faces of people whose names I neither know nor have any intention of doing so. In my usual loner fashion, I make no effort to look at them, preferring to keep my gaze lower than eye level. I do look off to the side, though, catching a glimpse of Hiratsuka-sensei talking to a student in the teachers' room. Huh, I guess she really is a helpful teacher sometimes...

Lost in my train of thought, I suddenly feel an impact on my shoulder. It's not strong enough to throw me to the ground, but it does startle me.

I hear the words "A-ah. Sorry." and catch a glimpse of light blue hair and what I think is a beauty mark on their cheek.

Oi, that person seemed pretty familiar, didn't she? What was her name again? Kawa-something? I didn't even get to apologize... Well, whatever.

After that little interlude in the hallway, my walk to class concluded uneventfully, for which I am grateful.

I enter the classroom and take my seat, with the usual group at the back chatting loudly. Hey, have some respect for the people around you!

Luckily, their conversation is interrupted by Hiratsuka-sensei striding into the room, holding a stack of papers.

"Oi! Everyone! Get to your seats!"

And the class scurried to meet her request.

Hiratsuka-sensei began organizing the papers on her desk as the rest of the class began to bustle with activity. She turns around while most of the class is talking and writes something onto the board. I can't quite see what it is but I think my name might be there... Wait, my name?

She turns around after setting the chalk down and addresses the class. "Oi, listen up! Hikigaya! Kawasaki! You two are on cleaning duty!"

Haah? Ugh, what a pain...

And to make matters worse, I have duty with Kawa-something. You could have at least let me work with Totsuka!

Judging by the face she's making, I think Kawa-wawa is thinking the same thing: her face gives off an annoyed vibe, and yet... Is she blushing? No, she can't be. It must just be my imagination. She could have really given me the wrong idea, you know?

I guess that she also feels the need to speak up. "U-um! Sensei! Why do I have to work with him?"

Hiratsuka-sensei puts her hand on the table and stares Kawa-whatshername head on. "Is that a problem?"

She gives a slight "Tch." and backs down, arms crossed and giving off a rather annoyed look. For some reason, I'm starting to worry about what might happen to me. She turns her head away and glances over at me, before realizing that I was also looking at her. She immediately whips her head in the other direction, breaking eye contact.

Just what exactly is going on inside her head?

I don't have a lot of time to think about this as most of the students pack up their bags and make their way out of the classroom, leaving me and Kawa-waka alone.

"Well, I guess we better get to it. Can you get the brooms from the closet?"

Her surprisingly normal question takes me by surprise, as she shows no signs of the strange behavior from earlier.

"O-oh. Of course."

I make my way to the closet and retrieve two dustpans and brooms, returning to find her already cleaning the board. I'm surprised that she's already started working so intently.

"Oi, Kawa..."

She turns around an eyes me. The glare in her eyes is enough to make my knees quiver. Go easy on me, please! I'm sorry! I repent!

To my surprise, she just sighs and sets down the chalkboard eraser. "It's Kawasaki. Please try not to forget this time, alright?"

There's a certain softness in her voice that I wasn't expecting. I'm not normally taken aback like this, but this time I'm somewhat at a loss for words. It's hard, you know? Always knowing what to say and when to say it... Indeed, being a loner has its disadvantages.

"Um, right. Kawasaki. Why are you working so hard?"

She looks at me with a quizzical face. "What do you mean?"

I gesture towards the half cleaned board behind her.

"Oh. I mean, don't you want to go home as soon as possible? Especially for someone like you..." She shakes her head. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean it in a bad way..."

I think a normal person would be offended, but being a loner has its advantages. I couldn't care less of the opinions of others.

"No, it's fine. You're right, I just want to go home. Let's get this over with."

There it is! The best possible response! Clear and concise, without making anyone upset! It's no wonder I'm a part of the Service Club!

She just gives me a curt nod. "Besides, I need to get home and take care of my siblings anyways..."

Oh, that's right. She's quite caring for her siblings, isn't she? Well, not like I can't relate. I do have Komachi, after all!

"Yeah, I can understand where you're coming from. Let's get this over with."

We finish up cleaning the board and move on to sweeping the floors.

"Hikigaya, just take that side and I'll take this side." She gestures to the side nearest to the windows.

"Got it."

Despite our short words and limited exchanges, this atmosphere feels oddly peaceful. It's almost as if we share a sort of understanding to each other, a sort of mutual contentment in our situation.

At least, that is, until she knocks into me while my back is turned. This time, it's strong enough to knock me to the ground. I'm off to the ground when I realize there's a desk behind me. I splay out my hands to break my fall but I think the desk is about to hit my-

"Ahhh...! Wake up... Hey, don't joke around... Wake up! Come on!"

There's something shaking my shoulder. Where am I, anyways?

"Hikigaya, please...! Wake up!"

Who's calling my name?

"Ahh...! What do I do, what do I do...?!"

I crack open my eyes to see a figure crowed over me. She's not currently looking at me, and is in a state of panic. Huh... She's actually really cute...

"Oh come on Hikigaya... Wake up...!"

Her face is fairly flushed. Wait... Isn't that Kawa.. Kawa... Kawasaki?

That's right... I was cleaning the room with Kawasaki before I was pushed down...

My vision is still faint but is she coming closer?

"I'm sorry for this, Hikigaya..."

She starts leaning over closer to my face. Wait...

And before I know it, I feel my lips opened, and then something soft pressed to my mouth. Wait a minute...

My eyes burst open completely to see Kawasaki, her face bright red and her eyes tightly shut.

"Mmmmh!"

I struggle to break free and Kawasaki flies off of me, startled. Before I have any more time to react, she flies into my chest, embracing me.

"Oh god, don't worry me like that!"

What's this?

"U-um... Kawasaki...?"

She jumps back, flustered and seemingly shocked by her own actions.

"Oh... Um- Sorry!"

I can kind of see where she's coming from. If I had hurt someone that badly, I would also be fairly worried about them. But still, this level of worry is a little... overboard, isn't it? Well, not like it's not warranted.

"Don't worry, I was just surprised, is all. Although, did you have to kiss me? It was my first kiss, you know..."

She seems a little angry. "What was I supposed to do?! I thought you were really hurt or something... Besides... It was mine too..."

I can feel my face heating up a little bit. She really is cute, isn't she...

"Um... sorry... Don't worry, it's fine..."

Kawasaki sighs in relief. "Oh, that's good." Then her eyes light up. "Ah, I know! Come back to my house for dinner! I'll make sure you get a good meal before you go home!."

Huh? "Wait what? No, I'm really fine, Kawasaki!"

She shakes her head. "No, I can't let you off or else I'm gonna worry. Come on, you're coming with me!"

She grabs my arm and drags me out of the room, pausing to put the brooms away.

"Come on!"

I don't know how this escapade will end, but at the very least, I don't think I'll be forgetting Kawasaki's name anytime soon.

A/N: I know it's a pretty short chapter but writing Kawasaki has been surprisingly tough for me. If I have time, I might have to do some research to get back into her character. Sorry for the intense OOC here because I'm writing this while pretty tired, but I want to get this chapter released. These side stories will probably update much less than my main one unless I am really feeling it, and with this one it might be a while before the next one. It's been pretty hard but a fun journey overall. Hope you guys enjoyed!