Minor notes: Normally, I would like to end the story on an even-numbered chapter but we all can't be winners. Anyway, this chapter is the longest one in the story, and hopefully, that'll be satisfying enough for you guys. There will be quite a few mistakes in the chapter, of course, since I rushed quite a bit to get it out before uni begins, but I'll try to fix those mistakes before you see them.

With this done, I'll probably take quite a long break since uni is starting again, but rest assured, I'll be back. I think. Also thanks for all the support and stuff. I'm not good at sentimental things, alright?!

Without further ado, enjoy.

Chapter 11: RESTART

Today was perfect for me.

It was supposed to be the most perfect day in the history of perfect days.

As the preparations for the cultural festival wrapped up, and my help was no longer needed, I assumed that it was fully within my rights to stay at home and laze about.

With my ever busy parents still being busy at their respective jobs, and Komachi needing to practice some type of sport with her club (I heard it was ping pong or something similar), the house was for me and me alone!

Well, maybe except for Kamakura, but we can share.

I had the entire day planned out. The morning would be spent catching up on all the shows I missed, the afternoon would be spent on cooking, since I wanted to make homemade sushi, and the evening would be spent lazing about with Kamakura napping on my chest.

It was perfect!

…

Or at least, it was supposed to be perfect, if it wasn't for one single phone call from one very meddlesome woman.

A phone call that lasted for about ten measly seconds, yet it delivered the caller's message and intention in a very concise and thoughtful manner.

"Get your ass here. Now."

Of course, while I would obviously disagree with this woman, she'd also threatened to run all the way to my house from Sobu and drag me by my collar.

And since I didn't want to be seen in a bad light by my neighbors, nor did I want to get the police involved, I quietly and peacefully bade Kamakura farewell before cycling my way through the chilly Chiba streets.

As I arrived at the gates of Sobu, I began to notice that more and more people were coming in to attend the festival. If I'd estimated correctly, it should only be about 8:30 am right now, yet the amount of visitors to Sobu would've suggested otherwise.

After parking my bike, which was an ordeal in and itself, I began my journey to find Yuigahama. She told me that she was going to be in the auditorium, but considering the amount of visitors that we had, it was like fighting against a raging wave just to get there.

But when I arrived at said auditorium, it seemed as if the opening ceremony was beginning already. Since the only source of light was the one pointed directly onto the stage, I tried to carefully tread through the darkened auditorium, and not hit anyone on the way.

I couldn't see Yuigahama anywhere though, which concerned me greatly. Wasn't she the one who told me to get my ass here? Ergo, shouldn't she be the one to receive me? I mean, I could just go to the backstage area myself, but considering that I was wearing my casual clothes right now, it would be extremely awkward to explain myself to students I've probably never talked to before that I am in the festival committee.

Well, sort of.

Sighing, I decided that it would be for the best that I just watch opening act of the festival. After all, I could just go search for Yuigahama after the lights come back on.

Or at least, that would've been my plan before someone tapped my lightly on my shoulder.

Just as that person did that, I almost jumped out of my skin. But after quickly calming myself down, I turned towards said person and expected it to be Yuigahama, probably with a scowl on her face.

But instead, I was greeted with a shy smile.

"H-Hikigaya-san, it's good to see that you've come," Yukinoshita greeted meekly, "I was worried that you weren't going to show up."

"Oh no worries. Yuigahama made sure to remind me," I replied, thinking back to how the pink-haired delinquent ruined my perfectly good day.

"By the way, where is she?" I asked, looking around.

"Oh, she's backstage. Do you want to come?"

Well, she's the one who called me here sooooo…

"Yeah, sure."

As we were walking closer and closer towards the backstage area, I began noticing more and more people wearing a shirt that said something along the line of 'Sobu High Cultural Festival' with another line underneath, which was probably the slogan of said festival.

However, even underneath the dim lighting, I still see the horrendously gaudy design of the t-shirt that every students in the auditorium were forced to wear.

"Oh, by the way, Hikigaya-san," Yukinoshita said, turning around to face me.

I gave her a curious look, "Uh, what?"

"I was just thinking that…" She fidgeted around nervously, which was really putting me off considerably, "It would be good if you were more into the school spirit, you know?"

Staring at her incredulously, I could only weakly nod as I replied, "Sure? I mean, I am trying to get into the school spirit by coming here after all."

Just as I stared at her in confusion, Yukinoshita also did the same to me after I said that.

Then as if a lightning bolt of epiphany struck her, Yukinoshita's face became instantly flustered as she tried to explain herself.

"S-Sorry if you misunderstand, Hikigaya-san," She apologize, bowing profusely while she did so, "I was just wondering if you want to wear our school shirt. It would make us seem more like a cohesive unit, no?"

That crappy shirt?

Swallowing my pride, I reluctantly nodded, which caused Yukinoshita's face to brighten up immensely. She excused herself and told me to wait as she dashed towards the nearest student wearing the same crappy shirt as she did.

I watched Yukinoshita as she hurriedly explain towards the other student, and at one point, she even pointed towards me. Not long enough, the crappy shirt wearing student gave her a t-shirt, to which she then passed on to me.

"What do you think?" She asked, her face positively glowing from excitement, "I helped design it myself!"

"It's…" I took another look at the shirt, hoping that it was just bad angle and lighting that caused me to give it an unfair judgment.

But nope, it was still as horribly designed as ever.

Sighing, I ripped open the plastic bag that the shirt was in, and just wore it over my current attire. By a stroke of luck, the school's shirt was just a tad bit larger than my own shirt, allowing me to comfortably wear both at once. Besides, it was getting cold from the autumn wind anyway, so two layers of clothing wouldn't hurt.

Yukinoshita didn't question my choice in attire, probably because she was still giddy from me wearing the shirt she designed, and before long, I was led to the backstage area, where there were more students than I'd previously thought.

I looked around confusingly, finding no signs of Yuigahama anywhere. In fact, I was almost desperate enough to ask Yukinoshita or any of the other students for help until someone tapped my shoulder stopped me in my tracks.

And when I turned around, the soft sensation of a finger poked my cheek.

"Took you long enough. I was beginning to think that you weren't gonna come."

Grabbing her finger in annoyance, I pulled it away from my cheek before responding.

"Well, today was supposed to be my day off."

"It's Friday." Yuigahama simply replied.

"A Friday in which there aren't any classes," I sighed in disbelief, "Anyway, what are we doing here again? I thought I was just supposed to help you with the festival preparations."

"I don't know too, to be honest."

"You-What?"

Yuigahama began twirling the bangs of her hair innocently, as if she hadn't just wasted my time on day off.

"Like I said, I don't know since we don't have anything to do in particular," She shrugged, "But Yukinoshita called us here just in case anything goes wrong."

"That anything being?"

"Someone needing more manpower, or fetching a class representative, patrolling, and fun stuff like that, y'know?"

"That's definitely not fun…" I muttered.

"Come on, it's the cultural festival!" Yuigahama smacked my back, "Just let loose and have some fun, will ya?"

"I would've had more fun if I got to stay at home," Before Yuigahama could go off on me again, I asked, "So are we just going to sit here and watch out for any problems?"

Yuigahama dragged a chair closer to her before carelessly plopping down on it, "I mean, yeah, basically."

I was about to complain again but Yuigahama was able to cut me off just like I did to her earlier.

"And don't give me that face. After all, we got the best seat in the house to view the opening ceremony and besides, you get to hang out with me."

Sighing, I followed Yuigahama's suit and got a chair from the stack before sitting down beside her. If I was going to be stuck here, I might as well get comfortable.

As time passed, the students behind the curtain got more and more fidgety, if evident by every rambunctious conversations. More people moved around faster and faster, and I could even see Yukinoshita trying to direct some of the chaos in the backstage area.

Of course, being a volunteer who was only responsible for odd jobs, I had nothing to do, and neither did Yuigahama, seeing as how she was content with just checking her phone.

"Yukinoshita kinda looks responsible, huh," I said offhandedly.

Yuigahama stopped checking her phone and looked up at the aforementioned Vice-president of the cultural committee, "Well yeah, she's been so giddy since yesterday that it makes sense for her to be this driven."

"You think the festival is going to go well?"

She took a couple of seconds to think over my question before replying, "Who knows. But at this rate, and if Yukinon don't panic, it might just sail smoothly."

"For her sake, I hope so."

We continued to watch the students at work, though at this point, I was feeling kind of guilty that I was just sitting around and slacking. Sure, voluntarily helping someone with their physical work might not be my M.O. but I still felt awful.

"Hikki, tell me some stories," Yuigahama suddenly said without any context.

"Excuse me, what."

"I mean stories of your world, you goof!" She exclaimed, a flustered expression on her face, "Like for example, what did the two of us do, or did this cultural festival already happen in your world?"

"Well, yeah," I replied, "That's why I was so worried about this festival turning into a shit show."

"Oh wow, was the festival in your world that bad?"

"It was…" I took some time to think back to how bad my experience was, "Not adequate. The actual festival itself was fine, but the opening and ending ceremony was very messy."

"Let me guess…Sagami?"

"Sagami." Was my simple response.

"Ugh, even in another world, she managed to mess something up," Yuigahama sighed deeply, "So how did you fix that problem then?"

I paused. Thinking back to how I 'fixed' the dilemma with Sagami being a diva, I suddenly realized that if the same problem happens in this world again, then that means I have to do that same thing on that same roof again.

Which would probably lead to me getting assaulted by that bastard Hayama. Again.

I winced at the memory. If possible, I would like to avoid standing out during the festival and hopefully, not be involved in any stupid dramas Sagami and her clique stirs up.

"Let's just say I had a certain way to convince Sagami to work," I replied after carefully choosing my words.

"Blackmail?"

"Wha-No!" I denied Yuigahama's stupid accusations, "Even if I want to, it's not like I'm close enough with her to have some dirt on her."

Yuigahama gave a small chuckle, "I don't know. You certainly seem like the kind of person to dig up some dirt though."

"I'm not you."

"What does that mean?!"

Before I could give out my well thought out retort that would literally stun Yuigahama in place, Yukinoshita enthusiastically shouted towards all the other students.

"Alright, everyone! Everything is set and we're starting in-!"

All the other volunteers immediately rushed to their own assigned place as the various dancers and performers made their way towards the stage.

"Three!"

I looked at Yuigahama, who merely shrugged and gave a smile at me. Well, that must've been her way of saying that we should drop this stupid dispute of ours and enjoy the show.

"Two!"

Wordlessly agreeing with her, I leaned back into my seat.

"One!"

And just like that, the Sobu High Cultural Festival officially began.

It could've been perfect.

It would've been perfect.

It should've been perfect.

But as we were nearing the finale of the opening ceremony for the Cultural Festival, I began to notice something off-putting.

The students in the backstage area were getting far too restless. And I was pretty sure that it wasn't just nerves. Even Yukinoshita, who was enthusiastic and in control earlier, darted her eyes back and forth between the stage and behind her, obviously waiting for someone to come.

Soon after, a student that I didn't recognized came up to her and whispered something to Yukinoshita, causing the latter to visibly pale. And as the last performers returned to the backstage, something was obviously very wrong.

Normally, as the people on stage were returning, there was supposed to be a break that lasted for a couple of minutes in order for the next act to get ready. However, this break lasted suspiciously longer than usual.

But when even Meguri-senpai was noticeably rushing towards the stage without any of her usual enthusiasm or grace, that was when I knew that the flow of operations completely halted dead in its tracks.

Yuigahama was already one step ahead of me as she immediately walked to Yukinoshita. Sighing, I did the same, seeing as I had nothing in particular to do.

As I approached the two of them, I could hear Yuigahama asking:

"Yukinon, what's wrong?"

Yukinoshita turned towards her savior, almost tearing up in the process, "S-Sagami-san isn't here yet!"

"What?"

"S-Sagami-san…" Wiping her eyes, Yukinoshita explained, "She was supposed to be here to give a speech at the end of the opening ceremony but no one has seen her. We can't even call her…"

"Why don't you just go up there yourself?" I suggested to Yukinoshita, who vehemently shook her head.

"I kind of…have stage fright, and besides, way more people know about Sagami-san compared to me," She said wistfully, "And I don't think it's right for me to steal her spotlight."

At this point, I pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation at Yukinoshita's lack of initiative. Wasn't this the girl who promised to make the festival work no matter what? Where the hell did all that conviction go? Well, I shouldn't be pointing fingers right now; it wouldn't make Sagami appear out of thin air.

"So what are you going to do then?"

"I-I don't know…"

And just like that, it seemed that this world and my own aren't that different after all. Hell, I would even call that this world is inferior to my own, because my world's Sagami, at least, tried to go on stage and not bail out at the last possible second.

"…I'm gonna punch that girl," Yuigahama muttered ominously.

"Please don't," I said before focusing on Yukinoshita once more, "You do know that there's a schedule to be kept, right, Yukinoshita?"

"I do know but…"

I sighed, "Then just go up there and give a speech. It's not like you're a downgrade from Sagami."

In fact, you're more like an upgrade.

"B-But Shiromeguri-senpai already said that the President of the Cultural committee was going to give a speech," Yukinoshita nervously said, "If I go up there, won't the audience be disappointed?"

This time, Yuigahama was the one encouraging Yukinoshita to go up.

"Yukinon, just do it," She said with a smile, "Shiromeguri-senpai is up there trying her best to buy time so you need to not let her down. Besides, you're the Vice-president, aren't you?"

"But…"

"No buts!" exclaimed Yuigahama, her arms now poised on Yukinoshita's shoulders, "Look, it's not like anyone out there actually knows or cares who Sagami is."

"…harsh," I muttered.

"Shut up, Hikki. Anyway, my point is that everyone here worked hard on the festival and if we can't get through one freaking opening ceremony, how the hell can we get through the rest of the day?"

"She does have a point," I chimed in again. Even the rest of the students in the backstage area began to murmur in agreement.

"And besides, Yukinon, you said that you don't want to let the hardworking volunteers down," Yuigahama said proudly, "So if you really feel that way then go out there and blow the roof off this place!"

"Yuigahama-san…"

Meguri-senpai then appeared from behind the curtain, her face showing visible signs of exhaustion; not that it wasn't expected though, as she was the one trying to keep the crowd warm enough for Sagami to finish everything off. But still, how was she able to keep the crowd engaged for almost ten whole minutes?

"Shiromeguri-senpai!"

"Yukino-chan…" Meguri-senpai began to whine, "I'm sorry but I bought all the time that I can. There's only so much I can do."

"It's totes alright, Megu-senpai!" Yuigahama happily exclaimed, unaware that she'd just given her upperclassman a nickname in the process.

"Eh? Is Sagami finally here?"

Grinning, Yuigahama pulled Yukinoshita in front of her before proudly saying, "Nope! But we got an even better option here!"

Meguri-senpai stared incredulously at Yukinoshita for a good five seconds or so before she finally came to her senses.

"Yui-chan, please don't tease me. This isn't time for jokes."

"I'm not joking!" Yuigahama retorted with conviction, "Yukinon can totally do it!"

"Y-Yukino-chan, are you sure?" The ever concerned Meguri-senpai asked, "I know we're short on time, but you don't have to force yourself to do this. I mean, I can just go back there and make something up."

Yukinoshita seemed to have considered that option for a second, but underneath the waiting gazes from Yuigahama, as well as the other students, Yukinoshita's face suddenly changed into one of resolution.

"It's okay, Shiromeguri-senpai," She said reassuringly, "Yuigahama-san is right. I'm the Vice-president of the cultural committee, so it's my duty to replace the President in case something happens."

I could feel a smile tugging at the corners of my cheek. Maybe this Yukinoshita isn't such a wuss after all. Even that half-confident smirk that she had wasn't looking half bad on her.

"Hell yeah, that's what we wanna hear!" Yuigahama shouted with gusto, "Alright, Yukinon, go out there and break a leg!"

Yukinoshita nodded wordlessly before being given the microphone by a proud-looking Meguri-senpai. She peeked out at the crowd from behind the curtain before coming back in, taking deep breaths as she did so.

Looking back at us, Yukinoshita pumped both of her fists close to her chest in order to psych herself up, which amused a lot of the students, if their small laughs were anything to go by. As her eyes met with my own, I gestured her to go outside.

Yukinoshita gave a smile as she turned around and disappeared behind the curtain.

Of course, being concerned clubmates, Yuigahama and I, along with Meguri-senpai and some other students, immediately opened the curtain slightly ajar in order to see Yukinoshita.

I winced as I observed Yukinoshita walking robotically towards the center of the stage to the silence of the crowd. However, Yuigahama watched on with pride, like a mother watching her daughter performing her first dance recital.

That pride immediately vanished, however, as Yukinoshita tripped herself.

Visible gasps were sounded behind the curtain as Yuigahama was about to lunge in and save Yukinoshita from landing on her face. However, instead of landing on her shoulder or arms or any part of her torso, the Vice-president of the Cultural committee expertly rolled through, breaking her own fall in the process, and serendipitously landed right in the center of the stage.

But what's with that superhero pose though…

The people backstage were quiet.

The crowd was quiet.

Then the murmurings began as Yukinoshita began to straighten herself up and dust herself off. It seemed that little parlor trick got everyone invested again, or at least, that was what I'd hoped.

"G-G-Good morning, everyone…" Yukinoshita said weakly, which caused a microphone feedback, silencing the crowd in the process, "Umm…well, you know what they say…you only got fifteen seconds to catch someone's attention, so hopefully, that caught your attention...?"

Everyone stayed quiet before a single chuckle was sounded, and along with that, a domino effect began, causing the auditorium to be filled with rambunctious laughter. Even the previously scared Yuigahama was chuckling.

Yukinoshita laughed along with the crowd before coughing to get their attention again.

"So…umm, greetings and w-welcome to our annual Sobu High Culture Festival," Yukinoshita said, showing more confidence this time around, "Normally, the President of the committee would be here but due to unforeseen problems…uh, Sagami Minami-san couldn't make it."

Yukinoshita took a deep breath, visibly shaking as she did so.

"O-Oh, I'm the Vice-president, Yukinoshita Yukino, by the way so that's why I'm here…" Pausing, Yukinoshita looked on to the crowd, who was patiently waiting for her to continue, "A-Aha…this speech thing is kind of hard, isn't it?"

"Normally, the President would have some sort of speech prepared and they would read it," Yukinoshita continued, "But I didn't have any prepared…so it's kind of awkward…"

A few chuckles were sounded again. Apparently, Sobu High students find awkward, self-deprecation humor funny, which worked perfectly in Yukinoshita's favor.

"A-A-Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy all the festivities and other things that we have to offer!" Yukinoshita shouted, her voice almost cracking, "And d-don't forget, we're all fools so let's dance and sing a song!"

Yukinoshita weakly pumped her fist into the air as she exclaimed the slogan for this year's cultural festival, only to be greeted by pure, unbridled silence.

"…right?"

And it was as if a dam burst, as the entirety of the student body (Though, mostly the boys) who was in the auditorium suddenly erupted into cheers and laughter, pumping their fists into the air, just like they did earlier when Meguri-senpai went up.

Yukinoshita took this opportunity to give a sharp bow before hastily retreating to the comfort of the backstage area.

The moment she arrived, Yukinoshita immediately went into the waiting arms of Yuigahama, quietly screaming into the latter's shoulder. Meguri-senpai, as well as the other volunteers, also gathered around Yukinoshita, praising her and giving her props for thinking up of that comedy spot to begin her speech.

Though, I was pretty sure that it was purely accidental on Yukinoshita's part.

"Yuigahama-san," Yukinoshita said, her voice muffled by Yuigahama's shirt, "I don't want to give a speech again."

"That's alright," Yuigahama patted her back, "There, there. Now, you can enjoy the festival like any other normal students."

Both of them went back and forth, with a few occasional questions being asked by some other students. I was probably the only one who didn't join their little huddle, opting to instead observe everything from the sidelines.

And I'm glad I did, because a certain brunette suddenly showed up way past the time where she was actually slated to show up.

And unfortunately, Yukinoshita noticed as well.

"Sagami-san…"

Sagami walked slowly towards Yukinoshita, causing the crowd around her to disperse like the red sea.

"You know, Yukino-chan, if you wanted to be the President that badly, all you had to do was ask," Sagami said, her voice filled with false pity, "I mean, I would've gladly given the title to you, y'know?"

"But you…"

"That's bullshit!" Yuigahama suddenly shouted, getting up in Sagami's face, "Where the hell were you? Because of you're being a total dou-,"

I knew that I couldn't let Yuigahama get her words out, otherwise she would land herself in more troubles than she can handle. Normally, I shouldn't care, but for one reason or another, I was trying to keep the festival under this calm and controlled atmosphere; even if it means not retaliating against Sagami.

So instead of being just a passive spectator, watching the verbal mudslinging between Sagami and Yuigahama unfold, I chose to try to calm Yuigahama down instead. And to that effort, a hand on her shoulder was enough to momentarily distract her from the ordeal at hand, allowing her to 'calm down', or at least, that was what I hoped for.

Everyone seemed surprised by my actions, with Yuigahama being the most shocked. She gave me a look that basically seemed to have questioned my very existence. I too gave a pained look at Yuigahama, hoping that underneath that fiery temper of hers, she could actually see what was at stake here.

Reluctantly, Yuigahama backed off, her fists clenched and her eyes filled with contempt for Sagami, who basically looked back at her as if she was a sidewalk rubble.

"Sagami-san, I'm truly sorry!" Yukinoshita intervened soon after, giving Sagami an apologetic bow, "B-But we were running behind schedule and had no other choices."

"Is that so?" Sagami said dismissively, "Well, you could've just called me, y'know? We are living in a world of technologies after all."

"W-We did!" Yukinoshita stammered, "Several times, in fact. But you didn't pick up so we assumed you weren't coming…"

"Are you even listening to yourself?"

"I-I know that it sounds r-ridiculous but here!" Pulling out her phone, Yukinoshita hurriedly fumbled with it for a few seconds before showing it to Sagami, "If you d-don't mind looking through here, these are all the missed calls that-,"

And Sagami did take a look at Yukinoshita's phone; for quite a while in fact as the latter waited in trepidation. I could almost feel every fiber of her body being filled with tension. Hell, even all the other students stayed quiet, despite their rousing praises for Yukinoshita a few minutes ago.

"Yukino-chan…" Sagami said to Yukinoshita as one would to a child, "Are you okay? Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"W-Wha…"

Putting the back of her hand on Yukinoshita's forehead, Sagami faked a shocked expression as she lazily retracted her hand back, "Oh my, Yukino-chan. You're feeling feverish, aren't you?"

"I don't understand…"

"Of course, you don't," Sagami snickered, "Look, you called the wrong number, alright, my dear Vice-president?"

"That's not possible! I made sure to save the numbers and I even checked it twice with the lists of contacts we made."

"Yukino-chan," Sagami said in that annoying babying voice of hers again, "Are you sure you didn't just mistakenly write down my number? Wait, is this a grudge against me? So that no one can contact me whenever they need me?"

The fear on Yukinoshita's face was palpable as she stuttered incoherently, "B-Bu..I…that's not…"

"I can't believe you've done this…" The fake disappointment in Sagami's voice was obvious to everyone, but Yukinoshita, who looked paler than usual, "I know jealousy can be a real chore sometimes, but it's not right to sabotage all the hard work the others had done."

From a distance, I could see Yukinoshita's mouth whimpering and shaking from Sagami's abrasiveness. Now that I think about it, she seemed way harsher to others compared to the spineless Sagami back in my world.

As Yukinoshita continued to fumble over her words, I took the chance to hold Yuigahama's wrist and tug it back slightly. The pink haired delinquent didn't look back at me, opting to just clench her fists tighter and tighter in frustration instead.

I'm sure there was nothing more satisfying to Yuigahama at the moment than to jump on Sagami and give her a beating of a lifetime, but I couldn't let that happen. After this festival, it's not likely that Yukinoshita would meet with Sagami again.

Avoiding conflicts with Sagami was the only way we can get through this festival without a hitch, as painful as it may be.

Yuigahama, obviously, couldn't wrap her head around that, or rather, she refused to. The rage and tension from her body language was almost tangible, but even so, I kept holding onto her wrist. Couldn't let her get suspended, now could we?

However, the longer Yukinoshita got lambasted by Sagami, the angrier Yuigahama became. I realized that at one point, something was going to snap inside Yuigahama and I probably wouldn't be able to stop her rampage.

Thus, with that in mind, I quietly dragged Yuigahama away from the commotion while ignoring the stares of everyone present at the backstage area. Sure, stare at me, the guy trying to distance himself from pointless drama, while not helping defuse the situation at hand.

Surprisingly, Yuigahama complied with my actions, as she went along with me, not even questioning where we were going. It was kind of odd, honestly, but I wasn't complaining. Anything was better than a nagging Yuigahama.

I found a suitable place for her to cool down by the school's garden, which had the added bonus of being a place that no one visits during the cultural festival. Once we got there, I let go of Yuigahama's wrist, trying to observe if she was angry or glad that I led her away from a potential assault.

And immediately, I thanked the gods above that I stepped away from her because she just straight up punched a wall.

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I asked, "Yuigahama?"

"You better have a good reason for not letting me beat the shit out of Sagami," said Yuigahama, pulling away from the aforementioned punched wall.

Seeing as the unfortunate victim of Yuigahama had a small spider-web-like crack, I decided to play it safe and choose my words slowly.

"You would've gotten suspended," I explained, "Besides, what would punching Sagami do? It's a lose-lose situation for all of us."

Yuigahama glared at me, her nostrils flaring and her fists ever tightly clenched.

"I don't care."

"Well, I do," I quickly retorted, "And Yukinoshita does too. So trust me when I say I'm doing this for the overall good."

It was clear as day to see that this wasn't okay with Yuigahama. She was constantly muttering curses under her breath, and taking out her frustration on a poor little tree by kicking it.

I figured that it was a good way to release her stress so I didn't stop her. Besides, it wasn't like anyone was going to come here to stop her anyway.

After what felt like eternity, Yuigahama seemed to have tired herself out before collapsing back first underneath the tree she just kicked. I promptly took a seat next to her, choosing to lean against said tree instead.

"Hikki…" Yuigahama whined, "Tell me how you fixed the Sagami problem in your world."

"You really don't want to know," I replied, "Besides, didn't you say that we were going to hang out today?"

At the mention of hanging out, Yuigahama perked up immediately, and instantly sat up, poking my shoulder mischievously.

"Eeh, you actually remembered that?" Yuigahama seemed to have completely forgot her earlier question, "Don't tell me you were actually looking forward to it, ya dork."

Swatting her pesky finger away, I answered, "Well, since you were the one who dragged me here anyway, I figured that you might as well be a good host and treat me."

"Hey, I treated you to ramen last time!"

"And I came all the way here even though I didn't need to."

"Ugh…" Yuigahama pouted before looking away, "Y'know…I only called you 'cause I wanna hang out with you…is that so much to ask for?"

Oi, what the hell was with Yuigahama today? Why did her Charm parameter suddenly get augmented today of all day? Really unfair; Yuigahama Yui-san, you're extremely unfair.

"W-Well, I mean…" I stuttered, "I guess if you really want to, then we can split the cost…"

Yuigahama didn't relent, and instead, opted to stare at me with those upturned eyes of hers.

"B-But since you already paid for ramen last time, I guess I could treat you this time…?"

Just as I finished saying that, Yuigahama excitedly jumped up, before grabbing my wrist and dragging me back into the school building, where I could hear the deafening cacophony of students and visitors.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" She said, her smile wide and bright, "We're burning daylight, silly!"

Regret.

An emotion that is not unfamiliar to one such as myself. In fact, I would even say that it is the most familiar.

The regret of asking that girl out in middle school.

The regret of pre-ordering that dating sim without checking what it was about in middle school.

The regret of becoming a chuunibyou in middle school.

Huh, my time in middle school was just a crock pot of regret, wasn't it?

Well, despite the aforementioned regrettable actions implying that I would've learned enough to not make the same mistakes again in high school…I made the same mistake again in high school.

Specifically, in the form of promising to treat a pink-haired dynamo to whatever she wants.

I should've ran or just hid the moment I saw that spark in Yuigahama's eyes. But because I got strung along with her, she took the opportunity to visit every single stall and class in every single building in Sobu High.

Yakisoba, taiyaki, reverse maid café, an atrocious play in our class featuring Tobe and Totsuka of all people – Yuigahama didn't care as she dragged me along for the wildest ride of my cultural festival life.

But while I wish I could say that it was somewhat enjoyable being around a person brimming with energy, Yuigahama's insistence on covering the entirety of the stalls and stands outside the school buildings severely diminished my enjoyment.

Which brings me to my current situation.

Sitting on a bench all alone under the hot afternoon sun with every ounce of energy drained out of me while Yuigahama went to buy her third batch of takoyaki (My treat, of course).

However, there was nothing more that I desire than to take a nap; in fact, a deep sleep would be even more desirable, but alas, try as I might, no matter how much I close my eyes, my brain just won't comply. The sounds and rackets coming from the celebrations and chaos of the students attending to their stands didn't help my sleep either.

I heard footsteps coming from behind, and immediately, I assumed it was Yuigahama. Hopefully, in her rush, she won't spill piping hot takoyaki on my head.

But instead of a shrill call for my name, my vision was instead engulfed in darkness as someone covered my eyes with their ever so soft hands. I would've told Yuigahama to stop acting like a lovey dovey schoolgirl but a single voice stopped that.

"H~ikigaya-kun~" The person behind me teasingly said, their hands still held firmly above my eyes, "Guess who."

I was too tired to go along with her charade so I opted to grab her hands and pulled them apart.

"Aww, you party pooper," The person behind me said before relenting and moving to sit beside me.

I looked at the smiling visage of the devil eerily, unable to pinpoint what was putting me off or what she wanted.

"What do you want, Haruno?"

"Oh my, not even a greeting? I'm hurt, Hikigaya-kun~" Haruno whined mockingly.

"If you're looking for your sister, she's in the main buildings."

"That's good to know," Haruno replied, giving a brief glance at the building behind us, "But that's not what I'm here for."

"And what exactly are you here for then?"

Despite being right next to me, Haruno didn't seem to consider my question as she rummaged through her plastic bag before pulling out a container of takoyaki, surprisingly enough.

"Hmm," She opened the box before taking out exactly one takoyaki, "What am I here for, huh? Well what would say if I just wanted to enjoy the festivities?"

I leaned back against the bench, choosing to observe the myriad of festival-goers instead.

"We both know that's not why you're here."

"Hn, true," replied Haruno as she ate another takoyaki, "I'm just honestly curious as to how Yukino-chan is doing."

"Is that so," I replied, trying to sound as disinterested as possible.

"I mean, it's her first time being the Vice-president of the cultural committee," Haruno said, "And I imagine that it must've been tough for her so far."

"More like nightmarish, to be honest."

"Ah, see? I guess both of us can actually agree on something after all," Finishing up one more takoyaki, she continued, "That Sagami is such a bother, isn't she?"

"Y-Yeah…" I involuntarily stuttered at the thought of how the hell Haruno knew who Sagami was. Then again, being a social leviathan might have its perks after all; and there's a chance that both of them interacted with each other, considering the same thing happened in my own world.

Breathing out a deep sigh, Haruno leaned against the bench as she whined, "She put you guys through so much trouble, didn't she? Especially poor, little Yukino-chan. Honestly, she should just die in a ditch or something."

I froze.

"Uh…I wouldn't say that I hate her that much…"

Haruno looked at me blankly before chuckling, "Wait, did you seriously think that I want Sagami to actual- Oh my god, Hikigaya-kun, stop being so pessimistic. I'm not such a horrible person, you know."

Debatable.

"It's just that…it's not a feeling one normally has so…"

"I'm sure at least Gahama-chan felt like it," She stated simply, "Maybe even Yukino-chan, but she's too nice to even think that."

"Hn."

Maybe I could use this pause to get away. Sure, it would be doing a huge disservice to Yuigahama who went to get some food, but then again, it was my money so I definitely won't feel guilty doing it.

"By the way, Hikigaya-kun."

I groaned internally. Leave it to Haruno to catch me just as I was leaving.

"Yeah?"

"You know," Haruno began, putting down her plastic container, "I distinctly remember having a conversation where I specifically told you to not interact with Yukino-chan anymore."

I decided to make myself comfortable, seeing as I would be here for the foreseeable future.

"We did."

"And yet, you're still having conversations with her. You even helped her with the festival," Haruno said, the playfulness in her voice completely disappeared, "Now why is that, Hikigaya-kun?"

"First off, I don't even want to help your sister; we're just acquaintances, and Yuigahama just happened to drag me along for the ride."

"Is that so."

"It is so," I replied, "And secondly, whether or not I choose to interact myself with Yukinoshita is my business and mine alone."

"Hikigaya-kun," She cut me off, "You do realize that Yukino-chan is my sister, no?"

"And?" I retorted, "Even if you use that logic, she's still her own person. You can't just be a helicopter sister to her forever."

"And you won't stop interacting with her even though we had that wonderful conversation at that festival?"

I momentarily paused to look at Haruno. It was obvious that she knew what she did at the festival; granted, Haruno's manipulative wordplay wasn't the main reason I got mad at Yukinoshita, but it was clear that her intention was to halt our relationship, even if it was just that of friends/clubmates.

"We're not friends, if that's what you're asking for," I feigned ignorance, "We're just clubmates; nothing more, nothing less."

"Ah, but I remember that I specifically told you to stop talking with Yukino-chan, you know?"

"Is that a threat or a warning?"

Then, as if the world suddenly froze, I could feel Haruno's gaze focusing on me and me alone. The chaotic sounds coming from the other students suddenly stopped, leaving the two of us in a rather pointless stare down.

I tried to remain as apathetic as possible, but Haruno's gaze bore into my soul with each passing second. I should really find Yuigahama soon. Waiting for her to come back would just get me in further trouble. And once again I get away from Haruno, I should definitely try to not be in her line of sight again. Ever.

Which will probably mean that I'll directly follows Haruno's intention of making me avoid Yukinoshita. No matter how I look at it, she wins.

Haruno looked at me nonchalantly before plopping another takoyaki in her mouth.

"It's a statement, dear Hikigaya-kun."

"A statement can be either a threat or a warning," I said, "So which is it?"

Placing one dainty finger on her chine, Haruno contemplated, "Well, a statement can be interpreted in many different ways."

"And I'm asking you which is it."

"Oh my, Hikigaya-kun," She faked a shocked expression, "Are you insinuating that I'm threatening you? How could you? I'm really hurt by this baseless accusations, y'know?"

I didn't respond, which prompted Haruno to scoff lightly before she continued, "Besides, even if I did want to threaten you, what can I do? I'm certainly not going to ruin your family; that'll just be too cruel. Your social life? Well, I just don't want to stomp on nothing, y'know."

Haruno picked up another piece of takoyaki before pointing it to me, "So let's just have a truce, yea? Here, a piece of takoyaki from your ever lovable Yukinoshita Haruno."

Once again, I simply shut up and glared at her. Seeing as I wasn't about to give in soon, she sighed before tossing both the plastic box and the remaining takoyaki into a nearby trashcan.

"Well, that takoyaki was pretty tasteless anyway," She said as she stood up and brushed herself off, "Just don't forget what I told you, alright? Don't-Talk-To-Yukino-chan. Got it?"

She even winked at me, trying to lull me into a false sense of security with that stupidly superficial façade of hers. Taking my silence as agreement, Haruno walked past me and patted my head condescendingly, muttering 'Good boy' as she walked away.

When she was finally out of sight, I was able to breathe my first sigh of relief. Rubbing my face over and over again, I began thinking of what to do. What she said clearly implied that she could easily ruin my social standings, which I don't really care for, as well as my family's life, which I really do care for.

Therefore, the best course of action for now was to just lay low, avoid Haruno, and by proxy, Yukinoshita as well. Yeah, that'd be good for me and the other Hachiman. Out of sight, out of mind.

As I got up from the bench, a hand grasped my shoulder from behind and I immediately spun around, trying to wring their hand of off me.

"Woah, woah, what the hell got into you?" Yuigahama asked in shock.

"I-…"

"Sheesh, I know it took me kinda long to get another box of takoyaki, but I didn't know you were gonna lose your mind over it," Yuigahama scoffed lightly, swing a plastic bag in front of me, "If it makes ya feel better, I also got some more yakisoba as well. Oh, and some karaage. Super delicious, by the way."

"Sorry…I'm just kinda nervous, I guess," I halfheartedly lied.

"Oh really, why?" Yuigahama asked amidst fishing out some snacks.

Since I didn't want Yuigahama to overreact and confront Haruno, which might lead to even less desirable outcomes, I decided to think up of an excuse.

"Let's see…I guess it might have something to do with the fact that in my world, the closing ceremony didn't exactly go off without a hitch."

Yuigahama's mouth hung open in exasperation before she asked.

"Please don't tell me it's Sagami again."

"It's Sagami," I answered, satisfied that Yuigahama didn't suspect a thing, "And because of that, I really think we should get going to the auditorium, yeah? So that we can help fix…stuff."

"Hn," Yuigahama took another bite of her karaage before setting off towards the school buildings, "Awight wen, wet's go!"

"At least chew before you speak, you idiot," I mumbled before following the ever energetic Yuigahama soon after.

For my sake and everyone else's (Particularly mine), I just hope that Sagami is more cooperative this time. I'd rather not have to 'convince' her again and get myself manhandled by that bastard, Hayama.

I was once again relegated to sitting at the backstage the moment the closing ceremony started. Not that I was complaining, of course, especially since Yuigahama was here with me – her reasoning, not mine. Furthermore, there wasn't much menial labor to be done, which my knees rejoiced gratefully as they were allowed to rest for the first time today.

To say the closing ceremony was going well was an understatement in and of itself. It was, dare I say it, perfect. In fact, it was far too good for an event run by high schoolers, especially by an introverted and socially-ignorant Vice-president.

The lightings and timings were perfect. No performers were late nor were their costumes busted. Equipment were working perfectly, and the crowds seemed heavily invested into the closing show (Which might have something to do with the fact that Hayama was up there on stage).

However, as more time passed by, I began feeling a tingling sensation that something was about to go wrong. Call it my Hachiman sense, if you will, but an event like this with Sagami at the helm of it all was running far too well.

It was as if the event itself was begging to be ruined by being this good.

Yuigahama, who was beside me, was obviously oblivious to this as she continued sipping on some juice boxes that she pulled out of nowhere. I would reprimand her for not being cautious but I was too tired to even care at this point.

But when Hayama's merry band made their way off stage, I was finally able to understand why Yuigahama was drinking so much of those juice boxes.

"Yui, you're up," Miura said, her voice showed clear signs of exhaustion as she walked down the mini-stairs, to which Yuigahama simply nodded at and tossed away her now empty juice box.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked Yuigahama, being the only oblivious one in the room.

"Oh right, you weren't here," Yuigahama scratched her cheek sheepishly as she received a guitar from one of the stagehands, "That day you didn't come…well, I kinda sorta got a solo singing role for the closing act."'

"Oh."

"So that's why I wanted you to be here, you dolt," Yuigahama huffed confidently, "Since you got the best seat in the house and all, you'd better keep your eyes on me, ya hear?"

"Oh…sure…" I answered, dumbstruck at how Yuigahama was able to easily and assertively bring herself up on stage. She didn't even seemed fazed by the relatively large crowd, if her prideful smirk was anything to go by. Even Miura and Hayama seemed confident in Yuigahama's ability to perform solo.

Well, like she said, I had the best seat in the house so I might as well enjoy this.

Yuigahama's performance went fine. The equipment didn't malfunction, the crowd was loud and active, and Yuigahama's boisterous and energetic voice only served to further intensify their enthusiasm. Honestly, I never knew this Yuigahama could be that good at singing; I even caught myself nodding and tapping my foot along with the rhythm.

However, the moment Yuigahama began her second song, I began sensing that something was clearly wrong.

It started out innocently enough with students responsible for timings moving around the backstage area erratically, as if they were trying to find something or someone. I chalked that up to just them being nervous that the ceremony was coming to a close.

Then, I began noticing Yukinoshita running around like a headless chicken among all the other students. I soon noticed that everyone was murmuring and mumbling to themselves more than usual, a telltale sign that something went awry.

And finally, the moment I got confirmation that something indeed went wrong was when one of the stagehands, who was in the middle of getting somewhere, asked me if I'd seen Sagami.

I shook my head drearily, which caused the poor guy who asked me to just sigh in exasperation before thanking me and moving on.

Seeing as I can somewhat help the situation, I stood up and went to where Yukinoshita was. She was talking with both Meguri-senpai and Hayama. Huh, Hiratsuka-sensei wasn't coming.

"What's wrong?" I asked the panicking Yukinoshita.

She sighed in relief upon seeing me, as if I was coming to with the intention to save her. I was not, by the way. But the expectations in her eyes were crushing me.

"H-H-Hikigaya-san," Yukinoshita stuttered, almost breaking into tears, "We can't find Sagami-san anywhere…"

"I figured out that much," I mumbled, more to myself than anybody else, "Well, did you call her yet?"

I asked that even though I already knew the answer. Guess I subconsciously hoped that everything was going to work out in the end.

"She hasn't answered…" Meguri-senpai answered, looking more tired than usual.

"What about telling the broadcast team to have an announcement for Sagami?" Once again, the result should be painfully obvious, but I still held on to a sliver of hope.

This time, Hayama answered, "I already rushed over to them but..."

"No good, huh?"

Hayama nodded, prompting me to sigh.

Alternate dimensions, my ass. This stupid festival was still going to be ruined by the same stupid girl in the same stupid way if we didn't do something. Unfortunately, that would mean that I need to get involved and probably have another talk with Sagami again.

On the other hand, I tried to reason with myself that this was Yukinoshita's punishment for not taking up the issue with Sagami sooner. Still, I didn't feel alright just leaving the festival in ruins.

"Okay then, another suggestion," I said, drawing the attention of Yukinoshita, Hayama and Meguri-senpai, "Why don't we just substitute her with someone else?"

Please just accept this plan.

I knew that Yukinoshita wasn't going to agree with me, but I wanted to this situation to resolve itself without any hiccups.

"W-We could but we still need Sagami-san because she's the only one with the results for the community awards. And she might get mad again…"

"Why don't we just fake the tallies then? It's not like they care," I suggested fruitlessly, as Yukinoshita instantly shook her head at my plan.

"T-That's unethical, Hikigaya-san!" Yukinoshita shouted, "This is the first time we're announcing for this award and if we can't even give them a fair result, then it won't mean anything."

Tch, you and your damn morals.

"Hikitani-kun," Hayama suddenly spoke up, "Why don't we just search for Sagami-san right now? I'm sure we'll still have time."

"That's not possible," I replied, earning confused looks from the three in front of me, "Look, Yuigahama is almost done with her third song. After that is Sagami's speech, yeah? We won't have enough time even if we start searching now, so the best plan is to either fake the votes or delay the announcement."

"…we can buy more time," Yukinoshita said softly, "W-We can have a band play up there again o-or we can have Yuigahama sing again. I'm sure 5 minutes will be enough!"

"Hikitani-kun?" Hayama looked at me, as if searching for approval. The hell, when did we become so close that you need me to give your permission to do something? Even if I disapprove of this stupidity, it wasn't like I could do anything against these two's suggestions.

With a reluctant sigh, I answered, "Then let's hurry up and tell your band and Yuigahama. We'll need all the time we can get."

Truthfully, two minutes was probably enough to find Sagami but convincing her to give her speech is what will take up all the remaining time. This time, however, I won't prolong it by refusing to accept her handing over the results; I'll just take it and give it Yukinoshita. She can just go up there again for all I care. Endangering this world's Hachiman's social life isn't worth being the savior this time.

But we soon discovered another roadblock the moment we told Yuigahama about our plan.

"Absolutely, no fucking way!" Yuigahama exclaimed as she fanned herself rapidly.

"Y-Yuigahama-san, language!" Yukinoshita said, her face clearly flustered by her friend's rather obscene choice of words.

"Ah, my bad, Yukinon," She apologized sheepishly before turning to me and Hayama, "But like I said, no way. I'm not gonna sing again."

"Yuigahama-san…" Hayama chuckled awkwardly, "Please do try to understand. We literally can't have the closing ceremony without Sagami-san."

"And? It's certainly not my problem," Yuigahama retorted harshly, "I'm tired, my throat is dry, I'm sweaty as hell and there is no way I'm going to sing again. Are we clear?"

Hayama was clearly disheartened by this, as he backed off with a disappointed sigh. However, just as immediately as he backed off, Yukinoshita went and grasped Yuigahama's hand, giving the delinquent her best puppy dog eyes.

"Yuigahama-san…please…" pleaded Yukinoshita, "We can't do this without you. I beg of you; it's going to be a one in a lifetime favor…"

"Gah!"

Clearly, Yuigahama took a critical hit from that. She was trying her best to not look Yukinoshita in the eyes, but when she gave in and took the occasional peek, Yuigahama's defense broke down little by little.

I sighed softly. Might as well go in for the finishing blow.

"Yuigahama," I spoke, which gave Yuigahama a reason to completely avert her eyes from Yukinoshita, "If you do this, then I'll do whatever you want."

Everyone in the immediate vicinity instantly stared at me, either in awe or in pity. I didn't know what was worse, but even so, I didn't even have time to contemplate as Yuigahama was up and right in front of me, grabbing my collar tightly.

"Wait. Wait. Wait," Yuigahama's eyes were wide and confused, "Whatever I want?"

I gulped. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea on my part.

"…yeah?"

Yuigahama continued to give me that strange stare, as if her eyes were looking into the abyss itself. It was getting kind of scary…and awkward with both of us so close to each other while the other students were still around.

Nevertheless, Yuigahama soon snapped out of her stupor, and turned towards Miura.

"Alright, Yumiko," Yuigahama addressed the surprised Miura, "Let's go!"

"Wait whaaa…"

Poor Miura. Even though we haven't talked much, I still sympathized with her being forced against her will to do something for Yuigahama.

"I can't be the only singing, alright?" Yuigahama rubbed her throat to emphasize her point, "So you're gonna be the backup."

"No, no, no, I can't even sing!" Miura gave her response, already flustered, "I don't know…get, like, Ebina or something; not me."

Then, as if descending from the heavens itself, Hayama came and took Miura's hands in his own.

"Yumiko-chan. Don't say that now. I know you can sing."

"H-Hayato…"

Goddamn riajuus. Hurry up with your shoujo scenes already.

"We're all depending on you. We need you, Yumiko-chan…" Hayama paused for dramatic effect, "I need you."

And just like clockwork, Miura, with her face still red, wordlessly took her guitar before walking towards the stage. Turning back to us, she yelled to Yuigahama.

"Yui, the hell are you waiting for?! Let's blow the roof off this place!"

This garnered a lot of cheers from the other students, especially Yuigahama and Yukinoshita. The pink-haired delinquent of the Service club gave an excited smirk as she joined her fellow comrade.

But not before turning and pointing to me terrifyingly.

"Don't you dare forget."

I nodded, and Yuigahama gave me a confident smirk before she left with Miura.

Breathing out a sigh in relief, I looked back at Yukinoshita and Hayama. Now that this whole debacle was over, we can finally enact our plan. Because Hayama reasoned that we should split up our forces in order to cover more ground since the school was too large, I had the perfect opportunity to settle this before it gets out of hand.

Sure, it might be scummy of me to not let either Yukinoshita or Hayama know where Sagami actually was, but I'd rather not want a confrontation between that useless woman and Yukinoshita again.

As soon as we got out of the auditorium, we immediately split up with some of Hayama's goons in one group, Hayama and Yukinoshita in the other, and finally, me, myself and I in the last group. Of course, I didn't complain. I should be thankful that Yukinoshita chose to be with Hayama to be honest. That way, I didn't have to explain why she can't come with me.

Now then, since everyone was gone and we had, give or take, five minutes left, I decided to run as fast as possible towards the rooftop of the special studies building. While I had no doubt that Sagami was there, a small part of me was still worried that she was actually at where Yukinoshita and Hayama was going instead.

Instead of wallowing in what-if scenarios, I pushed myself further and immediately found myself proven right. The stairs leading up to the rooftop had numerous boxes, obviously from the preparations done for the festival, but as I ascended further and further, a clear pathway was formed, which meant that someone went through here earlier.

Sucking in a deep breath, I ran faster.

Unlike the last time I was up here, the padlock wasn't present, which gave me an even easier access towards the rooftop. Well, this Sagami might be useless but at least, she was smart enough to hint that she wanted someone to find her, even if that someone was unfortunately me.

The door creaked loudly as I opened it, instantly alerting the only other person here on the roof. I didn't even need to see if I got the right one because her voice said it all.

"Tch, it's you?"

I decided to ignore the obvious insult and tried to get straight to the point.

"Sagami-san," I almost had to bite the inside of my mouth just to prevent myself from barfing, "The closing ceremony is almost underway, and we really, really need you right now."

The safe route here was to obviously try to appease Sagami. It didn't matter that it wasn't my M.O. nor did it matter that my world's Yukinoshita would've scoffed at my weakness. All I cared about at this instance was to resolve this without any further conflict. Even if words got out that I begged Sagami, I would just be known as that guy who saved the closing ceremony, which would then be forgotten in about two weeks.

It was the perfect plan.

…at least, I hoped it was.

"Eeh? The ceremony already started, right?" She scoffed before crossing her arms haughtily, "Even if I go now, it'll be late."

"That's not true," I explained, "Yuigahama and the others are buying time for you. If you go for the auditorium now, you'll make it in time."

"Hmm, good point there. I mean I totally can make it in time, yeah?"

The way she said it made me feel like a pit suddenly formed in my stomach, but in my best effort to not show my frustration with her, I merely nodded.

Then with a disgusting smirk, she said, "But then again, why should I?"

"Sagami, look-,"

"Why should I have to fix that princess' mistakes, huh?" Sagami spat out in disgust, "If she'd never joined the committee, then none of this would've happened."

I held myself back from lashing back at her. No matter how conceited she may be, I still wanted her to complete her duties; either that, or let us complete it for her. If she insults Yukinoshita but is able to give the announcement about the community award later on, then it's fine by me.

Anything but a repeat of the cultural festival in that world is a happy end in my book.

"I…I'm sure Yukinoshita must've ticked off a nerve or too. Hell, I can relate to that," I forced myself to agree with Sagami, "But you doing this is letting everyone else down. What about the ones that supported you?"

"Pssh, supported me?" Sagami said, waving around a piece of paper. I was sure that it was the voting tallies, "They supported Yukinoshita. Even a dull guy like you can understand that, yeah?"

Exhaling and inhaling deeply, I tried to calm myself again. To be honest, I prefer the other Sagami to this…whatever this woman is. This abomination of spite isn't incompetent, far from it, but she chose to be useless to everyone else just to get back at Yukinoshita.

Pathetic.

"…right, but we still need the results for the community award," I held my hand out, "If you don't want to see Yukinoshita's face again, then we can still finish your job for you. Afterward, I can make up excuses for you."

"Hah?" Sagami looked at my outstretched hand as if it was plagued with diseases.

"Trust me. Everyone is more naïve than you think," I reassured her, "They'll give all the credit to you and won't even suspect a thing."

Once more, Sagami looked at my hand, but instead of contempt, she was clearly in contemplation. Come on, just give me the damn paper already. We already did most of her jobs and now she chose to be stubborn?

The music coming from the auditorium reverberated all the way to the top of the roof, but I knew that it wasn't going to last. We only had approximately, give or take, 3 minutes left. And even that was a stretch.

Why are you deciding to be the role model of a committee president now?!

Sagami looked at me curiously and cautiously, probably thinking that I was going to rip her off and not uphold my end of the deal. Of course, I planned to not do so anyway, but I wasn't going to tarnish what little respect the others have left for her.

I kept my face stoic as possible, and it seemed that it had a noticeable effect on Sagami as she took little steps forward. Her defense was cracking, and despite the distance between us being over five meters, it felt like the papers in her hands were just five centimeters away from me.

Just a little more.

The autumn wind blew harder and harder as Sagami moved towards me, her paper-holding hand almost outstretched. Just a little more and all of this charade could be done and over it. Just a little more and I could rest easy.

But life in another world has various ways to screw with me.

Just as I began approaching Sagami in return, the door to the rooftop was swung open, and as a result, that useless girl was startled and decided to back off.

The perpetrators were Sagami's band of merry sycophants, Hayama…and Yukinoshita.

Shit. Shit. Shit

I cursed under my breath several times as those four made their way towards us. How did they find out that we were here? Didn't we split up towards different part of the school?

"Minami-chaaaan!"

Almost immediately, Sagami's clique members went up and hugged her tightly, as if she was hurt. Hayama came forward too with a grin on his face, pleased that their search wasn't in vain.

However, when I took a glance at Yukinoshita, she seemed reluctant to step forward. At least, she was aware of her limits this time.

"S-Sorry everyone," Sagami immediately switched into her cute-girl voice in an attempt to garner sympathy, "I've been such a bother to everyone all day and I-I don't know what to do…"

"Aww, Minami," One of the girls said, patting Sagami on her back, "It's alright. You were just stressed out."

"Yeah, yeah," The other girl nodded, "It's been a totally rough day, y'know. So we understand. Right, Hayama-kun?"

All three of them looked at Sobu's resident white knight, who nodded pathetically at their question.

"Of course," Hayama gave his signature smile, "You're the president and all, so all of this must've gotten to you. But it's alright now. We can still make it in time."

Sagami almost burst into a grin but instantly switched to her brooding face, "I just don't know if it's alright to face everyone…"

"Minami-chan, no one is gonna blame you for this, y'know!"

But even if the sight in front of me made my blood boil in frustration, I still couldn't fault Hayama and those girls. If they were able to get Sagami to do the announcement themselves, then fine by me; even if it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

"Everyone…" Sagami lifted her face up, as if her burdens were lifted, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

I sighed in relief. At last, this farce can be over it, and I didn't have to get my hands dirty.

At least, that was what I thought at first.

"But there's just one thing that's been bugging me…and I want some closure to it."

"What is it, Sagami-san?" Hayama asked, "If there's anything we can do, don't hesitate."

"It's just…" Sagami held her hands close to her chest, trying to look as meek as possible, "I want Yukino-chan to apologize to me."

?

"W-W-What?!" Yukinoshita exclaimed, "B-But I didn't do anything!"

Almost instantly, Sagami's face almost darkened in irritation, "Didn't do anything? How about hijacking all of my plans, huh? You did everything just to mess with me. You approved all those budget without consulting me first! How could you that, Yukino-chan?"

"But you were…"

"Is this a jealousy thing?" Sagami faked a hurt expression, "I can understand that but it's not reason to actively sabotage the entire festival."

"Listen! I-,"

Cutting off Yukinoshita again, Sagami said, "And you even got your sister to try and scare me…that's just disappointing of you."

Despite the rather hefty distance between them, Yukinoshita started backing off ever so slightly, her face contorted into one of fear and confusion.

"I-I didn't…"

"But I'm giving you a chance to bury the hatchet, Yukino-chan," Sagami smiled knowingly, "Don't be such a hindrance. All you have to do is apologize to me. Is that so hard?"

"Yeah, just do it, Yukino," One girl said, almost angrily in fact, while the other nodded in agreement.

In a last ditch effort, Yukinoshita turned to Hayama, "H-Hayama-kun, you know that this is wrong, right? Please tell me you don't believe them."

But just as I expected, Hayama didn't even have the gall to look Yukinoshita in the eyes as he too agreed with what Sagami and her goons said.

"Yukino-chan…I think you should apologize to Sagami-san."

"Wh-Wha…"

It wouldn't be strange to see Yukinoshita faint right then and there. But of course, she didn't. This Yukinoshita was stupidly stubborn in her own way. Just like she was stubborn enough to not reprimand Sagami earlier.

And as I watched the scene in front of me unfold, I could feel myself shaking. I tried to clench my fists in order to control my temper, but the longer I watched Yukinoshita being victimized by Sagami, Hayama along with their mindless followers, I found it harder to breathe properly.

I kept telling myself that this was karma. This was Yukinoshita's punishment for being a pushover. Her willingness to let Sagami's laziness trample over her came back to bite her. Yet no matter how many excuses I've told myself, I still found that it was infuriating to be a spectator.

Even though I wanted nothing controversial to do with this festival, a part of me wanted to leap in and save Yukinoshita.

Not because I like this Yukinoshita. Far from it.

But not because I hate Hayama and Sagami either.

And it was certainly not to beat the clock.

It just wasn't fair to her.

And I hate that. I hate that feeling so much.

A couple of shallow people essentially bullying Yukinoshita into submission and yet, nothing was done to stop it. Hayama was too much of a pansy and there was no one else here. Even if there was some other student here, they would probably go along with Sagami anyway.

I sighed in irritation, but not loud enough that they could hear it. And as I thought more about it, I chuckled to myself slightly.

A brand new universe, a brand new set of people, and yet, I still stand here, about to do the same thing I did in my own world. The world is just cruel that way.

Well, if it was possible, I should probably write an apology letter to the other Hachiman when he comes back.

"Would you stop being such a goddamn diva already!?"

The autumn wind that was blowing around us harshly before suddenly stopped, allowing all five us to wallow in its silence.

And almost immediately, almost everyone's eyes were directed at me.

Of course, they would think that I was the sort of person to say that. My face didn't exactly scream nice guy to anyone, and I would certainly give off the impression that I hate Sagami. But even so, I was sure that deep down in their hearts, they knew that it wasn't me.

Because if I'd said that, my voice would be low and full of contempt, not shrieking and full of frustration.

Also, my voice is never that high…or that meek.

I turned my shocked eyes to the only other person who could've done it, and the others began to do so as well.

"Yukino-chan…" Hayama approached Yukinoshita, "What are you talking abo-,"

"Hayama-kun, please be quiet for a second," Yukinoshita cut him off without batting an eye, "I swear, if you say anything else, I might actually lose it."

"Hey!" One of Sagami's goon shouted, "What the hell are you ta-,"

"And you two shut up too," Pinching her bridge of her nose in exasperation, Yukinoshita breathed in and out slowly, "This is between me and Sagami, so please just shut up already."

Hearing Yukinoshita address her without any honorifics must've been startling for Sagami as she evidently flinched the moment Yukinoshita walked up in front of her.

"W-What?" Sagami uttered.

But instead of the meek girl that stood in front of her just mere seconds ago, Yukinoshita looked more pissed off than anything, as if a dam inside her had finally burst.

However, while I expected shouting from the frustrated Yukinoshita, she did anything but shout at Sagami. Her voice and choice of words were extremely slow and deliberate, as if talking to a child.

"Sagami, just help me understand you. Because right now, I can't get what's going on inside your head," Yukinoshita said, "Really, I'm trying to follow your logic but I just can't."

Taking in a deep breath, Yukinoshita explained, "You said that I hijacked the festival preparations? Of course, I did. Not because I want to, but because I had to; because you were doing nothing to help us. We only started doing something when the first week had passed. That's a lot of time wasted, you know."

"That's not-!"

"No, shut up," Yukinoshita held up her hand, "I only 'hijacked' the preparations because you were too incompetent to actually be of any use. Oh, and me approving the budgets without your input?"

"W-What about it?" Sagami asked, obviously flustered.

"I did try to get your input," Before Sagami could retort, Yukinoshita began listing off, "I tried everything Sagami. Line, twitter, SNS, email, phone calls; I tried everything to contact you and each time that I got through, you just brushed me off like some fly."

"And that thing about my sister scaring you?" Chuckling, Yukinoshita continued, "You were the one who was up in her face because she called you out on your incompetence. I was the one who tried to vouch for you! Me!"

"…well, that's…"

Sagami's voice was extremely weak, and it clearly showed that she was lost due to Yukinoshita's sudden brashness. She even tried to gesture Hayama for help, but Yukinoshita immediately cut that notion down.

"And don't look at Hayama. He's useless to you now," Yukinoshita spat out in frustration, which even caused Hayama to flinch, "And about me sabotaging the actual festival? You were the one who was late to the first ceremony of the day. Now, you're even holding our voting tallies hostage."

"Well, that's because you didn't contact me!"

Yukinoshita looked at Sagami in amusement, "Please tell me you don't think that excuse is going to fly. How is it possible that a number that worked for several weeks was suddenly changed on the day of the festival?"

"…"

Sighing, Yukinoshita brought her hand up to massage her forehead, "Sometimes, I can't even tell anymore. Are you that stupid or just special? Because right now I'm leaning towards the latter."

"But then again, I was stupid for thinking that you were actually 'researching' when you were just off slacking," She chuckled darkly to herself, "I-I just…It baffles me that someone as irresponsible as you could function for over sixteen years in life."

Yukinoshita walked closer and closer towards Sagami, forcing the latter to step back ever so slightly, much to her chagrin.

"This festival is important for me; really it is. I just wanted to organize it just like my sister did but when I found out someone else was the president, I promised that I would help them as much as possible," Yukinoshita shook her head at her own delusions, "But you're just in this for attention. For recognition. For the fact that you can take the credit and become the most popular person in Sobu."

If a bystander suddenly came and look at this, the situation to them would most likely be interpreted as Sagami bullying Yukinoshita, simply due to how calm the latter looked while the former looked enraged beyond belief.

"Sagami, just know that you're nothing. This brief stint as the committee president? Enjoy it because I know you'll never amount to anything else," Yukinoshita said, ticking off Sagami even more, "After all, you're nothing more than a pathetic, rotten, attention whore."

The sound of flesh impacting against flesh immediately rang out just as Yukinoshita finished her insults.

Without any warning whatsoever, Sagami had just slapped Yukinoshita without any guilt or remorse, while Yukinoshita kept hanging her head low, as if expecting more punishment to be dealt out by Sagami.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?! SCREW YOU!" Sagami said, her eyes already leaking tears, "YOU WANT THIS STUPID PAPER SO BAD? YOU CAN HAVE IT!"

Just like she said, Sagami threw the crumbled up pieces of papers that were supposed to be our voting tallies into Yukinoshita's face, but the latter still didn't budge, which provoked Sagami even more as she tried to jump on Yukinoshita.

But that attempt was immediately foiled as Hayama and Sagami's friends went on and latched on to Sagami herself, while I tried my hardest to shield Yukinoshita from any further attacks.

When the adrenaline finally ran out, Sagami burst into tears and was immediately comforted by her sickeningly sycophantic friends. Hayama reached down and grabbed the voting tallies before walking to Sagami again, shooting glances of disappointment at Yukinoshita as he did so.

"Sagami-san," Hayama said softly, "We should really go now, you know."

"B-But it's n-not fair!" Sagami said in between tears, "I tried my best!"

"Yes, yes, you did," Hayama lied through his teeth, "Unfortunately, some people can't see that."

I glared at the bastard. If he was going to lie, at least don't make it so blatant.

"Yeah, he's right, Minamin!" The girl to the right of Sagami said, clutching Sagami's hand tightly, "You shouldn't have to worry about that girl. She's not worth it."

Hayama glanced at Yukinoshita again, who still hung her head, "Yeah, we should go. She's not worth it."

Slowly but surely, Sagami was able to get up with the help of her friends, and despite the tears and the underhanded insults that her friends threw out, she was able to walk away from me and Yukinoshita and eventually down the rooftop stairways before completely disappearing from our view.

It took a while before Yukinoshita started moving again, but instead of doing what I'd expected of her to do and follow Hayama, Yukinoshita just brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly.

The soft hiccups and sobs of Yukinoshita Yukino immediately drowned out the howling autumn wind.

Of course, I didn't go back immediately. Yuigahama will kill me if she finds out that everyone is back except Yukinoshita. I was staying with her for my safety; that was it.

"Hikigaya-san…" Yukinoshita finally spoke up.

"What is it?"

After a brief pause, she confided, "…I'm truly the scummiest of scum, huh?"

Since she didn't want to make any eye contact, I decided to enjoy the sight of the clear sky above.

"Well, being scummy is a spectrum, and if I'm honest, you're probably behind both Sagami and Hayama."

"Ugh…"

"What?"

"It's just…I shouldn't have said that…" Yukinoshita said, still covering her face, "It was awful. I'm awful."

"Yes. Yes, you are," Before Yukinoshita could react, I quickly cut her off, "But think about it, if you didn't say all those things, then Hayama wouldn't have any excuse to escort Sagami out of here."

"I could've done something less…"

"Less scummy?" I said, to which she nodded, "Maybe. But we were running out of time and Sagami was being stubborn. At least, you took initiative this time and did the best you can."

Though if you'd just waited one more minute before coming on the rooftop, none of this would've happened.

She scoffed at my praise for her, "Initiative? I just insulted someone, Hikigaya-san."

"And isn't what you said true?"

"That's-!" Yukinoshita almost shouted, but stopped herself short, "I know it's true but…I could've said it in a less antagonizing way."

"You were frustrated and spontaneous emotions can't be controlled easily, can it?"

"That's the problem…" Yukinoshita replied, "It wasn't spontaneous. I've been feeling that way for over two weeks now."

"And you didn't do anything about it?" I narrowed my eyes into a glare.

"I-I tried to! But…it just wasn't possible. I even tried to go over what I will say to her many, many times but I was just too scared to go through with it."

"But what about this morning? You had a pretty good reason to go off on her, and I'm sure most of the students were in your favor."

"I didn't want to start the festival off by causing a rift in the committee."

"And that is different from now, how?"

"I…" She took a moment, "I just lost my temper, truthfully. I had been dealing with Sagami-san's mess for weeks on end and I…I just think that it's unfair that I have to apologize!"

"Yeah, I can see how that's unfair too."

Yukinoshita didn't respond, so we sat there, taking in the bustling sounds of the students enjoying the cultural festival. Was Yuigahama finished with her songs yet? Did Sagami actually manage to give her speech yet?

But before I could suggest to her that we should go down, Yukinoshita asked.

"Hikigaya-san. Did I just become the most hated person in Sobu?"

"Most hated is a relative term, but I'll say you're getting there."

"Ugu…" Yukinoshita groaned into her knees again.

"But hey, you tried your best, the festival is saved," Somewhat, "And now, you'll finally get to relax."

I even tried to comfort Yukinoshita by patting her head, but the second I realized that it was awkward as hell, I pulled my hand away faster than the Shinkansen.

"T-Thanks…" Yukinoshita managed to mutter.

"Yeah…and besides, don't worry," I assured her, "The people here are too self-absorbed anyway. In a couple of weeks, they'll forget about this ever happening."

"You sound pretty sure, Hikigaya-san."

"Let's just say…I have experience," I chuckled to myself a bit. I don't think I could ever tell this Yukinoshita that I was from another dimension, and perhaps, I'll keep it that way forever…till the other Hachiman returns, of course.

"Oh…that's…reassuring, I suppose."

"Yup."

Silence reigned supreme once more before Yukinoshita spoke up again.

"Thanks again, Hikigaya-san," She wiped the tears from her face, "Umm for trying to protect me and other things as well…"

"Don't mention it. Really don't. I didn't even do it to-,"

"No, no, you're right," Yukinoshita fully lifted her face up to give a small smile, "Thanks for unintentionally protecting me, Hikigaya-san."

"Pff, whatever," I replied, "So, are you ready to go back down yet?"

Heaving out a small laugh, Yukinoshita replied, "I don't think I can face anyone yet, especially Hayama-kun. And besides, the auditorium was getting kind of stuffy."

"So?"

"S-So I'm just saying that it might be nice to stay up here for a while…no?"

When she made a request with that face, I found it hard to refuse, especially considering what she had just went through. Ah, whatever. It wasn't like I was rushing to hear Sagami's horrible speech anyway.

With a sigh, I lied down and tried my best to enjoy the autumn breeze and the cloudless sky.

At last, the cultural festival was over.

The closing ceremony went about as well as you'd expected. While Sagami had indeed returned to the auditorium and was deemed 'fit enough' to give speech, her closing remarks were still a jumbled up mess as Sagami still couldn't get over the verbal bashing that Yukinoshita gave her. But at least, she was able to announce the results of the community awards.

Of course, that didn't mean that the latter didn't suffer any side effects either. Yukinoshita was still reluctant to return to the backstage area, opting to stay on the roof instead until – in her own words – everyone left. Even though I reasoned that it was impossible to do so, it took another five minutes or so before she eventually came down.

Afterwards, the gym teacher, whose name escaped me, gave a very rousing congratulatory speech, which most certainly did not put me to sleep, followed by more speeches courtesy of Meguri-senpai and Sagami, for some unknown reasons.

When they were finished, the advisers, President, and the Vice-president of the cultural committee was called to meet with the other faculty members, presumably to congratulate them. Seeing as Yuigahama and I were not part of the upper echelons of the committee, we were left behind to deal with cleanup duty.

Not that I mind though. Menial labor is a great way to take your mind off things.

And the whole process itself was going great as well. My job was just taking some of the technical equipment along with a few banners to their designated storage. As expected, the strain on both my poor arms was enormous, but most of the other students had already done their share of the work, so I couldn't really complain.

However, the fact that there were very few teachers supervising us, most of the students simply rushed to finish their work without much care, just so they can attend the after party much quicker.

Technically, I was one of those students as well, except I had no intention of going to whatever party they'd planned up, and instead, use my well-earned free time to relax my straining brain.

But as I returned from the storage room to the auditorium in order to see if there was anything else I needed to do, I immediately spotted a certain lab coat-wearing teacher approaching from the other side. And just as I saw her, I tried some evasive maneuvers, but immediately stopped once she waved at me.

I sighed before meeting my troublesome teacher.

"Yo, Hikigaya," Hiratsuka-sensei greeted with an all too suspicious smile.

Grimacing, I greeted her back, "What do you want?"

"Oh come on, you can't seriously be thinking that I'm going to trick you into doing something again."

I stared at her. She stared at me.

"Okay fine, I was going to ask you for a favor," She pouted uncharacteristically, "But I really did want to know how the festival was."

"You didn't walk around?"

Rubbing her had in irritation, she replied, "Well, I would've if I wasn't so swarmed by paperwork and all that other fun stuff. You kids are lucky, you know that."

"I'm aware of that," I responded dryly.

"Anyway, I also heard you did something nice for Yukinoshita for once."

"I didn't-,"

"Ah, right. You unintentionally did something nice for Yukinoshtia," Hiratsuka-sensei cut me off with that annoying grin of hers, "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone so no one's going think you're a big softie."

"Yukinoshita told you that?" I asked, ignoring her latter comment.

"Well, yeah. Said she was grateful and all that good stuff. And I thought you wanted to quit the Service club."

"I did," I corrected her, "But with all the festival preparations going on, I just didn't have enough chance to."

"Oh really now? Then when are you handing in your resignation form?"

"…I don't know. Monday or something…" I mumbled.

"I see, I see," Hiratsuka-sensei nodded knowingly, "Anyway, I got a favor to ask of you."

"Figures."

"It'll be a short one, I promise."

"Hmm."

"So when I was walking here, I heard that some of the students didn't clear out all the supplies from the roof of the special buildings," She explained, a frustrated sigh escaping from her lips, "And I was wondering if you can go get them. I mean, if you don't see any supplies there, then that's good as well. Less work for both me and you."

"I don't really see why you can't do it."

"Look, kid. I need to hand in reports and attend some meetings with the execs, and I'm already late enough as it is," Putting her hands together in a mock prayer, she asked, "So come on, just think of it as a favor."

"And I should do it why?"

Smiling, Hiratsuka-sensei said, "I'll treat you to ramen."

"That's not a good incen-,"

"At that new place where you had your date with Yuigahama."

I almost choked on my own spit as I heard that. How? Why? What?

"W-W-What are you talking about?" I stammered like a shoujo protagonist, "And besides, it wasn't a date. It was just a platonic hangout between club members."

"You denying it just makes it even easier to see that it was a date, you know," She pointed out, much to my chagrin, "Anyway, that place where you had your not-date has really great ramen, y'know."

"And how did you even know?"

"Kid, I know ramen joints in Chiba better than I know the back of hand."

"This is blackmail," I muttered.

"This is incentive," She quickly corrected me, "Besides, when I treat you, you can bring Yuigahama along. I'll promise I'll be out of the way."

"That's not-!" I decided to not give into her trap anymore and promptly shut up, "Fine. I'll go get those supplies."

"Good, good," Hiratsuka-sensei gave wide grin before running off, "Alrighty then, thanks and I'll see ya when you want to go out with Yuigahama again!"

Idiot. Don't shout and run in the hallway.

I entered the auditorium with an exhausted sigh, and just as I expected, there were little to no students in here. The teachers were practically gone, possibly off to a meeting of some sort, and the few remaining students did so just to have an excuse to talk to their friends.

But in the center of the stage, a certain pink-haired delinquent was sitting with her feet dangling off the edge. Noticing me, Yuigahama gave a weak wave, which I returned in kind.

I took a seat near her on the stage, and grabbed a bottle of water, thinking that I'll get those supplies after relaxing for a bit.

"Ne, Hikki," Yuigahama asked softly, "So, like, did you hear about that…y'know, after-party stuff?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh, right. And I was wondering if, like, you were gonna go or not…so are you?"

"Well, considering that my phone is dead," I said as I fished it out to show her, "Because a certain someone threatened me-,"

"Hey! I didn't threaten you!" Yuigahama shouted before realizing her voice attracted some unwanted attention, "And besides, it's your fault for not bringing a charger…"

"Right…"

"So you're not gonna go?"

"Nope," I answered, "Komachi is gonna be home soon and I don't want to worry her."

"O-Oh, yeah…Komachi," Yuigahama stuttered uncharacteristically, "I mean, I can just message her for you, y'know."

"I know, but it's not like I want to go to that sort of party anyway."

"Y-Yeah, totally!" Yuigahama nodded fervently, "What a coincidence, huh?! I was thinking of not going too!"

"Oh."

"So, like, since we're both not going…" Yuigahama pressed the tips of fingers together meekly, "You wanna have an after-party of our own?"

"Meaning what, exactly?"

"Jeez, don't make me say it, you idiot!" Yuigahama whined, "I'm asking your dumb head if you wanna hang out together instead of going to the after party!"

"Oh…" It took a few seconds before I realized the implications of her words, "Oh…"

"Making a girl say that; how tactless can you be," Yuigahama crossed her arms and pouted.

"Alright, I get it. You can stop sulking now," I said, "So, you got any place in mind?"

"Hmph! Of course, I do; I'm not you," Yuigahama replied, "It just so happens that a friend of my mom happens to own a rather fancy restaurant, and she was kind enough to treat us for tonight."

"Ah, so is anyone else coming?"

"What d'ya mean?"

"I mean, normally, you would invite Yukinoshita or something like that…" I scratched my cheek nervously. She'd already made it abundantly clear that this was a two-man hangout, yet I still asked that. Yuigahama was right; I am tactless.

"You idiot," said Yuigahama, "T-This restaurant is, like, exclusive, alright? So, y'know, my mom's friends only got us a table for two so even if, like, I invited Yukinon, it's not like she can sit anywhere…"

"Ah right…so it's just gonna be the two of us then?"

"Yeah, so? Any problems with that?"

Chuckling lightly, I answered, "Well, considering that this is a fancy restaurant, shouldn't there be a dress code?"

"Well, it's not that fancy. Just fancier than your normal family restaurant," Looking at me weirdly, she asked, "So you're in or what?"

Of course, I was in. What fool would give up a free meal and a da-HANGOUT with a fairly decent girl?

"Fine, fine," I stood up before fishing out my phone and tossing it to Yuigahama, "But I need to run an errand for Hiratsuka-sensei first. Charge my phone for me, will ya?"

With an ear-splitting grin, Yuigahama nodded fervently, "It's a date then!"

I was about to retort and tell Yuigahama off for considering this a date, but ultimately decided against it. We already went through enough today already.

"Considering the favor you did for me today, you can call this outing whatever you like," I said as I left the auditorium, "Don't forget to charge my phone!"

"I won't, you idiot!" Yuigahama yelled, rather gleefully, I might add.

As I made my second walk of the day to the special buildings, I found myself grinning ever so often. It'd gotten so bad that I actually had to cover my mouth every time I passed another student.

It felt strange and…new, for the lack of a better word. It certainly wasn't unwelcoming as it was very warm and made me feel all giddy on the inside, comparable to being unable to sleep before a big school trip. Which was even stranger, considering the last time I felt that was during middle school.

And now? To think that I was feeling this sensation because of one stupid, idiotic delinquent girl was insane. Aah, maybe I should really just throw caution to the wind and go with the flow. But then again, what if the other Hachiman comes back?

I hate to admit it, but if he does come back and we swap place, I would be jealous. Extremely so, which is really bizarre since it's myself that I'm being jealous of.

Wait, did he do the same thing with my world's Yukinoshita and Yuigahama? I certainly couldn't deny the possibility, but this would definitely open up some dilemma.

My erratic train of thought was immediately stopped once I ascended the stairwell of the special buildings. Since most of the students were finished with their duties, while the teachers were off attending meetings and such, a majority of the school buildings were practically deserted.

And unfortunately for me, the lights in the hallway as well as the stairwell hadn't been turned on yet, which made me even more cautious when ascending to the roof. However, my worry was misplaced as I noticed that most of the boxes that were here before the closing ceremony were moved elsewhere.

Which begged the question; what kind of selfish, irresponsible souls would leave their jobs before completing them? I mean, it didn't have anything to do with the fact that I had to delay my date – Yuigahama's words, not mine – but it was just common sense, y'know?

However, when I actually got to the roof, which filled me with a strange sense of déjà vu, I noticed quite a few banners and supply boxes scattered around. Considering that there was only one Hachiman here, which either meant that I had to call someone to come help me or I could take all of these boxes down and possibly risk falling down because there was no light.

And because I left my phone with Yuigahama, only the latter option was possible.

Preparing my muscles and back for the eventual punishment that they were about to receive, I took a deep breath and began picking up the box-

Creeak!

Until the sound of the rooftop door being closed caught my attention.

Dropping the box back down, I looked behind me and immediately grimaced. She was the last person I wanted to see right now. And despite her gentle and demure appearance, I knew that she was anything but that.

Her sundress fluttered gently in the cold autumn wind as she walked towards me, hands clasped behind her back.

"Ah, what a coincidence, Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita Haruno greeted, an annoyingly sweet smile on her face.

"Uh, sure," I replied, "So what do you want?"

"Oh, just a simple talk. I promise it won't hold you up from your date with Gahama-chan."

Almost retorting by instinct, I had to remind myself that everything Haruno says was done so in order to get a rise out of me. No way, I wasn't about to fall to her manipulation today. Denying that it was a date with Yuigahama will probably make her think that I really had a date coming up.

"Then just get on with it," I said with irritation, "So what's the subject this time? Yukinoshita again?"

Faking a gasp, Haruno exclaimed, "Oh my, Hikigaya-kun! Are you a psychic? Can you read minds?"

"No, but the last time we talked was about Yukinoshita. The last last time was also about Yukinoshita. Not to mention-,"

"Alright, you got me," Haruno cut me off with a huff, "I mean, I did just told you not to do a thing this afternoon and all but then, you just went and did that exact thing. Do you even care about how I feel?"

"Not particularly. Besides, you still haven't told me if you were warning or threatening me."

"And like I said, it can be interpreted in both ways," Haruno said as she began walking ever closer to me, "It can be a warning and a threat, y'know."

"So you're admitting that you're threatening me?"

"Pfft, of course not," She waved off my concerns, "I mean, even if I wanted to, I really couldn't. I could threaten the livelihood of your family or maybe tamper with your prospective career, but that would be too indirect of me. I would rather just cut right to the point."

"I see…" I answered, not knowing where this conversation was heading.

"You see, Hikigaya-kun," Haruno began, "The reason I'm telling you to stay away from Yukino-chan is the fact that the longer you stay around her, the more bad things will happen."

"To her or me?" I asked.

"Both," replied Haruno enigmatically, "I don't even have to dig deep to find an example. Just this afternoon, on this very building, Yukino-chan was bullied, picked on and made fun of while you did nothing. Not to mention, she even cried."

Haruno's demeanor shifted considerably once she mentioned that last part.

"Oh how I hate that," She explained, "The shrill yet silent cries, the erratic breathing, her pitiful, red face; I hate all of that."

"If you really hate that, then why don't you just go bother Hayama instead of me?" I asked, noticing that Haruno either has this weird sense of ownership on Yukinoshita's demise or that she has this weird sense of protection for Yukinoshita. Both were weird.

"Hell, why not go bother Sagami? She was the one that caused this in the first place."

Haruno chuckled, almost mockingly, "Oh, dear Hikigaya-kun. I already did that."

Finally calming herself down, Haruno crossed her arms and began explaining herself, "Hayama-kun is but a coward, so really, all I had to do was use certain words to scare him off. Sagami might be a tough cookie at first, but she's really just an insecure little girl."

Wow, harsh.

Technically, they were all truths and probably something that I would say to those two given the chance, but what put me off was how calmly and eloquently Haruno was saying those words.

"But you, Hikigaya-kun," My attention perked up once she called my name, "You're quite different."

"…How exactly?"

"Well, first off, you aren't Yukino-chan's childhood friend like Hayama and you're not exactly someone Yukino-chan is frustrated at, like Sagami, either," said Haruno, "You've only entered her life during the first year of high school yet you're apparently all she talks about."

"That's not true," I retorted.

"Hikigaya-kun, I'm the one that spends most of my time with her," Haruno replied, "Trust me."

Haruno then began looking wistfully at the setting sun and sighed.

"Y'know…ever since the day of the accident, Yukino-chan has always blamed herself for what has happened to you and Gahama-chan. Even when you lashed out at her during that summer festival, she still blamed herself."

Because she wasn't in the right.

I didn't voice my thoughts and opted to listen to Haruno's ramblings instead.

"But did you know?" Haruno turned to me, "When you joined her little club and began spending more time with her, she was so happy and giddy. But when I learned of that news…"

Haruno's face darkened with apparent sadness, "I could feel something burning inside me."

"…"

"Hikigaya-kun."

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to know the true reason as to why I want you to stay away from Yukino-chan?" Haruno asked, her face completely stoic.

"That would be…nice, I suppose."

Giving a small smile, Haruno gingerly walked towards me with her hands clasped behind her back.

"The reason why I don't want you to stay with Yukino-chan…" She looked up at me, her eyes showing softness and vulnerability, something I didn't know Haruno was capable of, "Is that I love you."

…

What?!

"What?!" I voiced my thoughts out loud, but instead of being startled, Haruno took a step forward, effectively closing the gap between us.

"The reason why I said all those awful things about Yukino-chan is so that you two won't have any reason to be together," Haruno said, inching closer and closer, "The reason I wanted you to stay away from Yukino-chan is because I wanted you all to myself!"

"I…I don't know-,"

Sighing, Haruno said, "But even when I knew what I was doing, I was still hurt every time someone wrong you, you know that, right?"

"However…" Haruno continued, leaning closer to my face. At this point, I could feel her breath touching my lips, "It seems Gahama-chan got to you first, and that saddens me a lot."

"Haruno…we really shouldn't-,"

"Please…" Haruno's eyes fluttered, her lips parted slightly ready to be planted onto mine, "Just this once, alright? Every student and teacher left already, and this building is far away from the main ones."

I didn't want this. I hated this.

"Hikigaya-kun," Haruno whispered, "Truly, I just want to say that-,"

There was no turning back. I was effectively paralyzed by Haruno's advances. Closing my eyes in an attempt to make her go away, I tried my best to move backward as well, but one of Haruno's hand clasped my arm tightly.

Will Yuigahama forgive me for this? No, of course not. I would've betrayed her, and the thought of that didn't sit right with me. If this Haruno was more genuine with her feelings, then I might reciprocate it. But as things were right now, I couldn't bear to be with her.

Steeling my nerves, I opened my eyes and said, "Haruno, look, we should really-,"

And then I felt it.

An unpleasant pain shooting through my abdomen. A warm yet wet sensation seeping through the right side of my torso. It felt as if time stood still as all those sensations made themselves known to me one by one.

But before I could even comprehend or wonder what it was, that unpleasant feeling soon turned into a sharp pain as I could feel something twisting clockwise in my abdomen, producing an excruciatingly squelch.

She then whispered.

"How dumb can you be."

Her tone bore nothing for me except for contempt and disgust. And with one swift movement, Haruno dislodged something from my body and I suddenly fell forward on my knees, my hand instinctively covering the painful spot that wracked my body.

I couldn't take it. It was hot. And painful. And agonizing. I hated it. So much.

And when I was forced to lower my head because of my need to inhale, that was when I saw it.

Blood.

Red. Crimson. Shiny.

It flowed and flowed without restrain from a source unknown to me. But as my eyes trailed from the pool of blood, I noticed that it came from me. I was bleeding.

I was bleeding.

Thus, I screamed. I screamed as loud as I can, trying to relieve myself of this pain, of this awful sensation coursing through every single one of my nerves. I could almost feel myself being deafened from my own screams, and when my throat finally went dry, that horrible feeling coursed through my body again.

It hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

"Normally, I would advise against screaming but then again," A voice said in amusement, "If a tree fell in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

When I finally calmed myself as much as possible, I strained my eyes to look in front of me, seeing my pool of blood, as well as my blood covering a metallic sheen.

Taking in short breaths, I tried to steady myself as I stood up but found that pointless.

But I saw something.

It was a knife.

A switchblade.

A switchblade covered in my blood.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Honestly," A mocking voice above said, "I'm still wondering how a person like you got through high school with that pea-sized brain."

I gritted my teeth and leaned against the nearby chain-link fence for support. But it still hurt. The wound in my abdomen felt like it was searing me from inside out.

"You know, Hikigaya-kun," Haruno said with contempt, "If you had just listened to me, then none of this would've happened."

She dragged her knife slowly across the fence, coming ever closer to me. Try as I might, I found it nigh impossible to move back.

Haruno was closer with every second.

And with every second, I was closer to dying.

"The longer you stay with Yukino-chan, the more bad things are going to happen to you both," She faked a sigh, "Yukino-chan loses her new club mate, and you…"

A smirk.

"Well, I think we all know what's going to happen."

Haruno then lunged at me, and it was only by instinct alone that I managed to fall flack on my back, avoiding another potentially lethal jab.

I need to get out. I want to get out. Someone. Anyone. Help.

My throat was drier than ever. So dry that I could barely force out any words.

"Sheesh, I knew I missed a vital organ since I'm rusty and all," Haruno calmly said as it was the most natural thing in the world that she almost killed me, "But if you stay still and be a good boy, I'll promise that it won't hurt. Much."

"W-Why…" I managed to croak out as I tried to crawl away from her. I needed time. I needed to buy time.

Distracting her. That was my only option. Then I can do it. I can make a dash for the door. I can run away from her. From all this bullshit.

I don't wanna die.

I don't wanna die.

"Really," Haruno looked at me with disgust, "Do I really need to spell it out?"

I crawled further in the direction of the door when I noticed that she stopped moving. It was so close.

"You're a bother. An eyesore. An obstacle between me and Yukino-chan," Haruno explained, her eyes glazing over with hate, "And there's nothing I hate more than a person like you."

I was halfway there. The door was so close yet so far. Almost unreachable but if I can get to it, I would be safe.

"Ah, trying to escape, are we?" Haruno commented as I inched closer to the door.

But instead of trying to stop me, she just calmly and slowly walked over to me, as if my end was inevitable.

I tried my best to stand up and lean against the door once I reached it, but the stab wound made it harder and harder to do so.

I hate this.

I hate this.

Someone. Save me…

But when the metallic feeling of the door knob filled my hands, I immediately tried to pry it open. Seconds passed by as I twisted and turned the knob, knowing that safety and reprieve was on the other side.

But to my shock and Haruno's glee, it won't budge.

"Oh my god," Haruno laughed, "Did you seriously think I didn't account for your escape?"

I gritted my teeth and turned to Haruno, "You know…even if I die, you'll still be caught…you…you won't…"

"I won't get away with this?" Haruno faked a shocked expression before scoffing in contempt, "Don't you worry your tiny little head about that, Hikigaya-kun."

She was coming closer, and I was closer to dying again.

Sucking in a deep breath, I rammed as hard as I could into the rooftop door, knowing that this was the only way I could get out. But as seconds passed by, Haruno inched closer while I was no closer to breaking the door.

"My father's men have a very good track record at their janitorial duties."

Those words caught my ears. Janitorial? Clean up? Shit, she wasn't just going to kill me. She was going to desecrate me.

I don't wanna die.

Those thoughts repeated themselves in my head as I bashed my shoulder against the door again and again.

"And don't worry about your family. I'll properly compensate them for the loss of your life," She stopped in her tracks and put a finger on her chin, "Though they'd probably be glad that you're gone though."

I gritted my teeth, firmly planted my feet and threw my entire body at the door. It budged a little. I had a chance. I had a chance at escaping.

"Now just sit still and let me painlessly put you out of your misery," Haruno said, her knife poised to strike, "Trust me. I had plenty of practices before you."

In a split second, Haruno lunged forward, putting the entirety of her bodyweight into that single stab. And it was as if the gods decided to take pity on me at that very instance as the rooftop door was finally broken off its hinges, and I fell backward hard, hitting my head on the concrete.

Haruno was not prepared for the shift in her bodyweight as she wasn't able to stop herself from lunging forward, causing her body to land with a solid thud on the concrete.

Her knife nicked me in the cheek and I took that chance to swat it away.

I could hear it.

The clanging as her knife fell harmlessly down the stairwell.

"You bastard!"

Haruno lifted herself up with her elbows, but with honed instincts, I bashed my head against her face.

It hurt. So much.

But it did the trick as Haruno reeled back in pain.

I took the chance to bolt for it. My wounds were screaming for me to stop. My dislocated shoulders were screaming for me to slow down. Everything was spiraling out of control. Everything was dizzying to me.

Regardless, I pushed forward.

I can't die just yet. I don't want to die here.

But as I descended the stairs, I found the gravity of the situation setting in. The special buildings were far away from the main building, like Haruno said. Way too far.

And with my wounds. My shoulders. My aching feet. I knew that I won't get far. Haruno was going to catch up with me eventually. Then she was going to kill me. And hurt my family.

My only choice was to yell.

But my throat was dry. It hurt. Every noise that reverberated from my voice box made my throat ache in agony. Yet before I could resolved myself to scream out for help again, a cold hand wrapped itself around my throat as another hand pushed my entire body against the guardrail of the staircase.

"You pest…" Haruno uttered venomously, her forehead dripping blood every so often. Her eyes were sharp and filled with so much hate that they could kill.

I tried to push back.

But my shoulders and injured abdomen screamed in pain when I did so. Haruno used this to squeeze my throat even further as she pushed me against the edge.

My breath was cut short already, but when I looked down into the stairwell, I knew that if I fell, I was as good as dead. There was a gap that was far too wide to stop me from hitting the bottom of the stairs.

"I should've just shot you," She spat out in disgust, "But no, I wanted to be nice and let you know what you did wrong. But after I'm done with you, your family's next."

I cursed as I realized that she was indeed going to harm my family. I don't want that. Even if this world's Hikigayas aren't my-No, they're my family now. No matter the world. No matter the timeline.

I want to protect Komachi. I want to protect my family.

So I pushed back, despite the futility of it all.

Even though I was supposed to be stronger, my wounds combined with the fact that my back was arched over an unsurvivable drop, I knew that she had the advantage. All she had to do was keep this pressure up and I would lose.

She was hovering over me, draining my energy by crushing my windpipes as each second passed by. Everything was against me. But in one single second, I had an epiphany. A single choice.

It might just be a delusion caused by a near-death experience.

It might just be the lack of air.

But instead of pushing back, I decided to let everything go.

My feet was still planted on the uneven stairs as Haruno kept on pushing me. I tried my hardest to not let my wounds stop this plan of mine as I kept my body rigid to oppose Haruno.

She then pushed harder, her eyes more hateful than ever.

As Haruno began to reach the apex of her push, I loosened my rigid body and pushed against the staircase below me to effectively launch myself above the railings. As I jumped backwards, I could feel Haruno scrambling for balance…and failing.

She was prepared to push against my deadweight, but when I stopped resisting, she couldn't react to the sudden change in weight and was sent plummeting down below.

Or at least, that was what I told myself before something yanked my collar.

I was not ready for that. I was in the middle of falling to the other side of the stairs until something pulled me down even more, effectively sealing my fate.

I was not prepared for the consequences of my actions.

And before I could even think of how to fix this, my head hit something hard with a loud thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

That was all I could hear as I fell down. The seconds that passed by seemed like eternity as pain continued to made itself known to my already wrecked body.

And just like before, I couldn't begin to comprehend what was happening since, before long, my body landed on solid concrete with a sickening thud.

I don't wanna die.

I don't wanna die.

I don't…wanna die.

I couldn't move my head.

Or my arms.

Or my legs.

Everything was frozen and stuck in place.

But despite the stiffness in my body, I could feel something warm and wet seeping from beneath me. I could feel it flow and flow ceaselessly.

It took all of my nerves just to take a breath. Short breaths. My throat was hurt. Possibly crushed but I tried to breathe anyway.

I was able to see something in the corner of my eyes.

Another person. Face down. Blood dripping out from underneath their head.

I didn't even have time to figure out who that was as the pain finally registered itself again.

And I yelled.

I screamed.

I let out a guttural cry of help, yet none arrived.

Then, I could feel another strange sensation. My aching body, the blood that was oozing out of my head; everything suddenly felt cold. Calm. As if the last few minutes never even happened.

It felt like being enveloped in a warm blanket under a rainy day.

I wanted to sleep.

I needed to sleep.

My eyelids were in agreement as they too began to grow heavier and heavier.

Any and all questions that I had vanished.

My worries vanished.

It felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders.

And as I caught a glimpse of the setting sun, I found my eyelids drooping down. It was inevitable. The need for rest was far too great to resist.

Finally, I thought when my eyes closed without much resistance.

The day is over.

...

—FIN—

...

RESTART

My eyes fluttered furiously before they fully opened.

But the moment they did so, I had no choice but to close them again. The lights were way bright for their own good. Who in their right mind would have these bright lights around anyway?

Sheesh, irresponsible interior decorators. Someone might actually go blind.

"Hachiman."

Hachi-what?

I opened my eyes again, except this time, they were able to acclimate to the bright lights. However, my vision was still a bit blurry so I had to rub my eyes a few times just go get a good look at who was talking.

It was a girl. An extremely beautiful girl at that. Her raven black hair. Her mysterious looking eyes. All of those components went together to make a woman that was appealing yet was clearly a femme fatale.

"Hey, you're alright?" The woman leaned closer across the table, laying the back of her hand across my forehead, "You don't seem to have a fever though. But really, is there anything wrong?"

Almost naturally, I replied, "N-No, it's nothing."

Where was this? A quick survey of the area allowed me to see that there were a lot of people in fancy suits and dresses, as well as people carrying trays of dishes and drinks to and from what seemed to be the kitchen area.

Fancy chandeliers were hanging above us, intricate lightings, various tables draped with beautifully designed cloth, people eating and socializing.

Was this a restaurant?

One look down at my side of the table immediately confirmed this as a rice dish was laid out in front of me. To my side was a glass of wine, completed with the normal utensils and a napkin. I looked at the other side of the table and immediately saw more dishes and drinks.

I was undoubtedly at a restaurant. But why?

Wait.

…where was I even supposed to be?

The woman in front of me suddenly pouted, "You know that it's not nothing. You haven't even touched your risotto yet."

Risotto? Was that what this was supposed to be?

"I'm just…" I paused, trying to think of an excuse, "I…lost my appetite, I suppose."

"Aww, really?" The woman whined, although, it seemed like she was upset at herself more than anything, "Is there anything else you'd like?"

Why was she doing this for me? From her tone and her choice of words, it seemed like she was treating me. Her confident poise certainly confirmed it. But why was she treating me? Why was she wearing a dress?

Hell, why was I wearing a suit?

"Nothing in particular," I answered, guilt seeping into my very being when I saw her face fell, "A-And it's not your fault. I just…feel like something's wrong…"

"Hachi…" She called out affectionately. Was I this 'Hachi'? Well, if so, I certainly needed to get more information out of her.

"Sorry…" I hung my head low, already feeling like the scum of the Earth for making this drop-dead gorgeous woman in front of me unhappy.

"No, it's alright," She tried to smile, but pain still showed through, "Can we get a check please?"

She didn't even finish her own meal yet. Was my appetite really that much of a priority for her?

Before long, a waiter came along with the bill. Just as I expected, she was the one treating me as she gave the waiter her credit card. We didn't talk or even utter a single word while waiting for the waiter to come back.

I was idly playing with the buttons on my shirt.

She was impatiently tapping against the satin covered table.

I wanted to ask something. Something that would help me understand what was happening. And the burning question was on the tip of my tongue but before I could let it out, the waiter came back and ruined everything for me.

Sighing, I could only follow the kind woman as she was escorted by a couple of burly men, probably bodyguards, into a limousine. Of course, I was gestured and coerced into the limousine as well but at that point, several questions popped into my mind.

Was this a real limousine? Yes.

Was this my limousine? Not likely.

Was this her limousine? Most definitely.

She gave some instructions towards the driver at the front, and before long, the limo started moving and we were off to whatever destinations she had in mind.

"Hachiman."

"Yeah?" I answered, fully accepting Hachiman as temporary name.

"Are you alright?"

I sighed, deciding to come clean with her, "To be honest, I'm not so sure."

A concerned look was etched on her face, "What do you mean?"

"I…" I tried to find the right words, but it was hard to do, considering that I didn't even know what was wrong with me, "I just feel like it's a headache, but not really. It feels like everything is spinning around me."

"Aww, you poor thing," She moved closer to me, caressing my hand gently, "Just hang on, alright? We're almost at my apartment."

She gave me a genuinely uplifting smile, to which I tried to respond in kind, which was kind of hard, considering that I needed to appear sick.

I was even lucky enough to be offered a lap pillow by her. Being the gentleman that I am, which I hoped I was, I refused. But due to her insistence as well as incessant pouting, I gave in and rested my head on her soft laps.

Luckily, I was even able to get a few minutes of sleep, which was made even more enjoyable by the fact that she kept combing through and caressing my hair, before we arrived at her apartment.

To say that it was a huge condominium was an understatement.

It seemed like a modern castle. A fortress of comfort and luxury. Even the lobby area seemed personally designed by a high-class decorator to appeal to the eyes.

Since we arrived late at night, there were little to no people in the lobby, except for some receptionists, of course. They greeted the kind woman leading me with familiarity, and she greeted them back with poise and grace.

Oi, is she a princess or something?

We rode the elevator up to her room. Again, just like while we were waiting at the restaurant, no words were exchanged between us. However, this woman kept on fiddling and caressing my hands gently, like one would to a child.

As we finally entered her room, she quietly yet firmly told me to take a shower. I was already weirded out by this whole situation but taking a shower at a girl's house? Calm down, me. It'll just be a simple shower; nothing more, nothing less.

When I came out of the bathroom, she called me over to, what I presumed to be, the kitchen area. She'd already changed out of her dress into a more casual attire, and the reason for that was obviously because of the delectable smell coming from the pot she was tending to.

Even though I had ruined her dinner, she still took the time to prepare more food for me.

Even though she should've just taken a shower and get to bed, instead, she took that time to make sure that I was properly fed.

Argh, I'm so sorry for not remembering who you are!

So we sat in silence as I ate the curry that she had cooked up. It was delicious. Nostalgic. Simply perfect.

Yet the more I ate it, the more uncomfortable I felt.

And I was about to ask her something in order to relieve this discomfort of mine, but she'd beaten me to the punch.

"How is it?" She asked, taking small bites of her own plate of curry, "I haven't made it in a while so I don't know if the taste is off or not."

"N-No, it's…" I paused to take another bite, "It's perfect."

That seemed to have lifted her mood up considerably as she smiled dreamily. I tried to focus as hard as I could on the dish, and not her smiling face, because that smiling face was just too perfect. Too good for eyes such as mine.

We ate silently together, with the only noises in the room being the clanging of utensils against the ceramic plates. Even when we were finished, I still couldn't say anything to her as she just grabbed my empty plate and headed towards the sink.

Not wanting to feel like a leech and a deadweight, I followed her and tried to offer my help.

At first, she refused, but eventually, she told me to just dry the plates and cutleries as she handed them to me. Simple enough, I suppose.

About five minutes into washing the dishes, she paused and turned to me with a worried look.

"So are you gonna tell me what's wrong or not?" She asked, "And don't even try to deny it. I know when something's wrong with you, alright, mister?"

I sighed and dropped the plate I was cleaning. I should really come clean with her but I didn't know how to. Saying 'Uh, I don't know you and you've been basically feeding a stranger' didn't seem appropriate in this instance. I mean, the more time we spend together, the more familiar I feel about her, but I still couldn't put a finger on what her name was.

"I guess I just didn't feel…right at that restaurant. I'm really sorry but-,"

"Oh my god! I know, right?!" The kind woman uncharacteristically exclaimed, "I was, like, okay with going to a normal beef bowl shop but my mom kept insisting that I take you to this fancy place instead."

"It was horrible, huh?" She asked, leaning forward.

I simply nodded, albeit with much reluctance. The restaurant itself was nice, and its dishes looked fancy and appetizing enough. I just didn't felt right eating them when I didn't even know how I got there in the first place.

"Can I be honest with you?" I suddenly said, wanting to figure out this dilemma as soon as possible.

She looked a bit disconcerted, but nodded nonetheless.

"I…I think I have amnesia."

Silence.

"…wait, really?" She finally said after a while.

Nodding, I explained, "I'm not kidding. I really can't remember anything. Not my name, not why I was eating with you…not even you."

Her face morphed into one of distress, but it seemed like she had enough self-control to try and make me feel reassured.

"If you really do, then we should go check with a doctor, y'know."

"That's the weird thing. I don't feel like I have any injuries."

"…then…" She contemplated on what to do, "You know what? You can just ask me anything. Maybe some trivia will help you gain back some memory."

"You sure?"

"Pretty sure. Go on, ask anything you want."

"Well then," I thought of various questions but one stood out the most, "Why were we at that restaurant?"

"Because I've just come back from America, silly. And you know, we have to have our date and all," She replied giddily, "You know, this is actually kinda cute of you."

I grumbled incoherently but didn't retort, "…anyway, umm, you keep referring to me as Hachiman. So I guess I'm this Hachiman then?"

"Yup. Hikigaya Hachiman. 3rd year in Toudai. Uuh, majoring in engineering and of course, my perfectly imperfect boyfriend!"

Why did you have to add that last part?!

But it certainly caught my attention. I'm studying in a university already? I thought I wasn't at that level yet. And engineering? Certainly felt like a major that I would never even get close to.

"And if you don't mind, what's your name?"

Suddenly, she pouted and started squeezing and pulling my cheeks.

"Jeez, you can't even remember your lovable girlfriend's name?" She exclaimed, "But since you have 'amnesia' and all, I might as well tell you."

She released me and I rubbed my sore cheeks. This woman sure has ungodly strength. Wondered how I even scored her in the first place. Even if I did so unknowingly.

"Yukinoshita Haruno."

Yukinoshita. It felt familiar. So familiar. Like the feeling of be wrapped in a warm blanket while it's snowing outside. It felt elegant and graceful, like a Yamato Nadeshiko walking with a parasol under the snow.

But Haruno.

It certainly felt lighthearted and full of vigor and life, yet a part of me felt nauseous at the mere mention of that name. That name was supposed to be unfamiliar to me and this Haruno girl was supposed to be my girlfriend so I shouldn't be feeling ill at the mention of her name, should I?

"I see…" I said, taking in the new information as slowly as possible, "When…or I mean, like, how did…you know, we got together and stuff…"

Haruno had a dreamy look in her eyes as she explained, "It was in your first year of high school, y'know. And as for how? Well, sometimes, you don't need a reason, y'know? We talked a bit, hung out a bit and it just went off from there."

I was kind of glad to see someone so happy over me, but even so, I still couldn't shake off the feeling that I didn't deserve this. Or rather, that I shouldn't be here. It was as if my gut instincts were telling me to bolt for the door and run away.

"Urgh, crap," Haruno cursed as she stopped washing her kitchen utensils.

Going to check over her, I tried to peek over her shoulder, "Are you alright?"

And what I saw made me want to gag uncontrollably.

Blood.

Blood pouring out and flowing onto a stainless steel knife.

"Ah, sorry. Just nicked myself on the wrist there."

But her words passed through one ear and out the other as I continued to stare at the blood dripping out of her cut. I had never been scared of blood before yet why was I feeling so nauseous seeing it right now?

"Hachiman?"

"Y-Yeah?" I snapped out of my stupor.

"Could you go get me a bandage in that cabinet over there?" She pointed to it with her good hand and I immediately complied with her. Anything to not see that blood again.

The rest of the evening passed without much fanfare as Haruno and I finished washing all the dishes and utensils. She'd taken a quick shower while I put away all of our clothes into the laundry basket.

All these actions were so familiar to me yet I was sure that I'd never done it before.

As night fell, Haruno quickly urged me to go to bed so that we can go check up with a professional in the morning. I didn't see how going to the doctor would help when there were no apparent injuries, but my mind was in far too much turmoil to argue with her, so I didn't.

However, Haruno noticed that my mind wasn't the right place at that moment, so being the thoughtful person that she was, she told me that the living room was connected to a veranda.

I solemnly apologized for ruining her night again, which she brushed off, and went to clear my head in the Tokyo night.

The lights. The bustling streets. Cars and motorbikes moving to and fro.

It was a blur of lights blending in together to make a mystical, beautiful kaleidoscope.

To be honest, it was delightful and quite charming to be greeted by this sight once I stepped out of the living room.

But I couldn't enjoy it.

I was lucky that there was a chair there because when I started to piece together bits of information provided by Haruno, more tidbits of my memory that felt so strange yet familiar came rushing back to me without ever slowing down.

That lonesome plastic chair provided ample support as my entire body collapsed on it, trying to not let my previous dinner rush back out.

I didn't want to admit it.

But the moment I saw amount of blood flowing out of Haruno's cut, I began seeing and feeling things that weren't supposed to be there. I could see a small knife, unlike the one in the kitchen, glistening in the autumn sun. I could feel flashes of phantom pains coursing through my head, my shoulders and even my stomach.

Why was I here? How did I get here? Why was I dating Haruno?

All those questions popped up one by one as I tried to reorganize my mind to try and not hyperventilate.

But I was failing.

Thoughts running through my mind constantly reminding me that today was supposed to be the day of the Cultural Festival. I was supposed to relax today but Yuigahama called me over to help.

Wait, where was Yuigahama? If I was to date any person, shouldn't it logically be her?

I remembered that fiasco Yukinoshita had with Sagami showing up late. I remembered Yuigahama dragging me all over the place. I remembered watching silently as Yukinoshita lambasted Sagami and later on, she cried on that rooftop.

That rooftop…

I was supposed to go on a date with Yuigahama and I got sidetracked by Hiratsuka-sensei's request, didn't I? Then I went to the rooftop to get some things and…

Slowly looking over to the living room, I saw that no one was there. Haruno wasn't there.

Haruno was in that bedroom.

Haruno.

Haruno tried to kill me. She tried to murder me, and my family. All because of her deranged sense of love for Yukinoshita. She stabbed me. She strangled me.

I was dying.

I was dead.

All those awful sensations came back to me in a wave of nausea. The sharp, twisting pain of a knife lodging itself in my abdomen. Me, pathetically crawling away in a trail of blood as Haruno jeered over and over again. My shoulders, dislocated from escaping. My windpipes being crushed by Haruno's hands. The weightlessness of my body as it fell down the stairwell.

My cold, lifeless body as I realized that there was no hope.

Yet I was still here. My body was still working. My shoulders and head didn't hurt. There were no wounds in my stomach. I was, for all intents and purpose, still alive. I was breathing.

Yet I should be dead.

I was dead. But why am I still alive?

Then another thought reared its ugly head.

I swapped place again. Another world. Was it my original one?

No.

No, it wasn't.

I didn't meet Haruno until my second year. I wouldn't have preferred to take a major in a Science course instead of a Humanities course. I wouldn't have gone to Tokyo-U.

That only meant one thing.

It was another universe. Another world. Another timeline.

But when I thought back to what happened before I 'woke up' and met this Haruno in that restaurant, I can only think of the fact that I was dead.

Yet I was swapped here. No...rather, I replaced someone here. I replaced the Hachiman of this world.

The only reason I was here was because I died.

Does that mean that the only reason I was in that other world was because I died in my original world?

Not good. I'm hyperventilating too much.

But even my increased heart rate couldn't stop the thoughts that my brain conjured up. I must've died in my original world to be transported into a world where I ended up dating Yuigahama. Then I died in that world, and ended up here.

Nothing is genuine.

Was nothing real? Was everything fake? Was everything just a lie?

What if all the relationships that I had in my original world was fake? What if my original world wasn't even my original one? How many times have I replaced another Hachiman?

The dinner I had earlier threatened to make its way out again. I collapsed on my knees, just to stop that nauseous feeling from coursing through my entire body.

But it was useless.

How many worlds did I travel through? How many lives did I live?

I don't want this.

How many times have I died? What was I even like in my original world?

I hate this.

And as I asked myself those questions over and over again, one single question crept into the back of my mind, whispering ever so quietly, tempting me.

Why don't I just change to an ideal world for me?

I stood up again, despite my rapidly beating heart telling me to stop and sit back down. The lights of Tokyo at night were spectacular, blinding even, but I wasn't captivated by them at all.

Why don't I just go to another world?

Yeah, that sounded right…

Every time I died, I move to another place, another timeline, another world.

A world with new relationships. A world that didn't have to involve me dating Haruno. Yeah, that sounded perfect. Maybe, I'll find a world where Yuigahama and I are having ramen together again.

Why don't I just die?

I walked calmly to the iron railings of the veranda looking over the Tokyo nightlights. And as I tightly gripped those cold railings with my jittery palms, I finally calmed down. A serene, tranquil wave of air washed over me as I was finally able to take a deep breath for the first time today, and my only thought was:

I hope the new world is better than this one.