123 Interlude: The Lonely Champion (Part 5)

…

I knew that something was amiss when my fellows began to giggle and look at me. A few of my fellows were about to speak, but at Syr's raised hand they went quiet. My friend gave a giggle and wink at me before walking into the kitchen. Grande raised an eyebrow and the faintest of smirks formed upon her face. I had the sneaking suspicion I knew who had entered and why everyone seemed to be on the cusp of laughter.

"Oi, Lyon, you're paying for dinner."

Hachiman's address was anything but thoughtful or kindly. I doubted that either word would ever apply to him, but I knew better than to begin allowing him to transgress on basic manners freely. The more he was given the more he took. Allowing him to do as he pleased would only result in everything going amiss. I turned to face him, ready to speak, but I found myself incapable of speaking.

I'd seen Hachiman don the clothes he now wore before, the day which he had went off to the Denatus and searched for clues regarding the murders of many adventurers, but now he seemed different. It took me only a moment to realize why I was taken aback by his appearance now. He had bemoaned dressing for society's sake, despite how handsome he appeared well-groomed and dressed, and abhorred the fact he had to wear his clothes for appearances sake. Yet, here he was, his locks tied back, in a finely pressed suit, with his coat tucked over his arm.

For me.

My ability to speak was stolen from me in an instant, let alone my ability to remain angry at him. It took all I could just to stay silent and stare, especially as he drew near and loomed over me. My face felt as though it were aflame. Be still, my heart, I'm sure that he is more than capable of hearing you if you do not calm yourself. No! This is not the time to remember Syr's favored novels!

"Huh, so you can blush. Nice to know."

"I am not!" Turning away, I was barely able to parse my words towards him before they leave me. They barely constituted as a response to his words. This was most definitely unfair. I wasn't at all ready for this scenario. The clothes I wore were meant to serve dinners while he was clad in clothes worthy of court. If I were at least given the time to prepare, to know what was coming, I wouldn't be nearly as flustered as I am now. "T-This isn't fair, Hachiman."

Was that a stutter!?

"Was that a stutter?" It. Was. Not. Hachiman noticed. I retreated, but found myself blocked by a wall. I was between the stairwell and the bar. Before me was the wall and behind me was my opponent. I was trapped with Hachiman blocking the way. This was planned. It must have been planned. I couldn't destroy the obstacle before me without incurring Grande's ire or becoming a laughingstock. This was defiantly schemed from the very start by Hachiman! "Oh, and you think taking my first kiss without even asking me out was fair, hmmm?" It was necessary to bring him back! "Oh, sure, maybe the first one could be justified. But how about the next one? Or the one after that? Huh, Lyon?"

Grande's fury and endless shame was starting to look better and better.

I continued to contemplate my escape when Hachiman's hand settled on my shoulder. I expected to be turned to face him, so I readied my hands to push him away, but instead of bringing me closer he suddenly pushed me forward as he turned me. The sudden speed of the movement made me blink and took me by surprise, but not as much as my back hitting the wall with Hachiman's palm slamming right next to it below my ear. My vision was taken entirely with him, my back was against the wall, and his face was just inches away from mine.

Savage.

Unrelenting.

Demanding.

Hwah!?

"Such a powerful technique! It must be a special technique taught to him by his Kami-sam!" Only Syr's sudden outburst managed drawn me away from the sight before me. My best friend sat across from the bar, alongside the rest of my coworkers, and Grande. All their eyes were upon me. The flames I felt upon my face tripled and turned into an inferno. Hachiman, due to his closeness and height, cast a shadow over me as he trapped me against the wall. I couldn't possibly escape. "Even a high-end adventurer like Ryuu-chan has no response! Hikigaya-sensei, I demand you teach that technique to Bell-kun right away!"

"Lyon, are you listening?" What little hope I'd had of escape due to their interference disappeared as I felt Hachiman's free hand press beneath my chin as he spoke. Be distracted! Their words and current situation require for you to yell at them! His ever-sharp gaze seemed to look straight into my soul. I need time to rest from this encounter, please! His presence due to sheer proximity was unbearably close yet distant. I can't take any more of this, Hachiman! You're too much like this! I had to leave this instant if I wished to have any hope of counterattacking instead of being just swept away! "Tonight, you'll be paying me back for every. Kiss. You've. Stolen." His lips were right beside my ear and his bare nape just inches away from my cheek. "With interest."

He leaned forward and my body acted on its own.

…

"You fainted."

"You don't need to repeat yourself, Hachiman."

"You fainted from a kabedon."

"Is that what that insufferable technique is called? Yes. I did. Now, once more, I ask you to stop repeating yourself."

"Insufferable? Are you sure that's the right word? You seemed to have suffered it pretty well besides the fact that you fainted."

"Say 'faint' one more time and I shall render you unconscious through violence."

Though Hachiman did not say faint again, I was still tempted to carry out my promise given the firmly set smirk that appeared on his features.

"Now don't be like that, Lyon. This is a date." Hachiman was languid as he sat across from me. I did not know how he'd managed a reservation at one of the finest restaurants in Orario, but I had the sneaking suspicion that Syr and her "connections" had some part in it. I supposed I should just be glad I was given something conservative to wear rather than anything risqué by my friend if she could arrange for such things to occur. "You're supposed to treat your date well, y'know? Right now you're at a -100 points."

"Only an uncouth individual such as yourself would administer and take away points for occasions such as this, Hachiman." -100 points? Truly? Was I that unpleasant? Wait, I am being teased. I am sure of it. Besides that particular fact, I was speaking to Hachiman. He has no taste. Any value he gives regarding anything is doubtful at best and wrong at worst. That calmed me somewhat. At the very least, I was sure of my ability to pay for this needlessly extravagant dinner. "Are you not already ashamed of your choice of dining? Of the fact that you're having me pay for our meals?"

"I believe in equality." The stare I rendered upon him gave Hachiman pause. "When it benefits me." An apt correction. He coughed aside. I managed to appropriate some breathing room through my words and actions. I took a moment to compose myself before he went on the assault again. The restaurant was largely deserted, but all others present were also couples being served by silent waiters. Yes, I was very sure of Syr's involvement in this little escapade now. This may have been days in the making. I would not be surprised at all if that were the case. "Besides, dinner is the least of what I'm owed, especially since I don't plan on forcing myself on you."

There it was again, that insufferable casual mentioning of my action that I couldn't reply to! I felt as though I was fighting a battle where I had no answer to a specific attack. Even though we were evenly matched, with him as distracted with me as I was him, I couldn't riposte his verbal lances with that particular weight. Hachiman, as resourceful as ever, was capitalizing on my weakness and making every effort to capitalize on that fact. I was finding myself more and more off-guard, with every inch I'd gained being negated solely because he was willing to tread a line that I wasn't willing to cross—

Oh, that was it wasn't it.

Hachiman believed I wouldn't flirt back.

If circumstances were anywhere near normal, that would be the case. However, as of now, I was clad in clothes meant for a ball, wore makeup for the first time in decades, and was seated just inches away from a man I would never allow to completely take the field… at least without putting up putting up a fight in the process.

I mustered my will, thought back on just about every terrible book Syr owned and the lines she spouted at me, and did my best to ignore the flush on my cheeks.

"I see, that would be indeed a problem, Hachiman as forcing yourself upon me would be impossible." The words were horrific in structure and meaning. The cost involved in saying them were staggering. I was barely capable of saying them, let alone controlling the embarrassment that suffused me or continuing to match Hachiman's gaze. As soon as the words left me, I knew that I'd erred. That was less of a verbal riposte and more a vulgar utterance. When the thought occurred to me to take it back, despite the loss I'd suffer in doing so, I spoke immediately. "T-that was not w-what I meant to say." A damnable stutter took whatever respect I had not already lost. "Ignore my earlier words, Hachi—"

"What if I don't want to ignore them?" For a moment, I'd thought Hachiman had chosen to turn my words to his advantage. Betrayal coursed through me then. Some part of me trusted he wouldn't capitalize on my mistake. However, when I raised my head to say anything in return, or perhaps even storm out, I found myself locked by his gaze. There was no humor in them. Just a calm consideration. Someway, somehow, that realization wiped my mind of any other thought before completely and utterly sending my thoughts astray. "What if I just do what I want to you?" He was serious. There was no humor in his gaze. Some fear and trepidation was present in his eyes, but probably no more than in mine. "What would you do, Ryuu?"

While I formulated a response to his words, in the back of my mind, I realized that this is what Hachiman meant by meeting all of us halfway. His halfway point, as I should've expected from him, was absolute. He'd meet Bell's friendship and respect with his own. The familial affection of Arde would be reciprocated. Comrades and allies would receive his full aid and attention. My… my efforts to take him… he would try to take all of me as well. The same went for every relationship he now had.

As always, Hachiman would pursue his goals without compromise, even if the goal was compromise itself.

"What would you say, Ryuu?"

Knowing that, knowing him, and knowing what was to come, how could I have given any answer besides the one which life my lips?

"Yes."