In A Matter of Seconds, Hikigaya Hachiman Comes to Term with It

[Hikigaya Hachiman's POV]

"Unbelievable. This is unbelievable! How could Mom hide all of these from me!?"

"…"

"Huh!? Isn't this position too intimate? Not that I am jealous but, Onii-chan, what were you thinking? You shouldn't just harass a girl like that!"

"…"

"Eh, this woman seems to be into you. Isn't she too…mature for you? She is not your sugar mommy, right? Right!?"

Ignoring Komachi who kept mumbling to herself while looking at the photos on my phone, I kept my wallet in my pocket and then looked into the mirror. I was wearing a white shirt underneath an ash-colored blazer with matching-colored pants. The shirt was properly tucked into my pants, but I left two buttons unbuttoned which gave me a professional but still casual look.

"You dress well…"

I turned around and found Komachi looking at me as if she had seen a ghost. "Laura taught me a few things. I could only ignore her insult for so long."

"Well, aren't you two close?" Komachi remarked snarkily.

"We are."

"Eh? He didn't even deny it? Could it be…!"

Komachi was full of imagination, so I wisely ignored her mumbling and took my phone away from her. She whined about it but immediately stopped when I told her I needed to meet Yuigahama. Cheering up, she pushed me out of my room and sent me off. She told me to have a lot of fun and I just nodded my head lightly.

On the way to my meetup spot with Yuigahama, I thought about how strange my family behaved after my return. Mom had ceaselessly bombarded me with countless questions, constantly asking me when she should expect a grandchild. It was my first time seeing her so hyped about something. It was wondrous, but I still told her to cease her expectation. I would not get into a relationship soon.

Komachi was…well, Komachi. She had initially asked me about what I did during my camping before asking about what Mom and I had been hiding. I didn't know what she was talking about until today when she looked through my phone. It turned out that Mom didn't show her the photos she had received from me.

By the time I knew it, I had already arrived at the meetup spot. Yuigahama was still not there as I was ten minutes earlier than the promised time. Leaning slightly on a lamp post, I indulged in the entertainment my phone had to offer. Not long after, the awaited person came.

"Hikki!" she called out loudly, attracting the people's attention. "S-Sorry for making you wait."

I looked at Yuigahama up and down before replying, "Don't worry. I am already used to your tardiness."

"That's Hikki for you, all right." Yuigahama pouted. "You should have said 'I have just arrived,' you know?"

"Would you prefer me to lie, then?"

"That's not what I meant! I mean…white lie is okay, you know?"

"The yukata suits you."

"Is that the white lie!?"

As usual, when I managed to get on her nerves, Yuigahama hit me. I couldn't tell if she put some power into her hand—I could hardly feel a pain these days—but she looked adorable at this moment. A small smile unconsciously crept up my face, freezing Yuigahama entirely. She must be creeped out by it, but I didn't care. I had come to love every part of myself, even if everyone hated it.

"Seriously though, you look good in that yukata," I said earnestly, causing the frozen girl to blush.

"G-Geez…you shouldn't have teased me earlier. Stupid nincompoop Hachiman!"

"Oy, my name is not an insult!"

Yuigahama grinned stupidly, bringing a small smile to my face. Her face flushed as she looked at me, but I ignored it and told her it was time to ride the train. Upon getting into the station, we found out that a lot of people were there. The train was also packed, so we were forced to stand up. I wouldn't feel a thing, but Yuigahama was bound to get tired.

The train shook and Yuigahama bumped into me. I immediately held her waist to prevent her from falling. Her heartbeat was deafening for my sensitive ears, so I looked down to meet her burning face. She immediately avoided my gaze and buried her face in my chest. I spared her from the embarrassment and didn't pry about it.

After passing several stations, I finally noticed an empty seat. I immediately secured it before telling Yuigahama to sit there. The ride continued and we eventually got to our destination: the Chiba Municipal Fireworks Festival. As expected from a festival, it was full of people.

"We have some time to kill, so why don't we buy some things from the stalls?" Yuigahama suggested. "Komachi-chan asked me to buy some things."

"Sure; why not?" I agreed simply.

Traversing through the crowd-filled area, we visited the stalls that sold the food that Komachi asked us to buy. We also bought some food for us but in a small amount. Yuigahama wanted to taste the varieties of food and I wasn't that fond of the food sold at a festival. I had nothing against street food, but it was quite hard to find a good one at a festival.

"Are you sure you don't want to have a bite, Hikki?" Yuigahama asked as she offered the toffee apple in her hand. "You bought it after all."

"I bought it for you, so it's fine. I wouldn't have given it to you if I wanted to buy it for myself," I replied, pushing the toffee apple away.

"Then, I want to share!"

A stubborn one, aren't you? I sighed and took a bite of the apple near the place where Yuigahama had bitten. A sweet taste immediately covered my tongue but I was not too fond of it. I had never been a fan of sweets even though I liked sweet coffee. Noticing that Yuigahama was still offering the toffee apple, I looked at her and found that she was dumbfoundedly looking at the spot I had just bitten and me alternatingly.

Oy, I didn't bite that big. Also, if you are not prepared to lose some of it, don't share it!

"Yuigahama," I called to wake her up. "I know you are not that gifted to tell directions, so give me your hand. It's getting more packed."

"Okay…" she squeaked out.

She offered her hand and I immediately grasped it. She didn't say anything but at least she was not against what I was doing if her tightening grasp was any indication. But on the other hand, it could also be interpreted as her refusal. I tried to test my assumption by loosening my grasp, but hers remained strong. I grasped her hand back but nowhere near as strong as she did.

"There are some games I want to play. Let's visit them!" Yuigahama exclaimed when she had regained her composure.

"Most of the games at a festival are scams. It's not much, but that is exactly why we should avoid it. 'Ah, it's just 200 Yen—I could still afford another try.' Then, by the end of it, you will have spent more than 1000 yen on that game and you don't win anything."

"Geez. It's not the prize that we are aiming for—it's the fun!" Yuigahama retorted, looking quite offended by informative advice.

Shrugging, I let her drag me to a shooting game. She paid the stall owner and was given three chances to knock down the displayed prize she fancied. Spirit all high, she rolled up her sleeves and picked up the toy gun. Three shots later, she paid for another three chances. She was still smiling, but I could see that she was a bit tense.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Unsurprisingly, she wasted her three chances. Putting down the gun, she slumped her shoulders and looked at me like a kicked puppy. I felt something piercing my heart and my Onii-chan instinct immediately activated. Patting her head, I paid the stall owner to play. The guy was very happy, maybe thinking that he had two idiots roped in his scam.

Picking up the gun, I looked for the prize that Yuigahama wanted. It was a bone-shaped dog toy. I duly noted it must be for Sable and took an aim. My eyes were sharp and precise enough to let me shoot a flying bird, so hitting the target was easy. However, knocking it down was an entirely different matter. The gun didn't have enough force to do it. Therefore, I cheated by using my Vampire ability.

Pop!

The gun made a loud sound and a powerful projectile was sent toward the prize. It was easily knocked down and the stall owner looked at me utterly gobsmacked. I was fully planning to make him bleed, so I aimed for other prizes. Two shots later, I was left with three prizes and a lifeless stall owner.

"Hikki, that was so cool!"

In the end, playing games is fun only when you win something.