Once In a While, Oshino Shinobu Thinks It Is Okay to Have a Guest

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When the school activity ended, which was just after the practice, I went to Shinobu's place. On the way, she teased me about how many fans I had gotten. She might sound playful, but I found myself sweating coldly a couple of times. To distract her from talking about the event that I was also not sure about how it happened, I complimented her about the script play. As if stepping on a landmine, I caused Shinobu to frown.

She expressed to me that she wasn't that fond of the ending. She said that it wasn't supposed to end like that. She had initially made it end with the little princess giving her golden heart to the pilot. Ebina, however, told her that the story would end on a sweet note and the message wouldn't be struck across. She wanted to emphasize that to love was to be hurt, hurt, and sacrifice. Thus, the end was made that way.

Shinobu had vehemently denied it at first, but since Ebina told her that I would prefer the ending that way, she easily relented. Honestly, I just didn't want any hint of romance there. Although in the case of our play, there was a romance element there, it was so subtle that everyone would only realize it when the story ended. The La Petite Princesse that we came up with was good with both endings and I didn't mind either of them. However, I had to agree with Ebina that ending it on a grave note struck the point across.

Our discussion ended when we reached Shinobu's apartment building. My eyes were attracted to another limousine that took off just as we arrived. Although black limousines were everywhere, that particular limousine seemed familiar. I didn't dwell on it too much as I chalked it up to coincidence.

Shinobu and I entered the building. We walked to the elevator, lightly returning the greeting from the staff. I had never been that interactive with them, but they somehow knew me. It wasn't surprising, though, as Shinobu was quite well-known by the staff. Pushing the button to go up, we waited idly for the elevator door to open. When the door opened, we found two familiar people in the elevator, which proved that I hadn't been mistaken.

"Hikigaya-kun."

"Ara; Hikigaya-kun and Shinobu-chan! I wonder what you guys are doing here."

Yukinoshita Yukino looked at us in surprise and caution, meanwhile, Yukinoshita Haruno looked at us in interest. I was also curious about what they were doing, so I immediately expressed my mind.

"I guess I can say the same thing to both of you."

"I live here," Yukinoshita provided.

"What a coincidence. The top floor is mine," Shinobu informed.

"What?" Haruno and I remarked at the same time.

"Ha-Ha-Ha! This is interesting," Haruno said, unable to contain her giggle. "You live in the same apartment building and never encounter each other."

Indeed. It was quite comical that it was their first time encountering each other. However, the apartment building was big and Shinobu rarely got out of her flat. Moreover, she sometimes wouldn't even come home as she needed to attend to some matters about her company's major deals. Her presence was still required for the sake of formality.

"Where are you guys going?" I asked.

"Oh, Yukino-chan just realized that her stove is broken and she doesn't have anything to eat for dinner, so we decided to eat outside," Haruno answered in Yukinoshita's stead, earning her an irritated glare.

"Well, Hachiman and I happen to have a dinner tonight. Why don't you join us?" Shinobu suggested, surprising me lately.

"We don't want to impose on—"

"Really? That will be awesome! Let's go Yukino-chan!" Haruno cut Yukinoshita off.

"Nee-san."

As the die was cast, Shinobu and I stepped into the elevator. Punching the number to her floor which could only be accessed by her card, we waited as the elevator went up. No one said a thing and I didn't mind. It was quite surprising that Haruno didn't have anything to say, but she remained herself. In other words, she was very invasive with my personal space. Shinobu was glaring at her the entire time, but she didn't care.

When we arrived at Shinobu's flat, Shinobu immediately dragged me with her. She didn't forget about her guests, of course, as she properly invited them into her flat. As soon as we were inside the flat, I got into Shinobu's room to change into a more comfortable outfit. I had stayed over for a couple of times, so I left some of my clothes there. I felt some curious stares on my back but ignored them completely.

By the time I had changed into my sleeveless hoodie, the Yukinoshita sisters had made themselves comfortable on the sofa while watching the uninteresting news on the TV. Shinobu was busy cooking for us, so I immediately walked up to her.

"Is there anything I can help?"

"Please serve some tea for our guests."

"Okay."

A moment later, I was carrying a tray filled with a teapot and a pair of classic Japanese cups. I put it down carefully and then served the tea to the guests. Yukinoshita seemed surprised, so I couldn't help but smirk at that. I had learned the tea serving mannerisms from her and the internet. I knew the dos and don'ts. On a side note, I thought she was too focused on my arms. Was my performance that unremarkable? I could never tell.

"Do you exercise, Hikigaya-kun?" Haruno asked.

"Yup. Surprising?" I asked challengingly.

"Well, not really. Anyway, can I touch your arms?"

Yukinoshita flinched, but I didn't make any indication that I noticed it.

"Why though?"

"Eh? Can't you let your girlfriend do that?"

Tak!

Shinobu slammed her knife harder than needed to her chopping board.

"Stop saying some nonsense, Haruno," I deadpanned.

"See! You even call me by my first name," Haruno countered.

"So do I to Shinobu, but you don't catch me claiming her to be my girlfriend."

Yukinoshita sighed in relief, meanwhile, I sensed Shinobu looking at me in annoyance from the kitchen. I didn't want to think about anything as I didn't think I could handle the headache.

"Anyway, can I?"

Seeing that Haruno wouldn't back down, I sighed in resignation. "Do what you like."

"Well, thank you!"

Haruno jumped at me and immediately hugged my arm. She touched every part of my arm while constantly remarking about how tough it was. She also mentioned how cold my body was but didn't think anything was weird about that, which I was thankful for. Before long, Haruno became more touchy-feely. It was to my horror that she also ran down her head to my abdomen.

"Wow, aren't you shredded, Hikigaya-kun? Ever thinking of becoming a model?"

Before I could say anything, Shinobu called, "Hachiman, would you be a dear and help me chop up some of the ingredients here?"

"I am coming."

I pulled Haruno off of me and walked away. I briefly noticed how disappointed she looked but put it at the back of my mind in favor of my sanity. Yukinoshita soon declared that she also wanted to help, so she followed after me. As soon as we got into the kitchen, we immediately busied ourselves with the task given to us. Shinobu stayed close to me while sending some irritated glances and pinching me on the side from time to time.

I wondered what I had unknowingly got myself into but soon discarded it when I smelled the heavenly smell of Shinobu's cooking. The trouble that I got was worth it for these delicacies. When the food was done, we served each of them in their respective dishes. Haruno didn't help us cook but helped us set up the dinner table. When everything was ready, we washed our hands and began our feast.

Shinobu opted to cook an American dinner tonight, so we ate like Westerners. Unsurprisingly, the Yukinoshita sisters didn't find it weird. They cut the meat without a hassle and admired how tender it was. Isn't my Shinobu amazing? A proud smirk adorned my face before I indulged in my food. I smeared some portion of the mashed potato on the beef before cutting the meat up and putting it in my mouth. The combination blew my mind every time.

It was rather unfortunate that Shinobu didn't let me consume this type of dinner every time as she said that I would die from cholesterol which shouldn't happen because I was a Vampire. I complied, though, as the meal was delicious but not that healthy with how many calories and fats it had. It was the reason why we always evened it out with salads.

"Hachiman, eat your salad," Shinobu warned with a frown from my side.

"Eh, I haven't finished my steak. I will do it later," I replied offhandedly.

"The last time you said that, you didn't eat your salad, claiming that you were full." Shinobu squinted her eyes and I pretended not to notice.

"Sheesh. I will eat it, don't worry."

Spooning some of the salad in the big bowl, I put it on my plate. I ate the salad while smirking at Shinobu, proving to her that I wasn't lying.

"You are avoiding the tomatoes."

I flinched and turned my head away. Shinobu just sighed and faced her chair toward me. She spooned more salad with a lot of tomatoes (three slices) in it and put it on my plate. Wordlessly, she force-fed me the salad. I didn't dare to defy her, so I resigned to my fate. My stomach churned as the first slice of tomato entered my mouth. It was quite hyperbolic, but tomatoes were disgusting nonetheless.

The Yukinoshita sisters stopped eating and watched me instead. They seemed to find an amusement in my misery. I would glare at them, but they would just look at Shinobu when I did. When I wasn't looking, they would look at me again. It lasted for quite some time before they decided to finish their meal. When the dinner ended, Shinobu and I saw the two off. Shinobu had a rare smile on her face as she did so. 

For some reason, the dinner made her happy and I was content to not know why.

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Bowzer

Venerable Immortal Drowz

Venerable Immortal Orion

Venerable Immortal P. Felipe

Venerable Immortal W. M. Jones

Venerable Immortal x_iLaggedOut_x