Thus, Hikigaya Hachiman Ponders

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[Hikigaya Hachiman's POV]

My parents had never been direct to me in expressing their love. At a glance, it would seem like they were neglecting me. I used to also think they didn't care about me, but that was just feeble reasoning to support my delusion that I only needed myself and Komachi in this world. Looking back, they had always allocated their time to have a private talk with me. They had always been trying to bond with me; though, it was wasted on me.

The way my parents treated me was something that I inflicted upon myself. I was used to Komachi's outright show of affection but not with my parents. I had matured too fast. Added to the fact that I was the firstborn, I had never vied for my parent's affection even as a child. My parents also treated me like a grown man, so the distance between us grew the older I got. Did I regret how things had turned out? No.

My parents still loved me. Mother, especially, had more than once wanted to treat me the way she did Komachi. I always brushed it off as I was not used to being treated like that. I preferred the way she had been treating me. She had never respected Komachi's privacy but respected mine. She didn't ask much as long as I didn't do anything that had a great impact on my life's trajectory. I wanted her to remain that way. I didn't mind her being more touchy-feely, but she had to forego her nosiness.

Father, on the other hand, wasn't trying anything drastic. Mom had hinted a lot of times that he regretted not spending more time with me after realizing how much I had grown. He was not the most expressive person, but I could tell he was trying to make amends. He had more than once implicitly invited me to an outing, but I had always acted oblivious. I didn't hate him, but seeing him grimace at his every failed attempt was fun. Maybe, I hated him a little.

"Be careful. I know you are a good driver, but you are still young. No one knows what your impulsiveness will lead you to do."

"I will be responsible for not only my life but also my friends'. I will be careful."

My interaction with Father was not awkward but comically stiff. I knew he wanted to say more than he had but couldn't force it out because of how he had been treating me. He was wondering if I would react positively. He must believe that I hated him—not entirely wrong, to be honest—so he didn't want to strain our relationship even further. However, he also knew that things wouldn't change if he remained this way.

"When you return, will you go out with me? It has come to my attention that it has been years since we last hung out." Father, in the end, stood up to the challenge.

"Sure. I will take some time off from work," I replied simply with a shrug.

"I will send you the details later."

Not bothering to ask when he got my number, I bid him and Mom farewell. Mom pulled me into a hug, prompting me to return it softly. She let go of me and told me to take care. I nodded wordlessly and got out of the house. Getting in my car, I drove it to pick Saki up since she lived nearby. She was still bidding farewell to her parents when I arrived.

I got out of the car and greeted the Kawasaki parents from afar. They greeted back as Saki rushed into my car. I drove the car to Shinobu's apartment first. Her limousine was waiting outside the apartment when we got there. I got out of the car and walked up to the driver, notifying him of my presence. I was about to ask him why he was there when Yukino and Yui got out of the apartment.

"Good morning, Hachiman-kun," Yukino greeted.

"Good morning, Hikki!" Yui greeted.

"Good morning you two. Did you sleep over in Yukino's apartment, Yui?"

"Shinobu-san invited us to a sleepover."

"Is she going to Kyoto with you guys and the rest of the students?" I asked curiously.

"No," Shinobu interrupted Yukino as she came out of the apartment building. "I am merely being a good host by taking my guests to the place where they need to be. The limousine will take them faster to Tokyo than the train does."

I nodded and then bid farewell to Yukino and Yui. They waved their hands and we immediately got into the car. We still needed to pick Shizuka-chan up at school, so I quickly stepped on the pedal. When we arrived at school, Shizuka-chan had just parked her car. Fortunately, we came at the right time. Coming out of the car, I helped her get her suitcase into the trunk. She then wordlessly sat in the back with Saki without asking me to let her drive.

The first destination of the school trip was Kiyomizu Temple, so I immediately input it on the GPS. As soon as the route came out, I stepped the pedal. I drove the car relatively slow at first. I only increased the speed when we were on the highway. The drive was relatively silent. Shizuka-chan would sometimes warn me to slow down but didn't seem serious about it. She even looked quite excited by how fast we were going.

At some point, we needed to stop at a gas station to refuel. The girls bought some snacks to munch on as they were quite bored during the ride. We resumed the travel as soon as the car was refueled. Although we had a couple of minutes advantage over the Shinkansen, we couldn't travel at a constant speed as it did. We needed to slow down sometimes, so we couldn't waste any time if we wanted to catch up to the others.

Close to three hours later, we found ourselves in front of the entrance of Kiyomizu Temple. A quick call that Shizuka-chan made told us that we were quite early. The others would arrive in five minutes, so we had to wait for them until then. Fortunately, we didn't need to wait for five minutes in the end.

Yui immediately ran toward us as soon as she saw us, dragging Yukino with her. On the other hand, Shizuka-chan told us to enjoy our time before regrouping with the teachers.

"You guys are early!" Yui exclaimed bubbly.

"A maniac drove us here. It's a miracle that we didn't end up in heaven," Saki grumbled, still traumatized by how fast we had gone in the last hour.

"Well, how was the train ride?" I asked.

"It was a good read," Yukino remarked offhandedly.

"Ah, I got to play games with Yumiko-chan and the others. It was fun!" Yui exclaimed cheerfully, contrasting Yukino greatly.

Figuring out that Yukino had been quite bored with the ride, I told them to get into the temple. It was at that moment that Yui asked us to explore the place first going to the main temple. She dragged us to a small underground temple off to the side. Hayama, Tobe, Miura, and Ebina were there waiting. Miura was slightly surprised when she saw Yukino with us but didn't say anything.

We looked around for a little before deciding it was time to regroup with the others. Tobe had been trying his hard to woo Ebina and it was quite painful to look at. He had the confidence but not the charisma. Miura seemed to notice something was going on but didn't say anything. She let the two be for the moment, but I had a feeling that she would act on it later.

One thing led to another, we found ourselves at Jishu Shrine. It was quite popular among couples as it was a shrine dedicated to the deity of love and matchmaking. Yui and Miura were quite giddy as we climbed up the stairs to the entrance of the shrine. They immediately ran to the love stones before the entrance and touched them the moment they saw them. They believed it would bring good luck to their relationship.

Shinobu and Yukino didn't seem interested but touched the stones eventually. They looked at each other briefly before coughing into their hand and looking away. Some photos and love talismans later, we went to Kiyomizu Temple. On the way, I couldn't help but observe the interaction between Tobe and Ebina. Every advance that Tobe made had always been successfully thwarted by Ebina. She did it carefully, so it didn't hurt him. In turn, unfortunately, he didn't get the signal.

I felt quite sorry for Ebina but wouldn't help her. No matter how uncomfortable she was, she had to face it by herself. Tobe wasn't being a weirdo either. He didn't force himself on Ebina. Had it been the case, I would have put a stop to this farce. When I finished my thought, we were already inside Kiyomizu Temple. There was a long line before us as we were at the famous Otowa waterfall.

"The waterfall has three streams and each stream represents different blessings. From the right one, they bless you with longevity, success at school, and a fortunate love life," Yukino informed.

"You can't drink from all three of them I heard," Yui added.

"Indeed. It will be considered greedy to do so."

"Doesn't that imply you have to choose one of the three aspects and surrender the other two?" I asked cynically.

"Here I thought you had changed, but your pessimism remains as disgusting as ever, Hachiman-kun. What it implies is that you have to work hard for the aspects that you are not blessed with," Yukino chastised.

I rubbed my chin as I pondered what Yukino said. As a Vampire, I was blessed with longevity. I had a successful school life as I learned faster than any human. Although I didn't believe in the myth, I had already decided from which stream I would drink the water. I moved ahead and secured the cup that was attached to one of the poles. I cupped the water from the third stream and gulped it down.

I handed the cup to the eager Shinobu. She also drank from the third stream. Yui followed suit, drinking from the third stream. I think you should drink for the second one. When Yukino's chance came, she drank from the two streams. Yui looked at her incredulously, prompting her to explain that drinking from two streams didn't make her greedy according to the myth. Yui immediately drank from another stream, mimicking what Yukino had done.

Saki was a bit different as she drank from the three streams, saying that she didn't mind being considered greedy as it was very human. I approved.

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Bowzr

Venerable Immortal JayJonnaJamison