[49] Mrs. Yuigahama's Assistance
"I'm back!"
"Welcome home, Onii-chan!"
After returning home, Komachi naturally welcomed him right away.
Looking at Komachi's face, lit up with a radiant smile, Hachiman felt as if his soul had been rejuvenated.
"Here, Komachi, I brought you a gift." He handed her the dolphin plushie he was holding.
"Wow, a dolphin plushie! I love it, Onii-chan!" Komachi exclaimed as she hugged it tightly.
Hearing that, Hachiman couldn't resist patting her head.
"I love you the most, Komachi."
Feeling the warm hand on her head, Komachi closed her eyes in contentment.
Seeing Komachi like this, Hachiman had the urge to tickle her chin, but he managed to restrain himself.
"I'm going to take a bath!"
"Go ahead, Onii-chan. Just don't do anything weird with the water after Komachi uses it."
"Come on, do you think your brother is a pervert? It's just a little Komachi, after all."
With a smile, Hachiman lightly tapped her head and then left the living room.
He went to his room, grabbed a change of clothes, and entered the bathroom.
---------------------------
Monday, at the Yuigahama residence.
Yui returned home in the morning after walking Sable as usual.
Along the way, she playfully teased and laughed with Hachiman.
Everything seemed just like before, as if the sleepless night from the previous Saturday hadn't troubled her at all.
Returning home and tidying up her school bag, Yui headed to the kitchen to prepare her lunch for the day.
There, she noticed two lunch boxes on the countertop.
"Huh, why are there two lunch boxes? Did Mom forget to take her own?" She tilted her head in confusion, looking at the two lunch boxes on the counter.
Well, even Mom has her forgetful moments.
With a smug feeling, Yui thought to herself.
Usually, it's her mom calling her silly. Look, today she forgot her lunch, so I'll just take it to her.
It's not far, anyway.
Mrs. Yuigahama worked at a nearby cake shop, conveniently located on the way to school.
After placing her own lunch in her backpack, Yui picked up the other lunch box.
However, what surprised her was that there was a sticky note attached to this lunch box.
[Yui, this lunch is definitely not something Mom forgot to take. You must have guessed wrong, my silly daughter!]
"What? Mom, you big meanie, always calling me silly."
Seeing this message, Yui couldn't help but pout.
"But if this lunch isn't Mom's, then who is it for?"
[This lunch is specially prepared by Mom for Hikigaya-kun. Consider it a thank you for him spending a fun Saturday with you.]
Yui was momentarily stunned. She hadn't expected her mom to prepare lunch for Hachiman.
"Ugh..."
Images flashed through her mind once again, and a blush crept onto Yui's face.
"Geez, Mom..."
Although she complained aloud, her body was quite honest as she placed this lunch into her backpack as well.
Hachiman, who had just reached the school gate, felt his phone vibrate.
"Ding ding."
A new email had arrived.
"Who could it be?"
He hadn't expected someone to send him an email so early in the morning. It was most likely spam, he thought.
Opening the email and seeing the sender's name, Hachiman was surprised.
"It's an email from Yui?"
[Hikki, today Mom made lunch for you. What's your class? I'll find you during lunch break.]
Seeing this email, Hachiman tilted his head.
But the prospect of having lunch with Yui was something he looked forward to.
Even though he knew they attended the same school, they hadn't crossed paths there in all the days since school started.
He quickly edited his class number and sent it back to her.
Hachiman had to admit, Mrs. Yuigahama's cooking was quite good.
He remembered the delicious soup Yui had brought him, which had been made by her mother.
Compared to the school canteen's bread, it was much better, and the prospect of seeing Yui's radiant face added to Hachiman's anticipation for lunch.
As for Zaimokuza, who was that?
Hachiman chuckled to himself, thinking about how he'd skip lunch with Zaimokuza this time.
Time passed quickly, and lunch break arrived before he knew it.
In Yui Yuigahama's classroom:
"Hina, Yui, let's have lunch together," Yumiko said as she took out her lunchbox, extending the invitation to her two friends.
"Sure, no problem," one girl with red-rimmed glasses and shoulder-length brown hair replied, apparently named Ebina Hina.
"Umm... well..." Yui was about to agree, but she remembered her promise to Hachiman to meet him during lunch.
She had a conflicted expression on her face.
"What's wrong, Yui?" Seeing her like this, Yumiko couldn't help but be curious.
"Ah, well, you see," Yui began, somewhat embarrassed. "I actually made plans with a friend. I'm having lunch with him today."
"Him?"
Upon hearing this, Yumiko became interested, and even Hina, who had been absorbed in her phone, put it down and looked up.
"Could it be Hikigaya-kun?" After a brief moment of thought, Yumiko guessed who Yui was referring to.
"Hikigaya? Who's that, who's that? Is he Yui's boyfriend?" Now, even Hina, who had been playing with her phone, became interested and looked at Yui with a curious expression.
"Sure, Yui-chan, I never expected you to quietly find a boyfriend. We didn't even know." Yumiko chimed in.
"Me and Hikki aren't in a romantic relationship. He's just a pest who likes to tease me." Yui quickly shook her head and started complaining about Hachiman.
"Hmm, trying to fool me? I saw you two together last Saturday on a date," Yumiko exposed Yui's lie without hesitation.
"Yeah, you had a date and you're saying he's not your boyfriend," Hina chimed in.
"That day wasn't a date, it was just... just..."
Hearing the teasing from her two friends, Yui was on the verge of tears.
The thought of what happened on Saturday made her face gradually flush.
"Oh well, I won't tell you two anymore. I'm going to find him," she said, then dashed out of the classroom.
"Hahaha."
Seeing Yui running off like that, Yumiko and Hina exchanged smiles.
"Alright, alright, Hina, let's go have lunch. We'll leave Yui alone today. She can't survive on dog food," Yumiko said with a satisfied smile, watching Yui run off after teasing her.
"Sure, wait for me."
Hina took out her lunchbox from her bag and smiled, "Listening to you, Yumiko, you probably met that guy last week, right? How was he?"
"Well, we can chat about it while we eat."
"Sure, sounds good."