Hikigaya Hachiman Comes to A Realization That He Might Be Popular

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[Hikigaya Hachiman's POV]

Onii-chan, we ran out of sugar and milk, so please, buy some on your way home.

That message from Komachi made me turn to the girl beside me, Oshino Shinobu. The said girl tilted her head but seemed to know what I was going to say.

"I can't come over this time. I'm sorry for making you wait for me in vain."

"Is it Komachi?"

"Yes, and she is saying no for coming home late."

"It's fine. You don't have to come over. I will come over this time."

"Never thought of that."

Just like that, we headed to the supermarket closest to my house. On the way, as usual, we got a lot of stares. Walking with Shinobu was bound to make you experience that. However, I couldn't help but note how some women's eyes lingered on me until I met their eyes. At first, I could easily shrug it off as Shinobu's charm worked on both genders. However, I still got some stares from women even if I wasn't walking with her.

If it had been the look of apprehension that I got from them, I wouldn't mind it. Women were naturally cautious of men and even more so toward suspicious-looking ones. They shot me looks that I wasn't too familiar with. Sometimes, I would catch them looking at me in a daze before bashfully turning away as they realized that my eyes were on them. Some other times, they would look at me dreamily before smiling shyly as I met their eyes.

In some rare cases, thankfully, they would look at me stupidly with a blush on their cheeks. Sae-chan often did that and it looked endearingly out of place on her poker face. She immediately regained her composure when I looked at her, though. I shouldn't find some amusement in it, but I liked to see her do that, so I would do it from time to time.

Sometimes, I felt scared about her too. Her eyes would have this ominous glint and I didn't want to know what she was thinking. Now that I thought about it, she might just want to kill me for the responsibility I thrust at her. Noted. I should show up in the office more often. Realizing it was not possible immediately, I decided to just bring some work home later.

"What brand of milk do you drink at home?" Shinobu asked as we walked through the aisle of the supermarket.

"Komachi is still growing, so I often buy any brand that claims to have high calcium," I replied simply.

"Why don't we just buy a specifically formulated milk for that?"

"The place that sells those is not nearby, isn't it?"

"We are faster than cars, you know."

"It's fine. I just don't want to spoil my sister with too many expensive products—for the time being, at least."

In the end, we settled on buying a high-calcium milk in a glass jug. It was an American brand and it was also my first time seeing it in the supermarket. Not that I often explored the supermarket, though. Moving on, we looked for sugar. This time, our house used a specific brand, so finding it was an easy task.

With the main quest done, I decided to buy some snacks. As I was about to do that, I heard an interesting conversation between a little sister and her elder sister. The little one was pleading to her sister to let her buy a chocolate bar and the older one was vehemently denying it. Although I found some sound reasoning from the older one, I didn't think that chocolate would mess up the little one's eating schedule that much. The older one just had to be more involved in what the little one ate, after all.

Intrigued, I found myself approaching the source of the conversation. Of course, I didn't just want to eavesdrop. I had something to buy which was also located in the same aisle. On the way, I saw a girl struggling to get a bag of flour on the top shelf. The tip of her finger barely reached it and it was big enough to hurt you lightly if it fell on you. I knew the girl and her unattractive stubbornness, so I pretended to not see.

Her gears turned as she cupped her chin contemplatively. Then, her brain decided that jumping to get the bag of flour was a good idea. It was a feasible solution, I had to admit. However, it would only be a good idea if she had a good sense of balance and adequate hand strength. Unfortunately, she didn't have any of those.

"Kyaa!"

The bag of flour escaped her hand and she lost her footing. I took a moment to mentally sigh before rushing to prevent her fall.

***

[Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade's POV]

"Kyaa!"

A girly yelp made me look away from the refrigerator and turned to its source. It was coming from Hachiman's direction, so I decided to have a look. It was much to my exasperation to find him holding our classmate by her waist and a bag of flour in his other hand. He must have caught her a moment before she fell.

"You okay, Miura?"

"Y-Yeah, I am okay. T-Thanks…"

The girl was woken up from her daze upon hearing his question. Hachiman helped the girl properly stand when he heard her confirmation and then let her go.

"Here is your flour. I still need to buy some things." Hachiman handed the bag of flour.

"O-Okay." The girl took it bashfully, still red in the face.

I sighed helplessly at Hachiman's behavior. He was getting casual with everyone. He didn't discriminate, but he shouldn't do that to girls. Many had misinterpreted his consideration and now he had a swarm of girls that I had to keep at bay, so they didn't disturb his peaceful life. I would like to tell him about how he was behaving, but I was afraid of making him more aware of what he could do to girls and awakening something within him.

He spotted me and then walked up to me. I wordlessly wrapped my arms around his and he wasn't perturbed in the slightest. My action caused the Miura girl to take her eyes off Hachiman's back, though. How fickle that girl was. I thought she was smitten by everyone's favorite Hayama Hayato.

We moved to another aisle and encountered another familiar face. Hachiman was also quite surprised. My mood worsened when the girl noticed us. She greeted us awkwardly with a 'Yo' and it reminded me of Hachiman.

"Yo, Suzuki-san."

"Who the hell is Suzuki?" my thought was expressed by the girl. "I'm Kawasaki Saki, damn it."

"Sorry. I was just messing with you."

We walked to the girl and it was at this moment that she registered our intertwined arms. She looked rather uncomfortable but didn't say anything.

"Are they your friends, Saa-chan?"

Our eyes turned downward and settled on an adorable miniature of Saki. Her eyes were full of innocence as they looked at us and I couldn't help patting her head.

"We are Saa-chan's friends. What is your name?"

"Kawasaki Keika!"

"Nice to meet you, Keika-chan. I am Shinobu."

"Nice to meet you too, Shii-chan!"

My sour mood turned sweet again when I saw the little bluenette smile. Children always had a special place in my heart as they always managed to astonish me with their purity. It was saddening how the world corrupted them as they grew up. I wished Keika wouldn't experience that, but I knew it was realistically impossible.

"What are you doing here anyway, Saki?"

Saki seemed startled to be addressed with her first name by Hachiman. "A-Ah, I am running an errand. We are done with it, but Keika here is so adamant on buying a chocolate bar."

"Eh, I will buy it for her."

"Will you? Thanks…"

"Hikigaya Hachiman."

"Haa-chan!"

"Yes, yes, I am Haa-chan."

Hachiman patted the girl on her head while looking at her softly. The girl gladly leaned toward his hand with a smile on her face. One thing led to another, he walked away with the little girl to buy the chocolate. My smile became restricted upon noticing how similar his act was to a pedophile's modus operandi. Saki didn't think much about it but seemed to agree that we had to follow them.

By the end of the shopping, Keika was left with a bag full of snacks and chocolates. Saki looked at her excited face with a distressed look and as if to insult her, Hachiman was happily smiling alongside Keika. He still had the decency to remind Keika not to overeat and listen to her sister, though. We got out and looked at each other for a while. I was about to bid farewell when Hachiman spoke.

"Where are you guys heading?"

"There," Saki pointed to the north.

"We are also heading in the same direction. We'll give you a ride."

Saki looked hesitant until I agreed. "It's fine, Saki. I want to play with Keika-chan for a bit longer too."

"Ah, all right, then," Saki accepted and then followed us into the limousine.

On the way home, Hachiman hogged all of Keika's attention. None of us minded, though, as we were content with just looking at how much his usually stoic face could express. He had never been shy to show me his smile, but I rarely saw him make that look. I wanted to see him more like that. Should I give him a daughter?

As if sensing my thoughts, Hachiman looked at me nervously. It wasn't noticeable on his face, but his eyes said everything. Smiling mysteriously at him, I caused him to gulp. We dropped Saki and Keika-chan off not long after. Funnily, they lived close to the Hikigaya household.

When we arrived at the Hikigaya residence, the rambunctious girl called Komachi, Hachiman's sister greeted us. She looked at us silently before exclaiming that her brother had finally snatched a bride home. I smiled elatedly whereas Hachiman sighed. We spent dinner together and talked about a lot of things.

Hachiman was well sought after by women, but it didn't matter as I would be the one who got him in the end; so I concluded.

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Bowzer

Venerable Immortal Drowz

Venerable Immortal Gwiber

Venerable Immortal Orion

Venerable Immortal P. Felipe

Venerable Immortal W. M. Jones

Venerable Immortal x_iLaggedOut_x