Chapter 2

A person might say that he feels comfortable with someone after having met that person a few minutes ago, another might take a more reserved approach and never put their guard down around that person. Many factors take into effect as to how anyone would act, like mannerisms, that person's outward appearance and his likes and dislikes.

And when one has found a person of similar likes and tastes, it is in the likelihood that both sides would want to know more about each other, thus leading to acquaintanceship and ultimately into friendship.

After meeting Kawasaki-san, I find myself in a predicament of sorts.

Though I had said that I feel comfortable around her, enough that the silence between us is not awkward, I still have this voice behind my head saying not to trust her, though I pushed those rude thoughts from my mind earlier because I deemed them unfit as Kawasaki-san treated me kindly and it would be improper for me not to treat her likewise.

After their departure from the front of our house, I followed Komachi inside and we changed our shoes to slippers.

I noticed Komachi gave me a weird look and I cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Onii-chan you're sweating so much it's a miracle you didn't have an odor on you when you were with Kawasaki-nee."

Now that she mentioned it, I was a sweating really hard. When I looked at the nearby mirror, my suspicions were enforced as I saw beads of sweat drip from my hair and my shirt had blotches of sweat on it.

Wow I looked really gross.

"Hahaha onii-chan were you really that nervous when you were with Kawasaki-nee the you began to sweat that much? It would have been more hilarious if you were a stuttering mess! It must have been gross for Kawasaki-nee to be near you!" Komachi exclaimed while laughing, in fact she was laughing so hard that she started snorting.

Oink! Oink!

Cease your laughter you swine!

I karate-chopped her head and heard her yelp upon impact. She rubbed her head with teary eyes and pouted at me.

"Mou onii-chan, I was just kidding…hehehe" Hey, don't apologize for laughing at me when you're giggling while apologizing!

"Hurry up and take a bath, let's go to that mall early so we can leave early and I can come back home." Truth be told, I was not really in the mood to go to the mall, but I already told Komachi that I would be coming with her. And it would hurt my pride as a man if I back down on my word!

Upon that realization, she sprinted towards the living room and zoomed upstairs to her room.

Good grief, what an eccentric child.

With her out of the way, I'll finally be able to finish my morning coffee that I left a while ago. Damnit, I bet it's already cold by now…

As I made my way to the table, I noticed a woman with a mop of dark brown hair sitting where dad was and reading the newspap er just like he was.

Ah, so moms already awake.

I wordlessly took a seat in front of her and took my already cold coffee.

"Good Morning Mom."

"Good Morning Hachi, did your father already leave?" Mom asked me without taking her eyes off of the newspaper.

"Yes."

"Well, he left his laptop again."

"Ah, I see. Well, dad's pretty smart so I think he'll be fine without it."

"Well, you're right about that kiddo. You're father ain't no idiot that's for sure. Otherwise, he couldn't have started that company of a year ago!" My mom is always shamelessly speaking proudly of my dad whenever given the chance.

You see, I don't like to boast but my dad is pretty smart and resourceful, so much that he decided to start his own company from the money he made as a corporate slave. He didn't even tell mom about it until a few months ago. Emphasis on the "slave".

Dad is the President of an accounting and logistics firm here in the Chiba Prefecture and he founded the company a year ago with the help of some big and important friends he made. He deals with the accounts of various companies that decide to outsource to him and not hire their own accountants and his company also offers logistical services to restaurants, department stores, hardware stores and even to the local fish and meat markets.

Recently, he told us the other day that he's been contacted by some school directors from local schools if he's accepting college trainees so that after they graduate, they can be immediately employed into his company.

Well, that's dad, mom has a similar story though.

Turns out mom had been working extra hard for the past few months because she was saving up to start her own coffee shop and bar in the shopping district downtown.

It was also the exact same place that made me go "If I were to start my own café in this place, this area would be the most strategic!". It surprised us when she told us about it because mom was never the avid book reader at home, when we asked her about it she just went "Why? It's because I want somewhere I can just laze around sipping coffee while someone I hired is managing the place for me!"

And I was like "Wow mom, that's pretty impressive, but I see that your laziness has caught up to you." I think I got my laziness from mom…

Mom came home pretty late last night because the bartender had a sick leave, so she had to take the reins. And when she came home, she was so exhausted that she didn't even bother to wash up and just fell on top of her bed and went asleep.

So gross…

Anyway, the place she had quickly became a hit and she earned a lot of regulars, typically the working-late-at-night types and the I'll-have-a-beer-or-two-before-going-back-home-and-having-my-wife-scream-at-me-asking-where-I-was-and-quickly-assuming-that-I-was-cheating-on-her type. Not to mention the I'm-a-single-lonely-beautiful-lady-in-my-30's-and-I'm-hoping-to-catch-a-cute-young-guy-here type.

A sudden chill went up my spine and a sense of dread for the future hovered over my very being. Did I just trigger my death flag?

Anyway, the place had only a few customers in daylight but when evening came, it was at that time that the customers would walk through that door.

And that is the time when, as my mom would say it, "The suckers would come do drink their night away, what a bunch of drunkard losers!". That sounded pretty scummy…

*Ehh? So, you're an edgy upstart brat that belongs in a well-off family? *

Shut your trap you hooligan!

I'll have you know that when the Hikigaya's had been financially elevated, my dad still refused my request for a raise and continued to give me 300-yen per day! That's really low you knowww? But somehow, I survived a whole school year with only 300-yen allowance.

I was jolted from my thoughts when I heard mom clear her throat, I must have spaced out for a bit. Mom looked over to me and cocked her eyebrow in question, much like what I did to Komachi earlier.

"I jogged earlier on my way to the convenience store when we ran out of sugar and cream."

She nodded telling me to go on as she sipped her tea and read the newspaper.

"When I went there I saw a pair but a girl already had eyes on them so I gave them to her instead. We talked for a bit and I found out that she's going to Sobou High like me."

My mom spat out her drink into the newspaper, also messing up parts of the floor in process.

Oi! what's with the exaggerated reactions from everyone around me recently?!

After having a fit of coughing, with me giving her a glass of water and a napkin to wipe with, she finally calmed down and gave me a look filled with pride.

"That's my Hachii! I knew I raised you right to be a gentleman! All those lessons I taught you back then on how to properly treat a lady will definitely get you a girlfriend for sure!" My mom said enthusiastically with sparkles in her eyes, the way she said it reminds me of Komachi, like mom like daughter I suppose.

With their similarities in personality and looks, my mom is what I imagine Komachi would look and act like when she's older. Not that my mom is old, she's still looks pretty youthful. Komachi is an exact copy of my mom, well except the hair though, me and Komachi got our hair color from dad. And while I got my dad's dead fish eyes, Komachi got mom's beautiful hazel colored eyes.

Thanks dad.

"Well thank you for the thought but I don't think I can be labeled as "boyfriend material".". I nonchalantly replied as I finally finished my coffee.

"Ah don't worry Hachii, I'm sure there's a girl out there for you." With my mom's peculiar enthusiasm on the topic, I decided to give her some hope.

"Well, if any normal girl were to meet me I'm sure they would immediately think I'm gross so the fact that I may even pique the interest of a female is highly unlikely. But don't worry dear mother! Once I have gained a fortune, I will clone myself and take care of him as my own son so that you will at least see an heir for me!" I said so proudly, ah my self-depreciating tendencies are going crazy!

"Ah, I see, I guess there's no hope for you at all…" Mom said in a dejected manner.

I know it was just a joke, but I think mom took me too seriously.

We heard the rushing of footsteps from upstairs as a door was closed and the sounds grew louder as the source appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

Komachi was holding a pile of clothes on her arm while she held a towel on the other.

"Komachi? What's all the ruckus about?" My mom asked.

"Ahh onii-chan decided to stop being holed up in this house and being a NEET and accepted my offer on going to the mall!" She said so excitedly.

My mom gave a shriek of delight and began skipping towards Komachi.

Seriously, what's with the over the top reactions?! Are we a part of a comedy skit?! Is there a hidden camera hidden here or something?!

Is some fuccboi gonna jump out of nowhere and say "Lol chill bro it's just a prank fam look there's a camera right there lmao XD RAWR!".

"Kyaahh! I see your brother is finally trying to come out of his closet, as his sister, you should do your best and help him out, ok Komachi?"

"Oi you used the wrong metaphor, and appropriate one would be "Coming out of his shell.", the one you used now sounded pretty gay." But my words were ignored by the two loud females in front of me.

"Haiii! I will definitely help out onii-chan because if I won't he'll be the same loser until we grow up and if that should happen, I definitely don't want to be associated with him because he's a pathetic excuse for a human being and a failure as a functional member of society!" She said so in a cheerful manner.

K.O.!

I clenched my heart from the barrage on insults I received.

Komachi-chan, your onii-chan is not immune to being hurt you know?

Even though I'm used to being insulted and such that doesn't mean I don't have feelings anymore you knoww?

I can get hurt too you knowww?

"Oi, that went too far Komachi." I said so in a menacing tone and approached her. As my spiritual pressure, lol, fluctuated and the air around me was buzzing and distorting, mom sensed this.

"A-ahh, w-well, I'll be going outside to call your f-father!" She said in a shaky voice as she sprinted towards the door.

Clever girl, I mean woman.

Komachi had a betrayed expression on her face as mom left her on her own.

"O-onii-chan hehehe, I was just kidding…hehehe" She cowered from my presence as I towered over her.

"My dear imotou, you just crossed the line, what do you have to say for yourself?" I bet I looked like the villain of an anime with his eyes covered by his hair and his right eye shining.

"U-uhh, I-I'm sorry onii-chan, I guess I got too far with my teasing…"

I forced my spiritual pressure, lol, to dissipate, and the air around us turned back to normal.

I heard a sigh of relief coming from the female in front of me.

Fufufufu, did you think you'll get out of this unscathed?!

Fool!

Whosshh!

With my mental sound effects and a high pitched "WATAHH!", I karate chopped her head as a form of discipline and as a reminder.

She quickly yelped and squealed from the pain, but before she can put her hand on her head to soothe the pain, I moved in and put her on a choke hold, not too hard of course.

"A-ah oniichan! Stop it! I-It hurts!"

"Hehehe I won't stop until you've learned your lesson, ko-ma-chi-ch-an." I made the scummiest voice and expression I could muster because I was feeling extra scummy at the moment.

I then put my knuckle on her head and began violently rubbing it against her.

"A-ah, onii-chan! S-stop it, I've learned my lesson, I w-won't do it again a-ah!"

"Do you promise?"

"Kyah! Y-yes, I promise! I'll be a g-good girl from now on, so p-please let my g-go already or else I'm gonna~"

I finally let her go as she gave me a pout and rubbed her head.

Part of the reason because her earlier dialogues were making me uncomfortable and becoming like those hentai that I have definitely never watched before.

Wink Wink

*Eww, Hikigaya, you are definitely a siscon. We fear for the chastity of your younger sister…*

Shut your mouth you amoeba.

"Mou onii-chan, you say I crossed the line but you always go for the overkill with your comebacks…"

"Whatever, just go to the bath already and so we can be on our way."

She was about to turn around and go to the bathroom but she had a wicked grin on her face.

I have a bad feeling about this.

"Onii-chan would you like to take a bath with me? We haven't done it in ages!"

I knew it.

If I was some other guy, I would most likely say, "W-What?! What are you saying?!".

But nope, I'm not your typical guy.

I'm your honest to God cynical loner who always thinks that the world is against him not to mention always anticipating worst-case scenarios.

So, with that in mind, I was unfazed by her brazen statement.

"Oh please, that line is so overused and cliché. It's going to take more than that to break me. Now go. Shoo. Begone from my presence." I said so as I shoo'ed her away with my hands.

…. After Komachi took a bath, without me of course, I followed and cleaned up my sweat covered body, and now I'm currently in my boxers trying to pick a choice of clothing.

Ah to heck with it.

I just grabbed a plain blue t-shirt and my old jeans.

I have no knowledge regarding fashion so I won't pretend to know it by bothering myself to take my time and analyze each and every damned garment and know which one suites with what.

With me fully clothed, I am finally ready to step out of my room and join Komachi downstairs.

But wait! I have forgotten the most crucial necessity that I have to bring with me!

I went to my closet and pulled out my light novels that I already finished. Within these pages are what I plan to bring with me today.

That's right.

Money.

Yes, you heard me.

I stored my savings that I acquired from a part of my meager 300-yen daily allowance inside the pages of my trashy Light Novels. But even if they were trashy, I still loved them. Just as much as how the Russians love their ballet so much.

When I opened the page where the money was folded, it was at the part where the lame main character was about to beat the villain using an OP power that only he can use, after his romantic interest was murdered before his very eyes.

Of course, the female will be revived by some ridiculous magic spell or something.

*Ugh, that's like super cringey, even for you Hikigaya…*

Yes, please don't remind me, you're making me want to kill myself again.

As I took my books out one by one, I heard footsteps nearing my door and the door itself opening.

"Onii-chan! Hurry up let's go already!" I didn't look behind me, but I was more concerned that Komachi might see what I used to read back then, so I quickly hid them from her view.

"Ahhh, please wait a bit Komachi, your loser onii-chan is saying goodbye to his imaginary girlfriend so please go away and wait for me downstairs." Through my gross lie that I fabricated on the spot, I could practically hear Komachi's face morph into that of disgust.

"Geez onii-chan, that's not healthy you know?" I heard her close the door and her footsteps fading.

Good grief that was a close one.

Though I have a feeling that Komachi outright believed my lie, and was genuinely concerned for my well-being.

Well I'll clear things up later.

As I continued to remove bills of money from my light novels, I was surprised by the amount. All in all, I was able to save quite a large sum, that even I was surprised.

Hmm, I don't remember having this much money the last time I counted it, but there's an old saying in Chinese, "To continuously count your money while you are saving it is bad-luck", or something along those lines.

I gathered up the bills and put them on my wallet and I headed downstairs to join my airheaded imotou.

As I went down, I saw that mom also just came out of the shower and was wearing a bath robe around herself.

"Ah, Hachi, you're already going to go?" She asked

"Yes. Oh, and mom, can I have a bit of cash today? Just in case something catches my eye and all." I asked her while looking away. Why am I embarrassed to ask for a bit of money anyway? Have I really been accustomed to my 300-yen that a slight increase would make me undeserving of it?

"Fufufu, no need to be embarrassed Hachi, you barely buy stuff on your own anyway." She said as she went to her handbag and grabbed her wallet.

She fished out eight one thousand-yen bills and held them in front of me.

"Go buy yourself something nice Hachi! But ask your sister first before you buy, for a second opinion of course."

I was hesitant to accept such a large amount so I said nothing.

Mom noticed the hesitation in me so she decided to give me some motherly wisdom.

"Hachi, you barely buy anything for yourself, even though me and your father would gladly give you what you want. I know you are not fond of things such as this, but it's fine to spoil yourself once in a while. Also, your self-depreciating tendencies are kind of obvious at this point and it makes me question myself if I raised you right…" Mom's voice trailed off at the last part, but I still managed to hear it.

Don't worry mom, no need to blame yourself. The person I am now is of my own making and choice.

I swallowed my twisted pride and accepted her gift and put in in my pocket. I also bowed to show her my gratitude.

"Thank you, okaa-sama."

"Ahh, stop that calling me that Hachi, you're embarrassing me." She said with a slight tinge of red on her cheeks as she put her hand against them as if she was feeling cold.

Oi oi, that's not an expression someone would make telling someone to stop, that's the exact opposite!

That's what I call the praise-me-more-you-degenerate-because-that's-what-I-get-off-to look!

I straightened my back and went to the doorway so I can change my shoes, Komachi was already waiting by the door when I reached her.

"Hey, hey Onii-chan, please be at your best behavior today, ok? Let's have fun!" She exclaimed enthusiastically.

"No need to tell me twice, I am not a child. I will try not to bore you to death with me as your personal bag carrier." My words were dripping with sarcasm.

Oh boy, today was going to suck.

We were currently on a train on our way district that's filled with malls and the like. Komachi and I decided to walk to the station from home in the blistering heat.

Well, maybe I just have a low tolerance to the sun and I get burned easily, or maybe it's because I rarely go outside of the house that I was not accustomed to the heat of our local star.

It's probably the latter.

However, as Komachi was just closing her eyes and resting her head on my shoulder while waiting for our stop, I on the other hand, was heavily meditating on the things happening around me and I have experienced so far.

The sun is too hot on the outdoors.

I feel dizzy and light headed.

There's barely a cool breeze of air outside.

There's people around and it's too crowded.

I'll sweat if I go outside and my skin will get gross.

I feel gross, I want to take a bath.

I want to go home to my Vita-chan.

I want to take a nap on the sofa.

I want to read my trashy light novels.

Wait.

I already finished all of them and part of the reason why I'm out of the comfort of my own home is because I want to buy some new books to read.

Sigh…

"What's wrong, Onii-chan?" Komachi asked beside me, she must have heard my sigh.

"Nothing much Komachi, I should have brought our family katana so I can kill myself here and now to end the suffering of my existence." My words dripping with sarcasm, I must have said that in a serious tone because the people around the train that we were taking to the station near the mall looked at me queerly.

I can almost read their minds.

Old man-san is thinking "Good grief, kids these days…"

Hipster guy-san is thinking "Maybe I can take what he said and post it later on my edgy twitter account…"

Big breasts onee-san is like "Eww what a loser, I hope he doesn't look my way. What if he's a pervert? Oh my, I should get ready to dial the police and hold on to my pepper spray just in case…"

Oi oi what the heck lady? It's rude to judge people based on their appearances, didn't your parents teach you that?

Komachi gave me a look that said "Please act normal today."

I did not reply to her and just closed my eyes to take a nap, might as well take one to conserve my energy.

Not five minutes had I closed my eyes and Komachi already lightly shook my shoulders to wake me up.

"Onii-chan, we're close so wake up already."

I gave a groan of annoyance and truth be told we were already near, only a few moments left until we come to a full stop and the passengers on the train start disembarking.

I stood up and Komachi did the same, I signaled her to hold my left hand so we won't get separated from the crowd.

*Eww Hikigaya, your sis-con side is showing…*

Good grief, what's wrong with siblings holding hands so they won't get separated in a crowd?

As the doors of the train opened, and the people going out and inside the train began to increase, I quickly maneuvered my way through the crowd.

That's also one of the abilities of my [STAND], it gives me quick agility and speed to maneuver my way skillfully through a crowd, almost seeing them in slow motion, thus, my movements were precise.

Well that's what I like to call I anyway.

Unfortunately, the female that I was forced to accompany today did not possess the same skill as I, and she was having difficulty in keeping up with me, even though we were holding hands.

Pff, what a normie.

"Onii-chan slow down, what are we even in a hurry for?" she asked with her brows furrowed.

"Your onii-chan doesn't like crowds, as you may already know, and this is the most efficient way to our destination." I told her without looking to see her reaction, but judging how she didn't reply, she probably gave up and gave me the reins.

After a few minutes of dodging people, narrowly hitting someone's drink, nearly having my arm nudge the boob of a passing lady and avoiding shady-looking people, we have finally reached the exit and was greeted with the hot air.

Ah, at least the sun is covered with clouds.

"Ahh, finally! Now the mall is only a short walk away! Let's go onii-chan!" Her vigor and energy had somehow returned, though mine is low and depleted as always.

"Yes yes…"

We walked to the mall hand in hand and we passed by a lot of shops along the way.

I saw a store that sold anime merchandise, and inside I can see teenage virgin guys and creepy fujoshi girls.

Seriously, I find fujoshis disturbing.

Like how you trigger them with the slightest homoerotic innuendo that barely even qualifies as such.

Or how they would pair you up with your other male classmates and decide who was the submissive one or the dominant one.

Not to mention that they buy a lot of yaoi manga and novels and sometimes bring them to school so they can bring their other female friends into the fold, but at least they are very fond of books, I can respect that at least.

Ugh, ok enough of that, the hairs on my arm were standing up.

Other shops included boutiques, pet shops, flower shops, a jewelry store, a tech center and of course, a common sight around here, the coffee shops.

Hmm, speaking of coffee shops, ours was close to this area, though I forgot where it is exactly located because I only went there once.

The last time I went there was 2-3 months ago, and I hated the memory because the place was filled with riajus and noisy teens taking pictures of their drinks and posting it on social media.

Normalfags be like.

I was brought back to reality when Komachi pulled on my hand and she gave me an annoyed look.

Geez what's with that look?

"Onii-chan stop spacing out, I know you do it all the time at home but it's dangerous if you do it in public that often."

"Ah, ok…"

I was not in the mood to form an adequate and witty retort because for some reason I was really tired.

Wait

WE DIDN'T HAVE BREAKFAST YET!

My eyes widened for the first time and my body was on full alert, immediately looking for a place where I can eat.

Preferably somewhere cheap and had a lot of food.

"Onii-chan are you looking for a place to eat?" Komachi asked

What's this? She can read minds too just like Kawasaki-san?!

"Ah, yes. I forgot that I didn't have breakfast yet. Speaking of which, did you already eat this morning?" I asked her.

"I don't need to eat this morning because your willingness to come with me made me full of energy already!" She squealed enthusiastically.

Oi oi, stop doing that, it's embarrassing and people are looking at us.

Good grief what a silly imotou…

"Stop goofing around, you should have a proper meal, let's go already." I went ahead of her as I dragged her towards the food district.

Ah, what to eat I wonder?

My first choice would be saize and ramen, but saize is a bit too heavy in the morning, even for me, and ramen is a terrible selection given the weather outside.

I guess I have no choice then…

"Komachi, I'll just have a meat bread from a bakery around here, what about you?"

She gave me a sad and disappointed look from my response.

What's wrong with meat bread? It already has proteins in it and the bread acts as a morning alternative for rice! Plus, it's cheap and convenient!

"Fine, I'll have one too…"

A fine choice milady.

I caught sight of a bakery and I immediately made a beeline towards it. Judging from the smell coming from it, it looks like they just finished a fresh batch.

A stomach rumbled in response to the external stimuli which was the smell of food.

But the sound did not come from me.

I looked at Komachi and she had a blank look on her face while her cheeks were a bit pink.

So, she's trying to act tough to hide her embarrassment huh…

I chuckled silently as we entered the store and began to pick out the best bread to eat. The store had a large variety of goods to choose from, but we made our way to the meat breads section. I had my eye on a chicken bun, but the pork bun also looked attractive.

Komachi picked out a tuna bun so I picked one too, she always had a good eye when it came to selecting food, so I'll trust her judgement on this. We made our way to the cashier but Komachi told me that she'll just pay for ours and I can wait outside, so I gladly accepted her offer.

Food tastes best when it's free.

*Wow Hikigaya, you're as shameless as ever I see…*

Indeed, that is true dear reader.

As I waited for Komachi to finish our paying for our purchases, a girl in my peripheral vision caught my eye.

For some reason, my eyes were drawn to her, and she came from the direction where Komachi and I were a few minutes ago.

She has shoulder length black hair, and was wearing red-rimmed eyeglasses. She had a lithe frame and she was wearing a white summer dress that ended below her knees. Sandals complemented her look as she wore a large sun hat and with her black leather purse, she looked quite nice.

I noticed that she was walking quite strangely, with her head low as if not wanting to be recognized or noticed.

Well, with what you're wearing, it's hard not to notice you, you know?

As she drew nearer I averted my eyes, but I did steal side glances at her.

For some reason, she was familiar, I feel like I had seen her before…

When she passed by me, her hat flopped to the other side, which gave me a glimpse of her eyes. My dark eyes met her brown ones for a split second, and then we looked away.

As she passed by me, I waited several seconds before looking back at her again. I stared at her retreating figure until she dissolved into the crowd ahead.

Hmm...

A piece of bread was nudged into my face and I immediately recoiled out of instinct.

"Onii-chan, what's wrong? Who was that girl? Do you know her?" The voice of Komachi inquired as she handed over to me my tuna bun.

"I don't know, for some reason she looked familiar…" I received the bun and removed the wrapping, savoring the moment because it was still hot.

"She looked nice and her dress was quite cute." She said while eating her tuna bun, oi don't talk with your mouth full, that's rude.

"Hmm…"

Our conversation ended there as we made our way to the entrance of the mall. The tuna buns were quite good and I finally satisfied my hunger. I can see that Komachi was feeling the same as well, seeing that she didn't have any complaints.

Once we were inside, a foreboding sense of dread washed over me as I knew what was going to happen next.

"Komachi, what do you want to look for first?"

"Clothes!"

Oh no…

Every male's worst nightmare when accompanying a female in the mall.

But this was Komachi, and as her onii-chan, I must always be strong!

"Lead the way." With that she grabbed my hand and dragged me as her eyes roamed around for reconnaissance.

Her eyes darted to every female clothes shop that we passed by, and with only a few milliseconds, she would asses if it was worth going inside or not.

So far, we have yet to enter a store, and I made myself keep up to her pace and not be dragged around like a disobedient puppy because it was hurting my pride as a man.

After a few minutes, she stopped to a full halt in front of a store that was named Jezebel's and it was in English too. Good thing I can read and write English, and thanks to my younger self watching BBC nature documentaries narrated by that old British guy with a pleasant voice, my grades back in middle school English were always perfect!

Thank you, Mr. David Attenborough!

As we entered the store, my eyes immediately began searching for a chair that I can rest on while Komachi looks for her clothes.

"Komachi, I'll go look for a place to sit down." I told her.

"What? Oh, go ahead then." She was paying little attention to me because apparently, a cute pink dress is worth giving more attention than her brother.

You just lost a ton of points, Komachi-chan!

I walked around the store looking for a seat. Many stores have seats near the changing rooms, so I went there first.

Good news is that I spotted a few seats, but alas, it was already occupied by a number of my fellow men who have been dragged by their female companions into this wretched place!

I can see the boredom in their eyes as they spaced out and stared at the wall or the floor.

I can feel you brothers…you are not alone in this struggle…

Guess I'll stick around Komachi then…

I spotted Komachi looking at a few dresses and immediately went up to her. As I caught sight of the dress that she was picking out, I noticed something very wrong with it.

It exposed too much skin.

"Oi Komachi, what's with that dress you got there? I'm not part of the fashion police but even I can say that it's showing too much skin to wear in public. I won't allow you to buy that." I reprimanded her, if she was to wear that in public I would have to point a gun at any guy that looks in her direction.

Don't worry father, we will protect Komachi!

"Haaah? But Onii-chan, this is a nightgown."

Wait…

What…

I took another look at the dress that she picked out and finally took a good look at it.

Soft-looking fabric, check. Semi-transparent, check. Looks easy to move around, check. Looks comfortable, check. Appeals to the female population due to exposing the seductiveness of the body and has a lot of feminine charm, check. A high chance of a lonely wife seducing her husband who has been neglecting her because of his stress from work, VERY check.

Ok, one last, thing…

I craned my head around the place and we were directly underneath the Nightwear section.

Wow, good going me, you embarrassed yourself again today.

My embarrassment must have shown because the people that were within earshot of my earlier declaration began silently snickering.

Pff, laugh while you're still alive, filthy commoners!

When I turned to Komachi, she was trying to hold back a very loud and boisterous laugh, to the point that she will start snorting like pig just like what she did at home this morning.

"Komachi, let's split up here, I'll be going to the bookstore."

The mirth that was threatening to burst from her earlier disappeared and she sported a downcast expression on her face.

"Ah, ok. Just call me when you're done…I think I'll take a while looking for stuff too…"

I didn't want us to separate like this, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth, so I did what is expected as her Onii-chan!

"Don't worry Komachi, you need not to ask for my opinion when you show me a dress you picked out and wore in front of me. Any dress will do because you are the cutest in the world!"

Her entire face exploded in crimson and I could see steam going out from her ears.

I realized that I have made more attention to myself because a few people were whispering to each other and looking at us, they could have at least tried to act less conspicuous…

"H-Haahh?! W-What are you saying baka Onii-chan! W-Well, it can't be helped t-then! Come back when I tell you to, ok?!" Komachi exclaimed while stuttering, making her last threat lost its effect on me.

"Hai, ojou-sama." I mockingly bowed to her before she lightly punched my shoulder for my act, after that, we parted ways, with her face still a red mess by the way.

Haha, I love teasing her so much to fish out those cute reactions.

Now with her out of the way, and me not being her slave anymore, the true Hikigaya Hachiman will resurface!

I activated my STAND, [108 loner skills], which has many abilities, including one that I like to call STEALTH HIKKI!

*Hikigaya, your chunni side is showing again…*

Let me have this delusion, at least…

STEALTH HIKKI allows me to be undetectable and unnoticeable in plain sight, and, with my already low sense of presence, I am at the peak of my power!

With this I am invisible to those people who might scam me with shady deals and store workers enticing me to buy and enter their store!

As I made my way through stores and stalls towards the bookstore I passed by earlier, a familiar figure entered my vision.

It was the girl from earlier, the one wearing the white summer dress…

She was a few meters ahead of me and seemed like she was going in the same direction I was.

*Hello police? I believe to have spotted a suspicious individual in public, which seems to be a stalker…*

Hahaha, very funny. Go kill yourself.

As I walked my earlier suspicions were enforced as the girl would sometimes stop and look to right and left, sometimes she would look behind her. When she does however, I would tactically move behind someone so she won't see me.

Wow, I legitimately feel like a stalker…

I have concluded that this girl doesn't want to be recognized in public, or that she is hiding from someone by dressing up in a fashion that's not usually in her style.

Either way, I don't care, she can jump from a bridge for all I care. Wait, that went a little too far…

As I neared the bookstore that I spotted earlier, the girl reached it first and went inside, after looking at her surroundings of course. Upon entering, the bookstore, it was bigger than I expected it to be. Large shelves occupied a large portion of the space inside, each one had a label hanging on top of it from the ceiling. In the novel aisle romance section, I saw a couple of girls giggling to each other as they read the contents of the book.

Ugh, probably some cringey romance that's so sweet it will give me sugar overdoes.

Upon closer inspection, the place only had a few customers, not to mention that I saw a WE ARE HIRING sign I saw outside. Hmm, I will inquire about that on a later time…

With me continuing to assess the bookstore itself, and see if it's worth going back again, I might even become a regular here, I remembered that I lost sight of the girl that I saw earlier, I wonder where she is?

I shrugged to myself, it's not that I was intrigued at her actions or anything!

Through the shelves that I passed and the novels that were scanned with my rotten eyes, only a few ever caught my attention. I decided not to look for Light Novels right now because I forgot to search online for its reviews, and picking up every book and examining it closely will take more time.

I am of course in a hurry to finish up everything and return home!

One of them was located in the classics aisle, which contained copies of one of the most famous literary pieces created by the past masters.

Ah, The Iliad, I have yet to completely read a copy of this, only shortened summaries that we were in our textbooks in middle school.

Frankenstein, I laugh to myself when people call Dr. Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein, at least get it right damnit!

Moby Dick, ah, the classic struggle between beast and man!

Macbeth, I believe we had a play of this when I was a kid, but I don't remember what role I played as, probably something useless or a background character, somewhere along those lines.

Romeo and Juliet, as you might expect, I never bothered to read one because romance was never in my interest.

The Silmarilion, finally! I have been looking for this for ages! Now which one to buy? A book by the great Tolkien, or the one made by Homer?

As I was contemplating which book I should pick out, a person slightly came into view from my left side. I can see a white skirt and sandals.

Wait…

It's the girl from before.

I quickly made a discreet sideway glance at her, but she also had the same idea. I finally got a proper look at her face this time.

She's not wearing her sun hat anymore, and I can properly see her facial features now.

Her face had a soft look to it, though I can't quite call it delicate. She had fair skin and straight dark brown hair ended just a few centimeters above her shoulders. Her hair was neat and had a clean and formal look to it.

Finally, her brown eyes were behind red rimmed eyeglasses, and, for some reason, she was breathing hard and had a flushed face.

She looks tired, and I can see the remains of a few beads of sweat on her brow. Well, given that it's quite hot outside, that's to be expected I guess.

We made eye contact for a full three seconds, before she broke from my gaze and continued staring at the row of shelved books in front of her.

She was probably disgusted at me physical features, or she thought I was familiar and she recognized me from earlier.

Anyway, I ignored her and went back to my contemplating in which book to get.

Ok, now her presence is bothering me.

What was she doing? If she wanted to get pick up a book, she should have one by now. Her eyes were fixated at the classics section, maybe she's waiting for me to move so she can grab a book?

I pretended to be interested in certain shelf a few steps away from her and moved over there. As I expected, she immediately went to the place where I was moments ago and began to look for something.

I heard a tch from her and she looked over to me, but I quickly turned my head before she can catch me looking at her.

Damn I feel like a creep.

I realized that I was still holding the copy of The Iliad, ah maybe I'll buy this next time, I'm not in the mood for some Greek literature today. So, I made my way to her to return the book to its shelf. Tolkien ftw!

"Excuse me…" Her eyes were widened when she saw the book in my hand. I wonder, was she looking for this book?

"Yes?" She asked back.

Ah, she must have thought that I was trying to engage into a conversation with her. But I can still see her sneaking glances that the book in my hand…what to do…

"Were you looking for this book?"

I held up the book in front of me and her eyes followed it like when a dog follows a tennis ball held by the hand of its master.

"Ah, it's fine, really. You were the one who got first anyway." She made her move and turned her back at me, if her hair was long enough, it would have hit me in the face. What the heck was that? I felt like I was just rejected!

Hey! What she did was just like what I did to Kawasaki-san this morning!

"But I decided to by another book, so you can have this." If I was talking to Komachi, what I said would have gotten me a ton of points!

She turned to me once more and gave me a grateful look, "Ah, my thanks."

I handed the book to her wordlessly and went to the shelf where I found The Silmarilion, ah there you are my sweet, tonight we will consummate our love!

"The Silmarilion? Oh, I heard that's a pretty nice book!" the girl behind me exclaimed.

What's this? This girl is trying to start a conversation with me?

It would be rude for me to ignore her, so I decided to indulge into some healthy social interactions, wow, that sounded so terrible and wrong coming from me. But if I am to improve myself, I have to do this!

"Indeed, it is, though that goes without saying because the great Tolkien himself wrote this."

"Have you read The Lord of The Rings series?" she asked.

"All of them."

"That's impressive. I had a hard time reading them because some of the words were too complex for me to understand."

Huh? But you're holding a copy of The Iliad right now…

She must have realized what I was thinking because she immediately added, "Oh, you must be wondering why I am interested in this book, even though I said that I have a hard time reading with complex words, no?"

I wordlessly nodded.

She held the cover of the book and pointed at some of the text at the bottom part that I didn't bother to read.

"This is the simplified version. It's been edited to be readable for readers like myself, though not completely changed to the point where it is completely different from the original."

So, it's a normie version of the book edited for normie readers.

Ah, I see. So not everyone is as smart as me huh. A pity. Life must be hard when you have normie-level I.Q.

"Oh, I never noticed that." I looked at the book on my hand and scanned a few pages. "Well, mine is the original copy and it's in English too."

"Wow, you must be pretty smart then."

This is the 2nd time I have been told that today, and I'm still not sure on how to respond.

Being so used to being verbally bullied at school has led me to the confusion on what I should to on the rare occasions that I am complimented, by people outside my family.

So, I awkwardly laughed a bit.

*cringe*

"Ahaha, my thanks. You must be pretty intelligent yourself, seeing that you seek to improve you current reading skills, no? I'm also glad that I have met a fellow book enthusiast."

She lightly blushed and awkwardly laughed. What part of my sentence made her blush, I wonder? She might be thinking that I'm a creep for hitting on her or something.

"Ah, I totally get you. Only a few of my classmates read novels and such, and most of them just try it out for a bit, only for them to go back to their ridiculous anime and manga, not to mention those strange books they read called light novels."

Ouch, that hit home. She even low-key stated that light novels are gross. Look I know that they are gross, but only a few of them appeal to me, and the ones that do genuinely interest me and not because of the illustrations on the cover page.

She looked at me funny from my reaction from her statement, she must be very observant if she spotted my unease…

Right now, I have to find a loophole outside of this awkward situation.

"I know right, I remember a few classmates who would dress up in anime stuff and spout nonsense all of a sudden. They were eccentric fellows and I would always keep my distance and make sure not to associate myself with the likes of them."

Did I just insult and degrade myself? I did, didn't I?

I saw her eye twitch. Some people might not have noticed it, but my dead fish eyes see all.

"A-Ah, I think we feel the same on that subject. I passed by an anime store a while ago and I immediately cringed, I didn't even want to look inside!" For some reason, I think she's lying…

Well, I'll just keep up the act for now.

"Yes hahaha, I chose not to sneak a look inside because I was afraid I would see something that would make me lose my faith in humanity. But wait, are we talking about the same anime store the one near the entrance to the mall, that's a few stores away from a bread shop?" I asked her.

"Yes, that one."

"I saw you pass by that place earlier when I was walking with my sister, though I'm not sure if you caught sight of me."

*Hikigaya, that sounded a bit stalker-ish…*

Really?

*Not too much, but, just a tad bit…*

She had a look of slight surprise on her face.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing you there. I'm surprised that you remember me."

With a face like yours, it's hard to forget it. But I wasn't going to say that of course. But if I did, I am predicting two scenarios;

One, she would blush and think I'm hitting on her, then we would exchange contact information for future meet ups. After a number of meetings, one of us would declare the he/she likes the other and would like to be in a relationship. Once the relationship has been formed, we would decide if it would remain a secret or we would introduce each other to our parents. A few years later, I would decide to marry her and she would say yes, a year later, we are now intertwined by marriage and love. About that time, my father would retire and I would take over the company. The year after that, our son would be born, and would be followed by two more children. Komachi would be a happy and proud aunt and my parents would finally rest easy in knowing that their son has succeeded in life. We would be the perfect picture of a happy and ideal family, the end.

Or two, she would be disgusted and call the police on me for accused sexual harassment, and I would be unjustly punished by the law.

I realized that we've been talking for a bit, yet we didn't reveal each other's names.

"I believe this is a bit late, but we should introduce ourselves. My name is Hikigaya Hachiman." I held my hand out to her for a handshake. I decided to initiate because I hate being seen as an indecisive person.

"Ah, I see, you can just call me…Hinata-san, yeah." She took my hand and shook it.

When I let go, I was glad that my hands weren't sweaty, because if it was, and I shook my hand with Hinata-san, that would have been super gross.

I heard someone clear their throat, and I turned my head to the source. An elderly woman had a look of annoyance on her face when our eyes met.

"Excuse me young man, but if you really intend to talk to this lady over here, please do it somewhere else, the both of you are blocking the walkway here."

Before Hinata-san could react, I activated another ability of my [STAND], which directs the blame on myself instead of others!

"My deepest apologies for my rude behavior, madam." I bowed slightly to show how sincere I am.

But the truth is, bowing while apologizing has a higher chance of being forgiven, a fact that I have tested many times in the past and almost always works, but for some reason it doesn't work on Komachi…

"Hmph, at least you have manners I see…" she mumbled as we made room for her to pass by. When she was out of earshot, I gave a sigh of relief, but my partner looked rather out of place.

Hinata-san was fidgeting a little with a troubled look on her face.

"Hikigaya-san, that was rude of me, I made you look like a bad guy…"

"No need to worry, I purposely directed the blame on myself." I must have said that in a proud tone because she looked at me weirdly, then she lightly started giggling.

"That was quite heroic, but the means does not justify the ends I suppose. I don't have anything else to buy so I'm heading to the cashier, wanna come with me?" she asked me.

What is this?

This female, not only was she willing to speak to a person of low social standing such as me, but she also wants me to accompany her?

Nah, I'm probably just overthinking things like always. This is just a friendly invitation for the sake of social norms…

"I see why not." I had no reason to deny her offer, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't think of an appropriate excuse at the moment.

As we made our way to our destination, her earlier tendencies, which were looking around herself and trying not to catch any attention, returned as soon as we came within sight of other people.

I ignored it because I was busy on trying to remember all the contact information and other details needed for those interested in having a part time job here which I saw from a recruitment poster nearby.

I felt a finger poke my cheek and I turned to the perpetrator.

"Hinata to Hikigaya-san, hello? Can you read me? Man, what were you thinking about? You were totally spacing out." Hinata-san said with a look of bewilderment.

"I'm interested in the recruitment poster, that's all." I replied lazily.

Her eyes followed mine and she soon caught sight of the said poster.

"Oh, so you want to work part time here?" She asked inquisitively.

"Not yet, first I want to check the place out, then maybe I'll start working here."

"May I ask why?" she asked again.

I appreciate her asking my permission to inquire first rather than just jumping to the question.

"I just wanted to have a working experience, and some extra cash of course."

"Makes sense…" she quietly said.

Our conversation stopped there as we drew closer to the cashier. There were only a few people in the store, and fewer still waiting at the cashier so it didn't take long for us to pay for our purchases.

When we came out of the store with our purchases in hand, I noticed her expression change, from a face of solace and peace, to the look of uncontainable excitement to the points where I can see her shoulders shaking.

She must be really excited to read that book because she's breathing hard and I already see sweat begin to for on her forehead, plus, her face is flushed…wait, what…?

"Hinata-san, is something wrong?" I asked.

"O-Oh nothing, Hikigaya-san. It's just I really want to read this book right now so I'm gonna head straight home!" Her voice was quivering from the thought of reading that book? Damn I've never seen anyone get excited that much over something.

"Ah, I see. Well I'll be heading this way to head back to my sister. See your around Hinata-san."

"Goodbye Hikigaya-san, I'm sure we'll see each other in the near future, and please do tell me your thoughts on the book you bought today and I will inform you mine when we see each other again." she said with a small smile, her earlier change of mood subsiding.

"I'll hold you to that Hinata-san, goodbye and stay safe."

With me giving her a nod and her a smile, we turned the other way at the same time and began walking without looking back.

Several steps later, a sudden curiosity came to me and I craned my head to take a peek at her…

She was skipping happily, and from this distance, I can see the effects of her earlier excitement begin to resurface.

All the while I had one thought in my mind.

What a strange girl, yet very interesting…

…..

A few minutes after we separated, I decided to go the department store to go look for some new clothes.

And here I am.

The store that I chose to purchase clothes from had a sale on selected items of up to 40% off, only an idiot would not be attracted to such a bargain. But unfortunately, many others had the same idea as I.

I can already see the long line in the cashier, with people lining up carrying the clothes they desire to purchase. I estimated around forty people divided between two cashiers, there were actually five cashiers but the other three had an "Undergoing repair" sign on it.

Good grief, how inconvenient.

Before I could take a step inside, I thought about the choices before me.

Should I endure a large number of people, and possibly a long waiting line, just so I can buy clothes that are on a sale of up to 40% off?

Or leave this place and look for another store altogether?

Hmm…

Well, patience is a virtue, and with that, I stepped inside.

Upon entering the store, it actually had a large interior, contrary to its outward appearance. It had a similar layout to the bookstore earlier, but instead of books, there were clothes, and of course, instead of only a few people like the bookstore, this place was jam packed.

My STAND, [108 loner skills], has many abilities, one of them includes giving me the ability to quickly maneuver my way through crowds, I believe I used this ability earlier with Komachi.

*Hikigaya, stop being such a weeb, you know you have no powers*

Aaanyway, I picked up a nearby shopping cart and made my way to the men's section and began to look for an article of clothing that would suit my tastes…

After several minutes of me picking out clothes, checking the fabric, going to the fitting room to see if it feels comfortable, and of course, checking the price, I finally picked out the ones that came to my liking.

A slim-fitting white long-sleeved polo shirt that had a thin fabric and was pretty cool to wear, the "temperature" kind of cool not the "looks" kind, ok?

A pair of black jeans that were not too tight, nor too loose. I picked this one because it weighed light making laundry work easy.

Two running shorts, blue and black, for when I would use it for jogging in the morning.

Camouflage style casual shorts because it looked cool and I have never owned one before.

Some boxers because you can never have too many boxers!

Two simple white t-shirts for me to wear at home.

And of course, a hat, like those you see Chinese tourists wear, so that I no one can recognize me in public.

With those inside my cart, I began to walk to where the cashiers where located, but a t-shirt caught my eye.

It was a pitch-black t-shirt with batman's symbol on the middle, it looked nice so I added it to my cart.

You may ask, "Hikigaya, why did you get that shirt? That looks a bit childish lol.".

Why? Because batman that's why!

It took me a few minutes to reach the counter, thankfully, the one who replaced the girl at the cashier was quick with his hands, and the line that was quite long before quickly withered and soon, I was next.

"That would be 5300¥ sir."

I reluctantly gave the money that I spent months saving, damn I feel like chickening out now…

After he gave me the change and my new purchases in a bag, and with a cheerful "Thank you and come again!", I got out of the store and looked for a bench to rest on.

An available seat caught my eye, so I made a beeline toward it. With a tired and audible sigh, I finally sat down and began to rub my numb legs. Jogging is more preferable than hanging around in a mall.

I looked at my watch and was quite shocked, I entered this store around 30 minutes ago, so it took me 30 minutes to buy everything I needed. I wonder how Komachi is holding up on her end…

As expected of myself, quick and efficient as always!

My energy reactors are going low, I want to go back home and recharge, but I already promised to hang out with Komachi today…

Sigh

My phone rang and I took it from my pocket, good thing I changed the ring tone, the former one was a generic anime op and I already forgot the title.

"Hello?"

"ONII-CHAN!"

Ouch, that hurt my ear.

"Yes?"

"Well…"

A few seconds of silence and I was already getting annoyed.

"What is it?" I asked again.

"I met a few of my friends and we decided to go together, I totally forgot to tell them that I'm already hanging out with you, and I think it's too late to back out now because it would be rude and I already agreed to go out with them…"

Ah, I see, oh well.

"Well, have fun, I'll be going home then, I already bought everything I needed."

"What?! You're already done?! I haven't even picked one for myself yet!"

Because you are an indecisive airhead, but I didn't feel like roasting her over the phone so I let it pass.

"Who do you think I am? I am at the physical manifestation of efficiency."

"As expected of my Onii-chan! Anyway, I have to go now! I hope the clothes that you picked aren't unfashionable and gross! I'll be the judge of that! I'll buy you some food before I get back home!" Her positivity was so strong that my A.T. field of pessimism can barely hold her back.

"I see, then make sure to buy me something good and don't come home late. Goodbye and stay safe."

"Bye-bye!" And with that I closed my phone and rubbed my ears, her loud shrilly voice did a number of me.

Finally, I am alone!

Finally, I am done!

Finally, I can go home!

With a quickened pace, I made my way to the exit of the mall and made a beeline towards the train station, I wish I brought my bike with me but biking from my house to the mall might be too much, plus, the blistering heat of the sun, I might get a heat stroke.

Half an hour later, I am currently in the train standing up and leaning on one of the metal poles, I gave up my seat to an elderly old woman, because if I didn't, and my mom caught wind of it, she would disown me and force me to commit seppuku using the katana of my great-great-great grandfather.

To pass the time, I opened my phone and began to browse numerous news articles.

American politics? No thanks.

Price of fish on the market? Useful, but I'm not buying fish right now.

The Weather? I sneaked glances at dad's newspaper this morning.

Rodrigo Duterte roasting other politicians? Amusing, I'll read this later

One of the news articles had the word Chiba on it, and that was enough for me to take a closer look.

Business Competition in Chiba, encouraged by the Yukinoshitas!

Hmph, useless news I say, I bet the one who wrote this article was bribed by the Yukinoshitas. Does real news even exist nowadays? Or maybe I am just paranoid and I low-key hate influential rich people?

No, I hate rich people who trample around the working-class citizens and do not give enough credit to their workers who work tirelessly day after day and receive less than what they deserve. The working-class citizens of Chiba need to have their working conditions and salaries improved!

Wait, I sounded like a communist revolutionary…

Ah enough of this, thinking too deeply on this will just give me radical ideas and force me to convince the working-class of Chiba to rise up with me and overthrow the bourgeoise.

So, I just skipped reading the article and began reading about Bears.

I'm hungry again…

That thought crossed my mind as I exited from the train station, with my stomach rumbling, I began to look for a place to fill my hunger. Being the lazy guy that I am, I just bought a large burger and large fries from the nearby McDonalds for take-out and proceeded to walk home.

Around twenty minutes later of walking, thankfully the sun was covered by clouds so I'm still alive, thanks to that, I arrived home earlier than expected and took out my keys and entered our house.

Calling out to anyone inside and not received a reply, I concluded that I am alone at home, mom probably went to her café already to get things ready.

After changing and leaving my shoes, I put the things that I bought on the table and went upstairs to change clothes.

With that done I went downstairs with the silence of our house and began to unpack my lunch. With the food in front of me and the house completely to myself, a small smile came to my face.

"Home sweet home…"