If Hikigaya Hachiman and Yukinoshita Haruno were to compete in a proper fight, Haruno would be able to pin Hachiman down on the sofa, leaving him unable to move. Of course, Hachiman would also enjoy that feeling.
However, the two of them were just playing around, not following any rules of engagement. Hikigaya Hachiman kept tickling Haruno's ribs, making her entire body go numb. After a thoroughly enjoyable time, they both lay panting next to each other on the spacious sofa.
"Haaaa... it's truly outrageous, Hikigaya-kun, to use a foul method like tickling on a girl."
Although Haruno's words sounded like a criticism, her tone was actually very gentle, and the smile on her face never faded.
"You did the same thing to me, Senior. It just so happens that it doesn't work on me." There were no ticklish spots on Hachiman's ribs, so no matter how Haruno touched him, he didn't react.
"Forget it. I'll just have to slowly develop the sensitive parts of your body later," she said. "It's almost time to go home today." Yukinoshita Haruno stood up from the sofa and tried to tidy her messy clothes. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Hikigaya Hachiman jumped up from the sofa in shock.
Didn't she go to school today to discuss the club application? How is she back so soon?! Hachiman thought, a wave of dejection washing over him.
"What's wrong, junior? Someone's here. Go open the door." Yukinoshita Haruno didn't know that in this apartment, a knock at the door could only mean one person: Yukino.
"It's Yukino. She's here to see me," Hachiman said in an urgent but low voice.
If the two of them had just been sitting at the table drinking tea, he would have opened the door for Yukino without hesitation. But at this moment, it was obvious that something intense had just happened between them. If Yukino saw him now, he would have no way to defend himself.
"Isn't that normal? She should come to see you often," Haruno said without any emotion, but her hands, which had been tidying her clothes, stopped.
"...You're really not going to step aside?"
"I'm her biological sister. If anyone should be avoiding someone, I think it's you, right?" Haruno said indifferently.
Hachiman felt the situation was inexplicable, so he had no choice but to go and open the door.
"What took you so long? I have good news—"
Yukino's smile froze on her face. She saw her dearest sister standing in the room behind Hachiman, her clothes slightly disheveled and her face a little flushed.
"Hmph," Yukino took a deep breath, then rattled off in a single, rushed sentence, "I just went to the school to see Ms. Hiratsuka, and she agreed to let us use an empty classroom for club activities. I'll take you to see it on Monday to clean it up. That's all."
She finished and left without a single glance back.
"Don't mention it, but that was quite exciting," Yukinoshita Haruno suddenly said from behind him.
"What..." Hachiman's voice was already a little weak.
"That feeling," she explained. "My sister in the room across the hall, and you and I alone in here. You know? That feeling. It would be even more exciting if we could do something else, but unfortunately, I have to go home." Yukinoshita Haruno finished tidying her clothes and walked toward the door.
"Hikigaya-kun, if you miss me, you can always come to Chiba University to see me."
Haruno threw a wink at him and left the apartment gracefully.
Ah... what is going on? Is Yukinoshita going to be angry? Hachiman was feeling distressed when his cell phone suddenly rang. It was Machida Sonoko.
"What wonderful ideas do you have, Utaha?"
Machida Sonoko was now sitting in Kasumigaoka Utaha's house. Yes, the beautiful girl author she was responsible for had delayed her manuscript again. The fourth volume of Love Metronome was due in less than a week, but Utaha was stuck.
"How should I put it? I was thinking about the ending," Utaha said. "The protagonist just passes by his first love without either of them even recognizing the other. Can he really let go after that?"
She had been thinking about this for a while. She believed the train scene proposed by Mr. Hachiman was a genius idea that strengthened the theme of "imperfection." But when she actually started writing, she found that the adult protagonist in her story was becoming more and more pathetic, trapped in the regrets of his past and unable to extricate himself.
"The protagonist is now completely stuck in a dead end. He's being exploited by his company, and his relationships are stagnant. Can the pressures of adult life really be solved by a chance encounter with his first love, without any communication?" Utaha felt she could no longer convince herself.
"Is it the protagonist who's being too stubborn, or is it you..." Machida trailed off, a little speechless. "Never mind. Let's just call for help." She had to take her author's doubts seriously, but Love Metronome was very different from ordinary light novels, and her own experience was of little help.
"Writer Hachiman has just started school, so let's not disturb him," Utaha said with some concern. "And doesn't he have a new work he's about to start serializing? I'm afraid he'll be very busy." There was another reason she didn't mention: she didn't want to trouble writer Hachiman every time she had difficulties. He had already provided her with an excellent framework; that was enough.
"It doesn't matter. Today is the weekend. Mr. Hachiman won't be writing during the day," Machida said confidently as she dialed his number.
"It's no exaggeration to say, writer Kasumi Shiko, that your Love Metronome has exceeded my imagination so far. As for the question you mentioned, it's also very reasonable," Hachiman said. After receiving the call for help from Editor Machida, he had chosen to meet with them in person to relax. He was now sitting in front of Utaha, having finished reading her draft.
"In junior high, the protagonist experienced a romance that ended in failure; in high school, he was unable to respond to a girl's crush because of his past; and after starting work, he's had several failed relationships. On top of that, he's being squeezed by his company. For a protagonist like that, a single chance encounter is not enough for redemption."
"That's exactly what I thought, writer Hachiman," Utaha admitted. She had already taken out her notebook to record his words, and Machida was also listening carefully.
"Do you remember the scene at the end of the third volume?" Hachiman asked. "The protagonist is walking with the girl who has a crush on him, and a rocket rises into the sky from a launch base in the distance. The rocket carries a space probe—the most common type of launch. No news outlet would bother reporting it, and its launch wouldn't even attract a crowd."
"In the eight years since the protagonist saw that probe launch, he's been stuck in what you call a 'dead end' state, trapped in the past, to the point where he felt he had lost the meaning of life. Kasumigaoka-senpai, Editor Machida, do you know what kind of space probe that is?"
"Eh, a detector? Sorry, I don't really know anything about that kind of thing," Utaha said, a little embarrassed.
"It's okay. Let me tell you," Hachiman explained. "That kind of probe, once launched, will never return to Earth. It flies in a fixed direction, continuously sending back photos of the universe. The probe has no emotion. It just keeps moving forward—for ten, twenty, even fifty years, until its nuclear battery completely runs out of power. Only then does it complete its mission, lose contact with Earth, and become just another floating object in the vast universe."
"Imagine that one day, eight years later, the protagonist suddenly sees on the news that the probe he watched fly out of the atmosphere has reached Neptune. But that's not its destination; it's just a stop on its flight. The purpose of the probe's existence is to keep moving forward until it can no longer move forward." Hachiman paused for a moment, letting his words sink in.
"So... the protagonist never actually stopped moving forward?" Utaha's tone became more and more determined as she spoke. "He's like that probe. He looks lost, but he never really stopped. He's been working hard just to live his life. Life doesn't necessarily need a destination, as long as it keeps moving forward."
"That's right," Hachiman said with a smile. "We all have to learn to reconcile with ourselves in order to live happier lives, don't we?" He took a sip of his black coffee, which was filled with a lot of sugar. Two years ago, he could tolerate his coffee plain, but gradually, he found himself needing more and more sugar.
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