Chapter 277: Inner Complications
"Onii-chan..."
Sakura's call successfully woke Hikigaya Hachiman from his contemplation.
"What is it, Sakura?"
Hearing Sakura call him, Hikigaya Hachiman stopped walking and turned to look at Sakura beside him.
"Did something happen when Onii-chan took Yukinoshita Nee-san home? You've been distracted the whole way..."
Worry filled Sakura's face. Ever since Hikigaya Hachiman returned from dropping off Yukinoshita, he had been silent the whole way, just walking with his head down, completely unlike his usual self.
Coupled with the fact that Sakura had already realized the three of them had an unusual relationship, a sense of crisis naturally sprouted in Sakura's heart. Could it be that the Onii-chan she had finally found was about to be snatched away again?
"It's nothing, I was just thinking about a problem..."
"A problem?"
"Yes, it's a very important problem for me, I suppose."
"Can Onii-chan tell me about it? Sakura might be able to help."
Sakura lifted her small head, looking up at Hikigaya Hachiman with anticipation in her eyes.
"Thank you, Sakura. But this problem must be decided by me alone, so I'm sorry, I can't tell you the specifics..."
Gently rubbing Sakura's long hair with his hand, Hikigaya Hachiman calmed his mind, held Sakura's hand, and continued walking home.
.
.
.
"You're way too late coming home!"
The moment the two reached the door, Komachi cornered Hikigaya Hachiman in the entrance hall and started lecturing him.
"Seriously, you said Onii-chan would pick up Sakura, but you came back so late! Komachi was really worried!"
With her hands on her hips, Komachi stared at Hikigaya Hachiman and scolded him angrily. In the end, she moved closer to Sakura, carefully checked her to confirm she was unharmed, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Komachi Nee-san, I'm fine, don't scold Onii-chan..."
Seeing Komachi getting angry at Hikigaya Hachiman, Sakura subconsciously defended him.
"Ugh, Sakura... I was worried about you, but you're shielding Onii-chan..."
Komachi, who wasn't truly mad at Hikigaya Hachiman to begin with, almost spit up old blood upon hearing Sakura's words. She had only lectured Hikigaya Hachiman because she was worried about Sakura's safety, but she never expected Sakura to turn her elbow towards Hikigaya Hachiman!
"I'm sorry, Komachi Nee-san..."
Hearing Komachi's words, Sakura lowered her head apologetically.
"Well, forget it. I'll let Onii-chan off this time. But you absolutely mustn't come back this late next time, understand?"
Showing her small canine tooth, Komachi threatened Hikigaya Hachiman with great intensity.
"I understand, Komachi-sama! I absolutely won't make this mistake again next time!"
Hikigaya Hachiman played along cooperatively, continuing Komachi's words.
"Good, then that's settled. What do you and Sakura want to eat tonight, Onii-chan? I'll go make dinner right away."
Komachi nodded with satisfaction at Hikigaya Hachiman's cooperation. Then, as she walked towards the kitchen, she asked about the menu for the evening.
"For that, Komachi, you can decide yourself. I have something to take care of, so I'll go upstairs first."
With that, Hikigaya Hachiman changed his slippers and walked up the stairs, ignoring Komachi's surprised gaze beside him.
"Sakura, what's wrong with Onii-chan today?"
Komachi looked at the ascending Hikigaya Hachiman in confusion, then turned her gaze to Sakura, who was preparing to help with dinner. Based on his usual habits, Hikigaya Hachiman would only go upstairs immediately upon returning home when he was troubled or had something very important to deal with. Otherwise, he would stay on the sofa until dinner was over before returning to his room to do his own things.
"Onii-chan became like this after taking Yukinoshita Nee-san home this afternoon."
Since they were both Hikigaya Hachiman's sisters, Sakura, who had formed a "sister front" yesterday, had no intention of withholding information.
"After taking Yukinoshita Nee-san home?"
Hearing the information provided by Sakura, Komachi rested her hand on her chin, deep in thought. Although she knew that the fragile balance between the three of them would collapse sooner or later due to the passage of time or the influence of strong external forces, it should still be very firm right now.
Could it be that some major change occurred today?
"Ah, this is so annoying, the information is completely insufficient!"
Scratching her hair in distress, Komachi's small face crumpled into a frown. Knowing Hikigaya Hachiman, she was well aware that he would absolutely not tell her exactly what had happened. And on the other side, the possibility of Yukinoshita Yukino telling her was also extremely small.
"Seriously, Onii-chan is always causing Komachi trouble..."
As his sister, it was impossible for her to just ignore Hikigaya Hachiman. Komachi, who didn't know the specifics, could only judge the situation based on scattered information and her own intuition.
"A happy ending?"
In Hikigaya Hachiman's room on the second floor, Hikigaya Hachiman was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling and pondering the advice Key had given him earlier. Although the other content was questionable, one thing Key said was certainly true. Waiting passively would never solve anything; only by moving forward was it possible to find a way out.
But the problem was...
"Do I really like them?"
For the first time, Hikigaya Hachiman faced his inner feelings directly.
His own isolation probably began when his confession was rejected in middle school, right? Shame coupled with external pressure pushed him onto the path of solitude.
Especially after seeing through the essence of youth, he became even more convinced that his choice was not wrong. He prided himself on being a lone wolf who needed no friends...
However, all of this seemed to change after he gained the system and was forcibly dragged into the Service Club by Hiratsuka Shizuka. Under the influence of many people, he seemed to have developed a slight expectation for something called "The Genuine."
"This is truly quite troublesome..."
Hikigaya Hachiman's mood suddenly became irritable as he pondered the nature of his feelings for everyone. The very thing he had been avoiding getting involved with now required him to face it directly. Especially since it should have been a dead end, yet his senior had pointed out a possible path to success...
"If I hadn't joined the Service Club back then, all this trouble wouldn't exist, right?"
As he thought, the idea of escape suddenly popped into Hikigaya Hachiman's mind. If he had endured Hiratsuka Shizuka's iron fist and refused to join the Service Club back then, he wouldn't have met Yotsuya Miko, and it was highly possible that the subsequent events wouldn't have happened either...
But immediately, Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head again, throwing this strange thought out of his mind. Running away solves nothing, and besides, if he saw Yotsuya Miko in danger, there's absolutely no way he could stand by and do nothing!
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