By the time the sun sat directly overhead, the three friends—excluding Shino—happened to wake up at the exact same moment. They looked at each other, then simultaneously checked the clock, realizing with a start that it was already noon.
"Crap, we slept way too much!"
"Talking to Hachiman-kun was just too much fun... It felt like a sleepover with a boy where absolutely nothing could go wrong. So safe."
"Totally. But forget that—it's noon! We have school today!"
"Hey, Shino-chi, wake up!"
The three early risers panicked and tried to rouse Shino, who was still sleeping with a blissful expression on her face. For the record, today is Friday, December 25th.
"Mmm... nggh... Morning, guys..."
"It is not morning, Shino-chi! Look at the clock, the clock!"
Prompted by their shouts, Shino blearily checked the time. Her eyes went wide for a split second, but sleepiness quickly claimed victory. She flopped back down, grumbling lazily.
"I can't deal. I'm skipping school today."
"Princess Shino has lost her mind!"
"I mean, looking at the time..."
"What do we do? ...Oh, I know! Shino-chi, if you skip school for no good reason, Hachiman-san will hate you!"
The moment those words hit the air, Shino jolted upright. Seeing this, her three friends broke into teasing grins.
"Oh ho? Super effective, as expected."
"Is this what they call a maiden in love?"
"Aww, Shino is so cute!"
"You... guys..."
Shino glared at them, a vein throbbing on her forehead. Still, she hesitated, thinking that if it were the real Hachiman, he probably would tell her to go to school properly. Her gaze drifted to the corner of the room, landing on the figure of Hachiman-kun, fully charged and in standby mode.
"Right. I'll just ask him myself."
With that, Shino reached over and flipped Hachiman-kun's switch.
"Yo."
The moment he activated, Hachiman-kun raised a hand in a stiff little wave to greet her.
"Hachiman-kun, we actually have school today, but I kind of overslept and it's already noon. In a situation like this, do you think it's better to go, even if it's just for the afternoon?"
"Hah? If you've got the credits and you can easily catch up on the coursework, there's no point in going out of your way to show up now. Do what you want."
Feeling vindicated by his answer, Shino turned back to her friends with a triumphant, smug look on her face. However, the three of them were still sprawling lazily—reading books, playing on their phones, and messing with their hair. There wasn't a shred of evidence suggesting they intended to go to school either.
Shino's forehead vein throbbed again.
"You... guys..."
"Huh? The moment you decided to ask Hachiman-kun, it was already decided that we were skipping, right?"
"Exactly. Based on yesterday, Hachiman-kun is fundamentally lazy. There's no way he'd tell us to go to school at this hour."
"Shino, I think you lack a fundamental understanding of Hachiman-kun. Basically..."
The three of them shouted in unison:
"""You lack love!"""
They expected Shino to get angry, embarrassed, or maybe sulk. Betraying their expectations, Shino turned her back to them, stood perfectly still, and did nothing.
The three exchanged puzzled glances until they heard Shino muttering under her breath.
"I have no choice but to kill them... What should I use? The kitchen knife? Or maybe I should just..."
"Eek! Princess Shino has snapped!"
"Violence in the palace! Violence in the palace!"
"Save us, Hachiman-kun!"
"Yeah, leave it to me."
Responding to the call, Hachiman-kun stood up swiftly and positioned himself between Shino and the girls, shielding them. He trotted up to Shino and, just like yesterday, reached out as if to pat her head... or so it seemed.
But there was a problem: Shino was currently facing away from him.
Hachiman-kun moved to circle around to her front, but he seemingly calculated that doing so would leave the three girls unprotected. He stopped mid-step, appearing to think for a moment. Then, as if a lightbulb went off, he clapped his hands together, walked right up behind Shino, and instead of her head, began to pat her rear.
Taken completely by surprise, Shino let out a yelp.
"Kyaa!"
"Oho! So that's his play?"
"No way, Hachiman-kun! So bold!"
"I wonder... would the real thing do the same?"
The three friends voiced their impressions of Hachiman-kun's unexpected maneuver.
"Wh-wh-wh..."
"How about it, Shino? Calmed down? My bad for startling you, but it's an emergency. Cut me some slack."
"J-Just take your hand off me!"
"Sorry, sorry. It had such a nice texture, I just couldn't help myself."
"Texture... couldn't help... what..."
The real Hachiman would never say something like that. However, since Shino was registered as his master, this Hachiman-kun was programmed to prioritize lifting Shino's spirits unless the situation was clearly abnormal. It was unclear what kind of logic circuit led to this specific action, but judging by his ability to analyze Shino's voice pitch, complexion, and perspiration, there was a non-zero chance he was actually fulfilling Shino's subconscious desires better than the real one could.
Incidentally, Shino had clearly heard the whisper from her friend Shiina just moments ago—Would the real thing do the same?—and panicked, her face flushing bright red at the thought of the real Hachiman doing and saying such things.
However, realizing that Hachiman-kun was genuinely trying to calm her down, she projected the image of the real Hachiman onto the robot and patted his head lovingly.
"Shino-chi has been tamed!?"
"Is this the power of love?!"
"I don't know how close this thing is to the real deal, but Hachiman-san is impressive..."
Perhaps because she had calmed down, Shino remained completely unmoved by their teasing. She looked down at the three of them imperiously.
"At the very least, I am cherished by him like this. If you're jealous, maybe you should hurry up and find someone who cherishes you, too?"
"Whoa, Shino-chi suddenly got aggressive!"
"The enemy's combat power is immense! I repeat, the enemy is immense!"
"Full retreat! Evacuate, evacuate!"
"Oh, stop talking nonsense. We're going to get lunch. Your treat, of course. You owe me for the food and lodging."
"""Yeeees, ma'am."""
The three replied obediently, likely having intended to pay from the start. For all the bickering, the four of them were undeniably close.
"Alright then, Hachiman-kun, watch the house for us."
"Leave it to me. Even if thieves break in, I'll protect your underwear at all costs. Just kidding. House sitting accepted. Have fun."
Hachiman-kun waved his hand with a mechanical piko-piko motion. The girls were amazed all over again at his high specs—he could even crack jokes. But for Shino, it wasn't just a joke. She remembered the time the real Hachiman had seen her underwear and flushed.
"Hey! Considering what happened last time, don't even joke about that..."
She inadvertently started scolding him as if he were the real person, only to clap her hand over her mouth a second later. Oops.
When Shino fearfully glanced at her friends, they were grinning with the predatory delight of people who had just heard something very interesting.
"What happened last time?"
"I-It was just my imagination! Nothing happened, okay?"
"So, something happened with Hachiman-san involving Shino's underwear?"
"I-I said you've got it wrong!"
"Right, right. Well, we can hear all about that story while we walk."
"W-Wait, let go of me! I'm not going to run away!"
Surrounded by her friends, Shino was marched away like a prisoner being escorted to jail.
It was Christmas Eve night, and Kyoji was spending a sleepless night alone.
He had actually considered gathering his courage to invite Shino somewhere, but Kyoji didn't know Shino's real-world address or contact information, so the thought died before it could begin. He had once jokingly asked for her number, but due to the incident with Endo, Shino had a deep-seated aversion to men. Even with Kyoji, whom she had built a certain level of trust with, she insisted that contacting each other in-game was enough and refused to share her personal information.
(It's Asada-san. knowing her hatred of men, surely nothing is happening... but still...)
Despite his reassurances, Kyoji couldn't shake the memory of the video he saw last night. The suspicion that Shino might be in "Shana's" arms at this very moment gnawed at him, keeping him awake until morning. He must have eventually dozed off, because when he opened his eyes, it was already noon.
"I fell asleep...? Ugh, my head hurts."
Perhaps because of his awkward sleeping position, a headache throbbed in his temples. Kyoji decided to go to the convenience store to grab something to eat.
(Come to think of it, I first met Asada-san around here, didn't I?)
Lost in thought as he walked, Kyoji was suddenly startled by the sound of Shino's voice. He instinctively ducked behind a nearby telephone pole.
(That voice was definitely... Ah, it is Asada-san!)
Kyoji spotted Shino about to cross the intersection ahead. He was about to call out to her, but stopped when a trio of girls who looked like her friends appeared from behind her.
(Those three... I feel like I've seen them at school...)
Eiko and the others were indeed in Kyoji's class, but since Kyoji had no close female friends and no one ever spoke to him, he couldn't recall their names.
It looked like they were teasing Shino. To Kyoji's eyes, Shino appeared embarrassed. But her expression wasn't one of discomfort; she looked like she was having fun.
(Friends, I guess... With that vibe, I doubt she's being bullied...)
Curious, Kyoji waited for them to clear the intersection, then ran to the corner and stopped. Straining his ears, he caught fragments of their conversation drifting through the air.
"Man, last night's sleepover was..."
"Yeah, yeah, it was so fun..."
"Now then... shall we..."
"...just saying that's all it was!"
"Eh, just that? ...only that."
"I mean, Shino... really!?"
"I told you... nothing happened!"
"I see... the underwear..."
The moment the word underwear hit his ears, Kyoji panicked. He hesitated to eavesdrop any further on a conversation between four girls. Staying silent, he waited until they were completely out of sight before walking toward a convenience store in the opposite direction.
(Talking about underwear in the middle of town? That's bad for my heart... But if they're talking about that stuff, those three must be really close friends with Asada-san. But when did she make three close friends? And they're probably in our class, too. I thought Asada-san was always alone in class, just like me...)
Kyoji knew that Shino was not well-liked by their classmates—she was either avoided or ignored. So, he arrived at a seemingly logical conclusion: perhaps "Shana's" true identity was someone at the top of the school caste system with massive influence. Maybe because of that person, Endo and his crew couldn't touch her anymore, and as a byproduct, the classmates' attitude toward Shino had improved.
Even Kyoji couldn't imagine that an outsider named Hachiman had simply stormed into the school and solved everything in an instant.
(I might be able to figure out Shana's identity from that angle. Maybe I'll call someone later and ask around casually.)
Kyoji thought back to the words he had heard from the four girls.
(Anyway, it seems like she had a sleepover at her house last night. Thank god she wasn't with Shana.)
He felt a wave of relief that Shino's companions weren't that man, Shana.
(Well, even if Asada-san likes Shana in the game, she wouldn't just invite a man she barely knows into her house.)
Kyoji rationalized it this way. But if he had heard the entire conversation, he wouldn't have been nearly this calm.
The conversation Kyoji had only heard in fragments actually went like this:
"Man, last night's sleepover was full of surprises."
"Yeah, yeah, it was so fun talking to Hachiman-kun."
"Now then, shall we have Shino-chi confess everything?"
"It's a misunderstanding! When I had Hachiman come pick me up the first time, I invited him up, but I'd accidentally left my laundry out. He just saw the underwear I forgot to put away, that's all!"
"Eh, just that? Hachiman-san just looked at Shino's underwear sitting alone in the room?"
"I mean, Shino-chi, you invited Hachiman-san into your house right away!? Bold~!"
"I-It might have been careless, true, but nothing happened with Hachiman at that time!"
"I see. You showed him your underwear on purpose, yet nothing happened..."
"No! How are you hearing it like that?!"
"But you're a little disappointed nothing happened, right?"
"Well, I mean, yeah... Wait, no! That's not it!"
"Shino-chi, you fall for leading questions way too easily."
"Ugh..."
If Kyoji had heard this conversation, he would have fallen to the dark side in an instant. But, fortunately or unfortunately, he missed it.
After successfully buying food at the convenience store, Kyoji returned home, phone in hand, and sat waiting quietly for the time when classes at his former school would end.
And so, Kyoji learns a few truths.
-------------------------------
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