After waiting for what felt like ages on a bench outside the department store, Sabrina enthusiastically rushed forward as soon as she saw Hayashi and the others emerge.
But Erina kept her head down and briskly walked past Sabrina without even glancing at her.
Sabrina's expression froze. She then turned her hopeful gaze toward Hayashi, who was right behind Erina.
Hayashi, his face stiff, also quickened his pace and walked past Sabrina without so much as a look.
Sabrina's lips trembled pitifully as she turned her pleading eyes toward Hisako, who was at the back, carrying the bags and wearing an auntie-like smirk.
Hisako stopped in front of Sabrina with a cheerful smile and said, "Sabrina-chan, sorry for the wait."
"Wuuu..."
Sabrina let out a whimper before asking in a small, hurt voice, "Why are they ignoring me?"
Hisako's left eye gleamed with "sharing" while her right eye sparkled with "gossip." She glanced around before leaning in and whispering into Sabrina's ear, "Let me tell you what happened..."
"Mhm... mhm? Mhm!"
As Sabrina listened, her eyes began to shine with excitement. Lowering her voice, she whispered eagerly, "So that means they're just one step away from confessing?!"
Hisako quickly calmed her down, saying, "We can't rush it! Erina-sama has a bit of a tsundere streak, and Hayashi-san is both cowardly and dense. If we push too hard, things might get unbearably awkward between them, and that would be a disaster!"
"Mhm, mhm!"
Sabrina nodded vigorously, rubbing her hands together in excitement. "I always felt like they had that rom-com vibe going on—are we finally getting the grand finale?"
Hisako set the bags down and solemnly clasped Sabrina's hands, declaring, "Whether we get a happy ending depends on our efforts now, Sabrina-chan!"
Sabrina gripped Hisako's hands in return and said, "I understand! Let's do our best, Hisako-chan!"
Just as their revolutionary friendship blossomed, Erina's voice called out from ahead, "Hisako, what are you doing?"
The two snapped back to reality and hurried after Hayashi and Erina, answering, "Coming, coming!"
...
...
Inside the train compartment bound for Rustboro City...
Hayashi sat by the window, his gaze fixed outside as if watching Hoopa battle Necrozma.
Erina sat diagonally across from Hayashi, her head lowered as she stroked the fur of the Pikachu in her lap, seemingly intent on counting every single strand.
Sabrina, seated beside Erina, and Hisako, sitting next to Hayashi, exchanged a glance before nodding in unison.
This couldn't go on any longer—the awkwardness between these two had surpassed all expectations!
Time to intervene!
"Ahem!"
Hisako cleared her throat, then pulled out a deck of playing cards from her bag with a bright smile. "We still have a long way to go before reaching our destination. How about we pass the time with a game of cards?"
"Wow—I've been bored for ages!" Sabrina clapped her hands with exaggerated enthusiasm. "So, how should we play?"
Hisako shot her a look: 'That was way too fake—your tone is so forced!'
Sabrina blinked innocently: 'I don't have any experience with this!'
Hisako turned back with a cheerful smile. "With four people, we should play Old Maid! It's simple, fun, and we can even add penalty rules. What do you think?"
Sabrina nodded eagerly. "Yay, yay! That sounds super fun!"
'Poor thing, putting in so much effort to hype this up.' Hisako shifted her gaze away from Sabrina, then nudged Hayashi with her elbow before lightly tapping Erina's shoe with her foot. "Miss Erina, Mr. Hayashi, why don't you join us?"
The young lady raised her head and glanced at Hayashi, who happened to turn his face toward her at that moment. Their gazes collided for an instant before quickly darting away, the awkward tension between them so palpable that even Sabrina and Hisako couldn't help but break into knowing smiles.
No, no—must resist!
Ahem!
Erina feigned nonchalance as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then spoke in a tone that tried to sound steady but was clearly flustered: "W-well, let's play for a bit then."
Hayashi, likewise pretending to be reserved while actually eager, nodded and said, "Yeah, just sitting around is boring. Let's play."
Success!
Hisako allowed a small smile to curl at her lips as she shuffled the cards, deliberately casual as she remarked, "Last time, our punishment was sticking notes on each other's faces, but I think that's kind of boring."
Sabrina dutifully played along: "Yeah, boring."
Hisako: "So how about we change the punishment this time?"
Sabrina: "Sure, what to?"
Hisako: "How about Truth or Dare? The last one to be punished gets to dish out the first punishment."
Sabrina: "Sounds good!"
Only then did Hisako turn to Hayashi, blinking innocently as she asked, "Mr. Hayashi, what do you think?"
'You two already decided, and now you're asking me?' Hayashi twitched his eye slightly before replying dryly, "As long as it's not too extreme—I reserve the right to refuse anything too outrageous, okay?"
Like how reasonable wedding pranks are fun, but vulgar ones can go die in a ditch, you idiots.
Hisako nodded decisively, smiling as she reassured him, "Don't worry, we're all friends here. We won't go overboard."
And so, the battle begins!
...
"Ore no turn, draw!" Hayashi swiftly drew a card from Hisako's hand, flipped it over, and immediately grinned. "Hmph! I Special Summon the Two of Diamonds from my hand and overlay it with the Two of Clubs I just drew! Giant Torrential—"
First move, stylish!
Hisako, meanwhile, silently drew a card from Erina's hand and then played a pair of sixes.
Erina then drew from Sabrina's hand, but luck wasn't on her side—no matching pair.
Sabrina turned and casually plucked the Joker from Hayashi's hand.
Hayashi immediately burst into laughter worthy of three Soul Palace elders. "Sabrina, Sabrina! Your life is already like a candle in the wind, kekeke!"
Sabrina's lips twitched slightly before she narrowed her eyes at Hayashi, inwardly sneering: 'Hmph, next round, you're dead.'
Soon enough, this round concluded with Erina's defeat—thanks to Sabrina's psychic interference—and Hisako emerged victorious.
"Well then, Miss—" Hisako blinked at her, asking sweetly, "Truth or Dare?"
"D-Dare!" Erina had initially been about to choose "Truth," but then it struck her—what if Hisako asked who the most important person in her heart was? How would she answer? Sure, Hisako was important too, but... ahem!
Better go with Dare! Surely Hisako wouldn't make it too hard for her. Right, right?
"Dare, huh—"
Hisako nodded in understanding, then said with a smile, "So, the content of Erina's grand adventure is..."
Is?
The drawn-out tone immediately made Erina's heart leap into her throat.
"Hmm, let's keep the first punishment simple," Hisako raised a finger and said, "Please do a cute pose, Erina! The passing standard will be... all three of us finding it adorable, how about that?"
A... a cute pose!?
Erina's expression twisted as she glared at Hisako, her accusatory gaze forcing Hisako to avert her eyes—Sorry, Erina, but this is all to crush Hayashi's resistance! Once this is over, you'll definitely thank me, your ultimate wingwoman!
"!"
Just as Hisako expected, the moment Hayashi heard "cute pose," his attention locked onto Erina like a laser—after all, while characters who frequently act cute are adorable, over time it can lead to some desensitization. But when a tsundere character suddenly softens up and acts cute? That's a massacre-level attack!
So, regarding Erina doing a cute pose, Hayashi's response was—I'm beyond hyped for this! Wakuwaku!
Clearing his throat, he said, "I reckon this request ain't too much! A cute pose, right? A simple 'nya' should do, yeah?"
The "yeah" at the end was directed at Hisako.
Hisako shot Hayashi a look of exasperation, but since he'd already said it, she couldn't very well suggest, "How about Erina sings 'Neko no Uta' instead?"
'You had your chance and blew it!' Hisako shook her head. If not for her, his golden-wingwoman, with his emotional intelligence, he'd never find a girlfriend in this lifetime.
Oh, 2D girls don't count.
Wait, do people actually call 2D girls their waifus? Hahaha!
Oh, right, I do that. Never mind.
"A... a 'nya'..."
Erina let out a sigh of relief. She'd thought she'd have to do something far more embarrassing, but just a 'nya'... no, no, even a 'nya' is tough! When has Erina Nakiri ever acted cute before!?
Under the watchful eyes of Hayashi, Hisako, and Sabrina, Erina's face gradually turned crimson. She hurriedly lowered her head, nervously clutching her skirt as if wrestling with an intense internal conflict.
Angel Erina: "You made the bet, now own up to it! Besides, a simple 'nya' isn't too bad, right?"
Devil Erina: "Yeah, yeah! Melt them with cuteness!"
'Why are you two suddenly on the same side!?' Erina's eye twitched. Steeling herself, she lifted her head, stiffened her neck, and let out a strained "Nya!" before panting and asking, "S-so? Was that okay?"
"Uh..." Hayashi put down his phone—which had been recording—with a look of disdain, then turned the screen toward Erina. "Maybe take a look at what you just did? People who know you might think you're trying to be cute, but anyone else would assume you're reenacting 'Midnight Horror Cat'!"
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