The sun had already dipped low, staining the streets with a warm orange glow. Hikigaya stood off to the side of a vending machine, sipping the familiar sweetness of Max Coffee—the one his girlfriend had bought for him earlier.
The faint fizz of the can mixed with the evening wind. For a moment, it was almost peaceful.
That peace didn't last long.
Tap.
Yukinoshita Yukino's slender hand landed lightly on his shoulder, her voice carrying that quiet yet sharp tone only she could manage. "Are you done drinking?"
"Cough, cough—!" Hikigaya choked violently, nearly dropping the can. His shoulders jumped as though he'd been caught doing something shady.
Yukinoshita blinked, tilting her head in mild suspicion. "Oh? So startled? Hikigaya-kun isn't secretly thinking about other women, is he?"
"How could that be?!" Hikigaya straightened up immediately, eyes wide with sincerity, his voice trembling but oddly resolute. "I, Hikigaya Hachiman, swear I'll never do anything to betray Yukino Yukinoshita in this lifetime!"
Yukinoshita's lips curved ever so slightly. Sigh… Hikigaya-kun is really loyal.
But the thought of sending him into awkward situations with other women in the future—the "missions" the system forced her to carry out—gnawed at her with guilt. Isn't this basically betraying him myself…?
She shook off the thought quickly, softening her voice as she reached up. "I was only teasing. Now… Hikigaya-kun, could you lower your head a little?"
"Huh? Why? Don't tell me you're gonna… kiss me? Right here? We're on the side of the road, you know."
Yukinoshita's face twitched crimson. "W–What nonsense are you spouting?! Who said I was going to kiss you here?!" She puffed her cheeks slightly before glaring. "Your hair is messy. I'll fix it."
"…Eh?"
"Stop 'eh-ing' and lower your head already."
"…Alright, alright." Hikigaya bent forward reluctantly, mumbling something about girlfriends being scary.
A breeze rolled through, brushing his bangs into a tangled mess. His usual gloomy aura mixed with the disheveled look, giving him the appearance of some tragic side character rather than the "protagonist" Yukinoshita knew he was.
She hesitated for just a moment. Then, with careful fingers, she brushed aside his bangs. The instant his full face was revealed, her cheeks grew faintly pink. Beneath that gloom, there was actually… something undeniably handsome.
Her heart skipped. Then—
Yukinoshita quickly ruffled his bangs back down into place, covering his face again.
"Hey, hey, hey! What was that for?!" Hikigaya flailed, his expression a mix of confusion and despair.
"…Never mind. I'm not fixing it." Yukinoshita crossed her arms, looking away. "You'd better just keep your bangs covering your face. Otherwise, passing children might get scared."
"That's cruel…" Hikigaya muttered, sighing as he tugged his bangs back into place. Being belittled by Yukinoshita was nothing new, but even so, her words always found a way to stab him straight in the chest.
Meanwhile, Yukinoshita quietly lowered her gaze, hiding the redness in her cheeks. Her heart was in disarray. No… this really is turning into a male succubus situation…
...
A few minutes later, Hikigaya's bicycle came to a stop at the base of a luxury high-rise. The place stood tall against the evening sky, its glass windows catching the fading sunlight.
Yukinoshita slipped off the back seat gracefully. She lived alone now, on the top floor of this very building.
"We're here," Hikigaya said flatly.
"Mm." Yukinoshita let go of his waist, reluctantly breaking contact. Her feelings about Hikigaya's recent "handsome boost" were complicated. She was happy, but also… nervous.
"Then… I'll head back," Hikigaya said, already turning his bike around.
Yukinoshita hesitated, fingers twitching against her skirt. After a brief pause, she blurted out, "Do… do you want to come upstairs and sit for a bit?"
Hikigaya froze. His face twitched like a cornered animal. "…No, uh, Komachi will scold me if I'm out too late. I—I'm leaving now!"
And just like that, he pedaled away without even looking back.
"…Eh?" Yukinoshita stood in the cool evening air, baffled. Her boyfriend had just… run away? What kind of man refuses when his girlfriend asks him upstairs?
Only her Hikigaya-kun, apparently.
[Due to the Host's excessive force on Hikigaya Hachiman yesterday afternoon, he developed trauma. He was worried you'd do something terrifying again.]
"H-Hold on, that wasn't my fault! I was on medication!" Yukinoshita's cheeks burned red, but then a tiny smirk tugged at her lips. Still… making Hikigaya-kun suffer like that… it was kind of satisfying.
Her amusement faded into a thoughtful sigh. "But seriously… a man can't keep lacking confidence forever. Is there a way to make Hikigaya-kun more self-assured?"
[The Host can simply find Hikigaya Hachiman more women. The more 'experience' he gains, the more confident he'll become.]
"…What?" Yukinoshita froze, eyes wide. "…Why do I even bother asking this stupid system?!"
...
Later that night, at the Hikigaya household.
Thump.
The soft click of the door closing behind him was a familiar sound, a signal that he had crossed the threshold from the chaotic outside world into his personal sanctuary. But before Hikigaya Hachiman could even take a second step into the genkan, a voice, bright and cheerful as a morning talk show host, cut through the quiet atmosphere.
"Okaeri, Onii-chan!"
There, in the open-concept kitchen, stood his little sister, Komachi, a vision of domesticity in her frilly apron. She waved a wooden spoon in his direction like a conductor's baton, a brilliant grin plastered on her face. With their parents perpetually away on business trips, the Hikigaya residence often felt like a clubhouse for just the two of them—a fact Komachi embraced with relentless energy.
Hachiman managed a noncommittal grunt in response, a sound that conveyed both acknowledgment and profound exhaustion. Internally, a sigh of relief echoed in the caverns of his soul. 'At least today's Komachi is still in her "world's best little sister" mode. She's so cute...' This fleeting thought of peace was immediately followed by a complete physical shutdown. Like a marionette with its strings cut, he stumbled forward and flopped face-first onto the living room sofa, his body assuming the exact shape and vitality of a dried sardine left out in the sun. This was his designated zone for pondering the profound absurdity of his life.
And what an absurd life it was!
Damn it! His mind screamed, replaying the day's events on a torturous loop. Yukinoshita, that ice-cold demon king...! She's definitely concocting some new, diabolical scheme to torment me! He could almost see her now, a slight, terrifying smirk playing on her lips as she plotted his downfall. She had already dominated him once in that intimate, terrifyingly intense encounter at her home. Was a second round of humiliation really necessary?
Not a chance! Hachiman's spirit, though battered, was not broken. I, Hikigaya Hachiman, will not fall for her tricks this time! The trauma from last time is still too fresh! A shiver ran down his spine. Just the thought of setting foot in the Yukinoshita manor again filled him with a primal dread, the instinct of a small animal recognizing the territory of an apex predator. He feared being utterly and completely devoured once more, his pride left in tatters.
But... could he really live the rest of his high school life running away? A spark of defiance ignited within him. No! I can't keep being a coward! A fiery resolve began to burn in his chest, a sensation so unfamiliar it was almost exhilarating. Train! I must train both my body and my spirit! This wasn't just about survival anymore; this was about conquest! I, Hikigaya Hachiman, will stand at the pinnacle of men! I want to become stronger! Yukinoshita, just you wait and see! The next time we meet, the one begging for mercy will definitely be you!
"ROAR, ROAR, ROAR!" The guttural battle cry erupted from his throat before he could stop it, a raw expression of his burgeoning determination.
"Onii-chan, are you making weird animal noises again? Tsk... how utterly disgusting."
"Huh?!" Hachiman's heroic fantasy shattered instantly. He snapped his head to the side to see Komachi leaning over the back of the sofa, her nose wrinkled in an expression of pure, unadulterated distaste. She had materialized from the kitchen with ninja-like silence. Clearing his throat with a forced sense of dignity, Hachiman schooled his features into a mask of utter nonchalance. "Ahem. Is dinner ready yet?" he asked, as if he hadn't just been channeling a shounen protagonist in the middle of a power-up sequence.
"Mmhmm! It's omurice tonight~!" Komachi's disgusted expression vanished in a flash, replaced by a giggle that was far too innocent. Her face could change moods with the speed of a seasonal anime finale. After all, no matter how much of a weirdo her brother was, he was still her weirdo. Deep down, in that special place reserved for siblings, she even felt a twinge of sympathy for his... eccentricities.
Soon, the two were seated at the table, engaged in the normal, mundane act of sharing a meal. Wait a minute... Hachiman stared down at his plate of fluffy, ketchup-drizzled omurice. His eye twitched. Nestled conspicuously within the egg and rice were an alarming number of diced tomatoes. His least favorite food in the entire world. This little demon...! Is this a deliberate attempt to assassinate your own brother?!
"By the way, Onii-chan," Komachi began casually between bites, expertly steering the conversation like a seasoned journalist. "How far have you and Yukino-nee gotten now?"
"How far...?" Hachiman mumbled, poking at a tomato with his fork as if it were a dangerous insect. "It's just... normal."
"Ehhh?~" Komachi drew the sound out, her eyes narrowing with playful suspicion. "Onii-chan, such a perfunctory answer is really worrying! As your dear little sister, I can't help but be concerned. After all, you have a tendency to go all 'dead fish' and not know how to read the mood. You could miss a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"
"Huh?" Hmph! Your big brother is far more clever than you give him credit for! Do you think just anyone could have won the heart of a girl like Yukinoshita? It took a master-level strategy!
"Hehe~ But don't you worry, Onii-chan!" Komachi beamed, her smile widening to reveal a glint of a tiny, sharp canine. "With such a cute and capable sister like me on your side, I will absolutely not let your future love life be unhappy! Oh! Komachi-chan just scored a ton of 'Considerate Sister' points just now!"
"Just say what you actually want to say directly," Hachiman retorted, painfully forcing down a mouthful of the tomato-infested omurice. He was all too familiar with this pattern; her altruism was almost always a prelude to a request or a piece of trouble.
Komachi's eyes sparkled, and she leaned in conspiratorially. "Hehe~ Well, it's like this. When Komachi was out shopping with Yui-nee earlier, I... might have secretly snapped a picture of her underwear~ Yui-nee is really something else, you know? She's on a completely different level compared to Yukino-nee in terms of... volume..." She blinked rapidly, a series of exaggerated, cute winks that were meant to convey a world of meaning.
??
Is this... is this a temptation? A test of my loyalty?!
Never! Hachiman's heart thumped like a drum. I could never betray Yukinoshita! My devotion is as steadfast as a main character's in a romance manga!
His expression shifted instantly to one of grave seriousness and moral uprightness. Slamming his hands on the table, he declared with the earnestness of a knight defending his lady's honor, "Komachi! That's highly inappropriate! Give me your phone this instant! Invading someone's privacy like that is unacceptable; you need to delete that picture immediately... for Yui's own sake, of course!"