Chapter Twelve: Untangled Hearts

Yukino was a little flustered when talking about her best friend.

Well, Yui might look like an idiot, but sometimes she could be surprisingly clever.

Yukino suddenly bringing up Yui gave Hachiman a headache too.

Well, I can't think of a solution in just a moment. Besides, don't bring her a present this time. We can go out and buy one when it's her birthday.

Hachiman pondered for a while before continuing. If it were someone else, it might be a little troublesome, but Yui was easy to get along with. You don't need to worry.

Really? Maybe I was just too impatient.

After all, you and Yui are both the most important people to me.

Yukino looked a little downcast. To Yukino, Yui was arguably the most important person after Hachiman.

Seeing this, Hachiman walked over to Yukino, bent down, and gently embraced the girl who had always been alone before meeting him and Yui.

Just as her appearance suggested, the girl in his arms had a slender figure, and Hachiman couldn't help feeling a little heartbroken.

He stroked Yukino's back, running his hand down her spine as if petting a kitten.

When Hachiman's hand gradually slid down to her tailbone, the stimulation made Yukino jolt and break free from his embrace. She covered her backside and rubbed it gently.

If you keep taking advantage of me like this, I'll kick you.

Yukino blushed and extended one of her lovely feet. Her crystal-clear toes wriggled restlessly inside her sandal a few times, immediately leaving Hachiman with a dry mouth and parched throat.

Forcibly suppressing his impulse, Hachiman said to Yukino, "Now that you're full, let's go."

Yukino then linked her arm with Hachiman's and walked outside.

As they walked down the street, Yukino tugged at Hachiman and glanced toward a lingerie shop nearby. "I want to buy some..."

"Oh, then go ahead. I'll wait outside."

Seeing the wary look in the shop assistant's eyes, Hachiman's sense of shame won out.

"No... If you don't come in with me, who's going to help me see whether they look good?"

Yukino spoke in a shy, quiet voice.

The shop assistant kept looking at Hachiman as if he were a pervert. Hachiman silently took a glasses case from his pocket and put on his glasses.

Ignoring the shop assistant's look, as if she had seen a ghost, Hachiman went from a dead-eyed delinquent to a sunny, gentle young man in an instant and dragged Yukino inside.

To the sales assistant who tried to approach them, he said, "We're just looking around. We'll call you when we want to buy something."

After picking through the merchandise with Yukino, she walked into the fitting room with a stack of bras and panties she liked.

Standing outside the door and hearing the rustling sounds of her changing clothes, Hachiman couldn't help feeling distracted. Just as he was imagining the beautiful scene inside, a snow-white arm, pale as lotus root, suddenly pulled him in.

After Hachiman steadied himself, he saw Yukino standing before him, wearing nothing but a set of pale pink lingerie.

At that moment, she crossed her arms over her chest, folded her thighs inward, and tried to conceal her most private place.

Hachiman's gaze lowered slightly, but he couldn't see the black beneath the pale pink fabric. He made a bold guess.

As Hachiman's naked gaze swept over her body, Yukino felt a burning heat on each part it passed over.

Hachiman breathed heavily as he stared at the girl before him: her still-developing yet unmistakably soft breasts, her slender waist that seemed as if a strong gust could snap it, and her pale thighs.

By the time Hachiman and Yukino left the lingerie shop, Hachiman could no longer think. His mind was filled with all kinds of improper images.

Hachiman slapped his cheeks, trying to calm himself down.

Just then, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang. Hachiman took it out and saw that Komachi was calling.

"Onii-chan, are you two done yet? Komachi's already waiting outside the cinema."

"Yukino and I will be there soon. You bought the tickets, right?" Hachiman confirmed with Komachi over the phone.

"Hehe, you can rest assured when Komachi handles things, Onii-chan. More importantly, how was it with Sister Yukino? Even over the phone, Hachiman could hear the teasing in Komachi's voice."

"Well, how should I put it... It was fine. We had a pretty good time."

Hachiman stammered as he spoke.

"Sounds like Onii-chan had a very enjoyable afternoon~ Hurry over. The movie's about to start." Komachi urged Hachiman on.

By the time Hachiman and Yukino arrived and took the movie tickets from Komachi, the staff had already begun checking tickets and admitting people.

Hachiman didn't pay attention to the tickets in his hand and hurried inside with Yukino.

When the two found their seats, they discovered Komachi sitting directly behind them, looking down at them with a broad smile.

"Why are you sitting there?"

Hachiman asked Komachi.

"Because there weren't any seats together." Komachi playfully blinked at Hachiman.

Looking at the theater, which was less than half full, and then at Komachi's smug smile, Hachiman sighed helplessly.

As the movie progressed, perhaps because it was too boring, Hachiman's eyes gradually closed, and he eventually fell asleep against Yukino's shoulder.

After the movie ended, Yukino gently shook Hachiman a few times before he gradually woke up. Looking sleepily at Komachi's exasperated face and Yukino, who was rubbing her shoulder, he said, "Ah... Did I fall asleep?"

"Hikigaya-kun slept like a log."

Yukino rubbed her sore shoulder and spoke irritably.

"Maybe the movie was just too boring... Heh..." Hachiman gave an awkward laugh.

As they walked out with the rest of the audience, Hachiman turned back and waved at Yukino. "Yukino, see you at the Service Club tomorrow?"

"Yes. See you tomorrow, Hachiman-kun."

"Also, I had a really good time today~" Yukino smiled, offering Hachiman her answer.

Yukino then turned around and walked toward her home. The girl's silhouette looked even more beautiful beneath the setting sun, and Hachiman couldn't help becoming entranced.

Chapter Twelve: The Knot in His Heart Untied

Hachiman yawned as he entered the classroom. After spending the whole day shopping with Yukino yesterday, Komachi had then dragged him into playing cards for a long time.

By the time Komachi yawned and said she was going to bed, it was already past one in the morning. However, whenever Hachiman closed his eyes, all he could recall was Yukino's blushing smile and her graceful figure clad only in lingerie.

Thus, Hachiman Hikigaya, a philosopher of solitude, suffered from insomnia for once.

When he finally woke up again, he realized in embarrassment that his underwear was sticky with deoxyribonucleic acid that had secretly escaped because of certain indescribable dreams.

"Yahallo, Hikki! How was your weekend?"

Just as Hachiman set his schoolbag down, Yui bounced over and waved at him in greeting.

"Oh, hi. My weekend was... about the same as usual."

"What about you? How was yours?"

Hachiman hadn't figured out how to deal with Yui, who knew nothing about what had happened, so he simply hid his date with Yukino from her.

"About the same as usual? What does that mean... Did you just stay home the whole time?"

Yui tapped her cheek and chatted cheerfully with Hachiman. "Me? I did the same as always. Walked the dog, went to sing at KTV with my friends, that kind of thing."

"Hikki, you should go out and interact with people more. You always seem a little creepy."

Yui poked Hachiman's cheek with one finger. Her pink-painted finger looked a little plump because of its owner's ample figure.

Hachiman didn't say anything about being called creepy. He silently took the clear-lens glasses Yukino had given him from his bag and put them on. After seeing Yui's shocked expression, he shrugged and took them off.

"Ehh~ That wasn't real just now, was it? I must have been dreaming! How could Hikki look so sunny?"

Yui cried out as if she had seen something unbelievable.

"Who knows? Maybe you were dreaming. By the way, are you going to the Service Club after school?" Hachiman raised his head and stared into Yui's beautiful red eyes.

"Ehh~ Did something happen that I don't know about?" Yui asked in confusion.

"It's nothing. I was just asking whether you were going. Oh, and Yukino mentioned you when she was chatting with me."

Hachiman tilted his body, resting one hand on the back of his chair and supporting his face with the other.

"Really? What did Little Snow say about me?" Yui asked Hachiman curiously, her eyes sparkling.

"She said you were overly familiar."

Hachiman answered without any restraint.

"Mmph, Little Snow's so mean." Yui puffed out her cheeks like a hamster, but Hachiman couldn't see any anger on her face. Instead, there was a distinct hint of delight.

"Well, when Yukino says that, it means she considers you a friend." Hachiman shamelessly deceived the silly Yui.

"Really? Hikki, you seem to understand Little Snow pretty well."

Yui looked at Hachiman suspiciously.

"Er... Do I? I guess people of the same kind are naturally drawn to each other."

Hachiman waved his hand. His powerful mental composure kept his expression from revealing the slightest flaw.

Yui was not satisfied with his answer. She knitted her beautiful brows and was just about to question him when the bell rang. She could only glare fiercely at Hachiman before turning and walking back to her seat.

Sobu High School held physical education classes for three classes together. The sixty boys were divided between soccer and tennis, while Hachiman had fractured his left leg after being hit by The Yukino Family's luxury car on the first day of his first year.

As a result, Hachiman had no interest in soccer. After all, he couldn't even find someone to rally with in tennis. How could someone like him possibly join everyone else in a passionate game of soccer?

Using his poor physical condition and the excuse that he would cause trouble for others, Hachiman obtained permission to practice hitting a ball against the wall by himself. Just as he thought he would spend another PE class doing nothing, he spotted Hayama's group of four in the tennis court nearby.

Hearing all the shouting and hollering around him, Hachiman sighed helplessly. Didn't these people realize they were disturbing everyone else?

Just as he was thinking this, Hayama mishit a slice and sent the ball rolling to Hachiman's feet. "Hachiman-kun, could you throw that back to us?"

Hachiman couldn't even be bothered to correct Hayama's pronunciation. He lazily picked up the tennis ball at his feet and threw it behind him.

Ignoring Hayama's thanks, Hachiman continued his fierce tennis rally with the wall.

When the bell rang, Hachiman's long-awaited lunch break finally arrived. After buying his usual bread from the school shop, he sat down on the slope behind it, only to find Yui standing in the distance, watching the match on the tennis court.

Yui seemed to notice Hachiman's gaze and looked back.

"Ehh~ What a coincidence, Hikki."

Yui greeted Hachiman as she ran over. Although it had been described many times, there was no denying that Yui's ample chest was still striking whenever she ran.

"What are you doing here?" Yui looked at Hachiman delightedly.

"Besides the rooftop, this is where I eat. No strange outsiders ever show up here."

"Ehh~ Are you talking about me, Hikki?" A misty, wounded look appeared in Yui's large red eyes.

"No, that's not what I meant at all." Hachiman bit into his bread and asked Yui indistinctly, "Speaking of which, what are you doing here?"

"Ah, it's Little Snow. She asked me to come down and buy some juice."

Since Yukino couldn't use the vending machine, Hachiman thought as he watched Yui hesitate. "If you have something to say, just say it. Isn't it uncomfortable keeping it bottled up?"

"Mm..." Yui bit her lip as if she had finally made up her mind. "Hikki... You didn't come to school for three weeks during your first year, did you?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

Having already guessed what the girl before him wanted to say, Hachiman sighed inwardly. I was hit by The Yukino Family's car while saving a dog that had broken free from its leash. I fractured my left leg and spent three weeks in the hospital. Is that what you mean?

"Huh? Little Snow's family car?" Yui looked shocked when she heard this.

"Yeah. I found out while talking with her. Why?"

"Um... Is it really such a coincidence?" Yui anxiously gripped the hem of her skirt.

"You mean you were the owner of that dog?" Hachiman pursed his lips.

"You figured it out after all..." Yui seemed to relax completely. "Of course. Hikki's so smart. How could you not have figured it out?"

"I knew a long time ago."

"So that means you've always known it was me... but you still treated me that way?"

"What difference does it make? I volunteered to do it back then, so you don't need to feel guilty about it."

Hachiman smiled at Yui.

"But I still feel like it was because of me that Hikki doesn't have a single friend now..." Yui's face was filled with guilt.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Don't I still have you and Yukino?"

"Mmph~ Now that you mention it, all my friends are gorgeous girls~"

"Pfft, Hikki, you're so shameless. Who said we were your friends?" Yui burst out laughing at Hachiman's complete lack of restraint.