"Maybe," Hachiman said.
It was still pretty strange for someone to suddenly switch from ankle socks to pantyhose. They were completely different kinds of clothing, and they constricted different areas, making them hard to get used to.
But.
Girls were rather exceptional creatures.
For instance, Hachiman had seen Shiina wear stockings, ankle socks, and sometimes no socks at all.
Compared to that, Horikita had not changed much, but she seemed never to wear ankle socks.
That left him with complicated feelings.
With that in mind, Hachiman set off with Iroha.
After Iroha had nearly been caught red-handed for tattling just now, separating like this would make it seem even more like she had specifically met him to report someone.
"What do you have planned next?" Hachiman asked her.
"Nothing." Iroha shook her head.
"Then let's go to the supermarket. I need to buy some daily necessities," Hachiman said. "It's a new month. Time to stock up."
"Mm-hmm, I've run out of body wash too. I was just about to get more," Iroha Isshiki said without objection.
So the two headed to the nearest supermarket together.
This supermarket had sliding doors rather than automatic ones. They had to be opened by hand.
"Ding-dong—"
Hachiman reached out with his left hand to pull the handle, only to discover that someone else had already reached out with their right hand for it.
Perhaps because their movements had been so similar, the other person looked over after doing so.
"What a coincidental meeting," she said.
"...Yeah." Hachiman nodded.
"Perfect timing, then. Since we need to buy ingredients for tomorrow anyway, you can help carry them back," she said. "I saw a half-price sale on potato chips at the entrance. You like that kind of junk food, don't you? You can stock up."
"Yeah." Hachiman