"What do you want with my mom?"
"Just had something I needed to talk to her about."
"Huh? What kind of thing?"
Eriri stared suspiciously at Hikigaya… Could he be trying to meet her parents?
No way!
She hadn't even confessed her feelings yet!
And she hadn't even broken up with Hikigaya either!
"It's about running. Last night, your mom and I went jogging together, and, uh… I forgot to mention a few things she should watch out for."
"Things to watch out for…"
Eriri's brows furrowed slightly. Something about this just felt off.
Mom… ran with Hikigaya last night?
Just the two of them? At night? Exercising together?
Wait a minute.
This isn't right, is it?!
"Hikigaya, you're not… hitting on my mom, are you?" Eriri suddenly blurted out, catching even herself off guard.
"Huh?!" Hikigaya froze, eyes wide. His heart skipped a beat.
"Ah, no—wait—cough, cough—I didn't mean it like that."
Realizing what she'd just said, Eriri turned red and hurried to correct herself.
"It's just… you guys were out exercising at night, just the two of you, so I kinda thought… But that's crazy, right? That's my mom, after all. Anyway, s-sorry…"
The usually proud and prickly Eriri actually lowered her head and apologized, a rare sight.
Even she knew her words had been completely over the top!
"N-no problem."
Beads of cold sweat formed on Hikigaya's forehead as he shook his head quickly.
He was genuinely panicking—did Eriri somehow find out about that thing between him and her mom?
This can't go on.
I need to keep my distance from Eriri.
Hikigaya's eyes darted around, looking for an escape route—and then he saw her.
She had arrived.
"Sawamura-san, why don't you head to class first? I've got something I need to take care of."
"Eh? What is it?"
Eriri followed his line of sight—and spotted her.
Walking gracefully along the school path like a flower blooming in winter, attracting the attention of boys and girls alike, was none other than…
The queen of Sōbu High, Yukinoshita Yukino.
"…I get it. Then… I'll go on ahead."
Eriri glanced reluctantly at Yukino before nodding to Hikigaya.
No helping it.
His girlfriend had shown up, after all.
There was no chance for her now.
I don't get it.
Why would someone like Yukinoshita Yukino—this absolute beauty—like Hikigaya of all people?
So unfair! Was there really no way she could cut in and steal him?
Sighing inwardly, Eriri dragged her feet toward the classroom, thoroughly dejected.
Once she was gone, Hikigaya let out a deep breath and headed toward his girlfriend.
"My, my~ Zaku-kun is getting more and more popular lately," Yukino said with a sweet smile. "Sawamura-san's a total beauty in your class, isn't she? And you two seemed to be getting along so well?"
Yep. That's my girlfriend all right.
Jumping straight into the pressure game from the first sentence.
Walking beside her, Hikigaya calmly explained, "It was a study-related thing. We're in the same group project, so when we ran into each other, we just talked about that."
"Oh?"
Yukino tilted her head slightly, intrigued.
"Just study stuff? Nothing about… relationships between men and women?"
Wait a second… Yukino, you weren't eavesdropping, were you?
Taking a deep breath, Hikigaya kept his voice steady.
"Nope. You're reading way too much into it."
"A woman's sixth sense is very sharp, you know~"
"Do you really think something would happen between me and Sawamura-san? I told you before—she's not the type to make the first move…"
"Girls can climb trees like pigs when they're desperate~"
"…What kind of comparison is that?!"
"Hehe, I think I saw a spark of affection in her eyes when she looked at you. That's the sign of someone about to confess~" Yukino teased.
"You definitely saw wrong."
Hikigaya tried to refute her, frowning as he glanced at her face.
"Why are you smiling so much?"
"Because my boyfriend is so popular at school," Yukino beamed. "As your girlfriend, that makes me very happy~"
"??"
Hikigaya tensed up.
"Shouldn't you be mad? Also… I'm not popular! We were just talking!"
"Nope, not angry at all. I'm really happy~" Yukino continued to smile.
Happy?
That murderous glint in her eyes sure didn't look like happiness!
Taking another deep breath, Hikigaya spoke with utmost seriousness:
"Regardless of what you think, there's nothing going on between me and Sawamura-san. Ahem. You're my girlfriend now."
"I see…" Yukino murmured softly. "What a shame… She went from being your woman to your daughter... sigh."
Mother and daughter? That's definitely out of the question.
Society's laws—and morals—would never allow it.
"Huh? What did you just say?"
Yukino had whispered so quietly that Hikigaya couldn't catch it.
"Nothing~ I trust Hikigaya-kun completely," she said with a gentle smile. "My darling is strict with himself and would never betray me. I do believe that."
"…Right."
Hikigaya opened his mouth, then closed it again, awkward and unsure.
He wanted to nod in agreement—but the truth was, he had betrayed her, physically, with more than one girl…
Of course, he'd been the passive one every time. They had come on to him.
Eyes shifting guiltily, Hikigaya quickly changed the subject.
"You had your period yesterday. Feeling better today?"
"Oh? So Hikigaya-kun does care about me?"
"You are my girlfriend."
"Is that really why? Or is it because you know we can't, uh… do that kind of thing for now? I mean, you can't touch down there for a while~" Yukino teased.
"Huh? O-of course it's because you're my girlfriend!"
Face flushing red, Hikigaya replied seriously, then muttered:
"A little touching should be fine…"
At that, Yukino's heart skipped a beat. Overjoyed, she looked at him with shy affection.
"Hikigaya-kun… girls on their period are dirty… and they smell weird too…"
"Yukino, you're not dirty at all. And your body… it smells really good… everywhere…" As he spoke, Hikigaya's face turned even redder.
The two of them had already crossed that line in their relationship, so they were more open with each other when it came to topics like this.
"You… mmm…"
Yukino's expression turned bashful. She hadn't expected her boyfriend to be so obsessed with her body.
This is bad. I'm way too happy.
I want to pounce on him right here and now. What should I do?!