With his little sister Komachi's help, Hikigaya finished his workout.
Even though he'd gone on a date with Horikita that morning, his energy was still through the roof.
Yukinoshita… one day, I'm going to make you pay.
Make her cry and scream—cough, cough.
After his bath, Hikigaya headed upstairs to nap.
The night gradually deepened.
He'd long since slipped into deep sleep, but for some reason, his body felt unusually hot—like he was being roasted over an open flame.
"Uuu… Yukinoshita… Yukinoshita…"
Half-asleep, Hikigaya mumbled as he hugged what felt like a woman.
Mmm… it smelled really nice. It had to be Yukinoshita, right?
A kiss probably wouldn't be too much, right? Maybe even…
Wait—hold on a second!
Why would Yukinoshita be on his bed right now!?
"Who… who are you?"
Still groggy and in the dark, Hikigaya squinted blearily at the girl in his arms, unable to make out her face clearly.
"..."
"Um… Komachi? Is that you?"
He asked again.
After all, it was just the two of them in the house. If it wasn't Komachi, then who could it be?
The girl on top of him said nothing, simply wriggled into the blanket and hugged his body tighter.
"You little—"
Wait a second!
Since when did Komachi get so curvy?!
Must be all that milk paying off.
No, no, that's not the point. The point is: she needs to get out of his bed—fast.
That sort of thing might've been fine when they were little, but they were way too old to be sharing a bed now.
"Go sleep in your own room. Don't mess around. Hurry up, go."
Hikigaya gave her a little push, managing to shove her out of bed.
Still… why did she feel so… soft?
Kind of smooth, too. She's really grown up, huh?
...Cough. Anyway. Not thoughts I should be having.
He was far too tired to overthink. After kicking "Komachi" out of bed, he flopped back down and drifted into sleep again.
---
The next morning.
"Ugh, you pervy Onii-chan! Hurry up and get out!"
Inside the bathroom, Komachi sat on the toilet, face flushed red as she scolded him.
"Ah—sorry, sorry…"
Hikigaya quickly backed out.
He'd totally let his guard down this morning.
He hadn't called out before entering, and now he'd ended up accidentally walking in on his sister on the toilet.
"You're seriously gross, you know? Were you trying to sneak a peek at me or something?"
Komachi scowled in disgust.
"It's not like I haven't seen you—uh."
"UWAAH!! Onii-chan!!"
Hack! "Cough, cough… I mean, hey, we live under the same roof—accidents happen. You've walked in on me using the toilet more than once, and I never said anything about it."
"Ugh. It's not the same. Boys and girls are totally different!"
"Whoa, whoa, that's just blatant double standards."
"Of course it is. It's fine for girls to see boys, but if a guy peeks at a girl, that's a crime. That's how Japan works."
"That law is completely unfair!"
Hikigaya protested, thoroughly indignant.
So guys peeking is a crime, but girls get a free pass?
"That's called protecting women."
Komachi emerged from the bathroom, freshly done.
"Boys need protection too, you know! You girls can be way scarier than guys sometimes!"
Hikigaya said seriously.
"You're the only guy I know who's scared of women for life."
Komachi rolled her eyes.
"…"
Hikigaya's mouth twitched. "Who's scared of women!?"
"Please. You're terrified of Yukino-nee, afraid of Yui-nee, and you practically tremble in front of Iroha-nee…"
"I am not afraid…"
He blushed furiously.
"Okay, okay, Onii-chan's the bravest man alive~"
"The way you're patronizing me right now is extremely unsatisfying, Komachi."
Komachi giggled, brushed it off, and turned to prepare breakfast.
Hikigaya shook his head and sighed. Then, as if remembering something, he called out:
"Oh right. About last night—don't let it happen again."
"Last night? Didn't you want me sitting on your back for the workout?"
"Not that. I'm talking about sleeping."
"Eh?"
Komachi paused and looked at him, confused.
"Don't play dumb."
Hikigaya said seriously, "You're not a kid anymore. Don't climb into my bed at night again."
"Huh? Me… in your bed?"
Komachi's face twisted with absolute disdain.
"Onii-chan, are you out of your mind? Or has your siscon evolved to a whole new level? Why on earth would I crawl into your bed?"
"Wha—? But you did last night! You were hugging me and—"
"Stop right there."
Komachi cut him off, revolted. "That's so gross, I'm gonna be sick. Even if I were reincarnated as a puppy, I still wouldn't get into bed with you."
"..."
Okay, that curse was unnecessary.
"You must've been dreaming, Onii-chan. Dreaming that Komachi climbed into your bed, huh? Ugh… now I'm scared…"
Komachi trembled dramatically.
"Uh… yeah, maybe it was just a nightmare. Haha… right. As if you'd actually come into my bed…"
Hikigaya forced a smile.
Still—was it really just a hallucination?
Because he definitely felt like there was a girl in his bed last night.
Weird…
If it wasn't Komachi…
Then who was it!?
It's just the two of us in this house, right!?
…Wait. Could it have been some kind of female ghost?
A chill crept down Hikigaya's spine.
---
Later, at Sōbu High.
Hikigaya was still shaken up over last night. Even now, sitting in the classroom, he felt completely out of sorts.
Was it really a dream? Or did I really have a girl in bed with me…? God, just thinking about it is creeping me out.
He took a few deep breaths, trying to clear his head as he made his way to his seat.
But before he could get there, he noticed something odd.
Kawasaki and Kasumigaoka were sitting at his desk, chatting and laughing together.
As soon as Kawasaki saw him approach, she stood up and quickly moved away, throwing him a shy glance and giving a quiet greeting.
Hikigaya nodded back, then turned to Kasumigaoka—who was smiling way too pleasantly.
"Air-kun, long time no see. Did you miss me and Saki~?"
She gave him a warm, teasing smile.
"…Not really."
For some reason, Hikigaya had a really bad feeling.
It felt like those two had just been plotting something. Something big.