Shino Asada, known as Sinon, had been taken in by her grandparents after graduating junior high, a consequence of an incident from her early childhood. Though Shino had wished to find employment after graduating, her grandparents' earnest desire led her to continue her education in Tokyo, a place less shadowed by her past. She lived alone during high school, and naturally, upon moving, she had no friends and struggled to fit in at school.
It was then that a trio of girls approached her. The leader's name was Endou. Shino joined their group and, for a while, led a seemingly normal high school life. However, one day, everything changed. Endou and her friends, upon learning Shino lived alone, had only befriended her to use her home as a hangout spot.
Then, one day, the moment Shino heard an unfamiliar male voice from inside her apartment, in addition to Endou and the others, she imagined the sight of a stranger in her home. An unbearable wave of revulsion washed over her. Immediately after, Shino cut ties with Endou and her group. Since then, however, Endou's group had frequently extorted money from Shino.
Endou, having somehow discovered that Shino had shot and killed someone in her childhood, acquired a replica handgun—the very model that triggered Shino's trauma. When confronted with it, Shino ended up vomiting in the classroom during a history lesson. News of the incident quickly spread among her classmates, and Shino found herself completely isolated in the classroom. From that point on, confident that the replica gun was Shino's weakness, Endou and her friends began to demand money from her at every opportunity.
Yet, Shino had never once given them any money.
(I will never lose to these people. And for Grandpa and Grandma, I will absolutely not quit this school.)
Shino thought this, gritting her teeth as she continued to attend school.
That day, Shino had been restless throughout her classes.
(Oh, it's almost after school… What should I do? Shana said he'd pick me up in a black sports car, but if they see that, what will those guys say this time? Should I ask him to change the meeting spot now? But I have no way to contact him… Oh, why did I even mention this school's name?)
The previous day, as they parted ways, Shana had said to Sinon:
"Oh, Sinon, about tomorrow, I'll come pick you up at your school by myself in a black sports car. Could you tell me your school's name?"
Feeling a little giddy from the recent excitement, Shino had casually answered his question. After speaking her school's name, she gasped and quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late. Shana grinned, repeated her school's name, and then logged out.
The bell signaling the end of classes rang, and Shino, stiff with tension, left the classroom. Changing her shoes in the entrance hall, she dragged her heavy feet towards the school gate. Many students were gathered there, but in one corner, an unusually large crowd of female students had formed. Curious, Shino approached and saw a black sports car parked at the center, with a man leaning against it, seemingly surrounded by the girls.
(Is that what they call a gull-wing door? It's amazing, how much does that car cost? Could that possibly be Shana? No, no, no matter how cool Shana is, he couldn't be that handsome, right?)
As Shino mused, the young man was indeed impeccably dressed in an expensive yet tastefully stylish jacket, dealing with the girls with a somewhat troubled expression. His still-boyish appearance was very much to Shino's liking.
(If only that were Shana… No, no, that can't be right. He looks like the heir to some huge company, or someone like that. He doesn't resemble the Shana I imagined at all… or does he? Wasn't the ideal Shana I pictured someone like that? No, no, definitely not. Alright, I need to find Shana quickly before Endou and her gang notice me.)
As she thought this, trying to quietly walk past the car, someone called out to her. To her surprise, it was the young man surrounded by the girls.
"Hey, Asada, where are you going? Over here, over here!"
"…Huh?"
Shino hastily turned around. The girls had parted, creating a path, and she saw the young man in the center waving towards her. She approached him cautiously, then hesitantly spoke.
"Um… did you… mistake me for someone else…?"
"Hm? Not at all. The one I was waiting for was indeed you, Shino Asada."
"Th-that way of speaking… could it be…?"
The young man's manner of speaking was very familiar to Shino. She started to say "Shana" but quickly stopped herself, hesitating to call someone by their handle in public. Overwhelmed by surprise, Shino's legs gave out, and she sank to the ground. The young man approached her and whispered something in her ear that made her question everything.
"Hey, Asada, I'm going to lessen one of your worries. Which one is Endou?"
Shino's mind went blank at his words. Instinctively, she pointed at Endou.
"Understood. I'll take care of it right away, so just wait here for a moment."
With that, the young man walked over to Endou and whispered something in her ear. Endou's reaction was extreme. At first, she seemed pleased, but after the young man whispered to her, she cast a horrified glance at Shino and then fled with her entourage. Seeing this, the young man nodded with satisfaction, then returned to Shino. He scooped up Shino, who was still unable to stand, in a princess carry.
"Um… excuse me…"
Confused yet embarrassed, Shino tried to speak to the young man. But he cut her off, whispering to her in a very gentle tone.
"You still can't stand, can you? It's fine, I'll carry you to the car, Asada."
"Wow, how nice!"
"Asada-san, I'm so jealous!"
"Kyaaaah!"
Squeals of excitement erupted from the surrounding girls, but the young man didn't seem to notice. He carried Shino to the passenger side and abruptly spoke to the car.
"Kit, open the passenger door."
"Understood, Hachiman."
(Is Hachiman his name, then, Shana's name…? Wait, who just answered?)
Shino looked inside the car, but there was no one there. The young man spoke to the car again.
"Kit, it's a bit awkward to get her in. Recline the passenger seat a little more."
"Understood. Is this enough, Hachiman?"
"Hmm, a little more."
"Yes, then how about this?"
"That's good."
Then, the young man, Hachiman, carefully lowered Shino into the passenger seat, showing concern for her body. At the same time, shouts of surprise rose from the onlookers.
"D-did the car just talk?"
"A-amazing… how much does this cost?"
"I want a car like that someday too."
Hachiman then sat next to the bewildered Shino, closed the door, and spoke to the car again.
"Kit, tell the surrounding students to stand back, it's dangerous."
True to his word, Kit warned the students. Once Hachiman confirmed the students had moved back, he started the car and drove off somewhere.
"Sorry for surprising you, Asada. I'm Shana, also known as Hachiman Hikigaya. Nice to meet you."
"Ah, yes, I'm Shino Asada… Nice to meet you… No, that's not right. Oh, I don't know what's going on."
"Haha, you have a lot of questions, don't you? I'll answer all of them properly, Asada."
"You can just call me Shino… since everything seems to be out in the open. Alright then, I'll ask in order. First, how did you know my face and name?"
"Then, Shino it is. Um, Shino, I have to apologize about that. I'm truly sorry for investigating you without permission."
After apologizing to Shino, Hachiman began to explain the circumstances.
"As you know, I have a lot of entanglements. It's odd to say myself, but my influence is quite significant. Specifically, about six thousand people, plus their families' worth."
"I… I can certainly understand that."
Shino understood Hachiman's words precisely. Indeed, if Hachiman made any statement, the six thousand players he had helped, along with their families, would unconditionally agree with him.
"And so, I investigated whether there were any strange forces around Elle—uh, I mean, Pitohui—and you, Shino, whom I recently met. I learned your face and name in that process. You probably don't want the specifics, but I investigated based on the incident you encountered in your past."
"It's… fine. I see, so that's how it was."
"And just in case, I had them look into your situation at school, and that's how I learned about those pesky 'bugs' that were bothering you."
"Bugs? You mean Endou and her friends…?"
"Exactly. And well, I thought it might be meddling, but I couldn't just stand by and watch a valued comrade suffer. So, I decided to 'crush' that Endou."
Hearing these words, Shino, flustered, spoke to Hachiman in her usual in-game tone.
"H-hold on, that's not, like, a crime, is it?"
"Well, how should I know?"
"That's what I mean! Hey, what did you say to Endou?"
"Hmm, let's see. I told that Endou something like this: 'Hey Endou, I hear you've been messing with Shino, my precious girlfriend, lately. By the way, speaking of which, your father's company has a connection to the company where I'm scheduled to become president. So, when you go home, you'll be thoroughly scolded by your frantic father who's about to be fired. Be prepared to wait for him today.' Something like that."
"Pr-precious girlfriend?!"
Hachiman honestly apologized to the astonished Shino.
"You'll have to forgive me for that. This time, I had no choice but to say that to make the story credible."
"Girlfriend… a girlfriend, huh. Hehe, well, I'll forgive you for that."
"By the way, Shino, you seem to have returned to your usual way of speaking."
Without realizing it, Hachiman had also started to casually refer to Shino as "you," but Shino didn't mind it at all.
"Well, with so many outrageous things happening one after another, I guess I've built up some resistance."
"I see. Your impression is more elegant than in the game, so maybe that's how you usually speak. But isn't the real you more casual, like always? If so, I think that's much better. Most of all, it's more approachable."
"I-is that so…"
"Oh, that's right."
Shino honestly felt happy at Hachiman's words. And looking at Hachiman's handsome face again, Shino remembered what she had been thinking earlier.
(Wasn't the ideal Shana I pictured someone like that…?)
Realizing this, Shino felt her cheeks flush, but to cover it up, she asked her next question.
"Um, was that whole president thing you mentioned earlier a joke or something?"
"Ah, that. Do you know a company called Soleil Corporation?"
"Oh, um, isn't that the company that runs the game 'Alv-something-or-other'?"
"That's the one. Well, they seem to be involved in a lot of other things too."
"Yes, I hear it's a rapidly growing company."
"Well, about that company, I've apparently been internally appointed as the next president."
"Huh?!"
Shino couldn't help but say that with an incredibly dubious tone at Hachiman's words. However, as Hachiman said nothing, Shino, thinking "no way," tentatively asked him.
"Um… really?"
"Why would I lie to you? It's all true."
"Ah… now that you mention it, when Pito talked about Yuko and Haruka yesterday, I think she mentioned something like that."
"Yes, that's what that was about. It's all factual."
"I-is that so… So, putting pressure on Endou's father is also true?"
"Yes, it's all true. I actually put pressure on him."
"Wow…"
Hearing Hachiman's words, Shino could only stare in utter astonishment. But at the same time, a sense of amusement welled up inside her.
"Hehe, hahaha, you really are crazy."
Hearing that, Hachiman said, looking a little pleased.
"Is that so? To be honest, I'm not used to being praised by others at all, but lately everyone's been praising me so much that I was quite overwhelmed inside. So, hearing you say that somehow puts me at ease."
"What's that all about? You're still weird."
"Don't praise me so much, I told you I'm not used to it."
"Haha, ahahahaha, I'm not praising you at all!"
For the first time in a long while, Shino laughed from the bottom of her heart. Since meeting Hachiman and the others, she had laughed more in the game, but laughing in real life was truly a rare occurrence for Shino.
"Alright, next question. Earlier, I thought you talked to this car, and the car answered."
"Did you call me just now? My name is Kit. Nice to meet you, Shino."
"Whoa, you startled me…"
"My apologies. I seem to have surprised you."
Hearing Kit's words, Shino was simply filled with admiration for its human-like qualities. Since meeting Hachiman today, Shino had been incredibly busy with constant surprises and admiration.
"Amazing, the car really talks…"
"Well, Kit is custom-made."
"I am honored by your compliment."
"It's so human-like…"
"Thank you, Shino. By the way, we will be arriving at Shino's house shortly."
"Eh, my house?"
Shino frantically looked around, and indeed, they were very close to her apartment.
"I figured you'd want to change into your casual clothes, so I was heading here. I can wait here as long as you need, so don't worry and take your time. It's only natural for women to take time getting ready."
"You even investigated my house, didn't you?"
At Shino's words, Hachiman panicked.
"S-sorry, I just realized I was heading here without thinking. You're right, knowing someone's house is creepy, isn't it? I'm truly sorry."
"Eh? No, I don't think that at all. Since you're here, why don't you come up for some tea?"
As she said this, Shino was surprised by her own change.
(Wait, I thought I broke up with Endou and her group because I felt disgusted by strangers being in my room… Oh well. I don't feel disgusted at all with Hachiman being in my house.)
Shino thought this, but Hachiman, realizing it was inappropriate, firmly refused.
"No, that's, well, a man going up to a girl's apartment who lives alone…"
"Just come up already. If you don't, I'll scream right now."
"Seriously…? Sigh… Alright, I'll come up."
"Good, that's fine then."
Shino said, smiling happily.
As an aside, a predictable incident occurred in the room at the end. Shino, having forgotten to put away her laundry the day before, saw Hachiman freeze the moment he entered her room. Wondering what was wrong, she followed his gaze. And there, seeing her underwear, Shino almost screamed, but Hachiman, showing lightning-fast reflexes, covered her mouth, narrowly saving him from being reported to the neighbors. Naturally, neither of them could talk about this in front of Asuna, thus cementing their unspoken complicity.
Despite these minor troubles, Shino, having successfully changed, glared at Hachiman and said:
"By the way, Hachiman, you definitely saw, didn't you? You saw it!"
"Ah, um… it's the same color as your hair in the game, isn't it?"
"Hey, you! I'll punch you! Take responsibility!"
"Ow, that hurt! 'I'll punch you' literally means you'll punch me?! Don't people usually wait?!"
"That's what you get for saying unnecessary things!"
After this familiar exchange, Shino and Hachiman headed to the restaurant they had reserved. And upon arriving at the restaurant, Shino was once again astonished.
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