The rooftop of the teaching building is quiet—a slice of sky above the school where wind tugs at loose papers and the city feels a little farther away. Hikigaya Hachiman climbs the stairs with a loaf of pineapple bread and a bottle of milk tucked awkwardly under his arm, heart thumping just a little too fast for normal reason.
Kasumigaoka-senpai is already there, sitting on a bench with a book cradled in her hands. Quiet, composed, and impossibly poised. Her legs are crossed, long and wrapped in those black stockings that temple their own sort of dangerous elegance. The way she sits could melt a cathedral—if one were an idiot who melted for stockings.
Hikigaya sets the food down gently. "Here—the milk and bread you wanted," he says, doing his best to sound casual. He'd rehearsed this line in his head while climbing stairs and nearly tripped on three different steps.
A small voice, dry as parchment, answers him from just a breath away. "You defiled me, and then just left?"
His spine freezes. He scans the rooftop like someone in a bad mystery anime, looking for hidden cameras, furious onlookers, anyone who might explain how his life has become a blunder reel.
"No—no, that's a misunderstanding, Kasumigaoka-senpai," he squeaks, because that is the exact level of dignity this situation affords him.
She turns a page like the verdict has already been written. "Is that how you justify it?" Her tone is flat, but the corner of her mouth lifts in what could be amusement or cruelty—Hikigaya can't tell which, and that uncertainty eats at him.
Hikigaya slides down on the bench beside her, chin tucked, ready to accept whatever reprimand she intends to deliver. He cannot pretend he wasn't the idiot who'd let his hand wander during math class. He cannot pretend he wasn't the idiot now sitting two centimeters away from a woman whose foot he'd touched like some tragic background extra in his own life.
Kasumigaoka kicks him. Lightly. Deliberately. Once. Twice. Enough to remind him she's in control of the situation.
He wants to scream "ow" and then apologize in the most poetic, self-flagellating manner possible. Instead he rips open the pineapple bread wrapper with trembling fingers—and, on impulse he can't quite explain, hands it to her.
Her fingers brush his for a moment, brief as static. Hikigaya's entire skull fills with alarm bells: contact—contact—contact. He shoves a straw into the milk and extends it toward her, and again their hands meet, a second short spark that makes his cheeks heat as if someone's lit an ember beneath his skin.
Intentional. She's doing it on purpose. Flirtation? Test? Power play? Hikigaya's inner monologue staggers into a panic.
After a swallow of bread, Kasumigaoka straightens the book on her lap and smiles—one of those small, dangerous smiles. "Hikigaya, since you know the author of Love Metronome, you must know how the later volumes turn out. You can spoil me, right?"
"Huh?" Hikigaya chokes on air. He had expected the conversation to be a lecture about boundaries or a sharpened insult about social ineptitude. He did not expect a book-related request—especially not about Love Metronome, of all things.
Kasumigaoka's foot pokes him gently. Again with the feet. Hikigaya twitches. "Are you deaf?" she asks, as if the kick were nothing more than punctuation.
"I—ah—" He stammers, then steadies himself. "Yes. I did know the author of Love Metronome back in junior high. I discussed plot points with her, gave her suggestions—"
She arches an eyebrow. "And?" Her look implies the story's missing paragraph is a trapdoor.
"But then—" He tries to explain, voice small, "she ended up blocking me."
Kasumigaoka's expression tightens a fraction. "Why would she block you?"
"Uhm…" He scrabbles for an excuse that doesn't make him sound pathetic. "Maybe I—talked too much? I messaged every night, and it was… excessive." The lie feels thin and sweaty.
Silence hangs for a beat longer than it should. In truth, the author had not blocked him.
....
Hikigaya pov:
On the contrary, she even teased me once, joking that we should meet offline and that she'd become my girlfriend.
But… hehe! Yeah, right.
Ever since that humiliating disaster of a confession to Orimoto, my trust in women has hit rock bottom. Meeting offline? Becoming boyfriend and girlfriend? Don't make me laugh. That kind of thing only happens in the dreams of desperate romantics.
How could two people who've never even met face-to-face fall in love? Just because of some online "connection"? That's nothing but foolish delusion.
I, Hikigaya Hachiman, falling in love with an online friend? No way. Such a thing is absolutely impossible! And even if it could happen… it definitely wouldn't be me.
So, in the end, I made my choice. The one who swore to keep women at arm's length blacklisted the author of Love Metronome.
Forgive me, Kasumigaoka-senpai. I told you a little lie. Next time, I'll do my best not to. After all, Hachiman is… well, mostly an honest child.
"So, about the follow-up plot of Love Metronome... I'm afraid I can't give you what you want, Kasumigaoka-senpai…"
I forced myself to break the silence, lifting my eyes weakly to meet hers. But then—
"—!!"
At some point, Kasumigaoka had leaned in, her flawless face hovering only inches away from mine, almond-shaped eyes narrowing as though she were deliberately trying to fluster me.
The faint fragrance drifting off her hair struck me like a direct attack. Too dazzling, too close. Was this really the same "most beautiful girl" of our third-year class?
Just when I thought she would stop there, she tilted forward even more, as if—unbelievably—she was about to kiss me.
The alarms in my head went off all at once. My scalp prickled, my heart slammed against my ribs, and my breathing turned uneven.
Wait—wait, wait, wait!
Kasumigaoka-senpai, what the hell are you doing?! Don't come any closer!
"K-Kasumigaoka-senpai? You… what is this supposed to be?"
I instinctively jerked sideways, retreating a few steps like a cornered animal, my eyes darting nervously.
"Nothing." She pulled back, expression unreadable, and answered in a detached tone. "I was just a little surprised. I didn't expect Air-kun to actually look… decent. Almost like a man."
"Eh?"
…Like a man?
Oh, sure. Thank you for the generous compliment, I guess. Next time, please don't.
Also… why are you calling me Air-kun again?
I wanted to make a run for it, but her aura was just too overwhelming. One wrong move and she'd probably roast me alive with her sharp tongue. So instead, I scrambled to change the subject.
"A-Ahem. Speaking of which, the new version of Genshin Impact just launched."
"Are you pulling?"
"Uh, I think I'll hold off this time." I shook my head quickly. "Electro DPS-wise, both Keqing and Raiden Shogun are solid picks anyway. I'll just log in for the mailbox rewards and daily commissions. Oh… I'll still try out Clorinde's trial run though."
"Hehe." Her lips curved into a teasing smile. "So before launch, you were screaming 'Wife, wife, I'm definitely pulling!' But after trying her out a few times, you got bored and abandoned her, huh? Air-kun really is the type to start something and then toss it aside."
…?
"No wonder," she continued mercilessly, eyes glinting with mischief. "Just now, I acted a little… excessive, but afterward, you had no intention of taking responsibility. Hehe~ So Air-kun is that kind of man."
Her gaze fell on me like I was some low-level scumbag protagonist from a melodrama.
??
H-Hey, hey, hey! How did this conversation spiral out of control so fast?!
Even if the rooftop is empty right now, please don't spout stuff like that! People could get the wrong idea, Kasumigaoka-senpai!
And for the record, the only reason I clicked Clorinde's trial was for the measly twenty Primogems. That's it! Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered.
I let out a heavy sigh in my heart, mourning my misfortune.
Honestly, at first, I'd considered trying to at least build some kind of normal friendship with Kasumigaoka-senpai. Maybe even—heaven forbid—work toward Yukinoshita's "task."
But looking at it now… Kasumigaoka-senpai's personality is way too dangerous. One wrong word, and she could easily spin some outrageous story in front of Yukinoshita.
And then, just like that, my life would plunge into a hell of terrible misunderstandings.
****
1rst person Pov or Omniscient pov?