CH. 83 - Spying for Secrets

 In the early days of spring, Hikigaya sits on his bed with a thinking look. He bounces his leg with sharp eyes as he contemplates something. After a moment, he gets up and goes to his door and opens it but stops. He hesitates before sighing and looking down. He closes his door before opening it again. He repeats this a few times before suddenly Shiori appears in his doorway.

 “Hikigaya.” She says suddenly as Hikigaya is startled and falls back with a shout. “Would you stop? You’re annoying me.” She says before turning to walk away. Hikigaya rubs his head for a moment before looking up and scrambling to his feet.

 “Shiori, wait. Can we talk?” He calls to her. She stops and looks at him, surprised for a moment before answering.

 “No.” she says. Hikigaya looks confused.

 “No?” he asks as she steps away, but Hikigaya steps closer. “Why not?” He asks. Shiori pauses before answering.

 “I’m busy.” She says.

 “With what?” Hikigaya asks.

 “Nothing.” She says back. Hikigaya droops more.

 “Nothing?” he asks as she steps back towards her room again. Hikigaya steps closer when Shiori suddenly dashes into her room. Hikigaya takes chase and runs into her room only to see her diving off her balcony with her wings out and taking flight faster than he can keep up. He is disappointed before getting an idea.

 Somewhere else as the sun gets closer to setting, the boys of the group line up as Hikigaya walks along them with a determined look.

 “I have summoned you all here today for one purpose only.” Hikigaya says.

 “To look weird as Hell?” Kitaro asks sarcastically. Hikigaya turns and looks at him with a glare. Sugawara then leans forward and raises his hand a bit.

 “I’d like to know why we’re here.” He says softly. Hikigaya huffs and continues.

 “We’re on a mission. A spying mission, and I need your help.” Hikigaya says. Haru gets excited.

 “Oh, cool! Like real ninja secret agent type stuff! Like that time we kidnapped Hikigaya! We should totally do the same and kidnap Shiori-” Haru shouts loudly and proudly until Touma suddenly grabs his mouth, shutting him up. Ryuji smirks.

 “Good call.” He says coolly. Hikigaya sweats at Haru’s comment.

 “No, we aren’t gonna kidnap her. I just want to know a thing she knows.” Hikigaya says. Sugawara and Kitaro smirk.

 “Ooh, someone’s become a little possessive.” Sugawara teases. Hikigaya looks embarrassed.

 “No! It’s not that! I just want to know where she’s at and what she’s doing!” Hikigaya says as Kitaro smirks smugly.

 “Oh no, try obsessive.” He teases too. Hikigaya is embarrassed but continues with a soft look.

 “Listen, ever since the Cultural Festival, Shiori keeps bringing up something that happened, but I don’t remember. If it were just once, I’d leave it alone, but it seems to really bother her, and now she’s being distant. I have to figure out what happened, and I have a feeling tonight’s the night.” Hikigaya explains.

 “Hmm, I wonder what it could possibly be about?” Kitaro says sarcastically.

 “The possibilities are endless.” Ryuji says with a smirk as Touma nods, smirking too. Haru struggles to breathe under his grasp. Hikigaya glares at them before walking off.

 “Good chat, guys. I'll see you around.” Hikigaya says, upset. Sugawara then rushes up to him giggling and grabs his arm.

 “Nooo, we're only playing. What can we do?” Sugawara asks. Hikigaya looks at him, then at the others for a moment before taking a deep breath and turning back towards them.

 “Okay, I think she’s going to talk with one of our friends about what’s on her mind tonight. So what we gotta do is spy on her-”

 “Stalk.” Kitaro interrupts with a smirk. Hikigaya flinches and points a finger at him.

 “No, spy.” Hikigaya says back firmly.

 “Okay, like spying’s any better.” Kitaro says with a shrug. Hikigaya then turns to Sugawara and Ryuji.

 “Why did I invite that guy again?” he asks rhetorically as they shrug. He sighs but continues. “We’re going to spy on her, but first we need to figure out where she is.” Hikigaya says.

 “Sh-should be easy enough.” Touma says softly. The others turn and look at him as he looks up from his phone at them. “She’s with Chizuru and the other girls. Chizuru told me they were having a girls' night tonight.” Touma explains as Haru lies limp in his grasp. The boys stare at him for a moment as he gets nervous.

 “You guys sure are talking a lot, huh?” Hikigaya asks as Kitaro smirks at him.

 “You’d know about the talking phase, wouldn’t you?” Kitaro teases Hikigaya. Ryuji smirks with a raised eyebrow at him.

 “You are on one tonight, aren’t you?” Ryuji asks as Kitaro shrugs.

 “Touma, could you let Haru go and do that to Kitaro please?” Hikigaya asks with dull eyes as Touma lets go of Haru, his limp body hitting the floor with a thud, as Touma reaches out towards Kitaro. He sweats and steps back defensively.

 “Okay, okay, I’ll behave! Jeez...” Kitaro says as Touma stops.

 “Finally...” Hikigaya says with a sigh of relief before getting a determined look. “Okay. Let’s go find out Shiori’s secret!” Hikigaya says, leading the boys.

 Eventually, they make it to a commercial strip with a few people walking around through the shops and small restaurants. The boys try to hide behind a stand and some trees in the center of the strip as they stare into a restaurant window across the way. Sugawara drags Haru behind them and leans him against a cement seat.

 “So they’re in there?” Kitaro asks as Touma nods, looking at his phone.

 “Mhm. At least, t-that’s the place Chizuru sent me a picture last.” Touma says as Ryuji and Sugawara look over his shoulder to see a cute selfie of Chizuru saying where they’re at. Touma taps the picture as a second pic pops up, causing all three of them to blush intensely. It’s a closeup picture of Chizuru’s chest with a bit of water on her, captioned with 'Oh no! I spilled some water on my chest'. Touma quickly turns away embarrassed, tapping his screen rapidly.

 “Oookay, I think they’re in there.” Sugawara says with a flustered look as Ryuji nods, just as flustered. Hikigaya nods at them before looking back only to see the girls walking out of the restaurant.

 “Guys!. Act natural!.” he whispers quickly to them as they all try to blend into the environment and not bring attention to themselves. Hikigaya leans closer, trying to keep his hearing sharp and listen in on their conversations.

 “Haha, can you believe that?” Hisana says with a laugh.

 “I totally could. Have you seen him? He may seem introverted, but main, he’s got an attitude! Haha!” Lucy says, laughing too. Kitaro looks up a bit surprised.

 “Wait, are they talking about me?” he asks softly.

 “I heard you’ve got a story or two with your boy, Shiori. Care to share?” Suiyoubi asks. Shiori looks surprised as Hikigaya’s eyes widen.

‘Here it comes!’ Hikigaya thinks.

 “Oh, uh, well, I guess there was this time when-” As Shiori begins, Alice watches her happily before tripping on something and slamming face first into the ground, tossing her leftovers across the ground. She looks up at the mess and screams before slamming her hands against her head with a growl, then letting them fall to her sides as she cries dramatically. Shiori instantly stops as Lucy laughs. Chizuru and Suiyoubi quickly rush to her side trying to be supportive as Hikigaya droops.

 “There goes that moment...” Hikigaya whispers. Suddenly, Haru jumps up behind him and slams his fist into the back of Hikigaya’s head. He then tackles him over and starts wrestling with him on the ground, causing a commotion.

 “Grrrr! What’s wrong with you?? Manhandling me like that!” Haru says.

 “It wasn’t even me! It was Touma!” Hikigaya says back.

 “I know, but I still blame you!” Haru shouts back as they struggle on the ground. Shiori hears this and looks over, but just in time, a few guys step between her and the boys, blocking her view. She just shrugs as the girls begin to walk off.

 “There, there. Why don’t we go buy you something to cheer you up?” Hisana offers as Alice sniffles and nods sadly.

 Eventually, the girls make their way into a novelty gift store down some stairs, and the boys follow secretly in behind them. The store is laid out with narrow walkways, so keeping distance is fairly easy as long as they stay focused. Ryuji, Sugawara and Haru walk by some tshirts when Haru asks them something with his back turned towards them.

 “Does this make my nose look big?” he asks before turning around wearing a gag mask with a big nose and glasses. Sugawara and Ryuji giggle to themselves as Hikigaya watches the girls walk deeper into the store. He listens intently for anything when suddenly Alice shouts.

 “Why would you think something like this would cheer me up??” she shouts while blushing intensely, looking at the back wall of the store. Hisana looks confused as she stares at the wall.

 “Well, it would make me feel better.” she says casually as Alice looks at her shocked with closed eyes.

 “Better how??” she shouts. Suiyoubi stares with a contemplating look before speaking next to the others.

 “Hm... I don’t have that one yet.” she says as Shiori and Chizuru’s eyes grow wide when Lucy laughs out loud. Shiori then turns sharply and walks away.

 “Okay, that’s enough of that for me.” she says as Chizuru holds onto her shirt and follows close behind Shiori with an intense blush on her face. As they walk away, Hikigaya watches them over a shelf sneakily. After a moment, they stop as Chizuru looks at Shiori.

 “So how did you escape Hiki earlier? Heard he was asking all about the Cultural Festival.” Chizuru says with a grin. Shiori sweats as she leans her head over a bit.

 “Yeahhh, I think so. He’s been really trying to pry it out of me.” Shiori says.

 “Sooo why don’t you just tell him what happened?” Chizuru encourages, but Shiori looks nervous.

 “You know why.. if I did, then he’d-” Shiori says as Hikigaya’s eyes grow wide, but suddenly her phone starts ringing. Shiori takes her phone out and answers the call. “What do you want, Riku?” She asks with a huff.

 “Hey sis, so, theoretically, what would we need to do if one of my friends got stuck in a child sized bubble that isn’t popping?” Riku asks with a sweat as a friend behind is screaming muffled inside a bubble and another friend looks worried beside them. Shiori droops.

 “And how did that happen?..” she asks. Riku smiles nervously.

 “I mayyyy have used my powers..” Riku admits. Shiori looks super upset as she whisper scolds him over the phone.

 “Riku! I told you not to use them under any circumstances!.. You can’t let people know!..” Shiori scolds as Riku begs into the phone.

“I know! Please, Shiori, help me out!” Riku says as Shiori sighs and steps away, talking to him. Hikigaya droops behind the shelf with a disappointed look when Haru approaches him holding a rather small phallic looking candy in his hand.

 “Hey, check it out. It’s your size.” He jokes as Hikigaya then crushes it in his grasp, turning it and the stick it was attached to, to dust. Haru looks stunned and scared before looking at him. “Hey, you gotta pay for that.” Haru says.

 Soon, the group leaves the store as the sun sets, revealing the stars of the sky. The girls gather around a small hangout area to decide what to do next.

 “Speaking of stuffed, where’s the funny little orange guy?” Hisana asks Suiyoubi.

 “I left him at home. Couldn’t bring a boy to girls' night, silly.” Suiyoubi responds as Alice droops.

 “Is he gonna be okay?.” she asks.

 “I’m sure he’s fine. He’s probably just eating chips and watching movies.” Suiyoubi says.

 Back in her room, Mormo blares loud death metal music as he hops around on her bed before launching a sacrificial dagger into the wall then thrashing his head around.

 “Probably.” Suiyoubi says. Chizuru takes a deep breath in with a smile before speaking to the others.

 “It’s getting kinda late. Should we call it a day?” Chizuru asks them.

 “No way. There’s a mess at home that I do not want to be around right now.” Shiori says, leaning against a wall.

 “We don’t got school tomorrow, so let’s make the most of the night.” Lucy says as Alice and Hisana cheer.

 “In that case, why don’t we do karaoke? I know a place pretty close by with big private rooms.” Suiyoubi offers. Chizuru, Hisana and Lucy light up.

 “Let’s do it!” They say together. Alice looks a little nervous as Shiori looks at her.

 “I dunno.. I’m not that great at singing.” Alice says.

 “Hey, neither am I. Don’t worry.” Shiori says as she walks past her with the others. Alice smiles and jumps on Shiori happily.

 “Then let’s sing a duet!” She says as they trail off. Hikigaya watches from a distance as the other boys stand behind him.

 “I don’t know, main. It seems like a normal girls' night to me.” Kitaro says. Haru then steps next to him.

 “Yeah, well, they didn’t invite him, so how normal could it be?” Haru asks, pointing a thumb at Sugawara. He looks at them surprised.

 “Why would they invite me? I’m a boy.” Sugawara says, a little offended at the implication. Ryuji looks at him and wobbles his open hand.

 “Eh.” Ryuji says. Sugawara stares at him before mocking him.

 “What does 'Eh.' mean?? I’m a boy!” Sugawara shouts. Hikigaya turns to them with desperate look.

 “No way. This is- this is the moment. It’s code for girl meeting to spill all their secrets! Surely this is when she’ll say it!” Hikigaya says, looking a bit crazy.

 “Oookay. Well, even if they do, how are we gonna get in the room to hear it?” Kitaro asks, doubtful. Sugawara looks around for a moment as they think before staring back into the novelty shop. He then gets an idea.

 “Guys. I got an idea.” He says as the others look at him surprised.

 In the karaoke booth, the girls hangout and have a fun time as Alice sings her heart out with music all around. The others giggle and laugh, cheering her on happily right as she finishes. She raises her fist into the air proudly before sitting down.

 “Dude, I didn’t realize singing was so much fun.” Alice says with a happy sigh.

 “Yep. Good or not, sometimes singing your heart out is the best thing to do.” Lucy says with a cool smile. As Suiyoubi clicks something on the remote, Hisana leans over to Shiori.

 “Okay, spill it.” Hisana says. Shiori looks at her surprised and a bit confused.

 “Spill what?” She asks.

 “Anything! The rest of us have told our secrets and feelings. Fun things going on in our lives, but you’re always so quiet! No more! You gotta give us all the juicy details about the story of Shiori!” Hisana says with a big smile.

 “Yes, I too would like to learn more about you. What is it that makes you tick?” Suiyoubi asks, looking her way.

 “What they’re really asking about is boys. One in particular, I’m sure.” Lucy interjects as Alice sits up excitedly.

 “Oh yeah! Finally, some girl talk! I’ve always waited for this moment, like in the movies!” Alice says as they all stare at Shiori. She looks nervous before speaking.

 “What about you guys? Shouldn’t you go first?” She tries to deflect.

 “Oh, that’s easy! You all know I’m deeply in love with Kitaro!” Hisana says lovingly.

 “I don’t really think about that stuff much. I just like hearing about my friends.” Suiyoubi says.

 “I’ve got a boyfriend.” Lucy says.

 “My soul belongs to Fullsky! And I guess Watchdog too if that boy has to be there...” Alice says gushing before shrugging a bit. They then look at Chizuru, who blushes in embarrassment a little.

 “My turn?..” she asks timidly.

 “Yeahhhh, you’ve always been so averse to romantic stuff growing up. But now, ever since Touma joined the group, it seems you’ve become far more interested in it.” Lucy says with a smug smirk. Chizuru blushes.

 “N-no, that’s not it. I just think he’s a kind guy. I just help him with his shyness, that’s all.” Chizuru denies.

 “Is that who you’re sending all those selfies to? Or is it some random person you met?” Lucy teases as Chizuru looks shocked and flustered.

 “I wouldn’t do that! I just.. we’re just texting… Let’s talk about Shiori now!” Chizuru shouts, pushing Lucy away. The girls do just that and turn their attention back to Shiori.

 “Your turn.” Hisana says, smiling. Shiori hesitates.

 “Well, I- …you know, boys and all…” she stutters out.

 “It’s okay if you like girls or nonbinary people too.” Suiyoubi mentions.

 “But she’s totally obsessed with Hikigaya, aren’t you?” Hisana asks as Alice drools a little.

 “Ahhh, to be between them… they’re just my type.” Alice says with a blush on her face. Shiori looks embarrassed as she opens her mouth.

 “I-… I do-” she begins to admit when suddenly the door to their room opens up. The girls are startled as six people enter the large room with them. The people wear plushie masks and onesies to match. They are a Cat, Bunny, Dog, Squirrel, Red Panda, and a Bear. They all stand in awkward silence as the one in the front waves at them awkwardly.

 “Uhh… hi. Can we help you?” Lucy asks. One of the masked people raises a pointed finger as if happy at her words and motions towards open seats. The girls nod slowly as the plushie people disperse. “So, who ordered the male strippers?” Lucy asks as one of the plushies is stunned and goes to say something but instantly catches himself before crossing his arms and swiping twice, denying her claim.

 “Aw, that’s too bad. I’m really into bunnies…” Hisana says with an alluring tone, leaning close to the Bunny and running her hand across his chest. Alice sweats as she looks concerned.

 “Are we okay with letting these strangers in here with us?..” she whispers to Lucy, who smirks.

 “Yeah, why not? Could be fun.” Lucy says.

 “Yeah, loads of fun.” Hisana says as she quickly flips over and sits on the Bunny’s lap, leaning close to his mask. Suiyoubi sees this and is shocked as Chizuru blushes intensely.

 “Hisana! I don’t think you should be doing that…” Suiyoubi says nervously. Lucy looks back at Shiori and speaks.

 “So, you were saying something about Hikigaya, right, Shiori?” She asks. Shiori stares at the Dog before speaking openly.

 “Oh yeah. I’m totally in love with him. He’s like, so my type, and I totally tried making out with him at the Cultural Festival, but he just doesn’t remember.” Shiori says openly as the Dog stiffens up hearing her words. Even the girls look at her shocked.

 “Wait, really??” Alice asks. Chizuru looks confused but doesn’t say anything.

 “Yep, she totally did. But let’s not think about the boys tonight. It’s a girls' night, remember? We should have fun.” Lucy says while getting up and stepping towards the Cat. He sweats as she stands over him. “I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She asks before kissing the Cat mask on the mouth, running her hands along his chest. Chizuru stands up with wide eyes.

 “Woah! Okay, Lucy, I can’t-” Chizuru begins when Shiori tugs her close and whispers something in her ear. Chizuru looks relieved before nodding. “Ohhh.” She says before looking at the Bear. She then gets up on her seat and dives over the table and directly onto the Bear with a thud. He stumbles back but stays upright as he grabs onto her. Shiori smiles at them as the others look surprised. She then gets up and makes her way over to the Dog. He turns to her, surprised, before she sits down on his lap and wraps her arms around his neck. Alice, Suiyoubi, the Squirrel and Red Panda watch together before looking at each other.

 “I guess we’re doing this?” Suiyoubi says. Alice sighs be speaking.

 “Fine, but I get the tall one. He’s gotta be close enough to Watchdog’s height.” Alice says before they take their hands and lead them to their seats.

 Shiori sways a little as she holds the Dog close. Her focused gaze is barely covered by her half-lidded eyes before she leans in close to his ear, whispering softly.

 “You know, I really shouldn’t be doing this.. I have a guy back home probably waiting for me.. I’m so madly in love with him, it hurts.. I can’t stop thinking about him.. since we live together, sometimes I image what might happen if he just came into my room and forced himself on me.. I’d let him do anything to me, that’s how much I love him.. but since I know he won’t.. I guess you’ll have to do..”

 Shiori whispers in a seductive tone, pushing herself against him occasionally. As she whispers, the Dog only starts shaking more and more. Once she finishes speaking, he then just snaps and quickly rips the mask off over his head, revealing Hikigaya. He sweats and pants with a crazy blush on his face. Shiori crosses her arms and leans back, staring at him with a disappointed look.

 “Well, well. Look who it is.” Shiori says out loud. Alice peeks out from under the Red Panda as Suiyoubi looks up with the Squirrel in her lap. They are shocked as Hisana giggles to herself, not removing her gaze from the Bunny.

 “You really think we’d do this with just anyone? I’m not that kind of girl, ain’t that right, Ryuji?” Lucy asks, sitting in his lap sideways with her arm around his neck before removing his cat mask, revealing him. Touma holds Chizuru in one arm, standing up as she snuggles up in his neck while he takes his bear mask off. Haru takes his panda mask off as Sugawara takes off his squirrel mask. Alice looks at Haru with wide eyes.

 “Uhhh…” she just voices as Sugawara looks super flustered with a blush across his face. Suiyoubi giggles as she hugs him tighter from behind.

 “Aww! You like me~” Suiyoubi giggles. Kitaro goes to take his bunny mask off, but Hisana quickly puts it back on.

 “No, no. If this is what it takes, leave it on.” She says in bliss as she kisses the mask again. Shiori glares at Hikigaya as she sits on his lip.

 “You guys aren’t slick. Lucy, Hisana and I knew you were following us all night. Figures you’d try something like this.” Shiori says with a huff.

 “Why were you guys following us, anyway?” Lucy asks, looking at Ryuji.

 “Hikigaya wanted to know what happened at the Cultural Festival.” Ryuji says plainly as Hikigaya glares at him.

 “Dude!” he says as Ryuji shrugs and Lucy hugs him, smirking. Hikigaya sweats as he looks at Shiori nervously. “It’s true... You seem so bothered by it. I just wanted to know so it would stop bothering you.” Hikigaya says softly before looking up at her. “But.. does that mean what you said was..?”

 “A lie? Yes. Not a thing I said was true, not a bit.” Shiori says firmly while staring down at Hikigaya. He looks embarrassed and almost disappointed while looking down, but his look changes to blush more as he gets flustered.

 “I believe you, but... you’re still...” Hikigaya says, looking at her on his lap. Shiori realizes and quickly blushes before getting off of him. Lucy and Chizuru sigh and shake their heads as Kitaro lifts his bunny mask up a bit, looking at them then Hisana.

 “Wait a minute. You knew it was us the whole time?” he asks her. She looks at him and smiles happily.

 “Of course! I always know where my lovely Kitaro is!” she says with a giggle. Kitaro rolls his eyes before dropping the mask back down over his face.

 “Again, not yours.” he says, letting his body relax as Hisana goes back to kissing his mask all over. Lucy then exhales with a smile as she gets up too.

 “Welp, I don’t know about y'all, but that’s more than enough for me.” she says with her hands on her hips. Sugawara quickly gets up and leaves with Alice right behind him.

 “Yep.” Sugawara says quickly, still blushing.

 “Me too.” Alice says the same. Suiyoubi giggles as Chizuru does too, Touma letting her down gently. They all make their way out of the large booth as Kitaro gets up with Hisana still latched onto him with her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, not letting up. Despite the rather intense outcome of their actions, the group goes home satisfied.