CH. 122 - A Home for Them All
That night, a bit after school has ended, Shiori slowly opens the door to Hikigaya’s room and sticks her head in, looking around with a soft look.
“Hiki..? You okay..? I wanted to give you some space today, but I didn’t see you come down for dinner so I wanted to bring you…” she trails off softly as she steps into his dark room only to find it empty. She looks around for a moment, holding a plate of food Hamasaki made. “Hiki?…” she says softly. Her eyes widen as his disappearance sets in. She quickly puts the plate down and steps towards his small patio, noting the open door. She leans over the rail and looks around as the dim light of the moon casts across the street.
“Hikigaya!” she says loudly, hoping he’s nearby. Panic begins to set in as her anxious mind floods with paranoid thoughts. “Oh no… with what happened then everyone asking so much of him.. what if he?..” She thinks back to a long time ago, an image of him standing on a ledge, contemplating a drastic decision. Her fear begins to rise. “No, not again. I have to find him!” She says with fear and anxiety in her voice as she extends her wings and dashes into the night sky.
She first checks the same place her fears thought of, their small stage area in the woods where the group carved their names, but he isn’t there. A sigh of relief leaves her lips, but only for a moment as she flies away. She checks a park, rooftops, sidewalks, flying with whipping speeds, leaving only a sharp whistle through the night sky above the people who look up only to see a dark blur flying by. Despite her best efforts, she can’t find him anywhere. She touches down on an empty sidewalk this late at night, slightly out of breath, as she leans on her knees, the yellow and white glow of streetlamps and business lights illuminating the area.
“Where are you, Hikigaya?..” she asks softly as tears begin to form in her eyes. She sobs for a moment, her emotions overwhelming her before she suddenly opens her eyes wide, surprised by a feeling she gets in her chest. Through her tears, she looks up before dashing towards a bridge running over a train tunnel.
‘This feeling.. It has to be him!’ She thinks as she rushes in that direction, practically gliding up the stairs and sliding around the corner. She runs over the bridge and as she does, she sees someone leaning on the railing overlooking the tracks below. She stares intently as she runs, her eyes shining when she realizes it’s Hikigaya, leaning with a tired, neutral look on his face. Finding him surges determination in her chest as she dashes faster, calling out his name.
“Hikigaya!” She yells, causing him to look over sharply with a confused look only to be shocked when he sees Shiori flying through the air aimed right for him at high speeds. He sweats as Shiori reaches out and slams into him, tackling him to the ground with a thud.
“No, Hiki! Don’t! We can figure this out, just talk to me! I’m not the best girlfriend, but I promise I’ll try to be!” She shouts as she latches onto Hikigaya tightly, her arms around his neck. He grunts from the impact before looking at her confused.
“What are you talking about?” He asks, sitting up a little. Shiori pulls back, looking at him with glossy, tearing eyes filled with passion to support him.
“Jumping off! We can overcome this, just like last time!” She says loudly, gripping his shoulder tightly without even realizing it. Hikigaya stares at her for a moment before sighing a little, a slight smile spreading across his lips.
“Shiori, baby, it’s okay. I wasn’t going to jump.” He says as she looks at him with uncertain eyes.
“You… you weren’t?” She asks between sniffles. Hikigaya smiles softly before rubbing her head.
“No. I know I’ve made some… dramatic choices in the past but.. things are better now, despite everything.” He says, trying to comfort her.
“Then why did you look so sad earlier? And why did you leave without saying anything? Is it because I was being so pushy? I’m so sorry, I won’t do it again!” She says rapidly, worried about what he’ll say as he smiles at her, chuckling a bit.
“You’re the silliest girl I’ve ever met, haha!” He laughs a little as Shiori pouts, not entirely enjoying him not taking her seriously. He then stops and looks at her warmly. “Shiori, you didn’t push me too hard. You could never. I love the way you are, flaws and all. You worry about everything so much when you really don’t have to and I love helping you through it.” He says as he holds her face in his hand. She sighs softly as she closes her eyes, feeling his warmth and comforted by his words. “I literally have superpowers, I can handle a week with little to no sleep. I was just getting really overwhelmed and needed some time to myself. I didn’t mean to make you worry.” He says, rubbing his thumb on her cheek gently, lining her scar with his thumb. She softly nuzzles into his hand a bit as her tears begin to dry.
“I promise, I’ll make the others go easier on you so you’ll have some more time to yourself.” Shiori says, looking at him softly. Hikigaya looks away, embarrassed.
“Yeah, I’ve been having a hard time saying no recently so.. I appreciate the support.” He says softly as they gently bump their heads together. “I’m sorry for making you worry.” He whispers. She shakes her head a bit.
“I like to worry about you.” She whispers back. Hikigaya pulls her in for a gentle kiss as they sit on the ground of this bridge in the center of the city in the middle of the night, not caring about anything else but their love for each other.
After a bit and a quick flight, they eventually make it back home and enter through Hikigaya’s patio door.
“I’m glad the signing went well, not that I doubted it would.” Hikigaya says as he closes the door behind them. “I do wish I could’ve gone, but I would’ve been totally useless if I did, haha!” he says with a laugh. Shiori hums a ‘Mhm’ in response with a smile on her face as she approaches his bed. She sits down on the edge before calling his name.
“Hikigaya~” she says with a loving tone. Hikigaya blushes as he looks at her. He stares as she extends her hands out to him with a blush on her face, a shine in her eyes, and a smile on her face. “Stop talking and come rest.” She says softly as Hikigaya gulps. He slowly approaches her and climbs onto the bed. She backs up towards the wall and leans back a little, patting her lap. Hikigaya nods gently as he lowers himself onto the bed, laying his head down on her lap. Shiori smiles at him warmly as she begins running her hands through his hair. “You’ve earned this…” she whispers softly. Hikigaya lets out a fatigued sigh, almost whimpering a little as he closes his eyes. In almost no time at all, Hikigaya drifts off to sleep as Shiori continues to rub his head. She watches him lovingly as she speaks in a gentle whisper.
“It’ll be alright as long as we’re together… there’s nothing you have to worry about…” she whispers.
Hikigaya slumps a bit with an anxious sigh on a bench in the courtyard of their school. He sweats with a worried look as Shiori rubs his back a bit, sitting next to him.
“I can’t believe I wasn’t able to get any studying in before the final…” He groans as he drops his head in his hands.
“There, there.” Shiori says with a little smile. Haru then slides up next to him with a big smile.
“Yeah, and that final was killer! There’s no way you passed without studying! Haha!” He says with a laugh as Sugawara elbows him. He awkwardly stops as Hikigaya groans. Shiori leans down and looks at him with supportive eyes, trying to get his attention.
“Don’t worry about it. You were smart enough to get into Iris High, right? There’s no reason you’re not smart enough to leave.” She says, comforting him as he looks at her softly before sitting up, letting out one last sigh.
“I'm not entirely sure that's how that works, but.. thank you. For believing in me.” He says with a soft smile as she smiles back, sticking her tongue out at him.
“Don’t worry, Hiki. Come the end of next week, I’m sure your name will be on the graduation board just like the rest of us.” Suiyoubi says kindly. Lucy smirks as she bumps her shoulder.
“If we’re lucky, maybe he’ll get held back.” She says playfully as Sugawara elbows her as well. Hikigaya glares at her.
“I appreciate the concern…” he mumbles. Sugawara sweats as he tries to be supportive.
“Well, look at it this way! If you failed, you can always drop out and work in my lab!” He offers with an awkward smile.
“Or my restaurant.” Ryuji adds.
“Or my mill.” Touma says too. They offer backup plans supportively but Hikigaya just smirks back.
“I appreciate it guys but don’t worry. I’ve already got my future right here.” He says while nudging Shiori who smiles timidly with a blush, rubbing her bangs together. Hisana sighs happily.
“They’re so cute.” She says, leaning against Kitaro who smiles too, as he holds Hisana close with his arm around her on her shoulder. Alice crosses her arms and nods with a confident smile.
“Haha, yeah.” Alice says before her eyes sharpen and she leans in close to Shiori and Hikigaya, hiding behind her hand as she whispers. “You guys have room for a third.?” She asks playfully. They look at her as Shiori smiles and shakes her head.
“Alice, you are our third.” Shiori says happily. Alice looks at her with wide eyes, shocked.
“W-w-wait, really?? Th-that wasn’t a joke??” she stutters back, blushing intensely. Shiori shakes her head with a hum as Hikigaya smiles at her. Alice tries to hold in her cheer but just can’t do it as she leaps onto them, wrapping her arms around them the best she can. The others giggle a little as Mormo pops up from behind Suiyoubi, on her head.
“Now that’s a sight I want to see.” He says with a dirty smirk before Kitaro grabs him by the face and punts him into the sky. Touma, Haru and Ryuji raise signs with three 10’s on them, rating his kick as he smirks at them.
“Nice kick, Kitaro!” Lucy cheers with a thumbs up. The group laughs for a moment as Haru giggles before lighting up.
“Hey guys! Since there’s nothing Hikigaya can do to graduate, why don’t we do something fun to ease his pain?” Haru offers. Hikigaya smiles at him.
“Actually, I know something that’ll help.” He says before suddenly putting Haru in a chokehold. They struggle for a moment as Sugawara shakes his head.
“Regardless, we need to get food first.” Kitaro says, turning and starting their walk to hangout. Hisana looks at him and smiles as she follows.
“Oh? You hungry, Kitaro?” She asks.
“Nope.” He says casually before looking at her with a smile. “I know you are though.” He says warmly as Hisana blushes with a surprised look before she cheers with joy, jumping onto him. Shiori smiles as she gets up and follows as well.
“I know a place we can go. I’ve been wanting to try it.” She says and as she walks past Hikigaya and Haru, she taps Hikigaya’s arm. Hikigaya looks at her before dropping Haru and following obediently. Haru gasps as he shoots up, coughing as he follows the group. The group, only steps away from graduation, then takes the rest of the day to enjoy their time together one more time.
A few days later, in the dark of night, Shiori sleeps alone in her bed before suddenly sitting up gasping. She winces hard as she grabs her side. Her heart races as she hyperventilates. She sweats as she lifts her hands and grabs her head, trying to steady herself. After a moment of not being able to, she whimpers a little before quickly getting out of bed. She stumbles as she shakes her head, tears forming in her eyes. She steps onto her balcony and extends her wings out, taking off into the night sky.
She flies through the air, slightly sobbing as she goes into the woods of the mountain. She lands with a stumble in the group's little stage area. She hyperventilates still before she lifts her head and tilts it back gently, letting the rays of moonlight cover her face. Her breathing slows as she takes deep breathes, trying to calm down. When she finally does, she slowly opens her eyes and looks ahead. She stares softly at the post in the center of the stage with everyone’s names carved into it. She slowly approaches it and runs her hand along it gently, feeling the carvings of one particular name. Chizuru. Shiori stares at it with gentle, sad eyes as tears start to form in her eyes again.
“I’m sorry…” she whispers to herself, trying to force a smile when suddenly, she hears some twigs snapping behind her. She turns sharply only to see Lucy approaching with a bag on her back. Lucy stops when she notices Shiori.
“Shiori? Why're you here so late?” Lucy asks. Shiori chuckles a little as she smirks back.
“I could ask you the same thing.” She responds. Lucy smiles as the girls approach each other and hug tightly. They step back as Lucy takes her bag off.
“Well, Chizuru was the one who originally planted those flowers. I thought it might help me if I planted some of my own.” Lucy says softly as she pulls out little tulip seeds. Shiori smiles warmly at her.
“I think that’s a great idea.” She says softly. The two then approach the post and dig a few spots for the flowers. Lucy plants the seeds carefully before Shiori gives them some of her energy and encourages them to grow, sprouting small buds almost immediately. The girls giggle when they hear a voice behind them.
“I-I didn’t know you would b-be here too.” The gentle voice of their friend says. They turn around to see Touma standing shyly with a bag in hand.
“Touma!” Shiori says happily.
“What’s up, big guy?” Lucy asks as the two approach. Shiori hugs him as he answers.
“I-I just wanted to make sure the post was okay.. I brought some supplies that might help preserve it a-and replace any broken parts of the railing. My dad kn-knows all about that stuff, haha..” he laughs a little, still awkward as ever. The girls step aside and offer the post to him so he steps forward and gets to work, fixing it up, replacing broken parts and coating it to preserve it. As they watch him, another familiar voice calls out.
“What do you know? See? I told you, you’re not the only one.” Sugawara says with a gentle smile as he holds Haru’s hand. They walk into the area as Haru rubs his eyes with a shaking breath, obviously trying to wipe away his tears. He nods as he looks down. Shiori and Lucy give soft looks before they hug him too.
“You guys thinking about her too.?” Haru asks gently as they nod back. Shiori steps back as she looks at the post.
“Yeah.. I guess we all wanted to make sure her memory was still okay…” Shiori says softly with a quiet tone. Sugawara then laughs awkwardly as he puts down his bag.
“Heh.. yeah, I kinda wanted to fix the place up. Make it a place we can really hangout. Just us, and her.” Sugawara says with a warm smile as the others watch him pull out some tools and other things.
“Don’t worry. We had the same thought.” Lucy says as she bumps Shiori with her hip. Sugawara smiles back and soon gets to work. He works around and with Touma, wiring the place up with dim string lights attached to a device of his own making. He plugs it in and soon, the little stage area is lit up with warm light. They smile at the sight and proud of their work.
“So cool. How do you even do stuff like this?” Lucy asks.
“It’s nothing that crazy. It’s basically just a self sustained battery. Due to the dimness of the light and how few there are, it shouldn’t have an issue running forever. I even added this remote!” He says, pulling out a small remote and turning the lights off and on again to show. The friends ‘oooh’ at the sight before Haru smiles lovingly at him.
“You’re so awesome.” Haru says warmly to him. Sugawara blushes and rubs the back of his head bashfully.
“Hehe.. it’s nothing really. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to make much of what I do if it wasn’t for the serum Shiori gave me back then.” He says, looking at Shiori. She looks surprised as the others look at her too.
“Really?” she asks.
“Yeah! I didn’t really get to explain the science behind it, and I really don’t feel like doing that now.. but it’s practically an infinite clean energy source. Like I said, I don’t think the makers intended for that to be the case, but with some minor tweaks, I was able to synthesize it consistently and now it can power anything I put the adapter into.” Sugawara says with a smile. They kind of just stare at him for a moment before Lucy raises her eyebrows.
“Whatever you say, little man.” She says. Sugawara pouts.
“And that’s exactly why I didn’t want to explain the science…” he mumbles as the others giggle.
“The lights were a nice touch.” Ryuji says from behind them. The others turn sharply and look with shocked looks to see Ryuji there.
“Woah! When did you get here??” Haru asks loudly.
“Baby, you were so quiet. I didn’t even know you were following me.” Lucy says, stepping close to him.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you guys.” Ryuji says with an awkward smile. Just then, a violet portal opens up as Suiyoubi, Kitaro and Hisana step through. It closes behind them as Suiyoubi smiles at the group, happily surprised. Kitaro then smirks at her.
“So you totally could’ve opened a portal for us back then?” He asks. Suiyoubi looks annoyed as she answers.
“A portal that large for that long is still out of my skills. And I only learned how to make it human sized recently.” She explains as Kitaro snickers.
“Sure. Whatever you say.” He says back. Hisana rushes up with tears in her eyes as she hugs Shiori and Lucy tightly. They greet the others as they talk happily only to hear something in the distance. They all look up as they hear someone shouting lecturingly and someone else arguing back. They see, in the sky, Hikigaya floating as he shouts at Alice, who struggles to keep herself floating next to him with the wind around her.
“Focus. We’ve been practicing your slow flight all week.” Hikigaya says as Alice tries to focus on her nervous flying.
“I know! I know! You’re not helping!” She shouts back at him, upset. She then looks down nervously as she wobbles in the air. “Hooo, it’s so much easier to fly fast… oh.” She says before noticing everyone else down in the stage area. “Hey, Hikigaya! Look!” She says with a smile, pointing at them and completely deactivating her powers. “O- AHHHHH!” She screams as she falls out of the air.
“Damnit..!” Hikigaya grumbles as he falls through the air fast after her, making himself heavier. Shiori sees this and rushes forward, lifting her arms out as Alice falls right to her. They collide and go tumbling back across the ground until they stop with Alice holding herself over Shiori on her back. They stare at each other before Alice smiles awkwardly.
“Hi..” she says. Shiori giggles.
“Hi babes.” She says as Hikigaya lands behind them with a thud.
“You two okay?” He asks, lifting them both up with an arm around their waist each. Alice blushes and drools, going limp a little.
“I am now…” she says, enjoying Hikigaya’s grasp.
“Yeah, we’re okay.” Shiori says with a smile. Hikigaya smiles a little before glaring at Alice.
“I told you to focus. What if Shiori wasn’t here to catch you?” He asks as Alice perks up happily.
“That’s why I need both of you.” She says before wrapping her arms around their necks and going in for a kiss. Shiori smiles and does the same, meeting Hikigaya in the middle for their throuple kiss. Hikigaya is surprised but soon closes his eyes happily. Kitaro then takes a seat on one of the benches and crosses his arms, kicking his feet up.
“Now this is a place we can hangout.” He says before the old wooden benches breaks from underneath him, causing him to hit the ground. The others gather around him and stare as he groans. “Although we still have a lot of fixing to do…” He groans. Hisana giggles as the others step back. Sugawara puts his hands on his hips as he thinks.
“Well, I could handle any technology we might need such as heating or cooling in higher seasons. Maybe some device chargers too?” He says to the others.
“I can handle all the woodworking. I-If we want to take it that far…” Touma offers.
“How far are we going? A cabin perhaps?” Suiyoubi asks.
“No, we’ll probably give it a canopy and small furniture but not much else.” Lucy says as Suiyoubi nods agreeing.
“Well, who’s paying and transporting all the supplies..?” Haru asks with a bit of a droop at the thought potentially ruining their plans.
“Oh, that’s easy! This guy will do both!” Alice shouts as she slaps Hikigaya on the back. He winces before glaring at her.
“Don’t go volunteering me for stuff!” He shouts. Alice smiles smugly at him as she blushes and puts a finger to her lips, turning away from him.
“Or what? You’ll punish me~?” She teases flirtatiously. Hikigaya blushes flustered.
“You’re such a perv!” he shouts again.
“You like it~” Shiori teases too as she pulls Alice in close, pressing her face to hers as they both look at Hikigaya. He blushes even more before turning around and crossing his arms.
“Yeah, fine, whatever. I got all that covered.” He submits as the girls giggle. Hisana helps Kitaro up before letting him go and cheering, dropping him back to the floor.
“Yippie! This is gonna be so much fun! When can we start? After we graduate? It’ll be a great summer project!” She says excitedly.
“And a great place to just chill.” Lucy says, satisfied at the thought.
“And a vacation house for when we need to get away.” Suiyoubi adds.
“A cool hideout for a few vigilantes!” Alice says excitedly, sliding next to the others cartoonishly. The others get excited and start chatting as Shiori stares at them warmly.
“A home.” She says softly, no one hearing her words. Except Hikigaya. He looks at her softly as he smiles.
“A place you’ll always belong.” He says to her. She smiles warmly before looking at him.
“Hey. How did you know I’d be here?” She asks. Hikigaya blushes a little, embarrassed as he answers.
“I.. felt you leave. I can’t really explain it but, when I did feel it, I followed. And I guess that one felt it too considering she was standing outside our house like a stalker.” He says teasing Alice as she looks offended at him.
“I am not a stalker! I just… I didn’t feel like being alone tonight…” she admits, pursing her lips together as she looks down. Hikigaya smiles as he extends his arm towards her, wrapping around her waist and slowly pulling her back towards them.
“And you’ll never have to be again.” Shiori says lovingly as Alice’s eyes shine and she hugs them.
"This is gonna be the best summer ever!" Haru cheers.
"It's gonna be the last one, remember?" Lucy smirks back. Hisana looks confused.
"Is the summer season going away after this year?" she asks as Kitaro looks at her. He then suddenly turns to her, grabs her tightly and kisses her passionately, her arms flailing as he does. Suiyoubi and Touma giggle as they watch before Touma turns around and looks up with a smile.
"My life… is so amazing." he says softly. Suiyoubi smiles at him as she does the same.
"Yeah…" she says. Sugawara then squeezes between them and looks up at them.
"Promise you guys will never leave?" he asks as they giggle and hug him tightly, squishing him between them.
"I promise!" they say together. Haru hears and cheers, lifting his fist into the air.
"Yeah, I promise!" he says. Hisana does the same.
"Never ever!" she shouts. The group laughs and smiles as they commit themselves to each other one more time, needing this affirmation after what they had gone through. Despite the warm emotions flying through the air, Shiori can’t help but get a conflicted look on her face. Lucy notices her look and steps next to her.
“What’s wrong?” She asks. Shiori shakes her head a bit as if trying to shake away the feeling.
“Nothing. I just…” She turns and looks at the post, at a specific name carved into it. “I wish Chizuru was here with us…” she admits with a sad look. Lucy stares at the post too for a moment as sadness wells inside her chest but she bites down and smiles softly.
“Me too but we can’t waste her memories feeling sad and sorry for ourselves. Now’s a time to smile, for her!” Lucy says out loud. Shiori looks at her for a moment before getting a determined look and gently smacking herself on the face a bit, smiling back.
“You’re right! She’ll always be here with us, right here! I can feel it!” she says, putting her fist to her chest as Lucy smirks and does the same. Both girls giggle as tears well in their eyes despite their laughter. As the group continues to talk about their feelings and the future they envision together, Touma watches and smiles softly at the group when he feels a hand tap him on his shoulder. Startled, he turns quickly but sees nothing behind him except the trail they walked up to get to the area. He stares for a moment before he hears his name be called.
“Touma~...” It calls softly. His eyes widen a bit, but despite the strange occurrence, he begins down the trail by himself, not telling anyone. As he walks, he hears the voice call his name again.
“Touma~”
Sounding a bit closer now, he looks around, searching for the source of the voice that calls to him. He eventually stops when he can no longer hear it and looks around. A look of disappointment and sadness spreads across his face for a moment before a glowing soft green light begins to grow behind him. Like before, a light hand taps him on the shoulder causing him to turn around and stare for a moment as his eyes grow wide.
“Touma.” It says softly. Touma stares with a look filled with ranging intense emotions but despite all of that, a wide smile spreads across his face as his eyes shine. Soon, the night comes to an end as the group hugs each other and heads home, preparing for the last day of school that’s coming soon.