CH. 86 - Aftercare

 Outside on a smallish patio attached to the living room, Suiyoubi sits with a flustered look on her face as she sways back and forth a bit with her hand between her legs. She sits quietly as she stares intently into the living room where everyone else is when Alice suddenly steps outside with a loud happy voice.

 “Heyyo!” she shouts as Suiyoubi is startled.

 “Nothing! I’m not watching them from out here!” Suiyoubi says nervously. Alice looks at her confused with blurry eyes before smiling.

 “I know what you were doing…” she says as Suiyoubi gets nervous. Alice suddenly grabs her wrists and yanks her up. “You were waiting for someone to partner with you!” Alice says happily. The sudden yank causes Suiyoubi to stumble forward, causing Alice to fall back against the railing with Suiyoubi pressed against her. “Don’t worry, I’ll be your partner!” Alice says with a bit of a slur before wrapping her arms around Suiyoubi’s neck and kissing her. She is shocked but lets it be for a moment before Alice pulls back. She sighs happily before resting her head on Suiyoubi’s shoulder. “I love having you around.” Alice says warmly. Suiyoubi blushes and smiles happily.

 Not much time passes as the sudden spike in feelings quickly drains the drunk friends of their energy, and so they all begin to wind down. Airi, Kuzan and Daiki slowly approach the front door as Hikigaya looks at them shocked.

 “Woah! Hang on, where are you guys going?” He asks. Airi turns to look at him as Kuzan helps Daiki stand.

 “We.. gotta go home.” Airi says with a drunk tone.

 “Not tonight. You guys gotta stay for a while.” He says back.

 “Nono, it’s okay. We called his brother to pick us up.” She says before opening the door. There, a college aged boy stands with his hand raised as if about to knock. He then sees the friends and looks upset.

 “What the Hell dude? You said it was gonna be a simple party.” Daiki’s brother scolds.

 “Hehe, yeahhhhh.” Daiki groans as his brother sighs and rubs his eyebrows.

 “Whatever. Let’s just get you guys home. But if any of you puke in my car, I’m telling your parents.” He says, pointing at the others. They nod as they walk down the hall. The brother then looks back at Hikigaya and points at him. “You good?” He asks.

 “Yeah, I’m- I’m not, ya know.” Hikigaya answers while motioning towards the others. Daiki’s brother nods before closing the door behind him.

 As for the rest of the group, Ryuji and Lucy sleep happily in one of the guest rooms. Haru and Sugawara are passed out on the couch with Kitaro and Hisana snoring on the other. Touma holds Chizuru tightly to himself as she tries to move but is growing sleepy rapidly.

 “Touma, pleaseeee.. let’s juss.. for a little…” she trails off as Touma’s plan works. He holds her comfortably as she yawns and smiles, feeling safe in his arms and slowly, finally, begins to settle down. Hikigaya goes to Haru and Sugawara and picks them up before turning around.

 “I’m gonna take them to their room. I say leave the others, and you two get the other room.” Hikigaya says to Touma, so he nods and gets up too. They walk down the hall and go into separate rooms. Hikigaya puts the boyfriends down gently as they cuddle lovingly. He then leaves the room and closes the door gently.

 He comes back to the living room, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly, as Alice and Suiyoubi get comfortable on the couch Haru and Sugawara just were. Hikigaya pulls out some blankets from the closet and gives one to Suiyoubi, who throws it over herself and Alice laying on her chest. He covers Kitaro and Hisana as they snore happily.

 As he does this, Shiori sits on the last open couch. She sits up with a soft look on her face as she wobbles a bit. Hikigaya turns off a couple lights, leaving some on, before putting on gentle ambient music on the tv for some peace. He sits down with a sigh next to Shiori, who slightly turns to face him but isn’t fully looking at him.

 “You okay?” He asks her. She nods with a hum. “Still drunk?” He asks. She nods again a bit more enthusiastically.

 “Oh yeahhh.” She says softly. He chuckles to himself a bit before staring at her for a moment.

 “What’s it like?” He asks. Shiori smiles.

 “Heh.. hmmm, it’s fun. I never really done anything like this before. Even if I had friends to, I’d probably just leave my powers on. But not tonight!” She says with a smile. Hikigaya smiles back.

 “Not tonight.” He says. His look then softens as almost a jealous sadness creeps over him. “I’m the same way. Lucy’s always been into that sort of stuff, so I’ve tried it before, but it never seems to work on me. I’ve even tried on my own in secret, but bottle after bottle, roll after roll, none of it ever seemed to affect me.” Hikigaya admits. Shiori listens intently despite not looking right at him. Hikigaya can feel her listening though. “I wish I could let loose like that. Maybe then we really would’ve…” he trails off as Shiori lifts her head slightly. She leans over and places a hand between his legs to hold herself up. Hikigaya notices and blushes but doesn’t say anything as she leans close.

 “Hikigaya..” she says softly. “I really do want you… I probably won’t member much about tonight, so if that helps.” She leans in close and tries to kiss him again but kind of leans too far and kisses half his lips and chin before pulling back ever so slightly. “I’ll let you. And no one has to know.” She says as Hikigaya leans away a little.

 “I really do wish. But I could be Ryuji, or Alice or Touma, and you’d be saying the same thing right now.” Hikigaya says as Shiori looks down with almost a sad look. Hikigaya stares at her for a moment before gently grabbing her by her jaw and leaning in close to her ear. “But then again, what kind of friend would I be if I left you looking like that?” He whispers as Shiori shudders.

Hikigaya then kisses her ear before lowering a bit and kissing her neck. He traces her jaw with light kisses before sliding his hand to the back of her neck and turning her so he can kiss her. They press their lips together firmly before he pushes his tongue forward and spreads her lips. Shiori moans as they kiss deeply, feeling each other's tongues. He pulls back as Shiori leans forward trying to keep him there, but she immediately forgets as Hikigaya starts nibbling her neck gently. Shiori gasps and shudders again before a big smile spreads across her face.

 “Oh, Hikigaya.. yes, yes, please…” Shiori moans out as he kisses her neck again, slowly lowering her onto her back as he goes lower, kissing along her collarbone. Shiori puts her hands up above her head as she lays there, smiling a big smile as she softly says his name repeatedly, Hikigaya kissing her all over as he goes lower. Caught up in his own emotions, totally overwhelmed by the feelings created by the night, Hikigaya doesn’t hear as Shiori moans out.

 “I love you, Hikigaya.”

 The next morning, Lucy opens her eyes with a groan. She sits up with a blanket around her chest as she closes one eye with a pained look. She rubs her head as she looks around only to see Ryuji sleeping next to her. Her look softens with a smile before she gets out of bed.

 She puts her shirt on over her head and goes to put her leggings back on but trips a little and falls over, catching herself on the little table against the wall. There though, she places her hand on top of a digital tablet left on the table when suddenly she’s zapped. Her hand and arm spaz out as it almost appears to turn into some kind of blue digital energy. The sudden jolt causes her to spasm for a moment before yanking her arm back. She looks confused as she examines her hand.

 “Okay. That was weird.” Lucy says before shaking her head and continuing to get dressed, staring at the tablet on the table. Soon after, Lucy walks down the hall into the living room. There she sees Suiyoubi with her hair up and an apron on going into the kitchen.

 “Good morning, hun! Did you sleep well?” Suiyoubi asks. Lucy blinks a few times with a blush on her cheeks before nodding her head slightly.

 “Uh, yeah. I guess so.” She responds before turning to look at the others. “I didn’t realize I needed that in my life..” Lucy mumbles as Suiyoubi giggles. Lucy then sees Hikigaya sitting up on the couch, leaning back, rubbing his eyes with his palms. “Damn dude. You look like you got beat, what happened?” Lucy asks with a smirk.

 “You all happened.” Hikigaya says with an attitude, lifting one of his palms to glare at her. Lucy then smirks smugly as she points down at him.

 “And that?” She asks as they look down to see Shiori laying happily in his lap as she sleeps. Hikigaya blushes a bit in embarrassment.

 “Everyone else had a cuddle buddy so I was hers..” he says softly. Suddenly, Alice shoots up on the couch with a half asleep look, shouting.

 “NO! DON’T FORGET HIM, HE’S YOUR FRIEND!” she screams. Lucy winces at the loud sound, closing her eyes.

 “Yep, totally hungover..” she groans as Shiori grumbles, obviously disturbed. Alice looks around confused.

 “Huh? Where am I?” she asks with a gulp.

 “Would you shut up?” Kitaro groans before throwing a pillow at her head. She then gets up off the couch with a weird look and an awkward smile.

 “Nice try, pillow man. But I’m invincible.” Alice says before tripping sideways and hitting the ground with a thud. Hikigaya and Lucy look at her on the ground with a sweat.

 “Is she still drunk?” Hikigaya asks as Alice wobbles to her feet.

 “Pffff! Nah way! You think some little alcohol could make me tipsy? … Yeah, I still might be.” Alice says as Suiyoubi comes over and sits her down.

 “There, there. I’ll have breakfast ready soon.” Suiyoubi says. Hisana then shoots up on Kitaro’s chest, still half asleep.

 “Breakfast??” she asks. “I like breakfast.” Hisana says with a smile. Lucy turns and looks at Suiyoubi.

 “So you’re like actually making breakfast for everyone?” Lucy says. Suiyoubi smiles at her.

 “Yes!” she says happily before turning back to the food. “I figured something like this might happen. It was told in my cards.” She says casually as the others sweat at her words. “So I planned accordingly and came prepared!” Suiyoubi says happily, plating some pancakes and turning around with a beaming smile. Hisana smiles and drools a little at the thought of food.

 “Mm... I love breakfast food...” Hisana says as Kitaro starts rubbing his eyes with his palms underneath her with a groan.

 “There she goes. Thinking only about food..” Kitaro mumbles. Hisana glares at him, looking over to face him, before she starts pushing his shoulders repeatedly.

 “We fell asleep before we could make love! Why’d you let that happen?!” Hisana whines before Kitaro grabs her by the waist and tosses her off of him.

 “Why are you still on me?!” he shouts. He sits up with a grunt and a frustrated look, still rubbing one eye as he looks at her. “I’ve come back to my senses. Don’t take advantage of me again!” Kitaro says, pulling his collar to reveal a love bite or two on his neck. Hisana smiles on the ground as Lucy smirks as she approaches her from behind and pulls Hisana’s hair to the side.

 “From the looks of it, you took just as much advantage of her as she did you.” Lucy teases, pointing out the love bites on Hisana’s neck. Kitaro blushes and gets embarrassed before getting up and rushing down the hall.

 “Yeah, well, I’m going to the bathroom.” He says as Hisana giggles. As he goes, he passes Chizuru and Touma coming out of their room with anxious looks. Lucy notices Chizuru’s look and looks over at them when they call their attention.

 “Uh, guys... So... I’m pregnant.” Chizuru says nervously. Instantly, everyone shoots up, including Shiori, looking at them.

 “No way.” Lucy says with shock on her face, like the others. Chizuru then tries to hold in a laugh before letting it out and laughing at them.

 “Of course not! I’m joking! You should see your faces, hahaha!” Chizuru laughs. Everyone lets out a sigh of relief as she smiles at them, putting her hands on her hips. “Nothing even happened last night, right?” she asks Touma.

 “I-I did my best to make s-sure nothing happened...” Touma says shyly.

 “Yes, you did.” Chizuru says, patting him on the back. Lucy droops a bit while smiling at her.

 “I’m glad to see you’re not feeling the effects of last night..” Lucy mumbles. Alice crawls next to them on the ground with a dumb smile on her face.

 “That’s too bad nothing happened.. I wouldn’t mind if y’all took turns on me.” Alice says as everyone looks at her shocked.

 “Is she okay??” Chizuru asks with a big blush on her face.

 “She’s still drunk.” Hikigaya says. Chizuru sweats a little but understands before her eyes grow wide.

 “OH MY COS! I have to call my dad! I didn’t tell him we were sleeping over!” Chizuru starts panicking before Hikigaya speaks up.

 “It’s okay. I told my mom we were spending the night, and she told all of our parents.” Hikigaya says as Shiori rolls over and lies on the other side of the couch. Chizuru lets out a sigh of relief.

 “That’s why he wasn’t bombarding me with calls... Thanks, Hiki!” Chizuru says happily while hugging his head from behind. Hikigaya presses into her large chest with a blush.

 “Yeah, don’t mention it..” he says.

 Down the hall, Ryuji and Haru come out of the rooms at the same time. Haru looks at Ryuji before smirking a little.

 “You too?” Haru asks. Ryuji smirks back and nods slightly. “Nice.” Haru says with a smirk before fist bumping Ryuji, and they both enter the living room together. Haru squints as the light shines through the windows brightly. “Sheesh, was it always this bright in the morning?” Haru asks as Lucy crosses her arms.

 “You too?” she asks. Haru smirks back and nods slightly. “Nice.” Lucy says with a smirk before fist bumping Haru. “I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling it.” Lucy says when Shiori raises her hand. “You too, Shiori?” Lucy asks, surprised.

 “Yeahhh... I might’ve overdone it.” Shiori says, still laying down on the couch. Suddenly, there’s a scream from down the hall as Lucy, Haru and Shiori look hurt by the loud noise when Sugawara comes rushing down the hall with his hands over his eyes.

 “I’m sorry! I promise I didn’t see anything!” Sugawara shouts before tripping and falling onto the ground with a thud. He lands on top of Alice’s tummy as she giggles.

 “Look, the femboy fell on me. You’ll do just fine. Mmmm~” Alice then grabs onto Sugawara tightly and starts kissing him. Kitaro walks down the hall with a confused look.

 “What was that about?” Suiyoubi asks.

 “I don’t know. He walked in on me in the bathroom, but at worst he would’ve seen my cock.” Kitaro says as Hisana perks up in the background. “He’s seen one before, hasn’t he?” Kitaro asks.

 “Oh yeah.” Haru says back as Hisana jumps up and dives onto Alice and Sugawara.

 “You got to see it?! It should’ve been me! Not you, me!” Hisana shouts as they scuffle on the floor, the others wincing at the sight.

 “I didn’t mean to!” Sugawara shouts back. The others laugh amongst themselves as Suiyoubi begins setting the table with the food she cooked up for the group.

 “Alright everyone! Breakfast is ready!” Suiyoubi says happily. They stop scuffling as Hisana and Alice perk up from the ground. They then cheer as they take their seats. Sugawara grunts as he gets up with the help of Haru and Touma. The group takes their seats and begin eating together. They chat about what they remember of the night and about things in general, simply enjoying the company. After a while and plenty of delicious food eaten, they just sit together with smiles all around.

 “I bet it’s nice to have someone else do the cooking for once.” Chizuru says with a smile to Ryuji. He nods happily. Haru looks around before speaking up.

 “Hey, what happened to the others?” he asks openly.

 “Daiki’s big brother came and took them home last night.” Hikigaya responds.

 “Speaking of last night, what exactly happened? I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who noticed the drinks, but still.” Lucy asks the group.

 “Daiki spiked the punch, I believe.” Suiyoubi says.

 “Seriously?” Chizuru asks, a little shocked.

 “Yep. I guess he thought we were party ragers or something. Although, since most of you knew it was spiked and drank anyway, he’d be correct.” Hikigaya says before he and Hisana look at Kitaro. He looks up at them for a moment before speaking.

 “So I wanted to let loose, sue me.” he says as they laugh a little.

 “Yeah, then after that, Touma and I just tried to make sure none of you died.” Hikigaya continues.

 “So you guys put us to bed and everything?” Alice asks softly with her head on the table, obviously coming down with a pain.

 “Well, Hikigaya did m-most of that himself.” Touma says with a smile. Hikigaya is surprised as the group smiles at him softly.

 “You’re so caring, Hikigaya.” Chizuru says warmly.

 “Yeah, you’re the bomb!” Haru says happily.

 “That’s Shiori’s man for you.” Hisana says with a smile. They both blush at her words as Shiori gets upset.

 “He’s not my-! ...ow, yeah, that’s still there...” Shiori says, holding her head. Hikigaya looks at her softly as Chizuru looks at the others.

 “Since most of us are still in no condition to go back home, why don’t we just spend the rest of the day together?” Chizuru offers.

 “You mean spending an entire day hanging out with you guys after a party we just threw almost ended in an orgy?” Kitaro asks with an appalled look on his face. They look at him as he shrugs. “Yeah, that sounds fun.” he says casually.

 “If I could literally spend every moment I have with you guys, it wouldn’t be enough.” Haru says with a big smile.

 “Okay, but we are not partying anymore. Let’s just have a chill day together.” Lucy says, leaning back in her chair. Chizuru and Hisana giggle.

 “Let me just call Mormo and see how he’s doing.” Suiyoubi says before pulling out her phone. It rings for a moment before Mormo answers the video call, stuffing his face with food of some kind. Suiyoubi sweats at the sight. “Uh, Mormo? What are you eating on my bed?” she asks.

 “Huh? Oh, I dunno. I found it in your bag.” he says while looking at the bag of chips. “Anyway, when are ya comin’ home, black soul?” he asks.

 “Actually, I’m gonna stay and hangout with the group for the rest of the day today, but I should be home later tonight!” Suiyoubi says with a smile.

 “Uh huh. Works for me. Hey, while I got ya, what do you think?” Mormo asks, pulling the phone closer to show off extended lashes and blush on his stuffed animal face. “Purple stuffed guy back there gave me a makeover.” He says, pointing at another stuffed animal on Suiyoubi’s bed. She looks at him confused.

 “It gave you a makeover? But that one’s not a vessel for anything.” Suiyoubi says.

 “Eh? You sure?” Mormo asks.

 “Yes. You’re the only person I’ve ever summoned.” Suiyoubi says. Mormo then looks back over his shoulder at the stuffed animal before looking back at the phone and hopping off the bed.

 “Okay. I’m joining you for this half of the play. Somehow you’ve creeped me out more.” Mormo says while rushing to the door. Suiyoubi sweats as she answers.

 “Just wait there. I’ll be right over.” she says before hanging up and looking at the others. “Guess I gotta swing by my house before we continue.” She says with an awkward smile.

 “That’s perfect! We gotta refuel on snacks anyway, so we’ll go to the store while we’re out!” Haru says.

 “I can pick up something for our meal later.” Ryuji adds.

 “I love it when he cooks for us.” Hisana says.

 “Alright then! Let’s get changed and take on the day together!” Chizuru says excitedly as they all do just that.

 The group spends the day together as they collect Mormo, spend some time out, restock on snacks and return to Sugawara’s home to recover from the night before. Unlike the party, the atmosphere is nice and calm as this group of friends take it easy. Haru lets out a sigh of satisfaction as he leans back in his chair, patting his belly.

 “Ahh~ Who knew pain meds and convenience store snacks were the way to cure a hangover?" he asks openly.

 “That and lots of hydration, so drink up!” Suiyoubi says before plopping a huge jug of water on the table. Haru is shocked at the sight. Ryuji sips a sports drink as Hisana sits next to him. Sugawara and Chizuru chat as Shiori and Hikigaya sit next to each other watching the others play a game. As they do, Shiori starts to get a little embarrassed before she speaks.

 “Sorry if I got to be a bit much for you last night.” Shiori says softly as Hikigaya thinks about what happened and some of the specific moments between them. He blushes and awkwardly looks away.

 “It’s totally fine. Nothing really happened anyway…” he pauses. “…How much do you remember happening?” He asks. Shiori smiles awkwardly as she rubs her bangs together.

 “Heh.. not much… I definitely shouldn’t have drank so much. After a while, things just get real blurry. Just, knowing me, I probably made your life as miserable as possible.” Shiori says softly.

 “I… wouldn’t say that.” Hikigaya says, blushing more. He then lets out a sigh and tries to calm himself. “Seriously though, you’re all good. I’m more than happy to watch over you if you wanna just let go every now and then.” Hikigaya says, leaning back on the couch. Shiori looks at him softly as she smiles.

 “I’ll keep that in mind.” She says playfully.

 Kitaro, Touma, Alice and Lucy play a video game on the floor looking up at the large tv, Alice putting in much more effort than the others. She sticks her tongue out with a highly frustrated look on her face as Lucy and Touma sweat, staring at her. Kitaro casually crushes the opposition as Alice yells in frustration.

 “Gah! There’s no way you’ve beaten me eight times in a row! You’ve got to be cheating!” She points her finger at him as he smugly looks at her.

 “It’s not a hard win when your moves are so predictable.” Kitaro mocks. Alice’s eyebrow twitches.

 “Predictable, huh?..” Alice gets up with a huff before turning her back to him. “Whatever, gamerboy. I’m gonna go talk to someone of a much higher level of intellect.” She looks around before coming to Shiori sipping her drink. Her face lights up. “Ah Shiori! She seems to know plenty about superheroes!” She steps away as Kitaro sweats a bit.

 “That’s a higher intellect conversation?..” Kitaro sighs before looking at Touma and Lucy. “Looks like we lost our fourth player, guys.”

 “I could play.” Hisana says softly as Kitaro looks at her, surprised at her offer. She smiles softly at him. He smiles back before lifting the controller to her.

 “Then step right up.” He says. She smiles while taking the controller and sitting down next to him. Alice takes a seat next to Shiori while letting out a soft sigh.

 “What are you up to? Not talking with anyone?” Alice asks.

 “Actually, I was just talking to-” Shiori says as she turns only for Hikigaya to be gone from his seat. She sees him walking to the bathroom behind them when Haru suddenly jumps on him and RKOs Hikigaya. Shiori sweats at the sight.

 “Apparently no one... Guess I’m feeling pretty good by myself right now.” Shiori says casually before taking another sip of her drink.

 “Right, right. I feel that. … So, wanna talk about superheroes?” Alice asks excitedly. Shiori sighs before putting her drink down.

 “Sure.”

 “Great!” Alice says with a smile and giggle as Shiori just smiles softly back. “So, what do you know?” Alice asks with a big smile, prepared to geek out but needs to know what level Shiori is at.

 “Not much, probably. I know that they’re very illegal.” Shiori says while crossing her arms.

 “Well, not entirely. They just have to get sanctioned before they can perform proper hero work.” Alice points out. Shiori looks annoyed at that fact.

“Yeah, but it’s a buttload of paperwork, and you have to meet all these requirements, and it’s so bleh.” She sticks her tongue out as Alice smirks a bit.

 “I see you’re well versed in the topic. Why would that be?” Alice asks. Shiori is surprised, realizing she’s not doing a very good job of keeping her cover.

 “Oh, well, yeah, I’ve read a few things here or there.” Shiori says nervously. Alice smirks at her.

 “Let me guess…” Alice says, leaning closer. Shiori looks nervous before Alice lights up with a happy finger point. “You’re more into the vigilantes, aren’t you?” She asks excitedly. Shiori sighs in relief a bit.

 “Yeah, that’s why.” Shiori says.

“I knew it! You’re just like me in that way! Don’t get me wrong, the sanctioned heroes are perfectly fine, but the vigilantes are just sooo much cooler.” Alice says. Shiori smiles a little.

 “Oh yeah? Why is that?”

 “Because they’re like outlaws who fight for their own form of justice! They fight because they know they’re needed, not because they’re wanted.” Alice says passionately. Shiori is a bit surprised by her passion and takes it to heart. Alice then smiles enthusiastically. “But of course you know my favorite. Fullsky is just the best!” She pumps her fist as Shiori smiles. “It’s hard to tell from the rough footage I’ve seen online, but the way she moves and how she’s always there for people when they need her. I just can’t help but love her.” Alice blushes a bit as Shiori watches her intently. Alice thinks back to her past as she continues with a soft look.

 “I used to be a shut in. Always stuck in my room playing games and never talking to anyone… until I saw her.” Alice says with shining eyes. "I watched videos of her protecting people and helping people without ever asking for anything in return. She helped those without the power to help themselves.”

 In the past, Alice sits low in her chair in her dark room with bags under her eyes, clicking away at her computer until she comes across a video of Fullsky stopping a robbery and saving people. Her eyes begin to light up as she watches.

“She helped me come out of my shell and realize that I too want to help people. I may not have any powers, but I will work hard to become a great hero like her, my idol, Fullsky!” Alice says passionately with a soft look on her face before getting a surprised look that quickly changes to concern. “Ah, Shiori? Are you okay?” She asks as tears roll down Shiori’s cheeks. Shiori snaps out of her gaze and realizes that she is crying. She quickly begins wiping the tears while looking away.

 “Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I just… It makes me so happy you found someone who motivates you like that.” Shiori says with a smile while sniffling a bit. Alice calms down and smiles while rubbing the back of her head.

 “Yeahhh, sorry for getting all deep like that. I just.. don’t really have anyone to talk to about it.” Alice says with a slightly embarrassed smile. Shiori smiles back.

 “Well, feel free to talk to me about that anytime.” Shiori says encouragingly. Alice smiles softly while nodding.

 “Okay.” she says softly. They look at each other for a moment before Alice chuckles a bit. “Okay, but can we talk about Watchdog for a sec then? I mean, he’s probably a mega cutie under that mask, but he’s gotta do something about his fighting style. He’s such a brute who just punches things. He’s got no flair like Fullsky does. It’s really bringing her look down.”

 “I know, right?” Shiori says mockingly as she looks over her shoulder at Hikigaya, angrily listening to them. The girls laugh together as Hikigaya crushes his drink cup in his hand in cartoonish anger.

 “Bringing down her look, huh?..” He grumbles angrily as Ryuji chuckles and Haru pats him on the back.

 “There, there. You’ll be okay.” Haru says.