CH. 53 - A Realization

From behind the trees come a few people. Hikigaya’s eyes widen as Ryuji, Sugawara, Lucy, Chizuru and Haru come up to them. He looks at Shiori with a surprised face.

“You told them?” Hikigaya asks, shocked by the fact his friends now know of his powers.

“Yeah. I realized I’m smart enough to know that I’m dumb enough to suck at helping you on my own. They’re better at that than I am.” Shiori gives him a soft, almost regretful smile but still filled with care for him.

“Hiki!” Haru shouts as he and Chizuru fly through the air and into Hikigaya, causing him to fall over, tears pouring from their eyes. 

“I’m sorry, man! We were so caught up in our own stuff that we never stopped to think about how you were feeling!” Haru shouts.

“Yeah, we’re so sorry! We should’ve been supporting you better! You lost your sister! How could we be so dumb?!” Chizuru shouts too. They hug Hikigaya tightly as they cry. Hikigaya looks a little frustrated from getting tackled and squeezed so tightly.

“Guys, it’s okay! It’s not your fault. I didn’t bother saying anything. How were you supposed to know I was in pain?” He says, giving them an excuse.

“We should’ve asked. But not once did we stop to think about you even knowing how much you lost.” Lucy says, kind of ashamed of herself.

She crouches down next to him, tears in her eyes too. Ryuji and Sugawara sit around him. Ryuji’s eyes are glossy, as if on the verge of tears, while Sugawara is fully crying. Sugawara places his head on Hikigaya’s shoulder to show his support. 

“I promise, we’re here for you, Hikigaya. So don’t leave us, okay?” Ryuji says as he gives Hikigaya a warm smile despite the tears now rolling down his cheeks. Hikigaya smiles back.

“I promise, guys, I’m not going anywhere.” He says.

“You better not!” Chizuru shouts assertively. Haru nods, agreeing with Chizuru as they hug him tightly. Shiori smiles as she watches them all together. Her face has a look of slight jealousy despite the pleased smile. Lucy then wipes away her tears and stands up with a smile on her face.

“Alright, that’s enough of that. Now, are we gonna just ignore the fact that you guys are superheroes?” Lucy asks excitedly.

“I don’t know about heroes, but.” Shiori says as she stands up.

“You guys have literal superpowers and fight bad guys!” Sugawara says.

“Yeah! You guys literally saved the entire District! You saved us!” Haru points out. As Shiori and Hikigaya look surprised, not even considering the danger their friends were in those months ago. Chizuru playfully pouts a little.

“I honestly wish I had some powers…” She says.

“Trust me, it’s not all that. Besides, you have to keep it a secret. You can’t just go around telling anyone, got it?” Hikigaya shakes his head and tells the others firmly.

“Right! Gotta keep your secret identity. Can’t be letting the bad guys know your other life.” Haru says, playfully saluting before he looks around cautiously and sneakily with a big smile. Hikigaya then looks down with a soft look as he rubs the back of his head.

“Actually, it’s more for my mom’s sake. She hates vigilantes, a lot of people do. Especially Fullsky and Watchdog…” He says softly.

“Yeah, and we’d probably get in a lot of trouble if anyone found out. Vigilantes are illegal after all. Even if we are friends with the Chief of police.” Shiori says with a smirk on her face.

“I heard that guy is tough.” Ryuji says, looking at her.

“You actually are?” Lucy asks, genuinely surprised.

“Well, yeah. How else would I be able to keep our duel here hidden from the news?” Shiori says as she points her phone at them to reveal text messages to Chief. 

Back when the duel was still going on, Chief looks down at his phone at the texts.

Fullsky: “Chief, Watchdog and I are going to have a little chat, but it might get big and loud. Can you keep the heat off of us for a little bit?”

Chief: “You guys make my life harder day after day.”

Chief: “But sure. I’ll keep our units and the news off of you, but make it fast. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep them back.”

Fullsky: “Thanks! I owe you one!”

Chief: “You owe me 20.”

Chief looks up from his phone at the room filled with monitors and people keeping track of happenings within the city. Then, another officer steps into the room.

“Chief, I’m getting a report that there are strange lights and booms coming from the mountains. Should we investigate?”

“Could be that Keeper guy who escaped a while ago.” Another officer says.

“That won’t be necessary, people. Just some construction going on up there. Carry on.” Chief says back with a slight smile. They look hesitant but trust their superior and move on.

Back in the mountains with the others.

“He’s always got our back.” Hikigaya says appreciatively, a bit surprised Chief did this.

“Even when he tries to arrest us!” Shiori says. They both laugh about that as the others stare in awe.

“You guys are so cool..” Chizuru admires. Lucy smiles before thinking about something and getting a devious smile on her face.

“You know what I wanna know though?” They look at her confused. “I wanna know what exactly was going on between you two as Fullsky and Watchdog." Lucy says with a smirk. The group stares at her for a moment before everyone turns and looks at Shiori and Hikigaya as they suddenly blush. "Don't think I haven't seen the videos.” Lucy points out. Lucy looks at Chizuru as if telling her to back her up. She gets the signal and gets a mischievous look.

"Yeahhh, Lucy showed me some of those. You guys really had no problem being in each other's personal space, huh? Had a little something going on, hmmmm?" Chizuru asks, playfully teasing them.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hikigaya denies with a flustered stutter. Haru picks up on the joke and starts poking fun too.

“Yeah, Hikigaya. What was with your hand there all along her leg when you were fighting?” He asks. “If you like her or something, just say so. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.” Haru says as he gets a playful look as well, chiming in. The others giggle and smile as they tease Hikigaya.

“We were duking it out, that’s all! I didn’t mean it like that or anything! Let’s just get out of here.” Hikigaya says while blushing intensely as he stomps off, steam coming off his head. They all giggle as Shiori blushes thinking about it. She stares at him as he walks off, really letting it sink in before looking down softly.

‘Now that I think about it… When we were Fullsky and Watchdog…’ She thinks back to different times they interacted as vigilantes.

A night when she rubbed up against Watchdog flirtatiously, the time they shared a kiss for the first time, a night she pulled him close as she flew them through the sky, and a night he pressed her against a tree and they made out, still hidden behind their personas. Shiori begins to blush even more intensely as she makes an awkward smile.

‘That was him..! I kissed Hikigaya! He had my first kiss! And we..!’ Shiori starts getting super flustered. Sugawara notices Shiori blushing intensely and giggling awkwardly a bit.

“You okay, Shiori? You look red. Did Hikigaya hit you too hard?” Sugawara asks innocently.

“Ah! No no! It’s not that…” She frantically denies with a smile after freaking out. Sugawara stares at her for a moment before getting a mischievous smile too. 

“Could it be that you like him too?” He asks. Shiori freaks out again and jumps back.

“W-what?! No way! I don’t like him! Wait, too?” Shiori asks, confused by that part.

“Come on. It’s getting late, let’s get home.” Ryuji says as he pushes both of them along. Sugawara giggles, and Shiori awkwardly follows along.

The friends all wave goodbye to each other as they head home on this late night. As they walk, Shiori and Hikigaya stay quiet as they blush a little, embarrassed by the others’ teasing. Despite the slight awkwardness between them, Shiori decides to speak up, a thought bouncing around in her head nonstop.

“Hikigaya..?” She calls softly.

“Yeah..?” He responds slightly nervous.

“I’ve… been thinking… about us..” Shiori says softly. Hikigaya blushes at her words and looks away from her.

“O-oh? What about us?” Hikigaya answers nervously. Shiori speaks timidly as she's embarrassed too.

“Well, mostly about Fullsky and Watchdog. Specifically about.. those times…” She says, a little flustered and embarrassed. Hikigaya blushes more as he gets embarrassed. In an attempt to alleviate the embarrassment, he pretends not to understand.

“Those times? What do you mean?” He asks, flustered. Shiori pouts a little and looks at him, annoyed while blushing more.

“Don’t make me say it…” Shiori says softly. Hikigaya presses his lips together, staying quiet as Shiori sighs softly before speaking up. “I mean the times we… you know… when we would kinda, sorta flirt?. And do stuff a little… and… kiss?..” Shiori admits. Hikigaya thinks about those times again as his face gets really red and he tries to hide his fluster.

“O-oh! Yeah! Those times! Haha, we really were crazy then, huh? Hahaha!” He tries to laugh it off as Shiori blushes. Shiori just kind of holds herself gently as a warm smile spreads across her face.

“Yeah… I just think it’s funny how we met each other before we actually met. And I guess… I’m just kinda glad it was you…” Shiori admits softly, smiling. As Hikigaya blushes a little, he suddenly stops and slowly looks at Shiori, realizing something.

“Wait, so if it wasn't me, you were just gonna kiss some random guy?” Hikigaya asks with wide eyes. Shiori stops and looks at him confused.

“What do you mean.?” She asks softly.

“I mean, you did those things with me before you even knew it was me. So does that mean you were just gonna do those things with a random guy??” Hikigaya asks, more shocked the more he thinks about it. Shiori looks at him stunned as she blushes in embarrassment before getting irritated and flustered by him.

"Well, what about you?? You didn’t know who I was, yet you still went along with it!" Shiori shouts back.

“I could’ve been, like, a 40 year old man for all you knew!” Hikigaya shouts, still focused on her.

“Same for you! You let me, you pervert!" Shiori shouts back as the two argue over the strange circumstances they found themselves in.

Eventually, the two make their way back home, now in pouring silence as they huff at each other, blushing, flustered about the situation.

They enter their home and march right up to their rooms, but instead of going their separate ways, Shiori just follows Hikigaya into his room as if it were normal despite their frustration. When he notices this, he sweats a little but doesn’t say anything as she casually sits on his bed, looking down. After a moment of silence, Shiori just speaks, letting her thoughts out.

“Hikigaya, you know how we’re stuck together because of Principal Ai’s orders? I know why I was put in this program. I was mean and short tempered with everyone that came my way. I always kept everyone at arm's length because I was afraid they would hurt me like everyone else if I let them in. But you… you’re much nicer than I am.”

Despite the strange behavior of Shiori just following him into his room, Hikigaya is more surprised by her sudden words. Shiori holds her head low as she speaks, but not out of particular sadness. Her expression is complex as she pushes her lacking communication skills to express her thoughts.

“You’re passionate and optimistic most of the time. You have friends, have always had friends, and seem to be way more likable than me, so I just can’t imagine what could’ve happened for you to be put in the same position as me.” She says without looking at him, fidgeting her fingers together as she sits on his bed. Her blushing goes away, but she stays talking timidly due to being so open about her emotions. Hikigaya looks at her with surprise before chuckling to himself a bit.

“Coming from you, that’s a great compliment.” Hikigaya says softly. She looks at him surprised as he looks up. “I’m glad you think I’m so optimistic and nice, but that’s not true. I used to get into fights a lot. Not that I really wanted to, but whether I liked it or not, my reputation was filled with fight after fight.” Hikigaya admits. Shiori looks at him, surprised by his reveal, but stays silent as he continues speaking to her.

“I try my best to be as nice as I can to most people I meet just so they don’t feel like everyone is out to get them. I want to help people feel like they belong in a safe space. That’s the main reason I created Watchdog.” Hikigaya says. He looks at her for a moment as she nods understandingly. He then looks down a bit.

“But no matter how many people I helped, how many bullies I made go away or other kids I saved from harm, it always got spun around on me. All the adults would see is I beat up some kid because I felt like it. That I was some mean jerk who hated everyone. And they all believed it, so time and time again, I would be punished. Never once stopping to listen or believe me as I tried to explain myself.” He admits with a soft tone. Shiori looks a little saddened by his truth, but Hikigaya lifts his head a bit and speaks clearly.

“So at some point I decided that if all they were gonna see me as was some mean, delinquent student, then that’s all I’d be to them. But I would never stop helping people around me. I would always fight to protect them from any harm I see coming their way. Because that is what I wanted to do.” He says with a confident smile but hurt in his eyes from the recollection of sad memories. Despite this, he turns around and smiles slightly, closing his eyes at Shiori.

“But then I met you. And you gave me a chance to prove that I’m more than what they think I am.” He says to her. Shiori stares with her eyes shining a bit as she admires Hikigaya. He looks at her, smiling for a moment before blushing and looking away. “Ahha.. Well, anyway, let’s get some sleep. It’s been a long night.”

Shiori blushes a bit too and agrees, so she stands up from his bed. They say their goodnights as she leaves his room and goes to her own. Shiori changes into pajamas and gets into bed. She lays on her back for a moment before rolling onto her side.

‘Hikigaya… I never realized how similar our lives have been. If I had known you felt that way, went through that, maybe I would’ve…’ She thinks as she rolls over to her other side with a frustrated look. ‘No, it’s my fault. He’s gone through so much. Probably more than I have, and yet he still has a smile on his face, trying to make people happy and protect them.’ She rolls one last time onto her back with her eyes open this time.

‘Our lives were so similar, but one difference changed our paths entirely. He chose to stay positive and not let them get to him. While I… I chose to shut down… I forgot how to be optimistic, how to be… better.’ She thinks with a frustrated look on her face. After a moment, she closes her eyes and tries to force herself to sleep. ‘What made me forget how to be good?.. What happened… that made me lose sight of the good in people?..’ She thinks as she soon fades off to sleep.

As she sleeps, she dreams about a young version of herself sitting alone on a swing set. She gently sways back and forth as she looks at the sky. She smiles a bit.

“At least we know the clouds aren’t lonely, right?” A young boy’s voice says. She looks to her right and sees a boy her same age smiling at her. She smiles back happily.

“Right!” The young Shiori says back.

Suddenly, her eyes open as she wakes up in her bed. Her phone vibrates with an alarm as she rolls on her side and turns it off. It’s now early in the morning with slight clouded sunlight entering her room. She lays on her back, staring at the ceiling, trying to remember what her dream was just about but can’t quite.

With a sigh, she gets up and leaves the house in her pink sweatpants, but this time she wears a matching sweatshirt due to the winter cold. She shivers a bit as she turns to face the sidewalk.

“Brr… Why does Winter always have to be so cold?..” She says out loud under her steaming breath. She shakes it out before she starts her routine run.

After a while, she pants and sweats as she comes around the corner. Her sleeves are now rolled up as she slows down to a walk. She makes her way back to her house as she hears a noise coming from above her. She turns and looks up to see Hikigaya falling through the sky in her direction.

“SHIORI, WATCH OUT!!” He shouts as she freaks out and they collide with each other. They tumble on the ground a bit before stopping. Shiori sits up, rubbing her head a bit before getting angry at Hikigaya, who has swirly eyes on the ground.

“You dumbass! What’s your problem?!” Shiori shouts.

“Ugh… I’m… sorry…” Hikigaya apologizes with a groan. She sighs as she stands up and offers her hand. Hikigaya snaps out of it and shakes his head a bit before taking her hand. He gets up and dusts himself off as Shiori sighs in disappointment.

“What were you even doing in the sky like that? And what if someone saw you?” She scolds a little.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. People around here are real quiet and keep to themselves. As for what I was doing up there…” He scratches his head in embarrassment. “I was… trying to replicate your wings.” Hikigaya admits. Shiori looks at him confused. “I figured that if I just threw myself in the air like that and let myself fall, maybe my instincts would kick in and they’ll catch me. You know, bird style.” He admits as he laughs embarrassedly. Shiori smiles softly and shakes her head again.

“You're not a bird, you dork." Shiori says. "And why would you want to do that?” She asks.

“In our duel, you were doing so many fancy moves and I was just doing the same old same old. I wanted to try and catch up with your skills. Especially since you can copy mine so easily.” He explains, a look of slight jealousy and admiration on his face.

“Hikigaya, you don’t need to copy my techniques. You’ll be able to find your own in time. Just let it come naturally. That’s what I do. Now come on, I wanna get out of these sweaty clothes.” Shiori says encouragingly. She punches him in the arm and turns to walk away. Hikigaya follows her a bit before she winces in pain. She holds the side of her face by her eyebrow as Hikigaya comes up to her. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks, concerned for her. Shiori rubs her eyebrow as it bleeds a little. 

“Ah, it’s nothing. Must’ve cut myself when I hit the ground.” She says.

“Come on, let’s get you patched up.” Hikigaya says with a sigh of relief as he grabs her other hand and pulls her along to the house.

They eventually get to the bathroom, where Shiori leans on the edge of the counter as Hikigaya opens a small box filled with bandaids and such. He then comes close to her and looks at her small cut.

“Alright, let’s see what we got here. Hmm. Doesn’t seem too bad. I think I just might be able to save your life.” He says playfully as Shiori rolls her eyes and giggles softly. He pulls out a small cotton ball and cleans up some of the blood around her cut. She winces at one dab.

“Ah, I’m sorry! I’ll try to be more gentle..” He says with a sweat as he continues before pulling out a disinfectant pad. He sticks his tongue out as he tries to gently clean her cut. Despite how close they are, neither one reacts nearly as dramatically as before. Still, Shiori opens one eye and looks at him so close to her face and blushes a little. Keeping her cool, she closes her eye again and speaks.

“You’re terrible at this.” Shiori says with a slight smile on her face.

“Yeah? I’d like to see you try then!” He says back, pouting a little.

“I’ve already done it, to you when you recklessly took a bat to the side of the head.” She says confidently.

“Oh, that’s right… Heh, that was a long time ago now, huh?” He says with an awkward giggle.

“I guess it was. Why didn’t you dodge it? The day we saved Sugawara. Now I know your actual fighting skills, so I’m surprised you even got hit.” She says, thinking of that moment.

“Eh, I was trying to send a message and be all cool. I didn’t realize he had a bat made of Grant Wood, though. That’s some tough stuff.” He says.

“Oh, that’s what it was. I heard of those huge trees up north. They make all kinds of things from them, but they’re super expensive to get.”

“Yeah, those thugs probably stole it from someone else. Who knows, though?” He says as he places a small bandage over her small cut and then backs up. 

“Alright, you should be all good. That’ll be 50,000 Isos.” Hikigaya says, opening his hand for her payment. Shiori gets up and looks at it in the mirror. 

“For this crappy job, I don’t think so. But, seeing as it’s you, I’ll give it a six out of ten.” Shiori says back with a smile.

“Well, sorry for not being used to bandaging anyone up. My healing factor usually takes care of it.” He sticks his tongue out before remembering something.

"You seem to be used to this. Have you done this before?"

"Not really anymore, but I used to." She responds plainly. Hikigaya gets interested in her words.

"Oh? On someone else or..?"

Shiori doesn't answer and lowers her head a bit as she finishes putting on the bandage. The question obviously upset her a bit.

He thinks back to the first time she patched him up. This memory and lingering question sparks back up as he looks at her.

“Hey, you never answered my question, back then. When I asked why you were so good at this. Is it still too personal or..?” He asks hesitantly. Shiori turns to him, confused for a moment, but then realizes what he’s talking about.

“Oh, that. Well, back when I started as Fullsky, I wasn’t nearly as skilled with my powers as I am now. I didn’t have the healing aura power or anything like that so I had to learn how to patch myself up. Although it did bug me a little, you asking about my personal life back then, I was more concerned with not letting you know my secret. Now, both of those things don’t matter as much.” She says as she gives him a warm smile. He smiles back. 

“Well, that’s good to know. I’m glad you’re more open with me now.” He says casually.

“Me too.” She says with a gentle smile. She then opens the door and motions for him to leave. “Now get out of here. I’m gonna shower this sweat and dirt off me.” Shiori says happily. Hikigaya smiles and steps out but stops and looks at her.

"Hey, wait. I just bandaged you up, won't that wash off?" Hikigaya asks.

"Hmm, maybe." Shiori says casually. Hikigaya droops a little.

"Then why'd you let me bandage you up at all..?" Hikigaya asks with a sweat drop. Shiori thinks for a moment before blushing and getting a smug, almost flirtatious look.

"I don't know. Maybe I just wanted an excuse for you to get close and touch me." Shiori says, her blush intensifying, but her look remaining as Hikigaya's eyes grow wide and a blush spreads across his cheeks. Before he can even say anything back, Shiori quickly closes the door on his face, denying him any reaction.

Shiori leans her back against the closed door, letting out a sharp exhale as if she was holding her breath. She shakes a little as she lifts her hand up to the bandage on her eyebrow, an awkward, flustered smile on her face. Her look is warm as she rubs the bandage gently, whispering to herself.

“I like being open with you…” She whispers.