Does gravity make me stronger?

"In short, I don't approve of your internship program. Find me a new one. Also, Gao Song hasn't found a teammate yet, so you can team up with her."

"I?"

Hachiman stared wide-eyed in surprise, looking like he was thinking, "Huh? What? I'm going to fight Sukuna?"

"Yes, Gao Song is very cute. This is an opportunity that your teacher has found for you, so be sure to seize it."

"But teacher, I can't get along with girls."

"Where did you get this gynophobia from?" Miyami Hana's lips twitched. "It's settled then. You guys need to finish writing your internship projects and hand them to me by tomorrow. Don't waste my time!"

After he finished speaking, Hachiman was kicked out of the office, and at the office door, a gray-haired girl stood quietly.

"Um, Hachiman-kun..."

Takamatsu raised her moist eyes, her cute face full of girlish fragility and youthfulness—well, to put it bluntly, she had a lot of collagen, making you want to pinch her cheeks.

Hachiman suppressed the thought and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Takamatsu-kun, I will try my best not to cause you any trouble during the upcoming internship."

"Oh, how could that be? I still need to learn more from Hachiman."

Gao Songdeng is the class's darling, but for some reason, she was isolated during her workplace internship... Rather than being isolated, it's more accurate to say that no one dared to approach her first.

In the end, everyone else had formed teams, except for Gao Songdeng, who hadn't found a team yet.

As for Hachiman, all he could say was that a lone wolf doesn't need companions.

After exchanging a few words, the two began discussing the location of their internship.

"How about going to the convenience store?" Hachiman suggested first.

"But Miyami-sensei said it would be best to go to places like companies."

Following her homeroom teacher's instructions, Takamatsu glanced timidly at Hachiman, who immediately turned his head away: "Then let's find some companies that can offer internships to high school students. Do you have any good ideas, Takamatsu-kun?"

"Hmm... a telecommunications company, is that okay?" "Well, they're all pretty much the same, anyway, it only requires two days of work."

Considering that he couldn't cause too much trouble for the company, the school stipulated that the internship could only last for a maximum of two days. Hachiman doubted what a clueless high school student could learn in those two days.

"Then I'll go and make the contact."

Gao Songdeng nodded, a hint of anticipation seemingly emerging in her beautiful eyes.

soon.

"Hachiman, the company has agreed!"

Holding her smartphone, Takamatsu Akari said happily, and Hachiman also hummed in agreement. In any case, let's get the important business done first.

Later, Hachiman learned that the internship location that Takamatsu Akari had contacted was her father's workplace, and when he found out that his daughter had come to intern with a boy, he almost rushed into the dormitory with a knife.

On the day before his internship, on his way home, Hachiman ran into Akari Takamatsu and another classmate, Aine Chihaya.

The two were talking on the street when a girl with long black hair walked up aggressively, and the three of them said something to each other.

At that moment, Hachiman was planning to buy an ice cream and was watching absentmindedly while waiting.

However, Takamatsu suddenly ran in his direction.

"Wait!"

Busy trying to hide himself, Hachiman looked around and missed his only chance to escape.

"Hikigaya-san?"

A faint glimmer of tears appeared in the girl's eyes, but upon seeing Hachiman, Takamatsu Akari wiped them away with the back of her hand: "Why are you here?"

"Well, I was just passing by."

"Just now, Aiyin invited me to form a band."

Wait a minute, why is this child talking to himself?

Hachiman had a toothache and had originally planned to say hello and leave, but he didn't expect Takamatsu Akari to start the group so quickly.

Although he didn't want to get involved in the girls' troublesome affairs, he couldn't just walk away now, so he went to the ice cream shop and ordered another ice cream.

"Give."

Upon seeing the pink ice cream scoop handed to him, Takamatsu Akari paused for a moment, then her eyes flashed with an astonishing light.

"Hachiman, is this for me?"

"I just happened to order one extra."

"Thank you."

Gratefully accepting the "extra" ice cream scoop, Takamatsu Akari said reassuringly, "I'll keep it safe."

"Hey, eat it already, or it'll melt!" Hachiman retorted.

Next, Takamatsu Akari told Hachiman about the band.

During the process, seeing that Gao Songdeng had ice cream on the corner of his mouth, he handed her a tissue, thinking that he was going to wipe her mouth, so she obediently closed her eyes.

"?"

Feeling the delicate touch on her fingertips, Takamatsu opened her eyes, her face flushed.

"If you don't want to go, then you don't have to go," Hachiman said calmly.

"But..." The girl's expression was hidden in the shadow of her bangs, somewhat ambiguous.

"Well, you should think about this carefully yourself. I'm leaving now."

Hachiman waved his hand, got up, and left the scene.

On the day of the internship.

Because they were colleagues, the employees were very friendly to Hachiman and Takamatsu Akari. Some of the older guys even made jokes about their relationship, which made Takamatsu Akari's father blush with anger.

"Kid, if you want to be my son-in-law, prove yourself!" the father-in-law threatened.

Hachiman hurriedly explained his relationship with Takamatsu Akari to him, but after hearing it, the "father-in-law" became even angrier: "What? You just wanted to play around? Go to hell!"

"Wait a minute, why would you interpret it that way?!"

Fortunately, Gao Songdeng took him away before the other party's iron fist could land on him, and during the lunch break, Gao Songdeng apologized to him with great embarrassment.

"Excuse me, Hachiman, my dad is quite worried. Are you hurt? Do you need a band-aid?"

"No, not at all, I'm fine!"

When Takamatsu Akari took out several penguin-shaped band-aids from her pocket, Hachiman quickly refused.

In the afternoon, work stopped around four o'clock because the whole company was preparing for a monthly public holiday, so the two of them went home early.

however.

I don't know who gave the idea to his "father-in-law," but Hachiman was forced to give two LiveHouse tickets.

"I heard this is the most popular activity among young people. Wait, it's not something I'm going to give you; it's something I wouldn't need even if I took it."

Hearing that arrogant tone, Hachiman was momentarily speechless and couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"Alright, go on!"

"but..."

Just as Hachiman was about to refuse, a middle-aged man pushed Hachiman and Takamatsu Akari into a Nissan car: "No buts, get in!"

Under this semi-forced condition, Yakuhata and Takamatsu Akari arrived at the performance hall called "Starry Night".

"Takamatsu, I heard you used to be in a band, right?"

At the door, Hachiman asked this question, and Takamatsu Akari nodded: "I used to have a band, but because of my problems, everyone disbanded."

It's unclear what exactly happened, but Takamatsu Akari took the blame for the band's disbandment, while Hachiman remained silent.

"Let's go in and take a look."

As soon as he entered the store, Hachiman encountered a woman with waist-length blonde hair. She had a cold look in her eyes and was wearing a smart T-shirt and tight jeans.

"Are you a guest? The show hasn't started yet, please rest for a while."

"Ah, um."

For no apparent reason, Hachiman felt a bit resistant to the girl, so he sat down in the seat furthest away from her.

While waiting for the performance, Takamatsu Akari received a message and her expression changed drastically, while Hachiman, who noticed this, remained silent.

The performance by the stars was wonderful, but because of the strange change just now, Hachiman had no interest in listening at all.

"Mango Box".

"what?"

Hachiman asked absentmindedly, while Takamatsu Akari pointed to the stage, where there was a tall mango box, from which the sound of a guitar could be heard.

"What's going on?"

Hachiman quickly looked at the blonde woman, who covered her face and turned away, seemingly feeling somewhat guilty.

After the performance, Hachiman was about to go home when Takamatsu Akari took his hand.

"Hachiman, can you come with me somewhere?"

"Tell me where it is first."

“RiNG”.

...

Upon arriving at RiNG, Hachiman realized that it was also a LiveHouse, but completely different from Fanxing. This place had a very strong commercial atmosphere, and there was even a cafe inside.

But what is he doing here?

"Hikigaya-kun, thank you." Seemingly realizing the problem, Takamatsu Akari looked at Hachiman somewhat awkwardly after saying thank you.

"No need to thank me. I'll just find a seat nearby. You can leave after you're done talking, and I'll follow you."

"Yes, Hachiman, you're such a good person."

No way, I've helped you so much and you're giving me the "friend zone" treatment?

Hachiman was a bit hesitant, but he nodded and followed Takamatsu Akari about five meters into the coffee shop.

Three pretty girls were already waiting in the coffee shop, including Chihaya Aine, whom he knew.

When Aine saw Hachiman and Takamatsu Akari enter the store one after the other, she was clearly a little surprised, but when she noticed that Hachiman sat down alone, she breathed a sigh of relief.

That guy didn't even bother to say hello when he saw me.

As he ordered, Hachiman thought to himself.

After settling down for the time being, Hachiman ordered a mocha coffee and listened to the conversation of the others. Although he was too far away to hear clearly, he could occasionally hear cheesy things like "because Riki likes Akari the most".

In short, it seems that the other party is inviting Takamatsu Akari to form a band, which is a normal thing, but Hachiman discovered a blind spot.

That chestnut-haired girl seems a bit off...

For some reason, Hachiman's intuition told him that this invitation was not as simple as it seemed. At the very least, that guy must have other ideas, but he couldn't figure out what they were because he had too little information.

"So, Deng-chan, let's form a band together!"

Takamatsu looked at her familiar teammates and hesitated, but just as she was about to agree, Hachiman's voice rang out from behind her.

"Excuse me, just wanted to interrupt."

"Hikigaya-san?"

"It really is Hikigaya-kun?" Aine was somewhat surprised.

So you know me?

Hachiman glanced at Aine indifferently, and the latter immediately looked away awkwardly.

"Takamatsu, I need to discuss the details of the internship with you. Could you give me a call after you're done with your work here?"

"Ah, but I don't have Hachiman's phone number."

"..."

Upon seeing the man who had suddenly appeared, Nagasaki Motoyo gave him a wary look, but she quickly regained her cheerful demeanor: "Excuse me, is this classmate Touka-chan's friend?"

“No, I’m just her classmate,” Hachiman replied instantly.

"I see. So, about the band, Deng-chan..."