Does gravity make me stronger?

What's the point of such an outdated punishment?

If it weren't for the presence of an unfamiliar girl, Feifei would have already started a fight on the spot.

However, under Hachiman's insistence, the two reluctantly agreed to the plan, but only for the first three rounds; afterwards, they were free to propose their own punishments.

"Then I'll ask you the truth... Question: What's the thing you hate most about someone doing to you?"

"Oh dear, Zian is such a funny little brother, he probably won't do anything unpleasant, right?"

Hachiman pretended to think for a moment, then slowly said, "How could that be? I really hate it when other people wash their shoes in a public washing machine."

Suddenly, Chuunibyou's expression stiffened, which naturally did not escape Hachiman's hawk-like eyes.

Suddenly, Feifei burst out laughing: "How could anyone do that? Washing shoes in a public washing machine? Are they stupid?!"

"Yes, I really hope those kinds of people disappear from the earth as soon as possible, they're disgusting." He added fuel to the fire.

"Haha, this is pretty annoying, huh..."

The second-year student laughed it off, seemingly wanting to quickly move on from the topic.

Hachiman didn't make things difficult. He took the lottery tickets from the King's Game, washed them again, and handed them to the three girls to choose from.

And this time...

'I am number 3'

'I am the king, that little pink-haired girl must be number 2, so this boy must be number 1.'

'OK'

The two reached an agreement once again.

"I am the king." The second-year student held up the king's sign in her hand, then looked at the three of them with feigned confusion.

"Number 1 takes off...chooses a great adventure."

To avoid a recurrence of her sudden cardiac arrest, she chose a dare.

"I am number 1."

Hachiman grunted and simply drew a card from the deck of the Great Adventure.

"Wearing women's clothes for once, hahaha, Koyasu-kun, you've won the grand prize!" The two girls laughed heartily, as if they could already see Hachiman looking shy and reluctant as he changed into women's clothes.

But who gave you the misconception that I don't want to wear women's clothing?

"Women's clothing is fine, but I don't have any clothes."

"I have it here!"

The second-year student volunteered and suggested that they go to her room to change clothes.

Oh no, that piece of clothing doesn't seem to be properly arranged yet.

'It would be very troublesome if this were to be exposed.'

Feifei's eyes gleamed with nervousness, and her palms were damp with sweat.

"Wait a moment..."

She was about to say something when Hachiman stopped her, saying, "Then I'll leave it to you."

"My dorm room is quite big, and I have a lot of clothes. Come over and sit down sometime."

On the way to the dormitory with the three of them, Feifei kept saying, "Maybe we should forget it. I don't think it's a good idea to make the boys change into women's clothes."

"No, it's just for fun."

"Why don't we just go and get the clothes? It's not good to let boys into the room."

"what?"

The second-year middle school student looked confused.

'Sister, are you trying to play the naive and innocent girl character?'

Ignoring Fei Fei's request, the chuunibyou sister continued to uphold her ninja way, forging ahead bravely and keeping her word!

"This is our room."

The second sister took out her key and, under Fei Fei's extremely heavy gaze, opened the door to the room. Then, she slowly walked to the wardrobe.

Chihaya Aine and Hachiman stayed obediently at the door and did not go in.

"Let me look for it."

The moment the second sister opened the wardrobe, Fei Fei suddenly grabbed her hand.

"Maybe we should just forget about it..."

"What's wrong with you today? Why are you acting so strangely?"

"No, it's a special situation today..."

"Your period isn't on today? Oh my god, is it irregular?"

As they were talking, the wardrobe was opened. Feifei covered her eyes, her heart leaping into her throat.

"...This one will do."

After searching for a while, the second-year student picked up a plaid shirt and a short skirt, along with a relatively large coat.

Oh, is everything alright? Turns out it was all packed up when I left.

"Hey, what's this?"

Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, a sudden scream startled everyone present.

The second-year student hurriedly pointed to the back of the wardrobe, where a lace-trimmed bra with a somewhat erotic feel lay on the side.

"This isn't my bra, and it looks familiar..."

The second-year student's gaze gradually shifted to Fei Fei: "You went through my closet?"

"I...I didn't."

"Isn't this the bra you usually wear on dates? How did it end up here?"

"I...I had something else to ask you!"

Just then, a blonde, short-haired white woman barged in and said to the second-year student without any hesitation, "Hey, my honey, I also put my shoes in the washing machine, and it worked really well!"

After saying that, he walked away without any apparent reason.

This sentence, like the little boy in Hiroshima and the fat man in Nagasaki, made the two already intimate girls blush even more.

"You actually put your shoes in the washing machine?! Are you even human?!"

"I was just about to say that, why were you rummaging through my closet? Aren't you just being nosy?!"

The two started arguing, even exchanging profanities, with a very high level of vulgarity.

Chihaya Aine, frightened, hid behind Hachiman.

She didn't understand; weren't these two girls supposed to be very close?

Why did they start arguing over something so simple?

"It's wrong to rummage through other people's things, but is it really necessary to get this angry?"

Wait a minute, so you won't complain about washing shoes in a washing machine?

Hachiman turned around, and everything behind him seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving only some hushed arguing sounds.

"Some relationships are just superficial, so whether you like or dislike someone, they are fragile, just like theirs."

"...Will I be able to find true friends?"

Upon hearing Hachiman's words, Chihaya Aine immediately felt that he was mocking her.

Could it be that my relationships with my classmates, my bandmates, and even my friends at the Starry Night Concert Hall are just like that?

And what about his relationship with Hikigaya?

"Who knows?"

"But..."

Chihaya Aine lowered her head, her nose tingling, clearly trying to hold back tears that were about to spill.

"After graduating from junior high school, nothing I did went smoothly, whether it was studying abroad, being in a band, or studying..."

"Aren't you doing well in your studies?"

"Don't interrupt me!"

She gave Hachiman a resentful punch.

Then she squatted down, lowered her eyelids, hugged her knees tightly with both hands, and remained silent for a long time before speaking: "My life is very bleak. I feel like I will not succeed in anything I do, and I have no idea what to do in the future."

"Isn't this great?"

"Huh?" Chihaya Aine turned her head in surprise.

“What I mean is, if you’re at a low point in your life right now, doesn’t that mean the future will be all about upward mobility?” Hachiman explained without changing his expression.

"What do you mean? Hachiman-kun, that's sophistry!"

"Then what's wrong with what I said?" Hachiman countered. "And don't you think that since we regret looking back on the past and feel hopeless about the future, the present is the happiest time?"

"First published on 705u.com - Book Club"

"..."

Chihaya Aine clearly felt that Hachiman's words were problematic, but for some reason, she couldn't refute them.

She already knew all this.

But that's not what she wanted to hear.

Hachiman's tone suddenly turned serious: "Or is Chihaya Aine a girl who runs away from setbacks and can never get up after falling down?"

That's right, Chihaya Aine is not a weak girl.

What he saw was a girl who was willing to practice guitar no matter how much pressure she faced, a girl who had only entered the class a month after the start of the semester, but was still able to fit in.

“I don’t know that kind of Chihaya Aine, so you have to stand up for yourself!”

These words were like an arrow, piercing through Chihaya Aine's defenses and reaching the depths of her heart, finally causing tears to flow uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

So this is what I'm like in Hachiman's eyes...

But the real me isn't that strong.

"I'm sorry, Hachiman, I can't do it..."

"I know."

"Huh?" Chihaya Aine looked up in surprise.

Hachiman shrugged, a grotesque smile creeping across his face, but his tone was incredibly gentle: “But no matter what you become, you’ll always be the Chihaya Aine I know.”

No matter what I become, will Hachiman support me?

Chihaya Aine's deep gray pupils trembled, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Even someone like me was trusted.

Gradually, she calmed down.

"Hachiman is really cunning. He clearly stirred up trouble between people and others, but he is unwilling to take any responsibility."

"Hey, isn't that too much responsibility?" Hachiman joked. "Besides, isn't Chihaya already able to stand on her own?"

"wrong!"

Chihaya Aine playfully placed her index finger in front of Hachiman's lips.

"Never try to fool her by saying that girls are very sensible, because every girl is a willful little princess."

"That girl is such a hassle..."

"Hmph." Chihaya Aine pouted, then smiled knowingly and reached out her hand, "Pull me~"

"This is so troublesome..." Hachiman scratched his cheek and obediently handed over his hand.

'Even though you keep saying it's troublesome, haven't you always offered your help properly?'