Final Answer.

The promised day was here. The day Hashimoto and I would go for a crusade against the evil known as Kitahara. Everyone was blinded by the so called charisma of his. A prodigy at any sport and the victory of the team that had him was guaranteed. His teammates also called him 'man of promised victory'. However, there was another name which I was more fond of. I called him Sin of Perversion, due to his uncontrollable lust over his classmate's body. 

I get that you're going through puberty, but my god do that talk at home, will you?

The last chime of the day had just rung. A sign for everyone to loosen up. A sign that the day was drawing to a close. Before going home, Suzuki and Toho came up to me. Both offered me an extra hand sincerely, in case something went wrong. 

I told both of them that I appreciated the offer, hence why I declined. I told them I had my own reason. They understood and did not pry any further. Suzuki and Toho, they just smiled at me and wished me good luck. I smiled back at them, and they left. 

I had already packed my belongings before the last period ended to save time. The faster I got to Hashimoto's class the better. More people would witness me coming to pick her up hence our play would look more believable. The rumor of Hashimoto confessing to me the other day quickly spread like a wildfire. It was believed that the girls in her class were the most responsible for the spread. 

I got up from my chair and arranged it nicely. Like the day I met Hashimoto, this time, I was all alone in the classroom. For some reason, my classmates really loved leaving early. 

I walked through the door, then went down the stairs. On Hashimoto's floor however, there were more people now than there were when I first met her. In fact, the floor was still quite packed. Female students were the majority here while the boys I could only imagine were outside, watching a match of soccer at the field. 

No matter. 

I went straight to Hashimoto's classroom, year one class C if I was not mistaken. Each step took me closer to Hashimoto, which would eventually take us to Kitahara. 

I reached Hashimoto's classroom. 

She was talking with one of her friends. They looked quite lively, like Hashimoto was not bothered by anything. Hashimoto was packing her things at the same time, so I decided to 'waste' a little bit of time until she was done.

About two minutes had passed. Hashimoto was already done packing, but her friend just wouldn't let go. Her friend seemed to be having fun with the conversation they were having. It was one of those times where the excitement of chatting about mundane topics got the best of you. 

A voice which belonged to a girl called out to me.

"Excuse me." 

I turned my head around upon hearing my name being called. The girl did not wait for my reply, and instead continued speaking. 

"Do you need something from my class?" Asked the girl suspiciously. 

"Ah, can you call Hashi—Iori?" I corrected myself at the end. 

"I-Iori-san?" She became hesitant, "Of course. Please wait for a moment." 

The girl walked fast, approaching Hashimoto. When she did arrive, Hashimoto and her friend's attention became fixed to the girl who just showed up. I couldn't hear it from here, but the girl carrying my message seemed to be explaining the situation both to Hashimoto and the other girl. 

All of them turned their heads around at me, presumably her explanation was already finished. Hashimoto looked a little surprised while her other two friends seemed to be a tad nervous. 

I lifted my right hand at Hashimoto. 

"Yo." Or so I greeted her. 

As a response to my super short greeting, Hashimoto bowed a little bit. Her friends, to my surprise, followed after her. After that, Hashimoto smiled at both of her friends and seemed to feel bad to have to stop their conversation midway while she was excited telling her stories. The girl she was having a conversation with shook her head multiple times, implying she didn't mind. 

Then, Hashimoto quickly walked up to me. 

I said my thanks to the two girls and left with Hashimoto next to my right. 

"Sorry to make you wait, Senpai." Said Hashimoto, lacking energy. 

"Nothing to apologize for." I replied nonchalantly. 

The female students who hadn't gone home yet were staring at us seriously. It did not take too long for them to start whispering about us. That was how most rumor started. Exactly what I wanted; this was the ideal situation. 

To be honest, it felt uncomfortable to walk side by side like this whilst being watched by everyone. I had to persevere, for Hashimoto had been doing so for quite some time. 

"By the way, Senpai." 

"Hmm?" 

"Did you... did you perhaps call me by my name?" Hashimoto paused for a second then continued, "When you asked my friend to call me." 

"Ah, you didn't like it?" I scratched my head, "Sorry. I just thought that sounds more natural." 

"No!" Hashimoto, like her friend, shook her head multiple times, "I don't hate it... I mean, we are a couple right now..." 

I looked at her. 

"Is that so?" 

She looked at me, but quickly looked away out of embarrassment. 

"I-I mean a couple! As in,.. umm... a fake one!" Hashimoto tried to laugh it off but she sounded so nervous that it did not work. 

Her response, it made me chuckle. I quitted looking at her and instead looked at my front. 

"Ah! Senpai, you must be making fun of me!" Said Hashimoto angrily.

With that attitude, we both reached the shoe lockers. My locker was quite far from Hashimoto's, so we split up and went to our respective lockers. After getting changed into outdoor shoes, we met up in front of the school building. 

As expected, still quite a lot students out here. Ranging from first year to third year students, there were more people here than there were near Hashimoto's class. On the contrary, though, nobody paid attention to us; at least I did not feel anyone staring. 

We continued walking side by side, with Hashimoto next to my left now. The noisy school ground was way different from the quiet hallway. People cheering, cars on the street, footsteps belonged to the students as well as ourselves, and many more. This sensation was not all that bad. 

Walking toward the main gate, we were closer to the street. Very soon did we leave the school area. 

Now that we were outside, we still had to walk toward the train station and ride the train to Rokutenboru. Walking together after school, after school date with an underclassman, spending time recklessly, waiting for the sun to go down. All of this might sound romantic, but it was different for us. 

Hashimoto did not say anything, not even a humm. I, the older one here, also did not say anything to her. We were too awkward to say anything to each other at this point. In the end, we reached the station without anyone saying a word or two to each other; making it the quietest after school walk I ever had. 

Anyway, the train station was also another challenge by itself. It was afternoon, so quite a lot of students were here. Not only them, but there were housewives out shopping for dinner. Looking at them made me think, what dinner would I be having later?

If I could be a little greedy, just for today, I would like to eat something made by my little sister. Hold on a second, I should just call my little sister and tell her that. 

But there wasn't anything luxurious such as that. When we arrived at the station, we realized the train we were supposed to ride was already closing its doors. We tried to sprint, but we didn't make it, so the train left without us. 

No other choice but to wait for the next one. 

The effect of suddenly running with no preparation whatsoever made us pant in fatigue. We decided to look for a bench to rest ourselves in the meantime, so we did just that. Speak of the devil, an empty bench for two people was right there in front of us. We quickly walked there and sat down. 

While still panting, Hashimoto suddenly got up again.

"Senpai!" 

"Yes?" 

"I'm going to get us something to drink. What do you want?" Or so Hashimoto offered me. 

"I'm good. You can get it for yourself." 

"It can't be that way!" Hashimoto declined, "I'm asking for your help. The least I can do is to treat you to a drink from the vending machine." Hashimoto elaborated further. 

Again with that stare. A maiden should not have that stare, Hashimoto. 

"Then I'll have a cold canned coffee." I lifted one finger up. 

"Coming right up!" 

Hashimoto then quickly ran to the nearest vending machine, leaving her bag on the bench right next to me.

She left me with her bag.

Just how much does she trust me? 

Looking at Hashimoto's bag made me remember something. I took out my phone and chose the second most recent call, which was Rin. For your information, the first one was Hashimoto. She kept calling me these past days, making sure I understood the plan entirely. I had to say, she was kind of a perfectionist in a way. 

I made the call and made it quick. I tucked my phone into my right pocket and waited for Hashimoto, as well as the next train. 

About a minute after tucking my phone, I could see Hashimoto running toward my way. When she arrived, I noticed that she had actually bought two canned coffees; one was black and the other had creamer in it. 

"Sorry to make you wait again, Senpai." Said Hashimoto to me, still panting from the fatigue. 

"Don't worry about me." I smiled, "Sit down. You need to rest for a bit." 

Hashimoto took in my advice and sat down. With the two cans still in her hands, she told me.

"I didn't know your preference, Senpai." Hashimoto began the explanation, "So I bought two. Please choose the one you like. I will drink the other." She smiled. 

"Then I'm going to take the black one." I took it from her possession, without waiting for her reply, "How did you know I like black coffee?"

Hashimoto averted her eyes and proceeded to stare at her own share of coffee. 

"Well... Senpai looks like a guy that enjoys black coffee..." She giggled shyly. 

"Hmm. You've got good eyes." I said as I opened the can. 

I actually preferred the one with creamer, though. Hashimoto didn't look the kind of girl who drank coffee in the first place, let alone black one. I had only known her for three days, but it was safe to say that my guess was correct. 

I proceeded to sip my share, while Hashimoto, on the other hand, only opened hers. She did not take a sip, not even a little sip. In fact, she was just holding the can with her hands, on the middle of her thighs as she stared at it languidly.

The bitter coffee in my mouth became even bitter if her face was like that. I could not keep up with the bitterness, so I stopped drinking for a moment; that and I had something to ask her about. 

"Are you scared, Hashimoto?" 

Hashimoto twitched as she came back to her senses. Her hands started shaking upon hearing my question and her grip weakened. Even then, she still forced herself to speak.

"There's... actually one more thing... why I'm going this far..." 

Though shaky, she did her best opening up to someone like me. This appeared to be heavier than the previous things she told me the other day. Back then, she was not trembling in fear like now. 

"What is that?" I asked, trying to sound as considerate as I could. 

Hashimoto bit her lower lip. Her hands became shakier and almost no strength left in both of her hands, as the can almost slipped and fell to the ground. She managed to grab it again before that happened, though. 

"Kitahara says... he wants to sleep with me if I become his girlfriend..."

Hashimoto almost didn't finish that sentence. Her voice was shaking so hard that I felt bad to even make her say something. She held back her sniffles and even tried harder holding back her tears. Her eyes were like crystals. They were beautiful and yet so very fragile-looking. 

Any careless touch could break them. 

I stopped looking at her. I couldn't look at her any longer. Looking at her in this state was torturing me. Why should a young girl like her be dealing with something like this? 

"Hashimoto." 

Hashimoto slowly looked at me, while still holding her sniffles. 

"Let's cancel this after all." 

Surprised, Hashimoto quickly wiped her eyes and sat straight. Strength had returned to her, albeit only a very small portion. She frowned and had this to say.

"W-what are you talking about, Senpai?" Hashimoto raised her voice, "We're already this far, so why should we stop now?" She asked. 

"You're not obliged to do his bidding. I can just confront Kitahara at school." I said persuasively.

Hashimoto fell silent. She stared at her can again, refusing to continue. She took a deep breath and sighed. She looked at me and smiled. 

"... I want to tell him face to face."

"..."

"That I don't like him. That he is wrong. I want to tell him all that." Hashimoto stopped shaking, "I'm too scared to do it alone. So with you being here, let me do this, Senpai." 

Announcement came in from the speakers. Our train would be arriving shortly. I could see the train from where we were sitting at. I could see it getting closer and closer each passing second. I could hear its sound now. 

I chugged down the remaining coffee from the can. I crushed the empty can as a way to calm myself down. Kitahara had been a bad boy, it was finally the time to teach him a lesson or two. Troubling a girl like Hashimoto? Going for her body? 

What a joke. 

Our train slowed down and finally arrived. Its doors began to open and people disembarked. I got up with the crushed can in my left hand.

"Hashimoto... No. Iori." 

"...!?" Hashimoto looked at me.

"Let's do this."