27 Encounter (End)

Winter has ended, and spring comes forth. Night descended upon Chiba, allowing the moon to show its full might.

As if a spotlight, the moonlight shines upon a particular apartment. Even the scene alone can make Bruce Wayne nods in appreciation. Unfortunately, it is not a Bat-Signal from the moon.

On a particular floor of the apartment, in a particular room, two people are lying on the bed. One of them is a youthful woman in her mid twenties, and the other one is a mature looking young man.

Of course, you Four Dimensional Beings know of this couple very well. Yes, they are Hachiman and Shizuka.

"Hachiman... Do you really want to go tomorrow?" Shizuka asked while hugging Hachiman.

"What is this? 'Who Wants to Be A Millionaire'? You ask a lot of questions."

Thud!

Shizuka lightly hit Hachiman's chest. It is light according to her standard though.

"I am seriously asking."

"Well, I am not joking either." Hachiman looks at Shizuka.

It has been four days since he moved to his apartment, and this is Shizuka's first night of staying here. Of course, Shizuka moved in sneakily. Although Maiko has blessed their relationship, she doesn't want a grandchild yet.

She wants Hachiman to finish his school first.

"There will be many people there tomorrow, you know?" Shizuka looks up at Hachiman. "They will ask you many things. They will ask you about your salary, they will ask you about our relationship, they will ask you about our marriage plan, they will..."

Hachiman tunes everything Shizuka says out. He doesn't want to hear the anxiety of a former ever-single woman. Her thoughts are unnecessary. Therefore, he decided to end her unnecessary thoughts once and for all.

He slithers his arm around Shizuka's body, and moves her on top of his body, making her facing down on top of him.

"Kyaa!" Shizuka is startled. "What are you doing suddenly?!"

"Startling you?" Hachiman shrugs. Then, he grabbed Shizuka's cheeks, before squishing them. "Listen, my lovely gorilla. Just trust me. You don't need to think of those unnecessary thoughts."

Shizuka grabs Hachiman's hands, and stops them from squishing her cheeks any further.

"Stop it, Kaonashi!" She rubs her cheek. They are red due to Hachiman's abuse. "Do you have a fetish with my cheeks or something? You squish them a lot lately."

Hachiman shrugs. "I want to squish your boobs, but you don't let me."

"W-what? You w-want to touch them?"

"Yes. Will you let me to?"

"W-well... If you insist."

Shizuka closes her eyes, before pushing her chest forward. Hachiman looks at her face silently, before chuckling softly.

"Nah, I'm good. I love you, not your body parts. I can find body parts any—"

"Shush! Don't say anything." Shizuka put her finger on Hachiman's lips. "Don't start your psychotic thought on me. I don't mind you are a psychopath, but don't make me one. I don't want us to be a Joker and Harley Quinn."

Hachiman's eyes lights up. Wiping an imaginary tears from the corner of his eyes, he looks at Shizuka compassionately.

"Finally, my dear. You have said a Batman reference!" He pulls Shizuka closer, and hugs her. "I am happy that you have grown!"

Shizuka sighs at her normally intelligent, but sometimes retarded boyfriend. Still, she loves him nonetheless. He can always bring a genuine smile on her face.

Her anxiety died down, and she enjoys the warmth of the hug.

Hachiman caresses Shizuka's hair tenderly. "Ah, I forgot to do something." Hachiman suddenly said.

"What is it?" Shizuka said with a muffled voice.

"My bowels is ready to launch its torpedo."

Shizuka raises her head, looks at Hachiman with unamused eyes, then gets down from him.

"Just go and take a dump!" Shizuka facepalmed.

Hachiman smiles, then kisses her briefly. "I'll be going shortly."

That way, their first night of sleeping together ended with nothing happened.

When morning came, Shizuka is hit by a sense of deja vu. She is still closing her eyes, but her mind is already awake. Therefore, she can feel what she is touching currently.

She opens one of her eyes, and peeks at Hachiman.

"You don't have to ask. It's a morning wood."

After hearing that, Shizuka wisely closes her eyes once again. She doesn't let go of Hachiman's junior though.

After ten minutes of awkward silence later, both of them agreed to get out of the bed. Shizuka's high school reunion is at 10, and it is already 7 in the morning.

Luckily, Hachiman's apartment has two bathrooms. Therefore, they don't need to take turns on taking a shower.

Hachiman enters the bathroom, and takes a quick shower. Grabbing a bottle of shampoo in his hand, he squeezes the shampoo out of it. Rubbing his hair with it, foam quickly covered his entire hair.

Turning on the shower, he washes his hair below it. While letting the shower washes his hair, he puts one of his hands on the wall, then slightly leans forward.

"Darn! I have successfully pulled a cliche edgy scene from a drama in my bathroom! As expected of me." He starts to cackle lowly.

After a couple of cringey-ass poses later, the shower is done. Hachiman is currently standing in front of the mirror, while drying his hair with a towel.

"I have done a lot to Hachiman's appearance, it barely resembles him anymore. Still, it is a good change." He inspects every corner of his attractive face.

Wrapping his lower body with a towel, he steps out of the bathroom. Coincidentally, Shizuka has also just done her bath. Therefore, they meet each other.

She is wearing a bath robe to cover body, and a towel to wrap her hair. She stares at Hachiman's topless body, and looks him up and down.

She coughs, and says with a blush, "You are sexy."

Hachiman nods faintly. "Thank you. But, how could you finish your bath so quick?"

Shizuka cackles, and raises her hand. "Kuhahaha! Don't compare me with those girls! I am built different." Shizuka looks at Hachiman arrogantly. "I don't have to worry about body odor. Even if I don't take any bath, I won't smell!"

Hachiman blinks his eyes, before shrugging. It's an anime world, after all. Anything can happen. Furthermore, Shizuka really smells good. He can attest to it.

Well... actually, every girl in this world smells good.

And, before you ask, the answer is no. He doesn't spend his time sniffing around every girl he met to find this out!

...

Hachiman and Shizuka has already dressed themselves up. They are now walking down to the parking lot, attracting every eyes of the apartment residents.

Hachiman is wearing a slim fit white shirt underneath an equally tight grey suit vest that accentuates his trained muscles, a black tie, and a high quality black suit trousers.

His hair is swept wildly to the back, and a Rolex wraps around his wrist. He is wearing contact lenses, instead of glasses

In the other hand, Shizuka is wearing a fitting light grey knee high dress, and a pair of white heels. Her hair is left untied. A sparkling diamond necklace is hanging around her neck, and a silver Rolex wraps around her wrist. She is also carrying a Gucci purse.

In short, they look awesome, and rich!

Shizuka's hand is tangled with Hachiman's, and they are walking side by side. Shizuka still can't believe she is actually wearing the thing Hachiman has bought.

"You are rich."

"I am."

"How many you have spent to buy these?"

"A couple of thousands dollars."

"Tell me that in Yen."

"A couple of millions Yens."

"You are rich."

"I am."

Shizuka doesn't prod Hachiman any further. In truth, she already knows how much Hachiman has spent. But, she still asked to see his reaction. As she expected, he is as nonchalant as usual.

She sighs. Hachiman is making her insecure now. At this point, her position is in danger. Even in this building alone, there are already many temptresses looking for a chance. Unconsciously, she grips Hachiman's hand tighter.

|Never gonna give you up~ never gonna let you down~| Hachiman sings softly in English, and Shizuka understands it.

A smile blooms on her face. Sadly, it is just a misunderstanding on her part. Hachiman is unaware of her thought. He is simply happy he can finally show off his girlfriend, that he ACTUALLY loves.

In conclusion, Shizuka has just got Rick-rolled, albeit accidentally.

...

Ballroom, Hotel New Otani, Tokyo.

A lot of people are already gathered in the ballroom. All of them are looking fancy with the formal dress they are wearing. These people were Shizuka's classmates in high school, and all of them are Sobu High School Alumnus.

They are currently talking among themselves, while laughing fakely, like a hypocrite they are.

"Do you think Shizuka will come?" A woman in red dress asked the woman in blue dress. "I don't know. She was very pissed last year, because we kept asking her about her boyfriend. I guess, she won't come this time."

"Indeed."

After a little bit of talking about how "pitiful" the single Shizuka is, they change their topic to their "perfect" life, and their "perfect" boyfriend.

"I heard you are you are going to marry soon."

"Ah, yes. We are still choosing the perfect venue to conduct our wedding party."

"You should invite me when you guys are ready."

"Of course, silly. Fu-fu-fu."

"Fu-fu-fu."

Then, they keep bragging about their life.

Suddenly, everyone hears something.

Hum!

Everyone's attention turns to the source of the sound, which is no other than the opening door of the room. When the door is completely opened, two people can be seen.

One of them is a rich looking handsome young man, and the other one is an equally rich looking beautiful woman. They walk into the room as if they are the main characters of the world.

The woman in a red dress from earlier squints her eyes at the couple. Then, her eyes widened in surprise.

"T-that is.... Shizuka-san?"

The beautiful rich woman in grey dress, Hiratsuka Shizuka, turns her head to the woman in red dress. She frowns lightly, before her eyes light up in recognition.

"Oh! You are Hasami! It's been a long time."

When the suspicion is proven true, silence descended upon the room. However, it doesn't last long. Gasps full of bewilderment quickly fill the room, right after.

"Eh? Is that really Shizuka?"

"That Shizuka?"

"Yeah, it's THAT Shizuka!"

"Woah... She looks pretty. I want to date her."

"Wow, dude. She is out of your reach. Look at her boyfriend. A punch from him can end your life."

"Yeah. Don't dream, man. Her boyfriend looks like he can slap you to death with his money."

Shizuka clears her throat in embarrassment at the reaction of her ex-classmates.

"These bitches! Is it shocking that I have a boyfriend?" She muttered under her breath. "Nope. They are envying your blinding beauty." Hachiman replied.

Shizuka looks up at him, before smiling softly. Looking to the front, she can see her female friends activating their x-ray skill to ogle Hachiman up and down. She holds Hachiman closer, raises her chin up, and gazes at them arrogantly.

'Ku-ku-ku! Admire my might, bitches!' She exclaimed in her mind.

Hachiman smiles softly at Shizuka's rather childish behavior. She looks like a child showing off their expensive new toy to their friends.

Not long after, two people step up, and approach them from the side.

One of them is a beautiful young woman with shoulder-length black hair with its tips dyed in purple, and blue eyes. She has an amiable expression on her face, and her black dress perfectly supports her elegance.

The other person is a younger beautiful woman with long black hair, and big purple eyes. She is wearing a black dress that is more revealing, yet still polite, than the previous young woman. Her entire existence screams elegance and pride.

While Shizuka is looking at the first woman, Hachiman's eyes are glued to the second woman.

"Haruno," Shizuka mutters silently.

"Hello, Shizuka-chan! You have a perfect boyfriend, don't you?" The woman, Haruno, said with a smile.

In the other hand, Hachiman is silently staring at the younger woman.

"Hello. It's a long time already, isn't it?"

Hachiman laughs silently. "I hate this fucking encounter." Then, he smiles bitterly.