Chapter 523: A Private Invitation from Iroha Isshiki
Time flew by, and a week had passed since Komachi's exams ended.
Today was the day the exam results would be announced.
At the entrance of Sobu High School, a large group of students had gathered early, eager to check if their names were on the bulletin board.
Naturally, Komachi was among them, and by her side was her brother, Hachiman.
"Ah, there's my name! There's my name!"
Seeing the name "Hikigaya Komachi" on the results board, Komachi excitedly shouted.
"I passed, Onii-chan! I made it!"
"Congratulations, Komachi. That's wonderful," Hachiman nodded with a smile.
"Yes, it's great, really great. I passed…," Komachi's voice trembled more and more as she spoke, and eventually, she couldn't hold back her tears.
She had finally passed; she could finally attend Sobu High School with her brother.
After all the hard work she had put in, she had succeeded!
Thinking about this, the little girl could no longer hold it in, and tears streamed down her face.
Gradually, her crying grew louder.
Seeing her like this, Hachiman pulled her into his arms and gently patted her head.
"What are you crying for, silly girl? You should be happy that you passed."
Leaning against her brother's chest, Komachi sobbed, "It's just… it's so good, Onii-chan. It's just so good. I passed…."
"Yeah, it's great, Komachi. You worked really hard."
Hachiman understood that her tears were from overwhelming joy, as the tension and stress she'd been carrying for so long could finally be released.
Without saying much more, Hachiman simply continued to gently stroke Komachi's head, comforting her.
And it wasn't just Komachi; there were many other students around them shedding tears of happiness too.
At that moment, a familiar voice reached Hachiman's ears.
"Taishi!"
"Sis, I passed! I got into Sobu High!"
Looking over, Hachiman saw the Kawasaki siblings standing together.
Taishi handed an envelope to his sister, grinning with excitement.
"Sis, I got in! Look!"
Accepting the envelope and seeing the words "Sobu High Admission Guide" written on it, Saki couldn't help but shed a few tears herself, clutching the envelope tightly and murmuring to herself.
"That's great… really great…"
Perhaps hearing the familiar voice of Taishi, Komachi stood up from Hachiman's arms and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.
After all, she was about to turn 15, and crying in her brother's arms felt a little embarrassing.
Noticing Komachi and Hachiman, Taishi walked over.
"Big brother, I passed! I got into Sobu High too!"
Hearing this kid call him "big brother" again made Hachiman a little annoyed.
"Why do you keep calling me 'brother'? Call me senpai."
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, Hachiman noticed an unhappy glare from Saki on the other side.
Perhaps the intensity of her gaze was too strong for him to handle, and Hachiman reluctantly offered a somewhat insincere congratulations, "Fine, fine. I should still congratulate you. Well done on passing."
Although Hachiman's tone wasn't the friendliest, Taishi didn't seem to mind at all. Instead, he beamed brightly.
"Thank you, Hikigaya-senpai."
After thanking Hachiman, Taishi turned his attention back to Komachi.
"This is great, Komachi! We're both Sobu High students now."
"Yeah, it's awesome, Taishi," Komachi replied with a cheerful smile.
Hearing how familiarly this guy was addressing his sister made Hachiman feel a little annoyed.
You've got your eye on Komachi, don't you? Stop dreaming. If you ever make a move on her, don't expect me to go easy on you, even for Saki's sake.
As if sensing some malicious intent, Taishi shivered slightly, wrapping his arms around himself.
Just then, Komachi seemed to remember something and pulled out her phone. "Oh right! I need to inform the school and let Mom and Dad know."
Seeing this, Taishi also took out his phone.
While Komachi was busy sending texts, a voice suddenly called out.
"Komachi~~!"
Turning toward the sound, they saw a pink-haired figure rushing over, out of breath.
"Yui-neesan!"
The moment Komachi spotted Yui, she dashed over and threw herself into her arms, sobbing once again.
"Yui-neesan, I passed! I passed!"
Seeing Komachi in tears again, Yui hugged her tightly, gently stroking the back of her head, offering constant words of comfort.
"Congratulations... That's amazing… You worked so hard, and I'm so proud of you."
As she spoke, tears began to well up in Yui's eyes too.
Anyone watching might have mistaken the two of them for real sisters.
Before long, the two of them stopped crying and stood up straight, their tear-filled eyes now filled with smiles.
At that moment, a cold but gentle voice sounded near them.
"Komachi, congratulations on passing."
Looking toward the voice, Komachi exclaimed excitedly, "Yukino-neesan!"
"I passed, Yukino-neesan, I did it…"
She then ran into Yukino's arms, seemingly on the verge of tears once again.
Yukino quickly comforted her in a gentle voice, "Alright, alright, why are you crying? This is something to be happy about."
"I know, but I just can't help it," Komachi sniffled.
"You're probably just feeling overwhelmed after being tense for so long. Now that it's all over, your emotions are catching up," Yukino said, patting her head and offering an analysis.
Her serious tone, however, made Komachi giggle.
"Pfft, Yukino-neesan, you're still the same, always so serious."
Seeing the little girl teasing her, Yukino pinched her cheeks in slight annoyance.
"Oh? Do you have a problem with that?"
"Nope, I love you no matter what, Yukino-neesan." Komachi shook her head with a smile, then turned to Yui.
"And I love Yui-neesan too."
Hearing this, Yui felt touched and hugged Komachi again, grinning foolishly.
"Aww, I love Komachi and Yukinon the most!"
Watching the three girls hug each other, Hachiman, standing nearby, couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.
He felt a bit excluded, even though he was Komachi's actual brother.
Just then, his phone chimed with a new text message.
Taking it out, he saw a message from Iroha Isshiki:
[Senpai, could you please come to the school's little garden during lunch break? You have to come, or I'll cry /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~]
Reading the message, Hachiman couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
.....
Watching Komachi leave, Hachiman returned to his classroom.
Now that his sister had successfully passed the entrance exam for Sobu High, it was a huge weight off his shoulders.
Next on his list was to find Shizuka and pull some strings, making sure Komachi was placed in the best class.
What if Shizuka refused? Well, Hachiman would just have to "persuade" her until she agreed.
Time passed, and soon the lunch bell rang.
As promised, Hachiman made his way to the school's little garden.
Upon arriving, he found that Iroha Isshiki hadn't shown up yet, so he sat down on the steps of the garden and waited idly.
Before long, the sound of footsteps reached his ears.
Looking up, he saw Iroha jogging toward him from a distance.
"Senpai, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Yeah, I've been waiting for a while," Hachiman shrugged.
Hearing his response, Iroha put her hands on her hips and pouted in mild annoyance.
"Hey, that's too harsh, Senpai! You're supposed to say you just got here too!"
Hachiman waved her off indifferently.
"Alright, alright. Let's get to the point. I haven't even had lunch yet."
Hearing that Hachiman had come over without even eating, Iroha paused for a moment, feeling a bit unexpectedly happy.
So, Senpai does care about me after all.
Hmph, always pretending to be indifferent.
Thinking this, she handed him a MAX Coffee she had just bought.
"Senpai, this is for you."
Hachiman didn't hesitate and took the coffee from her, opening it and taking a sip.
"Alright, what is it you need from me today?"
Sitting down beside him, Iroha smiled a bit sheepishly.
"Hehe, well, there's something I want to ask for your help with."
-----------
If you want to read 20 advance chapters ahead.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Leonzky
Creation is hard, cheer me up! VOTE for me!