Chapter 104: Dawn
"But I still don't plan on quitting my job," Saki's tone shifted, her eyes locking onto Hachiman's with intensity. Her voice rose, thick with determination. "I want to go to university, and I don't want to be a burden on the family or Taishi."
Faced with his sister's iron will, Taishi fell silent.
"Um~, can I say something?"
Komachi's lazy, upbeat voice drifted into the conversation. She raised a small hand like a student answering a question in class. "Actually, both our parents work too. When I was little, I used to get so mad and even ran away from home because nobody was there when I got back. But in the end, it wasn't my parents who came looking for me—it was Onii-chan. After that, Onii-chan always made sure to be home before I was. That's why Komachi is always grateful to her brother."
*Why is there such a wonderful sister in this world... ah, right, she's mine,* Hachiman thought.
Hearing Komachi's words, Hachiman almost felt a tear well up—even though his intentions back then hadn't been nearly that noble. In reality, he just didn't have any friends to play with and wanted to get home as fast as possible to watch the 6:00 PM anime on TV Tokyo.
Akishin glanced at Hachiman beside him and let out a faint smile.
The way Saki looked at Hachiman changed significantly; perhaps she recognized a fellow family-oriented soul. Yui's eyes began to mist over, while Yukino alone looked utterly baffled.
"The reason he goes home early is because Hikigaya has no friends, isn't it?"
"Hey, how did you know? Are you [Yukipedia] or something!?" Hachiman snapped at her.
"Ah, well, I knew that, of course! I just thought it sounded much more beautiful the way I put it," Komachi admitted with refreshing honesty.
Akishin sipped his coffee, shaking his head slightly. Doing something with a calculated purpose and doing something that happens naturally are two entirely different things. Though, of course, Komachi was just teasing; she understood her brother's heart perfectly.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Saki asked, her patience wearing thin. What was the point of all this sentimentality?
Komachi didn't lose her smile. She replied softly, "Just like Saki-nee doesn't want to trouble the family, Taishi doesn't want to trouble Saki-nee either. If you could just understand that, we younger siblings would be very happy..."
Everyone turned to look at Komachi. Her words hung in the air, pulling the group into a thoughtful silence.
Akishin took another sip of his coffee, feeling the bittersweet flavor spread across his palate. He narrowed his eyes slightly. *This idiot student of mine is way too lucky. To have a sister this good...*
"...That's basically how I feel too," Taishi murmured, breaking the quiet.
Saki stared at Taishi for several seconds. She sighed again, and a touch of softness finally returned to her tired eyes. The bridge of communication between the siblings had been rebuilt.
But the practical problem remained.
Hachiman spoke up again. "Kawasaki, do you know about scholarships?"
Saki looked blank. She clearly didn't. Hachiman glanced at Akishin, then proceeded to explain the concept of scholarships to her. He finished by saying, "Kawasaki, with your situation, Chishima-sensei can guarantee your application gets accepted."
Saki turned her gaze to Akishin. "Is that true?"
"It is. Honestly, with your grades, Kawasaki-kun, you'd get one easily anyway. I'm just tipping the scales in your favor."
"Thank you, Chishima-sensei," Saki said, bowing deeply.
"It's no big deal." Akishin waved it off, then looked her in the eye. "Kawasaki, Hikigaya told you about my Izakaya, right?"
"Yes, he did."
"What's your hourly wage at the bar?"
"1,300 yen an hour, from 8:00 PM to 5:00 AM."
The work wasn't complicated; she wasn't a professional bartender, and a bar waitress wasn't exactly high-status work. Compared to the average Izakaya wage of eight or nine hundred yen, 1,300 yen was actually quite high.
"In that case, would you like to work at my Izakaya? I can still take on one more person. Hikigaya should have told you about the pay, hours, and the rest of the staff..."
Saki looked hesitant. It wasn't that she was afraid Akishin would harm her; it was that the wage was *too* high. She suspected he was just pitying her—much like Yui had initially thought, she'd never heard of an Izakaya paying 1,500 yen an hour.
Akishin read her mind and gave a casual wave of his hand. "Business is booming at my place; that kind of hourly wage is only natural. Don't overthink it. My other two employees get the same rate."
"...Then, thank you very much, Chishima-sensei." Saki finally agreed.
"Welcome aboard." Akishin clapped his hands together. "But you'll have to wait a few days. My other two employees are back home this week. Once they return, I'll let you know—next Monday at the latest. Use these next few days to handle your resignation at the bar. You're still a student; staying up all night is bad for your health and your studies..."
*Come to think of it, I still need a dishwasher!*
At 5:30 AM, the air was still brisk. Hachiman yawned as he watched two figures slowly walk away into the distance.
The distance between the two wasn't too close, but not too far either. If one of them realized they were walking too fast, they would slow down to wait for the other.
"So that's what they call the bond between siblings..." Yukino murmured under the light of the breaking dawn.
Hachiman smirked. "Not necessarily. Everyone's situation is different. Sometimes they're just 'strangers' who happen to live together."
Akishin stood beside Hachiman, looking at Yukino. Suddenly, he asked, "Yukinoshita-kun, is your relationship with your father... Ryuichi-kun, not very good?"
Yukino practically jumped back a step in shock. Her eyes narrowed with sudden hostility as she stared at Akishin. "Chishima-sensei... how do you know my father?"
"Of course I know him. Ryuichi-kun comes to my shop every week for a meal. Every time, we chat for a bit, and over time we became friends."
"..."
Yukino didn't say a word, but the hostility in her eyes ebbed away. Hachiman glanced at Akishin and then back at Yukino, curiosity written all over his face.
Akishin waited for a few seconds. When no answer came from Yukino, he shook his head. "Yukinoshita-kun, do you know what your father and I talk about the most? You! Your father asks me about how you're doing at school. I tell him about your grades, your studies, and I even told him about the club you started to help people... Every time I tell him, he looks so happy, but at the same time, he feels guilty for not being there for you because of his work... Yukinoshita-kun, I can see that your father cares for you very much. If there's a misunderstanding between you two, I hope you can talk it out with him... Of course, if everything is fine, just consider me an old man who talks too much. Don't take it to heart."
Having said his piece and seeing that Yukino still wouldn't respond, Akishin walked back into the McDonald's. His burger meal was finally ready.
*This kid's education is going to be a long road with a heavy burden. I'll just leave that to the idiot student.*
Finally, the group split up. Since Hachiman had come on his bicycle, he didn't share a taxi with Akishin.
On the way home, Komachi suddenly remembered something and smiled. "Oh, that's right. Onii-chan, you've already met her, haven't you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The person who delivered the cookies. Onii-chan is really lucky. Even though you ended up with a broken bone, you got to know a cute girl like Yui-neechan..."
Hachiman stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened, his pupils losing focus for a moment.
*What did Komachi just say...? Yuigahama was the one who delivered the cookies? The owner of the dog I saved on the first day of school...*
"Onii-chan? What's wrong?"
"Ah, nothing. Let's just buy some bread and go home."
Hachiman's expression returned to its usual dead-eyed mask. He pushed his bike and quickly caught up with Komachi.
The lingering shadows of the night slowly faded as the horizon grew brighter, the clouds beginning to be painted by the light. It was dawn, and the sun would soon rise...
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