As the bus rolled to a stop at the station, Komachi prepared to part ways with the group.
"Well, Big Sis, I'll be waiting at home tonight!" Komachi chirped.
"Got it!" Asuna replied with a nod.
From the moment they left the house until now, the conversation had been dominated by Asuna and Komachi, leaving Hachiman somewhat on the sidelines. Seizing his chance, Hachiman leaned in, eager to assert his big-brother credentials.
"Komachi, be careful out there, okay? If anything happens, you call your big brother right away, got it?"
Komachi's response was predictably casual, her tone dripping with playful indifference. "Yeah, yeah, sure, I'll be careful~"
But then her expression shifted, a flicker of seriousness crossing her face as she turned to Hachiman. "And you, Big Brother, better make sure Big Sis doesn't get into any danger. If something happens to her and she can't make it tonight…"
Her voice trailed off, and a chilling intensity radiated from her, so fierce that Hachiman swallowed hard before daring to ask, "…What happens then?"
Komachi's eyes glinted with menace. "I'll spill every single detail about your past flings to Big Sis."
"What?! I don't even have any—" Hachiman started to protest, but Asuna's curiosity was already piqued.
"Wait, wait, what's that, Komachi-chan? Your Big Sis wants to hear all about it, like, right now!" Asuna's eyes sparkled with mischief.
Komachi, slightly rattled by Asuna's enthusiasm, managed a strained smile. "No worries, Big Sis! It's all just stories of him getting rejected, so nothing juicy!"
Asuna nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Oh, I see, I see. Just tales of people with zero taste in men, huh? Well, those aren't worth hearing. Though, I won't lie, it's not like I'm completely uninterested. It's definitely a trump card against Hachiman-kun. Sorry, Komachi-chan, I almost went into 'crush the competition' mode there for a sec, hehe!"
The Hachiman siblings shivered at Asuna's darkly playful tone.
"Hey, Komachi, stop flipping Asuna's weird switches!" Hachiman hissed.
"Y-Yeah, I love this super intense Big Sis, but I'll be careful…" Komachi mumbled.
With a wave, Komachi dashed off, leaving Asuna and Hachiman to board a train to the station nearest their school.
"Right on schedule!" Asuna declared triumphantly.
Hachiman raised an eyebrow. "Schedule? You got some errand or something?"
"Oh, uh, I just meant it's the perfect time to get to school!" she said quickly.
"Oh, right, makes sense," Hachiman replied, accepting her explanation without digging deeper.
What he didn't know was that Asuna's "schedule" referred to a rendezvous with Rika. Waiting at the station, Rika had already locked onto the pair with predatory focus.
"There they are! Alright, Kazuto, let's see if Asuna can pull off the plan perfectly," Rika said, smirking.
"If something goes wrong, we just step in, right?" Kazuto asked, sounding less than thrilled.
"Yup. Keep your eyes peeled, Kazuto!" Rika ordered.
"Why am I stuck doing this? Couldn't Keiko handle it?" Kazuto grumbled.
"Keiko's got her own role!" Rika shot back.
Kazuto, clearly dragged into this against his will, sighed. "This is all for their peace, huh?"
"Pretty much. Deal with it," Rika said with a grin.
And so, Rika and Kazuto trailed Hachiman and Asuna, setting the stage for Asuna's first mission. As they walked, Asuna subtly linked her arm with Hachiman's, then pressed herself closer, her chest brushing against his arm.
"H-Hey, Asuna?!" Hachiman stammered, his face flushing.
"Ehehe!" Asuna giggled, undeterred.
"Asuna, seriously—"
"Ehehe!"
"Asuna—"
"Ehehe!"
"…Never mind," Hachiman muttered, defeated.
In her mind, Asuna replayed Rika's instructions from the previous day:
"Okay, Asuna, here's the basics: you two walk to school arm-in-arm, got it? If Hachiman gets all shy and tries to pull away, don't let go. And if he says anything, just hit him with a big 'Ehehe!' and keep smiling. Works every time!"
"Will that really work?" Asuna had asked, uncertain.
Rika had grinned wickedly. "Hachiman won't force you away. He'll just fluster and try to talk his way out. But if you keep smiling like you're having the time of your life, he'll back down. Plus, let's be real—he's a closet perv, so he's secretly enjoying the, ahem, contact."
"R-Right, got it!" Asuna had replied, determined.
Sure enough, the plan unfolded exactly as Rika predicted. Hachiman backed off, though Asuna couldn't quite tell if he was secretly enjoying himself. Still, she felt a vague sense that he wasn't entirely opposed to her closeness. Arm-in-arm, they continued toward school.
At first, few students from their school were around, but as they neared, the crowds grew—and so did the stares. The pair's public display was drawing attention.
"Looking good so far, Rika," Kazuto observed.
"Yup. Oh, check it—another guy's reaching for a letter, but the second he sees Hachiman, he gives up," Rika said, chuckling.
"It's like the parting of the Red Sea," Kazuto quipped, amused.
Indeed, several boys, unaware that dorm-resident Asuna would arrive from the station, spotted her and reached for what looked like love letters. But the moment they noticed her clinging to Hachiman, his intimidating aura and her blissful expression crushed their resolve, leaving them crumpled in defeat. The scene had repeated multiple times already.
"Love letters in this day and age? What's with the guys at our school?" Kazuto wondered aloud.
Rika shrugged. "Asuna never gives out her contact info to guys. She doesn't join in on group hangouts unless Hachiman's there, and she brushes off anyone who tries to chat her up in the halls. So, old-school love letters are their only shot."
"Makes sense. That's why it's all these retro types," Kazuto said.
"Exactly. The newbies from the lower floors are clueless, but anyone who's fought on the higher floors has heard the rumors about Hachiman and Asuna. The ex-Blood Oath Knights? They're basically their secret bodyguards."
"Still, the sheer number of letters is wild," Kazuto remarked.
"That's why part of this plan is to make their 'guard' a bit more public," Rika added.
As they spoke, more boys fell to the wayside, some even consoling each other in their shared defeat. The path to school was chaos, though Hachiman remained blissfully unaware, vaguely noting that people seemed oddly hesitant to approach him today. Asuna, meanwhile, was too busy basking in his presence to care.
The plan was a resounding success. At school, they were greeted by Keiko, whose role was to guard Asuna's shoe locker. Thanks to her, not a single love letter awaited Asuna that day, earning her heartfelt thanks.
Inside the school, Asuna hesitated to keep their arms linked—too bold for the hallways. Instead, she settled for holding Hachiman's hand. Even that was enough to fluster him, but her relentless "Ehehe!" barrage left him no choice but to accept his fate as they headed to class.
Murmurs followed them down the corridor:
"Look at that…"
"No way, I'm giving up…"
"Asuna-sama, how could you…"
"She looks so happy. I want a boyfriend like that…"
"Finally, Hachiman and Asuna are stepping up as the school's official power couple!"
"That's our Vice-Commander and Strategist! Untouchable aura!"
Hachiman, usually oblivious to such chatter, was startled by the volume of whispers. For the first time, he realized just how famous he and Asuna were. But seeing her radiant smile, he told himself the embarrassment was worth it. Steeling himself, he walked with her to the classroom.
As they entered, their classmates shot them surprised glances before quickly looking away, clearly used to Asuna's clinginess. The morning passed uneventfully, but at lunch, Asuna dropped her next bombshell per the plan.
"Hey, Hachiman-kun, I made lunch for you too today. Wanna eat on the rooftop together?"
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