She stood there for a moment, reminiscing about her own school days, when she spotted a familiar face among the sea of uniforms. She decided to head over and say hello.
"Rose-san!"
"Ah, Nakamachi-san. You've finished the delivery already? Thank you."
"Not at all! Thank you for choosing our shop. We really appreciate the business."
"I look forward to a long partnership," Rose said with her usual professional poise.
Chika looked at Rose with a sense of pure admiration. To Chika, who had only ever seen Rose as a high-powered, capable executive, the woman was an idol—an unreachable standard of perfection.
Hachiman would have likely keeled over in laughter if he heard that assessment, but it was the general consensus among everyone who didn't know Rose personally. Outside of matters involving Hachiman, Rose was exceptionally efficient and highly respected by all her business partners.
But as Chika watched her, she noticed something.
Wait... is Rose-san's face a bit red? And she looks a little unsteady on her feet...
Chika focused on her, and just as the thought crossed her mind, Rose's knees buckled.
"Rose-san!"
Chika rushed over and caught her, pressing a hand to the older woman's forehead.
"She's burning up!"
Realizing Rose had a severe fever, Chika fumbled for her phone and called Kaori. Within minutes, Hachiman came sprinting into the room.
"Nakamachi-san!"
"Hikigaya-kun! I thought she looked off, and then she just collapsed!"
"I see... I'll take her to the hospital. Thanks, Nakamachi-san."
"I'm sorry... all I could do was call Kaori..."
"Don't be. You really saved us here. I'm going to explain the situation to the students and get a replacement for her, so could you look after her for just one more minute?"
"Of course! Leave it to me."
Hachiman quickly apologized to the Kaihin General students, bowing his head as he explained that a colleague would be taking over, then rushed back to Chika.
"Alright, we're going."
"Take care of her," Chika said softly.
Hachiman lifted Rose into his arms. As he stood up, he looked at Chika. "I owe you one for this."
"Fufu, you don't have to worry about that."
"I can't just let it go. Name your price."
"Haha, fine then. Take me out for steak."
She meant it as a joke, but Hachiman gave her a firm, serious smile. "Deal. Leave it to me."
"Wait, I was kidding!"
"I know. But I'm taking you up on it anyway. Expect a call from Orimoto soon to set it up. Look forward to it."
"Hey, wait!"
"Haha. See you later, Nakamachi-san."
Chika watched his retreating back and sighed. "Geez... Hikigaya-kun really is a big-hearted guy, isn't he?"
She shook herself out of it and straightened her posture. "Back to work!"
She genuinely valued her friendship with Hachiman and didn't want to seem like she was after his money, but she couldn't deny the flutter of excitement at the invitation.
"If it's steak... I hope it's yakiniku. I'll have to make sure to thank Kaori later," she hummed.
"Koneko? Hey, Kitten. Are you with me?"
"Ngh... ah... where...?"
Rose's consciousness was hazy, but she managed to drift back toward the surface for a moment. She looked around, confused. She was in a hospital waiting room. She tried to stand up, but the fever sent her world spinning.
"Don't get up yet. They're going to call your name soon. Just hang in there."
"Where... are we?"
"The hospital. You passed out with a fever. Don't you remember?"
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