The projection dimmed.
The restaurant erupted again.
Yui buried her face in her hands. "Ahhhh, I can't watch this anymore!"Iroha fanned herself dramatically. "This is sooo scandalous! Sensei, what if the school finds out?!""They'd expel him!" Yumiko snapped.Zaimokuza raised a finger like a sage. "Nay, this is destiny! The forbidden bond that transcends age and duty—""Shut up," Kawasaki and Yukino said flatly in unison.
Hachiman had gone very, very still. "…Prom? Dance? What kind of cursed future am I walking into?"
Hiratsuka groaned, covering her face with one hand. "I didn't… I never… damn it."
Haruno chuckled lowly. "Ara, ara~ embarrassed, Sensei? I thought you were supposed to be the cool, mature adult."
"Don't you dare," Hiratsuka growled, glaring daggers.
The voice spoke again, steady as ever:
"Proceeding to the next reveal."
The lights brightened. The projection faded. But Hiratsuka sat stiff, her cigarette case unopened on the table, her face caught between defiance and quiet ache.
And Hachiman, though he would never admit it aloud, couldn't shake the image of her hand in his.