After three hours, the study session at the family restaurant came to a successful conclusion.
Mori Shinra had no intention of going home to cook and decided to have dinner at the restaurant before heading back.
Hikigaya and Yuigahama had people at home to cook for them, so they left first.
As for Yukinoshita...
"Wouldn't it be a bit of a hassle to go home, buy groceries, and cook now?"
"..."
Yukinoshita glanced at Mori Shinra and understood what he was trying to say. However, her hands didn't stop moving as she continued to pack up the books and stationery on the table.
Seeing this, Shinra was a little disappointed, but not too disappointed. After all, given her personality, getting her to have dinner alone with a member of the opposite sex was obviously a difficult task.
Shinra was just disappointed that he couldn't experience the ancient saying "beauty is a feast for the eyes." He figured he would have to wait for another time.
Thinking this, Shinra picked up the menu and randomly ordered a set that looked pretty good. Then, he noticed that Yukinoshita, who had finished packing, hadn't left. Instead, she was holding her hand out to him.
"Are you done ordering? If you're done, then it's my turn."
"You..."
Shinra hadn't expected Yukinoshita's silence to be a "no further words are needed, my friend," rather than a rejection.
"Even I have times when I don't feel like cooking," Yukinoshita said, her cheeks slightly red. As if afraid he would misunderstand something, she specifically added that sentence.
"Understood, understood."
Although he said he understood, the expression on his face made her feel that he had definitely misunderstood something. This made her regret her impulsive decision to stay and have dinner with him.
...Since it had come to this, she might as well eat first.
The food was served quickly. After all, they were just simple home-style dishes, not something that required exquisite preparation. But they tasted pretty good, and the rice was new rice, with a generous portion.
It was hard to tell if it was because Mori Shinra was there or if she was always like this, but Yukinoshita Yukino ate at a calm and unhurried pace, elegant and proper.
In contrast, while Shinra's eating could not be called rude, it was definitely not refined either. It was just a normal way of eating.
He wasn't going to put on a special performance just because Yukinoshita Yukino was sitting across from him. He ate how he always ate.
After all, Yukinoshita wouldn't think more highly of him for having good table manners, nor would she sever ties with him for having bad ones. Therefore, when he was with her, he tended not to deliberately hide anything, but rather showed her his truest self.
It was precisely because of this that she felt he was completely different from other people, and being with him was very comfortable.
Both of them had good dining habits. Unless necessary, they wouldn't chat while eating.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they paid the bill and left the family restaurant.
On the way, Shinra said, "By the way, I forgot to tell you earlier. Before I ran into you and Yuigahama..."
He briefly explained the circumstances of accepting Kawasaki Taishi's request and asked Yukinoshita if she wanted to be involved.
After all, he had accepted the request in the name of the Service Club on his own initiative. If she didn't want to participate, he wouldn't force her.
Hearing this, Yukinoshita didn't think too much about it and asked directly, "What do you need me to do?"
The implication was clear: she approved of this request.
"Not for the time being. We have too little information at the moment. We'll need to follow up with the person involved later. You should come along then," Shinra said, extending an invitation.
Today, he had only briefly chatted with Kawasaki Taishi about his sister's situation. Considering Taishi's own emotions and the fact that they had just met, he hadn't delved too deep.
Shinra had already decided to have Komachi ask Taishi to meet up this Friday for a proper chat. As for how to notify Komachi... actually, when Hikigaya went to get their drinks, she had taken the initiative to ask for his phone number. He just needed to send her a text.
"Alright. I'm free on Friday. Should we ask Yuigahama to come?" Yukinoshita asked.
If she, Shinra, and Hikigaya were all there, not inviting Yuigahama would feel like the three of them were isolating her. If she found out, she would inevitably be sad.
"Then I'll leave it to you to tell her, Yukino," Shinra said, entrusting the task to her.
Friday, at the same family restaurant as last time.
"Hi everyone~ I'm Hikigaya Komachi. Thank you all for taking care of my brother," Komachi said, greeting them with a bow.
Completely opposite to her brother's solitary and twisted personality, Komachi was open and generous, and her manners were impeccable. If it weren't for their identical hair and eye color and somewhat similar appearance, it would be hard to imagine that these two were actually brother and sister.
At the side, Kawasaki Taishi also bowed his head and stated his name.
"This is Yuigahama, and next to her is Yukinoshita. You should already know Mori Shinra, so I won't introduce him," Hikigaya said, helping with a brief introduction.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Hikki's classmate, Yuigahama Yui," Yuigahama introduced herself cheerfully. It might have been an illusion, but it felt like her attitude towards Komachi was very enthusiastic, not at all like how one would treat a classmate's little sister.
"Nice to meet you. Please take care of me," Komachi replied very politely to the enthusiastic Yuigahama. However, what she was a little concerned about was the other girl's way of addressing her brother.
Hikki? At first glance, the pronunciation sounded a bit like 'shut-in,' but on closer listening, it actually sounded like a nickname... Ho ho, so her brother wasn't completely useless at school after all.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Yukinoshita Yukino. I'm the president of the club Hikigaya-san belongs to."
Compared to Yuigahama, Yukinoshita's attitude was much more normal. However, her beauty seemed to have stunned Komachi a bit, to the point that her reply was a beat slower.
After the greetings, everyone took their seats.
The Hikigaya siblings and Kawasaki Taishi sat on one side, while Yuigahama, Yukinoshita, and Mori Shinra sat in order on the other.
Although it was just a simple seating arrangement, Komachi still noticed a few clues. She tugged on her brother's sleeve and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Onii-chan, what's the relationship between Mori Shinra-senpai and that Yukinoshita-senpai?"
Hikigaya was a little confused as to why she was asking this, but he still answered, "Probably friends? In any case, their relationship is definitely better than mine and his."
"Why are you comparing yourself to Yukinoshita-senpai?" Komachi sighed. Under normal circumstances, shouldn't he be considering Mori Shinra a rival?
To this, Hikigaya's answer was also very simple. "Mori Shinra is my friend. Yukinoshita isn't."
True. Komachi thought about it. During the introductions just now, Yukinoshita had only said that she was her brother's club president, not a friend or classmate. It seemed their relationship was indeed just average.
"Then what about Yuigahama-senpai? How is her relationship with you, Onii-chan?"