The friends all wave goodbye to each other as they head home. As they walk, Shiori and Hikigaya stay quiet as they blush a little, embarrassed by the others' teasing.
Shiori "Hikigaya..?"
Hikigaya "Yeah..?"
Shiori "I've… been thinking… about us.."
He blushes a little and looks away from her.
Hikigaya "O-oh? What about us?"
He answers nervously. Shiori timidly speaks as she is embarrassed too.
Shiori "Well, you know how we're stuck together because of Principal Ai's orders? I know why I was put in this program. I was mean and short tempered with everyone that came my way. I always kept everyone at arm's length because I was afraid they would hurt me like everyone else if I let them in. But you, you're much nicer than I am. You're passionate and optimistic most of the time. You have friends and seem to be more liked by strangers so I just can't imagine what could've happened for you to be put in the same position as me."
She says without looking at him. Their blushing goes away but Shiori stays talking timidly due to being so open about her emotions. Hikigaya looks at her with surprise before laughing to himself a bit.
Hikigaya "Coming from you, that's a great compliment."
She looks at him surprised as he looks up.
Hikigaya "I'm glad you think I'm so optimistic and nice but that's not true. You see, I used to get into fights a lot. Not that I really wanted to but whether I liked it or not, my reputation was filled with fight after fight. I try my best to be as nice as I can to most people I meet just because I don't want people to feel so closed off or unseen, feeling that everyone around them is out to get them or hurt them. I want to help people. That's the main reason I created Watchdog."
He looks at her for a moment as she nods understandingly. He then looks down a bit.
Hikigaya "But no matter how many people I helped, how many bullies I made go away or other kids I saved from harm, it would always get spun around on me. All the adults would see is what they were told. That I beat up some kid because I felt like it. That I was some mean jerk who hated everyone. And they all believed it so time and time again, I would be punished. Never once stopping to listen or believe me as I tried to explain myself. So at some point I decided that if all they were gonna see me as was some mean delinquent student then that's all I'd be to them. But I would never let that stop me from helping other kids around me. I would always fight to protect them from any harm I see coming their way. Because that is what I wanted to do."
He says with a confident smile but hurt in his eyes from the recollection of sad memories.
Hikigaya "But then, I met you. And you gave me a chance to prove that I'm more than what they think I am."
He says turning to her and smiling with his eyes closed. Shiori stares with her eyes shining a bit as she admires Hikigaya. He looks at her smiling for a moment before blushing and looking away.
Hikigaya "Ahha.. Well anyway, let's get some sleep. It's been a long night."
She blushes a bit too and agrees as they approach their house. They enter their rooms as Shiori changes into pajamas and gets into bed. She lays on her back for a moment before rolling onto her side.
Shiori 'Hikigaya… I never realized how similar our lives have been. If I had known you felt that way, went through that, maybe I would've…'
She rolls over to her other side with a frustrated look.
Shiori 'No, it's my fault. He's gone through so much. Probably as much as I have and yet he still has a smile on his face trying to make people happy and protect them.'
She rolls one last time onto her back with her eyes open this time.
Shiori 'Our lives were so similar but one difference changed our paths entirely. He chose to stay positive and not let them get to him. While I… I chose to shut down… I forgot how to be optimistic, how to be… better.'
She closes her eyes as she falls asleep.
Shiori 'What made me forget how to be good?.. What happened… that made me lose sight of the good in people?..'
As she sleeps, she dreams about a young version of herself sitting alone on a swing set. She gently sways back and forth as she looks at the sky. She smiles a bit.
Boy "At least we know the clouds aren't lonely, right?"
She looks to her right and sees a boy her same age smiling at her. She smiles back happily.
Shiori "Right!"
Suddenly, her eyes open as she wakes up in her bed. Her phone vibrates with an alarm as she rolls on her side and turns it off. It's early in the morning as she lays on her back. She gets up and leaves the house in her pink sweatpants but this time she wears a matching sweatshirt due to the winter cold. She shakes a bit as she turns to face the sidewalk.
Shiori "Brr… Why does Winter always have to be so cold?.."
She shakes it out before she starts running. After a while, she pants and sweats as she comes around the corner. Her sleeves are now rolled up as she slows down to a walk. She makes her way to her house as she hears a noise come from above her. She turns and looks up to see Hikigaya falling from the sky in her direction.
Hikigaya "SHIORI WATCH OUT!!"
He shouts as she freaks out and collides with each other. They tumble on the ground a bit before stopping. Shiori sits up rubbing her head a bit before getting angry at Hikigaya who has swirly eyes on the ground.
Shiori "You dumbass! What's your problem?!"
Hikigaya "Ugh… I'm… sorry…"
She sighs as she stands up and offers her hand. Hikigaya snaps out of it and shakes his head a bit before taking her hand. He gets up and dusts himself off and Shiori sighs in disappointment.
Shiori "What were you even doing in the sky like that? And what if someone saw you?"
Hikigaya "Eh don't worry about it. People around here are real quiet and keep to themselves. As for what I was doing up there…"
He scratches his head in embarrassment.
Hikigaya "I was… trying to replicate your wings."
Shiori looks at him confused.
Hikigaya "I figured that if I just threw myself in the air like that and let myself fall maybe my instincts would kick in and they'll catch me but I guess not…"
He laughs embarrassedly as Shiori smiles softly and shakes her head again.
Shiori "Why would you want to do that?"
Hikigaya "In our duel, you were doing so many fancy moves and I was just doing the same old same old. I wanted to try and catch up with your skills. Especially since you can copy mine so easily."
Shiori "Hikigaya, you don't need to copy my techniques. You'll be able to find your own in time. Just let it come naturally. That's what I do. Now come on, I wanna get out of these sweaty clothes."
She punches him in the arm and turns to walk away. Hikigaya follows her a bit before she winces in pain. She holds the side of her face by her eyebrow as Hikigaya comes up to her.
Hikigaya "What's wrong?"
Shiori rubs her eyebrow as it bleeds a little.
Shiori "Ah it's nothing. Must've cut myself when I hit the ground."
Hikigaya "Come on, let's get you patched up."
He says as she grabs her hand and pulls her along to the house. They eventually get to the bathroom where Shiori sits on the edge of the bathtub as Hikigaya opens a small box filled with bandaids and such.
Hikigaya "Alright, let's see what we got here. Hmm. Doesn't seem too bad. I think I just might be able to save your life."
He says playfully as Shiori rolls her eyes and giggles softly. He pulls out a small cotton ball and cleans up some of the blood around her cut. She winces at one dab.
Hikigaya "Ah, I'm sorry! I'll try to be more gentle.."
He sweats as he continues before pulling out a disinfectant pad. He sticks his tongue out as he tries to gently clean her cut.
Shiori "You're terrible at this."
She says with a slight smile on her face.
Hikigaya "Yeah? I'd like to see you try then!"
Shiori "I've done it already to you when you recklessly took a bat to the side of the head."
Hikigaya "Oh, that's right… Heh, that was a long time ago now."
Shiori "I guess it was. Why didn't you dodge it? The day we saved Sugawara. Now I know your actual fighting skills so I'm surprised you even got hit."
Hikigaya "Eh, I was trying to send a message and be all cool. I didn't realize he had a bat made of Grant Wood though. That's some tough stuff."
Shiori "Oh, that's what it was. I heard of those huge trees up north. They make all kinds of things from them but they're super expensive to get."
Hikigaya "Yeah those thugs probably stole it from someone else. Who knows though."
He places a bandaid over her small cut and then backs up.
Hikigaya "Alright, you should be all good. That'll be 50,000 Isos."
Shiori gets up and looks at it in the mirror.
Shiori "For this crappy job, I don't think so. But, seeing as it's you, I'll give it a six out of ten."
Hikigaya "Well sorry for not being used to having to bandage anyone up. My healing factor usually takes care of it."
He sticks his tongue out before remembering something.
Hikigaya "You seem to be used to this. Have you done this before?"
Shiori "Not really anymore but I used to."
Hikigaya "Oh? On someone else or..?"
Shiori doesn't answer and lowers her head a bit as she finishes putting on the bandaid. The question obviously upset her a bit.
He thinks back to the first time she patched him up.
Hikigaya "Hey, you never answered my question, back then. When I asked why you were so good at this. Is it still too personal or..?"
He asks hesitantly. Shiori turns to him confused for a moment but then realizes what he's talking about.
Shiori "Oh, that. Well, back when I started as Fullsky, I wasn't nearly as skilled with my powers as I am now. I didn't have the healing aura power or anything like that so I had to learn how to patch myself up. Although it did bug me a little, you asking about my personal life back then, I was more concerned with not letting you know my secret. Now, both of those things don't matter too much."
She gives him a warm smile as he smiles back.
Hikigaya "Well that's good to know. I'm glad you're more open with me now."
Shiori "Me too."
She says as she opens the door and motions for him to leave.
Shiori "Now get out of here. I'm gonna shower this sweat and dirt off me."
He smiles at her and leaves as she closes the door behind her. She leans against it. She places her hand on the bandaid on her head and smiles warmly while blushing.
Shiori "I like being open with you…"
She whispers.