They then burst into Shiori's room by kicking down her door, startling her in her chair at her desk.
Hikigaya/Riku "Shiori!"
She exhales in sharp relief after the scare.
Shiori "What is wrong with you guys??"
She asks, angrily.
Riku "We came to see if you wanted to play with us!"
Hikigaya "That's right! We're bored!"
Shiori sighs with a soft smile before turning back to what she was doing.
Shiori "You know, I'd love to help with your problem but I am kind of busy here. You'll have to find entertainment elsewhere."
Hikigaya looks a bit disappointed but looks at her as she works intently. He admires the look in her eyes as she focuses with passion and determination. He smiles softly with a light blush.
Riku "Aw! Why not-"
Before he can complain more, Hikigaya grabs him, covering his mouth.
Hikigaya "Come on, let's leave her to work in peace."
Riku whines and mopes as Hikigaya takes him away. Downstairs, Riku places the cleaning simulator game Hikigaya was playing with an excited look. Hikigaya watches for a moment before turning around and pulling out his phone to call Haru. It rings for a moment before Haru answers.
Haru "Hey man, what's up?"
Hikigaya "Nothing much. Kinda bored, wanna do some tomfoolery? Some shenanigans if you will?"
He asks playfully.
Haru "Dang, that does sound like an enticing offer."
He answers with a regretful tone as he holds a couple boxes in her arms.
Haru "But I'm out with Suga right now. We're picking up some supplies for a new piece of equipment he's making."
He says as Sugawara happily places another box in his arms.
Haru "But I can hang after he's done if you want?"
Hikigaya sighs a bit but smiles.
Hikigaya "Nah, you focus on helping Sugawara. We'll commit tax fraud another day. Enjoy yourself."
Haru "Will do captain!"
He answers happily before hanging up. Hikigaya scratches the back of his head as he thinks of something else to do.
Hikigaya "Well Touma and Ryuji are busy and I'm sure Lucy is helping Ryuji too."
He leans against a wall with a sigh and a slightly disappointed look on his face.
Hikigaya "It seems everyone is busy with their careers and studies.."
He says softly before his phone rings. With a surprised look, he takes out his phone and sees Chizuru calling him. He answers.
Hikigaya "Hey."
Chizuru "Hey Hiki, wanna hangout?"
Hikigaya sweats a bit.
Hikigaya "I am bored… How did you know?"
He asks as Chizuru walks down the street with a cotton candy stick in her hand.
Chizuru "Oh you know, bestfriend intuition."
Hikigaya "I don't believe you."
She sweats a bit.
Chizuru "Haru might've, maybe called me after you called him, pitying your loneliness and asking me to hangout with you."
She admits as Hikigaya droops a bit.
Hikigaya "Of course that idiot did…"
He says, imagining Haru giving him a goofy thumbs up.
Hikigaya "Well, I won't turn you down."
He says with a sigh as Chizuru smiles and stops walking.
Chizuru "Good cause I'm outside."
She says, looking at the front of his house. Hikigaya is shocked.
Hikigaya "So quick!"
He shouts. A little later, the two of them sit at a park bench under an umbrella, eating lunch as they chat.
Hikigaya "Where did you get that cotton candy from anyway?"
Chizuru "Oh, a guy was selling some at a stand in town. It looks yummy so I got some!"
She says happily as Hikigaya sweats a bit.
Hikigaya "By yourself?.. That doesn't sound safe at all…"
He says softly as Chizuru pouts a bit.
Chizuru "I told you not to worry about me like that! I'm fine."
Hikigaya "Right, right. My bad."
He says with a soft smile as Chizuru's face shifts from a pout to a warm smile before taking another bite of her sandwich.
Hikigaya "So are you busy with anything like the others?"
Chizuru "Nah, not really. I talked to Touma about it and he said he's more than happy to support us both and let me be a stay at home. And I like it that way!"
She says with a big smile. Hikigaya smirks a bit.
Hikigaya "Your relationship is going that strong, huh?"
Chizuru blushes a bit with a smug look as she looks away.
Chizuru "Going strong would be an understatement.. I don't think even you and Shiori are in love this much."
She says softly with a red face. Hikigaya laughs a bit.
Hikigaya "Seems like it!"
Chizuru smiles at him.
Chizuru "Speaking of which, what about you and Shiori?"
Hikigaya plays it off cool as a large blush spreads across his face.
Hikigaya "Oh, ahem, you know. She's cool and stuff. We're doing good."
She says, flustered while thinking of her. Chizuru giggles.
Chizuru "I knew you two were in love. I'm so happy you're together now. The brightness you cast together can be blinding at times."
Hikigaya rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed.
Hikigaya "Y-yeah?.. I'm glad.."
He says softly. They eventually finish their lunches before beginning a walk back. Chizuru walks with her hands behind her back and a happy look as Hikigaya has his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.
Chizuru "It's kind of crazy how we're gonna be full time adults soon. With everyone working on their careers and jobs, I hope we still have time to be friends."
Hikigaya "Don't worry Chizu. I'm sure we'll only get closer as time goes on. Ain't nothing can come between our group!"
Chizuru smiles and nods at Hikigaya's words.
Chizuru "What are you gonna do, Hiki? With your future, I mean."
Hikigaya gets a slightly conflicted look while looking down.
Hikigaya "I'm… not exactly sure yet."
Chizuru looks at him surprised.
Hikigaya "I just don't know what to do. Should I prepare for college to specialize in a specific field? Or maybe just support Shiori in her career?"
He says with a frustrated tone. Chizuru looks at him for a moment.
Chizuru "Are those things you want to do?"
Hikigaya sighs in frustration before gently kicking a small rock away from them.
Hikigaya "I don't know…"
He stops walking as Chizuru turns and looks at him. He looks down a bit.
Hikigaya "I would love to help Shiori with anything she needs but I need to be doing something, otherwise I'll go mad."
He says with a soft smile to Chizuru as they giggle together. They pause for a moment before Chizuru speaks.
Chizuru "I wish I could tell you what to do, be of any kind of help."
She says softly, looking away. She then looks back at Hikigaya with a smile.
Chizuru "But I don't know either!"
She says happily as Hikigaya smiles too.
Hikigaya "Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll definitely let you know when I figure it out though."
Chizuru "You better!"
She says with a smug smile. Eventually, Hikigaya makes it home by himself. His mom sits at the counter in the middle of the kitchen, reading some paperwork in front of her as Hikigaya makes his way to a seat next to her. Before he can even fully sit in the chair, his mom speaks.
Asami "What's going on?"
She asks, not even looking away from her papers. Hikigaya is surprised by her question and stops.
Hikigaya "What? I can't even get fully seated first?"
He asks angrily before sitting down with a sigh and leaning on his elbow. Asami turns and looks at him.
Asami "Are you going to answer my question?"
Hikigaya grumbles to himself.
Asami "Fine, don't take my advice."
She goes back to reading her papers as Hikigaya reluctantly turns back towards her.
Hikigaya "Sorry mom… I'm just a little lost I guess."
Asami "Well, if you want to know what to do with your future, why don't you just become a writer?"
Hikigaya gives her an unamused look as she laughs.
Asami "I'm kidding! You can go ahead and leave that to Shiori."
She playfully punches his arm.
Asami "What are your main dilemmas?"
Hikigaya "Well, I want to be there for Shiori whenever she needs me but I also want to do something I can be proud of."
His mother thinks for a moment before responding.
Asami "Why don't you pick up your art?"
Hikigaya looks at her with a surprised look.
Asami "Yeah, you should do that! Do some illustrations for her or do her book covers, or both! You can't underestimate the power of a beautiful cover."
Hikigaya thinks about it for a moment.
Asami "You've always been so talented with your art. Those little sketches and pictures you do. It'd be a shame to let it all go to waste."
She pauses for a moment before looking down with a soft, almost sad smile.
Asami "I'm sure Amber would've loved to see more of it."
She says softly as Hikigaya looks at her. He nods a bit with a sad smile too.
Hikigaya "Yeah…"
He gets up from his chair and begins to head upstairs.
Asami "You better be walking away from your sad mother to put that pencil to your paper!"
Hikigaya "Yeah, yeah."
He says back casually.
Asami "Hikigaya."
He stops and looks back at his mother who smiles softly at him.
Asami "Think about it but don't stress. You'll find what calls to you eventually."
She says in a motherly tone as Hikigaya smiles back before heading upstairs.