The others all wait outside of the school where they normally do. They look concerned and worried a bit as Kitaro comes out of the hall in his normal clothes and bag in hand. They all rush to crowd him as he approaches them.
"How much trouble did you get into?" Sugawara asks.
"What happened to you? Did you survive?" Hisana asks innocently.
"I hope she went easy on you."
Lucy says, a little anxious. Kitaro smiles and motions for everyone to calm down.
"It's alright, I only got expelled."
"What?!?"
The entire group shouts in shock. He laughs at them.
"Kidding! I'm kidding. She just told me not to put my hands on another student like that in the future, that the adults will handle it, then sent me on my way."
Kitaro says casually. They sigh in relief as Hisana punches him in the arm with a pouty look. He chuckles a bit as Shiori speaks.
"Sorry you had to go through all that for me…" She says softly.
"Don't worry about it. I don't regret doing it and will do it again if she tries anything. I can't stand people like that." Kitaro says, uncharacteristically bold.
"Wow, I didn't peg you for someone so passionate." Suiyoubi says pleasantly.
"Yeah, well, I've had my share of dumb bullies."
Kitaro says back then he looks at Hisana who looks back with a soft smile. He thinks back to a time when they were little and she was pushed to the ground as he watches, hiding around a corner cowardly. In the present, his eyes sharpen a little.
"I won't let anything like that happen again. Not to my friends." He says, determined.
"Aww, he called us his friends." Chizuru says while playfully wiggling around.
"Shut up, let's just go already."
Kitaro says before walking past her. They laugh about it as they grab their bags and begin walking home. Before they fully leave the front gate, Shiori looks to the side to see Mr. Goda coming out of a side hallway talking to another teacher. He waves before walking down the sidewalk.
"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up."
She says to the group. They look at her confused before she runs off to catch up to Mr. Goda.
"Mr. Goda!"
She calls to him. He turns and sees her approaching him and smiles a bit.
"What seems to be the problem?" He asks.
"Oh, there's no problem. I just… I wanted to apologize to you for failing to win the Sports Festival. That was the whole request you made to the Helpers Club and we couldn't follow through… I'm sorry…"
He stares at her for a second as she looks down with disappointment on her face. He laughs to himself a bit.
"You mean the first place medal? Eh, I don't need that old thing. I got a perfectly good one right here."
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out Shiori's silver medal. She looks surprised and checks her pockets before realizing she had forgotten it.
"That right there is very important to me so next time, don't just leave it in the locker room, okay?"
He hands it to her and she takes it with a smile.
"That medal that you earned is more than enough for me. Because between you and me, seeing you try your hardest and seeing your friends go above and beyond, all for me. That makes me feel like a winner in my book."
He says with a gentle tone so unlike his regular voice. Shiori looks at him with surprise and shiny eyes. He gives her a smile and a pat on the shoulder.
"Now get going. You're friends are waiting for you."
He looks behind her as she turns around to see the others staring before dashing behind the wall to hide. She shakes her head a bit before turning back around to face him.
"Thank you, Mr. Goda."
"No, thank you for making my first Sports Festival as a teacher the best I could ask for."
He smiles at her and nods before turning and walking down the path. She comes back to the group as they all try not to act suspicious.
"So, what'd you do?" Chizuru asks, obviously faking her curiosity.
"We definitely have no idea that you were talking to Mr. Goda."
Haru says as innocently as he can. Sugawara elbows him playfully. Shiori smiles and shakes her head again. She looks at her medal one more time before putting it around her neck.
"Come on, let's go home."
She says as Hikigaya nods. They begin to walk home together as they normally do when they realize the others are still following them. They ignore it, thinking that their friends are just being silly but as they get closer to their house, they start to sweat and get concerned.
"You guys know that our house is this way, not yours, right?"
Hikigaya asks with a sweat. They all smile and continue anyway. They act natural as they approach the front of their house.
"This has 'trap' written all over it.."
Shiori whispers to Hikigaya without looking at him, trying not to be noticed.
"Yeah, I know.."
He whispers back. They approach their front door as the others are right behind them. Shiori grabs the door handle carefully and slowly turns it. When she opens the door, she is met with all of their parents and a few others shouting.
"Surprise!"
Shiori and Hikigaya are stunned as the others push them into the house. Total head count for the party excluding the main group is: Asami, Hamasaki, Takanou, Riku, Henry, Pastel, Emiko, Koa, Willow, Kenji, Yuri, Natsu, Fuyu, Aki, Tsuki and Mormo.
"What's all this for..?" Shiori asks, stunned by the display of people.
"You did such a good job today, we wanted to do something a little special for you!" Hamasaki says happily.
"With the help of your friends, we were able to put this together a little last minute." Takanou says proudly.
"But we didn't win." Shiori says softly in disbelief.
"Oh, winning shminng! That doesn't matter! All that matters is that we are so proud of you! Both of you."
Takanou says as he looks at Hikigaya with a smile. Hikigaya gets a little embarrassed as he rubs his head.
"Oh, well, I didn't really do anything. She was the lead, ya know?"
"Perhaps, but we all know you encouraged her and helped keep the team together, right?"
Asami says proudly. The others all shout 'Right!' in response. Asami nods before turning around.
"Now come on! Let's get this party started!"
She cheers. They all cheer as everyone starts having a good time with food and drinks. Eventually, Emiko sits down next to Shiori who is talking to Ryuji and Chizuru.
"You know, Tom is gonna be mad when he finds out we partied together without him."
"Yeah, I wouldn't blame him. Still, I'm surprised you came. How did you even find out about the party?" Shiori says with a little laugh.
"Well, when your little brother is invited to things, you're invited to things. Get what I'm sayin'?"
Emiko says jokingly, pointing her thumb at her little brother. Shiori laughs a little and looks at Touma talking with Lucy. Mostly her talking and he is listening.
"Why was Touma invited? Don't get me wrong, he seems really cool but it's not like we've been hanging out much." Shiori says.
"It was at the request of a certain someone."
Ryuji says with a slight smile before all three of them turn and look at Chizuru as she sips her drink. She notices them staring at her and she begins to blush in embarrassment.
"I-it's like you said Shiori. He just seems cool and I'd like to get to know him better."
They give her looks as if knowing her true feelings but move on.
"Alright, that's fair but what about Sky?"
Shiori asks while looking over and noticing Sky sitting next to them. The others look surprised by this.
"Oh, I just followed you guys here. You were loads of fun in the Sports Festival so I've decided to make you all my companions!"
Sky says confidently. They sweat and look at her confused a bit but accept it.
"Well, welcome to the club! I always love making new friends!"
Chizuru smiles warmly as Sky blushes and looks away.
'So cute!'
The others laugh a bit as Hikigaya and Kitaro stand against a wall by the kitchen. Hikigaya stares at Tsuki who is in the kitchen pouring chips in a bowl and such.
"Why is he here? Who invited him?" Hikigaya asks with a slightly annoyed look.
"I have no idea. No one in our group, I'll tell you that. I don't know a single person in our group who actually enjoys his company. Except maybe Mormo but he's a freak, anyway." Kitaro answers.
"You know I can hear you guys." Tsuki says without looking at them.
"Good."
Hikigaya and Kitaro say in unison. Tsuki sweats a bit from the reaction.
"We all hangout in the same clubroom. I can hear the plans you guys make, even if I am in the chair of shame.. Besides, I'm just trying to make a good impression by helping out. That's all." Tsuki says genuinely.
"Maybe try impressing those cookies by not letting them burn."
Kitaro says, motioning towards the oven. Tsuki sniffs the air a bit before getting a shocked look and turning around to the oven.
"Oh no! The cookies!"
He quickly tries to pull them out as they laugh at him. Asami then walks up next to them.
"Such a good lad, that one is. He followed us after the festival with that talking bear and offered to help setup. It was very kind of him." Asami says, unknowingly.
"Yeah… he's the best"
Hikigaya says sarcastically with an upset look. Asami smiles as she walks away. After a moment, Hikigaya speaks to himself in his head again.
"Certainly better than you. I bet he wouldn't let his sister die."
He thinks to himself in a harsh way. He sweats as he looks down, hurting.
Eventually the party ends and everyone says their goodbyes. As the parents finish cleaning up, Hikigaya goes upstairs.
"I'm going to bed." He says.
"Already? It's only like 8 o'clock."
Asami asks, confused by her son. Hikigaya continues up the stairs, ignoring his mother. Shiori sees her reaction and speaks.
"Yeah! It's just been a long day and we're super tired so I'm gonna turn in too. Goodnight!"
Shiori says energetically, trying to make Asami feel better and cover for Hikigaya. She waves to them then rushes up the stairs to catch up to Hikigaya as the parents look with concerned expressions. Hikigaya is at his door when Shiori catches up to him.
"Hey Hikigaya, you okay?"
She asks. He stops and looks at her for a moment.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
He then goes into his room and shuts the door. Shiori stares with a look of concern but hesitates before looking down and going into her own room.