"Ah, I just woke up a bit earlier than usual today..."
Having stayed up the entire night, Hikigaya Hachiman raised his head somewhat dully in response to his younger sister Komachi's voice.
"Are you really okay?"
Looking at the heavy dark circles under Hachiman's eyes, Komachi's face was full of concern.
"Of course I'm fine. Did you forget what's in my head now...?"
Pointing to his own head, Hachiman indicated that with the system in him, a mere night without sleep wasn't a big deal at all.
"Is that so? Then I'll go wash up first..."
Hearing his explanation, Komachi's expression showed understanding.
That's right—Hikigaya Hachiman was no longer the same lazy fish he once was.
With the system, his abilities now far surpassed the vast majority of society.
Having come to terms with this, Komachi's mood brightened considerably, and even her steps as she walked toward the bathroom felt lighter.
After finishing their morning routines and eating breakfast together, the siblings picked up their school bags and stepped out into the yard.
After locking the door, Hachiman turned his head toward one side of the yard and suddenly furrowed his brow.
Waiting on the roadside to walk to school with her brother, Komachi asked curiously.
"My bike got stolen..."
Seeing the empty spot where his bike should have been, Hachiman gave a bitter smile.
"Onii-chan, did you forget how you came home last night?"
Komachi looked at her confused brother with exasperation and reminded him.
With her reminder, the fog in Hachiman's brain started to clear.
He recalled that after school yesterday, he had walked to Kawasaki Saki's house...
"Jeez. Even though you got a system, Komachi thought you'd finally be a bit more reliable, but it looks like you're still helpless without me, huh?"
Despite her complaints, Komachi's heart was actually bubbling with joy at Hachiman's confused look.
As expected, no matter how Hachiman changed, he just couldn't function without her.
All Hachiman could do in response was scratch his face with an embarrassed look.
"Well, whatever. Let's hurry up and get to school, Onii-chan!"
Saying that, Komachi grabbed Hachiman's right hand and pulled him toward the direction of school.
After parting ways with Komachi at the intersection, Hachiman walked alone toward Sobu High.
Maybe because he had left the house early, there were only a few students in the classroom when he arrived.
Not knowing any of his classmates, Hachiman ignored the surprised glances thrown his way. He simply closed the door behind him, walked to his seat, sat down, and spaced out.
As time passed, the classroom gradually grew noisier.
Soon, the bell for the first class rang, and Hachiman forced himself to open his eyes and focus on the lecture.
However, the drowsiness that should only come at night hit him hard, steadily wearing down his willpower.
Barely enduring until the break, Hachiman collapsed onto his desk and started napping, regardless of anyone's reactions.
But just as he was getting into a comfortable sleep, break time quickly slipped away, and the second period began.
With no other choice, Hachiman dragged himself back upright and continued listening to class.
This cycle repeated until the fourth period...
Half-asleep, Hachiman finally heard the bell for lunch break.
He let out a long sigh of relief, just about to head to the school shop for some bread and then find a quiet place to nap...
However, as he looked up, a tall figure blocked his line of sight.
Feeling hot breath on his face, Hachiman reflexively leaned back in confusion and looked upward.
There stood Hiratsuka Shizuka, arms crossed with a wide grin on her face.
Hachiman instantly sobered up, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
"Hmph. Come with me!"
Seeing the ghost-like fear on his face, Hiratsuka let out a cold snort and gestured for him to follow.
They exited the classroom and walked down the hallway. Students in the corridor stiffened with respect at the sight of Hiratsuka, and upon noticing the dejected Hachiman trailing behind her, some gave him sympathetic looks, others smirks of schadenfreude.
Not that Hachiman cared about any of that.
As he followed behind Hiratsuka, his brain worked furiously.
What could she possibly want from him this time?
Was it because he didn't go to the Service Club yesterday? Or because he'd been dozing off all morning today? Or maybe it was the late-submitted essay that didn't meet the standard again?
...Now that he thought about it, he had quite a few offenses piled up.
While he was speculating, Hiratsuka had already arrived at the office.
She opened the door and looked back at the sluggish Hachiman behind her. Seeing that he still looked dead-tired even next to her, she could only shake her head in exasperation.
"All right, explain. What was going on with you this morning?"
Sitting down at her desk, Hiratsuka casually crossed one leg over the other, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and asked Hachiman.
Hachiman didn't even manage to reply before he started coughing from the smoke.
Realizing belatedly that she was smoking in front of a student, Hiratsuka frowned, stubbed out the cigarette, and tossed it into the trash.
The smoke stopped, and Hachiman instantly felt like he could breathe again.
He took a deep breath and then lowered his head, pretending to be dead.
How could he explain?
Was he supposed to tell Hiratsuka that he was so excited from being kissed by Komachi last night that he couldn't sleep at all?
He figured that if he actually said that, Hiratsuka would probably punch him in the gut just to wake him up properly.
"You're not seriously thinking that pretending to be dead will make me let you off, are you?"
But Hiratsuka had long since seen through him.
The moment he hung his head, she clenched both fists, letting out a menacing cracking sound.
Hearing that all-too-familiar noise, Hachiman's body instinctively flinched.
He couldn't help it. Over the past year or so, he had been beaten by Hiratsuka more than a dozen times. His body had memorized the terror she inspired.
"I didn't sleep well last night..."
Sensing the incoming punishment, Hachiman quickly raised his hand in surrender and offered an excuse, trying to gloss it over.