2:33 AM — The Hour When Apologies Smell Like Desperation
The Konbini breathed with its usual slow rhythm, the fluorescent lights buzzing like flies trapped in amber. I, Hiroto, was counting 10-yen coins (the most honest sound in the world) when the ding of the entrance sounded like an embarrassed sigh.
Hibiki was there.
Without Miyu. Without her randoseru. Just her impeccable uniform, her fogged-up glasses, and a trembling smile that looked like it was drawn with wet chalk.
"I-I-I'm sorry about the..." she murmured, pointing at the spot where, nights ago, she'd left a liquid memory of her visit. "I-I cleaned at home. F-four times."
Aoi, who was reorganizing flavored condoms with disturbing dedication, turned slowly.
"Did pee-chan come back~?" she sang, approaching like a predator. "Here for another... spill lesson?"
Hibiki didn't flinch. Instead, she smiled. A wide, nervous, but genuine smile.
"A-Aoi-san..." she said, fidgeting with her skirt. "Th-thank you for... helping me... discover something."
Aoi stopped dead.
"That you peed yourself?"
"N-no..." Hibiki took a deep breath. "I th-think... I l-like —she looked at me, red as a traffic light having a heart attack—... being talked to like that."
The Konbini sank into a silence so thick even the coffee machine stopped moaning.
"Ah." Aoi crossed her arms, her smile disappearing. "So, you're a pervert. How original."
"I-it's not that!" Hibiki waved her hands. "It's just that... when Hiroto-san insulted me, my heart..." she pressed her chest. "...beat fast. L-like..."
"Like you had tachycardia," I interrupted, throwing the coins into the drawer. "You should see a cardiologist, not a cashier."
"N-no!" Hibiki stepped closer, stepping on the imaginary puddle from her last visit. "L-like I was alive... it was... i-it was nice."
Aoi looked at me, waiting for my reaction. When I gave none, she snorted.
"Well, this is pathetic even for me," she said, walking away toward the storage room. "The boxes are calling me. Or that, or my dignity is drowning. Either way, I'm leaving."
Hibiki and I were left alone. She, smiling as if we'd won a prize. Me, wondering if the manager would pay me extra for this.
"Hiroto-san..." Hibiki placed her notebook on the counter. The cover said Math for Dummies with a sticker of a crying puppy. "C-could you... insult me again?"
"No."
"W-why not?"
"Because I'm an employee, not an internet fart."
Hibiki blinked, confused.
"F-fart?"
"Never mind," I sighed, wiping a coffee stain that no longer made sense after so many chapters. "Just go home and stop bothering me."
"B-but if you don't..." she whispered, twisting her skirt. "Then I'll h-have to... f-find someone else. On the internet... or in some alley. To s-scream mean things at me..."
The marker I was holding snapped between my fingers.
"Hey... Are you stupid by birth or do you just speak without thinking?" I said, harsher than intended. "That's dangerous."
"Do you... c-care about me?" Hibiki smiled.
"I care about being associated with a crime." I pointed at the spot of the incident. "I don't want to end up in a police station being interrogated."
She laughed, a sharp, nervous sound that made the customer on duty (an otaku buying Pocky and lubricant) look at us.
"Then... accept!"
"No."
"P-please..." she whispered, leaning in until her green tea breath brushed my ear. "Just... just a little. O-one insult. Two. Y-you do it... well."
I pulled away, feeling an discomfort I can't describe.
"You're more annoying than a fly."
Hibiki moaned, leaning on the counter.
"A-another..."
"No, go see a psychologist or a psychiatrist, you're not well."
"Y-yes! Like that... with a cold voice."
What the hell is happening?
"This is stupid." I raised an eyebrow, starting to lose patience. "You're dumber than a fried chicken onigiri."
Hibiki gasped, clutching her chest.
"Y-yes! More!"
"Hey, are you an idiot?"
"That word!" She almost jumped with excitement. "Idiot. I'm an idiot!"
I clenched my fists.
Really?
"Look, Hibiki. You're..." I searched for the least damaging insult. "...a nuisance on legs... like a stray dog that watches you while you eat."
She let out a moan, so sharp the coffee cans vibrated.
"W-what else?"
"I'm done."
"P-please!" she begged, tears streaming that shone under the fluorescent light. "I-it's the first time I've felt like this!"
I stared at her. Her trembling smile. Her fogged-up glasses. Her hands gripping the counter like it was a lifeline.
"You're..." I took a deep breath. "The worst student I've ever had." I gave her a gentle tap on the forehead with my finger.
Hibiki let out a squeak, covering her mouth.
"A-and... and stupid?"
"I'm not going to..."
"Say it!"
"You're stupid," I said, without conviction.
Hibiki shuddered, leaning against the drink machine.
"Th-thank you..." she whispered, as if she'd been given a gift.
At that moment, Aoi emerged from the storage room, dragging a box of expired puddings.
"She's still here?" she asked, but her voice lacked its usual malice.
"Hiroto-san insulted me!" Hibiki announced, proud. "It was nice!"
Aoi looked at me, and for the first time, I saw something like... concern?
"Don't do it," she murmured, quiet as if talking to herself. "This will end worse than you imagine."
But it was too late. Hibiki opened her notebook, pointing at an equation with trembling fingers.
"H-how about... you yell at me while explaining fractions?"
...
...
Shit...
The Konbini kept running. The lights buzzing. The customers buying. And me, trapped in the most absurd role: math teacher with a specialty in humiliation.
At 4 AM, as Hibiki left with a smile and a "You're the best, Hiroto-senpai!", Aoi leaned on the counter, staring at the ceiling.
"This is your fault," I said, throwing the marker I'd used to draw hearts on Hibiki's mistakes.
"Mine?" she said without emotion. "You gave her the rope. Now you have a middle school student acting like your pet."
"She won't come back."
"She'll be back tomorrow with a cute outfit and a craving for more."
I didn't respond. I knew she was right.
The Konbini smelled of coffee, of madness, of something I didn't want to mention. And for the first time, I feared the sound of the ding at the entrance.
But that's the night.
Meaningless shit.