Chapter 37: What Goes Up Must Come Down

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The sound of pacing feet echoes around the room. Hayasaka sits with her legs crossed as she watches OC dial a number again and again, but each time there is no answer.

"OC...what are you trying to do?" she asks. OC doesn't respond but stares at his phone and makes sure he'd been clicking the correct contact.

"...We're sorry, the number you have tried to reach is not in dial. Please check the number and call again—"

"Oh my god," OC huffs, slapping his hand to his face and pressing his eyes closed. He turns to Hayasaka and apologizes. "Sorry, I'm trying to call my mom but she won't answer, and it's saying her number doesn't even exist or something."

Hayasaka watches him point to his phone and sighs, standing up. "It's probably because you dropped 'the mission.'"

"That...seems likely, but Mom shouldn't have to ignore me or seem like she disappeared into thin air." OC turns to the door of his room when he hears a familiar annoying voice.

"OC!" Kaguya shouts from another room. Both OC and Hayasaka are impressed with how her voice was even able to reach their ears from their distance.

Hayasaka urges OC to head to Kaguya's room as she tries to solve his problem first.

"...What is it, Kaguya-sama?" OC asks as he enters her room. He stands straight and taps his foot impatiently on the clean floor. He stares at the dimly lit lamp on her bedside table.

Kaguya doesn't look up from her phone and leans back on her bed. "I need you to go to the grocery store and pick up any items with box tops on them. I heard cereal boxes mainly have them too."

"Oh right, the competition thing with the StuCo," OC dreads, annoyed at how late it was already getting. He lets out a silent sigh as he exits the room. "I'll be back soon."

He walks back to his room where Hayasaka is still trying to figure out the issue. She tells him his mom's number still doesn't work, even on her own phone. The odds of this happening seemed strange to Hayasaka, and now it had seemed understandable as to why OC was so impatient and frustrated.

"...But what did Kaguya-sama need you for?" Hayasaka questions as she hands OC back his phone.

"She asked me to pick up groceries. I'll be quick, no worries."

A rising anxious feeling fills Hayasaka's chest. She could feel her heart and soul scream out against the idea of OC going out so late. It was almost as if she knew something was bound to happen if he left.

...

"No."

She stops OC before he can head out. He turns back to her and tilts his head. "What's wrong? What do you mean, 'no?'"

Hayasaka shakes her head. "I mean—well," she stumbles in her words, "I don't know. I can't explain it but something feels wrong. Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, of course, Haya," OC nods, "What is it?"

"It's already really late so I need you to stay here, and I'll get the groceries myself." She pats him on the shoulder, smiling nervously without looking him in the eye. OC looks at her with a strained expression.

"Why...can't I just go by myself? Um...what's the difference?" OC gently takes her hand from his shoulder and holds it in his. Then he points his finger below her collarbone. "If you're worried that something will happen this late then don't, I promise you I'll be fine."

"We can at least go together," Hayasaka insists.

"No, we can't. Who will be the one to watch Kaguya-sama?" OC carefully lifts Hayasaka's face up, looking intently into her eyes. "I'll be on my way now. I'll be safe, I promise—"

Before he even realizes, Hayasaka slams the door shut behind the both of them, startling him. "Then neither of us are leaving this room tonight."

OC's eyes widen, confused as to why Hayasaka was acting this way. She had always kept a calm composure, so what was wrong now? OC shrugs and hides the concern in his face.

"I guess I'll just get the groceries after you fall asleep," OC says as he runs his fingers through his hair.

"That won't do, you're sleeping with me for the night," Hayasaka commands, an unwavering commitment in her eyes.

"Phrasing...Ai," OC points out, a slight hue of red forming on his face. He sighs after seeing Hayasaka's lukewarm expression to the joke and sits down on the bed, patting a seat down for her.

She hesitantly sits down, worried that OC would dash out the door the moment she sits.

"Why are you so intent on keeping inside?" OC asks, looking his girlfriend in the eye as he speaks, noticing the troubled and confused expression she wore.

"I...I don't know...it's just...I can feel it. My intuition is just telling me that something's off. I don't trust you going out tonight, so please..."

Hayasaka grabs OC's hand and snuggles her face into his chest, pushing him down onto the bed.

"...don't go."

Although OC couldn't understand Hayasaka's 'intuition", he couldn't help but smile warmly knowing what lengths she would go to for the sake of keeping him safe.

He chuckles as wraps his arms around Hayasaka, agreeing to her terms of staying home for the evening.

Evening quickly rolls into midnight, with OC and Hayasaka watching various videos and movies on her phone to pass the time, both a little surprised that Kaguya never ended up checking on the box-tops that OC was supposed to buy.

"Heh, Haya this would totally look good on you—" OC stops in his tracks, looking over and seeing the girl clinging to his arm was fast asleep.

He smiles softly, petting her head and leaning in, giving her a small kiss on the forehead. However, this moment was short-lived knowing he still had to go out and buy the box-tops for Kaguya and himself.

He slowly slithers his arm out from Hayasaka's grasp and softly shuts the door behind him, careful to make minimal noise as he heads out of the Estate.

—————

"Hayasaka? Hayasaka!" A loud annoying voice echoes through the Shinomiya Estate, waking up the groggy Hayasaka, confused by the unfamiliar surroundings she was in.

It didn't take long for her to recall what happened the night before, and her intuition sounding off red flags for OC. So it was only understandable that she was extremely worried that OC wasn't next to her.

"Hayasaka?! Where are you..."










"And where is OC?!"

Maid For You (Ai Hayasaka x OC) [Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War AU]Where stories live. Discover now