Disclaimer: I do not own my Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU or anything related to it.
The steady rhythm of a chalk clacking on a blackboard resonates throughout the room. Towards the front towers a figure in a lab coat. As the figure finishes up his/her ministrations, s/he turns around to face a classroom full of students; reading the nameplate on the outside of classroom it would read '2-F'. It is revealed that this figure was in fact, a woman; a rough estimate would be around her mid twenties. She had an extremely youthful face, and an air about her that just screamed 'newbie'.
"Hello class, I'll be your homeroom teacher for this semester. If you somehow don't hear your name during roll call, please come up and tell me; I assume everyone here is taking modern japanese literature, if not you're probably in the wrong classroom."
A wave of mumbles and idle chatter fill the room briefly before a few students get up with their schedules, confused looks to their faces. A handful of students seemed to be in the wrong class, and were sent along their way towards their intended destinations. Shortly after roll call was started.
During this time, most of the students eyes' wandered around their classroom sizing up their peers and eagerly looking for any familiar faces. The lucky ones to have friends in their classes were the first to get up and move around, taking seats among each other, a few established cliques already forming; while some of the more friendly of the students got up as well to make idle small talk with their newfound classmates. Of course, there were those who were content to stay in the background as well. A few moments pass when the door to the classroom gets suddenly thrown open, a girl who was slightly below the national average height steps into the room, panting; as if she ran the whole way here.
The teacher of the classroom stops her roll call and looks to the new student in surprise and wonderment. Noticing the silence and pairs upon pairs of eyes, the newest member straightens her back immediately in a flustered manner, "sorry I'm late!" She yells out to no one in particular. The older woman, whose name was written on the board as 'Hiratsuka Shizuka', answers the new face politely, "no worries, it is the first day after all, please, take a seat."
The new figure just nods emphatically as she shrugs her bag off of her shoulder and takes a seat towards the back, trying to be discreet and lose the mass amount of eyes on her.
"Also, may I get your name? I've just about finished reading off my attendance list." A request from the one in the labcoat.
"Oh, uh; Yuigahama, Yui." The one in question simply answers. Hiratsuka just nods in response, before yet another person opens the room once more; however it wasn't a student, much less a teenager. No, it was another adult. The two adults in front of the room have a quiet conversation away from the ears of the class, as the chatter around the room picks up more and more; all the kids seemingly getting comfortable with one another.
"Regarding one of your students, Hiratsuka-sensei, the one who goes by the name of Hikigaya, Hachiman will not be able to make it to class; I'd say for probably about a week or so." The newest member tells his colleague.
"A week? Is there something wrong? Is he in trouble?" The young teacher frantically asks. She was young, by today's standards at least, and this was her first year teaching an actual class. She didn't come prepared for something like this; what was she to do?
"Well…" Her colleague chooses his words, "he's not in trouble, per se, but he has been hospitalized; got into a car accident it seems."
"A car accident?" Hiratsuka tones out in wonder, back in her high school days, it wasn't uncommon for students to drive to school, though with new laws and legislature the past few years, it seems it was much harder to do so.
The male teacher just nods his head, "I don't know the details, but from what I was told he swerved off the road in order to miss a dog that ran out into the open street; straight into a lightpole."
Hiratsuka just gasps in shock, her hands going to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes; she didn't know the boy, no. Nor did she have any kids of her own, but the news still struck a chord within her; a rather unpleasant memory skimming her mind before she quickly wipes it away. The male seems to catch onto her demeanor and just gives her some room, "that's all I had to say; good luck on your first day, Hiratsuka-sensei."
The one in question just silently nods, her hands still covering her mouth; why would someone even divulge that much detail? Not only was her nerves on end due to it being her first day, but now this? How could she possibly teach with a straight face after that news?
"Uh sensei?" A girl in the front calls out, "sensei? Is there something wrong?"
Hiratsuka jerks out of reverie to look at her student in shock before forcefully composing herself, "I'm alright, thank you," she answers her student in question, before getting up and projecting her voice to the rest of the classroom, "okay class! Settle down, we're starting. I'm not very good with names, so please bear with me for the first few weeks."
She received with a chorus of 'hais' before she begins her lecture.
Towards the back of the room, a certain familiar faced girl was in a state of distress; not only was she late to class but she had witnessed first-hand a devastating car accident. The screams, the noises, the sirens, everything; everything was echoing in her mind as she struggled to cope with the traumatic event. Somehow when she opened the door to be on her way towards school, her dog, Sable, had somehow gotten loose and went bounding out of her house into the open road. The small dog was frozen on the spot as it heard the loud motorized engine quickly approaching, until it slammed on the breaks producing a horrible screeching noise veering off to the side as quickly as it could.
As Yuigahama ran out to stop her beloved pet, her eyes widened and her world went into slow motion as she thought she'd lose her precious friend, Sable. However what happened next was just as bad, as she saw the car run straight into a light pole; for what probably took a fraction of a second seemed like an eternity to her, she could see the face of the driver, his grimaced face as he struggled to keep the car under control in a futile attempt at damage control; to the slow crumpling of the grill and hood, the windshield shattering, a large airbag instantly popping to catch the whiplash.
Yuigahma slowly dropped her head into her desk as the memories replayed in her head, clutching at it in a desperate attempt to ease the pain she was feeling. That was the reason she was late to school; after the accident, her world resumed back to its original flow of time as she frantically ran up to the car to check on the driver; a young man, probably around her age. His face was bruised, cut, and bloodied. She gasps with tears in her eyes as she quickly dials the emergency responders, incoherently trying to explain what happened. After the ambulance arrived she felt obliged to go the hospital with the driver, but was advised not to and was sent to school. Like with most problems presented to her in life, she ran. She ran and didn't look back.
As class ends, Yuigahama is shaken awake from the back of the classroom; apparently she had fallen asleep during her mental episode. Everyone else had cleared out, it was Hiratsuka who rouse her from her nap. As Yuigahama regains her bearings, she was met with the face of her teacher, thinking back to what happened she concludes she must've fallen asleep and quickly stands up from her seat to give Hiratsuka a deep bow, "I'm so sorry! I won't happen again, Hiratsuka-sensei!"
Hiratsuka, in turn, just gives her a surprised look, she wasn't angry per se, but she did find it a bit disheartening someone would've slept through her lecture, especially on the first day, "it's fine Yuigahama-san, rough day?" She kindly speaks, maybe this was her chance to create a bond with one of her students.
Thinking back onto her previous thoughts, Yuigahama once again feels a wave of exhaustion and tiredness; was the driver okay? Was he dead? Had he been killed for her lack of attention?
"Oh… well, I guess you could put it that way…"
Hiratsuka takes note of her change in demeanor, there really was something wrong. Maybe she had a reason for being late as well. Ignoring her own musings, she just nods, "well, you should probably get going to your next class or you'll be late."
With that the younger of the two just nods and gets up robotically, slinging her backpack onto her back and sullenly walking out the door. Hiratsuka made a mental note to keep an eye on her. For some reason she felt as if she had to look out for that particular girl, a maternal instinct, if you will.
The steady beeping of medical equipment resonated throughout the hollow and stale room. The bed was occupied by a young man, one too young to be driving. Not only had he worried his family to death, he also had brought trouble to his parents. By national law no minor was able to drive legally; the fact that he got into a car accident, albeit not entirely his fault, just added to statistic and backing of the newfound law. Checking the room occupancy list, his read the name 'Hikigaya, Hachiman'; the one who could not make it to Hiratsuka's class.
He had suffered some injuries, but none fatal. Apparently he was lucky enough to be going the speed the limit with an accident that was head on. He had awoken some time ago and looking at the clock on the wall for past hour or so, he thought about that classes he was missing and how difficult it'd be to establish any sort of bonds so late into the game. His thoughts wandered back to his parents and how difficult he had probably made their life, with his illegal driving and all. No doubt the neighbors would gossip saying how he was either a delinquent who stole the car, or that his parents must've been lousy parents to let a minor drive. A bitter taste was left in his mouth at those thoughts; but what really scared him was what her sister thought of him now and how he thanked every almighty being that she wasn't in the car with him at the time.
He makes a fist and slams it into the side of his bed, a sudden burst of anger and self-loathing developing in the pit of his stomach. He could easily blame it on the dog and how it was it's fault, but even he knew how silly that was. All that was left after his bout of anger was a feeling of emptiness and loneliness, all that was left was him and his thoughts and the steady 'tick tock' of the clock; a thing that could make any man go crazy.
As the final bell of the day chimed, again Yuigahama slowly picks herself up from her seat, all of her energy drained. No matter what she did she always felt tired; she was left living with guilt eating away inside of her. All she ever did was mess things up: why? Why her? What did she do in her past life to deserve this? Any of this? Going to school, she had no friends, much less make any. She had planned for this year to be different, hell, she even dyed her hair to make her 'stand out' more. But it was all futile, it seemed to not only not help her, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Already on the first day of school she was branded as a 'slut', not to mention the constant replays of that traumatic event. Everything seemed to not go her way.
Sighing she eventually made it out towards the main gates; already were a few nasty remarks thrown her way, while others either laughed at her expense or just egged the instigators on. She ignore them all and quickly made her way off school property. She didn't find herself making her way towards home, no, in fact she was found herself in front of a local hospital. Not really knowing the reason why she came here, she still continued through the door nonetheless. She checked in as a visitor for 'Hikigaya, Hachiman' a name she picked up through the gossip amongst her peers. Apparently his car accident didn't go unnoticed. She didn't exactly know if that was the same person, but the odds were in her favor.
Since he was in intensive care, he was actually not allowed to have visitors besides family, but Yuigahama got away with it saying she was a classmate and was here to drop off schoolwork: a half-truth. She eventually found the room this 'Hikigaya' was held in and gingerly stepped into the room.
Upon entering, she was met with same face she saw in the morning, albeit, bandaged up and a lot more menacing. She quietly knocks on the door and his eyes immediately snap to her like a predator to a newfound meal; she slowly swallows a lump forming in her throat as she pulls up a chair next to him. Said male just gives her a questioning look as he speaks out. A deep and guttural sound; most likely from his injuries, "can I help you?"
Honestly Yuigahama didn't know what she was doing here, maybe to repent? Maybe to apologize? Maybe to blame him for all her troubles at school; or maybe… because he was the only one that had a connection to her.
"Well, no. Not really I guess." She circumvents.
Hikigaya just, in turn, nods. Well, as best he could at least, "then can I ask what you're doing here?"
There it was, the fated question. What was Yuigahama doing here?
"I guess… I came to apologize." She hesitantly responds.
"Apologize? For what? As far as I know, I've never met you in my life, much less have anything for you to apologize to me for."
"Well, your accident…" At the mention of that, his face hardens, his eye glowering a bit, "the dog you avoided? Well… he was mine, so-"
"If you came here thinking that it was somehow your fault, you can stop right there." Hikigaya gruffly cuts her off, "it was my fault, and mine alone. I could've avoided this if I wasn't driving in the first place."
A certainly logical way to put it, though a bit fatalistic. Yuigahama look to him in surprise, not really expecting his answer. Throughout the day she was preparing herself to be belittled and yelled at, something she seemed to be rather used to, if the first day of school was anything to go by.
"B-but if I was just more careful to not-" she, once again, tries to justify.
"But you didn't." Hikigaya simply cuts her off, "the hell's the point of fussing about 'what ifs' or what you could've possibly done. The bottom line is you didn't, what's done is done." He finishes with a rather harsh tone and glare.
Yuigahama just sullenly nods her head, the fact he was so indifferent about the whole thing left her feeling even worse. She didn't know what she was expecting, certainly not that. A few moments of silence pass between the two and Yuigahama simply gets up, in the same robotic way and makes her way towards the door. Before she leaves however, Hikigaya calls out to her, "your dog, what's his name?"
She stops mid-step and looks back towards the boy in surprise who kept his gaze on her. She slowly shrugs her bookbag off of her shoulder once more and takes a seat again, "well his name's Sable." She hesitantly responds.
Hikigaya just nods to the best of his ability once more, "is he alright?"
"Well he has a few cuts and scrapes from the sudden movement and loose debris; but he's more or less fine."
Again, the boy just nods; his face easing up a bit, happy to break the monotony of his bleak room.
"You know, Sable is really young, that's probably why he ran off like that; he was never one to be tied down. Always running around and getting into trouble." She comments casually.
"Is that so?" Hikigaya responds, intently listening to this strange girls useless babble. It honestly set him at ease, for some reason he found comfort in her voice.
"Yeah and-!"
The two of them continue their exchange for a little over half an hour; both not really knowing why, but found themselves somewhat comfortable with each other for one reason or another.
"-well yeah, so I think I'll have to get a stronger leash, that way he won't run away from so easily, haha."
As Yuigahama continued talking to Hikigaya, she found herself with renewed vigor; the sense of dread and tiredness disappearing as her usual speech patterns resurfaced. She felt… happy, refreshed even.
"That's good." Hikigaya, just simply comments. Yuigahama had grown used to his silent and minimalistic demeanor. He only responded with phrases or simple nods, but she didn't mind. She knew he was intently listening.
"Say, I never got your name." He suddenly speaks up after a pause in their banter.
"Oh, well, I'm Yuigahama, Yui. Nice to meet you." She answers with a carefree smile.
"Hikigaya, Hachiman."
What's this? Something that doesn't start off as a one-shot?
Well, I don't even know how to feel about this particular piece; but I guess I'll upload it anyways. I probably should focus on my other stories rather than writing shit that won't see the light of day until three months later, but ehh... I get sidetracked really easily(no seriously its a problem, Permission Granted was written in the middle of chapter 5 of Divulging Memories, this one was written while I was planning out chapter 11 of Princes of Sobu).
POV was supposed to be objective, but then got amalgamated with omniscient 3pov and turned into something akin to a... sentient objective pov? Who knows.
Full summary under subtopic 'Misfits'.
Until next time,
-Ausko
