Chapter 2 : The Truth Hurts

INTRO

Hachiman looked at his little sister with what seemed to be a glare. But no one can glare at Komachi for very long. She is too cute. Being this cute should be a crime.

"Why did you have to say all that? Now she might have some misunderstandings! I don't need that kind of stress in my life!"

Komachi looked back at him as she sat on the stairs, her head resting on her hands. Hachiman had a tired look on his face. She stood up and brought her hands together behind her back. She cast her gaze downwards and smiled. Then she said in a shy voice "I'm just looking after your love life, Onii-chan. Don't you remember all the times you cried because of those other girls back when you were in middle school? I never want to see you like that again. Oh! I just scored a ton of Komachi points!"

Hachiman's POV

Heh. So she's just looking out for me? Typical Komachi. And only now I realized that. Silly me. This is why I love my sister very much. She is so kind and caring! I hope I will find a wife like her one day! No, I am not a siscon. It's just that Komachi has certain characteristics that I find attractive in a woman. So leave me alone. The school bell rang.

"Sorry Onii-chan, I have to go to class now!"

Such enthusiasm. I wish I had that kind of energy. If I did, maybe I wouldn't be such a deadbeat. She gave me her usual smile, showing her pearly teeth. Heh. She has the most adorable smile. That smile...is the smile I want to protect. I want her to be happy. As she started to walk off, she froze mid-step and said in a soft voice,

"Hey, don't forget to come home as soon as possible…you know how lonely I can get! Bye, Onii-chan."

How could you be so lonely when you have so many friends? You're really popular, you know. Tch. If I keep asking this question in my head, I'll go crazy. Maybe it's because Komachi loves me very much! And that brings up another question. How does she put up with me in the first place? Hmm. My thoughts were interrupted.

"I said, bye Onii-chan!" Huh. Why are you blushing, Komachi?

"Oi, uhh. See ya, Komachi-chan!" She gave a quick wave and ran off.

And let there be class. So bored. A student of the class was reading the lecture that Hiratsuka gave him to read. Hiratsuka-sensei, why are you still not married? At this rate, I'll have to take up the chance! So bored. I slipped out my phone and looked at the time. Class was almost over. About twenty minutes were remaining before I had to head over to the club. I felt a stare. Out of habit, I let my eyes wander. At very left corner of my peripheral vision, I can see two girls chatting. Judging from the general area and the voices, I can tell it was Yuigahama and Miura. Yuigahama was shooting short looks at me. Hmm I have might have a faint idea what they're talking about. It's probably about the lunch Yuigahama and I had earlier. Tch. I knew this would happen. Misunderstandings are deadly. When class is over, I'll have to clear up any...wrong ideas. I mean Yuigahama is a really nice person...huh? I didn't notice that I was looking full on towards their direction. Our eyes met across the classroom. Crap. I instinctively looked away. And the bell rang. Class is over and everybody was rushing to leave. I made my way towards the door and before I could taste my freedom, Hiratsuka-sensei stopped me.
"Hold up Hikigaya. You too, Yuigahama. It's both of your turns to clean up the classroom!"

She gave us a smile and left. Tch. Bitch. I started to clear up the right side of the room. So much trash. This is a classroom, not a place to eat your lunch. I have to say, my class is full of slobs. I glanced over to Yuigahama. She was cleaning the spots closest to the windows, on the left side of the room. I've also noticed that Miura and her clique were still hanging around. I can feel the awkward atmosphere between me and the others. I mean, I'm use to this...but this is seriously awkward. I finally decide to go ahead and leave my cleaning for tomorrow. Hmm. What was that saying this girl said? If you can do it tomorrow, you won't do it today? She is most definitely on point. After I put away the cleaning supplies I was using, I started walking towards Yuigahama.

"Yuigahama-san." Not even two seconds later, she already started to shake and blush like crazy. She stared at me with wide open eyes. I have to admit...she is pretty cute like this. Wait. Just to reinforce my point, I'm not interested!

"I don't want any misunderstanding between us." She froze, still looking at me. She remained silent.

"You know how awkward I am with girls...what happened today wasn't anything special. So don't jump to the conclusions!" I quickly said. Holy shit. I'm starting to sound a little flustered now. Maybe a little embarrassed too!

"I love you, Hikky!"

Wait what. What did she say? I don't even know how to respond. This was a real shocker to me. I'm starting to feel lightheaded. Before I knew it, she pressed her lips against mine, pushing her weight against me. My eyes quickly darted toward the place Miura was. She was gone. Everyone was gone. Gee, thanks. Way to make things less awkward, Miura. I bet this was your idea!

Komachi POV

Phew. Today was really busy. I'm exhausted...hmm. I wonder what Onii-chan is up too. I think I'll go to the club instead of going straight home. I just want to check on Onii-chan to see if he's doing okay. Oh! I'll be sure to say that to him. That will give me a lot of Komachi points! That aside, I know Onii-chan will be happy to see me! I made my way towards the clubroom. I opened the door, and surprisingly, Yukino-chan was the only one there.

"Yahallo, Yukino-chan!"

"Oh, uhh. Yahallo, Komachi-chan"

"Umm, where's Onii-chan and Yuigahama-chan? Shouldn't they be here right now?"

"Yuigahama-san said she was going to be hanging out with her friends today after school. As for Hikigaya-kun, I'm not sure. He may be in his home room talking to Hiratsuka-sensei in classroom 2F. Other than that, I honestly don't know where else he would be aside from home." She had this really amused smile behind her book. Hmmpf. Maybe if you got to know Onii-chan more, you would see he is a very likable person. Deep inside he is very caring and sensitive...he may seem like a very cold person, but he has a very kind heart. It's just...things in the past have caused him great pain. Onii-chan is very strong. That's why I love him so much.

"Are you alright, Komachi-chan? You look a little sad."

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm fine. I'm going to head over to room 2F to see if Onii-chan's there. Thanks, Yukino-chan. Bye!"

I left as quickly as I came. It makes me sad to know that many people still view Onii-chan as some scum of the earth. Well, I do too but that's something else entirely. Maybe if Onii-chan stopped being so anti-social and stopped being so mistrusting towards others, he would be able to make more friends. But I know that's not going to happen anytime soon. How does the saying go? "Something I learned about people, if they do it once...they'll do it again." I think that's how it went. To Onii-chan, the difference between trusting someone and not trusting them is the chance of getting hurt. Trust someone, and you risk feeling the pain of betrayal. Trust nobody, and you won't get hurt. Heh. Then why does Onii-chan trust me? Well, spend fifteen years with someone and you'll grow fond of them whether you like it or not...ahh. This must be 2F. Hmm. I think I can hear Onii-chan in there. What a relief. I thought he might have gotten himself into trouble. I went ahead and opened the door.

"Hey, Onii-chan! Why aren't you-" What...what is onii-chan doing? Is that Yuigahama-san? What are they doing? Oh, god. Are they...kissing? Onii-chan glanced at me.

"Oh? Oi, Ko-Komachi-chan?!" I quickly slammed the door.

I don't know what to say. So many things were going through my mind at once...so she loves him...I won't forgive her if she makes him sad again. I started to run. I don't know where but I just ran. But why am I running? I feel sick, nauseous. My thoughts...I can't think straight. I feel my eyes becoming watery. Am I crying? Are these tears of joy? No. Something in my chest feels tight. I feel like my heart was being crushed by something heavy. Ugh. I feel so lightheaded. Why do I feel this way? This feeling...I can't be jealous...can I? All these years, I've tried to help Onii-chan find someone. All these years...I shouldn't be acting like this! I should be happy, excited that Onii-chan finally found someone to make him happy! I should be glad that I'm not needed anymore. But I don't. I don't want him to leave me. I was the one who makes him happy. It's not fair! I feel strange. I managed to make my way out the school and started my way home. I kept running the whole time. My chest heaving and my legs...I couldn't feel them. They were numb. I stumbled on the pavement a few times. My knees were scratched up and were starting to bleed. My eyes were blurry with tears but I finally saw home. I opened the door to my house...our house. The door slammed behind me. I didn't stop running. I slipped on the rug in my room and hit my face against the wall. Arrgh. I clutched my head in pain. My cries turned into ugly sobbing. I lay on the floor of my room, holding my legs to my chest. Everything hurt. I hate these feelings. I shouldn't feel this way. It isn't right. It's wrong. It's selfish...but...but he should be mine. I was the only one who cared for him. I was the one always there for him. I feel betrayed. He should have been...should have. So tired…Hachiman...

Hachiman POV

As soon as Komachi-chan left, I pushed Yuigahama-san away and she fell onto the ground. I didn't push her hard of course, but...this was so sudden. Jeez. Komachi-chan will never let me hear the end of this. She'll probably make wedding plans for me too. Tch. Why is Yuigahama-san on the floor? Oh...right.

"Oh...are you alright Yuigahama-san?!

"I'm so sorry, Hikki! Did...did I do something wrong? She's crying. I made her cry. God. What kind of guy would make a girl cry? Heh. Probably me, right?

"No, uhh...you didn't. But...why?" I reached out my hand and she took it. She gave me a guilty look as she got up. I couldn't help but look away.

"I'm really sorry, Hikky. Can you forget this ever happened? I didn't mean to be so...rash."I sighed.

"Come on, Yukinoshita-san is probably wondering about us." Yeah. Somehow, I feel like it's better to forget about this. Still, I don't know how much this event will change between Yuigahama-san and I. For the worse, or the better. I hope for neither.

Yukino POV

The door slid open and two figures made their way to their assigned seats. Several minutes passed by. Yuigahama-san took out her phone and Hikigaya-kun did the same with his book. Yuigahama-san seems to be acting strange. She doesn't seem like her usual self...she didn't even say her usual greeting. Did something happen? Yuigahama-san was vigorously tapping on her phone and her face looked like nervous wreck. As for Hikigaya-kun, he looked...troubled. Also, he's still on the same page of his book. What's wrong? I think something happen between them. Yes, something definitely happened between them. I think Hikigaya-kun is trying to hide something he did to poor Yuigahama-san.

"Hikigaya-kun, I through you won't lie anymore." He suddenly looked up and shot me a venomous glare.

"Would you please shut the hell up with your stupid remarks? I'm really sick of it."

I gave him a very confused look. That was rather...shocking. I felt my blood freeze. Usually he would say the occasional comeback but his tone sounded rather agitated. I saw Yuigahama-san glare at Hikigaya-kun.

"Hikky! That's really rude!"

"I didn't mean to…I'm really tired. I'm sorry, Yukino-san. I'm going home now. I'll see you guys tomorrow." He got up and went for the door. I stared at him. What has gotten into Hikigaya-kun?

"Hikki…" Minutes passes after he left. I gave a wary glance to Yuigahama-san. Tears had begun to fall from Yuigahama-san's face. What did Hikigaya-kun do? That scumbag. I'll have to talk to him later about this. In the meantime, I have to help Yuigahama-san. I walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"Calm down, Yuigahama-san. Everything will be fine." Her eyes were still shiny with tears.

"Yukinon...is the truth suppose to be easy to handle?"

"No, Yuigahama-san. The truth can be a very ugly thing."