Current time: 1700 hours on a certain Friday..

Location: Master Donut, Chiba

Mission Objective: Survive the wrath of Kazuma nii-san and lower the ammo supply to my club-mates related to past idiocies and embarrassing moments. And yes, if the particular mop of yellow hair gets on my nerves, neutralize him there and then.

Mission Rewards: Getting home early and more time for procrastination and also for Koma...

"...achiman? Hachiman!" shouted Kazuma as he brought our protagonist from the land of monologues via the classic, tested method, the 'CHOP' followed by a Glare that would lead most people to re-evaluate all the choices they've made from the time of their birth until the present time, and thus force them into an existential crisis. At present, the only people who could do it were Kazuma and Hachiman's father.

BUT!

This does not work on anyone possessing the blood of the Hikigaya. And also, Hachiman is also resilient to the stares of strangers, which at one time would have made him a sniveling mess. Hence, the main character of our story simply parried this attack away with a special skill of his - The Sigh - which is a beginner level skill that all Hikigayas possess.

Physical damage dealt - 20 hp

Mental damage dealt - 0 hp

Hachiman takes a sip of the elixir (coffee) and he regains full health. He now faces the Main Boss, who is supported by three NPCs who might jump into the battle against him, regarding the situation.

Okay, now the others are glaring at me, shut off system and return to the real world. Real life ain't amazing as Metal Gear Solid.

"Yes, nii-san?" answered Hachiman which made Kazuma and Yukinoshita facepalm at his disinterested tone. Silence then ensued for some moments.

Hachiman used this period of respite to take in the present state of business inside the cafe. Excluding their group, only a few tables were occupied and one of them consisted exclusively of loud, boisterous high school girls who were stealing glances at the two other males on their table. The other tables consisted of college couples and middle schoolers who were drowning in their own world. Due to the lack of activity at this hour, some of the staff at the cafe were letting out yawns, and preparing for the incoming rush of office-goers who would usually come to this establishment for takeaway coffee and donuts. Well, that would have been a calculated outcome of establishing a branch of an MNC restaurant just a stone's throw away from a major train station of the city.

Suddenly interrupting his train of thought, Kazuma placed Hachiman at the center of attention "...And now, for the main reason I called this meeting - I have organise futsal match at the turf near the mall which will take place this coming Sunday; I've called up some acquaintances from my middle school days for the match. Toshiro will also be participating in the match and Hachiman, you are required to be present for the match. I know you haven't played football for even a bit in high school and your stamina must now be non-existent, but I have been informed that you are, at present, a lazy bum or as you would like to term it, unmotivated. So Komachi instructed me to whip your lazy ass into shape. And don't give excuses like you don't have the proper football boots or any of that sort..."

Hmmmm…..wait, WHAT! No, don't drag me out on a weekend! I work so hard in school (lol) on the weekdays so I definitely require some time to recover and recuperate. Don't take away a loner's refuge! And damn him, blocking all my easier exit pathways from this situation that has arisen without any warnings. Looks like I'll have to use my INVENTIVENESS and CREATIVITY to FORGE an ESCAPE ROUTE.(Enter Tamanawa hands that might either indicate increasing the effectiveness of getting a point through an audience or rather simply, epileptic seizures).

But I had an inkling of suspicion that Nii-san somehow knew of my thought process and had already deduced that I was going to create an excuse or another, so he might decide to nip the bud in its infancy.

And right I was, as his glare on me wouldn't allow me worming out of this impossible state of affairs.

Rather, I want to confirm the underlying tone behind this announcement of which I had a vague idea, a theory about.

"So, Nii-san, tell me the real reason why I'm forced to give up a day of peace and quiet for participating in a game of football?" Hachiman asked Kazuma with a serious and cold tone. No half-assing the question I want to ask, as I require a genuine reason for this game.

Seeing the determination in Hachiman's eyes, Kazuma sighed and broke out of his glaring persona.

"Hachiman, what have you been doing all this time in high school? You were a great player, albeit having played for a year and a half. You were the best midfielder in the regional tournament, and you were the third best player in the tournament, behind me and that blonde-striker from the other team. You might even had been scouted by a club, after seeing your prowess and skill only in just two years of playing football…"

"Really Nii-san, you overestimate me too much. That was just one tournament, and that too in middle-school. I might not have been able to reach the bench, in high school, don't you think?" Hachiman replied with a subdued tone.

"That's your problem Hachiman; you underestimate yourself too much. And it isn't just football I'm talking about. Komachi told me about your 'stunts' in school. And your laziness is a side-product of you undermining yourself. If you aren't sure about something or indecisive on a course of action, you do not do it. Why did you start doing these things to yourself?" retorted Kazuma angrily.

Hachiman was somehow composed at the start, but at the mention of his past he was slowly losing his composure and was seething with anger. Aiming a glare towards Yoshitake, he vented off steam through his words to Kazuma.

"Why don't you ask him what happened, Nii-san?" Hachiman growled. Seeing the usually calm, collected Hachiman boilng in anger, Yukinoshita and Yuigahama were taken aback. Yoshitake had a gloomy and guilty expression on him, which Kazuma noticed.

"Don't tell me that THAT incident was the reason for you quitting football. Don't give me such selfish reasons like that of a spoiled heir, Hachiman" Kazuma replied.

"What do you know Nii-san, what happened to me after you transferred to Tokyo in the midst of your first year in high school, huh?" Hachiman barked. He and Kazuma were standing,facing one another, and to an onlooker who didn't know a thing about their conversation, it might have looked like a confrontation between two Yakuza leaders, which might, at any moment, break out into a fully-fledged brawl.

The loud nature of their conversation had already attracted the attention of the nearby patrons of the restaurant, which caused Yukinoshita to press her forehead and lead to Yuigahama getting flustered and stutter nervously.

Observing their current situation and their immediate surroundings, Kazuma calmed himself and went back to his seat "Anyways, I don't care about that at all. Be present on Sunday for the game, and no half-assing in the match. You know what awaits you if you do that, don't you?" Kazuma said menacingly in a low voice which caused Hachiman to gulp..

"And yes, go buy the boots today. Here's 10000 yen, pay me back with interest" said Kazuma while handing Hachiman the notes from his wallet. Hachiman wanted to respond, but Kazuma cut him off "I need to go with Toshiro to meet some acquaintances, so you're own your own. I'll wrangle you and hang you from a tree if you don't get that boots today, capiche?" Kazuma's serious expression then turned to that of a smirking one, and then in a manner that was reminiscent of Komachi, he fold his hands and winked towards Yuigahama and Yukinoshita "Can I trust you to make sure my fish-eyed trash of a cousin actually buys his cleats today?".

Seeing his earnest expression, Yuigahama was surprised at first but regained her composure. Scratching her chin, she replied "Eheheh…...Well, I'm free at present, so I guess I can help with his shopping. What do you think, Yukinon?"

Yukinoshita was broken out of her stupor by the sudden question aimed at her "Ahh..yes, I guess we should ensure Hikigaya kun does the only task that was entrusted to him today, shouldn't we, Yuigahama san? As no one asks anything of him…" she ended with a teasing smile.

"Oi"

"So leave him to you guys. See you later." said Kazuma as he and Yoshitake departed for their meeting. After they left, Yuigahama and Yukinoshita turned towards Hikigaya, with Yukinoshita asking the question first "Hikigaya kun, I believe that we've been kept in the dark. Kindly tell us about what was all that talk with your cousin about"

"Yes Hikki, we deserve to know what happened with you"

Seeing the determined face of his clubmates, Hikigaya relented to their demands.

"I'll just give some outer details of it. I'll tell you the rest when I'll be ready to…...You see, all this happened in….."

"Hey Kazuma"

"What is it Toshiro?"

"I kinda feel guilty about what happened in the past with Hachiman, are you sure your plan will convince him to start playing football again?"

"Look, this isn't just about him playing football, it is about him regaining confidence to go through decisions which may not have a high chance of success. In life, you might be at a crossroads from where running away is not a choice. Decisions have to be made sometimes, even if they aren't optimal enough. He has to learn to rely on his heart."

"But you know what Kazuma, relying on his heart did him no good. He was rejected by his peers who were either jealous of him or were trying to not get associated with him in middle school. I'm the source on that. In fact, if I hadn't done that thing that day, Hachiman wouldn't have had such a twisted view on society"

"Well, you're somewhat right, but Hachiman didn't change because just of that incident. No single event could be factor in creating Hachiman's outlook on because he just went with his heart in the past without thinking things thoroughly and his decisions were rejected and ridiculed, doesn't mean he has to become a Monster of Logic in order to avoid the paths which have even a miniscule chance of failing."

"You say that, but when you met up with me for the regional event in your first year of high school you punched me"

"You deserved the punch at that time. But you were just one of the many factors that made Hachiman into the Monster that he is. It's just Hachiman gave up on doing anything, so it's partly his fault. And as per Komachi has relayed to me, he is coming out of his shell of mistrust for others. Those two girls with whom he has formed a bond with are the reason. I just hope that the day won't come when his decision to date one of them destroys their friendship" said Kazuma in a melancholic voice. But he quickly recovers and says to Yoshitake "Enough of that talk now, let's go to the meeting. I bet I'll score with one of the chicks there."

Yoshitake scoffed "Please, as long as I'm there, no one will flock to you"

"But don't you have a girlfriend"

"I don't"

"Then it's a battle"

"A battle it is"

"...so that's the gist of it"

"So basically, you used to play football and you were good at it, but one fine day, due to a certain event, you stopped playing football and made you into this society hating loner who is danger of becoming a 'formidable' cult leader who might never get any followers" Yukinoshita summarized which caused Hikigaya to wince.

"Yeah. that's it"

"Hikki, so will you tell us what really happened one day?"

"Yeah, probably I should tell you sometime" replied Hachiman as he looked at his watch which showed 18:30 and he picked up his bags "I'll be going to the sports shop. You needn't force yourselves to come as I can't defy Nii-san.."

"Nope, we're coming, right Yukinon?" said Yuigahama cheerfully.

"Yeah, I believe we should come, in order to prove Hikigaya kun's innocence in case he gets mistaken for a shoplifter" says Yukinoshita teasingly.

"Geh, another potshot at my eyes. Never gets old, does it?" replied Hikigaya, smiling.

That genuine smile almost made both the girls to stop in their tracks, but they persevered and continued walking with him towards the shop.

"Where shall we go shopping, Hikigaya kun?" asked Yukinoshita.

"We'll be going to the mall, as it's pretty near to our current position"

The trio were left in awe after seeing the wall on which the cleats were displayed. The mall was pretty crowded, but this area of the mall was sparsely populated, which made Yukinoshita sigh in relief. The wall in front of them was adorned with cleats from Nike, Adidas, Puma, Mizuno and New Balance, and if the wall was painted like the interior of the sea, it would have seemed like there was a shoal of multi-coloured fish swimming through the sea.

"Do footballers actually wear these gaudy-coloured shoes?" remarked Yukinoshita with awe, and disgust.

"Guhh, aren't there any simple colored ones" said Hikigaya disappointingly as he scanned the wall for decent boots until he came across the Adidas Messi 15.3 cleats which were white and had a blue pattern on them.

"Hey guys, does this look okay?" asked Hikigaya to which he got answers of affirmation.

He took one off the shelf to examine it, and satisfied with it, called a salesperson to get the correct size. As the salesperson returned, she noticed the two girls and asked him "Quite a player you are, aren't you sir?" to which he gave a deadpan look. The salesperson giggled and returned to the counter.

As he was going towards the counter, he remembered he didn't have a ball. So he picked out a green Nike ball to practice with. He paid for purchases and walked out of the mall with the two girls.

As they exited the mall, Yuigahama suddenly asked nervously "Why don't Yukinon and I come to see your match, if you're okay with it, Hikki? Will you come, Yukinon?"

"I don't have anything planned for Sunday, so I'll be able to come, Yuigahama san" replied Yukinoshita.

"If you want to see me make a fool of myself, then you're welcome" replied Hikigaya sarcastically.

"That's more the reason for me to come, Hikigaya kun"

(The next day)

An alarm goes off at 6 a.m. Hikigaya wakes up groggily and dresses himself up in his jogging attire and trainers.

"Guess I'll have to jog to build up some stamina before the match. Better, I'll take the ball with me too…" muttered Hikigaya as he exits his house to the birds chirping excitedly in the morning.

He drops the ball and starts his first exercise of the morning - Dribbling.