Deadeye
Chapter 7 – Raising Hachiman Points is Harder than Expected
"Onii-chan", Komachi said, my head perking out of my stupor as I blinked, seeing my little sister look at me with a worried expression on her face as I immediately stepped back, trying to recompose myself into something that was at least half-amicable. I'm sorry Komachi that you had to see that side of your Onii-chan, but I'm sure it was your own good! "...Your eyes are getting a little bit livelier lately. Are you enjoying your new school?"
"Hm, that's where you're wrong, my dear imouto", I said, waving around a finger in the air as I tried to think of one of the numerous lecture positions that I learned in order to implant the words that I was going to say into Komachi's head. I don't need to overdo it, else I might get Jazz Hands, and that's just disgusting, even for someone with such low standards like me, "The school and the school system I couldn't care less about. The people however, are what make the new school fun."
"Just because you're placed in a class filled with so many beautiful ladies, doesn't mean that you get to gloat about it in front of me, Onii-chan", Komachi said, giving me a reproachful look as I couldn't help but glance away from her and scratch the back of my head. My silence would've meant that I was guilty of the act, but knowing me for almost 15 years now, Komachi simply took the gesture that I'm thinking of a way to explain things as logically as possible.
Now that I think about it, most of the girls in the E-Class are beauties. Kurahashi, Yada, and Kanzaki are easily straight at the top 3, while the other girls like Okano and Kataoka have their own unique charm as well and my mind is slowly falling into the gutter– No! Stop! Don't let your mind go into the gutter when Komachi's just next to you!
"Now that I think about it...It is true. I'm sorry if I offended you or something like that, Komachi. Please make time to forgive your useless older brother", I said, acknowledging my innocent mistake as I bowed to about waist level and clapped my hands at her, leaving Komachi flustered at my sudden apology as her cowlick swirled around like a helicopter, trying to find a way to defuse the sudden mood in the air.
Luckily for her, our unneeded companion swooped in to save her. Did I say that she was unneeded? Because I'm pretty sure that I meant to say that twice in order to make sure that I properly described her character as 'unneeded', "Eh, so Hikigaya's wrapped around his sister's thumb? I didn't know you were such a sis-con, Hikigaya."
"Leave me alone, Nakamura", I said, a thin smirk forming on my face as I met her sly grin head-on, "Besides, the two of us are 'Hikigaya'. The two of us won't know whether you're talking about me or Komachi, you know?"
"...If you want me to call you by your first name, then you could've chosen a more direct approach in doing so, Hachiman", Woah, not even a shred of embarrassment there. Just how high is your tolerance level for shame, Nakamura-san? "...I doubt that your sister would also mind over there."
"Woah Onii-chan, scoring a girl like that within a month...Looks like you inherited Dad's genes haven't you, Onii-chan?" Komachi said while shooting a sly glance at me as I could only sigh at her in response.
"If said gene pack includes these eyes–" I quickly pulled down my glasses and pointed towards my eyes, "–Then I would be better off if I just chose the custom character creation mode."
"Eh, you mean those eyes were natural?" Nakamura said with a hint of fear in her voice as she immediately took a step away from us – no, it would be more appropriate if I said that she immediately took a step away from me, "...Scary. Hachiman, you're scary as hell. Those eyes are natural? I thought that they were the result of you being pushed around by other people!?"
'Pushing around' was an understatement, but nevertheless, it seems that Nakamura was paying attention to my story in order to get its essence, "Do you really think that these eyes would turn this dead even though I was bullied to hell and back?"
"...No."
I nodded in response to her words, which seemed to have accompanied some thought with it given that there was a slight delay before she answered back, "It seems that we have reached another understanding then, Nakamura–"
"Just 'Rio' will do fine", Nakamura said with a sly grin on her face as she inched closer towards me and oi! That's my personal space! I would've already thrown you off the moment you stepped inside if it wasn't for the fact that Komachi was holding onto my other arm right now! "You seem content with me calling you 'Hachiman', after all."
No. I am not content. I would never be content if someone who's just a stranger – alright fine, I'll concede: acquaintance – would suddenly just call me by my first name. I mean, were you there when I celebrated my fifth birthday? Yeah? No. Of course not. Nobody showed up for my fifth birthday. Well, except for some extended members of the family, which only went there as an excuse to pamper Komachi with gifts.
Oh, I'm getting jealous of my little sister again. Damn it Komachi, I can't hate you when you're this cute! "...Fine."
No matter what happens with this witch, I must keep my cool. Everything would be over the moment I snap and start to scold her for everything that she has ever done to me. I have a feeling that she'd just relish my berserk state, and she might get a few more laughs or two when she gets over some things over my head, which I normally would've gotten if I was in my usual cool-and-detached mode.
I blinked, seeing a familiar figure enter one of the game stores around this area as I stopped in place, once again blinking at the store that I just saw as I glanced behind me, seeing nothing more than the usual lazy stroll of people that came through this street during lunchtime, "Onii-chan, what's wrong?"
"...I forgot something at school", I said in the most amount of deadpan that I could say, causing Nakamura to roll her eyes at me while Komachi was muttering about how useless I am as an older brother and hey I heard that! Komachi, what has this witch done to you!? I'll call the exorcist right away, if not for the fact that I needed her to escort you home! "Naka– Rio, can you escort Komachi back to where my apartment is?"
"Huh?"
"Onii-chan, Komachi can handle herself just fine, you don't need Nakamura-sensei to escort me back", Oho. Komachi, was it me, or was it just you called Nakamura your 'sensei'? So that's the reason why you've been so annoying as of late. You've been taking lessons from the witch yourself.
"No can do", I said, shaking my head as I folded my arms across my chest, "This town's getting a bit dangerous lately. A bookstore was just robbed a few weeks ago, you know? You need Rio to escort you back home, alright? Just lead the way for her, and you'll be fine."
Saying so, I put my hand on Komachi's head, "Listen. I'm your older brother alright? It's my job to make sure that you're safe and grow into a fine young woman. That's a ton of Hachiman points, isn't it?"
Komachi stared at me with tears in her eyes, "Onii-chan..."
I'm cool. Holy hell, did I just say that out loud? I'm pretty sure I did. That's a lot of points in my book alright, since I made Komachi out of all people look at me with newfound respect! Wow, just how rare are these types of events!? One in twelve years? Wow that's pretty rare! Good job, me!
"Hachiman, that's just gross", Nakamura said with a disgusted expression on her face as she immediately took a step away from me, covering her chest with her arms, "Acting cool in front of your sister just so you could show off how much you've changed since your old, disgusting self is just too much, isn't it? Now it's just bordering on the realm of sadness and eternal virginity–"
"Alright, you two go now, take care", I said, immediately cutting off Nakamura's words before she could proceed to mock me any further. Seriously? That's how low you're going to stoop? Insulting me in front of Komachi so I could get less Hachiman points than normal? That's just fraud! I need to report to the government immediately and report you for libel, blackmail, and irresponsible handling of human beings! Even someone as low as me has feelings, you know!?
"Ah ~ There goes Onii-chan's tsundere side again..." Komachi said with a nostalgic smile on her face as she shook her head and stared at Nakamura, "Then Nakamura-sensei, let's go shall we?"
"If it's for my pupil, then I will personally go to Hell itself just so I could get some kicks out of Hachiman!" She cackled with laughter as the two girls started to walk towards the direction of my apartment and wait, that last line wasn't just some kind of flag tripping off, is it!? I'm not going to go back to class tomorrow and find that it's a smoldering hellscape with demons running amok while my classmates are frantically trying to survive in this new world, right!?
...Happy thoughts, Hachiman. Happy thoughts. It's just overclocked imagination at work here again.
Seeing that the two troublemakers were already gone, I could only sigh in relief as I quickly glanced around my surroundings, seeing that it was clear out of all prying eyes. Immediately, I made my way towards the game store, methodically searching through all the aisles until I finally found the person that I was looking for. The complete opposite of the kind of people that frequent this place, "Kanzaki-san...just what are you doing here?"
The class beauty turned around at my voice, immediately dropping the copy of Touhou 16 in her hands and wait, this store sells Touhou games!? No! I refuse to accept that this store that panders to everything that is wrong with the otaku community sells these types of masterpieces! And going by that thinking, just what the hell is Kanzaki-san doing here!? I know that you're some kind of closet otaku ever since I saw you back at that other game store, but going here is like admitting yourself that you're the lowest of the low, you know!?
"H-H-H-H-H-H-Hikigaya-san!?" Kanzaki-san said as she immediately started stuttering in front of me. Relax, I'm not a stalker. I think. Probably. But don't stalkers describe people like you follows other people until they trip up and force themselves in a corner and like I told you a while back, I'm just concerned about a fellow classmate going into this kind of store, so I followed her here just in case that she does something that she might regret in the future.
...Why am I convincing myself that I'm correct here again?
Right. I need an excuse, "I was looking for a Touhou 16 around town, but I can't find them. So, here I am, at the last place that I would ever look for games."
"Huh?" Kanzaki-san said as she tilted her head to the side, her amber eyes shining with curiosity as I couldn't help but look away from her. What is this? My Komachi instincts are tingling. She's too innocent for this world, what the hell!? Someone turn down the knob here, or else my heart's going to burst!
I sighed, mostly in part to calm myself down as I glanced behind me and pointed, causing Kanzaki-san to blush at the sight as she immediately glanced away from what she saw. Indeed, this game store was nothing but a game store. Sure, it has the front of what an ordinary game store should look like, but take a step further and look into the wares, and you all find out that they're R-18, filled to the brim with various excesses and fetishes that could make a grown otaku scream in glee and just do a clear-out sale.
...Which made it all the more confusing that this store sells a Touhou game, out of all things, "So, what genres do you like aside from bullet hell and RPGs? I like FPS and Simulation games, but cooperative and multiplayer games aren't really my thing."
I desperately tried to veer the conversation away from the ridiculously large R-18 section of this store, and tried to strike up a conversation using our common interest in games, while picking up the copy of Touhou 16 that she had dropped and giving it to her, "Um...Hikigaya-san...firstly...?"
...I blinked. Yes, indeed. It might a problem for her if someone were to see us like this in this kind of store. Mostly her. Being seen with a guy might cause some gossip to spread, and given that the school is a highly-ordered strata that punishes dissenters severely, it's no wonder that Kanzaki-san doesn't want to be seen like this, "Got it."
I quickly moved towards the aisle next to hers, nodding my head as I looked at the spines of the games that were in the aisle, barely cringing at the names that were written on it as I couldn't help but think that this game store misunderstood 'PG-13' to 'R-16'. As I tried to keep my mind off of the games and trying to listen to the faint voice from the other aisle, I heard Kanzaki-san's voice, "...Thanks."
Just to be sure that people would misunderstand, I took out my phone and placed it against my ear, making others who passed by think that I was talking to someone over the line, "No problem. So, genres?"
"Ah...about the same as you, then?" Kanzaki-san's faint voice came from the other side as I couldn't help but sigh. Looks like the plan is working. No one's bothering us, after all, "But...why don't you like cooperative or multiplayer games?"
"Because I have no one to play them with", I deadpan in the most snarkiest tone that I could muster as I could hear Kanzaki-san cracking up on the other aisle. What? What was funny in that statement? Was it some kind of riajuu inside-joke that I can't get? Then, I don't want any part of that. I am fine being my wholesome loner self, without any kind of outside influence to drag my individuality down!
"...You have a weird sense of humor, Hikigaya-san", the voice from the other side said as I couldn't help but shake my head and sigh. I see, so the reason why I can't get the joke is because of my rotten and isolated disposition, huh? "...Makes sense that you're the only one that's interesting out of the rest of them."
I stopped, raising an eyebrow at the spines of the games in front of me as I blinked. Wait, did I mishear something, or did Kanzaki-san out of all people just called the rest of my classmates uninteresting? "...How?"
"You this line of thinking that's...disgusting, I guess?" I flinched. Wow. Can you please lessen the effects of yours words, madam? My heart's about to break, already. But seriously, thanks for the unabashed words of criticism. I fully thank you for that, "But, it's fresh. You're not like the other guys who just talk to me in order to woo me or something like that. It feels like I can hold an actual conversation with you."
"Plus..." She said, her already-faint voice lowering even further as I couldn't help but strain my ears out in order to hear her voice, "...You didn't even ask me as to why I'm in these kinds of stores."
"`If you want to mumble your thoughts out loud, then you want someone to hear them', I always say", I said, a surprised yelp coming from the other aisle as I couldn't help but snicker at her in response, "And besides, it's bad manners in order to ask a topic that the other party obviously doesn't want to talk about."
"...I see", came the subdued voice on the other side as I sighed in response to her words, "I...must be really desperate for someone to talk to, huh?"
"I'll be stopping you right there, then", I deadpanned in reply as I could hear the soft sound of surprise that came from Kanzaki-san, "I'm a human, not a soundboard. Not someone that you can raise flags with, for all the knowledge that I have thus collected so far."
"Then, would you listen to what I'm about to say next?" Kanzaki-san asked as I couldn't help but sigh, shaking my head at the spines of the games in front of me as I randomly picked one game from out of the bunch, the space between the other two copies beside it being replaced with an amber eye that stared at me with such an unnerving intensity that I took a step back out of instinct, "...I might be venting out on you."
"Why are you so intent on doing this, anyway?" I shot back with a thin frown on my face, "For all intents and purposes, I'm just an outsider looking in – a stranger. Do you think that you can even trust me with whatever you're going to say? If I was in your place, I would most certainly hold it in and scream at a nearby wall later or something."
The amber eyes that belonged to her blazed up, and it was that moment that I knew that I wasn't just facing some ordinary girl – she was a lady of war; one that was normally docile and unassuming, but could most certainly slam you towards the floor and point a naginata's blade at your neck. Someone that has the façade of innocence, but is always prepared to throw all of that away just so she could have a chance of grasping what she seeks.
...I seriously underestimated her. Another side that I couldn't have ever known unless they show it to me themselves – are the rest of the E-Class like this? And here I thought that my eyes could clearly see what secrets a person was hiding inside underneath all that layer of falsity. It seems that I'm being continued to be proven wrong again.
"...Fine. You win", I said, inwardly grumbling at my inherent weakness in women as I could only release a tired sigh, my whole body slumping forward as I feebly met Kanzaki-san's fiery gaze.
"I see. Thank you."
"But", I said, immediately cutting her off before she could say something else as my stomach grumbled just in time as her fiery gaze was broken and her amber eyes stared at me in shock, "...You're paying for lunch, Kanzaki-san."
Her gentle laughter was enough for me to smirk back at her in response.
[–|–]
...Who knew that Saize had a branch in this place? This day is turning just a little bit for the better, "...Can I borrow your bonnet for a bit?"
"Sure", I said, taking off the gray bonnet that had always been on my head ever since Nakamura bought it for me as I gave it towards Kanzaki-san, the latter immediately putting it onto her head as a thin smile graced her lips.
Seriously, she's like a different person while in disguise. I mean, she just looks like your average nerdy girl from one of the numerous junior highs all around the area, you know? Just who the hell learns how to put on a flawless disguise, and what kind of circumstances must one live in order to learn how to do such a thing? Probably, it had something to do with what this woman is about to say next, "I'm sorry, but can I borrow your glasses too, for the meantime?"
"...You do not want to see me without my glasses", I warned Kanzaki-san as she simply brought a hand to her face and smiled at me. Alright, I'll forgive you this time since you're a Yamato Nadeshiko-type, a derivative of the ojou-sama type, "Trust me on this. I'm much scarier without these on."
"I think I can handle that", Kanzaki-san said as I sighed, shaking my head at her as I closed my eyes and removed my glasses, handing it over towards Kanzaki-san before I opened my eyes, directly staring at her as she was momentarily froze at the shock of meeting the full brunt of my gaze head-on, "...I-I see the reason why you don't want to take them off...It's a bit disconcerting, after all..."
Ha. 'Disconcerting' isn't even going to cut it, woman.
"So, can I have my glasses back now?" I said, holding my hand out towards her as Kanzaki-san simply stared at it for a few seconds before giggling and sticking her tongue out at me, not even considering to give my power limiter back towards me.
...She has a childish streak. I can't even believe her, "So Hikigaya-san, care to give the reason why your eyes look exactly like a zombie's?"
"I didn't come here to tell you about my life story", I said as I couldn't help but scowl at Kanzaki-san, "You're the one that dragged me out here and told me that you're going to vent out your frustrations out on me."
"And you're still agreeing to this because...Why again?"
"Because I get free food. Nothing's better than free food", I said, placing a hand on my chin as I stared outside, watching the occasional E-Class student make their way across town with almost nothing better to do. Good thing that one of my Skills was automatically kicking in – the same one that I used on the duck hunt game earlier until Komachi came into play – [Stealth Hikki]. A skill that blocks everyone's perception of me as if I was invisible, and could only be disabled by people that I had spent a lot of time with (like Komachi, which is the reason why I was tracked down and hunted for the duck meat that I contain), or people in very close proximity in front of me, like Kanzaki-san. A valuable skill to have in assassination, but also incredibly useful in its utility.
"So, even if that food is poisoned?" Kanzaki-san asked me with a smile on her face and wait you didn't tell the waiter to spike my food with some kind of chemicals that Okuda-san makes, right!? I mean, they tricked out his head and all, but he clearly said that it was deadly on humans, you know!? What are you thinking, woman!? Are you planning to kill me as soon as you spill the truth about the reason why you frequent game stores!? All of that poisoning for just a simple reason!? Are you stupid? Should we check the neurologist just in case that we missed some sort of mental illness that you somehow got!? "Hikigaya-san, I'm asking you a question here. Don't go spacing out, alright?"
"A-Ah, t-that's right", I said, clearing my throat as I focused my thoughts back onto the topic, seeing Kanzaki-san look at me with a twinkle of childishness in her eyes. Seriously, this woman is going to be the death of me in a completely opposite direction as compared to Nakamura, "...Well, even if that food was poisoned, it's still free food. I won't hate it even if I die, as long as I can't taste the poison."
"...You're seriously weird, Hikigaya-san", Kanzaki-san said with a little chuckle as I couldn't help but sigh and look at me with her amber eyes, "Just because it's free food doesn't mean that you have no choice but to eat it, you know?"
"I know", I said, giving her a blank stare that made her squirm in her spot as I sighed, "...Even I have standards, you know? It's not that I eat something in trash bins with just a snap of my fingers. I'm not a raccoon."
"Besides", I said, clapping my hands as Kanzaki-san perked up and refocused her amber gaze on me, "We're not supposed to be talking about food. We're supposed to be talking about just what the hell made you forcibly abduct me into this nondescript family restaurant, right?"
"...That's right", Kanzaki-san said, her smile now being one out of sadness instead of the glint of childishness that I had seen earlier as I couldn't help but sigh and glance out towards the window, the waiter coming back with our food and was now gingerly placing it by our sides of the table. I didn't dare look at the waiter until I heard his footsteps pattering away against the marble floor, making me sigh in relief as I stared at the food that I had ordered. Teriyaki Hamburger Lunch, some carbonara, and an unlimited refill at the drink bar. Free food is so nice.
"So", Kanzaki-san said, already taking out bits and pieces of her food as she twirled her fork around a particularly cheesy Spaghetti Bolognese, "To start off with our discussion...Hikigaya-san, how is your relationship with your parents?"
...I see where this is going now, "...Not that much, really. Something happened in the past, and I'm still bitter about it. Come to think about it, I still sort of hold some kind of anger towards them for not being there for me when I needed it the most...? Well, it's some form of that, so I guess me and my parents don't get along that well. I don't know what they think, though."
Kanzaki-san nodded, a look on understanding crossing her face as she ate a bite of her pasta, "...To put it simply I guess, it seems that we share the same family situation."
"I could tell the moment you asked me whether I had a good relationship with my parents or not", I said with a disinterested expression on my face as I took a big bite out of my Hamburger steak. Mm, this taste is just what I had missed. Ah, Chiba, how I like to go there on vacation right now~
...Did I just trigger a flag or something? "I...see. It seems that under that entire disgusting exterior, the gap that comes with your brilliant mind is just enough for you to gain some points with me."
I blinked, my eyes meeting Kanzaki-san's amber gaze as I once again saw a hint of childishness before her seemingly 'perfect' exterior. Seriously? Do you seriously think that I'd fall for that, Kanzaki-san? I might've done so if we met earlier, but then again you did say that you thought that the rest of our classmates were uninteresting, so there goes that option out of the window.
"Next joke please."
"Hm? What makes you think that it was a joke?" Ah. This is it, isn't it? We're supposed to be playing a game. 'Supposed to' is the important term, because it means that both players must agree to the game existing in the first place in order to play it. Which is why, the best way in order to avoid playing this game was to pretend that it doesn't exist.
"In any case, you play games in order to escape reality for just a little while before you have to go and face it again", I said with a sigh, ignoring the twitch in Kanzaki-san's amber eyes as I couldn't help but glance outside as I took another bite out of my steak, "...Just like the same thing that you're trying to do right now."
I glanced back towards Kanzaki-san, seeing that a small frowned has already been plastered all over her face, "...Hikigaya-san. Did someone ever tell you that you're too perceptive at times?"
"No."
"Then you might as well embed the next words that I say into your memory, Hikigaya-san", Kanzaki-san said as her frown deepened, pointing her chopsticks towards me– Hey! What did I do wrong this time!? "...Girls don't like boys who are too perceptive."
"I see", I replied off-handedly, "Then, I might as well keep that in mind for anyone out there that's willing to go out with this failure of a man. I just need to act dumb when a girl tells me to act dumb, right?"
I smirked, pointing towards my dead eyes as Kanzaki-san giggled, staring at me with laughter in her eyes before it was suddenly snuffed out and was replaced by melancholy. A change in expression so quick and unnoticeable that one couldn't normally notice it unless you've got my Discerning Ey– Bad Hachiman! You're not supposed to rip things off from their original works!
"Hikigaya-san, another word of advice", Kanzaki-san said as she down her last bite of her pasta and wait, just how much did she eat!? That's scary! "...You might find self-depreciating jokes to be funny for you, but please think of it from another person's perspective. They might think that you're creepy, or disgusting, or both. Especially without your glasses on."
As she said so, Kanzaki-san took off my glasses and gave them back to me, glowering at her all the while as I relished the comfort and weight of my glasses being where they were supposed to be as I sighed in relief, taking another bite out of my steak as I glanced towards Kanzaki-san, seeing her already gone with the money that she was supposed to pay for the two of us directly sitting on the middle of the table.
I blinked, seeing a flash of raven black hair already exiting Saize as I couldn't help but sigh and shake my head, taking another bite out of my steak as I smiled.
Like I said, free food is always nice.
...But give me back my bonnet, damn you.
AN: There. Now Sugino hates me for all I know. Oh, and thanks for my beta for searching Saize's menu. Your research will not be forgotten.
