Chapter 8 - Arc 1: And Finally, The Introductory Arc Ends With An Introduction

"-incurred great losses spent on repairing the building. People were shocked and anxious, claiming that they had no idea on what had occurred inside. The police are still investigating the cause, but so far, no there is no clear moti-"

The TV was shut off. Mistress was back to staring at the screen wordlessly. The silence passed between us was terrifying, the kind that preceded before the horrifying jumpscare or event.

I heard a sharp intake of breath and froze up immediately. I was expecting to hear a shout or a yell about the incompetence of the company's investigator and I, as always, would reply back to her in a calm and composed manner, silently hiding the fear shaking my heart.

"What's the report?"

It came out as something short of a whisper. I strained my ears to hear it, for I knew when Mistress was like this, any word or phrase misheard would bear severe consequences. "Nothing, Mistress. Our investigators are still looking into the cause. We still have more evidence than the police do, but we still don't know what had happened."

"I see."

Silence reigned down upon us again. For 14 years, I was instructed to be Mistress's bodyguard and in my whole life, I had only seen her like this only once.

I couldn't remember the circumstances surrounding her during that time. What were they again?

No matter how hard I racked my head and replayed every single day for the last 14 years, I still couldn't remember what had happened. All I knew was that she stayed in her room everyday and anyone who attempted to get her out was met with severe consequences.

I remember that Mistress's mother almost managed to coax Mistress out of the room, but it failed when she accidentally said something, driving Mistress into a fit of anger and immediately shut the door in her face. I, having to stay outside the room everyday, saw the failed attempts and the numerous amount of people who came and went, all without success.

That was when she was 9 years old, around the time I had married my wife.

Back to the issue at hand, Mistress wasn't doing so well. The TV screen was off, show it should've at least reflected her expression but no matter how hard I tried to crane my neck, I couldn't see what was on Mistress's face.

"Akihito."

I almost jumped out of my shoes at sound of my name. "Yes, Mistress?"

"What's the time?"

"It's currently 7:00am."

"Huh? I didn't expect it to be so early."

"Neither did I, Mistress."

"...What happened yesterday? I believe you were present at the scene of this event."

Yesterday. At that mall. I gulped. "I'm sorry Mistress. It seems that I was knocked out for the duration of the fight. When I recovered, I found myself lying on the floor, the event having passed already."

"By who?"

"The Carosphone."

It was no secret to me about the existence of the Parasites. After making some inquiries, I discovered I was not the only person sent to the mall. The Host of the Parasite, Somiel, had also been present and I believed that she knew what had transpired in the mall.

Unfortunately, she had passed out due to excessive use of her Parasite and was now in one of our hospitals for recovery. Because of her, I had to bear the shame of being unable to report anything important to Mistress's parents.

Mistress stood up, walking towards the fridge before pulling out a carton of milk. She poured herself a glass and drank it, the milk sloshing in the glass before going down her throat. I kept my eyes peeled, instinctively looking out for any out of place.

Only when she put her glass down did I notice Mistress's eyes. They were tired, exhausted, relentless in whatever kept her up in the wee hours of the night.

As to how I know this, I had to stay outside of her room the whole night and heard a lot of talking. Mistress was the only person in the room at that time, so I was almost tempted to call the her personal doctor for a check-up.

I fiddled with the sunglasses on my head, cursing whoever had to do such a horrendous act. I mean, wearing sunglasses 24/7 dressed in a suit? I thought that only happened in movies and my belief turned out to be wrong when I was undertaking this job.

Mistress's eyes brought me back to yesterday, where I was finally able to take off the suit and wear casual clothes for once. Naturally, that meant a reconnaissance mission and my task was to spy on a boy.

His eyes were comparable to the ones Mistress had right now, dead inside, except they were worse. Much, much worse. I almost had a heart attack when I saw him in person. Years and years of training had taught me to keep my cool.

It made me wonder why Mistress's parents designated the mission and the boy 'top-priority'.

Mistress shuffled back to the couch before laying down with a groan. "Akihito", she muttered, "why did I have to make that stupid mistake?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

I almost regretted the words that came out of my mouth, wishing that I could take them back. If anything, I was the first person, not including her parents, who should know. However, if Mistress was fazed at those words, she didn't show it. "Aaaahhhhh! He probably thinks I'm some weirdo now! Aaaaahh!"

Like all humans, I was naturally tempted to ask who, but I bit my tongue. Asking too many questions could drive Mistress into a worse mood.

I won't be able to face him today!" Mistress, please stop. That pillow won't be able to take a few more hits.

A knock on the door caused both of us to look at it. It opened to reveal a woman of stunning beauty.

Now, to get some things out of the way, I was already married. This meant that I was already taken and no matter how many women wore make-up or dressed beautifully or had good curves, only one would take the number one position. Namely, my wife.

It also meant that if I tried to have an affair, I'd be hung, tortured, shot and buried, where no one would ever know what happened to Kurusu Akihito, the man whose death remained an enigmatic mystery to all but the killer.

In the more likely scenario, the killing would never make it to the ears of the media. Just another disappearance in the city of Chiba.

Of course this was me exaggerating; Wait, was it?

I felt sweat running down my brow.

The woman glided elegantly into the room, her long dress, thought it was more of a robe, dragging on the ground behind her. I respectfully stood with my back even straighter. She smiled in my direction and nodded her head. "Hello, Akihito-san."

"M-morning Ichiro-san."

Ichiro Akane headed towards her daughter, who continued lying down on the couch, pouting. "Mom."

"Dear, it's almost time for breakfast. You're going to be late for school." She knelt down beside her daughter, who was still affected by last night's events.

"School…", Mistress muttered with a dazed look.

Her mother only smiled, getting to her feet and heading straight to the door. Before she left, however, she uttered a few words that were more effective than 100 adrenaline shots to Mistress.

"If you're lucky, you might be able to see him."

With that, the exchange between mother and daughter ended within a few seconds.

Mistress shot up, her eyes now displaying a peculiar emotion and dashed towards her bedroom door, shutting it and locking it. Staying where I was, I was left to look outside the window behind the TV and wondered how the people in the buildings down below felt as they started their daily routine of work and rest once again.

The image of the boy, whom I remembered was named Hikigaya Hachiman, came to the front of my mind once again. I remembered how he acted in that mall, his interactions with those two people and his sudden confrontation with me. During our brief talk, I analyzed him as best as he could.

He didn't stand out in a crowd. Actually, it was more likely to say he couldn't stand out because he couldn't be found in the first place. He was the type to be ignored and glossed over or to be ridiculed and bullied by his peers. Source? First-hand experience.

The two girls, however, were a sort of enigma. One was a regular high-school teenager, with hazel hair and an eccentric personality. My instincts told me she was someone who would act clumsy or clueless, but clearly knew more than she knew.

The other one remained a mystery. Why would-?

The sudden 'BANG!' sound of a door made me quickly twist my head to the source, where Mistress was dashing across the room, all dressed up in her school clothes with her bag slung over her shoulder. As I my eyes followed her, I inwardly thanked the sunglasses for being opaque. I've been told that me with bewildered eyes was a funny and humorous, courtesy of my wife.

As Mistress walked out of the door, I followed her as well, trailing a few steps behind her in case anyone decided to launch a close range attack on her. In the event of a shooting, I was confident my body was large enough to shield her and that I had enough strength left to shoot the shooter.

After taking the elevator, we were met by a squad or security guards, who promptly saluted Mistress before she dismissed them. At once, we departed for the front entrance, where 3 limousines were waiting.

Truly, only such an affluent company could provide this.

During the trip to the school, the ride was silent. Fulfilling my role as a bodyguard, I occasionally glanced out of the window, half-expecting an out of place person or a rampaging vehicle to 'accidentally' cause an accident that just so happened to involve the daughter of one of the most prominent families here in Chiba.

We arrived at the school, Sobu High, I believed. I was just about to signal the driver to open my door when Mistress suddenly out up a hand. "Wait!"

Confused, I sat back down and put my hand on my gun, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. Mistress was pressed up against the window with both her hands beside her and I followed my gaze to where she was looking at.

Students were still streaming into the school, with most glancing and gossiping towards our direction. No doubt 3 pitch-black limousines would definitely raise some eyebrows and questions. Because of the amount of students, I couldn't tell what or who Mistress was looking at. My eyes quickly scanned the faces of the crowd and I knew for a fact that my colleagues and those under me were doing the same.

No one. So who-?

My eyes widened, spotting a familiar face from last night's events.

Despite his attempts to blend in or remain unseen, to me, he was the person who stood out the most. I carefully analysed his expression and saw him grimace when he saw the throng of students gathered outside.

He hates crowds, huh?

His eyes glanced from the crowds to the limousines. They briefly scanned the objects of everyone's interest and for a moment, I thought they almost rested on me for a split second longer. Like he recognised me and didn't want to be found out.

Impossible. The limousine windows are tinted heavily to the point where you can't see anything inside, even with the inside illuminated. It was possible to reduce the tint from the dashboard, but they shouldn't be reduced right now.

For the second time today, I sweated.

Without even bothering to gawk or state like the other students, he slipped behind them and passed through the school gates, unfazed by the commotion. My eyes continued to closely watch him until he was out of sight, having gone inside the school doors.

I turned my attention back to Mistress. "Mistress, we should-"

"Hachiman?", she softly whispered.

Wasn't that the name of the boy last night? "Sorry, Mistress, who are you-?"

"Akihito. I'm going out to school now. Please don't follow me."

With those parting words, she opened the door and stepped out, the students initial gossip now becoming much louder. She walked into the crowd, ignoring most of them and slightly conversing with some, but I knew something had happened.

I was befuddled, but still same. I took out my receiver and spoke into it.

"Make sure Mistress gets inside safely. Sniper teams, shoot anyone who might be a threat on sight."

Who the hell are you?


"That's him alright."

Kraue's voice agreed with mine as I headed up the stairs to my classroom.

"But seriously, you guys couldn't have told me earlier about my lack of energy?"

Today had started off on a bad note.

Waking up from my nap early in the morning, I had discovered I was extremely hungry and to alleviate my hunger, I headed downstairs to eat some instant ramen. After finishing my first bowl, I had another one.

Then another one.

Then one more.

Those plus Komachi's delicious breakfast still didn't make stop my hunger and only after eating two sandwiches did I learn the reason why.

"We were caught up last night!", Kraue argued, "We couldn't have told you."

"Yesterday morning?"

"...Point taken."

Apparently, like all Parasites, they need energy. So they absorb their required energy from their Host, which is the reason why I felt so tired and hungry this morning. In other words, keeping Kraue means I have to eat more.

"Agreed. Kraue is definitely a burden."

"Hey, wait a second, why is it only me? You two are Parasites as well."

"Unlike you, we are not biologically structured. Naturally, this means we don't need food nor drinks to sustain our lives."

"So what do you guys use up?"

"I don't use anything, although I am speaking for myself here, so you need to ask Ava directly."

"Nothing. It's only Kraue needs resources."

I stopped by a vending machine, inserting a few coins in and watching a yakisoba bun fall out. I picked it up and opened it, taking a bite and savouring the taste of the bread. Sometimes, even the plainest things in life taste the best. That does not mean anything tops MAX Coffee.

I looked left and right, noticing the emptiness of the corridors. "Strange.", I muttered to no one in particular, "I guess most of the school body is outside."

"What do you guys suggest we do about that guy, Kurusu Akihito?"

"I suggest we gather more information about him. He obviously has ulterior motives for you."

As they were suggesting ideas one after another, I walked to my class, ignoring the conversation in my head. Using my skills, I quickly tuned out the conversation and instead opted for looking at my surroundings.

I opened the classroom door, startling a few people who were busy talking among themselves. As I went to my seat and pretended to sleep, I discreetly monitored the noise of the conversations happening around me.

"Did you hea-?"

"-hter of Ichiro-"

"-rival Miura-san-"

Well Miura, today just isn't your lucky day. First Yukinoshita, then this random girl. To be honest, most of what I was hearing was pointless. I looked at the clock on the wall, revealing the time to be 37 minutes before school officially started. Looks like I accidentally got here too early. Must be the reason why Komachi shooted me stranger glances this morning.

"Host.", Ava asked, "Forgive me for interrupting, but would anyone know about Blood's host?"

"Nope. It hasn't appeared on the news yet nor are people talking about it. The other alternative was that they did, but the arrival of some new student distracts them more than the death of a human."

"Burn."

I returned back to pretending to sleep, listening to the sounds of people coming in and out as time seemed to pass by as fast as a snail's pace. My first task today was to check on Yuigahama and Yukinoshita. There was a small chance that they saw Blood's Host and an even smaller chance they knew about his death. Yuigahama I could talk to before school started, just a quick word with her, but Yukinoshita would have to wait until school ends.

My second, finding out what that 'Kurusu Akihito' person was doing here. I now highly doubted that he was FBI, perhaps he said it to throw suspicion off him. When I used Kraue's eye to scan the limousines, it was almost impossible for me to recognise anyone except him. There was someone else in the backseat with him, but her or she looked down before I was able to get a good look at their face. Sad, what a coincidence that happened.

Thirdly, the girl from yesterday. She was an enigma, a puzzle and my agreement to meet with her yesterday has resulted in me encountering Isshiki and Haruno instead, which then led to the meeting of the Kurusu person and another Parasite, who then fought alongside me against another Parasite, who had died from the same darts which had hit my robbers three days ago. I had to find out who she was and since she was wearing the Soubu uniform, she must have been another student.

If I were saying all of this outloud, I would have died or passed out from continuous use of my lungs. "I'm so confused.", I muttered. Even I had a hard time understanding what had taken place over the last four days.

I hope all the read- sorry, Parasites had an easier time trying to wrap their heads around this. I almost forgot breaking the fourth wall wasn't one of my abilities.

Or was it?

Hmmmm….

I felt a soft tap on my shoulder and I looked up, my eyes instantly gazing into a pai- AHEM, Hikigaya Hachiman. Look up.

"Warning. Rotating 180 degrees."

Ignoring the sudden interference of Ava, I looked up into pouting brown eyes and a troubled expression that I had to use all of my willpower to turn away.

"Hikki! You've got to help me!"

Nope. Not today, Yuigahama. Not today.

"I didn't do my Japanese literature homework! Sensei will kill me!"

"Yuigahama.", I said solemnly, "What Sensei will punish you with will be nothing compared to what she does to me."

"But I don't need to be punished if I hand it in!"

Her eyes were practically begging for my homework and unable to resist, I sighed and reached into my bag, taking out the descriptive and verbose piece of literature that I had completed within the early hours of morning, when it was still dark outside. In all my haste, I actually managed to write a 3-page review on the book we had finished last week.

As I gave it to her, Yuigahama's eyes practically shone as though she had died and seen an angel coming down to reward her for all the good things she had done throughout her life. You do realise homeroom will start before you even finish it? Look at the time.

She grasped the papers with both her hands, her mouth slowly opening to smile with an open mouth. Meanwhile, I still sat in front of her, wondering where her clique went. A loud cheer suddenly sounded and I immediately came to the conclusion that they were outside.

I leaned my head on the table, closing my eyes and feeling the fatigue finally hit me. "Good grief, more trouble.", I mumbled to myself.

"Trouble will always come naturally to Hosts."

"These last few days have been so hectic. Why can't I get some peace and quiet?"

"Eh, Hikki? What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Peace and quiet are rare nowadays, are they not?"

"Not if you're a loner."


"Oi, Hikigaya."

What's that? A shadowed figure?

"Hikigaya!"

I woke up, lifting my head at precisely the same moment I felt my shoulder being shaked. Once again, I looked into another pair of eyes, these ones overflowing with lividness and elation. What's up with me staring into eyes? Was it some kind of new trend I had roped myself into unknowingly?

My vision refocused, this time recognising who exactly stared back at me. "Oh, Sensei."

"Don't 'Oh Sensei' me. Homeroom has started."

My eyes quickly flicked in the direction of my classmates, most of whom were staring at my predicament. Why didn't anyone bother waking me up? Traitors! Cowards! The whole lot of you!

"They can't be traitors if they never appeared to be on your side."

"Excellent point. One for team Kraue."

"So Kraue is officially a one-man army?"

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

After getting scolded by Sensei, with hints of an impending death masked by her words to meet her 'in her office' after school ends. My instincts told me I wouldn't survive if I did what she threa-, my mistake, 'asked'. I had a feeling that my guts would wholeheartedly agree, had it not been for the grumbling sound coming from my stomach. Another way of saying 'You'll live longer, but you'll die a more painful death if you feed me food.'

For majority of the lesson, I mostly shifted between sleeping and staying awake, thankful that my intense novel reading in my childhood provided me the answers to the surprise questions she quizzed me on. It was a good last thing to see, the enraged but composed face of Hiratsuka Shizuka, taken aback by surprise. Did you not learn anything last lesson about my no. 78 skill, 'Perfect Memory'?

I even remembered Yamaha-san name, Yamaha Yama. Though I feel like that was off by a letter or two…

By the time recess had come around, I was almost on the brink of going into a slumber I would never wake up from. The pain was unbearable and I almost had no energy to take out my packed lunch of two, wholemeal slices of plain bread. I opened the lid and muttering 'itadakimasu' as low as possible to conserve the little energy I had remaining, I devoured the bread, finishing it in 3-4 bites per piece. At the end, I felt like I had drunk a greater max level potion of healing and rejuvenation, my hunger and lust for food gone. Sometimes, I wondered why it was the little things in life that were the best.

"Hikki."

What now, Yuigahama? By the way, did you hand up my homework to Sensei as well as yours when she left the classroom? Disastrous consequences could follow.

"I m-made this for you… Here!"

She thrust a wrapped package towards me, pink cloth covering a rectangular object. I looked at the box, then her, then behind me.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

I forgot. My desk was right beside the wall. I turned my head again, trying to wrap my mind around the unbelievable fact that I was getting something from Yuigahama. The exchange so far had already elicited some people into looking at the two of us, especially her clique who were by far the most interested in what was happening. I could see Tobe straining his neck, as well as Miura who was silently giving me death vibes.

I'm sorry Miura, but compared to what I witnessed yesterday, your glares don't even faze me one bit.

"Ok." I gently took the object from her, carefully setting it on my table. I looked at her again, seeing her trembling and fidgeting with her fingers. "Are you sure it's ok? You don't look fi-."

"I am!", she responded a little too loudly. Behind her, I could already see Miura ready to come at me with a knife, probably thinking that I was doing something bad to her. It's all a misunderstanding. Sheesh. "Just...open it please."

The 'please' at the end incited me to give into my instincts and open it. I unwrapped the pink cloth and let it fall down, revealing a lunchbox. This made me remember the only time I received a present, only to be confused when unwrapping the wrapping revealed just another box for me to open. That alone made me confused on why the wrapping was even present in the first place.

However, now that I have progressed beyond the intelligence of the average human's mind-

"Oh boy. Another monologue."

"Thanks Yuigahama." To be astonished would be an understatement. Frankly, I never received many presents or gifts from anyone, the only times I did was it being obligatory aside from the christmas example I recently mentioned. I opened the box, revealing a cooked omelette with mushrooms stacked on plain white rice that literally was white. It was so white, too white actually, that I almost thought she used paint and a maid cafe' Nyan Nyan Nyan!' chant to produce the colour.

I sat there, my mouth slightly hung open before I closed it. Disbelief ran rampant in my brain. Yuigahama made this? This?

Apparently, some of my classmates were feeling the former as they all started whisper among themselves. Her clique, in particular, were one of the most affected by Yuigahama Yui's sudden blitzkrieg.

Yuigahama pulled out a chair and sat down next to me, still nervous but smiling happily. That smile was infectious and the next thing I knew, I'd be arrested for being a pervert.

"That smile doesn't go well with the eyes. Have you considered seeing an optician? How about an opthamologist?"

"Why do you appear at random times? Plus, where's Psi and Ava? You're the only one who's been speaking more lately."

"Busy. With something. For some reason, I feel like they're planning something yet leaving me out of the loop."

"Oh, so they're making a sensible decision."

Ignoring the stuttering and stammering of Kraue, I grabbed the chopsticks and proceeded to take a bite of the omelette, only to realise something.

Yuigahama couldn't cook at all.

While said girl was staring at me, I was facing a dilemma that I had to solve quickly. On one hand, the bento was fresh and delicious looking and so far, all concoctions made by Yuigahama were bad in taste and appearance, so this one might be the first exception. On the other hand, appearances weren't everything, which made them deadlier in many cases. Yuigahama might have managed the outside of the food, but the inside still had yet to be fixed.

I racked my brains, looking for an answer, until I realised I didn't need to look for one after all.

Meh. Whether it's heavenly tasting or was downright disgusting, she took the time to give it to me. I was starting to sound like one of those protagonists who did anything and everything for the people around them, as long they did it under the pretense of 'they went this far already'. Me on the other hand, wasn't the type to fall for such tricks.

Mainly because I had a suspicious feeling about Yuigahama.

I inserted the omelette into my mouth, my taste buds being assaulted by...a cheesy taste? The mozzarella in this omelette completely complemented the mushy, yet firm texture of the omelette. It melted perfectly in my mouth, not too fast nor slow, and all of it combined into me wanting to eat even more of this creation.

Maybe I should try being a food critic. My vocabulary would span far beyond the usual 'good' and 'bad' descriptions.

I started to reach for another piece of omelette, only for Yuigahama to grab my wrist. "Hikki, i-s it g-good?" She was obviously afraid of me telling her it wasn't, but doing that would have been an outright lie.

"Nope. It's actually pretty wonderful, unlike the other compounds you created."

"Mou, Hikki~. It's food, not a weird dish!" A barrage of soft punches hit my arm, the perpetrator keeping it up until they finally rested on my bicep. "Neh, Hikki…"

"Yeah?"

"Oh my gosh, this is a fantastic movie. Let me get the popcorn and… two, three, ACTION!"

"Can I feed you?"

Those words, despite being spoken softly, were somehow heard by literally everyone in the room. Whispers started to grow louder, making me feel uncomfortable in the classroom. "Yuigahama, I think I'm capable of feeding myself."

"Not in that way! I just, thought you might have a bit of trouble with your hand. Wait, Hikki, what happened to your hand?"

Which one, I almost asked. I stopped, remembering that my left hand, which should have been in plain view from it dangling by my side, was in all likelihood the one she was referring to. If I recall, that one was the one I intentionally injured by stabbing a piece of glass into it. It still hurt a lot, so I tried to not move it much.

I was proven wrong when Yuigahama reached across me and grabbed my other hand, which was being used to hold the chopsticks. She grabbed, inspecting it with both hands while I was busy trying to ignore her body that was right in front of my face. The close proximity her body was to me started to make me blush and I looked away at the wall, trying to ignore what was happening. I could still feel her hands on my hand but for some reason, her grip felt...tight?

Kraue laughed. "Wish I had a tape recorder. Or better yet, a camera! What I would give to see this hit the media."

"Not helping, and aren't being useless right now?"

"Right now, i'd gladly take being useless if it meant watching you."

"Hikio! What the heck are you doing to Yui!?"

Miura stood up, glaring at me in blazing fury. Read the situation, would you? Do you not see who's doing what to who?

Tobe came over and I inwardly grimaced. Bad enough Yuigahama was busy fretting over my wounds, but Tobe might just reveal and exaggerate it even further. "Woah, Hikitani-kun, did you get into a fight or something?"

No doubt he's seen both of my hands. "Your hands are like, dude, totally wrapped in those bandages man. Did ya go boxing or something? And your face!"

I could felt my face with my other hand and realised there were still some scabs from last night. As a precaution, I lifted my collar higher, hoping there weren't any marks that could be tied with me being tied up. Nice use of that pun, though, Hachiman.

Yuigahama muttered something slightly, and although I didn't hear it, it gave me an ominous feeling. Thankfully, everybody else shook my thought of the matter as I started to hear hears such as 'delinquent' and 'violent.' Great. Let's add another name to the 'Awfully composed list of Hikigaya Hachiman'.

I guess the one good thing was that none of them could associate me with the incident at the mall, which was believed to be a terrorist attack. In all honesty, I'm partially to blame since I did fight back.

Different reactions stemmed from different people in the class. Miura looked ready to come over and yell at me for doing weird actions to her 'friend', Tobe looked ready to announce to the whole school that 'Hikitani-kun' had injured himself in a fight and Hayama, who had the best expression so far, was sporting a concerned expression that didn't reach his eyes.

I knew what he was thinking. I was always a threat to destroying his status quo and I had no intention of doing so. Right now, at least.

Yuigahama was still inspecting my hands when I pulled them away. "Yuigahama, I'm fine. Really."

"Oh, ok Hikki." For some reason, she still was sad.

I patted her head to thank her, just like I sometimes did with Komachi. She blushed and quickly scooted away, back to her clique where they were now probably interrogating Yuigahama. Meanwhile, I continued to eat my lunch, hoping the commotion had died down.

"Rats. Ended so early?"

"I guess it has. What are Psi and Ava doing?"


I stood in front of the door, my greatest challenge inside.

I took a deep breath. Come on Hachiman, it's just a door with random strangers you're never going to meet again and who play no significant value in your life.

Except maybe two. Hopefully one.

"How certain are you that she is inside?"

"For me, I am fairly certain that on a scale of one to ten, it would be one."

"Then why are we even going here in the first place?"

"Explanation. Every other place either ranks zero in the negative range."

My hand grasped the sliding door and I pulled it, revealing neatly lined rows and columns of tables and chairs, unlike my classroom. Everyone inside looked at the door or glanced briefly at it, before they looked back with surprised eyes. Some might have been confused at the presence of a new stranger. Others, the most infamous guy in school.

Only one person didn't look at me like that. Her blue eyes reflected curiosity as Yukinoshita Yukino was about to eat her sandwich.

I, Hikigaya Hachiman, was now officially in class 2-J.

I walked over to Yukinoshita, who was slightly perturbed at my appearance. "Hikigaya-kun. Would you please remind me why you decided not to come to club yesterday?"

"I told Sensei I was sick."

"Oh? She didn't mention anything about that."

"She probably didn't even bother to take out her phone and inform you."

"You could have informed me or Yuigahama instead."

"I didn't think of that."

The rest of class 2-J were shocked, surprised and confused that I had somehow managed to strike up a conversation with Yukinoshita Yukino. It was of no surprise to me, but that wasn't the real reason I came here.

"Yukinoshita. Do you know anybody in your class with blue hair and green eyes?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know? Are you perhaps going after her like everybody else."

"I don't even have the slightest indication of doing so. But judging from your glances to your left, is she in that group of people over there?"

There were a bunch of people huddled around a table and talking excitedly, mostly comprised of girls and a few guys. If there was any reason for them to that, it would be a person, and if it was a person, it would most likely be a new student.

'How did you guys divine that the new girl was the one I saw yesterday?"

"Anime tropes. Ava scanned your books and she realised it was the only option."

"So you guys based this on an anime trope? There's a difference between anime and reality."

"This trope might have been correct."

"Yes, she is. Do you know her?"

"I know her somewhat."

I made my way to the group of people and slowly wedged myself to the centre, the students not making any attempt to hold me back for some reason. As soon as I got to the centre, it revealed that the centre of attention was a girl with blue hair and emerald eyes.

"No doubt this is the same girl. She is perfectly identical to the one from yesterday."

"But what if she just happens to have a twin? Or a clone? She could be a possible Host."

"Disagree. Occam's Razor."

Occam's Razor. The principle that the simplest solution tends to be the right one.

The girl was busy talking to everyone else, laughing and smiling like how every person who led a popular and high social-ranking life did. She could be a female version of Hayama, minus the hair and eyes. Oh, mustn't forget the gender as well.

"Excuse me?"

She immediately looked at me, even before I completed my question. Her talks with the others cease and they looked at me as well, evidently confused that someone not from their class was here.

"Could I talk to you for a second?"

She glanced to her left and right. "Here?"

"Outside. Preferably somewhere priv-."

"Ye-! Oh, um sorry, I meant to say, yes?"

She fumbled over her words and I nodded. I headed towards the door with her in tow behind me.

As we approached the door, I heard whispers coming from behind me. It brought me back to middle school, just like the time I had approached Kaori to confess to her, bringing a result that would prove to be both a mistake and a blessing.

It didn't faze me one bit. Go ahead with your rumours.

As soon as we were sufficiently away from any students, I stopped, hearing the footsteps behind me stop as well.

"Play this smart. That fate of the universe is at stake."

"Kraue, it is not the universe."

"Exaggerations exist for a reason."

"Just get ready in case anything happens."

I turned around, facing her. She was looking into my eyes, filled with nostalgia. "Hachiman?"

I ignored my name. "Who are you?"

"You really have no subtlety, do you?"

"Last I checked, being subtle wasn't always on my list of skills."

She laughed, her voice covered with sadness. "If you don't remember me, I'm Ichiro Megumi."

Ichiro? Where have I heard that before?

Ava sighed. "Host. You need to read the news more often. Next thing you know, a meteorite will crash 3 blocks away from your house and you won't even realise."

"I'm sure that if it did happen, I'd be dead before I figure out what killed me."

"Talking with the Parasites again?"

I stiffened, the three Parasite in my head high on alert as well. "I don't kno-."

"Yes you do.", she stepped forward, resting her hand on my cheek. I almost stepped back from the close proximity. Stay calm, Hachiman, you have a job to do. "I've known since day one."

"Day one? What's day one?'

"I am assuming it's the day where we entered Host's body."

"Soooo….like D-day?"

"Maybe."

"You never showed up yesterday.", I told her, "What happened?"

In response, she froze, her eyes twitching. She was clearly nervous. "I, umm…"

"Did you know about the attack there?"

Her eyes flashed with recognition. "The attack…you were there?"

In contrast to hers, I narrowed my eyes. "Was it a coincidence I was sent somewhere to meet you, only to be attacked by a Host?"

"Hachiman, I-"

"Somiel? Is that the name of a Parasite who works for you?"

"Yes."

"Wait a second, she just readily admitted it?"

I was confused as well. "Wouldn't she just have denied it vehemently?"

"I cannot say for certain her intentions, but you need to know who she is and everything else."

"Somiel", she continued, "Is the name of Parasite who inhabited a Host, one that works for me. I didn't show up yesterday because…". She mumbled the last words too soft.

"Sorry."

"I was too nervous! That was the reason." She stared at me for a few more seconds, then she took deep breath to regain her confidence. "Ask what you want. I'll give it to you. But understand that in any circumstance would I have sent something or someone to kill you."

I nodded slightly. "Who are you? All you've told me is your name."

She still didn't remove her hand. "Besides my name, my family is head of a company called I.I., Ichiro Industries. I came here to Soubu yesterday because I wanted to meet you, so I asked you out on a date. Somiel came in my place, but I didn't send that Parasite after you two!"

"What about Blood?"

"Four days ago, I we-", she started, but I cut her off with a 'wait'. I closed my eyes and opened them, seeing Kraue eating a box of brownies.

"Where'd you get those? Actually, why is there even a crunching sound?"

"Are going to ignore that fact she asked you out on a date?"

"I didn't ignore it, a date is technically a social or romantic engagement or appointment, by definition. It's not romantic, so it's social." Just like Haruno.

He stared at me, then got up to his feet, brushing the crumbs off his legs. "I'm beginning to think this is really bad. How sure are you that Psi isn't stealing your intelligence?"

"Sorry?"

He started to trudge towards where Psi was floating around. "Psi, I need to ask a question!"

I willed myself back to the outside world. "I had to go talk to my Parasites."

"About that Parasite, Blood, I came here last week as a sort of preparation beforehand. There, I came across a Parasite who was stalking around the room where you and those two girls were. That led to two days ago, when I killed that Parasite and his Host."

"Confused. So that was who I sensed outside?"

"I took him to one of the labs, where they tested on him for more information. Just yesterday, they, some people who work for me, brought him back and put him behind the bush. They set-up the whole area to make it look like a suicide."

"But they misplaced the shoe-mark. It would have made sense if it was facing outside, since it's impossible for anyone to stand on the window ledge."

"Then what about my scans?", Psi interjected, "Was it a coincidence that my scan happened at the exact moment Blood's body was right outside the room?"

"Then I met you. At first, it was impossible to resist.", she said, "But I couldn't help myself. After 7 years I just had to do it. To talk to you, to make sure it was you. And it was."

"Ask her if she knew about those darts."

I heeded their advice. "Were the darts yours?", I asked.

Her face displayed signs of befuddlement. "What darts?"

"The ones used to hit those muggers. The ones that killed that Host." I couldn't tell if she was playing dumb or really didn't know what I was talking about.

"I never ordered anyone to shoot any darts."

"Host. She doesn't know what you're talking about."

The whole story would have made sense except for one problem. "I'm sorry I don't know you.", I said, "So how can I trust you?"

"But you do!", she suddenly cried out, looking frustrated, "You do! It's been years we've been together and, and years I've spent searching so you have to believe me!"

I looked away. Whatever I was prepared to do, it certainly wasn't trying to calm down a hysterical girl. I was weak against such people. "I'm sorry.", was all I could say.

Her hands dropped down to her sides, hanging limply. Her head also drooped, limp as well. In fact, comparing her to a puppet who just lost all its strings would be a very precise metaphor of what just happened to her.

"It's them, isn't it?", she whispered.

"Them?"

"Who's 'them'? Some cult or something?"

"Really helpful. Please close your jaw."

"They did this to you, didn't they?!", she shrieked grasping the front of my shirts, pulling me in close and almost making me lose my balance. "They told you not to trust me! They convinced you, didn't they?"

"Ichiro-san, wh-?" Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say as she grew even wilder.

"They made you trust them! They turned you against me! You can't trust them Hachiman, only me, just me, just me, me me me me only!"

"Dude, I really really think you should go.", Kraue nervously stated, "Like, right now! She's freaking me out."

"Terrifying. My circuits are tingling."

"I came here and now you want me to leave?"

"Host.", Psi said, obvious fear lingering in his voice, "This person...scares me than any other Parasite."

Her eyes looked into mine and vice versa. I stifled the urge to run when I saw what emotions were running rampant. It was a mixture of anger, insanity and a feeling that I knew was unique to only one set of characters anywhere.

She moved her arms from my chest to around my neck and brought her face close in. She smiled, but it contained raw, primal emotions behind it. A nerve-wracking sensation lying underneath her face.

"But you don't need to worry..."

"I have the feeling something frightening is coming."

"...because, after all…"

"Host. What would you describe her as?"

"...I'm finally with you…"

"Would now be a good time to utilise our powers to escape?"

Right now, I wanted to heed their advice. To stop whatever she was saying or to escape the incoming event. But no matter how hard I tried to move my legs, they wouldn't budge. What are you doing, idiot, nincompoop-?

"...Ha-chi-man."


Concord's Note: So finally, the new OC is introduced. After 7 chapters, minus the prologue, I finally got the OC to appear from the shadows. The mysterious girl finally being revealed.

I hope you were able to make sense of what happened. It was confusing, I know, largely my fault. However, we see some mysteries being revealed at the cost of one, large problem heading in Hachiman's direction.

In response to her personality, I hope I don't need to tell you all what kind of person I plane for her to be, but I tried my best to write it as well as I could. Trust me, it's going to get better.