Edited: 01/01/17
Fact of the day, Hachiman Hikigaya was a guy who attracted too much attention from the female gender and it was something that would always end up in some type of troublesome situation. I wasn't ignored by the girls and that was good sign, it meant that everyone acknowledged my existence even if it wasn't for the best reasons. Some could say that I was hated, but that was mainly because of my idiotic façade.
In my opinion, I wasn't a dense guy and I could actually read others pretty well, but I always seemed to underestimate the fact that logic couldn't be applied when dealing with girls. Even if I tried to act neutral and distant, I always managed to screw up whenever I had to interaction seriously with a female – maybe I was lacking in experience.
It all started in the beginning of this year, especially when Hiratsuka started to watch me closely, because I was starting to become a problematic student and now noticing how badly I treated her, I was ready to admit that I was probably wrong in many aspects.
Then I had to deal with the advances of a certain angel that wanted to re-ignite our friendship that neither of us remembered. This situation was the perfect example of a failed reset of human relationships. She was once again brought back to my life, probably because of her family.
I didn't even want to remember what happened with the Yukinoshita sisters… Yuigahama was a nice girl and that was why I hated her. Yumiko, was an odd case, mainly because the person that I started to hate was actually my close friend not so long ago and the little interaction that we had today, had just complicated everything. What does she want anyways?
Of course we still had a big nuisance that was named black lace, my savior and destroyer, Saki Kawasaki. Once again, I was stupid and I got involved with something that wasn't my problem. I had to admit that back then I was worried and I tried to act like a nice person who wanted to help a fellow classmate.
This was why I hated to play nice with others, people were never happy with what they had. In the end it looked like being the good guy didn't fit my character and once again, I was starting to think that being a loner was indeed the best way for me to live – yes, I was still having some personality issues.
I should have left her alone when she told me that she didn't need any type of compensation for saving me, but my pride wouldn't let me forget this unpaid debt towards a lady and that was how I left the neutral zone. Worrying a little too much about her, I gave her that piece of paper, the business card, or using a simple term, the phone number that originated her anger.
"Hey!" A female voice shouted loudly, breaking my inner monologue, "Are you ignoring me, Hikigaya? I asked what the hell you were thinking, you fooled me!"
"Hmm, y-yeah, about that... You're right, I should have explained myself better back then." I said feeling somewhat guilty.
"Of course, that's why I'm asking you for an explanation!" She wasn't asking, this was more like an order that I couldn't refuse. I was about to get murdered if I answered in the wrong way.
"Have you called the number I gave you?" I asked trying to gain some time to think of way to deal with her.
She snorted and crossed her arms beneath her generous chest, "Are you an idiot? Of course I did, otherwise I wouldn't be this angry."
Trying to keep myself calm, I took a deep breath before answering, "Yeah, I know and I could say is that what I did was wrong and I should have tried to explain my intentions better... I tried to give you a way to fix your financial problems, because I didn't know if the scholarship would be enough."
"A way to fix my 'financial problems'!?" She repeated my words in anger, "It's just like I thought… You tried to buy me with your freaking money! I told you that I didn't want anything from you and I certainly don't need your charity or pity."
"Uh, it's nothing like that, I wasn't pitying you and I certainly wasn't trying to buy you with my money, I-"
Before I could finish my explanation, Kawasaki let out a sarcastic laugh and getting a bit closer to me she said, "You made me call to that number and I ended up finding out that I was calling directly to your mother's company. That was humiliating for me, it looked like I was begging for help... I was finally starting to think that you were different, but you are just like the others."
She was definitely angry with everything and everyone, but I still didn't understand what she tried to say with that comparison. Is she talking about our classmates? This girl was surely a hot-headed and opinionated person.
This time I was the one chuckling, "You're blind as a bat and I know that no matter what I say you won't change your opinion. I was simply trying to help, even if I did it in the wrong way, so I'm sorry for trying to help."
"Are you calling me blind? That's funny coming from a freaking liar that knows nothing about life... Being a house-husband might suit an arrogant brat like you." Kawasaki reached her limit and she started attacking me with a bunch of insults, her tone was cold and full of venom.
"Yeah, you're right, maybe I know nothing about life... I don't even know who I am, isn't that ironic?" I said in an irritated tone, which made her glare at me in confusion, "However, we're the same because you are the one who was lying to her family and for what I know and I'm not the one breaking the law."
Her glare intensified and after my sharp words she grabbed my collar and said, "Are you threatening me, Hikigaya? Don't give me another reason to smash that cocky face of yours."
I slapped away her hands and got some distant from her, "Okay, this is going too far and if we keep going we'll both end up in trouble with the school." I said that because there was a small crowd gathering to watch our little fight. "How about we talk like two grown-ups?" She clicked her tongue in annoyance, noticing that we had company and tried to calm herself while avoiding looking at me.
"I'm sorry for not telling you that the phone number was from my mother's company, but at that time I only wanted to help and I thought that this detail wouldn't be important." I said calmly.
"Of course it's an important detail, Hikigaya, you made me look like a dumbass who was trying to use her classmate to gain some easy money. I even talked with your mother and she immediately offered me an interview to become her secretary after hearing that you were the one that gave me the number." She finally admitted part of the reason why she was so against what I had done.
I looked at her and tried to explain my thinking, "Look, I know that you are very independent and stubborn, but it's okay to accept help from others. I just gave you that number because I honestly think that you are a serious person who works very hard and my mother has been looking for someone that she could trust with her personal stuff... I just did the math, she needed someone trustworthy and I knew a responsible girl who needed a decent job."
She sighed in annoyance and said, "First you offend me and now you complement me? Tch, your smooth talk is really annoying and I'm starting to find it hard to have a discussion with a twisted bastard like you, Hikigaya."
"…Like I told you that night in the bar, accept my help just this time Kawasaki. It's not like I'm just trying to throw my family's money at you, even if I'm extremely grateful for what you did." With a small pause, I looked at her in the eyes, so that she could understand that I wasn't trying to play games with her.
"You talked with my mother right? She probably bombarded you with a lot of questions, mostly random stuff, personal information and that was 'Ms. Hikigaya' way of evaluating you as a person and if she offered you a job is because she probably liked you. You must have noticed how serious she was about everything and this is why I'm telling you that it wasn't just me trying to pay my debt… Believe me or not, we haven't even discussed this matter in person or anything else."
I couldn't deny that I also wanted my mother to find a proper 'secretary', because I was always the one who had to help her with some of her job stuff, like emails, calls and some minor problems with her schedule and documents. She was untrusting just like me, but if her own son recommended someone, I thought that she might reconsider hiring that person for the position – this was all information that I wasn't going to share with my classmate, of course.
Kawasaki finally looked at me without hostility and she answered honestly, "I don't know… Maybe you're right. She asked a lot of things, like why did I need a job, what I wanted to do in the future, how I was doing with my studies… Some really weird questions. I felt like I was being interrogated by the police or something and she even asked me how I had met you. Your mother is weird and incomprehensible just like you."
I chuckled at her comment, knowing fully well that my mother was indeed a strange person, "Well, we can agree on that, but what are you going to do?" Hearing my question she tilted her head in confusion, which made her look somewhat adorable, "I mean, are you going to accept the job or not?"
She stayed silent for a few seconds, while thinking of an answer and then, she said, "...I have no clue. Your mother said that she wanted to interview me in person, but to be honest I don't know if I'm going to accept this. This still feels wrong, even if I really need the money."
"I think that this might be better than working at night illegally, while worrying your siblings and family. Think about it." As I said that, I tried to use an Escape Rope to vanish from this obscure environment, which was being caused by this argument with a stubborn and angry black lace. The bats, or should I say the other students, were focusing on our little drama and this type of attention wasn't good for either of us. At this point not even a Max Repel would save us from this awkward situation. [1]
Before I could leave the scene with my wise words of advice, Kawasaki stopped me and said, "Look, sorry for being aggressive... I'll think about it." Then, she add something more, "Oh, tell your blonde friend to avoid playing dirty with me again."
I almost choked in my own saliva after hearing her threatening words, she was scary, but I answered her in a mocking tone "My friend? Haven't you noticed that I'm a loner who's hated by everyone? I have no clue what friendship is, so tell her that yourself."
"Eh, is that true? To me and everyone else watching it seemed like the two of you were happily flirting with each other. Be careful with the rumors lover boy." She said with an ironic smile on her face.
"R-Really?" I asked confused, noticing that Miura and I were acting very carefree previously. "…Tch, don't worry, not everyone has a perverted mind like you. I mean, who wears that type of underwear at school?" Hearing my response, Kawasaki transformed into a living tomato and she started calling me all types of insults that were related to being a 'pervert', while covering her body in shame. This only made people more suspicious of what was happening.
Wanting to avoid everyone's attention, I quickly walked back to the classroom, breaking my promise to wait for Totsuka to finish her training. I need to focus before facing the final Boss of this floor and hopefully, I would get an amazing reward for all the trouble that I went through, but life didn't work like a game. I really wanted my own harem, or maybe not. [2]
Just before reaching my classroom, there was something that started to disturb me. In front of the doorway there was a small clique of young prostitutes gossiping about something that seemed really funny. For some reason, I decided to hide myself in the corner and eavesdrop the conversation.
"Have you heard the rumors?" The one with short dark brown hair said, her voice full of excitement.
Since the other three girls were the perfect pawns, they let their leader take the spotlight while listening carefully, "It seems like the blonde bitch has been flirting with the delinquent."
They all gasped loudly, but one of the girls with light brown hair continued to pressure the issue, "Do you mean the guy from our class?" They were talking about me of course. The girl with a bitchy look nodded and then a girl with glasses added her opinion, "Then it means that we might have a chance with Hayato."
The leader of the clique wasn't happy with what she heard and she laughed ironically, "No, no, I think you mean to say that I have a chance with him, right? Anyways, even if the rumors aren't true, if we twisted the truth a little bit, her reputation is over."
All of them seemed happy with this plan as they started to giggle like crazy and that was when I almost lost my cool. I started to walk towards the door, considering if I should punch them or not. I thought that I was indifferent to stuff like this, especially since I was used to be treated like trash, but for some reason I was really angry when I learned about their plans.
Am I feeling guilty? Well it was part of my fault that this was happening. I was the one provoked the Queen's competitive side and that made her approach me once again, even if she was still mad at me. However, if Miura really wanted to maintain her status, she should have planned a better way to approach me without damaging her social status. Anyways, who could blame her, even if she was an intimidating chick, I felt that she was also very sensible, insecure and emotional, especially when dealing with her friends/clique/subordinates – I had just noticed how rude this sounded in my head.
But who would have thought that Hachiman Hikigaya, the self-proclaimed delinquent would actually care about what happened around him. Now that I that I was thinking about all of this, I noticed that I had acted like this recently, especially when I was defending Yuigahama and Totsuka… Once again I was confused and I still had issues identifying who I really was.
At this point I was sure that what I was going through had to be some sort of disorder. Maybe I had multiple personalities, caused by the trauma and amnesia, or maybe I was crazy since the beginning.
I kept walking until I reached the door, which was being block by the group who was now looking at me anxiously. I gave them my best glare, "Move!" I ordered coldly and they almost jumped in a mixture of fear and disgust.
"What's wrong with you creep!? You think you can scare us like that?" The leader shouted throwing me an offended and defiant look. This girl was a total bitch, just a seconds ago she was talking shit about me and now that I was in front of her, she was acting like a frightened Chihuahua.
"Shh, leave him alone Minami... He's crazy." The girl with glasses said and thankfully the others listened to her wise advice and stepped aside, because I was certainly ready to start a brawl.
'He's crazy' that girl trying to look cute said and perhaps she was right… After all that happened to me, I wondered how I was still managing to function properly. Maybe forgetting everything was what was keeping me from breaking down. I still couldn't believe that I was kidnapped and probably tortured – after I fix this mess with my teacher, I had to visit my grandfather and clarify everything, because I was sure that this mess was all connected to my family's business.
I returned to my desk, noticing that the few people who were inside the classroom were now gossiping about the shouting that happened between me and the second most influential clique of this class.
Looking at my stuff, I knew that my bag was out of place and this could only mean one thing. Glancing unconsciously at Miura's desk, I noticed that she was glaring back at me. Then, the blonde started to make weird eyes signals at me, shifting her gaze between my face and her bag.
Once again this girl was acting in this unpredictable manner, which made me confused. When her friend with glasses noticed her weird actions, Miura stopped what she was doing and started to cover up her messy performance - as predicted, MIura really wanted to avoid letting others know that we were once close to each other.
Well, seeing that my bag had been assaulted and noticing how impatiently Miura was holding her phone, I decided to check my own mobile device and noticed that I had a new unread message. I opened it and read the content: 'This is Miura! I've already saved my number, so dont you dare ignore me when I text u... I know that u only use ur phone for apps, so u have no excuses!'
Wait what? I had to stop myself from laughing, after reading this. When I realized that Miura even knew this little detail about me, I was really creeped out, but it was still funny. Well, I now understood clearly that she clearly knew a lot about me and this could only mean that some parts of me were still the same.
I was confused... I didn't know if it was possible that I was still the same person, especially after forgetting everything about my past. Maybe deep inside I was still the same person, at least some of my habits seemed to be the same. If that wasn't the case, this could mean that the blonde had been keeping a close eye on my activities.
I didn't even want to mention the fact that Miura did the same as Yuigahama when adding her contact on my phone. 'Mia U( ˃ᆺ˂)U' this was how her name showed up in my screen and this was also probably her way of being extremely girly.
She wasn't helping me, I was trying to keep myself from laughing, but this act of cuteness didn't fit her at all. What is this emoticon? Maybe it was supposed to resemble a rabbit, or perhaps it was just a way to illustrate her hair rolls.
I was about to lock my phone and put it inside my bag when I felt a vibration in my hand. It was another message from Miura. 'Oi! U were about to ignore me right in front of my eyes! (`o´)'
I sighed in annoyance and answered her, 'Well, I don't have anything to say…To be honest, it's really awkward to do this when you're just some meters away from me and I'm not used to this kind of thing.'
I looked towards Miura's desk and saw that she was tapping on her screen at an incredible speed. In mere seconds I had received a new answer. Just before I could open the new email, the girl with glasses that was sitting next to Miura asked in curiosity, "Are you texting with Hayato? Fufufu~ you seem really happy!"
The blonde girl immediately tried to cover her friend's mouth with her hand and said, "Shut it, Hina... It's not like that." Miura seemed really embarrassed about all of this and her friend was teasing her without stopping. She started to talk about her relationship Miura's relationship with Hayama and all that the blonde could do was blush. Well, it was a shame for her that I was the one that she was texting. I bet she would have preferred to speak the King of high school instead.
I opened her text and read it, 'Just dont ignore me! Anyways, what did that bitch want? Did she hit u or something? (lol)'
'Don't to worry about it. You should worry more about yourself though, there are some rumors going around about the two of us.' I didn't know why, but I felt like I needed to warn her about what was happening behind her back and I did that because I realized that the Fire Queen was more fragile that I thought.
'Wait, whaaat? (¤﹏¤) Oh crap, I was stupid... Hmm, what is the rumor? Was that why u were screaming at some girls outside the classroom? Who are they? I swear that I'll punch them if they do something.' This time she took little more time to reply and when I looked at her I saw the reason why: she was fuming in rage and tapping her foot on the ground with a worried expression on her face.
Yeah, now I knew that she shouldn't have approached me like that. For someone who said that wanted to keep her image, she was failing at it. This girl was a ball of emotions and I knew that if I didn't reply to her text immediately, I was the one who would get punched later. 'I heard some girls saying that they will spread rumors about us flirting. Apparently there are many bitches who would do anything to get you away from their precious Hayama.'
'Hachiman, what's up with that way of talking? Do u hate Hayato or something? Stop that, I HATE that side of u… I want u to tell me more about whats happening, but not through phone (Hina is already too suspicious and I have to delete our emails). R u free to go out with me on the next Saturday?'
This time, I was the one with a red face after reading what she sent me. She just said 'go out with me'... Is she really dense or something? This was totally a phrase used by a riajuu to ask someone on a romantic date. Don't toy with my heart, girl!
Anyways, I wasn't happy about this, because Saturday was my special day that was used mainly as a day to do whatever I wanted without a care in the world. 'Ugh, I don't know about that. Normally I have some plans for Saturdays, so maybe that's not a good idea. By the way, you really got to delete our messages, because what you said previously sounded like you were confessing to me.'
'WTF, Hikio! Dont be weird, u know it's not like that! (_) And dont lie to me, Ik that ull use the free time to do something useless... I think that it would be a good idea to talk again more calmly, Hikio...' Reading this, I sighed in annoyance.
This situation was getting out of hand and now it totally looked like the two of us were doing something obscene in secret. I answered her with a simple 'Ok', knowing that at this point I couldn't refuse her and I had to admit that she could also be useful to learn more about me.
My phone vibrated again and this time I was starting to wonder if I should block Miura's contact or simply smash this piece of trash against the wall. For the last time, I opened up the new email, but then I noticed that the sender's address wasn't in my contacts list, 'We need to talk, Hikigaya. Come to the parking lot - Hiratsuka.'
When did I become so famous? That what I was wondering after noticing how much attention I was getting lately. I was slowly becoming a celebrity among the ladies. Wait, this doesn't sound good. I just knew that the amount of emails that I received today would make Sasaki Isaburo feel jealous. Here I thought that I was a guy with no attachments. It seemed like even rotten people could get a heartwarming ending. [3]
Now it was finally the time to deal with Hiratsuka. The fact that she summoned me like this meant that she probably wanted to speak with me outside of the school, which was pretty normal considering how delicate this topic was.
I stood, picked up my things and left the classroom. I started to wonder what I should do once I see Hiratsuka. I was getting really nervous and I had no clue of what to say anymore… I knew that I messed up yesterday, I had disrespected someone who was trying to help me - I was a jerk and there was no point in denying it.
However, even if I was feeling guilty for what I did, I still felt like her actions were also wrong, but of course that I knew that her intentions were genuine. Yes, I was being stubborn, but I felt like I also wanted to hear an apology coming from her. Like most of the people who knew me before the 'accident', she was also someone who kept hiding stuff from me and I couldn't accept that. Even if I was also a big liar sometimes, on pair with people like Haruno and Hayama, it was ironic to notice how much I hated people who lied to me.
After seeing her break down like that with a teary face and a weak voice, I felt like I went too far and I knew that no one deserved to be treated like that – especially if that someone was your nee-san in the past. For that reason I had planned to apologize no matter what happened today and hopefully, my stupid ego wouldn't get in the way this time.
Even if I was mad and confused about all of what was happening in my life, this wasn't an excuse to use others as punching bags and I felt like I was ready to swallow my pride. Crap, this was about to get ten times more serious and emotional than the previous two events.
[1] – Reference to Pokémon.
[2] – Reference to Sword Art Online.
[3] – Reference to Gintama – RIP email fanatic.
