As Expected He Was More Warped Than Most
Summer. That one time of the year where students in japan got over a month off from school. Depending on the school the amount of days may vary of course. A time where students can be lazy all day, sleep in or even camp out. Play games, hang out with friends. So many things that can be done in this season! It is the season between Autumn and Spring, well known for it's random heatwaves and as the best season for watermelons. Why watermelons?. Hachiman really didn't know why that is even though watermelons can still be bought in the other seasons. What he did know is that the electricity was gone before he woke up and it was definitely not going to come back any time soon.
So you maybe asking, why? Why don't you just pay the electric bill and stop whining Hachiman? Well the answer is simple. Because his bills were all duly paid on time. So that was definitely not the problem. Turns out a transformer blew outside in a shower of sparks earlier in the morning. So yea, here he is, in the middle of summer during the day. Stuck inside his own home with no electricity. Also his phone was out of battery power. Not that he forgot to charge it, no. Because even though he plugged the charging port in the phone the charger itself was not connected to the outlet! He failed to notice it because... well now we're coming to the main reason as to why all of this is combined make this day one of the worst he's had this entire year.
*Tap Tap Tap* There was a knock at the door.
Who could that be? Haruno? Didn't she go to the beach with her college friends? She even invited Hachiman but he had to decline, telling her he still had work. Now that he thought about it, wasn't she supposed to come back later today or something? Thinking too hard hurt his head right now. He slowly stands up from the soft embrace of his Futon. The thick blanket that was on top of him slides down from his body. He staggers a little with a grunt and a couple of coughs. Shaking his head to get his bearings he slowly trudges forward towards the entrance to his abode. He glanced at a key lying on the small shoe rack. After a few seconds of thinking he picked it up and put it in his pocket.
*KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.* The knocking became more aggressive.
Hachiman became weary. Haruno was aggressive in a manner of speaking. But not the type to become physically violent. His breath hitched momentarily. In his current state he wouldn't be able to defend himself against someone that wished harm upon him.
"I know you're in there! Open up already!" Hachiman blinked, he was not expecting her to come here... As unfortunate as it seemed... Oh well, he knew this was bound to happen eventually. Especially considering how much 'concern' she has show for him over these past couple of months.
A soft groan escapes his lips as he felt his body protest from being moved even though it didn't have the strength to. He turns the knob that unlocked the door and slowly opened it. The person on the other side looks at him for a second before deadpanning at him. Due to the lowered floor inside compared to the floor of the hallway outside her shadow casts over him.
"Jeez, how long have you been cooped up in here? You look like a zombie. And why the hell do you live so far. Do you have any idea how long it took me to find the way to here?" Hiratsuka asked. He noticed that she was wearing a loose green T-shirt, khaki pants and sunglasses with a hat combo? Why would anyone wear both a sunglasses and a hat? Wouldn't that just make looking at anything harder than it's worth? The hat alone should have sufficed. Unless you lived in Egypt. Nevertheless it's definitely not what a teacher would be wearing for school work.
"... How may I help you, Hiratsuka-san?" Less than a second later he fell on his back with a thud.
"It maybe summer vacation but I'm still you're teacher." Hiratsuka raises a fist next to her head and tried not to sneer at him. Spoiler alert, she failed. Seconds pass but she receives no response from him. Not even a peep. Her annoyed expression slowly dissipates and is replaced by a small amount of worry. She knew she didn't hit him that hard.
"You alright there?" she takes her sunglasses off then knelled next to him. Now with her shadow no longer impairing her view of him she finally notices his tired expression. "Hey. This isn't funny." She places a hand on his shoulder. Her index finger brushes against his neck. Now she was alarmed. Dread filled her being. A pause. She pressed her palm against his neck then forehead. "You're burning up!"
He groaned as his consciousness slowly returned to him. That hit he took had disoriented him much more than he would have liked it to. Violent coughing followed. Hiratsuka placed a hand on the back of his neck as she lifts him up. He seemed to have noticed it as he placed a hand on the ground so that she wouldn't have to lift his entire weight with one hand. "Sorry."
"Why are you the one that's apologizing?" Hiratsuka looked at him with a frown. She sighed when she remembered who she was talking to. "Come on, I'll help you inside."
His normally curt nods was interrupted by a cough. "Th-Thank You."
She helps him up then placed one arm of his arms over her shoulder. He was heavier than she expected him to be. As she entered deeper into the apartment. She noticed that the lights were off. "Why are all the lights off?"
"Reduces electricity... bill a little... Power's out right now." he manages to say. A little impressed by his decision to conserve power she observes the room they walk into.
It was directly connected to the small hallway they had entered from. Off in the side, a kitchen and if she were to guess then the door they had passed led to the toilet/bathroom. The layout of this place left her confused. The futon layed out close to an outlet even more so. "You live by yourself?" He makes a sound that she can only decipher as a yes. "Did you take any medicine yet?"
"Woke up like this. Wasn't able to... buy some... Pharmacy far away." she heard Hachiman mutter.
"Does your parents know your sick?" He makes another noise that she thought to be a no electing a frown from her. She got down on one knee as she lowered his body down on the futon then pulled the blanket over him. "Wait here."
Even though he was sick he still managed to give her a 'Did you really just say that?' look. She flushed in embarrassment when she realized what she said. "D-Don't give me that look. You know what I meant." Much to her surprise, she saw him roll his eyes at her. She walked into the kitchen and looked around. There was a mini fridge, opening it she saw a plate at the bottom, probably leftovers from dinner and a bunch of cans. Most were gold in color with the label coffee but a lone silver can stuck out among the rest, she recognized the brand. Beer?! Putting that in the back burner for now she closed the fridge when she realized she wasn't going to find what she was looking for. Standing back up she went to the sink and picked out a rice bowl. Then she filled it with water and came back to his side. Her hand goes in her rear pocket and she pulled out a grey handkerchief.
Hachimans' eyes shot open when he felt something cold on his forehead. His eyes roll upwards to see what landed on his head, unfortunately it was above his eyes so he wasn't able to fully see what it was. His eyes landed on Hiratsuka who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Give me your mother's number. I'll tell her to come take care of you." she pulled out her phone and waited for him to answer.
"Don't have it." technically not a lie. But she didn't know that.
"Father's?" she received the same answer. Her frown returned. "Why don't you have your own parents numbers?"
"I don't *cough* have any parents."
...
...
...
...
"What?"
A couple of hours later Hachiman was beginning to fall asleep. The random jerks of the minivan he was in made it kept waking him up though. The exhaust fumes generated by the engine made it a little difficult to breath. The face mask he wore helped a little but not that much. His fever had gone down a little nearly an hour ago thanks to the makeshift cold compress by Hiratsuka. Speaking of Hiratsuka, she had forced him into coming along with her to see a doctor. The doctor prescribed medicine that they picked up right after. Said that he'll be fine after a warm meal to go with the medicine and some rest. He had no idea where they were headed right now for he was sure that this was not the way to his apartment. At least she wasn't driving with her sun glasses on.
"Where are we going?" he asked. His voice was coarse.
"Save your energy." Hiratsuka focused on the road. A sigh escapes her lips. "I was going to pick you up from your home and meet up with the others at the park near Sobu. We'll go from there."
"What?" he wan't sure if he was becoming delirious or if he was hearing things. "Others? Station? Go? What are you-" he was interrupted by a finger flicking the side of his head. It didn't hurt.
"Didn't I tell you save your energy? I was getting to that." Hiratsuka sighed. 'I owe you at least this much right now.'
If his fever wasn't messing with his senses then maybe he would have felt the tense air between him and his teacher. He silently listened as she began her explanation. Focusing on her words was harder than he expected because of the engine. He heard her say something about Chiba Village and chaperoning some Elementary School Students. That there would also be the other members from the Service Club and some others along with him... Wait a second. It's Summer Break he didn't have to do anything for the Service Club! He couldn't remember hearing about this before either. "Can I borrow your *cough* Phone for a bit? Wasn't able to charge mine today." Another cough.
"Uhh sure." She pulled out her phone from her pocket and handed it to him. She sent a quick glance at him. Curious to know what he was going to do. She saw him typing on the touch screen a few times then place the phone next to his ear. Who was he calling?
"Hello Police? I'm being abducted agains-" the phone was snatched away from his hand faster than he could comprehend at that moment.
"Ahahahah! Kids and their pranks. You know how it is, sorry for wasting your tiiime!" Hiratsuka rapidly spoke. A car passed by them with its engine revving loudly at that exact moment and the police on the other side of the line asked if she was in driving. There is a fine and even in some cases jail for talking on the phone while driving. "Of course not sir! My husband is driving. Have a good day now!" Hachiman literally felt the depression coming off of her when she said 'husband' as she hung up on the police officer. She shot him a quick glare. "You called the police on me!"
"You're taking me to*cough*a place I've never been to against my will. That's textbook*cough*kidnapping sensei." he gave her his reasoning. His middle school once had a trip to Chiba Village. But the students needed signatures from their parents in order for them to be able to. So he was stuck in his home that day like the majority of his middle school years. "I don't want to die like this."
"You're not gonna die! Show some faith in me already!" Hiratsuka almost shouted. "What sort of person do you think I am?!"
"The kind that would hit a sick person unconscious." his reply was almost instant. Heck he didn't even cough this time. Hiratsuka was glad that the cough medicine was doing its job. Too bad that elated emotion was heavily overshadowed by irritation.
"I didn't know you were sick! I'm sorry." she started to grumble under her breath.
"You're a grownup. Don't do that." truth be told, with each passing interaction between the two of them his opinion of Hiratsuka lessened more and more. At this point he had difficulty calling her an adult. 'I should have said least responsible grownup I know.'
"Just-Just try to sleep already." Embarrassed because of being scolded by someone nearly half her age... For the second time! Hiratsuka tries to get him to sleep so that she can be left alone with her thoughts. His eyes open again.
"How long are we going to be staying in Chiba Village?" he asked.
"Starting today? About three days and two nights." she replied.
'That is not good.' Hachiman thought. "Can I borrow your*cough*phone for a bit?"
"Haha." Hiratsukas' laugh was dry. "Nice try."
"I have to call my boss.*cough* I haven't told him I won't be able to make it to *cough*work today." fortunately it was a Friday. Meaning he wouldn't be able to go to work today if he was to go to Chiba Village but the next two days and one night were nothing to worry about. Also at this point he didn't really have a choice. Fortunately he still had some sick days left.
Hiratsuka frowned when he said that. The things he said earlier at his apartment came back to the forefront of her thoughts. Something she was desperately trying to avoid thinking about since she was driving. Wordlessly she passes over her phone to him again. Even though her focus was on driving. She was also listening in on Hachimans' conversation.
"Hello. Hachiman here..." Hachiman paused, allowing the person on the other end to speak. "I know it's a little *cough*late to say this Takeshi-san but I won't be able to come*cough* in today. Fever." he paused again. The mini van slowed considerably when they were close to their destination. "I'll be fine.*coughcoughcough* Already took some medicine. Just need to rest up a bit." seconds later he hung up and returned her phone to her. She waited for the vehicle to stop before taking her phone back. She stepped outside after telling him to stay there and got out. Hachiman saw her moving towards four people. All of whom Hachiman knew. He really didn't want to talk to anymore right now. So he closed his eyes, thankfully he was already leaning on the front door and waited for sleep to take him.
Outside Hiratsuka was apologizing to the four people that had been waiting for her and Hachiman for almost an hour ago. "Sorry I'm late. Got caught up in a little problem while I was picking him up." she motioned towards the sleeping Hachiman inside.
Yukinoshita crossed her arms and sighed. "Why am I not surprised. I had already warned you not to go to Kotomine-kuns' home by yourself sensei. There is no telling what could have happened to you."
"I'm sure there's a good reason Yukinon." Yuigahama attempts to calm down her friend.
"Let's get going. It's really hot out here." Kawasaki interjects. Totsuka chuckles nervously before lifting his bag up and moved closer to the van.
Kawasaki said nothing as she followed her fellow silver haired classmate towards the mini van. Her mind however, was curious to know why Hiratsuka and Hachiman were late. What Hiratsuka possibly saw in Hachimans' home. And if she... found out his secret. It may have happened fairly recently but she remembered what he said very clearly.
"- I would lose my job and my future would be ruined."
Seeing that look on his face. The look of a person that was used to taking everything to the face without a single complaint. She did not like it. Not one bit.
They boarded the mini van. With everyone boarded Hiratsuka started the engine. Kawasaki and Totsuka sat in the front with Yuigahama and Yukinoshita in the back. Oddly enough Yukinoshita and Yuigahama were about to board the front seats behind the drivers' seat but choose to sit on the rear seats for some reason. Kawasaki didn't see the need to complain. Because from where she sat she could see Hachiman clearly with the help of the rear view mirror. The mask on his face and closed eyes confused her.
"Hachiman, How are you?" Totsuka was the one to speak up first. He thought Hachiman was resting his eyes. His question remained unanswered.
"Let him rest." Hiratsuka applied pressure on the accelerator. "He's running a fever so it's better for him to sleep." this certainly alarmed all of the girls and Totsuka.
"Why would you bring him here if he's sick?" Kawasaki angrily asked. Her light outburst surprised everyone. Especially Yuigahama and Yukinoshita. Hiratsuka was the first to recover and even scowl back at Kawasaki for a moment. Her scowl is replaced by a slight frown.
"His parents are... out of town for a few days." Hiratsuka didn't want to let them know of his secret. She figured it was his alone to speak of. "It's better for him to be here so that I can keep an eye on him in case his condition gets worse."
"All the extra work he'll have to do at the camp would tax his body more, sensei. It would have been wiser to let him stay home." Hiratsuka saw Yukinoshitas' point. But she refused to let him stay in a dark room like that in his condition. Even if he was probably... used to it.
"He's already here and we're running late. Let it go Yukinoshita." the older woman put her foot down on the matter.
Yukinoshita noticed Hiratsukas' sudden mood change and does as the older woman said.
Kawasaki kept her eyes focused on the scenery. Trees passed by them as their vehicle speed through the road. Unlike the rest of her classmates that were still awake she had kept silent the entire ride. Her eyes shift their teacher who had not said a word either as well. They came to a halt behind another mini van. While looking at Hiratsuka from the rear view mirror she noticed Hachiman stirring. The ahoge on his head moved a little as his eyes slowly opened. Kawasaki had been curious about his new hairstyle but was too embarrassed to ask even though the ahoge made him look more approachable than before. Not to mention they didn't really talk that much either. The ahoge was odd. But it did make him look less intimidating.
"Alright girls! Move out!" The heck was up with that phrasing.
Hachiman took off his face mask then cleared his throat. "Water..." a mild cough came from him,
"Ah, Hachiman you're awake!" Totsuka instantly responded. He handed a bottle of water to Hachiman who told Totsuka to hold onto it for a bit. They exited the vehicle. Hiratsuka went behind the mini van and pulled out their bags. Hachiman saw a duffel bag that strangely resembled one he has stored away in his home.
"I took the liberty of packing some of your clothes and essentials for you." Hiratsuka noticed Hachiman staring at the bag a little too long. Hachiman sighed, knowing she wasn't above rummaging though another persons' personal things.
"Took you guys long enough." a new voice entered. They turned to see another group of four approaching them.
"Yea we've been waiting here for like, forever!"
"What are you guys doing here?" Yuigahama was not expecting to the rest of Hayamas' clique. They they exchanged greetings. Yukinoshita did the same with unease in her eyes.
Hachiman leaned in towards Totsuka a little and whispered into his ear. Hachiman already knew what was going on so didn't bother listening in on Hiratsukas' explanation of why most of Hayamas' clique was also there. He separated from the group with Totsuka following. Totsuka had a towel in his hand. Hachiman began to unbutton his shirt.
"Stop right there. What do you think you're doing, you pervert?" Yukinoshita asked. Everyone turned to Hachiman who took off his shirt. Hachiman either didn't listen or didn't care as he took it off and handed it over to Totsuka who was also confused.
"I think it's just too hot for him under all those cloths." Hayama scratched his cheek.
Hachiman surprised everyone by taking the bottle of water and raising till it was above his head and dumping most of the contents over his head then drank the rest of it. Totsuka handed over the towel he was holding so Hachiman could dry himself off.
"Feeling better?" Hiratsuka asked Hachiman who wordlessly nodded with a side glance. No one noticed Kawasaki blushing as her eyes averted from Hachimans' still wet figure. She glanced back at him from the corner of her eye. Then averted it again when he raised the front of his T-shirt which exposed his lean stomach to them before beginning to wipe it dry. "Sorry about him. He's got a fever. Should be getting better after some rest. Let's get moving."
They continued towards the building in front of them. Unfortunately, on the way Hachimans' movement became a little sluggish and he lost his balance.
"Watch/Look Out!" two people exclaimed.
"Thank you." Hachiman thanked both Hayama and Tobe that managed to save him from falling. Sparing both of his classmates a glance. His expression still showed his tiredness.
"Is this the beginning of the fabled Yaoi Harem Route?! Kyaaa!" that voice belonged to Ebina Hina. Hachiman didn't know why she screamed suddenly especially since her scream showed no signs of distress or unease. If anything her scream showed signs of... pleasure? He stopped that train of thought before things got too complicated.
"Hi-Hina! Control yourself!" that one was from Miura. Her voice did show slight distress. Probably for her friend, Hachiman figured.
-Chapter End-
You know what I dislike about some fanfics? That the MC(usually after some traumatic/past event) 'develops' a whopping six pack abs after working out for a short amount of time(usually about a few months) to 'better himself'. Here's the thing. Gaining six pack abs and even maintaining it is a lot of work. I get that they have to be that buffed up otherwise they won't be able to protect their loved ones or *insert reason* and its a fanfic but still, give the readers a training montage or something. And even if they're not built like Arnold Schwarzenegger they still manage to beat up dozens of guys by themselves. This Hachiman is no gigachad that walks around with the ability of an EX rank harem protagonist and the charisma of a top tier shounen protagonist. Sure he may be more built than most guys his age but he isn't going to be beating up multiple people by himself anytime soon. So if that's what you were hoping to see here then... I'm sorry?
Also, after AN in the last chapter I was expecting to loose quite a few follow/favorites(I know how much grammar is important to many readers. This is not an attack on people that find stories harder to read because of certain errors in writing. Everyone has a different level of tolerance to these things.). Even a PM with insults or telling me I should get a beta before finishing this story and I'm a dumbass for thinking otherwise. Frankly I am... super proud actually. I remember a 'flame review' from one of my previous works(don't bother asking I deleted those works long ago. They were just that bad.)... Let's just say it involved me, a bridge and jumping. Guess most of the readers here in FFN have really matured over the years.