Quietly, She Came To Her Conclusions

'Be confident in all you do, and you shall surely succeed.'

That was the first piece of advice Mum gave to me when I received the acceptance letter from Sobu, and I gotta say, it's been workin' pretty damn well so far! I mean, I was afraid that being too confident might turn people away, but then the first guy I introduced myself to accepted the handshake I offered without a problem, so I figured 'If he's okay with me, then I must be doing something right!"

'Course, there was always the possibility that Hikigaya was just a really, really shy guy who saw a beautiful girl and instantly turned to jelly, but so far he's proved otherwise. Kinda. He still blushes and stuff, but I figured that was just the hormones talking. No way a shy guy would be able to crack jokes with me so freely.

As if that wasn't enough, any doubts I might've had were washed away yesterday. The way Hikigaya confidently stood up with his back straight and his arm held defiantly in the air as he practically declared himself class representative just oozed courage.

Practise for his future career choice, hah! What a load of nonsense. He just wanted to make sure I wouldn't get even more ahead of him. It was so obvious, even Nishida-Sensei saw through it. I'll admit, I was afraid I wouldn't be up to the responsibilities, but seeing him take the dive like that, seriously inspired me. Cheap trick, running ahead when I was distracted.

Truly, he was a worthy rival.

So of course, when he voiced his doubts about us aloud, I didn't hesitate to cut them down by declaring us friends.

No way was I gonna let my rival grow any uncertainties. That just led to drawn out angst arcs that weren't worthy of the shounen manga genre!

The two of us were like two peas in a pod. Yin and Yang, so to speak. So long as we stuck together, I was sure we'd get through anything high school, nay, life as a whole could throw at us.

Lifelong rivals Hiratsuka Shizuka, and Hikigaya Hachiman. Combat, start!

…

"Today, you'll be working in groups of three to translate a few paragraphs into English. I'll let you choose who to work with, let's say, three minutes. Anyone who doesn't have a group by then will be grouped up by me."

Yuuki-Sensei tapped the ruler on her palm as she finished. It was hard not to freeze under her stern glare, especially when a small smile that might or might not have had malicious intent was paired with it. Still, I managed to push myself out of my seat to shift it towards Hikigaya's table.

"Yo, rival!"

"A-Ah. Yo…" Hikigaya seemed startled by me appearing at his side, which was probably my fault since he seemed deep in thought. Hmm, what could he have been thinking of? Oh, of course! He was thinking about how to beat me in this exercise!

I flashed him a grin. I was already two steps ahead of you, Hikigaya! "This feels kinda unfair, huh? The two top scorers for Japanese Literature teaming up."

Hikigaya blinked. "It still depends on how good our English is."

Haha! This guy was a riot! Such a cheap trick wouldn't work on me. "Good thing I'm quite proficient then. Hey, you just sit there and look pretty while I do the work, 'kay?"

I could see the precise moment he caught up with me as his eyes widened and his mouth opened. Score one for Hiratsuka Shizuka! Consider this payback for you stealing class rep from me, rival.

"No, wait." Oh hoh? You still trying to put up a fight? "We still have to wait for the third person. We'll share the workload then. The last thing I need is people saying I mooch off the work of others."

Mooch off- pffft, no way. Anyone with half a brain could see you're just grasping at straws while I basked in victory. The only thing you'll be mooching for is my mercy! Also, not one person has made a move to come towards us. That tells me that they're all smart enough to know they shouldn't get between our competition. Your escape route has just been closed off!

Heh. Face it Hikigaya, you've lost this one fair and square.

"Alright class. Anyone without a group, please stand up. The rest of you sit down."

… No way.

"Hmm. Just you? Well, there's a table of two right there. Why don't you go and join them Okuda-chan?"

What were the chances that everyone else were able to find a group except that one girl, and it just so happened that we were the only table with space left? Wait. Our class had 27 people, all of whom were present. That meant… did Hikigaya predict that I would come to him, and that no one else would dare step up? Did he seriously predict this would happen?!

"M-My name is Okuda Manami. I'll be in y-your care…"

Damn it, he was actually a step ahead of me the whole time? Tch. Well played, Hikigaya. Well played. Still, this was just one exchange of wits. I would have my revenge!

Okuda hesitantly took a seat to my right such that she was between opposite Hikigaya. I took a moment to observe our new groupmate. Braids, cute spectacles, looked like the shy, nerdy type. Acted like it too, with her head hung low and her hands clenched on her laps. Sheesh girl, you gotta lighten up a bit! It ain't as though Hikigaya or I would bite your head off.

"Hikigaya Hachiman," My rival introduced himself with a nod, "and this is Hiratsuka Shizuka. We're uhm, glad to have you."

Hm, so he's trying to be the encouraging class rep, but he slipped up a bit. Maybe he wasn't used to supporting others? Well, too bad! This was an advantage I'd have to be be stupid not to take.

"Have no fear, Okuda!" I hooked an arm around the girl's shoulders, which caused her to yelp rather cutely. "With me at your side, we'll finish this assignment in no time! Oh, and Hikigaya too of course." I shot my rival a grin.

"Uh, Hiratsuka? Maybe you should let go of her now."

What? Hey, don't try to deflect the- why is Okuda crying?!

"Sorry!" I let go of the girl as though I was just burnt, which to be fair, I might as well have been. I mean, I made her cry! I might as well have kicked a puppy, I felt that bad! "Crap, uh, c'mon, don't cry? Please don't cry!"

I was one second away from committing seppuku when all of a sudden, Okuda started giggling between sniffles.

"I'm s-sorry, I was just… I'm so relieved!"

Eh?

I looked towards my rival with a questioning look, for once hoping that he might've had the answer. Hikigaya shrugged back, but mimed patting something. Slowly and carefully, I reached out a hand to pat Okuda's head. Huh, her hair was actually incredibly soft. Oh, and now she's unconsciously nuzzling into my hand.

Okay, screw it. I was totally adopting her.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm glad you're feeling better now." I smiled gently at Okuda, and she managed a weak one in return. "Now c'mon, we've got an assignment to finish. We're gonna be the best of all the groups, got it?"

"Okay!"

"That's the spirit, girl!"

Hikigaya shook his head with a smirk on his face. I got the distinct feeling he realised what was going on, and wasn't planning on telling me. Well, jokes on him, I was perceptive too.

Whatever it was that happened to Okuda, I wouldn't allow it to happen again.

And, well, I had a feeling Hikigaya felt the same way.

Just this once, I suppose we could call a truce.

A/N: I may or may not have borrowed a character from a certain series with a certain yellow octopus because I wasn't about to come up with a bunch of OCs for a fic centred around two people.

Anyway, this chapter's a short one to give y'all an idea of how I think a young Hiratsuka would see things. Next few chapters will be from her perspective too before going back to Hikigaya. The story will be cycling between them, as was my plan from the start.

Let me know how I do, if you feel so inclined.