Hikigaya Hachiman's Path to Reformation
Hikigaya Jūshiro Makes His Move
90 km/h
There are barely any cars. It's cold and there's some fog on the side of the road. I can feel it from the window to my left. Good thing that the streetlights are on. Driving in these conditions is terribly dangerous. Just like last year in Hokkaido. The road was slippery and we had to drive very slowly to avoid bumping into other cars during turns. Even as simple as parking your car is a challenge. The specially installed tires didn't make much of a difference, or maybe it's just because I wasn't used to it that time.
That's probably it.
The amount of snow there is unreal, and the cold literally goes into your bones unless you turn up the thermostat. Chiba and Tokyo can't compare to that, seriously. I'm one to prefer Winter over Summer any day, but I have my own level of tolerance too. Hachiman is just like myself, but I think that experiencing the snow in Hokkaido will really change his perspective on Winter.
I look at the time in my car's hood.
4:02 am
I fight back a yawn from escaping my lips.
Feeling drowsy right now is unavoidable. Hitomi prepared a cup of coffee for me before we went out, so I'll be fine. I feel really bad that I'm going to miss my dear Wife's birthday, but it couldn't be helped. This trip has already been planned months before and was the only time when all of the attending parties are available. She was even the one who suggested that I bring Hachiman with me. It's a business opportunity that is too good to pass on, and I'm grateful that my Wife understands how important this is to me.
I wonder what I should get her… Hitomi is a simple woman. Last year, I only bought cake while she and Hachiman cooked dinner at home. She was already happy with a humble celebration like that. Material possessions like expensive jewelry, clothes, bags and whatnot don't really appeal to her. She only has the bare minimum to look decent enough during important events and occasions. Which is practically the same with me. Attending stuff like that is fine every once in a while, but when it's a few times a month, it gets physically and mentally draining.
Sometimes, I bring Hachiman with me. His Taekwondo Sensei and work Supervisor are very accommodating from what he tells me, and lets him off without much of a problem. I should give them something as a token of gratitude for taking very good care of my Son too…
It wasn't long until I saw the familiar road which led to my small hometown beyond the border of Chiba. I also managed to arrive faster since the lack of cars on the road allowed me to go past the speed limit. The town itself wasn't that big, as you'd expect from one a distance away from the larger cities. It may be small, but we had our own commercial centre, or something like that. Although we were a bit behind to the trends and such when I was growing up here.
I pass by my Highschool and Middle-schools, the local agriculture and meats district, our small hospital and the town hall too.
I would be lying if I say that I don't have small attachments to them.
After a short while of driving on the empty road, I enter the neighborhood that housed one of the more affluent and old families in the area. I recall some of my neighbors that I grew up with, nearly all of them have moved to the larger cities, leaving behind their aged parents. The car goes up a concrete and maintained path that slightly overlooks a portion of the town. Beside the path were tall lamp posts that gave the area much needed light. I feel my ears adjust themselves to the change in altitude as we go up higher and higher.
Finally, we arrive at another section of the neighborhood and drive by old traditional Japanese-style houses. Like the path earlier, it's also well illuminated. I park outside a residence with walls around three and a half meters high. It's well-kept, I don't see any moss or such kinds of plants clinging on or around it. The main entrance was a red steel gate, locked with heavy-duty chains. From the inside of my car, I look around the other houses to see if we have awoken my neighbors. All of their lights are shut.
I yawn again and stretch my back, before touching the window with my palm.
"Ooohh… It's colder than I expected…" I whisper to myself and fix the buttons on my jacket.
I take off my seat belt and lightly turn to the passenger seat behind me. Hachiman is there, sleeping with his seat bent backwards to make himself more comfortable. I chuckle to myself a bit when I see his arms across his chest like an old man's.
"Son…" I quietly whisper to him, "Hachiman, we're here…" When he doesn't respond after several attempts, I touch his leg to give him a little shake. Finally, he moves a bit as he takes in a deep breath and exhales tiredly. My Son frowns after taking off the sleeping mask over his eyes. He lightly rubs them tiredly, looking around with slight confusion. After muttering something under his breath about why we had to come here so early, he straightens up his seat and sits up while looking outside.
"Where are we?" He asks tiredly.
"Have you forgotten? We're at your Grandparent's house."
The cold morning air greets us after I unlock the gate and go inside the premises. The household is quite large in its overall area, and there are multiple 'wings' that connected to the main home. Our footsteps on the gravel under our feet are all we hear in the quietness. Hachiman curiously looks around and eyes the large house further up ahead. On our left was the similarly large garden with all kinds of plants that can survive the climate without much maintenance. There was a clean pond in the middle, situated at the foot of a tall pine tree. The white gravel is especially beautiful, even with the little light that we had.
"This place is quite big…" He says with slight awe.
Growing up in a city has its downsides. You can't own your own piece of land like this without worrying about its astronomical costs. Our house in Chiba is fine, but I sometimes miss the openness of my childhood home. That's why I still like visiting this place every other week or so.
He should have seen this place back in the day.
As I've been told.
"Yes. Something that you wouldn't see in Chiba, I bet."
"..." He says nothing while pulling his black jacket closer to his body.
The large and wide house looms ahead as we draw nearer to it. There are some leaves on the wooden corridors that surround the edges of the house, kept from flying inside by the heavy wooden storm shutters. A few had broken down at the back, and I had to replace them with steel ones because of the Typhoons that regularly visit the country.
I unlock the old traditional wooden door and step on the genkan to turn on the house's electric panel. After feeling around a bit on the wall behind the shoe rack, I find it and I instinctively shield my eyes from the sudden bright lights above. I nod in satisfaction from the fact that the solar-powered electric system still works. My Son peeks through the door with his eyes narrowed, surprised at the light as well.
"Come on inside." I say as I take off my shoes and step onto the wooden floors. The main hallways which lead to the living and dining rooms further inside was lit quite well by the light bulbs overhead. On the portion of the walls without the shoji sliding panel, there were some small to medium-sized paintings. My late Father was an enthusiast and loved collecting paintings which can be found all around the house. Most of them are accurate replicas from the painters: Asai Chu, Sesshu Toyo, Katsushika Hokusai and Kuroda Seiki. A collection of old and modern painting styles. There are even some that he commissioned from painters in his time.
My Son slowly follows behind me, taking in the house that he has first stepped into. He looks above and below him, observing the unfamiliar traditional architecture. Hachiman touches the wooden polished walls, as well as the shogi that separates us from the spare rooms that we pass by. I slide a large shogi before me and into the spacious living room, with a section of it that also serves as the kitchen behind the countertop.
It was honestly a strange combination of a Western concept inside this part of the house. And I slowly realized the peculiarness of it as I grew up.
"Oooh… Tatami mats…" He says.
It only had the necessities like appliances for cooking, no Television set as you'd expect that's being faced by the couches. The interior of it is very plain and almost lifeless since I had moved many of the decor and furniture to the large shed behind the house. Though I didn't touch the basement under it. My Mother and Father passed away only a month from each other, and since no one was here to take care of the house, I opted to put away many of the decor because of the earthquakes. I was already working in Chiba at that time, and I can't just drop it all and move back here.
"Hachiman, what do you want? Coffee or milk?"
"I'll have milk thank you."
I go to the kitchen, and from the corner of my eye, my Son stops and stands there. Not quite sure if he should go to the countertop or to the short-legged table on the floor. After a moment or two, he goes to the former. He opens a wooden compartment nearby, and gets two mats for us to sit on. Though still very much sleepy, he looks around while sitting down as I get a clean cloth and catch his attention.
"Wipe that table and the countertop too. It's gotten a bit dusty." I throw it, to which he catches it without much trouble. He does what I say and quietly stands up to do his task. There are a few cobwebs on the corners of the ceiling, I haven't had the chance to clean since my last visit here almost three weeks ago. The neighborhood volunteer caretakers do a great job at keeping the garden, outside corridors and walls around the compound in good condition, but they refuse to clean the inside of the home.
There's still some fish in the pond at the garden. The volunteer neighborhood caretakers feed them regularly, and they take them inside their homes during Winter.
The electric kettle soon makes its whistle noise, and I turn it off and pour the hot water in two mugs. I also take some biscuits from the cabinet above to go with it. When I turn around after placing the hot coffee and milk in a tray, I see my Son on the far side of the room looking at some paintings and the few picture frames that I had left. Hachiman has a large antique picture frame in his hands as I go to him.
He tilts his head while looking at the black and white photo still in pristine condition. A serious boy with neat black hair looks back at us with a demeanor unfitting for his age. Hachiman makes a thinking gesture, before looking up to me.
"I didn't know that you had a picture of me here."
I give out a chuckle and put my hand on his shoulder. "Ahahaha. That's not you."
His eyes slightly widen as he raises a brow at my words. "Huh? Is this you? No, this is clearly me." He insists and frowns, pointing at the ahoge on top of the boy's head. "Look, he even has the same ahoge that I have. And don't forget about the lifeless eyes."
I shake my head.
"No, his ahoge is on the other side." I say, and reach out to lightly pull on the hair sticking on the top of his head. I don't have one, but he and Komachi got theirs from their Mother.
He doesn't look convinced and continues studying the photo as if his life depended on it. "And I thought you were smarter than this. The photograph is black and white. Why would I keep a black and white photo of you in my home? I'd at least make it coloured." I reason.
Hachiman and Komachi inherited their Mother's ahoge which was on the left. He and my Father share the same shape of the face and eyes. But my Son got his cheekbones and smile from my Hitomi. Komachi on the other hand has the smile, as well as the cute and feminine nose of her Mother's. The shape of her eyes are different though, she inherited it from my deceased Mother-in-Law, Hitomi's Mother.
"Your Mother's maiden name is Hasegawa Hitomi. Her Father and Mother are Hasegawa Kojiro and Hasegawa Rieri respectively. Before she was married to her husband, my Mother-in-Law's maiden name was Nakari Rieri. She grew up in one of the cities on the other side of Chiba, the ones facing the Pacific." I say, to which he nods.
I point at the photo that he has in his hand.
"The boy in that photo is your Grandfather, Hikigaya Yamashiro."
His eyes go to one of the other picture frames.
A pale little girl wearing a white Kimono with wave and designs sewn into it. Her back was straight while looking directly at the camera with a small smile on her face. The photo itself, as well as the quality of the image was still in amazing condition. Her immaculately neat hair was styled in a Hime-cut manner, which was popular during her time. She sat on the floor with her legs tucked under her while there was tea and traditional snacks on the table. I take the picture frame and show it to him.
"This is Hikigaya Izumi, my Mother and your Grandmother. Her maiden name was Hanamizu Izumi."
My Son goes quiet while looking at the two pictures. He speaks after a few moments of silence while studying the little girl in the photo.
"Hooh… She's very beautiful. And my Grandparents on both sides have really cool names… They sound really old and noble… Wait…" He says and stops suddenly, before turning to me with a raised brow.
"Why don't I have a '-shiro' ending in my name as well? You and Grandfather have it. I feel left out."
I chuckle a bit while pointing at my Mother's photo. "If our firstborn was a girl, Hitomi and I agreed to name her after my Mother."
He nods after closing his eyes and making a face. "Hmm… 'Izumi' does sound cool too."
"Both of us inherited our noses from her. And you got her chin and smooth hair." I say while looking fondly at my Mother. "I also see a bit of her personality and preferences too, if something like that can be inherited." My Son looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue.
"She loved spicy food, and also can't stand hot foods and drinks. Says that her tongue burns easily or something. She was very patient and a woman of few words. Her intelligence and proficiency is something that many people remember her when she was still a student, and then as a Professor in Chiba University.
My Mother's own Grandparents nicknamed her "Yukina" when she was still a child. She was born in a blizzard, and rather pale and sickly while growing up. My Father said that she had much difficulty in bringing me into this world, it even became life-threatening. They never tried for another child again because of her already weak health. In spite of that, she was a very hard worker and inspired many around her. I was honestly a bit worried when you inherited the paleness from her, and that you'd be sickly as well… That's why your Mother and I were very alarmed about your anemia last year."
My Son takes in the new information silently and nods. After several seconds, he puts back the photograph to its place and looks at the other photos. A solo of my Father in front of the meat and vegetable shop that he used to own, my beautiful Mother in a Kimono while surrounded by her friends, a younger version of me in the backyard carrying a long broom twice my size… I saw myself in my Elementary graduation, with my parents holding both of my hands.
It was then that Hachiman noticed something about my Mother when she stood next to my Father.
"Oh… She's rather tall isn't she." He says with astonishment.
"Yup, she stood was around 1.83 meters tall, which is very uncommon for a Japanese woman. My Father was…1.75 I think? She's even taller than I am right now, and I'm 1.77."
I ruffle his hair, which causes a sound of displeasure from him. "Oh but who knows? Maybe you'll be like her when you get older."
I shrug and motion towards our hot beverages on the countertop. "I'll just have my coffee. You can look around the house if you want." He nods while taking a closer look at the other photos. I lightly sipped and blew on mine, and my Son continues looking through, occasionally taking two in his hands and compares them. Sometimes he pulls open boards under the cabinet to look for more photos, only to find them empty.
"I put away most of the stuff here. It's in the shed behind the house." I call out to him.
I hear him make a disappointed sound and looks around once more, before going to the main hallway to start exploring on his own.
My Son gives me his signature displeased and disappointed expression. Now that I think and study him more, he really is the perfect mix of my parents. He had walked around the house for half an hour by himself while waiting for the hot milk to cool down. He says that he went inside many rooms behind sliding panels, with some of the square-shaped paper covering had fallen off. As I was alone in here, I would occasionally hear sneezes from deep within the house.
"So we're just here to do some last minute cleaning…?" He asks with disbelief.
"Yes, well a part of it really." I say while shrugging. Hachiman rolls his eyes and sighs. A spider walks from his head behind his ear. Without even batting an eye, he reaches up with his finger for it to walk on, and puts it back on the table where it runs away with its eight legs.
I motion around the room. "I already wiped the dust off of this place while you were exploring. By the way, have you noticed any holes in the roof or on the floor?" I ask.
He makes a thinking gesture and taps his finger on the countertop. "None. At least to the places where I went to. I was just opening random rooms that I come across, to find them empty and barren of anything."
"You haven't fully surveyed the entire house yet? What about the second floor? There are balconies up there."
"No. This place is bigger than I expected. I had to feel around the walls to turn the switches on so yeah." He says and waves his hand. "Like I know that we can't see clearly because it's still dark out, but I didn't expect this place to be this big. Do you have a Dojo here too…?"
"Yes. It's on a separate building but still connected to the main house via a small roofed path outside the corridor."
He stops, sports a confused expression, and then turns to me.
"...What…?"
"I said that it does. It's behind the house and really spacious inside too." I say coolly while sipping my coffee.
Hachiman makes a face and scratches his head, still not believing my words. I can't really blame him. "Oi oi oi… Stop it with the jokes."
"I'm not joking. I used to do Kendo back in Middle-School and Highschool you know? I practiced right there after school."
He looks even more taken aback by my words. "Wait wait wait…! I thought that you were kidding about that? You never showed me proof or anything! Even Mother just nods and nods at what you're saying so I thought that you were joking!" He lightly exclaims with surprise.
"Hitomi knows of course, I didn't have time to do any of that because of work. I didn't bring any of my old stuff to Chiba since I didn't really need them anymore." I give out a light chuckle before continuing, "Like what am I going to do with my old shinai, bonk my employees on the head with it when they slack off?"
Hachiman ignores my joke turns his attention to his milk after composing himself more calmly.
"Ugh, what else are you hiding from me? Do I have another sibling out there? Am I already in an arranged marriage with a daughter from a couple that you know? Did you make a secret deal with the Gods and sold my soul in exchange for power and wealth…?" He looks like he suddenly has a headache and touches his temples with his fingers.
I chuckle from his words while he continues. "Goodness, I thought we were going straight to the airport and wait there in the mean time. I didn't expect you to surprise me with all of…THIS…right before our flight…"
"What are you? A protagonist to a cheesy drama series that Housewives love to watch? That stuff is so predictable. Hitomi used to watch that at home when she was still taking care of you." I laugh and pat him on the shoulder.
"Come on. At least you now know more a little more about our family right? Your Grandparents on both sides have already passed away before you were born, and Hitomi is quick to get teary-eyed when talking about this subject."
Hachiman gives my words some thought before nodding.
"So I thought that I might as well bring you here to my childhood home. Actually, this place is the ancestral home of our family for many generations. Our forebears have kept this place in pristine condition, they even wrote a long line of the family tree stretching back to the Meiwa Era."
"'Meiwa'…?" He says and starts counting with his fingers.
I fight back a yawn and give Hachiman a small grin.
"It's still several hours before our connecting flight to Amsterdam, and the flight itself lasts roughly an entire day give or take… We have still have SO MANY THINGS to talk about, so sit tight!" My grin goes wider as he groans and slumps his head to the countertop. When I first told him about the travel time some time ago, he went even paler than he already was and thought about backing out.
"Don't remind me of the travel time..." He mumbles out.
I chuckle after lightly taking a sip from my coffee.
"Don't worry. You'll get used to it."
Greetings! Ivanov117 here!
Sorry for the late update, I only just recently recovered from a fever and I couldn't force myself to write.
I wonder what other things HachiPapa are going to tell his firstborn...
I think it's high time for me to expand a bit on Hachiman's family background since there is absolutely zero mention of it in Canon. I had quite a hard time coming up with his Grandparent's names since I had to look up different Kanji meanings as well, but I managed to learn a lot of stuff! It was fun in its own way!
Oh and as I said in the A.N. in my other Isekai fanfic, I might release another AU, but in a very interesting setting. I don't believe that I've seen a story published like what I'm planning to make in the community yet.
As always, feel free to favourite, follow or review if you want!
I'll see you lot next time! Stay indoor and healthy!