Umm... Hello?

Disclaimer: All Rights belong to the original creators of Oregairu

Chapter 7: Sometimes, Hikigaya Himeno looks out for him

The wonders of sleep. One of the few instances of living where one can truly be free from the demands of society. An activity that demands nothing from the body and is instead requested by the body to recover from the daily happenings. If activities require work and effort, then sleep is probably something that I'm a master of.

But alas- nobody can reach the eternal state of blissful slumber. One will always wake up when the body deems itself to be fully recharged or when external forces at work disturb its rest. In this case, it was someone poking me awake as I was just about to see the conclusion of my dream. Having given no choice but to wake up, I turned to my side and squinted my eyes open to identify the being who dares to interrupt my time of inner peace.

Expecting to see my cute little sister greeting me or Kamakura, who somehow got into my room. I was instead met by a rather unusual sight.

"Goodmorning, Hachiman! Sleep well?" she greeted with a beaming smile.

It was the matriarch of the household, Hikigaya Himeno, my mother, with her finger outstretched near my face.

"What the? Why are you here?"

Being a wage slave for the majority of her working life, it would be unusual for her to wake up this early, with early being relative now, since she usually sleeps until noon. She even established that sleep is sacred. The last time both Komachi and I unintentionally woke her up was met with us quaking in fear.

"Isn't it the job of a parent to wake up her kids every morning? Kyaa~ That probably gave me a lot of Mom-points!"

Now I know where Komachi takes off from.

"I don't remember opening an account."

"I opened one, courtesy of yours truly." She puffed up her chest and put her hands on her hips, grinning. "I came by to tell you that breakfast is ready."

"Alright, I'll come down in a bit."I finished with a slight yawn as I turned my back from her, intent on continuing my masterpiece of a dream.

Please wait for me, my party of heroes, together we will vanquish the evil.

I closed my eyes again to slip myself back to the dreamscape. Mere seconds later, a shiver ran down my spine.

Oh no.

Due to the small frequency of family interactions, I have a knack for forgetting the one person who can intimidate me with little to no effort than Yukinoshita, her demon of a sister, or even Hiratsuka-Sensei.

Said person was behind me.

"Hachiman~, surely you don't mean to leave your mother to eat breakfast alone?" she said in a sing-song voice, carrying no smidgen of tenderness.

I kept my back towards her, fearing the visage I may meet when I do.

"Maybe Komachi can help you with that?" desperately suggesting an alternative.

"She's sleeping right now, and I want to spend time with my son. That probably earned me a LOT of mom points. Right, Hachiman?" With that tone, it's more like you're mugging me for your Mom points.

Wait, Isn't she the one who opened the account? And isn't this her currency? That isn't very economical, you know?

Gathering a small bit of courage, and maybe mixed with some form of insanity. I turned my body once again to face the true head of our household. Looking up, there she was, leaning down at me while wearing a look on her face you seriously can't say no to.

Note to self, replace Kamakura at the top of the hierarchy.

"You're wide awake, yes?"

Giving out a small sigh, I slowly lifted my back off the bed and sat straight. "I am wide awake."

"Good. Now freshen up, and I'll be waiting for you downstairs. I'll prepare a cup of coffee for you." She said with a smile while clasping both her hands together.

And with that, she left my room. Making me breathe out in relief. She reminds me of a certain blonde individual who I just remembered to have agreed to meet with later.

I wonder where that part of my mom's personality was passed down to. I have never seen Komachi become like that. And I'm pretty sure me being in that state would be equivalent to the world ending. Genetics are weird.

I swung my legs to the side and tried to stretch the drowsiness away from my body, resulting in the opposite effect instead, making me lie back down on my side. Oh my sweet bed, why must we part every morning, and so soon today?

Not wanting to incur the wrath of the matriarch once more, I forcibly brushed that last of my sleepiness away and set off to the bathroom to make myself presentable for breakfast.

It took around 5 minutes for me to finally come down to the dining area next to the kitchen, where my mom was eagerly waiting at the table while drinking a cup of coffee. I presumed that the plate with food and another cup filled with the same mixture she was drinking, resting on the surface next to her, was mine.

Is she expecting me to sit there?

Feeling a bit rebellious, I sat on the opposite side of the table and dragged both prepared objects towards my person.

"Meanie…" she muttered.

I gave a small grin and took a sip of my share of caffeine for the day. Looks like she still knows how I like it—just the right amount of sweetness.

And as usual, 'Life is bitter, so coffee at the very least-

"-should be sweet." A voice finished my thoughts. With no other person currently awake in this building, I automatically presumed it to be the person sitting at the other end of the table.

Wait, I didn't even say it out loud, is she-

"-an esper or something?" she finished my thoughts once again.

"Ok, this is getting weird."

"Hehe~, looks like I was right."

We both simultaneously took a sip from our mugs and went quiet, enjoying the morning mood. So even though I was forcibly removed from the comfort of my bed, I can still have some pleasure out of it, at least.

Setting my cup to the side, I picked up the spoon next to the plate and began to indulge myself with the breakfast presented before me—Omelette rice, a dish possessing simplicity refined to excellence.

A flash of nostalgia hit me as I took a spoonful into my mouth. It's been a while since my mom cooked something, no less woke up early, so I sometimes forgot how good her cooking was. I may come as far to say the Komachi's cooking doesn't hold a candle to it.

I'm sorry, my dear sister, but when it comes to food. There will come a time where I will place someone else higher, with a few exceptions. In this case being, my Mom, Yukinoshita, and anyone else who proves themselves better than Yuigahama. Which may apply to most people.

The exemption list is still going revisions. Besides, food is food, especially if it's free.

Speaking of food.

"You're not going to cook for Komachi and Dad?" I questioned the cook as I realized that I'm the only one who has been prepared sustenance for the morning.

"I'll just start when they both wake up." She spoke up while still finishing her cup of coffee. "-and I'll eat alongside them, so don't worry and keep eating your breakfast."

So she hasn't eaten yet?

"What happened 'to eat breakfast alone?'" quoting what she said earlier.

"If you didn't wake up sooner, I'm supposed to be the one eating that." She gestured to the dish before me.

Well, she's technically not alone, and she's also not eating breakfast. I guess it still applies.

"Good for me to wake up then."

"Mhm—"

Despite the rude awakening, I did appreciate what she's doing for this morning. It's unusual, but I'll welcome it any other time.

Ok. Now let's get to business...

"What do you want, Mom?" When it comes to my mom, there is always a catch involved. Be it a simple errand or a request.

She suppressed the sly grin that was appearing on her face and replied, "Whatever do you mean, Hachiman?"

I stopped eating for a moment and crossed my arms, "Mom, this isn't the first time this happened. Just name it and end the suspense."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are too observant for your own good?"

"One too many times already."

She huffed outa breathe of air and muttered, "Why did you have to take after me..."

Wait, you? I thought as I looked at her incredulously. I mean, this is the first time I've heard it.

She noticed my stare and returned it with a hard look, "Hachiman, that look is somewhat rude."

I nervously swallowed. I guess I do take after her.

"Fine, fine, since you're so stubborn on getting straight to the point." She downed her coffee like it was an alcoholic drink, similar to how Hiratsuka-Sensei did it. It actually looked kinda cool.

How come I didn't get the part of you, Mom?

She put the mug down, and I saw that she was gritting her teeth with her eyes tightly closed, making me surprised. Is what she's going to say something heavy? Did someone die? Am I... Adopted?

Nah, that's not it. She's probably just in pain.

"You drank it all while it was hot, didn't you?" I tried guessing whilst standing up.

Mom replied with a weak nod as tears were forming at the corners of her closed eyes.

Wordlessly, I went to the kitchen counter, filled up a glass of water, went back to the table, and offered it to her. She hastily grabbed it and drank in large gulps to ease the probably burning sensation on her tongue.

Soon as she finished, she breathed out a sigh of relief and set the cup on the table, "Thank you for that, Hachiman." Showing an earnest smile.

I picked up my utensils once more and resumed eating but not before replying a quick 'you're welcome.'

Recovering from her mistake, she began speaking of her plan for me, "So, are you free later?"

As much as I would like to agree with that notion, unfortunately, I'm not. I have to go to a den of a lion later. But I kept on eating as I waited for her to finish. Maybe I could use this as an excuse for Miura later.

"There's this place that I wanna go to later. I was hoping that you could accompany me there..." She said while repeatedly fidgeting her fingers together like a cute nervous girl.

Mom, you are way past that age...

Her gaze hardened once more. Crap, I think she heard me.

I swallowed the last bit of food in my mouth as I reached an answer.

Obviously, I replied with...

"Yes, I'm free."

That's pretty much a legitimate excuse for me to make for Miura. And if there is something I learned from the time she raised Komachi and me since we were kids, It's that there will always be free food. Be it fast food, a café, a restaurant, and many more food joints you could name, Heck, I'd be satisfied we just went to eat at Saize for the millionth time. Sure beats studying with the fire queen and whatever snacks she offers.

To my surprise, she seemed a bit surprised at my reply.

Mom breathed out, relaxing into her chair. "Really? I'm glad. I half expected you to decline or something."

"Why is that?" I asked with a hint of confusion.

"Hachiman, ever since you joined that club of yours, I've never seen you this busy since..." She trailed off.

"Middle school?" I finished for her.

Ever since Hiratsuka Sensei found it a good idea to share my essays and the things I told her about my past school life, Mom thinks that my past is a taboo topic, especially since she found out too late about what happened.

"Yeah, that..." she continued, "You always seemed to take off somewhere at random times every weekend that both your father and I were worried that you became a delinquent."

Oi, is your faith in me that low?

"But I never believed it! Your father, though..."

So it was just him? Damn you, Old Man, I'm gonna tell Komachi on you, see how you like that!?

"I was glad that Komachi told us that you joined a club and that you were not just a ghost member. Although, when I heard that you were involuntarily forced into that club, I'd half a mind to march into your school and demand an explanation."

Thank god, she didn't. If she knew of the stuff I did early on, she might go ballistic.

"I'm glad I didn't..." she stared into her empty mug as if she were reminiscing about something. Suddenly, she perked up and continued, "But enough about that, are you sure that you're free later? You're not canceling important plans, are you?"

Is studying with Miura important?

No.

"Not really," I replied as casually as possible. Can't have her knowing about a certain fire woman.

But that's not gonna deter someone like my mom, "So you did have plans,"

I inwardly sighed, so this is what she meant by taking after her. She's as observant as I am, or maybe it's the other way around?

"So what was it? You better not be skipping on your club Hachiman."

"No, there haven't been any requests lately. I'm sure Komachi can attest to that. She's the acting club president, after all."

"Well, she has been quite lax lately. Does this plan have to do with those girls at the club? Because I'm not about to let you stray away from your budding rose-colored life." She said in a teasing tone as she rested her head on her arm with a sly smile.

I blushed a bit at that statement. If there is something that should never mix, it's parents and anything related to romance. "No, Mom, it has nothing related to the club nor anyone related to it." I declared to push her away from any more ideas.

She narrowed her eyes to try and pry something out of me. Unfortunately for her, I'm proud to introduce the new addition to the 108 skills, Complete Poker Face.

"Hmmm— I guess you're not lying," she eased up her look, "Ah well, I'm sure your friend can understand why you have to cancel your plans."

Friend? Heh, the woman can try.

I made a small smile as I bought my mug to my mouth to drink more coffee. You are truly the beverage of my life. Soon as I bought my cup down, I saw my mother giving me an expectant look.

Is there something on my face? I reached out for a napkin on the table, but before I could manage to reach it.

"A woman?" she questioned.

My action paused midway, and I slowly turned my head towards my mother, whose face slowly turned from minor confusion to a playful smile that I saw on Komachi too many times to count.

I said it out loud, didn't I?

"Hachiman, who is this woman you mentioned?" she inquired further while the smile on her face grew even more mischievous.

Damn it.

Quite short, I know. I was busy dealing with the chaos of online classes and an underprepared university.

Will try to write the next chapter soon. I'm sure Miura won't be pleased that Hikigaya tried to escape.