I Returned From My Otherworldly Adventure With Troubles As Expected

by DarkDrawerJ

Hikigaya Hachiman was isekaied to the world of Orario where he stayed and adventured in for 5 full years. Eventually breaking through the ranks, he returns to his world and awakens... in his bed. Just as he left. And what? Exactly who transferred in? Hikigaya Hachiman is going to have a lot of stuff on his plate. And how is he even going to handle the Service Club?

3. Chapter 3: Requesting Help

AN: Sorry it took so long, but it's here. Just general busyness.

I won't spoil what'll happen with the relationship stuff as it's not a big thing just yet, but the building blocks are being built to what I have planned.

I'm glad the revamp was well-received. I've tried to take things in a better direction and I hope I continue that trend here. A main thing I want to note here is that I make intentional changes to canon. So, if something seems different, that is intentional. I also wish to note that I intend to divert from canon a lot soon, but for introducing some characters, I think some things should stay relatively the same. Now that doesn't mean that the consequences here won't come up later, but that just means the situations are relatively the same.

Also, Zathol, I'm sure Hachiman would label these girls as stalkers (if he could do so without getting curb stomped lol).

Beta: XenoTime39 (he just finished his longfic Go-toubun no Hanayome AE and it's great), Aerex (helped greatly with characterization being more consistent among other things).

Discord: [discord . gg / yARsw4UtaC] I hope for many reviews to see how I'm doing. Leave me something to chew on please! Feedback is greatly appreciated even if I don't address them all :).

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The clock ticks as time in the classroom seemed to happen infinitely slower than before. The curse of having senses that can take things in quicker even if I can't move at the speed of sound. Thankfully, I can put these senses to much better work by seeing how my two students are faring.

My eyes shift to Ais who wears a determined look on her face. She is fully engaged in the lecture and by the way her pencil is dancing across her notebook, I can tell that she is writing down everything she can grasp while circling anything she doesn't understand, just as planned. It may add some work on my end, but it'll be worth it for them to catch up. The intensity of her strokes with the pencil suggest that she's a little bit tense about all this. Is she nervous about learning? This is a bit new to her.

Hmm, maybe I'll ask her about it later. Moving on to Ryuu, I would look at her, but unfortunately, her sitting behind me makes me unable to survey her reactions through sight. I'll have to rely on what she's doing. Isolating her pencil strokes isn't hard because she's writing the fastest but with little intensity. She seems to be doing better now that she's not clueless about the purpose of school and what to do here, but I doubt she's understanding everything that is said.

From the lectures said thus far and the intensity of their pencil strokes, I can already formulate a study plan to sick on Ais and Ryuu. Basic terms are logically what they're most going to have trouble on. Building a foundation will be key for them to get better exponentially.

This is sadly the best I can do to get them to fit into this world. Their mannerism definitely shows them as quirky, different from most classmates. Thankfully, they're cute, so their quirkiness can be forgiven by most people. Ais in particular, despite not being keen on any social cues, will be able to make friends with especially nice people.

Such as with Yui Yuigahama, a true nice girl.

My eyes shifted to her as my thoughts did the same. Being a part of the Service Club, it's a good thing that she's especially amicable to the likes of Ais and Ryuu, mostly because they'll probably stick around sometimes for club activities. Hopefully, I can get the two to join another club…

I noticed her gaze looking over to me. Immediately, I shifted my eyes to the front of me. Getting caught staring at her, even if my head wasn't turned that way would be incredibly troublesome to deal with. Hmm, maybe she does have a crush on me. This isn't the first time she's stared at me during class.

Whatever, it's not important. I'm sure it'll fade away the more she interacts with me.

Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes, the study plan. Their strengths and weaknesses will most likely not be identical, so I'll have to write up separate plans. They will still both need knowledge of the basic terms of each subject, but they'll likely learn each subject at a different speed.

As much as I hate to admit it, Yukinoshita, being a good student from hard work (and talent) and no hacks, would probably be able to explain some of these terms in a clearer way than I could. It's not like it's a competition or anything, but despite being five years older than her, it's tough to admit that I'm weaker than her in the teaching aspect. In academics, I could absolutely destroy her… maybe… if I wanted to.

Yeah, I'm not going to expand on that, there's lots of things that I haven't taken into account with my accelerated learning. I might not be as sharp on my academics as I think I am, but that could just be me needlessly doubting myself.

My attention swings back to what it originally was, Ais and Ryuu's improvement in class. Hopefully, they'll get better in leaps and bounds instead of this little step today. My plans are subject to not being effective, so I don't want to leave everything to chance. Thankfully, I think some of my plans have a backup in the form of a certain lab coat wearing teacher.

Letting out an unintentional sigh, I disengage with any observing for right now. I need a lie down.

(-)

"Alright, before class ends, be sure to look over your notes on this! It'll all be on the test!" the teacher cried out just as the bell rang, signalling lunch time. My "lie down" didn't amount to much as I needed to look as if I was paying attention, but laying off of any thinking was a nice break of sorts.

Seeing how it's lunchtime, I got out my lunch to eat silently in the class. While usually, I'd opt to get away from everyone, today I had an objective to undertake: observe some more. "Observe what?" some may ask, and thankfully, what I'm observing is about to happen.

Ais trying to make more friends.

It was an objective I set for her and Ryuu and seeing how Ryuu is eating behind me, I can safely say Ais will probably have an easier time with this. While both of them are cute, Ais' social awkwardness is to her benefit when it comes to meeting more people because she's not going to be afraid to do so.

In most cases Ais' social awkwardness is not something in play that can help her. She doesn't know how others are feeling in a moment, she has no filter, and she isn't very expressive, however, all of that is exactly what will benefit her in this scenario!

If Ais was a normal girl, she might be intimidated by the rumours circulating around. Most of the rumours detail some sort of blackmail I have on Ais and Ryuu resulting in their association with me. The rest of them are mild rumours of our supposed relationship.

But Ais is not normal- far from it. She'll have no problem jumping into a group and just interacting with them, ergo perhaps dispelling the rumours surrounding her and I. Since Ais can clear up those rumours, albeit with some embarrassing secrets said, then those rumours can clear up while Ais learns to associate with more people and while Ais can make some friends for herself.

"Hello Yui-chan? Would you mind if I ate with you?" Ais said, her tone showing her uncertainty in word choice, but her face revealing nothing. Not a bad plan to try to enter Yuigahama's group through Yuigahama since she's already friends with Ais.

Yui's face seemed to show a variety of emotions quickly as she nervously said, "U-uh, I'm not sure if I can to-"

"Oh, Wallenstein-san? You're eating with us?" asked Miura, interrupting what seemed to be a refusal from Yuigahama.

"Yes?" half asked Ais as she placed a finger to her chin in her wondering. "I'm trying to make some friends, so I thought eating with others in class was a good way to do it."

Miura showed herself to be a classic popular girl with her high level of communication skills. "Haha, I guess you can eat with us for that reason then. I wouldn't mind getting to know you better. You're kinda cute and you're blonde like me!" Miura said cheerfully, wearing her heart on her sleeve.

Ais nodded in affirmation although she probably didn't quite understand why any of that mattered. Ais looked like she was about to speak up when someone else did instead.

"Actually, as much as I'd like to eat with you, Ais-chan, I promised Yukinon that I'd eat with her today. Sorry!" Yuigahama said, tilting her head slightly towards Ais.

This seemed to be news to Miura as her expression changed to a miffed one as she prepared to speak up, challenging those plans by saying-

"That's alright, Yui-chan. I'll get to know your friends today and we can eat together some other day," Ais cut in, solving the issue in her own way.

Miura definitely didn't seem to want to speak up about Yuigahama leaving now. She instead tilted her head in annoyance and held it all in. Yui could sense some of that tension from her, but she took the only opening she got.

Trying to not ignore my meal companion, I took my eyes off their conversation and asked Ryuu, "Do you have any plans after school today? I already got a plan written up for today's studying."

Ryuu gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look as she said with a little nervousness, "I have to work today. Maybe we should reschedule some other day?"

Immediately I threw that suggestion into the trash. They're not in the clear yet, so it'd be irresponsible to leave it to some other day. "You two haven't made enough progress for me to feel safe about a day off." Sighing, I said, "It's simple. I'll just tutor you while you work."

Ryuu hummed at that. "How'd that work?" she asked.

I gave a shrug at that question. "I'll be at a table ordering some food with Ais. You drifting over to my table every so often to answer a simple problem shouldn't be too bad. Maybe to make things easier, I'll have to write up some notecards, but other than that, it shouldn't be that much of a hindrance to you working."

Ryuu stared at me for a few seconds before looking away and saying, "Fine…" Her face was tinted a tad red. If it's out of embarrassment of her working as a maid, it's not like she's new to this. Hmmm, maybe it's because of how attached that kid was to her.

I leaned down into my desk, activating my 108 (not actual) skills. Any actual skills would be too weird to use out in the open unless a certain opportunity arises.

Reentering the conversation, I seemed to have come back at a good time. "Since Yui isn't here, how about you get drinks for everyone, Wallenstein-san er- how about I call you Ais-chan like Yui?" Miura asked.

"Hmm, I don't mind on both accounts," Ais said, tilting her head, "But where would I get drinks and would that make us friends?"

Miura was confused by the questions, leaving Ebina to fill in the gaps. "If I can call you Ais-chan, then you can call me Hina-chan then! Yumiko probably would want you to call her Yumiko-chan as well! That'd make us closer and then we'd be better friends. As for drinks, I'm pretty sure there's a vending machine down the hallway."

Hayama and his cronies seemed to find that their time to introduce themselves. "Hiya Wallenstein-san! If you're a friend of Ebina's, you're a friend of mine! You can just call me Tobe!" the loud one said.

"Ah, you can call me Yamato. It's nice to meet you," the dimwit-looking one said.

"I'm Ooka. I hope you've adjusted nicely to this school,"the annoying one said.

All jokes aside, I just don't notice their presence much nowadays. They seem to me like an accessory to Hayato. Speaking of which...

"It seems I'm the last one. I'm Hayama Hayato, but you can call me Hayato. I hope we can be good friends," Hayato said with a Riaju smile. All the girls swoon for that smile, but Ais for sure wouldn't!

That smile is so-

"Fake," Ais said.

Wha-

"E-excuse me?" Hayato said, caught off guard by that reply.

Ais tilted her head. "Why is your smile so fake? Why don't you show a real one?" Her questions didn't have any real spite behind them, they were just normal things to ask for Ais.

"A-ah, uh," Hayato had no idea how to answer the question. Thankfully, the other blonde one helped him out.

"You shouldn't say things like that so lightly, Ais-chan. That's not very nice after all," Miura said with not a little bit of venom behind it. Protective of wonder boy, eh?

Ais looked on blankly. "My apologies. I did not intend any ill intent by my questions. I was merely curious."

Laughing to diffuse the situation, Ebina said, "That's alright. Anyway, how about we talk about more interesting subjects? Like your relationship with a certain someone?"

W-what?

"Yeah! What's up with you and Hikitani?" Tobe chirped.

Ah, phew. This is about Hikitani not Hikigaya thankfully. There's no way they'd make a stupid mistake like that!

"Hikitani?" Ais asked, her confusion evident, "Do you mean Hachiman? His last name is Hikigaya."

Caught off guard by the correction, Tobe leaned back in his seat and he said, "Y-yeah, Hikigaya. What's your relationship with him?"

Ais put a finger to her chin as she tried to formulate her words. I could tell the cliche except Hayato was all curious to hear the answer as they were all scooting more and more forward as if Ais would whisper the answer. Honestly, this could go either way for me as Ais doesn't quite care what implications she puts out-

"Hachiman, saved me in a lot of ways, and I'm grateful for that." Ais' words were slow but sure as each syllable almost seemed to naturally be in place. "I'd say that he's a good friend to me, and I hope that I can be the same."

The silence from the clique's reaction made this quite awkward. I'm still in the room after all? Are they just ignoring me?

Ais' words… were of no surprise to me. I've known of her pure feelings for a while and so it's not that embarrassing to hear. Yep… not at all embarrassing.

"Ais-chan, y-you smiled?" Miura said, surprised by the action. I guess that's only natural for someone who has only seen her deadpan expression.

"Hmm, I guess I did," Ais shrugged.

"You should smile more, Wallenstein-san. It suits you," Hayato said, shooting a smile.

For a second there, I thought that Ais would react by calling his expression fake again, but she merely hummed in response.

"You do have a nice smile," Ebina said, "But, I do think that you're holding out on us! It won't matter though in the end because Hayama x Hikigaya is the end goal for everyone involved including-"

She got smacked on the head by Miura. "Hina, you're so much cuter when you can hold back your perversion! You know your limits!"

Ais seemed almost unphased through all of this as she looked on and merely tilted her head in response. "I guess I forgot to mention that Hachiman has been taking care of me for a while now, but unless you are more specific, I'm not sure what to mention."

That got a small rise out of them as I heard murmurs of "I didn't expect that out of Hikitani" and other things like "How'd those two even meet?"

I sank into my seat as I could only pray. 'Please! Someone remind Miura that she was going to send Ais out of the classroom to get drinks!'

(-)

After what was a long day of whispers and weird looks, I was very happy to get out of there. Ais, thankfully, wasn't just creating trouble for me for no reason. It seemed that she integrated and got along well with the clique, not that she'd get swept up in it.

Ryuu wasn't bothered by the rumours, if anything, she was indifferent to them. Since Ryuu knows what is actually going on while being a very calm individual, it's only natural that she'd be interested in other affairs - such as her own.

With our plans set, Ais and I would be watching Ryuu serve us in a maid outfit once again! Er, not that any of that matters. It might be a little nostalgic for me, but considering how the Hostess of Fertility's outfits were more conservative in clothing than modern restaurant clothing, especially maid cafes, I think that Ryuu's concern might be a little warranted.

"Yahallo, Hikki! Are you going to club today," a certain bubbly girl who was absent for my embarrassment asked.

I was just about to leave the classroom, but it seems that I was too slow gathering my things. So, I told the truth. "No, I'm busy tutoring and lying low from the rumours."

"You tutor?" Yuigahama asks, interested.

"Yes?" I said, feigning offense to the question. "Do I not look like the type?"

"Ah! No no! I wasn't trying to insinuate that you don't, but rather that-. Err, c'mon Hikki, you know what I mean!"

I couldn't help but respond in laughter. "Pfft hahaha! I'm just teasing. While normally, I wouldn't tutor anyone as it can be quite troublesome, this was an emergency."

Yuigahama stood frozen with unblinking bright eyes looking continuously at me.

"Uh, Yuigahama?" her cheeks were increasingly changing colors, making for an interesting sight.

Finally, she shook herself out of her statue-esque moment. "I-I'm sorry Hikki. It was just weird to hear you laughing in a not-gross way. A-also. If it's possible, could you tutor me sometimes?"

I was about to retort with "What's that supposed to mean?" when she mentions the rarity of a not gross laugh from me, but her question caught me off guard. Would it be beneficial to me to tutor Yuigahama?

Most likely not. There's no conceivable scenario where it wouldn't turn out to be anything less, but a distraction to what greater things I could be doing at the time. But…

"Hmm, I'm certainly not incapable of doing so, but I'd think that you'd like to ask someone a little smarter, like Yukinoshita. I'm sure she'd be willing if you pushed her some."

"Eh? Yukinon would be a good choice, but…" her expressions morphed through embarrassment and worry as she continued, saying, "I feel as if I'd be wasting her time."

Feigning being taken aback by her answer, I said, "And not wasting mine?"

Her cheeks turned red at that question and her worry leaked out into awkward movements. "No no no Hikki! That's not what I meant."

"I know," I said, a smirk on my face, "That was a joke."

Her face shifting through surprise and annoyance, she says, "Geez Hikki. Don't do that to me!"

"Right. Right," I said to placate her. Looking right at her eyes, I decided to give my answer. "I'll tutor you from time to time since I'm already doing it for some people, but I think you should compare notes with Yukinoshita in her free time. As much as I hate to admit it, she probably can teach some things better than me."

"Yay!" she said, jumping up into the air with a fist pump. "I'll definitely ask her if your tutoring isn't all that great Hikki!"

How rude. My tutoring is, of course, the best there is. Teaching two idiots who haven't even heard of some of these concepts isn't easy you know! All jokes aside, Yuigahama will probably be a bit more receptive to some guidance I can provide as I'll be able to use more apt examples. "If you already think that my tutoring isn't great, then I wonder why'd you ask me."

With the snide question, her face lit up again, but before she could respond, I got a tug on my uniform. A quick look showed Ryuu was the culprit.

"Hachiman, we need to go." Ah, so her shift probably starts right after school.

"Right," I said, addressing her and then turning to Yuigahama, "See you tomorrow. Text me whenever for lessons."

"Yes! Thank you Hikki!" She gave a bright smile.

Looking over for the third member of our little Orario crew, I saw her in a conversation with the popular clique or at least, the remains of it after some of them left for clubs. "Ais, it's time to go."

She gave a brief farewell to her new friends and walked up to us. "I'm here."

"How are your new friends?" I asked, leading the two of them out of the classroom.

"Different, but nice," Ais said with a small smile adorning her face.

(-)

"So," the "Shio-san'' from yesterday started, "To continue Ryuu's tutoring while allowing her to work, you thought that you could teach her bit by bit on her shift?" While clad in a maid outfit, the older lady was leaking some menacing aura as if she was questioning my plan.

"Yes. It is necessary that she learns all she can in the least amount of time possible. With the exercise I have in mind, Ryuu shouldn't be affected, especially because she's already a maid pro, right?"

The menacing aura vanished as a smirk appeared on the lady's face. "And just how did you know that exactly? Ryuu-chan isn't one to boast, after all."

"Quite simply because the last place she worked, she did a similar, if not the same work," I said, unafraid of the questions to come.

"Oh really? Then if she had a job before, why was she just wandering around when she met us?"

"Circumstances arose where she left the job suddenly and came to Japan, all without my knowledge by the way."

"Ah, so she's a foreigner. That makes sense given her looks. Her Japanese is excellent though." Looking away from me, I could tell Shio-san was lost in her thoughts until she simply said, "You brought up good points earlier. Just don't distract her too much."

Really, just what was she thinking in this scenario? "No more questions?"

Shio-san gave a light smile at the question. "There'd be no point to it. I'm less interested in your situation and more in Ryuu's well-being. Just keep on being her friend and you're good with me!"

"Shio-san," Ryuu said, embarrassment tinting her cheeks. She was definitely feeling something from being loved so much already. I guess Ryuu really made an impression on Shio-san.

"You better work hard today, Ryuu-chan!" Shio-san said with a thumbs up.

"Right, I will!" she said with a sweet smile.

And from there, Ais and I took to a booth and watched Ryuu do her magic. Ais herself seemed to get motivated by Shio-san's care for Ryuu. She didn't say much, but she worked hard on any problems I gave her. Her progress was simply astounding.

As for Ryuu, I had actually written up some flashcards prior to school ending that can help with some very basic concepts. Everytime she passed by my table, I gave her a notecard to memorize and then recite its contents once she came around. Although when she comes back to the table depends on how busy it was, her memorization was simply top of line and so learning the concepts won't be an issue. Any problems she will have will probably have something to do with knowing what the concepts really apply to.

I ordered some refreshments throughout the lesson for both Ais and Ryuu, so that they don't overheat their brains trying to take in the enormous amount of information they need to know. Ryuu was reluctant to drink a beverage she served, but I managed to convince her by asking Shio-san if it was alright.

Throughout this chaotic tutoring session, it seemed the only thing keeping it together was Ais and Ryuu's motivation. In my opinion, any normal person wouldn't be able to multitask so much and keep all this new stuff together. Today's tutoring especially introduced a lot of new concepts which means that there should be a lot of trouble with it.

Nevertheless, both Ais and Ryuu pushed on ahead.

It's funny though, even though my attention was on tutoring them, I could notice that Ryuu had gathered quite the crowd given her looks and top tier service. Crowds of guys were packed in booths just for her. None of it bothered Ryuu though as she stayed professional as always.

It's… nostalgic to see her work. For some reason, it's very pleasing to my eye and I could watch it forever. How strange.

(-)

It appeared to me that it was about that time to wrap up the tutoring for the day, so I paid for the dinner and service directly to Shio-san, so that I could give her a progress report on Ryuu. Of course, the topic strayed at times.

"I'm surprised I didn't see the little squirt around. If my memory serves me, Ryuu referred to her as Aki-chan. I assume she's yours?"

Shio-san nodded and put on a calming smile, showing her obvious love for her child. "She's a sweet little rascal, but she's not allowed at the restaurant every night. She has to go to bed at a reasonable time after all. That's the hubby's job!"

"Right, right," I said, looking away from her super expressive face. Her energy is a bit too much for me. "You mentioned Ryuu saved her. Any story worth telling from there?"

Shio-san merely tilted her head at that. "It's really not that interesting of a story. Maybe I should have Ryuu tell you. That way you could see how she tries to downplay her actions."

Why would I need to see her downplay her achievements? "How would Ryuu telling the story make it better?"

"Because she's cute! Seeing her squirm at the attention given will surely be a nice sight to see, right?" I guess Shio-san really knows Ryuu's charm, huh.

"Fair point." I wasn't about to deny it, else Shio-san would probably badger me about it.

"Oh my. It looks like Ryuu is getting troubled by a customer. Could you please see what's the problem?" Shio-san asked.

Waving her off to tell her I got it, I made my way to introduce myself into the conversation.

"Please! I wish to seek counsel with a real life maid! Only you can understand the scrolls of the ancients I have transcribed!"

Oh no.

"I don't know what exactly you're asking for here sir, but my job is to serve your food. Beyond that, I won't do it," Ryuu said.

"GAH! The cold daggers pierce my flesh. As expected from a cold hearted maid. But please! Review my novel!"

You know, despite spending years in another world, I couldn't forget him. Maybe it's because I had my own chuuni phase and that haunts me, but in any case, it's really him.

"Please, beautiful maid. Give me your keen insight!" the chuuni said, reaching for Ryuu's hands.

I smacked his hands harshly onto the table. "Zaimokuza, are you really trying to get Ryuu to review something of yours? You can do that without touching her, you know?" I asked.

"Ouch! Ah, partner. It seems I've intruded on your little affair. My mistake," the trenchcoat-wearing bespectacled victim of Middle School Syndrome said.

"Partner? What's he talking about, Hachiman?" Ryuu asked, unphased by the mention of an affair. She was aware of why I did what I did. Being on the alert so Zaimokuza's face wasn't punched in is important.

Ais, who was seated in the booth next to Zaimokuza, also joined in asking, "Is he your friend?"

Moving past my small act of assault, I blankly said, "We may have been partners in gym once or twice, but besides that, we don't have much of a friendship." Shifting my head towards the degenerate in question, I asked, "Now what was this about a novel? You wanted Ryuu's opinion on it."

Zaimokuza deflated upon the mention of us not being friends, but shot back up at my question. "Ah yes! I'm in need of some counsel to see if I'm up to par with the legendary scribes of our time, but since I lack those things called friends, I decided to ask a real maid as that's featured in my novel."

Sigh I could tell that Ais and Ryuu were both lost, so I nudged Ryuu away and said, "You can get back to work. I'll deal with this."

Ryuu didn't look back as I've given her the chance to escape from Zaimokuza.

I clutched my head as I could feel the headache of dealing with Zaimokuza come on, I opted to get this done as efficiently as possible without breaking the guy. "So, in other words, you want some people to review your draft and provide criticism. And you were so desperate, you decided to go to some random staff at a restaurant."

"... Yes," the guy said, weakly.

Honestly, I can't help but pity the guy, so I might be regretting this but, "How about I and Ais skim through it and give you some of our opinions tonight?"

His face brightened up as he said, "Really?" He coughed once before saying, "I-I mean, only expected from my partner. I hope you're able to truly understand the intensity of the texts and all the nuance!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just hand over 2 copies so we can get this over with." I was planning on getting this over with quickly because everything is about done for today and I'm very tired. I already texted Hiratsuka-sensei to pick up Ais from here and the restaurant itself was only an hour or two away from closing. Needless to say, I was going to skim it hard, but with these senses of mine, I'd be able to actually understand most of it even with just a skim read.

Zaimokuza readily handed over two copies of his draft. I handed one to Ais, also whispering, "Anything written here is not to be taken seriously, but it'll be a good frame of reference to see your Hiragana and Katakana progress." In a normal voice, I asked, "Sounds good?"

Ais looked confused just reading the cover, but hearing my words, she looked at me and said, "Sounds good!" Great, she's determined now.

Now to sink my teeth into this.

(-)

I've made a huge huge mistake.

There were people that gave me headaches in Orario. That much is certain. Between being pulled into many different directions and suddenly having a bunch of responsibility pulled onto me, I cursed many people's names in those days.

This story, if you can call it that, takes the cake though. This by far is the biggest headache ever to deal with not only because the story is trash, but because I have to deal with telling Zaimokuza that. Maybe I can get Ais to deal the killing blow….

I gave a quick look to Ais to see how far she's in the book and to my surprise and horror, she's asleep! Well, I can't really blame her. Even if she wanted to use this as a learning tool, nothing makes sense making it hard to get anything out of it!

I was just on the last few pages, desperately speed reading the last few bits, so I could put the damned thing down.

'And with the heroine saved, our hero set off to see what would become of his destiny.' Really Zaimokuza? That's how you ended it? With the most generic open-ended piece so you could continue after it? Incredible.

Now to put this in the kindest words I can muster.

"It looks like a trainwreck of Kanji and Hiragana collided to form your novel." He twitched once. "I mean, besides the various grammar mistakes, the story itself feels very familiar and uninspired and not in the case of it staying familiar to be appealing. It's as if you've taken the worst parts of a generic harem manga and forced a bunch of bad cliches on top of them." Zaimokuza twitched again, looking as if he's taking physical damage from my verbal attack. "Look, as long as you fix up your grammar and revisit how you used some of your cliches… your illustrations could save you from embarrassment."

"Toh!" he uttered, leaning back into his booth, slack.

My eyes shifted from Ais to him as I tried to think of what to say next. Could it be that I was too harsh? No, I think everything I said was within reason. But maybe a different set of advice will help.

"Hey, as long as you keep improving with your writing, you may be able to write something that isn't complete garbage someday," I said with a smirk.

His eyes gained life back again as he looked at me. Seeing my sincerity, he asked, "D-do you really think so?"

"Sure," I said almost instinctively, "You could definitely give up though and pursue something else if you so wish, but something tells me that you're not the type to give up. You've got writer's fever I bet."

Zaimokuza recovered, saying, "Unfortunately, I have been inflicted with mine disease. It will not overtake me though as I will overcome it! And when I do, will you read such a story?"

Not sure if overcoming writer's disease is writing more, but anyway, "If your disease shall be writing more, I shall read whatever you put out," I jokingly say.

Zaimokuza put a hand to his head as he struck a pose and opened his mouth but was cut off by a sharp tone.

"We're about to close so you might want to get started wrapping up… whatever you were doing," Ryuu interrupted.

Zaimokuza, looking as if his groove had been thrown off just retreats, said, "I thank you my subordinates for a job well done. I will seek out your assistance again when I need it!"

His words made a chill go down my spine out of disgust and from what I heard from Ryuu, who stuck around for his retreat, she shivered too from his chuuni nature. Even to the residents of Orario, Zaimokuza was very abnormal.

I felt the light vibration of my phone shake, confirming a text from Hiratsuka-sensei. It said that she's right outside. "I think that's the sign for Ais and I to go. See ya at school tomorrow, Ryuu. It was weird to see you work again honestly."

"It was weird for my to work basically the same job again," Ryuu deadpanned, "But, there's a certain relaxing quality to it that I enjoy. Your flashcards made it a little less relaxing though."

"Hopefully, it'll come in handy tomorrow," I smirked at her before walking up to the sleeping sword princess and taking her into my arms. I don't feel like waking her up and having to explain everything, so I'll deal with it like this.

Making sure that Ais was secure in my arms, I gave one last look to see Ryuu pouting. The girl was too focused on the Sword Princess to realize I had turned around. "Are you really jealous over this?"

Ryuu turned her head, "Maybe I am as silly as it is." She seemed to gather herself in but for a moment, turning her head back to me and asking, "Promise to hold me like that someday?" Too bad she couldn't fight down all the blood in her slightly pink cheeks.

Unphased by her question, I replied, "I definitely won't promise something like that, but I also won't say that it'll never happen." At some point, it hit me that I'm honestly leaving myself open to having the affections of others. For now, I don't wish for these feelings to lead to anything. And thus, my shitty non committal answer.

With those solemn thoughts, I left the restaurant and walked up to the car that I recognized to be Hiratsuka-sensei's. "Late night at school?" I asked.

"Yeah yeah. A bunch of assignments to grade from you brats. Why can't all of you just write more coherent essays!" Hiratsuka-sensei jokingly said. "It seems like you too had a late night," she added, an affectionate look in her eyes seeing the sleeping form of Ais.

"We had a productive evening."

"Even if you had to skip the Service club to do it, huh." she jabbed.

"I'll be there tomorrow," I assured.

"That you will. Or else, I might have to use the power sealed in my left arm to force you to!" Oh no, it's spreading.

"Haha," I said sarcastically, "I didn't get any message from Yuigahama or Yukinoshita so it looks like there weren't any clients today anyway. Oh, I'm sure you'd like to hear that Ais made some friends with the big clique in class."

"Oh? I'm surprised she took the initiative to do that. Must've been your influence, eh?"

"I will neither confirm nor deny such an accusation," I deadpanned before following it up with, "I gotta get home. Good luck on carrying Ais inside your apartment." Not waiting for her reply, I closed the door.

It wasn't too late out, but Komachi might get worried if I dawdle any more. With that thought in mind, I made haste for home. Little would I know that the next day, my promise to Hiratsuka-sensei made sure of my involvement with the Service Club's second request.

(-)

"Fancy seeing you attending for once," Yukinoshita said upon my entering the club room.

"Har Har. Very funny. You're the one who wanted my number in case you actually needed my help," I blasted back. Ais and I sauntered to our seats at the table. Ais was determined to sit close to me, so she was right next to me at the end of the table, opposite of Yukinoshita.

"Yuigahama and I may have your number, but that doesn't mean you can skip out whenever. You're supposed to be here as a club member without our prompting you to do so. Also, this better not be some ploy of yours to win."

A ploy to win? What? Yukinoshita is getting real indignant here, huh. Oh, she may have said everything in an even tone and all, but her words have a lot of bite in them. No use continuing this at my age though. Waving her off, I replied, "Yeah, yeah. I'll be here regularly. I'll probably miss attending sometimes to tutor Ryuu at her job, but that shouldn't be a problem right? We don't get requests every day."

Yukinoshita perked up at that. "Hmm? I don't think that'll be a problem. Unfortunately, you're right in that we're not used that much by the student populace," she said, serving some tea to myself and Ais.

Unfortunately for you, Yukinoshita, your service is inferior to the legendary maid service of Ryuu, but it's alright. No one would hold you to such a professional standard. The tea on the other hand… "Tea's good," I muttered. Continuing the current subject matter, I added, "You wouldn't want to see the Service Club in full use. You'd be run ragged, and I bet a ton of students would rely on it. Didn't you have a whole thing with the give a man a fish speech?"

"Give a man a fish… speech?" Ais questioned. Yep. That happened or at least I'm pretty sure it did. It was one of the last things that happened before I was dropped into Orario so it sticks out.

Yukinoshita held her head as if reacting to stupidity. "Yes the point of the club is to not have students rely on it, but to get them to be mostly autonomous. Oh and don't worry! You're a part of the club, so I'm not the only one who'd be run ragged as you put it. Or did you think you'd be spared from such an event?"

Back off Yukinoshita! Stop the glare and smirk! It reminds me of tough times or rather, some tough people I left behind.

Giving a look to my companion sitting next to me, I saw Ais just sitting there, drinking the tea brewed by Yukinoshita in silence. I'm sure she doesn't know how to interject in a conversation between Yukinoshita and I. From what I can tell from everyone's reactions, we can get pretty heated. Imagine how intense it'd get if I wasn't older and more mature.

Anyway, if it wasn't for the door opening when I was about to respond to Yukinoshita's threat, I would've totally deconstructed her entire argument. Totally.

"Yahallo! I found someone who has a request for the Service Club!" announced a bouncy Yuigahama. Huh, I guess she was using those SSS+ social skills to get someone here. "Sai-chan here needs some help."

Sai-chan? Yuigahama led a seemingly attractive short, silver colored haired girl into the clubroom. However, I knew differently. Through extensive conditioning in Orario, I could tell that this person was actually a guy!

Don't ask what conditioning I had to undertake.

"Um, Yui-chan told me that this club could grant my wish?" his sweet voice said.

I decided to take the lead to steal Yukinoshita a bit of her thunder. "Yuigahama would be wrong in saying that considering she got told otherwise by Yukinoshita when she asked Yukinoshita the same thing with her wish," I said, stealing a look of Yuigahama to find her pressing two of her fingers together as if she was embarrassed.

Yukinoshita spoke up. "Unfortunately, Hikigaya is right. We're only here to guide you along your request. What is your request, Totsuka-san?"

Aha! His surname is Totsuka! Now I won't have to embarrass myself asking. Good job Yukinoshita!

"Oh, ok. I'm Totsuka Saika everyone. You can call me Saika or Sai-chan like Yui-chan does." he said with a smile. Such an attack couldn't bypass my defenses but it was a good try. "I'm in the Tennis Club, and we're in a terrible state right now since all the third-years graduated last year. I think that maybe if I get better, I can be an example to the new members, and hopefully that'll motivate them to get better as well. The problem is… I need training partners. Can you help me?"

So everyone on the Tennis Team sucks. I guess that's because it's not as popular here. Soccer is the main sport at Sobu High, and Hayama being the star of the Soccer team is not a coincidence. Totsuka…-san is probably aware that the new members are probably not the most athletic and I bet the Soccer team's prominence is a big reason for that.

"Where's Ryuu-chan, Hikki? I thought she'd be helping with this request as well." Yuigahama whispered to me as to not interrupt the discussion going on between Yukinoshita and Totsuka as Yukinoshita fishes for more details.

"Ryuu decided to check out the Archery Club since she's familiar with the sport," I whispered back.

"Really? I didn't know that! I bet Ryuu-chan is great! Is she going to join it?"

"Probably not. She has a part-time job after school," I explain.

"Ah, ok," Yuigahama nodded with a smile. Why does she seem so happy now? Let's just get back to the conversation.

"So, you initially planned to get a strong player to temporarily join the team to motivate everyone, but couldn't find anyone," Yukinoshita said.

"A-ah, yes. That is correct," Totsuka said, his eyes shifting to me a few times during that statement. Uh, what did I do?

"Your current plan is better anyway. Having an exceptional outsider doesn't tend to motivate the spiteful. I can assure you that. Now as for how to accomplish your current plan-"

"You want to get stronger, right?" Ais interrupted. It's weird for her to be interested in something like this and interrupt someone to speak up, but maybe she has some stake in this.

Totsuka nodded. "Mmm. I'm sure it'll motivate everyone to get better if I get better!" he said more confidently.

"Then we'll make sure you'll work yourself to death so we can rebuild you stronger," Yukinoshita said definitively. She suddenly got super invested into this. Ais, I can understand as being new to this and wanting to help as much as possible, but really Yukinoshita?

Totsuka was taken aback by Yukinoshita's intense wording, but gave a thumbs up. "Ok! I believe I can do it!"

Ais got up from her seat and took Totsuka's hands. "Soft. Needs conditioning." It seems she was really serious about this. Totsuka sweatdropped at her bluntness.

Meanwhile, it seems that Yukinoshita's competitive spirit was sparked by Ais' words.

Yuigahama and I had no such urgency with fulfilling this request, but nevertheless, were willing to help out. However, with Ais and Yukinoshita helping, I doubt we'll be needed.

(-)

"Uwaaa!" Totsuka exclaimed in terror from the amount of Tennis balls he's having to hit.

"Yuigahama, please keep the Tennis balls coming. Totsuka-san needs more practice hitting," Yukinoshita ordered.

"But Yui-chan! Sai-chan is already exhausted! Shouldn't we take a break?" Yuigahama tried to plead with Yukinoshita. I don't think Yuigahama has grasped the true tyrannical nature or rather, the radically competitive nature of Yukinoshita.

"I understand that you're quite sympathetic to people in need, Yuigahama, however, Totsuka-san signed up for this and from what I can see is not the type to give up." She looked beyond Yuigahama to Totsuka and asked, "Am I right?"

"Yes," Totsuka said, breathing hard from exhaustion. "Don't worry about me Yui-chan. I can handle whatever it is that Yukino-san can throw at me!" His sweaty form was almost wiped clean by a refreshing smile. It seems as if Totsuka has an incredible amount of mental endurance and determination.

What did I do in all this besides watching? Well, you'd be surprised to learn that Ais in all her overzealous declaration to help out with training Totsuka, has no idea how to play the sport Tennis, so I decided to allow Yukinoshita the reins on helping train Totsuka while I teach Ais a basic outline of the game.

"So, You hit the ball in the correct areas? Is that all?" Ais asked bluntly.

"While you're not wrong in that's what you do, disregarding how you hit the ball and where, is a mistake." I whispered, "You won't be able to use your overwhelming strength for this."

"I know," Ais said, pouting. "This seems difficult. Hmmm, can you demonstrate?"

Hmm, I guess I could show her how to properly play. But how to do it… Oh, I know. "Yukinoshita, take a break from hitting Tennis balls at Totsuka. I'm going to hit a few rounds with Totsuka-san."

I was given weird looks from all sides. "Hikki, I didn't know you were so interested in this request," Yuigahama commented.

"Oh, Hikigaya is going to play? That's great! He has really good form!" Totsuka said. Wait, he's been watching me? I guess I lacked a lot of awareness back in the day.

Yukinoshita looked indifferent to my declaration of helping. "I fail to see what that would accomplish that my practicing wouldn't but proceed."

I tossed a water bottle each to Yuigahama and Yukinoshita respectively of which Yuigahama stumbled as she caught it while Yukinoshita easily caught hers. "Just take a water break. It's a sunny day after all, so it's best to stay safe with hydration."

Totsuka looked shocked, "Uh, do I get a water break?" he said, waving his shirt around to help wave some air his way.

A grin made its way to my face. "Not yet. I'm going to hit you some serves and then see how far you can go rallying. Yukinoshita may have threatened you harshly, but the real battle begins now!"

Maybe it was wanting to show off too much to Ais or the rekindling of getting to play a sport I missed, but right now, I was determined to test Totsuka's skill level.

Totsuka's face immediately changed as he became alert. His form shifted to accommodate receiving a serve. His position on the court was also far back enough for him to return it.

Now for me to serve the ball. Remember, Hachiman, keep it from breaking everything. This isn't Orario, so full power is not needed at all. Throwing the ball up, my racket came down hard as it smacked the ball to the other side.

Time seemed to go faster as Totsuka received it albeit with a pop fly. I smacked an even shot across the court away from Totsuka, but he ran over, ready to receive it once more.

While we had a back and forth going on, I could notice a few things about how Totsuka plays. First, it seems obvious to point out now, but Totsuka seems to lack decisiveness with placing the ball with a strong shot. In Tennis, that is an important aspect tool as when the opponent slips in the back and forth or in the hits in general, that's when someone can punish the mistake hard.

Twisting the racket in my hand as I aimed right at Totsuka, I slammed the racket against the ball. The ball raced across the court towards Totsuka, where he was ready to receive it, but then curved away from him, ending the rally.

Totsuka breathed hard as he said, "I knew you were good, but I didn't know you were that good Hachiman-er Hikigaya-san."

Laughing it off, I said, "You can call me Hachiman if you want. And while I'm not the best at Tennis, I've definitely gotten better since the last time I played."

"That's an understatement Hikki! You were amazing," Yuigahama said, jumping up from her seat on a bench and running over to meet Totsuka and I next to the net.

"You were surprisingly exceptional," Yukinoshita added, walking over calmly to join us. Maybe I should've dialed the power back. Getting a compliment from Yukinoshita makes it seem like I had unreal skill at Tennis and that's something I don't want to show. Although, I may have to.

"I was just testing Totsuka's general skill," I explained. Turning to Totsuka, I said, "You tend to hesitate when aiming away from your opponent. Having more intentional hits away from who you're hitting with can help you slow your opponent down."

Totsuka put a finger to his chin as he said, "Oh, I didn't notice that! Thanks Hachiman!"

It's no use, Totsuka! No matter how powerful that smile is, it won't have any effect on me! By my friend, Rabbit Foot, I swear it!

As everyone was going to continue the training with Yukinoshita taking the lead and I helping out a little more, something was going to throw a wrench into those plans.

"Oh, are they playing Tennis over there? I wanna play too!" a voice pierced its way to my ears. Who the hell-

The clique was just arriving at the courts, Hayama and Miura leading the crowd. "Ais-chan and Yui-chan are here too! I'm sure they'd let us play! Hey, Totsuka-chan, we can play on the courts too, right?"

Totsuka seemed mildly dazed from a small crowd of the clique forming and so was not just a little nervous about answering. "A-ah. We're practicing right now, so… no?"

"Eh? What was that?" Miura asked.

Deciding to step in, I said, "We're here to help Totsuka train for the Boys Tennis club. We already have permission from Hiratsuka-sensei to use these courts."

"Eh? But only Totsuka-chan is a part of the Boys Tennis Club. Doesn't that mean you should let others join in?" she asked.

Yukinoshita replied, "You're mistaken thinking that it's the Boys Tennis club that has the courts reserved. It is us, the Service club, that has the courts. Therefore, it is not up to you whether you can join in or not."

"What? That doesn't seem very fair! Ais-chan, Yui-chan, you'll let us play, right?" Miura got a little more aggressive in her speech.

"Umm," Yuigahama muttered, her arms crossed in an awkward position, matching the situation.

Ais, on the other hand, had no qualms about saying how it is. "Miura-chan, this is club business. It's not up to me."

"Eh?" Miura uttered, getting increasingly more agitated at being shut down.

Thankfully, Hayama was there to calm her down. "Hey guys. Why can't everyone play? It'd be more fun that way, right?"

Did I say thankfully? I meant unfortunately. "Did you even listen to me?" Yukinoshita said, shaking her head, "We got permission from our club to use it and you don't have anything. You just want to needlessly butt in."

"I try to look for the situation that's best for everyone," Hayama said, giving a nice guy smile. How about this, your club gets two people to play against Miura and I in a doubles match. Whoever wins will take responsibility for helping Totsuka in training for the Tennis club."

"Do we really have to go along with his nonsense?" I asked Yukinoshita.

Yukinoshita shook her head. "No, but we might as well nip this in the bud before more distractions crop up. The Service club is supposed to be autonomous, so it's not like we're going to get a teacher to resolve this situation."

"Damn it," I cursed, "It kinda annoys me when Hayama gets his way."

"It annoys me too," Yukinoshita mumbled, "I guess we do have things that we can agree on." She turned to Totsuka, "Are you okay with us taking their challenge on?"

"Uh, it does seem to be a struggle to refuse them, so maybe this'll be a better way to go about it. I can watch you all play as well which'll allow me to see how Hachiman gets his great placement," Totsuka said, placing his hands together.

"Hey, I don't even know if I am playing. I'm sure that Yuigahama and Yukino would make a good team-"

"You're playing," Yukinoshita ordered.

I did a spit take. "What?"

"You're playing. Your skill is needed and I'll be playing with you. That's not a problem, is it?" While I can seemingly control my strength, it was a struggle keeping it in check with a racket! But it seems I'll have to bear with it. So be it.

"Fine, I'll play with you. But what about Yuigahama and Ais?" Both of them perked up at their names being called.

"They'll be there for either of us if we need to sub out. From what I heard though, Ais is new to Tennis, so that responsibility will mostly fall to Yuigahama."

"Oh, ok! I'll be sure to prepare myself!" Yuigahama said, pumped. Ais on the other hand looked a tad disappointed in not being able to do anything.

"You can watch the match, so you can better help Totsuka afterwards," I said to her in reassurance.

"Mmm."

Time to get started!

"Before we start, us girls need to change mmkay? I'll even let you borrow one of my outfits, Yukinoshita. Hope you're grateful," Miura took charge.

"Fine. We'll begin after," Yukinoshita said, following Miura inside the school.

Alright then, I guess we're waiting for a bit.

(-)

"Sure took you long enough," I said, seeing my doubles partner return from changing.

"How rude. I'm not used to wearing these types of clothes regularly, so it took a little longer than normal putting it on." How hard is it to put on bloomers and a t-shirt? I mean, of course there are other things she had to account for, but for the most part, it shouldn't be difficult.

"Hikki, where are you looking?" Yuigahama said, lightly punching my back. Ha, woman, you think that I was looking at Yukinoshita? There's far more alluring clothing in adventurer gear. Two Amazoness that are regularly scantily clad come to mind.

"Nowhere. Let's start the match already," I said, directing that towards Miura and Hayama.

The latter of which smiled, responding with "I didn't know you were so eager to play us, Hikigaya. If you're that pumped for it, then we shouldn't disappoint. Are you ready, Miura?"

"Huh? Why are you now weirdly motivated Hayato? I mean, you're not weird, but you usually aren't so proactive in this." Miura shook her head as she wiped all the questions off. "Nevermind, let's get started!"

The match started with Miura serving. Since she's on the Girls Tennis club, her skill is unquestionable. Thankfully, I can easily return the serves at a reasonable skill level that doesn't make me seem otherworldly. I only let a few balls go past me that would be impossible for me to get without showing off more.

Yukinoshita was clearly matching Miura's hits with careful placement and sizable power behind it. It was a clean way to conserve her strength in an efficient way. Miura was constantly getting thwarted by her shots. I tried to do my best to make sure most of my hits were just solid, but not exceptional.

Yukinoshita, thankfully, could take the spotlight from me fairly easily, as her crushing Hayama and Miura isn't out of expectations too much. The clique was definitely rooting for them though, so it was unexpected in some ways.

So, after a fair bit, Yukinoshita and I have managed to get a 5-3 lead on the two of them. It was an even match for the most part, but I tipped the scales a few times to get this over with faster. There was a problem though.

Yukinoshita has run out of steam. She's obviously exhausted and it's showing in her playing on the courts. Hayama has specifically hit a few to her, exploiting that fact and that's how they scored their way to a 3rd game.

We were in the middle of a water break and so I tried to confer with her about that fact. "Maybe you should sub out with Yuigahama."

"Why? Do you think I'm going to slow you down? I may be getting a little tired, but I can finish this match. Besides, I wouldn't want to put that pressure on Yuigahama. You've been playing well, but putting you with Yuigahama could tip that over."

Huh, weird how she complimented me once again. Maybe she's coming around to me. Our three people rooting for us were waiting anxiously on the nearby bench; they were, Yuigahama, Totsuka, and Ais. Ais, though, for some reason got up from her seat and was walking over here.

Wondering what she had to say, I attempted to walk to meet her midway. When I walked up to her, however, I immediately got yelled at. "Hachiman, why are you holding back?" Excuse me?

"What? Hikitani is holding back? No way."

"I don't know. Ais isn't the type to lie. Maybe he is holding back."

Those were the type of comments that were suddenly circulating around on the other side. Looking over at Yukinoshita, it seemed that me holding back was a mild shock to her. There was no anger in her face, but rather confusion. Back to Ais, I could see some genuine anger.

"Aren't you supposed to be giving your all for Sai-chan?"

Oh, so that's why. Ais has already managed to become fast friends with Totsuka and was worried that I'd lose. Heh. Well no need to worry Ais.

"Don't worry. I won't hold back so much now," I say, evenly so that not everyone can hear. Then I said to Yukinoshita, "Don't worry. You can switch with Yuigahama and be fine. I'll handle it."

Usually, I'd expect some pushback from such a willful person like Yukinoshita, but something must've convinced her as she just said, "Ok," and led Yuigahama inside to change clothes.

After a short time of waiting for them to come back, consisting of me explaining to Hayama and Miura that we were subbing out, Yuigahama arrived with a Tennis racket and an uncertainty in doing this.

Her outfit wasn't exactly accommodating for her body in… a few ways, but it was fine. "Are you ready," I asked her.

Her arms were around her body in a way that definitely showed her not being just a little self conscious about her appearance. "T-this skirt is a little shorter than I thought it'd be. How did Yukinon wear this without being embarrassed?"

Yukinoshita is a different species from normal humans. That is, she has very little shame in these areas. "I don't know what's there to worry about. It fits you fine enough. You look good enough to be able to help me kick their asses!"

"I look good?" asked Yuigahama to herself. Her face was tinted red all over from that compliment. Maybe I should pay more attention to what I say, else I'll get embarrassed too.

"A-anyway, we're ready to continue! It was my serve," I called out to them. Damn it, why did I stutter?"

The match went back to how it was in full swing, except per Ais' demands, I let loose my strength a little bit. Not enough to seem unnatural, but it'd make me seem somewhat prodigious at Tennis. Example: I'm shutting them out of getting a single point during my serve.

"Damn, that serve is too fast to return!" Miura complained.

"That's alright. We'll bring it back during our serves," Hayama reassured her. Oh I don't think it'll go the way he'll think it'll go.

Yuigahama wasn't the best at Tennis considering she's new, but her best really was showing. In doubles, both players had to alternate receiving the serve and if Yuigahama wasn't able to return some of them, the match would've been much harder. Thankfully, it seems that Yuigahama needs to give herself some more credit.

From there on, it was a simple affair of racking up the points and leading 8-3, completely shutting them out of gaining any more games. "That's the match. It was fun, but I think that means we get to keep the courts, right?" I said with a cheeky smile, ready to shake their hands out of sportsmanship.

I wasn't beyond taunting, but I'm sure the smirk on my face showed it all. Although, their reactions did not go according to plan. "Wow! Hikio, you're so good at Tennis! Why aren't you on the Boys Tennis team? Maybe if you were on it, I'd have some competition!" Miura asked. It seems as if instead of being angry at losing, she's more impressed by my skills.

"It was a fun match. I'm sure you satisfied Miura's appetite for playing Tennis," Hayama commented, turning around, leading Miura back to the clique. Wait a second-.

"See you later then I guess, Hikio. We should play Tennis together more often." Miura said happily.

I feel like I ran straight into Hayama's trap even if we won the match. We won, but since Miura was satisfied with the match, I feel like we lost. Damn it. Also, I don't know this Hikio person you speak of!

"Hachiman, you did it!" cheered Totsuka.

"Good job," Ais flicked both thumbs up, much happier seeing me dominate the match.

"Ais was right after all about you holding back some skill. I wonder why that was the case," Yukinoshita mused, "In any case, you did well as did Yuigahama in taking my place," she said, turning to the brunette at my side, "Good job out there," she said, giving a short bow and smile to Yuigahama who immediately went to hug Yukino.

"Aww thanks!" Yuigahama cheered, pulling Yukinoshita into a hug. While in her tight hug with Yukinoshita, it seemed she had a lot to say. "I really did my best, but Hikki really blew me out of the water with how good he was! His serves made him seem as strong as a cow!"

"U-uh, Yuigahama, can you not hold me so tightly while commenting about Hikigaya. Also, the phrase is as strong as an ox, not a cow." Yukinoshita tried to act angry, but it was impossible to take her seriously with how embarrassed she looked.

I guess I did win… in a way.

Ais pulled me into a large hug as well, somewhat copying Yuigahama's hug. "You did good." Even with how simple the words were, the meaning behind it seemed complex. I did manage to simultaneously hold back my full power while dictating the match almost entirely, so it is cause for a private celebration.

"You know when Ais-chan does something like that, it makes me want to do something too," Yuigahama mumbled something that even with my advanced hearing, I could not understand.

"Uh, is it time to get back to training?" Totsuka asked nervously, not wanting to interrupt the celebration.

"That's right," Yukinoshita said, "You better prepare yourself for intense training. We gotta make up for lost time today!"

Oh boy. I'm going to take a small break. Good luck Bell-wannabe!

---

Omake: Someone To Look Up to

Ais-san was always my hero.

Now that I know more about her, I realise that she definitely did not think the same, however, I stand by it.

Ais-san is a hero.

She's overwhelmingly compassionate, helping others and meddling even when it's not needed. She's also very strong, killing monsters for the sake of everyone, even if she doesn't believe it herself. She's also, most importantly, a source of inspiration for all adventurers who hope to follow in her grand example.

She's a beacon of hope to many, including myself, for a reason. It is my belief that she doesn't give herself enough credit. The burden of being in her position despite not really understanding why is understandably the most probable cause for her self esteem.

I may not understand everything that happened to her, but I know that Ais was not really given a fair childhood. So, instead, she threw herself at her training and strived to save her mother. It was by mistake that she became such a shining example for adventurers in her quest for vengeance.

But… just because she became a hero by mistake does not mean that she didn't continue to grow in her heroism. As much as it frustrates me a tad, He was the catalyst for Ais-san's growth.

Hikigaya Hachiman. What a confusing figure. He became a quick notable powerhouse of an adventurer despite having no backing to catapult him into such a position. In fact, it could be argued that Ais only grew further due to his influence.

Honestly, he wouldn't piss me off so much if he seemed grateful for everything working out for him, Ais-san bending over backwards for him in many instances. Instead, he makes it seem like everyone is bothering him! Can you believe it? Thinking the Sword Princess is a nuisance? It's unthinkable. It's basically immoral.

Although, I have first hand witnessed his heart of gold, despite what he says. You know, that really makes me think that those two are alike in a lot of ways.

They both play down their achievements despite accomplishing many things that most people wouldn't think possible. They're amazing both in their own ways, even with both having admittedly troublesome qualities. Oh, not that I'd ever say that about Ais-san!

I, the Thousand Elf, could only have gotten to where I am due to Ais' influence… and Hikigaya's influence as much as I hate to admit it. I simply didn't believe that I had the capability of being as great of them, but when each of them showed me that they had their own insecurities, their own problems… it was a source of inspiration for me.

In a blink of the eye, my insecurities vanished while in battle as I grew to overcome them. My magic's power grew as I climbed in levels. I even managed to grow to match Riveria-sensei in strength. I never could surpass her though.

It is at this moment that in all of what I've said here, I say because Ais-san is a hero. She's the reason many adventurers became who they are today and it's the reason I could become who I am today. And with the help of Hikigaya, it makes it all the more obvious that she could truly be a virtuous pillar of hope.

Ais-san is a hero, my hero.