01: Sorry for the Inconvenience.

Hachiman Hikigaya rings the doorbell a couple more times. He knows he is being rude, he knows he should wait, but the pain in his right leg is making him grouchy. He grips his cane tighter and resists the urge to bang it against the door. He tries not to grimace, tries not to scowl, tries to ignore the pain, tries to think of happy thoughts but nothing seems to help. He has half a mind to shout, scream at the top of his voice and ask if somebody is home and whether they can please let him in because he is tired of standing outside like a creep with a cane.

Just as he thinks about leaving and heading somewhere else, maybe a nearby store to ask them what was up with the people in this particular boarding house and why no one was answering the goddamn doorbell, he catches movement from his peripheral vision. Finally, after what seems like forever, the door seems to be opening.

He had planned on smiling when he first met the manager of the boarding house. She was supposed to be an elderly woman. It would explain why it took her ages to answer the door. But the woman who stands by the door, paying no attention to him whatsoever is definitely not the manager. And she is young, about his age, perhaps a year older. She has short brown hair and violet eyes. She is dressed in a yellow tee-shirt and blue shorts. And it seems like she prefers reading the book in her hand instead of greeting him like a normal person. Great, just great, Hikigaya thinks, the first person I meet in my new place is a complete weirdo.

"Thanks for answering the door." He says and if he sounds a little bit sarcastic, there's nothing he can do about it. But he doesn't overdo it and starts to speak normally when he puts forth a question which requires a proper answer. "Is Kawai-san home? I would like to speak to her."

"I'm Kawai." She says, purple eyes still leveled on the pages of her book.

Yes you are, his mind supplies in an instant before he can stop himself. What a strange last name to have. But he is pretty sure she is not the old woman he talked to on the phone. A relative perhaps, a daughter maybe. He tries to recall bits and pieces of information from his last phone call. It was before his life was shot to hell. It feels like a life time ago. But it has only been a month or so. He tries not to think about his stay in the hospital. He tries not to think of the accident. Focus on something else. The dull ache in his leg for example. Bad call. He glares at the woman standing before him, reading her book without a care in the world. With a name like that he wonders whether she had been bullied while she was growing up. It would explain her unnatural interest in books and her lack of social skills. It is beyond rude to keep a man waiting by the door. Especially one with a problem in his leg.

"You look young for a woman in her mid-fifties." He says with a touch of casual humour. But it leaves his mouth with a tang of bitterness. He blames the dull ache in his leg which is throbbing in protest. He should get used to it by now. But he can't. And it causes problems.

At least it gets a reaction out of her. Guess what they say is true. You shouldn't make a crack about a woman's age. Even if they are not that old, even if they love books more than a fellow human being, a bibliophile. A woman is still a woman and her mild look of annoyance mixed with a tinge of anger is the right response.

"I am Ritsu Kawai." she says heatedly, lowering the book to her side, but trapping a finger inside to bookmark the page she is currently reading. "You are looking for my grand aunt, Sumiko Kawai. She doesn't live here anymore."

He takes in this new bit of information. The person he talked to, the person who okayed his living arrangement in this boarding house no longer lives here. For a moment he wonders whether she is dead. A lot can happen in the course of a month, he can attest to that, but that seems a bit unlikely. This woman, Ritsu Kawai, she would have mentioned it right now. Though her vaguely worded response seems a bit strange. He can chalk it up to his own rudeness and her annoyance at not being able to read her book while she is talking to him.

"Who's the new manager?" He asks and he hopes he doesn't have to go through the whole vetting process once more. Sumiko Kawai-san had asked some really odd questions. Perhaps she was going senile. It would explain why she no longer lives here or works as the manager of this boarding house. He hopes the new manager wouldn't be as strange. He doesn't have the patience to deal with stupid questions right now.

"I am." Ritsu Kawai states. "I guess."

What's that supposed to mean, he thinks. "You guess?" Either you are the manager or you are not. What's so difficult about this simple question, he doesn't quite know yet. And he is getting tired of standing outside the main entrance. If she was the manager and sure of it, she would have asked him to come inside and have a seat by now. But she hasn't so far and he doesn't know how long he can bear to stand outside. It's not the pain, he thinks with a grimace. The season of spring is mocking him with fresh flowers and a nice breeze, bringing along the sound of children's laughter, youth frolicking without a care in the world and couples holding hands and sharing moments to cherish for a lifetime.

But he is far, far away from such nonsense. He never cared about them when he was whole and he doesn't care about them right now when he is broken, reduced to being half a man, weak, so very weak. He doesn't have the patience to wait for an eternity. Ritsu Kawai seems to finally understand that because now she is staring at his face. He tries not to squirm under her undivided attention. He should get used to the looks.

"What happened to your face?"

He waits for her to rephrase the sentence, realize the folly of her own words, realize how rude she sounds, but she does none of those things. He should feel insulted, maybe act a bit enraged, it's well within his rights. But he does none of those things. Her tone isn't mired by pity or sympathy. She is just curious. She's didn't mean to offend. Like he expected, she lacks proper social skills. Not everything can be learnt from a book, though he is certain she would disagree.

"An accident." He says but doesn't elaborate. Leaves it upto her to draw her own conclusions. Rotten dead fish eyes reads the title of her book. He has heard of the author but never read his books. Hardcover. Definitely not a light novel. Proper literature. Old literature. She has good tastes. And the proper brain cells to appreciate good literature. It wouldn't be a bad guess to think she possesses a bit of intellect.

She doesn't disappoint. "You are the new boarder." She mumbles as if she is recalling certain bits of information from past conversations she might have had with her grand aunt, the previous manager, the woman he talked to about his lodging condition almost a month ago. He notices her finger slip from the pages of her book and knows he has her full attention. He only hopes she won't get angry at him for this small lapse in concentration.

"Yes I am." Now that he thinks about it, he never said his name or made a proper introduction. He is really bad at following social protocol, no surprises there. He is still the same rotten dead fish eyed loner who has trouble communicating with people and doesn't remember the last time when he talked to a girl that was not his sister or mother. Bruises and scars, a prominent limp, dark circles under his eyes and a healthy doze of depression changes nothing in his life. He still has problems making connections. He still hesitates before saying his name out loud. "I'm Hachiman Hikigaya. Nice to meet you."

Ritsu Kawai nods her head. He is still standing outside. She doesn't ask him to come inside. He gets the idea that she isn't used to being the manager of a boarding house. In fact, he is fairly certain this is the longest conversation she has had in ages. From what he can gather from their brief talk, she would much rather enjoy a good book then spend time with him. Or anyone for that matter. When she ignores the awkwardness of the situation with him standing infront of her with an annoyed look on his face and starts to bring her book back up and resume reading from where she left off, he has had enough. He clears his throat and asks sarcastically. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"I think I was on page number 114. No, that's not right." She is mumbling to herself as she leafs through the pages, completely oblivious to his presence and more focused on finding the page she has lost while having a mundane and unimportant conversation. Truth be told, she is fuming a little on the inside at her new boarder. "I knew I should have finished the chapter before answering the door."

Ah. At least that answers the question as to why no one was in a hurry to answer the door after he repeatedly rang the doorbell. Finally one of the mysteries of life is answered. He couldn't wait to unravel more. Maybe a psychotic break could fix things a little. You never know. "I will let myself in." He says and she has the common sense to move out of his way because he is a dangerous man armed with a cane and she is currently barefoot. "Sorry for the intrusion."

She follows him as he walks inside, her eyes never leaving the pages of her book. She might have memorized the blueprint of the house, he thinks, the way she is able to walk around without looking and knock things over with her limbs. He finds it a bit creepy if he is being honest. But she is a cute girl, so he supposes that men might find this particular character trait cute as well. He doesn't and therein lies the problem. But he will wallow in self pity later. "Nice place. Traditional. How many people live here?"

"Just me." She says and he thinks for a second there, maybe, maybe there is a hint of emotion below the surface. He can't really tell what is going on with her. Cold and aloof, likes books, doesn't like to talk much, this he can skim from the surface. What else is there to know, time will tell. Or rather she will when he gets her to talk. "There were others. But they left."

"People leave all the time." He says because something along those lines needed to be said. He doesn't ask further questions and she returns to the comfort of her book. He takes a look around and she follows him silently. He doesn't find her company, if it can be called that, annoying. She is just a small presence, lost in her own world. They don't have to talk. The silence isn't uncomfortable. It's okay and that's okay enough.

After leaving the entry hall, he tries to open the first door he sees on his right down the hallway. "That's the storage room." She supplies without looking up from her book. "There's one on the right for men and one on the left for women."

"Okay." He says in an uncertain tone. Why the hell would men and women need two separate storage places, he has no idea. Don't they keep useless junk in storage anyway, he thinks. Why differentiate and label specific genders on stuff which are considered junk. It's a futile exercise. It's junk, it's rubbish. The only useful thing he remembers being kept in a storage room is a kotatsu. She probably read about it in some stupid book. Just because she is reading a paperback right now doesn't mean she isn't into girly magazines. "Moving on."

Opposite the men's storage room there is another hallway and he can see the natural sunlight streaming through from the left, a big open space awaits him and to the right he notices a couple of doors, one big and accommodating, the other a bit small but not nearly as cramped for space as he would have expected. As he walks down and takes a small peek at each new location, Ritsu's voice fills in the silence with its monotone drone. "Courtyard. Living room. Kitchen. These are co-ed areas."

"Excuse me?" Co-ed areas, what the hell does that mean, he thinks.

Ritsu doesn't respond and he doesn't ask again because he is afraid of what she might say. He has no doubt it would be something stupid and he can't deal with the stupidity of intelligent people because they actually end up making a fair argument. At the moment, she is closer to being anti-social than someone who merely lacks proper social skills.

This might cause some problems in the future. But he would worry about that later. So far, everything looked good. He thinks he made the right choice, picking a small, traditional Japanese style boarding house instead of renting a room at a tall apartment complex where if the lift broke down he would have to take the stairs. In his present condition stairs are his natural enemy. During this small tour of the place he has not seen a single flight of stairs.

The courtyard looks promising. He lets out a small sigh of something and drums his fingers over the cane, trying to lean back with limited success and appreciate the small play of nature before his eyes. He doesn't intend to open his mouth and speak but words seem to tumble out without much of a care. "I didn't have a courtyard while growing up."

He regrets the small show of emotion. He is not an emotional person. All he feels nowadays is pain, constant pain. But there is a touch of longing in his voice and as luck would have it, she picks up on it. He can see it from the small interest being reflected in her eyes which has nothing to do with the next paragraph of her book. He doesn't think she will say anything because she can hardly be considered a talkative person, but she makes a solitary observation. "It's a nice place to read."

He is hardly surprised. She and her books, it's like she can't live without them. He understands her love for them. He likes reading too. Not as much as her probably, but still, they are a good pastime. He can picture her pretty well, sitting here, engrossed in a book, lost in its world of fantasy or reality, only able to figure out the passage of time through the diminishing rays of sunlight and the rise of shadows as they play their little game of hide and seek on her skin.

He wonders what she would look like when she smiles. And that's a dangerous thought. He instead focuses on the dull ache on his leg and remembers the next time he has to take his medicine. This leads him to the kitchen. It's fairly well equipped. He can see a fair display of utensils, a fridge and a microwave. "What's for lunch?" he asks.

"I am ordering takeout." She says without missing a beat. The response was quick, like she hadn't even spared a single thought on it, like what she said was the logical thing to do and he is the dumb one for asking such stupid questions.

But he has the right to feel surprised. "You don't cook?"

"I can cook." She informs him with a small huff of confidence. It seems a bit forced. It seems like a white lie. "But I'm not preparing lunch today." The looks in her eyes is one of mild annoyance. He finds it a tad troublesome. "Why do you ask?"

He shakes his head. Why do you ask, she says. She can't be serious. Now he is more than a little furious. "I'm asking because I was told that the residents are provided meals three times a day in this particular boarding house. That's why I came to live here. Look at me!" He says in a slightly louder voice, letting the helplessness of his situation wash over him like a tidal wave. "Do you think I can move around a kitchen in my present condition?"

She goes unnaturally quiet and he thinks he might have said a tad too much. It isn't her fault that he is unable to walk properly, reduced to walking with a cane, walking with a permanent limp, a constant ache in his injured leg. She is not the manager. She is not the woman he talked to. He is not her problem.

For a moment he thinks she might yell at him and tell him to leave. It's the Kawai complex and she is Ritsu Kawai. It's her place, her rules. What she says, goes. If she tells him to leave, he has to leave. And where would he go, back home, back to receiving those looks of pity from his family, his sister, his parents, unable to climb up the stairs to his own bedroom.

No, he can't do that. He can't go back to living like that. It's worse than his month long stay in the hospital. He has to apologize. "I'm sorry." He says, trying to be genuine. "I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just that…" he trails off, lowering his head, gripping his cane unnaturally tight, until his knuckles turn white. He doesn't want to voice what he really wants to say. I'm helpless. I'm helpless. I'm helpless. It's a constant drone which is like white noise and it drowns out everything else. But not the ache in his leg. It is still a persistent throb which breaks the monotony of thought.

After what feels like a lifetime, she finally opens her mouth and says in a small voice which is barely audible. "You can pay half the rent. Sorry for the inconvenience."

And before he can stop her, she is walking down the hallway in a quick pace which he has no hope to match, bringing her book close to her face, only pretending to read, when actually she is trying to cover her face and stop him from noticing the flush of embarrassment spreading across her cheeks.

He watches her turn and vanish down the corner and he wonders whether she is embarrassed about her cooking skills or lack thereof. He also wonders whether she is serious about him paying half the rent. That could work wonders on his budget and make his living expenses last a bit more each month. It would have been easier to tell him to leave, but she didn't. Has she developed a sudden attraction to him, of course not. Look at him, he is scarred and ugly and his eyes are even more hideous than before. Does she hate being alone in this empty house which once had more than a few people. It's possible.

He won't ask her. But now as the ache in his leg is getting unbearable he wonders why he didn't ask her to show him to his room. He could probably do with a bit of sleep right about now to rest his tired bones. Or maybe he should take a warm bath first. He only hopes he doesn't walk into her in the bathroom in a state of undress. Now that kind of development would be especially harmful for his health.

A/N: Welcome to Chiba: Slices of Life!

If you want to suggest characters from other anime please suggest them in the review. No shonen or seinen anime. Just romance, shojou or one particular girl, hopefully the main female lead of a harem anime.

Here are the options for future chapters:

Option 1: Isshiki Iroha – Oregairu.

Option 2: Sayu Ogiwara - Higehiro

Option 3: Hanako Koyanagi – Wotakoi.

Please pick any of the above characters or suggest a character in the review.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave. (Note: If I get 10 reviews or more, I will upload the next chapter tomorrow!)

Won't betray your dreams.

P.S: I really want some character suggestions, so please mention some names in the review.