Summer Camp Arc, Part 4:

Hachiman's POV:

All nighters aren't really something I enjoy pulling. They leave me way too tired the next day. So I guess it's lucky I was able to get a few hours of sleep after all the chaos that happened last night. I woke up feeling refreshed. Not as fresh as I'd be with a full eight hours of recharge time, but it would do, and I'd make up for it tonight. With that being said, I was feeling pumped. There was a lot to be done, and I was excited to do it.

For the first time in a while, I felt like I was finally moving forward.

The house we were rooming in had three bathrooms, so we divided those amongst ourselves and took turns to shower and get ready for the day ahead. I cleaned myself up and put on a fresh pair of clothes suitable for outdoor activities: a simple pair of long shorts and a t-shirt. Having done that, I emerged and found the others getting ready to head out.

Among them was Totsuka. Boy, he's undergone a makeover. He has shorter, spiked up hair these days, and dresses a little like a punk. Ah well, whatever makes him happy. He's also got quite the dirty mouth, but I guess I of all people can't really criticize him for that.

"Hikigaya. The hell kind of dump were you taking, man? I never saw you come back last night."

I waved off his statement.

"Eh, I decided to take a little walk outside."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't think you were the nature-and-woods type."

"I'm not, generally," I answered shortly. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Let's see, if I remember right, I think we're supposed to fix up our own breakfast."

Cooking? Hmm, not exactly something I'm any good at. I guess I'll part of the moving and cleaning crew then.
Oh yes, that reminded me. We did spend quite a bit of time chopping up wood and storing it yesterday. Maybe we'd use that for something.

Urgh, I had a momentary flashback of my elementary school days, and a dance that had taken place around a bonfire.

Nope. Never happened.

Memory deleted.

"Uh… Hikigaya… you've got a strangely forced smile on your face."

"What are you talking about, Totsuka? This is me being happy and positive."

"Dude, you look like Vegeta on his way to Galick Gun the planet."

"I take offence to that. I'd use the far superior Final Flash."

It was at this moment that someone else joined in the conversation.

"Eh, but what if you used a Death Ball?"

I turned around to see someone I'd never really spoken to before. In fact, had it not been for a certain request I'd handled earlier this year, I wouldn't even have known who he was. As things stood, I recognized this boy with his bleached, long hair, his bright hoodie that was in line with his showy style, and his overly excited expression.

This was one of Hayama's three musketeers.

Tobe, Yamato and Ooka. Those were their names.

Problem was, I didn't know who was who.

All right, be cool. I don't need to know someone's name to have a conversation about Dragon Ball with them. This fact is practically the foundation of all online discussion on anime and manga.

"Death Ball is Freeza's technique though," I said. "I don't think Vegeta uses anything like that, though it makes sense that he could create something similar if he wanted."

"Yeah, yeah, exactly! I mean, I know, Freeza's a bad guy and all, but that attack always looked super deadly."

This guy certainly gets hyped up, doesn't he?

"It looks OK," I admitted. "I still think Final Flash looks the coolest though."

It was at this moment that yet another unexpected person joined the conversation.

"Really? Final Flash and Death Ball? If we're talking Dragon Ball, shouldn't the move of choice be the Kamehameha?"

I looked at the guy who had spoken.

Hayama Hayato, endorsing Goku's move. Of course. Why am I not surprised?

I scoffed.

"Really? Kamehameha?"

"You're going to avoid it just because everyone else likes it?"

There was a general murmur of agreement and some laughter. By now, the entire room was part of this discussion.

"Oh, please," I said. "If we ignore asspulls, Vegeta and Goku are equal. And if that's the case, the Final Flash is more powerful."

"Blatant favouritism. Why is it an asspull if Goku is stronger?"

"Because it's not properly built up to or believable, and it seems obviously contrived."

This too drew a few words of agreement from people, though they were deeply reluctant.

Hayama countered.

"It seems to me like you just don't like Goku."

"I don't like Goku."

"You prefer the guy who was about to blow up the Earth."

"Vegeta's a better dad and husband," I replied.

"He's got a point," said someone.

"Yeah, can't argue with that one."

By now, the place was getting noisy. Everyone was joining in with their opinions. I guess it was true: everyone has, at some point or the other, watched Dragon Ball and been invested in it.

Of course, I wasn't into the series anymore, vastly preferring many others which I found far superior.

But saying that aloud would be akin to asking for a fight, and I wasn't in the mood for that, so I turned to Totsuka.

"Aight. I'm 'bout to head out."

He looked at me, then back at the mass of arguing boys, then at me again, and nodded.

As we were exiting, we were joined by Hayama.

I raised my eyebrow slightly.

"I didn't know it would turn that heated," he defended.

"Yeah, fair enough."

The three of us headed to the courtyard, where we were supposed to gather and wait for our instructions for the day. There was a slight awkwardness in the air, which might have to do with the fact that the last time Hayama and I had spoken, he'd been charging towards me, and I'd knocked him down with a kick. Totsuka was a friend of mine, and also got along with Hayama, so this was definitely weird for him too.

"Uhh… yeah. If you two don't mind, I'm going to take off now."

He'd seen a few of the girls he hung around with nowadays, and walked over to them, leaving me with Hayama.

"Hmph. Damned riajuu," I said.

"Like you have room to talk," said Hayama.

What?

Oh.

Oh yeah. I spent a lot of time with Yui and Yukinoshita these days. I guess a lot of people considered me a riajuu too.

Unhh… I'm not sure how to feel about that.

"You're a hell of a weird guy," said Hayama suddenly.

"Sure," I replied. "You could say that."

"But maybe that's why, she's able to be so comfortable around you."

She?

Was he talking about Yui?

No, I doubt that. While they are part of the same group, it's obvious Yui's only there for Miura and Ebina. I've never seen Hayama particularly interested in getting to know her too. That only left one other person he could be talking about.

I wondered what the past was between Yukinoshita Yukino and Hayama Hayato. But I didn't think I would get an answer if I asked. At least not at the moment.

"Maybe," I answered simply.

A brief moment of silence followed, then I decided to ask a question.

"Things all right in your group these days?"

"Yes," he replied. "Your little stunt worked, as unnecessary as it was."

"I see. Sorry about kicking you."

"No, it was my fault for coming at you. I lost my temper for a moment. No wonder I wasn't ready for your counter."

"It's understandable. I was doing my best to rile you up."

He seemed angry for a moment, but ultimately sighed.

"I hate that you resort to doing things this way. With your abilities, it's unnecessary", he said.

"The only reason I have my abilities is because I do things this way."

"So you don't intend to change? You insist on antagonizing the world just to satisfy yourself?"

"Antagonize the world, huh? No, that isn't my goal."

"What is your goal, Hikigaya?"

"To have fun, of course."

"You…!"

"To have fun, by doing the things I love doing. By being true to the people I care about."

Up ahead, I saw Yui and Yukinoshita. Also with them were Miura and Ebina.

Hayama remained silent for a while.

When he answered, his voice carried the bitterness of a loaded past.

And the words that came out of him were the same I had uttered myself in the past.

"You can't always help people. You can't always save them."

I can understand that.

You see, I know that my task isn't one that can always be accomplished.

Yet…

"I'll try anyway."

With that, we parted ways, though we were going in the same direction.

While Hayama greeted Miura and Ebina, I walked towards Yui and Yukinoshita.

"Yo."

They both looked quite fresh and wide awake, meaning they'd probably slept well. Of course they did. Yukinoshita had called her sister, so there was nothing for her to worry about.

"Would it kill you to learn a proper greeting?"

"Good morning, Hikki!"

Ah yes. The joys of being close to two completely different people.

I smiled slightly.

This is fine.

This is where I belong.

"You look unusually happy," said Yukinoshita. "Did something good happen?"

I couldn't help but smile a little.

"It happened some time ago. Took me some time to properly realize it."

Yukinoshita blinked a few times.

"What?"

Yui, on the other hand, also smiled.

"I think I understand."

"What are you two talking about?" asked Yukinoshita, who didn't seem to have the slightest clue.

I shook my head.

"It doesn't matter. Come on, they're signalling us to get in line."

Our first task of the day was, as expected, fixing our own breakfast. And as I'd predicted, I ended up being tasked with setting up tables, moving stacks of plates around, and cleaning up used dishes and cutlery. It was fair, since I couldn't really cook much (aside from curry), and there were many others present who could do so better than me. Those of handling these responsibilities ate last, but that was fine. Yukinoshita had a hand in making the food, and it was far better than anything I'd ever eaten at a summer camp, or any camp.

Since this was, after all, meant to be an outdoor experience, the next order of the day was going into the woods, where the camp instructors proceeded to explain several things that would be useful if one needed to survive on one's own away from civilization. We also had to help out with a few tasks at the resort. For us high schoolers, this was a kind of volunteer program, and that meant helping out and doing community service.

By the time we got free, it wasn't yet lunch hour, but the sun was up high, and it was pretty hot.

Seeing as I didn't have anything to do, I decided to roam around aimlessly, hoping I'd see something interesting. Well, to be honest, I did have some pending tasks. I needed to help Yukinoshita. But that wasn't really the same as doing overdue homework or handling chores. There wasn't a clear task I could just perform and get it over with.

The first thing I needed to know was learn more about her.

Haruno had certainly told me some things, but those were simply her own subjective opinion. To truly know about Yukinoshita Yukino, I needed to hear her thoughts, and I needed to form my own opinion.

Appropriately, it was as I was thinking that I noticed her.

She was watching a group of kids from one of the elementary schools that were part of the program.

I decided to go up to her and start a conversation.

As I was about to do so, I took my own first proper look at those elementary schoolers. To be more precise, it was a group of them, and one loner.

As I saw the loner, my immediate first thought was…

"She's a miniature Yukinoshita?"

Yukinoshita herself, of course, happened to hear that.

"Did your two remaining brain cells finally kill each other?"

I realized that Yukinoshita Yukino had just used a meme, and I wasn't going to let her live it down.

"Aaah yes. You've finally embraced the internet. Good work, Yukinoshita. I can now introduce you to more advanced memes."

"Please no. You've already caused this much degeneration simply by being around me. If possible, please use those muscles to launch yourself off the planet."

"Hey, I can try, but I'm going to need to increase my squat before I stand a chance of succeeding."

"How about you simply walk into an ocean instead?"

Before I could answer, we were interrupted by a third voice.

"You two are really weird. You aren't like the other high schoolers at all."

I turned to the speaker.

The young loner had made her way over to us.

Now that I looked properly, there were actually many differences between her and Yukinoshita. She seemed a bit more… energetic? More of the scrappy, punk type? I'm not entirely sure how to put it in words. But clearly, she hadn't quite become a junior Ice Queen yet.

"There's still hope for you!" I said dramatically. "Don't go down that road."

She turned to Yukinoshita.

"Is he always like this?"

"Unfortunately."

"Oi, I'm right here, you know," I protested.

The girl looked at me, her eyebrows slanted in a frown that was probably meant to be serious, but honestly just looked adorable instead.

"You are not what I thought you were. How are you such a dork?"

Wait, what she thought I was?

Did she even know me?

"Umm… have we met before?" I asked.

Rumi's POV:

"Have we met before?"

Unhh! That's bad! I can't let slip that I was watching him yesterday.

Think fast, Rumi!

"You were making a ruckus and standing out. It was hard not to notice you."

"That isn't true," said the beautiful dark-haired girl. "Hikigaya kun doesn't draw attention to himself unless he needs to."

Urrkk!

Whose side are you on, woman?

"There are sides?" she asked, confused.

Is she reading my mind?

"No, you're thinking aloud."

Damn it!

"Language, young lady."

I looked at her warily.

Was she the disciplinarian type? Now that I think about it, she looks inconveniently sharp, and seems to be the kind who loves telling others what to do, with a holier-than-thou attitude.

The boy started laughing.

"Hahahaha, I've never heard such an accurate description of you, Yukinoshita. Bwahaahaha!"

Oh, but this guy isn't any better. He's about as crude as a stone age axe.

"Mmph… hahahaha… it seems I am not the only one she can accurately describe, Hikigaya kun."

"You looking for a fight?"

"What's wrong with the two of you?" I asked.

These were the two I had thought were cool yesterday? They're nothing like I thought they were!

They argue like kids. One of them seems like an insufferable boss, and the other is essentially a meathead.

They blinked, then cleared their throats.

"This kid's kind of rude," said the boy.

He said it in a joking enough tone, but my stomach fell a little.

Did I just ruin this?

Are these two going to leave now because of what I said?

I know I said I could deal with being alone, but this is harder than I thought. It's-

"I like it. I feel like overly polite kids are hiding an agenda. If they're rude, they're at least being real."

My eyes widened.

I'd thought this guy was a meathead?

"Yet more of your strange wisdom that can only be acquired through a twisted way of thinking. But I can't entirely say you're wrong."

Wait, this girl can actually be understanding?

"Who are you two?" I asked.

"Shouldn't the one asking introduce herself first?" said the girl.

"Tsurumi Rumi," I answered, looking at the ground.

"I am Yukinoshita Yukino."

"Hikigaya Hachiman."

I looked at the two of them.

They weren't running away. They weren't making fun of me, or leaving.

I turned and looked at my classmates. They happened to notice me, and whispered something to each other. The entire group broke into laughter.

I looked away.

This had pretty much been exactly how the camp had been so far.

"You aren't very popular, are you?" the boy named Hachiman said.

I glared at him.

To my surprise, he didn't seem to be mocking me.

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"I-It's just temporary!" I said. "I'll be graduating from elementary school next year. I'll start over in middle school. There will be new people. Things won't be the same."

"That's not entirely true," said Yukinoshita Yukino. "Many of the people who are in elementary with you now may enter the same middle school. And even if they don't, the people you are likely to meet will not be very different from your current classmates."

I looked down and bit my lip.

"Will things always be like this, then? Is it impossible to change?"

"No," said two voices simultaneously. "It is always possible to change."

Hachiman elaborated.

"I should have made myself clearer. Your focus is on the wrong things. What you should really be working on is changing yourself."

"But I like myself how I am."

He smiled.

"Well, then there's no reason to change."

I noticed that I wasn't the only one who was looking at him now, carefully listening to what he had to say.

"The only time you should change, is when you realize you want to, or need to. Not because you think the world wants you to, or because you think you'll get more friends that way.

A friend worth having… is a friend who'll want you as you really are."

I stared at him in awe.

Everything he'd said was the same as something you might here in an anime.

But he had said it with complete conviction.

The truth is, no matter how much people talk about integrity and individuality, at the end of the day, we're all terrified of being alone. And so, when push comes to shove, they fold.

Yet, when Hachiman talked about being oneself, and waiting for a friend who will accept you as you are… I couldn't help but feel he was telling the truth. Somehow, he seemed to be speaking from experience. Could a high schooler really have been through so much?

It was hard to believe.

Yet, somehow, it seemed believable.

I shook my head.

It was pointless to get carried away.

These two were only able to say these things because they had each other.

In the end, nothing would ever really change.

"You're wrong," I said simply, and walked away. "And I don't need your help."

Yukino's POV:

I watched the little girl leave, and felt an immense sense of guilt.

This… wasn't right.

This was watching the past play out all over again.

My childhood, seen from a third person perspective.

She was going through the same thing.

But she isn't the same person I am.

No two people react to the same experience the exact same way.

When I was her age, I still had some hope.

Because I had someone I thought was a friend.

Until he abandoned me.

For Rumi, there wasn't even anyone she mistakenly considered a friend. She has already accepted her place as a loner. Even as she talks about desperate attempts to escape her loneliness, she doesn't really think she can ever do it.

How? How can I help?

I don't know.

Would counselling do it?

But that's something only a professional can do.

And this isn't a matter of her not being good at something. It's not something I can fix by tutoring her.

What do I do then? How do I help?

"It's difficult, isn't it?" said a voice, breaking through my thoughts.

I turned and looked at Hikigaya.

"It's difficult," he said. "Knowing there's a problem that can't be fixed just by studying, or working out, or practising. Something you can't fix just by competing and winning at an event, or beating someone up."

"Hikigaya kun…"

"The reason noblesse oblige doesn't work," he said, "is because it involves looking down on people. But seeing this little girl quietly face her alienation with dignity… it makes you realize, doesn't it? Not everyone needs your charity."

My eyes widened.

I didn't have an answer.

"So what will it be, Yukinoshita? Is this the place where you'll admit defeat? Where you'll admit that your decision to help others only applies when you can do it from a distance?"

I stared at him, unable to believe he'd resort to this.

I believed in him.

And he was going to strike me when I was down? Use this as a way to win our (ultimately pointless) bet?

No, I'm not thinking straight. He asked a simple question.

I am at the limits of noblesse oblige.

Beyond this point, that path cannot help Rumi.

But I still want to.

"I want to help her", I said quietly.

"What was that?"

I spoke again, with more strength.

"I want to help Tsurumi Rumi. I won't abandon her. I won't let her lose hope. I cannot look down on her. This isn't me teaching someone to fish. It isn't me even giving someone fish. It has to be me giving someone a reason to fish."

And then, Hikigaya smiled.

"There is one final way to save a person. It will work when all other methods fail. Tsurumi Rumi believes she will never have a friend, never have a place where she belongs. The impartial Yukinoshita Yukino who strives for the betterment of society cannot help her.

But the kind Yukinoshita Yukino who refuses to abandon a little girl can.

To this girl without a friend, who doesn't believe her life will ever change, what will you be?"

And it was then that I realized it.

Realized the answer.

I've been called an Ice Queen before, but right now, I felt like I was blazing with fire.

"I'll be her friend," I answered. "I'll show her that there are good people in the world, people who'll stand by her."

Hikigaya's smile said it all.

I knew now what I had to do.

It was a while before I was able to find Rumi again, and that was only in the evening, once we were done with camp activities for the day. There was still a while before dinner, and after that, we'd have some free time.

It took a bit of searching, but I was able to find her, sitting alone at a table, playing on a handheld console.

"Rumi san."

"What do you want, Yukinoshita Yukino?"

Adults and teenagers play around, deceive each other. But children can be upfront. They appreciate honesty.

I decided to be direct.

"You were the one who was wrong, Rumi. Things can change. You can have friends."

Her eyes widened, and she stared at me first with amazement, then with hope, then with wariness. It crushed my heart to see how cautious she was. She must have been tricked like this by her classmates so many times before.

"And what proof do you have of that, Yukinoshita Yukino?"

I took a deep breath.

Hikigaya wouldn't be afraid.

And neither am I.

"I am the proof," I said. "I'll be your friend, Rumi. As long as you want me to be."

Her mouth opened in amazement, and finally, hope broke through her shell of wariness.

"Why?" she asked quietly. "I'm just a kid. Why would you want to be my friend."

I smiled slightly.

"Well, you're right to be careful," I said. "But as for me… do I need a reason to want to be your friend? Not really. But if I had to give one, it's because you and I are the same."

"Umm… I don't actually look like you."

I facepalmed.

"I'm well aware, but that's not what I meant. Must you ruin the moment?"

And then, a miracle happened.

She laughed.

It was like sunlight breaking through the clouds, like a river coming to the drylands.

In that moment, Tsurumi Rumi was not lonely.

Haruno's POV:

I couldn't believe my eyes.

My sister.

My sister… was out there risking herself, of her own free will?

As I watched her with that little girl, I saw, all of a sudden, every quality that had always been missing in her.

Strength, independence, courage.

This… this wasn't the Ice Queen!

She was nothing like Mother.

She was out there, getting involved personally, being there for someone as a person.

This… this was too much, too soon!

"It's almost unbelievable, isn't it?"

Turning, I saw the son of my family's friends, Hayama Hayato.

"You have no right to talk about it," I snapped. "You were the one who abandoned her in the first place."

Hayama looked down, ashamed.

Once he grew older, he was never able to forgive himself for that one act of cowardice he had committed as a child. I really shouldn't have been blaming him for it. It was unfair of me, but I didn't care.

That one act had done as much damage as everything Mother had done put together.

I watched as Yukino talked with the child who looked so much like her.

It was almost like watching her make her peace with her past self.

My eyes widened.

What would the Yukino from all those years ago have said, if she knew it would one day be possible for her to smile like this?

All this, in the few months he had known her?

And this feat, the very next day after I had told him about her past?

Who is Hikigaya Hachiman?

He regularly made the impossible possible.

His slightest actions changed the people around him.

Did Hiratsuka Shizuka ever have such pride in any other student of hers?

I remembered what she had said when I had spoken to her just this morning.

"Hikigaya Hachiman? Forget it. You won't stand a chance against him."

Who was this boy, who touched the lives around him?

Why was someone like Agito Ryuken of all people protecting him?

"Quite a sight, huh?"

Hayama and I turned around, to see Hikigaya himself making his way towards us.

As we watched, some more people approached Yukino and that little girl.

Quite a few of these people were elementary schoolers, but a few were high schoolers too.

"Ey, it's true! You scamps were right. There really are two of them! Check it out, it's like a cloning job."

Oh, is that right?

It was like watching a repeat of Yukino's elementary school days.

Like before, she was being ganged up on.

"Doesn't take a genius to know what's going on here," said Hikigaya. "Those elementary brats can't stand that girl, Rumi. So they brought some older brothers and sisters to help out, since Rumi now has a friend."

"This is what I was afraid of!" I said. "It's too much, too soon! She isn't ready to handle it!"

"Everyone is ganging up on her," said Hayama. "This isn't good!"

But Hikigaya didn't seem worried at all.

The smile on his face was invincible.

"Hikigaya…"

"Stand and watch," he said.

"I cannot!" I said vehemently. "She can't-"

"Don't underestimate your sister! Yukinoshita Yukino is stronger than you think!"

I shook my head.

But even as I was about to intervene, my eyes widened.

In front of me, the little sister who had never been able to make her own decisions, the one who had spent her life chasing after me, the one who had quietly endured when her peers had shunned her, the one who had been abandoned by her only friend…

… was standing her ground.

"Impossible!"

Yukino was the one protecting someone.

She was being there for this little girl, Rumi.

"Humans are cruel," Hikigaya said softly. "We're selfish. We abandon each other at the slightest sign of trouble. We give in to our vices. We are the worst creatures on this planet."

He paused.

"But that is precisely why we can be noble. The greatest power of human beings… is to change themselves! We can be kind. We can care for others. We can sacrifice ourselves for them. And we can hold strong to our virtues.

Humans are at their strongest when they help each other.

In saving another, we save ourselves."

I stared.

Yukino had overcome.

She had already overcome her fears.

But this situation was still worsening. Those bullies weren't backing off.

And that was when I saw Hikigaya walking forward.

"Didn't I say? I'll help Yukinoshita Yukino."

It was incredible.

Somehow, the mere fact that he was entering the situation assured me that it was going to be all right.

The amount of power his presence carried was unreal.

Yukino's POV:

Just as things are about to get really bad, I hear a familiar voice.

"Wow, standards have really fallen in our schools, huh? All of you together can't beat two opponents? Fucking pathetic."

"Hikigaya kun!" I exclaimed happily.

The ones bothering us turned to face him. There must have been at least thirty of them.

"Who the fuck are you? Got a death wish, buddy?"

My heart was pounding hard.

This situation was rapidly getting worse. If I could get away, I could alert the camp officials. But Hikigaya kun doesn't seem to have any plans of running.

"Nah, I enjoy living", he said calmly.

"Then how about you scram."

He scratched his head.

"No, can't do. I'm here to do pest control. You'll all leave, and stop bothering my two wonderful friends here."

Blank silence followed.

Then all thirty of them started laughing loudly.

"Hey, check this guy out."

"He's a chuunii, ain't he? Fucking delusional prick."

"You gonna take on all of us, big boy?"

Hikigaya merely smiled.

"All thirty of you? Of course not."

Of course. It would be impossible, even for-

"Because it'd be too easy."

My eyes widened.

Hikigaya was standing and staring down thirty opponents, by himself.

"Maybe if there were a hundred of you… actually no, not even then. You wouldn't even be a warmup for me."

"Why you little-"

Hikigaya clapped his hand.

"Aha! I have the perfect solution. Something suitably physical, but something that doesn't involve all of you getting the crap beaten out of you. How about we arm wrestle?"

They stared at him in disbelief.

"You want us to arm wrestle you?"

"Yep. One by one, all of you, against me. If even a single one of you beats me, you win. I'll leave. But if I beat all of you, you'll leave. How does that sound?"

Laughter, once again.

"Oh, I guess you're all afraid. I guess it can't be helped then. We have no business sticking around cowards. You stink too bad. We'll leave you now."

"Hold it."

Predictably, one of them had taken his obvious bait.

"You've got a big mouth, punk. And it's bitten off more than it can chew. This table, right here, right now. I'm about to break that arm."

I watched the situation apprehensively.

He was a lot bigger than Hikigaya, both in height and weight. If I had to guess, I'd say he was either an amateur bodybuilder or wrestler.

Hikigaya didn't seem the slightest bit bothered.

He walked up to the table, where the other boy was waiting, placed his elbow in front of his, and gripped his hand.

"We go when I say," said the boy. "Ready? Go!"

And right away, holding nothing back, this boy, who must have weighed close to a hundred kilos, drove right in, using his entire body.

I closed my eyes.

And when I opened them, I wasn't ready for what I saw.

Hikigaya's arm hadn't moved, even an inch.

The larger boy couldn't believe what was happening. He was pushing with all his strength. Sweat was pouring down his face.

But Hikigaya was holding him in place with almost no effort.

"Hey. You're going to start trying now, right?" he said.

The boy, who was at his limit, stared in horror.

"That's all, huh? Too bad."

He couldn't do a thing as Hikigaya dragged his arm down, pinning him. The amount of strength he possessed was unreal, disproportionate to his size.

There were murmurs of shock throughout the crowd now.

And Hikigaya's voice cut through them all.

He was no longer smiling now.

"Cut the fucking chit chat. There's 29 of you losers to go, and I haven't got all evening."

What followed was something arguably out of a superhero manga.

Hikigaya didn't waste any unnecessary time on any of his remaining opponents, pinning them as quickly as he could.

By using explosive strength and bodyweight, he smashed through the defenses of the next nine opponents while saving as much energy as he could.

Regardless, muscle fatigue was building up.

With each successive opponent, Hikigaya took a little longer to win.

By the time he had beaten twenty opponents, his arm was red, pumped to the maximum, muscles and veins bulging. He was sweating.

I didn't know how he had the strength or endurance to even move that arm at this point.

"Come on. This isn't over yet!"

"He's weakening! Don't try to pin him! Just make him waste his energy!"

The next several opponents tried several ways to simply prolong the match, seeking to tire him out as match as possible so that the next opponent would have a better chance.

Hikigaya was too tired and fatigued to use proper technique or explosive pulls any more. He had to depend on raw strength and endurance to forcibly pin each arm.

But time and again, he did so, until only the final opponent remained.

"You're insane! You shouldn't even exist, but you made a bet you're going to lose, so all of this was for nothing."

It was incredible to think about.

Hikigaya had not only turned this into a scene from some manga, he was actually superhuman enough that he was being treated like a character from one. An average, run-of-the-mill high school bully was spouting one-liners like a cheesy villain who had sent 29 henchmen to weaken the invincible hero.

I was almost crying.

Because as illogical as it all was, I was invested.

I cared.

I wanted Hikigaya to win here.

But he was at his absolute limit. His arm was neither extending fully, nor was it contracting fully. It was stuck at a 45 degree bend. His muscles were completely fatigued.

"It's useless! No matter how insanely strong you are, you're still human! Now get over here and lose, so that everyone can get what they want."

"Everyone?"

The nameless mook of a villain took a step back.

"Who the hell is this 'everyone' you keep talking about? I trained for a way bigger job than beating a couple of snot-nosed high-school gangster wannabes."

He placed his elbow on the table again.

It was the opponent who looked scared.

But he had no choice.

They locked up, and somehow, Hikigaya did the impossible one more time, and did an explosive pull that not only pinned the opponent, but nearly shattered the table.

It was an absurd way to settle things.

It didn't work in the real world.

It wouldn't work once we all graduated.

But as I looked into Rumi's eyes, I realized something very important.

She had basically seen what a "hero" looked like, right in front of her eyes.

It wasn't the ability to beat people that mattered.

It was the courage to stand one's ground even against the whole world.

And that was when I realized.

This.

This was the source of Hikigaya's seemingly limitless power, his ability to do the impossible.

Unlike me, he was never impartial. He got involved, chose to risk himself, time and again.

His way would not change society, because it was a way that was limited only to his lifetime.

But that didn't matter.

It didn't need to change society.

Indeed, Hikigaya didn't even acknowledge the existence of such a thing.

"Who the hell is 'everyone'?"

Hikigaya rejects the idea of the collective good.

But he will always, always, always fight for the individual.

The person.

The living, breathing, person who suffers… will have a friend in Hikigaya Hachiman.

And today, I had gained the courage to do that too.

Rumi had learned that there would not only be friends in her life, but people who would fight for her. In turn, she would be inspired to fight for herself, and others.

And as I looked at Hikigaya Hachiman, I realized.

This simple, naive, unrealistic, foolish boy… I was in love with him.