CHAPTER IX

…

…

There was an unspoken divide between the upper and lower classes - Class IV and III university students were assigned to a separate building block from Class II and I students. It was not often that students from opposite buildings strolled around the other's premises, unless it was on a practical matter.

Hachiman had first walked by the upper classes' block before arriving at his classroom. To pass the still early hours, he wandered the gardens near their building, traipsing the brick paths as far as up to the campus walls. While ensconced in his thoughts, he looked out for student officers that could be watching him. When he went back along the path, there was a girl standing along, near a hedge. She was dressed very formally, in a neat dark dress and black shoes - and he recognized her from last time.

Hachiman greeted her when she turned to face him. "Shinomiya-san. Good morning. Oh, why are you here on this side of the campus?" He said.

Kaguya Shinomiya nodded. She seemed to be admiring her surroundings, looking up at the curtained windows of their classrooms. "It's a bit early, isn't it?"

"Yes. Is this your regular arrival time as well?"

Shinomiya-san nodded, pleased. "Getting to school two hours early leaves me with plenty of time to do as I please - walk around the gardens, or simply relax in the Student Council office. Everything's so quiet and peaceful, the way I like it."

Hachiman lifted an eyebrow. "I have the same reasons," he remarked.

Shinomiya-san said gently, "I don't mind walking around this side of the campus. It's less sophisticated than our building, and it's refreshing. A change of scenery for me. You'll keep this a secret between the two of us, right Hikigaya-san?"

"Sure."

He looked at her beside him every so often as they walked along the brick path that led back to the Class III and IV building entryway. Kaguya Shinomiya moved with a grace present only in monarchs and aristocrats, making even Hachiman notice. There was something so beautifully eloquent, intelligent, with this person and she almost seemed to lack the sinister nature that distinguished Haruno Yukinoshita. Behind those deep, crimson eyes seemed to be a question turning up. This time, there was no sophisticated segue; she asked in a confident but still forward way, "Hikigaya-san, why do you lie?"

Hachiman stopped. He glanced at her, puzzled. "Why do I lie?" He thought for a moment. "Well, you only lie when you're afraid of something," he said. Then he realized the question was more direct, explicit, and Kaguya Shinomiya was waiting for it.

"Ahh, souka~" Shinomiya-san flashed an assertive smile. "Then you're afraid of something," she quipped sweetly.

"Everybody's afraid of something," Hachiman said.

"So you lied to me then, during the first time we met. But why?" Shinomiya-san asked.

"I've never lied to you," Hachiman answered coolly.

Shinomiya-san was bemused. "I was wondering if and when you would ever show up. I was looking every other time to see if you're in the room, or in the other, only to find out that you were never a First-Class student."

"Is that it? Did you think I would be in First Class?"

"But of course. It does say on your resumé that you're from an honest background, a boy with good marks during his previous years in high school and college. And you've revealed that you're a junior representative from a fine company." Shinomiya-san paused, and said curtly, "however, there are inconsistencies - It doesn't seem true that you're 'Nikkoro Ieyori' at all. Perhaps you can enlighten me on that. Should we drop the pretenses?"

Hachiman shrugged. "I've told you everything there is to know, miss. I should love to consider myself an Ieyori, as they are my second family," he enthused. "When I first set foot into this campus, I immediately figured it would be in my best interests to be in the good graces of eminent people. I wanted to make an impression on you. Business was only secondary, Shinomiya-san."

Shinomiya-san smiled again. "You flatter me," she sighed. Hachiman smiled as well.

"Is there any favour I can help you with still, Kaguya-sama? Or does a First Class student not need a friendly hand from a guy in the lowest echelon of the Lyceum?"

Shinomiya-san giggled very softly at his clever remark. She said, "today, I think I'd like to be so kind and be the one to do you a favour. Though, you'll understand it's of a more practical nature and not out of kindness."

Hachiman nodded. "I would not dare to refuse you. I want to be polite."

"But first, a question. Which one of us do you like more: me, or Arisu Sakayanagi-san?"

Hachiman grinned. "Well that's easy - I like you more than anyone else in First Class. Not to flatter at all, it's just that, how do I put this… I don't know anyone else in First Class. I simply don't know Sakayanagi-san enough to think anything of her. I know some names, I suppose you're all reasonable people, but as you must understand, diplomacy isn't exactly popular between classes at the moment. I may have an acquaintance or two, but that's about it."

"Then it's an easy choice when I tell you that I plan to take full control of my class."

Hachiman looked surprised. "A coup d'etat?" He said furtively.

Shinomiya-san pursed her lips. "A coup d'etat is a violent, militaristic takeover of a government in order to install a dictatorial regime. Oh, I simply believe First Class can do better with a more competent… leadership guiding it. I'm a pacifist, Hikigaya-san, irregardless of what anyone else has led you to believe."

Hachiman shrugged. "I do not see why this is any of my concern. With all due respect, we're not allies as far as I'm concerned."

"That's true."

"But I understand. To each their own interests, no, Shinomiya-san?"

Shinomiya-san was pleased. "Oh - still, where was I?" She continued smoothly, "You may want to know that Sakayanagi-san has already made a first move, and it is against Fourth Class. I figured, perhaps it'd be in your interests to know about such. You are the de-facto leader of your class, aren't you?"

For once, Hachiman seemed to hesitate briefly. "Not quite yet," he said.

"Well then. Sakayanagi-san will try to eliminate more of the most-valued members in your class. She is indirectly responsible for how the expulsion turned out. I would offer my sympathies, but that would be pretentious of me. Of course, I had my hand in that dirty little thing called democracy, it can't be helped - First Class does not intend to relinquish its position at the top. I suppose you're already aware they dislike opposition. I must say though, Sakayanagi-san could've come up with a better strategy than provoking the lower classes to defend themselves. I knew it would have consequences." Shinomiya-san asked shortly, "how will you respond to that, Hikigaya-san?"

Hachiman said nonchalantly, "I do not call the shots. I'll simply relay this information to Kakeru-san."

Shinomiya-san hummed thoughtfully. "Yes, speaking of Ryuuen Kakeru-san, well… we can do away with him if we wish. I'm sure you'll make a better leader, Hikigaya-san. You'll take his place, fortune will see to it. Besides, I'm getting a little annoyed by his antics."

Hachiman merely smiled. He said, "I appreciate the sentiment. You should know that I am now indebted to you."

They reached the foot of the stone steps just before the Class III and IV building complex, and Shinomiya-san stopped there. She said finally, "Let us be allies then."

Hachiman hadn't come up with a word before she took one last glance at him; this time, she was not smiling, but her eyes conveyed a message. She turned around and he watched her go.

The doors to his classroom were still closed. Hachiman quietly walked down the corridor, reading the bulletins in front of each room, and walked back up again. The assigned key monitor of their class should arrive any minute now, and sure enough, Hiyori Shiina showed up. The two exchanged politeness, she unlocked the door and they went inside the room to pass the time silently by reading the novels that they've brought with them.

Half an hour later, arrivals of students were beginning to pour into the building and enter their respective classrooms. They still had things that needed to be sorted out, and Ryuuen hopefully turns up today and doesn't skip the morning classes, Hachiman thought. He got up and went out of the room to deposit his book in his locker. There were only a few things inside; several notebooks, a pencil case, and pieces of trash that someone had put in there, almost customarily, just to spite him.

Hachiman realized there was a girl standing right next to him. He closed his locker door and stared. "Where did you come from, Yukinoshita-san?" He blurted out.

Yukino Yukinoshita was vexed. She snapped, "keep your voice down."

Hachiman could not help but smile, and he chuckled a bit. He had been wondering about her during the week, having only seen her from afar since he entered the Lyceum. It was flattering that Yukinoshita climbed up a flight of stairs to the fourth floor where his classroom was. "It's funny seeing you here. Did you lose your way or something?" He asked.

"No. I came here because I needed to see you."

"How nice."

"Now, Hikigaya-kun, do you want to hear what I have to say or do you want me to slap you?"

"Fine, fine. No more sarcasm." Hachiman put up his hands. "How is the life of a First-Class student anyway?"

Yukino sighed. "No better than yours, once you consider that the ego and obstinacy of individuals is directly proportional to their status."

Hachiman shrugged. "Fair enough. I can relate to that."

He observed that Yukino was dressed in a black blazer, accompanied with a blue tie and a pair of slacks. She looked smart, like a clean-cut law student. Yukino pulled a strand of hair back behind her ear and spoke. "Hikigaya-kun, I have a concern. And I think you're the one who can best assist me with it."

"I don't know, but let's hear it."

Yukino seemed hesitant. She said, "Nee-san hasn't been responding to my calls recently. When I went to visit her apartment in Ginza, she was not there. The hotel said she had gone out a few days ago, but has not returned. Listen, I know about what happened in that last meeting with the Hayamas. You were there, Hikigaya-kun, right? You knew what happened between Haruno-san and Hayato-kun."

Hachiman answered confidently. "I saw. What do you figure Haruno-san is up to?"

Yukino sighed. "It's not her to be running away when an issue comes up. This is unusual coming from nee-san, but I suppose everyone loses their composure every now and then. Back then, as I remember, when okaa-san would scold and tell off nee-san, she would remain very quiet and go outside, not returning until before supper. She makes that kind of smile - a cold kind of smile - every time she gets told off by okaa-san. That's her only answer: silence. And if you didn't know any better, you wouldn't understand her," Yukino said.

"Listen, Yukinoshita," Hachiman began slowly in a level tone. "I was there at the meeting alright. Your parents and the Hayamas were just about to finalize the whole marriage thing between your sister and Hayato-kun, but the stupid idiot suddenly went out of his mind and blew it all. I don't know what devil took over him. Hayato-kun said he didn't wanna marry Haruno-san, right there and then. In hindsight, he probably saved us all a lot of complications, but here we are."

"Do you have any idea where Haruno-san could go?"

Hachiman stopped. He answered gently, "she felt cornered. Next thing she could be doing is recollecting herself by retreating to someplace far from… you guys. She's probably not happy with your mom or dad - naw, that seems obvious. She'll go someplace - to someone other than you and family. But she'll turn up, eventually."

Yukino was drawn with worry, but remained firm. "Hikigaya-kun, she didn't happen to come up to you anytime before, did she?"

Hachiman shook his head. But he answered, "She did. Crossed paths right after the dinner. But she went."

"You don't know where nee-san is?"

"I'll let you know if I hear anything from her. Look, it's none of my business, but for what it's worth, I'll tell you this: she isn't half as bad as you made her out to be. I know for a fact this is how people get mean. She's torn between trying to please your parents and doing what she really wants - and it's always one or the other between two siblings who's favoured. That's how you get people like Haruno-san to become like this. And pretty soon, that's the way she'll stay."

Yukino was silent for a minute. She said timidly, "I understand. You've been there before, haven't you?"

"I empathize with your situation," he answered softly.

A rare smile formed on her lips, and Yukinoshita spoke sincerely. "I'll make up with her, I promise." She said, "thank you, Hikigaya-kun."

Hachiman found himself being squeezed by a pair of gentle arms. He was initially stunned, and then flustered. He felt an urge to return the embrace, but did not. "Don't mention it," he said gruffly afterwards.

Hachiman watched Yukino walk back to the staircase and leave their building; he felt a bit more spirited and his day undoubtedly better. Then came a gnawing inside his chest. He had lied. He'd lied to Yukino - his friend! Ex-girlfriend, if it made any difference. Hachiman clung onto a little, flimsy principle that best excused himself, but was fully aware of what he was doing. He sighed. Funny how one lie leads to another, and before you know it, your whole life becomes a lie.

Ryuuen sauntered up to him from around a corner and brought his hand down on Hachiman's shoulder, making the latter jump. Ryuuen smirked, and said cleverly, "isn't she a beaut, that chick you've been chatting up?"

Albert Yamada Sieyes, Ken Sudo, Daichi Ishizaki and Mio Ibuki were behind Ryuuen. They stood in front of the classroom doorway, having spied on Hachiman for minutes now with curious interest. Hachiman snapped, "and where the hell did you all come from?"

"We just come, a minute ago." Ryuuen went over and opened his locker box and fished out a pink, baggy hoodie with no prints - one of those kinds which Hachiman did not understand the appeal of and found repulsive - and pulled it over himself. He asked, "what's her name?"

"Never you mind," Hachiman waved him off. "Now, about yesterday."

Ryuuen combed his hair leisurely, and nodded. "Sure, we've gotta straighten that out."

They all poured into the classroom and sat down in one row for the time being, except for Ryuuen and Hachiman who lingered near the doorway. Hachiman was looking past, out into the hallway, but Ryuuen was watching Airi Sakura with half-closed eyes.

Hachiman spoke, still looking in the opposite direction. "What's the matter with her?"

Ryuuen answered in a low voice. "She's always been that way. She'll play up a little drama just to get our attention, and sometimes she is telling the truth. But Sakura-san's a fussy girl. You can't know for sure - all of 'em girls could be like this."

"Well, you and I both know what almost happened yesterday. You think she'd actually go for it?"

Ryuuen almost laughed. "What, kill herself?" He said incredulously, still peering at the girl in question, "it's Sakura-san... but I don't think I'd be surprised if she actually did it. I wouldn't care - she ain't the first."

"She ain't the first, alright. Something is wrong with her," Hachiman said quietly.

"Oh sure. She's nuts, we all saw."

"There's a reason why she's so depressed and in this sickly state. What do you think happened to her?"

"Tell you what - I hear she's been dumped by this guy she really liked. They weren't really together anyways. I hear the guy was screwing her hard, he was taking her out every weekend or so, and it prolly turns out he's got another girl anyway. Sakura-san is just the bitch in the whole story - You get it? You seen these kinds of things, Hikigaya?"

Hachiman mulled over it and huffed. "It's not a special case," he said.

"It ain't." Ryuuen said skeptically, "but then again, Sakura-san might've not taken it all well. She's a weak girl - a runt, what my Pa would've said. And fact is, she's a model for the magazines. Word around may say it might be her manager be screwin' her as well."

"Could be."

"So you know!"

Hachiman was still dubious. "You think that's the cause of her being suicidal?"

Ryuuen tensed his shoulders, and exclaimed. "Sure. You get fucked over enough times, 'course you're gonna be sore-pissed at the world and want to end it all. But, ah - sometimes, people just die. And it doesn't matter."

"Here I thought I was the ruthless one," Hachiman scoffed. "But now, you listen here. What do you think's gonna happen if word gets out that our classmate went and killed herself? She's got a family and relatives, and they'll be devastated. And we're all going to get bummed and the whole class severely affected."

"I see. You don't bother about Sakura-san neither, do ya? You just don't want no trouble. Saved her from jumping the rails not because you liked her. Well, I'll tell you this. She don't have a mum anymore, and I don't know about her daddy. Don't know no relatives either. I seen kids like these, these fucking hikikomoris, an' everywhere there's them, lonely and miserable - they come out after dark to pick up somethin' from the convenience store, food or somethin', and go back to wherever hole they came. She lives alone in that flat in Shiba, where we went last night. Nobody will remember long if she's dead."

"Hm," Hachiman muttered. He looked over, across the room, and the girl in question lay with her head on the table as if sleeping. Her soft, pink-hued hair hung messily around her shoulders, her face hidden in her arms.

Ryuuen peered at him. "Don't tell you start likin' her, Hikigaya," he said.

"No, but I feel sorry, that's what."

Ryuuen chuckled. "I think you lie. You don't, and this is just the beginning, that's what. You said it yourself, she ain't the first. Don't make no difference from the many other saps jumping the rails next Friday or now. I think you ain't sorry, but something else. What're you gonna do?"

Hachiman wrinkled his eyes. "You leave her to me. I'll take care of her," he said.

"OK. Sure, I trust you boss."

Hachiman brushed off his remark. "In the meantime, mind you, Ryuuen: First Class is trying to eliminate our best classmates. What I reckon is Sakayanagi-san has bought off plenty of our classmates, just as you've been bought off," Hachiman added snidely. "You mind it. They're gonna try something - that, you need to know. Find out who's leaking information among us."

Ryuuen became serious. "What if I told you that everyone else in our class are traitors? Bought off by Sakayanagi-san, even?" He said cautiously.

Hachiman stopped. An incredulous laugh escaped from his lips. "Well, then that's all the better. And if these people can be bought off by that little First-Class girl, of course they can be bought back."

Ryuuen was perplexed. Why would Hachiman think knowing his whole class could be conspiring with the enemy, conspiring against themselves, was better - better than what? As the self-appointed leader of Class IV still, Ryuuen had a tricky task. Suddenly, Hachiman appeared to turn his interest someplace else, and carried on unaffected as usual. Hachiman passed by him and walked over to his seat at the rear of the room, just as the morning lectures were about to start.

Frankly, he didn't care if Airi Sakura died. He didn't bother if she went and killed herself. And why should he? Hachiman didn't know Airi Sakura. She wasn't a friend, they weren't related by blood, he didn't love her. As far as he was concerned, she was only one of the 40 people from his class, who for the most part all may have been sticks of furniture to him. Yesterday he had been there to stop her; if he wasn't trying to save her life, then he was trying to save their class's reputation.

Thankfully, she turned up today and everything seemed to roll by as usual, as if nothing happened. She remained as timid as ever, sitting in her desk several rows across from Hachiman, and it was hard to imagine a girl like Airi Sakura to be harboring something so severe. There were so many things he had missed - not because Hachiman was unable to notice such nuances, but because of his deliberate ignorance and indifference towards his classmates. It was possible he had missed more things. But it wasn't out of pure prejudice that he chose not to mind them for the most part - it was simply that he didn't feel anything towards the rest of them.

When noontime arrived, his class dispersed out of the room, already banding together in their personal little cliques. Today, even Hachiman could expect to belong to a group with Ryuuen and his friends. He was not in a hurry to leave, and noticed that Airi seemed to not want, or have, any friends to spend lunch hour with. She simply left alone, making her way towards an emptier part of the campus.

Hachiman decided to follow Airi Sakura, as she headed to the oval field. Instead of sitting at the bleachers, where at least there were other students sitting, she sat down in one of the benches way behind the fence near the exit gate. There, she kept to herself taking sips of iced tea drink. Hachiman was not sure if she had eaten any proper food at all, and she still seemed stuck on what occurred at the subway yesterday.

After a few minutes of standing under the shade, contemplating, Hachiman went over and sat himself on the opposite end of the bench.

Airi Sakura noticed Hachiman, but neither offered any reaction except to glance away, turning her eyes towards the grassy track field. He had a pear that he took out of his pocket. He wiped it with a flowery handkerchief that he also took from his coat pocket, before biting into the fruit. Hachiman then spoke in a very light, unpressed voice that carried no condescension. It was not prying, yet courteously inviting her to easen up. He said, "You're not going to think about what almost happened yesterday?"

Airi Sakura did not answer. Her face, though pretty, had a stillness seen only in delicate paintings. She was unsmiling, he could not clearly tell the sadness or hurt in her tired blue eyes. Hachiman could only recognize it as something he knew the sensation of: emptiness.

It wasn't the kind of emptiness that was felt during despair, but the other kind - the nastier kind. It was the hollow, sickening feeling that clung into your insides, in your mouth and guts like grease. That hollow filled with an even more dreadful thing. Hachiman understood this. It was an almost inexplicable nausea from losing a part of himself. It was only a little part - he did not know which - but it had eaten away something in him, and his spirit sort of seeped a way, bit by bit, like water in a paper bag. It turned him colder, more jaded, each passing night by himself. It didn't need any reason, it was a mystery - it was simply a symptom that followed a ruthless act of murdering a fellow human being, to even something as mercurial as the day-by-day melancholy of wondering whether unrequited feelings will lick itself.

He heard her answer in a small, saccharine but brittle voice - a quality that belied her fragile interior. Airi Sakura said, "I don't want to think about it."

"I understand," Hachiman said.

He took a bite out of his pear again and chewed slowly. He laid his back against the wooden planks of the bench, pursuing no further. Airi Sakura could ask him why he went over and sat by her, when it was clear she wanted to be left alone. And he would simply tell it to her straight: that he felt like offering her company, even if unwanted. They did not have to speak. She could tell him to go away, and he would.

Then Airi spoke again, very softly. "Hikigaya-san… w-why did you stop me?" She asked.

Hachiman paused, swallowing. His eyelids were wrinkled, detesting the warm sunlight above them. He looked at her, then at the field, and back. "To be honest? I don't really know," he replied.

"Then why did you save me? I don't understand."

"If I didn't save you, somebody will have to be scraping your dead body off the rail tracks today. I would've missed my train - anyway, I already had. No, to be frank I don't care about you. However, yesterday I saw no reason why I should allow something terrible to happen, all things given."

Her eyes widened. Airi looked over, hurt, and at the same time amazed by her classmate's unprecedented honesty. "You won't stop me if I want to d-die, then?" She asked.

Hachiman stared at her with a quizzical expression. "No." He said gently, chewing a bite of fruit meanwhile. He said, "I don't think I will. After all, why should I? It's none of my business what other people do to themselves, and it doesn't involve me. It's not that I'm okay if you die. But I think you understand something that I never could. Maybe you have a perfectly good reason to do so, and have resolved yourself on such a decision. It'd be terribly presumptuous and self-righteous of me to try and stop you, even more, pretend as if you have more to live for - that, I do not know. I'm not your father or something, we're not family, and I won't be telling you anything. Maybe you do, maybe you don't. It's just that I'm not one for bullshitting."

"O-Okay." Airi Sakura shrank into her seat a bit, feeling the words dig into her ears painfully. She sniffled, but there were no tears in her eyes. Hachiman continued to gaze at her.

"Airi-chan. That's your name, isn't it? I've been meaning to ask a question, and I hope you do not mind..."

"O-Okay."

"I suppose there is someone that drove you into this, hurt you terribly, that you wished to already give up. Suppose if you killed that person who hurt you, instead of killing yourself?" Hachiman continued quietly, "Doesn't that sound, I don't know, more productive? You'd think that suicidal people have nothing more to lose, and that makes them god for a few moments in time. They'll want to do anything, and by god they'll do it."

Airi Sakura was almost frightened and cautious of his speculation. "But I'm not a murderer," she cried.

"But like everyone else, surely you've thought of it."

"I don't want to hurt anyone. I never could. I just do not understand why…"

Hachiman again bit into his fruit, chewed, and mused insidiously. "It's a perverse fact that after death you become more popular. As soon as you're out of everyone's way, your approval curve effectively goes upwards. It's true that people appreciate you more once you're dead. You get more flowers at your funeral than you got in your whole life. And all of them flowers come at the same time: too late."

Then he stopped - he muttered, "I'm sorry, I must be bothering you with my nonsense."

Airi Sakura was also quiet. She stammered softly, "N-No."

"It's just my observation."

Airi shook her head darkly. She stammered in a low voice, "Hikigaya-san... were you always like this?"

"Huh?"

"Heartless?" She said in a clipped voice.

Hachiman frowned slightly. "Me, heartless? As in what, I'm not human? Do I scare you?" He said.

Airi shook her head more this time. "No! Of course not. I-I just wonder if there's a reason why you seem so insensitive and careless towards a lot of things," she said, a hint of grudge in her tone. She whispered, "It frightens me a bit, to think you've gone through something that turned you into…"

Hachiman threw a sidelong glance at her. "This? Yeah, I get it. I've been through my share of bad days too. Wanted out a long time ago too, but I had nowhere to go. See, I turned out. I learned, I dealt with my problems. But I'm not a bad person. It's not that I'm heartless. It's just that I learned to use my heart less." Hachiman smiled. "You've got to use your head, Airi-chan, because that's what counts. Sometimes, how you feel about something isn't as important as what you do about it."

"I-I just don't understand why I'm being punished like this… why?!" She broke out.

Airi Sakura started to cry again. Hachiman was alerted, and hastily rephrased himself. "Please don't cry. If I knew, I'd tell you, but I don't even know why you are very miserable. Maybe it's something at home, or a problem with your friends, or- "

She cut in, bawling tearfully. "I don't know what else I can do! And- and I can't go back there, I-I can't..." She sobbed.

"Go back where? At home?" Hachiman asked very cautiously. His first suspicion was that Airi Sakura was extremely averse to the idea of reconciling with her parents. When Ryuuen, Albert and him took Airi back to her flat in Shiba district that night, the place was, to say the least, in an unhealthy state. Her room was filthy, it smelled bad, there was a slew of unpaid bills pinned right next to a ruined calendar and it seemed like she only wore - and washed - a pair of clothes from the dirty pile in her closet. Hachiman only ever saw her in a white dress shirt with matching necktie and skirt, occasionally seen with a pair of glasses even, and so thought that Airi was a typical, straight-laced student. He was mistaken, though he suspected it was a façade as much.

The three left the place not long after. Hachiman was still concerned, but Ryuuen and Albert were very reluctant and skeptical. Now, having assessed the situation better, Hachiman decided his classmate was simply not worth losing now.

Airi Sakura was sullen. Not looking, she said in a broken voice, "will you promise not to tell anyone else?"

Hachiman nodded. "I've no one else to tell."

"You won't tell? You promise?"

"May Jesus send me to hell if I do," he swore gently.

A miniscule smile appeared on her lips - It was only there for a moment, disappearing soon after, but Hachiman saw. She gave up a weak laugh. Airi didn't know what she found so funny about him, or what he said - it was the kind of talk her folks couldn't stand. Her mother told her that "Jesus doesn't really go around sending people to hell," and that it was just a false expression people used to spook other people. And he could be giving her a false expression.

Now, she didn't know whether to trust him and be betrayed again, or give up this final chance when someone seemed to be finally genuine with her - but then again, weren't they all? Airi began hesitantly. "I don't see my parents anymore," she told him. "Kaa-san is gone, and my dad… he doesn't care about me anymore. I don't know where he went now. It's just me. I never knew any aunt, uncle, or cousins of mine. If I could go back to them, I would, but I can't. I'm trapped."

"Trapped?" Hachiman pursed his lips. "How so?"

Airi looked sick. Her eyes darted around, filled with a kind of fear seen in deer that was aware of being hunted. She said in a fragile voice, "I-I can't tell you. I can't. Very bad things will happen to me if I tell on him, to someone else."

"Only yesterday, you were ready to give up."

"I don't want to die!" She cried. "I don't really!"

Hachiman crossed his arms. He had pushed the now stripped core of fruit in a paper bag, into his coat pocket. He rubbed his hands with his handkerchief methodically. "Then you won't," he affirmed. "You won't."

Airi rubbed her eyes, then her nose with the sleeves of her shirt. She said hopefully, "Y-You'll protect me?"

"I don't think you trust me," he said coldly.

Airi turned pale, and finally gave in. "Hikigaya-san… It's my boss. He- he's our manager at the modeling agency." She stopped, trying to steady her trembling. She moved closer beside him and whispered. She divulged her story, every so often her eyes darting up and around, as if she would be killed for such a confession. She began in an urgent, harried manner; Hachiman easing her to slow down at times in order to understand more crucial details.

Right after she graduated from high school, Airi Sakura was scouted by a rising entertainment company to join their roster of other young, promising models. Within a year she became a sensation, getting photo shoots and reaching the front covers of magazines and billboards in the city, which furthered her popularity and made it seem as if she could transition into an independent career. Unfortunately her boss, now an influential businessman named Toshiro Riichi, had signed her to a five-year personal services contract. It was a common practice in the entertainment industry. Toshiro Riichi could now loan Airi out and pocket most of her money.

This was where the abuse started. Knowing full well that the contract bound Airi Sakura on a leash empowered her boss to do as he pleased. She couldn't walk out and break off the contract without running into extreme difficulties, and definitely without jeopardizing her reputation and career. It began gradually, with subtlety almost impossible to detect until it was not simply an occasional pawing, or touching of her buttocks or breasts anymore. The boss molested her aggressively in the dressing rooms, in her studio, and during private performances, less than a month after she got her big break. It culminated with Toshiro Riichi summoning her to his office one day, where Airi Sakura fell past a dark point.

Airi Sakura had tried to contact the police a few days after she was raped by her boss - it was too late by then. Toshiro Riichi, having grown his business not without shrewdness of mind, had wisely paid bribes and were on good agreements with the local wardens and police officers in Tokyo. He was instantly alerted of Airi's attempt to expose him, and reacted with swift brutality, slapping her around until she couldn't possibly show her face in public for a few weeks.

But it was this one move that proved an effective stroke to subjugate her: Toshiro Riichi threatened to bring revenge on Airi Sakura's family if she ever tried to contact the police again. It was an absolutely ruthless manoeuvre even criminals and Yakuzas were very wary of using. Not even lawyers were an option - she could not bring herself to find one anymore, and even then, lawyers can be bought off by her boss and they'd tell her the same thing: drop the charges, and nobody needs to get hurt.

When the system itself is corrupted, where can an honest citizen find refuge when she needs it? And so this cruel reality bit her right on the nose, and Airi Sakura was broken both in spirit and body. The two years that has passed allowed her to cling on to a desperate hope, only because the punishments dissipated once she surrendered full obedience to her manager. The abuse continued, though became less and less frequent, until for the first time, three whole months have gone by without Airi suffering sexual abuse. Perhaps her manager understood that it was Airi's final year in college, and decided to leave her alone. Or perhaps he had grown bored of her and found another starlet to do the job on. Either way, it was a respite for Airi, and allowed her to be composed enough to enter the Minato Lyceum this year.

After hearing her story, Hachiman did not need to wonder why Airi Sakura had tried and almost succeeded in committing suicide at the subway station yesterday. It was only likely that her suffering had resumed again. Ryuuen, Albert and Hachiman had been there to catch her, but there was no guarantee that Airi would not attempt to kill herself again, and nobody would save her.

Hachiman said gently, "Well now, I don't think I'm okay if you die. See? You've told me a little bit about you, and that makes me start to care for your well-being."

Airi Sakura looked up. Her eyes were red and swollen from all the crying. "You do?" She said weakly.

"But of course. I'm not a psychopath," Hachiman scoffed. "I think it goes unsaid that basic human decency applies at all times. You think nobody cares about you?"

"You just said you didn't care about me a while ago!"

"Sure, but there are other people who do. Airi-chan, do you care about them?" He asked.

Airi froze at his question. His words had hit their mark.

Hachiman's expression grew soft, and he bent slightly as he sat, elbow in lap like a thinker. He looked at her with expectant eyes, and said, "Airi-chan, will you be my friend?"

Airi recoiled. These were the same words that the very people who had devastated her had used against her. And so her lips refused to move. No answer. Could he be trying to take advantage of her as well? Airi spoke defensively, almost scared and in a bitten tone, "I don't know if you're going to betray me, just like the others betrayed me." She peered angrily at him.

Hachiman was thoughtful. "Why do you compare me with the rest of them?" He asked.

"Well… They all say the same things, don't they?" She retorted.

"Only if you accept my friendship, then I will be able to help you."

"That's what they say!" Airi bawled. Tears cascaded down her rosy cheeks in frustration. "That's what they all told me! That if I ever need anything, they'll be there for me. And every time, I'd do anything they asked of me, helping them, trusting that they would do the same for me. But they never did. I fell in love with someone, he told me that he'd be there for me, but he wasn't. You say to me that you care, Hikigaya-san, that you'll be my friend, but you could be a liar just like the rest of them. Why should I believe you, when I don't even know you really?"

Hachiman got up from his seat slowly. This alarmed Airi, who also stood and confronted him, in case he made to leave. She felt inferior under his withering gaze.

He looked at her, now more sharp and level. He said, "I understand where you are coming from, so do you. Now, where are those friendships you believed true? Where were they during your hour of greatest peril? Have they delivered? No. They've left you, and still you come to them asking, and they spurned you. You've considered bringing your plight to higher authorities, to court, whom you believed were there to protect you, yet you understand the capacity and reach of your boss - and you are amazed how he was able to strangulate you upon attempting to cry out."

Hachiman continued harshly. "They flatter you, spin you on with pretty words and tell you what you want to hear. They all say the same things, don't they?" - Hachiman's voice became unsympathetic, mimicking hers, dripping with irony - "That they will be there when you need them. Though each and every time, it was them that benefited from your friendship. They take advantage of you, they make gains, while you helplessly believe that they will return the favor in the future. You resign yourself to their given word, like a lovestruck school-girl! But I'll tell you this straight - they lie, nobody can promise tomorrow."

Airi Sakura was shattered, realizing the transparency in her enigmatic classmate's words. Hikigaya Hachiman had been frank to the point of being offensive with her, unlike any other person she came across. All of them indeed spun her on with kind words and euphemisms, currying her favor, manipulating her, but this one seemed unexpectedly the opposite.

But now, Hachiman radiated coldness towards her, and his voice was merciless. He went on, "Now you've told me of this boss of yours, who beats you, rapes you, and has made life hell. There's nobody else who you could come to for protection. He has ruined you as a woman, and now he threatens to destroy what family and relatives you have left. If you had surrounded yourself with genuine friends, who wouldn't have abandoned you, this would never have happened. But you insult me, withheld your trust, you believe nothing more can be done for your case. That may be so, but I work with all my power to avenge a friend - that is the principle I was raised upon. And if you had been my friend that man shall not lay a finger on you or on those you hold dear ever again - be damned my family's name."

Airi Sakura was reduced to an incoherent wreck. She stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, Hikigaya-san… I didn't m-mean to insult you. I wasn't. I would never assume that you're a bad person."

"I pushed out my sympathy to you, even though I seldom do so to people, and you refuse it." Hachiman shook his head and said, "Still I do not blame you. I understand your distrust."

Airi Sakura bowed down before him. She uttered finally in a stifled voice, "Please become my friend, Hikigaya-san. I need your help."

Hachiman looked down at her, with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.

He nodded simply. "Good," he said. "I want nothing in return from you, only to hear you accept me as your friend. And when all is said and done, this friendship of ours is all we have between us. In the future, whether you choose to remain loyal or to spurn me should I ever come to request you return the favor is your decision. It's all in your hands. But come now, forget about it. I will take care of it for you."

Hachiman patted her on the arm affectionately, though Airi was still red in the face and discomfited. He crossed his hands behind him then and accompanied her as they walked back to their classroom. Airi did not know now what would follow next, and her only choice would be to put faith in his capacity. The aversion to being indebted to someone else was a mutual ground they both shared. She did not know for sure if Hachiman would turn out to be a sincere "friend" to her, she was very wary, but she knew there was something unmistakable about this individual.

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Note: still setting precedents in the plot.. I hope the story and the way it's written is balanced between showing and telling. Considering this first arc is already close to ch. 12-13, the direction where this is going should soon become apparent.

The reason why I have to create several subplots is to make the characters more fleshed out, but more importantly to set precedents for Hachiman crossing paths and conflicting with the new characters. Besides, I find the interactions entertaining. Without subplots, there's hardly reason for Hachiman to confront with other students, especially Ayanokouji, Shinomiya, Sakayanagi and the like. 8man will simply evade them and fun things don't happen.

I see there's already a debate brewing in the comments section whether 8man can match Ayanokouji. You'll just have to wait and see. This is going down the realistic path, so no plot armor, magic tricks and deus ex machina shit to make one win over the other. Class IV is obviously inferior to Class I, and Hachiman is outnumbered by intelligent individuals who are in several ways superior than him. Obviously, 8man can't win this in the conventional sense.