A/N: Sorry for the late chapter. I'm just gonna give a disclaimer now, chapters will be sporadic, meaning I don't know when they'll be finished or published. However, I do have a rough idea of where I want the story to go, so I'll do my best to update every week, if not every other week. Also, shoutout to Deoxymoron Hydrochloride for proofreading this chapter.
- Enjoy ^^
There were a lot of things Hachiman liked, some things he daresay he loved. But the thing he liked the most (other than MAX COFFEE, of course), had to be spending his time alone and being left with his thoughts. He always found it relaxing, he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He didn't have to partake in forced or unwanted conversations that served no purpose. Being left with his thoughts and devices was comforting, and these were the times he felt the happiest.
Now was not one of those times—not by a long shot.
Hachiman would rather be anywhere else right now since he was currently on his couch. This may seem contradictory at first, but located in the kitchen not far from him, was his little sister Komachi Hikigaya, and the Fire Queen of Soubu herself, Yumiko Miura. Both of them were clad in pink aprons and happily chatting together.
The deadpan on Hachiman's face as he sat on the couch was fitting for such a person as him. Still, he couldn't help but wonder just why she had to come to his house. He couldn't say that it'd be better if the situation was the other way around, though. What happened to him teaching her to be like him?
That was all thrown out the window at the moment. Why? Because Komachi said so.
"So… where do we start?"
Miura's question made Hachiman realize he didn't have a clue what they were going to do from there. He'd only learned of her wanting him to teach her about five or ten minutes earlier, meaning his brain was empty on the matter.
"Why are you asking me? You're the one who wanted me to teach you, so wouldn't it make sense if you were the one that had everything planned out?" Hachiman asked. Yumiko realized he had a point. Initially, Yumiko thought she'd just ask him and once he agreed, they'd improvise from there.
"W-Well, I have no idea."
"You're telling me you specifically sought me out and asked me to teach you how to be a loner, with no idea as to where you wanted to go next?" Hachiman said with a deadpan on his face. He couldn't help it, not after the stupidity he'd just witnessed.
"It's not my fault, I didn't expect you to actually agree!" Yumiko exclaimed, turning away from him as it felt like his dead, fish-like eyes were staring into her soul. The nonchalant expression he had wasn't making it any better. Hachiman continued to stare at her for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh.
"We should at least decide on where this 'teaching', will actually take place." Hachiman shoved his hands into his pockets.
"What are you talking about?" Yumiko said as if it were already decided and obvious. "It's gonna be at your place." Hachiman raised his eyebrow, wondering when they agreed on that.
"Oi, why is it at my place?! There are plenty of other places besides my house." Hachiman explained.
"Like what?"
"Your place." He smiled smugly.
"No way." She crossed her arms, standing across from him in an attempt to intimidate him. It didn't work.
Why not?" It seemed fair to him. "I'm the one who agreed..."
"You're just saying that so you can finally have the chance to go to a girl's house." Yumiko rolled her eyes, not thinking that but knowing it would at least mildly irritate him.
'What a bitch,' Hachiman thought before speaking, "I'll have you know that I've actually been to a girl's house before."
"Relatives don't count."
"She wasn't a relative!" Hachiman's eye twitched. "Fine, we're doing it at my place, just leave me alone." He gave in, not wanting this meaningless conversation to go on for any longer than it needed to. He then started to walk away, not having anything else to say.
"I'll be there tomorrow at 11!" Yumiko called out as he walked away "Also, don't tell anyone about this!" Hachiman didn't respond, just heading back to the clubroom.
Hachiman sighed as he made his way back. Just what he needed, more unnecessary work. He wasn't entirely sure why he accepted her request for help in the first place. It made him wonder: could the Service Club deny requests if they wanted?
It wasn't like they did much in the first place—they maybe got one or two requests a week. Other than that, it was just 3 people sitting in a clubroom, talking and enjoying themselves.
Even so, it was still a relatively pleasant club to be in. Back when he'd just joined the club, he would've readily left had he been given the opportunity. Now, after he'd gotten to know Yuigahama and Yukinoshita, he wasn't so sure. It's not like he had much else to do. After arriving at the club room, Hachiman opened the door, sliding it open as two faces on the other side turned to see who it was.
He only had one foot through the threshold to the room and Yukinoshita had already started to dish out insults.
"Oh? Seems you're still here. I'm surprised you didn't assault that poor girl's chastity and try to flee the scene, Pervygaya-kun."
"Come on, Yukinon, don't tease Hikki too much. It's not his fault he's so creepy. Actually, it might be…" She put a hand up to her chin in thought. Looks like today Yuigahama was being harsher than usual.
"Could you at least let me step into the room before you start battering me with insults?!"
"Whatever do you mean? I was just pointing out how she took a huge risk by asking for your help alone." Hachiman wasn't sure if Yukinoshita meant something behind that statement or not, her outburst on their trip to Kyoto coming to mind. He sighed, not bothering to say much else as he walked toward his seat, sitting back down.
"So, what did Yumiko need help with?" Yuigahama eventually asked, not completely sure if she could ask and not wanting the curiosity to eat at her any longer.
Even though she wouldn't say it, Yukinoshita was also curious as to why Yumiko specifically sought out Hachiman. Was he that important?
"Ah–" Yumiko told him not to tell anyone, so he wouldn't. Simple as that. "I can't tell you that," he settled on saying, not bothering to elaborate further.
"Eh? Why not?" Yuigahama asked as Yukinoshita turned to the two.
"That demo–Miura asked me not to tell anyone, so you'll just have to ask her yourself." Now the two were curious. Since Yumiko had already talked to all of them about Hayato, that meant it had to be something else, otherwise Yumiko would've told all of them. Was it serious? And just how could Hachiman help?
"A-Ah, I see." Yuigahama deflated a bit before focusing her attention on her phone again. That was disappointing; it seemed like their questions wouldn't be answered after all.
After he and Yumiko made plans to meet at his place tomorrow, the day passed just as any other usually would. They didn't get any other requests and Hachiman was thankful for that. The last thing he needed was more problems to worry about. He said his goodbyes as Yuigahama and Yukinoshita stuck around for a bit more to chat with one another. They were closer to each other than they were to Hachiman at this point but he didn't mind at all.
Hachiman then made the peaceful walk outside of the school, buying a can of MAX COFFEE in one of the vending machines and proceeded to drink it, savoring the refreshing, sweet flavor. After he finished what he thought was the best liquid known to mankind, he discarded it and walked to his trusty bicycle, mounting it and riding home.
As he rode home, he thought of just how he was going to "teach" Miura how to become a loner. Was such a thing even plausible?
The definition of a loner is a person who prefers not to associate with others. Was it possible to teach her to fit into that definition? Maybe it'd be teaching her to adjust to not being around people instead of teaching her to prefer being alone? After all, he was sure that someone such as her was always popular, and stood at the forefront of all social circles, even in junior high and elementary.
He wondered what it was like, always having to keep up appearances. Surely it was exhausting, right? It sounded to him like she'd grown much tired of the Fire Queen title that most of the student body had placed upon her.
Still, all of this information didn't change the fact that tomorrow, Miura was coming over with the expectation that she'd either learn something about being a loner or leave with more knowledge of herself and why she was feeling the way she was.
And he had only one night to formulate what he'd tell her.
His head hurt the more he thought about it.
The next day arrived quickly, and not only did Hachiman not want to get out of bed, he wasn't looking forward to Miura coming over. Not to mention he had no idea what he was even going to teach her.
With a deep groan, Hachiman hauled himself out of bed, checking the time before heading to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He still had about two hours before Yumiko would arrive.
He figured that for the most part, he'd just do his best to uncover exactly what she was feeling, and the motive for her wanting to become a loner in the first place. Hachiman suspected that Miura was going through something akin to an identity crisis since she'd indicated the day before that she started to feel increasingly distant from her clique, and that the repetitiveness of their dynamic had caused her to become tired of it.
He could only conclude that as a result of that feeling of isolation and confusion, she sought him out due to the fact that loners were comfortable being alone, or isolated, if you will. So for today, he'd try and see if his analysis was correct.
It didn't take long for him to get ready, and he was fully awake and dressed by 10:30. Afterward, he headed downstairs to see Komachi sitting on the couch, lightly giggling as she stared at her phone. The creak from the stairs caused her not-so-rotten eyes to look up, seeing her older brother.
"Onii-chan? You're up early today, what's the occasion? I was just about to make breakfast, do you want some? Ah! I earned a lot of Komachi points there!" She said, smiling as she got up from her seat on the couch and made her way to the kitchen.
Usually, Hachiman would start the weekends by sleeping in until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, but unfortunately, he had a demon to attend to any second now.
As if on cue, a knock osunded from the door, causing both siblings to look, one in curiosity, the other in annoyance.
"I'll get it." Hachiman said with a sigh. "I forgot to mention that I'm having someone over." That piqued Komachi's interest. Her brother hadn't ever had company over, and she knew that in regards to friends, he didn't have many.
Hachiman got up from his seat on the couch and walked to the door, giving a sigh before opening it to reveal one Yumiko Miura. She sported her usual blond drills, along with a white turtleneck and a pleated skirt that Hachiman thought was much too high for its own good. All it took was a simple fall and they'd practically be replicating a similar encounter in the mall that, for some reason, never left his memory.
"Ah, it's you." He wasn't expecting anyone else, but it wasn't like he was an expert on greeting people. Yumiko raised an eyebrow at his redundant statement.
"Were you expecting something else?" Her irritation at his reaction was evident in her tone.
"Yeah, an empty doorstep." He muttered under his breath as he turned around. "Come on in, we can start in my room."
Walking into the house behind Hachiman, Yumiko removed her shoes and followed Hachiman through the living room. Her head then turned as she heard someone gasp.
"Onii-chan brought a girl home?!" Komachi couldn't seem to contain her shock. Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she thought about the possibilities.
"You didn't pay her, did you?"
"Yeah, because I've been so lonely these days." He said sarcastically as he deadpanned at his sister. Yumiko just watched the interaction with a confused expression.
"Um-"
"Ah! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Komachi Hikigaya, sister of Mr. Cynical over there." She smiled even wider as she heard him click his teeth in annoyance. "How you put up with him long enough to be his friend, I'll never know, but it's nice to meet you!"
Yumiko was a bit caught off-guard by how outgoing she was, but it didn't take long for her to adjust. After all, she was friends with Yuigahama, who was the textbook definition of an extravert.
"We're not necessarily friends, but likewise." Yumiko smiled before giving a small bow toward the younger girl.
"This feels premeditated." Hachiman didn't like the fact that being insulted was a recurring thing in his life. Not that he had any choice in the matter.
"Maybe it is, Onii-chan, maybe it is." There was no way she couldn't tease him, not when it was this easy.
Their exchange was halted when Yumiko's stomach rumbled loudly. She felt her cheeks grow warm as the two siblings stared at her.
"Hungry, are we? I just started cooking breakfast, would you like some?" The younger sibling offered.
"Oh no, I couldn't—-" Her response was interrupted by yet another stomach rumble. She should've definitely eaten breakfast before coming.
"I'll think I'll take that as a yes." Komachi chuckled, turning around and grabbing more ingredients.
Hachiman just gave a sigh. He wanted to finish this up as quickly as possible, but his troublesome sister couldn't help meddling. He sat back on the couch, knowing this would take awhile.
"If you're going out of your way to cook for me, at least let me help." The blonde said, her pride and human decency not allowing her to take no for an answer. Picking up on this, Komachi happily agreed.
"Sure!" She opened the cupboard once again and pulled out another pink apron, which Yumiko took with no complaints. After all, it seemed like she had a taste for the color pink. At least that's what Hachiman thought after recalling certain events.
"I can already tell, today's gonna be a long day." Hachiman thought, wishing he could go back in time to deny the request of a certain blonde.
