Ah, sweet Sunday...
The only day where I can relax and be a good-for-nothing lazy trash piece of trash...
Oh, my nihilistic and self-loathing tendencies are showing.
It's a good thing that we don't have martial arts lessons today too, Tatsumi-sensei was going to Osaka for to judge a competition or something. But I still have to go to work at Tatsumi-san's bookstore later.
I once told myself, that "To work is to lose." And I still believe that, at times.
But if working gives me a decent amount of pocket-money, along with a discount for every book that I purchase, then damn even my middle-school self would have to pause and consider his options.
I managed to buy many books for leisure and for academic research materials.
And NO, it's not THAT kind of stuff.
But lazing around is making me hungry, I want some snacks...
"Komachi, go to the store and buy Onii-chan some ice cream."
"Haaiii, Onii-chan~. Give me some money then~." She said sweetly and skipped over to the sofa where I was lying on.
Little sisters are awesome.
If you train yours long enough, and spoil her to oblivion with gifts while being extra affectionate, then she will return your actions with undying loyalty, love and obedience.
I'm proud to say that my little sister is at the top of the little-sister scale, maybe even beyond it.
I gave her 1500 yen from my savings.
"Buy as much ice cream as possible with this." I tell her with conviction, as if the fate of the world was in her hands.
"Y-Yes! I won't let you down Captain!" She replied with determination before running off to the door.
Oi, did she even wear slippers or something?
I shrugged and left her to her devices and returned to playing on my PSVita.
I already finished studying for our prelims exams yesterday, so now I have some free time.
Dad went south, I have no idea where, while Mom was visiting a friend who was hospitalized. So, because I'm the only man in the house, I'm in charge. Cash is not a problem since I have more than enough funds on my debit card.
And since I'm a good-for-nothing cheapskate, I'm confident in our survival, plus, it's not the first time that they left us alone at home.
Some eggs, cup noodles, milk, rice and salmon, and we're good to go.
I heard a "meow", and a moment later, Kamakura jumped on my chest and made himself comfortable. After stretching a bit, he rolled up into a ball of fur and went to sleep.
Uwahh...so I'm a pillow now...?
I carefully move Kamakura next to me so I can get up.
I still have 4 hours before my shift, what to do...
Ultimately, I decided to do some house cleaning. I'm quite good at housework, and I'm pretty sure that within 10 years, I'm a certified house-husband.
But I'm guessing that my parents would definitely disapprove of my path in life, so I have no choice but to succeed my father or I will be disowned and kicked out of our house.
With terrifying speed and efficiency, I scrub the bathroom, do the laundry, sweep the floor, pound the doormat, water the plants and wipe the dust from our shelves and cabinets.
And lastly, I cleaned my room just in case some friends come over.
Oh wait, I don't have any friends...
I don't know how much time passed, and before I knew it, I was basking in the satisfaction of my work while drenched in sweat.
I should open a school for housecleaning skills.
Oh, I forgot to clean Bike-chan.
I made my way towards the door, with my clothes stick to my skin, when the doorbell rang.
"Ah, it must be Komachi..." I mutter.
However, when I opened the door, I was met with three pairs of eyes.
"Oh."
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"Hi Haa-chan~!" Keika squealed and grabbed hold of his Hikigaya's leg.
"Keika! Don't be rude!" I have to remind her not to invade someone's personal space...
"I'm home Onii-chan! Look who I brought with me!"
"I'm very sorry that my Imotou bothered you, Kawasaki..." Hikigaya said with an apologetic tone.
"It's nothing, Keika wanted to see you anyway..." I wave my hands in front of me.
He straightened up and I noticed that he was drenched in sweat, ALOT too.
"Onii-chan what happened? You're sweating alot and there's a few cobwebs on your hair..." komachi said.
Keika ran inside the house before I could catch her.
"I've been cleaning, and I have to clean my bike. Komachi, bring me Kamakura so Kawasaki won't get caught up with her allergies. Don't make a mess when you go inside." He said and walked towards their garage.
"Thanks." I call out to him.
Around a week or two ago, I met him at school, just as I was about to submit the mandatory student medical information. The student council president sent him on an errand to organize the student information system, that also included the student medical information files.
He found out about my allergies and ever since then, when we came over, he would hide their cat somewhere so my allergies won't act up.
"Pardon the intrusion..." I say and remove my shoes to change into indoor slippers that Komachi provided for us.
Komachi went to the kitchen to probably get some bowls for the ice cream that she bought. I brought some snacks too.
Keika was already lying on the couch humming the tune of that anime that she really likes.
What was the name again? Pretty Cure...?
I heard a rush of footsteps and followed by the sound of a door closing.
"Kawasaki-nee! It's ok for you to come here now!" Komachi called from somewhere inside the house.
Coming here always gets me embarrassed...
Our midterm exams start tomorrow, and I haven't even started studying yet. Taking care of my siblings and tidying up the house, as well as my part-time job, my life is really busy right now.
I barely had time to study because I'm too exhausted to do so when I arrive home...
To make things worse, I sometimes arrive late at class.
"Kawasaki-nee, which flavour do you want? Chocolate, vanilla or mocha?" Komachi asked me when I stepped into their kitchen.
"I'll have the chocolate one, thank you. Keika and I will share."
After getting the bowls, we went to the living room where Keika was already patiently waiting for us.
Komachi turned on their T.V. and began browsing through the channels. I just watched with them, trying to understand what was going on.
Several minutes later, the door opened and out came Hikigaya, looking filthy with dark spots on his arm and shirt.
"I spilled the oil when I was lubricating the bike's gears..." he said flatly when I gave him a look.
"Komachi, get me a change of clothes after I finish taking a shower."
"Onii-chan, do you want to take a bath together? I can help you clean yourself~." Kyaah! What the heck was that?! That's so embarrassing to think about, and how can she say that so casually?!
Were they always this close?!
"...Idiot." Hikigaya sighed and closed the door to the bathroom while Komachi was laughing out loud.
Like a dutiful wife, Komachi diligently went upstairs to see to her brother's request. Keika was immersed in the T.V. show, and didn't even notice that she left.
I pulled out my phone and went through my school notes that I managed to save. I'm screwed for tomorrow…
At least the ice-cream is good and Keika looks like she's enjoying herself.
Komachi returned shortly, followed by a now clean Hikigaya with his hair still wet from the bath.
"What are you guys watching?" he asked from behind me.
"Pretty Cure!" Keika cheerfully said.
"Hoh…" sat down and he made himself comfortable next to me.
I saw that the ice-cream on his bowl was chocolate and vanilla, so I asked him which he prefers the most.
"Between chocola and vanilla, huh...? I love them both, I can't choose between them." he said with passion.
"I thought you liked mocha ice-cream?" I recall talking with Komachi about ice cream and asking what her brother's favourite flavour was.
"I do, but Komachi didn't bring any…" he replied.
I lifted a small spoonful of ice-cream positioned it towards Keika's mouth.
"Keika, ah~."
"Ah~." she cutely opened her mouth to the sweet dessert.
That's so cute…
"What's that?" Hikigaya asked beside me while looking at my phone.
"Oh this? It's my notes from school, I haven't had time to study for our midterms yet…"
"Do you need some help? I already finished studying yesterday." He offered.
Of course…
How could I forget?
The top student in our school was right next to me and he's offering his assistance.
"That would be great thanks." I say with gratitude, and a sigh of relief escaped my lips. He nodded and gave me an amused look.
"Let's go up to my room then." he said and motioned me to follow him.
"Komachi, me and Kawasaki are going to study for a bit so don't make too much ruckus, ok?"
"Hai~! Have fun Onii-chan, Kawasaki-nee!"
I meekly followed closely behind him, this is the first time that I'm entering into a room of someone not related to me. And a guy's room, at that…
He opened the door to his room to reveal a clean and well-kept room with a neat bed and an organized desktop computer. His bookshelves were stacked neatly and I could see a few Gundam toys and manga on some of them. On his bed was a notebook and a PSVita, and on the chair in-front of his desktop was his school bag.
I saw some anime DVD's on his shelf, most of them looked pretty old, as well as some familiar game titles like Pokemon, Tekken, Final Fantasy and Resident Evil.
I could also see picture frames on the wall on some on his desk, most of it contained photographs of him and his family.
The blinds were open, and we could occasionally feel a breeze from outside.
"Your room is pretty nice." I comment.
"Thanks, I did a bit of house-cleaning, that's why I was filthy earlier." he said.
Ah, that explains it…
From how close we were, I could smell the shampoo and body wash that he used when he took a bath earlier, and it smelled nice.
Wait, I'm sounding like some sort of perv…
"Well then," he sat down on his bed and motioned at me to sit on the chair, "what subject did you need help with?"
"A-All of them…" I gave him an embarrassed smile while twirling on my hair.
I was expecting him to tease me, or at least give me a look of disbelief, but all he did was give me an understanding nod of acknowledgement.
"Been busy lately?" He asked.
"Very busy…" I replied and couldn't help release a sigh.
Now that I think about it, this might be the only time where I can study in peace.
"Ok, so what subject do you want to tackle first?" He got up and picked up his bag from beside the bed.
"Oh, umm…how about algebra?" Just thinking about math makes my head hurt…
He did a thinking pose, then said, "All right, I accept the challenge."
I sat on the chair in front of his desktop while he just stood behind me, but not before he closed the windows and turned on the air conditioner.
When he opened his notes, I expected stacks upon stacks of papers filled to the brim with text. To my surprise, he only showed me a two index cards with scribbles on them and a notebook.
I got a closer look, and those scribbles were actually formulas that were frequently used in our algebra classes.
"This is everything that you need to know for our algebra exam." He said in a small voice.
I gave him a skeptical look from the stuff in front of me.
"I only write the most important things in our lessons, writing down everything is a waste of time."
That sounded smart, but at the same time, something that a lazy person would say.
"Go over the exercises in this notebook and use the index cards as a guide, just call me if you need anything." He gave me the notebook and then plopped himself on the bed and started playing on his gaming console.
So, he's the let-them-learn-by-themselves type, huh…I know a few teachers who have that kind of teaching style.
I sighed at the mathematical equations in front of me and began answering them the best I can.
Things went on smoothly because I had the formulas, and I took my time solving them. After half an hour, I finished everything.
"Hikigaya, I'm done."
"Let me see." I handed him my answer sheet, I felt a little proud while doing it.
His eyes scanned through the thin paper, his facial expression betrayed nothing, so it was basically impossible to know what his reactions are.
"Do it again." He said in a flat tone.
"What?"
He sighed and put the paper down on the desk, "Here, here,here aaaand here, take a look at them again. Check your writing, your 1 became a 7 so you got the sum wrong, your solution in this one is right, but the final answer is wrong, check it again, this one here, you need to use three formulas to complete it. Also, don't forget to write the square at the top-right of the number, and finally, don't rely on the formula sheet too much, just remember them and you'll be fine." He said after a moment of explaining.
I have no right to complain since he's right…
"Yes…" I blinked back my tears.
"Oh, and try to finish everything in less than thirty minutes."
This time, I definitely felt a tear run down my cheek.
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"Thank you for your hard work." He handed me a chocolate bar, one of the snacks that Komachi bought.
"Thanks…" I peeled of the wrapper and took a bite from it. Ah, this tastes good…
After an excruciating time at solving the problems, I was able to get everything right this time. But it took longer than expected because I followed his advice and tried not to depend on the formula sheet.
It was impossible for me to finish before thirty-minutes, but he remained quiet when the time came and was just playing on his game.
I don't know if he was being considerate or he forgot about it.
"Ugh, we're finally done." I say as I stretch on the floor like a cat.
"Yup, good job. Now what's the next subject that you need help with?" He asked as he took a bite from his salmon onigiri.
I had to think for a moment, the most logical choice would be the subjects that I suck at, so that means…
"Biology?" I ask.
"Great, I have some notes that we can use." He said and began rummaging through his bag and brought out a few papers and an unfamiliar-looking book.
The Basics of Biology
"Hey, this isn't the book that we use at school." I say.
"This is one of my reference books, I have a few academic books and my Dad has a ton of them." he said while fixing on of the papers but one of them fell.
I picked it up, and it had the words Biology Report, and at the bottom was Hikigaya's name, but there was another name below his'.
Yukinoshita Yukino
Curiously, her name had a line that ran at its middle, as if she was removed or something.
"What's this?" I ask out of curiosity.
"Oh, that was a report that we had to do in pairs. You can use this as a guide for the topics that you need to study." He replied in a bored tone and handed me three pages of his report.
I might be wrong, but did something happen between them? He changed the subject too quickly…
I went over the papers, and it was well-made, each sub-topic was segmented into different parts according to the main topic that it belonged to, making it easy to read and understand.
"You can bring this if you want." He pointed to the report that I was holding and to his reference books.
Of course, with a prize like this in front of me, there is only one logical choice.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. Now, do you still need help with your other subjects?" He asked.
Well, I think I can handle the other subjects by myself, hopefully, plus, I wouldn't want to bother him too much.
"I think I can do the rest by myself...I think" I say the last part quietly, but I have a feeling that he heard me regardless. He didn't inquire further.
"I'll go downstairs for a bit, be right back." With that he closed the door behind him and I heard the sounds of his retreating footsteps.
Well, what do I do now?
I stand up and walk towards the bed, it looks so comfy…
I hesitate touching it, before ultimately feeling the soft fabric against my skin. It's so smooth, I wonder what fabric softeners and detergents they use?
Before I realized what I was doing, I slowly reached out and grabbed the pillow at the head of the bed and put my face against it.
Sniff sniff sniiiiiiiiiiiiiifffffffffffffffffffff
It smells like him…
I quickly put down the pillow after I realized what I just did, I acted like some sort of closet perv. If he saw me smelling his pillow, what would he think of me?
Wait, why should I care about how he thinks of me anyway?
I take another look at the bed, and a thought that makes my face red as a tomato comes to me.
I-I wonder...
Hikigaya is a guy...
And guys are i-interested in that kind of stuff...
I wonder if his stuff, well assuming that he has any, is right under this bed that I'm sitting on...?
Just imagining the possibility is making my head spin.
Shaking my head to get a grip of myself, decided to take a look at some photographs that he had near his bed.
There was a picture of himself when he was around 3 years-old, he looked so cute back then and his cheeks were so chubby. In the next photo, he was maybe 8 years old with a smile on his face while he held the hand of his little sister while she was crying. I had to giggle to myself at the sight.
The next pictures were mostly in his elementary and middle-school days, and they were class pictures. Some showed the entire class doing outdoor activities and playing together in events, but I failed to spot him. But in the class pictures, I noticed that his cheery and innocent smile was gone, replaced by a forced one with a sign of discomfort. Those kinds of pictures were few and far in between, most of his facial expressions were either that or sad passive look on his face.
Did he have a rough childhood? He doesn't talk about himself much, nor his past.
Maybe I should ask him sometime…
No.
It's none of my business, and I'm not sure how he would react to me butting my nose in places where it doesn't belong. I might be opening old wounds and he might get hurt, or even get angry with me.
And I don't want to destroy the relationship that we've built over the past few months. Even though we don't see each other at school much, I do trust him. Heck, even Keika is already attached to him and his sister.
I sighed and lied down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. In the end, I don't know much about Hikigaya, aside from the things he tells me when I ask him. He's the mysterious type that rarely talks, that much is true, but it really pisses me off when some of my classmates are badmouthing him.
Being a not-so-sociable person like himself, I didn't know how to confront them…
So, I just resulted to giving them sharp looks of annoyance that would get them quiet from time to time, but thanks to that, I already heard whispers that said that I'm a delinquent too.
Not that I give them attention, they can run their mouths with shit for all I care.
Seriously, people these days are way too judgmental.
"That look that you have right now would make steel beams melt."
"AAAHHH!" I screamed and fell from the bed.
"Oi, are you alright?" His monotone voice that lacked any hint of concern asked me out of concern.
Hmm, how ironic.
"Damn you scared me." I mutter as I composed myself and sat on the floor.
"Sorry, I've been told that I walk too quietly for my own good, it's a habit of mine." he apologized.
"And who told you that?" I asked.
He put a hand under his chin and did a thinking pose, "Hmm, I believe it was Yukinoshita-san…" he muttered.
"You're friends with her?"
"No." He said in a bored tone.
I can't tell if he's telling the truth or hiding something...
"Then what can you tell me about this?" I pointed to the Biology report that had her name on it.
If someone heard us, I bet that I sound like a jealous girlfriend.
"Ah," he scratched his head a bit, "that had to be done by pair, as instructed by sensei you see. After a small chat, we both agreed to present our individual findings the next day. After we read each other's results, we both concluded that our respective creations were better than the other.
I refused to go with her output, since it simply had too much information, and she likewise did at mine and refused my suggestion at a compromise, she even called me a "cowardly gutless lowlife".
So, at that point, I separated with her because going with her plan exerts too much unnecessary effort." He shrugged his shoulders at the last part.
My mouth was agape, not by amazement or awe, but how stupid and petty everything sounded.
Seriously, do all smart people have arguments because of little things such as that?
Also, she called him what?
"She called you what?"
"I believe it was "A cowardly gutless lowlife"."
"Well then she must have some icy vocabulary." I say with furrowed brows.
He shrugged his shoulders, "Meh, I'm used to them. She always throws them at me when we're together. It's like a game that only the two of us play."
Oh, so that's it…
I shifted my eyes away from him in an embarrassed manner, what I'm about to ask might be a little too personal to him.
"So...are you her boyfriend?" I asked him and tried to avoid eye contact.
His face contorted into something of a combination between a scowl, an offended look and a disgusted one.
I think I felt something like I was looking into the infinite void of abyss when I looked at his eyes.
I expected a different expression from him...
"Ugh, no. Where did that come from?"
That was all he said and his facial expression returned to normal.
And by normal, I mean his usual blank and passive one. I wanted to ask more, but I'm afraid that I might annoy him too much.
"Hmm?" He asked and tilted his head to the side, which made his ahoge sway a bit.
"Ah, nothing." I say
"Well, there's your answer." after stretching a bit, he glanced at his wristwatch, "I have to go now, my shift will start soon."
"Oh, ok, I'll just study the notes you gave me."
"Hmm..."
W-What's he waiting for? He's been staring at me for a while now with that usual blank look. His intense stare was, well, intense. I even had to fidget a little.
"W-What?" I ask him.
"I have to change my clothes." He gave me a deadpan stare and attempted to strip off his shirt.
Right...
I had to give myself a massive mental facepalm at my indecisiveness.
"Oh! R-Right! Hahaha of course!" I jump to my feet, eager to escape the awkwardness.
He didn't even give a visible external reaction to how uncomfortable I felt.
Though I do see something like disappointment in his eyes, like how a tutor found out that the student he tried so much to teach still failed.
After I went downstairs, he shortly followed me wearing casual attire and went on his way.
Though Keika pleaded for him to stay, he explained to her why he had to go.
Finally, she let go of him and gave him a hug as he walked out of the door, with tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes, that is...
Well, guess I'll hang out here for a while...
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Sorry for the long wait, I've been really busy with our school's intramurals and competitions. We lost anyway, but at least we had fun. Though I think a lost a pound or two because of the stress...
To be honest, this was the most difficult chapter for me to finish, I dunno why. I had a hard time writing things from Saki's perspective, I think her's was the hardest to write.
I hope I did her some justice in this chapter.
Saki is one of the girls that I wanted to end up with 8man in canon, seeing that they have many of similarities.
Remember when 8man said "Love ya, Kawasaki!" in the light novel? Man her reaction was priceless!
Ok so I was browsing through the wiki the other day, and it said that, "Hachiman is skilled at swimming, according to the drama CD, he swam two kilometers in middle school because he had nothing else to do when his class had pool lessons."
I read all the books but I don't remember this. I was going to add this as a little thing that he can brag about but I was unsure whether it was legit or not.
As always, feel free to drop a review and let me know your thoughts, as well as a recommendation if you have an awesome idea.
Soooooo, yeah. That's all I wanted to say for now.
Bye bye!