"Thank you for your hard work, Hikigaya-kun!"
*pat* *pat*
I would normally avoid physical contact with another person, well, except if it's Komachi, she's the one who always comes to me.
When an overly-friendly classmate attempts to pat my shoulder as a good gesture, I would inch away at the last second.
If one of those nice girls invade my personal space, I would take a step back to maintain my defensive perimeters.
But, receiving a pat on the head from my super bubbly Senpai after an exhausting afternoon of doing student council duties is an exemption.
*pat* *pat*
I would usually inwardly demand compensation for any work that I do for someone, but a pat on the head from her is the greatest reward.
*pat* *pat*
"Hmm." That was the only reply that I could muster due to my exhaustion.
If I had one last request before dying from my current state, it would be to rest my head on Shiromeguri-senpai's thighs as she rubbed my head to ease my passing.
"Let's go home Hikigaya-kun~!" she then began poking my cheek, as if checking if I was still alive.
"Hai hai…" I get up, albeit slowly, while Senpai was patiently observing me with a smile.
That's what I call the Kind and Sweet Onee-san look.
Since the others already left, or were on errands, we were the only ones remaining.
After locking the door, we started walking together towards the exit of the school, we passed by many students that greeted us.
And by us, I mean only Shiromeguri-senpai, well I did receive a nod or two of acknowledgement but that's basically it, though I have no idea who those people were.
"Senpai, did you finish everything that the teachers told you to do?" I asked.
"Yup!"
"What about the clubs and their request of budget?"
"Hmm!"
"The weekly posting of important information on the bulletin boards?"
"Yes!"
"What about the list of all school officials and staff and their titles? We need it as a guide when we're making letters addressed to them."
"Secretary-chan already made them."
"The ink for our printer is nearly empty."
"The new cartridges of ink are in the bottom drawer of my table."
"Ok, sorry for bothering you."
"No problem!"
We were about to pass by a classroom when a girl with long silvery-blue hair in a ponytail exited from the room and locked eyes with me.
"Oh, Hikigaya…"
"Good afternoon Kawasaki." I lazily waved my hand at her and she followed suit.
She gave Shiromeguri-senpai, who was behind me fumbling with her bag, a quick look and asked me, "Are you going home already?"
"Yes, you?" I asked in turn.
"I still have my part-time job later, but I can at least go with you up to the school gate." She offered.
Hey, it's as if she was implying that I wanted her to go with me.
Of course, I don't mind the company, but…
"Hikigaya-kun!" Shiromeguri-senpai's voice riddled with urgency startled me. I turn around and she looked like she saw a ghost.
"What?"
"I forgot that the deadline for the letter was tonight! I have to go back and ask Sensei for the details!"
I knew it…
Good grief, what a clumsy girl…
"Ok, I'll be going on ahead then. If you need any assistance, contact vice-president-san and secretary-san."
"Gotcha! See you tomorrow!" she exclaimed.
*pat* *pat*
And then she ran off to the direction that we came from.
"Hey, no running in the hallways." My protest landed on deaf ears as she probably didn't hear me and continued to run.
Did she really need to pat my head before going though…?
I turn back to Kawasaki, who had observed our exchange with a curious look.
Great, I bet now she thinks that we're a bunch of weirdos.
I feel the remnants of my reputation plummet even further down the toilet.
"Well, should we get going?" I ask her.
"Oh, yeah. Let's go." She nodded at me and we proceeded to walk through the school's halls.
I am a man of few words, that much is true. I despise small talk, deeming it useless and a waste of breath, but there's something really important that I want to ask her.
"So, how was your exams?" I ask her.
"Hmm…" she put a hand under her chin and started pondering on my words.
"I think I did good, thanks for the help." She gave me a small grateful smile that looked unnatural on her cool and slightly serious demeanor.
I sigh in relief, if I found out that my student failed in the exam, I will literally jump from the top floor of my Father's office building.
"That's a relief."
I felt something hit my shoulder.
"You sound like you're saying that I'm an idiot." She said in a menacing manner that made me lose my composure for a moment.
"Ah, did I sound like that? My apologies, I was merely displaying the actions of a teacher concerned for his student. Isn't it normal for one such as myself to at least show concern to my fellows?" I reply.
Damnit, Yukinoshita's speaking habits are rubbing off on me.
"I guess…" she said after a moment, her menacing aura disappearing as fast as it appeared.
If incorporating the speaking habits of aristocrats can get me out of a tough situation like this, then I should already start practicing.
She then initiated some small talk, to my surprise, which was out-of-character for her personality. She talked about her work at the supermarket, things that happened at class today and of course, about Keika.
As usual, I just listened and occasionally inserted my inputs here and there.
If I was recruited by the Dark Brotherhood, I would no doubt be the Listener.
That was an ingenious joke, and I had to snicker to myself.
"What's so funny?" The girl beside me asked and gave me a questioning look.
"Ah, nothing." I say. At my words, she shrugged her shoulders.
I escorted her to the school gates and we separated there, after I bade her farewell, I went back to the place where students park their bikes.
I was really curious about the tennis court of the school, so I decided to take a detour and head there before going home. Tennis is one of the few sports that I'm good at, and I haven't had the chance to use the racquet that I bought nearly four months ago.
Back in middle-school, none of my classmates wanted to pair up with me. So, I usually played with Sensei during that time. He was really strict, and corrected every mistake that I did when we had practice matches. But he was a good Sensei, one of my favorites in school, if not my most favorite.
I was pretty sad when he was too busy to have a match with me in P.E., so when those times arrived, I opted to play against the wall.
The wall was a good partner. He didn't tease me nor complain nor call me Hikigerma-kun. He just played.
I am honestly itching for a game right now.
Since Komachi is sucks too much at it, and my parents are always busy, I have no one to play with.
Well, there's always the wall outside...
I hope my skills haven't gone rusty…
I caught sight of a group of male students wearing sports attire, from the ball that one of them was holding, I believe they were football players.
In the middle of their group was the alpha male, surrounded by beta cucks and nameless insignificant side-characters that were MUDA in the overall progression of the plot.
*Oi Hikigaya, that was a bit too harsh…*
The said Alpha Male, was good 'ol...
Uh...what was his name again?
Hayasomething-san?
Hayasomething-san The Combat Butler?
Upon seeing me, he said something to his man-slaves and jogged over to me.
Oi, is this guy for real?
"What's up, Hikigaya?" He called out to me as he got nearer.
What a very riajuu-like way of greeting someone...
"Hmm, did you need something?" I reply in my usual tone.
"Not really, me and my classmates were just on our way to football practice." He stopped and gave me a quick look from top to bottom.
"Say, you have a really nice build, do you play sports?"
Haah? What nonsense is this guy talking about?
"Nice build" my ass.
"Sorry, but if you really wanted me to come with you with by using flattering words, then I'm afraid you have to try harder. The effort you showed is really non-existent to the point where its insulting me. Please try harder next time, and maybe I can at least acknowledge your minute existence. Until then, please get away from me and don't breathe in my direction. If I catch you doing otherwise, I will have you executed and your body burned at the stake for everyone to see. Ta ta~"!
If I was an Ojou-sama, like a certain someone that I know, I would have said that to his face.
*Hikigaya, you absolutely destroyed him in your head! That rejection was Hime-sama level! *
"Not really." I say back.
"Oh really? Want to come to our try-outs this weekend?" He offered and gave me a bright smile.
Tch, this guy is persistent!
"I'm busy during weekends."
"Ah, I see." He scratched his head.
"Hayama, we're going on ahead!" I heard one of the nobody side-characters call out.
"Wait for me!" He laughed. "Well, I'll see you around Hikigaya." He said and raised his hand suspiciously and creeped towards my shoulder.
Don't touch me you brute!
Before he could pat my shoulder, I moved to the side to avoid it.
"Hmm." I just gave him a quick nod and began walking before I could see his facial reaction.
Ew what a creep, he nearly touched me there. I should report him for sexual harassment. I didn't look back, and their voices soon disappeared as I went further away from them.
I spent the rest of my walk in peace and quiet, and thankfully, I wasn't interrupted by any intruders.
I exited the building which I had to enter in order to access the tennis court. The total area was adequate, though I realized that it can only accommodate at least one play at a time.
How disappointing, I expected better of you, Sobu High! As a proud citizen of Chiba, I declare this as an embarrassment! I should tell the principal about this, maybe drop a hint or two here and there...
Suddenly, I heard the sound of something hitting against something. I stopped to listen what I was hearing.
After several seconds, I concluded that it was the sound of a tennis racquet hitting a tennis ball.
With silent footsteps, I traced the source of the sound to the nearby wall of the building. I took a quick look and saw a blonde girl playing against the wall, each sound made by the contact between her racquet and the ball echoing in this secluded area.
Hmm...Miura-san...What's she doing here?
*Obviously playing Tennis.*
Thank you Captain Obvious.
I took another look and saw that she's not even wearing the proper attire. Each time her body moved to intercept the ball, her skirt would slightly sway up, but not enough to show her undergarments.
What a tease!
I turned away from the sight, eager to protect my innocence from such a provocative image.
With beads of sweat running down her forehead, she stopped to catch her breath. She pulled out her phone from out of nowhere and began fiddling with it with her free hand.
Woah! What the heck was that?! Where did the phone come from?! Does she have her own personal pocket dimension?!
As I was trying to come up with a logical answer to what I just witnessed, her head turned to my direction and our eyes met.
What the heck is with these ridiculous coincidences recently?
3…
2…
1…
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Ouch, that hurt my ears...
I know that I look scary, I once heard a security guard ask his partner if I'm part of the yakuza, but there's no need to pour sulfuric acid on my maggot-infested wounds...
After calming herself down, she gave me a glare that would make other boys flee in terror.
"HIKIO! YOU SCARED ME!" She stomped over to me and was about to punch my arm. I swear her green eyes were steaming.
Whether she's just joking or she's really going to do it, I'm not gonna take any chances!
I leaned my body just before she could hit me.
*Whoosh*
I felt the shock-wave from her fist.
She gritted her teeth and tried to reach for me again, but I was faster.
"Oi, whats the big idea...and who is this "Hikio" you speak of?" I say with sarcasm when we finally got some distance between us.
"Grrrr...hmph!" She crossed her arms and turned her head away from me.
"Geez why are you so worked up?" I scratched my head in confusion.
"Why are you even here anyway?" I added.
"That's none of your business." She glared at me once more.
Hoh...giving me the cold shoulder, eh?
Two can play at that game!
"Indeed, it's not. Goodbye then." After giving her a stiff bow, I started walking away.
"H-Hey! Wait for me!" While still walking, I watched with amusement as she hastily picks up her bag, while throwing me and annoyed look, along with a second tennis racquet that I didn't see.
She hit my arm when she finally caught up with me, while I had numerous chances to dodge it, the satisfied grin on her face when she claimed victory was enough for me to stand down in the end.
So even her fiery personality has a cute side, huh...
"As I mentioned earlier, what are you doing here?" I ask without turning to her.
"Well, I was supposed to play with my gym partner, but she said that she had an appointment, at the last second..." I could hear a hint of annoyance on her tone.
"Ah..."
She walked ahead of me and started going to the tennis court. I cocked my head in confusion but said nothing.
After going to the bench, she turned to me and threw the second raquet. Of course, I was able to catch it.
"Oi oi, what gives?"
"Huh? I thought you wanted to have a match with me?" She gave me a confused look.
"I don't remember you even saying that you wanted a match..." Does she think I'm a psychic or something? I can't read the minds of complicated beings such as females y'knowww...
"Come on~!" Her face morphed into a _ and balled her fists.
"Well, ok. But I won't go easy on you." I say as I put down my bag and gave her an asshole-like grin.
Something must have snapped inside her head because she sent me a similar expression with her competitive aura emitting from behind her.
NANI?!
Is that her STAND?!
"Hoh, then I'm looking forward to it..." she cackled menacingly.
Hey now, I was just fooling around on my part. Did she actually think that I was being serious...?
I have a feeling that I just dug my own grave...
After several minutes of warming up, I deduced that I was ready and gave her the signal. Due to her insistence, I was the first one to serve the ball.
The first few minutes were dull. Her moves were nothing special, just like mine. Both of us were having difficulty playing because we weren't wearing the proper attire. More so with her because of her skirt.
Shoes-chan, please forgive and bear with me...
Our scores were 8-11, mine was the former when we hit 15-minutes. I had a feeling that she was going easy on me, testing the waters and observing me. I was doing the same to her, though I had to keep looking at her eyes or on the ball or else I might see something at her lower part that might cause me to faint while we're still playing.
I'm talking about her skirt by the way, and its still teasing me!
"Hikio, you're pretty good." She commented when she went back to the other side of the court for us to resume playing after having a quick break
"You too."
In many shonen anime, the main character, and in some cases, the villain too, would only reveal their ultimate and devastating move when they are nearing the climax of their battle. Very cliché and repetitive, if I might add.
I believe otherwise.
The battle must be won with a single decisive strike to prevent a long and costly war of attrition. A single devastating thrust to the heart of the beast. Therefore, at the start of the battle, you must give it your all and nothing less.
Just like in some of my fighting video games, it's a race to see who deals the most damage in those crucial first few seconds at the start of the battle. It was in those few seconds where one can foresee who will be the victor.
While this is certainly real life and not a war, I believe I can improvise…
So, with that in mind, I took a deep breathe and readied myself to serve the ball once more.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
He's fast!
At the start of our second game, his strikes were faster and stronger, while his legs moved so quickly that I was afraid he might trip.
16-11...
He already caught up with me...
His stance is really weird. His legs look so relaxed, and would only move with explosive speed when it was needed. His eyes are really intense too, and his face was calm as a still water.
I was shocked at how much he changed, that it took me a while to get my head around it.
Me, a tennis player who played in prefecture-level matches...
His strike just now was fast, I was just in time to return it. I miscalculated, the shot was too weak and too high.
A perfect time to land a powerful smash.
He leapt into the air, his racquet making contact with the ball and I began rushing to the other side of the court.
It was at that moment that I locked eyes with him.
The ball came flying towards me and I managed to return it.
I have to win! Or at least close the gap between us as much as possible!
For the next few moments, we were equally matched. I was able to get a score with a precise and quick shot.
Both of us were breathing heavily, and I could begin to feel my legs slightly shake from the fatigue.
18-12...
Damnit...
"Let's stop here." His hoarse voice called out to me. From his voice alone, he sounds even more exhausted than me, yet his face was neutral as ever.
"Yeah, that's a good idea..." I replied in-between my heavy breaths as my legs collapsed on the ground. Holy shit, when was the last time I had a match with this intensity?
Ah, I think I sprained my foot...
"Huff hufff huff..." I heard his ragged breaths as I watch him approach me.
"You're pretty good, Miura-san." He said as he offered his hand.
I gave him a cheeky grin, "You too, do you mind helping me up? I think I sprained my foot." I wiggled my right foot to show him.
He reached out his hand and pulled me up.
Unfortunately, he applied too much force, so I was pushed into his chest. The contact was brief, but I felt the rapid pounding of his heart through the fabric of his uniform. From the intensity of it, it'll take a while for him to calm down from the adrenaline rush…
"Oh, sorry about that." He quickly stepped back to give me some space, but still close enough to lend me his arm.
"There you are again, apologizing too quickly. People will think that you're a wimp." With his help, I limp towards the bench where we put our bags earlier.
"I'd rather be called a wimp than a person without manners and courtesy." He said boredly when I finally got to sit down. He sat down a little further from me, to my confusion, so I scooted closer to him.
"What the heck was that? That sounded so cool! Haha!" I laughed at him and playfully poke his cheek.
He attempted to moved his head to avoid my finger, but he just sighed and gave up.
*poke poke*
"T-That's ridiculous, and stop poking my cheek, you might catch a disease." He said in an uptight manner, but I know he was just supressing a blush by looking away.
"How did you get so good at tennis anyway?" I ask him. He was really good, I had to admit. It's been a while since I played against someone like him and it was really refreshing.
"I'm not good at tennis." He muttered.
I rolled my eyes at him, "Ok ok Mr. Humbleson, just answer the question."
"I just played it in middle-school like any other student." He said and waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
I sighed and looked up to the sky, I can already see some orange streaks creeping slowly in those dominated by white and blue.
Time flies by so fast, it's already been a few months since classes started.
I made lots of friends, I even have my own little group of friends that I hang out with.
"Hikio, who do you hang out with anyway?" I asked him as I stared up the sky.
A moment of silence.
"No one, really..." He replied.
I turn to him with a shocked expression. He must be joking, right?
"Huh? What do you mean?" I look at him seriously this time, trying to see if he's lying. As usual, his eyes betrayed nothing.
"I go to school alone and go home alone, if that's what you mean." He replied.
"No! I mean who do you hang out with at school!"
"Oh, well, same answer." He said.
"Tell me more."
He looked at me from the corner of his eye with an unreadable expression, and after a moment of thinking, finally came up with an answer.
"There's nothing much to say, except from the occasional conversation with one of my classmates, and official discussions with the rest of the student council members, I'm basically alone. I cook my own lunch and eat it alone in a quiet place. During mandatory group activities, I ask the teachers if I can be by myself, which they allow. But if it's unavoidable that I should be grouped with others, I stay quiet and just help when they ask me. It's not that they unfriendly to me, I think they are just...indifferent towards me. Not that I'm chasing after them or anything, I'm perfectly fine by myself." He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and shrugged.
That was pretty sad. I thought that he had a clique, or even a friend that he always sticks with.
"Are you being bullied?" I ask him, and I couldn't help frowning and clenching my fists at the thought.
"Who would have the gall to "bully" the head of the disciplinary committee?" He lightly chuckled.
"But, I'm used to it...being alone, I mean." he added with a melancholic tone and looked up to the sky.
I stayed quiet for a while, I didn't know what to say...
He sighed, a deep and heavy one reverberated through his body, as if trying to forcefully remove a memory that he would rather forget. I saw him give himself a strained smile.
"I apologize if I made the atmosphere depressing." He said in an apologetic tone and lightly bowed his head to me.
"Hikio, you did no such thing..." I shouldn't have asked him such a personal question…
"You can hang out with me after school or during break times if you want." I offered.
I think I can introduce him to my friends.
Truth be told, I already feel at ease with him and I feel like he'll be a great friend. Unlike other guys he has no ulterior motives. I already have some guys that ogle at me when I walk in the hallways, which, already in itself, is super creepy and uncomfortable.
He never looked at me like those creeps, which I'm really glad.
"I'm fine thank you. You shouldn't waste your time acompanying me after all." He politely declined my offer and said it in such a self-depreciating manner too. I had to frown at that.
"You should stop talking like that."
"Like what?"
"Like, unecessary self-depreciating habits." I furrowed my brows at him.
"Oh, its one of my specialties. Self-depreciating jokes, annoying sarcasm and a nihilistic sense of humour are my strong character attributes." He said with pride as he gave me a thumbs up.
"Pfff...hahahaha." I giggle at his reply, he was right about his twisted sense of humour.
I saw him look at his watch to check the time. Wow, is that a Rolex?
"Nice watch Hikio." That's definitely a Rolex. Damn that thing is probably worth a few years of tuition in your average college. I guess the rumour that he comes from an affluent family has some truth to it after all...
"Oh, thank you. I got this as a present for..." He stopped and I turned to him to see whats wrong.
"What?"
"Nothing..."
"Tell me please~."
"No."
"Pretty please~~?" I batted my eyelashes at him. Emotionally constipated or not, he's still a guy and I'm sure my lady charms will take effect on him.
"It's too embarassing and you might think that its ridiculous..." He turned away from me with a conflicted look and a slight blush.
Ha! Looks like it worked!
"Come on~~~..."
"Ugh, fine, I got this as a gift from my parents for topping the school's entrance exams."
"Yeah yeah, you're a smartass, I get it." I grummbled at him while pouting.
"Good grief..." He muttered as he massaged his brows while having a small smile.
We went quiet after that, and I don't know how much time passed until I realized that it was getting dark.
"Hey Hikio, we should go home."
...
...
...
No response.
I turn to him and see that he laid his body on the bench, his back going up and down everytime he breathed.
"Hikio."
I reach out and pat his shoulder, hoping to wake him up, still no reaction. I get up and kneel at the floor near his head so I can shake his shoulder.
But instead of seeing his eyes closed, I saw that it formed into an X.
(x_x)
...
"..."
OH MY GOD DID HE FAINT?! HE MUST HAVE OVEREXERTED HIMSELF TOO MUCH!
"HIKIO WAKE UP! DON'T FOLLOW THE LIGHT! COME TOWARDS MY VOICE!" I grab him by the shoulders and begin shaking him.
"Granpa, I see you..." He muttered in a dazed voice.
"NO DON'T FOLLOW HIM! HIKIO! FOLLOW MY VOICE! DON'T LEAVE ME!"
"Ugh...tomatoes..." He muttered again while his face contorted into a frown.
If I wasn't fearing for his life, I would have laughed so hard on the spot.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hello Guys and Girls!
Ivanov117 here!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, this one was fun to write hehe.
Do you know what day tomorrow is?
That's right, it's the 12th of September.
And do you know why I mentioned it?
It's because the first chapter of this FanFic was submitted a year ago!
This FanFic has officially reached one-year old!
I can't believe it's already been a year, it feels like it was just yesterday when I had the idea for writing this FanFic lol.
Thank you so much to those of you who were with me since the beginning!
A little story time…
I started having my own idea for a FanFic after I read all the LN. My mind was full of ideas, "What if Hachiman did this? What if he did that?", those kinds of thought. Ultimately, the majority of my ideas were already past canon, that's why this ended up becoming an AU.
The week that I first started writing this last year, a strong earthquake hit my State. Our geothermal power-plants that were deep in the mountains were damaged, along with several collapsed buildings near the epicenter.
When the earthquake hit, I was in the library sleeping. I ignored the shaking of my table, but then I realized that no one was sitting there besides me. Upon realization of the earthquake, I ran downstairs, along with many other students and teachers. There was no damage to the school infrastructure, so classes immediately resumed.
When we went to our other house, shards of our broken vases and other things were scattered on the floor, but thankfully, that was all.
Our whole State had no electricity for nearly a month.
You may ask, "Well, how were you able to continue writing the drafts?"
The answer, my dear readers, lies with the sun.
We have large solar panels on our roof, but it can only support small devices like phones, flashlights, radios, etc. So, I continued writing on my Ipad.
That is why, since last year, every morning when I wake up and go outside, I raise my hands and praise the Sun.
Jk lol.
So, yeah. That was basically the ORIGINS of this FanFic.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this and had a good laugh!
Don't be shy in writing a review (if you want), let me know your thoughts on this chapter!
See you next time!