Hikigaya Hachiman's Path To Reformation

Break Days

Day 3

"Jeez Onii-chan, you really should take care of yourself more," I say as I spoon-feed him with rice porridge that Mom had made this morning. Today was the third day that he was bedridden, he was too weak to go downstairs so I took it upon me to come to his room and feed him.

"Say aaaahh~."

"Aahh…" As he started eating, I noticed that the area under his eyes was getting darker, and he could barely fully open his eyes for a few seconds before nodding off to sleep. His arms also suddenly got thin and his complexion was deathly pale. Seeing him like this, so weak, so helpless, really hurts Komachi's heart…

Despite wearing a long-sleeved thermal shirt, his hands were very cold. We weren't even using the Air Conditioning System in his room…

"Water please…" He said in a rough voice that often cracked. In other times, I would have laughed at it, but listening to him like that reminded me of his current state. I gave him the glass and he started drinking in small sips. Today is Saturday, and he was supposed to have his part-time job this afternoon. He called his Boss last night and told her that he couldn't go. I'm glad that Onii-chan has such a caring and considerate boss. As for his taekwondo lessons tomorrow, they were supposed to have a training with another group from outside Chiba. I don't know what he told his Sensei, since he's strangely secretive about that part of his Sunday routine…

This went on for some time, me spoon-feeding him in this quiet home of ours. On the first day that he got sick, Mom had dropped her seminar in Saitama and went straight home, same with Dad immediately cancelling his travel schedule to Hokkaido. I went home that afternoon to find him already sleeping and changed, with Kamakura rolled up into a ball next to him in his room. The next day, Dad went out to buy medicine while Mom stayed behind and slept in Onii-chan's room to see to his needs.

He was so pale when he first came downstairs yesterday supported by Dad. When Mom saw how weak he still was, she forbade him from going downstairs unless it's to relieve himself in the restroom. I hope he doesn't have anything serious...

After he felt full, he took his meds and covered himself in his thick blanket. I quietly took the utensils and went downstairs to do the dishes. As I was about to close the door behind me, Kamakura trotted from the side and entered his room, staying at the foot of his bed and taking a nap there.

"What a good kitty cat…" I whisper.

As I was cleaning the dishes, my phone rang from the living room and I quickly dried my hands before picking it up and answering it.

"Hello?"

"Komachi~~! Are you coming with us today? We saw this new café in downtown yesterday and we think you'd love it!" Ah, it was just some of my friends…

"Sorry, I'm taking care of my big brother right now since he's sick…"

"Oh, is that so? Is he your Onii-chan that you love to brag about at school~~?" She replied in a teasing tone.

"S-Shut up! Anyway, I'm doing what every little sister needs to do when her big brother is sick!" I say hastily.

"Ok ok, we get it you brocon. Anyway, we'll send you some pictures later ok? We hope your big brother feels better!" We exchanged farewells and ended the call. Ugh, my friends can get too teasing sometimes it's embarrassing…

After returning to finish the dishes, I went back upstairs to Onii-chan's room. Since I was taking care of him, I decided to put a futon near the foot of his bed so I can at least make myself comfortable while I watch over him. I came to see that he was already sound asleep, while Kamakura was sleeping on the chair for his study table.

I put my hand over his head to see that his temperature was still quite hot, he also put on a facemask when I was away. I slowly and carefully sat on the edge of his bed right next to him, caressing his hair with my hand. When Komachi was still small and sick, Onii-chan would do that to me and he would sleep in my room to keep me company when Mom and Dad weren't at home.

Now is my time to return the favour! Do not fear, for I am here!

I texted our parents about his current state before lying down on the futon and going through social media on the latest happenings. To pass the time, I started watching cute cat videos and stuff since I didn't see anything interesting on my news feed.

"K-Ko… K-Komachi…"

"Haiii, your Komachi is here~. Do you need something, Onii-chan~?"

"I want to read something." He croaked out with his eyes barely opening and pointed to his closet.

"Will do! What book do you want me to get?" I get up and made my way to the closet and opening it. His bookshelves were already quite full, so he puts some of his books in a box on the lower part of his closet for safekeeping. He also divided them by type with labels like "Classical", "Western Literature", "Biographies" and "English".

"The one with the label "Light Novels"." He said, and I picked up a medium-sized box that had the said label on it.

"The title is The Honourable Mercenary of Kyoto, the illustration on the cover page is a man with long hair tied in a ponytail with a little fox-girl floating behind him." He nonchalantly said the last part as it wasn't weird. Onii-chan reads everything that interests him, I've seen him read books like Greek Mythology, Modern and Classical art styles, the biography of Oda Nobunaga, The Great Space Race, The Rise and Fall of Rome, The Unification of Japan to Light Novels and Manga.

I blushed when I saw some of the cover illustrations on some of the books. Scantily clad girls!

Scantily clad girls everywhere!

After a while, I found it, and I breathed a sigh of relief when the "little fox-girl" wore a proper kimono around herself. I'm glad that Onii-chan isn't a lolicon NEET that didn't get transported to another world after getting hit by a truck, who then claims to be a true gender equalist that wouldn't hesitate to drop-kick a woman.

"Here you go~."

He muttered in thanks and started flipping through that pages and I went downstairs to get a snack while I was listening to music. After getting a bag of chips, I went back to his room and lied down on the futon. I didn't even get to open the chips since I fell asleep a few moments after I closed my eyes.

When I came to, I looked at the time to see that an hour had passed, and I check to see if Onii-chan was still reading. The Light Novel was on his lap since he had fallen asleep while reading it. During I was napping, it looked like he wore a face mask. I got up and took the book and moved it to his desk and fixing his hair while I was at it.

"Komachi, I'm feeling cold…" He said with one eye open, but before I could react, he partially moved his blanket away and moved to the side of his bed. I understood what he meant and I plopped right by his side as I pulled the covers over us. My feet accidentally made contact with his and I felt them be cold. I was about to move them but he trapped them with both of his legs.

"You're not getting away." He said in a lazy and tired voice.

"H-Hmph!"

I looked up from under the blanket and saw him looking straight at me with a curious expression, after several seconds, he blinked twice and cocked his head to the side. I could already imagine the imaginary floating question mark near his head when he did that. Since it would be awkward for us to be facing each other, I faced away from him and nudged myself closer to his larger form. I took his left arm and put it around myself, essentially making me the small spoon. His hand rested near my tummy, and I could feel occasionally feel it when I breathe in and out. I leaned back a bit, just on the area below his neck. It was a perfect fit, as it was my place there all along.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" He asked in a considerate tone, muffled by the facemask that he wore. Stupid Onii-chan! If I was feeling that, I would have stood up and gone back to my futon on the floor!

"No, you're not."

Waaaahhh, this is so embarrassing, how did things go this way? Was I subconsciously seduced into doing this? Does Onii-chan have a mind-control power that he recently discovered and decided to test on me? No, it's my fault, Komachi secretly wants this despite me complaining right now?! I'm not making any sense!

I felt him softly nuzzle himself into my hair, the contact causing pleasurable goosebumps to form all over my neck and I couldn't help but give out a small whimper. "You smell nice."

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"Onii-chan, you shouldn't be so straightforward in telling that to a girl, if you did this to anyone else, it would be suuuuuuuuper creepy," I say.

"Hmm, I could imagine Miu-" He suddenly started coughing mid-sentence, but he continued when it went away. "ra-san slapping me if I told her that, but I'm sure that she wouldn't be able to land a hit on me anyway." He was about to laugh but then another cough came. Since we were so close, I could feel his abdominal muscles tense and contract after every cough that went through him.

"Oh, who's that?" I ask.

"She's my frie-" he stopped mid-sentence. I craned my head to look at him, and from the corner of my eyes, I could see that he was frowning, his brows furrowed in concentration.

I didn't pry further, and I felt him shrug and dismiss what he was about to say. "Well, you're the only girl that I could say that to anyway…" He added as an afterthought and I felt my cheeks get warm. Uwaaah, that sounded like an overused, yet effective pick-up line.

"Well, you and Mom at least." He added again, and this time I lightly elbowed him in the stomach.

"You're in for a lot of trouble if I catch your cold." I yelped when he suddenly moved his left hand.

"T-This is going to cost you a lot of points, Onii-chan…" I managed to stutter out without exploding into a full-blown squeal of embarrassment.

"I know, I know." He said and even from his muffled voice alone, I could tell that he was smiling.

"I will be your heater until you're feeling alright. Extended use of me after that time will cost you an extra 10000000% Komachi-point per day penalty!" I exclaim.

"Good grief, then I'll be sure to use you as much as I can until my time ends, then…" He said, and after a few moments, his breathing relaxed and he fell asleep. Being in a comfortable position would make me feel sleepy too, and it didn't take long for my eyes to close.

Day 5

"Haa-chan you can't go out yet, you still have a fever." Mother's firm voice was directed at me from across the kitchen as I ate breakfast from the dining table.

"Ok ok, it was just a suggestion…" I say. Truth be told, I have to admit that I'm still not strong enough to go outside. I still feel a bit wobbly and my head hurts like heck. Dad already dropped Komachi in her school before going to Tokyo. He said that he just parks his car near the station and prefers to commute and walk to work since it was way cheaper than using his car every day. Speaking of his car, it surprised me the other day when it talked and all. It was one of the latest models, and he sold his other car that he bought a few months ago to buy this one instead. He also said that he sold it at a higher price since he added some customized stuff inside to increase its selling value, coupled with the fact that the guy that he sold it to was easily swayed by "sales talk". Damn, I didn't know my Father was very shrewd…looks like his SPEECH level is quite higher than I thought…

"Here's your lunch, make sure to eat everything!" Grilled salmon, a steak of high-quality beef, some cold and salty vegetables, miso soup and orange and mango mochi are in the fridge. This is overkill, I can't finish this by myself. I got up and went to the drawer where we store our facemasks, it would be bothersome if the other members of our household would catch a cold too, after all.

After putting the food on the table, and some in the fridge, she went to the bathroom to take a bath before going back to Saitama again. My Mother opened her third branch in Saitama this month, and I'm quite happy that she's successful on her own. Unfortunately, I have never visited her second and third branches yet, but I'll make sure to do so when I'm feeling strong enough. I'm quite sure that my Father's income is more than enough to support us all on his own. But my Mother is a strong and proud independent woman who don't need no man to pamper her with a life of luxury and comfort.

*Hikigaya, that last part was actually pretty funny, if you understood the reference.*

I opened the T.V after I took my medicine and started looking for news about the weather. Huh, it's still late winter? The weather is getting weird lately, must be due to climate change. I had requested my Father a few days ago to include international channels in our channel list because, well I just wanted to. I found a nature documentary about the Siberian Tiger and adjusted myself on the sofa to make myself more comfortable.

"Uwaah, an English channel? When was this added?" I turn around and see my Mother wearing a bathrobe around herself, her light brown hair still dripping water onto the floor.

"Only a few days ago," I say as I went back to focusing on the T.V in front of me. I heard her footsteps retreat upstairs, and after a few minutes, came down wearing a simple black blouse and white jeans, her hair set in place by a headband.

"You know, I literally can't understand what they're saying." She said as she started watching too while combing her hair and applying makeup on herself.

"They're saying that they found Tiger pawprints on the snow, which was likely made only an hour or two ago," I say, with mild difficulty. I'm still not a master of the language itself, and if they talk too fast or in a funny accent, I wouldn't be able to understand them too. Even though my English scores are the highest in our Year, not to brag, but the actual application and written forms are very different.

"Take care Haa-chan, remember to take your medicine on time. Your Father and I will be calling now and then." She said her goodbyes and closed the main door behind her. Her car starting up a few moments later, and I heard her move out from the garage and into the road.

Finally, some alone time.

The house was quiet except for the sounds coming from the T.V, an Englishman with his Siberian guide traversing through the thick mountain snow on their way to the campsite. The Siberian man, his voice thick with a Russian accent, began narrating how the numbers of Siberian Tigers sighted in the area have lessened over the years. They were retreating deeper into the forests in pursuit of their main prey, which was Deer.

The show ended after an hour, with the scene transitioning into a cave where a mother Tigress was nursing her offspring. Aww, how cute. It's hard to believe that something so small and cute would grow to be one of the world's largest terrestrial carnivores.

I turned off the T.V and went upstairs to get one of my Japanese-English books since I made a mental list of words that were unfamiliar when I watched the show. Sitting down on the sofa with a notebook and pencil, I began listing down the unfamiliar words and guessed how they were spelt. With that done, I began flipping through the pages, eager to expand my vocabulary and increase my proficiency in the language.

It was quite a while before I put my pen down, and I stretched my shoulders which caused my joints to pop. Seeing the time, I took my medicine which I was supposed to do every few hours. The bitter taste momentarily taking me off guard before I forcibly swallowed it with a glass of water. My body temperature is quite high, so to remedy that, I opted to wear a thick cotton sweatshirt which would cause me to sweat, and in turn, naturally, cool my body down.

I learned this from a book about basic illnesses in our school library. It was also the day before I got sent home when I rested in the infirmary. Truly, how strange.

I'm still updated on what's happening in class since Hiratsuka-sensei is emailing me the homework and projects that need to be done. Kawasaki and Kei-chan dropped by the other day, but they came without knowing that I was sick, and it didn't take long for them to go home. My thoughts soon drifted on the current status of the Student Council, and a nerve ticked at my forehead while my left eye twitched in annoyance. Most of the students keep mistaking my position, I'm not the Vice-President damnit! I'm the Head of the Disciplinary Committee! The Disciplinary Committee is an independent entity within the Student Council organization itself, as stated by the Code and By-Laws of the Student Council created by the school. I answer directly to the Principal, and not to Shiromeguri-senpai.

Though it says Committee, I'm actually the only member.

Since…well…no one wants to volunteer for the work, so I'm all alone, as usual…

But at least I became familiar with the other members of the Student Council. My responsibilities as Head of the Disciplinary Committee aren't that difficult, and when I have an hour or two to spare, I usually help them out if they need it.

I wonder if my classmates miss me, probably not…But I'm sure that the teachers do since their slave is on sick leave! Hah! Now it's Yukinoshita's turn to be their errand boy! I mean errand girl.

Day 7

I was never a fan of harem anime. So many choices, yet every choice leads to a girl's broken heart. In some cases, all the potential candidates already have a strong yearning for the main character, which is completely ridiculous. At least visual novels are more believable, where you have to interact, court and earn the affections of the girl that you want, without hurting the feeling of the other girls since they never felt anything for you from the start. It's very satisfying when playing the game, choosing the girl that you want to end up with, befriending her, having fun with her, laying the groundwork for the confession and getting that oh so satisfying "Yes." in the end.

I look around me and sighed at what I saw.

I don't like hospitals, people die here. Some pass away peacefully in their sleep, and some, unfortunately, struggled and writhed until their last moment in this world. An old man in a hospital bed with wheels passed me by. His arms were so thin and his eyes were closed. A pair of nurses pushed the bed and was closely followed by what I assume to be his son. When I entered this place, the alien scent bothered me. I'm not sure if some people notice this, but hospitals have this specific smell in the air. I can't quite explain it, but I'm sure that you'll agree with me, once you experience it yourself.

The reason why I'm here, you ask?

Well…

I was here yesterday to have a check-up and had a laboratory test after it. It was the usual, X-ray, red blood cell count, white blood cell counts etc. My Mother is horrified of needles and refused to see me getting injected. My arm still hurts from the needle though…

The results were not what I was expecting.

It was discovered that my RBC count was less than the average, concerning my age, gender and body mass index. In short, I had mild Anemia The result was me getting weaker as time went on, and the laboured breathing I would get during my jogs and when in my Taekwondo lessons only made it worsen. I recall Tatsumi-sensei commenting on my health based on her observations, but I brushed her off and told her it was nothing to worry about. Maybe that's the reason why she didn't pick me to participate in one of the prefecture competitions a month or two ago…

Now that I think back, I sometimes have difficulty breathing, after doing physical exercise and jogging...

I remember fainting after I played Tennis with Miura-san a few months ago. I thought it was just exhaustion from the sudden physical exercise. Maybe that was the time when my condition began to get worse...

One of the more obvious side-effects, aside from the ones already mentioned, was the predominantly pale skin that I have. Thankfully, since it was still mild, I didn't develop skin rashes and other unpleasant side effects. Hiratsuka-sensei, Miura-san, Hinata-sorry, Ebina-san, Shiromeguri-senpai and even Yukinoshita commented on it from time to time. Of course, I gradually noticed the change in my skin tone, but I ignored it and blamed it on the weather or something. Well, Yukinoshita's comments were more or less playfully insulting my very being instead out of concern, but at least she was aware of it. It looks like being called a "Vampire", "Pale corpse" and "Zombie" by Yukinoshita during the costume event held some truth after all.

At first, I was horrified at the possible paths that we will take. A blood transfusion came to mind, and even though I'm not scared of getting a needle piercing my skin or two, the needle used in a blood transfusion was massive, when compared to its smaller siblings. But the doctor reassured us that that wasn't needed at the moment, since things like that would only be before a major operation where the loss of blood is a concern.

I was advised to take medicine that promotes RBC production. Aside from that, I was instructed by Makatsu-sensei, my doctor, to halt my part-time job and stop my taekwondo practice for the time being, and also to eat food rich in iron to promote the growth of my red blood cells such as red meat, like beef and organ meat. Aside from that, I have also been prescribed some vitamins and minerals. Yuuka Tatsumi my Boss, and her cousin which also happens to be my Taekwondo sensei, Maya Tatsumi. I had informed them an hour ago through my mobile phone about what the Makatsu-sensei said and they readily agreed. The former already giving me my advance payment for the week which was quite unnecessary if I was being honest, but she insisted.

While my Mother was purchasing the medicine in the hospital pharmacy I'm just here in the canteen, waiting for her to arrive. Even though I only have a mild fever now, the light-headedness and headache are still here, but at least my coughing and sneezing dwindled enough.

Even though I'm using my phone, I am still paying attention to my surroundings. Any sudden movements from the people walking on the corner of my eye would instantly catch my attention, as well as footsteps and audible voices within earshot.

*Damn Hikigaya, your level of paranoia is over 9000! You would make the ultimate assassin.*

It was at that moment when I heard a voice that caused my blood to run cold and my heart to skip a beat out of horror. From the moments that I've learned of her presence, I confirmed that she was alone, for now at least. And the person that she's speaking to is on the other side of the phone. Using the reflective glass on my phone, I discreetly angled it so I can see what's behind me.

Even though her back is to me and she wore an unfamiliar-looking school uniform...that hairstyle and that voice... There is no doubt that it is she-who-should-not-be-named.

I unconsciously gulped; it seems that she doesn't recognize me yet. That's good. If she had, then I would be in a precarious situation indeed. Slowly, I got up and walked away trying to look like I'm stepping into a minefield. I would not be leaving this area no, instead, I would be sitting at a table farthest away from her. I sat down facing in her general direction to just observe and figure out why she's here in the first place. She suddenly turned, and I saw the face which captured my middle-school heart.

She's still pretty as I remember her to be, I can see why I fell for her back then.

I smiled mockingly to myself and looked down, glad that the facemask that I wore hid it from view. Oh, how stupid I was. Thinking that she liked me and all. It was only her kindness and looks that moved me into being a delusional little idiot. I had mistaken her kindness as affection towards me, and I fell for it. In my delusion, I was blind to see that she was like that to everyone else, not just to me. She was friends and kind to everyone, even a social outcast like me. She was the one who reached out to me first. My oh my, now I remember why I treat nice girls with distrust.

How truly stupid I was back then.

Admittedly, I just stared at her for God knows how long. My wounds from back then opening, but I managed to suppress and bury them into the deepest depths of my psyche. I felt my phone from the inside of my pocket ring and upon opening it saw a message from my Mother telling me to meet her outside the cafeteria. I shrugged and started walking towards the exit.

It seemed that she also had the same thing in mind since she stood up at the same moment as I, but instead of walking in the direction that I was facing, she started walking towards me. Hoh, she must be going to one of the people behind the table that I occupied. I saw her right in front of me and, for a split second, I almost stopped dead in my tracks.

Almost.

As the distance between us grew shorter, she looked up from the phone that she was holding and looked at me straight in the eye. Even though I have a facemask on, I'm not sure if that will be enough to deceive her. Fortunately, I did my hair differently today, my bangs were quite long until they nearly covered my eyes. Thank God I didn't change my hairstyle before going out since Komachi commented that I looked too edgy.

From the corner of my eye, I felt her eyes rest on mine and I felt that she didn't recognize me, which was a relief. But moments before we completely passed by each other, her eyes widened and her mouth formed into an "O". My cover was blown, but I continued walking without a change in my pace. If I walked faster, it would only cement the idea of who I truly was. So, I walked and maintained my pace.

"Hiki…gaya…?" I heard her voice, barely a whisper. But I heard it clear as day as if my brain had automatically filtered it out from the background noise.

I gulped with difficulty when she said my name.

I didn't stop, and I just kept walking.

I am such a coward.

From the corner of my left eye, I felt a single tear fall and I had to bite my lip to prevent more from coming out

I'm not quite ready to face Orimoto Kaori just yet.

Greetings to everyone around [ZA WARUDO] and welcome back!

"What?! Ivanov117 uploaded TWICE in a month?! Who are you and what have you done to him?!" I bet this is what everyone is thinking.

Well, I think I should increase the frequency of my update, and since my level of enthusiasm and inspiration for this story has been spiking recently, I think now would be a good time to update.

On a side note, it seems that Hikigaya has a health condition...I wonder how would everyone else react...? Hmmm...

If you re-read the previous chapters, you might notice some characters commenting on his unnaturally pale skin, his deteriorating health and the tiredness in his eyes. If you managed to spot that, kudos to you! I'd also like everyone to pay extra attention to how Hikigaya addresses the people around him, you'll find some clues on what will happen shortly! Oh, and Day 1 was when Hikigaya was picked up by his Father, which was Thursday.

If you have some comments, suggestions or just whatever came to your mind when you read this, feel free to leave a review or PM me!

As always, thank you for reading!

Ivanov117 out!

*teleports behind you*

"Don't forget to smash that MF like and subscribe button!"

*dabs and Naruto-runs away*