Hikigaya Hachiman's Path To Reformation

His Return

It's been two weeks since the abrupt disappearance of Hikigaya-kun. That said, it was expected that some rumors and gossip would arise. Some in our class were even talking about the possibility that he had transferred overseas, or that he transferred to a more prestigious school in Tokyo. It reached to the point where my curiosity on the matter could not be contained any longer, so I asked the person whom I thought he was closest with. When I asked the President of the Student Council, Shiromeguri Meguri-senpai, she too had little information, on his current status, only that he was sick. I was going to ask my Father to ask his Father on my behalf, but I figured that it would be…inappropriate. The teachers made it clear that he was sick whenever someone asked for his whereabouts. But on what specific illness he had, they refused to tell.

I came to school earlier than usual, and upon arriving to the classroom, went straight for my seat. As time went on, our room slowly but surely began to fill up with students, along with the chatter that they were making. I opened a book that I brought with me from my apartment and began reading. I recall seeing several Manga on the bookstore that I frequent during the other day, and it reminded me of him.

Hiratsuka-sensei soon arrived and started our lesson for the day. Not five minutes had passed since she started when the door to our room slid to the left and revealing who the person behind it.

And the said person was…

Oh my…

I expected him to look sickly and frail, but on the contrary, he looked as though he was nursed to health by Apollo himself. One of the more obvious changes was his hair, it was still long, but not long enough for it to look messy. Though he still looked pale, he had some color on his face now unlike his unnaturally pale complexion from before that I would almost always point out. Unfortunately, he would always brush me off whenever I told him that. The dark circles under his eyes were almost completely gone, which made his eyes look less "sleepy-looking". As for his eyes, they still look sharp as ever. Still sharp as always.

"My apologies for being late." He said in a bored tone and bowed in apology to Sensei, who was still staring at him wide-eyed.

After that, he calmly walked to his seat without a care in the world. Our eyes met when he was walking to his seat and he gave me a nod of acknowledgement, and I returned one of my own.

When classes started, I would sneak glances at him to see what he was doing out of curiosity, mostly out of boredom and also to see any changes to his mannerisms in class since it has been two weeks after all. During our Algebra class when Sensei was writing down equations and formulas on the board, I saw him just staring at her. But it was not the "blankly staring" kind of stare, his eyes still looked quite sharp and alert. It was at that moment that I saw his right hand which held his pen move above his notebook. At first, I thought he was just mindlessly moving it around, just like what one does when boredom strikes, but I saw that the movements were deliberate. Huh, even I do not possess the ability to write down notes without looking down on them for long periods of time.

Truly, what a peculiar sight to behold.

Even more surprising, was the fact that he was updated with our topics on all of our subjects, he did not fail to answer every question that our teachers threw at him, to their pleasant surprise. Who was the one who fed him information, I wonder…?

When lunchtime arrived, he was asked by several students, and a small circle formed and surrounded his seat. The questions were mostly about the reason for his absence, and I listened closely to his answers. It seems that after catching a cold, he was sent to the hospital for a check-up and then bedridden for a few days at home. He said nothing about his particular illness, and no one in class was brave enough to ask him directly about it, since even he was hesitating. Try as he might, he can't hide his feeling of discomfort from my keen eyes.

His seat-mates invited him to join them for lunch, but he politely declined saying he has to go to the faculty room to submit all of his projects and homework during the time of his absence. They nodded in understanding, and as soon as he went out of the door, they harboured disappointed expressions on their faces.

"Yukinoshita, can you give this to Hikigaya? He accidentally gave this homework to me that was supposed to be for his other subject." Sensei approached me and I nodded obediently as I stood up. Knowing how fast he walks; I have to make haste to catch up to him. Goodness, and here I was about to enjoy some peace and quiet while eating my lunch in the classroom…

A few moments later, I saw his figure walking towards the faculty room and a few times some students greeted him, and he courteously greeted them back in return. Though after passing them by, he would scratch his head, almost as if he was wondering who those people were. But since it is him we are talking about, that's probably that case.

I remember meeting him here at school before classes started, and even though we were acquainted before that time, he had momentarily forgotten who I was. At first I was appalled, but then I saw that he wasn't lying.

"Did you need something?" He said when I finally caught his attention just before he could open the door to the faculty room. Goodness, how rude. Sometimes he's stiffly polite, and then the next second he's outright rude to me.

"I see your illness took away your ability to properly greet people with the respect they deserve," I say in exasperation.

"Well, you're not wrong, to say the least." He yawned while covering his mouth and shrugged "Good morning. That was rude of me. My apologies."

"Good morning. Sensei told me to give this to you. He said that it was for your other subject." I hand him the papers with both hands. There were quite a few since the number of homework and projects that we received increased these past few days.

He blinked twice and cocked his head to the side when he received them, and then gave out an "Ah." After flipping several pages or so.

"Hoh, so that's where these went. My thanks." He muttered and one of the papers fell to the ground. I knelt down and retrieved it, when I flipped it over, I was surprised at what I saw.

It was a drawing, a beautiful one at that. The figure was a female with long black hair and black thigh-high stockings wearing a standard Japanese-style school uniform. From the amount of detail in this work of art, one can say without a doubt that the creator of this had a clear vision in mind and was skilled. She crossed her legs while eating peacefully under the shade of a tree. Using her left hand, she tucked several strands of her hair behind her ear. Her eyes were also covered by her bangs. Whether this was deliberate, or the creator had too little time to focus on the eyes, I could not tell. Though the point-of-view of the drawing was strange, since much of the girl's thighs were visible to the viewer.

"This is quite impressive. Did you make this?" I say when I gave it back to him.

"Y-Yes." He replied with wide eyes and a light blush on his pale cheeks and quickly took the paper.

Wait.

Did he just…?

Did he just stutter?

The most stoic, serious and uptight person I know in school, who is both widely feared and respected is flustered?

He cleared his throat, and the rosy tinge on his face disappeared a second later. "Anyway, thank you." I was impressed by how he quickly regained his composure, almost like he practices this every morning in front of a mirror in his room.

"Would you care to join me for lunch?" I say with the main reason why I'm doing this is to interrogate-I mean, ask him on the cause of his absence. When it comes to things like these, I was always the curious type, and I believe he will not mind if I ask him a question or two.

"Sorry, I'm eating with someone after this." He discreetly looked at his Rolex watch and tapped his foot. Whether he did that subconsciously or not, I read the message loud and clear.

"I see, some other time then, perhaps."

"Perhaps." With that, he bade me farewell and closed the door behind him, leaving me alone in front of the door.

Haaahh

haaah

huuuufff

Good grief, these stairs are seriously going to kill me. Looks like my Doctor was right, it will take a long while before I return to the peak of my original physical performance… Even the short flight of stairs earlier made me stop to catch my breath, with the destination I have in mind, I'll surely get even more tired. After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached the top and opened that door that was in front of me and I was momentarily blinded by the sunlight.

Good grief, I don't want to collapse on a flight of stairs.

Breathing in the air and looking around, I confirmed that I was in fact alone. Ah, being by yourself is truly the best feeling in the world. Nothing beats eating peacefully under the shade on the roof of your school building. With my new and bigger lunch box in hand, I sat down on the floor where there was shade and opened it to see its contents.

I was forbidden from doing many things, like cleaning the house, riding my bike, walking to school, cooking, washing my clothes, exercising, lifting anything heavy and other trivial stuff. Anything that might require me to exert physical effort to a certain extent. My parents made this clear after the day I got a check-up at the hospital, they even threatened to take away my debit card what the heck. It's not like I'm gonna die if I lift a kilogram or two. It was also during that day that I had seen her of all people.

I would prefer not to talk about it.

Anyway, the food I had was a mess of vegetables, rice and slices of premium beef that my Mother made this morning. I have no qualms with my Mother's cooking, just her arrangement in my bento got me triggered and my instinct to organize it before eating kicked in. I owe my Mother and Komachi a lot since they were the ones who took care of me. Komachi especially would sleep in my room to keep me company and check my temperature. She said that I was extra touchy-feely when I was sick, but I don't remember doing anything touchy-feely to her. My memories of the days that I was bedridden were blurry, to say the least.

The early spring weather is quite pleasant, a gentle breeze softly caressed my skin like how an ara ara Onee-san would pat her little brother's head. Ah, I wish I had an ara ara Onee-san to spoil me rotten, just like how I spoiled Komachi when she was little. Wait, I spoil her even until now…

"That's nice and all but weren't you eating with someone today? Yukinoshita invited you to lunch earlier, but you declined. "

Ah, the person that I'm eating with today, is…well myself. Don't judge me if I want to eat by myself, what's wrong with that? And I didn't lie, I am eating with someone. There are innumerable entities within this vessel. Knowledge contained and stored over the millennium of reincarnation, and soul-splitting, wherein a single soul splits and inhibits the body of two separate people, and then centuries or so later, returning as one along with the memories and knowledge they acquired. In my previous life, I was a simple fisherman from Kagoshima, the one before that, I was an artisan, an engineer, a slaver, a merchant, a mercenary, a teacher, a wife of a powerful Lord, an admiral, a treasure hunter, a rebel. So many lifetimes from different eras and places around the world. I dunno, I just made that up right now.

"That's an interesting idea for a Light Novel, to be honest. "

Ugh, looking back, she saw my drawing. That was super embarrassing. The one that I based my final output on the drawing I made a few days ago, this time I added a more detailed scenery and a vibrant background. The colouring was a pain in the ass though. The reason why it was embarrassing for me, was because I made the girl on what I imagined how I would look like if I was one. Added to the fact that that the image was also based on the covers of my ecchi manga...If she discovered the reason, I know she'll make a conceited look on her face, while her eyes are slightly shadowed, with only the reflection of her pupils visible and say:

"So, you visualized yourself as a female and drew it for homework for our Arts Class? How disgustingly cute."

I'm already feeling the chills running down my spine. Even I would die of embarrassment if someone, especially her, said that to my face.

"HIKIGAYA-KUUUUUUNNN~~!"

Aww, here we go again.

After having the wind literally knocked out of me, Shiromeguri-senpai's arms wrapped around me like a Boa Constrictor squeezing the life out of their prey. Wait, am I the prey? Am I about to be devoured by my Onee-san figure? Well, I can't necessarily say that that's a bad way to go. So, please carry on Senpai, violently squeeze the life out of me and free me from my fleshy prison. You know, aside from the bone-crushing force that's being applied to my ribs, I can also feel something else that's pushing into my chest.

"It's good to see you too Shiromeguri-senpai," I say.

"Yup! Good to see that you're back! I missed my kouhai! It feels weird having lunch with Tatsumi-san without you during the weekends." She let go and patted my head. Oh yes, I missed her head pats. Being so close to the source of the Fluffy and Bubbly aura, I greatly felt its effects and my mood started to lighten up.

After classes ended, I went straight to the Student Council Office to see if Shiromeguri-senpai or the other members still has some work for me to do, if some teachers left homework and projects for me to do while I was absent. I was going through my "corner" when the door opened, and Shiromeguri-senpai suddenly assaulted me.

With both of her hands, Shiromeguri-senpai grabbed both of my cheeks, not my ass cheeks mind you, and started feeling and moving them around.

"Senpowai whoat are yuo dooinnge?" I managed to mumble out.

"Nothing, I just felt like pinching your cheeks since they don't look deathly thin anymore. Well, you are still quite scrawny, but you get it." She said and continued. Uwah, that was a thinly-veiled insult, was it? Even Kei-chan isn't exempt from making comments like that. I remember her saying that I looked like an "Extra pale vampire that hasn't sucked blood in a bazillion years." Good grief, even little kids are making fun of me.

"Ok!" she said and put her hands on her hips with a satisfied look on her face, "What does my recently-brought-back-to-life kouhai need that he came here today?"

"I was wondering if the teachers or the Principal left something for me to do," I reply.

"Nope! We already did your workload while you were gone."

"Oh, I see. Sorry for being a burden." I scratched my head and apologized. Huh, is this the guilty feeling that corporate slaves feel when one of their co-workers do overtime in their stead?

"Don't be silly, we're all in the same boat, Hikigaya-kun. Anyway, how are you feeling and do you mind telling me what happened these past two weeks?" She asked. Shiromeguri-senpai is one of the very few people that I trust, and someone that I look up to and call…well…a friend, so I did not hesitate in telling her all that had transpired and answered all of her questions, the talk went on for quite a while.

"Aww, that's so cute. Hikigaya finally called someone a friend. "

*Wipes tear from eye*

S-Shut up!

"Hooh, and how did Tatsumi-sensei react?" She asked. Shiromeguri-senpai had quit the Taekwondo after around four weeks since she can't balance everything all at once, her exact words were "There's too much food on my plate and I can't eat all of it.". Being a 2nd year, as well being the President of the Student Council can really fill your daily schedule. Not to mention having two part-time jobs on the weekends and some days on the weekdays...

"She said that she feels guilty, even when she saw the signs of my Anemia, and dropped hints here and there. In the end, I was the one at fault since I'm stubborn, or maybe I didn't understand what the underlying meaning in her words was." I say and shrugged.

"Umu, you should always listen to what others have to say, especially to your elders, Hikigaya-kun!" she said and lightly smacked my head.

"Yes, Senpai…" I just bowed and accepted defeat since she was right.

"That's better. Now, what about your medication? Don't forget to take them on time, and you have to eat a lot before taking them since some of them are pretty strong, ok? Otherwise, you'll hurt your tummy." Shiromeguri-senpai said and waddled her finger around, like a mother explaining something to her child.

"Yes, Senpai…"

"Sooooo when are you allowed to go back to our part-time job?" She asked.

"I'm not very sure myself. Unless my parents approve it, I'm still banned from working and doing anything that puts my body into too much stress."

"Hmm, ok. Oh, we have already finalized the all the paperwork for the field trip, we already have the tickets, and the campsite is already booked and is waiting for our arrival next week. Me and the others already went ahead to inspect the area, together with the Principal and some teachers, and they gave green light."

"Ah, is that so…" I had completely forgotten about the field trip event; it didn't cross my mind once. Perhaps that was the nagging feeling behind my head that I would think about often…

"Senpai, if I still feel unwell next week, I would like to be excused from this event," I say. I still remember that day that I played Tennis with Miura-san when I fainted right after the game. I woke up to her slapping me with a panicked and very worried-looking face. After I woke up and got a hold of myself, we went to the nearby convenience store to buy some water since I badly needed it that time. She even went so far as to offer to walk me home, to which I vehemently declined. Good grief, my pride as a man would NOT allow it, it should be escorting her home instead of the other way around! Well, Miura-san has a pretty strong personality, so I doubt there would be any need for me to escort her abode.

Anyway, my point is that if I stress out my body with too much physical labour, I might pass out in an ungraceful manner. It was good that a kind soul like Miura-san was kind enough to wait for me and wake me up, but what if my classmates would just leave me on the ground and poke my dying form with a stick? Good grief, the Ice Queen might even sit on a chair in front of me, cross her legs and demand me to lick her shoe if I desired her assistance. It would be bad if I passed out in the middle of chopping wood, and I hit my head on a rock and I would die due to internal bleeding.

Or if I suddenly feel faint while swimming, and then I drown. Well, that's assuming that the place had a pool or a river...

Or if I trip while hiking, which would cause me to fall down the mountainside and break a dozen bones on my body.

Or if I -

"OK HIKIGAYA WE GET IT STOP WITH THE DEATH FLAGS YOU'RE MAKING US UNCOMFORTABLE! "

My apologies if my paranoia is off the charts.

"Ah, that's understandable. That's why you should get well as fast as possible! Oh yes, I almost forgot. We received a letter of invitation from the Association of Schools in Chiba. "She said and handed me an envelope that contained the said letter inside. "It's a- "What she was going to say was cut short when my phone rang, causing me to quickly retrieve it and see who it was. When I saw that it was from my Father, I turned to Shiromeguri-senpai and said, "I'm sorry, Senpai, it's from my Father.", to which she nodded and shooed me away outside the room to give me some privacy. Thankfully, there were very few students around.

"Hachiman, I'm outside your school to pick you up." I heard my Father's voice from the other end of the line. Ah, I forgot that I was to be picked up from now on…

"Sorry, I'm going there right away," I say and ended the call.

When I went back inside the room, Shiromeguri-senpai was already in front of the computer with a notebook in hand, her eyes darting to the screen and page respectively. "Senpai, my Father is here to pick me up," I say and pick up my bag.

"Ah, so soon? I wanted to talk some more."

"What's inside the letter about anyway?" I ask just before I was about to turn the handle of the door and leave.

"It's a surprise~! Open it yourself and see~!" She said in a sing-a-song voice.

"Well, see you tomorrow then Hikigaya-kun~!" She smiled and waved at me, and I returned one of my own out of courtesy.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." I closed the door behind me and started walking to my destination. Even though walking down the stairs is easier compared to walking up, I still had the occasional shallow breathing or two. I finally reached exited the building and my Father's pitch-black car was soon within my sights, and him standing and leaning on the door while talking to someone on the phone. He wore his usual corporate suit, but his hair was slightly untidy and his eyes looked tired.

"-ick up Komachi after Hachiman, yes I'm outside his school and- oh, he's here already, ok, I'll see you tonight." My Father ended the call and put it back in his pocket.

"Mother?"

He nodded and opened the door for me, to which I went inside bag first and sat beside the driver's seat. But not before I heard the voices of a group of students nearby who were most likely waiting for their other companions to arrive. From the corner of my eye, I confirmed that they were all females, going to hang out after school in the mall or something. Typical riajuu behaviour.

"Isn't he the big fish who's the Head of the Committee something?" One of them asked.

"It's the Disciplinary Committee, you idiot." Another replied, sounding harsh, but it's clear that she meant no harm.

"Yeah, that's one expensive-looking car though hot damn."

"I didn't know that you were a car-guy, I mean car-girl, Junko." This one said in a curious tone

"Hey don't blame me, my older brothers and my Dad always talk about that stuff."

"Yep, that's him, the one who topped the entrance exams and all the exams that followed to date."

I sighed and closed my eyes, continuing to listen to what they're saying would only cause my current headache to worsen. Good grief, sometimes having enhanced senses thanks to my STAND: [ 108 LONER SKILLS ], can be such a pain. You tend to hear things that you would rather not hear.

*Hikigaya, your chunni-ness is showing. *

Silence mongrel.

"Your Mother is at the supermarket right now; do you want anything in particular?" My Father asked as he turned on the engine of the car.

"Hmm, some grapes would be nice," I said and he nodded and texted my request to my Mother. I remembered the letter the Senpai gave me and I retrieved it from my bag. Turning it around, it had the official seal of the local government.

Huh, I wonder what this is...?

Here's the new chapter my dudes and dudettes.

Can't think of anything worthy to put here...

So...yeah.

Please enjoy this and look forward to the next chapter!