Hikigaya Hachiman's Path To Reformation
To Him, Camping Is Quite Vexing
School camping activities are such a hassle. So many things to prepare and take into consideration. Even more so if you are a Class Rep, and EVEN MORE as a member of the Student Council. Reports, memos, notices, letters, waivers and other paperwork that makes my headache. Had I known the amount of work to be done was this large, I would have declined Shiromeguri-senpai's offer for the vacant seat in the Student Council last year. But I did not want to disappoint Shiromeguri-senpai and my parents, so I just accepted the offer.
I had to temporarily surrender my position as Class Rep to Yukinoshita since we had extra work to be done in the Student Council with the graduation of the Third-Years are only a few weeks away. She said that she didn't need help since she can do it alone, her strength was admirable, to say the least. I voiced my concern, of course, saying that the burden might be too much for her to bear, but she just frowned and said "You underestimate me, Hikigaya-kun." and walked away. Uwaahhh, that was so typical of her, and I nearly called her out and spit venom, but I figured that was too petty of me. Well, if the workload becomes too much for her, at least I'll get the satisfaction of saying "I told you so." to her.
"Hachiman, what are you thinking about? You look deep in thought." My Father's voice broke the silence inside the car.
"Nothing much," I say and returned my attention to the quickly passing scenery on my left. We had left Tokyo an hour and a half ago. The tall skyscrapers still imposing from this distance, and we can see smog that huddled around the city like a winter jacket. The highway that we're on right now led to the Shizuoka Prefecture, and it's my first time here. If I open the top window of the car, I'm sure I can see Fuji-san once I take a good look around. But that is too dangerous since we're travelling at 95 kp/h.
To my parent's insistence, I was to be dropped off by my Father at the site instead of taking the bus like everyone else. I wanted to ride with my class on the bus, but a stern look from my Mother made me gulp down any complaints that I would throw at them. My Father was kind enough to take time from his busy hectic schedule to drop me off.
Following the navigation system installed in the car, we turned to a forested area, and after several minutes, came into a clearing with a few cars parked and the main building where the employees entertained the guests. We parked, and I immediately got out and retrieved my bag that contained all the necessary things that I would need for the duration of our stay here. Of course, I brought Vita-chan with me, and a small pocketbook about philosophy that I bought from the 2nd hand bookstore a few days ago.
"You have everything with you?" My Father asked as I was checking my belongings to make sure I didn't leave anything important.
"I think so," I say as I lifted the bag to my shoulder.
"Ok. Have fun and be careful out there. Remember not to do anything that might stress you out."
"Haiiiiii…"
"Well, I'll see you in a few days since I'll be gone."
With that, I bade my Father farewell and watched him drive out of the clearing and back to the road that would lead him to the highway.
Upon closer inspection, I saw my fellow First Years grouped a small distance away with their respective class advisers and class reps in front of them. I quickly walked to them, eager to get to the shade as fast as possible.
"Hikigaya-kun! Thank goodness you're here. Please be a dear and make a headcount of all the First Year classes, ok~?" Shiromeguri-senpai jumped at me from out of nowhere, handed me a paper pad holder, and then ran off to where the teachers were. Good grief, I didn't even have time to get my bearings, and there is already work to be done. I went to where my class was, and sure enough, Yukinoshita was there in front waiting for further instructions from the teachers.
To get her attention, and also to annoy her, I used the pad holder that Shiromeguri-senpai gave me to lightly hit the unaware Yukinoshita on the head. She was startled and turned to see who was daring enough to hit the Ice Queen on the head.
Of course, only I, The Monotonous King, or Hachiman The Unfeeling, has the balls to do that.
"Don't do that." She said and leered threateningly at me.
"So what's happening right now?" I dismissed her hostility and crossed my arms around my chest, looking at the different faces of our class lined up. She narrowed her eyes at me one last time and sighed in exasperation.
"Everything is going smoothly so far; we're just waiting for the last bus that is carrying some of the latecomers."
"I thought you weren't coming since you didn't ride on the bus with us…?" She asked with a questioning tone. Well, that reaction is expected, since I did not tell anyone after the final orientation yesterday that I would be coming here in my Father's car…
I just shrugged at her and she gave me a deadpan look. "Have you checked the class inventory? About the food ingredients for the following days?" I asked.
"Yes."
I nodded at her and returned my attention to the pad that I held. I then began walking around the lines of our class doing a headcount on everyone, and only four were unaccounted for. They all had excited looks on their faces with their backpacks and sling bags and other necessities needed for a typical camping trip. Most of the girls looked pretty bored, many of them complaining about everything and taking photos of themselves. The guys on the other hand were restless and eager to move on to the next phase instead of just standing around here.
After doing the headcount of my class, I went to the other First Year classes and told their respective Class Reps to do the headcount and report to me after fifteen minutes. I watched with satisfaction as they diligently followed what I said and hurried back to their lines. Ah, it feels good to be the one ordering around. I won't deny that being a member of the Student Council has its perks. Go my workers, work for the hive with all you have, for I am your Quee-, I mean, King!
When I came back to my class, the teachers were about to start giving instructions, to which everyone listened very closely. Since I had already read the list of activities today and for the next two days, I went through the list of our inventory and equipment. I felt someone poke my shoulder, "Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita's cold voice reached my ears and I turned my head to her.
Wordlessly, she motioned with her eyes to look behind me, which I did, and saw a lady wearing sunglasses and a camouflage cap waving in our general direction. She wore ripped jeans and a simple black t-shirt, but even if she's wearing a red evening gown or a potato sack, I know who that person is. What a good older sister, looking out for her somewhat cold imotou and all.
"Oh, she's here," I say in a dull tone as I observed her older sister from afar. It seems she spotted me and the frequency of her waving has increased tenfold. What does she want with me? The last time I saw her was…when they gave me a ride right after that tiresome school event if memory serves right.
"Yes, it seems that she wants to speak to you." She said as she viewed her elder sister with the same nonchalant dull look that I have on right now.
"Hm, any idea about what, exactly?"
She rolled her eyes in a very unYukinoshita-like fashion and said, "Goodness, why don't you just go to talk to her and find out yourself?"
"Will do Ma'am." I started walking to where Haruno-san was staying, right under the shade of a tree right on the edge of the parking area. The closer I got, the more her smile grew. She didn't carry a bag or anything, I'm assuming that their car is somewhere parked here, waiting for her to depart from the area. But still, she has way too much time coming here.
"Yosh, Hikigaya-kun! You're looking well-dressed today." She said and placed her hands on her hips.
"Good Morning Haruno-nee-san. Thank you, though I don't feel well-dressed at all."I replied, causing her smile to grow even wider. I was just wearing a simple white buttoned polo shirt and light brown shorts and sandals. Without socks, by the way. Sandals with socks look funny, especially when western tourists wear them.
"Hmm!" She said and sat down on the base of the tree, she looked up at me and patted the ground beside her. I quietly sighed and did what she bade me do. I sat down and a small distance away from her, the grass was also dry, which was a relief. She didn't say anything and just continued staring off into space.
"So, is there any particular reason why you called me?" I say after a minute or two of silence. A calm breeze washed over us, and a few leaves fell from the tree above us. When I looked above, I locked eyes with a small bird, its beady eyes looking at me and cocked its head, as if curious of our presence.
"Yes, I have a favour to ask you." She replied.
"Hmm…"
She turned to me, and from the corner of my eye, she had a worried look on her face and a troubled smile.
"I know it's a rather tall order, but would you…take care of Yukino-chan?" she said.
Goodness, I thought it was something serious, not something as trivial as this.
"Of course I'll take care of her," I say too quickly.
My reply caught her by surprise and caused her eyes to widen and her mouth to form into an "O".
"Sorry, let me rephrase that. "I'll take care of everyone in my class." was what I meant." I waved my hand and apologized. I should have worded it better. "If something bad happened to one of them, which I pray doesn't happen, the Principal would have our heads. Plus, it would make me look bad. I mean, as the only class that has a class rep that is also a member of the Student Council, I have to be extra careful since many of the teacher's eyes are on me. Not to mention that I have to keep a close eye on the other classes and make sure that no one is fooling around." I say.
She pouted while slowly nodding and having a look of understanding, which looked quite funny and out-of-place. "Looks like the teachers have high expectations of you." She said and I couldn't help but agree. I feel like I gave out too much information, which is something I never do. But I think Haruno-san is a good person. I mean, she did give me a ride the last time we met, and she always treated me like a kouhai and, to her self-proclamation, a little brother. I call her Nee-san but there is no depth to what I say, I just go along with whatever she says so she'll stop bothering me.
"Yukino-chan is looking forward to this, she was more vocal to Mother on her reasons for coming." She said.
"..." I say nothing, and instead reflect on her words and the deeper meaning behind them.
Haruno-san just confirmed my suspicions about their family. As one of the prominent families here in Chiba, it would make sense for their parents to be extra strict on their children, especially when they were daughters. Yukinoshita was sheltered, and even though her intelligence is unquestionable, there were some very basic things that she didn't know and things that she can't relate to. Being bad at directions from always travelling in their family car with her driver, her unfamiliarity with those cheap street foods and her inability to properly connect with people. And with what she just said, it would mean that their Mother is strict and does not easily allow her daughters to do whatever they want.
Typical rich people problems, I guess.
"Just…keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything that might hurt herself." She said.
"She's a Class Rep and ranked 2nd in our Year's rankings, I'm confident that she won't need my help. It's almost like you're saying that she's the clumsy type." I say back, though at the back of my mind I was annoyed at the thought of babysitting Yukinoshita during our stay here. I already have a full plate and I have no intention of biting off more than I can chew, thank you very much. And I don't want to add babysitting a spoiled holier-than-thou Ojou-sama to my to-do list.
Wait…the last part came out wrong…
"And who do you think is preventing her from being ranked 1st?" She said with feigned ignorance with an innocent smile at me.
"Oh please, she'll have to try harder if she wants to be ranked 1st," I say while rolling my eyes, my voice dripping with pride and arrogance. I would always tease Yukinoshita about being ranked 2nd, and her reaction is always predictable and the same. Her left eyes would twitch, while she tried her best on maintaining her calm and composed smile while verbally attacking my eyes and appearance.
She laughed light-heartedly at my words with no malice hiding behind them. Just, a refreshing laugh.
After that, Haruno-san started talking about the recent happening in her college life. Just hearing her complain and whine about her subjects, homework, projects and additional extra-curricular activities. She said that her favourite subjects were those related to business. No surprise since her father is a businessman and part of the local Diet, after all, it wouldn't be a surprise if, after graduation, she would follow her Father's footsteps and one day replace him in their company.
"Oh yeah, I heard that you got sick the other week." She turned to me with a look that said "Tell me more, I'm curious."
"It was nothing, just mild anaemia," I say.
"What?! Anaemia is not a joke, Hikigaya-kun! It's a condition, that if not treated earlier and properly, can become a serious concern in the future." She exclaimed.
"Yes, I know all of that. But I'm fine now." I dismissed her concerns with a wave of her hand, but she still didn't look convinced. After sighing to herself in resignation, she added, "Well, if that's what you say…".
"So!" Haruno-san exclaimed as she clapped her hands to get my attention "Do you accept my request?" She said and turned at me with an expectant look.
"Ugh, that's part of my responsibility now…" I say as I held my temples, saying something, again and again, is bad for my head. Not to mention that it's starting to get irritating.
"Hehe, I'll take that as a yes then~." Haruno-san chimed with a satisfied smile on her face. "Don't worry Hikigaya-kun, I'll make sure to return the favour. You never know that having me indebted to you might come in handy in the future, you know~?"
"Wait…" I say since something that she said bugged me, "how did you hear about my condition?" I asked.
"Ah, well our Fathers have a mutual friend that had her birthday last week, and since Yukino-chan didn't want to go, I went there in her stead. I…ugh…heard, about it when the two of them were talking. Hehehe…" She had a mischievous laugh and her reply surprised me.
"And by heard, you mean to eavesdrop, am I right?"
From the corner of my eye, I saw Haruno-san wink at me and laugh, and I just shrugged and watched as the final bus arrived.
"You know, you should close your eyes at the last second when chopping wood. What if a sharp splinter flies right to your eyes?" I say as I watched a small group of First Years chopping firewood in front of me. Their reaction was immediate, wide eyes with an utterly horrified expression on their faces, as their minds began processing a detailed image of what I just said.
"H-Hey! Not cool!" Hearing their complaints caused a sadistic smile to form on my face. As I snickered at myself and walked away from them, the smell of something burnt from overcooking made me stop in my tracks. I located the source to one of the small grilling stations nearby and saw a lone figure helplessly looking at the charred remains of her would-be lunch. Feeling bored since I have nothing else to do, and also because it was someone that I knew, I walked to where she was cooking.
Yuigahama-san looked pitiful; she turned the overcooked food over to see if all of it was charred. Unfortunately for her, it was. Looking around as I approached her, she was alone, and a small tray of raw meat was right beside the grill. She also wore an apron around herself with a cartoon character at the front. Her peach-coloured hair was also neatly in place with a headband. Was she experimenting all on her own…?
"So, this is where the burnt smell came from…" I say when I was within earshot. She quipped when she heard my voice and gave me a troubled smile.
"Oh, hello Hikigaya-kun…" She said as she scratched her head.
"Hmm, where is the rest of your class?" I asked.
"Oh, they're unpacking their things in the lodges. The boys went to the woods, while most of the girls went back to the lodges since they're still a bit stressed from the bus." True, I did see a small group of boys run to the woods before I could call out to them. I'll have to tell their Class Rep to be more watchful later…
I nodded at her and proceeded to inspect the black fruits of her labour. "Ugh, what had these poor chickens done for you to burn them this badly…?" I say after confirming that they are, "Fucked up beyond recognition.".
Please do pardon my language.
"I know, I messed up…" She said in a crestfallen tone and sulked, I can already see the dark violet lines that show whenever a character in a manga or anime would feel sad or depressed.
Seeing a pink spare apron near the benches, I wordlessly went to it and wore it around myself. The cartoon character that I had on me was a brown bear. Yuigahama-san looked at me with a curious expression, and when she understood what I was doing, she looked elated and stood straighter.
"I'll show you how it's done," I say as I tied the loose cloth behind my back. Hmm, that sounded a little too arrogant, for my taste…
"If you'll have me, of course," I added.
"Please teach me, Sensei!" She perked at my words with a grateful look.
"The first thing you need to do is to know what you're dealing with," I say as I handled the raw meat that was laid in front of me.
"Fish is the most delicate, followed by chicken, pork and beef. The last two are interchangeable depending on the cut. Before putting them on the grill, you have to know how much heat you're giving them on each side." I took a piece of beef with my hand and slowly put it on the grill.
"Let's start with beef first. Since this is a thin strip of meat, it cooks faster than, let's say, a medium-sized slab of pork. That also depends on the intensity of the heat. " The beef was slowly cooking, and I turned it to cook the top side.
"See? That didn't take too long." After a few moments, the beef was edible, and I put it on a clean plate that Yuigahama-san was kind enough to provide.
All this time, her eyes were glued to the grill, focused and absorbing everything that I was saying to her. Whenever I said anything, she would vigorously nod her head. She tried touching the chicken earlier, but I swatted her hand away and told her that she should wash her hands first, as is customary when cooking anything. She quickly washed her hands and went back to my side in a flash.
"Ok, now you try." I hand her the tongs and her delicate fingers brushed against mine, I then stepped back to give her some space.
I lightly tapped her shoulder. "You're too close to the fire, step back a bit. A sudden ember might startle you." She silently complied with what I bid her to do. Since I judged that she was doing fine so far, I went to where the ingredients were and started marinating the meat with the condiments that were there. Soy sauce, barbecue seasoning, pepper, salt and lemon were all they had, so I mixed them all in different amounts and put them in plastic Tupperware.
"What are you doing, Hikigaya-kun?" Yuigahama-san's asked as she leaned down to see what I'm doing.
"I did the liberty of marinating the remaining meat for you. You store these for a few hours for the condiments to soak into the meat. This will be ready just in time for dinner time tonight." I say. When I was younger. the first thing that I learned to do in the kitchen was marinating meat. Since my parents come home late, I just warm whatever leftover food there was in the fridge. Komachi was still very small at that time, so obviously she can't help me in any way. I would prepare and marinate the meat that they bought at night, so they can cook it in the early morning before going to work. Thanks to being exposed to that at an early age, I know my way around spices, sauces and basic culinary knowledge attributed to making your food tastier.
"Oh, you didn't have to go that far…" Yuigahama-san said and went back to check the meat.
"Nonsense, I did this because I wanted to." I closed the lid on the last container and stood up from the bench to wash my hands. I stopped to see how her cooking was going, and I grunted to myself in satisfaction when I saw that she already made a fresh batch on the table. "Ha! This was easier than I thought!" she exclaimed and laughed to herself with her chest out and her hands on her hips. Celebrating a trivial victory too early will always end up badly…
After I dried my hands, I went back to her to find her sitting down on the bench waiting for me to try the food that she cooked. Goodness, what a cocky grin that you have, Yuigahama-san, it would be a shame if, by pure chance, the meat that you grilled tasted out of the ordinary…
"Fufufu, I'm done!" She said when I sat down on the other side of the table in front of her.
"Hmm…they look good…" I comment to fuel her ego, and her immediate reaction was as expected, being more full of herself and laughing with her chest out. Yuigahama-san, if you keep laughing like that, I fear that your melons might break free from their bonds, hit me in the face with the energy of a thousand Tzar Bomba's, causing me to break my neck and die. I noticed that the meat was shiny, which was not unusual if you dipped it in sauces or cooking oil before grilling it. Even though without those two, the meat's natural oil will always come out when exposed to high temperatures. Although, there's something strange about it, and I can't explain why…
"Well, I'll go first…" I say as I picked up a strip of beef with my bare hands. It felt crispy, and I moved it towards my mouth to take a bite out of it.
I had to blink twice and have a moment to process what I just tasted while Yuigahama-san looked at me with an expectant expression, eager for me to praise and commend her food. I slowly chewed the food in my mouth, making sure that what I am tasting right now is definitely what I'm thinking it is. "Yui…gahama-san…" I finally say after managing to collect my consciousness since the moment I took the food into my mouth, my mind blew in all directions.
"Hmm?"
"What did you put in this…?" I said with a straight face and forcefully swallowed what I just ate and put down the remaining food that I had in my hand.
"Salt!" She exclaimed and reached out to where the ingredients were and grabbed the "salt" dispenser. I slowly nodded to her and took it from her hand. Wordlessly, I opened the lid and examined its contents.
"Are you sure that this is salt?" I asked her.
"Of course!"
"I see, why don't you eat it then?" Yuigahama-san nodded at me and proceeded to bite into the piece that had been idle on her hand. After a second of chewing, her face exploded into shock and disgust, and she almost spits the food out to my face.
"BLEH! WHAT'S THIS?!"
"It's sugar, you mistook it for salt." To prove my point, I handed her the small container which contained the "salt", AKA sugar, so she can see it for herself. I watched her reach into it with her finger and taste it. After confirming that what I just said was true, she made a look of disdain and put her head on the table, disappointed at herself again. Huh, looks like I was right when I said that celebrating too early is just asking for karma to kick you in the balls. Well, she's a girl, and she doesn't have ba-, ah, never mind…
"Don't feel too bad, everyone makes mistakes…" I say as I try to cheer her up. I don't like watching depressed people flail and complain about how the world is unfair, it reminds me of my middle-school days, which in turn, causes me to cringe when I think about the cringy stuff I did back then.
"I'm so bad at this, even my Mom doesn't let me near the kitchen at home…" She said to herself and started mumbling incoherent words. Since I did not know what to do in this situation, I just nodded at her words and looked at the depressed peach-coloured girl in front of me with a mixture of disinterest, contempt and confusion. Sighing to myself, and blaming my onii-chan instincts that have just resurfaced, I reached out my hand to her unmoving form to pat her head in an attempt to uplift her spirits, but I stopped at the last second since touching someone to comfort them is very out-of-character for me. I mean, we're not even friends, and the only person that I can do this to is my dearest little sister. Yuigahama-san might even call me a molester. Instead, I cleared my throat to get her attention, and she looked up at me with those sad-looking brown eyes of hers.
"This isn't a waste though," I say which caused her to tilt her head, and I saw a small spark of hope in her eyes. Seeing that I finally got her attention, I continued, "Since the sweetness stands out too much, you can't eat this as a single dish, but you can use this as an ingredient for another. Mixing this with curry should do the job just fine, the sweetness should be absorbed by the curry, but would not be noticeable. As for the meat, you can just add this to the overall dish as an extra ingredient."
Yuigahama-san sat straight up so fast that it startled me, and I can see the stars in her eyes. "Wow, I didn't know you can do that! I think one of my classmates brought curry to the class!" She reached into one of the grocery bags nearby and fished out a box of curry mix and gave it to me. I'm more impressed how she got that from the bag without looking. Maybe it's a skill that all females are innately born with? PREDICTIVE EQUIPMENT LVL 10 EX.
On the other hand, what? Bringing curry to a camping trip? You know, now that I think about it, it's kind of odd to bring curry here in the first place. Like, who does that? Seriously?
"This will do," I say and gave it back to her. "I'm sure you don't need my help in making that later, at least one or two of your classmates must know how to cook this," I added. Just thinking that Yuigahama-san will cook this alone makes me nervous and anxious. What secret ingredient will she add next? Tune in on the next episode of Yuigahama Yui's Bizarre Adventure: Culinary Storm!
"You're surprisingly good at this, Hikigaya-kun," Yuigahama-san said while she rested her chin on her hand and faced me. The way her eyes looked was unnerving like I was at a job interview or something.
"Haaah? Do you think that just because I'm a guy I don't know my way around the kitchen? Goodness, Yuigahama-san, I did not expect you to be very discriminatory towards the opposite sex. " I asked her with a challenging tone as I arched an eyebrow at her. She shrunk from my gaze and started frantically flailing her hands around, all the while failing to explain herself. Oh no, I must have looked and sounded like a stereotypical high-school delinquent. I mean, there was a time that three delinquent types were walking towards me on the road. I just finished my part-time job and heading to my Mother's cafe, so it was already evening back then. They were the full package, dyed hair, red contact lenses, ripped jeans and a leather jacket while walking slightly hunched and giving everyone around them a good leer or two. They didn't break eye contact with me and I kept my disinterested gaze at them. When we were near enough, they grinned and nodded at me, and I did the courtesy of nodding at them in return. The other pedestrians started to be wary of me and kept their distance. In the end, I had my own space to myself with a radius of about 1.5 meters.
Am I part of them now…?
"Hey, I'm not mad or anything," I tell her, and she immediately calmed down and had a look of relief. I heard footsteps from afar, and also female voices. Maybe a group of three or four female riajuus chatting away without a care in the world.
"Thanks for helping me out, Hikki! I owe you one!" Ah, she went back to that nickname, I was hoping that she had forgotten about that. Hikki, Hikio, good grief. What's my next nickname? Hikitani, Hikibro, Hikiko or HikiAlter? A sudden chill went up to my spine, and I had the feeling that I accidentally triggered a flag.
Yes, you do owe me one, Yuigahama-san, and I expect you to come to my aid should I need it in the future.
Yuigahama-san thanked me with a wide smile that made my heart skip a beat. O-Oi, stop smiling at me like that please, you're going to make me feel flustered. Even though I am quite resistant to feminine attacks like these, it doesn't mean that they don't deal damage to my A.T. Field. Though I had to personally thank her in my head since she paved a way for me to escape.
I stood quickly, eager to begin my hasty retreat before the pack of female riajuus make spot me. Since their presence alone would tick me off, it would be best if I go before I outwardly show my displeasure to them.
"Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you around."
"You too, Hikki!"
After giving her a polite albeit too-hasty farewell, I started briskly walking away and turn at the corner, at the same moment, I heard the group of girls jog to where Yuigahama-san was at the grill station where there was shade. The topic of their conversation eluded my sense of hearing as the distance between me and them started to widen.
When I went back to my class, everyone looked at me with curious glances, I caught some guys almost burst out in laughter, while the girls would look away and giggle while covering their mouths. Good grief, what's happening this time? Is there something on my face, or it is my face? Is there a prank on me right now? Did they find out that I always pick the childhood friend or the ara ara Onee-san archetype in my visual novels and dating sims? Or worse, have they discovered my browser history, and now know about my kinks and fetishes?
*Calm down Hikigaya, we don't need to know about the last part."
"Hikigaya-kun! There you are, where were you during the mee-" I heard Shiromeguri-senpai's voice and I turned to her. She was wearing hiking shorts that ended below her knee, a white t-shirt that had the words "My Reality." printed in Latin phonetic cursive letters and a cap of the same colour. Shiromeguri-senpai took a good look at me and then burst out laughing at the next moment. Oh great, she's part of this prank too? Is something wrong with what I'm wearing-
When I looked down, I found out that I was still wearing the pink apron that I used in helping Yuigahama-san. The cartoon bear printed at the front even had smudges of food here and there when I used it to clean my hands.
"Ah." Those were the only words that came out of my mouth as I undid the knot that snugly tied the apron to my body, while Shiromeguri-senpai laughed at my silly look.
Evening came following an afternoon full of games and activities. I didn't join in any of them since I was forbidden to do any sports-related activities or anything in particular that can physically stress me out. It would be bad if I faint again, after all. Yukinoshita handled the class well and refused my help during those activities and games, which was a relief. Instead, I just watched everything from afar at a nice spot that I found under the shade of a tree and with the novel that I brought with me, I was quite content being by myself at my spot. The location gave me a wide view of the surroundings, and the chirps from the birds nearby had a calming effect on me. It was around 5:00 pm that my class started preparing dinner. I stood up from my spot and proceeded to walk to where they were preparing the ingredients.
"What is our food for tonight? Is everything ok?" I asked a classmate who was cutting green onions on the chopping board. There were around eleven girls all doing their part in preparing the food, from opening the plastic packages that contained fish, to cutting vegetables into bite-sized pieces and preparing and mixing the miso soup. The way their hands moved around, I can tell that they knew what they were doing. Unlike a certain peachy airhead, I know…
"Oh, Class Rep. Well, Yukinoshita-san decided that we should have fish fillet, some miso soup and steamed vegetables." She replied and stopped what she was doing. I asked them if they needed help with something, and they said that they had everything under control. Seeing that my assistance was not needed all I needed to do right now was to wait for the food to be served.
I went near the small fire a small distance away from where their chairs were positioned around it. The only occupants were two unfamiliar-looking girls talking amongst each other, they spared me a glance and returned to the topic of their conversation.
"I hear that Reina-chan is going to confess tonight!" One said in a whisper, though it doesn't count as one right now since I heard it from around two and a half meters away…Or maybe my sense of hearing levelled up, I don't know.
"What?! Tonight?! I thought she was just messing around?!" The other replied, barely containing her voice.
"To him?"
"Yes! Him!" The girls started shrieking and laughing like maniacs from an insane asylum. Their feet started stomping on the ground out of excitement like cavemen doing a primitive mating ritual to attract a potential mate. I cringed as I observed them from the corner of my eye, I feel my IQ decreasing the more I stay in their AOE.
I sighed to myself and stood up, eager to escape this too-personal conversation which I want to be of no part of. I strongly dislike gossip after all. Gossip was one of the things that ruined my middle school life.
Goodness, even here, I have no solitude.
I headed back to the male-only cabins to charge my phone since it only had 9% power remaining. You can hear the noise from the inside before you even stepped on the porch. The first floor was the common hall, where you can eat your meals and just sit down and talk. Some of the guys were playing on their portable gaming consoles, others were playing board games and a few had their heads plopped on the table. We shared this cabin with the boys from the other class so it comes as no surprise that I saw several unfamiliar faces.
Oh who am I kidding, there were MANY unfamiliar faces.
I went upstairs and nearly bumped into a guy being chased by an angry-looking shirtless fellow. The latter was babbling about someone drawing the male genitalia on his abdomen. When he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, the hall erupted in laughter as they beheld his shirtless form with an out-of-place drawing on his stomach. Good grief, I am surrounded by children.
"Oi, no running on the stairs," I called out to the two that just passed me. They muttered their apologies and the shirtless one finally caught his suspect and was currently strangling him. I arrived at my bed and promptly fell on it in exhaustion. To pass the time, I charged my phone while listening to music. An hour later, I went downstairs to go to the restroom and it was at the same time that two girls were at the door telling us that dinner was ready.
"Hey! No girls allowed! This is the man-cave! Girls are gross!" One of the boys said and those nearest to him agreed to what he said.
"Gross I didn't want to go inside anyway. I bet it smells disgusting and messy in there." They exclaimed while laughing and walked away. Their voices were drowned out by the complaints of the boys inside.
"Shut up! You just can't stand our manliness!" One said and they roared in approval. Not all of them were joining in on the bandwagon. A few watched the events unfold with looks that said "These guys are idiots, but funny idiots." Hayama-san watched his friends do the stupid stunt with a troubled smile, no doubt he didn't want to join in since if he did, it would damage his reputation even though this was just for the laughs with no malicious intent.
To get everyone's attention, I clapped twice and they all turned to me. Since I was still at the stairs, they all had to look up to me.
"Ok, everyone you heard her, let's go eat so we can sleep early," I say with a loud enough voice that reached the entire hall. They acknowledged me with drawn-out "Haaii~~…" and started moving immediately. Like a good shepherd, I herded my flock outside to where we ate on the foldable tables. I saw many familiar faces in the crowd, Hayama-san was there eating with his friends, wanting to eat but every time someone would strike a conversation with him, he had to put down his chopsticks and listen to what they had to say with a strained smile. Sucks to be popular riajuu huh. Miura-san was chatting a bit too loudly with her girlfriends but quieted down when I caught their attention and put a finger to my lips to which she sent me an apologetic smile. Yuigahama-san from the other group was kind enough to drop by and give me a bowl of curry as thanks that they cooked with my advice which I shared with Shiromeguri-senpai and Hiratsuka-sensei. Ebina and Kawasaki were nowhere to be found, they must be in the other group with Yuigahama-san. As for Yukinoshita, she shared a table with some of the girls from our class, though I noticed that she was starting to get irritated at her companions since they spent too much time talking. During the few times that I ate with her, she's just like me. Someone who doesn't like talking while eating. I don't like it since it hurts my jaw.
I ate with Shiromeguri-senpai and the rest of the StuCo, unfortunately, we were missing two members, namely our VP-Sports and Finance who were Third-Years since they were preparing for their exams. With Hiratsuka-sensei's support and Shirmomeguri-senpai's approval, I approached the Principal about a certain issue. I proposed a new seat in the StuCo. Now I am officially part of the Council, but aside from my disciplinary head duties, I am also the head of all committees during school events.
I informed the Principal of the lack of a central figure who sees the concerns of the committees since Shiromeguri-senpai can only handle so much when wherever she looked, someone needed her consent and approval for something. If she knew how to do the Shadow Clone Jutsu, then I'm sure there would be no problems like the aftermentioned.
*Wow Hikigaya, you're moving up the ladder huh?*
I was the one who proposed, but I didn't want to take up the position itself. Our Vice-President, Chisako Mai-senpai was a very capable 2nd year, and usually helped me out whenever Shiromeguri-senpai was absent. She was the one who would always buy snacks whenever we had some extra work to do. On our last meeting with the teachers, she sneaked me a can of Maxx coffee and I will forever be in her debt. Unfortunately, she plans to step down once the current school year ends since she wants to focus on her studies in her Third Year so she refused my proposal. Just like myself, she was appointed to that position by Shiromeguri-senpai. The only position in the StuCo that requires an election chosen by the student body is the President, the rest are appointed by him or her and with the sponsorship and support of the previous StuCo. Instead, Chisako-senpai said that I should merge that new position and the one that I hold right now. It was sound logic, and everyone else agreed to her.
Though I have a feeling that I got tricked…
Since the girls were the ones who cooked, prepared the food and set the plates and utensils, it was only natural the boys would do the dishes, clean the tables, collect the trash and sweep the ground. Everyone in front of me was doing his part, and it was very satisfying watching them do so in an orderly and organized manner. The girls went on ahead to go freshen up in the female-only public bath after they excused themselves. As for me, they politely refused my help, saying that they can do it by themselves and that I should just "Sit back and give out orders."
What the heck, I'm the one giving orders since THEY were the ones who voted for me to be the leader for the entire duration of the camping trip this morning! It's like they're making it sound like I'm oppressing them or something, good grief. I mean, I did say that Hayama-san should be the leader, arguing that he was better suited to it than he was. But a single smile from Prince Riajuu while saying "I think Hikigaya would be the best option, don't you think?" was the last nail to be hammered on my coffin. Tch, damn riajuu, using these commoners to unite against me was a dirty move. Well, using the term "unite against me" is a bit paradoxical since terms like that are used against tyranny and unjust rule, but they're using that same logic against me on the basis that I should rule them, even though I don't want to. This should be a new thing in psychology…
I went on ahead back to the cabins to get my new clothes, eager to take a bath and tuck in for the night.
You were expecting a continuation after the line-break, but it was me, Ivanov117!
Jokes aside here is the new chapter and I quite enjoyed making this. I hope everyone had a good laugh or two while reading, this story has the "comedy" tag after all. If you can name all the references I made wrote here, then kudos to you good Sir/Madame!
If you don't mind spending a minute or two, I'd like y'all to write on the review on who is your favourite girl so far in the story and why. I'm curious to see one who's taking the lead so far lol.
To those saying that there's too much Yukino screentime(word time? idk), ofc she has a considerable place in the story since she's Hachi's classmate after all. And to the one who said that the Hachiman and Komachi scenes are a bit too incesty, yeah...I think you're right...I should lessen those scenes.
So yeah, that's all for now. As always, thank you for reading and please wait for the next chapter!
*Deploys smoke bombs and disappears*