Hikigaya Hachiman's Path To Reformation
Trust And Companionship
I watched a group of teachers jog by, their foreheads slick with sweat as the early morning Sun kissed their faces. There was still some chill left in the air, but not enough for me to shiver. I sat a distance away from where my class was preparing breakfast. I did not quite get enough sleep last night, so I opted not to assist in the cooking of this morning's food. Together with the fact that I did not jog, as what the majority of my class is doing right now, I find myself just staring off into space. I am paradoxically not the most athletic person, but I am above average in the sports that I played during middle school. Though my stamina is not something worth boasting about, to my disappointment…
Today, the academic events and contests would take place, namely quiz bees, spelling bees etc. We were missing a contestant for the former, so I went to find Hikigaya-kun last night to discuss what action we should take. He made it clear from the beginning that I have his consent and support in any decision I should take, but I still wanted his opinion. After all, I was the one who managed everything yesterday. Of course, he offered his assistance, but I declined.
All I saw him do the day before with the games and events going on was sitting under the shade of a tree and peacefully read a book and play on that phone of his. The image was very painting-worthy, to say the least. While I was going from place to place making sure that everything was going smoothly, he was just doing that.
I was exhausted, and I was very close to asking him for help.
But I refuse to do it.
"Don't come running to me when things start to get rough. Good luck." He said in his usual poker-face expression. Though I felt a strangeness in his tone as if he was testing me.
Doing so would make him right on what he said, and I refuse to give him that pleasure.
I went from our sleeping quarters last night and walked to where I saw him last, eating outside his assigned cabin. He ate with the rest of the Student Council and Hiratsuka-sensei, as I recall. An unfamiliar-looking girl with peach-coloured hair came to his table and gave him something, and soon left our group. She must be an acquaintance of his from the other class. As I drew closer, I spotted two figures that were engrossed in conversation. From his hair and the shirt that he wore, I confirmed one of the figures was the one that I'm looking for. I saw that he was engaged in a conversation with another boy with blonde hair.
Seeing that scum makes my blood boil.
As I observed them from a distance in the shadow behind their cabin, and I concurred that their topic was something Hikigaya-kun did not enjoy talking about, from the way his eyes frowned during several times in their talk. From the many times that I have been with him, he would always have an unchanging expression on his face; half-lidded eyes, a tired sounding voice, his lips formed into a permanent neutral line and his rude habit of sometimes not turning to the people that were conversing with him, only preferring to look at them from the corner of his eyes.
I had told him that the last one was very offensive, and he had an air of arrogance when he did it. He apologised for it and never did it again.
Although he would snicker, and I would give out a small laugh during our occasional banters, we know there was no malice in whatever words came out of our mouths.
Last Valentine's Day, the Class Reps received chocolate from the Student Council after classes ended as a small token of thanks. Being a Class Rep and Student Council member at the same time, he received two boxes of chocolates.
*Flashback*
"Yosh yosh Hikigaya-kun, Happy Valentine's Day and thank you for your hard work..." Seeing Shiromeguri Meguri-senpai lightly pat Hikigaya-kun's head was very unexpected. The latter having a satisfied look on his face as he received head pats from the former. I have never seen him make such a face, nor did I think it possible for him to make one. It was so out of place for someone as serious and stoic as him, seeing how he looks so used to this, I didn't know that they were, umm...close.
"Uwaahh, Hikigaya-kun is so clingy to Shiromeguri..." Another voice came and an unfamiliar black-haired girl with short hair skipped over to us. Like Shiromeguri-senpai, she started rubbing her hand on his head, but in a shocking display, she clung to him from behind and wrapped her arms around her waist. Seeing him being smothered by the two older girls was distressing coming from someone such as myself uncomfortable with close physical contact. The newcomer was also very comely, her height, beautiful dark brown eyes and her feminine figure were the first things that I came to notice. Her legs were also toned and I have reason to believe that she is quite athletic. She was several centimetres taller than Hikigaya-kun, easily towering over him and the Student Council President. Because of the height difference, she had to lean down on him from behind. Her bust was...impressive for someone of her age to possess.
S-Seeing her rub those blobs of sinful flesh on Hikigaya-kun's back...
G-Goodness! How i-indecent...!
Hikigaya-kun seemed outright unbothered by the two females that had sandwiched him. It is almost as if he is accustomed to this. Perhaps he has an older sister and an endearing Mother, which might explain how he is utterly unfazed by what was happening.
"Thanks for the chocolates earlier Hikigaya-kun. Here you go, your reward and also my Valentine's Day gift...~" The newcomer presented a canned coffee that I'm not quite familiar with. When he saw it, the expression he had on his face was that of a treasure hunter finally stumbling upon the Holy Grail itself.
"Thank you, Chisako-senpai. If you keep this up, I'll definitely marry you..." His words were something that was supposed to be said with passion and love. But instead, he said it in a monotone manner with a dead-eyed look in his…well, eyes. The new girl behind him laughed and let go of him. She finally noticed me, since I was silent the entire time and watched things unfold in front of me with a mixture of amusement, horror and curiosity.
"Oh! You must be Yukinoshita, right? I'm Chisako Mai, 2nd year and Vice President." She greeted me with a formal smile.
"It's good to meet you, Chisako-senpai. I am the class representative of 1-A." I returned her greeting with an equal amount of courtesy. I was a familiar glint on her eye that made me sweat nervously, I always see that on Nee-san when she's about to tease me.
"Ohhh, has my kouhai here given you complimentary chocolates yet?" She said. Before I knew what was happening, her arm was already around Hikigaya-kun's neck when he gracefully avoided it with astonishing speed. It was so fast all I saw was a blur, and he had already taken a step back from Chisako-senpai, eyeing her carefully.
"You'll have to be faster than that if you want to put me on a choke-hold, Senpai. I won't fall for it like last time." He said as Shiromeguri-senpai lightly clapped her hands from behind them.
"Tch." The tall girl clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"And to answer the question," he fixed his black blazer that had become slightly undone, "no, I didn't give her anything of the sort."
"Aww, that's a shame then..." Shiromeguri-senpai said from behind, and held in her hand was a box of chocolates Hikigaya-kun had given her earlier. "Thanks for the chocolates again Hikigaya-kun!" From the corner of his eye, he looked at me with an expression that said "Well, do you want one?"
I discreetly shook my head, earning a shrug of response from him.
After that, we excused ourselves and went together to change our shoes, since his Mother will pick him up and me by my driver, I had no excuse to turn down his offer in waiting together outside. I had unfortunately received several cards from secret admirers when I opened my shoe locker this morning. And I'm sure I have several more when I open it right now. I have no time to indulge myself in such nonsense.
I patiently waited beside him as he changed his shoes, and eyed his empty locker curiously. I expected him to receive a letter from some girl, but it seems I was wrong, as I am sure no girl out there is brave enough to give him one. I also ignored the stares that I was sent our way, and the ones I'm feeling coming from behind me right now. Seeing two of the most recognizable First Year students together during Valentine's Day is sure to create a rumour or two. I care not for petty gossip, and the companionship between us has never changed even though we both knew of them hanging in the air. No trace of awkwardness was present. We have more important matters to attend to than to focus our attention on this insignificant matter.
He is unlike any person I have met in my life, perhaps with the exemption of Nee-san. Thankfully, we both think alike. Great minds think alike after all.
I admit that he has bested me in academics, but I refuse to concede defeat.
He is a worthy rival.
"It seems that you didn't receive a letter this year," I commented as he gave me an annoyed look.
"Like I care for crap like that. Leave me alone, my little sister gives me all the love I need on Valentine's Day. Also, Valentine's Day is just a marketing tactic employed by Japanese companies imitating western countries, it has no place in our culture. When I become Prime Minister, I will eradicate every trace of it in our country." He said as he puffed out his chest. I can unironically imagine him putting that in his political campaign...
"Alright then, Prime Minister Siscon Hikigaya-kun. As a piece of advice, don't openly voice out your affections to your little sister." I say while giving him a sarcastic clap.
"Shut up."
I wordlessly walked past him and went to my locker and heard his footsteps close behind me. When I opened mine, around five pink-coloured letters fell and rested on my feet. The male beside me let out a low whistle and leaned down and casually picked them up.
"As expected of the Ice Queen. I see two letters that wrote your name with the wrong character. Ugh, this one is in English writing; the penmanship is horrible and the grammar is nauseous." He said and handed me the letters without a word.
And I crumpled them and threw them in the trash a small distance away from me.
He winced at my actions.
"I should feel sorry for the poor sods that wrote those, but I can't do so." He sighed, gave the garbage bin a lingering look and resumed walking. I followed him not a moment too soon.
"That is very much like you."
As we started walking out an unfamiliar average-looking fellow approached us from our right, carrying what seemed to be a letter of sorts, but backpedalled when he saw the person that was accompanying me. A look of surprise and slight fear on his face. Hikigaya-kun was quick to call out to the stranger, but before he can, the newcomer stuttered a quick apology and bolted inside the building.
"What a cowardly fellow…" I heard him mutter and continued. "I have a vague idea on what his business was. No doubt he thought of the wrong assumption when he saw me with you." He said as we both watched the retreating back of the newcomer with disinterested expressions.
"I'm sure we both know what his intention was, Hikigaya-kun. No need to feign ignorance. And about the last part, I don't care what other people think, and I'm sure you don't as well." I said as we finally exited the building. The weather outside was still cold, so I pulled my jacket closer to my body. Hikigaya-kun on the other hand was unfazed by the sudden drop in temperature and did not bother to adjust his jacket.
"Hmm, well you're right...but still..." his voice trailed off as he discontinued what he was about to say.
I was supposed to quickly go home to avoid situations such as these, but that changed when he offered me his company, which I accepted. I had no reason to deny him, and his company was not unwelcome.
Fascinating...
I should have him by my side at times, to avoid being confessed to in school. Well, only Valentine's Day perhaps, but still...I must discover what other things he can be useful to me...perhaps as a bodyguard or my assistant in the future...
Despite openly voicing his complaints on literally anything about work, he is quite efficient at doing tasks.
Now, the only problem would be how to go about it...
Hehehehehe...
"O-Oi, why are you smiling and giggling creepily at me like that...?" The discomfort was clear from his voice as he inched away from me. He gave me a wary look, his reaction amused me.
"Oh nothing, it's just that your presence is very useful after all." I leered and gave him a small mischievous smile, all the while thinking about how to use him in other means.
"You talk as if saying that I'm a tool to be used as you see fit." A cold shiver went up to his spine and I am quite sure it was not from the cold weather.
*Flashback End*
I walked to where his cabin was located, and outside was ready bustling with activity. The tables and chairs were already out in a place while those doing the cooking were working in the cooking station nearby. Some boys were exercising and I saw Hayama-kun with them. From the corner of my eye, I saw him look in my direction, but upon registering me, he quickly looked away.
Coward.
I looked around, but I did not see him and decided to take a look inside their cabin. I finally saw the person that I was looking for inside the cabin sitting on the benches while reading a small pocketbook with one hand.
But what surprised me was the baby that he was holding with one arm that sat on his lap. The baby seemed to be sleeping peacefully and rested on Hikigaya-kun's chest.
Oh my, what a precious thing.
"Good Morning." He said, not even looking away from his book.
"Good Morning." I sat down across him eager to discuss and finish what I came here to do since I have other tasks to attend to, but the baby that he held was very distracting. Its chest going up and down as it breathed and its tiny hand held Hikigaya-kun's pinky finger. The baby had dark shoulder-length hair, so I was not quite sure what its gender was.
"Is that baby a boy?" I asked.
"Tania-chan is a girl." He replied.
"Tania...that's a pretty name," I say fighting the urge to reach out and poke the baby's chubby cheeks.
The baby yawned and started stretching her limbs, craning her neck here and there and opened her eyes. She rubbed them with her hand and Hikigaya-kun stopped her.
"Tania-chan, don't rub your eyes too much." He gently said as she looked up and gave him a big toothless smile, her baby saliva dripping from the corners of her mouth. He then used the cloth of her shirt to wipe it off. After adjusting her on his lap and fixing her messy hair, to which she tried to reach out with her hand to bite him, he produced a pacifier from his pocket and put it on her.
"You can't bite me silly, you still don't have any teeth." He said and pinched her cheeks.
The baby turned her attention to me and just stared at me with wide eyes.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
"O-Oh yes," I couldn't take my eyes off the baby that he held. "we are still lacking a participant for the Quiz Bee, I still haven't found a suitable candidate. If we don't get one soon, I fear we will be disqualified." I say.
He put a hand under his chin in deep thought. His brows knitted together and his eyes deeply focused in concentration. He does this quite frequently when asked to solve a problem in front of the class or when he is requested to give his opinion on a certain topic for our essay. The baby looked up at him and after seeing what he was doing, imitated him.
"Pfff..." I restrained a giggle with all of my might, but the baby that was staring intently at me while imitating the one that held her in place was making it very difficult. It did not help that she was also chewing on her pacifier.
"Ah." His right hand formed into a fist and lightly hit the palm of his left hand.
"Have you thought of someone?" I asked.
"Why don't you join?" He said as he started playing with the baby on his lap, which earned a squeal from her.
I blinked twice before his suggestion registered. That certainly was not a bad idea, and I'm sure either of us can win and earn a score for our class. Had this been a two-person team, we would completely dominate this competition and emerge victoriously.
"Hmm, well, if the situation permits...then I believe I can join. But who will manage our team while I'm gone?" My question was left hanging in the air, and I was beginning to think that he might volunteer himself for the task at hand. But I know he won't since I told him that I will not ask for his help.
"I know someone." He said flatly.
"And who would that someone be?" I replied with an equally flat tone.
"Someone who can get the job done." His stubbornness was clear, and it would be difficult for me to force him to yield to me. I know because I have only succeeded a few times.
I sighed in exasperation and glanced at the baby that has not broken eye contact with me. "Can you give me a name, at least...?"
He simply shook his head. "He can do it. He owes me a favour or two."
"Oh, and if you win, I'll give you this." He showed me a sealed letter and waved it in front of him. It looked nothing special.
"What is that?"
"You'll find out when you win. Isn't that right, Tania-chan~~..." He smothered the baby and laughed, causing her to accidentally dropped her pacifier. Her tiny mouth forming into an "O" as she followed the pacifier that fell with her eyes. With his one hand, he carried her and leaned down to pick it up.
"Can you hold her while I wash her pacifier?" He said and I stood up and readied my arms to receive the baby. It's my first time holding one, but I am sure I can handle it.
"Eeeeaaahhhh!" The baby cringed away from me and buried her face in the fabric of his shirt, her tiny hands clasped tightly on it. Hikigaya-kun laughed at the baby's reaction and his cheeky grin became wider.
"Don't worry Tania-chan, even your Hachi-nii is afraid of her sometimes." He said and tickled the baby to cheer her up. He went to the sink to wash the pacifier with his free hand, and while doing so, I followed behind him and poked the baby's cheek in an attempt to cheer her up. She just made an annoyed face and turned her face away from me.
I have just been rejected by a baby, and I don't know what I feel. Though I do feel an emotion akin to sadness and disappointment.
"Looks like Tania-chan doesn't quite like you," Hikigaya-kun said as he made the baby girl laugh and squirm from his tickles.
"I didn't know that you were good with children."
"I volunteered out in the neighbourhood day-care before. I used to dislike babies and toddlers, but taking care of them changes your outlook later on." I was surprised, to be honest. I did not expect an answer like that. He did not look like the type to volunteer for things like that. Though if I said that to him out loud, it would surely make me sound like a judgmental simpleton.
"Ah, is that so..." I stepped closer and went eye-level with the baby and she eyed me cautiously.
"Tania-chan, why are you so defensive to her? Do you want to carry her?" He said to me and I nodded. I stepped closer and readied my arms.
"Try smiling at her to make her feel at ease." I followed what he said and gave the baby girl a small smile. After blinking twice and getting a word of encouragement from Hikigaya-kun, she reluctantly went to my arms.
"Hey properly position your arm."
"I know I know."
"She's squirming, that means she's uncomfortable."
"Silence."
"Shut up and listen to me. Between the two of us, I'm the more experienced one."
"..."
"..."
"Yeah, just like that." His voice finally calmed down, but he still stood quite close to me. I did not mind the proximity between us since he reassured me. Holding a baby is quite a new feeling, she looked heavier than I expected and very warm and soft too. Like a heavy marshmallow...
She looked at me with wide eyes, shifting from me to Hikigaya-kun's. No doubt she is still wary of me since I am unfamiliar to her, but I'm sure Hikigaya-kun's presence is calming her down. Now that I think about it, what is her relationship with him? A little sister seems to be the most likely answer, though a baby cousin or niece is possible...
"She doesn't look like you," I say after analysing her physical features. The only visible similarity that they both have is the colour of their hair.
"Huh?" Confusion masked his face from my words.
"I thought she was your little sister...?" I say.
"No, she's not. She's Hiro-sensei's daughter." He said and another surprise came to me in such a small time. From my observations, the couple were very friendly to Hikigaya-kun, almost to the point of favouritism, I say. As much as teachers hate to admit, they all have that one favourite student they love. I did not envy him, but being a Teacher's favourite has some advantages. Though I did not expect him to be close to them to the point that they would entrust their infant daughter to him. It seems that he is more popular and on friendlier terms with the teachers than with his fellow students.
What an amusing thought.
After getting comfortable, the baby looked up at me and smiled in a way that made my heart flutter. Using her hands, she started feeling and touching my...chest. I was frozen in place and Hikigaya-kun was in the same boat as myself, having an awkward look on his face while his lips usual straight-lined neutral lips became crooked, not knowing what to do nor say in this precarious situation.
"O-Oh..." Those were all the words that came out of my mouth since I was still speechless to form any proper sentence. Hikigaya-kun did me a favour by looking away, which I was quite thankful for. Tania-chan... after several more moments of feeling me, made a disappointed sound and started squirming from my hold.
"She must want some milk."
When I heard him say that, I felt my face blush with the force of a thousand suns and steam going out of my ears.
"I... ugh, let me take her back to her Mother..." I heard him say and I idly gave him Tania-chan. She looked more delighted to be back in his arms than when she was with me, to be sure. She must like him.
"Sorry, that sounded weird..." He muttered an apology and scratched his head.
"T-There is no need for you to apologize, what just happened was an instinctive reaction for a baby of her age," I say while putting on an air of seriousness and calm composure.
"Yeah, you're right. It's Tania-chan's fault! It's time for your punishment!" He exclaimed before tickling the baby, causing her to squirm, squeal and jerk her legs. It was nice to see this side of him, instead of the cold stoic class rep and member of the Student Council that everyone always sees. Even though his eyes are another matter, the smile that he wore right now was pure and full of warmth, and I couldn't help to smile as well.
He must love children.
"Wanna go give back Tania-chan to her parents together?" He asked.
"Of course, but I get to carry her," I replied and he gave me back the baby. This time, she was more comfortable since she did not squirm as much as before and started playing with several strands of my hair.
He opened the door for me and we went to where the teachers were staying.
"For both our sakes, I hope she won't touch you too much this time." He said casually, and I did not get as flustered as before since I anticipated that he will say something similar to that. Though I could not resist a slight blush from his comment. From the corner of my eye, I saw Tania-chan's hands resting comfortably on her chubby tummy.
I elbowed him for his perverted remark.
"Pervert."
"Good luck with the quiz bee. Tania-chan, say good luck to Yukinoshita-nee~~..." I say in a drawn-out and monotone manner since I was too tired to get hyped up for anything. Goodness, carrying around a chubby baby like Tania-chan for the entire morning strains my arms...
"Ebebebabababa!" Tania-chan made another one of those baby sounds, causing a small smile from the Ice Queen in front of us. Wow, she made the infamous Ice Queen smile, what power...! I used her arms to give Yukinoshita a goodbye wave. From the corner of my eye, I saw Miura-san walk by a small distance away, most likely going to watch the quiz bee with her friends. She turned and locked eyes with me, her face hard and neutral, and disappeared into the crowd.
I sighed; I still had no idea the reason behind her sudden outburst this morning.
Yukinoshita on the other hand leaned down and patted Tania-chan's head before thanking us and going on her way to go where the contestants were supposed to say.
"Looks like Tania made another friend today, thanks for spending time with her, Hikigaya," Hiro-sensei said beside me where we presided over the event. Hiro-sensei was in charge of the quiz bee today, and I sat beside him under the large tent together with some of the teachers and Shiromeguri-senpai. The one speaking the questions would be Shiromeguri-senpai, while I'm here to...umm...wait, what am I here for, exactly? Aside from carrying Tania-chan with me, that is.
"Ne Tania-chan, what are we doing here anyway?" Since I made her sit on the table in front of us, she started playing with my face and nearly put a finger up my nose.
"Eweweweeeeehhh!" she grabbed a handful of my bangs and started pulling on it.
"Oi oi let go."
"HELLO EVERYONE AND WELCOME TO THE 2ND PORTION OF OUR ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS!" A deafening voice from the speakers assaulted my ears, thankfully, I managed to cover Tania-chan's ears just in time. The voice came from Shiromeguri-senpai who started introductions with her bubbly attitude.
"This is your Student Council President Shiromeguri Meguri and Head of The Disciplinary Committee Hikigaya Hachiman!" Senpai then thrust the microphone in front of my face bidding me say a word or two.
I sighed, "Good morning to everyone, I'm looking forward to a fair battle between bright minds. If we catch you cheating, you're automatically disqualified by default and sanctioned." My voice literally dripped with boredom, and Hiro-sensei cringed while Yukinoshita glared at me from afar. I felt a chill go up to my spine when she eyed me with menacing intent. My voice had a more visible effect on the contestants, they looked demoralized and lost all enthusiasm upon hearing my voice.
"Hikigaya that sounded pretty lame." Hiro-sensei commented.
"Uwahhh, Hiro-sensei is right..." Shiromeguri-senpai agreed while covering the microphone.
"Aauuueeee..." Tania-chan made a low sound from within her throat and pouted at me.
Wow, even Tania-chan was disappointed in me...
While Shiromeguri-senpai was introducing the contestants, Hiro-sensei analysed the questions that were prepared beside me. His brows knitted together and his lips were pursed. After a while, he put a hand under his chin and stroked his non-existent beard.
"Hikigaya, who prepared these questions?" He turned to me and asked.
"The Student Council."
"Ah, yes of course..." he said and returned his eyes to the papers. "Why? Is there something wrong Sensei?"
He scratched his head and sported a doubtful expression. "It's just that some of these questions may be...too difficult to answer for a Highschool student..." his voice trailed off as he watched Tania-chan play with the toys that he brought.
"I'm sure that it's not too difficult Sensei, they are Sobu High students after all," I reply with confidence. He nodded at me and we both turned our attention to the quiz bee in front of us.
What he didn't know, was that the questions that I added made up at least 60% of everything, the remaining 40% were made by Shiromeguri-senpai and the others. It would have been boring as a spectator if the questions were relatively easy after all. That's why I decided to...spice things up, even though it might have been unethical and an abuse of power.
But hey, they don't need to know that, do they?
We watched the event go on in front of us and occasionally gave our inputs and insights on some of the given questions. Ino-sensei and Hiratsuka-sensei shortly joined us, and I enjoyed their company as we talked.
"I have always been fascinated by alternate history, a single change in a particular point in time would have a profound effect on the future. Like what would have happened if Japan united earlier before the unification movements?" Ino-sensei spoke with passion.
"That would have had a major effect on the political climate, to be sure." Hiratsuka-sensei replied.
"Assuming that trade was controlled by a centralized government, the economy would have flourished and measures are taken to actively counter-piracy in the seas around the coasts," Hiro-sensei added.
"ACHEEEEE!" Tania-chan's high-pitched sneeze startled us and we all shared a laugh as Ino-sensei wiped her infant daughter's nose, to which she angrily tried to avoid but to no avail since I held her in place. I'm sorry little one.
The adults then started talking about adult stuff like taxes, politics and their careers. Since I had no interest in listening to them and also to give them privacy, I went to a quieter part under the shade of the tent together with Tania-chan.
"Let's go Tania-chan."
"Oooouuhhhhh..." she said as I stood up and walked away. While I was walking, I smirked as I heard some of the questions that I added to the quiz bee.
"Uwaahhh, I'm so bored..." I mutter as I idly watched the events being held unfold.
"Uuuwweehh..." She made a similar bored-sounding sound as she sat on my lap. She too seemingly got bored of the toys that she played with earlier, and was now in a similar position as I am. I brought out my phone to play one of the daily quests from the gacha game that I recently started playing. The name of the game was FGO. It was quite difficult to play since Tania-chan would instinctively reach out and grab whatever was within arm's reach of her, and that included my phone.
When I die and become a Heroic Spirit, I want to belong in the Caster-Class. Ah, but that also depends on my Spirit Origin...
Or maybe I'll be reborn as an Avenger-Class, after a life of being unjustly judged by society just because of my appearance. After a life filled with hardship at the hands of society (especially from the brutal teenage girls with their equally brutal insults), I will become the spirit of vengeance itself. Hell-bent on eradicating injustice around the world by any means necessary. My alignment would most likely be Chaotic-Good. Aside from eradicating injustice, I would also be removing all asshole Riajus on this planet.
I just hope that my title as a Heroic Spirit isn't EDGELORD.
The only thing left for me to do is to decide what to do to make me even a considerable candidate for becoming a Heroic Spirit…
Ugh, anyway…
Tomorrow would be the final day of our camping trip, and on the morning on the day after, we would be going back to Chiba on buses. Though my Mother insisted to personally pick me up on that day...I want to ride the bus too damnit!
I had also managed to convince Hayama-san to facilitate the practices of our teams for tomorrow's pop dance competition. Men and women's volleyball was moved to tomorrow afternoon since we had some unexpected things that happened yesterday. I had wanted to join the tennis event yesterday, but the thought of fainting again stopped me from doing so. I should seriously take better care of myself; I don't want to get hospitalized and cause any more trouble to my parents...
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations!"
Yukinoshita was immediately surrounded, praised and congratulated by our classmates and teachers. Giving her smiles and clapping their hands as she walked by. She won the quiz bee by a landslide and only had very few incorrect answers. She acknowledged them with nods and a small upturn of her lips but did not grace them with a full-blown smile.
Almost as if she rejected The Human Instrumentality Project just like Shinji Ikari at The End of Evangelion.
"I expected no less. Thank you for your hard work." I say and then held Tania-chan as she sat on my lap. "Tania-chan, say congratulations to Yukinoshita-nee."
"Shhhhhhhehehehe!" She laughed as she imitated the people around her and clapped.
"Good work Yukinoshita! Now we'll win the competition for sure!" Hiratsuka-sensei came and patted her shoulder, puffing out her chest out of pride. And it was quite difficult in trying to restrain my eyes from landing on them.
"Hoh, don't be so sure yet Hiratsuka-sensei. I believe with your win; we are tied among the teams now." Ino-sensei approached her with a menacing aura. I forgot to mention that these two teachers made a bet on who would win the competition. Naturally, they betted on their respective teams.
Hiro-sensei made a troubled smile as he watched his wife and Shiromeguri-senpai announced the end of the quiz bee followed by a 30-minute break before the next event started. The crowd began to disperse and Yukinoshita made a sigh of relief. I see she still dislikes crowds, and I share the same sentiment.
"So..." she locked her eyes with me after patting Tania-chan's head and shaking her tiny hand. Her gaze said that she was expecting from me, and I had already prepared her reward.
"Here." I gave her the letter that I promised her, her finger clasped it and I let go. She examined it and her eyes widened when she recognized the seal.
"This is...the official seal of the city...how did you get this…?" she muttered with a hint of amazement.
"Yes, and it's yours. That was originally given to me, but...I have... well, other plans on that day. It's a big deal to have that with you. And also, because I'm a lazy piece of shi-"
"Hikigaya-kun, please refrain from speaking profanities while in the presence of a baby." She cut me off and pointed at Tania-chan who was looking back and forth between us with curious eyes.
"Sorry. Anyway, that's yours and if I were you, I'd open it when I go home."
She arched a brow at my words but didn't say anything. After a few more silent moments she opened her mouth and said, "I demand more."
"More what." I arched a brow at her.
"A prize. Being suddenly part of a quiz bee without any sort of preparation is more troublesome than you think, even for one such as me. " She said and crossed her arms, her eyes arched and giving me an expectant look.
The audacity...!
"Haaaah? What do you want? Do you expect me to hold your hand and treat you to an expensive dinner? Or go to a ridiculously expensive cafe with overpriced coffee and pastries? No thank you. You're already loaded enough to do that yourself. Go ask your Onee-san to do that with you, I have more important stuff to deal with." I gestured with my hands as if I was shooing her away, and she did not like it in the slightest.
She visibly cringed and made a disgusted face. "Ugh, what made you think that way? Pretentious disgusting lech." She cleared her throat and continued. "The thing that I want is a favour. Simple as that."
A favour? What could she want now? This girl is getting too pushy and ordering me around. But, on a serious note, what could the great Yukinoshita Yukino planned to do that she needed a lowly mortal such as myself to help on the matter...?
"What kind?" I asked.
"Nothing yet, though I may need you to do to a certain something for me in the future." She said and I immediately grew suspicious. I don't know what she is planning, and neither do I want to be a part of it, but my growing curiosity on the matter was building up.
"..."
"..."
"Tch, fine. As long as it's not very troublesome..." I say and admitted defeat.
"Good to see that we agree." She had a sly look on her face that reminded me of a snake's. I feel as though I willfully fell into an obvious trap. My eyes fell to her hands and I noticed something odd.
"Now, do you mind telling me who is currently facilitating our team while I was away?" She asked, but before I could answer, I noticed something off.
The envelope that contained the letter was gone.
"Hey, where's the envelope?" She gave me a confused look and I saw her move her hand that had held it several moments ago and suddenly got wide-eyed when it wasn't there. She looked down and was frozen in place when her eyes rested on something. In other words, she was looking at something on my lap.
When I looked down on the infant that I held, I understood what she meant. In Tania-chan's tiny hands was the letter that I gave to Yukinoshita only several moments ago, I have no idea how Tania-chan managed to get that. But what caught me off guard was what she was doing with it. She was slowly moving it closer and closer to her mouth where she will chew and make a mess out of it. The only question that I had on my mind at that moment was how did she able to grab it from Yukinoshita in the first place…?
"TANIA-CHAN NO DON'T EAT THAT!"
"Hoh looks like we won..." I muttered to myself after Hiro-sensei announced the results. My team screamed and shouted in celebration, some dancing and jumping up and down. Victory music was blaring from the speakers, confetti was fired into the air, with several coloured strings landing on my head. I looked around and saw the other classes joining in, even the ones who lost could not resist. Our sports teams did wonderful this morning, they broke the tie that held us with the other class and made victory possible. Near the place where the teachers were staying, I saw Hiratsuka-sensei in equally good spirits, laughing and exclaiming that she had won the bet against Ino-sensei. Please act your age Sensei, you're not a teenager anymore. Now Hiro-sensei was requesting a representative to take the trophy and say some words.
I discreetly eyed the girl beside me and nudged her shoulder. She managed to find me at the front of this crowd and stand next to me to also listen to the results. I can feel how focused her eyes were and the aura of anticipation that I felt. Hoh, she must want to win. To be honest, either result was fine for me. If we had lost, I would have just shrugged my shoulders and congratulated the winners. No use crying over spilt milk after all.
"Oi, that's your cue."
"What? I did not agree to this." She gave me an annoyed look and arched her brow.
"Go on, just do it." I nudged her again.
"You can't force me to." She was being defiant and crossed her arms around her chest and I'm starting to lose my patience. I had to sigh in exasperation because what I'm going to say next will cause me to let go of the small amount of pride I have left.
"Between the two of us, this is your forte. What if I screw up and bite my tongue or something? That would be bad, yes?" I say in my most convincing tone. I felt the gears inside her head twist and turn as she thought about my words.
"Well, if you put it that way. I would like to avoid embarrassment just as we were starting to celebrate our victory. I guess even such a trivial thing such as this takes too much of an effort for you, does it Hikigaya-kun?" She smirked and gave me a belittling look and started walking to where Hiro-sensei was standing. Haha, you think you've won? Fool! I just gave you a small amount of time to be in the spotlight! I could go there if I wanted to!
He gave her the microphone and cleared her throat before speaking to it. Her victory speech was brief, yet every word held a deep meaning to it. The heads around me nodded as they all agreed to what she was saying. After she was done with her piece, Hiro-sensei bade the winning class come forward to take the picture.
The girls quickly sprinted to get a good position in the photo, followed slowly by most of the guys who weren't as photogenic as them. Since we were the Representatives, we stood at the centre holding the medium-sized trophy together and I had to resist the urge to wiggle away from my current spot since it was getting too close for comfort.
"Yo Hikigaya." I heard Hayama-san's voice from beside me. Since he was right next to me I didn't bother turning my head to him since doing so might lead to a yaoi-like situation. I saw a familiar face in the crowd already looking for BL material. Ebina-san gave me a thumbs-up from the opposing team. Finally, I've found her at last. She said she wanted my help the other day, though she didn't say what exactly.
"Ah, hello." I return him a lame greeting of my own.
He brushed it off and continued, "You know, I was expecting you to be the one to step forward, being the de facto head of our team and all." I arched a brow since his voice was low, but still loud enough for me to hear him, I remained quiet, "Tell me, why didn't you?" he asked and I started wondering. Though it didn't take too long since the answer was obvious.
"I figured that she is the more logical choice to speak for the team between the two of us," I reply as I watched the last students come over to us and look for a spot to stay.
"Hoh is that so…" He said and trailed off. We watched some of the officers-in-charge of the documentation hastily prepare that camera that stood on a tripod.
"...Thanks Hayama-san." I say.
"Hm? For what?"
"For yesterday, helping the teams prepare I mean."
"Oh that. Well, I don't mind, you did give me advice the other day, remember? Oh, and you can drop the -san already hahaha." He said in a grateful tone and patted my right shoulder. Oi oi oi oi oi, when did you put that hand on me? Is that sexual harassment? Get your hand off of me BRUH. Tch, this guy…getting too friendly with me…I don't remember acknowledging you as a friend, Bro.
Yukinoshita was quiet the entire time. Whether she was listening in on our conversation or outright refusing to acknowledge our existence, I don't know nor did I care.
"Ok! Everyone smile!" The one behind the camera said and caused everyone to smile too early.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
I didn't know if I smiled when the photo was taken, but what I do know is that I didn't make a goofy face at least.
"You sure you're not going to come to ride the bus with us Hikigaya?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked as she stood in front of the entrance of the bus. After celebrating our victory yesterday noon, the afternoon and evening was just free time for us students. Of course, I just spent most of my time sleeping, reading or playing on my phone when I wasn't helping out my class cook and clean. Last night, we had Japanese-style burger steak for dinner to celebrate, even though it was quite a bit expensive for my taste.
This morning, we made a quick breakfast that consisted of grilled fish, vegetables and the last of our meat, and after making a run for the showers since we were going to be late, made it to our rendezvous with only five minutes to spare. Ugh, even my hair is still a bit wet.
Right now, the first buses had already left, and the one carrying my class together with the teachers revved their engines.
"What time is your Mother coming?" Shiromeguri-senpai followed up with a question of her own. She's been trying to convince me to go with them on the bus all morning, no doubt she's worried because I'm being left behind.
"I'll wait for my Mother, she's already an hour and a half away I believe," I say to the both of them which caused them to look at each other with worried looks. Hiratsuka-sensei sighed in defeat and looked at her watch after glancing behind her.
"Well, if your Mother is already on the way, then I guess it can't be helped." She scratched her head. "We're going on ahead then, see you on Monday Hikigaya." She said and walked up the bus.
"WAIT!" I heard a voice, which caused me and Shiromeguri-senpai to turn to the source Hiro-sensei was walking quickly towards me while carrying Tania-chan. "I got the bus number wrong and now Ino already left…" he said while having a sheepish look on his face. Oh, so that's why I didn't see them both this earlier…
"You can go on this one, Sensei. My Mother will be picking me up." I say. "Tania-chan," I went eye level with her to catch her attention and when she recognized me, started reaching out with her arms like before. I laughed and lightly patted her head. "Not this time little buddy. I'm not riding the bus with you. Bye-bye." I held out my palm in front of her and opened and closed it, she slowly imitated me when I waved it in front of her. I smiled, which caused her to smile in turn, and pinched her cheeks.
"Ok, I'll see you on Monday then and don't forget about the project that I assigned ok?" he said and stepped inside the bus. Tania-chan looked confused when I didn't follow them at the bus, and they disappeared from my view when they turned at the corner.
Shiromeguri-senpai soon followed Sensei, but not before patting my head and saying "Don't talk to strangers ok? We have a lot of work to do next week, so get lots of rest this weekend!" and then she followed Hiratsuka-sensei and the doors closed. The bus lurched forward, and I saw several of my classmates wave at me from the inside of the bus through the glass windows, and I gave them my own. I caught a glimpse of Yukinoshita seated at the back of the bus and she gave me a quick nod of acknowledgement. When the bus disappeared into the wooded road, I walked back into the main building and went to the guest's area to wait for my Mother. I had already informed the employees, so they didn't bother to approach me as I entered.
There were already new guests that had arrived, a bunch of foreigners, two men and women, to be precise. They had fair skin and seemed about in their late twenties. The first pair looked identical, with their blonde hair and facial features, I think they are siblings. They were speaking to the receptionist and I can tell that they were not going anywhere. Both parties looked confused with their messages not getting to each other. The foreigners were speaking English with a heavy accent from a language that I can't determine. I sighed to myself and walked towards them.
"Excuse me." I caught their attention and they had not expected me to walk up to them and speak in English. "Do you need some help?" After a few more moments of awkward silence, one of the men shook off the initial surprise and stepped up to me.
"Oh yes yes yes we do thank you very much!" He exclaimed and bowed his head repeatedly in an exaggerated manner. I had to suppress a wince from the cringe since they were those types of foreigners…and it bothered me how he say "Yes" three times in a row…ugh, why did I even do this in the first place.
"I can help you translate if you want," I say and for the next fifteen minutes or so, I acted as a translator for them. Their questions were predictable, price of the lodging, cooking your food outside, amenities and facilities etc. But even I had a little bit of difficulty expressing in translating some of the words, but thankfully, my message came out clear. They rented one of the rooms and brought their food to cook. The guy at the reception finished their transaction and called a co-worker to go and check the place that was being rented.
"Were you with the bus full of young kids just now?" The woman with a boyish haircut asked me.
"Yes, I'm staying behind," I say, and when I didn't say anything further, nodded to herself. She was probably expecting me to continue the conversation, but I clearly remembered Shiromeguri-senpai's words earlier. "Don't talk to strangers." That was what she said, and I intend to follow it. This was just an exemption since they looked like they needed some help.
"So you stayed here with them? How was it?" The first guy asked.
"It was good," I say and continued. "The facilities here are great, you made a good choice in picking this place."
"That's good to hear. We saw this place in our recommendations and decided to rent a car to come here. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Lukas, this is my sister Maria. We are from The Netherlands." They bowed in greeting and I returned one of my own. Oh, so they're Dutch. So that's the reason behind their heavily-accented English.
"My name is Lars." The tall skinny guy that had been quiet all this time finally spoke.
"I am Tess." The girl with the boyish haircut held out her hand for me to shake. Lars looked startled and lightly elbowed her. The both of them started speaking Dutch, and Tess, who had an initial look of confusion, finally looked like she understood what Lars was getting at. I curiously listened to their language. Ok, so it's Lukas, Maria, Lars and Tess. Shit, too many names! I'm starting to get overwhelmed!
"I'm very sorry for my friend's rudeness," Lars said and I raised a brow at him.
"It's fine to do a handshake here, but we don't do it," I reply. They look relieved at my answer and the girl named Tess reintroduced herself once more but opted to bow instead. The typical reaction, but a bit taken too seriously by foreigners. It's not like handshaking is considered a massive insult here punishable by death. Seriously, we're not as uptight as the rest of the world thinks.
Lars just smiled and his companions started bombarding me with questions.
Oh no.
NO!
DAMNIT!
I run to the parking lot where our buses were supposed to be, only to find it empty except for a few new family cars. Looking at my watch, I was already late by thirty minutes since I took too much time in the showers. It also didn't help that no one bothered to wake me up this morning, causing me to wake up late and be the last one to finish eating and wash most of the dishes that were left in the sink. The tables were cleaned sloppily so I had to clean them again.
Tch, useless classmates…
Great, just GREAT, now I'm stuck here until my Mom can get me and who knows how many hours that's gonna take?
I stomped the ground in frustration and sat on a nearby large rock, unceremoniously flinging my bag at the base of a tree in the process. I took deep breathes to calm myself down, and slowly my rationality came back to me. My parents always told me that I was too hot-headed for my good.
Now, what other options did I have left? I could always call my Mom, but as I said before, she's busy at work and that goes the same for my Dad. I don't have our class adviser's contact information, even though she had told us to save it on our phones in case of an emergency. Damnit, now I regret not saving it and adding it to my contacts…
After sighing to myself and getting the dust off of my bag, I stood up and walked to the main building to call the school so I can at least inform them that I was left behind. Hopefully, my class figured out that I was missing and the bus is turning around right now, but I guess that's just wishful thinking. A certain someone always told me that being a blind optimist in these kinds of situations is always bad. Come to think of it, I didn't see him at all while we were here. Keika and I dropped by last week when we met Komachi at the supermarket, and I gave her some fruits so he can eat them. His fever was quite high on that day, so he wasn't able to come down the stairs…
Poor guy, I hope he's back to normal now.
A sudden gust of wind caught my surprise, and with it, came that certain smell before a storm arrives. When I looked up, a large dark cloud was already slowly moving in the direction of the wind. Woah, that is massive. I didn't see a thunderstorm forecast this morning in the news on my phone. From the looks of things, it'll be a few minutes before the downpour starts, and I do NOT want to be outside when that happens. I walked to the building with my bag in hand.
When I entered through the glass doors, the cold air from the air conditioning was a welcoming feeling. I then went to the guest's area so I can sit down and get my bearings. There was no one at the reception table and I noticed a group of foreigners being led by an employee to their lodgings on the upper floors. They were speaking in a language that I'm not familiar with. I found a vacant bench near the vending machines after buying a can of apple juice. I was still leaning down to pick it up when the doors opened and I instinctively turned my head.
The first thing that I saw was his familiar ahoge on the top of his head.
His eyes were on his phone and we soon made eye contact when he looked up from it. A small grin made its way into his lips when he saw me, and I wondered what caused him to do that.
"There you are, Kawasaki." He said as he started walking towards me. I straightened up and unconsciously started fixing my hair. As he got closer, I noticed that he had a look of relief in his eyes and I somehow felt that he was pleased, if not happy to see me. I hope I don't sound pretentious when I said that…
"H-Hey." I give him a lazy wave and he looked amused. Honestly, did something good happen? He looks too…positive today. And it's unnerving me.
"Looks like I didn't have to scour the place looking for you. It would have been bad if I got caught up in the rain while looking for you. Boy am I glad to see you." He said with a smile, he was radiating an aura of happiness which is out-of-character for him to do. What's his deal? Maybe he ate something bad which caused his personality to make a complete 180?
"Uhh, you too…?" I reply with uncertainty.
"Get your things ready. You're coming with me." He just stated plainly.
"What?" I blurt out, not understanding what he meant and where we were going. He gave me a confused look at tilted his head to the side. "You're stuck here right? You can go with me since my Mother is going to pick me up," he said.
"Wait wait wait, this is going too fast. First of all, how did you know?" I asked him.
"Oh, Sensei called me a few minutes ago and told me that a student was left behind here. I asked her what was the name of the student, and when I found out that it was you, I just told her that you'll be coming with me since we're in the same neighbourhood." He said and shrugged his shoulders. Oh, that makes sense and was thoughtful of him.
"Oh, but what about the bus? What if they're coming back?"
"They'll handle it. My Mother should be here in a few minutes." He replied.
"Oh, ok." It took a few more moments for me to get my head around what he just told me, but I knew what the right words to say at this moment. "Thanks a lot, that was kind of you Hikigaya," I say with a grateful smile. He returned one of his own, albeit a small one, and I felt my cheeks get slightly warm.
"Let's take a seat there while we wait." He pointed to one of the tables that had a bag on top and went there as I tailed behind him. We sat down and he rested his head on his arms on the table.
"Still sleepy?" I asked and opened the juice that I brought with me.
He grunted a reply which I took as a yes and said, "We had to wake up early to prepare the meals and cook for the class…"
"Ah. I didn't see you during our entire three-day stay here though."
"I was just in our cabin the whole time, only going out to help out with the cooking and to occasionally meet with the teachers and the rest of the Student Council…" He said with a muffled voice since his head was still on his arms.
"I see…"
"Well, what about you?" He rested the side of his face on his arm and looked at me, but it looked goofy to look at.
"Hmm, I guess we're on the same boat, except for the last part. Oh, we won the table tennis on the first day, I barely managed to score a few hits too." Since we were the only people here, it was deathly quiet. Thunder suddenly rocked the sky above us, and I jolted from the sound. Hikigaya was unfazed by the clap of thunder and continued to just stare at me with a bored expression.
"By the way…who was your cabin leader?" he asked.
"I forgot her name…Why do you ask?"
A menacing aura filled with dark intent suddenly surrounded him. His eyes were shadowed and I felt the temperature drop causing the hairs on my arm and at the back of my neck to stand. He smiled, but there was no trace of warmth in them. Instead, I saw a sinister one that made me think that he was a demon from the lowest pits of hell itself.
"Oh, nothing. Incompetence must be punished…no? Especially one as great as this. Leaving behind a classmate while on a field trip is no laughing matter. Your Class Rep isn't going to get off lightly because of this. Tsk tsk tsk, the Principal will be furious when he hears this. I can imagine detention, several days' worth of suspension, school service and a meeting with her parents…"
Oh.
Right…
He's the head of The Disciplinary Committee…
"Oh wait, never mind. I can just look up your class in the office next week." He suddenly said and quickly returned to normal. "Finally! Someone to report! Hehehehe…" I heard him mutter but he stopped when he noticed me staring.
I laughed awkwardly and quickly racked my brain to continue the conversation. It was quite difficult because I'm not the most talkative person in our class after all. Though I wasn't able to say anything since a strong downpour just cut me off and started hammering outside.
"Oh, it started raining." I caught myself saying
"Hmm." He just hummed a reply and started playing with his phone on the table.
Stupid me! What the heck was that?! "Oh, it started raining."?! That was so damned obvious! That was probably the stupidest, blandest and most obvious thing to say! I mentally slapped myself for that stupid comment on the weather.
"By the way, are you back to normal now?" I asked him because I remember that he was sick a week or two ago, not to mention that he was absent from school for two weeks. I do hope he managed to catch up to their new topics and lessons in class. "I'm fine now, but I'm not allowed to do sports and whatnot for a while longer." He said while not breaking eye contact with his phone. He sighed, "I know I can do it, but I just don't want to test my luck."
"Anemia, right? Komachi told me all about it last week."
"Yeah, nothing too serious for now. Honestly, it's nothing to worry about. I just have to eat more than usual, take my medication for another two months and stop doing my part-time job. I even stopped going to Tatsumi-sensei for training. Ugh, I miss taekwondo…" He said everything so nonchalantly, but from the way he said the last part, I have a feeling that it makes him feel down.
I frowned and felt like he was underestimating his condition. I've read that an anaemic person sometimes suddenly faint when under high stress and have laboured breathing which causes panic attacks. Because of the lack of blood in the body, the heart takes a bigger effort in quickly transporting everything everywhere to compensate for the lack of precious blood. Even though you're breathing normally, the lack of oxygen makes you feel like you need to breathe in more. And the lack of oxygen to the brain causes headaches, dizziness and fainting. I did my research, and I think I've got the gist of things.
But at the same time, I know he's responsible enough to follow what his doctor advised him.
For a little while, we just silently listened to the rain outside. Neither of us said anything, but the silence that enveloped us was comforting. I sighed and rested my head on the table like him. This is the first time that I got some quiet time these past three days. The girl's quarters were noisy, full of chatter, loud music and laughter. I just wanted to sleep but those things always kept me up. That's why I had a lack of sleep on the day after and I didn't even participate much in the events.
*Yawn*
His phone suddenly had a notification, and I saw him slowly open it.
"Oh, looks like Mother's here." He said and moved to get up. I followed suit. After getting our bags and making sure to check our belongings, we made our way to the main entrance, but before we opened the doors, I had to say something.
"Hey, do you have a jacket or something?" I asked him while eyeing the rain outside, it was still quite strong, but at least the wind had died down a bit. Through the glass, I spotted his Mother's car parked a distance away with the lights blinking.
"Yeah, what about you." He took out the said jacket from his bag and unfolded it.
"Uhh…no…" I had a sheepish look on my face as I laughed awkwardly. Damnit, I should have listened to Dad…
He nodded and said. "Ok, we can go together under mine." He put it over his head and beckoned me to follow him. It was barely big enough and we were quite close inside, but at least it kept the rain away.
"I hope you don't mind if we walk. It would be problematic if we ran through the wet ground and slipped."
"Ok." I nodded at him.
We stepped outside and slowly walked under the rain with his jacket over our heads. I didn't even have to hold onto it since he was already doing it for me. He was facing forward with his eyes slightly closed to protect it from the rain. I used my left hand to hold him so we can walk in sync, our footsteps soon matched.
I accidentally stepped on a puddle that I didn't see, time seemed to slow down as I lost my sense of balance and started to fall. Luckily, a firm arm had already made its way around my waist.
"Woah, Kawasaki are you ok?" I looked up at him to find his face filled with worry. The rain started to hit me since the arm that protected me had prevented me from falling. My eyes were hit and I instinctively put my hand to protect them.
"Yeah, thanks for that." I shivered when his arm was around me, causing goosebumps to form on my neck. His reaction speed was impressive and I had a feeling that he was expecting me to slip. Ugh, I should have walked slower and didn't get reckless. I got up and he removed his arm from my waist.
And then flicked my forehead, causing me to yelp in surprise.
"Eeep!"
"I told you to walk slowly." I was startled since I didn't expect him to do that. His right arm returned to sheltering me under his jacket. The look on his face reminded me of my own whenever I'm reprimanding Keika or any of my younger siblings for doing something that I specifically told them not to do.
"Y-Yeah, sorry." I was too embarrassed to look at him in the eye, but I heard a hum of reply from him. We resumed walking and I noticed that his pace was slower, so I slowed down too to match his. He's taller now, I mean the difference in our height wasn't that much before, but now I can notice it. Even in my class, I'm the tallest among the girls. Boys grow fast huh.
He opened the door for me at the passenger's seat and I said my thanks as I went inside. I was immediately greeted by his Mother who was complaining about the weather. The door to my left opened and he rushed inside as well, the tips of his hair slightly dripping with rainwater.
"Saki-chan! Haa-chan! Sorry that I couldn't park closer!" She deeply apologized when she saw how slightly wet we were from the rain.
"It's fine Mom." He said and started storing away his wet jacket and rummaging through his things.
"Yeah, thanks for giving me a ride, Auntie." I gave his Mother a grateful smile. God knows how many hours I would have had to wait in there if I decided to wait for my Mom…
"No problemo! Now, are we ready to go?" She looked at us for confirmation and I turned to Hikigaya beside me. After fastening our seatbelts and with a simple nod from him, his Mother returned her attention in front of her and started the vehicle. A small white towel suddenly fell at my lap from his direction.
"Dry your hair with that." He said and I did what I was told. I started with my slightly wet scalp and made my way down. Ugh, sometimes having such long hair like mine can be a hassle, especially when drying it. At least it's straight and smooth, not having curly ends here and there. If I did have the latter, I think I would have liked to cut my hair short than to put up with it and the extra effort needed to maintain it.
"Good thing I brought extras…" I heard him say to himself.
From the corner of my eye, he stopped drying his hair and just watched me with fascination as I dried my silvery-blue locks with the small towel that he provided for me. His eyes following my fingers as I ran them through my hair. Captivated, would be the right word, I think. I wasn't creeped out or anything like that. Instead, I was delighted that he likes it and I smirked at myself at the thought. Hehehehe…
"Say," I said and turned to him, while still doing my hair, "do you think I should cut my hair short?" I asked to poke a reaction out of him.
He widened his eyes as if I just told him that he was going to be wed to the daughter of the Emperor, "WHAT?! NO!" He nearly screamed out. Well, not nearly since he did scream but…yeah.
"Hachiman! Don't startle me like that! We're on the highway!" His Mother exclaimed and he quickly apologized.
He cleared his throat once to compose himself from his slightly flustered face. "To answer your question, I think your hair is fine as it already is. It suits you."
"R-Really?"
His mother answered for him this time. "He has a good eye like his Mother! He's right y'know. Your hair is really pretty Saki-chan and it would be such a shame if you cut it short." I saw her grin at me from the mirror.
"Oh, I see. Thanks." Being someone who isn't used to being complimented, I just gave a shy reply as I returned my attention to my hair. We were still around two hours away from Chiba, notwithstanding any possible traffic ahead. I just idly watched the scenery pass by in a blur. The countryside was a refreshing escape from city life, being surrounded by nature and all. I learned a lot during the trip, but I'm not sure if I'd like to go with my class again. If given the chance, I'd like to go with myself or at most with one person.
My eyes started to get heavy and I caught myself almost nodding off. Hikigaya had already closed his eyes and leaned on the headrest behind him, but he would occasionally open them from time to time. For a little while, I copied him but the headrest was too hard and wasn't comfortable to rest on. I just kept fidgeting in my seat until I heard his voice.
"Come here." He said with one eye lazily open and beckoned me to come closer. After I unfastened my seatbelt, I scooted closer to him. "What?" I say while once again fastening the seatbelt next to him.
Wordlessly, he used his right hand and gently guided my head to his shoulder. His hand was really warm and I couldn't find it in myself to resist.
"You can lean on me in the meantime. We still have ways to go." He muttered and returned his hand to his lap.
"O-Oh. Thanks…" I was too tired and sleepy to be embarrassed, so I made myself comfortable with him. After re-positioning myself a few more times, I finally found a position that I felt comfortable in. I unconsciously matched his breathing, and our chests went up and down in unison. His eyes were closed, but I can tell that he's still awake. I felt the small signs of his heartbeat, and it was a relaxed rhythm. My eyes started to close as I felt sleep finally take over me, but not before I heard something from Auntie that would have made me cover my face in embarrassment if I wasn't too tired to do so.
"Hoh, how cute…"
EYYYYYY WUS POPPINNN muh childrons!
It's ya boi Ivanov117 back again with another chapter!
13k words, wow.
Home sweet home after two weeks in the US, and I've been writing there and even on the plane and in our rented car too. Mexican food is love, Mexican food is life.
Okay, let's put my ramblings about my trip to the side and talk about the more important stuff, yes?
First of all, Yukinoshita asserts her dominance and flexes her strength once again. She refuses to be below him and we can see some friendly rivalry between them. Well, I don't think Hikigaya is aware that she sees him as such, but maybe he's seen some hints here and there...I'm sure he won a lot of points when she found out that he's good with kids!
Now for Saki-chan! She and Hachiman are getting closer huh? It helps when you're neighbours, and your little sister is charmed by him. Sometimes coming over in the weekends to play and hang out and all. Hachiman was an absolute CHAD when he protected her from the rain, and he won a lot of points on her when he let her sleep on his shoulder!
His Onii-chan instincts are always on high alert!
As always, reviews and PM's are welcome. I don't mind reading through them, it helps me understand the reader's perspective and how they interpret some of the scenes.