Hikigaya Hachiman's Path to Reformation

School Continues, Yet He is Unchanged

You know, I always preached now and then that all I want to do is to laze around all day at home playing games, reading books or using my computer for whatever purpose.

But after the 1st week of me doing such things, my repetitive mundane routines became maddening, and I wanted to do something else. So, after visiting my Doctor with my Parents for another checkup, Makatsu-sensei finally gave me the OK and allowed me to return to my part-time job. Upon my return, Tatsumi-san and Shiromeguri-senpai were delighted to have me back on board the crew. The three of us had dinner that evening at the ramen restaurant that I frequently go to. The old couple recognized me, and they treated us warmly.

A few days after that, I went back under Tatsumi-sensei's wing and resumed my lessons. I had quite a lagged behind the rest of her students, but I don't mind. It was fun going back to sparring and teaching the newcomers the ropes and basics. Although she kicked my ass on my 2nd day there and was brutal in her methods as always, I got a bruise or two on my legs, but it didn't hurt much as I thought it would. We only had lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so I had plenty of time to work. I was very careful not to overwork my body to exhaustion again, so I opted not to jog in the mornings like before and went straight home after finishing my part-time job.

On another note, aside from Shiromeguri-senpai at work and occasionally Kawasaki when I go to the local grocery, I didn't see anyone from school much. Even though it was the school break, Senpai would sometimes call some of the members to do some work at the school to help with the enrollment for the incoming entrance examiners. My Father asked me if I wanted to go with him during his business trips abroad, but I declined. I just wanted to work and resume Taekwondo, not to mention practising on my piano. Good grief I have a lot on my plate. Komachi wanted to go, but my Mother forbade her saying that she's still not mature enough. As for her, she spent her days helping out at my Mother's cafe doing whatever my Mother asked her to do. I'm told that she's decent when handling the cash register, but is clumsy when it comes to mopping and cleaning the tables. Mom chewed her out the other day because she accidentally broke several plates and glasses, thankfully she was unhurt.

As for Haruno…she didn't contact me again, and I was too much of a coward to reach out to her…

The days turned into weeks, and soon the new school year would start. A new class, a new group of classmates and a new homeroom teacher. Though I honestly wouldn't mind it if it were Hiratsuka-sensei once more, God knows how much her simple words of encouragement helped me out the past year...

"Hachiman," My Father's voice broke through my inner monologues and I instinctively turned in his direction, "have you decided where we should eat lunch?" he sat on his office table while reading something on his tablet with on hand, while the other picked his nose with his pinky finger. One of his legs going swinging back and forth out of boredom and a few buttons on his suit jacket were loose. Right now, he didn't quite fit the image of being a Founder as well as Director of a few Chiba and Tokyo based companies. He looks like more of a corporate slave on a break after a tiring meeting with his colleagues that bore nothing notable. All that's left to complete the picture is a beer can and an ashtray with a still-burning cigarette and beer beside him, well, Mother said that he stopped smoking after I was born so that was already out of the picture. I guess even he gets tired of acting maintaining his image huh.

"I don't know, what about those lunches in Lawson?" I reply from the sofa that I was lying on. The door to his office was locked, so I didn't have to worry about hastily fixing my position in case someone walked in. The space that his office occupied was larger than what my Dad expected. He was a minimalist type of person, one can deduce once walking into his office. A sofa, coffee table, his work table, some cabinets, that's it. It didn't help that the furniture was very cheap-looking, but I think they have a very aesthetic feel to them. Mom said otherwise and scolded him for always being a cheapskate, her exact words were "Joushirou what exactly am I looking at? I feel like I'm in a prison cell for goodness' sake!".

"If your Mother heard that, she would undoubtedly get triggered. How does pasta sound? I think there's an Italian restaurant nearby." He said.

"Nah."

"Ramen?"

"I don't want to sweat in this get-up and that's not good for you."

"Hamburger?"

"Too Western."

"Pizza?"

"No."

My Father sighed and rubbed his temples. "What about burger steak and fried chicken?" After thinking for a moment and because I was starting not to care about what to eat, I nodded at his answer and he stood up from the table and started fixing himself. As for me, I got up from the sofa and smoothing down some of the creases on my shirt and pants. I wanted to wear my shorts and sandals today, but my Father wouldn't have them. I was forced to wear slacks and my white long-sleeved shirt, along with a black suit jacket similar to him even though it feels a tad bit stuffy. Good grief, even though it's mid-Spring, the weather sometimes gets hot all of a sudden. This is why I regard Autumn as my favourite season, it is not hot, but not cold enough to wear a jacket. Well, until late-Autumn, at least.

Outside of his private office was where the employees of the firm worked. It looked like your typical office where white-collared workers worked, so it's nothing special really. Though I had to admit that it was larger than I thought. My Father announced that he would be having lunch early, and everyone acknowledged him. Some were too busy talking to someone on the phone while others were entertaining the clients that came to them with their concerns. After taking the elevator down and exiting the building, he told me that the restaurant is only within walking distance, so I shrugged and I followed him. Unsurprisingly, there were already a lot of people on the sidewalk so we had to walk single-file. After walking roughly for fifteen minutes, we found ourselves in front of a restaurant that gave off "Fast food" vibes.

I turned to my Father with a questioning look. "And here you said that I should avoid buying those packed lunches in Lawson…" I say.

"Judge not the book by its cover, but by its contents. The interns said that the food here is great so let's give it a try." He said and opened the door and I followed suit. The layout inside was fitting to that of a traditional Saize and had a homely feel to it. We sat down and started scanning through the menu on the table. They offered a sizable array of food, which was very common in Saize everywhere. A waitress came over to us and ask us for our orders.

"Hmm, I'll have some chicken, steamed gyoza and Japanese-style burger steak with rice thank you." The waitress repeated my Father's orders, and after confirming it, turned to me.

"Same, but replace the gyoza with Caesar salad. Oh and some tea too please." She nodded and went to the kitchen to have our orders on the way. After taking a quick look around, there was only a handful of us here, though that's understandable since a Saize isn't exactly what working corporate slaves eat during lunch. Some food here can take around twenty-five minutes to prepare, and time is a luxury that no corporate slave can just throw here and there. Places like these usually get filled to the bringing during weekends, especially during the evenings.

"I'll just reply to some of my emails, there's still a lot of work to be done…." My Father said and put his tablet on the table which he brought with him. He also got one of those pocket-sized notepads from his coat pocket and started writing on it after glancing at the screen on the tablet.

I hummed in reply and just stared off into space while waiting for our orders since I left my phone at his office. I felt his stare at me and I questioningly tilted my head at him.

"You look rather dashing in that outfit, I'm glad we bought that for you. Oh, what about the watch? Are you wearing it right now?" To answer his question, I lightly pulled down the sleeve of my left hand and showed my watch to him.

He nodded and his eyes returned to the screen but continued the conversation. "By the way, are they back in The Netherlands already?"

Ah, he must be talking about Lukas and his sister Maria, as well as Lars and Tess from the party. I had met and conversed with them while I was stuck back at the camping venue. As crazy as it sounds, they were the children of my Father's foreign contacts and were here in Japan to attend the party that he gave them an invitation to. The four of them didn't know my Father personally, but when they mentioned my surname to their parents, they instantly knew and called my Father to confirm their belief. I met their parents during the party, they seemed like good folks.

It came as a massive surprise to me to find them there at the party, and, to my Father's insistence, I tagged along with them with the rest of the evening. My jaw was practically hurting when we finally went home from all the talking I did, they threw question after question about Japan and I answered them as best as I could, it also didn't help that I had to reply in English…They told me that it was their first time in Japan so I understood their excitement, at least…

"I think going back by the end of this week," I reply.

"Hmm, you should have gone with them, make some new friends and all." My Father said helpfully.

"Ugh, I'll just get in the way. I wouldn't want some kid tagging along if I was on a vacation…" I say they were quite older than me, my first assumption was that they were in their early twenties, but I might be wrong and they might be a lot younger, say eighteen or nineteen. Foreigners look older than their age, almost as if they physically mature faster than their actual age. At my reply, he had a thoughtful face and shrugged to himself. "Well, I can at least see what you mean…" There was a temporary standstill between us, but he asked a question that caught me completely off-guard.

"Do you have friends at school?" He asked and eyed me carefully with those eyes of his, the same ones that I happened to inherit from him. He would know if I was lying to him, I bet. I guess I have to answer as truthfully as possible.

"I guess, I interact with Shiromeguri-senpai and the rest of the Council every day after class…" The first person that came to my mind was Senpai. She was the first person that I got acquainted with at school and always helped me out when I was having trouble with my new responsibilities and duties. She was an ideal responsible Senpai and older-sister figure that anyone would look up to, always looking out for me and making sure that I got things right. She taught me lots of things, and I always sought her advice when things got tough, plus she was very easy to talk to and didn't judge me for my looks unlike the people from my middle school. At first, I thought she was just keeping up an act, but as time went on, I realized that I was very wrong at my first impression of her. Perhaps that is the reason why she was well-liked by everyone at school. As an older brother to a little sister, I always felt like I needed someone older that I can rely on. Being relied on can feel nice at times, but it can also make one feel exhausted and drained at the end of the day. Fate did not give me that luxury of having an older sibling, but at least Senpai was there to fill the gap in the meantime.

"You already told me that before, what about your classmates?" He followed up with another question.

"My classmates…? Hmm…I get along with them." I say not quite sure at what I was saying. True, I do get along with most of them and I don't mind helping them out with their projects and homework. Frequently doing the latter gave me the image of the "Helpful soft-spoken and smart Archetype." It's not that I wanted to be called like that for my reason for helping them, it's just that I wanted to help them out. That's all, nothing more. Since my scores were always higher than the Ice Queen's and they were more afraid of her, it made sense for them to come to me. But because of my position at the Council and the reputation that I earned from the entrance exams, I still get the feeling that they think I'm stern and cold-hearted. Good grief, they must be those weebs that think that the StuCo in most anime is tyrannical school organizations that oppress the rest of the student body…

Seriously, who thinks like that…?

Anyway, most of my class has a good opinion of me, and during the first few times that I declined their invitation to eat with them, I bet they felt that I was too conceited to lower myself for them. I just wanted to eat alone by myself, and they started to respect and understand me for it. Though I had to admit that I was coerced into doing it with the guys and some of the girls a few times since I can be quite a pushover at times. As for Yukinoshita, well she's the one who comes to me to eat lunch together on the few times that she did it, and not once have I approached her with the same intent.

*But Hikigaya, didn't you say that you wanted some alone time and wanted to eat by yourself? Why would you just let her do as she pleases while you decline your other classmates?*

Heed my words carefully, Mongrel, and engrave them into your brain.

There is a difference between eating with a group of rowdy boys and girls and eating with one person who hardly speaks when eating lunch.

"Do you get along with Yukinoshita-san's daughter? He told me that you're classmates with her."

I shrugged my shoulders at him "More or less, I guess."

"Ah…" He said in a distracted manner and trailed off as he resumed his attention to his work. Several minutes went by, and a bell dinged from the counter and the waitress came with our orders in hand. Once she placed it on the table and excused herself, I was quite surprised since the food serving was more than I expected.

"We can just take out the leftovers, you know." My Father voiced my thoughts and I just nodded. After thanking for the food, we started eating. I went for the salad first and then to the burger steak, the meat was very juicy and tasted great. The chicken was a little bit salty, but it was alright, as for the gyoza, it wasn't anything special. We ate in silence since both of us prefer to focus on eating rather than speaking when eating with another person. Komachi should learn a thing or two from us since she's the only one in the family who's chatty when eating.

"Can't say that I'm disappointed. Maybe I'll eat here again." I say after wiping my mouth with a table napkin after drinking my tea. My Father hummed in reply and called the waitress for us to pay the bill. As expected, we had a lot of leftovers, but no worries, Dad has a small refrigerator inside his office.

"That goes for both of us."

So far, the ride back home was a quiet one, and I had a feeling that my Father wanted to tell me something but didn't quite know when to time it right. The streets were filled with people on their way to the station and wherever their destinations were in mind, while we were inside our car on our way back to Chiba. Traffic wasn't an issue, since my Dad had already plotted a course that would give us a route with minimal traffic on the road. My Mother and Komachi were already at home waiting for our arrival.

"Sorry that the meeting took too long, something came up." He said without looking at me, the tone in his voice was neutral, so it didn't sound apologetic.

"It couldn't be helped," I reply.

We soon entered the unofficial residential district that housed apartment complexes big and small. From what I hear, the price range of the apartments that were here ranged from "Super cheap" to "I can buy a new car with the rent that I need to pay." You can see lots of people going in and out of the buildings, and there were convenience stores and groceries strategically placed nearby too.

Several moments after we entered the district, my Father pointed to one of the apartment complexes beside the road that was still quite a distance from us.

"You see that tall white one with a greenhouse at the top?"

I inch closer to the window, eager to spot it to know what he was getting at.

"Yes, what about it?"

"I worked as a real estate agent before. We would personally go with our clients and show them the place that they were interested in. It ranged from houses to apartment rooms and entire floors with vacancies. I just graduated from college back then and I was still inexperienced, but I sold my first unit to an elderly couple."

Hmm, this is new. I didn't hear this story from him before.

"During my college days, I entered in a lot of part-time jobs to pay for my rent, bills and other expenditures. After graduating and landing my first real job, I stayed with the company for two years until I was transferred to Chiba, and I met your Mother. Uwaah, Hitomi was so cold to me back in college, but for some reason, she warmed up to me during our final year together. Eventually, we became close enough for me to call her a friend. You already know that we were classmates in college, and after hanging out a few times and several dates later after work during the weekends, I became her boyfriend."

I gulped uncomfortably since this was embarrassing to listen to.

"Anyway, after we got married and you came along and I had to do overtime at work to support your Mother. Those first few years are a blur right now in my memory, since all I ever did was work and save for the future. Your grandparents were helpful too, but as much as possible, I didn't want to reach out and ask for help from them. I would even sleep under the desk at my workplace and bring my change of clothes. Sometimes I would skip meals since I was doing two jobs in one day, it was nauseating to work like that, but it was a miracle that I held it together. Hitomi would always get angry at me and cry for pushing myself to the brink of my limits, but I had no choice since your Mother was pregnant that time and heavy with you.

But I have to admit that working like that for years, I amassed quite a sizable fortune and saved and invested here and there. My first boss showed me the ropes in smart investment and saving, so I got into that stuff early on. Your Grandparents passed away before you were born, and I used my inheritance wisely. That's how I founded everything last year. Investing in stocks is scary, you know? One day the value is three times as high as your initial investment, and on the next, it plummets and I feel like my heart stopped. Oh, I remember that time some shady loanshark lady tried sedu-" He stopped and gave himself a facepalm.

"Damnit! I got off topic there!" He exclaimed and cleared his throat.

"Well," he continued. "what I'm trying to say is that I don't want you to go through what I experienced back then. Your Mother and I have been working hard these years for you and Komachi's future. We still feel guilty about the fact that we didn't have much of a presence at home since we were working ourselves to the bone since we were kids, but we'll make it up to you. We have already made plans for both of you, so you don't have to worry about anything at all."

We left the residential district behind us with my Father's words still lingering in my thoughts.

"Thanks." I simply say.

"No need to thank me, that's what Fathers do."

"Good luck on your first day Haa-chan~!" My Mother's voice called out to me as I was about to step out the door to our home, as for my Father, he slept at the office last night because he had to do overtime. She made breakfast this morning since after I was hospitalized, it was either Komachi or her that cooked in the morning. She already made me lunch and Komachi woke up so she can see me off.

"Onii-chan wheres my goodbye kiss~~?" She skipped over to me and was already leaning her face, her lips pursed together waiting and expecting. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Good grief, this little sister of mine must be watching those trashy drama series.

"Chuuuu~~~…"

I pinched her cheeks and ruffled her hair, and she cried out in dismay. "Dummy," I say before opening the door and going outside.

The morning Sun welcomed me as I walked to school, and the dew that was on the leaves of the plants that I walked past was already starting to dry or drip to the ground. On this day one year ago, I walked this same path to school and gave the opening speech. I still cringe about that speech, it was too positive to my liking. Well, today Shiromeguri-senpai was the one to give it, and the school administrators decided to make it simple and moved the ceremony to the gym. I for one, welcome simplicity and practicality, it makes things easier for us at the council after all.

Since it was still quite early, I decided to drop by the convenience store nearby to buy some snacks for later. The doors automatically opened before me and I stepped inside, seeing it mostly empty from my vantage point. I went to the aisle where they sold the melon pan and other pastries and nearly bumped into someone.

"Oh, my apologies." I quickly say.

"Ah, sorry about that-!" A familiar-sounding feminine voice replied, and when I looked down, I saw Peach-coloured hair.

Hmm…Peach…?

When I realized who it was, I couldn't suppress a look of mild surprise and amusement on my face.

"Yuigahama-san, what a coincidence to see you this morning," I say.

"Hikki! You too! How've you been! I haven't seen you since classes ended!" She replied in that enthusiastic and friendly manner of hers. For a moment, I was afraid that she was going to give me a bone-crushing hug, but thankfully I was wrong. It's good to be in the presence of someone with a personality like her now and then. I think she would get along with Komachi just fine if the two of them ever met.

"I've been busy."

"That's good to hear- wait, what? You're still busy even outside of school?"

I nod at her. "Unfortunately, yes." I decided to steer the conversation in my desired direction since I had a feeling that the topic will fall on me. "Anyway, what brings you here this early?" I quickly follow up and got one of the bread that I was looking for.

She blinked twice and jolted a bit as if finally remembering what she came here to do. "Oh yeah! I came here to buy some pens and paper since I left mine at home. Come on Hikki, tag along for a bit." She gently took hold of my sleeve and led the way to the school supplies aisle.

Since I wasn't really in a hurry, I just decided to go along with her. "Ok, but don't take too long." I remind her.

"Haaii~~." She replied in a lazy and drawn-out manner.

While she was choosing from the wide array of pens that the shop offered, I went to the chilled beverage section to buy some coffee. MAXX Coffee is good, but I decided to get something else this morning. I got a canned white coffee for myself and bought another one for my female party member since I just felt like it. I was about to turn to where she was when I heard other female voices nearby, and she was one of them. Like a creepy stalker, I stuck to the other side of the aisle away from their view until they finished their conversation.

"Yui! What're you doing here?" One of the voices asked.

"I just bought some pen since I left mine at home haha."

"Is that all? If it is, we'll wait for you so we can go together."

She hesitated for a moment, but her reply came. "Oh sorry, I'm with a friend right now. Maybe next time, 'kay?" How she sounded apologetic and cheerful at the same time, I will never know.

"Oh really? Well ok then. See you later at school and I hope we're still classmates!" They exchanged goodbyes, and after the group of girls went out the door, I went back to her.

"Yuigaha-"

"AH!" She yelped in surprise and turned to me clutching her chest. "Hikki, you scared me!" She gave me a slightly irritated look and I apologized. Uwaah, old habits die hard I guess. My chunii days where I used to walk as quietly as possible still leaves their mark on my present self.

"Ready to go?" I asked and she nodded. After paying for our purchases and leaving the store, I gave her the other White Coffee that I bought.

"Hmm? What's this? I don't remember asking you to buy this for me…?" She said confused with the drink in hand.

I shrugged. "It'll leave a bad taste in my mouth if I didn't buy you too, you know. "

When she heard it, she gave me a grateful look and smiled. It might have been just a glitch in the matrix, but her entire figure glowed and radiated such a hearty and friendly aura. "Hikki, you're considerate huh…"

Ack-!

Woah there! That was seriously a critical hit! I nearly fell for her and confessed on the spot damnit! I have to remind myself to always keep my guard up. She's a nice girl after all, and girls like her were my downfall back in my Middle-school days. Begone teenage hormones! Begone! Cast thyself from my person, out with thy unrealistic expectations!

"H-Hmm," I replied and faced forward. We weren't the only pair of Sobu students around, there were small groups here and there that increased in number as we got closer to the school. I didn't see anyone familiar, even until we reached the gates and entered the building. Yuigahama-san wanted to go and see to which class she belonged but I already made up my mind to go StuCo room to prepare.

"Aren't you, like, excited to see who your new classmates are?" She asked when I told her that I wasn't really hyped up as she is.

"Not really. As long as they aren't an annoying bunch, anyone is fine." I say as I shrug my shoulders. Now that I think about it, I wonder if the Ice Queen and I will be in the same class again. Thinking about it gives me mixed feelings. She can be quite stingy sometimes, and her words can hit you where you're weak.

I point behind me. "I have to go. I'll see you around I guess." I say.

"Yup! Oh, and Hikki?" She had a conflicted expression on her face, which made me curious as to what she's about to say next. "If you don't mind, you can drop the -san you know...? It's perfectly okay if you just address me as "Yuigahama", and I think it's already overdue hehe…" She laughed rather awkwardly at the last part.

Oh, I had been calling her like that since the beginning, have I? I haven't thought too deep on it, but now that I think about it, how many acquaintances do I still use that honorific for…? Perhaps I subconsciously used that as a wall to keep others from getting too close to me? Or maybe, it's the other way around…?

"...If you say so, Yuigahama," I reply slowly, trying to shake away the thoughts that preoccupied my inner workings for a second.

"There, that wasn't too hard, was it? Well, see you around Hikki!" Satisfied with my reply, she turned and went on her way, leaving me to ponder on my thoughts.

I stifled a yawn while I watched Shiromeguri-senpai give the speech of the opening of the new school year. The teachers were seated nearest to the stage and I saw Hiratsuka-sensei nearly nod off now and then. Since we were seated at the stage behind Shiromeguri-senpai, the lines of students from different years filled my view, and the 1st Years from last year now occupied the area that was for the 2nd Years. Some familiar faces here and there in our lines and I saw Yuigahama yawn and rub her eyes. From among the lines, I saw Miura-san nod her head up at me when we locked eyes, and I returned one.

After the rather short and simple ceremony, the students dispersed in an orderly fashion thanks to the teachers out to the doors, and after having a quick feedback huddle, I and the rest of the StuCo followed suit. The teachers already told us where our rooms were, so that's one problem out of the way.

"Senpai." The President of the StuCo turned to me while we were walking down the hallway together.

"Hmm? What is it, Hikigaya-kun?"

"How much time do you have to know someone, let's say a classmate until it's ok for you to drop the -san?" I asked. The question really bothered me since it was related to interpersonal relationships. And I, being the proud loner that I am, am not afraid to admit that I have zero experience and knowledge on the topic.

"Hmm…that's quite a difficult question…" she said and put a hand under her chin. "There are lots of things to consider. Like if both parties mostly spend time together or the level of cordiality between them. And also which one of them usually initiates the conversations first." She said after a moment of thought.

"Heeehh, that sounds really complicated…" I say in a drawn-out manner. I'm not good at things like these since I tend to over-think things and have a habit of reading in-between the lines for possible meanings…

"Well, here we are Hikigaya-kun! Good luck on your first day and don't forget to properly remember the names of your classmates!" She said and I couldn't help but grimace at the last part. Since she's one of the few people closest to me and knows me personally, she knows quite a lot about me. "Yeah, you too Senpai." After patting my head twice, she went on her way to her classroom on the other side of the building.

Footsteps came from my right and I instinctively turned to the source. Words cannot express my surprise when a girl with silvery-blue hair tied in a ponytail came into my view. She was a small distance away, but when she recognized me, she had a small smile and walked a bit faster to where I was.

"Oh, Hikigaya? Didn't expect to see you here." She said when she was close enough.

"You're in this class too, Kawasaki?" I ask.

"Yeah, are you here for Council stuff?"

"Oh no, I'm in this class just like you." Her face visibly lit up when those words parted from my mouth.

"Really? Oh, that's great!" She with a happy expression. I managed to resist raising a brow at her reaction, since she wasn't this…expressive before. Something good must have happened during the school break or recently. Uwaah, I miss Kei-chan…

A sudden sound made me turn to the door and looked behind me. Since it was probably nothing, I turned to face her again. Strangely, she quickly retracted her right arm back to her side. It looked like she was doing a fist pump as if celebrating her victory over something. She had a forced poker face with a slight blush, I have no idea what she just did and it most likely embarrassed her getting caught in the act.

"..."

"..."

"We should go inside…" I say and her response was a rigid nod, and I turned away from her and slowly slid the door open.

"-be your homeroom teacher," Hiratsuka-sensei said before turning to the door to see who the latecomer was. I locked eyes with her for a second and I could see a smirk on her youthful face. "Oh, Hikigaya. Nice of you to finally join us." She said in a slightly cocky fashion and crossed her arms across her chest.

I bowed in apology at her. "We had to finish up some things at the StuCo room," I say since I couldn't think of any other excuse. Though that particular excuse always works every time.

"Hmm, I see. Well, sit down so we can start introductions." She said and I turned away from her towards where my new classmates were seated. Numerous pairs of eyes were on me, and I saw a few faces from my previous class that I recognized. I was half expecting Yukinoshita to be sitting in her usual seat on the far side of the room opposite of me, but as expected, she wasn't there.

On the other hand, quite a few faces made me stop in my tracks. Two Blondies, a girl with red-rimmed glasses and the girl that I walked to school with this morning. Oh, well, I guess this was bound to happen sometime anyway.

King Riajuu sent me a thousand-watt smile that made me internally cringe, while the three other girls smiled and gave small waves when my eyes landed on them.

Something tells me that this is going to be a very interesting year.

Finally...FINALLY...!

After two bloody years, we reached Canon time!

As the writer of this Fic, I can't express how happy I am to finally reach this part of the story! I already have a mental list of ideas and possible routes that this Fic is going to make, so at least I won't be racking my brain for ideas like the few times it happened.

The season 3 trailer was already released, you should check it out tho.

As always, reviews and PM's are welcome!

See you on the 1st or 2nd week of December!