Hikigaya Hachiman's Path to Reformation
The Chunni
How Animals live in the Wild
There are two types of groups that herbivores and carnivores belong; those that live solitary lives and those that form groups. Logically, those that form groups are more likely to survive in the long run than those living alone. There is always an alpha, usually a male leading the group. The Alpha male can be replaced anytime by a stronger and faster adversary, those that are too weak are burdened to be followers for the rest of their lives.
Crocodiles, for example, are one of the most efficient predators that have existed and lead solitary lives. A single kill can last them several weeks depending on the size, and they don't need other crocodiles to help them hunt. Bears are also strong and are at the top of the food chain in their environment, even packs wolves keep their distance from a fully grown adult bear. Plus, in the absence of prey, they can eat berries as a substitute. Before winter arrives, they fatten up and hibernate in their dens underground.
Being a bear sounds nice, if I were to be reincarnated in the next life, I'd choose to be a bear.
My Biology teacher said that my paper was good, and told me to drop by the faculty room because Hiratsuka-sensei wanted something from me. Still, why did I have to personally come here to retrieve it? He could have just given it to me tomorrow at our next class. Good grief, and here I was about to enjoy my lunch…
"How was the request that you handled the other day?" She asked as I sat down beside her. Teachers don't have the luxury of having their table, instead, they have these cubicles with dividers on the side.
"It went smoothly. I think I was the one who got a score since the request ended on my terms. Yukinoshita might not see it that way though." I shrugged. Hiratsuka-sensei looked amused and offered me one of the biscuits that were on her table. I gladly accepted it.
"Hmm, so you're taking this seriously huh."
"Not really, I just waited things out for a bit and came to the most appropriate solution to the situation," I say. I didn't really help out much during the request. A few words here, a few there and BAM, request solved. Yuigahama gave us cookies on the day after the request. It was still below average, but a clear improvement on her part.
"How's it with Yukinoshita? I know that given her personality, she can be a bit difficult to work with."
"We're doing fine so far," I reply.
Sensei looked satisfied with my reply and nodded."Well, that's it for now, just wanted to talk to you for a bit." After excusing myself, I departed from the room and walked back to my classroom.
When I arrived, it was at the moment that I overheard Yuigahama's little group talking about their usual stuff. Their voices were loud so I couldn't avoid hearing them. Unfortunately today, it was raining outside, so I'm torn between choosing the cafeteria or the classroom. Of those two evils, the lesser evil is the latter. Choosing to eat here sometimes has the risk of getting swarmed by some of my classmates. Things like help with assignments, homework, etc.
Thankfully, no one has approached me yet since most of the class are at the cafeteria.
As I was peacefully about to eat my bento that my Mother had graciously prepared for me this morning, Miura's voice reached my ears, and from the tone of it, she doesn't sound happy. I discreetly turned to them and she was going full Queen Bee on Yuigahama, saying things like she doesn't hang out with her anymore. Yuigahama was going on the defensive while Miura was not giving her any breathing room.
I tried ignoring them, but Miura's words were affecting the rest of the room. Some eyes were in their direction, also noticing that something was wrong, while those that spoke tried their best to pretend not to be affected. It's none of my business, but Yuigahama started muttering an apology, but it only made Miura more annoyed. Hayama couldn't get a word out since even he was having a hard time restoring order.
As for Ebina…
She had an unreadable expression and watched the exchange behind those glasses of hers. It looked as if she expected this to happen, though she chose not to intervene for some reason…
From her body language and facial expression, Yuigahama was on the verge of tears, I know because I have a little sister. I don't owe Yuigahama anything for me to help her out right now, but it'll leave a bad taste in my mouth if I don't help out the girl that gave me cookies the other day. Plus, if I manage to cool down the situation by myself, that will be an achievement in its way. And it'll make me look good for publicity-, wait, I won't finish that. I'll start sounding like a damned Riajuu who's obsessed with his public image. God help me if I start unironically talking like that again…
"Miura, if you were looking to start a fight, you should have picked a time when I'm not here. You seem to be forgetting who I am. Honestly…" I say in a calm but loud enough voice that took everyone by surprise. All eyes were on me as I slowly stood up and crossed my arms across my chest.
"You're making a scene." Even though there were quite a few people in the room, my footsteps echoed as I got closer to her.
"Hikio…?" Miura was speechless for several moments, but then she regained her composure when the reality of the situation dawned on her. Many pairs of eyes were shifting their attention from me to her, and I ignored them nonetheless. If I see one of them pull out a phone and start recording, I might seriously consider hanging myself from the cringe and embarrassment after this. I heard her mutter the closer I got to where she was. The blond bishonen was stunned speechless, I guess even he wasn't able to maintain his composure huh.
"Oh…I might have said something bad huh…" She avoided looking at me in the eye with a guilty expression. Hayama took a step back and gave us some space which was followed by his man-slave underlings. Ebina had a look of approval but still said nothing. Goodness, using my Authority for this is cowardly, but at least I averted a possible conflict. Miura is a valued acquaintance of mine, and I feel bad for somewhat humbling her. But getting reproached by a member of the StuCo for causing trouble like this is expected, especially when it happened in my presence, so I'm sure she won't hold it against me. I'm just doing my job after all. If I allowed this to happen and word of it spreads, my position in the StuCo might be questioned, and the Principal will skin me alive.
I mouthed an apology to her, she seemed to understand and gave me a nod of acknowledgement.
"Hmm, this serves as your punishment," I say and to teach her a lesson, and to also send a message to everyone witnessing this, I ruffled her hair and pulled her left cheek.
"Ouch! H-Hey! Q-Quit it! You're ruining my hair!"
"Just don't do it again, ok~?" I say with a small smile, I deliberately made my tone ominous.
"Okay okay, I'm sorry!" She yelped and tried to swat away my hand. I felt eyes widen and mouths drop when I successfully calmed down the Fire Queen for everyone to see. She moved this way and there, but my hands were firmly in place unless I let go. Hayama started laughing along with his man-slaves. With that, the tension in the room went away and things were going back to normal. Yuigahama had a mixture of relief and surprise at how cordial we were with each other.
Of course, I didn't do what I did just now just for the heck of it. After alleviating tensions such as these, it is important to finish things in a light-hearted manner to make things end on a good note. It also serves as a way for both parties to non-verbally convey that there are no hard feelings after what just happened.
Source: My Father's College Psychology book on Human Social Behaviour among adolescents and teens.
There was a head sticking out in the doorway, moving now and then to take a peek inside the room. I caught her looking at us and hastily hid. Strange, what is Yukinoshita doing…?
Weirdo…
"Now, if you'll excuse me," I say and gave the Fire Queen's hair one more ruffle before leaving and not hearing their reply. Yuigahama looked like she was going to say something, but decided against it.
I closed the door behind me, and there she was leaning on the wall with her eyes closed waiting for me, well that was my assumption anyway. She crossed her arms around her chest as if trying to look cool and serious. Uwaah, what she's doing right now reminds me of my Chunni days…
"You handled that quite well." She said.
"Of course, who do you think I am?"
She scoffed. "Hmph, I will admit that my method would have been different…"
"Is that so…" I say.
"Yes."
"..." She started fidgeting with her hands, and looked restless, almost as if something was bothering her. Her brows were furrowed and her lips were pursed together. Since she was quiet, I waited for her to open her mouth to speak.
"..."
"You…are acquainted with her…?" She suddenly asked with a neutral expression.
I arched a brow at her question. "Who?"
"The girl whose hair you ruffled." She said while absentmindedly twirling the ends of her long hair and having a stone-faced expression. Good grief, what is she mad about now? I swear this girl will serve as a major source of headaches for her husband in the future.
"Miura? Yes, we are. Why?" I dully answer her question.
"No reason." She said and looked away, then the door opened to reveal Yuigahama looking refreshed and jolly. Her sudden appearance startled the Ice Queen and she made a surprised sound. From behind her, I saw the red-cheeked Miura pouting while trying to fix her hair, when she saw me, she stuck out her tongue. Hayama looked quite grateful at me and gave a small quick bow. Hehehe, now he owes me for this. I can definitely use this as leverage or asking him favour in the future.
Miura must have already apologized to her, all according to Keikaku… (Translator's Notes: Keikaku means "Plan".) Fufufufufu, my plan was perfect from the beginning. I am so smart that I scare myself sometimes.
"Hikki! Thanks a lot! You're a lifesaver!" Yuigahama grabbed my hand and started thanking me. Oi oi oi quit acting like I'm a politician that paid you off to make me look good. Well, at least she didn't jump-tackle at me or anything, something straight out of a trashy ecchi harem anime. I literally had a plan in place if she did.
"Did Miura apologize?" I asked.
"Yup! That was really cool Hikki! You were so serious and all and we were, like, legit scared for a few moments!" She let go of my hand and started doing a terrible imitation of me earlier, she even lowered the pitch of her voice and started doing ridiculous hand gestures which I didn't do. I felt a glare from a certain Ice Queen as she was emitting an ominous aura and the air become heavier to breathe and the temperature drop.
"Ahem. Yuigahama-san." Yukinoshita sternly cleared her throat while I saw a nerve tick at her forehead.
"Oh! Yukinon!" She looked elated when she realized that Yukinoshita was here. Hoh, so even the great Ice Queen was captured by Yuigahama's charms…? And she even already gave her a nickname…I have greatly underestimated Yuigahama's social capabilities. Or maybe beneath her cold and stern outer shell, Yukinoshita is a softie after all?
"Yes, you were taking quite a while so I took it upon myself to personally come here. Now come on, let us have lunch." She said and turned to me with an expectant expression and raised a brow, her eyes eyeing my empty hands. I blinked several times before I understood her meaning.
"You want me to join you…?" I ask and she nodded her head. Good grief, with two pairs of eyes waiting for my answer, it's really hard to say no…I swear I feel like I'm becoming a pushover. Maybe it's because I've been spoiling Komachi too much lately, and it affected my responses here at school…
"Ugh, fine…let me get my bento -"
"I'll do it!" Yuigahama cut me off and disappeared behind the door, and a few seconds later, came back with my bento in hand. She pouted when I said that I was amazed that she managed to get the correct one and not someone else's. I tried reaching for it but she said that she'll hold it for me. "Come on," Yukinoshita said and turned her back to us as she walked away. We both followed closely behind her. Yuigahama hummed a tune as we walked, and she looked quite happy knowing that Yukinoshita came for her.
Perhaps this is the time for the YuriYuri YukiYui ship to set sail?
I was still a distance away from the clubroom, but I saw two figures at the doorway peeking inside. I deliberately slowed my pace and walked without a sound. My footsteps were light as a feather as I got closer to them. As you may already know, walking silently is one of the many abilities of my STAND: [108 LONER SKILLS]. My SNEAK level is already maximum it's so strong that crouching in front of someone in broad daylight will make me invisible to them.
"Oi, what are you two doing-" I say when I was right behind them.
"AAAAAAAHHH!"
"EEEEEEP!"
Two shrieks of surprise battered my eardrums, and I had to wince from the slight pain. Damn my ears are literally ringing. They turned to me, startled. "Hikki stop doing that!" Yuigahama complained and unleashed a barrage of weak punches on my shoulder. It honestly didn't bother me, if anything, it served as a massage or something along those lines.
"Hikigaya-kun, its just you…" The other one clutched her heart as if a simple surprise like that could literally kill her. I calmly waved off their complaints and proceeded to get straight to the point.
"As I was saying, what are you two doing outside? Is there some kind of suspicious activity happening? Are the chairs moving on their own or something? Did the magic summoning circle go wro-" I ask them sarcastically though Yuigahama cut me off before I could finish.
"A weirdo is inside!" Yuigahama exclaimed and I arched a brow at her.
"Yuigahama-san, you need to be more specific, that is quite a general term that you used. Hikigaya-kun is under that category as well so he might be confused." Yukinoshita chided.
"A weirdo…?" Sighing and ignoring Yukinoshita's verbal jab, I move past them to peek inside through the glass. I saw a chubby figure in a brown trenchcoat standing inside, facing the sunset that painted the inside of the room red. True, the reddish hue inside, with the unknown figure standing there made it feel ominous. Though there is nothing ominous about a Chunni who's convinced that he is a reincarnation of Yoshiteru Ashikaga.
"Ah, good grief..." I sighed and proceeded to straight-away open the door without waiting for the two girls. Yuigahama tried to grab my shirt to prevent me from entering as if my life was somehow in danger, but her grip was too loose and her fingers failed to get a hold on me. He did not move as I entered the room. The two girls, now clutching my sleeves while hiding behind me, eyed the Chunni with suspicion and fear. Seriously though, they're really being over-dramatic. And Yukinoshita, you're not a touchy-feely unlike Yuigahama here! Why are you imitating Yuigahama?! It's supposed to be the other way around! I was about to shake away both of their hands but I decided against it.
I went straight to the point. "What are you doing here, Zaimokuza…?" I sighed and mentally prepared myself.
His shoulders shook as he laughed like a villain and he put his hands on his hips, still facing away from us. Uwahh…I wonder how many times had he had to practice that in front of the mirror just for this moment? The thought alone made me internally cringe. Though I'm not one to talk, I did undergo through that phase as well.
He's a good guy, though a bit eccentric and embarrassing to be around with honestly…especially when he does that.
"To think that I, the Blade Master General, would see my comrade once again after all these hundreds of years…" He started and turned to us in all of his Chunni glory.
"I have endured and conquered the harsh cycle of death and rebirth, and I have come from the abyss itself for this very moment! Your namesake, the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman is truly at work, my comrade! He has blessed you with such a high Divinity even higher than my own! Now, my comrade, I have come to you with a request!" His words were straight out of a historical fantasy novel, scratch that, a trashy historical fantasy isekai harem ecchi Light Novel.
Aw shit, here we go again…
I felt something pull at my sleeve and saw Yukinoshita motioning at me with her finger.
"Is that someone you know…?" She asked in a low voice.
"Kinda…He was my partner for gym class a few times already, so I think that qualifies as someone that I know".
I briefly explained to her what a Chunnibyuo is, how it works and the typical behaviour of one that has it. She frowned and shook her head sometimes, still disbelieving what I was saying. I sometimes forget that she has lived quite a different life, and doesn't know things like these. I told her that the queer fellow in front of us based his delusions on a historical figure that shared his name, specifically Ashikaga Yoshiteru, 13th Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate.
"And…how exactly do you fit into all of this?"
"The Seiwa Genji Line revered the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, my namesake, as a God of War. Well, at least his fantasies are based on actual history, unlike some other ones out there."
"Like what?" She inquired further.
My mind wandered off to my Chunni days...
"The "Tomes of Reality" that I created, and destroyed, after reaching enlightenment and peering into the depths of the Truth of the world. Forbidden knowledge has a price, and I had to make some kind of trade to the Old Ones for them to accept the trade. In my stupidity, I offered them my life, but they laughed at me and took my death instead. In return for forbidden knowledge, I became an undying spectre, their eternal servant, being sent through time and space to restore order amid the chaos. I remember every second of it, every detail of all that was taken in by my eyes, every sound that was received by ears. Everything. It was hell, no, even worse if something like that exists. Entire nations destroy each other as I was forced to watch, Saints fall to insanity and darkness, I have been forced by Them to point my bow to-."
I managed to stop myself after I realized what I was doing. When I turned to my companions, they were looking at me strangely, both of them tilting their heads to the side utterly confused about what I was talking about.
"Damn, you're good. You tricked me there." I say and took a step back from the black-haired girl. Shit, I thought I hid my Chunniness in the deepest parts of my memory, locked away with all its cringe and ridiculousness.
"Hikki, what were you talking about…?" Yuigahama asked and Yukinoshita nodded, intent on getting an answer out of me.
"E-Errr…I'll tell you some other time." I calmly replied and waved them off, internally cringing so hard and hiding the urge to break the windows with a chair and hurl myself to the ground below to kill myself. They both slowly nodded and Yukinoshita strode gracefully to the Chunni in the middle of the room, writhing in pain as he struggled to contain the power that his cursed right arm possessed.
"Good grief, how stereotypical. Let me guess, it's locked away and its magical attributes are Dark? Oh and wait, you were a product of experimentation and you have no recollection of your past? Maybe if you went "all-out" you'd go into an edgy demon-like state and lose control of yourself?" I couldn't help but say and held my temples.
"Ack!" The Chunni clutched his chest and his legs must have suddenly felt weak since he grabbed a chair nearby for support. He grinned at us, with some of his hair covering his eyes. I wager he's imagining a trail of blood falling from his mouth.
"Ha, truly you have grown strong, Hachiman! For your mere words to make me like this…! This level of power-! It's comparable to the Elite Hunter-Killer Units of the Holy Church?! Don't tell me…you have grown strong enough to rival Him?!" He exclaimed and pointed an accusing finger at me. Yuigahama gave him a weird look and scooted behind me. Uwah, I don't blame her, I'd do the same thing if I was in her shoes.
Oh no, now he's using vague pronouns…
"You, stop talking like that." Yukinoshita's voice was calm as ever, those five simple words were enough to silence him. He quickly got a hold of himself and laughed away the discomfort. "Fuahahaha! For a mere commoner like you to-"
"Silence, you are very rude. If you have not come with a request, then I suggest you leave the premises immediately." He looked like he was slapped and I felt a little sorry for him.
"Yukinoshita, he has a request, and I think it has something to do with the papers on the ground," I say. I didn't really make much of it, but after taking a closer look, there was something in it that caught my attention. After finally getting through him, and of course, telling him to pick up the mess that he made, he finally revealed to us the true nature of his request.
I arched a brow at him. "There are sites on the internet for things like these. No, never mind that. Knowing you, you'll die from their criticisms, no?"
"As expected of Hachiman! Those eyes of yours are truly terrifying! You have seen the truth the moment you laid your eyes on me!" He exclaimed. I think that was praise, in its way.
"Oi."
"So you want us to read your work and give our opinions then? You should have said it from the start. So much time wasted…" Yukinoshita shook her head and sighed while Yuigahama flipped through the pages looking deathly bored.
"Yes, I have no friends so I don't have anyone else I can get opinions from." He said in a serious and straight face.
Yuigahama laughed awkwardly at the silence and Yukinoshita looked at him as if thinking whether to crush and stomp on his delusions now or spare him. From her look of pity, she chose the latter. I'm amazed how he can say that as a matter of factly, even more so that he had already photocopied three copies for us. That saves us more time at least. After that, she concluded today's activities and we all parted ways, but since Zaimokuza wanted to buy a snack, I decided to tag along.
While we were about to cross the road, an all too familiar-looking limousine passed us by, and I watched it for a while before it turned at the road ahead.
"Hachiman, is there something wrong?" Zaimokuza asked as I was transfixed on the vehicle.
"Nothing."
"HIKKI GOOD MORNING!" Yuigahama greeted me as she saw me from ahead. I likewise greeted her in return when she was near enough.
"Good Morning to you too…" I yawned at the end and covered my mouth. His novel was mentally draining and exhausting, I had to force myself to read it the whole night. Because of that, I'm still feeling a bit sleepy from the few hours of sleep that I had, and I decided to just get down from my bike and walk since I might nod off while riding my bike.
"Sleepyhead."
"Anyone would feel the same after reading that," I say and turned to her. "You did read it, right?" I ask, though I already know the answer to my question. She refused to look me in the eye and started whistling.
"You were just watching T.V., weren't you?" I ask. It seems I guessed correctly since she made a cutesy pose, complete with putting her hand near her head, one of her eyes closed and putting her tongue out.
"Tehee!"
Good Lord, I feel my I.Q. plummeting by the second.
"Ugh…why did I even bother asking…?" I say to myself as we both entered the school grounds.
I slept through all of my classes and skipped lunch just to sleep, so the day literally went by in a flash. I didn't wait for Yuigahama after classes ended and went straight to the club room. When I arrived and opened the door, I saw Yukinoshita nodding off while sitting on her chair. The scene was picturesque and straight out of a painting from the 17th Century. I walked over to her and just watched her, resisting the urge to startle her as revenge for what she did yesterday.
She must have finished reading the novel and finished early in the morning, that's why she must be feeling sleepy right now. Knowing her, she wouldn't take a nap in the middle of class to rest a bit, unlike me. I don't care, my classmates and teachers have grown used to it. (Though not Hiratsuka-sensei, I always stay awake in her class because she hits my head.) It would be wrong for me to interrupt her short nap right now, even a twisted person like myself wouldn't do that.
"Tch, thank you for your hard work..." I say.
"You as well. Oh, and please mind your distance, one more step and I will consider you as a would-be molester." She suddenly spoke and slowly opened her eyes.
"What do you take me for, a pervert?"
"Undoubtedly, as we speak you are already undressing me in that filthy mind of yours." It's honestly quite impressive how she keeps on making the same joke every day, not even changing one bit. Well, sometimes I guess.
"Oh my, the moment that I looked at your form, all my sleepiness went away." She teased while covering her mouth with her hand. I rolled my eyes and went to get myself a chair.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"I see that you are still a masochist." She said with a small smirk and I saw a glint from her eye.
"That's rich coming from a sadist such as you. You must be enjoying this, tormenting me every day." I retort turned my attention to the pile of papers in my hand, but not before eyeing her. She looked quite amused by my reply. I ignored her and returned to the task at hand. Zaimokuza's work was terrible, to say that it was unbearable to read is an understatement. Grammatical errors, incorrect use of many Kanji characters, inconsistent writing style, unnecessary interactions and sudden out-of-characterness between characters and constructed dialogue are just the tip of the iceberg.
Yuigahama arrived several minutes later, and then Zaimokuza after that.
"Fufufufu, I have been waiting for this moment all day!" He exclaimed as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"Ok then, I will be first," Yukinoshita said and we all waited for her to speak.
"It is trash. Absolute trash, so much that it was painful to read. This is the trashiest thing I have ever read in my life."
"Ack!" Zaimokuza looked like he had a heart attack and tightly gripped his chest. "W-What part of it was trash, exactly?" He managed to say in between heavy breathing.
Yukinoshita momentarily touched the side of her head, as if just uttering the flaws of Zaimokuza's work was literally giving her a headache. I don't blame her. "Firstly, the grammar is terrible. Incorrect placement of the subject. The Kanji that you wrote has multiple meanings, many of them are wrong and confusing. Also, what was the need for the Heroine to undress here? There was absolutely no need for that."
"Yup. Especially that last part. Oh and that's enough please, leave some for me too." I added and she nodded in acknowledgement. Zaimokuza was on all fours, trembling from the verbal criticisms that he received. I'm sure that he's just pretending, but if he is crying, I'd be weirded out not gonna lie.
"Yuigahama?" I say.
She was surprised when I called her name and hurriedly pretended to read the papers on her hand. "Um, you know a lot of difficult Kanji…?" She said unsurely and Zaimokuza groaned out in pain. She gave him a grossed outlook. I was the last to give out my opinion as expected and I started thinking about what I should say. By pure coincidence, my criticisms were more or less identical to what Yukinoshita said, and being repetitive and redundant is a complete waste of my time.
On a side note, what if her method is actually working, and I'm subconsciously imitating her way of thinking? I think that was her original plan to "change" me. It's scary to think, that one day I'll suddenly become a complete copy of her.
Ah, that's impossible, I must be overthinking things again.
Zaimokuza turned to me, still on all fours by the way. "You understand it, don't you Hachiman?" He said with hope, eyes glittering as if I was the saviour that he was waiting for. Unfortunately for him, I'm not really feeling generous today. Maybe it's because I'm still feeling quite salty after playing my gacha game.
"Your originality is quite lacking, I can see why you resorted to copying another writer's work. Now please do tell me, which unfortunate writer was unlucky enough to be copied by you?" I simply say.
That was the final nail to his coffin, after a dreaded high pitched bloodcurdling wail of defeat, he started rolling around the floor like fish suddenly out of water. "Hikki that was a bit…" Yuigahama mumbled trying to find the right words.
Even Yukinoshita visibly flinched at my words. "My goodness Hikigaya-kun, that was quite merciless, even to my standards." She said watching the chunni roll here and there until he hit the wall of the room with a resounding thud.
"Was I?" I ask in all honesty, the answer to my query was a simple nod after a sigh. The scenario that I anticipated in my mind was quite different. I thought for a moment before making my way to his defeated form on the ground.
"I guess I was then," I say to myself and squatted above him. His eyes were hollow, and his tears had already dried on his cheeks. I patted his shoulder, and he looked up to me with those empty eyes.
"Don't worry, if you get a good illustrator, I'm sure people will buy this." Instead of feeling better, he seemed to get even more depressed.
I had already ended today's activities, since it was getting quite late. We finished the request at the same time that the sky was going orange from the sunset. I looked out the window and saw streaks of red across the sky, retreating from the night that would soon arrive in an hour or two. Sighing to myself, I picked up my bag and went out of the clubroom. Looking back one last time inside, if Hikigaya-kun and Yuigahama-san did not come here, then I would be all one by myself in this lonely room. The past few days have been quite…lively, with their presence.
I don't mind it at all.
They had already gone on ahead. Yuigahama saying that she had to do errands for her Mother and hurriedly left the room in a blur, while Hikigaya-kun just said that he needed to go somewhere. And by somewhere, I feel that he does not mean his home.
There were only a few students left in the building, when I looked outside, there were still some sports club members doing some last-minute runs and practice. I did not come across any other students while on my way out.
When I was close to the exit, I heard a feminine voice in a pleading tone from ahead, possibly a small distance away from the corner. Her voice was somewhat familiar, but I could not recall where I had heard it before. She was also a little bit loud, made more so because of the echo from the empty hallways, causing her voice to resonate around the area.
"Ne ne, Hikioooooo~~. Let's go somewhere I'm hungryyyyy~." The feminine voice said in a pleading tone. She sounds needy. I was about to continue walking but the next voice made me stop in my tracks. I thought he had already left the school…? He left quite a little while ago. It was-
"Stop grabbing my arm, people will misunderstand." From the way it was conveyed, he must be feeling slightly annoyed.
"I don't care what people say and there's no one hereeee…~"
"Why are you even sticking with me, where are Hayama and the others?"
"He and the boys went to an arcade, Yui went to go shopping and Hina went home straight away."
"So, that leaves me for you to pounce on…" He said and his reply earned a giggle from the girl.
I did not know what his reply or reaction was, but I heard two pairs of footsteps move in unison and walk towards the exit, or at least that was what I assumed. Since I was in the hallway, if they looked behind them I would be visible to them. So I hid behind the corner to my right.
I heard them stop, and several heartbeats later, the feminine voice spoke once more.
"Hikio? Is there something wrong?" She said in a surprisingly concerned manner.
"Nothing, I thought I sensed or saw someone..." He replied.
"Haah? But there's no one there, see? Now come on, I'm hungry~~…" I heard a cry of surprise from him as if he was suddenly pulled forward. I heard their footsteps start to fade off, and after waiting a few more seconds, peeked out from my little hiding spot.
She was still clutching his right arm, he tried to gently push her away, but she was quite stubborn from the looks of things. His shoulder slumped defeated and it earned a laugh from the girl beside him, her laughter was cheerful and lighthearted, and she smiled from ear to ear. But a moment before they stepped out of the building, she let go and slightly widened the distance between them. Not too close, not too far, but enough not to warrant any suspicion. But even with that, their little friendly banter did not lessen, not even a bit. Once they were far enough, I stepped out and went to the lockers to change my shoes then resumed my original intent to wait at the school gates to wait for my driver.
Needless to say, I tried to forget what I just witnessed and ignore it completely.
Tried.
Even after I arrived home and cooked myself dinner, it was bland and tasteless in my mouth. I decided to tuck in for the night, even though it was still quite early, 7:12 pm to be precise. After doing the usual evening rituals that I do before sleeping, I laid myself on my bed and tried my hardest to close my eyes and fall asleep.
And unfortunately for me, it took quite a while for sleep to envelop me.
Sup, Ivanov117 here once more with another update.
Sorry for the late update, FGO and studying have occupied most of my free time this month lol. I'm feeling quite satisfied with how I did things my way in this chapter if I say so myself. In the next few days, the story might update from time to time, but I'm just correcting some grammatical errors and typos from the previous chapters. Because no matter how much time I read and reread-
THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED AND ITS LITERALLY DRIVING ME INSANE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Anyway...
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That's all for now! See you next time!