Hello and welcome to my uncountable attempt to write a decent story, I have many drafts already but feel free to suggest me something.
And away we go to the story.
New Opportunities
Roffan
Summary:
Two different person; similar yet so different. They never met each other, but they worked so well. They also hated each other guts. They will work together to crystallize their dreams, though.
A young girl could be seen running, smiling wide as she did so. Tilting his vision above, he could see the rays of sun falling through the gaps between, leaves weaving in sync with the wind.
Today isn't a particularly hot day, he's not like his sister whom like to move around though. Since he was young, he's the type to prefer staying inside to read a book and learning about new things he could find in it.
Basking in the warmth as the wind resided, he put his elbows on his knees, leaning forward to watch over his sister. "Sis, don't run too fast! You're wearing a skirt, you'll trip yourself!" He shouted as he warned her. As a responsible brother, he doesn't want his sister to be hurt. In response to his shout, his sister slowed down and turns around, raising her skirt and smiled at him.
"You should come play with me instead of watching from there, Brother!" She shouted.
He sighed dramatically at her antics, but heeds to her request and stood up. Taking a deep breath, he ran toward his sister. She immediately started running away from him, knowing her brother would tickle her to death if she was to get caught.
If he was asked what would he keep the same for a long time, he would answer this.
...
Leaning back into his chair, he stared intently at the content of the book; blocking away stimulus from outside. In return, he didn't notice that someone was sneaking their way behind his chair. Once they're behind him, they grabbed the backrest of the chair and yanked it. The action made him startled, but he calmed down almost immediately after.
"Teacher, don't surprise me like that..." the person mentioned just smiled, which made him sigh in exasperation. He decided to leave it at that, and instead standing up to escort them both to a more suitable place for them to start.
He opened the door for him, but his teacher insisted for him to go first. "you should go first, Hainrich." Shrugging his shoulder in response, he got out of the room, let his teacher walk through, and walked down the hall of the house ahead of him after closing the door.
It was silent, only their footsteps were echoing soundly in the hall. Both of them didn't initiate to start a conversation, he opted to enjoy the view beyond the windows.
Just before they reached the door to the outside, he turned around. Pivoting on his left leg, he lifted his other folded leg and raised it swiftly. His toe touched the palm of his teacher, which held in front defensively to prevent his feet to touch any vital part.
He gave him an approving eyes, while he just stared back with an expression akin to 'what were you doing, testing me?' He knew he wanted to do something earlier, if he had not interrupted it. Continuing their walk, it didn't take too long before they arrived at the house field.
"I see that you have improved your reaction and awareness, despite what happened in the library." He sighed and chuckled at that, proud of himself but can't really deny what he said.
Being born as a noble, it was expected for him to learn some kind of weapon skill. He has yet to learn any of it though, instead his teacher wanted him to improve his mind and body first. Reaction, awareness, flexibility and quick-thinking to name a few.
He also liked it that his teacher only gives him an objective and a time limit, it forced him to be creative while at the same time also finding the best method that suited him. His teacher doesn't sit around though, he will correct what is wrong and improving what is already good.
If you asked what he enjoyed the most other than reading, it would be this. Oh, he's also happy to see his sister and mother cheering for him from the room they're in.
...
He was 15 years old now, his father has started to delegate some of his less important work to him. He tried to do the best he could, and he had learned and seen what his father do for a long time. Though, if he was given the choice; he would immediately choose reading books and experimenting with his ideas. He could emphatized why his father looked so stressed and tired at times, handling documents that could affect a lot of people will take a lot out of you.
There's also the matter of him searching for a fiance; his sister was not exactly happy, but she understood. His mother, was the one that's eager to drag him out and attended a party when there's chance. Although, socializing isn't his best forte.
Many have approached him in the event he attended a party, so it's not like he's ousted.
He just hated it that people there are so... he doesn't how to word it, but they always managed to make him upset in one way or another at the end of the day.
So much for people responsible for their respective people's live.
Several knocks from the door then interupted his train of thought. "Brother, are you in there?" The soft voice of his sister came f behind the door, so he told her to come in.
"Good to see you, Yasmine. What is the matter, though? You would usually wait until after dinner to talk to me when I'm busy." Putting down the pen, he focused his eyes to his sister. "Unless something happened or it's something serious."
"I am doing well, Brother. But..." her eyes were dancing around, staring at everything but him. He just sat calmly on the sofa, gesturing her to sit beside him.
"So, what is it that you want to tell me?" Asked him, eyes staring deeply into her once she's willing to look him in the eyes. It's clear that she's nervous, still weighting if she should tell him or not. But after closing her eyes for a while, she took a deep breath before speaking to him.
"Brother... will you promise me to not... participate in it?"
He hummed to fill in the silence, trying to figure out what she meant by that; now that it's her turn to stare at him intently. An imaginary lamp lit up above his head, averting his vision momentarily and then he stared at her once again. He gave her a smile.
"I will try my best Yasmine, but I don't want to break any promise; especially from you." He put his hands on her shoulder, before continuing.
"Yasmine, would you trust in me?" Sighing in defeat, she looked down, before raising her head again.
"Brother, please... don't bear it all alone." To that, he only offered her a reassuring smile.
...
Dear God, he was not ready for this.
His father has been killed, the economy in his region was unstable, and to add salt to the would; there are people actively trying to harm him and his family.
Perhaps, it's his negligence in his younger years to not at least maintain neutral relationship with people. Instead, he mostly ignored most of them; choosing to focus on his own things. He had good people with him, but everyone knows that the key to diplomatic success is to successfully work with others.
"Hah... what I thought is insignificant, it's all coming back to me full force." He chuckled at himself, trying to relieve himself from the stress he's experiencing from all of the problems.
Maybe he should've listened to his sister, though...
He just wants to relax. Closing his eyes, it would be the last time he opened his eyes.
To summarize Hachiman's childhood life, would be a difficult task.
From the time he could remember anything, his parents' (and mostly his father's) attention were already focused to his little sister. Not that he hated that, he's glad Komachi is always showered with love. Young Hachiman though, he will become someone that's used to be treated differently.
When he entered kindergarten, it was quite similar. Since he mostly kept to himself, he didn't need as much attention as the other would require. So, the teachers doesn't really interact much with him outside of the usual group things, simple assignments, etc.
While his friends play with each other, or with a toy, or doing activities in the park; he was quite content with watching from the sidelines, observing the differences and similarities between people and things. It was around the beginning of his elementary years that he had found his interest in literature. His first interaction with a full-fledged book was when his family weren't home and he was bored, so he decided to look at the bookshelf in the living room.
"I know that mom usually take a book from the bottom row when she read story for me and Komachi, I can't read the kanji for the upper section books... How to Make a Decision Fast and Precise?"
The title intrigued him, maybe this book has the answer to why his father could always be so quick-witted. He looked at the cover; white with bold black text, tidy. Just looking at the cover, he liked the book already. He remembered a saying that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, though.
"Ah wait, I should take a paper and a pencil. Sensei told me to do that when you're reading a new book, so that I could learn new kanjis." He took a paper and pencil from the front door shelf, he knew his mother had those there so she could write something if needed.
He felt satisfied when he finished a book, that he had learnt more. It was addicting, even more so when he could crystallize in action what he had learnt from the books. It made him feel special, while also knowing there are things out there that would always feed to his thirst for knowledge and his curiosity. He enjoys fictional books too; he loves to imagining what it feels like to be someone different, with a different circumstances, wondering what he would do if he was the character.
In the eyes of others around his age, he's just a quiet boy with an overly-serious eyes. Not many would interact with him, and he didn't mind it. He always felt like others think differently than him; inefficient, badly impulsive. He could have a conversation with someone of his age, but he will quickly get bored because of the things they would talk about. Oh, and that bullies clearly doesn't know any manner; clearly, he has more restraint and control of how he would interpret his thoughts and feelings.
Curse them, how dare they ruined my shoes...
"Hey, weird eyes! This is what you get after you're messing with us!"
Don't get provoked, Hikigaya. Don't heed to them.
"Hahahah! Now you have to go home with shame bringing that useless thing, maybe even your sister would-"
Grabbing the hem of his shirt, he dragged him down so that Hachiman is looking down on him. Utilizing his eyes, he tensed his face muscles to make his expression appear scary.
"What did you say about my sister, hm?" He glared at his eyes for a few seconds, then raising his head to glare to the rest of them.
"I- I- I-"
"Hear me out, you petty people. What you all have done is wrongdoing and a crime, I'm sure you'll get at least a few days of suspension, at the very least." Shoving the leader to the side, he looked at them one by one in the eyes, getting the message across; he's not joking at all.
"You don't mess with me again, okay? Don't even imagine of touching my sister... I've warned you all."
He sighed loudly. After that, he turned around to check the damages on his shoes in more detail. But then someone interrupted him.
"Y- You wouldn't dare to do it... my father is-"
"Stop right there." Glancing lazily at the girl who said that, he then continued examining his shoes. After he finished, he continued. "You should be ashamed. Relying on your parents is useless; this is school and your parents will eventually... leave."
He's a bit guilty after saying the last part, but it worked to silence them all. He walked away, and one by one, all of them were leaving too.
He hoped they're taking that well...
...
"Hahahaha! You're hilarious, Hikigaya!" Gulping the last gulp he could get from the can of sweet nectar that is Maxx Coffee, he threw the can into the trash bin.
"Woo, that was a scary accurate throw."
He just hummed in response, then gesturing her to go left. They were on the way to a stadium, Orimoto had asked him to accompany her, and she wanted someone to be a guide because she didn't know the area so well. Of all the people in the class when she brought it up, only he knew the place. Partly because it's not too far from his home, and that the majority of them lived on the other side of the school; opposite of where he lives.
Well, it's not the first time he's accompanying someone other than his sister. Though, it was never just him and the other party. Orimoto and him had talked before with several of their classmates, they knew each other enough to not be awkward. He also has improved his social skills compared to what it amounted in his childhood.
As for his social life, it was better than his elementary years; not stellar either though. He has one friend and another acquaintance whom are with him right now, his sister was proud of him when she heard that. Back to the present, they've reached the stadium.
"Uwaaa... I didn't expect it to be this big." Smiling at that, he responded to her. "Well, it's a provincial match. Of course, it wouldn't be run at a small stadium."
Walking ahead of her, he looked back at her and said, "come, let's go to our seat." She smiled, and ran after him to catch up. They sat in their respective seat once they found it. Not long since they sat, the voice of the commentator from speaker rang.
"Now, for the last match for today's female-single..." they both cursed because they're pretty late, "Totsuka Saika and Miura Yumiko. Please cheer for them." The match proceeded as usual after, with some close call like Miura hitting hard and when Totsuka aimed at the corner. They passed the ball more than 50 times too towards the end, it showed how determined they were.
Not gonna lie though, he thought Totsuka was pretty.
After that match, they were glad after they know that the match wasn't actually the last one, there's the final and a match to decide who'll get the third place for the single-male category. There were less close calls and tense moments compared to the first match they watched, so they mostly talked about the first match and other things.
"Ne, ne, Hikigaya. Where will you be going to for high school?" He raised an eyebrow at that, but kept focusing on the match. "I won't tell you."
"Why?!"
"It'll be better when you found out yourself, no?" Huffing at his response, she folded her arms tightly in front of her. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, seeing her downed posture because his lack of cooperation. He doesn't want her to be upset for the whole lenght of this, so...
"How about this," she perked up at that, looking back at him. "If you could get your average score at 80 or more before summer, I'll tell you."
She clenched her hands, staring more intensely at him, before finally loosening up her muscle and sighed. "Fine, fine... I'll improve my score." He nodded at that, happy that she will try to improve her grades. He promised to teach her too to keep her average steady throughout the year.
Silence was kept between them after, both didn't feel the need to talk. But suddenly, she stood up and grabbed his hand, dragging him in the process.
"Follow me now, you have to bring me to a cafe as a thanks and apology!" Shrugging his shoulder, he matched up her pace as they exited the stadium.
...
Well, fuck.
Now he have to go to his school with a ruined uniform, on his first day. Thankfully, he was safe and so does bike-chan. He will be late to the opening ceremony, though. He had to check for any injuries at the clinic near his house.
Saki: Hachiman, I hope you didn't wake up late today.
Kaori: Hachi-kuuuun! Where're you? Can' find ya.
He sighed after looking at his phone, pointedly ignoring the messages so he won't be more late than he needs to. He approached the security guard, showing him the paper the clinic has provided and his scratched bike as proofs that he got into an accident, then thanking him after he opened the gate.
"1-D, I see." He put his bike after seeing the announcement board, heading off to the sports hall to attend the opening ceremony.
"Good, the seat aren't designated. I could slip into the back row without any problem." Sitting at the back row, he opened the recorder app and started recording; just in case there's something important. He played with his phone for the rest of the opening ceremony.
The students were out of the hall now, getting into their respective classes. He told Saki and Kaori he didn't see his phone in texts, he was indeed a bit late, telling them which his class he's in and asking which class they're in, he received his reply not long after.
Kaori: Yay, same class. Meet you soon!
Saki: Good to know that, I'm in 1-C btw
Putting his phone in his pocket, he started his walk to the class. But then he realized that his blazer has been damaged earlier, having putting in on earlier to not direct attention to him. So he took it off and continued his walk.
While he was nonchalant about it, he had received stares from others. The shirt was slim-fit, so his frame could be seen quite well. All of his effort to stay healthy and fit (he had learnt the benefits of it) was shown to the student body that day.
Walking for a few minutes, he finally reached his class not long after, the building layout is straightforward and the first year classes are in the first floor. Opening the door, he was immediately greeted by Kaori.
"Hachi-kun, there you are! Why do you have your blazer folded, tho?" He just answered her that he fell on the way, gathering some laugh from the class. The class then goes on to talk to each other, sharing their excitements and concerns. Hachiman kept to himself after he was greeted, being a passive conversationalist; listening and only talk when needed.
It didn't take a long time before their homeroom teacher arrived, the class got quiet. Once again, their homeroom teacher asked why he didn't wear his blazer and he gave her the same answer.
"I fell on the way here, sensei. Not recommended, it hurts and it's troublesome." Some cackles and giggles cracked from his classmate, he just shrugged it off. Before he could sit down again, he's called out again.
"Hachi-kun, why don't you start the introduction now? How about you tell us the story why you fell too?" He knew who it was, Kaori.
Sighing dramatically, he started off the day with his introduction and story.
...
"Again, thank you for saving my dog, Hikki!"
While he expected his first day would be a bit dramatic after the morning incident, this was certainly unexpected. It was time to go home, as the first day was always be a short one. Walking out of the class, two girls followed alongside him; Kaori, and the girl whose dog he saved, Yuigahama. He said it was alright to her, but she insisted that she should repay him in someway.
Kaori and Yuigahama were currently talking to each other, their talkative nature making them quick to know and warm up to each other.
"Hachiman." Waving her hand, Saki approached Hachiman's current group. She bumped her fist lightly with him, then glanced at the new girl beside him.
"Who's this?" She alternated her gazes to Hachiman and Yuigahama, looking like she wanted to get something out of her. So, he just told her what he had been telling others over and over.
"What?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?! Are you fine, hurt so-"
"I'm fine, Saki. Thanks for your concern." He gave her a small smile and patted her head, defusing her worries and growing her embarassment. She lowers her head in the process, hoping he wouldn't see her current face.
Heh, I do definitely will worry them all; with how I am right now.
He remembered talking to Haruno after his graduation party, Haruno being a bit tipsy because she was drunk. Though if you asked her, she will say she never had been drunk.
Well, well, well... how the turn tables, Haruno. Not long after you said that, you crossed the street, not realizing there's a sport car with definitely not the stock light approaching, despite the color shift and how loud it was. I had to push you off the street, the illegal street racer not even showing a sign of deacclerating. God, does the Yukinoshita's have a curse that make them involved in a street accident?
He sighed, clearing his mind of the thought. That was rude; still funny to think about though.
Staring straight to his face on the mirror, he swore to himself.
I'll finish this mess, and I will definitely try to find a way to come back to all of you.
He stood up, walked to the door and pushed it open.
"If I had to join this mess and be the winner, then so be it. Be thankful, Heinrich; I'll finished from where you left and protect you- my sister." Getting himself into his new body and personality, he looked straight forward and ready.
If I had to win this throne war to achieve my goal, then so be it.
Hope you enjoyed the story, feel free to roast me in your review (or you could PM) as long as it's constructive.
Stay safe, stay healthy.
Could you find all the references in my A/N?
