Prologue
There exists a common saying which states that there is no average or normal in regards to people. Essentially everyone, no matter how generic or common they are, has some unique gimmick, quirk, outlook, and personality. In short, everyone is special, a distinctive individual defined by their passions, struggles, and experiences.
Regarding this statement, I for the most part, largely agreed with such a view. After all, many of my acquaintances, classmates, and friends, all seemingly sharing common traits, possessed their own different views and personalities. That being said, some individuals are definitely more distinctive than others, choosing to not conform to public opinion and societal norms. Personally I found myself to be aligned to the aforementioned category, though a good part of this opinion was likely my own ego talking.
Nonetheless, my social status and situation certainly differed from your typical 2nd year or high schooler in any manner. I was silent but not unapproachable, reserved but not a loner, and somewhat cynical but not pessimistic. In essence I was that one person who walked the line between loners and normies, though in my opinion that line was shifted unevenly toward the loner side.
To put it simply, I was one of those girls you'll see with a group of friends during lunch, quietly eating and minding my own business, occasionally putting in a word here or there. While I certainly stood out in terms of such behavior, I was by no means the biggest outlier, that title belonged to the two loners in our class, a blue haired girl and a rotten eyed classmate named Hachiman Hikigaya. Even between those two, Hikigaya was by far the more unusual.
Usually lying face down on his desk, he virtually had no presence in our classroom, socializing with no one, often reading a generic light novel with a scantily clad heroine on the cover and letting out the occasional laugh. To summarize, if I was any other girl in our class or the country for that matter, my thoughts would be somewhere along the lines of, " Eww! Drop dead Creep!". Despite this off putting impression, contrary to most people, Hikigaya deeply intrigued me, his behavior and actions highly captivating.
...
I still remember the day it happened, the first time I saw Hikigaya during last year. Before then I had only heard his name in passing, as he was the one student who was mysteriously not in attendance for the first few weeks of school. During this time, various rumors ranging from delinquency to being murdered circulated across the classroom regarding his absence. When Hikigaya had finally arrived weeks later, our classmates had already formed preconceived opinions, many less than flowery. These opinions only seemed to be reinforced thanks to his less than sociable attitude along with his sharp eyes akin to a dead animal's. Thus on Hikigaya's first day, he was promptly labeled and theorized to be a delinquent or anything else of that sort.
However as time passed by, this theory became disproven and the delinquent perception shifted to that of a creep who no one still wanted to talk to. During this period, I paid minimal attention to the man, focusing on my academics and adjusting to the increased workload compared to middle school. Rumors and gossip of any sort did not pique or deserve my interest.
If I were to narrow the exact moment Hikigaya appeared on my radar, it would be the first time I observed his odd and seemingly apathetic behavior. Putting zero effort into socializing, he didn't even bother to take any action to at least clear up the rumors regarding him, some of which were especially nasty.
Like any other typical highschool, the rumor mill at Sobu Municipal High was always churning and Hikigaya at some point, must have once heard gossip pertaining to him. Despite this fact, he seemed almost content, quietly sticking to himself, usually spending his time reading, sleeping, or idly staring off into space. While many of our peers would criticize such defeatist and fatalistic behavior in the face of said overwhelming adversity, personally I believed Hikigaya's reaction would have been the best possible choice. Any attempt by him to defend his own character would likely be seen as a cheap cover up and more passionate attempts afterward would just seem like harassment. It didn't help that his eyes pretty much gave a terrible impression on his character. Hikigaya seemed to realize this, and thus stayed distant, gaining my attention in the process.
For the rest of the year I continued to observe the loner who had gained my interest, taking note of his quirks, personality, interests, and mannerisms. To anyone else it would seem like stalking … well it was in a sense, though without any illicit feelings involved. High School was a monotonous time, mundane in the extreme, and watching Hikigaya at least added some piquancy. When the 2nd year had finally come around, to my surprise and elation, the two of us were once again in the same class. And so my ritualistic habit of observing the enigma Hachiman Hikigaya, had continued up to this date.
"Amamiya-san do you have any after school clubs to attend?" One of my female classmates asked, interrupting my train of thought. It was the end of the school day and the bell had finally rung, signaling many students to begin their trip home. Turning to face the speaker, I recognized her as one of those typical normie girls in our class, one who just so happened to sit 2 desks behind me. I believe her name was Mari - no was it perhaps Machi or maybe Manami?
"No." I answered truthfully. Currently I was part of the "go-home club", leaving the English Club at the end of my first year. While learning English and American culture was enjoyable enough, many of the members were Yankii, making the atmosphere in my own personal opinion, trashy and not welcoming at all. An appropriate comparison would be joining a Korean culture club, only to find out later that all of its members were K-pop fanatics.
"That's great! Would you like to go karaoke after school? Keiko,Mieko, and Hiromi will be there. I hear even Hayama-kun and some members of the soccer club might attend later. " she said giddily.
Excluding the fact that I don't do karaoke, you do realize that I don't know most of the names you've just mentioned right now?
"I'm sorry but I can't attend. Thank you for giving me the opportunity though" I gave a polite smile. After all, as much as I loathe the idea of going into a jam packed room and singing like an idiot with a bunch of strangers, the gesture is still appreciated. Crap. That statement sounded a lot worse than I meant it to.
"Eh?" Mari or whatever her name said, puzzled by my rejection. Hmmn, she sort of looked cute with that confused expression on her face. "Are you sure Amamiya-san? We're 2nd years y'know and a lot of hot guys are going to be there. Why not let your girliness out and hook up with one of them?
I only have two questions: 1. What type of girl do you think I am ? and 2. Since when did being girly equate toward acting like a horny slut?
"It's really fine, Mari-san. I don't really enjoy karaoke and I'm expected to be home by 3:30. ", I say, lying about the latter half of the statement. I really just don't like karaoke, believe me, I once wanted to be a seiyuu only to have my dreams crushed by my terrible voice. Also the karaoke party she's inviting me to sounds more like a deviant orgy than an actual hang out. And with my refusal uttered, I say a quick goodbye and leave as quickly as politely possible. As I walk away I hear a faint murmur along the lines of, "My surname is Akane though ..."
Hurriedly exiting the classroom, I briskly walk through the hallways, soon exiting them and coming out to the school entrance. Strangely the whole area seems to be vacant, the other students either at their after school clubs or having already left. Mindlessly I turn towards the direction of my house and just as I am about to start my commute, I feel a heavy weight hit my side with an emerging sharp pain as I fall to the ground. Wincing from the blow, after a few painful seconds, I come to my senses, feeling a heavy body like weight on me, a warm touch on my left breast, and soft lips touching min- wait what? Immediately I open my eyes to see a fellow student with an increasingly red face and widened dead fish eyes, his bike on the ground scattered due to the collision. After a few seconds, I realize that the man who stole my first kiss and is currently on top of me, is none other than Hachiman Hikigaya, the very same person who captivated my attention a year ago..
What the hell is this crappy anime or light novel esque cliché. Am I really in a romantic comedy? If so I have only one message, "Fuck you rom-com gods! "
A/N:
So this is the first time I have posted in a while. To be honest after witnessing the generally high level of fics on this fandom, I was a little intimidated to write one of my own. However summer vacation after a while becomes a bore and what better way to practice my writing skills than to write fanfic. Well I guess there are some other methods, but this way is probably the most fun. Luckily after reading the light novel for this series, I became more acclimated towards writing in first person and thus this fanfic was born.
On a more serious note, regarding this fic, it is with a heavy heart that I would like to state that you should expect infrequent and probably long intervals between updates. In terms of speed of and the ability to write a lot in a short period, I fall seriously short (this 1.5k chapter took a decent time to write). Anyways more updates will hopefully becoming soon, though to be honest, Chapter 2 hasn't been started at all as of this moment.
Well this concludes the first Chapter of "Kindred Spirits" I hope all of you have enjoyed this fic so far. Please feel free to send advice or any constructive criticism. Once again I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and may there be more to come.
