Well, this isn't what I had planned. I wanted to write my first fanfic but suddenly I got the urge to write this one. Hmmm...maybe one more chapter? Yeah, I'll write chapter 3 of this THEN go back to "A Certain Scientific Loner" which I want you to please read and review that. Now on with the story, sorry I can't write my responses to your reviews cuz I'm running out of time. I had a problem and I need to fix it quickly. But thank you for your reviews last chapter, it means so much to me that you read this fanfic. If this chapter felt rushed, please let me know since again, this problem I had is bothering my time. I apologize for the inconvenience

Now on with the story...

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Oregairu series as it is respectfully owned by the creator and studio.

It's been a week since that incident and our one and only cynical loner is still thinking about it. The expression from Sagami when she thought her life was over, the terrifying attempt from those three delinquents, and the pain in his hand when he blocked that knife. It was unreal for Hachiman that he really did all that to save the girl that he traumatized in the Cultural Festival with his villainous words. He and Sagami aren't enemies anymore, nor they're friends, they are just neutral to each other. However, that may change after saving her from an attempted rape. The loner is not being optimistic about it, like thinking that they will become best friends or he somehow raised a flag to the Sagami route. He gave up thinking like that since middle school after that humiliating confession event. Is he expecting a thank you? No, for him, it was just like dealing with the Service Club requests except he might actually die if he screwed up.

He thought that would be the last time he encountered such a dangerous situation but he was wrong. Throughout the week, one way or another when he walked home from school, he somehow got himself roped into a few troubles; Another rape attempt, a simple bullying towards a middle schooler, accidentally bumping to a group of delinquents, beating up some grown adults when he eavesdropped and heard that they pickpocketed a poor businessman's wallet. He butted in willingly and stopped those criminals. But it wasn't that he made it in one piece. There is a little bruise on his cheek, a stab wound on his other hand from blocking another knife, also some bruises all over his body too which resulted in his difficulty to move well and all of these injuries covered in bandages. Speaking of injuries, his first stab wound hasn't healed yet and in fact, it might've got worse since he used it on instinct to fight. Luckily, he's still able to move it but he wondered how long until some doctor recommend to amputate it.

"Onii-chan? Where did you get those injuries? Did you get into a fight!?" The girl shouted. This girl is Hikigaya Komachi, our protagonist's adorable little sister. Right now, they're in the living room of their sanctuary called "home" as they sat on the couch while Komachi is treating his scraped cheek with an ointment in a cotton ball. For a few days, he hid his injuries from his little sister so that she wouldn't worry about him but now he got busted as she went home earlier than him and she saw those bandages.

"Yeah, I got into a fight, that's all." He answered nonchalantly.

"Why? Are they bullying you? Did you accidentally bumped into them and got beaten up?"

"That's part of the reasons."

"Eh?" Komachi wore a confused expression. The older brother contemplated if he should tell his little sister about how he kept getting himself in dangerous situations but he decided to tell her in the end since there is no reason for him to lie.

"I recently beat up a few a$$!#()! for stealing a person's wallet." He answered while scratching his cheek and looked away. Silence filled the room and it's starting to bother him so he slowly moved his eyes to look at her expression and saw that she's just staring at him deadpanned.

"Onii-chan... As much as I love you, it's still creepy that you're showing off your chuunibyou act."

She didn't believe me, huh? He said in his mind. He sighed and decided to show the other stab wound since that was what he recently got from those thieves. He unwrapped the bandage in his right hand and showed her the wound.

"Eh?!" She gasped as she stared at his wound. It's still healing so a little blood started coming out from it.

"I got this from one of those a$$!#(). Believe me now?" He said and wrapped the bandages back to his right hand.

"W-why didn't you call the police instead?" She stuttered.

Huh, I wonder. It's probably better to leave that problem to the police but I just butt in and did the job myself like it became some sort of a habit of mine. He wondered. Maybe he did all of that because he wanted to prove himself, in other words, recognition. But he isn't that kind of person. He never liked attention, especially from raijuus. Perhaps the reason is much more complicated than that. He still couldn't find out but one thing is for sure...

I couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

For now, that was the conclusion the loner thought of. His view of society changed but only slightly. He still sees society as a structure built with the lies that are called "Youth" and a genuine relationship will never develop until they reached adulthood, which is already too late for them to learn. But still, it is better for them to learn too late than not learn at all or learn it in the worst possible way. He is still cynical so just because he helped people in danger, doesn't mean he will be friends with them, but he will help people if he is needed.

"As if the police would help. Society is flawed in many ways, dear sister and-"

"Stop with your creepy speech about youth and society! This and that are different!" She shouted.

"*SIGH* I don't know, really...I just want to help." He said it quietly but Komachi heard it.

"If you want to help, call the police or someone that can help instead, not getting yourself hurt."

"...okay." He said.

"Are you sure? Pinky promise?" She asked as she put out her pinky. Hachiman hesitated but complied in the end and he held her pinky with his own.

"Promise."

"Pink promise~ hope to die~ swallow a thousand needles if you lie~" The little sister sang the children's rhyme called "Yubikiri" while swaying their held pinkies up and down.

"Now, let's eat dinner! I cooked my special curry because I know that'll boost yourself up to be a good Onii-chan! Kyaaaah! That must've earned me a ton of Hachiman points!" She shouted while walking to the kitchen and prepare the plates. The loner looked at his pinky for a few moments before standing up and go to the dining table. He didn't know what hurts more, the injuries from being beaten up or his pride as an older brother from being scolded by the cutest little sister.

What he did know is that he might break the pinky promise a lot sooner than expected. After all, life has its own funny ways of forcing people into things.

Next day morning.

The cynical loner is currently running to get to school since he lost his bike from the first incident. When he went back on that alley the day after he escaped, his bike was broken to pieces that it may not even be repaired.

Only a few minutes until the first bell rings. Goddamnit! Why can't I wake up early for once! He screamed in his mind as he reached the school entrance and quickly open his locker to put on his indoor shoes, only to see that there are thumbtacks inside them.

Oh, come on! Now is not the time for bullying you sh!%%^ raijuus! He quickly removed the thumbtacks and checked inside his shoes if there are still left. Satisfied that he removed all of them, he put the shoes on and ran to his classroom as fast as possible. But the bell rang already as he reached the second floor. He ran on the hallways and see the homeroom teacher's back with her long black hair and wore her signature labcoat about to enter class 2-F. That teacher is Hiratsuka Shizuka, a 25-year-old woman who is also the Service Club advisor and guidance counselor. A week ago when Yukonishita told her that Hikigaya should quit the club, she was surprised by that and asked why. The Ice Queen's answer...

"He is starting to become a nuisance. Right now, it is impossible for me to fulfill your request of 'fixing' his attitude. I apologize sensei, but this our only option."

The homeroom teacher knew that there was something wrong with what Yukinoshita said. She only saw hatred on the Ice Queen's emotions when she spoke, and even after trying to convince her to let him stay. Shizuka still doesn't know why, but either way, it's best for Hikigaya to remove him from the Service Club. He would only get himself hurt if he stayed there. That should've been the best course of action from her but she might soon realize how wrong she is.

Shizuka turned around and saw the loner himself running towards her. She felt angry until it disappeared as she narrowed her eyes to look at him clearly. She noticed the bandages on his face and hands and that made her worried.

"S-sorry, Hiratsuka-sensei! I woke up a little late so uh..." He said as he tried to think of a way to stop her from punching him from being almost late. Now technically, he should've been safe since he made it in the nick of time but for someone like Hiratsuka Shizuka, slight tardiness might be equal to one of her devastating blows. Meanwhile, the homeroom teacher just looked at his injuries. When he first went to class with his first bandaged-covered hand, he told her that it was because he messed up when cooking food. In his second one, he gave the same excuse, saying he's practicing hard to cook as a hobby but she already knew he was lying. Even if he was expelled from the Service Club and that resulted in him trying new things, there were still some lies hinted here and there so Shizuka called Komachi about those bandages. His little sister said she wasn't aware of that since he came home way too early and locked himself in his bedroom. Something happened to her lone student and whatever it is, she had a feeling that it might be far worse than she imagined.

"It's fine, just get in already. Also, what's with that on your cheek? Another failed cooking attempt?" She asked as she wondered what excuse he'll come up this time.

"Oh, this is from my cat. You know Kamakura, right? He sometimes jumped into one of our bedrooms and this morning he went to mine and then when I woke up, I accidentally hurt his tail with my foot so yeah..." He said without flinching or stuttering. He already came up with an excuse yesterday to hide the truth behind his injuries. If the school finds out about this (which he had a bad feeling they might), He doubted he would be praised for his good deeds and instead might get suspended or expelled for violent behavior. It is true that he did all that to help people but the school might think otherwise and say to him that there could've been better ways to do that. He can't allow that to happen. What if he is there when something bad happened and no one else is there to stop it? Should he just watch? Is that common sense for normal citizens to just ignore because it's not their job to do it?

"Oy Hikigaya, what's wrong?" His homeroom teacher asked. He must've spaced out.

"Nothing, sensei." He answered as he followed Shizuka behind and enter the classroom.

"Alright, class! Put out your textbooks so we can start a new lesson today!" She ordered the class and they complied. As the loner went for his seat, some of them are staring at him and whispering.

"What happened to him?"

"Did he get into another fight?"

"He really might be a delinquent."

"Maybe a criminal?"

As of now, his reputation got worse when they saw the bandages. Some speculated he has been through fights with other schools, others think it was cosplay and he has chuunibyou, and some think that he became a criminal even though they had nothing to prove it. One of the terrifying aspects of school is that students always twist stories just to make them interesting. After all, they want to have a thrilling, youthful experience so that they can tell the tale when they're grown up.

Or they're too dumb to look at things from a different angle or maybe they're too bored. Raijuus are really the lowest scums of the earth. The loner thought. As he sat on his chair, he put out the textbook from his schoolbag and have a quick look around him; His classmates are still staring at him and whispering while some are just minding their own business. He looked behind to see Yuigahama and Yumiko sneering at him.

Huh, even though Yuigahama sneered at me, I sorta find that adorable. He thought. It is very hard to picture Yuigahama with an evil smug that oozes "evil" on it. The way the bubbly airhead sneered isn't much different from her usual cute giggle. To be fair, everything she does is adorable. Cute face, cute voice, cute attitude, when it comes to being the cutest girl aside from his little sister, Yuigahama still takes the cake even after she betrayed him. The loner tried to imagine Yuigahama as some bully but he can't not because he thought of her as a friend nor felt hurt from imagining it, it's because it's that hard to imagine Yuigahama looking evil with that face of hers. When he tried to imagine Yuigahama's evil grin, all he saw was a cute smug as if she's confident her cooking won't fail this time. Hachiman then looked at Sagami who was also staring at him for a few minutes since he entered. When she noticed him looking at her, she blushed and went back to her textbook. The loner couldn't help but raise his eyebrow at that in confusion. Did he really trigger a flag for the Sagami route?

"Good morning! Hachiman!" The cute boy that looks like a girl greeted the loner as he approached his seat since lunch break just started. This is Totsuka Saika, one of Hikigaya's classmate, a cute MALE student that is the definition of the term "Trap", the president of the Tennis Club and the only angel existed in Hikigaya's life right now.

"G-good morning." The loner stuttered while blushing. Truly, the world is cruel.

"What happened to your cheek?" The angel asked as he tapped his own cheek with his finger.

"My pet cat was sleeping on my bed, that's what happened." He said in a deadpan tone.

"Oh, well I hope he didn't hurt you too much." He said with a smile. Totsuka is an angel, indeed.

"It's nothing serious, just a few scratches that's all."

" If you say so." The angel looked around and leaned forward to whisper. "Are you okay? When I heard that you were expelled from the club-"

"It's fine. In fact, I feel more grown-up." Hikigaya said and Totsuka looked confused as his head was tilted.

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"Trust me, even I don't know but that's the only word that I can describe what I'm feeling right now." Besides the pain in my body.

"Hmmm... Does being grownup something like... realizing something amazing?" Totsuka asked.

"Huh. Yeah, it is something like that. And that you-"

"Hikigaya," The loner was interrupted by Sagami. She looked angry for the most part, but she has that blush on her cheeks. Some of the classmates are staring at them and whispering things that the loner doesn't care one bit.

"Uuhh, yeah?" He asked. This is awkward for both of them since they didn't talk after that horrifying incident. Now a week has passed and she decided to approach him and Hikigaya wondered why did she pick this timing.

"Do you...wanna hang out with me after school?" And then the entire classroom is silent.

"Ummm...What?" The loner asked with eyes widened even though his eyes are already like a dead fish. Sagami looked away while fidgeting and her blush grew even redder.

"I-I'm saying there's this new restaurant not far from here, and I heard it's really good. I want to treat you for...y'know. So...wanna hang out with me?"

Hachiman at first, wanted to decline but something stopped him; One, he thought that she is cute looking all shy and whatnot. This isn't some act to sway men in her favor, this is the real deal. Two, he saved her and she wants to treat the loner as an appreciation for his help so it would be sort of rude to not accept her "thank you" gift. Lastly, free food, one of our protagonist's greatest weaknesses. Of course, he couldn't turn down an offer such as a food that he doesn't need to work to get it nor does he need to pay. So his answer is...

"I don't see why not."

"Eh?" Both Totsuka and Sagami gasped.

"Eh!?" And so did everyone else in the classroom.

"R-really?" Sagami asked with her eyes shining.

"Yeah, I'm kinda curious about that restaurant so sure." He said it nonchalantly while smiling. Normally, his smile would creep people out but now...it still does. To the brown-haired girl, it was different. After the Athletics Festival, she didn't view him anymore as some creep but a reliable person and today, he's her hero. When he smiled, her heart is beating unnaturally like she is exhausted without doing anything physical. She still didn't know what but one thing is for sure for the pretty maiden,

This feeling isn't bad at all

"Okay then!" She said happily and gave him a smile of her own.

Whispers are getting louder as they filled the room because the entire class is flabbergasted by the conversation of these two. Meanwhile, Hachiman and Minami are just staring at each other smiling. The two are just off into their own world together.

Class just ended and everyone started packing their things. The loner finished packing and looked at the brown-haired girl to wait for her. She finished packing up and looked at Hachiman with a smile and approached him.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah, I hope you like cooked sushi," She answered as they went out of the classroom side-by-side.

"Isn't sushi supposed to be raw?" The loner asked.

"Well, yeah but they said that you can cook the fish and do even crazier stuff with it and I heard that restaurant is the best when it comes to-"

As the two walked far enough to not be heard from the classroom, Hayama and his clique gathered together and talked.

"Yo, did you see that?" Ooka asked in disbelief.

"I know! It was totes weird! I thought Sagami hate Hikitani after what he did!" Tobe said with an annoyingly loud voice.

"Did something happened between those two? They looked all lovey-dovey back there," Yumiko asked in wonder.

"N-no... Hayaxhachi is dead..." The glasses-wearing fujoshi said while looking down.

"I don't know, Sagamin said something about treating him for whatever he did. Ah! He must've found something embarrassing of her!" Yuigahama exclaimed with a cute fake gasp. Hayama looked at her oddly. When he found out that she and Yukinoshita expelled Hikigaya from the club, he couldn't believe that they feel that way towards the loner, even after all they did together as clubmates for months now.

Was there really no meaning behind their bond? The Prince of Sobu thought. Despite that he hates the loner for his twisted ideals, he still considers Hikigaya a talented individual with flaws. He is his rival but not his evil villain of the story.

"At least they're getting along now. It's much better than hating each other, right?" Hayama said with his signature fake smile.

'I don't know, bro. Ah! Maybe it's the other way around! Like, Sagami found something embarrassing from him and now it's revenge time!" Tobe shouted in excitement.

"That could be it!" Yuigahama agreed and everyone laughed at that and ended the discussion as they left class for club activities. The "couple" is still on the blonde boy's mind, more specifically, the loner and those injuries. He wondered if there is a connection between those injuries and Sagami's behavior but shook that thought off since it's impossible. There might've been more possibilities as to why the loner has them but it couldn't be from fighting delinquents. Hikigaya Hachiman is not that kind of person unless he's been bullied by people, which could be the only plausible answer.

That could be it, right? Hayama thought while holding his chin.

Meanwhile, Yuigahama was also thinking about those "couple" while walking the hallways to the Service Club. She also came to that same conclusion that Hikigaya was being bullied. She thought about her and Yukinoshita's decision of expelling him from the club. While it did bring joy to her that he's out of the way, guilt is starting to take over a little when she saw those injuries. The bubbly airhead thought that they made his life even worse now that he was betrayed and cast aside. For Yuigahama's part, she didn't exactly hate Hikigaya, but rather she finds him at least tolerable when they're in the club. She just gave him cookies out of obligation and nothing else. No special feelings whatsoever. She invited him to the FIreworks Festival because Yukinoshita turned down her invitation and she doesn't want to be alone at the festival so basically he was there for her to kill time. It's more like he was annoying? Creepy? Gross? She didn't know but she knew she doesn't want to be with him. Anger started piling up every time he and Yuikonshita had a "friendly" banter. She noticed something odd about the way her best friend spoke to him. And when she was told the reason for Yukinoshita's hatred toward the loner, Yuigahama stood by her side as her only friend. There is no hatred towards Hikigaya, but she couldn't find the strength to genuinely get along with him. There's no hatred nor any liking, but there's also no neutrality between them. It was very strange to her. But in the end, Yuigahama is a nice girl.

"Yahallo! Yukinon!"

"Good evening, Yuigahama-san"

As she entered the clubroom, she felt relaxed and the comfortable atmosphere with her best friend was removing all of that guilt and anger, and replaced with joy as she was talking with Yukinoshita and a new request came up.

Unfortunately for the bubbly airhead, this room filled with comfort and freedom will one day turn into a room filled with shortcomings and dysfunction.

Hachiman and Minami entered the restaurant and took the nearest table for two, which is the table at the window where people outside can see the two of them eating together. Hachiman looked at the menu and was surprised that the prices are low.

The foods are almost as cheap as Saize! This IS a good restaurant. Maybe I should eat here with Komachi someday. The loner thought as he contemplated what food should he order. Minami will pay for him but that doesn't mean he should get ahead of himself. It's rude to pick the most expensive one and expect a girl to pay it. He's a gentleman, after all.

"So what do you want?" Minami asked while also looking at her menu.

"Hmmm... I don't know, food is cheap enough for me to afford each of these. Are you sure you want to treat me?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's a thank you for saving me."

"I think I should be the one treating you since you're the victim that had been through all that."

"But so are you. I know that those injuries aren't from some cooking accident. Did those...criminals came back at you for revenge?" She asked in worry.

"No, I never saw them again after that incident." He answered.

Hachiman never saw those delinquents after he ran away from them. He browsed the internet to see if there's any news about that incident and yesterday, there was an article about it. According to the article, the big guy willingly turned himself in while the others are currently hiding somewhere. Many speculated that their parents are hiding them and wait for this to blow over but who knows how long that would take or if that would even happen in the first place. Truth is, Minami took a week to approach Hachiman for two reasons; One, she was desperate to find the culprits with the help of the police. No one knew she became a victim of attempted rape because she classified herself as anonymous who went by the name of "Isane" which means "courage" or "sound". One of the investigators suspected that the two hidden culprits' parents to be mentally unstable and are also drug addicts as he noticed some signs such as their behavior and appearance although there is still no concrete evidence of them doing drugs until the drug test came out. That, along with the two culprits still running around, made her parents feared that they might hunt Minami so she became anonymous for now. Hachiman is also been classified as anonymous and went by the name of Isato which derives from the kanji "Isa", meaning brave, and "-to", meaning person. Minami came up with that one.

The media exploded when the article was first published. Many social media users are posting words of encouragement to "Isane" and toxic words to the culprits and their parents. An anonymous user posted that she was also saved by "Isato" from an attempted rape. The loner suspected that it might be that girl he saved from his second attempted rape encounter. The media exploded even more as there was a fan club of "Isato" and many claimed they have also been saved by him from bullying and all other cases that they exaggerated a bit too much. There is even a forum where people post fanfiction about "Isane" and "Isato" and how they became a couple and whatnot. Both Hachiman and Minami read a few of them and felt embarrassed while reading. Of course, they won't tell each other nor anyone that they read at least one fanfiction of that nor will they tell that they were captivated by them. "Isane" became the "voice" for the raped victims as they were inspired to voice out their horrifying experience of being raped. Basically, it's like #metoo except there's no bull #!%%... probably. On the other hand, "Isato" became the symbol of "courage" to people who wants to fight for others. He thought that they were exaggerating a bit there but then again, rape is a very serious crime.

What bothered Hachiman is why didn't the investigators approach him for interrogation.

Did Minami hide my identity from the police too? But that would make the investigation a little harder and it would be better to have more evidence unless they found enough to put the culprits in prison. He thought. Whether he would be interrogated by the police or not, he will be okay with either way

"I read the news that two of them are still out there. If you're feeling scared, just let me know and I'll be with you." The loner said to her warmly with a smile and Minami covered her face with the menu template to hide her red face. Reason number two of why she took a week to approach him; She's too nervous and couldn't come up of a way to thank him. It was her mother that came up with this idea as she heard it from one of the neighbors.

"U-um, you don't have to worry about me, the police are searching everywhere for those guys and there is a police car assigned near our house to protect us. S-so don't push yourself, o-okay?" She stuttered.

"...Okay. So what do you recommend here." He asked.

"Oh, well my mom said to try this one." She pointed to a name called "Fried Fish Compassion Sushi". There is no picture of what the food looks like. It says on the menu that it is a very big sushi for two people. He raised an eyebrow at that.

One big sushi for two people? How exactly big is this? If it's enough for two people then might as well go for it. Plus it's affordable enough for the two of us to pay it. Yeah, I still think I should be the one to treat her.

"Let's try it then, but on one condition." He said while pointing his index finger up.

"What?"

" We'll share the payment. Since we both want to treat each other, and arguing about it would end in a not-so-great conclusion, let's just split the money. I still feel bad for you treating me to this." He said and the girl sighed.

"Fine, if that's what you want. So, drinks?"

"hmm... How about this one?" He pointed to a name called "The CCC Milkshake" and this one has a picture of a milkshake in a big glass.

"It doesn't look too big for one person...Yeah, I'll have that one too." She said. Hachiman waved a hand to call the waitress and said their orders. The waitress looked happy for some reason, and it's not an expression for making customers feel welcome in the restaurant. It's something else.

"So, a Fried Fish Compassion Sushi and The CCC Milkshake?" The waitress asked the two to check that she got it right.

"Yes." They both answered.

"Okay~! The orders will be ready as fast as possible for the couples!" The waitress said while walking towards the counter with glee. Meanwhile, the "couple" is dead silent when she said the word "couple". Both of their faces grew red for different reasons. Minami's case was that she felt embarrassed and happy at the same time while Hachiman is embarrassed and annoyed that the waitress misunderstood their relationship. The atmosphere became very awkward as the two didn't form a conversation for the last two minutes which felt like forever for the "couple". Minami shifted her gaze away from the loner while he just stares at her to analyze her current state.

Does she really have... Hachiman has the ability to read someone's mind or intention. After being crushed by Orimoto's rejection in middle school, he observed people around him from afar, analyzing their intent in every action they made. Being harassed and bullied, his ideals of cynicism and deception on society turned him into what some might call the "Monster of Logic". Although he still has ways to go in Math and Science academics, he spent all of his XP points on observation, speech manipulation, and management. Meaning, Hikigaya Hachiman is not a cliche dense protagonist of a harem anime so he immediately sees that Sagami Minami is in fact, has a huge crush on the loner. However, he doesn't want to reach that conclusion just yet. In the past, he thought that Yuigahama is in love with him since the signs were pretty obvious. Not to mention, Yuigahama almost confessed to him after the Fireworks Festival. But after he was betrayed by his clubmates, he's starting to doubt his observation skills. Did he seriously misunderstand Yuigahama's actual feelings? Or is there something else at play here?

Either way, He's now more or less open-minded on his observation and analysis. To look at every angle is to narrow down the most plausible answer.

" A-Ahem!" Minami fake coughed and got the loner's attention. "S-so, uh, it's almost time for the school field trip."

"Oh, now that you mentioned it, yeah. About a couple of weeks left, right? If I remember right, I think we'll be going to Kyoto." He said.

"Eeeehh~? That sounds kinda boring. What's so fun about that place anyway?" She asked in a bored tone.

"There's a lot of pretty tourist attractions in Kyoto, like the Kinkaku-Ji and Arashiyama. There's a district called Gion that has a lot of good restaurants and shops and even geikos." He answered.

"Geikos?"

"It's a Kyoto dialect for geisha."

"Aren't geishas prostitutes? Are you into those-" She asked in an angry tone and Hachiman interrupted her.

"No, you moron. Geishas are just women performing art, dancing, and singing. They're completely different from prostitutes." He rebutted and Minami stared at his eyes for a while until she looked away with an angry pout.

"Is that so?" She said.

W-what's with that pout? That's kinda cute, actually. The loner thought and shook his head in embarrassment from that.

"A-anyway, about the Kyoto trip..." He tried to continue the conversation.

"What? Is there more like those geishas?" She asked, anger filling her emotions.

"No, I was just wondering if you want to form a group with me." He asked. Students form a group of 5 for safety reasons due to that attempted rape incident. Schools are trying to regulate more strict rules to prevent such incidents from happening again which of course there's no guarantee that everyone will follow them.

"E-eh? Well...I don't see why not." Minami agreed while scratching the back of her neck and averting her gaze.

"Really? Thanks." He said.

"Hey, Hikigaya..." She called.

"Hmm?"

"I heard that you were dismissed from that club of yours." Minami said in a small voice but loud enough for the loner to hear it. Silence once again filled the atmosphere of their table until he spoke.

"Yeah, something about how despicable my methods are. It's okay, I understand their reason." That was a lie. He still doesn't know the true reason behind his expulsion of the club.

"Well, I don't. You helped people like me, even if it was despicable. You hurt yourself and make them see you as the villain just to help someone."

"Thanks, but they were right. I can't go on if I'm still a scumbag-"

"No, you're not!" She stood up and shouted. All of the customers and employees are staring at them to see what the commotion was about. Minami bowed and apologize to them and sat back down. The "couple" waited a few moments until they all went back to their normal business.

"You're not..." Minami mumbled and Hachiman heard what she said as he looked at her in wonder.

"Look, you learned your lesson right? There's a limit on how much you can take this pain, right? So why don't you go back there and convinced them to get you back in the club?" She suggested with a serious expression. It's impossible for the loner to do that. What's done is done, his former clubmates sent their message loud and clear to him. He is not wanted nor needed in the Service Club. So his answer to her suggestion is...

"I think that's impossible. They already made their decision, and I wholeheartedly agreed to it. I won't be able to 'fix' myself if the only place I can rely on is the Service Club. I...need to look for more places that could help me." He said as he reminiscing the first rape incident he got involved in. He thought that maybe that was his first step to be a better person.

"Well, let me help you find it." Minami suddenly declared.

"What? You don't have to do that."

"But I do, you did so much for everyone. It's time someone returns the favor. And it starts with me, so be grateful!" She said as she lifted her chest up, hands on her waist and closed her eyes. Hachiman looked at her for a few seconds until he spoke.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm so grateful for my queen to honor me with her service." He said with a sarcastic tone as he bowed his head and his right bandaged-covered hand on his chest.

"You know it! Now tell me your troubles, young commoner as my wisdom as queen shall guide you through peace." She asked while forming a huge grin.

"My lady, my trouble is my growing impatience for our order to arrive. What should this foolish commoner do to be at ease?" He played along and the girl giggled.

"Patience is the most important virtue of a man. So, suck it up and just wait~!" And they both laughed. That was a very cringey interaction but that's what made it funny for them. They don't care if it's cringe or immature, as long as they can laugh about it, there's no problem.

"Sorry for the wait!~" The waitress said to them as she walked towards them while carrying a tray. The "couple" was shocked by the food and it's not only because of its size. It is big but it is enough for two people to finish it. It is sushi, pieces of a fried fish placed over the seasoned rice. What shocked them was that it is shaped like a heart with one half is colored blue and the other red. The two Sobu High students couldn't help but widened their eyes out and their jaws dropped with red cheeks.

"I'm home!" A middle-aged man shouted in the house as he removed his shoes and stepped on the wooden floor. No one responded to his greeting so he checked the living room to see if there's anyone home. He saw his wife sitting on the couch praying with a big smile on her face.

"Hanabi?" The man called the wife's name. She opened her eyes and wondered who called her and she saw it was her husband.

"Ah! Darling, welcome home~!" She stood up and gave him a peck on the lips.

"What were you doing with that smile on your face? Did something good happened?" he asked as he held around her waist to pull her close.

"Oh, I was just praying for Minami to have a wonderful date with her savior." She answered with glee while his husband's jaw dropped.

"WHAT!?"

"Oh, no! I forgot to tell her about that CCC drink! I hope they ordered it."

"I-I swear I didn't know that this is for couples. My m-mom... didn't t-t-t-t-tell..."

"I-It's okay. I understand." Hachiman interrupted the stuttering Minami and tried to calm her down while the waitress looked confused for a moment and put the drink in their table which made the "couple"'s jaw dropped further.

"And here's your Crazy Cute Couple Milkshake~!"

That's what it means?! What kind of stupid acronym is that?! The loner thought in embarrassment as he looked at Minami, who stared at him angrily with her face growing even redder.

"H-hey! I didn't know what that "CCC" meant until now! Honest!" He said it while not noticing the blush on his cheeks. The waitress held her giggle at the sight of this "couple" all red and embarrassed. The drink is the same as the one in the picture but what's added is the double straw with a big heart in the middle.

"Enjoy your order~!" With that, the waitress left the two high school students alone in their table.

"L-let's just eat, okay?" Minami asked and the loner could only nod in response. They both held their chopsticks and picked up their piece of the giant sushi. The blue side was on Hachiman while the red side on Minami. As they chew on the sushi. all feelings of embarrassment are washed away because of one thing...

THIS FOOD IS DELICIOUS! Both thought the same thing. For the blue side of the sushi, Hachiman tasted some sort of dairy-like ingredient mixed with other mindblowing combinations.

"This one has cheese?" He said as he picked up another sushi and ate it. He was certain, the blue side's main ingredient is cheese. As for the red side...

"And I tasted tomato sauce on this one." Minami said as she also picked up another one and ate it. Even though its weird appearance would make it difficult to identify the dish as sushi, it still tastes really good.

"Hey let me taste the blue one and you can have the red,"

"Sure." He agreed and as he reached for the red sushi, Minami contemplated whether she should feed him or not but decided not too since the progress would be way too fast for them.

Meanwhile, there is someone watching them at the counter.

"Those idiots! They should've done the 'Aaah~' scene! The 'Aaah~' scene!" The waitress that served the "couple" screamed quietly as she watched those two eat.

"What the hell are you talking about?" The waiter beside him asked with an annoyed tone.

"The 'Aaah~' scene! The one where the girl picks up the food and reach it to the boys face and say 'Aaah~' to make him open his mouth and eat it! It's one of the best romantic scenes! And yet those losers aren't doing it! What are they, virgins?!" The waitress clutched her head in annoyance.

"They're high school students, you idiot!" He said it angrily and smack the waitress's head.

*BAM*

"OUCH!"

"And besides, are they really a couple?" He asked.

"What do you mean? They ordered the things that couples do."

"From their reactions, it seemed that they didn't know what kind of food were they ordering."

"Well, if they aren't a couple YET, that would make this even more exciting! Imagine, our restaurant brought two young teenagers together as the food itself tied the red string for them!" She said as she looked up the ceiling and imagined it. The waiter sighed and went back to his work.

Now back to our "couple".

"So this 'Chojiro' is one of the best sushi restaurants in Japan?" The loner asked in wonder as he put another blue sushi in his mouth.

"Yeah, something about blending technology and 'ancient art' of making sushi. They have iPads that customers use to see how that restaurant's sushis are made and they can order dishes with just one tap. Cool, right?" Minami explained.

"And what about sushi?"

"Fresh and affordable, so it must be good."

"One of the best, huh? I can't imagine what that would taste like after eating this." He smirked and the girl giggled. Hachiman never talked this much with someone although he's just making small responses and ask questions. It felt nice to talk like this, even if his jaw hurt from talking. Yes, his laziness knows no bounds.

"I know right." The two drink the milkshake on the double-straw together but they didn't realize it yet until they opened their eyes and see the other's face. The double-straw is not that long as their faces are close to each other by a few inches. They only stared at each other's eyes as they're off to their own little world again, not even hearing the shriek of the waitress who then fainted after seeing that scene...

...nor did they noticed a Sobu High School student took a picture of that outside of the window.

3 days later, Sunday 7 pm

Hachiman's body has recovered well enough for him to run. It was a miracle that his first stab wound in his left hand healed even after the pain he had been enduring. Perhaps, three days of doing nothing helped his body rest. Right now, our protagonist is walking to a convenience store wearing a white hooded sweater and black jogging pants to buy a list of items that his adorable sister gave him and read the contents.

"Let's see...Ice cream, water bottle, some foot powder for dad...He did say his foot was starting to itch after going home from work." The loner mumbled as he entered the convenient store. he went to every shelf and picked up all the items he needed and went to the cashier and paid the receipt.

"Ah! I forgot about the foot powder." He walked fast into the farthest corner from the cash register and picked up a bottle of foot powder from the shelf. he felt a bump in his back and turned around to see a cute teenage girl with shoulder-length bobbed brown hair and honey-colored eyes. She's wearing a pink frilly sweater and white pants.

"I'm so sorry." The girl apologized while bowing.

"It's okay." He nodded to the girl and looked at the window. He felt something odd from outside as he noticed two men riding a motorbike together parked it near the convenience store. What's strange is that they're walking to the entrance without taking off their full-face helmets and one of those guy's right hand is behind his pants. The other guy walked angrily and also put his hand behind his pants as they get closer to the entrance. The feeling of dread took over the loner's head. He had seen enough TV shows and the news to know where this is going. On instinct, he grabbed the girl and pushed her down to crouch with him and hid behind the shelf.

"This is a robbery! Give me your stuff!" The burglar shouted and shot his pistol two times on the ceiling.

*BANG* *BANG*

"AAAAAHH!" People screamed. By Hachiman's estimation, there are at least 5 people here inside. This is bad for the loner because this is different from his previous encounters.

T-they got guns. They can k-kill someone with it. Even though he went head-to-head with someone with a knife two times, a gun has a more powerful aura oozing the atmosphere in the store. A human can't dodge a bullet nor can someone as normal as Hachiman can withstand the pain of being shot by it. When someone is handling a gun, it's like that person has an insta-kill cheat code. He looked at the girl with his arm around her shoulders as she shook in fear.

"Hurry up and put the money in the bag!" One burglar is forcing the female cashier to grab all of the money in the cash register and put them in the bag while the gun is aimed at her.

"Hey! Give me your wallet!" Meanwhile the other burglar is going through people one-by-one to take whatever valuable items they have. Our protagonist stopped shaking and listened to the people's cries. He can't just hide here and wait to be robbed. No matter how stupid of what he was about to do, it's still the right thing. He let go of the girl and looked at her.

"Iroha?! Iroha was that a gunshot?!" He heard a female voice on the girl's phone but he didn't care.

"Stay here." He whispered to her and she looked at him confused.

"W-what are-" He couldn't wait for her to finish as he sneak towards the other end of the shelf since he heard the burglar's footsteps approaching an elderly couple. He listened carefully to the footsteps until he thought it was the right time to strike.

"Better have something good you old ha-"

*BAM*

Hachiman punched hard into the burglar's most precious body part; His testicles.

"Ggghh!" While the burglar is grunting, the loner slapped the gun away and it fell into the ground near the girl. Then, he pulled him down into the shelf with him so he could knock him out without being shot by the other. He quickly unfastened the belt under the burglar's chin, removed the helmet, and smacking his head with it.

*BAM* *BAM* *BAM*

Three hits were enough to knock the criminal out.

"Hey!" The criminal's partner ran towards the commotion and saw the scene. Hachiman quickly threw a loosely closed foot powder at the burglar's face shield to block his vision while at the same time, knocked away his gun from aiming at his head.

*BANG* *BANG*

The burglar wasted two shots to the ceiling and then he felt an excruciating pain on his groin.

"GGHHAA!" He grunted as Hachiman punched his groin and tried to bring him down but the burglar resisted as he elbowed his gut and clumsily punched his face. Hikigaya was pushed back from the hits but he held his ground. He saw the criminal cleaned his face shield and aimed the pistol at him and the loner responded quickly by swinging an upward kick on the wrist.

*BANG*

The burglar wasted another bullet to the ceiling again and got punched in the gut. The loner moved to the side and swung a low kick to the burglar's leg to push him to the ground on his back. He then held the criminal's wrist where the gun was held and unfastened the belt and removed the helmet.

This guy...He's that drunken bastard that tried to rape Sagami! He looked at the exposed burglar's face; Messy blonde hair, red and heavy-lidded eyes, a bandage on his nose from that headbutt back then. The loner has no doubt that this is the same guy. The drunken/drugged delinquent looked at the loner and gasped.

"You're that f*(#!& who stopped me from having my fun." He said as he tried to resist his grasp.

"Fun? Is trying to rape her fun to you? In that case, I'm gonna fix that goddamn head of yours!" Hachiman screamed as he repeatedly punched the delinquent's face until he's knocked out.

The loner stood up but got tired as the adrenaline worn out. He heard cheers everywhere and looked around to see people cheering at him.

"Nice job, kid!"

"You were crazy!"

"Are you 'Isato'?!"

Before he could answer, a siren is heard from outside. It's the police.

Thank you for reading this chapter! Again, I apologize if this felt rushed but I really do plan on fleshing out the characters more before having one action scene. Next chapter, I'll try my best. And please leave a review. Your opinions will help me make this story better.