Hey! It's a me, the author! Here with chapter 3 of this fanfic. Holy crap! This already got a lot of favorites and followers. Thank you so much for reading this! Now it's time for me to focus on writing a new chapter for my other fanfic A Certain Scientific Loner which is a crossover between Toaru and Oregairu so please read that and leave a review. Anyways, just because I'm going back to my first fanfic doesn't mean this story is done. After writing the next chapter of "A Certain Scientific Loner", I'll come back to this, then go back to my other story and so on and so forth. Yeah, this story is not yet finished until I see the ending of this which probably won't be that long. Anyways on with the story!

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

The two burglars were arrested and now they're locked in the police car while the officers interrogate the citizens at the convenience store. Hachiman just sat on the ground near the entrance looking exhausted. He was really that close to knocking death's door with something as scary as a gun aimed at his head. The loud bang from the gun, the smell of gunpowder, and the conviction that blonde criminal had to kill him; All of these things plagued the loner's mind, wondering why people like those criminals exist. Do they exist just to hurt others? To balance the scale of good and evil, and right and wrong? To help the innocent learn things the hard way? He might never know but what he does know is that people like them exist in real life and that terrifies him.

"So that kid beat them up?"

"Yeah! I'm telling you, this kid is something! If it wasn't for him, I would've lost the wedding ring I worked so hard to get!"

Our protagonist listened to the interrogation between the citizen and the police officer. That's right, all that matters to him is that good people like that citizen are smiling in the end. He saw a female officer approaching him with some notepad and pen in her hands. Most likely, he's about to be interrogated as well.

"Excuse me, kid. Are you alright?" The female officer asked. She has long brown hair and olive-green eyes that reminded him of that FIre Queen.

"Yeah, I'm..." He said as he tried to stand up but his legs kept shaking. It isn't that his legs were injured nor does he shiver from the cold night, it is because the adrenaline has faded from his body. In reality, he was scared throughout the whole fight. Who wouldn't when a gun is aimed at his head? But he held it in until it was over and now his body ran out of fumes. He stood up but only for a millisecond and he was about to fall until the female officer caught him.

"Hey, you're not hurt, are you?" She asked in worry as she helped him sit back on the ground.

"Yeah, I'm just tired that's all," The loner answered.

"Okay then, I'm gonna ask you some questions. Will you answer them honestly?" She asked as she bent her knee so she can be at eye level with him.

"Yes."

"Good. Now, first question,"

The questions were simple enough. She was just asking his name, occupation, about what happened here, and about the pair of arrested criminals. Hachiman swore he felt people staring at him, which they are. Most of them are the customers of the convenience store while others are just neighbors and passers-by that happened to hear the commotion. Some of them are texting on their phones like lunatics to post this incident on social media. They tried to take a picture of the loner but police officers were in time to stop them.

"Alright, that's all I needed to ask. Pleasure doing business with you kid." The female officer stood up and walked away until Hachiman called out to her.

"Hey, wait!"

"Hmm?"

"Aren't you going to ask me about that rape incident? Y'know, the one about 'Isane'?"

"Didn't a detective came to your house?"

"No, it's been a week and no police officers came to me."

"Hmm... It must be that idiot with his stupid projects..." She mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, nothing. If no officer interrogated you about that incident then it must be because they might've found enough evidence to get those bastards in jail." She said while holding her chin, pretending to be thinking. "Don't worry about it, you and the girl are safe now. See ya."

And with that, she left. Hachiman can see there is a huge hole in her reasoning. Even if they had enough solid evidence, they need to at least cover his side of the story so that there would be no holes in the case. It's common sense for detectives to look everywhere to make sure a criminal would face punishment for sure so why didn't they?

So it wasn't Sagami that hid my identity but the police officials? What is going on here? He thought. He could think for hours but couldn't come up with an idea of why the police did that. Are the investigators that incompetent? Impossible, they were employed at the station for their abilities and performances. Is there a lazy scumbag who cheated his way to finish his job faster? Possibly, but they should've ratted him out a lot sooner since Minami's and that big guy's testimonies included "Isato"'s interference of the crime. All possibilities he could think of only ended up being from impractical to just straight-up nonsense. His final theory of this is ridiculous but it might be possible that it would linger his mind longer than the rest he came up with.

Did the higher-ups hide my identity on purpose? If so, then what's their intention? And with that, he triggered another flag in his journey. He will start to dive deeper into the underworld of society as he will face dangers that are beyond him.

And he will become even stronger. But first, he needs his soul to be crushed for that to happen.

Next Day, Morning

30 minutes before school time.

Our protagonist is eating toast for breakfast on the dining table while watching a video on his cellphone with his earphones. The video is about tricks to increase punching power. He felt that in his fight in the convenience store, there were many close calls such as how he was almost got shot with that pistol, how clumsy some of his movements are and them wearing helmets that proved to be his disadvantage. It would've been better if he enrolled himself in martial arts lessons or join in some karate club in school but there were problems that prevented him from doing that; One, his family. He told his sister about one of his crime encounters and she got mad by that. If he tells her or even his parents that he wants to join in some dojo, they would immediately refuse since his sister can convince them with her devilish weapon known as the "Precious Daughter". Two, His reputation. As the Most Hated Man in Sobu High, there's no doubt that he would be treated as a punching bag than an actual member of their group so his only option to get better at fights is to watch and learn. To be fair, he already gained a little combat experience last week with all the crimes he encountered but it was something basic like dodge, block, and hit hard and fast. He could watch a martial arts tutorial video but it requires more than just watching a video and copying moves in order to learn. Martial arts are broad and vary from styles, movement, and practice. Hachiman may be a fast learner but that doesn't mean he can be a combat master just from watching.

"Onii-chan..." Komachi called him and he removed the earphone in his right.

"Yeah?"

"What is that?" She pointed to the TV which is showing security footage of the incident last night but the footage was all blurry and glitching so his face can't be seen clearly but for the little sister, she figured it was him since that's the only convenience store closest to their home. Apparently when that criminal fired two warning shots, one of them hit the security camera and now it was damaged but it still recorded the event. The loner couldn't help but spit his breakfast to her face from shock.

"EWW! GROSS!" The little sister shouted as she wiped her face with a tissue. Hachiman watched the TV with eyes widened and mouth gaped as the footage recorded his actions. From how he knocked out the guy with a motorcycle helmet to his short conversation with that blonde bastard and how he beat up his face. He was lucky that the footage doesn't have sounds or else everyone that watches this would've heard his voice. He slowly moved his eyes to look at her sister, who just stared at him angrily.

"You broke the pinky promise..." She said in a low tone.

"I couldn't help it. They were right there when I was just buying-"

"No excuses." She stood up and opened a drawer. She then walked very slowly to her beloved older brother as she was holding a small transparent plastic container filled with needles.

"U-umm, my cute sister, what is that for?"

"Swallow a thousand needles if you lie..."

"That song was just a metaphor! it wasn't meant to seriously do it!"

"But you broke your promise! And this time those guys have guns! Can't you just think about what would happen to you if you messed that up!"

"I did, but that's not an excuse to just sit there and do nothing." He said with a serious tone.

"...You just don't understand..." She looked down and mumbled. "You don't understand how much pain..."

"Pain? Well, yeah I took a lot of hits throughout the week but I can take it."

"That's not what I meant..." And then there was silence. Hachiman doesn't get what his little sister was talking about but he knew it was something serious. He looked at the video he was watching, contemplating if he really knew what he was getting into but stopped for a moment as he looked at the time in his phone.

"We're gonna be late." He said it nonchalantly as if he didn't care if he was late but moved quickly regardless. Komachi hesitated for a moment and then followed her brother.

"I hope you're a fast runner." He said to her as he opened the front door.

"Eh?"

"I lost my bike, remember?" He said and she stared at him blankly for a few seconds until she realized what he meant.

"EEEH!? I'M GONNA BE LATE FOR THE FIRST TIME?!"

Ten minutes until the first period starts. Hachiman made it in time as he was standing in front of the entrance slightly panting until he took a deep breath and regained his calm demeanor. The loner realized that he's not as tired as he was used to be when he first ran to school. That's because he gained a slight increase in stamina over the past week from fighting and running away. While walking, he took out his phone and put on his earphones to watch that video again to study the mentor's movements as he punched a punching bag.

"-so if you want to increase your punching power, you gotta hit not push. What I mean by that is don't push the bag, you actually need to contract so what I mean is you HIT into the bag, and you squeeze and you create a sharp shock and that shock will make the bag jolt, it will jump out. Don't try to lean in, hit the bag and push it because it doesn't increase your power but it only increases your push-"

Hachiman held his chin when the mentor finished his first trick to increase punching power. The loner thought that by pushing his fist deep in the bad guy's gut, it would have a more devastating blow and that was he had been doing this whole time but it turned out that it had the opposite effect. Contract, squeeze, relax; These words kept repeating inside his mind until he fully understood what the mentor was saying. It's not about sinking his fist in someone's body, it's about giving a strong impact on the opponent's body. His thoughts were interrupted by a painful pinch on his side.

"AW! Aw aw aw!" The loner looked at his side to see who that was and he saw none other than Minami wearing an angry expression while staring at him. He removed one of his earphones and spoke.

"Good morning. Is this how you greet someone?" He asked as he rubbed the spot where he was pinched. It seriously felt like her fingernails pierced his skin.

"...Talk. Just the two of us. Lunchtime." That was all she said before she walked faster and left him behind. He wondered what made her angry all of a sudden. Was it because of their "date"? Or did he miss something that he wasn't aware of? It was no use thinking about it so he continued to walk to his shoe locker and decided to wait for lunchtime for her explanation. He went back on the videos he had downloaded and watched one of them. The videos are all tutorials such as how to take down someone bigger than you, and how to kick faster and harder with a weaker leg. He was so focused on the video that his body went on auto-pilot mode as he opened the locker and took his shoes out without noticing the letters inside the locker. Those letters weren't important, just some death threats and pranks.

Before he even realized it, he already sat on his seat while still watching the video, only for a chalk to be thrown at his head.

"I said to put away your cellphones!" The teacher said angrily. The class sneered at him but he didn't care.

"Were you watching a video? What's it about?" Totsuka asked Hachiman in wonder. It's now lunchtime and he was still in his seat while Totsuka and surprisingly Kawasaki are standing close to him.

"It's nothing, really. Just about that incident at the convenience store." He said it while closing his eyes and waving his hand.

"You mean about that 'Isato' guy? It is getting trending around Japan." Kawasaki said while putting a hand on her waist.

"I saw the news! That guy was really brave when he went up against those motor gang." Totsuka said excitedly. The loner wondered why the world is cruel to make Totsuka male. He may start to believe God doesn't exist and if He does, He's probably dead to him.

"So, are you feeling better now? I don't see any bandages on you." Kawasaki asked with her usual serious face. He already removed the bandages in his body and in his right hand since they're fully healed, but the left hand that got stabbed in his first attempted rape encounter is still there. It is healing but a lot longer than expected since he kept getting into fights. A lot of students and teachers noticed his right hand have scars which were due to him blocking and taking the knife away from the thief. An hour ago, Hiratsuka called out to Hachiman to meet her in the guidance office after school. Most likely, to ask the truth about his injuries. The loner is now feared by other students as some sort of delinquent and many wondered why someone like him is still attending this school.

"Yeah, a week of doing nothing and my hand and cheek is perfectly healed. As for my other hand..."

"Are you left-handed? You shouldn't move that hand too much." Kawasaki said.

"I'm a normal right-handed teenager but yeah I shouldn't move it or else I might go see a doctor and get recommended for amputation." He said sarcastically while smirking.

"Mou~ Please don't say that with a cool attitude. I might think that could really happen." Totsuka pouted. Hachiman was about to retort until he felt his ear pulled.

"Aw aw aw aw!" Hachiman looked up to see who it was and of course, it's Minami with her arms folded while holding a bento box covered in cloth. He raised an eyebrow until he remembered what she said this morning.

"Oh, right." He stood up and look back at the two shocked classmates. "Sorry, I have something to do so- GAH!"

He was interrupted by Minami who pulled his arm and dragged him outside.

"Hey, can I at least get Maxx Coffee?" He asked.

"No." she answered quickly and dragged him even further from the classroom. Meanwhile, the students who remained in the classroom including Hayama and his clique, are going crazy from Sagami's action.

"See, I told you they were dating!"

"No way!"

"Sagami-san must be desperate to find a guy, huh?"

"He definitely blackmailed her."

"Or she must be some masochist."

The air in the classroom is filled with rumors and nonsensical speculations from the students. Someone took a photo of the "couple" at that sushi restaurant and it spread like wildfire. Many students are giving both Hikigaya and Sagami the stares and whispers, trying to figure out how did those two got together, yet they didn't even bother trying to ask the "couple" about it and just want to create rumors for the heck of it. Sagami's reputation also got worsen after she decided to hang out with the loner. She isn't bullied by the students, at least not yet. If that ever happens, Sagami already steeled herself that she will endure it as long as she gets to hang out with the Most Hated Man of Sobu.

While others are just blabbering random speculations, Hayama and Yuigahama think otherwise. They both knew that the loner and the former 2nd most popular girl didn't talk anymore after the Athletics Festival so they wondered what exactly made those two interact with each other again. Yuigahama thought that Sagami decided to talk to Hikigaya because she wanted to make up for him. Hayama, on the other hand, thought that it could really be related to the loner's injuries. The Prince doesn't have much solid information about those injuries but he can tell that they were from something serious and not some cooking accident. He might have to ask Hikigaya after school or tomorrow. He's starting to worry that the loner might actually become a delinquent or that there are people here that bullies him without any restraint.

"What d'ya think, Hayato?" Tobe asked him excitedly.

"Hmmm...I don't know. I don't want to speculate." he answered with the usual fake smile.

"Oh, come on Hayato. Just guess one. It won't hurt anybody." Miura said to him with puppy eyes. He contemplated for a bit and decided to tell them his speculation.

"Maybe it's something about his injuries? Y'know she started talking to him after he got those, right?"

"Ah, then he must've got them from her!" Tobe said it too loudly.

"Eh? What makes you say that?" Yuigahama asked while her head tilted in confusion.

"Well, maybe he's protecting her like he's her princess or something." Yamato suggested.

"What? Like 'Isato'? Hard to imagine Hikitani acting like a hero." Ooka laughed.

"Yeah! People might see him as the bad guy after he saved them. Like, come on~! With those eyes?" Tobe said while trying to imitate the loner's expressions and everyone laughed.

Meanwhile, Totsuka is worried that Hikigaya is being treated even worse and that he doesn't deserve such treatment. The cute tennis player knows better that the loner is a nice person and he's just socially awkward. That is not an excuse for these people to label Hikigaya as a creep. None of them know the real Hikigaya Hachiman. At the same time, Totsuka is glad there is someone who acknowledged his good side. At first, he was worried that Sagami still hated the loner and decided she was planning on getting revenge but he was relieved that it wasn't the case. She is hanging out with the loner a lot more after he got dismissed from the Service Club which Totsuka is still wondering why he was expelled there. He asked Yuigahama and she said that Hikigaya was a lost cause to them so they decided to get rid of him. That confuses the cute tennis player but now he's more worried that the "couple" would be bullied. He looked at Kawasaki and she looked mad at their classmates for spreading rumors.

"They're starting to piss me off." The blue-haired girl said.

"It's frustrating but I think Hachiman and Sagami-san won't be bothered."

"It doesn't matter. These idiots are making fun of them just for the hell of it." She gritted her teeth.

"It's okay. Hachiman is doing fine, that's what matters." Totsuka reassured Kawasaki. They want to stop these rumors but they can't because rumors are uncontrollable. Totsuka is popular so he could try to shut down some of the rumors yet he can only do so much. Frustrating yes, but as the cute tennis player said, what matters is that Hachiman is doing fine.

Hachiman was still being dragged by the arm and he noticed students were staring at them. He isn't bothered by them but what bothered him is that Sagami will be subjected to rumors. The uncontrollable youths of society do not have limits in how ridiculous their blabbering could get. He looked at Minami however he could only see her back but then noticed where they're going.

Are we going to my secret spot? How did she know where I usually eat? The loner wondered until he realized something.

"Hey, can I buy something at the cafeteria. I don't have any food for lunch."

"No." She responded quickly with the same angry tone. The loner is confused about why she's mad. They reached his secret spot and sat down and Minami opened the cloth of her bento box that appears to be too big for one person to eat all of it.

Don't tell me she made that for me.

"Before we eat, I want to talk to you about something." She said as she is fiddling her phone as if she's finding something.

"Okay, as long as you stop being angry at me." He said and now her phone screen is in front of his face showing the footage of that robbery.

"That's you, right?" She said as she pointed at "Isato" in the footage.

"How did you know that was me?" He asked in shock.

"I don't know anyone else who's stupid yet brave enough to beat down these bastards. Besides," She pointed something above her head. "There is only one person I know who can do that with a certain something on his head."

The loner put his hand above his head to find whatever the girl was talking about and actually got a hold of something; His ahoge. He looked back at the footage and noticed that even though it was blurry, someone could see the ahoge on top of his head if he/she looked close enough.

"So what are you mad about? Those guys that tried to rape you are done for thanks to me so what gives? " He asked.

"What gives? You were in danger! What if it ended differently?! You might've gotten yourself screwed!" She asked angrily while leaning forward to close the distance of their face. Minami realized that but she didn't care, she was worried about him.

"Yeah, but I stopped them and everyone's happy. That's a good ending, right?"

"That's not what I...Don't you understand the consequences?"

"I do; I or someone else might get hurt if I messed up but I'm glad I didn't."

"I don't think you do." She mumbled while closing her eyes. They both heard the sound of a stomach grumbling. The loner looked down on his stomach while she just stared at him and sighed.

"Looks like you're hungry."

"Yeah, so can I go to the cafeteria now?"

"Oh, come one you know why I brought you here without letting you buy anything. I know you're not that dumb." She said as she folded her arms.

"Did you seriously make a bento for me?"

"Not for you, for both of us. We're going to share it." She said and opened the bento box to reveal simple egg rolls, chicken fillet, some sliced tomatoes and rice that has an orange color. He noticed that her hands have small bandages on them.

This is her first time cooking? And it's for both of us...

"Stop staring and let's eat already." She said as she handed him chopsticks and grabbed her own.

"Come on, try it." The brown-haired girl reached the bento to the loner and he complied. He used the chopsticks to grab the chicken and had a bite of it and then took some rice.

"H-how is it?"

"Hmm... It's not bad but the chicken is sort of bland and the rice has too many things going on with the flavors."

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah," He picked up an eggroll and ate it along with a piece of tomato. "The egg rolls are nice and it blends well with the fresh tomatoes. Yeah, the real problem is the rice and chicken."

"Seriously?..." She said while looking dejected. She used her chopstick to pick up the rice and chicken and taste them. "I think I put too much sauce."

"Maybe, but we should also look at the other ingredients you put in there." He suggested and she nodded. They're now discussing Minami's problem with her homemade bento while eating it. Hachiman is a decent cook since he used to cook dinner for him and Komachi when they were kids because their parents were still at work most of the time. Now, Komachi is the one cooking their food but Hachiman still has his cooking skills. It felt nice for the loner to having a conversation with someone as kind as Minami. He still isn't sure if she has a crush on him, His previous assumption on Yuigahama's feelings tell otherwise of his analysis. But he does acknowledge the brown-haired girl as a friend. It takes more than one "date" to push the King of Loners' heart.

"You're really brave..." Minami suddenly mumbled while looking at her bento.

"What's that all of a sudden?"

"Well, you risked your life to help people."

My life? The loner thought.

"They could really kill you, y'know? But you weren't scared when they pointed the gun at you nor when you got stabbed by a knife. It's normal for people to be scared of all of that but hey since when are you normal? What I'm saying is... you're so...cool." She said that last word quietly in embarrassment. She looked away to hide her blush while eating the last egg roll. Meanwhile, Hachiman contemplated on what she said. Slowly, he started to realize what she and his worried sister meant.

"...You just don't understand...You don't understand how much pain..."

"What if it ended differently?! You might've gotten yourself screwed!"

Hachiman definitely knew what would happen if he screwed up. He was aware of the consequences but what he didn't fully understand is how heavy those consequences were. At first, his thoughts of said consequences were in a simple concept structure; If he acts, he stops bad guys. If he doesn't, people will suffer along with him. If he acts and succeeds, good ending for everyone. If he acts and fails, bad ending for many. Such a simple concept that it is easy for a child to follow the process. However, this only covers the surface level of the loner's actions and what they will bring.

Death.

An end of life, the true exit from this world, a phenomenon that scares all humans, including our protagonist. The reason why he never thought about it was that he was too focused on saving people, fighting bad guys and being chased by said bad guys. Help, save, protect; these words filled his mind when he encountered something like this, and after saving the day he's exhausted but glad that innocent people were okay. He was aware that butting into trouble would cost his life, like when he encountered those thieves and one of them has a knife, and also that same blonde criminal during their first encounter. He said to himself that he would be dead if he got one fatal hit from that sharp weapon. However, the word "death" didn't strike his head until now. The word itself, he knew and it feared him but what he didn't register was the meaning of "death" and the weight behind it.

Right now, he fully understood that his life would've ended in his serious crime encounters. Not only is Hachiman thinking about his death but other consequences as well. if he failed, Minami would get raped or they both got killed. He would get shot by the robbers and the stolen money and valuables would be lost. His family and "acquaintances" (he doesn't view them as friends yet) would grieve to his death and suffer emotionally. And if he failed, he would bear a very heavy responsibility of the consequences of his actions. A responsibility that is beyond a normal teenager's capabilities.

Hikigaya Hachiman is not a superhero nor some supernatural being, he's just a normal human being who is still going through high school.

"Hikigaya? Hikigaya." Minami called out to the loner. He spaced out when he was contemplating of his actions.

"...I almost died..." He mumbled.

"Eh?"

"...I almost got myself killed, didn't I?" He is not traumatized or anything but his fear of the consequences is spreading in his mind. he covered his mouth and his eyes widened from his realization.

"Helping someone out is not a justifiable reason for you to get hurt"

Hiratsuka's words at the cultural festival replayed in his mind over and over again as he slowly understood what his homeroom teacher meant by that. Meanwhile, Minami looked at him in worry.

"Yeah... you almost did." She mumbled. " And I doubt you'd stop even after you realized that, wouldn't you?"

"...No, I won't stop." He said as he removed his hand from his mouth. "If I'm needed, I won't stop."

The brown-haired girl sighed to that but then she noticed something that made her eyes widened. She heard that he is a smart guy but very lazy and stoic at some classes and the Service Club. She did see that attitude when she first saw him with Yuigahama at the Fireworks Festival. His rotten eyes gave it away of at least some of his true nature but it was mixed with mere speculation and poor judgment on her part. Right now, she couldn't see all that laziness nor stoic in his dead-fish eyes. In fact, his eyes don't look like a dead fish right now! They look normal as his pupils grew as big as what a normal human eye looks like. Keep in mind that Hachiman wasn't born with rotten eyes. They were normal during his childhood but in late middle school, his eyes turned rotten after being bullied by perhaps the entire school. So what that means is that his eyes can turn into normal but it never occurred... until now that is. And Minami has the honor to be the first high school girl to see such a sight. To her, his eyes were filled with passion and determination telling her that he will truly not stop in helping others even if he understands the consequences.

"Sagami? Oi, Sagami?" The loner called out to her aaaannndd his eyes went back to their usual rottenness but witnessing his "transformation" was a sight to behold for the brown-haired maiden.

"E-eh? What?" She said as she was out of her trance.

"Are you okay?"

"U-umm yeah, I'm fine." And that ended their conversation. The "couple" ate the bento quietly with the awkward atmosphere still lingered until the bell rang

"So...Where did you really get those injuries?" Hiratsuka asked the loner with seriousness in her eyes. The teacher and student are alone in the faculty room because apparently the guidance office is currently unavailable for reasons she won't tell. The rest of the teachers either went home or busy doing the work as club advisors.

"I told you it's from a failed cooking attempt. I accidentally cut myself when chopping some ingredients." He said indifferently.

"Oh come on! Even all of that, you still won't budge!?" She shouted and clutched her head and repeatedly banged her head on the desk. This is actually the umpteenth time that she asked about those injuries since he came here. She tried everything to convince the loner; offering cans of Maxx Coffee, cook him her signature stir-fried meat and bean sprouts covered in meat sauce, bribing him, and even offering her treasured manga collection which she valued so much that she hid it under the drawer and did the trap thing that Kira used (1). All of that was useless against Hikigaya.

Just how much does she value her manga? More than her alcohol? The loner thought while sighing. Hiratsuka stopped banging her head and stomped her feet on her desk, surprising and then she pointed her finger at him.

"I have no choice! Then, as a woman, I will allow you to date me if you tell me the truth!"

"I already told you the truth."

"Geh! You still lie even though I used my trump card?!"

"You offering yourself was the trump card?"

"What?... You got a problem with dating me?" She said in a low tone.

"No, just act your age and maybe I'll-" He was interrupted by a fist coming at his gut and redirect it in time with his hand.

"Hoh? So you blocked that one. How many times I've told you not to mention a young lady's age."

"Yes...I'm sorry." He said while grunting in pain as his hand hurts from that punch. He was glad that he watched a video on how to block punches.

"So my hunch was right, you are getting into fights." She said while sitting back at her station.

"What makes you say that?".

"The fact that you got those injuries, got unusually more stamina than others during PE and blocked my punch; it's obvious."

"OR I got these from a cooking accident, got stamina from running back and forth between school and home since my bike is gone, and I'm used to your punch that I blocked it."

"Hmm... Whatever you say. When I find out the truth you'll have some explaining to do." She said as she crossed her legs. Hikigaya was surprised that even his homeroom teacher can't figure out his identity as "Isato" and Sagami was the first to find out about his "vigilante" actions. He then wondered if the older Yukinoshita daughter already found out or maybe that prince charming did. Speaking of Yukinoshita, he wondered how she and Yuigahama are going after his expulsion to the club. He never talked nor approach to either of them since then. Yuigahama started treating the loner poorly though she only talked badly about him behind his back. Yukinoshita on the other hand, well didn't bump into each other so for now he-.

"Excuse me." His thoughts were interrupted by the sliding of the door and the voice from the Ice Queen herself. She formed a scowl towards the loner while he just raised his eyebrow.

"I'm here to return the key." Yukinoshita walked towards them and handed the homeroom teacher the key to the clubroom.

"Oh, okay. See ya tomorrow." Hiratsuka waved at her goodbye and the Ice Queen walked away before stopping. She turned around to look at Hikigaya with the same scowl on her face.

"By the way, Hikigarbage-kun. The contest isn't over yet, even if we've dismissed you from the club." And then she left.

"She's still hung up on that? Don't bother Hikigaya, it won't do you any good to dwell into her taunts. Besides the Service Club is getting a little more clients after you left so you don't stand a chance." Hiratsuka said while folding her arms.

"What contest?" The loner asked.

"Eh? That contest that you both accepted, remember?" She asked and he shook his head in response. At first, she thought he was lying just to hide his anger or any negative emotion towards Yukinoshita but he is actually confused. That's because Hikigaya had a genuinely good time in the Service Club that he seriously forgot about the contest.

"You know, whoever helped the most people wins?"

"...Oh, that?"

"You seriously forgot?"

"Meh, so what? Besides I'm not so petty to compete with her for revenge so tell her that I forfeit." He said while waving his hand indicating he truly doesn't care about a silly contest. And I helped more people than her in a different way. Besides, how are we supposed to score points anyway?

"Okay, you can go home but don't think that our discussion is over." The homeroom teacher stood up and packed her things while Hikigaya stared at her until he spoke.

"Hey, sensei."

"What?"

"I was wondering why your punches are so terrifyingly strong for someone as pretty as you. What's your secret?"

"I told you not to call- wait what did you just call me?" She blushed at that. What he said was half true. He is curious about her absurd strength but not only because of her beautiful appearance, and he DID admit numerous times that he would marry her if no one else will (If he would actually do that), but the real reason was to learn more combat. The videos he watched were useful but it is more helpful if he asked someone with experience.

"I'm serious sensei, both strong and pretty at the same time. It's starting to bother me. I might as well just speculate you've been using some sort of drug to increase your strength while still looking more beautiful by the day...what?" He looked at her while pretending to look confused.

"Flattery won't get you nowhere! Ahem! But if you insist. I'll tell you the secret of my power." She said with a grin while her cheeks are blushing like crazy.

Wow, she's actually that easy to mess with unless she's only pulling my leg here.

"It's a really simple trick past down from the Hiratsuka bloodline so be grateful."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"So, the most important thing of punching is utilizing your entire body to let out your max physical prowess." She posed her fighting stance. "Bend your knees first, then relax your muscles. No need to keep them tense, you would just tire yourself out even before you make a move. close your hand tightly into a fist but not so much that you tense your muscle."

She then performed a straight punch in the air.

"See how my body moves? It started with the legs, then turned my hips and go for the hit. Easy, right?" She said as she stood straight from her fighting stance and picked up her bag.

"Too easy. Are you sure that's all it takes?" The loner asked while folding his arms.

"Sometimes the best answer is the least interesting one." She said and walked away with a smug as if this is some sort of cool anime moment for her. Yes, Hiratsuka Shizuka, the attractive Christmas cake is a shounen fanatic. Maybe not to the point of being a chuunibyou but it's up there. Unfortunately for this beautiful teacher, Hikigaya ruined it.

"It doesn't make you look cool and you just rip off a quote from an anime."

"Geh! You really don't know how to read a woman's heart."

"This and that are different. I'm just teaching you how to be a proper lady for your age-" At this point, Hikigaya didn't realize what he was saying and the consequence behind it. Before he could finish the sentence he noticed an incoming fist to his stomach but he couldn't block it in time.

Few days later 3:00 PM

Only a few days left until the Kyoto trip and our protagonist is currently done buying his necessities for the trip. His group is almost complete with 4 members joined; Himself, Sagami, Totsuka, Kawasaki. Only one member left although he bet Hiratsuka wouldn't mind a group lacking one member. Some things still lingered on the loner's mind such as the police officials not interrogating him about the "Isane" case although it was resolved after the other two criminals (aka the robbers) were arrested. The police also found evidence of their parents using illegal drugs and now they were also arrested and charged. An entire nuclear family being sent to prison. Another thing that comes to Hachiman's mind was Minami. His relationship with her is still puzzling for him. The possibility of her falling in love with him is getting higher every time they hang out but he still felt doubtful about her feelings. He doesn't want to be..."hopeful" to say the least. Plus, he doesn't know how he feels towards her. The progression with their bond is moving too quickly for the loner to register everything they've been doing together. However, one thing is for sure...

...that Sagami Minami is his true friend. So far, his days are going smoothly with no problems whatsoever. Yes, even though both he and Minami are being bullied by some students, to which he gave most of the males a not-so-pleasant return and that got him suspended until the day before the trip, things are looking fine.

"GAAAHHH!"

Well almost.

"You son of a-" The delinquent was interrupted by an uppercut to his chin and then got punched in the gut. His head was pulled up and got headbutted followed by a straight punch in the face.

"Gggghh..." The delinquent fell to the ground as he grunted in pain and couldn't move. Hachiman panted while wiping some sweat in his cheek. His black hoodie with an open zipper, a white plain shirt, and jeans are all covered in dust.

How did he get in this situation, you ask? Let's rewind the clock for about a few minutes.

...

He was just walking his way home with a plastic bag after buying what he needed for the school trip until he heard something strange in a closed roll shutter restaurant. He heard a faint sound of glasses and fragile objects breaking. It was unheard by the rest of the passers-by since he was a lot closer to the restaurant than them.

"It sounds like someone is trashing the place." Mumbled the loner. He leaned his ear on the roll shutter and listened carefully to the sounds inside the restaurant.

"Hahaha, This restaurant is shit but at least there's something fun to do here!"

"Yeah, like breaking their stuff."

"Please stop!" A man was heard begging for the intruders to stop. "I'll give you money so-"

The man was cut off by grunting in pain. Most likely one of the intruders hit the poor man.

"Money? We just want to trash this place because of how shitty your service was. And your damn niece did this to me so this is payback" One of them spoke angrily. Hachiman didn't listen further since he already registered what was going on.

He searched for a way in until he found the back entrance in an alley between the restaurant and another building. His suspicions were confirmed as the door was open and some bolts and screws are on the ground indicating that someone broke into this establishment. He entered and found that he's in the kitchen then he went towards the source of that noise and found five delinquents trashing the tables, decorations, and walls. There is a couple that looks like they're in their 40s just sitting at a table and they appeared to be the owners since they're the only ones there besides the intruders and they're wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, black jeans, and red aprons. The male owner with a shaved head had his face full of bruises and blood dripping on his nose. The woman with hazelnut ponytail could only watch in tears as their restaurant was being ravaged.

The loner sneaked in and hid under the counter as he searched for things that could help him and he saw a bucket full of liquid detergent and a mop inside. He pulled out his cellphone and fiddled with it until he saw what he needed. He propped his head up and saw that the delinquents were too distracted in destroying furniture and talking to each other. That was his chance. He slid the cellphone on the floor into the front entrance as it plays a very loud tune, gaining all of the people in this room's attention.

"What the?" Hachiman saw that three of the delinquents walked towards the cellphone while two are just staring at them.

Here goes. He picked up the bucket and grabbed the mop. He splashed the liquid on the floor without them noticing. One of the two intruders who just stared heard it and turned around, only to be met with a bucket thrown at his face. Hachiman quickly ran towards him.

Bend your knees! Clutch into a fist! Turn your hips! And then contract! He punched the delinquent in the gut as he followed what his homeroom teacher said to him and the video he watched. He followed up with a bash to the head using the other end of the mop.

"Hey!" The three who approached the cellphone saw the commotion and were about to run towards them but they slipped and fell due to the liquid detergent. The three delinquents didn't notice the floor being slippery until it was too late. While they were occupied on keeping their balance and clutching their heads from the fall, Hachiman went for the other guy across the small table as he kicked it forward and hit the delinquent's lower abdomen. Then he reached for his head, banged it on the table then swung the wooden tip of the mop at the side of his head.

Two down, three to go. The loner noticed too late that one of the slipped delinquents ran towards him and got tackled to the ground. As he lay his back on the ground, the delinquent on top of him tried to punch his face but the loner raised his arm to block. Suddenly the delinquent is being grappled in a chokehold by the man who worked here.

"Leave him alone!" He shouted. Hachiman noticed another delinquent charging at them with a bottle of wine. Hachiman took a plate on a nearby table and threw it at his face.

"GAAAHHH!"He screamed in pain while the loner ran towards him but the delinquent noticed so he swung the wine bottle. The loner ducked and then..

"You son of a-" The delinquent was interrupted by an uppercut to his chin and then got punched in the gut. His head was pulled up and got headbutted followed by a straight punch in the face.

"Gggghh..." The delinquent fell to the ground as he grunted in pain and couldn't move. Hachiman panted while wiping some sweat in his cheek.

And that's how our protagonist got here.

"Bastard. Sticking your nose into someone's business." The last delinquent standing said with a scowl as the owner put the choked delinquent unconscious. The last delinquent is wearing a cap, a simple white T-shirt and jeans. He is holding a cloth-wrapped, 23-inch long object. The loner guessed that it could be a shinai (wooden sword used for practicing kendo) but his guess was shattered when the delinquent unwrapped the cloth and revealed it to be an actual sheathed katana.

"Eh?!" Both the male owner and Hachiman gasped and that earned the delinquent a smirk.

"Heh, surprised? I'm the best player in my kendo club but it got boring for me so I want to try my skills with a real sword for fun."

"Just for fun? You trashed their restaurant not only just to get this 'revenge' on their niece but to practice your stupid kendo?!" The loner shouted.

"Shut up! Just stand still so I'll kill all of you. My old man is rich so he'll find a way to clean my mess. So just do me a favor and die already."

"Shut up! Just stand still so I'll kill you. My old man is rich so he'll find a way to clean my mess. So just do me a favor and die already."

The delinquent's eyes widened when he heard the sound of his voice recorded. He looked to the source and saw the woman holding her cellphone and then put it close to her ear.

"Did you get all of that officer?"

"Yes, please hang in there for one minute. The police will arrive shortly."

"WHAT?!" The delinquent couldn't help but shout in surprise and anger. The moment her husband jumped in to help the young hero, she ran towards one of the drawers to pick up a secondary cellphone since her main one was destroyed by one of the delinquents. She used the cellphone to do two things; one was to call the police, and the second was to record their conversation. Isn't it great how technology advances? Anyway, with the evidence in the female owner's hand and with the police hearing their conversation, the delinquent is guaranteed to be sent to prison even with his father's wealth.

"Damn you!" He charged preparing for a frontal strike towards the woman but the husband step in front of her timed his dodge by moving to the side. He then closed their distance and grabbed the delinquent's wrist to prevent him from swinging the katana, and then the male owner punched his side following up with a left hook right in the face. The delinquent let go of one hand from the katana and punched the owner's face. The husband stepped back from the pain that made him let go of his wrist.

He then noticed a blade coming to his right face and ducked only to be kneed in the face and get a thrust kick to the gut and fell on the floor. The loner threw a chair at the katana-wielder but he sliced it in half. Hachiman didn't waste a moment as he tried to punch his face but the delinquent saw that and tilted his head to dodge. The young hero dodged one swing after another with some of them grazed his left cheek and then his right forearm which blood came out. The delinquent performed a downward slash and he evaded to the side. The delinquent quickly did a sideward slash to his face but Hachiman blocked it by catching his wrist while blocking the blade with his left forearm. The loner couldn't help it due to the distance and it resulted in the katana blade digging deep into his forearm and it's bleeding. He resisted the pain and stomped the delinquent's foot, then let go of his wrist to follow up with a right elbow strike to the gut, left knee to the face and then swung a left kick to the side.

"Gah!" The delinquent lost his grab on the katana as the pain took over. The loner wasted no time and grabbed the katana before it fell into the ground. He hit the delinquent's head with the katana's pommel and did a thrust kick to his stomach as he tumbled but landed on his knees. The loud sirens were heard from outside.

"Took them long enough." Hachiman said with a tired tone. He could've called the police before he entered the restaurant but he just wants to look at the situation first before taking any action and well...He did see the situation but he went in and fought the criminals on instinct.

"Damn it!" The now unarmed delinquent decided to run away but he failed to notice one mistake. He landed right next to the male owner.

"Oh no, you don't!" The moment he stood up and tried to run, The male owner quickly jumped at him and both fell with the owner on top. The husband grabbed his neck with the left hand while preparing his fist for a punch with the right. The delinquent struggled until he hit the male owner's wrist as if he was knocking on a door. This made the owner lose his grip and the delinquent grabbed his wrist and forcefully put it on the owner's abdomen and clutched his back. Then he wrapped his leg over the owner's feet and rolled sideways and the delinquent is now on top of him and proceeds to punch his genitals and then his gut. He quickly to stood up and ran towards the room where the back entrance is.

Hachiman tried to stop him with a straight punch but The cap-wearing intruder saw that as he bent his head backward then grabbed his arm to do a single back throw.

"Gah!" The loner was plummeted with his back and grunted in pain. The delinquent tried to approach the woman to take her hostage but it was too late as police officers appeared from the kitchen and pointed their guns at him.

"Freeze! You're under arrest!"'

The delinquent had no choice but to raise his hands to surrender. While the police are busy arresting him, the woman ran towards her husband to check if he's okay.

"Yusuke! Yusuke!"

"I'm...fine! Check the kid if he's alright." They both looked at the loner who couldn't move due to that judo throw with other police officers approached him.

"Can you stand up?" One of the officers asked.

"Yeah...give me a second." Hachiman lifted his head then his upper body but he is struggling with the pain. The officers helped him to get up on his feet and he told them to let go.

"Okay...I'm good."

"You were crazy back there," The male owner spoke and the loner turned to see the couple approach him with the woman supporting her husband by putting his arm over her shoulders. "but thanks for the help kid."

"No problem. But your restaurant..." He looked around to see all the damaged the intruders caused. Decorations were ruined and some furniture and glasses were broken into pieces. They showed no mercy to the poor couple's establishment.

"It's fine," The woman said. "What matters is that we're all safe and those guys are going to jail."

"But he said that his dad is rich. He might come back." Hachiman said in worry.

"That won't happen." They look to see the female officer with long brown hair and olive-green eyes.

"It's you." He said.

"Yup, and here I thought we won't be able to see each other again. Now, question time."

The female officer interrogated them. The couple said that these delinquents met their niece and tried to flirt with her. She was actually lucky that she got away. Then next thing they knew, those delinquents were in the same school as her and then bullied her until it was reported to the faculty, resulted in expulsion for them. So they went here to the girl's family restaurant that she was so proud of boasting and trashed it as revenge.

"Those guys don't know restraint." The loner mumbled.

"Yeah, but I bet this is the last time we saw those bastards. His father may be rich enough to get him out of jail but this time it won't happen.

"This time?"

"This isn't his first crime, unfortunately. A lot of cases such as rape, selling illegal drugs, robberies, and suspected to have murdered some people. His father paid all the charges against him but this he can't because his company is getting close to bankruptcy and he had grown tired of spoiling him." The female officer explained.

I guess his attitude is from poor parenting. I understand the guy but it's not an excuse to commit these crimes. Hachiman thought.

"Well let's get you all to an ambulance to treat those injuries." She said as she guided them outside. Hachiman realized late that this is the same sushi restaurant that both he and Minami went once.

"Hey, kid." Yusuke called the loner. "What's your name?"

"...Hikigaya Hachiman."

"I knew I've seen you before."

"Yeah, I ate here a week ago with someone. We ordered those foods for couples but we didn't know that until they gave it to us."

"Yeah, you two were hilarious to watch." The couple laughed while Hachiman sighed.

"I'm Isehara Yusuke and this is my wife, Isehara Mihara."

The loner froze at that. Isehara is a surname that he remembered all too well.

"Ise...hara?" He asked just to make sure he heard it right.

"Yeah, nice to meet you kid." Yusuke grinned and reached out his hand for a handshake. Hachiman hesitated for a few seconds until he smiled back and held his hand.

"Hey, hurry up!" The female officer shouted at them as the ambulance arrived. The loner walked quickly leaving the couple behind.

"Hikigaya...Hikigaya..." Mihara mumbled.

"Something about his name?" Her husband asked.

"I think he was that boy who went to the same elementary school that my sister worked at."

"Your sister was a teacher there, right? So he was one of her students?"

"Yes...and I heard that there was a child being bullied in her homeroom class but she didn't do anything to stop it and that led to being fired from that school."

"All just to protect her daughter from being punished by the school."

"...The boy became a strong kind man." She said with a warm smile.

"...Yeah, but his eyes looked rotten. And did you see how he reacted when we told our names? He looked shocked and I can tell a fake smile when I see one." Yusuke said as he looked at the loner in worry.

"I hope his life didn't get worse in high school." She said with the same worried expression.

(1) Death Note reference

Thank you for reading this story. Please leave a review as your opinions will help me make this story better.