Genuine Courage

by MagicName88

He proclaimed himself to be the King of Loners, a selfish, cynical man whom everyone thought of him as a creep, and he's proud of being all of that. And yet, he always helped people with their problems even if he's being hated or forgotten in the end. Even after being betrayed by his clubmates, he continued to help people, and now he will help them even in the face of danger.

5. Chapter 5: The Value of History and Myth

Hello everyone, it's me still kicking. Let me say this right now that the news of COVID-19 is literally taking a toll on my mental health. Each news whether good or bad just make my anxiety grew and it distracted me from writing. My message is not to ignore the news but to take a break from it. Sometimes, you need to relax and have fun outdoors or indoors (if you're in quarantine or lockdown). It is best that you don't focus too much on bad things and just enjoy your life to the fullest. Stay strong, stay healthy. We are in this together. This pandemic will disappear eventually sooner or later. We just have to wait and do our part.

Phew! Now with that out of the way. Let's get into the reviews!

bosdicha: I don't think a hurt/comfort tag is necessary. Yes, there will be a chapter where its main focus is his suffering and all that but in the end, it's not exactly the most important focus of the story.

jargax: Thank you for liking this. Your review was helpful to the chapter

cell: Don't worry, that was just a comedy skit. No need to take that seriously

Mr. N0Name: When I started this fanfic, I can see the problems with how awkward the writing was. I'm still getting used to the third person view story but I'm glad that you acknowledged my improvement.

Shadbin10: Geez, you don't have to be so harsh but thank you for sharing your opinion.

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

---

The loner just stared at the policewoman known as Miura Yumiko's mother after she gave him terrifying news about the mystery person. Hikigaya Hachiman was always thinking about this mystery person and what his/her motives are in hiding the hero, "Isato". He would come up with possibilities that he could think of no matter how nonsensical his theories reached. Thinking optimistically, Hikigaya's first possibility was that the mystery person hid his identity because he is a loner and the person didn't want to disrespect his position as one but that probability is less than zero since the mystery person wouldn't go so far as to not let detectives interview Hikigaya about the "Isane" case and the recent restaurant incident. That incident turned into a very serious case as the leader of the group of delinquents is the son of a CEO of a company, and the leader committed more serious crimes than that incident. Hikigaya expected that detectives would knock on the door and asked questions about it but once again, none showed up as the case was closed and they sent that group to prison. However, he did hear that the leader got out after his father paid all the charges.

And that leads to the more realistic possibility, that the loner is being targeted by criminals and he's kept hidden from the public and reports in order to protect him. That scared Hikigaya because for someone to have a grudge that person will try to kill him, torture him, or even get his family and close friends involved. The more he thought about how possible that might be, the more he is becoming more afraid of what would happen to him and others. He was glad that the police department exists to protect innocent individuals such as him.

However, his view of the police department might've been shattered in an instant from this policewoman's statement. Instead of being targeted by criminals, he was targeted by someone from the same constituted body that enforces law, ensures safety, health, and possessions of citizens, and prevents crime and civil disorder. The very same agency that citizens around the world trust to strengthen justice and safety in their societies.

"H-hold on a second," The loner stuttered. "What do you mean by that? What does that person want with me?"

"I told you, you'll know him once you meet him." The policewoman answered with a sigh. "Don't let that bother you for now. You got a school trip to enjoy and a girl to keep you occupied. I promise that idiot won't go too far on you."

"How can I enjoy my trip after you gave such a bombshell?"

"Just ignore that and have fun. It's even better if you have someone with you to have fun with."

"How are you so sure that I won't just freak out and have a mental breakdown?"

"Because that's what I do. Police work is serious business despite the low crime rate. I have my fair share of experience in stopping serious crimes and during those incidents, I learned one thing: You don't know when will life punches your gut. The only thing I can do is keep my gut muscles relaxed rather than tensing it up. What's the point of tensing yourself all over when you don't know when that punch come at you? You'll just get tired and your muscles will hurt even more."

"...I see." Hikigaya said with a look of realization.

"So just have fun as much as you can. Get crazy! It's the only thing that a normal teenager would do." She said with a wink and Hikigaya responded with a smile.

"Thanks..." He bowed.

"Uhuh. Now get going, I don't want Yumiko suspecting us to have an affair or something. See ya, Hikio!" She closed the windows and finally left after noticing that her daughter was watching inside the station. Miura Yumiko couldn't hear their conversation, but she could tell that from their expressions, they were discussing a serious topic. Meanwhile, our protagonist contemplated her words and cleared his mind. He doesn't like doing normie things such as having fun in a school trip or taking ridiculous amounts of pictures but if that's what he needs to enjoy himself before the inevitable encounter then he would gladly do it. Or rather he would gladly tolerate it to distract himself even if he gets a painful headache.

"Gotta make the most out of it." He said as he finally went inside the station. He saw hundreds of second-year students along with Sagami, Totsuka, Kawasaki and even Zaimokusa and the train that they will ride to get to Kyoto. The loner noticed Hiratsuka standing in front of his classmates doing a roll call.

"Hikigaya...Hikigaya?" She called out his name.

"Here." Hikigaya answered behind her and the homeroom teacher yelped. She turned around to see her lone student with his usual stoic expression and a noticeable scar on his right cheek.

"Don't scare me like that!" Hiratsuka shouted and punched his gut.

"Gah!" He grunted. "S-sorry..."

"Just get in line." She said as she went back to finishing the roll call. Hachiman walked towards Sagami and the group to greet them, but something stopped him. He noticed someone that the loner never thought he would approach again after being kicked out of that club. Her appearance is still the same no matter how many times he glanced at her in the classroom: Light orange hair tied in a loose bun on the side; peach-reddish eyes; and her cheery, outgoing aura is still the same as ever as she talks to Totsuka.

Yuigahama Yui, former clubmate and now a stranger to Hikigaya Hachiman.

"Hikigaya!" Minami noticed him and called out while waving.

"Yo." He said while he's still staring at Yuigahama. "So why is she...?"

"Sorry we didn't tell you before," She said while closing her hands together and bowing her head. "We were about to be a four-member group but yesterday at the last minute, Yui asked us to join since Hayama's group were full and so was everyone else's."

"Is that so? Then it's fine, I guess."

"Are you sure? After what happened-"

"You don't need to take that seriously. I'm over with it since I have you now."

"Eh?!" The brown-haired girl gasped at that with her face burning red.

"Sorry, I mean that I have someone to be a true friend." He said it nonchalantly while waving his hand.

"R-right." She stuttered.

"Alright, it's time to hop on the train," Hiratsuka exclaimed to the class. "When we get to Kyoto, I wanna see you brats have fun and go all out. Got it!"

"Yes sensei!" The class shouted except for Hikigaya and Kawasaki who didn't respond.

"Alright, get in there and show Kyoto who's boss!"

"YEEAAAHHH!"

"Early in the morning and they're already wasting their energy," Hachiman said with a scowl. "Damn normies."

"While I still don't like that mindset of yours," Kawasaki said while closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "I have to agree with you."

"Don't be such a downer, Hikigaya." Minami intervened and suddenly grabbed the loner's arm, surprising him. "Come on, let's go!"

"O-oi, don't just-"

"Nope! Not letting go!" She said as she clung to his arm and dragged him inside the train while ignoring Hachiman's dispute.

"Woman, you are aware that I am a world-class loner with years of experience that could rival the biggest losers in this dimension. I may have been enlightened of the dark side of youth and society and for long I have mastered the ways of cynicism and see the world through logic and realism, HOWEVER, I'm still a teenage male with hormones still remained in my body. Do you understand? What I'm trying to say is don't crush my arm between your breasts! Or else I might get the wrong idea and I might be knocking at death's door any minute." Hachiman screamed in his mind as he felt the soft human body part delicate for women. Minami's breasts aren't as big as someone like Yuigahama's but it is big enough to give a nice, soft sensation to get any guys' hormones boiling, including Hachiman himself.

"I-is this also part of the Laws of Boobitation?... As expected of Newton." He mumbled.

"What's that?" The brown-haired girl asked in confusion.

"Nothing." While the "couple" was deciding where to sit, the popular clique is having their own troubles.

"So what do we do about the seating arrangement?" Yuigahama asked the clique.

"Does it matter?" Hayama answered while putting his bag on a rack.

"Dibs on the window seat!" Miura exclaimed while carrying her heavy luggage and Hayama offered a helping hand. "Thanks, Hayato!"

"Hmmm..." Meanwhile, the orange-haired girl is still contemplating.

"Come on, Yui, Ebina." The Fire Queen called them to sit with her.

"Then! Hina can sit there and Tobecchi next to-" Yuigahama was interrupted by Ebina pushing her to the seat she pointed at.

"Nah, you get in there," Ebina said as she pushed her down at the sit. "I'll sit here and Kawasaki-san sits facing me."

"Eh? Um no, I'll go find a seat somewhere-" Kawasaki wanted to refuse but Ebina persisted as she grabbed her arm.

"What should we do?" Totsuka asked the "couple" with Hachiman just stared at the clique along with Minami who is still hugging his arm.

"Let's go to the far back." The loner answered. "I don't want to get in the middle of whatever the hell these idiots doing."

"I'm okay with that!" Minami said while hugging his arm tighter, which made Hachiman flinched and his cheek blushed.

"First of all, let go of me." He said to her with a stoic expression, although the red on his cheek is noticeable by the two companions. In the end, the brown-haired girl complied.

"Sorry." She apologized with a smile and scratching her cheek.

And thus, the three-hour-long trip to Kyoto has begun. The Sobu High School students relaxed on their seats as the excitement filled the train and Hachiman's group is no exception. Totsuka, Minami and even the loner converse with each other about Kyoto and the things to do there. Hachiman's worries about the mystery person slowly diminished and almost forgot about it. Almost.

"You have my condolences."

The words of the policewoman still lingered in his mind. She really picked a bad timing to say those words on the day of this school trip. The game that the mystery person created might be a lot more dangerous than he previously speculated due to adding the fact that the person is part of the police department. He saw news and articles about corrupt politics and agencies hiding in the dark worldwide. Some have their evil deeds exposed to the public while others remain as conspiracies and others proved their innocence. For a pathetic high school student such as Hachiman to enter a world of corruption and adults so early is beyond comprehension. He wondered if society's unfairness could go to that length but he already knew the answer.

"Society is already a messed up structure. And humanity adapted in its environment." Hachiman said in his mind. Truly, society is not perfect, but humans are able to live in its conditions into a normal habitat for them.

Adaptability, one of the most powerful abilities humans inherited throughout time. Hikigaya, of course, has those traits as he already adapted in the changes in his school life and to others and now, he will adapt to the changes of whatever the world will give him.

...

And then 2 hours have passed

"Hachiman..." The angelic tennis player who is at the window seat mumbled in his sleep. Some students fell asleep while others are still talking to each other or playing card games. Our protagonist, who sat in the middle, is still awake not because he has more energy to keep his eyes open, but the situation he's in now causes him to be in a state of panic. As Totsuka was sleeping while mumbling his name and other nonsense, Minami is also sleeping but she did something sinful and unforgiving...

and it's that she is resting on his shoulder.

"I know I said that I should adapt but can a normal teenage male adapt in THIS?!" The loner internally voiced out his anxiety and then he realized something. "Oh wait, I'm not normal. I'm just pathetic and a loser."

"Hachi..." Minami mumbled in her sleep and it made him flinched. Two beautiful girls... no, one beautiful boy and one beautiful girl...An ANGEL and a beautiful girl dreaming about Hachiman. It's like something out of a harem series. Hachiman is glad that they sat on the far back or else he might face the wrath of the normies who dreamed of this situation happening to them. He wished to shove Minami off him but that would be disrespectful and not gentleman-like so he let this go for now and closed his eyes hoping to get some sleep. Unknown to the loner, a certain orange-haired girl is approaching their proximity with a tired expression.

"God, that was harder than I thought," Yuigahama thought while she sat on an aisle. "Tobecchi got scared out of his wits by Kawasaki sitting next to him that he couldn't keep a convo going at all. As for Hina..."

"Hey! Hey! Hear me out. Which is the sub: window seat or aisle?" Ebina asked Kawasaki, who was trying to ignore her while resting her chin.

"Hina's going even crazier than usual..." The orange-haired girl then took out her cellphone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Yuigahama-san?"

"Yahallo... Yukinon." Yuigahama said on the phone with a sigh.

"Is something wrong? Is it about the request?" Yukinoshita asked.

"Yeah...It's a lot harder than I thought."

"It's okay, Yuigahama-san. This is only the beginning. Let's use Kyoto's landmarks to get them closer."

"Okay! Soooo how's it going?"

"I'm fairly well as always. My classmates are very noisy in the excitement of this trip but it's fine ."

"Ah, I can hear them shouting from the phone."

"Yes, they're quite bothersome. I thought they would be more ladylike to not act like children, but in the end, this happened."

"It's because we're going to Kyoto! You got me excited after telling me about the...uhh...umm," Yuigahama looked up and held her chin. "Ayakashikama?"

"Arashiyama." Yukinoshita corrected her.

"Yeah! That one! And also-"

"Excuse me, Yukinoshita-san?" A female voice interrupted on the phone. "May I talk to you about the arrangements?"

"Please wait a moment." Yukinoshita whispered, but Yuigahama heard it. "Sorry Yuigahama-san, we'll discuss this later."

"Oh, okay!" And the call ended. The orange-haired girl sighed once more and turned to her right to see the three companions sleeping although unknown to her, Hikigaya is awake the whole time and pretended to sleep as he heard her talking on the phone. It's really difficult to sleep when two beauties are beside him.

"Hikki..." She mumbled while staring at him and then looked at the scars on his hands. Yuigahama felt like each time she turned to look at him, a new scar appeared somewhere on him and this time, she saw a new scar which is on his right cheek. Each scar multiplied her guilt every time she looked at them.

Yuigahama knew that the Service Club was his sanctuary as well. A sanctuary where he finally learned that there could be a good side of this "youth" that he hated so much. And then the two clubmates expelled him from the club. She feared that his reformed image towards life might've been shattered from that one, venomous betrayal. Hikigaya won't get away with the same excuses to hide his injuries now. Yuigahama suspected that Hiratsuka, the homeroom teacher and his sort of personal counselor, will take action on helping the loner of whatever problems he has that would make him walk the path of delinquency.

"But I don't think I need to worry, huh?" She said as she then looked at Sagami who was still sleeping on his shoulder. The bubbly airhead never expected that Sagami would be the one to hold his hand at the time he needed the most. Sagami was enraged and afraid of him after the rooftop incident, but after the Athletics Festival, they were only neutral to each other and never talked after the event. That's why it was more surprising when Sagami approached him and asked him out on a "date". Whatever happened to the two of them, she felt relief that Hikigaya didn't falter. She couldn't be real friends with him but she can still act kind towards him because it's normal to do so toward a kind person such as him.

"And as long as Yukinon isn't here, she won't get mad at me." Yuigahama nodded to herself and stood up to go back to her clique. After hearing her footsteps and her voice talking to her friends, Hikigaya opened one eye to look around.

"Based on her conversation with the Ice Queen, They could be talking about a request," The loner speculated. "Not like it matters to me."

"Hachi..."

"Hachiman..."

"Right, now I need to find a way to escape this dangerous trap." He mumbled as he searched for a way to get out or at least try to get used to his current situation while not waking up the two beauties.

---

"We're here!" Both Sagami and Totsuka shouted after going out of the train. Hikigaya and Kawasaki followed them with tired expressions and their backs slouched while carrying their own luggage. Ebina kept talking to the silvery blue-haired girl who was trying her best to answer glasses-wearing fujoshi with short replies until the train reached its destination. Hikigaya on the other hand, was stiff throughout in the train and no, not that kind of stiff. Our protagonist was just frozen in place sitting in the center of what every man would call Heaven but for him, it was Hell. He did his best to not give in to temptation while also not DYING from resisting it.

"I just got here and I'm already exhausted..." Hikigaya mumbled with a sigh.

"What a coincidence, so am I..." Kawasaki also mumbled with a sigh.

"I understand Kawasaki-san, but Hachiman got tired already?" Totsuka asked while tilting his head.

"L-let's just say there is something that kept me awake." The loner said while averting his eyes away, not noticing that Minami knew what he was talking about. Minutes before arriving in Kyoto, the brown-haired girl already woke up and realized that she was sleeping on Hachiman's shoulder and quickly stood up from her seat. She saw his sleeping face and whispered an apology before going to the restroom while blushing. Unknown to her, he was pretending to sleep and heard her apology.

"C-come on, Hikigaya! Let's take a picture." Minami stuttered while still blushing from that and dragged the loner once more.

"Oi, I don't like taking selfies." He denied her request while resisting her pulling his arm.

"This won't take long, I promise!" Minami said with a pout and the loner complied while sighing. They took pictures using her cellphone with just the two of them and then pictures of the entire group minus Yuigahama.

"Hikigaya, learn how to smile, will you?" She said in a disappointed tone. "And you too, Saki-chan..."

"My smile would curse the pictures." Hachiman said with his arms folded.

"Are you some kind of warlock or something?"

"Yes, my smile is one of my most powerful dark magic spells so don't expect me to smile without giving misfortune."

"Ugh, whatever. As for Saki-chan..."

"I-I tried my best didn't I?" Kawasaki said in embarrassment. The silvery blue-haired girl did smile, but it was obviously forced and in some of the pictures, her eyes darted away from the camera. In the last few pictures, she gave up and just folded her arms.

"Well...at least you look adorable trying your best." Minami complimented while looking at the pictures.

"Alright brats!" Hiratsuka called out to her students. "Get in line for the bus. We'll first go to the inn to unpack and then we go to Kyoto's landmarks so save your pictures for later. Got that?"

"Yes, sensei!" Most of her students replied, and the entire class got on the bus. It only took a few minutes to reach the inn and quickly unpacked their luggage in their respective rooms. The first place the students went to is the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, a Buddhist temple that is one of the most popular sightseeing spots in Kyoto due to the temples's magnificent wooden stage that shows the beautiful landscape. Our protagonist and his class were busy admiring its ancient history and beauty while taking pictures.

"Again, will it kill you to smile on camera for once?" Minami asked, irritated by the pictures they had taken.

"And again, my smile would curse those pictures forever and bring misfortune." He rebutted.

"Just one smile?" She pleaded.

"No."

"What if I say that I like being cursed?"

"What kind of girl wants something scary like being cursed?"

"The kind of girl who wouldn't mind as long as her man is there to share those misfortunes."

"I feel sorry for that girl."

"Girls are a lot stronger than you think so she doesn't need your pity."

"...You're not backing down, are you?"

"Nope! We're gonna do one more time," She traced her mouth into a smile. "So smile!"

"Ugh, fine." He complied and the "couple" took a picture one more time with the temple in the background. In that picture, Minami linked arms with Hachiman and winked at the camera while smiling. Hachiman did smile, but it was so forced that people would think something was wrong with him.

"Yup. That picture is now cursed." He said with a blank expression.

"This is good!" She exclaimed while humming happily and then pulled his linked arm to drag him somewhere. "Let's go over there and take a picture!"

"What? We're doing more?"

"Of course we're doing more! And if the storage in my cellphone got full, we'll use yours okay?"

"You have got to be kidding me..." He murmured wearily and allowed the brown-haired girl to pull him somewhere. Meanwhile, Hayama and the clique along with some of the schoolmates watched their entire display of "affection".

"Damn, those two don't hold back on being all lovey-dovey, huh?" Ooka said with arms behind his head.

"Not like we can complain," Yamato spoke beside him. "They're just doing what they supposed to be doing as a couple."

"That's right!" Yuigahama said excitedly. " Come on, let's go to that spooky hall over there."

"The Zugui-do Hall, huh?" Hayama read the sign.

"It looks so dark inside..." Miura spoke, pretending to be afraid, and then suddenly clutched Hayama's arm. "I'm scared, Hayato~!"

"How about we go by pairs?" Yuigahama suggested.

"I'm gonna sit this one out." Ooka said while raising his hand.

"Same here," Yamato joined him. " I wanna buy some souvenirs."

"Oh okay!" Yuigahama waved at them and then approached Totsuka. "Sai-chan, can you come with me to that creepy hall?"

"Sure!" He agreed.

"Then, Yumiko and Hayato can go first, and then Tobecchi and Hina! The two of us will go last." The bubbly airhead suggested. "If we go in at different times, we can give them the chance to be alone."

---

"Wow, it's so pretty~!" Minami leaned over the wooden fence as she looked at the landscape. Hachiman and Minami are now at the main hall's large wooden viewing stage that juts out over the mountainside, looking at the beautiful view of the autumn leaves as they represent fall. The autumn leaves and green leaves of the trees made an astonishing color combination. The "couple" was convinced why the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple is a world heritage site in Japan and it's because of this wonderful view.

"Yeah, it is..." Hachiman also couldn't help but admire the beautiful scenery.

"Hey, Hikigaya." She called his name while still looking at the scenery.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"You're good at Japanese history, right?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Tell me about this place..."

"You mean its history?"

"Yup."

"Let's see..." He looked up to think of a short summary of the temple's history. "Well, it was founded in the early Heian period by a shogun named Sakanoue no Tamuramaro."

"Who was that?"

"He was a shogun who subjugated a group called Emishi due to their resistance against Japanese Emperors. It is said that the Tanabata festivals and parades in the Aomori Prefecture were popularized in remembrance of his campaign in subduing those tribal societies then living in the Tohoku region."

"What, seriously? That festival is for making wishes on a bamboo tree! Not making people remember something awful!"

"Uhuh. The general had come to this mountainside to hunt deer as an offering to the gods for his sick wife and met Enchin who carved the wooden figure of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. He lectured the general about life and all that and turned him into a profound devotee to Kannon and built a hall to properly enshrine the wooden statue of that goddess."

"Hunting for his wife...And then building this temple we see right now. I guess he wasn't exactly that bad..."

"You got something wrong there. While he founded this temple, another shogun named Tokugawa Iemitsu constructed the buildings that were standing today."

"Now who was he this time?"

"He basically crucified Christians, expelled all Europeans from Japan and closed the borders of this country."

"Oh, you mean that Isolation Policy, right?"

"Yup."

"Geez, people were screwed up back then, huh?"

"Hmph. Not like anything changed here in the present," He said while folding his arms. "People here are still screwed up for adapting to our government's bureaucracy and that's not even half of this idiots' problems."

"There you go again," Minami sighed. "So about this temple?"

"Oh right. Tokugawa Iemitsu actually rebuilt these buildings because they were once burned down in a fire. By his order, they reconstructed and restored most of the buildings during the 17th century, including the temple's three-story pagoda."

"Hmmmm..." Minami rested her head on her arms. "You think he did that for propaganda?"

"I don't remember," Hachiman held his chin. "Heian period was an era when arts and literature were popular and the Japanese in the past were religious in Shinto and Buddhism."

"If you were born in that era, you would've been the number one master in arts and literature."

"Of course I would. Learning Japanese History and Literature is like being proud of your blood as a Japanese, so I am a bona fide patriot."

"Heeeeh~? Even though you said things about people being screwed up because of the government?"

"That was about the cause of our citizens' downfall. This is culture we are talking about so it's different."

"Smartass."

"Yes, I am smart."

"Shut up!" Minami giggled while Hachiman smiled from their conversation until her tone suddenly shifted. "Hey, Hikigaya. If I was smarter, do you think I would find more friends like you?"

"That came out of nowhere. What's the matter?" The loner asked in confusion as he raised his eyebrow.

"Nothing," She shook her head. "It's just that... I was stupid back then before I met you. Always thinking of how to be more popular, having crushes on hot guys yet never made a move on any of them. It was because of me being an idiot that my so-called 'friends' backstabbed me. After the Athletics Festival, I convinced myself to start from square one. Who would've thought that it would start with you?"

Minami approached Hachiman and rested her head on his chest, surprising the loner.

"If I was smarter back then, would I be able to make friends with people like you?" She said as she looked down with her hands behind her back.

"...I don't know," He answered as he hesitated to hug her or pat her head but he refrained from doing so and continued to speak. " I'm the rarest being of the human species after all."

"Hahaha," She giggled and raised her head to look at him with a smile. "Yeah, I can't imagine another person like you."

"Sagami-san~! Hachiman~!" Both turned to look at Totsuka approaching them while waving at them and noticed he was with Hayama's clique along with Kawasaki following them. "It's so pretty!"

"That's some view," Ooka said with a smirk. "Sorry to ruin your moment, lovebirds."

"Oi, Ooka." Hayama scolded him with his signature fake smile. "Sorry about that."

"Um...no problem." Minami reassured him with a nervous tone. This is her first time talking to Hayama after the Cultural Festival. Meanwhile, Hachiman is looking at him skeptically which was noticed by the blonde prince and only responded with his flashy smile. Hayama then tilted his head to point at something to which the loner looked at the direction to see Ebina and Tobe.

"Why is he pointing at those two?" Hachiman analyzed what the blonde prince's action meant. Tobe and Ebina are talking to each other although it's just Tobe being annoying and loud while Ebina answered with short replies which the loner assessed that as a strange behavior from her. Ebina Hina is a crazy fujoshi who won't hesitate to speak about her preferences on Yaoi and sexual innuendos. But now...

"Woah! The view is like so big and cool! Right, Ebina-san!?" Tobe asked while enthusiastically pointing at the scenery.

"Yeah, it is. Especially since it's autumn season." Ebina answered with a smile. Her voice sounded tame...There was excitement in her tone but Hikigaya noticed it was rather forced. For some reason, the loner always listened to the clique's conversation before classes starts or during break times and he had his fair share of having a "conversation" with the glasses-wearing fujoshi. He could tell the difference in their tones only by a slight margin but the most important part of his observation is the facial expressions.

"It's like someone glued a smile on her face. It doesn't look...natural" He thought as he analyzed her facial expression. Only he and Hayama are able to realize that unnatural smile. "With that fact, along with Hayama pointing at those two could mean that there is a problem within his clique and the main source is-"

"Hachiman! Let's take a picture." Totsuka interrupted his inner dialogue. "Come on, you too, Kawasaki-san."

"O-oi! Not you too!" Kawasaki whined as she was being pulled by both Totsuka and Ebina to take pictures.

"Speaking of pictures~." Minami said in a mischievous tone and he didn't miss that.

"Please, no." He pleaded.

"Remember to smile!" She grinned while giggling. He reluctantly followed her with a weary expression, not knowing that Miura has been staring at him for a while now.

---

Nighttime, Back at the Inn

"Crap, too tired." Hikigaya sighed while lying on the futon near to the balcony. He said to himself that he would gladly tolerate doing these "normie" activities in order to distract himself, however, he was this close into giving up all that and go back to being stressed out from the mystery person. Whenever they went into a different spot, Minami would ask him (A. K. A force him) to take selfies whether he gets tired or just annoyed. It was unknown to our protagonist why he couldn't refuse her. It's not like he would be frozen to death by an Icy glare, nor will he get punched in the gut nor will she do the puppy eyes. Although he expected her to pinch him that expectation somehow subsided and instead realize that she would actually annoy him into following her requests because that's what she had been doing every time he refused to take a selfie with her or the group.

"Hey, let's play some cards!" Tobe's loud voice was heard through the door. Unfortunately for Hikigaya, he will be sleeping with Hayama and his annoying "friends".

"If someone told me that this is a torture room or some detention room, I would believe that right off the bat." He internally voiced out his frustration and anger but those emotions soon disappeared because he found out that there is a silver lining to this "hell". As he thought of that, the door slid open to reveal Hayama, Tobe, and other roommates behind their backs but he didn't care about them because he saw the angel that could heal him.

"Wow, so this is our room?" Totsuka said while closing her hands together and went inside to look around until he saw Hikigaya. "Hachiman? You're here pretty quickly."

"I got tired already so want to go to sleep." The loner explained.

"Oh," the silver-haired angel realized that. "Sagami-san did drag you around a lot."

"I saw you two taking pictures and talking a lot," One roommate said. "You really went all out for this trip, huh?"

"It's more like Saga-chi went all out and Hikitani-kun just got pulled along," Tobe said with a smirk. "Like he's her pet or something! Ah, don't tell me that's like, your kink or something?!"

"No, it's not." Hikigaya quickly denied his claims and laid back down. It puzzled him why they suddenly talked to him despite his reputation. "I just can't refuse her no matter how annoying these so-called 'selfies' would get."

"Hohoo~?You're one hell of a boyfriend material," Another roommate said while sitting down on a futon. "Then again, Sagami-san is that pretty. Kinda see why you would force yourself to do all that just to hang out with her."

"I know right?" They all laughed, and Hikigaya's eye twitched in annoyance from that. He felt an emotion that is unknown to him when those extras started to compliment Sagami of her looks. This unknown emotion starts to bother him the longer they talked about her and so he stood up and wore his dark-greenish hood and went to the door.

"Ah, Hachiman? Where are you going?" Totsuka asked.

"Getting some coffee." That was his only answer before he left.

"Ya think he got jealous of us talking about his girl?" The roommate asked them.

"It's your fault you started fantasizing about her and some other weird crap." The other roommate scolded.

"What kind of weird crap was I spouting?"

"You went from saying "pretty" to getting into creepy details, bro."

"What? How's complimenting her earrings creepy?"

"Sometimes people freak out when you like, see something they didn't see." Tobe folded his arms.

"Earrings aren't that small to not notice. It's not weird."

"Bro, you then started talking about noticing her breast growing bigger."

"Hey, I think that was me, but I swear that her breast grew a little bigger. Like, after we found out that those two were dating."

"Did you have some supervision or something?" Hayama said between laughs. "Or maybe you were so focused on breasts that you started seeing things."

"Hey, don't look at me like I'm some kind of crazy, Hayato!" The roommate shouted and turned to Totsuka. "Let's ask Totsuka-san and see what she thinks."

"That's a good idea." The other roommate and Tobe nodded.

"Eh? Well..." The silver-haired boy held his chin with a finger. "I don't look at girls' breasts. It never comes to my mind when we talk about girls. As for that 'creepy details' thing...I don't really know a lot what girls think. I mean... I'm a guy after all."

"Ah," All of the roommates except Hayama made a look of realization. "I forgot, you're a guy. Damn it."

"Hmm?" Totsuka tilted his head while Hayama raised an eyebrow, both are confused by that statement.

---

"They don't have Maxx Coffee?" Hikigaya looked at the vending machine in misery from not seeing his favorite coffee brand anywhere inside. "I guess I have to go with this then..."

He pressed the buttons on the vending machine and waited for the can to fall. After getting the can of coffee, he sat on a couch and thought about what he felt earlier. The unfamiliar feeling disappeared, but he's still disturbed from that.

"Just what was that." His inner monologue began. "It was like that time at the restaurant when I first saw Komachi hanging out with that bug...No, this is different. It was like...When Sagami told me she was harassed, I lost my rational thinking and just acted violently. No, that was different, but it's also connected to this unknown feeling..."

"... Sagami...That girl...She is the source but why?" He opened the can and sipped its contents. Before he could finish the drink, someone in front of him caught his eye. The loner didn't expect he would see her again after that. To him, it was almost as if they were separated for years now. All the "friendly" banter, and the comfortable air they both breathe in the sanctuary of the Service Club, were all static in his mind like it was just illusive images created from his imagination. She currently wears a light blue jacket with a fur collar; a pair of jeans; and her hair is tied into a ponytail. Overall, she still looks the same.

Yukinoshita Yukino, president of the Service Club, and the one known as the "Ice Queen".

"What is she doing?" He asked in his mind as he continued to drink the coffee while observing her. Yukinoshita seems to be focused on something as her eyes stared intently at what's in front of her. Hikigaya looked from her direction and soon found his answer as he saw a souvenir shop and she's staring at the Pan-san plushies.

"Figures..." And with that, finished his drink and tried to stand up but not without looking at her until she turned her head to his direction.

Silence... That was the only thing emanating in the area as they only stared at each other. Hikigaya doesn't look bothered by this situation he's in. There is no pain, anger, anxiety, nor even positive emotions indicating on his face. Just pure indifference. Meanwhile, Yukinoshita gives her signature icy glare that would make anyone's spines shiver except for a few individuals. Her disdain and hatred are clearly evident by this and the loner can see that she's not holding back. Unknown to him, however, the Ice Queen is losing this staring contest, but she didn't want to show her falter to him and continued to maintain her glare. Why is she losing? It was not because of his expression of indifference to this situation, nor was her lack of energy to keep up. It's because she's not only staring at his eyes, but also the scar on his cheek. She looked down to see more scars on his hands. She already deduced that those weren't from a cooking accident or some little incident that her friend Yuigahama mentioned during one of the club hours. The two biggest hints are the giant scar in each of the centers of his backhand and of course, the scar on his cheek.

"That was not from a simple accident," She deducted. The longer she stared, the more she faltered so she turned her back on him and walked away.

"Good night..." Hikigaya said in his thoughts as he watched her leave until she stopped. Yukinoshita turned around and walked towards him with her arms folded.

"Ara, it certainly is a surprise to see you here of all places." She greeted.

"It really is..." He responded.

"Hiratsuka-sensei told me that you forfeit the contest. Why is that?"

"What contest?"

"I appreciate if you would stop pretending to forget. It was only two weeks ago that I declared the continuation. Surely, your brain capacity is enough to recollect a memory that important."

"Well then, sorry that I don't have that much of brain capacity. I seriously don't know what you're talking about." He said with his eyebrow raised. Yukinoshita was about to retort but after looking closely at his expression, she concluded that he wasn't lying. That made her irritated even more.

"The contest on who can help more people." Her hands closed into a tight fist. Hikigaya looked up at the ceiling to think for a few seconds until he finally remembered.

"Oh, that. I forfeit the match~." He said in a bored tone.

"And I'm asking you why..."

"Because I don't care? Why are you taking that contest seriously?"

"I don't need to tell you my reason."

"Then I guess I won't participate in this contest of yours."

"Is your tardiness the reason why-"

"Yup. I'm sincerely glad you still know me well."

"Sarcasm won't get you anywhere. From my previous observations, it only led you to ignorance and even more rottenness. "

"It's not sarcasm, I'm just too lazy to participate. Besides, it's not like I got anything to prove."

"Yes, you do. This competition will prove who is better between the two of us."

"Am I some sort of rival now?

"I see you as my enemy."

"Geez, you sound like you're going to kill me. As if you're not inhuman enough with that icy glare of yours, you just had to say all that. " Hikigaya stood up and toss the can into the trash bin.

"How rich coming from an inhuman rot such as you," Yukinoshita scowled. "This is exactly why we expelled you from the club."

"Is it, really?" Hikigaya doubted her reasoning once more. He was sure that he didn't do wrong to them. Sure, he committed a few social suicides but since when did those actions affect the two former clubmates? Especially Yukinoshita, who faced some similar childhood struggles as he experienced.

"I witnessed a similar situation, but I just stood back and watched."

Hayama's words at the summer camp echoed in his mind.

"Even if you used the lowest means possible, you made the preparations for it...So even if no one can praise you for it, so long as some good came of it, they can forgive you."

And so was Yukinoshita's. That moment after they've dealt with Tsurumi's situation felt like Hikigaya and the Ice Queen had common ground. He felt that they could relate to each other more after Hayama subtly told him a bit of his childhood with Yukinoshita. That feeling grew stronger during the Cultural Festival as he once saw her as a strong, smart and talented individual only to realize that even she has weaknesses when she got sick for overworking. Some of those weaknesses are common for everyone, while some are just unknown and only meant for her.

"Then keep this in mind. I'm still the cynical, rotten loser you kicked out. So forget the stupid contest already." That was the only words that came out of his mouth and silence once again filled the room. He couldn't see her face since he turned his back. The loner imagined every possible facial expression she is wearing right now: she could be even more irritated; or felt indifferent to his answer; maybe a shocked expression; or even a look of amusement.

"Is that so. Such a shame that you quit the competition. And here I thought I could show you my achievements." That was all she said before walking away but not without bumping into someone.

"Ah, I'm sorr-" This girl is wearing a white sweater, red skirt, and black stockings. She tried to apologize but she stopped immediately after recognizing the Ice Queen. "Yuki...noshita-san..."

"Sagami-san..." Yukinoshita mumbled as the two girls stared at each other until she sighed and walked away. The brown-haired girl looked at her retreating form, puzzled but at the same time angry by her presence. She looked in front to see the loner staring at her.

"Hikigaya?"

"Yo, Sagami." He was about to ask what she's doing here but someone caught his eye. A black long-haired woman wearing a brown coat, black pants and sunglasses. The woman is walking suspiciously as she held the collar of the coat close to her face as if she's in hiding. However, that hiding tactic failed miserably as both Hachiman and Minami immediately recognized her.

"Hiratsuka-sensei?" Both asked in sync and the teacher froze mid-step. Hiratsuka Shizuka is sweating nervously as she cursed her two students' observations when she was so close to going out of the front entrance. She sighed and turned around.

"Y-yo..." That was the most pathetic greeting the loner ever witnessed in his teacher.

"Don't steal my signature greeting." He scolded.

"Since when the hell did you own a slang?" She asked with an irritated expression.

"I did not. I mastered it to the point that it became my own."

"Tch, whatever. Since you both caught me, I'm going to take you two somewhere." The homeroom teacher smirked, which made the two students confused by her statement.

---

A teacher is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue. To guide them in becoming a model citizen for the future of that context, a teacher should be professional, and act properly as a paragon for students when living independently and accordingly. A teacher can have his/her own quirks to socialize with others and make education more interesting. However, vulgar attitude and distasteful habits are unacceptable and will not qualify to work in a school filled with "innocent" youngsters and proper etiquette.

Sadly, this homeroom teacher fits an average to above percent of those awful traits.

"Um, why are we coming with you?" Minami asked Hiratsuka. They are now riding at the backseat of a taxi in the middle of the night.

"I told you. To pay you guys off so you won't tell anyone about this." The teacher answered while removing her sunglasses.

"And where are we going?" Hachiman asked with a wary look.

"Hnhnhn...We are going," Hiratsuka paused for dramatic effect with a smirk but it only made the loner cringe and the brown-haired girl confused. "to a secret location..."

Minami looked a little anticipated while Hachiman was just skeptical of what this Christmas cake has in store for them. After a few minutes of silence in the taxi, Hiratsuka paid the driver and they went out of the vehicle to look at the place. The brown-haired girl looked in wonder while Hachiman just has a blank expression and then looked at the homeroom teacher who had a huge grin on her face as if he understand the wonders of this place.

They're standing outside of a ramen shop.

"...That's it?" Minami wore a disappointed look. "I thought maybe we're going to a spa or some mind-blowing place."

"As much as I love ramen," Hachiman sighed. "I expected a little more...well what Sagami just said."

"W-what?" Hiratsuka is surprised by her students' disappointment, especially Hachiman's. "I thought even Hikigaya would understand how awesome this place is..."

"Well, this is free food so I can't complain." He shrugged and looked at Minami. "Have you tried ramen?"

"Of course I do," She answered with an annoyed look. "Why do you sound like I'm some spoiled brat who never tried common food?"

"But you are spoiled bra- AW!" His statement cost him his ear being pulled by her.

"I always eat ramen with my family back when I was a kid," She explained. "After entering middle school, I stopped coming to ramen shops."

"Why?"

"Because I thought that slurping ramen is like, kinda gross for a girl to do that." Minami touched her chin with a finger.

"Gghh!" Hiratsuka took a mental hit from that but no one noticed her pain.

"I didn't know girls think of ramen like that," He said. "Girls are much more of a pain than I thought.

"Hey, it makes sense, doesn't it?" Minami argued. "Who would want to see a girl disgustingly slurping up food? It's unladylike"

"Gah!" Another painful hit to the single teacher's heart.

"It's not like it's an absolute rule or mannerism in eating. That's just people's opinions and just drama queens." He retorted. Hiratsuka's spirits seemed to be lifted a little by his argument. "But yeah, I can kinda see why it's not befitting of a woman to eat in a place like this.

"BleahH!" Only to be brutally stabbed by his finishing words. The two students looked at Hiratsuka who was down on her knees and somehow coughing up blood.

"Sensei?!" Minami bent down to check on the teacher.

"O-oi, are you okay?" Hachiman also bent down, only to be met with an uppercut to his chin and fell down in pain.

"DO I LOOK OKAY?!" The crying homeroom teacher yelled, getting the passers-by's attention. "L-let's...just eat ramen... Okay?"

"Y-yes, sensei..." Only Minami responded with a terrified expression while Hachiman is rolling around the ground grunting in pain. After calming down the teacher and the loner recovered from that uppercut, they now settled inside the ramen shop and sat on the chairs at the counter with the loner in the middle, Hiratsuka at his left side and Minami at his right. Hachiman helped Minami recommending a ramen dish while Hiratsuka already called the chef to pick the order with her eyes sparkling. It only took a few minutes to receive their orders as they engaged in a conversation while eating.

"Wait, so you two aren't dating?" The teacher asked them in shock.

"Yes." Both the students answered in sync.

"Then why didn't you denied those rumors?" She asked and the brown-haired girl looked at Hachiman, indicating that he's the one with the answer.

"Have we ever taken down any rumors about us?" He answered while picking up a pork cutlet with his chopsticks. "Taking down rumors is like fighting against the air itself and you can't fight the air so might as well breathe on it.

"And here comes your pessimistic speech," The teacher sighed. "Oh well, at least there are some people who knew the truth. Better than just everyone believing in baseless rumors. So you two are just friends?"

"Yes."

"Huh...That pisses me off even more!" Hiratsuka gritted her teeth and snapped her chopsticks in anger. "Just friends, my ass! You two were all lovey-dovey before and after we arrived here in Kyoto!"

"Do we?" Minami asked in pure confusion.

"It's not my fault," Hachiman explained. "Sagami has been dragging me around and doing exhausting activities."

"We're just taking pictures and looking around the shrines." Minami retorted. "How was that exhausting? And besides, you were clearly enjoying explaining to me about each of the shrines' histories."

"I admit that I enjoyed talking about history, however, my mouth is exhausted from moving and my throat lost its voice."

"You liar! How come you're still talking, huh?"

"It's because I healed it by drinking a can of coffee earlier. Sadly, I couldn't find Maxx Coffee so I had to go with some generic brand and only recovered sixty percent of my larynx."

"Then will this ramen heal it completely?"

"Perhaps, it hasn't been tested yet so this is perfect for performing trials." Sagami laughed by their exchange and Hachiman could only smile. However, the heartwarming atmosphere was immediately destroyed by a dark and destructive aura emanating from someone.

"Hehehehe..." Hiratsuka laughed menacingly. "Friends, huh? I-I see..."

"Umm...S-sensei." The brown-haired girl stuttered in fear while Hachiman leaned away from the demonic Christmas cake.

"Shut up and eat" Somehow, Hiratsuka's voice became demonic and steam came out of her mouth as she said that. Her eyes glowed red and she snapped her second chopsticks. The aura filled the entire ramen shop and everyone's spines shivered, some of them finished their food quickly and ran away. All the people outside near the place just ran off as they felt like death awaits them. The two students only nodded frantically before chowing down on their respective bowls of ramen. After she fully calmed down, the homeroom teacher then started talking to them about work and the school trip.

"Have you all bought souvenirs?" She asked.

"Not yet, it's only the first day so we were more focused on having fun." Minami answered before slurping the noodles.

"Komachi gave me a list of things to buy so I won't think too much of it." He answered.

"List?" Both female companions asked.

...

Night before the school trip

A spotlight emanated above a girl sitting on a couch, looking down at the man prostrating himself in shame. Her expression is filled with malice and superiority despite being younger than the man as she folded her arms and crossed her legs. Her eyes filled with contempt due to the pain she felt when her older brother regarded his electronic communication device more important than his own little sister.

"Well?" She asked in a low and menacing voice.

"Forgive me," The older brother said desperately. "Please forgive your onii-chan for his idiocy."

In truth, Hachiman has been apologizing since last night after finishing his text conversation with Minami. It was as if he was another person when he started texting. Like the cellphone consumed his thoughts and scratched out all of his priorities into immersing himself in the digital conversation. He tried apologizing in her room but he was ignored until everyone fell asleep. In the morning, he woke up earlier than his little sister to prepare breakfast and when she woke up, the first thing she saw when she went to the dining room was her older brother prostrated to her while the food was placed on the table. She ignored his apology and ate breakfast. He then texted her to apologize only to be ignored and not received a single reply from her. This is the older brother's final chance to be reconciled with his sister before going on the school trip. Who knows what Komachi would look like once he came back home. He's still wearing his school uniform because he was so focused on apologizing, he forgot to take a bath and even packed his things for the trip

"So?" Komachi spoke with the same menacing tone. "Why should I accept your apology?"

"I'll do anything!" He said as his desperation grew. "I'll buy you gifts, cook your food, or even do all of your homework! So please forgive me!"

"Hmmm..." She held her chin to think. "Then first, stand up."

"What?"

"I said stand up." He followed her orders and stood up straight. Komachi reached out a pink folded paper to him and he took it.

"What's this?" He asked.

"hnhnhn. Komachi's recommended souvenir list!" She said as her normal cheery attitude returned while his stoic expression also came back as he inspected the paper and unfolded it.

"In third place!" She said as she nodded him to read the item at the bottom of the list.

"...Raw yatsuhashi."

"As long as it's authentic or the original kind, it's fine with me! Now in second?!"

"...Facial oil blotting paper."

"Get some for mom, too! Now, what's in first?!" She said and her older brother read the top of the list that only says: "Find out after these ads". He raised an eyebrow at that and looked at his sister with the same stoic expression.

"Well, what is it?" He asked.

"The best souvenirs..." She stood up with her arms behind her back and gave him the brightest smile he had seen from her. "Would be your precious memories!"

"So cheeky and so cute..."

...

"You were too busy texting?" Hiratsuka asked. She couldn't believe that someone like our protagonist would be enjoying texting someone.

"Sorry," Minami apologized. "I distracted you from your family."

"It's fine," he said as he waved it off. "It was my fault for succumbing to that devilish device."

"Sounds like you two had a fun time texting each other." The teacher said before drinking a glass of water. "DAMN IT, YOU TWO ARE FRIENDS AND YOU'VE GONE THAT FAR!?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Hachiman asked while leaning back away from her. Although the Christmas cake emanated a depressing aura, it quickly dissipated as the three engaged in a nice conversation while eating. Just when the loner thought that the atmosphere turned back to normal, Hiratsuka asked a shocking question.

"So Sagami. Do you know where Hikigaya got those injuries at that time?"

"Eh?" Minami gasped by that question. Hachiman already guessed that the homeroom teacher deduced that his close friend knew about his actions. The brown-haired girl just stared at her half-finished bowl of ramen until he answered for her.

"Didn't I tell you it's from-"

"You expect me to believe that those are from a cooking accident or from your cat?" Hiratsuka immediately shut down his argument. "You got into some sort of dangerous situation, didn't you?"

"...yes" He answered truthfully and Minami stared at him with widened eyes.

"What happened?"

"Let's just say I started a hobby of beating up delinquents..."

"I see... So you are that 'Isato', huh?" Her statement shocked the two students. She whispered for only the two to hear it. They were glad that this restaurant is noisy and packed with customers.

"How did you-" He asked only to be interrupted by the teacher.

"Did you forget that I'm your guidance counselor? I have to observe my students even if I couldn't see their problems some of the time but observing you is a lot easier. The biggest hint I got was the day after you were expelled from the Service Club. When first period started, the moment I entered the classroom I already saw something suspicious: You, with the first injury on your hand, and Sagami glancing at you often during class."

"Sagami?" He looked at the blushing girl beside him who was embarrassed that she was caught from day one. She turned away from the two to hide her embarrassment which left the loner and the homeroom teacher staring at her until Hiratsuka continued.

"A week later, rumors starting flying around about you two going on a date which was strange considering that you two haven't interacted with each other since the festival. Even more so that most of your interactions weren't so sweet and friendly. Four days later, you two displayed how close your relationship is and that was the day after that robbery incident. And then you asked me for advice about martial arts. And last but not the least, the one that confirmed my suspicions..."

"That sushi restaurant incident." He answered with a facepalm. He guessed that after school, she saw Sagami going to the direction of his house and it was the day after that incident so it all connected.

"Wrong," She denied his guess and the two students looked at her in surprise, wondering what confirmed her suspicions. "It was one of your juniors. A 1st-year student. Did you know that a new member joined the Service Club?"

"No. Did you think I care about the Service Club anymore?" He denied. "So what about that 1st year?"

"She was one of the customers of that convenience store." The teacher folded her arms. "She was there at the robbery incident. Isshiki Iroha, do you know her?"

"Isshiki Iroha?" The loner held his chin to remember if there is someone like that until it clicked his memory.

"Iroha? Iroha, was that a gunshot?!"

"Yeah, the girl with shoulder-length brown hair." He answered. "I only heard her name from when she was calling someone on her phone when the criminals started shooting. That's all I know."

"I see," Hiratsuka nodded. "Well, this girl was a manager of the soccer club until she resigned and asked me to get her in the Service Club. Her reason is that someone helped her in a bad situation and she was inspired by his actions so she wants to find a way to help others like him until she heard about the club. I was suspicious from that so I made her spill the beans before letting her in."

"What made her suspicious?" Minami asked.

"Two things: One, she's like you," The homeroom teacher pointed at her with a smug look. "That girl is a sly fox who acts all cutesy for attention."

"Hoh, that does sound like Sagami." He mocked.

"Oh, shut up." Minami tried to pinch his side but the loner resisted as he held both of her wrist. They both stopped by Hiratsuka coughing to get back their attention.

"As I was saying. Her look of determination surprised me when she explained her reasons to join. Another thing that made her suspicious was that I checked her home address, and that's when I realized the convenience store where the robbery happened was the closest store to her house."

"...But why the Service Club?" He asked, confused at the 1st year's decision.

"She knew that you were once part of the club so she figured that you became a hero from helping others there." Hiratsuka didn't finish her explanation as he fully understood that.

"Isshiki, was it?" Hachiman spoke. "That girl has such a flawed view of heroes. They don't just develop from going to a club and helping others."

"hmmm? Then how do heroes develop then?"

"By suffering."

"Eh?" Minami wore a confused expression from that while Hiratsuka, a shounen fanatic, understood his reasoning.

"If you read some shounen manga and comics, protagonists had sad backstories as their moral compass to become heroes. Whether it's about their parents being killed, or being bullied during childhood, the protagonist is able to become a better person because he/she has experience suffering and made a promise that no one will go through what he/she experience for the sake of humanity."

"Oh, that...sort of make sense?" Minami agreed but still puzzled by his explanation.

"And I agree with that formula as I also have my experiences of suffering which made me become a better person." He said in an arrogant tone while lifting his chin. "That is why all of you should stop forcing me to change because the way I am now, the certified King of Loners, is the best version of myself!"

"No." Both females rejected his claim without hesitation. Hachiman clicked his tongue from that but he wasn't exactly irritated. He did promise himself to change his pessimistic self into something better, refrain from using despicable methods and enter the world of "normies" but in a cautious manner. He was just saying all that as a joke to which the two female companions couldn't help but laugh by that.

"Hahaha...okay, now back to the serious topic." Hiratsuka coughed lightly to regain composure. "Did your parents know about this?"

"Yes, so did my sister." He admitted. "I got scolded and almost got killed by Komachi but overall, they took it well."

"Uh...okay?" She said with a confused tone for wondering whether that was a joke or not. "You remember what I said after the festival, right?"

"Helping someone out is not a justifiable reason for me to get hurt." He repeated the words that the homeroom teacher said at that time. "Yeah, I remember and I understood that perfectly."

"Do you, though?" She looked at him with a doubtful expression. "Then why did you risk yourself to do all that?"

"DIdn't you hear what I said? A hero is born when one experienced suffering."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"You got a point on that one but a person has a choice whether he'd be the hero or villain. There are also other factors to consider in influencing a person to go to that route. So I'll ask again, why did you do all that?" Hiratsuka repeated her question after rebutting his reason. Hachiman was about to deny her argument until a thought crossed his mind that made him stop. Hiratsuka noticed his hesitation so she continued.

"I think I know the answer," She finished her bowl and drank water before explaining. "It's because you were desperate from what Yukinoshita said right?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I told you that I don't care-" He stopped mid-sentence as he wore a look of realization.

"As effective as your methods were, it still doesn't change the fact that they were despicable that it suits you disgustingly well...It has already come to a point where even I am unable to fix you of that rotten personality. I apologize but I must ask you to leave this club."

Yukinoshita's words once again filled his mind.

"You realized it, didn't you?" Hiratsuka pushed her argument and pointed her finger at Minami. "Your first appearance as 'Isato' was during 'Isane''s rape incident A. K. A, Sagami's case. That incident was at the same day as the day you were kicked out. I even remembered the time the incident occured, it was minutes after they expelled you."

"Hikigaya?" Minami looked at the loner in worry as he was silent during the teacher's explanation.

"I heard what she said outside the door. It bothered you that she made a good point after kicking you out, and then you thought that if you keep using despicable methods, the methods that you upheld with your pessimistic ideals, you will get backstabbed more than once. You're afraid that people you thought were friends or acquaintances at least, would leave you. And most of all, you're afraid of going back to being the old loner life before you joined the Service Club."

"...You're not exactly wrong," Hachiman finally spoke. "Her words did popped up in my mind when I saw Sagami in trouble. But that's because of what she said was true. During that incident, using words was impossible since they were drugged that I doubt they wouldn't listen, acting the villain wouldn't work either and my cellphone was out of batteries. I had no options at that time and if I just left her there like nothing happened... I would be worse than being a villainous pathetic loser."

"Is that why you charged in to those other incidents?" The homeroom teacher asked.

"Yes." He answered without hesitation. There was silence among the three as they were all thinking about the discussion. Hachiman in particular, is thinking about his purpose behind all of his actions.

"I was sure that my actions were for changing myself but that was the stupidest reason I've ever came up with. I'm literally surprised that I sounded reasonable when I explained all that to them. It's true that I want to change but there could've been safer ways in doing so. Some of what Hiratsuka-sensei was true, I was desperate. But overall, for the umpteenth time, I did all that because it was the right thing to do. This is the correct path. Probably the only path..."

"Well then," Hiratsuka spoke first with a sigh of relief. "I guess that's that. But Hikigaya, there are other ways to-"

"Help someone, don't hurt yourself even further. Yeah yeah, you don't need to lecture me that because you aren't the first person to say all of those same words." Hachiman said with a bored tone while resting his chin with his hand. Minami couldn't help but laugh at that and Hiratsuka sighed.

"Just promise me you won't get involved in those situations, alright?" The teacher said and he responded with a nod. "Welp, all that serious talk emptied my stomach. I might go for another one!"

"What a coincidence, so do I." Hachiman agreed.

"Me too! Eh?" The brown-haired girl looked down in surprise that there was another bowl full of ramen in front of her. The chef also gave the other two a bowl each.

"This is?" Hachiman wondered.

"T-this is the most expensive ramen on the menu!" Hiratsuka said with her eyes widened at the ramen then looked back towards the chef. "But why?"

"On the house." The old man exclaimed with a wink. The three wondered why he would give them his most expensive dish in this restaurant for free until it clicked on them. This is a restaurant, an establishment for the public to eat food and currently there are many people are here eating.

"Did you...?" Hachiman was about to ask while Minami looked around to see the other customers' reactions and Hiratsuka just stared at the chef with the same widened eyes.

"Relax, The customers are too busy talking about work and all that and it's noisy as hell here. I just got good ears, that's all." The chef explained and then went back to work. Minami, Hachiman, and Hiratsuka looked at each other for a moment and nodded.

"Thank you for the food~!"

---

"See ya!" Hiratsuka said in the taxi while waving at the two students after dropping them close to the inn and the vehicle drove away. Hachiman and Minami are now walking their way to the inn. The brown-haired girl wore the teacher's coat because the night was too cold for her to handle with only a sweater. She's in the lead while the loner is walking a few feet behind her.

"Oi, Hikigaya. Why are you over there?" She looked behind her to see our protagonist slouching.

"Because we might get in trouble if someone sees us together."

"Since when did you care about others' opnions?"

"Idiot. A boy and a girl is out in the middle of the night and came back together. It's not just rumors, we'll get in trouble if someone called the faculty about this..."

"Oh, you're right." Her face was fully red as she imagined indecent things when he said that. She looked in front again to hide her embarrassment. Silence filled the streets, and it's a comfortable one at that. The stars are more visible in the dark sky; Some of the building lights are still on; and they can see a mountain from afar. It is a peaceful walk towards the inn.

"Hey, Hikigaya..." Minami called his name.

"What?"

"...What...do you think of me?" The question made Hachiman wary.

"What kind of question is that?" He asked.

"It's just that...When Hiratsuka-sensei explained your true reason for saving me, I thought maybe you don't see me as a friend but just someone you just want to hold on to," She clutched her arm and looked down which her bangs hid her eyes. "Like...maybe you let me be your friend because you were desperate...You don't see me the same way you see Sai-chan or Saki-chan."

"..." He contemplated at her question. It is true that it was unusual for him to just accept her friendship and how quickly their relationship was progressing that the entire school thought they were a couple. That crime incident. That one incident made him thought that something was born between him and Minami. Was is friendship? Love? Responsibility? He didn't know. After that day, the loner never did assume that their relationship would be this close until Minami approached him and asked him out on a "date". He accepted her offer but why? Was it free food? His gentleman behavior? Was it out of courtesy? He did think it was weird that his interactions with her until now were oddly comfortable yet they've never talked to each other that often before or talk in general.

"Was one event the trigger to our behavior with one another? Is one event really enough for us to form a friendship or something more?" He doubted his feelings and his true vision of his relationship with Minami. "It can't be that easy. This concept of 'friendship' and 'closeness' towards a person involves a long process of understanding with one another and adapting to each other's behaviors. In conclusion, a friendship formed from just one event would be..."

"Superficial..." Hachiman concluded with a whisper. The brown-haired girl heard that and was puzzled of what it means.

"Hikigaya...?" She called out once more.

"I don't."

"Eh?"

"I don't think you are my friend or anything beyond that."

"...I see." Her voice trembled and her eyes began to tear up though he couldn't see behind her hair. "Then-"

"Let me finish," He said while raising a hand to stop her from speaking. "I don't see you as a friend nor anything but I don't hate you. When I accepted your offer in going to that sushi restaurant back then, I now realized that it wasn't out of courtesy or free food, it's because I want to hold on to something. Sensei was right, I was desperate but not on refuting Yukinoshita's words but to have someone to reassure me. You may think that it would've been better if it was my family or the others instead of you, but if I leaned on to my family, I would be repeating the same cycle as back in middle school and if I leaned to Totsuka and Kawasaki, The fear of being betrayed by them would only grow even stronger."

"..." Minami finally raised her head up to look at the loner eye-to-eye and he noticed the tears in her eyes and her mouth trembling as if she's afraid to speak or even let out her voice. Regardless, he continued to explain despite seeing the girl on the verge of tears.

"Right now, I'm still not sure if you're my friend or acquaintance but it's not because I don't trust you. After that attempted rape incident, we suddenly became close which is weird when you think about it. Friendships can't be formed through a single event, and if it does then that would just be superficial."

"But I am your friend," She rebutted with her trembling voice as tears flowed down her cheeks. "I support your decision to keep up this 'Isato' persona and kept it a secret, You saw my weak side during the festival and I saw yours when you didn't understand the consequences of your hero act. I-I was really grateful that you said all those mean things to me at the festival! You changed me...Don't you get it?! I lo-"

"No." He immediately rejected her before she could even say the words. Minami is enraged and continued to push her confession forward.

"Listen to me!"

"Whatever feelings you have for me, I can't accept it."

"...No," She fell down on her knees and cried. Hachiman slowly approached her while with a look of determination.

"That's why," He spoke. "I want to say these words so that it's official between us."

"Please..." She whimpered. "Don't leave me..."

"Will you be my friend?" His statement made Minami stopped crying.

"...Eh?"

"I said will you be my friend?" He repeated. "When I was still at that club, I asked Yukinoshita to be my friend twice and she rejected it. Her reason was that she didn't know me well until after the Cultural Festival and I thought that there is still a possibility for her to be one. Yet, here I am got kicked out and fighting criminals."

"Hikigaya..." She slowly stood up with her head down, hiding her eyes with her bangs once again. "Come closer, will you?"

"...okay?" He walked closer and now they're a few inches close to each other. That was when the loner felt an excruciating pain on his right foot and then a sharper one at his cheek. He fell down with his back and she sat on his stomach so that he wouldn't stand up or even get away from her.

"YOU IDIOT!" She shouted. Hachiman is glad that there is no people out here at nighttime. "DID YOU SERIOUSLY MAKE ME CRY AND HAVE THIS SERIOUS CONVERSATION JUST FOR YOU TO ASK ME TO BE FRIENDS!"

"W-wai-" He wanted to stop her but she immediately attacked him with a barrage of slaps, pinches and light punches from the brown-haired girl. He tried his best to block her attacks while looking at her angry expression.

"THIS IS THE STUPIDEST DISCUSSION I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! YOU'RE LITERALLY THE WORST! THIS IS WHY NO ONE LIKES YOU! IT'S BECAUSE YOU SUCK AT GETTING THINGS STRAIGHT! YOU'RE A COMPLETE IDIOT! DUMBASS! HACHIMAN!"

"Again! Since when did my name turned into an insult word?!"

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN WHEN YOU WASTED OUR TIME FOR THIS CRAP! WASTED MY TEARS ALL FOR JUST A STRAIGHTFORWARD REQUEST! WASTED A THOUSAND WORDS OF THIS CHAPTER FOR THIS STUPID SCENE!"

"Wait? What was that last part-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" She screamed as she continued to attack him until both grew tired. It didn't took too long for the "fight" to end with her as the victor since Hachiman gave up defending himself near the end. The two teenagers are gasping for air while maintaining this position. Minami is covered in sweat and her eyes dried up and still red from the tears while Hachiman has red marks all over his face with one in the shape of a hand and his arms are in pain from the slap and pinches. Minami swallowed her saliva and spoke first with her usual but exhausted, angry tone.

"So...how are you going to make up for this?"

"Well," He spoke between heavy breaths. "free food? My treat?"

"I'm...not a Hachiman...idiot." She weakly slapped his cheek, so weak that it was just a tap rather than a full slap.

"Please stop using my name as an insult word." He sighed. "Then, how about tomorrow, we hang out, just the two of us."

"...okay. That's good enough! Hehe~." She sat up and looked at him with a grin on her face. He didn't notice it now, but he definitely got a good view of her while she's sitting on top of him at this angle from the bottom-up: Her skirt was wrinkled and folded up a bit that he could see her thighs worn with black stockings. he had a good angle of her breasts under and how big they are, really not that big but still appealing nonetheless; The star-filled sky above her enchanted her smile along with her entire figure. He shook his head to remove the trance.

"Let me tell you this to get things straight." She explained. "I'm already your friend after you saved me. It doesn't have to take time or a million conversations for us to be one. Sometimes all it takes is just one serious or personal thing between us and if we get each other's deal, we're now friends. Got that?"

"Yes... Can you get off now?" He asked nonchalantly however his blush is clearly visible despite the red marks. He understood her words clearly, but he was still skeptical for the sake of his well-being and for others. True, to become real friends, it requires one personal and serious event between them. However, that depends on the person and his/her thoughts on the matter. Regardless, Hachiman and Minami are now friends, and he accepted that without doubting her.

"Ah, sorry." Minami stood up and tidied her skirt before reaching a hand which he accepted her help. She then suddenly hugged the loner with her face planted on his chest and he just froze in shock. He raised his hands to hesitantly to hug her back but he stopped and went for a head pat instead. Hachiman couldn't see her face but she was blushing and her smile grew wider. The brown-haired girl felt pleasure from his head pat and hugged him tighter. They stayed like this for a few minutes until he called it enough.

"Oi Sagami, let's go-"

"Minami..."

"What?"

"Call me Minami from now on. And I'll call you Hachiman." She said as she looked up while still hugging him.

"...Minami...-san."

"Get rid of that honorifics." She pinched his side and he flinched in pain.

"Minami." He finally said her given name. She stared at him until she spoke with a trembling voice.

"S-say that again, three times..."

"Minami...Minami...Minami..."

"Hehehehe!"

"Why are you so happy over being at first-name basis?" He said with a sigh. "Although, I'm not one to talk since I once asked Totsuka to say my first name three times as well and I thought I was in heaven at that time."

His cellphone rang and he took out to see that it was none other than the angel tennis player himself messaging him for the tenth time. Apparently they've been gone for too long and he just received all these messages only recently.

"Looks like we've been out for too long," She spoke as she read the screen in his cellphone. "Come one, let's run back to the inn, Hachiman!"

---

"What are you planning?" A mature, female voice echoed inside a dark messy room filled with piles of papers and documents everywhere: on the floor; on the table, and even on the desk at the far end of the room where a person sat there typing on a computer with three monitors.

"I do not know...what you mean." The person said with a male and husky voice between heavy breaths as if someone is choking him. He turned around with his spinning chair to reveal his appearance in which his entire face and body are covered in bandages and all of his legs and right arm are amputated. The only things visible are his one left eye that looks red and its pupil widened.

"Why are you wrapped in bandages again?" The woman asked.

"There's...no point in wearing clothes...on a disgusting body such as mine..." He answered.

"Well, at least you're eating properly again," She said as she looked at the table filled with documents and noticed an empty plate and bowl with silverware. "So back to my first question."

"Again...I do not know-"

"Don't give me that shit. I knew you got your eye on Hikigaya." She walked forward to reveal herself from the lights emanating from the monitors. Long brown hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a black long coat, a white-collared shirt under with a blue bow tie and black pants. Her olive-green eyes narrowed, displaying her anger towards this bandaged-covered person.

"And I thought... I was doing things more quietly from you..." He said while scratching his head. "As expected...of Miura Yuko."

"I got lucky that I met him at that robbery incident now spill it, what are you planning to do with that boy?"

"Hmmm...Do you know...the story of Hachiman, the war god..."

"Quit with your mind games."

"It is not...It is relevant... to my objective."

"Then my answer is I don't know. I wasn't good at history, alright?"

"That is unexpected... You ranked one of the top 5s in exams...during your time at the Police Academy... Were you perhaps the same as your daughter...in your high school life?"

"Yeah, I am. I was a total queen back then and thought that studying was for nerds."

"How stereotypical... of you."

"Just shut up and get on with it already!" She shouted as she held her fist to snap it. "Or else I'm gonna-"

"Please, no violence," He interrupted her and sighed. "Hachiman is a god of war who stopped the Mongols... from invading japan. He summoned a strong gale that destroyed the entire sailing fleet... and earned him the title of Protector of Japan."

"Okay, what's the connection between that and your objective?" She asked while folding her arms and tapping with her toes, indicating her impatience.

"I just thought...it's funny since this boy's...given name is Hachiman...and he is protecting others from criminals."

"...The Barbaros Syndicate is in Kyoto and you want Hikigaya to deal with them?" She said with widened eyes and her hands trembled from clutching her arms tighter.

"Hoh? Where did you get that?" He asked while tilting his head.

"I maybe suck at history but I still got some gits of some lectures. The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land empire in world history and it was located in central Asia. The Barbaros Syndicate is a crime organization full of Chinese, Russians, and Mongolian members. Recently, there have been evidence that the syndicate was lurking around the Kyoto markets so connecting that and whatever shit you are spouting, I figured it out. You always give hints by saying it in the most dumbass ways."

"And here I thought you won't figure it out," He said with a sigh and then Miura suddenly grabbed his neck but not too tight so that he can still speak.

"Why are you making a child go into a fucking syndicate!" Miura shouted.

"Calm yourself...The syndicate sent out only...a small group...to establish business there...The smaller the establishment, the harder... for us to find it...Or so they thought."

"That doesn't make it any less dangerous for him, you fucking idiot!" She said as her grab shook, resisting the urge to choke the bandage-covered person. "And my daughter is there! If you try anything retarded, I'll snap your neck!"

"Do not worry...Your daughter will not be involved...in this," He said as she tried to reassure her. Judging from his eye, he seemed to be not affected by her hold on his neck. "As for the boy... He will only serve a small role."

"Is that so?" She let go of his neck and sighed.

"Mind if I ask?...why are you wearing...such attire?"

"I'm going to Kyoto to help him myself. Even if I inform the police there, you would negotiate with them to not interfere, right?"

"Correct...but do not worry...I sent an assistant to aid...his mission." He spun his chair and went back to typing on his computer.

"Who? One of our detectives?" Miura asked.

"One of the boy's... former enemies..."

---

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