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.

9. Chapter 9: While The Hero Sleeps II

Guess who's back?! This story! That's who! Sorry it took so long for me to write this chapter since I have two things on my mind that kept me busy: My own personal life, and certain trouble in deciding the direction of this story (You'll see when you read this chapter).

So Oregairu finally ended, huh? It's kinda sad but it was a great journey for me. In my opinion, the final season is a 7/10. Again, the whole prom thing kinda threw me off, but the dialogues and characters are still there in their powerful charms. For the overall series, 10/10. Kinda contradicting to my thoughts on the final season, I know. But the series taught me a lot of things and holds a special place in my heart. Not exactly the best anime but it's up there.

Thank you for the wonderful journey, Wataru Watari

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But if you have the drive, please make a sequel like some afterstory or whatever. Like, write at least a short story about the characters as adults. "My Adult Rom-Com Is Wrong As I Expected"... Or something.

Well, with that out of the way, let's begin!

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

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Chapter 9: While The Hero Sleeps II: The Heart Still Slumbers At Rebirth

It was dark. No, it was literally nothing but black in his vision. There was no feeling in his body. He couldn't even move. Did he die? Had he left the world of the living? Was he alone? How could this have happened?

Or more importantly, what really happened?

It took moments for him to realize that he wasn't in a dark place. His eyes were just closed. The only part he could move in his body were his right index finger. Sounds finally entered his ears albeit faint and indistinguishable. He could feel the temperature of the room which was comfortable. Not hot bor cold. A soft and relaxing sensation was felt in his back and a strange feeling around his mouth area. He desperately tried to open his eyes, but it was as if his eyelids were so heavy he couldn't lift them. He didn't stop anyway as the longer he would stare at the darkness the feeling of desperation would grow even bigger. Finally, his eyes opened slightly and light came to his vision. He opened wider to see blurry colors and a figure what appeared for him to be a person in white clothing. He attempted to speak or at least let out his voice but the only thing that got out of his mouth was his breathing and low grunting voice. The person in white seemed to catch that and looked at him. His vision was slowly recovering and realized this person was a woman based on the outline and figure despite the blurriness. He heard her voice speaking but it was still too muffled for him to understand. He tried lifting his eyelids higher but this was as far as he could go. Fortunately, his vision became much clearer until he could see things normally once again. With his recovered vision, he realized he was lying on a bed, with a small tube attached at the back of his right arm and a huge amount of bandages wrapped in his left. The woman quickly exited the room and seemed to be shouting at something or someone outside. Speaking of which, he slowly turned his head to look around what sort of room this was, although he could guess the answer based on what he had in his arms. Regardless, he looked to the right with hopes that his assumption was wrong but it was met with the painful view of reality. He saw two things that shattered his hopes: One was a monitor showing zigzag lines with different colors; and a clear plastic bag full of unknown liquid. The bottom of the bag had a tube that was connected all the way to the back of his right arm.

It was a heart monitor and an IV bag.

He was in a hospital, being treated.

Knowing that, the woman in white must be a nurse.

He couldn't form any expression in his face but tears ran down from his eyes, indicating his bewilderment and despair. His hearing slowly recovered as the sounds became easier to distinguish and the muffled voices and words became easier to understand. Three people rushed inside the room and two of them looked at him in tears. The woman with short hair and wore a pair of glasses ran to him first and the young girl with short black hair came second. The man with black hair and a visible jawline on his face just stood at the door with widened eyes and slowly approached him. His vision became blurry once again but it was because of the tears covering his eyes. He tried to speak but he could only let out his rough voice.

"It's ) #(#$, it's o #$($*#_)#*" The woman spoke but he still couldn't fully understand what she was saying until his hearing fully recovered. "It's okay, sweetie. Don't cry..."

He grunted even more, attempting to at least say one word to them. The woman in glasses leaned closer and wiped the tears in his eyes, comforting him while the young girl hugged him crying on his left side carefully as to not move his raised arm cast.

"Shh... It's alright son. You're in a hospital," The man said to reassure him with a smile followed by the woman. Desperation grew even more and he finally spoke a word.

"I..." Putting all of his strength to his voice, he gained their attention by saying the first word. The three people along with the nurse who just entered with a doctor by her side went silent to give him a moment to speak.

"S...sorry...I... sorry..." He said between sobs and kept repeating his apology over and over. He remembered what happened to him. Kyoto. His encounter with the tall individual. The drug dealers. The battle on the train. He promised his little sister and parents that he would be careful, not to be reckless and charged into dangers. And yet, he did it anyway and this is the price for a broken promise. The little sister hugged him tighter with her face buried in his body while crying. The mother held his hand while caressing his head to comfort him. The father just looked at the window in guilt with an expression as if he failed. And the older brother and only son regretted his act of vigilantism. Even though he stopped a drug business, what did he actually accomplished for himself? What did his family accomplished from him being a hero and then got hospitalized for getting shot with a gun? Nothing. The strangers he helped might've gained something from being saved but in the end, they were still strangers that he barely knew their personalities. The only thing he achieved was the experience of being shot in the head and perhaps being close to death. He admitted he was afraid of death so he wasn't self-sacrificing, but he still got himself involved in situations that would kill him.

Hikigaya Hachiman truly regretted having such foolish heroism and delusional idealism.

---

It had been ten days since the last day of the Kyoto trip, the drug hunt incident, and the absence of Hikigaya in school. All students acted normal as if nothing happened. The drug business hunt bothered the students who went to Kyoto to some extent but they just shrugged it off since they already left the region the day after the incident occurred. Everything was fine as usual for all, except for a certain few individuals who knew the person that was injured that night. In class 2-F, it was Japanese history time with students silently focusing on the quiz. Hiratsuka, Hayama, and Miura stared at the empty chair where the lone student sat. The homeroom teacher and the Prince of Sobu High discovered Hikigaya's identity, so him leaving early on the trip due to sick leave while the drug hunt occurred on the same night was hardly a coincidence. Miura felt something wrong happened to Hikigaya and she also felt that she had the truth somewhere but couldn't put it all together. Sagami was the most devastated out of all the people aware of the hero's identity. She didn't write anything on her quiz paper. In fact, she wasn't exactly looking down at it even though she was staring down. Her eyes were lifeless as no light was reflected in them.

"I want to go home..." That was the only thought she had in her mind throughout half the day in school. The bell rang and everyone sighed in exhaustion from the quiz. Some stretched their arms while others quickly stood up while passing their papers. Sagami did the same and quickly grabbed her bag to leave.

"Sagami-san?" Totsuka noticed the brown-haired girl carrying her bag and was about to exit the room. "Where are you going?"

"Home. Where else would I be going..." She answered with a low voice. Before Totsuka could respond, she exited the room and cut classes. A few classmates noticed her strange behavior and they began gossiping.

"What was that all about?"

"She's been cutting classes three days ago, did something bad happened?"

"Well, her boyfriend is absent so she must be depressed that she didn't hang out with him?"

"That's a bit of an overreaction, isn't it? He's absent cuz he's sick, right?"

"Maybe it's a serious illness?"

"Nah, something must've happened on their date in Kyoto."

Totsuka was only silence as they were whispering to each other. He noticed Kawasaki had an irritated expression with her fingers tapping and gritting her teeth the more she listened to their gossips. Hayama pulled out his signature fake smile when his friends approached him. Despite his constant worry for Hikigaya, there was honestly nothing he could do to help in such a situation beyond his world. He could only pray for the hero's safety and Sagami's well-being. Miura just stared at the door where the brown-haired girl exited earlier, wondering what the full picture of the current circumstance was until Ebina and Yuigahama interrupted her train of thought.

"Sagamin looks worse than yesterday," Ebina commented but with a little tone of worry and curiosity in her voice. "DId Hikitani's sickness got worse or something?"

"Man, I've been wondering about that too!" Tobe stepped in their conversation. "Maybe Sagamin felt guilty that she tired him out on their Kyoto date?"

"That probably could be it," Hayama agreed, pretending to not know about the true story behind Hikigaya's absence. "But then again, we've seen Hikitani-kun in bandages a lot."

"So you're saying he got into another fight? That's like, being a hooligan."

"Well, I don't know. Rumors are rumors so whatever it is, we can only hope for those two." Hayama's statement ended the topic and now they were talking about the usual mundane activities. Meanwhile, Totsuka and Kawasaki sat across each other in one desk, still talking about the "couple".

"Just what the hell is happening?" Kawasaki asked in frustration. "One day they were all happy and flirty and the next day things went upside down."

"I don't know," Totsuka shook his head, confused and worried about the whole situation. "There are no people in his house, right?"

"Yeah, Sagami and I visited the day after the trip and no one was there. Ever since then, it's just an empty home."

"Maybe he got sick so much, they have to put him in a hospital?"

"Maybe it's something only Sagami knows. I can tell she's hiding it."

Hiratsuka didn't bother to listen to any gossip since she had a more concerning issue to resolve. She grabbed all her books and papers and quickly walked out of the classroom in search of Sagami, hoping she wasn't too late before the brown-haired girl left the building. The noise and ramblings of students from other classes followed her ears until they faded away as she walked further. After climbing down the stairs, she finally saw Sagami walking in an empty hallway. Hiratsuka sighed in relief that she reached in time.

"Sagami!" Hiratsuka shouted which gained the brown-haired girl's attention as she turned around.

"Hiratsuka-sensei?" Sagami mumbled in an emotionless voice.

"Come with me to my office for a bit." The homeroom teacher pointed her thumb behind her. Sagami looked down, contemplating the request although her expression showed she wanted to refuse. Hiratsuka noticed that and so she slowly approached the girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "We need to talk. This is important for you."

"... okay." Sagami agreed and followed Hiratsuka upstairs and entered the faculty to the guidance counselors office. Hiratsuka sat on a soft chair while Sagami sat on a couch across from her. The homeroom teacher pulled out a small box of cigarettes and lit one with a lighter. She smoked for a moment to process all of her thoughts and coming up with the right words to say. Meanwhile, Sagami only looked down at the table without even blinking for a few seconds. She might as well memorize the tiniest details of the table and find at least a small form of amusement or a way to pass the time. Silence still emanated in the office. None bothered to speak until the other one did. Hiratsuka stared at the brown-haired girl's expression, analyzing how painful she felt after hearing such heartbreaking news. She inhaled the cigarette and released the smoke from her mouth as she crossed her legs and began to speak.

"I know it's hard for you to swallow the news," Her words made Sagami flinched for a second. Hiratsuka noticed that and so she continued. "But you shouldn't be cutting classes and stay depressed. Just pray that Hikigaya will be fine. No, that Hikigaya IS fine. So don't look so down, alright?"

"That's the same thing mom said a few days ago..." Sagami looked away from the table and clutched her skirt to resist any more tears from falling on her cheeks. However, she still couldn't resist producing a small drop of tears in her eyes. The least she could do was prevent them from falling. "Different words, same meaning, of course."

"Then you should take your mother's words to heart. People around you are worried. Do you want them to be hurt just from seeing you look like this?"

"... No... But I can't help it. Those thoughts keep coming back."

"What kind of thoughts? About whether or not you can still see him? If he's too hurt? That he died? Stop messing up yourself over those things when you don't have anything to answer those until the right time comes. Or so you want him to feel guilty and broken because you are like that?"

"Yes... I want him to," She answered with growing frustration. "I want him to know how I feel when he got hurt. I want him to feel so guilty, he'll have second thoughts on doing that stupid vigilante act. I want him to notice how hurt I am so he can only look at me. I... I..."

"That's some strong feelings you have there," Hiratsuka chuckled as she smoked the cigarette until she crushed it in the ashtray. "Keep that feeling inside you. When he shows up, give him all of that, but not like a weak idiot. It's even better to give that to someone you love when you're at your strongest."

"..." Sagami thought about her homeroom teacher's advice. It didn't exactly make all her worries disappeared but it did help her to some extent. She bowed her head and spoke. "Thank you for the words."

"No sweat it. Still feeling to skip classes?"

"Yes, I want more time to think... and rest."

"I see, that's fine. Just remember what I said, alright?"

"Yes. Thank you, Hiratsuka sensei." Sagami said her gratitude Hiratsuka with a smile that was a little forced. She stood up, grabbed her school bag, and exited the office. Hiratsuka didn't bother watching her leave as she listened to the sound of a door opening and closing while pulling out another cigarette.

"I sort of expect our conversation to last an hour or something," She thought while exhaling smoke out of her mouth. "No, I said everything she needs to hear and take heart. It's still gonna take time for her to be strong. I just hope you come back here give us your stupid grin before things get worse, Hikigaya."

---

Sagami rode a bus to go home. The bus was full of people of different ages and attire. Her eyes still didn't have light in them but it wasn't lifeless nor emotionless at the same time. She was just exhausted from all the dark thoughts in the past ten days. She never thought that thinking that way would result in exhaustion but then again, she cries several times both at home and secretly in school. So much so that she stopped putting light makeup to save the trouble of washing the ruined eyeliner. After about fifteen minutes, the bus reached the destination and she got out of the vehicle to continue her way home on foot. The walk was peaceful without encountering anyone as she reached her neighborhood. Sagami could see her house from a distance so she quickened the pace a little until she noticed a familiar woman opening the small gate of her home. The woman had long curly hair with the same hair color as her, wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt and white skirt. In her left hand held two plastic bags of groceries that contained vegetables, bread, and other ingredients, and her right hand held a black purse.

"Minami?" The woman spoke and then smiled at the girl. "You're early. Come on, I'll cook you lunch."

"Okay, mom," Sagami complied. The mother opened the gate and let her daughter enter first. The house was empty since the father went to work while the two brothers attended their respective schools.

"You go to your bedroom and wait for me to finish cooking. I'll call you from downstairs."

"Okay," Sagami climbed the stairs and entered her bedroom. She quickly fell into bed on her back and stared at the ceiling, thinking of the words the homeroom teacher gave her to encourage herself.

"It's even better to give that to someone you love when you're at your strongest"

"At my strongest, huh?" Sagami said in her mind and turned her body to the left. "I think I should do that. Hachiman is strong so I doubt he's into weak girls. Yeah, Sensei was right in a way... Just shut up, Minami. Take this seriously. Or maybe not taking it seriously will make me have positive thoughts?

Her mind wandered on the news she had watched once on the internet where it showed a picture of Hachiman in disguise was carried by a tall hooded man with a white face mask. The hero known as Isato had his face covered in blood his left arm appeared to be badly injured as if it had a severe fracture. She only saw the picture once but it was enough for her to memorize such a horrifying image. It was like an unforgettable nightmare but it was worse because it was real and not a fragment of a dream created by her consciousness. Her breathing became erratic from remembering that. She clutched her chest as her heart beat faster. She closed her eyes to remove those thoughts out of her mind and repeated Hiratsuka's words mentally. However, the more she resisted, the darker the thoughts became. She silently giggled at her own imagination. Minami never expected for her mind to go this deep, to imagine every negative scenario that terrified her. The soft laughter became silent sobs and then she went back and forth between the two actions as tears ran down from her eyes. She stopped when someone knocked on her door.

"Minami, can I come in?" It was the voice of her mother behind the door. Minami stared at the door for a moment before standing up and opening it for her mother to enter. The daughter sat in the bed with her mother beside her. The mother stretched her arms and began to speak first. "You're cutting classes again. Everything okay?"

"...No," Minami answered while rubbing her left arm.

"I see, well, it's kinda obvious so that was a dumb question. What else...?" The mother put a finger on her chin to think while Minami just stared down to her lap, not bothering to look at her. "Are you still worried about your boyfriend?"

"He's... not my boyfriend, but yeah."

"Wait, he's not?" The mother looked at her with widened eyes and covered her mouth with a hand. "I thought you two were already dating after that time you hang out at Isehara's sushi restaurant."

"That's what everyone thought in school and they still do, but we're seriously not dating yet."

"Hmmm...? Yet, huh?" The mother smirked when she heard that word and that made Minami blushed slightly. "You must really love him. After all, normal people would be shocked and worried but just lived their days as if nothing happened because there was nothing they could do. It's a problem that's beyond what they can do. But you, even though you don't have anything to help, is heartbroken and depressed. I'm so proud."

"That is the weirdest and most confusing compliment you've given me." Minami said as she stared at her mother with a raised eyebrow. Anyone would be confused by being praised for anxiety.

"I know. I'm not proud that you're depressed, I'm proud that you love someone so deeply, it hurts you when you heard that news."

"That's still weird," The daughter looked away to hide her embarrassed expression as her cheeks became redder.

"And that's why... your best ability is to wait," The mother's tone in her voice changed from a lightly teasing tone to a serious heartwarming one. Minami turned back to her and saw her smile as she gave her a head pat. "Do you know what a housewife's special skill is? It's the skill to wait for her husband to come back home from a day of hard work. You know your father goes on business trips, right? Years ago when we were still newlyweds, he told me he was going on his very first one-week business trip to Okinawa. I thought it would be fine but I suddenly remembered that co-worker who I totally knew she got the hots for him. I was worried she would make moves on my man and he would cheat on me, so I did something to make sure that he's mine and mine alone."

"What did you do?"

"I pushed him in bed and gave him the best night ever." The mother giggled while putting both hands on her cheeks just from the memory of that. Minami's face was pure red and emitted steam from that statement. Just when the daughter thought she could recover from it, her mother continued. "I still remember that to this day. His flustered face when I jumped on top of him, the way I unzipped his pants with my mouth. I still have that nightgown I wore and just from wearing that got me aroused a little. Oh! You can have the gown so when your boyfriend gets back, yo-"

"I don't need that mom! And he's not my boyfriend!" Minami shouted as she grabbed a pillow and hit her in the face repeatedly. Her mother raised both hands to guard against her attacks while still giggling and remembering that night she did with her husband.

"Ahaha, you're so cute! Look at your red face."

"Shut up!" The daughter gave her one last strong hit in the head with a pillow and threw it aiming to her face in which the mother caught the pillow in time.

"Are you relaxed now?" The mother asked while wiping a tear on the corner of her eye from laughing.

"No! Instead of being depressed, I'm feeling awkward from the stupid things you said!"

"Awkward? Oh, are you are arou-"

"MOM!"

"It's fine to think like that, sweetie. I had my first time when I was your age and my partner was the princi-"

STOP! I GET IT! OKAY!?" Minami shouted even louder and then there was silence. She breathed heavily from shouting while the mother covered her mouth to contain any further laughter and composed herself.

"So, what I'm getting at is before the man you love leaves your sight, you need to mark him as yours permanently. And it doesn't have to be sex if that's what you're thinking," The mother winked and her statement made Minami buried her face in a pillow. "Didn't you have a date with him during your Kyoto trip?"

"Yeah,"

"Did you do anything special with him?"

"Not... really?" The daughter thought about the date along with the entire trip. She and Hikigaya didn't exactly do anything special such as confessing their feelings for each other or anything beyond that. However, it felt like it was the best days she had with him. The reason was that they weren't normal. They didn't abide by the social norms and adapted to them differently. It all came down to the fact that Hikigaya was her hero and a completely new direction opened for the two teenagers. They were two unordinary high school students that went through a possible traumatic event and were able to see the light. Then there was her declaration of friendship that night in Kyoto. Now that she looked back at that time, it was probably the most special moment between her and the hero. Although Minami was still frustrated by how he confessed his wish to become just friends to her, that moment formed an even stronger bond than any friends and normal acquaintances. It was safe to assume for her that she had already established a special mark in his heart. After a few more moments of thinking, Minami nodded to herself and the mother took that as a yes.

"Then that means you can learn a certain amazing skill every housewife has."

"An amazing skill? What is it?" Minami asked in pure curiosity and the mother smiled.

"It's called 'Homemade Patience. A housewife is able to wait for her husband after he finishes a long day at work or going home from a tiresome business trip. Once the husband goes inside the house, the wife gives him the prettiest smile and says, 'Welcome home!'."

"So in other words, it's waiting?" Minami asked with a raised eyebrow. She expected something extraordinary and something only mature adults could do, so she was a little disappointed by her mother's reveal but still kept her interest in this.

"Well, yeah, basically. Life as a housewife isn't really that easy, you know? When your big brother was still one month old, I was struggling. Doing all the chores, tending his needs like milk and lullabies, and thinking about some other things. Dear, I can still remember how much of a crybaby he was. I knew little about taking care of babies back then, so I was this close to snap. But he looked reeaaalllyyy cute so I held in the stress and bear with it until your father comes back. And when he came home, he was too tired for him to be all lovey-dovey with me because of work and I almost felt like we became distant. That's how hard my life was."

"I... didn't know."

"Well, neither did your two brothers so it's fine. Anyway, one day, I visited his workplace for the first time, and guess what, it looked as dull as every office building you could expect. During that visit, I realized that he was just as tired and stressed out as I was, and yet he still worked hard. That's when it hit me.

It was so obvious that I forgot about the basic principles of a married couple. His duty is to provide us things to support our needs while my duty is to make this house as happily warm and welcome."

"That isn't the same as my situation with Hachiman."

"But it does. There are those housewives out there who are married to police and soldiers. Think about how worried they are every time their husbands leave to do their job which is dangerous and could get themselves killed. But all they can do is wait. Wait for how long whether it's weeks, months, or years until they get back home. The best wives are the ones who can turn homes into a sacred sanctuary for the family."

"I see..." Minami looked at her in awe. Her statement truly made a point. On the surface, it was the same advice that Hiratsuka gave her, but the true feeling behind it from someone who had experienced that and the clarity of this current action's value was what made Hanabi a true mother. Taking the words from both Hiratsuka and Hanabi in her heart, Minami stood up and faced her mother with a smile. "Thanks, mom."

"It was nothing, dear," The mother responded with a smile of her own and stood up to hug her daughter. She then realized something and separated herself from Minami. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you one crucial thing about my special skill."

"What's that?"

"To make it more effective, you need to say 'would you like dinner? A bath? Or maybe-"

"MOM!"

"Ahahaha! Feel better now?"

"Yeah... a little,"

"Good, now let's go downstairs and eat. Lunch should be ready by now."

"Okay," Both mother and daughter exited the bedroom and went downstairs. Minami truly felt more at ease after their conversation though not without a hint of embarrassment from her mother's... mature story. Minami sat down next to the dining table while Hanabi stirred the stew with a wooden spoon one last time before serving it in a bowl and put it at the center of the table. The food was a simple zosui (or ojiya), a mild and thin Japanese rice soup akin to a rice-based vegetable soup. It was made from pre-cooked rice and water seasoned with miso and the daughter could see the cooked meat, mushrooms, and vegetables. Minami could already tell from the aroma that her mother cooked it differently from a normal zosui. Just one spoonful and she already enjoyed the taste.

"How is it?" Hanabi asked her daughter while eating.

"It's great but why ojiya? It's not winter yet."

"It's almost winter so it counts."

They spent the rest of the day for a mother and daughter bonding with activities such as doing household chores and watching television together to watch whatever was interesting for them. After that, Hanabi taught Minami more things about cooking since she saw her practiced once at that one weekend. At first, Minami struggled with a few of the recipes her mother recommended, but she accomplished most of them with decent results that still needed improvement. All of her thoughts on Hachiman's predicament as a result of their activities and both mother's and homeroom teacher's advice on the matter. All she had to do was hope for the best and wait.

"Why am I even like this? I saw how he can kick ass so he's gotta be alright from whatever injuries he has, right? But... Maybe I need to do something while waiting for him... something that would surprise him... Should I cook him a welcome home meal or something? No, no, no, t-that's too embarrassing. But then again..." While the young girl was thinking of plans, Hanabi watched her in though lt as she was glad her daughter was back to normal again. However, some other thoughts came into the mother's mind.

"Isato-kun, you hold a special place in my daughter's heart. Personally, I want you to keep as far away from her as possible because you might endanger her from you doing those reckless acts. But you made her become a different person every time she kept mentioning you in conversations, so I want you to be there for her. Live and come back when it's right. If you don't, I won't forgive you for hurting my daughter."

And so aside from the absence of Hikigaya, everything was slowly returning to its normal state. The next day, Sagami greeted Totsuka and Kawasaki with a smile which surprised them along with the entire class that some hid their expressions and pretended to be busy at something. Totsuka was glad she was in her cheerful behavior while Kawasaki looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze. The slivery blue-haired girl still suspected she was hiding something and it could be related to Hikigaya. She wanted to ponder Sagami about it but decided to hold it in for the right time. Hiratsuka entered the room and noticed the brown-haired girl's cheerful expression and was glad that her words reached the student. However, the homeroom teacher wore a sad expression for a moment before starting class. While writing on the blackboard, her mind wandered elsewhere.

"Things are getting weirder and weirder. What the hell is going on your end, Hikigaya." She gritted her teeth as she thought about that until she resumed writing on the blackboard to avoid suspicion. "What the hell do you mean by 'dropping out of this school'!"

And so, another day had passed, and Hikigaya's seat was still empty, but the day went by without anything unusual happening. Sagami maintained her cheery self and her two friends acted the same as usual. Although, she did felt something g was off about Kawasaki but shrugged it off for now. What she couldn't ignore was Hiratsuka's angry expression when she passed her by in the hallway. The teacher looked truly enraged and if Sagami wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of sadness in her expression as well. She wondered what made Hiratsuka formed such an expression and then speculated that it could be related to Hikigaya. Did something happen to him? What if it's not him she was angry about? These were the questions that raised the doubts and worries back on the surface for a moment. However, she was able to shook it off of her mind and focused on the daily activities.

"It could be something about her work or something. Stop overthinking things." She thought as she went to bed and slept early but not without sending a text to Hikigaya, hoping he would respond.

The next day, Everything was the same usual but that didn't mean everyone was the same. Totsuka's and Kawasaki's worries on the hero's whereabouts grew in each passing time. Sagami had the same feeling but tried not to show it in her expressions and maintained a cheerful and normal atmosphere. Meanwhile, a student council president election was announced and all students wondered who could fit such a heavy role in the school. Some guessed Hayama would be the perfect candidate because everyone liked him since he was kind, attractive, athletic (even though that's not exactly part of a president's job), and smart. Others preferred Yukinoshita because she was smarter than Hayama or in fact, the smartest in the entire school. Not to mention, the number of people she had helped in the Service Club. A few of the people who suggested her were the same people that witnessed the Ice Queen's display of leadership at the cultural festival.

But, Minami didn't care much for the election, including her friends. Although, she was skeptical of the other candidate running for student council presidency.

"Isshiki Iroha?" She thought while looking at social media on her phone. "Isn't she that kohai Hiratsuka-sensei talked about? The girl Hachiman saved in the convenience store incident? She's a lot studious than I thought."

The bell rang and all classmates went back to their seats when a male teacher entered the classroom. Hours went by and school ended without anything interesting happened. The brown-haired girl looked at her text messages to see if the hero replied but unfortunately, none so far. Not even a mark that would indicate that he read any of her sighed and put her phone back to her skirt pocket as she grabbed her school bag to go home. She then felt like someone was looking at her and so she turned around to see Kawasaki giving her an odd stare. It was only a split second before she turned her gaze elsewhere, but Sagami still noticed it.

"What was that all about?" She shrugged her shoulders and continued her way home with nothing to worry except for Hikigaya's circumstance.

And then, the next three days came by and things were turning downhill from here. Hayama had been spacing out a lot that bothered his clique and so they asked what was wrong, only for him to lie that he was fine and that he was thinking about the election. In truth, he had been keeping up with the news from the television broadcast to every news site on the internet in search of a single clue about Hikigaya. Frustratingly for him, he found none. All he ever found was news about a slight increase in criminal activity and possibilities that foreign mafia came to Japan. Hayama would still check the news until he found even the slightest hint of his presence, but the frustration was giving him difficulties in maintaining the signature fake smile.

"Not to mention, Haruno-san keeps pestering me for info on Hikigaya-kun. Knowing her, she'll find out eventually on her own so I'll worry about that in time as long as she didn't bother me too much." Hayama said in his mind before the bell rang to indicate the start of the first class. Kawasaki's worries grew as Hikigaya's absence went longer. She went to his house multiple times to see if anyone arrived but all she saw was the empty darkness in the windows. The silvery blue-haired girl had only one clue of what was truly going on, and that clue was in her friend, Sagami who was secretly looking at her phone underneath the desk. Everyone went back to their seats as Hiratsuka-sensei entered the room with a stifled yawn while carrying papers.

"Alright class, attendance time." They were all silent as she called out names in alphabetical order though some were whispering about whatever topic they think was interesting, including the "Isato" situation. The attendance call was normal until something odd occurred. After calling out another classmate's name, Hiratsuka skipped Hikigaya and called the next one. A few people noticed that but it wasn't their concern and so they shrugged it off as either a mistake or the homeroom teacher didn't bother since she already he was absent. The four students who were genuinely concerned for the hero's wellbeing looked at the teacher in shock. Before anyone of them could raise their hands to ask, someone beat them to it. Tobe raised his hand and received Hiratsuka's attention. "What is it, Tobe?"

"Uhh... You forgot to call Hikitani-kun. I mean, he's absent but still, y'know?" Tobe said with an unnecessarily loud voice. Hiratsuka stared at the orange-haired boy for a few seconds and then sighed.

"Hikigaya dropped out of school so he's not a classmate here anymore." The homeroom teacher's revelation caused everyone to whisper among themselves loudly, wondering, and speculating what could have happened to the former loner of the class. Sagami lost her grip on her cellphone and it fell on the floor. All her hopes and strength built from her mother and teacher's words were completely broken down in an instant from hearing that one sentence. Some classmates, including Kawasaki, Totsuka, Hayama, Miura, Tobe, and Ebina, turned towards the brown-haired girl because they all knew that she would be hurt the most of this revelation. Sagami just stared down at her cellphone that was on the floor. It was a moment of despair but it faded away immediately as she took one deep breath and picked up the phone. No one could read her expression because of her bangs covering her eyes but they guessed that she was devastated. Class resumes and hours went by. It was now lunchtime and Sagami was just walking in the hallways to reach a vending machine nearby. After inserting a coin in the machine and pressed a button, She heard footsteps and saw Hiratsuka stood with a serious expression.

"Do you have time? I wanna talk." She asked her with both hands in the lab coat pocket.

"Yes," Sagami answered and grabbed the can in the machine when she heard it fell. She followed the homeroom teacher all the say to the faculty and once again, sat across each other face-to-face in her office. Hiratsuka didn't pull out a cigarette this time because she needed all of her concentration to this girl. However, she noticed something odd about the brown-haired girl as her expression didn't show any sign of despair, anxiety nor any negative emotions as a reaction to Hikigaya dropping out of school. Hiratsuka raised an eyebrow in confusion to Sagami's current state.

"Sagami?"

"Yes?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty devastated."

"Eh?" Sagami's answer surprised the homeroom teacher because of how contradicting her expression was to her answer. "You... don't look like it. You seem rather calm about this."

"I was scared that I might not see him again, but what I was scared the most is if he died from that incident," Sagami smiled at the teacher and chuckled lightly. "I'm glad that he's alright."

"...wow," Hiratsuka couldn't help but be amazed at her way of thinking. Normally, a person would be shocked to find out about his/her loved ones moving far away without telling anyone. The person wouldn't know where those loved ones went nor when would he/she be able to meet them again. Even if the probability of death was the largest concern, it would still be difficult for someone to accept the fact of being distant from each other. Yet, here she was, just smiling as if she was satisfied with the news. It was as if her prayers had truly been answered. The homeroom teacher chuckled until she couldn't resist releasing a burst of loud laughter. Sagami was surprised by the sudden laughter until she chuckled along as she knew the reason for the reaction. After a few seconds, Hiratsuka finally calmed down and coughed lightly to regain her composure. "Ah, Ahem. You're really something. And I thought you needed more counseling to help your mind a little."

"Ahaha, well, I might need it later on. I've been sending texts to Hachiman and I still didn't get a reply. Not even from his sister. I mean, I know they're taking time to rest from everything, but if I don't get even an emoji from him..."

"It's alright. You can lean on to your parents, brothers, me and your friends. Speaking of which, those two might find out sooner or later."

"Yes, but I'll let time do the work. I can't just say 'hey, Hachiman is that vigilante you see in the news! So he's probably in the hospital getting treatment from all those injuries!', can I?"

"Well, it's up to you to decide when you will tell them. They have the right to know. So, how's your-" Before Hiratsuka could engage in a conversation with her, Sagami's phone made a sound that indicated a notification of sorts. The brown-haired girl looked at the screen and her eyes widened at what it was.

Message from: ~~ Hachi ~~

"Hey, are you alone right now?"

"Hachiman?!"

"What?!" Hiratsuka shouted with the same level of bewilderment. Sagami showed her the screen with the notification. "Come on, reply!"

"I know, I know!" Sagami unlocked her phone and texted quickly. She texted that she was with Hiratsuka, talking, and worrying about him. Once she sent the message, he already replied.

[12:15] ~~ Hachi ~~: We need to talk on call, privately. Just the two of us.

"Bullshit. Call him," The homeroom teacher who quietly approached Sagami to read their text conversation, said while glaring at the phone.

"Uhh, t-this could be something that's just for the two of us. Y'know, maybe something we-"

"Sagami, Lemme tell you something," Hiratsuka clenched her right hand into a fist and slowly moved it in front of the brown-haired girl's face while giving her a menacing glare. "My fist isn't limited to just men. Got that?"

"Yes," WIthout hesitation, Sagami answered immediately and complied with her threats. After dialing Hachiman's phone number and listening to a few beeping sounds, Hikigaya finally answered.

"Minami?"

"H-Hey, Hachiman. How are-"

"You little dead-eyes dumbass!" Hiratsuka took the cellphone from Sagami's grasp and shouted suddenly. "Who do you think you are?! Texting your girl to have a private call after that whole shit on the last night of the Kyoto trip and THEN, being absent for almost two weeks! You really got some balls, I give you that. Now, tell me everything that happened or so help me, I'm gonna find you and when I do, the first thing I'll do is sink my fist right in your fucking face!"

She breathed after finishing her threats as Sagami could only watch he tantrum, unable to intervene even if the teacher was done speaking. A few seconds had passed and he finally responded.

"I texted 'privately, just the two of us', Minami." Both teacher and student could hear a sigh on the phone.

"S-sorry, I can't do anything against her," Minami apologized while bowing her head.

"It's fine, I believe Hiratsuka-sensei deserves to know."

"Good. Now spill, I'm literally running out of patience," Hiratsuka repeatedly tapped her toe on the floor and gritted her teeth to express her impatience and anger. "Are you alright over there? Where are you now? A hospital? What the hell did you do that night?"

"Okay, hold on. One at a time." There was a moment of silence on the other side of the call. The teacher and student faintly heard a few odd things on the other side such as a rhythmic beeping sound and the sound of air or steam. They already guessed he was in a hospital and before they could talk to each other, Hachiman spoke. "I'm only going to answer the question of where I am right now. I'm still in Kyoto recovering from injuries."

"And you're not gonna explain the whole 'drug dealer hunt' I kept hearing on the news?" Hiratsuka asked while trying her best to control her temper.

"It's basically as it sounds. I... sort of just got dragged in i-"

"'Dragged in'? You went to almost every place in Kyoto," Minami said with doubts in her voice. This time it was her turn to resist her anger towards Hachiman and his vague explanation. "And then there you are, in a hospital. It's okay to tell us. Or just me is enough."

"I want to, but I can't. Not now nor anytime soon."

"Can we still see each other again?" She asked with a hint of desperation in her voice. From his explanation, Hiratsuka and Minami could tell that his circumstances may be deeper than just a simple medical treatment after a night of reckless vigilantism. The question was only answered with silence. The brown-haired girl's hopes of seeing him again began to falter as each second passed in silence. The homeroom teacher put a hand on Minami's shoulder with an expression of sympathy while wondering what truly happened to her favored student to make him unable to reveal anything. Was it shame that prevented him? Or did his parents ordered him? Was it both? These possibilities were high but in the end, Hachiman held the true answer. Minami's eyes started watering but she held back the tears and spoke. "Hachiman?..."

"We will... I just don't know when. We can still text and call each other like this, but we won't meet each other long."

"Then, I'll wait."

"What?"

"I said I'll wait for you. Days, months, or years, I'll wait as long as I can."

"Don't be ridiculous, just focus on your own life while I deal with mine."

"No, you made me worry for weeks and now you're telling me to forget about you?"

"That's not what I-"

"Well, forget it! You know what they say, 'No crimes are left unpunished'. Your crime is leaving a heartbroken maiden alone because you're busy at work. If you keep me waiting any longer, I'm gonna have to find you and make your punishment even worse. So be sure to get back here so I can give you the best welcome ever!" Minami let out all of her breath to shout after standing up and shakingly holding the cellphone with both hands. Hiratsuka was startled at her loud declaration and released a sigh from her outburst. They also heard a sigh from the other side of the phone and could have sworn a light pat. He must have facepalmed.

"You make it sound like you're my wife," He commented with indifference, and that statement made Minami blushed and stuttered.

"W-Wife? Y-Yeah, that d-does sound l-like I'm preparing for dinner for you. A-And I really am waiting for you, y-y'know? I mean, I COULD make a feast to celebrate you coming back so i-if you want, I'll practice cooking hard so that you'll eat the b-best food ever and-"

"Okay, okay, I got it. I'll make sure to come back as soon as possible," He said with a deadpan tone but the homeroom teacher and the brown-haired girl couldn't see from the other side that he was smiling and while looking outside the window of his hospital room. He heard the voices of people talking outside of his door and made a serious expression because he was familiar with some of them. "The doctor's here. I need to go."

"Eh? Okay, then I guess it's goodbye." Minami said with a sad expression and Hiratsuka gave her a head pat. Before Hachiman hung up the call, he said a few more words.

"I'm expecting great food when I get back. It'll be even better since it's free food." And the call ended just like that. Hiratsuka shook her head at his statement as she was glad there was still a hint of his normal self. Minami couldn't stop the big smile on her face from growing, but she was so happy and determined that she tried her best to resist screaming in joy.

"Well, I guess that sort of settles it but still have a lot of questions," The homeroom teacher scratched the back of her head and finally pulled out a cigarette. "So what are you gonna do now?"

"Just like I said before, I'll wait."

"Is that so? Then there's not much to worry about." The bell rang, indicating the end of the school lunch break. Minami said goodbye and quickly ran out of the faculty room. She was so ecstatic that school ended in a flash with her friends worried about why she wasn't paying attention throughout all classes. The brown-haired girl finally exited the school building and suddenly had a thought. After holding her chin and nodding to herself, she ran out of the entrance and went to a direction away from her home. She then rode a bus with many people inside and after a few minutes, she went out of the vehicle and ran into a familiar neighborhood while accidentally bumping into people and bowing to apologize. She stopped as she reached the supposed Hikigaya household, but there was something strange. The place was still empty as usual, but the nameplate was removed.

"Hello," An old female voice surprised Minami and turned around to see the source. An old lady with a small plastic bag and a cane approached her with slow and shaky movements. "Are you here for the family living here?"

"Y-Yes."

"I'm sorry but they may have moved away."

"Moved away?"

"Yes, earlier this morning, two trucks appeared in front of this house with movers carrying boxes. The husband and wife were also there carrying boxes and putting them at the back of those trucks, but there's something odd about them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they seemed to be in a hurry and they have this panicked look on their faces. It's like they're in serious trouble." Minami thought about the old lady's explanation. Just as when she clung into the idea of Hachiman not involved in serious circumstances, this sudden moving out of the house gave her more questions and doubts. The old lady looked at the house for a moment before turning around and walked away. "I'm sorry that you didn't hear about this. I need to go now and cook some dinner."

"Oh, yes. Thank you," Minami bowed to her in appreciation for giving information. While watching the old lady walking away, her mind wandered. "What is going on, Hachiman? Things are getting even more complicated and scary. You'll come back to us, right? We're all waiting."

And she truly waited as time passed with hopes and worries carried inside her mind. She asked her mother to teach more cooking, focused her studying more than usual, and texted Hachiman with every chance and time she had. Sometimes, he wouldn't answer her calls because he was 'busy' but he didn't give her more details about it. Even though there were still questions regarding his current state, she still enjoyed interacting with him on the phone. Then there was that one time she was so engrossed in her phone, she got in trouble by a teacher for doing it in the middle of a lecture. Minami would often come to his former house to see if he came back with his family or not until someone else moved in and bought the house. It was disheartening, but she still held a firm resolve as she slowly adapted to this new daily routine. She also tried texting Komachi to see if his little sister could reply. Fortunately and surprisingly, she did and very quickly as well. When they talked on the call, Minami noticed how normal Komachi was despite what had happened to her older brother. She found it strange but kept an optimistic view of this as a sign that everything was fine on his side. As for the others, she told them that there was nothing to worry about while showing them the text conversations she had with the hero. Everyone was pleased to know his wellbeing except for two people: Hayama and Kawasaki. The Prince of Sobu High was skeptical of this. Questions kept forming in his mind but no matter how much he thought about them, the answers would not appear. Kawasaki had the same thought but more towards Sagami since she still didn't know anything such as his identity and the past few incidents of vigilantism. However, she shook her mind off of it and just focused on the positive note of this news. That Hikigaya was doing well and the gs could get better. She watched as Sagami was being teased by classmates for texting her "boyfriend" and even joked about sending each other nudes for them to take the next step into their relationship which made both the brown-haired girl and other female students blush. Kawasaki and Totsuka tried texting and calling Hikigaya multiple times but he didn't answer nor reply. He seemed to only talk to Sagami which made them wondered why just her. With questions, worries, confusion, and skepticism grew, many things changed as time passed even further.

.

.

.

.

.

And so, Two and a half months had passed.

---

It was dark with only the moon illuminating it from the window and silence was only present in the air. The room consisted of broken furniture and shattered glasses everywhere. Parts of the walls were cracked, had gunshot holes and blood. On the floor were unconscious men wearing suits with some appeared to have broken limbs and their faces full of bruises. There appeared to be broken teeth scattered on the floor and drips of blood on the floor as well, and weapons such as knives and pistols. Behind a wooden door, the sounds of gun firing and screaming echoed. It was suddenly opened by a man wearing a black hoodie and brown pants. His face was sweating and had a fearful expression, and his breath was erratic from running and the fear overwhelming his mind. He closed the door and pointed the gun at it, anticipating the enemy.

"D-Damn it! This is not part of the deal!" The man mumbled with his shaky voice and turned around to see all the unconscious men on the floor. He flinched in shock from seeing that and made his situation even worse for his mental state. The man heard muffled footsteps outside the door and so he held the gun with both hands to keep his aim still as hard as he could. Footsteps became louder and louder Indicating that the enemy was getting closer as each step multiplied his anxiety. The doorknob twisted slowly that it felt like hours had passed for him until the door slightly opened. A light came through the door and everything was silent. The man could only hear his heartbeat and breath and just stared at the door with widened eyes, not even blinking as if even closing his eyes for a millisecond, the enemy would take him out quickly. Every second, the suspense and anxiety grew and his grip on the gun shook even more. The moment the door pushed open, he fired only to hit nothing but the wall because the enemy crouched while opening it. In a matter of seconds, the enemy ran with a katana while bending low to avoid the panicked shots, and cut the barrel of the gun in half. He then pointed the blade at the man's face with intense focus in his eyes staring at the widened, terrified ones.

The person with the katana had long black hair tied to a ponytail and wore a sharp black suit and a white collared buttoned-up shirt. The man in a hooded jacket let go of the severed gun and raised both hands as a sign of surrender.

"I-I give up! Please don't kill me!" He begged with full desperation while crying.

"You're the one who's trespassing our territory so don't blame me for this." The man with the katana raised the weapon and attempted to cut him down, only to be stopped by someone grabbing his wrist. He looked to his left side to see a black-haired man wearing the same attire as him with bandages wrapped around his forehead and left hand, and a scar on his left cheek. His right hand had scars and holding a brass knuckle covered in blood.

"Stop, killing him won't do any good," The man with the brass knuckle spoke with indifference.

"Hah? What the hell are you on about? Our mission is to kill this fucker for trying to set up a drug business here. You want him to live?"

"And the reason why we should let him live is because of that. Of all the places he could go, he had to pick a place ruled by the most powerful yakuza group."

"Shouldn't we say that he's too stupid to know that?"

"No. The way I see it, this guy knows about us. Our organization made a huge impact in the criminal underworld and you telling me he still didn't get an air about us? Too suspicious."

"That's where you're basing off? That's just pure bullshit with no evidence!"

"Then let's get one from him." He said as he pointed a thumb at the frightened individual. "You will answer all our questions, right? Because if you don't, well, this guy will have his way."

The scared man then looked back at the Yakuza member who was looking closely at his blade and then glared which made him flinched.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you everything so please!" After a full explanation from the unfortunate criminal, the two yakuza members exited the room but not without knocking him unconscious. They were now walking in the hallway silently with the katana-wielding member glared at his partner.

"You're such a coward. What? Too much of a wuss to see guts spilling out or some shit?"

"No. I'm just thinking outside the box sometimes."

"Oh, fuck off."

"What are you upset about? We extracted important info from him that will surely benefit us."

"And then let him live! Since he doesn't have any uses for us, we should've killed him."

"And not make better use of him to us? Just think of the other way for once."

"Tch, I really hate you for a newcomer. I'm supposed to be the youngest yakuza member of this generation but you just have to show up."

"How am I supposed to know that you joined this organization? It's not like I'm keeping tabs on you or something."

"Whatever, but let me make this shit clear. I'm the youngest OFFICIAL member while you're still just a newbie in these parts. Got that? So not only that, I'm your senior so show some fucking respect."

"Just calm down, will you? You'll get the 'youngest official member' title one hundred percent. After all, I won't stay here long."

"Ah yeah? Tell me more abou-" Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a hand breaking through a wall and grabbed the "newbie" by the neck. The person walked through the wall as if it was only made of cardboard and revealed himself to be a 7 feet tall foreign man wearing a dark brown coat and matching fedora.

The tall enemy planned to strangle him to death but the newbie punched his wrist with the brass knuckle two times to make the tall enemy break his grip and escape. The newbie ducked to evade his other hand from grabbing him again by the neck and the katana wielder swung its blade but the tall enemy caught it with his right bare hand. The yakuza member tried to pull the katana out of his grasp but this foreign opponent was stronger than him. The newbie punched the enemy's groin with the brass knuckle in order to loosen his grip but instead, he flinched in pain and gritted his teeth for a moment to resist it, and then forcefully took the weapon from the wielder's hands. The tall foreigner thrust a kick on the long-haired man's abdomen which pushed him into a wall. Now stolen the katana, he swung it down with his left hand towards the next target, and the moment he did that, the newbie moved forward instead of stepping back or duck to evade. Using the force of the foreigner's swing, he did a right uppercut his left wrist which caused the opponent to feel excruciating pain and make his left hand feel numb. The katana was dropped and the newbie caught it before it touched the floor and thrust it at the foreigner's right thigh.

However, it didn't pierce flesh and instead, scraped it and the tall enemy used that opportunity to do a successful left back fist on his cheek. The young yakuza blocked it in time. However, he tumbled away from the force of that attack but managed to get back up and saw his partner getting back the weapon snd fought with it. The foreigner tried to punch him in the face but the katana wielder moved his body to the side to evade and then sliced the opponent's right side. The cut appeared to be severe as blood came down from it that stained the coat and dripped down to the floor. The long-haired yakuza continued as he attempted to stab him from behind, but the foreigner turned his body sideways to dodged and with the momentum, did a left back fist that hit the back of the yakuza member's head. The newbie charged with both fists close to the sides of his face as if he was a boxer. The tall enemy noticed him and so he prepared a strong right jab at his face. In response, the young yakuza member prepared his own right punch, and both quickly attacked. He slightly leaned to his right and hit the foreigner's right wrist when the attack came close by inches which made his arm flung back. The tall enemy felt pain once again in his wrist but didn't stop attacking the newbie, hoping he would land a single punch. Unfortunately for him, the man in bandages defended himself by punching his wrists every time he threw those punches. It came to the point where the foreigner couldn't use his hands for a while and so he tried to swing a left kick aiming at the head only to meet the same results as the newbie did a straight jab at the ankle joints, fracturing his left ankle in the process.

"Ty khorosh dlya malen'kogo rebonka." The foreigner spoke but in a language, both yakuza members couldn't understand.

"What language is that?" The newbie asked.

"I think that's Russian." The long-haired yakuza guessed while standing up and grabbed the katana.

"How can you tell?"

"Well, if you use the internet deep enough, you learn the weirdest things," He answered with a chuckle and went back to glare at the tall man with a serious expression. "Are you from the Barbaros Syndicate?"

"YA ne ponimayu tvoyego yazyka, no znayu, chto tebe interesno, kto poslal menya ili s kem ya rabotayu, sudya po tvoim vyrazheniyam. (I do not understand your language, but I know that you are wondering who sent me or who I am working with, judging by your expressions.)," The Russian spoke even though they couldn't understand. He raised both fists and posed an upright stance at the young yakuza member. "Eto yedinstvennyy sposob otvetit' na vashi voprosy. Ponimayesh'? (This is the only way to answer your questions. Do you understand?)."

"I'm guessing his business involves killing us," The newbie posed his own upright stance and stared at his tall opponent with focus. Both stood still, waiting for the other to move or any kind of sign that would initiate a fight. Meanwhile, the katana wielder looked irritated at the enemy as his grip on the weapon tightened so much it shook. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he glared the foreigner's back and to the newbie

"Oi! You ignoring me you gaijin fucker?! Why is he facing you?!"

"I don't know. My punches must've left a good impression on him."

"Impression, my ass!" The long-haired yakuza pointed the blade at the foreigner's back and joined in on waiting for the fight to begin. A drop of sweat ran down the newbie's cheek and the moment it dropped on the floor, they all moved. As expected, the tall enemy focused on the young yakuza while ignoring the katana wielder.

"Don't ignore me or I'll cut you!" The long-haired yakuza shouted while running towards them. The Russian threw a right jab aiming for the newbie's left temple, but the newbie ducked in time and left punched the cut injury on his right side. The Russian screamed in pain before throwing another punch in the face which the young yakuza could only block it and got pushed into a wall. The katana wielder aimed to stab his back once again, only to be evaded by turning his body to the right. The Russian attempted to hit him with a right back fist and the long-haired yakuza ducked and swung the blade to his right thigh as blood splattered on the wall. He then attempted to stab his abdomen, but the tall foreigner blocked it with his right arm. The blade pierced through his arm and moved it to the side to grab the yakuza's neck with the left hand. The long-haired yakuza struggled to break free until the newbie punched the Russian's cut injury on the right side with a brass knuckle. The tall foreigner gritted his teeth to resist the pain but that made his grip on his target weakened as the katana wielder escaped and jumped to slice his neck. The Russian bent backward to avoid the blade from even touching his neck. The young yakuza right punched the same spot again which made the tall foreigner falter.

"Gghh!" The Russian grunted as his vision blurred because of how much blood he lost from those cuts and then the stab wound on his left forearm. The newbie finished him off by jumping to punch his face with the brass knuckle. The tall foreigner fell on the floor with his back, unconscious as blood dripped down. The two yakuza members breathe heavily from the exhaustion of the fight and stared at each other for a moment until the long-haired yakuza swung his katana in the air to wipe away the blood in his blade. The newbie took off the Russian's black coat and ripped it apart into long pieces of fabric to use them as bandages but they were not for him, but his enemy. His partner witnessed his act of kindness and scoffed.

"You have to be fucking kidding me..." He mumbled in anger and grabbed the newbie by the collar of his shirt. "I'm sick and tired of you playing the good guy here. Does the word 'yakuza' not part of your fucking vocabulary or something?! Stop acting nice to these bastards!"

"We need him alive for interrogation. If he's from the Barbaros Syndicate like you said, then this is an even bigger problem than what we've imagined."

"Ugh, I hate when you make a fucking point," The katana wielder let go of him and grabbed the Russian's left arm after his partner finished wrapping the makeshift bandages on his injuries. "Well, come on. Let's get him out and drop him in our car."

"Do you think he can fit in that vehicle?" The newbie asked while grabbing the foreigner's right arm and they both dragged him in the hallway.

"We can figure it out. More importantly, we got a week left till Christmas. Got any plans?"

"And why are you curious about what I'll be doing at Christmas?"

"Don't get me wrong, dumbass. I just want you to let me know if you're going out of town or whatever so I can find a substitute before the boss picks one for me. Sometimes, he doesn't give me a professional or some shit."

"So you consider me as professional? I'm kinda flattered."

"That's not what I meant, you fuckin-" The moment he pointed the katana at the newbie, a cellphone vibrated in the young yakuza's pocket. The newbie pulled it out to see what it was and the long-haired yakuza smirked when he looked at the screen. "Your girlfriend? Ya gonna have some fun time on Christmas night?"

"That's not it, you-"

"Damn, you're one hell of a man for someone so young. Better step my game up and find the best hooker in the city."

"Since when did we have that kind of competition? Again, she's not my girlfriend and to answer your question, no I don't have any plans for Christmas."

"She's not your girlfriend even though you were texting each other a lot? Is it a long-distance relationship?"

"I'm not in a relationship." The young yakuza read the message on his phone and quickly replied. Meanwhile, the long-haired yakuza's phone also vibrated so he let go of the left arm and pulled out the phone to see what it was.

"We got another job. Someone's messing one of our brothels here." He looked at his partner who was so busy texting he didn't listen. A vein popped in the katana wielder's head as he pointed the blade very close to the newbie's face. "Oi! I said we got another job. Text your girl later."

"Oh, right." He locked the phone and dragged the Russian while moving past all the unconscious and dead men in suits lying on the floor. As they went downstairs, they were met with another group of people in suits that had guns pointing at them. The two yakuza members looked at each other for a moment before raising their hands to surrender.

"Ha-Hahahaha! We finally cornered you!" The man in the middle laughed nervously with a twitchy smile. "You're gonna pay for every shit you've done to us!"

"Who's he?" The newbie asked.

"How should I know? I don't keep tabs on our jobs as long as I get paid. Must be a sorry dumbass who got dumped by a hooker."

"Are you fucking serious?!" The man shouted in irritation. "You guys kicked me out of that bar for no reason, remember?!"

"Does it ring a bell?" The long-haired yakuza asked his partner with a raised eyebrow.

"Doesn't click one bit," He answered while shaking his head. "You really came all this way for such a petty reason?"

"Ruining someone's fun is the biggest crime in life. y'know?"

"More getting rid of an asshole from the bar. I remember now, this guy was that drunk moron who tried to trash one of our bars. We kicked you out so you won't ruin the place so fuck your 'no reason' bullshit."

"And I thought you would understand since you also did the same thing months before you joined the yakuza. From what I heard, you really destroyed that sushi restaurant."

"Meh, times changed. I now realized there are more fun ways to wreak havoc. All it takes is to get beaten up by a couple of losers and get shit on to have the balls to explore. You should experience once in a while. It's kinda helpful."

"Eh? He actually said something wise? That's a surprise. Except..." The newbie thought and then stared at his partner with a deadpanned look. "When you said 'more fun ways to wreak havoc', you mean cutting people with your katana, right?"

"Heh, that's part of it," he answered with a huge grin. "Well, dumbass?!: Arr you gonna kill us or what?!

"Shut up!" The man shouted angrily and looked at his subordinates. "Tie them up and drop them in the van."

"What? Too scared to shed blood, pussy?!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! Killing you would be too easy. I want to slowly savor every moment of you bastards crying till your eyes bleed. And I surely will enjoy it."

"So torture, huh?" The long-haired yakuza said in a deadpan tone.

"You sound like those stupid cliche villains." The newbie commented with the same tone as his partner.

"You fucking-, why are you all just standing there?! I said tie these sacks of shit!" The man shouted even louder and the subordinates followed his orders without delay. Two of them put away their pistols behind them and held ropes that would use to restrain the yakuza members. They approached them with caution, but the moment they were a foot closer to them, the yakuza members made their move. The long-haired yakuza punched the henchman to the face and turned him around to choke him while stealing the gun in the back of his pants, while the newbie swung a kick on the other henchman's groin, gave a right uppercut to the chin and used him as a shield as the young yakuza charged at the group. The group fired, attempting to aim at the newbie but the back of one of their members was in the way. The long-haired yakuza began shooting as well, aiming at the enemies on the far left since they have a better angle to shoot his partner. He killed five of them in quick succession while the others ran to find cover. Meanwhile, the young yakuza finally closed the distance and kicked his 'shield' at the enemy. He didn't waste a second as he right kicked the gun that was aiming at his left side of his head and elbowed him in the stomach, did a left uppercut to the face, and finished off with a right straight punch to the face again. He then ducked to evade a predictable gunshot and quickly wore his brass knuckles while running towards the gunner that fired. The newbie swung a low kick on the gunner's left leg which made him lost balance and then after successfully fitting the brass knuckle in his right hand, he used it to do a right hook on the left side and left cheek. He swung an upward left kick to the face and all of his actions from meat shield to here happened within a few seconds while the sounds of guns firing echoed in the area. The long-haired yakuza knew the gun was running out of bullets since he counted every shot fired so he dragged the henchman to a nearby table, flipped it down with his foot to use it as a cover and then shot the henchman in the head. He pickpocketed two magazines from that corpse to reload the pistol and began shooting the two enemies who were aiming at his partner. The remaining subordinates took cover and kept shooting at the table while the others focused on the young yakuza.

The leader became terrified that his entire gang of twenty people was losing quicker than he imagined. The newbie's reckless charge and the long-haired yakuza's aiming with the firearm to provide his partner support was a monstrous combo. In fact, he bet none could imagine there would be someone such as the young yakuza to just charge into a group that has guns, unarmed aside from the brass knuckle. He watched as the newbie beating up his subordinates while using them as cover. The newbie did a right hook to his nearest enemy and quickly ran behind him to throw the gunners off. He proceeded to hit the enemy by punching the sides and did a straight left punch at the back of his head to cause dizziness. He then grabbed the henchman's left shoulder and pushed him with his own shoulder to use him as a shield like what he did on the first one. The enemies proceeded to shoot him, hoping a bullet would at least graze him even if they were killing their own comrade. Meanwhile, his partner then ran out of his cover to grab the katana that was lying on the floor while shooting three more enemies in the head who had a better angle to shoot the newbie. As his subordinates fell and defeated, the leader stepped back in fear and tried to run away. However, the newbie already had his sights on him as he threw a gun at the back of his head and pinned him down to the floor.

"You're not getting away." The newbie said in a menacing tone as his partner finished off the last two remaining henchmen by stabbing the first one then sliced the other's throat.

"Alright, got any last words before I cut you in half?" The katana wielder said with an irritated expression as he quickly walked towards the restrained leader and pointed the blade at his nose.

"P-Please! That was a j-joke just now, you hear me? Come on, can't you all just let me go and I swear I'll never do this again." The man begged with a faltering smile and his beg for mercy made the long-haired yakuza grinned menacingly while the newbie sighed and shook his head in disappointment

"Well, we do want to because it's a waste of time... if it weren't for the three things you did tonight." The newbie turned him around to let him lay on the floor with his back.

"One, you were going to torture us." His partner's katana touched the leader's nose and bled as the blade sank to the flesh.

"And two, you found us here when we were very discreet. Whether it was just by chance or not, we'll get you to spit it all out." After that, he punched the leader's face, attempting to knock him out unconscious.

"W-Wait! Gghh!" The defeated leader interrupted him before he could land more punches while his nose bleed. The two yakuza members waited for him to talk with patience running thin. After a few seconds of grunting, he spoke. "W-What's number... three?..."

"Oh, three is you forced us to exhaust ourselves because of your petty excuse." That was the only answer the newbie gave before punching him in the face two times and knocked him out.

"Welp, and I thought that this night won't get any shittier, this dipshit made it the second shittiest night I've ever had." The katana wielder complained with a sigh of exhaustion while scratching the back of his head and held the katana across his shoulder.

"What's first?" The young yakuza asked while carrying the unconscious leader over his left shoulder.

"The night my dad disowned me."

"Oh..." The newbie's phone vibrated once again. It was vibrating ever since the fight began and he ignored it to stay alive from the enemies. As he pulled it out of his pocket and began texting, the long-haired yakuza looked at all the defeated men, more specifically men that the newbie fought. Some were still conscious but unable to move because of the excruciating pain he had given them or how he broke their limbs to render them immobile while others were fully knocked out. He turned back to the young yakuza who was once again engrossed in a text conversation until he was interrupted.

"Oi, oi, you can spend your time with your girl later. Right now, we need to figure out how to carry two people." The long-haired yakuza went back to the unconscious Russian and tried his best to drag him outside by pulling his right arm.

"Didn't this guy said about a van?" The newbie put the cellphone back to his right pocket and followed him outside.

"Then let's steal that shit and be on our way. Also..." He then pointed the katana at his partner's face and glared at him. The newbie only looked indifferent to his action and had another staredown. The long-haired yakuza slid down the weapon and now it touched his chest. "I don't fucking know why you joined us but if you want to work here, you gotta do the jobs, even the dirtiest ones. Get your hands full of blood and kill for the old man. You can act nice all you want but it'll come back to bite you."

"I know,"

"You're in the underworld now. Morals won't mean shit when you're in shitty situations."

"I know that. You don't have to tell me since you're not the first one who said that to me."

"Then..." The katana wielder let go of the Russian's arm and went back inside towards the nearest henchman lying on the ground with his front who was fully awake and tried to get up. However, his life ended when the long-haired yakuza stabbed his back.

"GAAAHH!" The henchman screamed and coughed up blood. The young yakuza dropped the leader as if he was baggage and angrily walked towards his partner. His right hand clutched into a fist and as he closed the distance between them, he punched him hard in the face but not without receiving a punch to his own face from his partner. Both withstood each other's punches as they express their anger. The newbie hoped he could save the dying henchman but he knew better with that amount of blood and injury, it was too late. That man wasn't as physically capable and built as the tall Russian, and so he quickly met his demise with a puddle of blood under him.

"What? You got mad that I killed him?" The long-haired yakuza moved his face forward and resisted the punch while the newbie did the same. "You're such a hypocrite, you know that? You think using their own men as a shield against their bullets doesn't count as murder? Well, guess what, you're practically doing the same thing as every people who live in the underworld; and that is doing everything they can to make money or whatever goal they have. And that includes stabbing a motherfucker to death!"

The katana wielder then surprised the newbie with a stomp to his right foot which made him winced in pain and then did a left hook in the face. The young yakuza fell on his back and was about to get back up, but a blade was pointed between his eyes. The katana wielder stood tall while moving the weapon even closer until the blade touched his skin.

"Get used to this shit, cuz you're not going back to your normal life. Hell, your normal life is gone after you did that shit back in Kyoto, Isato-kun."

"Do NOT call me that," The newbie called 'Isato' said with a menacing voice. They both glared at each other for a few seconds before the long-haired yakuza pulled the katana away from him and went back to the tall Russian to pull towards the black van.

"Let's go, we still have that job we're supposed to clean up."

"...yeah," The newbie stood up and carried the unconscious leader into the vehicle while his mind wandered on the events that happened in the past two and a half months. From the incidents that led him to the present to the actions that changed those around him. It was a struggle, and it was ironically even more struggling for him after his injuries healed. All of this gave him one goal in mind that forced him to decide to join the yakuza. "I will get my freedom back, and get this 'famous detective' out of my sight. This is the only path I could accept. There's no turning back now."

---

So yeah, this is the one I'm talking about; a timeskip.

I could try to make it slow and show more like the student council election, and events that led 8man to be part of the yakuza but I thought this is the right move and I will put some flashbacks here and there to make clarity of this current arc.

"But MagicName88. what gave you the idea of 8man being a yakuza!?"

Well, there was this one fanfic I read a year ago. I can't remember the title but it was about 8man being a yakuza boss after high school graduation. I thought it fits him. Y'know, with his looks and everything... So yeah! Let me know in the reviews on your thoughts about this chapter!

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