"Hachiman, don't slouch!" The mother said, "And stop looking at people with that creepy face!"
Hachiman really wanted to cry. It's not that he did not appreciate parental affection, but this kind of affection might just kill the last shred of pride he had.
"Excuse me, mother, didn't you say my face is handsome?" He asked.
"Yes, I do, but I don't want them to go to waste as well." The mother sighed, "You know what, ask your father."
"Hmm? Well, I think you have a consistency problem."
"Consistency?"
"Listen, Hachiman. Human faces also covered in muscles, if those muscles remain unused they become weak and unreliable."
His father put a bright, wide and dumb looking smile before turning it into intense, frightening frown.
"Wait, who the hell are you?" Hachiman asked.
The father returned to his normal, laid back neutral self. "That's called consistency. Because your expression isn't consistent, your face comes off as off-putting. Your facial muscles keep twitching, which means there would be a lot of unwanted and unneeded movement."
"So the point of this training would be to train your facial muscles and make them more consistent." Komachi smiled and pointed her own face cheekily.
"Speaking of which, Komachi-chan is training to be an idol?" Hachiman asked, "I want to be surprised but I don't."
"Isn't that sounds pretty good?"
Hachiman had the feeling he shouldn't say anything and keep quiet.
"So? What about it, Oniichan?"
"Are you sure you want to hear my opinion?"
"Mmmh, totally!" Komachi excitedly asked.
He smiled devilishly as he asked, "Let me ask you something, then. When you think of an idol, what do you imagine them to be, Komachi-chan?"
"Hmm? I guess they went to sing, dressed in fancy clothes and acting cute everywhere." Komachi said, "They're also very busy and spend most of their time in the studio. I think it's a huge hassle to think about."
"Nah, the issue is more fundamental than that." Hachi said, "The issue is more grounded and simple. Mother was an Idol too, so she should understand."
"..." The mother grit her teeth in response.
"Huh? What was the issue?" Komachi asked.
"An Idol isn't just a shorthand for young talent." Hachiman said gravely, "The etymology of Idol means an object of worship, it's sacred, holy and untouchable. But at the end of the day, an Idol is just an object. Not a person."
"Once you become an idol, your entire life is dedicated to two things only: your career and your fans. Little to no way of normal friends, and you're not allowed to have a boyfriend. Are you sure you wanted to put your high school life in that kind of situation?"
The father froze.
Komachi, meanwhile, looked like she's about to be brought to tears from shock.
"Is... that... true?" Komachi looked at him in disbelief.
"I... honestly never thought about that before." The father sighed, "I'm sorry Komachi-chan."
"It's because the girls you recruited were plain abnormal. They don't have a social life worth shit like omachi did." The mother sighed, "Your studio seems to be entirely free of romance scandal and I always thought it was weird."
"Well, more like they just keep harassing me and seducing other young men in the studio." The father finally breaks into tears, "I'm sorry, Daddy has failed you, Komachi!"
"Whatever you're crying for? Too soon to give up now." The mother rolled a magazine and smacked him on the head with it, "It doesn't have to be idol career path doesn't it?"
"Huh?" Komachi gawked, stopped halfway before she began to cry.
"She could fill in for an audition." The mother shrugged, "Being an idol might be the shortest path to success, thanks to Komachi's innate character, but it's not the only way. This is why I keep being quiet all this time. I just want you to focus on your studies first."
The father hugged her and buried his face in her chest, "I love you so much."
The wife could only glare at her crybaby husband with annoyance but decided not to push him away because she felt embarrassed.
He was a shortsighted idiot, indeed, but his heart was in the right place and she was willing to forgive him for that.
"Just be a normal celebrity like a normal person." Hachiman patted Komachi's head gently, then wiped the tiny tears from the corner of her eyes with his finger. "I'll be studying, please excuse me."
Komachi blushed a bit, "Thank you for the useful warning, Onii-chan."
"Well, it's Onii-chan's job to take care of his little sister." He smirked... or at least tried. He was really embarrassed about it too and his face just keeps twitching creepily.
And Hachiman disappeared by the upstairs soon afterward.
"That boy really such a handful." The mother grinned, "He had our best and worst attributes combined into one twisted blend of personality."
"But you don't hate him right?" The husband peeked up from her ample breasts, which made her popped veins and then karate chop his face lightly.
"OW."
"I am not that heartless." She chided
"Komachi like him." Komachi said, "He's a bit twisted, but Komachi feel he's really a kindhearted person inside."
The father and mother eyed their daughters suspiciously, wondering in what context Komachi was talking about. Still, it was true that those three acclimated quickly to the presence of the peculiar new family member.
As if they have been living with each other for years.
It was as if Hachiman always been part of this household, and it scared them so much because how easy it was for them to accept him, and yet, they don't know if he felt the same at all.
"I wonder, where did he come from."
"Alternate universe?"
"That's dumb."
"As if you have a better explanation."
"I'm worried." The mother quickly switched the topic of conversation, "About him, and the people he left behind."
"Hiratsuka-sensei said she'll bring him to see doctors." The father said, "Let's just pray for the best."
Komachi looked sad when she heard that. She wondered if somewhere out there, another Komachi is mourning for her missing older brother.
But at the very least, she will need to make sure that Hachiman feels welcomed here.
...
"He was a very peculiar case." The doctor finally said she finished her assessment, "He's different than her... twin sister, for lack of a better word. Though their root of the problem remains the same, their way of coping with it is different."
"Meaning?"
"He's afraid of building a new relationship." The doctor shook her head, "He felt somewhat guilty of his own upbringing, that's an unhealthy attitude to have but..."
"But?"
"It's nothing grave. He had no sign of mental illness like other subjects, but carrying that amount of burden put him in risky territory."
"Familial support must be emphasized so he could grow accustomed to his new family, that's for sure. However, forcing him by artificially creating suitable condition will backfire. His sensitivity to the changes in the environment around him is impeccable."
"I see. So in other words..."
The doctor smiled, "It's been a week since he came to his new home and me could tell, he's improving. The worst possible crisis unlikely to happen, because his family seems to treat his existence like it's the most natural thing. I don't think it even dawned on him yet that he had a different family."
"I see, that's a good news." Hiratsuka sighed in relief.
"However, that doesn't mean he's completely safe yet." The doctor warned, "Sooner or later, he will have to face the reality that his ties with his old family completely severed."
"As such, I recommend keeping undergo counseling, if only to deal with possible grief. The unseen crack in his unbreakable psyche."
Unseen crack?
There's nothing about it was unseen. Hiratsuka hissed.
"In one week, she'll be here." Hiratsuka said, "The other Hikigaya will return from France, and that would be the decisive moment where his mental integrity will be tested."
"...No offense, but are you kidding me?"
"Tell me about it doctor."
Hiratsuka, though more preoccupied with something else.
The existence of Hikigaya Hachiman was an enigma. he was a person that supposedly exist in the past, and no longer exist in the present. And yet, he appeared just like that, with absolutely no sign of falsehood.
In other words, even the foundation would have a hard time dealing with it, without nudging the line of legal paperwork.
However, there still possibilities to accomplish that without severely breaking any sort of law.
"There's no mistake." The other teachers said as they spread over the exam paper that Hachiman filled, "He would easily make it to top 40 in his grades. Maybe even Top 40 if he put more effort."
"So there shouldn't be any problem for him to transfer in." Hiratsuka carefully removed the emphasis from her last word.
"Indeed. I think it's simply a matter of class placement."
"Put him in Class 2-F," Hiratsuka said.
"Class 2-F? But why?"
"I'm pretty sure he had a lot of people he's familiar with." Hiratsuka crossed her fingers behind her back, "Besides, I was the one who tutored him in these past weeks. It would be easier for him to integrate that way."
It's not like she lied or anything. Besides, she had the full support of the Foundation to handle Hachiman's case.
"Top 40 huh?" Hiratsuka looked at the report card.
Hachiman had been marathoning repeat exams, enough to fill one and a half year worth of academic experience, in less than two weeks time.
He was driven by one and only goal: to enter Soubu high, and went to sheer length to accomplish just that.
Because it was the proof of his existence.
やはり, 俺の関係の値はリセットされました
As Expected, My Relationship Values had been Reset
Disclaimer:
Original Story by Watari Wataru
Chapter 2 - Subverted Expectation
"You are... who?"
Hachiman gasped as he woke up from an indescribably frightening nightmare. His breath ragged and uneven, and his skin was cold yet drenched in sweat.
He looked up as his vision become clearer, to see the worried face of his little sister, Komachi.
"Ah... Komachi..."
"Onii-chan, did you get a nightmare?"
"...something like that."
He looked around to notice that it was in the living room and then began to remember what happened.
"You passed out when you finished the final exam." Komachi smiled and poked his cheeks playfully. "While I'm happy you're working hard, I'm really worried you know?"
He just realized he was laying on her lap, and quickly sit straight in panic.
"Sorry about that." He said, legitimately afraid, "How long I was out?"
"Two hours."
"That long? I'm really sorry."
"Nah, no need, you've been spending less and less sleeping in the past two weeks. It's not going to be healthy for you." Komachi told him, "But now you have all the time in the world to rest."
"I see."
He was so anxious that he couldn't sleep properly, but now... it should be fine.
Theoretically, that is.
"She should be here at any moment..." He muttered.
"Huh?" Komachi perked up, "Oh right, Aneki should be here soon."
"I'm home!" A loud, somewhat boyish voice called out from the entrance. Hachiman instantly froze as soon as he realized that he wasn't at all ready.
Truthfully, he was so busy with the examination, in both medical and academic sense, that he almost forget that this wasn't his house at all.
At least, not the one he raised in.
Or maybe he simply tried to suppress the thought.
"Is it fine for me to be here?" He asked himself mentally, "Is there even a place left for me?"
Even last night, he was sleeping in the guest room. Because at the end of the day, that was what he was.
A guest.
An uninvited guest.
Back then, he always boasts himself as someone who was fine even if he was alone. But at the end of the day, he took his own family's existence for granted.
And now, he lost them forever.
In this merciless and unjust world, he was truly alone.
Still...
Even if it's a little, he wanted his existence to be acknowledged.
By his other self.
So Hachiman slowly walked toward to the door to the living room, only to be stopped by the tall figure of a young woman.
Dark blue disheveled hair, grey eyes devoid of passion, pale dry lips on a sharp-jawed face. It was like he suddenly looking into a mirror.
And then there was a hysterical, girly scream.
Hachiman just knew he can't generate that much of a high pitched voice and covered his ears reflexively. The female Hikigaya dropped on her back and desperately slid back in horror.
"Don't kill me please!" She screamed.
"Huh?" He blinked.
"You-you're a doppelganger right?! You want to kill and replace me?!"
"...whatever you're saying please stop, that hurts." He deadpanned.
Hachi regained her rational thought, but he was panting like crazy from the shock.
"What are you doing Aneki?" Komachi peeked up from behind Hachiman.
"K-Komachi?"
"I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about so I guess you should sit over there, and I'll go."
Komachi pulled Hachi's briefcase and hurriedly drag it upstairs, though she was never the most athletic girl and struggled.
"Wait, Komachi!"
Hachiman was thoroughly confused by how emotionally expressive his female counterpart seems to be. he himself was too stunned and frightened to even move an inch.
Still, his trembling hands was extended out.
Hachi grabbed his hand and recover herself soon enough.
"Who are you?"
"Hikigaya Hachiman." He simply answered, "I know you must think like, 'But I was Hachiman' or 'Hachiman doesn't exist anymore'. But... at the very least, I would appreciate if my existence is acknowledged."
"It's like you're reading my mind." She smirked.
He sat on the right edge of the sofa while Hachi sat on the other edge. It's pretty clear that they're awkward with each other and the tension was thick enough that a knife could cut it.
"A little creepy right?"
"Well, now you said that it does sound creepy." She sheepishly smirked, "So... anyone wants to tell me what's going on?"
"Few hours after you left Japan, apparently I just appear here unprompted. No sign of anything weird, which makes it all the more frightening for everyone. Including myself."
"At first I thought everything was normal but Komachi didn't recognize me." Hachiman looked away, clearly still hurt even two weeks since it happened, "She said 'you're not Aneki'."
"And? Why should I believe you?" Hachi eyed him suspiciously.
He scoffed, "I know all your secrets. Every girl you confessed to, all the sources of your embarrassing nicknames... our memories, up to the accident, would be pretty much identical, with little to no difference."
She squirmed in response to that.
"Oh, and I'm also proven to share 100% biological match with our... your parents. If that helps...we're basically twins."
"You have fucked up information priorities but okay..." Hachi took a deep breath to calm herself, "I believe you."
She took it surprisingly well. If he was in her position, he wouldn't be sure he could be as open-minded.
And then there was an awkward silence.
"So uh... where did you come from again?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's an alternate universe or simple timeline divergence, no one knows. Not me, not your parents, not even Hiratsuka-sensei."
"I see."
"...how could you take this so well?!" He asked in repressed anguish, it's pretty clear that he was frustrated with his situation.
"..."
She looked at him grimly, "Maybe because of my guilt. So I believe... no, I like to think that I really believe you."
"Guilt?"
"Yeah." Hachi told him, "When I decided to undergo corrective surgery, I fully realize that the moment I made that decision, the story of Hikigaya Hachiman would end. And yet... even today, sometimes I wonder, what would happen if I decide not to go through with it? What if I continued to live as Hikigaya Hachiman? Would I be happier? Would I feel less guilt from deceiving everyone and myself?"
"But looking at you, in flesh and blood like this, I feel relieved." She smiled in relief, "You know, it might sound selfish, but I have a request... would you like to do it? Continuing the story of Hikigaya Hachiman, that is."
"...if you decided to continue your life with his identity..." He muttered, "Hypothetically that is, you came back to school like normal, weeks or months after the opening ceremony. By the time you started, the other students already form their own cliques and groups, and no one would take you in."
"So for the rest of the year, you would end up alone, because you're too afraid to seek your own group." He bitterly grinned, "That's what I think would happen."
"Using yourself as a reference?" She slid closer and whispered, "That makes your story all the more believable, you cheater."
When he felt her breath on his skin, he instantly jolted away and fell off the sofa. He look absolutely terrified, or rather, embarrassed by their proximity.
Hachi was completely speechless, she did not expect that reaction, even if she should.
"...What, don't tell me you're afraid of girls?"
"Rather than afraid of girls more like I'm a perfectly trustworthy gentleman, see." He panicked and then went right into his usual defensive braggart mode.
"I smell bullshit when I hear that one." She groaned and then crawled down the sofa like a predator until she managed to pin him to the floor. "Just how long you spent school without contact with female students huh?"
"Umm, one and half a year?" He looked away, blushing. "Well, between Orimoto incident and second year I guess?"
"And what happened in the second year?" She yanked his collar and asked.
"I got volunteered by Hiratsuka-sensei to join a club, I meet some girls there but you can't say they're normal at all." He twitched, "Seriously this position will cause misunderstanding, please get off."
From the outsider's point of view, she waspretty much straddling him.
And Komachi was there, standing on the door.
"Waah, Aneki I knew you're really horny and narcissistic but please have some standard." She deadpanned, "Look, Onii-chan is terrified."
Komachi said that, while taking pictures with her cellphone nonchalantly.
"Onii-chan huh." Hachi popped veins everywhere, then lifted him with an incredible display of strength. "You planned to go to school looking like this?
"Is there a problem?"
Hachi dragged him to the hallway and made him stand in the front of the mirror. "Your posture is forced and your expression is creepy, you're stereotypical example of disgusting otaku. If you transfer in looking like this you'd just get laughed at."
She pointed at the mirror, the sheer difference between her and him. Even though they're almost the same height, even though they both have identical faces, the difference couldn't be more clear.
The difference between an outcast and a normalfag.
"Hey, even if that's true you can't force me to change myself." He pushed her hand away in a fit of anger, "If you're so ashamed of my appearance then we can pretend not to know each other."
Why is everyone in this house so obsessed with superficiality like that anyway? It disgusts him so much.
"You know that's not what I mean." Hachi groaned.
"Onii-chan." Komachi grabbed his hand to calm him down, "Rather than asking others if they're ashamed of you, don't you think it's a question you should ask yourself?"
That's right.
Hachiman always boasted his self-declared attractiveness. But when he saw himself in the mirror... what part of him was actually attractive again?
"Well no." Hachiman said, "But is it really important? Because people are superficial and only look at each other by their cover? Why would I want to be part of that shallow society?"
Hachi sighed, "Are you satisfied, continuing your life like this?"
Hachiman's eyes widened in shock.
It was true that Hachiman's appearance and behavior might contribute to his suffering. His unwillingness to groom himself and socialize made him all the more forgettable.
Until his existence basically ignored by everyone.
Perhaps, people are that superficial. And maybe, maybe he would enter Soubu and repeat the cycle once again.
He becomes a loner, coasting alone through the school year, and then, hurting someone else because he let his ego get through his thick skull?
Yuigahama, Yukinoshita, Tsurumi... the list goes on.
"No one had the right to demand you to change the way they want." Hachi told him as she shoved her fist upon his chest, her eyes full of conviction, "But I want you to change yourself the way you want. I want you to be someone who can be proud of himself. I want you to be a person who could scream to the world that your existence had a meaning. Because that's what families do."
Hachiman looked at Hachi intently, and wonder...
Just how much effort Hachi put to change herself in but one year time?
She must have struggled a lot. Not only she had to change her personality, she also discarded fifteen years of her life to live as someone with opposite gender.
And even then, she still said they're family. Hachiman would be lying if he didn't feel something about that statement.
"One of my Senpai told me something like this before: If you refuse to change-"
"-Then your problem will never go away." Hachiman cut her off, finishing it, "Sounds like something Yukinoshita would say."
Hachi furrowed her eyebrows, surprised. "Did you know her?"
"Yeah." Hachiman smiled cryptically, "Well if you asked her if she knows me, she would think of it as me stalking her or something. The Yukinoshita you know might not be the same Yukinoshita I know."
Hachi wonder, if she was forced to restart every relationship she encountered. It must be really difficult for him...
And because she realized that... Hachiman was the person that Hachi could end up as.
Had she not meet Hiratsuka and received the help from the Foundation, she could always easily end up like Hachiman now.
And this time around, it's her turn to help him. No matter what it takes.
...
"I told you to stop slouching!" The mother screamed and slapped the back of her son hard enough to make him cough.
"Mom, you're too cruel to Oniichan."
"The beatings will continue until the morale improves!" The mother said.
Hachi handed out what looks like a vest, "...Or you could just wear this."
"Hmm? What is this?" Hachiman picked it, only to almost stumble from the weight. "Heavy!"
It must weight like, seven or eight kilograms.
"It was my old vest. Wear it under your clothes, maybe above undershirt. It would help you a lot."
"Let's try it."
Hachiman walked in front of the hallway mirror. His slouching posture did look unsightly, but he always been like this for years and his old parents never complained.
Or maybe they simply gave up.
His new parents probably disapprove this habit because they have different expectation out of him. Same as their daughters, really. As a family of (former) celebrities, they might have way different standards of decency.
It's not like he had a choice to refuse, did he?
Hachiman stripped down to his undershirt before wearing the vest, the weight began to push his shoulders, back and chest downward but he endured.
Surprisingly, however, the vest felt far lighter when it's fastened down, with its harnesses securely gripped his muscles, the vest actually pulled his spine up and straighten his back.
"Stiff..." He mumbled, that said, it wasn't entirely uncomfortable feel despite that. For some reason, it also felt warm and comfortable under this vest. "Actually, it's not that bad."
"Whoa, Oniichan you look cooler."
"Really?" Hachiman looked at his reflection in the mirror, the way his back arch and the way his shoulders stretched firm wasn't half bad, indeed.
Compared to Hachi, he didn't feel so inferior anymore.
"See? Even a simple posture change help, next we gotta deal with that disgusting face of yours." Hachi pointed.
"Hey don't call it disgusting, we have the same damn face, bitch!" Hachiman growled.
"Yeah, but you can't emote for shit, you creep." Hachi smugly told him, "Ah speaking of which, you're stuck with my old clothes, are you okay?"
"Yeah, we both usually bought loose fit so these old clothes surprisingly work well after I grew taller." He pinched his shirt when he wore it on top of the vest, "This should be fine for the time being."
"But you will have to go out eventually, and we can't have you dressed like that." Hachi said, "Alright, we're going on a shopping date tomorrow. Mother, father, I need money to buy him clothes!"
"D-da-date? No, we won't. Komachi-chan, please help your Onii-chan here." Hachiman blushed hard and clapped his hands, begging. "Come with us okay?"
"No can do, I have a date with Taishi-kun after all," Komachi said as she bites off half a pocky stick, "He just returned from his relatives."
"Da-what? You actually date that thing?"
"Hey, don't call him that!" Komachi protested.
"I am completely against it!" Hachiman shouted, "How could you choose to date that wimp is beyond me."
"Wimp? Pot calling kettle black." Hachi interrupted, "He had my blessing. If you dare to interfere you would regret it."
Hachiman had no choice but chicken out. No way he could beat his savage female counterpart yet, both verbally and physically. "Tch."
The mother threw her an envelope in response, it was thick enough to make a sound when Hachi caught it. "Don't splurge it on useless stuff, alright?"
"Don't worry!" Hachi grinned wickedly.
"Is no one cares about my opinion anymore?" Hachiman asked.
"Maybe once you're worthy of being called Aniki or Onii-sama." Hachi taunted, "As it is you're just sad NEET otaku Onii-chan, so cry me a river."