Notes: The second half of the chapter, released hopefully in quick enough order. As mentioned previously, most of the text is already there, but just needed to be sorted out a bit to make things flow properly.

"…You want me to join a club?"

I've heard of many punishments on my journeys as a loner. Some orthodox, others plain cruel (see: cooties). Yet out of all instances, joining a club? They might as well re-label community service under a marketable brand now, just to force it onto the masses as the next fad to follow.

"Yes, as punishment for writing that stupid contemptful crap of yours," sensei retorted with a stern look, "Appeals, protests, objection or rejection will not be accepted"

"…Could you at least tell me what this club is about?"

At this rate, it wouldn't be surprising if sensei was inducting me into some special task force for helping her find a husband. But that was to be enforcing an ineffective transparency law which goes moot in love and war.

She simply gave a slight smile at this. "You'll find out in a moment"

Arriving at a blank door near the corner of a hallway, sensei slid open the door of the unmarked room. It appeared to be an abandoned storage room of sorts, with desks stacked on top of each other at the back end with the rest of the space being unremarkably barren. Yet perhaps the most defining feature was the girl seated right in front of the doorway before an open window, reading a novel of sorts.

I instantly knew who that was. Similarly to Hayama, Yukinoshita Yukino was another one of the names propagated around the school as some form of holy grail. If being from Class 2-J wasn't enough clout with their standard deviation breaking academic performance, she managed to set herself one step above that. Also similarly to Hayama, she possessed beauty, academics and status from her family side. It was as if someone was writing a manga, planning out these cliches in advance. For all the faults of my loner ideology, I never had the delusion that I would be the protagonist of such wish fulfilment to take place in my life.

The raven haired girl noticed the intrusion at this moment, setting her open novel down on her lap as she looked in our direction.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, I believe I told you to knock."

"I did, but you never seem to answer," sensei waved off. Of course, her habits were not lost even on the vaunted Yukinoshita.

"That's because you always enter before I have a chance to answer," Yukinoshita retorted with a sigh, before looking in my direction, "Who's that person staring off into space?"

"Ah, he's looking to join this club," sensei smiled with that diplomatic expression of hers, "As you can see, he's a pitiful creature with a personality as rotten as his eyes. I request you fix his despairing nature and attitude"

No one agreed to join anything, especially not with that clear violation of the democratic institutions of Japanese society which is being clearly ignored. Also, trash talking from the get go, classy.

"I respectfully decline," the girl's face scrunched up, backing off as if to cover her chest, "I sense danger and vulgar ulterior motifs in that man's eyes. I fear for my chastity"

I wasn't even looking in your direction, especially not with that safe-for-work chest size you're trying so hard to needlessly hide. I'm 69 percent certain that my Kämpfer form was more shapely, even if I didn't try to show it.

"Relax, this guy's risk to return mechanisms are actually pretty good," sensei reassured the girl, "He won't do anything punishable by law. Think of it as petty criminal nature"

"Hmm, I can't turn down a request from a teacher, so I accept." Oh boy, is she actually convinced? That I was just some analytical specimen to be toyed around in a sociological experiment?

"Great! I'll leave you to your sources, then"

With that, sensei left the room, sliding the door shut. There was a lingering feeling that she wasn't very far from the door and was just waiting for me to make a move, like a cougar awaiting their prey. As much as I wanted to participate in the 'Go home early' club again, I still needed to find a way to settle this fiasco so she would just leave me alone and not bring it up again.

For the time being, there was no need to accentuate the situation. I simply pulled up a chair and idly scrolled through my mobile. Maybe I can bore them to the point into thinking that I was just that hopeless.

"Well?"

"Well what?" I questioned, turning to face Yukinoshita, who decided to break the silence. She was still facing down and flipping away at her novel, however.

"What do you think the purpose of this club is?" Oh right, it was time to pretend to care about the state of affairs again.

"…I'm going to say literature, but I get the feeling that you're going to say I'm wrong based off the reasons why sensei sent me here"

She raised an eyebrow at this, "Hm, I can clearly see that you're smarter than you let off to be. But otherwise, welcome to the Service Club. We welcome you."

"You still never mentioned what this club does," I pointed out. In all honesty, that name could have been the title to a second rate JAV(1) movie. But for obvious reasons, I'm not going to say that.

"Looks like I clearly spoke too soon about your supposed intellect," she closed her eyes in disappointment, "But what I am doing right now is the club activity."

Sensei also mentioned something about being sent here to 'fix' me. Could it be…

"Your subtle clues aren't going to help me get closer, and I can't read your mind," I pointed out with some exacerbation, "But my next guess is that it has something to do with rehabilitation with what sensei was talking about"

"Hm, you're getting closer," the raven haired girl closed her book, her look of amusement returning. "In society, there are those who are better off than others, and help those of a lower status out of the goodness of their hearts. This is a position also known as community service, and such is the duty of this club. I have been requested to fix your problem, and I shall carry out the request. Be grateful"

Was this girl serious? That was the most self-righteous, pretentious drivel I have heard from anyone with even a shroud of self awareness. With the current world we live in, such idealism simply falls apart in the wake of a slight nudge with adversity. Given her look of displeasure at my slack-jawed reaction, it looked like she was once again being serious.

"Seriously? I don't need any help here," I scoffed, finally recovering from the words, "I believe I am doing fairly well for myself. I rank third in Japanese, plus I have decently good looks, along with strong athletic capabilities"

"The fact that you can say that with complete confidence is a feat on its own," she rebuked with a mild look of bewilderment, "In actuality you are a disgusting boy. Hideous, even"

"I don't want to be hearing that from you, weird girl," I retorted, "We're the only ones in this room. Tell me, how many people actually came here aside from sensei and I?"

"That's besides the point-"

"The fact that you put it like that just proves that there's some form of repulsion with you too," I shot back, cutting her off, "If that's the case, what gives you the right to have any say over me?"

She seemed to be rather unfazed at my remark, and rubbed her chin in thought. "Because judging from your attitude, you appear to be a loner as a result of being sour and rotten. On the other hand, I am alone because I grew up and beyond the rest"

"…That sounds like one hell of a bold claim"

"Only because it happened," she retorted, flicking a strand of hair straight, "Now, that should be enough practice for you!"

I was now confused, and somewhat taken aback at this. "Huh?"

"Based off the exercise you just had with me, you should be able to hold a proper conversation with normal people now. Do you not feel rehabilitated?"

I gritted my teeth, feeling slight tension at my wrist. It seems that my Kämpfer form was equally displeased and wished to intervene at this condescending drivel being forced upon me.

"Rehabilitation? Conversation?" I questioned folding my arms in disagreement, "Neither is necessary in my case. My ideas might be nonconformist, but I don't force it upon myself to convert anyone, nor do I try to bother others with it. I fail to see the need of some silly 'rehabilitation' here"

"But that's just running away from your problems," Yukinoshita retorted in disdain, "It is a very unhealthy thought to place in your mind, and bogs down yourself and society"

The door clicked open at this point, cutting off the next round of berating. But knowing that it's sensei, it was hardly a cause for relief.

"Yukinoshita, I'm coming in!"

"Sensei, knock!"

"It seems that you're having trouble convincing Hikigaya of his issue, so I decided to pitch in!" I knew it. The proper term was 'under new management', after all.

Yukinoshita sighed with her arms folded. "That's because he doesn't see his own problem-"

For the most part, I decided that I have had enough of whatever was happening in that room, given the amount of rubbish talk without actual progress. It was clear that I had no say in anything if I decided to stay, as they were convinced that they could get away with whatever they could do to me. Either way, it was time to put that plan my messenger talked about earlier - time to make a stand.

I had probably only made halfway to the stairwell before sensei ran in front of me to stop me. Of course, she looked less than pleased with me trying to skip out on her punishment by force. It was clear that she wasn't going to let it go that easily. Not with her idea of being convinced that the punishment she had in mind still hasn't been dished out.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"Home," I stated simply as I tried to move forward, only to be blocked again.

"Oh no you don't!" Hiratsuka-sensei growled, her face contorted in anger, "Have you forgotten that punishment isn't a choice you can turn down?"

"Punishment suggests some form of lesson to be learned in the wake of it," I retorted simply, trying to swallow down my heartbeat lower into my throat, "But back there? You all suggested that I was some sort of human garbage for not having a compliant worldview! I thought political violence was outlawed in Japan"

Sensei didn't look like she was having any of it, and only seemed to get angrier. "So we're supposed to coddle you like some sort of spoiled brat? Don't think you can graduate if you walk away on me, Hikigaya!"

Looks like the cougar was out of the cage. It was time to follow through with the plan.

"The only people spoiled right now are the people who think they can assault students as coercion to a non-issue," I retorted, once again feeling tension build up at my wrist, "I'm sure an investigation of the camera footage in the lounge would clear out a few things on my table and add some to yours"

The silence was deafening at this. Sensei's expression of anger held for a moment, before slowly turning into an incomprehensible complex of guilt and surprise. It has slowly dawned on her that if I reported an incident, it would be the end of everything, be it her career or her attempts at 'helping' me along with it. She miscalculated our resolve to protect ourselves, and overstepped right into the consequences square.

Given that I was not keen on waiting a response for the sudden slap of my blackmail, I made the decision to vacate the school as quickly as possible. This was greatly aided by the fact that sensei didn't attempt to stop me this time when I moved past her. I had reached my bike in record time, and before I knew it I was hightailing it out of the school away from danger.

-break-

Halfway back home, I had stopped by a bench at an empty park. Mostly due to my messenger giving the 'signal' from her pocket in the form of slight rustling, indicating that she wanted to come out. I returned the 'safe' signal by opening the pocket, and she not a second too soon popped her head out. She gave a look of approval, akin to a parent who was proud of their offspring at completing a milestone in life.

"See what happens when you stand up for yourself? Things go your way, and you're no longer forced to grind sandpaper between your private parts"

"Obtained through one of the scummiest tactics, blackmail" I retorted in semi disdain. It was great to sway a situation in your favor, yet something didn't sit right with using an underhanded tactic. Something with a lingering feeling that the consequences have yet to arrive.

"You're missing the point," my messenger corrected, "Sure you used blackmail. But the main goal was to stop having unfair concessions being dumped onto you! A murder certainly didn't hesitate from killing their victim just because they saw a sign saying 'No Murdering'!"

"Could I just say it might have been excessive?"

She gave me an incredulous look in return. "In which part was this response excessive? That old hag went straight to physically assaulting a student from the get go, and was now threatening you with punishments which clearly do not follow the legal guidelines! Helping her students, my ass! You should have unleashed your wargasm(2) on the both of them back there, when your Kämpfer form was trying to come out! That would have helped you, and society as a whole by throwing out another Christmas cake and her damned silver spoon!"

I was taken aback at this outburst, mostly at how forceful it was. While I was aware of my messenger being dead serious when it came to dealing with dangers and opposition, this one was closer to the lines of dealing with blasphemy where the accused was to be put to death. It was a new light I was seeing her protective streak in – There was no both sides of the story, no negotiation. They crossed us, meaning that payback is mandatory and we were out for blood. And out for blood we were, as Sensei looked like she was clearly out of cards to play back there.

There was a brief moment of wordless glances being shared before the fox decided to address my slack jawed look of surprise. "…Look, I overreacted there. But you get what I mean, right? Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. And this isn't to make me happy either! It's about setting your boundaries, like any healthy, normal relationship. This hideous plushie being happy is merely a side effect"

I simply blinked in return. "…I understand"

"Glad to see you understand," she stated, her smile returning again, but still containing a hint of seriousness to her expression. "Also, if I say or do something stupid, you're free to stop me. I'm not infallible like some self-proclaimed god, or dictator for that matter – we need to keep each other in check, so neither of us get too deep into the poop chute"

Once again, my messenger has left me surprised. So, there was a sensible side to this madness bundled ball of fabric. To think that an animated plushie would be giving sound advice, potentially better than a considerable amount of people in the real world. Reality is once again stranger than fiction…

"I'll do what I can about it"

"I know you will," the disemboweled fox smiled, "That said, great job on the exploit back there"

"I think you already said that," I stated.

"I know I did," she affirmed, "I'm just taking the acknowledgement on a job well done. You're taking the steps to stand up for yourself, even without the fighting aspect. Learning to say no is one of the most important lessons in life, and will take you above and beyond"

"Just when I thought you were all about caving everyone's heads in at the smallest of slights"

"I am, and you kept me in check with that," she pointed out, "Not to mention that you are right – not all conquests can be done with blood alone if we were to do power projection!"

"Always so obsessed with conquering everything," I simply smiled in return.

"How are you going to find peace otherwise? There's too much vapid people in the world for that!"

"Well, at least that's something we can both agree on"

We both shared a laugh at that and high-fived each other. Truly, we were the 21st century reincarnation of Oda Nobunaga(3), re-enacting the succession crisis one angry clubroom at a time. Every high school in the Chiba region has us on blacklist at this rate.

(1): Japanese Adult Video.

(2): The first unified nuclear attack plan for the US military, Single Integrated Operational Plan 62 (SIOP-62) was dubbed this, as it called for launching every available nuclear weapon that could be used at the USSR, China, and North Korea, regardless of who started the war in one devastating strike. It was also infamous for the extreme amounts of overkill used; a city the size of Nagasaki (nearly destroyed with one 21 kiloton bomb) was to be hit with three 80 kiloton bombs to ensure destruction.

(3): The first 'Great Unifier' of Japan, controlling roughly half of Japan before he died in 1582. His successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed conquering the rest of Japan in 1591.

Closing remarks: Not much to say here – this was intended to be a more assertive take on Hikigaya, being influenced to stand his ground more instead of getting walked over all the time. Sensei took more of the antagonist role here, but I tried not to make it go off the rails as she does have a role in later chapters. It might not be the most popular take out there, but that's what fanfiction is for, right?

Also, our plushie is stealing a lot of screentime. It would change in the next few chapters so its not all one sided with the OC.

Once again, your reviews/angry comments are appreciated! Please keep sending them over :)