Edited: 01/01/17

God, I couldn't believe it, I was a jerk, definitely the worst main character in existence. Trying not to look at the shirtless person standing in front of me, I picked up Totsuka's green jacket and covered her frail body, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't want to be rude and push you this far... It's alright if you want to hit me or report me to the cops."

She was trembling while trying to hold her tears, "I-I'm not mad, but… Can you please keep my secret?"

"Let's just forget that this happened. I promise to keep your secret, okay? Please, just cover your body!" Her visible black sports bra and her crying expression was making me go crazy. I slowly had become a sadistic guy who enjoyed watching cute girls cry in despair.

"You're just like my mother told me, Hikigaya..." She hugged me tight, wrapping her slim arms around my waist. Her mom? I was confused and I was sure that this was the first time that I had acknowledged her existence, so there was no way that we were acquaintances.

I desperately tried to break out of the girl's embrace while blushing furiously. At first, I thought that she would be angry for what I did to her, but that wasn't the case. Even if she was somewhat embarrassed, Totsuka looked happy.

She turned around and started dressing her shirt and I tried to use my stealth abilities to remove myself from the crime scene. "Hey, wait for me! Let's head back together." I was about to ask if she really wanted to hang out with someone like me, but her smile was simply too cute and I lost the ability to speak. Damn you, Hachiman! The times I needed Misdirection the most it always failed me, just like a certain blue haired teen. [1]

A few days later, I was once again playing tennis in gym class. After so much training, I had become a master of squash.

Suddenly, my vision went full black and I felt two tiny hands covering my eyes, "Guess who?" An angelic voice said in a playful manner. I knew about this situation, this was the 'Guess who?' game that was mostly used by flirty or playful girls. For a second, I could feel how happy the popular kids were.

Unfortunately for this fairy, I already knew the answer, "What are you doing, Totsuka? I told you that I won't tell your secret, so you don't need to keep tabs on me." Now the girl had a dejected expression on her face and I knew that I had messed up with my aggressive attitude.

"It's not about that, Hikigaya! I told you before, I honestly want to be your friend."

"Tch, that is impossible. I don't have friends and people will start thinking that you are a weirdo for hanging out with a delinquent. I'm a bad influence, so just stay away, okay?" Totsuka, please stop looking at me like that or I won't be able to keep up my tough façade.

"I won't give up~" Totsuka said with a cute smile, "U-Uh, today you know, will y-you be my partner?"

What is she saying? This situation really looked like a confession scene. She was blushing and gazing at me with upturned eyes, patiently waiting for an answer. God, she's way too cute! I couldn't refuse her now.

We ended up playing tennis together, since I couldn't say no to the 'Prince of tennis'. Gender aside, this nickname really suited her. She was a pretty girl, very cute and really good at sports.

When she wore the male uniform, I could barely tell that she was a girl, but when she was in her green gym uniform, my trained eyes could see right through her lie. I was still curious about her situation… I was starting to wonder why such a cute girl would lie about her gender.

We were now taking a break from our intense practice session. I was sitting down on a bench and suddenly my tennis partner sat right beside me and our shoulders were almost touching. She is way too close.

"I enjoyed playing with you, as I thought, Hikigaya is pretty good." Her honest words almost made me cry in happiness, I wanted to hug her. "Hmm, I wanted to ask you for some advice." She said with a serious look on her face.

I nodded and she explained the situation, "It's about our tennis team... we aren't very good and we lack members. The upperclassmen will graduate by the next tournament and we have a lot of new kids who never played tennis... Because we're so weak I can't get motivated, so... Won't you consider joining my tennis team?"

I understood her point of view, since her team wasn't very good, people didn't want to join it. Having less members also meant that anyone would be eligible for the tournament even if they were weak. Those players were never going to get better and this was a vicious cycle.

Crap! This was one of those moments where my decision would define my ending route. One wrong move and I would be stuck with the 'bad ending'.

Totsuka noticed the confusion in my eyes. She was hugging her knees while looking at me with pleading eyes, "You're good at tennis and I think you can get better, Hikigaya. You could also motivate people and... If it's you, I think I can become more motivated too... I don't mean that in a weird way, it's just that I want to get stronger and play with you!"

"It's fine for you to be weak, I'll protect you!" This phrase somehow slipped through my lips. This felt strange, almost like instinct. I felt like I was trapped in one of those déjà vu moments. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to say that! I don't know if I can help you with that, Totsuka... I'm a lazy person who hates responsibilities." Totsuka's lovable innocence made me want to accept her request, I wanted to help her.

"Please, don't reject the idea yet. Think about it a little more, okay?" Her smile was weak and she felt rejected, I could see it in her expression. "I think I feel a bit better after talking with you, thanks." She was making me feel guilty and I wouldn't be able to be at ease after seeing her sad expression.

Her sad face made me go back to that stupid club. I was now standing in front of the service club's door.

I entered and just like the first time, Yukinoshita was sitting in her chair, reading her book in a peaceful way. I had to admit that this girl was simply beautiful, "Yo." I greeted lazily as I stepped inside the classroom.

Yukinoshita almost dropped her book and her eyes were open wide in surprise, "H-Hikigaya, what are you doing here?" Her voice was shaky and she wasn't acting like herself. "Uh, I wanted to talk with you about some family matters, but you never returned to the club... I-"

"Look, I'm not here to discuss the stupid meeting that you sister arranged with me... I'm somewhat mad about that situation, but it will eventually pass. Today I'm here because I found a new request for this club."

With my honesty, Yukinoshita's expression softened and she even offered me a shy smile, "We'll talk about that later then. However, this is really unusual... Since when were you the type of person that worries about others?" Ladies and gentlemen, the Demon Superwoman was back and she was already insulting me.

"For the very first time, someone asked me for advice and I felt like it was an honest request for help, so I wanted to do something about it. You know who Saika Totsuka is, right? Sh- I mean, he wants to improve his tennis team."

"That's very honorable, but you shouldn't listen to every wish and try to help everyone, trust me I experienced it." I felt like I just stepped on one of Yukinoshita's mines and now I was feeling bad for making her remember her tragic past.

"I think that I could join his club temporally, in order to scare them into being more active. If a new guy with good tennis skills joins, won't they try harder to keep their places?" I tried to use my logic to persuade Yukinoshita.

"I admit that what you said it's possible to happen. They will band together if presented with a common enemy… But they would only try to throw you out, which won't translate into any type of improvement. Impossible, I can't accept this solution." She almost took the bait and it seemed like a weird switch had just flipped 'on' insider of her. She loved any type of challenge and she would gladly accept this request if it meant that she could win against me.

After some banter between the two of us and after introducing the 'Prince' to Yukinoshita, just like I had predicted, she accepted Totsuka's request.

We were now focused on improving Totsuka's tennis ability and that devilish smile of Yukinoshita screamed something like, 'I'll make you stronger if you give me your soul!' She was terrifying, but I'd protect Totsuka's cuteness no matter what.

In the next day, during the lunch break we started our plan to improve Totsuka's ability as a tennis player. Unfortunately for me, I was being dragged into this mess. Even though I genuinely wanted to help Totsuka, I would love to avoid wasting my precious stamina in some stupid physical activities.

"First we'll have to on strengthening your muscles, so please, do push-ups until you're ready to die." Everyone was shocked when Yukinoshita presented her training regimen. Making this cute girl go through so much pain, she wasn't human. Well, it wasn't her fault, Yukinoshita was probably oblivious to the fact that Totsuka was a girl, just like most of our school. It seemed like I was one of the chosen who could see the truth hidden beneath that fluorescent uniform.

Somehow, Zaimokuza joined our training session and just like me, this guy had sharp eyes, he was very suspicious about Totsuka's gender, "Someone that cute can't possibly be a guy, don't screw with me!" He still wasn't convinced and he kept looking at Totsuka in a perverted way as she kept doing her exercises.

I felt the urge to punch him and blindfold his dirty eyes. I'll protect Totsuka's innocence! Yukinoshita forced the two of us to exercise too, when she noticed our lecherous gazes directed at the defenseless girls. It wasn't our fault really, Totsuka was the cutest girl in the world and Yuigahama's 'skin' was starting to show as she kept doing push-ups.

Soon after, they actually started practicing with the rackets. Zaimokuza was trying to develop some type of ultimate magic shot, Yukinoshita was reading her book under the shade of a nearby tree and once Yuigahama got bored, she decided to spend most of her time napping next to her friend.

I was simply lazing around in one of the corners of the court, observing the doings of those four. At some point Yuigahama had woken up and she was now throwing tennis balls at Totsuka and she was trying to shoot them back. Due to tiredness, Totsuka ended up falling, but insisted that she wanted to keep training.

Yukinoshita was surprised at her perseverance and left the tennis court looking somewhat frustrated.

To complicate our situation, a second Queen decided to invade our training session, "Ah, are you guys playing tennis? Hey, Totsuka, I'd like to play tennis too. How about making some space for me?"

Yuigahama was looking away with an uncomfortable expression on her face, she greeted her friend Miura, but the blonde wasn't paying attention to her. Her Highness's eyes were focused on me and I could sense some killing intent.

Zaimokuza was invisible for the higher-rankers of our class, Yuigahama got completely ignored and Totsuka was being intimidated. I was about to get murdered, so I decided to stop this scene, "I'm sorry, but we're practicing with Totsuka so we can't let you use this court. You can call this outsourcing, or something… Even though we aren't on the tennis team, we're helping our classmate." I rejected Miura's proposal in a serious manner, finally getting her name right in my head.

"What are you talking about, idiot? You're siding with Totsuka? I thought you were just a creepy delinquent, but I guess I was wrong." This bitch had no intention of listening to us and she showed no intention of wanting to solve this situation peacefully. Why is she still mad at me?

"Okay, let's not fight. It's more fun if everyone plays, right?" Behold, the King had arrived to mediate this duel. His words and attitude were so annoying, he was the definition of a fake person.

"What the hell do you mean by 'everyone'? Is it the same 'everyone' you use to beg your parents for something? This is highly ironic coming from someone that already has everything... Look at Totsuka, sh-he's trying hard to become better and you and your loyal dogs came here to take away the little we have. You seriously have no shame."

"Ah, I didn't mean anything by that... I'm sorry, I guess?" He looked puzzled with my sudden outburst and he quickly tried to offer me some type of comfort. He was a good person, but not in a genuine way.

"...Hayama, can't you go show your superiority somewhere else? I know you have a good personality and you're also the ace of the football team. You're also good looking and popular with the ladies... You already have so much and yet you want to steal these tennis courts away from us? Please, spare the lower-ranking kids."

In the meanwhile, Zaimokuza had joined my rebellious move against the famous teens and Yuigahama and Totsuka stood speechless behind us.

"Who are you calling dogs? You're going to pay for that humiliation Hikio, I swear! What are you just standing there for, Hayato? I want to play tennis." Miura, the girl with idiotic curls said and this wasn't going to end well for us.

Hayama proposed a flawless plan to solve the conflict between both sides. His genius plan consisted of all the people not on the tennis team playing a mixed doubles match against the two blonds and the winner would take the tennis court and Totsuka. Please, don't take my Totsuka!

"This is so much fun!" Miura said in a high-pitched voice as she approached me. "Let's make this interesting and whoever loses will have to grovel on the ground and ask for forgiveness to its master... How does that sound, Hikio?" The Queen of Fire smiled fiercely as she whispered her malicious plan in my ear.

We now had a huge problem on our hands. Yuigahama was really bad at sports, Zaimokuza was even worse and I was probably the only player capable of surviving a whole match against those two.

Suddenly, quite a few people began to crowd around the tennis court. Most of those people were Hayama's friends or his fan club. The spectators started cheering loudly for the main idol as if we were on an idol concert. Damn it, being an idol really had its perks.

The enemy side was ready to destroy us. Our newbie team was about to give up, due to the huge amount of pressure. Totsuka kept apologizing, she was feeling very guilty and now even her fans started cheering for her: 'Go prince!'. So annoying…

"Hey, hurry up! But seriously, is there a girl who wants to play with a delinquent? Ha-ha, this is great!" Miura laugh was getting on my nerves and I wanted to make her kneel on the ground and beg for forgiveness.

Thankfully, Totsuka was able to make things better by saying that she would gladly take me as her partner. Unfortunately, she couldn't play with me and she also had to protect her secret.

Yuigahama decided to betray her friend, the annoying Miura and she decided to join me in this fight. The brunette girl seemed to care deeply for her new club and she decided that she wouldn't let Miura make fun of us.

Our chance of winning this match was close to zero. Hayama was a prodigy at everything and Miura was a tennis player in middle school from what I had learned.

The match started and I was paired with Yuigahama. I was having a hard time trying to return the balls that were shot in our way. My partner had no idea what she was doing and our enemies were trying to exploit her clumsiness. This idiot was such a good person, she was about to be humiliated just to defend Totsuka and her beloved club.

"If we lose it'll be bad for Sai-chan. If we fail, then I think that not even an apology will fix things!" Yuigahama said desperately while trying to recover her breath. She was almost out of stamina and she hadn't been helpful in this match. All that Yuigahama did during this match was dodge the balls that her sadistic 'friend' Miura sent towards her face.

"Relax, we can still dress Zaimokuza as a girl. Just stay somewhere in the court and I'll handle the rest. If I get serious and threaten them, maybe they'll walk away afraid of taking a beating." Yuigahama immediately refused this idea and I thanked her for that. I was probably horrible at fighting and underneath my delinquent façade, I was just a peaceful guy.

Thankfully, Yukinoshita appeared in the court wearing her gym uniform and she was also carrying a first-aid kit in one hand. When she realized what was happening her beautiful face became red in anger. The fight between the two Queens was about to resume.

Yukinoshita, the Queen on our side, was ready to take responsibility for what was happening and I saw her eyes gleam with enthusiasm. She loved challenges and she also admitted to everyone who that she had returned to save her new friend.

I was surprised to know that Yukinoshita now acknowledged Yuigahama as her friend and I almost died from a heart attack when she murmured something to me like: 'I don't mind if you think I'm your friend...' She was blushing and acting like a normal girl, this wasn't the fierce Queen that I knew.

Miura kept taunting Yukinoshita, she was definitely an idiot. Everyone should know that challenging the Queen of Ice was a death flag. With a new addition to our team, we finally began the final showdown.

I was surprised to see that Yukinoshita was an amazing tennis player. She managed to return every ball with elegance and her swift movement made her look like a trained samurai. For a couple of minutes, the two Queens turned this match into a duel and they kept returning every shot back with a huge killing intent, their eyes fueled with hostility. Yukinoshita was a firm believer that 'the best defense was a good offense'.

The crowd was roaring with this beautiful duel and feeling the scent of victory, Zaimokuza returned to cheer for us, "Fuhahaha! My minions are all-powerful! Go get them!"

At this point the fairy known as Yukinoshita had the full control of the crowd thanks to her amazing display of footwork. The males were going crazy. However, everyone was staring at me like I was ruining this amazing show. I could feel their heated gazes on my back.

When I traded gazes with Yukinoshita, her expression seemed less 'cold' and this was the indication that something was wrong. The Queen of Ice was running out of battery.

She suddenly missed an easy ball, falling in the middle of the court in a dramatic way, "I've always been able to do everything, so I always finished my tasks quickly and that's why I don't have confidence in my stamina."

"Oh~, seems like that's our win!" The Queen of Fire said in an arrogant manner, looking at us like we were trash. Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, Hayama tried to finish this match while we were still tied.

"Shut up for a second. This man here will finish the match, so please accept your defeat." Yukinoshita said looking at me with an enormous amount of respect. All eyes were focused on me and now Zaimokuza, Yuigahama and Totsuka were chanting my name.

I focused solely on the match and everything became quiet. I could only hear the sound of the ball bouncing as I prepared my serve. I still had to finish my lunch and I really wanted to stop this stupid tennis match.

Trusting my knowledge about the special sea breeze that always blew during the lunch breaks, I hit the ball towards Miura and she tried to hit it back, but the ball switched directions and she failed her swing. Hayama was already running for the ball, but he knew nothing. [2] This wind didn't blow just once and Hayama ended up missing my miracle curve ball.

Everyone was in silence as the ball fell to the ground. The match was over and they couldn't believe that the beast had won against the heroes, "I've heard about this legendary skill... Hikigaya can freely control the wind, he is a true 'Descendant of the wind'. He's the Last Airbender!" [3] Zaimokuza shouted loudly, totally ruining my cool move.

I had won, but everyone was still cheering for Miura, Hayama and even Yukinoshita. I felt like I was the real loser, so I picked up my racket and I threw it on the ground, "Tch, this was ridiculous. I'm out of here." Even if I did something amazing like that, I would always be the villain on everyone's eyes... I was not born to be popular and everyday society would remind me why I loved to be a loner.

Walking away from the scene, I heard Totsuka and Yuigahama thanking me loudly and when I turned around to wave at them, I saw Miura wearing a sad expression. "What's wrong with that girl? Tch, what a pain..."

Another boring school day was over and as usual I was heading home in the company of my lonely shadow. Unlike the popular kids who walked home together, I was a loner who always found comfort on being alone.

Those who were blessed by popularity always enjoyed to show off their great social skills. I was sure that I had never felt the need to be accepted. I was an outcast molded by society's darkness and thus, I became this cynical person who hated human interaction.

However, today I was feeling a certain uneasiness that wasn't normal. I kept feeling like I was being watched, no, I was sure that there was someone stalking me. Unlike a certain perverted male with stripping habits, I was sure that I wasn't being followed by a cute girl. [4]

I started walking faster and I took alternative shortcuts in order to ease my paranoia. The shadows made by the sun were freaking me out and all of the environment sounds were making me jumpy. I could swear I was hearing footsteps right behind me.

I made the decision to look back and end this agitation. When I turned around, I saw nothing. I decided to turn around and start running towards the closest populated zone. I was only a few blocks away from my house, but if there was someone tailing me, I couldn't make the mistake of leading them towards my dear sister.

As soon as I started moving forward, I felt my body being pushed against the nearest wall. My vision got blurry and my chest started to hurt like hell. It felt like I was tackled by a wild Tauros. [5]

Seconds after the impact, I finally regained my senses and noticed that there was a huge guy grabbing me by the collar. He looked like he was on steroids. 'Huge' wasn't the best description for him, this guy was the Colossal Titan. [6] To make me feel even more intimidated, he was wearing a creepy hockey mask. Oh, hello Jason!

Suddenly, a small guy appeared from behind his partner. How amazing... This one was wearing a blue shark mask, which covered all of his face. Despite looking fragile and not so threatening, the little fellow was swinging around a wooden bat. That thing was about to hit me… I could feel it.

"Hello~ it's so good to finally meet you like this! You have been a naughty boy, Hikigaya... Give him some love." The smaller dude said in a devilish manner.

Apparently, he was the brains and now the muscle was about to smash me. One, two, three punches right in my face. Please, not in the face! It was one of my main attributes, I was a pretty handsome teenager.

After stopping his punches, the large guy pushed me against the wall and I fell on my knees. I coughed really hard, trying to recover my breath. Am I spitting blood? Fantastic!

I tried to get up, but I was shaking too much. However, before I could gather my strength, the big thug kicked me in the side of the head making me fall to my left side. I wanted to get up, but my body wouldn't answer. I couldn't stop smiling ironically while gasping for air. I was frozen in panic.

"You see, you've been acting like you own the school and if you don't change your attitude, we'll have to teach you by fear." Finishing his words, the smart-ass hit me with his bat right in the stomach.

"Aren't you going to fight back, wuss? C'mon, aren't you supposed to be Sõbu's delinquent?" Oh, so he could talk after all… I thought he was just a faceless grunt with no importance to the story.

Despite this hopeless situation, I was weakly laughing on the ground, "Fuck you..." Being hit like this was the worst, but admitting that I was suffering would destroy my stupid pride. I wished that I had acted in a better way. I wanted to smash these guys' faces, but I was just a weak fool.

"Oh, you're still talking shit, huh? Still acting tough in a situation like this… You're pathetic! If you don't stop, you'll end up in a wheelchair and if you anger me I'll come after your family too! Not even the almighty Gayas will be able to stop us. No one will protect you!" Maybe this guy was after me because of my family business. I knew that this 'heir' situation would haunt me for the rest of my life.

I was probably about to pass out, but remembering that I had to protect my sister made me gain strength, I got up and punched the smaller guy in the face. They backed away in shock after my blow and the tiny dude started coughing a bit. If I had enough strength to fight back, this would be my chance, but my head was throbbing and my body gave out.

Once again I was at their mercy. They hit me a couple of times, but at this point I couldn't feel anything, my body was already numb from taking so much damage. The small guy said something and the henchman immediately pushed my body down, against the cold floor.

This street must be the most deserted spot in Chiba. How sad... I was about to die just a couple of meters away from my comfy house. Be safe, Komachi. I felt one last sting of pain in my left arm and my vision became black. I was in the limbo. What a tragic event... The main character was about to die in an alley, in the company of some secondary characters.

Suddenly, I heard a loud noise, something metallic had just fallen near me. Is that the sound of a trash can? I could her some steps and there was definitely someone shouting, "Oi, what the hell are you doing, bastards?" I was still lying on the floor, barely conscious and I couldn't understand what was happening.

1 HP was all that I had left and it was a miracle that I was still conscious. I wasn't knocked out instantly due to my Sturdy ability. [7] There were some groans and shouts and after that everything went quiet.

Someone knelt on the ground next to me and picked up my damaged body. My prince, my savior, my knight in shining armor was next to me, but I couldn't see a clear image of this selfless hero. I heard a soft whisper, "Please, don't die... Hang on, I'm getting help." My face was getting wet and really hot. I was pretty sure that I was covered in blood.

I could understand the part where the help was mentioned and I felt extremely happy to be alive, "D-Don't le-eave me…" That was the last thing I said. If life was a game, this was the part where the 'game over' warning would pop up.

[1] – Reference to Kuroko no Basuke, Misdirection is one of the skills used by the protagonist Tetsuya Kuroko.

[2] – Reference to Game of Thrones, the famous 'You know nothing, Jon Snow' phrase.

[3] – Reference to Avatar the Last Airbender.

[4] – Reference to Gray and Juvia of Fairy Tail.

[5] / [7] – Reference to Pokémon.

[6] – Another reference to Attack on Titan.