Edited: 01/01/17

Even though I was still sleeping, my mind was somewhere else. I wanted to roll my body due to the lack of comfort, but for some reason I was unable to do so.

This bed felt weird and I was sure that I wasn't sleeping in my soft mattress. My body remembered this sensation. This felt just like an awful hospital bed and that was bad sign.

My body was paralyzed, I couldn't feel my arms and my legs wouldn't respond. I was feeling awfully cold. When I tried to remember what had happened to me, it seemed like my brain was hit by a taser.

The only thing that I could remember was an image of me kneeling on the floor of a dark alley, my blood splashed on the ground.

Everything was fuzzy and I was hoping that this memory was just a nightmare. Trying to change my negative mindset, my brain focused on another random event, which once again seemed like a creation of my delusional head.

I was lying on the ground gasping for air and my clothes were covered in dirt, this could only mean one thing, I had a fight.

Even though the situation seemed similar to my first memory, this time the protagonist was a younger version of myself. In the background, some brats were shouting some insults while leaving with satisfied smiles on their faces, "You're so weak Hikikaeiru! Go play house with your girly boyfriend, you freaks!"

In my head I had reached a basic conclusion, since young I had always been a pathetic guy... A loser who couldn't stand up for himself, another victim of bullying.

I remembered looking to my left side and seeing a small boy with grey hair on his knees crying desperately, "I-I'm s-so sorry Hachiman! If I was stronger you didn't have to protect me all the time... I hate this cute body, this girly face! I wish I could be a guy."

"Don't say that! In my opinion you look like an angel, no one can really tell your gender and that's awesome! You look cute and cool, you have the best of both worlds. It's okay to be weak, I'll protect you…I'll be your friend."

Offering the hand to my 'childhood friend', I remembered flinching when a fragile body embraced me, "T-Thank y-you Hachiman..." My supposed friend said in between sobs, wait I could remember this situation, "I want to be your friend, you can call me Saika!" I hadn't expected this type of development. So, what Totsuka said about both of us being friends in the past perhaps was indeed the truth, even if we couldn't remember, we were friends when we were kids.

I felt my eyes finally opening, probably due to the shock of remembering what happened to me the last time I was conscious. My heart started beating like crazy, especially when I noticed a girl with bluish hair sitting just beside my bed. Her eyes seemed to ease when our gazes met, but she immediately cut eye contact and made a scary expression, "You're finally awake. Well, I'm leaving now that I've done my job."

Somehow, I gathered the strength to grab her sleeve using my right hand, "Wait... Who are you and what happened?"

She stayed seated by my side, her eyes once again focusing on me, "…You don't remember. Are you dumb? I guess it's normal after taking a beating like that. Two guys almost killed you and I managed to scare them away when I was passing by."

I was really confused, but she seemed like a frank person, "H-How did you save me? Are you hurt?"

She sighed in annoyance, "Are you really going to keep asking me stupid questions? I can't babysit you all day." Her aggressive attitude made me flinch. However, her turquoise eyes were beautiful and they made me feel safe. The beauty spot under her right eye made her look more mature and her long hair was distracting me.

I was mesmerized by this girl. The tall girl looked unapproachable and she was probably strong enough to take out a thug by herself, but what she did was amazing. I felt my cheeks getting hot and I was about to fall in love with my prince. Crap! The roles were definitely reverted and I was surely under the effect of morphine, I wasn't acting like myself.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm not angry, but I really needed be at home to take care of my siblings… I also had to miss my job… I'm probably going to get fired. If you don't mind, I'm going home." She picked up her school bag and she was ready to leave.

I felt like there was something missing, I wanted to say something. "Wait!" I shouted in panic, "Please, can you check if my little sister is safe? I-I need to know if she's okay!" I tried to get up, but only my head responded, every other part of my body was immobile due to the meds.

"Calm down, I already talked with her and she's fine. She's at my house and today she'll stay with us." She said in a motherly tone as she adjusted my pillow and pushed me against the uncomfortable mattress.

"…Did you tell her what happened?" I said anxiously, not wanting to let my precious Komachi worry about her lame brother.

"No, I only told her that I had found you unconscious. You're the one supposed to tell her the truth. Look, I don't know what you have been doing with your life, but it seems like there are people willing to kill you. You should take better care of yourself and be more careful. Tch, now I really have to go, we'll talk later."

If I could, I would kneel before this girl to show her my gratitude, "Thank you so much... I owe you my life and I don't know how to repay you, I don't even know your name."

She seemed surprised with my sudden gratitude and she offered me a kind smile, "My name is Saki Kawasaki and I'm your classmate. I don't need anything from you and please stop that. It's weird to see a guy act so pathetically… Just focus on recovering."

After finishing her curt speech, my hero left the hospital room, with her bag resting on her back. I knew who she was now, not by name, but by reputation. She was the female delinquent of our school. She surely made justice to her reputation, unlike me. She was strong, cool and a little bit scary. However, I could feel that she wasn't just a harsh person, this girl was also very kind and serious.

Anyways, my sister was safe and I was happy to survive another unlucky situation. Now I just wanted to rest.

In the following morning I was visited by a male doctor that somehow looked very familiar, "Ah, hello Hikigaya-sama. It's great to see you awake. I'm Dr. Totsuka and I've been working with your family for many years." His handsome face reminded me of someone I knew, he was the father of Saika Totsuka.

Is he bowing his head? Damn, now I had to deal with another loyal 'servant' of my family. I just wanted to sleep a little more, "Thank you for your hard work, I guess? How bad are my injuries? I really want to go home."

He offered me a kind smile and said, "You have a small fracture on your left arm and we'll have to apply a plaster cast, so that your bone can recover properly. You'll be able to go home tomorrow, but your arm will take around four weeks to recover. We have to check your arm every week. You'll also receive some medicament for the pain." I clicked my tongue in annoyance, this was exactly like last time I was hospitalized, just before graduating from middle school. Fortunately for me, this time I could go home sooner.

"Before I leave, I just wanted to wish you good luck with your recovery. You have some people waiting to visit you and as expected Hikigaya-sama is very popular. I hope that my shy daughter will become useful for you one day. I always wanted to have a son and train him to become your ideal right-hand man, but instead I raised that frail and cute girl..."

Oh, now I understood everything. This sexist asshole was probably the one responsible for making Totsuka go through hell, just because of his twisted ideals. He was way too devoted to my family's organization and his mind was clearly stuck in the past.

I was about to show this guy the fury of Hachiman Hikigaya. No one messes with my dear Totsuka. To be honest, right now I was furious. First of all, he made a huge mistake by mentioning my family. I hated everything related to my family, of course that my precious sister was an exception.

He also tried to look good in front of me, his supposed 'boss', by showing some type of twisted loyalty. His mind seemed to be stuck in the past. I didn't need anything from him and I couldn't stand the fact that he was trying to make his daughter become the ideal male 'servant' for the sake of my family.

He was probably the one forcing Totsuka to ruin her genuine purity. Maybe she approached me recently because this man forced her to do so... Now everything related to that Saika Totsuka seemed to make sense.

I was a fool for not paying more attention to this weird situation and now I was feeling very disappointed. I was stupid enough to think that maybe friendship would be a good thing for me… I was wrong and I felt like I had betrayed myself and my own stupid act.

I didn't need any type of fake friendship or loyalty. I didn't need some type of assistant, a trustable companion or a personal butler to watch my back. His retrograded idea of loyalty was disgusting and I couldn't tolerate this.

To make things even better, this man was the most idiotic person that I ever met. He was indiscreet about my family background and he even criticized his daughter in front of a stranger.

The headache that I was feeling yesterday was returning and now I was seriously pissed off, "Look, I don't know who you are, but you need some etiquette lessons. Let me tell you one thing, I hate talking about my family, so never do that again. You also offended your daughter in front of her classmate, you're a terrible father and I can't tolerate this attitude. If I become your future 'boss', I would fire you just because of what you did today, so please, just leave me alone."

I could feel my blood pulsing through my head and this enraged speech was only worsening the condition of my aching body. The grey haired man stood silent for a couple of seconds, probably shocked by my outburst.

Suddenly, the doctor bowed forward in an apologetic manner and said, "I'm terribly sorry, Hikigaya-sama! Please, forgive me for being such an unpleasant person, but sometimes I tend to phrase my intentions poorly... I didn't want to disrespect you or my daughter, I was simply expressing how unhappy I was for not being able to keep the promise I made with your grandfather."

My foul mood was reaching new levels, but at the same time I became curious, so I let him do the talking, "Your grandfather was the one who helped me with his funding when I needed. My family, this hospital, everything is still working properly thanks to that amazing old man. I wasn't raised by my parents, but your grandfather accepted me and helped me when I needed. He's like a father to me and he never asked for any type of payment and now that he's close to dying, I'm desperate! I can't do anything for him... I can't pay him for what he did. The only thing that he asked from me was that one day my firstborn could become your support, a close friend of yours and that's why I grew obsessed with this. I'm truly sorry."

Taking a little longer to process every detail that he said in this desperate apology, I was about to answer him by saying something dumb when luckily I was interrupted by the room's door, which was abruptly open by a female figure.

"I'm sorry to interrupt boys, but I can't stand this nonsense anymore. There are clearly some misunderstandings between the two of you and I think that we should let Hikigaya calm down first, right?" A familiar character appeared, it was Hiratsuka, my teacher and counselor at school. One more troublesome person had joined the 'Annoy Hachiman' train. Why is she here? For god sake, I just wanted some rest.

"Uhh, Hiratsuka, I thought you were waiting outside... I'm sorry that you had to witness my stupidity, please don't be harsh on Hikigaya-sama. I was rude and indelicate with his feelings." For some reason, Totsuka's father was defending me from the female teacher.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for that doctor. I overheard your argument and I had to step in. As always doctor, you're way too clumsy and you still don't know how to express yourself properly. Hikigaya is also very stubborn and tends to get offended quickly. Kids in their rebellious stage are really tough to handle, so can you please give him some time to rest?"

The doctor seemed content with the intervention of the dark haired teacher and soon accepted her offer, "Yeah, you're right Hiratsuka. Thanks for everything and please, take good care of my daughter and Hikigaya-sama."

My teacher nodded and this time the doctor turned to face me, "Hikigaya-sama, I hope that we meet again and hopefully you'll be able to forgive this foolish man that hopes to be useful one day." After his sincere speech, the man bowed with respect and left the hospital room, leaving me alone with my teacher.

"Awkward... Anyways, what are you doing here, woman?" Now that one of the nuisances was gone, I had to handle Hiratsuka.

Finally dropping the heavy looking bag that she was holding, Hiratsuka said, "You're being rude again, Hikigaya! I thought that you were finally making some progress, but I see that I was wrong."

Crap! I had messed up, I was supposed to act more friendly and bubbly towards people, at least in her presence. However, she was still dodging my question and noticing my annoyed sigh she continued, "I heard that you were in trouble again and of course I had to visit you. I can't let one of my students alone in a situation like this."

"Well, that's a start, but you still haven't explained how you knew that I was here. I haven't contacted my parents or the school, so…" I said in a bored tone, noticing that she was still hiding some details.

"Sometimes you are really picky about the unimportant details Hikigaya and that's one of your flaws. Yesterday, I received a call from a female delinquent telling me that she had found you unconscious on the street. I wanted to help you, but I was still at work and that's why I told her to take care of the situation." That was a better explanation and despite being scary, this woman was really kind and that made me feel weird. She has been worried about me ever since the first year and I still wasn't used to being treated like this.

"What about my sister? Is she okay?" Her safety was my number one priority.

"Relax, your sister is safe. I knew that as a siscon you would be worried about Komachi being left alone in that huge house... When I talked with Kawasaki on the phone, she had already called your sister and our female delinquent was the one who invited her to stay at their house. I was surprised by this and I only wanted to ask her to take care of your sister until my teacher's meeting was over, but it seemed like the two of them created a bond in that short period of time and I let them have some time. This morning, I took your sister to school and she was fine, even though she seemed to be worried about what really happened to you."

I sighed in relief and for the first time I felt like I was actually comfortable in this horrible hospital room, "Well, that's really good to hear…Thank you." How embarrassing.

My teacher offered me a cheeky smile that made me regret my gratitude, "No, you should thank your female classmate. She was really worried about you and your sister. I was impressed with her motherly personality and I was happy to know that two of my troublesome students finally started to bond with other people."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and denied any type of proximity between the two of us. She was my knight, my savior and things should stay like that. I was a loner and I didn't believe in friendship. I just wanted to repay my debt and end this drama.

Still avoiding Hiratsuka's gaze, I said, "What did Komachi say about what happened? I bet she was really stressed about all of this... She was very worried and sent me a bunch of phone texts. My parents… Have you contacted them?"

"Komachi is a worrywart and she knows how hard it is to deal with you… She told me that you were in the hospital because you got hurt when you fell in the street… Your classmate insisted that Komachi didn't need to overreact to what happened, so she decided not to contact your parents. This all seems too suspicious, it's almost like the two of you are hiding something."

I committed the mistake of staring directly at Hiratsuka and her expression became serious, "Tell me, what really happened to you, Hikigaya?"

Trying to avoid her gaze, I tried to come up with a good excuse, "U-Uh, you see I-I was in a hurry, running back home and I ended up stumbling and I fell down the stairs... I'm really clumsy and I'm in a really bad shape… Maybe I should start exercis-"

"That's a lie, I know you well enough to see through that lame excuse... Tell me the truth, I know that you are hiding something, Hachiman." Her voice was a bit shaky, but I could tell that she was serious. The way she called me by my first name and her distressed expression showed just how worried she was about me.

"If you promise to keep this between us, I'll tell you." Hiratsuka nodded and sighing, I decided to be honest, "I was ambushed and attacked by two guys. One of them was armed with a bat… I still don't know what happened clearly, it all happened too fast, but I think that those guys probably knew who I was and attacked because of some rivalry with my family's business."

After an awkward silence she said with an angry expression, "I can't believe that there are people stupid enough to attack you because of that! Anyways, I think that you should tell your family what really happened, especially Komachi… She was really worried and I think she will soon discover the truth by herself, she is a really smart girl. You should also warn the police about those stupid thugs who attacked you, we can't let them run free after doing that."

With a brief pause, she suddenly got closer to me and took a closer look to my face, "Look at you, your face is full of bruises and scars and you look horrible… They really wanted to hurt you. Those fools went too far and they even broke your arm. If I knew something like this would happen, I would have paid more attention to you. They trusted me and I failed you. The next thugs that I see in Chiba will surely get a good beating, I'll teach them not to mess with my students!" [1]

She was taking this too seriously, this wasn't her fault. What is she whispering? I couldn't hear her clearly, she was getting really passionate about this situation.

This was my problem, my responsibility, "This wasn't your fault, I was careless and I even provoked them... I'm weak and my arrogant attitude only made things worse. I won't tell my family about what happened, not yet. I don't want to go back to my family's house, but at the same time I want to protect Komachi. I still don't know what to do..."

Her eyes widened in surprise and she said, "Ehh? Where's the cocky Hikigaya that I know? I need a doctor, to bring me back the original brat! This isn't my student… This one is acting like a normal human."

"Oi, keep it down woman, my head hurts!" I was now shouting too… First she told me to be honest and now she was mocking me, I hated her.

"Sorry Hikigaya, I was just surprised with your attitude. Look, it's okay to be scared and confused and I'll try to help you the best I can, but you got to destroy those walls around your twisted heart. You have to rest a little bit and hopefully tomorrow we can talk more calmly."

Her kindness was melting my weakened heart and I felt the urge to accept her help, so I had to change the subject, "Tch, this is my problem, you don't need to butt in... And shouldn't you be working right now? Why are you carrying that huge bag?"

"Now that's the Hikigaya that I know, the stubborn student that avoids human interaction at all costs, you're already trying to throw me out of this room. Is this how you treat your visits? You're the worst… However, I can finally see our tsundere protagonist show some interesting developments and I like this."

I ignored her, she was clearly too obsessed with manga. I was still waiting for a serious response, "You're no fun… Don't worry, today I don't have classes with you guys. Hmm and you mean this bag? It's not huge, it's big enough to carry everything that a woman needs. You see, I'm going to spend some days with old acquaintances."

Despite her nostalgic look, I couldn't take what she said seriously, the violent Hiratsuka had friends… That was weird, so I ended up faking some tears and said, "Sensei, I'm so proud of you... I thought that you were just like me, a delinquent teacher with no friends, but I was wrong. Wait, don't tell me you have a boyfriend? I feel inspired now sensei, if you can do it, I may find salvation too."

Seeing through my stupid joke and noticing my smirk, she raised her fist in anger and said, "You're in the hospital, but that doesn't mean that I won't punch you for being a rude brat. Unfortunately, I still don't have a boyfriend... Maybe if he was some years older, who knows? But that's not the point! I hope to see the old Hikigaya back tomorrow, because we need to have a serious conversation. I feel like there's a storm ready to blow away our peaceful Chiba and it will affect all of us... We'll talk tomorrow."

This woman was unbelievable, she loved to be dramatic. With her enigmatic phrase and a serious expression on her beautiful face, the female teacher left my hospital room. Lying back again, I stared at the white ceiling wondering what to do next, while also thinking about what Hiratsuka's words really meant.

After the visit of my violent teacher, I spend most of my time trying to sleep and unfortunately for me, my dear sister wasn't able to visit me. How I hated tests, even younger kids couldn't escape the curse that is school life. Thankfully, nowadays there were something called video calls and being able to see Komachi's face made my health points return slowly to the green zone.

I still didn't know if I should be happy or sad because this time I didn't need to stay in this hospital for weeks. Apparently brutally assaulted by a baseball bat wasn't that important or life-threatening. Scientific stuff was really my weak point, but I could say that what those two guys did to me hurt like hell and I felt like my life was about to end there.

Thankfully, I was saved and I could walk and resume my daily life in this same week and for me this was a nightmare. I would have to return to my classroom and deal with those annoying popular kids. I also had to deal with Hiratsuka's frustration and in the end of the day I would have to solve the problems of unhappy teenagers, by finding some miraculous solution in my fourth-dimensional pocket. [2]

I was still wondering how to keep Totsuka away, especially now that I learnt about what her crazy father was trying to do. I needed to keep her away from me and I was going to be honest and tell her that she didn't need to act friendly just because she was being forced to do it by her family. This façade was going to end… How ironic.

I was also conscious that Komachi would soon find out the truth about what happened.

Like Hiratsuka said, she was a really smart girl and she knew me too well. I knew that I hadn't been acting normally and that was mainly because I was still a bit shocked with everything that happened. Maybe 'shocked' wasn't the best word, I was paranoid. Unlike our brief talks over the phone, lying directly to my sister would be something that would slowly corrupt my soul. I had to gather the strength to tell her the truth, Komachi deserved that.

Even though all of this problems were filling my mind with questions, they would be postponed for later. Luckily for me, I was able to leave the hospital just about launch break and that meant that I was free for the rest of this day.

I felt like I was forgetting something really important. Is it hunger? No, I had already eat a small sandwich in my way home.

Finally arriving home, I went to the fridge and there was a yellow memo with my name on it, I read it out loud, "Don't forget the meeting with the Yukinoshita eldest daughter, onii-chan~! I still have to scold you when you arrive home, so please be careful this time :)"

Now I knew what was missing… It finally made sense, I knew that I was forgetting something that should be important, but to be honest, I couldn't care less for this meeting with Yukinoshita's older sister.

I could feel a chill running up my spine just by thinking about the possibilities and the numerous bad endings that this event could trigger. Hopefully, the older sister would be less devilish and rude, but that was just me being stupid, still believing that this messed up world could somehow repay me for all the messed up stuff that has been happening.

Going upstairs towards my room, I noticed that the guest bedroom was open and that was odd. Well, I think that our parents didn't visit us, otherwise they would already know about my unlucky 'accident'. Perhaps my dear sister decided to help her brother with the house chores.

Aww~, she was so sweet. She gained a lot of Komachi points today, but I wouldn't admit it directly. Tch, I think that I really fit the description of a male tsundere.

Anyways, the two of us were really close and lately, she had been really helpful and she was my emotional support. She even remembered that her brother would totally forget about that stupid meeting that mom arranged. What a thoughtful sister… This was surely one of the traits that made my sister so popular. She was energetic, sweet and smart, but above all, she was a pro in social interaction.

Well, now I had to find some comfortable and nice looking clothes that would disguise my horrible appearance. I look terrible... I had the appearance of someone who had survived a visit to hell, Hachiman Winchester would be a cool name for me use after being targeted for being part of that Yakuza-ish group. [3]

Gazing back at my reflection in the mirror, I noticed that my sharp grey eyes still looked very intimidating. I had one facial band-aid in my right cheek and in my left eyebrow there was a vertical scar that looked really nasty, but it combined perfectly with my scary eyes.

Of course that my broken arm was not helping. How the hell will I fit into my shirts with this arm cast? In the hospital it was Totsuka's father that taught me how to wear a sling properly, because apparently I had to keep my broken arm in this weird position all day... What a pain.

I ended up fitting inside a long-sleeved white shirt and since I was running out of time I decided to wear my favorite pair of jeans and some casual black shoes, I looked terrible anyways so there was no point in trying to cover my shitty appearance.

After some seconds of struggling, I reached the conclusion that it was impossible to fit my left arm in any good looking jacket, but it was cold outside and so I decided to wear my black jacket on my shoulders, much like a cape.

Damn it, my memories of my Middle School days were coming back and those were one of my 'Top ten' embarrassing moments. The otaku culture was really scary, it was something like a drug for a sad kid like me... I even did some cosplay and there was proof of that in my grandpa's house. I was a really lame person.

Anyways, looking myself in the mirror, I noticed that I was grinning like a crazy man and somehow I felt like I was enjoying everything that happened. What is wrong with me? I looked like a zombie and I was almost killed with a bat, but I was still unconsciously smiling and my heart was beating like crazy.

I was feeling weird, but for the first time I felt excited and I couldn't stop smiling. Maybe I was still nervous about what happened and that was why I was acting like this. The boring life of a loner that I had been living for years was slowly changing and that was scary. With that thought in mind, I left home to meet with the devil.

[1] – Reference to one of my favorite scenes in the Batman trilogy.

[2] – Reference to Doraemon, our lovely blue cat that thought me a little of Spanish!

[3] – Reference to Supernatural, mainly the Winchesters brothers, because they are the definition of badass and I grew up watching that show.