A/N: Hello! I come with chapter 4! Before anything else I just want to say Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu or any of the characters. The rightful owner of these characters is Wataru Watari. Highly recommend checking the light novel. Anyways I'd like to appreciate all the people who have reviewed and at least read the story so far before most likely cringing at my terrible writing skills! Without further ado, Chapter 4 Commence!

Chapter 4 – 258 Skills.

Sitting at the place that I call my heaven, I'm eating a yakisoba bread along with MAX Coffee for my lunch is something that I feel is best for me. Either way, I don't get that much food from that place. So, in my mind this is my perfect lunch I have every day. The wind breeze feels so calming, I wanna sleep here. Sleep forever. So relaxing. It is nice here, and it is not over there.

"Eh? Hikki? What are you doing here?"

And now I want to die. Why does God hate me…?

"Mm? Yo, uhh Yuigahama."

"Hikki, what are you even doing here watching the courts?"

OH THANK GOD THAT'S ACTUALLY HER NAME. IM SO GOOD AT GUESSING!

"What does it look like?"

"I can tell you're eating Hikki! Don't think I'm an Idiot! I passed Sobu High's Entrance Exam y'know?!"

She tries to hit me, her hand in the form ready for a chop, to reinforce her point. Out of pure reflex, I dodge. Her hand nearly hits the concrete behind me.

"I don't think you should do that, even if to reinforce a point. Either way you probably managed to get into Sobu High out of pure luck."

"Hikki! That's mean! Also, what did you just say?"

"I didn't say anything?"

PLAY DUMB!

"Yuigahama-san, I am pretty sure that you said you would get me something to drink after our bet?"

To my and Yuigahama's surprise and slight horror, Yukinoshita had showed up right behind her without neither me nor her noticing that she was there. She used one of my skills as her own! Stealth Yukinon…

"A-Ah! Yukinon! I-I'll get the drink right now! Hikki! Do you want one too?"

"No thanks, already have one."

"Ok!"

Yuigahama runs off, leaving me and Yukinoshita behind in my loner heaven at school. I'm slightly worried, if she was here long enough, she must have seen me dodge. I look at her and my worries increase tenfold as I look at her looking at me with a worried look. Knowing what it was about, I decided to speak up first.

"So, you must have seen that, didn't ya?"

"Yes, I saw. Very impressive dodge, thought I don't like how and where you learned it from. I can't possibly put the blame onto you for that."

I, slightly surprised, look at Yukinoshita to see her looking far ahead with a determined look. She catches my gaze and speedily looks away in the opposite direction of me.

What? I was only looking at you for a bit! Am I really that ugly that people can't look at my face normally?!

"Is this a joke?"

"May I ask what is, Hikigaya-kun?"

"You instantly looked away when you saw me looking at you. Am I really ugly or is it just because of my fish eyes like you call them?"

"It's the latter! Really! It's because of the latter!"

She looks away again, with a slight blush on her cheeks. I didn't notice it though. I pretended not to. It would give me signs and I'd start acting like how I was in middle school. Not pleasant to remember but tolerating enough to do so.

We just stood awkwardly for a few minutes before Yuigahama came back and handed Yukinoshita her drink. She stayed for some reason as she was drinking it.

I looked ahead to see someone approaching us with silver hair and an appearance that ALMOST I tell you. ALMOST made me think he was a girl. But because I know my classmates a slight bit. I know that this specific person in my class, Is a boy. And this boy, plays tennis a lot. I forgot the name though, It's a habit of mine.

Yuigahama called out to her- I MEAN HIM.

"Ah! Sai-chan! Yahallo!"

"Y-Yahallo!"

If I didn't know any better, I would've thought he was cute.

"Hello Totsuka-kun, may I ask why you are here approaching us?"

"I uh, wanted to get to that."

He looks at me for some reason, wait. Don't tell me he's gonna say…

"Hikigaya-kun, you're good at tennis, aren't you?"

"Eh? Hikki's good at tennis?"

"Yes, his form is spectacular! And he hits the ball well too, as if he knows at which exact trajectory and location it will go to!"

"This is news to me, Totsuka-san. Hikigaya-kun here might not be as good as you think."

"I am as good as he thinks. I'm most likely better than you."

"Oh? Are you challenging me? I shall let you know now I may put you 6 feet under the ground with a jumping serve."

"I'll still hit it back then, If we played tennis against each other, It would be a stalemate until one of us gets too tired to play."

"I hate to admit that you would win if that were the case…"

"Oh? You have low stamina? First time I'm hearing of this. That means I'll win in our hypothetical tennis match!"

"That is only if you are as good as Totsuka-kun says you are."

"I am, so you don't need to worry."

"Worry? Why would I worry? What would I worry for?"

"That you may not have an equal to challenge in tennis."

"Okay the both of you, stop making in-jokes!"

"Yuigahama-san, this is normal in the Service club. His depressed personality somehow has the brainpower and he has the audacity to fight back against my verbal jabs. As such, it is necessary for me to educate him against trying to fight back against me."

"Suuree, got it. No promises."

As if I'd ever.

"Hikigaya-kun, I did not think you would actually take what I said to heart."

"What? So you were joking?"

"It was not hard to figure out."

Very hard actually. But I won't tell her that.

"Anyway, yes. I am good at tennis. Why do you ask?"

"I have a request I'd like to make.."

The bell rang as soon as he said that. He was slightly disheartened from what I could tell.

"Totsuka-kun, you may come to the service club after school in the special building to let us hear out your request. We would be happy to help."

"Ah, okay! Arigato Yukinoshita-san!"

Totsuka walks away, after that we 3 part and go back to our respective classrooms to continue with classes.

…

It's after school now, so I made my way to the club. For some reason, Yukinoshita was stuttering when she asked if I was okay. Huh, weird. That's unusual.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before someone opened the door.

"Yahallo Yukinon! I brought Sai-chan with me!"

"Arigato, Yuigahama-san."

"No need to worry about it Yukinon! I just did what was natural for a member of the club!"

Me and Yukinoshita exchange a knowing glance before long including a smirk too, as if knowing what to do instantly to throw Yuigahama off.

"Yuigahama-san, I hate to say this to you but…"

"Yuigahama, I hate to have to tell you this but uh…"

"You aren't a member of this club."

We both synchronize our voices, albeit unexpected but we kept a straight face as we told so to Yuigahama who looked in terror at not only our synchronization but the fact that she was never in the club in the first place unlike those manga's where it happens suddenly and no one asks questions about it.

"I-I'm not?!"

"Of course Yuigahama-san, I never received a letter of intent or moderator approval for you to join the club."

"I-I'll write a letter of intent! I'll write it okay!"

It seems Yukinoshita tuned Yuigahama out and focused on Totsuka behind her who was slightly out of place.

"So, Totsuka-kun, what might your request be?"

"Uh W-Well, I wanted to get better at tennis so I thought that Hikigaya-kun could help me…"

"Hikigaya-kun is under the protection of the Service Club and as the club president, I accept your request Totsuka-kun."

Yuigahama was writing her letter of intent, for some reason thinking of something to write on it so she didn't hear what Yukinoshita had just said. Totsuka was puzzled about why she said so but was happy anyway. Only Me, Yukinoshita and Hiratsuka-sensei know about the reason why she said that. And it makes my stomach churn.

Seriously? Under the protection of what? Your family might be a famous name in Japan, but that won't help me here. It never would. I just have to endure. Endure until I don't need to anymore. Either that, or end this story far sooner than supposed to be. I'm a ticking time bomb Yukinoshita. Try to defuse me, and fail miserably.

I don't let these thoughts show on my face. I make sure they don't. Yukinoshita doesn't need to know that this is what I'm thinking. I've been hiding some things from Yukinoshita for a while now, I answer her questions truthfully but leave out the more… gruesome details. I don't think she would like to hear that. My back hurts a lot, probably from the hits I had to take from a frickin baseball bat. I've done good to hide it from them, though I may have to show some signs during Totsuka's tennis practice.

…

The practice has been going pretty well, I've avoided playing a tennis match against Totsuka for some time, though inevitably I might have to.

Those were the thoughts going through my mind before Totsuka fell while jogging and sprained his knee.

Yukinoshita had seen this and went for her athletic outfit, she told ME specifically for some reason, why she's doing this I don't know.

This action for some reason caused Totsuka to worry that Yukinoshita had given up on him. Yuigahama consoled him saying that Yukinoshita or in this case "Yukinon" pfft, doesn't give up on anyone. I back up that statement. She hasn't given up on me yet, and that surprises me. She and Hiratsuka-sensei are so annoying for the same reason. They care about me when they should be caring about themselves, not a useless person like me.

My monologue was cut off by the entrance of some really annoying people that makes me want to play tennis even with my injuries from those people as it is, just to beat them.

"Ah, you all are playing tennis! I wanna play tooo!"

I find Miura VERY annoying, same goes for Hayama. And BOTH of them are here. Life just keeps getting better huh? Mhm. Like hell.

"Totsuka reserved the court for lunchtime today. No one else can use it."

"Huh? But aren't you using it?"

Idiot, if Totsuka is the one who reserved the court then why do you think I'm here?

"I'm helping him improve his skills. You don't look like you can be of much help."

A typical trap of a slight insult and challenge. The perfect way to piss off people like her.

"Hah? If you think you're so good at tennis, then prove it! I'll have you know I was the ace player of the tennis club back in middle school!"

"Less talking, More actually playing tennis."

"Infuriating little…."

"Now now Yumiko, calm down. We can play with everyone, It'll be fine."

This dude is fully superficial, he's hard to piss off. But I can at least get under his skin for him to challenge me head on!

"Hm? Everyone? What do you mean by that, Hayama?"

"U-Uh..."

"The everyone when you beg your mom for something? 'But everyone has one!' Bullshit. That wont work. The everyone you're talking about is just fictional, non-existent if you will. Just a metaphor. Enough with that."

"Haha… How about this, we play 2v2. Me and Yumiko vs. You and whoever you want as your teammate. Sound fair, Hikitani-kun?"

"My name isn't Hikitani. And I don't need a teammate, for now at least. I'll mop the floor with the both of you."

"I'd like to see you try, Hi-Hikio. You will be crying after this match is over."

"Actually, that will happen but in reverse, you'll be crying instead. Okay, let's just get started already, I'm done with talking."

The two nod in agreement and we set up the tennis court. Yuigahama tries to join, but one good glare from Miura and she shrunk and headed to the referee seat.

Dammit Yukinoshita! How long will you take! I am confident in my tennis skills but with this insane lingering pain I'm not sure how long I'll last!

A 2v1 scenario. Hayama looked at me as if he was sorry, but inside, I knew he wasn't. Miura was openly ready to kick my ass. Oh, if only they knew what was gonna happen when they challenged me.

10 seconds passed, they were confident.

30 seconds passed, they were confident.

1 minute passed, they were less confident.

5 minutes passed, they had a sliver of confidence left.

10 minutes had passed, they had no confidence left.

10 minutes had passed, they were losing in a 2v1 scenario.

Everyone watched with mouths wide open as I singlehandedly went toe to toe with the popular people whom are good tennis players in Sobu High, without a team mate.

I had managed to get them to 40-love. They hadn't scored once against me. I had made sure to use the minimal amount of back movement necessary to minimize the pain I would take when moving around a lot. This was after 3 games. This was a best of 5. If I hit this last one, I would be known for sweeping the popular kid duo. Not exactly the best thing to be known for, but in my eyes it is.

At this point however, the pain had become too much to bear, I couldn't move as much as I could anymore. Yukinoshita had returned long back at this point and she was wide-eyed, her jaw looking like it could hit the floor after hearing that I was sweeping in a 2v1 tennis match.

Yukinoshita had somehow heightened her observation, she could see my movements being more pained than usual, she called to sub in. I denied so. Even with all these handicaps and pain I was going through, I needed to finish them off to show my satisfaction. With a move only I could use.

I use a simple pop fly to throw the tennis ball up, this gives the two a slight bit of confidence that they wont be swept this match without getting a point against me solo. But, what if I told you that was also a part of my master plan? It's lunchtime right now, I should be sitting at my favorite spot, eating my food.

Hayama doesn't know this. He doesn't know because he has never been here long enough to notice. The wind blows more than twice, throwing both of them off.

The tennis ball hits the ground, and no sound was made after. And for good reason too.

I had sweeped the popular king and queen duo in a best of 5 tennis match, they didn't score a single point. I could see the very visible frustration in Miura's eyes wanting to get back at me. Hayama was crestfallen but I could see the tinge of frustration in his facial expression. He too was angry at the shameful loss to a boy that no one even knows or regards the existence of.

Only the wind made noise, the crowd of people that had come during our tennis match was speechless. A 2v1 with no points for the team which had a player advantage.

I enjoyed this silence. This was a different silence. It wasn't the unnerving silence at the house, nor was it the comforting silence in the clubroom with me and Yukinoshita. No. This was much more different, this was a silence after you talk trash to someone and they talk trash back and they have the skill to back up their own words. The most annoying silence for the other while the best silence for the vindictive other who managed to back up what he said. And I am that vindictive other in this situation.

The silence was short-lived. Everyone erupted about how I was somehow cheating and how they couldn't believe that I managed to beat the popular king and queen in a 2v1 match without letting them score a point. I only had one thing to say, one thing to infuriate the masses. I didn't care for my win, the people closest to me knew that I wouldn't be able to cheat.

"Skill Issue."

They erupted even more, but at that point I had gotten all the satisfaction I could ever want from that moment. I went back to the bench to sit down, trying to make a neutral face at the pain I was feeling in my back, not to worry anyone. Yukinoshita knew though, and led me into the storage shed while everyone else was still livid over the duo's loss.

Yukinoshita was scolding me lightly with her soft voice for some time while patching me up after I told her about the back pain I had. If she had found out that I was withholding the truth from her, she didn't mention it. I didn't complain about that.

It was kind of awkward while she was applying medicine on my back but I didn't feel anything else from the atmosphere of the moment. For now, I was happy and could go back to the house to sleep happily even after the abuse I'll have to deal with later. That rumor that I beat the duo might go around and maybe some people will know of my existence, but it doesn't matter. At least ONE of my 258 skills had been put to good use. After all, that was probably the best moment of my life so far. Thank you, 1 of my 258 skills, "Demolish because why not." for making me feel happier today than I have in my entire life.

…

We completed Totsuka's request before Miura and Hayama and all of the others had shown up, so that was nice. The rumor had circulated that I had sweeped Hayama and Miura, now my existence is known throughout the school. Cool but also not at the same time, My Stealth Hikki skill's effectiveness has decreased due to this rumor that is very true, nooooooo! It will later became a fact that I had shamed them in tennis. The Tennis club wanted me to join, but Yukinoshita would NOT let me go. As if I'm just trapped in this club forever… But, maybe that's a good thing. This comforting silence along with Yukinoshita is nice, though with the addition of Yuigahama, I'm starting to mince my words. She talks a lot, unnecessarily if you will. Well, I'll tolerate. I'm slightly happy for now, and I want it to stay that way.

A/N: I actually struggled to complete this. I put just a little bit of critical thinking and even searched up how tennis works to describe the tennis game against Hayama and Miura, So, a guy who plays tennis can most likely see flaws in what I wrote for the tennis match, which is to be expected honestly. I also wanted to deviate from the anime a bit more, so there are more extra scenes I guess. Well that's chapter 4. Chapter 5 will be tomorrow hopefully but no promises on that. At most, day after tomorrow if I manage to get delayed due to a lot of other things going on at school before summer vacations. Again and I will always say, Feel free to criticize on points you think could be improved upon and let me know in the reviews! I appreciate all the reviews I get so thanks if you do drop one down below! This is Isuckatnaming with a chocolate ice cream bar that was eaten a long time ago to give me energy to finish this chapter, leaving to enjoy the rest of my day before going to sleep and going back to school tomorrow.