The train horns blared as it came to a smooth halt.

Hachiman had been woken up by his alarm about half an hour ago and had been scrolling on his phone with a tinge of muted anxiety.

You see, he had no particular reason to be anxious, his parents had arranged his stay with a temporary guardian.

Between that and the stipend he would get from the government for his scholarship, he wouldn't have to worry about much.

His college started in a month so he had plenty of time to get used to the city too.

But his stomach squirmed still. Perhaps it's like going to meet an ex-girlfriend.

He laughed at his own analogy and thankfully, because he had headphones on, the lady sitting next to him only spared him a sideways glance instead of glaring in confusion.

As the train stopped he pocketed his phone and took off his headphones before putting them in the bag nestled in his lap.

The people formed an impromptu queue in the walkways but he didn't stand up, seeing no reason to hurry. The train was going to be here for the next ten minutes anyways.

The people filtered out and some even came in too, but after a couple of minutes the walkways were empty so he took his bag, unloaded his travel bag from the compartment above, and set about.

He crossed the wide halls of the station in long strides as he was spared the occasional glance. He was a little tall, and much by his admission 'above average in looks'. His dead fish eyes had smoothened out over the years and they weren't nearly as off putting as they were during the start of his High school.

He finally got to the end and descended a set of stairs to step onto a footpath.

The cool Chiba air hit him with a breeze.

The staircase led into a T-shaped crossroads where a marketing area had cropped up, presumably to trap any vulnerable tourists coming in.

A mosaic of lights and life surrounded him, cafes, restaurants, hotels, and many more shops.

People carried themselves forward with an undercurrent of enthusiasm and life buzzed in the air.

Oh how I've missed you Chiba. Life had become stale in Osaka as much as he hated to admit it.

Barely anything to do for miles, a weak internet connection and a population mostly consisting of old men and women sliding into senescence surprisingly didd not make an adrenaline filled life.

He took in the environment for a few moments before reaching into his left pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. It read–

Red Aston Martin V8 Vintage

He didn't get why his parents were so insistent on describing the car of his guardian instead of just giving him their number.

Well it's not like there's a Red Aston Martin crawling around every corner in Chiba so I guess it's unique enough. Sounds familiar though. He thought.

He looked on his left to find no such car, but a long glance to the right and he sighted a red car in the distance. So he started walking down that direction and lo and behold, it was the one he was looking for.

The windows were tinted black so he couldn't see inside but a moment later the door swung open.

A woman stepped out. And Hikigaya's jaw dropped to the ground.

She was an absolute beauty, no other words would be ample to describe her. Incredible soft features with perfect almond shaped eyes that had a purple iris at the centre.

A small nose above plump soft lips that were covered in cherry red lipstick. Hair, black and wave-like, cascaded below from her crown, crossing the small of her back and stopping just shy of her shins.

She wore a white dress that fell down from her shoulders until her ankles, right above black heels. It had many flowers drawn, all a blend of purple and pink chrysanthemums.

Hiratsuka Shizuka. His First-Year Languages teacher.

What was funny was his surprised reaction was exactly mirrored by her. No doubt it was from seeing the scrawny First-Year she had known change so much.

He himself was wearing a denim jacket over a white and blue striped shirt and jeans, looking mildly stylish. Though he would never admit most of his sense of 'fashion' came from Komachi hitting him over the head.

"...Sensei?"

"Hachiman?"

"Y-yeah. Wow you look…" Amazing? lovely? Gorgeous? So much younger for some reason? "Good. You look good." He chuckled at the end to hide his thoughts.

"Can't say the same for you can I?" She stepped forward and offered a hand. It was an unnecessary gesture but also incredibly lady-like. So he took her hand like a prince would and pulled her up to the slightly elevated footpath. "But damn me if you haven't gotten taller."

She had to look up to meet his eyes.

"May I ask how you know my folks, Sensei?"

"Oh? It's my duty to familiarize myself with any student's parents to maintain a healthy class. Especially a cruel delinquent like yourself." She laughed a little at the last sentence.

"Well that's true enough even if the comments aren't appreciated. But you weren't aware of me for that long. What was it like for ten months?"

" Fourteen months airhead. And that's still more than a year."

"I still doubt it, why didn't I hear of it?"

"Ugh you're no fun Hikigaya." She rolled her eyes. "Your Grandma, she was the one who taught me in my Highschool years."

"Oh I see. That makes a lot of sense…" considering your violent tendencies. He didn't say that of course, he didn't want to throw up today's lunch.

"Mhm and now I'll be teaching you. It'll be hard Hikigaya, but you'll come out stronger on the other side. Mark my words. " She raised a fist up as if pretending to be a shonen protagonist with a fire burning in her eyes.

"Uhh teach me what? Aren't you a highschool teacher Sensei? I'm in College–"

"No no, Hachiman I…" She looked around to head left and right finding that no one was in earshot but still leaned in closer. "You know Aur– wait. Um, did your Grandma give you something? Like uh a–"

"Oh yeah uh…" The conversation had turned awkward but he brought his bag to the front and opened the front zipper, taking out the necklace he had gotten and holding it up to her. "This?"

"Oh I see." She said. He saw many emotions cycle on her face as she bit her lip. Realization, hesitation and some kind of attempt to tell him something.

"Sensei?" He spoke to break her out of the silence.

"Yeah?"

"You said something about teaching me?"

"Teaching uh… yeah Martial arts!! I'll be teaching you Martial Arts. Back in the day your Old Woman was my Boxing Coach. So make sure to get ready for Hikigaya, I'll make it hell for you." She said with a little smirk but internally something else was going on.

Hopefully he'll buy that. But he really isn't becoming one of us is he? What a waste. The Red-Gold Emperors are never weak.

"Oh yeah I did practice Kickboxing for the last two years but I'm not that good at it."

"Kickboxing? That's just for wusses who aren't good enough with punches. Real Men practice just Boxing." She shook her head as if scolding a child before breaking down in laughter.

"Wow…" He drew out sarcastically. "Well I guess someone as chronically single as you would have no di–"

Her fist planted into his gut. With the dress and the makeup, Hiratsuka Shizuka looked like she couldn't hurt a butterfly but her punches still stung like bees.

"O-oi I was just joking." He had to lean forward to cradle his stomach, it hurt a little. Not harder than granny tho, not even close. He thought.

"I'm disappointed, Hikigaya." She said while looking away with a pout. "I thought you'd have learned your way around a woman's feelings now. But I guess that's just too much of a glow up to expect is it?" She turned around and sighed.

"Well let's get going Hikigaya, I doubt having to carry all that luggage around is any good."

"Mhm." She opened the front door while he headed for the rear ones, depositing his bags inside before taking the passenger seat at the front.

"Come on in!" She swung open the door and invited him in.

He stepped in to be greeted by a fairly spacious apartment. That was good because he had grown too used to living in a bungalow and as bratty as it sounded, living in a small space would bother him in the end.

Some steps ahead there was a dinner table with four chairs.

A small kitchen and a balcony flanked it on the sides and right ahead of it was a set of sofa chairs and a couch facing the wall with a mounted TV.

Beyond that were two doors some paces away which he assumed were his and Shizuka's bedroom.

She came in from behind after closing the door and heading for the kitchen and pulling out a glass from the drawers.

"Oh I forgot to ask you, are you allergic to cats?" She asked while handing him the glass.

"Well no, my family has a cat at home. Black one, and grumpy as all hell." He said before taking a sip. "Any particular reason you're asking?"

A meow answered his question as a cat sauntered into the room. And it was the most regal cat he had ever seen.

Grey and white fur adored its feline body with a large tuft of soft fluff at its neck.

"Meet Ms. Calico. She's a real beauty but make sure to keep your distance…" The cat walked up to Hachiman and started rubbing its head against his legs. "... She's…absolutely…ruthless."

Each word was quieter than the last as the cat circled around his legs, asking to be picked up.

"What the hell!?!?! That cat never wants to be touched. Are you some kind of cat whisperer, Hachiman?"

"I-I guess." He replied before setting his backpack down and picking her up. "As I said, I do have one back home."

He rubbed her lower back, the area most cats liked to petted on. It purred in response and nuzzled its face into Hachiman's neck.

"D-damn. I wonder…" She said inquisitively before reaching out a hand to the cat. But claws flashed as the cat slashed at her owner with a scowl on her face.

"Mrrrr…" It purred a warning as if a queen telling a peasant not to disturb her rest. Then she nuzzled her face back into Hachiman's neck.

Shizuka had a grumpy expression on her face as the back of her hand had been scratched.

Ah she's sulking. He noticed. "Ah Sensei don't worry…" Hachiman put a hand on her head, patting it. "I think you're cuter than this cat."

Shizuka's face flushed as Hachiman realised what he had said to comfort her. Well it's not like I don't believe that. He thought.

So he kept patting her head.

"I- you really don't know your way around a woman's feelings, do you, Hikigaya?"

"Ah." Hachiman fully expected her to punch him with the force of a thousand suns.

But she just stood there with a red and pouting face.

C-cute! So cute!! Too cute!! He thought.

[Six days later]

The opponent in front of him bounced on his feet with his guard raised. Kenzo Takami was a blonde with slicked back hair and a lithe frame. It was much lighter than Hachiman's and looked more suited to a runner than a kickboxer.

But he stood against Hachiman in the ring regardless.

Kenzo had worked hard to put him into this position, with the dark haired boy pinned in the corner of the ring, but Hachiman didn't care much for it.

While sweat covered both of their frames in a thin sheen, the blonde looked notably more worn out.

And it was fair to be so, he had taken several blows from Hachiman due to having inferior reach and weight. As much as shonen was adored by both boys, reality was different. Size did matter and superior reach was practically a cheat code.

In the ring almost everyone works hard, so the hard work cancels itself out and only talents and gifts shine through.

But recognizing and honing those talents is also hard work. And being able to consistently work hard is also a talent. He thought for a moment.

He put aside his thoughts though as the blonde lashed out a straight right hand. But the punch was stopped as the sole of Hachiman's foot planted into his opponent's gut and pushed him back.

A teep Or a 'push kick'.

The blonde was almost sent stumbling but instantly righted himself, with his left foot forward and tried to kick Hachiman in the liver.

This was the biggest mistake he had made the entire match.

Hachiman's body twisted sideways, stepping just out of range of the kick.

And a thud echoed in the room. He had picked up his own left leg and executed a textbook Brazilian Kick.

Faking as if heading to kick the ribs and then flicking the knee at the last moment to kick the head.

The boy collapsed on his feet, not quite a clean knockout and they were wearing headgear after all. But it was clear as a mirror that the match was over.

"Damn man what the fuck." The blonde cursed before wobbling to get up. Hachiman offered him a hand and he took it. "You're a damn monster you know that fish-eyes."

A vein popped at Hachiman's head as he spoke. "Sounds like someone's a sore loser."

"Haaah? The comparison is just unfair, I'm a normal human and you're a damned monster. How many orphans did you kill to get this strength."

They glared at each other for a moment as if two beasts were raring to go ahead and tear each other to shreds but then Kenzo burst laughing as Hachiman rolled his eyes.

The boy liked to play up his bad cop act on the most tense moments. "Just joking man. But you owe me takoyaki after that kick."

"Huh? Even tho I won? What kind of twisted logic."

"Oh come on, Senpai. Treat your underlings for once."

"I've known you for five days, shrimp."

"Fine fine but I'll grow on you soon."

Hachiman was unwrapping the bandages wrapped around his palms and took off his headgear. "Yeah yeah, like a mold."

The boy grinned, too much brightness and sunshine in his lips for a mouth so foul as he walked to his own corner and started doing the same.

He changed after taking a quick shower in the Academy and had a brief 'see you later' to some of the members before leaving.

It was early in the morning and when at this time in Osaka he found undisturbed serenity and a cool silence, in Chiba it was simply the bustle of the city.

He turned a corner to walk down a street, weaving out of people's way with his eyes wandering from one scene to other– a mother rushing her child to school on a bike, a cop on their morning patrol while nodding to anyone he recognized in the vicinity, a guy who had set up station in a small corner of the looming infrastructure playing a small and mellow melody on the guitar.

It was like these streets were a coalescence of life, so many different and unique ones teeming with light, gathering in a large blaze.

Like friends around a campfire.

He pushed open the door to a cafe. It had 'Lost Angel' engraved in it's clear door frame with a glass wall showing off the interior.

It was relatively quiet with only a few patrons sitting in the far corner.

Unknown to Hachiman, one of them caught a gaze of him. It was a man in his early twenties wearing a grey business suit. He had a scar right between his eyes, below where the bridge of his nose met his forehead. It looked like a rectangle with three triangles poking out from the two vertical sides. His eyes changed for a moment, becoming a circle of white surrounded by pure black when he saw the boy.

Then his eyes fell on the red-gold necklace Hachiman was wearing and he raised his eyebrows in apprehension and kept them there for half a minute before his eyes turned back to their normal brown and he kept talking to his business associates.

[And Hikigaya Hachiman never met this man again.]

[ANd HIkigAya HachiMan nEVer met thiS m9n aGai8.]

[ANd HikigAya HacHi8an nEVer met thiS m9n aGAi8.]

[An~ Hi}igya Ha=himan $ever 9et t8is mn @gan.]

Hachiman bought a can of MAXX Coffee

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[The End]

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[Next Chapter: Meeting the Yellow Queen.]

Authors Note:

That's it for now. I'll be updating this story across the next month and then see what'll happen over the next month.

This is not a crossover as I usually write, it's an OC setting.

Special shoutout to CrazyxEnigma for reading and reviewing all my fics. You a real one.

Anyway, bye!!!

[Cyyan out]