As Expected He Was More Warped Than Most
Saturday, one of the two days of the week where everyone gets to stay home without the fear of having to work or having to do anything physically taxing without necessary. Many office workers that happen to work long hours both day and night even consider this day and Sunday as holy days. Unfortunately most office workers fail to understand that they receive two days off from work every week so that they could spend time with family. Instead most spend their time just lying around in bed all day and resting. A shame indeed. But understandable, who wants to deal with people after tirelessly working five days straight, mentally exhausted if not physically or even both. Therefore a Saturday should be spent in leisure or with loved ones.
For Kotomine Hachiman that was not the case.
Being an orphan he had no family to spend time with. And being poor he could barely afford an apartment far away from the nearest convenience store and even the nearest station while also paying for Sobu's flattering tuition costs. Fortunately vehicles such as cars and taxis still traveled this far, enabling him to make his way into the city if needed. So question is, what do you get when a boy that lives alone and goes out to school in the morning and works till near midnight after school almost every day of the week?
The answer would be a lot of things, but for today, we'll be focusing on the messy apartment that doesn't get any cleaning done to it throughout the weekdays. Conclusion? Why hours of precious time that could be spent doing nothing, used to clean his entire apartment of course. And after all this time of living alone, it would be rather shameful if he did not get decent at it. Taking a second to make sure his handiwork was done properly he nodded. All things considered he could certainly let things be for a longer period of time than a measly week but he refused to sleep in a dirty environment. Not unless he could help it at least. Those days were behind him.
"If nothing else works at least I know what I would have enough experience to become in the future." he said, no response was received since no one was here to hear him speak. The cross attached to the silver chain hanging from his neck swaying from side to side as he goes back to cleaning the kitchen. After this, the bathroom and a nice cold shower.
The rest of Saturday was spent doing nothing of importance aside watching anime on the second hand bought television set he had with the help of the VCR which he got along with the TV he bought last year and reading an 'all original' light novel. Sunday was spent similarly but with a long date with his futon involved.
'I want my weekend back.' a very common thought. Something that most if not everyone has thought at least once in their lifetime. Hachiman himself thought about it as we-
His body tensed just half a second before a fist hit his gut.
"Didn't we already talk about this sensei?" Hachiman's stoic expression was nothing new to the woman he was talking to. The woman in question of course was his Modern Japanese teacher. The only woman he knew that had no problem with hitting him for the oddest of reasons.
"There isn't a camera here." Hiratsuka smirks at him. And true to her words, there was no CCTV cameras in the classroom. That would be the invasion of the students privacy. That complaint would also work for the teacher's office but no one seemed to talk about it. But that wasn't his problem. They were adults, they could and should fix their own problems. "That means I can abu-educate you as much as I want."
She was about to say 'abuse'. Hachiman caught onto that rather quickly. Then again it wasn't hard to do so. His lips parted. "Your lack of common sense is showing sensei. And you can't blame that on your age." this time, the punch was dodged.
"Oi! You can't do that." She pouted at him.
'Is that supposed to look cute?' Even though Hiratsuka thought it to be impossible, Hachiman still managed to deadpan. "Somone your age shouldn't pout sensei. It's cringe."
Her eyebrows twitched uncontrollably. But instead of trying to hit him again she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Why don't you come meet me in the counseling room after class. We'll continue there."
So she noticed the brief glances from some of the students after all. Well, that was lucky for him. Although after thinking about it, she was likely telling him to go after class so she can 'educate' him some more there. Maybe if he kept a book in front of his stomach, underneath his cloths, it could cushion the blow a little. Not that her punches hurt that much but conflict should be avoided at all costs right?
"Kawasaki, if you continue being late like this I will have to contact your parents you know. You missed the entire first period" Hiratsukas' next words caught his attention even though they were not directed at him. His body turned slightly to see the girl she called out to walk up behind him. Looking at her facial expression she seemed troubled by what Hiratsukas' said. But instead of pleading to the teacher like any sensible student would do. She instead ignored her and went to her seat.
Following her lead Hachiman went to his own seat and sat down. Whether Hiratsuka opposed his action or not she did not express it and left for her next class.
"Kotomine-kun." he turned his head to one Totsuka Saika who gave him a questioning look. "Why did sensei call you?"
"If I knew why I would be trying to avoid it." Hachiman replied. "It may not look like it but her punches do hurt a little."
Obnoxious laughter coming from behind interrupted their conversation. The two boys did not say anything about it and continued their light conversation.
"You probably shouldn't mock about her age then." was Totsuka's sagely advice.
"But I was telling the truth though." he gives Totsuka a blank look to which Totsuka could only sweatdrop at.
"Sometimes true things are not nice, Kotomine-kun." Totsuka sighs at him. He paused for a second. "Say Kotomine-kun. Would you mind if I called you by your given name?"
Hachiman blinked a couple of times in confusion. Never having a reason to deny that request to anyone he was caught off guard by himself when his own reply was not properly timed. "Go ahead."
"Hachiman."
Once again Hachimans' mind was left in disarray by this Totsuka Saika creature when said creature uttered his name with a smile and blush(?).
Hours later after all the classes were finished. Totsuka had already left for the tennis club like other students that were in any sports related clubs and Hachiman prepared to go to the Service Club, he failed to get its name changed unfortunately. A small amount of force hit the back of his head making him turn to his assailant.
"Ready to go?" He nodded at her and stood up. Their destination set Hachiman led the way to the classroom's exit. However something stopped them.
"Yui! What the heck is this?!" a shrill voice yelled out with a series of coughing and gagging. Yuigahama's legs buckled slightly in fear. The pair turned around to see an angry Miura Yumiko glaring at them with what appeared to be slightly watery eyes. Next to her feet was a clear bag of... cookies?
Hachiman watched on as Yuigahama ran up to the blonde girl in concern. His eyes slowly trailing down to the bag of cookies on the floor.
"Yui! Why does this taste so bad? Are you trying to give us a stomachache or something?" she glares at Yuigahama.
"N-No Yumiko! I was just-"
"Trying to kill me? How does anyone even make cookies this bad?"
"H-Hey now I'm sure she didn't have any bad intentions by it. You know she's a bad cook" the girl with the thick red glasses attempted to defuse the tension in the air. Students that were still in class even though class ended over ten minutes ago seemed to ignore them but the unease could be seen in their posture.
"I-I thought that-" Yuigahama stutters, eyes watering slightly as she gripped her skirt but didn't avert her eyes from Miura's knowing that she would get angrier if Yuigahama did that. They were so focused in what they were doing that everything else seemed to not matter.
"This is better than before."
The three girls were surprised when a new voice said that. The voice was coming from... below? They looked down to see the culprit kneeling next to Miura's legs. None of the girls were expecting this, certainly not Miura as she squeaked and jumped back while holding her skirt down. "P-Pervert!"
Hachiman looked up at the girls with his usual blank expression. "What?"
"You were totally trying to peek under my skirt weren't you!" Miura pointed at him. Face flushed red in what he could only guess as either anger or embarrassment if not both combined. The other two girls stepped back. Glasses girl with a raised eyebrow and Yuigahama with a red face similar to that on her blond friend.
"I took a bite." was his reply to her accusation. He held up a cookie that was missing a decent sized chunk from it. "It's better than her first try."
"Wh-what? They were worse?" Miuras' look of disbelief was enough for Hachiman to realize she wasn't joking. He nodded at her, answering her question.
"She has been trying to improve her cooking skills for a while." Hachiman stood to his usual slumped height. "I was tasked to taste her cookies when she came to the Service Club with the request to teach her how to bake. When I tried her cookies the first time I had to-"
"Nooo!" Yuigahama suddenly jumped him. Her sudden action gave the boy little time to prepare himself causing him to stumble a little with her on top of him. If there wasn't a chair behind him he would have surely fallen. Both hands covering his mouth to prevent him from saying anymore. "That's embarrassing!"
"Yui..." Miuras' voice lacked the previous anger it held but she still seemed a little upset. Yuigahama noticed her slightly shaky voice and turned to her, looking down in what seemed to be shame. "You... Why did you go to someone else? I-We could have helped you instead. We're friends right?"
Even Hachiman had enough sense to know that this was not a conversation he needed to be a part of. Silently as he came into the scene he made his exit from it. Remembering that Hiratsuka-sensei had requested his presence in the counseling room(which really was just a small closed space in the teacher's office) he made his way there. Soon enough he was sitting on a couch opposite of Hiratsuka who was smoking on a cigarette. She opened her mouth to speak but Hachiman beat her to it.
"Stop smoking, I can't stand it." Hiratsuka grimaced at him and crossed her arms with a glare. Hachiman did not relent. 'I have to deal with that enough at work.'
She sighed, eyes closed and shaking her head.
"Too bad. You'll have to learn to deal with things you don't lik-" Hiratsuka paused when she felt something cold touch her lips. It was certainly not the lit cigarette otherwise it would have been a burning sensation instead of a cold one. Then again the sensation of the cigarettes dry butt was not there either. Opening her eyes she noticed two things.
One, her cigarette was no longer in her lips but in the possession of her student. Two, it was being put out by said student.
"H-hey! Stop that." her protest went ignored.
"Why did you call me here." his attempt at changing the subject was the least subtle thing she ever heard. "If you light another one of those I will be taking it from you."
'This kid...' And this time she groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "Alright alright, explain this to me." she places a sheet of paper on the desk in front of him. Recognizing it without needing to pick it up he raised an eyebrow at her.
"My Workplace Visit Survey Form? What of it." it was probably the nonchalant reply that set her off.
"What of it?!" she slammed a fist down on to the desk. Causing the content on it to jump a little from the force used. "Did you intentionally write down the stupidest thing you could think of and just thought no one would notice? You didn't even try to give a proper reasoning for it! There isn't even any comedic value to this thing!"
"Why would it have any comedic value sensei? I have filled the survey form accordingly to the field requirements."
Hiratsuka rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Why did you even pick something as ludicrous as this? House Husband? Really? That's not a proper job you know. "
"The survey implied desired occupation. Not proper occupation Hiratsuka-sensei. But I assure you I answered with no intention of making a joke."
"Kid... You won't be able to make a decent life for yourself if you keep this up. You need to put actual thought into these things you know? Think of your future for a second. I know you might think its a little early for this but did you even know what college you want to go to?" Hiratsuka's tone shifts into something Hachiman usually doesn't get to hear from a her and he knew he shouldn't lie to her now like he had on multiple occasions.
"Sensei..." his eyes closed for a few seconds, still considering if he should answer her truthfully or not. "... I won't be going to college."
Normally He would have made a comment on the face she made at him.
Kotomine Hachiman was not in a good mood. And that was saying something. The words exchanged between him and the older woman had soured his day if not the rest of his week. But his reasoning was sound in his eyes even if he couldn't fully explain it to her without putting himself at risk. Nothing she said could changed his mind. Further education beyond high school was nothing less than a money sink. Money that he did not have unless he was willing to cut into his budget for food for the next six years or so, starting today and even then it was not possible to pay for everything. Getting a student loan would have worked but seeing as how he would have ended up working to pay it back the rest of his life. It was not really much of an option, considering that getting a 'better' job after college was not guaranteed. He could study more and probably obtain a scholarship. But realistically speaking he did not have the time for it. Even if he did though, He was not a bright student by any means and definitely no prodigy like Yukinoshita Yukino. He struggled to maintain his 'above average' grades and even failed at a few tests in the past due to a few incidents at work. If it weren't for all the free time he had back in middle school he probably wouldn't have even been able to get into Sobu. Thinking back, perhaps applying to Sobu was not a good idea, this school had a much higher tuition cost than any regular school.
He grabbed the handle to the Service Club door and pushed it aside. Entering the room he glanced up at what appeared to be a pouting Yuigahama and an annoyed Yukinoshita. By the looks of it neither had noticed him yet.
"Good afternoon." he mumbles, walking to his seat and sat down on it making a squeaking sound. Both girls jumped slightly, looking at him in disbelief.
"Kotomine-kun! Don't sneak up on us like that!" it was impossible but somehow the intensity of Yuigahama's pout seemed to increase.
It couldn't be helped, Hachiman had always been invisible when he wanted to be, a stealth skill of sorts. Right now he did not want to be bothered.
"It seems that being a thief would be a suitable profession for you Kotomine-san. You seem to already have the look and skills taken care of." Yukinoshita smirked at him. Her expression changed even though Hachiman was looking at her. "Out of curiosity. What did you write in your Workplace Visit Survey form?"
"Does it matter?" normally he would answer whatever question anyone would ask of him instantly without asking a question in return but whether it was the truth or a lie was an entire story. But talking about it would remind him his little argument with Hiratsuka-sensei minutes prior to now. So he chose to tell them what he told the older woman. "The chances of any one of us actually attaining what we wrote down on that form is relatively small and it depends heavily on luck. That is even assuming we even survive long enough to get a shot at them." Now that he thought a little more about it, why give them the chance to visit their 'desired workplace'? Probabilities were small but if all the students chose different things then wouldn't that mean the school would have to gain permission to enter all the listed companies? No they said specifically that each group would be visiting a single company. Was this a planning flaw or a false advertisement? Wouldn't it have been better to just give them the option of visiting a workplace out of many instead? A lot of trouble could be avoided if they did that.
Both girls looked like they wanted to object what he said but the sound of someone knocking on the door caught their attention. Hachiman said nothing as he continues to do his homework while Yukinoshita told their newest client to come inside.
"Hayama-kun?" Hachiman heard Yukinoshita say. He sensed a hint of anger in her next question. "What could we help you with today."
"Hiratsuka-sensei told me to come here in case I ever had problems in need of fixing." Hayama said. Out of the corner of his eye he gave the other male in the room a slight glance. "You see the thing is-"
As if right on cue both Hayama and Yuigahama's phones beeped. They pulled it out and Yuigahama frowns. Hayama said nothing as he places the phone in front of Yukinoshita who takes the device from him. She read the contents, raising an eyebrow then looked at the frowning Yuigahama. "A chain mail?"
"This message started circulating around to everyone in 2-F since last Thursday. No one knows how or who started it but its spreading false rumors about my friends." This time it was Hayama that frowned. "I was hoping you could put a stop to it."
"Chain Mails." Yukinoshita began. "A cowardly and terrible way to destroy a person's image in the eyes of her peers. Created by those that fail to make something out of themselves and opt to dragging others down with them. Truly a despicable thing to do. The only way to stop such a thing would be to expose the originator of the chain and eliminate of them. I myself have been subjected to such an atrocity."
The way she said it made Hachiman wonder how many people she saw dying in her lifetime. Considering death changes most people and her logical yet idealistic, even childish worldview Hachiman doubted the number surpassed a single digit. Let alone 'eliminate' them. 'This girl really needed to watch what she says'. Not that Hachiman was one to talk. So he kept his mouth shut, silently listening to their conversation while doing his homework. He did not understand why she mentioned she had been 'subjected' to such a thing. Though the interesting reaction Hayama made was noted by Hachiman.
"N-Now now. Can't you do this without harming anyone?" Hayama seemed rather uncertain of Yukinoshitas' choice of words. "I mean, I'm sure we can just have them stop if we talk to them about it a little."
"Indeed we can." Yukinoshita agrees making the blond sigh in relief. Unfortunately Yukinoshita was turned away from Hayama at that moment so he did not see the determination in her eyes. "However, the person behind all this can simply feign understanding and repeat the chain mails once they think no one suspects them anymore. The best way to solve a problem would be to take care of the source. Besides, trash like that deserves to die."
'Well she seems sure of herself.' Hachiman thought. 'At least I don't have to get involved in this.'
"You said that this started since last Thursday correct?" Yukinoshita asks and Hayama nods. "That would be the exact day when the second years were given the Workplace Visit Survey Forms. The timing is too perfect not to add up. If I were to remember correctly, the teachers said we can form groups of three. The victims of the chain mail are three and including Hayama-kun there would be four people."
Much to everyone's surprise it was Yuigahama that caught on first. "Are you saying that one of the boys did this Yukinon? But why would they do that? Their own image is also getting hurt isn't it?"
"Indeed. And that's the perfect alibi. No one would suspect them if they were also effected by it." was Yukinoshitas' reasoning. Hayama pales, hearing what she said.
"That's impossible! I know those guys. They aren't like that." he was surely desperate.
"Kotomine-san. What do you think of this situation?" Hayama turned to Hachiman with a wry smile. It was clear to him that Hayama truly did not want anyone to be 'hurt'.
"Why ask me? I don't care for this." Hachiman replied, genuinely confused.
"W-wha? Kotomine-kun! Hayato-kun came in here with a request. It's our job to help him." Yuigahama quickly makes her way next to him.
"But this is not a request that fits our job description. Our job in this club is to teach people to better themselves, not to protect them from harm." Hachiman tells her. "If you wish to help him out of your own free will then by all means you are free to do so but do not involve this club into doing something it was not meant for." he returns to his notes, ignoring the visible shock in the eyes of his schoolmates.
"Kotomine-san." Yukinoshita certainly did not like his refusal even though she did not voice it. "You... certainly make a valid point. Therefore this will not be considered as a club activity. You are free to not be a part of this request."
Hachiman nodded at her. But the helpless look Yuigahama gave him did not sit well in his stomach. She was close to crying. At least that's what it looked like. 'To cry for something like this is...' "I will not be helping you with this false request. However I will give you my two cents right now. Whether it helps you or not is none of my problem."
They seemed to pay attention to him with Hayama even leaning forward.
"You can stop the chain mail by finding out the culprit or by finding the culprits motivation." Hachiman began. "The possibility of the culprit being one of the victims is there but it does not rule out the possibility of another person being the culprit."
"What are you suggesting then?" Hayato jumped in, any reason to put his friends out of the spotlight would work for him.
"Absolutely nothing. What I am telling you is that if you don't want to find out who the person is then the best way to deal with this is to start guessing reasons why the sender is doing what they are doing and then start 'eliminating' those reasons one by one. You're bound to come across the real reason eventually. Once they lose their motivation there is no need for them to continue and the rumors will eventually stop." Hachiman shrugged. "But at the end of it all I have no control over any of you. If you want to take a different approach there's nothing I can or will do."
"But why Kotomine-kun? Why won't you help us?" Yuigahama asks.
"If it is not my job and I see no reason to do something I assure you I won't bother myself with it."
-Chapter End-
Funny how I wasn't sure what to write in this chapter but at the end it all just came rushing in a bit. Bout to say some 'important' stuff so listen up. I'll randomly add a small segment after a chapter(not every chapter) from now on. You can take it as a little window to Hachimans' past/present that isn't getting screen time along with the present events. But these segments did happen and is a part of the story but will not follow a proper continuity, meaning this segment has happened either before or after the next one. They will be short so don't worry about spending too much time to read it. Also don't expect them to be written too well.
Past(Title: He is selfish):
Cold. it was cold. Even under the bridge, against the wall will so many newspapers and torn clothing covers him it was still cold. The wind blew around him but not directly on him, yet it was still cold. He could hear the noise made by cars and trucks above him as they zoomed passed every now and then.
Cold air entered his small lungs, he exhales. White steam came out. The lack of proper insulation led to his body heat being lost.
Hungry, he had no money to buy food. He needed food to survive. He was given a chance to survive just recently. He can't waste it here. Not with questions needing answers.
"Kukuku." a giggling from nearby? It certainly wasn't the bats hanging above. Bats did not giggle. He turned his head, a man much older than him. Wearing a thick dirty jacket that seemed to keep the wearer warm. The man came closer to him, unaware of his prescence. The man looked like he didn't have a bath in months. He looked even more malnourished than the boy watching him from nearby. Another Homeless person? The man looked around, completely missing the boy's presence.
"Without those assholes around I can do this in piece." He pulled out something from his cloths and started giggling again. The boy could not tell what it was. The boy closed his eyes in an attempt to gain some sleep. He needed rest.
The cold air and noise made by vehicles above certainly made it difficult. But sleeping was not impossible. However a yell did prevent him from sleeping. The boy opened his eyes and turned his head from right to left to locate where the noise came from. It was the man. The man from before still here but was currently on the ground. Groaning and twitching uncontrollably. The boy stood up, ignoring the the protest from his body as the cold air makes contact with his skin through his sleeves and walked closer to the man.
The man seemed to notice his approach. Turning to him, the man reached out with one arm. Tears shed from his eyes. "-elp meeeh."
One again the boy turned his head from left to right, no one else was there. This was not a place other homeless people would come to since it was so unfit to call a 'home' especially when the water level in the river would rise and drown them. That's why the boy chose to be here. To be away. It was safer here.
"-all... amb-lance." the man gasped. Mouth foaming and eyes beginning to roll upwards. The boy wondered what he could do.
Wondering what he should do...
Minutes later the boy was back in his original spot. Sound asleep, covered by the newspapers and torn clothing. The thick jacket wrapped around him did well in its job of keeping him warm.
Changes from the original: A couple of spelling errors fixed. A couple of lines tweaked+added. Hachiman now has a TV(no cable tho) and a VCR(remember when those were a thing? Good times)