As Expected He Was More Warped Than Most
Watching Miura apply bandage to Hayama' bruised face was boring. Seeing people getting hurt physically or dying was boring. He had seen that before. It was too predictable. It was natural. To live meant to eventually die. It did not bring the same type of warmth in his heart like the one he had felt when Hayama realized his friend circle was being torn apart when the chain mails were circulating and he could do absolutely nothing about it. Seeing someone who lived their life fall into despair without being given even a single moment of preparation was not that predictable. It was not boring. But most importantly, it made him feel all warm inside. He couldn't even imagine how Yukinoshita would react when she finds out the secret about her family. He could only hope it would be as entertaining watch as Hayama'. And he so diligently prayed that he would be there to see it when the truth finally unfolds to her.
"Can someone help me put on my shirt?" he asked. His arm may have been properly wrapped up but it still hurt a lot. Putting on a shirt was impossible by himself. He could only guess how bad the rest of the two weeks without his arm would be this way while it healed. Hopefully he would be able to master the art of left handed eating without wasting too much food... or time.
"Gimme that." Kawasaki was the first to answer. He handed her the last remaining T-shirt he had. Both in camp right now and back at home. But even with her help putting it on was tough as expected. Every time her hand touched his back it flinched back a little. Maybe she was more disturbed by it than he previously thought? Hayama and the remainder of his crew had already left. The Elementary Students had left only moments ago. They were the only ones that remained due to Hiratsuka' insistence or seeing everyone off safely. Fortunately that was about to change in a bit.
"Everyone ready?" Hiratsuka asked from within the minivan. You could see the tiredness in her eyes from the turn of events today. They all nodded at her. She motioned them to get inside. Once in and the seat belts were buckled firmly they were off. The air inside the vehicle was tense. Tenser than what anyone would have liked. Hachiman entertained the thought of taking a nap like he did on the way to here yesterday.
"Kotomine." No suffix and surname only one person here called him that here.
"Yes?" instead of turning to Kawasaki as he normally would he looked at her through the rear view mirror. It seems that Yuigahama, Yukinoshita and Totsuka had fallen asleep some time ago.
"N-Nothing."
Hachiman leaned back and closed his eyes to get some sleep. A bump in the road shook the entire minivan. Whatever sleep that was about to take hold of him just flew out of the closed window. His arm started to hurt because of the sudden movement. He bit back a grunt and kept his eyes closed in order to get at least some form of rest.
"What... what happened?" Kawasaki asked. Averting her eyes from his back to the passing scenery outside. Her expression was that of unease.
"..." Hachiman wasn't sure why she was asking that question. It should have been obvious. "We hit a bump on the road that caused the minivan to shake."
"That's not what I meant." Hachiman opened his eyes to look at Kawasaki' face through the rear view mirror. His eyes glanced over to Hiratsuka briefly to see her attention on the road. At least he hoped it was on the road. He couldn't tell because she was wearing those sunglasses again. Maybe she understood what Kawasaki 'meant'. "Your back... How did that...?" Ah. So that's what she meant. She should have just said so.
"A burning building collapsed on top of me." That was what he was told. "I guess the debris became too hot and started to burn through the skin on my back." he saw Kawasaki look at him, wide eyed at his nonchalant answer. But she did not say anything to continue the conversation. And that's why he did the same. His eyes closed again, missing the deep frown on Yukinoshita' face. Minutes passed in silence. They had just entered the city limits. By then Kawasaki too had fallen asleep. Hachiman still couldn't though. The pain in his arm and legs were reduced to a mild stinging. But it was nagging him too much to let him actually relax enough to get some sleep.
*Swiish* ... *ClinkClink*
"I'm injured." Hachiman opened his eyes. "Not dead."
Hiratsuka let out a deep sigh. Putting the lighter back in her pocket. "I thought you were asleep."
"Resting my eyes." he replied. The rest of the trip is spent in silence.
They exit the vehicle. One by one. Kawasaki left without a word. Totsuka left after saying his goodbyes.
"Yukinon, Let's hang out a little before going home." Yuigahama suggested after grabbing onto Yukinoshita' sleeves. "You wanna come with us, Kotomine-kun?"
"No." Hachiman replied. "I'll have to get going. Sensei will give me a ride to my apartment." The woman in question looked at him, confused.
"I am?" she asked. Hachiman raised an eyebrow.
"I wasn't able to bring my wallet cause of you, remember?" he replied. Hiratsuka flinched back at the memory and nervously smiled.
"Yukino-chaaan!" a high pitch cry came to their ears. They see a woman, Yukinoshita Haruno racing towards them. Yukinoshita flinched when Haruno caught her in a tight embrace. "I heard what happened! I'm so glad you're safe!" She rubs her cheek against Yukinoshita' head.
"N-Nee-san!" Yukinoshita flushed pink in embarrassment. Yuigahama watched wide eyed but had a little smile on her face. "How did you...?"
"Hachiman-kun told me." Haruno lets go of her younger sister. Yukinoshita shot Hachiman a dirty look to which he showed no reaction to. Haruno had once told him to let her know if anything noteworthy were to happen to Yukinoshita since Yukinoshita herself would never go to Haruno for her problems. He thought the bear attack had 'traumatized' her to a degree. Normal people considered those as noteworthy right? Haruno turned to look at Hachiman. Faint traces of worry in her eyes. "How's your arm?" Hachiman nodded in response. Haruno smiled at him.
"You two know each other?" Hiratsuka asked, curious as to how both of her most problematic students got acquainted.
"Oh of course!" Haruno lets go of Yukinoshita and waltzed over to Hachiman before placing both arms over his shoulders. "How can we not? The steamy night we shared together can't be easily forgotten. Right Hachiman-kun?"
Hachiman nodded. "Indeed." He remembered that night well. Never had he tasted such a delicacy before.
Yuigahama' jaw hit the floor. Even Yukinoshita was floored since Hachiman agreed to Haruno' claim. Hiratsuka lost her balance and had to grab onto the minivan to make sure she didn't fall. Unfortunately for her the sunglasses she wore fell from her face. "W-W-What?! Haruno he's underage! You can't-"
"We're not allowed to have dinner together?" Hachiman suddenly asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Steam Hotpots produce a lot of steam you know. It's right there in the name~" Haruno smirked. "Were you thinking of something else Shizuka-chan? My, how naughty of you."
Hiratsuka blushed at that. "W-Whatever! Just finish up already so I can return this thing." Haruno laughed at Hiratsuka a bit. Much to the older woman's chagrin.
"U-Um..." Yuigahama stepped forward to introduce herself to Haruno. Suddenly Hachiman felt as if he was being watched by someone. But who? There wasn't anyone nearby. He looked around. A black limousine nearby caught his attention. The windows were closed. Hachiman narrowed his eyes at it. Was the person inside there the one?
"Well It was nice seeing you guys. Let's go Yukino-chan. Oka-san wants to talk to you." What Haruno said made Yukinoshita stiffen. Hachiman wondered why that was.
"I'm sorry Yuigahama-san. It looks like we can't hang out after all." Yukinoshita gave Yuigahama a sad smile.
"It-It's okay. Guess I'll be going then." Yuigahama said. Her smile was still present but it was strained a little.
"ByeBye Gahama-chan!" Haruno waved at Yuigahama then led Yukinoshita towards the black limousine Hachiman had noticed earlier.
'Maybe I jumped the gun to early there.' If the vehicle belonged to Haruno' family then he shouldn't have anything to worry about.
"Well. Let's go." Hiratsuka sighed. The afternoon sun shined upon them. It's rays were making her sweat even though she didn't wear anything to too heavy. "Get in."
Hachiman pulled on the passenger door handle and opened it. Putting one foot inside his body slipped into the vehicle. However before closing the door he remembered something. Instead of closing the door completely he opened it again and got out of the vehicle. Hiratsuka looked at him in confusion and asked him what he was doing. He doesn't answer and jogged away. She turned around from her seat and saw him heading towards the limousine the Yukinoshita children were about to enter. He tapped on Haruno' shoulder who turned to him in confusion. Since they were far away she wasn't able to hear what they were talking about. But she did manage to see him pulling something out of his pocket and handing it to Haruno. Harunos' eyes widened after he said something and before she could respond he came back to the minivan.
"Let's go." he closed the door.
Ramen. Ranging from a wide variety of types that used different kinds of ingredients to be created. The variety could only be surpassed by the ingredients used in a hotpot even. Ramen was also one of the few types of food Hachiman was 'fond' of. It filled the stomach and was cheap to a certain degree. Especially since there was a ramen that used an absurd amounts of spices as it's main ingredient. That was the only type of ramen someone like him could truly 'enjoy'. Now...
If only he could bring the ramen noodles to his mouth before it slipped off from his god forsaken chopsticks!
Broth splashed on his chin when he failed again for the fourth time in a row. Note to self, 'Learn to hold chopsticks better with left hand'. Next to him Hiratsuka Shizuka watched with amusement. If anything she was a little surprised to see him showing irritation because of it. So when he finally managed to actually put in a lone strand of noodles in his mouth even she felt a little bit of second hand joy. But by the looks of it she was the only one feeling joy for his 'accomplishment' for instead of spending a moment to look smug or even satisfied that he managed to eat something from the bowl his chopsticks went in for another try. Only to fail again. She turned to look at her own ramen. The amused smile on her face disappeared.
Unfortunately she had to take the minivan back before she could take him back to his apartment. And since it was already evening she offered to treat him to lunch instead. But that's not why her smile disappeared. "Hey."
Hachiman attempts to grab another strand of noodles but answers her nonetheless. "Yes?"
A question she should have asked long ago. "You had no reason to do it. If anything, you had the greatest of reasons to not do it. Reasons I doubt anyone would ever find lacking. Yet you did it anyway... The Service Club... Why did you join-?" she stopped when she noticed the look on his face. A chill crawls up her spine. Seeing him of all people sporting such a... sinister smirk on his face made her blood run cold. Even the ahoge on his head failed to make him look any less scary. This would be the second time she saw him make such an expression. The first being the day he joined the Service Club but even that lacked the ominous aura he had this time. The day he mocked one Yukinoshita Yukino for her naivete. No. He didn't mock Yukinoshita for that. If that was the case he would have laughed at every teenager that he ever came across. There was another reason for it. He mocked Yukinoshita Yukino because of her inability to comprehend the weight of her own words.
"Are you sure you the answer to that Sensei?" he asked much to her surprised. After his lack of resistance to reveal such a core part of his past the previous night she expected something like this to be answered the same way. "There are things about that family of hers that caused me to do and say the things I did that day. Things you may not want to know. Things that could get us both in big trouble."
A lump in her throat made its presence known to her. The shopkeeper of the roadside ramen stand they were in edged away from them both even though there were no other customers. Doubts crossed her mind. She wasn't stupid. She knew when to back out... Maybe she was out of her league this time. Or maybe she didn't want to hear this in public where things could get bad very quickly. "N-Never mind."
The smirk on his face disappears, as if it was never there to begin with. As if he was disappointed by her answer even though he was the one to warn her. He returned to struggling with his ramen. Hiratsuka tried to regulate her racing heart as discreetly as she could.
"If you asked that in concern of Yuigahama and Yukinoshita' safety in my presence, don't be. I have no intention of harming anyone." Hachiman suddenly said. Why he thought she would think that she didn't know nor did he understand why he brought it up. But it did raise another question for Hiratsuka.
"Oh? Then what happened back then with Hayama?"
" I just wanted to is all. It won't happen again, I assure you that" he left out the part where it felt excruciatingly satisfying. As if the wishes of a thousand souls had been finally granted. Oddly enough, those souls all felt like they belonged to 'himself'. Or at least were him in some way or the other.
Despite the unsatisfying answer the woman didn't reply. Her ramen had waited for her long enough. 'Forgive me for making you wait, Oh great one.' she apologized to the gods of ramen for her tardiness.
Not long after that they were done with their lunch. Hiratsuka paid in cash and they exited the stand. She stretched her back and let out a satisfied sigh. That ramen had hit the spot pretty darn well. " I'm beat. I'll see you when classes start again." she turns to leave. She couldn't get far as two steps later Hachiman grabbed her by the back of her T-shirt. She yelped out, surprised by his sudden and somewhat rude action.
"You aren't going anywhere without taking me home first." Hachiman said. She winced after realizing she completely forgot about it. "Take responsibility for your actions."
"I'm tired though." she pleaded. Hachiman raised an eyebrow at that. Missing part where he was supposed to care about that.
"I need a warm bed to sleep in tonight. It'll take hours to get home from here by foot. And that's if I don't collapse from exhaustion and don't get mugged." alright, he may have intentionally added that last part to emotionally blackmail her a little. He was pretty sure Haruno was a bad influence on him. He saw her put on a thinking face. Her eyes lit up and Hachiman assumed she had come up with a troublesome idea.
Hours later the lock to the door of an apartment unlocked. A figure went through the door and into the apartment. "Now, where is that light switch." the figure used the flashlight of her cellphone to locate the switch. When it came into view the figure went towards it and flipped it on. The lights came on and Haruno narrowed her eyes till they adjusted themselves to the light. She looked around but saw no one there. Raising an eyebrow she called out. "Hachiman-kun~ where are you?" She received no reply. Her lips thinned. She placed the bag of groceries in her hand down on Hachiman' table.
'Maybe he went out to get something.' A likely conclusion. She decided to wait for him. Her mother had wanted to specifically talk to Yukino. And had decided that Yukino would be staying with her tonight at their mansion. It was amusing to see Yukino' expression when the Yukinoshita matriarch said that. Their mother had never been the emotional type. Much like the apartment of the man she was inside of currently. But unlike Hachiman her mother did show signs of emotions, albeit rarely. That was one of the reasons why Haruno was so interested in the man and often wondered if her younger sister noticed the similarities he shared with their mother. She had left Yukino with their mother since Yukino had always wanted to spend more time with her. And felt that being there would divert their mother's attention away from her younger sister. That's why she came here after all... And maybe to checkup on Hachiman as well.
Almost half an hour later Haruno' lips thinned again. Hachiman had yet to return and worry was beginning to set in. He should have been home already especially considering his injured arm. She pulled out her phone from her purse and dialed his number from speed dial. It rang once. Then again. By the third ring the she heard the sound of her call going through. "Hachiman-kun Where are you? I've been waiting for you in your apartment for so long!" He probably felt the cheeky smile on her face. "Oh? Why not?" her smile became strained after she heard what he said next. "Oh... alright then. I'll lock the door on my way out." She hung up.
The smile on the face disappeared. She put her phone back into her purse. But pulled out something else. She looked at the plain looking key in her grasp, the key to Hachiman' apartment that he had given to her earlier today, with a frown. Her fingers curled in and the key was held in a tight grip. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath...
And then she smirked.
White tiled floor and walls. A small window mounted above next to the bathtub and a mirror on the wall in front of him. Hachiman stared at his reflection in the mirror with a blank expression. When Hiratsuka had offered to let him stay at her place tonight he wasn't too thrilled. She had said that she had some instant ramen stocked up they could have for dinner and he could sleep in the guest room. But that was not why he didn't want to be here. Not that he didn't 'appreciate' her offer or anything. But right now? He wanted to be away from the woman known as Hiratsuka Shizuka. He needed to think.
His expression morphs into that of a scowl. If Hiratsuka got scared by his expression at the ramen stand she would probably faint right now. The expression was mirrored by the reflection. Somehow that looked right on his face even though it felt so wrong. "Why?" Unsurprisingly his question was not answered by the mirror. "Why did I do that?" He hid it well the entire day. And he was no actor by any means. He felt as little he showed. So that's why he had already reached his breaking point. A deep exhale from his nose later he examined himself in the mirror.
"When did I become like this?" he asked himself. No. the better question was. "How did I become like this?" Without even noticing the changes. So it was true. That one won't be able to notice subtle changes of themselves till it completely made then unrecognizable to their past self. He rattled his mind during the ride from Chiba Village. He rattled his mind during the ramen lunch with Hiratsuka. For an answer. For anything that would justify why he did what he did. Why he pushed aside Hiratsuka from the bear and took the blow that was meant for her. It made no sense no matter how much he thought about it. He owed her nothing. That woman meant nothing to him! Yet he still risked his life for her. Why had he done so? WHYWHYWHY? The frustration overflowed so quickly his body moved on it's own. His left hand clenched into a fist then rushed towards the mirr-
*KnockKnockKnock* A knock on the bathroom door stopped him. He blinked in confusion, unsure of what had almost happened. His fist mere centimetres away from the mirror. He shook his head, the headache he had started to decrease. That was close. He almost caused property damage that he would have to get fixed. By the looks of it the mirror had a medicine cabinet behind it. Sometimes Handymen tended to charge way too much for the simplest of repairs. Which was why he often did some of the simpler handyman tasks that sometimes needed to be done in his apartment by himself. Not to mention if his left hand became unusable too he'd be screwed.
"You alright in there?" he heard Hiratsuka ask from the other side of the door, traces of concern in her voice.
"Yes." he answered with a lie. His voice even. "That ramen is just taking time to pass through my stomach."
"Gross." he heard her chuckle. "I told you not to have that much pepper and spices."
A fake flush of the toilet and moments of waiting later he left the restroom. He faced a smirking Hiratsuka Shizuka. His blank face hiding the conflicted emotions he felt. "I thought you went to sleep."
"I did." as if to emphasize that she did go, she yawned. "Just got up."
He nodded and walked passed her. He went to the living room and sat down on the couch. Staring at the dark screen of the TV he mimicked his only pass time from middle school. Doing absolutely nothing. Not even thinking. Hiratsuka came into the room after freshening up. Seeing the blank look on his face was normal. But being motionless like a robot waiting for orders was very unsettling.
"You-uh. Want me to... turn on the TV?" she offered. He blinked and looked at her. Then at the TV. Then at her again and nodded. She picked up the remote and pressed the power button. The Television turned on. She forgot that the last thing she saw was anime so an anime channel popped up. Assuming that someone like him wouldn't be interested she changed the channel. A weird noise caught her attention. She looked at Hachiman who looked as stoic as ever and raised an eyebrow. She changed the channel back and saw him perk up ever so slightly. Then changed it again to something else only to see him return to normal. She changed the channel back and he perked up again. This time though, she looked at the anime that was airing. She almost wanted to laugh at what she saw. Never thinking something like Pretty Cure would tickle his taste. The sound of the doorbell ringing demanded her attention. Setting the remote down she went to see who it was.
"Hey Shizuka-chan!" Haruno' smiling face greeted her, Hiratsuka' shoulders slumped. Then again who else would be visiting her at 8 PM. She looked at Haruno' hand and saw beer. That was rare. It was usually Hiratsuka that had to supply the beer for their rare drinking sessions.
A couple of hours later the two of them and even Hachiman were in the living room. The beer Haruno brought in all of their hands. At first Hiratsuka was against handing him beer but Haruno had convinced her that he was used to drinking. Hachiman was already in the middle. Haruno had taken his left seat upon entering Hiratsuka' apartment and Hiratsuka had to take his right. They had finished their dinner not long ago.
"And then the beach ball fell right on their faces!" Haruno laughed. Hiratsuka did the same. By the looks and sounds of it both women next to him were already drunk. It was clear that the liquor was clouding their judgement since there was nothing funny about a beach ball falling on someone's face. To Hachiman at least.
"HeyHey." Hiratsuka poked Hachiman' cheek then grabbed the cross he always wore. "Why do you always wear this thing? You don't look like the religious type." She hadn't seen him take it off back at camp. Not even when the paramedic had taken him off to patch up his wound.
"It is a part of a... deal I made a long time ago." he answered. To his left Haruno listened in closely. Leaning a bit closer to him even. "I would wear this for the rest of my life while the other party would aid me financially for an unspecified amount of time."
"Well that's just stupid." Haruno commented. "If you need help with money you can always come to meee!"
"And I can help too." Hiratsuka wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You can count on me."
Hachiman would have taken their words seriously. Had not for the fact that they were both wasted beyond measure. He was still sober because he hadn't even finished his second can. "Irregardless. That doesn't change the fact that the other party has completed his end of the bargain. It's logical for me to do the same."
"So you're going to wear this thing for the rest of your life?" Hiratsuka asked. Her arm still around his shoulders.
"I was able to avoid the need of sleeping in the streets and sewers because of it." His eyed the cross in Hiratsukas' palm. Despite the words he said, neither his voice nor his expression changed. "So yes... Till the day I die." Both women frowned when he said that. Even through their drunken stupor they had fully understood the implications of what he meant.
"Bah! Enough of that!" Hiratsukas' hold on him tightened as she pulled him closer. "I'm drunk and I don't want to be depressed when I'm drunk. I have enough of that when I'm sober already!"
Another hour later Hiratsuka had fallen asleep. Her body slipped down on to his lap. That was until Haruno decided that she disliked Hiratsuka' new position and slowly pushed her off him. And even though she ended up falling on the ground she didn't so much as stir. He was pretty sure she would be waking up with a killer hangover and sore all over. He started to feel the effects of the alcohol himself. Next to him Haruno gulped down the last drops of the bitter drink and dropped the beer container. Wordlessly she leaned on him. Holding onto the last bits of her consciousness.
"Say Hachi-kun..." she muttered. He had given up trying to convince her not to call him that and chalked it up on the alcohol talking. "How much do you think Yukino-chan hates me?"
"You're her sister." Hachiman stated. "Why would she hate you?"
"I can think of a few reasons." Haruno chuckled sadly. A major contrast compared to her usual demeanor.
"The job of an older sibling is a lot like that of a parent. To provide love and care for their younger sibling. To protect them from harm and to try their best to set them on the 'right' path. Even if their method is a little hard to understand at first. As long as you do that properly, what Yukinoshita thinks is irrelevant." he learned that from Takeshi. After all, if there's anyone that knew how to be a good older sibling. It would be the man that literally raised all nine of his younger siblings by himself at the age of twelve. His eyes widened when a thought occurred to him. But after a glance at Haruno' drunken face he stopped thinking about it. Drunk people tend to do things that they normally wouldn't after all.
"I see." he saw Haruno smile. "Thanks Hachi-kun. You'd make a... great brother... you know that?"
With those words her consciousness fell slipped and she asleep. Since she was already leaning on him most of her body weight fell on him. But Hachiman was too preoccupied in his thoughts to care. Even her soft snores didn't bother him. Would he? Would he really be a good brother to someone? It was a thought foreign to him. So foreign that the word 'little sister' wouldn't even come out of his mouth.
He blinked. 'Little sister'? Why not little brother? For some reason the latter felt... wrong... And the former... He shook his head then rubbed his eyebrows. The beer was messing with his head. The headache didn't help. Not to mention he was feeling quite tired as well.
The next day Haruno and Hiratsuka woke up with a horrible headache. The former on the couch and the latter in her bed. Blankets over both their bodies and pillows under their heads. A note on the table letting them know Hachiman had contacted one his co-workers to give him a ride home next to two glasses of water.
-Chapter End-
My back hurts and I was sleepy AF when I finished this. Let's hope I didn't make too many mistakes this time like the last one. So there you have it.
Recent Past(Title: He knows a Secret)
Lugging crates and boxes. Big or small eventually wears down on stamina. Human beings had a limitation after all. Sure it varied from person to person but it was an ever present factor that everyone and everything had. Not counting supernatural beings and deities. That is if they exist like many religious people believed. But he preferred not to assume till all facts were on the table. He took a deep breath in after setting down the box in his arms inside the shipping van. He often wondered what people wanted to be shipped all the way from the other side of the country that they just couldn't buy from places far closer. But he couldn't complain since it did give people like him jobs that payed decent enough to pay their bills, meals and other expenses. So he didn't question it. Plus he wasn't really paid to question now was he. This time though. His curiosity was truly peaked. He felt like what he carried was heavy like sandbags or bags of cement. But after carefully listening to the sound of the contents inside made him think it was plastic instead. Not to mention cement bags were much larger and heavier.
He picked up another box from the pile outside. Unfortunately one of the boxes next to it fell down and all of it's contents lay scattered on the ground. He pulled out a roll of duct tape and set the box upright. However, upon getting a better look of the contents it dropped made him pause. He raised a brow. Slightly flabbergasted that these things actually existed in real life. Before now he had seen these being used as a plot device in many animes and movies that had crime in it's main genre. At first he thought he had jumped into conclusions too early. But the similarity it had was too uncanny to be a coincidence. He picked one of the packets up. Then wordlessly placed it inside the box it fell out of. Once again, he was paid to do his job. Not ask questions. One by one they were all placed back and duct tape was used to seal the box shut. A single question passed though his mind.
'What would a construction company want with drugs?'
Changes from the original: Some spelling errors fixed. A couple of lines added+tweaked. Hachiman' existential crises and the drinking scene tweaked.