As Expected He Was More warped Than Most
Evolution. This one word is used to define the physical and behavioral changes all life, regardless of their stature and biological hierarchy, would take in order to either thrive or even survive in specific conditions. The end result itself would depend on multiple variables. But the most important one of them would be the very environment itself. It is said in many books and documentaries that mankind had evolved from apes over the course of millions of years. So suffice to say, much like certain aspects of the human personality of today evolution was slow. Painfully slow. Now the big question on Hachiman' mind today was this,
How the heck does an insect evolve into something over five feet tall and what 'environment' did it 'evolve' in for it to take a perfect humanoid shape?
A palm tried to grasp another smaller palm but failed again at the last moment. Although this attempt did have far more 'progress' than the previous eleven times. Chances were that next time it would certainly succeed. And for some reason Hachiman found himself not wanting that to happen. He idly wondered why that was.
The palm attempted to grab its smaller counterpart once more. Hachiman internally sighed. 'Insects should know better than to reach for the sun.' It's best to always know your limits.
"*Cough*Cough*" He fake coughed rather loudly. His action went unnoticed by the students of Sobu that were minding about in their own business while also enjoying the many things the Cultural Festival of Sobu had to offer. But it didn't go unnoticed by the two middle school students he had intentionally interrupted. He was aware that following the two of them around for five minutes was borderline stalker-ish, then again. As far as anyone else was concerned he was just exploring the festival like most others. Fortunately he didn't have half of his school uniform on so most people didn't even recognize him as a student. In exchange for the white full sleeved shirt he currently wore one of his half sleeved black T-shirt. His school shirt and blazer were neatly folded inside the paper bag he had brought from home.
"Ah, Onii-chan! There you are." Komachi exclaimed in excitement. "We've been looking for you."
"Gah!" the boy whom Hachiman remembered as Kawasaki' younger brother, almost jumpped in fright. His right hand that had been trying to grab hold of Komachi' left retracted instantly upon hearing Hachiman' voice much to Hachiman' silent approval. With his face red as a tomato the younger boy spoke. "H-Hello Onii-san! How are you?"
"I wonder how much a can of bug spray costs." he muttered aloud as he blankly stared back at Kawasaki... Kawasaki' little brother. Yea. His name was not important. Besides, bugs don't have individualized names to begin with. Just a generalized species. "I am well. Thank you for asking." He didn't ask the younger boy how he was though. Even Hachiman was bewildered by his sudden... animosity? No that word was too strong. Hostility? Still too strong... Disdain?... still strong but closer than the rest so it'll have to do. Even he was bewildered by his sudden disdain towards Kawasaki' little brother. He could have sworn it wasn't like this the last time they met.
"Onii-chan..." Komachi looked at him, disappointed. It made him blink in confusion and wonder what he did wrong. "Taishi-kun and I were hoping you would show us around campus."
"I can do that." he could certainly do that. He could also probably find a bug spray around here somewhere. 'Maybe the Teachers office?'
"That's great! We were thinking about coming to this high school next year so knowing the layout of this place now would be really useful for later. Thank you so much Onii-san." the bug expressed his gratitude despite Hachiman' obvious disdain for him. That took Hachiman back a bit but he does not comment on it.
The following thirty minutes composed of Hachiman guiding his new and temporary 'wards' throughout the halls of Sobu while also exploring whatever pointless thing it was that the other classes had for the festival. The younger teens were excited the entire time of course. Hachiman himself? Not really. Schools, like many other educational institutes were meant to be a place where young minds would learn things that would later on aid them in life for whatever it is they desired to achieve. Such as a well paying job, undiscovered wisdom or even their purpose in life. How things like Cultural Festivals and Sports Festivals fit into those he didn't quite understand. Was it so the students would learn teamwork? Group projects and activities of similar nature already had that covered. Entrepreneurship? It partially made sense but who's to say any of these students would end up making their own business one day and not join another higher corporation? Most usually end up working for another. And many don't even get a job that has anything to do with the field they spent millions of yen on. Not to mention, wouldn't they learn entrepreneurship better if they had taken up part time jobs? Then again, a lot of schools had multiple rules and conditions against things like that.
"Onii-san." Taishi doesn't shirk away from Hachiman' unblinking gaze. "Nee-chan said you guys were doing some weird play. When are you guys gonna do that?"
Hachiman' left eyebrow twitched slightly from being called 'Onii-san' by an insect. He noticed the interested look Komachi sent his way. It was unfortunate that they would have to be disappointed. "We are already done with that." Their eyes dropped disappointment. "What's gone is gone. Enjoy the now or it will be gone too." Just because he wasn't 'enjoying' the festival didn't mean they couldn't either. "I think I saw a Yakisoba stall outside. Let's go grab some. My treat." They perked up a little at that. Everyone loved free food after all.
"Hachiman!" that was a familiar voice. Hachiman greeted Totsuka and his temporary wards did the same. Totsuka was still wearing the costume from the play for some reason. Not that Hachiman minded, Totsuka didn't look half bad in it so that was definitely a plus. From the corner of his eye, he saw Taishi flush pink at the sight of Totsuka. But that was normal. Most boys in their school did the same when being approached by Totsuka as well.
It was a shame though. Because at the end of the day, Totsuka Saika was still a guy. And he looked somewhat distressed now.
"Have you heard that Yukinoshita-san collapsed?" Totsuka asked. Hachiman nodded without any changes to his demeanor.
Komachi and Taishi gasped. Neither remembered much of Yukinoshita since they only met once. But they did remember her role in Kawasaki Taishi' request and as the club president of the Service Club. "Oh no. Is she okay?"
Totsuka nodded at Komachi. "I was about to go and visit her in the Nurse's Office. Do you want to come with me?" Totsuka asked, looking at Hachiman.
Truthfully Hachiman didn't really want to. He was perfectly fine with escorting the two younger teens next to him at the moment. Was there a point to visiting Yukinoshita? Not really. Yukinoshita wasn't his friend nor his co-worker. Barely an acquaintance and even then the term applied very loosely. Although, he should probably check up on her for Haruno' sake. Chances were that Yukinoshita didn't tell Haruno about it due to that worthless pride of hers. Hachiman nodded at Totsuka.
The Nurse's office was quite similar to that of a hospital room. Hachiman would know. He tended to end up in those quite a lot. However, unlike the many times from before this time everything was different. It felt a little surreal. To be be in a hospital room like environment but not bedridden himself.
(Un)Surprisingly, Yukinoshita was not the only one in the room. Yuigahama was there, sitting right next to her. "Sai-chan? Kotomine-kun? And... uh.."
Of course she wouldn't remember Komachi and Taishi at first glance. It had been many days since they last actually spoke. Chances were Yuigahama didn't even think of them since the last time they saw each other. A reintroduction came and went just like that. Not that Hachiman was paying much attention to it. Instead, what he did was send Haruno a text about her younger sister's condition. A reply came almost instantly. Stating that she already knew and would be coming to check up on Yukinoshita as soon as she could. That was expected of course, since Haruno was quite the siscon. A closet siscon that is.
"How is she?" Totsuka asked Yuigahama.
"The nurse gave her a couple of pills and told her to get some bed rest at home. But Yukinon doesn't want to go home yet." Clearly Yuigahama was not pleased with Yukinoshita' choice. Understandable, since as her friend it was her duty to stop Yukinoshita from doing things beyond what her human body would allow.
"Yuigahama-san." Yukinoshita suddenly spoke, her eyes opening to show the slight redness from being awoken from her drug induced slumber. "I need to stay here in order to make sure everything goes as planned. Things may fall apart in my absence."
'There is no may about it.' Hachiman thought. He had been paying attention to both Tobe' and Haruno' whining about the preparations for the festival. Due to doing a good portion of the work by herself, Yukinoshita had worked herself into a corner. Since she was the one that organized most of everything by herself, she was the one that knew how things were supposed to be done. And now that she was here, bedridden, whatever plans were made has a higher chance to derail. He had asked Haruno why she was letting it happen even though Yukinoshita would likely overwork herself and the entire festival could be ruined. Haruno' explanation was sound.
'Yukino-chan won't learn to ask others for help if all her problems 'magically' fix themselves. I won't be there for her forever. And as for the festival itself... I don't really care about it. The only reason I joined was because Meguri-chan asked me to.' Of course Haruno would never get caught helping Yukinoshita, hence why the term 'magically' was used... Don't ask Hachiman why she didn't want to be caught. Normal people were weird. He was friends with a weirdo... Not that he was much different.
"I must go back." Yukinoshita tried to get up but Yuigahama held her down. Hachiman internally signed. Haruno would owe him for this.
"Komachi. Taishi." The two in question looked up at Hachiman. "Go outside and look around. There is still plenty left to be seen." Not that much. But they had no proper reason to be here.
The two wanted to protest. Both wanting to stay for reasons Hachiman didn't really understand. But Hachiman was not taking no for an answer. A stern look sent both younger teens aback.
"Taishi-kun. Komachi-san." this time it was Yukinoshita that called out to them with a tired smile. "Thank you for coming by to see me but Kotomine-kun is right. You should go out and look around. Enjoy yourselves"
For once he appreciated the words that came out of Yukinoshita Yukino' mouth. Yuigahama also agreed which made the two younger teens to turn in order to leave. While Hachiman wasn't entirely satisfied with Komachi being alone with that bug, he didn't want to entangle them up in this mess. "I'll find you two in a bit." They left after that. " "Totsuka-san. You should return to what you were doing as well. I'm certain your presence is required elsewhere."
"But Hachima-" Totsuka was confused why Hachiman wanted him gone as well.
"Please." a word he rarely used, simply because he was rarely adamant about things. Then again there was rarely something for him to be adamant about. This was one of those things. "This is a matter of the Service Club. It would be best for you to not be here." As unfortunate as it were, Totsuka Saika was not a part of the Service Club. Ergo he had no need to be here for the little 'lecture' Hachiman was going to give to Yukinoshita.
Yukinoshita and Yuigahama stiffened, neither aware of what Hachiman was planning. It was rare to see Hachiman take interest in anything related to the club or even act on behalf of the club unless he was specifically asked to. The former had an inking suspicion that whatever was going to happen, was not going to end well for her. The latter was desperately hoping for things to not escalate to the point where it would damage the Club. She hoped that despite how it seemed, Hachiman cared for the well being of their club enough to not go too far.
Hachiman remained silent till Totsuka left and then choose to sit down on the nurse's chair. That was the only one available since Yuigahama was using the visitor chair. His dead fish eyes closed. The air grew tense. His silence didn't really help.
"Yukinoshita Yukino... What a happy child you are." In all honesty... It made him a little jealous. But for him, jealousy was nothing new.
Among all the things that they could have expected him to say, this was far from it. Yuigahama hadn't understood what that meant. And as for Yukinoshita?... She did. And that single sentence had rubbed her the wrong way in so many levels, she couldn't even comprehend the plethora emotions she felt because of it. Her eyes widened and the rush of emotions caused her to push herself off the bed with haste.
"Who are you to-!". However, her weakened body was not prepared for the sudden movement, causing her to fall on the floor with a resounding thud.
"Yukinon!" Yuigahama was instantly alarmed by the sudden turn of events. She helped Yukinoshita back on her bed. Tried to at least. Yukinoshita smacked Yuigahama' hands away from her. Yuigahama flinched back. "Who are you to say that?! You know nothing about me! You don't know of the hardships I've suffered! The ridicule I've endured!" Even though she sat on the ground her eyes were burning with fury and hate towards the person that outright stated her to be happy with her current life. Her body shook. From both the lack of strength and anger.
Hachiman who remained impassive till now, frowned slightly at how Yukinoshita treated Yuigahama. The facial reaction disappeared as soon as it appeared. Ignoring Yukinoshita' glare, he continued. "You're correct. I don't know." For a brief moment Yukinoshita felt like she had won. That it was over. "And I don't want to know." Even though it was impossible, her scowl deepened. "How can you not be? You do as you please. Whenever you please. However you please with no heed to the consequences whether it be to yourself or to others. How can a human being of that nature ever not be happy? Not to mention the privileges that you have. Privileges that others can't possibly obtain." Privileges someone like him and many others would often fantasized of having. Many dream of having friends like Yuigahama who would stand by their side no matter what. Many dream of having family that loved and cared for them. Many dream of having a life with little expectations and struggles. All three of those were treasures worth holding onto with dear life. Yet here was one Yukinoshita Yukino. One that rejected both the former and the middle. While needlessly giving herself the latter in spades.
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about." Yukinoshita gritted her teeth.
"Of course you don't. Most are oblivious to their own idiocy until it is either pointed out to them or they figure it out themselves." Haruno intended to let the latter happen even though it was unclear how long that would have taken. Perhaps she thought it to be more interesting that way or perhaps she thought it would build Yukinoshita Yukino' character or something like that. Unfortunately he cared little for that. A blunt approach was necessary when all else were out of the question. "And as you can tell, I've grown tired of yours." That was a lie. Had she been any other person then he would have let her keep digging her grave of despair. Unfortunately, the day he had become friends with Haruno was the day he had involuntarily ended up one of those that would have to guide her through this abysmal life of hers. In which she always kept behaving like a tragic damsel wronged by 'society' with the need to prove herself by doing things alone. Hachiman once theorized that had something to do with Hayama. A quick chat with Haruno had confirmed that little theory...
Too bad that unlike the rest of the people in her life, Hachiman cared none about her feelings on her 'problems'. He could see it in her eyes at this very moment. Yukinoshita' will was faltering by the second. Her sickness had not only made her physically vulnerable but also emotionally. Not to mention all the work she had been doing recently left her mentally drained as well. He chose this moment to tell her these things because under normal circumstances she would likely ignore his words. Probably even consider them to be antagonizing her with 'baseless accusations'. Even though in reality it was far from that. Unfortunately though, like most things this situation too had it's drawbacks.
"Kotomine-kun. That's not tru-." Yuigahama saw Yukinoshita' distress and attempted to intervene. Even with how Yukinoshita treated her seconds ago, she still attempted to shield Yukinoshita Yukino from pain. Much like the likes on Hayama, despite Yukinoshita' obvious hatred for him. Much like Hiratsuka and Haruno who let Yukinoshita' ego rule her actions.
"I'm only saying what is needed to be said. If you truly care for her then you will let me say it all." Doing things halfassed was not the Kotomine Hachiman way. If there was something he saw that needed to be done then he would do it. Nothing else would matter at that moment. His eyes did not shift from Yukinoshita as he interrupted Yuigahama. "Unless you want to see her in this sorry state again of course."
Yuigahama closed her mouth and looked away, conflicted. As great a friend as Yuigahama was to Yukinoshita. She was a variant of what most would call an 'enabler'. She would certainly be there to pick up the pieces as many times as she would need to, as she herself had told him some days ago. But confronting the other party about it so that the need to 'pick up the pieces' would not arise was something she would not do. Maybe even could not do. He turned to the pinkette. "You can wait outside if you want to. This won't take long." His offer was answered with silence but she did leave the room. Leaving him alone with the younger Yukinoshita.
"Someone like you doesn't deserve to be unhappy. To do so would be the same as spitting on the faces of all those you trampled over to be where you are now." he continued.
"I have done nothing of the sort." Yukinoshita growled out but didn't bother looking back at his empty eyes. Hachiman raised an eyebrow. Did she perhaps have an idea to what he was implying?
"Oh really? Then what is this but not a product of your disregard for the capabilities of others?" he motioned towards her current helpless state. "Had it occurred to you even once that perhaps all this could have been avoided if you had simply delegated more work to the other members?"
"There was no other choice! The others were not capable of doing all that by themselves!" she defended. Her poor defense did not amuse Hachiman.
"And who are you to decide that?" she flinched at his colder than usual words. "Who are you to decide what others could and could not do? No... Their work ethic had nothing do with it in the first place did it?" No matter what anyone said, not everyone are created equally. He knew Yukinoshita had her idiotic moments, but even she knew the chances of everyone being overwhelmed by the work was rather low. It need not be said that it was too presumptuous of her to think that all of them combined wouldn't be capable of doing what she did alone. "You simply didn't trust them enough to do their part properly, did you? You just wanted to do everything yourself so that you wouldn't have had to rely on another person."
Yukinoshita had enough. Her lips quivered as her anger slowly began to melt. "And what's wrong with that? What's wrong with working alone?" Her voice was shaky. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was holding back tears.
"Absolutely nothing." Considering what he had been saying this entire time, His response shocked Yukinoshita. "But what you don't realize that there are times where such a thing is not an option." As great as working alone was, simply putting it, it's too inefficient. Things such as time restraints and bigger workloads made working alone for everything nearly impossible. That's why companies hired multiple people to work together in a single department in order to meet those deadlines easier and on time. Otherwise, things like this would happen. Only difference between this and real office work would be the absence of millions of yen lost and many workers being underpaid or even fired. The remaining workers would have to overwork even more or take less demanding projects that would pay less as well. Workers would eventually fall down left and right due to sickness caused by that overworking. Sometimes people would even die from it. He vaguely remembered having to attend an entire seminar about overworking and its effects at the start of this year with the rest of his co-workers. An invisible sigh escaped his lips. Having to waste two hours of a weekend to know something so blatantly obvious still annoyed him. "And there are times such things could end disastrously. You already know this but what do you think would happen if this festival didn't end well?"
Yukinoshita remained silent, staring at the ground with her fists clenched.
"The blame would fall on those that participated in the management of the festival. But of course it won't fall straight to you. It would fall to those involved in the management. Meaning everyone in the planning committee would be blamed for your actions." If one was to be punished for something, it should be for the sins they had committed and not the sins of any other. That was just basic common sense and even he knew that.
'Of course... As always he's right.' her nails dug into her skin so much it started to hurt. "... Then what would you have me do?"
"Consider learning to work with others. To ask for help." Hachiman stood up. "Consider not instantly dismissing another person because they don't meet your standards." He turned. "Consider showing appreciation of what you have." he grabbed the door to open it. "Consider finding out what you really want this this life before acting on it." he opened the door. "And... consider thanking Yuigahama-san for putting up with someone like you."
Yukinoshita looked up with a startled expression as her most recent action towards Yuigahama finally dawned on her.
"Because you know you yourself wouldn't." and just like that, he was gone.
'What a pain.' when he woke up this morning, all he wanted to do was just come to school. Do that 'play' and then go home for a nice little nap. No one wouldn't even notice. It was supposed to be a two hour thing. In and out. Just like that. But noooo, his abysmal luck had reared its head again. So here he was, walking through the halls of Sobu in search of Komachi and Taishi. "Well... At least this time it didn't end in a trip to the hospital." he muttered.
He said his piece to Yukinoshita as best as he could. Whatever Yukinoshita decided to do now was her choice. Truthfully he could have said more. But in her current state she wouldn't be able to process it. He questioned if she was even able to process half of what he said. It was the drawback of her current state. While her sickness would make 'docile' enough so she would actually listen to what he said. It would also make her mentally too exhausted to fully comprehend the things he said. He could have mentioned that she didn't create the service club to 'help people'. He could have told her that she had created the service club so that she could use it as an excuse. To claim that she was unable to 'save' herself because she was too busy 'saving' others. And yet she somehow met Yuigahama through it. A person that, in all honestly, could probably 'save' Yukinoshita from herself. Or at least keep her together till she managed to save herself. 'Fortune truly does favor the fools at the oddest of times.' Perhaps it was her luck or even some greater force at play but she had ended up obtaining a great friend out of Yuigahama.
...
He didn't understand why but... seeing her treat Yuigahama like that unsettled him a little.
"Hachiman! Fancy seeing you here. Out of uniform no less." Zaimokuza approached him from behind and lightly slapped his back as a greeting. "I'm pretty sure that's not allowed for students. Doesn't your class have anything they need you for?"
Probably. But-"That's the point." Hachiman replied. "Most don't remember me to recognize me at first glance. Less so when I'm not wearing my uniform. Meaning I would be able to head back home without anyone noticing."
"..." Zaimokuza opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He adopted an impromptu thinking pose. "Huh. That's not a bad idea actually. Do you think I could pull it off if I tried?" His voice was frank, devoid of the usual joking tone he had.
Hachiman raised an eyebrow. Unlike him, Zaimokuza was a very... memorable person. Well, more like the kind of guy that tend to make a lasting impression. Most from Zaimokuza' class were more than likely to instantly recognize him. Unlike Hachiman who rarely came to the thoughts of his classmates and therefore would easily be overlooked by them.
"Doubtful."
"Heh. Too bad." Zaimokuza chuckled before nudging Hachiman with his elbow. "You seem troubled partner. Wanna talk about it?"
"..." To say Hachiman was caught off guard was an under statement. His shock seemed to have been visible to Zaimokuza because he commented on it.
"What's with that look?" Zaimokuza smirked at him. "You do remember that I'm the person that has known you the longest in this school, right?"
That... was completely true. Aside from Hiratsuka. Zaimokuza was the only person in this entire school that knew the most about him. So it did make some sense that Zaimokuza would notice if something was off about him.
"Besides, there's something different about you lately."
Hachiman was not expecting that. "Is that so?"
"Yea... In a good way." Zaimokuza fumbled with his words. Hachiman noticed that in this entire conversation Zaimokuza had not shown his chuuni behaviors even once. Meaning this was somewhat serious compared to their usual talks. "It's like you're... more approachable now."
Hachiman' eyes widened a little at that. "I... see..."
"Best not to think to hard on things we don't understand." clearly all this talk about Hachiman' 'change' was giving Zaimokuza a headache. Hachiman was no different on that regard. Although he did not agree on ignoring it. Not when he wanted to- "So care to tell me what's up or what?"
"It's nothing. You don't need to bother yourself with it" there was no need to burden an acquaintance with-
"Bother myself? Don't be ridiculous. You're a friend. And even guy friends get mushy with their feelings and share their problems every once in a while." Such a simple and seemingly normal thing to say. But the way he phrased that sentence made Hachiman pause his search for Komachi and Taishi..
"-A person that asks you to share your problems."
Everything returned to normal. Hachiman' stoic demeanor changes ever so slightly as a dry chuckle escapes his lips. 'What a fool I have been.' His emotional ineptitude was likely to blame for this. But as good as an excuse that was. It was still just that, an excuse. "You're right... We are friends." His response left Zaimokuza flabbergasted. So much so that the larger boy lost his balance and fell on his back. The fall turned a couple of heads but the attention to them went away as soon as it came. Hachiman turned around to look at the downed Zaimokuza. "You okay?" He offered his free hand for Zaimokuza to grab.
Zaimokuza couldn't reply as he kept staring at Hachiman, completely stunned. Then a large grin formed on his face. There was a great contrast between his large grin and the abysmally small, yet still present smile on Hachiman' own lips. But the reason behind the two were the same. "Never been better partner." Zaimokuza grabbed Hachiman' hand.
Then pulled himself up.
Unfortunately less than a couple of minutes after that Zaimokuza had to leave to help his class with whatever it was their class was doing. Hachiman didn't really understand it. The small smile on his lips disappeared the very moment Zaimokuza left. As if the smile never existed in the first place.
"Where are they.." he wondered aloud as he looked around. Currently he was outside the main school building and browsing the few stands within school grounds. He really did want to see Komachi again before he left. His part in the festival was completed. There was no need for him to stay longer than necessa-
Mild pain registered in his brain from his right ear. "Ow."
"Why aren't you in uniform?" Hiratsuka let go of his ear. "And shouldn't you be helping out with the festival?"
"I was trying to leave." his honesty in something he wasn't supposed to do got him a raised eyebrow and amused smirk from the woman. "And there is nothing for me to help out with." that was a half lie. If anyone remembered him then he surely would have been stuck doing some random thing somewhere around here. Didn't mean he was going to stick around long enough for them to do it though.
Hiratsuka smirked. "I can think of a few things."
Hachiman blinked before muttering. "... I should have seen that coming."
"Relax. That was a joke." she patted his shoulder with a laugh. "So far everything is going pretty well. I don't think anyone will notice if you were to pull a Houdini."
"Really?" that was a little surprising. Considering the the person that planned most of this was still stuck in a room and was incapable of overseeing things, it would have made sense if the festival was already spiraling out of control.
"Yup." she replied. "I was worried for a bit there when I heard Yukinoshita collapsed and because Sagami is pretty much useless for the most part. But looks like Haruno is taking care of it through Meguri."
Hachiman blinked in confusion before shaking his head. "Magically huh?..." he muttered.
"What was that?"
"Doesn't matter." Hachiman shook his head. Hiratsuka dropped the matter, knowing full well if it was worth her knowing he wouldn't hesitate to say it. "You wouldn't have happened to see Komachi around here, would you?"
"Hikigaya Komachi?" Now it was Hiratsuka' turn to be confused. "I... don't think so."
"It's okay. I'll let you get back to work then. " That was expected. He was aware she had other things to worry about so even if she had seen Komachi. It was highly unlikely for her to actually notice Komachi. But he still tried his luck. Most people don't realize it. But it rarely hurt to ask.
"Okay...? Later then." the woman turns to leave.
"Ah, Wait." he remembered something.
"Yea?" she looked back at him again but does not get closer.
"What do you want for dinner tonight?" since he was going home early. He would have some extra time to prepare dinner for her before going to work.
"Hmm." she placed a bent index finger under her chin. "Can you make Ramen?"
He never made ramen before. "... I can try to. Can't guarantee the taste. Any specific kind?"
She smiled at him. "Surprise me." His nod was all she needed to see before she left.
He stared at her retreating form for a few more seconds before returning to his search for Komachi. Ten more minutes had passed. He was beginning to wonder if they had already left. It was a thought that didn't sit too well within him. It left him a state of confusion and... and... huh... that's new...
"Onii-chan! Over here!"
Even through all the noise made by the dozens of people around him, Hachiman still heard her voice loud and clear. The feelings of confusion and worry vanished without a trace. He turned to where he heard it coming from and spotted Komachi near the Yakisoba stall he mentioned earlier. Taishi was nowhere to be seen. He was fine with Taishi' absence. '... She remembered.' Hachiman went towards Komachi without a second thought.
"You're still here." it was a statement that felt like a question.
"Yup. You said you were gonna treat us to Yakisoba. Couldn't leave without that. Taishi-kun went to see his sister by the way. He should be back any moment now." she said.
It would have been more surprising if he didn't. But- 'I didn't really ask though.' he kept that little bit of info to himself. "I see." He took a look at the four foot large 'menu' of the Yakisoba stall next to Komachi. Only 200 yen? That's pretty cheap. Had he not been living with a roommate nowadays then he would have probably bought a few servings to go and eat them for a couple of days.
Komachi didn't interrupt his musings till she noticed Taishi coming towards them in a light jog. "You made it. How's Saki-san?" Hachiman acknowledged Taishi with a curt nod.
"Nee-chan's doing good. Stuck doing some work for her class but good." Taishi responds. "Actually, Nee-chan asked about you, Onii-san."
Hachiman raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I dunno. All she said was to for me to tell you to go to your class for something." Taishi answer. "She didn't seem to remember it till I told her that you were giving Hikigaya-san and I a tour of the school."
Hachiman felt his left eyebrow twitch ever so slightly. 'This little bug...' He felt the disdain for Taishi increase a little bit. "I see." He turned back towards the Yakisoba stall. "Alright. What do you want from these?" The younger teens made their choices and Hachiman placed their order. There was a stall selling various drinks right next to the Yakisoba stall. An obvious strategic decision that benefited both stalls from a business standpoint. There was no MAX on the table though so Hachiman didn't really want anything from it. "You guys want anything to drink?"
"I'm fine. I'll have to go home right now to do some housework. Won't be able to eat the Yakisoba here either." Komachi refused his offer.
"Same here." Taishi didn't want to abuse Hachiman' hospitality. "Besides, I won't have time to eat here. I'll have to pickup Keika from school then go home myself."
He remembered Keika. The younger sister of Kawasaki Saki. "Alright then."
Their order was served. Neatly wrapped within see through plastic containers. Hachiman thanked the teen behind the stall and picked up the Yakisoba before giving one container to each of the teens behind him and kept one for himself. He felt a little hungry with all this walking around. "I'll walk you to the entrance." of course since his presence was already requested else where he would have to go back. But after that he would definitely leave. All he needed was a good distraction and he would disappear into the crowd with his Stealth Hachiman ability.
Neither Komachi nor Taishi opposed to that offer of course. Also the main entrance to Sobu High's school grounds were barely fifty feet away. It wasn't even much of a walk to begin with. Taishi attempted to strike up a conversation. But Hachiman shot it down with a fake cough.
"This is it then. Bye Onii-chan! I'll see you later!" Komachi said before turning to leave. Taishi bowed once to Hachiman, showing respect to the older teen before doing the same. Once again he stuck a little close too Komachi for Hachiman' liking.
Hachiman inwardly sighed and choose to head back to see what Kawasaki wanted so he could leave faster. He turned back towards the school.
*C-CR-EAA*
He blinked in confusion and turned to see where the noise came fro- His eyes widened.
Komachi and Taishi who were still next to each other, chatting without a care in the word felt the sensation of an arm wrapping around opposite sides on another and pressed them tightly against each other. The Yakisoba containers fell from their grasp. Their feel gave away from under them.
*CREAK!**CRASH!**CLANG!*
It was supposed to be made out of cardboard, wood, rope and probably some thin yet sturdy rods of steel. Yet it was like over fifty pounds of weight had slammed onto his back in a single split second. His stance shook but did not falter. A grunt came out of his lips. The pain was secondary at this moment. But as he held them in his arms. An odd feeling rose up within his heart. It confused him greatly. So much so that everything else ceased to matter at that very moment.
Komachi and Taishi opened their eyes simultaneously when the alarming sound of something big and heavy falling ceased seconds ago and now all they head were screams of fear from multiple people around them. The arms around them tightened a little. Their eyes traveled up to the owner of those limbs-
"Onii-chan!" Komachi gasped. Taishi' eyes widened as well as hers. But he was just too stunned to say anything.
Hachiman stood still and silent. Komachi' cry had brought him back to reality. "Are you two okay?"
"U-us? You're the one that's hurt!" Komachi continued, still held in Hachimans arm.
Hachiman let go of them. The weight of the cultural festival's banner, the large arch-like banner that was erected outside the gates of Sobu, was taken off of his back as more volunteers members and festival visitors alike rushed over and lifted it back up to it's original position. He stood tall and repeated. "Are you two okay?"
His answer made Komachi think he didn't even hear her earlier remarks about his current state. He wasn't visibly hurt. His hair and cloths were a little dirtied by the dust the sign had been picking up since it was placed there though. They stood up on their legs as well. "Y-yea." she looked away. Unsure what to feel at the moment.
"Y-You saved us." Taishi was still stunned at Hachiman' seemingly selfless action. "Why?"
"You called me 'big brother'." Hachiman started. His tone that usually lacked the spark of emotion shifted for a brief moment. Something only Komachi noticed. "A big brother has to protect his little siblings." A few students came up to them, asking if they were okay. Hachiman turned his head to them and nodded. They returned to checking the other people that, unlike Hachiman, collapsed under the sudden weight of the banner.
Taishi' eyes widened at Hachiman' response. Komachi mirrored her classmate. But their similar reactions were caused by completely different reasons. His eyes lit up like stars as his stunned expression transformed into that belonging to admiration. He whispered under his breath. "Y-You're so cool, Aniki."
'Aniki?' Hachiman blinked. The word implied the same as 'Onii-san' but this was far more tolerable than being called 'Onii-san' for some reason. He decided to let Taishi call him that from now on... His disdain for Kawasaki Taishi also lessened a little.
Neither noticed Komachi, who had remained silent with her eyes wide. What Kotomine Hachiman said... It made an old memory resurface. One she thought she had lost many years ago. "Taishi-kun..."
Taishi turns to Komachi. "Yes Hikiga-"
"I'm going home." without waiting for a response Komachi turned around and began walking away. The lack of enthusiasm in her steps did not escape Hachiman' dead fish eyes.
"W-wait for me Hikigaya-san!" Taishi went after Komachi.
Hachiman kept looking at their retreating forms in silence. Komachi' reaction had left him confused. The people around him had returned back to enjoying the festivities. The banner was being taken down so that freak accident wouldn't occur again. Fortunately the festival would be closing soon enough. But that was none of his concern. He needed to go back and see what Kawasaki for whatev-
-!?
A short gasp. He winced and fell on one knee, clinging onto his left shoulder where the blunt of the banner's weight had hit. Now that he had nothing more important to focus on, the pain on his back he was ignoring till now came to the forefront of his mind in full force. But instead of letting it slow him down he stood up and continued towards the school building.
-Later That Night-
As it turned out, Kawasaki didn't really need him for much. Just some help to move a few things around. The stinging from his back made it a little hard but finishing the grunt work didn't take him long. After that he managed to get home and prepare dinner for Hiratsuka before going to work. According to her, it wasn't half bad. That was good. Now, at one AM, Hachiman laid down on his bed while staring blankly at the ceiling. Though he felt very tired in both body and mind he found himself unable to fall asleep. It was an odd thing. Normally whenever he got tired, falling asleep became easier. But not this time for some reason. The things he felt before, during and after the freak accident at the festival plagued his thoughts.
His right palm clenched and released a couple of times to ensure his ability to feel the movements of his fingers was there. He repeated the process, this time after holding the palm in front of his face. The results were the same.
The palm lands on his chest. And as it rested right above his heart, a frown formed on his lips.
-Chapter End-
(Note: Head to the bottom of the bold letters to read the 'Bonus Scene' if you don't wanna bother with this)
I had a dream a few days ago. It was about A Cat, A Dog and A Fox fighting over a Trash Can/Bin. When I woke up I thought about it a little and the more I did the more I realized it had similarities to Oregairu. I mean like... Okay okay. Here's how I saw it. Cat-Yukino, Dog-Yui, Fox-Iroha and Trash Can-Hachiman. You see what I'm getting at here? Cause Dogs Foxes and sometimes Cats tend to eat out of trash cans?
Lol. Sorry sorry. Jokes aside. How was this chapter? Good? Bad? Too cringe? Not enough cringe? And what do you think. Does Kotomine Hachiman deserve a 'Best Onii-chan' mug or what? Hachiman made another friend here. Far less emotional than his first of course. I always hated how Hachiman treated Zaimokuza in canon. Be honest, if it ain't friends who you can be cringe with then who can you be cringe with? I got some(3) amazing friends(10 years+) and we do cringe shit all the time and have loads of fun with that.
My thoughts on the canon festival arc and why it is so small in this fanfic(this may not make sense but i'm gonna say it anyway cause I got nothing better to do: Truthfully speaking. The way I see it. What happened in the festival arc can be blamed on four people. Sagami, Hachiman, Yukinoshita and Hayama.
Sagami for taking a position of responsibility despite being a lazy little shit(I say lazy and not incapable because she could have learned to be useful. Not everyone is born with leadership skills. Some of those that aren't can learn it). And then dumping all her duties on Yukinoshita when she realized she didn't want to do the work.
Yukinoshita for doing more than she needed to, therefore preventing Sagami from actually growing as a person AND preventing Sagami from doing actual work that would have been somewhat useful in preparation for the festival. Which also encouraged Sagami' laziness.
Hachiman for simping for Yukinoshita( by justifying Yukinoshita' I can do everything by myself because I have been doing that my entire life behavior and attacking Sagami' confidence(during the scenes where the committee was working and still planning things.)(quick note: if you work in an office or office like environment. Do not ever do the things Yukinoshita Yukino did in the cultural festival. Unless you want to cost your company a lot of money that you can't hope to pay for or you want to get fired). Keep in mind, if you want people to get shit done then attacking their confidence ain't the best nor a good way to go about it. At least not the way Hachiman did it. The whole "Sagami has gone missing" debacle could have been avoided if Hachiman just kept his trap shut and continued to be the 'drone' as he called himself. Now normally I am all for calling people out for bad/stupid shit they did but doing it in front of an audience is the worst way to go about it(if you've EVER been called out by a teacher/boss at school/work for making a mistake/doing something wrong wit/without realizing it then you would know that it is a lot worse than normal just because of the way people are looking straight at you and whispering/laughing when the teacher/boss is chewing you out.). For stronger minds such things can be a motivation. For average or weaker minds it just ruins whatever little motivation they have for working in the first place(And in real life, some people think the best solution to their loss of confidence is the noose. You know what that is? Look it up[I HIGHLY recommend against it]. You wanna know how I know that? Because I used to know a guy back in high school that actually did it! That's why usually many teachers/bosses nowadays will order the student/worker to go see them in their office and then chew them out. See the difference here?). If Hachiman had cornered Sagami in a more private setting then him calling Sagami out on it might have actually been useful. When he called her out in the middle of a fucking meeting all he gained was some points with Haruno and Yukino(thinking about it now. If you people didn't realize Yukinoshita was gonna eventually win Hachiman' heart in that episode then my friend you are blind. The guy just basically jumped out of his comfort zone for that girl here. A girl that barely liked or even respected him till he said 'you're fine just the way you are' during the cultural festival.).
And finally, Hayama for 'manipulating' Sagami into joining the committee. Why did he do it? No one knows nor does anyone care apparently. I mean what did he think? That his so called 'friend circle/clique' would fall apart because Ebina or Miura or Yuigahama would have to do committee work for a couple of weeks? That's just being too paranoid even for him. But this is Oregairu so who knows!
So there you go. That's why the cultural festival was so 'short' in this fanfic. Because Hachiman wasn't simping for Yukino. Of course Sagami was still useless. But then again she was nothing more than a plot device for Yukino to 'like' Hachiman so that was to be expected. Fortunately in this fic there was a closet siscon nearby to save the day lol...
*sigh*Fanfiction has a tendency to change the perspective/impression readers of characters due to the many ways each writer views/writes/develops certain characters. Sometimes to the point where the reader mistakes their own canonical interpretation of those characters with the fanfiction version of said character . It's a very terrifying power. And I don't think enough. many people realize that.
Fanfiction is the reason why people find Haruno as a 'manipulative monster'(because in most Oregairu fanfics that's how she is portrayed as) even though in canon all she ever did was push Yukino and Hachiman together cause god knows they weren't gonna do anything otherwise. If anything, you lot should be thankful of her. Otherwise your 'OTP' wouldn't have been canon. Think on that.
(Note: If it hasn't been obvious yet, I'm bad at explaining things but I think most of you got the gist of what I tried to say here.)
SO! Since Kotomine Hachiman' past has been revealed I haven't been able to give you guys those little 'memory segments' anymore. That's why I will try to add these new things called 'bonus scenes'. They will usually be related to this fanfic's timeline/chapter. Or I will try to add humor based 'Omakes(non canon)'. If you have any ideas for the Omakes then please feel free to drop a PM with the general gist of the Omake.
Bonus Scene(Wholesomeness warning)(Title: Big Brother)
Droplets of water descended from the heavens. Their velocity unchanging even as the night deepened and thunder cackled. Many homes in the neighborhood had their light sources turned off and the occupants within turned in for the night. Their beds and blankets giving them a sense of protection and warmth. A handful of house had a light or two still turned on though. Mainly for their younglings to not feel frightened by the lightning and thunder from outside. One house in particular. Only had one light kept on. The rest were off.
A girl, barely at the age of seven, laid down on her bed in a fetal position with her blanket wrapped around her. Her face was hidden in the blanket, leaving only small portions of her hair visible. On the top of her head was a small cluster of hair, flinching every so often as thunder cackled once again. She didn't like it. Sleeping alone like this. But her mother said she was too old to be sharing the same room with her brother. Her brother who was sleeping in the room right across the hall. Her parents weren't home. Either stuck at traffic or still at work. She didn't remember what her brother told her when her parents called earlier.
Thunder cackled again. This time the sound was far louder. She wrapped the blanket tighter around her. She poked her head out of the blanket but with her back faced towards the window she had no way of knowing what was going to happen when lightening struck again nearby.
She screamed when the lights turned off. The sound of something exploding was dwarfed by the loud sound of thunder. Her scream woke up the only other occupant in the entire house. She cried loudly. The confusion from the sudden turn of events frightened her beyond understanding.
"&*^*" she heard a noise. Her eardrums, still ringing from the thunder barely managed to register what that was. "Are you okay?!" She recognized that voice.
"Onii-chan?!" she cried out from her bed. The darkness made seeing anything in front of her almost impossible. A loud thud reached her ears. She pulled her blanket closer. "... Onii-chan?" She heard nothing for a few seconds. Fear took hold for her brother who did not respond. She heard the sound of a door opening.
"What's wrong?" her Onii-chan asked.
"I'm scared." she replied. This time, the soft sound of footsteps filled the room along side the sound of rainfall from outside. She yelped. Something had touched her knee. That something disappeared the next moment. Suddenly something wrapped itself around her. A scream welled up within her. Ready to be unleashed.
"It's okay." her scream died in her throat. "It's okay." Snuggling herself closer in her brother' embrace she sniffled. "Onii-chan is here." Lightening cackled again. But this time she didn't wince or cry. Instead she let go of her blanket and wrapped her own arms around him. One of his hands loosened around her torso then traveled up to her head then ran across her hair soothingly. Her cries were reduced to sniffles.
"I-I'm sorry." she stuttered between sniffles.
"What for?" she heard him ask.
"K-kaa-chan told you not to come to me at night like this c-cause I asked you to."
"Ah. You heard that?"
"She said I'm too getting too old to-"
"Don't be ridiculous." he softly scolded her. "No matter how old you get. You'll always be my precious little sister."
She giggles. Her sniffles stopped. "That's gross Onii-chan. You're gross."
"Hahah. With eyes like these I know I am." he chuckles. "Besides... I'm your Onii-chan. An Onii-chan has to protect his little sister."
"Can-Can I make a request?"
"Always."
"Could you stay with me? At least until... I fall asleep?"
"Of Course... Anything for you."
Changes from the original: Hachiman and Yukinoshita' conversation altered just little bit. Some spelling errors were fixed.