"Good afternoon." Hachiman greeted the ravenette, who was reading another novel. She looked at his direction and quickly greeted back. "Good afternoon, Hikigaya-kun."
The male hummed in acknowledgement, which slightly annoyed Yukino. "Are you not capable of acknowledging a greeting, Hikigaya-kun? Or is it because your eyes sucked all the life from your soul that you are unable to even do that?" Yukino spoke.
'I am the one who greeted first!' He thought as he sat down. "I was the one who greeted first, Yukinoshita." He then pulled a book. "But sure, Good afternoon again." He proceeded to read the novel he brought for today. Yukino, observing the man, noticed he was reading a foreign book. "Are you capable of reading that? I thought lower life forms such as you don't have the capacity to do so, let alone achieve sentience." The reading man, then closed the book he was reading and fired a response. "Truly, you consider me as a different life form than you because you're a snow spirit right? At least this lower life form has better grades than you, oh great Yukinoshita." The girl's left eye twitched at his response. Silence returned as the girl didn't have any comebacks for his statement. Hachiman, went back to reading his novel.
Minutes passed before any voice was heard. "Do you really believe it was the right thing to do?" It was Yukino's. Hachiman, then answered her without removing his sight from the book. "Is this about Yuigahama's request last week?" She nodded to confirm his inquiry. "What's the problem?"
"I personally believe that you need to take up challenges to help you grow." Yukino argued, she then looked on a window. "It would help Yuigahama-san on the long run, I believe."
'For a person who is apparently a loner, she shares her thoughts too much. I guess even her pride can't overcome the need to share.' Hachiman thought. For him, it was better to make Yuigahama reward herself for trying her best, so Hachiman spoke. "Hard work will never betray you, but it will definitely betray your dreams." Yukino, who didn't understand what he said, uttered a "Huh?"
Hearing her uncharacteristic utter, Hachiman then explained. "Look, working hard doesn't necessarily mean you'll achieve your dreams. In fact, it will probably not bear fruit." He looked towards the confused girl. "But the fact that you tried your best, is a reward in on itself, consolation."
A disapproving Yukino, then turned away from him. "That is a shallow sense of satisfaction. Your reasoning is so skewed that it's disgusting."
"That's rich coming from a person born with a silver spoon." Hachiman fired back. "Let me ask you Yukinoshita, have you ever worked for a day in your life?"
"Of course, I work hard to improve myself." Was her answer. Hachiman, clearly seeing that she is not getting the point, continued to ask. "Then where did it lead you? You're working hard to improve but where are you now? Your grades, though impressive, is not enough to be the best. Are you going to invalidate other people's hard work just because they're content on what they have? Many people are suffering on the corporate industry, rotting their lives away to work for a dream that they might not achieve, no matter how hard they work." He breathed.
"I fail to see how is that relevant." She spoke, still not understanding his point. To which Hachiman could only facepalm. "Look Yukinoshita, you won't be able to see what I mean unless you experience it yourself, which you probably won't since your life is set in stone, all you need to do is follow what your parents have planned for you." Hearing something she didn't like, she fired back. "Don't speak as if you know everything about me, just because I am rich doesn't mean I don't have to work hard!" She shouted, which surprised the man.
"Then don't ridicule the efforts of others." Finished Hachiman. Yukino would have spoken, if not for the sound of a knock on the door.
"Come in." Yukino cleared her throat to calm down. The door opened, and the person who entered was a silver haired girl. "Good afternoon." The person greeted. Hachiman, who was reading, glanced to inspect the visitor.
"Saki? What are you doing here?" Asked Hachiman.
"You know each other?" Was Yukino's question. Saki, who is still standing on the doorway, responded. "He's a friend of mine." Not waiting to be offered a seat, she grabbed a chair and sat beside the man. "This place is so secluded, if I didn't ask Hiratsuka-sensei, I wouldn't have any chance of finding this room." Saki continued to speak.
Yukino, who was being ignored, quickly crafted an insult. "Of course you know each other, birds of the same feather, really flock together." Saki, who didn't like what she heard, tried to speak, but a hand on her mouth stopped her from doing so. "Don't insult my friend, Yukinoshita, you don't want to wage that war." Threatened Hachiman.
"Or what?" Challenged Yukino.
"Humans always get angry for something that they don't have." Hachiman remarked. The two girls, clearly understanding what he said, had different reactions.
The silverette, Saki, was trying her best not to laugh out loud. She is currently losing that battle. Yukino, on the other hand, her mouth was wide open, mainly due to shock. Hachiman, having said his piece, went back to reading, but not before introducing the girls to each other. "She's Kawasaki Saki, a classmate and friend of mine. Saki, you already know who she is right?" Questioned Hachiman to the silverette. "She's Yukinoshita Yukino, you call her as Yuki-onna, right?" This caused the ravenette to look coldly towards the reading man. Hachiman, ignored the piercing stare of the girl.
Yukino, seeing that she will not get an explanation anytime soon, sighed. "What brings you here, Kawasaki-san?" She turned her attention towards the silverette. The said silverette, answered her question. "I'm not here for a request. I'm here because of him." She pointed at Hachiman. "We haven't had the chance to talk that much since he joined."
"What are you talking about, we were talking earlier." Hachiman butted in. The speaking silverette, quickly turned away to hide her embarrassment. Yukino misunderstood and asked. "Are you his girlfriend?"
More reason for Kawasaki Saki to hide her blushing face.
Interpreting her reaction as denial, Yukino spoke again. "Right, who would date that creepy, dead fish eyed loner, who clearly lacks any values to redeem his not so positive appearance?"
"Hey, don't speak ill of him, Yukinoshita-san. His eyes, while off putting at first, is one of his defining traits." Saki defended her friend. Said friend also spoke. "Look, if you're all about the superficiality of a person then you don't deserve love, Yukinoshita." Hearing Hachiman's words, Yukino then shut up.
"So what do you want to talk about, Saki?" Hachiman asked. This sparked a discussion to which Yukino kept quiet, but listening. The discussion of the two continued until the doors opened again.
"Yahallo! Yukinon, Hikki!" Spoke the new visitor, seeing another person, she spoke again. "Ah, Saki-chan! what are you doing here?"
"Yuigahama-san, what brings you here?" Questioned Yukinoshita as she cleared her throat. The pinkette on the door, started speaking again. "Am I not welcome here? Do you hate me, Yukinon?"
"I don't. It's more of a dislike."
"They mean the same thing in girl talk!" Yui then grabbed a chair to sit on. She also pulled a pink pouch from her school bag. "As thanks for last week, I asked my mom help to bake cookies for you!" She then gave the bag to a surprised Yukino.
"I'm not hungry." Her soft voice, fell deaf on the ears of the bubbly pinkette. The said pinkette grabbed another pouch, this time a blue one and then spoke again. "Now that I've tried it, I think cooking's totes' fun!" She then got closer to the ravenette. "Maybe I should try making lunches next time. Oh, I have an idea, let's eat lunch together, Yukinon!"
"No." Yukino answered. "I like eating alone, so I'd rather not." Closing her eyes, she then started to speak. "Also, that 'Yukinon' thing is creeping me out, so please stop." Yui, paid it no mind. "Yukinon, I'm like, free after school, so I'd totes' like to help out the club. Can I join?"
"You'd have to pass a form to Hirastuka-sensei before the club time ends." Yukino imposed a challenge. A panicking Yui, ran away to said teacher.
"Finally, some peace." Hachiman pointed out. Minutes passed, and everything was silent. Yui then came back on a rush. "What's with the rush, Yuigahama-san?" Yukino asked. Yui, with bated breaths, spoke. "Well, I did it! Hiratsuka-sensei said I'm a member of this club." The ravenette winced. "Also, Hikki!" Yui turned towards him. She lobbed the pouch she's holding towards Hachiman, who caught it without problem. "Hiratsuka-sensei wants to talk to you, oh nice catch!" Hachiman stands up, and proceeds to go towards the said Guidance Counselor. "How about you Saki? Are you going to stay here?" Hachiman asked the silverette.
"No, I'm coming with you. I don't have anything to do here when you leave." Saki said as she stood up and went beside the male. As they walked, Saki asked him questions. "So, why are you in the Service Club?"
"Hiratsuka-sensei forced me to, because of an essay." Saki, who read some of his essays, spoke again. "Well, I think you got what you deserved. Stop writing those essays of yours."
"Those kind of essays are my magnum opus."
"Magnum opus my ass!" Saki sent a right jab towards Hachiman, who groaned in pain. Minutes later, they reached the said place.
"So, are you going home? Or are you going to wait for me?" Hachiman asked. Saki fidgeted as she spoke. "Well if you don't take too long then I'll wait for you here." Hachiman then opened the door, and spoke as he entered. "Good afternoon." He then sat down and asked the teacher a question.
"Why am I called here?" Hachiman asked his teacher, who is currently signing papers. "It's not about my essay again right?"
"No, thankfully not this time." Hiratsuka then lit up a cigarette. "Hey, isn't that prohibited?" Hachiman asked the smoking woman. "This is the only way for me to relieve my stress boy, don't be a killjoy." Hiratsuka answered as she huffed. "I just wanted to ask how the club is doing."
"Well the club is doing good."
"Then that's good." Hiratsuka spoke as she huffed again. "There's one more reason you're called here." Hachiman then asked. "What is it?"
"There is an upcoming student summit on Saturday, and the principal wanted you to participate." Hiratsuka explained. "You're going to participate on the quiz bee." The young man then asked another question. "Am I alone? I do better when alone."
"You need to have a partner to participate, but don't worry, they already have a partner in mind for you, you just need to show up on Saturday." Hiratsuka explained. Hachiman, who assumed who his partner is, asked another question. "Is my partner going to be Yukinoshita?"
"No, we asked Yukinoshita before you, and she already said she won't participate." Hiratsuka answered. He saw a smirk form on her face, but he didn't pry into it. Hachiman bid his farewell.
"Okay. I guess I'll go now." The young man said as he stood up to go home with Saki. "Have a great day Sensei."
"Good morning senpai, I'm here for the quiz bee." Hachiman greeted the female student. The said student, turned around and Hachiman was surprised to see a pretty girl. "Ara, I'm Shiromeguri Meguri, nice to meet you!" The bubbly senior introduced herself. Hachiman observed the girl. 'She gives off a nice, ditzy girl vibe like Yuigahama.' Hachiman thought. "Hikigaya-kun, where is your partner?" The girl asked. Hachiman shrugged before replying. "Hiratsuka-sensei said my partner is already here."
"Ah, right! Well come inside, your partner's already here." Meguri instructed the man to enter the room. Once Hachiman entered the room, he was surprised to see his partner. "Hikigaya-kun, here's your partner!"
It was Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Hiratsuka-sensei said you're not participating." Hachiman spoke. His partner, then started speaking. "Hiratsuka-sensei informed me that you chickened out, that's why they asked for my help." Hachiman felt like he was punked. 'This damn teacher of ours!' He thought. "This is why she can't get married." Hachiman muttered, getting an enormous chill after speaking. 'I feel like I just triggered a flag!'
"Well now that you guys are here, we can now go to the Student Summit!" Meguri chirped. She skipped steps as the trio now walked towards the van they're riding. When they reached the van, the tension between Hachiman and Yukino was very suffocating.
Meguri, the being of pure innocence and her natural ditz, made her immune to such atmosphere. "So, you guys get comfortable because we're going to Tokyo!" The trip was really silent, with the power of the two introverts overpowering the natural outgoing personality of Meguri, which forced her to talk to the teacher in charge of them.
An hour and a half later, they reached Tokyo Stadium, where the summit is taking place. The trio went ahead and entered the stadium, and explored the place.
"This place looks like comiket." Hachiman pointed out. Yukino and Meguri, who were unfamiliar with the term, looked confused. ""What's comiket?"" The two girls asked at the same time. Hachiman tried his best to explain it for them. "It's like a book fair, but for anime."
"Sorry, but I'm not well versed with thing that degenerates like you find appealing." Yukino answered.
'You're going to have to apologize not only to me, but to the whole Japanese culture!' Hachiman thought. "It's fine, its normal for people to not be versed on its own culture." He quipped. Yukino, sensing the insult, glared at the young man. "Are you saying that I am not versed in our culture?" She threateningly asked. Hachiman just shrugged his shoulders. "Even Shiromeguri-senpai knows anime, right?"
"Yeah! I watch some!" Meguri answered. "Sailor Moon, Blood C, and Magica Madoka!"
"See?" The man pointed out. Yukino pouted, which Hachiman thinks that is uncharacteristic of her. They continued walking, until Hachiman bumped into someone. "Sorry, I'm not really watching where I'm going."
"I'm sorry too, I'm not looking where I'm going too." The man he bumped then shouted. "Hachiman!?" This prompted Hachiman to look at the face. He saw a blonde haired teen, who had a menacing eye like himself. Wearing Shu'chiin's signature uniform, which is a black long sleeve with a black slacks.
"Miyuki Shirogane?!" Hachiman asked. The guy, named Miyuki, happily spoke again. "It's been so long since we last met!" Hachiman nodded. "How are you doing these days?" Miyuki inquired.
"Well, I'm doing good. How's Shu'chiin?" He asked. Noticing the golden chain in the man's chest, he followed up with a question. "Looks like you're doing fine, you even became the Student Council President." Miyuki, laughed sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Ah yes, How about you Hachiman? Where are you studying?" The blond asked.
"Well, I'm studying at Sobu High, and I'm here to participate at the quiz bee." Hachiman answered. "Ah right, this is Miyuki Shirogane, he is the current Student Council President of Shu'chiin." He introduced the blond to his companions.
"You're also a StuCo President?!" Meguri exclaimed. "We have that in common! I'm Shiromeguri Meguri, Student Council President of Sobu High." Meguri then bowed, which Miyuki returned in kind. Yukino, had an interesting thought. 'Their eyes look almost the same, with Hikigaya-kun's being deader than Shirogane-san.' "I'm Yukinoshita Yukino, pleasant to make your acquaintance, Shirogane-san." She also bowed to him.
"Oh you're here for the quiz bee! Let me accompany you guys to where the quiz bee is going to happen." The blond man offered.
The trio agreed.
"Good job you two!" Meguri clapped in happiness. "You guys won the competition, even beating the guys at Shu'chiin!" The black haired StuCo President then laughed when she remembered what happened earlier. "You even had a full on discussion when your answers were different, which even the officials just watched! You acted like an old married couple!" At the mention of what happened earlier, the two became embarrassed. Yukino blushed red and turned away while Hachiman spoke up. "Don't remind us that, Shiromeguri-senpai."
"Seriously! Even the officials had no power when Yukinoshita-san glared at them! It was hilariously funny!" Meguri spoke again. To understand why she was laughing hard, let's take a look at what happened earlier.
Flashback – 5 Minutes Ago:
"For the final question, where is the largest desert in the world?" The proctor asked. The participants then wrote down their answers. After 15 seconds, they were asked to show their answers. The proctor, noticed that Hachiman and Yukino had different answers. "You guys, why do you have different answers?" The microphone was handed first to Yukino. "I answered Sahara because it is the largest desert." She explained. Hachiman then grabbed the mic and spoke. "I wrote Antartica because it IS the largest desert." He put emphasis on his words, which Yukino interpreted as an insult. "You cretin, Antarctica is cold, how is it possible for it to be a desert? Clearly, your subspecies hailed from there for you to answer it wrong." The ravenette insulted. The competitive Hachiman, quickly answered back. "You ice witch is clearly the one from Antarctica, your kind then spread out and loved to sunbathe at Sahara, that's why you answered it."
"Are you saying that my answer is wrong?" Yukino questioned with a glare. "Not only that, I am saying that you are indoctrinated. Deserts are defined by the amount of precipitation it receives, not it's temperature. Isn't that right, proctor-san?" Hachiman gave back the microphone to the proctor, who was sweating bullets when he was glared at by Yukino.
"Ugh…" The proctor sweats even more, with Yukino's glare getting stronger and stronger by the second. "The correct answer is Antarctica!" After speaking the answer, the proctor then bolted as fast as possible back to his post to avoid Yukino, who was red from embarrassment.
Flashback End
The trio, who was then joined by Miyuki again, was walking towards the Shu'chiin's lounge. "Shu'chiin is so VIP, that you guys have a lounge here." Hachiman pointed out. Miyuki just shrugged and spoke towards him. "What do you expect? Shu'chiin's full of high profile students, who have enough influence over our country." The quartet then reached Shu'chiin's lounge, and saw more students.
One particular girl came up to them. "President, welcome back." The black haired short girl, greeted the blond. "Oh, Vice President Shinomiya, did you stay here all day?" Miyuki questioned the girl.
"No, I just got here too. The robotics competition just finished, so I came back as soon as possible." The girl, identified as Shinomiya, answered. Noticing three people behind the blond, Shinomiya this time asked a question. "Who are those behind you?"
"Ah, right!" Miyuki then ushered the three and acquainted them. "This is Kaguya Shinomiya, the Vice President of Shu'chiin StuCo." The blond then turned towards the three to speak. "They are from Sobu High. This is Shiromeguri Meguri, she's the StuCo President." Meguri waved her hand and smiled. "This is Hikigaya Hachiman, a participant on the quiz bee." Hachiman bowed and said "Nice to meet you, Shinomiya-san."
'His eyes look more menacing than President's!' Kaguya thought before returning the gesture. "Lastly, this is Yukinoshita Yukino, Hachiman's partner at the quiz bee." Yukino then spoke. "Nice to meet you, Shinomiya-san from Shinomiya Group."
"Likewise, Yukinoshita-san of Yukinoshita Constructions." Hachiman sensed the tension between the two. 'Probably rival companies for them to have that reaction.'
"So, who won the robotics competition?" Miyuki asked the black haired vice president, looking intensely at her which made Kaguya blush. 'This time, it's unresolved sexual tension! These two probably like each other.' Hachiman thought as he observed the blushing Kaguya. "Well, you know who won it, Shinonono Robotics is miles ahead from everyone else." Kaguya managed to calm herself from the gaze of the blond.
'Right, when you're one step closer to creating exoskeleton suits, winning competitions is that easy.' Hachiman thought. "So who did participate for Shinonono's, Shinomiya-san?" Hachiman intruded on their conversation. Kaguya faced the questioning teen. "It was the sister of the CEO, Shinonono Houki."
"Oh, that's why. She is a genius like her sister, so I see her crushing the competition." Hachiman spoke. Yukino who was curious, questioned the man. "You speak as if you knew her. Do you?"
"Well, I know her, somehow." Hachiman answered. Yukino, wanting to know more, was disappointed at his answer. "I think it's time for us to go, Shiromeguri-senpai." Hachiman informed Meguri.
"Right! I think it's time for us to go home. See you next time, Shirogane-san, Shinomiya-san." The Student Council President of Sobu bid farewell. Yukino, bowed and left with Meguri without saying anything. 'Looks like Yukinoshita's too tired for even a farewell.' Hachiman thought. "Well, see you next time Miyuki. I hope you can drop by Sobu sometime soon." Hachiman bid his farewell. "You too Shinomiya-san."
"We'll drop by when we have the chance. Come to Shu'chiin too, I'll give you a tour." Miyuki spoke as he waved his hands. Hachiman then left the lounge to catch up to his companions.
"You're a slug, you know that?" Yukinoshita pointed out. "Forget that, even slugs move faster than you do." She clarified. Meguri just giggled on the side as she saw Hachiman roll his eyes. "What took you so long Hikigaya-kun?" Meguri asked.
"Talking." Hachiman replied. "They invited me to tour Shu'chiin. I also did the same thing for them." He explained. Yukino then questioned him. "How do you even know Shirogane-san?" They've reached their van and went inside.
"It's a long story, but the short version is that my grandparents know his grandparents. One summer, I was there and I met Miyuki and his little sister. Miyuki wanted me to go to Shu'chiin." Hachiman explained. Yukino then asked another question. "Then why didn't you go to Shu'chiin?"
"I didn't go to Shu'chiin because my little sister would be sad. She won't have anyone to talk to, since our parents are corporate slaves." Hachiman answered. With his explanation, the ride home was once again silent, with Meguri occasionally talking to Hachiman about mangas and anime.
"Thanks for your participation today, Hikigaya-kun! See you on school on Monday!" Meguri bubbly waved her hands. "See you on Service Club, Hikigaya-kun." Yukino also bid farewell. Hachiman just hummed in response as he waved his hands.
When Hachiman reached home, he went straight to bed and fell asleep.
A/N: Sup! Here's the latest chapter of the story!
I wanted to expand on how Hachiman and Miyuki met, but I'll save it for future chapters. The next update would be after I update Misunderstood. Hope you liked this one!
Don't get mad about the desert thing, it's a common misconception that Sahara is the largest desert. Meh, things I do for plot.
Leave a review for your thoughts, they're appreciated.
Keep Safe!
Jasserru, going dark