"This street sure is dark." I muttered as I continued walking. It was nighttime, and with the projected storm passing Japan, even the streets of Narita were not exempt from the rain it brought. "Thank heavens that I didn't forget my umbrella. I don't want to go home soaking wet." I mumbled once again as I hurried walking to where my apartment is located. Sure, Japan has low crime rate, but it's never zero. I've seen the recent news, and most of them were about people getting killed due to mugging incidents that turned south.
My shoes trudged on the wet asphalt as I hurried once more. It was at this moment that the rain started pouring harder, now even the pants I am wearing is now drenched, making wince with the cold. As I soldiered on, I saw a couple of shady guys that looks like they were up to no good. I maintained a steady look towards my front, as I am sure that making eye contact with them ensures something will happen.
With my thoughts keeping me preoccupied, I did not notice bumping into somebody else. The sudden contact brought me back to reality, which forced me to make eye contact with the person I bumped with. "I'm sor-"
I was not able to finish my sentence as the person I bumped with shouted. "Are you not looking at the road or something?!" He stood taller than me, and his build was that of a bodybuilder. He looked at me angrily and observed me. "You look like an office worker; do you have any money I could borrow?" The large man asked.
I don't know the man, and even if I did, I don't really lend people money. I shook my head, letting him know that I don't have any money with me. He closed his eyes, which I interpreted as him letting me go.
I was wrong.
He gripped my left arm so hard that I'm sure it's going to get bruised tomorrow. I grunted as I felt the pain from the sudden action. "Oi oi, I wasn't done with you yet." He then showed me something that shined dangerously, which I think is a knife. The burly man twirled it in his hands and then spoke once again. "I am not asking you; I am telling you. I think you know the difference, right Mr. Office Worker?" I could not see his face clearly due to the darkness, but I can picture in his face that he was grinning maliciously.
My hands were trembling as I reached into my bag. The man let go of my arm, but moved closer to me, pressing the knife in my lower back. My trembling hands made getting my wallet even harder. After fiddling for a few more seconds, I was successful in bringing out my wallet. I fished out all the banknotes that was on it, and quickly gave it to the expecting man. It was all of my savings, or at least all I had that was not sent to my family.
The muscled man took the money, giving it a look and even counted it all. "Damn, you're loaded! 100,000 yen is enough for a weeklong party!" I can practically hear the man's thoughts which lingered into booze and women, if not a copious amount of food. He went silent as the knife that was pointed on my lower back was removed. My mind sighed in relief, thinking that he's going to let me go now. "You're very cooperative. I hate doing this, but I'm sorry."
I didn't understand his words at first, but then I felt a sharp pain in my lower back.
He never meant to let me go. I reached this conclusion as this time, the burly man started to walk away. I willed myself to move forwards. Onwards to at least a place bright enough where people can see me. As I walked, my thoughts revolved around my life choices. What pushed me to run away from Chiba, the city I herald as my home, onto Narita? Is it cowardice, where I failed to give them the answers they seek? Was it because I wanted a new start? If so, why not move farther away, where no one really knows who I am? Narita is a train ride away from Chiba, and I've encountered people I know from high school.
Yumi, who I met last night, was now a successful fashion designer. Her signature brand, which is named Yumi as well, has gone global. She was now enjoying her life as we talked about her travels to Paris, Italy, and many more countries.
Yuigahama, who was with Yumi yesterday. She became Yumi's right hand, and was integral to the blondes' success due to her bubbly personality that led to connections, which to opportunities. She was now happily married to his husband, who was also a businessman that runs an electronics company.
Ebina is also a hugely recognized person in Chiba. She became a renowned writer with her novels getting anime adaptations. The last time I ran into her was completely accidental, as she was running away from hordes of fans as she bumped into me, pleading me to hide her. There's also her boyfriend, Zaimokuza. He became an editor at the publishing place that Ebina works at. This lead to them growing close and now they're on their way to tying the knot, that's what Zaimokuza told me last time I met him.
Then there's Yukinoshita. After what happened between us when we were in high school, she flew overseas to pursue her studies further. When she came back, her mother already gave her the reins for the Yukinoshita group. Now, she spends her time doing volunteer work with the foundation she established, the Yukinoshita foundation. After the last time we've talked, I guess she still doesn't forgive for about what happened.
All the people I knew were successful, famous, or well off. Compared to what I have achieved in life, I don't hold a candle to what they have. I almost flunked college due to depression, and the only reason I got this job at Narita is because my father knew somebody here. I'm really pathetic, aren't I? Here I am, trudging, with a stab wound that slowly drained my blood away. I wasn't even able to continue walking as my body froze up, making me fall flat. I've lost too much blood. I guess I'm dying in this dark, cold street without anyone ever knowing.
"Onii-chan?" Komachi shook his brother awake, earning her a grunt of disapproval. "Are you okay Onii-chan? You looked stressed and you're sweating, that's why I woke you up." The little sister of the fish eyed teen informed him.
'Another nightmare.' The teen noted in his mind. 'I've been getting more nightmares since the incident with Yamato-san. I think it's time for me to at least face him.' The teen thought. "Thank you for your concern imouto." Hachiman said as he ruffled the hair of his little sister, who groaned at his action. "It was just a bad dream, you don't have to worry that much."
"But Onii-chan, you've been having bad dreams for the last week, are you sure you're okay?" The worried Komachi asked her brother. "Maybe you can ask a doctor about it or something?"
"I told you Komachi, it's fine." The dead eyed teen responded. "It's just due to me being overworked and the recent trip to Kyoto, Hiratsuka-sensei and Chifuyu-nee-san made me their pack mule. It'll get better once I get enough rest." Hachiman explained to his sister. The teen then looked at his phone to check the time. "An hour and a half before the school starts. Did Chifuyu-nee-san go to school already?"
"She did."
"I guess she didn't eat breakfast or some sort." The teen murmured. "I'll cook for us, Komachi. Take a bath and get ready for school." His sister giving a mock salute before leaving him to his devices. 'I guess I'll have to go and see Yamato-san this week.' Thought Hachiman as we went on to prepare breakfast for both him and his sister.
Finishing their daily morning routine, Hachiman is now riding his trusty bicycle, which he named as Dullahan. He was en route to Sobu after dropping off Komachi in front of her school gates. Reaching the said school, Hachiman immediately went to the bike racks to chain his trusty bike. After a quick trip to grab his favorite concoction, the fish eyed teen headed towards his classroom.
"Hikki! Good morning!" His bubbly clubmate greeted him. "How was your weekend?" The pinkette asked as she clung onto the teen.
"Hikitani!" The dead eyed teen was not expecting the spectacled fujoshi come into his direction. "Are you free later on lunch time? I want to talk about something." Not really sure on what to answer, he kept silent.
"What are you guys going to talk about?" It was the bubbly pinkette that came to his rescue. "Oh! I think you guys are going to talk about anime or something! I'd join you guys but I don't really watch anime that much." Just as he was about to thank Yui for saving him. All the teen could do at this point was to roll his fish like eyes. The bespectacled girl gave him a thumbs up before going back to her seat.
"Alright everyone!" Came the voice of their homeroom teacher. "Go back to your seats so we could start!" And so, classes have started for the dead eyed teen. He soldiered on and continued to listen, right until the lunch time came. Hachiman tried to get out of the room discreetly, so he could buy himself a lunch. He was almost successful at his attempt to sneak out when the brunette fujoshi shouted his name.
"Hikitani-kun! Where are you going?!" The girl then ran up to him and dragged him outwards. "I told you that we need to talk right? Are you getting away from me?" Hachiman was treated with a glare that he swore could freeze even hell.
'Why is she glaring at me like that?' The teen thought as he racked his brain trying to find an excuse to be let go. "I just want to buy something at the cafeteria, I forgot to make lunch." The teen reasoned, intent on bolting when the brunette lets him go.
"Oh don't worry about that, this'll be quick, I promise." Ebina assures him, which he didn't believe. "If this takes too long, then I'll buy you lunch myself!"
That was enough to convince the fish eyed teen. Free food is free food after all.
Their walk towards the rooftop was brief and silent. Ebina wanted to make small talk, but the dead eyed teen was not paying attention to her, simply pulling up his phone to browse and look at news. Once there, the teen immediately sat down the bench and looked at the spectacled girl.
"So, what do you want to talk about?!" Hachiman asked. The girl in question fiddled with her fingers and acted shyly. "Is this about what happened in the Kyoto trip?"
She nodded. "I just want to say that I am thankful for what you did!" The girl screamed out the last part that it startled even the dead eyed teen. "It's just that I am not sure that the girls will get what my request is about, that's why I was thankful that you understood."
"They would've understood it if you explained it to them the moment you asked for your request." The fish eyed teen replied. "Why didn't you want Tobe to confess in the first place?" He asked, even though he knew the answer to his question.
He saw the girl's face turn serious, something he never saw before. "You already know the answer to that, do you?" The girl with the glasses asked back. "It would break the status quo if he did, or at least if I rejected him outright." The girl let out a strained laugh. "I'm rotten, am I? I did all of that just because I want things to stay the same."
Hachiman stayed silent, remembering what happened on the Kyoto Trip. "You should apologize to Yuigahama." His words seem to surprise Ebina, who looked at him with a questioning stare. "You trampled on her efforts, just because you wanted to keep the status quo."
The girl with the glasses elected to change the topic. "Still, I was surprised with how you stopped Tobe from confessing!" She exclaimed. "Observing your past actions, I thought what you're about to do was confess to me first. Color me surprised when you stayed behind to help the teachers!"
"Why would I do that?" Asked the fish eyed teen. "Confess to you when that would just lead to me getting ridiculed? Confessing to you is out of the window since I barely know you." If Ebina wasn't shocked before, she was shocked now. "Besides, someone told me that helping others is not an excuse to hurt myself, and I've already learned my lesson." Hachiman then stood up. "So, are we done here? Because if we are, I'll have to go get my lunch."
All that she can do was nod weakly, as the dead eyed teen walked away from her. Not before hearing the teen whisper.
"You say you're rotten. There's a difference between accepting yourself and letting others and giving yourself an excuse."
"Yukinon, is there something wrong?" Yuigahama asked in concern as she saw the raven-haired girl stare impassively at the window. "Hikki, I think something's wrong with Yukinon!" The pinkette turned her attention to the fish eyed teen that was reading a light novel.
"Nothing's wrong, Yuigahama-san." Yukino answered her. "I was just thinking about what happened on the last day of Kyoto trip, specifically with what happened in the bamboo forest." The girl with the raven hair explained. "I'm still confused on how that ended. It was quite the timing for Miura-san to call Ebina-san like that."
"I know right!" The pink haired girl exclaimed. "Hikki you were not there, but before Tobe could confess, Hina's phone rang! It stopped Tobe and all the momentum he had." The pinkette explained to the teen, which he knew from what Ebina told him earlier. "So, why do you think about what happened, Yukinon?" Yui questioned.
"I just feel like it's too much of a coincidence for it to happen. And I feel like we haven't completed Tobe's request at all." Yukino answered.
"There's nothing you can do about it." The fish eyed teen responded, tearing away from his light novel. "Their requests cancel each other out, so if we wanted to complete one, it would automatically fail the other." The teen explained.
"And you're fine with that?" The raven-haired club president questioned with slight irritation present in her voice. "I guess you are, considering you're not even there when it happened."
Before the teen could retort, the doors of the service club opened, forcing the trio to look. "Is it a bad time to come?" The voice belonged to the Student Council President, Shiromeguri Meguri.
"No, it is not, Shiromeguri-senpai." The club president answered. "We were just having some…" Yukino paused. "Disagreements."
"Then, I'm here to make a request." Meguri said as she entered the room. She then turned towards the door and motioned for someone to come in. Another girl came in, looking towards the ground in a shy way. "Her name is Isshiki Iroha, a first year, and she came to me to talk about the upcoming Student Council Election."
"Right!" The bubbly pink haired girl exclaimed. "I heard my friends talk about it."
"Then what seems to be the problem, Shiromeguri-senpai?" It was Hachiman who asked the question. He then looked at the fidgeting teen accompanying the current Student Council President. "Are you asking us for help with regards on her campaign?"
"No!" It was Iroha who answered his question. "You see, my nomination is a ploy against me. One of my classmates joked that since I was popular, I could be the next StuCo President. So someone collected the signatures of my classmates and submitted it to Shiromeguri-senpai." The girl explained to them. "What I asked for help is, if there's a way for me to lose the election."
"It's easy, you just have to lose to someone else!" Yui spoke out.
"As of right now, there's no one else who is nominated." Shiromeguri argued. "And it looks like there's no candidate stepping up either." The current president sighs. "If this continues, then Isshiki-san will be alone, and will only lose the position through a vote of non-confidence."
"Why not do that?" The fish eyed teen fired back a question. "If you really didn't want the position, then don't."
"And how would that be achieved?" Was the inquisition Yukino threw Hachiman. "Make her not appear on the speech? Won't that ruin her standing among the student body?"
"You can't do anything about what the student body perceives." Was the answer of the fish-eyed teen. "The only other way for her to not take the seat is to have someone else beat her."
"There you are again with things that you can't do anything about, just like the requests in Kyoto." Was the ravenette's harsh reply. "I guess your miniscule brain can only handle simple requests and not complex, multiple ones."
"It's the nature of their requests. They were contradictory in the first place." The dead eyed teen countered. "What can you do about it then? Rot your brain thinking about things that you could've done? That wouldn't help you, Yukinoshita."
"You're right, you can't do anything about it. You didn't even do anything back when my father died!" If Yukino was not shouting earlier, she was now. "Maybe if you weren't there, my father would've been alive."
Hachiman didn't like the sound of that.
He stood up and grabbed his bag. "Then what would you have done in my situation then?" Was all he said as he left the room, leaving a seething raven-haired girl and three confused girls.
The weekend was Fuyume's favorite part of the week. She doesn't have to deal with much paperwork than weekdays. After the death of her husband, she buried herself in the paperwork that plagued their company.
Currently, the Yukinoshita matriarch is currently walking towards the cemetery. The woman visited her deceased husband weekly, talking about what happened in the company, her daughters, and the fish eyed teen that used to be close to her.
Fuyume was getting eaten away by her guilt with the words she parted to Hachiman. She knew that it was hurtful, but you really can't blame a woman who's in grief, right? That was the words she repeated as tried her best to contact the said teenager, who was doing his best to ignore the said woman.
Now, the Yukinoshita matriarch was walking to her husband's tombstone. There were a lot of things that happened in the company, and she can't wait to tell it to him. She was stopped on her tracks when she saw that there was someone in front of her husband's grave.
It was Hachiman.
Deciding to observe the teen, she hid behind a lamppost to observe the teen.
With the fish eyed teen, he was trying his best to talk to the man in front of him, or at least his grave. "Hello, Yamato-san." Said the teen awkwardly. "It's been a hectic few weeks for me, as there were a lot on my plate." The teen paused as he thought of something. "I'm sorry for not coming sooner, or at least on your procession."
The said teen turned silent, unsure of what to say next.
"I couldn't do what you asked me to do, Yamato-san." The dead eyed teen started speaking. "You told me to tell them that you loved them dearly, and by extension to at least take care of them. I couldn't even do any of that. Your wife blamed me, your youngest still blames and hates me, and I'm sure that your eldest somewhat blames me for what happened as well."
On the lamppost, Fuyume was starting to tear up. 'Oh no… I never meant any of the things I said Hachiman. I'm so sorry.' The woman's tears started flowing. 'I was just grief stricken when I said all of those to you Hachiman.'
With the teen, tears started forming on his eyes as well. "Do you know that it's hard to sleep at night when the words they said echo on your brain? Or that in the event that I do get some sleep, I get nightmares about what happened and the words your family said." The tears he tried to hold back now started flowing freely.
Before the teen could clean up his face, he felt the weight of someone else on his back, and that he was currently embraced by that someone. "I'm so sorry, Hachiman." The fish eyed teen heard as his tears flowed once more. "I'm sorry for hurting you through the words I've said back then." Fuyume said as she embraced the teen tighter.
"Fuyume-san?" Was all the teen could say as the woman behind him spoke once again.
"I've tried my best to contact you after I've realized what I said, but I wasn't able to. Guess I do deserve to get ignored like that." The woman said as she wiped her tears and laughed awkwardly. "I'm sorry if my words ate away at your conscience, Hachiman."
"It's fine." The teen said as he removed himself from the clutches of the Yukinoshita matriarch. "I'm used to those things."
"You shouldn't be!" She exclaimed as she marched to the front of Hachiman, facing him. "You shouldn't be used to such harsh words!" She then put her hands on her waist and then spoke once more. "If you say you're fine and used to something that obviously hurts you, people will keep repeating it! That makes you easier to push around!" Fuyume then looked at the teen softly. "Hachiman, promise me that you're not going to let others push you around any longer."
Hachiman nodded and used his hands to wipe the tears on his face. "I will, Fuyume-san. I will. I guess there's still a long way to go for me then." He then bowed at the matriarch. "Thank you for your time, Fuyume-san, but I should go." Before the teen could leave however, he was stopped when a firm grip grabbed his hand.
"You're not leaving, Hachiman." The woman in front of him said. "Now that you're with me, I'm not letting you get away again." Fuyume gave him a smile. "You're spending time with me today, Hachiman." She said as she started dragging the teen.
"Where are we going, Fuyume-san?" The teen asked as he tried to pry himself off the lady's grip, which was unsuccessful.
"We're unwinding!" The woman exclaimed as she gripped the dead eyed teen's hand tighter. The two walked towards Fuyume's car, waiting for them. Once inside, the woman then talked to her driver. "Let's go, Daisuke-san, take us to the mall." The man nodded as he floored the gas and drove towards the nearest mall. "I'm not letting you go for today, Hachiman."
Once in the nearest mall, the Yukinoshita matriarch dragged the fish eyed teen to various stores. Clothes, books, even kitchenware, the two of them have entered it. Currently, the pair was in a restaurant, with the Yukinoshita head looking at the menu.
"A risotto sounds nice to have… but I wanted something light, and a risotto is not a light meal." Fuyume murmured as she continued having an internal debate with herself about what should she eat. Hachiman on the other hand, already had a meal in mind.
"I'd go with pizza rolls, since they look so appetizing." The teen spoke out as he motioned for a waitress to come over. Once the waitress came, the teen then spoke their orders. "I'll have the pepperoni pizza roll set Miss, and for my companion, she will have the cheesy lasagna." Fuyume gave him a light glare as the waitress left the two.
"Hachiman, why did you order a lasagna for me? I'm not finished picking something yet." The woman pouted as the teen smiled at her.
"If I let you continue on picking Fuyume-san, I feel like we'll be staying here until midnight." The teen laughed as the woman gave him a glare. "Besides, I knew you wouldn't be able to pick something right away, that's why I decided on your behalf."
Deciding that pouting would do her no good, the Yukinoshita matriarch then asked about what happened to the teen. "So, how are you now, Hachiman? You went to Kyoto last time right? How was the trip?" The woman fired several questions as they waited for their food to come.
"The trip was fine, it was just that the Service Club got two conflicting requests that made the trip a bit of a drag." The teen started talking. "The first request asked us to help him "set the mood" so he could confess." Fuyume nodded as the teen continued speaking. "The other one came from the girl the guy wants to confess to, saying that she doesn't want the guy to confess and asked for our help."
"That's quite a predicament." The mother of two spoke out. "How did you accomplish the requests then?"
"Yuigahama took care of the first request, helping the guy with setting the mood and she actually chose the place for the guy to confess."
"So what did my daughter do?"
"She helped Yuigahama." Hachiman answered. "I was the one who thought of the second request." The teen then looked around. "I wanted to makes sure both requests were fulfilled but due to the nature of the requests, I had to choose one that must be fulfilled."
"Let me guess, you went ahead and fulfilled the first one?" Fuyume asked as she looked at the teen's face. "Since that's what the girls have worked on, right?"
"I fulfilled the second one." The dead eyed teen answered, surprising Yukino's mother. "That was due to some outside interference, wanting the service club to make sure that the second request was fulfilled, even sabotaging the first request."
"I guess there must be a reason for that interference."
"Dude wanted the status quo to stay the same." The teen then sighed after speaking. "He knew that the girl would reject the guy, and since they're in the same clique, that would make the dynamic awkward. The girl knew this as well and chose to go with the dude's plan."
"So how did you finish the requests then?" Came the curious question of the Yukinoshita matriarch.
"The girls continued on to the first request." The teen explained. "Then, when the time when the guy would confess, I had one of the girl's friends to call her." The teen paused. "I talked to the girl's friend that she should call her before the confession. This way, the first request is almost fulfilled, while the second one is completed."
When the food came, the pair ate in silence, with some noise due to the matriarch complimenting the food she received. After the two ate, they resumed their mall tour.
Currently, the two were in front of the teen's house.
"Thank you for taking your time to accompany me, Hachiman." Fuyume stated as she held on to the teen's hand. "I hope that you won't ignore me anymore, and that you'll come to the mansion."
"I don't think that'll happen anytime soon, Fuyume-san." The teen responded. "Your youngest seem to hate me for what happened to Yamato-san, I don't think she'll like the idea of me coming there." The woman looked saddened as her gaze turned into that of a concern.
"I'm sorry for my daughter's actions Hachiman. I hope that next time, you can come over." The widow then bid her farewell. "See you next time, Hachiman! I'll give you a call when I get home!" The woman said as she entered her car and drove off.
"Was that the Yukinoshita CEO?" Came the voice of Chifuyu from inside the house.
"Yes Chifuyu-nee-san, that was the CEO of Yukinoshita group." The teen sighed. "Please don't ask me about how I got close to her. It's a can of worms that I am not ready to explain right now." The teen said as he walked into his home.
"Can you at least make curry?" The brunhilde pleaded.
"You didn't have to ask."
A/N: Fuyume and Hachiman patched up, Ebina gets a reality check, and Hachiman gets another nightmare? What's going to happen on the next chapters of Hachiman Becoming Better?
What's up! Sorry for not updating for almost 3 months! It's due to me being busy as hell, so writing took a back seat.
I like writing the future stuff, it gets the brain going since speculation gets me to think. This time though, it's about the teen dying in a cold, dark, street that I planned to write a one-shot but scrapped it because it fits what I have in mind.
Remember to follow and fave if you liked this chapter! Leave a review for your thoughts! And as always, thank you for reading!
-Jasserru phases through the wall.