Special Thanks to beta reader/s: TroxX101, Jiraphie
I have a . If you want to support me, even a dollar a month would be awesome. Feel no obligation though, thanks for reading. I hope that would allow me to dedicate more time to writing. The link is the website /bearlywriting.
(A/N): I plan to do a year 0 arc after the beginning of season 2ish. It's going to feature Hikigaya at Shuuchin middle school and his first year of high school. Tell me in the reviews if that's something you guys would want. Sorry for the late chapter, I've had to prepare for my accounting class's midterms. I also got caught up reading u/storybookknight's Oregairu X BNHA crossover.
"Oh, It's you, what are you doing here?" The attractive girl said. My mental CPU was working at max capacity. She'd already identified herself as Yukinoshita's big sister and while it could be due to a cultural norm of people that you were close with referred to as relatives. Though judging by their similar facial constructions statures and high-class intonations, they do appear to be relatives.
Okay, the similar features are relevant; however, the similar socio-economic class observation was weak. They're more likely to know each other because of a similar social circle. Therefore the first deduction is admissible and the second is irrelevant. I spared a moment to analyze the group congregated in a semi-circle behind her.
They were all college-aged and dressed fashionably in designer brands. Not quite as wealthy or exclusive as Shuuchin students would be, but not far behind. Four other females and six males, perhaps a mixer. Currently irrelevant, they're watching with visages ranging between detached curiosity and bemused indulgence.
Analyzing my club mates I could see that Yukinoshita's eyes were narrowing as Yui's were widening. I could attempt to extrapolate more conjectural conclusions but these reactions were par for the course when they were presented with new information. I didn't have time to fish for information before making my decision.
So as the moment passed, I made my snap decision. Better to go on the offensive and control the narrative, rather than let her manipulate the battlefield. I could not afford to make any mistakes with her around, she was the most dangerous foe that I'd faced since Shuuchin.
Talking to her on that train I could tell that she would have fit in perfectly with the elite students at an elite school.
"I'm here to window shop with friends." I gestured towards Yukinoshita and Yui with a sideways inclination of my head.
"How do you know my big sister, Hikigaya?" The younger (and flatter) sister of the pair stared at me.
"We met on the train one afternoon that's all, in fact, I still don't even know her name." I cut the cardigan-wearing menace off before she could warp the story to sow mayhem.
Yuigahama watched without speaking, a very irregular occurrence for her. She seemed to sense tension but lacked the requisite knowledge for her to understand why.
Yukinoshita relaxed a modicum as I explained, hackles lower but claws still out.
"My name is Haruno Yukinoshita, it's nice to meet you; I gotta say that I'm surprised that you remembered me." I offered a genial nod towards her, mindful of the tightrope I was walking.
On many, a less experienced fellow, the trap, she just set, would've worked and they would've been caught; hook, line, and sink her. She was probably expecting (or hoping) that I would say something like 'how do you remember me?'. Basically offering her the win on a silver platter because then she'd reply with something like 'it's hard to forget someone getting kicked out of Shuuchin.'
"Well in the interest of cordiality I'm Hachiman Hikigaya." I cut off abruptly, neither saying that it was good to meet her nor volunteering more information. It was the high society equivalent of spitting in someone's face. Her facade didn't falter but next to her, the younger sister's frozen visage cracked. She snorted out a laugh and then covered her mouth, though her eyes held a twinkle of humor.
Haruno stood up and faced me. Now that I was the only one who could see her face the luster was gone from her expression. I felt like a boxer facing off before a prize fight. I was going to have to break out all of my lawyer techniques, every single slimy behavior that could give me an upper hand was being dragged out of retirement.
I offered a genial smile to her, "Well, it's been pleasant meeting you but I don't want to keep your friends waiting." I nodded not quite dismissively but with a bias towards my desired turn of events.
The others (I presume college students) didn't seem opposed to my suggested turn of events. Let them leave without having to accompany tag along high schoolers. I'd chuck the men a bone because judging by the intensity and target of their gazes; they'd come along on this outing hoping to chuck Haruno 'the bone'.
Haruno rebuffed my polite segue into goodbyes "I'm sure that they won't mind if I peel off from the group. It's just that so rarely do I get to spend time with my little sis so I need to seize the opportunities when they arise." She gazed at them, eyes wide, and her careful manipulation was met with a deluge of 'of course, we don't mind''s and 'okay, we should do this again sometime''s.
After our first exchange of blows, I was a little behind. It's not that her skills were better than adversaries whom I'd matched i.e. Shinomiya, but I was in a disadvantageous position. Trying to counter her advances and conceal the information that she knew about me. There was no way for her to lose and no way for me to win. The best option that I could hope to achieve was a tie.
She was elegant in her maneuvering, I'd give her that. She created an environment in which everyone either benefited or felt forced to agree. The males of the group felt compelled to agree lest they be perceived as 'uncaring jerks' and the females of the group's stock rose without her presence.
"We're all kind of tired and were about to head home anyway." Yukinoshita (the younger) steps up to the plate. She takes a swing and…
"That's fine, I'll buy you all drinks and send you home, just a tiny thirty-minute detour." The attempt is unsuccessful, nice try better luck next time. Haruno had bypassed the denial by playing the role of a concerned sibling. But the attempt has hit a wall. By this point, the group traveling with her had begun to wander away. A large aspect of her attack was the social pressure bearing down on us. Seeing our stony visages she changed her method of attack, instead of entrapping her more adroit opponents, she focused on our weakest link, Yuigahama.
"Gahama, was it? You wouldn't begrudge a big sister some information about what's going on in her family's life?" She widened her eyes and leaned forward, grasping Yui's hands, Yui flustered and I leaned forward interested. Though was again for the second time in as many weeks disappointed by the lack of erotic behavior.
Yui smiled sweetly, "You're Yukinon's family so she should be the one to decide if you spend time together." She looked away shyly a small frown on her face, while Yukinoshita and I smirked. Any notion of disappointment was blasted away. Yuigahama not letting someone like Haruno steamroll her.
Quite an impressive show of resolve from someone who before couldn't even tell Miura that she was going to have lunch with Yukinoshita. We turned towards Yukinoshita who didn't even hesitate to finish this eviscerating combo. "We're all tired, why don't you head home. I'm sure that we can catch up later." She turned and moved past Haruno, Yuigahama standing to follow, and I fell into step. We were about to perform a flawless extraction from this volatile situation when Haruno chose to take it nuclear.
"I assume that you all know about Hikigaya's past too. How he used to be a student at Shuuchin Gakuen?" All three of us froze at her speech. The people around us froze too, staring and whispering. Yuigahama turned towards me and Yukinoshita rounded on me.
"Hikki is this true? Were you really-"
"Hikigaya, why wouldn't you tell us -"
I wanted to freeze, to let my animal instincts govern how I would react, but I reigned it in. I had done enough freezing in the past few days. But now, I couldn't afford to freeze or succumb to fear. My nascent friendships were on the line and that was something that I refused to gamble with.
"How about that drink, I'll explain myself to you guys there." I stood up and faced them, body language and voice, honest and contrite. My gates were totally open for the first time in years, I wasn't hiding how I was feeling or trying to disguise what it was that I felt.
I let them hear the tremble in my voice, see the wide-eyed desperation coursing through my veins, and feel the fear I exuded. I hadn't been so open in a long time and I hated the feeling of vulnerability that overtook me.
They could hurt me, if they turned and walked away it would crush me. Even Komachi hadn't seen me so open with her before. To her I was an agent of stability and order in the household, I couldn't afford to let her see me like this, vulnerable and weak.
In the face of the entropy known as Haruno Yukinoshita, my only recourse to get the results that I desired was, to be honest.
We four shuffled over to a nearby cafe. Its name was some attempt to be clever that fell flat and on the sign outside stood a chibi animal mascot. All in all, a banal locale for an important conversation. We got some stares as Haruno strutted in, chirping with the waiting staff and getting us a table.
They're probably wondering what a guy like me is doing with beautiful women like them. The disruption to the perceived social hierarchy seemed to upset those around us. Like animals, they take comfort from the familiar and great discomfort from deviation. These observations were simply avoidance, a way to buy my mind a few more seconds from conflict yet to come. All my courage and will had been used just to stay after the announcement, now there was none to spare for this uphill battle that lay before me.
They each looked at me like I should be the one to speak first. What do you guys expect, a tearful confession at sunset set to dramatic music? Instead, I watched the waiter bring our refreshments and took a long sip of my espresso. I made a face at the bitterness and began loading it with cream and sugar to offset the flavor. Coffee was my preferred method of ingesting caffeine, I'd tried pills before but it was too tempting to take more than the recommended dose, in a way that coffee (as a liquid) never induced.
No one spoke, I remembered the adage about pulling a bandaid off quickly. I cleared my throat, unnecessarily as their gazes were all on me. "Well, ask me what you guys want to know." Haruno made to speak but I cut her off. "Yui and Yukinoshita, ask me what you want to know."
"Is it true?" Yui went first. Chewing on her lip.
"That I attended Shuuchin, yes. I was a student for the last year of middle school and the first year of high school." I stated.
Yui leaned back mollified, slightly. Whilst Yukinoshtia leaned forward. "Why aren't you currently attending Shuuchin?"
"I didn't want to anymore, and for the same reason that you aren't."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" And I thought her demeanor before was frigid.
"Your sister told me why she wasn't attending and I assume that similar circumstances governed your decision I resigned from Shuuchin because I was unhappy." Not a single lie was told, but I didn't elaborate on the reason for my distress.
Haruno sat observing and so I played my best hope of avoiding catastrophe: another misdirect. "I guess that I know something private about you, Yukinoshita; so we're even." I nodded, sipping my cheap (actually more expensive) imitation of MAXX coffee.
"What exactly do you presume to know about me, Hikigaya?" She leaned forward.
"I can say. but do you really want Yui to hear this?" I glanced at the peach-haired girl watching me.
Surprisingly, she looked at Yukinoshita waiting for an answer. I expected her to have said something along the lines of 'Mouuu, Hikki, me and Yukinon are totally BFF's I have a right to hear this.' Though knowing what I know about her background, her respect for people's privacy is more surprising than it should've been.
Yukinoshita took three deep breaths, fingers squeezed so tight that her knuckles were white around the mug of black tea that she'd ordered. "It's okay, Yuigahama is a friend and I don't mind if she hears this. She's earned my trust for her discretion." She smiled at Yui who grinned back. Haruno's mouth was slightly agape though it closed quickly.
"You're the daughter of a politically prominent family." I began, swirling the milky brown liquid in my cup. "They were angling to send you to Shuuchin to form better connections and receive a top niche education. This all changed when the political tides turned against your father and so the letters of recommendation that you needed fell through. Which you need four of from other Shuuchin Alumni to admit a first-generation student barring exceptional circumstances."
Haruno responded, seeming to have grown bored of passively observing. "That's essentially true. How were you admitted though? You're not from a prominent family otherwise I would have heard of you, and on that same note it's unlikely that your parents are Shuuchin Graduates." She rested her chin on her hands.
The table sat silent, absorbing the discussed information. Yui asked the next question, the hardest by far. "So how were you admitted Hikki?" Once again her behavior surprised me, I didn't think that she would have it in her to grill me like this.
The truth has carried me forward so far, let's try using it again. "I was a special admission. They offered me a spot in seventh grade when the Shuuchin law club advisor read a paper I published about utilizing international law in domestic cases. In ninth grade, I caved and accepted the offer. It was a rare circumstance and that's why you wouldn't have heard of my family, Ms. Yukinoshita." I concluded, smiling saccharinely at Haruno, rage boiling beneath the surface.
"Well, it's getting late and I need to get home to start dinner." I stood up and tossed a few thousand yen bills fished from my wallet. I paused as I stood and stared back at the people around me, "Yukinoshita, Yui. If we hurry we can catch the next train, it leaves in fourteen minutes."
They stood up, leaving Haruno behind. "Hikki, why didn't you say something earlier I'm not running in these flats."
"I concur, Hikigaya. For a Shuuchin recruited student you sure are oblivious." Yukinoshita teased with no actual malice as we walked out of the door.
We marched down the curb and argued as we went.
"No way, Yukinon, I have to agree with Hikki here. There's way more to fashion than strength and usefulness."
"I wouldn't be so fast to disregard, durability and utility. Besides Hikigaya also posited that your fashion taste would be, and I quote verbatim, 'bright, frilly, and somewhat stupid-looking.'"
"Mouu, Hikki, you said that." Yui smacked my arms with soft punches. Then pouted fiercely.
"Yukinoshita what the hell? I told you that in confidence, besides she agreed with me."
"My fashion style is great Hikki, just because you dress like a shut-in NEET doesn't mean that I'm going to." I clutched my chest, dramatically. "Wow, Yui. Damage taken." I pouted back, but at the disgusted look, both girls made quickly undid the expression.
We walked and argued. Yui got loud, Yukinoshita and I tried to stop her from causing a scene.
A few hours later …
I pushed open the door of our ancestral family home. The odors of a classic Japanese estate rushed around me wood, varnishes, and an indiscernible factor that made the house unique. Seeing Yukino-chan had been a pleasant surprise, she had stopped being fun for me a long time ago. Now with Yuigahama and Hikigaya, the game had changed and suddenly she was interesting again. Yuigahama surprised me slightly but was ultimately nothing special.
But that boy, the Shuuchin one. He was fun, he fought me at every turn, and out maneuvered me despite being at a disadvantage. I giggled, for the first time in years, I felt anticipation. I couldn't wait for our next meeting. I had no idea how we would match wits next but I knew that it would be fun.
As the heir of the family, not many could relate to the burdens that I seemed to shoulder effortlessly. The men who might have been able to, looked at me like a trophy or piece of meat. But his eyes spoke of crushing pressure on his shoulders but he didn't break or explode. The pressure and heat made him stronger.
Now enough reflection, I would be remiss to not perform my due diligence as a meddling big sister.
Mother and Father sat in the central courtyard quietly discussing Father's upcoming campaign. I strode across the grass and around the pond. As I approached I shuffled my feet enough to alert them.
Mother looked up first. She smiled, but her eyes didn't change. "Haruno, my dear, how are you?"
I widened my eyes and smiled. "I'm great, today while I was out with friends I ran into Yukino." This earned a modicum more, of attention. Dad even bothered looking up from a polling report. She had been a bit of a sore subject around the house since her sudden relocation into an apartment last year.
"That's nice." Mother said. Her voice nor face changed but I could feel that I was treading thin ice.
"But that's not the interesting part, one of her friends," Saying that Yukino had friends was enough to gain their interest as she had been anti-social before puberty. Once bitten twice shy or something like that. When I knew that I had their full attention, I began speaking once more, to drop the real conversation stopper. "Her friend is an ex-Shuuchin student. "
Mother gasped, "What?" Ever since Father had failed to get me admitted, the golden gates had been a point of regret for them. Breaking into those elite social circles after the formative years was nigh-impossible.
"What's her name?" My father asked, eyes calculating.
"His name, is Hachiman Hikigaya." At the amendment and then declaration, my parents went white as sheets. Father's hand shook, something that I'd never seen before.
"Haruno, what exactly did you say to him?" He asked voice steely, eyes nervous.
"Why? He's a Shuuchin drop-out I get it, but there's no need to be that nervous about him." I laughed trying to disarm the tension. But my parents only seemed to get more nervous, Father twisted his wedding ring, while mom white-knuckled her teacup.
She spoke first, "Haruno, you are to be polite at all times to this young man. Whatever you do, don't offend him in any way. Hikigaya is not someone to be tangled with, no matter what"
Who the hell was that boy?
(A/N)2: This is the continuation of how 8man meets the families of the service club. Thanks for all the feedback and I am also looking for more beta readers to help review my work. Please PM me if you're interested. I've started working with two beta readers so far and am excited to deliver better writing to you all.
Turdwilicker: Thanks for the note, I changed it.
Maria Abdoun: That's how she knows 8man, but if you were paying attention then their connection was plainly stated.