(A/N): Rearranging the 1st year student council for the sake of the upcoming, Hikigaya attending Shuuchin Arc. It won't be 100% accurate to canon. I'm replacing the 66th Student Council president with a surprise guest. No matter what people say I won't be writing lemons but how do you guys feel about implied sex? That's something I'm interested in including if the audience doesn't mind.
(A/N)2: Sorry for the delay on the chapter. I had to finish my summer finals (accounting is so annoying). I was also packing for my flight halfway across the world.
Hachiman Hikigaya was an irregular man, was the first impression of one, Kyoko Yukinoshita. Whereas all the men she had met in the past puffed their chests and stood straight in her presence, he slumped. He held himself like nothing mattered. If she didn't know who he was and what he was capable of, she would've written him off. He offered a nod to them before turning to her second daughter.
The only reason she had recognized him was that Haruno had pointed him out as the car pulled up. Despite having met him once beforehand his face hadn't left a strong impression. Or maybe she was just getting older and her mind was beginning to wear out.
"Well, Yukinoshita. I'll be seeing you. Have a nice summer." He picked up his briefcase and made to leave.
"It's rude to not greet a lady when you meet her." Haruno's playful tone made him freeze, and turn back. It was all Kyoko could do to keep her pleasant mask. She had expressly said not to antagonize or offend him but lo and behold, here was her daughter poking at the bear.
She hadn't always been the best mother. She knew that. But it was her job to shield her daughters from things that they weren't yet ready for. Hachiman Hikigaya was one of those things, he had done a lot more for a lot less than the needling that she knew both her daughters provided (albeit in different ways).
"I suppose you're right." He sighed offering a small bow. "It's nice to see you both again. Haruno, Kyoko. "
She tittered, steeling her nerves. There was more at stake here than when they had hosted the minister of finance for dinner last year. Here was a boy with massive influence and rumored to have mercurial moods at the best of times. "I'm flattered that you remember me, after such a brief meeting so long ago."
His expression didn't change, Hikigaya instead appeared to be bored. "Don't read into it, I remember everything I've seen, felt, touched, smelled, tasted, or heard." Beady eyes bored into her, they reminded her of when she had taken Yukino to the aquarium, they'd seen a massive bull shark, it had small, dead eyes, no emotion shining through.
Kyoko Yukinoshita laughed uncomfortably as her daughters remained silent like she'd trained them to. "Well, would you like to have some tea with us? I was taking Yukino to a nearby tea house and I'm sure they can add another person to our table."
Hikigaya paused, pensive. "Well, I have to get home-"
Before he could reject Kyoko's offer her youngest daughter cut in, "I would really appreciate it if you joined us, Hikigaya."
They exchanged a look, though since both Haruno and she were behind Yukino, they could only guess at her expression, his demeanor was as flat as ever. He cleared his throat, "Well, I suppose a cup of tea would be nice."
Kyoko felt a burst of pride for her daughter, finally performing her duty as a scion of the Yukinoshita family properly. "That's excellent, hop in and we'll be on our way." He nodded and followed Yukinoshita to the car. He stopped for a second before circling around to the door facing the street.
~/~
Shit, goddamnit, what the hell were the odds? I had taken in the car with apathy at first, it was an old money staple. Toyota Century, not particularly flashy but particularly expensive, that was until I saw the black tinted windows, and the pieces clicked together in my head. This was the car that had hit me while I was saving Yui's dog. How many blacked-out Century's were rolling around Chiba, especially near Soubu? I walked around the back of the car and observed the license plate to confirm my hypothesis. A dead match for said plate that I had seen before being slammed into by said car.
I hopped in, mind only half invested in the conversation (though still more than enough.) Had Yukinoshita (the youngest one) known about this as we befriended each other? What were the implications of this on our friendship? My distress and apprehension about the situation clouded my mind and I was far more forthcoming than I usually was.
"So Hachiman," Haruno jumped into the conversation. No doubt aghast at being silent for so long. "I know that you attended Shuuchin, what kind of activities did you do while you were there?" She looked me dead in the eye as she asked, something that I could respect.
"I was a part of the student council," I replied, mind preoccupied, now that everyone in this car knew; playing things close to the chest was pointless. Or not.
The reaction was rapid, the shock killing any follow-up question that Haruno was about to ask me. Yukino was the first to recover her wits, "What position did you hold?"
Well might as well rip the band-aid off, I hope that there's a set number of times that people could be shocked by things, because this was getting tedious. "I was the vice-president."
Years of reading people had allowed me to get a feel of others' feelings. Yukino looked surprised, and Kyoko looked curious, the way one might be curious about a promising business venture. But it was Haruno's reaction that surprised me, she looked disappointed, and I had no idea why. We didn't know each other that well for her to be sad I withheld information. This certainly warranted some observation.
"I thought that Shinomiya was the vice-president?" Kyoko asked. I was almost certain that she was fishing for information, but I was willing to indulge her.
"Most people don't know the rest of the council besides the president. That's done by design." I explained, even though in Shinomiya's case it was impossible to avoid rumors spreading. "The president is the face of the organization and it's everyone else's job to support them and let them have the spotlight.'
"In your year, if I remember correctly, that was Toyomi Fujiwara?" Kyoko used a lawyer trick. Never ask questions that you don't know the answer to. She was trying to get me on a roll and revealing more information than I intended.
"If you're curious about the old student council's layout. As you said, Toyomi Fujiwara was President. Her little sister, Chika, was the secretary. I was Vice. Momo Ryuju was the Treasurer. Kaguya Shinomiya was the internal auditor, and Miyuki Shirogane ran general affairs." I didn't feel particularly bad about revealing last year's org chart, but no matter how she tried to ply me for information there was no way that I was going to leak the current information that I knew.
Kyoko offered a "Hmmm" of acknowledgment then let the conversation fall into a lull. Neither of us made an effort to restart it and the Yukinishita girls were cowed into silence by their mother.
The ride was a smooth one, the Century prowled the streets barely making any noise. I fiddled with the straps of my briefcase mind swirling with intrusive thoughts.
About my parents. About my sister. About our screwed-up family dynamic. Ai Hayasaka. Kei Shirogane's smile. Yui's declaration then invitation.
I fell deeper into my introspection. Only brought back to the present as the car stopped and Yukino poked me to get my attention. "Hikigaya, we're here." She gestured outside, I blinked and got out of the car.
Following distractedly, I sluggishly followed, I had slept poorly in the muggy cabin last night and was mentally and physically below my peak capacity.
I sat around a table with the rest of them. Responding automatically to attempts at conversation. I gratefully accepted a cup of green tea from the waitress, sipping at it and letting the caffeine wash over me. The relief was so great that I was tempted to audibly sigh my appreciation. I resisted the urge and turned to the matriarch of the family. "Are you a fan of tea ceremonies?" I used the same lawyer trick, judging by her traditional attire and the tea house we currently sat in, I could posit a reliable guess.
"I am, I've actually been trained to perform them myself. If you come over to our house sometime I can show you. I enjoy sharing my passion with others." Her words were totally genuine but still contained ulterior motives. She was trying to lure me over, and forge connections with an influential person. However, I absolutely believed that she loved tea ceremonies. It was a clever method, she betrayed none of the signs of lying because she wasn't, so the only way to decipher the truth was to understand her motivations.
"Perhaps, when I'm a little less busy." I acknowledged the invitation without actually accepting it. This method of evasion was something I had picked up from Chika. She had an astute diplomatic mind behind her antics. Something Tatar had taken me time to learn.
She nodded, conceding to my tacit refusal. "How are you liking Soubu? I hope it holds up to your standard." It was impossible to tell what vein she was trying to target. Is this about Yukino? The actual school? My departure from Shuuchin?
I decided to take her question at face value. "The school is nice. It is close to home and I get to spend more time with my little sister. I can ride my bike to and from without much hassle." I replied. Taking a sip of my tea and then a bite of cake.
"I'm glad that you like it here. The Yukinoshita family has worked very hard to improve and protect Chiba, Soubu included." She smiled, silently sipping her steaming cup of white tea.
"Our latest project is to renovate the Opera house next to the bay," Haruno added, her facade effortless, although her eyes belied boredom.
"I can see where Yukinoshita learned her philosophy from." I grinned at a pink-cheeked Yukino, who pointedly looked away.
"Oh my, pray tell, what you mean by that Hikigaya." Kyoko's words were measured, with an undercurrent of curiosity.
"Does she not talk to you about it these things?" I asked, unsure if I had tread upon volatile ground. I glanced at Yukino, who subtly nodded, though I doubted the actions were missed by Haruno and Kyoko. "Well, anyways, Yukinoshita has explained to me that she feels an obligation to help those who she is better off than." It wouldn't hurt to raise her status in her mother's eyes. "That's what she did for me." I put on a shy smile.
"You consider yourself worse off than Yukino." Haruno was curious, for the first time in conversation she seemed legitimately interested.
"In some ways yes." I answered, plainly. She had to pursue the question if she wanted the answer, I was unwilling to spill the information so easily, something that added more believability to what I was trying to communicate.
"What way do you mean then Hikigaya? There's not much that someone such as yourself truly lacks." Haruno responded with flattery and batted eyelashes, not genuine but still cute. Despite knowing that they were tricks my heart rate did increase.
"Socially I'd say." The silence that followed the statement conveyed palpable incredulity. Even Yukinoshita was frozen while I paused, when I elaborated everyone's full attention was on me. "I struggle much more with solitude than Yukinoshita. I will seek company even if I'm not sure how genuine the relationship is. She on the other hand will only accept what is 100% authentic. I think that is a very courageous way to live." My soliloquy's results were obvious, Haruno's jaw was set but her eyes were pensive. Kyoko had a small but honest smile, and Yukino his her face in her hands as she blushed deeply.
I watched the blood gather and saw her neck flush too. I wonder how far down that goes exactly. Her lips stretched in a hesitant smile though she refused to meet my gaze.
Tea after that was muted, I finished the dregs of my cup. I stood up soon after, waving off Kyoko's offer of a ride home. I shouldered my briefcase and slunk out of the venue. strolling home.
By my calculations, approximately two miles of walking lay between the conversation with my parents, and me. I reflected as I walked though unfortunately, the distance did dwindle.
Sooner than I wished I found myself in front of my door, pulling my house key from my pockets and unlocking the front door. When I entered my sister was in the living room playing a game, greeting me with a quick wave. I mumbled a reply in turn. Only after, a glass of water, using the bathroom, then meticulously washing my hands, did I finally trudge up the stairs.
I paused outside the master bedroom's door, listening to the hushed murmurs from within. I slowly rapped my knuckles against the door before stepping back. I heard the murmurs stop and a cry of "Come In." From my mother.
I entered with as much grace as my tired frame could manage as I faced down my progenitors.
"Have a seat." My father gestured to the bed and I lowered myself onto it.
"What's up?" I cut to the chase, ignoring my awkwardness so that I could spend as little time with them as possible.
"The gist of the matter is an apology." My dad cleared his throat.
An apology. I had no idea what to say, I should say something, anything. But I had nothing to say.
"We know that we weren't the best parents to you and Komachi." My mom winced, the last time that I saw her this uncomfortable had been when her drunk boss offered me his daughter's hand in marriage for an exclusivity contract with their firm.
"Why now?" I croaked, the title of Hiki-froga for once somewhat appropriate. After all this time, years of trying to earn their approval, why the hell were they apologizing now? Was this a ploy? Were they trying to gain power over me?
"Initially we just had to talk about taking on more hours at work and breaking the news to Komachi. But, after what Komachi said, we did some thinking on what kind of parents we'd been." My dad chuckled bitterly, "It's hard to see how far off course you've drifted until you look back."
Looking up at them from my seat on my bed, I felt small again. Small like how I felt when my mom first told me that she would be taking more hours and that I needed to watch over Komachi.
I sat frozen, giving them room to continue.
"We pushed you hard and when you succeeded we didn't celebrate your accomplishments. For that I'm sorry." My mother held my limp hands in a warm grip.
I pulled away, both my voice and hands shaking when I responded. "I need some time to think." I stumbled out of the room.
My feelings of hope and apprehension gave way to simmering rage. How dare they apologize. Especially when it was Komachi's words that made them do so. Not any moment with me, not the first time that they had slapped me, but one reprimand from my little sister was the tipping point.
I stomped down the hallway, kicking my door open. I faced my desk and kicked it. I let out ugly pig-like grunts, and shouts of anger. I didn't stop until my lungs burned and sweat dripped down my brow. I faltered back until I collapsed onto my bed, the mattress groaning at the force of my fall. I closed my eyes and let restless sleep claim me.