"To be honest, I'm worried Sophia." Claes crossed her arms and dumbly nodded to herself as if she was imparting life wisdom to the smaller albino eating with her.
"What is it, Katarina-sama?" Of course, Sophia was way too nice to try and divert the conversation to something actually meaningful. It was too bad some people just abused her kindness like that.
"I'm worried about Nicol-sama, Sophia." Claes put down her food for once and addressed the smaller girl directly.
For his part, the guy they were talking about simply sent an annoyed look to the brunette, but otherwise did not interrupt the conversation his little sister was obviously engaged into.
Damn Claes and her way with words. It was way too effective for the innocent red eyed girl.
"Why is that, Katarina-sama? Is it because of his no-good personality?" Guh! "Or is it because of his defeatist approach to work?"
Damage! Too much damage! The elder brother was not only being bad mouthed, he was being bad mouthed by his own little sister!
How can a man keep their pride if his own sister doesn't respect him at all?
"Well, that too. But, I mean… Isn't his mug all wrong?" The brunette commented as if she wasn't stuffing her face like some sort of hungry monkey trying out bananas for the first time "I mean, look at him! His face should be something people swoon at with a mere look! Isn't it weird?! Why does he look like he's two steps away from death? His smile should make flowers bloom!"
"Nee-san?!" The younger Claes smashed the table with his hands when he stood up. But his sister was too engrossed complaining about Hachiman's looks to mind.
"I know what you mean, Katarina-sama." Sophia nodded sagely at the dumbass "It is true Nii-sama possesses unparalleled beauty that is nonetheless tarnished by his bad personality. It is so effective, I must say Katarina-sama has good eyes to perceive this simple fact in spite of how trashy Nii-sama is. One simply does not expect a fellow that can't even tie a tie properly to be of such gentlemanly origins. I am honestly bewildered as to how he turned out this way."
"My appearance does not dictate my pedigree." Hachiman barked when Sophia's jabs became too annoying to bear. If she knew why he took it upon himself to downgrade his looks she would have never said that, but Hachiman kept quiet.
There was no need to remind her of the reason odd looks were sent her way even then.
"Comb your hair at least, Nii-sama!" Sophia stood up and smacked the table, adding to the HP damage the younger Claes did to it before.
"It's too much a pain to bother." The elder Ascart shot back before going back to his food to cut the discussion short.
"Nicol-sama!" Claes used the opportunity to abuse the innocent table a bit more "Listen to Sophia here! You should pay more attention to your appearance!"
"Says the woman that perpetually acts like a monkey!" Hachiman stood from his seat and chose to be the bigger person, retreating from the assault to his dignity as hastily as his legs allowed him.
Which is to say, he ran away from that blasted place before his face could heat up and embarrass him further.
He was used to the jabs since his previous life, it was just that banding together with his sister was too low a move even for her, that is all. Hachiman really considered taking his chance and knocking some sense into the woman, but the prospect of the prince hearing about it and taking matters in his own hands spooked Hachiman a bit too much.
He was not aggressive, okay? It was just that sometimes Claes needed her brain shaken a bit for it to work properly. Besides, she had no business talking about him like that.
"Katarina-sama wishes you no ill will, Nicol-sama." Anne-san quickly matched his steps and spoke with a terse tone.
Did she fear her master's relationships were so frail she needed to butt in? Or was she just such a simpleton when it came to Katarina?
"I am aware." Still, the earnest attempt to salvage her master's blunder should be met with Hachiman's earnest honesty "It is the words of the nice people the ones that hurt the most, because you just know they are not actually trying to hurt you."
Hachiman knew this all too well too. His classmates made a sport of seeing who got to him the most, but hurtful words were only hurtful because you take them personally. Some people want to cover for insecurities they are hurting from, others just want to see others miserable. But nice people? It was like cutting yourself with paper. Unlikely, embarrassing, and really, really painful.
The maid opened her mouth, with a reply more heated than that of someone with just a working relationship with Claes should have. Hachiman eyed her, stopping the woman from uttering a single word by work of his status being unfairly higher.
The reincarnation sighed. He kind of was the older person, so his decision to go outside should be meaningful in some way. He had not stormed off to antagonize anyone; and since he technically should be more mature than everyone else in this school he had the responsability of being the bigger person.
So he kept on walking, not minding the maid, and found himself staring at the fountain that adorned the open space between corridors for this particular section of the school.
Everything would be fine. Words were just words, after all. And it was not as if he could just get mad at his sister forever. She meant well, he knew. Her appearance always gave her troubles, so she would know better than anyone what it meant to not look the part of your station.
…
Yes. Thinking that way, Hachiman saw that she simply did not want him to go through what she did on a daily basis. That did not make this stunt any less painful, but there was healing power in understanding. It was ironic to the point of being laughable.
Yeah, some of the worst things imaginable were done with the best intentions. But the half-baked barbs of a little girl were no atrocities, and he intellectually understood she wanted to help. So he simply needed to cool off for a bit.
"Kyaah!" And then some girl decided to trip and make a scandal in the middle of Hachiman's time out.
No. She was being bullied.
In open space like that?
Like, from what he could pick up she was a commoner and all. But wasn't nobility supposed to be better than that? Picking a fight with the weak was no different from the classmates Hachiman had in his previous life.
He missed Komachi. But he would be hard-pressed to say he missed anything else from that life at all.
"Ascart-sama?" Claes' maid was still close to him, he hadn't realized she followed him. But Hachiman had no business getting surprised by it.
He opened his eyes and realized he was massaging his temples. With hands shaking and a knot firmly clasping his throat into silence.
He geniunely wanted to clear his mind off. Because even with the best intentions, Hachiman was still reminded of the regret he hadn't quite left behind in the other world.
He could see it as clear as day. The drawing on the blackboard, the whispers when he passed by to jab at him. The mocking, the jeers, the off-handed comments. In this world not many people talked about him in a way he could hear them, so he thought he had become good at ignoring whispers and rumors… But this little episode with Claes brought back to the forefront of his mind the feeling of humiliation and impotence.
And Hachiman fucking hated it.
"You there." Everything happened so quickly, as if in a daze he could not recall that well.
Hachiman opened his mouth while stepping between the so-called ladies and the commoner girl. He had status, even more than them. And a single glance gave him the tools he needed to do what he did.
He didn't even hear what they said. He didn't have to. Not only because his status as an Ascart allowed him to roll over their opinion, but because he instinctively knew what they would use to defend themselves.
He picked at their words, tore apart their attempts at arguing using their own prides as stepping stool. And when that first hit landed, he grasped at the line that guided him to the closest thing to their real feelings they could plausibly grasp.
He was technically older than all of them. His grin just widened as their expressions crumbled before his words. He relished in the humiliation when they could only try to make him stop. He wanted them to beg him to shut up. To simply throw what they tried to do back at them and have it work just this once.
It was no longer about the girl at his back.
It was simply about drowning them in malice. It was about Hachiman getting that oppressive feeling out of his chest. To see himself win in a situation he had lost every time just this once.
When the girls had enough they ran away. That was fine, because Hachiman felt breathless. And for a moment, the world was just beautiful.
Then someone misstepped behind him and Hachiman came back to reality being greeted by a very frightened blonde and all students looking at him in stunned silence.
"...You okay?" Hachiman frowned, hiding the embarrassment trying to creep its way up to his face. He took a step forward, offering the admittedly beautiful girl a hand to maybe carry the basket she had on her or something.
She recoiled at the proximity, even more scared than before.
Hachiman dropped his arm.
How much better it would be if Claes was there…
"Maria-chan!" Oh, yes. Thanks heavens "Nicol-sama?! Did something happen?!"
"Claes." Hachiman coughed on his fist to disperse the weight of having bullied three girls into crying away "No, everything's fine."
The brunette hugged the blonde into her bosom and Hachiman instinctively gave them their privacy. He already had enough mixed feelings about the monkey girl and he did not need something else added into the mix.
"Really?" Geh… Of all the times her neurons decided to work it was this once?
"Yes, really." Hachiman insisted, rolling his eyes for emphasis.
"Really-really?" Now she awkwardly faced down at the girl she was cradling.
The blonde blinked and remembered she actually existed.
"Ah! Yes. Katarina-sama, everything is fine now that you are here."
"Maria-chan!"
Ow, how sweet. Hachiman could get diabetes from the sugar-coated flowery scene the two of them created.
...Was Claes like that?
Well… It was fine, wasn't it? It really changed nothing for Hachiman. She was still annoying, it was just another side of her, he supposed. It would explain her motivations for doing that-thing-Hachiman-was-not-supposed-to-talk-about. If nothing else, it made her struggle to shake the prince off her hands all the braver.
And he had to admit, she had good taste to boot.
"Actually, there was a group of girls picking at her just a moment ago." Although an outcast, Hachiman still was capable of reading the mood. He promised to cover for Claes before entering the school, and her mother trusted him a lot for some reason, so the least he could do was to make himself scarce and give them their moment.
"Eh?! Again?!" That… That did not sound good.
"Don't worry, I scared them off." Hachiman waved his hand "But I'll report this to the student council ASAP. So I'll take my leave." If he was friends with Claes, which he wasn't, he would have winked at her or gave her a thumbs up. As it stood, he simply nodded at her "Claes… And…?"
"Maria Campbell." The blonde replied in a low tone.
"I see, I am Nicol Ascart." Of course, the girl's eyes became bigger than plates meant to fill Claes' stomach. His family was kind of a big deal, but he thought it was thrown around enough for most people to know about the rebellious noble that did not measure up to the aristocrats' refinement…
Oh, god. He was just like Claes in everyone's eyes!
"Ah! I... I… I mean! It is a pleasure to meet you Ascart-sama!" Campbell bowed so fast Hachiman was almost disappointed she did not jump into a dogeza position. But he did not make a habit of forcing cute girls into apologizing postures.
"Pleasure's mine." Well, if he found Claes' little darling it was indeed a good meeting. Hachiman confirmed his choice to back the ditzy girl was the correct one.
How was she not found out, though? Like… Seriously, these two are cuddling in bright light, and are probably short of walking around holding hands everywhere!
The mentality of isekai worlds was bizarre, as expected.
"Well, then." Yeah, it was better for Hachiman to just piss off right now.
"Ah! Nicol-sama!" Nope, he was not listening. He was getting away without fail "Nicol-samaaaaaa! Sorry about back then! I didn't mean to make you angwyyyy!"
Jeez, woman. He got it already, you just made him feel weirder for smiling.
A/N
Just a reminder he died due to limousine-chan so everything that happened during middle school and before is fresher in his mind. A life of bullying makes you trigger happy.