Infinite Loner

Foreword: Uh, hello there *nervously waves* you may be wondering why in 2021 this exists, a crossover between IS and Oregairu, and I'd be glad to explain. I'm Mayflower Productions and if you couldn't tell, I'm kind of a novice writer. I've been stalking the site for a while now, reading, liking, and favoriting along, and I never thought that I would end up as an author, but apparently, anything is possible. The tale you're about to read was just the logical conclusion of spending too much time reading Oregairu fanfictions, especially other crossovers starring the famous fish-eyed loner, and yes before you ask, I've read a lot of them, and are probably in the middle of one as this is released and my favorite is... Woah now's not the time to ramble, where was I... oh yes, the circumstances behind bringing these two worlds together; it was nothing more than a fascination of the giant mechs combined with a little voice whispering, "What if, Hikigaya attended IS Academy and was entwined in the lives of Orimura Ichika and his (not) Harem? Wouldn't it be interesting?" The voice kept bothering me day after day, week after week until I decided to finally take the plunge and get to work on this story. Many months later and here we are right before its grand premiere... Wait, don't skip to the end yet, I'd like to issue a bit of a small warning; Infinite Loner is in no way a finished product and is my first published piece, so there may be occasional typos, OOC moments for the cast, inconsistent updates, etc., so at least give it a little leeway before immediately writing it off as unreadable garbage and writing overly hateful comments. Every masterpiece has to start from square one, and I'll try to get better at this over time... Well, I have nothing left to say, so... Welcome to Infinite Loner, and I hope you enjoy the ride.

*P.S. If Infinite Loner sounds a lot like some other titles on the site, it's not plagiarism, just a friendly homage.*

Infinite Loner- POV shift, line break "Ever heard of IS Academy?"- Dialogue

Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos, Oregairu, or any other intellectual properties that may appear in this story. Please don't sue me.

Prologue: A Fish Out Of Water

To work is to lose; one of my favorite adages. Some people (read: mainly my sister) see it as a defeatist attitude, one befitting a naive slacker. I think differently: having such an opinion demonstrates a firm understanding of reality and tepid optimism for the future.

What does my motto entail? After all, an argument, no matter how impressive it appeared, meant little if contentious terms were not defined... I learned that the hard way in middle school.

Now, where was I... "to work is to lose" meant having a spine and not accepting every request. This mainly applied to the professional world and its white-collar jobs.

"Why bother doing a job if it will only be a waste of time?" one asks themself. Especially in modern Japan, rife with corporate slavery and mandatory overtime, does this motto holds true. No wonder our birth rate has declined over the last few years; people can't say no and allow the endless torrent of work to overwhelm them. Life is supposed to be savored, not spoiled by a crippling monotony of over-exertion. I lauded those who could subscribe to my notion and avoid the rat race, paving out their future. Hence my dreams of becoming a stay-at-home parent and my disdain for menial labor are not childish.

Ask me nine times out of ten, and I would confidently enact the behaviors espoused by my beloved saying, but sadly, my current situation resides in the dreaded 10%. And not one of my 108 Loner Skills can break me out of this bind.

"Um... Do you care to introduce yourself to the class?" Sometimes I wonder to myself, why me? Which god decided that I needed to attend this school and be placed in this undesirable situation. My life so far amounts to a thrilling rollercoaster that refuses to end no matter how much I pull on the emergency brake, blare my lungs out for help, or even attempt the risky option of leaving the car.

"*stare...~*" An array of eyes pierced into me, many presumably curious about my presence. The pressure made it difficult to breathe, let alone think... So this is what being a zoo animal feels like, a mysterious oddity viewed from a distance. I have a bit more sympathy for them now.

Taking a quick scan across the room, I noticed one student's venomous gaze... She must not like me then. Well, it's not like I had very high hopes for making friends here. After all, to most of the room's occupants, I invaded their sanctuary, crossing a boundary that should be impassable. Their preconceived notions are probably struggling to accept reality. And once they do, the results may not be pretty. Some may exercise a naive approach, attempting to "befriend" me (read: exploit me for their own benefit), while others are scheming ways to humiliate me and assert their superiority.

While the former sounds pleasant and more desirable than the latter, they both had the same result. It was either death by a thousand cuts or a single decisive strike.

In other news, what if life was like a game with save points that could be reloaded? Would anything change?

I firmly believe that if given the opportunity to revisit past events, I would probably make the same decisions, no matter how detrimental they may be. Don't get me wrong, some of my previous actions were inane and cringe-inducing, but... They led me to who I am today. And so I accept younger myself and their numerous faults because we're ultimately the same person, and changing them with supernatural intervention would invalidate that.

Darting my eyes behind, I observe two familiar faces, one nervous and the other stoic. True to my earlier statement, our relationships were not ideal, and I would rather avoid them if possible. As a loner, I had a strict policy of non-intervention not too dissimilar to Switzerland during the World Wars.

However, like the alpine nation, that position developed over time. For me, that was due to crossing paths with my acquaintances. They helped sand out the edges of my loner code, which I'm grateful for. Now I could fully accept the beauty of silence and not feel squirmish with it like riajuu, my ever-present antithesis.

The popular and the outcasts, the haves and have-nots of society. Even in a world like this, does such a trend persist.

My gaze lingered on my former classmate, vainly expecting a miracle. However, unsurprisingly the expected occurred, and nothing came from the gesture. So it looks like I'm alone on this front just as before.

Sighing, I looked away in preparation for my next move. It's two strikes, three balls, and Number 108 is up to bat. What will they do, rely on their teammates and aim for a walk, or take matters into their own hands and swing at the pitch?

I don't necessarily understand baseball or most team sports, being a loner, but the analogy makes sense. I weighed my options for the situation and had to make a decision.

This is where my discussion of save states factored in. My ideal self may have found a way to project false charisma and become popular with my classmates. That approach may be the correct move, but it is also wrong... I tried it before, and it failed miserably.

That reality embodied the principle of "fool me once, shame on me" and the importance of experience. I like to believe that life is not a visual novel where one can flawlessly achieve the desired result: there are numerous setbacks, dead-ends, and detours, among other obstacles.

With all that in consideration, I've learned from my mistakes. The road to get here was bumpy and slightly traumatic, but necessary, like the obligatory training montage before the final showdown in fighting movies.

So, where did that leave my introduction? Even though I'm very proud of my monologuing skills, they are not perfect. Time continued to pass, and I had yet not uttered a single word. The class was most likely drawing unsavory conclusions from my prolonged silence. The longer I waited, the more at risk my goals would be...

Wait, why did I aim to be a student of this school, the famed Academy? You could say a raison d'etre of sorts.

Popularity, friendship, a romantic comedy? No, the answer was none of those.

All I, Hikigaya Hachiman, wanted was a quiet life... Preferably alone.

"Yes, my name is..."

Prologue End

Chapter 1: Middle School was a Mess as Expected Part 1

[Two Years Earlier]

"I like you. Please go out with me."

"Eh, I don't know, maybe we should just stay friends."

Once I heard those dreadful words fall out of her mouth, it felt like a bullet drove right through my heart and shattered it into thousands of little pieces. How many hours have I waited for those simple text messages? How many times was I fooled by that disarming smile in class? Well, no longer shall I, Hikigaya Hachiman, be played. If lying is an act of kindness, then nice girls are a lie. And now, I can't stand nice girls...

"Hachiman, don't feel so down, maybe Orimoto-san just isn't ready for a relationship." *Groan* It's HIM, with clean dark black hair and bright red eyes with an annoying grin on his face. Many times during my middle school career, I've wondered why he even bothered to associate with me. From the outside looking in, our relationship makes no viable sense. We have completely different personalities, personal philosophies, and favorite genres of anime. If this were a television soap opera, Ichika would be the heart-throb main character while I am just a nameless extra, not even one with a speaking line. Alas, I have grown to tolerate his presence as he apparently enjoys our time together, especially since the departure of our "friend" for China, (His sister, though... just thinking about her gives me chills.) and he doesn't seem bright enough for any ulterior motives.

"Don't worry, man, I'm already over her." I cooly respond to my persistent acquaintance.

"Heh?! It's only been ten minutes since you were rejected?" He gasps at my face with an incredibly overdramatic reaction. Truthfully with my mental declaration, I was done with Orimoto Kaori and her nice girl facade. My recent actions were just the coalescence of years of mixed signals in my feeble attempts at earning respect and popularity with my peers. Those days are over now, but life continues. At this point, with my current social standing and with people like my darling Imouto and this blockhead by my side, my middle school career may ride out quietly, just as I expect... Oh wait, summer recess starts tomorrow, so I can have extra-long sessions with PSP-san. Nice.

Infinite Loner

[Several Days Later]

Only three days into the break and my life has been quiet... too quiet. After virtually locking myself in my room after school to binge my concerningly large entertainment backlog, I have received not a single distraction. No, phone calls from the Idiot about any annoying meet-ups. Or surprise sneak attacks from my sister, Komachi. After pausing PSP-san, I decided to get up and check on Komachi.

Once at her room and being a considerate person, I lightly knock and ask, "Komachi. You in there?" My presence must have alarmed her as there was a cacophony of noise before she opened the door and replied.

"Oh...Nii-san, what are you doing here." She quietly states while avoiding eye contact.

"Komachi, are you okay? Don't forget that I am always here to lean on, and that should net me a ton of Komachi points." My compassionate yet humorous reply must have worked as her face brightened up as she stares at me.

"Wait, you don't know?" She reluctantly questions me.

"What." I honestly reply.

"Wow, I guess I'll be the bearer of bad news, onii-chan."

"No matter Imouto-san, your big brother can handle any news." I sure hope she isn't implying that Pretty Cure was canceled as something like that would ruin my wonderful day... Ah, who am I kidding, Pretty Cure lies above petty issues like network engagement and mainstream popularity, so it will always stay on the air. Meaning that I have nothing to fear about what my sister is going to say.

"Orimura-san is transferring out of your school, effective immediately. He said something about his sister's work." Wait, why should I be concerned about this. Do I even know Orimura?... no, the Idiot. This can't be happening again, a friend leaving without even a goodbye.

"Okay, Komachi, thanks for the update. See you later." I quickly mumbled out a response and swiftly shuffled myself into my den, locking the door.

Once alone, I slumped onto the bed and sighed, "So much for my wonderful day." At least my life can't get any worse, right?

Infinite Loner

Author's Note- If you've made it here then it must mean that my story wasn't a complete waste of time. I spent way too long talking in the Foreword, so I'll make this quick. Don't forget to like, comment, and smash that subscribe button... Wait, wrong platform. If you're interested in seeing further updates to Infinite Loner please Follow, think I'm not a completely horrible writer, click Favorite, have any constructive criticism, want to call me a fool for making this or send well wishes, leave a review down below and I'll try to respond... I've been Mayflower Productions, thank you for reading Infinite Loner, and I'll catch you on the flipside.

Updated Author's Note: And so, like a Da Capo, we return to the beginning, huh? Why does that sound familiar?... To any long-time reader, you probably noticed some changes in this part and probably want an explanation. It's been a few months since I first published this story and even longer since its conception (nearly two years as of me writing this). I would like to think my writing has improved over that time, so I decided to refine the prologue. Hopefully, it doesn't sound as bare as before, but leave your opinion in a review. I read all of them. In other news, this is probably the start of me making some revisions to the story's more "problematic" parts... *cough, cough* chapters 1 and 13, so stay on the lookout. It may take a while, but I'll try to make Infinite Loner the best story it can be! I'm sorry for taking up your time with this announcement, and until next time whether it be a new installment or another postscript... Peace.

Updated July 13, 2022

Chapter End