AN: DarkDrawerJ: Hope the wait was worth it for you all! Life unfortunately gets in the way of a lot of things, including writing. Thanks for all the reviews, but for the people who doubt why Hachiman is here, 'ooc' some have called it, well this isn't Chiba anymore. Also, we're not going full blown early Hachiman edge as some I bet would like as ours is a little mature in some areas. Anyway, I hope you enjoy what's to come.

LanceSennin: I'm probably the one who has to apologize the most because I started a COTE fic of my own (which isn't a crossover) and I've been focusing on that instead of this. I'm still around though. Happy New Year, everybody.

RedsuGlitchoFoxito: Looks like Dark and Lance are taking the blame. I'd take my fair share, but it seems they are committed. I am absolved from any reasonings as to why we took so long. I will also say that you reviewers sure are going off there and we see them! So we decided to continue the story as we originally would, but attempt to write out why how one of the ways you guys wanted Hachi to be written would be woefully awful in terms of everyone involved.

As for the supporters, I am glad you're enjoying our story. We had many hiccups not just in terms of real life stuff, lethargy and procrastination, but we truly want to try and make a good story for you all to enjoy. Happy Holidays and hopefully you can stay on for the ride in spite of whatever issues you may have.

"What is he doing?"

I watched as my seatmate suddenly decided to move in the midst of my classmates beginning to argue with each other.

"I didn't take him for the type to try and involve himself like this…"

But he never showed up.

I had expected him to be right there between Sudou and Hirata, so I didn't try to follow his movements, but he never appeared.

Instead Kei Karuizawa came into view with a rather dazed expression before stuttering on her words.

"H-hey! Calm down you two!" She cried out, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Strange. Kei Karuizawa was a nice girl from an initial glance after the past few weeks, if not abrasive. Yet she seemed flustered about coming in, like a first time actor getting stage cues…"

From the corner of my eyes I could see Kushida had also stood up and wasn't in her usual seat as well as Hikigaya being directly behind Kei.

There seemed to be quite a few pieces at play for something here and I couldn't guess immediately what it was specifically, but it piqued my interest that there was a lot more to this school than I initially thought.

"Hey, sorry I needed to help a friend."

Hikigaya came back to his seat as the situation seemingly winded down.

I didn't say anything, merely giving him a nod before turning back to the situation with Hirata.

There was something Hikigaya Hachiman was trying to do and for what reasons, I couldn't initially tell, but what I can see is that it seemed Kei Karuizawa was connected to him and what that meant, I don't know.

"Are you ignoring me?" Horikita asked Hikigaya in a commanding tone.

Well, regardless, I'm avoiding all of that.

(-)

"Why am I doing this? It's simple really, you're stuck."

Sakura twitched, reacting to the answer, revealing that she had been caught off guard. "Wh-what are you talking about?" She tried to play off rather amateurishly.

"This," I said, showing her profile, Shizuku. "This online persona of yours. A risque idol or to put it bluntly, a gravure idol. While I don't particularly care what you do, you posted a picture by a hallway in our school. Anyone who recognizes this could come after you. Did you even think of that?" I'm pressing her for a reason. While there is a certain guy to… take care of, allowing Sakura to see this issue for herself can allow her to pull herself up.

"Uh, n-no. I-i didn't realize." She was internally panicking a lot, judging from her facial expressions.

I wanted to be harsh with my criticism here. She was a pretty well known online figure and she thought it was okay to just start posing in a school hallway? I have to thank what was essentially forced plot conveniences that Kinugasa wrote, but I can't be faulted considering how many conveniences there had been since I essentially got kidnapped.

Sighing to myself, I realized I had to ease up or she'd just bolt again. I made my tone softer and said, "Sakura, I don't know why you maintain a social media idol identity be it validation or self preservation, but answer me this, do you remember what I said on my first day?"

Sakura calmed down and thought about my words. "You said something about new beginnings?"

I nodded in agreement. "That's because I knew that since we were the lowest class, there were going to be classmates with specific problems, problems we can't just let sit and fester." Kushida comes to mind there. While she doesn't have much of a danger factor this early in the game, just having her as an issue sitting there is something that needs to change. No matter how small she is in the grand scheme of things, she was still a problem that could be devastating if not attended to.

Having to take the lead in these conversations and everything else was draining on me, but Sakura wasn't the type to be able to figure this stuff out herself. "Sakura, it's very likely that you have a past that you need to move on from." Sakura's posture stiffened at that comment as I continued. "I don't care about your past though. I care about getting Class D on track."

"Then why even bother with me," she mumbled. So much confusion and discomfort was evident on her face. "I'm not that important…"

Sakura's little self esteem does tend to lead her to her own detriment. The only way I can see her becoming something more than her canon self is to challenge her directly. I need for her to know her own importance for her to actually become important. It truly was baffling that someone who could pull in so many followers was over here being self conscious about her own capabilities.

"Every person in Class D has a part to play, even you," I said sincerely. Even the mobs of Class D are important to everyone's growth, after all they managed to get here for a reason. Countless defining moments throughout the narrative meant a side character getting screwed over or learning something about it. As a fan of the series, I feel obligated to correct what I find to be problems and fix it.

"H-how do you- H-how can I even begin to be helpful in s-something like this?" She asked. She, like everyone barring the top people in the class, are beyond overwhelmed by the system Chabashira-sensei has announced. This competitive class system where only the best can thrive is a toll mentally to students who struggle even in school in normal situations.

You'd think that just doing something rather unpredictable like becoming Class C when expectations were clearly against us would be a morale boost, but Chabashira really was laying things down to remind us that we only barely squeaked past Class C.

Nevertheless, we're going to need to adapt if we want to stay here. "You've already done something." At that answer, her downward expression shot up in surprised curiosity. "You became Hasebe's friend. That's no small feat believe me," I said, thinking about my own sad attempts at making friends. My dark past before high school was an even sadder time…

"E-even if that was important," she mumbled, her eyes returning to their downcast state, "That was all Hasebe-chan." She held her legs closer to her as she continued, "I didn't do anything."

"And? Being able to go along with someone's insistence is no small feat. You couldn't catch me doing that." Just that sent Sakura back into her thoughts, but I wasn't done. "Also, don't underestimate building relationships, especially with people outside of class D. It might seem like nothing, but it allows another helping hand in a time of need. Hasebe has been helping you out, right?" I tried to nudge her in the right direction.

Realization slowly came to Sakura as she nodded rapidly, "Hasebe-chan has been great to me, but it seems like I'm always getting taken care of by her."

We're getting somewhere here. "Then help her in her time of need. Hasebe isn't invincible, you know. One day, you'll be able to be there for her." Appealing to Sakura's internal kindness can help her reexamine her priorities. Is being a good friend going to be more important to her than her insecurities? That's the question here.

Regardless, if this does become the catalyst for Sakura to begin improving on herself for the better, then I have to thank Hasebe's existence, just not personally as she might take that in the wrong way.

"I-I," she stuttered, her confidence wavering. I needed to reaffirm her.

"I can help you where you need it, but being a good friend to Hasebe is all on you."

Her eyes sharpened at those words before she looked up at me and said, "I don't know if I'm worth it, but I'll try my best, just-" Her face melted into nervousness again as she whispered, "Please don't do anything to 'Shizuku'."

She was always worried about her other persona. She created this bright and cheery character, a reflection of what she wants to be and yet, it's a part of her that in relation to her real self, is her being vulnerable. It has to be embarrassing to have other people look at your body, especially when you have low self esteem.

"Like I said, I don't care about 'Shizuku'. I care about Class D, so you don't have to worry about that."

At those words, finally, she smiled. "Thank goodness. That's… a little nice to hear." She was still nervous. Several layers of her past still haunt her, but at least she's not trying to leave the school at the drop of a hat anymore.

"Sakura-chi! Hikigaya! I'm here! Let's get to work!" Hasebe said, knocking on the door.

That broke the two of us out of that awkward mood in the aftermath of the motivational conversation.

I was the first to get to the door and let Hasebe in.

Hasebe took one look at the two of us before a smirk came onto her face. "Excuse me for interrupting you two!"

"You're not interrupting anything!/There's nothing to interrupt." We said in unison.

(-)

"...and then after dividing both sides by the number next to the variable, you simplify the other side to get the x. That's how you solve equations."

After only an hour of teaching these two girls, they already looked like they were about to give up on life. It was almost funny to look at. Sakura's head was buried into her arms as if she was already asleep, while Hasebe collapsed on my bed, panting heavily like she just ran a marathon. She better not be leaving any trail of drool on my sheets, though…

"Come on, Hikigaya, can't we take a break? My mind's about to explode from all of this solving and simplying, whatever you call it…"

That's what you get for being playful with me, woman. As they say, don't dish what you can't take.

"I'm hungry."

Sakura lifted her head slightly, letting me see those pleading eyes of hers that were too cute for anyone to agree. My older brother instincts are making me waver and seeing her puppy eyes are reminding me of my own little sister.

I definitely spoil her too much, but boy do I miss her…

"You know what? You're absolutely right. We should take a little break." I relented, not wanting to go full Kilgore on them on the first day.

At the mention of a break from studying, both Hasebe and Sakura immediately perked up and sat up in their seats. Seriously, are they really this drained after only an hour of studying? Maybe I can understand it a little because it's MATH of all subjects, but I sure hope they don't act like this when it's time for our next subjects.

Well, I guess I could use a break as well. Being a teacher isn't my forte by any means, and I'm certainly not nearly smart enough to recite textbook information while being helpful in interpreting said knowledge.

Still, teaching is hard. Why was I chosen as a tutor again? Oh, that's right. It's because Hasebe used her wily charms to get me to help her and Sakura out. I didn't accept this tutoring gig because of that, though. I just want to help Sakura avoid her tragic fate.

"Here's what we'll do. We'll take a break for about an hour, then we'll hit the books again. Feel free to do whatever during the break, but if the two of you aren't here to study, I might take that as a sign to stop the tutoring altogether… or maybe not.

It looks like that warning did nothing to deter Hasebe. "Deal! Come on, Sakura-chi! Let's go get something to eat!

"W-Wait, I wasn't—"

Heh. Sakura couldn't even get a word out before Hasebe dragged her out of my room.

As they left, I heaved a deep sigh. My admiration for Hiratsuka-sensei just grew even more. She may be old, but she can damn well teach her class. That or maybe I should learn how to suplex people.

I left my room as well, hitting up the nearest vending machine to buy some MAX coffee, which happened to be located right outside the dorm building. Pretty convenient for me as I wouldn't have to walk across campus just to buy a can of my favorite drink.

After buying myself two cans, I was ready to return to my dorm room, when I noticed that a certain neighbor of mine looked like she was heading home.

Strange. Wasn't Horikita supposed to be at the library? I know she was asked by Hirata to tutor a bunch of people in our class. Although the answer she gave was, "I'll think about it", I thought she would go and teach our classmates regardless.

Did she bail out on them or something?

I couldn't help but sigh at the thought.

Looks like I'll have to go and find out. I hate you mysterious force that brought me here, you're making me have to proactively approach Horikita.

Fortunately for me, she wasn't in a hurry so I was able to catch up to her before she could enter the building.

"Oi. Weren't you supposed to be tutoring our classmates? If I recall correctly, Hirata was going to ask you."

She turned to me with the coldest glare she had given me yet, to the point that I had to take a step back. It was honestly on par with the coldest of Yukinoshita glares she has given me and it made me wonder if someone had pissed her off before this, which wasn't hard given how she usually was.

Fortunately, I am used to receiving looks like this so it didn't affect me for long. Too bad Horikita. You need to work on refining that skill of yours.

Horikita folded her arms. "And whoever said that I'm supposed to follow what Hirata-kun said? I have no obligation to tutor our classmates, Hikigaya."

"But if they fail, they'll get expelled." I argued calmly. It's mind-boggling to see up-close that Horikita was like this in the beginning, compared to how she was by the ending. And to be honest, I think she's worse here than in the original story… No amount of good looks can salvage that.

"So? Is it my business if a few of our classmates are expelled? If they are, then it only means one thing." She narrowed her eyes on me. "They do not belong in this school."

I had to hide my disappointment behind my usual expression.

This is even worse than what happened in the original story. In the novel, Horikita at least tried to tutor Sudou and a few others before giving up on them because they kept on messing up. Here, she doesn't even want to help them and has no intention of doing so.

I couldn't fully blame her though. If I hadn't known the situation, I would have left them all out to fend for themselves, so I could only imagine how much contempt she was harboring in regards to our mutual idiots.

But I do know what happens if those idiots don't study at least, so I have to try to convince her at least.

"You make it sound like you deserve to be in this school and our classmates don't."

"I won't brag about my accomplishments, but I will say this. Most of the students in our class are incompetent. Chabashira-sensei said it best. They are nothing more than defects. Even in the hypothetical scenario that I do agree to teach our classmates, I won't bother with them. They are not worth my time." She began before she narrowed her eyes with a serious look.

She wasn't done yet, continuing with fervor. "Tell me this, what right do they have to take away my time? They chose their actions and now they are reaping the consequences. They never had the intention to do good and guess what? Even if they do try, do you think they did it for the class? Everyone is out for their own interests and this is me being out for my own."

I had to set her right. "You were put in Class D, with the rest of us. Did you not ever think about why that is? No matter what it is you think you excel at, you're lacking somewhere, otherwise you'd be up there with Class A." With a sigh, I continued, "I'm aware of our classmates' weaknesses, but you have your own. What would you do if a situation came up where you were lacking? What would you do if you needed help one day, but the people that could help you said that you were a liability and to fend for yourself?"

"I do not need any help, Hachiman, and I will not change my mind. You should give up." Horikita's voice became dangerously low as her eyes held a chilling aura as well as using my first name as a warning to drop the subject.

I'm surprised she even knew my first name, unfortunately, I couldn't just drop it here.

"So that's it? You're willing to let our classmates get expelled because you don't think they're worth your time? Don't you care about making it to Class A?"

If appealing to her morality won't sway her, perhaps explaining how she's working against her own goal will. I can't let on what I know, but I need to give her something to think about.

"And how does 'tutoring our classmates' relate to that?" She asked in a mocking tone, as if it was absurd to believe there was any correlation.

"You act so high and mighty, placing yourself above so many people and yet, you haven't even thought of the possible consequences, have you? You're still thinking this is just like any other school where you can get straight A's without even needing to know the names of your other classmates, but remind me, how exactly did we beat Class C again?" I asked. Horikita is smart, but this school isn't something you can survive on your own in.

Continuing, I answered, "Oh, that's right. We were judged as a class and we ended up having more points than them. The school records our absences and other offenses, and those things directly affect the points we receive. If one of us was expelled, don't you think that it would affect our points as well?"

Horikita didn't speak for a bit, giving some thought over what I said. I could see the gears turning in her head as she gave my words some credence.

"Looks like you're finally starting to understand." I began. "Look, I understand. I get it. A lot of our classmates don't take studying seriously and they'd keep on screwing around if they could get away with it, but what matters more to you? Are you willing to risk ruining your chances at Class A right now? Right when we already have a good head start by miraculously beating Class C?"

She seemed to relent a bit, but she didn't want to admit she was wrong. She still had her pride and she'd probably rather die than admit I was right.

"I'll think about it, at least. I need to be alone right now." It was a dismissive and neutral answer, but that didn't bother me. It seemed like she would be willing to play along so I held up one of the cans of Max Coffee that I was going to drink.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a disgusted look.

"Peace offering. I wasn't trying to be mean or anything." I answered with as much sincerity in my voice as I could muster.

"You can't be serious right now. Do you think that I'd be so weak as to be bothered by what you said? I advise you to stop with that line of thinking if that's what you think of me."

"Take it as you will, I am still offering you a free drink." I said, presenting the can as if I was a salesman.

"I don't need your stupid coffee, Hikigaya. Leave me alone so I can go back to my room and think about this in peace." She harrumphed in a condescending tone.

"Fine. I was just trying to be nice." If she doesn't want it, then it's still mine. At least I showed her that I wasn't trying to be antagonistic.

After sending me one last glare, Horikita turned on her heel and walked away. I waited a minute before following her, since we're neighbors and we live on the same floor. I could have walked beside her, but I think she wouldn't like that. In fact, I'll probably avoid talking to her unless she talks to me first to avoid trouble. Why fix what ain't broke?

I hope my words reach her. In the original story, thanks to her efforts in teaching our classmates, only one of them failed but that was resolved in the end. There's no telling what would happen if she doesn't help out, but it's obvious that it'll lead to something bad.

That reminds me, though. What should I do regarding that answer key from that upperclassman which was supposed to be bought by Ayanokouji?

It was thanks to that thing that a lot of Class D students managed to pass the exams in the novel, because studying alone wasn't enough. It was bought by Ayanokouji, who then gave it to Kushida so she could tell the whole class about it and ended up becoming even more popular with everyone.

I wonder if I should do the same.

(-)

And so I did. The upperclassmen in Class D were surprised that I was worrying about Midterms only a few weeks in, but since the Mock Exam had already come and gone, the Midterms were going to be here before we knew it.

Also, this was the perfect opportunity.

"Woah, is this really our Midterms? How'd you get them?" Kei Karuizawa held up the papers I brought with a look of awe.

I felt proud, but watching as she looked over the answers like she was Zoro trying to find her way anywhere reminded me that she was mostly looks and fake confidence. I needed to work on that at some point.

"Not important," I answered her, not feeling the need to go into unnecessary details. "These aren't our Midterms by the way. They're last years, but since the content is mostly the same…"

"They're a good sign of what's going to be on the real thing, I gotcha," She replied, looking pleased with herself at the swiftness of grasping my plan. "So what should I say when I get asked where I got these?"

I was proud too in a way. Perhaps I judged her too harshly.

"Evade the question or lie and say you asked an upperclassman nicely. Either way works," I replied, shrugging her off.

"Hmm, works for me I guess," She shrugged in return, shaking off any nervousness she was holding. It truly was easy to not have to care about something. "I'm sure this'll get me a few favors from some of our classmates. Good job!"

"It's my job," I said uselessly, considering how quickly she ran towards the classroom. Come to think of it, I really need a more private location to meet Karuizawa. Hallways are only so empty in the mornings and I am not a morning person at all.

It was only after classes when Karuizawa put my plan into action.

"Hey, everyone! I think I have something that everyone would appreciate," Karuizawa announced, bright and cheery. She handed a stack to the front of the rows, saying, "Make sure to take one and pass it back!"

Hirata seemed to catch on first. "Is this the Midterm test?"

"No," Karuizawa answered while making an X sign with her arms, getting confused looks before she clarified, "It's last year's."

That gained a reaction out of the class. It took a while for some but looking over the material even the idiots were able to get what she was trying to have them understand.

"Wow, that's great! Midterms will be a breeze now!"

"Maybe I'll be able to make a decent score now."

"Thank you, Karuizawa! You're an angel!"

As embarrassed as Karuizawa was from all the praise, an expected quandary came up, namely Kushida.

"This is helpful and all, but where did you get last year's Midterm?" Kushida asked. From where I was sitting, I could see Kushida was trying to act calm, but she could tell that this gesture was enough to put Karuizawa ahead of her in the classroom hierarchy.

Thankfully, we had already prepared for this answer. "I asked a 2nd year for it. It took some bargaining, but I think it was really worth it!"

"You spent your own points to get this out? Maybe I was wrong about you, Karuizawa-chan," Ike said, being one of the students to really need a boost to his grades.

"Oh? What was it that you were wrong about me?" My blonde popularity gatherer asked in a sweet tone, getting Ike to fidget in his seat under her all too angelic smile.

"Thanks so much, you're a lifesaver, Kei-chan!" Shinohara affirmed.

Yukimura on the other hand seemed a bit annoyed at how the idiots of our fine class were reacting, but he seemed to recover, reasoning that we kind of needed everyone to try and step up in grades.

Ayanokoji, our wayward protagonist, didn't say anything to the class, but he did stare at Karuizawa blankly. He probably knows that Karuizawa wasn't so crafty as to think to get last year's test.

His eyes turned to me for a moment as I did my best to play coy. Did he suspect something?

Maybe do your job, protagonist, so I don't have to steal your plans then!

Horikita took a look at the test, but didn't offer any comments as well. Her frown was larger than usual today, likely because this ploy reminds her of her turning down the tutoring. She knows that with this, there's a greater chance for everyone to pass, her tutoring not being the sole factor keeping our bottom scorers from succeeding. Of course, her involvement would still help if she so chose, but it doesn't seem like that's in the cards anymore.

"Well, in that case," Hirata said, "Let's redouble our efforts in studying with this and move forward," earning a cheer out of class sans the usual stoic classmates. Koenji just walked out of the room, ignoring everything going on, not even taking the test paper. Horikita soon followed, leaving the classroom. Our protagonist just stared, acting as a bystander.

"Hikigaya-kun?" I heard someone ask, that person being Kushida, "Would you like to study with me?"

"Huh?" Huh? What's her play here?

"I figure, there are few people here that'll need some help going over the midterm that Karuizawa provided. You seem like a smart guy, so I think you'd be a real big help!" There was a pause right there when she mentioned Karuizawa. It was faint, but there.

It looks as if she's trying to take the initiative on organizing the tutoring to gain everyone's trust. Smart, but I think Karuizawa can take the reins on that quickly. Now how to refuse…

"I'm sorry, but I'm already tutoring a few of our classmates. I'm unable to help you. All my time is used up," I said, giving a little nod of politeness.

Kushida, keeping her mask up, didn't click her tongue, against my predictions, but did vocally communicate her disappointment. "That's a shame. Do you think that you and your tutorees couldn't join a bigger group?"

"I and my fellow classmates are a little too shy to do something of that nature. I appreciate the offer though," I said, keeping my tone even. Lying was a skill, one that I struggle to do correctly sometimes.

Our conversation was soon overshadowed by the louder people in the class, namely, Matsushita. "Really, Kei-chan? That's totally cool! A study group is a great idea! What do you think, Hirata-kun?"

Hirata scratched the back of his head. "It's a great plan. I wonder who will be invited though."

"Everyone who wants to show! Class D has to rally together for this, right?" Karuizawa did her best to invigorate our fellow students, thankfully, sticking to the plan." These words brightened up Hirata's face, prompting him to invite everyone else.

"Good luck with that then," I said, before I was hit with a strange sensation.

I've never really been the type to believe in empaths or star readings or negative energy and such, but if I did, I'd say what I felt from Kushida was unnerving.

She had a smile still, but the frustration was evident. For an egotist, something not going her way and not going FREQUENTLY for a month or so was starting to get to her and now her mask was starting to show cracks.

It wasn't evident seeing how the surrounding students didn't seem to react, but being in front of it reminded me that while I am doing a great job of hampering her progress, her dark side was not something to make light of and the only thing preventing me from suffering was that we were in a public space.

"Aha? What a nice coincidence!" Kushida said, walking off to join in on the group studying. As quickly as it came, the psychotic side of the freaking sociopath disappeared as she tried to squeeze herself into another conversation.

My eyes glanced towards Hasebe and Sakura. They shivered as if they knew it was almost time to study again. It appears another session is in order.

(-)

After another day of classes ended, I was completely ready to end my day with some much needed shut eye. There wouldn't be any tutoring for Sakura and Hasebe today as yesterday's time was well spent going through all the important sections with last year's midterm papers. Also, I'm very tired. The latter reason is definitely not the main reason no matter what you say!

So now, I have nothing else to do for the rest of the day.

It's times like these that I wish I still had Vita-chan so I can do something mindless, away from all the internal school politics. Although there's a lot of filler time with a lot of sections being for studying and general school work, it always feels as if I have to always be on my guard.

Anyway, that's why I need something like Vita-chan. I just need a little something to lull me over until the actual plot happens. Even I can get tired of having to set up everything happening, you know! Sure it gives me something to do, but alas, I'm still attending school. Hopefully, I can find something to entertain me at the mall.

I probably won't buy anything just yet. I'm just going to check what they're selling here. If there's something cheap, I'll give it some thought. If everything is expensive, then I'll just forget about it. I'm not like that idiot Yamauchi who wasted almost all of his points buying a console!

And so, with a clear goal in mind, I started to head to the mall. This isn't something that I do often, and it's even rarer for me to actually go to the mall without the intention of buying food

I would have gone there right away… if not for the fast-approaching woman that's about to hit me with likely the full force of a charging bull.

"LOOK OUT!"

Bracing for impact, I stood my ground and prepared to face the incoming danger but it wasn't enough. Ichinose Honami, the leader of Class B, collided with me while holding a stack of papers, resulting in those flying in the air as the two of us fell to the ground.

"Urgg…" I groaned in pain as I tried to lift myself off the ground immediately. Getting tackled by a girl out of nowhere definitely isn't how I envisioned my afternoon to go, but I guess it isn't the worse I've experienced.

"I'm sorry, Hikigaya-kun! I-I didn't mean to bump into you!" the girl who was on top of me cried out loud before she quickly scrambled back to her feet.

Bump? You call that a bump? If that's what a bump means to you, Ichinose, then I'm afraid to know what your definition of a 'tackle' is.

Well, at least I didn't get smothered by Ichinose's Ichinoses if you know what I mean. That would have been really awkward and embarrassing not just for her, but for me as well.

Because let's face it, the designs of the characters of this story, especially the women, are very alluring. No wonder a lot of young men love reading this series. Seriously, great character designs and I have no problem admitting it.

After she got off me, Ichinose was quick to offer me her hand. I immediately took it and pulled myself back up.

"It's fine, Ichinose. Though, I have to wonder if there's any reason why you were running 10 miles an hour through the hallway," I said, nursing the back of my head that hit the floor.

"I'm sorry about that! It's just that I'm in a hurry, Hikigaya-kun. Being part of a club requires more effort than I thought."

After stating her apology, she then knelt down and began gathering the papers she had dropped beforehand. With how many papers scattered around us, it'd take a while for her to get all of them. Since I have nothing to do and I'm not in a hurry, I knelt down as well to pick up some of the sheets for her.

"Thank you for helping, Hikigaya-kun. I'm really sorry for-"

"Save it. It was an accident. By the way, you never did tell me if you got accepted into the student council. I would assume you did with how busy you look to be." I'm actually surprised that she would get accepted, especially as a 1st year. It was also completely different from the original timeline. As far as I know, it's Nagumo who accepted her into the student council and not Brokita.

"Oh, unfortunately, I was rejected."

"Wait, seriously?" I asked. Well, like I said, I expected for her to not make the cut just yet and looks like I was right about that, but what did she mean by 'being part of a club', then?

"Yeah, Horikita-senpai turned me down when he held the meeting. He said I wasn't ready or something."

"You're taking rejection well. Normally, people would not be feeling all too great after getting their hopes dashed."

"Hey, I wonder if that makes me stronger than the normal person," She shrugged while giving a playful laugh. "Of course, I'm just looking on the bright side. Getting rejected just means that I have a lot to work on about myself. And besides, I still got something out of the meeting!"

"Which is?" Perhaps what she meant earlier by a club?

"I asked Horikita-senpai about the requirements of forming a club of your own. There weren't actually that many, so I thought, 'If I can't join the student council, then I could make my own!'. It turns out all I needed to do was fill out an application for those who wish to form a club. He then gave me three months to find at least two more members so my club can be recognized as an official one."

I wasn't actually listening to anything she said after her first statement. It was all I could think about right now, because it was something that I didn't expect.

"Wait, wait. You're forming a club of your own?" I asked in disbelief, being caught off guard.

"Yep! That's what these posters are for! I'm trying to find people who'd volunteer to join!"

My mind was blanking on how to react. This did not happen anywhere in canon. What changed her? "Why would you do that?"

"Well, I thought about what you asked me at the club fair," She answered. Crap, it's my fault! Your greatest enemy really is yourself! "I thought about it and you're right. I don't have to be a part of the student council to help other people."

"I'm really so—" My mind quickly backtracked to what she just said and as a result, I only became more confused. How could my words cause her to do something as drastic as making a club of her own? "What does that have to do with creating a club?"

"Your words inspired me, I guess?" she laughed again. "I don't know how to explain it, really, but… what you said made me think about my decision to join the student council. I think it was actually the wrong way to do things."

"That wasn't my intention." I kept my voice steady, trying not to show how I felt about the progression of things.

"I know, but it still made me realize something! Being part of the student council isn't just about helping other students. It's not just about doing my best for everyone. It's about managing the welfare of the school as a whole. All the students and teachers, included. I appreciate Nagumo-senpai vouching for me, but I think Horikita-senpai was right about me not being ready for such a responsibility. There are many students who have been here longer to properly understand the school and the students within so they'll be more suited for the positions."

I don't think that's the reason, honestly. Brokita most likely rejected her for two reasons. The first being to protect her from Nagumo, and the second is that Ichinose has a naive way of thinking, which is a trait that Brokita would hate above everything else.

I'm still taken aback that Ichinose would opt to create a club herself, though. Her canon self in the original story never did such a thing. On top of that, she has to manage her class too. Can she even handle both of those at the same time? Maybe I can try and dissuade her…

"Oh, this gives me an idea!" She paused for a moment before looking up at me with earnest eyes. "Hikigaya-kun, would you like to be the first member of the GIVE Club? Other than me, of course!"

"'GIVE Club'?" I asked, perplexed. Oh. Oh no. She already made an acronym?! I'm already too late! "I'm… I'm assuming that's an acronym of sorts that you came up with."

"That's right! It stands for Generous, Intellectual, Virtuous, and Earnest. That's what its members will strive to be!" She beamed as she explained with the energy of an entrepreneur really excited about the product they were selling.

"So what is this club about, if you don't mind me asking? It sounds like a place that's only for students who are academically superior, unless that's not the answer." I held back my sigh and decided to just see what I can make from this.

"Does it? Well, it's not really like that, Hikigaya-kun. You told me that I could help other people without being part of the student council, right?" she asked me, and I nodded. "Well, that's what my club will be about. It'll be about helping other students with their problems. In the GIVE club, we'll be GENEROUS to help anyone. We're INTELLECTUAL enough to give them the answers that they want. We'll be VIRTUOUS to only come up with answers that will be for the good of everyone. And we'll be EARNEST in our intention to help others!"

I looked at one of the posters in my hand, and it had the name of her club in it, along with its meaning and a message encouraging others to join. If haIf this had been explained by any other character of the series I'd have called them cheesy or sappy or asked them how the ending of Fairy Tail was for them.

"So this 'GIVE Club', is it like a service club of some sort?" My voice was rather strained. There was no possible way, was it? There's no way I had somehow inspired her to follow in HER footsteps.

"What's a service club?" She blinked, giving me a curious look.

Oh no, I played myself, but I guess I have to now explain it.

"Uh, it's just something that my old school had. The club is all about accepting requests from students and the members work together in order to resolve those. The club doesn't fix the problem, though. They only guide students on how to resolve it themselves." I gave an honest answer despite not liking where things were going. I'd really rather not have things deviate SO far off its course so I can have SOME levels of being able to guess what'll happen.

"That's an interesting club, Hikigaya-kun. I wish I could have been a part of it!" She somehow looked even more excited. "But, back to your question. I suppose you can say that the GIVE Club is similar… in fact, the name is probably the only difference between the two."

A club that's dedicated to helping people… led by someone who has pretty much the same voice as one of my clubmates back home… formed out of a desire to help other people. What have I done? Though she was wrong though as there was another difference.

Looking Ichinose up and down as she wore a brilliant smile with eyes full of hope and innocence, I could rightfully say that there was a stark difference in leadership. I don't even think the corner of Yukino's lips had ever gone that high.

Crap. I may have been staring for too long. I need to say something to her.

I coughed, "That's a really solid plan for a club, Ichinose. I wasn't expecting you to make one, but you went ahead and blew my expectations out of the water. You even have a name ready for it and what it's all about."

"It wouldn't have happened if you didn't ask me that question at the club fair." Goddammit, stop smiling at me already, woman! That smile is too powerful and the fact you keep on saying it's because of me will just send out the wrong signal! "So, can I have your answer? Will you join?"

It was taking every part of me to stop myself from accepting the offer. What are you doing with yourself, Hachiman? You've gotten soft! Wanting to be a part of a club… For shame!

"I'll have to think about it. Don't take it as me saying no, I'm just too busy with the upcoming midterms to do anything else." I gave a reasonable answer, hoping she'd buy it for now.

"Oh, right. I suppose that's understandable. I'll wait for you to give a definite answer, then. Until next time!" With those words, Ichinose gave me an understanding smile before she skipped past me, most likely on her way to post more flyers around the school.

Even though my bias towards her as a character can affect my reasoning in front of her sometimes, I don't think I'll be joining the GIVE club for a variety of reasons.

Joining a club with the uber-popular Class B icon, Ichinose Honami, will not only be a pain to deal with the blowback, but will also be a pain actually participating in the club activities itself, so I'd rather have to deal with one of those evils, instead of both.

Joining the club will also be a signal to everyone in the school that I'm friends or somewhat affiliated with Ichinose, something that won't bode well for either of us. Although I understand that she won't care about that in all likelihood, there are forces at play that could use that information to its highest efficiency, namely a certain protagonist and crippled loli.

In one way or another, I've resigned myself to help out in GIVE's operations, that much is clear. I have a few ideas of how I can use this to my advantage, but this turning point is making one thing very clear, these 'characters' are real beings now who are not going to go according to the whims of canon anymore and this change was completely my fault. I'm worried about what butterfly effects can result from this, but my presence alone has already thrown things out of balance unfortunately.

Anyway, I can tell that aside from plot, a lot more things are going to be sprouting up as problems for me to tackle, especially if GIVE turns out to be as successful as Ichinose's popularity entails. For now, I'll check in with my classmates to get this Midterm plot taken care of.

Aside from the other reasons I already brought up, there's one reason that supersedes the others.

Regardless of the world I'm in, I'm still a member of the Service Club.

(-)

After a productive round of studying, I unexpectedly got an invitation to have a meal with Hasebe and Sakura. Since we'd just be having drinks in my room, I saw no reason to refuse. I made sure to make Hasebe get the drinks though!

And so it was only Sakura and myself in my room. One might think this would create an awkward setting between her and I, but you fools! I've already asserted myself as not only their tutor, but a harsh one. After hours of studying, I have specifically set up the relationship to be purely professional and therefore no such awkwardness should exist…

As if.

"Um, t-there's not much time left until the Midterm. How do you think it'll go for our class?" Sakura asked, having less trouble with her words than before, an improvement. At least the atmosphere isn't as awkward as our first meeting. That was embarrassing.

"Hirata and the others have everything under control. With last year's test papers even the biggest idiot can get an A with proper studying."

Sakura winced at that comment, probably taking it to heart. "I didn't mean you. I meant those knuckleheads, Yamauchi and Ike. You, you've made good progress," I clarified, turning away with the last comment.

"T-that's good then," she said, mustering up a weak smile before reaching for her study notes.

"Rest would help more than further study. We've spent 2-3 hours already cramming a lot of information for the test. You need to relax," I said, getting comfortable in my seat. Hasebe sure is slow. What's keeping her?

At that thought, of course Hasebe had to prove me wrong by strolling in. "Sorry to keep you waiting! Here you go Sakura-chi!"

"Thank you very much."

"What about my drink?"

"I got it, I got it. Why is it that you're the only one who likes this drink?" She dared to ask.

"You may as well ask why everyone else has no taste. As the only one with proper working taste buds, I can assure you I'm the sane one here."

"Sometimes I doubt that," Hasebe sweatdropped. Hey, I'll make sure you know the consequences of crossing me while we're in this relationship, you know!

"Come to think of it, Hasebe, there's some more revisions you need to do. You keep forgetting proper word structure for English."

"You can't do that! That's playing dirty!"

Sakura spoke up. "He's just kidding. H-Hikigaya-kun just told me that rest is just as important as studying."

Wait, you weren't supposed to tell her that! "Why'd you have to go and tell her that!" I exclaimed at the betrayal.

Hasebe brought Sakura up into a hug sticking her tongue out at me, saying, "At least I have someone here on my side. Sakura-chi will keep you honest!"

At those words, Sakura broke out into giggles, prompting Hasebe to join her in laughter.

I sighed as a wry grin made its way to my face in spite of the tag team working against me. "You women sure do stick together, huh?" I asked rhetorically.

Moments like these make me forget the stakes, or at least the stakes I've prepared for. I may not have a system or any indication, but I have faith that creating a new ending will bring me back to my own friends and family.

But if that happens, will I miss what I've already created here?

(-)

Strange how things are changing around me right now, but for the better. It really feels great to see how much of an impact you have on those around you and for the better.

While I still miss home and the many people in my life, I can only really hope that reaching the ending here will somehow just send me back.

Besides…

I looked over to see Sakura peeking at me, our eyes meeting temporarily, but right when I thought she'd panic and look away, she gave me a shy smile and waved before seemingly panicking and looking away.

I was so proud of her.

Over by where all the riajuus were was Hirata doing classic boring and energy siphoning conversations that have no meaning to them whatsoever yet they have the enthusiasm of min wage salarymen at the bar after crunch time.

Sigh, I miss my dad.

Hirata was amongst that group, but he was able to spot me, giving me a friendly wave, to which I returned in a respectful way.

I believe he deserved one with how much he has to deal with. You poor sucker.

Sudou was napping, but that didn't bother me since he'd likely wake up for Chabashira. He'd been doing an alright job at studying, so I could give him a few minutes to recuperate.

There were many more people who I seemed to have gotten on good terms with, but at the same time, I can see a few people were looking at me with disdain.

Normally I wouldn't care about either, but it appears that stockholm syndrome, the exposure effect and just remembering that I liked some of these people as characters had me being somewhat conscious of what they think about me.

Not too much though. I'm still me.

So as I sat next to the robotically engineered child of perfection, talking to him about what he had been doing (watching movies, not my first guess), I realized that I was a bit too comfortable.

Strange. I woke up well enough today, but I wasn't completely comfortable right now because like an actual robot, this one can easily decide I was useless and eradicate me, but that wasn't the issue.

"Alright, class starts now, everyone get ready for attendance!" Chabashira announced, causing everyone to immediately rush to their seats and quiet down.

Chabashira's eyes gazed over the room, narrowing in my direction again before she began to take attendance.

It wasn't until she reached me that a shiver went down my spine.

"Horikita?" She called out.

There was a heavy atmosphere in the room all of a sudden as everyone realized that the normally stoic and cold girl was not present.

Such a thing was not something we would have ever expected, especially now that we all know about how points work.

"Such a shame. I thought you'd all have learned your lesson by now, but it's not my problem." Sae Chabashira gave a look of disapproval before she continued with the rest of the class.

For the next half of class my mind was sprinting like Yoshihide Kiryu as I tried to make sense of this extreme anomaly.

What happened?

This has never happened in any situation, even in the light novels!

Has there been a balance shift? Did boosting up the other members of the class somehow nerf Horikita as a way for the universe to automatically balance out this Class?

Or did something else happen? Has Class D moved a lot faster due to the sudden shift in placements?

Maybe not even Class D, but perhaps…

An image of a small white haired girl with a cane flashed in my mind.

No, there's no reason for her to…

What was going on? Why would Horikita be late unless something were to have happened?

"I apologize for my tardiness… I had an accident and had to go to the infirmary…" the door to the classroom opened and Horikita walked in.

Chabashira gave her a hard stare, her eyes focusing on a specific part of her face, before she nodded, not saying another word. Even our tough teacher didn't have the heart to reprimand her.

Horikita walked past everyone, giving them a chance to see what Chabashira had seen and they all had varying reactions as each footstep echoed hauntingly across the walls of the classroom.

The normally proud and confident Horikita took her usual seat beside me quietly without even so much as a glance.

I didn't need to take a second glance at her.

Her head was down and she was trying not to give an easy angle to see it, but it was already too late.

There was a rather large bruise on her cheek and she had been walking rather awkwardly and I can see that she was putting more pressure on her left leg to compensate for her right, too much damage in specific areas for a simple fall to have caused.

My throat dried up with an uncomfortable itch sneaked up on me , discomfort swelled at realizing the state of affairs.

One questioned flashed across my mind and no doubt the rest of the class:

What happened?

Alt Story: The Real Hikigaya Hachiman Reaction

The moment I witnessed the argument between Koenji and the middle aged woman I immediately knew where I was and I immediately knew what I wasn't going to do.

Be here.

Dream or not, I knew myself well enough to avoid that school because I'd be dropped as fodder the very moment a chance was given. As if I could somehow make friends and make it to the end. That is just delaying a failure and if I was going to be dreaming, I might as well try to see if I can go to another world where I could at least get powers.

Screw it all, I'm out of here!

I passed some familiar faces as I walked to the front of the bus. A red-eyed girl with long black hair turned her nose up at me while a girl with short beige colored-hair gave me a seemingly sweet smile.

Yeah, screw it. No way am I dealing with all of this.

"I'd like to get off now, I believe my stop is right around here." I answered politely, not wanting any confrontation.

The bus driver gave me a strange look and looking down I realized I was in uniform.

"Skipping school, huh. Not a good look for your first day," The bus driver scolded, opening the doors to let me off.

"I don't think I want a 'good look' if it's from that school," I retorted, earning a shocked expression. Oh right, in this world, you can get guaranteed a high paying job if you graduate, allegedly. I must look like a delinquent especially with my eyes, but I resent such an idea. Who's to say I couldn't get one without attending?

As I exited the bus, I quickly realized my mistake once I was told of my alleged reputation.

(-)

I couldn't believe it.

This wasn't a dream at all. I figured it out the moment I got hungry and realized I had no way to pay for anything.

I had nothing on me and I soon found out something even worse when I immediately tried to apply for a job to sustain myself, I was shown that I existed in this world.

"Siscon?! Teacher fetish?! Specifically 28 years old and 5'2?!" I read aloud on accident when the interviewer showed me.

I couldn't believe it! This world went out of its way to make sure I did not have an easy time! I wish I had tried my chances with that bloody school!

As the female interviewer gave me a dirty look, I couldn't help but try my luck anyways.

"So do I get the job?"

(-)

I sighed as I laid back in my 1 bedroom apartment, leaning into the futon I was able to afford in front of my ancient computer that I was able to somehow splurge for with my christmas bonus.

It had been 4 years since I had come to this world and I can safely say that I really didn't care much about my life anymore.

It was hard to commit to anything knowing that I was forcefully taken against my own will from my friends and family right when I was finally beginning to be happy.

I couldn't maintain any positive relationship with anyone with how cheated I felt. What was the point if whatever cosmic force could decide for me to just be somewhere else?

While I was fully within my rights to hate whatever it was that forcefully took me from my home, I couldn't blame anyone but myself for what I did.

I was put in a situation with literal knowledge of the future to a story and I decided to go against that due to my own emotions and fear.

Now I'm working at a pitifully low wage that would make even a devil working part time cringe, but with the record I had, I was unable to try and negotiate for anything more. I was only thankful that my boss wasn't cruel. I was just a work monkey to him, so he barely even knew me to make my life hard for no reason.

I sighed, the feelings of self pity and anger mixing constantly within myself.

I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss my beloved Chiba.

I always prided myself in not requiring to interact with people, but that changed now that I truly felt alone in a world that seemed similar to mine, but wasn't.

It only hammered home how much I messed up when out of curiosity I checked up on characters I knew from ANHS every once in a while.

Rumors of an ex-student being thrown out of the frying pan into the fire that is the idol industry and crashing and burning at the entry. Other rumors of students being broken not by the school work, but by the competitive, underhanded dealings.

The school, being a prominent entity in society, always had news circulating around it. A few pictures of the students could be pieced together over the years and what it showed was terrifying.

What once could be a hopeful set of students became hardened people of society that could be spit out at any time. A few students I recognized to be kind souls turned into withdrawn nobodies in society, outcasts.

And what was left was our robotic protagonist standing on the shoulders of the fallen students.

From there I could only watch in horror as things began to not make sense at all in terms of the timeline that was laid out in the original story.

I wanted to smack myself. I had been seated right between the main character and one of the main heroines, removing a rather crucial interaction, albeit small.

It seemed the butterfly effect rippled strongly here to spite me because a lot more characters got expelled than what was originally intended, but with no way to properly contact any of them without seeming like a creep with how I was a complete stranger to them, I had no idea on understanding what had happened.

I could only imagine the main character getting trigger happy somewhere along the line, but come on! That's not even fair! I was BARELY there!

So there I was with my cynicism, unable to get a job, unable to make any meaningful relationships, unable to go home and of course…

Unable to forgive myself for not even trying…