Chapter 6

Subtle Movements

"Ishiki..."

"Yes, senpai?"

"What are we doing?"

"Silly senpai, we're watching over the football team's practice!"

"Yeah, I get that but...why?" In retrospective, he should have probably asked this way before they got here, but in his hurry to leave the clubroom, Ishiki's random request of needing assistance just sounded like the perfect excuse.

He had expected some sort of work related to her position as the Student Council's President.

He had not expected to be watching the school's football team practice while on the sideline, away enough so they wouldn't see him or Ishiki.

But he still had no idea why they were doing it in the first place.

"Well, Hayama-senpai isn't here today, so someone has to make sure everyone behaves, right?" Her tone was as cheerful as ever, and while he hardly saw the logic in her statement, especially since he was pretty sure the club had its own manager to watch over them, he still only rolled his eyes at her words.

He was also sure they wouldn't just go apeshit because of Hayama's absence.

Then again, considering Miura's current behavior, maybe he was overestimating his peers.

"It's always Hayama with you still, huh?" He whispered under his breath, honestly wondering if hat fixation of hers was actually going to last until they graduated or not.

It seemed he didn't speak low enough though, given how Ishiki's attention turned from the team playing to him.

And for some reason, that smile of hers felt...awfully threatening, if he was being honest.

"Senpai was getting really cozy with Yukino-senpai today, weren't you?" Her tone was still upbeat as ever, but something told him she wasn't exactly thrilled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Ishiki." Of course, he refuted her words immediately, even though he knew she wasn't that far off the mark, given Yukinoshita's actions.

"Hmmm, is that so...?" Ishiki didn't sound convinced, but he could always just parrot the excuse Yukinoshita had used with Yuigahama if push came to shove.

He saw her eyes turning to the side for just a second, her smile dipping for just a moment before her gaze met his once more.

And he was about to follow her eyes, but a sudden wave of her hand stopped him before he could do it.

"Come here, senpai. I want to tell you a secret." She whispered, the movement of her hand telling him she wanted him to bend a bit so she could whisper something into his ear.

Not getting the point of it since they were far enough to the side that no one would hear them, he ended up just shrugging before moving his head down, wondering just what she wanted to tell him that she had to be so secretive in the first place.

"Ugk!"

Only to immediately regret his decision, as the next thing he did was to jump back, a hand glued to his ear and a mix of a grunt and yelp leaving his lips, just as he gave Ishiki the most weirded-out look he could muster.

The reason?

She had just bitten on his earlobe.

Well, it was more like a nibble to be honest, but he was too busy being freaked out to be caring about semantics.

"What the fuck, Ishiki?" He hissed out in bewilderment, although it seemed he was the only weirded out here, given that Ishiki still had that smile of hers on her face.

"That's your punishment, senpai!" She spoke as if it was the most mundane thing in the world, although her words only made his glare grow in heat. What the hell was she talking about?

As used as he was when it came to Ishiki's mannerisms, even this one caught him off guard. Had the new school year just robbed her out of the last bits of shame she had before?

At the very least, no one had seen her little...whatever the hell that had been.

"Now c'mon, I actually do need your help with carrying some stuff!" And then, almost as if she hadn't just attacked her ear a second later, she grabbed him by the arm, pulling him to the point she was almost hugging his arm.

And while he knew Ishiki could be like this, it still didn't stop the tired breath that left his lips.

Perhaps, he should have just stayed in the clubroom.

"Hikigaya!"

"Kawasaki?" He mumbled out in confusion, not expecting to see her still at Sobu at this hour, specially standing by the main gate still.

"You sure took your time." She said as she walked closer to him, an expression of annoyance present on her face. "I almost thought you had already left or something."

"You were waiting for me?" At the very least, that's what he got from what she said.

"Yeah..." She started, just as a hand of her seemed to be trying to smooth over her already pretty smooth-looking hair. "Today's my free day, and Taishi is picking up Keika, so I thought we could like...you know, walk back to our homes together or something..."

He blinked confusedly at her, his brain taking an extra second to process on her offer. It was an unexpected one, to say the least, especially with how busy he thought Kawasaki usually was after class.

Thinking it for a few seconds longer, he couldn't think of any actual valid reason to turn her down, especially since she had still bothered to make lunch for him today.

Sure, he was more than a bit tired given his day, but at the very least, Kawasaki wasn't as overbearing as some other people he knew were being lately.

"Sure..." In the end, he simply agreed. They had to do that math assignment together too at one point anyway, so there really wasn't a reason for him to turn her down.

And while he had expected a positive response, he still found his cheeks heating just a bit at the way her face light up with his answer.

"Hmm?" The sound of his phone buzzing took him out of his attempt at taking a nap. It seemed that even in the comfort of his room, he still wasn't afforded a moment of respite.

And considering how things had been going as of late, he was already dreading the source of the sound.

Fortunately, it wasn't a text what he received, but rather a notification, from a certain website that he knew quite well.

It was the one that he used from time to time to read reviews about whatever light novel caught his attention at the time.

He sometimes even left his own if he was on the mood, albeit that one being a rarely occurrence.

In fact, the last time he had done so he had left quite the negative review.

Funnily enough, the notification he just got had to do with that very same novel. Apparently, he had been selected, by the author no less, to get a sneak peek at the next volume of the novel before it was published.

If he was honest, he didn't even know the site had this sort of feature, even if it was a pretty popular and well-known site for this sort of things. He could only assume that, rather than the actual author, it was some sort of agent related to them that was sending this kind of invites to people that had left reviews on the first volume.

But even so, considering the sheer amount of people that had read the thing, which still baffled him, and the rather negative review he himself had left, surely, they could have found someone better to send this, right?

After all, even if it was a free thing that a lot of people would probably accept without question given the popularity of the novel, there was only one thing he could do in response.

"No, thank you." He selected the reject option without doubt. After all, he hadn't liked the first volume even one bit, so why would he subject himself to more of it?

At the very least, now he could go back to stare at the ceiling in silence. He needed to think about a lot of stuff, and the less distractions the better.

"The hell?" Or at least, that would have been the case, if a sudden shriek, loud enough to pierce the walls of him room, didn't almost make him jump from his bed.

Said shriek was followed by a strong thud sound coming straight from the left wall, almost as if someone had slammed something on the room beside his.

And considering who the owner of said room was, it didn't take him long to be moving out of his room, his knuckles knocking at Komachi's door as a worried expression settled on his face.

"Komachi, you're ok there?" He asked out loud, feeling more than a bit tempted to just open the door to make sure his sister was all right.

He didn't get the chance, however, given that the door was suddenly pried open by an obviously not happy Komachi.

And by 'not happy', he specifically meant that she was glaring up at him as if his very own existence had somehow insulted her personally.

"Idiot! Nincompoop! Hachiman!" Each of her words were growled out, her face beat read in obvious anger.

Anger aimed at him it seemed, for reasons far beyond his understanding.

"What did I tell you about using my name as an insult-" He was not able to finish out his complaint though, given that Komachi slammed her door shut right on his face with enough force to rattle the entire house.

In the end, he was left more than a little perplexed, and any attempt at knocking at the door to get Komachi to talk to him only ended in complete silence from her part.

A defeated sight ended up leaving his lips, the feeling that he had made things somehow worse not helping one bit with his mood.

"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun."

Had he been hallucinating yesterday? Because he was pretty sure he had a conversation with her that should have stopped this from happening today.

And yet, the moment he had opened the door to his house, the first thing that had greeted him was the visage of Yukinoshita simply standing there, obviously waiting for him.

This had not been in his plans.

"Yukinoshita." He started, his tone a mix of shock and frustration. "What are you doing here? I thought we talked about this already."

"We did indeed." She replied, either not noticing his mood or she did but decided to just ignore it anyway. "And as such, we'll be walking together to school from this day forth."

That...how was that the conclusion she got?!

"I said I would support you." She continued, apparently picking up on his obvious confusion. "And sometimes I find my own endurance to be a bit...lacking, so this way we can both not only start a healthy routine, but also spend more time t-together."

Honestly, a part of him was truly impressed she was able to say all of that with such a straight face given the slight blush that was adorning her cheeks.

It seemed his plan had backfired spectacularly however. After all, at the very least when it was on a limo, it could be interpreted as inoffensive enough.

But walking together to school? That was a completely different matter altogether.

One that he found himself unprepared to handle, and as such, he couldn't really think of a way to avoid it.

Maybe, if he had fixed his bike already, he could have used that as an excuse...

But knowing Yukinoshita, she might just try to make them ride the damn thing together, as illegal as that was.

Now, a part of him wanted to be firm and simply deny her plan, but how exactly was he even supposed to stop her from walking with him? What was he supposed to do, to run?

Because Yukinoshita was even more stubborn than he was, so nothing outside of straight up ditching her would work, he could see that in her eyes.

"People will talk." He said through gritted teeth, hoping she would understand where he was coming from.

"Let them." She replied back immediately, seemingly not caring a bit. "I don't care, and I know you care even less, Hikigaya-kun. I have no shame in being seen with you."

"And Yuigahama?" He questioned then; his tone softer this time.

For a moment, he actually saw her falter, with her closing her eyes for a second before a slow breath left her lips.

"Yuigahama-san will have to get used to it sooner or later." But then, when she opened her eyes once more, he saw nothing but fire in them. "If she truly is our friend then, she will give us her blessing once you're ready to tell her."

He didn't want Yuigahama's blessing, and he most certainly wasn't going to tell her a single thing about this.

Because he was going to deal with this, not only for his own sake, but for Yukinoshita's too.

Even if she hadn't realized it yet.

He was apparently a blackmailer now.

Specifically, he was blackmailing Yukinoshita with...something, the masses still couldn't decide on what exactly, but he had definitely found some dirt on her or her family.

At the very least, that seemed to be the consensus that he got from Sobu's rumor mill.

They still couldn't decide what his real name was though, which was both relieving and sad at the same time, since it meant most people didn't even know who he actually was.

That meant not only he didn't have to deal with people pestering him, but that, with any luck, none of it would splash down to Komachi.

Then again, he doubted anyone here that didn't know them personally would even come to the conclusion they were siblings, same family name or not.

That didn't mean that the people that actually knew him didn't react, however.

Well, rather than people, it was only one person.

But it wasn't Kawasaki, who seemingly just didn't pay attention to Sobu's rumor mill, which was something he wholeheartedly agreed with. He kind of expected for her to ask him about it during lunch time, yet those questions never came.

It wasn't even Yuigahama, who just...smiled at him when they walked together towards the clubroom. No interrogation, no weird expressions, nothing. Just an upbeat smile, the one he was used to seeing on her face.

Whether she just didn't know or didn't care, he wasn't sure, but that hadn't stop him from being grateful. Who would have thought that, of everyone he knew, it would be Yuigahama who kept a semblance of normality during the strangest week of his life?

But then, who?

Well...

"Are you really just going to glare at me the entire time we're here?" He wondered out loud, his tired gaze going from the book in front of him to the obviously pissed off blonde that was sitting on the opposite side of the table.

Her response? She glared at him even more.

At the very least, she hadn't yelled so far. Perks of picking the library as a place for them to start up on their group project.

"Just tell me what you were doing walking to school with miss perfect and I'll stop." Miura hissed at him hotly, in an attempt at bargaining that he knew was a lie.

"She's my clubmate." He said with a shrug, honestly not even getting why she was even upset in the first place just because he spent some time with Yukinoshita. "We just met on our way here in the morning."

Technically not a lie, and it wasn't like he owed Miura an explanation in the first place.

Even if the look she gave him was trying to tell him otherwise.

"That's a lie." This time, her words came out more like a growl than anything else. "She always comes in that limo of hers, the showoff, so spill it already, would you? Which, by the way, you were also using the last few days, weren't you, Hikio? Explain what's happening between you two, now!"

Her barrage of questions was only met with a glare of his own, more than a bit of annoyance bubbling up inside of him at her attempt at demanding answers from him. Truly, who did she think she was?

"There's nothing between Yukinoshita and I." Now that was a straight up lie, but it was the only thing he was willing to offer to her. "And even if there was, it would have nothing to do with you, Miura."

"Of course it would!" It seemed his words had broken whatever patience was left on her, given the way she suddenly rose from her seat, both of her hands slamming on the table. "If it involves you then I should know too, just like before!"

Was she being serious right now? Surely, she didn't really think he would start sharing stuff with her just because they just so happened to play around together almost a decade ago, right?

Surely, Miura was crazy as all hells, but she wasn't that delusional, right?

Given the look he was receiving, it seemed she actually was.

And that much didn't sit right with him at all, to say the least.

Perhaps it was the frustration that had formed inside of him after the week he had, or perhaps he just didn't want to deal with this now when they should be working, but he just was not in the mood to deal with Miura bitching at him for no valid reason.

"My life is none of your business, Miura!" Now it was him who was hissing in a cold tone. "Doesn't matter how much you think it does, because it doesn't and that's not going to change."

Sure, he knew his words could be considered rude or even insensitive, but still, he did not expect the honest to god expression of hurt that marred Miura's face as soon as finished talking.

It was almost as if someone had slapped her, given the way she recoiled and how eyes grew wide, right before her gaze fell low, her body going back to her chair in an almost robotic manner.

To say the silence that followed suit was tense was putting it lightly.

It didn't help that he didn't really know what else to say at the moment, and Miura now looked more than content with just staying quiet and looking down at the floor.

"I'll...go buy a drink." Perhaps a bit of time for themselves was needed, right? At the very least, that's the argument he came up with as he swiftly moved to leave.

The fact Miura made no sounds as he did was not as soothing as he thought it would be.

"Hey, you're Hikigaya, right?" A sudden voice called out to him, making him move his attention from the vending machine in front of him, to the owner of said voice, who was walking towards him at a leisure pace.

It was a guy, but he didn't recognize him, which didn't surprise him that much. What was surprising was that the guy knew who he was apparently, since he didn't remember ever interacting with him.

"Yes?" He confirmed in confusion and more than a bit of apprehension. After all, the guy wasn't exactly sporting the friendliest face out there.

Of all times to be right though, it had to be this one, didn't it? After all, as soon as he confirmed his identity, the guy slammed one of his hands against the vending machine now behind him, his size making it so that he was pretty much trapped.

"Good, I just came here to leave a little warning." The guy that was most definitely threatening him continued with a grunt, but the whole situation was so out of left field that he was barely able to muster a surprised expression.

Which was seemingly a mistake, given that the next thing he knew, the guy had his hands on the neck of his uniform, right before he was pushed against the vending machine with enough force to make him grunt.

Was this really happening? Was he going to get beat up on school ground, just like that?

For all his years as an unpopular guy, things had never gone as far as an actual physical violence. The closest thing had been with Hayama last year, and even then, he doubted that Hayama actually had the guts to throw a punch.

This guy though... he looked more than ready for it.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you better stay away from Yukinoshita-san, you hear me?" The guy growled to his face. "She doesn't need a freak-eyed loser like you around her, so you better back off, or else...!"

So not even one day and he was going to get beat up just because he came to school with Yukinoshita? Was this guy insane?

Wasn't Sobu supposed to be a pretty high tier school? How the hell did they let a guy like this enter in the first place? Was he that sure of himself that he wasn't afraid of expulsion? Because he was pretty sure that would be the punishment if he reported this.

The fact that they were alone in the empty hall wasn't helping though, although if he was to give credit to the angry, violent man in front of him, he had probably only decided to do this because there was no one near this place.

Or at the very least, that's what he thought.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Turns out, they were both wrong.

For as soon as that shriek reached them, the guy that had looked more than ready to beat him up immediately released him, with the guy's expression going from pissed off to...afraid?

Yes, that was definitely fear alright...

And the reason?

Miura Yumiko was marching straight towards them, and she looked about ready to kill anyone on her sight.

Fortunately, it wasn't him that she seemed to be upset at, but rather the now nervous-looking bully that had decided to raise his hands in an apparent attempt at calming the obviously enraged blonde.

"M-Miura-san." The idiot spoke with a slight quiver, which was quite the sight given how taller he was compare to the approaching Miura. "I was just teaching this creep his place, you understand that, right-"

Then, the guy staggered backwards, a shellshocked expression on his face, one that was mirrored by his own surprised reaction.

And even as much as he already...disliked this random little shit that had tried to threaten him, he still found himself wincing a bit.

After all, that slap Miura had sent straight to his face had not been a joke judging by how it looked and sounded.

"You try that crap again with one of my friends and you're dead!" Her harsh words were followed by het thrusting one of her fingers at the guy's chest, seemingly making him give a step back each time she did so. "I swear by the time I'm done with you you'll have to transfer to another school just to save face!"

And while her words sounded more like an empty threat that anything else to him, they still somehow made the guy grow even paler, right before he decided that this was his lost and scampered out of there, not even bothering to look at him as he did so.

That was a surreal experience, to say the least.

"You're ok, Hikio?!" But said experience wasn't over there, given that as soon as the guy was out of their sight, Miura was upon him, her hand on his arm and any trace of anger she had before now being completely missing.

In fact, the only thing he could see in her eyes was honest to god concern and worry, aimed solely at him.

Even her voice was dripping with nothing but sheer distress, and even though he had been seconds away of getting punched, this was still the most shocking thing he found himself experiencing in the last ten minutes or so.

It was just weird to be on the receiving end of this kind of Miura, one that he had been pretty sure she reserved only for her little group of friends...

Then again, she did just say that she considered him one too, didn't she?

"I'm fine..." Sure, he was still a bit shaken up, and surprised as all hells, but it was hardly anything to be fretting over too much.

"You sure?" That didn't stop Miura from getting more than a bit handsy though, almost as if she was looking for wounds. "We can go to the infirmary, and my dad's a doctor so I can call him too and-"

"I'm fine Miura, really." He interrupted just as he grabbed her hands to stop her from trying to play doctor in the middle of the school. "You got here before he could do anything besides talking big."

"That's good..." The relief on her voice as she whispered that could not be mistaken for anything else, and once more, the idea of Miura Yumiko honestly caring for his well-being was throwing him out of a loop.

But as strange as it was, he still kind of owed her, didn't he?

He might not like her, but that didn't mean he was just going to ignore what she had just done, and even said.

"H-Hikio..." But before he could say anything, it was Miura who spoke, albeit in a shaky tone that had him even more confused than before, especially since her cheeks now seemed to be flushed pink. "Your hands..."

Oh right, he was still holding her hands, wasn't he?

"Sorry." He immediately let go, his own face heating up just a bit but still more than what he would have liked.

"It's fine." She replied without missing a beat, just as she brought her hands to her chest. "It didn't bother me."

That...he decided to not think of what she just said that much, for the sake of his heart.

The silence that followed suit was definitely different from the one before, but it was also no less awkward. He also wasn't used to a silent Miura, to say the least.

"Thank you." But still, the words of gratitude left his lips a few moments later. It was the very least he could do, his personal feelings towards her notwithstanding.

"Hikio used to protect me all the time when someone picked on me." But Miura responses back with a smile on her lips. "Guess It's my turn now to take care of you!"

He could only roll his eyes at the smirk she sent his way. Normally he would have rebuked her trying to bring up a past he didn't even remember, but given what had just happened, he decided to simply throw her a bone and say nothing.

"I'll handle it, so don't worry." She then continued with a huff as she crossed her arms over her chest. "That bit-Yukinoshita's little fan club are a bunch of idiots but I know how to handle them, so leave it to me."

There was a lot to unpack in just that sentence alone, for just knowing that Yukinoshita seemingly had a fan club of all things was making him question mankind. He knew she was popular but...really?

But there was something else he needed to confirm first.

"What are you going to do?" He questioned with a narrowed gaze. He knew Miura was queen bee of the school but, he didn't know what to make of what she was implying.

"Teaching some idiots their place." She answered with a smirk and a haughty tone, one that simply had him sighing once more. He would rather Miura do nothing if he was honest. Worst case he would just bring it up to a teacher if they kept trying to pester him just because he dared to spend time with Yukinoshita outside of club activities.

"Let's just go back, we still need to work on the project." He finished with a resigned tone as he adjusted the collar of his uniform, since he would rather not continue this conversation in the middle of a hallway.

At least, there was no argument from Miura as they both started walking back, side by side, although another silence, slightly less awkward this time, did follow through.

"Just so you know..." But it was Miura who broke said silence once more, although her eyes remained glued to the front even as he gave her a side glance. "He was wrong, about what he said."

"You'll have to be more specific than that..."

"About your eyes..." She clarified, making him raise an eyebrow in question. "They aren't freaky looking or anything like that."

That was, just like everything that had happened today, unexpected, to say the least. He knew most people found his eyes off-putting, even Yukinoshita would throw jabs at him because of them, so he didn't expect to hear something like that from Miura-

"I think they're hot."

Oh.

Admittedly, losing his footing the moment she uttered those words, followed by a slight coughing fit, was not the best of responses.

But seriously, what the hell was he supposed to answer to that?!

The moment he entered his home, it was as if an entire weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

It was Friday, after all, which meant that glorious weekend was upon him.

Which meant he would finally have some breathing room to just...figure out stuff.

And right now, some time for himself just for that was exactly what he needed.

There was also another advantage to this though.

He would be able to see his parents.

For as much as slaves to society that they were, they still had the weekend off, which meant he could finally confront them.

He wanted to talk to his mother about the contract himself. She had supposedly read the thing, yet she had given him no details. It was time he changed that, right? Talking to her during the week was hard, but if he approached her on her day off...

And then there was his dad, who had seemingly not interest in the entire ordeal since he sure had not approached him about it, but maybe if he could get him on his side, his mom, who was by far the more strict of the two, would see reason and actually not throw him, his only son, to the figurative wolves.

There was also Komachi of course, and now he could use this time to try and make amends.

For what, he didn't know, but at this point he was going with the attitude of asking for forgiveness first, questioning the why later.

But all of that could wait for tomorrow, for now he just wanted to sleep soundly on his bed and not have to worry about anything related to Sobu for a couple of days.

And that meant tomorrow couldn't be worse than every other day of this week, right?

"What do you mean mom and dad left the country?!"

Chapter done, and with that Hachiman's first week it is too. If I had to put a name to it, all of this would the "Introduction" arc, and it will be so until the climax of it where most plots will have already been revealed by then.

Hint for said climax: Birthday.

Thank you all for having read this far, your support has been great! I apologize for any errors you probably found on your way here, and if anyone is willing to beta read this thing so it comes up less of a mess, feel free to PM!

Next Chapter: The Kids are (not) Allright

Plots so far:

1) Yukinoshita Yukino: "Because of my grandfather, my high-class Club President suddenly became my fiancée."

2) Miura Yumiko: "I discovered the most popular girl in the school is my old childhood friend and now she won't leave me alone!"

3) Kawasaki Saki: "My mundane high school days are being threatened by the Yakuza Princess' constant flirting!"