03: These Two Are Most Definitely Not Friends Yet.


It took her fifteen minutes to write everything down on the green board with a white chalk, out of which she spent five minutes searching for an empty classroom and upon being unable to find one, Komi-san had to make do with the chemistry lab. Also, it took her less than forty seconds to convince Tadano-san to come with her.

Tadano Hitohito occupied the seat next to her in class and on the very first day of high school, he had somehow discovered her big secret, that she was bad at communicating with others. Now even though Tadano-san seemed like an ordinary fifteen year old, with normal looks and average height and weight, he had mentioned while introducing himself to the rest of his classmates, that his special skill was reading the atmosphere. And given how he figured out so quickly that she suffered from a communication disorder, Komi-san had no problem believing that there was some truth to his statement, even though he had later tried to pass it off as a joke.

Komi-san liked to believe that Tadano-san was her friend. But she was unsure about whether he considered her a friend as well. On their first day of high school, the two of them had shared a sweet moment, where they had chatted for more than half an hour, talking about everything and anything under the sun, sharing their hopes and dreams and what they want from their high school life.

Of course, by chatting, Komi-san meant that she had written things down on the blackboard. Initially, she was the one doing all the writing. Tadano-san just stood there awkwardly and gave a reply or two when it seemed appropriate or the silence became unbearable. As she gave up and wrote one last thing, telling him to forget everything he just witnessed, and started to leave with the word 'goodbye' etched on the blackboard, she heard the sound of chalk scratching against the blackboard and when she turned around, Tadano-san greeted her with a nervous smile and something quite mundane, completely normal written on the blackboard. And so, they became friends who talked about the weather. But the very next day, when Komi-san was unable to even wish him a normal 'good morning', Tadano-san greeted her by saying, 'Good morning, neighbour!'

Not 'Good morning, friend!'

Not 'Good morning, Komi-san!'

'Good morning, neighbour!'

And so, Komi-san didn't know what to think of Tadano-san anymore. For an entire day she had believed, that she had made a friend and so she was a little bit closer to her dream of making 100 friends. Only 99 friends to go. But after what Tadano-san said the next day, it was clear that he only saw her as his neighbour, the person who sat next to him in class. At first, Komi-san felt sad. But she decided to cheer herself up. She had to remain optimistic. Being considered a 'neighbour' was good as well. At least, it was better than nothing. Plus, Tadano-san behaved like a friend. Why else would he follow her to an empty chemistry lab and wait patiently, while she wrote everything down meticulously on the green board, instead of explaining everything to him through words spoken out loud, like a normal person.

At last, Komi-san wrote down one final thing on the green board. 'What should I do, Tadano-san?'

Whenever Komi-san called him 'Tadano-san', the teenage boy felt really happy. But he shook his head to drive away these useless thoughts. They were not helpful at all. And they were discussing something very serious. It was of the most utmost importance. Tadano had a lot of things to consider. Komi-san had come to him seeking advice. It was his duty to help her. But first, he wanted to ask her something, a small detail. However, he couldn't help but wonder, if by asking her this question, he would unknowingly be stepping out of line and crossing into uncharted territory. After all, Komi-san was a girl. But, he really wanted to know. So, after a minute or two of careful deliberation, he just came out and asked, really bit down on the bullet.

"Um, Komi-san," he scratched his cheek, unable to meet her eyes and turned his head to the side. This was so awkward. "Have you ever been to a boy's house?"

A squeak came out of Komi-san's mouth and she lowered her head, her bangs began to cover her eyes and for a moment, Tadano thought he should kill himself, because he had definitely misread the situation and spoken out of turn. He should have been more tactful and come at it from a different angle. Not good. Komi-san was turning red. Was she angry? Was she breathing? What if he accidentally killed the school Madonna? He would have to commit suicide. No, don't be stupid, Tadano told himself, my classmates will kill me first.

If Tadano had been paying closer attention, he would have been able to discern that Komi-san was not angry, she was embarrassed. But he was wracked with guilt, always second guessing himself and thinking about a myriad of different ways to properly apologize to Komi-san, who he had no doubt offended in the most unseemly manner. It was only when he heard the scratch of chalk, did Tadano look at the green board and found a word etched on it.

'Yes.'

"Eh?" Tadano blinked. "Huh!?" He looked at Komi-san, as if seeing her in a completely new light. "You have been to a boy's house?!" Okay. He didn't mean for his voice to come out so loud. It was an honest mistake. But it was quite a natural response. And can you really blame him? He was totally shocked.

So, Komi-san has been to a boy's house. Well, it's perfectly normal. Why wouldn't she go to a boy's house? She's popular and they were high schoolers. In fact, he was the one being weird, turning this into some big deal. He had to be cool – no, scratch that – he had to be normal. In other words, he had to be himself.

"Um, when was this?"

Dammit. Why did he ask? Really, it was none of his goddamn business. Wait, was she writing something down? Oh no! There was the scratch of chalk. Komi-san was definitely writing something down, and soon he would have a response, an answer to a question he really shouldn't have asked in the first place.

Really, Tadano Hitohito, you are the absolute worst.

And also a coward to boot, because he thought about stopping her from writing about it, but he also considered it was a bit too much to actually touch her, as that would be tantamount to the highest form a blasphemy – he would be burnt to death – and so, he did the next best thing, which was to cover his eyes with his hand.

But he couldn't help but be a little curious, and so he just had to peek from between his fingers when the scratching of chalk stopped.

'2012.'

Tadano stared at the number written on the green board for a short while. Then he looked a bit closer, making sure it was really '2012' and not '20:12'. No, it was definitely not a time, but an actual year. Well, you can never be too careful. He did ask when. It could have been either one. He just had to make sure. And then he did the mental math – The current year was 2023. Komi-san was 15 years old. According to her, she had been to a boy's house in the year 2012. That means she would have been, around 4 years old. Okay, he had no idea why he did the math. Now he couldn't help but picture a little, 4 years old Komi-san. No, back then she would have been 'Komi-chan'. And instead of 'Tadano-san', she would have called him – he gulped – 'Tadano-tan'.

"So cute!" Tadano blurted out without thinking, lost in his world of fantasy and imagination, surrounded by cute, little, baby Komi-chan's, who went around calling him, 'Tadano-tan!', 'Tadano-tan!' for all eternity. He couldn't help but let out a small, happy sigh. This must be what heaven feels like, he thought.

Of course, it didn't last for long and he was soon brought to reality. There was an ominous scratch of chalk and this time when Tadano opened his eyes he was greeted by a terrifying sight.

'Please, don't laugh.'

The sentence was underlined and if he had to guess, Komi-san didn't look too pleased. In fact, she almost looked to be threatening him. Tadano was timid by nature. It didn't take a lot to scare him. But in his heart, he also felt a bit happy. Komi-san was definitely making some level of progress, because just now she was able to communicate her unhappiness, just by her terrifying aura. Of course, she still had to use the chalk and green board, but Tadano didn't really need the visual aid. Just a look from her eyes was enough. Yup, she was definitely making progress. Or so he thought. He was most definitely wrong.

But Tadano had a more important matter to deal with and there was no time to waste. Based on the information that Komi-san had shared with him on the green board in this chemistry lab, it was apparent that their guidance counselor, Hiratsuka-sensei had tricked Komi-san into taking a task, which she was most definitely not comfortable doing, but since they were up against a teacher, it was not like they really had a choice, and whether she liked it or not, Komi-san had to do it.

Delivering the class printouts to a fellow classmate who hasn't been to school for a while. It was such a simple task. Completely normal. Almost anyone could do it. Almost anyone, except Komi-san. Tadano couldn't help but wonder, was Komi-san singled out on purpose? No, no way. A teacher at such a prestigious academy wouldn't bully a student in this cruel manner. Or would she? No, he was definitely misreading the situation. Besides, according to Komi-san, Hiratsuka-sensei did mention something about taking along a friend with her, if she felt too uncomfortable going alone, all by her lonesome.

Wait a minute –

That's it!

"Komi-san!" Tadano pointed at himself. "Do you want me to go with you?"

After a pregnant pause, there was the slow scratch of chalk.

'I don't want to trouble you, Tadano-san.'

Ah, that's probably her way of being nice, Tadano thought. But he took it as a rejection nonetheless. When he really thought about it, she did have a fair point and he completely understood where she was coming from. Komi-san was a teenage girl, and it wasn't enough that she was being forced to visit a boy's house, a classmate she had never met before, but now Tadano was piling onto her misery by foolishly asking her whether he could tag along with her in this difficult quest. Really, he was being a total moron. Dealing with one boy was bad enough, but having to put up with two boys, that's a complete nightmare. And it should never be forgotten that all boys are wolves, especially teenagers with raging hormones.

Wait, now he was worried about her wellbeing. What if this Hikigaya guy did something to her? Gasp! What if he turned out to be a real sicko, a creepy pervert?

No, he won't let that happen. Tadano had to protect Komi-san at all cost. Therefore, he decided to take matters into his own hand.

"Komi-san!" Tadano began passionately.

Komi-san stared at him, her eyes becoming big and huge, and she possessed all the candor of a cat who was about to be taken out on a trip to go see the veterinary doctor.

"I won't let you go alone." Tadano continued in the same passionate tone.

But just when things were about to get interesting, Tadano Hitohito remembered something important.

"…Please ask Yuigahama-san to go with you." He finished lamely.

That's right.

How could he ever forget.

Because you see, Tadano Hitohito was a coward.

But, he wasn't the only one.

Komi Shouko just nodded her head.

If she was really being honest with herself, she would have very much preferred, if it was Tadano-san who went along with her to go visit Hikigaya-san. But she was being genuine when she wrote that she didn't want to trouble him. After all, he had done so much for her already. She couldn't ask him to undertake this task as well. It was after school hours. He might have plans. He might have friends. Because lest we forget, these two were not friends yet. They were just two people who sat next to each other in class. Or so they thought. Ah, how nice. Don't we all love these little misunderstandings between teenagers in a romcom? Yes, we do.


A/N: When I started writing this chapter, I wanted Komi-san and Tadano to have a small chat and then the two of them would go around talking with people like Aizawa Tomo, Shikimori Miyako, Tohru Honda (Thank you 'a crashclown'!) and Yuigahama Yui and figure out who is the best person to go with Komi-san to visit Hikigaya.

But the more I wrote about Komi-san and Tadano, the more I wanted to keep on writing about them and I just kept on going. I hope I didn't bore you. I know this is Hikigaya's story, but this is just not his story alone. So, I guess you have to put up with the other characters too.

Let's see – What else? Okay, so I have decided to focus primarily on high school romance anime characters in this fic. But a few people have suggested female characters from harem anime. So here's the deal - You can pick only one female character from a harem anime. I'm sorry, I know that sounds unfair, but that's just how things are gonna be in this fic.

Let's see – What else? Right, Hikigaya's class is gonna have 40 students. So, I would be really grateful if you can suggest characters who you want to see in his class. And remember to suggest both male and female characters, otherwise, it won't be realistic.


Next Chapter: A Friend In Need