Yo! I hope you guys are doing well!
Sorry for the wait on this update. I had an exam to study for and I was also working on my other story at the same time, which made this update's time wait a little longer.
First of all. Wow! I am so happy to see all of the reviews from the last chapter! Thank you very much! I really appreciate it ! :)
And now regarding the reviews,
- First of all, I am sorry you had to go through bullying. Some people in our world just suck and there is not really much you can do to change them for good. But I am very happy that my story was therapeutic for you. It really warms my heart that you feel this way. Thanks a lot for that!
- Yukinoshita did appear in the OG version of this story. If you are asking about if she will be on this one too, then yes, she will show up later on.
- Sagami and her friend believed that they were quiet enough when they insulted 8Man but it ended up being backfiring on them. And you are right. The simps were just trying to be goody two shoes to get into their skirts lol
- As I mentioned earlier, Yukinoshita will appear in this fic later on. Same with Yui. Both of them will show up at around the same time, AKA Second Year
- (I apologize beforehand if there is any mistakes here) Gracias por escribirme una reseña tan motivadora. Realmente lo aprecio. Lo siento, estoy usando Google Translate aquí porque mi español no es lo suficientemente bueno para responder bien a tu reseña. Te diste cuenta de por qué elegí reescribir esta historia. Hice a Hachiman demasiado terco y de alguna manera atrofié su desarrollo como personaje (es decir, no querer admitir que tiene amigos y todo eso). Quería arreglar eso en esta versión y reducir la cantidad de personajes principales en comparación con la última versión. And once again, Mucho Gracias :)
I think I am done with my yapping. Without further ado, please read the 4th chapter of Remembering You
I do not own My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected. It is the property of Wataru Watari.
The events from the day before still felt weird to Hachiman as he rode his bike to the building of Sobu High School. Sagami had ended up becoming the scapegoat for the entire incident regarding the rumors she spread about him. This resulted in her getting suspended for 3 days and she'll receive further undecided punishment afterwards, according to Shizuka. Despite the acting performance from Yukko, it didn't save her from being scot-free from any consequences. She was released from Sobu High School Girls Basketball team as a result of her actions. She tried to reason with the advisor but it didn't matter. The two stooges that tried to hurt him were also suspended but for 2 days. One of them was kicked out of the Writing Club and the other from the Volleyball team. All of them were forced to 'apologize' to Hachiman but he knew that it wasn't genuine in the slightest, so he didn't even care.
As Hachiman locked his bicycle onto the rack, he thought about how Sagami had it the worst in terms of punishment. She was the one who started this whole thing and ironically, she would have it the hardest at the end. It's not because of the suspension, but because of Yukko's claims. Due to the lies Yukko sang at the office yesterday, Sagami is likely to lose all of her friendships that she built on superficial means and connections so far into her high school life. Hachiman couldn't help but internally snort at this whole thing. Although she was making fun of him in the gym class, it wasn't even her who had riled him up. It was her 'friend' at that time who managed to earn his ire. Sagami chose to meddle in things for her own benefit. Thinking she will get words of sympathy and whatnot from others by twisting the truth, which she probably thought would make her more popular, it instead ended up backfiring on her. Now she was most likely to lose all of her friends due to Yukko throwing her under the bus. The whole thing was truly ironic.
Chastising himself for having thoughts of things that had no use to him, Hachiman shook his head to clear it and walked forward into the school building. As expected, due to his arrival being earlier than usual, not many students were seen walking around the hallway. He took off his shoes and put them into his locker before switching into his other pair and making his way into the hallway. Hachiman enjoyed the atmosphere without the sounds of students chatting as he slowly walked through the hallway. Stopping before a specific room, Hachiman opened the door of the room and entered. Expectedly, he was the first one to make it. Walking around towards the back, Hachiman sat in his seat and laid his head onto his folded arms, getting some shut eye before classes started.
Hachiman kept his head on his folded arms for a few minutes until he looked up out of nowhere. The reason for his actions were because of the doors of the classroom opening a few minutes later, which was unusual. It wasn't until 15-20 minutes after his arrival when students would enter the class. Hachiman's eyes had a hint of curiosity and confusion as he saw the culprit. Yukko entered the room and began taking steps toward his direction. She looked disheveled and like a mess as of this moment. The dark circles under her puffy eyes indicated that she had been going through it. Once she was near his desk, she kept staring at him without a clear facial expression.
"Hikigaya…?" She spoke with a hoarse voice. The sound of his grunt was heard after she said his name.
"Y-You knew…what we were saying, when we whispered behind your back. I was the one who pointed out your painted nails to Minami-chan," Hachiman then realized what she was talking about. After dunking over her, he had told her to make sure her voice was quieter the next time she whispered.
"Yeah," Shortly replied the young man.
"Then why didn't you…bring it up yesterday? When we were questioned?" she asked with a tone of urgence in her voice.
"I don't really care about what happened anymore. I'm satisfied with the current outcome," Hachiman's answer was followed with a moment of silence before Yukko spoke once more.
"What do you want me to do?" Hachiman's look of confusion was enough for the girl to continue.
"You know what went on that day! If you had told Hiratsuka-sensei about this, there was no way I would've been able to put all the blame on Minami-chan and gotten away! I would be in more trouble too! What is your game here?!" demanded the girl as her voice slowly got louder.
"My game?" Hachiman asked with a raised eyebrow.
"There is no reason you wouldn't want to put me in more trouble without a catch, right!? So just tell me! What do you want me to do? Let's get over with this blackmail thing already!" Hachiman kept staring at Yukko after her outburst, which unnerved the girl due to how scary she found his eyes to be.
"Blackmail? I have better things to do than that. Now go scatter," Hachiman tried to shoo her off but she didn't budge from her spot.
"I just…need to know…" the girl stated in a quiet voice.
"Know what?" Despite shaking a little, the girl stared at Hachiman hatefully.
"You…you ruined Sagami-chan's high school life! You almost did it to me too! Now you are trying to mentally torture me. So tell me! What do you want?!" Hachiman's eyes narrowed in annoyance and displeasure at her constant insistence. And the fact that she still thought she herself was innocent. Sighing internally, he figured there was only one way to resolve this matter now.
"Listen, you should be grateful my silence saved you from further punishment. The only ones at fault for your current predicament are you and your 'friend'. If you can't even comprehend that much, then that's very unfortunate. Let's say I go to Hiratsuka-sensei today and tell her anything about you starting the whole thing, you will end up like Sagami next week. Maybe even worse off. No one would want to be friends with you anymore, a backbiting snake. You understand what I am saying?" Hachiman's words made the girl's eyes go wide in fear. Hachiman noticed this and spoke once more.
"Now forget about this entire conversation and go back to your seat. One more thing. Never talk to me again," Hachiman's tone and narrowed eyes were enough for Yukko to understand his words as she scurried off to her own seat. Hachiman hated doing this since it was hypocritical considering his earlier words. He had told the girl he has no interest in blackmail but essentially, he did just that right now. This made him hate himself even more due to his perceived hypocrisy. He also hated talking too much but it had to be done sometimes. Unfortunately, this morning was just one of those instances. Sighing, Hachiman folded his arms and went back to trying to sleep once more, trying to make his bad thoughts disappear.
It had been around a week since the incident with Sagami and Masato. Yukko, as she was told, kept her distance from Hachiman and continued on as she did before the incident. Due to her release from the Girl's Basketball team, some students, mostly girls, would give him nasty stares. Hachiman was affected in no way from such things and ignored it as usual. As expected, Sagami had become the 'villain' and lost all of her friends. She had returned to school recently after serving her suspension. The fact that she was all by herself during lunch time was all everyone needed to see. It was clear that her friends would never believe her denial in the allegations placed against her by someone she considered a close friend. The short-haired girl made eye-contact with the man she spread rumors about once throughout the whole time. She immediately turned her gaze away from him. Hachiman noted this and didn't know if she did that out of shame or guilt. Maybe she did it out of both, but he didn't care anymore.
As it was a Thursday, Hachiman was already inside the gym, putting up shots. He had a black pair of sweatpants and a plain and tight red shirt with his chain out, gifted to him by Makoto for his birthday. Hachiman was currently taking fadeaway shots after taking one dribble inside the three point line. After the shot missed, Hachiman grabbed his own rebound and ran back to behind the three point line to start over with a different play. He imagined a defender in front of him as he began his size up dribbles with between the legs moves. He suddenly leaned to his left with a dribble and followed it up with an extremely quick left to right crossover. Exploding towards the rim afterwards, Hachiman finished the play with a left-handed floater.
Before he could get the ball back, the sound of the gym's doors opening made its way to his ears. He moved his head to the direction of the noise to see a familiar face smiling at him. He hadn't seen this man ever since he beat him in a game weeks ago.
"Greetings, Hikitani-kun," Hayama said as he began walking towards the only other occupant inside the gym, who was standing in his current spot.
"It's you again," Hachiman replied dryly without even bothering to correct the pronunciation of his name.
Hayama began unbuttoning his school uniform shirt and revealed that he had a white shirt underneath. Hachiman raised his eyebrow and shrugged before dribbling back to the three point line, where he stopped and took a simple three point shot. Hayama jogged after the ball bounced off of the rim to get it. Meanwhile, Hachiman took off his chain and walked in the direction of where he placed his belongings before putting the chain on top of them. He then walked back to where Hayama was standing with the ball in his hands, inside the three point line. Hachiman stood in front of the other teen and eyed him curiously.
"You want me to get the ball first?" he questioned, to which Hayama nodded with a smile.
"Last time, it was my first possession. It only feels fair for you to get it first this time," explained the First Year student. Hachiman looked at his upcoming opponent for a couple of seconds with silence.
"Fine with me. Same rules as last time," he said plainly before he got ready to check the ball.
"One more thing. Can we play up to 10 points this time? And once again, please do not go easy on me," Hayama requested right before the ball was checked. Hachiman gave him a small nod before checking the ball.
Hayama hadn't gotten close to him like he did the last time but still stretched his hands out and lowered his body. Hachiman noted the better defensive stance but stood in his position without making a slight movement. The seconds felt like hours to the blonde male but he tried not to let it falter his effort. Hachiman then pulled up for a deep three point shot out of nowhere, which was too quick and unexpected for Hayama to contest. The defender turned and watched as the ball hit the square designed above the basket hard and fell in through the net. He turned around to face his adversary and noticed that even he was surprised at the fact that the ball went in.
The two exchanged no words as the black haired teen checked the ball once more. He took a couple of lazy dribbles before getting low and dribbling faster. HIs dribbles consisted of a right to left between the leg move and a crossover from left to right after it. He kept alternating between the two moves and made Hayama shuffle his feet on defense. Once Hachiman noticed on his right side that Hayama had leaned his left foot forward, he immediately began dribbling hard with his right hand and moving to the right, driving where his adversary had leaned his foot. Due to his awkward positioning, Hayama could do nothing as he watched Hachiman blow past him for an easy right-handed layup.
Hachiman brought the ball back with him and checked the ball once more, with Hayama tightly guarding him. Hachiman began dribbling and moved slightly backwards to give himself more space. His moves suddenly gained speed with a quick right to left between the leg dribble while leaning to his left and then an even quicker left to right crossover. Hayama got beat on defense again and Hachiman had an open lane on the right side once more. However, the blonde student covered the space pretty quickly and was able to contest the lay up Hachiman took with his right hand. His efforts were successful since he missed and Hayama was able to grab the rebound. Remembering his mistake last time, the popular First Year Student wasted no time getting himself behind the three point line with Hachiman following after him.
The blonde had no ability to properly do any fancy dribbling so he just decided to stick with dribbling the ball with his right hand. He then attempted to drive to the rim on his right side, putting his left shoulder against Hachiman's chest. Hachiman just put both of his hands up as Hayama suddenly stopped on the baseline of the right side and took an awkward shot over him. Remembering their last match up, Hachiman ran to the paint right after Hayama let the ball fly. Hayama had plans to get his own rebound instantly after shooting the ball but noticed it was too late as Hachiman seemed to know his plan and went after the ball before him.
The ball dropped to Hachiman's laid out hands after it hit the left side of the rim from Hayama's shot. Hachiman then slowly dribbled over to the left wing and behind the three point line. Seeing that the blonde had positioned himself right in the middle of between the basket and him, he had left him wide open for a three. Noting this, Hachiman surprised his opponent by not shooting and slowly dribbling up. Hayama got closer to him as he neared the rim. Before Hayama could get too close, Hachiman pulled a quick left to right spin move. As he spun around, he made sure to take two steps and laid the ball up with his left hand softly. Hayama stared at his opponent as he grabbed the ball and went behind the three point line, waiting for him.
As he walked up towards him, the blonde noticed the black-haired student's eyes going slightly wide for a split second while looking behind him and then they rolled up in annoyance. Hayama turned around to see what caused Hachiman to react in such a manner and decided to turn around. His vision was greeted with three people, two females and a male, right in front of the gym's doors, standing. The tallest one was the teen male standing all the way on the left with long brownish hair, which was clearly dyed and was held back with a black headband. The girl to his left and in the middle had shoulder-length brown hair and a pair of red-framed glasses. The girl all the way on the right had had her blonde hair in drills. Hachiman recognized none of them from his homeroom class, meaning they must be either older students or students from different classes.
They all had gobsmacked expressions on their faces as they kept staring at Hayama and Hachiman. Hayama looked back at Hachiman and offered him an apologetic smile. After that, he began walking towards the group that had entered the gym right under their noses, due to their high focus in their game. Hachiman watched as Hayama made his way to the newcomers and was able to hear their conversation.
"Hayato! So this is where you went off the other day too…" the blonde girl spoke as she looked at Hayama in concern.
"Hayato bro! Was it my imagination or did I just see you get cooked right now? …" the teen male asked with a tone of surprise in his voice. The girl with glasses next to him suddenly began giggling out of nowhere as a small stream of blood escaped her nose.
"Ufufu! You're making it very easy for me to come up with new material, Hayama-kun!" she mirthfully stated. An expression of dread appeared on the blonde's face at the girl's words.
"Please don't, Ebina-san…" he requested before looking at the blonde girl.
"Sorry, Yumiko-san. For hiding this," the blonde-haired girl, who was introduced to be Yumiko, looked away without a clear expression on her face. Hayama sighed at her response and then turned around to face the male.
"I thought you left right after practice, Tobe-kun?" questioned the blonde young man.
"Well…I was planning on leaving but I decided to get some homework done while I was here. After that, I ran into Yumiko-san and Hina-san, who told me that you got up and left out of nowhere. Then I joined them to look for you and here we are," explained Tobe, the teen with dyed and long hair.
All of their attention was taken away by the sound of a ball hitting the rim of the basket. They all looked at the black-haired teen jogging up to get his rebound. Once he grabbed it, he was about to go back but was stopped by the sounds of footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Hayama coming in his direction with his friends following behind him. The long-haired male, Tobe, squinted his eyes for a moment as he kept a stare on Hachiman until they finally went wide.
"Oh! I know him, Hayato! He just beat those bullying allegations the other day! His name is Hiki…Hiki…Hiki…" Hachiman gave him a tired look as Tobe couldn't figure out his name.
"Hikio!/Hikitani!" the blonde haired girl, Yumiko, and Tobe yelled out at once. Hachiman stared at the two as if they were the biggest nuisances in the world.
"Hikitani-kun, meet my friends! Yumiko Miura, Kakeru Tobe, and Hina Ebina!" Hayama smiled while pointing out each of his friends as he said their name.
"Oh my…are you and Hayama-kun having a secret affair? Does Hayama-kun prefer his boys with black nail polish?" asked Ebina with glee all over her face. Hachiman's reaction was a look of immense disgust, which was directed at Ebina. Hayama sighed out of embarrassment and looked back at Hachiman.
"Please excuse her…imaginations," Hayama chuckled.
"Oi! Say something! Or are you lacking the ability to speak as well!? Just like how you are lacking a pair of normal eyes?" Miura seemed to not view him in a favorable manner right from the start. She glared at him with such confidence that she believed he would crack under it, which Hachiman didn't care about whatsoever and blankly stared right back at her.
"Man…Hikitani being all quiet and unresponsive is making me a little uncomfortable, Hayato!" Tobe pointed out to his friend.
"Hayama…" The blonde looked up as Hachiman spoke for the first time during this entire conversation. The group of people looked at him and he didn't seem amused whatsoever.
"Yes?" Hayama smiled at him.
"Tell your friends to stop talking. They are making me lose brain cells," Hachiman voiced with exasperation. Miura's look of displeasure intensified while Tobe had an expression of a kicked puppy. Ebina only giggled at his response.
"Please don't be mean to my friends," Hayama requested with a chuckle in return.
"Hikitani is so mean!" Tobe whined while pouting.
"Grrh! Just shut up, you freaky-eyed weirdo!" Miura demanded with a tone of authority.
"So…you are leaving, right?" Hachiman cut them off as he asked Hayama, who looked confused.
"Why would I? Our game isn't over yet," responded the First Year Student. Hachiman looked behind the blonde and towards his companion, which didn't go unnoticed by him. He then chuckled at the unasked question.
"It's alright if they are here. It doesn't matter anymore," Hayama reassured Hachiman, to which he raised an eyebrow.
"You sure?" Hayama only nodded and turned to face his friends, who seemed lost at the interaction between him and Hachiman.
"You guys…give me some time before I finish my game against Hikitani-kun. You guys can hang around on the sidelines if you'd like," He instructed them before going towards the top of the key. Hachiman also walked back to behind the three point line and checked the ball. The three newcomers shrugged and went to the side to watch their friend play.
"H-Hayato…" Miura uttered his name quietly as she watched the game. She couldn't believe what her eyes were showing her at the moment. She had just watched her crush stumble because of Hachiman's dribble moves and that he was able to do nothing as the black-haired teen blew past him for an open lay up.
"Oh my god! Hayato is getting destroyed! I don't even know if I can guard Hikitani…" Tobe announced while religiously keeping an eye on the game happening in front of him.
"Pretty sure Hayato also gets destroyed on the bed too. I think now I know for sure who is the dom and who is the sub, ehehe…" giggled the girl with glasses as she winked after her statement. This earned her a look of exasperation and a combination of disgust and anger from Tobe and Miura respectively.
"This just proves that the allegations Sagami made were false. Some people still think Hikio got away with it but that's not true at all. No way a guy as good as Hikio in basketball would be trying to like, cheat some girl on the girl's basketball team," Tobe and Ebina looked at Miura in surprise at her statement, which was noted by the blonde as she stared back at them.
"What?" She questioned, to which Ebina smiled.
"Nothing. It's just rare seeing you give out compliments to guys other than Hayama-kun," Miura just huffed and looked away at the answer.
"Ebina-san is right. And I wonder, why isn't Hikitani on the basketball team…?" Tobe thought out aloud but received no response. He then joined his companions and focused back on the game happening in front of them.
It was obvious to them that this wasn't even a competition for Hachiman. They watched their friend get one layup against the reserved and gloomy teen, who lazily stayed back and let Hayama score after he himself missed a deep shot. This was the only time he was able to score. Other than that, they saw the blonde get blocked twice whenever he was able to take a shot inside the three point line. The first time was when Hayama tried to shoot a fadeaway shot over Hachiman in the post and got blocked instantly. The other time was when he surprised Hachiman by pulling off a poor man's Shammgod crossover. Despite getting caught off guard, Hachiman didn't let it affect his defensive stance. Still, Hachiman curiously let his opponent get past him for a layup, only to chase him down and reject the layup attempt from behind. Tobe was able to notice this fact since he himself was on the basketball team.
The game was nearing its end as Hachiman led with 8 points and Hayama had scored one. Hayama didn't really sweat much but his chest moving up and down indicated that he was having a pretty good workout while playing against the other teen. Hachiman, on the other hand, was practically dripping with sweat and he huffed in the same manner as his opponent. This was due to him being in the court longer than anyone except for Tobe, who had a break for around the past hour. Hachiman noted that the audience he and Hayama gathered were immensely focused on their game.
Without thinking much, Hachiman checked the ball and immediately began posting up the blond on the right block after dribbling inside the three point line. After taking a couple of hard dribbles and giving him a few bumps on the chest with his right shoulder, he executed his next move. Hachiman took two long steps across the paint and lifted his left leg and left hand out, the latter holding the ball. With a flick, he sent the ball towards the direction of the basket. The ball flew up and the sound of it hitting the bottom of the net was heard by everyone. At this point, Miura and Ebina were used to seeing their friend getting obliterated. But the two girls were surprised by the reaction of Tobe, whose eyes suddenly went wide.
"Tobe-kun? What is going on?" Ebina asked curiously.
"Did you see that? Hikitani pulled off a skyhook! No one does that nowadays! He is definitely toying with him…" Tobe announced in amazement as he watched Hachiman check the ball with Hayama once more.
"Ughh…I'm not even surprised anymore. Thought this would never happen but I am actually watching Hayato getting owned by this nobody…" Miura added with a defeated tone. No one else spoke afterwards and they brought their attention back to the game again.
With the possibility of the game ending in this possession, Hayama decided to tighten up his defense while keeping himself as steady as possible. Hachiman, in response, went into a triple threat position while using his right foot as the pivot foot. Taking one hard jab step to the left, Hachiman used his left hand to dribble a couple of times with Hayama sticking with him. After that, he pulled a left to right crossover and brought himself behind the three point line. Hachiman followed it up with a mini hesitation move, which was the bait for his opponent. Hayama fell for the fake shot and jumped up to contest it, only for the black-haired teen to explode to the rim. Everyone then watched with astonishment as he took off from the middle of the paint and slammed the ball through the net before hanging on to the rim. After swinging around for a few seconds, he comfortably landed on the court. Hayama stared at him while stunned. Not because he lost but because of Hachiman dunking the ball to finish off the game.
"Wow, I never thought you were able to dunk, Hikitani-kun," Hayama addressed him while still having a look of surprise.
"Now you know. And it's Hikigaya," Hachiman gave a short reply to the blonde. He then turned his head to see the audience making their way to the duo.
"Damn, Hikitani! You're able to dunk too!? You are amazing, man! Why aren't you on the team?" The teens eyes soured at the question and before he could make a response, the doors of the gym opening once more took his attention away. Shiromeguri, his friend, had come to the gym to lock it for the night. Indirectly, she had saved him from any further interrogation from the energetic teen.
"Hikigaya-kun! I see you are not alone!" the older girl smiled at him. The ones besides Hachiman didn't expect the gloomy teen to be so familiar with the Student Council President and eyed the interaction between the two with interest.
"I was waiting for you, senpai," Hachiman began walking to where he put his belongings. Tobe noticed this and followed the teen with a grin on his face.
"Hikitani bro! Play me this time!" The excited teen requested. Hachiman turned around and offered him an expressionless gaze.
"No, I'm going home," he declined while continuing once more to his belongings. Tobe had a disappointed expression on his face yet again while Hachiman carried his things with him to the locker room. Turning around, Tobe walked up to his group of friends, who were conversing with the Student Council President.
"I'm surprised you and Hikitani-kun are…acquainted," Hayama said with a practiced smile on his face.
"Hikio and you are buddy-buddy? That weirdo seems to hate the entire world," grumbled the blonde young woman near Hayama.
"It's Hikigaya-kun," Shiromeguri's answer confused the First Year students and their silence was enough to let her continue.
"Please don't butcher his name. It's very surprising that he was willing to play with you guys. Hikigaya-kun is a very misunderstood boy," Tobe seemed amazed at the older girl's explanation.
"Huh? And here I thought it was actually Hikitani," he murmured.
"He was only playing against Hayama-kun. The rest of us were just watching," Ebina informed the Second Year student while she herself had a look of curiosity on her face.
"Playing against Hikit- sorry, Hikigaya-kun is very fun," Hayama had an honest smile on his face, which surprised his friends.
"Really?! As much as I don't wanna admit it, Hikio was like, dismantling you the entire game," Miura stated with a frown, to which Hayama chuckled and Tobe nodded.
"She's right, bro! I saw you get cooked so many times!" Tobe laughed while adding on. Ebina lost her curious expression and her giggle stopped Tobe from laughing. He suddenly had a look of dread as he had a feeling of knowing what she was going to say next.
"I never figured Hayama-kun would be into BDSM! No wonder why he likes losing to Hikigaya-kun, ufufufu…" tired looks appeared in Miura, Tobe, and Hayama's faces while Shiromeguri was completely out of the loop and she looked at the giggling girl cluelessly.
"I don't understand?" she innocently said with her head tilted. Before the girl with glasses could say anything further, Miura clapped her palm on top of her mouth to stop her from speaking.
"You don't wanna know…" Hayama sighed. Shiromeguri accepted his answer and footsteps behind her made her turn around to see Hachiman, cleaned up and back in his school uniform, walking out of the locker room. A huge smile formed on her face as Hachiman made his way to the group of people.
"Ready to go?" she asked the gloomy teen excitedly. To the surprise of the others, he replied to her instantly.
"Yes. Let's go, senpai," Hachiman didn't seem like the completely cold and heartless person like he did with the group of popular students.
"Hayato, let's go. They're leaving right now," At Miura's words, the group began walking towards the door. As they began exiting the gym, Hayama turned around and his eyes met Hachiman's.
"See you again, Hikigaya-kun," Hayama waved with a smile. Hachiman's eyebrow raised at the fact that Hayama didn't butcher his name. Wordlessly, he nodded at the blonde, who left with all of his friends except for one.
"You and I gotta play sometime, Hikitani-bro!" Tobe said loudly before joining his companions. Once it was just the two of them, Shiromeguri turned her head towards her junior with a smile.
"It's nice to see you making friends, Hikigaya-kun," she voiced in her bubbly manner. In response, Hachiman groaned.
"They're not my friends," he challenged. Shiromeguri just looked at him with an odd expression.
"But you didn't say no when Hayama-san wanted to play with you again," when he didn't reply, Shiromeguri shrugged off his silence and smiled at him.
"Alright, then. Let's go!" At her command, Hachiman followed the older student to the exit and saw her lock the doors. After she was done, he walked her home while rolling his bicycle along with him. He only got on it and rode it home after his senior was safely home.
"Onii-chan!" Hachiman, who was currently laying on his bed, put his PS Vita away to look at his younger sister, who had barged into his room. She had an excited grin on her face as she hopped her way near him.
"Mom said we need to get groceries! So let's go shopping!" Komachi demanded while pulling on his arm.
"We can't go tomorrow?" Hachiman suggested but the girl shook her head relentlessly.
"Nope! We need to get some veggies and fish! And I also need to buy a few things, ehehe…" the older teen sighed at his sister's antics. He was mostly confident that it would be fine to wait till the next day to get groceries. But Komachi wanted to get something right now, which was why she was trying to get him to go.
"If you want to buy something, you can go by yourself to get it. I'll give you some money if you need it as well," Hachiman said tiredly, to which Komachi pouted. Her expression managed to strike an imaginary arrow into Hachiman's heart.
"Hmph! Stupid Onii-chan! Negative Komachi points for you!" Komachi complained but she still held onto his arm, pulling on it lightly. His 'Onii-chan' instincts finally caused him to give in to her demand. Hachiman didn't resist any further and let Komachi do as she wished.
"Give me a couple of minutes. Now go," stated the older teen tiredly after sighing. Komachi's face beamed at his words and she nodded. Once she released her hold on him, she skipped out of his room with a pep in her steps. After the girl had left the room, Hachiman sighed and got out of his bed while stretching a little.
It was Saturday and as expected, his parents were busy getting in some overtime hours on their job shifts. Due to this, Hachiman had to get groceries most of the time for the past couple of years. Komachi had only joined him in grocery shopping a couple of months earlier. Ever since she joined him, his mother started giving the money for groceries to Komachi as well. Maybe this fact would've bugged him out in the past but nowadays, nothing really mattered to the gloomy teen anymore. His mom let his sister take over the cooking role in their family and she was doing a good job considering how she started. Considering this, it was probably for the best if Komachi were to choose the stuff to buy since she was always cooking.
Thinking of such things made Hachiman remember the first time when he and Makoto were cooking together at his friend's house. They failed miserably and their failure had triggered smoke to fill up the entire kitchen. Despite both of them getting scolded by his friend's mother, he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the time. This didn't stop the two from getting into the kitchen later on. They had even cooked up some Takoyaki that everyone enjoyed. Hachiman had fun during those times and reminiscence of such memories only squeezed Hachiman's heart more painfully.
Shaking his head to clear off any unpleasant thoughts, Hachiman made his way to a drawer to take out the clothes he would wear. He decided on a silver hoodie and black sweatpants. Putting them on, he quickly made his way down the stairs to see his sister, who was sitting on the couch of the living room. She was well prepared for the slightly chilly temperature outside with her fluffy brown jacket and black jeans. Komachi turned around to look at him and offered him a bright smile.
"Ready to go?" Komachi asked. Hachiman nodded to her question in return.
"Did mom give you the money for groceries?" Hachiman received rapid nods in response and a sigh of relief escaped him since he wouldn't need to spend his own money today.
"Yep! Let's go, Onii-chan!" Komachi jumped out of the couch and grabbed his right arm tightly. Hachiman let his energetic sister pull him out of the house and hold on to him as they walked their way to get groceries and whatever Komachi wanted to buy.
It had been a little more than an hour since the Hikigaya siblings exited their home. The two managed to get whatever ingredients they needed and finished their grocery shopping. Afterwards, Komachi left Hachiman with the grocery bags saying she was going to get what she needed. She instructed him to wait at a restaurant that they both used to visit a lot in the past. Komachi told her brother that she would be out for two hours and he instantly objected. Hachiman argued against it being two hours since he wanted to be home and rest. He suggested to her that he should go home early and she could return by herself but his sister wouldn't budge on that. Komachi finally complied for an hour and 15 minutes after much negotiation before she was on her way. The First Year High School student decided it would be a good idea to drop off the baggage he was left with at home while his sister was done with her activity. With that in mind, he started making his way home soon after Komachi left.
Hachiman's mind danced around many thoughts and memories as he walked through the familiar route to his home. He was a little frustrated by his sister's sudden departure but this feeling didn't last too long. Komachi was probably trying to spend some time with him and she had been trying so many times over the past few months that he had lost count. Hachiman knew that he had been a little distant to everyone ever since the passing of Makoto, including his lovable younger sister. She had been trying to get him to go along with her to the mall many times over the past couple of months, coming up with different reasons every time. However, he joined her in her invitations only a handful of times. He considered himself a horrible brother for such a thing. Komachi was trying to help him feel better and Hachiman kept pushing her away, disregarding his sister's feelings on this matter. Hachiman's hate for his own self grew at that thought as he kept walking through the busy streets. He finally made it home a little while later and he dropped off the groceries. The thought of staying back enticed him for a moment. However, he decided to keep his word and go back outside to meet with his sister at the time they both agreed on.
Hachiman walked through the busy streets of Chiba once more and took in the surroundings. Despite the chilly weather, a lot of people were out in the town today. Unlike his working parents, who were busy with filling in overtime shifts, many adults seemed to roam the town this Saturday as well. Hachiman looked around while walking and noticed a bookstore across the road, which he had frequented a couple of times in the past. He remembered Bringing Makoto here a couple of times once the older teen began to show interest in manga and light novels. His chest tightened momentarily at those thoughts and he wanted to zoom past the place, but Hachiman decided otherwise out on a whim. Taking out his phone, he checked the time to see that he still had about 15 minutes to spare before he needed to go to the restaurant to meet his sister. Making a decision, Hachiman looked to his left and right before crossing the road carefully and entering the store.
Once stepping into the establishment, Hachiman noted the small number of customers, which didn't surprise him. This store wasn't located on a busy location and it was expected that it wouldn't be overfilled with customers everyday. The teen observed the cashiers, who were the same people that he saw the last time he visited this place, before walking around different sections. Exploring around a bit, Hachiman only stopped when he reached the section that had manga and light novels arranged and displayed. The gloomy teen made the observation of the lack of other people around this section before he started searching through the displayed works. Hachiman was left unbothered for a couple of minutes as he looked through the shelves of different manga and light novels.
Nothing really interested him until his eyes landed on a certain light novel. He had been keeping in mind to check it out but never actually did it. This was one of the only few works that Makoto had read but Hachiman hadn't. Taking a deep breath, Hachiman grabbed a copy of the first volume and skimmed through the summary part of the novel. As he looked through, he heard sounds of footsteps behind him. Due to focusing on the light novel, he didn't turn around to see who they belonged to. Hachiman browsed through the first couple of pages of the light novel for a couple of minutes, his surroundings being completely lost to him throughout that time.
"Hikigaya-kun!" His name being called out suddenly made him jump up and drop the light novel he was checking out. With an annoyed expression, he turned around to address the person who had called his name from behind him.
"It's a surprise to see you here!" Hina Ebina, one of Hayama's friends that was introduced to him not too long ago, was smiling in his direction. Hachiman took note of her long baby pink skirt and black sweater. He was able to notice that the frames of her glasses were red, which escaped his observation the last time he had encountered her.
"How may I help you?" Hachiman asked with exasperation as he crouched down to pick up the light novel he just dropped.
"Ufufufu…I was just surprised to see you here, that's all. Still, I had no clue Hayama-kun preferred boys like you," the girl cackled with a gleam in the glasses covering her eyes. Hachiman looked at her with a look of revulsion.
"Stop that…" he groaned. Ebina's eyes suddenly landed on the book Hachiman was holding while she was busy exploring her…fantasies. Her mind was distracted from her inner thoughts as she stared at the light novel in Hachiman's hands.
"Oh? I have all of the volumes of that in my house, except for the last three. I really recommend it. You know what? I'll let you borrow mine instead of you having to spend money on a new copy," Hachiman was surprised at the girl's sudden offer. However, he quickly went into action with a response.
"No need. I'll buy it," he quickly refused but Ebina kept insisting.
"It's fine, Hikigaya-kun. You shouldn't let social norms prevent you from spending your allowance. Or your income in case you have a part time job or something," Ebina smiled while Hachiman was curious. Hina Ebina seemed a lot sharper than she let on.
"Why are you so persistent in wanting me to borrow your light novel?" questioned the black-haired teen. Ebina didn't waste any time giving him an answer.
"It's really hard to discuss light novels and manga among my friends. I guess you could say I want a book buddy. Plus, I find Hikigaya-kun very interesting," the young woman explained. Hachiman's eyes narrowed slightly before he spoke up.
"What do you want in exchange? I'm guessing you wouldn't just let me borrow it without compensation," Ebina thought for a few seconds after he voiced his question. She then looked at Hachiman with a smile on her face, which seemed genuine to the male teen.
"Hmm…can you read over my own stories and give me feedback? As I told you before, my friends aren't really into these kinds of things," Hachiman's mind immediately went back to her previous ramblings of her hobbies and he was ready to decline instantly.
"Don't worry. It has nothing to do with 'boy love' thing," giggled the First-Year High School student. Hachiman mused for a moment before sighing and looking at the girl. He was saving money this way and in return, he just had to offer feedback for her writing. It was just an equivalent exchange between the two with no friendship being involved. She said it herself that her friends weren't into this stuff, which was why she had asked him.
"Fine," Ebina's smile became wider at his acceptance.
"Great! Meet me on the rooftop during Monday's lunch session!" Hachiman expected Ebina to say her farewell and go on her way after this, but she was still standing near him. He put the book he was holding back into its location and looked through other books for a couple more minutes. Ebina was still near him, checking out manga and light novels as well. The two spent this time near each other in silence. Eventually, Hachiman began walking through the spaces between the shelves, which also led to the exit, with Ebina following him. Before he could turn around and question her actions of following him, she already broke the silence.
"Well…I'll see you on Monday. Until then, take care, Hikigaya-kun!" Ebina said before walking to the cashier with a couple of books in her hands. Hachiman sighed and continued on his way to meet with his sister. He took out his phone to check that he still had enough time to get to the restaurant. As he walked to his target destination, Hachiman thought this Saturday was tiring yet truly interesting.
Well...how was it? Satisfying? Alright? Or should someone stop me from cooking? I really hope it wasn't disappointing
So Ebina finally made her appearance in the story. Just like the OG version, I plan on giving her a big role in this one as well
When Hayama's friends showed up in the gym, Miura didn't like Hachiman since unlike most of the boys who are scared of her fiery personality or admire her beauty, Hachiman has no such reaction. But she respects his skills as a hooper.
Komachi might seem a little more obsessed with 8Man here compared to canon since Hachiman distanced himself a lot after Makoto's death. It affected Komachi a lot and she wants to make sure her brother is okay.
If you notice any plot holes or grammar erros, feel free to let me know.
By the way, the Rockets won their last 11 games and are a threat to GSW. Do yall think they are making it into the play in? I personally don't but would love to see it
That's all for now. Take care!