Summary: A mildly tired Hachiman is called upon by a bartender because of one drunk Shizuka. Things happen.
"Hello, this is Hikigaya Hachiman speaking." The man introduced himself to the caller as he talked to the caller he got while he was walking the streets of Tokyo. He was going home after a week of enduring being a corporate slave once again. Good thing he was able to escape the clutches of overtime.
Hooray for the small things right?
"I'm calling from the Yokozuna Bar." The gruff voice replied to him. "Do you know a Hiratsuka Shizuka by any chance?" The man asked. His voice was a bit tired which is weird, since it wasn't even ten o'clock in the evening yet. "She passed out five minutes ago. Her phone dropped and I saw that you're the most recent contact she called. I figured you're her boyfriend or something." The man explained. "Anyway, please pick her up here at the bar since we really don't have anywhere else where she could stay."
"Alright. I'll come there to get her. Thank you for letting me know." Hachiman replied as the man gave him a thank you before he dropped the call. 'She's wasted, again.' Thought the man as he walked towards the location of the bar. If his memory serves him right, Yokozuna Bar is just within 400 meters from where he is currently at, which is the train station. He started to walk once more as this time, he was the one who initiated a call.
After a few rings, the recipient of the call picked up. "Hikki! Where are you? Yukinon and I are already here!" The ever energetic, Yuigahama Yui responded and asked a question. The man smiled as he thought that the bubbly girl never changed. "You're going to come to this party, right?" The woman on the other line sounded worried that the man might be bailing.
"I'm afraid that's not going to be the case." The man replied with a remorse present in his voice. He is now preparing himself for the oncoming barrage of questions that she will fire at him.
"Did something happen? Is it an emergency? I thought your schedule is clear today? Didn't we plan this thing ages ago? What do you think Yukinon would say?" And the barrage of questions came like he expected. The worry in her voice worsened. After a few seconds of silence, Yui spoke once again. "I guess something really did happen."
"I was called by someone from a bar earlier." The fish eyed man started to explain. "He said that he called me because he saw my contacts on Hiratsuka-sen… Hiratsuka-san's phone." It he paused mid-sentence as he remembered that she was not his teacher anymore, nor was him her student. "She's passed out and I have to get here or something might happen." His voice sounded like a child asking for permission to go.
"Figures…" He heard the woman sigh as she listened to his explanation. "If it's sensei, you'd move mountains and cross rivers just to get to her." Her voice sounded teasing at the end. "How many times is it now? Ten? Twenty?" She asked, to which he knew the answer already.
"To be honest, too many to count." The sharp-eyed man replied. "I've stopped counting back when we were in college." It has been seven years since they graduated college. "I'll try to come next time, I promise."
"Until the same thing happens again and then you're going to call me again about this." Yui sighed once again. "When would you just pull the trigger and tell her your feelings?" The girl questioned her friend as he stopped walking momentarily before resuming.
It was his turn to sigh now. If only they knew how complicated the situation really is. "It's too complicated."
"Hmph, I don't believe that." The woman responded. "You're the monster of logic! You know how to make it not complicated!" He winced when he heard the nickname he got from high school. Granted that wasn't the weirdest one he got, but he still cringed at the nickname.
"If I had the answer to make it less complicated, then I wouldn't be talking to you now about picking her up." Hachiman argued. It wasn't that he didn't tell the woman about his feelings. He actually did it a long time ago, and multiple times at that. "Could you please just send Yukinoshita my regards? I swear this is the last time I'm ditching you guys because of Hiratsuka-san." He promised to the girl.
"I've heard that before from you." The woman was skeptical, she heard him say it for at least ten times. "But if you really mean that, then I wish you good luck!" The energy in her voice has returned.
"Yeah, I think this time I might mean it." He ambiguously said to Yui. "If you guys plan to meet up next month then I guess I'll see you around by that time." The fish-eyed man bid his farewells to his former classmate and clubmate now turned to his closest of friends.
"Alright, take care Hikki! I'll tell Yukinon what you said! Bye-bye!" The bubbly woman bid farewell as she returned to talking to Yukino.
Walking once more, the young man contemplated what he responded to Yuigahama earlier. 'This might be the last time, my ass. You're going to be at her beck and call the moment she drops once again. When are you going to learn that she's just using you? Or at least taking advantage of knowing that you have feeling for her?' The young man thought as he neared the bar. 'Telling yourself that she just has a hard time expressing her feelings would be a lie. If she can express everything but love then she's not the person you respected when you met her. Certainly not the person you fell in love with that's for sure.' His footsteps felt as heavy as his mind right now. Reaching the bar, he went into the bathroom before picking up the unconscious woman.
Facing himself in the mirror, Hachiman continued thinking. 'Do you think that doing this will make her like you?' It might his tiredness, thought the sharp-eyed man. He noticed that his reflection was the one talking to him. 'I didn't even do overtime and I'm still so tired that I am hallucinating. What has happened to me?'
"You're right, you are hallucinating." The mirror Hachiman responded. "But that doesn't take the fact that you are going to continue being her 'knight in broken armor' or something."
"What's wrong with that?" The real Hachiman questioned. He was not feeling well and having his reflection question his actions was taking a toll on him. "She gets home, I take care of her. She then asks me to stay, I get to stay before she wakes up. I get to at least feel that she cared." He reasoned out.
"If she cared, then you wouldn't have to leave before she wakes up!" The reflection countered. "Just admit that you're waiting for her to look at you when everyone who knew you and her knows that would never happen."
"At least I get to care for her." The fish-eyed man's response weakened.
"So letting her take advantage of you when you stay means that you're able to show that you care for her?" Mirror Hachiman questioned.
"I feel like I am the one taking advantage of her, actually."
"And? Does that matter? That is wrong Hachiman and you know it!" His reflection argued.
"I don't care!" Shouted the man. "If that makes her feel happy then I would do it!" He vented.
"Are you?" Questioned the reflection, which Hachiman would've answered if not for the knock on the door.
"Are you okay there Sir?" The voice questioned with worry.
"Yes, yes. I am okay." He replied after catching his breath.
"You know you're not." The reflection answered. "Stop this farce Hachiman. You think that you're indulging yourself but you know deep inside you that you're just justifying her using you." Hachiman turned to look towards his reflection and noticed that it had a look of pity in his face.
"I look pathetic." Commented the young man, who then tried to fix his look by using water to style his hair and wash his face. "Just how deep in it am I that I have to tell myself that I am?" He questioned before steeling himself and got out of the bathroom.
He was resolved to end things with the woman that he had feelings for before he went out of the bathroom. His discussion with his hallucination made sure that he decided that it was enough.
And then he saw her.
Everything he talked to himself about was forgotten as he saw her passed out in a table. Her usually serious face whenever he saw her looked peaceful, serene even. Worry about her wellbeing filled his mind more than the thoughts of their arrangement. He rushed to where she is and checked if she's actually okay.
"Looks like you've drank too much again, Hiratsuka-san." The young man murmured to himself. "You're going to be as heavy as a log."
"You're Hikigaya Hachiman right?" A voice from behind him made him turn and he was greeted by the bartender. He nodded to the bartender which made the man sigh in relief. "Thank you for coming and for picking up Hiratsuka-san. She drank quite a lot before she ranted and then she passed out." Noted the man as he returned to wiping glasses. "It's the first time I've seen her here, but judging from what you said, this happens quite often, right?"
"Yes, usually weekly." Answered the sharp-eyed man. "It's just her way to vent out her anger and frustration towards kids that teaches. She's a university teacher and she's very surprised that most college kids still act like kids." He explained to the bartender, who raised his brows to his words.
"Good thing she didn't bother other customers, or I might have to ban her from this establishment." The bartender remarked. "But she wasn't talking about the ones she was teaching. She was talking about her love endeavors which sounds like have failed miserably according to her." The man spoke out. "She was lamenting to the fact that the date she had earlier ditched her for being too eccentric."
"So she was…" Trailed the young man as he looked at the sleeping woman. "Was she alone when she came here?"
"She was." The bartender answered. "I called you because I thought you were her boyfriend. Are you not? If so, then I am sorry." The man apologized. "It's just that I've looked at the call history and I've seen your name pop up a dozen of times."
"Those might be the times she was also passed out in other bars and I was called for the same reason." Hachiman responded. "When I told you that she does this weekly, I was not kidding. I think most bars around Chiba know her, if not banned her from drinking due to her antics." The teen remarked, looking at the bartender. "I'm thankful you haven't banned her yet, which means she'll come back here and be your regular soon enough."
"I'll ban her if she starts to act up." The bartender replies. "Last thing I want is to deal with a fight that could get my bar to close." The man then grabbed another glass to clean. "I think it would be best for you to take her home already, she looks uncomfortable in that position." This prompted the sharp-eyed man to look at the downed woman, whose face contorted in pain.
"Alright, time to take you home." Hachiman muttered before picking up the woman.
"God, for a woman your size, you're quite heavy." The fish-eyed teen said as he set her down on her bed. The trip back home was uneventful, save for some occasional mumblings from the unconscious woman. The man spoke before he started to stand up. "I think it's time for me to go."
Before he could get off the bed to leave, his hand was grabbed by the woman, who looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please stay…" She murmured.
It was those eyes that always made him do her bidding.
The moment he stopped and returned to bed was the moment he knew that the same shit would happen again.
"Thank you." Shizuka said as she saw the man go back to the bed. "I'm sorry for screwing up our date earlier, but thank you for picking me up at the bar." She held both of his hands as she inched closer to the sharp-eyed man. "I think I know what to do to make it up to you…"
Hachiman then noticed it. He looked at her eyes and what he saw surprised him.
Lust.
Shizuka used her strength to close the gap and seal his lips with hers. This action caused the man's eyes to widen. She followed up by using her tongue to pry open his mouth and explore it. The woman's hands roam around and found his trousers, which she quickly undid the button and the zipper. Her hands snaked inside his trousers to grab his member.
'This isn't right.' Thought the fish-eyed teen as he let the woman have her way with him. 'I should stop her. She's not in the right mindset.' Deciding that enough was enough, Hachiman used his manly strength to remove her hands from his trousers.
"What's wrong?!" The woman cried out. "Are you not satisfied? Why are you stopping me?"
"Let me go and freshen up." The man reasoned out. Fortunately, this excuse worked and the woman let him go out. The sharp-eyed teen wasted no time and left her room. He quickly went towards the bathroom as he recollected his thoughts once more. Before he could however, his phone that was in his pocket rang.
"Hi Hi! Hikigaya-kun!" A familiar voice greeted him. "I heard from Gahama-chan that you skimped out on you gathering once again." The voice stopped before speaking once again. "Let me guess, you have a Shizuka-sized problem once again. Am I right?"
Sighing as he could sense the oncoming headache, he responded to the voice. "Yes Yukinoshita-san, I am having a Shizuka problem once again." The man then went on to wash his hands. "Are you bored? What's the reason for the call?"
The woman on the other line was none other than Yukinoshita Haruno.
"Let me guess, you're in her bathroom and you're currently trying to calm down your erection?" Haruno questioned the man with mirth present in her voice. "Judging by your lack of quips, I'm assuming something did happen."
"She kissed me, and then she went ahead and unzipped my pants then grope me." He answered the woman, who was a bit shocked at what he said.
"Isn't that what you wanted?" The woman responded. "Everyone but her knew that you're hopelessly in love with her. Why stop her?"
"It's not right." The sharp-eyed man argued. "First of all, she drank so much that when she wakes up, she probably would have no idea who brought her home." The man started to explain. "Lastly, I am not the one on her mind when she attacked me earlier. It was her date."
"That sounds unfortunate." The woman, while known for her notorious teasing, sounded genuine as he told her about his plight. "This is why I told you to stop chasing after her back when you were in college." She told him to move on from her back then because she was jealous. "It's been nine years since then, and look where you are now. You are with her now, almost had sex with her, but not the one she thinks about."
"You didn't have to rub a salt in my wounds." The man responded. "Crazy to think that I've been chasing her for more than ten years and the moment that something almost happens, I chicken out because I am not the person she's thinking about." Hachiman started to laugh. "Ironic, and it makes me laugh."
"Don't be like that Hachiman." Haruno spoke with worry present in her voice. "I admire you for stopping her from taking advantage of you. Even if I tried to tease you about it earlier." The woman tried to reassure him of his actions.
"This is not the first time this has happened." Noted the sharp-eyed man. "But I think this is going to be the last." He then went ahead and told what happened earlier at the bar. "Before I picked her up in the bar. I had a talk with my hallucination in the bathroom." He explained. "I argued with my own reflection about what should I do. I resolved myself that I would stop being at her beck and call and try to move on. The moment I saw her passed out, all my resolve went out the window." Hachiman sighed in sadness as he recalled his conversation with his reflection earlier. "Now I am here, stuck in her bathroom. Being wanted not because of me but because I was just there."
"Don't say that…" The woman tried to console him. "Shizuka-chan was ready to leave everything behind when she left Sobu. You were the reason why she didn't." The Yukinoshita elder explained. "She's always talking about you when we meet. There was never a time when your name didn't come out of her mouth."
"Now you're being unfair, Yukinoshita-san." Hachiman is trying his hardest to hold back his tears. "You're trying to make me misunderstand things. Are you trying to help me realize that I should stop or are you trying to make me continue?"
"I'm playing the devil's advocate here." The woman said to the fish-eyed man. "I am doing what I am doing to test you. That and you needed someone that would challenge your decisions, not just reinforce them. You think better that way right?" She questioned.
"You're right." Her question brought a smile to him. She does know how he thinks. "Thank you for talking to me. I would've hallucinated once again if you didn't call." Hachiman thanked the woman for calling.
"That's why we are friends right? You vent and I tease you about it." Her reply made him chuckle a bit. "I know you want to go back just to make sure she's asleep right? Give me a call when you leave her place."
"Alright. Take care Yukinoshita-san." The man said as the call ended. Now he knows what to do. He returned to her room to make sure she's well.
"My head's killing me…" Groaned Shizuka as she woke up, still feeling headaches from last night. "How did I get home?" She wondered as she got out of bed and into the bathroom. "I remember ranting to the bartender about my failed date last night so how the hell did I get here?" She muttered as she washed her face. Cleaning up, she walked to the living room to check the news.
There she saw one Hikigaya Hachiman. He was slumped due to sleeping while he sat up.
"Hikigaya? Why are you here?" She thought as she woke up the sleeping man. "Wake up Hikigaya, it's almost noon." Shizuka said as she nudged him harder and harder before he stirred.
The man opened his eyes and saw Hiratsuka Shizuka shaking him. "Hiratsuka-sensei?" Old habits really do die hard thought the man as he realized that he called her Sensei once again.
"It's been so long since I've heard that come from you." The woman said as she grabbed her TV remote and turned on the television. "Why are you here?"
Coughing to clear his dry throat, the sharp-eyed man responded to her question. "Do you remember what you did last night?" She shook her head to answer. "The bartender called me and told me that you were passed out. He said he called me because I was the most recent contact on your call log."
Shizuka felt bad for the man. "So that's how I got home… Wait, didn't you have somewhere to be yesterday? What happened to that?" She asked as she nursed her aching head.
"I had to call Yuigahama to explain to her why I'm ditching."
"I'm sorry." Ever emphatic, the strong headed woman actually felt bad for Hachiman. Yukino would be one hard person to explain to and she was sure that the girl hates her for a thing or two with regards to taking the man on her sofa away. "I guess Yukinoshita isn't happy with your decision."
"I haven't heard from her yet." The man responded as he stretched off his arms, wanting to remove the stiffness. "What happened last night with you? Why did you decide to get a blackout by drinking?" Inquired the man as he stood up, intent on getting a glass of water to drink.
"My date ditched me, again." The woman admitted as she brought her legs closer to herself. "He said I was too overbearing and that I come off as a hard-headed person." She then felt angry as she remembered the feeling she had. "That jerk! I'm sure he just wanted someone who will be subservient to him. Then he will go off and cheat with other girls once he gets bored of me! I guess I should count myself as lucky for dodging a bullet!" By the end of her sentence, she was fuming and angry.
"Here, have some water." The man offered as she took the glass of water from his hand. "Have you heard of the saying "Don't reveal all your cards in the first draw?" He questioned.
"That's not my style. If he can't accept me as I am, then we shouldn't have talked in the first place." She reasoned. "Still, I was surprised to learn that he thought of me that way. He looked like he was having a good time with me."
"That's just how most people are. They won't show what they really feel." The man replied. "Besides, if he doesn't like you then you can always find someone else. There's plenty of people on earth."
This copped out reply pissed the woman as she heard that line a lot of times now. "Well it doesn't feel that way to me then! I feel like everyone who tried to form a connection with didn't want that connection!"
"If you just continue to be you then people who actually adore you would be coming to you, not the other way around. You're trying way too hard to fit on somebody else's checklist that you're forgetting yourself." The man gives her a serious look. "Do you think that the world would end if you don't get a partner?"
"You won't understand." Shizuka answered. "You won't understand the pressure the society brings to women! We need to be successful and have a family before we turn 25!"
"And you think being aggressive to find a partner would work?" Asked the man as she matched the stare he was giving her. "And here I believed that you're not a person who would care about what people would say about." The man said after his view of the woman change once again. "I thought you were an amazing adult back then. I thought you had your life together, albeit having struggles with regards to dating. I didn't know that finding a person to be with drives you more than anything." The man stood up as he prepared to leave.
All she could do was watch him leave. "You're going?"
He turned around as if to look at her one last time before he started to speak again. "I have to stop this, or this would break me."
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you remember the days where you seem to have come home when you passed out in bars? I was the one who always took you home." The man explained. "Last night, when I brought you back here, you begged me stay and then you kissed and groped me." Hearing this the woman was horrified at what she had done. "What hurts the most is that you're thinking of your date last night when you did it." Tears welled up on his eyes as he continued to speak. "Last night was one of many nights that happened."
"Then wh-"
"Because I was hopelessly in love with you." Hachiman's voice quivered as he interjected. "Everyone who knew us knew. They said that I should stop chasing after you. I didn't listen."
"S-Since when?" Shizuka asked as she tried to come close. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Since high school." The man answered. "I figured that if I continued playing it cool and by being the one at your beck and call you would notice." He said as he sniffed trying his hardest to stop his tears from spilling. "I hallucinated last night before I came to get you at the bar. I talked to my reflection about what has become of me trying to chase after you. I told Yuigahama that this'll be the last time I'll help, I intend to do that."
Shizuka, with too many things running on her mind, used her strength to close the distance between them and hugged the man, whose tears now flown freely. "Please don't leave. I won't have anyone else."
"You're being unfair, Hiratsuka-sensei." Hachiman said as he tried to stop her from embracing him. "It was too late when I realized that the person I fell in love with back then and the person you are now are not the same. I idealized you and let myself be dragged on because of it. And now, I have given you all I can give. Please let me go." The crying man said as now, he was successful with tearing her off him. He bowed ninety degrees towards Shizuka. "Thank you for everything, for being the amazing person I fell in love with. But I need some time before I can face you again. Goodbye, Hiratsuka-sensei."
All Shizuka could do was cry as she watched him leave out of her life.
A/N: That was something. The original idea for this story was: what would a person who decided to give up on his feelings do? And it was unfortunately Shizuka that was the woman who was paired with Hachiman in this story. Please let me know what you guys think of this as I try to stretch my writing skills which is non-existent. I tried to write an angst story but I had a hard time trying to convey the feelings into words. I would've put more action but it would be out of place and too uncomfortable, even if I wanted it to be as such.
Please let me know what you guys think through reviews! I read them for the most part.
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-Jasserru is back! Or is he? (VSauce music cue)