Chapter 2: The Eclipse Society

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The silence in the room was thick and uncomfortable. Hachiman Hikigaya stood with his gaze fixed on the mismatched furniture and cluttered shelves, doing his best to ignore the two girls staring at him like he'd wandered into the wrong clubroom by mistake. Yukino Yukinoshita and Yumiko Miura sat side by side, each casting irritated glances at one another before settling their eyes back on him, judgment clear in their gazes.

Finally, Yumiko broke the silence, her voice dripping with annoyance. "So, like, what's your reason for being here?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing.

Hachiman, who had just finished an internal tirade about the absurdity of this entire situation, gave her a flat look. "I'm here because Hiratsuka-sensei is forcing me into it," he replied, unbothered by her irritated tone. He glanced around the room, taking in the strange decor—the combination of mismatched pink and red tables, a traditional oakwood bookshelf, a collection of moon-themed decorations, and dark blue drapes, giving the room a clashing, chaotic appearance.

Hachiman wrinkled his nose. "What kind of pigsty has that troublesome woman dragged me into?" he muttered under his breath, though not quietly enough to escape the attention of the two girls.

Yukino's ice-blue eyes snapped up, fixing him with a cold, disdainful glare. Meanwhile, Yumiko turned on him with a venomous look so intense that Hachiman internally referred to it as her "Anaconda eyes."

"As if your opinion matters to us," Yukino said coldly, her gaze shifting over him as if he were something unpleasant tracked in on someone's shoes.

"Yeah," Yumiko chimed in, a smug expression crossing her face. "What would a gloomy dork like you even know about fashion?" She leaned back, a haughty smirk in place as she shared a look with Yukino.

Hachiman narrowed his eyes, feeling the faint stirrings of irritation. But he held back, refusing to give them the satisfaction of a retort. They could smirk all they wanted—he didn't care. They didn't mean anything to him.

Yukino spoke up again, her tone as frigid as her gaze. "Excusing your earlier outburst, any guesses as to what this club does, Hikigaya-kun?"

Hachiman glanced at her with a look of indifference, then turned his gaze back to the room, his eyes scanning the furniture and decor with mild disdain. After a moment of silence, he looked back at the girls, a sneer crossing his face as he focused on Yumiko. "I'm a dork? Looks to me like you two are the only dorks around here," he said, his voice dripping with disgust.

Yumiko's cheeks flushed pink, a scowl forming on her face as she glared at him. "What are you even talking about, you freak?"

Hachiman's sneer deepened as he looked back at her, his tone edged with mockery. "Ain't this some dumb occult club or something?"

For a brief moment, both girls looked taken aback, their smug expressions faltering. Yukino recovered first, her voice filled with mockery. "No, Hikigaya-kun. Put those zombie eyes to good use," she said with a condescending smile, while Yumiko laughed beside her.

Hachiman shot them a look of pure disgust, his frustration mounting. I'm over this, sensei, he thought bitterly. And who's supposed to convince me this club is worth it? These two?

He glanced around the room again, his annoyance growing with each passing second as he continued to look over the decor, his eyes lingering on the empty filing cabinets. Something about their placement caught his attention, sparking a faint curiosity. The cabinets were empty, but they had an air of purpose, as if they were meant to hold something specific.

Breaking the silence, he asked, "The filing cabinet—is it for show, or what?"

Both girls seemed momentarily caught off guard. They exchanged a glance, and Hachiman made a mental note of their reaction.

"No," Yumiko replied, her tone defensive. "Why are you even asking?"

Hachiman sighed, feeling the edges of his patience fraying. "You two wanted me to guess, didn't you? So tell me, what's its purpose? Is it just miscellaneous junk, or does it serve a specific purpose for this 'Mysterious club' of yours?"

Their eyes widened a little more than he expected, and he noticed a flicker of surprise in their expressions. The faint, telling reactions confirmed what he'd suspected.

"So this club…" He paused, a hint of disbelief coloring his voice as he looked at them both. "It has something to do with mysteries, right? Are you some kind of crime-solving club or something?"

Yumiko's mouth dropped open in shock, and Yukino's eyes narrowed, her expression shifting to one of faint annoyance mixed with reluctant respect.

Hachiman knew he'd hit the jackpot. "This club," he said shrewdly, "isn't an occult club. The filing cabinet, your reactions… It's a detective club, right? You solve mysteries, don't you?"

For a moment, neither girl responded. Yumiko, despite herself, looked almost impressed, while Yukino's gaze sharpened, her expression calculating as she studied him.

"Very well deduced, Hikigaya-kun," Yukino finally admitted, though her tone remained icy. "This club, the Eclipse Society, was founded to help those who need it, to solve the problems and mysteries that others cannot." Her voice took on a tone of pride, her gaze unwavering as she looked at him.

Yumiko nodded, her expression softening just a fraction. "That's right. It's the strong's duty to help the weak, and that's why we formed this club," she said, glancing at Yukino for confirmation.

They both turned to him, their expressions unwavering. "Welcome to the Eclipse Society, Hikigaya-kun," Yukino said, her tone formal and proud.

"Welcome, Hikigaya," Yumiko echoed, her voice softer, though her gaze was no less intense.

Hachiman looked at them, his own skepticism mirrored in his expression. "You guys actually solve mysteries?" he asked, his voice laced with reluctant intrigue.

Both girls shared a look of satisfaction, their expressions smug. Yukino's lips curved in a slight smile. "Yes, we do. Are you interested, Hikigaya-kun?" she asked, her tone edging on mocking.

Yumiko smirked beside her. "Yeah, sorry to break it to you, but we're not interested, Mr. Doom and Gloom."

The two girls giggled, and Hachiman's look of disgust deepened. "Believe me, the feeling's mutual, slut," he muttered, his words dripping with disdain.

The room fell silent as both girls stared at him, their eyes wide with shock. Yumiko's cheeks turned bright red, and her expression twisted in anger. "I'll have you know I'm a virgin, you creep!" she snapped, before her face turned an even deeper shade of red. "No, wait, that's not what I—!"

Yukino, noticing Yumiko's mortification, spoke up calmly. "It's normal, Miura-san. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

Yumiko huffed, glaring at Hachiman as she turned a deeper shade of red. "Jerk," she muttered, her voice laced with irritation.

Hachiman shrugged, barely sparing her a glance. For a few moments, silence hung over them, broken only by the sound of footsteps approaching the door. The door slid open with a loud thud, and both girls sighed, exasperation clear in their voices as they said in unison, "Sensei, how many times have we told you to knock?"

Hiratsuka ignored them, her gaze settling on Hachiman, who gave her a blank look in return. She sighed, crossing her arms as she glanced between the three of them. "So," she said, her tone dry. "Have you all gotten acquainted?"

Three silent stares met her question, and she let out a resigned sigh. "Well, anyway… Hachiman Hikigaya, second year, Class F, ranked second in the entire school in academics, right behind Yukino here."

Both girls looked visibly surprised, their eyes widening as they turned to look at Hachiman, who shifted uncomfortably under their scrutiny.

Hiratsuka continued, undeterred. "He's also ranked fifth in the school in PE. Naturally talented, though he practices alone, so he's not as good as he could be." She gave Yukino and Yumiko a meaningful look. "I want you two to help him. To fix him."

Hachiman bristled at her words, irritation flaring within him. Fix him? Was she serious? And yet, he felt a flicker of something deeper—a faint, bitter pang of betrayal that he ruthlessly pushed down. He should have known better. He'd always known better.

Yumiko spoke up hesitantly, glancing between Hiratsuka and Hachiman. "You don't actually want us to, like, hang out with him, right?" she asked, sounding like the very thought was intolerable.

Yukino nodded in agreement, her tone cold. "I'm not interested in being friends with him, but if I must, I'll help him improve his attitude."

Yumiko nodded, her gaze equally distant. Hachiman kept his face impassive, refusing to let their words affect him. People like this can't handle the truth, he thought bitterly. They can't accept anyone who refuses to play their fake little games.

And yet, as much as he hated to admit it, he felt a pang of disappointment, a faint, hollow ache that gnawed at him from deep within. He pushed it down, reminding himself fiercely that people like them weren't worth his trust, that he didn't need them, no matter how much he sometimes wished he did.

Hiratsuka, watching them all in silence, looked faintly disappointed as well, a trace of sadness in her eyes that seemed to unsettle the two girls. She let out a sigh. "No, you don't have to 'hang out' with him. What I mean is that he could be beneficial to this club."

Both girls' faces shifted to expressions of confusion.

"You haven't been getting cases," Hiratsuka continued, "and your club's on the verge of shutting down." The two girls froze, their expressions shifting to ones of pure panic as they looked at each other.

"We… we can't let that happen!" Yumiko stammered, her voice filled with distress.

Hiratsuka held up a hand to silence them. "Hikigaya here is good—really good. He's smart, and I'm willing to bet he had your little club figured out in no time. He can help you keep this club going. I'll support you with getting cases, but having a third person will make a difference."

Hachiman stared at her, shock flashing across his face before he quickly masked it. But even as he told himself it was just for the girls' benefit, he couldn't shake the feeling that, just for a moment, he'd been seen. He pushed the thought away, reminding himself that Hiratsuka was doing this for them, not him.

The two girls turned to look at him, their expressions pleading. Yumiko's gaze softened, and she offered him a reluctant apology, her voice sincere. "Please, Hikigaya, we need your help."

Hachiman's mind raced with conflicting emotions. Part of him wanted to turn them down, to reject them outright. They'd done nothing but insult him, dismiss him. Why should he help them? But as he looked into Yumiko's green eyes, something within him wavered. The sincerity on her face, the raw vulnerability—it was a sight that struck him, something beautiful and fragile in a world he'd long thought devoid of any such beauty.

Maybe, he thought, his resolve crumbling, maybe there's a chance I could find something real here. Something worth believing in.

He swallowed heavily, his gaze meeting hers as he muttered, "Damn it… this sucks." Letting out a resigned sigh, he added, "Alright, I'll join the club."

Yukino's posture relaxed ever so slightly, and Yumiko's face broke into a warm, relieved smile that made something in him ache, a quiet, unacknowledged longing he buried as quickly as it surfaced.

"I want to believe something as beautiful as her can exist in this world," he thought to himself, feeling a faint flicker of hope that he immediately squashed. But this is a mistake. This is all a mistake.

Hiratsuka gave him a small smile, satisfaction clear in her expression. "Alright, kids, lunchtime's over. Let's get going," she said, turning to leave the room. She glanced over her shoulder, adding, "Oh, Miura, Hikigaya, your next class is with me."

As she left, Yumiko turned to Yukino with an excited hug, both girls smiling in relief. When she turned to talk to Hachiman, however, he was already gone, having slipped out without a word.

Hachiman made his way to class, his mind filled with a familiar bitterness as he thought back on the conversation. People, he thought, they're all fake, every last one of them, clinging to each other like rats for the scraps of acknowledgment they can get.

But even as he reminded himself of their hypocrisy, he felt a flicker of doubt. And yet… I want to be seen, don't I? I'm no better than them, hoping for a chance at something genuine.

He entered the classroom, slipping into his usual seat and plugging in his earphones. He resolutely avoided looking in Yumiko's direction, afraid that another glance might make him slip up again. A few moments later, she entered the room, greeting her friends with a smile as he watched her from the corner of his eye.

"That girl," he thought, a faint sense of dread mingling with something dangerously close to admiration, "she's dangerous."

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Hello everyone! I told you the club was going to be different, in this story things are going to be quite different, and i hope you stick with me to enjoy it, thank you all for the support and God bless you all!