Skill 15: Know A Couple Of Foreign Languages
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou was thoroughly unpleased with herself.
The reason for her displeasure was an upperclassman, a second year high school student with charcoal black hair that had a stupid ahoge sticking out and the most disgusting pair of rotten dead fish eyes she had ever seen.
Unfortunately she couldn't recall the man's name from when her classmate had introduced him to the rest of the members of the student council. Isshiki-san had simply addressed him as 'senpai'. He seemed to be fine with it. Accept it even. Guess if he didn't have any problems, she shouldn't voice any complaints either. He looked like he wanted to be alone.
"Is there something on my face?"
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou hadn't been staring. Because using her peripheral vision to spy on the man from time to time didn't count as staring. She was just being mindful of her surroundings and choosing to be careful. The way he talked and behaved with others, there was no doubt left in her mind, he was definitely a loner with no friends in school.
"Kujou-san, it is not polite to ignore someone when they are talking to you."
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou blushed in embarrassment at having been called out like that. Definitely not your average loner then, she thought. But still a bit anti-social and awkward. Probably not used to talking to girls.
The silver haired girl with her hair styled in a half ponytail nodded to herself a couple of times. The teenager was sure her assumptions were completely fool proof. Now that she thought about it, there was no need to hurry. Better to compose herself before she made a proper fool of herself before an upperclassman. He might not care much, but she did have a reputation to maintain.
As such she took a deep breath and let it out slowly until her cheeks regained its natural milk-white complexion. There, now she couldn't be accused of blushing like a little girl because of a careless comment made by an upperclassman. "I was not ignoring you senpai." She lied convincingly. "I just didn't realize that you were speaking to me. You didn't say my name or anything to grab my attention. How was I supposed to know? I was busy. Being a member of the student council is a lot of work."
From the judgmental look he gave her, it was made quite clear that he didn't really believe her. He looked to be having an internal battle with himself, weighing the pros and cons on whether or not to call her out on her bullshit.
It took him less than a minute to decide on his next course of action and how he wanted to handle this going further. He behaved in a manner which was quite atypical of a normal loner and managed to surprise her by escalating the situation.
Guess spending his free time doing volunteer work for the newly elected student council had made the loner a bit more cranky than usual. And for some reason he decided to take his ire out on her.
He shook his head and clicked his tongue in disappointment. "You see, normally I would be fine with that excuse. But there is just one small problem." He lazily motioned to the student council room in general. "We are the only ones left in the room." He let out a bitter laugh. "So unless I have gone crazy and become a raving schizophrenic in the past half an hour, there seems to be only one person available for me to talk to about matters related to the student council." His smile was now borderline creepy. "Any guesses on who that might be, princess?"
He was mocking her. The creepy dead fish eyed loner was making fun of her. Who did he think he was? Masachika Kuze? No, definitely not. He was nowhere near as cute as him. Although he was a loner, so there was a good chance he was also an otaku. Weren't all loners otaku? No, don't compare this creep to Kuze-kun! You will be doing a terrible disservice to him. Not that he would especially care.
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou let out a tired sigh and lowered her head. Boys were so frustrating to deal with. "Трахни меня!" she cursed out softly to herself.
Unfortunately the man had freakishly good hearing. "Wow, I didn't know you speak Russian."
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou immediately snapped to attention, raising her head so fast that he wondered whether she accidentally hurt herself. Her almond shaped blue eyes glittered like sapphires. They bore into him, staring at him like before with suspicion. But there was something else in her eyes now. Oh yes. There was a hint of fear.
"You understand, Russian?" Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou did her best to look strong and intimidating.
She used her facial features, especially the sharpness she had inherited from her Russian father to look threatening and imposing. But the effects were immediately nullified. Curse her half-Japanese heritage for making her look soft. But at least she hadn't stuttered.
This time the black haired upperclassman kept her waiting. He scratched his chin in thought before furnishing a reply. "боже мой!" He exclaimed in perfect Russian and her blue eyes widened in shock and fear. "Oh my!" He added helpfully and now there was no room left for suspicion. "Did you think you were the only one in school who spoke Russian? High school's a big place, princess. You are meant to find a couple of weirdos."
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou felt her temper rise exponentially and her rage managed to overflow and far surpass the level of existential dread she was feeling at the moment. Her blue eyes were narrowed and leveled solely on him. "Please don't insult the Russian language. I know some Japanese people are xenophobic, but I expected better from an upperclassman from our prestigious academy." If he thought this was a request, what she said next made it absolutely clear that she wasn't joking around. "If you continue to slander me, I will report you to the school authorities and you will be expelled for being a racist."
His rotten dead fish eyes widened. "Wait? How is it racist?"
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou blinked. For a moment, she thought he was making light of the matter. But he really seemed to be utterly clueless. Well, that was no excuse. Unlike her he didn't look to be of a mixed heritage. He was just a normal Japanese teenager. Who for some reason knew Russian. What were the odds? She will think about it later. Right now she had more important matters to deal with. Like making this idiot upperclassman understand just how he was being a racist.
"You called me a weirdo." Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou stated.
"No, I didn't." He snapped immediately.
He was a tough cookie, wasn't he? "Okay, well you didn't say it outright. But you definitely meant it." Even then he didn't seem to get what she was trying to say. Was he this dense or was he trying not to understand the issue on purpose? Either way, it won't work on her for long. Alisa was one of the more gifted students in the academy. She would definitely get through to him and make him admit how wrong he was and have him apologize.
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou composed herself, let out a cool, calming breath and spoke with clear intentions. "You said people who spoke Russian were a bunch of weirdos. I'm half-Russian. Do you think I'm a weirdo?"
He blinked in confusion. "Wait, you are half-Russian? How was I supposed to know?"
This time she lost her patience. "Don't play dumb with me. Everyone in school knows who I am. Besides look at my hair, my face, my complexion! I definitely look like someone who is of mixed heritage. Plus, let us not forget, I can speak fluent Russian. How did you not know I was half-Russian? Are you really that stupid?"
The rotten dead fish eyed loner scoffed. "You sound so full of yourself. Newsflash kouhai-san, just because you are kinda okay looking doesn't mean that I will take an interest in you. I have better things to do with my life. And while you are at it, take a good look around. There are a bunch of people with a number of different hair colours running around in this school. Yuigahama has pink hair and she is a nice girl. Does that automatically make her Canadian?"
He had a point. But Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou didn't back down. "I don't know anyone by the name of Yuigahama-san. Is she your girlfriend?"
The loner gave her a look. "Do I look like a guy who has a girlfriend?"
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou shrugged. "You never know. Girls these days are awfully kind and have incredibly low standards. If you change your attitude a little bit, some girl might take a chance with you."
He gave her a cruel smile. "Why, are you offering?"
Alisa shuddered and felt revolted. "Хуй!"
He chuckled. "Pretty sure you just called me a dick." He considered her for a moment and cocked his head to the side in thought. "Or were you saying something along the lines of 'shit' or 'fuck'. I have to say, it gets kinda confusing. Unlike you I'm not half-Russian."
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou didn't want to believe him. "Are you sure? No! I don't believe it. Then how do you speak the language so fluently?"
He gave her a cocky grin, feeling quite proud of himself. "Um, we are not exactly having a conversation in Russian, princess. You have just been throwing swear words at me. Speaking of which, I wouldn't have figured out that such a sheltered girl like you would know so many colourful swear words and would be willing to use it on an unsuspecting senpai in her school. Do you do this often?"
"Заткнись!" Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou shouted while blushing crimson.
The upperclassman smiled. "Telling me to shut the hell up won't do you any good princess. And something tells me I'm not the only unsuspecting person on whom you have been practicing your Russian." He gave her a shit eating grin and she felt something crawl on her skin and die. It was revolting. "Do you have a boyfriend or some guy you are interested in?" He eyed her carefully before adding. "Do you flirt with him in Russian too?"
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou was left completely red faced. "I do not flirt with Kuze-kun in Russian!" She shouted loudly at him.
"Ah yes. Shouting makes lies all the more believable." He gave her a smirk. "Kuze-kun, huh? Tell me, you aren't talking about Masachika Kuze by any chance are you?"
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou was shocked. Her worst fears were realized. This rotten loner and Kuze-kun knew each other. What was the extent of their relationship? Were they friends? Was he the otaku buddy Kuze-kun was talking about?
Wait a second, things could get a lot worse than she first imagined. This guy new Russian. If Kuze-kun were to consult him and ask for a translation for some of the things she had been saying to him in Russian, he would know that she was flirting with him.
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou blushed.
"Wow, your face is turning really red." The upperclassman observed. "Are you blushing? Was it something I said?"
He was making fun of her again. What a terrible upperclassman! "I am not blushing!" Alisa yelled back at him.
He winced. "Inside voice, please, princess." He pleaded. "I don't deal well with girls when they are shouting at me. Now that I think about it, I don't deal well with girls in general." For some reason he looked really proud of himself. "Good to know I'm still a great loner. No, I'm the king of all loners." He added with a creepy grin.
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou felt her skin crawl. What a creep. She wanted him to leave this instant. Good thing she didn't know him at all and didn't have to worry about hurting his feelings. "You can leave now senpai. I can do the rest of the work by myself."
He gave her a look. Then shook his head and got back to work stacking the folders. "I promised Isshiki I would help her. I'm not leaving until I get the job done."
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou raised an eyebrow. "In case you didn't notice, Isshiki-san already left us high and dry. If you are worried that I will complain to her tomorrow that you didn't finish your part of the job, don't worry." She looked completely serious. "I give you my word, I won't tell on you."
He chuckled. "Tell on me? What are you, a kid?"
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou blushed. She puffed out her chest and put her hand on her hips. "Do I look like a kid to you senpai?"
Like all men he couldn't help but stare. The pose she struck really accentuated her hourglass figure. Suddenly Alisa felt really subconscious. Why was she acting like Isshiki-san? She was not a slut! And this man was just another pervert. But before she could shout at him, he averted his eyes and looked away. And to her surprise, he had a blush marring his features.
"Um, no." He faked a cough into his fist. "You are certainly, um, well proportioned in certain areas."
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou smiled. She couldn't help but feel a tad smug. Now that she gave him an appraising look, apart from his eyes, he did look kinda handsome. And he definitely looked cute when he blushed.
Alisa crossed her arms beneath her breasts and spoke teasingly. "Wow, was that meant to be a compliment? You sure know how to flirt with a girl, senpai."
The senpai gave her a dead eyed look. "I don't flirt. Get back to work, kouhai-san."
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou felt slightly miffed. "I have a name you know. Calling me kouhai-san just sounds lazy."
The senpai turned his back on her and got busy with work. "There is nothing wrong with being lazy. Besides, I don't remember your name…kouhai-san."
Alisa was pretty sure he added the 'kouhai-san' at the end on purpose to get on her nerves. Being the mature and sophisticated woman that she was, Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou did the only sensible thing imaginable in the given situation – she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Now you are behaving like a child again." He remarked.
Alisa blushed. "Whaa- How did you know?"
"I have excellent peripheral vision." The upperclassman said and even though he was showing her his back, Alisa could feel him smile as he spoke. "Now, we really need to hurry. Otherwise, we will be stuck in here forever. And I'm pretty sure you have better things to do with your time, kouhai-san."
"Alya." Alisa blurted out impatiently. "My name is Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou. But my friends and family call me Alya." Finding herself blushing again, she huffed and got back to work. "I don't know why you don't remember my name. Everyone in the student council introduced themselves when you came in. Including me."
"Ah, I wasn't paying attention back then. Sorry…Kujou-san." He added while giving her a small nod of acknowledgment and an indiscernible look over a folder he was studying.
Not knowing how to respond to the look, Alisa found herself nodding back. While she worked with him in silence, she found herself feeling a bit dejected. She had told him her whole name, even thrown in her nick name for good measure, but he addressed her using her last name. Why was he being so formal? Was he just shy? On second thought, he was just being a loner and not acting too familiar with her. It was probably the Japanese way.
The two of them got a lot of work done while they were together. He was diligent and meticulous and not at all lazy. They also got to talking about one thing or another and he actually assuaged her fears about him knowing Russian. Turns out he was just a man with too much free time on his hand and unsupervised access to the Internet on his mobile phone. He was also a comic book nerd and appreciated watching Scarlett Johansson kick ass in the Avengers movie while wearing tight leather. As it turns out, this was also the reason he knew Russian. Or at least some choice phrases and curse words.
"You thought 'Bozhe moi' meant 'fuck me'?" Alisa asked after hearing his explanation.
Her senpai leaned against the table and crossed his arms over his chest. "I know right. How stupid of me. But I think I was watching a fan translation and it got the phrase wrong. So I just had to do some research of my own on the internet. I checked multiple sites and found that it meant something along the lines of 'Oh my!' or 'Oh my goodness!' and I thought that didn't fit with the scene. I mean, Agent Black Widow just found out her assignment was to go and meet the Hulk. The appropriate response would definitely be 'Fuck me!'"
Alisa scoffed and struck an intimidating pose. "Then you don't know Russian women at all. We are all born badasses."
Her senpai didn't comment. "Anyway, so as I was checking all these sites, I picked up on a few Russian phrases and sentences. But I don't remember them. But then I was on this page which listed these Russian swear words and they had audio files with them and I thought that was pretty cool. So I decided to practice a few of them and realized I had an affinity to learn languages. Or swear words at least."
Alisa shook her head in disappointment. "…You know senpai, you were a lot cooler when you didn't explain to me how you know Russian. Now you sound just like a dumb kid."
He didn't look even remotely insulted at being compared to a dumb kid. Instead he spoke to her using a different tongue. "Sitacuisses philosaphus mansisses."
Alisa blinked. "Wait, that sounded like Latin." Her blue eyes widened. "You know Latin too? You know that's a dead language, right? Just how much free time do you have on your hand?"
He kept himself busy. "I don't know Latin. I just know a few cool phrases."
Alisa tried not to sound too impressed with him. Just who was this upperclassman? And why did he know Latin? "What does it mean?" She asked. When he gave her a look, she clarified further. "The thing you said in Latin, I mean."
Her senpai took a short break from worked and fully turned around to face her. He crossed his arms and looked really confident and mature. He even had a small, cocky smile on his lips. Just wow! Alisa mentally exclaimed. He looks like a completely different person. So handsome, she thought and felt herself growing rather self conscious. This time she was the one to avert her eyes and look away. She could feel herself blushing too and hoped he wouldn't call her out on it. Because if he did, she would just die out of embarrassment.
Of course this wasn't a fairy tale where she was meant to meet her prince charming and her senpai just had to ruin everything by opening his stupid mouth and being his rotten self. "If you had kept your mouth shut, we may have thought you were clever."
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou blinked in confusion. "Huh," Then she ran the entire sentence he had just said through her brain, took it apart and brought it back together and fully tried to understand it. "Hah?" Finally, she let the real meaning sink in and felt her blood boil. "Haah!?"
Alisa was beyond livid. "Did you just call me stupid!? How dare you!?"
Her senpai knew he had made a terrible mistake by stepping on a landmine and wisely took a step back. Unfortunately he had nowhere to run. His back hit the wall and he found himself trapped in the student council room. "I-I didn't mean to insult you, Kujou-san. I was just answering your question and explaining the thing I said in Latin."
Alisa took a step forward and growled out. "ложь!"
Her senpai looked like a deer caught in headlights. And Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou felt like a freaking T-90 tank. He was gonna die a horrible death. "I don't know what you're saying, Kujou-san. I don't know that word. Please stop talking in Russian."
The effect was immediate. Alisa stopped her approach and cocked her head to the side, giving him a look. The look was difficult to decipher on its own, but she made it even more difficult by continuing to speak in Russian. "ты говоришь правду?"
Her senpai sighed, hung his head low and surrendered to her impressive might. Quite an appropriate response before a Russian, if she might say so herself. But he didn't go out quietly into the night.
"У тебя красивая улыбка!" He shouted with all his might.
And Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou .exe stopped working. The mighty T-90 drove itself over a cliff and sunk deep into the Sea of Japan.
Alisa was blushing. Her whole face felt really hot. She took a tentative step back. Her eyes were looking everywhere but at him. All of a sudden she sounded like every other normal high school girl who had just received a compliment from a boy. "You jerk!" She cursed. "Do you have any idea what you just said?"
"Um," Her senpai was beginning to sound really unsure of himself. "Was it something along the lines of: 'I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I will never do it again.'? Because I really meant it, Kujou-san. I won't speak to you in Russian ever again."
Alisa narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "Latin." She simply said. "You got in trouble, because you spoke to me in Latin." She gave him a look as if she was trying to figure out whether to believe him or not. "You really have no idea what you just said to me in Russian?"
"Sorry." Her senpai apologized. "I just said some random Russian phrase in panic. Now that I think about it, I can't even remember what I said. Anyway, what did it mean, Kujou-san?" He asked.
Alisa was still blushing. But she still had the use of proper brain function to spin this in a way which suited her. "Nothing. You just said something really pathetic. And you butchered the pronunciation. So, it's not worth talking about. Please forget you said anything. And I will do the same."
"It sure didn't sound like nothing." Her senpai said mostly to himself.
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou glared at him. "Do you want to die, senpai?"
"N-no." He squeaked.
"Then please, let us get back to work." Alisa spoke with a note of finality, before effectively ending the conversation.
The two of them got back to work and as you would expect, without wasting any more time on meaningless chatter, the two of them got some real work done. And before you know it both Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou and her senpai were done with their respective jobs. Both of them were really tired and worn out which meant it was finally time to say their farewell and head home. As you would expect, being a veteran loner, her senpai didn't waste any more time and picked up his school bag from the table.
"Right. Great job today. I will be heading out first. Sayonara Kujou-san!" Her senpai spoke really fast and was half way across to the main door which led out of the student council room.
Wait a minute – Did he just bid her adieu by using the word: 'Sayonara!'
In Japanese doesn't that mean saying goodbye with a note of finality, as if it was unlikely that they would ever meet again in the future? For some reason this didn't sit right with her.
And that's when Alisa realized something else, something important.
"Wait!" She called out and he stopped by the door and threw her a glance over his shoulder. Now she felt really awkward, because this was really odd and embarrassing and so unlike her. Finally she grabbed hold of the remnants of her courage and powered through. "I don't know your name, senpai."
He looked rather unsure of himself. "Senpai is fine." He said. "I mean that's what Isshiki calls me anyway."
Alisa felt a bit insulted and let him know she didn't appreciate the comparison with her fellow classmate. "I don't want to bad mouth a classmate, but I'm nothing like Isshiki-san. Besides," Feeling rather brave and acting more than a little stupid, Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou took a big risk and spoke the next few words in Russian. "Я хотел бы узнать тебя получше"
Her senpai blinked in confusion. "Sorry, I don't know what that means." He said apprehensively. "I really don't know Russian all that well, Kujou-san. I just know a few words and phrases here and there."
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou smiled. Her cheeks felt hot and her face was red, but she was feeling awesome and walked towards him with a spring in her step. She was feeling just that confidant with herself. Having him not know what she just said really proved to boost her once worn confidence. In fact, it felt like she was back to her old self again.
"I just asked you what your name was." Alisa lied convincingly.
Her senpai seemed okay with the explanation and didn't question her any further on the matter. "Okay, sure, I guess." He was back to being his old uncertain self again. "My name is Hachiman Hikigaya. You can call me Hikigaya-senpai, if you want." He added as an afterthought.
Alisa nodded. Then feeling rather bold she felt the need to throw in something at the very last minute before he left. "You can call me, Alya if you want. I know you are not too big on honorifics, Hikigaya-senpai." She added with a knowing smile, based on his interactions with Isshiki. Although thinking about Hikigaya-senpai and that girl didn't sit right with her for some reason.
"I think I will stick with Kujou-san for the moment." Hikigaya-senpai said before opening the door and stepping into the hallway outside.
For a second Alisa waited for him to greet her goodbye properly, but he just closed the door shut on her face. He really is a good for nothing loner, Alisa thought. But for some reason she couldn't find herself getting mad at Hikigaya-senpai. Perhaps she was more tired than she initially thought. It seemed possible. She had worked herself to the bone. Even when everyone had called it a day and left. Everyone except him.
Alisa found herself leaning forward until her forehead touched the door. She felt really, really tired all of a sudden and she was definitely not thinking straight. Hikigaya-senpai hadn't bothered to greet her properly before he left and that stung a little bit.
"Когда мы можем снова встретиться?" Alisa threw the question into the abyss.
And the abyss answered back. "Завтра"
Alisa's eyes widened and she immediately opened the door. And there he was, standing outside, leaning against the wall with his hand shoved deep into his trouser pocked, staring into nothing in particular and looking completely bored, stood none other than Hikigaya-senpai.
"You are still here?" Alisa asked.
He gave her a look. "Well, I might be hungry, but I don't think I have passed out from exhaustion and become a ghost, so yeah. I'm still here, waiting for you to finish up."
Alisa was at a loss for words. In that moment, she could have asked him a number of questions, like why on earth was he waiting for her to finish up, had she misjudged him so bad, was he really such a gentleman, was this the kind of behavior she should expect from an upperclassman. But she couldn't formulate any of those queries properly and was able to come up with only one word which managed to sum up everything. "Why?"
He looked away and was unable to meet her eyes. "Because it's really late and I thought I should walk you to the station."
Alisa blushed. Goddammit! Was she a freaking middle schooler? Get a grip on yourself, Alya, she told herself. But it was of no use. She couldn't come up with any words to express herself properly to him. And she knew two languages for God's sake. She really felt like a silly girl at that moment, because the best she could manage was to murmur a small word to express her gratitude at his kindness. While being unable to look him in the eye.
"T-Thank you." Alisa said.
"You're welcome." Hikigaya-senpai responded.
As they took the stairs and exited the building, Alisa regained some of her lost composure and was again able to string up a bunch of words together to form a coherent sentence. But her mind harkened back to what she had said in Russian when she thought she was alone in the student council room. And what his response had been to what she had said. For some reason, she couldn't let go of it, even if it made her blush and embarrassed her to no end.
"Did you really mean what you said?" Hikigaya-senpai looked confused, so she felt the need to clarify. But she couldn't bring herself to repeat the actual words she had said in Russian. It was way too embarrassing. "You know," she floundered. "The stuff I said in Russian when I thought I was alone in the room and you were standing outside…like a creep."
Alisa didn't know why she called him a 'creep', but thankfully he didn't take any offense. He probably thought this was how all first year high school girls talked to people, being all immature and child-like and so not behaving like a proper adult woman.
Thankfully, he didn't try to act dumb and shy away from the conversation. "Of course." Alisa blushed and got her hopes up and then rightly so, he put a dampener on everything. "And I don't know why you are calling me a creep, Kujou-san. You must have known I was standing outside. I mean, it would be weird if you were talking to yourself in Russian. Besides, you asked a very particular question: 'When can I see you again?' And I just replied back with 'Tomorrow'. Wait, did I butcher up the pronunciation really bad? Or did you forget what Isshiki said in the beginning of the meeting, that I will be doing some volunteer work for the student council for a while?"
Alisa didn't know how to respond. All her worries, all her embarrassment had been for naught. Because Hikigaya-senpai understood her, he got what she said in Russian. But as expected, he didn't understand the context nor catch the subtle nuances of the Russian language. Really, it was her fault for expecting so much from him. But shouldn't she be feeling happy, glad that he didn't get what she had blurted out in a moment of weakness? Because what she had said certainly carried some flirty connotations. She hadn't just been asking when they would meet again, as in she wanted an exact time and date. But of course, he had replied with 'tomorrow', so he definitely didn't get it.
Alisa felt really ticked off for no reason whatsoever.
"Мудак!" She cursed out loud.
Hikigaya-senpai gave her a look and then let out a world weary sigh. He would never understand women. It was a lost cause. "There you go, calling me a shithead. What did I do wrong now?" He asked.
"Nothing." Alisa stated. "And I think you should call me Alya from now on."
Hikigaya-senpai sounded unsure of himself. "I don't know -"
"I insist." Alisa thought about adding more pressure before he gave into her demands, but that might take a lot of time and effort on her part. So she decided to switch tactics and practice a little more cunning. "Think about it. It would really annoy Isshiki-san, if you call me Alya starting tomorrow. You might even get out of volunteering for the student council."
Hikigaya-senpai's eyes brightened immediately. "Well, when you put it like that," The two of them had reached the station by now and this time, Hikigaya-senpai was being a real gentleman and bid her a proper farewell.
"See you later…Alya." He spoke with a touch of uncertainty marring his voice.
Alya tried not look away or blush too much. She was successful on the former, but not in the latter. Her cheeks were hot and she was burning up. Now she was the one behaving like an awkward teenage girl who didn't know how to talk properly to a boy, let alone a kind hearted senpai.
Finally she found her nerve. "See you tomorrow, Hikigaya-senpai."
But before she entered the station and he could walk away from this encounter, Alya's mind harkened back to something he had said to her before. In Russian. Something he later said he didn't know or recall. That, was beginning to sound like a lie. How do you say something so perfectly in a foreign language and not know its exact meaning? Either you are really dumb and just mugging it all up without knowing what it means or you are too embarrassed to let anyone know that you learnt something really embarrassing to flirt with a cute girl.
And Alya had a pretty good idea in which category Hikigaya-senpai falls. So, without a care in the world, Alya decided to embarrass herself even further if that meant Hikigaya-senpai would admit to her that he had lied to her face. In her book the price was well worth it.
And so Alya let it rip. "У тебя красивая улыбка!"
By now Hikigaya-senpai had walked a fair distance from the entrance of the station. It was probably a good thing because now he couldn't properly see her blushing cheeks. She prayed to god he didn't have such good vision to observe her turning every shade of red imaginable. His eyes looked bad, so they had to be bad, right? But no, it seemed her worries were baseless. Hikigaya-senpai had stopped in his tracks. He had to. Because she had shouted out that particular sentence in a really loud voice to grab his attention. She had spoken in Russian and by his account he only knew of one girl who spoke in Russian. So he did the wise thing and turned around. But he was too far away. Well, he wasn't that far away. But he had positioned himself in such a way that his expression was carefully hidden behind the fallen shadows.
Alya had no trouble finding his eyes, but she couldn't see whether he was blushing or not. In other words, she had no idea whether he was lying or not. He also didn't bother to walk back towards her. Instead he talked a bit louder to be heard over the cacophony of the other commuters. "Um, Alya I didn't quite get that. I don't speak Russian all that well." He repeated. She heard him speak. But he was barely audible. "I hope you didn't cuss me out in public. That would just make me sad."
Even hidden beneath the shadows Alya was able to see him smile a little bit. It wasn't a dazzling, bright smile which made you fall head over heels for him on first sight. It was a smug and cocky grin, just barely there and gone in the next blink of an eye.
Alya decided the lopsided grin suited him much better. "I didn't cuss you out in public. Give me some credit." She wanted to be bold and add some sassy remark, like how he should figure out what she said in Russian by doing his own research on the internet. And if he needed any motivation he should imagine her wearing tight, black leather. But they were out in public and she had to behave like a proper lady.
And so, she gave him a small nod and left without saying a proper goodbye. They had said enough goodbyes today. Besides, by his own admission he would be meeting up with her again in the student council room tomorrow. Alya seriously doubted if Isshiki would let him skip out on the job. Even if the two of them acted really close and chummy and he called her by her nickname. In fact, Alya should probably rub it in her face how close they had become over the course of the past few hours when they were left alone. That would really drive the other girl crazy. The thought made her smile as she took the train home.
Meanwhile Hikigaya walked outside in a relatively slow pace. He should have taken the bus home, but he decided to walk to the next stop. The cool breeze hitting his face would make him breathe a bit easier. At least he wasn't blushing anymore. To think Alya would have the courage to shout something so embarrassing out in public. These new first year girls were really something else.
Oh no. He was thinking about it again.
Dammit. He so did not have a beautiful smile.
Get a grip on yourself, Hachiman, he told himself. Such lines only work on women. Are you a girl, he questioned himself. He had thrown that line in her face out of desperation. It was meant to be a hail mary pass. And somehow it had worked and saved his rotten life. He had survived his encounter with the T-90 tank and lived to fight another day.
Now he just had to live with the embarrassment and stop himself from blushing every time he thought about that stupid line and how cute she had looked when she shouted it at him for all the world to hear. Sure, the odds were low of anyone having a clue on what she said in Russian. But still, it was really bold and courageous of her…
And he was blushing again.
That's it. He was walking all the way home. He deserved it.
Translation Notes [Note: Thank you Google Translate!:
Трахни меня: Fuck me:
боже мой!: My God!:
Хуй!: Dick!
Заткнись!: Shut up!
ложь!: Lie!
ты говоришь правду?: Are you telling the truth?
У тебя красивая улыбка!: You have a beautiful smile!
Я хотел бы узнать тебя получше: I would like to get to know you better.
Когда мы можем снова встретиться?: When can we meet again?
Завтра: Tomorrow.
Мудак!: Asshole!
Author's Note: I was sick for a few days and while I was resting I finally got the time to watch some new anime. I finished "No Longer Allowed in Another World" and I gotta say, I finally found my isekai anime. I also watched "The Dangers in My Heart" and "Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out" and I gotta say, I think Kyotaro Ichikawa and Shinichi Sakurai are long lost cousins of Hikigaya. I also just watched the first episode of "Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings In Russian" and I think Yukino and Alya can be friends and have similar taste in men. And so this chapter was born!
Now it's time for some polls –
Poll#1: Which Female Character Should I Write About Next?
Option 1: Hana Uzaki – Uzaki-chan Wants To Hang Out.
Option 2: Yamada Anna – The Dangers In My Heart.
Option 3: Yuki Suou – Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings In Russian.
Option 4: Aizawa Tomo – Tomo-chan Is A Girl.
Option 5: Momo Ayase – Dandadan.
Option 6: Female Anime Character From The Reviews!
[Note: Please suggest a bunch of female characters in the reviews. You can also write an entire list.]
Poll#2: Should Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou Get Her Own Separate Fic? If Yes, Then What Kinda Fic?
Option 1: Alya x Hikigaya: Collection of One-shots.
Option 2: Alya x Hikigaya x Masachika Kuzo: Romcom with Love Triangle.
Option 3: Alya x Hikigaya : M-Rated Romance With Lemon.
Please pick accordingly
Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.
Leave lots and lots of reviews, follows and faves.
Won't betray your dreams.
P.S.: So, as you can see the gimmick of this fic is that I will be exploring all '108 Skills' of Hikigaya Hachiman. But they won't be his loner skills. They will be skills which make him the perfect boyfriend material for the girls.
So, if you can think of any useful skills which might make him irresistible to the ladies, please let me know in the reviews. I can't wait for your suggestions.
Take care.
-x-x-x-
