As Expected He Was More Warped Than Most
Youth is an illusion. It is irrelevant and temporary. People attempt to remember their youth during desperate situations in their life in order to find temporary solace while escaping from the problem at hand. Therefore letting it fester into something that becomes more difficult to resolve as time goes on.
A temporary world of ignorance built by the weak to escape into the fantasy of a 'joyous' past they could barely remember. Some fail to remember anything and some only remember the bad, resulting the dark pit of despair to grab a hold them as they continue to slave away at their job while bitterly thinking of a series of 'what if' and 'if only'.
Those that try to enjoy their youths and look back at them with fondness are nothing more than fools that are incapable of looking at the face of the disappointment in their lives.
The woman read the sentences in the sheet of paper she held once again. Her right leg resting atop her left as she eyed the paper in her grasp with a deadpanning expression. Her left eyebrow twitched slightly as she read it again.
"Thank you sensei. I would have failed this term if you hadn't helped." a feminine voice from behind her says to the man in front of her. The man nodded and stood up. Telling her to go home before leaving himself. Perfect. That was exactly what the woman was waiting for.
"Hey..." she calls out to the boy standing in front of her. He was staring at her, waiting for her to continue. She didn't disappoint. "Why do you think I called you here?"
"I would wager it is to give me your review of my essay. There is no other reason for you to call me" the boy replied in a flat tone. The woman slowly looked back up to his stoic expression and forced back the feeling of annoyance that would have show itself on her face.
"Yes yes. Now be a good boy and remind me what this essay is supposed to be about." she continued to watch his bored expression for any signs of discomfort. At least see if he was aware of the 'situation' he was in. A sign of unease or fear of being scolded.
There were none.
"Write an essay looking back to your childhood and how it made you the person you are today. You can call it 'Youth' if you want it to sound emotional-" the boy said without changing his expression. "-is what you said with a laugh before leaving."
What was up with that reply? The fingers of her free hand twitched as she held back a sneer. Yes that is indeed what she said. Word for word before doing exactly what he said she did. "Then what the hell is this? It makes you sound like a sixty year old man sick of his life! Reading it makes me feel like a sixty year old man!"
"That may be because you are old, Hiratsuka-sensei."
*THUD*
In the span half a second her left hand had formed into a fist and found its way to his stomach. He winced ever so slightly from the impact but otherwise did not protest the abuse. Hiratsuka stood straight with a sigh, retracting her hand and slightly waving it as if it would drain the sting she also felt when she punched him. "Did you eat bricks for lunch or something? Ow. Why are you such a pain to deal with?"
"I do not know sensei." the boy answers her as his left leg slid back into its previous position beside his right. Moments prior it was a step behind the other to ensure he wouldn't fall down after taking the hit from the woman now standing in front of him. "However, Let me be the one to point out that violence of any form against students by teacher's have been prohibited decades ago by the Japanese board of education. You should know that If I were to press charges you could potentially lose your job, which would then be registered to your permanent records therefore significantly reducing your chances to find another steady source of income and potentially any suitors in the future."
As he continued Hiratsuka's face paled and for once she felt a little bit frightened. "Y-You have no proof-" Once again she was proved wrong when she saw the boy looking towards a specific the corner of the teacher's lounge. At the CCTV camera installed less than a week ago to find out who was stealing equipment that were needed in the teacher's office. Which Hiratsuka Shizuka totally remembered of course, being the great teacher she was.
The stoic boy in front of her watches on as her face turns from one emotion to another. Turning paler as each word he said properly registered in her mind. Each of them made her look more pitiable than the last. He did not pity her. "I won't do that Hiratsuka-sensei. I only mentioned it to remind you. I have been told multiple times that I am difficult to handle. If such a thing were to happen because of me then I will take responsibility."
Hiratsuka froze for a second. Having brought out of her stupor by his words which had sunk in. "You... Do you have any idea how that sounds?"
The boy blinked once and then raised an eyebrow. "It's only logical for me to take responsibility for my actions. Intentionally or unintentionally is of no consequence."
Hiratsuka sighs while rubbing her forehead in annoyance after placing his essay on her desk. Choosing to not bring up that one of her students basically told her he was willing to marry her with a straight face and save both of them from that possible embarrassment. "Your eyes are like that of a dead fish." she noted, changing the subject while keeping eye contact.
"Thank you." replied the boy. There was no sarcasm nor hidden resentment in his voice. He couldn't possibly have taken that as a...
"That was not a compliment." Hiratsuka made a face at him.
"I am aware." he replied once again with the same expression he had this entire time. Now that she thought about it, did she ever see the boy in front of her make a proper expression all this time of her being his homeroom teacher?
"You don't have any friends here do you?" she asked him and he shook his head. "A girlfriend maybe?" another shake of his head. "I see..." She trailed.
To the boy she seemed to be deep in thought a moment before she looked at him with a smirk. Making him wonder what was going through her mind for a brief moment. "Come with me." And so he picked up his bag and followed behind her. They walked up a flight of stair then proceeded to the other side of the building before standing in front of a door. He looked up at the nameplate. The nameplate was empty. He wondered what she sought to accomplish by bringing him to an empty room. Seeing as a room that had a use would normally have something written on its nameplate, signifying its purpose and use to the onlookers.
"Oi Yukinoshita! I'm coming in!" Hiratsuka sensei announced, opening the door before her words even finished coming out from her lips and stepped inside. He followed suit and gently closed the door behind him. Turning around to see what Hiratsuka dragged him around half the school for he came to the sight of a beautiful girl his age sitting by her lonesome near the open window reading a book. Must be that Yukinoshita character sensei had called out to earlier.
Hey hey the heck was up with those falling cherry blossom leaves being carried in by the wind? They didn't even have a cherry blossom tree anywhere near the school premise. And did the sun decide to shine a little brighter without exerting any heat to make it look like she was some divine being? Even the wind made her long hair flow a little and her long slender legs visible! Made the scene look like those crappy harem light novels he read from time to time where the main character and a heroine have a 'fated meeting'. He chose to ignore the absurdity of the situation for now before he questioned things that shouldn't be questioned.
"Hiratsuka-sensei. I believe told you to knock before entering." the young girl began. Hiratsuka replied to that but the boy saw no reason to pay all of his attention to it. Instead he looked around the room from the corners of his eyes. Multiple boxes in one corner and folded chairs, a long table and more boxes on the other. A storage room of sorts perhaps? That would explain the empty nameplate.
"And who is that delinquent behind you staring into space?"
'Delinquent?' There was a delinquent present in the room? But it was just him and the other two in here. He didn't hear the sound of the door opening either. So by default she was talking about him. There was no other explanation to it, he looked at the girl with his dead fish eyes, expression unchanging. Believing an introduction to be necessary he opened his mouth to speak but didn't realize Hiratsuka was also planning to speak.
"This is Kotomine Hachiman from Class 2-F." Hiratsuka introduced him then paused for a second, using one of her hands to point at him with her thumb and the boy behind her greeted the younger girl with a slight bow that went unnoticed by both the women in front of him. "He's here to join this club."
What?
He turns to Hiratsuka with a questioning gaze. In turn The woman turned her head to him and replied-
"This is your punishment for writing that horrible essay. I will not accept any form of refusals from you." Then returned to looking at Yukinoshita.
"But I don't want to." he tells her but she ignores him and his gaze.
"As you can tell he is as dull and rotten as his eyes make him look. Combined with that face it makes him come across as a delinquent to most people." Hiratsuka paused for a second. A sense of unease filling her as he continues to stare at her from behind without blinking and she had to ignore it to make the unease go away. "As a result he's become this pitiable and lonely excuse of a human being. My request to the Service Club is to fix him and set him to the right path of a respectable human being."
The irony was not lost to him. Then again it was rather glaring so it couldn't be lost to him even if he was blind. Considering that's exactly how he viewed the woman in front of him in that exact same way minutes prior to this conversation it was even a little comedic. Although he probably should have felt a little 'hurt' after hearing Hiratsuka's words. He didn't though.
"I will have to respectfully decline. Just looking at those vulgar eyes of his as he looks at me makes me fear for my chastity." Yukinoshita covered her nonexistent chest from his field of view. Now that notion was truly comedic. Even to him.
"Don't worry. He may not look like it but he's virtually harmless." Hiratsuka dismisses Yukinoshita' worries.
"You lack the qualities I desire in a woman. Rest assured, someone of your bodily structure could never become an object of lust to me." He told them and was ignored once again. He didn't lie though. The only thing she had going for her is her legs. Her breasts were nearly flat and her hips were slightly above average at best.
"Mostly harmless you say?" Yukinoshita mumbled audibly and Hachiman held back the feeling of annoyance from being ignored. "I suppose since it's a request from a teacher I cannot reject it. Very well, I shall see to it that he meets your standards Hiratsuka-sensei."
Hiratsuka smiled at her and nodded once before turning to leave. But before she made her exit she gave the only male in the room a deadpanned expression. "..." But she said nothing as she exited the room.
Hachiman said nothing as she opened the sliding door and closed it after passing through. Although there were no more sounds coming from outside. None that reached his ears at least. And considered her walking style along with the type of shoes she was wearing. Being able to walk away without making a sound was impossible unless one was really good at skulking around undetected or just generally lacked much of a presence to begin with. Leading Hachiman to believe that she was still there. Was she listening in perhaps? If so, then why would she do that?
Deciding to accept his fate he shook his head and silently went to the side of the room and wordlessly picked up a folded chair. After unfolding it he wiped away the dust that accumulated on it and sat down. He considered taking a nap but decided against it. Deeming the drowsiness he would have to deal with not worth it. Simply because it would interfere with the things he intended to do in a couple of hours. The seconds roll by. Seconds turn to minutes as he continues to wordlessly stare forward. Silence was not new nor uncomfortable to him. In a certain way it made him think of his days as a middle school student.
*Ahem*
Hearing the noise made by the only person in the room other than himself he turned his head towards the girl and gave her a questioning stare. "Yes?" He waited for the girl to speak.
The girl glared at him for seconds before sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "This will be tougher than I thought." she muttered quietly he was able to hear her words perfectly. He didn't care of what people said about him but being insulted and ignored multiple times in the span of a few minutes by such a rude person for no particular reason was beginning to get to him. He wasn't even aware such a thing was possible.
"Tell me..." she took her attention away from her book and eyed him with mild curiosity. ".. What do you think this place is?" Her commanding tone did not make his expression change the slightest.
"Hiratsuka-sensei' words implied this is a club." Hachiman trailed. Once again looking around the room for anything of interest. He opened his mouth to speak once again but Yukinoshita beat him to it.
"And what sort of club do you think this is?" Yukinoshita asked him with a knowing smirk. He did not immediately respond. And he couldn't help but think that she was being needlessly smug to him. As far as he could remember he never even uttered a word to her or did anything in this school to gain anyone's ire.
"I have no guesses." he says, the look of stoicism not leaving his face. Taking his expression as boredom she grimaced at his lack of interest in their conversation.
"The goal of this club is to help others by aiding them in their endeavor to better themselves. It is the duty of those that are blessed to help those that are less fortunate out of the goodness of their hearts. Unfortunate people such as yourself. In other words the act of volunteering to better this world or in this case, fixing you. You should feel honored to receive my help Kotomine-kun. I welcome you to the Service Club."
For a brief moment it was as if angel wings came to life behind her with a glow emitting from behind her to make them shine more. Hachiman couldn't help but internally think to himself. 'This forced attempt by the universe to make her look other worldly is nauseating. I hope this stops before I vomit.' Well, it was either that or the smug expression on her that screamed her 'superiority' compared to the 'less fortunate'.
Hachiman compared her attitude to that of the spoiled Ojou-sama characters he would see in many Anime's. Something told him she was not above humble bragging or insulting others based on her first impression on them. 'Oh wait she already did that.'
"But this is not a club." his words caused her to close her book entirely without even bookmarking her last read line and gaze at him with slightly narrowed eyes. "The Student Handbook clearly states that the bare minimum of a club is to have at least five active members. Otherwise it would not be recognized as a club by the school or the student council." he saw the traces of a wince on Yukinoshita' face that she held back. "Seeing as how almost half of club hour has passed and no one else has entered the room, combined with the presence of dust on this chair prior to me sitting on it. I am lead to believe that no one else is coming at all. Furthermore, looking at this room it seems to be used to store items that could be needed any moment so they were put here so that teacher's could get them quickly without having to go outside to the storage shed." he paused for a couple of seconds to wait for Yukinoshita to debunk his statements. She did not do so. It let him continue. "At most this is a side project of Hiratsuka-sensei as she seems to be the only one aware of this place otherwise there would have been something written on the nameplate of this room." 'Honestly, that woman has too much time on her hands.' "But even if i were to assume that this is a club with the sole purpose of 'helping' people you would be the least qualified to fix anyone's problems. Considering your lack of common courtesy to even introduce yourself before asking my name after insulting me even though I had done nothing to warrant such harsh words have lead me to deduct that no one is going to come at all due to not being able to stand your lack of manners. Your lack of tact towards me even though you know nothing about me has already proved that you lack the qualities one would seek in a friend or even an acquaintance, therefore you have no friends of your own. Therefore whatever chances you think you have of actually 'aiding' me as you so diligently put it have already diminished to none. Perhaps you should consider attempting to 'better' yourself before looking for others to 'help' as you so kindly put it."
If looks could kill then the one Yukinoshita gave him would have killed him at that moment for sure. "Th-that depends on what defines someone as a friend."
"Precisely what someone without any friends would say." he raised an eyebrow much to her chagrin. "At least I have the decency to admit I have none. Unlike yourself."
"Yukinoshita I'm coming in!" Hiratsuka announced AFTER barging in once again before things got out of hand. Knowing Yukinoshita she had taken Kotomine' words rather personally and would not hesitate to retaliate brutally. No point in getting them in the same club if they rip the other's throat off in day one. 'Time to play mediator.' she thought tiredly. "Looks like you're having trouble with him."
"That would be because instead of facing his problem he is trying to deflect it." Yukinoshita stood up and spoke in annoyance.
"Once again, that would be you, not I. I have not denied that I have problems with certain things but I have been attempting to fix that for a long time. But even If that were to be ignored, I am doing well for myself. I managed to get into Sobu High by my own efforts, have scored above average grades in every single subject and have maintained a civilized relationship with everyone here without needlessly intruding in their lives. This is how I have always been. And whatever changes happen to me I wish to have that in my terms. And even if I can't change. I am prepared to live with it. Can you not accept a person's decision to be as they are?"
Yukinoshita' hand clenched into a fist, shaking slightly which did not go unnoticed by Hiratsuka. "No. I cannot accept that. Accepting yourself? Don't be absurd. That's the same as running away... And that way nothing would be ever be solved! No one would be saved!"
The sudden rise of her voice caught the only adult in the room by surprise and made the made student raise his brows in realization. Hiratsuka intended to calm Yukinoshita down but something else happened instead.
"Heh."
Both women turned to Kotomine, surprised by the noise he had made. But for very different reasons.
"Hahahaha!" Kotomine laughed. His face twisting to fit the bill as his voice began to crack. He placed one palm the right side of his face, covering the two scars on his face. It was a good thing he was sitting down otherwise he would have fallen down by now. After all, he had never laughed before. His laughter settled down and his breathing quickened to compensate for the lack of air in his lungs.
"There was nothing funny about that." Yukinoshita grits her teeth, furious at the boy in front of her for laughing.
"Forgive me." Kotomine wiped away the tear from the corner of his eyes. Looking at both women he spoke with a haughty grin that almost made the other two take a step back. "I found it humorous to see someone put so much weight into trivial things such as social views and connections of a high school student in a world full of suffering and unfairness. Your ideals are admirable but ultimately nothing more than the childish notions of a sheltered child too ignorant of the harsh reality of this world." He would have at least managed to respect her if she actually meant any of those things about saving people.
"That is just-" Yukinoshita began but Hachiman interrupted her before she could finish.
"I wasn't done talking." Hachiman said as he finally stood up from his chair. His stern voice shutting her up instantly. "But judging by your reaction to my words both earlier and now. No matter what I were to tell you it would all instantly be categorized to 'antagonize' you by you and ignored. Not that you seem to be even trying to understand what I'm saying in the first place." he shook his head and picked up his bag. "Perhaps one day when you decide to think more than a second and come to a conclusion before dismissing opinions that go against your beliefs you can truly learn something to... 'better' yourself. Who knows, if you do so then maybe one day you can actually save someone."
"That's enough." Hiratsuka interrupted him with a frown. The situation was spiraling out of control right before her without giving her any room to salvage the situation and at this rate Yukinoshita would take a fatal blow that could ruin her already minimal social skills with her peers.
"As much as I would like to spend more time here I have certain matters I must tend to at this moment. But before I leave-." he said. Stepping forward till he stood in front of both women. "You should consider changing the name of this so called club of yours. Makes it sound like one of those disgusting third rate brothels in Tokyo's red light district."
Yukinoshita did not say anything and continued to look at the ground the stood upon with her hands still clenched into fists and shaking ever so often. Hiratsuka glanced at the younger girl in worry.
"Hiratsuka-sensei." he brought the woman's attention back to him. "I will be joining this club. For my own purposes. You are free to believe what you want as to why I would. I shall pick up a form from the teacher's office. I would invite you to come along but something tells me you would rather be here." With that said he turned around and walked away.
Hiratsuka wanted to go after him but stopped when she noticed the smirk on his face disappear in seconds, turning back to the stoic expression it had before coming here today. As much as she wanted to dwell on it, now was not the time to think about that. Her eyes landed on the girl that needed her more right now.
-Chapter End-
I am not sure why I wrote this. After reading multiple Oregairu fanfics lately I had the sudden urge to write one myself. I won't sugarcoat it. I am a mediocre writer and I don't think this will be anywhere near as good as most of the other Oregairu fanfics here but I will try my hardest to make this good.
Tbh I actually had something different in mind for an Oregairu fanfics but after reading some more I had come across a couple of fanfics that share the same premise as the one I was thinking of and couldn't find it in myself to 'rip them off'.
Now to clear up some things, Yes I know his name is not Kotomine Hachiman. Kotomine is a character from the "Fate" franchise. The reason why this is not a crossover fanfic is because while there will be multiple elements and even characters being mentioned of that specific series they won't be getting too much, if at all screen time. Of course certain elements from Fate will also be here on multiple occasions. Now as to the reason of why his family name is Kotomine and not Hikigaya... well you'll have to stick around and find out for that :P
PS: I am a huge fan of HachimanxSensei so I will try my best to steer this towards them as it is quite difficult to actually write a growing relationship between a female teacher and her young male student without any previous history of romantic subtext between the two. If you don't like that pairing then you have been warned
Until next time..
Changes from the original: Hachiman narrated as Hachiman instead of Kotomine like later chapters. And a couple of lines removed+added. Dialogue between Yukinoshita and Hachiman tweaked but mostly the same.