When Hachiman returned to the class, he was greeted with a weird look from everyone. Hachiman wasn't surprised. After his awful treatment of Yui, chances were that he would fall beyond a simple loser and become a class pariah.

Not his first rodeo.

What surprised him was Hayama Hayato approaching him with a worried smile. "Are you alright? That bump looks bad."

"Ah." Hachiman reflexively bowed for some reason, as if feeling the pressure of the Prince's charm. Beads of sweat rained down his face from panic. "It wasn't as bumpy as I thought; it just hit the table's corner. I didn't even notice it was bleeding if not for Yuigahama's help."

Hachiman looked to see Yui, who refused to look at his face. But that, too, was a much more normal response.

"Right, Tobe."

"Eh, err, I'm sorry about that, Hikitani!" Tobe clapped his hands halfheartedly.

Who the hell is Hikitani? And why did I bow at Hayama?

"Ah, I'm not the one you should apologize to," Hachiman responded, though his voice sounded neutral instead of being hostile. "Just be careful with a borrowed item, that's all."

"Right! That was a good catch, though!" Ooka, the shortest member of the Miura clique, laughed. "You should've joined our baseball club! We'll never have too many catchers, you know?"

"Sorry, I prefer video games," Hachiman winced.

"Tsk. What a waste," Ooka whined.

"Well, Hikitani doesn't look like he's that athletic," Tobe laughed. "Right?"

Ooka, Tobe, Yumiko, and a few people laughed. Were this Hachiman from two years ago, he would have been seriously wounded. But the current him was much more hardened against petty teasing and discrimination from classmates.

Besides, Tobe was objectively correct. While Hachiman could be dominant in his chosen field, he was almost always a pushover in his daily life.

Hachiman subtly smiled. "That's true."

Hachiman did notice how Hayato looked at him weirdly, while Yui glared at him in disbelief. Both of whom were the only people in Yumiko's clique who did not laugh.

Hachiman grimaced but said nothing.

Hachiman returned to his seat, and it seemed that the clique was content leaving him alone. Hachiman was grateful that the worst-case scenario didn't happen at all, even if he was fine with that outcome.

Their relationship had been reset to zero.

And so, three days later...

Forgetting that he hadn't brought any lunch, he clicked his tongue. Hopefully, the cafeteria still had something for him to eat.

So hungry.

Hachiman went to the cafeteria and found everyone waiting in line to use the lunch ticket machine, just like in most modern high schools. Hachiman thought he'd buy something simpler, like bread and a milk carton, but they seemed to be sold out.

Shame. This meant Hachiman would have to spend time eating there, which Hachiman always thought was quite suffocating.

At the corner of Hachiman's eye, he saw Sagami Minami and four more girls; two were from his class, but of the other two, Hachiman wasn't certain. If his fuzzy memory was correct, these two were his former classmates as well.

Although their eyes briefly met, Hachiman and Minami decided to ignore each other. However, Hachiman did hear what they were talking about very clearly.

Sagami Minami was complaining about Yui, not openly at least. Sagami, in her cowardly and toxic fashion, always talked about someone without directly mentioning them. This allowed her plausible deniability if anyone confronted her about it.

But she was clearly pissed about the whole ordeal, about how Yumiko was over the line. That said, Hachiman was actually surprised that Minami didn't blame Yui other than being wishy-washy about the issue.

To be honest, Hachiman couldn't even argue if Minami was wrong in that regard. But also, Minami was still an incredibly selfish person. Hachiman wasn't feeling charitable about her.

"Hello? Is this seat occupied?"

A cute, silver-haired girl approached him. She had slender shoulders and was around 165 cm tall. Clear blue eyes that looked like the surface of the summer sea. Pale white skin, though not an albino.

Even compared to someone like Yuigahama Yui, she wouldn't lose.

"... Настя?" Hachiman asked. "No, wait, she's not in Soubu High. My bad."

"Eh? Did you mistake me for someone?" the girl asked. "That must be my cousin you're talking about. What a coincidence!"

"Серьёзно? Какая двоюродная сестра и откуда она?" Hachiman asked. If this girl was the real deal, then he should be able to understand this. Otherwise, Hachiman would ignore her.

"Она с Хоккайдо. Хотя её отец был русским. She's a cousin from my mother's side," she responded fluently. If anything, her Russian was way more fluent than Hachiman's butchered intonation.

"I see. There is such a coincidence," Hachiman scoffed. "Feel free to take a seat."

"Thank you!" She sat down. "I'm surprised you have met; it was really a coincidence!"

"It was."

"Hikigaya-kun, you're great at tennis, right?"

Hachiman didn't think he was bad at it for sure. After all, he polished his technique for years against the mighty wall. Never mind the fact that Hachiman did it because he was a coward who didn't want to pair up with anyone!

Needless to say, half the reason why Hachiman was friendless was self-inflicted.

"Overpraise," Hachiman calmly enjoyed his ramen. "... Who are you again?"

She was cute. If Hachiman didn't have Akira, he'd be smitten at first sight, too. But Hachiman is no playboy. Once he settles with someone, he will leave no room for any other girl.

"My name is Totsuka Saika; we've been classmates since first year," Saika winced. "Luckily, we're in the same class again."

"Sorry, I don't talk with girls a lot, so I forgot," Hachiman shamelessly responded.

"I'm a guy, though."

Hachiman dropped his chopsticks in utter shock.

"Anyway, I've paid a lot of attention to your form and techniques. They're picture-perfect," Saika laughed.

Hachiman calmed himself and picked up his fallen utensils. Saika didn't seem to be the type to be malicious or anything, but clearly, he had an agenda. Otherwise, why would he approach Hachiman now? Why not sooner?

"It's nothing special," Hachiman rebuffed. "Anyone can do it if they worked hard enough."

Hachiman might be athletic and skilled, but nothing he accomplished was ever extraordinary. Except that one time he swam two kilometers during a class because no one wanted to play with him...

That was a painful memory he had.

But anyway!

"So, do you need anything?" Hachiman bluntly asked.

"To be honest, I wanted to ask for a favor," Saika twiddled his fingers, clearly hesitating. "You know about our Tennis club, right? I mean, they're quite weak."

"I do. I don't think Soubu Tennis Club is especially weak," Hachiman said. "It's just some of our sports clubs being exceptionally strong, especially the Soccer Club."

These bastards managed to reach the semifinals at Prince Takamado Club. And now, under their new Captain, Hayama Hayato, there are signs that it's only going to get better.

"I guess comparing ourselves to them is not helping the case," Saika sheepishly laughed. "But it's only going to get worse after the third year retires. And now, I was chosen as the Club Captain too."

Hachiman did a high-speed scan all over Saika. He didn't mean to be perverted, but he had to scan his muscles and posture to gauge his physical abilities.

This guy is weak. He would legitimately lose to the girls. Which genius had a bright idea to make him the Club Captain? He's more like a Club mascot, Hachiman thought.

"I was wondering; I want to invite you to join. You're not a part of any club, right?"

Hachiman smirked.

"Just inviting someone strong to join will cause resentment," he calmly said. "But the core of the issue is actually your own confidence, right? You thought someone strong would help with the team morale."

"Ah," Saika grimaced.

"I'll help you get stronger, but..." Hachiman took a sip of his drink. "I won't join the club. Are you alright with that?"

"Is that alright? Won't it be a burden to you?"

"Not particularly," Hachiman said. "Like you said, I'm not part of any club. But I don't want to get involved in any club. So let us cut in the middle: I'll help you."

"Are you sure?"

"Anyway, come to school every day in the earliest morning possible. I'll help you practice. If you follow my instructions, I can guarantee you will get stronger in just a few weeks. It won't be easy, though."

Hachiman grinned. He could guarantee Saika got stronger. How strong, no clue. And he didn't plan to let Saika slack off.

Will this effeminate guy accept the deal with the devil?

"Ah," Saika grasped Hachiman's hands. "Thank you so much!"

"Hands off," Hachiman twitched.

"Right. Sorry about that," Saika abashedly let him go. "Should we exchange our contacts?"

"Sure. For now, I want you to do something before we begin next week."

It wouldn't be funny if Saika got injured before they could begin in earnest. So Hachiman sent Saika preparation practices to do for the remainder of the week. Saika had to do it before school.

"And one more thing," Hachiman said. "Do not, in any way, practice during lunchtime. Let your body rest. Because trust me, you will need it."

"I see," Saika grimaced. "Just the preparation training is quite intensive."

"I'm a lazy bastard. But I'm also not the type to half-cock things I decided to do," Hachiman said. "Because dreams betray many, but hard work betrays no one."

Saika excused himself with a satisfied smile on his face. Hachiman noticed Sagami took a glance at him, but she pretended to look away and talk with her clique again.

CHAPTER 6 - A NEW BEGINNING, PART 2

"Ho! Didn't expect you to be here, Hachiman!" Zaimokuza gasped and sat down in front of Hachiman without so much as courtesy. It would have been extremely rude to anyone else, but Hachiman couldn't care less.

Sometimes he deliberately thought Zaimokuza didn't exist, filtering his voice out.

"What about you? No more sneaking lunch into the library?" Hachiman scoffed.

Hearing that, Zaimokuza flinched. It was no secret that the dude was so introverted that he would sneak into the library to eat and read.

"I'm a sophomore now. I have to set an example for my juniors!" Zaimokuza reasoned. Hachiman wondered if he was being honest or making excuses, but it was a good excuse.

"I forgot to buy bread, so I had to eat here," Hachiman said. "To be frank, I'd rather not."

Hachiman would rather eat at the rear, secluded corridor.

"Well, nothing is a coincidence, I'd say! Both of us ended up here in our fated meeting, just like before," Zaimokuza said before he slurped his ramen.

Hachiman wanted to deny it, but Zaimokuza wasn't wrong. For both of them to end up in the cafeteria full of normies was a hell of a coincidence.

"Joke aside, I was trying to find you," Zaimokuza said. "But you were neither in the classroom nor in the secluded corridor. I thought it was implausible, but I'm lucky you're here."

"Heh, I like the logic," Hachiman pointed. "So you learned critical thinking as you got older."

"Hmph. Do not underestimate this highness," Zaimokuza said in defiance. "It's a shame that you lost in the semi-final. I was expecting your team to reach the final."

"Shit luck," Hachiman said. "We met a hyper-specialized team with field advantage. None of us were as skilled in atmospheric combat as they were. The chances of us winning were but a small percentage."

Hachiman didn't attribute most victories and defeats to luck, but in this case, he was very confident that his team would have been able to beat Team Methusselah in space combat.

That didn't mean Team Methusselah wasn't skilled. It was just that Re-Zephyrus had to meet them in their best condition.

"I'm sorry. I wish my Gunpla could have made a difference," Zaimokuza sighed. "And to think I received that much money for it."

"Hey, it was a well-made Gunpla built to the exact specifications I requested," Hachiman said. He wasn't trying to cheer him up. Rather, he thought it was foolish for Zaimokuza to feel down. "Really, though. Akira was mad only because she felt clowned."

In the semifinal, Akira was the weakest link in the team. It was why she was frustrated. Even if Hachiman used his true power in aerial combat, the gap between their cumulative skills and the enemy team was too big.

If it had been Komachi in place of Akira, Team Methusselah would have been shot down with ease. But why bother lamenting that? Komachi wasn't part of their team. She was too busy being a content creator to care about participating in that tournament.

Without the twins, they wouldn't have even gotten past the top-16 match.

"But that Pharact was something you built for her, right?" Zaimokuza remarked. "You put yo-yo ball bearings inside the legs as a gyroscopic stabilizer."

"You could tell?" Hachiman widened his eyes.

His Pharact wasn't externally modified, but the internal parts were heavily reworked.

"Of course! I'm a builder!" Zaimokuza scoffed. "By putting gyroscopes inside the legs, it makes the machine harder to maneuver under gravity but easier to control. You're maximizing its aerial stability for sniping purposes, not for air combat."

"Yeah, but it actually becomes more maneuverable in space," Hachiman snorted. "Moving weight away from the center of gravity is the core principle of AMBAC."

Any expert Gunpla builder would know this. If you want a maneuverable atmospheric machine, you put as much mass as possible in the center. But for a space-based unit, spreading weight to the limbs and wings is better.

Simply put, there's no such thing as a perfect Gunpla. Even Gunpla made by top builders has their own tradeoffs and optimizations.

"I'm sure Sunazuka-sama understood this too—that you always pay close attention to her," Zaimokuza smirked. "Want to hit the arcade tomorrow? We only have half-day class on Saturday."

"Sure."

"Woah! I was expecting you to reject!" Zaimokuza almost dropped his chopsticks. "You really changed! It must be because of Sunazuka-sama's influence!"

Hachiman's face turned red as his blood boiled in embarrassment.

"Shut the fuck up."

Hachiman had always rejected Zaimokuza's invitations to arcades before because Hachiman thought arcades were a waste of money. If you want to play a game, you might as well start saving to buy it and play at home.

...

Arcades are a normie haven, to boot. Because normies only play games occasionally, they never think of it as a waste. And it's a good place for young people to hang out. Even girls go to arcades from time to time.

The second reason is totally not why Hachiman avoided them! Zaimokuza might be an introvert, but Hachiman swore that this guy was normie-adjacent sometimes.

Actually. No. Zaimokuza might not actually be an introvert after all, and Hachiman just projected his own self onto him.

Zaimokuza clings to any attention given to him, joining gatherings he wasn't invited to, all the while absorbing trauma dumps while being terrified of girls. He might just be socially anxious, but he is still an extrovert at his core.

Hachiman wouldn't have understood this had he refused to join him to go to the arcade, seeing how many high school students warmly welcomed him. They might not be friends with him, but at least they didn't look at Zaimokuza with disgust.

"Hey, if it's Zaimokuza!"

"Wassup!"

"... I began to think that a lot of Soubu boys are bigoted," Hachiman remarked. "Everyone here seems way more friendly."

"Fufufu, I guess you can say we're united with a passion for gaming," Zaimokuza grinned. "Who cares about your background and school life?"

Oh, if Hachiman hazarded a guess, they were all outcasts in their own school. While it's common to think all loners are antisocial, that wasn't always the case. That applies even to Hachiman himself.

Hachiman, in the past, wasn't anywhere as toxic and bitter as he is now. Yet, people thought he was creepy and distanced themselves from him. Hachiman chose to be toxic, but that was him responding to the cruel and unjust treatment he got.

He couldn't say he regretted it. However, that doesn't mean Hachiman didn't have any sense of envy toward people with a more positive outlook.

Hachiman's phone rang.

"[Moshi-moshi, are you busy?]"

"Nah, just hanging out in the arcade. What is it?"

"[Which arcade is that?]"

"SEGA Kaihin-Makuhari. Not that far from the station. What gives?"

"[Are you with anyone right now?]"

"Just Zaimokuza. You still remember him, don't you?"

"[Of course. Mind if I tag along? If you're not busy, that is.]"

Hachiman lowered his phone and covered the speaker. "Akira is calling; she said she wanted to come here. You mind?"

"Whoa?! Of course not. Not in the slightest," Zaimokuza gasped. After learning about Akira's true identity, he felt astonished and awed. "All the way from Niigata, though?"

"Probably not. I think she had a job in Tokyo," Hachiman said. He raised the phone again to talk. "Sure. We'll be waiting."

Soubu had half-day class on Saturday, but Akira's school didn't. So it's not impossible that she is in Tokyo Station right now.

Hachiman was caught off guard when she showed up in five minutes. She seemed to wear some kind of school uniform (though he could barely see her dark gray skirt) and a black jacket on top of that, which Hachiman thought was season-appropriate and looked super stylish on her. She wore her thick glasses and medical mask, too.

"So you were in Chiba all along," Hachiman said. He wasn't impressed.

"Haha, sorry. I was impatient," she waved. "You're not mad, are you?"

"I don't mind. I just wish you told me ahead," Hachiman said honestly. "So I can plan things when you come."

Then again, Akira can be a very whimsical girl. Hachiman tolerated that part of her enough to know this could always be the possible outcome, the moment he accepted her confession.

They might have great compatibility online, but they're polar opposites in every way outside.

"I know you would; that's why I'd rather give you a surprise," Akira said. She reached for his hand and shamelessly grabbed it. "But you're the type to dislike surprises, aren't you? Sorry about that!"

"Whatever," Hachiman said, blushing a bit.

Akira is beyond a simple extrovert. She's an extrovert with an ego the size of the moon. There are very few things that can make her embarrassed, and PDA with a boyfriend is not one of them.

The only reason she kept her relationship status secret was to give Hachiman peace of mind. If not, she would never try to hide it.

It wasn't like Hachiman didn't understand why. Even if Hachiman and the vast majority of people would see him as a loser and an embarrassment, Akira might not think the same way. And just like most extrovert girlfriends, she would like to show him off.

Hachiman didn't really see the reason to reject, though he was nervous about his sweaty hands.

"Sorry for barging in on your date, Zaimokuza-kun," Akira told Zaimokuza.

"I don't really mind. If Sunazuka-sama is here, Hachiman will be less cranky."

Hachiman wanted to get mad, but Zaimokuza was correct. So he decided to shut himself up.

"People who got into Soubu should just focus on studying." They overheard someone cockily remark. "I mean, you did put in a huge amount of effort to get there, right, Sagami?"

"Shut up. Just because you won once, you think you can be cocky."

Hachiman saw a red-haired young guy, probably around his age or a little younger, clenched his hand angrily even though he grinned. Just like Hachiman and Zaimokuza, the guy was wearing a very identifiable Soubu High black blazer uniform.

He was with another Soubu student and a few other boys from different schools. Hachiman figured they must be freshmen who came from the same middle school after hearing the next part of the conversation.

"I'm not kidding, though. Soubu doesn't even have a Gunpla Battle Club. Without resources and a coach, how do you expect to get strong enough for the Nationals? You should've gone with us."

"Yeah, it's not worth it. But I'm not giving up just because we came to Soubu."

"Tough luck, man." The student from another school said. "Outside the Soccer Club, Soubu is hopeless when it comes to extracurricular activities. You're wasting your time."

Hachiman noticed that it's not just the two Soubu freshmen that got mad, but Zaimokuza too. Hachiman recognized a conflict is brewing because some imbeciles are picking on their school, but he could not care less.

Unfortunately, someone seemed to take offense to that.

"Losers." Akira spoke aloud and walked past them.

That certainly got the rise of the these students, who stopped Akira by grabbing on her shoulder.

"Oy, what did you just say now?"

"I said, losers." Akira turned to face the guy, her voice icy cold. "Talking smack just because you don't have the brain and spirit to pass Soubu High exam, so you unload it on your friends. Are you not ashamed?"

Hachiman smacked the hand off his girlfriend. "Did your parents not teach you not to get touchy?"

"Pfft. I only say the facts. Soubu High Tennis Club is the worst in the entire region."

"Sour grapes." Hachiman scoffed. "If people like you represent my school in the Nationals, I'll commit Sudoku in shame."

"Big talk for a gross-looking nerd; maybe you should walk the talk first." The guy pulled his Gunpla case. "Fight me, bitch."

"... Are you sure you want to?" Hachiman asked. "In that case, all of you, come."

Hachiman raised his face and showed the most maniacal expression he could muster.