Chapter 2: Her Reaction (or lack thereof)

"H-Hikki ran away?"

"I-I couldn't believe it e-either."

"No…no this can't be right…" Tears started rolling down my face. Hikki…

"I-If you w-want proof, I'll text you O-Onii-chan's n-note". Seconds later, my phone received a message. I opened it and stared at the picture. No, this can't be real…it just can't…but…it sounds so much like Hikki…

"N-no…" It was too much. I…I can't. I broke into sobs, the whole class was watching me, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Only…only…

Hikki…

Clubroom, Yukinoshita POV

I'm sitting in my usual spot in the clubroom, holding my cup of tea, waiting for Hikigaya-kun and Yuigahama-san to come. The afternoon sun gave the otherwise empty room a warm and comfortable feeling. It felt, pleasant. I mean, I do not dislike the cold, as I often find myself enjoying the snowfall during winter break, seeing my breath suspended in the air before vanishing in the cold night air. However, I've noticed lately that some things have changed. The past few months have been, in my opinion…how would I say it…more enjoyable than I would have expected. It was definitely a change in events, a shift from the predictable life that described my childhood.

It really started when Hiratsuka-sensei brought me over to start the Service Club. I thought at first that the club wouldn't have used so much of my time and effort, but I found myself coming back to the clubroom more often that I had hoped. I became a little concerned about the club affecting my academic status, and what that would have caused with my…parents. As time progressed, I allowed the club to become a part of my schedule, yet schedule is really the wrong word to describe it. The unpredictability and surprises once in a while became the new normal, but I do not consider this a negative aspect. Change is a universal process, an inevitable event, but that doesn't mean that it is bad.

Speaking of change, I've also noticed how the Service Club has changed people, for better or for worse I cannot say. Hayama's clique had an overall change in group dynamic, becoming closer together and, I would say, friendlier. After Yuigahama-san joined, she still retained her airhead qualities, but she did show her caring character. Then there is Hikigaya-kun, the pessimistic loner. Nevertheless, I still believe that deep inside his twisted soul, there are small changes that are taking place, and I feel…less irritated…that he's slowly warming up.

Then, there is me, the supposed leader of the Service Club. It's hard to tell if I changed from my perspective. Have I changed?

I heard footsteps approaching the door, so I prepared myself for Hikigaya-kun, Yuigahama, or another visitor with a request. The footsteps stopped in front of the door, and an awkward silence continued for a couple of seconds. After what seemed like a minute, the door slowly slid open, revealing a girl with pink hair buns. Yuigahama-san.

"Good afternoon, Yuigahama-san", my usual greeting.

"Oh, Yukinon...yahallo…" I quickly backtracked at the tone of Yuigahama-san's voice, and I looked up to study her face. Her eyes were puffy and red, her lips quivering, and her hair somewhat disheveled. In short, she was a mess. She was obviously upset over something, and I felt concerned for her. My mind started racing to determine what might have caused her to end up like this. Maybe she didn't score well on a test? Or did she end up in trouble? Or…wait, what am I doing? I'm leaving a clearly distressed Yuigahama-san there while I should be trying to comfort her.

"Yuigahama-san, are you okay? What happened?" I could see a tear form and roll down her cheek.

"Um…it's …"

"Don't worry, just come over here and sit down". She slowly approached the table and took a seat, looking down at the table. I let her have a few minutes to hopefully calm down and collect her thoughts.

In the meantime, I tried to decipher what could bring Yuigahama-san to tears. Going back to my previous train of thought, it is unlikely that it is related to her academic standpoint, so it must be a personal issue. I admit, I'm not the best at addressing personal matters as well as other problems, since they are more delicate and require a level of attention to a person's feelings. With most problems, there is a simple method that is used to solve it, but when a person's emotions are involved, it becomes more complex. Right now, I can't tell what she is thinking, and I can't figure out a way to really help. I hate to admit it, but Hikigaya-kun's deducing skills would come in handy now… wait, where is Hikigaya-kun? He usually follows her to the clubroom.

"Hey Yuigahama-san, did you see Hikigaya-kun when you were walki—"

Suddenly, she bursted into tears when I mentioned Hikigaya-kun, and I suddenly realized my mistake. Her feelings must be related to him somehow. I quickly grabbed the tissue box from the back corner and gave it to her, trying to do my best to comfort her.

What did Hikigaya-kun do to make Yuigahama-san so upset? He must have done something really stupid this time. Stupid. Idiot. Nincompoop. Hachiman.

"H-Hikki…" I snapped out of my train of thought when Yuigahama-san said his name. I couldn't wait any more. If I'm going to help her, I have to know what really happened.

"Yuigahama", I started, in the most gentle tone I could muster, "it's okay, you can tell me. So, is Hikigaya-kun involved with this?"

She nodded. Alright, that's a start.

"Okay, did Hikigaya-kun do something that made you upset?"

She nodded again. Hikigaya-kun, you must have really screwed up this time. When you decide to show your face again, I'll make sure you receive the proper punishment for your actions.

"Okay, so what did he do?"

An awkward silence filled the room for what seemed like a minute. I find myself again staring at Yuigahama-san, trying to anticipate what she is going to say.

"H-Hikki…he…"

"…"

"H-he r-ran away."

For some reason, her words didn't register in my mind.

"I'm sorry, Hikigaya-kun did what?"

She blew her nose again and looked up at me with her bloodshot eyes.

"Yeah, I-I couldn't believe it at f-first either." Believe what?

"But H-Hikki's little sister Komachi c-called me earlier."

"…"

"H-Hikki ran away."

Again, I couldn't comprehend the situation. "What?" Crap. Did I say that out loud?

"Yukinon! How many t-times do I have to say it!" She started crying again. "H-Hikki RAN AWAY!"

My mind froze as I stare dumbfounded at the girl next to me. Somehow, putting Hikigaya-kun and "running away" felt like an impossible combination of words, as if it wasn't even a recognizable language. Hikigaya-kun…running away? That's impossible. There is no way his character would allow him to run off like that.

"Yukinon…it's not impossible." What? I said that out loud? I thought that this only happens to Hikigaya-kun! Ugh, I must have caught his Hikki germs before he…left.

"This isn't a trick or anything? Hikigaya-kun really did run away?"

"Y-yes he did! Komachi even s-sent me a picture of Hikki's note!"

"Can I see it?"

"Um, okay". She pulled out her phone and gave it to me. I took it and stared at the picture on the screen. It was unmistakably Hikigaya-kun's handwriting. I decided to read it out loud, much to Yuigahama's dismay.

"Significance is a stupid word. To say an object has significance is materialistic. To say a person has significance is an overstatement. To say I have significance is a lie. If you're reading this, check what time and date. Has it been 12 hours since I left? Two days? A week? The real question is: does it really matter? The reality is that I left because I felt my presence was only a burden on those I associated with. My absence can be regarded as my final social suicide. I leave behind two parents, a younger sister, a single teacher, two clubmates, and those who know my name, in whatever form. I don't know where I'll go, or for how long. That is all I have to say. Oh, and Komachi, you can use my room now that I'm gone. Dammit, maybe I do have a sis-con. Might as well put that out there. Don't worry about me, just carry on with your lives, that is my request. Sincerely, Hachiman "

It was unmistakably Hikigaya-kun who wrote this. It reeks of his pessimism and dark logic. But still, why would he decide to do that? I kept staring at Yuigahama's phone, reading the lines over and over in my head. Then, a realization popped into my mind.

I wasn't totally off with my original thought; it's not impossible for him to suddenly run off, but it is highly unlikely that it would stay that way forever. Even a pessimistic loner like himself understands that he will have to return sooner or later, and by his logic, sooner requires much less effort. It is very possible that he shows up tomorrow and acts as if it never happened, or that it wasn't a big deal. In that case, I have to show him how his actions brought Yuigahama-san and Komachi to tears, as well as made many people worry about his safety. He needs to know that no matter how isolated he tries to be, he still has an impact.

I glanced at the clock and immediately jumped a little. I've been reading Hikigaya-kun's note for fifteen minutes?

"Um, Yukinon, a-are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm f-fine." Why am I stuttering? I took a couple of seconds to regain my composure before starting. "Anyway, I believe that Hikigaya-kun, wherever he is right now, should be okay and that we shouldn't worry too much about his whereabouts."

After I finished my sentence, Yuigahama-san's eyes widened and her mouth was left agape. She was staring directly at me, and I couldn't help feeling a little concerned. Did I say something wrong? Well, it did sound somewhat blunt, but it was, in my opinion, a—

Slap!

I felt a sharp sting on my left cheek. I stopped thinking and looked over to Yuigahama-san, who was standing up and breathing heavily. Tears were rolling down her face. I brought my hand to my cheek, still feeling a little sting. It didn't really hurt, but still…Yuigahama-san just…slapped me?

"Yui—"

"How could you say that!?" She glared at me, her face overcome with anger. I tried to say something, but my voice was gone.

"…"

"H-how could you say something like that! About Hikki, about how w-we, we shouldn't…worry?" Her anger had left her, and she just stood there, tears streaming down her face, her body shaking a little. At that moment, I somehow unfroze and gave her a hug, wrapping my arms around her, trying to calm a crying Yuigahama-san down. We stood there in a tight embrace for a few minutes in silence, except for her sobbing and sniffling.

Suddenly, the door slid open and Hiratsuka-sensei appeared, wearing her usual lab coat. However, her facial expression was not the usual indifferent look but more concerned.

"Hiratsuka-sensei…" I started.

"Don't worry about it, Yukinoshita-san. I'll wait for you two to settle down so we can talk a little." She gave sad smile, and I reluctantly separated myself from Yuigahama-san. She seemed somewhat better, so I motioned for her and Hiratsuka-sensei to take a seat. After we were all seated, Hiratsuka-sensei cleared her throat and spoke.

"I'm sure you both know about Hikigaya-kun's sudden…absence, and that you are both worried about him." Yuigahama-san glanced at me for a second, but said nothing.

"I called Hikigaya-kun's parents, and they said Komachi had told them and that they notified the police earlier." She paused a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm afraid that's all we know for now."

"But…" Yuigahama-san suddenly blurted. "But we s-should be able to do something? We can't just wait for H-Hikki to like, come back by himself!"

I sighed a little and replied. "Yuigahama-san, it would be nice to find him right away, but we don't even know where he is right now. And it wouldn't be safe if we were to look for him ourselves."

"But…"

"I have to agree with Yukinoshita-san on this. The police are already looking for him, and we can't really do much more for him aside from hoping for his safe return." After Hiratsuka-sensei finished her last sentence, we found ourselves again in a period of silence. Yuigahama-san was staring blankly at the table, sometimes letting out an almost inaudible "Hikki". Hiratsuka-sensei was staring out the window, obviously thinking about something. I uncomfortably shifted my eyes between the two, cautiously sipping from my Pan-san cup. A tense feeling loomed over the clubroom, and the warmth in the room had left long ago.

"Yuigahama-san." It was Hiratsuka-sensei who broke the ice again.

"Ehh…y-yes sensei?"

"You said that Hikigaya-kun's little sister found his note and sent it to you, correct?"

"Y-yeah"

"Can I see it?"

"Oh…um s-sure." Yuigahama-san picked her phone up from the table and passed it to Hiratsuka-sensei. She opened the phone and stared at the screen. She had a confused look on her face, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips slightly parted. Then, her eyes lit up, just for a moment, before she closed her eyes.

"I see…" Hiratsuka-sensei?

"Um…Hiratsuka-sensei? Do you…see something?"

"Eh? Oh…no, I was just comparing Hikigaya-kun's note to the crap he gives for his modern Japanese assignments." She chuckles a little, then sighs. "Even in this note, he still sounds like himself." With that, she stood up and said goodbye before taking her leave. She walked out the door and out of sight, but not out of earshot. I heard her mutter something that stuck to me. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into H—"

"SENPAAIIIII!"

Crap.

A/N: And that's Chapter 2. I made it longer, as requested (well it was going anyway to be longer because of the content). Anyway, this chapter is IMPORTANT. You have been warned. See you guys in the next chapter.