Note: This is one of the three parts of the prologue. The others have been uploaded at the same time to make it a bit easier to get into the main story. They're also published in the single category of each respective franchises in FFN to act as something of an advertisement for the main crossover story.

Hello everybody and welcome to the first of the three parted prologue of this wonderfully messy little story. Many of you may have come from my other work known as "As Expected He Was More Warped Than Most" the rest are likely those who randomly stumbled upon this story hoping to find a harem story where character A chases his ideals while collecting women like pokemon, as is in most harem based stories... Okay, Okay... The harem part was mostly a joke but on the off chance that's what you're here for then I'll have to disappoint you by letting you know now that there will be little to no romance in this story, let alone a harem. There could be some... a lot of bromance though... :P

In any case, I realize the summary may not have been much in terms of summarizing the plot so I'll give you the proper explanation here and now.

"A three-way crossover between AU Oregairu, ReZero and Fate/Stay Night MCs surviving in a post-apocalyptic world of nuclear war, similar to the world of Metro 2033" (A novel written by Dmitry Glukhovsky which later was made into video games, I highly recommend playing them if you can)

It's short and super simplified but there are no better ways to explain than this.

Those that came from my other story out of curiosity already know this but those that're new here don't know this so I'll be explaining this on the progue chapters:

I used to write more a long time ago but lost the passion for it, leading me to stop writing altogether for a couple of years. So my skills are rusty, if not abhorrently so. Until recently that was the case but now I feel a bit different towards it so I'm back with this. Due to some unfortunate irl circumstances it's difficult for me to keep up with a proper update schedule but I will do what I can to update at least once a month(with the length varying on the plot and time). A couple of months ago a couple of my E-mails almost got hacked, one of said E-mails being the one that's linked to this exact FFN account. I was also nearly blackmailed so there's a small possibility of this account completely disappearing.

That's... That's about it, I won't bore you with any more extra details.

(Disclaimer: I own none of these franchises or anything related to them in the slightest sense. This Disclaimer will also be mentioned only in the prologue chapters and no more afterwards)

(Notice: This is also the last time there will be any ANs. Any and all future chapters will directly lead to and end with the story. Meaning if the story abruptly sees no updates for multiple moths there is a good chance the story is abandoned or I've lost interest once more.)

(IMPORTANT Notice: This Story is rated 'M' for cursing, mature and incredibly offensive themes+words. You have been warned.)

Question: Considering everything going on around the world right now, is it wrong for me to write a story with this premise?

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Emphasis / Flashbacks

"YELLING"

"Radio / Television / Transmission / Text"

*Noises*

"Different Languages"

*Monster Sounds/Noises*

-A Piece of Salvation - Prologue: Hikigaya Hachiman-

The sun rose in the distance, causing noise from the outside to slowly increase in volume bit by bit. Birds chirped louder and louder. But of course no matter how much they cried out they could hold no candle to the loud horns and sirens from the vehicles of Tokyo. Or even the noise made by normal, everyday people. How did he know this you ask? Well, because the thing that woke him up was the loud screaming of his next door neighbors fighting... Again. Like really, if you're fighting this often why would you bother getting married? All you did was bother everyone else around you with your pointless fights. Or is it like this cause they're white? In any case, rising from his slumber but not his bed, he scratched his itchy head with his left hand and looked at the clock. The suns rays, shining light into the darkness of his apartment seemed to miss his alarm clock by a couple of inches. He reached for the clock and checked the time which read 12PM on the dot with which he was mildly impressed as he had basically lazed on the bed for a couple of hours even after waking up. "So much noise." His nose crinkled at the yelling that finally stopped "Stupid Americans." Or were they Australian? All white people looked the same to him. At times like this, he thinks to himself that he should've chosen someplace like Kariwa or something. Certainly would've been less noisy than one of the most populated part of the country. But hey, not like he was in the best state of mind when he came here.

He rubbed his neck to work out any knots that were there before glancing back at the bed. Once again, in mild annoyance before removing the blanket off of him. "Food." He mumbles under his breath, mentally wondering if he even had anything in the mini-fridge.

*DING DONG*

Before he could even go check if he had anything to eat, the sound of his doorbell being rang reached his ears. He raised a brow in confusion, racking his brain for any memories and thinking of anyone who could possibly be coming to see him today. His rent was payed for the rest of the year and he didn't have any bills he hadn't paid yet. So the landlord was definitely not the person on the other side of the door. He didn't have any friends so that was out too. Not that he'd ever tell any would be potential friend where he lived in the first place. Especially for reasons like this. This was his sanctuary from the outside world where no one could bother-

"Quit overthinking some pointless shit and open the damn door already!" A feminine voice called out. Once he recognized very well. If he wasn't confused before, he certainly was now.

After making his way to the door while trying not to hit his toe against a corner He turned the knob and opened it. Before him stood a girl of around 21 years of age. She had short black hair. A cute, round face. A decent stature and a pretty decent hourglass figure to boot. She wore a brown knee length skirt and a teal colored short-sleeved tank top. On her face was light makeup and resting on her hair was pair of sunglasses, likely to protect her eyes from the sun. A sight such as this, so early in the morning, was sure to send any hot blooded man into a frenzy of emotions if not straight up sexual frustration. Especially someone as socially inept as him. But the reason why he wasn't a confused or reduced to stuttering mess was simple.

This attractive young adult of a woman... Was his sister, Komachi Hikigaya... And so, adding to his previous line of thought...

... 'Ew...'

He slowly began closing the door, only for her to stick her foot in between the gap to prevent him from doing so. He knew that she knew he wouldn't dare hurt her. Especially not physically. So she had no fears of him slamming the door shut with her limb still between the gap. He stayed silent for a full minute, waiting for her to say something. Only for her to glare at him, as she too seemed to wait for him to say something. A three fingered right hand rose up to to pinch the bridge of his nose to rid himself of this annoying headache that he felt building up. "What do you want?"

Judging by the furious reaction on her face, obviously that was far from the best thing he could've said at the moment. Still, she smiled at him sweetly even though she knew he could tell how pissed off she was behind the false smile. "Jeez Aniki. Your see your adorable little sister after a whole year and this is the first thing you say to her? How cruel!"

Okay, he knew she was playing him but he did feel slightly guilty right now. Slightly. "Sorry, sorry. I was... busy." Damn adorable little sisters. Why couldn't he have just been an only child?

"Busy huh?" The younger sibling mocked, arms crossed. "Doing what exactly?" She glanced up at his messy hair and grimaced. "Definitely not keeping your hygiene. And I know for a fact you didn't make any friends since you were discharged. You're just not the type. Unless of course you're actually trying to become an actual Gomi-chan, Aniki." In order to not make him too feel bad, she made light of the situation while also bringing the problem to light. Partially at least. So that he wouldn't feel too uncomfortable about it all. As expected of his little sister. Indeed, she was just as crafty as he remembered her to be. "Let me guess, you've been holed up in this shoddy apartment since you got here." She would've certainly forced her way in by now. Which only meant one thing. She wanted him to get out of the comfort of his wonderful sanctuary.

The familiarity of her behavior. The nonchalantness of her halfhearted yet still stinging insults. It was all too familiar. It was... comforting. In a way. Although he had to admit that he did loath being called Aniki, even the mere notion of the word made bile rise in his throat, by her. He missed when she used to call him Onii-chan. Hikigaya Hachiman, age 23, sighed in silent resignation. "Give me five minutes to bathe." He mumbled before heading into the apartment. The door was left open for her.

"Take a second longer and I'm dragging you out of this place naked." Had he not have his back turned to her, Hachiman would've certainly noticed the false smile on her face turning into the frown it was hiding since the moment he opened the door for her.

Komachi entered the apartment room, eyes darting about to take in the finer details of her brother's first solo living quarters. The more she saw the more she realized how empty this place seemed... and felt. It was as if walking into the home of a middle aged man who either had no desire to personalize his home or just didn't spend enough time in it to do so. 'Jeez...' She successfully resisted the urge to sigh. 'At least he keeps it clean... barely' She knew her brother wasn't a slob. He never had been. At least being discharged from the military early didn't change that aspect of him. 'Hopefully he learned how to make friends at least.' That... might be the Hachiman Hikigaya equivalent of expecting a fish to play baseball. She heard the shower start in the bathroom. Laying down on the bed, Komachi ignored the scent of alcohol on the bed and rubbed her face, wondering how to go about this. Approaching her brother and conversing with him might have been difficult for most. But most weren't his sister. And therefore was more than experienced in his way of doing things. If anything, she could probably even get a PhD out of it. "The mall...?" She wondered aloud. Malls were filled with people most of the time. Even during these strenuous days. 'He's unlikely to cause a scene there.' Her brother, ever the loner, rarely overreacted to things, however he was still human. So if she pushed too hard then there was a chance he likely would. "The mall it is." Yes, a crowded place would be the best option. No one liked to cause a scene and stand out after all. That's just how most Japanese people were raised. Not to mention her brother, being as reclusive as he was, really disliked attention.

The sound of running water stopped, alerting Komachi that Hachiman had finished showering. When he exited the bathroom in just a towel her eyes turned blank. She had seen him like this a handful of times before, plus this wasn't really any different from seeing him in a pair of swim trunks. And frankly, since she didn't consider him a man she saw no reason to be embarrassed. But because how skinny he appeared. You'd think being in the military for a while would change that. 'He was forced to enlist so there's not much to be surprised about I guess.' Still, he probably wasn't eating right. "Bring your wallet, you'll be treating me to lunch for all the trouble you're putting me through."

"Yeah, Yeah." Hachiman waved her off as he picked up a couple of articles of cloth from the floor, only to be hit on the face by a pillow.

"Fresh. Clothes." Okay, he was always nonchalant but he wasn't a complete slob like this. From the bed where she was sitting on she was able to raise her leg and kick her pseudo-NEET of a brother on the side, sending him stumbling towards the wardrobe.

"Jeez." Hachiman mumbled. First she stops calling him Onii-chan and now she even physically abuses him this casually. "I can still feel things you know."

"If only one of those things was embarrassment for being lazy." she replied dryly before hopping off his bed and heading towards the entrance. "You got two minutes." Just because she saw him nearly naked a couple of times in the past didn't mean she wanted to see him fully naked. As she waited for him outside, a soft sigh escaped her lips. The iPhone in her hand showed her mother's LINE number. After closing the app she opened the map and looked for any decent malls around. They were in Tokyo so there were plenty around. Her eyes landed on one of the markers for malls, it was a bit far so they'd have to take the subway but looking at the reviews it should be a decent place for a stroll. The sound of a door opening brought her back from her thoughts. Her eyes glanced up to witness her older brother, ready as he could be, yawning while scratching his ass. "Let's go." She said while shaking her head in exasperation.

"Where to?" He asked with an expression that of boredom.

"Here." She showed him the map on her phone. His eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets as he realized how far it was. But before he could complain, she grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him away. Hachiman sighed in resignation the second time today as he finally realized that he had lost his right to freewill the moment he opened the door for her. And as she kept pulling him away, a single though echoed in his head.

'I should have stayed in bed.'

Some time later, the pair of siblings stepped into a subway train. It was somewhat full, a striking contrast to how packed it usually was. But that wasn't too unexpected since it was the middle of the day. Most people went to work earlier and left for home far later than the current time. Hachiman, slightly relieved that he wouldn't have to stand the entire ride to their destination, glanced outside the window to the scenery outside. Komachi on the other hand, was fiddling with her phone. They were no longer kids so they had to uphold the societal standard of keeping silent in public transits such as this. He had to admit, he liked that rule. Glancing at his sister once Hachiman had thought of the true purpose of her visit. He wasn't stupid, he knew why she had called him out. Rather, it was obvious to the likes of him. Knowing his sister, he assumed she probably realized he knew as well. Subconsciously, Hachiman squeezed the hand that was missing two fingers before letting go a moment later. A reminder of what had happened to lead into all this mess in his life. 'Damn bastards, profiting off of the misery of innocents...'

"Now stopping, at **** Station" Please mind the-" the intercom called out, alerting the Hikigaya siblings to exit the train cart.

"Finally!" Komachi stretched her body. The young woman's action drew at least a couple of eyes. Something Hachiman clearly didn't approve of as he glared at said eyes. His glare had them return to what they were observing before. A couple resisted his glare of course, but that wasn't really unexpected. "Alright Aniki. This way." Once again, grabbing him by the wrist, Komachi pulled him away from the scene.

Hachiman silently clicked his tongue at the perverts that were staring at his sister. 'Assholes.' He turned his gaze upwards as they were ascending the staircase back to proper ground. He glanced around, noticing the many changes that were added to the subway facility not too long ago. A fruit of paranoia that he couldn't help but find necessary. After all, if worst comes to worst, these might end up saving some lives. "Let's grab a cab." He didn't feel like walking the rest of the distance to the mall. In fact he didn't even feel like coming here. Even now, all he wanted was to just crawl back into his bed and binge the first season of Pretty Cure again. If it was anyone except Komachi attempting to drag him out of his home, he'd have either slammed the door on their face. After flipping them off of course. Yep, that would've been an awesome way to spend the day.

Noticing the expression on his face Komachi found herself pinching the bridge of her nose. 'He's thinking of something dumb isn't he?' Noticing that he was still waiting for her response, Komachi answered. "Not yet. There's still something we should do first."

"Aw come on." Hachiman complained. His sister was having none of it though as she dragged him along. 'Maybe I should've just stayed home after all.' In truth, he was somewhat elated to see Komachi again. Not that he'd ever admit it. "What now?"

"What do you think, Yukichi Fukuzawa?" She replied sarcastically as they stopped in front of a salon. "I'm not going to the mall with you looking like that. People will think I'm weird."

"I don't look that bad." He protested.

"You have an uneven stubble, hair over your ears and... I think I see crust in your eyes too..." Noting the last bit Komachi recoiled in disgust before pushing him into the saloon. "You even took a bath, how did you miss that?"

The next thirty minutes minutes was difficult for Hachiman. Komachi basically had ignored all of his protests and had the barber style his hair to her own likings. The stubble was shaved and she even glared him into submission when he tried to protest against the facial she had told the barber to do on him. That last bit wasn't something Hachiman had ever done before. Nor did he have any interest in it. As were the case for most men. Unless that man was Hayato Hayama. 'Yeah, that guy probably does shit like this every week or something.' No man looked that good naturally. Except Saika of course. 'Wonder what they're up to these days.'

"Do you require anything else miss?" Hachiman heard the barber ask, prompting Komachi to inspect Hachiman's new appearance. Komachi checked out the barber's handy work, inspecting Hachiman's head and face. A few seconds later she gave the man a thumbs up and pulled out his wallet to pay for the servi- wait a minute! Hachiman's hand instantly went to his back pocket where he realized his wallet was missing.

"I swiped it on the train." Komachi answered his unasked question by noticing his alarmed expression. "For a guy that's done his share of military service you're kinda lax when it comes to the things happening around you Aniki."

"Oh? Were you drafted too?" The barber asked Hachiman, reminding the siblings that they weren't alone at that time. "How long did you serve? My father was drafted a few months back and we haven't really heard from him since." The young man frowned upon noticing the wince in Hachiman's eye. Deciding not to press further for his own peace of mind the barber stepped aside so that Hachiman and Komachi could leave. Right before they left, Hachiman noticed the troubled expression on the barber's face from the corner of his eye.

"Feel better?" Komachi asked him, clearly indicating to his new look as she signaled a nearby cab. "A fresh look can change anyone's perspective."

"Oh I feel something alright. Violated." Hachiman joked back dryly. "But..." He didn't want to make her feel like she was being a burden. "I guess I did need a haircut." Could've done without the shave though. A lot of Japanese men couldn't really grow a proper beard and what he had was far better than the ones that actually could. He opened the door, allowing Komachi to enter before entering himself.

Before long they found themselves at the mall Komachi had chosen. It was huge, far bigger than anything in Chiba. As expected from the literal capital of the country. Inside were many stores filled with various kinds of trinkets and junk alongside the usual things one would find in a mall. Well, in the eyes of Hachiman at least. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a book store that had light novels on display. A sight that made him reminisce of an old acquaintance he himself hadn't seen nor talked to since high school. His eyes glanced over to Komachi who he suspected kept in touch with Hachiman's old high school acquaintances. Mostly for him rather than her. If not that then she definitely had their contact info, something Hachiman lacked simply because he never really cared enough to re-attain them after losing them. Komachi, noticing his stare, asked if anything was wrong. He waited a moment before turning head forward, muttering a short response to dismiss her query.

Komachi held back a frown before looking forward as well. She was getting him to open up. Albeit slowly. "If only I had more time..." She muttered under her breath. She had only managed to come because she didn't have any classes today at her college. Even then, she came here by skipping the day's cram school classes. In a couple of days mid-terms would start. Who knows when she'd get the time to come here again. That is assuming her brother wouldn't disappear deeper into his shell and shut everyone off even more.

They travelled a bit more, looking around the place and speaking as if nothing had changed. But it was clear that the air between them shifted to a strange brand of awkwardness. Still, Komachi believed that if there was anyone in this world that could make her idiot Hachiman of a brother open up it was her. Pulling him into a random store nearby they browsed around. Komachi even bought him some stuff. Mostly clothes that were way better than the ones he owned. He tried rejecting it at first, but it doesn't take much convincing for him to accept her gifts. In turn, he bought her a keychain that had a small plastic raccoon attached to it. Pretty much useless for certain but money was tight when you had no proper income of your own. Plus he was supposed to buy lunch. She accepted it, saying that it reminded her of him. Personally, He didn't really see the resemblance and chalked it up to be a woman thing. After some time, they ended up at the food court. "You want anything in specific?" He asked Komachi who thought for a moment before offering her palm to him and making a give it gesture. Realizing that she wanted his wallet again Hachiman found himself slightly bemused at her blatantly disrespectful request. 'At least she asked for it this time.' He mused before lending it to her with a weak sigh. She took it while smiling at him cheekily. But as she left Hachiman noticed something. Then again, it was quite literally impossible to miss.

She left her phone with him.

Such a thing was certainly not what anyone would do in this day and age since privacy was one of the most important things to the people. Especially if they wanted to keep their internet history a secret. Which only meant one thing. 'She wants me look into it.' The moment his fingers grasped around the device, he he felt it buzz. A notification? A message? He turned it around and realized it was neither of those. It was video call and the moment he noticed the caller ID he felt his throat dry. There, on the center of the screen was a the lone picture of... of...

The picture was of his mother...

Hachiman would be honest, he didn't recall the last time he saw her face... In fact, this was her right? No it was definitely her. The swirl of emotions in his heart made his mind play tricks on him. His thumb pressed against the phone icon and began sliding upwards. Only to freeze midway. What would he say to her? Or rather, did he even want to say anything to her? He should, he realized. She was his mother after all. He was never particularly close to his parents. But Hachiman didn't hate them of course. They fed him, clothed him and sheltered him. How could he hate them after all that? Besides, No child truly hated their parents. His eyes shifted to the counters before landing on Komachi who was still buying food.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

"Ah..." Was he a horrible son? To feel relieved that the connection failed at the end there? Even more so considering there were no follow up attempts to call after the first one that failed? "I just need a little more time." He said to himself in an attempt to excuse the inexcusable thing he had just done. His mother probably just wanted to see how he was doing. Worried for his safety when so many of his fellow countrymen had gotten severely hurt if not outright died in the ongoing wars overseas. If anything Hachiman figured he should feel touched that his mother showed her caring side to him after all these years. And guilt for rejecting her effort to reach out.

He turned the phone face down while constantly telling himself that what he did wasn't a big deal in an attempt to weaken the guilt he felt for rejecting one of the few people in the world that cared for his wellbeing from the very beginning, even if a little. He leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment, hand still covering Komachi's phone just in case. "I could just call them later." Yeah, he could do that whenever. His family already filled the quota of one family member per family of two males for the war so there shouldn't be any issues. His eyes opened again as he pulled out his new phone to save his mother and father's personal numbers. "There..." Now that he had those numbers he could just call them whenever he was ready. No big deal. "Maybe in a few days." Weeks were also full of days. Two weeks had fourteen of em. And a month? A whopping 30 on average. 'No big deal.'

"I'm back." Komachi returned, her eyes locked onto her elder brother's form. A weak frown appeared on her face as she noticed her phone was placed down on the table. Setting his food and a can of his favorite drink MAXX COFFEE in front of him, Komachi sat down opposite of him. Her own food was in front of her of course. She silently returned his wallet to him and watched him like a hawk, as if expecting him to say something.

He knew what she was waiting for of course but denied her curiosity any heed and attempted to change the topic. Nonchalantly opening the can of MAXX which he hadn't drunk in a long time, he pointed at the extra bags beside her. "What're those for?" He asked. "We can't eat all that right now."

"Oh relax, these are for me. I get hungry late night and I doubt you have any snacks in your fridge." Komachi rolled her eyes. it was clear to him that she planned to stay the night. And it was useless trying to argue. "So..." Komachi's tone nearly made Hachiman wince, as she caught onto his shoddy attempt at changing the topic. Small talk was never really his thing. "Did you talk to mom?" She already knew that he didn't. The truth was that she had been watching him the entire time she was buying them food. She just wanted him to speak his piece.

Hachiman took a long sip from his drink. "... No..."

"Why?" She asked him, clearly disappointed. He had to admit, that tone stung a bit.

"I thought it was one of your friends. When I noticed it was her it was too late. I couldn't pick it up on time." A perfect excuse. Fake not knowing what she left her phone for and act as if it wasn't his fault for not realizing anything. Besides, even if his excuse didn't work this should make it clear he didn't want to talk about it. She knew not to push further than necessary. That's how it's always been in their family. "You should've told me mom was going to-" But that's exactly what she planned on doing.

"You really think I'm that dumb Aniki?" Bemused by his excuse and even more disappointed that she failed to make him talk to their mother, Komachi interrupted him. "Why are you avoiding us?" There was no point trying to beat around the bush anymore. She couldn't get him to open up. That was on her. Maybe she didn't think the military wouldn't have changed her brother too much, clearly she was wrong. "Is this because dad didn't want to go to war in your place? Because he said you'd be the better choice because you're younger?"

"No! It's not that," Hachiman paused. He didn't blame his father at all. Because at the end of the day his father was no more than a corporate slave. Something as physically demanding and emotionally exhausting as war would've easily made the middle aged man ball up and cry within the first week, if not day, of being out in the field.

Hachiman himself was subjected to such a humiliating thing after all.

"Then what is it?" she pressed. "You have any idea how everyone's been feeling since we got the letter of your return from the government but not a single peep from you? Mom's worried sick. Dad thought you ran away and blames himself for it!" Her volume rose a bit, a small testament to the frustration that she felt. "I wouldn't have even found you if it weren't for sheer dumb luck while watching a dumb TikTok video."

"I just don't want to face them right now okay?" Facing them meant talking about what happened at the war. Meant them realizing their son had become a killer. "I did a lot of horrible stuff Komachi. People... People died because of me." 'For me.' He wasn't worth that much. He was just a random kid with workaholic parents and a ridiculously cute sister. "I don't want to go home as someone that took lives."

"Onii-chan..." Komachi hadn't called him that since she was entering her senior year at Sobu High. "No one will blame you for what happened. You didn't start these wars and you sure as hell won't be able to stop them either. You're just one normal guy. I'm sure you only did what you had to in order to survive. If it's between your life or some random person there's no shame in choosing yourself. You matter to us more than any stranger."

The limb missing two fingers twitched a bit, guilt washed over him as he remembered how and why he was discharged. He knew and even understood what Komachi meant but he couldn't possibly accept it. Not when his own inaction landed him where he was right now.

"Have you even contacted Yukino-san after returning?"

And just like that, the world froze for the fish eyed man. He glanced down, unable to answer Komachi for a minute. A soft sigh escaped his lips before he mumbled something. "We broke up."

Komachi kept silent, knowing what happened but curious to know his side of the story despite already knowing the other half.

"She didn't want me to go." He leaned back, eyes glazing over as the image of a shocked and fearful Yukino Yukinoshita stared back at him floated into his mind. "But it wasn't her who broke up with me. I'm the one who broke up with her." Everyone knew how bad things were outside the country right now. The middle east was engulfed by war. As was parts of Europe, the rest were seemingly gearing up as well. Even the South Asian countries were no better. So bad that Japan's allies ended up requesting them, who have been keeping away from conflicts since the second world war, for help. The longer things went on, the worse everything had gotten. The people who returned came back crippled or ended up dead. Their bodies burnt by the enemies to prevent disease and the smell of rotting flesh from spreading. He still remembered the first corpse pyre he had seen. Suddenly, the delicious food in front of him were replaced with humanoid faces.

"Is it because you didn't want her to feel bad in case you died?" Komachi hissed, her expression scornful at the thought of Hachiman dying. "You'd rather her last memory of you be that of a bad boyfriend over of the possibility of ending up dead?" Exasperated, she continued. "That's gotta be the most cliché and stupid thing I've ever heard from you my entire life. Even more than what you used to say about nice girls." Seeing his expression, Komachi didn't give him a chance to continue. "Yes, I know about that. You used to think out loud a lot Aniki." Leaning back, she glared at him. "Did you even once asked her of her thoughts about this before you decided to relieve her of you? Have you thought for even a moment what your thoughtless action could've done to her? Fucking hell you didn't even tell her that you were drafted."

"Wh-What do you-"

"She became a NEET." She let the words sink in. Noticing the shocked expression on his freshly shaven face, Komachi lowered her voice. "She thought you hated her because she wasn't open enough to you. That maybe all this time she was the problem. I heard her mutter something about being in elementary school again. Whatever that means" Komachi didn't find it in her place to ask. But it appeared that Hachiman certainly did. And that was enough for her.

'Who'd have thought someone as headstrong and confident as Yukino had such self-esteem issues.' A tiny part of Hachiman voiced out in the back of his head. He chided himself for such a rude thought about his ex-girlfriend who's voice his heart still yearned for sometimes. 'But...' To be compared to that two faced piece of shit Hayama of all people? That hurt more than he would like to admit. His hands ran across his face as he finally realized what he did to the one person he loved in a romantic sense in his entire life. "I... I didn't think she..."

"Cared that much about you? Of course you dumbass. You know her more than me. That should be common sense." Komachi's voice became softer, indicating the end of her chastising him. "She's like you in so many ways yet here you are acting as if you don't know what it's like at all." She looked at her untouched hamburger and picked it up. "I won't act as if I know what happened to you out there. But I don't want to lose you because of it. None of us do." The burger looked tasty but she'd be lying if she still felt hungry after all that. "Yes you're alive. But if you cut yourself off from us then... then what's the point?"

Hachiman couldn't answer that question. Nor did he know if he should have if he could. With his mind swirling around with thoughts that only served to worsen his guilt, Hachiman bit into his own hamburger silently.

Some time later the pair of siblings made their way back to the subway station. Turns out Komachi didn't spend any of his money for their food after all. Another thing for Hachiman to feel guilty for. At least he could buy them their train passes, he figured. A silver lining thinner than a hair's width. The station was packed far denser right now. More aligned to how things would normally be in the Tokyo metros. They entered but couldn't find any place to sit down, ultimately being forced to stand with the bags of clothes and snacks meant to satiate Komachi's late night hunger. Hachiman looked forward as the train began to leave the station. The humming of it's life reverberated throughout the cart. His mind mulled with thoughts of well... everything.

His parents have always felt distant to him since he was a child. They worked nearly everyday and even overtime whenever they could. A lifestyle that lead him to be alone most of his life. Initially Komachi needed him around, but when she grew and started making friends that too kind of fell through for him. After all, why waste time with your boring older brother when you can with so many other interesting people? Things changed somewhat at high school, with him making a couple of friends along the way. Most of them fell into obscurity not long after though. With only his ex-girlfriend Yukino Yukinoshita and sort of friend Yoshiteru Zaimokuza keeping in contact. Of course that too went down the drain once he was stationed in Jordan. Due to him being unable to contact anyone over there. So when he returned, he thought that there wasn't anyone that really needed him anymore. Komachi was at college, living it up as much as one could these days. His parents probably hadn't even noticed or cared of his absence either ways. Yukino would've moved on with her life. Same with everyone else that remembered someone named Hachiman Hikigaya even existed. It was easy for him to end up reverting back to his old ways. Cutting himself from everyone, acting as if his existence had no meaning and thus had no consequence upon his inevitable demise. Rather, it felt like the best option available.

But... He was no stranger to screwing up. To finding that his way of doing things were not, despite his initial thoughts, in the best interests of his loved ones... Hachiman Hikigaya felt no purpose in his life. He had no unique qualities of his own nor did he see himself able to offer something that someone would want in a friend.

He felt Komachi grabbing onto the sleeve of his shirt with her fingers. Reminding him that despite whatever his self deprecating self thoughts lead him to believe, it didn't mean that he wanted to be a burden to those that thought more of him than he did. "I'm sorry." He muttered. His voice only loud enough to reach Komachi's ears. "I was selfish to only think of myself. I know I don't say these sort of things much but I do care for you guys. Even mom and dad." He never hated them beyond what any other normal child would feel towards their parents in certain situations. "I hadn't expected that me leaving would cause you guys this much pain." He admitted. Saying it aloud kind of made him realize how stupid he had been. "But I'll make things right. I promise." He said, his three fingered hand grabbed onto Komachi's palm. The one that had been clinging onto him till now and gave it a soft squeeze. "How about you and I go back home after your exams are over?" He received no answer. For a moment he thought she hadn't heard him. But then he noticed something. The hand of hers he was holding? It was quivering. Confusion spread throughout him as he glanced at Komachi. What he saw further increased his confusion. She appeared to be uncomfortably, holding back tears and even the sunglasses she had on her hair fell slightly. Was it something he said? Sure he wasn't the best with his word but If it was that then she would have surely said something. But then he noticed something else. There, a few inches downwards and behind her was...

A hand digging into her skirt.

All the guilt, pain and frustration from before returned in the form of boiling hot rage. His body moved without permission from his mind. Then again it wasn't like his mind disagreed even slightly. The bags in his other hand held fell to the train cart floor with a meek thud. But the fist that he sent hurdling towards the piece of shit that thought he could get away with his crimes was anything but meek. And the moment Hachiman's fist connected with the stranger's face, hopefully breaking the fucker's nose...

... the lights gave away, plunging everything into darkness.