Chương 7: My New Job Is Unexpected Part 2 of 2
A/N: I write this story on Wattpad before publishing it. The websites I publish this story on are, from best to worst, AO3 since they allow the most freedom in terms of pictures that are ecchi (yes, I have experimented with that before using very suggestive pics that are not even hentai, and Wattpad takes down too many pics), Fanfiction (still can't post pics unlike these other three sites), Webnovel, and Wattpad.
Also, sorry for not posting for a while lol. I got lazy. Do not expect frequent updates any more than 1 chapter a month, but just because I may not post in a while doesn't mean I abandon my stories, because I never abandon a story, I always finish what I write at some point.
Hachiman POV
Youth is a lie.
There are thousands of reasons why I say this, knowing how much smarter I am than others given my superior intellect. Bow down, ye troglodytes. Wait, actually, on a second thought, that would make me a riajuu, so avert your filthy eyes. Ah ha! That's what I thought! You do listen to me! Am I speaking like that mad scientist? Why indeed, I am none other than your not-so-friendly neighborhood narcissist. Tis I, Hououin... Kyouma! [28]
A-Anyway, I may already be a riajuu due to my unfortunate position I have been forced into.
Today's topic is one I might have previously discussed with myself, but I can't recall if I have, so here goes.
Why is it that society forces certain expectations down the throats of those who don't wish to live up to them? Source: Me.
I want to be left alone, but numerous people in my life are always forcing me to try something for the sake of doing something new or to try to change my loner status. Can't they see that I want to be left by my poor lonesome?!
In recent events, this has happened again. Hiratsuka-sensei, Yukino, Kawasaki, Hayama, Yui, and even my own Komachi are all making me learn to play the electric guitar.
When Komachi found out via text, she would come to my room to make sure I'm practicing with the school rental I got (please forgive me, wallet-kun) and say, "Onii-chan, you are practicing, right? You better become a rock star by the time you have to perform, because I will be in attendance!"
Yeah! Thanks for the confidence boost, imouto! Reeeeaaaaal helpful!
Anyway, one of the aforementioned people is on my mental shit list: Hayama Hayato. The fact that he forced me into doing this makes me want to Rip and Tear [29] until-
A loud strum of a guitar, the volume blasting my ear drums due to the amplifier, made me turn my head towards Hayama, who said, "Hikitani, what songs should we play?"
You interrupted my monologue, ass-hat... NO ONE interrupts me when I monologue, I internally fume.
Sighing as I adjusted my position, I began feeling pretty uncomfortable having to support the weight of this 8 lbs Fender in my hands, its cheap strap digging into my skin, its weight pressing down on my poor loner back. I mentally noted that at this rate, I may just injure myself and become an old man with a walking cane at a young age; I already have done plenty of slave labor for Isshiki!
"Why are you asking me? I have no idea what easy songs a beginner like me could learn. And you should turn down the volume of your amp a little."
"Right. Sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you."
Currently, the four of us, me, Hayama, Totsuka, and Zaimokuza are about to have our first practice session. We're in an abandoned wing of the school that is only ever used by loners and musicians.
Kawasaki (I got her name right!) is also here, saying that it is her job to see how we practice, but for some reason, I get the feeling that isn't the case; I asked her if that was really the reason, and her response was a blush and, "I-Idiot! It's not like I want to spend time with..." She mumbled that last part, so I may just be imagining things.
Hayama scratched his head. "Then, how about you decide for us, Totsuka-kun?"
Totsuka turned the pegs on his five-string bass guitar, trying to get it in tune. "Well, before I do, let me ask you a question. Hayama-kun, how much experience do you have playing guitar?"
"I've learned it since I was 13 years old. What about you?"
"I began bass when I was 10." He grinned innocently. Stop it! I'm straight, but you make me question my sexuality!
Zaimokuza shouted, "And I have pounded away many tunes with these war drums since I was but 14! URAAAAAAA!"
No one asked, comrade.
Totsuka nodded. "I see! So, Hachiman is the least experienced among us, eh? Don't worry, Hachiman! Hayama-kun and I will teach you!"
How bitter-sweet. I have to put up with Hayama, but I get Totsuka as a reward. Yay?
"Hachiman, what do you know about guitar?"
"Well, so far I have learned most of the minor and major chords in my own time, but if there is anything I suck at, it's tuning my guitar and playing the transitions between chords."
As a matter of fact, I'm so bad at tuning my 6-string guitar that I accidentally broke the G-string while practicing at home. The problem is that I have a 3+3 headstock, which means that 3 of the tuning pegs are on one side while the other 3 are on the other side unlike Hayama's guitar, which is a 6-inline that has them all on the same side.
Like an idiot, I accidentally loosened the G-string too far, which wasn't my intention. I was trying to loosen the very last string, the high E, but I was messing with the furthest tuning peg which was the wrong one since the G is connected to it. When it broke, I was lucky to have a spare pack of strings to restring the instrument, but I had to watch a video for it on commie OurTube. I love you, internet-chan.
Bass-kun plucked away. "Kawasaki-san, do you know how to play any instruments?"
"Eh? Well, I know how to play the piano."
"Would you like to join our band?" Totsuka displayed his irresistible smile. My walls are crumbling!
"EHHHH?! B-But I... Y-You see... T-The thing is that I have s-severe stage fright." Kawasaki's face turned a little blue, as if about to vomit due to PTSD. She curled up into a ball on her chair and hugged her legs, hiding half her face, her eyes wide with fear.
First time?
The angel displayed his sweet smile again. "That's okay! All of us musicians do. Besides, if you do join, you won't have to perform every track."
"I-If I get to spend more time with Hikigaya..." The ponytailed beauty mumbled to herself, but I didn't hear her. Shyly, she nodded. Wait, the fuck is wrong with me, calling her beautiful in my head?! I only have eyes for Yukino, right? Right.
Totsuka grinned. "Great! We still need to decide which songs to play, though."
Kawasaki Saki, pianist since the age of 9. She's been playing an instrument longer than all of us, but according to her, her skills are a bit rusty since she hasn't touched a piano in two years. But given the insane amount of multi-tasking skills a pianist has to have, probably even more than a guitarist, I think she will do just fine.
After some meaningful brain-storming, the five of us managed to come up with a list of 13 songs. Apparently, the school has set a rule for the culture festival that the band that performs a concert cannot exceed 50 minutes of play-time, so using the process of elimination, the five of us put together a list of songs that we (I) can play in that time frame, taking the band's least experienced member into account, that being me. Although the length of our concert barely exceeds 50 minutes, it shouldn't be a problem.
I won't tell you what the songs are until it is time to perform them. Wait, what?! You're telling me I'm NOT supposed to break the fourth wall?! Oh no! Anyway...
We already decided the concert song order. Of the 13 songs we're performing, the first six will be instrumental while the last seven will require us to sing. Luckily, singing and playing an instrument at the same time is something I'm good at. Not that I'm a great singer, but I think I can multitask at least that much without making mistakes on the guitar parts.
Another thing I severely struggle with is reading the sheet music Kawasaki printed for us. As soon as she handed us the specific parts each of us are supposed to play for the songs that we will perform, my mind stopped working when I tried to read it. I felt like a dyslexic person. What the fuck is this shit?! Hieroglyphs?!
A/N: I, the author, played the trumpet from 6th grade through 11th grade. Easiest instrument of them all since it only has three keys whereas guitar is so hard to learn with all its different strings and chords, plus it is very rough on the fingers holding the frets.
Hayama, Totsuka, and Kawasaki quickly taught me everything I need to know about sheet music, such as octaves, key signature, time signature, tempo, long and short notes, vibratos, double notes, triple notes, quadruple notes, flips, crescendos, decrescendos, rests, etc.
Unfortunately, since we will be performing 13 songs, and since I'm a beginner, I will need to practice my ass off for several hours a day during school, during club time, and at home. I'm sorry, Vita-chan. I'm sorry that I won't be able to read more about how similar to Yukino my LN waifu is, Horikita-san [30]. I'm sorry that I won't be able to spend much time on you, bed-kun and pillow-kun, as I will lose some sleep. Most importantly, I'm sorry Yukino and Yui, but I won't be able to attend the Service Club as often as before.
After learning how to read the sheet music, I turned to the blond. "Hayama, I hate relying on you, but how am I supposed to master 13 songs in four weeks?"
Hayama grinned. I feel disgusted that he pretends like this when it's obvious that the two of us hate each other. "Well, since we're both guitarists, we'll just have to work together when we hold practice sessions. I hate to say it, but we may have to come in over the weekends and practice non-stop every day while staying on top of school somehow. Thankfully, my soccer team's season is over, so I don't have to worry about that." He scratched his head.
"Hachiman," Totsuka called me, "when learning a new song, I suggest you go measure by measure at 50-75% of the original tempo if it is too fast to keep up with. Then, once you feel comfortable playing it faster, you can try it at 100%, okay?"
I nod. "Right."
We spent a couple hours listening to the first song and trying to practice it together at full speed because it is not super difficult. However, this song requires me to use an 8-string guitar due to its very heavy metal nature. Thankfully, Hayama offered to rent one from the school for me.
It's not a difficult song aside from a few fast-paced sections.
A few days passed, the roughest patches of my time as a guitarist.
We'd listen to each and every song first before we then try to play it all the way through together. Zaimokuza would count us in to start each song while setting the tempo. Hayama, being our conductor, would cut us off with a wave of his hand whenever we weren't on the same measure and beat or if someone made a mistake playing their notes. For those of us who have never heard these songs prior to today, we struggled quite a bit.
Being the beginner, I obviously made the most mistakes, but gradually, I began getting better and better to the point where I nearly mastered the first song within a few days. However, my left hand, the one I use to hold the frets, feels like it's on fire from how hard I have to hold each fret and from how quickly I have to transition between chords. Callouses are rapidly forming on my left hand, turning my skin rough.
You're enjoying my pain, aren't you, gods of romantic comedy? Or should I say gods of rock music?
By the way, every band member is right-handed except Kawasaki, who is left-handed.
A knock on the door interrupted us. When it slid open, I was surprised to see who it is. Miura. She probably wants something from Hayama.
But much to my confusion, she came up to me, grabbed my arm, dragged me away, and shouted back to the other band members, "I need to borrow Hikio for a moment!" before shutting the door and taking me to the rooftop.
After the silent walk, I sighed. "What is it you need from me, Miura?"
She frowned. "I need your help, Hikio. I know what you're thinking, but I can't go to the Service Club for this. It's too personal. Yukinoshita would likely be clueless in this matter, and Yui... Well, Yui would do Yui things, ya know."
The blonde took a seat on a bench and gestured for me to sit beside her, so I did. "Why me?"
She blushed and twirled her hair. "Y-You know why. You're the one who, like, did most of the work in the Service Club, right? That means you're the smartest."
"Hard work doesn't equate with intelligence," I blurted out, but I quickly realized that I have fallen for her trap when she smirked at me in a somewhat condescending manner.
"See what I mean? You're so smart that your mouth speaks the philosophical truth before your brain can think."
I looked away. "I think you're giving me too much credit, Miura."
"Or not enough."
I turn back to her. "What's with you complementing me? Not that I'm complaining, but it's just so unlike you to pay any attention to the school creep. Haven't you heard of Hikigerms? I could infect you with them."
Acting creepy should get her to leave me alone, right?
Much to my surprise, she laughed. "Pftt hahaha! Yeah, you may be right. You do come off as creepy with how you observe people from a distance and eavesdrop and what-not, but you're actually not that bad of a guy."
Silence.
After several seconds, she blushed and glared at me. "N-Not that I have weird thoughts of you or something! If anything, a loner like you should just shut up and be grateful for my complements!"
I snicker. "Heh. What the hell? This is quite refreshing to see that you have a girly side, after all."
"What?!"
I scratched my hair, still smirking at her, which seems to be annoying her. "I mean, around me, you're always acting like a chimp-"
BOOM!
HEADSHOT!
I receive a hard punch and was sent flying off the bench several feet away.
Miura huffed and walked away. "Hmph! Fine. I don't need your help-"
"Wait, I was kidding."
She stopped and glared at me. "Then who are you calling a chimp?! Do you want to die?! I'll end you!"
Uh oh. She has become female Bakugo. Or should I say Chitoge? Regardless, I expect nothing less of the Fire Queen.
I grinned as I silently laughed. "W-What I meant to say is that your group of friends are all fakes, and because they're fakes, their IQ is quite low like a pack of chimps, and you're the m-mama chimp, always looking after your stupid kids." I couldn't contain my laughter anymore, so I cackle. "N-Not that your dumb, no."
Her eyebrows twitched in annoyance while glaring at me.
I sighed. "I'm sorry! That was a joke, but in poor taste, I guess."
Again, much to my surprise, she giggled. "What the hell?! Who knew that you could actually smile."
"Uh?" I look at her in confusion as we sat down beside each other on the bench again.
"What I mean is that when you smile, you always do it in such a disgusting way like you're looking down on others. The smile you just showed me is different; in that moment, you seemed, like, genuinely happy and stuff."
Feeling self-conscious about my smile, or rather my looks as a whole, I changed the subject. "Enough about me. What did you need my help with?"
"Hm... How do I put this?"
"Is it about Hayama again?"
She shook her head, betraying my expectations for the third time. "No, actually. You mean to tell me you haven't noticed?"
"Noticed what?" I blinked.
"Hayato and I barely interact anymore."
Now this is a surprise. "Why?"
"Well..." She looked down with a sad expression in her eyes. "A few days ago, after I saw that video of the past you saying that you want something genuine, I realized that I want the same thing. The only major obstacle in the way of that goal is Hayato, so I decided to confess my feelings for him, and..." She bit her lips.
"It didn't go well?"
Miura shook her head. "No. He did something that shocked me by telling me off in an annoyed voice, 'Can we not do this?!' I have never seen Hayato make such a mean expression, but as quickly as it came, he hid it and then walked away. The next time we interacted, it was too awkward for either of us, so we're now avoiding each other." She let out a stressed sigh. "I just don't know what to think anymore. It has become quite tense with the others in his clique, too. I need your advice."
In the past few days, I did notice that Hayama seemed rather extra stiff, forcing a smile, pretending to be happy, that sort of thing. I think Kawasaki also noticed it, and she dislikes him a lot as well. Zaimokuza was in his own little world while Totsuka was being Totsuka; stay innocent, Totsuka-sama!
I nodded. "Hayama is the crux of the problem. It's obvious that almost every girl in this school has a crush on him. He is using you to keep them away so he can continue focusing on his studies, get good grades, graduate, become a corporate CEO after he takes over his rich family's business, and manipulate anyone who stands in the way to do his bidding in order to reach those goals." Miura's eyes widen in shock. "However, as much as I hate him, I have talked to the real him before, and he has told me how that his small group of friends really does mean a lot to him. At times, even I, with all my knowledge, can't understand him."
Miura shook her head. "I... I don't get it. Why is he like this? Why does he hide his true self, that side of him I never saw before? I don't know anymore."
"Sorry, Miura, but in my honest opinion, the only people in your group of friends I respect are Yui and you. The rest could die in a fiery car crash for all I care, and I wouldn't bat an eye."
She sweat dropped. "You can say such scary things so normally."
"But that is what I think. You and Yui are the only ones worth saving."
"W-What about Hina?"
"What about Ebina? She's as fake as the rest of them and quite annoying with her love for BL."
"She's my friend, ya know!" Miura softly punched my shoulder.
"But is she really?"
"What do you mean?"
"Has Ebina ever stood up for you when you get bullied for your good looks by jealous, lesser, ugly females? Does she know what you like and dislike other than Hayama? Does she know what your hobbies are, what you're talented at, and what you plan to do after high school?"
"N-No... But I still want to be with her! And who gave you the right to say I'm good-looking, you creep?! Be grateful that a queen like me is spending time with a peasant like you! Hmph!" She huffed and turned her face away.
I felt a pang inside my heart, so I decided to speak what's on my mind like Yui suggested. "You know, it may not seem like it, but your insults do hurt."
She looked at me with a blush and her eyes darting around. "O-Oh... I'm sorry. It's just that I have heard Yukinoshita say stuff like that to you before, so I thought you would like it."
"Like hell!" I shouted.
Miura tilted her head. "You're not an M?"
"What?! No!" I cleared my throat. "Anyway, what are you going to do about your situation?"
She sighed. "Hikio, do you even understand the situation? Have you ever had a crush on someone?"
"I... I have." I thought of Orimoto, who I didn't even have a crush on, but rather felt temporary passion for. Then, I thought of my first and only real crush, that being Yukino.
"Who? Someone I know?"
"I'm not telling you."
"Huh? Why not?"
"... If I tell you, you could gossip and spread that knowledge about me, and someone could use it against me. They would all exclude me and ignore me. I've had that happen to me before, and it was one of the worst experiences in my life. No one deserves to be bullied in such a way except those on my list of people I hate and will never forgive."
"You keep a list of people you hate?"
Did I say too much?! Crap! "... Maaaaybe?"
Miura glared at me. "Idiot. I'm not the kind of person to do that to you."
She has a point, so I gave in. "... It's Yukinoshita."
"Eh?"
"Yukinoshita is the one I love."
"Oh. I see." The blonde played with her hair and twisted her drill a little. "Ya know, ever since I found out that she was a friend of Hayato in his childhood and that Hayato still has a crush on her, I always disliked her because I thought she had a thing for Hayato, but maybe I was wrong?"
I nodded. "Yes, you were wrong. Yukinoshita dislikes people like Hayama because she once thought of him as her friend long ago, but she was a victim of bullying from girls who were jealous of her being close to him. They would harass her while he stood by and watched. He did nothing. It was only a few months ago that he told me how that is his biggest regret, but only because he has a crush on her. Honestly, I hated him even before that, but hearing him say that to me disgusts me. He only would have liked to go back in time and stand up for Yukinoshita because of his new feelings for her, even though he probably doesn't even see her as a proper person but more like a tool or a play thing. If he didn't have feelings for her, he would continue to be a bystander."
Miura frowned. "If that's what he's really like, I... I don't know what to say."
"Appearances and reputation can be deceiving, Miura. It doesn't matter how good-looking a person is. What matters is how shitty of a person they really are, the darkness, the ugliness they hide deep down. Heartbreak cannot be experienced without trying. We loners know this better than anyone. It's why I gave up on others for a long time up until I got closer to Yukinoshita and Yui."
"Mm, I guess so. Now I see why you want something genuine."
...
I blushed and turned away with a cough. "A-Anyway, I still think Ebina is not worth it, but if you want to keep her around, you can do so. However, you should prioritize only those you truly care about such as Yui. She's my friend too, and she deserves better than hanging out with someone like Hayama just because she's a nice girl. She shouldn't feel the need to be nice to him. As for the three stooges in Tobe, Yamato, and Ooka, let Hayama keep them; they'll only drag you down with their status quo."
Clicking her teeth in annoyance, she shouted, "Tch! Ah mou! Fine!" She threw her arms in the air and sighed. "You're right. Certain people in that clique are beyond saving. All they want is to adhere to the status quo. I'll keep in touch with Ebina, and I will make an effort to hang out with her more in order to get to know the real her. As for Yui, well, there is only one way to protect her from whatever the hell Hayato is."
"Hm? How?"
The girl before me pointed her index finger at me. "You should put in a good word for me to Yukinoshita and convince her to let me join the Service Club."
"... Hah?!"
Timeskip
"Absolutely not," Yukino immediately rejected my proposal.
Miura frowned next to me.
I sipped my tea. "You didn't even let me finish."
"Don't care, Hiki-Betrayer-kun. I'm not allowing someone like Miura-san into the Service Club."
"Hah?! What do you mean someone like me?!"
Yukino took a sip of her tea elegantly. "Because all you will do is talk about, 'Hayato this, Hayato that, if Hayato says so', probably. I don't see how she can contribute in such a captivated state of mind."
Miura blushed and whispered to me, "I-Is that what I'm really like?"
I nodded. "Yeah. You should get over him. Stay single or find someone way better. Who cares what others think about your relationship status? I stopped giving a damn a long time ago. That shit only matters once you are in your early to mid 20's, have graduated college, and have a stable income."
Suddenly, Mommyko pulled my ear. Ow! "Watch your mouth!" She let go. "... You really are smart."
I shrugged. "I guess, but that's just common sense. However, society forces their expectations on the young where boys are expected to show off that they can catch fish, the fish being girls. I guess it's sometimes the same thing for girls too, but 99% of the time, those teens have feeble, hormonal, addled minds that will screw it up somehow, unlike me, who is so much better and-"
"Okay, I get it, Hikio. You're a narcissist, too."
"True, but I'm also a realist. In your case, if you get Hayama as your boyfriend, people will think you got in a relationship with him by spreading your legs, so they will call you a slut or a whore. If you don't get him, they may make fun of you by saying you're not good enough for him when in reality it's him who isn't good enough for you, and that's better, don't you think? And if anyone asks why you were unable to bag him, just say that you gave up because you realized he isn't fit to be in a relationship with a great person such as yourself."
Miura blushed. Huh? Why is she blushing? All I did was speak the truth, right?
Our whispering conversation came to an end as Yui chimed in. "I don't really get it, but we should let her join, Yukinon!"
Hiratsuka-sensei slammed the door open and barged in. "I agree."
Yuki-annoyed-shita held the bridge of her eyebrows. "Knock, sensei."
Sensei ignored her and handed Miura a club form. "Fill it out, and you're good to go."
The Club President stood up. "Hold up! I still have to approve of this. She needs my signature to join."
"Oh?" Sensei showed the form after Miura filled it, and on the line where the Club President's signature is needed is the Ice Queen's signature.
"S-Sensei, you're copying my signature? You realize that's illegal, right?"
Sensei shrugged. "Meh. Who gives a damn? All you have to do is go through the entirety of your 3rd year of high school with Miura as a club member, right? How hard is that? Didn't you make a bet with Hikigaya that whoever helps more people gets the loser of the bet to do whatever the winner wants? I've been keeping score, and Yukinoshita, you have severely disappointed me, because Hikigaya is kicking your ass."
"T-That was... That bet is null! I hereby nullify that bet! It's not even close to graduation, therefore I have the right to do so." Yukino exclaimed. Oh? What's this? The Ice Queen has no honor?
Sensei chuckled. "Nope. No, you don't. As a matter of fact, Hikigaya has already won the bet. You won't be able to catch up to him, even with a whole school year left. Your arrogance got the better of you, Yukinoshita, and as a result, Hikigaya can now cash in on his victory any time he wants. Miura is now a member of the Service Club. Bye bye." Sensei left, and then peaked her head in. "Oh, and Kawasaki is also joining your club because I allowed her. She has some rather interesting reasons."
I looked at Kawasaki, who turned her face away as she sat next to Yui. Why are you blushing?!
Yukinoshita glared at Sensei. "You're abusing your power."
Sensei chuckled and left for good, but not before saying something. "That's funny coming from you, of all people."
The atmosphere is tense as the door closed.
Yukino gulped. "Hmph! H-Hiki-Pervert-kun, make sure whatever you demand of me is reasonable."
Miura scoffed. "Ha! How can you stand working with this girl, Hikio? She's already insulting you, even if you weren't having perverted thoughts, right? Like, what the hell?"
"So, why did you join my club, Miura-san? Are you here to ridicule me? If so, then leave."
"... It's to find something genuine."
The other two froze while Kawasaki looked at Miura in confusion. "Did Hikigaya inspire you to say that?"
Yukino interrupted. "Wait, what do you mean, Kawasaki-san? Hikigaya-kun, did you tell the two of them what happened that day?"
I shook my head. "No, but a few days ago, our entire class saw the events of that day through a video Haruno took. Apparently, she's been spying on us this whole time, and very likely still is."
"... I see." Yukino's hair covered her eyes, trembling. Is she angry?
3rd Person POV
Yukino thought, 'Why? Why does that bitch of an older sister of mine insist on interfering with my life?
Now, everyone knows Hachi's secret desire. This isn't good.
To know his innermost thoughts... None of them have been through what Yuigahama-san and I went through with him! To struggle with him... To grow with him... To mature with him... He trusts us enough to share his deepest, darkest secrets like he did when he told us of his past scars.
And now, they're all going to shun him and bully him even further just for having a very humane desire, aren't they?
Wait... Why am I calling Hikigaya-kun, 'Hachi' when we aren't dating? The three of us haven't even had that talk yet.'
Hachiman's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "... Um, Yukinoshita?"
"You okay, Ice Queen?" Miura asked, actually looking concerned for her.
Yukinoshita nodded. "I'm fine... More importantly, I'm fine with Kawasaki joining this club," She stated, but deep down, she felt a little jealous that two new girls have joined her club because of Hachiman, wanting to keep him to herself. "But Miura, on the other hand... If you wish to stay in this club, then you will need to contribute to our efforts in helping other people."
'That's rich coming from you,' Miura thought, but she nodded. "Of course. I don't intend to sit back, relax, and enjoy a lazy life off the efforts of others who will work themselves to death."
"Oh?" Yukinoshita took a sip of her tea. "And how do I know you will keep your word?"
Miura sighed, immediately suspecting that Yukinoshita's hostility towards her is now stemming from a possible romantic affection she holds for the club's sole male member. "Yukinoshita, let me tell you something... My father works full-time as a police officer, spending much of his working hours at night and coming home very late. My mother is a very hard-working corporate conglomerate who earns most of my family's income, so I may be a spoiled brat, but I don't intend to rely on them forever, ya know. Besides my situation with Hayato, another reason I joined this club is to learn independence."
"... I see. Then, you will need to get involved with the school festival somehow."
"Speaking of which, why did you join the band that will perform at the concert, Hikio?"
Hachiman explained his circumstances to her.
"Hm." Miura nodded. "In that case, why don't I help with this collaboration effort between our school and Kaihin Sougou High and us?"
Yukinoshita shook her head. "No way. A girl like you is only good for one thing, and that's gossiping. You might as well be taking selfies while in a serious professional meeting of sorts because someone like you is addicted to your phone."
Hachiman sighed. "Yukinoshita, I disagree. I know that Miura may not look it-"
"Oi!" The twin-drilled girl protested.
"but she really does have conversational skills, and she is good at math, almost as good as Kawasaki."
Yukinoshita glared at him. "Oh really now? And how have you learned this?"
"Because I observe people from a distance. She is great at holding conversations. Our school, like all Japanese high schools, requires us to take public speaking courses as well as exams for every class at the middle and end of every trimester. Once the results are calculated, they are posted for all to see on the school bulletin board. Of course, leaking our scores for all to see has its ups and downs as those who are too smart or too stupid will be shunned either way unless they're riajuu scum, but that's a topic and essay I could write on for another day. My point is that she is more useful than you give her credit for."
Yukinoshita reluctantly agreed. "Then, I am trusting you, Creepygaya. In that case, Miura-san will help us handle the collab. I myself would like to see what she is capable of."
Hachiman let out a breath of relief, glad that he doesn't have to deal with the headache of negotiating with Kaihin. The last time he did so, no one was satisfied with how it went, mainly the painful process.
"Err, what do I do?" Yui poked her index fingers together.
"You're our cheerleader and moral support," All four of the other members said simultaneously.
"How mean!" Yui pouted.
. . . . . . .
It was becoming too much for Yukino, seeing Miura interact with Hachiman while Kawasaki simply stared with a blush. Her heart ached whenever she saw new girls become interested in Hachiman. She knows that Hachiman won't take the first step, so it is up to her to do it.
So, later the same day, a few minutes after club time had ended, she sat on a bench at the same spot that Hachiman eats lunch, her finger hovering over her phone, hesitating to send the text message that read:
'To Recipient: Fishygaya
Message:
Hello, Hikigaya-kun.
There is something personal I wish to discuss with you immediately. It cannot wait, so please, come to your secret spot ASAP.
I know how tired you must be. You're pushing yourself quite hard, practicing the guitar and all, and if that's the case, maybe I should come to your house later today, but it is urgent.'
Her hand trembled, but after several minutes of revising the message to read this and steeling her resolve, she pressed the send button.
Not much later, she received his reply:
Fishygaya: 'I'm coming.'
Her eyes widened as panic flew through her when she remembered something, so she sent a similar message to Yui:
'Hello, Yui.
I need you to come to the secluded area where Hikigaya-kun eats his lunch right now. I don't know if you're ready, but I am. I am going to confess my feelings for Hikigaya-kun, and I want you to do the same so that he can choose between us.
My reason is simple: It is becoming too much for me to see girls other than the two of us to also be interested in him.'
Yui: 'Ehhhh?! Already?! Mou, Yukinon, you meanie! You're dropping too much on me so suddenly! 😲🥺😫
I guess it can't be helped. I'll be there.'
Yukino sighed.
. . . . . . .
Hachiman POV
I was nervous. Normally, the old me would have rejected such a request out of laziness, but this time, I rushed to Yukino's location as fast as I could. I was about to head home, but I turned around and sprinted as fast as I could.
Upon arriving, I saw her sitting on the bench, looking down as she fiddled with a juice box.
She looked up at me in surprise as I panted for air. What? All I did is run here.
"H-Hikigaya-kun?" Her voice sounded shaky, which made me even more unsure of what she wishes to speak to me about.
I coughed. "Ah... Yukinoshita... What is this about?"
She shook her head. "Let's wait for Yui to get here."
Yui? What does she have to do with this? Unless... Could it be?
"Yukinon! Yahallo!" Yui shouted as she came running towards us in her own clumsy Yuigahama Yui way. She stopped in front of us, but she didn't seem surprised to see me. "Yahallo, Hikki!"
"Yo." I turned to Yukino. "What's this about, Yukinoshita?"
She stood up and surprised me by grabbing my arm and leading me to the bench. "Sit down, please." I did as she told me. Yukino and Yui stood side by side in front of me.
"Hikki..." Yui called me by that ridiculous nickname, but why is the tone of her voice so sweet?
"Hikigaya-kun..." Yukino carries a similar emotional weight from her throat, but what?
"Eh?" I looked at them confused before I looked at them in realization.
A part of me doubted it, that I could ever receive such a gesture from the opposite sex, but is this what they call a confession?
I'm not too surprised, though. After all, if it's these two girls, who I know have been developing feelings for me, then something was bound to give eventually.
But a small fragment of the old me, that narcissistic nihilist, whispered to me how such a thing is impossible, how someone like me could never receive a genuine love confession without the other party seeking something selfish in return.
'They want to use you, Hachiman. Use you for completing all the requests the Service Club receives, use you to tutor them in the school subjects they struggle with, use you to do the heavy lifting quite literally, and then throw you away like a piece of trash. That, or they'll toss you to the curb in the distant future after you have married one of them but she turns out to be a gold-digging whore after she falsely accuses you of rape, files for a divorce, takes all of your money, your house, your kids, and even your cat. Your cat! It's not even hers! Such women will never find happiness because Mr. Perfect doesn't exist! Can't you see?! If you fall for this trap, you're as much a riajuu as the rest of those groupies you claim to hate.'
I ignored him.
You have to trust someone to be betrayed [31]. The two girls in front of me are two of my very few friends other than possibly Totsuka. I trust them enough to the point that I trust that they won't betray me if I have my guard down around them.
Yui was the first one to speak after seemingly receiving unsaid confirmation from Yukino. "There are so many things I want to say to you, but I'll try to keep this short. Hikki... You are my first ever friend I made. When we first met, you insulted me by calling me a stupid bitch. Ehehehe. Guess I deserved that since I started it by shouting how disgusting you are. I would have never guessed that we would become friends, but we did.
Right now, there are two things I want to say to you.
Firstly, Hikki, I'm so sorry for what happened that day when you got hit by that car." Yukinoshita looks over at Yui in shock for whatever reason. Yui bows forward as tears fell from her face, her eyes closed. "If I had a better control over my dog's leash, Sable would have never ran across the street, and you would have never risked your life for him! Please forgive me, Hikki!"
Her sobs made my chest hurt. "Yui... I already forgave you a long time ago. To be honest, for a while, a part of me resented you, but what's done is done. Move on, okay?" I place a hand on top of her head and stroke her hair a little, making her stop crying.
Yui wipes her tears away and gives me a beautiful smile as she nods. "Humu. Thank you, Hikki. You're truly kinder than you say.
The second thing I want to say..." She took a deep breath, "is that I love you!" She just about shouted.
I knew this was coming. I knew it, and yet... I still felt surprised. I couldn't stop my mouth from hanging agape, and my eyes from widening, nor could I prevent the blush on my cheeks, a blush that wasn't from happiness, because I know I don't feel the same way about her, but from embarrassment.
'Yuigahama Yui is just a nice girl. Like Orimoto, she's nice to everyone. That doesn't mean she actually holds feelings for you,' is what the old me would have said, and while that statement is partially true, I have come to realize that it doesn't apply to every girl.
I gulp. "Um... M-May I know the reason why you feel this way about me?"
"Hikki is different." She grabbed my hands and grinned at me while blushing. "Hikki is different from other boys. Hikki does not pretend like Hayama-kun, nor does he look at girls for only their bodies with naughty thoughts, because Hikki cares. Hikki helps everyone, even if it comes at his own expense, something that hurts those who care for him, but he still shows that he cares. Hikki is funny, especially when he and Yukinon have a playful fight. Hikki makes me smile genuinely."
Seeing that I'm too overwhelmed to respond, she lets go of my hands and steps back. "That's all I wanted to say. Sorry if this is too much and too sudden. Eheheh. Anyway, it's your turn, Yukinon."
Yukino clutched her skirt as she looked down and back up at me shyly. She closes her eyes, sighs, and then gives me a determined look filled with her previous embarrassment.
"H-Hikigaya-kun..."
"Eh?"
"I also feel think I should apologize. You see, I was in the car that hit you that day. Sure, I was only a passenger, but still..."
I shook my head. "If you weren't the one driving or didn't do anything to distract your driver, then you should not feel the need to apologize."
"But-"
"It's fine."
She glared at me as she raised her voice a little. "How can you say that?! Because of us, you were seriously hurt. Even now, whenever you are hurt, you shrug it off. Hikigaya-kun, you need to realize that there are people who do care about you, and that includes Yui and me. You already said that we're your friends, right? Do you have any idea why I have been reluctant until recently to admit whether or not I feel the same way?"
"Err, no, I don't. Was it presumptuous on my part to think that way?"
She shook her head. "No. You are right to call Yui and me your friends, but there is a good reason why I did not say that I feel the same way."
"Then-"
The Ice Queen glared at me again. "Let me finish."
"Y-Yes ma'am." Yui giggled at my response.
Sighing, she continued. "The very first time I rejected your desire to be friends was because I barely knew you at the time. It wasn't long after we met, after all. I was also scared of getting close to another person, to be used, manipulated, and hurt. The second time I rejected your request was because... because I felt like I would be friend-zoning you." She fidgeted, blushing. "I... I am also in love with you, Hikigaya-kun."
Warmth and joy filled my being. There was always a void in my heart, a part of me that said that there is no way I could ever find a girl who feels romantically towards me as I do for her, but now, that part has disappeared. All my doubt, all my insecurities about a lack of a love life are now thrown out the window.
Am I a riajuu for falling for the social trap, for submitting to society's expectations of the young? Perhaps. However, even us loners need to feel like someone cares about us.
3rd Person POV
"I!" Hachiman stood up. "I... I am also sorry for making both of you feel that I was shrugging off your feelings whenever I would sacrifice myself to complete a request. You do care, and after everything we've been through, I knew that both of you developed feelings for me."
Steeling himself, he gulped. "The one I have feelings for is Yukinoshita Yukino. I love you, Yukino!" Hachiman let his tongue slip her first name. "Please go out with me and be my girlfriend!" He bowed.
He was startled when he felt a pair of arms draw around him for a hug, a curtain of long black hair falling in his view.
"Yes... I'll be your girlfriend."
A breath of relief escaped him as he returned the hug. "T-Thank you..."
Sniffles emanated near them as they turned to Yui, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Hachiman frowned. "I'm sorry, Yui. It's my fault for-"
"Stop it!" Yui shouted. "Don't blame yourself! Don't say sorry for having feelings that you can't help. Still... It hurts." She fell onto her knees, raised her head head, and bawled.
Yukino and Hachiman rushed over to her in concern.
"H-Hikki!" She sobbed. "Take good care of Yukinon! No, both of you take good care of each other. B-Be honest with each other and with yourselves!" Slowly, she stopped crying as she, in rather childish and typical Yui fashion, wiped her tears and blew her nose on Yukino's uniform, who sighed.
He nodded. "Of course. Um... If you want, you can take a few days off from the Service Club to emotionally and mentally recover so that you can face us again? I know what it's like to have unrequited feelings."
"No." Yui gave them a weak smile. "If I run away, then what we have isn't genuine, and I will have broken my promise to help you with your request, because returning to you after a period of time off will feel like I'm forcing myself to adjust to the atmosphere for the sake of the club. I will stay by both of you. Most of the time I spend with you from now on will hurt, but that's the only way I can get over my feelings for you, Hikki."
"That makes no sense," Hachiman deadpanned. "Being so close yet so far from what you want will only make it hurt even more. Your heart aches as it yearns for what it can't have. Foolish, silly, irrational Yui. Your unhappiness would spread like a plague."
"Then, you will just have to put up with my unhappiness!" Yui gave him a cute pout, puffing out a cheek.
"You say you're going to be selfless, but then say something selfish? Make up your mind, woman." Hachiman scratched the back of his neck.
Seeing this, Yukino giggled. Her laughter caught them by surprise, but Yui also joined in while Hachiman, feeling weirded out but too tired to complain about anything, simply grinned sheepishly.
"Y-You're so weird, Yuigaha- no, Yui." Yukino caught her breath. "By the way, H-Hachiman," She said his first name with a stutter and a light blush, "when did you realize that we have feelings for you?"
"Hm? Well, I began thinking that it was a very real possibility around Christmas time, but seeing how you both behaved during the Valentine's Day event pretty much confirmed my suspicions."
"I see. Perhaps, the authorities really do need to be notified of the disturbance here, Hiki-Stalker-kun," She joked with a smirk, making them chuckle.
They stood up and began heading home while chatting.
What none of them realized is that Hayama eavesdropped on their conversation beginning partly through Yui's confession.
Hayama clicked his teeth in frustration while kicking a bench. "Tch!" His jealousy of the unpredictable anomaly known as Hikigaya Hachiman grew uncontrollably, as did his anger. "So, this is what it feels like to lose to you, huh. This is the worst, and I'm sick of pretending."
He repeatedly kicked the bench while shouting, "Fuck you, Hikitani! You stupid ugly sack of shit! What the hell does Yukino-san see in him anyway?! I have money, power, social status, good looks, and popularity, all of which he lacks! I have EVERYTHING girls could want in a man! Aaaaaaaargh! Fucking asshole! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" [32]
Timeskip
As time went on, as Hachiman learned more and more about the guitar and began mastering each of his songs, piece by piece, everyone did their best to prepare for the school festival.
Miura had enough of the clique and decided to move seats so that she is in front of Yui and to the left of Hachiman, much to everyone's shock. She deleted Hayama's phone number and blocked his email and social media accounts, even deleting certain pages and posts that involve him. Hayama grew suspicious but decided not to ask Hachiman since he didn't want to pick a fight with the beginner guitarist when the two of them need to work together for the band's sake. Tobe and the others felt confused and sad, but they let her be.
One day, there were only a couple weeks left before the school festival.
The lack of joy in the fake clique proved to be too much for Hayama, who grew anxious, so during lunch time, while the rest of the band was putting in the extra work by practicing, he went to the Service Club to ask for help or advice. He knocked on the door, and upon hearing Yukino's voice telling him to enter, he opened the door.
Imagine his surprise when he found Miura in the club room.
"Y-Yumiko? What are you doing here?"
Miura rose an eyebrow as she gulped, feeling a bit nervous at his sudden appearance. "I-I joined the Service Club."
He was about to ask her why when Yukinoshita interrupted. "What do you need, Hayama-kun?"
It hurt. Every time she would call him by his last name, it hurt, because in his mind and away from her ears, he refers to her by her first name.
Collecting himself, the blond coughed and gave his usual fake smile. "Ah... Yukinoshita... Well, I was hoping if you could help my friends-"
"Is this about the strain you put on your relationship with your friends? If so, you should know that the Service Club no longer involves itself with issues concerning relationships when dealing with romantic matters."
A tense look appeared on his face. "H-How did you know?"
She rose an eyebrow. "I may not have more than two friends, Hayama-kun, but that doesn't mean that I ignore rumors concerning the classmates of said friends when one of them is in your group. All anyone talks about when they bring up your name or Miura's name is how something happened between the two of you."
Another crack in his facade appeared as he attempted to vehemently defend himself. "T-That doesn't mean that any of these false, baseless rumors are my fault, even if they were true!" He nearly shouted. "Who told you? Was it Hikitani?"
Yukino averted her gaze from his as she took a sip of tea.
Sensing that she's lying, Hayama stormed out, gritting his teeth.
Seeing this, Yukino quietly followed the blond, sensing that something bad would happen if she doesn't go, leaving a tense Yui looking onwards.
"Yukinon..." She stood up and followed after her friend.
Hayama may have more sway over the crowd, more power than someone like Miura, but to everyone in his class at least, their opinions of him began slowly shifting towards the negative when they saw the video of Hachiman's request for something genuine, specifically the part with Hayama shoving Hachiman into the wall during the drama with Sagami.
Right now, the situation is worse than ever, and he needs someone to take it out on, so he began looking to interrogate the former loner.
As the door behind Yukino and Yui closed, Kawasaki and Miura shrugged, the former reading a book and the latter listening to music to kill time.
. . . . . . .
Hachiman was in the cafeteria with his 3rd friend, Totsuka, eating lunch on a table for two.
Totsuka squealed when he bit on his food. "Mmmmmm! This is so delicious!" He is eating miso soup with sushi.
The protagonist smirked seeing this, having borderline yaoi thoughts but not dirty.
Suddenly, a commotion began as girls began squealing.
"Hayama-kun!"
"Did you see that? He looked at me! Kya!"
"No way! He looked at me, not you!"
However, their volume is unusually lower than usual, making Hachiman suspect that something happened to make the blond's fan club smaller.
The blond stopped in front of their table. "Hikitani, have you been spreading rumors about me?" He glared at the former loner.
A cafeteria is usually buzzing loudly with teens having conversations, but this time, it got deathly quiet as everyone looked their way, listening to their discussion.
"Hm? No. What kind of rumors are we talking about here?"
"Don't fuck with me!" Hayama shouted, no longer wearing his usual mask, unable to keep his anger in check. Those girls who still think of him as nothing but a nice gentleman who they wish to date were startled.
"Hah?"
"I know what you did, so stop playing dumb. You were the one who... no. It's more likely that she went to you. Yes, that has to be it."
"What are you talking about?" Hachiman was flabbergasted by Hayama's behavior, talking under his breath as if he were a crazy person.
"Yumiko! She came to you, didn't she?!" He smacked the table a few times.
Multiple footsteps could be heard increasing in volume as Hachiman saw Yukino and Yui headed his way.
"Ah, yes. That." Hachiman took a nonchalant sip of his MAX coffee, adding to Hayama's agitation. "She did come to me for my help, and I simply gave her my advice on how to handle her situation. That is all." He left the details intentionally vague.
At this point, Hayama began shouting. "And what gives you the right to interfere with her life?!"
Hachiman is still calm, cool, and collected. "Huh? Well, if it were one of your friends, wouldn't you listen to their plight? Of course, Miura and I are not friends, but my relationship with her is a little better than it is with most that I consider mere acquaintances, as I do have a positive opinion of her, so I chose to hear her out."
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you have any idea of the damage you have done to my social circle?!"
"Oh? Social circle? What social circle? Do you honestly consider any of those pathetic attempts at conversation with the people you string around as indications of friendship? Don't kid yourself. I think anyone in our class with half a brain would be wise enough to realize that you are not as nice a guy as people make you out to be, especially after seeing that embarrassing video of my request. They saw how you essentially assaulted me on the rooftop, didn't they? As for Miura, she told me how you brutally rejected her in a supposedly very un-Hayama-esque way, so given her testimony, I think it's safe to say that your pathetic little group of 'friends', if you can even call them that, are pretending to be happy as usual, right? But this time, they're pretending even harder. In that case, it is all your fault."
Hachiman received a hard glare from Hayama as he heard girls whisper to each other.
"What is he talking about?"
"I don't know."
"He's referring to the Sagami incident, right? Who gave him the right to talk?"
"B-But if what he says is true, then H-Hikigaya-senpai was physically hurt by Hayama-senpai!" That last one was NOT Isshiki, as our protagonist seems to have garnered more unwanted female secret admirers, especially on the younger side. The main cause for this was his performance at his one and only baseball game he played for the school team.
"I heard that Miura got rejected."
"Yeah."
Hachiman sighed. Before they could bad-mouth Miura, he spoke. "All of you, listen closely. Miura did confess to Hayama, and yes, she got rejected, but he was not nice about it in the slightest, so do not attack Miura."
"BASTARD!" Hayama grabbed Hachiman by his shirt and lifted him up, causing many gasps.
Hachiman smirked, not caring in the least what happens to his own being. "Resorting to violence over a simple disagreement again? Go right ahead. Take off that mask. Show everyone your true colors, who you really are, you freak."
Hayama, who had a fist raised to strike the loner, froze.
Seeing this, Yukino took action. "Hayama-kun, let go of him." Yui and Totsuka also joined in on trying to get him to stop.
Hayama ignored them as he continued shouting. "Who are you?! You're nothing compared to me!"
Then, Hachiman cackled and said something that only served to provoke him. "Hahahahaha. HAHAHAHAHA! I'm nothing?! Oh really? Are you sure about that? Last time I checked, the girl you love wants everything to do with me and nothing to do with you!"
He was about to throw a punch at Hachiman when someone grabbed his arm. The blond immediately turn to attack the person who did this with a shove, only to immediately regret his actions upon seeing who stopped him.
Yukino fell backwards and landed on her behind, but unfortunately, her head collided with a concrete pillar, and she clutched it in pain. "Ow..."
"Yukino!" Hachiman shouted in worry.
"H-Hachiman," She called out in pain, wincing.
The blond dropped Hachiman in shock, allowing the former loner to crawl over to the Ice Queen and check her for injuries. "Why... Why did you call him by his first name?!"
Yukino glared at Hayama. "Because Hachiman is my boyfriend!" She shouted but then blushed upon realizing what she said.
"EHHHHHHHH?!" Everyone present not friends with Hachiman shouted in surprise, which is 99% of the school.
"N-No." Hayama sunk to his knees as he still stared at the couple, eyes wide in shock. "I-Impossible. Impossible! IMPOSSIBLE! I refuse to believe it!" He was still in denial, despite eavesdropping on their confession.
"Oh, but you will," A new feminine voice interrupted. Haruno Yukinoshita made her way through the cafeteria.
"Nee-san?"
Haruno crouched in front of Yukino. "How do you feel? Do you feel dizzy? Sleepy? Any headaches? What color is the sky? What's the date? What's your name? What's my name?"
Question after question was bombarded towards the target, that being Yukino, who calmly answered each of them, only feeling a slight headache. Haruno diagnosed Yukino with a minor concussion.
Haruno stood up and pulled out a piece of paper, showing it to Hayama. "Hayama-kun, take a close look at this. This here is a marriage certificate, the bride and the groom being Yukinoshita Yukino and Hikigaya Hachiman."
"NANI?!" His eyes widened further with anger, not noticing the surprised looks on the couple.
"Give up on my sister, you creep. I already have video evidence of you about to attack Hikigaya-kun, and you have already hit Yukino. For your own good, I suggest you leave the two and anyone closely associated with them alone, or else I will make your life a living hell."
"Tch! You can't just threaten me!" He faced facts, but deluded to the end, he was determined to go down fighting, the stubborn bastard.
Unfortunately, facts do not care about one's feelings, something he has now learned the hard way.
"I just did. The school could easily expel you for what you just did, as they have video evidence of your harassment of Hikigaya-kun, but they will only listen to me, for I am keeping them under my thumb. If you don't wish to be expelled by me, do as I say."
"... Tch! Fine! In that case, Hikitani, I'm firing you from the band and no longer wish for you to be a part of it."
Totsuka, who began feeling his own wrath rise up at the blond's audacity, opened his mouth to speak, but Haruno cut him off.
"No can do, Hayama-kun. The two of you have made it this far, so you WILL perform at the concert with Hikigaya-kun."
Hayama crossed his arms. "What happens if I disagree?"
"If you rebel, if you so much as give Hikigaya-kun even one more dirty look, this video evidence will be released to the public, you will be expelled, you will spend life in prison without parole, your family will be sued out of existence by my father and I, and my sister will immediately get married to Hikigaya-kun. I dare you, I double dare, I triple dare you, Hayama-kun, to rebel against me. I own everything in this town except the politicians, who are subservient to my father."
He attempted to put up one last front of resistance, but it was all for naught. "Your mother-"
"is irrelevant," Haruno interrupted. "She's a businesswoman, but she has little say in our family matters when it concerns Yukino. As a matter of fact, you should be glad that you aren't dead already. I'm powerful enough to make you disappear forever. Nobody would find your body."
"Fine! I'll work with Hikitani."
"Why did you pick him to be in your band, anyway?"
"... I wanted him to suffer. I got chosen to be in this band, despite wanting no part of it, so I decided that my arch nemesis should also pay the ultimate price: his freedom."
Haruno cackled. "You also say some funny things! Still, your sense of humor is garbage compared to Hikigaya-kun."
Hayama furrowed his eyebrows. "How? What's so good about him?"
"Well, he's funny because he says hilarious things without even trying, things he means from the bottom of his heart, things he says without worrying what others think, unlike you, a shallow person, who only cares about your reputation... Do you know why I want him as my brother-in-law?"
"N-Nee-san!" Yukino blushed, too embarrassed by her older sister.
"Why?" Hayama responded with attitude.
"Because unlike you and me, Hikigaya-kun is honest and kind. He cares about my sister, and his actions prove that he is Yukino's hero, her knight in shining armor. Him, a mere peasant, would be tossed aside by people like you, but not by me. Even my father has taken notice of his actions, which is why even he supports the relationship he has with Yukino."
Yukino felt shocked. "Dad supports me being with Hachiman?"
"Yes. He says he wants to get the two of you married ASAP!" Haruno held her hands together and tilted her head, fascinating about something. "After all, I showed him everything the two of you have been through, and he says that the life of Hikigaya Hachiman is like an anime."
"An anime?"
"Humu. He went on and on about clichés such as harems and getting hit by Truck-kun, or in Hikigaya-kun's case, a sedan, but yeah. His ramblings confuse the hell out of me."
Hachiman shouted, "He's an otaku AND a billionaire?!"
"Indeed!"
"What in Elon Musk..."
. . . . . . .
Lunch ended right after the incident, and with it, so did school.
Everyone up and left aside from a few people.
After making sure no one is eavesdropping, Haruno showed them the marriage certificate and whispered, "This certificate is fake. I made it for scenarios like this because, you know, just in case."
As quickly as she came, Haruno left right after saying to Yukino, "What? What do you mean? I don't need anything. I can't visit my little sister once in a while?"
Most people in the cafeteria, while heading back to their classes, are still staring at Hachiman and Yukino, gossiping.
Yui followed them as the trio walked side by side back to the club room. "Remind me why we are having our club hours during school and not after school like we usually do?"
Hachiman sighed. "Yui..."
"W-What?" She gave him an annoyed look. "Why do you look like you are thinking rude thoughts?"
"Because I am. Hm... Maybe you could work as a mind-reader or something."
"Psychologist," Yukino corrected him. "Yui is very awkward with her words, so I'm not sure I agree that she should pursue that route."
"Hm. That's true. I shudder to think what would happen if she did; mental illnesses would increase as would suicides, crime rates, the number of loners who think they would make great comedians but instead accidentally raise an army of thugs that revolt against the rich due to their jealousy of those more fortunate [33]-"
"Hikki's a meanie!" Yui gave him several playful, childish punches, making him chuckle.
"I'm kidding. Anyway, Yui, I'll remind you that Hiratsuka-sensei has excused of us from our classes for every day until the culture festival is over. She gave us our homework in advance."
The Ice Queen raised an eyebrow at him. "You do realize that in the story of the movie you're referring to, the main character's doctor is a psychiatrist, not a psychologist, right?"
Hachiman sweat dropped. "I do, but that's the joke because it's a common misconception that people confuse the two." He lied since he himself does not know the difference, hoping she would buy it and that she would change the conversation.
Yukino cleared her throat and flipped her hair. "H-Hachiman, have you washed your hands after eating your lunch in that filthy place among those dirty, rotten peasants?"
'I'm saved!' He thought. "No, but I used hand sanitizer?"
She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Really? How do I know you're not lying?"
"Because my parents told me that a lot of people are getting sick with something far worse than the normal flu, so I keep my hands clean."
"I see. I-I suppose that will have to do."
He flinched when he felt her hand snake into his, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. "Y-Yukino, are you cold or something?"
"I-Idiot," She softly said in a shy tone. "I wanted to hold your hand. J-Just shut up and be grateful that I would extend such a generous offer to you, Hiki-Ignorant-gaya. I'll even help you with all of your homework over the weekend so you can get it all done and focus on the concert."
"Oh... Thanks. Well, we're almost at the club, so do you intend to hold my hand in there? We still have work to do on the logistics of the school festival, so we can't afford our relationship to distract us, Clingynoshita." He heard Yui softly giggle at his nickname for Yukino.
"Hmph. I suppose it can't be helped." In disappointment, she reluctantly let go of his hand as they reached the club.
"What took ya so long?" Miura removed her earphones.
Shutting the door behind them, Yukino sneezed cutely. "Excuse me. First of all, I have an announcement to make."
"Hm?" Kawasaki put her book away.
"Hachiman and I are dating. A few weeks ago, Yui and I confessed our feelings for him. The dynamic between the three of us has not shifted for the worse, but rather, the better, so this will not affect club activities in the slightest."
Miura simply nodded while Kawasaki bit her lip, thinking to herself, 'Dammit! Why does this hurt?'
"My second announcement is that today is the first day that we are going to meet up with Kaihin Sougou High's Student Council in our efforts to collaborate with them."
"Pres, I have a question." Miura sighed. "Why exactly is this a collab with their school?"
"For multiple reasons. Firstly, this type of project is a good way to develop social skills in the professional sense, something that everyone should know." Yukino quickly gave Hachiman a knowing glance, making all of them smirk as he rolled his eyes.
"Secondly, this is to promote our school to the general public in hopes of increasing our population. Kaihin is far more popular than us, and not just because they are located in a more urban location or that their demographics show more wealthy students; they have won multiple championships in sports, music competitions, art showings, etc."
The Fire Queen hummed. "I see. So, how does this collab work, where is it, and who's going?"
"The way it works is that both sides come together to throw together ideas on how to reach their overall objective, that being how to promote Sobu. The location of all our meetings with them is at the local community center. As for who is going, we should all introduce ourselves to them except Hachiman, who should focus on the concert and not worry about the collab."
"No, I'll do it." They all looked at him in surprise. "Whenever I wasn't there to handle the situation during the Christmas Event, both sides, our Student Council and theirs, would throw out ideas without any meaningful conversations in which agreements could be made. I'm infallible in our efforts. I am inevitable."
"Narcissist," They all chimed.
Yukino reluctantly agreed. "Okay, but do not overwork yourself. Everybody else is also joining the meeting, too. What about you, Kawasaki-san? Will you be able to handle one for now, or is the band too busy?"
"Eh? Well... I think I should be able to go."
"Okay. As for you, Miura-san, Hachiman said before that you are good at this sort of stuff when it comes to reaching agreements and math. Kawasaki-san and I have already discussed the logistics of the school festival on our school's part alone, and we have written down our math on this sheet here. The numbers, the required Sobu assets, are already finalized. As for the collab, you will be the one to handle the logistics of whatever method both sides agree to use for promoting Sobu."
"Understood."
. . . . . . .
Hachiman POV
It is now time for the meeting.
Upon my insistence, the Service Club agreed to leave immediately in hopes of evading our Student Council, knowing how tough it is to deal with Isshiki. We were the first to arrive, so we took our seat. A minute later, she arrived.
"SEEEEEEEEENPAAAAAAAAI!!!" The fox screeched followed by her confused underlings. "Hey, hey, senpai, how could you abandon this cute kouhai to her lonesome and force her to carry these heavy snacks by herself? How can you live with yourself? Tell me!" She playfully babbled, blinking in a way where she is trying to look extra cute, but I already feel annoyed.
"First of all, one of your subordinates is pushing those twelve packs of carbonated garbage that's bad for your health on a cart, meaning none of you have to carry the heaviest items."
Yukino smirked. "Heh. That's funny coming from the one who is addicted to heavy doses of caffeine."
I ignored her, so please forgive me, cute girlfriend of mine! She should change her name to Kazumi Satou to become female Kazuma Satou... Wait, on second thought, that's kinda disturbing to think about, plus, she isn't as narcissistic as Kazuma, so I take it back. Kazuma is also the last name of said character. What have I done?! I guess this is what I get for learning English.
"And? Senpai, you could at least be a good slav- *ahem* handyman by taking these snacks off me." The fox gestured to her bag. Oi! You were about to call me a slave!
"Second of all, as I was about to say, that bag is barely lighter than a feather, so really, you only brought snacks for yourself and maybe one or two others."
"Mou," Isshiki pouted, puffing out a cheek, trying to look cute. For a moment there, I almost felt like becoming her voluntary slave, but then I remembered what kind of sly fox she is, so before she could catch her prey, I, the crow, metaphorically flapped my wings and flew out of her trap by activating my annoyed big brother mode, proving to all that I have grown resistance to her repetitive antics.
Sighing, I continued. "Third and final point I have to send across to you is that you haven't grown at all."
"I-I have!" Isshiki gave me a glare, fists clinched upwards as she squished her bag.
"No, you haven't. You're still dependent on me. Have you done any logistical work on this whole operation."
"I..." Her gaze wavered.
"As I suspected."
Yukino coughed, about to say something; Omae wa mou shindeiru, Iro-kouhai! "Isshiki-san, you're only here for your obligation to fullfill your duty as Student Council President, but let the flow of the conversation on Sobu's part be controlled by the Service Club, otherwise, you'll just get in the way. By the way, Hachiman and I are dating."
"EHHHHH?!" Isshiki was surprised. Isshiki Iroha, one of the many annoying girls that loves gossiping, didn't see us at lunch? Hory shet [34]!
She opened her mouth to say something, but the door opened, and in walked the Student Council of Kaihin, who took their seats across from us.
One by one, we introduced ourselves.
"I'm Hikigaya Hachiman. What are your names?"
"Kumiko Kumi." One of the Kaihin girls said.
"Mamoru Mamo." A male Kaihin student stated.
I mentally facepalmed at their names. Is this a running gag with names or something? At the speed of light, I pondered the odds of me meeting these types of people; hm, let's see: Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuigahama Yui, Hayama Hayato, Tsurumi Rumi, Shiromeguri Meguri, and now these two.
Both sides began throwing out ideas. The conversation went on for a while.
Their Student Council President, the guy I mentally nicknamed Jazz Hands, expatiated on and on. "No, no, no! I know the best way to promote your school. How about we create a GoFundMe to give real money to anyone who enrolls in your school? They get free money, which is always a good incentive, don't you think?"
"I agree, Tamanawa-kun!" Vice President Orimoto chimed happily. Of course, you do. Sobu is a school that requires very good grades to get in, so I would assume that she squeaked into Kaihin through her connections *ahem* bribery *ahem*. She has really not said anything useful in any meeting I have ever had involving her school.
Miura became frustrated. "Look, I get that your school is full of prestige, but it seems like it is also full of rich douc-"
I quickly clamped a hand onto her mouth to stop her from finishing her insult. Everybody looked at me in confusion as I leaned towards her and whispered, "I know how you feel, but just bare it for now and hit them with the good stuff."
She glared at me but sighed as I removed my hand from her mandible. "How about this? Recently, our city of Sobu has had a wave of refugees pour in from the countryside and coastal cities due to the March 11, 2011 Earthquake, especially from places like Fukushima [35]. Why don't we, in the name of Sobu High, use your idea of a GoFundMe, but in the name of charity? This would automatically increase our reputation, make it easier for parents to send their kids to our school while finding a job and providing a stable income for their families."
20 Chiba residents were killed in that awful magnitude 9.1 Earthquake, a miracle that so few died, especially considering that Sobu is a city very close to the ocean. The subsequent tsunami caused most of the deaths.
The blonde pulled out a laptop, quickly typed in it Gakushu Asano style, and turned it for Kaihin to see. What was that?! Why are girls of my generation so freakishly fast at typing?!
"I have already created one with 5,000 yen to start. I'll share the link with you."
And just like that, we wasted time but only spent one meeting with Kaihin on this matter for the remainder of time until the festival.
The matter is settled, so everyone and Miura got snacks and drinks except for the rest of the Service Club.
I turned to them. "Ladies, should we go back to school? We still have club time, and I'd rather not stay here any longer than necessary."
Yukino nodded as the five of us got up, but before we could leave, Orimoto came up to me.
"Yo, Hikigaya! It's good to see you." The bubbly girl displayed her usual cheery smile, one that puts me on guard. Next to me, Yukino softly, subtly glared at her. Ara? What's this? Perhaps she's finally about to display her yandere powers? In that case, she hasn't yet shown her final form!
"Yo," I politely greeted Orimoto back.
Orimoto's eyes darted around briefly as she readjusted her posture. Was that shyness I see? Nah, I'm probably just imagining things. "So, I was wondering if you would like to go to that café down the street and catch up?"
Yukino suddenly jumped into the conversation. "Listen here, you. Hachiman already has a girlfriend, and that person is me. I know what you did to him in the past. You hurt him tremendously, so you have no right to worm back into his life when you see him again and realize the manly charms he has developed, you got that? He is mine." Her icy aura emitted.
"E-Eek! I-I'm sorry!" Orimoto scampered back to the Kaihin Student Council, where I saw Tamanawa glaring at me. Is there a bug behind me? I look there and see nothing. Huh. I wonder what I did to upset him.
To my left, Kawasaki let out a sigh, closing her eyes as if looking sad or stressed.
Concerned, I place a hand on her head, making her squeak in embarrassment. "Are you okay, Kawasaki?"
She blushed and smacked my hand away as she grabbed her stuff and angrily stomped away while mumbling something I barely heard. "Baka, Hikigaya. Baka."
This is typical tsundere behavior! I wonder if she has feelings for me? No way. Who would fall for- oh yeah, Yukino and Yui did, plus, Hiratsuka-sensei would, like a mom, chide me for putting myself down. I really need to stop doing that.
But if Kawasaki has feelings for me, and that's a big if, then... How do I respond to her? I mean, she's very pleasant to be around, has a great taste in food and music, is very cute, and very pretty-
What am I thinking?! I have a girlfriend! Wait, I've had these thoughts before.
Silently, we made our way back to school as I followed behind the four girls while contemplating my relationship with the silverette.
I need to seriously consider how I feel about her, about harems. Even if I feel something romantic for a girl like Kawasaki, is it possible for Yukino to accept polygamy in our relationship? I really doubt it. She just displayed her possessive behavior towards Orimoto. But then again, Kawasaki does have an impressively intimidating aura herself, plus, she doesn't seem like the kind of person that backs down when they really want something.
A little in front of me, I notice Miura acting weird. Usually, she's fiddling with her phone, even while walking. Right now, she's holding a finger to her slightly agape mouth, as if thinking about something, but why is she pressing her finger further? She closed her lips around the tip of her nail.
Strange.
. . . . . . .
Another week passed, and now, we only have a few days until the day of the concert.
In a very small time window, Yukipedia helped me complete all of my homework that sensei gave me in advance, giving me a lot more free time until the end of the festival, all of which I dedicated towards practicing the guitar.
I have mastered all 13 songs with much help from my band-mates. Hayama and Totsuka helped me with the guitar while Kawasaki taught me how to sing my vocal parts.
Now, here I am in the auditorium with the band, and we are about to run through every track in the concert order.
Song List in concert order:
1. DOOM (2016) OST "Rip & Tear" by Mick Gordon (Music Video version). Length of song- 4:17
Lead Guitar- Hikigaya Hachiman
Rhythm Guitar- Hayama Hayato
Keyboard (Chainsaw sound effect)- Kawasaki Saki
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
2. "Before The World Dies" by Shady Cicada. Length of song- 4:11
Lead Guitar- Hikigaya Hachiman
Rhythm Guitar- Hayama Hayato
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Keyboard- Kawasaki Saki
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
3. "Here I Come!" by Shady Cicada. Length of song- 3:22
Lead Guitar- Hikigaya Hachiman
Rhythm Guitar- Hayama Hayato
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Keyboard- Kawasaki Saki
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
4. My Hero Academia OST "You Say Run" metal cover by Shady Cicada. Length of song- 3:16
Lead Guitar- Hikigaya Hachiman
Rhythm Guitar- Hayama Hayato
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Keyboard- Kawasaki Saki
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
5. "Deep Breath" by Shady Cicada. Length of song- 3:18
Lead Guitar- Hikigaya Hachiman
Rhythm Guitar- Hayama Hayato
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
6. "Ephemeral" by Pelican (not the Dead Space 3 version, but the one on YouTube that has 3,000 views). Length of song- 5:24
Lead Guitar- Hikigaya Hachiman
Rhythm Guitar- Hayama Hayato
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
7. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OP 1 "Again" English cover by AmaLee. Length of song- 4:26
Main Vocalist- Kawasaki Saki
Rhythm Guitar/Backup vocalist- Hayama Hayato
Lead Guitar- Hikigaya Hachiman
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
8. "INSIDE MY CORE" by nano. Length of song- 4:20
Main Vocalist- Kawasaki Saki
Rhythm Guitar/Backup Vocalist- Hayama Hayato
Lead Guitar- Hikigaya Hachiman
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
9. Tate no Yuusha no Nariagiri Season 1 OP 1 by MADKID (TV size). Length of song- 1:29
Rhythm Guitar/Main Vocalist- Hayama Hayato
Lead Guitar/Backup Vocalist- Hikigaya Hachiman
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
10. Tate no Yuusha no Nariagiri Season 1 OP 2 by MADKID (full version). Length of song- 3:21
Rhythm Guitar/Main Vocalist- Hayama Hayato
Lead Guitar/Backup Vocalist- Hikigaya Hachiman
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
11. The Irregular At Magic High Season 1 OP 1 "Rising Hope" by LiSA. Length of song- 4:08
Lead Guitar/Backup Vocalist- Hikigaya Hachiman
Rhythm Guitar/Backup Vocalist- Hayama Hayato
Bass Guitar/Main Vocalist- Totsuka Saika
Piano/Backup Vocalist- Kawasaki Saki
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
12. Rewrite VN OP 2 "Rewrite" by Yoffy. Length of Song- 3:55
Main vocalist- Hayama Hayato
Lead Guitar/Backup Vocalist- Hikigaya Hachiman
Piano/Backup Vocalist- Kawasaki Saki
Bass Guitar/Backup Vocalist- Totsuka Saika
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
13. "Nevereverland" by nano. Length of song- 4:47
Piano/Main Vocalist- Kawasaki Saki
Rhythm Guitar- Hayama Hayato
Lead Guitar/Backup Vocalist- Hikigaya Hachiman
Bass Guitar- Totsuka Saika
Drummer- Zaimokuza Yoshiteru
Total Length of Concert- 3,014 seconds, just over 50 minutes.
A few music teachers are present to listen to our practice session along with their classes, such as the Choir class, Piano class, Guitar class, and the Jazz Band. We made all of them place their cell phones in their bags and leave them in their classrooms so that nobody can record our music as a way to prevent them from spoiling the surprise meant for the concert. As an extra security measure, we simply continued playing every song non-stop without telling them the song names as Zaimokuza cues us into each intro.
The practice session went smoothly with little to no errors, the mistakes that did happen being almost all on my behalf and a few from Kawasaki, who was nervous at having spectators.
I could be wrong, and I hope I am since I hate drawing attention towards myself, but some of the female musicians in the audience might have been looking at me with admiration of some sort. Oh god, please, I do not wish to become a riajuu, even if I already am a partial one.
. . . . . . .
The day of the school festival and concert came.
I ate my lunch at 10:45 AM and used the restroom to relieve myself of the #1 toilet need, and I needed to wash my hands, which were beginning to cold sweat in nervous anticipation for the performance.
People are bustling as they walk through the school grounds. Not everyone here is a member of this school, as we have some visitors from nearby elementary/middle schools as said students were escorted to each stall or attraction by their parents. The shooting gallery, the haunted house, the maid café, etc.
Now that I think about it, I want to see Yukino and Kawasaki in a maid outfit. Yes, I'm having mildly perverted thoughts, but can I be blamed? After all, I am a healthy 16 year old boy, soon-to-be 17, and 16 is the age of ultimate horniness from what I have observed.
It looks like the promotion is going well. Our goal was 300 million yen. I checked it on my phone this morning, and it said it reached 10 billion yen, which is more than enough to build a few homes for the Touhoku Earthquake refugees as well as pay for other expenses they need, such as bills, mortgage, tuition, food, water, clothing, insurance, gas, cars, internet, telephone lines, a new cell tower, etc. Donations came in from all over the world. We made a lot of poor people very happy and grateful.
Miura and Jazz Hands, you goddamn geniuses... Mainly Miura. She told her mother about the GoFundMe, letting her mom take over the money we received in order to make sure the funds are going to the people they're supposed to aid and not in anyone else's corrupt hands.
Anyway, there are only 15 minutes left until our concert begins, which will have about 8,200 people in attendance; not bad for a bunch of high schoolers.
This morning, we transferred all of our equipment onto the stage, and no one will be allowed into the auditorium until 5 minutes prior to the performance to make sure that nothing gets stolen. Once they begin filing in, the Service Club will hand them all a small 3 or 4 page booklet that has the names of every band member involved, their roles for every song, the song names/artists, the length of each song, and the total concert time.
A couple minutes prior to the performance time, we went backstage and assumed our positions.
"I-I can hear them. T-There's a lot of people out there!" Kawasaki's stage fright kicked in. She let out a squeak in fear as the curtains drew back, the lights dimmed, the spotlights activated and focused on the five of us, and the crowd began cheering.
Facing the crowd, I stood in the far right with Kawasaki diagonal right behind me, Hayama in the center to my left, Totsuka to Hayama's left, Zaimokuza behind all of us, and our amplifiers behind Zaimokuza.
Kawasaki shook, drawing imaginary lines on her hand. Her palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, and she's about to vomit onto her sweater already. Mom's spaghetti. She's nervous, but on the surface, she looks calm and ready to drop bombs, but she keeps on forgetting what she wrote down on her sheet music, the whole crowd goes so loud- okay, I'll stop. [36]
I wanted to do something to ease her stage fright, knowing how even I get anxious under the attention of a crowd, so I walked up to her and instinctively grabbed her hand, holding it as she blushed in surprise.
"Kawasaki, forget the crowd. We need you to focus. Focus on the music, on playing your keyboard, on singing, everything we have learned!" My face began heating up at my embarrassing words. "Three of us in this band are loners: You, me, and Zaimokuza, or at least you and I were. Now, we're friends, and I will be right here in front of you, okay?"
"I want to be more than just band members with you," She mumbled.
"What's that?" I couldn't hear her over the crowd, who began quieting down.
"N-Nothing!" Kawasaki looked up at me and gave me a beautiful smile. "Thank you, Hachiman. I feel better and am ready."
HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO FOCUS NOW?! YOU CAN'T JUST USE MY FIRST NAME, WOMAN! THINK OF WHAT YOU DO TO MY POOR LITTLE OL' HEART!
"N-No problem, S-Saki." I awkwardly cleared my throat as I returned to my mic, holding my 8-string guitar for our first song, Rip and Tear.
I took note of those in the audience. Komachi sat in a front row seat right in front of me next to Hiratsuka-sensei and Miura. Several seats to their right is Orimoto and the Kaihin Student Council.
Komachi waved at me. "Go, Onii-chan! Go!"
Upon seeing my gaze, Orimoto looked surprised and sad for whatever reason.
I know Hiratsuka-sensei set up a UHD camera filming our entire performance. She somehow managed to hang it far away and in the light fixture high above the audience. My guess is she used a ladder and a magnet so that it doesn't move from the loud volume. I can only pray that something embarrassing doesn't happen.
The five of us in the band nodded at each other. I grabbed my guitar pick, and we immediately played the most intense opening song to a concert. God bless you, Mick Gordon.
After the outro came to an end and the music cut, the crowd cheered, and we all introduced ourselves one by one, all while Yukino ran onto the stage from the backroom, swapped my 8-stringer for my 6-stringer, and leaned up to kiss me on the cheek. I blushed as I looked down at her with surprise. She has a shy smile on her blushing face as she scampers off with the 8-string guitar.
Turning to the crowd, I could see many of the female students of both schools that I have become acquainted with looking surprised and sad. Why are they sad? Usually, they look at me with disgust, but this is far different from what I am used to. Maybe, they feel bad for Yukino being in a relationship with someone like me and are still trying to get used to the idea? In that case, why aren't they disgusted? Hm... No... It can't be that I have captured the hearts of dozens more, possibly hundreds of innocent maidens, could it? Impossible, right? Ahahahaha...
Shaking those thoughts off, we continued to the next song as I dialed in my focus.
The rest of the concert flew by. To sum it up, here's how it went:
The first six songs are instrumental, meaning no singing. My favorite among them is the sixth and final instrumental, "Ephemeral" by Pelican, especially my solo. My solo on that song sounds so captivating and yet lonely, which is so oddly fitting for me to the point that the audience was speechless and didn't cheer until the end.
Then, when it came time to perform the first song with lyrics, the whole audience was captivated by Kawasaki's voice as she sang Again in English. Even I, having heard it in our many practices, am still shocked at how beautiful her voice is. Same thing goes for when she sang the next one.
When we played the Shield Hero season 1 openings, I had to rap the rap parts for the first one, which is quite difficult due to the tempo. Kawasaki sat in her piano seat, not doing anything but listening to us for these two songs.
But if I had to pick my favorite section of the entire performance, it has to be the last three songs.
Track 11, "Rising Hope" by LiSA, is a song that has to be respected by covers due to how popular and amazing of a singer LiSA. The audience was shocked at how alike Totsuka's voice is to LiSA, as he is the main singer, and my guitar solo for Rising Hope made the audience jump out of their seats and cheer, even as early as the second verse. As a matter of fact, I should say that this is one of the hardest but most exciting guitar parts of all our songs. My fellow Sobu classmates sat slack jawed at my show, and it felt so awkward when they all surprised me during the second verse by getting the entire audience jumping in excitement for me and not Hayama, whom they barely paid much attention to.
Track 12, "Rewrite" by Yoffy, is the only song where I am the only guitarist as Hayama, the main vocalist, doesn't play guitar.
And finally, my favorite song of them all, Track 13, "Nevereverland" by nano, a song that starts off in English but then switches to Japanese for most of the remainder of the song. We truly saved the best song for last, as it could work as an opening for a mega popular anime, and the hidden pervert inside of me had an eargasm at Kawasaki's heavenly voice. This is easily the best singing performance of all our tracks, and its not even close. Who knows? Maybe, some professional musicians or a record label would take notice and sign her? On second thought, record labels are the work of the devil, so I actually hope she doesn't sign with one. Entrepreneurship all the way!
The concert ended, and I got to experience other parts of the school festival with my clubmates and friends. Needless to say, it was fun.
. . . . . . .
A few days passed, and my life has returned to my normal school routine. I returned the school guitar seeing as there is no more reason to be in the same band as Hayama.
Remember how I said that I was job-hunting? Well, right now, I am staring at a text message on my phone that read:
'Hello! Is this Hikigaya Hachiman? A friend of mine invited me to the concert you performed in, and I was very impressed by your performance.
I also heard you are looking for a job, which is how I got your contact info from your profile online.
If you would like, we could skip the whole interview process and you could come to my place of work to accept the offer and negotiate a contract. Should you accept, then please drop by as soon as possible. You won't have to schedule an appointment.
Here's the address. We moved the company from Osaka to downtown Chiba.
Thank you for your time.
-Jun Maeda, Key Studios composer.'
Holy fuck. THE Jun Maeda just gave me a job offer, and he's the one thanking me for his time? I should be the one thanking him!
"I suggest you close your mouth unless you want flies inside you, Hiki-dazed-kun." Yukino's voice broke me out of my stupor. "And why are you staring at your screen with such wide eyes? I didn't know it was possible for fish to make such an expression."
Currently, it is just the two of us in the clubroom since Yui and Miura had to go home early. I haven't seen Saki at all today. I hope she's alright. Meh, she probably is.
Shaking my head, I picked up my bag and walked over to her. "Sorry Yukino, but I am going to have to leave early. I just received a text message, and it seems like a legitimate job offer and hopefully not a scam. I need to meet the company in person."
She frowns but nods. "Okay. Just be careful to not scare away any muggers with your eyes too badly that they call the cops on you." She smirked.
Her facial expression changed, squeaking in embarrassment when I lean down and kiss her forehead. "Shut up, you," I playfully respond as I quickly leave, not wanting her to see my blushing face.
Goddamn onii-chan reflexes. Wait, Yukino is my girlfriend, so I can't use that excuse. I just pictured my own lover calling me, "Onii-chan" in a vulnerable way, but as soon as that thought entered my mind, I immediately tossed it into my mental recycling bin and killed it with fire; there are things that are okay and things that are not, and Basara and Mio [37] are the perfect comparison to this.
As I made my way to the bike rack, I sent a reply to the person calling themselves Jun Maeda: 'This is Hikigaya Hachiman. It's kind of hard to believe that this is a real offer, but I looked up the address you sent me on Maps, and it is Key Studios' headquarters. I'm on my way right now.'
I stopped pedaling to check my phone when it vibrated, and he replied, 'Great! See you soon.'
I gulped. I felt a little nervous during the concert, but this... Meeting someone as loved and famous as Jun Maeda is among otakus makes me feel so many more butterflies than the concert made me.
After a 25 minute bike, I arrived at the location in downtown Chiba. It looks like a six story tall apartment complex that was renovated by the company.
Approaching the front desk, I greeted the man behind it. "Hello. I am here to meet Maeda Jun. He said he has a job offer for me."
The man nodded and lead me to a conference room in the back of the first floor before leaving.
I nervously and reluctantly knocked on the door.
"Enter!" A gruff male voice commanded.
Opening the door, there are seven people in the middle of a meeting, five men and two women, all sharing laptops and discussing their company sales.
One man had his own laptop, his earphones plugged into it as he listened to music on some sound editing program. I immediately recognized him.
The man...
The myth...
The legend...
Okay, I'm being way too much of a fucking normie, but I can't help it since I am a huge fan of his stories and music.
Jun Maeda.
Noticing me, he removed his earphones from his head, walked up to me, and smiled as he offered a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Hikigaya-kun!"
Why oh why do my hands have to be sweaty at this moment?!
"H-Hello. Sorry about my hands being sweaty, but I was so nervous to meet you. I-I'm a huge fan of your work, Maeda-sama."
He laughed. "Is that so? Thanks. You can just call me Jun or Jun-san."
Another man stood up, the same one who told me to enter earlier. He shook my hand firmly. "It is nice to finally meet you, Hikigaya-kun." He looked at me with subtle hostility. "My daughter talks about you all the time."
"Eh?" I could only dumbly respond.
A familiar voice announced their presence behind me. "H-Hachiman..."
It was Kawasaki.
Come to think of it, this man shaking my hand also has blueish-silver hair...
"I-I see you met my dad," Saki squirmed uncomfortably.
"K-Kawasaki, what are you doing he-"
"KAWASAKI?!" Papasaki yelled. "I'M KAWASAKI, TOO! SHE TOLD ME THAT YOU CALLED HER BY HER FIRST NAME!" He glared at me, making me tremble in fear. "Now... Say it with me! Sa-ki!"
Before I could blink, Saki grabbed her father by his arm and slammed him to the floor as he comedically begged her to let go. "OW! S-Saki! It hurts! St-Stop! Timeout! Oh my gawd, hory shet!"
I blinked and looked at Jun and the others in the room, who simply sighed and shook their heads in minor annoyance and amusement, as if this is a daily routine with the older Kawasaki.
Saki threatened her father in an intimidating voice that made me shiver. "Quit trying to scare off my best potential suitor, you overprotective geezer."
SQUELCH! CRITICAL HIT!
She let her father stand as she awkwardly cleared her throat. "A-Anyway, this man here is my father, Kawasaki Eizan."
"Sa-Sa-Sa-Sa-Sa-Sa-Sa-ki!" He whispered to me.
I scratched my head. "First of all, what are you doing here, S-Saki?" It still feels uncomfortable saying her first name in front of her father, who glared at me but stopped when his daughter returned a glare his way.
Saki sighed. "I work here under Jun-san. My father, who is a supervisor for the company, is friends with Jun-san."
That makes sense. She is a very talented musician. "Secondly, what did you mean by potential suitors?"
Both Jun and Papasaki tried to answer at the same time as Saki ran back and forth between them, clamping her hand over their mouths, trying to get them to shut up. The volume in the room increased until she grew too tired.
Eizan cleared his throat. "She means a boy around her age whom she could date and be in a long-term relationship with."
"Oh, I suppose that makes sense- wait, what?!" I shouted.
Saki's face turned red as she glared at me. "Forget what you heard!" She growled.
"C-Calm down, Saki." I raised my hands.
"FORGET WHAT YOU HEARD, BAAAAAAKAAAAA!!!" She shrieked as she charged me and threw a haymaker. Her fist connected with my chin, and she seemed to immediately regret her violent actions as I flew backwards, collided with a wall, and blacked out.
Typical tsundere. The gods of romantic comedy must be enjoying my suffering.
Damn it all.
To Be Continued
References:
[28] Steins;Gate
[29] DOOM (2016)
[30] COTE (Classroom of the Elite)
[31] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
[32] A scene inspired by the character Kushida Kikyou from COTE.
[33] Joker (2019)
[34] JoJo's Bizzare Adventures
[35] Touhoku Earthquake 4-11-11. Oregairu takes place somewhere in the early 2010's decade.
[36] "Lose Yourself" by Eminem
[37] Shinmai Maou no Testament
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