Chapter 37: First Year of Highschool
First Month.
Integration; the process of uniting different things. For new students, integration means the process of creating their clique. They start scouting for people who have the same viewpoint, getting closer to them, before eventually forming the clique.
Such phenomenon happens in the first month of school—that is what integration month is.
Of course, this process doesn't only consist of the forming of cliques. It is also a process of spotting the loner out of the sea of sociable people—the hypocrites. When spotted, the loner will then reassume their role in their previous school—social outcast.
The loner will take their role quietly as if willingly accepting it. However, they will curse every Riajū, as they like to call, under their breath in every moment. They hold contempt for Riajū, but they know deep down they secretly want to be Riajū.
Despite so, they keep reminding themselves they are better than those Riajū, and keep behaving the way they are. This is yet another proof of hypocrisy. But then again, people are hypocrites; it's as expected.
Needless to say, there are also some people like like our favorite hypocrite, Hachiman who doesn't care about integrating themselves into their new school life; that, in the other hand, means they don't give a shit about making friends.
This kind of people however, different from Hachiman, is not very direct in expressing themselves. Therefore, they will sometimes act like they care when they don't. It can be seen clearly by the way they introduce themselves in the first day of school.
A blonde haired boy of an average, but athletic build stands up. "Hello everyone, my name is Hayama Hayato. Nice to meet you!" He smiles brightly, and it is weirdly contagious.
This introduction belongs to your typical hypocrite—people who really care about their image.
A beautiful girl with black hair, and delicate appearance stands up. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Yoshida Saki. Nice to meet you." She bows politely, and every male in the class admires her demeanor.
This introduction belongs to a not so sociable person who is still okay with the idea of making friends.
A black haired boy with sharp and slightly feminine appearance stands up. "I am Uchida Sasuke." He then sits back down without a care of the weird gaze some students are giving him.
This introduction belongs to the type of people who don't care about making friends, but keep pretending they are okay with it just to not become a social outcast.
And finally, there is the person who absolutely gives no shit about others but themselves.
A black haired young man with manly yet youthful facial features stands up. He looks around the class for awhile, before saying, "You know who I am." Then, he sits back down without any care about the world.
This person is Hikigaya Hachiman. He is not included in any category of people; he is himself, Hikigaya Hachiman.
Despite of his unique way of carrying himself, many students still try to become his friend. Although he is plainly showing he doesn't care about building a friendship with them, it doesn't stop them from trying.
There is something in himself that attracts them to him: bluntness, undeniable natural charisma, intelligence, and of course appearance.
Of course, Hachiman himself doesn't become a jerk by actively causing troubles to repel everyone from him. He just stays true to himself, and uses his favorite word, "No," daily.
"Hikigaya-san, will you join us to karaoke?"
"Nope. I still love my ears. Cheers."
Then, he will always leave behind the dumbfounded people without a care. He is not being rude; he stays true to himself.
Two weeks into the first month of his highschool, Hachiman receives his first confession. It slightly surprises him as he is weirded out by the fact someone can actually fall in love with him in two weeks.
Of course, Hachiman also refuses the girl by saying the truth.
"Infatuation, lust, passion, admiration, and love; many people misunderstand these four." He points his finger to the girl. "You are by no means in love with me. What you are currently having is admiration; of my appearance, intelligence, and athleticism."
The girl slowly nods her head like she is enlightened. Hachiman continues, "When you love someone, you want them to be happy. Even if it means they won't be together with you." He quirks his eyebrow. "Can you do that?"
The girl slowly shakes her head, and Hachiman smirks slightly. "Now, you know your answer." Then, he leaves like a gentleman.
Of course, this doesn't stop the girl to confess to him once again in the next week.
"Hikigaya-kun, I think I AM in love with you!"
Hachiman quirks his eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" The girl nods her head surely. "Then, you want me to be happy, don't you?" The girl nods her head vigorously again. Hachiman smiles, then says, "Very well. I will be happy if you can fuck off right now."
"Eh?" The girl is puzzled and slightly overwhelmed.
"I said fuck off. I will be happy if you can."
The girl is still puzzled and bewildered. However, seeing Hachiman's assuring smile, she leaves wordlessly. This strategy is the one Hachiman uses to repel any confession coming at him.
Needless to say, it doesn't really stop the girls from confessing.
...
Second Month.
Yoshida Saki, a soft-spoken and naturally kind girl, is puzzled. She becomes a popular girl ever since her new self's emergence.
It greatly bewilders her how easy one's appearance can change people's view toward oneself. In Hachiman's word, she is just surprised by the blatant hypocrisy the people show.
This all happened because of Asako—her gym trainer. With Asako's advice, she carried herself way better than before. She now has the confidence, and the courage to easily face people thanks to Asako.
Also due to this however, she has to deal with the male students' confession to her that always happens in each week.
Today is the day where she gets confessed to for the second time this week. In times like this, she always gives the person who confessed to her the same answer she has always given.
"I am sorry, I already have someone I like." Saki bows her head.
The boy's heart broke, but he can't help asking, "What do I lack compared to the person you like."
Unfortunately, he never predicts Saki will answer him truthfully.
"Oh, you lack many things, of course. Appearance aside; compared to him, you lack the intelligence, charisma, athleticism, knowledge, man—"
"Alright stop!" The boy feels like crying. "I know who you are referring to. You don't need to say anything more about him." Then, while clutching his shattered heart, the boy leaves in defeat.
Such is a repeated occurrence in every Saki's getting confessed to episode.
Despite how popular she has become though, she still feels not good enough. Because, the person who drives her to change herself hasn't changed his view towards her yet; he still thinks of her as a friend, and nothing more.
Saki, who is a little bit frustrated with her love progress, finally gathers her courage to ask the person she is in love with to go on a date.
"Hachiman-kun, let's go on a date!"
"Sure. When will it be?"
"Eh?"
Saki is a little bit overwhelmed. She thought there would be some drama happening between her and Hachiman. Imagine her surprise when Hachiman accepted her invitation without a second thought.
'Does Hachiman-kun also like me? Or does this mean I have gotten friendzoned so badly, he doesn't think much about it?!'
Such thought fills her head even until the day of the date. She doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. In one hand, she is glad Hachiman thinks of her that much as a friend. However, in the other hand, she wants to be more than just a friend with him!
"You have something bothering you?"
"Oh, no.. not really."
Hachiman quirks his eyebrow at Saki's response, but as always, he shrugs it off. They have just finished watching a horror movie in the cinema, so he attributes it to the aftereffect Saki is experiencing due to how cringey the movie was.
Well, he is actually aware of the matter. However, he doesn't feel the obligation to address the matter, and confronts Saki directly. He gives Saki the freedom to overcome her dilemma by herself.
"Yo, Saki." Hachiman grabs her hand. "Let's go buy some books."
"E—Eh? B—Books?" Saki is flustered due to Hachiman's sudden initiative to hold her hand. However, she quickly recovers from it, and happiness soon overwhelms her entire existence. "Yes, let's go buy some books!"
Hachiman smirks. As a bibliophile himself, he knows how to spark a bibliophile's excitement up. Although he misunderstands some part of this matter, he is not wrong about Saki being excited.
Upon reaching the bookstore, Saki feels like she has finally returned to her habitat. She explores the entire bookstore excitedly, while dragging Hachiman around with her. Since Saki has the privilege to be treated as a friend, Hachiman doesn't mind at all.
Now, Saki is intently reading a book that managed to attract her interest. Hachiman is by her side, merely looking at her in amusement.
He's not amused by Saki's intense attention to the book though; he's amused by Saki's reluctance to let go of his hand.
He is pretty sure Saki doesn't forget about his hand; she is looking at it everytime she turns the page of the book she is reading, after all.
Hachiman doesn't mind this though. In his mind, Saki is just like his little sister—her grown-up little sister. Furthermore, holding hands is not that big of a deal for him.
Ring!
Hachiman quirks his eyebrow, as he feels his phone is vibrating. Someone is calling him, and he is curious of who the caller is.
"Saki, can you let go of my hand for awhile? I need to answer a call." Hachiman smiles slightly.
"O—Oh, of course."
Saki lets go of his hand, and he takes his phone out to look at the caller. Upon seeing the caller is Julia, he quickly answers the call with his fluent English.
|Jules, what's the matter?|
Saki isn't surprised in the least. She already knows Hachiman has many foreign acquaintances. She believes it is also another one of his business partners; she doesn't know Julia is acquainted with Asako yet.
Therefore, she returns her attention to the book again. Not even a minute into reading her book however, someone intrudes her private zone.
"Hello there, you are looking cute!"
Saki blinks her eyes once, then turns her head towards the person who has just talked. It is a brown haired young man in his early twenties, who looks like he thinks his mediocre appearance is enough to get every girls he fancies.
The past Saki will surely be flustered at the compliment, and instantly "falls in love" with the young man. However, the current Saki is different.
Asako has trained her a lot to not get flustered by a mere compliment from a loose mouth.
"Oh, hello. Thank you, I guess?"
"Hahaha. No need to thank me. I was just stating a fact."
"Sure." Then, she returns her attention to the book once again.
The young man is a little bit irked. Therefore, he eliminated his distance between Saki even more, before slightly leaning himself to the shelf while facing Saki's way.
"Hey, only reading books is not fun, you know?" At that, Saki turns her head to the young man with a quirked eyebrow.
"How about doing something fun? I know something fun." He winks, before extending his hand. "I am Hayato by the way. What's yours?"
"I am Yoshida." Saki answered without grabbing Hayato's hand.
Hayato's smile slightly faltered, but he does a good job to hide it.
"So, how about it, Yoshida-san? Wanna do something fun together?" At this point, Hayato is already close to touch Saki, and Saki is on the verge of punching him.
Before Saki even managed to punch the shit out of Hayato however, someone intervenes in a timely manner.
"Do you need something with my wife?"
Shocked, Hayato turns around and finds Hachiman, who towers over him. Hachiman is still on the call, but his intimidating sharp eyes are completely focused on Hayato.
"W—Wife? O—Oh, sorry I didn't know."
Hachiman quirks his eyebrow, then speaks to Julia. |I'll be there after my date. I'ma beat some bitch's ass now. Bye.| He ended the call, then puts his hand on Hayato's shoulder. Grasping it "slightly," Hachiman smiles "amiably."
"You should be glad it's not America. If it was, you would have ended up as a dog food already."
Hayato grits his teeth to stifle his scream; the pain his shoulder is feeling starts to get unbearable. Unfortunately for him, his suffering doesn't stop there.
Hachiman increased the power he puts behind his grasp. "So next time, make sure to keep your microscopic dick in your pants. Can't lose your head because of that puny little thing, no?"
"Y—Yes...!" Hayato answered through gritted teeth.
Hachiman smiles for one last time, before letting go of Hayato's shoulder. However, it doesn't stop Hayato from feeling the pain; the pain remains, and it is heavily bruised. He can't even feel his right hand because of it.
With eyes full of fear, Hayato leaves the vicinity.
"You should've kicked that dick right in his balls." Hachiman said to Saki.
Saki faintly shakes her head. "I was about to. But," she smiles mischievously, "my husband saves me in time."
Hachiman smiles slightly. "Don't get cocky, girl. It's a one time thing, one time thing. But! Feel free to make me your husband whenever some dick want to try their luck."
Saki shakes her head in amusement, before sighing. As expected, she doesn't have the courage yet—she doesn't have the courage to break the momentum. She doesn't want to ruin their friendship with her confession.
However, she knows Hachiman cares for her; it comforts her slightly. Therefore, she decided to postpone her confession.
That way, Yoshida Saki's fate changed for the better.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Frona_Gorgophone
Frona_Gorgophone Shout-out to Layous, and Kuromori111 for helping me attach the pictures of the Characters I didn't put in the last chapter!
I will be happy if you, my loyal readers, can do the same thing this time. (*´ω｀*)
P.S. find me on Discord: Frona_Gorgophone#2411
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