Tarou Shiozawa POV
He walked with a lazy slouch while I had my hands in my pants pockets "so you're a fellow loner to," Hachiman spoke breaking the silence between us.
I glanced over him before letting out an approving hum "yeah and a proud one to," I replied with no shame.
"Same," Hachiman agreed as we finally arrived at the doorsteps of the Service clubroom.
Great I thought looking at the place with some annoyance and dread.
Hachiman sild the door open and we went inside.
The familiar figure of Yukinoshita greeted us "oh so you've both returned especially after what happened a few hours ago are you two perhaps masochistic?" she asked flicking through her book.
"What no!" Hikigaiya instantly denied.
"Make that a double no please," I dead panned before sighing "I only came back because of Hiratsuka Sensei threating me that's all I'll probably stick around for a few days and then be off on my merry way," I explained awkwardly looking away.
Was I going to apologize for the earlier outburst? Should I even apologize? The answer is no I wasn't about to let anyone make me feel bad for being straightforward. Besides, apologizing now would only make me seem weak and that was the last thing I wanted.
"Hoh then I suppose you two are stalkers then?" Yukinoshita continued unbothered.
"Why are you assuming that either of us have some sort of feelings for you?" Hachiman asked as we took our respective seats.
He took the middle spot while I took the last seat far away from the two.
"You don't?" Yukinoshita questioned.
"No! Even I am put off by your overconfidence" Hachiman firmly denied.
I rolled my eyes "for the record I just want to add again that I only prefer mature girls not flat chests," I said pulling out my phone.
Yukinoshita's blue eyes narrowed sharply, as if offended but trying not to show it "is that really necessary to say out loud?"
I shrugged not bothering to defend myself "just clearing up any misconceptions before they start that's all."
Hachiman snorted quietly from the middle seat "so do you not have any friends?" he asked Yukinoshita after a moment of silence.
"Well first explain to me where the definition of friends begins and ends-" Yukinoshita was cut off by Hachiman "say no more that's something that someone with no friends would say source me," he said pointing at himself.
I let out a small chuckle "I can't help but agree with Hikigaiya over here princess you sound like you've never had anyone to call a real friend? Although I won't judge you too harshly on it since I myself prefer not to surround myself...with such fakers," I say the last word dripping with disgust.
"In any case you seem like someone people would like so how can you have no friends?" Hachiman inquired.
That's a dumb question dude...I mean it's pretty obvious from her personality alone I thought opening up the Fate Grand Order game.
I really needed to get some more quartz to add another saberface to my collection...don't judge me! I am neither simp nor obsessed but simply just a man with refined tastes.
Saber may of course be flat chested but with some mental calculations I've concluded that they are still above average with a nice roundness to them...not to mention her Lancer variants do eventually turn out to have rather large one I thought before snapping out of my perviness.
Begone evil thoughts! Back to the horny jail you go to.
Also, Rin Tohsaka and Sakura lovers please go jump in a ditch somewhere.
"You two wouldn't understand since I've always been pretty," seriously just high can your ego be women I thought "all guys who have gotten close to me have done so with other intentions," Yukinoshita said getting up to pick a different book.
"How can people like you say that your lonely? You're a disgrace to lonely people everywhere," Hachiman declared voice sharp and dripping with disdain.
I couldn't help but smirk at his bluntness "Hikigaiya's right you know...perhaps if you did not build your emotional walls so high up that no one could climb them then maybe you'd have some friends that actually liked you," I said clicking on the summoning banner that featured Lancer Artoria Alter along with Saber Artoria Alter.
"If everyone had actually liked me perhaps then I would have been alright," she said staring out the window.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hachiman asked as I clicked my tongue in distaste at having pulled out Lancer Cu instead just what kind of shitty gacha luck was this I thought clicking off the app and turning my phone off in mild irritation.
I was out of quartz and didn't feel like grinding again.
"In grade school my indoor shoes were taken and hidden about 60 times 50 of those times were done by other girls and it was all thanks to them that I had to take my in door shoes and my recorder home every day," Yukinoshita explained with a sigh.
"Sounds like you had a rough time," Hachiman noted.
I leaned back in my chair, still half-listening as I tapped the empty spot on my desk "yeah I get it people are assholes when they're insecure they pick on what's different about others because it makes them feel better about themselves...not that I am sympathizing or anything like that," I said glancing away to the side.
"What tsundere response," Hachiman muttered with a smirk.
My left eye twitches "screw you shark eyes I am not a tsundere," I cursed at my fellow loner.
Hachiman shrugged "sure whatever you say man," he replied.
Sigh...the truth was that I did relate with her a bit.
Back in Elementary and early Middle school days kids made fun of me for my skunk-colored hair and my unnatural shade of red eyes.
Some of the names I could still commonly remember were 'skunk boy', 'devil eyes Tarou', and of course the most common one being 'freak.'
Pretty creative right? Kids can be cruel when they want to be especially when you don't exactly fit their idea of 'normal.'
"Yes I agree that it was rough, but it was because I am pretty," and just like that whatever sympathy I had for the girl was gone "but then it can't be helped can it? Although nobody can be considered perfect people are weak and their ugly it's as you said Shiozawa they get jealous and try to bring others down oddly enough the better you are the harder it is to live don't you guys think that's wrong somehow?" Yukinoshita asked glancing out the window "but I can and will change it and all the people within this world."
There it was again I thought with irritation that naive level of thinking.
There are fewer seats at the table for people like us those who don't play by the rules or pretend to be something they're not. Change? Sure, it sounds nice but people like Yukinoshita chasing after some grand ideal of fixing the world usually just end up breaking themselves instead
Because here's the truth nobody wants to admit the world doesn't care about your ideals or your feelings. It chews you up, spits you out, and moves on without a second thought the sooner you accept that the less you'll get hurt.
Having naïve hope? It's like a poison disguised as medicine slowly rotting your resolve until you're left both empty and bitter clutching at illusions that never were and never will be.
"You're putting too much effort in a crazy cause," Hachiman spoke up.
"Yeah, sounds a bit too much like something fictional anime character would come up with," I said crossing my arms together.
"You think so? Well, I think it's far better than either of your guys' efforts to dry up and fade into nothing," she responded.
"You know I hate the way you two accept your weaknesses as something positive it's stupid," Yukionshita said.
Yukinoshita is someone who carries the pain that has more than others it shouldn't be too hard to hide that and go through life lying to everyone after all that's what people do in this world but she doesn't lie to herself....yet as someone who's learned to read a person beyond their 'masks' I knew the real truth.
She was only deluding herself, this whole thing with the Service club, and changing the world it's all a facade built upon a mountain of lies.
People like her always build these grand castles in the air pretending that their suffering means something that they can somehow rewrite the rules of the game. However, that's not how the game of life works.
The world isn't waiting for some noble hero to fix its broken parts it's just waiting to drown you whole the moment you let your guard down.
Yukinoshita? She's trying to play that hero role but deep down she's also just as broken as the rest of us. It's not courage or hope driving her it's desperation. A desperate stubborn refusal to admit that maybe some things just can't be fixed not by her, not by anyone I thought.
Yet despite it all...I cannot help but think that maybe just maybe there's a part of me that wants her to succeed.
Not because I believe in her idealistic crap or because I think she's some chosen one destined to reshape society.
But because if someone like her with all that pain, pressure, and loneliness can actually make a difference then maybe the rest of us broken bastards aren't so completely doomed either right?
'...'
Blegh! What the hell kind of cringe ass crap am I talking about I thought shaking my head.
I wasn't about to start rooting for some high-and-mighty princess with a martyr complex. Seriously what was I? A side character in some feel-good anime redemption arc? No thanks I'd rather choke on instant ramen than become the type of person to get swept up in someone else's life and ideal.
"Hey if you want, we could be your-" Hachiman began to start awkwardly scratching the back of his head
Oh, come on is he really about to go and say it? The death sentence? The friendship offer to someone like Yukinoshita? Bro, has anime taught you nothing? She's an Ice Queen type and will now proceed to completely crush you! And what the hell do you mean 'we' there is only just you.
"Sorry can't do that," Yukinoshita instantly cut him off.
It's as I predicted I thought flicking my imaginary glasses up with the signature white shine.
"What? But I wasn't even finished," Hachiman said taken completely off guard.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Huh I wonder who that could be?
"Come in," Yukinoshita said.
"E-excuse me, Hiratsuka-sensei sent me here..." a girl with pinkish orange hair entered the room with a tied up bun on her head.
I know her....it's that girl from that day I thought remembering the first day of school.
-end of chapter-
Let me know your thoughts so far on how this is turning out despite there only being two chapters.
If you want to correct me on grammar or structure just comment in the para comment of where the mistake is thank you.