After parking his bicycle, Hachiman made his way toward the school entrance.
The familiar sound of students chatting filled the area. Honestly, seeing everyone walking around like usual almost made the events from last week feel like some strange dream. Because this was the exact same ordinary scenery he had seen countless times before.
As Hachiman walked toward the shoe lockers, a group of girls suddenly rushed past him.
"Ah, wait! Hurry up before he gets here!"
"Do you think he'll notice it?"
"Of course he will!"
Hachiman glanced in their direction for a moment. 'Huh. Are they already back to worrying about things like this?'
Not that it was a bad thing. Actually, it was probably the opposite. If students were able to laugh about something this normal after everything that happened, then maybe that was proof things really were getting better.
And yet, for some reason, watching that same ordinary scene felt strangely unfamiliar.
"..."
'Wait. Why am I thinking about something so unnecessarily serious first thing in the morning? Was this what they called personal growth? Scary.'
Hachiman shook his head and pushed those thoughts aside. The girls had stopped in front of a locker not too far away from his own and started placing something inside while giggling among themselves.
More specifically they were putting it inside Hayama Hayato's locker.
Of course. Honestly, this wasn't even an unusual sight anymore. Letters, small gifts, chocolates, and whatever else people gave popular guys these days. At this point, Hayama's locker probably received more attention than most actual students.
It was the kind of scene that belonged in a completely different world from his own. Actually, no, forget that. This was beyond a simple isekai situation. This was like comparing a fantasy hero blessed by the gods to the random villager whose only purpose was saying, "Welcome to our town."
And naturally, Hikigaya Hachiman was the villager. Although, thinking about it, villagers are actually essential. Without us, heroes wouldn't even know where the weapon shop is. Basically, villagers secretly control the world. Amazing. Villager route confirmed.
After confirming that the daily popular guy worship ceremony was proceeding normally, Hachiman ignored them and opened his own locker. After changing into his indoor shoes, he closed the locker and was about to head toward class when someone called out to him.
"Excuse me, boy?"
"Hm? Yes?"
Hachiman turned around and saw a familiar older man standing there. It was the caretaker who usually looked after the front area of the school. He had seen him around several times before.
The man was holding something in his hands. A surprisingly fancy-looking decorated basket wrapped neatly with a ribbon.
"A woman gave me this outside just a few moments ago and requested that I give it to..." He paused, pointing toward a tag where some letters were written. "It says 'HH'. She said I would find him right around here at this time."
"..."
Hachiman silently stared at the basket in the man's hands. Hold on a second. Wasn't this old man a little too trusting? A random person outside the school handed him a mysterious basket and said, "Please give this to someone," and he just accepted it?
'...What the hell, old man? Where did your sense of danger go? What if there is something suspicious inside? Or some weird cursed object that would drag its receiver into an unnecessary supernatural incident? Actually... considering my track record, that second one sounds painfully realistic.'
Seriously, what did this person do to convince you? did they slide him some cash under the table or something?
"...Wait, was it a woman?"
"Yeeees," the caretaker replied, slightly dazed smile appearing on his wrinkled face. "A very… beautiful one, actually."
"..."
'Ah. I guess that explains everything.'
Hachiman immediately abandoned his previous criticism of the man's decision-making ability. Humanity had been making questionable choices because of beautiful women since ancient times. Blaming one old man for continuing that tradition would be unfair.
He let out a sigh and silently looked back at those two letters. A beautiful woman sending an expensive-looking gift basket to someone with the initials HH.
Now, who could this HH possibly be?
Could it be Hikigaya Hachiman, a person whose most memorable impression on strangers was usually making them suddenly remember they had somewhere else to be?
Or…
could it be a certain blond prince called Hayama Hayato, who was currently receiving offerings from his loyal followers a few lockers away without even being there?
When you eliminated the impossible, whatever remained had to be the truth. Except in this case, eliminating him was the first step.
"Um... is something wrong?" the caretaker asked, noticing that Hachiman had been silently staring at the basket for a while.
"No, nothing." Hachiman shook his head and pointed toward the locker a few spaces away from his own. "I think there has been a mistake. The person you're looking for is probably over there."
"Over there?" The caretaker looked in the direction he pointed.
"Yeah. See that locker practically bursting at the seams over there? That's the one you're looking for. Hayama Hayato. Same initials. HH."
Hayama's locker was still open, with the girls happily arranging their gifts and letters inside. The man looked at the basket in his hand and then at Hayama's locker.
"Ah! Of course, that makes sense. My goodness, he sure is quite a popular young man, isn't he? I'm terribly sorry for troubling you, boy."
"It's fine."
Well, that was solved. A mysterious gift from a beautiful woman appearing first thing in the morning? Obviously, there was no possible route where an event like that was meant for Hikigaya Hachiman. Satisfied with his perfectly logical conclusion, he left the entrance area and started making his way toward the classroom.
The morning greetings and casual chatter added to the growing commotion filling up the stairs, eventually flooding into the upstairs hallway. The classroom was no different.
Although, thankfully, it was still a little quieter than usual. Apparently, he had arrived earlier than most people today. More importantly, the group responsible for producing approximately sixty percent of the classroom's daily noise pollution had yet to arrive.
In other words, the Hayama group wasn't here. He couldn't help but consider this a small blessing.
Honestly, it felt like he had been away from this school for an eternity. For some reason, just walking through the building was turning out to be a little overwhelming. His senses felt raw. The near-empty room was a blessing; it meant he could slowly refamiliarize himself with the environment and gave him some time to adjust.
Yeah. It was better to let himself get used to it again before everyone arrived. Besides, he had a feeling today might turn out to be a long day.
Hachiman quietly walked through the aisles between the desks. Once he reached his seat, he pulled out his chair and sat down, silently waiting for morning homeroom to begin. Unfortunately, that peaceful period didn't last very long.
As more students started entering the classroom, he began noticing something strange.
Glances and a lot of them.
"..."
What?
'Seriously, what? Did I accidentally walk in with bread hanging out of my mouth or something?
No, wait, that only happens to main heroines on their way to school. Unfortunately, Hikigaya Hachiman did not possess the qualifications required for such an event.
'Is my collar inside out, then?'
Hachiman quietly reached up and checked his collar just to make sure.
'...Nope. Completely normal.'
Which meant people were staring at him voluntarily. Somehow, that was even more concerning. Every few seconds, someone would look in his direction before whispering something to the person beside them.
What was this? Had he unknowingly become some rare animal at a zoo? Please stop staring. The Hikigaya species is extremely sensitive to attention and may attempt to escape if observed for too long. Recommended care instructions: leave alone and occasionally provide MAX Coffee.
While he was mentally writing his own wildlife description, one of the students actually broke away from the group of staring people and suddenly approached him.
"Hey, you're that Hikitani guy, right?"
"...No, It's Hikigaya guy, actually."
Standing in front of him was someone he recognized. Ooka. One of the members of Hayama Hayato's famous Three Musketeers. Also known in his mind as the virgin fence sitter. Not that the person himself was aware of receiving such a prestigious title.
"Oh, yeah? Got it, sorry about that." Ooka nodded, accepting the correction surprisingly easily. "Anyway, you're the guy who suddenly ran out of the shelter during all that chaos, right?"
"...Uh, yeah." Hachiman answered awkwardly, not expecting someone he barely talked to before to suddenly come up and ask him something like that.
"Dude, that's insane. What were you even thinking? What happened outside? How did you even make it back?"
As soon as he asked that, Hachiman noticed a few other students nearby listening too. Actually, no. Most of them were listening.
"Yeah, seriously, that was pretty crazy."
"Going outside during something like that takes guts."
"You got hurt, right? Must've been rough."
One by one, voices started appearing around him.
"..."
The sudden attention made Hachiman freeze slightly.
What was happening? Why were people suddenly talking to him?
Was this some new bullying technique? Had society finally advanced to the point where people surrounded loners with positive attention until they mentally collapsed?
Terrifying.
"Uh... well..." He honestly had no idea what he was supposed to say. It wasn't like he could explain the truth.
While Hachiman was trying to think of a response, another student casually spoke.
"Hey, wasn't there also that rumor? Some people were saying you went outside because you wanted to die or something."
"..."
The atmosphere around him changed slightly. Hachiman slowly lowered his gaze.
Ah. So that's how people saw it.
"Don't just randomly decide something like that about someone." His voice came out quieter than usual, but there was a cold edge to it as he looked the other way. "Mind your own business. It has nothing to do with any of you."
Honestly, even Hachiman was slightly surprised by how irritated his own voice sounded. The surrounding students went quiet.
Before the awkward silence could grow any worse—
"Alright, alright. That's enough." A familiar cheerful voice interrupted. "Come on, guys. Hikitani just got back after being gone for days. Don't immediately surround him with questions."
Hachiman looked toward the classroom entrance and there he was. The blond prince himself, Hayama Hayato, standing there with his usual group. Behind him were Miura Yumiko, Ebina Hina, Yuigahama, and the remaining two members of the Three Musketeers.
Tobe, the ditzy blond.
And Yamato, the indecisive dimwit.
The remaining titles personally and graciously awarded by Hikigaya Hachiman himself after careful observation. Of course, the people in question remained completely unaware of receiving such prestigious honors.
A shame, really. Some people never realized how highly they were evaluated.
"Yeah," Yuigahama quickly added, walking closer. "Don't just crowd around someone's desk first thing in the morning."
Ooka looked slightly awkward before scratching his cheek. "Ah... yeah, you're right. Sorry about that, Hikitani."
"Yeah..." Hachiman gave a small nod.
'No. It's Hikigaya, Dammit Didn't I literally correct you a minute ago? What kind of memory capacity are you operating with?'
Of course, those words never left his mouth.
At this point, maybe it was time to accept reality. The name Hikigaya Hachiman had fought bravely, but after countless battles against society, it finally lost to Hikitani.
Rest in peace, my name. You fought well.
With that, Ooka returned to the others, and the strange attention surrounding him finally started disappearing. But Yuigahama arrived in front of his desk looking strangely relieved.
"Ah... well..."
"Hikki's really back, you're actually here."
"Yo…"
"…"
"…."
Well, this certainly was awkward. Then again, that was probably to be expected. His communication skills were still as dependable as ever. Dependably terrible, that is.
"So... are you like, okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Hachiman asked, leaning his cheek into his palm and tried adopting his most bored, nonchalant expression. "Don't I look perfectly functional right now?"
"Yeah, but..." Yuigahama hesitated. "Komachi-chan told me you were in the hospital."
"Oh, that." Hachiman shrugged. "I just got injured a little after falling a bit. It wasn't anything serious, though."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Honestly, I could've left earlier, but I had a perfect excuse to skip school, so I exaggerated it a little."
"..."
Yuigahama stared at him quietly.
"What?"
"Nothing..."
"Well, whether you believe me or not is up to you, Yuigahama."
For some reason, she didn't respond to that. Instead, after a short silence—
"Um... so, will you be coming to the Service Club today?"
"...We're still doing that?"
"Huh? Of course we are!" Yuigahama said instantly, "Why wouldn't we?"
Hachiman let out a quiet, defeated sigh, but deep down, the familiar routine brought a strange, grounding sense of comfort to his raw senses. "Well... I guess I'll be there."
But before she could say anything else, Tobe's voice suddenly echoed from the other side of the room. "Hey there, Yui! Come here real quick! Look at these totally awesome snacks and gifts Hayato got this morning! Let's see what's inside!"
"Ah, I gotta go, Hikki."
"Sure."
As Yuigahama walked back, Hachiman naturally looked toward their group. Hayama was staring at the pile of gifts with a troubled expression.
"Tobe, Yamato why would you bring all of those into the classroom? we should just leave them in the locker for now."
"C'mon, Hayato. You get so many of them anyway, and it's not like you're actually accepting the confessions, so it's totally fine if we share the wealth, right?
"Yeah! It would be a total waste otherwise! Food shouldn't be wasted, man!"
"...Fine."
At that moment, Hachiman noticed something. Among the gifts Tobe was holding There was a very familiar fancy basket wrapped neatly with a ribbon. Looks like it reached its rightful owner.
"Woah, look at this one!" Tobe yelled, holding the basket up like a holy relic. "This sure is some insanely fancy-looking stuff, even for Hayato! Man, I wonder who this is from? I am totes jealous right now! The packaging is legit premium!"
At the same time, Hachiman noticed Miura Yumiko's eyes.
It was Scary.
Really, really scary.
No, it definitely wasn't just his imagination. The temperature around her had risen by several degrees. Which was honestly impressive. Japan had already been trapped in an endless summer for as long as he could remember, so making it even hotter should have been impossible.
As expected, this was the woman he had secretly granted the title of Fire Queen. A perfectly suitable title created after careful observation by Hikigaya Hachiman himself.
'Ah. Tobe. You poor, unfortunate soul. You are standing directly in front of a fire-breathing dragon while talking about another girl's gift.'
And the worst part? He probably didn't even realize the dragon had already started charging its attack.
Completely blind to the lethal atmosphere radiating from Miura, Tobe shoved the basket directly into Hayama's chest. "Hey, Hayato, you gotta be the one to open these small gifts and the basket since they're yours! It would be totally unfair if we did it without the man of the hour!"
Hayama looked slightly reluctant as he smiled awkwardly. "Do I really have to?"
"Come on, come on."
With everyone watching, Hayama finally gave in and started opening the basket.
At that point, Hachiman naturally turned his attention away. After all, watching a popular guy open gifts from unknown admirers was basically the same as watching a rich person count money right in front of you. There was nothing to gain except unnecessary emotional damage.
Besides, he already knew how this event would end. Hayama would probably smile gently, say something considerate like, "I'm thankful, but..." and somehow reject the person without actually hurting them.
The sender would cry, but instead of giving up, she would probably think, "He's so kind even when rejecting me!" and somehow her affection points would mysteriously increase.
Seriously, what kind of broken game balance was that? Life truly was an unfair pay-to-win game.
While Hachiman was busy entertaining himself with increasingly ridiculous thoughts, Hayama carefully untied the ribbon wrapped around the basket.
The moment the lid came off, Tobe and Ooka immediately leaned in like hungry wolves.
"Woahhh! Look at this! Fruits and some super expensive-looking snacks!" Tobe exclaimed, "This is high-class stuff, Hayato!"
"Yeah, man! Whoever sent this really went all out!" Ooka added, looking inside.
As the two of them inspected the basket with unnecessary excitement, Tobe's clumsy hand accidentally caught the edge of something tucked down into the side lining of the wicker basket.
A glossy piece of paper slipped loose from the packaging, fluttering through the air before landing face-up on the desk right where the entire group was hanging out.
"Hm?"
Hayama noticed it and picked it up. Naturally everyone's attention moved toward it.
The moment everyone saw what was on it, the entire group froze.
"..."
It was a photo of a stunning woman with long, glossy dark violet hair. She was leaning forward seductively against a bright blue sky, winking playfully while making a peace sign. Her tiny yellow bikini top was desperately fighting a losing battle against her overflowing curves, and her snug denim shorts hugged her hips, accentuating her toned legs in a highly provocative pose.
As if the image itself wasn't scandalous enough, a bright red lipstick smudge was stamped boldly at the bottom of the glossy print. Just above it, a hand-drawn arrow pointed directly toward her deep cleavage on the left side, with the words:
"♡ Look here! Treat for only your eyes. ♡"
On the right side of the photo, a second message was written in the same handwriting: "(>_<) I am so so so Sorry for mistaking you for a zombie, this is my way of making up, okay? ♡"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Ooka was the first to break the paralysis, his jaw practically dropping to the floor.
"W-Woah... That is one hot babe, Hayato! What the heck?! Is she some kind of professional model or something?!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Tobe immediately grabbed Hayama's shoulder with a grin. "Hold up, Hayato! Since when was this a thing?"
"What thing?" Hayama asked, clearly confused.
"C'mon, man, don't play innocent!" Tobe laughed. "So that's why normal girls don't work on you, huh? Your standards were already somewhere completely different!"
"Tobe..."
"No need to be shy, man! She even left a lipstick mark and everything! Damn, I didn't know you were into older women. We weren't familiar with your game at all, Hayato!"
"I really don't."
Hayama stared at the picture again, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Unlike the others, he wasn't embarrassed or excited. He looked confused. Something about this felt strange.
A zombie? A bikini? He was absolutely certain he had never met a woman matching this description, let alone one who would send an expensive fruit basket to a high school student. If he actually stopped and thought about it—
But Tobe and Ooka were not letting him think. They had completely surrendered themselves to the brainless chaos unfolding in front of them, blissfully unaware that the temperature around them had reached an absolute boiling point.
Standing right beside them, Yumiko Miura had turned into the very embodiment of hellfire. Without a single word of warning, her hand shot out like a striking viper, snatching the photograph right out of Hayama's hand.
"Hayato," Yumiko hissed. The terrifying tone of her voice was enough to make Tobe instantly freeze mid-laugh. She thrust the photo right in front of his face. "Who is she? Do you know her? How long have you two been seeing each other?!"
"Yumiko, please calm down," Hayama pleaded, raising his hands awkwardly as cold sweat finally broke out on his forehead. "I swear, I don't know her! I've never seen this person in my life!"
"Oh, man," Tobe chimed in, entirely failing to read the room. "Maybe she's from outside school! Like, maybe Hayato saved her somewhere and she fell for him! You know, like—"
"Shut the hell up, Tobe!" Yumiko snapped, her glare swinging back to Hayama. "IF YOU DON'T KNOW HER, THEN WHO THE HELL IS THIS BITCH?! WHY IS SHE SENDING YOU SEXY PICTURES?!"
The sudden commotion drew Hachiman's attention back despite himself.
...What now?
Just a moment ago, he had deliberately looked away. Watching Hayama receive presents from admirers was about as entertaining as watching a rich man calculate compound interest. There wasn't a single benefit in it for him.
And yet somehow, the situation had escalated considerably.
Miura looked like she was seconds away from setting something on fire. Hayama looked genuinely troubled for once. Tobe was saying something while laughing nervously, and Ebina had that expression she always wore whenever reality started resembling one of her bizarre fantasies.
'What exactly happened in the thirty seconds I wasn't looking?'
"..."
"…A lipstick mark?"
"...An older woman?"
He remembered the bits and pieces of the conversation he had overheard earlier, even while trying to ignore it.
"…and a sexy picture?"
Hold on... were real-life love affairs actually like this?
Honestly, the atmosphere reminded him less of a confession scene and more of one of those afternoon television dramas where the wife catches her husband cheating and everyone immediately starts screaming before anyone bothers asking questions.
'...Yeah, I'd rather face another Angel... No. No, no. 'Angel' is Totsuka's title. It belongs exclusively to him. I refuse to call those giant monsters Angels. They're aliens. Yeah, aliens. I'd rather fight another one of those than get involved in this.'
Hachiman silently offered Hayama a brief moment of sympathy.
No matter how much of a riajuu someone was, surviving this kind of situation couldn't be easy.
Although watching the school's perfect prince slowly get cornered by reality did have a certain educational value. Maybe even the gods believed in balance after all.
"Hayato!" Miura thrust the photograph back toward him. "So, you don't know her?!"
"I don't!" Hayama answered immediately. "I'm telling you, I've never seen her before!"
"You expect me to believe that?!"
Ebina hurried between them. "Yumiko, Yumiko, calm down a little—"
"Yeah, maybe we should hear him out first..." Yuigahama added cautiously.
But Miura had already reached her conclusion.
"...So, she's just some stranger, right?" She stared at the photograph for another second before nodding once. "Then throwing this away shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Wait, Yumiko—"
Hayama reached out almost instinctively, but he was too late. Before he could stop her, Yumiko tore the photograph. For the briefest moment, as it came apart, he caught sight of writing on the back of the glossy paper.
A name. Or at least the beginning of one. It looked something like... 'Misa—'
"Hold on, don't be so hasty! At least let me have a look."
"Oh? So, you do care who she is."
Before Hayama could respond, Yumiko crumpled the torn photograph into a ball, walked straight over to the open window, and without the slightest hesitation tossed it out onto the ground behind the school building, directly below the window.
"..."
Nobody said a word. Yumiko slowly turned back toward the basket resting on the desk. Her eyes swept across the three members of Hayama's self-appointed entourage before stopping on Tobe.
"You three."
All Three of them straightened almost immediately.
"Y-Yeah?"
"Take the rest of that basket and its contents too, Throw it away. Eat it. I don't care."
Her voice wasn't loud anymore, which somehow made it even more frightening.
"Just don't bring it here even again."
"Y-Yes, ma'am! Right away, ma'am!" The three of them nodded so quickly Hachiman was genuinely worried they might injure their necks.
Without a single complaint, they grabbed the basket and everything else before making an immediate retreat from the classroom.
"..."
The classroom remained strangely quiet. Honestly, this was terrifying. People liked to call loners miserable, but at least nobody had ever torn up a photograph over him. There were moments like this that made being a loner feel surprisingly safe.
He couldn't help wondering who the woman in that photograph actually was. Whatever kind of person she was, she had somehow managed to shake even the Fire Queen's confidence.
Well... it probably wasn't something he wanted to know anyway. Riajuu and their problems operated on an entirely different set of rules. Merely watching them from a safe distance was already exhausting enough. Some things were simply beyond the comprehension of ordinary villagers like Hikigaya Hachiman.
Before anyone could reignite the argument, the morning bell rang throughout the school. Like nothing had happened, the students dispersed and returned to their seats as the classroom prepared for homeroom.
________________________________________
The morning bell hadn't rung yet by the time Shinji quietly stepped into the classroom.
Without looking around much, he made his way straight toward his seat near the front. He wasn't really in the mood to draw attention to himself. Fortunately, most of the class was busy talking among themselves.
As he pulled out his chair, his gaze drifted almost unconsciously toward the window.
There she was, Ayanami Rei that was her name... at least, that's what he'd heard back at NERV.
She sat alone by the window exactly as he remembered. A white bandage was still wrapped neatly around her head, and thick gauze covered most of one hand. An open book rested on her desk, yet she didn't seem to be reading it. Instead, she simply stared out the window in complete silence, her expression as unreadable as ever.
For some reason, Shinji found himself watching her for a few seconds longer than he intended. Then he quickly looked away. Somehow... he felt uncomfortable staring any longer.
"...dedededede..." Curious, Shinji glanced toward the source. A boy wearing glasses a few desks away was flying a miniature VTOL model around his desk with one hand while making engine noises under his breath. "Vooooooom... pshhh..."
In his other hand, he held a small handheld video camera, carefully following the plastic aircraft as it swooped and circled through the air.
Shinji silently watched for a moment.
It looked... kind of fun. Before he could think any more about it, another student walked over.
"What's up, Class Rep?" the glasses boy suddenly asked, not even looking up as a girl with an annoyed expression approached his desk carrying a pile of documents.
"Aida-kun," Hikari Horaki, the class representative, sighed, crossing her arms tightly. "Did you deliver those study printout guides to Suzuhara-kun like I asked you to yesterday?"
Kensuke Aida instantly froze mid-maneuver. he quickly shoved a stack of papers deeper into his desk compartment.
"Uh... u-uhm, yes! About that, actually... it doesn't seem like anyone is currently at Toji's home."
"You and Suzuhara are good friends, aren't you?" she asked, sounding a little worried now. "So... aren't you worried about him? He's been missing school for almost a week now."
"Of course I am." Kensuke absentmindedly tapped the side of his camera. "I don't know... maybe he got hurt or came down with something."
"What? You mean during that giant robot incident the other day?" Hikari looked surprised. "But the news specifically said nobody was hurt. So how could that be?"
"No, I don't mean during the actual attack," Kensuke said, shaking his head. "He was perfectly fine while we were in the emergency shelter. I mean afterwards. I haven't seen him since we left."
He paused before looking back at her. "Besides... Class Rep, do you honestly believe those TV reports saying there were zero casualties?"
"Huh?"
"Did you see the size of the crater at Mt. Takanosu?" Kensuke asked. "They mobilized support units from all over the place. Not just Iruma and Komatsu, they even brought in reinforcements from Misawa and Kyushu. There's no way something on that scale happened without people getting hurt. I'd bet there were at least dozens of casualties... maybe even some fatalities."
Before either of them could continue, the classroom door suddenly slid open. A boy with short black hair walked inside carrying his school bag over one shoulder. Instead of the regular school uniform, he wore the school's navy tracksuit.
His expression was already irritated before he'd even said a word.
"...Toji?"
"Suzuhara?"
Toji casually tossed his bag onto his desk before looking around the classroom.
"Well, look at that, Damn feels like there're a lot fewer people around now."
"Lots of people transferred out slowly over the week," Kensuke explained "I guess that's what just what happens when a massive battle takes place right in the middle of the city."
Toji clicked his tongue. "...Figures."
"But what about you, Toji? Why did you stay away from school for almost a week?"
Toji's hands clenched into tight fists inside his tracksuit pockets. "My little sister... she got caught up in the middle of that entire mess that day. She got injured. The rubble nearly buried her alive."
Kensuke gasped, and even Hikari stepped back, her hand flying to her mouth.
"The falling concrete came down, from what I heard, exactly when that freaking giant robot started fighting like a madman," Toji hissed, "The only reason she's even alive is because the people she was with happened to have a motorcycle with a professional medical kit on it. They were able to stabilize her and get her to a medical center immediately."
"...Is she okay now?" Hikari asked quietly.
"She's out of danger now, but she's still stuck in the hospital. My old man and my uncle... they both work in the labs at the base. They told me they can't tear themselves away from their work right now. So, I had to be the one to stay by her side every single day, or she would've been completely alone in that ward."
Toji lowered his head, "And it's not just the physical injuries. From what the nurses told me, she witnessed some seriously fucked-up things out there before they pulled her out. She saw people die right in front of her." He paused for a moment. "It... it hit her really hard."
Silence settled over the three of them. Even Kensuke had stopped absentmindedly playing with his camera.
After a few moments, he spoke again. "...I'm really sorry, Toji."
"...Yeah," Hikari nodded. "I'm glad she's going to be okay."
"I swear to God, the pilot of that damn robot is absolutely worthless! He pisses me off so bad! Just rampaging around without a care in the world, breaking everything. The second I get my hands on him—"
"About that..." Kensuke interrupted hesitantly. "Have you heard the rumor about the new transfer student?"
"We got a newbie here? Now?"
Kensuke subtly gestured toward the front of the classroom, where Shinji was sitting quietly at his desk. His SDAT player rested in his hands, earphones in place, his head lowered as though none of the conversation had anything to do with him.
"He transferred in right after you stopped coming. He literally showed up the morning after the entire battle ended. Don't you think the timing's a little... strange?"
Before Toji could answer, the classroom door slid open once again.
"Take your seats students."
The teacher walked inside carrying the attendance book beneath one arm.
Almost immediately, conversations throughout the classroom came to an end as everyone hurried back to their desks. Morning homeroom had begun.
The old teacher continued writing across the black board without so much as glancing at the class.
"...And so this is how humanity was faced with its greatest ordeal."
"In the closing year of the twentieth century, an object of extraordinarily high mass struck Antarctica. The continent's ice sheets melted almost instantly. Sea levels rose, Earth's axis shifted, and abnormal weather patterns swept across the globe, threatening all life on the planet."
He paused only long enough to turn another page in his notes.
"Half of mankind, along with thousands of species, were lost forever. This is now universally referred to as the Second Impact."
Sitting near the front, Shinji kept his chin resting in his hand, staring blankly ahead. He felt completely disinterested in the lecture. It was a story he had heard a thousand times already. By now, he could probably recite most of it from memory.
He glanced subtly to his left and right. The other students all had their official study terminals open on their desks, but none of them looked remotely interested either. Some were scrolling aimlessly through the lesson material, others were doodling, and most of them looked completely bored out of their minds, just like him.
For some reason, seeing everyone else just as uninterested made Shinji feel a little relieved. At least he wasn't the only one struggling to pay attention. Honestly... he couldn't help wishing something interesting would happen.
Almost as if responding to that thought—
Beep. Beep.
A notification suddenly appeared on the study terminal sitting in front of him. Someone in the classroom was requesting a private call through the school's network.
Confused, he looked around for a moment before cautiously accepting it. Almost immediately, a message slowly appeared on his screen.
[ARE YOU REALLY THE PILOT OF THAT GIANT ROBOT?]
"..."
His fingers froze above the keyboard.
How...? Shinji instinctively looked around the classroom. Near the back, a small group of girls were trying very hard not to look suspicious. The moment they noticed him looking over, one of them gave him a tiny wave before immediately lowering her head back toward her terminal.
A second message popped up. [IT'S TRUE, ISN'T IT?]
Shinji stared at the blinking cursor. He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do. Nobody at NERV had ever actually told him whether he was allowed to answer questions like this. Then again... everyone already seemed to know there was an Evangelion pilot somewhere. Maybe it wasn't really a secret anymore.
After hesitating for several seconds, he slowly reached toward the keyboard.
Almost without thinking...
He typed a single word. [YES]
"..."
For roughly three seconds, absolutely nothing happened. Then—
"WHAT?!"
The shout echoed through the classroom. Almost every student looked up from their desks at once.
"No way!"
"Seriously?!"
Within seconds, chairs scraped loudly across the floor as students abandoned their seats and crowded around Shinji's desk.
"So it's really true?!"
"That's amazing!"
"You're actually the pilot?"
"Wait, seriously? The giant robot?"
Meanwhile, the elderly teacher completely ignored the sudden commotion. Without so much as turning away from the window, as though nothing unusual had happened, he calmly continued his lecture. "...This is surely a testament to the greatness of mankind. It is also the result of the blood, sweat, and tears of your mothers and fathers. Back then, I was living in Nebukawa, but that's underwater now..."
Not a single student was paying attention anymore.
"So tell us!" one of the girls asked excitedly. "How were you chosen? Did they make you take some special test or something?"
"Hey, do you ever get scared out there?" another chimed in, pushing closer.
"What's it actually like inside the cockpit?!"
Questions came one after another so quickly that Shinji couldn't even process half of them. "Um... I-I'm really not allowed to talk too much about it, it's all... classified stuff."
But that answer only seemed to make everyone even more curious. The questions just kept coming. They wanted to know about the weapons, the armor, NERV headquarters, and what that thing that attacked the city looked like from inside the Eva. Shinji did his best to answer whatever he could without saying anything he wasn't supposed to. Although, somewhere along the way, he realized he had probably said a little more than he originally intended.
"This is incredible, Ikari-kun" one of the girls squealed, "You're like, totally the pride of this school!"
But somehow, being surrounded like this didn't feel unpleasant. Nobody was yelling at him. Nobody looked disappointed or angry. They were simply smiling, asking questions because they genuinely wanted to know more about him.
It was such an ordinary thing, something most people probably took for granted every day, yet to Shinji it felt strangely unfamiliar. For reasons he couldn't quite explain, he found himself wishing the moment could last just a little longer.
Before anyone could ask another question—
Riiing—!
The bell echoed throughout the classroom, signaling the end of the period.
The elderly teacher, seemingly oblivious to the fact that almost nobody had listened to a single word of his lecture, calmly turned back toward the blackboard and began writing the homework assignments in neat strokes of chalk.
"Read pages seventy-three through seventy-eight. Answer questions one through six. Submission tomorrow."
Only then did the crowd around Shinji loosen a little. Most of the students reluctantly returned to their own desks, but even while copying down the assignments into their study terminals, the whispers never really stopped.
"So cool…"
"I can't believe he's actually the pilot."
"My cousin's class already knows."
"Ask him if he gets to fire the rifle!"
Every now and then, someone would glance back toward him with open curiosity before returning to their assignment. Shinji quietly sat there, unsure what he was supposed to do with himself.
It felt... strange. His chest felt oddly light, almost ticklish, as though dozens of tiny butterflies had suddenly taken flight inside it.
Then, from a few desks away—
"...Hey, Ikari."
Shinji looked up. "What is it…?"
The boy scratched his cheek awkwardly. "...Did you end up accidentally destroying a lot of buildings or anything? The ones around the GeoFront looked pretty sturdy, but even some of those got wrecked..."
"...I..." He honestly didn't know how to answer.
Before he could think of anything, another boy spoke up. "...Then what about the people?"
Shinji slowly turned toward him. "...Huh?"
"I mean did you... accidentally step on anybody?"
Another student spoke up almost immediately, frowning at the sudden turn in the conversation.
"Dude…"
"That's kind of messed up."
"I'm just asking," the boy replied, raising his hands defensively.
"…"
For a brief moment, the students around Shinji went quiet. Beyond their little circle, the rest of the classroom continued buzzing with conversation as if nothing had happened.
The boy shrugged, "I mean... that battle did cause a crazy amount of damage, didn't it? So, I mean, all those NERV fellows are kind of responsible too, right?"
"...But it wasn't like Ikari-kun wanted that to happen," one of the girls said almost immediately.
"Yeah."
"He was fighting that thing, wasn't he?"
"I mean… if he hadn't…"
"…"
The conversation around the classroom gradually moved on.
"Hey, Aida, do you think those Robots can actually fly?"
"No way, idiot. It probably just jumps really far."
"What about that huge rifle it used?"
The excitement returned almost as quickly as it had faded, the students happily slipping back into their own conversations as though nothing had happened.
But Shinji never returned with them. The butterflies that had taken flight inside his stomach only moments ago now felt like caterpillars slowly crawling into his throat. Somehow... the classroom had already grown completely cold.
The classroom was still full of voices, but Shinji could barely hear any of it. All he could hear were the few words that refused to leave his mind.
'Crush a building. Step on anybody. Responsible.'
Then, from somewhere near the back—
"…Hold on."
Several students turned toward the speaker.
"Did anyone actually check whether he's really the pilot?"
"...Huh?" Shinji instinctively looked toward the boy.
"I mean..." he shrugged. "We're all just taking his word for it."
"He only typed 'yes.' that doesn't exactly prove anything."
The classroom filled with uncertain murmurs.
"I mean... why would he lie?"
"I don't know..." another student scratched his cheek. "Maybe he was just messing with us?"
"Are you stupid or what?" someone immediately shot back. "Why would anybody joke about something like that?"
"Yeah."
"He transferred here literally the morning after the battle."
"And the timing's way too perfect."
His fingers slowly curled against the edge of his desk. Had he...?
"...Ikari-kun?"
Someone called his name, and Shinji instinctively looked up. The same smiling faces were still gathered around him, the same curious eyes that had been looking at him only moments before.
But somehow... they didn't feel the same anymore. Were they smiling because they admired him, or because they were expecting an answer? Were they simply curious, or were they quietly blaming him for everything that had happened?
He couldn't tell anymore and once that uncertainty appeared... It spread through every expression he saw.
One of the girls tilted her head slightly. "Hm? What's wrong? You kind of spaced out there."
"...Ah." He lowered his eyes for a moment before forcing a small, awkward smile. "S-Sorry... I just..."
The words caught somewhere in his throat. "...I need to use the r…restroom."
Shinji quietly stood up and slipped out before anyone could ask him anything else. Maybe leaving so suddenly would only make him look more suspicious. He knew that. But his chest had already grown too tight. Right now... he just needed to get out.
The hallway felt noticeably cooler than the crowded classroom. Shinji quietly let out a slow breath as the classroom door slid shut behind him. Maybe walking around for a little while would help him calm down. At the very least, he hoped the restroom would be empty.
Unfortunately, it wasn't. A few boys stood near the windows, clustered around a handheld game console.
"Burst him!"
"Reload!"
"Watch out!"
Bang. Bang. Ratatatatat! Rapid gunfire crackled through the tiny speakers. Shinji's footsteps stopped almost on instinct.
For the briefest moment, the electronic sound effects blurred together with another sound buried somewhere in his memory. Metal corridors. The restraints locking into place around the Eva. Missile launches. Explosions. The Evangelion Unit-01 scream.
His heartbeat skipped. Then the illusion vanished just as quickly.
"...Just a game, huh" he quietly muttered to himself.
"Heeeey!"
The cheerful voice instantly made Shinji look up. A girl near the windows was waving enthusiastically as she walked in his direction with a bright smile on her face.
"A-ah..." Hearing someone call out to him suddenly caught Shinji off guard, but he instinctively responded by awkwardly lifting one hand near his shoulder in a small wave. "...H-Hi... there"
The girl kept smiling as she continued walking toward him. For a brief moment, Shinji simply stood there, unsure whether he should keep his hand raised or lower it. After a moment's hesitation, a small smile quietly appeared on his face.
Then, without slowing down, she walked right past him.
"...?"
Shinji blinked in confusion before slowly turning around.
"Morning!"
Another girl standing a few steps behind him waved back with the same cheerful smile as the two of them immediately fell into step beside each other, chatting as though Shinji had never been there at all.
"...Ah." Heat rushed into Shinji's face almost instantly.
Almost immediately, the hand he had raised found its way to the side of his cheek as he began scratching it, trying to pretend that was what he had been meaning to do all along.
"...Sorry," he murmured under his breath.
Lowering his head, he quietly hurried away before either of the girls had a chance to notice. Shinji barely made it halfway down the corridor before another sound reached his ears.
Ping.
A second later—
Ping.
Then another.
Ping.
Several notification tones chimed almost simultaneously from different directions throughout the hallway. Students walking past casually lowered their eyes toward their phones.
"...Hm?"
"...Is that the new guy everyone in Class 2-A's been talking about?"
"I've never seen him before."
"...Really? He doesn't exactly look like someone who'd pilot a giant robot."
The first student shrugged. "Who knows? That's just what I heard. Apparently that giant robot was freaking awesome."
"...Seriously?"
"Yeah. My friend texted me about it just now."
Shinji felt a cold shock run through him. He couldn't believe how fast the entire thing had spread. In the span of just a few minutes, half the floor had already messaged and contacted their friends about him being the pilot.
To make matters worse, the voices around him had apparently reached the two girls from the window as well. They stopped talking for a moment before both of them turned to see what everyone was looking at.
The moment Shinji felt them looking at him, he instantly quickened his pace, practically throwing himself forward. He absolutely did not want them to recognize him right now. It would be so incredibly lame. If they realized he was the same guy who had awkwardly waved at them earlier... what if they laughed? Or worse, remembered him?
Thankfully, he never had to find out. He managed to slip inside the restroom before either of them had a chance to say anything, the door swinging shut quietly behind him.
The room was almost entirely empty.
Shinji walked straight over to one of the sinks and turned on the faucet. Cold water splashed over his fingers before he cupped some against his face, trying to wash away the heat still lingering in his cheeks. Tiny droplets slid from his bangs into the porcelain sink below.
Almost without realizing it, his hands started moving on their own. His right palm rubbed across the back of his left hand again... and again... in the same familiar rhythm.
"...the pilot..."
"...that transfer student..."
"Crush a building."
"Step on anybody."
"Responsible."
"…"
'Just what was I thinking? Why did I type that message? Why did I say yes? There was absolutely no reason to do it. It was so much better before, wasn't it? Nobody cared about me in class before... and maybe that wasn't so bad after all. I don't want people blaming me for things I can't control. It's not fair...'
Shinji gripped the edges of the sink tightly when he suddenly heard the restroom door creak open behind him, followed by the heavy sound of footsteps echoing across the tiled floor.
Shinji barely acknowledged them until an unfamiliar face appeared in the mirror's reflection. A boy with short black hair, broad shoulders, and the navy tracksuit belonging to the classmate who hadn't been in school all week.
The boys stopped just a few feet behind him, and for several seconds, neither of them said a word.
Finally—
"You're... Ikari. Right?"
Shinji didn't turn around. He kept his eyes fixed on the mirror, watching the boy's reflection instead.
"...Yeah?"
"I wanna talk."
Shinji's reflection stared back at him from the glass, water still dripping from his hair. He didn't need to ask what this was about. The Eva.
For a split second, a thought crossed his mind. Maybe he could end this right now. He could just laugh it off. Tell him it had all been a joke. That he'd lied because he wanted the attention.
But the thought died as quickly as it came. If he did that, everyone would just make even more fun of him. He'd only come across as desperate, and they'd probably dislike him even more than they already did.
He looked at his own reflection. No. He couldn't do it.
"…I'm not really in the mood. Maybe some other time."
"I don't care, Ikari."
Shinji reached for a paper towel and slowly dried his hands, deliberately avoiding the other boy's reflection. "...I'm sure it can wait."
He crumpled the damp paper into a tight ball and dropped it into the bin. Shinji stepped toward the door. He had barely taken two steps before thick fingers closed firmly around his forearm.
He stopped.
"..."
His eyes slowly dropped to the hand gripping his sleeve.
"…Let go."
The grip didn't loosen. Instead, Toji's fingers closed even tighter around his forearm.
"I said I just wanna talk."
His whole body tensed. He hated being grabbed like this. It wasn't because it hurt, but because the moment someone held on to him, it no longer felt like he could choose where he wanted to go.
"I said..." He pulled harder this time, trying to wrench his arm free. The grip never loosened. "...Let go. I don't wanna be here right now."
Shinji's voice came out lower than before. Toji glared down at him. He looked upset...
...But why? What had he done?
"You really are that shitty pilot of that giant robot, aren't you?"
________________________________________
Author's Note:
Hey everyone, Chapter 9 is finally done! We hope you enjoyed it.
Hachiman has finally returned to school, and honestly, we had a lot of fun writing the classroom scenes in this chapter especially the whole Hayama situation. That entire sequence was an absolute blast to write.
As you can probably tell, we're not trying to rush through the story. We want to take our time with both Hachiman's and Shinji's sides, and we hope we did Shinji's perspective justice here as well. One of our main goals for this chapter was to explore his Hedgehog's Dilemma a little more, and we feel like we managed to get that across. From here on out, we'll slowly start stitching both casts together, which is something we're really excited about.
We'd also like to respond to a few comments from the previous chapter. We were really happy to see how receptive many of you were to the situation involving Hachiman's parents. We're trying to bring a lot of different ideas into this story and develop them in ways that are meaningful for both the characters and the overall plot, especially as the story gradually diverges further from canon.
As for the next chapter, the good news is that it shouldn't take nearly as long. It's already mostly finished, so if everything goes as planned, it should be out in two or three days. We hope you'll look forward to it!
That's all for now. Thank you so much for reading and for sticking with the story so far. We genuinely appreciate all the support, comments, and encouragement you've given this project.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts below. We always enjoy reading your feedback and hearing what you think.
Stay tuned for more!
—CacciaFulmini & Raijinmaru_K2