3 Chapter 3: Beginning of something new

Woe is me.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, "Wow this arrogant prick just got a girlfriend and decided to mope about it, what a tool." and to some degree that may be true. I do now have a girlfriend, sure I didn't have a say in the matter, but a girlfriend none the less. Now don't get me wrong, that is nice and all but something just feels off. Obviously Iroha is...peculiar, that much is known, but that's not what bothers me. I feel as if something drastic is about to happen, like in some manga where you know a character you like is about to die, that sense of foreboding is making me anxious. Something was wrong with how eager she was for school today, and now that she is god knows where and I have no idea what she's doing I feel uncomfortable.

"Something isn't right..." I mutter to myself, my thoughts escaping my mind.

"Like what Hikki?" The bubbly and inquisitive voice of Yui shakes me out of my thoughts, honestly surprising the hell out of me.

"I mean how you feel the need to hover over me and invade my personal space." I reply coolly, not wanting to share my real thoughts just yet.

Her face lights up a bit, most likely in anger, before she sputters out "H-Hikki! Don't be so rude, I was just trying to be nice! Geez!"

"By stalking me?"

"Wha-" she seems shocked, which is fair because that might have been too rude, before her face scrunches up into that pouty look of faux anger. "I was just trying to tell you it's time to leave, seeing as you spaced out and everything!"

I look around the class to see that is in fact empty. Was I really that drawn into my thoughts that I failed to notice the best part of class (the end)? I rise up from my chair and gather my things before heading towards the door. "Ah...thanks."

"H-Hey wait up! Lemme get my stuff!" Yui sputters out as she frantically rushes towards her desk. I briefly ponder on why she wasn't ready to leave after all this time, like what else she could have been doing when everyone else was gone and I was thinking, but decide that it's not worth any thought. She's an airhead, plain and simple. Thankfully it doesn't take her too long to gather her things and we start making our way down the halls towards the club-room.

"So mean, even when I remind you it's time to go you still don't wait for me..." She drawls out as she walks beside me, glaring at me with that same pout.

"Hoooo? Are you just pretending to ignore the fact that I waited for you or did you already forget?"

That earns me a slap on the arm, not enough to hurt of course, but enough to get her disapproval across. "How many times do I have to tell you? You should wait for me without me having to say anything, maybe Hikki is the forgetful one after all." She finishes with sticking her tongue out at me, a childish but amusing action.

"Nah, I just only remember important things."

There's a slight growl of annoyance, barely noticeable and covered up quickly, before she responds "Oh? Is that so? Important like those light novels you read or important like...never mind." I noticed that her tone got more agitated as she went on and quickly remembered that even though Yui is undoubtedly a nice person, everyone has their limit. I messed up with the teasing, if it could even be called that because it was just spiteful in hindsight, and hurt her feelings. Time to see if I can salvage this before I get the cold shoulder for the rest of the day.

"Important like that one time you tried to wear a dog collar." I slightly tease hoping that she also catches onto the hint that I do think about her...in a non creepy way I swear.

Her face lights up again, this time in what I assume to be embarrassment, before she cries out. "Let that go already! It was an honest mistake!" She calms downs slightly before turning away and muttering something to herself that I don't really catch.

So you do think about me...

It's not much longer before we reach the doors to the club-room, seeing no reason to sit around and wait I quickly knock on the door. You'd think with how long we've known each other I could just waltz in the room but Yukinoshinta is still the uptight princess she's always been, and still chastises me every time I make the slight slip up in manners.

"Come in." I hear her voice call out from inside the club-room and quickly oblige, sliding open the door.

"Yukinon, Yahallo!" Yuigahama quickly skips ahead of me rushing towards Yukinoshinta with that trademarked stupid greeting of hers.

"Yo." I lazily greet as I make my way towards my own seat.

"Greetings Yuigahama." Yukinoshinta greets Yuigahama with a warm, if small, smile. Before it fades as she turns towards me.

"Hikigaya how many times must I tell you to fix that greeting of yours, it's distasteful."

I sigh as I feel some of my life-force leave my body. "And how many times do I have to tell you there's nothing wrong with the way I greet people? It's quick and efficient."

"Correction, It's lazy and disrespectful. Although I suppose it does fit your character quite well." She finishes by bringing her hand to her chin as if she's seriously contemplating.

"Right, exactly, so you would think you could just accept that and stop talking my ear off about it." I chide back while reaching towards my bag to pull out my reading material. "Instead you just endlessly harass me, I feel wrongfully discriminated and persecuted." I lazily drawl out as I open my light novel to the page I left off of.

"Is it discrimination to treat trash like trash, hikitrasha?"

"Oh? So now those who don't to conform to your ideas are trash?" I flip my page over as if I'm actually reading but in all actuality I'm just trying to get a rise out of her and one up her, and making her seem like an afterthought seems the best way to do that.

"No, people who read trash like that and dare to call it literature are trash." She replies, I can't help but notice that there's absolutely no trace of anger in her voice.

I try to make a defense but she's backed me into a corner, I know that by all logic what I read is trash, but I still read it...that does make me trash right?

"Tea Hikigaya?" She asks, knowing full well that I won't be able to defend myself and that she's already won.

"...Please." Yep mission failed, we'll get her next time.

Yuigahama just exhales a breath of air as if she just witnessed something unbelievable. "You two really do have a weird way of being friendly..."

And with that our time in the club goes on as it always does. Me and Yukinoshinta reading our respective material while Yuigahama taps away at her phone. There's the occasional conversation, always initiated my Yuigahama, but for the most part it's silent. The good type of silence of course, not awkward by any means, just peaceful. Yep just good ol fashioned peace and quiet...

Then there's a knock at the door.

"Come in." Yukinoshinta calls out again and the door slides open, revealing none other than Iroha...why does her appearance shock me and fill me with that sense of foreboding that I had just forgotten as I sat here?

"Yukinoshinta-Senpai, Yuigahama-Senpai, Yahallo!" She waves cheerfully at the two before her gaze turns towards me and her eyes slightly narrow and her grin becomes more...wicked. "Yahallo...Senpai."

For some reason I tense up, something just doesn't feel right. I struggle to swallow before nodding my head. "Y-Yo."

Her smile drops for the slightest moment before she corrects it and makes her way towards me, I expect her to take a seat right besides me, but instead she moves past me and take a seat next Yukinoshinta, on the opposite side of the table as Yuigahama. I notice that Yukinoshinta and even Yuigahama seem to be at least slightly aware of the tension between me and Iroha as they both throw quick curious glances my way.

"Hey you two, I have something to show you!" Iroha says with a cheery voice that just screams ominous, and I see her reach to her pocket and begin to pull out her phone. She slightly turns her head towards me and I see her smile grow wicked and her eyes become cold and calculating.

Realization hits me like a car (trust me that means really hard) and I feel my heart drop to my stomach. She intends to show them that picture she took, of both us after we...

"W-WAIT!" I desperately call out, shocking Yuigahama and Yukinoshinta, but that just causes her smile to grow more crazed as she opens her phone and lays it on the desk. Before I can make any move to stop it Yuigahama and Yukinoshinta look down at the phone. I slump down in my chair accepting and waiting for the outburst...it never comes. I glance up to survey the damage and see a slightly interested, if confused, face on Yukinoshinta and Yuigahama as they glance towards her phone...huh?

"Another café for the school newspaper?" Yukinoshinta asks as she turns her gaze towards Iroha, who in turn nods in affirmation.

"Yep! It's a bit closer to the school so I thought we should cover it instead but I wanted to get some more opinions on it!" She replies full of energy. "Seems like Senpai's really against the extra work given his reaction, really how lazy."

Yuigahama nods in agreement. "Really Hikki, I mean I know you don't like working and stuff but that was pretty intense."

Iroha grabs her phone and gets up from her chair to skip over to me, standing over me and leaning in slightly to show me a picture of some unassuming café that I've honestly never heard of. "I mean at least look at it before you start complaining senpai."

She discreetly swipes to the left on her phone, jumping to the previous picture, the one that I had originally assumed to be the one shown to them earlier, and leans in a bit more to whisper into my ear. "You have one chance to come clean to them about us or I accidentally show them this picture, got it...Senpai?"

I'm trapped aren't I? I'm not as dense as I make myself out to be, I'm aware of the building feelings of the other two service club members. I wanted to be discreet about my relationship with Iroha to avoid hurting them, but It seems Iroha won't settle for that. She wants to make it loud and clear that she's beaten them, that they'll never have me...damn am I really some sort of prize to be fought over and shown off to the losers? That's a thought for another time however as I feel her grip tighten on my slightly.

"Well?" She harshly whispers directly into my ear.

Seeing no escape route I discreetly whisper back. "U-Understood."

She smiles brightly before standing up and making her way back towards her seat next to Yuigahama and Yukinoshinta. "See that wasn't so bad was it senpai?"

I nod before gulping and trying my hardest to mentally brace myself...this is going to suck isn't it? "Yuigahama...Yukinoshinta...I have to tell you both something."

Both of them turn towards me and I see that they must have picked up on the tenseness of my voice, seeing as they seemed concerned. Yuigahama responds first, confusion evident in her voice, "Hikki?"

I take a deep breath before continuing "You see the thing is..." I glance towards Iroha who only grins as she waits for me to continue. "me and...Iroha...are in a relationship now."

I hear a sharp intake of breath and cautiously glance up to see a shocked look on Yukinoshinta's face, I turn to the left slightly to see Yuigahamas reaction...which turns out to be a lack therefor of. She's just sitting there, frozen. Slowly her mouth shifts to a small frown and her eyes turn to a slightly chastising look "Hikki...to tell a lie so brazenly like that is kinda of nasty. You should say sorry to-" she continues to lecture me as she turns to face Iroha when she suddenly stops dead in her tracks. I follow her eyes to see Iroha just sitting in her chair so contently, grin stretching from ear to ear, with her eyes slightly narrowed and eyebrows slightly raised. All in all it's a look that screams "I've won."

I see the life slowly drain from Yuigahama as her face loses any trace of emotion, she flops down into her chair and just sits there silently for a bit before she darkly mutters "I need to leave." She quickly gathers her things and spares on last glance to me, her eyes brimming with betrayal, before rushing out of the room before I could even lift a hand to stop her. I glance helplessly towards Yukinoshinta and feel my skin freeze. She's just siting there, no anger or sadness, just...normal.

"Well then...I think that concludes club for the day, Hikigaya, Isshiki, If you would be so kind to leave so I can lock the door..." Yukinoshinta calmly states as if nothing had happened, as she packed up her things.

"R-right" I sputter out as I begin to gather my things as well glancing at Iroha who just smirks before rising from her seat and leaving.

"Come on Hachiman, let's head home...together." She calls out as she waits at the door for me. I notice that Yukinoshinta slightly tenses up but she relaxes as if it had never happened in the first place.

"R-right." I respond to Iroha before facing Yukinoshinta "I'll...see you tomorrow." She doesn't respond with words, rather just a small hum of approval, as she waits for me to leave. I want to stay and mend things, things that were obviously broken just now but..

"Senpai, let's go." Iroha calls out again, her tone sounding a lot less cheery. I quickly nod and head towards her. She latches onto my arm and begins to drag me off as I spare one last glance towards the club-room.

P.O.V Switch-Yukino

Preposterous.

To think that...harlot has the audacity to be so bold. It's actually quite laughable when you sit to think about it, some outsider thinks she can just sneak herself into our club-room, weasel into our affairs, and ruin our future. Truly it took everything to avoid laughing in her face...before promptly striking it. Foolish and irritating as that little harlot may be I do have to thank her for opening my eyes. I used to think I could just wait and everything would fall into place for me. That Yuigahama would get over her infatuation with him, that he would stop acting so dense, that he would finally take action and address the obvious signs of my growing attraction and...act upon them accordingly. However if Isshiki's actions have showed me anything it's that you have to...well, take action.

And I fully intend to do that. This is only a setback, Hikigaya...no Hachiman, will be mine. Iroha and even Yuigahama won't get in the way of our future together, I'll find some way to make him see things clearly. I'll make it abundantly clear that there is no room for them, just me and him. The thought that any other reality will come to pass?

Simply Preposterous.

P.O.V Switch-Yui

It's not like me to feel like this. I'm always the sweet and bubbly girl, the one to be friendly and nice to everyone.

So why do I feel like wrapping my hands around someone's throat? Ah that's right because Isshiki felt the need to come along and trample all over my hopes and dreams...gosh I hate her sooooo much right now. I mean I knew things between me and Hikki weren't exactly where I wanted them to be but I was at least happy...or at least happy as I could be. I'm not really all that dumb, I mean it was obvious that Yukinon had started to feel the same way about Hikki that I do, so I held back. I like Yukinon, she's my best friend, and I didn't want to hurt her. So for her sake I didn't push my relationship with Hikki to the point I so desperately wanted it to be. And you know what? It really suuuucked, like a lot. Being so close to him all the time, hearing his voice, breathing his scent, and just...being near him and not doing anything? It took everything to hold back and look what it got me. He just ran off with some other girl that he's known for what, 4 months now?

Not fair, not fair at all, but...I guess life isn't fair sometimes right? For example you could be in a relationship with some guy and another girl just...swoops in and finally takes what should have been hers from the get go. I finally manage to smile as I walk towards my home, liking this line of thought. I mean it actually wouldn't be all that unfair would it? Isshiki hurt me so it's alright right? I can...

I can finally take what I want.