First of all, first author notes after a long while. I'm happy and sad that some reader caught the inspiration. While Yuigahama might seems like a carbon copy, the rest of characters won't be.

The setting by itself is 'original' in a sense that it's not based on any particular franchise, but more like a patchwork of my favorite cliches superimposed on Oregairu characters, with some well-deserved twist and meta commentary.

While the work itself is written as Isekai, it's setting is pushing for SciFi approach in modern setting because we always need more SciFi isekai in modern setting. Fantasy isekai setting in vaguely medieval era is over-saturated as it is.

I have low expectation when writing this, which might shows in terms of quality. Regardless, I hope readers would still enjoy it for what it is.

Hachiman was brought to Soubu High for the first time. The buildings, halls, and the sports fields were identical to what he remembers. However, it seems that Soubu also took over much of the southern area as a military training field, armory, and other facilities.

"Despite being a big city, there are a lot fewer cars than I expected, but there are a lot more buses instead." Hachiman noted, "Why is that?"

"Tax and restriction on personal ownership of commuting motor vehicles within the city limit." I.B. told him, "To reduce the risk of traffic jams."

In a world rife with the possibility of monsters attack, the road must always be clear so that emergency respondents can react accordingly. For this reason, public road traffic must be consolidated as much as possible.

Objectively there shouldn't be any problem, but even so, would not such approach highlight economic disparity problem even more than before? It must be very stressful for a lot of upper-middle-class people, not being able to drive freely.

"What about say, business?"

"Commercial trucks and bikes weren't counted as personal commuting vehicles. Taxis are restricted in numbers, but they got the tax break regardless."

A world without taxi services, now that would be a giant nightmare, especially in a country where personal ownerships of commuting vehicles were restricted.

"Us elite students were granted a special exception." I.B. slapped Hachiman's bike, "Because only the member of special class granted real combat mission as the second year. Cos we're individually stronger than entire police squadron, you see? Mwahahaha!"

"I see." Hachiman winced.

"I've heard from the Police Chief." Hiratsuka said as she lit a cigarette and began smoking, "You routed the horde so the defensive line can hold, you really saved a lot of people."

"Only a fraction of it." Hachiman made a pinching gesture, "The police line held very well with the first wave, but suddenly like 50 Kobolds came from the north, and I thought I can slow them down..."

But Hachiman ended up swamped because he had absolutely no knowledge of fighting seriously. That's why he could never blame it on Yui, Yui's order was for Hachiman to cover her back.

Yui probably blamed herself for it, which is why Hachiman was so restless. He couldn't even mull the fact that he lived in an entirely different world than he knew before.

Even if she's the different Yuigahama than the one he knew, he can't bear to see her crying face any longer.

And then there's her feeling to consider.

I wonder... what kind of person this world's Hikigaya Hachiman was, and why Yuigahama likes him so much?

If nothing else, it can't be out of guilt and regret. Hachiman once made that mistake of assuming those kinds of feelings from the Yuigahama he knew. Of course, the fact that this world's Hachiman lost his leg was something to consider.

But once again, Hachiman never sensed anything resembles pity. If anything, this world Yuigahama was super desperate to even try and seduce him in his bedroom.

I'm dealing with a war of annihilation, why are we still being preoccupied with this?!

"Hikigaya, you look super tense, why?"

"I'm pretty sure he's thinking about Yuigahama now." I.B. elbowed him mischievously, "You two DID get interrupted by that battle after all."

"I see, my bad about that!" Hiratsuka shouted, "Damn it, you should go out already."

Hachiman popped a vein in response, "That would be deceiving Yuigahama, don't you think?"

"Woah, this grumpiness really is overwhelming." I.B. winced, "But it DOES sound like what you would say either way."

?

"Let's agree like this then, you don't take advantage of Yuigahama's advances for a while but also shouldn't drive her away." I.B. proposed, "But if she's persistent enough, it means the current you are also fine to her."

Hachiman wasn't sure how that works since he was very sure that his personality would drive away people in disgust anyway.

"What, pretend that nothing changed at all?"

"No, you face her head-on as yourself." Hiratsuka said, "As long as there's no pretense, as long as you treat her with honesty, then it shouldn't be a problem. Yuigahama isn't some stupid girl thirsty for a summer fling, you know."

"Yeah, that's more mommy's thing." I.B. smugly remarked, "Especially in the third year when-"

Hiratsuka smacked I.B. hard by the head in anger to stop her from talking. Looks like Hachiman was wrong about Hiratsuka being abusive to boys only. It's just that none of the girls he knew before were especially rebellious, to begin with.

Rather than mother and child, aren't they more like sisters?

"Listen, Hikigaya. You're already preoccupied with putting yourself in life and death battles, your own family, and there's also future occupation to consider. Compared to that, romance and friendship are a trivial matter."

...Hachiman felt something was off, and then finally realized what was so different about them. Pushy as she could be, the old Hiratsuka would never recklessly push anyone so blatantly.

"I'll call you later, you can go anywhere as long as you're on school grounds," Hiratsuka told them and left.

"Shit, why wouldn't she admit it anyway." I.B. shed tears as she rubbed her aching head, "She even used TPE to hit me."

"Are you alright?" Hachiman asked, "That's a bit too much, isn't it?"

"Well... I'm technically a Trans-phase entity, so brute forces wouldn't hurt at all. There was this one time when I got hit by a truck and flew several meters and end up unscratched!"

"An encounter with Truck-kun? Anyone else will probably be sent into another world that way." Hachiman chuckled. It's like one of his Isekai light novels! "But it could always get worse, like getting transmigrated while fuckin asleep."

I.B. squeezed her eyes, "Really? I thought most human beings want to die peacefully in their sleep."

"Most people do."

"And you don't?"

"...I don't know. Most humans don't like to die young, so they don't think about it." Hachiman sneered. "I'm no exception."

"Wha, really? With that grumpiness, I wouldn't know." I.B. grinned maniacally.

"Hey, there are a lot of things I enjoyed in the old world. Like all the light novels, manga, books, and games I like." Hachiman pointed. "I have cute little sister, upper-middle-class parents, and... uh... friends, too."

Well, it's fine to consider Saika that, at least, maybe Zaimokuza too?

"Then it's alright, you have all of them here and some too." I.B. laughed, "Not to mention a beautiful girl with a giant crush on you."

"It's not me who she crushes against." Hachiman said, "But really, I.B., you're the only one taking my explanation at face value, thank you."

Even Hiratsuka still doesn't believe Hachiman at all, but I.B. was the only one who believed in him.

"Despite not understanding human values in full, I'm actually super sensitive to changes in people around me..." I.B. said with a hint of sadness. "I can feel your emotional distance, to be honest."

From Hachiman's point of view, I.B. was nothing more than a stranger he lives with. So for a sensitive entity who considered him a father of some sort, it must be painful.

"...I'm sorry."

Hachiman rarely if ever apologized, but when he does, he meant it.

...

Faced Hachiman was an ashen-haired woman somewhere in the early twenties. She looked at him with a friendly smile, but Hachiman could only sense unending terror.

Hachiman could never miss such a judgmental stare, and now that he got accustomed to TPE, his senses only sharpened. This woman inspected him the very moment he stepped inside. And not only that, she used TPE to do it.

It wasn't so much as pressure, and more like a small ripple in the air.

"This is Hoshina, she's a specialist in intelligence and Trans-Phase psychology. Her special skill is mind-reading."

"Hello, Hikigaya-kun." Hoshina smiled, "Nice to meet you."

"Umm, yes." Hachiman widened his eyes.

"This is not our first meeting at all. In fact, we meet very often during your rehabilitation in the first year." Hoshina explained, "The fact that you're completely at a loss, it was rather telling."

Just from that first glance?!

"He didn't even remember his therapist." Hiratsuka looked incredibly anxious, "Are you kidding me?"

"See, you still don't believe me at all!" Hachiman mentally screamed.

"It's fine, my specialty isn't just mind-reading but also memory strengthening." Hoshina said, "Please take the reclining seat and relax."

Oh ho, mind-probing time.

This wasn't even remotely surprising to Hachiman in the slightest. After Yuigahama's display of telekinesis, mind-reading isn't that farfetched of an idea.

As a matter of fact, it was part of Hachiman's gambit. If his memory doesn't have any gaps in it, then it would be hard to explain everything as memory manipulation.

"Please sit on the reclining chair and relax, this could be very well embarrassing, but please bear with it..." Hoshina said as she covered Hachiman's eyes with a damp towel and put on an aromatic oil vaporizer nearby.

What the hell is this, massage clinic?

Still, Hachiman could feel that his consciousness started to fade. Aside from some weird static, his mind was at complete peace.

"Wake up, Hikigaya-kun."

Hachiman opened his eyes again and removed the towel from his face.

"Is everything alright?"

Hiratsuka and I.B. tried their hardest to hold their laughter.

"Yes, I displayed some of your key memories in that monitor over there." Hoshina pointed at the screen on the wall, from Hachiman's side of POV, a picture of orange-haired Yuigahama Yui and silky black-haired Yukinoshita sitting across the long table in the service club room.

Hachiman screamed internally.

"Let's see, your main problem at the moment is... you lost all conscious knowledge related to fighting, correct?" Hiratsuka asked, "But you can offhandedly use guns and even your inherent skill of using pocket space?"

"Yes." Hachiman nodded, "I wonder if it's something that called muscle memory. I mean... I know it's not really stored in muscles but rather the cerebellum, so it may be something I inherited."

"You're actually a smart guy, huh." Hiratsuka was surprised.

"Hikigaya-kun's assessment isn't incorrect." Hoshina remarked, "Hikigaya-kun, do you mind sparring with Hiratsuka-sensei for a while?"

"Ack!"

Hiratsuka was scary enough as an ordinary Civil servant, a combat veteran Hiratsuka would be downright terrifying.

"From what I understand, you learned Judo somewhere between early to late July and participated in the tournament as well." Hoshina smiled, "The fever you experienced yesterday was caused by the dissonance between your cerebrum and cerebellum. So with regular balanced physical exercise, the better it would be for the health of your mind."

"I understand."

"Good, now switch to this tracksuit." Hiratsuka said, "This tracksuit is lined with kevlar, like racing suits."

Wow, it must be durable. Hachiman grabbed it and stretched it. "I used this in the previous battle as well. Is it bulletproof or something?"

"No. But it's slash-resistant, and to some degree even resist spalling."

Hachiman did remember almost getting butchered and blown up by Kobolds, and for the most part, he was fine. It must be the strength of the tracksuit coupled with TPE augmentation that protected him from minor cuts and explosion injuries.

"If you're that afraid of Hiratsika-sensei, you can just join the other students who came for supplementary training." Hoshina shrugged, "I'm pretty sure they're in the gym at the moment."

"Supplementary training?"

"It's technically summer vacation, but if you're that lazy and spend all your vacation idling, you're just asking for early death!" I.B. said as she yanked Hachiman's hand. "So those without summer vacation plan end up going to school to train anyway."

Even though he was holding hands with a girl, Hachiman didn't feel flustered at all. Maybe part of his subconscious recognized her as a family, and that's why he feels somewhat comfortable.

If only for his own sake, he should get to know about the mysterious book-girl more.

"But only students of the elite class get to fight this early, right? I mean, as a second year and all."

"That might be true. But do you think the third years are just going to sit on their ass, doing nothing?" I.B. asked.

"True."

Whereas ordinary high school students probably too busy preparing for college entrance, the third years of Soubu already deployed in limited fight and skirmishes.

In this kind of setting, Hachiman expected that a select few students would be especially strong. And if Hachiman didn't hear wrong, he was part of the elite class as well.

He wonders, what about the others? In his class, there are paltry 12 students. And that included I.B., who is not human in the first place.

All of which he recognized and got involved with before, except for Sagami.

"Speaking of which, the elite class..."

"Our class is the strongest in Soubu's history." I.B. said, "12 super-elite students, and three A-Rank in a class. Even the government is legitimately terrified."

So part of the second year super elite: Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuigahama Yui, Hayama Hayato, Miura Yumiko, Ebina Hina, Tobe Kakeru, Kawasaki Saki, Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, Totsuka Saika, Sagami Minami, and finally, Hikigaya Hachiman, and I.B.

(The last one isn't like the others, eh?)

"The three A-Rank in our class, would that include Yuigahama?"

"Yes." I.B. grinned. "She's also one of the few in history to jump from B-Rank to A-Rank in just a year, that's why her hair turned bright pink."

"So Yuigahama is weird even for this world's standard, huh. Just how hard she worked..."

ヴァルハラロマンス - 不可解
Valhalla Romance - Cryptical

Original Story by: Watari Wataru
Written by: ZeroXSEED

Chapter 3 - And so, his peaceful, idyllic life is gone (Part 3)

Hachiman's question was answered very much immediately as soon as they arrived in the gymnasium.

Yuigahama made a firm stance with her shoulders and feet apart, her blue eyes sharp and vicious. Faced her was Yamato, which in his own memory, was part of Hayato and Yui's own groupie.

This was an awful matchup.

Yukinoshita used Aikido techniques to surpass the gender gap and body disadvantage in the Judo tournament, but Yui used a different fighting stance.

Yamato didn't hesitate to punch in the direction of Yui's face, which almost made Hachiman's heart stopped. However, Yui slapped his fist aside so it would miss her face.

Then she hooked her elbow under his chin, while at the same time swept Yamato's leg by the back of his knee. The way Yui threw the much larger boy to the floor was sickening.

And Yui ended it with a stomp to the floor beside his head. Had the stomp connected, it would be very gruesome. Especially since Yui was wearing military boots at the time, like other students.

"The fuck?" Hachiman blurted out in shock. That was no martial arts, that was literally a killing move. The other students weren't exactly gentle with each other, either.

"Exactly." I.B. winked, "Working hard as always, Gahama-chan!"

"Ah, hey! I.B. and Hikki are here too!" Yui's murderous gaze turned soft and shiny, as usual. "Care to join us, I.B.?"

Hachiman noticed that Yui literally didn't bother to ask him, just how weak do Yui think the original Hachiman was?

"You seem concerned if you're that bothered you should join too." I.B. made an OK sign, "She doesn't know you replaced the old Hachiman after all."

Ah, that makes sense, but still...

"I'm going to stretch a bit." Hachiman went to the edge of the Gym. He began basic stretching that he learned in the Judo class, which was his electives of choice.

Yuigahama, who was drenched in sweat, decided to also leave the sparring area and approached him.

"It's rare to see you around here, Hikki." Yui grinned happily, "Ah, not that there's anything wrong with that."

Hachiman would say seeing her here was more shocking to him, but that would be too suspicious. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, you always be like... humans evolved to use tools, why are we studying unarmed combat?" Yui put a strange face, which resembled his own expression, except with a shit-eating grin.

It was clear that the old Hachiman... he was bluffing, and considered hand-to-hand a pain in the ass. And the current him doesn't like it either, he did it purely for his own health.

Hachiman wondered, considering I.B. used swords a lot, the old Hachiman probably know kendo or something.

"Hey, Hikki." Yui snapped her fingers, and two toy knives and goggles came. "Wanna spar a bit?"

"Nerf knives, huh." Hachiman pinched the blade and realized it was made of semi-rigid foam. Even kids wouldn't get hurt by them unless they got poked on the eye, thus the reason to wear goggles. "Please be gentle."

Still, for whatever reason... Hachiman felt a sense of familiarity with holding a knife, and not in a cooking way. Did the old Hachiman also learn how to use a combat knife?

Yui smiled.

Then she disappeared from his sight.

Fuck. Hachiman almost spoke out loud and slid aside to dodge a neck stab courtesy of Yui, who showed up right behind him with yandere-like eyes.

Scary, but Hachiman wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline or something else, he felt somewhat excited.

The intensity of Hachiman and Yuigahama's sparring caught everyone's attention, and they stopped fighting among themselves to give a room for these two.

"Is that Hikigaya?"

"No way! I thought he was super weak?!"

Their arms and wrists collided as they closed their distance to an uncomfortably intimate way. Yui kept her expression as she pressed on, trying for a kill, while Hachiman was scared shitless.

"Go for it, Yuigahama!"

"Hikigaya! Keep defending! Retreat! Retreat!"

It was clear that his body remembered very well, despite his consciousness drawing a blank. In terms of defense, he would not lose in a knife fight, as long as he maintained a focus.

However, counterattacking is another story. No matter how much Hachiman tried to stab her, Yui left absolutely no opening and broke his momentum right away.

It was clear that Yui didn't put all of her efforts, but still find it challenging. It was basically a game of tag. Whoever managed to stab the other person win.

Then he got stabbed right on the solar plexus. It was a minor pain, but he still coughed out of reflex and fell on his back.

"You died." Yui cutely tilted her head and offered him a hand.

"I want someone to play Sibelius at my funeral." Hachiman deadpanned, and grabbed her hand. "Give me a break."

I.B. whistled at them as the spectator exploded into a collective cheer.

"My bad about that, anyone who can help me practice Judo?" Hachiman asked.

"Sure!"

Hachiman was swamped by a group of boys who were there for the hell of it. Since judo, while not a soft contact sport by any metric, still a little milder than the military martial arts they practiced minutes before.

It seems that the old Hachiman was completely crap in hand-to-hand combat. The current Hachiman had to rely on his augmented memory of his elective gym class.

Needless to say... Even with his enhanced reflex and applying the mad footwork that he used to deal with Yuigahama, it wasn't easy at all for him to win in brutal grappling matches.

But nevertheless, he perseveres and won several bouts despite that.

Yui watched the scene with absolute shock and disbelief, "I'm... going to buy some drinks for him."

I.B. stopped her from running, "Yuigahama, you realized it too?"

"I thought something was wrong with him." Yui's voice wavered with fear and uncertainty. "What happened to him, I.B.?"

"About that, I'm not in the liberty to say." I.B. shrugged, "Ask my mom if you want, she should be in Hoshina-san's office."

Yui lost her patience and didn't even bother walking to her destination. Instead, she outright flies her way with her sheer telekinesis power.

She knocked on the door aloud. "Excuse me."

"Enter."

Yui immediately entered the door and find Hiratsuka and Hoshina looked at the screen, which shows the feed from security cameras inside the gym.

"Oh, Yuigahama! Thanks for the hard work." Hiratsuka waved. "You want to join us, watching?"

"No, uh..."

Seeing both teachers looked so complacent and lax... Yui's feelings of panic subsided. And so did her rushed determination, to find out what happened.

"Sharp and concise as always, Yuigahama-san." Hoshina remarked, "What do you think about Hikigaya-san?"

"Hikki... he..." Yui gulped, "Did his trauma got cured?"

"Cured? Well, from a certain point of view... that might be true." Hiratsuka nodded in approval when he saw Hachiman grappled with another boy intensely as they struggle to get a lock.

"It's more like his trauma got erased... along with a good chunk of his memories, that is." Hoshina sighed.

"Eh?"

Yui's eyes shrunk from the sheer shock.

"Don't worry! Hikigaya recognized you, did he not?" Hiratsuka assured her.

Well, except for I.B. and a good chunk of Soubu teachers, but that's not really relevant at the moment.

"Well, he did! But..."

Yui just reminded of his odd reaction yesterday, when he asked Yui about her hair. And then there's also his reaction to the content of summer homework, or Yui's telekinesis on that matter.

But more than just that, the way Hikigaya Hachiman behaved was also off.

"Rest assured, Hikigaya probably won't have problem resuming daily life. But the problem was his combat ability got shafted by more than half. His knowledge of military maneuver and tactics, offensive approach in close combat, along with his knowledge of blacklight magic..."

Hoshina made a poofing gesture, and it made Yui terrified.

That was the reason why, Hachiman got swarmed by Kobolds, and not because of his earlier fever.

"Though on the plus side, it seems that he lost his trauma." Hiratsuka smiled, "Don't you think that's a good thing?"

"That's true." Hoshina agreed.

There was one thing that Hiratsuka and others hid from Hachiman.

The original Hikigaya Hachiman... had PTSD with close combat since the incident that cost him his leg. That's why he shaped his entire combat skill with guns in mind, so he can always deal with enemies from a safe distance.

Hachiman abandoned melee combat for one and half-year since that incident, but his subconscious still remembered how.

This Hachiman doesn't have such a problem at all. Hence, he can face Yui in a knife fight, and also fight other boys in the judo matches without freaking out.

"I see... so it's like that." Yui sighed, "Then, please excuse me."

But for some reason, she could only feel uneasy.

"Wait, Yuigahama." Hiratsuka stopped her, "I know it's hard for you but... his change of attitude, personality, and even feelings... it's hard enough to think fo him as the same person, but he will need all the support we can provide."

"I understand..." Yui said without looking back and then left the office.

It was subtle, but both teachers noticed as Yui's tears dropped inside the quiet office.

"That's a bit too harsh, isn't it?" Hoshina asked, annoyed. "You could put it more gently, Hiratsuka-senpai."

"Yuigahama didn't go this far being treated gently." Hiratsuka said with a cold expression, "Yuigahama grew from a doormat crybaby into one of the strongest, well-respected student in Soubu in just a year."

"Speaking of which your hypothesis turned to be true." Hiratsuka pointed, "Hikigaya really lost his trauma."

"I'm surprised as much as you are." Hoshina nodded, "When someone experienced deep-seated trauma, this trauma literally rewrite the structure of their hypothalamus."

Hypothalamus, a small almond-sized organ located in the brain... possessed myriads of vital functions. And fear management being one of them.

"Because of this reason, it's incredibly difficult for us to 'cure' such trauma permanently. We can remove or mitigate the symptom, but permanent cure yet thought to be impossible at the moment."

"So, his entire Cerebral structure got altered." Hiratsuka nodded. "And his hypothalamus isn't an exception..."

"With our rate of advancement, thanks to TPE research, such a method of complete memory alteration isn't in the realm of impossibility. But we're not quite there yet."

"And even if such technology was readily available, Hikigaya was with I.B. the entire time. There's not enough time gap for such a process to take place without any of us knowing." Hoshina pointed. "How mysterious."

...

Yui immediately flies to the nearby vending machine to buy a couple of sports drinks, that she shook hard using her telekinesis to warm it up to near body temperature.

Yui went back to the Gymnasium.

"Hikki." Yui put it on his cheek playfully. "Here!"

"...Thanks." Hachiman smiled slightly. "It's warm."

"Cold drink is bad for the body, especially during heavy exercise." Yui lectured him. "At least have it at room temperature!"

"Okay."

For a moment, Yui and I.B. exchanged a sad smile with each other when their eyes meet.

"Hey, Hikki. Want me teach you the way of knives?" Yui jokingly asked as she floated midair, cross-legged, like a caricature of a Buddha, and surrounded by eight military knives.

"Really?" Hachiman questioned, somewhat suspicious.

To be honest, Hachiman's judgmental, sharp, and eerie gaze hurt Yui somewhat. It was worse than what she remembered, and more so now that he no longer pretend to be happy and confident all the time.

Nevertheless, she didn't lose her smile as she landed with her feet extended.

"Of course, after all. I'm still better than you at this." Yui confidently answered. "Unless you want to chicken out again?"

"A-again?" That caught Hachiman off guard. "Sure, then you should teach me."

Yui had decided that... even if Hiratsuka-sensei was right, she would learn what kind of person the current Hachiman is, with her own eyes.

Whether her broken love will be rejuvenated, or wither in time remains to be told.