Had this story Idea for a while because it bothered me greatly that Hayama showed up on the rooftop scene. Based on the LN and modified by me

"The Ending Ceremony is about to start so go back." Said Hachiman curtly.

Sagami's disappointed face became darker, and she furrowed her eyebrows.

"It's not like I'm the one that needs to do it." She said turning around, not willing to do anything about the trouble she is causing to everyone.

"Sorry but issues came up, so we can't have that. There really isn't much time left. You'll save us some trouble if you hurry up and go back."

Hikigaya made sure not to say the words that Sagami Minami wanted to hear.

"Time... Huh? Hasn't the ending ceremony, like, already started?"

"Yeah, normally, it would have. But somehow, we're managing to push it back so-"

"Uh huh, and who's doing that?"

"Ah, right. Miura, Yukinoshita, and the other, pretty much"

Considering the time it took Hachiman to get to Sagami, Yumiko and Hayama's group turn was long over. Yukinoshita and the other would be on standby by now.

Sagami gripped tightly the fence. "Oh I see..."

"If you get it, then go back."

"Then just have Yukinoshita-san do it. I mean, she can do everything."

"Huh? That's not the problem. We have other things like presenting the voting results that you're holding onto."

As Hachiman expected, Sagami blurted out incredibly aggravating things that his irritation with her intensified. This wasn't even the time to be taking it easy and have this exchange too...

"Well, you guys could have just, like, recalculated the total results again. If everyone helped out, then it'd be done in time..."

"No, that's not possible. There's no one free enough to do that right now."

"Then just take the voting results with you!"

The wires of the fence shook as Sagami slapped the sheet of paper recorded with the aggregated results.

For an instant, Hachiman seriously considered taking just the pape rand going back. But he couldn't do that.

The request that Yukinoshita, the Service Club had accepted was to assist Sagami with her work as the Cultural Festival Planning Committee Chairwoman. That's to say, they were to make Sagami Minami properly fulfill her duty.

If it wasn't for that request, he wouldn't be here, nor would Yukinoshita have had to be the Vice Chair. Abandoning the request now would equate to denying everything Yukinoshita had done so far.

That's why what Hikigaya needed to do right now was to get Sagami Minami to attend the ending ceremony ; to have her stand on the stage as the Chairwoman, to have her bestowed the glory of the Chairwoman, and without fail, to bestow her the regrets and frustrations of the position.

What should he do to make that happen?

Truthfully, if they just had the person Sagami had wished for to tell her the words she wanted to hear, then the case was closed.

Unfortunately, that wasn't something he could do.

Hachiman could try to talk her out of it, but she would stubbornly stay put.

Should he get in touch with someone and have him come here? But who? The only contacts he had in hand were Yuigahama and Hiratsuka-sensei, and they were likely already onstage. Hikigaya had the feeling there wouldn't be much difference with Totsuka or Zaimokuza here.

To think of all times his isolation would backfire on him at a time like this.

I came this far and I'm stuck, huh...?

Hachiman unconsciously and strongly gripped his fists in aggravation.

The time continued to pass, moment by moment. There was no more time until the time limit was hit.

What was the fastest and shortest way to force Sagami to leave from here? By force? No.

Bringing back Sagami by telling her what she wanted to hear would be going against what Yukinoshita would have wanted to do. She had to move with her own two legs, with her own conviction.

In that case, he had no choice. He will do things the way he has always done things. Fair and square, underhandedly, maliciously and straight on.

There are two ways of communication between two people of the lowest stratum. Either lick each other's wounds or kick each other down. In this case only one was the valid solution. Hikigaya chose to kick her down since he had nothing to lose anyway.

"You really are the worst."

Sagami went stiff at those unexpected words.

"What did you-"

He interrupted her angry voice.

"Sagami, in the end, the only thing you really want is to be pampered. You're acting like that because you want people to care about you, right? Like now, you just want them to say 'that's not true at all' to you. It's obvious a person like that won't be treated as the Chairperson. You really are the worst."

"W-What are you saying...?" She said with her voice beginning to tremble.

"I'm pretty sure everyone's already realized. Even someone like me who doesn't know a single thing about you can understand."

"Don't, put me together with the likes of you..." She gritted her teeth.

"We're the same, we're both living at the bottom of the world."

Hachiman meticulously chose his words, all the while not giving her a chance to argue back. What he blurted out earlier was the subjective reality that he saw. The only thing he could do with this was to anger her.

"Think about it, I don't give a damn about you, yet I was the only one to find you."

Sagami was now seething with hatred.

"So, doesn't that mean... No one was actually seriously looking for you at all?"

Sagami turned pale, The anger and hatred she had kept buried the entire time was replaced with shock and despair that distorted her expression. Unable to respress her jumbled emotions, coming to surface was only the act of biting her lips in agony.

"Don't you realize it yourself? That you're just..."

Hachiman paused his sentence at this moment, smirking and feeling himself all the bitterness and the sourness of the words he will say. Sagami on the other hand, clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, crumpling the results's sheet doing so.

"Worthless, disposable and alone."

At this point Sagami started crying, she knew deep down that those words were true. She was despicable, useless and trash at her job. If the festival was a success it was not thanks to her. All she did was laughing around with her friends while leaving all the work to the others.

"Must be tough huh? Trying to be almighty as the Chairwoman to appeal to Hayama and dethrone Miura from her pedestal. Too bad. Miura was really important in the advertisement as well as giving the pep talks. She was the one who led the groups while doing the tasks. As for Yukinoshita do I have to say much more? She is superior to you in every aspect. It was convenient for you that she accepted to help you but you got overwhelmed by her skills. You thought 'well, she got this, I can laze around I guess'. But slowly, little by little you got erased of this whole festival. People sought after Yukinoshita and Miura but not you. You were just the Chairperson figure but you were palpable as the wind."

"SHUT UP! I did not ask for this, it was forced upon me. I never wanted to do it in the first place you bastard!"

"So what, Hayama proposed that you took the role. You had all the rights to decline, knowing that you were not fit for the job and yet you just listened to your own shallowness and egocentric self. You wanted to be above Miura so much that you fucked yourself over. There is a reason why she is at the top and you are not. I think you understand now."

Sagami looked at the ground while her tears stained the concrete floor of the rooftop. She was at a loss words. Hachiman then decided to approach her closer.

"Now I don't have all day. They are working their ass off back there, just to give us time to get your ass back. So move and follow me. You chose to be the Chairwoman and you will assume your position. We were requested to help you and we will fulfill your request by having you close the ceremony. Don't expect me to tell you what you want to hear."

"They will just look at me like I'm some kind of worthless coward. I won't be able to bear this!"

Hachiman sighed.

"Look, follow me ok, it will be fine. The situation is salvageable, they are still performing, we have the time to go back, we won't encounter a lot of people. I know this school perfectly. I'm a loner, I avoid crowds."

"Huh?" She said confused with her still moist eyes.

"Follow me you won't be seen. I'm scum but I know it's embarrassing for girls to be seen in such a state so just wipe those tears and follow me. You can still save the remnant of your image."

Giving in, Sagami Minami followed the loner Hikigaya Hachiman in the school still lost in her enlightenment phase about her worth as a person. Hikigaya however walked in autopilot mode, thinking about what he said and did up there.

I was against the wall because I have been a loner for all my life and I have absolutely no contacts for cases like this.

As I am now, it was the only way I knew how to fix the problem. It is the only way I can fix this particular problem.

I am a despicable person. I am scum but I know that someday I will change. Even trash like me will change.

That's why, I won't change.

Hachiman took out his phone while walking and sent a text to Zaimokuza with 'Solved' written in it.

The sound of a huge crowd dancing and moving to the beat of some music could be heard throughout the school. There was little to nobody inside the corridors and all seemed to be at the gymnasium. It wasn't long before both Sagami and Hikigaya reached its door.

The red hair had calmed down, but she still had that defeated look on her face.

"Follow closely, we will sneak inside and go to the backstage."

She nodded silently

The crowd was on fire, everybody was full of enthusiasm and fervor at the play of Haruno, Hiratsuka, Shiromeguri, Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. They were the stars of the day. They all pushed to get as close as possible to the stage, meaning the back was free to roam around.

Hikigaya grabbed the forearm of Sagami and looked at her by placing a finger in front of his mouth to tell her to be silent. After that they walked alongside the walls and managed their way on the side.

"We managed to make it in time." Sighed Hachiman.

"Well my job is over. Now it's time to do yours Sagami."

"Yes..."

Sagami rejoined the others who saw her messed up makeup. Her friends got worried and helped her to fix up. Hayama glared at Hikigaya, knowing he was the one at fault.

"Hikigaya..."

"What. I did what I was requested to do. That's how I do things. Telling people what they want to hear won't help them grow."

"We really couldn't have been friend in the least."

"Right."

The ending ceremony was performed without issue. Sagami's address, however, ended up on an unsightly note. Naturally stammering her speech, the content jumping all over the place, and failing to announce the excellence award.

Yukinoshita calmly held up the cue cards all the way through.

In the end, tears began streaming from Sagami's eyes. Students who saw her as being moved to tears shouted to her 'Do your best!', 'It was an awesome festival!', 'Thank you'.

Before that, Hachiman didn't think for a second that those were the tears they thought they were. Vexed at how pathetic she was, vexed at having to be subjected to this experience ; they were those kinds of tears.

However, the tears that flowed after her greeting and tribute speeches were, I'm sure, honestly from being deeply moved. It was only after going through the worst feeling that words of kindness would really settle in. Of course, the one who was responsible for making her feel that way was him, Hikigaya Hachiman, and he felt extremely guilty for that.

Soon after the ceremony, Hikigaya received stares from the Planning Committee members for a little while and those stares started to hurt. The only one who felt somewhat strange came from Kawasaki Saki.

The word spread rapidly and now everybody was bad-mouthing him. The one who saved the festival ending ceremony took all the blame silently.

See? That's how you create a world where nobody gets hurt.