My own take on the future in the Oregairu world.

(8man PoV)

"So that will be all, thank you very much for this interview Hikigaya-san." A young female reporter concludes the interview, what was her name again? Ah yes Fujishima-san, man after giving this many interviews over the years I don't even fell tired of doing this, atleast the non-political ones.

The cameraman folds the stand as he begins packing, the interview has been recorded. We are currently seated on the 16th floor of one of the many skyscrapers that adorn the landscape of modern Tokyo, the said floor, along with 5 others being occupied by Okinawa Ltd., a newspaper agency that runs an immensely popular fortnightly edition, my interview has been taken for the next edition which will focus on the modern writers and approach to Japenese literature, never thought my books would become this popular.

"Hikigaya-san", another young fellow approaches me, man why am growing so conscious of this, I'm still just 40 years old, not really young, but certainly not old.

"Would you like some tea?" he asks politely, well I'm thirsty after speaking this much.

"Yes, I'd like some black coffee, no sugar please, even on the side, my wife will kill me otherwise." Man she's been really strict about this no-sugar rule, even though I'm permitted calorie-free substitutes, real sugar is not something which can be replaced, come to think of it, why in the world did I marry her? She's scary as hell!

"Certainly sir." With that he's off, presumably to the pantry, is he scared of me? I mean I know that I have that 'bad guy' look, but I'm wearing a nice suit my wife made for me, even my eyes are covered with glasses dammit!

"Young fellas." Another voice interrupts my musings as I look up at it's source to find one of the few people whom I refer to as friends in this world.

"Am I that scary?" maybe staying with my wife is rubbing off on me.

"Not as scary as intimidating," he speaks up, "But I'd just say he's awed by you, if anything your stature isn't something normal people can handle."

Well that explains it, given my position as a national party's official spokesperson, I guess people are intimidated by me, the heated debates on prime time TV probably are just pushing the same.

"So I guess I'll have to return later to have the accompanying photograph taken?" I settle for asking a rhetorical question, keeping up my appearance is a real pain. The guy comes in again, placing my drink before me and scurries off.

"I can rescind that if you give a good photo you already have." I chuckle at his statement, both of us know I'm not a big fan of having my photos taken.

"How about Tuesday?" I make an offer, "Monday is kinda booked for me, I've got a meeting to attend." There's no need to lie to him.

"Well we don't go in for printing until Thursday noon, so Tuesday should do." He says with a smile, good, I glance over at my watch, while not particularly expensive, atleast according to a few people, but it holds a special place in my heart as it was the first gift my wife gave me when we started dating.

It's 5: 03 PM, well I might be home earlier than expected, maybe I'll play a round of shogi with my daughter, or wait, my son mentioned the new shooting game he was going to get, that should suffice, or maybe I'll help my wife in the kitchen.

"I guess I'll be going." I speak out my thoughts, today was a good day.

"Going to pick her up?" he asks about my wife.

"Nah, knowing her, she's probably already on her way home, you know her rule, the kids must never come back to an empty house." I speak up as I collect my overcoat from the stand nearby, her dedication is something that has pushed me to this level, and I am truly grateful to her for that.

"So when are you leaving Zaimokuza?" it's now my turn to ask him questions, after all, his wife can be even scarier than mine.

"In about an hour." He answers, looking at him, it's hard to believe that this slim and serious owner of Okinawa ltd. was once the chubby bespectacled infamous chuuni of Sobu, well guess time changes everything, due credits to his wife ofcourse, hell she's above time on regards to his transformation.

"Hachiman," he speaks up again, "Are you attending the charity ball on Wednesday?"

"Kinda have to" I reply, "As the party says, one bigshot's gotta be there." I praise myself a bit with that line, but I'm not lying here.

He chuckles at my reply, "Well I'll be covering that one myself," he says as he gets a call, "See you on Tuesday then" he walks off as he pulls out his phone, I just hope that isn't his wife, and if it is her, I hope she isn't angry.

Silently, I move across the floor towards the exit, man this guy has really made one hell of an office for himself, never thought a fortnightly with special themes could be this popular, but then again, same can be said about my books.

Getting out of the exit, I make my way towards the stairs instead of the lift, since I didn't get much exercise this morning, this should suffice. Finally getting down to the basement, I flip out my key to unlock one of my most prized possessions, my latest Tesla MS 057, over the years, electric cars became the norm due to the acceptance of climate change and petroleum cars were slowly pushed out, and Tesla became the world leader in this field, churning out luxury electric cars across the world, my model, just released a few months ago, is one of their latest models, 0-150 in 3 seconds, leather-seats, self-driving…bah I can keep on going about this.

Getting in my car, I switched on the radio to check on the weather when suddenly, my phone rang.

'Bzzz'

"Ah Hikigaya-kun," an elderly voice spoke up as I answered, "Could you drop by my office now?"

As it stood, I was planning on heading home and spending some more time with my family, but I knew he wouldn't call me if it wasn't important.

"Sure, I'm actually in the city, give me 20 minutes."

"I shall be waiting for you then." He cuts the line, well that went well, now with a new destination in mind, a quick message to my wife and I'm off.

Arriving at my destination, I glanced over at the old styled building that housed the headquarters of Komeito, the party that was currently ruling the roost in the coalition government at Tokyo.

As I got out of the car, a young party worker bolted towards me, greeting me as I handed him my keys for parking and went ahead inside the office, to keep that guy right at the entrance, that old man seems to be cooking something really important.

The guard stationed outside the door greets me with a bow as I enter the building, I've become quite familiar with this place now. Moving inside, I greet the receptionist,

"He's waiting for you." She says in a rather hesitant voice, man what is that guy planning?

I take off my overcoat and rush upstairs, catching my breath, I stand before the door, non-assuming letters announcing the name of its inhabitant, 'Tachibana Shinji.' He had been a cabinet minister during my university days, and still commanded quite a lot of power in the political spheres, that was the chief reason for him having his own office in the party HQ while not holding any official position. Taking another deep breath I knock.

"Come in." a gruff voice answers, looks like the man isn't alone.

I enter the cabin immediately to be greeted by 4 different pairs of eyes, all focused on me, I slowly take in the current inhabitants of this room.

Tachibana Shinji, an old guard of the party.

Tatsumi Fuji, the party's current general secretary.

Suzumiya Hitoshi, the party's media affairs manager.

Ichirako Kurogi, the current finance minister of Japan and former chief strategist of the party.

2 decades ago, I'd be sweating bullets if I was put alone in a room with such heavyweights, but with years of political experience, I've developed an inherent mechanism which prevents me from acting up in any way while in the position of powerful people, I've also come to know quite a few of them, and it's not like I'm in a room full of strangers, I'm pretty much acquainted with everyone seated in this room.

"Ah, Hikigaya-kun, please take a seat." Tachibana-san motions me towards an empty chair, I walk over and seat myself comfortably, with even the Finance minister involved, there's got to be a lot of work for me.

See, I'm not your usual party spokesperson, I'm not present on all debates, but rather quite a few, however, those debates are marked with one difference, all of them are positioned against the party.

I'm normally called in to defend the party's stand or decisions which are unpopular and draw a huge amount of criticism, in other words, a devil's advocate who's called in at times of crisis, so normally when I'm called for meetings like this, it's generally for a briefing abut a decision which is about to be taken, which is going to be heavily criticized, and I've got to defend it on live TV when spokespersons from opposition parties, NGOs, social activists etc. are baying for my blood, not a position many would desire but it comes with its own share of advantages, one of them being regular interactions with the people at the top.

"Please relax Hikigaya-san" Ichirako-san speaks up this time, "It is not what you are thinking, this meeting is for a different purpose."

So I don't have to slave off tonight reading the entire contents of the matter to mount a bare-knuckle defense on live TV? Ah the feeling…

"You have done a lot for our party over the years Hikigaya-kun." Tachibana-san spoke up this time, "And we believe it is time you are rewarded for all the effort you have put in."

One other additional advantage of being the devil's advocate is the quick progress you make if you are good, political backing notwithstanding. By holding this position almost flawlessly for over 5 years after having worked in other spheres, I was virtually guaranteed to become a diet member from the party, but the fact was that the general elections for the filling of seats in the National Diet is still 2 years away… are they confirming my seat from now itself?

"Ah, I'm sure you are having a little trouble understanding what I'm saying Hikigaya-kun," Tachibana-san speaks up again, "But tell me, have you been following the news in Chiba…" he lets is statement hang in the air.

Let's see, news in Chiba, man that brings back a few memories, I haven't been home there since a few months, but for news, the port development, nah, nothing controversial, building collapse, nope, it's apolitical, the opening of a new restaurant,…why am I even considering that?

I rack my brain to think about anything, Tachibana-san never says anything without reason, but what news in Chiba could possibly have any implications for me,…wait a second,

The Chiba by-election!

"Seems you got it." Tachibana-san smiles at me.

"What do I have to do with the by-election?" I ask in a surprised tone, after all Chiba has never been a Komeito stronghold, we only have one prefectural diet member from Chiba,that too was won by a narrow margin.

"We want you there Hikigaya-san." Tatsumi-san spoke up this time, "And this time, not as a strategist."

I sit in silence as I contemplate his words, if not as a strategist, then do they mean me to fight the by-election?

"I believe you understand the reason for this meeting Hikigaya-kun." Ichirako-san speaks up, "We want you to fight this by-election."

I grip the edge of my chair in contemplation of his words, the Chiba by-election, you see prefectural diet members are appointed for a fixed term, but if they are unable to fulfill their duties due to sickness or death, then a by-election is held wherein a candidate is elected again to fill in the vacancy for the remaining term.

As of now, there were 3 by-elections which were going to be held in the country, with one of them being in Chiba, Yukinoshita Yashiro, a long time stalwart of the Democratic Party of Japan had formally tendered in his resignation letter a week ago citing his ailing health and age, as a result of which his seat was vacant and due for by-election.

"Why me?" I ask in a neutral tone, as it is, I'm not really feeling anything, "More importantly is Kawashima-san ready to pass on this opportunity?" Kawashima was after all, a long time rival of Yukinoshita Yashiro, and even if he didn't fight himself now, I was sure that the old coot wouldn't pass on such an opportunity to promote his son.

"Kawashima agrees to this" Suzumiya-san speaks up, "Infact it was your name that convinced him," he smirks, "Also his son looks up to you doesn't he?"

Ah yes, that old coot owes me big time from when I kept his son out of trouble, but favors are a huge thing in politics, and are only called in when absolutely needed.

"Please do not call in my favors for me." There is no need to be diplomatic here, favors are the only rule in politics.

"We haven't done that." Tachibana-san tries to pacify me, "We merely wish to inform you of the possibility."

Good.

"If you don't contest, then Kawashima or his son will," Tachibana-san continues, "And going with either of them, we will lose." He speaks as if stating a fact, but then again, statistically, he isn't far, while Kawashima may be a sharp edged sword in business, he isn't really a politician.

"What makes you think I can win?" Although I know their reasons, I want to know everything that constitutes this offer.

"Oh many things," Tachibana-san speaks, "Would you like us to elaborate?" there is a glint in his eyes.

"I'm all ears."

"Well then Hikigaya-san" Fuji speaks up this time, "Firstly, Yukinoshita Yashiro commanded quite a following in the local circles of Chiba, but that has been on the decline for quite a few years, none of the party workers or members of his family have the charisma to rekindle or maintain it."

"What about his daughter, Yukinoshita Haruno?" I go off with my first question with the first name that pops in my head, sigh, I'm still unable to forget that devil incarnate.

"She will not be fighting, that is confirmed." So I guess the rumors of problems in the family are true after all, well not like it's my business. But if Haruno isn't going, it leaves only one option, at least at the family level. I beckon Fuji to continue.

"The financing of elections was largely done by the Yukunoshita Inc., but given the decline in their annual profits, their financial resources have become highly limited." Hmmm looks like there's trouble huh…

"Please explain" I want the exact information, I haven't heard these names in years.

"Yukinoshita Inc. has witnessed a steady decline in profits over the recent years, especially after the claims of poor construction after a building collapse 4 years ago, and the recent claims of IPR violations in certain modifications to their machines. While these have been held at bay using political pressure, they have caused a significant dent in the financial position of the company, if the claims are passed, the company may even go bankrupt, a reason because of which its credit ratings have dropped." I nod at him.

"You yourself have a large following across the country, including Chiba, your articles and books are widely read and reviewed, your family is well respected in Chiba given the charitable work of your parents in the recent years and your sister's contributions to the same. It also adds to the local appeal."

I nod in understanding, we don't have many big names from Chiba here, Komachi worked as an entertainer on a kid's TV channel earlier, being the workaholics they are, my parents took up NGO work after their retirement, Komachi joined them soon afterwards and they are quite well known in the area. They will definitely lend me their support, also, I am a good candidate due to my almost squeaky clean image as I don't have any questionable background, what is the opposition going to bring up? My confession in middle school? My eyes?

I smile slightly, the odds for my victory may actually be pretty good, but still I need to be sure if I'm doing this.

"What are my incentives?" I put up the real question here, what's in it for me, I can refuse and you'll still give me a chance after 2 years anyway.

"You see Hikigaya-san, Chiba is not exactly the strong suit of our party," Ichirago-san speaks up, "But who knows, win this and we take a big step in wrestling their seat out of their hands. You'll be credited with the victories that resound after that." He answers slyly, but I'm well aware of what he's saying.

Of this by-election is lost, the opposition in Chiba will be in shambles, shocked at the loss of what was considered to be their safest seat, the elections afterwards would be a piece of cake, and with me getting the credit, I could actually aim for a cabinet berth in the upcoming elections.

But this came at a huge gamble, if I contested and lost, I would lose face and so would the party, the opposition will gain more firepower and I won't be able to formally represent the party at higher levels, while I may be made into a diet member by back-door entry later, that will be it for me, in other words, whatever I've built till now may be risked at this.

Question is, am I willing to do that?

"What resources will I be given?" I ask.

"The party has deemed you able enough to give you a free hand." Ichirago-san answers my question.

A free hand huh, that means I get to pick my own team, make my own plans and have the party pour in as much funds as I require, not a bad deal, but given that we haven't won that seat in more than 2 decades, this much is required if they expect me to win.

"I'd like to ask for some time, this is a big decision." I give them the normal reply, I want time to ponder over the pros and cons.

"Ofcourse Hikigaya-kun, but remember, time is precious." Tachibana-san concludes this meeting as he reaches over his desk, pressing a button to call his secretary, "Would you like to join us for a drink?" he offers.

"You know my answer." I smirk.

"Still clean huh? Difficult to believe you can take all that shit without any alcohol." Fuji-san speaks up, the formal atmosphere is now gone.

Not drinking is precisely the reason I am able to take all that.

"I shall take my leave then." I receive silent nods in response as I move out of the cabin, my car is standing at the door, same young worker holding the keys, I pick the keys, thank him, and begin my silent drive towards my home. There is a lot I need to think.

Turning at the intersection, I take a longer detour to avoid the traffic as my car zips past the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, within 40 minutes, I'm parking my car in my garage, as expected, my wife's car is in its place, she's is already home and is probably waiting for me to have dinner.

After parking my car, I move through my yard as the most enthusiastic member of my family greets me,

*Bark*

"Hello Ichi" I gently rub the head of the massive creature that is, atleast according to modern science, a crossbreed dog. He gives me an enthusiastic greeting, wagging his tail as he tries to lick my face, while I initially preferred to have a cat, I was unable to do so given my wife's condition and had to settle for a dog instead, not that I'm complaining.

Patting his head, I open the door and get inside, Ichi follows me and moves upstairs, presumably to my daughter's room, he's always been there since he was a puppy. I glance over at the watch, its 9:45 PM, I'm late alright.

"I'm home," I announce my presence softly as I take off my shoes and move towards the kitchen, ah there she is, putting the dishes near the sink, I sneak behind her and envelope her in a hug.

"You're late." She chastises me in an annoyed voice.

"I messaged you." I defend myself, after all one of the rules we agreed upon was open ended communication, I had to discuss this matter with her as well.

"Where were you anyway?" she asks me as she turns her head, but I choose not to answer her as I bury my head in her shoulder.

"I'm hungry and tired, I need food, I need rest and I need love." I mutter quietly.

"Act your age Hachi."

"I need sex." Her cheeks flush slightly but she masks it as she nudges me away.

"Let's have dinner first then." She proceeds to heat the food in the microwave as I head to the master bedroom, change my clothes, wash my face and proceed to a finely laid dinner.

As expected, everything is delicious, truly her cooking is the base that keeps our home together, we make small talk as we eat, until another feminine voice interrupts us,

"You're home dad." Ah the sweet voice of the only girl I truly love besides my own wife, my daughter, Natsumi Hikigaya enters the kitchen.

"Yeah, sorry about being late, I got called in for some work at the party HQ."

"You going to face those wolves on TV again tomorrow?" she asks me curiously.

"Not this time, I'll talk about it later Nat-chan, where's your brother?"

"Upstairs playing games, I'm here as I lost one round and have to get him something to drink."

"You guys done with your homework?" my wife asks.

"I'm done myself, not sure about Onii-chan though."

"Remember, no TV or internet after 11 PM" my wife warns her as she holds her chopsticks in one hand, how can someone look this scary while eating dinner?

"Understood~" with that my daughter leaves the kitchen, seemingly unfettered by her mother, but then again, as my son says, Natsumi herself is quite scary.

"Give them a break, they're high school students now." I comment tiredly as I motion for her to pass me the pickle.

"That is no reason to be undisciplined." She retorts, "It took me a hell lot of time to get you to change your sleeping habits, you were practically an owl."

"Lions are night animals too." She's got me there, atleast I can close with a cool line.

'Hmpf' she snorts a little at my sateen but doesn't retort or insult me here, I'm grateful for that, the 'not-insulting' was one of the chief factors which made me attracted to her. Soon after, we're done, I help her pick up the plates, the maid will do the rest when she comes next morning. After we're done putting the plates in the dishwasher, we proceed to our bedroom where I lay down on the queen-sized bed.

"So where were you?" she asks me again as she sits before the mirror, her tight ponytail is loosened as her long hair falls freely, ah I just can't help myself as I hug her again from the behind, more tightly this time, the scent of her hair is intoxicating.

She lets out a small yelp at the sudden contact, but recovers quickly as she looks at me, man she's cute when she's flustered, how can she look this cute at this age?

"I still need sex." I mutter, my grip non-wavering.

"The kids are still up."

"We made the bedrooms sound-proof for a reason, plus they're in high school now, they probably know how they were born."

"Pervert" she admonishes me.

"Guilty." I smile as we share a kiss, and an hour of heated love-making, this day is feeling better now.

…

"So you going to answer me now?" she asks me, covering her generous bosom with a sheet, even after over 15 years of marriage, she still feels the same, just as comforting, just as sexy.

"Tachibana-san called me to his office this evening." I answer her as I take a sip of water from the glass on my bedstand, best to remain hydrated.

"That old relic is still alive?"

"Alive and kicking" I reply, "There were quite a few others with him." I repeat the names of those I met, she's pretty much acquainted with them anyway.

"They wanted to talk about the Chiba by-election."

"What about it, they want you to make a game plan for the candidate?"

"Not exactly," I reply, "More like they want me to be the game plan."

The statement hangs in the air as she contemplates my words, she's my one true friend and confidant, the person I trust the most in this world, and I value her opinion, always have.

"They want you to be the candidate?" I nod.

"Why?"

"Well, the Democratic Party's mechanism is not exactly well-oiled there, there's in-fighting and uncertainty about the candidates, not to mention funding problems."

"So you guys actually have a shot at winning?"

"The high command of the party seems to think so, but they want to go in all guns blazing, even willing to give me a free hand." Her eyes widen at my statement.

"Well given that you guys haven't won there in the last 20 years, that is the least they should give you."

"I haven't exactly taken it yet."

'hmmmm' she gives me a contemplative look.

"It's a huge risk Saki, I'm currently considered to be a Komeito heavyweight in Tokyo, their devil's advocate, this by election may make or break my chances for the future." Seeing her curious face, I continue, "if I win, I set a tempo and take the first step in conquering Chiba, I'll get the credit for the future victories and may even get a cabinet berth after the next general elections," I pause, "But if I lose, I can kiss my dreams of making it goodbye."

"I've never known you to be a man who plays it safe." Her tone is a bit high, almost as if she's scolding me, is she angry?

"Look at me Hikigaya Hachiman" ok she is mad, she only uses my full name when she's angry. Like a deer caught on the headlights of a car, I slowly turn to face her, a frown mars her beautiful features.

"You're the kind that jumps at such opportunities, tell me, why are you still thinking?"

"Well it's just that…"

"You're still hung up about the past." She speaks in an authoritative voice, I wisely choose to respond carefully.

"It's not like that…"

"Well then what is it? You have a free hand for god's sake, what more can you possibly need, the only thing that is holding you back is your own past."

I close my eyes to contemplate on her words, Yukinoshita…the name leaves a bad taste in my mouth, even after two decades have passed, but that is only momentary, I have far grown from my old High School persona, I am Hikigaya Hachiman, the national spokesperson of Komeito, celebrated author and columnist, visiting faculty at Todai, and as narcissist it may sound, a successful man in every regard, I've come a long way from my self-depreciating tendencies, and have my pride to protect.

"You're right Saki" I slowly open my eyes, "my bad." The mention of Chiba, the Yukinoshita name, all that brought about a bad taste in my mouth now, rewind back 2 decades, it would cause a torrent of emotions, but not anymore.

I turn towards my wife slowly, this time a small smile gracing her lips as she looks at me, she is someone to whom I can show my true self, the ugly side of me as well, this bond we share, this is the genuine thing I looked for in my life.

"So you get it huh." She speaks softly.

"Certainly your highness, thank you for pointing it out."

"You still upset about all that happened? I wanted to kick her back then you know."

"If you ask me, yeah, the mirth lingers a bit, but at the end it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and as for your feelings, I would've allowed you to do that but it would've negatively impacted on your own college and scholarship application."

"So you didn't hold me out of your own perverted desires?"

"That too, and for the record I wasn't the reason we got barred from Disneyland."

"I couldn't help it," she's really cute when she blushes, "You were too rough."

"Your idea, not mine." I reply nonchalantly, teasing her is fun.

"Anyways," her tone is serious now, "You gonna take it now?"

"I believe I will, after all, I need the cabinet berth to push for the change I desire the world to undergo." She smiles at my statement, I'm truly glad to have found someone like her, guess I'm a lucky guy after all.

"You want to go for round two?" she speaks in a teasing voice, choosing not to respond verbally, I just pull her towards myself for another bout of intimacy. After some time, I lay quietly, Saki soundly asleep on my chest as I contemplate on the situation, I'll take up Tachibana's offer, that's decided, but what caused me the hesitance?

Oh wait, I remember, those stupid memories from High School.

I scowl a bit as the unpleasant memories of my past flash before my eyes, while my feelings for them were practically dead, the mirth for those who wronged me still remained, was it revenge that I desired? Even after all these years…guess I'm a petty human after all, but that's no problem, as it is said, revenge is a dish best served cold, and I'm going to serve it to them at sub-zero temperatures. I guess that was where my hesitance came from, I was confused by this surge of emotion.

'Mmmm' Saki whimpers a bit, did I disturb her?

"Hachi…"

"Yes dear?"

"I almost forgot, mom called today."

"She need anything?"

"No, she said that she got a call from our High School, apparently the reunion for our batch is scheduled after next week, and we've been invited."

"Hmmm" I contemplate on it, normally I'd just consider it a waste of time and skip it, but with the changed circumstances, I'll humor the invitation, plus it's been a long time since I saw Hiratsuka-sensei.

"We'll go." I make a decision, there is no need to run from the past.

Saki gives me another smile before she enters the sweet world of slumber.

I too, let sleep get the better of me as bittersweet memories of my past play out in my mind.

I'm gonna be back Chiba,

This time with a bang!

I know, I'm starting projects left and right, but these thoughts have been on my mind for a long time. I need to write.

So this is the introductory chapter, the next chapter, "How it Began" will be focusing on the High School life of the characters.

I intend to have the next 4-5 chapters in am manner as to elaborate on the developments that take place from high school to the time frame in this chapter. After that, we'll be proceeding to the election saga.

Thanks a lot for reading, as usual, feel free to leave any reviews or suggestions you guys have.