Chapter Two

When I was young, I was enamored by heroes. Figures larger than life battling evil, saving those who needed saving, simply being―it was a vision of success I obsessed over.

Now, I think I am wise enough not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Coming home, I found that I was the first one back as usual. I left my shoes at the foyer and my bag next to the couch to pour myself some orange juice from the fridge. Ah, wait. The carton was empty. Damn. I spied a can of MAX coffee and grabbed that instead.

I slumped into the couch, sipping my drink.

The otherwise empty house had little to do. Both my father and mother work as corporate slaves. It was thanks to their sacrifice that I could live this fairly comfortable lifestyle. My sister goes to middle school, and even served in the student council. And I―well, for reasons, I am always the first one home during weekdays. Most of that time I spend getting easy EXP from completing homework assignments and doing household chores.

At this rate, I could become a professional househusband. My work is worth paying for, seriously!

A while later, I brought my things to my room. I knocked out my homework quickly―and heard a ding! in my head for a quest completed. My Quirk told me that the floor downstairs needed cleaning so I went downstairs and fetched a mop.

When my little sister got home, I was already making something for her to eat.

"I'm back!" she declared.

"Welcome back," was what I replied with as I did my brotherly duty. I'm such a wonderful brother, making sure my little sister didn't go hungry after working hard all day. Oh, and this was one of the better quests I got everyday, since it gave me EXP and let me grind a couple of my 108 skills.

Into the living room came Hikigaya Komachi, a girl with neck-length black hair and a bright air antithesis to my own rotten powers. The difference is enough that I sometimes think one of us was adopted. She was still in her school uniform when she spotted me in the kitchen. "Smells good. What's cooking?"

"Hamburger."

"Oh~! That's right, mom and dad are coming home late today. I'll go set the table." When I finished, I served homemade patties in sesame buns. When Komachi took her first bite, she made a sound of blissful satisfaction. "As usual, the food you make is great. It'll be hard to keep my weight down when I get older."

"That's alright. Even if you get fat, your brother will still love you. Isn't that nice?"

"Disgusting."

We finished our first burgers and went on to seconds.

"Hey. Did something happen?"

As expected, my little sister had an acute sense when it came to my state of mind. I picked off a sesame seed stuck on the corner of her mouth. "Komachi. What would you do if your big brother decided to go back into the hero scene?"

Silence.

"… I wouldn't like it," she answered.

Exactly. "Me neither."

"Why did you ask? Did another dog almost get run over by a car today?"

"No. A teacher turned out to be a vigilante, and tried to recruit me. Keep that a secret."

"… A teacher? Isn't that really bad?"

I made a noise in agreement. "She'll get fired and arrested if the wrong person finds out. And if it's a villain, then things might get worse. But your big brother will be fine."

Komachi chewed on her food for a bit. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to talk about that when we were eating. "Do you miss it? I mean, you stopped, but when you were doing the same a couple years back it looked like you enjoyed it."

I thought about it. "No, I don't miss it."

After all, what I wanted back then wasn't something I wanted now. Except for the EXP, that is.

"Well, if you do decide to continue again, remember that your cute little sister will always be waiting for you to come back safely. That's worth a ton of Komachi points, right?"

"Finish your food before it gets cold, brat."

Looking mighty pleased with herself, Komachi took another bite from her burger.

Every hot-blooded youth has, at one point, wanted to become a pro-hero.

To my shame, I am not excluded.

When I was young, I got picked on for being Quirkless, as my Quirk wasn't as flashy as others. Even so, I had been determined to make something of it when I discovered I could improve myself through it.

In the end, I became a miracle boy.

Through my Quirk, I became faster, stronger, and smarter. Enough so that, when the promise of adventure and excitement became too much, I donned a cape and mask as a vigilante as a student in elementary school. Of course, I was determined to stay out of the spotlight―mainly, since I was too young to be a pro-hero, too scared to face the worst villains in Chiba, and too worried about the consequences of having my identity known to everyone.

And, maybe, I was already a loner by then.

Whether it was because I garnered the spite of my peers, or because they saw me as some kind of cheat, I could never be accepted as one of them.

That didn't change in middle school. When the freshness of a new environment passed, the cliques formed, and I found myself excluded from it all. I was too smart. Too fast. Too strong. Most importantly, too rotten. I had a unique rebelliousness that alienated me from others, an awkwardness in my fluency.

Even when I confessed to the only girl in class that was nice to me, I found that reality always escaped my expectations.

"H-how about we just be friends?" she had said the last time we spoke, years ago.

I don't know where Orimoto Kaori went.

After self-reflecting, I didn't care. All I understood was that Hikigaya Hachiman could never have the respect his alter ego had. My masked self drew secret admirers and raised hardcore fans. My regular self received only uneasy looks and hushed whispers. No matter how great my achievements, they would not earn me the same social currency as I got when I was my other self. Perhaps you can call it a curse; a curse of envy, jealousy, and disdain.

I concluded: that is the difference between the delusional world and the living world.

That is why I had quit.

It was nothing eventful. Nothing glamorous. I simply stopped. My admirers drifted away. Ny fans became fans of other heroes. And the world kept going.

"You're doing it again," Komachi whined.

"Doing what?"

"Brooding." I wiped a plate dry with a towel. My dishwashing skill leveled. From the sofa in the living room, my little sister sat cross-legged with her school assignments spread over the coffee table. She had already bathed and changed out of her uniform into baggy pants and a long-sleeve shirt. The television was on, playing a high school drama. "If you have so much time to think, help me with my homework."

"Right, right."

When we were done, I left food for my parents on the table and headed upstairs to my room.

From the notifications I could pull up in my head like in a science-fiction virtual reality setting, my golden EXP bar sat at a depressing 87%. It had been a week since that number changed. I would need at least another to raise it again.

As the lights went out in the house excluding the desk lamp in my room, I immersed myself in other activities: leveling my skills by reading through self-help books; looking for interesting news the web; even exercising a little. There was also a personal project of mine that I handled on the side. When the clock hit sixteen past eleven, I heard footsteps in the hall outside my room―Komachi going to the bathroom.

Later, I heard the door open and shut downstairs. My parents, home at just past twelve.

I went downstairs to greet them, leveling Stealth Hikki in the process. At one, they went to their own rooms, exhausted.

My Quirk interfered with my sense of exhaustion, so I had a restless night.

Rather than sleeping, I stared at my ceiling in the dark pondering over Hiratsuka-sensei's offer. Good quests were hard to come by. Her offer was my only real way of leveling anymore.

No, that's not right. An alternative was returning vigilantism on my lonesome again.

Or maybe be a villain? Haha.

I had quit when I was younger since I became disillusioned and frustrated with the progress I had been making. Certainly, I was getting the EXP I desired at that time. But there was something I hadn't been getting. It wasn't fame or merit. I enjoyed having my confidence stroked when I would hear on rare occasions about my activities as a vigilante from people around me, but ultimately I could have gotten that even after I had been rejected by Orimoto Kaori.

Money, love, friendship, rivalries, wisdom, strength, challenge, confidence―

None of that was what I had been truly looking for.

It was…

I opened my eyes. Frowned. Then sighed. The clock in my mind hit five-thirty. I got out of bed, put on light clothing, and headed outside quietly to grind my Runner Hikki skill.

Outside, the rising sun colored the violet sky orange.

"Ah, oniichan." Komachi yawned when she entered the living room. "Good morning."

"Morning. Breakfast is on the table."

"Mmm." She seated herself at the table, still in her pajamas. "Thanks for the food."

"Don't touch those portions. Those are for the folks." Both of whom were still fast asleep. Seeing those two overworking themselves for their precious daughter's living comforts is an example of why I'll choose the dedicated househusband career. Stay-at-home, flexible hours, food and rest. Truly, it's a hikikomori's dream job. "Here's coffee."

"Mmm. Thanks. Hot!"

"Careful." I took off my apron. "I'll go wake the other two. Don't take too long."

"Yes."

I climbed upstairs and knocked on the door to my parents' room. It was still early for them to go to work, but they liked to take their time in the morning.

On the other side of the door, I heard a curse and a thump.

"Breakfast is ready," I called.

An affirmative response reached me as I went back downstairs. What a dutiful son I am, mhm.

After cleaning up Komachi's plate and picking up the clothes she discarded in the living room―the notion of a cute little sister in her underwear being anything more than just that is just a fetish for deplorable men―I cleared my own plate and began wrapping the now-cooled lunch boxes in cloth. One for myself, one for my sister, one for each of my parents, one―

"Morning." A balding, middle-aged man with dark eyebags made his way to the table. He wore a buttoned shirt and tie, and a pair of business slacks. An example of a normal salaryman, this one, and the prime reason why I didn't want to follow in his footsteps. It was bad enough that I inherited those rotten-looking eyes of his. Now, his hairline receded everyday! I won't stand being bald until I'm withered and grey! And even then! At least his belly didn't hang over his belt. "Where's Komachi?"

"Upstairs. Coffee, food, and newspaper. Your lunchbox is on the counter."

"Mmm."

Komachi came downstairs not long after, this time in her school uniform. "Morning, dad!"

"There's my daughter." Hey, you daughter-con dad. At the very least you can put a little more enthusiasm into your morning greetings for your son. Or he'll overcook your food.

In my sister's wake, my mother came downstairs as well. Like dad, she worked as a corporate slave. They even worked in the same company, being a rather popular power couple. Considering how much Komachi resembled her, my dad was really fortunate.

I'm sure he thinks it would be better if I were out of the way.

Mom, in similar attire to my dad minus the tie and manly fitting, made her way grumpily to the table. I slid her own cup of glorious bean brew and breakfast.

It was an unspoken household rule not to disturb her in the morning if we wanted our bodies intact.

When the clock hit eight, I grabbed the remaining lunches and my bag. With my uniform on and my body washed after running, I retrieved my bike. My parents would go to work on their own time.

I handed Komachi her lunch as she left the house behind me. "Yours."

"Thanks~!"

Stuffing it in her bag, she threw her things on the carrying basket of my bike before seating herself on the rear seat. This damned kid. "Again?"

"It's faster than walking!" she said with a smile.

True. My Cycling Hikki skill was nothing to scoff at. If I was serious, I could get a police officer to chase me for speeding. "Fine, brat. Just don't fall off."

She laughed. "Spoiling me rotten as usual."

Heh. Little did my sister know, that's exactly my plan! It took a long discussion between my dad and I when my little sister began middle school to come up with it. See, so long as I am the best brother I can possibly be, feeding her and helping her, then she'll have unrealistic expectations when it comes to finding a boyfriend. Since I'm the example Komachi will be comparing other guys to, she'll find such a dearth of qualified men like myself to enter a relationship with. Thus, my little sister will never say something like, "Oniichan, dad, I've brought home my boyfriend!"

That's something that I'd never allow to happen! I'd sick all my burst damage on the bastard the second he walks through the door!

… Now that I think about it, that's the only reason why dad keeps me around, right?

After I dropping Komachi off at her school, I reached mine fairly quickly.

Outside the school gates of Soubu High, the flow of students going to school was mild; it was that time between early and late that lasted until the school's bell rang.

I almost stopped when I saw Hiratsuka-sensei waiting outside the gate.

I didn't expect someone of her character to be so persistent. What am I saying, of course she is. How many boyfriends have she chased away with that kind of yandere behavior? Well, I could understand if she was unsure about whether I would tell anyone about her secret. It was a big secret, relatively speaking. Still, if I wanted to tell someone about it, she wouldn't be able to stop me unless she erased my memories or killed me. She could also blackmail me, but everyone already knew how rotten I was so there wasn't much she could do. So there, I win!

As I drew near, my councilor noticed my approach. She waved.

Of course, I didn't wave back. How lame would that be?

Not to mention, a teacher like her waiting for her student outside the gates, waving at him when she sees him; isn't that how rumors begin?

"Hiratsuka-sensei, that's kind of creepy," I told her immediately.

She looked startled. "Eh? Really?"

"Please think about your position before you try to traumatize me like that."

"R-right. Sorry." After clearing her throat, she spoke without meeting my gaze. "I need to speak with you for a moment. You're not in trouble or anything."

"I told you I wasn't interested in joining the club."

Hiratsuka-sensei turned sheepish, a rare sight. "L-look, I want to drop the subject, too. It's awkward to hang on it. But a certain somebody is way nosier than I, and I have no choice but to ask you to come with me. Really. You'll be doing me a favor, so…"

I wanted to exaggerate a sigh, but upon closer inspection it looked like she was quite exasperated herself. Didn't she know getting this stressed so early in the morning is bad for the health? At this rate, she'd develop wrinkes and actually become a lonely old lady. Fight it! "… Is this someone I need to see now, or can it wait until later?"

"She's not the kind of person who'd take being made to wait very well."

And I didn't like being made to hurry. How unfair. "Alright."

I put my bike away at the racks and followed Hiratsuka-sensei towards the special building. The halls going there were mostly empty, as usual. Sensing we were alone, I decided to poke her for information. "So, who is this person who wanted you to bring me along?"

"Yukinoshita Haruno."

Yukinoshita… "As in, the same―?"

"Nn. Yukino's older sister."

That doesn't sound good. Did I trigger the younger sister so badly that her older sister wanted to beat me up? Maybe I should escape? As soon as I considered ditching, a pleasant voice right beside my ear caused me to jolt. Too close! "Hello there," a woman's voice said. Turning, I saw a college student standing right beside me, smiling in a devious way. Did she tape a note on my back or something? "Shizuka-chan, I got bored and decided to meet you halfway."

Hiratsuka-sensei made a low noise. Was it some kind of secret greeting you used at people you didn't like? Could I learn it?

"You shouldn't call me that, Haruno."

The intruding Haruno ignored her as she studied me like a sample of newly-discovered bacteria under a microsope. "Is this the boy you and Yukino-chan were talking about?"

"Yeah, he is. Don't cause too much trouble, okay?"

"I'm Yukino's older sister, Haruno. Pleased to meet you." In that excessively pleasant and nice manner of hers, the elder Yukinoshita sibling introduced herself. It was actually a little difficult to believe Haruno was related to that Ice Queen; was Yukino supposed to develop in this manner as well?

I restrained my gaze. "N-nice to meet you. I am Hikigaya Hachiman."

Wait, why did I stutter? Just because she's got good looks and a good body doesn't mean I'd be swayed! In fact, I'd say the more beautiful the woman, the more vicious her poison. Especially in the tropics!

"I mentioned that some of our alumni are pro-heroes, right?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked.

"… You're kidding me."

Haruno giggled. Sort of. I thought it was the kind of laugh one did when one is asked to do something they found annoying or repetitive, but still felt some obligation to do. She struck a pose, with the fingers of her outstretched hand in a victory sign, her legs spread slightly apart, and her other hand on her hip. A wink finished it. "Lady Winter is here!"

I blinked. "Who?"