The Mundane Entrance

Hikigaya's Route to Senior High Is Not Normal, As I Expected

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages" - William Shakespeare.

…

Hachiman's POV

…

"Next stop, Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School." The intercom regarding the destination and stop of the bus echoed in the bus Hachiman was in, and almost intuitive, the intercom began to add. "This is the final stop. Any remaining seaters, please depart in the next stop."

"Seems we are on the end of the route for this bus." Hachiman thought to himself as he finally gazed his eyes on anything else other than the book in his hand. Considering all the stuff he was given by Aoki, he had trusted that his sensei knew enough of him to keep him content.

And Aoki was very good at that.

He knew the kinds of books Hachiman liked, whilst also ensuring he kept some mementos of Aoki so that Hachiman wouldn't forget about him.

While Hachiman continued to look high on Aoki, he only wished he wouldn't waste himself on him. Regardless, Hachiman would express gratitude towards Aoki for taking care of him.

In the end, Hachiman felt the bus beginning to slow down. He had observed that the bus had come across a specific bridge which was the only thing connecting what appeared to be an artificial island to the rest of metropolitan Tokyo.

Eventually, as Hachiman predicted, the bus began to slow down, and the intercome once again shrouded the atmosphere of the bus with its voice.

"Next stop, Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Please remember to exit the bus as this is the end of the route." The intercom advised the students on the bus. While Hachuman was unsure of who the older individuals were, especially ones who didn't wear the standard uniform, Hachiman figured that they were likely staff, faculty, or maybe even teachers.

A part of Hachiman wanted to reach out to them to gather some information regarding the school, but another yearned to just go on with the day, and to let the faculty lead him into the potential theories possible.

In the meantime, as the bus stopped, Haciman finally took it as a cue to leave the bus seat he was on, and to eventually head out and explore the place he likely was going to be residing in for the next three years.

For the typical student, that may have been something they couldn't manage. Staying away from their parents and loved ones for so long, but for Hachiman, he was fine with it.

While apart of him thought about Komachi, Hachiman knew he was too useless for her to care for him anymore. He really missed Komachi, but he'll never see her ever again. As for Aoki, Hachiman knew he would feel a great deal of guilt if he remained with Aoki for any longer.

For all intents and purposes, Komachi was no longer part of Hachiman's life.

And there was nothing the gloomy boy could do. Not now, not ever. Hachiman's loved ones were also the cause of so many problems mentally for Hachiman, not counting the other scum he had to deal with in his life.

But his internal thinking had made Hachiman realize that he was falling behind regarding the students as they were heading out, curious and excited about the new environment.

When Hachiman walked out of the bus and slowly made his way to the entrance. A part of him didn't really want to go with the crowd of students. He valued the silence and calamity that came with being alone.

That was, until he heard the voice of a male and female.

"I didn't want to give up my seat. What's wrong with that?" The female asked the male. The fact that they were still stuck in this conversation made Hachiman a bit apprehensive, the situation was already dealt with, why bring it up and be that petty once again?

Hachiman was somewhat tired of already listening to the conversation. But the fact the two students seemed to be focused on their small conversation made it likely Hachiman was not being observed by any of them.

"I thought the same thing. I have no intention of giving up my seat, nor getting into trouble." The boy explained, as Hachiman began to walk away.

But from what he could decipher, the male student was somewhat of above average height in Japan. While he seemed slightly taller to around the same height as Hachiman, he felt that if Hachiman was standing up straight, he could be incrementally taller than this male student. Otherwise, he had brown hair, brown eyes, and despite being grilled by the female student, Hachiman saw that the boy had almost no real expression to say.

That made Hachiman feel uneasy… Just how… typical this boy was…

Hachiman's normal expression at least usually showed boredom, but this individual showed pretty much nothing. Almost as if he was putting on that facial expression because he told himself to. But to Hachiman, while the boy seemed somewhat normal, something was telling him, his facial expression showed and the way he placed himself when he spoke.

As for the girl, Hachiman already had a negative view on this one.

Precisely because it reminded him of someone from Junior High.

The girl had long black hair, with some braided and tied, alongside some red, stern eyes. She was slimmer than the boy, and shorter, even shorter than the person he was reminded of from Junior High, but she did stand out that her body too was well-endowed.

"Seems that the girls of this time and age are undergoing massive transformations…" Hachiman thought, as a part of him wondered if the girls he knew from Junior High would have transformed as… dramatically as the ones he had seen so far here.

Regardless, he didn't see any reason to stick by.

As for the personality of the girl, Hachiman could deduce from her one sentence she spoke to the boy that she was incredibly stern and stuck-up. Not the kind of person Hachiman didn't want to associate with for a bit.

As Hachiman looked on upon getting out, he could see there were two bridges that connected the island to the city, not just one. Perhaps to further connect students from across the city. Hachiman could assume he was perhaps a bit different since he wasn't technically from downtown Tokyo. But that was likely better for him in the long run.

But from what Hachiman could see, there were dormitories, the school complex with all sorts of areas that will assist for a students' needs.

Hachiman sighed as he moved forward towards the school complex, where the classes were located. The more Hachiman thought about it, the more he realized why Aoki had sought after him for so long. He had wanted Hachiman to take the entrance exam, and so he did. Considering everything that occurred, Hachiman wasn't sure what exactly would happen when he got in, and how well he did on his entrance exams.

He assumed he would have to wait, perhaps ask someone from the administration about his performance.

Hachiman got a deal of just how many students per year there were in this school, as he seemed to realize just how populated the place was. Considering how much money and care was put into a government-funded school like ANHS, Hachiman presumed that they took good care of the different fields within the school.

Whether it was security that roamed across the campus or the faculties working, there was life in this school.

That was apparent in the meeting ceremony with everyone thanking each other and the like. These kinds of ceremonies always started a major trial for students, and for this school, it was no different. It was beyond what was expected.

Wha kinds of stuff should Hachiman expect in this school. He truly didn't know.

In the end, once he was done, he was surprisingly given the class he was expected to be in.

"Huh, how convenient…" Hachiman thought to himself as he moved forward.

Little did he know that the performance he showed on his entrance exams didn't matter where he would've ended up. The school had already gotten his history of education and life before coming here, and the life he lived and developed from immediately set about the class he would be in regardless.

…

"Class 1-D." Hachiman told himself as he looked around the classes, immediately making his way towards the door that led to the classroom.

A part of him wanted to be intrigued by the types of students he would see, but at the same time, he didn't want to care. All he really cared for was getting a good education and eventually getting a job, so that he could pay Aoki for the life Hachiman was granted because of him.

That's all that mattered to him. He wasn't looking for a life with kids nor a wife, no.

He didn't deserve the luxury of one.

Therefore, he made his way to the class, his goals certain. He didn't care for others, only his own goal and whether it gave him what he wanted.

For the meantime, he came across the very door that had the label of Class 1-D.

He took a small deep breath, before entering, and immediately scanning for his place in the class. He was a bit worried that students would stare at him when he entered, but he was glad to see that despite exiting the bus almost last, he was among the first to be in the class. Perhaps many stayed back during the entrance ceremony, he was unsure.

Regardless, Hachiman could tell that each class had around 40 students. And considering that from what Hachiman could see, there were four classes.

This meant there was a total of 160 students per year, and if there were three years, there was a total of 480 students in the ANHS campus, not counting faculties, teachers, and other individuals.

Hachiman would then estimate that there were probably between 500-600 students in this school, which surprised Hachiman with how small of a population there was for such high costing and government funded school.

This was suspicious to Hachiman, but alas, he continued forward until he found his seat next to the window just behind the strange boy from before. Hachiman decided he would just call the boy, no face.

No Face's seat was the fifth row from the door, and the nearest seat to the window. Hachiman was directly behind No Face.

However, as Hachiman went closer to the boy, he could see that the No Face still had the same facial expression as before when he was in a conversation with the black-haired girl.

However, Hachiman could tell from the name card the boy didn't move, his name was Kiyotaka Ayanokouji.

"Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, huh?" Hachiman thought as he just moved by in one smooth motion until he took his seat directly behind him.

Immediately picking up his book to continue reading, he also placed his earphones on his ears as he listened to some music, focusing on the contents of the book he was reading.

Ignoring most of the background sound, he preferred being in his own world compared to the others.

When Hachiman looked up, the classroom was only half full, with them either looking at their class material, or talking to new friends, or old friends.

Hachiman was not the one to waste time questioning what was going on. He wasn't worried about his academics, Aoki told him he was smart, and once he was stabilized in his personal life, he was able to excel in his studies, and Aoki always made sure he was physically fit.

One thing Hachiman noticed from looking up to see the class, however, was that the black-haired girl was also in this class.

In the meantime, it took around 10 minutes for the remainder of the class to come in. Hachiman curtly ignored the back and forth between Kiyotaka and the black-haired stern girl.

Another individual that Hachiman recognized, or two rather, were both the shoulder length blond-haired boy who refused to give up his seat to that elderly lady, and the bubbly girl who got up and brought everyone else into her little back and forth.

While Hachiman didn't know their names, he could recognize them from the whole interactions they've given in the bus ride.

All the while he looked on, it was clear to Hachiman that he seemed to have encountered and placed into a class regarding a similar presence with its students: The students seem to like causing trouble, whether intentional or not.

Thus, Hachiman wouldn't be surprised if other people and students here were a bit… unorthodox when it comes to the expectations and rules.

Hachiman could see as the blonde-haired boy with shoulder length hair propping his legs on the desk, immediately showing little care to the surroundings. Something he did on the bus.

"Guess he's very ignorant and selfish towards those around him." Hachiman deduced, before not really caring.

While he witnessed mostly the girls already speaking in a group, Hachiman's mind already soured slightly before he knew it, especially considering how the girls were always grouping up. The fact that the girls were already speaking about boys and other drama made Hachiman concerned that some things don't change with development.

Eventually, Hachiman noticed that a new woman was entering the classroom. This woman was wearing a suit and looked around to be in her late 20s or early 30s. The woman had long hair that was tied to the back into a ponytail. The teacher for her overall figure looked very similar to another teacher Hachiman knew.

At the very least that teacher was somewhat nice to Hachiman.

Anyways, Hachiman finally took off his earbuds and placed his book down to listen to what the teacher had to say.

"Good morning, new students. My name's Chabashira Sae. I will oversee Class D this year. I teach Japanese History." Sae began with her introduction to the new students in the class.

"This school doesn't rearrange the classes every year, so over the next three years, I hope I get to know all of you over the course of these three years." Sae continued, and immediately that made Hachiman confused.

"So, we're stuck in this classroom for the next three years? Why is that? How come it doesn't reshuffle like in every other school?" Hachiman asked himself. There had to be a reason why the classrooms weren't shuffled with students like in other schools.

Hachiman just needed more information to understand why.

"The entrance ceremony will begin one hour from now in the gym. But in the meantime, I will begin to explain the special rules of this school, and the matriculation guide." Chabashira Sae added as she then began to hand out a flier and notebook. Hachiman nodded as he was given the handout from a boy with long black hair, with a surprising mismatch in his eyes, before he kept one for himself, and then handing it to a girl with blue eyes, light brown hair in a ponytail and a blue butterfly clip.

Sae was kind and considerate enough to at least wait for the students to be given their handout forums accordingly. Hachiman then realized that there was a phone within the handout forums he was given.

"What the… A phone…?" Hachiman's face turned to confusion.

As he looked and opened the screen, realizing that it was passcode free, he knew these phones were new.

"And highly advanced too…" Hachiman could see as he eyed the specific apps on the phone. It seemed that while you could get any app on your phone like a normal one, there seemed to be a set number of new apps, which clearly showed some stuff.

In addition to this laid a student ID card, which immediately seemed to have labeled the individual, in this case Hikigaya Hachiman.

As Hachiman looked both at the phone and student ID, he was able to quickly navigate some of the stuff he could see, specifically of the details about himself.

For the meantime, Hachiman quickly skimmed what appeared to be his evaluation results, but he couldn't remain looking at them for long before Sae spoke up, causing Hachiman to look up to face her.

Hikigaya Hachiman Student Evaluation:

Academic Ability: B+

Intelligence: A

Decision-Making/Judgement Ability: A

Physical Ability: B+

Cooperativeness: F

…

What do you think so far? I had some difficulty deciding what class to put Hachiman in, but after deciding how I want him to act, his defect would place him into Class D.