Serendipitously, His Past Hovers Over Him (End)

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[Hikigaya Hachiman's POV]

Wounds heal, but scars remain. You can knock a nail into a piece of wood and pull it out as many times as you want, but the holes it leaves behind will remain. Forgiveness is something that everyone can do. However, what do you get from forgiveness? The damage is done. No matter how hard you convince yourself it is for your peace of mind, you will never be the same anymore.

My experience has taught me how I should behave and react to situations. The past makes me the man I am today and I won't forget that fact. Tragedies and fortunes are great teachers. I don't only know how to be a good person, but also how to avoid making mistakes. As unpleasant as the past is, running away and forgetting it is irresponsible.

With that said, I don't condone prolonged grudge. It took me a long time to realize I had been holding a grudge. I had believed that I had moved on, but the same incident still haunted me. Shinobu was the one who had forced me to move on. I am forever thankful to her.

Looking at Orimoto standing beside Sakura with a disbelieving and curious gaze, my mind recalled the debacle that had happened between us. I would have winced if it were two months ago, but at this moment, I mentally chuckled at the memory. Young Hachiman was truly naïve. However, I was glad he did that. I wasn't sure how he would react if he experienced it later.

You need someone to burst your bubble to see the world for what it is.

Orimoto didn't actively contribute to my awakening, but I still felt grateful to her. She had taught me that anyone could be kind to others and feel nothing about them. I didn't hate Orimoto Kaori. However, I would rather not associate myself with her.

"I can't believe it; the young CHRO of Orion Japan is the same Hikigaya that I know. Hilarious!"

Also, her speech was annoying. She laughed just for the sake of it and I couldn't bring myself to like it.

"Hachiman?" Haruno patted my shoulder and looked at Orimoto curiously. "Who is she?"

"This is Orimoto, my former classmate in middle school," I introduced her.

"Hello, I am Orimoto Kaori, Hikigaya's old classmate!"

"Hi, I am Yukinoshita Haruno, Hachiman's… what am I to you, Hachiman?"

Haruno looked at me with a teasing glint dancing in her eyes. She was enjoying it, wasn't she? I smiled faintly at her. Her teasing was nothing compared to Shinobu's. Two could play at this game and she wouldn't win against me.

"We can be just friends or something special. You decide, Haruno."

"Eh… can you even treat me special? You already have Shinobu-chan, after all."

"You won't leave me once you bathe in my warmth."

"Eh!?"

I blinked in surprise as Haruno's face reddened. I briefly wondered if she was joking before concluding she was being serious. She was genuinely embarrassed as she couldn't even meet my eyes. I had to hold my urge to laugh victoriously at her defeat.

"Kuhum! Hachiman-kun, Nee-san, stop playing around."

Yukino's sub-zero voice caused me to turn my head to her. She was looking at me as if I had just stolen her empire and forcefully made her my concubine. I chuckled lightly, causing her to sigh and rub her forehead in exasperation. She gestured at Sakura and others, allowing me to see their awkward smiles.

"Don't take it seriously. We always banter like this," I explained.

"You guys are close," Orimoto remarked.

"She is annoying and I am just a tolerant person."

"You hurt me; you know? Now, I need compensation," Haruno said with a fake hurt expression.

"Is a kiss enough compensation?"

Haruno's eyes lit up, but before she could open her mouth, Yukino interrupted harshly, "Stop joking around."

"Uh… right," Haruno chuckled nervously.

Yukinon, you did it! You made your sister fold! It must be her highlight of the year.

"Anyway, let's move to a bigger table." I gestured at the table in the corner of the café. "It's inconvenient for other patrons to have you stand in the way."

"Ah, right. Let's go there, then."

I had expected Orimoto to refuse my invitation since I only wanted to catch up with Sakura, but I was hoping too much. Mentally sighing, I asked one of the staff to help me move our donuts to the table. The Yukinoshita sisters followed me closely behind as if they were guarding me. I wondered if they worried I might assault someone.

After putting all of the donuts on the table, we sat on the bench. The Yukinoshita sisters sat on the same bench, sandwiching me. Sakura and her schoolmates sat across from us. We looked at each other silently for a few moments before I asked them if they were not going to order something.

"Ah, right! I will order our donuts," Sakura volunteered.

"Don't worry, this café provides help in ordering too. We can ask the staff to do that," I said, waving my hand at Sakura. Raising my hand, I called one of the staff, "Excuse me, can I order, please?"

The staff rushed to our table in an instant. I couldn't help but praise her for her dedication to her job. She quickly listed Sakura and her schoolmates' orders, told us to wait for a moment, and then dashed to the counter. A few moments later, she returned with the orders and then slipped a piece of paper to me.

Are you forcing me to pay for their order, staff-san? How devious of you.

I took the paper and then looked at it. I didn't mind paying for Sakura and her schoolmates' bill, but I was still thankful that it was just a phone number. I put the paper into my breast pocket, ignoring the pointed look that everyone was giving me. I quirked an eyebrow at them and that was enough to disperse their interest.

"Ha-Ha-Ha. Anyway, how have you been, Hikigaya? It has been some time. I can't believe you got into Sobu," Orimoto began awkwardly, at first.

"For your information, I was always in the school's Top 5," I reminded.

"Huh? Right. I didn't know. I wasn't paying attention."

Turning to Sakura, I remarked, "It has been some time, Sakura. How have you been?"

"Indeed; we haven't met since the culture festival, have we?" Sakura chuckled. "I am getting better, Hachiman! I am going to the gym to get healthier." She flexed her arm.

I smiled faintly at that. I didn't like to get sappy, but I was glad I helped her. The Sakura I had met in the mountain was a moving empty shell. She had lost her hope to live and was counting her days. Seeing her genuinely smile like that made my dead heart warm.

"I go to the gym too. Maybe we should work out together sometimes."

"Yes, we should! What about this Sunday?" she suggested.

"I will be picking up Shinobu from the airport on Sunday. Are you free on Saturday?"

"Yes, I will be free on Saturday. Where is Shinobu-san anyway?"

"She is in Germany taking care of a family matter."

"Who is this Shinobu-san?" Orimoto chimed in curiously.

"She is a lot of things to me, but the one you may be familiar with is a girlfriend."

Orimoto blinked her eyes in surprise. I knew she couldn't believe that I could get a girlfriend. She must be used to superficial people, so she couldn't believe that I could find a genuine person like Shinobu. I wouldn't blame her for her flawed mindset. Environment shapes you. She was surrounded by superficial people.

I idly noted a disappointed look flashed across her face. Oy, oy, are you disappointed that a girl is sincere enough to make me her boyfriend? I might have to reevaluate Orimoto Kaori. She might already be tired of being a nice girl. Cursing me to a life of eternal solitary was pure diabolical, you know.

"Ne, ne, ne, how was Hachiman in middle school?" Haruno asked.

"Ah, I am curious too. I didn't come to Kaihin Sogo until high school, after all," Sakura expressed. "Hachiman was very distant and cold when I first met him. I wonder if he was also like that in middle school."

Receiving everyone's gaze, Orimoto buckled. She chuckled awkwardly and then scratched her cheeks nervously. She looked at me as if asking for my permission. Ah, so you are still a nice girl. My middle school life was uninteresting unless you thought tragedy was interesting. It had been a sore spot for me for quite some time, but it was no longer.

I waved my hand nonchalantly, giving Orimoto the green light.

"Well, to summarize what Hikigaya was like in middle school, he was weird."

Thank you, Orimoto. That was a great start!

"Ah, I can see that."

I thought you were on my side Sakura-san.

Noticing my unamused look, Sakura waved her hand frantically and clarified, "That's not what I meant! You are a quiet and distant person, after all. People tend to see that as weird."

I didn't know how to take in her clarification, but I just accepted it and moved on. How people viewed me was irrelevant to how I was as a person.

"He used to glare at people for no reason too, so we tended to stay away from them. I used to be the only one talking to him."

Ah, those were the bad old days.

I had accepted my tragic past, but there was no way in hell I would recall it fondly.

"And then, he confessed to me one day."

The table turned silent as everyone gazed at me. I furrowed my eyebrows lightly as I took a sip of my chocolate shake. I wondered if I had spaced out for a moment. I didn't see any reason for Orimoto to talk about that. I thought it was also an embarrassing incident for her.

What are you looking for in my eyes, Orimoto Kaori?

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Bowzr

Venerable Immortal Cris Venegas

Venerable Immortal JayJonnaJamison

Venerable Immortal Kkmoney

Venerable Immortal Solaz

Venerable Immortal Tomas Lopez-Familiari