Love System and Genuine Things

A normal house like any other. It was within such a place that a certain youth was sipping some tea. His eyes looked dead, as he exhaled a sigh for the nth time.

"Horrible."

He spoke to no one in particular after taking a sip. Well, that was nothing surprising considering the instant teabags he used seems to have been a cheap run-of-the-mill product. Tea prices vary along with their quality, and the cup he held in hand was obviously a cheap one.

"I really have to earn some money."

He was Higashi Murasaki, an orphan without any legal guardian. His parents have recently died. Thanks to that he has been spiraling down a route of depression. Just an hour ago the youth have tried to do suicidal acts within the bathroom.

And succeeded.

Right now the soul of Higashi Murasaki must have been traveling through the afterlife. He could have been reincarnated, or judged and went to hell, or maybe even transmigrated into a fantasy world. In all honesty 'he' could not care less.

What matters is the fact that now 'he' possesses the body of the dead Higashi Murasaki.

'He' was a nondescript man who was merely bored of life, bored of constantly repeating the same course of act every single day monotonously. After going to sleep on a day like any other, 'he' suddenly found himself within the body of Higashi Murasaki.

Sudden transmigration.

"Well, the inheritance should last me through my high school days. College is another beast entirely though."

It has only been an hour since 'he' was transmigrated into this word. Considering 'he' has no memories of Higashi Murasaki 'he' has limited information on himself. For example 'he' has no idea who his legal guardian was supposed to be.

Up till now what 'he' gained were from the suicide note he left and his social media which 'he' scrolled through. It would have been wonderful if 'he' had access to the memory of Higashi, but no such luck apparently.

He exhaled once more.

"The future seems troublesome…."

It was at such a time that he heard knocking on his door.

He sighed before going towards the front door of the house. He has no intention of letting a guest in when he was so underprepared. There was a small chance of Higashi having an invited guest coming over at the other side of the door, but he decided that was unlikely.

After all, Higashi Murasaki killed himself. So there was no reason for him to make an appointment… unless of course, he wanted the guest to be the one to find his corpse. Crap that was actually a likely possibility.

The suicide note did not mention anyone in specific other than his parents though, so maybe it was him overthinking.

…Ah screw it; he wasn't in the mood to entertain a guest anyway.

"The household is currently not accepting guests. Please be understanding and leave."

"Higashi, this is Hiratsuka-sensei. Your homeroom teacher. Open the door."

His homeroom teacher from school. So she was visiting him. Was she here to express her condolences? No, that wasn't likely considering she has most likely done that in the funeral itself. There is no reason in doing it again right now.

It has been a week since Higashi Murasaki had the funeral of his parents according to the note that was left behind. Maybe Higashi did not come from school and she is trying to drag him back? Another possibility.

"I have no intention of conversing with you right now, Hiratsuka-sensei."

The name flowed out of his lips naturally, as if he had heard it times and times again before. Weird, considering she should be a stranger to him. Maybe the memories of Higashi were coming back to 'him' slowly.

"…You sure got more courageous since we last met. Open up now or I'll let you taste my fist."

"Breaking in is an act of vandalism. Please leave for now. I promise to see you another day."

"It has been a whole week! We know the death of your parents affected you, but it has been a week after their funeral and you still haven't gone to school yet. We can pardon your leave up till now, but any more and you might have to retry the grade."

So that was indeed the case. Being expected to go back to school a week after the funeral of his parents… That was certainly strict. Then again it must have taken some time for the funeral to happen after his parent's death.

If Higashi did not come to school since he heard of his parent's death up till one week after the funeral then it certainly starts making sense. However…

"…Is that a threat?"

"It is a warning."

Another sigh. It was something 'he' does involuntarily, a habit 'he' tried to break since it seems rude when he sighs in front of others. But as they often say old habit dies hard, and this one stuck with 'him' since his childhood.

He opened the lock on the door, before gripping the handle of the door and twisting it.

"Come on in then."

He did not know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't what came up in front of his eyes.

Beautiful.

That was the first thought that came to his mind.

Oval face, fair skin, black hair and grey eyes and fairly tall height. She wore a white jacket akin to a lab coat over a red tie and black vest, under which seems to be a white dress shirt. On the bottom half, she wore black pants with a brown belt.

Moreover, it was a sight he recognized.

"…Hiratsuka-sensei?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka, a character from the Light Novel and Anime series Oregairu.

"Yeah? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"No, well… You look stunning."

He blurted those words out without much thought, after which he scolded himself. Those were not appropriate words to say to his homeroom teacher. Hopefully, it did not translate over too badly.

There was another matter to consider though, like the fact there was a literal anime girl right in front of him. Was he reincarnated into the world of Oregairu for whatever reason?

Looking at her she did not seem to take those words too badly though. She had a hand scratching her cheeks before shaking her head.

"What are you even saying? This is how I look at school every day."

[+1 Affection for Hiratsuka Shizuka]

He blinked at the screen within the edge of his eyesight. Affection point is it? That is certainly something new. Could it be…?

He might as well test it out.

"Well, that's a partial reason why school is enjoyable for me."

This time he could see tints of pink at her cheeks. She had certainly blushed at his words.

[+2 Affection for Hiratsuka Shizuka]

Again.

Was this his Gold Finger?

When a person gets transmigrated into another universe, they usually gain some kind of system which lets them attain power and glory. Cultivating System, Hatred System, Teaching System, there are all kinds of Gold Finger created by all kinds of authors.

As for the identity of his Gold Finger, he was leaning towards a Dating Simulator system considering there are things such as affection points.

However, those matters could be catered for later. Right now it was time to get back to the matter at hand. He needs to handle her first, and then try to figure out how this entire System works.

"J-jeez, are you hearing what you're saying?"

"I am certainly not deaf, Hiratsuka-sensei."

The teacher sent an incredulous gaze towards him. She raised a fist to her lips.

"Kuhum! No matter." She shook her head, her expression turning more serious. "I came here for a chat. Can we go somewhere more comfortable for a conversation?"

"We can speak in the living room." He spoke.

She walked in and closed the door behind her before he led her towards said living room. It was a normal sight with a coffee table with a sofa on one side, and a TV a few meters away on the other side. There were also seats on the two other sides of the table. A few other furniture pieces were there on the room as well, making the place looks less barren.

"So, what might you need, Hiratsuka-sensei?"

"Oh? Not even offering drinks for your guests?"

He pointed to a teapot in the dining room which could be seen from the spot they were sitting from.

"I made some tea before sensei came, but they tasted abysmal. Wouldn't serve them to my worst enemy."

"Even then it is still important to care for your guests. Besides they cannot be that bad. Let me try them."

She walked towards the dining room and took the teapot along with two cups, before returning to the living room again, setting them on the coffee table. She poured teas on the two cups like she owned the house and everything in it.

He wonders what she was trying to do with this act of hers. Then again from his impression, Hiratsuka Shizuka was a woman who would do what she felt was right without much thought behind it. Maybe it was merely a casual act without much meaning.

While he was thinking such thoughts Hiratsuka-sensei took the cup close to her lips and took a sip.

"Hmm? This is not a bad tea, even if I still prefer coffee."

He blinked. What?

"It was tasteless to me though."

She looked at him with an incredulous gaze once more. Was what he saying that wild? It's not like the drink was ambrosia, different people could have different opinions on how they taste. Maybe she could appreciate it and he didn't, the same way some could appreciate green teas and some don't.

[+5 Affection for Hiratsuka Shizuka]

Somehow her eyes turned mellower after a while.

"…Guess I really can't leave you alone can I?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Just- You know what; I'll visit you again tomorrow morning. I'll drag you to school if I have to."

She has a determined look in her eyes. At a guess, he wouldn't be able to deny her request this time around. There was nothing to inquire, and yet he found himself opening his lips once more.

"Why?"

She scratched her hair for a second before shrugging.

"Since it seems necessary."

"…You're a kind person, Hiratsuka-sensei."

"It's the duty of a sensei to look after her students. So stop worrying me and get back on your feet."

The teacher shot an encouraging smile toward the student. It was an honest-to-goodness beautiful smile with nothing but genuineness in it. Maybe this was what Hikigaya Hachiman was searching for. True, genuine kindness.

Somehow this reminded him of a line this person before him has once said in the series Oregairu.

"Hmm... 'There are people who'd be hurt by watching you get hurt' is it."

[+2 Affection for Hiratsuka Shizuka]

She beamed at his words. She must have been pleased to hear her ideology affirmed by another person. She doesn't seem like she has many close friends anyway.

"Exactly. Guess you've grown a bit wiser now, huh?"

"Well, That is something which doesn't really matter at all does it?"

"Mm?"

It was at this point he unleashed another quote he could barely remember. Time to improvise some more and wing it, he supposes.

"It's impossible to not hurt another. Humans unconsciously hurt others simply by existing. Whether you're alive or dead, you keep hurting people. Getting involved will hurt them, but trying not to get involved might hurt them too. People are really a pain aren't they?"

The teacher continued his words.

"But if it's someone you don't care about, you won't even notice you've hurt them. What's important is your awareness of it. It is because you care for them, that you feel like you've hurt them. Caring about someone means being resolved to the fact you'll hut them. The more people care for each other, the farther out of reach certain things get."

And he struck the final two sentences out.

"But that's not something to be sad about. I think it is something to be proud of."

"Exactly."

[+20 Affection for Hiratsuka Shizuka]

[Congratulations for reaching Acquaintance level with Hiratsuka Shizuka. +20LP.]

[Level Quest completed. Please go to the Quest screen for details]

That was a gigantic jump in affection points. So there are relationship levels, he noted. And a quest screen of a things. He really needs to understand the system better before anything else.

"Well, that is enough philosophical talks for the day. I'll come back tomorrow morning to pick you up."

"'…I'll have to trouble you then, Hiratsuka-sensei."

"Leave it to me."

[Oregairu Quest created. Please go to the Quest screen for details]

And thus ended the first meeting between the youth and his teacher.