He Can Never Respect Hayama Hayato, He Concludes

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The conclusion of the sports festival brought quite a lot of things to my plate. I had to deal with more confessions and the reverent look the students shot at me every day. Ignoring those two, my life was fairly peaceful. The fact that the Yukinoshita matriarch had my number was slightly concerning, though. She got it when we had dinner together after the sports festival. Thankfully, she didn't bug me like I had initially thought she would.

"Have you bonded with your weapon, Saki?" I asked to the girl walking on my left, causing her to grimace.

"Well, at least, I have satisfied her minimum requirements to be her master," she replied.

"Does that mean it is no longer bothering you in your dream?"

"Yeah…but she is still bitchy whenever you and Shinobu are around. You guys shouldn't exist, she said."

I nodded and said nothing. I had also been training with Meme-san and heard him telling me I was abnormal quite a lot. I had learned quite a lot about Vampires from Shinobu, so I was well aware of how high we were in the hierarchy. It was fortunate that Vampires didn't have that many lunatics like Aseru. Had everyone been like him, I would have killed a lot of Vampires at this point.

We soon entered the school building and went to our locker. I sighed upon looking at my locker, earning the two girls' interest. When I opened the locker, three love letters fell out of it. Unfortunately, those three were not the only ones. I picked them up, took out the rest in the locker, and kept them in my bag. Turning my gaze to Shinobu, I watched her dump all of the letters she got in the trash can.

There were rumors that Shinobu and I were dating, but it still didn't stop everyone from confessing. I had thought about affirming the rumor but immediately discarded the thought. My clubmates didn't even know about that yet. I wanted to come clean with them first. Right after they knew, I would affirm the rumor. Answering these confessions was getting annoying.

Heh! Look at what you have become, Me! You sound like an insufferable Riajuu!

Smiling bitterly, I went to the class with Shinobu and Saki. Some people greeted me in the corridor and I nodded in acknowledgment. Before long, we arrived at the classroom. Everyone greeted us and we replied in kind. Saika my angel—he was a dude, though—approached me, causing a small smile to creep up my face. I always enjoyed how he interacted with me. His reaction to my teasing never ceased to amuse me.

What if I got him to be into me? Eh, I guess it's not that bad.

I was straighter than the poles that any loose mothers had ever danced on, but I would still admit Saika's cuteness. It was not bound by gender.

"Hachiman…"

Damn, I want to protect that smile. "Yo, Saika. Miss me already?"

"U- Uh… that is. Geez, you are teasing me too much, Hachiman." Saika pouted.

Shinobu's deathly glare made me remember that Saika was a guy. I stomped the urge to tease him again.

"Do you need something from me?"

"Ah, I was about to ask you if you want to form a group with me during the Kyoto trip."

"Sure. You can find the other two by yourself as I am not interested."

"Then, it's settled," Saika cheered.

"Yes, it's settled," I replied, absentmindedly patting his head.

Shinobu's gaze burned a hole in the back of my head and I took that as a cue to retract my hand. I waved goodbye to Saika and he got back to his seat. I hated that some of the girls immediately swarmed him and talked in a hushed voice while excitedly glancing my way from time to time but didn't bother to mind them. Fujoshi was a lost cause.

Speaking about fujoshi, I noticed the avid leader entered the classroom with Hayama in tow. The two seemed to have just talked. They looked quite somber, causing me to instinctively sense a work coming. The classes began, prompting Shinobu and I to establish a telepathic connection. We conversed in my mind, not paying attention to anything that the teacher said. We had finished even the curriculum for the third year after all.

When school ended, Shinobu, Yui, and I headed to the clubroom. The girls talked about random things and I watched from the sideline, wondering how Shinobu didn't get bored. When we were before the clubroom, Yui opened the door without even knocking and entered with Shinobu. Yukino looked like she wanted to scold Yui but opted to sigh in the end. We greeted each other and sat down.

It was not long after Yukino made us tea that the door of the clubroom was knocked. Yukino allowed them to enter, so Hayama, Tobe, Ooka, and Yamato entered. Tobe looked nervous when my eyes landed on him. On the other hand, Hayama was showing a strained smile. My mind pieced up the puzzle and a sigh unintentionally came out of my mouth.

"U- Ugh…please, don't laugh at me for this, 'kay, man?" Tobe said as he looked at me, already sitting across from us.

"I won't laugh at you. Why would even I do it?" I retorted flatly.

"I mean you are popular like Hayato-kun, but you are not as kind as he is, y'know. I feel like you are going to mock me for what I am about to say."

"I don't mock a man who is pouring his heart out."

"Hachi-bro… you are a good man," Tobe exclaimed tearfully.

"Didn't know we were that close," I responded blandly.

"Man, we're practically brothers after that battle we had at the sports festival."

"Are you related to Yoshiteru?"

Our back-and-forth wouldn't have ended if Yukino hadn't told us to stop. Tobe immediately remembered what he came for and told us what he wanted to do. He wanted to confess to Ebina and succeed. He was afraid that he would regret not acting immediately as the end of the second year was not that far.

As Yukino, Yui, and Shinobu assessed (roasted) his qualities, we came to a mutual decision: Tobe would never succeed in his confession. The best compliment Ebina could give him was that he was a nice guy. Coming from a girl's mouth, it meant that you were considered a friend but should never try your luck. In short, Tobe's request was impossible.

"We are not miracle workers, so we can't ensure the success of your request. However, we shall do our best," Yukino said.

"Thank you, Yukinoshita-san. You are a savior!" Tobe exclaimed, causing Yukinoshita to sigh.

"I need to remind you something, though, Tobe. Have you considered what would happen if she rejected you?" I asked, causing Hayama to perk up.

"That is… I will make sure not to make it happen."

"You are not the favored son of heavens. Tell me what you will do when you are rejected."

"I guess… I will be sad but accept it wholeheartedly. At least, I won't regret never trying."

Tobe's statement surprised everyone and brought a smile to my face. Hayama didn't say a thing, but his smile was falling by the second. While the girls were planning their perfect confession with Tobe, Hayama looked at me hesitantly. I quirked an eyebrow and pretended to not understand him.

After a while, the girls had finished devising a quite foolproof plan to make Tobe more 'marketable.' Tobe stood up excitedly and bowed to us in gratitude. Ooka and Yamato hyped him, saying that he got this. Their faces were saying otherwise, but Tobe was too oblivious to notice it. Before they got out of the classroom, Hayama stood before me.

"Hikigaya-kun, can we talk a little bit later?"

I see. He has made his choice. "I will warn you that I don't swing that way."

"That's not what I meant," Hayama replied with a wry chuckle. "I need some advice regarding my lifestyle. I mean, you must know a lot about it since you have a good physique."

"Sure, why not?"

"Thanks, Hikigaya-kun."

Thus, the four boys who were entangled by a fragile bond left. Yukino gazed at the door with a light frown. She seemed to be suspicious of Hayama. On the other hand, Yui was oblivious. Shinobu didn't say anything but must know what was happening. She quirked an eyebrow as if asking what I was going to do. I shrugged as I also didn't know what to do.

When the club ended, I told Shinobu and the girls to wait for me in the car. I got out of the clubroom and headed to the school's backyard. On the way, I met Hayama sitting on one of the benches in the park. Upon seeing me, he immediately motioned for me to follow him. I followed him and he took me to the only vending machine behind the school. He bought a drink and wordlessly handed me a can of Maxx Coffee. The scene felt extremely familiar.

Click!

"So, you want me to stop Tobe's confession," I said offhandedly, causing Hayama to cough.

"Uh… yeah. You are quick to catch on, Hikigaya-kun."

"What is that for, Hayama?"

"For everyone's sake. I want to protect the current dynamic of our group," he said, full of conviction. "Tobe might be able to act normally afterward, but Hina might not be the same. No matter how hard they try to keep it to themselves, it will affect them eventually. They will get uncomfortable around each other and it is only about time until everything falls apart. To expect no change in our relationship is but a naïve thought."

Since the day I met Hayama, I could immediately tell he was fake. I didn't want to get along with him and couldn't get along even if I tried. Hayama was a people pleaser but also a very selfish person. He didn't have any special bond with anyone. Everything he did was done to maintain his image—the 'peace' that he adored so much. He didn't care about your feelings. If you risked disturbing his peace, he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate you.

You could remove people who disturbed your peace from your life, but you didn't have to be a faker. For that reason, I could never respect Hayama Hayato.

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Bowzr

Venerable Immortal JayJonnaJamison

Venerable Immortal Keksimus Rex