Perspective: Hikigaya Hachiman

Hostility and tension. Those two are a terrifying mix waiting to cause disaster. They are the cause of the bar fights between members of two opposing teams of football. It is the cause of murder in revenge cases. But sometimes rather than manifesting into violence it will make a person extremely uncomfortable to the point they have to run out of the building with their tail between their legs. Tension and hostility are certainly to be feared. Currently, I am dealing with both now. Yukinoshita's mother is giving me an ice cold stare which was colder than Yukinoshita herself. I honestly didn't know that it was possible. And two my right with the same equal stare was Yukinoshita to her mother. And here I was, caught in the middle of all of this hostility and tension.

"My decision is final Yukino. You will not be seeing Hikigaya-kun any longer. I forbid it."

I turned to look at Yukinoshita to my left. Her eyes flashed with a kind of anger and hurt I have never seen before. She was on the verge of tears and yet I was too frozen to do anything about it. The tension was holding me down while the hostility stabbed at my heart. It was as if we were in a manga where the heroes meet the demon king themselves, but are too weak to defeat it and are facing the threat of being killed by said demon king. But then Yukinoshita stood up suddenly and looked directly at her mother with tears streaming from her eyes.

"I never want to see you again! I hate you!" She yelled at them, much to the shocked stares of everyone at the dinner table. Yukinoshita's father, the Hayama family, and a few other company CEOs I never bothered to remember. She then ran out of the room, slamming the large door behind her. I looked back to Yukinoshita's mother, who seems to have recovered from her shock and she stares coldly at me.

"Leave."

I scowl at her one last time before walking towards the door where Yukinoshita ran out of. I look back to see Hayama Hayato staring at me with a worried expression in his eyes. I clicked my tongue before slamming the door behind me. I begin to walk down the hallway and toward the exit of the Yukinoshita manor. Some of the attendants run up to me asking about Yukinoshita but I ignore them and continue to the door. The cold winter air greets my skin as I walk and I see Yukinoshita standing outside waiting for me. Her eyes are still teary and I know she is distraught over what happened. Her hair hangs loosely behind her and the dress clings around her slender frame. Even while crying, the ice queen was perfect.

"Yo." I say as I walk toward her "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Hikigaya-kun." She says as she wipes her eyes

"Listen Yukinoshita, don't ruin your relationship with your family over me. Go back to th-"

"NO!" She screams as she looks at me, her eyes flashing in the moonlight "I'm not going to give you up for them! They've never been as close to me as you are! Don't leave me to them, don't go…" She says as she runs towards me and wraps me in a tight hug. I blush heavily and try to move back, but she won't let go. Come on Yukinoshita, let go! People are going to get the wrong idea!

"You're the only one who understands me… You're my only friend… So please don't go…"

All I can do at this point is return the hug and pat her head. Seeing her like this just puts me in Oni-chan mode. We spend a few minutes hugging each other but voices are quickly rising from the Yukinoshita manor.

"We should go." I say and Yukinoshita can only nod in agreement. We both start running towards the gate and down the street after the guards let us through. After we get a few blocks away from the manor we return to a walking pace with both of us walking next to each other. As I take a look around the area, I notice that the people here are very well off given the size of the homes around here. The streets are devoid of any sort of activity save for the occasional car and the street lights that shine brightly overhead. I open my phone to check the time and notice that it's 8PM. While this may not be a bad area and Chiba isn't a place with high criminal activity, my Oni-Chan instincts kick in and I move closer to Yukinoshita. She takes notice this and smirks at me.

"Hikipervert-kun, I ask that you reframe from coming too close to me. I fear for my chastity." She says as she covers her chest and moves away from me. I click my tongue and retort

"You're the one that called me your only friend. I thought friends are supposed to be close after all." I say without thinking, she lowers her head in guilt and I can't help but feel guilty too.

"We should hurry and get to the station." I say as I quicken my pace.

"Hikigaya-kun."

"Hmm…"

"That day, I shouldn't have rejected your proposal for us to become friends. I realize that now." She says as she blushes mildly. Her hair is blowing and if I were my middle school self I would have confessed this very moment. But I am the most refined loner! I know that it is only a trap! But still, I nearly fell for her just then.

"Thank you, Yukinoshita." I say as I try to hide my blush.

We continue onward towards the station without another word. The riajuus would think the silence to be awkward but for her and I, this is peaceful. We can understand one another through it. I still have things on my mind with the incident earlier, but I can't let myself pry into her personal business. It's rude and uncalled for. As we walk, I hear Yukinoshita's phone start ringing and she pulls it out. Upon glancing at the screen, I see that it is her mother that is calling her. I look at her with a worried expression but then she suddenly throws the phone to the ground, causing it to shatter in many pieces on the sidewalk.

"Yukinoshita? Was that really necessary?"

"Yes. It was, Hikigaya-kun." She says as she gives me a cold stare

"What about your photos and everything? I'm sure you've taken plenty of pictures with Yuigahama."

"I don't expect a simple being such as yourself to know of this, but they're saved on an online cloud."

"Of course I know what a cloud is woman! I'm not dumb you know."

"Hmm. It claims it has intelligence, how strange."

I click my tongue yet again and in response she starts giggling. We make it to the station without much hassle and board the train. Given it is 8pm, there are not a lot of people on the train save for a few corporate slaves either coming back from work or starting their night shifts. This is why I chose to be a house husband after all, to work is to lose! Yukinoshita seems to have notice my smirking at the corporate slaves because she scowls at me.

"You're probably thinking of something indecent, not surprising though."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You're staring at that woman over there and you are smirking like a pervert finding his prey. Please reframe from coming near me, as I fear for my chastity." She says as she mockingly covers her breasts, or lack thereof. For your information I was deeply admiring all of the corporate slaves on this train for their hard work towards their masters. These corporate slaves must be really high quality, given they are out here to serve in the middle of the night. That's why people like my parents are so admirable, they work all day and pretty much come home dead in the night.

"I'm not staring at her, I'm staring at all of them."

"That is nothing but a lie. You're thinking of indecent desires of yours." She says still grinning at me

"Tch. Whatever woman." I say as I get comfortable in my seat with Yukinoshita sitting directly beside me. I close my eyes and begin to think of what leaving with her will mean. If news about this family feud gets out to the public then it will be blared all across Japan. One of the most powerful families in all of Japan, the Yukinoshita's, own daughter had just ran away with a random young man with no noble background. This would probably land a lot of attention onto myself and what my intentions with Yukinoshita were and all of that non sense. I know that no matter what I say in response to any of the questions that I would be bound to asked, none would ever be believed and we would be thought to only being indecent things. It's the way of the fakers, make a story to keep their miserable lives interesting. Though I'm not so concerned for myself other than being at the center of attention, I am more concerned about Yukinoshita and her family's wellbeing. If news got out about this, it would ruin her and her family's name.

"Yukinoshita, are you sure you want to be doing this?"

There is a long pause as she looks at me and I am met with the cold blue eyed stare that I have grown so accustomed to over the years.

"I am sure. Hikigaya-kun."

"But what about your family?"

"I want nothing to do with them."

"That's a little bit harsh you know, I mean they still are your family."

"A family that never cared for their own children and saw them as puppets. You said so yourself, you wanted something genuine. Well so do I. The relationship I had with my mother and my father was never genuine. The friendships I share with you and Yuigahama-san are the only genuine things I have ever had." At that moment, I stared at her in total disbelief. Yukinoshita was never a nice girl by any means, but those words added a new layer of ice around her cold persona. I could tell that she was hurting, but I also knew she was determined. When Yukinoshita was determined, she often never chose to go back on her words. The fact that she was willing to throw away everything she had for Yuigahama and I in the service club also brought a new level of respect for her in my eyes. Despite the cold and determined stare she gave me, I felt my heart start to flutter and I felt warm inside. Perhaps I should encourage her to go fix things with her family, but everything we both were was the opposite of what people should be.

"I see." Was all I could say as I move to avoid her cold stare "By the way, where do you plan on going now that you've ran away from home?"

"I believe Yuigahama-san's home would be my best option if this case because if I came home with you, I have no doubt that you would try to violate me in any way you could." I can't help but blush at the thought of us coming home together and I notice she is doing the same

"Y-yeah, I think that would be a good idea."

"We should probably get ready then, the next station should be the closest way to her home." I say as I stand up

"What do you mean 'we'?"

"I'm going to walk you there, Chiba may be a relatively nice town but you never know what could happen."

"Your gentlemanly behavior is most disgusting, but I appreciate it, Hikigaya-kun."

We exit the train and begin walking down the street. While the area around the Yukinoshita manor had expensive looking houses that were beautifully designed, the houses here were average but well off as some might put it, kind of like my neighborhood a bit of a ways away. We walk silently until we reach Yuigahama's home. Upon us knocking, we can hear the sound of Sable barking while whoever is moving to answer us tries to calm him down and get him away from the door. The sounds of Sable's barking caused Yukinoshita to rear back in fright behind me, grabbing the sleeve of my coat. You need to learn how to act your age already woman, you're like a little kid! The door finally reveals Yuigahama in her pajamas staring wide eyed at us.

"Eh?! Yukinon?! Hikki?!

"Yo."

"Hello, Yuigahama-san."

"What are you guys doing out here? It's like 9 o'clock already!" I was about to answer, but Yukinoshita beat me to the punch

"It's… A long story…"

"I see… You guys can come in if you want!" She says excitedly as she grabs and yanks Yukinoshita inside "You too Hikki!"

I comply with the command and enter into her home.

"Pardon the Intrusion." Yukinoshita and I say in sync

Taking a quick look around, it is easy to tell that Yuigahama lives pretty well off, just like myself. To my right is a large living room with two couches and a flat screen TV while on my left is a kitchen. Directly in front of me sat a dining table and a doorway leading into a hallway which I presumed was where the bedrooms were. My attention moves back to the kitchen and I notice a dry erase board has been hung up outside of the entrance with the words "Yui keep out" written on it. Even her family knows the danger of Yuigahama's cooking. I guess Yukinoshita also saw the sign because we were both laughing at the sign.

"What are you guys laughing a- Hey! That's mean you guys! Don't laugh!" Yuigahama says in an angered fluster as she tries to hide the dry erase board from our eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry Yuigahama-san, I can't help it." Yukinoshita says in between giggles

"You guys are mean you know." She pouts as she crosses her arms around her chest

"Anyways Yukinon and Hikki, why are you guys here at this hour?"

Our expressions immediately turn serious again and Yukinoshita looks at Yuigahama with saddened eyes.

"Well, it began like this…"

_

After around a half hour of speaking of the incident, Yuigahama and Yukinoshita look like they're on the verge of tears.

"I can't believe they would say that about Hikki. They don't even know him and he even made an attempt to introduce himself too…"

"I agree, it was extremely cruel of them to do so. And that's why… that's why I ran away."

"Eh?! Yukinon you ran away?"

"I've decided I cannot stand those… people anymore."

"But they're your family! You need to go back to them some time!"

"They are no family of mine. We may be family by blood, but they have never been family to me. My relationship with them was never… genuine." A long silence fills the room as we all stare at each other. This silence was awkward because it was filled with many unanswered questions. What did this mean for the Service Club? What does this mean for Yukinoshita? Where will Yukinoshita do now that she has ran away from home? All of these questions were swirling through my head and I'm sure they were going through their heads as well.

"So, Yuigahama-san, I must ask if I could stay with you for a while." She says as she stands up and bows to Yuigahama. I have never seen Yukinoshita bow before and I almost felt dizzy from the thought. The fact that the noble Ice Queen was bowing to a commoner like Yuigahama. I have officially seen everything from this day forth.

"Of course it's fine Yukinon! It'll be like a super long sleepover!"

"But what about your uniform Yukinoshita? Sobu won't let you into school without a uniform."

"I don't think it would be wise for me to come to school. My mother is bound to send some of her dogs to search the school for me."

"Yukinon! You're going to miss some much work though!"

"I'll ask Hiratsuka for your work and I think it would be wise to inform her about the situation. I think we can trust her." I say as I look away from them

"That's a good idea Hikki!"

"I find it somewhat disturbing that you address her without sensei but I suppose she has grown close to all of us. That will do."

As we were talking, Yuigahama's mother came into the room was walking over to us.

"Hello Yukinoshita-san, it's a good to see you again."

"I agree, Yuigahama-san."

Yuigahama's mother turns to look at me and she grins at me

"So you're the Hikki Yui is always talking about? I swear she never stops talking about you." This causes all of us to blush heavily and look away in embarrassment

"Mama! Stop embarrassing me!"

"I'm sorry dear, I couldn't miss such a great opportunity." She says with a mischievous grin

"Hey Mama, would it be okay if Yukinon stays here for a while? She-"

"Don't worry, I heard all of it." She says causing us to stare at her "I didn't mean to easedrop but I was walking by and heard you talking. While I don't agree with it, I will support you with your decision Yukinoshita-san" Yukinoshita blushes in response and bows to Yuigahama's mother.

"Thank you, Yuigahama-san. This means a lot to me."

"Well, it's getting late…" I say as I begin to move towards the door.

"Do you want a ride home Hikki?"

"No, I'm okay. Thank you though." I say as politely as possible

"Hikigaya-kun."

"Yes?" Worlessly, Yukinoshita pulls me into a hug with what seems to be all of her strength. Our faces are tented crimson by the action. "Thank you, for walking me here."

"Y-yeah, It's not a problem." I say as I walk towards the door

"See you later Hikki! I'll see you tomorrow!"

I nod to her and proceed out into the cold air once again. Staring up at the sky, the moon shines brightly down on me with many stars littering the sky. But the only thing I can think of at this moment was Yukinoshita. It was strange and out of character for her to embrace me or let alone anyone for that matter. If I were my middle school self, I would have confessed and if this were the beginning of high school I would probably try to distance myself from her to avoid any misunderstandings between us. But now, I can't imagine ignoring Yukinoshita or even Yuigahama for that matter. The relationships I had with them were truly genuine or at least moving towards genuine. But all I can feel right now is anxiety and worry over Yukinoshita. I am scared she is going to lose her noble image because of me, I'm scared her family is going to lose their power and their noble name, I am worried that Yukinoshita had just ended all ties with her family over me, and I'm scared that her family is going to hunt me down. Truly, rich and powerful families are terrifying. But even so, if what has happened tonight will further something that is genuine, I will continue on.

I begin to walk towards the station yet again and board without much hassle. After around 15 minutes of riding and about 20 of walking, I finally reach my house. Due to it being almost 10pm, I expect that my parents are asleep so I am extra careful to be quiet. As I head towards my room, Komachi suddenly comes running out asking where I have been. I tell her I just returned from Yuigahama's and that there's nothing to worry about. Although she's wearing a cheeky grin, I know she knows that something more happened, but luckily she doesn't press any further. I move into my room and change out of my formal attire and into more loose clothing. All I want to do is sleep…

Author's Note: Hello everyone, I've been reading a lot of Yahari fanfictions lately and I was inspired to write this. Although, I think my dialogue and portraying of the characters is a bit OOC but I'm trying. I had a lot of fun writing this. Anyway, I'd like to apologize to anyone that read the Support rewrite thing that I did and deleted. I was completely insensitive to the topic of rape and shouldn't have written it. I also have no plans to ever redo it again. So again, I sincerely apologize. Anyway, I hope that this better than that and I hope people enjoy it. Please leave reviews and if people want me to keep going, I'll do my best.