A/N: Hey guys! Hope you enjoy my first fanfic!

I do not own Oregairu.

Chapter 1: His Absence

Hikigaya Residence, Hachiman POV

Relationships. The epiphany of human social interaction. People believe that these relationships are what define an individual's life. In fact, some go as for to assert that one's supposed self-worth in life relies on the belief that his existence has an impact on those he interacts with. He believes that the world he knows would not exist without his influence on others, that if some mysterious force were to pluck him off the face of the planet, the world would react accordingly.

Humans have this mentality as an excuse for their feeling of inferiority in a world of seven billion other humans, source: me. The insignificance of one person among the entire human population is often overlooked, where many would rather attempt to make a name for themselves than accept reality.

I, on the other hand, know that whoever I have social interactions with ultimately has no effect whatsoever on my definition of self-worth. As a loner, I always believed that my existence would not cause many ripples in the pool of society. I always believed that if I were to disappear, the results would be so minute that the world would move on as if I didn't exist in the first place.

That being said, I now consider the evidence countering my belief over my second year at Sobu High. I am a part of the Service Club with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, and it is reasonable to say that I have contributed to the "success" of some of the requests. However, I highly doubt that a different outcome would occur if I did not join the club in the first place. Yukinoshita, with her intelligence and level-headedness, would be able to address most of the requests, and with Yuigahama they could replicate the club's success. Therefore, my existence in the club can easily be replaced.

Now, one can argue that I do have an impact on others since I have lost my loner status some time ago. Although I have picked up that Yuigahama may have "feelings" for me, I know that she feels this way because I saved her dog as a 1st year, and if that did not occur, she and I would be no more than club mates. Also, if it were not for Yuigahama, the rest of Hayama's clique would not recognize my existence as any more than a dead fish-eyed loner in class 2-F. And to those who think I'm some sort of masochist, I am proud that I have held the status of a lone wolf for so long. Moving on, Isshiki does see me as her reliable senpai who's forced to help out with most of her student council duties. I argue that any other 2nd year would qualify as her "senpai" if she desired.

There is my cute little sister Komachi, and I do care about her. However, she and I have been living in the same house for fifteen years, so it is inevitable that we get along as brother and sister. I cannot deny that if I were not Komachi's onii-chan, we would treat each other as strangers.

The reasoning becomes more complicated when it comes to Yukinoshita. As you would expect, she is an intelligent yet cold-hearted ice-queen beauty, so it seems that she would not describe our relationship as any more than club-mates. She did reject my offer to be friends, twice. However, she is the only person I have uncertainty in deducing her motives, whether it is illogical or emotionally motivated. Specifically, the reason for her to continue interacting with me is not as concrete as others; Yuigahama holds guilt over the car accident, Isshiki depends on my help for student council, and Komachi my cute and lovable imouto. Dammit, maybe I do have a siscon. The only conclusion I can determine is that whatever motive she has, even she doesn't know. And if she does not know, then I have no motivation to pursue any further.

I now lie on my bed, pondering the same question over and over again. What would happen if I suddenly vanished from the world?

The simple answer is not much; the world would continue to spin and people would move on with their lives. In a perfectly logical world, my absence changes nothing.

But the world is not logical; humans are not logical.

So, what would really happen if I were to…

…disappear?

Hikigaya residence, Komachi POV

It's another morning at the Hikigaya residence. The sun is shining, I'm making delicious tamagoyaki (that's basically an egg omelet for you Americans), onii-chan is still asleep, the birds are singing…what? Onii-chan is still asleep?!

"Onii-chan! It's time to get up and have breakfast with your cute Komachi!" I yelled. Time for an uplifting statement. "Don't worry about being a loner, I'll always be there for you with my tamagoyaki! Oohh that must have scored high in my book!" After I placed the tamagoyaki on the table, I ran upstairs and stopped in front of onii-chan's bedroom.

"Onii-chan, I know you're lazy and would rather practice your role as a house-husband, but you still have to go to school." After a moment of silence, I started knocking on the door. No answer. Geez onii-chan, at least show that you recognize your cute little sister! I pressed my ear against the door and tried to hear his breathing—ehhh, that sounded like something onii-chan's perverted mind would think! Gah, living with him for fifteen years and all I get are his dirty thoughts!?

Anyway, his room was silent, and I was getting impatient. As his loving imouto, it is my duty to keep his attendance up, so I must not give up! I instinctively moved my hand to the door handle and tried to turn it, expecting it to be locked. I jumped back a little when the door opened.

It was unlocked? I thought. Sorry onii-chan, but I must disturb your sleep and get you ready for school.

I opened the door a little more and looked inside. Onii-chan's room is usually kept tidy, against all societal norms. It must be from his dedication to become a house-husband in the future. However, today is not a normal day: drawers open, books on the floor. It looked like a tornado ripped through his room and left everything cluttered on the floor. However, there is something missing—no, someone missing.

"Onii-chan?"

Sobu High, Yuigahama POV

"Yumiko, Hayato, Tobechi, Hina! Yahallo!"

"Good morning Yui" Hayato said with his usual charming smile.

"Yuigahama" Yumiko waved before returning to her phone.

"Yui! What's up!" Tobe shouted, holding two thumbs up.

I walked over to my seat and sat down, looking out the window. The snow is starting to melt outside, marking the end of winter and eventually the end of 2nd year. It's been almost a year since I joined the Service Club with Hikki and Yukinon, and it's been like, totally awesome. I can remember the first day I entered the clubroom with a request, seeing both Hikki and Yukinon arguing like an old married couple. Like an old married couple I thought. I can't help feeling a little jealous of how close they are, arguing with each other like they've known each other for forever. It's like it was meant to be, the two of them, and I'm the third wheel of sorts.

Ehhhh? Since when did I sound so depressing?! It's all Hikki's fault. After only ten months of being in the same club as him, his Hikki germs are starting to rub off on me. Aww…

As I continued to think, Hiratsuka-sensei had already walked into class and began attendance.

"Ebina."

"Present!"

"Hayama."

"Present!"

"Hikigaya."

Silence.

"Hikigaya?"

I suddenly snapped out of my thoughts and turned my head towards Hikki's seat. Hikki's not here yet? I stared at the empty seat for a couple of seconds. "Hikki?"

"Don't worry Yui," Hayama replied, "he's probably late again."

"Alright." I kept my eyes on his desk for a few more seconds before looking back at the window.

After Hiratsuka-sensei finished attendance, she started today's lesson, and I began to doze off. Once in a while, I quickly glanced at the door and then at Hikki's desk, wondering where in the world is he. After half an hour of modern Japanese, I jumped a little when my phone went off.

"Yuigahama, you know the policy when a student's phone goes off" Hiratsuka-sensei replied. "You can take it now, but in front of the whole class." A few classmates giggled, including Tobe, and I felt my cheeks turn bright red. I slowly opened my phone to see who was calling me: Komachi Hikigaya.

Huh? Why is Hikki's little sister calling me now? I picked up the phone and answered.

"Komachi! Yahallo-"

"Yui! Is onii-chan in class right now?" Woah, I was about to ask her the exact same question! That is like, so cool—wait, why is she asking me about Hikki?

"Heh? Hikki's not in class. I thought you would kno— "

"ONII-CHAN!" I was so startled by Komachi's scream that I almost dropped my phone. The class probably also heard Komachi, and became dead silent. Then, I could hear sobbing on the other end.

"Komachi, what happened? Are you okay?"

"S-so he really d-did it." What? Hikki did something? What did he do? It was probably something stupid, like the time he got himself hurt saving my—oh no. Did Hikki get into another accident? I started panicking, hearing Komachi still sobbing on the other end.

"What do you mean Hikki did it? Where's Hikki?"

"I-I found a note on onii-chan's bed"

"…"

"Onii-chan r-ran away"

My heart stopped.

A/N: And that's Chapter 1 ! This story is just getting started! It looks like it'll be greater than 10 chapters, so fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride! Please fav/follow if you like and reviews are totally welcome. See you in the next chapter!