Chapter 1 — A Lamentable Encounter

Today's Service Club was uneventful, as expected.

The three of us had fallen into a routine so formulaic, it could show up on the next math test. Standardized greetings, offer of tea and snacks, individualized reading in near silence, interruption by Isshiki, me being dragged off for some manual Student Council work, farewells.

Lather, rinse, repeat. Throw in the occasional Hiratsuka-sensei appearances and some actual requests from time to time.

I didn't mind routine as much as others did; it was far more work to deal with unexpected variables and unwelcome surprises, especially when compared to merely tolerating and accepting a minimal amount of change.

Waving farewell to Yukinoshita and Yuigahama as they strolled through the gates, I turned around and headed to the bicycle rack, ready to mount my trusty steed and make the journey home. At this hour, there shouldn't be many students roaming about, so it wouldn't be crowded there, delaying my return.

As I went to undo my bike lock, a voice called out to me from the direction of the soccer field.

"Hikigaya-kun!" I couldn't place the voice's owner, but it felt like I have heard it before somewhere. Not necessarily in real life, as I had this impression that it was from a viral video of sorts. [1]

I looked up to see a short-black-haired girl walking in my direction. I frowned, unable to associate a name with her face, almost certain this encounter was going to end up being a hassle for me.

As she got nearer, I recognized her uniform as the same one worn by Orimoto. Was this girl also a Kaihin Sougou student? What was she doing here at Soubu? As far as I knew, Isshiki hadn't brought up any more collaboration requests to the Service Club recently, so it wasn't for that reason, at least.

Well, it's unreasonable for society to expect me to remember the name of someone I probably only met once or twice. Of course, that I have trouble remembering the names of my classmates is also due to society imposing its will on loners like me, who feel no need to devote precious brain space to irrelevant data.

I stared at the girl's face, wondering if she was part of Kaihin Sougu's Student Council, despite ruling out that possibility earlier, since she did somehow know my name, which, ironically, some of my own classmates don't even know.

"…" She stared back at me. "Aren't you going to greet me, Hikigaya-kun?"

"…I'm sorry, but I don't recall your name." I scratched the back of my head, already reminded of why I hate social interactions. Not only was I embarrassed, but the other party probably felt saddened that I had possibly forgotten who she was!

"Nakamachi, Nakamachi Chika. Kaori and I went on a double date with you and Hayama a while back, remember?"

Try as I might, Orimoto's role in that farcical outing stood out far more than Nakamachi-san's role. I shook my head apologetically. "Honestly, I'd rather not recall that. None of us went home happy that evening, right?"

"Yeah, looking back, our attitudes towards you were rather inexcusable." She dropped her head in shame, probably recalling the lecturing from Hayama.

"Whatever, that's all in the past now." Waving it off, I asked, "So, what brings you all the way to Soubu today? If you're looking for Hayama, he's probably still at soccer practice."

Nakamachi-san shook her head. "I'm not here to see him today. He probably doesn't think of me too fondly anyways, based on last time."

Weird, that would usually be the reason girls make the arduous journey to Soubu, all to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Prince of Soubu. But as far as I know, it didn't seem like she knew anyone else besides Hayama and me. Sure, she briefly met Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, but there they didn't even greet each other, let alone hold a conversation, far from enough to establish a connection.

Something clicked in my head. "Ah! Did Orimoto ask you to bring a message from her to me, maybe Student Council related?" It was certainly a possibility; maybe Orimoto had other obligations today that prevented her from personally showing up and needing to send a trusted replacement messenger in her place.

Again, Nakamachi-san shook her head. "That's not it either, Hikigaya-kun."

Wait, but if you didn't come here to see Hayama, and Orimoto didn't use you to relay a message, then the only other logical explanation would be…

"I came here to see you, Hikigaya-kun."

What? No, hold on, me. This obviously can't be a confession, so let's immediately strike that from the list. Maybe Orimoto told her about the Service Club and its purpose? And Nakamachi-san here decided to come to us with a request, but for some reason, only came to me instead? But who thinks to venture to a different school to make a request in the first place? We're not even closely acquainted!

"-pologize to you, Hikigaya-kun."

Eh? Was she talking to me during my important deductive monologue?

"Could you repeat that again? I didn't quite catch that."

"I said, I need to apologize to you, Hikigaya-kun."

"Apologize? For what? Are you referring to the 'double date'?"

"Uh-huh. It was incredibly rude of me and Kaori to have dismissed you like that back then. It seems like she has had opportunities to make up with you, but I still haven't, which is why I came here today."

"Apology accepted, then. I hope we can all put this behind us now." Well, there's also the small business of her making up with Hayama, but I bet he'll just say he also went too far and that there are no hard feelings or some bullshit like that. "I feel kind of bad that you came all the way out here just for this, though."

"What do you mean, 'just for this'?" asked Nakamachi-san. Are you saying you had more on your to-do list while you were at Soubu? Didn't you already confirm that Hayama wasn't included on your agenda?

"I thought this would be the end of the discussion." Did apologies get more complicated when I wasn't paying attention? Is there some touchy-feely emotional scene that follows? Do we need to throw a celebratory party for every successful act of forgiveness now?

"Ne, Hikigaya-kun, are you free right now?"

I had encountered this pattern many times before, so I knew what was coming. "I guess; my club's activities are done for the day, and as long as I make it home in time for dinner, I have no particular plans right now."

"Great!" Here it comes. "Why don't we find a café and chat a bit more, rather than standing out here awkwardly?"

Every fiber of my being wanted to tell her 'No'. I didn't want to partake in riajuu ceremonies like socializing in cafés any more often than I was already forced to. I didn't want to spend any more of my allowance on frivolous tea and snacks, not when the Service Club provided those daily, free of charge. I didn't want to be kept away from Vita-chan any longer than the duration of school.

But, in my experience, I knew that if I refused her here, her persistence would cause her to return, again and again, gradually wearing me down until I invariably agreed to her demands, which was just a waste of time and energy for me in the long run. Paradoxically, saying 'Yes' was the least losing move, because the supposed best move, not playing at all, was never a realistic option.

Controlling my sigh, I agreed. It was getting colder these days, so a warm beverage inside a heated building wasn't so bad, even if my wallet would be a bit lighter at the end of it all.

After arriving at a small café and placing our orders, (a MAX coffee for yours truly, of course), I decided to make the most of this opportunity, not to get to know Nakamachi-san better, but to dissuade her from hanging out with me again.

"So, Nakamachi-san, what-"

"Please, just call me Nakamachi. The additional '-san' feels weird." I didn't want to clarify, but it would make my thoughts slightly less cluttered.

"Alright, as long as you drop the '-kun'."

"Deal."

"As I was saying, Nakamachi, what exactly compelled you to bring me to a café?"

"Considering I spent the entire time ignoring you last time, I figured that I should try to get to know you better, seeing as how you actually know quite a few interesting personalities, to my surprise."

I raised my eyebrows, doubting Nakamachi's intentions. "If you're referring to what Hayama said, that was misleading at best and outright misrepresentation at worst."

"It's not just his defense of you, there was also that older woman who called Hayama in the first place. And those two girls who showed up at the end. And that other girl who pulled you aside, angry about something." Nakamachi rattled off most of the individuals who put in a cameo that day, though a few were left out, such as Miura and Tobe.

Taking a sip of my glorious MAX coffee, I said, "Before I go into any details myself, what were your impressions of these people you just mentioned? I know you didn't have much interaction with them, so just tell me what comes to mind."

"I was surprised when you showed up with Hayama for our double date. You really didn't look like you wanted to be there, not helped by the way I and Kaori focused solely on Hayama, I bet. You didn't seem to be all that close with him, so his sudden blowup at the end of the night came as even more of a shock to us."

"Well, you're definitely right about not wanting to be there; I'm a creature of laziness, preferring to conserve energy and money by restricting my activities to the bare minimum."

"If that's the case, why did you agree to come to the café with me today?"

"If I hadn't, you probably would have pestered me until I gave in; if not today, then some other time in the future." I didn't want to admit this weakness of mine, but maybe this would cause Nakamachi to rethink spending her precious youth chatting with a loner like me.

"I'm guessing that's also why you agreed to join us, isn't it? I had no idea you were a pushover, Hikigaya," she jokingly said. At least, I hope it was jokingly. I didn't have a good grasp on the person known as Nakamachi Chika yet, after all.

"Yes, but not because of Hayama. You mentioned an older woman who contacted Hayama; well, she's the real reason I went."

"Gasp, could it be you have a thing for her, but haven't been able to confess, so you decided going on a double date with other girls would make her jealous?"

"What? Where did that crazy imaginary motivation come from? No, none of what you said is true at all!" In fact, it might be more applicable to Hayama, though Haruno would never fall for such tactics. "Besides, you heard me immediately shoot down her idea that we were dating!"

"She could have been testing your loyalty to her, which would explain why she came out of nowhere at the end as well, indicating that she was following us the whole time, just to gloat about how we had failed to steal you away from her."

What alternative character interpretation! If Haruno heard this, she'd probably burst out into laughter, eventually getting us kicked out of whatever establishment we were in at the time.

"Look, her interest in me is strictly for her own amusement." She was the type of person who likes manipulating people like puppets, Hayama and myself included. And the worst part is, she's damn good at it, too. I didn't feel like including the tidbit that Hayama was likely crushing on Haruno, either, as I was already gossiping too much for my own liking.

"Hmmm…well, what about that flaxen-haired girl we ran into? What's your relationship with her?"

"She's the Student Council President at Soubu; I kind of help her out from time to time." More like every day, and 'help' in the same way a slave 'helps' his masters.

"Is that why she was upset with you that day? Because you had promised to help her, but blew her off to go on a date?"

Isshiki was smiling the entire time! I didn't think anyone else there, save Hayama, would have seen through her façade! Was Nakamachi not to be underestimated?

"Yeah, let's just go with that." Again, deliberately leaving out the whole 'Isshiki crushing on Hayama, while forcing me to go on 'practice dates' with her' was a conscious decision on my part to not invite further questions as to just how dysfunctional everyone around me (and including myself) really were.

"Could it be she has a secret crush on you and was jealous to see you with us?"

I nearly spat out my drink, but MAX coffee is more valuable than liquid gold, so I coughed a bit before regaining full control of my bodily systems. "Why do you assume every girl so far has romantic feelings for me or vice versa? Do you think this is some sort of harem manga?"

"Am I wrong?" I wanted to shout 'Yes' at the top of my lungs, but we were in a public place and I was still recovering from earlier.

I contemplated telling her a partial truth, but thought better of it. She does have a crush on somebody, but that person isn't me, which she has explicitly said in order to clear the air. She sometimes comes to me for advice with this crush of hers, and despite my disinterest, she continues to bug me. Yeah, explaining that would just invite more questions that I didn't feel like answering. "Even if she did, that's none of your business."

"Pushover," reiterated Nakamachi. Again, I chose not to mention that I have been more or less blackmailed into being Isshiki's servant for the rest of my high school life as a result of foolishly helping her get elected to a position that she didn't even want in the first place.

"Kaori did mention that during the last collaboration events, she saw you at the meetings. Are you also part of the Student Council, Hikigaya?"

"No, but I and my club mates were called upon to help run the event, which is why we were at the event planning meetings." Thinking back to how much of a waste of time those meetings were, I dreaded the next collaboration event.

"Your club mates? You're in a club, Hikigaya?" Her disbelief was not unnoticed by me.

"Yep. Those two girls who appeared at the very end of that night? They are the other members of our club, the Service Club."

"'Service Club'? What the heck is that?"

"I was just as confused as you when I joined. The 'service' we provide is helping to fulfill requests from students who come to us. But rather than doing all the work for them, we try to help them help themselves by way of advice and setting up an environment where they can resolve their issue while hopefully learning an important lesson. It doesn't always work out, because sometimes what they say they want doesn't match what they're really looking for."

"I'd like to hear about some of these cases some time. Sounds rewarding when things work out."

"Yeah, but the flip side is if things don't work out…" I trailed off, letting her draw her own conclusions.

"When Hayama said you knew girls more beautiful than we could even imagine, I thought he was exaggerating, though the first onee-san we met should have been a hint that there was more to you than meets the eye. What's the relationship between the three of you in the club like? Is there a love triangle involved?"

"What is with you and defaulting to romance when talking about relationships just because they involve two people of the opposite sex? Is it so hard to believe we're just friends at most?"

"But that's so boring! High school life should be more exciting than that!"

Riajuu, explode.

"My answer is the same as before: no, there is absolutely nothing like that going on between me and any of the girls you and Orimoto met that day. There is also nothing like that going on between me and any of the girls you and Orimoto have not met. I am a proud loner, unshackled by the chains of a romantic relationship. And yet, here I sit, in a café with a girl." How's that? Left you speechless at how unabashed I am, have I?

"You're a riot, Hikigaya!" Is this the equivalent of Orimoto's 'hilarious'? "I've never met a loner like you!" Well, obviously, since loners tend not to associate with other people, being loners and all. "What kind of loner joins a club? Ah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah! And agrees to go on a date?"

O...K. Calm yourself, Nakamachi. I get that there's a fundamental mismatch here, but my attitude should make it clear that I, a loner, am being forced into social situations, not that I'm joining on my own volition.

Well, maybe it's not so clear to her, since I have left out a lot of details, such as how Hiratsuka-sensei forced me to join the Service Club under fear of corporal punishment. Or how Isshiki uses the photos from our 'practice dates' as blackmail for future 'practice dates'. Or how Yukinoshita threatens to report me to Hiratsuka-sensei if I don't participate in the Service Club activities.

Good god, I'm this whipped and I'm not even dating any of them!

No, Isshiki forcing me to go on these 'practice dates' doesn't count.

Finishing off the rest of my MAX coffee, I decided our little rendezvous had reached a conclusion. Nakamachi had learned a few things about me, while I had barely cared enough to ask about her, expecting this to be the last time we would interact.

"Let's just split the bill," I suggested. I didn't want her to treat me, necessitating a social reciprocation of treating her next time. I didn't want there to be a next time. And I certainly didn't want to treat her, despite what the gentleman side of me said, because then she would feel obligated to pay me back next time, resulting in the same unwanted 'next time'.

There was no sign of protest, but she had one last request. "Can we exchange LINE IDs, Hikigaya?" [2]

"I don't see why not." Honestly, I was expecting a repeat of what happened in middle school with Orimoto. The conversations would never go anywhere, stagnating as replies never came. But I wouldn't make that mistake again; there would be no initiation on my side, and it was inconceivable that Nakamachi would bother contacting me again after today.

Having settled the bill and our differences amicably, we waved farewell to each other and went our separate ways, never to see each other again.

The Will of the Universe has a funny way of doing things.

It had barely been one day since the not-a-date with Nakamachi, during another particularly uneventful day in the Service Club, when I received a LINE notification.

Digging out my phone, I was shocked to see her name across the screen. Quickly opening the message, I wondered what she could possibly have to say.

[Hey, Hikigaya! Learned quite a bit about you yesterday, but it seems I asked so many questions that you didn't get to ask about me! Sorry about that! What do you say next Wednesday we meet up again, same place? –NakamaC, Sent 3:38pm]

I exhaled. Where on earth did she get the impression that I wanted to know more about her?

I inhaled. Was she going to take away my afternoons as well?

I exhaled again. How did I not see this coming when she asked to exchange IDs with me?

I continued this cycle of deeply inhaling and exhaling, trying to erase my irritation at the invitation situation. Yukinoshita took this moment to pipe up and criticize me.

"Hikigaya-kun, I understand that meditation is beneficial to clearing one's mind of unwanted thoughts, but your entire brain is filled with only those sorts of things, so you would be left with nothing afterwards."

"But isn't the state of nothingness precisely what enlightenment aims to achieve?"

"Unfortunately for you, Hikigaya-kun, enlightenment is reserved for humans, not zombies such as yourself." She didn't say it directly, but she was referring to my eyes again, wasn't she?

"Hikki, why were you sighing so much anyways? Does it have to with your phone?"

Damn. So they weren't as absorbed in their own world as I thought they were. "It's just one of my acquaintances. They want to hang out sometime next week, but my dedication to the Service Club prevents me from responding 'yes', which would inevitably cause them to be crestfallen at my inability to attend said gathering." All of which is technically true, to a certain extent.

"Oh? I didn't know zombies had the social skills necessary to organize things like this. And what's with this 'dedication' you speak of? Are you not always looking for an excuse to get out of attending the Service Club, despite the numerous perks afforded to you?"

"What perks? It's not like I get paid for taking on these requests. Man cannot live on gratitude alone, you know."

"The freshly brewed tea and snacks I graciously provide, the privilege of being in the same room as Yuigahama-san and I without being chased out, even the occasional cute kouhai…"

"Barring the first point, which I will accede, being in the same room as you only gets me insulted on a daily basis, often more than once or twice. Also, whenever Isshiki shows up, it's almost always accompanied by more unpaid labor, so I'm not at all grateful for that 'perk'."

"What about me, Hikki?" whined Yuigahama.

"Honestly, you're kind of just here, so I don't consider you a perk nor a negative. However, for Yukinoshita, you serve as a calming presence, I guess."

"Mou, Hikki, you idiot."

"So, Hikigaya-kun, now that we know that you have every intention to ditch your club duties as often as possible, when are you meeting with this acquaintance of yours?"

No, wait, I really was actually hoping to use the Service Club as a legitimate excuse to avoid meeting with Nakamachi!

"I guess I'll have to tell my acquaintances that a certain Ice Queen has forbidden me from neglecting my role and that they will have to enjoy themselves without me," I deadpanned, hoping Yukinoshita and Yuigahama would be overjoyed that I chose being cooped up in the clubroom with them over spending time with my mysterious acquaintances.

"Why do you keep using the unnecessarily unwieldy 'acquaintances' and not 'friends', Hikigaya-kun? If you're trying to sound smarter by using bigger words, maybe Yuigahama-san will be impressed, but not me."

"Yukinon, I didn't like that," the airhead pouted.

"Apologies, Yuigahama-san, I was merely making a point about Hikigaya-kun's vocabulary, please do not feel offended." She addressed me again. "Nevertheless, it would be hypocritical of me to prevent you from meeting them, as one of the core reasons you are here is to improve your outlook on life. If this meetup results in a personality shift for the better, I see no reason why you should not be allowed to go. However, I will require some pictures of you and your acquaintances as proof that you did not simply go home and laze about, something I will also be double-checking with Komachi-chan."

That's playing dirty! You can't use my own imouto against me like that! Not to mention, asking for photographic evidence is going too far! Why can't you just take my word for it and leave it at that?

"Oh, and before you think just any photos will do, I will require them to include you and your acquaintances in the frame, faces uncovered, so I know you didn't simply ask passerbys to stand-in for you."

What is with these unreasonably strict guidelines? I was originally going to take a couple of selfies like a goddamn normie, but if I have to get Nakamachi in the picture as well, I'll never hear the end of it. I doubt I have enough points invested into the social skill [ASK A STRANGER] to help pretend to be my acquaintance instead.

I had one final trick up my sleeve, but it was a long shot.

Author's Notes:

[1] Chika's Japanese voice actress is Fujita Saki, no relation to Kawasaki Saki. Fujita Saki is probably best known for having her voice samples used in the ultra-popular VOCALOID series, specifically the mascot, Hatsune Miku.

[2] LINE is the most popular messaging service in Japan.

The title comes from Robert Frost's famous poem of the same name. As Nakamachi's (仲町) name has the kanji (町) meaning 'town/road/street', and given her comparatively minor role compared to Orimoto, let alone as a potential romantic interest for Hachiman, I felt it was an appropriate title.