"Y…yots…u"
If there was one thing Hikigaya Komachi had learned over the years, it was that people rarely made as much sense as they thought they did. Yet, despite the chaotic mess that was human nature, there were a handful of souls she felt reasonably sure she could understand to some extent. They were her father, her mother, her fluffy cat Kamakura, and, most of all, her Onii-chan.
"Yotsu"
After all, they had spent years under the same roof. They ate together, argued together, watched television together, and annoyed each other so often that Komachi couldn't even remember what half of those arguments had been about. They were family. If anyone in the world could claim to understand Hikigaya Hachiman, surely it was Hikigaya Komachi.
"Yotsu"
Well, maybe "understand" was a strong word. But she could definitely say that she knew him well. After all, she could usually tell when he was in a good mood, even if his version of a good mood looked almost identical to his normal face. She could tell when he was annoyed, when he was tired, when he was pretending not to care about something he very obviously cared about. Sometimes she could even spot the subtle differences in the way he acted around different people. The way he spoke to Mom wasn't quite the same as the way he spoke to dad, and neither was quite the same as the way he spoke to everyone else.
"Yot…su"
Because of all that, Komachi couldn't help but think she had a pretty good grasp on who her brother really was. Somehow, no matter how many times he surprised her, she always ended up coming back to that same conclusion.
At least, she used to.
Lately, there had been moments that made her wonder if she was giving herself too much credit.
And what she was seeing right now wasn't helping. Because the person lying in that hospital bed felt strangely unfamiliar to her.
"Yot...su..."
The weak voice reached her ears again. Komachi blinked and lowered her gaze toward the hospital bed.
Her brother still hadn't regained consciousness. At least, that was what the doctors had told her.
Most of the visible bandages were already gone. Looking at him now, it would have been easy to think he was simply sleeping. But the doctors had explained that the worst of his injuries weren't the kind that could be wrapped up and hidden beneath gauze. He had suffered a severe concussion. His hip had been injured and his left hand had suffered severe abrasions that were still hidden beneath the hospital gown.
The monitoring equipment beside him hummed softly. By every reasonable measure, he should have been completely unconscious.
And yet…
His right eye had drifted partially open. The black pupil wandered aimlessly beneath the half-open lid, moving slowly in every direction without purpose. At first, she thought it was just some strange involuntary movement, but the longer she watched, the harder it became to convince herself of that.
It didn't look random at all—it looked like he was actually searching for something. His gaze drifted slowly around the room, sliding past the ceiling, past the walls, even past her, before shifting again with that same restless intent.
He kept looking, as though he was chasing something just out of reach but never finding it, and the sight of it sent an uncomfortable feeling through her.
"Onii-chan…?" she whispered.
There was no response. Only that wandering eye.
And then—
"Yotsu..."
The weak murmur escaped his lips once more. She found herself glancing around the room instinctively. As if she might somehow discover what he was looking for.
But there was nothing there. Just hospital walls, medical equipment's and Herself.
Seeing this caused Komachi to freeze as a sharp shiver ran down her spine. It was genuinely creepy. 'What is happening?' Panic began to rise in her chest as she stared down at him. 'Is it this 'Yotsu' thing that he's searching for around him and can't find?'
Komachi forced herself to take a deep breath, trying to push down the rising panic. Her mind was spinning with questions, but right now, her main priority was making sure her brother was okay. Whatever was happening to him right now was definitely not normal.
"I-I need to get a doctor."
Without wasting another second, she hurried out into the corridor in search of the doctor overseeing Onii-chan's treatment. Whatever was happening, she wanted someone to see it and tell her whether she should be worried.
Fortunately, she found that doctor not far down the hall and quickly called him over. But by the time she hurried back into the room with the doctor following close behind, Hachiman was completely still again. His eye was closed, his face was blank, and he looked like he was just peacefully asleep, as if nothing had happened at all.
Komachi froze. "...Huh?"
The doctor glanced between her and the sleeping boy before stepping closer to the bed.
"You said something was wrong?"
"There was! just now! He was— his eyes... he wasn't doing that before and then suddenly his eyes... his eyes—"
"Hey, hey, calm down. Alright? I'm here." The doctor raised a hand, trying to slow her down. "Take a breath and start from the beginning. Tell me exactly what you saw."
Komachi didn't care if he looked fine now; she couldn't just ignore what she had seen. Taking a deep breath, she began explaining everything to the doctor, describing how Hachiman's eye had been wandering around and how he kept weakly murmuring the word "Yotsu" over and over.
The doctor listened quietly as Komachi explained what she had seen. At the mention of the name "Yotsu," his gaze drifted briefly toward Hachiman, lingering there for a moment before returning to Komachi.
"Do you know who or what Yotsu is?" he asked.
"I… don't know," she admitted.
Komachi frowned. The name definitely sounded familiar—very familiar—yet she couldn't immediately place it.
Her gaze wandered around the room while she tried to remember, until it finally stopped on the nearby table. A small monkey keychain sat among the few belongings resting there.
Komachi blinked as a memory suddenly surfaced.
"…Wait," she said.
The monkey keychain wasn't the exact item, but it looked very similar to what she was remembering.
"Yotsu…" The name finally clicked into place. "It was a plushie."
"When we were younger, Onii-chan used to carry this monkey plushie around everywhere, he was really attached to it."
Now that she thought about it, she could remember seeing it all the time—at home, at school, and sometimes even when he thought nobody was looking.
"But I haven't seen it in years," she added
Actually, when was the last time she had seen it? She genuinely couldn't remember. It was sometime during middle school, maybe. At some point, it had simply disappeared from their lives.
The doctor nodded slowly, looking back toward the bed.
"I see. It is possible that after everything he went through yesterday, both physically and mentally, his mind might be looking for some kind of comfort. He might just be unconsciously searching for something familiar from his childhood."
"So he's okay, right?"
The doctor considered the question carefully.
"For now, I don't see anything immediately concerning."
That wasn't quite the same thing as saying yes. Still, it was enough. At least Onii-chan didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. Maybe this was just him being weird again. Although, if that was the case, then this was easily the creepiest version of his weirdness Komachi had ever witnessed.
"Just keep an eye on him. Try not to push him too hard when he wakes up. He has been through a lot yesterday. If he starts acting strangely or murmuring again, you can call me immediately."
"Okay. Thank you, Doctor," Komachi said.
The doctor gave a polite nod and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
After he left, Komachi stayed by the bedside for a long time, silently watching over her brother to make sure he didn't start wandering his eyes again. Eventually, the quietness of the room and the long hours of waiting caught up to her, and she decided to step out for a little while to buy something to eat.
When she left, she hadn't latched the door entirely, leaving it open just a crack so she wouldn't make too much noise when she came back in.
When she returned a bit later, carrying a small convenience store bag, she approached the room with quiet steps. She reached out to push the door open, but before her fingers could even brush the wood, her eyes drifted toward the small opening left by the slightly ajar door.
Without meaning to spy, she happened to glance inside.
Her brother was finally awake.
Hachiman was lying on the hospital bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling as if he was deeply lost in thought.
Komachi stood there for a few moments, simply watching him through the small opening and feeling a quiet sense of relief that he was finally conscious. Then, she reached out and pushed the door open.
The instant the door began to open, Hachiman's eyes snapped shut. He adjusted his posture slightly and immediately went rigid, pretending to be completely unconscious again.
A vein almost appeared on her forehead. 'Seriously? Had he been awake this entire time? How long had he been lying there pretending to be asleep? Ugh, you're going to pay for playing with Komachi's fragile heart. I'm seriously going to tickle—'
'Don't push him too hard.' The doctor's words suddenly resurfaced in her mind.
As soon as they did, she immediately stopped that train of thought, her annoyance slowly giving way to concern. If her brother was putting this much effort into pretending to be asleep, he probably had a reason for it. Maybe forcing him to talk right now wasn't the best idea.
For now, she decided to let him have his way. Pretending she hadn't noticed a single thing, Komachi quietly walked into the room, took her seat in the chair beside his bed, and waited for him to decide he was ready.
The room remained quiet.
Komachi sat there for several minutes without saying anything. At first, she genuinely intended to wait. If Onii-chan didn't want to talk yet, then she wouldn't force him. The doctor had specifically told her not to push him too hard, and after everything that had happened, she didn't want to make things harder for him.
Unfortunately, staying quiet for long periods of time had never really been one of Komachi's strengths. She let out a long, deliberate sigh, completely bored.
"Wow, the hospital silence sure is something," Komachi muttered to the empty room, her voice trailing off as she casually peeled back the plastic lid of a convenience store pudding. "It's so quiet in here that you'd think even a sleeping person could hear someone talking. Not that anyone is listening, of course. Since certain people are totally asleep."
On the bed, Hachiman's jaw tightened ever so slightly, but he stubbornly maintained his rigid pose.
"Yep, completely dead to the world," Komachi said, peeling back another section of the pudding lid. "Which is a real shame, because Komachi's points are dangerously high right now. You don't even want to know what it took to get them this high. I've stayed up all night, not only that, I've been running around this hospital all day and that too without even complaining once. That's a tragedy nobody is awake to appreciate. Honestly, what a massive pain in the ass..."
She took a bite of the pudding and looked out the window, as if she were just idly talking to herself.
"Though I guess that's just how you've always been. Ever since you were little, you've had a habit of quietly drifting off into your own little world and tuning everything else out."
She let out a small chuckle, turning the monkey keychain over on the bedside table without really looking at it. The room gradually fell quiet again.
After a while, she spoke up once more.
"You know... when Yukino-san finally managed to get in touch with me and told me you'd somehow run away from the shelter, I was really annoyed. Actually, annoyed is probably putting it lightly. I was furious."
She leaned back in her chair.
"By the time I got here, I'd already imagined our reunion about a hundred different times. Well, ninety of those involved me punching you, and the remaining ten involved kicking you, so I guess they weren't exactly very creative. Hmph. And before you start complaining, you deserved every single one of them after making everyone worry."
"But then I got here, and somehow... all of that just kind of disappeared."
She looked back at Hachiman's face. He was still trying so hard to pretend to be asleep, but she wasn't looking at him with annoyance anymore.
"I don't know... seeing you lying there like that felt weird, and I've never seen you like that before," she whispered. "Even back when you got hit by that car saving Yui-san's dog... you didn't look like this. No, that's not right. It wasn't even close. In fact, you were barely affected by that. But this time you looked... how should I say it... way too fragile. Like... like you had completely run out of this weird kind of strength you always had."
Komachi swallowed hard, remembering the knot that had formed in her stomach the moment she first saw him lying in that bed.
"And for a second... a really small second... I thought you were going to die."
The words sounded strange even to her own ears, and a moment later she let out a small empty laugh.
"Heh... it's so silly, right? Because even when they told me you were in the hospital, that thought never crossed my mind. I didn't think something like that could actually happen to you. I don't really know why. Maybe it was because Onii-chan is Hikigaya Hachiman. I had always felt as though things like that happened to other people. Not to you. Not to Hikigaya Hachiman. Maybe that's why. Maybe because, somewhere along the way, I started believing what Mom and Dad always said about you... that you were someone special."
She stared at him for a few seconds before slowly shaking her head.
"No, that's not right. You are spec—"
"PLEASE STOP IT!"
The shout came so suddenly out of nowhere that Komachi flinched and nearly dropped the plastic pudding cup right out of her hands.
"Onii—"
"Please, just stop using that word," Hachiman interrupted. His eyes were still closed, but his hands had tightened around the edge of the hospital blanket. "I don't want to hear it. I'm sick of hearing it."
Komachi blinked, completely taken aback. "Onii-chan, wait. I was just tryin—"
"Please." He cut her off again, quieter this time but no less firm. Then, as if he had finally made up his mind, he forced his eyes open and stared up at the ceiling. His expression looked a little strained. "There's nothing special about me. Stop trying to — stop trying to delude me even more. I already know. I know I'm not like everyone else. I know I'm not normal."
As he continued speaking, he turned his head away for a moment.
"There is something wrong with me. You don't need to cover that up with that word."
Komachi stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words.
"What are you even saying? I don't understand what you're saying. Sure, you're a little weird and you keep way too much to yourself, but you shouldn't say there's something wrong with you. Why would you say something like that?"
"How can I say that?" he repeated quietly. "You want to know how I can say something like that?"
A small bitter smile appeared on his face. "Well, I don't know."
Suddenly, he brought his hand up and thumped his fist against his chest, right where his heart was supposed to be.
"But I can feel it here." he said, his grip tightening hard as he balled the fabric of his hospital gown into his fist. "I can feel it right here in my heart. It's a feeling I've always had."
He looked at her then, finally, directly.
"And you know it too, don't you, Komachi? Otherwise, you wouldn't have that look in your eyes."
Komachi opened her mouth to argue, but the words instantly died in her throat as the image of his half-open eye and the weak murmur of "Yotsu" surfaced once again. Not that it had gone anywhere to begin with. Somehow, no matter how hard she tried to focus on everything else, that image kept finding its way back into her thoughts. She felt her mouth go dry, and for a moment she couldn't say anything at all.
Hachiman looked at her for a few seconds before giving a small nod.
"Yeah. That's what I thought."
He slowly lowered himself back down into the bed, pulling the hospital sheets all the way up over his head to completely shield himself from the world.
"Sorry, Komachi" his muffled voice came from beneath the blanket. "I shouldn't have raised my voice. You should go take a break. I'll be fine by myself."
"But Onii-chan—"
He cut her off before she could continue.
"I know you have so many questions you need to ask me. But can you please just give me a little bit of time? Once I get discharged from here, in two or three days… we can talk. There is just too much in my mind right now. It feels like if I try to answer all of that right now, it won't come out properly. Just like what happened just now."
Komachi stared at the blanket, a wave of exasperation hitting her despite the heavy mood.
'What a massive idiot,' she thought.
She felt a huge wave of frustration welling up inside her. He hadn't even let her finish what she was saying. Maybe he was a little different compared to others, and maybe he wasn't anything great in other people's eyes, but to his little sister, he really was special.
But this moronic brother of hers had jumped to his own conclusions and shut her down before she could even get the words out.
The rejection stung. As she stared at the blanket covering him, a flood of new questions started to rise in her mind. The urge to know what was going on pulled at her, but she forcefully pushed those thoughts back down. Whatever was going on inside his head, he was far more agitated than he was trying to let on. Pushing him right now would only make him retreat further into his shell.
Taking a deep, quiet breath, she let the frustration go.
"Ok… okay, you can take your time. But I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here."
From beneath the blanket, Hachiman let out a small, exhausted sigh.
"Fine. Suit yourself."
The room fell quiet again. For a while, neither of them said anything. Komachi idly scrolled through her phone while Hachiman rested beneath the blanket.
After a while, the screen of her cell phone lit up with a soft buzz. She checked the notification, read the text, and looked back toward the bed.
"Onii-chan."
"..."
"Onii-chaaaan."
"...What?"
"Yui-san just messaged me. She wants to come by and see you."
Beneath the covers, Hachiman instantly shifted. He pulled the blanket down just enough to expose his face.
"Tell her no," he pleaded, "Please. Just tell her I'm totally fine and that I'll see her back at school."
"Onii-chan."
"I'm serious, Komachi."
Komachi frowned. "You want me to lie about something like that? Both she and Yukino-san have been really concerned about you, you know."
"I'm sorry," Hachiman muttered from beneath the sheets. "I just… I really don't want them to see me like this right now."
"You probably should've thought about that before pulling something like this. It's a little late for that now, you know."
"I know… I am very stupid."
"…"
Komachi looked conflicted, her thumb hovering over the keypad. She hated turning away people who genuinely cared, but hearing the sheer exhaustion in his voice, she let out a small sigh and relented, typing out a quick response.
"Fine… I told her you're fine and that you'll be back at school in three days."
"Thanks," he murmured.
A few seconds passed before the blanket slowly slid down, revealing his face again. He stared at the ceiling, trying to change the subject.
"…Hey, Komachi. Are Mom and Dad alright?"
"Yeah. They're pretty fine. They're on their way back from Tokyo 2 right now."
"I see... that's good to hear, I guess."
Komachi paused, a sudden thought striking her. Her brows furrowed as she looked closely at him. "Wait… why are you asking that? You should know that already, right?"
"…"
"Don't tell me you don't know," Komachi said, her voice rising slightly in disbelief. "Haven't you talked to them yet?"
"No, I haven't."
"What do you mean you haven't talked to them?!" Komachi's expression shifted from confusion to deep concern. "They already called me once and asked all about you, but they didn't talk to you?"
"W… well, they must be really busy," Hachiman said quickly, "After all, they are not in Tokyo-3 right now. They must be trying extra hard just to find a way back here, so maybe that's why."
Komachi wasn't entirely convinced. "But still, did you at least talk to them yesterday, right?"
"Yesterday?" Hachiman mumbled defensively. "Well... I was busy running around middle of a literal calamity, staying alive was my top priority, so..."
"They called me yesterday the moment the emergency was announced," Komachi interrupted. "They talked to me... and you were already at the shelter by that point, weren't you? So didn't they do the same with you?"
"My shelter had major network issues," Hachiman insisted. "A lot of the call booths weren't even working. You know how everything was just complete chaos."
"But... even then..."
"Give them a break, Komachi. They've been working pretty hard these days, so it's really not a big deal. There are far better things for us to focus on right now."
'Yeah, right,' she thought, trying to suppress the uneasy knot forming in her stomach. Maybe she was just overthinking things too much. After an attack like yesterday's, communication lines across the city were bound to be a disaster, and she would probably find out the truth sooner or later anyway.
Before she could think about it any further, a knock suddenly came from outside the room.
Knock. Knock.
"It's me, Hiratsuka. Is this a good time to come in?"
The reaction from the bed was immediate. Hachiman's eyes snapped shut and he quickly settled back into the mattress, returning to his role as a completely unconscious patient.
"Please play along with this," he whispered urgently out of the corner of his mouth. "Otherwise, she's going to be a real pain in the ass. I really don't have it in me to deal with her right now."
Before Komachi could respond, he gave a slight tilt of his head toward the bedside table.
"Oh, and when she's leaving... tell her to take that with her."
Komachi followed his gaze and spotted a thick white envelope resting among his belongings.
"Onii-chan..."
"Please."
A second knock came from the other side of the door.
She really hated this. Lying to Yui-san had already made her feel bad. Now she was about to lie to Hiratsuka-sensei too.
Still, after everything that had happened, she couldn't bring herself to ignore his request. Ah, geez. The things she has to do for her brother, sometimes.
"Y…yeah, you can come in."
The door opened and Hiratsuka-sensei stepped inside. Her eyes immediately drifted toward the hospital bed. For a brief moment, she simply stood there looking at Hachiman. A faint, almost imperceptible shift crossed her expression before she let out a quiet sigh of resignation and turned her attention to Komachi.
"Looks like he's still alive," she said.
Komachi let out a small laugh as she nodded.
"Yeah. Barely."
"That's about what I expected."
Hiratsuka pulled over a nearby chair and sat down. "How is he holding up, Komachi?"
"A lot better than yesterday, I think. His main injuries aren't life-threatening. He has a pretty bad concussion, but... he's kind of just resting right now."
"Resting. I see."
Hiratsuka glanced briefly toward the bed again.
"That's probably for the best. Guys like him do have a bad habit of getting lost in their own thoughts when something starts weighing on them. So, I guess sleeping all day sometimes can make those thoughts feel a little lighter."
On the bed, the blanket rustled faintly at the comment, but Hachiman stubbornly maintained his rigid comatose like pose.
Komachi looked down. "I just wish he'd tell me already what's bothering him."
Hiratsuka let out a quiet hum.
"Yeah... well, people are complicated."
"...What do you mean?"
"Sometimes people don't hide things because they don't trust you."
"...Then why?"
"Because they don't know how to explain them."
Komachi looked up, but the teacher's gaze remained fixed on the sleeping boy.
"There are burdens you can put into words and burdens you can't. Some people find it more comfortable to carry those burdens alone than try to put them into words."
"Still," Hiratsuka continued, "for what it's worth, your brother is stubborn."
"That's putting it lightly, Sensei."
"Fair."
A small smile tugged at the corner of Hiratsuka's mouth. She stayed seated for another moment, letting the silence settle into something a little more comfortable, before placing her hands on her knees and pushing herself up.
"In any case, I won't disturb the two of you any longer. It was nice to know that your brother is doing alright, at least."
Komachi blinked, looking up at her. "What? You're leaving already?"
"Yeah." Hiratsuka nodded "But I'll be around. I still have a few other people I want to check on while I'm here. Besides, I doubt I'd get much conversation out of him in his current condition. If you need anything at all, you can just reach out to me. Like I said, I'll be around."
She turned and began making her way toward the exit. Just as her hand reached for the doorknob, Komachi suddenly remembered the heavy envelope resting on the bedside table.
"Ah! Wait a sec, Hiratsuka-sensei."
Hiratsuka paused, looking back over her shoulder. Komachi quickly reached for the envelope resting on the bedside table.
"Um... Onii-chan asked me to give you this... if he... if he wasn't, you know, a-awake when you came by."
Hiratsuka stepped back over and took the envelope from her hand. She didn't slip it into her pocket right away. Instead, she slid her finger under the sealed flap and pulled out the folded sheets of paper inside.
As her eyes scanned the top lines of the documents, her eyes widened for a brief moment.
"...Well." Komachi tilted her head. "What is it about?"
"...A complaint letter."
She flipped to the next page. A second later, her eyebrows rose slightly.
"And a resignation letter."
"Ehh... a resignation letter?" Komachi repeated. Her confusion only deepened. "Resignation from what?"
For a moment, Hiratsuka simply stood there looking down at the papers. Then she let out a quiet sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"...Well. I suppose it was about damn time you did this."
Carefully folding the documents back together, she slipped them into the envelope.
"I'll make sure these reach where they need to go."
Komachi's curiosity immediately flared up. "Wait, what does that mean?"
"It's exactly what it sounds like." Hiratsuka tucked the envelope in her lab coat's pocket. "Nothing you need to worry about right now. That's your brother's story to tell, not mine."
Hiratsuka didn't leave immediately after that. Instead, she looked closely at Komachi. There were faint shadows beneath her eyes, and the way her shoulders seemed to sag whenever she thought nobody was looking, it wasn't hard to tell she'd been pushing herself all day.
"You know, Komachi, you look like you've been sitting in this room for a long time," Hiratsuka said gently. "How about you come with me for a little break? We can hang out for a bit, grab something to eat, and then I'll take you home so you can get some rest. You look exhausted. You can always come back later this evening."
"Huh?"
"You heard me."
Komachi looked conflicted, her eyes shifting back toward the bed where her brother was still resolutely faking his coma. "But Onii-chan—"
"He'll be fine. The other medical staff are keeping an eye on him. Besides, I doubt he's going anywhere in that condition."
The answer came so casually that Komachi almost felt annoyed.
Hiratsuka nodded toward the hospital bed. "Besides, if you collapse from exhaustion, he'll just end up worrying about you."
"That's not fair."
"It's also true."
She gave Komachi a gentle but insistent nudge toward the door. Komachi finally relented. Letting out a soft sigh, she stood up from her chair. "Okay... I think a little break sounds nice. Thank you, Sensei."
"Good. Let's go," Hiratsuka said.
The two of them stepped out into the pale corridor together, and the door to the hospital room quietly clicked shut behind them.
The room fell silent once more.
"…"
Then the blanket shifted.
"Looks like I owe you another one, Sensei."
He let out a quiet sigh.
"...Now then. Back to sleep."
________________________________________
"Hikigaya-kun"
Someone gently shook his shoulder.
"Hikigaya-kun."
"...Mmh."
Hachiman stirred slightly, finally registering the gentle shake against his shoulder. His eyelids twitched before slowly opening. For a moment, everything was a blur, but as the haze of sleep slowly faded, the white ceiling, the bright fluorescent lights, and finally the figure standing beside his bed gradually came into focus.
Standing over his bed was a doctor with distinct blonde hair and striking green eyes.
The first thing Hachiman muttered was, "Wait... what are you doing here?"
The doctor let out a small smile. "Looks like you're awake. That's good. Just take it easy for now, alright? At least you're actually getting some proper rest this time. Yesterday, you were far too stubborn to listen to me."
Hachiman rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"I... I'm doing a lot better now." He hesitated for a second before looking back at him. "Y-you were with that little girl and that other woman yesterday... weren't you?"
"That's right. Yesterday was a little too chaotic and tense for proper introductions." He extended his hand. "I'm Dr. Miura. Miura Anselm Martin."
Hachiman accepted the handshake.
"Hikigaya Hachiman."
"Yeah, I know. You've been under my care ever since they transferred you here from the NERV medical facility early this morning."
"I... see."
But the moment the word NERV left the doctor's mouth, he couldn't help but think deeply about it— Under my care... Yesterday...
Then, without warning—
"Wait! Get to safety! You don't have to do this! It's not worth it, Kid—no... Hikigaya! Do you really want to die for this? To die for people who will never even care?"
The voice flashed through his mind so vividly that he froze. 'Ah... now that I think about it, he really did call me by my name. But how the hell did he know my name back then? I don't think I ever got the chance to let anyone there know it.'
An ordinary person probably wouldn't have given it a second thought. Normal people with actual social lives were probably used to hearing their own names tossed around in casual conversation. After hearing it enough times, it was only natural that they stopped paying much attention to it.
Hachiman, on the other hand, wasn't exactly fortunate enough to have that problem. Most people either didn't know his name at all or somehow managed to turn "Hikigaya" into "Hikitani." At this point, hearing someone get it right on the first try was memorable enough. Having a complete stranger do it in the middle of yesterday's chaos was bound to stick with him.
'No... calm down.' He forcefully stopped himself before his thoughts could spiral any further. 'He might've checked my NERV ID after finding me unconscious. Or maybe I let my name slip at some point and just don't remember it. Who knows? Yesterday was a complete mess. Yeah... that's probably it. I'm just overthinking things again.'
"Hikigaya-kun?" Doctor's voice pulled him back. "You look a little troubled. Is something the matter?"
"N-no... it's nothing."
Dr Miura studied him for another second but didn't press any further. Instead, his eyes drifted toward the hospital gown.
"...Though I think you should change into a fresh gown."
"Huh?"
"You're drenched in cold sweat."
Only then did Hachiman look down at himself. His hospital gown clung uncomfortably against his skin. "...I didn't even notice."
"Were you having a dream? It certainly looked that way."
"A dream..." Hachiman placed a hand on his head. "Maybe... I guess. It kind of feels like one, but..." He frowned slightly. "I honestly don't know anymore. It's like everything in my head is all mixed together."
Dr Miura gave an understanding nod.
"That happens sometimes after going through something like yesterday. Maybe it's for the best if you don't remember it. Whatever you were dreaming about, it looked rather painful."
He picked up the chart from the end of the bed.
"In any case, I'll leave you to change into a fresh gown. After that, I'll have someone come by and replace the bandages on your hand. If you notice anything unusual, or if the pain suddenly gets worse, let one of the nurses know immediately."
"Alright," Hachiman murmured.
The doctor gave a polite nod and turned, his white coat snapping slightly as he began walking toward the exit. But just as Dr. Miura was near the gate of the room, Hachiman found himself calling out again,
"Hey, Doctor?"
Dr. Miura paused, his hand hovering over the doorknob as he looked back over his shoulder. "After everything that happened yesterday..." Hachiman hesitated, "Why are you working so soon? Shouldn't you be... I don't know, with your family or something?"
Dr. Miura paused for a brief moment before letting out a quiet breath.
"...After everything that happened yesterday, especially seeing it firsthand..." He searched for the right words. "It's hard to just go back home. There's... this strange restlessness afterward. That's about the best way I can describe it. But right now, the hospital needs every extra pair of hands it can get."
He looked back at Hachiman. "As for you... don't trouble yourself with those thoughts. Just focus on getting better."
With that, he gave one last nod before quietly leaving the room.
Hachiman lay there for a while, thinking about what the doctor had just said.
'Restlessness... huh.'
He couldn't help but think back to everything he had seen at ground zero—buildings blowing apart like they were nothing, the bodies of those soldiers, especially the one who had been asking for water just before he died, and the people he had reached just a little too late.
He could definitely see where the doctor was coming from.
'Maybe, in a world this broken, sometimes throwing yourself into work might be the only way some people can keep moving forward.'
A few minutes later, two nurses stopped by to replace the bandages on his hand. While they worked, they kept sneaking these weird glances at him for some reason. Hachiman, of course, concluded that his naturally criminal-looking eyes had struck again. Once they were done, he headed into the bathroom to change into a clean, dry hospital gown.
When he returned to his bed, something immediately caught his attention.
"...Hm?"
A small paper bag sat on the bedside table. Peeking out from the top was the corner of a book with a rather shady-looking cover. He was absolutely positive it hadn't been there when Komachi and Hiratsuka-sensei left.
"Someone dropped by while I was asleep?"
Without thinking much of it, he reached into the bag. Inside was a paperback light novel. The moment he saw the cover, his expression froze a little.
His eyes slowly moved down to the title.
"..."
"..."
"..."
He decided to read it again, this time out loud.
"...Ahem."
"That Time I Got Reincarnated as the Big Brother of My Stalker Yandere Little Sister Who Was My Secret Past-Life Lover That I Murdered, and Now She's Back for Twisted Revenge-Filled Incestuous Obsession!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"W…what in the absolute name of Zaimokuza is this?!"
This was too much. This was way too much, even for a seasoned light novel veteran like himself. The sheer degeneracy radiating from the cover art alone was enough to melt a man's retinas.
Suddenly, a terrible realization struck him. He clutched his face with his unbandaged hand. 'Wait, wait, wait... is this why the nurses were giving me that incredibly weird look while changing my bandages just now? Did they see it? They did, didn't they?! They must've thought this was my personal reading material! Aaah, someone just kill me already, I want to die.'
Hachiman had never, in his life, been caught reading something this catastrophically degenerate. Sure, the kind of light novels he usually read were admittedly a little questionable, but they still managed to stay somewhere within the limits of what society could reluctantly tolerate.
This thing, however...
This thing had long since crossed that line.
Whenever he read something like this, he always made absolutely sure nobody else was around before even opening the first page and now those nurses probably thought this was his everyday reading material.
"..."
Being seen holding it, and getting that look in return, was genuinely painful. He was honestly on the verge of tears.
"...I actually want to commit seppuku."
Still reeling from what he had just witnessed, Hachiman hurried to stuff the book back into the bag, but as he did, a small piece of paper slipped out from between the pages and drifted onto the floor. Hachiman leaned down and picked it up. The handwriting was deeply unusual. It looked like someone had described cursive to a machine, and the machine had done its best.
["Get well" — Ayanami Rei.]
Hachiman stared at the note, his brain momentarily short-circuiting. "A…ayanami?!"
She was quite literally the absolute last person on the face of the planet he could imagine buying something like this. He stared at the book, seriously wondering if this was some sort of elaborate, highly advanced psychological warfare engineered by NERV. Were the higher-ups trying to exact a twisted revenge on him because he kicked them out of his room and refused to let them interrogate him?
Still, despite the absolute absurdity of the situation, a small part of him couldn't help but be little touched by the gesture. It was a get-well gift, after all. But that brought him right back to the burning question: 'Why in the world this specific book?!'
Had she read it and actually liked it? No. Impossible. Nobody with a decent conscience could like a book with a title that shady. The author should probably be arrested on principle alone.
Then had she thought he would like it?
That thought was infinitely more concerning. What exactly had his behaviour communicated to her over the duration of their acquaintance? Did he project the aura of a guy who desperately wanted to be stalked by a past-life yandere sister?
Hachiman sighed, rubbing his temples.
Then again, he had absolutely nothing better to do. He had already slept through most of the day, and whatever time he had spent awake had mostly been spent staring at the ceiling, thinking about yesterday. By now, even his mind was too tired to keep going.
"Well... might as well give it a try," he muttered as he carefully opened to the first chapter.
He was definitely doing this solely to honor Ayanami's gesture and take her gift into proper consideration. A…and he definitely wasn't reading this because he was curious about how a plot that ridiculous could even function or anything.
No, definitely not. He was simply showing proper appreciation for a get-well gift.
With that, he opened to the first page.
Then the second.
By page four, he had shifted into a slightly more comfortable position against the pillow.
By page seven, the ceiling was no longer interesting at all.
________________________________________
The enormous restraint cage surrounding Unit-01 echoed with the groan of heavy machinery as the hydraulic locks slowly disengaged.
All around the purple Evangelion, technicians crawled over the frame like ants. Sparks flew from welding torches as they secured new armor plates, while giant cranes overhead carried away chunks of shattered armor.
Misato stood with her hands on her hips, quietly watching the repairs for a moment before letting out a low whistle.
"So... you're telling me its eye is completely fine?" She pointed toward Unit-01's face. "It got skewered, Ritsuko. I watched the lance go right through it."
Ritsuko barely looked up from the monitor in front of her.
"The armor was destroyed. The eye itself wasn't. It was damaged a bit, but not completely destroyed."
"But—"
"The Evangelion is a living organism, Misato," Ritsuko interrupted, finally tapping the screen. "Its biological body constantly produces stem cells. As long as it has nutrients and time, it can regenerate almost any tissue."
Misato blinked, trying to process it. "So, if an Angel rips its arm off..."
"It grows a new one."
"The eye?"
"It grows a new one."
"The brain?"
Ritsuko paused for a second. "...I'd prefer we never have to find out."
Misato grinned, leaning back. "Heh. Good to know you and your genius brain have it all under control."
Ritsuko sighed and struck a match, lighting a cigarette. "Spare me the childish praise, Misato." She took a slow drag, letting the smoke drift up toward the ceiling.
"Speaking of which... how are things working out with your new boyfriend?"
"B-Boyfriend?!" Misato asked, momentarily flabbergasted before catching herself. "Oh, come on. You mean Shinji, right?"
"Yeah. So how are things?"
"Honestly... it feels like nothing's really changed. It's already been almost six days since he transferred in, but he's still pretty much the same as when he first arrived."
Misato folded her arms. "And you know what's kind of worrying? Nobody ever calls him."
"He has a phone?" Ritsuko asked.
"Yeah, everyone needs one in this day and age, so I got him one when we moved in together. But there's no sign of him actually using it, and nobody is reaching out to him either. I'm starting to worry he probably doesn't have any friends, and it doesn't even look like he's trying to make any."
Ritsuko took a quiet drag from her cigarette, "Well, it's possible Shinji might just be the kind of person who can't make friends very easily. Have you ever heard of the Hedgehog's Dilemma, Misato?"
"Hedgehogs? Those tiny, spiky animals?"
"Exactly," Ritsuko nodded, blowing a thin trail of smoke. "Hedgehogs have a very difficult time sharing warmth with one another. The closer they get to get warm, the more they end up hurting each other with their sharp quills. People can be exactly like that. Right now, I think a part of Shinji is afraid of that kind of emotional pain, and it makes him timid."
Misato stayed quiet for a few seconds, thinking over Ritsuko's words.
"Well... I'm sure he'll figure it out in time. Part of growing up is trying again and again. Eventually, you figure out the exact right distance to keep so you can share warmth without hurting each other."
"I hope you're right," Ritsuko said, tapping her cigarette over a small tray. "I mean, if someone like Hikigaya of all people managed to make a few friends under Shizuka's guidance, then maybe Shinji can do it too."
"Hikigaya, huh?"
"That boy was probably one of the last people I expected to willingly involve himself with others," Ritsuko admitted. "But somehow, Shizuka managed to get him involved with other people. He wasn't like that back in middle school, or even before that, you know."
Ritsuko looked back toward the repairs for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
"And knowing her, once she notices Shinji's situation, she'll definitely try to get herself involved with him too."
Misato chuckled softly. "Yeah... that sounds exactly like her."
Before she could say anything else, the heavy doors leading to the observation deck opened.
"Captain Katsuragi?"
Misato and Ritsuko both turned around to see a young NERV employee walking toward them with a single sheet of paper in his hand.
"I was told to deliver this to you immediately."
Misato raised an eyebrow but took the paper from him. Her eyes quickly moved toward the official letterhead printed at the top.
"...Human Resources?"
Ritsuko looked over at her. "What did you do now, Misato?"
"Hey, why are you immediately assuming I did something?"
"Experience."
"Wow. No trust at all, huh?"
Misato looked back at the paper and silently read through it. Although she already had a pretty good idea what this was about, seeing it officially written down still made her let out a tired sigh.
"...Actually, you know what, Ritsuko? I can kind of see where you're coming from."
"So, what is it about?"
Misato stared at the paper for a few more seconds before answering.
"...It's a formal workplace complaint."
Ritsuko didn't even look surprised. She merely tapped a bit of ash from her cigarette. "Against you? From who?"
The clerk coughed awkwardly into his fist. "I'm... not legally authorized to disclose the name of the filer."
Misato rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. Regulations are regulations. But you can at least tell me what the actual complaint says, right?"
"The text reads as follows: 'She left me stranded in the fucking apocalypse.'"
For a few seconds, nobody said anything. Misato slowly pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes.
"...Yeah. I knew this was coming."
"Are you planning to do something about it, or are you just going to wait for Commander Ikari to see it?" She paused for a moment studying Misato's exhausted expression before continuing. "And more importantly, are you actually going to make up with him? You still haven't done that, have you?"
"..."
"He resigned from NERV a few days ago and left. You can't exactly leave things like that forever."
"Of course I'm going to fix it," Misato said, folding the complaint and shoving it into her pocket. "My car is already completely thrashed from yesterday. I can't afford to have my salary docked right now."
She let out a small sigh, her expression softening a little. "And... yeah. I know. I need to find a way to properly apologize to him too."
For a few moments, Misato quietly looked down at the paper in her pocket. Then suddenly, a confident, slightly mischievous grin spread across her face.
"Don't worry, Ritsuko. I have a few ideas on how to deal with a certain grumpy teenager."
________________________________________
The morning sunlight shone over Tokyo-3 as Hachiman leisurely pedaled his bicycle along the road beside the large lake.
Looking up, he could see enormous white clouds stretching across the sky, slowly drifting between the gaps of the surrounding buildings. Honestly, if someone ignored the fact that a giant alien creature had almost destroyed this place less than a week ago, it would look like a completely normal peaceful morning.
Actually, that might have been the scariest part. No matter how much destruction happened, people eventually returned to their everyday lives. Students went back to school. Adults went back to work. Old people went back to their morning walks.
Humans really were terrifying creatures when it came to adapting.
Still...
Today, the road to school felt strangely peaceful. Maybe it was because Komachi wasn't riding with him today.
Usually, by this point, he would have already heard at least fifteen different complaints ranging from his posture while cycling, his lack of enthusiasm, or some completely unnecessary comment about how his dead fish eyes were ruining the beautiful morning scenery.
'Seriously, how could someone's eyes ruin scenery? Even my eyes have feelings, you know.'
Unfortunately... or fortunately, depending on how he looked at it, his little sister had decided to go ahead with her friends today. Well, he guessed that was only natural. After everything that happened, he finally ended up telling her most of the things he had been hiding.
About NERV and how he started working there during his first year of middle school.
Of course, saying "working" made it sound a lot more impressive than it actually was. Most of his involvement happened during that period anyway. Whenever he had to go there, he would usually leave during the second half of school using NERV's authority.
And whenever a project required him for a longer period of time...
His parents would conveniently take Komachi somewhere for a few days, leaving him behind. Thinking about it now, that was a pretty suspicious arrangement.
Seriously, what kind of middle school student gets left alone because his family suddenly decides to go on vacation?
Apparently, Hikigaya Hachiman. So naturally, there was absolutely nothing suspicious about that at all.
When Komachi found out that everyone in the family knew except her, she was obviously upset at first. Actually, upset might be putting it lightly. The look she gave him honestly made him wonder if surviving an Angel attack was only going to end with him being killed by his little sister instead.
But somehow, she accepted it faster than he expected. Maybe she understood that he had his reasons or maybe she was saving his punishment for later. Knowing Komachi, the second option was terrifyingly possible.
In any case, after that whole mess, the last six days had been surprisingly peaceful.
Even though he was technically ready to leave the hospital after three days, he somehow managed to convince them to let him stay a little longer.
Don't ask how.
A professional loner had many negotiation techniques when it came to extending his time away from society.
Although...
His family only visited once every three days.
"..."
"Dammit. At least visit me every day you shitty parents…" he grumbled loudly, pumping the bicycle pedals.
What kind of family leaves an injured person alone like that? Where was the emotional support? Where was the touching family reunion scene?
Even worse, after his accident, his parents and Komachi apparently started eating out a lot. Obviously, that was probably because Komachi was still upset after learning the truth. After all, Mom and Dad were the ones who strictly told him not to tell her about NERV in the first place.
Of course, he didn't tell her that. Because throwing his parents under the bus to save himself?
Actually, wait, that sounded pretty reasonable. Maybe he should have done that.
Anyway, every time Komachi visited and casually mentioned things like, "Oh yeah, yesterday we went for sushi," or "The Korean barbecue place was really good," he felt a strange urge to reach out and snap her pinky.
Seriously, Korean barbecue?
'Ahh… I wanted Korean barbecue too. Seriously, I'm the injured person here. Isn't this where you're supposed to reward me with meat or something? Why are the healthy ones getting all the good stuff?'
Hachiman let out a small sigh and continued pedaling.
Still... Everything really had returned to normal. Almost too normal. The road beside the lake was calm. The only fierce battles happening today were between older ladies desperately trying to lose weight through morning exercises and older men trying to keep their dogs from dragging them around. It was about as intense as watching someone go fishing.
But honestly, going to school like this wasn't bad once in a while. Actually, now that he thought about it, cycling underneath a clear blue sky felt pretty nice. It was exactly the kind of thing someone would use when inviting another person to skip school. 'Come on, let's just ride somewhere instead.' A line like that would probably work around fifty percent of the time.
Maybe. Not that he would know. His experience with receiving invitations was basically non-existent.
And yet...
The closer he got to school, the more that peaceful feeling slowly started disappearing. As the school gates finally came into view, a strange wave of anxiety, nervousness, and maybe even a little melancholy started creeping into his stomach.
"..."
Seriously, what was this?
Hachiman stared at the road ahead for a few seconds before shaking his head.
Whatever.
Thinking about it wasn't going to magically give him an answer. Besides, if he stopped here and somehow ended up late after everything that happened, Hiratsuka-sensei would definitely use it as an excuse to call him to the counselling room.
And after finally escaping a hospital bed. The last thing he needed was another lecture. With that thought, Hachiman tightened his grip on the handlebars and continued toward school.
________________________________________
Author's Note:
Hey everyone, Chapter 7 is finally done! We hope you enjoyed this one.
Well, this chapter ended up being longer than we originally expected, but we still feel like we were able to show everything we wanted.
From the next chapter onward, characters from both series will start appearing more frequently compared to how things have been so far, so we hope you're looking forward to seeing those interactions develop.
As for Hachiman... well, everything that has happened until now, along with his decision to leave NERV, has affected him deeply. In a way, you could say this upcoming arc will be about how he deals with those changes, and finds his footing again.
That's all for now. Thank you very much for reading and for sticking with the story so far. We truly appreciate the time and support you've given this project.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts below. We really enjoy hearing from you all.
Stay tuned for more.
—CacciaFulmini & Raijinmaru_K2