A Different Turn

Chapter 9

(8man PoV)

For the second time today, I was seated in a not very expensive eatery, a cup of hot coffee laid before me by yet another waitress, only this time,... aww 'cmon, the situation had been bad until a few minutes before, now across the street, in yet another eatery I was sitting again, this time with 2 girls facing in a situation that had been created for the sole purpose of tormenting me by the she-devil who had run off the moment she had done her deed, leaving me alone to face the oncoming storm.

How did it get like this again?

(Flashback)

"Nee-san..."

"Hikki..."

Both of them spoke simultaneously, their words barely audible in the normal bustling market, but to my ears, the sound was akin to that of a jet engine that had started near me. Just what did I do in my previous life to deserve this?

Okay, first, calm down Hachiman, take a deep breath, maybe all this is a dream, yeah, you're still home and haven't woken up after being beaten in the afternoon, or maybe you're still lying unconscious in that classroom, or even better, haven't woken up yet even in the morning, there were no messages, all this is simply a dream...

"Hiki-gaya-kun..."

Yukinoshita's voice cut through the silence, even with all the noise of the people nearby, I could feel the hesitance in her voice, someone bumped into me quickly apologizing as he moved on, so this wasn't a dream huh? Now what do I do...

Okay, now was the time to use the most coveted of all the weapons in my arsenal, the top of my 108 loner skills developed and honed by years of training as a loner, time to activate the ultimate skill, Stealth Hikki! Move away...

"Hikki..." Yuigahama was speaking up, her voice did not have any trace of the usual cheerfulness, infact, it felt like she was in pain, her eyes were moist, like she was about to cry...

Crap! What is happening!? Stealth Hikki failed!? Shit! It seems that by staying with me for extended periods of time had made these 2 immune to my skills, I have to level up!

"Hik-ki..." Yuigahama spoke again, this time her voice broke, Yukinoshita was apparently unable to speak, and by the looks of it, Yuigahama was not faring much better, if I did not do anything soon, she'll be reduced to a sniveling mess right in the middle of the street.

Steeling myself, I turned completely to face them, looking at them eye to eye, their expressions and eyes felt like a thousand pins piercing my skin at the same time, there was no helping it, they had seen me with Haruno, and to make matters worse, Haruno had pulled this stunt with the objective of creating this scene.

'That deranged woman'

I took another deep breath and calmed myself, the damage had been done, Haruno had played him, for real this time, brushing this off or sweeping this under the carpet as a passing thing would not work, Yuigahama and Yukinoshita were 2 people I cared about, running from this situation was the worst thing I could do, my old methods would not work, if I had to truly save myself and those I cared about, I had to confront the problem head on and deal with it.

"Yo..."

Despite my resolve, I found myself muttering nothing more than my usual lame greeting, but honestly, the day had been taxing enough for me already and this situation was not one I had envisaged to happen, well neither was everything else that happened, but then my brain had had enough for one day dammit! To throw this in right now, what exactly am I supposed to say exactly...?