(50 Power Stone Bonus)
Chapter 81: Living While Bearing a Great Name
"Can you truly understand the misery of cycling to school all by yourself in the sweltering heat of midsummer, or in the dead of winter when your fingers are nearly frozen stiff? You lot just gather together and say things like 'It's so hot, isn't it?' or 'It's unexpectedly cold, right?' just to distract yourselves, but I endured it all alone.
Can you understand the horror of every exam, unable to confirm the study material with anyone else, forced to work hard in silence and shoulder the results by yourself? You guys just huddle up to compare answers and grades, laughing at others as idiots or nerds just to escape reality, but I faced everything alone.
Well? This is my strength.
That's why, on that day, I threw away my pride and begged Hayama. I've always been alone; if I have to cast aside my pride, then I'll do it thoroughly and without hesitation.
—How about it? This is my pride, the pride of Hikigaya Hachiman."
(This section is quoted from "Oregairu" to reinforce Hikigaya's characterization.)
Those were Hachiman's thoughts right before he was about to perform a dogeza to Hayama and the others on the tennis court that day—at least until Chishima Akishin appeared with a cold expression and swept him to the ground with a single kick.
After that incident, Hachiman understood that there were some things you simply shouldn't do, even if you knew they were the easiest and fastest way out.
It also made him realize he wasn't alone; he had a teacher, and he had friends: Yuigahama Yui, Yukinoshita Yukino, Totsuka Saika, Zaimokuza Yoshiteru (actually, let's not count that one)...
He couldn't bring shame to his Sensei (even if his Sensei generally didn't seem to care about dignity), and he couldn't disappoint the friends who actually looked out for him.
No one knew just how happy Hachiman felt when he won against Hayama and the others in that tennis match, watching them slink away like defeated dogs, unable to utter a single word of anger.
It wasn't because he enjoyed beating Hayama's group—those people never meant anything to him—but rather, it felt like something that had been weighing on his shoulders for a long time had finally crumbled. He couldn't quite explain the details, but it was a truly magical sensation.
One thing was for certain: Hachiman was beginning to change.
Having returned this time, Hachiman could already imagine how those people's attitudes toward him would shift.
But then again, so what? What does that have to do with me?
Is my life going to change? No.
Standing in the Tokyo Tower observatory at a height of two hundred and fifty meters, the golden sunlight bathed his face. Gazing out over all of Tokyo from this height, the city's sheer grandeur was captured in his eyes.
Hachiman stretched his hand forward and gripped it tight, as if he had caught hold of something.
...
After finishing up at Tokyo Tower, having lunch there, and buying plenty of food and souvenirs to be sent back to the hotel, the three of them looked for a nearby shopping street to wander through.
With no specific destination in mind, and since they didn't feel like hitting other famous tourist spots—half a day wouldn't be enough anyway—the three of them walked slowly, taking in the sights that shifted between luxurious, ancient, simple, crowded, and quiet.
They spotted a batting cage and went in to hit balls against the machine for half an hour. Surprisingly, the best among them was Shizuka; every single one of her swings radiated the aura of a home run.
They saw a movie theater and went in to watch a new anime film released this year titled Hotarubi no Mori e (Into the Forest of Fireflies' Light). It left Shizuka sobbing uncontrollably.
"Uuuh~, Gin and Hotaru are so pitiful!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Shizuka-chan, don't cry. Next time I'll take you to see a comedy."
Akishin handed a tissue to Shizuka while comforting her in a soft, gentle voice.
Hachiman ate his popcorn, sipped his cola, and watched the movie with a flat expression. He glanced at the two of them, who were practically leaning against each other, and took a long, aggressive gulp of his drink.
Time passed quickly.
As the sun dipped below the horizon and the city lights began to flicker on, Tokyo Tower was draped in an orange glow, looking like a scene out of a dream.
The three of them returned to the base of the tower to take a commemorative photo with the landmark as their backdrop before finally taking the elevator back to the hotel.
They all felt like they had gained a lot today; life felt remarkably full.
That night, Hachiman chatted with Komachi on his phone, occasionally sending photos to show off and checking the cute cartoon stickers his little sister sent back. Moments like these always brought a happy smile to his face.
Akishin stepped out after finishing his bath, wearing a white yukata that left his sturdy chest partially exposed. Near his left shoulder, the edge of a scar was visible.
He moved a chair and sat on the balcony, staring out at the Tokyo cityscape under the night sky. A small river in the distance shimmered, reflecting the lights from the banks as if it were the meeting point between two different worlds.
He took a can of beer from the fridge, took a large, satisfying gulp, and let out a long sigh as he relaxed into the chair.
"Ah~, now this is what you call living~"
"Can even a Sensei like you make a sound like that after getting tired?"
Hearing that voice, Hachiman glanced toward Akishin. It was the first time he'd seen Akishin in such a relaxed, "salted fish" state.
"I'm not a god." Akishin enjoyed the cool night breeze, lightly swirling the beer can in his hand. "As a normal human, of course there's a normal human side to me. Honestly, this feels pretty great."
"..."
Hachiman rolled his eyes, said goodnight to Komachi, and opened up a visual novel called Autumn Memories.
A few moments later, Akishin's voice drifted over. "Hikigaya, are you ready? Are you ready to carry my name and start an adventure?"
"An adventure? Where did you get that kind of 'youthful spirit' from, Sensei?"
"Haha, you could call it that!" Akishin looked up at the full moon, lifting his beer can in a gesture mimicking Li Bai's 'facing the shadow to become three people.' "Hikigaya, look. Your teacher here is a famous man now. As my disciple, by carrying my name, you'll be exposed to the public eye as well.
For instance, when people talk about you, the first thing they'll remember won't be Hikigaya Hachiman, but Chishima Akishin. They'll say: 'Hikigaya Hachiman? Who's that? Oh, Chishima-sensei's student, right?'
If you perform poorly, or if you aren't great enough to match the title of [Chishima Akishin's Disciple], they'll say: 'Haha, Chishima-sensei's student is only at this level? If I went up there, I could do it too...'
There will be plenty of people criticizing you and comparing you. They'll feel good because they feel like they're standing above you. This isn't just at school, but in society at large.
The feeling of living in my shadow like that—is it pleasant? Look, even today's newspaper mentions your name..."
Today's Tokyo newspaper had used a full page to report on the Kendo Tournament finals.
The name Chishima Akishin took up half of the Kendo news, accompanied by various chuunibyou quotes. Aside from that, Sobu High and Hachiman were also mentioned.
The news regarding Hachiman was actually more extensive than that of Sobu High; he even had a small dedicated column introducing him.
Since he was still a student, no photos were included. The news agency had also sent a sum of 200,000 yen as "name rights compensation" to Hachiman. It wasn't a massive amount, but it was a formal gesture.
The newspapers back in Chiba would undoubtedly be even more exaggerated.
Hachiman rolled his eyes again. "Sensei, where on earth do you get these weird novel-reading habits...?"
"Just tell me, are you going to care?"
Akishin cut Hachiman off without looking back. He kept his eyes comfortably closed, facing the distant river while occasionally sipping his beer.
"...Yeah."
After a few seconds of silence, Hachiman watched his game character die, then nodded in admission—not because he was afraid of being laughed at by others, but because he was afraid of shaming his teacher.
Akishin had said many things, but he never mentioned that if Hachiman wasn't great, then Akishin himself would be mocked as a teacher.
The answer was obvious.
Yes!
And Akishin would be mocked even more severely.
Hachiman, at the very least, was still a student; his interactions were mostly within the school. But his Sensei faced society as a whole.
Did his teacher just ignore that?
Maybe.
Who knew?
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