Standart Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu and i do not make money publishing this story.

Valentines day.

I could mimic what that dead fish eyed student of mine probably thought, and come up with a cynical argument along the lines of how valentines day was a commercial trap designed by companies to sell their products to the normal fags who are too busy with naive misconceptions about love or friendship to notice that they are being robbed.

Or i could give in to the bitterness inside me that has grown exponentially over the years thanks to many relationships that ended in disaster or in disappointment, and call it an unwarranted holiday designed for so called happy couples to flaunt their relationship.

Yet deep inside, rational adult within me had to admit even though negative judgments we gave had a grain of truth in them, i could remember the joy of giving chocolates to a friend or a lover on valentines day and the joy of receiving returns on white day.

That is why this year i went out of my way and distributed some expensive obligatory chocolate among the teachers of Sobu, content smiles on the faces of older male teachers were heartwarming while blissful joy mixed with slight embarrassment that adorned the faces of younger male teachers were quite the confidence boost.

I guess it must be a pleasing experience to receive valentines day chocolate from a young colleague, i could only guess though as i was too young to have a younger colleague!

As these useless thoughts were going through my mind while driving my trusty steed back home from some alcohol shopping, three familiar figures grabbed my attention, one dark haired, slouched boy flanked by a slender girl with long black hair and a curvaceous girl with peach coloured hair tied into a bun.

Usually it would only be ever-cheerful Yuigahama who sported an energetic smile while other two would wear either embarrassed or annoyed expressions, but surprisingly today all three of them wore thousand watt smiles as if they couldn't stop their mouths from forming them.

I would normally leave them alone to have their moment, but curiosity overcame me as i wondered what kind of progress they made. Whatever it was, it was earlier than my expectations as i assumed they would still be trying to wrap their heads around whatever Hikigaya requested on the day that he also requested them to help with the Christmas event.

I pulled left on the road and adjusted cars speed to ride along them trying to get their attention but it was futile as they were too deep lost in their cheerful conversation. So i went with the only other option and honked the horn causing all three to jump three feet off the ground.

They turned around and faced towards the car after getting over the surprise of the horn and moved closer to the car still a bit uneasy from the unexpected scare.

"You guys, what are you doing here on this ungodly day" I asked with half amusement and half bitterness in my voice.

"Sensei Yahallo!"

"Good evening Sensei"

Both Yuigahama and Yukinoshita gave appropriate greetings fitting their demeanor. Hikigaya on the other hand seemed annoyed by something and had a sour face and when he finally spoke it was in a chiding voice.

"Sensei did you really have to scare us witless with that horn, you could have tried to get our attention or you could have shouted or something. I have sensitive ears you know."

"From what i can see Hikigaya-kun, you are the only one who is scared witless enough to even forget giving a proper greeting, also i would advise you to keep it to yourself whatever fetish you have with your ears." Yukinoshita teased him with a playful smile.

Hikigaya on the other hand for some reason ignored his usual policy of responding Yukinoshita's banter half heartedly and went heavy on attack with a smirk on his face. "Yeah yeah woman, you were so calm and collected, you wouldn't have fallen on top of me had i not jumped out of the way. Also i do not have an ear fetish, they are just sensitive and i have perfect hearing."

Yukinoshita's cheeks turned pink with colour before Hikigaya reached the mid point of his rebuttal and her gaze has fallen downwards while Yuigahama looking not sure whether she should laugh or worry came to her rescue changing the topic by asking me "Sensei what are you doing driving alone here in valentines day, don't you have anywhere else to be?"

Hearing her words, Hikigaya and Yukinoshita formed stiff expressions filled with dread realising the wrong choice of her wording. They seemed to be bracing themselves for the incoming storm, Yuigahama on the other hand still seemed clueless and still had a cheerful smile.

With gritting teeth i managed to hold my temper as much as i could, if those words had came out of Hikigaya's mouth, he would be knocked on the ground by now becoming the victim of one of my many deadly punching techniques. I couldn't go physical on Yuigahama though, so i went with the best possible punishment i could give: Embarrassment.

"What are you talking about Yuigahama, i am doing what every self respecting single does on Valentines day, alcohol and watching old series. I should ask about what you guys are doing on the other hand, isn't valentines day about couples going on dates? What is with going on a date with three people, are you guys trying to challenge social norms? Even though i admire your courage and desire to be unique, don't you guys think you are trying to scale too high of a wall?"

Yuigahama was flailing her arms in front of her the whole time while i had a sadistic grin on my face. Unexpectedly Hikigaya and Yukinoshita were not flustered, they were both looking at Yuigahama with pitying faces saying"You deserved it."

With a pleading look Yuigahama spoke almost screaming."It is nothing like that sensei, Hikki promised to return a favor to me for buying him a honey bread back then and i asked Yukinon to tag along!"

This information seemed to be new for Yukinoshita for she first had a surprised and after that a relieved look on her face. I originally wondered if they had too big of a progress too fast, but that didn't seem to be the case based on their reactions, but i was still curious so i had to ensnare one of them to spill the beans, or to be more precise one of them that could be forced to do that without being able to pull any defensive maneuvers. Choice was obvious only problem was to compel him without getting the girls suspicious.

"Hikigaya, want me to give you a ride, you know your house is on my way, it wouldn't cost me any time."

The deal with making Hikigaya accept a favor was to play on his lazy side while assuring him that he wasn't bothering the one doing the favor. This was a good opening to put the idea of avoiding train crowd into his mind while reminding him that dropping him wouldn't cost her any extra time.

Before he could answer though, both girls went wide eyed.

"..."

"..."

From the nonchalant look on his face, it was apparent that he was not unfamiliar with this kind of reaction, and he seemed to have an idea to whatever girls were thinking.

Before the atmosphere got more awkward Yukinoshita switched to an indifferent look while Yuigahama put up a defusing smile and asked, "Ah sensei, so you know where Hikki lives, is it close to where you live by any chance?"

"Of course i know where he lives Yuigahama, i am his homeroom teacher and club advisor after all. I know where all three of you live, i can easily access where any student from Sobu lives in a moments notice." With a cheeky grin i added "Besides this will not be the first time i am dropping Hikigaya off after all, his house is located on the general direction of mine."

Again their expressions turned to a surprised one and both gave Hikigaya questioning looks, Hikigaya on the other hand ignored their reactions and gave me an annoyed look.

"Sensei please stop with the teasing, i fear their gazes will tear holes on my clothes. Also i will be taking you up on that offer, after all only thing better than a free commute is a free meal. Food tastes best when you don't pay for it!" After that irrelevant last sentence he gave me an implying look and turned to face the girls.

"Yukinoshita, will you be alright with going home today, you know with that demon woman waiting for you after you ditched her last night."

Yukinoshita hesitated for a second but it did not take long before she replied with a determined look. "I shall be fine Hikigaya-kun, I managed to calm my thoughts over last night, and with the way things are clearer after today, she should not be able to get under my skin that easily."

"Well if you say so, see you later both of you, i will ask Komachi to text you if her exam went well, if not i will be too busy comforting her so do not expect any news in that case." He looked satisfied with Yukinoshita's answer and waved them a good bye.

"See you later Hikki, Sensei"

"Good evening to both of you"

With those words they waved their hands.

Even though i was letting two girls go home by themselves while giving Hikigaya a ride, i wanted to act like a responsible teacher as much as i can. "It is getting dark both of you so be careful on your way and don't dally around, pip pip."

Now things were getting more and more interesting, not only did Yukinoshita show almost absolute confidence talking about confronting her sister, she also casually mentioned how things were much more clear, and while i did not have high hopes of convincing Hikigaya to accept the ride with only words, he did not only accept it without any argument he also slyly managed to give the impression that he was hungry.

I have been driving for about ten minutes while silence reigned between us, i could easily guess the reason Hikigaya so eagerly accepted my offer of driving him home, he seemed to be contemplating how to put his thoughts into words, that was probably why it took him so long to notice that we were not driving towards our supposed destination. After a few minutes of alternating glances between me and the road, he decided to break the silence.

"Sensei, looks like you are taking a detour again, where are we heading to this time?"

"Well after you brat shamelessly implied you were hungry we can't be going anywhere without taking a bite, so we are going to find a nice and cozy place and have a little talk while eating. Any specific place you wanna go?"

After giving it a few seconds of thought, he answered with a defeated voice. "I wonder why Saize jumps into my mind every time i get this question asked, i guess my instincts for maximum efficiency kicks in."

"With that idiotic career choice of yours, it is no wonder your habit of penny pinching kicks in" I teased. "But it is on me this time so lets sit at that cafe, besides i will only be drinking coffee so a regular cafe is a more suitable choice."

After getting inside and sitting at a window side table for two, a cute waitress who looked a few years older than Hikigaya came to take our orders, she was probably an university student working part time, it must be unfortunate to work on valentines day at this hour, but she seemed cheerful enough while taking our orders, so she was either single or were not bothered by the standards of society. I internally approved her attitude and nodded while tapping my foot on the ground.

We sat in silence, Hikigaya working on his meal while i was taking occasional sips off my coffee, when i got assured that Hikigaya got a bit of food on his stomach, i decided it was time to prod him into talking.

"So Hikigaya, talk about the reason for the amount of out of character behaviour you three displayed today, especially you and Yukinoshita."

"Well some stuff happened Sensei" he answered with a reluctant tone.

I wasn't about to let him retreat at this point so i pressed on with a reprimanding tone. "And two plus two equals four, you are not allowed to get cold feet after accepting my invitation Hikigaya, spill the beans."

He gave a defeated sigh and started talking. "We mused with the idea of stagnation, and wondered if it could be the solution to our current problems, but after giving it a thought we decided to reject that idea, instead we came to the conclusion that trying to push each others boundaries and being more open to each others feelings would be more effective choice, albeit a riskier one."

Hearing those words from the lips of a pessimist like Hikigaya was indeed baffling, still it was not enough, i could easily tell he still had more to say so i pressed on. "What else?"

He took a deep breath and continued on. "More importantly, Yukinoshita made us a request, a personal one, she-"

Before he could continue on, i silenced him with a hand movement. "I would not want to hear it without Yukinoshita's permission Hikigaya, knowing the fact that she actually made a personal request is enough."

He seemed surprised and asked me with an interested tone. "Are you sure Sensei, you never had a problem asking about requests that didn't come through you before."

It was about time i started giving the lessons i intended to give today. So with an implying look i spoke. "Hikigaya, do you remember the day a week before Christmas event, when you asked those two to help you with the event after failing to come up with a solution on your own"

His eyes went wide with shock barely managing to form a single word of confirmation. "Y-yes"

I continued on with a monotonous voice. "Yukinoshita came to drop the keys to the club room that evening. She was teary eyed and looked shaken barely able to stand on her feet, at the same time she had a look as if saying she had been waiting for something to happen for so long and it had finally happened."

Shocked expression on his face stuck there, eyes widening with each of my words so i decided to continue. "When i confronted her about what happened, she told me how you requested their help with Christmas event, and also that you had a personal request. I stopped her from saying whatever it is just like i did with you today. Do you know why Hikigaya?"

"I-i haven't the slightest clue S-sensei." He replied with a stuttering voice.

A gentle smile formed on my lips. "You see Hikigaya, those requests you two made, they were not made to the service club, you did not make those requests hoping the other side would accept out of obligation, you made them to your precious friends, hoping they cared about you enough to be your support while you searched for the deepest desires within your hearts. That is why i stopped both of you from voicing those requests to me, an outsider in this case."

He had a grateful look on his face and replied with a sincere voice. "I see, thank you Sensei."

Now that the first lesson was over, i had to go on with the second one. This one was much tougher though, i had to convince him to take action without being too big of an influence on his decision.

Looking at him sharply, i asked with a stern voice. "So, what will you decide to do Hikigaya."

He faced me with an annoyed look and lashed out. "Why do i have to be the one to do something Sensei, why do i have to be the one who decides!?"

I wasn't about to give him any quarter though. "You know perfectly well why you uncute brat!"

It was a rare sight to see him filled with so much emotion, there wasn't any trace of usual apathy that was present in his eyes and his voice was cracking. "Y-yeah, i know, but it is still hard Sensei, it is scary and it hurts even thinking about possible consequences."

I had to harden myself to continue, for the look in his eyes was giving me a heartache. There was no escaping if i wanted to make him understand though. "Do you want to know what hurts more Hikigaya, let me ask you a question, how many dates do you think i have been to in the last six months?"

He seemed confused. "How should i know Sensei, and why are you suddenly bragging?"

"Thirteen dinner dates Hikigaya" I answered with an emotionless voice. "And not a single one of them got a second date. Don't think i am bragging, on the contrary i am self deprecating. You see, for the people like us who do not adhere to the society, it is hard to find that someone no matter how high spec you are, you rarely click with someone, maybe even once in a lifetime if you are unlucky, and it hurts a lot when you miss that chance Hikigaya."

He looked like he was going to object but i interrupted him before he could say anything. "But that is not the thing that hurts most Hikigaya, when you miss a chance like that out of cowardice, there is a part of your mind that always has a hope that one day in the future, by sheer luck, you might bump into that person and have a second chance."

It seemed like that answered to whatever his objection was so he kept listening in attention. "What hurts most is realising how much that someone changed without you, maybe no longer being someone you could admire and lamenting the fact that little hope left within you was for naught."

A low-spirited look appeared on his face and he spoke with a dejected voice. "This must have left a bitter taste in your mouth Sensei, trying to overcome my fears by using something scarier. It is a cruel lesson but i am grateful after all."

"Indeed it is a cruel lesson but one you had to be thought, for the things you might loose by acting should not matter if all it takes for them to be lost is a genuine desire, but the things you will gain by acting will hopefully stay with you for a lifetime. As for the bitterness, i remembered your wisdom about lifes bitterness and ordered the sweetest coffee they had." I ended with a playful wink and a sip from the coffee that had enough sugar to cause diabetes at this young age of mine!

It seemed like my last words managed to cheer him, for as his custom he expressed his gratitude with deprecating words. "Be careful with the coffee Sensei, it is not healthy to drink such a sweet one at your age."

Normally those words would make me go physical and make him squirm with pain after an obliterating special move, but today i decided to be merciful. "You really are a stubborn fellow who is determined to stay uncute..."

After finishing our orders and paying the bill, we went out of the cafe and stumbled into the one person we didn't need to.

The moment she laid her eyes on us, her bored expression turned into a one of mischief and more importantly malice.

She immediately closed the distance and started elbowing Hikigaya's sides while staring at us with an amused grin. "Oh my, oh my, Shizuka-chan and Hikigaya-kun outside together on the Valentines day night. Hikigaya-kun you unfaithful man, wait until Yukino-chan hears about this!"

As expected an extremely annoyed look formed on Hikigaya's face while he tried to mumble a few words. "We just ran into each other and decided to grab a bite before-..."

Haruno on the other hand did not even bother listening, and turned her amused expression towards me. "Shizuka-chan, did you finally give up and decide to settle with Hikigaya-kun, i can't say i disapprove your choice, but as a loyal oneechan, i must stay on Yukino-chan's side."

I should have faked anger as i usually do and scolded Haruno for her behaviour, but for some reason her words rubbed off on me wrong today and instead of chiding words, what came out of my mouth was poison. "Yeah, we are having the wedding next week, try to catch the bouquet, so you can also find the love of your life soon Haruno."

Hikigaya looked like he was going to laugh, but the moment he saw our faces, his own expression turned into confusion.

My face had a look of remorse that it didn't have for years, Haruno as i feared had an expressionless face that signaled the extreme dread and defeat she felt to the few people who could read past her facade.

I knew i had made a huge mistake, but it wasn't the time to get stuck with the feeling of regret, i had to act and act fast before Haruno got over the shock and left. "Haruno i know apologising will not make you feel better, but still i am sorry, after a day filled with bitterness, i lashed out to you without thinking. Forgive my rudeness."

To my surprise, Haruno's fake smile returned fast, she replied with a sweet voice."There is nothing to forgive Shizuka-chan, you did not say anything wrong." Her expressionless face and defeated voice returned at this point. "After all i am just a c-"

"Haruno!" I intervened before she could say anything more. "Let us not talk about this in front of Hikigaya, how about we go out drinking on weekend?"

She didn't say anything for a while, probably trying to calm herself down before showing more weakness in front of Hikigaya, finally she spoke with a calm voice. "There is a Yukinoshita family event next Saturday Shizuka-chan, how about i invite you to that, there will be all kinds prominent people attending, lots of young bachelors to pick from, maybe you can find the right one among them."

It was a good sign that she wasn't totally uncooperative, i would normally hate going to an event like that filled with pompous rich people and i didn't miss the bitterness in her last words, but it was better than expected after my earlier fuck up.

"Sure, just text me the time and the address and i will definitely be there."

With her fake smile on her face she spoke in a hurry after checking her wristwatch. "Well i have to leave now, Yukino-chan is probably waiting for me at her apartment, i missed her so much after you swayed her mind yesterday Hikigaya-kun. Good night both of you." After that she gave me a wink and turned around with her last words. "Don't do anything i wouldn't Shizuka-chan."

After our farewells, we walked towards the car, i was barely able to keep my cool, while Hikigaya was in silent thinking, my nerves got better of me when we got near the car, i threw the cigarette i was holding away with force and raised my voice. "Damn you Valentines day." While kicking my beloved steeds tires.

It seemed like curiosity overcame Hikigaya and he asked timidly. "What did all that mean Sensei, i have never seen Haruno-san like that."

I decided to say enough to sate his curiosity. "It means that Haruno is not the demon superwomen you make her out to be and she has her own set of problems that she can't deal with."

I was too annoyed to keep talking with Hikigaya now, so i commanded him with a stern voice and moved towards the drivers side. "Now Hikigaya, keep your mouth shut and let me think on the way, you had enough lessons for today"

With a timid tone he said his last words and moved towards the passenger door. "Roger that Sensei."

It was a day filled with surprises, but the thing that surprised me most was remembering the fact that even I could loose my cool in a moment of weakness and carelessness.

As i drove the car past the front door of the cafe we have been sitting, i could spot the waitress that served us running towards a guy and wrapping him in an embrace. Now i was really pissed, give me my praise back girl. I wonder if i should start blaming everything on the gods of romantic comedy like the dead fish eyed guy sitting next to me does...

AN: Hello guys, welcome to the first fiction i ever wrote, to be precise welcome to the first thing i ever wrote -not counting walls of texts i tend to write as forum posts- since the crappy essays i used to write in high school (which was about 10 years ago).

Even though i am a humble engineer whose literary education is at bare high school level, i was under the impression that it wouldn't be that hard to write stuff being the avid reader i am. Oh boy could i be more wrong!

I had this story planned as far as 4 chapters before even starting to write it and i had most of the conversations in my had. But still i couldn't guess how hard it is to write it, especially descriptive parts, they felt so painful i didn't even bother with describing the environment and focused on character expressions and voice tones.

I am hoping i didn't make that many grammatical mistakes, but i wasn't satisfied with my English after writing this, it being my second language i realised i wasn't that bad with the grammar but the thing i seemed to lack most was making sentences pleasing to hear, i noticed i was using same words over and over and i was using same conversation tools repeatedly.

As it is obvious by the title, this story is about Sensei, it will not have any other POV, and it will focus on her life, it might give some conclusion to the main trios story, or it may focus a bit on Haruno, but it will probably skip some steps while reaching those conclusions, like it did with Yukino's request on this chapter, it is not that i didn't tell you what her request is, i didn't even write it myself, it is not needed in this story.

Now this will probably be bad news for some people but i will be having an OC, he will appear on second chapter (ups i spoiled his gender), and i fear i will be blamed with self insertion as it usually happens with male OCs, but i will come clean and say it, if i made a self insertion i probably did it by inserting my own character into Hiratsuka Sensei, OC will have a quite different character from mine, closer to my ideal women if i have to say it (now i feel like i wrote a gender bender fic after saying this).

When it comes to how long this story will last and how often will i update, i have at least 4 chapters planned, but i am sure i will come up with a 5th chapter, after that who knows. Updates will be once a week at best, and i am hoping it will be once a week, unless something unexpected eats up my weekends.

I guess i am supposed to ask for reviews now, well tell me what i did wrong, so i can try to avoid them in the later chapters, or you can flat out say "dude your story sucks, just stop it" and i might leave this as one shot to be forgotten within the depths of this site.

Thank you for reading.

William "Bill" Huggins