A/N- Some people have been telling me that I use OOC. And yes I may but you have to understand, this story takes place 9 years after the events in Oregairu(Its in the summary). People obviously change as time goes on especially when you go from teenager to adult. Do you think 8man or any other character is going to act the EXACT same and look at things the EXACT same way as he did in high school after 9 years?. This is my version of the characters after my version of the story.

Sorry for the rambling, you guys wanted a longer chapter, here it is. I put a lot of effort into it. Hope you enjoy.


Chapter 4 - Wasted Years

I turned around.

It was her.

It was really her.

Her.

Time literally froze as well as my body did.

The girl stood about 4 meters away from me.

She had on pricey looking boots, probably from some European brand I can't even pronounce.

Above that were a pair of black skinny jeans, her hips were slightly wider than I last remembered.

She also wore a white coat, it suited her well in my view.

Under the coat was a grey, plain cardigan.

Her chest was the same as I last remembered though. 'Genetics didn't go here way then' I thought to myself.

A blue expensive looking handbag hanging on her slim arms.

Her fashion choice proved that she was now a full adult, she appeared to look much more mature.

Her hair still dark and maybe slightly longer.

I could tell she had put a lot of effort with her makeup. Her facial features didn't seem to change much from when I last saw her, she was still a beauty with those familiar blue eyes, she still lived up to the nickname " Ice Queen" which was given to her a long, long time ago.

Yukinoshita Yukino, was standing in front of my eyes for the first time in 6 years.

Even after all these years I could instantly recognize it was her.

I started asking myself a ton of questions again as I was extremely confused- Why is she here so early? Didn't I say 11:30? , Why is she still calling me-

"Hachiman-kun"

She repeated herself but this time from the tone of her voice I could tell she was holding back tears.

It was obvious she was more well dressed then I was, she seemed to have taken a long time to prepare herself before seeing me. I kinda felt like I should have dressed better. My jacket was a little bit stained since I had a can of coffee on the train and some of it spilled on me when the train stopped. My jeans were pretty crumpled as I just pulled it out the bottom of my drawer. My face probably looked pretty bad as well since I didn't get much sleep last night ,resulting me into looking like a zombie from some shitty low budget zombie movie.

As I was staring at her the world felt like it resumed again but this time in slow motion.

Then she suddenly charged at me and grabbed onto me, sinking her face into my chest, grappling her slim arms tightly around my back.

She was muffling but I could tell she was repeating my name, over and over, still with her face sinked into my chest.

"Hachiman-kun…..,Hachiman-kun…."

I was extremely surprised by her actions. I never expected her to react like this when seeing me. I really hoped she didn't notice those coffee stains.

She smelt extremely good. She probably put on some special, expensive perfume beforehand.

I could tell she was grabbing on me with all her force but even then it wasn't that strong.

Behind her neck I could notice she was wearing a silver necklace…. It was familiar...it was the one I gave her.

Why does she still have it?

I just stood there looking down at her. I was speechless.

Should I just grab her back? is that wrong?

Fuck. I really hope my wife's not watching, she'll kill me if she sees me like this. Oh my god, she smells so damn good….. NO, ME! Stay calm!, YOU are a married man!

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a couple of people walking past looking at us weirdly and whispering. I was certain they were talking about us. I realized I had to stop her. But what do I do?.

I decided I'll just separate her from me for now.

I grabbed her shoulders and expanded the distance between us.

She looked at me surprised.

"Yu….Yu...Yuk.." I started to stumble on my words as I was overloaded with mixed emotions ,still holding her shoulders while looking right into her eyes.

She said the words first before I did.

"Hachiman-kun, it's been so long" She said with the familiar voice as she put on a small smile while wiping her eyes.

Silence occupied the atmosphere but this time it felt a little nice for some reason.

The sky still looked pretty bad and it was getting a little colder. I decided to break the silence by asking her the simple question.

"Um…..It's cold here right now so do you want to go to the restaurant right away?" I said pointing to the Royal Host restaurant.

"Sure, anything" She replied. After she said those words I realized she had put on lip balm . Old memories started flashing in my head.

I started walking back towards our meeting place. She surprised me again , this time she grabbed onto my arm.

I was dazed, but I tried to ignore it as we walked inside.

As soon as we entered, the heating welcomed us as it engulfed us. There were about 20 tables in the whole floor. A couple tables were occupied by some couples and a few foreigners. It was nice and clean and the floor had a good atmosphere. I would want to come to a place like this with my family one day.

A female waitress, probably in her early thirties came up to us. Her uniform reminded me of Saki when she used to work back in the day.

"Welcome to Royal Host, table for 2?" She asked us nicely.

"Yes 2 please" Yukinoshita replied with a happy tone .Still hugging my arm before I could answer.

"Smoking section or normal?[1]" The waiter asked again nicely.

"Hachiman-kun do you smoke?"

I never liked smoking. I always absolutely hated it when my father smoked in our house. It made the whole room smell extremely revolting and most of the time I lost a little bit of respect for some people when I found out they were smokers.

"Normal please, I don't smoke" I told the waiter.

"Ok, please follow me" The waiter said as she began to walk.

She lead us to a table next to a window where we can see the busy streets and the people.

She finally let go of my arm before she took off her coat.

We both sat down facing each other.

"Here are the menus, please press the ring button when your order is ready, thank you" She said before bowing and walking off.

Me and Yukinoshita both started examining the menu.

Yukinoshita was still looking at hers after I was done looking through mine.

I could notice she wasn't wearing a ring. Obviously indicating she was not married. It gave me a bad feeling. I never wore my ring as I just didn't like the feeling of metal against my fingers, instead I wore it as a necklace. That way Saki was still happy I always had mine with me.

It was still pretty early to have lunch so I figured it was better to just have drinks here and go eat at some other place.

"Hey..., we will just have drinks here, we can just go eat somewhere else later[2]" I told her.

She looked back at me with a straight face.

"Okay, then I have chosen" She replied closing the menu.

I pressed the ring button and the waiter quickly came to the table asking for our orders. I asked for the drink bar [3] and Yukinoshita asked for a orange ice tea.

As soon as the waiter left we both went silent. I could tell she was staring at me but I tried not to look at her back.

This is so awkward what do I do?...

I guess I'll just go to drink bar...

"Hey I'll go to the drink bar"

"Okay, take your time" she replied calmly with a soft smile looking back at me.

After I filled my coffee I walked back towards our table, I noticed Yukinoshita was looking out the window with her head slightly tilted. Sitting upright with a near perfect posture .

I feel like I have seen this view somewhere….

The feeling of deja vu went through my head.

She was still gorgeous. Her appearance was still the Yukinoshita Yukino I remembered even after all these years. Obviously there were slight differences but overall she was the same.

"Hachiman ...kun?" she said sounding slightly concerned.

I instantly blushed and heated up. I must have appeared like I was standing by the table just staring at her to the other people in the restaurant. I quickly sat back down. I noticed her ice tea had arrived.

"My bad, I felt like I had dej-" I stopped my words as I realized It will be weird and uncomfortable just telling her that.

"Sorry?, dej what?" Yukinoshita asked.

"Its nothing don't worry..."

I had to think of something else to say. I came up with:

"By the way why did you come here so early? I said 11:30 didn't I?"

I genuinely wanted to know the answer to that.

"I did not want to come late, I was anxious that you will leave even if I was a minute late so I came early"

Hey, I wasn't that short tempered about time right? I feel like I can wait longer than most people...But anyway isn't a hour a bit TOO early?

"So you came one hour early?"

"Hey…...it's..Just…..Anyway Hachiman-kun I was wondering have you talked to Yuigahama-san recently?, It feels very nostalgic remembering about our service club" She said trying to change topic. Like how I was earlier.

Yuigahama

That name hit my mind like a left hook from Roy Jones Jr [4].

I had completely forgot about Yuigahama Yui's existence. I could not believe I had forgotten someone who I spent so much time with. Could that had been because we never saw each other after high school?... Will i don't blame her for not wanting to see me...But after hearing her name from Yukinoshita, every memory i spent with her came back into my mind. When we went to Kyoto, When she was baking, her pet dog Sable. I can't believe I had even forgot about the expression she showed when I last saw her, when she had cried her eyes out.

I wonder what Yuigahama thinks of me now.

Would she have forgiven me by now?.

I hoped so.

"Hachiman-kun"

I snapped out of my short but impactful daydream.

"Hachiman-kun are you fine?, you appeared to be zoning out, it concerns me."

"No, no I'm f, fine…. By the way I haven't talked to Yuigahama since…. You know…that happened...anyway have you talked to her or met her recently? " I asked trying to sound normal again.

"I met up with her often until about two years ago, I still meet her on occasion but she has been busy recently." Yukinoshita replied hesitantly, sounding a little bit sad.

Yukinoshita might know what Yuigahama thinks of me now. I had to ask her.

"Is she still mad with me… or has she even mentioned me since?"

"I'm afraid not. She never mentioned you after you left" Yukinoshita answered.

After hearing about Yuigahama a series of other names I had forgotten reappeared in my head.

Totsuka, Miura, Tobe, Hayama , Zaimokuza, Hiratsuka-Sensei. How the FUCK did I forget about everyone, Is it even possible for a human to lose memory of so many people?.

I then remembered what the doctor had told me after my scooter accident. When we first moved to Kanagawa I rode a scooter but I got hit by a truck and I hit my head on the concrete knocking me out unconscious instantly. I was taken to hospital by an ambulance immediately afterwards. My life was saved thanks to my full face motorcycle helmet Saki always demanded me to wear. After I recovered the doctor told me I had lost memory of some 'minor' things. At first I thought I only lost memory of small things like lock combinations but it turns out I had forgotten about all the people in high school other than Saki and Yukinoshita, even forgetting someone who I had spent so much time with such as Yuigahama. My wife barely talked about high school because she didn't particularly want to remember about it either. I stopped riding scooters since because I didn't want to make Saki worried.

Along with the names questions starting shooting into my mind. Whats Hayama doing right now after being a member of society? Is Hiratsuka-Sensei married now? Is Zaimokuza still a loser?. My head felt like it was about to implode after what was going on inside it.

I realized I was zoning out again, so I started off by asking the first question to her.

"How is Hayama doing right now?" I asked trying to sound calm and cool to try and hide the fact that my mind was panicking earlier. I bet Hayama was living great right now, probably employed to a company with a amazing salary or something, along with a bombshell of a wife. Adults say that popular kids in high school don't succeed as they become losers as adults. That bull shit. It's just a way to try and make us losers and loners in high school try feel better about ourselves and look forward to the future . It's not true. 9 times out of 10 losers will always be losers and Winners will always be winners. Popular kids always had charisma and were charming as they had great social skills. Giving themselves a better reason to be employed in the future when they grew up. I was the 1% of loners from high school who ended up in a far, far better place than before.

"He married Miura-san. He's working on starting a business right now." She answered back calmly.

"Wow, Ok" I said back not too surprised.

I found out I wasn't the only high school love bird who ended up being married. Miura ended up marrying Hayama. Huh, no surprises there I guess. I bet his business will make him a fuck ton of money.

"Speaking of marriage is Hiratsuka-Sensei married now? " I asked with a little bit of laughter at the end of my sentence. Hiratsuka-Sensei was always the woman who couldn't find herself a boyfriend. She was kind of seen as the "bad example" of an adult to everyone at school because no one wanted to end up like her when they were her age.

"She married another teacher who came to teach at the school after we graduated. I'm pretty certain Hiratsuka-sensei is slightly older than him. She still teaches at Sobu." Yukinoshita replied like she sounded happy for them.

I truly felt happy for Hiratsuka-sensei, Now she wouldn't have to be insulted by her other friends. I could imagine the expression she would have shown at her wedding, She must have been extremely proud and braggy about it.

"Finally!, I would have been worried if a middle aged woman like her was still single!." I uttered while laughing.

I instantly realized and regretted what I just said.

"Wait, wait please! Please! Don't tell her I said middle aged!" I exclaimed, slightly paranoid. She will go super saiyan and kill me if she found out I said that, Similar to Goku's reactions when Frieza killed Krillin on Namek, Or Gohan's reaction when Cell killed android 16.[5].

"Middle….Aged?..." Yukinoshita blinked a few times with a blank expression.

To my surprise the girl sitting in front of me bursted out laughing.

"Ha-Hachiman kun, you are a fully grown ad-adult and you are still scared of her?, you really are terrible! " she continued as she still laughed, struggling and choking to get the words out of her mouth as she carried on cracking up.

Yukinoshita laughing strangely gave me a…...uplifting feeling. I found it hard to remember the last time I saw her laughing in this manner. But somehow seeing her like this made me relieved. I just smiled and continued to stare at her as she was shaking with laughter.

She suddenly paused and looked back at me with a shocked expression. Looking like she had realized she did something wrong.

"I-m very sorry I didn't mean it" She said while looking back at me.

She was concerned that I might have taken offense to her when she said I'm terrible. I realized at that moment that Yukinoshita wasn't making fun of me or insulting me as much as she used to. It seemed that she was holding those insults back. I bet she was being careful not to make me mad a single little bit. But I honestly wasn't angry, if anything I was happy. Seeing her act like that again made her look like her younger self.

"Don't worry I don't care, I'm used to it." I replied trying to sound like I really didn't care.

Her face showed the expression of relief before she smiled again looking back at me.

We had both finished our drinks, I glanced at my phone and it was 11. We should just go to another cafe or restaurant to eat.

"Hey, now that we've both finished, do you want to get out of here and eat somewhere else?" I asked looking back at her.

"I don't mind, anything you say." she said back still smiling.

We both stood up and got our stuff, I put on my jacket back the same time she put on her coat. She grabbed her handbag and we both walked towards the register.

"That will be 940 yen please" The waiter kindly said.

I dug into my pockets to grab my wallet. After all it was a gentleman's duty to pay for the girl.

But Yukinoshita stopped me by holding my forearm. I was confused. I looked back at her and she said with a soft voice:

"I'll pay Hachiman-kun"

"Hey it's only 900 yen I'll p-"

"No" she exclaimed as she dug into her handbag grabbing her wallet. She gave the waiter a 1000yen note. I was astonished. She had never done something like this ever. Starting from the time we were in the bar with Saki, she always made me pay. Even though it wasn't a expensive price I was still surprised. This further made me feel like she was trying her hardest not to make me a slight bit mad.

"Thank you, we look forward to see you here again!" the waiter said out loud after giving Yukinoshita her change back.

We both walked out the restaurant standing by its sign.

"Um…. Thanks…..Where do you wanna have lunch?" I asked trying not to look at her.

Yukinoshita pointed towards the street on the left side of me.

"Not too far from here there is a newly constructed department store. On the 6th floor there is a nice Italian pasta restaurant. Is it fine if we go there?, I'm certain you will like it"

She obviously knew Chiba better than me now. I hadn't been here in years. I don't have a single clue about the newly built stores or the restaurants so it was better to just listen to her. And obviously since it's Yukinoshita I doubt she will lead us to a bad place.

"Yeah ok, let's go. I'll just listen to you,I haven't been here in ages so I don't know where to go"

I started walking towards the direction she signaled. Yukinoshita carried on walking beside me.

"Hachi….Hachiman-kun...do..you mind if I hold you arm again?" The ice queen requested to me, her cheeks slightly blushed.

I processed those words into my mind. It wasn't going well.

Should I let her? I mean it's not cheating right? Would Saki be that mad if she found out? Is it better if I just let her?

I came to the conclusion I should just let her.

"Do what you want" I said trying my best to sound like I didn't care.

She immediately grabbed onto me. Her light arms grappling around my left arm. Leaning her head into my shoulder.

She's so soft...she feels slightly different from Saki..a different type of feeling...Damn me! Snap out of it!

I stopped talking in my mind and I did my best to stay cool and calm.

We got to the pasta restaurant and it really was top notch. It was pretty expensive compared to some other places but Yukinoshita payed for the whole bill again. I told her I'll pay first but she demanded me that she will. Afterwards we ended up looking around the whole department store. Later on we just started walking and talking just wandering around the city every so often entering a store if it looked mildly interesting .To my surprise we both seemed to enjoy the time we had. She was often smiling and laughing and I was doing the same. I ended up telling her about how I had forgotten about some people in our high school due to my scooter accident. She seemed worried but I told her that I've completely recovered now and that I didn't ride anymore. She had also told me that her sister moved to Canada after being engaged by a Canadian. Sucks to be him I thought to myself. It was now five o'clock and I had to return to Kanagawa since the last train there left at 5:30. She walked with me to the station.

I stood outside the entrance to the station. About to say a goodbye to Yukinoshita. It was now dusk. The sun was going down and the sky was bright orange about to turn black later. The sun was going down so early because it was November. Yukinoshita held onto my arm for the whole day since we left the restaurant.

"I have to head back now" I told her bluntly .

I pulled my arm and she let go, making me free.

Yukinoshita looked down. She seemed to be sad since I was about to leave. I couldn't stay here forever obviously, after all I had a family waiting for me to return.

I was about to turn around and go before saying the last few words.

"Goodbye, Yukin-"

I paused on my sentence after something soft and smooth squeezed my hand.

I noticed she had held my hand.

What does she want?, she knows I have to go...

"Hey, I have to go now" I said softly with a smile. She was still looking down.

"please...please don't leave" she said in a small voice I could barely hear and understand.

I really had to go now, there seemed to be a lot of other people trying to get onto the station.

"I have to go seriously, now" I replied attempting to sound a little bit more serious.

She held my hand with both of hers.

Her soft lips opened.

"I…... "

At that point in time I had been completely oblivious to the reason why I had came to Chiba in the first place.

"I... know what I did was wrong, please forgive me"

I had come to Chiba so I can end ties with Yukinoshita, not so I can have a date with her. How was I so damn ignorant.

She looked up me at me with her beautiful blue eyes. I could notice there were tears formed inside them again. She held my hand tightly.

No

"I still…. love you"

No

No, this was not happening

"I still…. love you Hachiman, please...can i be yours again?"


References:

[1]-In Japanese restaurants its fairly common for there to be a smoking section for smokers.

[2]-Some people just come to these restaurants just to have a drink and talk.

[3]-A drink bar in a Japanese restaurant is somewhere you can fill your own drinks as many times as you want.

[4]-Roy Jones Jr is one of the greatest boxers in history, he was called 'captain hook' for his signature left hook he used KTFO of people (Ya'll Must Have Forgot)

[5]-If you don't get this reference I feel sorry for you.

Authors Note:

Thanks for reading!

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