A/N: My dearest readers, I sincerely apologize for not updating this sooner. I was sidetracked in writing a one-shot, got sick with the flu and stuff at work piled up...
...right. Screw my rambling and on with the story.
Thanks to those who gave reviews, especially the feedback, both for this one and Seclusion. I will keep them in mind! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Oregairu
"So, Hikigaya..."
A white puff of smoke was blown carelessly towards his face, eliciting a cough from Hachiman as its bitter essence stung his nostrils and filled his lungs. Waving his hand to clear up the foggy mess he was once more met by the displeased face of his homeroom teacher.
"I bet you're dying to tell me all about why you decided to sleep on my class?"
He had opted to complain about the health hazards of secondhand smoke, however the current situation demanded that he stay quiet as it would be a greater threat to his well-being if he accidentally invoked the wrath of the woman before him. It was also a fact that his personal opinions were of the least importance – both for this time or any.
Hachiman gulped and tried his best to gather his wits, knowing that the slightest of blunders could warrant a swift fist to reach his midsection within a blink of an eye.
"U-umm, you see Sensei," he started cautiously. "I-I stayed up late last night thinking about... s-stuff."
"...stuff." Her iteration was filled with annoyance as she rubbed the expended cigarette on the ashtray. "Care to elaborate further on what this 'stuff' is all about?"
Stuck in the sudden death round, he wracked his brain even more to come up with the best answer to save his skin, his self-preservation instincts triggering.
"Club!" He exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him to dispel the sense of foreboding. "Y-yeah, I was up all night thinking about club, a-and..."
"Hmm, club? What are you..." Shizuka's expression changed into a confused one as she trailed off, pondering over his response before she seemed to have been struck by a sudden realization. "Oh... OH. You meant that." She remarked with a smug grin and a wink.
"Sure, let's go with that!" He quickly seconded, a bit in disbelief that he had narrowly escaped a painful punishment. "I-I mean, exactly what you said!"
"Alright, I get it." The teacher sighed. "If that's the case then I guess I can at least forgive you... but just this once." She stood up and jabbed his arm. "Geez Hikigaya, I never would have thought you to undergo this problem so soon. Still, that doesn't mean I'll let you go that easily for slacking off, so as retribution for your misdeed I want you to do me a favor..." There were sounds of rustling paper as Shizuka went to her work desk, and upon returning she handed him a sheet.
"This is..." Hachiman studied the paper and saw that it was a familiar exam, already checked and had received just a few points away from a passing score. Looking at the upper left portion he saw the name and was honestly not that much surprised. "Yuigahama, huh?"
"Despite your eyes being rotten, your vision is as fine as ever. Anyway, Yuigahama will have to retake the test and she needs to pass it next time around. Now I do have faith in her abilities, but let's just say that this is a sort of... fail-safe." Pulling out another stick she clicked her lighter and lit the cigarette, blowing smoke this time away from his direction. "Nothing wrong with being too sure now, is there?"
"Alright, I guess it can't be helped." Hachiman sighed, seeing there was no point arguing after getting away unharmed.
"Well then, I guess that's all for today. I'm guessing since it's already after class, you're aching to see your 'club mates' badly, huh?"
"Not really." He replied nonchalantly, standing up to leave.
"Oh, don't be like that!" Shizuka elbowed his side before locking his lowered head into a sleeper hold. "There's no need to hide it from me!"
"Ack-! S-sensei, let go please!" He tapped at her arm repeatedly, unable to breathe both from her tight grip and her well-endowed chest pressing against his face. As he broke free he took some time to catch his breath and calm his heart down.
"Kidding aside, I'm really proud of you Hikigaya. You were quite the problematic student before, keeping to yourself and cursing everything else around you. Well, you still are a bit if I think about it, but you've definitely grown. You even formed a little circle of friends on your own too."
"Friends?" Hachiman chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm afraid you got the wrong idea, Hiratsuka-sensei."
"Hmm? Why so?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.
"For Yuigahama and Yukinoshita, I had no choice but to be near them because we are in the same club. Isshiki becoming the student council president is my fault so in return I have to aid her with anything that requires my help. Totsuka has always been in debt after the club helped him out, the same goes for Kawasaki. As for Hayama and his group, they just keep getting involved because of either their relation to Yuigahama or their need for the club's assistance." He slid the paper into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "As you can see, these people are simply around me for a reason, being friends is a long-shot from reality."
"I see." Shizuka seemed unfazed by his long-winded speech and proceeded to take a drag from her cigarette, smiling all the way. "It seems I may have to take back a few things I've said about you."
"If that is all then I shall be going." He excused before leaving, overhearing her murmuring something about being honest before he slid the door behind him.
"Yahallo Hikki!"
"Good afternoon, Hikigaya-kun."
"Yo."
It was the common exchange of greetings that had always been part of their daily routine. Hachiman was never a fan of such a custom, to acknowledge the arrival of another person. As a loner he neither had anyone to greet nor to be greeted by, but Yukinoshita's countless discussions emphasizing its importance had him overlook it to avoid further rebukes.
He settled down on his seat, laid his bag to his side and was about to pull out his book when a certain sheet of paper among his things caught his attention.
'That's right, I have to tell Yuigahama about this.' He glanced over to the girl, who was busily hunched over on her phone as usual. His eyes then moved towards the other person in the room, whom silently read her paperback book while keeping a proper posture.
Hachiman may not seem like it, but he was always very wary of his surroundings, be it objects or people. In this case, Yui may not fancy the idea of talking about a failing mark and a retest within the presence of others so he began to think of a way to talk to her about it without letting Yukino know.
It didn't take him a long time to come up with an action plan as he saw the device in Yui's hands. Reaching into his pocket he produced his own, finding her name with ease as there weren't many numbers saved in his contact list.
Since he had to make sure that Yukino wouldn't find out he typed "don't say anything" in the subject, as for the body of the mail he kept it simple: "Meet me outside school after club, I need to tell you something."
A few seconds after sending his message, Yui's phone rang. As she opened it, she took a quick look of surprise at his direction before going on to read the contents. Hachiman watched her from the corner of his eyes as she appeared to grow tense. He also noticed her face seemed a bit redder than usual, but perhaps it was only the setting sun's rays that caused the tint.
The pink-haired girl started to work her fingers on the buttons at a speed that never failed to amaze him. As she finished whatever she had been typing, she gave a sigh and smiled coyly at her phone's screen. Hachiman checked his inbox as it vibrated, luckily it was set to silent so the ringtone didn't go off.
"Okay, but can I ask why? Just a hint is enough."
Sending her another message (and probably exceeding his yearly quota of sent mails) he decided to tell her about the exam. Curiosity would have kept her nervous until it was time to go home and Yukino might have caught onto her if she began to act oddly. It wouldn't do good if she-
"WHAAAAAAAT?! H-h-how did you know I failed my test?!" Yui exclaimed in shock, standing up from her seat and facing him. Yukino nearly dropped her book from the sudden outburst that broke the tranquility of the room while Hachiman could do nothing but facepalm himself.
'So much for discretion...'
As there was nothing left to hide, Hachiman then explained to the two girls how Shizuka had ordered him to aid her on the retake, and the reason he kept it low-key was because Yui may not be comfortable discussing the matter openly with others.
"I see, so Hiratsuka-sensei has asked for your help. Somehow I fear for Yuigahama-san's success even more." Yukino said the last part as her gaze moved to him.
"Don't blame me, this is all Sensei's idea."
"Don't be like that Yukinon." Yui chided. "Also I'm sorry for yelling, I was just like, really surprised there. It was so embarrassing that I even hid it from Yumiko and the others..." She trailed off before looking back at him with a smile. "Still, I'm impressed that you actually cared Hikki."
"I didn't, I just don't want to deal with your childish tantrums so don't get too used to it."
"E-eh?! That's terrible Hikki, I thought you were actually being nice for once!" Yui pouted.
"I'm afraid Hikigaya-kun could never be nice, even if his life depended on it."
"Of course I can. The fact that I didn't hold personal vendettas on those who had done ill towards me is proof enough of my niceness." Hachiman refuted, puffing his chest in pride. "I didn't even ask for anything as compensation for their wrongdoings."
"But knowing you, I don't think Hikki is the kind of person to be able to ask for something like that."
"And even if he does, I don't think they will listen to him."
"Why are you two ganging up against me?"
The girls' laughter filled the room and while Hachiman was as always the subject of insults, he couldn't help but feel a little happy with what was happening.
'Dear god, have I become a masochist?'
It had been decided that the best place to study at was Yukino's apartment, as it had the least distractions present out of the other households. She had also agreed to lend a hand which the two more than gladly accepted.
Even if it wasn't the first time Hachiman had visited her home, he was still astounded by how luxurious and well-kept the place was despite only being inhabited by a single person. Truly it matched the regal air of the refined Yukinoshita Yukino perfectly.
"Hikigaya-kun, if you're done gawking then would you kindly take a seat? It is both embarrassing and creepy when you're scrutinizing anything with those eyes of yours."
"Oh, my bad."
'Well, up until she starts speaking anyway...'
He turned his eyes away from the window's view of the cityscape and went to sit on the sofa. Yui was currently busy on preparing the things she would be using, laying them out on the coffee table before them. A few minutes later, Yukino returned to the living room with a tray of tea and biscuits.
"Ah, thanks Yukinon." She took her cup and blew the beverage before taking a small sip, humming delightfully in satisfaction. "You really make the best tea."
Hachiman was surprised at the other item sitting beside the treats, which Yukino took and handed over to him. "Oh, what's this? I didn't know you drink MAXX Coffee as well, Yukinoshita. I never thought you had some here at your place." He remarked, thanking her for the drink. Opening the can he relished its scent before proceeding to take a good swig of his lifeblood.
"Of course not, I could never stomach that concoction brimming with excessive amounts of sugar and caffeine. I had some reserved for yo-" Yukino suddenly stopped mid-sentence and froze, much to the surprise of the two especially since her face looked as if she had been caught red-handed.
"W-wow! That's kinda thoughtful of you Yukinon." Yui commented, noticing the awkward silence that was dragging on and dispelled it. The club president then recovered from her trance and cleared her throat.
"Y-yes, you may put it like that..." She muttered under her breath.
"..." Hachiman said nothing, instead he treated himself to another gulp of his precious drink, ignoring the blush on Yukino's face. He'd have none of her badmouthing of his MAXX Coffee.
The two started reviewing Yui soon after, with Hachiman teaching her the lessons while Yukino giving her sample questions to gauge her understanding and throw in some pointers every now and then for their discussion. They took turns in assisting her, answering each of her queries to the best of their abilities.
So far it was going well, and given that he had been tutoring Komachi on several occasions it wasn't an entirely new experience for him. One could even say that he was used to it, however he discovered that there were certain things different than with his little sister...
"Oh, so that's how it's done!" Yui remarked in complete awe, almost as if she were only exaggerating but the sparkle in her eyes as the topic slowly made sense told him otherwise.
Hachiman normally couldn't care less if she were that amazed, but it truly unnerved him how near she was sitting right beside him, the distance between them no more than a few inches. The girl would sometimes even lean towards his direction as she looked at his notes, drawing too close for comfort.
The smell of her perfume would reach his nose, which somehow managed to linger even after the length of the entire day. It had a strong sweet scent reminiscent of strawberries, quite different from the milder smell of Komachi's bubblegum shampoo, and with every whiff of its enticing fragrance he found himself oddly wanting more of it.
'Damn you, hormones and puberty.' He cursed mentally. It was harder than he had originally thought to occupy himself on other things. Even Totsuka failed to liberate his mind from the alluring girl's charming qualities.
He knew better to keep his mouth firmly shut, figuring that complaining about it would lead to Yui growing conscious of the situation and losing her focus. His only breather was whenever Yukino spoke up, causing her attention to shift to the girl across her. He would then take this opportunity to regain his composure and steel himself.
'Calm down Hachiman...'
Time ticked away by the second and soon it was getting late. The three covered enough lessons to feel confident enough in Yui's success so they decided to finally call it a day.
"Thanks again Yukinon!" Yui hugged her friend, whom was still learning to be comfortable with her tendency for engaging in physical contact. "You really helped me out a lot!"
"Y-you're welcome, Yuigahama-san."
"Well, we're off then. Let's go Hikki!"
"Bye."
"Take care, you two."
As they made their way out the building neither of them said anything, the only sounds were of their footsteps resonating against the corridor walls before dissipating out the main entrance. They were greeted by the cold night breeze as they made their exit, whistling in their ears as it soared through the dark streets of the city. Removing the lock that secured his bike, he looked up and saw the other person waiting for him.
"I'll escort you home." Hachiman offered, and despite his face being devoid of any signs of concern the girl smiled warmly at him and nodded.
"Okay."
He had his bike at the ready and instructed Yui to take her seat behind him, reminding her to hold on tightly so as not to fall off. After giving him the go signal, he began to pedal at a slow pace before gradually gaining speed.
Both remained quiet as they rode off into the night, the wind blowing against their faces as Hachiman worked his legs. While he had always welcomed silence with open arms as the loner he was, he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that irked him from the lack of Yui's chattering, as if something was off. It seemed that at some point her talkativeness had developed into a kind of white noise for him whenever he was in her presence.
"Hikki."
He heard her voice call, soft almost like a whisper, and he nearly thanked her for doing so. Eyes locked on the road, he responded without looking back.
"Yeah?"
There was a small pause before she spoke again, her indecisiveness unseen by the boy.
"Did you ever regret it? You know, about what happened before..."
It was a topic he didn't expect to come up in their conversation, especially since he had already settled that matter with her before when they had a little disagreement. He, along with Yukino's help, managed to put an end to their issue and even apologized to each other, restoring their relationship to whatever it was before that argument.
"I guess, there were times." He admitted, even if he knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear he figured the truth, no matter how cruel, was always better than a sweet lie. "Like when I'm in a lot of pain, or when I recall missing my first days of high school... But it's all in the past, no point dwelling too much in it."
"I-I see... That's a very 'Hikki' kind of answer." She chuckled lightly. "But still... I'm sorry."
"Hmm? Didn't we already agree to put that behind us?"
"I know, but I never really got to apologize before. Especially since I was really nervous at the hospital, I was afraid you might get mad at me and blame me for everything if I went to see you in person."
"I guess that's understandable." He sighed. "But like I said, it's not your fault if I went to save Sablé, I did that of my own volition. Shit happens."
"Alright. Oh, and one last thing, c-can I make a request?"
"What is it now?" Hachiman groaned, waiting for her to speak her mind. However she didn't say anything else, and just as he was about to turn his head around for a quick glance he felt hers rest on his back. "O-oi! Yuigahama, what are yo-"
"Let me be a bit selfish..." Her one hand shifted its hold from his blazer to his shoulder to keep her balance on her seat, causing him to shudder at the movement. "Even if it's only for tonight."
"..." He was rendered speechless, feeling a lump form in his throat that blocked the words he wanted to say. His mind then began to wander back to earlier events, when they sat side by side at Yukino's apartment.
The way her brown eyes glimmered with her will to learn, watching intently at the notes during his or Yukino's discussion.
Her white skin that he had once accidentally come into contact with when she scooted a little closer and their arms bumped, soft and smooth to the touch like fine silk of the highest quality.
Those supple lips, moist and glistening under the light, how it either curved up to a smile or down to a frown.
The well-developed curves of her body, exceptionally tantalizing according to his standards, closely rivalling that of Hiratsuka-sensei's.
And that iconic hair bun of hers that she just wouldn't be herself without, topping her off neatly like a cherry on a delicious parfait from some fancy café.
"Thank you, Hikki."
He hated it. How it all flustered him so much, how it effortlessly invaded his mind and incessantly gnawed at him for attention. Like some parasite that clung to him for dear life and ceaselessly fed on his energy.
It was like he was some damn love-struck riajuu happily biking his way to take his girlfriend to her home since it was already late.
'What am I thinking?' He shook his head and took a deep breath, focusing his mind on their destination and disposing all unnecessary thoughts while mentally iterating his mantra.
'Repeat after me: she's just a nice girl.'
Luckily both had their faces away from the other, conveniently hiding the bright crimson blush that streaked their cheeks from sight.
Upon reaching their destination, Yui's mother thanked him for both his help and for seeing her home. After another awkward situation with the doting parent constantly meddling on her daughter's affairs before getting forcefully shoved inside the house, she shut the door closed behind her and sighed in relief.
"I see your mom is as lively as ever."
"Don't mind what she's saying!" Yui laughed nervously. "I'm sorry for having Hiratsuka-sensei trouble you with helping me, but I'm really grateful to have friends like you and Yukinon."
"D-don't mention it. It was partly my fault for snoozing in class anyway." He said, glad she didn't see him flinch a moment ago.
"Hehe, yeah. Serves you right." The girl kiddingly stuck her tongue out at him. "But next time, I'll try not to do it again."
"Hmm, again?" The boy inquired, unsure of what she was referring to.
"Yup! The reason why I failed. It was because I didn't get to study properly for the test and my mind was fixed on other things. I was also a bit sleepy since the night before the day of the exam I had been up late busily... practicing."
"I see then. Well, whatever it is you're working on, good luck with that."
"Oh, it's already done. The results weren't what I had expected, but..." Yui looked away smiling shyly, as if recalling something embarrassing. "I guess you could say it went well."
"Uhuh." Hachiman shrugged, getting ready to leave. "Anyway it's getting late, so I'm going."
"Alright, goodbye and I'll see you tomorrow Hikki." She bid him farewell, shouting one last reminder before seeing him off. "And get some sleep this time so you don't end up dozing off at class!"
A/N: Sorry for the wait. I had a lot of things I wanted to put in this chapter, but I selected what I think should only be for now.
I also wanted to insert another character besides the three and Komachi, so I gave Shizuka a short appearance here.
Thank you for being patient! I hope you enjoyed the story.