I do not own Oregairu or its characters. Those all belong to their proper owners.

How was one supposed to usually feel waking up on a Friday? Are you supposed to be filled with dread for the day to come before you? Your energy reserves long since drained from the previous days of the week. Or was it filled with hope and the resolve to finish the week strong after a gruesome week? I guess depending on who you were, it could have been any of those options. Yet today, I woke up to the presence of an emotion one should never have when waking on a Friday, a Friday off to boot!

That emotion was fear, burning and relentless fear. That fear was driven into my soul by a firestorm that never halted once it started. If you angered the demon who controlled this fire, you would never come out unscathed. The fire was an uncontrolled burn to the demon's enemies. I could already hear the sound of 'Bun dem' in my heart as the fire raged. (1)

It didn't help the demon herself; the source of this unrelenting inferno was standing in my tiny kitchen scrutinizing my humble abroad.

My fears were justified in my eyes.

I was stupified by Haruno's sudden appearance, and I wouldn't ever admit it, but the thought of her being genuinely pissed off at me was more terrifying than anything! I watched in nervous silence as she scanned my cupboard, then the sink, followed up by my tiny table. It was like she was my drill instructor inspecting my bunk!

"I-I'm sorry I didn't respond last night. I seriously got caught up in tons of messages from other people and went to bed right away as soon as I got home," I hastily explained when it seemed she was done her inspection and was waiting for me to say something.

Haruno worked her jaw as she tilted her head towards me, stilling me stiff as if she was Madusa herself.

"So you went to bed right away?"

"Y-yeah, I swear," I muttered quietly, the burning in her eyes intense.

"So you can also eat well asleep? Impressive, even for a guy like you, Hikigaya," Haruno said as she gestured to the dish in the sink.

I winced at her verbal jab. Sensei was right; she is mad!

"I just had a quick meal. I am sorry, alright, I won't ignore you again." My words seemed to defuse her anger, it seemed. She rolled her eyes and waltzed over to my table, and sat down at one of the two chairs. The fire wasn't surrounding me anymore, but I had to be careful. A spark could easily restart a freshly put-out fire.

Speaking of the fire, why was she so mad anyway? It wasn't the first time I have ignored her. Although after this, it will probably be the last time I ever do.

"S-so, um, what are you doing here?" I asked cautiously but played it off as just being groggy from waking up. She must have seen through it, though, as the glare I received silenced me.

"If you must know, I wanted your answer to the question I asked last night. That is all."

"Oh, well, as you can kinda see, I am free today..."

Haruno crossed her arms as she digested my reply, and her gaze was like a mother reading her child to see if they were lying. Yet there was something else there, something I had only seen a couple of times in her eyes before.

"A young college student like you free on a Friday, how wonderful that must be! When I was in college I had to always go, I could never miss a day, even when I was ahead! Yep, it must be sooo nice for you!" She hissed each word, and the venom dripping from each syllable was enough to kill a man in seconds. Yet, when she realized what she said, she quickly composed herself and did a slight bow.

"Sorry about that, Hikigaya. Seems even I can mess up so early in the morning hehe..."

The self-deprecating laugh at the end was the last straw. I was so confused about what was happening right now. I might not have been the best at reading people, but even I could see that she was distressed about something. So I did what I always did best, improvised.

"Since I am free, did you want to do something? I was gonna respond back to you when I woke up that I was free." I quickly blurted and tried to ignore the voice in the back of my head telling me I was making a mistake.

As if lost by my words, Haruno stared at me for a moment before she burst out giggling. At this point, I was more confused than ever. It had to have shown on my face because she broke down into another giggle fit when she looked up to compose herself. I was too confused for this, so as she giggled away to herself, I reached into my fridge and grabbed a Max coffee. I was about to close the door but stopped. I had to remember my manners.

"Yo, Yukinoshita, want one?" I asked her, indicating to the drink in hand. She shook her head as her laughs began to die down. Fine with me, one extra Max all for me.

I popped the tab of my coffee as I sat myself down opposite of her at the table. Her eyes following me as I lifted the can to my lips and gulped down the heavenly liquid that was Max coffee. I put the can down after relishing in pleasure as the caffeine entered my system.

"So, why did you wanna know if I was free? Cause you have your answer."

For Haruno's credit, since her little outburst just moments before, she recovered quickly. The expression on her face was the ever so familiar friendly smile and gentle eyes. The laughing fit must have been a way to compose herself, right. No way I was that funny looking... right?

"You guessed it, I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out today." She explained with a shrug, but I caught a dip in her smile as her body moved. It was gone by the time she stilled again.

"I don't know how to hang out," I blurted and winced internally at how pathetic that sounded. Well, it was true; I didn't know how to hang out. The way I worded it was like I was back in Sobu. It was like getting a flashback to my cringey past! I wanna die thinking about it!

Haruno stared for a moment, almost as if trying to decipher the meaning behind my words. Then it all clued in as she raised a hand to her mouth before giggling behind a well-pedicured hand, "You don't know how to hang out? What does that even mean? How do you not know?"

I scowled as I turned away with a huff. The audacity of this woman.

"Can you tell me how to correctly hang out? I bet you can't," my voice came out like a whine. A pout, one could say.

Haruno watched me with the most amused smile, her eyebrows high in an arch as she tried to hold back a more giant smile. I still wasn't sure what was so funny about my responses, but it seemed to be the most immense joy. Maybe I'm a natural comedian.

She was silent as she got up from the table and walked into my tiny living room. I watched her with a lurch in my chest as she looked at my abysmal room decor. She kneeled down to scan the collection of discs I had beside the tv. I looked away quickly so as not to stare at her behind. I hear some mutters but couldn't distinguish any of them as she came to a stand. That face filled with amusement was still there as she stepped back into the kitchen.

"You haven't unlocked that level yet, it seems, so shall we go?" She asked as she turned to the door. Leaving me effectively with no choice but to follow her. I was confused by her lack of response, but her actions were even more confusing.

What level was she even talking about? We aren't in an RPG!

That is how I found myself in the passenger seat of a Mercedes far too early on a Friday morning. Take away from the fact that I was in a fancy vehicle; it was no different than if I was forced to go out in anything else. Except for the air conditioning, the AC in this thing was excellent!

I shifted with a satisfied sigh as I leaned back into the plush leather seats. It was like the warm leather was hugging me, but it wasn't a warm hug. It was chilled! The heat outside was nothing compared to the luxurious feeling of comfort in this. Is this what heaven was like? Maybe that's why these vehicles cost more than everything in my apartment!

A giggle snapped me from my relaxation as Haruno spoke, "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes. This is more comfortable than anything I own!" Sorry bed-chan, but the truth hurts.

Haruno rolled her eyes, and I watched her with mild interest. Haruno was a woman I was still mildly unsure of. Even with our lunch outings, I was uncertain of her motives. She had to be getting something out of this; why else would she be so gung ho to hang out with me? However, something more pressing caught my attention at the moment as I pushed those thoughts away.

"Aren't you hot?"

As we stopped at a red light, Haruno glanced at me with a toothy grin, "My my, Hikigaya, how bold. I would consider myself attractive, yes!" She said as she giggled madly to herself.

Her words rang in my head, then a burst of blood rushed up to my neck, then to my face, and I gawked before turning to look out the window.

"You know what I meant..." I grumbled as I risked a glance at her outfit.

Her frame was covered with a purple cardigan, and beneath it was a simple white shirt from the looks of it. Her legs were covered in a pair of dark pants, and the shoes she was wearing looked painfully uncomfortable. Some kind of heel boot abomination. I imagined her body cooking under all that, followed by the heat this summer. It looked more like a fall or spring outfit.

Haruno took a quick glance at me from the corner of her eye as she drove before simply shrugging. With the blood from my face receded, I faced her more, a single brow raised in question. She must have felt my gaze, for she said, "Yes, I am hot. However, I have a meeting later today I have to dress up for."

Oof, work, yikes. Wait?

"If you have work, why are we hanging out then? Wouldn't you want to relax before work?" I questioned with a genuine tone slipping into my voice. I mean, when I had to work, I preferred relishing every moment I could get alone before being forced to interact with people.

Haruno laughed, and she faced me with a gleeful smile, "Oh Hikigaya, that is why you are my favourite person to talk to!" She said before facing the road once again.

I could tell I wasn't gonna get an answer from her. So I decided to drop the conversation-

"If you really wanna know, I prefer to be alone before work," She said, suddenly cutting off my thought.

"Huh? I guess we have that in common." I said after a moment of thinking about what to say.

Haruno didn't answer, and the ride to wherever we were going was silent once again. However, I swore I heard her say, "You have no idea..."

I was probably just hearing things.

I was... shocked. I would even say, as the kids like to say these days, I was shook! Of all the places I expected Haruno to drag me to, this was not one of them. Yet, it strangely fits the Haruno I had come to know these last few years.

The bright neon sign of the arcade before us flashed as it just opened, it seemed. Judging by the man at the door looking surprised at the prospect of customers so early in the day.

I felt a look to my right, and I caught Haruno watching me. I expected her to say something, but nothing came. Was she waiting for me to say something? She was continuing to stare at me, and I gulped as I asked, "You want to go to an arcade before work? What's more, you want to go to an arcade with me before work even?"

Haruno didn't smile like I predicted she would. Instead, she began frowning as her eyes hardened, "Yes, yes I do." Then she got out of the vehicle, and the door was closed before I could ask her anything more.

I quickly scrambled to undo my safety belt and threw the door open as I followed her. By the time I caught up, she had already bought herself some tickets from the perplexed owner and was off in search of a game to play. I nodded in greeting to the man as I passed him and tried to catch up. How was she even moving that fast in those shoes?!

I eventually caught Haruno at the foosball table. I panted slightly as I rushed to catch up to her, and Haruno glared somewhat, "You could use better stamina, Hikigaya, if you want to keep up with me,"

I rolled my eyes and waved her off as I leaned on the table, "Well, I wasn't expecting to chase down a pouting girl on a Friday I was hoping to sleep in," I teased with a verbal jab, and her glare dropped into a blank look.

Her brow twitched, and she stared holes into my head, "I am not pouting." Her words were fired from her mouth like the bullets of a gun. Her response was scary but also mildly interesting.

"Oh, you aren't? My mistake, then. I must have been confused and chased a different pouting girl through the arcade. Oh wait, there is no one else here," I continued, my mouth doing all the work as my eyes studied her as I watched her intently.

Her brow twitched again, and I saw her shoulders tense. So that was it, huh? She didn't like being told she was pouting-

"Hikigaya," she said, once again interrupting my thoughts.

"Eh?"

"You will take those words back."

"I will not."

She stared intently, that blank look on her face making the emotion in her eyes stand out all that more. The feeling emitting from them was something new but familiar. Scary!

"Hikigaya, I will make your life hell, endless you take those words back."

Now that was really scary! I was just about to open my mouth to respond when I suddenly caught it. The emotion in her eye was the same just as her sisters. They had the same tell; it was the look of embarrassment.

Why would she be embarrassed, though? She teased people all the time? So wouldn't one assume she would be used to getting teased back? She always teased back when I teased her before, so what is different now? With these thoughts in mind, I answered with no fear.

"How so?"

Her eyes hardened even more, and I swear I saw her bite the inside of her lip. This was new; I actually had her on the backfoot during a verbal spar! I can't get cocky, though! Haruno was deadlier than anyone I had ever met. With Haruno, every threat was real!

"I mean it, Hikigaya. I am dead serious."

"Yeah, how so? How will you make my life hell, Yukinoshita san?"

Haruno gripped the foosball table, her knuckles white as she said, "I will make you my personal toy. You will do all of my biddings. You will do whatever I want. You would know only then how much hell you would be in!" She exclaimed with a challenge in her eyes, almost as if asking if I would keep pushing her.

I was already too curious, and all rational thought was long gone. Something that was becoming a habit of mine with the Yukinoshita family.

"Oh, that's all? You would do that already if you didn't realize." I said casually with a shrug and turned around as if I was bored.

With my back to her, I was able to easily hide the smile on my face. I probably looked like some creeper harassing a girl at the arcade, but I didn't care. This was a first for me, and I was gonna keep pushing it until it was no longer fun. After all, isn't that Haruno's MO?

I could hear Haruno fidgeting around, and I could listen to her huffing. Boy, she sounded mad. Eventually, I heard the heels of her boots, and I saw her walk in front of me with her arms crossed across her chest. I raised a brow at her as she smiled at me.

Oh no.

"Alright, you asked for it, Hikigaya. Let's make a bet." She said after a moment of silence. With that smile and glee on her face, I was in trouble! No, calm down, Hachiman, play it cool!

"A-a bet? What kind of bet?" I asked, trying to keep the shutter from my voice.

She must have caught it, though, as she giggled and held up her tickets. A million thoughts ran through my head, and I gulped.

"Whoever wins the most games with these amount of tickets wins. Simple, right?" She asked as she waited for my response, her eyes glinting with mirth.

I looked down at the tickets in her hand before looking into her eyes. Throw rational thinking away! Only Guerilla warfare will work with Haruno Yukinoshita!

"Alright, deal. So what are the stipulations for the winner and loser?" I asked as I leaned back on the table.

Haruno, for her part, put a finger to her mouth as if she was thinking, but I knew she already had a plan. She eventually held out a finger to me, "If you win, I will do whatever you want of me. Anything you want, even if it is perverted."

My eyes widened considerably, and I had a hard time to breath. I coughed and nodded slowly, trying to get my words to work.

"A-Alright, and if you win?"

Her toothy smile should have been my last warning to run.

"If I win, you become mine. Deal?" She asked, holding her hand out to me.

I have no intention of losing, so when she held her hand out, I shook it. Not realizing I had made a deal with the devil.

The first game we played was, of course, since we were right there, foosball. Having not the most significant knowledge of soccer, I really didn't care for it. The game started out slow, with me telling her how to play. It was all for naught, though, as she quickly learned and thrashed me.

I chose the next game, and the game I decided on was Streetfighter!

As we began to play, I noticed that Haruno wasn't very talkative. Instead, she was solely focusing on the game in front of her. We played five rounds. I took the first two quickly, but then Haruno made a comeback and thrashed me the last three.

With my pride hurt, I followed her to the next game of her choosing. I was surprised to see she chose Smash bros. Since when did arcades get Smash bros? I wasn't complaining, though.

We chose our characters, with myself choosing Kirby, I resonated with him. He could turn into a brick and lay there eating stuff. What a king! Haruno struggled between choosing Samus or Bayonetta before saying we would have three rounds so she could play both characters. That was fine with me.

I took the first round with her playing Bayonetta, but she took the second as Samus. The final round was before us. It was a heated battle straight from the start. I tried to cheese her off the map by charging a heavy strike, but she easily read my attack and jumped over Kirby. Haruno herself butted her shoulder against me, and I winced, allowing Haruno to get cheap shots on Kirby. I butted her back and heavily struck Samus as Haruno was in shock at my quick retaliation.

I took the momentum with my heavy strike landing and began to land combo after combo on her. It all ended with Samus getting launched at the screen and Kirby getting proclaimed the victor.

I raised my arms in the air in celebration, and I could swear I heard mild growling coming from the eldest Yukinoshita sibling. In the glory of my victory with her attempting to cheat, I mocked her, "Aww gonna pout again, Yukinoshita san?"

That was the beginning of the end for me. Game after game, after game, after that, ended in Haruno's victory. I made a slight comeback with some wins after that, but I was still down by one. The last game she picked was Mario cart.

The arcade had two buggies we could sit in as we played, and I looked at her nervously. She held the steering wheel with a grip so rough I was concerned she would rip the wheel off. I gulped and looked at the screen as we could vote what circuit to race. I voted for rainbow road and was shocked when she did as well.

Could she be... secretly one of my people?! I was going to ask her, but when I gazed at her and saw her intense gaze at the screen, I decided against it. She was in it to win.

If I win this one, we will finish tied. There was no stipulation in place for a draw, but I imagine the outcome would still be more favourable for me than if I lost. So I had to win this one.

The race loaded, and soon we were being shown the preview for the rainbow road. I clenched my steering wheel and prepared for the countdown to begin. I had lost many of these games because I went easy on her in the first round to let her get used to the games, but it seemed she knew these games! So I wouldn't be letting her get an easy win here!

The race began with both of us getting the boost right off of the start. Immediately I saw Peach run into the side of my cart and try to run me off the road. I gritted my teeth and pushed back. Our carts locked up and lost the speed the boost gave us. All of the other characters passed us, but that didn't matter. This was between us!

The first lap went to her just edging me out thanks to her constant brake-checking me so I would slow down and she would boost out of the corners. I eventually caught onto her tricks, and the second lap went to me. The third lap was all that was left.

We abandoned trying to push each other off and instead decided to let our skills show! We were neck a neck for the entire race; each boost was perfection, each corner was cut with not an inch to spare. We even caught up to the other characters. The last couple of turns were coming up, so if Haruno or I were gonna make a move at each other, now was the time to do so.

I began to drift into the first corner, and I boosted out perfectly. I saw the front of Haruno's cart start to creep into my screen as she got ever closer to my rear end. My heart began to beat faster as I waited for her to try to spin me out. Yet, it never came.

I crossed the finish line just ahead of her.

When Haruno and I stepped back outside, the heat assaulted us with its grip. The sun was beating down hard, and the only refuge was now the Mercedes. Haruno and I both made a brisk walk and quickly got in, and once the engine was on, the AC was blasted.

We began the drive back to my place in relative silence.

I assumed the cause was because Haruno didn't know what to say, and neither did I. We didn't know what to do now that it was a tie. I was confused why Haruno didn't try to win in the end; she had every opportunity. So I asked her.

"Huh, do you think I'm a cheater or something?" She asked with a giggle in response.

"Yes. You proved that already," I responded with a chuckle.

"Hey! It is all fair in love and war! At least you took it like a man. Yukino chan never did," Haruno muttered at the end with a sigh.

I raised a brow slightly. Yukinoshita playing Mario cart? I could see her being really competitive. Nintendo games were the basis for family rivalries to start. Komachi and I would have our fair share of fights, with Mario being the man behind the conflict. Haruno giggled suddenly, recapturing my attention.

"You really are a gentleman sometimes, letting me win the first round a bunch," She teased as she stuck her tongue out and winked.

I flushed red and huffed, "I was under the impression you were a stuck-up rich person who didn't have time for video games, my mistake!" Haruno only laughed harder at my response but sighed with a sad nod.

"If it was up to mother, that would be the case. She never approved of Yukino chan or me playing games or watching anything she deemed dumb."

I frowned as I listened to her explain, and I even sighed a little, "That sounds like it sucked."

Haruno tried to smile, but it came out a little sad. "Yeah, it did. So I'm trying to make up for it," She whispered as she focused on driving.

It was like a light bulb turning on.

"So that's why you talk about all that stuff when we have lunch," I exclaimed as I leaned back into the leather seat. It all made sense now. I was Haruno's scapegoat for everything she wasn't allowed.

Haruno winced and glanced at me with a sad nod, "I'm sorry if it seems like I am using you now. That isn't the case. I promise."

Her words and expression were so... defeated. It made my heart hurt, and I frowned on instinct.

"So, since it was a draw, do we both fulfill our promises?" I asked out of the left field.

Haruno didn't seem to register what I said, not until she quickly turned to me, "Eh?"

I wasn't sure where this bold confidence was coming from. Maybe since Haruno entered my apartment this morning, it feels like I was getting a glimpse into the Haruno, I never knew about. Or perhaps it was because I was imprinting my idea of who she was onto her. Wait, no, that can't be it. Haruno would never allow that.

So it must be the first option.

"Our bet. It was a tie, so should we settle it by nullifying it, or do we both do what we promised?" I asked her with a genuine interest.

Her mouth gaped, and for the first time ever, I laughed at her to her face. I laughed as I closed my eyes, not believing the day I was experiencing. A speechless Haruno, a Haruno who pouted when she didn't get her way? Was this real? Was this the Haruno I had been having lunch with all this time, but my old fears kept me from learning more about her?

"Laughing at a girl isn't funny," Haruno muttered with a glare and sped up the vehicle a little, making me laugh harder.

Once I settled down, I looked at her again, "This day isn't at all what I expected it to be. It wasn't what I expected you to be either." I explained as I looked out the window to see where we were.

Haruno didn't speak, but she did sigh, eventually saying, "I try not to show this side to anyone. It isn't what being a Yukinoshita is."

I got what she meant. Her perfect mask, her seemingly perfect life, is all an act, so she doesn't tarnish the Yukinoshita name. It was then that her words from all those years came rushing back when she revealed she could never get drunk. When she said that, she never had anything normal. It all made sense now.

"So, our bet. You have the final say," I eventually said and looked to her for her own input. But it never came.

She focused on the road the whole ride back to my apartment, not saying a word and not even glancing in my direction. I was starting to worry I may have messed up somewhere. So when Haruno parked in front of my building, I turned to her shyly, "Listen, if you don't want to, it is fi-"

"Shut up a minute, Hikigaya!" She exclaimed as she finally turned to face me, her eyes scrutinizing me. I closed my mouth and let her eyes scan my face. I wasn't sure what she was looking for, but I let her search. When she didn't find what she was looking for, she looked at her lap.

"Hey, Hikigaya. Why did you break up with Yukino chan?"

I was silent as I digested her words before I nodded and explained it all to her. Starting from my lack of usefulness to my anger and exploding at her to everything between and after. I didn't leave anything out. I wasn't sure where the urge to say it all came from, but I didn't stop until everything was laid out between us.

The silence that followed was empty, but the look in Haruno's eyes was not. She understood. "I was sorry that she did that, I didn't know the whole story, but now that I do, I understand your anger. I also understand why you would be wary of your big sister, hehe," She said with a small laugh, but it was short-lived as she looked past me.

"Alright, we can fulfill our promises, but I have a request?" She asked as she glanced back to my eyes.

"Sure, what is it? If you are worried I am gonna say something perverted, I wasn't." I quickly explain. Haruno laughs at my response, and it sounded like the laugh I was used to hearing.

"I know that you aren't so crude like your eyes would have you believe." She whispered as she sighed with apparent nervousness.

"Okay, so I know how we can settle this, so we both get what we want?"

I looked intrigued. I was inquisitive about what Haruno had in mind. Because I had no idea how we could incorporate me getting whatever I wanted with her owning me, not that I was excited about that! She would probably work me to the bone as her slave!

As I was in my own head, she reached out and pulled on my piece of hair that always seemed to stand out, and I winced as I faced her when she yanked hard enough to remove me from my thoughts, "Ow, what are you doing? You don't just go pulling people's hair, you know!"

She giggled at the way I bent, trying to make sure there was no tension in my hair, before letting go, "Are you actually going to listen then?" she asked with a glint in her eye.

"Yeah yeah, what is your master idea?" I asked as I focused solely on her. My heart began to beat as she didn't speak.

It was hard to speak when her lips were on mine in a kiss.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update!

I will try and update this about once or twice a month, but if I don't, please don't assume I have abandoned this story. I have many ideas for this story, and with the way it is shaping out in my head, it should be well over 100k words. If I don't update, just assume it is because life and health got in the way!

I have also recently gotten a suggestion to write a sensei X Hachiman fic after this one. So if anyone wants to see this type of story for another pairing in this fandom, please leave a review. I love reading all of your reviews!