"No... I wasn't talking about your parents, Hikigaya-kun..." Yukino said, "I'm really sorry."
"what are you so sorry abo-"
"Yahello!" a voice called out as the driver opened the door and another family dark-haired girl's head appeared
'oh... that's why'
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Hachiman just sat back in the Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Pullman and sighed as he looked up at the roof like it held all the answers because right now, he had no desire to look down because this car apparently happened to have the back passenger seats facing each other and of course, the great RomCom gods had to be making certain to focus on him tonight because the person that happened to be sitting right in front of him was Haruno Yukinoshita, the sister of his 'Partner', Yukino Yukinoshita.
"Aww, Hikigaya-kun, how long do you intend to keep staring at the roof?" Haruno asked, mischief clearly in her tone, "I wanna talk with you"
"as long as I continue to stare at the roof, I don't have to acknowledge you" Hachiman said
"Aww, he's being mean!" Haruno said, as she looked over at Yukino, "Tell your boyfriend to stop being mean to me!"
"Hikigaya-kun, please stop staring at the roof..." Yukino said
"See, Yukino-chan is even asking you to-" Haruno began
"Staring at the roof doesn't help to block out Nee-san" Yukino said, cutting her sister off, "I've tried it before and it doesn't work"
"Aww... Yukino-chan's being mean as well!" Haruno said, pretending to pout, "...and after I was nice enough to move out of your old apartment so you and Hikigaya-kun could have a love nest for yourselves."
"W-Wait, Hold on!" "I-I never asked you to do that!"
"Oh, now you two want to talk?" Haruno asked, smiling sweetly at the two of them
'She tricked me' the two thought in unison as Haruno proceeded to laugh a bit before she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes as Hachiman looked over at Yukino, who was sitting there fiddling with her dress a bit as the car continued along its way to their family home.
"That dress... I haven't seen you in this one before" Hachiman said, "When did you get it?"
"Oh, this one?" Yukino began, "I-"
"She wanted to look extra special and cute for you today, so she had me go shopping with her yesterday to find the perfect dress for tonight!" Haruno said, cutting Yukino off, "She dragged me to three different shops yesterday before we found the dress!"
"N-Nee-san!" Yukino exclaimed, "S-she's lyin-"
"After the dress, she wanted a cardigan to go over the dress in case it was cold tomorrow evening, then she went to find a new pair of shoes to match with her dress" Haruno said, "I'd honestly say that it was the first time that Yukino-chan actually was concerned that her clothes wouldn't be able to impress someone."
"N-Nee-san, stop telling hi-" Yukino exclaimed before realizing what she said and started blushing as she looked at the floor
"I believe her exact words were...'This is the first time that my boyfriend is coming over for dinner and I'd like for it to be as perfect as possible'." Haruno said, as she watched Yukino's face get redder, " She wants this to go so well that Yukino-chan even asked me to not tease you two while you're there."
Hachiman blushed as Haruno revealed the details about what Yukino had been doing the previous day and how she wanted it to be perfect, even going as far as to mention that Yukino asked her to avoid teasing them. Hachiman realized that he felt the same way, as he remembered how he had spent all the time after he got home in his room, trying on clothes and changing after each one in an attempt to look his best for Yukino tonight.
'Is this what it means to have a girlfr- Partner? am I now going to spend all my time trying to dress to impress her whenever we go out on a date?'
"I take it you're getting you fill in right now before we get there?" Hachiman asked
"Yep, I'm such a nice Nee-san!" Haruno said, smiling as she suddenly looked Hachiman up and down, "...I'm starting to wonder if Hikigaya-kun didn't do the same thing because he cleans up really well."
Yukino took a second to look up from the floor after Haruno's comment to look at Hachiman and realized that her sister was right, Hachiman had apparently taken this more seriously than she thought and while she didn't really get a chance to fully check out his outfit before while meeting his parents, she was able to check it out now. He was wearing a long-sleeved dark grey button-up dress shirt that had pockets on each side of the shirt, a pair of black slacks with a brown belt around his waist, and a pair of shoes that she had never seen him wear before, they looked like a nice pair of dress shoes, but also kind-of looked like sneakers in a way.
"H-Hikigaya-kun, I said it earlier but you do look nice in these clothes" Yukino said
"Y-Yukinoshita...t-thank you." Hachiman said, "I-I hope my c-clothing looks good enough for m-my g-g-gir-girlfriend."
Yukino's eyes went wide as she suddenly looked up and at Hachiman, who was blushing as he looked at her, only for her to start smiling at him as well, but their moment. Both of them suddenly went quiet once again and looked away from each other, blushing as Haruno's giggle broke out into laughter at the innocence of their relationship, but then Hachiman decided to change the subject and ask a question that was on his mind.
"Anyways, l'm pretty sure Hikigaya-kun has some question about tonight" Haruno said
"Actually, I have at least one" Hachiman said, "who will be attending this dinner tonight?"
"It'll be just our Mom, Yukino-chan, and myself" Haruno said, "You don't have to worry about meeting any extended family or anything like that."
"Just you three?" Hachiman asked, "Your father won't be there?"
"Unfortunately, he won't be home until late tonight" Haruno said, as she leaned back in her seat, "He called earlier and said an emergency meeting for the Prefectual Diet came up, so he has to attend."
"I see" Hachiman said, "Come to think of it, he's the only one I haven't met, right?"
"Y-Yes, that's correct, When he's not handling work for the Prefectual Diet, he's also the CEO of a national construction company, so he tends to be busy almost all of the time." Yukino said, "T-That doesn't mean that he doesn't manage to make time for us whenever he can, in fact, he's been wanting to meet you for quite some time, Hikigaya-kun, but unfortunately, work has been keeping him occupied"
"Hey, Yukino-chan" Haruno said, "You may want to get him ready for when we get there, remember what Mom asked?"
"O-Oh right..." Yukino said, as she then turned to look at Hachiman, "H-Hachiman!"
"W-wha-" Hachiman exclaimed, suprised by Yukino's sudden usage of his first name, 'W-What is she doing? why is she suddenly using my first name? Am I supposed to use her first name now?'
"H-Hachiman?" Yukino said, getting his attention
"Y-Yes, Yukinoshi-" Hachiman began
"Yukino" Yukino said, "Just Yukino, please"
"W-What?" Hachiman asked, completely confused
"Jeez, Yukino-chan, this could've been so much easier if you just took the time to explain things to Hikigaya-kun" Haruno said, as she shook her head, "Our Mom was surprised when she learned that the two of you are still calling each other by your last names, so she asked Yukino if the two of you would call each other by your first names while you're over tonight."
"I-I see..." Hachiman said, "I can certainly try, but-"
"She doesn't want there to be any confusion because we're all Yukinoshita in this household" Haruno said, "Besides, you two have known each other for almost an entire year, so it's not like you just me or anything..."
"A-alright" Hachiman said, "I'll try my best for-"
"For whom?" Haruno asked, cutting Hachiman off
"...For Y-Y-Yukinoshi-" Hachiman said, catching himself at the last second before taking a deep breath, "For Yukino."
"Okay, we still have some time till we reach our house, so you two should take your time and get used to saying each others first names" Haruno said, as she sat back in her seat, looking at the two of them blushing, 'This out to serve as some before-dinner entertainment...'
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It was quite the entertaining ride for Haruno since she was able to just sit there and quietly watch her little sister, Yukino sitting across from her boyfriend as the two of them were being forced to advance their relationship a little bit by having to address the other by their first name. It wasn't easy for them at first because of how they were, but as they continued to use their first names, it got easier and easier for them to do it, but they'd still occasionally make the mistake of calling the other by their last name. Things were starting to get more and more interesting when a flashing blue light started to go off near the front partition wall, so Haruno flipped open the console near her and pressed one of the buttons to lower the partition wall.
"Yes?" Haruno asked
"We've almost arrived, Ma'am." The driver said, as Haruno nodded and raised the partion back up
"Okay, it's almost showtime." Haruno said, as she looked over at Hachiman, "You scared?"
"if I said no, would you believe me?" Hachiman asked
"not even for a second" Haruno said, snickering as she watched Hachiman sigh
"Just take a deep breath and relax Hikigay-" Yukino began
"Yukino-chan" Haruno said, cutting her off
"I-I mean, Hachiman" Yukino said, correcting herself, "It'll be fine."
"Y-Yeah, I got it Yukinosh-, I mean Yukino" Hachiman said, as he felt the car slowing down, "Are we here?"
"Looks like it, it'll just be a few more minutes for the garage to open and then we'll pull in and be able to start getting out... and one more thing, let the driver get the door, Hikigaya-kun" Haruno said, as she smiled at Hachiman, "This car is worth over 64 million yen, so I don't think you want to risk dinging the door on something when you get out, okay?"
"R-Right..." Hachiman said, as he felt the car start to move once again, "I-I'll try not to damage anything..."
"Nee-san, please stop trying to scare Hachiman away..." Yukino said, "I don't want to have to explain to Mom that he ran away right as we got here because you scared him off."
"Oh, Hikigaya-kun won't abandon you here" Haruno said, as the car stopped once again, "After everything that he's done to get back in your life, I doubt he'd run off and abandon you..."
Hachiman felt his face begin to get red after hearing Haruno's statement about him, but he couldn't deny what she said as he thought back on the prom and how he purposely continued with the entire event in order to be able to get back into Yukino's life, not because he felt obligated to do so, but because he wanted to be in her life. A sudden touch on his hands caused him to snap back into reality as he looked over and saw Yukino had leaned over and placed her hand ontop of his, smiling at him as a way of letting him know that she wasn't going to abandon him either.
"...Damn, I guess I got no choice" Hachiman said, as he closed his eyes, took a deep breath before exhaling and opening them again, "Okay, I'm ready to do this."
The door was suddenly opened and Haruno, Yukino, and Hachiman slowly made their way out of the car and into the garage, before Haruno opens the garage door and Hachiman actually get a look at the Yukinoshita family home. The first thing that he notices is the giant concrete wall on his right that stands out and rises up for what he believes to be the entire length of the house, on his left was a steel sliding gate that allowed people to enter the first part of the home that was attached to another smaller concrete wall that extened towards the end of the property, in front of him was a set of concrete steps that walked upwards to the top of the smaller concrete wall and a at the very top was an entry way into the property.
'w-wh-...what the hell kind of home is this? is this where Yukino's parents actually live or is this just where they dispose of the bodies of those who cause them trouble? am I going to be killed here? is her Mom going to bury me in a shallow grave in here' Hachiman thought as his mind began to race, 'I could just jump the lower wall and run until my legs give out... no, they'd just get in the car and chase after me... Komachi... your onii-chan is going to die now... be strong and-'
"Hachiman?" A voice called out, snapping him back into reality as he turned to see Yukino behind him with a concerned look on her face, "Are you okay?"
"W-What's with the concrete walls?" Hachiman asked, as he looked at them, "This looks less like a home and more like somewhere you'd dispose of people that crossed your family."
Yukino looked over at the walls of her home for a few moment and then at Hachiman before sighing at his complete overreaction of her home, only for her to suddenly hear a snorting noise coming out from behind her as she looked over her shoulder to see Haruno holding her sides and desperately trying not to burst out laughing at Hachiman.
"Hachiman, I mentioned this once but your looks and personality are already terrible, so please don't start lacking in the area of observation otherwise you'll have nothing left going for you" Yukino said, as she sighed, "Look outside the gate, please."
Hachiman looked outside the gate and saw that he was in a fancy looking neighborhood that had several houses all around them and even a few cars driving by, only to then look at Yukino, who had dropped the annoyed look and was smiling at him once again.
"We're in an upper-class neighborhood and this is our actual home" Yukino said, "These walls are just for privacy."
"P-Privacy?" Hachiman asked, confused, "why would you need this level of privacy?"
"Our parents enjoy their privacy" Yukino said, "Besides, this home was originally designed this way to include the giant walls"
"Yeah, our parents didn't actually design this home on their own, they went to a party several years ago and met a couple there, a french man and his japanese wife, whom were entertaining guests at their home, which was similarly designed like this one." Haruno said, as she squeezed by Yukino and Hachiman, "My parents were so impressed by it that they asked for the designers name so they could get a similarly designed home and that lead to this home being designed... but now that you mention it, I guess this does look a little foreboding to people who have never been here before."
"Come on" Yukino said, as she reached down and took Hachiman's hand, "Let's go inside."
Hachiman nodded and slowly made his way up the steps behind Yukino and Haruno until he reached the top and saw the doorway at the top had a large underpath that lead up to a big steel door, which only continued to make him wonder just what kind of house was on the other side of that door. Haruno slowly made her way towards the door in a way that Hachiman was genuinely believing that she was doing it on purpose to try and torment him, only for her to suddenly slide the doors open and reveal... the entryway of a house. Hachiman saw a small bench with cushions sitting against a wall and some pictures that decorated the wall, so it looked like a normal house on the inside, but that changed when Haruno suddenly clapped her hands and an older woman came walking around the corner with short black hair and wearing a sky-blue kimono around her body.
"Misao, we've arrived." Haruno said, before making a gesture towards Hachiman, "We brought our guest over as well"
"Welcome home, Lady Haruno and Lady Yukino..." Misao said, as she bowed before them, "...and this young man must be Lady Yukino's boyfriend, correct?"
"Y-Yes" Yukino exclaimed, blushing badly as she looked at the ground
"Ahaha... They're still getting used to that term, Misao" Haruno said, as she looked at Hachiman, "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
"R-Right, sorry..." Hachiman said, as he looked at Misao and bowed, "Greetings, my name is Hachiman Hikigaya."
"Oh my... such manners, even to a house servant as myself" Misao said, as she held her hand on her cheek, "I can see why your mother seems to like this young man, Lady Haruno."
"Yes, by the way, is dinner ready?" Haruno asked
"Unfortunately, we've still got a bit before dinner is ready to be served" Misao said, "Milady is currently waiting for all of you in her greeting area"
"Thank you" Haruno said, "Please inform us when Dinner is close to being ready so we can prepare, okay?"
Misao nodded as she began to walk off towards the right side of the house as Haruno, Yukino, and Hachiman both made their way into the entryway of the house, while also removing their shoes and placing on house slippers that had been set aside of them, Haruno wearing a pair of red slippers, Yukino have white slippers with little cats on them, and Hachiman wearing a pair of grey guest slippers. Hachiman followed Haruno and Yukino as they walked to the end of the entryway and then turned left, heading down the hallway as he looked out the glass windows that lined almost the entire outer wall area to see Mrs Yukinoshita herself, sitting out in what looked like a japanese style room, with tatami floor mats and everything, except two of the walls seemed to be just open areas. Hachiman kinda wondered if they had someone who would set up Shoji walls around this room during the winter or if the walls were possibly retractable ones inside compartments hidden in small corners of the room as they approached the sliding door at the end of the hallway and Haruno knocked on the wooden frame of the door.
"We're here, Mom." Haruno said, adopting a more serious tone that Hachiman hadn't seen her take before
"Very well, please come in" A voice came from the other side of the wall as Haruno opened the door and all three of them walked into the room and he was suddenly in front of Mrs Yukinshita herself, who was wearing a floral-print kimono as she suddenly lowered herself into a bowing position, "Hikigaya Hachiman, I welcome you to our house."
"T-Thank you." Hachiman said, as he bowed as well to Mrs Yukinoshita, "I-I am honored that you allowed me to visit your home."
"Oh my, first to Misao and now to mom, Yukino must've trained you well..." Haruno said, teasingly as she received a glare from Yukino and only shrugged from it
"Haruno, we are entertaining a guest tonight, please refrain from making any comments that could make our family look like a bad host." Mrs Yukinoshita said, as she looked at Haruno before turning to Yukino, "Yukino, could you please go and ask Misao to bring down some tea for us?"
"Yes, Mom." Yukino said, as she turned around and began to walk out of the room before turning her head towards Hachiman, "I'll be back soon, okay?"
"Okay" Hachiman said, as he watched Yukino walk away
"Please, take a seat, Hikigaya-kun" Mrs Yukinoshita said, as she motioned towards a set of Zabuton cushions on the floor
"Thank you" Hachiman said as he sat down on one of them only to see Haruno sit on the farthest side from him, 'huh...I'd have figured she'd try to sit next to me to mess with Yukino a bit.'
"I'm back." Yukino said, as she entered the room once again and after seeing everyone sitting down, she moved over to the Zabuton near Hachiman and sat down, "Misao will be down shortly."
"Thank you." Mrs Yukinoshita said, "now... Hikigaya-kun?"
"Y-Yes" Hachiman said, noticing the seriousness of her tone
"I was informed by Yukino that the club you two were originally in, the Service Club has been re-established after she closed it before the prom," Mrs Yukinoshita said, "I also understand that you two were able to finally complete the last of the submitted paperwork for the prom today, correct?"
"Y-yes, we turned in the last of the paperwork before we left school today" Hachiman said, before bowing his head again, "I apologize for any complaints or issues your family might hav-"
"Do not fret over such small details, the truth is that both sides only received a small amount of complaints about this prom and all of them were minor complaints like a lack of food variety or even a lack of time for people to prepare so they could attend" Mrs Yukinoshita said, "Other than those complaints, both Sobu and Kaihin are considering the joint prom to be an absolute success with most of the students there stating that they truly enjoyed themselves and the few students who went to both actually preferred the joint prom over the first one."
"I-I see..." Yukino said, as she sighed in relief, "I'm glad that it went off okay"
"Me, too." Hachiman said
"Both Sobu and Kaihin were impressed by the success of the joint prom that they want to make it a tradition from now on, meaning that this year, another joint prom will be held between Sobu and Kaihin for both school's third-year classes" Mrs Yukinoshita said, "The second-year students from both schools will be responsible for handling the preparation, set-up and hosting of the prom, exactly the same way that you and your friends handled it as well"
"I see" Hachiman said, "Are we going to have to assist them in any way since we were involved in the first one?"
"No, we'll be providing them notes and documents on what you did" Mrs Yukinshita said, "They may come and ask you questions, but you two will not be responsible with setting up another prom"
"I see" Yukino said, as a knock came from behind her "Thank you for informing us of this, Mom."
"I brought you all some tea" Misao said, as she entered the room, carrying a tray with four elegant-looking tea cups and a kettle, "Dinner will be ready shortly, Milady."
"Thank you, Misao" Mrs Yukinoshita said, as she then looked at Hachiman, "Now, Hikigaya-kun, please tell me a bit about yourself"
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20 minutes later...
"...I see, I never would've guessed that you were the same boy that was struck by our car on your first day of school, I remember when I first heard about the accident from Hayato-san's father" Mrs Yukinoshita said, "I originally thought that it was going to be someone who was going to try and use our family to get rich off of, but your parents... they only asked for us to cover your medical bills and nothing else."
"They're not fans of people who use accidents or tragedies to try and get large settlements" Hachiman said, "They were happy to have the medical bills handled"
"I see, your parents sound like they're respectable people" Mrs Yukinshita said, "I still feel guilty about what you had to go through..."
"...If I may be perfectly honest" Hachiman said, as he took a deep breath, "I don't regret what happened to me at all."
"Really?" Mrs Yukinoshita asked, surprised as Yukino and Haruno also shared a surpised look
"I dealt with a lot of verbal and mental bullying during my childhood, which resulted in my pessimistic attitude and my decisions to avoid being around others, as well as the belief in my life that I was insignificant to others, which caused me to use myself as a scapegoat when dealing with problems because it was alright if everyone else was happy, even if I wasn't." Hachiman said, "If I hadn't been in that accident, I doubt I would've been recruitted into the Service Club, I would've never been able to move on with my life and realize that it was okay for me to be happy, and..."
"And?" Mrs Yukinoshita asked
"...I would've never met your daughter." Hachiman said
It was like a sudden change in the atmosphere throughout the entire room as Mrs Yukinoshita just sat there before she turned her head over towards Yukino and saw her youngest daughter's face was as red as a tomato and she was looking down at the floor to avoid anyone's gaze at the moment. Haruno was having a difficult time because that moment was the perfect time for her to make a comment, but she knew that if she ruined this moment in front of her mom, she'd never hear the end of it from her, so all she could do was bite her tongue and hope no other moments occur tonight.
"Milady." Misao's voice came through the door as she knocked on the door, "Dinner is just about ready."
"Thank you, Misao" Mrs Yukinoshita said, as everyone slowly came back to normal, "well then, Yukino?"
"Y-Yes!" Yukino said, snapping back into reality
"Please show Hikigaya-kun where he can wash-up for dinner, okay?" Mrs Yukinoshita said, as she stood up, "Haruno, please collect the tea cups and take them upstairs for Misao, okay?"
"Yes, Mom" both girls responded in unison as Mrs Yukinoshita walked out of the room and Haruno proceeded to pick up the tea cups and kettle, placing them onto the tray again before walking out of the room to follow their Mom upstairs.
Hachiman also stood up once again and turned to face Yukino, who was still blushing and just sitting there until she looked up to see Hachiman standing there, blushing as well as he held out his hand to help Yukino stand up. Yukino smiled as she took his hand to help her stand up before letting it go as he began to walk towards the door before she suddenly ran up behind him and embraced him from behind, buring her head into the top of his back as he gasped out a bit before his blush began to get redder and redder.
"Hachiman..." Yukino said
"Y-Yes?" Hachiman asked
"I-I'm happy I got to meet you too" Yukino said, as she slowly let him go and moved around him, "N-now let me show you where you can wash up for dinner..."
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Dining Room
Dinner consisted of different varieties of handmade sushi that Misao had apparently been working on since this afternoon, which surprised Hachiman when he discovered that her family owned a well-known sushi restaurant in Chiba. Everyone's plates contained different types of Sushi: Maki, Nigiri, Sashimi and different other ones that Hachiman wasn't aware of their names since he wasn't really able to eat Sushi all that much, but it did taste wonderful and he enjoyed it quite a bit.
"Tell me, Hikigaya-kun..." Mrs Yukinoshita said, as she took a drink of tea, "Have you put any thoughts into your future?"
"A-Actually, I have..." Hachiman said, as he looked up at Mrs Yukinoshita, "The truth is that I want to get into writing and become a novelist."
"Really?" Haruno asked, surprised, "In my mind, I saw you becoming a salary-man or something like that, but never thought you'd choose to become a novelist."
"I'm pretty certain he's going to want to write Light novels" Yukino said, as she looked over at Hachiman, "He tends to read them all the time when we're not busy in the clubroom."
"Whether they're regular or light novels, a novelist is a fine choice for a career" Mrs Yukinoshita said, "Yukino is still looking into her future path, correct?"
"Y-Yes, I'm still attempting to decide what path I intend to take" Yukino said, "All I do know is..."
"Yes?" Mrs Yukinoshita asked
"If possible..." Yukino said, "I'd like to walk this path with H-Hachiman."
Hachiman stiffened up as soon as the words left Yukino's mouth as he looked over and saw Yukino sitting there next to him, looking down at her plate and blushing as her mother looked a bit surprised and Haruno was smirking.
"Oh my, to make such a declaration in front of us..." Haruno said
"What if the path you want with him leads you astray?" Mrs Yukinoshita asked, "How do you plan to handle that situation"
"I will make certain that our path doesn't go astray, even if it means that I must stand against other people," Yukino said,
"even if its... my own family"
"..." Mrs Yukinoshita remained silent as she took a deep breath before looking at Hachiman, "Hikigaya-kun"
"Y-Yes!" Hachiman replied
"...Please look after my daughter as you two go into the future together." Mrs Yukinoshita said, smiling, "I am counting on you."
'H-how did this happen? How did it suddenly get decided that Yukino and I would remain together forever? Am I ever going to get to have an voice in these decisions?...probably not.'
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Hachiman and Yukino stood outside the front gates as they waited for the driver to slowly pull the Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Pullman out of the garage and back onto the street, which annoyed Yukino since she believed that the regular car was more than enough to go in, but Haruno insisted, stating that it might be a little awkward since the other car was the same one that hit Hachiman.
"H-hey, I was curious..." Hachiman asked, "Your house doesn't have a lot of rooms, so where does your driver or Misao stay?"
"Oh, my parents also own some of the surrounding houses in the area, she lives in one of those houses" Haruno said, as she stood back near the gate, "Our driver also lives in one of those houses as well, so does the gardener, our private family physican, and the family physical trainer."
'This family is insane'
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Yukinoshita Residence, later that night
Mrs Yukinoshita was sitting on the couch in the main living room area as she sipped on a small cup of green tea, while Haruno was sitting on the opposite side of her Mom in a simple chair, her eyes fixed on her phone as she was sending a message to someone, before looking up towards her Mom.
"So, how did he do?" Haruno asked
"It doesn't seem to matter anymore because Yukino has made her own decision to be with him, whether any of us approve of Hikigaya-kun or not" Mrs Yukinoshita said, as she sat her cup of tea down on the coffee table in front of her, "...but personally, he passed with flying colors."
"Really? You're giving your approval for another man to be with Yukino-chan?" Haruno asked, a bit surprised, "I figured that you still hadn't given up on her marrying Hayato-kun"
"...while it's true that I'd have perferred Yukino to have a relationship with Hayato-kun, it appears that Yukino doesn't see him like that" Mrs Yukinoshita said, "I also can't ignore the fact that Hikigaya-kun continues to impress me, even more so than when we first met."
"How so?" Haruno asked
"When we were having tea in the greeting area and it was brought up about his accident, the speech he gave afterwards about how he was grateful because of how it helped him change himself and it allowed him to meet Yukino" Mrs Yukinoshita said, "He moved me with his speech and made me realize that he truly harbors no resentment towards our family for what happened to him."
"I saw how Yukino-chan was almost as red as a tomato after he finished his speech" Haruno said, "It even made my heart skip a beat"
"There was also the joint-prom, he put together an entire event and set it all up solely with the intent of attempting to get back into Yukino's life and once he succeeded with that, the two of them manage to pull the event off successfully, with only a few minor complaints." Mrs Yukinoshita explained, "Finally, Yukino's statement during dinner when she admitted that she wants him to go down the same path as her, even if it means going up against her own family."
"...He's certainly an interesting person" Haruno said
"Yes, that's true..." Mrs Yukinoshita said, smiling as she looked at Haruno "I guess this means that I can stop worrying about finding a good partner for Yukino and start trying to find one for you, Haruno."
'H-huh?!' Haruno thought, confused 'Damn it, how'd this get turned back on me?'
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Omake~
Hachiman and Yukino both sat back down in the Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Pullman and slowly waited as the car began to start up once again and they felt it begin to back up and turn, before stopping again for a second and begin to drive once more. Hachiman was about to say something when Yukino suddenly unbuckled herself from the seat and stood up, slowly moving herself across the center console, she made it over and suddenly plopped herself right into Hachiman's lap, situating herself where her legs were hanging near his right hand and her body was leaning onto his left side, with her head resting on his left shoulder.
"Y-Yukino?" Hachiman asked, confused, "What are you-"
"Hachiman, please... let me have this." Yukino said, cutting Hachiman off as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder
Hachiman couldn't respond because his face was a deep shade of red and he didn't want to risk saying anything that he'd regret later since he had already done that earlier, so all he could do was take his left arm and put it around her waist, embracing her as he pulled Yukino closer into himself, which only made her choose to nuzzle closer to him as well.
'god...this is embarassing...but I suppose something like this is fine once in a while'
"Hey, H-Hachiman?" Yukino said, snapping him back into reality
"Yes?" Hachiman asked
"Wo-would you like to come over to my place for a bit?" Yukino asked
"W-what?" Hachiman asked, surprised
"I-It's still early and the trains should still be running" Yukino said, blushing a bit, "It's just... I'd like to spend a bit more time with you before you head home."
"O-okay" Hachiman said, as he looked at Yukino, "I guess I could come over for a bit and just take the train home."
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Edit: I forgot to include a few bits of information here when I published this part of Chapter 1, so here's an edit with some dividers included to allow better spacing and maybe even make it easier to read.
The Yukinoshita House that I used in this story is actually based off of the T3 House/Cubo Design, so if you look it up, you'll get an idea of how the house looks.