I felt… warmth. Warmth that spreads throughout my body, gently, soothing across all over me. The sensation is so foreign… yet so endearing.

I reveled in its presence sensing comfort in its gentle bond. I wonder, have I ever felt anything like this before? Nothing comes to mind. But at one point I must have wished for this. It reminds me of olden days long past. At a time when I knew nothing of the world and it knew nothing of me. No hatred, No regret, No remorse, No wisdom… No sadness. Ah, I understand now. It's reminds me of dreams before I turned to who I am today.

I'm feeling the end draw near. It was inevitable. Yet I couldn't help but yearn for it. To grasp it, embrace it and never let it go again. I want… to let this moment linger longer. To wish for it to last an eternity would be greedy…but for a few more seconds… at least one more precious time

My eyes strained a little as I slowly opened them. I can see a visible glow shine weakly around. Morning must have come. Even though around this hour should have been my usual time to wake up I couldn't help but feel tired. My sour awakening can only be caused by last night's incident. Another good night sleep wasted again. The urge to go back to sleep is strong. Well I can't come up with any reason to resist the urge. It would be wise to follow my body's instinct to go back to sleep.

My body relaxes as I ready myself to continue my slumber. I move my limbs around finding the spots most relaxing. I hugged my pillow tighter, enjoying its accumulated warmth against last night's cold residue. Once again I shut my eyes, my mind lightens up, slowly...surely… returning to the comfort of sleep.

Wait… something's amiss. A spark triggered at my head before I completely dozed off. I began to question why my body is feeling a lot of warmth not from my own. My hands move around feeling something soft and lean. After a few more slow movements then I felt something fur-like…no it's hair, that's it, hair that's flowing near my chest and shoulder. My senses return to me and my mind rationalized my circumstance. I must have used Tsurumi as a pillow somehow. By now I've lost all motivation to continue my sleep. I dreaded the effects of this moment to my future. I couldn't imagine what Yukinoshita would do if she saw me right now. I opened my eyes to assess my whole situation. My head slowly moved down to my chest to get a better view. I was shocked at what I'm seeing. My suspicion was wrong and it is not Tsurumi that I'm hugging right now… It's worse… I'm embracing Yukinoshita herself.

My arms are wrapped around her. Her head is slightly resting on my shoulder and chest. Her shallow breathing shows signs that she's still in deep sleep. This is going to be tricky. I need to be slow and precise on my movements. If she wakes up then… no, now is not the time for what ifs. I removed my free hand from its hold. Now comes the difficult part. My right hand and arm can't move from their current position. I can only use my free hand to slightly lift her head and free myself. As I lifted her head, I moved it with minimal change to its original position; just enough to get my other arm loose. My eyes are locked on her face, carefully studying any changes of expression that would indicate her awakening. Little by little I moved my arm from under her.

My hard work paid off. I managed free myself from her. I began to slowly land her head on a pillow. I didn't expect something like this to happen to me but overall I'm glad that I avoided a typical Romcom accident. Here she is sleeping soundly in this situation while here I am having a lot of distress. Still my face couldn't relax and let go of the tension so easily. Heat still continues to form around my cheeks. Is it because I kept staring at Yukinoshita at such a close distance? It is rare to see her like this. Her calm expression continues to rest so peacefully.

"Papa, mama good morning!" I looked at the door to find Tsurumi bursting inside allowing a lot of light to penetrate inside the room.

Yukinoshita opened her eyes to find my hand not yet fully removed from her head and with me so close to her. Our eyes locked with one another…


I sat on a chair near the table, Yukinoshita sat opposite of me and Tsurumi run around setting up the table. She diligently arranged plates, spoon and fork at the table. I could smell toast permeate around the room as she prepared the beverages on the table. She pours an orange juice on each of our glasses.

"Rumi, would you mind if I help you set up the table?" I offered to help her seeing how she kept running all around trying on her own to make breakfast for all of us.

"No thanks you just relax and wait for a moment. I'll set it all up by myself."

"Sorry Rumi I wasn't able to wake up earlier and prepare breakfast for everyone"

"Its okay mama I didn't wake everyone to surprise you all with this" Tsurumi beamed a smile happy at her role in this. She then took out eggs from the fridge and prepared the frying pan.

"I'll fry the eggs to go with the toast Rumi"

"No need… I'll handle that too. You just sit and wait for a while"

"The dining set here is not prepared properly to be used by someone at your age so allow me to do the cooking."

"Okay, mama" Tsurumi looked a little solemn after hearing that. She must have really wanted to take care of everything for us to show her appreciation.

"Listen Rumi don't fret. I'll teach you myself on how to cook properly after we get the proper equipments for you, would you like that?" Yukinoshita replied in a caring tone upon seeing Tsurumi's reaction.

"Yes, I would!" Tsurumi replied with more glee hearing the proposal.

Their conversation resembles very much like that of a mother and daughter. I couldn't help but smile a little after seeing that. They moved around doing their tasks. Together they quickly prepared the table for breakfast.

"Itadakimasu", we all exclaim together before we ate together.

The sounds of spoon and fork resound as we ate in moderation.

"Ehem, thanks for the food. It was nice for you to set it up for us Rumi… same for you Yukinoshita-san" I mentioned to break the silence while I finish my meal.

"You're welcome" Tsurumi replied happily upon her hard work being appreciated. Whereas Yukinoshita did not react continuing to ignore me.

"Yukinoshita-san about this morning…"

"I did not ask for an explanation, nor for excuses, nor reasons so you need not to say anymore Hikigaya-kun" She coldly replied refusing further conversation. No need to make an effort explaining if she's going to act like this. Besides I know I did not do anything wrong so my conscience is clear.

"This morning? Ah that reminds me, I wanted to wake up everyone a lot earlier but refrained from doing it when I saw mama and papa embracing each other and sleeping peacefully"

We had a momentary pause upon hearing her before we continued to move. We laid down our spoon and fork, stood up.

"I'll clean up the dishes, it's the least I could do."

"Rumi, let's go to the living room"

"Eh? O-okay…"

I wiped the table clean and stacked our dishes while they head to the living room. As I wash the dishes I couldn't help but think why Tsurumi torments us so.


"In other news… police have reported…"

"Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark, I beseech thee combine with my deep crimson. The time of awakening cometh, justice fallen upon the infallible boundary, appear now as an intangible distortion, dance dance dance, I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: a destructive force without equal! Return all creation to cinders, and come from the abyss! This is the mightiest means of attack known to man, the ultimate attack magic! Explosion!" [1]

"Hey you know. We cared about you. You're worth keeping around..."

The sound of television shifting from channel to channel reverberated. The afternoon filled an orange glow inside the room. I spent my time reading one of Yukinoshita's books while she did the same. The scenario is similar to our time at the service club. Tsurumi, watching shows, quietly sits in the living room. We didn't converse much today and kept to our own. But I didn't mind it. The peace and quiet is always welcomed.

"Forecast suggests we'll have clear skies tonight…"

"There is nothing that can console me than my jolly sailo…"

"Stay down don't get up you need res…"

"Learn to reverence night and to put away the vulgar fear of it, for, with the banishment of night from the experience of man, there vanishes as well a religious emotion, a poetic mood, which gives depth to the adventure of humanity. By day, space is one with the earth and with man - it is his sun that is shining, his clouds that are floating past; at night, space is his no more…"

I glanced around and saw Tsurumi looking at the screen intently. She stopped switching channels and glued her eyes to one. Depictions of stars glittered across the screen as a narrator speaks.

"When the great earth, abandoning day, rolls up the deeps of the heavens and the universe, a new door opens for the human spirit, and there are few so clownish that some awareness of the mystery of being does not touch them as they gaze. For a moment of night we have a glimpse of ourselves and of our world islanded in its stream of stars - pilgrims of mortality, voyaging between horizons across eternal seas of space and time. Fugitive though the instant be, the spirit of man is, during it, ennobled by a genuine moment of emotional dignity, and poetry makes its own both the human spirit and experience."[2]

"Mama, papa, let's have a picnic then stay till nightfall and have a camp and then we could stargaze and…"

"No" Yukinoshita flatly denied without a second thought."Rumi, we don't have the necessary equipment or plans. The number of hours remaining before nightfall would not be enough for us to prepare, understood."

"O-okay"

"Going by that logic, you're saying that if we had the necessary amount of time to prepare implies that we could go camping" Yukinoshita glanced at me. She must have been surprised to hear me say something like that. Even I can't believe I'm saying this, am I going soft?

"I suppose that's true. If we did had the time to prepare then we could go on a picnic someday"

"Really?" Tsurumi inquired with a hint of hope

"However… preparation is not the only important detail. We need everyone's consent to know if they're willing"

"I would love to go, you'd go too right?"

"Of course I would, I doubt you'd enjoy it alone so I'll go along"

"Papa, you'll be coming along as well okay"

"Su-sure" I kept reading the book I had in hand while I gave my answer. I don't want them to give them the impression that I'm all for the idea. There are still uncertainties with our situation and a wrong decision could backlash hard. However I don't think there's anything bad spending time outdoors for one day away from people so I'll go along with it. Besides the trip might not happen at all, nothing's set in stone, not even with promises no matter how hard you try to keep them, fate may decide otherwise.

"There's no need to invite Hikigaya-kun Rumi if he's not willing. It can be just the two of us"

"I already gave my reply. You must have your own version of a dictionary if you meant that the word everyone you said earlier does not include me"

"My own version… now that you mention it you yourself are associated with a lot of terms in my mind. Most of which are unpleasant"

"Of course papa will go. All of us will." Tsurumi immediately intervened putting a stop to our banter

"Settle down Rumi. Very well, we'll all go camping someday." Yukinoshita agreed with the proposal.

"Really, do you mean it?"

"Yes, I do" Tsurumi's cheerful spirit returned upon hearing that. Does she really mean it? I've been observing Yukinoshita lately and it seems she's quite tolerant with Tsurumi. Even if the requests doesn't suite her she'll gradually accept given the right push.


Another night, another problem. Here we are in Yukinoshita's room together like last night. Only this time I wasn't on the bed with them but on a futon lying near their bed. Despite Tsurumi's protest we managed to come with a compromise. Yukinoshita convinced Tsurumi to accept this proposal with resolute. After all she did not want a repeat of this morning's incident and warned me that I'll have a short future if I ever attempted to do something like that again. I relaxed and began to sleep.

"Papa, I can't sleep can you tell me a story."

"Ask your mother. I think she'll have a few that are aligned with your tastes"

"I've already heard stories of Pan-san and neko from mama. I like them all but tonight I want one from you"

I conjured up a story assimilated from a lot of animes I've seen. I sat up to tell my tale.

"Once upon a time, in a land far to the east, at an age gone by, there lived a commoner named Nanaya. He wasn't dashing or heroic. Nor was he handsome or good –looking. He does not even have a pleasing personality when you ask the townsfolk about him. In fact he wasn't well liked by everyone. Everyone was rather displeased at him and avoided him like a disease. He thinks and acts differently than the rest. But none of that mattered for the young commoner. He enjoyed not the company of others but only his own. For in solitude he was content.

One day an adviser from the royal palace came to speak with him

You there whelp. Said the adviser who's still probably not yet married despite the looks of her face that desire it so.

Her young highness serves the land by hearing and solving out the troubles of the townsfolk. You being the apex of a problematic citizen are summoned to have an audience with her and be cured of your ill-ways.

Of course this infuriated Nanaya. He reasoned with the adviser that he does not approve of this. For even though he was different from the common rabble, he had never hurt another, that there is nothing wrong with his way of life. But despite his indignation he was forced against his will and dragged into the castle like a rotten prisoner.

Inside he met the princess of the kingdom. She had a beauty beyond any woman of this kingdom. Her radiance takes the breath away from anyone who gazes at her. She had a skin almost as white as snow, and her hair flowed smoothly past her shoulder. But none of this made the princess happy. Her beauty was her curse. She had no companions for jealousy seeps into the hearts of women around her and lust clouded the mind of men, well all but our young commoner for he was above such petty emotions. In spite of the hate she endured she continued to serve another. Her cold demeanor was matched by her kindness.

But despite having similar circumstances they did not like the presence of one another, their principles clashed. They protested, complained the shortcomings of the other. Still they had no choice but to stay with each other for a while and continue to solve the problems of the townsfolk together until Nanaya's demeanor became more acceptable. Working together proved to be a difficult challenge as they tried to one up another displaying their own methods of solving a problem. Time passed and problems solved. Even though they had banters and ignored one another from time to time, their company together in peace was comforting. Perhaps it was too comforting as they felt an alien emotion that they did not understood, that have somehow taken their hearts captive and the cause of it was the simple company of one another.

But the peace did not last long for the two of them. News spread out that the princess will marry a prince, loved by everyone for he was kind, down-to-earth and handsome. The engagement was made by their parents to establish a lasting relationship between the two kingdoms. This did not sit well with Nanaya. He did not like the princess to be forced by such a farce. He saw how this troubled the princess; she lost her usual strong aura. Hidden from both their minds, is that her heart held someone dear to her and that she was afraid that she'd lose him… forever for she cannot deny the wish of her parents. He wanted to help the princess, he said to himself that he wanted to help her because it was the right thing to do, but his heart is saying something more, it desired something different. He the…"

"What an awful development." Yukinoshita blurted out. Her face showed irritation unable to bear hearing me continue the story.

"I would ask if I needed your opinion Yukinoshita-san, to which I didn't so please keep quiet and let me finish the story"

"I don't need to ask for permission to speak in my own apartment. Especially when I don't like hearing an unpleasant story"

"Which part of the story did you find unpleasant then?"

"The arranged marriage"

"What about it?"

"Everything about it!" Yukinoshita states this as a fact that I should have understood already by now. I looked at her dumbstruck, curious why she's so adamant on its injustice.

"What do you mean everything? The engagement will test their resolve for the audience to see how much they've grown as part of their development."

"I understand its purpose as the second act. Using an arranged marriage is what I don't like."

"There's nothing wrong with using the engagement scenario. In fact I think it's rather popular among successful drama shows"

"A cliché then"

"And your point? Repetitiveness is the proof of its effectiveness regardless of era or age. "

"I think you're judging clichés in a positive light too much. Repeat it often and a story would be bland like yours. A story can transcend a cliché scenario if you can handle the execution in a different manner where the audience would find it fresh and appealing despite its roots. Your story lacks said appealing execution

Even the characters despite their fresh early depiction fell down steeply, especially the princess"

"I'm almost not surprised that you don't like what's happening with the heroine"

"Because there is nothing right with how you're treating her you turned her into another damsel in distress waiting for the hero to swoop in and rescue her"

"First I haven't finished the story that makes your statement true since the characters haven't tried solving the problem yet. Next, yes she got the short end of the stick but it can't be helped. You can't have drama when there is nothing at stake. Can't you see how the arranged marriage is used to affect the characters? To be taken out of their comfort and force them to adapt… to learn and strive to fulfill their desire"

"It doesn't have to be that way"

"You're being too unreasonable here if you're denying the drama's purpose itself."

"You're misunderstanding me. It's not the drama itself but how it's handled.

Tell me Hikigaya-kun what do you think does a typical audience really wants, what they look for when they watch romance"

"What else but the romance?" Shouldn't that be obvious I wondered?

"Wrong… the answer is the heroine… their so called best girl…"

I think I understand what the specific demographic she's referring to here. She continued to speak.

"You see, the heroine is made desirable for the audience to yearn for it and wish for the hero to succeed so they can feel the hero's happiness when they self-insert themselves into them. After all it's the audience that enjoys seeing girls love struck for the protagonist. You want them to crave and melt for the main character. Because viewers revel in it, it doesn't matter if the main character likes it or not It's not really for them but the for the viewer's pleasure. To be a heroine is to be a trophy… a desirable prize… Romance is just the convenient excuse to justify this action.

But I don't like that; it can be more than that. You don't have to cater to that kind of audience who's too easy to please. Don't sell them a character but the story with the characters.

Instead maybe you can look at the story from her perspective too. Have them know her in a similar way you identify with the hero. So you can comprehend better what they both have and share together. And when they finally win you can understand the euphoria from both their points of view. Instead of the heroine being the trophy… the goal could be romance… the romance itself… the prize not one but both, each other… for me that would be far more genui… "

Yukinoshita stopped. She must have noticed how enamored she sounds talking like that. I kept silent and stared at her with awe surprised at how she could act like this. Her eyes had a dreamy gaze discussing what she wanted in a romance. Her voice was soft yet unyielding when giving reason. This is yet another side of her I would never have thought she had. Maybe she empathized too much with the heroine as she might have been in the same position as her in alternate timelines. She turned her back to me embarrassed by her little speech.

"Ehem… I think you're blowing this way out of proportion. You know, you make it sound like I'm making a bad harem story here"

No response. She didn't make a sound nor move. Seems she doesn't want to talk more about it.

"How about you Rumi, what do you think ab…"

Tsurumi was in slumber already. I didn't even notice that she fell asleep already with our banter going on. I lied down, turned my back to them and tried to sleep again. I didn't even get to finish my story. These two are terrible story listeners.


Author notes:

I wonder what Yukino would think after reading all this fanfics concerning her… fate.

Don't get me wrong I have nothing against the arranged marriage scenario rumored to be in vol. 12 or oregairu's final arc. In fact I like reading fanfics that explore this topic. But if the author ever pulls out this card I might as well be numb about it since I've seen and read so many scenarios about this.

Also I actually have a little dilemma with introducing other characters in my story. As an example I wanted to introduce Yui last chapter along with Haruno. The scenarios could be good source or comedy not to mention a contrast between Yui and Yukino in handling Rumi. But I soon found problems with this the same way I had trying to get Hachi, Yuki and Rumi together initially. First I don't think Yui will let Hachi sleep together with Yuki and Rumi, at least not without her. Thus ruining a few scenes you just read. Next is her role in all of this. She could be a good foil to Yukino with her handling some situations where she's better than Yukino thus having good drama set up later on but the way I see it is this could be too detrimental to Yukino's development. The core outline of my fic is to have her and Hachi develop these roles together. I know how important Yui is to the story and the trio's development in the service club but I don't want her to end up as third wheel or a background character in this derived from romance (besides other stories have already handled this and to a good extent) like a mistress desiring for the husband is not a good side dish for a family oriented fic.

I know there is a compromise with all this and as the writer it is my job to compensate for this. But her presence will make huge changes in my original outline for the story. I can't afford to lengthen the upcoming chapters. Too much work for an amateur like me and I have a busy life with work five days a week. Maybe I'll step forward and do this or maybe I won't… We'll see

Thanks again for reading, reviewing and following my work. Till next time.

References:

[1] Megumin's chant, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo

[2] Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1933