Chapter 4: Yumiko Miura

I never liked hospitals. Not just because of a certain accident I had, but generally because they reminded me of two things: life, and death. Ironically, I was in one because of one of the reasons I mentioned above.

I shifted nervously on the bench I was sitting on. The hallway was air-conditioned, but I was sweating non-stop. I repeatedly looked at the door that was in front of me. Labour & Delivery Room No.8. Muffled screams and shouts could heard from behind the door. Hey, aren't birthing rooms supposed to be soundproof? My wife certainly is impressive.

Miura, no Hikigaya Yumiko, said wife, was the one producing all the noise. She was currently experiencing the pains of becoming a mother, in a more literal sense. She was happy when she first found out, but right now I don't think that holds true. Every few seconds I could hear her yell out "HIKIGAYA" or "HACHIMAN" and also expletives that were terribly uncouth for a woman in her position.

"I'll be fine" She said.

"Don't worry. I'll just push and push and the babies will be out there in no time. Just relax and wait outside." She said.

As I heard the screams get progressively louder and louder, I began to feel more anxious as well. I started to walk back and forth along the hallway, like a tiger. Like my wife, heck. Hah...hah...still cracking jokes at a time like this. What are you doing with your life, Hikigaya? Suddenly, a piercing screech resounded through the air.

I felt my heart jump out of my ribcage and I scrambled to the door, clumsily trying to turn the knob. As the door opened, I poked my head into the room and half expected the lady on the bed to scream,"GET OUT" (1)

Thankfully, she didn't, as she was panting heavily, messy brown hair strewn across her forehead. The scrubs (2)- no, nurses in scrubs noticed me. They were visibly exhausted, eyes drooping down, but they kept a slight smile on their faces.

My eyes darted around for what my wife had delivered, and landed on the two most beautiful things I had ever seen. Metaphorically, that is. Newborn babies are covered in blood and… slime. They had always reminded me of Ripley in that one scene from Alien.

I fondly smiled as I remembered the time Yumiko and I decided to watch a movie together. We had rented an American horror movie as we decided to see how scary their films were compared to Japan's. And I have to say, they're quite alright.

I was shocked a few times, but nothing like Yumiko. Throughout the entire movie, she was gripping my arm and burying her head in it. That showed me a cute, vulnerable side of the her beneath the queeny exterior she held through the ages.

I took in the features of my newborns. They were fraternal twins. The boy was silent, and looked like he was peacefully sleeping. His hair was a mix of dirty brown and black. His sister, significantly smaller than him, was kicking her legs and bawling her lungs out. She had a purer dark chocolate brown colour to her hair. The two of them were perfect opposites. It's gonna be fun looking after them, huh.

I walked over to the man holding them. He had a broad smile on his face, wrinkled eyes shining with jollity. He handed me my babies and took off his surgical cap, revealing his dull brown hair, the exact same as my wife's, but aged.

"Congratulations Son-in-Law-kun. You've got yourself a pair of twins."

I chuckled, and looked down to said twins. The sister had calmed down, and looked at me with perfect olive orbs, her mouth open with wonder. She giggled and cooed at me, and I could feel my heart melt. This one's my favourite. W-what? I'm not a daughtercon!

I turned to the other one. He too, stared at me in fascination. His eyes were similar to mine. As Yukino would put them, 'Like Pan-san's". Thankfully, they were more similar in shape to his mother's than mine. His black irises pierced mine, and we connected. Non-creepily, unlike a certain Haruno.(3)

"Hikio…come here."

I turned to look at the source. She was smiling weakly at me, and our children. I took a step towards the side of the bed, and brought the twins to Yumiko. She gingerly took them from my arms, and gently rocked as she cradled them.

She quietly whispered to the two of them.

"You're both so beautiful."

I leaned in, brushed her hair away, and kissed her forehead.

"You're beautiful too, Princess."

"Ha...Maybe not now. Thanks for the empty praise, though."

Yumiko turned to me, her tiredness becoming more and more apparent. She motioned me to take back the babies, and I complied. Woah, there. They're a little heavy,the both of them.

My Father-in-law, Mr Miura, placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Why don't we give my daughter a rest. Give us the babies and wait outside for a while again, then we'll talk."

I nodded, took one last look at my children, and handed two nurses the babies separately.

BIRTH CERTIFICATE

This certifies that Hitoshi Hikigaya wasborn to Miura Yumiko and Hikigaya Hachiman on April 8 20XX at 18:09

Weight: 3.6 Kilograms

Length: 49 Centimetres at Chiba Children's Hospital in Chiba, Chiba, Japan

Signed: Yumiko Miura, Hikigaya Hachiman

BIRTH CERTIFICATE

This certifies that Haruko Hikigaya was born to Miura Yumiko and Hikigaya Hachiman on April 8 20XX at 18:14

Weight: 3.7 Kilograms

Length: 50 Centimetres at Chiba Children's Hospital in Chiba, Chiba, Japan

Signed: Yumiko Miura, Hikigaya Hachiman

I stared at the certificatesthat were just given to me. I grinned, seeing the differences between the siblings. There's definitely going to be a rivalry between them in the future. I glanced at the babies, mine, from beyond a glass panel. To the nurses and patients passing by I must've looked like a creep who just walked up to the nursery. My stubble and dishevelled hair did not help. Staying overnight in hospitals is rough.

I walked over to the room where my wife was resting. Delivery Room 4...Delivery Room 6…where is it- ah, there it is. I silently opened the door. The Return of Stealth Hikki. Haven't used that skill in a looong time. Didn't need to, or couldn't anyways. Not with Yumiko around. She attracted attention wherever she went, and as much as I didn't like it, some of the attention rubbed off on me.

Usually whenever we went out shopping or on a date, she'd look like a model walking right out of a fashion show while I'd just look like her servant or something. Not very flattering, considering that was quoted from someone. Thinking back, Yukinoshita really doesn't hold back with her insults.

"What's with the creepy grin?"

Ah, I was smiling? Man, the past does get me riled up.

"Nah, it's nothing. Just remember something nostalgic."

"Oh? Was it of the days before you proposed to me?"

I walked out from the doorway to the room. The curtains were wide open, revealing the early morning sun in all its glory. The yellow hue shed on the mostly white room reminded me of Yumiko's old hair colour.

She returned it to its original colour when she knew she was due. Her hair was now a pure hazel, and only reached slightly above her shoulders. She had it cut so it would be less distracting for when she worked. Right where she was actually. She was a pediatric nurse in her father's hospital.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who liked playing with her locks. The children in the hospital did as well, and that ended up resulting in anaccident. Not gonna go into details with that.

"Maybe it wasn't my mistake to propose to you, but it was you who first confessed to me."

She suddenly sat up on her bed, and blushed beet-red. I continued to the balcony, and rested my arms on the railings.

"B-baka! It wasn't easy c-confessing to you at that time, y'know."

"For someone like you to have confessed to someone like me, it definitely must have been embarrassing."

I adjusted my position, so that my back faced the scenery and my elbows rested on the handrails. I gazed at Yumiko.

Although she had literally just given birth, she was as beautiful as ever. Even without makeup, her features were undoubtedly perfect.

She truly was leagues above me. In high-school she was the Queen of the class while I was but a loner.

It's a funny saying, how "opposites attract". When it comes to magnets, the north pole of one magnet draws the south pole of another magnet toward it. Identical poles will repel each other.

In terms of humans, there's another quote out there that greatly summarises such relationships.

"It's usually our opposites who complement us best, because they're the only ones who can balance us out"

Yumiko caught my gaze, and started to rub her arm nervously. She bit her bottom lip, an act so simple yet so seductive.

"If...if I didn't like I wouldn't even be here giving birth to your children."

To be honest, I was pretty caught off guard by that. I let out an empty laugh.

"How many years has it been since we dated? 5, 6? And you still haven't told me why you confessed that day too. I always thought it was because Hayama rejected you."

She shifted her head, now only looking at me with her peripheral vision. Stolen from one of my good old 108 Loner Skills™.

"It is, sort of."

She glanced back at me, as if scared that I would get mad. But I, as an ex-loner, had already deduced that from the beginning.

"I knew."

She grimaced. I took brief steps towards her, and leaned in, close to her ear. She tensed up considerably, and fearfully looked at me.

"But, you did nothing wrong."

I kissed her. The usual cherry that wore itself over her lips was no longer there, but its taste still lingered. She 'eeped', but eventually melted into the kiss. It's very easy to tame a tiger once you've got the hang of it.

We parted after a while, but a small trail of saliva was left behind. She quickly wiped it off with her hospital gown's sleeve, and looked the other way, blushing furiously. That's a, a pretty Kawasaki-ish thing to do, ain't it.

My cheeks were pretty flushed too. It was a very out of character thing for me to do. But then again, this whole scenario with Yumiko was pretty implausible as well. She didn't even have a route in the PS Vita visual novel. (4)

"Wh-what do you mean by that?"

"Ah...where do I start. After Hayama, rejected you, you were obviously at a loss. After all, pretty much the only reason you ever bothered to come to school was him. Yui, Tobe and Hina were just a by-product of your friendship with him."

That was the harsh truth, and she knew it. No matter how close, no matter how dear she held Yui, Hina or anyone, Hayama had the highest place in her heart. That heart was swiftly broken into a million pieces by him, however.

"After the rejection, you could barely cope. You didn't come to school, and when you did you were just an empty shell of your past."

I shot a glance at Yumiko. What I was doing...it was the same as what I did to Sagami. Actively and cruelly pointing out her flaws.

"Yui was obviously distraught, what with how she considered you a true friend. She brought it upon herself to cheer you up. Yukino… would just make things worse with her relationship with you, and Hayama."

I could hear Yumiko sobbing. I didn't want to do this, but it was for the better. I needed to get this off my chest. All the secrets we hid, I hid, I wanted her to be the first to know.

"I ended up going along with Yui. I don't exactly remember what I said to you then that got you out of that state, but I do remember how much my face hurt after you slapped me."

I let out a small laugh, thinking back on memories like that. Remembering the days when my [Cynicism] was fully maxed.

"Ah, but one thing I didn't, or don't, get was when or why...you fell for me."

"It was because you made me wake up."

Yumiko was now sitting upright, hands on her lap balled up in fists, staring at me with a fiery passion in her eyes. I've only ever seen that once, and that was when she slapped me.

"Hikigaya...you were a real asshole, you know? Like, how could you even? You knew I was depressed with the whole Hayato thing, yet you still used that method of yours. You could've, like, at least softened the blow for your future wife."

"Kek...how could anyone, let alone me, know that you would become my future wife?"

"Hmph. S-so, after the whole wake up call, I couldn't think of anyone else other than you. O-of course, it wasn', like, romantic at first. I really hated you at that time. Then, I started to think about your words. I started to think about why I liked Hayato. I realised it was just a childish crush. When I wanted to pick my life up again, you were there to help me along the way."

Ah, that's right. I guess I tend to fully assist people I feel guilty of. I knew at that time, that Yumiko's change was because of me. Like with Isshiki, I felt an obligation to...help Yumiko find herself.

"Eventually, I, like, found myself hating you less and less, and whenever Yui made a move on you, I felt a pain in my heart. When she told me she wanted to confess to you…"

Yumiko bit her lip again, waiting for my reaction.

"Y-yeah… I knew she liked me."

She gave me a forlorn look. I've read enough manga in my younger days to know what she was going to say next.

"Everybody is selfish. It's human nature to want to put yourself in front of other people first."

"I know that. But still, she was my friend. I was her friend. She helped me get through my darkest moments and I repaid her by stopping her from confessing to you. All so… I could have you for myself."

"Ha, ha… That certainly was selfish. But, I don't think I have any regrets about choosing you over Yui."

"Hachiman…thank you."

"Whatever for? If it weren't for me you wouldn't have to go through with giving birth yesterday."

"You're so right. When I get better I'm gonna pummel you."

"You wouldn't. Hmm, Haruko does seem to take after you, now that I think about it."

"With the amount of energy she has? I think she may have surpassed me. Well, then, that would leave Hitoshi to take after you. Hopefully, he doesn't become a loner like you in the future."

"I'm sure he won't. He's going to be kept in the spotlight, after all, with his sister around him."

"Ha…ah...I'm feeling a bit sleepy. I think I'm going to rest for now."

"Alright. See you later then."

I tucked Yumiko into her bed, gave her forehead a quick peck, and left. I walked by the nursery, and saw my two babies sleeping soundly. Heh, rest well, kids.

I continued out of the hospital and into the carpark. Who I saw at the entrance surprised me, however.

"Hikki."

"Hachiman."

There, stood the two other members of the Service Club.

"...Yui, Yukino. Ha...so what brings you two ladies here?"

"Nothing, just to visit an old friend on, no, after a special occasion of his."

"Ah-ah, Yukinon meant to say that we wanted to visit you after Yumiko had given birth."

"Ha, I think I got what Yukino said. I can still read between the lines, as good as before. If you girls wanna go see Yumiko now, she's sleeping and I'm not sure if she wants to see Yukino right now. So, yeah. It should be fine for you two to meet my kids though."

"She's still holding a grudge against me?"

"Well, not really, but women don't forgive, but forget, right?"

"Hmm, you're not wrong there. Sigh...it's a good thing I didn't bring Hayato here."

"Mm. Good decision."

"Uh...guys? Can we go see Hikki's babies right now? I wanna see how cute they are!"

"Right. Let's not waste any more time. Lead the way, Newfathergaya."

"Wow, after a hiatus of several years your nicknames for me come back in full force. Heh, well, let's go."

"Uwaa! They're sooo cute!"

"Yes. The boy looks a bit like Pan-san, though."

100% called it.

"Had a feeling you'd say that."

"Oh? Thinking of me even when I wasn't there? Unfaithful-gaya returns."

"Perhaps I'd need to fly away from the bomb you're setting."

"Hahaha..!"

Yukinoshita and I turned to look at Yui. She was holding her stomach in laughter.

"Hahaha! Oh...my sides…"

"What's so funny?"

"Yes. I don't recall making a joke. Although Hikigaya here is one himself. And do mind that were in a hospital."

"Ha...ah...I'm sorry it's just that… I remembered how it's always like with the three of us, and I thought about how Hikki's kids were going to be in future. I don't know, but I think Hikki's boy is going to be like Yukinon."

"As long as he takes after the right features I'll be fine with that."

"Right features are the only features I have."

"For example, I don't want him to inherit her arrogance."

"Haha!"

"I'm a bit worried Haruko is going to be too energetic for her brother, though. She seems to be a mix between Yumiko and Yui."

"Ah! She's going to be like her Godmother? Subarashii desu!" (5)

"That might be more trouble than its worth. So, I think that's enough of staring at my kids from beyond a wall. You girls can visit them as soon as they return home."

"Yes, as long as you remember to call us when that happens."

"Aww...ok then. Tell Yumiko I said Hi! And get well soon, I guess?"

"Oh trust me. She's in good health. Just gave birth and she's still as perfect as ever."

I escorted them out of the hospital. Nice talking to some old friends.

"Ah...what was I going to do? Right, drive home."

I entered my car, a good old Mazda Axela. Despite coming out a few years prior it still looked sleek as hell. Above the dashboard a lone photo frame stood. Hmm. Maybe I should go get another one. Well, time to head to Daiso. (6)

(1)Reference to a scene in Knocked Up.

(2)Gaming term.

(3)Reference to another amazing fic, s/11581341/1/Obsession by 80K Hikigaya. Shoutout to him!

(4)Well, as far as I know, Yumiko doesn't have a route in the Oregairu PS Vita game.

(5)Subarashii means something like 'wonderful' or 'great'.

(6)Daiso or The Daisō (ザ・ダイソー?) is a large franchise of 100-yen shops in Japan.

It's been 2 weeks since I last updated. Here's a list of excuses / reasons.

Examsssssss

Writers block

Research

My phone dieded.

Ah well yeah that's about it, excluding procrastination. I was gonna upload yesterday but well like I said my phone died. Eh, so I'm gonna try to push out the next one (or Ebina will, hehe) asap, but like, exams and stuff. I mostly have the main ideas down. Oh, and it may be more mature, too. Ah well I'm gonna go talk about this story and answer some reviews.

Ah yes. Yumiko Miura. Very, difficult to write imo. 8man's also especially OOC in this one, but mostly because he exposed himself to Yumiko. Man I'm talking like she's radiation or something. Er, the backstory for their relationship was pretty fun to write, but it has lots of fantastical elements. But this a fanfic so yeah. Also the names of 8man's children are foreshadowing their personality, so go look them up if you're so obliged. Also, Yukinoshita's had a cameo in every single chapter, hasn't she? Lmao she isn't even my favourite character or (my) best girl. *Hint my favourite girl has an ahoge* Eh...this story is actually my first version, but I did write an alternate one that was more comedic and focused on Yumiko giving Birth, like at the start of this chapter but its only 20% done and I don't want to delay this any further. Plus, it's much shorter. I'll answer some reviews now.

Guest (2): How many girls? All of them.

Guest (1): Ah well, I respect your opinion. 8man will be OOC in my fic mostly because he's heavily influenced by age, experience and also because of his significant other. I agree that it's very un-Hachimanly, though. (that's because I'm a terrible writer please go read a more accurate fic like in God Emperor Penguin's fic s/11044041/1/Even-Hikigaya-Hachiman-can-write-a-Love-Letter)

Umami08: Each girl having their own song? That's a nice idea.

Lord Mortensen: Do you love this fic? What is love? Baby don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. No more. Nah jk thanks for the feedback. The girls will have their own chapters. Just uh, wait a while.

Ah I think that's about it. Thanks for the feedback. See you (hopefully) soon.