A/N: You guys have no idea how much the release of Chapters 3 and 4 of Volume 10.5 makes me happy. After all the bullshit Yui goes through in volume 7-8/the recent anime episodes, just having to read the Service Club working on something lighthearted and helping each other out was amazing. It helps that those stories really capture the tone of what I'm going for in this series.

There's a certain scene here that I imagine Yukino talking in Saori Hayama's Hatoko voice. Wakaranai yo, wakaranai yo. Goddamn, she really nails her character's emotions really well.

Anyway, let's go!

-0-

Story 2.2: Yukinoshita Yukino speaks her thoughts

Yuigahama Yui's Mobile Diary: Entry X
Mood: happy ^_^

omg omg i was able to borrow one of hikki's books! \(O_O)/ he told me the language was "off-putting" (what does he mean by THAT) but when i glanced at the copy he lent me it wasn't that hard to read. or is it bcoz hikki's way worse when he talks like that?

yukinon told me she thinks the book can help me undrstnd hikki better but wen i asked hikki all he said was "humans aren't so easily classified like characters in novels, Yuigahama. You mustn't make the mistake of assuming we can be explained away as characters in books." he strtd ranting and i lost track ;_; (altho i think he was at the end too, he does that sometimes)

also! hikki sed he wnted to listen to my music! Must find something for him later!

I think we're getting closer now! me n hikki n yukinon!

-0-

I felt a blast of comfy air blow through my entire essence as the Megu Megu Megurin Megurin Power began its magic. For a moment I imagined myself floating naked in a void of psychedelic colors, communicating with nothing but my mind and my thoughts. Truly, this comfy Newtype[1] could save the world.

…I definitely did not imagine everyone floating naked in space. Obviously.

If Yuigahama Yui was an airheaded sprite, Shiromeguri Meguri was the wind itself, in that everything she did seemed airy and effortless. Even her movements were graceful, as if gravity had no control over her slender body. She had greyish, murky, half-closed eyes and curly, shoulder-length brown hair wrapped up in two twin braids of unequal length– two pink hair clips adorned the fringe of her hair on the left side of her face, the shorter side, and one hair clip on the right. Because of the extreme coldness of the season, she was wearing the school blazer, but in most instances she chose not to wear them. The total opposite of Yukinoshita, who always insisted on dressing up in the complete school uniform regardless of the weather.

The sheer asymmetry of her face was something I could not help but notice, as it complemented her personality. From her looks alone, she must have seemed unusual in her asymmetry, but I only found her alluring. Dammit, my heart was getting Meguri'd…!

But more than that, her disorganized appearance revealed her easygoing attitude towards everything. Even when we came into contact with her during the Cultural Festival, I had always seen her as an airy, unreliable person, and wondered how she could have been the Student Council President, but it seems this very airiness to her encouraged the council to work even harder. Did she have some kind of virus, and infect the rest of the student council?

When she had approached us for the Athletics Festival, similar things happened, and we found ourselves infected, unnaturally willing to go all out to fulfill her request of winning the event. Um, was this all part of her plan…? I didn't want to think so – unlike Yuigahama, whose air-headed nature concealed an extremely honed sense of social aptitude and ability to read situations, Shiromeguri-senpai seemed to live 24/7 in a dream-like world where she did as she pleased and got everyone to come along for the ride.

Well, my instincts weren't going haywire on her like they did on, say, Isshiki Iroha, so I've always looked at her simply as an unreliable upperclassman with a surprisingly good ability to convince people to get along. Really, the contrast between the two student council presidents was widening, wasn't it…?

In any case, why was the possessor of the Megu Megu Megurin Megurin Power here?

"Allow me to explain." Yukinoshita Yukino began. "I encountered Shiromeguri-senpai on the way here – it seems she was waiting for me outside my classroom but had…dozed off." She looked outside the door. "Incidentally, I ran into Isshiki-san on the way here. It seems she wanted to go here today as well, but I told her to leave since we were about to begin club activities."

"Eh, that's not true, Yukinoshita-san~" Shiromeguri-senpai corrected, "I was just taking a nap, you know~?" She clapped her hands together, and I swear I could see flowers drawn by crayons emerge around her head. Truly, her disposition was as sunny as these days are chilly.

"That is not the point, Shiromeguri-sen-"

"Ah, and I said you could call Meguri-chan, you know~ even Hikigaya-kun here can, ahahahaha~"

Scary! That was scary! I was nearly Meguri'd there! For the second time! Yuigahama let out a nervous laugh. You would think the two would get along, considering their respective natures, but it seems even Yuigahama is unnerved by Shiromeguri-senpai's easygoing aura.

"Very well then. Meguri -senpai here, to cut a long story short, wishes to request the assistance of us, the Service Club." Yukinoshita, seemingly unaffected by the Megurin Power, immediately bounced back with a retort of her own and cut through the heart of the matter in one fell stroke. Hey, Yukinoshita, can you cut the Gordian Knot[2] next time?

"What kind of request is it?" I asked, resting my left elbow on the table as my palms propped up my chin.

"W-whatever it is, we can help!" Yuigahama contributed.

"Well…" Shiromeguri-senpai giggled. "It's actually not that much of a big deal… Yukino-chan here actually insisted we talk things out here after she caught me napping outside her classroom. She might be taking things a wee bit too seriously?" The way she easily jumped towards using Yukinoshita's first name that easily, you'd think she crossed a bottomless chasm with nary a single thought. I'd say, "have a little more self-awareness," but it seems it was an integral part of her personality, so I held my tongue.

"Please get to the point, Meguri-senpai." Yukinoshita chided, sighing as she held her forehead up with her left hand, as if preventing an oncoming headache. For someone like you who gets to the point, the winding, digressing ramblings of Shiromeguri-senpai must be too much, huh?

"Ahhh, I might have made Yukino-chan angry!" Shiromeguri-senpai let out a mock squeal of horror. "Alright, alright! Truthfully, the reason I fell asleep outside Yukino-chan's classroom was that I was going to ask her a question, but I dozed off… you know how we upperclassmen are preparing for university entrance exams, right?"

That's right. Sobu High, in the first place, was a college preparatory school, so it's to be expected that its students are studying hard to get into university in the first place.

"Well… the truth is, I've been having difficulty studying. Usually, I spend my afternoons napping, and my evening studying, but after the recent round of mock exams my performance hasn't improved a lot… my dreams of getting into a good university are in peril…" Shiromeguri-senpai mock-sobbed, although even her pretending to be worried filled me with an overwhelming sense to just wrap my arms around her and comfort her.

"So!" She immediately recovered. "I was hoping the Service Club could give me advice!"

"W-woah… that was way too easy, the way she jumped from suuuper sad to happy…" Yuigahama, who had been dutifully following the conversation, let out a small yelp. She took out her phone and started fiddling with it. Isn't that kind of rude, Yuigahama…?

I raised my hand to ask a question.

"To put it mildly, you're asking us for ways to be able to improve your study habits, correct? Or maybe you want us to improve your test-taking skills."

"Either way is fine!" Shiromeguri-senpai chirped. "But really, all I want is to get my nap time back." She was giggling again, although this time it sounded more like Ebina's "guhehehehehehe" laugh. Oh god, that mental image.

"It seems like such a simple solution, Meguri-senpai." Yukinoshita, who had moved to her side of our table, began. "Simply spend more time studying, and your performance surely will increase as well."

Indeed, that was the most logical advice to be given. As expected of Yukinoshita.

"Furthermore, since we are underclassmen, we cannot offer to tutor Shiromeguri-senpai. However, we can contribute tips and our own study habits for her sake. Perhaps her study habits need fixing as well." Yukinoshita offered. I could see Yuigahama shudder at the mention of "our own study habits." Of course, Yuigahama was not someone you asked for tips on studying. Her ability to retain knowledge was atrocious, after all, and her study habits worse, if our study session at Saize was any indication.

"But, um, Shirom- I mean, Meguri-senpai's problem wouldn't be, like, much of a problem if she can fix it just by being told "study hard!" right?" Yuigahama quickly followed up with.

"Yuigahama's right," I chimed in. "If telling a student the best way to increase his knowledge is simply to hit the books more, then how come not all students improve 100% overnight?" Indeed, just because you tell someone to work hard does not mean he'll produce satisfactory results. Hard work, after all, was not a guarantee of success. Hard work may not betray you, but it won't offer you magical victories either.

"You two may be right. The problem here may be one of motivation." Yukinoshita agreed, while Shiromeguri-senpai followed the conversation and nodded accordingly.

"Of course we're right," I fired back. "My source is my sister, Komachi. She's currently preparing for high school entrance exams herself, and she's been pushing herself way too hard for it." I can still imagine Komachi's delicate features being tainted by those dreaded eyes that haunted me throughout my middle school years. "She may not be the smartest student out there, but there's no lack of hard work in her bones. It's just that it's truly draining, both physically and mentally." Ah…! My poor, cute sister, overworked like this…!

"Somehow… your siscon tendencies seeped out there for a moment…gross, Hikki." Yuigahama whispered.

"Whatever! The point is, instead of telling Shiromeguri-senpai here," I avoided Shiromeguri-senpai's piercing looks as I ignored her request to refer to her with her first name, "to work hard and study hard, perhaps the advice we should give is how to replenish her lost motivation, so that she can study harder."

"I see, I see~ So how do I do that, Hi-ki-ga-ya-kun~?" Shiromeguri-senpai intoned as her face zoomed in, uncomfortable close to mine. Personal space, Shiromeguri-senpai! Personal space!

"Hikki…"

"Hikigaya-kun…"

What can I do? I can't deny my upperclassman like this! Don't glare daggers at my side, dammit!

"W-well," I coughed out, causing Shiromeguri-senpai to retreat to a safe distance, "there are many ways to remedy that problem. In Shiromeguri-senpai's case, studying probably deprived her of valuable nap time, right?" I looked at Shiromeguri-senpai, who nodded in agreement. "In that case, the solution is obvious: you should be able to compensate for the nap time you've lost."

"And how do you propose Shiromeguri-senpai do that?" Yukinoshita asked.

"Simple. Since you've lost your afternoon nap time to studying, you seek out your nap time during school hours."

In terms of problem-solving, Yukinoshita's approach would be the brute force one – attempting to solve the problem head-on. The problem with this approach is that the solution may be one that the person himself is incapable of achieving, because of the sheer amount of effort involved. For someone like Yukinoshita, who fearlessly mowed down all opponents in her path, such a solution was the most obvious, and basic approach.

For worms like myself, however, who didn't have Yukinoshita's ability, intelligence, or drive to achieve whatever we wish for, our only recourse is deceit, trickery, and logic. For people like us, if confronted with an insurmountable wall, our solution isn't simply to scale the wall, no matter how high it is. As opposed to Yukinoshita, who would insist on working hard to overcome this obstacle, I would instead suggest we work smart.

Therefore, no dirty trick was outside our book. Bring in a bomb to blow a hall in the wall, dig underneath the wall, find a hidden door, make a ladder, invent a flying machine, discover the power of magic – anything as opposed to confronting the problem directly.

If Shiromeguri-senpai's problem is the lack of motivation preventing her from doing well in her studies, Yukinoshita's solution would be for her to insist on continuing studying, despite the lack of motivation. That's because for Yukinoshita, the drive to succeed is a motivation unto itself.

That isn't true for me, and I believe the same is true for Shiromeguri-senpai. Instead, my solution is to restore her motivation, and the best way seems to be to give her back her nap time.

"Indeed, if you are lacking in sleep, then the solution is to get more sleep, correct? While humanity has not yet achieved the ability to slow down or control time, we can divide it more efficiently. For example, calling in sick so that you may sleep for a few more hours, or retreating to the infirmary to take a nap. Or perhaps finding yourself on the school rooftop to sleep. Do you know how refreshing it is up there? Another option is to nap during class. I myself have developed numerous techniques to get away with sleeping in class… my favorite is the one where I fall asleep while hunched over my textbook."

At some point at my ramblings I realized three pairs of eyes were looking at me. G-guys? What's with the weird stares?

"Um, Hikki, I don't think it's a good idea to suggest Shiromeguri-senpai to cut classes." Yuigahama offered in response to my questioning looks.

"It was a mistake to let you talk." Yukinoshita said to me. Even as she smiled at me warmly I still couldn't shake the feeling of unease. "Hikigaya-kun, while you may be content with such a solution, Shiromeguri-senpai actually pays attention to class, do you not?" She looked at Shiromeguri-senpai.

In response, the upperclassman looked at the two girls looking for her to shoot down my suggestion completely, but to my surprise she simply giggled. "Actually, I'm already doing all the things Hikigaya-kun has mentioned~! Truthfully, I enjoy napping at the school rooftop."

Scary! Truly scary! Was this our former student council president? She's starting to sound as irresponsible as Irohasu (Tobe voice)!

"I feel so disillusioned right now," Yuigahama groaned, as she adopted Yukinoshita's hand-to-forehead pose of exasperation.

"I had expected Meguri-senpai to be easygoing, but I never imagined it would be to such an extent." Yukinoshita sighed.

"I guess it's true what they say about never judging a book by its cover." I offered in consolation.

"Did I say something wrong?" Shiromeguri-senpai said, as she started laughing.

-0-

In the end, we were unable to arrive at a satisfactory solution. Instead, we asked Shiromeguri-senpai to return the next day, as Yukinoshita refused to let it go without concluding her request.

"So what do we do?" Yukinoshita began.

Before she left, Yukinoshita asked Shiromeguri-senpai what her weakest subjects were, for reference, and what university she was aiming to get into. According to her, Shiromeguri-senpai was aiming for a university focused on the sciences, and her humanities subjects were her weakest. Specifically, her English was beyond terrible, surpassing legendary levels of illiteracy not seen since Yukinoshita and I tutored Yuigahama before our major exams.

"Well, we can't tutor her." I replied. "Setting aside the fact that she's older than us, the problem here is one of attitude, since she clearly has the ability to study hard considering she got into this school in the first place." I looked at Yuigahama. "Unlike some people here."

"Uuuuu, Hikki's teasing me again," Yuigahama whimpered. "It's not my fault, okay! I passed fair and square! I studied my ass off until I felt it would fall off!" She leaped from her hair and pumped her fist madly, like she had won an award. Also, um, please don't give me mental images about your ass. It's hard to concentrate around you already.

"It would be good if Shiromeguri-senpai had Yuigahama-san's energy here," Yukinoshita teased, "it would definitely take her to unimaginable places." She smiled and sipped her tea. Somehow, the way she says these things were far more effective than any emotion-filled statement, huh? Yuigahama simply went "uuuuuu…" and sat back, fiddling on her phone. No reply, Yuigahama?

"…Yukinon is mean." Yuigahama whispered, although I think Yukinoshita, who had gathered our cups for cleaning, didn't hear them. I assumed Yuigahama knew this already, but I guess it was just now dawning on her.

"Come on, Yuigahama, she was just joking." I told Yuigahama, trying to comfort her.

"I know, I know. It's just…" Yuigahama hesitated. "Even Shiromeguri-senpai's worrying about her future, huh?"

Come to think of it, I had never asked Yuigahama what her plans for the future were. During the career field trip, she had just gone along with the rest of the class, after all.

"Well, how about you, Yuigahama? What kind of university do you plan on getting into?"

"I don't know, Hikki." She frowned and rested her chin atop her folded arms. "I was just so happy getting into a school like this, but I actually don't have a lot of plans for the future, you know? I mean, sure, I can probably get into some low-rate university since I come from here, but, ah, looking at you two and Shiromeguri-senpai, you guys seem to be aiming for higher stuff, right?"

"It's only natural." Yukinoshita replied, as she walked over to the table again. "After all, our school is a preparatory school for colleges. Even you must think of aiming higher. Otherwise, it's a waste of your education." Yuigahama's eyes tightened and zoomed on Yuigahama. "We may just be second-years, but we mustn't be complacent, after all. Our choice of university will dictate much of our life. Even someone as easygoing as you should worry about your career."

I don't agree with that sentiment, and Hiratsuka-sensei's told me as much, but there's no denying that this was an important decision and not something you could take lightly.

In other words, Yuigahama's behavior was unacceptable. Really, why did you go to this school in the first place?

Yuigahama could only groan in response and buried her head in her forearms.

Yukinoshita, seemingly sensing Yuigahama's unease, put on a troubled look. She moved her hands towards Yuigahama's direction, as if to wrap her arms around the other girl and comfort her, but immediately retracted when she realized I was looking at her. She placed her hands on the table and looked at her feet, unsure of what to do or say.

Instead, Yuigahama slowly rose from her seat and took her bag.

"Sorry, Yukinon, Hikki. I need some time to think, and errands to run. I'll have to leave early."

Yukinoshita was unable to reply as Yuigahama, zombie-like, shambled her way outside. When Yuigahama shut the door behind her, I imagined it sounded rougher than it did. In reality, she had closed the door gently.

Unable to bear the silence that Yuigahama's exit caused, I tried to focus on my book, but was unable to immerse myself in my novel. Looking up, I realized that Yukinoshita was staring at me, her body trembling slightly, as if she was overcome with some sensation.

I met her gaze with my own. The cool February winds caused by Yuigahama's exit circulated through the room, sending shivers throughout my body. And yet, I didn't think the cool weather was the primary cause of this cold sensation that was building up within me. In this room, warmed by the scent of tea, there was an important component missing. Or rather, something that disappeared and left.

She looked at me, her eyes hinting at her vulnerability – I could read it all in my head: I don't know what to do.

Yukinoshita, after all, has never had to hold back her words. That was how it was when she first met Yuigahama, and Yuigahama had taken it all in stride when Yukinoshita let out harsh words aimed at her.

Yuigahama had claimed that this part of Yukino was something she admired, but it was obvious that it still hurt whenever Yukinoshita cut loose and unleashed her true thoughts on the matter.

No matter what kind of reserved, experienced loner you are, harsh words have an effect on you.

No matter how much you claim to be unhurt, being ostracized by your peers hurts.

So was Yukinoshita and I guilty of ostracizing Yuigahama?

No matter how much you cut it, Yuigahama Yui was simply not someone who was as capable the same way Yukinoshita Yukino was. In terms of common points, there existed absolutely none between Yuigahama Yui and Yukinoshita Yukino.

And yet, and yet Yuigahama insisted on remaining in this club, insisted on trying to talk to Yukinoshita, insisted on trying to keep up with our conversations even as we incessantly made fun of her shortcomings, and insisted on helping out with the Service Club's activities with absolutely no reward on her part. Yukinoshita had her noblesse oblige and I had my own version of pride at stake in our little contest, but Yuigahama had no personal reason to try and do club activities to win Hiratsuka-sensei's little "bet".

In other words, there was no logical reason for Yuigahama to be here.

Any normal person would be fed up of it and just snap one day.

"What, what did I say wrong?" Yukinoshita finally managed to blurt out. Her lips curled in anger, and I realized that she was biting her lip. From beneath the table I could imagine her clutching at the hems of her skirt, trying to hold back her frustration.

"You didn't say anything out of the ordinary," I replied.

"Obviously, I said something wrong. For Yuigahama-san to reply like that." She fired back.

"I think it isn't a matter of what you said wrong, but a culmination of things you've said before."

"You? I would think you are as guilty as I am of this, Hikigaya-kun." She closed her eyes, scowled and let out an irritated sigh as she turned away from me.

Why are you dragging me into this? I wanted to reply. "Things are different now, I suppose." After all, we still don't know the boundaries of our relationships.

"…I suppose you're right." Yukinoshita conceded. She opened her eyes, displaying water, wavering pupils. "I had assumed… I believed Yuigahama would understand what I was saying."

That was our mistake, I wanted to say out loud. But saying that right now to Yukinoshita was useless.

"I had told you we were fulfilling your request, but it seems we have much to do before we can properly say we've granted it," Yukinoshita continued, a pained smile on her face. "If Yuigahama-san and I cannot even talk to each other properly. I've been blind to that fact. All this time, all I've heard from you two is that I can depend on the two of you, and all I've done is take advantage of your kindness."

It's something much more horrible, the elder Yukinoshita had warned.

"It's, not like you're taking advantage of Yuigahama or something." I replied. "But you tend to get in over your head and take things you can't handle on your own. You can't blame Yuigahama for wanting to help you out."

"Why are you leaving yourself out…? You've done just as much."

"No. All I've done is satisfy my own ego."

"Hikigaya-kun…"

"The important thing is, if you truly feel this way, why haven't you done anything?" I asked Yukinoshita. "More importantly, why are you telling me this? You should be talking to Yuigahama, not me."

I wasn't the one Yukinoshita should be directing her feelings to.

Yuigahama craved her acceptance the most, hungered for the rare displays of affection that Yukinoshita doled out carefully and unwittingly. Even Yukinoshita, as inept as she is with dealing with other people, should have realized this.

"I… I don't know how to talk to her." Yukinoshita almost wailed out, her voice rising in pitch. "I don't know how to talk to most people." She was beginning to breathe faster now. "I don't know how to deal with Yuigahama."

She was gritting her teeth now. "I feel so powerless, knowing this. That I am so clueless when it comes to these things. She knows more about these things than I do, and I had always depended on her to teach me what to do, or straighten things out when I cannot deal with other people. Like with Miura-san in camp. Or during the Christmas event. "

Many things happened during that Christmas event.

"I've depended on Yuigahama-san too much."

She stopped, looked down at her skirt, and trembled. She was breathing heavily now, her shoulders rising up and down rapidly in exhaustion. In her state, I could imagine a dam about to burst. Her effort in keeping herself composed was heroic, even as trickles of emotion struggled to escape from her heart.

At the core of her outburst was a basic, primal statement.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

She was struggling not to scream out the words, but I could hear them through her speech.

I felt coldness envelop my body.

"Yukinoshita." I started. "I'm not the one you should be telling this."

I shouldn't be hearing this from her. Her emotions should not be directed at me.

"You should be talking to Yuigahama."

Yukinoshita, who seemed to be on the verge of tears, looked at me. Her face was one of confusion, as if I had said something stupid.

"Hikigaya-kun…why do you insist on saying that…?"

"I don't know what you mean. All I know is that you should be talking to Yuigahama about your feelings, not me. She deserves as much. If you feel like you wronged her, you should apologize."

As if in a daze, Yukinoshita continued gazing at me. I didn't know if she was staring through me to process my words, or if I was such a non-entity that she was using me to rest her eyes and her thoughts while she planned her next move, but it made me feel uncomfortable.

After a minute or so, Yukinoshita opened her lips, and uttered something I could never forget, even in 12000 years[3].

"Hikigaya-kun… will you go out with me?"

-0-

A/N: Ok, so this arc isn't finished until next chapter. And it might be a wee bit heavy on the drama, when I promised fluff. Sorry! Things should be ok by the next chapter, and the next arc should be fluffy as all hell, since it involves Iroha, Komachi, and Saki. I already have a plot planned out and everything, and even a title: My little sister Hikigaya Komachi worries about love, too. Just think of it as compensation since the anime cut out Taishi from the twitter plan.

So, what does everyone think about the current anime adaptation? How about the story so far? Oh, and a challenge: if you can guess what the main pairing of this story is (and a majority of future oregairu fanfics I write), then I'll immediately write a oneshot oregairu story of your choosing. Your scenario, your characters, no matter how OOC, and I'll make it work.

Leave a review!

[1] A staple of Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequels

[2] EBchecked/topic/239059/Gordian-knot

[3] Genesis of Aquarion. See the opening: watch?v=PopnJe2u1Og

"All these 12000 years…"