A/N: After a lot of thought, I've decided to adjust the story so that Komachi isn't in the service club while everyone else is in their third year. I just don't think I can find a way for it to be relevant without causing potholes to anything already established. She will probably make more appearances later, but this is my decision for now. Also, I apologize for taking so long to update. Furthermore, I haven't read the Novels so I won't be referencing them, only the anime.

Yumiko found herself seeing Hachiman in a new light as of late. It'd been over week since they met at his place and they'd done so again a few days after, with him giving valuable insight as to why she was feeling the way she was. He'd essentially come to the conclusion that she'd been negligent in taking care of her future due to the fact that up until now, anything she did conformed to what other people would think of her and how her social appearance would be affected. Never once had she thought of doing something solely for herself. Never once had she done something that no one would know or care about.

It was only now that Yumiko realized how superficial and immature such a life was.

And because of the superficial and immature life she lead, everyone was now moving on from the high school mentality that kept them chained to her for the last two years.

Everyone except for her. She was being left behind, and it was only thanks to Hachiman that she even realized it. Thanks to him, she still had time to catch up. There were still quite a few months left before they graduated from Sobu, so if she worked hard enough, Yumiko could end up as prepared as most of her peers, and could start college off on the same footing as them.

And hey, maybe she could have some genuine fun along the way. Despite Hachiman's poor selection of video games, she had fun that day. Whether it was because she'd finally tried something new or because she actual fun, she'd never know.

Yumiko had always viewed Hachiman as a hopeless delinquent who thought himself to be more mature than he actually was. She didn't expect him to prove her wrong, because she was sure that if she went to anyone else and told them the same things she told Hachiman, the answer wouldn't be as accurate as his was.

Nonetheless, she seemed to be making progress as of late. Speaking of progress, the two had gotten cleared by the principal of a local elementary school to begin tutoring some of the students.

This was how Yumiko found herself on her way to the Service Club's designated room.

She believed that if the two of them showed up together it'd give off a better impression. Not only that, but she couldn't eliminate the possibility of Hikigaya using the Service Club as an excuse not to go. After all, it took forever just to convince him to apply to be a tutor with her.

Three Days Ago.

"No way."

"W-Why not?!" Yumiko exclaimed, caught off-guard by Hachiman's instant rejection.

"First, children are annoying. You saw how much of a nuisance they were during our second year." He said, referring to the time their class helped out at an elementary school's summer camp.

"Second, you're the one who needs to change, not me." Yumiko winced at his blunt words, but didn't deny them.

"That might be true, but even so, what's the point of helping me this far if you're just gonna abandon me here?!" She reasoned. While Yumiko did have a soft spot for children, it'd still essentially be her first time helping them. She knew Hachiman probably had less experience with them when it came to this sort of thing, but she didn't wanna be alone regardless.

Hachiman, on the other hand, felt his eye twitch as she continued her pleading. How annoying could one person be? Very annoying apparently.

"Because I have better things to do than babysit children." He said smugly, crossing his arms and smirking before Yumiko responded. He was lying, but she didn't need to know that.

"Oh? If you name three valid reasons, I'll stop bothering you." She called his bluff, and Hachiman's tongue clicked in annoyance at her challenge.

"Easy. One: staying home with Komachi. I need to take care of her and make sure she doesn't do anything dumb. She's younger than I am, as you know."

"Yet she seems more responsible than you are. Fine, I'll take it." She scoffed.

"Oi-"

"That's one reason, two more and I'll leave you alone!" She was cocky now, and well aware that she was being generous by giving Hachiman the first one but she had no doubt that his next two wouldn't be even remotely valid.

She wasn't amused by Hachiman trying to abandon her here.

She was, however, amused by him taking over a minute to give his next reason.

Eventually, he puffed up his chest and spoke confidently.

"Video gam—"

"Don't you dare." Yumiko cut him off. She saw how bothered he looked, sighing shortly after. "Look, if you really don't want to do this with me, I won't ask anymore. But all I want is for you to try it for one day. If you still don't want to do this after one day, you can stop coming." She said genuinely. Yumiko looked just a tad bit disappointed, but she wasn't the type to force anything.

Hachiman stared her for a few seconds, before he also gave a groan and dragged a hand across his face.

"Just one day, right?"

Yumiko smiled brightly.

The blonde-haired girl chuckled to herself as she thought of the exchange between the two. Hachiman could actually be pretty entertaining at times. Of course, that was when his cynicism wasn't too overbearing. It made her wonder what he was like before that, and how he ended up the way he was. Surely there had to have been a time when he was a happy, normal kid, right?

Her thoughts would have to wait as her hand gripped the handle of the door, pulling and sliding it back. The three in the room turned to see who might need their services, each having different responses.

Yui gave a confused look, seemingly wondering why Yumiko began to frequent the club room as of late. Yukino, on the other hand, stared at her with what Yumiko thought was a blank expression, void of any distinguishable emotions, not even confusion. It looked as if she was trying to piece something together.

The last occupant, who was initially invested in a book, was currently looking at the expectant girl with a defeated face. Before any of them could speak, Yumiko took the opportunity.

"Let's go, Hikio." Yumiko stood at the door, arms crossed. Her face showed that she wasn't taking no for an answer.

"On second thought—" Hachiman cut himself off once he saw her glare, knowing he likely wouldn't get out of this. Especially since he said he'd go with her. He stood up and placed his book in his bag before he responded. "Fine, let's go." He said, drawing curious gazes from Yukino and Yui as he walked over to the door.

"Eh?! Are you two going somewhere? D-Don't tell me...a date?!" Yuigahama concluded with a light blush dusting her cheeks.

Hachiman froze, his mouth opening to speak until he was interrupted by Miura's sudden laughter.

"A-A date?! Yui, that's hilarious!" She laughed, clutching her stomach at the thought.

"Hey...it wasn't that funny.." Hachiman said, deadpanning at the girl currently caught up in her own humor. Why was it that he was being the butt of jokes so often?

Yui gave a sigh of relief that was inaudible to everyone but her, looking sheepish before responding.

"Of course not, right? I can't imagine that at all!" She chuckled nervously in an attempt to hide her relief. "Then, where are you two going?" That stopped Miura's laughter.

It wasn't that Yumiko wanted to hide it from Yui, or any of her clique for that matter. She just wasn't ready for them to know any semblance of her feelings as of late. Besides, it's not like they'd believe the idea of Hachiman helping out at an elementary school anyway.

Now it was her turn to give a nervous chuckle. "We're just off to do some important things..a-anyways, I'll text you! Come on, Hikio!" She ended the conversation, grabbing Hachiman's hand and dragging him out of the doorway.

And just like that, Yui's relief was shattered. She didn't have any solid suspicions, but she knew something was up. If she was good at anything, it was reading her friends. And at the very least, Yui could tell that Yumiko was hesitant to tell her what they were off to do. She also knew that it was fairly personal, since Yumiko felt the need to end the conversation quickly.

Still, there was nothing she could do, as the two were already out of the door before she even had the chance to form a response.

"So that's why you told us you were leaving early..." Yui turned to see Yukino muttering to herself with an unreadable expression.

"Be careful, woman! Did you have to yank my hand like that?!" Hachiman argued as she let go of his hand, walking down the hall with her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what to tell her!"

"Well you certainly didn't leave much for her to imagine by deflecting the question." Yumiko scoffed at his response.

"As if we would ever go on a date." She didn't even entertain the thought.

"That's not what I- never mind.."

The two walked in an uneasy silence until they reached the entrance of school. Yumiko cleared her throat before speaking.

"When we arrive at the school, no being creepy." She added, aware of his unusual personality.

"Creepiness is subjective..." His tone of voice steadily dropped as he spoke, looking over to see Yumiko giving an intense frown. "I'll do my best..." He lowered his head. Hachiman knew she was mainly referring to his cynicism.

"That's good enough for me." Yumiko nodded in approval, knowing she couldn't force him to change the way he was.

The two left the school grounds and began making their way to the elementary school, the silence between them shifting from uneasy to comfortable.

It wasn't long before they reached the school. All it took was a train ride and a short walk and there they were, standing in front of the entrance.

It wasn't the elementary school either of them went to, but both of them still felt a sort of nostalgia at seeing the smaller kids get picked up by parents or older siblings. It reminded them of how simple everything was back then. Then they got to middle school and things begun to get complicated and out of control.

Hachiman stared at the elementary school before sighing in defeat.

"Alright, let's do this." He was sure he wouldn't end up liking this. If anything, he was betting on it, since not liking it meant he wouldn't have to do it again.

"Yeah, let's do this!" Yumiko nodded with a soft smile on her face, internally squealing at how cute the elementary schoolers were.

Hachiman didn't even make it into the building before he was recognized. Though, it wasn't anyone from his school. Instead, it was a small girl.

"Huh? Ha-chan?" A soft voice said, causing both Hachiman and Yumiko to turn around.

This young girl was none other than Keika Kawasaki, younger sister of Saki Kawasaki. They'd only met once before, when he had run into the two siblings while waiting on Komachi. He had a lot of fun spoiling her that day, and she was a very sweet girl.

"Keika?" He recognized.

"Ha-chan!" She rushed to give him a hug, her small arms reaching around his midsection. Yumiko, meanwhile, was very confused. She wasn't sure if she should be curious or concerned that Hachiman knew the child. Hachiman gave the smaller girl a pat on the head, looking over to see Yumiko trying to piece together how he knew her.

"Come on, don't tell me you don't see the resemblance. Look at her and tell me who she reminds you of." He told her, causing her to look at the smaller girl with furrowed brows, taking in her appearance.

To her credit, it didn't take long for her to figure it out. She was much smarter than people gave her credit for.

"Kawasomething's sister?!" She exclaimed, surprised at how different the two were. Then again, she was a child so it did make sense. Hachiman nodded, directing his attention back to the smaller girl as she pulled away.

"Keika, are you waiting for your sister?" He asked, crouching down to reach her height.

"Yeah!" She said enthusiastically, looking over to the taller girl next to Hachiman. "Hey, pretty lady, are you friends with Ha-chan!"

Friends..was that what it looked like? Prior to last week, the two hadn't really spoken much, yet now Yumiko oddly felt a sense of reliability from him, as if she could talk to him about anything.

"Yeah, I guess we are." She responded happily. Hachiman's mouth opened to speak, but yet again he was interrupted.

"Keika? What did I tell you about talking to strang- Hikigaya-kun? Miura-san?" The older Kawasaki spoke with a curious tone, walking toward them with her bag slung over her shoulder. Hachiman raised a hand, greeting her.

"Yo, Kawasaki."

"What are you doing here?" She picked up her sister from school everyday yet this was her first time seeing either of them here.

Not seeing any way to lie or deflect the truth, Hachiman was honest. "I volunteered to tutor the kids here after school." He responded, Kawasaki's eyes widened a bit, not being able to imagine Hikigaya doing something so helpful, though she ultimately didn't question it.

"And her?"

"Service Club business." Technically it was the truth, since she had come to the Service Club for help and he, who was in the Service Club, was helping her. Yumiko just watched the exchange, knowing he was closer to Kawasaki than she was.

She processed the information for a few moments, before speaking once again. "Well, thank you for waiting with Keika." She gave a grateful smile and grabbed the hand of her younger sister. "Let's go, Keika." The younger sister nodded happily, waving to Hachiman as they walked away.

"Bye Bye, Ha-chan!" Hachiman only gave a smile and waved in response.

"Seems like you're off to a good start already."

"A good start doing what?"

"Not being creepy." She chuckled to herself, surprised to see Hachiman act so caring and gentle. Whether he knew it or not, he wasn't bad with kids.

"Oi!"

Tutoring went relatively well, not only had Yumiko gotten along with the kids, she'd also succeeded in helping them understand things they'd been having trouble with. She thought she was foolish for being nervous over something like this. Helping kids had just come naturally to her, after all.

Hachiman didn't do so bad either. Most of the kids ended up being a bit intimidated by his dead, fish-like eyes, but he was able to help a student that was rather reserved, so he left feeling somewhat useful. The two stuck around until the parents or older siblings came to get the children before leaving, making their way back outside afterwards.

They were greeted with the last remnants of a sunset visible in the sky, most of it already taking on a darkish color.

"So, what do you think? Fun, right?" She asked excitedly. Yumiko was always happy to care for others.

"Fun is a strong word."

"Hikigaya..." Yumiko sighed, knowing this probably meant she'd be doing this alone from now on.

"But, I didn't not have fun."

Yumiko's eyes went from defeated to hopeful. "Which means...?!"

"Which means, I guess I wouldn't mind doing this again sometime, for the kids." He scratched his head. Yumiko knew there was a sheepish look on his face as he looked away, but didn't address it.

Her already happy mood was brightened by Hachiman's response, and her eyes softened a bit. "Thank you, Hikigaya..seriously. Without you, I'm sure I'd still be lost and confused.." She had been confused for weeks, and couldn't imagine what she'd be doing if she hadn't sought out his help.

"You give me too much credit. But, you're welcome."

The two continued walking, heading in the direction of the train station. It wasn't until they got there that one of them spoke again.

The station was filled with students leaving after-school clubs and white-collared workers, the chatter amongst them slowly being drowned out by the approaching train.

"So, what now?" Yumiko asked, wondering if they were heading home now.

Hachiman looked to the sky, as if thinking about something. He met her eyes with his as the train arrived at the station, the doors opening to welcome new passengers.

"You hungry?"

A/N: I'm not sure when I'll end up updating again but I do have an idea of where I want the next chapter to go so it probably won't be as long a wait like this one was. I'm also still unsure as to whether or not I'll have them end up as lovers or not. So, I'll just write what feels natural and make a decision sometime near the end.