Chapter 2: The One Where All Of Her Classmates Got Into Tokyo U.

[Note: Yes, it's a 'FRIENDS' reference.]


Unlike Hina Ebina, Yukino Yukinoshita, didn't believe in wild conspiracies and baseless theories. When Yui Yuigahama told her that she got into Tokyo U on her very first attempt, Yukino congratulated her and thought to herself that there was indeed a God left in this world, who looked out for people with kindness in their heart and surprised the disbelievers with miracles of the most astounding nature.

But perhaps she was being too harsh. Then she was invited to go on a shopping trip with Yuigahama-san, and Yukino couldn't say no to a shopping trip, her one weakness in the entire world. Plus, it would be necessary to buy several things before she made the move to Tokyo. From a new toothbrush to the new Pan-san plushie, a few sun dresses for the spring season and something light and comfortable for the heat of summer – she needed to make a list, lest she forgets something rather important.

But it seems Yuigahama-san was doing a bit of forgetting herself. When Yukino reached the rendezvous point, the east exit of the large shopping complex, she found Yuigahama-san standing there waiting for her as she expected. But she was not alone. Yumiko Miura was there with a scowl on her face and Hina Ebina had a smile on hers and when Yukino Yukinoshita turned to Yuigahama-san with a glacial heat in her blue eyes, the nicest of women felt the need to appeal to the kindness in her cold heart.

"I thought we could all shop together, hehe!"

"And what made you think that, Yuigahama-san?"

"Because, because," She floundered for reason and then said the most outrageous thing Yukino ever heard. "Because, Yumiko and Hina got into Tokyo U too!"

Those words, those fateful words, Yukino remembered them like it happened yesterday. Even though almost a year had passed, she couldn't feel the thoughts that went through her head, nor could she hide her look of shock. It was then, for the first time, that Hina Ebina-san had professed her conspiracy theory.

But she hadn't believed her then, nor does she believe her now. She did the most logical thing afterwards and kept her thoughts to herself and her paranoia at bay. But when she thought the world and its troubles could be left behind when she slipped out from her heels and took off her clothes and curled herself in the sofa of her home, the world seemed to follow her inside the living room and sat next to her with a smug smile on its face and a look in its eyes which promised nothing but trouble as a woman seeking to reinvent herself in university.

"Yukino-chan, I changed my mind. I'm not going abroad to pursue my higher education. I'm going to transfer to Tokyo U, instead!"

"…Nee-san, I'm naked."

"You are naked." Haruno Yukinoshita, her older sister, acknowledged her near nakedness with a nod. Really, nothing phased this woman. In fact, Yukino felt like she was taking note of her measurements and making some mental note of whether there had been some changes in her physique. It was really creepy. "You should probably close the curtains, unless you want to give some creep a free peek, Yukino-chan."

Then her father walked in and saw her in her state of undress and Yukino had no choice but to pretend that she had suffered from a bout of dizziness and nausea as she pretended to faint. Her older sister didn't endear herself one bit as she didn't make any attempt to catch her as she hit her head on the armrest of the sofa. But it stopped her father from looking too much into the matter, just chalking it upto one of those weird and silly things both her daughters did from time to time, and thankfully this didn't reach the ears of their mother – now she would be a problem.

Yukino also learned from her older sister two terrible piece of information – Shizuka Hiratsuka, their former service club advisor and the woman with the most absurd and horrible taste in men was now a respectable teacher in Tokyo U. Also, Meguri Shiromeguri, their former student council president went to the same university. Though as expected, she would be a year ahead of them in studies, as well as in other avenues and fields of experience.

"You know, Megurin is into younger guys." Nee-san said. "Shizuka-chan too, now that I think about it."

"Gross!"

Yukino didn't think much about it back then. She didn't care about their taste in romantic partners. Besides, Tokyo U hardly seemed like a place to pursue such kinds of adventures. She wouldn't take the bait and her older sister had smiled at her with a knowing look.

"You know, I find him interesting too, Yukino-chan."

"Nee-san, you find him interesting because of me."

Haruno Yukinoshita, the she-wolf had thought her unkind. "Now, that is unfair, Yukino-chan. Can't I find him interesting, because he interests me?"

"No!"

"Well, we all have our fantasises, so I won't crush yours." Then she had smiled and produced a copy of a George Bernard Shaw Novel, titled Man and Superman. "You know Tokyo is a fun and lively place in itself. But Tokyo U, University life, university romance, the adult kind of romance," her voice had dropped into a whisper. "Now that's something he might have to look out for. Or maybe it's the other way around."

My older sister can't be this evil, Yukino thought, wait that doesn't sound right – it feels like I am being corrupted by a foreign influence. Damn you, Hikigaya-kun.

Yukino Yukinoshita tried to be a mature about it. She also tried to think of this in a rational way. Hachiman Hikigaya got into Tokyo U, not that he called her to tell the happy news. She had to ask about it from his little sister, bribe her with ice cream and puff pastries and really she would rather date her older brother than listen to –

"Yukino-senpai, you admitted it!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Just now, you said, you would rather date my gomi-chan than bribe me with ice-cream and puff pastries and listen to me talk…" Komachi trailed off as she tried to wonder whether or not she should take a serious offense to the insult of the infamous ice queen of Soubu High. Though she had graduated from high school, her legend would live on for the near foreseeable future. But that didn't mean Komachi couldn't flex her little sister muscles. "You know, Yukinoshita-san, you might try being less cold to me in the future. I mean, I am Onii-chan's precious little sister after all."

"Pardon me?" Yukino Yukinoshita didn't allow Hachiman Hikigaya to talk to her in this manner. So, it stands to reason that she wouldn't allow his little sister to take that tone with her. Plus, she was a little girl in comparison, inexperienced in familial dealings, with no knowledge about how the world works. Plus, she was planning ahead and taking a leaf out of her older sister's book. Also, the little girl needed to be taught some manners. She got enough of this from her older sister to begin with and now this, this – well, if she became her sister in law in the future, then – no, unacceptable. "Komachi-san, I think you misunderstood the situation." She smiled, blue eyes bright, teeth white. "I didn't ask you out on a date."

"…You wanted to know about Onii-chan?"

"Whether he was accepted into Tokyo U, yes." Yukino encouraged the frightened girl. "Here, have a biscuit."

"No thanks. I think I lost my appetite." Komachi grumbled. "You know, Kawasaki-san was way nicer to me. In fact, I even gave her the address to the boarding house Onii-chan would be staying at -"

"Wait – Kawasaki-san?" Yukino was shocked and this time she knew the feeling, what she was dreading to ask. "Why would Kawasaki-san be asking about your brother's living accommodation in Tokyo."

Komachi Hikigaya was a shrewd woman. Perhaps she wasn't as cruel and rotten as her older brother, but she did have a mean streak. "Why, Yukinoshita-san, didn't you know. Kawasaki-san got accepted into Tokyo U." At that moment, she had a smile and a look in her eyes which could have made her brother proud. In fact, she had gone one step ahead and one upped her older brother, because even he couldn't stump the ice queen of Soubu High. But she had with a few quick words. "In fact, Kawasaki-san got accepted into the scholarship programme of Tokyo U. Guess, Onii-chan taught her well in those little tutoring sessions."

"Tutoring session?" Yukino Yukinoshita was hearing the words, but it wasn't making any sense.

"Yeah, tutoring sessions. Kawasaki-san and Onii-chan act almost like a couple…" Komachi thought she should be careful. But she was having too much fun, so she continued. "…of good friends."

Yukino thought she had stopped breathing for a second and as she earned the silence and gratitude of Komachi Hikigaya over a overprized Chocó lava cake, she thought back to Hina Ebina-san's words.

But still, it seemed farfetched. Then a year passed and she didn't think much about it. Hachiman Hikigaya tried to be himself to the best of his abilities. But campus life in an esteemed university which accepted nothing but the best from all its students proved to be a double edged sword. When you had to work together with others to get the needed credits to advance ahead, you had to make certain compromises. Team assignments, group projects, joint reports – it was a steep learning curve for an individual who wanted to be left alone and by themselves.

Petty excuses like I work better alone sounded childish. Yukino had to grow, Hachiman had to adapt and Yui had to be her own person. Saki had to wonder what was worth more – college degree or work experience and Miura had to figure out how to follow the lead of others. Meanwhile, Hina had to learn to love herself and let others in while Meguri had to realise that these were not the same people she knew back in high school, even though they still called her senpai and she saw them as her kohai. Shizuka didn't feel responsible for them anymore, because the time for playing the part of the overbearing adult was truly over. When Haruno and Meguri invited her out for a night of drinking and club hopping, she went with them as friends. Even though she was a teacher, she was not their teacher and rules were a bit more lax in Tokyo U over hanging out with students, because it wasn't out of the ordinary for both teachers and students to end up in the same place, sometimes. And the most important thing of all, they were all adults, so they could make horrible decisions and learn to live with it. Haruno was glad about that last bit. She was itching to make more mistakes in her near perfect life and as she found out there was new found freedom when you don't have to act as a constant guardian of your more sensitive little sister. Yukino could lead her own life, Haruno could lead hers.

Then a year passed in a blink of an eye and this became the new normal. Campus life didn't seem all that bizarre. The sheer number of extraordinary and obnoxious students attending from different parts of the country, some even coming all the way from abroad seemed to become a part of their daily existence. It didn't bother her all that much to see him, talking and interacting and making acquaintances with new people over the last year – it really did not. She deigned them necessary, a compromise she had to make herself, because it was too expensive and not nearly as economical to live alone in Tokyo. Plus it was a new experience to discover the species known as roommates.

God really had a sick sense of humour.

But the true example of that sickness came to the fore when an old face came and crashed the new, fragile perception of the new normal. It was the day of the opening ceremony, the season of spring and cherry blossoms. Yukino had advanced a year. Nee-san was one year closer to graduating and moving out of her life. Hiratsuka-sensei was a year older, but still didn't look it, no visible lines on her face, no signs of alcohol poisoning or lung cancer. She sneaked a peek and huffed in annoyance. Even her breasts didn't sag which she had read on numerous medical magazines was a normal phenomenon associated with women of a more bountiful persuasion.

But no, that didn't worry her.

"Senpai, are you hitting on me?"

"…" Hachiman Hikigaya, smiled. "I haven't even opened my mouth yet and I already got rejected. Well, some things never change." He huffed in something that was clearly not annoyance. "Glad, you could make it to Tokyo U."

"Thanks, senpai." Isshiki Iroha blushed. She wore heels and dressed rather fashionably even though it was her first day as a university student . Yukino Yukinoshita spied on their interactions and tried her best to keep her composure.

But Isshiki Iroha got under people's skin in few ways others could. "You know senpai, you are kinda putting things in my mouth." Oho, that sounded so lewd. What has this girl been doing for the last year, Yukino wondered. "I didn't reject you."

"…Yet?" Hachiman added a word.

"Teehee~" The wink and the cute salute made it clear. She had been busy plotting, planning this particular meeting or as Zaimokuza-san would say, raising an event flag – the fated meeting of kohai and senpai in the same university. Hmm, that gave her an idea. Yukino Yukinoshita had a few schemes of her own and it was high time she treated this matter with the gravity and seriousness that it deserve.


Author's Note: And Isshiki finally arrives and we have all the group back together. As you can see from this chapter, the tone is completely different from the previous one. That's gonna happen, there's nothing I can do about it. This fic is gonna be like 'Infinite x Universal' in the essence that there will be a ton of characters in the future. But whereas 'Infinite x Universal' mostly focused on 1-on-1 interaction between Hikigaya and a female character, this time it will be like a group discussion. There will be lots of characters and there will be anarchy and chaos. But hopefully, it will be the good kind of anarchy and chaos.

For a better taste of what I'm talking about please check out the next chapter. Fair warning though, there are a ton of characters in the next chapter, so don't get overwhelmed.

Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.