With crossed legs and a cigarette in her mouth, Hiratsuka-sensei read over the paper she clutched without a word. The expression she held wasn't particularly strange or serious, but perhaps amused at what she found. Patiently, I stood in front of her without moving, though conscious of the smoke that drifted upward in a translucent mist before disappearing.

She gingerly took the cigarette out of her mouth and placed the paper onto the table with a smile. "Yep, I pretty much get the gist of the club. Help others without doing the work for them, 'teach a man to fish', yada yada…"

"Hiratsuka-sensei, that type of speech isn't suitable for a teacher, nonetheless for someone of your age," I reprimanded. I took a quick glance at the manga she kept stowed away in her desk.

"Ouch, you're nothing like your sister," she casually responded, seemingly unfazed by my words, though her almost teary eyes betrayed her. "Nothing at all."

"That's besides the point." I narrowed my eyes. "Is the club approved or not?"

She took a puff of her cigarette and tapped the tip above an ashtray, causing small pieces of glowing orange ash to fall into the greyish mound. "It would be, if it didn't exist already."

"That's nonsense. I already checked the registry," I said without a hint of doubt. I had thoroughly checked the club registry twice before filling out the form, and among the many clubs that were listed, nothing resembled what I was proposing.

"Sorry, but it's true. It's not on the official registry for, well, reasons, but it does exist." She chuckled dryly. "Only has one member, but it exists nonetheless."

"How can it be considered a club if it only has one member? Not to mention its absence in the registry…" I muttered.

"All clubs need to start somewhere. Besides"—she waved her free hand—"it's not like you have anyone else joining you."

She sighed wistfully before I could respond, putting out the cigarette without averting her gaze. "Look, I'll just introduce you to the pre-exisiting club, which, by the way, I'm the supervisor of. We can skip the formalities of creating a new club too."

I paused for a brief moment to think. "I suppose that's fine."

I would've preferred to form a club myself and become president by default, but joining and becoming president through a coup d'etat was alright as well. Bloodless, of course.

She smiled and stood from her chair. "Good, just follow me, then. He should be in the clubroom right now if my last punch meant anything."

"Last punch? Isn't that—?"

"Don't worry about it. It's only for him. Once you get to know him and his attitude, I'm sure you'll want to punch him as well."

With that said, Hiratsuka-sensei began toward the exit and I followed after her. Soon, we were in the special building of Soubu where most of the clubs were housed. I rarely frequented this place, and as such, much of it was foreign to me. Faint unintelligible voices leaked into the hallway from the various clubrooms, and several students in the hallway gave me sideways glances as we passed.

"We're here," Hiratsuka-sensei announced, and moved aside to reveal the room.

The nameplate above the sliding door was blank, marking the room as not your typical classroom or club room, signifying the 'club's' unofficial status.

"A storage room?" I wondered aloud.

"A storage room," Hiratsuka-sensei confirmed. "Let's go inside."

Without knocking, she roughly slid open the door with a bang and stepped inside as if it were her house. She exclaimed a greeting with a groan belonging to an unfamiliar voice following soon after. With a grimace, I reluctantly stepped inside, making sure to close the door behind me. I placed myself beside Hiratsuka-sensei as I glanced around the room.

As Hiratsuka-sensei confirmed, the room was for storage. Desks and chairs were stacked atop each other in the corners of the room, and boxes of unknown contents were placed beside the desks' feet without any care. A window with its curtains pushed aside, though not fully, let natural light inside from the back wall.

In the center of the room was a single desk and a chair. A can of MAX coffee lay atop of the desk, and a navy blue bookbag was hung from the side by a hook, opened and revealing some of its contents.

Seated in the chair was disgruntled-looking person, currently taking out the earbuds he wore, and then I quickly realized:

It was him.

Hikigaya Hachiman. From the car accident.

His uniform was tactlessly put on, missing a tie with the first button of his dress shirt undone revealing a black t-shirt underneath; it somewhat resembled the way Nee-san had worn her uniform when she was in high school. His hair was matte black, medium-short and messy, yet controlled all the same. A single strand stood up like an antenna, making me wonder if it was apart of the style he attempted.

However, what stood out the most was his face. Perhaps he was above-average, but that was completely ruined by the expression he had. Deep dark bags loomed underneath the omega-3 rich eyes that seemed cynical and dead, not unlike something you would see in a classic zombie. The corners of his mouth were turned downwards in a constant frown, likely amplified by the sudden unruly appearance of Hiratsuka-sensei.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, I told you to kno... ck."

He paused for only a split second, his eyes widening just slightly as he made eye contact with me, but it was enough to make me wonder if he recognized me. However, I silently knew that it was impossible.

During the car accident I hadn't stepped outside, and my face was shielded by the tinted windows of the limousine. Even after the accident, when everything was paid for and I saw him at school approximately three weeks later, I never said hello. Not even when we passed each other in the hallway, not even when I knew that he had knowledge of my name.

He didn't recognize me, and that was the last chapter to the incident.

Or so it seemed.

"I always do, but you never respond."

He switched his gaze to Hiratsuka-sensei and glared. "Why would I respond to you, the person who forced me to make this club?"

"Technically, I created the club. I just forced you to join."

"Making me president," he grumbled, and he returned his gaze to me. "What's she doing here?"

"She's Yukinoshita Yukino, and she was looking to join the Volunteers Club."

"Good afternoon," I greeted curtly, and he nodded.

"Wait, she wants to join?" he questioned. "How does she even know this club exists? It's not on the registry the last time I checked. No, wait, is she…"

He gestured for Hiratsuka-sensei to come over to him and he whispered into her ear.

"No, no, no," she waved, backing away from him with a grin. "I didn't pick her out or anything, but"—she took a quick glance at me—"now that you mention it, she'd fit the criteria, wouldn't she?"

"Don't ask me," he grumbled. "Anyway, if she joins, do I get to leave?"

"You already know the answer to that," she said with a raised fist, and I saw him flinch with a hand reaching for his stomach.

I coughed, drawing their attention away from their questionable display. "What's this 'criteria' that you mentioned?"

"Don't worry about it," Hiratsuka-sensei said, and I shifted my gaze to Hikigaya-kun only for him to avert his eyes in response.

"Anyway," Hiratsuka-sensei continued, "if you want to join, then you'll need to write out an application. Just drop it off by my desk in the staff room if you decide to join."

"I see." I looked at Hikigaya-kun expectantly for him to add a comment, but he simply remained silent. Seeing an opening to express a question, I took it. "Is it true that you're the only member of this club?"

"I am," he affirmed.

"Have you received any requests?"

"No."

And that was it. Sighing, I turned around and began for the door.

"Yukinoshita?" Hiratsuka-sensei called out. "Where are you going?"

"Home," I answered without turning around, "I'll give you an answer tomorrow."

"...Alright."

I slid open the door and closed it behind me, and I was once again in the hallway. With one last look at the nameplate above me, I softly spoke to myself.

"The Volunteers Club."

I would have preferred the Service Club.