A/N: This story ignores Haruno inserting herself into Yukino's life and the Valentine's Date (and onwards in LN). I hope you enjoy.

Even if Spring is Coming for that Unchanging Room…

The last time I was in this room, it was much colder.

Over the past couple of months, with university entrance exams looming over us, the Service Club had taken a hiatus. As such, we passed through the cold winter without seeing each other often.

But even now…

I looked over at Yuigahama and Yukinoshita, who were sitting next to each other and looking at things on Yuigahama's phone.

"Hehe, this one's cute!"

"I agree."

Yukinoshita had become more accustomed to Yuigahama's antics in the past year. As such, at least in this clubroom, the two of them seemed attached at the hip.

"Oh, look at this one, Yukinon." Yukinoshita took the phone from Yuigahama and brought it closer to her face. She doesn't really get too serious unless it's certain things. Maybe it was Pan-san. Or cats. Or both.

As if she could feel me watching her, she looked up. Without saying anything, as if to explain herself, she held the phone towards me. I walked over and looked at it.

It was…

A GIF of a cat playing with a Pan-san doll.

Wait, when did I get mind reading powers? Am I a witch? Or maybe I copied the power… Yeah, right. I've never kissed anyone [1]. That sounds like a pretty sad thing to be proud of…

"You really like Pan-san and cats…"

"W-well… Cats are very wonderful animals that deserve to be admired. They're graceful and quick and clever and cute. And Pan-san is Pan-san." She spat out her words like a rapidfire submachine gun. To be fair, I did agree with the first part, but what was that lackluster explanation for why she liked Pan-san?

"I never said this before, but you have pretty normal interests, considering how far from normal you are."

"I suppose that's true if you're comparing me to yourself and your interests," she said while pointing at my book.

"Literature isn't a normal thing to enjoy? That's a surprise."

"I wouldn't call drivel like that literature." I looked at the light novel I was reading. Well, she wasn't wrong about this one. "Though I suppose garbage would appeal to other garbage."

"Oi, only Komachi is allowed to call me garbage." I puffed my chest as I spoke.

"Ew, gross. Super gross, Hikki." Yuigahama stared at me with an exasperated expression.

"There he goes again." Yukinoshita pressed her hand to her forehead.

I scowled at the two of them. Then the three of us smiled at each other.

I looked back at my book. The two of them went back to looking at Yuigahama's phone.

I suppose nothing had changed over those months.

We didn't expect to get many requests, as our time at high school was ending. And Isshiki was busy with end-of-the-year student council business, so it was just the three of us in the room.

The same daily interactions, the same seats, even the same tea.

"Ah, I wish these days could go on forever." Yuigahama spoke in a quiet voice, directing her sentence at no one in particular. Yukinoshita and I remained silent at her words.

For some reason, even though they were said in a different context, Yukinoshita's words from over a year ago came to mind.

She said refusing to change was the same as running away.

I reached for the Pan-san teacup that Yukinoshita had filled earlier and brought it to my lips. Because it was untouched by me, sitting in the same place, the tea inside was no longer hot. I gulped it down and didn't ask for more.

Yukinoshita closed the Service Club when the last bell rang.

"Your younger sister isn't with you?" Yukinoshita asked.

"Komachi's hanging out with friends. Oh, I decided to bike today, so go on without me."

"I see."

"Bye, Hikki!" Yuigahama waved her arm wildly.

"See you tomorrow." Meanwhile, Yukinoshita made slow back and forth movements with her arm.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

Yukinoshita and Yuigahama started heading to the station, while I went to the bike racks.

Something was gnawing at my conscience, but I was unsure about what it was.

I got on my bike and started to head home. Along the way, a light turned red, and I sat there waiting for the light to change. When it did, I pushed my feet against the pedals, and the wheels under me began to spin.

Even though the whole bike moves forward, the wheels stay spinning around the same axes. But that was their job. To continue to rotate as the scenery around them changed.

So it was fine, wasn't it?

I continued to pedal towards home, but that question remained unanswered.

The next day, Komachi and I rode the train to school. Since Komachi started going to Sobu High, we would go together occasionally, though she would always leave me to spend time with friends at the station and on the train.

I could spend my train rides in peace, maybe even read if there were empty seats. However, there weren't any today, so I stood and held onto a handle. Thoughts began festering.

Soon, I wouldn't be seeing this scenery. We were graduating soon, and the university I would attend was in a different direction. I wouldn't ride the train with Komachi, or be greeted in the morning by Totsuka, or read books in that unchanging room.

I wiped my mind clear of those thoughts.

Except for being greeted by Totsuka.

I was rewarded when I walked into class. He truly was an angel.

Since a lot of the people I knew from class 2F had picked literary arts as their focus for their last year, the class was filled with familiar faces. Hayama's group still had a corner to themselves. A lot of noise came from there early in the morning.

"Job hunting's been the worst!" Tobe put his head on his desk after yelling.

"Hang in there, Tobecchi." He lifted his head up and looked over at Ebina.

"I'm gonna give my all today, too!" Ebina wryly smiled.

Yep, hang in there Tobe. Though your feelings may never be returned, and you could end up confessing and being rejected and becoming a loner like… a friend of mine.

"U-um, Hayato?"

"What is it, Yumiko?"

"... N-never mind." I heard that exchange, then looked over at Miura, who was fiddling with her curls. Hayama wore a confused expression on his face.

Hiratsuka-sensei interrupted by starting homeroom.

By the time school ended, I hadn't learned what Miura was going to ask. Well, it wasn't my business anyway.

Yuigahama and I walked together to the Service Club. Yukinoshita poured us tea. I opened my book. Same as always.

At least, until we heard knocks on our door.

"Come in."

"Hey, everybody," Hiratsuka-sensei said as she walked in. "I just wanted to remind you of your competition."

I had almost forgotten about it. The winner can command the losers to do anything they wanted… My mind didn't drift to anything lewd, I swear.

No, maybe it would have back when I didn't know them, but now I really had no clue of what orders I would issue if I won.

"What of it?" Yukinoshita asked.

"Well, what do you want to do, Yukinoshita? Since you're leaving soon." I looked over at Yukinoshita. Yuigahama also stared.

"I'll still be a part of the contest."

"Wa-wait a second, Yukinon. What does Sensei mean?" Yukinoshita turned away and gripped one arm with her other.

"Ah, you didn't tell them?" Hiratsuka-sensei looked at me with an expression I didn't understand. "I'll let you explain it, then." She left the room, looking back before she closed the door.

"I'm going to be studying at an American university. In a few days, I'm leaving to take some classes for the spring quarter," Yukinoshita stated.

"What? Why?" Yuigahama leaned towards Yukinoshita. "Did your mom-"

"It was my decision. Mother was against it, but my father accepted it. He's going to pay for my tuition."

"B-but…" Yuigahama looked towards me. I put my book down.

"What's so special about studying abroad in the first place?" Yukinoshita glared at me. I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. "Japan has a ton of great schools; some rank among the top universities in the world. Tokyo University is the obvious one. Kyoto, Osaka, and Hokkaido also have high ranking schools. There's also Waseda University nearby."

"Firstly, Japan's schools still rank lower than top universities in other parts of the world. Secondly, I have more opportunities for my career if I branch out of Japan. And finally…" She trailed off and crossed her arms while looking at me. "It's my choice."

I couldn't argue with the first two points. She was right on both accounts, and I knew she'd shut me down before I'd even started my argument. It was much more beneficial for her to study abroad, that much I knew. But our debate from the past played again in my head.

"So you're running away after all?" I asked. She didn't say anything more and looked away.

"Stop, you two, please." Yuigahama wiped her eyes repeatedly before grabbing Yukinoshita's blazer. "Why, Yukinon?"

"I already explained that-"

"No, why didn't you tell us earlier?" Yukinoshita looked down and away. "What was the plan? To just leave without saying anything?"

"That…" She continued to speak in a quiet voice. "We never saw each other. And you two seemed…"

As if she realized something, Yukinoshita's eyes widened, and she looked at both of us before looking down and crossing her arms.

"You're always like this, Yukinon. You never tell us what's going on." She said this in between sobs. "We won't know unless you tell us. You can tell us. We're your friends."

"She and I were never friends." I spat out those words tinged with malice, unable to hold it back. The two of them looked over as I clenched my fists.

Yukinoshita Yukino never lies. That was still the truth.

I saw it now. We'd been deceiving each other that whole time.

Maybe it was our fault. Maybe this year of stagnation was to blame for changing Yukinoshita's mind about this deception. Almost two years of maintaining the Service Club, without even solving our own problems, instead ignoring them… Wasn't this a superficial relationship at this point? This couldn't be called "genuine," could it? What was the point of those words, then?

Even after all this time, we didn't understand. No, it was precisely because we spent all this time doing nothing that we didn't understand. Were we to blame, then?

Yuigahama could have pried more. I could ask her questions; I knew that much. And yet, we didn't. Those complacent days spent before exams would come to haunt us. But still...

Who was running away?

With that question stuck in my mind, and having found an answer for it, I stood up out of my chair.

"I'm going to chat with Hiratsuka-sensei."

"Hikki…" I put my book in my bag and picked it up without looking over. Instead I looked at my teacup, which was still half full. I thought about leaving it there. In the end, I grabbed it and drank the tea on the way out.

Halfway out the door, I heard a quiet voice.

"What about your request?" I didn't know the answer to that question. I walked outside and didn't turn back.

I've felt that I hated myself multiple times in the past two years.

For setting expectations on Yukino Yukinoshita. For getting disappointed when she didn't live up to those ideals. For trying to uphold superficial relationships. For forgetting the one thing we both agreed on.

Now, for doing nothing for all this time, I hated myself.

I walked into the teacher's office and found Hiratsuka-sensei.

"Hikigaya…"

"Can we talk?" She nodded, and the two of us walked to an empty classroom. I placed my belongings, along with the teacup, on a desk. The two of us stood by the blackboard.

"So?"

"How long have you known?"

"Yukinoshita reported her decision last week." She reached to her pocket and started to pull out her cigarettes, but put them back. "Seeing you guys acting normal, I figured she didn't say anything."

"I see."

"So, what will you do?" She glanced at my bag then crossed her arms. "You're not thinking of quitting, are you?"

I looked over as well. The Pan-san teacup drew my attention.

What did I want?

Last year I said something vague when thinking of that question.

I want something genuine.

I wanted to understand. I wanted a relationship where we could force that desire to understand upon each other. If that was the case, then why didn't I do anything?

I had thought understanding would come. That what we were doing was natural. I thought, in staying that way, we would eventually find that genuine thing. I should have known that was deception. Something genuine wasn't something that landed in your lap. You had to struggle for it.

But was it too late now?

Was it impossible to come to an understanding with Yukinoshita leaving so soon?

Even if it was, in my head I criticized Yukinoshita for running away. Running away now would be hypocrisy.

Therefore…

"No, I'm not going to quit." After I said that, Hiratsuka-sensei's lips curved upward, and she patted me on the back.

"Good answer, Hikigaya."

"But… What am I supposed to do?"

"That's for you to think about," she said. Hiratsuka-sensei walked towards the window and gazed outside. The orange light that signified the ending of the day wrapped around her.

She looked pretty cool.

"Well, I can give you a hint," she said without turning towards me. "I think I said this before, but there are some things you can only do now, even in these last few days before Yukinoshita leaves. Think about that, okay?"

Somewhat entranced by the figure that seemed to long for something that was lost, I shook my head back and forth and refocused my attention.

I half-thought of a retort to say but held it back. Now wasn't the time for such things.

Things that I could do, what were they? That answer evaded me as Hiratsuka-sensei and I said goodbye. It didn't come in the time I spent walking to the station, riding the train, and thinking at home. And I doubted it would come easily in a dream.

But that didn't matter. The things that I could do were surely there. Even if I couldn't find the answer immediately, I'd keep looking.

For my mind was already set before the sun fell beneath the horizon.

Footnotes:

[1]: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches

A/N: Hello everyone, I am back to Oregairu!

*smattering of applause*

I'm the only one clapping, though…

Anyway, I hope you found the first chapter to this fic interesting enough to want to read the rest. I have the whole thing planned out (unlike certain other old fics), so I will hopefully (please) finish this.

Those old fics on the other hand...

I ignored those things mentioned at the top because Haruno is too strong of a catalyst for characters. Overpowered Nee-san.

Big thanks to Kat, Zingy, and Ralph for beta reading and catching silly mistakes of mine. Needed some help after being away for so long.

As always, reviews would be greatly appreciated. I'll even respond to some in the next afterword~

Anyway that's all for this haphazard outro. I'll see you in the next chapter~

Or on the Discord (: