A Certain Loner's Protégé [Hachiman x Yumiko]

I is for Imperfect

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. Also, 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.