"This is my friend, Egil," Hachiman introduced. "Egil, this is Rumi Tsurumi."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Rumi Tsurumi."
"Andrew Gilbert Mills. But please, call me Egil."
Rumi's eyes widened. "Wow, your Japanese is perfect."
"I was born and bred in the heart of Tokyo," Egil said with a grin.
"Oh. I see." Rumi smiled shyly, and for a moment, the mature facade slipped, revealing the child Hachiman remembered.
"So, you ended up at Sobu High," Hachiman noted.
"I'm reasonably intelligent, after all," she countered.
"And you're in the Service Club? Does that mean you're the only member?"
"Yes. It's just me."
"Just like Yukino was at the start," Hachiman murmured. "Well then, 'President' Rumi."
Rumi looked at him curiously. "I've only ever known you three as a group. I didn't realize she started out alone."
"Yeah. I didn't get dragged in here until my second year."
"I see." Rumi paused, then looked around the quiet room. "Is it nostalgic for you?"
Hachiman looked at the empty chairs. "Honestly? I'm not sure. Without them here... this room doesn't feel like the place I remember. I guess it was always about the people, not the walls."
Rumi stood up and pulled a photo album from a shelf. "This is from the period after you... vanished. I've looked through it. It might be a little painful to see at first."
"I didn't know this existed. Let me see."
Hachiman opened the album. On the first page, in Yukino's elegant handwriting, was a message:
Wednesday, January 25th, 2023. It has been one month since we lost someone precious to us. We leave this record for our successors, to show that despite our grief, we continued to look forward.
Hachiman felt the words etch themselves into his heart. He turned the page. The first photo showed three girls—Yukino, Yui, and Iroha. Their faces were hollow, their expressions heavy with a sorrow that words couldn't describe.
"They look... devastated," Asuna whispered.
"It had only been a month," Egil noted solemnly. "That was right when I was finally finding the strength to move again."
"We were moving from the start," Asuna added, "but if Hachiman hadn't been there, I think I would have looked just like them."
As they flipped through the pages, the transformation was clear. Slowly, the three girls began to smile again. Other faces started appearing in the photos, showing the slow, painful rebirth of the Service Club.
"Yui and Iroha look so young here," Hachiman remarked. "But Yukino... she looks exactly the same."
"She really does," Asuna agreed.
"It's in her blood," Hachiman joked weakly. "Her mother is the same way. The woman is ageless."
As the pages turned, Komachi appeared in the photos. Then, after a year, Yukino and Yui disappeared from the records as they graduated. A year later, Iroha was gone too. The photos of Komachi's solo era were few—likely because she was busy preparing for Hachiman's eventual return.
On the final page was a photo of the four of them in front of the hospital, beaming with pure, unadulterated joy. Beneath it was a final message:
To our successors: He has finally come home. Whatever happens, never give up hope.
Hachiman's eyes blurred with tears. Asuna silently reached over to wipe them away, while Egil placed a steady hand on his shoulder.
Rumi took the album back and returned it to the shelf. "You've seen it now. You don't need to look at it again."
"Yeah," Hachiman said, his voice thick. "From here on, we only look forward."
"I'll keep this place going for another two years," Rumi said. "I don't know what happens after I graduate."
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