"Who could it be at this hour…?"
Hikigaya hadn't expected a visitor this late, though for high school students, this wasn't exactly an unusual time.
If it were a holiday, the night would just be getting started.
Just as he got up to open the door, his phone suddenly chimed.
The screen displayed a message from Ichinose.
[Hikigaya-kun, sorry to bother you so late.]
[Are you already asleep?]
Huh? Could it be that the person knocking was Ichinose?
Hikigaya was a little surprised. Without even replying to the message, he hurried to open the door.
And standing there was…
"Good evening, Hachiman."
"…Kikyou?"
Looking at the smiling girl in front of him, Hikigaya froze for a moment before asking, puzzled, "It's pretty late. Is there something urgent?"
"Yes, it's something very important." Kushida nodded cheerfully. "But before that, let me in first."
Without waiting for Hikigaya's response, she slid past him and entered the room.
"Hey… hey."
For a brief moment, their bodies nearly pressed against each other, and a faint fragrance filled the air, prompting Hikigaya to hurriedly step aside.
Jeez… Can't she be a little more mindful?
That said, it was surprising that Kikyou didn't just barge in using the spare key and instead knocked properly before forcing her way in.
In a way, that counted as progress, right?
Hikigaya distracted himself with trivial thoughts, trying to avoid dwelling on the fact that they were alone together this late at night.
After all, if he started thinking about the wrong things, it might lead to trouble down the line… huh?
"Uh, Kikyou?"
"…What?"
For some reason, Kushida, who had been all smiles a moment ago, now had a dark cloud over her face.
Her eyes were fixed on the table—oh.
She was staring at the chocolates from Tachibana Akane, which Hikigaya had already opened and eaten some of.
…But there was no reason for her to care about that, right?
He appreciated Tachibana-senpai's thoughtfulness, but at the end of the day, it was just obligatory chocolate—not even given on Valentine's Day itself.
There wasn't a single detail that could be misinterpreted.
Still, Kushida said nothing about it. Instead, she pulled out a small box from her jacket pocket.
"Here, Hachiman. This is for you."
She handed him the neatly wrapped chocolate box.
"Huh? For me?" Hikigaya pointed at himself, surprised.
"Yeah, a Valentine's gift."
"But didn't you say in class—"
"Geez, you talk too much." Kushida shoved the chocolates into his hands. "Besides, I said I didn't want to waste my private points unnecessarily. Giving those guys chocolates would definitely be a waste."
"…That's pretty harsh."
If any of the guys crushing on Kushida heard this, they'd be heartbroken.
Especially considering how their goddess's true personality was so brutally blunt in private.
Fortunately, Hikigaya had no such worries, so he just felt exasperated.
"In that case, you didn't need to come all the way here this late. You could've just given it to me tomorrow. I thought staying up late was bad for girls."
"Idiot, who do you think I did this for?"
Even though she was subtly hinting at something, she still seemed annoyed.
…Wait a minute.
Aren't I the one being disturbed here?
Hikigaya mentally grumbled about how unreasonable girls could be, then sighed. "At least let me know in advance before you show up next time."
"I wanted to surprise you."
"And what if I was already asleep? Then you'd have come all this way for nothing."
"No problem." Kushida's smile took on a dangerous edge. "In that case, I'd just wait at the door until you woke up."
"Oi…"
"Hehe, just kidding."
She suddenly pulled a key card from her pocket and dangled it in front of him.
"Did you forget? I have a spare key to your room. If you were asleep, I'd just let myself in. So don't worry."
"That's not reassuring at all… Ugh, whatever."
After spending so much time with her, Hikigaya was used to Kikyou's whims.
"Anyway, I'll gratefully accept it."
He paused for a moment, then, a little awkwardly, added, "And, um… thanks for the chocolate."
"Mm… Mmhmm."
Kushida, who had been nonchalant until now, suddenly had a faint blush on her ears.
"Alright! Enough about that. Hurry up and try it."
She beamed at him expectantly.
Hikigaya instinctively moved to unwrap the box but then paused.
…Wait, she expects me to eat it right now?
Realizing this, he quickly said, "Kikyou, I'll definitely enjoy the chocolate, but it's already late."
"Yeah, so hurry up and eat it."
"No, I mean… I already brushed my teeth."
"Then just take one bite."
Though her voice was soft and sweet, there was an unmistakable firmness in it.
Hikigaya let out a wry chuckle. "Is this really necessary? It's not like chocolate is going to melt in this cold weather."
"…Oh? So you'll eat other girls' chocolates, but not mine?"
Saying something completely unreasonable, Kushida leaned in with an air of intimidation.
Kikyo-chan seems a little scary today...
Just as Hikigaya was contemplating how to send her off, he noticed that Kushida kept glancing behind him from time to time, muttering under her breath:
"Tsk, I don't know which woman it is, but she sure is playing clever tricks… If it's not chocolate given on Valentine's Day itself, then it's just an ordinary snack."
Ah, so she was talking about that.
"It was just a casual gift," Hikigaya smiled wryly and shook his head. "That was from Tachibana-senpai. We worked together in the student council for a while, so that's all there is to it."
"Tachibana-senpai… you mean the one who was always following Horikita-senpai's brother around?" Kushida recalled.
"Yeah, that's her."
"So she gave you chocolate to thank you for helping her at the forest training camp?"
"Uh… something like that."
Hikigaya was starting to feel a headache from Kushida's persistent questioning and waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, it was just a fun part of Valentine's Day. Isn't that how everyone does it? There's nothing more to say."
At any rate, he had long outgrown the phase of overanalyzing the meaning behind receiving chocolates.
Sigh, thinking back, that was such a cringe-worthy phase in his life.
"Hmm—alright then, goodnight, Hachiman. Have a nice dream!"
"…Oh."
Before Hikigaya could even react, Kushida had already left, looking completely satisfied.
Her mood swings were way too fast.
Still, at least he had managed to clear up the misunderstanding.
After all, it was obvious that Tachibana-senpai liked Horikita-senpai's brother. The last thing Hikigaya wanted was to cause any unnecessary complications in their relationship.
Though their progress seemed painfully slow, it wasn't something an outsider should meddle in.
At the very least, he had no intention of interfering in anyone's romantic affairs ever again.
With that, he put away Kushida's chocolates and lay back down on his bed.
After all that, another half hour had slipped by. If he didn't sleep now, waking up tomorrow would be a nightmare.
But… it felt like he had forgotten something.
With that vague unease lingering in his mind, Hikigaya drifted into sleep.
Knock, knock, knock—
The next morning, Hikigaya was jolted awake by a series of knocks at his door.
Half-asleep, he instinctively reached for his phone on the nightstand and stared at the screen for a while before finally processing the situation.
Why was it only six in the morning? Who the hell…? Wait—?!
A realization struck him like lightning.
He had forgotten to reply to Ichinose.
No wonder something felt off last night… but it shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? He could just find some excuse.
[Sorry, I went to bed early yesterday and forgot to check my messages.]
Knock, knock, knock—
Just as he sent the message, the knocking resumed.
Seriously, who the hell was it this early in the morning?
With a scowl, Hikigaya stomped over to the door and swung it open—only to freeze on the spot.
"Y-Yo… Good morning, Hachiman."
"…Good morning."
Standing in front of him was Kamuro—dressed in a full tracksuit.
Wait, why was she in a tracksuit?
But now wasn't the time to be wondering about that.
For a moment, the two of them fell into an awkward silence.
Say something, damn it!
Hikigaya opened his mouth a few times, but not a single word came out. It was as if he had suddenly lost his voice.
Looking at him, Kamuro furrowed her brows slightly, a bit dissatisfied."Good morning? That's all you have to say to me?"
"Uh… then… good morning?"
"...What did I just call you?"
Left with no choice, Kamuro gave him a hint.
Fortunately, Hikigaya caught on quickly this time.
After hesitating for a moment, he said, a bit shyly, "Good morning… Masumi."
"Mm!"
Finally, Kamuro looked satisfied.
Was she really this easy to please...? It was kind of worrying for her future.
"Oh, right, I came here to give you this."
Kamuro, as if it were no big deal, took out a heart-shaped object from her pocket and handed it to him.
"Valentine's chocolate… Will you accept it?"
"Th-this… is this really okay?" Hikigaya stammered. "Besides, I… uh, I already received one, didn't I?"
He paused several times before finally getting the sentence out.
Kamuro immediately denied it. "That one doesn't count. I just bought it from the supermarket, and besides, that day wasn't Valentine's Day."
With that, she firmly placed the chocolate in Hikigaya's hand.
Just like last time, it was wrapped with a purple satin ribbon.
"Anyway, just take it. I worked really hard to make this."
"O-oh… thanks."
Wait… did that mean this was handmade…?
Suddenly, the chocolate in Hikigaya's hands felt unusually heavy.
But… since Masumi had gone this far, as a man, he couldn't just keep avoiding it.
Taking a deep breath, Hikigaya said in a serious tone, "Masumi, I've always been grateful for everything you've done for me, so there's something I think I should say sooner rather than later. That day, when you told me—"
"No need."
Before he could finish, Kamuro interrupted him.
"We already talked about this, didn't we? Just answer me after we graduate. Why are you in such a rush?"
"...Eh?" Hikigaya suddenly didn't know how to respond. "B-but, if this keeps going, it won't be good for you. You'll just… be wasting your feelings."
"And what exactly do you mean by 'it won't be good for me'?" Kamuro asked, her expression calm.
"I mean… someone else might pursue you."
"That's a possibility."
Kamuro nodded in agreement, then shook her head. "But the problem is, I have zero interest in any other guy right now. So your concern is completely unnecessary."
"Uh, you…"
That was way too straightforward!
Hikigaya had no idea how to respond without making himself sound like a narcissist.
"Masumi, I don't think I've done anything particularly special… Are you sure you're not misunderstanding something?"
"No misunderstandings."
Though her face started turning red, Kamuro still met Hikigaya's gaze with determination.
"That day, when you helped me at the convenience store… maybe I already started liking you as a person back then. Of course, it wasn't in a romantic way yet."
"...I've told you so many times already, I didn't do that for—"
"I know, I know," Kamuro interrupted, sounding a bit impatient. "You did it just to satisfy yourself, right? But… for me, it was different. You didn't take advantage of the situation to ask for anything, and you didn't act all high and mighty like some savior lecturing me… You were the first person to help me without expecting anything in return."
"That's… not really a big deal." Hikigaya started feeling a little embarrassed.
Kamuro sighed. "How is that not a big deal? Do you have any idea how rare it is for someone at this school to help others? Especially when classes are in constant competition with each other?"
"Uh…"
"You really underestimate your influence. Your actions have affected a lot of people… At the very least, I'll never forget you."
Hearing that, Hikigaya's face flushed bright red.
Damn it… that was way too direct!
Unable to handle the atmosphere, he awkwardly tried to change the subject. "N-no, you're overestimating me. I'm really not that great, and I'm definitely not worth your time… You're looking at me through some seriously thick rose-colored glasses."
"Is that so?" Kamuro didn't argue with him. "Then let me ask you this—what kind of guy do you think is worth pursuing?"
"Eh?"
"Give me a few examples."
"Uh…" Hikigaya was completely stumped.
Among the third-years, the only one he was familiar with was Horikita Manabu. But obviously, he couldn't bring up Horikita-senpai in this kind of situation.
As for the second-years, there were Nagumo, Kiriyama, and a bunch of A-Class bootlickers… yeah, screw them.
Then there were the first-years.
There were plenty of excellent guys, but there were just as many weirdos.
Take Kouenji, for example—practically a genius in every way, but he cycled through girlfriends faster than he changed clothes.
As for Hirata, his mental state was unstable, and his way of handling things probably wasn't Kamuro's type.
And then there were guys like Hashimoto, Ryuuen, and Ayanokoji… yeah, screw them too.
That left A-Class.
Kamuro would probably get along well with guys like Kanzaki and Shibata. But since they prioritized their class above all else, dating outside their class would be a huge hassle. They would likely avoid that situation entirely from the start.
In the end, dating within one's own class was probably the best option.
"Well, your class has that Rito guy, the one ranked first in the school's 'most handsome' list… and there's also someone named Tsukishiro or something…"
The girls at Advanced Nurturing High School had all sorts of ranking lists, which could only be accessed through female accounts.
Apparently, B-Class occupied three of the top five spots in the "most handsome" ranking.
Hikigaya had heard about this from Matsushita… so don't assume things like "school beauty rankings" in novels are just made-up fantasies by desperate guys.
In reality, girls might be even more desperate!
However, his answer seemed to seriously displease Kamuro.
"Hachiman… let me ask you something. If a ridiculously pretty girl suddenly appeared by your side, would you start fawning over her just because she's pretty?"
"...That would probably get me arrested."
"You could just say 'no' instead of being so roundabout." Kamuro rolled her eyes. "So? You wouldn't do that yourself, but you're suggesting I do? Or do you think I'm that shallow?"
"...I'm sorry."
Hikigaya had nothing left to say.
So weird… when did Masumi become so sharp-tongued?
Or was it just against him specifically?
Maybe they had a type disadvantage or something… yeah, right.
This wasn't a Pokémon battle!
"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. I should get going."
Kamuro stretched, then glanced at the faint dark circles under Hikigaya's eyes.
"If you're still sleepy, go back to bed… Sorry for waking you up so early, but I really needed to get this off my chest."
"No, it's fine."
Hikigaya shook his head, though he was curious about where she was headed.
Noticing his gaze, Kamuro took the initiative to explain. "I'm going for a morning run. Just getting some exercise."
"Oh, I see."
No wonder she was in sportswear. It was a rare sight.
"I know I'm not the smartest. I can pass tests just fine, and if I put in a little effort, I can even get decent scores… but that's my limit." Kamuro's tone wasn't self-deprecating—she had a clear understanding of herself.
"But that doesn't mean I'm giving up. At the very least, I'll improve my physical abilities… After all, I did say it, didn't I? I'll make you fall for me."
As she spoke, Kamuro looked straight at Hikigaya, unwavering.
Her voice carried more confidence than ever.
A girl in love… was unstoppable.