"Are you studying for the midterm, Hikigaya-kun?"
There were several textbooks spread out in front of Hikigaya. Even though he was confident in his grades, he still had to review—who knew if the school would pull some tricks in the exam?
"Hikigaya-kun, I heard your class is having study sessions lately. Is that true?"
Hiyori suddenly asked.
Hikigaya nodded. Seeing him confirm it, Hiyori let out a sigh, her face full of worry. It made sense, considering what he had unexpectedly learned from her about Class C's situation.
Like Class D, Class C was one of the lower-ranked classes. Their situation wasn't great, but at least it was much better than Class D's. According to Hiyori, after a chaotic "battle for dominance" in the first month, Class C finally ended up under the rule of one student—Ryuen Kakeru.
"Don't tell me your classmates still haven't…"
"Yeah, it seems like Ryuen and the others don't care about the midterm at all."
Hiyori said helplessly. Class C's results from last month's quiz weren't great either, about the same as Class D's. In both classes, there were a lot of students who struggled academically.
"The teacher already said that failing the midterm means expulsion, so why does no one care?"
She looked even more anxious as she spoke.
With only about two weeks left to study, the time wasn't long, but it wasn't too short either. If they worked hard, they still had a good chance of passing—just like what Class D was doing now. That was exactly why Hirata had started the study sessions.
"Even Class D is already taking action…"
Hiyori seemed to have made up her mind.
"I can't just sit back and watch my classmates keep messing around. Hikigaya-kun, sorry, but I probably won't be able to come to the library for a while. I need to do something for my class too."
"Shiina-san, you're really amazing."
Hikigaya genuinely admired her. He had heard some rumors about Class C's leader, Ryuen Kakeru. He was the kind of person who liked using force to make others submit, ruling the entire class like a tyrant. He never tolerated disobedience, whether it was from boys or girls.
So…
"If you run into any trouble, make sure you let me know."
Hikigaya said seriously.
If he had to describe her, she was soft on the outside but strong on the inside. Once she made up her mind, nothing could shake her.
Compared to her, he himself had contributed absolutely nothing. Hikigaya couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Hiyori seemed to understand what he meant and reassured him.
"Don't worry, Hikigaya-kun. If it's something that benefits the class, I believe Ryuen-kun is reasonable."
Hikigaya sighed inwardly.
In reality, Ryuen wasn't just sitting around doing nothing about the midterm. He had already started taking action—by harassing students from Class A and B.
Lately, the student council had been getting a lot of complaints about Class C. Even after warnings were given, Class C students continued causing trouble as if they didn't care.
The reason they were so fearless was obvious—Ryuen was backing them up.
His methods were underhanded, but they were still a way for a lower-ranked class to fight back. In fact, this kind of trick was one of the few "advantages" weaker classes had.
Realistically, Class D should have been using their own "zero-point advantage" to gain more resources. But with Hirata being a rule-abiding nice guy, he would never come up with such a plan, let alone actually carry it out.
That's exactly why Hirata was the leader of Class D, and not someone else.
But to Hikigaya, Ryuen's tactics seemed reckless. Did he not realize that every student expelled from the midterm would cause their class to lose 300 class points?
Class C and Class D were basically sitting on a ticking time bomb. Yet instead of trying to defuse it, Ryuen was trying to drag other people down with him?
At this rate, he might not even find anyone to take the fall and just end up blowing himself up.
"Sigh, I really don't get what Ryuen-kun is thinking. He never tells anyone his plans. He just expects everyone to follow his orders, and no one in class dares to go against him."
Hiyori let out a deep sigh.
It was hard to tell whether she was frustrated with Ryuen's dictatorship, disappointed in his leadership, or maybe both.
"Is it really okay for you to tell an outsider like me about this?"
Hikigaya felt like he had to bring it up.
Hiyori paused for a moment, then understood what he meant and shook her head. "The competition between classes is something that concerns everyone in the class. If we have to see Hikigaya-kun as an enemy just because of that, I think that's wrong. If things become that way, everything will turn into a cold, calculated game, and I think that's a really scary thought. I don't want my relationship with Hikigaya-kun to be like that. I really treasure our friendship and hope we can always keep it."
"Friendship first, competition second?"
"Something like that, but that doesn't mean I'll give up on getting to Class A! I'd rather everyone work together toward that goal, and in the end, it'll all depend on each person's abilities!"
Hiyori raised both fists as if to say, "Let's do our best together!"
Hikigaya stared at the girl in front of him, feeling a strange sense of admiration. In this school filled with ruthless competition, she was like a pure lotus growing in the mud.
Some people might not understand her, some might look down on her, and some might even mock her for being too idealistic. But Hikigaya didn't think that way.
Just like how the human eye is made up of both black and white, yet we can only see through the black part—
Because only through darkness can we see the light.
The honesty and purity she showed so openly were like that light shining through Hikigaya's eyes.
"Eh? Hikigaya-kun, are you okay?"
Hiyori waved a small hand in front of him, noticing that he was frozen in place.
"I-I'm fine. I was just thinking... meeting someone like you might have used up all my luck in life."
Hikigaya said this from the bottom of his heart.
"Hikigaya-kun, you're exaggerating! You're making me embarrassed now."
Hiyori covered her slightly flushed face, avoiding eye contact. "It's actually kind of strange when I think about it. Normally, I don't have the courage to talk to other people, let alone a boy I don't know. But that day, for some reason, I just felt like calling out to you. It's still a mystery to me."
"...It wouldn't happen to be because of my eyes, would it?"
"Pfft, hahaha! Hikigaya-kun, you actually have a great sense of humor!"
The girl laughed, and seeing that, the boy laughed too.
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