"Hikigaya-kun, wait a second!"
Hikigaya had just left the courtyard when someone called out to him from behind.
Kushida?
"Hikigaya-kun, what a coincidence."
Kushida explained that she had gone for a walk alone after finishing her lunch and just happened to run into him, so she decided to say hi.
She brushed her hair back, flashing what she believed was her cutest and sweetest smile. Her voice was soft, with a slightly playful tone. If it were any other guy from Class D, they'd probably be blushing, hearts racing, already daydreaming about a happy married life with Kushida.
Unfortunately, Hikigaya just gave a flat "Oh," and that was it.
Kushida, who had already planned out what to say next, was caught off guard. But as someone with plenty of experience in social interactions, she quickly realized that Hikigaya was different from guys like Yamauchi or Sudou. So, without hesitation, she switched tactics.
"Is… is it just my imagination? It feels like Hikigaya-kun is so cold to me… If I did something to upset you, please tell me. I'll do my best to fix it. Please… please don't hate me."
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she lowered her head, looking genuinely sad.
She was putting on the perfect "poor, helpless girl" act—one that would make most people instinctively want to comfort her.
But Hikigaya remained unmoved.
Instead, he found himself thinking, *Why does this girl always act like she's about to cry? So annoying.*
At the same time, he couldn't help but compare Kushida to Horikita. Their personalities were complete opposites. Hikigaya simply couldn't imagine Horikita ever putting on such a weak, teary-eyed expression.
"Lunch break is almost over. If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
With that, Hikigaya turned to go.
Seeing this, Kushida panicked. She quickly stepped forward and grabbed onto his arm, even pretending to "trip" so that her soft, curvy body pressed up against him.
"S-Sorry… I… I didn't mean to."
Kushida quickly pulled away from Hikigaya, looking like a shy girl experiencing love for the first time. Her face turned bright red, like a ripe apple that made people want to take a bite.
Hikigaya stared at Kushida with a weird expression. Something about that overly dramatic scene felt… staged.
"Hey, Kushida, what do you actually want?"
Seeing that Hikigaya wasn't following the "script" she had imagined, Kushida felt a surge of frustration. Then, when she saw his dead-fish eyes, completely unaffected, she suddenly got even angrier.
This guy had just taken advantage of her, yet he was acting all innocent?!
Suppressing her irritation, Kushida kept up her shy, sweet-girl act.
"Actually, I saw you and Horikita arguing earlier. I was a little worried about her, so I wanted to check if everything was okay and see if there's anything I can help with."
Horikita?
So Kushida had been tailing Horikita and found her way here?
"If you're that worried about Horikita, why not just talk to her directly? It should be easier for girls to get along, right?"
Hikigaya was confused. With Kushida's popularity in class, was there really someone she couldn't handle?
After all, on the first day of school, she had declared she wanted to be friends with everyone—and she was already more than halfway there.
Both the boys and girls in class thought highly of her.
In Hikigaya's mind, Kushida was never alone. She was always surrounded by people, and she even got along well with students from other classes.
Kushida let out a perfectly timed, bitter smile.
"Hikigaya-kun, you're not a girl, so it's normal that you wouldn't understand the complicated things between us..."
She paused for a moment, waiting for Hikigaya to respond. But when he didn't, her eye twitched slightly. After taking a deep breath, she finally spoke again, this time with a helpless tone.
"To be honest, I have no idea what I did to offend Horikita. She just seems to dislike me for some reason. That's why I came to you for help."
"Me?"
"Hikigaya-kun, you're her seatmate, aren't you? Other than Ayanokouji, you're probably the only person in class who talks to Horikita the most. I want to understand her better and become her friend. Please, this is really important to me."
Kushida clasped her hands in front of her chest, tilting her head slightly, her face full of sincerity as she gazed at Hikigaya with hopeful eyes.
It was the kind of request no normal guy could refuse.
"If you agree to help me, I… I'll grant you one request."
Kushida seemed to have gathered a lot of courage to say that, as if she was willing to do anything to befriend Horikita.
The air around them felt thick with tension—almost as if there was a pink haze of hormones filling the space.
If it were any other guy, they'd probably be falling head over heels for her by now.
But Hikigaya wasn't just any guy.
He simply couldn't bring himself to trust this "cute little angel."
Because… when he was talking with Horikita earlier, he had already noticed her secretly watching them from a distance.
"I-I object!"
Suddenly, a loud, angry voice shattered the atmosphere Kushida had carefully created.
Ike and Yamauchi appeared out of nowhere, standing on either side like two gatekeepers, completely cutting off Hikigaya from Kushida.
Yamauchi looked furious, practically shouting.
"Hikigaya, you bastard! How dare you sneak in while I wasn't looking?! I get it now! You're afraid Kikyo-chan won't be able to resist my manly charm, so you tried to confess in secret!"
"C-Confess?!"
Ike's eyes widened in shock before he turned to glare at Hikigaya, his face full of rage.
"You sneaky bastard! You stole my little angel?! If anyone was gonna confess, it should've been me first!"
Yamauchi was about to agree when he suddenly realized what Ike had just said.
"Wait, what do you mean 'you first'?! I was the one who found my little angel in trouble when I had a stomachache and went to the bathroom! So obviously, if she chooses someone, it'll be me!"
"Y-you washed your hands, right?!"
Ike immediately took a step back in horror.
"Huh? O-of course I did!"
But Yamauchi's shifty eyes told a different story.
And just like that, the two of them started fighting with each other.
"Uh… guys, he's already gone."
"Huh? Wait, where is he?!"
Ike and Yamauchi finally turned around, only to find that Hikigaya was long gone.
All that was left was a certain little angel, her smile looking dangerously close to something… terrifying.
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