"Shiina-san, I…"
Hikigaya had barely spoken before noticing the discontent on the girl's face. He quickly corrected himself.
"A-Ah, I mean… Hiyori, I have a question for you."
"Hmm?"
She tilted her head slightly, looking at him with a puzzled expression. Hikigaya hesitated before finally opening his mouth.
"...Uh… were you some kind of super tough delinquent girl in the past?"
Thinking about how Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others had been completely tamed just now, Hikigaya couldn't help but wonder. After all, only magic can defeat magic, and only a Stand can defeat another Stand. Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others who hung around with Ryuen didn't seem like the type to be well-behaved students.
Unless it was something like the dynamic between Kushida and those three idiots—some kind of romantic tension between guys and girls—but Ishizaki, Yamane, and the others didn't seem to have any interest in Hiyori that way. It felt more like genuine respect and admiration?
Hiyori seemed to recall what had just happened as well. Her face turned visibly red, and she averted her eyes.
"W-What are you even saying! There's no way I was ever a delinquent!"
"Yeah… I guess that makes sense."
Hikigaya chuckled at himself for asking such a ridiculous question.
There was no way this gentle bookworm standing in front of him could have been a delinquent. That would be way too bizarre. Or rather, he couldn't even begin to imagine a version of Hiyori with bleached blonde hair, tanned skin, piercings, and a flashy biker outfit. Ugh… why am I picturing it now?
Hiyori let out a slow sigh of relief when she saw that Hikigaya had dropped the subject.
"By the way, Hiyori, why are you here?"
It only just occurred to Hikigaya that this place—an empty back alley near the dorms—was not a spot where people usually passed by, especially at this hour.
"I had just finished buying some things from the convenience store when a girl from Class D told me that you were taken away by someone from my class."
Hiyori explained as she lifted the plastic bag in her hand.
"A girl? From Class D?"
Hikigaya understood the words, but together, they made no sense to him. He didn't have any friends in class, let alone female friends.
"Ah! She's right there!"
As they stepped out from the dim alley, Hiyori suddenly spotted a girl hiding in the shadows nearby. She quickly rushed forward and grabbed her hand.
"Sakura?"
Hikigaya stared in shock. He never expected the "Class D girl" Hiyori was talking about to be Sakura.
The moment he called her name, Sakura flinched like a startled cat and quickly hid behind Hiyori, too nervous to meet his eyes.
Hiyori found her reaction a bit strange, but she gently rubbed Sakura's back to comfort her.
"Sakura, thank you."
Hikigaya took a step forward and bowed deeply toward the girl peeking out from behind Hiyori. For someone as socially anxious as Sakura, mustering the courage to do this much was already a big deal. Hikigaya genuinely appreciated it and could feel the sincerity in her actions.
"I-It's nothing…"
Sakura hesitantly poked her head out a little more, her face flushed red. She lowered her gaze and mumbled, "H-Hikigaya-kun, I'm… I'm just glad you're okay…"
Even those few words seemed to drain all her energy. But because of that, Hikigaya could tell just how much courage and determination she had to gather. It was honestly admirable.
Sakura took a deep breath as if summoning the last of her strength. She looked up at Hikigaya, her voice still trembling but carrying an undeniable resolve.
"A-And… about last time… th-thank… thank you."
The moment she finished speaking, her face turned as red as a tomato. She quickly ducked behind Hiyori again, completely hiding herself like a scared ostrich.
…Is this girl okay? She blushes way too easily. Could it be some kind of genetic condition? Should I tell her to get checked?
"Last time?"
Hikigaya was caught off guard. He tried to recall his past interactions with Sakura. If he remembered correctly, the only time they really talked was…
"Ah, that day!"
Looking at Sakura, who resembled a frightened little hamster, Hikigaya finally remembered. It was around two weeks ago—the day Chabashira-sensei revealed the truth about the school.
That day, something happened involving Sakura…
"Oh, that thing?"
Hikigaya waved his hand dismissively. "You're overthinking it. Karuizawa and her friends have always looked down on loners like me. You've probably heard them badmouth me plenty of times."
"So that day, I just used the situation as an excuse to vent my frustration at them. It had nothing to do with you, Sakura."
Sakura was unexpectedly shaking her head at Hikigaya's explanation, as if she didn't agree. Seeing this, Hikigaya could only sigh helplessly.
"L-Last month, I… I bought a digital camera, s-so I didn't have extra points to lend out. It was a good thing you helped me out."
She finally managed to finish her sentence, though her voice was hesitant and broken.
Many students in Class D had almost spent all the 100,000 private points given by the school last month. Sakura was in the same situation, except she had spent most of her points on a digital camera, which wasn't cheap. After factoring in living expenses and saving some points for the next month, she barely had any left to lend.
But as someone at the bottom of the social hierarchy, a loner in the class, she didn't have the courage to refuse Karuizawa, who was a leader among the girls. If she said no, the consequences would be obvious.
Hikigaya suddenly understood and let out a bitter smile. He really hadn't thought that much about it at the time, nor did he know about Sakura's situation. He just couldn't stand Karuizawa and her group pretending to be "good friends" while acting like bullies.
Seeing Sakura's gratitude, Hikigaya could only let out an awkward laugh and wave it off. Seeing this, Sakura let out a small sigh of relief, then nervously asked, "H-Hikigaya-kun, are you okay?"
"I'm fine… probably."
Hikigaya wasn't sure how to answer, so he just smiled vaguely. After all, Sakura was just showing concern, and it wouldn't be right to say something harsh.
"Probably?"
Both Sakura and Hiyori looked confused. Then, they noticed the coffee stain on Hikigaya's clothes. Under Hiyori's worried and persistent questioning, Hikigaya had no choice but to briefly explain the confrontation he had with Ryuen and the others at the café.
"That's awful!"
Hiyori puffed up her cheeks in anger.
"Y-Yeah, it really is!"
Sakura, standing behind her, nodded like a little chick pecking at food. For once, a rare flash of frustration appeared on her face.
"Uh… Ryuen was definitely out of line, but you guys don't have to—"
Hikigaya gave a wry smile, feeling like Hiyori was overreacting.
"I meant it's awful that Hikigaya-kun went on a date with a girl!"
Hiyori frowned, looking displeased.
"???"
Several question marks seemed to pop up over Sakura's head. Had she missed something important?
"I-I didn't mean it like that!"
Realizing how her words could be misunderstood, Hiyori's face turned red as she quickly waved her hands to explain. "What I meant was, you always says you don't have any friends, so why did he go to a café with Yukinoshita-san?!"
"Oh, that's what you meant."
Hikigaya nodded in realization before making a weird face. "Friends? Probably not. If anything, more like coworkers? Or maybe a toy? Anyway, if we're talking about actual friends, you're the only one, Hiyori."
He was just stating the truth. His relationship with Haruno was complicated—too distant to be called friends, yet they understood each other like real friends.
Sometimes they seemed close, but there was always a sense of distance. It was like whenever he tried to get closer, she would pull away. Their relationship was always in a strange, unstable state, even Hikigaya himself couldn't describe it.
Schrödinger's relationship?
It was all very abstract. Like some weird conceptual chess game.
Hiyori nodded blankly, mumbling under her breath, "Only me, huh… geez."
"Hm? Did you say something, Hiyori? I didn't catch that."
"Ah, no! You must've misheard!"
Why was Hiyori acting so weird today?
Hikigaya felt like something about her was different, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Was it just his imagination?
"Uh… um."
Sakura, who had always been barely noticeable, suddenly raised her hand cautiously and looked at Hikigaya. This gave him a strong sense of defeat—was he really that scary?
"I-I…"
Sakura opened her mouth, but every time she tried to speak, the words got stuck in her throat. It felt like she could barely breathe.
"Uh… is my face really that terrifying?"
Hikigaya sighed and mocked himself. "Maybe I should just—"
"N-No, that's not it!"
Sakura suddenly gathered her courage and shouted. Her chest heaved as she took deep breaths, her voice small but unexpectedly firm.
"Hikigaya-kun… y-you're not scary at all. C-Can I… be your f-friend?"
The moment she finished, she completely deflated like a balloon running out of air. Then, like an ostrich, she buried herself behind Hiyori, her face as red as a ripe apple, too embarrassed to lift her head.
By the time she got to the end of her sentence, her mind had already gone blank. She had no idea what she was even saying anymore.
But for the first time, she had voiced what was truly in her heart.
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