“You won’t betray me, will you?” “I swear on Komachi, I won’t betray you.” Hikigaya raised his right hand.
“Who’s Komachi?” “My world’s cutest little sister.” “Wow, a sister complex is so gross.” Kushida, with a disgusted look on her face, opened the door.
“I can’t hold it in anymore.
It’s time for my usual.” Kushida’s constant act of maintaining an angelic persona builds up her negative emotions.
Once they reach a certain level, she has to release them, or else she’ll self-harm.
Her methods for releasing stress are to furiously curse at people who anger her and to kick things.
Both of these activities create a lot of noise.
Hikigaya is currently her accomplice for these outings.
Since the school is by the sea, the surrounding shopping district is quite large, and there aren’t many staff or students.
If you search carefully, you can still find a few spots without cameras and where students rarely go.
Today, Kushida chose the seaside with a guardrail.
She wasn’t afraid of kicking it to pieces.
“With that cold, superior attitude, why isn’t that b**** Horikita dead yet!” “Can that noisy fly Ike Kanji get the hell away from me?
If you can’t speak properly, just sew your mouth shut, you stupid dog.” “You should just drop out.
That hot-tempered redhead is just like a baboon.
It serves him right to be framed, it serves him right!” “Sakura Airi….” The iron railing made loud clanging sounds as it was kicked.
The wind mixed with Kushida’s faint voice reached Hikigaya, who was standing far away keeping watch.
One name caught Hikigaya’s attention.
Sakura Airi’s gentle nature shouldn’t have angered Kushida.
—————— The student council secretary’s job wasn’t much.
The next day after school, Hikigaya endured about half an hour of playful bickering with Secretary Tachibana Akane before making his escape to the library.
SakuraHasebe and Karuizawa Kei were in the library’s study area, looking frustrated as they worked on problems.
Knowing that failing the upcoming midterm exams would lead to expulsion, the three didn’t refuse Hikigaya’s after-school cramming strategy.
“Hikigaya, over here, over here.” Hikigaya, who was looking for them, heard Karuizawa Kei’s voice.
Following the sound, he saw the blond girl, tied in a ponytail, waving at him with a happy expression.
“Finished with student council work so quickly?
Impressive, becoming secretary the moment you joined.” Grabbed by the arm by Karuizawa Kei, who was dressed in a slightly flashy, girl-next-door style, Hikigaya was guided to sit next to her.
Across the table were Sakura Airi and Hasebe Haruka, sitting close together.
After forming the study group, Sakura and Hasebe started hanging out together, while Karuizawa Kei seemed to isolate herself with them, only interacting with Hikigaya.
“It’s not like there are big events like the Sports Festival coming up, so the student council workload wouldn’t be too heavy.” After dealing with Karuizawa Kei, Hikigaya greeted Sakura and Hasebe with an umbrella, then picked up the test papers Karuizawa Kei had finished and began checking and scoring them.
“How is it?
Any improvement?” With the sound of a chair being pulled, Hikigaya’s shoulder was touched by a slender hand adorned with a light blue wristband.
Karuizawa Kei’s lightly made-up face leaned in towards him.
“A lot of improvement.
You shouldn’t have to worry about the midterm exams.” Hikigaya knew there weren’t many mistakes after a quick glance.
The cramming strategy means you gain something by doing the work.
Karuizawa Kei had definitely improved a lot since the last minor test.
He was used to her affectionate actions and basically understood why she did them.
The leader of Class D was undoubtedly Hirata Yosuke, but Hirata Yosuke was part of his fan club.
Combined with his position as student council secretary, Hikigaya held a very high status in Class D.
Karuizawa Kei didn’t just act affectionately in the library; she often sat on his desk in class, talking to him and acting like they were very close.
Like a minor official in the prime minister’s court, Karuizawa Kei, borrowing Hikigaya’s closeness, used a dominant attitude in Class D to win over several girls, becoming a leader of their group.
He didn’t pay much attention to being used as a tool, as long as they didn’t bully others in his name.
“Then I can rest easy.” Karuizawa Kei stretched out with a big yawn.
“I’m exhausted lately.” Her proud figure became even more noticeable.
Under the unavoidable gravitational pull of her chest, Hikigaya couldn’t help but glance a couple of times and met Hasebe’s teasing gaze.
“Lewd, Hikki.” Hasebe Haruka was an exquisite beauty with an older sister aura.
She had a small beauty mark below her left eye.
Calling her friends by nicknames was her way of expressing intimacy.
“Ahem.” Hikigaya decided to pretend he didn’t hear her.
After circling her mistakes on Karuizawa Kei’s paper, he began to explain them.
Once finished, he then moved on to Sakura and Hasebe, also focusing on explaining their incorrect answers.
After the explanations, “Sakura, stay behind for a bit.
I have some things I want to ask you about.” Karuizawa Kei had already gone to play with her friends, and Hasebe and Sakura were packing up, preparing to go eat together.
“Just me?!” Sakura seemed a little flustered by Hikigaya’s words.
“What’s the big deal, Airi?
Hikki’s eyes might look a bit scary, but he’s still a good person.” “That’s not the problem…” “Then there’s no problem.
Hikigaya, you take good care of Airi.” Hasebe said, smiling slyly as she gently patted Sakura’s shoulder for encouragement.
“Okay.” After getting Hikigaya’s reply, Hasebe picked up her school bag and left, leaving Sakura, who cowered like a shy quail, timidly unsure of what to say.
“It’s nothing major.
Come with me.” They went to a secluded coffee shop that not many students frequented.
Hikigaya ordered a sweet coffee and ordered Sakura a strawberry cake, her favorite.
The sugar from the dessert would stimulate the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine in her brain, reducing her nervousness.
“It’s delicious…
Thank you, Hikigaya-kun…” After taking a bite, Sakura’s face instantly showed an expression of satisfaction.
When she met Hikigaya’s gaze, she lowered her head and shrunk back, which made Hikigaya a bit speechless.
“Do you have an extra hair tie?” “Yes!” Taking the red hair tie Sakura handed him, Hikigaya unbuttoned the top two buttons of his white undershirt and used the hair tie to tie his bangs into a small braid, standing them up.
His appearance suddenly became strange.
“Manager, please give me a straw.” The female manager at the counter gave Hikigaya a contemptuous look before handing him the straw.
To Sakura’s confusion, Hikigaya inserted the straw into the coffee cup, where it clearly didn’t belong.
“Just be yourself.
You don’t need to worry so much about what others think.” Hikigaya forced a slightly stiff smile and then gently sipped through the straw.
“It’s so hot!!” Hikigaya’s face contorted.
Sakura couldn’t help but laugh, which greatly relaxed her.
“Thank you, Hikigaya-kun.
I’ll do my best.” “Take your time,” Hikigaya said, taking two lungfuls of cool air.
“The main reason I asked you here today is to ask if Kushida has contacted you recently.” “Ah…
Kushida-san.” Hearing Kushida’s name, Sakura lowered her head a little more, but still tried to look into Hikigaya’s eyes.
“Before, by the elevator, I accidentally bumped into Kushida-san while holding my camera, and it fell and broke.
Kushida-san came over to comfort me and offered to take it for repair.” Sakura fiddled with her long red hair that fell to her chest, her expression a little guilty.
“But for some reason, when I saw Kushida-san’s eyes, I felt extremely scared, so I pushed her away and ran.” “Should…
should I apologize to Kushida-san?”