The new week began, and the classroom was filled with the gloomy air of a Monday.
Listening to the homeroom teacher drone on about functions he didn't understand in the slightest, Hikigaya propped his chin on his hand and stared blankly into space.
On Saturday, he'd been lectured by the boss for coming back; something about how he shouldn't let small-time punks like that step foot in the shop. The man made it sound so easy, but Hikigaya didn't exactly have superhuman strength to slap two people into submission with one hand. Thankfully, Saeki had been there to smooth things over, otherwise that old man could have nagged for the entire day.
Sunday had been quite peaceful. The cookies Ema baked were even better; she'd improved significantly. Of the small bag she brought, Saeki ate most of them, and Hikigaya only managed to snatch a few.
The only thing was, he'd bumped into a few female classmates from his class while working. He was surprised that girls would actually travel that far just to shop—he had to admire the effort.
Those girls sat in a corner seat. When Saeki helped them order, their gazes kept drifting toward the bar. Hikigaya had been too busy making coffee to notice what they were chatting about.
One of the blonde girls had looked at Ema, who was sitting at the bar, several times. Hikigaya couldn't remember her name.
As his gaze swept over that group of girls, Hikigaya noticed they were also secretly watching him, whispering about something.
He didn't care. For three years of middle school, he'd been mocked and ignored countless times; as long as they didn't say those things to his face, he could pretend he hadn't heard a thing.
However, what he didn't notice was that the girls' gazes weren't just directed at him—they were also aimed at Ema Sakuraba next to him.
During the break, Hikigaya went to the restroom. On the way back, he heard a few girls talking in the hallway. When they saw him coming, they lowered their voices a bit.
"It's that woman next to him. She went there this weekend, too."
"For real?"
"Why would I lie? Miura saw it with her own eyes."
Hikigaya walked past them.
When he returned to his seat, Ema was looking down, eating a cookie in small bites. Hearing the movement of him returning, she looked up and smiled at him; that smile was no different from usual.
At noon, he got up to head toward the courtyard as usual. Suddenly, he felt several gazes shooting through the classroom, not falling on him, but falling behind him.
He looked back. Ema was following behind him, her head down. She seemed to have felt those gazes too; her shoulders were tensed tight.
Saeki was already there on the bench by the flower bed.
Hikigaya sat down on the steps and took out his bread. He took a bite, but his mind was occupied with the strange looks from earlier.
Ema was exceptionally quiet, just feeding herself bite by bite. She didn't offer the usual "I can't eat any more" routine.
Saeki felt something was off. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately held back.
In silence, Hikigaya finished his bread and realized he hadn't bought his MAX Coffee. He greeted them and headed toward the vending machine in the courtyard.
There were a few girls buying drinks by the vending machine. This time, they didn't lower their voices.
"That Ema, following him around every day. She's really thick-skinned."
"Isn't Saeki looking pretty close to her? Does she not know?"
"What good would knowing do? The woman's just shameless."
"I heard from Miura that she specifically ran to the shop where he works on the weekend, just to see that guy."
"I don't know what's so great about that gloomy guy that she'd two-time..."
Hikigaya walked up to the vending machine. When they saw him, they immediately shut up and walked away as if nothing had happened.
He bought a MAX Coffee and held it in his hand.
He recalled the weekend: Ema sitting by the bar, quietly drinking her latte and sharing the cookies she'd baked.
He walked back, his pace a little slower than when he came.
When he returned to the courtyard, he subconsciously looked at Ema more closely.
She was still sitting there just as quietly, occasionally saying a word or two to Saeki, with nothing abnormal to be seen.
But over the next few days, in places Hikigaya couldn't see, the rumors spread into something increasingly outrageous.
.
.
.
"Have you heard? That Ema is actually chasing Hikigaya."
"Chasing? Isn't it stealing? Aren't Saeki and him a couple?"
"Who knows? Regardless, following him every day—there's definitely something wrong."
.
.
.
"I heard from Miura that when she went to that shop on the weekend, Ema was sitting by the bar staring at Hikigaya the whole time, not even moving her eyes away once."
"Seriously? Is she that shameless?"
"Saeki was there too, and she didn't even bother to avoid it."
.
.
.
On Friday, during the break, as he was passing the corner of the hallway, the voices of several girls drifted into his ears.
"Do you guys know? I heard that Ema is actually deliberately trying to split up Saeki and Hikigaya."
"Really? Is she that manipulative?"
"Why else? Following him every day—what's the point? Isn't she just trying to climb the ladder?"
"Saeki is too pathetic, having her own friend undercut her."
"I heard from Miura that Saeki is actually incredibly sad, she's just too embarrassed to say it."
Hikigaya stood behind the corner and waited a few seconds before walking out. The girls scattered the moment they saw him.
Those words were becoming more and more absurd.
As he walked back, he happened to see Ema coming out of the restroom. She had her head down and was walking very fast; she nearly bumped into him.
"Sorry." She looked up, realized it was him, and froze for a moment before forcing a smile.
That smile was different from usual.
Her eyes were a bit red. Perhaps not wanting him to notice her distress, she quickly lowered her head.
Hikigaya opened his mouth, but she had already hurried back to the classroom.
After the second class in the afternoon, Tobe wandered over from the back, carrying two cans of drinks.
"Yo, Hikitani."
He placed one of the cans on Hikigaya's desk. A MAX Coffee.
Hikigaya looked at the coffee can, then at Tobe.
"About the duty shift last time," Tobe scratched his head. "I promised to buy you a drink. A week's dragged on, I almost forgot."
Hikigaya said nothing and took the coffee, placing it at the corner of his desk.
Tobe didn't rush to leave. He hovered around him for a moment and lowered his voice.
"That aside, have you heard anything lately?"
Hikigaya looked at him, signaling him to continue.
"It's just that..." Tobe deliberated his words. "The stuff spreading among the girls is getting more and more ridiculous. I didn't take it seriously at first, but these last two days, it's getting more exaggerated."
He turned his head to check if anyone was around.
"At first they said you were two-timing, then they said Sakuraba-san was chasing you and Saeki-san hadn't confirmed the relationship yet. Today it's even more ridiculous—someone is saying Sakuraba-san is actually doing it on purpose, trying to break you two up.
You know how it is. That group doesn't have any boundaries when they talk. I feel ridiculous just hearing it."
Hikigaya didn't respond.
Tobe waited for two seconds. Seeing him stay silent, he shrugged.
"Anyway, be careful. They talk as if it's the absolute truth—claiming they saw it with their own eyes, saying Saeki-san is particularly heartbroken. I feel wronged for you just hearing it."
He patted Hikigaya's shoulder and wandered back to his seat, carrying his own can.
Hikigaya looked at the can of MAX Coffee on his desk. After a long while, he tucked it into his bag.
He recalled the increasing number of gazes throughout the week, and the tensed shoulders of Ema every time she followed behind him.
Those rumors weren't aimed at him—they were aimed at her.
He had initially thought that as long as he didn't care, those words wouldn't hurt anyone.
But he had forgotten: she cared.
It was all because of him.
After school, Saeki stopped him just as he was about to step out of the classroom door.
Ema was the same as usual; she had whispered "See you tomorrow" to them and headed home.
"Hikigaya-kun."
After waiting for those looking for a show to leave, Saeki lowered her head and spoke softly.
"I've explained it to them. I told them we have nothing going on, and that Ema-chan isn't that kind of person. But they won't listen. It's spreading so crazily now that I can't even stand to listen to it anymore."
Hikigaya nodded.
"I know."
"You know?"
"I could guess."
Saeki looked up at him once, then lowered her head again.
"That Miura person... once she makes up her mind about something, she doesn't change it easily. She thinks Ema-chan bullied me and wants to vent for me. Last Sunday at the shop, I felt her eyes were wrong when she looked at Ema. I explained it to her several times, but she didn't respond."
Saeki was silent for a moment.
"Now, she won't even listen to my explanations anymore."
Hikigaya didn't speak.
Saeki bit her lip, turned around, and walked away.
Hikigaya stood there, watching her back.
What to say? What could he say? Tell them he and Saeki weren't a couple? That Ema wasn't doing it on purpose and wasn't trying to split anyone up?
Saeki had already said all of that, but no one would listen.
What they wanted wasn't the truth—it was a topic, gossip, a target for everyone to attack. This no longer had anything to do with the truth.
He waited for a moment and stepped out to head home.
When he reached the school gate, he stopped and looked back at the school building.
The window of Year 1, Class F looked no different from the others.
He reached the first intersection, and the red light turned on.
He stopped and looked at the red light across the way.
There was still one way.