Chapter 308: The Mysterious Presence in the Water
"Hikki? Hiratsuka-sensei?"
When Yuigahama Yui found Hikigaya Hachiman lying under the shade of the tree and ran over excitedly, she was surprised to find that Hiratsuka Shizuka was also there.
"Ah, Yuigahama. Since you're here, I'll return this guy to you."
Taking just one look at the expression on Yuigahama Yui's face, Hiratsuka Shizuka understood why she had come. After shooting a wink at Hikigaya Hachiman, Hiratsuka Shizuka stood up and left, proactively leaving the space to the two of them.
This sudden behavior by Hiratsuka Shizuka instantly left both Hikigaya Hachiman and Yuigahama Yui dazed.
Yuigahama Yui's heart was thumping like a little deer; for a moment, she actually forgot the reason she had come looking for Hikigaya Hachiman and stood awkwardly in place, not knowing what to do.
"...."
The two remained in silence for a while until finally, Hikigaya Hachiman took the lead in breaking the deadlock.
"Is there something you need me for?"
"Ah, that—we found a stream, so I wanted to ask if Hikki wanted to come play..."
"A stream?"
Hearing Yuigahama Yui's words, Hikigaya Hachiman's eyebrows twitched. While it was perfectly normal to use stream water to escape the heat on a scorching summer day, to come all this way specifically to find him just for that...
Thinking of this, Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes flickered a few times, and he eventually nodded.
"Sure. I was just starting to feel a bit hot anyway."
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"You're late."
Just as he followed Yuigahama Yui to the edge of the stream, Yukinoshita Yukino, who had already changed into a swimsuit, crossed her arms in front of her chest to express her dissatisfaction with their speed.
"Sorry, Yukinon. It took a little time to find Hikki..."
Facing Yukinoshita's complaint, Yuigahama Yui stuck out her tongue and apologized.
Against Yuigahama Yui's "cute act," Yukinoshita Yukino naturally couldn't muster even a hint of anger.
She then turned her gaze toward Hikigaya Hachiman, who was standing at the very back.
"Are you planning to play wearing that?"
Yukinoshita looked at the clothes on Hikigaya Hachiman's body, a trace of suspicion appearing on her face. Since he came with Yuigahama Yui, that meant Hikigaya Hachiman should have known in advance what they were coming to the stream for, right?
"I didn't bring a swimsuit..."
Faced with Yukinoshita's questioning, Hikigaya Hachiman appeared quite helpless. And come to think of it, isn't Yukinoshita Yukino, who prepared a swimsuit in advance, the one who is truly strange?
"Didn't Hiratsuka-sensei tell you to prepare one beforehand?"
Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman's words, Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Hiratsuka-sensei told you guys to prepare beforehand?"
Seeing the reactions on their faces, a sense of foreboding instantly rose in Hikigaya Hachiman's heart. He quickly cast his gaze toward the stream. Sure enough, everyone present except for him and Yuigahama Yui had already changed into swimsuits!
Ding-dong~
Suddenly, Hikigaya Hachiman's phone rang. The one who sent the message was Komachi, who had sold him out this morning, and the message was very simple and clear—Hikigaya Hachiman's swimming trunks were in the travel bag given to Hiratsuka Shizuka last night.
"That girl Komachi calculated all of this from the very beginning, didn't she?"
Looking at the message on his phone, Hikigaya Hachiman sighed. After explaining the situation to the two girls, he turned back to the campsite to ask Hiratsuka Shizuka for his travel bag.
At the camp, Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't seem surprised at all by Hikigaya Hachiman's arrival. In fact, after Hachiman stated his purpose, she even thoughtfully remarked that he should "have a good time."
To this, Hikigaya Hachiman only responded with a roll of his eyes.
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"Honestly, there's not much playability at all, is there?"
Sitting by the stream, Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the others, who all seemed to be enjoying themselves, and grumbled. Because they were already high school students, the group obviously didn't have much interest in actually "playing" with water. Although they had changed into swimsuits, they were mostly just soaking their bodies in the water to let the stream wash away the summer heat.
The scene was completely devoid of the frolicking and playfulness one might imagine!
"Ah!"
Just as Hikigaya Hachiman was zoning out due to boredom, Yuigahama Yui, who was soaking her legs in the stream while whispering to Yukinoshita, suddenly let out a startled cry.
"What's wrong?"
Hearing Yuigahama Yui's cry, everyone's gaze immediately gathered on her. Especially Miura Yumiko, who was the only one standing in the stream; she strode across the current intending to come over.
However, just as she neared the bank, she seemed to lose her footing and suddenly fell bottom-first into the cold stream water.
"Miura, are you okay?"
Seeing Miura Yumiko fall, Hayama Hayato, who was nearby, hurriedly rushed over. But before he could reach her, Miura Yumiko had already braced herself against the shallow stream bed and stood back up.
"I probably just stepped on a slippery pebble..."
Because she was wearing a swimsuit, Miura Yumiko didn't care about getting wet; instead, she continued to Yuigahama Yui's side to check on her.
There, soaking in the stream water, a strange bite mark had actually appeared on Yuigahama Yui's fair calf.
"It's not bleeding, and it doesn't look like a snake bite..."
After carefully examining the mark for a moment, the group reached a conclusion.
"Could it be a fish or something?" Hayama Hayato proposed a new guess. It wasn't strange for there to be fish in the stream, and while incidents of fish biting people were rare, they weren't unheard of.
"From the tooth marks, it doesn't look like that either..."
Miura Yumiko shook her head, dismissing Hayama Hayato's guess. Suddenly, Miura Yumiko noticed Hikigaya Hachiman, who had been staring at the stream water ever since Yuigahama Yui cried out, and her temper flared.
"Hey! You come over and check on Yui's condition too!"
Because of Hikigaya Hachiman's seemingly indifferent attitude, Miura Yumiko momentarily forgot Hachiman's hidden identity, and her attitude toward him reverted to how it used to be.
"Yeah, I got it."
Hearing Miura Yumiko's words, Hikigaya Hachiman nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on the water's surface without moving.
"I'm talking to you...!"
Seeing that Hikigaya Hachiman still hadn't shifted his attention, Miura Yumiko stood up and walked aggressively toward him. However, she was blocked halfway by Yukinoshita Yukino.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing Yukinoshita Yukino in her way, Miura Yumiko, who already didn't get along with her, growled in a low, suppressed voice.
"I think the priority right now is to get Yui back to the camp first."
Having noticed Hikigaya Hachiman's attitude, Yukinoshita Yukino, who was thinking more deeply than Miura Yumiko, did not answer the question directly.
Instead, she used Yuigahama Yui as a reason to try and get everyone to leave.
"...You have a point."
Hearing Yukinoshita Yukino's words, Miura Yumiko opened her mouth but didn't know how to argue back. Left with no choice, she agreed to Yukinoshita's suggestion.
Thus, under Yukinoshita Yukino's arrangement, Yuigahama Yui—who had merely been "bitten" by an unknown creature—was grandly escorted back to the camp by the whole group...
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