Chapter 137: Two Classes, Taken Down in One Sweep!
[Chat Room… After Ichinose admitted the truth in the video, a storm erupted.]
[Nagumo Miyabi's face darkened; this wasn't his plan. "She went to Hikigaya… not me…"]
[Sakayanagi Arisu: "Looks like Ichinose's leadership needs realignment."]
[Ryuen Kakeru: "Ichinose, huh? If you don't choose Hikigaya's help, you'll lose to me!"]
[Horikita Suzune: "It's come to this. Does Ichinose still think she can face Ryuen?"]
[Yuigahama Yui: "Poor Ichinose-san… It was just one small mistake."]
[Yukinoshita Yukino, eyeing Ichinose in Hikigaya's arms, looked uneasy. "No, it's not about the size of the mistake. In this school, past wrongs become dark history, especially for a leader…"]
[Everyone had different takes on Ichinose's situation. As Hikigaya once said, rumors' terror lies in their spread. When confirmed, they're even worse for her.]
In the room, Ichinose, as if regaining control, slowly sat up from Hikigaya's embrace.
"I promised I'd help you."
She wiped her tears with a smile, her strength making even Hikigaya feel reluctant pity.
"I know if you helped, everything could be resolved. But… no, I can't. I have to fix this myself."
Seeing her resolve, Hikigaya knew she'd regained her spirit. In just a few hours, she seemed transformed.
From the day they met, he knew she was a strong, kind girl, her natural warmth like a gift to the world.
He saw authenticity in her, felt her genuine emotions, but couldn't accept it.
He disliked gentle people, those kind to everyone.
It was a strange feeling. He admired her authenticity but resented her universal kindness. This oddity was why he'd avoided her.
Even now, after this day, he couldn't understand it, but it didn't matter.
If she asked, he'd help, his long-ago promise.
Now, he finally understood how to position himself with her.
Ichinose: "Thank you, Hikigaya-kun."
Hikigaya: "When you knocked on my door, you could vent freely. I'm just a listener who won't remember your face or mock your weakness."
"Cry if you want. Just know, whenever you knock, no matter how many times, I'll listen and make you hot cocoa, if you don't mind someone like me."
His words brought a single, glistening tear to her eyes again.
Just one, but crystal clear.
She laughed. "If you say that, you'll find out how troublesome I can be."
"No matter how troublesome, it's fine."
Her smile faded, voice choking. "You're cheating again… What if I fall for you…"
Hikigaya fell silent.
"Can I… hug you?"
"Sure…"
In the small room, they drew close, holding each other tightly. She held back her tears.
There'd be more chances to cry. These moved tears could wait.
…
After parting with Ichinose, Hikigaya checked the anonymous message on his phone. He already had guesses about the mastermind.
Few in this school could control so much information, Ryuen alone couldn't do it.
To others, this was a Class B-D clash, and he, an outsider, shouldn't interfere, especially with Class C's traitor still unresolved.
But the timing was too suspicious. If Ryuen sent the first message, why was this one anonymous? Whether anonymous or not, suspicion would fall on him.
Perhaps the truth would only emerge step by step.
Hikigaya didn't idle. After a simple dinner, he arranged to meet Kushida Kikyo.
The night wind was colder. They agreed to meet by the river for a private matter, avoiding crowded places.
He'd overthought it. In this weather, most stayed indoors at night. They weren't the naive freshmen who'd spend points frivolously. The streets were nearly empty.
Hikigaya donned a coat and arrived at the river on time, but no one was there.
Five minutes later…
"You're early."
"Arriving five minutes early is basic courtesy."
Hikigaya Hachiman merely glanced faintly at the girl before him. Kushida Kikyo's signature smile seemed somewhat unnatural in the night breeze.
"Hikigaya, you called me out, must be something, right?"
"Need your help with a few things."
Kushida paused slightly, then resumed her cute demeanor, smiling as she said, "Of course! If it's for you, Hikigaya, I'll help with anything."
Hikigaya skipped the pleasantries, directly showing her the anonymous message on his phone.
Kushida's expression shifted briefly upon seeing it, then returned to calm.
"This… it's about Ichinose-san, huh? Looks like Class B's about to get lively again."
"Kushida, who do you think did this?"
Kushida thought for a moment, then said, "If it was Ryuen, he wouldn't need to go anonymous. Everyone would suspect him anyway, and he's not the type to care."
Hikigaya nodded, aligning with his own thoughts.
"Plus, the timing's too coincidental. Right before the special exam, her past suddenly gets dug up. No way it's a fluke."
Kushida continued, "Hikigaya, you think this ties to the special exam?"
"Very likely."
Hikigaya briefly shared the intel he got from Kamuro Masumi.
Kushida's face darkened upon hearing the exam details.
"If that's true, this exam's a massive blow to every class."
"Especially Class C and D."
Hikigaya added.
Kushida nodded, then asked, "Hikigaya, why call me out? What do you need?"
"Help investigate the message's source."
Kushida paused, then said, "I… can try, but my student council access is limited. If Vice President Nagumo finds out, it'll be trouble."
"No worries. Just keep an eye on Class B and D's movements, especially Ryuen's side."
Kushida nodded. "Got it."
"One more thing."
Hikigaya briefly explained Yamauchi Haruki's situation.
Kushida's expression turned complex. "Yamauchi… he actually…"
"Kushida, what do you think Hirata will do?"
Kushida was silent a moment, then said, "Hirata… he'll protect Yamauchi. That's always been him."
Hikigaya nodded. "Thanks, Kushida."
Kushida smiled. "No problem. Be careful, Hikigaya."
They parted by the river. Hikigaya watched Kushida's retreating figure, pondering his next steps.
…
The next day, Hikigaya arrived early at class, finding Horikita Suzune already seated.
"Morning, Horikita."
Horikita looked up, glanced at him, then said, "Hikigaya, where were you yesterday?"
"Handled some stuff."
Horikita didn't press, just said, "You saw yesterday's anonymous message."
"Yeah."
"What do you think of Ichinose's situation?"
Hikigaya thought, then said, "She's not a bad person."
Horikita paused slightly. "Hikigaya, you believe her?"
"At least since I've known her, she's never done anything against her class."
Horikita was silent a bit, then said, "But this school doesn't forgive based on the past."
"I know."
"Hikigaya, what's your plan?"
"Observe for now."
Horikita nodded. "If you need help, tell me."
Hikigaya paused slightly. "Thanks."
…
In Class B, Ichinose arrived early, sensing her classmates' gazes were different.
Though they acted normal on the surface, she felt the subtle distance.
Kanzaki Ryuji approached quietly. "Honami, you okay?"
Ichinose smiled, shaking her head. "I'm fine, Kanzaki. I'll handle it."
Kanzaki said nothing more, just nodded.
…
In Class D, Ryuen Kakeru eyed the message on his phone, smirking coldly.
"Interesting. Ichinose's past got dug up."
Ibuki Mio approached. "Ryuen, this your doing?"
Ryuen shook his head. "Not me."
Ibuki paused. "Not you? Then who?"
Ryuen smirked coldly. "Who knows? Maybe that Nagumo guy."
…
In the student council room, Nagumo Miyabi looked at his phone, grinning triumphantly.
"Everything's going according to plan."
…
In class, Hikigaya waited quietly for the right moment.
He knew this incident was far from surface-level.
His goal: net the mastermind in one sweep.
"Are you saying I lack manners?"
"No, just for me personally."
Kushida didn't bicker further, slowly finding a stone bench to sit on.
Her cool expression made Hikigaya feel at ease around her. Though others found her unapproachable, to him, this was Kushida.
"You called me out, must be serious. Otherwise, you wouldn't drag me out at night."
"True, but it feels like there's a hint of resentment in your words."
"No…"
"Come on, it's obvious."
"I said no, so no."
"Fine, no then."
They fell silent again, Kushida sitting with arms crossed, saying nothing.
So yeah, it's totally there…
"Hey, Kushida, can you help me out?"
Hikigaya asked in an uncharacteristically humble tone.
But he got only her fierce glare and two words: "No way!"
Silence fell once more as they braved the cold wind.
Truthfully, Hikigaya hadn't figured out what he'd done to upset her. Women were weird like that.
After a while, Kushida seemed to reconcile with herself and finally spoke: "Spill it."
"Here's the thing, I want to help Ichinose…"
"No. Let's head back."
"Didn't you say to tell you?"
"Now I don't want to hear it."
Hikigaya was speechless again. For subtle things, he was like a sensitive hunter, reading expressions and actions in an instant. But this woman…
She was truly unpredictable.
With no choice, he pulled out that move.
Seeing Kushida stand as if to leave, Hikigaya didn't stop her, just sighing and saying, "Fine then, I'll ask Karuizawa for help."
At "Karuizawa," Kushida perked up like she'd been injected with adrenaline, glaring murderously at Hikigaya before plopping back down beside him, fuming.
Even now, she couldn't forget Karuizawa Kei publicly kissing him in front of the whole school.
Mentioning Karuizawa's name always made Kushida act contrary.
Sorry, Kushida, but I really had no choice this time.
[Chat Room: Kushida's veins were popping. After seeing Ichinose and Hikigaya's interaction, now he wanted her help for Ichinose? This guy was infuriating.]
[If Hikigaya was here, she'd punch him hard.]
Seeing Kushida sit obediently, Hikigaya sighed helplessly and asked, "Want something to drink?"
"Hot milk."
"Got it."
He went to a nearby vending machine, buying hot milk for her and hot cocoa for himself, then returned.
Kushida snatched the milk without thanks, gulping a big sip.
Hikigaya wasn't rushed. In this weather, a warm drink was comforting.
He opened his cocoa and sipped.
"Not good…"
Kushida shot him a disdainful look, then, before he could react, swapped her milk with his half-drunk cocoa and chugged from it.
Hey, you picked that yourself.
Hikigaya eyed the milk in his hand, shrugged, and sipped anyway.
Now Kushida's mood improved slightly.
"Talk. What's the trouble?"
"You got Ichinose's message?"
"Yeah. Thief, for real?"
Hikigaya didn't answer, just said, "I need you to do something."
"To help her?"
"Can't deny it, but there's more. I want the person behind it."
"Not Ryuen?"
"If it was him, no anonymous."
Kushida froze mid-motion. She knew his observation was scary, but deducing that from two messages? Too much.
Before she spoke, Hikigaya continued, "And I'll use this chance to clean up class issues."
"Class issues? What happened in our class?"
Hikigaya explained the partner exam from start to finish. No need to hide it, it'd come out eventually. Kushida had already sensed something off.
No way Yamauchi naturally scored 20.
But as Hikigaya said, even explaining everything lacked decisive proof he was the traitor.
Kushida's face turned cold. "Hirata, that hypocrite…"
Hikigaya: "Can't fully blame him, but if he thinks that way, the class won't go far."
Kushida stayed silent, eyes on Hikigaya.
Hikigaya: "But it's not his fault. The pressure's been huge since you two stepped back by default."
Kushida: "Hikigaya, you're too soft."
Hikigaya: "Maybe…"
Kushida: "What do you need me to do?"
Hikigaya: "Simple. Solve Class B perfectly and handle Yamauchi. Only you can."
"Spread the info you once got, half-true, half-false. I'll have Airi use student council for distribution."
Kushida looked puzzled. "Half-true, half-false? Don't quite get it."
Hikigaya: "The false part temporarily clears Ichinose from the message's impact. The true part panics Yamauchi. That's our chance to find evidence."
"He'll freak, thinking Hirata ratted him out. We'll be the oriole behind the mantis."
Kushida was stunned again. One move to calm the entire first-year? That's Hikigaya's power?
After shock, she regained composure.
"Got it…"
Kushida had countless times had her view of him refreshed.
She deeply realized their gap, a suffocating distance, but not frightening.
The gap between people was never too wide, or so she thought. Now it was different.
Deep inside, she felt a slow rise of terror.
This gap was unbridgeable, not through effort, despair-inducing.
If someone could think this far, achieve this much…
Undoubtedly, only the boy before her.
…
The next day, with Sakura Airi's help, Kushida's messages flooded the school instantly.
'Shinohara sold O in junior high'
'Wang Mei-Yu likes Hirata…'
'Shiina Hiyori's innocence is fake'
'Hikigaya likes Kushida Kikyo'
'Katsuragi wants to retake Class A'
'Ike likes Shinohara'
'Yamauchi is a traitor…'
'....'
Nearly 20 messages hit every student's phone, causing uproar across the grade.
Hikigaya eyed the texts, Kushida got his intent.
Just implying Yamauchi might be the traitor was enough; no need for proof. But…
'Hikigaya likes Kushida Kikyo…'
This girl's not getting back at me for yesterday, right?
Hikigaya stayed low-key in class. Horikita glanced, found it boring, and closed her phone.
Karuizawa, looking pitiful, rushed over, pressuring him on the rumor's truth.
Sakura, in the know, watched Yamauchi nearby.
Yes, upon seeing the messages, he lost his recent smile, freezing in place, ignoring classmates' calls.
Hirata's heart trembled at the texts.
Yamauchi adjusted, deciding to play ignorant.
But…
Sotomura: "Yamauchi, it says you're a traitor?"
Yamauchi, annoyed: "Tch, you believe that? Then Shinohara sold O too, right? Shinohara, did you?"
Shinohara eyed him disgustedly. "Yamauchi, just die already."
Yamauchi turned to Sotomura with an "I told you so" look. "See?"
Sotomura shook his head, puzzled. "Who knows if she sold or not… And Ike, you like Shinohara, right? That's true."
Pushed into the spotlight, Ike Wide floundered, denying repeatedly. "Who said that! Who likes that hag!"
The girls shot Ike disgusted looks.
But… this development wasn't good for Hikigaya.
Yukimura Teruhiko: "Looks like it's all fake. Don't pay attention."
Horikita: "Just boring nonsense."
Hirata smiled warmly. "Yeah, yeah, someone's prank."
Koenji Rokusuke maintained his usual arrogant demeanor, swiping his phone screen before saying slowly, "There's another message about our class here, isn't there? Hikigaya, do you like Kushida?"
Koenji's triumphant expression shot toward Hikigaya, as if saying, I helped you again!
Hikigaya was helpless. He hadn't expected to be dragged into this.
But… since it's come to this, might as well make the situation even messier.
"That's right. I like Kushida."
The class erupted in excited cheers, while Kushida wore a smug look.
However, beyond the spectators' gazes, the stares from Sakura Airi, Horikita Suzune, and Karuizawa Kei were piercing, practically radiating malice.
Of course, if Hikigaya could ignore all that, there were two gazes he absolutely couldn't.
Hirata Yosuke's frown and Yamauchi Haruki's sinister glare.
Sudo Ken, as Hikigaya's bro, quickly added fuel to the fire. "Looks like not all the messages are fake, huh?"
Yamauchi: "Even so, it's half-true, half-false."
Miyake Akito: "Yamauchi, why so worked up? No one said you're the traitor."
The class descended into chaos again, but another voice emerged.
"Hmph, Kushida, that cold-faced hag getting someone to like her? Gross."
"Yeah, look at her now."
"Hikigaya-kun's so brave, so bold. I always thought he was secretly a flirt."
"Totally, confessing his love like that? Way better than Ike."
Kushida: "This guy, really… but this feeling's kinda nice."
"…"
[Chat Room: Yukinoshita Yukino's gentle smile left no room for Hikigaya to explain. Smartly, he didn't wait for her to act, quickly saying, "It's for the plan! All for the plan!"]
[Yukino: "Oh? So confessing in front of the class is part of your plan?"]
[Hikigaya hesitated, then felt her tightly pinch his ear.]
["It's an accident, purely an accident! But for the plan, I had to go through with it."]
[Yukinoshita's smile grew more sinister. To the Service Club members, she looked like a witch descending, leaning close to Hikigaya.]
["Hikigaya-kun? All just accidents, huh?"]
[Isshiki Iroha, closest to them, felt her heart race, unable to imagine how fast Hikigaya's was beating.]
[Hikigaya endured the pain, continuing, "Not entirely. Like now, I'm ready for the consequences."]
[As if stunned, Yukinoshita suddenly let go, dropping her hand.]
["Fine, bullying you all the time isn't good. I'm just warning you not to be so flirty."]
["Right, right, Yukinoshita-san, I'll take your words to heart."]
[Yukinoshita's sudden calm piqued the Service Club's curiosity, but only Yukinoshita Yukino knew why she let go.]
[He'd accepted her bullying without complaint…]
[So… no more words were needed.]
[Hiratsuka Shizuka, watching the video and occasionally glancing at the chat, shook her head helplessly as Hikigaya's Sensei.]
["This guy really plans to charm everyone on both sides…"]
[Yukinoshita Haruno, puzzled: "Yukino turning out like this is beyond my imagination, but it's not bad. Maybe she'll break free from depending on Hikigaya and understand real feelings."]
(End of this chapter)