Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

"Don't throw a tantrum, Ichinose."

He quickly sat up, freeing Ichinose's hands, and turned his head to look at the corner of the room.

What's there?

Oh, it's a desk.

What books are on the desk?

"Well, this will work too, you naughty kid, Hachiman."

A warm sensation came from his abdomen, which had been repeatedly beaten. Hikigaya vaguely felt that Ichinose was getting closer to him. The strong medicinal scent was mixed with the jasmine-like fragrance emanating from Ichinose.

The silent days dragged on endlessly. Finally, Hikigaya heard Ichinose finish applying the ointment and breathed a sigh of relief. He felt a sticky residue on his back, a mixture of sweat and medicine.

"Then I'll go wash my hands in the bathroom first."

"Ah."

Looking down, Hikigaya could see Ichinose's smooth, plump legs beneath her white skirt. She usually wore white pantyhose, but perhaps she chose not to because she thought she might be swimming today.

But why bring a small bag containing swimsuits into the bathroom?

Could it be that it contains her usual shower gel?

..........

As Ichinose entered the bathroom carrying the bag, she looked at herself in the mirror and a slightly rosy smile appeared on her face.

Hikigaya's shyness and embarrassment gave her a sense of pleasure, like receiving a new toy.

She hadn't spent much time with Hachiman, but his mature and composed demeanor at work had unknowingly entered her heart, and she knew she had fallen for him.

Even the dead fish eyes that ruin a handsome guy's image are becoming more and more pleasing to the eye. Now I feel that it's better to look like that or rather, like that. Dead fish eyes can be handsome too.

After carefully washing her hands, Ichinose closed the door and took out the newly bought swimsuit from the bag. The girl's love of beauty made her reluctantly buy this not-so-cheap swimsuit. She didn't want to wear an unfashionable school swimsuit to go swimming with Hachiman.

"You can do it, Ichinose."

After encouraging herself, Ichinose changed into her newly bought swimsuit, stood in front of the mirror to examine herself, and then mustered up her courage to go out of the bathroom and walk in front of Hachiman.

"H-How...how is it compared to...Hikigaya-kun..."

Shy Ichinose resisted the urge to look away and stared at the stunned Hachiman. The reason Hachiman was stunned was, of course, because Ichinose's beautiful figure in her swimsuit filled his mind.

Her curvaceous upper body, with its slender waist and ample curves, was encased in a light green swimsuit, the delicate lace trim highlighting a deep, almost unsettling allure. Her lower body was clad in matching bikini-style simple swim trunks, covered by a layer of slightly sheer white fabric.

Ichinose is so cute in her adorable swimsuit.

Ichinose is a very cute girl.

Girls with shy expressions are cute.

in conclusion,

All in all, it's very cute.

"Very cute." After drawing his conclusion, Hikigaya, forgetting his shyness, looked into Ichinose's eyes and said, "It suits you very well."

Hearing Hikigaya's words, Ichinose, who was nervously fiddling with her long hair that fell in front of her, also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hachiman, are you out of your mind? Why aren't you answering my calls?"

Just as Ichinose was about to say thank you, a figure entered the room accompanied by a lively female voice.

It was Kikyo Kushida who had the spare key card to his room.

"Sorry, it seems I've come at the wrong time." Kikyo Kushida's eyes widened as she witnessed Ichinose in a swimsuit and Hikigaya shirtless in the same room.

"No, you've come at just the right time." Hachiman quickly grabbed the short-sleeved shirt next to him, stood up decisively, and pushed Kushida by the back as they walked out the door together.

"It seems Kushida-san has something urgent to discuss with me. If Ichinose has something to do, you should head back first."

Putting on his shoes, Hikigaya grabbed Kushida's wrist, whose face had darkened, and pulled her out of the room, leaving the somewhat bewildered Ichinose inside.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Kushida on the Verge of Explosion

"I'm so sorry to have interrupted your good time with Ichinose," Kushida said, though his voice was full of dissatisfaction.

He and Kushida have now left the dormitory building and gone to Kushida's old spot to vent his negative stress. The cool sea breeze blows from time to time, making him feel a little cold.

Rubbing his hands together, Hachiman leaned on the railing and looked out at the unfathomable sea. "I've already said it's just a misunderstanding. There's no possibility between me and Ichinose."

Ichinose is very similar to the girl he confessed to in middle school; she is very gentle and kind to everyone.

A gentle girl is gentle to everyone, but he might mistakenly think she's only gentle to him, and then become smug and complacent, ultimately leading to a bitter breakup and hurting both of them.

Therefore, he dislikes gentle girls.

"You're just being stubborn."

With his hands wrapped around his front, a soft, warm body suddenly pressed against his back, and Hikigaya felt Kushida even pressing his face against him.

"what happened?"

"do not move!"

Kushida's cold tone behind him conveyed an unquestionable attitude, and he could only continue to look at the calm sea, his mood as calm as the sea.

"My heart rate hasn't increased at all, even less than a penguin's."

After a while, his body was released, and Kushida followed his example and leaned on the railing. The angelic cuteness on his face was gone, and his cold eyes pierced his dead fish eyes.

"How could I possibly be moved by that fake look? I much prefer you the way you are now."

Kushida knew he knew her true nature, yet she still wore an angelic mask in front of him. This was a pointless act; he would never be moved by something false.

To like something you know is fake—that's incredibly stupid.

"Don't talk nonsense. I've seen myself in the mirror and seen how ugly I look." Kushida's face revealed a sinister smile. "Like a madman in an asylum."

She even considered jumping off the cliff without hesitation, not to commit suicide, but just hoping that the cold seawater might calm her anger.

She had already tried so hard, worked hard to help Hachiman, and tried her best to show him her best side. Today, she had originally planned to take care of him when he was injured and show him what she could do.

Even though she didn't like Hachiman, she still wanted to win his favor, and it would be even better if she could get some embarrassing stories out of him.

But it seems that Hikigaya wasn't moved by her at all, even though he was so swayed in front of Ichinose.

"I hate you, Hachiman."

Kushida kicked the railing hard, and the pain from the recoil gave her a feeling of being transported back to her self-harming days in junior high school.

"Whenever I try to act cute in front of the other students in class, just seeing you reminds me of how you know my true self."

"Then I will inevitably think that in your eyes I am like a circus clown, only able to get praise from others in this ridiculous way."

"Ugh—I look ugly enough as I am."

As if he had vented his anger, Kushida in Hachiman's eyes lost his frenzied expression and became as calm as an inorganic object, blending into the railing.

"I'm sorry." Now that things had come to this, he could only apologize first. He hadn't expected that he was also under pressure.

But some things must be said. Although it would be arrogant to think that saying something would make the other person understand, if I said nothing, my thoughts would be even less likely to be conveyed to Kushida.

"I've never looked down on you. In fact, I've always thought you were a very capable person. I'd rather get beaten up than smile at those idiots like Yamauchi and Ike."

"I know how difficult it is to gain someone's trust, and I know how hard you work. Although your efforts may be a little misguided, you are undoubtedly working harder than Horikita and me."

"Everyone has two sides, just like Horikita secretly acts coquettishly towards someone. I also once played the role of the Dark Evil Eye Flame Master with bandages wrapped around my waist in an empty room. You are no different from anyone else."

"...Heh, even that bitch Horikita can act cute now." Kushida's lips curled up as he looked at her. He disliked Horikita even more than he did. The relationships between girls were truly terrifying.

Kushida was a bomb that was expanding faster than he had imagined, but since he had used Kushida, he also had a duty to protect her.

"Next month, once the school distributes the points, we'll have enough to reach 20 million. If you need, you can transfer to Class B first."

The original promise to her was to transfer classes after the summer vacation, but since she was under so much pressure in Class D, transferring classes early wouldn't have any impact, so we let her go.

I'm just helping Class B accumulate some personal points for now; Ichinose will pay it back anyway.

"So, when are you transferring to Class B?"

"I might not transfer to Class B; that's my plan for now."

"What do you mean?" Kushida asked, somewhat surprised. "If you don't transfer to Class B, how can Class B beat Class A?"

Kushida has friends in all four first-year classes, and information about each class keeps accumulating in her hands, giving her a rough estimate of which class is the strongest.

Although the lowest-achieving student in Class B still passed the exam, Class A was stronger and had more athletes.

Sakayanagi, who is also in Class A and has leadership abilities, seems stronger than Ichinose, who is about the same as Katsuragi in her eyes.

"I will give B class some advice, but I can't guarantee that B class will win. At least for now, B class's chances of winning are higher than D class's."

"Class B it is, but let's wait until after summer vacation to transfer." Kushida stepped off the railing and walked towards the dormitory building. "Let me see how you perform in the special exam during summer vacation."

It's common knowledge that there are special exams during summer vacation for second and third graders, but it's a secret for first graders.

In a corner where no one was watching, Kushida was also secretly working hard to gather information.

"You're not kicking the railing to vent your anger anymore?" Hachiman quickly caught up with Kushida.

"If I kick you, I'll turn around immediately."

"I thought too much about you."

........

After parting ways with Kushida and returning to the dormitory, Ichinose had already left the room. The room, which had been a little messy, was now spotless, the books on the desk had been neatly placed on the bookshelf, and even the blankets had been folded.

A gray, designer swim trunk was spread out on the small dining table, with a piece of white paper on it that had something written on it.

If possible, please invite me to go swimming with you next time. {smiley face}

After picking up the white paper, you'll find not only Ichinose's neat handwriting but also a cute cartoon smiley face.

"Are you a child, Ichinose?"

Silently folding and putting away the white paper, Hachiman picked up the swim trunks Ichinose had bought for him.

It has a smooth and delicate feel, so it's obviously not cheap.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Threat of the Tea Pillar Sae

The news that student council secretary Hachiman Hikigaya and Class C leader Sho Ryuen had gotten into a fight because both of them had bruises on their faces spread widely among the first-year students on Sunday.

When Hikigaya arrived in class on Monday, Sakura Hasebe and a few others who were fairly familiar with him gathered around to check on him.

Such a lively scene would have prompted the old Haruki Yamauchi to turn around and boast, even making outrageous claims. He would have been able to pass through Ryuen without injury.

But today he just quietly lay on his desk pretending to sleep.

"It's nothing, it's just a minor injury."

Shortly after sending the group back to their seats, Ms. Chabashira entered the classroom to begin her lesson. Unlike usual, when she would leave the classroom immediately after class, today Ms. Chabashira asked him to go to her office after class.

"Teacher, is there something you need from me?"

After sending Ichinose a lunch invitation via his phone, Hikigaya arrived at the teachers' office. All the teachers from the four first-year classes were there, but the most eye-catching was Hoshinomiya, who was wearing a pink short-sleeved shirt.

Dress me up a bit more formally.

"Hey, isn't this first-year secretary Hachiman?" Hoshinomiya-sensei approached Hachiman like a little girl who had discovered a new toy. "Does the wound on your face hurt? Do you want your lovely teacher to blow on it for you?"

"Hu-hu-"

"stop!"

How dare that vixen act cute in public!

Hikigaya took two steps back to distance himself from Hoshinomiya-sensei, who was actually bringing his face close to hers and blowing on her. Although the pouting teacher was cute, the gazes of the male teachers from other classes made him uncomfortable.

"That's enough for me," Chabashira said, slapping Hoshinomiya on the head with his textbook. The sound was quite loud.

Ignoring Hoshinomiya, who was crouching on the ground with his head in his hands, Chabashira strode towards the door. "Come with me to the counseling room, Hachiman."

The counseling room was right next to the classroom office. After going in, Hachiman discovered that there was also a tea room inside, but the door was closed.

Could someone be inside?

"Don't get in my way." After shooing Hoshinomiya, who had followed behind, out with a textbook in hand, Chabashira locked the door and sat down on the sofa with a cold expression.

"Hikigaya, sit down."