Chapter 314: Take Care of Your Own First
"Thud!"
With a hip-toss, Hikigaya slammed Ibuki Mio forcefully onto the floor mat.
"..."
"You guy... you really don't know the first thing about being gentle with a girl."
Even though the floor was covered in soft padding, a fall with that much force still stung.
"It's fine, Mio is thick-skinned and durable—cough cough!"
Seeing her expression turn sharp, Hikigaya quickly changed his tune: "I meant your endurance is great! It was a compliment!"
"Hmph!"
Ibuki Mio rolled over and lay prone on the ground.
Helping each other rub down and soothe muscles after training was a daily routine for the two of them, so no words were necessary. Hikigaya crouched down, pressed his hands onto her waist, and applied a bit of pressure with his thumbs.
"Mmm~"
Ibuki let out a soft moan. "Hachiman, you can use a bit more force."
"Yes, yes~"
'So, saying you're durable isn't wrong at all.'
Hikigaya continued to move his hands up and down, massaging Ibuki Mio until she was completely relaxed.
"Ah~ fully revived!"
Ibuki did a kip-up and stood straight up.
"Hachiman, your turn. Lie down."
"I don't really need—"
"Lie down!"
"...Fine."
Under her strong insistence, Hikigaya eventually lay down. Ibuki began to knead his muscles, from his shoulders to his waist and down to his calves; it was truly an enjoyment.
"So comfortable~
If I could get a massage from Mio every day, that would be true happiness."
Hikigaya let out a sigh of contentment.
"Keep dreaming!"
"Unless you... if you marr— with me..."
"Hiss—!"
While massaging him, she accidentally pressed against something hard.
"Take that phone out of your pocket... it's hurting my hand!"
"Uh... that might be a bit inconvenient."
At a time like this, how was he supposed to react? Hikigaya felt a cold sweat break out.
"What's 'inconvenient'? It's just a phone... ugh!
Whoa, so it's the Tyrannosaurus Rex!
That's quite impressive!"
Beads of sweat formed on Ibuki Mio's forehead, but she tried to maintain her composure, attempting to use a teasing tone to mask her internal embarrassment. Her eyes flickered, but she couldn't stop her gaze from drifting toward that spot.
She thought to herself: Is this thing the same as the one I saw in my dreams? Isn't it a bit too exaggerated?
"You're a female delinquent!"
Hikigaya grumbled while adjusting his posture to "suppress the gun."
"Hmph~ I haven't even criticized you yet. Why are you getting so... energetic for no reason?" Ibuki curled her lip.
"This is a normal physiological response."
Even though it was just a proper massage, if the "little head" wasn't being proper, there was nothing Hikigaya could do about it. It was just like that SPA experience on the cruise ship.
"Pervert!!"
While Ibuki Mio was attacking him with words, the expression on her face was exceptionally good.
"Alright, deal with it yourself... let's go eat together later."
Ibuki took out her phone and sent a message to someone.
Five minutes later...
After silently reciting Prime numbers three times in his mind, Hikigaya finally managed to suppress the fire.
The two walked out of the club room and saw a familiar, graceful figure at the entrance.
"Good afternoon, Hikigaya-kun, Mio-chan~"
Shiina Hiyori greeted them with a smile.
"Hiyori? What a coincidence."
A look of surprise flashed in Hikigaya's eyes.
"I asked Hiyori to come over.
What? You're not welcoming her?" Ibuki shot him a glare.
"Look at what you're saying. Whenever I see Hiyori, I feel happy."
It was a clumsy compliment, yet Shiina Hiyori happened to find it very effective.
"I am also very happy to see Hikigaya-kun."
They headed toward the restaurant area of the shopping mall. On the way, the three naturally brought up their previous mixed-group living experience.
"The last special exam was really not easy."
"Yeah, after all, we had to live with other classes and even senpais."
"I actually think it was a good experience. Although it was a bit uncomfortable at first, everyone's relationships improved afterward. It's a pity I failed everyone's trust in the end." Shiina Hiyori looked slightly dejected.
"That wasn't Hiyori's fault, was it?"
Although Shiina Hiyori's group finished in the bottom three, causing Class C to lose a lot of points, the main responsibility lay with the third-year students—especially Ikari Momoko, who was either picking a fight or on her way to pick one every day.
"I have my own problems too, especially in the final mountain relay race.
Even though everyone looked after me and only gave me a 200-meter segment... in the end, I still dragged everyone down."
Shiina Hiyori offered a deep self-reflection.
There was nothing that could be done about it; everyone has things they aren't good at. Shiina Hiyori's academic ability could reach the top five of the grade, but her athletic performance was truly poor.
Despite her hard work during those seven days, changing one's physical constitution isn't something that can be achieved overnight.
"You shouldn't say that. In that situation...
The fact that you stood up to resist the third-year students prevented the large group from losing more points due to bullying incidents.
I don't think anyone would blame Hiyori."
Hikigaya comforted her with the honest truth.
"Besides, the exam results are secondary. I think the school's main purpose for this mixed-living rule was to get us to communicate across classes. Just like in social practice, communicating with colleagues from different departments..."
To be fair, while the exams at this rotten school were disgusting, they did reflect the needs of real society. Well, real society itself is pretty disgusting too.
"Indeed, being able to make friends across classes is wonderful.
Yume-chan and Asuka were both very good people."
Meeting new friends from other classes was Shiina Hiyori's biggest gain from the forest exam.
"My side was quite boring.
Especially those women from Class D, I really wanted to slap them a few times!"
Ibuki Mio made no effort to hide the look of disgust on her face.
"If I remember correctly, you were in the same group as Shinohara and the others?"
"Those women have nothing but excrement in their heads."
Hikigaya could already imagine how miserable it would be to live under the same roof as those idiots.
"They were actually talking bad about Hachiman behind his back!
I really don't know where they get the nerve to say such things!" Ibuki gritted her teeth, looking righteous and indignant.
"Mio, stay calm and steady.
Don't try to reason with idiots; they'll only pull you down to their level of IQ."
Hikigaya didn't care at all about what those irrelevant people said about him behind his back—especially regarding people who were "about to be finished."
"Eh, look over there."
Shiina Hiyori seemed to have discovered something. Following her line of sight, they saw Ichinose Honami appearing in the distance, currently together with several classmates. They seemed to be talking and laughing just like usual.
However, with Hikigaya's keen observation skills, he could see that the micro-expressions of these people were very unnatural. Ichinose Honami herself could maintain a surface-level
calm, but the expressions of the others were very fake, looking around with high levels of vigilance.
It looked like Class B intended to strictly protect Ichinose Honami, who was at the center of the rumor storm.
"As expected of Ichinose-san, to be able to come out so openly at a time like this, and her behavior seems so natural." Shiina Hiyori remarked.
"Truly, that girl's heart is really strong.
If it were me, I would have exploded long ago!" Even Ibuki Mio felt a sense of admiration.
Well, on the surface, Ichinose Honami did indeed seem very strong. Facing vicious rumors, she maintained a dignified and proper attitude. As long as she persisted, the rumors would eventually collapse on their own.
However, the prerequisite for that is that the person involved is innocent, or like a certain "fake person" whose sense of morality is nearly zero. Unfortunately, Ichinose Honami is neither. She is a good child who has made a mistake, and her personal sense of morality is very strong. Under the layered pressure from Sakayanagi Arisu, she will eventually show a flaw.
At that time, Class B can be crushed!
"Should we go over and say hello?" Ibuki cast an inquiring look at him.
Hikigaya hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "Going over now will only cause her trouble. And there's no guarantee the people from Class B won't have a stress reaction..."
From an objective standpoint, for this attack against Class B, both Class C and Class D were suspicious parties.
"I see.
Does Hikigaya-kun plan to comfort Ichinose-san in private?" Shiina Hiyori looked thoughtful, her gaze on him becoming somewhat subtle.
"T-That..."
Hikigaya's heart jumped. His thought had just appeared, and it was already seen through by Hiyori!
"Hikigaya-kun doesn't need to hide it. After all, Ichinose is also a very close friend of yours, isn't she?" Shiina Hiyori put a bit of extra emphasis on the word "friend."
"Y-Yeah..."
Hikigaya's eyes darted around; he suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
A friend with whom he shared "skin-to-skin" comfort.
"Hmph!"
"You guy, you're always overly gentle at the most inappropriate times!" Ibuki gave him a sharp look. "Mental comfort is one thing, just don't go comforting her physically..."
"Stop right there!
What kind of wild words are those?
Mio, your thoughts are unclean!" Hikigaya attacked her righteously.
"Tch~ Take care of your 'Tyrannosaurus Rex' first!" Ibuki Mio rolled her eyes in annoyance.
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After dinner.
After a long time, Hikigaya knocked on Ichinose Honami's dorm room door again. This was his second visit.
"..."
"It's me, Hikigaya Hachiman."
"Bang!"
The door was instantly flung open. A fragrant scent lunged into his arms!
"Hikigaya-kun!"
Ichinose Honami hugged him very tightly with both hands.
"Honami."
Hikigaya held his hands in mid-air, unsure where to put them. Considering her unstable mental state, it was better not to push her away.
"It's alright."
Hikigaya gently patted her back, calming her sobbing breath.
"Ugh~"
Ichinose Honami hugged even tighter, as if wishing she could completely melt into his body. Feeling the massive pressure against his chest, Hikigaya could restrain his thoughts, but unfortunately, the Tyrannosaurus Rex was wild and untamable.
Ichinose Honami's body stiffened, and she shifted unnaturally a few times, but she still didn't loosen her tight embrace. The two stayed like this quietly for ten minutes.
Hikigaya couldn't help but speak up to remind her: "Honami, can you let me in?"
"G-Go in?!"
Ichinose Honami's heart fluttered. She looked up, and on her tear-stained face, an unusual blush emerged, faintly carrying a bit of expectation.
'Wait? What exactly are you thinking?!'
Hikigaya was instantly speechless. Just as he was about to explain, he heard movement from a nearby dorm door. Hikigaya quickly picked up Honami, entered the room, and closed the door behind him.
"Wait, Hikigaya-kun... isn't this a bit too hasty..."
Ichinose Honami leaned against the wall, her head lowered as she imagined who-knows-what. Seeing Hikigaya reach out his hand toward her, she reflexively closed her eyes in nervous anticipation.
"Flick!"
"Ouch!"
Ichinose Honami felt a pain in her forehead.
"Honami, I think the pressure has been so high lately that your brain isn't working right." Hikigaya gave her forehead a hard flick.
"Pressure... what do you mean?" Ichinose Honami forced a smile.
"In front of me, you don't need to put on a brave face." Hikigaya sighed helplessly.
"Yeah... I really can't hide anything from Hikigaya-kun."
Ichinose Honami stuck out her tongue slightly. "In that case, did Hikigaya-kun come over to comfort me?"
"Yes, though looking at you just now, you seemed quite energetic." Hikigaya looked her up and down. Her hair was a bit messy, but her mental state seemed okay.
"I was feeling pretty decadent, but as soon as I saw Hikigaya-kun, I felt refreshed, hee-hee~~"
Ichinose Honami brought out a teacup with a smile to entertain him.
"This cup?"
Hikigaya noticed she had brought out a brand-new blue cup.
"This is Hikigaya-kun's exclusive cup.
I've been looking forward to Hikigaya-kun visiting again.
Here~" She pushed the brewed tea in front of him.
"Thank you."
Hikigaya took a sip and then went straight to the point: "Regarding the rumors, how does Honami plan to handle it?"
"Well, I plan to give it the cold treatment." Ichinose Honami lowered her eyes, blowing on the tea in her cup.
"The enemy won't let you off that easily." Hikigaya reminded her.
The opponent was Sakayanagi Arisu. Once that "bratty loli" bites down, she won't let go easily!
"Then... what suggestions does Hikigaya-kun have?" Ichinose Honami couldn't help but cast a look of help toward him.
"You're surrendering too quickly, aren't you?
At least be a little tougher!" Hikigaya thought she would try to handle it independently.
"If I'm surrendering to Hikigaya-kun, I'm very willing~" Ichinose Honami leaned forward and took his hand.
"Cough... be serious, we're talking about business!"
Hikigaya originally wanted to scold her loudly, but after seeing the heavy "Devil Fruits" pressed against the tabletop, he could only give up on the lecture.
"There are essentially only two ways to handle this...
The first is to directly counterattack the mastermind.
The second is to come clean to everyone."
Hikigaya laid out his plan straightforwardly.
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