Chapter 315: The Girls Self-Expose; It's Not a Rumor!
As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. Therefore, the best solution should have been to attack Sakayanagi Arisu directly. By using psychological warfare and rumors, one could give her a taste of her own medicine.
In Hikigaya's view, Sakayanagi Arisu had plenty of "black material."
For example, during the deserted island exam, she deliberately had Hashimoto Masayoshi and others commit sabotage to drag Katsuragi Kohei down, resulting in massive point deductions.
This was textbook traitorous behavior.
During the sports festival, her absence due to physical reasons caused the class to lose points. Furthermore, she used personal points collected from her classmates as her own private slush fund.
These were all solid pieces of "black material" on Sakayanagi. Of course, one could also use their imagination to write some "essays" to smear and spread rumors about her. Since that "bratty loli" was full of bad schemes anyway, she deserved to be taught a harsh lesson by society!
"Attacking her personally... feels a bit wrong," Ichinose Honami said, shaking her head. Kind-hearted as she was, she was clearly unwilling to adopt such underhanded methods.
"As for coming clean to everyone..." A flash of hesitation appeared in Ichinose's eyes. Doing so would mean completely exposing her past, an unbearable history she didn't want to look back on.
"Nobody is perfect. Making a mistake isn't a big deal. Besides, there was a reason for what happened back then. I believe everyone will understand you." Hikigaya actually preferred that Ichinose choose the second method.
After all, only by facing one's past can one walk toward the future with dignity.
"R-Really? But... I'm a thief... a wretched criminal of theft!" Ichinose's voice trembled slightly. Even though two years had passed, she still occasionally remembered the day her mother dragged her to the store, pushing her head down to kneel and apologize. It was a public execution. Now, coming clean meant tearing that scar open once more.
"If you were in Class D, you would definitely be ostracized and spat upon. Fortunately, in your Class B, most people are naive and kind." Hikigaya believed that even if they knew her history, the people of Class B would likely embrace her. And if anyone dared to take the chance to bully Honami, Hikigaya could "discuss" the principles of classical mechanics with them!
"Yes, everyone in our class is a good child~" Ichinose finally breathed a sigh of relief, the knot in her heart slowly loosening.
"Good. The energetic Honami is revived." The process of soothing her was simpler than expected. Hikigaya had prepared for the worst, expecting to spend the entire night comforting her. Now, it seemed that wasn't necessary. "Since you're okay now, I'll head back."
Hikigaya moved to stand up and leave.
"W-Wait! Hachiman-kun! Actually... actually I'm not fully recovered yet... how about you stay with me a bit longer?" Ichinose seemed to realize her mistake too late, regretting that she had recovered so quickly. If she had known, she would have feigned depression to keep Hachiman there until the girls' dorm curfew, leading naturally to an overnight stay.
"I can stay, but is it necessary?"
"It's necessary! Extremely necessary!!"
"Then what should I do to help unknot your heart?"
"Mmm~ How about you help me rub it..." Ichinose crossed her arms and lifted her chest slightly.
"Wait... the 'knot in the heart' doesn't mean there's a literal knot on your chest, right?" Hikigaya's mouth twitched violently.
"It's all the same~ I even helped Hachiman-kun tame the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Can't Hachiman-kun help me undo the knot in my heart?" Ichinose leaned forward across the desk, slowly closing in on Hikigaya.
"Calm down! You need to calm down, Honami!!" Hikigaya held his hands up in front of him, backing away until his back hit the wall with nowhere to run.
"Mmm~ the one who needs to calm down is Hachiman-kun." A sharp light flashed in Ichinose's squinted eyes.
There were too many "stray cats" outside! she had to take this chance to capture Hachiman in one go!
At this critical moment, a doorbell suddenly broke the suggestive atmosphere.
Ding-dong, ding-dong~
"It's me, Honami-chan. If you're not asleep, can you let me in?" Shiranami Chihiro's voice rang out from outside.
Why now of all times!!
Ichinose responded with some annoyance: "Sorry, Chihiro-chan, I'm already asleep."
"Wait, how are you aslee— mmm!" As soon as Hikigaya spoke, Ichinose reached out and clamped her hand tightly over his mouth.
But the person outside still heard: "I think I heard a man's voice!" Shiranami Chihiro turned pale with shock and began pounding on the door. "Honami-chan! Open the door! Are you being held hostage?!"
"Mmm-mmm~" Hikigaya couldn't make a sound. Quite the opposite—he was the one being held hostage!
"N-No! You heard wrong, Chihiro-chan!" Ichinose tried to fool her.
"No! Something is definitely wrong! Honami-chan, hold on, I'm going to get help right now!" Shiranami Chihiro was frantic, imagining a criminal scene where a man had broken in to assault Honami.
"No, really there's nothing... sigh!" Realizing she couldn't stop the interference, Ichinose had to give up and opened the door.
"Honami-chan! Are you okay?" Shiranami Chihiro rushed in. Seeing Honami unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief, but then seeing a disheveled Hikigaya, she screamed in shock.
"Hi-Hikigaya-kun?! Why are you here! Coming to Honami-chan's room in the middle of the night... you must be planning something bad!" Shiranami Chihiro used her small body to shield Honami, staring at Hikigaya with wary eyes.
"Is it possible that I'm the victim here?" Hikigaya re-fastened his shirt buttons.
"Huh?" Shiranami Chihiro was stunned, turning to look at Ichinose in disbelief.
"No, I... I was just playing a joke with Hachiman-kun..." Ichinose gave a sheepish smile and scratched her hair.
"S-Sorry, Honami-chan... I didn't realize you were so... so bold..." Realizing she had ruined Ichinose's plan, Shiranami Chihiro was both guilty and shocked.
"Shiranami-san, you came at the right time. Keep Honami company and help her 'rub' the knot in her heart. Anyway, I'm leaving..." Hikigaya hunched over and fled Ichinose's dorm as fast as he could.
"Why is he walking hunched over?" Shiranami Chihiro watched his retreating back with confusion.
"Shiranami Chihiro!!"
"Present! Honami...?!" Hearing her full name, Shiranami shuddered like a child who had done something wrong, lowering her head, not daring to meet Ichinose's resentful gaze.
Smack!
Ichinose cupped Shiranami's face with both hands and rubbed it vigorously to vent her frustration. "Idiot, idiot, idiot! You made me miss a golden opportunity to tame the Tyrannosaurus Rex! Tell me, how are you going to pay me back!!"
Shiranami Chihiro's cheeks were squished into balls as she apologized tearfully: "Gomenasai..."
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The next day.
The storm of rumors had not stopped; it seemed that annoying "bratty loli" had no intention of letting up. Even though Class B ran around trying to debunk the rumors, it had little effect. The correct way to deal with a rumor is to create more rumors! Just like in society, whenever public opinion explodes, strange celebrity gossip always appears to distract the public...
Hikigaya was thinking about personally taking to the keyboard to write some shocking "essays." However, to his absolute surprise, someone had already started!
When he arrived at the school building and was changing into his indoor shoes, Hikigaya noticed that people around him were looking at him strangely, pointing and whispering.
"Damn you, Hikigaya!" Several boys from the class surrounded him, faces full of rage.
"Having another episode?" Hikigaya swept them with his dead-fish eyes. It was Okutani Kyosuke and his group of weaklings; they posed zero threat.
"You scumbag! How dare you... how dare you stretch your demonic claws toward our little angel Kushida!!
Why don't you just explode already!!!"
Facing their wails of extreme envy, Hikigaya was utterly bewildered. "What kind of mess is this? Speak human!"
"Bah! Stop playing dumb!" Okutani Kyosuke, the leader, held up his phone screen to an anonymous message: "Someone leaked information this morning saying you squeezed little angel Kushida's chest!"
Hikigaya froze, opening his mouth but finding himself speechless.
'Wait... that actually isn't a rumor!'
"Waaaaah! What's with that expression, you bastard? Don't tell me the message is true!!" Seeing that Hikigaya couldn't refute it, Okutani and the others' mental states collapsed further.
"There's also a leak saying you and Horikita Suzune kissed!"
"And that you have 10GB of Sakura Airi's high-definition swimsuit photos hidden away!"
"Someone saw Karuizawa, Matsushita, and Sato all entering your dorm."
"Hikigaya! Say something!!"
"..."
"You beast! You are absolutely criminal! No need for a trial, burn him at the stake immediately!!!"
At this moment, everyone's attention had shifted from Ichinose's rumors to Hikigaya.
"Hey, Hachiman-kun, aren't I smart? I successfully helped Ichinose." Karuizawa Kei giggled as she claimed credit.
"You sent out those anonymous messages?" Hikigaya looked at her, speechless.
"This was a countermeasure we all came up with together. Although it causes some trouble for Hachiman-kun, I imagine you don't care about the gaze of others, right?" Horikita Suzune looked at him seriously.
"Horikita! You have the nerve to say that? We agreed to make up some irrelevant rumors, but what you wrote was too much!" Kushida Kikyo attacked her angrily. It wasn't a rumor.
Horikita first locked eyes with Hikigaya, then turned her head away with a slight blush. "I think your made-up 'squeezing' incident is much worse than a first kiss!!"
"Mmm~ how do you know I made it up?" Kushida stood tall, a flash of pride in her eyes.
"And how do you know I made mine up?" Horikita bit her lip, refusing to back down.
"What did you say?!" The two rivals started bickering again.
"Speaking of which, it's really curious that Sakura-san would take swimsuit photos," Matsushita Chiaki said, looking scrutinizingly at the girl with thick glasses and plain braids. It was hard to imagine her taking so many sexy photos. 10GB for Hachiman's eyes only—what was her intention?
"U-Uh..." Sakura Airi stammered, unsure how to answer.
"You guys are all too much!!! Sneaking off behind my back!" Hasabe Haruka grabbed his hand, pouting. "Actually, I'm the only one who hasn't had an intimate incident with Hachiman; it's not fair!"
"Hey! Hasabe, talk all you want, but keep your hands off him!" Sato Maya followed up by grabbing his other arm.
"Step aside, you side-character girl."
"Huh? What nonsense are you talking!"
Hikigaya's head was buzzing. He said helplessly, "Everyone, I think the rumor storm has been cleared. You can stop acting now, right?"
In journalism, if multiple breaking stories happen at the same time, it distracts the audience's attention, causing them to quickly forget previous news. Hikigaya just hadn't expected them to be so united. To help Ichinose escape the whirlpool of public opinion, they were willing to self-expose!
Wait, these women couldn't be doing this on purpose, could they?
Because they didn't clarify the rumors and instead took a tacitly accepting attitude, it further stimulated Class D's perception of Hikigaya.
However, by now, envy and jealousy had lost their meaning. Academically excellent, athletic, and a hidden glasses-wearing hottie—the members of Class D suddenly realized that Hikigaya was extremely popular with girls.
Specifically, with high-quality women!
From this day forward, Class D's gaze toward Hikigaya was no longer one of disgust or exclusion, but awe!
"What a bunch of boring people..." Sensing the change in Class D's attitude, Hikigaya's heart remained untroubled. As a person of high solitude, he had never been affected by the gaze of others from start to finish.
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