Chapter 43: The Bonds of Friendship
Hachiman Hikigaya, an "ordinary" High School Student, has no special hobbies, nothing he's particularly good at, and no grand goals. But despite being such a seemingly useless person, something unusual happened to him (For plot reasons, some settings will be modified slightly, but it won't affect characters' personalities).
How should I put it, Hachiman Hikigaya felt it wasn't his fault. Although his sister and friends all said he shouldn't have gotten injured just to save a dog... but that kind of thing wasn't something he could control, right? After all, that morning, he had rushed forward without a second thought when he saw the dog, and he didn't even understand what he had done until he was knocked to the ground. It was only after feeling the pain in his leg that he understood everything.
"What, could it be that I really am a fool, just as Komachi and Aragaki said?"
Sitting in the classroom, Hachiman Hikigaya looked out the window listlessly, his mind wandering. Of course, it was lunch break now; if it were during class, he certainly wouldn't be like this—well, especially during that teacher's class, the one who wears a white lab coat.
"Ah? Hayama, I didn't expect you to have this kind of experience too; I couldn't tell at all..."
The sound of students chatting loudly came from the side, but this slightly noisy sound made Hikigaya I couldn't help it frown.
"Even though it's lunch break, doing this will affect others..."
Complaining like this in his heart, Hachiman Hikigaya had no intention of standing up to stop them, because there was no need... well, it might also be because he chickened out, at least Classmate Hikigaya was brave enough to admit this.
"Hey, Hikigaya, someone's looking for you..."
A classmate's voice came from the classroom door.
"Okay."
Hikigaya responded, wondering in his heart who would be looking for him. After all, he had just returned to school today and only knew a few people. As for someone seeing him and falling in love at first sight... "Ah~ what kind of daydream am I even having?"
Silently mocking himself in his heart, Hachiman Hikigaya still walked toward the classroom door.
"Hmm? Why is it you?"
Looking at Aragaki Takiya standing at the classroom door, Hachiman Hikigaya had a look of disbelief on his face.
"What's with that expression, Hachiman? After all, I'm a student in the next class, so isn't it normal for me to appear here?"
Aragaki Takiya had a 'you've got to be kidding me' look on his face, then stuffed the sandwich and juice from the shopping bag into the other's hands.
"Komachi asked me to buy them for you. She was worried that after being discharged, you'd be too lazy to go to the convenience store because of your injury, so I just bought your portion along with mine."
Looking at the somewhat confused Hachiman Hikigaya, Aragaki Takiya showed the message on his phone and explained.
"As expected..."
Hachiman Hikigaya didn't say much. In fact, he had already guessed. After all, although he and Aragaki Takiya were good friends, he hadn't informed him in advance about being discharged this time. The only person who could make Aragaki Takiya accurately do this was his sister, Hikigaya Komachi.
"Um, thanks."
Hachiman Hikigaya scratched his head and finally said this sentence.
"No need for thanks, since I didn't plan on delivering it at first anyway..."
Pausing for a moment, Aragaki Takiya continued.
"After all, who could have known you'd be discharged today? I had no idea. If Komachi hadn't messaged me, I'd still be in the dark."
"Ah, because I didn't want to cause too much trouble. Since I've already been discharged, walking isn't a problem..."
Hachiman Hikigaya kept talking. This speaking speed actually surprised Aragaki Takiya; he didn't expect that the original dead-fish-eyed Hikigaya could say so many sentences in such a short time. This was the first time he had seen such a situation.
"Alright then, I'll head back first. I'm just in the class next door. If you need any help, just message me directly. Oh, and message me in advance; I have other things to do after school."
After a few casual words, Aragaki Takiya didn't stay any longer and chose to return to his own classroom. It couldn't be helped; the lunch break at schools here in Japan isn't very long, only about an hour, and he had just spent quite a bit of time buying bread. If he didn't speed up, he'd probably go hungry... "I'm back..."
Greeting Kato Megumi who was sitting at the desk in front, Aragaki Takiya sat firmly in his seat.
"Eh? Aragaki, you took quite a long time this time. You'd better hurry up and finish lunch, or class will start in a bit..."
Kato Megumi, sitting in front, adjusted her posture and turned around to speak.
"I know. Actually, there's a reason I came back late today."
While responding to Kato Megumi, Aragaki Takiya didn't stay idle. He quickly tore open the bread's packaging and started eating.
"I remember telling you, Kato, that I have a friend named Hikigaya. Something happened to him a while ago and he was hospitalized..."
Looking at the girl's somewhat curious gaze, Aragaki Takiya slowly explained.
"Then he was discharged today without telling me. It was his sister who notified me via text, saying it was a bit inconvenient for him since he just got out, and asked me to help buy him lunch. Then we chatted about some other things for a bit..."
After listening to Aragaki Takiya's explanation, Kato Megumi also sorted out what had just happened, but compared to before, a different emotion had emerged in her heart.
Because of Kato Megumi's own invisible nature, she usually rarely helped others with things; the most she did was run errands for her mother, pick up the newspaper for her father, or help a teacher call a classmate.
She had naturally heard of help between classmates, but when she came into such close contact with it, the concept of friendship contained within gave her a first impact. Just now, Kato Megumi felt that her impression of friendship had deepened a bit more.
"I feel like I could do something like that too..."
Perhaps thanks to the Game Club, Kato Megumi had met several people with different personalities through this club, and she had learned many things during this time. However, she hadn't forgotten the reason she joined the club.
Before becoming an eye-catching heroine, Kato Megumi still had a wish. Although the boy in front of her might no longer remember that matter, it didn't matter as long as she remembered it.
"Kato, Kato..."
While Kato Megumi was spacing out, a voice suddenly came. The girl's thoughts were pulled back to reality from her contemplation. She blinked and then looked at the boy beside her.
"Uh, I saw you were spacing out just now, so I wanted to remind you that class is about to start..."
"Oh, okay."
Kato Megumi responded softly, her expression unchanged, as she readjusted her posture to prepare for class. After all, there was still plenty of time, and she was in no hurry for this moment.
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