Hikigaya's tone was a little harsh, and Ichinose frowned, clearly displeased. Kanzaki quickly stepped in to ease the tension.
"So, Hikigaya, did you co here just to talk about this?"
Hikigaya nodded. "You probably heard from Horikita about what happened at the hearing. If things were just minor conflicts before, they've now escalated into a full-blown 'war' between Class D and Class C. This won't end until one side falls.
"At this stage, Ichinose, your class shouldn't be getting involved anymore. The situation has changed completely."
Ichinose fell silent. It was clear she understood what Hikigaya ant. Kanzaki, who was standing nearby, also spoke up.
"That's right, Ichinose. We've already done enough. The way this situation is developing has gone beyond what we expected. We need to think about how our classmates feel too."
It was obvious Kanzaki didn't agree with Ichinose helping Class D any further. Maybe he never agreed from the start but held back because of Ichinose. Now, using Hikigaya's words as an opening, he finally voiced his thoughts, hoping to convince her.
"Kanzaki-kun, you..."
Ichinose was wavering. Even so, she still couldn't fully accept it.
"But... we already agreed to Horikita's request..."
"Horikita asked you to help prepare the surveillance equipnt, right?"
Ichinose nodded. Hikigaya continued.
"I see. Ichinose, I have a compromise. How about this? Instead of buying the equipnt yourselves, you lend the necessary points to Class D and let them handle it themselves. What do you think?"
Right now, Class D didn't have enough private points to buy the equipnt, which was why they sought help from Class B.
Kanzaki agreed.
"Ichinose, I think Hikigaya's idea is good. This way, we can still help Class D without getting too involved."
Ichinose glanced at Hikigaya and finally nodded in agreent.
After that, Hikigaya said he had other things to do and left in a hurry.
Watching his back as he walked away, Ichinose suddenly spoke.
"Kanzaki-kun, don't you think sothing feels off?"
"Off?"
"Uh... how should I put it? Hikigaya-kun felt like... an outsider just now. Sothing like that."
"But Hikigaya isn't a Class B student."
"Oh, that's not what I ant."
Ichinose thought for a mont, trying to put her thoughts into words.
"I an, it felt like Hikigaya-kun was talking about sothing that had nothing to do with him, like a total outsider."
"You an his attitude toward Class D... felt like an outsider's?"
Kanzaki finally understood what she was trying to say.
"Yeah, yeah! That's exactly the feeling! It's really strange. They're all classmates, aren't they?"
Ichinose seed genuinely confused.
"But I think it makes sense. If I had been placed in Class D, I'd probably act the sa way as Hikigaya."
Kanzaki didn't find it strange at all.
"Is that really it?"
Ichinose frowned slightly. She felt like sothing was off, but she couldn't quite put it into words.
...
After leaving the cafeteria, Hikigaya sent a ssage to soone. It was marked as read instantly, and not even a second later, a reply ca.
[Kushida: Bastard, what do you take for? A tool? A servant?!]
Kushida's response speed was insane.
Hikigaya thought for a mont, then opened his private points page and transferred 50,000 points over.
[Kushida: Just sent the money.]
[Kushida: Don't do this again!]
Seeing this, Hikigaya put his phone away and headed back to the dorm. Just as he reached the dorm entrance, he ran into Ayanokouji. Their eyes t for a brief mont, then they both entered the elevator without a word.
The ride was completely silent. Since they lived on the sa floor, they stayed side by side the entire way. But neither of them spoke.
It wasn't until Hikigaya was unlocking his door that Ayanokouji suddenly spoke behind him.
"Hikigaya, the thing with Sakura—Sudou asked for it. Horikita did it for the sake of her classmates."
Hikigaya turned and looked at Ayanokouji for a long mont. The two locked eyes in silence before Hikigaya finally spoke.
"So?"
Ayanokouji was briefly caught off guard but quickly returned to his usual blank expression.
"I'm just a ssenger. Don't get the wrong idea."
"Oh. Are you done?"
Hikigaya's voice was cold.
"Yes."
As soon as Ayanokouji finished speaking, Hikigaya slamd the door shut with a loud *bang*, leaving Ayanokouji standing there in silence.
Slowly, Ayanokouji furrowed his brows. For so reason, Hikigaya's reaction reminded him of sothing he had heard on a variety show not long ago.
"It's not about what you think. It's about what I think!"
—
Hikigaya returned to his room, his face dark. He picked up his phone again and opened his contacts, but this ti, instead of sending a ssage, he made a call.
"Hello, good evening, Handa-senpai. This is Hikigaya from first year. Yeah, I have sothing I'd like to ask you about. It's regarding..."
About ten minutes later, Hikigaya ended the call and stepped onto the balcony. He gazed into the quiet darkness of the night, lost in thought, until his phone suddenly rang.
"H-Hikigaya-kun, can you co to my room for a mont? I... I have sothing I want to talk to you about."
Sakura's voice sounded shaky, full of unease.
Hikigaya tightened his grip on his phone and tried to keep his voice steady.
"I'm coming now."
When he arrived at Sakura's room, she had her head down like a child who had been caught doing sothing wrong.
"H-Hikigaya-kun, did I do sothing wrong today?"
Back in the eting room, Sakura had already sensed that sothing was off about Hikigaya's expression. But at the ti, she had been too overwheld by fear and anxiety to think about it.
It wasn't until she returned to her dorm that she finally realized it—Hikigaya had been angry. Maybe others hadn't noticed, but she was certain.
And the reason... was probably because of her.
The thought filled her with guilt. And...
Sakura placed her cara—the one she always held tightly as if it were a precious treasure—on the table. Her eyes were full of reluctance, but she still spoke firmly.
"A-And this cara... I-I want to return it to you. I don't want to cause trouble for you, Hikigaya-kun."
—
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