"Why are you here too?"
It was Saturday morning, in a quiet corner on the third floor of the library. Hikigaya had arranged to tutor Sakura in her weak subjects, but when he arrived, he found that she wasn’t alone— Hasebe was with her.
"What’s with that look, Hikki?"
Hasebe puffed up her cheeks like a little hamster, clearly displeased with Hikigaya’s reaction. "I need tutoring too! And my weak subjects happen to be the sa as Airi’s. What, are you unhappy about studying with two girls?"
"What else can I say when you put it like that?" Hikigaya sighed. Then he asked,
"But Hasebe, aren’t you paired with Miyake? If I rember right, his grades aren’t bad, so you two shouldn’t have much trouble, right?"
Hasebe was about average in terms of grades, and Miyake was also at a similar level. Normally, their pairing should be stable since neither would drag the other down.
But at Hikigaya’s words, Hasebe made a "headache" expression.
It was true that she and Miyake were a solid pair, but the problem was... their strong and weak subjects overlapped!
Just like Sakura, Hasebe struggled with certain subjects. The only difference was that, unlike Sakura, she at least had a partner to rely on.
Hasebe glanced at Hikigaya with an apologetic look. "I heard from Airi that you’re helping her study, so I shalessly tagged along. I don’t want to drag others or the class down. So... I’m counting on you, Hikki!"
After saying that, Hasebe put her hands together in a pleading gesture.
"I don’t mind."
Hikigaya scratched his cheek. Co to think of it, this was the first ti a girl had asked him for help like this.
"Yay!"
Hasebe almost jumped up in excitent but quickly rembered they were in the library. She hurriedly covered her mouth, but the happiness on her face was still obvious.
Hasebe was known for being cold and distant in class, almost on the sa level as Horikita. But unlike Horikita, Hasebe only seed that way. Once you got to know her, you’d realize she wasn’t cold at all—she was actually playful and energetic, just like any other normal girl.
After the midterm exam study groups were announced yesterday, Horikita, Hirata, and the others revived last sester’s study sessions. Every day after school, students were split into two tutoring sessions—one at 6 PM and another at 8 PM. But since there were only a few academically strong students in the class, tutoring everyone was exhausting.
That’s why smaller study groups like Hikigaya’s existed—one tutor helping two or three students, separate from Horikita and Hirata’s larger sessions.
"By the way, Hikki, I forgot to ask—who’s your study partner?"
During their break, Hasebe asked curiously.
"Karuizawa."
"Huh? Karuizawa, huh~"
"You don’t like her?"
Hikigaya asked casually.
"Not exactly. How should I put it..."
Hasebe rubbed her chin, looking a bit hesitant. "She was definitely annoying last sester, but after sumr break, she seed... different? I can’t really explain it, but she doesn’t feel as aggressive as before."
"But man, you sure have it rough being paired with her. I rember she used to talk bad about you behind your back all the ti!"
Hasebe looked a little concerned.
"Maybe."
Hikigaya gave a vague answer. Ever since Karuizawa was bullied by Manabe and the others during the sports festival, she had seed mostly the sa on the surface. But if you paid attention, you could tell she was changing, just like Hasebe said. She had lost a lot of her hostility and seed a bit softer now.
Before they knew it, it was already lunchti. Hikigaya had originally planned to eat alone, but he couldn’t turn down Hasebe and Sakura’s invitation, so the three of them went to the cafeteria together.
After lunch, when Hasebe asked Sakura what her plans were, Sakura hesitated for a mont before saying, "I-I’m going to the Keyaki Center to buy so cara maintenance tools."
"Huh? You take photos, Airi? I was planning to go to the mall too. Want to go together?"
Hasebe hooked her arm around Sakura’s as she spoke.
Hikigaya, who had been about to leave, suddenly stopped. "I need to go there too. How about we all go together?"
"Sounds good."
Hasebe didn’t think much of it, but Sakura gave Hikigaya a slightly puzzled look.
When they arrived at the Keyaki Mall shopping center, Hikigaya suddenly said he had sothing to take care of and walked off, leaving Hasebe and Sakura confused.
Hikigaya entered a café, ordered a coffee, and quietly waited. About ten minutes later, soone sat down across from him.
"Good afternoon, Shizuka-sensei."
Hikigaya stood up and greeted the woman across from him, but Hiratsuka Shizuka imdiately made a disgusted face.
"Hikigaya, that was creepy as hell."
"..."
"You wouldn’t call out unless there was trouble. Spill it—what’s the problem this ti?"
Hiratsuka ordered a coffee, crossed her legs, and leaned back.
Hiratsuka Shizuka had co because she received Hikigaya’s ssage. Otherwise, she usually didn’t have much contact with students. She figured he must have run into so trouble.
"It’s like this... Because I’m just a student, it’s hard for to investigate certain things. So, I wanted to ask for your help, Shizuka-sensei..."
Hikigaya looked serious as he explained his request.
Hiratsuka, who had been relaxed and casual at first, gradually beca more serious as she listened. By the ti he finished, she was already frowning.
"It’s not sothing that absolutely has to be done this way, so if it’s too much trouble for you..."
Hikigaya knew his request was difficult, so he was prepared for her to refuse.
"This isn’t a big problem. I can do it."
To his surprise, Shizuka-sensei agreed without hesitation. Then, she stared at him with a sharp look.
"More than the request itself, I’m just glad you ca to talk to . And don’t try to deny it—I bet if I had said no, you already had your own plan to deal with it!"
Hikigaya stayed silent. The truth was, he had only co to Hiratsuka Shizuka to give it a try. If this didn’t work... he had a backup plan.
Seeing his reaction, Hiratsuka gave him an "I knew it" look. And then, the next second—
"Oww! That hurts!!!"
She suddenly pinned him down and twisted his ear, glaring at him.
"If you ever run into sothing like this again, don’t try to handle it alone. Co to . Got it?!"
"Alright, alright! Let go already, you violent woman!"
At that mont, the dead-eyed boy deeply regretted his choices.
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