Caught off guard by someone suddenly speaking to him, Hikigaya felt puzzled. But before he could react, Kanzaki took the initiative to call out the girl's name.
"Himeno... When did you get here?"
"Don't make it sound like I was eavesdropping. I was here first."
The girl, called Himeno, looked visibly displeased.
If he remembered correctly, she was also a student from Class A. Back on the uninhabited island, Hikigaya had caught a glimpse of her once.
But how to describe the impression she gave… Saying she had zero presence would be an understatement. Other than her blue-dyed twin tails, nothing else about her had left any strong impression.
She just felt like one of the many girls who stuck around Ichinose.
Wait a minute—did Kanzaki really not notice his own classmate when he entered the store?
Strange. Why did this feel familiar?
"I finally found a quiet place to be alone for a while, and you two come in and start chatting nonstop. Seriously annoying."
"…Sorry, we'll keep it down."
Judging by Kanzaki's expression, he hadn't expected Himeno to approach them just to complain.
Hmm, her way of speaking was definitely different from the other students in Ichinose's class.
It wasn't that she was impolite, but she also didn't carry the same seriousness as the others.
If anything, she gave off a slight sense of detachment—something foreign, something out of place.
At least, that's how Hikigaya saw it… Well, aside from that one girl, Shiromi, who seemed to have some weird grudge against him.
"And you."
Himeno suddenly turned her attention to him.
"What's with that 'the girls in your class just whimper and cry' nonsense? I've never done anything like that."
"…Oh, so that's what you're upset about." Hikigaya scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
His original intent had been to encourage Kanzaki to step up for his class, but in doing so, he had unintentionally offended someone innocent—wait.
Was she innocent, though?
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes at Himeno, frowning as he asked, "Since you're saying that, then what exactly have you done?"
"Huh? That has nothing to do with you."
Himeno was momentarily at a loss for words, glancing away with an awkward expression.
In other words, she had done nothing.
"Well, it's true that this has nothing to do with me since I'm from another class." Hikigaya nodded. "But Kanzaki was the one asking for my opinion, so I just answered honestly. I wasn't trying to target anyone."
"Tch. Asking for your opinion. He was just whining to you."
"…Whining?"
Hikigaya and Kanzaki were both left speechless.
Putting everything else aside, could she not use phrasing that would cause unnecessary misunderstandings?!
If this were Sobu High, he could already hear the faint sound of someone going 'fufufu~' in amusement.
Wait… Wasn't he hearing it even now?
"Am I wrong?" Himeno said, her expression bored. "It looks like he's asking for your opinion, but in reality, he's just beating around the bush to ask for your help. After all, Kanzaki-kun has way too much pride to just come out and say it."
"…Himeno, you—"
For once, the usually calm and composed Kanzaki looked embarrassed.
So she was right, huh?
But then, Himeno fired another shot at Hikigaya.
"Don't just stand there looking entertained. Aren't you the same? You deliberately mocked Kanzaki-kun and used our class as a way to provoke him. That kind of cheap provocation is way too outdated. And even if Kanzaki-kun refused to take action, you weren't planning to just sit back and do nothing either, were you?"
"…And what makes you think that?"
Though she had completely hit the mark, Hikigaya remained unfazed, still acting stubborn.
"Back on the uninhabited island, you suddenly helped our class gain a ridiculous number of points. You did it all for Ichinose, didn't you?"
"No, I was just getting paid for a job."
That was the official excuse given to Class A. Only a handful of students knew the real truth.
At the time, Hikigaya had been thinking about how Ichinose's leadership position could be jeopardized and how that might affect the class's morale. That was why he had stepped in.
But looking back… maybe he had been wrong.
If he had convinced Ichinose to be honest with her classmates back then, maybe she would've been able to face her past head-on instead of hiding from it like an ostrich.
…Why did he always make the wrong choices?
Back then too, if only I—
"Quit lying to yourself."
Himeno suddenly cut through his self-reflection.
"Everything you just said is a complete lie. With Ichinose's personality, do you think she'd pay someone from another class for help? She'd just say something like 'Let's all work hard together!' She's not that cunning."
"…Wow. You have a way with words."
"Am I wrong? I don't know what the real story is, but I know what you just said was a lie."
Himeno's voice carried an unshakable certainty, and Hikigaya had no rebuttal.
If he tried to deny it now, he'd just make himself look like a joke.
"Earlier, you even said Ichinose is like the 'mom' of our class. So what does that make you? A nosy dad?"
"Ugh…"
With nothing to say, Hikigaya could only lean closer to Kanzaki and whisper, "Hey, what's with this girl? Why is she dissing me so hard?"
"Uh… I only know that Himeno doesn't talk much in class. I don't know anything else about her."
From that alone, it was clear that Kanzaki barely registered Himeno as anything more than just another classmate.
That was also Hikigaya's first impression of her.
Which made this all the more contradictory.
If Himeno had been keeping a low profile this entire time, then she shouldn't have been the type to interject like this.
If she truly wanted to stay unnoticed, the best thing to do would have been to pretend she hadn't heard anything at all.
…Ah, I see.
Hikigaya suddenly thought of a way to counter and smirked faintly. "Your name is Hime...no, right? Just now, you said Kanzaki was... well, that thing towards me."
He really couldn't bring himself to use the word "acting spoiled" for a guy, so he decided to skip it.
"But what about you? You've been talking to me all this time—aren't you also, in a roundabout way, acting spoiled?"
"Hah?! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?!" Himeno immediately flared up like a startled cat. "I just can't stand you criticizing our class like that! Just because you helped out doesn't mean we have to bow down to you!"
"You're overthinking it. I don't care about your gratitude."
Now that his opponent was getting flustered, Hikigaya felt like he was regaining the upper hand. His thoughts were becoming clearer.
"We're just discussing the facts. You were upset about what I said earlier—'Boohoo, as long as Honami-chan is here, everything will be fine,' right?"
"…Your personality is really annoying."
"Right back at you," Hikigaya replied nonchalantly. "Back to the point—if you're dissatisfied with that statement, what have you done about it? Or are you just going to sit there complaining?"
"But… what can I even do?"
As she slowly calmed down, Himeno began to express her true feelings.
"I really hate the atmosphere in our class lately. Everyone genuinely cares about Ichinose and wants to help her, but the moment she says, 'Don't worry about it,' it's like they all get hypnotized. They blindly trust that she can handle everything and don't even consider what happens if she can't."
"Himeno, I didn't expect you to be so concerned about Ichinose… no, rather, I didn't expect you to see things so clearly," Kanzaki said with a sigh, perhaps moved by the feeling of finding an ally.
But Himeno rolled her eyes at him. "Don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I hate Ichinose—in fact, I actually kind of like her. But more importantly, if we want to maintain Class A's position, we can't do it without her. If she doesn't snap out of it soon, our class is doomed."
"Yeah… I can't say you're wrong about that."
It sounded harsh, but it was one of the reasons Kanzaki had taken action.
Perhaps the outcome of the previous training camp had given him a sense of crisis.
"Anyway, I know I'm being kind of hypocritical here." Himeno turned to Hikigaya, finally voicing what was on her mind. "Our class would never go against Ichinose and act on their own. They're all just talk—saying they don't want to burden her, but in reality, they just don't want to stick their necks out… And honestly, I'm no better. Rather than relying on them, I might as well rely on you, someone from another class."
…So that's how it is.
Himeno was the type who saw through everything but chose not to say anything. For the sake of her own peaceful school life, she forced herself to blend in with the class and ultimately went with the flow.
That's why she hadn't spoken up until now, and probably wouldn't in the future either.
Situations like this weren't uncommon. In fact, they were quite frequent—just like with Yuigahama and Ebina.
In a normal school, this approach wouldn't be a problem. It might even lead to an easy, pleasant life.
But this was Advanced Nurturing High School. Most students were here to graduate as Class A, and that was a three-year-long battle.
It seemed Himeno and Kanzaki shared the same sense of crisis.
She joined this conversation because she saw that Ichinose was unreliable at the moment and hoped that the only person willing to take action—Kanzaki—could step up.
…Why does this feel so familiar?
Hikigaya nodded slightly. "I get what you're saying."
"Since that's the case, I've said everything I need to. What you do next is up to you."
"That's right. No matter what you say, my decision has been the same from the start."
Even if he hadn't run into Himeno here, Hikigaya would have followed through with his plans.
But this conversation wasn't meaningless. At the very least, for Class A, it could be the catalyst for change.
"Let me make one thing clear—I'm not trying to lecture you from a high horse. But think about it: is it good for your class to keep relying on others to solve your problems?"
"…I want to fix this situation."
Himeno remained silent, but Kanzaki clenched his fists in frustration.
"But right now, our class is overwhelmed with anxiety. People are even more blindly convinced that Ichinose will handle everything, and since she isn't doing anything, no one will listen to me no matter how much I speak up. Worse, Ichinose herself would step in to stop me before I could even try. In the end, everything just circles back to the same problem."
"Then do it in secret," Hikigaya suggested again. "I already mentioned the joint petition idea, right? Even if you can't get the whole class to sign, ten people should be doable. That would be enough for the school to take notice, and the student council would have to address it."
"But…"
"Between you and Himeno, you can't even find eight more friends?"
Hikigaya wasn't about to spout some pretty words like, "If you want to do it, you definitely can."
But if they gave up without even trying, then one day, when they hit rock bottom, it would be entirely their fault.
"Hold on, don't count me in," Himeno protested.
Still trying to stay out of it… what a cunning woman.
"You don't have to do anything," Hikigaya said indifferently. "But let me tell you this—don't assume that just because you're in Class A now, you'll stay there forever. Your class is already showing signs of decline. Falling is just a matter of time."
In the past two special exams, Class A had accomplished almost nothing.
Whether it was Paper Shuffle or the mixed training camp, they should have had the advantage.
Even back in the first uninhabited island exam… Though he hated to say it, if not for his help, they wouldn't have scored nearly as many points.
"If you don't change this 'friendly classmates' atmosphere, the day your class falls, you might never get back up."
To put it bluntly, the other three classes had all faced setbacks and hardships.
Only Class A, under Ichinose's excessive protection, had never truly experienced consequences.
A simple "Let's do better next time" was all it took to move on.
If this were a corporate setting, people who liked slacking off would love this kind of cushy company.
But if the company collapsed because of it, that was another story.
"…So you're saying that if we change, we won't fall?" Himeno's tone finally wavered.
Hikigaya had no intention of lying to her, so he immediately denied it. "There's no such guarantee. And change isn't something that happens overnight. Your class might already fall before you can turn things around."
"Sigh… You're not making this sound appealing at all."
"But there is one good thing." He shifted the conversation. "It would give you a chance to climb back up. No matter how high your rank is, it's only temporary. The real key to victory is the determination to keep climbing."
Not giving up was easy to say but hard to do.
Just look at the second- and third-year Classes C and D. They probably entered this school full of ambition, determined to reach Class A.
But now, they had completely lost that drive.
No matter how things turned out, Hikigaya didn't want Ichinose and her class to follow in those footsteps.
"…Ugh, why do I feel like I got tricked?"
Himeno fell silent for a while before suddenly groaning and clutching her head in frustration.
"I originally planned to use your perverted mind to solve Ichinose's problem, so why did I end up boarding your pirate ship instead?"
"How can you blame—hmm?"
Did I just hear something really unpleasant… or was it just my imagination?
"What did you just say? Perverted mind? Whose?" Hikigaya couldn't help but ask.
"Who else? Of course, yours." Himeno shot him a glance and said in an annoyed tone. "You've been aiming for Ichinose since the deserted island, haven't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so dedicated. Boys are really easy to figure out."
"Hey, hey, Himeno, maybe tone it down a bit?"
Just as Hikigaya stood there dumbfounded, Kanzaki stepped in to speak on his behalf.
"Romance between men and women is natural, but an outsider prying too much isn't good."
"Wait a second, you still think I like Ichinose?"
How strange. Why does everyone automatically assume that helping someone means liking them?
This is just the Service Club's job!
"Isn't that the case?" Himeno lazily countered. "Then explain yourself. It's not just the deserted island incident—this rumor thing has nothing to do with you either. You had no reason to get involved."
"Who said it had nothing to do with me? I was caught up in the rumors too, okay?" Hikigaya immediately refuted.
Good thing he prepared in advance—just for moments like this to shut people up.
However, Himeno simply let out a dismissive chuckle.
"Don't make excuses. If that were the case, you should've gone after Class B instead. There was no need to help our class. Going that far is just unnecessary—I can't think of another word for it."
"…That's just because your vocabulary is lacking."
Though he threw in a small jab, it didn't seem to have much effect.
Especially with the way Himeno smirked, as if she had already seen through everything. It made Hikigaya even more unwilling to accept it.
Meanwhile, Kanzaki rubbed his temples as if he had a headache, muttering under his breath, "Is this really something that needs to be questioned?"
These two…
"Alright… I'll be honest!"
To prevent any further misunderstandings, Hikigaya decided to set things straight.
Annoyingly, after he finally mustered the resolve, the two of them looked utterly uninterested.
Hey! You two were the ones who brought this up in the first place!
"Actually, I just… I… I…"
Surprisingly, it was much harder to say out loud than he had expected.
Hikigaya kept stammering on "I" for a long time. Just as Kanzaki and Himeno were about to yawn from waiting, he finally got the words out.
"I just think Ichinose is pitiful."
"…What?"
That answer seemed to catch both of them off guard.
Hmm, well, yeah—it does sound a little arrogant.
After all, Ichinose was the leader of Class A, had countless friends, and was basically the pinnacle of a popular, high-achieving girl.
A winner in life like her—what right did Hikigaya have to pity her?
But feelings don't lie.
"No, think about it," Hikigaya hurriedly explained. "Ever since the training camp, Sakayanagi has been spreading all sorts of rumors about Ichinose, yet she hasn't fought back even once."
Seeing that they still didn't fully grasp his point, he continued, "It's like seeing a fight on the street. If one person keeps getting beaten up without retaliating, most people would feel bad for them, right? They'd consider stepping in to help, wouldn't they?"
"Of course not. What does that have to do with me?" Himeno answered, looking completely baffled.
Kanzaki, however, frowned. "Hikigaya, are you saying that even during the deserted island incident, you helped Ichinose out of sympathy?"
"Yeah. Back then, she got tricked by Ryuuen and lost two million points trying to help Class D, so I wanted to give her a hand."
Hikigaya nodded repeatedly. At this point, there was no point hiding it anymore.
But Kanzaki's frown deepened. "You mean the fight involving Sudou? I remember you weren't involved in that. And technically, Ichinose was helping Horikita and Ayanokoji, wasn't she?"
"…And what's the problem with that?"
After being stunned for a moment, Hikigaya finally squeezed out that response.
He wasn't doing this for anyone's gratitude.
He simply wanted to satisfy himself.
So, even if it hadn't been Ichinose, it wouldn't have made a difference.
That sense of sympathy had nothing to do with gender or appearance—it was just his own arrogance and excessive self-awareness at play.