Chapter 64: Kushida – Hikigaya Might Be a Responsible Man
Hachiman walked to his desk and scanned the surface. No water bottle. He remembered handling documents here yesterday afternoon and must have forgotten it when he left.
"Left something behind," Hachiman said. "I'm here to get it."
Karuizawa stood up, walked over to him, and handed him the water bottle in her hand. "This is it, right? I saw you leave it here yesterday and thought I'd put it away for you."
Hachiman took the bottle and glanced down. The label with his name was still attached; the handwriting had faded a bit, but he could still make out the three characters for "Hikigaya."
"Yeah," Hachiman put the bottle into his bag. "Thanks."
Karuizawa shook her head, walked back to her seat, and sat down. Hachiman leaned against the desk, watching her. Karuizawa looked the same as always today, but something felt different. It wasn't her hair or her clothes; it was something more subtle—an aura radiating from her. He'd smelled it while dining with Sakayanagi, so he sniffed the air to confirm it.
"You're wearing perfume?" Hachiman asked.
Karuizawa's fingers paused on the desk. She looked at him; the expression in those eyes shifted from calm to surprise, then from surprise to an indescribable sense of resignation, as if to say, "You finally noticed."
"I've been wearing this for ages. You only just realized?" There was a hint of dissatisfaction in Karuizawa's voice, but the corners of her mouth were still upturned. "Girls don't just naturally smell like that, you know. Or what, who did you think I was?"
Hachiman was silent for a second.
"So," Hachiman weighed his words, "you've been wearing perfume all along?"
"Not all along." Karuizawa leaned back in her chair. "Only recently. The kind of perfume I used before, that 'gal' style, was too strong, and you said you didn't like—no, you never said that. It's just that I felt like you probably wouldn't like it. So I switched to something lighter." She paused. "Rose-scented."
Hachiman nodded. Rose-scented. He had smelled the same fragrance at noon. The one on Sakayanagi was also rose-scented. Karuizawa noticed he had suddenly gone quiet, and her brows furrowed slightly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Hachiman said. "I had lunch with Sakayanagi today and smelled the same scent."
Karuizawa froze slightly. Of course, she knew Sakayanagi.
Sakayanagi Arisu. The girl who had been led around by the nose by Hikigaya's inner monologues during the Priority User Exam, the one who resigned from her class representative position after falling from Class A to Class B, the one who walked back to her
tent alone on her cane at the end of the Sports Festival. And she was wearing perfume, too? Rose-scented? And Hikigaya had smelled it? Was it unintentional or deliberate? Karuizawa began to think.
After a while. "Sakayanagi-san..." Karuizawa's voice lowered. "She wears perfume, too?"
"Yeah," Hachiman nodded. "Same scent as yours."
Karuizawa fell silent. She looked down at her hands resting on her knees. Right now, a thought was spinning in her mind: Why would Sakayanagi wear perfume? Even though she hadn't had direct contact with Sakayanagi, she had observed her enough to know that a person like her never needed to care about other people's opinions. She wouldn't specifically choose a perfume just for the sake of "smelling nice."
Unless she wanted someone in particular to smell it.
Thinking of this, Karuizawa looked up at Hachiman. "Hikigaya," Karuizawa said.
"?"
"Have you ever thought that Sakayanagi-san wearing perfume might be to let someone smell it?"
Hachiman thought about it, then shook his head. "That shouldn't be it. Sakayanagi might be love-struck, but I don't see any signs of it right now. She's actually quite rational. For instance, she feels her class can't beat Class A, so she's already considering transferring over."
Karuizawa was stunned. Transfer? Sakayanagi Arisu was transferring to Class A? She stared at Hikigaya; the emotion in her eyes shifted from confusion to shock, and then to speechlessness. Because.
"Hikigaya," Karuizawa's voice sounded a bit strained.
"What is it?"
"Do you ever feel like... Sakayanagi-san... is in love with you?"
Now it was Hachiman's turn to let his fingers pause on the water bottle. He looked at Karuizawa, and she was looking back at him. There was no jealousy or tension in those wine-red eyes, only an earnest light waiting for confirmation. But.
"She doesn't love me," Hachiman said. "She just doesn't want to lose."
Karuizawa looked at him, silent for two seconds. "Are you sure?"
Hachiman didn't answer. He picked up the water bottle, put it in his bag, and zipped it shut. His movements were slow and deliberate.
"I'm leaving now," Hachiman said.
"Yeah." Karuizawa nodded.
Hachiman walked toward the door. When he reached it, he stopped without looking back.
"Karuizawa."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for putting my water bottle away."
"Don't mention it," Karuizawa's voice was very soft.
Hachiman pushed the door open and stepped out. The door closed gently behind him. Karuizawa sat in her seat, watching the closed door, and sighed softly. She leaned back in her chair, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. Sakayanagi Arisu loves Hikigaya. The thought swirled through her mind, over and over, refusing to stop. It wasn't jealousy; it was the relief of an "I knew it."
Likely, Sakayanagi had been paying attention to Hachiman since the VIP Exam. Not the attention between opponents, but something more personal—the kind of attention that only exists when you want to understand someone.
Karuizawa closed her eyes, then opened them. She suddenly felt that Sakayanagi and she were quite similar in certain respects.
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Time soon arrived at evening.
The lights on the shopping street turned on one by one, illuminating the entire street. Hachiman stood in front of the bookstore, holding a reference book he had just bought, waiting for a while. Kushida Kikyo walked over from the other end of the street. Because it was night, she wasn't wearing her school uniform but had changed into her own casual clothes. She was wearing a light-colored knit cardigan and carrying a small bag. Even as an "angel-like" beautiful girl, she still drew plenty of attention. However, her pace was steady as she walked up to Hachiman and stopped.
"So," Kushida's tone held a trace of resignation, "you asked me out again?"
Hachiman tucked the reference book into his bag.
"There are some things I wanted to ask your opinion on."
Kushida looked at him, her wine-red eyes reflecting a "knew it" emotion. She sighed and walked toward a nearby bench. "Let's sit. It's tiring to talk while standing."
They sat down on the bench. Pedestrians on the shopping street passed by in twos and threes—some looking down at their phones, some carrying shopping bags, others walking
side-by-side, whispering to each other. The streetlamp light fell upon them, casting their shadows on the ground as they sat quietly side by side.
"Does Sakayanagi like me?" Hachiman asked.
Kushida froze for a moment. Then. She turned her head to look at him. "You asked me out just to ask this?"
"Yeah."
Kushida stared at him for two seconds. "Aren't you the party involved in this kind of thing? Aren't you the one who would know best?"
Hachiman was silent for a second. "I'm not sure."
Kushida leaned back against the bench, her gaze fixed on the street ahead. Her brain was racing. She wasn't stupid; she felt that Hachiman asking her this wasn't because he didn't know the answer, but because he needed confirmation. He was currently dating Karuizawa, so even if other girls liked him or had good feelings for him, he wouldn't act on it. Therefore. This was his attitude of responsibility.
Kushida's fingers tapped gently on her knee. Because she suddenly felt a bit annoyed. Not at Hachiman, but at herself. Because, if she hadn't rejected him back then, would she be the one dating Hachiman right now? Would he be this responsible with her, too? Would he be unable to confirm if Sakayanagi liked him, and even if she did, would he reject her?
But this thought only swirled in her mind once, then twice, before she forced it down.
"Whether Sakayanagi-san likes you or not, I don't know," Kushida's voice was calm. "But she definitely cares about you. She's been paying attention to you since the VIP Exam. I can confirm that much."
Hachiman didn't speak.
"However," Kushida shifted gears, "you are currently dating Karuizawa. So even if Sakayanagi-san likes you, you wouldn't accept it, right?"
Hachiman glanced at her. "Yeah."
Kushida withdrew her gaze and said nothing more. To be expected, just as she thought. She leaned back on the bench, looking up at the streetlamp overhead. The light was blindingly white, but she didn't look away. The feeling of annoyance was still there, but she didn't want Hachiman to see it. After all, there's no point in speaking of regrets.
The two were silent for a moment. The pedestrians on the street gradually increased; people walked by them, footsteps, voices, and laughter blending together, echoing softly in the night wind.
"Why don't you just give Sakayanagi the money to let her transfer classes?" Kushida changed the subject. "Don't you have a lot of points? Twenty million shouldn't be much to you."
Hachiman leaned back, hands in his pockets. "If I bought it directly, Sakayanagi wouldn't accept it."
Kushida's brows twitched slightly.
"Her personality is troublesome," Hachiman said. "If you give her money, she won't take it. Instead, she'd feel like you're looking down on her. If you let her earn it herself, she'll see it as a sign that you acknowledge her capabilities. And if she's busy trying to get those points, she won't have time to do anything else."
Regarding the "won't have time to do anything else," Kushida felt it deserved emphasis. Because.
"You're acting as a guardian for Class A. You're treating Sakayanagi-san like a final boss to defend against," Kushida noted.
What Hachiman was doing was a form of protection—preventing Sakayanagi from interfering in his class's special exams. So, this was giving Sakayanagi work to do. Even if it was class competition, Sakayanagi's first thought would be to acquire points, not necessarily to gain an advantage in the score.
Hachiman didn't deny it.
Kushida leaned back on the bench, looking at the street ahead. She recalled the miserable state of Class C during the Sports Festival—having already fallen from Class A to Class B, then from Class B to Class C. Class C, led by Katsuragi, had been utterly crushed in the Sports Festival. It wasn't because they lacked strength; it was because their strategy was insufficient. When Sakayanagi was there, Class C could at least hold their position. But with only Katsuragi on stage, he couldn't handle it.
"Sakayanagi-san certainly has the capability," Kushida said. "Everyone saw what happened to Class C during the Sports Festival. They lost to Class B at the start, and in the end, even Class C lost. Leaving the arrangement solely to Katsuragi really wasn't enough."
Hachiman nodded.
"So, for this exchange exam," Kushida looked at him, "Class A vs Class C, Class B vs Class D. Did you arrange that?"
"No," Hachiman said. "It was Class C that declared war on us first."
Kushida's brows twitched slightly. "Class C took the initiative to challenge you?"
"Sakayanagi facilitated it," Hachiman said. "The gap between Class A and Class C is currently very large. If they face us directly, if Class C wins, they can close the 400-point gap. Of course, if they lose, the gap will widen by another 400 points. But, if you don't make an effort when you have the chance, you'll never have a chance again."
Kushida stared at him for two seconds. "So, you were actually waiting for Class C to declare war on you?"
Hachiman glanced at her, feeling that Kushida could be quite sharp sometimes. "Yes. Class D is in negative points; winning doesn't give them anything. Facing Class D isn't cost-effective. So, why set such a large point gap? I think the school is giving Class A and Class C a chance—allowing the fallen Class C a chance to climb back up. So, an A-vs-C battle is the correct choice."
Kushida was silent for a few seconds. Then, as if she had completely realized.
"So," Kushida evaluated, "that's why you're capable of leading your class up to Class A."
Hachiman looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"Your pattern of thinking isn't just about simple exam questions anymore," Kushida said. "You're thinking about why the school designed the exam this way, thinking about the intention behind the rules, and thinking about how every class will choose. While others are taking the exam, you're examining the person who wrote it."
Hachiman was silent for a second. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Kushida chuckled softly. "It was a compliment."
The two were silent for a while longer. The pedestrians on the street gradually thinned, and the streetlamps cast the entire street in a dim yellow glow.
"For this exam," Kushida changed the subject, "will Ayanokouji do anything?"
Hachiman thought for a moment. "Count on it. He'll definitely do something."
Kushida's brow furrowed. "Then will Class D win?"
"No," Hachiman said. "Class D will lose, no doubt. After all, what he wants is a class transfer, and Class D winning means nothing to him. So, his plan is likely to betray Class D to Class B to get points when necessary."
Kushida nodded. She wasn't surprised at all by the idea of Ayanokouji betraying his class. It's just that since Ayanokouji was going to pull some moves, it also meant she didn't have much room to maneuver in this exam. She couldn't earn points like she did in the Uninhabited Island exam, and couldn't act as a mole like in the VIP exam; she just had to take the exam honestly. She sighed softly.
"Then I guess I won't be making any extra money this time," Kushida said.
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