The next day, Friday.
The class obviously doesn't know about the club yet. Kanzaki and Himeno Yuki are trustworthy people, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to relax like this.
Hikigaya's life remains unchanged.
In the classroom,
Himeno Yuki still doesn't interact with him, instead pretending not to see him, which makes Hikigaya reaffirm that this girl is just pretending to be good person.
Throughout the day,
Ichinose is always surrounded by classmates, she is worthy of being a top student.
Until after school.
That he finally finds an opportunity. he cautiously and covertly walks up behind her and lowers his voice:
"Ichinose, can I bother you for a moment?"
After all,
He has already caused harm to Ichinose. It wouldn't be surprising if he was rejected, so he's prepared for a long battle.
"Eh."
Ichinose makes an unusual sound and appears surprised. Does this guy move without a sound?
"Ah? It turns out to be Hikigaya-kun, You scared me..."
Ichinose also lowers her voice: "Sure, actually, I have something to say to Hikigaya too."
"Oh? Is that so? Thank you."
Hikigaya nods unexpectedly, puts his hands in his pockets and walks towards the school gate. Ichinose hesitates for a moment before walking beside him.
Both of them stay quiet, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.
Ichinose's face shows a complex mix of emotions, leaving her unsure of how to speak. However, it seems like Hikigaya is not too concerned, so, she also remains silent.
In less than a moment, the two of them arrive at the back of the teaching building.
If the two of them were to leisurely stroll through the Keyaki Mall Shopping Center, it might lead to unnecessary trouble for Ichinose.
So, they went for the nearest spot.
Hikigaya stops, takes out a fairly exquisite gift box from his bag, and hands it to Ichinose.
As an apology,
This is a gift he picked out at the convenience store last night.
It's not too expensive,
Just a 2,000 private points fountain pen.
This can be seen as a small gesture of his apology. His relationship with Ichinose is nothing more that.
"What is this?"
Ichinose is somewhat puzzled.
"Well, how should I put it."
Hikigaya chooses his words carefully: "Consider it an apology. I'm sorry for what I said to you the day before yesterday. But you don't need to worry about me specifically. Let's call it even, okay?"
While he may have unintentionally hurt Ichinose, he doesn't require her sympathy. This way, they can both move forward.
"..."
Ichinose gazes at the gift box before her, motionless for an extended period. Hikigaya feels somewhat powerless. Once a vase is shattered, it cannot be repaired.
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept this gift."
Ichinose shakes her head slightly.
"I see."
Hikigaya lowers his arm without taking it too much to heart.
After all, he has done what he should do. Whether or not she accepts it is up to her.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard Ichinose continue:
"I've been thinking about what you said the day before yesterday these past two days. The more I think about it, the more I feel that you're right. Maybe some part of me did want Hikigaya to fit into the class out of sympathy."
"And used an imperfect method that hurt Hikigaya's pride. So, I should be the one apologizing."
No.
Not at all,
My pride isn't that fragile,
Really!
"There's no such thing as pride."
Hikigaya avoids eye contact: "Even so, your original intention was not malicious at all. I also said some things that hurt you. I should be the one apologizing."
"But it's also true that my actions hurt Hikigaya."
Ichinose shakes her head slowly and starts looking for something in her bag.
"No... no."
Hikigaya is somewhat speechless. He has his own principles, and this girl just won't listen. So he defends himself:
"My heart is not that weak, and I'm not hurt at all. Compared to junior school, these things are trivial, so Ichinose doesn't need to apologize."
"Indeed."
Ichinose doesn't know about his past either. She takes out a delicate gift box and hands it to him:
"I don't know about your past, Hikigaya-kun. Maybe these things are trivial to you, but I feel that I've hurt you, and isn't that why you wanted to apologize to me?"
"So, can you accept this gift? Otherwise, I might not be able to forgive myself."
Ichinose holds the delicate gift box in both hands and presents it to Hikigaya.
Her words leave Hikigaya frozen in place.
Indeed.
Both of them want to apologize because they feel they've hurt the other.
However,
If he doesn't accept this gift,
Ichinose won't forgive herself, but he will not take it to heart
After all, their relationship is just so-so. As for whether it can go further, Hikigaya doesn't care much.
However
Unlike false gentleness,
Ichinose is a truly gentle girl.
Not only kind,
She's also a good girl who dares to face herself and bravely confront everything.
Judging from this gift,
Even if he didn't speak up today, Ichinose would find an opportunity to apologize to him.
For a moment,
Hikigaya is slightly stunned. After a while, he takes the gift box from her hand and nods:
"Alright."
"..."
Ichinose once again restores her warm smile like a spring breeze and gently takes the gift box from his right hand that belongs to her.
"So we're even now!"
"Well, yes."
Hikigaya is still somewhat stunned.
He accepted Ichinose's apology, and Ichinose also accepted his apology.
Indeed, they're even now.
In middle school, there were also gentle people who greeted him occasionally because of their gentleness.
However
He knows very well,
Ichinose's gentleness is different from theirs.
"So,"
Ichinose shows a brilliant smile: "Hikigaya-kun, can we become friends starting today?"
"Well, if you don't mind."
Hikigaya said somewhat embarrassedly.
"That's great."
Ichinose smiles and nods: "Thank you for your gift. But I'm sorry, I have an appointment with Chihiro and the others today, so I'll go first~"
As she said that.
Ichinose turns around and leaves with a light jog, leaving Hikigaya standing alone.
But this way, Hikigaya feels more comfortable
Back in the dormitory,
Hikigaya sits on the bed and opens the gift box from Ichinose.
Inside, there's a pendant featuring a cheerful smile, likely intended as a backpack decoration. Adjacent to it is a fan card with the message, "Smile more for greater happiness."
'Who would carry such a thing? It's too embarrassing.'
Hikigaya blushes slightly and is somewhat speechless.
He can't use such an embarrassing thing on his backpack.
But,
Since it's gift from someone
and it seems like it's the first time in his life that he has received a gift from someone else.
He should keep it well.
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