Things can change so rapidly and unexpectedly.
The seemingly sweet and beloved "angel" of Class D suddenly revealed a dark side, transforming into a devil. Even more surprising, this devil was swiftly defeated.
"Hikigaya… who are you?"
Kushida asked, her face pale and her eyes wide with disbelief. She stared at him, unable to reconcile the inconspicuous classmate in front of her with the one she had known.
"Who do you think I am?"
Hikigaya replied calmly.
Kushida's expression shifted to one of realization.
"Ah, so you're like me. You hide your true self behind a façade. You appear harmless on the outside, but inside, you're even more ruthless than me."
"I won't deny that," Hikigaya admitted. He knew he wasn't exactly a saint.
"So, what do you want?" Kushida asked, taking a deep breath as if accepting her fate.
"If you promise not to tell anyone about this, I can give you anything you want. Do you want points? I can give you all of mine when they're distributed next month," Kushida said, blinking at him in a seemingly innocent manner.
"Or do you want me to become your slave?" she added, her tone revealing the depth of her desperation.
Hikigaya was taken aback by Kushida's extreme offers. He couldn't help but wonder if gaining others' approval was so crucial to her. This was a new level of manipulative behavior for him. He wasn't keen on commenting on Kushida's life choices, but this was pushing it too far.
As he contemplated, Hikigaya glanced at her and then abruptly slapped her. Kushida gasped and let out a startled scream, which seemed to be part of her act.
It became clear to Hikigaya that Kushida had reverted to her original, more familiar persona.
The situation was becoming increasingly unsettling.
"Shut up. Girls shouldn't make such accusations; it just causes misunderstandings,"
Hikigaya said sternly.
"I understood your need to vent and wasn't going to tell anyone, but you escalated things unnecessarily."
"Then why not just delete the recording?"
Kushida asked, her voice now sweet and coaxing.
"No way," Hikigaya responded firmly.
He was determined not to give in. He knew that any sign of leniency would only encourage her manipulative behavior.
This was his first encounter with someone as disturbingly manipulative as Kushida. He had thought she was just another high-functioning student like Isshiki, but she was proving to be far more troublesome
---
Compared to Isshiki, the cunning little devil, Kushida was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"Tsk, what do you want, Dead Fish Eyes?" she sneered, dropping her facade once again, her patience evidently wearing thin.
Hikigaya Hachiman took in the scene before him. Somehow, this version of Kushida felt more authentic, even if it was less palatable. "If you do something for me, I'll delete the recording."
Kushida's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
"Most of the class is full of irritating people, but a few stand out as particularly unbearable."
Hikigaya took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if what he was about to do was right, but he didn't have the luxury to care anymore.
"You mean Ike, Yamauchi, and Shinohara?"
Kushida guessed, her voice laced with disdain.
"They've been badmouthing you in the group chat—calling you a dead-eyed loner, saying you're arrogant and two-timing. They even discussed whether they should start bullying you."
"I see…" Hikigaya muttered, his expression darkening.
The accusations stung, especially the two-timing bit. That was something he couldn't ignore. After all, he'd never even been in a relationship, let alone two at once.
"Fortunately, they haven't acted on it," Kushida continued with a sarcastic smile. However, there was a flicker of unease in her eyes as she looked at him as if recognizing the threat he posed.
The unknown was always the most frightening.
"But now, it seems you don't intend to let them go," she added, her tone slightly more conciliatory.
"Do you want me to help them drop out of school? If I agree, will you delete the recording?"
Hikigaya felt a wave of disgust. During the midterm exams, this same girl had been preaching about how she would never give up on any of her classmates. Yet, here she was, ready to throw them under the bus. What a hypocrite.
"What nonsense are you spouting? If I wanted them expelled, I could have done it long ago. But expulsion is too easy."
"…Huh?"
Kushida blinked, clearly taken aback by his response.
Hikigaya's voice was low, filled with a cold intensity.
"The greatest punishment for a person is to take away what they care about most. Would being expelled be what you care about most?"
"Of course," Kushida replied without hesitation.
Hikigaya's smile turned malicious.
"But it's not what you care about the most, is it? If you had to choose between social death and dropping out, which would you pick?"
Kushida's face darkened, and her silence speaks volumes.
"So, you understand, don't you?"
Hikigaya's gaze bore into her.
"Those guys—no talent, no abilities—but they think they're big shots because they have a few cronies. They even dare to show off in front of me. They're asking for trouble."
The malice in his eyes made Kushida break into a cold sweat, though she couldn't deny a strange sense of familiarity.
"W-What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to rally the rest of the class against them. Isolate them, make them outcasts."
Kushida was stunned by his audacity.
"You want to turn them into the lowest of the low?"
Hikigaya sneered.
"If they care so much about their social standing, I'll strip it from them. I'll make sure no one listens to them, no one acknowledges them. They'll be nothing more than powerless nobodies."
"You're... twisted."
Kushida was taken aback, but she couldn't help feeling a certain respect for his ruthlessness.
"I get what you want, but I'm only good at making friends, not crushing people. I don't think I can do it."
Hikigaya almost laughed.
"Stop pretending with me."
He decided to cut to the chase. "When you and Horikita went to the library for the first time, you deliberately let the conflict between Horikita and Sudo escalate before stepping in. That way, you not only made them dislike Horikita but also polished your image. Did you think no one would see through your little act?"
Kushida clicked her tongue in annoyance, a sign of reluctant agreement.
"But you're smart enough not to sow discord directly," Hikigaya continued.
"You're more than capable of handling the idiots in Class D. Most of them are wrapped around your finger, anyway. This isn't that hard."
"...Yamauchi and the others, I can manage," Kushida admitted, albeit reluctantly.
"But Shinohara's different. She's tight with Karuizawa, and Karuizawa's been cozying up to Hirata lately. She won't be easy to handle."
"Are you serious? You can't even deal with Hirata?"
Hikigaya didn't give her the chance to back out. But he knew he couldn't just leave her to it.
"How about this: if you run into any trouble, I'll assist you as needed. Deal?"
A sly smile spread across Kushida's face. Hikigaya felt a shiver of unease run down his spine.
"Sure. That sounds like a good plan," she agreed, her voice dripping with sweetness.
Hikigaya's instincts screamed at him to be cautious, but sometimes, caution wasn't enough.
"Hikigaya-kun, I need your help right now." Kushida's voice turned sugary, almost cloying.
"Didn't you say you understand my need to relieve stress? I"
"...What do you mean?" Hikigaya asked, his voice tinged with suspicion.
"It's simple," she said, her demeanor abruptly shifting as her smile vanished. "I want you to listen to me curse Horikita, that bitch, to death!"
"Eh?"
And just like that, late at night in a deserted alley, Hikigaya found himself trapped. He was forced to listen to Kushida's rants about Horikita and the others for over an hour, agreeing with her venomous words at every turn.
Fortunately, there was a vending machine nearby. Whenever Kushida got thirsty, she'd grab a free bottle of water or an energy drink and keep going. It seemed like her spite knew no bounds.
Why didn't I kick that vending machine to pieces earlier?
"Hikigaya, are you listening?!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening!"
Hikigaya sighed. It felt like he had messed with the wrong person this time.
Ugh, keeping up this act is so exhausting…
I haven't even had my ramen yet…