Hikigaya didn't want to linger any longer. The weight of the stares from everyone around him was stifling, so he grabbed his bag and left the classroom as quickly as he could.
But after a few steps, he let out a heavy sigh.
"Man, I've done something out of character again," he muttered to himself.
"Oh? Then why do it if it's not your style?"
"Because… Wait, what the—?!"
Hikigaya spun around, startled, only to find Koenji casually strolling beside him, as if he had been there the entire time.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Hikigaya scolded.
"How unfortunate. It's hard not to scare people when one is as magnificent as I am," Koenji responded with a smug grin.
"…Yeah, sure," Hikigaya replied flatly.
Normally, he'd have torn into Koenji's narcissism, but today he just wasn't in the mood.
"You seem a bit down, Fumu Boy. Is it because of Redhair-kun?" Koenji asked his smile still in place.
"I don't care," Hikigaya shot back immediately.
Koenji chuckled as he ran a small comb through his hair.
"You're worried Redhair-kun and I might end up in a fight. While there's no way he could beat me, if he did land a punch, he'd likely be expelled. You're trying to prevent that by stepping in first, aren't you?"
"As a member of the student council, I must stop fights between classmates," Hikigaya responded, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Heh, you're not very good at lying, are you?"
Koenji tucked his comb away and waved lazily as he started to walk off.
"Well, I have an appointment, so I'll be on my way."
Hikigaya watched him leave, relieved, but halfway down the hall, Koenji abruptly turned back around.
"Oh, one last thing, Fumu Boy," Koenji said, his voice unusually sharp.
"A word of advice: sometimes, too much kindness can be a dangerous thing."
"...Huh?"
Hikigaya was taken aback.
—Kind? Me?
The idea was so foreign to him that he couldn't wrap his head around it. Kindness wasn't something he associated with himself at all. Even helping Sudou earlier had been more about his satisfaction than any sort of kindness.
In the end, people just don't understand each other.
---
Hikigaya entered the library and sat down at his usual spot. Just as he was about to pull out his textbook, his phone buzzed. A message from Shiina popped up, saying she couldn't make it today because she had a tea ceremony club activity.
Did she need to tell me that?
Hikigaya couldn't recall making any specific plans to meet Shiina in the library, but he replied with a simple "OK" anyway.
Studying alone wasn't something he'd done in a while.
It's nice to have this kind of time once in a while. At least Hikigaya didn't mind solitude.
Loneliness could be calming.
"Hikigaya-kun, may I interrupt you for a moment?"
"…No."
Sadly, his peace was shattered before he could even enjoy it for ten minutes. Hikigaya looked up to see Kushida standing in front of him, her usual bright smile in place.
Why is she here? Is she going to talk about Sudou and the others again?
Please, spare me.
"Kushida, can you just—"
"It's not what you think," Kushida interrupted him, pulling out the chair opposite him and sitting down.
"What happened with Sudou-kun is settled, and that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Then what is it?"
Hikigaya looked around. They were in the library, so she wasn't likely to cause a scene. But with Kushida, you never knew. She could be unpredictable.
"I came to confirm something with you," Kushida said, her smile never faltering, though her tone had a certain seriousness to it.
"...What is it?" Hikigaya felt a sense of unease creeping in. This didn't feel like a casual conversation.
"We've known each other for over a month now, right?" Kushida lowered her voice, her eyes locked onto his.
"To be honest, you know more about me than anyone else at this school. I'd say we've built some level of mutual trust, haven't we?"
Hikigaya had seen the other side of Kushida, the side she hid from everyone else. He'd even used that knowledge against her when necessary, which made this situation all the more uncomfortable.
But despite the tension, there was a strange sense of familiarity. Maybe because they had communicated and collaborated enough to develop a sort of uneasy alliance.
Seeing that Hikigaya wasn't denying it, Kushida continued, "So, hypothetically speaking, if I wanted Horikita to drop out of school, would you help me?"
"...Why?"
"Huh?"
Kushida seemed more surprised by Hikigaya's response than he was by her question.
"You're not refusing?"
"I want to hear your reason first."
"But the student council president is Horikita-san's brother, right? Shouldn't you refuse immediately?"
Kushida seemed flustered, her carefully planned speech unraveling as Hikigaya threw her off her game.
"You seem to be mistaken about something. The president doesn't care about his sister at all. He'd probably be relieved if she dropped out of school and spared him the embarrassment of her being stuck in Class D," Hikigaya said, half-truth and half-lie.
It was true that Manabu Horikita had expressed a desire for his sister to leave the school.
If it were up to Hikigaya, he wouldn't have let his sister, Komachi, attend this kind of school in the first place.
"I see... So, Hikigaya-kun, would you help me?" Kushida's face lit up with a hint of hope.
"I said I'd listen to your reason first," Hikigaya replied with a bored expression.
"I don't particularly like Horikita, but I don't hate her either. I'm not going to target someone for no reason."
"The reason is... Horikita-san knows something about me."
"...What?"
Hikigaya hadn't expected that. Was Kushida worried that Horikita might use something against her?
But Horikita isn't the type to hold something over someone's head… is she?
"What does she know?"
Hikigaya pressed, sensing this might be important.
Kushida hesitated before speaking.
"Horikita-san and I went to the same junior high school. She knows things about my past."
"...A dark history?"
"...Yes."
"I see."
So that's what it is.
Hikigaya inwardly sighed. Everyone had skeletons in their closet, but Kushida's must be serious if it was enough to make her consider something as drastic as getting Horikita expelled.
But Hikigaya couldn't justify helping Kushida for something like this.
"Are you sure Horikita knows?"
Hikigaya asked, skeptical.
"She doesn't seem like the type to remember people from her past. She might not even realize you went to the same school."
"No, we weren't in the same class."
Wait, what?
If they weren't even in the same class, the chances of Horikita knowing anything about Kushida's past were slim. Hikigaya was taken aback. Kushida was being overly cautious, almost to the point of paranoia.
"But even if she knew, I doubt she'd say anything, right?" Hikigaya tried to reason with her.
"Hikigaya-kun, you don't understand!"
Kushida's voice suddenly rose, but she quickly lowered it again, realizing they were in the library.
"She might not say anything now, but that's only because she doesn't need to at the moment."
"...What do you mean?"
"Horikita isn't interested in other people, just like Ayanokouji!"
Hikigaya felt a surge of confusion at the mention of Ayanokouji. Why bring him up now?
But Kushida wasn't wrong. Ayanokouji was indeed someone who kept to himself, never showing any real emotion. Hikigaya had always avoided interacting with him for that reason.
As for Horikita… she was different. At least she cared about her brother and occasionally showed her emotions, unlike Ayanokouji, who was practically a robot.
"In other words, once Horikita achieves her goals, she won't hesitate to throw others under the bus," Kushida said, hugging herself tightly.
"Hikigaya-kun, do you understand what it's like to have a gun pointed at your head all the time?"
"...But, according to your logic, I'm in the same boat, aren't I?" Hikigaya countered.
"No, it's different."
Unexpectedly, Kushida smiled, and some of the tension left her face.
"I believe in you. I believe Hikigaya-kun will stand by me."
"And what makes you so sure?"
"Because… I know your secret, Hikigaya-kun."
Kushida leaned over the table, whispering in his ear.
"I know everything. This time, you worked with Ryuuen-kun from Class C through Shiina-san, right?"
Kushida's misunderstanding seemed to be growing, but her next words caught Hikigaya completely off guard.
"Someone saw the three of you together at the barbecue restaurant."