For now, the situation had been resolved, and everything moving forward would depend on Hirata and Kushida.
Meanwhile, Monday was Haruno's birthday…
With only two days left, Hikigaya still hadn't decided on a gift.
It wasn't that he hadn't given her gifts before, but back then, he simply followed Komachi's advice on what to get and covered the payment.
Now that he had money but no Komachi to rely on… No, his sister wasn't gone!
Hikigaya silently apologized to Komachi in his mind and tried to refocus.
But no matter how much he thought about it, nothing came to mind.
Hikigaya couldn't come up with a suitable gift for Haruno. She seemed to have everything she needed and wasn't particularly fond of anything in particular.
She even preferred junk food over expensive ingredients. What was he supposed to do—give her a KFC voucher?
With no other options, Hikigaya decided to take a walk.
Since nothing came to mind, he headed to the mall, hoping to find inspiration. The Keyaki Mall was packed with students in casual clothes on this Saturday afternoon.
Having just finished some student council duties, Hikigaya was one of the few still in school uniform, making him stand out awkwardly. But it was so hot today that he couldn't bring himself to go back to the dorm to change.
Once there, he knew he'd never leave again.
"What should I buy?" Hikigaya wondered as he scanned the endless aisles of goods, growing even more indecisive. Everything seemed appropriate, yet nothing felt quite right.
Then something caught his eye.
"Black tea?"
He reached out and grabbed it unconsciously, his thoughts drifting back to a certain place filled with the aroma of black tea... No!
He shook off the memory.
Now was not the time for distractions. He needed to focus on choosing a gift for Haruno, not indulging in idle thoughts.
"Yeah, this is good. The packaging is beautiful, and it's not too expensive. There's no hidden meaning behind it at all," he muttered to himself.
"Who are you explaining that to?"
"I'm with… Ugh?!"
A voice startled Hikigaya, causing him to let out an odd noise. He immediately wanted to crawl into a hole, especially with the strange looks people were giving him.
"Kamuro, what are you doing? Don't interrupt someone's internal monologue! Or better yet, just ignore me!"
"No, I saw you looked troubled and came to say hi," Kamuro replied casually.
She was dressed in a simple gray casual outfit that looked surprisingly fresh.
She glanced at the tea set in Hikigaya's hand and asked, "Is that for a girl?"
"…No."
"Really? Because no guy would give something like that as a gift."
Kamuro scoffed at Hikigaya's feeble lie, snatching the tea set to examine it more closely. After a moment, she handed it back.
"Not a bad choice. This would make a good gift. But…"
Kamuro looked at him in surprise.
"With your personality, I didn't expect you to think of giving black tea. Even Sakayanagi would be surprised."
"What exactly do you think of me?" Hikigaya couldn't help but grumble.
"Someone who wouldn't normally think of giving tea," Kamuro replied with a smirk.
"...Whatever."
Hikigaya couldn't argue with her. Under normal circumstances, he probably wouldn't have thought of it.
"Anyway, thanks for the advice. I'll go pay now."
Just as he was about to head to the cashier, Kamuro stopped him.
"Hold on."
For some reason, Kamuro gave him a once-over, her expression growing increasingly odd.
"What is it?" Hikigaya asked, uncomfortable under her scrutiny.
"I was just thinking, you wouldn't go on a date dressed like that, would you? Even for you, showing up in a school uniform is a bit much. Any girl would be upset."
"What? I wouldn't— No! I'm not going on a date!"
Hikigaya nearly fell into Kamuro's trap.
He was just giving a birthday present, not going on a date! And why was Kamuro suddenly so interested in his business?
"Speaking of which," Hikigaya eyed her suspiciously, "Why are you so concerned? You're not usually the type to care about others, right?"
"That's true, but I don't like owing people favors, so I wanted to take this chance to repay you," Kamuro said bluntly, referring to the time he helped her at the convenience store.
"I told you not to worry about that…"
"Fine." Hikigaya raised the tea set.
"You helped me pick a good gift this time, so let's call it even, okay?"
"You picked it yourself," Kamuro pointed out.
"Uh…" Hikigaya was at a loss for words. He started to suspect that Kamuro had something else she wanted to say but was too embarrassed to come out with it directly, hence all the detours.
Ding—!
Just as he was about to ask her directly, his phone buzzed with a new message.
"Excuse me, I need to reply."
"I'll just browse around here then."
Kamuro didn't seem ready to leave. She likely wouldn't go until she had said what she came to say.
But Hikigaya didn't have time to deal with her right now.
Haruno: [Hikigaya-kun, there's something I want recently—"]
Hikigaya's eyes widened at the message, but he wasn't surprised by Haruno's directness. She'd asked for gifts like this before. The problem was, if she'd sent this earlier, he wouldn't have wasted so much time worrying!
Luckily, he hadn't paid for the tea set yet…
Hikigaya: [Happy birthday. What do you want?]
Haruno: [What? That's boring. It should be a surprise.]
Hikigaya: […I'm a boring guy, after all.]
He had long ago decided never to argue with Haruno unless it was face-to-face.
Haruno: [Hehe, just kidding. I'll be spending my birthday at home with Yukino-chan. It's rare for me to see my dear sister, and I miss her.]
Hikigaya: [Okay, I'll give you the gift tomorrow.]
Hikigaya wasn't surprised. Since Haruno became a trainee teacher, she rarely left campus, so of course, she'd spend her birthday with her family. As the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family, Haruno would have plenty of important guests to entertain on her birthday.
Haruno: [No, that's not right. What I want is to go on a midnight date with a handsome guy.]
…Huh?
Hikigaya was stunned. Never mind the absurdity of the request—where was he supposed to find a handsome guy?
Hikigaya: [If it's Hayama, he'll probably celebrate with you, right?]
Haruno: [Hehehe, Hikigaya-kun, you're so funny. Okay, I'll be waiting for your good news tomorrow, okay?]
Even though it was just a text, Hikigaya could feel a chill run down his spine.
Could it be that Haruno had awakened some superpowers?
…No, I should stop avoiding reality.
Hikigaya sighed deeply, unsure of what to do next.
At that moment, Kamuro returned from her stroll, giving him a puzzled look. "What's wrong with you? Why are you sighing? Did your girlfriend dump you?"
"No… and I don't have a girlfriend," Hikigaya replied, irritated.
"Then what's the problem?"
"…I'm wondering where to find a handsome guy."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Kamuro frowned, clearly baffled by his predicament.
"Forget it. This has nothing to do with you… Hey!"
Just as Hikigaya was about to dismiss Kamuro, she leaned in and peered at his phone screen.
Hello? Kamuro-san?
Your behavior is highly inappropriate.
But then he remembered Kamuro's thrill-seeking nature and realized it was pointless to argue with her.
Fortunately, she pulled back after a moment.
"Are you an idiot?" Kamuro asked in disbelief. "She's asking you out on a date. How can you not see that?"
"…But I'm not a handsome guy."
"Oh, you're hopeless."
Kamuro sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. Then, without warning, she grabbed Hikigaya's wrist and started pulling him away.
"Hey, where are you taking me?" Hikigaya asked, confused.
Kamuro turned back and smiled mischievously.
"To find a handsome guy in you."