"Eh? Why did you suddenly bring up Sakayanagi?"
Hikigaya froze in place, caught off guard by the unexpected question. The abruptness of the topic shift left him bewildered.
"It's not what you think!" Kamuro stammered, clearly flustered. "You know how Sakayanagi always treats me like a tool, right? I just thought maybe I could use you to get back at her, that's all!"
"…Oh."
Hikigaya's expression turned peculiar, but he didn't say much. He merely nodded slightly.
After a moment of hesitation, Kamuro averted her gaze and continued, "And…well, there's also the fact that when you managed to trick Sakayanagi that time, making her look like a fool…I thought it was kinda cool. Just that."
"…Heh, is that so?" Hikigaya was momentarily taken aback before a chuckle escaped him. "You're giving me too much credit. She was just careless that time. I'm sure she didn't think much of it."
Kamuro shook her head. "That's not true. Sakayanagi was really bothered by it. She's complained to me about it several times in private."
"I see…"
Hikigaya suddenly understood why Sakayanagi had gone out of her way to provoke him about the matter at Sobu. It was clear now—she wanted revenge.
For someone like Sakayanagi, defeating a laid-back Hikigaya wouldn't have meant anything. Everything she did was to force him to take things seriously.
…What a vindictive person she is.
Yet, despite knowing all this, Hikigaya couldn't bring himself to truly hate Sakayanagi. After all, the whole situation was something he had caused. Even Hiratsuka-sensei had gotten involved because of him. If anyone was to blame, it was him alone.
Sakayanagi's anger was nothing more than the frustration of someone caught off guard.
Hikigaya knew all too well that he was just projecting his own petty anger onto others, and he had no right to drag anyone else into such irrational grudges.
However, even though he understood this clearly, the anger within him refused to subside.
—Humans really are complicated creatures.
Just as Hikigaya was sinking into self-loathing, Kamuro suddenly stepped closer, placing her hands on his shoulders and forcing him to look up.
"Hikigaya, I don't know what you're struggling with," Kamuro said, staring directly into his eyes. "But this time, you're only doing this to pay me back, right? So there's no reason to hold back, is there?"
"…Yeah."
Hikigaya closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, all traces of confusion had vanished.
"I understand. I'll make sure Sakayanagi regrets it."
"Ah, that's the spirit."
Although Kamuro still had no idea what Hikigaya planned to do, she was confident he would succeed. After all, he was the person who had managed to outwit Sakayanagi from their very first meeting.
If Hikigaya hadn't been exposed, Sakayanagi would likely have gone to Class C to question that Hayama guy… and she would have been the laughingstock for sure. Thinking about it now, Kamuro couldn't help but feel a bit of regret.
If only she had gone to the library a little later that day.
The two chatted for a while longer, and soon it was almost 7:30 PM—about half an hour before roll call.
"Kamuro, are you feeling better now?"
Hikigaya glanced out the window. The rain had let up significantly, but getting soaked any further would still risk a cold.
"I'm fine now… If I don't show up for roll call, those guys from Katsuragi's faction will be a real pain."
"True." Hikigaya nodded in understanding. "We should have enough time if we leave now. Let's get going."
"Mm… Wait, are you coming with me?" Kamuro asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I've got business with Class A. I did take on a request, after all."
With that, Hikigaya crouched down and began gathering the clothes scattered on the ground.
While this might cost Class D five points, he had already found Class A's leader, so he wasn't planning on accepting any complaints.
Plus, with the entire Class A likely present, it would be the perfect opportunity for Hikigaya to negotiate with them.
"…Sorry for getting your clothes dirty." Kamuro blushed slightly. "And for my own… I'll clean them and return them to you after the exam."
"Oh, sure."
Hikigaya didn't seem to mind and responded casually. After all, it was just a plain white T-shirt, a unisex design, so there was no need to worry about it raising any suspicions.
The two of them left the small shelter and headed toward Class A's base camp. Fortunately, it wasn't too far, taking them about twenty minutes to get there.
As they approached the cave, they saw Class A students already gathered at the entrance, with Majima-sensei standing nearby, holding the attendance list. However, it seemed the roll call hadn't officially started yet.
"Kamuro… Do you want to go ahead?" Hikigaya asked.
Kamuro glanced at him, fiddling with her hair. "It's fine. I'm already here, and you'll have to show up sooner or later. They'll suspect me anyway."
"…Yeah."
Since Kamuro had said so, Hikigaya didn't hold back any further and followed her to the entrance.
"You're late, Kamuro! If you missed roll call—Hey! What's he doing here?!"
As soon as they arrived at Class A's base, Yahiko was the first to shout, followed by his discovery of Hikigaya's presence.
"Dead-fish eyes, what are you doing here?"
"Relax. I'm just here to settle some scores," Hikigaya replied calmly. "But go ahead and finish your roll call first. I'll deal with you afterward."
"What?! You bastard…"
"Yahiko, shut up. The roll call is about to start."
Katsuragi's sudden interruption silenced Yahiko, and he turned to glare at Hikigaya with a grim expression.
He couldn't fathom why Hikigaya would choose this moment to show up, but his instincts told him something was off.
The other Class A students were whispering among themselves, some even asking Kamuro for details, but she ignored them all.
No wonder this guy doesn't have any friends…
Just then, Mashima-sensei approached them.
"Hikigaya, why aren't you with your class? Being at another class's camp doesn't count for roll call."
"Thanks for the reminder, sensei, but you don't need to worry about me," Hikigaya replied, his expression unchanged. "Depending on the situation, Class A might not even need to complete roll call, but please go ahead and fulfill your duties as their homeroom teacher."
[T/N: Damm! That was cold!]
Mashima-sensei was taken aback by his words, then gave Hikigaya a long, searching look before walking away.
He's probably figured something out by now.
In this confusing atmosphere, all of Class A gathered, and the evening roll call was finally completed.
Immediately afterward, Katsuragi approached Hikigaya with Yahiko in tow.
"Speak. What do you want? I don't recall inviting any guests."
"I don't recall being invited either."
Hikigaya responded with a smile before pulling out a camera from his pocket and showing Katsuragi the screen.
"You should recognize this person, right?"
"…This is?!"
Katsuragi's eyes widened, instantly realizing the gravity of the situation, while Yahiko remained clueless.
"So you've figured it out," Hikigaya said with a blank expression. "As students of Class A, you're supposed to be role models. But in the end, you've resorted to stealing from other classes. It's disappointing."
"No, no! There must be some mistake!" Katsuragi shouted instinctively.
The other students, who had never seen him so flustered, crowded around to see what was on the screen.
The image clearly showed Yahiko reaching into Hikigaya's pocket.
"Totsuka, what's going on!" Hashimoto reacted immediately, shouting from the crowd. "How could you steal from Hikigaya? This violates the exam rules! Our class could be disqualified!"
"Huh?!"
It wasn't until then that Yahiko realized what was happening and hurriedly protested, "That's not true! I didn't take anything from him. This is a setup!"
"Is that so? Then let's take a look at the next photo."
Without wasting time arguing, Hikigaya flipped to the next photo, which captured Yahiko pulling a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket.
The Class A students were left speechless, and a heavy silence fell over the scene.
Only Yahiko continued to shout, "What the hell! It's just a pen! How can that count as stealing?!"
"Alright, alright." Hikigaya shrugged, feigning helplessness. "If that's how you see it… then I'll report it to the school. Mashima-sensei is right over there."
"Wait!"
Before Hikigaya could take a step, Katsuragi couldn't help but intervene. His face was ashen, and he looked more serious than ever.
"Hikigaya, what do you want?"
Even though Katsuragi knew that Yahiko had fallen into a trap, if the only decisive evidence was a photograph, Class A would inevitably face disqualification from the exam.
And the fact that Hikigaya hadn't immediately reported the matter to the school administration suggested that he had ulterior motives. At this moment, all of Class A's students had their eyes fixed on the two of them, each harboring their thoughts.
The members of Sakayanagi's faction, in particular, were trying to gauge Hikigaya's intentions.
For them, withdrawing from the competition wasn't entirely unacceptable. The student who had caused the trouble wasn't just a member of Katsuragi's faction but also his best friend, Totsuka Yahiko. That alone was enough to bring Katsuragi down from his position.
Once that happened, Class A could finally unify under a single leader. A single failure in this exam wouldn't shake Class A's status.
However, Hikigaya's next words left them all seething.
"My demands are simple. From now until graduation, each of you in Class A will transfer 50,000 personal points to me every month. If you agree to that, we can consider this matter resolved."
The moment he finished speaking, a chorus of outrage erupted.
"Are you kidding me? You're just from Class D! Don't act like you're above us!"
"This is a trap set by you! Class D is full of shameless scum!"
"If you have the guts, bring out the person who took the photo and let them face us! The school will expel you then!"
The complaints weren't limited to Katsuragi's faction; even Sakayanagi's followers were grumbling.
"This is Totsuka's fault! What does it have to do with us?"
"Exactly! Don't think you can get away with this just because you're on good terms with Sakayanagi!"
Yare yare—when it comes to their interests, these Class A guys are no different from Class D, Hikigaya thought, feigning indifference as he waited for Katsuragi to quiet them down.
If there had been any hesitation in his mind before, Kamuro's words had erased it. He was now fully prepared for what lay ahead.
Even if it meant being hated, so be it.
After all, they were in the same class as Sakayanagi...