Chapter 7: Komachi, My Secret Weapon!
The eyes of the entire class instantly focused on Hikigaya Hachiman. With Hirata Yosuke's sunny smile and slight nod, Hachiman knew there was no escaping the self-introduction.
"Well, there's no other way. I'll just do my best—it's the first lesson of the new semester, after all. New school, new class."
Supporting himself with both hands, he stood up with great difficulty, then turned his gaze toward the window.
"Uh… I'm Hikigaya Hachiman."
"….."
The class's stares didn't move away—they only pressed harder on him.
"Hey, hey, something's wrong. You're making me embarrassed, looking at me like that. Anyway… there's no turning back now."
He took a small breath and continued:
"My biggest interest is Komachi. The thing I hate most is being apart from Komachi. What I fear most is Komachi getting angry. And what I like most… is Komachi being spoiled with me."
"I'll do my best to get along with everyone. Please guide me."
Inside, Hachiman was smug. That's right. At times like this, Komachi is my personal shield. After all, in a self-introduction, nobody knows who Komachi even is, so they can't question me. I'm a genius.
While his classmates sat frozen in stunned silence, he calmly sat back down. That was the end of his introduction.
The class remained quiet—until Hirata began clapping. Slowly, applause spread through the room.
---
Outside Reactions
Yuigahama Yui: "This feels exactly like Hikki's style. That kind of awkward self-introduction… Well, after all, he saved my dog, so I never got to hear him introduce himself before. I guess this makes up for it."
Hachiman (smugly): "That was pretty successful, wasn't it?"
Yukinoshita Yukino pinched her temple with a sigh. "No, that was a complete failure. Should I even call that an introduction? It was a total flop."
Ebina, Miura, and Iroha all let out a synchronized sigh.
"Hey, hey, why are you all sighing together? It was successful!"
Hayama: "Well… Hikigaya isn't good at self-introductions, so at least he didn't embarrass himself too badly. That's a positive, right?"
"Hey! Are you saying I embarrass myself normally?!"
But Hachiman wasn't convinced it was a failure. In fact, he considered it a perfect success. At least no one had asked, 'Who's Komachi?' That alone was victory.
---
Class 1-D
Meanwhile, in another classroom, Class 1-D had their own reaction.
Everyone was certain: this Hikigaya Hachiman had never been in their class. No students had dropped out or disappeared in the last six months. And yet, there he was on video—sitting right next to Ayanokōji Kiyotaka.
And after careful observation, they realized something else. The Ayanokōji in the video… had disappeared.
Karuizawa Kei: "This is too creepy! What the hell is going on? Is this some kind of special exam?!"
Hirata Yosuke: "In any case, we mustn't panic. Let's carefully observe the video. If this is an exam, we'll know the questions once it ends. The good news is—we already know Ayanokōji has been replaced."
Thanks to Hirata, the class calmed down. But Horikita Suzune's gaze fell on Ayanokōji, still filled with doubt.
In her memory, he had never revealed his past, nor shown his emotions. She knew he was strong—her brother, Horikita Manabu, had acknowledged him. Yet she still knew nothing of who he really was. And now… this video only deepened the mystery.
Ayanokōji felt her gaze but ignored it. To the people of the White Room, Suzune was nothing more than a useless pawn—she no longer held any value. The only thing that mattered was extracting information from the video.
He turned his focus back to the screen.
---
Back in Class
"Thank you for your introduction, Hikigaya-san. Let's get along."
Hirata's trademark smile didn't waver as Hachiman sat back down.
Just then, the girl sitting beside him—who had been quietly reading this whole time—suddenly smiled.
"What was that supposed to be? Was that bullying? Honestly, my self-esteem just took damage from listening to that."
Hachiman bristled, acting as though she had insulted Komachi directly.
But in truth, the girl wasn't mocking Komachi at all. She just thought Hachiman himself was an idiot—like everyone else watching.
"Then… next."
"Yeah, you're up."
But before the girl could continue, a loud BANG exploded from the corner of the classroom.
Everyone turned.
A boy with short, spiky red hair sat with his feet on the desk, arms crossed, glaring at the room like he owned it.
"What the hell is this? Animals fighting for territory? Hedgehog Head wants to challenge the class's alpha?"
The sudden outburst startled Hachiman, but luckily everyone's attention had shifted. Probably—hopefully—nobody noticed his flinch.
"Do you think we're a bunch of little kids? If you wanna play that game, do it yourselves!"
The red-haired boy's arrogant tone turned the class atmosphere ice cold.
No one cared who Komachi was anymore. Instead, all attention shifted toward this unsociable brute—quickly becoming the class's common enemy.
Arrogant, unreasonable, antisocial—wherever such a person goes, they'll never fit in.
And if he turned out to be nothing but a burden…
Then he was nothing more than harmful trash.