85 Hikigaya: No Need to Wash, Let's Go Straight to It
After returning to her apartment, Yumiko Miura felt inexplicably dejected.
It was a feeling akin to seeing an old classmate from her darker school days now thriving, while she, once known as the Queen of Fire, was living a less-than-satisfactory life.
She stumbled back into her room, locked the door behind her, and curled up in the corner of her bed, hugging her knees.
Her heart was filled with guilt and unease. Because of her, Jabami and Hikigaya had taken on such a huge risk...
But with the Disciplinary Committee President stepping in, things should be okay—right?
Miura, her mind in turmoil, had followed Juraku Sachiko's instructions and returned home ahead of the others.
Ever since being forced into Hyakkaou Academy by her family, Yumiko Miura had remained in a withdrawn state.
Because she constantly refused to gamble, she was ostracized by everyone in subtle, invisible ways. As a result, she didn't know much about the affairs of her grade, nor was she aware of Jabami or Hikigaya's capabilities.
In her fixed impressions, Hikigaya was supposed to be a top student from an ordinary background—so why was he at Hyakkaou Academy? And his relationship with that noble-like girl, Jabami, also seemed unusual.
It was as if he had turned into a completely different person.
She pulled out her phone. The dim light from the screen lit up her somewhat haggard face.
Using the contact information Juraku Sachiko had given her, she sent Hikigaya a LINE friend request. After hesitating for a moment, she opened her long-neglected list of middle school classmates and found the profile marked as "Yukinoshita."
She tapped into her chat with Yukinoshita Yukino. The screen was blank—no previous messages.
[Miura: Yukinoshita-san... are you there?]
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Chiba.
Yukinoshita rubbed her temples, sensing something, and put down her fountain pen. She picked up her phone.
The message displayed on it left her a little surprised.
"Miura? What would she want with me?"
Yukinoshita Yukino murmured. Back in middle school, their only mutual connection had been Yui, and their only direct interaction was during a single Service Club request. After that, they hadn't contacted each other again.
She hadn't expected Miura to reach out now, of all times.
Out of politeness, Yukino still replied:
[I'm here. What's the matter?]
[Do you know what's going on with Hikigaya Hachiman right now?]
Yukino's pupils shrank. Her fingers quickly tapped across the screen:
[What happened to him?]
[Mm... it might sound a bit strange, but Hikigaya Hachiman is now attending the same high school as me.]
[Where?]
So Yukinoshita didn't know either... A strong urge to vent suddenly welled up in Miura Yumiko's chest. Right now, she desperately needed someone to confide in, to ease the frustration that had built up inside her these past days.
Maybe it was a natural gossipy instinct among girls, but she decided to make Yukinoshita her confidant.
[We're both at a private school in Tokyo—Hyakkaou Academy. Hikigaya has gotten close to this girl who seems really noble. They look like they're in a close relationship.]
Yumiko Miura skipped over the unnecessary details about gambling and gave Yukinoshita a concise but pointed summary.
A noble girl? In a close relationship?
Yukinoshita Yukino froze. All sorts of unpleasant associations began forming in her mind—each one striking deep and hard.
Bitterness spread in her chest. A mist of tears formed in her eyes.
She took a deep breath and typed out a line of text on the screen—only to decisively delete it again. She collapsed into her chair, overwhelmed and at a loss.
After thinking for a long time, she finally asked:
[Can you tell me more about that girl?]
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The Other Side.
University of Tokyo Affiliated Hospital.
Jabami Yumeko walked ahead, blushing and carrying a delicate little handbag. Hikigaya Hachiman followed behind with his hands in his pockets, clearly guilty, his eyes wandering left and right, unable to focus on any one spot.
Along the way, there were no shortage of kind-faced patients casting odd looks at the scene.
Hikigaya could vaguely pick out some unfriendly words and short phrases from their murmurs.
Things like: "What kind of spoiled rich brat is this?", "Yumeko's gone astray," "Should we call the police?"
Of course, there were also more neutral or positive takes: "That guy's got game," "They're a perfect match," "So sweet, I ship them."
Especially the previously encountered grandma—her gaze looked as if she wanted to send a hitman after him.
In his current state, Hikigaya thought, he wasn't even capable of gambling with the students of Hyakkaou Academy. Even the elderly aunties in the hospital could tell something was off about him.
He let out a bitter laugh.
He knew very well that, to outsiders, their current appearance together was eye-catching in the worst ways. If he looked at the situation from a third-person perspective… even he would think Yumeko was a naive high school girl doing compensated dating, and he was the unruly rich client.
And the setting being a VIP hospital room just made things spicier.
Soon, the two arrived at the hospital room.
Finally, the noise of the outside world faded.
Truth be told, as long as you had money, there was little that couldn't be solved. Just like this room—not only did it have a companion bed, but also a small kitchen, shower, toilet…
It was the perfect example of the phrase: "Small as a sparrow, but fully equipped."
Even Hikigaya Hachiman was tempted to rent a long-term hospital room at Todai Hospital.
"Hi-Hikigaya-kun, should we start now? Do you want me to go wash up first?"
Steam seemed to be rising from Yumeko's head as she eagerly slipped off her little leather shoes. A pair of crisp, black-stockinged feet were exposed to the air.
In that moment, Hikigaya's mouth went dry.
His heartbeat surged uncontrollably.
'No, Hikigaya Hachiman, this won't do!'
'Looking like some clueless virgin—how could you possibly beat Juraku Sachiko in a gamble like this?'
If he was going to gamble with Juraku Sachiko, Hikigaya Hachiman had to go all out. That opponent would never go easy on him, never give him prep time.
Hikigaya put himself in Juraku Sachiko's shoes and instantly thought of several winning strategies.
For example, playing sensual background music in the office to manipulate his heartbeat into her rhythm. Or wearing perfume laced with aphrodisiacs… The methods were endless. And if he couldn't even hold out against a relatively innocent girl like Yumeko—
He was doomed.
He really wanted Yumeko to go wash her feet first—for hygiene, at least. But during an actual match, Juraku Sachiko wouldn't give him such an opportunity. Besides, there was no shower room in the Disciplinary Committee's office.
So...
Hikigaya decided to raise the difficulty for himself.
His throat was dry:
"Forget it. No need to wash. Let's start right away."
"Mm, okay."
On the hospital bed, Jabami Souko continued folding paper cranes with mechanical precision. But this time, the paper she was using wasn't ordinary origami paper—it was banknotes.
As for where the money came from...
"Hikigaya-kun, I converted part of the money you gave me into bills for my sister to use. You're not mad, are you?"
"...It's fine." Hikigaya couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters anymore.
In front of him, Jabami Yumeko was now seated on the companion bed. Her flesh-toned toes curled slightly and lifted until they were level with Hikigaya's line of sight.
She showed not a hint of girlish modesty, her eyes glinting red as she stared fixedly at him.
"Okay~, Hikigaya-kun, go ahead and touch~"