Chapter 56: Ichinose's Invitation
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Secretary Tachibana Akane was reporting to Student Council President Horikita Manabu about an appeal from Class 1-C against Class 1-D.
If it were about another class, Horikita Manabu might not have cared, perhaps leaving it to his assistant. But in Class 1-D, there was his sister, Horikita Suzune, and that man he was extremely interested in.
Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Oh? Interesting…"
He wanted to see with his own eyes how these two would handle this appeal.
…
The warm glow of the sunset bathed the boy, his hair shining a brilliant gold at that moment.
After class, most students flocked to the commercial district, leaving few in the classroom building. Aside from some lingering at the sports field near the special classroom building, hardly anyone was around.
Hikigaya arrived at the back of the special classroom building as promised. At the corner, Ichinose seemed to have been waiting for a while.
Her face lacked the sweet smile from the morning, replaced with worry and unease written all over it.
Seeing the boy arrive, the girl first flashed a happy smile, but it quickly faded.
"Sorry for calling you out so suddenly."
"What's up?"
On the way here, Hikigaya had already mentally prepared himself. When a girl asks a boy to meet alone, it's usually either a confession or something she doesn't want others to know.
Of course, Hikigaya immediately ruled out the first option.
She must have run into some trouble—that was his conclusion.
He wasn't sure he could help, but if it was a small favor, he wouldn't mind.
Perhaps due to the sunset, Ichinose's face looked especially flushed.
She lowered her head, seemingly shy and avoiding his gaze.
"It won't take long."
'I hope so…'
Ichinose kept her head down. Though Hikigaya didn't know what she wanted to say, her hesitant demeanor made him feel uneasy.
Even her pupils were trembling uncontrollably, her nervousness and unease plain on her face.
'Hey, if you act like that, you'll make me nervous too, idiot.'
"Someone… someone…"
"Someone's going to confess to me here!"
Ichinose blurted out all her thoughts at once, as if exhausting all her strength.
"Huh?"
Hikigaya became a bit confused… no, extremely confused.
Hikigaya had never encountered a situation like this and was momentarily lost.
"Sorry, sorry, Hikigaya-kun, you probably don't understand what I mean."
"Indeed…"
"I mean… someone's going to confess to me here later…"
'Isn't that the same thing…'
"Then wouldn't it be better if I wasn't here?"
'There's no way she wants me to witness a love confession or something…'
What kind of person would he be to deserve that role…
Ichinose finally lifted her head, though the flush on her face hadn't faded.
"But I don't understand love. Yesterday, I found this in my locker."
Ichinose slowly pulled a letter from an envelope. It was probably a confession letter from someone unknown, asking her to wait here.
'Speaking of which, I don't understand love either.'
Hikigaya wanted to retort but, seeing the girl's desperate plea for help, he kept it to himself.
"I don't have romantic feelings for that person, but I don't know how to reject them without hurting them. That's why I asked you to come and pretend to be my boyfriend."
Ichinose spoke with a slight sob, like a pitiful little child.
Hikigaya recalled the school trip incident, where his stubbornness had nearly torn the Service Club apart.
There were countless ways to avoid hurting someone.
Pretending to be her boyfriend or staging a fake confession to announce Ichinose didn't want to date could both help her avoid this trouble now.
But… that would be fake.
The kind of fakeness he hated most.
He couldn't fix past mistakes, but today's choices were still in his hands.
He didn't want to repeat past tragedies.
Besides, doing this would be unfair to the girl in front of him.
Whether he pretended to be her boyfriend or staged a fake confession to say she didn't want to date, it would strip her of her right to love.
Hikigaya absolutely couldn't agree to that.
"I can't help you."
"…Please…"
If he couldn't make a decision now, he'd only drift further from what he was seeking.
"Why not ask someone else…"
"Because… I don't know any other boys."
Her words surprised Hikigaya.
Despite being a social butterfly like Kushida, unlike Kushida, who had good relations with people from different classes and grades, this cheerful-looking girl's social circle was limited to Class B.
And Class B seemed to have the fewest boys among the first-year classes. Plus, a classmate would be too easily exposed.
'Yeah… by process of elimination, there aren't many people she could ask for help.'
'But… I can't help her.'
At that moment, he thought of Yosuke Hirata. If he were here, he might've agreed. But… he already had a girlfriend, right? Karuizawa Kei, from their class.
Facing the girl's pitiful expression, Hikigaya just turned his head, avoiding her face.
"I think you should talk it out directly with them. Honestly…"
"But!"
Ichinose's body trembled, her gaze shifting behind Hikigaya.
Following her gaze, Hikigaya looked at the figure in the distance.
'It's a girl… How brave.'
"Ichinose-san, he's…"
The girl clenched her fists, her face full of tension.
"Um… Chihiro-san… sorry, I brought someone you don't know."
Ichinose's voice grew quieter, her head lowering again.
Hikigaya looked at the two girls, finally understanding their situation.
'Looks like I shouldn't get involved.'
Since Ichinose wasn't ready, he'd let her prepare.
( End of this chapter )