Chapter 142: Sakura, This Is How You Use a Hairdryer
[If one were to ask who is the most surprised person besides Hikigaya in the chat room, the answer would be Yukinoshita Yukino.]
[However, she didn't direct her resentment at Hikigaya. If one were to ask why, it was because although what Ichinose said was true, the two hadn't become a couple, and...]
[The most important thing was naturally that everything Ichinose said, Yukinoshita Yukino had also experienced.]
[Coat, hot coffee, help, salvation, Yukinoshita had felt the warmth in all of them one by one.]
[Iroha: "Senpai, why is it that you're so unpopular at Sobu High, but over there, so many girls are scrambling to protect you? No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense."]
[Miura also started thinking: "If you put it that way, it's true, but the reason isn't hard to figure out."]
[Iroha asked with a puzzled face: "What is it?"]
[Miura spread her hands. Though it was casual, it still casually exuded that domineering aura: "If I have to say, it's because at Sobu High, this guy Hikigaya slacks off, so he absolutely won't show his own charm. But in that kind of school, once he shows his charm, he'll have girls liking him."]
[Yuigahama seemed to have an epiphany and spoke before Iroha: "So that's it. It's not that Hachiman is unpopular; it's simply because Hachiman hasn't shown his own charm."]
[Miura: "You can say that. It's like if the people in our class saw Hikigaya like this, they'd probably re-evaluate him."]
[Iroha and Yuigahama nodded like that, putting on an 'I see' expression.]
[And Hikigaya had a pitiful expression like 'Spare me,' obviously not wanting to do something so troublesome, and his current life was one he loved to death.]
[Most importantly, at this moment, Yukinoshita was also unusually satisfied with Hikigaya's current slacker lifestyle.]
After finishing the vote on Ichinose, Ichinosei left Class C after a simple farewell.
After all, the exam hadn't started yet, which meant that for these few days, she was still a member of Class B.
And as soon as Ichinose left, Hikigaya's seat was already crowded with people. When Karuizawa and Kushida tried to squeeze in again, they found that they couldn't get in at all.
And around Hikigaya's desk, it was already surrounded by Sotomura and the others.
Sotomura: "I say, Hikigaya, what's going on with you? You actually have that kind of relationship with the legendary Ichinose, and we didn't even know."
Ike: "You say you already have Sakura, and you're still fooling around like this. Really, buddy, let me give you a suggestion: just don't think about this anymore."
When Ike mentioned her name, Sakura's face obviously turned a bit red, and as for the other girls who were still excluded outside, they were even angrier.
Ike, if you don't know how to speak, just keep your mouth shut.
Akito: "However, Hikigaya, being able to know a person like that is really impressive!"
Yukimura showed a face full of regret: "It's a pity, Ichinose doesn't know that you're about to leave this school..."
Originally, everyone was happily talking about what had just happened, but Yukimura's words instantly silenced the atmosphere.
Yes, Hikigaya's righteousness was still engraved in everyone's hearts. For the exam two days later, if everyone still had no way, then they could only follow the plan that Hikigaya had mentioned.
At this moment, Yamauchi suddenly stood up and said: "Hikigaya wouldn't happen to be a traitor to the class, right? You actually let someone like Ichinose in. Don't you know she's from Class B? Did you two plan this long ago? I don't believe for a second that she would like someone like you."
Yamauchi's words once again plunged the class into silence, but this time, everyone looked at Yamauchi with some hatred.
This guy, actually saying something like this at a time like this, it was truly nauseating. Even Sakura couldn't hold back anymore and suddenly walked right up to Yamauchi.
"Smack!"
Sakura's sudden outburst stunned everyone present, and Yamauchi was completely unresponsive, only covering his face with his hand.
The intense pain left Yamauchi completely dumbfounded.
"Hachiman, he's not someone like you!"
"Sakura, you! You actually dared to hit me!"
In front of the entire class, being slapped by a girl like this, it was a loss of face that once again clouded Yamauchi's mind. He raised his hand and charged at Sakura, completely disregarding whether she was a powerless girl or not.
However, for an ordinary person like Yamauchi, as long as everyone reacted in time, they could instantly stop him.
Everyone grabbed Yamauchi's limbs. Though he struggled with all his might, it was completely useless.
"Sakura! You actually dared to hit me!"
Yamauchi's face still showed an ugly and ferocious expression, which even frightened Sakura to a certain extent.
Hikigaya was quick to react. Before sensing Yamauchi's movement, he had already stepped in front of Sakura.
Everyone watched this sudden incident and was momentarily stunned, not expecting that what was originally lively would turn into this situation.
Hikigaya's expression also became extremely serious. He only softly said to the girl behind him:
"Airi, go to Karuizawa and the others."
Sakura didn't care about anything else. Her earlier action had indeed been impulsive, after all, she couldn't stand hearing others speak ill of Hachiman. But as she gradually calmed down, she regained her senses. Facing the words of the boy she loved, she only obediently nodded.
"Okay..."
With the combined efforts of the classmates, they finally restrained Yamauchi, and the class atmosphere reached rock bottom at this moment.
The classes after lunch break proceeded as usual, and after school, Hikigaya took the initiative to find Sakura. Because the school's special exam was starting tomorrow, for first-year students, Sakura's student council activities were naturally suspended.
But the problem wasn't there. If Yamauchi had thrown a full-force punch at Sakura just now, as a girl, Sakura definitely wouldn't have been able to resist, and even Hikigaya might only have been able to barely block it.
For someone who had already gone mad, Hikigaya really couldn't feel at ease letting Sakura leave here alone.
So, after a long time, the two once again walked shoulder to shoulder on the way back to the dorms.
Sakura lowered her head, her expression seeming somewhat guilty. Even without asking, it was clear that her mood was very low right now.
"I'm sorry, Hachiman. I shouldn't have been so impulsive... I caused trouble for you, didn't I... But I don't know why; back then, I completely lost my reason."
How could Hikigaya bear to blame the girl in front of him who had always thought of him? He only gently shook his head.
"It's okay. And before, I had been looking for a reason to get Yamauchi expelled. Maybe his betrayal of the class was enough for the classmates, but for me, it wasn't enough. And today... it's enough."
If he was going to hurt the people around him, then no matter what, Hikigaya had to completely eliminate this time bomb.
To be honest, it had really been a long time since the two had walked side by side like this. Walking on this familiar street, both of their memories surged up in this moment.
It was a hot evening. The girl was walking alone on the school road when she was followed by an obsessive fan.
The boy's intervention allowed the girl to escape that dangerous situation.
At that time, the boy said, 'You don't have to worry anymore...' Though it was just a simple sentence, it comforted the girl's heart. Perhaps it was from that day that Sakura Airi found her reason to continue in this school.
During that time, Hikigaya would accompany her back to her room every day. What he protected wasn't just the naive girl; it also made the girl whose heart was fluttering completely fall for him.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed since entering this school. During this time, Sakura had joined the student council, continuously honing herself while also helping Hikigaya in various exams.
Their relationship had become increasingly familiar, and Sakura had also witnessed more and more girls gathering around him.
From Kamuro, Kushida, Karuizawa, to now Ichinose, it seemed every girl had already confessed her feelings to him.
And only she remained in place.
Perhaps their relationship was indeed getting better, but Sakura felt that the distance between them was growing farther.
She didn't blame the boy in front of her because she had long known that there was something in the boy's heart that he had to pursue, and the girl wouldn't stop him.
But... how she wished the boy would stop for a moment and look at her a couple more times.
Sakura Airi couldn't bear to see him suffer even a little bit, even a little grievance.
So...
After hearing Ichinose's confession once again, Sakura Airi finally made her declaration in this moment.
She proactively took the boy's hand. Only by accurately feeling the transfer of warmth, the sensation of skin, could Sakura's heart calm down even slightly.
Hikigaya seemed to notice it too, or rather, he had noticed it long ago.
Hikigaya had always been very clear about Sakura Airi's feelings; he just didn't have the courage to face this emotion.
Even so, he still called the girl's name as agreed.
In this school, the only girl whose real name Hikigaya could call.
It was Sakura Airi.
"Hachiman, I like you!"
Her crimson earlobes made the girl's shyness impossible to hide. At this moment, there was no need for love letters or sweet words; the girl's blush surpassed everything.
No longer caring about the passersby, the girl's eyes only had the boy in front of her.
Hikigaya smiled gently: "I know. I've always known."
A smile of relief finally appeared on the girl's face. She seemed to jump out of her usual self and said with a hint of teasing: "Hachiman, you're really bad. You clearly know everything but have never told me."
On this point, Hikigaya indeed couldn't deny it. Rather, he was like this with everyone because he couldn't confirm whether others truly had such feelings for him. Only when the other person confirmed it verbally could he affirm it.
And now, the two of them were exactly like this.
The girl tried hard to calm her wildly beating heart, but no matter what she did, she found her breathing only becoming more rapid, unable to stop at all.
In the past, she thought that as long as Hachiman noticed her, even if more girls liked him, it wouldn't matter. But perhaps after seeing girls one after another confess their feelings to get close to him, the girl's sense of security slowly collapsed.
She really couldn't calm her emotions after all. If love could be calmed so easily, then there wouldn't be so many people in the world who loved but couldn't have.
Sakura Airi didn't want to become one of those people. If possible, she only wanted to seize her own happiness.
If possible, she wanted to hold Hikigaya's hand right now and never let go.
So, she asked the question that no one else had asked.
"Hachiman, do you like me?"
Hikigaya was speechless. He had perhaps never seen this extremely shy girl ask him so directly.
If he answered that he didn't like her, would their relationship become distant because of it? Though Hikigaya had never tried being the one to reject, he had obviously tried being the one to ask.
His past had always been a flaw in his heart.
However, when he locked his gaze on the girl's eyes once more, Hikigaya immediately rejected that idea.
What he pursued wasn't something fake, and his relationship with Sakura Airi was absolutely not a false one.
So, no matter what, whether he answered that he liked her or not, it absolutely wouldn't affect their relationship.
This point, Hikigaya was absolutely certain of in this moment.
He no longer needed to worry about these things or pursue them because the genuine thing he had always sought was right by his side.
So, as expected, there was only one answer.
"I like you."
As if unable to bear this answer, the rise and fall of Sakura's chest became even more pronounced, her breathing obviously becoming rapid. The hot air she kept exhaling was clearly the love she couldn't express.
"Th-th-th-th-that..."
She really hadn't expected Hachiman to answer her with such a response.
To be honest, she had long prepared herself to be rejected, but the answer was completely different, leaving Sakura Airi completely stunned in place. Even her brain crashed and stopped thinking.
But in the next moment, the girl felt her lips receive an indescribable warmth.
The two kissed lightly right there on the street. Though it was just a brief moment, it left Sakura completely limp.
Her entire body seemed to soften, unable to sit up anymore.
"H-H-H-H-H-Hachiman... y-y-y-y-you!"
Sakura pointed at Hikigaya's body, but she didn't notice that her own fingers had started trembling. Hikigaya turned around and pretended to be calm as he said:
"It's just to tell you I'm not lying."
The two walked shoulder to shoulder all the way to Sakura's room.
Along the way, the two truly had nothing to say. Though many times they were in this kind of situation, only today did both feel embarrassed.
If it were usual, Sakura would definitely follow behind him bouncily and then ask him some silly questions about the student council in that dumb tone. But today, Sakura had obviously forgotten all of that.
"H-H-Hachiman, my room is here... Th-thank you!"
Sakura was like a startled little cat, completely disregarding Hikigaya's feelings. She directly ran to her room and then slammed the door with a 'bang.'
For Sakura's situation, Hikigaya could only sigh helplessly. After all, for a girl as shy as Sakura to have something like that done to her on the street by him, it was indeed embarrassing.
'It seems I'll have to properly apologize to Sakura tomorrow.'
Hikigaya did realize his mistake, but he also truly felt what emotion was. In that moment, his actions were indeed beyond his control.
In this way, he couldn't blame Karuizawa for what she had done to him before. Of course, even now, he still thought the thing with Kamuro was an accident.
He turned around, about to leave the place, but once again heard the sound of the door opening.
Even with his sensitive reactions, in this moment, before he could even turn around, he was completely pulled into the room by the girl.
At this moment, she could no longer hide the blush on her cheeks. Under the dim light, the girl completely pinned the boy against the wall. Even with the height difference, she still tiptoed to kiss the boy's lips.
"A-Airi, you.."
Before the boy could continue speaking, Sakura used her mouth to block his once again, leaving him completely unable to speak.
Perhaps influenced by the dim light, even he, known as a rational monster, lost his usual reason until he completely immersed himself in it.
The duration of their kiss couldn't be measured in time. They only knew that the evening sun finally set, and the already dim room finally lost its last light.
The girl didn't turn on the light, or rather, she knew that if she turned it on, it would only make the current situation even more embarrassing. This point seemed to be tacitly understood by both.
Rapid breathing kept emanating against Hikigaya's chest. Sakura seemed to have completely entered the state, extending her tongue into the boy's mouth.
From neck to chest, their temperatures rose even higher at this moment. If not for the air conditioning, their bodies would probably be covered in unhideable sweat.
Clearly, the temperature was still rising, yet their clothes were becoming fewer and fewer, this was truly hard to understand.
In the room completely enveloped in darkness, the scent of hormones fully spread in this moment, and the ambiguous atmosphere completely surrounded the two.
In the dark room, nothing could be seen. Only the contact of skin could still make their heartbeats accelerate wildly.
"Hachiman... how about we take a shower first."
"Okay..."
Ten minutes later, Hikigaya always felt a damp sensation in his bedding, obviously because they hadn't dried off after showering.
As expected, you can't just go straight to bed after a shower, or the bed will get soaked with water.
Another ten minutes later, Sakura bit her lip tightly, looking pitiful and delicate. Her speech was obviously unclear, and her whole body was sticky from the body wash. Obviously, you can't shower for too long, or you'll get dizzy.
Twenty minutes later, Sakura finally, after enduring the dizziness, asked tremblingly: "H-Hachiman, let's do it from behind... It still hurts a lot, so be gentle, okay..."
Of course, for girls, the most important thing after a shower is blow-drying their hair, but Hikigaya's technique was really too poor, it was the kind where even blow-drying someone's hair from behind could hurt Sakura.
Thirty minutes later, Sakura covered her face with both hands. Her cheeks were still flushed red, but one or two teardrops occasionally fell onto the bedsheet.
Obviously, Hikigaya must have used hot air to blow Sakura's scalp red and even hurt her; otherwise, she absolutely wouldn't be in pain to the point of tears.
Facts prove that the technique of blow-drying a girl's hair is also very important.
Finally, after who knows how long, Sakura had become listless lying on the bed, panting heavily, as if she had just completed some intense exercise. But obviously, it was just because Hikigaya's hair-blowing technique was too poor that she was angered to this state.
If blow-drying hair were that simple, Sakura wouldn't be this miserable.
Of course, the most hateful thing was that there was still a bit of body wash left on Hikigaya's body. During the hair-blowing process, he accidentally got it on Sakura. A strange smell spread on the bed, and perhaps because it had solidified, it became sticky.
Finally, for the task of blow-drying hair, Hikigaya finally completed it.
He was also tired and started panting, while the girl shyly hugged the pillow to cover her face, obviously happy with the completion of this task.
In her beautiful eyes, there hid a pair of small hearts that couldn't be concealed. Her love for Hikigaya became even deeper after this short hair-blowing task.
"So this is the feeling... This time, I must be the first!"
"Although it hurt a bit from the blowing, I really like it, I really really like it."
"Hachiman... I love you..."
The girl squinted her eyes like this, fundamentally unable to express the love in her heart. Her already graceful figure became even more prominent without any cover.
She opened her arms again and hugged Hikigaya tightly. Obviously, after this period of interaction, she had let go.
"Hachiman, this time let's switch to the front, okay..."
"The chance to taste doesn't come often; you have to remember my flavor well."
"No matter where, no matter when, you have to remember that I'm the first!"
"And I only belong to you; I'm your possession!"
In the gradually dissipating night, in a certain room in the school called Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, a boy and a girl were exchanging about how to use a hairdryer.
(End of this chapter)