Chapter 16: Swimming Class (Part 1)
Time flew by like an arrow; the days and months passed quickly.
Every day, Hikigaya continued his school routine—attending class, bantering with Sakayanagi and Yukinoshita after class, and occasionally reading books with Shiina at the library.
In the blink of an eye, three years passed, and Hikigaya smoothly graduated as a student of Class A.
After graduation, he caught the eye of a wealthy woman with a cane.
Thinking he'd be spoiled and enjoy a carefree life without working, he was surprised when she constantly found reasons to drag him into work, with so much business to handle that he even had to work overtime every few days...
"Ah—!" Startled, Hikigaya cried out and woke up from his nap on his desk. He quickly looked around. Luckily, his seat was in the corner of the classroom, so his outburst didn't attract anyone's attention.
"It was just a dream..." Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he let out a small sigh of relief.
It was Hikigaya's third official day of class.
Due to the class meeting on the first day of school, the class had already split into two factions in just a few days: the Katsuragi faction and the Sakayanagi faction.
At this point, Katsuragi had garnered the support of most of the students, while Sakayanagi was starting to build her own team. Their goal: the forty Pokémon in the Year 1 Class A region!
Because Hikigaya and Yukinoshita often chatted with Sakayanagi after class, the two—who believed themselves to be neutral—were already considered part of the Sakayanagi faction by everyone else.
The one currently gazing at Hikigaya with concern was none other than Sakayanagi Arisu, the leader of that faction.
"What's wrong, Hikigaya-kun? Did you have a nightmare?"
"Ah, I dreamed that after graduating, someone took a liking to me, and I was stuck working hard at a desk job."
"Isn't that a good thing? That sounds more like a dream come true." Yukinoshita tilted her head and interjected, "That someone actually liked you, Hikigaya-kun. Though if it was a dream, it makes sense... If that really happened, I'd advise you to work yourself to death with gratitude."
"Huh? Yukinoshita, what kind of nonsense are you spouting..." Hikigaya looked seriously offended by her ridicule. "I absolutely won't work. My dream is to become a househusband!"
"That's what you're focused on? Also, don't talk about 'dreams' with those dead-fish eyes of yours. The word loses all hope when it comes from you—it's just depressing." Yukinoshita sighed.
"Hikigaya-kun, what are your plans for the future?" Sakayanagi, who had been quietly listening, gave a curious smile and asked with interest after hearing his "dream."
"Well... go to a decent university."
"Mhm, and then?"
"Then marry a pretty career woman and eventually get her to support me financially."
"Hikigaya-kun, being a kept man doesn't count as a dream. Are you seriously answering Sakayanagi-san's question?" Yukinoshita gave him a cold stare, clearly exasperated.
Knowing the rules of this school, how could anyone still dream of graduating from Class A just to become a kept man afterward? It was honestly hard to watch.
Fortunately, Sakayanagi didn't get angry.
She just looked thoughtful and quickly changed the topic: "Let's not talk about that anymore. Speaking of which, this afternoon we have swimming class.
I've been wanting to try it, but unfortunately, due to health reasons, I'm not allowed to participate in any physical activities. I bet you've been looking forward to it, haven't you, Hikigaya-kun?"
"Swimming class..." The moment Yukinoshita heard those words, she straightened her perfectly neat collar and shot a wary glance at Hikigaya.
That look was seriously irritating—it was full of preconceived bias! High school boys don't spend every waking moment thinking about pervy stuff!
There were plenty of other things to think about, like... um... world peace...? Okay, maybe that was it...
"I wasn't looking forward to it. Actually, I prefer classroom lessons to swimming."
"Why?" Both Sakayanagi and Yukinoshita looked shocked, like they had just seen an alien, and asked in unison.
"Why are you two so surprised? What kind of image do you have of me... It's because there's free time during swimming class."
"Free time?"
"I see... So, freedom isn't always a good thing, huh." Sakayanagi seemed puzzled, while Yukinoshita gave a mocking smile as if she had realized something.
"That's right. Field trips, spring excursions, swimming class... Every time we get free time, I always stress over what to do.
Back in middle school, during swimming class, I ended up swimming two kilometers just because I had nothing else to do."
That pretty much counted as long-distance swimming. The next morning, he woke up sore all over.
"Well, that's because Hikigaya-kun doesn't have anyone to hang out with..." Sakayanagi summarized lightly.
As they chatted, time flew by, and the bell rang—signaling the start of the long-anticipated swimming class for the boys.
In the locker room, Hikigaya quietly changed clothes. Suddenly, someone spoke to him.
"Um, excuse me, Hikigaya-kun, do you have a moment?"
"Eh? What?" Since he never expected anyone to talk to him, Hikigaya was flustered.
He barely composed himself and turned to look—only to see a blond, flashy handsome guy.
An enemy! A natural enemy has appeared! Sound the alarm!
Whatever sleepiness he had left from his nap vanished instantly. It felt like adrenaline, dopamine, oxytocin—all kinds of hormones surged through him in an instant. He was wide awake now.
"This is our first time talking, right, Hikigaya-kun? I'm Hashimoto Masayoshi."
Though Hashimoto gave him a warm, friendly smile, he completely got his name wrong.
"...Hello."
"No need to be nervous. I just saw you getting along with the little princess, so I wanted to understand a bit more."
"...You like her?"
Seriously? This guy has that bad of a sense in women...?
Thinking that, Hikigaya suddenly felt a chill—was it because he had taken off his clothes and changed into swim trunks?
"No, I just think Sakayanagi-san is really capable.
If she leads the class, I think we have a shot at graduating as Class A.
But she doesn't seem interested in being class representative. Since you often talk to her and Yukinoshita, I was hoping you could talk to her about it..."
"Ah, well, I don't—"
"I'm counting on you." After saying that casually, Hashimoto walked out the door as if nothing had happened.
He didn't seem to care whether Hikigaya agreed or not—or maybe he simply thought Hikigaya wouldn't be useful anyway.
A man must stand by his word.
If he says he doesn't want to do something, he definitely won't. And if he says he will, depending on the situation, he might not follow through.
Thinking this, Hikigaya decisively threw Hashimoto's request to the back of his mind.
He exited the locker room and watched Hashimoto laughing and chatting with classmates, silently contemplating.
So, he wanted to push Sakayanagi to be class rep and hoped Hikigaya would help persuade her—wait, "whisper in her ear," was probably the more accurate term?
Didn't sound like a big deal, but...
Isn't that guy supposed to be in Katsuragi's faction?