Chapter 18: What Happened?
Kamuro Masumi, although a stunningly beautiful girl, always wore a cold and annoyed expression that made her appear completely unapproachable.
To others, she lacked any sort of charm. Her grades and intelligence were average for her year level, but she seemed to be relatively athletic.
She didn't talk much, always acted alone, and gave off the impression of someone who lacked teamwork and coordination skills.
As he recalled all this information he had gathered over the past two days, Hashimoto Masayoshi straightened his blond hair carefully, stood up straight, and walked toward Kamuro Masumi with determined steps.
After finishing her swimming heat in the girls' race, Kamuro sat alone by the pool, playing with the water. Her damp purple hair drooped lazily over her shoulders as she listlessly stirred the surface of the water with her shapely, athletic legs. Noticing a boy approaching her, she immediately grabbed the towel she had used to dry her hair and covered her body with it.
"Hello, Kamuro-san. Congratulations on getting second place in the girls' swim competition—you've got great athletic instincts," Hashimoto Masayoshi greeted her with what he thought was his most sincere smile.
However, Kamuro remained expressionless.
Holding the towel tightly against her chest, she stared at the ripples on the water's surface and completely ignored his attempt at conversation.
"I'm Hashimoto Masayoshi. We'll be classmates for the next three years, so I'd like to get to know you—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Kamuro suddenly stood up without a word and ran toward a boy who had just crawled out of the pool, holding his waist and staggering unsteadily.
"Is that... Hikigaya?"
Hashimoto's smile froze on his face. He stood there motionless, like a puppet. From his observations over the last two days, Kamuro hadn't interacted with Hikigaya at all.
What's going on here? What happened?
"Hey, Hikigaya, are you okay?"
Hikigaya looked up and saw Kamuro standing before him.
She still had her usual indifferent look, but there was a faint trace of concern in her eyes, as if she was checking his condition.
She hung the towel she had been using around her neck, placed one hand on her hip, and leaned forward slightly. A generous view of her pale cleavage was directly in front of Hikigaya.
"Uh, well… I overdid it while swimming and twisted my back," Hikigaya answered, his face turning slightly red and his voice becoming stuttered.
He had no idea where he was supposed to look. The deep valley between the twin snow-capped peaks was just too dangerous.
"You actually twisted your back from swimming? That's just pathetic," Kamuro said, her eyes filled with obvious disdain.
"If possible, could you not say things like that…"
Ugh. So embarrassing. I want to die.
"Whatever, I'll help you to the bench," Kamuro said, reaching out to him.
But Hikigaya, gritting his teeth through the pain, dodged her hand.
"No, I can walk by myself."
"What nonsense. You clearly can't even walk properly."
Without waiting for permission, Kamuro grabbed his hand, pulled his arm over her shoulder, and supported him toward the nearby bench.
His arm was completely under her control. No matter how much he struggled, there was no escaping. Reluctantly, he gave in and let himself experience the soft, strange sensation of her support.
...Sigh, seriously, what am I even supposed to do?
As they approached the bench, Yukinoshita tilted her head slightly and gave a puzzled look at the sight of Hikigaya being practically carried by a girl.
What is going on here? What happened?
Kamuro said nothing, simply giving Yukinoshita a slight nod. In response, Yukinoshita turned to Hikigaya and asked in her usual cold tone:
"Hikigaya-kun, I'll just ask—what exactly is going on here? If you're harassing a classmate, I will call the police."
"No, no matter how you look at it, I'm the one being dragged here! I just... twisted my back while swimming."
"I see... As expected of you, Hikigaya-kun," Yukinoshita said with a faint smile.
This might have been the first time Yukinoshita Yukino showed a real smile.
And because of that, Hikigaya also noticed for the first time the tiny dimples that appeared at the corners of her mouth when she smiled—and maybe even glimpsed some slightly prominent canines, though that wasn't important.
Faced with such an unfairly charming smile, Hikigaya completely forgot to reply.
Yukinoshita sighed and stood up, turning to Kamuro.
"Go ahead and let him sit on the bench. I'll go inform the teacher."
Soon, Yukinoshita returned with the burly P.E. teacher in tow. The teacher crouched down next to Hikigaya, gently pressing around his lower back. Hikigaya, now lying on the bench, winced in pain.
"It's not serious. Just a muscle strain from not exercising for a long time. Take two days off and you'll be fine. Hm... you're in no condition to attend class now. Do you need someone to escort you back?"
"I'll take him," Kamuro said, now changed back into her school uniform. She had used the time while the teacher was checking on Hikigaya to get dressed.
"I see. It's free activity time now anyway. Go ahead," the P.E. teacher nodded in approval after looking at Kamuro.
Hearing that, Yukinoshita turned back to Hikigaya with a sly smile that seemed to say, "Now you don't have to worry about how to spend free activity time, huh?"
Just looking at that expression made Hikigaya mad.
And so, changed back into his uniform, Hikigaya was supported by Kamuro as they left the pool—the scene of his newest embarrassing memory.
Since it was class time, the campus was very quiet. The difference from the usual noisy break periods was stark. Not a single student in sight.
The two of them didn't move very quickly, and several minutes after the bell rang, they finally reached the dormitory area. Some students had already returned and were hanging around in the dorm lobby, watching the pair with curious, even envious, glances.
Hikigaya felt both shy and ashamed, while Kamuro stayed cold and indifferent, calmly helping him along.
Just as they were about to get into the elevator, they saw a beautiful angel with soft pink-gold hair standing there.
It was Ichinose Honami—the big-breasted girl Hikigaya had helped out on the first day. She was now the class representative for Class B.
She had sent Hikigaya a few messages over the past two days, inviting him out to eat to thank him, but he had politely declined, feeling he hadn't really done that much. In their chats,
Ichinose had also mentioned that she'd been elected class rep and was worried whether she could handle the responsibility.
"Huh? Hikigaya-kun—and this is?"
"Hello, Ichinose-san. This is my classmate, Kamuro Masumi."
"Nice to meet you," Kamuro said plainly.
Feeling awkward, Hikigaya replied half-heartedly to Ichinose, while Kamuro only gave a brief greeting.
"Hikigaya-kun, what happened? Are you hurt?" Ichinose looked worried seeing him being supported like that.
"...It's nothing. Um, you seem like you're in a hurry—where are you headed?"
Trying to avoid further questions, Hikigaya quickly changed the subject.
Seeing he looked troubled, Ichinose smiled gently. "I see. Then I won't press you. I'm heading to the student council office to submit a form."
"You're interested in the student council?"
"Mm-hmm. I want to challenge myself, improve my abilities, grow alongside my classmates, and have a fulfilling high school life."
"I see... then good luck."
"Thanks! I'll take your blessings. Take care of yourself too, Hikigaya-kun. See you next time—Kamuro-san, too."
Waving with a warm, energetic smile, Ichinose left.
After parting ways, Hikigaya and Kamuro rode the elevator and finally reached Hikigaya's dorm room door.
"Kamuro-san, let me just get my key—"
Before Hikigaya could finish, Kamuro pulled out a keycard from somewhere. Hikigaya patted his own pocket. His own dorm keycard was definitely still there.
With Hikigaya watching in horror, Kamuro calmly used her card to open his door.
What the hell is going on?
What happened?!