Chapter 69: Injury
"I want to die..." Hikigaya muttered softly. If he were at home right now, he'd be rolling around on the carpet.
'The flashback of psychological trauma has two manifestations: one is high tension and destructive impulses, and the other is gloomy depression. Hikigaya's current state is undoubtedly the latter.'
Seeing Hikigaya caught in the grip of the traumatic flashback, Himeno subtly dropped her smile and sighed softly. She suddenly stretched out her slender hands, gripped Hikigaya's shoulders, and forced him to make eye contact with her.
A faint fragrance and warm body heat emanated from her, leaving Hikigaya frozen in place, his mind blank.
"Hikigaya, listen to me! I'm in the same class as Shiranami-san and Ichinose-san, and my personality is quite similar to yours, so our ways of thinking might have some overlap... I can roughly guess what happened that day and why you suddenly confessed to Ichinose-san at that time." Himeno's voice was louder than usual, and her eyes were exceptionally serious. Unable to avoid those slightly moist eyes, Hikigaya chose silence.
"Hmm, how should I put it... I think that desire to help others is truly admirable."
Himeno glanced at Hikigaya's expression and gave him a smile tinged with faint sadness. Under Himeno's gaze, which seemed to see through everything, Hikigaya was about to subtly avert his eyes, but she firmly gripped his shoulders again.
Himeno stared fixedly into Hikigaya's eyes, as if telling him that he was not allowed to refute, nor was he allowed to evade her gaze.
Then, she continued in a soft, warm voice:
"But... I think your way of doing it is wrong. Sacrificing yourself to help others—how is anyone supposed to be happy about that?
Perhaps to you, it might seem like the most efficient solution, but it is absolutely not the most appropriate method.
I don't know what happened in your past to make you develop this sense of inferiority, but getting used to being hurt doesn't mean you won't get hurt again.
The pain that remains inside won't easily disappear. Please remember that clearly.
So... Hikigaya, don't ever do that again, okay?"
After saying the last sentence, Himeno slowly released Hikigaya's shoulders, allowing him to fall into thought. Her face regained those dead fish eyes that looked indifferent to everything, and she offered him a slight smile.
"Hikigaya-kun, we should probably go now. We shouldn't stay too long and disrupt Class B's work."
After observing the Class B campsite for a while, Yukinoshita and Hikigaya were even invited by the enthusiastic Class B students to stay for lunch. After bidding farewell to Ichinose and Kanzaki, the two walked away from the Class B campsite.
Stepping into the lush forest again, Hikigaya turned to Yukinoshita and suddenly asked: "Yukinoshita-san, you talked with Kanzaki-kun for so long. Did you discover anything?"
"I was actually a little surprised; Class B spent quite a lot of Material Points. Just by trying to roughly calculate what was within sight, I could tell they spent over 150 points," Yukinoshita took out a small notebook and recorded all the acquired information.
"Then, Yukinoshita-san, do you have any idea about Class B's leader?"
"Hmm, I do have a suspect... You must have noticed as well."
Hikigaya nodded lightly: "Yeah, you can spot the unnatural person if you observe carefully."
"And she keeps glancing at her pant pocket, exposing it completely," Yukinoshita said, showing a faint smile: "I asked Ichinose-san, and the brown-haired girl's name is Shiranami Chihiro. I believe she should be Class B's leader."
"So, what are we going to do now? Are we heading back?" Hikigaya asked.
"No, let's go scout Class C next. Hashimoto-kun said Class C's campsite is on the beach, and it's not too far from here, so let's check it out on the way."
Yukinoshita and Hikigaya walked through the tree-lined forest and quickly arrived at the golden beach. Contrary to expectations, the beach was inexplicably messy at the moment, with snack plastic bags and empty plastic bottles scattered everywhere on the ground.
There were only a few Class C students on the beach, and those students seemed to have absolutely no mind for the exam.
Some were lying in sand pits sunbathing, others were swimming and surfing in the sea, and a few students were playing the blindfolded watermelon smashing game, their cheerful noise echoing across the entire beach.
Noticing the arrival of the two Class A students, Shiina Hiyori, who had been sitting under the shade of a tree in a daze, walked over and softly greeted them: "Hikigaya-kun, long time no see. Who is this classmate?"
"I am Yukinoshita Yukino of Class 1-A. Pleased to meet you." Seeing Shiina look over with curious eyes, Yukinoshita introduced herself.
"So you are Hikigaya-kun's classmate. I am Shiina Hiyori. Pleased to meet you." Shiina seemed to be in a very good mood, giving Yukinoshita and Hikigaya a cute smile.
"Shiina-san, what is the situation with Class C? Are you planning to give up on this deserted island exam?" Yukinoshita asked, frowning.
"Well, the thing is this. Our Class C representative, Ryuen-kun, withdrew from the exam yesterday. Since there is no one who can unify the students, some of the classmates decided to buy some entertainment facilities with their Material Points, and plan to withdraw after they get tired of playing."
"Shiina-san, are you saying... Ryuen-kun withdrew from this deserted island exam?!" Yukinoshita asked with some surprise.
"That's correct," Shiina nodded, repeating what she had told the two Class B representatives yesterday.
After hearing Shiina's account, Yukinoshita and Hikigaya couldn't help but exchange a glance, finding each other's expressions a bit strange.
Since Ryuen's withdrawal was completely unexpected, they didn't know what to say for a moment. Seeing Hikigaya's and Yukinoshita's somewhat awkward gaze, Shiina drooped her shoulders, looking slightly disappointed.
Seeing Shiina's pitiful appearance, Hikigaya was about to offer a few words of comfort, but he heard Shiina speak in a low voice: "Hikigaya-kun, if I had known you were coming, I would have spent a few Material Points to borrow some books..."
"No, is that what you're worried about?!"
"Hikigaya-kun, I've been reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (oooh as Italian I approve) recently.
Aside from its baffling and compelling plot, the book is full of all kinds of knowledge. It doesn't just cover theology, political science, history, and criminology, but also mentions different thinkers like Aristotle, Aquinas, and Bacon. It's really interesting." Shiina's eyes sparkled when she talked about books.
"Hikigaya-kun, after the deserted island exam is over, let's read books together again." Shiina smiled and put her hands behind her back, leaning close to Hikigaya to extend the invitation.
'Hmph, if you think someone who cherishes solitude like me would easily accept Shiina-san's invitation, you'd be totally wrong.'
"Oh... sure, alright." Looked at by Shiina's expectant eyes, Hikigaya instinctively agreed.
'Ah! I suddenly said the complete opposite of what I was thinking. Darn it, why is my mouth so awful.'
"Shiina-san, you said that the Class C students are planning to withdraw from the exam. Are you planning to withdraw as well?" Yukinoshita glanced at Hikigaya, then asked Shiina.
"I actually planned to withdraw yesterday, but I decided to stay to see the beautiful view of the island at sunrise this morning. It's great to be able to talk to Hikigaya-kun before withdrawing," Shiina said, looking delighted.
"Y-Yes, yes..." Hikigaya responded awkwardly.
'Fortunately, Hachiman knows that Shiina is just excited to have someone to talk about mystery novels with; anyone else would definitely misunderstand.'
Yukinoshita chatted briefly with Shiina again, then took Hikigaya and left the beach where Class C was, heading towards the Class A base camp cave.
"I didn't expect Class C to just withdraw from the exam... No, even though Ryuen-kun withdrew, as long as someone from Class C remains on this island, they can participate in the final leader guessing segment."
Yukinoshita was deep in thought. She was so engrossed that she completely failed to notice the danger ahead.
The soil beneath her feet suddenly collapsed, and her footing vanished, as if she had stepped onto a manhole entrance without a cover.
Yukinoshita couldn't maintain her balance and fell forward. Hikigaya instinctively reached out his hand but failed to pull Yukinoshita up. Instead, he fell with her, and the two tumbled down together.
Hikigaya pulled Yukinoshita into his arms and curled his body to protect her. Then, helpless, the two rolled down the small slope that had formed due to the collapsing dirt.
Because Hikigaya used himself as a cushioning pad, Yukinoshita seemed to be unharmed.
"Hikigaya! Hikigaya! Are you alright?" Yukinoshita looked anxiously at Hikigaya, whose eyes were tightly closed.
She wanted to check on him but was afraid of causing a secondary injury if she moved him, leaving her momentarily flustered.
Fortunately, Hikigaya quickly opened his eyes.
He shook his dizzy head and slowly sat up, supporting himself with his hands. He checked his body; his tracksuit was dirty, his butt was throbbing with pain, and a stinging sensation spread over his whole body. Apart from a few bruises, the biggest wound was on his right leg; his knee and calf were scraped raw.
"Hikigaya... are you injured?" Yukinoshita moved her gaze to Hikigaya's leg, narrowing her eyes with worry: "We need to treat it quickly... I'll help you back."
"No, that's okay. It's just a small scratch."
"Don't be ridiculous..." Yukinoshita sighed softly and reached out to help Hikigaya up.
Under the curious and envious gaze of the Class A students, Yukinoshita, panting slightly, helped the limping Hikigaya back into the cave.
"Sit down." Yukinoshita brought over a folding chair and retrieved a first-aid kit from the supply storage, taking out disinfectant and gauze.
"No, I can handle treating the wound myself."
"Just sit down."
Hearing Yukinoshita's somewhat forceful tone, Hikigaya obediently sat down.
Yukinoshita moved her chair in front of Hikigaya, then reached out and grabbed his calf, starting to disinfect the wound. She bent down, bringing her head close to Hikigaya.
A faint scent of shower gel drifted over, neutralizing the sharp smell of the disinfectant.
Yukinoshita wiped the wound with a cotton swab soaked in disinfectant. Each time the cotton swab passed over the wound, it brought a mixture of itchiness and pain to Hikigaya. Yukinoshita did not seem to have experience treating wounds; her movements were tentative, and the disinfectant seeped into the wound.
"Wait, um, that hurts..."
"It can't be helped; I'm killing germs. It's normal for Hikigaya to react."
"Yeah, but you don't have to talk about people as if they're germs."
"Pain means it's working. Endure it."
'Is this the theory of "good medicine tastes bitter"? That's completely unreliable. If good medicine tasting bitter were true, wouldn't my life be the best ever?'
Although he thought so, Yukinoshita softened her movements, becoming more cautious. The pressure of wiping the wound became lighter, and every movement was extremely careful.
Neither of them spoke until the large area of wound disinfection was finished. By the time Hikigaya gradually got used to the periodic itchiness and pain, his tense body also began to relax.
"...Finished." Yukinoshita wrapped gauze around Hikigaya's wound and let out a satisfied breath.
She slowly raised her head, only to suddenly find Hikigaya's face inches away.
Yukinoshita and Hikigaya froze in place.
Looking at the girl up close, one could feel even more the captivating beauty of the girl named "Yukinoshita Yukino."
Her skin was as white and smooth as a pearl, her dark blue eyes were slightly moist, her long eyelashes fluttered, her nose bridge was high and straight, and her pinkish-white lips were a little dry from dehydration.
Just then, Yukinoshita's slender shoulders suddenly trembled, and her long black hair slipped down.
Hikigaya finally snapped out of his daze, quickly shifted his gaze to the cave ceiling, and instinctively leaned backward, trying to create some distance.
However, this series of movements accidentally pulled at the fresh wound, making Hikigaya gasp with pain.
"...Um, thank you for treating my wound."
"No, I should be thanking you for saving me. Thank you."
Hikigaya broke the silence.
Yukinoshita gently shook her head, thanked him with a slight blush, and then sat back down on the folding chair, turning her face away.
Hikigaya also moved his gaze, only to see the gauze wrapped around his wound; the knot was tied in the shape of a bow.
'So that's what Yukinoshita meant by "Finished"... By the way, what's with this bow... It's kinda cute!'
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