Chapter 114 The Three Go for a SPA Together
"My Ibuki has been in your care. Thank you, Ichinose-san."
Shiina Hiyori offered her sincere thanks.
"No, Ibuki-san's athletic ability is excellent," Ichinose Honami waved her hand. "She can climb trees to pick wild fruit; she really helped Class B a lot."
"As nimble as a monkey...
Well, at least you got to utilize your specialty, Ibuki," Hikigaya said with a teasing look.
"Who are you calling a monkey?"
Ibuki Mio's face instantly turned red with rage. She pinched Hikigaya's face with both hands, then stood on her tiptoes and brought her head close to his.
"!"
"Wait a second!"
Shiina Hiyori and Ichinose Honami were both struck with alarm. Both reached out at the same time to stop Ibuki Mio.
"Why are you pulling me?" Ibuki Mio asked, looking bewildered.
"Ibuki-san, you weren't planning to just now... were you?" Ichinose Honami hesitated to finish the sentence.
"Yeah!" Ibuki Mio replied righteously.
"Eh?!" Ichinose Honami's eyes widened in shock.
"Ichinose-san, I think you've misunderstood something," Hikigaya explained with a strange expression. "This girl was planning to give me a headbutt."
"A head... headbutt?"
"Oh, so that's how it is!"
"Hahaha~"
Ichinose Honami immediately broke into an awkward laugh.
"Sigh~ Ibuki is always doing unexpected things." Shiina Hiyori held her chest, looking as though she had breathed a sigh of relief.
"Huh? What on earth are you two talking about?" Ibuki Mio blinked, her eyes full of innocent confusion.
Hearing this, Shiina Hiyori and Ichinose Honami glanced at each other, sharing a silent, mutual understanding.
Ahem~ Hikigaya knew exactly what they had been thinking. Of course, he couldn't explicitly state the nature of that awkward misunderstanding.
"They were worried you'd knock your brains out and turn stupid."
"How could that happen? I've always been very smart."
Hikigaya: "..."
Ichinose Honami: "..."
Shiina Hiyori: "..."
"Hey! Why did you all suddenly stop talking! And what's with those looks in your eyes?" Ibuki Mio felt a surge of frustration.
"Yes, yes~ our Ibuki is very bright and clever." Shiina Hiyori's eyes curved into crescents, her face full of affectionate care.
"Baby Ibuki is very cute~" Ichinose Honami even tried to reach out to pat her head, but Ibuki dodged it.
"Ibuki, you can call me 'Onii-chan'." Hikigaya said with a serious face.
"Go to hell!!"
Ibuki Mio, filled with shame and anger, delivered a vicious low kick toward his groin.
"Whoa, whoa! Are you trying to murder your own husband?"
Hikigaya was startled and hurriedly dodged.
"You... you're all teaming up to bully me!" Ibuki Mio stamped her foot in frustration, turned around, and stomped away.
"That girl really has a terrible temper."
Hikigaya let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, his back went cold as he realized Shiina and Ichinose were staring intently at him.
"Uh, what is it...?"
"Hikigaya-kun, what exactly did you mean by 'murdering your own husband'?"
"If I haven't misunderstood, the meaning of that phrase refers specifically to a wife committing violence against her husband, right?"
Ichinose Honami explained with a straight face.
"That's... well, yeah... Ah, I used the wrong word!"
Hikigaya's face flushed with extreme embarrassment.
In his dreams, he and "Hikigaya Mio" often played around like this.
She would occasionally use that same low kick attack—of course, it was just a feint, she never really kicked hard, and they were always barefoot. It was a bit of playful intimacy between a husband and wife...
"That's not allowed, Hikigaya-kun. You shouldn't make that kind of joke lightly."
Although Shiina Hiyori's tone remained peaceful, her eyes were exceptionally stern.
"..."
Hikigaya humbly admitted his mistake. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over him again, accompanied by an aching back.
"It seems Hikigaya-kun's energy is completely depleted." Shiina Hiyori keenly noticed his fatigue.
"Wait, there's one more place I want to go with Hikigaya-kun."
Ichinose Honami actually made a suggestion at this moment, which was a bit difficult for him.
"Don't worry, it's not a strange place. The cruise ship has a SPA service. They offer massages and oil treatments; it's very helpful for eliminating physical fatigue!"
What? SPA service? That sounds incredibly strange, okay!
Hikigaya was just about to refuse when he saw that Shiina Hiyori was unexpectedly interested.
"Going for a SPA... I heard my older cousin mention it before. They say it's very good for the skin."
As long as it's a girl, they'll be interested in beauty treatments.
"Really? Then Shiina-san should come along too!" Ichinose Honami took the opportunity to extend the invitation.
'Exactly. You two have each other as company, you can just go together.'
"Okay, then the three of us should go together."
"???"
Hikigaya's head was full of question marks.
"No, no, no, I don't care if my skin is good or not."
"Come on, come on~ the staff on the ship are all professionals, their massage techniques are excellent!" Ichinose Honami's eyes were glowing as she pushed the recommendation.
This sounded even stranger; Hikigaya wanted to go even less! However, right at that moment, someone hugged his arm.
'Shi... Shiina-san?!'
Feeling the soft contact against his arm—which was slightly larger than Ibuki's—Hikigaya's body stiffened.
"I... I learned this from Ibuki-san..."
Shiina Hiyori forced herself to endure her bashfulness, looking up and staring directly at him. "To deal with a stubborn Hikigaya-kun, one should just use force."
"!!!"
Ichinose Honami's eyes widened, and a "ready to try" look appeared on her face.
Hikigaya predicted her move and preemptively raised his other arm.
"Why won't you let me hug it! Hikigaya-kun, this is unfair!" Ichinose Honami looked at him, pouting.
"No, this has already exceeded the boundaries of 'ordinary classmates'."
Hikigaya didn't dare let Ichinose act recklessly. He knew the people from Class B were constantly watching them. If Ichinose Honami actually hugged his arm, it would be a huge disaster!
"So in Hikigaya-kun's heart, I'm just an ordinary classmate?" Ichinose Honami looked heartbroken.
'If not an ordinary classmate, what else could there be?' Hikigaya wanted to tell the truth, but meeting Ichinose Honami's resentful gaze, he couldn't say it.
"Maybe... perhaps a tiny bit better than an ordinary classmate?" Hikigaya pinched a tiny distance between his index finger and thumb.
"Then what about Shiina-san?"
"...! ! !"
He felt his arm being hugged even tighter all of a sudden!
Hikigaya was forced to change his tune: "We are friends."
"Friend" is the most common and ordinary relationship in society. But for Hikigaya, the definition of "friend" was extremely strict. One absolutely cannot be called a friend unless they are truly recognized by his heart.
"Mmm~ We are friends. However, can we take it a step further... at least by calling each other by our given names?"
Shiina Hiyori took a bold step forward.
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