Chapter 285: Linked Dream: Hikigaya and Nazuna
"Hachiman-kun!"
"Too slow!"
"Why are you heading back?!"
Karuizawa and the other two, hearing the commotion, blocked Hikigaya's path of retreat.
Facing five girls surrounding him from the front and back, Hikigaya flashed an awkward yet polite smile: "Um, why are you all up so late at night, standing in front of my dorm?"
"We came to celebrate Christmas with Hachiman-kun."
Hiyori Shiina wore a red Santa hat, and even her clothes had been swapped for a red dress, a stark departure from her usual plain style.
"Don't look at me like that, Hiyori made me wear this."
Ibuki Mio was wearing a white shirt with a large bow on the chest and reindeer antlers on her head, looking extremely embarrassed with a stiff expression.
"Why are you guys here too?"
"Dammit! They even used costumes!"
Karuizawa and her trio were in ordinary daily clothes. While they looked fine, they lacked the freshness of the holiday theme.
"You guys... sigh... never mind."
Hikigaya originally wanted to use the excuse of being tired after a long day to persuade them to leave, but since they were already here, kicking them out would be too rude.
"Come in first."
"Excuse us."
"Sorry for coming over unannounced. We didn't cause Hachiman-kun any trouble, did we?" Hiyori Shiina folded her hands and closed one eye in apology.
"No, I'm actually quite happy you came. I'm just not quite used to it."
In Hikigaya's past life, holidays were basically spent with his sister. He had never experienced the joy of a holiday with friends.
"Really not used to it? I saw Hachiman-kun tasting four 'Couple Sets' today with Horikita, Kushida, Sakura, and Hasabe. You seemed to be enjoying yourself quite a bit." Karuizawa Kei brought up the gossip she'd heard.
"Uh, that..." Hikigaya broke into a cold sweat.
"I also heard Hachiman-kun stole the Student Council President's childhood friend for a date," Matsushita Chiaki added a fresh piece of drama.
"Those are all rumors! Rumors can't be trusted!" Hikigaya denied it flatly.
"Pfft~ Everyone is saying now that the Public Morals Committee is the one that is corrupting public morals the most" Sato Maya giggled, covering her mouth.
'This is slander and defamation!!' Hikigaya cursed internally.
He suspected that students he had caught violating school rules over the past two days were maliciously spreading rumors as revenge. But with it spreading so widely, it was hard to say if someone was pushing it behind the scenes.
"That's so mean. Should we help clarify things for Hachiman-kun?" Hiyori Shiina offered kindly, her face full of righteousness.
"Hachiman-kun is clearly a devoted, good man!"
'This girl... her words have a double meaning...'
"Better not. Boring gossip isn't worth mentioning." Hikigaya waved his hand, declining Hiyori's kindness.
Under this kind of public opinion, having girls clarify for him would likely only have the opposite effect.
"Let's do something fun instead." Karuizawa Kei pulled out a large bag of snacks and drinks from behind her.
"Five people—this is perfect." Sato Maya pulled out a board game. "Let's play Monopoly."
-
-
-
The celebration lasted until the early hours of the morning.
The five girls were having the time of their lives and showed no signs of leaving. Hikigaya, having been busy all day, couldn't hold out any longer and fell asleep face-down on his bed.
The remaining five girls seemed to be competing with each other, forcing themselves to stay awake.
"Shiina-san, Ibuki-san, it's so late. Aren't you going back?"
"No need to worry. I have a habit of reading novels at night; I'm not sleepy yet."
"Hmph! Why aren't you going back? Are you planning to do something bad secretly?"
"Ibuki-san, you must be joking. What bad thing could we do?"
"You're all 'gals'! A night attack isn't impossible!"
"Tch! Talking all high and mighty... the ones who want to pull a night attack are you guys!"
The five girls stood their ground, none willing to yield. Time reached 2:00 AM. They were all drowsy and yawning. Staying over was impossible; it was winter, and there wasn't enough bedding.
They couldn't all crawl into Hikigaya's bed together, could they?
Eventually, after an "emergency meeting," they decided to leave at the same time. And just like that, Room 404 returned to silence.
-
-
-
But Hikigaya's dream was not silent.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a gentle, orange-haired young woman sleeping beside him.
"Senpai... It really came true. She entered my dream." Hikigaya didn't know whether to laugh or cry. By now, however, he wasn't shocked. He was used to it.
Looking at her beautiful sleeping face, Hikigaya couldn't resist leaning in and giving her a peck on the cheek as a response to her earlier "reward."
"Mmm..." Nazuna's slender eyebrows twitched as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Good morning, Nazuna," Hikigaya said, skillfully changing his address.
"Huh?" The newly awakened Nazuna seemed confused, looking at him blankly.
'Hmm? Is the address wrong?'
"Wife? Honey?" Hikigaya tried different titles.
For some reason, the expression on Nazuna's face seemed to go even blanker.
"Um... wait a second?" Nazuna rubbed her brow. Was something wrong with her brain? She only remembered that last night was Christmas, and after a date with her kouhai, they had become much closer. But they hadn't reached the point of official dating, let alone becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.
How did it suddenly fast-forward to marriage and becoming a couple? Someone tell her—what is going on here?!
"Hikigaya-sen... I mean, why are we sleeping together?"
Hearing how she addressed him, Hikigaya was stunned for a moment before falling into deep thought. Being clever, he quickly solved the mystery.
"I see. Is this roleplay?" Hikigaya struck his palm with his fist.
"Reliving the beautiful memories of high school."
He had encountered similar situations when dreaming of Arisu and Masumi.
Once, when Masumi woke up, she pretended she didn't know what was happening and wouldn't let him get close.
Arisu explained that Masumi liked roleplaying and urged him to just go for it.
Hikigaya was skeptical at first, but after a few trials, he found that while Masumi told him to get lost, her body became more and more cooperative.
He was a believer after that.
Finally, after "imparting a large amount of knowledge" to her, Masumi finally admitted she was Hikigaya Masumi. Arisu stood by with a half-smile, as if contemplating a deep mystery. Hikigaya hated that "trashy" expression of hers and dragged her over for a "thorough education" on the spot.
Based on these precedents, Hikigaya subconsciously thought Nazuna also liked this style. "Then should I call you Nazuna... Senpai?"
"That... isn't out of the question." Nazuna nodded reluctantly.
'See? She accepted it. It really is roleplay!'
"By the way, Kouhai, did you get more handsome? And you seem more mature." Nazuna realized a bit late that the man in front of her looked several years older.
"Nazuna-senpai is so cute, praising me in such a roundabout way~" Hikigaya chuckled.
"Ugh~ such an arrogant expression..." Nazuna puffed out her cheeks.
At this point, she realized she was likely dreaming.
Honestly... she had just gone on a date with her kouhai and immediately dreamed of being married to him.
Waaaah! If word got out, she'd die of embarrassment!
Thinking this, she could only force herself to stay calm and play the role of "Hikigaya Nazuna."
"Hachiman... Kouhai."
"Yes, Nazuna-senpai, at your service."
"I'm a bit hungry. Can you cook some noodles for me?" Nazuna asked cautiously.
According to Japanese tradition, it's usually "men outside, women inside."
Only a few men are willing to enter the kitchen.
"No problem. Just wait." Hikigaya agreed readily.
Cooking for his wife was a mandatory skill for a house husband.
"Phew~" Seeing Hikigaya get up to leave, Nazuna breathed a sigh of relief, whispering to herself: "It seems the married version of my kouhai is a pretty good man."
"Wait, is this just my own fantasy?" Nazuna tiptoed out of bed to check the mirror on the dressing table. She was wearing a snowy white spaghetti-strap nightgown, her hair in a side ponytail—very much the "young wife" look.
"...How did these things... have a second growth spurt and get so big?"
Nazuna cupped the weight on her chest, her expression turning subtle. In her second year of high school, she was a D-cup; now she was a heavyweight F-class!
"No, I never craved having giant breasts. Why would I dream this?" As the saying goes, "thoughts by day, dreams by night," but Nazuna was utterly baffled.
"Whatever. It's stupid to seek logic in a dream."
Nazuna chuckled and let it go. She leafed through a drawer and found an album.
"Oh?" Nazuna's eyes moved. "This is my high school graduation commemorative photo?"
She opened it with interest. It was full of photos of her with her classmates. Surprisingly, her childhood friend Nagumo Miyabi did not appear in any of her photos.
Not even in the class group photo...
While she was pondering the reason, her attention was caught by another photo. In it, Hikigaya was wearing glasses and holding a bouquet of flowers, while she was hugging him intimately with a blissful smile on her face.
"Arrogant Hachiman-kouhai actually looks so handsome with glasses." Nazuna beamed.
Just as she was about to keep looking, Hachiman's voice came from the living room.
"Nazuna-senpai, breakfast is ready. Come and eat."
"Oh! Coming~~" Nazuna felt cheerful, suddenly thinking that a dream like this wasn't so bad after all.
After carefully grooming herself in front of the mirror, Nazuna walked out.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"A wife dressing up for her husband—I couldn't be happier." Hikigaya expertly gave the "correct" answer.
"Heehee~ Your mouth is quite sweet. Here's a reward k.i.s.s~~"
On a whim, Nazuna stepped forward and stood on her tiptoes. She had intended to peck his cheek, but since it was a dream, she figured crossing the line a little wouldn't matter.
Chu! A brief touch. That was the most she could bring herself to do.
However, Hikigaya had no intention of letting it end there. He took the initiative and delivered a deep, "French" style moisturizing kiss.
Nazuna's eyes went wide, then gradually became hazy.
It was a bold and beautiful dream.
À
À
à
The next morning.
The Student Council was on holiday. Hikigaya maliciously speculated if Nagumo Miyabi had held an orgy the night before and was too tired to get up.
'What an enviable guy!'
Hikigaya only dared to "misbehave" with his senpai in his dreams. But then again, even though it was a dream, why was he so tired? Whatever, he didn't want to think about it. Hikigaya buried his head back into the pillow, intending to catch up on sleep.
However, his nap didn't last long before there was a knock at the door.
It was winter break! Normal people should be sleeping in at home!
Knock knock knock!
Hikigaya intended to play dead, thinking the person would give up. As expected, the knocking stopped. But then, the sound of a key in the lock gave him a huge shock. Was it a thief?
Click~
The person opened the door without any hesitation, acting as if they were coming home, swaggering right in.
Hikigaya opened his eyes—it really was a thief!
"Hachiman, what the... open the door if you're awake!"
The intruder was the master thief, Masumi Kamuro.
"Masumi, how do you have the key to my room?" Hikigaya asked in shock.
"My hands were itchy a few days ago, so I took it from your pocket. Just in case, I went and made a spare." Masumi explained with a straight face.
"That's just stealing! And how are you so confident about taking my key to get a copy? That's illegal entry!" Hikigaya ranted.
"Hmph! You're the one who illegally entered me first..."
Masumi's face suddenly flushed red as if she'd remembered something. She glared at him and said firmly: "In short, I'm keeping the key to this room! If you have a problem, go report me!"
'This girl... why is she suddenly being so unreasonable?'
"Sigh, forget it. Never mind that for now. So, Masumi, why are you here so early?"
"Can't I come see you if there's no reason?" Masumi stared at him with resentment.
"You've been very happy these past two days, busy playing with other girls!"
"Ahem, well..." Hikigaya looked awkward and wisely changed the subject.
"The weather is so nice today, I really wanted to ask you to go out and play!"
"Hmph! That's more like it. Get out of bed now," Masumi urged.
"Fine, then turn around." Hikigaya waved her off.
He still had to suppress his "bursting vitality" (morning wood).
Masumi subconsciously bent down, then her body suddenly stiffened.
"Um? What are you... doing?" Hikigaya was baffled.
"I... I'm doing push-ups! Don't worry about me!!"
"???"
'This girl... has she lost her mind today?'
Hikigaya felt completely lost.
Read ahead (160 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting