Chapter 290 Third Semester, The Mixed Training Camp
January 12th marks the beginning of the third semester. After a half-month winter break, the students' bodies and minds have been liberated. Furthermore, with Class D's class points at 140, each person received 14,000 private points. Without considering saving points for a crisis, this amount is more than enough for most high schoolers to have a great time as pocket money.
Hikigaya was the only one in class who had to "go to school" during the break, working at the Student Council every day. Having finally rested for three days, the new semester immediately arrived. Not only that, but on this first day back, Chabashira-sensei announced a new special exam.
"A forest exam?"
"Is it outdoor living like the deserted island exam?"
"And we have to live with the senpais?"
"This is way too much trouble!"
"Chabashira-sensei, can we opt out?"
Facing the flurry of chatter, Chabashira Sae raised her hand in a silencing gesture.
"Quiet!
I have already sent the public information regarding the contents of the forest exam to the class group chat.
Don't ask questions even if you have them. Once we arrive at the destination, the proctors will explain it to you.
Now, everyone line up and get on the bus!"
Under Chabashira Sae's urging, the members of Class D boarded the bus one after another.
"Wuaaa~" Hikigaya yawned, looking bored. Having no intention of sitting with others, he headed straight for the back row. The bus had a total of 55 seats; for 37 students plus a few teachers, there was plenty of room.
"Hachiman-kun, can I sit next to you?" Kushida Kikyo took the lead, rushing toward the back row.
"Uh, there are so many empty seats up front, why don't you sit elsewhere?"
"Does Hachiman-kun hate sitting with me?"
"It's not that. I just wanted to monopolize the back row so I could lie down and sleep," Hikigaya spoke the truth.
"Oh~ So that's how it is..." Kushida Kikyo clapped her hands together, a sunny smile on her face. "It's okay, Hachiman-kun can lie on my la—"
"Kushida-san, don't block the way.
Also, Hachiman, get up. I want the inside seat."
Horikita Suzune was as self-centered as ever.
'Damn btch! Interfering with me again!'
Kushida Kikyo, whose speech was interrupted, was filled with rage.
"Suzune, why did you come over too? And you just have to sit on the inside?" Hikigaya said, exasperated.
"I like staying in the corner to read quietly." Horikita Suzune pulled a book of foreign literature from her bag.
"Fine, you take it then." Reasonably, Hikigaya had no grounds to monopolize a whole row, so he stood up to give her the seat.
"Thank you." Horikita Suzune brushed her hair aside and naturally took the innermost window seat.
However, just as Hikigaya was about to sit back down, he was pulled up by Kushida Kikyo, who squeezed in first.
"Ara~ I suddenly really want to sit with Horikita-san." Kushida patted the spot next to her and said with a smile, "Hachiman-kun, sit here."
Horikita's hand turning the page paused for a moment. Just then, a small episode occurred at the front of the bus.
"Hey! Hasabe, why are you blocking the door?"
"The teacher said we should board in an order, don't push!"
"..."
"Oh no! Sakura is trying to make a break for it!!"
Under Hasabe Haruka's cover, Sakura Airi successfully boarded the bus and immediately rushed for the back row.
"Hachiman-kun... can I sit next to you?" Although it was a question, Sakura Airi sat down urgently before Hikigaya could respond, fearing someone else would steal the spot.
Following closely, Hasabe Haruka also successfully occupied the last remaining seat in the back row.
"Dammit!"
"A step too late!"
Karuizawa's trio, who boarded later, could only stare blankly at the already full back row. Kushida Kikyo was internally on high alert.
'These two working together are truly hard to deal with!'
Sandwiched between four girls, Hikigaya felt sharp gazes occasionally shooting back from the front of the cabin. He felt restless... actually, he didn't. By now, he was long used to this level of contact and didn't care much. Hikigaya calmly closed his eyes to rest.
Next to him, Sakura Airi spoke softly: "Um, if Hachiman-kun is tired..." "I... I can give you a la... lap pillow!" After finishing stiltedly, Sakura Airi lowered her bright red face.
'This child, she's so shy yet she actually said something so bold?'
Hikigaya was surprised, but before he could respond, Kushida Kikyo, sitting on his other side, couldn't help but flare up!
"Sorry, Sakura-san. I already offered Hachiman-kun a lap pillow first!" Kushida used a gentle voice to deliver harsh words.
"..." Sakura Airi was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.
Her best friend next to her couldn't sit still and immediately countered: "Kushida-san, please don't make up lies as you please."
"It's not a lie, it's a fact," Kushida argued firmly.
"Who can prove it?" A glint flashed in Hasabe Haruka's eyes, and she turned her gaze toward Horikita, who seemed to be reading.
"Horikita-san, did you hear it just now? Did Kushida-san say that?"
'Cunning big-chested woman! Knowing full well that Horikita and I are at odds. That btch will definitely pretend she didn't hear anything!'
Kushida's face darkened.
However, much to her surprise, Horikita Suzune slowly closed her book.
"I heard it. Kushida-san did indeed say just now that she wanted to give Hachiman a lap pillow."
"???" Hasabe Haruka was dumbfounded.
"!!!" Kushida Kikyo's eyes widened.
"I believe everything should follow 'first come, first served.' Since Kushida-san brought it up first, Hachiman should prioritize responding to her," Horikita said matter-of-factly.
"Uh, that seems to make sense..." Hikigaya's expression was awkward. He looked at Kushida's thighs. Her black over-the-knee socks looked ordinary, but the way they tightly hugged her skin gave off an inexplicably lewd vibe.
"Heehee~ Come on, Hachiman-kun~ Don't be shy~~~" Kushida patted her thigh, gesturing for him to lie down.
"Then I'll trouble you for a bit." Hikigaya rubbed his eyes; he really was sleepy. He leaned back, his neck resting on her fragrant, soft thighs.
"Ugh~" Watching Hikigaya lie on another woman's lap, Sakura Airi bit her lip, looking unwilling to accept it.
"Do you understand? What's going on here? Horikita is actually helping Kushida?" Karuizawa's trio, sitting in the row in front, had been observing in secret.
However, they soon found out why. Horikita Suzune suddenly reached out, her fingers pressing onto Hikigaya's head and cheeks respectively.
"Horikita, you...!" Kushida's eyes went wide. Touching her man's head right in front of her was practically NTR!
"Uh, this is?" Just as Hikigaya was about to open his eyes, his eyelids were gently pulled down by her thumbs, manually closing them.
"This is a massage technique I taught myself during winter break. You happen to be the perfect experimental subject." Horikita Suzune spoke seriously, getting to work with a sense of righteousness.
"Case closed! Cunning Horikita actually used Kushida to deal with Sakura, then reaped the harvest herself!!" Karuizawa's trio suddenly realized.
"How is it, Hachiman? Is the pressure okay? Does it feel good?" Horikita asked while massaging.
"Yeah, not bad, very comfortable..." Hikigaya showed a look of bliss.
Wait, did he just hear the sound of teeth grinding? The next second, something was stuffed into his mouth. Hikigaya subconsciously chewed.
'A Pocky stick?'
"It's chocolate flavor. Is it good, Hachi?" Hasabe Haruka was holding a box of snacks, feeding the reclining Hikigaya.
"Uh, it's alright..." What Hikigaya wanted to say was that eating while lying down is unhealthy.
"Airi, didn't you bring strawberry yogurt? Hachi looks thirsty." Hasabe Haruka shot a look at her best friend.
"Oh, right!" Sakura Airi understood immediately and took a bottle of yogurt from her bag.
"Actually, I don't—" Hikigaya was about to refuse, but faced with a straw pushed into his mouth, he could only drink it.
"Huff huff huff!" Watching them all harass her man in front of her, Kushida Kikyo was about to explode with rage, her thighs shaking impatiently.
"Um, Kikyo, are your legs numb?" Hikigaya noticed the dissatisfaction of the person providing the lap pillow and prepared to get up.
Unexpectedly, Kushida's legs suddenly spread apart. The gap caused Hikigaya's head to sink, and she took the opportunity to lift one leg, pressing it over his face.
"Mmph?!" Hikigaya suddenly couldn't breathe.
"Hey! Kushida-san, what are you doing? Hachiman-kun looks like he's in pain, please let go of him!"
Calling it "pain" wasn't entirely accurate. For most men, being smothered under a beautiful girl's plump thighs didn't seem like a painful thing at all.
"Heehee~ I was just playing a joke on Hachiman-kun. Why are you all so nervous?" Kushida opened her legs, releasing a flushed Hikigaya.
She pretended to be surprised. "Oh? Hachiman-kun, are you shy?"
"Is there a possibility that I almost suffocated?" Hikigaya took a few deep breaths.
"Oh dear~ My apologies~~ But Hachiman-kun's saliva got on my thigh, so we're even." As she spoke, Kushida tried to touch Hikigaya's lips with her finger.
"!" Sakura Airi slapped her hand away.
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
"Eek!"
"She actually got physical!"
"The weak Sakura, for real?!" The Karuizawa trio in the front were getting addicted to the drama.
"Sakura-san?" Kushida narrowed her eyes. A girl who seemed soft and easily bullied in class dared to strike her, the woman with the most social power?
"Kushida-san, you can't just put unwashed hands into someone else's mouth." Sakura Airi looked up, staring at her with a stern gaze.
"Are you saying my hands are dirty?" Kushida gave a fake smile.
"What if she is? Who knows if your hands have been picking your toes? Unhygienic person!" Hasabe Haruka supported her best friend unconditionally.
"Oho!"
"Fight!"
"Hurry up and fight!" The Karuizawa trio couldn't wait for them to tear each other apart so they could take their place!
"Um, everyone, please don't fight." Facing the tension, Hikigaya carefully tried to mediate from the middle.
"Whose fault do you think this is?" Horikita shot him an annoyed glare.
For the next two hours of the bus ride, the four girls on his left and right were hostile to each other, their gazes clashing in the air and sending off sparks! Hikigaya, caught in the middle, bore the brunt of the fire from both sides.
.
.
.
After enduring the journey like it was torture, they finally arrived at their destination: the forested land at the foot of a mountain in the western suburbs of Tokyo. All students disembarked. Hikigaya was pale and drained of energy.
The bus next to them carrying Class B students also arrived.
"Hachiman-kun~ Good afternoon... eh? You look quite pale. Are you motion sick?" Ichinose Honami ignored the strange looks from others and walked up to Hikigaya with a face full of concern.
Hikigaya instantly felt the gazes of the girls behind him.
Their burning stares felt like they were about to set him on fire!
"I'm fine," Hikigaya said helplessly. "Honami, you should go back to your class line."
"It's okay, my class is full of disciplined, good kids. Even if I don't watch them, they'll line up on their own." Ichinose Honami seemed not to hear the hints in Hikigaya's words and continued to stand close to him.
"Ichinose-san, if I may be blunt." Horikita Suzune stepped forward, driving the other away with a righteous tone.
"The special exam is about to begin. There is a high chance our class and yours will become enemies. Before our status as friends or foes is determined, we should avoid unnecessary communication to prevent misunderstandings from other classes."
"Yeah, it's for your own good too. You are the leader of Class B," Kushida spoke up in support. In terms of excluding women from other classes, her stance was identical to Horikita's!
"But in my view, besides being an exam, this is also a rare outdoor activity. I'm looking forward to making wonderful memories with friends from other classes." Ichinose Honami used softness to overcome strength, appearing elegant and decent, which resonated with students from various classes on the scene.
In terms of charisma, no one in the first year could shake Ichinose Honami's status!
"Ichinose-san put it so well. I'm also looking forward to getting along with everyone from the other classes~"
The people from Class A disembarked, and Sakayanagi Arisu led the way over.
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