Chapter 334: Late Night Visit at the Small Hours
After personally watching Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio leave, Sakura Airi and Hasabe Haruka let out an immediate sigh of relief. They exchanged a glance and revealed a smile of victory.
[Class D United Front Command Center]
"C-Class's Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio just came looking for Hachiman. Airi and I have already driven them away." "Beautifully done!" "A short while ago, Sakayanagi and Kamuro from Class A were also intercepted by Horikita and me." "You guys did great!" "By the way, any movement from Ichinose in Class B?" "We haven't seen her buying chocolate yet, but we can't rule out whether she secretly bought ingredients to make her own." "I propose we take turns guarding the hallway to prevent any other 'homewrecking cats' from getting close!" "Leave it to us!"
The group chat reached a consensus. The next shift for the watch fell to Karuizawa Kei, Matsushita Chiaki, and Sato Maya.
The three of them waited like hunters for a rabbit. After squatting for the night, they actually managed to spot a target!
"Who's there!"
At the entrance of the fourth-floor stairs, a girl appeared wearing a hat and glasses, her face further concealed by a mask.
"Eh-eh?!"
The other party seemed startled, stuttering and unsure of how to answer.
"You... you're Ichinose, right?"
Karuizawa Kei narrowed her eyes, identifying the girl's identity.
"No, no... I'm not Ichinose!"
The girl hurriedly waved her hands in denial.
"Stop pretending! Your top-tier body can't be hidden!"
Karuizawa Kei's gaze drifted downward, staring at the massive curves on the girl's chest, her lips curling into a look of extreme displeasure.
"Ugh... So I've been found out."
Her identity exposed, Ichinose Honami had no choice but to take off her mask, letting out an awkward laugh.
"Ichinose-san. Showing up at the boys' dormitory in the middle of the night—what exactly do you think you're doing?"
Matsushita Chiaki stared at her with sharp, piercing eyes.
"..."
Ichinose Honami scratched her head. Instead of answering, she countered: "Well, aren't you guys at the boys' dormitory too?"
"We are here to protect Hachiman-kun from being night-raided by bad women!"
Sato Maya raised an eyebrow and glared.
"I wasn't doing a night raid..."
Ichinose Honami's eyes flickered as she responded with feigned composure: "I just wanted to talk to Hachiman-kun."
"Hmph! Do you think we'd believe that kind of ghost story?
You're a terrible woman who spent a whole night during the training camp moaning in your sleep!"
The gaze Karuizawa Kei directed at her was filled with hostility.
You should know, Kei hadn't even tried "eight times" in her dreams—this woman was basically treating Hachiman like cattle!
"Wuuu~ Can we... can we please not mention that?"
Ichinose Honami covered her face in burning shame.
"In any case, you are a dangerous woman. We can't let you get near Hachiman-kun!"
Sato Maya's attitude was resolute.
Facing the iron-tight defense of the Karuizawa trio, Ichinose Honami found herself without options and was forced to retreat dejectedly.
"Hmph!"
"Another great enemy driven away!"
"Who's next?"
"Hey!"
"You over there being sneaky—I see you! Come out!"
"Um... I'm here to find Hirata-kun. Can you let me through?"
"Hirata? Go ahead, go ahead~"
"Good luck to you."
As it turned out, the "homewrecking cats" were more numerous than expected. It wasn't just first-year girls; even second and third-year senpai were coming to join the fray.
"These thirsty graduates actually want to lay hands on a kouhai, how shameless!"
"I'm seriously done. How can there be so many women targeting Hachiman-kun?"
"It can't be helped. Hachiman with glasses is just too handsome."
The trio guarded until 10:00 PM, right up until the dormitory curfew.
"Operation: Great Success!"
"We finally blocked every woman trying to get close to Hachiman-kun!"
"Yoshi~ That's it, a pleasure working with you!"
"Tomorrow for Valentine's Day, we'll follow the agreement and draw straws to decide the order."
"In the end, it'll be every woman for herself!"
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"I really didn't expect those reckless characters to join forces.
But that's fine. It saves me quite a bit of trouble."
Hachiman was lying on his bed, leisurely reading a light novel. He was exceptionally alert tonight. As the clock neared midnight, he didn't feel sleepy at all.
The main reason? The novel was too good!
It was absolutely, absolutely not because he was worried about some major disaster occurring for tomorrow's Valentine's Day!
Hachiman forced his attention onto the novel in his hands. After flipping a few pages, he realized he had already forgotten the previous plot.
"Calm down!
It's fine. There are still eight hours before school tomorrow.
If I stand straight, I needn't fear a crooked shadow. There's nothing to be... afraid of!"
Hachiman shook his head, planning to sleep in ten more minutes.
Ding—ding—ding—
It was the subtle sound of the wall clock striking the hour. At the same time, almost perfectly synchronized, the doorbell rang!
Knock, knock, knock~
Hachiman hadn't expected someone to visit this late. Filled with doubt, he walked to the entryway and looked out through the peephole.
"...Why is it them?"
Hachiman's expression stiffened involuntarily.
The person outside seemed to sense him looking through the peephole and smiled at it while waving.
"Good evening, Hachiman-kun."
Hachiman originally wanted to play dead and stay silent. But another person started pounding on the door with her fist.
"Open up, Hachiman!
The dorm manager is about to do rounds!"
'No, if the manager is doing rounds, then you guys should leave immediately! What's the point of staying glued to my door?'
After waiting a bit longer and seeing that the people outside had no intention of leaving, Hachiman helplessly opened the door to prevent even bigger trouble.
"Hiyori, Mio... what are you doing?"
The visitors were none other than Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio, who had just said their goodbyes to him a short while ago.
"Fulfilling our promise.
We said 'see you tomorrow,' didn't we?"
Shiina Hiyori smiled slightly, a hint of craftiness in her eyes.
"Tomorrow?"
Hachiman glanced up. The clock hands had already ticked past midnight.
Well, strictly speaking, it was indeed a new day.
"It's curfew time, isn't it? How did you get here?" Hachiman asked, looking puzzled.
"Did Hachiman-kun forget?
The curfew only stipulates that boys are forbidden from entering the girls' dorm after 10:00 PM. There are no such restrictions for girls."
Shiina Hiyori smiled gracefully.
"Heh! Those two big-chested, brainless women really thought they drove us away, huh?"
Ibuki Mio sneered in mockery. Then, she turned her body and slipped past Hachiman into the room.
"..."
Before he could speak, Shiina Hiyori followed suit, squeezing in from his other side. In that instant, the two were on his left and right, almost brushing against his body. Two different sweet, youthful scents wafted into his nose, causing Hachiman to subconsciously step aside.
'Seriously... I can excuse Mio for being thick-skinned, but even the elegant and ladylike Hiyori is making such a reckless move?'
"What are you looking so depressed for?
Two beauties voluntarily coming to your room in the middle of the night—you should be waking up from dreams laughing!"
After entering, Ibuki Mio sat down unceremoniously on his bed. Shiina Hiyori, meanwhile, scanned the surroundings as if searching for something.
"Um... Hiyori, I'm not hiding any other women here," Hachiman reminded her.
"Sorry~ I shouldn't have doubted Hachiman-kun...
It's mainly because the girls in your class have been particularly aggressive lately. I was afraid they might 'guard the hoard only to steal it themselves.'"
Shiina Hiyori performed a serious inspection of the room, not even sparing the bathroom or the space under the bed. Finally, she specifically glanced at the trash can to see if there were any suspicious rubber products.
Hachiman's mouth twitched violently.
'Just how did she develop such proficient "cheater-catching" skills?'
"Very good! It looks like we are the first to give chocolates!"
Ibuki Mio looked very pleased. She pulled an exquisite, small box from her jacket pocket: "Here~ this is for you!"
"Hachiman-kun, Happy Valentine's Day."
Shiina Hiyori simultaneously produced a differently colored box.
Facing the beautifully packaged chocolate boxes handed to him by the two, Hachiman felt an uncontrollable stir in his heart. At this stage, he had no choice but to accept them.
"Thank you!"
In the past, aside from his "world's cutest" little sister, no other girl had ever given him chocolate. As for Kiryuin-senpai shoving it into his mouth, that could at best be counted as a "courtesy chocolate" given on a whim.
And the two girls in front of him, maybe they were also just...
"It's 'Honmei' (True Feeling) chocolate!"
Shiina Hiyori seemed to see through his inner conflict, sealing the deal by revealing her heart.
"I like Hachiman-kun.
I want to become even closer to you.
I am certain that Hachiman-kun is my 'Genuine Thing'!"
Hiyori took a step forward, taking his right hand and interlacing their fingers.
"...Me too!"
Ibuki Mio's face turned bright red. Being unskilled with words, she could only copy Hiyori by taking his left hand and locking their fingers together.
There was no escape. The defense lines Hachiman had built deep within his heart completely collapsed at this moment. He squeezed their palms firmly and was about to speak.
"So, Hachiman, when are you going to dump the other women?"
Ibuki Mio spoke first, looking at him with an expectant face. Hachiman's mouth hung open as cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
"Huh? What's with that expression?
With Hiyori and me, you've already gotten a huge bargain.
Why do you still want other women!!!"
Ibuki Mio's face darkened as she spoke through gritted teeth.
"I am deeply ashamed of my own despicableness!"
Hachiman didn't deny it; he was incapable of being monogamous in his feelings.
"... I thought the intimacy between Hachiman-kun and me was the highest."
Shiina Hiyori lowered her eyes, her expression appearing somewhat sad.
"No! It's not like that!
Hiyori... how should I put it?
Actually... actually, from the first moment I saw you, I... I liked you..."
The initial meeting between Hachiman and Hiyori had been in the library. Facing this quiet, elegant girl, his first impression had been excellent. It was just that back then, he had never considered taking things further with her.
Firstly, influenced by his past dark history, he didn't want to fall for the "Three Great Delusions of Life." Secondly, he cherished his time with Hiyori and feared that pushing the relationship would scare her off, leaving them unable to even be friends.
"Really?"
Hiyori's eyes lit up, instantly regaining their luster.
"Hey, what about me!
Hachiman, when did you start liking me?" Ibuki Mio asked urgently.
"...Probably when we were sparring in the Martial Arts Club. Your high kick hit me right in the face."
Hachiman scratched his head with an embarrassed look. The reason sounded a bit ridiculous, but the feeling of "liking" someone is completely illogical!
"I see! For me, it was that time I sprained my ankle. You didn't mind my smelly feet and personally applied medicine and massaged it for me... It made me feel you were very gentle, and then I liked you!"
Ibuki Mio gazed at him with eyes as soft as water.
'...Can I tell her that's just my fetish?'
However, to avoid ruining the beautiful atmosphere, Hachiman chose to skip that topic.
"In that case, why can Hachiman not look only at us?"
Shiina Hiyori was lost in thought. Finally, as if suddenly realizing a possibility, her face went pale: "Don't tell me, Hachiman has already agreed to date another girl?"
"No, but... actually, it's pretty much like that." Hachiman was vague.
Those he had already engaged in "practical combat" with were Kamuro Masumi, Horikita Suzune, and Hasabe Haruka.
"A relationship even deeper than expected!"
Having confirmed it with a look—though Hachiman hadn't said it explicitly—Hiyori had already guessed the truth. Her eyes instantly went dim and lifeless.
Ibuki Mio had also realized by now. She grabbed his collar with a face full of fury: "Hachiman! You scumbag!
You just couldn't help yourself?
Why didn't you come to me!"
Ibuki Mio stomped her feet in anger. She had finally convinced herself to join forces with Hiyori. A "three-person party" was already a shocking move. Yet, she never expected there were other experts who had beaten them to the punch!
This was infuriating!!!
"It seems we have fallen quite far behind."
Shiina Hiyori let out a long sigh, her face full of defeat.
"Dammit! It's so irritating!"
The more Ibuki Mio thought about it, the angrier she got. Suddenly, with an elbow strike, she knocked Hachiman to the floor.
"Cough, cough! Mio, what are you doing...?"
Hachiman clutched his aching chest, barely able to catch his breath. Ibuki Mio said nothing; she went straight for it and straddled him, her hands pinning his arms down so he couldn't move.
Then, she shouted to the stunned Shiina Hiyori: "Hiyori! What are you waiting for?
Since we've fallen behind the current 'version' of the game... We need to rise up and catch up right now!!"
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