"Sigh."
Inside the dormitory.
Hikigaya let out a sigh as he lay on his bed, his expression exhausted.
Yesterday, he had finished buying return gifts for Kobashi and the others. Today, he had taken care of the gifts for Airi Sakura's group as well. At last, all the return gifts had been delivered.
With this rare winter break, it should finally be over… right?
Hikigaya fell asleep and didn't wake up until noon the next day—only to be startled awake by the sound of the doorbell.
"Who is it now?"
Hikigaya was somewhat annoyed.
Would this rare winter break ever let him relax? He quickly pulled out his phone to check, but there were no messages.
In that case…
…it probably wasn't someone looking for him. Maybe it was for a neighbor.
Hikigaya tossed his phone aside and buried his head back into sleep. The past few days had been far too exhausting.
In his hazy, half-dreaming state, Hikigaya felt that something was off.
Why had he instinctively checked his phone?
In the past, even if someone shouted the name "Hikigaya" on the street, his first thought would be that it was just a coincidence—or someone with a similar name.
But without realizing it, he had grown used to people coming all the way to the fifth floor to find him.
Habits really were terrifying things.
Time to sleep.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell showed no intention of stopping.
Wait.
Still half-asleep, Hikigaya frowned. It felt like he had forgotten something important.
The school dormitory had excellent soundproofing. Normally, you wouldn't hear a doorbell unless it was your own.
Since he could hear it, that meant someone was ringing his bell.
"Oh."
Hikigaya snapped fully awake.
He quickly threw on his pajamas and walked to the entrance, peering through the peephole. Ichinose was standing outside, just about to pull out her phone.
Feeling relieved, Hikigaya immediately opened the door.
"Ichinose?"
Hikigaya said apologetically, "Sorry, I was sleeping."
"It's already noon, you know?"
"No, I've just been a bit tired lately."
"I see~"
Looking at Ichinose's bright face and her I understand expression, Hikigaya scratched the back of his head.
"So… Ichinose, did you need something from me?"
Since she rang the bell, she must have come for him.
"Eh? Didn't we agree?"
Ichinose tilted her head in confusion.
"Because of the special exams and Christmas, we didn't have much time before. So I came today to ask Hikigaya-kun to go to karaoke together."
"Uh…"
Hikigaya finally remembered. There really had been such an arrangement. He suddenly felt awkward.
"I'm surprised you still remembered…"
"Of course."
Ichinose's expression turned serious.
"I said it before, right? I want to help Hikigaya-kun integrate into the class."
As expected of Ichinose—she truly was a woman of her word.
"That is…"
Hikigaya hesitated.
"I really don't like karaoke much. Maybe we should forget about it?"
"How will you know if you don't try?"
Ichinose's sapphire-like eyes grew even more serious.
"If you really don't like it, you can just sit on the side. Then we'll move on to the next activity."
Sigh.
Once Ichinose made up her mind, it didn't seem easy to change it. Letting her keep standing at the door would only make things more troublesome.
PAGE 3
"Alright, wait a moment."
With that, Hikigaya closed the door, leaving Ichinose momentarily dazed—though she didn't say anything.
It was a normal choice.
After all, he lived alone now.
If Kobashi and the others hadn't barged in as a group before, Hikigaya wouldn't have let anyone into his room.
Except for those guys in Class B who never listened.
Inside the room, Hikigaya quickly washed up, put on his posture corrector, and slipped into a trench coat. The return gifts had already been sent—strictly speaking, this was money he had spent on himself.
Since he'd bought it, it would be a waste not to use it.
"Sigh…"
Hikigaya sighed, feeling that today would be another busy one, before finally stepping out.
"Hm?"
Seeing Hikigaya walk out, Ichinose looked up in surprise.
"Hikigaya-kun, don't you suddenly look taller?"
"I'm not. It's just a posture corrector," Hikigaya replied casually.
"I see."
Ichinose looked him up and down.
"It looks good. You seem more refreshed than before. This is really nice, Hikigaya-kun."
"Oh."
Hikigaya gave a brief response.
At least it was an improvement—otherwise, the money would've been wasted.
At the karaoke.
"Hikigaya-kun, what song do you want to sing?"
Carrying their drinks into the private room, Ichinose immediately asked while operating the song-selection machine.
"No need. I'll just sit here."
Hikigaya dropped onto the sofa.
Since he couldn't refuse Ichinose, he'd just sit around for a bit. Thankfully, that wasn't too hard.
"No way!"
Ichinose turned back helplessly.
"Today's goal is to get Hikigaya-kun to sing. You have to sing at least one song—otherwise, I'll pick one for you."
"Wait."
Hikigaya said awkwardly,
"This is really embarrassing. You should just sing, Ichinose."
Aside from girls, ninety percent of high school boys who liked singing or playing guitar probably did it just to be popular.
Besides, he genuinely didn't know what song to sing.
Back in middle school, he had once gone to karaoke with his class.
He'd enthusiastically chosen an anime song—only to be laughed at. Singing otaku songs at karaoke was basically taboo.
"It's fine."
Ichinose waved it off.
"That's why only the two of us came. No outsiders. I won't laugh at you. If you don't pick a song, we'll just sit here doing nothing until time's up. Hikigaya-kun wouldn't like that either, right?"
Hikigaya felt helpless. Ichinose was unexpectedly pushy.
"Fine."
"Then it's settled. I'll sing first, and then Hikigaya-kun sings one."
Ichinose picked up the microphone and stepped to the center, choosing a popular song he didn't recognize.
Hikigaya leaned lazily against the sofa.
Come to think of it, the last time there were too many people around. This was the first time he'd really heard Ichinose sing properly.
As she swayed gently to the rhythm, a voice as pleasant as a warbler echoed through the room.
Under the dim lights, the usually cheerful Ichinose looked unexpectedly charming.
"How was it?"
After finishing, Ichinose asked openly.
"How was it…"
Hikigaya answered honestly,
"I can only say it sounded very good."
"Thank you."
Ichinose let out a small sigh of relief, a little embarrassed.
"I didn't expect singing in front of just one person to be this embarrassing. I was actually quite nervous."
Normally, in front of many people, she didn't feel much pressure.
But now, with only the two of them…
Seeing Hikigaya listening so intently made her feel strangely bashful.
Come to think of it, this was her first time singing alone with someone—and that someone was a boy.
Her gaze toward Hikigaya subtly changed.
Hikigaya was handsome, had good grades, and was strong. Without him, Class B's situation would probably be much worse.
And he was responsible.
He never asked for anything in return and always contributed quietly.
Aside from his awkward personality, he didn't seem to have many flaws.
She wanted him to integrate into the class—but something else seemed to be slowly sprouting in her heart.
She just hadn't realized it yet.
"I couldn't tell at all…"
Hikigaya felt she looked the same as always. To hide embarrassment that well—truly as expected of Ichinose.
She really was suited to standing in front of people.
"This song is called Kite."
Ichinose sat down beside him.
"It represents dreams and hope. The rhythm is light, so you might not have noticed. I really like it. Alright—now it's Hikigaya-kun's turn."
"..."
Taking the microphone that Ichinose practically shoved into his hand, Hikigaya walked over to the song machine with a sigh.
Since there was no escape, he might as well go through with it.
Most of the songs he knew were anime songs—but he'd learned his lesson from middle school.
Pretty Cure was definitely a no-go, no matter how good it was.
After hesitating, Hikigaya chose 'Blue Bird' from Naruto.
Compared to Pretty Cure, Naruto was a national-level series. Its songs should count as mainstream… probably.
Standing at the center, gripping the microphone stiffly with both hands, Hikigaya began to sing as the music started.
He'd sung this song countless times.
Even without the lyrics, he remembered every line.
But—
Could Ichinose please stop staring like that?!
There was no one else around. Just Ichinose, sitting directly in front of him, smiling as she listened.
So this was how it felt…
Like standing on a stage being evaluated.
This was way too embarrassing. Was this some kind of punishment?
After finishing the song, Hikigaya felt more exhausted than he had in the past few days combined.
"Oh…"
Ichinose clapped softly, making Hikigaya's face flush red.
"Don't do that. It's embarrassing."
"No, it isn't."
Ichinose smiled as he sat back down.
"That was great. What song was it?"
"Blue Bird…" Hikigaya replied casually.
The song was good. The singer—not so much.
"Hikigaya-kun doesn't come to karaoke very often, right?"
"I guess so. This is probably my fourth time."
Twice since entering this school, once in middle school, and once when he'd been dragged to a popular kid's birthday party.
Every dark history moment was etched deeply into his memory.
"As I thought."
Ichinose nodded.
"Your singing is pretty ordinary, but your low voice suits singing. If you come a few more times, you'll get better. It's not bad enough to be embarrassing. Why do you dislike karaoke so much?"
"Oh… oh…"
Hikigaya hadn't expected such a detailed evaluation.
"Well… thanks."
He scratched his head awkwardly.
"Ordinary" was acceptable… right?
"Then let's do another one."
"Another?"
Hikigaya immediately felt troubled.
"Yes."
Ichinose smiled sweetly.
"I actually like Hikigaya-kun's singing. Seeing someone try their best makes others want to try harder too!"
"Is… is that so…"
Hikigaya glanced at her and picked up the microphone again.
To draw such a life lesson from something so small—Ichinose's positivity was truly something else…