"Just as Hiratsuka-sensei said, Hikigaya-kun is quite an interesting person~"
"Huh? Sakayanagi-san, you know Hiratsuka-sensei?"
"Hiratsuka-sensei is actually my homeroom teacher right now~"
"Is that so? I never expected Hiratsuka-sensei to end up at Advanced Nurturing High." Isshiki was surprised.
"She mentioned Hikigaya-kun to me briefly before, and now hearing Isshiki-san talk about him today... hehe, I'm finding Hikigaya-kun more and more interesting~" Sakayanagi smiled.
"Right? Senpai is a truly fascinating creature!"
Inside the private room, Sakayanagi and Isshiki chatted and laughed.
Of course, their conversation largely revolved around Hikigaya.
Isshiki enthusiastically recounted nearly all of Hikigaya's experiences from his second year, barely pausing for breath.
Sakayanagi listened intently, her eyes shining with intrigue.
As time passed, Sakayanagi suddenly sensed something was off. She glanced around and asked curiously:
"Huh? They still haven't come back yet?"
"Probably got an upset stomach."
Isshiki was deep in storytelling mode, completely uninterested in anything else. She continued excitedly:
"Then, after that, Senpai ran into the girl who confessed to him back in middle school."
"His middle school confession target?"
Hearing this, Sakayanagi's interest piqued even further.
"You mean Hikigaya-kun's first love?"
"You could call it that. Mm, I remember Senpai was super awkward about it. That first love of his even came up to tease him. But then..."
Isshiki rattled on like a storyteller in full swing.
"After some of Senpai's legendary moves, his first love regretted everything and clung to his leg, crying, 'Onii-chan, if you give me one more chance, I swear I'll say yes! I'm begging you!' And Senpai, with a cold and aloof demeanor, simply said—'You women…' Ahem!"
"I... don't think it was that dramatic?" Sakayanagi chuckled after thinking for a moment.
"Ahem, well, that's the general idea anyway, hehe..." Isshiki shamelessly covered up.
First, Hikigaya was her Senpai. As his underclassman, it was only right to hype him up in front of other girls.
Second, the girl in front of her was clearly very interested in Hikigaya. There was no way she'd say anything that might make Senpai look bad, right?
"So what happened next?" Sakayanagi continued, "Did Hikigaya-kun accept her confession?"
"No way! A good horse never eats the grass it's already passed. Senpai would never accept her! He didn't even want to acknowledge her."
"That does sound like him."
Sakayanagi smiled gently, nodding with approval.
"Hehe, then Hikigaya-kun must still be single, right?"
"Not exactly. Senpai already has a girlfriend."
"Hm... Hm?!"
Her expression flickered momentarily, and a strange glint flashed through her eyes. Then, she smiled sweetly and asked:
"He already has a girlfriend? Is it Isshiki-kaichou?"
"Eh? Me? How could it be me?"
Isshiki quickly waved her hands in denial:
"Not me, not me! Senpai's girlfriend is someone else."
"Who?"
Sakayanagi maintained her gentle smile, but an inexplicable pressure filled the air, making Isshiki feel an ominous chill.
After a few seconds of hesitation, that cold pressure finally got to her, and Isshiki answered:
"It's... our third-year Senpai, Yukinoshita Yukino."
"Yukinoshita Yukino? Yuki...noshita? That name..."
Sakayanagi murmured to herself several times, visibly surprised.
"Huh?" Seeing her strange reaction, Isshiki asked curiously, "Sakayanagi-san, do you know Yukino-senpai?"
---
Meanwhile.
Hikigaya turned around, ready to leave the women's restroom.
"Yukinoshita, I'll head out first. Take your time to freshen up. If you run into any trouble, just let me know—I'll be waiting outside."
However.
What felt deeply unsettling to Hikigaya was—
The girl behind him didn't respond immediately.
Instead, after a few moments of silence, she suddenly spoke in a cold, almost biting tone:
"Yukinoshita... Who is that?"
"What are you talking about? Yukinoshita is obviously... huh?!"
Hikigaya abruptly stopped mid-sentence.
Something was wrong.
That voice—
It didn't sound like Yukinoshita at all.
Was he hallucinating?
Slowly turning back, Hikigaya's gaze landed on the girl sitting on the toilet. Her face was icy cold, but a deep, indescribable embarrassment flickered beneath the surface.
"!"
His pupils shrank sharply, as if struck by lightning, staring in disbelief at the girl before him:
"Ho-Horikita?!"
"It's me."
Arms crossed, Horikita replied coldly.
Hikigaya's heart nearly stopped.
Looking around in confusion, he then turned his gaze back to the dark-haired girl sitting before him.
"You... why are you here? Just now, wasn't it..."
"Not Yukinoshita, is it?"
Horikita's cold voice sent a chill down his spine.
"This..."
He was sure it had been Yukinoshita—so how had she suddenly turned into Horikita?
Ugh, his head hurt...
Hikigaya instinctively rubbed his temples.
"W-why did something like that happen between us?"
Horikita's face remained cold, but her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, filled with humiliation and anger:
"You beast, you absolute scoundrel, you perverted degenerate..."
"I..."
Being scolded so fiercely, Hikigaya had no idea what to do. He could only murmur an apology:
"S-sorry..."
"Do you think a simple apology is enough?! My... my most precious thing has been ruined by you... Damn you! You beast! I... I'm completely ruined!"
A single tear slipped down Horikita's cheek. She trembled with rage, her emotions running out of control.
"!!"
Hikigaya's heart clenched as he instinctively glanced at the floor, his face rapidly changing color with a hint of remorseful embarrassment.
"I'm really sorry, this is my fault..."
"I don't want your apology!!" Horikita shouted, emotions surging.
"Sigh... then what do you want me to do? Punish me however you like."
Watching the girl's tears fall, Hikigaya sighed internally, feeling deeply guilty.
"Punishment, huh?!"
Horikita's eyes flashed with a chilling intensity. In a cold voice, she declared:
"You beast! You ruined me... You deserve to die! I'm going to kill you! I..."
She suddenly stood up, her emotions boiling over as she prepared to attack Hikigaya.
Hikigaya closed his eyes in resignation.
However.
Just as Horikita stood up, her foot slipped for some mysterious reason.
Thud!
Horikita stumbled toward Hikigaya.
In the next second—
Their lips met. Again.
Horikita: "!"
Hikigaya: "?!"
"???"
Hiding in the next stall, Yukinoshita fumed with frustration.
Wuwuwu! You call him a beast, yet look at you! Hypocrite!
Hah! Women!"