Chapter 093 Follow Your Heart, Hold Her in Your Arms
The malicious incident of the stolen underwear had transformed into a rosy little story about a "frivolous Gyaru." The members of Class D treated it like a piece of juicy gossip and eventually dispersed.
"Please wait a moment, Hikigaya-kun!
If it's alright, could we speak privately?"
Hikigaya thought to himself: In this situation, can I even say no?
Under the ambiguous gazes of the crowd, the two of them walked to a remote corner.
"Here's your stuff back." Hikigaya spoke first, returning the pink underwear to her.
"...Um, things aren't actually like that!" Karuizawa Kei's face was beet-red as she hurriedly tried to explain.
"I know. Karuizawa-san made up that lie to help clear my name, right?"
Hikigaya said thoughtfully. He didn't believe for a second that a Gyaru would voluntarily give her underwear to a boy, especially since Karuizawa Kei's Gyaru persona was a complete fabrication.
"Yes, yes, exactly!" Karuizawa Kei nodded like a woodpecker. Then, she felt a strange, inexplicable sense of chagrin.
"That said, the fact that Hikigaya-kun didn't get the wrong idea at all gives me a bit of a sense of defeat..."
Hikigaya remained calm. Last night in his dream, he had seen her entire body; the visual impact had already reached its peak. At this point, a mere pair of underwear wasn't enough to stir his heart.
"Hikigaya-kun, aren't you going to ask me why?" Karuizawa Kei's eyes flickered, her words loaded with hidden meaning. For instance, why would a strong-willed Gyaru be so terrified and tearful over a stolen pair of underwear...
"Everyone has secrets in their heart. I have no interest in prying into someone else's past." Hikigaya had actually already guessed the gist of it.
"As expected, Hikigaya-kun is a very suitable person to confide in." Karuizawa Kei breathed a sigh of relief. A person like him wouldn't go around blabbing even if he knew her secret.
"If you want to confide in someone, wouldn't Hirata-kun be a better choice?" Hikigaya expressed his confusion. From the perspective of most girls, the sunny, handsome, and gentle Hirata Yousuke was undoubtedly the optimal choice.
"I considered that at first, but... I always felt that Hirata-kun might not be suitable to rely on. By comparison, Hikigaya-kun isn't quite as gentle...
Sorry! I mean, Hikigaya-kun isn't as gentle as Hirata-kun... wait, that's not a bad thing! Argh! What am I even saying?" Karuizawa Kei became incoherent, eventually scratching her hair in frustration.
"It's fine. I understand what you mean. Coincidentally, I also dislike people who are too gentle." Hikigaya could hear the unspoken message.
A person who is too gentle is gentle to everyone equally! For Karuizawa Kei, who sought to attach herself to someone, that kind of gentleness offered no sense of security whatsoever.
"Hikigaya-kun... you really understand everything, don't you?" Karuizawa Kei widened her eyes in surprise.
"Can't be helped. You learn through experience."
"I'm very interested in Hikigaya-kun's story!"
"Sorry, I'm not in the habit of exposing my own dark history."
"I see... then, can Hikigaya-kun listen to my story?" Karuizawa Kei suddenly took a step forward, looking up at him with pitiful eyes. Their faces were only a fist's distance apart.
Hikigaya did a tactical lean-back. "I don't mind playing the listener for once."
Being the target of sexual rumors... Verbal humiliation... Indoor shoes being stolen... Homework notebooks being torn up... False accusations of cheating on exams... Being cornered in the bathroom and slapped... Violent group beatings after school...
Karuizawa Kei counted off the bullying incidents she had personally experienced. Painful memories flooded back, making her whole body tremble as tears poured out uncontrollably. Hikigaya silently handed her a tissue.
Although he had speculated about her past, the truth was even darker than he had imagined.
"You... didn't you go to the teacher?" As soon as Hikigaya spoke, he knew he had asked a very stupid question.
"...But the teacher said, 'Why don't they bully anyone else, just you?' and told me to reflect on myself." Karuizawa Kei gave a tragic smile on her pale face.
Hikigaya was stunned.
He thought he should be grateful that his middle school homeroom teacher was a responsible and good person. Although he wasn't well-liked in class due to his personality, at least he hadn't faced physical violence.
Now that he thought about it, it wasn't that those people didn't want to use violence, but that they had been severely sanctioned by a certain "Iron Fist" female teacher!
"In the second half of my second year of middle school, they cornered me... they said my hair was too conspicuous and they wanted to help me cut it off! I fought back with all my might, and then..."
As Karuizawa Kei spoke, her trembling hands slowly lifted her shirt. On the left side of her flat stomach, there was a hideous, terrifying scar.
"!" Hikigaya's pupils shrank. The location of the scar was exactly the same as the one he saw in his dream.
"The doctor said it was nearly a puncture to the spleen and internal artery, which would have caused fatal hemorrhaging..." Karuizawa Kei's eyes grew dim, losing their light. It was hard to imagine that a normal middle school girl had once faced such a severe threat to her life.
"So... you disguised yourself as a Gyaru to protect yourself?" Hikigaya's expression was complex.
In reality, his relationship with Karuizawa Kei wasn't even that good. Yet at this moment, he couldn't suppress a pang of heartache.
'What should I do? I really want to hug her...'
"Waaaaah!" Karuizawa Kei suddenly couldn't help but throw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably as her emotions collapsed.
"Why do I have to suffer like this... I didn't do anything wrong... Waaaaah!"
Facing the girl crying her heart out in his arms, Hikigaya's lowered hands involuntarily rose. The hesitation on his face flashed and vanished; ultimately, he chose to follow his heart. Hikigaya wrapped his arms around her, holding Karuizawa Kei tightly in his embrace, his palm gently stroking her soft, honey-blonde hair.
"!!!" Karuizawa Kei's eyes widened slightly. It was magical. Even though she was being held by a boy she wasn't that familiar with, it gave her an inexplicable sense of peace.
'So warm. Ah~ I really want to be held by him like this forever.'
"...It's okay. I will protect you."
It was a scene reminiscent of something else, clearly cringeworthy enough to make one want to crawl into a hole. But Hikigaya said it anyway. Worst case scenario, he'd just roll around in his tent in embarrassment later!
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