The next morning.
The two days following the Sports Festival were the weekend.
Hikigaya put on his school uniform and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the message from Ichinose on his phone. The celebration party was to be held at a Karaoke bar at 6 PM.
To be honest.
Hikigaya really didn't want to go.
He felt that if he went, he would just sit to one side and eat, only making the atmosphere awkward.
More importantly.
The celebration party seemed to use class funds.
Since he hadn't handed over any Private Points, freeloading on class funds made him feel a bit guilty.
But if he didn't go.
Ichinose obviously wouldn't let it go.
If the celebration party was forced to be postponed indefinitely because of him, that would feel even worse.
Hikigaya really had a headache.
It was the first time he'd met someone as unreasonably gentle as Ichinose.
"Forget it."
Hikigaya pushed these worries to the back of his mind for now.
He had experienced this in middle school anyway; he would just sit to the side and eat.
It was already approaching mid-October.
The weather was gradually turning colder, and he needed to buy some casual clothes for autumn and winter.
In the past, Komachi and his mom had been responsible for this.
Now that he was on his own, a boy had to learn to take care of himself.
After a casual breakfast, Hikigaya left the dormitory.
He had earned 150,000 Private Points yesterday, so naturally, he had to treat himself.
Keyaki Mall residential area.
Hikigaya observed the surrounding shops from time to time. He had to admit the staff here had great manners.
In the past when he went to malls.
He often triggered the staff's vigilance, being viewed as a pervert or a strange person.
Now he realized.
No one had ever been wary of him.
As grades get better, the average quality of the people around also gets higher. Occasionally improving one's grades isn't a bad thing.
Perhaps because he earned 150,000 Private Points yesterday, or because he could clearly feel the environment becoming increasingly friendly.
An unconscious smile appeared on Hikigaya's lips.
After all, there wasn't much difference between T-shirts; it was fine to have a few free T-shirts for summer, but for winter clothes, spending some money would likely mean better quality.
"Ah..."
Just then.
Hikigaya accidentally made eye contact with Yuki Himeno, who also opened her small mouth slightly with a surprised expression.
Today she was wearing a gray long-sleeved knit top with a white pleated skirt and carrying a pure white handbag.
It wasn't exactly a normal student style, but rather looked like a gyaru.
But her face was exceptionally clean like a normal student's, which made the look feel somewhat neither here nor there.
She probably wanted to dress up but was afraid of being corrected by Ichinose and the others, so it turned into this strange outfit.
No one else was seen around.
It looked like Yuki Himeno was still out wandering alone.
Hikigaya was suddenly in a dilemma.
If he just turned and left again, he would probably be killed by Yuki Himeno. If he went up to say hello, it might feel a bit presumptuous.
Come to think of it.
He only listened to Yuki Himeno complain at the club and occasionally ran into her outside a few times. Calling them friends might be inappropriate.
"Heehee."
Just then, Yuki Himeno walked up to him with light steps, leaned her delicate body forward to look up at Hikigaya, and said with a mischievous smile:
"It's a surprise you didn't run away. I thought you would turn and leave again."
"..."
Hikigaya turned his face away in disgust.
Exposing someone's shortcoming right away, this person really has an ill-natured personality.
"Don't worry about it so much, I'm praising you."
Yuki Himeno seemed to realize she had gone a bit too far and tapped his shoulder with a smile:
"Turning and leaving when you see an acquaintance is very rude. This is fine, though it would be even better if Hikigaya could take the initiative to talk to me next time."
"..."
Pretending not to see is indeed rude. Hikigaya's face turned red as he retorted:
"Fine, next time I'll greet you when Ichinose and the others are present."
This person has been playing the "good girl" in class.
If he suddenly greeted her in class, it would definitely be unusually conspicuous, and he believed Yuki Himeno certainly wouldn't want that.
"Hmm..."
Yuki Himeno looked up at him and thought for a while with a troubled expression.
She felt that if Hikigaya could greet her, it would be equivalent to showing an intention to integrate into the class.
It didn't seem bad.
Ichinose and the others would be even happier, naturally.
Most importantly, seeing Hikigaya greet her, others should also have some self-awareness.
Thinking of this, Yuki Himeno agreed frankly.
"Sure, if Hikigaya greets me, I'll definitely respond properly. So, when do you plan to greet me?"
"Wu..."
This person's "responding properly."
Would most likely be giving a few polite, superficial words in front of Ichinose and the others.
This kind of surface-level interaction.
Thinking about it, Hikigaya felt he'd rather not. He really wasn't a match for Yuki Himeno. He quickly raised his hand and said:
"Forget it, I surrender."
"Sigh."
Yuki Himeno gave a faint sigh and raised her beautiful eyes:
"Whatever. So, Hikigaya, are you here for shopping? By the way, why are you still wearing your school uniform on the weekend?"
"Buying clothes."
Hikigaya gave a dry laugh.
He felt he could already predict what would happen next.
"That's perfect then."
Yuki Himeno's eyes lit up: "I'm here to buy clothes too. I'll give you some advice!"
It really turned out like this.
Hikigaya hesitated for a moment, his tone also hesitant.
"If someone sees us, won't it be troublesome for you?"
At the same time he said it, Hikigaya became self-aware.
At the beginning of school.
Yuki Himeno had also helped him as an advisor.
The question was, why didn't he care about these things at the start of school, but now he was starting to care?
Hikigaya quickly found the answer: at the start of school, he didn't care at all, but now he didn't want to cause trouble for Yuki Himeno.
Whether he liked it or not.
The relationship between the two had indeed grown closer.
"Eh?"
Doesn't this mean that Hikigaya also cares about her a bit, and cares about how others see them?
Thinking of this, Yuki Himeno's fair face flushed slightly, and she said with a mischievous smile:
"Hikigaya cares a lot about what others think?"
"I don't."
Hikigaya said speechlessly: " I'm talking about you. If someone sees us hanging out together, it might lower your reputation. Class B might be fine, but people from other classes will probably laugh at you mercilessly."
"That kind of thing doesn't matter~"
Yuki Himeno waved her hand dismissively, sounding a bit disdainful:
"There are indeed those types who judge others based on labels, but just deal with them superficially. Besides, we're in the same club, we can totally use that as an excuse."
Come to think of it.
Although Yuki Himeno's social circle was definitely much wider than his.
But this person was just playing the "good girl" in class.
It was even less likely for her to become good friends with other classes.
Most of the time, she was probably being led around by Ichinose, reluctantly dealing with other people.
Although Yuki Himeno's true personality was quite ill-natured, her social skills were at least above his, so there really was no need to worry.
"Fine then, where are we going?"
Hikigaya still left the choice to her.
If it were just him, he would probably just buy a black down jacket and end the battle in two minutes.
"Hmm. Let's look at Hikigaya's clothes first, and then you can help me look at mine."
Yuki Himeno looked left and right and quickly walked towards a shop on the side.
"Eh?"
Hikigaya followed behind her, puzzled. Letting him pick out clothes was out of the question.
"I'm not boasting, but if we go by my aesthetic, you might become an object of ridicule in social settings."
"It's fine."
Yuki Himeno fell back a step to walk side-by-side with Hikigaya.
"It's just for reference. Whether I pick them or not isn't certain. Besides, I'm quite pretty and have a good figure, I should be able to pull off anything!"
Speaking with confidence.
As she spoke, Yuki Himeno puffed out her chest a bit proudly, which immediately caught Hikigaya's eye.
"I see."
Hikigaya's face turned red.
There was nothing to argue about; this person was indeed beautiful and had a very good figure, a bit of a "curvy" girl.
Slim where she should be slim, and well-proportioned where she should be.
It was just that black hair mixed with blue; it looked like a gyaru style no matter how you looked at it. Whether she suited any kind of clothing was indeed uncertain.
The two arrived in front of a shop.
The sign had an English brand name Hikigaya didn't recognize. After a quick glance around, Hikigaya felt a bit helpless.
The shop was full of flashy, strange clothes—what others called "trendy."
Those people who chased trends were the ones with the least personality.
Since they needed to chase trends, didn't it mean they had no aesthetic of their own?
"There don't seem to be any down jackets here..."
Hikigaya believed that as a mature and stable man like himself, he definitely had to wear a down jacket.
"Is the only thing in your head down jackets?"
Yuki Himeno rolled her beautiful eyes: "And besides, it's only mid-October. It's not yet the season for down jackets. There aren't many shops selling them."
"Hey, don't push, don't push."
After saying that,
Hikigaya was pushed into the shop by Yuki Himeno. Feeling the gazes of the people around him, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.
This ill-natured woman was always so boisterous.
Doesn't she know that men and women shouldn't be so physically close?
"So just buy a trench coat first."
"Eh? No, trench coats aren't warm either."
Hikigaya quickly refused.
He had tried them in middle school; after all, trench coats are really cool.
But as he got older.
Hikigaya also realized that he really didn't suit trench coats.
"It's fine. A trench coat is just right for now. In winter, you just need to wear a sweater inside."
Yuki Himeno smiled and pushed Hikigaya in front of a display rack.
"Besides, since you rarely go out anyway, it's perfect!"
"That makes sense..."
Hikigaya was momentarily stunned and actually unable to refute.
Since he wore his uniform to school anyway and didn't go out on holidays, buying a down jacket was less comfortable than buying warm pajamas.
"Then let's go buy pajamas?"
Hikigaya suddenly felt an urge to leave.
"We can buy those later. Let's try on the trench coat first."
Hikigaya had more of a headache. Why did he have to buy everything?
Just then, Yuki Himeno waved off the approaching clerk and picked up a black trench coat to hold up against Hikigaya.
"Um, I actually don't suit trench coats very well..."
Hikigaya said helplessly.
He felt that he was really not good at dealing with Yuki Himeno, or strictly speaking, not good at dealing with these girls.
"How will you know if you don't try?"
"Alright, this one first. Go try it on quickly!"
Yuki Himeno stuffed the trench coat into his hands and pushed Hikigaya into the fitting room with her small hands.
"..."
Hikigaya looked back at Yuki Himeno, who would push him every now and then.
He felt incredibly wronged.
Why doesn't this person listen? You can't bully people like this!