On the other side.
"See you tomorrow, Hiki~"
"Oh..."
After saying goodbye to Kobashi Yume and the others.
Hikigaya raised a hand in acknowledgement. As he stepped out of the elevator on the fifth floor, he saw someone he didn't expect.
Shiina Hiyori!
At that moment.
She was leaning against the balcony railing facing his room, holding a book and reading with great interest.
Appearing on the boys' dormitory floor.
She must be looking for him, or was she here for someone else?
Seeing her so engrossed in her reading, Hikigaya hesitated about whether to say hello.
But if he did and she just gave a forced smile and said "well, I guess so," it would be a bit awkward.
Back in junior high.
Because a girl often talked to him, and he found out the first letter of her crush's name was "H," he had mistakenly thought she liked him.
The result was no.
He even earned the nickname "Narcissistic-gaya" because of it.
However.
Shiina Hiyori shouldn't be that kind of person. He felt she would just lazily give a sweet smile and say something like "you're finally back."
Speaking of which.
Don't stand in front of someone's room to read.
It's really quite troublesome.
Should he say hello or not?
After hesitating for a moment.
Hikigaya decided to test the waters. He walked quietly up to Shiina Hiyori before speaking a greeting:
"Oh... oh..."
He must have eaten too many milk candies today.
Who greets someone like that? Hikigaya felt a wave of embarrassment.
"Ah?"
Shiina Hiyori finally looked up. Seeing it was Hikigaya, she finally let out a lazy smile:
"Hikigaya-kun, you're finally back. I've been waiting for quite a while."
"Oh... oh..."
Hikigaya must have eaten too many milk candies. Internally, he finally breathed a sigh of relief:
"Is something the matter?"
"I came to apologize."
Shiina Hiyori pressed her hands together, her face full of apology:
"I'm sorry for pretending not to see you at the cafe earlier."
"It's nothing, I'm used to that kind of thing."
Hikigaya didn't care much.
Being ignored was something he was long accustomed to, but it was a first for someone to come all this way specifically to apologize for it.
Hikigaya was quite puzzled.
"Why go out of your way to come here and apologize?"
"Hmm?"
Shiina Hiyori tilted her head, only reacting after half a beat:
"Oh right, can I call you Hiki like Kobashi and the others do?"
"Is saying no going to work?"
Not understanding why the topic had suddenly shifted, Hikigaya asked with a headache.
He really didn't want to be called "Hiki."
It was honestly a bit shameful.
But even when he refused, Kobashi Yume and the others ignored his opinion entirely. There was nothing he could do.
He'd gotten used to hearing it after a while.
Speaking of which, this girl really was sitting behind them eavesdropping earlier, otherwise she wouldn't know Kobashi Yume's name.
"Then it's decided. You can call me Hiyori, too, Hiki."
Shiina Hiyori clapped her small hands with a smile before returning to the previous topic:
"Hiki's way of thinking is always so unique. Wouldn't a normal person care more about why I ignored them earlier?"
"Uh..."
Those normies probably would, because being ignored by an acquaintance would leave them with a sour face all day.
"Maybe I'm just used to it?"
To him.
Being ignored was normal; someone like Shiina Hiyori coming over specifically to apologize was what was rare.
"Forget it."
Shiina Hiyori rubbed her arms and looked at his room. "By the way, it's a bit cold out here."
"True."
Hikigaya nodded.
It was nearly winter, and the weather had indeed turned cold.
In fact.
Some girls were already wearing thick leggings and scarves.
Better finish this quickly.
"Then if you have something to say, say it quickly."
"Uh..."
Shiina Hiyori was suddenly stunned, staring straight at Hikigaya.
She had noticed before.
This guy's thinking wasn't just a little bit unique.
"What I have to say might take a little time."
A smile appeared on Shiina Hiyori's lips.
While she didn't necessarily have to go into a boy's room, she couldn't help but want to tease him.
Shiina Hiyori was curious.
How would Hikigaya respond this time?
"Can't you say it next time?"
Hikigaya felt helpless.
What couldn't be left for next time?
"Procrastinate today and there will be many tomorrows"—there are countless tomorrows, so troublesome things should just be pushed to tomorrow.
"Uh..."
Shiina Hiyori tilted her head and glanced at the dormitory door again:
"Can't we go into your room to talk?"
"Ah, no."
Hikigaya waved his hands quickly, saying awkwardly: "The inside is a bit..."
"I don't mind."
But I do, Hikigaya thought helplessly. "Should we go back to the cafe? Or the library?"
"Fine, fine."
Shiina Hiyori sighed before looking up:
"Actually, I don't want Ryuuen to know that we know each other, though it probably won't be a secret for long."
"Uh, why?"
"Because you want to live a quiet school life, right Hiki?"
Shiina Hiyori's lazy face turned slightly serious. "Ryuuen is very dangerous. If you still want to live a quiet life, you'd better not provoke him like that again."
Everyone.
Thought Ryuuen was a dangerous guy.
But in Hikigaya's eyes, Ryuuen's level of scariness was nowhere near these girls.
As long as a girl rejects you seriously.
Her level of scariness is enough to make one's blood run cold.
He wasn't comparable at all to a small-time thug like Ryuuen who used violence.
"I was just telling the truth. Besides, didn't he ask me to speak?"
Hikigaya said helplessly. "And I really don't think Ryuuen is all that dangerous."
"Naive!"
Shiina Hiyori said helplessly:
"Hiki, you know too little about the school. Since the start of the year, Ryuuen has been constantly testing the school's rules."
"And he can use violence on anyone without hesitation. Don't think for a second that he'll have any reservations because of the school rules."
That might be true.
From what Hikigaya knew, something happened between Class C and Class D at the start of the year, and Ryuuen used violence to dominate the class.
During the island test, he stayed alone until the last day.
His spirit was certainly something.
But he still didn't feel scary.
"No."
Hikigaya was speechless. "Even if it's as you say, and he's constantly testing the limits of the rules, doesn't that just prove he's bound by them?"
"Maybe you only find him scary because you have concerns about class points?"
Ryuuen might have some skill.
But with such reckless use of violence, if you always walk by the river, your shoes are bound to get wet. It's just that no one has stood up to him yet.
If Ryuuen dared to use violence on him.
Hikigaya believed.
He certainly wouldn't be their match in a fight, as those people had plenty of brawling experience.
And he.
Had only bullied Komachi when they were little.
But he would appeal to the very end.
If those guys were so strong, why didn't they just blow up the school? The strongest ones were definitely the school authorities and the student council who held the power.
"But..."
Shiina Hiyori pursed her lips, feeling a bit of a headache:
"I don't want to see a conflict between you and Ryuuen. For Class C, Ryuuen's presence is necessary. There's really no one in Class C who can compete with Sakayanagi, Ichinose, or Horikita."
"I see."
A smile appeared on Hikigaya's lips, and he raised a hand in a promise:
"Then you don't need to worry. While I don't like those thugs, I won't go out of my way to provoke them either. I'll just walk around them."
Just keep them at a respectful distance.
A gentleman does not stand under a crumbling wall.
Like those reckless normies.
They know a bar is dangerous, but they feel it's not dangerous just because they brought a friend.
So naive.
Hikigaya wouldn't make such a low-level mistake just because of Hiyori's presence; he would just steer clear.
"I see. That's good then."
Shiina Hiyori smiled brightly, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
If they hadn't met by chance.
Hikigaya probably wouldn't have any interaction with those people in his entire life.
As for asking him to give up on the class competition, Shiina Hiyori naturally wouldn't say much. Everyone would just do their best when the time came.
"By the way, I've already finished the book you recommended last time. How about you?"
"Oh, me too."
"Then..."
Shiina Hiyori quickly rummaged through her bag and pushed three thick books in front of Hikigaya.
"This is my recommended reading list for this time. I happen to have them in my collection, so Hiki, you must read them."
"No, that's a bit..."
Hikigaya quickly raised his hands to push them back.
Exchanging reading lists was one thing.
After all.
Advanced Nurturing's collection was huge; you could basically find anything.
Occasionally, he could discover treasures through Shiina Hiyori, like last time with Farewell, My Lovely.
Normally, Hikigaya would never want to read such a book.
Only after reading it did he realize it was a hidden gem about how "simp" characters come to a bad end. Hikigaya didn't mind exchanging reading lists between the two of them.
But exchanging books directly from Shiina Hiyori's personal possession felt a bit off.
It would be fine if it were a fellow otaku, but for a girl who loved literature like Shiina Hiyori, she would generally treasure her books dearly.
If he happened to crease a page.
It would be truly regrettable.
He would also have to worry about when to return them, making it impossible to read freely. If he forgot the return date, he'd feel even worse.
In short.
There were many troubles.
It was much more convenient to borrow books from the library.
"Eh? Why?"
Shiina Hiyori furrowed her brow in confusion. "Doesn't Hiki also love reading? We could exchange lists last time, so why not this time?"
"It's just..."
Hikigaya said somewhat sheepishly: "My reading habits aren't very good. If I get them dirty, it would be really embarrassing. You can just tell me the titles."
"Not really?"
Shiina Hiyori thought for a moment before saying: "I remember last time in the library, your reading habits were very good. Even the sound of you turning pages was very faint."
"That was..."
"Don't worry about it. As long as you don't break them on purpose, it's fine. You can return them whenever."
Seeing Hikigaya still hesitating, Shiina Hiyori shoved the books into his arms.
"Now, Hiki, tell me your recommended books again."
"Fine."
Hikigaya helplessly cradled the books with one arm, took a pen and paper from his shoulder bag, thought for a moment, wrote down a few titles he liked, and handed it over.
"Then after the exams are over, let's talk about our thoughts on the books. Bye~"
"Oh..."
Watching Shiina's back as she entered the elevator, Hikigaya looked at the books in his hand with a sigh.
She really does love books.