December 25th, Christmas
Sleeping until noon.
Hikigaya finally opened his hazy eyes.
On the first day of the holiday, he could still rely on his biological clock to wake up early. But after that, he became more and more lax.
Not sleeping in on a holiday—
That would be a disservice to the three words "day off."
After eating a simple bowl of instant noodles, Hikigaya lay on his bed like a salted fish, drinking a MAX Coffee while playing on his handheld console.
In any case.
He was absolutely not going out today.
"Ding-dong."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Hikigaya was startled. He quickly hid the handheld console under the bed, since it was technically something he had broken the rules to sneak into the school.
But then he felt something was off.
Even if there was an inspection, it wouldn't wait until after the holiday started.
Immediately after, Hikigaya pulled out his phone.
No one had contacted him.
With a puzzled expression, Hikigaya went to the entryway and peeked through the door's peephole.
Outside stood Kobashi Yume, Himeno Yuki, and Mako Asakura.
The entire Hikigaya group was gathered.
"Phew…"
Hikigaya let out a sigh of relief.
But then, something still felt wrong.
He remembered that the day before yesterday, Kobashi Yume had asked him if he had any plans for Christmas and even suggested going out together.
To be honest—
He really didn't want to go out today.
Putting aside the waste of private points, he'd also have to witness those idiot couples glowing with happiness.
That was nothing but self-inflicted damage.
Still, since they were already at the door, it wouldn't feel right to ignore them.
"Creak…"
Hikigaya opened the door, forcing a stiff smile.
"Oh, what are you guys doing here? Is something up?"
"Yahallo, Hikki~"
Kobashi Yume waved cheerfully.
"Didn't we agree to go out and play today?"
Don't go switching concepts on me.
The chat logs clearly said it depends on the situation.
"Oh, that… sorry."
Hikigaya stood at the dorm entrance, looking apologetic.
"I'm a little bit—"
"Eh? Does Hikki have something going on today?"
Mako Asakura tilted her head in confusion.
Excellent question.
"Yes. That's right."
Normally, the conversation would end here.
But for some reason, Hikigaya had a bad premonition.
His middle-school-tier excuses probably wouldn't work on Kobashi Yume and the others.
"What is it?"
Yume pressed further.
Hikigaya's gaze wavered.
"Right… that thing. I planned to clean my room today."
"Eh?"
Mako Asakura looked even more surprised.
"It's Christmas, you know? Why today? You can just do it tomorrow."
Oh—
That put-it-off-until-tomorrow mindset is indeed very important.
Wait.
"No…"
Hikigaya gave two dry laughs.
"It's a scheduled task. Changing plans just for fun wouldn't be good, right?"
"Indeed…"
Kobashi Yume nodded thoughtfully.
"Taking up Hikki's private time for housework because of us wouldn't be very nice."
Right?
Can you admit defeat now?
Hikigaya felt awkward, but he really didn't want to go out today.
Please, just reschedule it.
Then—
Kobashi Yume suddenly clapped her hands together, her eyes lighting up.
"Then how about this? We'll help you clean together! That'll be faster, and then we can go out and play. How does that sound?"
"I agree~"
"I don't have any objections either!"
The other two nodded.
Mako Asakura added curiously,
"But… a boy's room. I've been to lots of girls' rooms, but this is my first time entering a boy's room. I'm kind of excited."
…Right.
Kobashi Yume nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I wonder if it's any different from ours."
Hearing this, Himeno Yuki quietly glanced past Hikigaya.
Unfortunately for her, he was blocking the door tightly, revealing nothing.
The girls frequently visited each other's rooms, but entering a boy's room was indeed a first.
Naturally, curiosity was unavoidable.
"No…"
Hikigaya stiffened.
His room was a disaster.
The handheld console was still under the bed.
And there was absolutely no intention of cleaning.
If he let them in—
The outcome would be catastrophic.
He hurriedly thought of an excuse.
"There's really no need. It'd be embarrassing if people saw. You don't want gossip, right?"
That was the truth.
Studying together was one thing, but if people found out Kobashi Yume and the others entered his room—
Rumors would explode.
Kobashi dating Hikigaya? Were they threatened? How pitiful.
He personally wouldn't care.
But he couldn't do that to them.
Class B wasn't short on idiots.
He believed they could understand the risk.
"If Karuizawa hadn't caught a cold the other day, I wouldn't have even entered a girl's dorm…"
"So, does it matter?"
Kobashi Yume's eyes sparkled.
She turned to Himeno Yuki.
"Right, Yuki-chan?"
"Mmm… I don't really mind…"
Himeno Yuki blushed slightly.
What a faker.
Even if you're acting, shouldn't you consider Yume and Mako?
Hikigaya's eye twitched.
"Yeah, I don't mind either."
Mako Asakura added innocently.
"With so many people together, there shouldn't be gossip, right?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, Hikki, hurry up and let us in."
"Let's finish quickly and go out!"
"Wait—hey—!"
Like a school of fish, the three girls slipped past him and rushed inside.
Hikigaya followed behind helplessly, hands raised.
As for the door—
Leaving it open was probably safer.
Inside the room, the instant noodles he had just eaten sat on the table.
The bedding was in a mess.
Near the trash can, packaging bags lay scattered.
Hikigaya was terrible at housework.
Usually, Komachi handled it.
Now that he was alone, the place had fallen into neglect.
"This layout is exactly the same as our dorm."
"It really matches my image of a boy's room."
The girls looked around with curiosity.
Himeno Yuki's gaze drifted—
Eventually stopping near the trash can.
Ah.
Curiosity had taken over.
A boy living alone…
There had to be something suspicious in there, right?
Unfortunately—
After careful observation, she found nothing.
Just ordinary trash.
Her interest instantly evaporated.
It must be hidden somewhere.
"I told you it was messy. I'll clean it myself. You guys can go out."
Hikigaya said awkwardly.
"Not really?"
Kobashi Yume tilted her head.
"It's about what I imagined."
"Yeah."
Mako Asakura nodded.
"It's cleaner than I thought. I imagined all boys' rooms smelled weird, like my dad's."
"…Uh."
Hikigaya felt awkward.
Uncle would definitely be hurt hearing that.
"Then let's get started!"
Yume took charge immediately.
"Hikki, get some rags. Yuki, sweep. Asakura, organize. I'll mop."
Before Hikigaya could stop them, the three girls rushed into the bathroom.
He resigned himself and went to wash the rags.
Fine.
Cleaning wasn't bad.
But escaping today was impossible.
Inside the bathroom—
Three pairs of eyes locked onto the wastepaper basket.
"…Do you think there's anything?"
Mako Asakura whispered.
"Mmm."
Kobashi Yume made a subtle hand gesture.
"I heard boys in puberty all do that. There should be something, right?"
Himeno Yuki stayed silent.
But her gaze betrayed her thoughts.
It has to be here.
"I heard online…"
"Used tissues from boys smell like squid."
Mako Asakura whispered nervously.
"Should we check?"
"Asakura, you sure know a lot~"
"I don't!"
Her face turned red.
"Yume, you know a lot too. So—do we check or not?"
"…Just a peek?"
"…Okay."
Like thieves, they approached the basket—
Only to find it completely empty.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
The trash can existed purely for decoration.
Hikigaya usually flushed everything.
"It feels…"
Mako Asakura looked disappointed.
"Like it's brand new…"
"Hikki's lifestyle is really healthy…"
Kobashi Yume sighed.
"That can't be right."
Himeno Yuki blushed.
"He's a teenage boy. He probably hid it. Should we search?"
After a pause, Yume shook her head.
"Let's not. That's crossing a line."
"I agree."
Mako Asakura nodded.
Curiosity was one thing.
Invading privacy was another.
Himeno Yuki clicked her tongue internally.
Damn it.
Such a perfect opportunity—
Wasted.