Keyaki Mall.
Kitchenware section.
The housework at home was basically Komachi's responsibility. Naturally, neither his "shitty dad" nor he wanted Komachi to work so hard.
However.
Komachi herself seemed to enjoy housework very much.
Therefore, Hikigaya's housework was also left to Komachi.
He figured that getting an expensive set of kitchenware for her birthday would make Komachi very happy.
Hikigaya looked at the kitchen knives in front of him. He really didn't know how to distinguish good from bad, but the more expensive, the better, right?
After all, it was for Komachi's life, and Hikigaya wouldn't be stingy in this regard.
Looking at a set of kitchenware costing over 120,000 yen, it was likely a set of knives the Hikigaya family would never use in a lifetime.
Hikigaya gritted his teeth.
He steeled his heart.
Just as he was deciding to pay.
"Ah, Hiki!"
An exclamation interrupted his thoughts. Hikigaya turned his head and realized it was Yume Kobashi, Kikyo Kushida, and the others.
"Eh? Why are you guys together?"
Hikigaya was a bit confused.
Hadn't they agreed to shop separately? Had he been excluded?
"We ran into each other in the mall and decided to shop together after all. Hikigaya-kun, why are you here too?"
Kikyo Kushida said with a face full of smiles. On the other side, Yume Kobashi and the others were a bit dazed looking at the shopping basket in Hikigaya's hand.
What was he doing?
He wasn't planning on giving them knives for Christmas, was he?
"Oh."
Seeing it was Kikyo Kushida, Hikigaya's expression was calm: "I'm buying gifts here."
"Um... Hiki..."
Yume Kobashi was a bit hesitant, and Mako asakura beside her also said with some difficulty:
"This is a bit..."
"Hmm, what's wrong?"
Hikigaya looked at the kitchen knife in his hand, puzzled.
Yuki Himeno whispered: "Giving knives as a Christmas gift... it feels a bit inappropriate, doesn't it?"
"Oh, oh."
Hikigaya finally realized: "This? This is a birthday present I'm buying for Komachi."
"Komachi?"
"My younger sister."
"Is Hiki's sister also at this school?"
"No, she's outside."
"Eh? Then how will you send it?"
Hikigaya told them about the method of mailing it through the sports clubs, and as long as it wasn't something that couldn't be seen by others, having the school mail it wasn't impossible either.
However.
The process might take some time, and it felt a bit annoying to let outsiders see the gift.
"I see..."
Haruka Hasebe said somewhat speechlessly: "Even if it's a birthday present for your sister, giving a knife feels a bit inappropriate."
"Is that so?"
Hikigaya frowned and looked up at the girls: "But this is quite expensive, and Komachi loves doing housework. She should really like it, right?"
"It's not that kind of problem."
Haruka Hasebe looked at Kikyo Kushida and the others beside her. Yume Kobashi and the others couldn't help but nod:
"True, receiving a knife as a birthday gift feels a bit unlucky, and even a bit scary."
"If you want to give a knife, can't you wait until after graduation to take it back?"
Hikigaya was suddenly in a bind.
Since the girls said so, there must be some truth to it.
But now that he had money, he still wanted Komachi to experience a wealthy life. He couldn't just be like Katsuragi and send some sweets.
"You're picking a gift for your sister."
Haruka Hasebe suggested with a smile: "If you want to show your feelings and buy something expensive, wouldn't it be better to send some clothes, a bag, or cosmetics?"
"No."
Hikigaya frowned and said: "Komachi is the thrifty type; I've never seen her waste money on those things."
"I see."
Haruka Hasebe nudged Airi Sakura beside her, and the latter finally reacted:
"How about some accessories, or a specialty product that can only be bought at Advanced Nurturing?"
"Oh, that's good!"
Hikigaya's eyes lit up.
A specialty product should be a good choice.
But then he became confused; he didn't remember Advanced Nurturing having any specialty products.
"Does this school have specialty products?"
"Probably?"
Airi Sakura summoned her courage and said: "Like Palette, and other shops that launch commemorative goods during festivals... those should count as specialty products, right?"
"..."
Watching this scene.
Yume Kobashi suddenly felt things weren't looking good. She quickly nudged Yuki Himeno beside her with her elbow.
It seemed Hikigaya cared a lot about his family; they should definitely aim in that direction.
Unfortunately.
Yuki Himeno lowered her head shyly, unable to think of any good topics, completely out of sync with Yume Kobashi and the others.
She even felt that what Airi Sakura and the others said was correct.
"However."
Seeing Yuki Himeno's submissive appearance, Yume Kobashi could only lament that "iron cannot become steel"—she was actually being outdone by Airi Sakura.
"Hiki and Komachi-chan haven't seen each other for a long time, right? If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to send some photos of your school life and exams?"
"That's good."
Mako asakura's eyes lit up with excitement: "As expected of Yumeyume. If I were the sister, I'd definitely be happy to know how my brother is doing."
"Hmm, that seems like it would work!"
Hikigaya was even more excited.
He couldn't help but think of Suzune Horikita; if that girl could receive information from Manabu Horikita, she'd probably jump for joy.
Komachi would surely be the same.
He could use his photos from the cruise ship to show off to Komachi; it would definitely make her die of envy.
Sparks flew between the beautiful eyes of Yume Kobashi and Haruka Hasebe.
Haruka had already noticed.
She had originally thought they were just friends who gathered because of their studies, but now she realized that among this group, there was definitely someone who liked Hikigaya.
Although she couldn't tell who it was, someone definitely did.
They were completely working against them.
"Isn't it fine to send both?"
Kikyo Kushida placed her lily-white finger on her chin and tilted her head:
"Hikigaya-kun could also write a letter, talk about your recent situation, so Komachi-chan won't have to worry and so on."
Hearing this.
Hikigaya's impression of her changed.
Having some frien... acquaintances nearby was indeed a big help. Komachi would definitely be happy to receive his gift.
"Thank you all."
Hikigaya thanked them sincerely, causing Kikyo Kushida to be slightly stunned. So your weakness is here.
Following Airi Sakura and the others had finally produced results.
"And."
Kikyo Kushida thought for a moment and said: "I don't know much about the sports clubs, but since you're sending it through them, you should consider confidentiality, right? The package shouldn't be too big."
"It's best to choose one thing as a souvenir. Fill the remaining space with some photos and write a few letters."
"Eh?"
Yume Kobashi and the others looked at Kushida in surprise.
"As expected of Kushida-chan, she really is smart."
"It's nothing like that."
Kikyo Kushida gazed at Hikigaya, the smile on her pretty face suddenly becoming radiant.
"I have a few friends in sports clubs who go out for matches often. If Hiki-kun needs any help, you can contact me anytime."
"Oh, that won't be necessary."
Hikigaya shook his head and said: "Our class has several people in sports clubs too, so I won't trouble you."
Although he was grateful for the effective advice this "green tea" girl provided, they were in different classes after all. Hikigaya wouldn't contact her unless absolutely necessary.
"That's good then."
Kikyo Kushida nodded with a smile.
Little one.
Finally, she had found his weakness. Hikigaya's weakness was that person named "Rice" or whatever (Komachi).
Take it slow.
Once she gained Hikigaya's trust, she would definitely make him pay the price.
To the side.
Haruka Hasebe furrowed her brows.
Wasn't Kikyo Kushida here to help them? Why had her attitude suddenly become so warm? She had stolen all of Airi Sakura's thunder in an instant.
It felt a bit subtle.
However, Airi Sakura was happy as could be, her face flushed red; she felt she had helped Hikigaya out.
That was enough.
Sigh.
Haruka Hasebe let out a sigh and looked helplessly at her best friend. Airi Sakura was simply too easy to satisfy.
Even just saying a word to Hikigaya would probably keep her happy for a long time.
An Airi Sakura like this.
How could one not like her?
...
Downstairs at the dormitory.
"Here, um... Merry Christmas?"
Hikigaya gave the gifts Mio Ibuki had picked out to the three of them.
Although it felt a bit wrong since Christmas had already passed, it should still count as a Christmas gift.
"Thank you, Hiki. I really like this."
Yume Kobashi looked at the light blue scarf and seemed to like it quite a bit. Afterward, the few of them gave the return gifts they had bought to Kushida.
"By the way."
Just then.
Kushida took out a pink gift box and handed it to Hikigaya with a smile:
"Although it's a bit late, we bought a gift for Hikki today as well. Here you go, Merry Christmas."
As she spoke, Kushida winked at Sakura and the others. The two girls immediately understood, taking out gifts and holding them out in front of Hachigaya.
"Here."
"Hikki."
Airi Sakura held the gift bag with both hands, her face flushing crimson as she said, "Merry Christmas!"
Watching this scene, Yumeko Kobashi and the others nearby suddenly felt their faces stiffen. This trio was far too scheming.
Not only did they follow along today, but they had secretly bought gifts as well.
Clearly, Christmas had already passed.
Based on her understanding of Hachigaya, he would likely feel obligated to buy gifts to send back later. How devious.
However, since it was a kind gesture from Airi Sakura and the others, Kobashi truly didn't know how to refuse on his behalf.
"No."
Hachigaya quickly pushed them back, speaking somewhat speechlessly, "I have absolutely no reason to accept gifts from you, so there's no need."
After all, he and Kobashi were in the same class and had studied together for a long time during the final exams.
Accepting a Christmas gift from them wasn't impossible to justify.
But who were Kushida Kikyo and the others?
He had barely met them a few times, and he hadn't even spoken more than a few words to that "Long-something" person.
Airi Sakura and Haruka Hasebe's expressions immediately froze.
This guy was far too blunt.
Did he not consider their feelings at all?
"How can you say that?"
Kushida Kikyo immediately raised her voice, her face turning serious.
"Aren't we friends? Besides, you helped Sakura before, and we just provided a lot of advice, didn't we?"
"True..."
Hachigaya stiffly accepted the three gifts, which finally caused Airi Sakura to break into a smile through her tears.
After all, these three had helped Komachi.
It seemed that giving a gift wasn't entirely unacceptable.
It was over.
He really wasn't good at dealing with the kindness of others.
But this way, wouldn't he have to send return gifts again? If they kept sending things back and forth, when would it ever end?