Bound to Get Along

Since Kamuro was so curious, and Hikigaya had no intention of keeping it a secret, he decided to just come out and say it: Kushida had brought the lunch during their break.

Kamuro only responded with a vague "Hmm," offering no further comment. However, before leaving, she seemed to take Hikigaya's joke a bit too seriously and actually tasted some of Kushida's lunch.

"...Hmph, it's nothing special," she remarked before walking out—without even a hint of courtesy.

Really, if you're going to eat for free, at least be more polite!

Or… did it really not taste good?

Unable to resist, Hikigaya picked up his chopsticks and took a bite himself. But it tasted fine to him—in fact, it was quite delicious, as expected from Kushida. Kamuro was probably just jealous.

Next time he saw her, he'd have to comfort her a little. It's no big deal if she can't cook, after all.

The school bell rang, and shortly after, Kushida appeared. To Hikigaya's surprise, Matsushita was with her. Then again, maybe it wasn't that surprising—Matsushita had mentioned earlier that morning that she wanted to visit.

"Sorry for intruding, Hikigaya-kun. Kushida and I ran into each other at the door, so we came together."

"Ah, right. Come in."

It was Matsushita's first time in his room, but being the sociable person she was, she didn't seem nervous at all. In contrast, Hikigaya, as the host, felt a bit flustered—if it had just been Kamuro and Kushida, he would have been more at ease since they'd both been here before.

But that wasn't the issue now.

"Really…" Matsushita sighed softly, looking at the cast on Hikigaya's arm with a mix of pity and frustration. "Why do you always have to be so careless? You just had to get hurt, didn't you?"

She reached out and gently touched his bandaged arm.

"It was just an accident," Hikigaya replied.

"Sure, that's what you said last time too. But you were lying then, weren't you?" Matsushita said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

This left Hikigaya confused.

"Last time?"

"You don't remember?" Matsushita shot him an exasperated look. "Back in May, you got beaten up by students from Class C—now Class B—and you lied, saying you fell. You really thought I'd believe that?"

"Uh…"

Hikigaya had almost forgotten about that incident, but it hadn't been severe enough to keep him from attending classes, so he hadn't thought much of it.

At that moment, Kushida, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

"Hachiman, is Matsushita talking about the time I ran into you in the lobby and brought you back to your room?"

"Ah, yes, thanks again for that," Hikigaya replied, though he couldn't help wondering why she had to bring up such specific details.

What did she mean by "brought back to my room"? That sounded way too suggestive.

"Oh, so Kushida-san was the one who helped 'Hikigaya-kun' back then," Matsushita chimed in, though her tone felt a bit off.

"Well, I can't just leave an injured person unattended," Kushida said with a bright smile, stepping closer to Matsushita.

"But I'm curious, Matsushita-san," she added, her tone shifting. "Did you say it was Class B students who attacked Hachiman? Wasn't that under Ryuuen's orders?"

"Uh… yes, that's right," Matsushita stammered, startled by Kushida's sudden change in demeanor. She even took a small step back, glancing at Hikigaya as if silently pleading for help.

Sighing, Hikigaya stepped in between them to diffuse the tension.

"Alright, alright, let's not dwell on the past. No need to make a big deal out of it."

"...Yeah, you're right," Kushida smiled softly as if agreeing to let it go.

However, as she turned away, Hikigaya caught a low murmur under her breath.

"Heh, good thing I promised Horikita… Now I have even more reason to destroy that delinquent… That bastard…"

—Hey, Matsushita's still here, you know?

Hikigaya wanted to remind her to be more mindful of her image. Just earlier that day, she had declared she wouldn't give up on her dream of being liked by everyone, but here she was, letting the mask slip.

"Um… so this is the real Kushida-san?" Matsushita whispered to Hikigaya.

"...Just ignore it."

Fortunately, Matsushita wasn't the type to dig too deep, or perhaps she just didn't care much about her classmates' personalities. She was probably just asking out of curiosity.

"By the way… 'Hachiman,' is that right?"

"What are you even talking about?" Hikigaya asked, a bit puzzled by her abrupt comment.

To him, it wasn't uncommon for close-knit groups to call each other by their first names, regardless of gender. For Matsushita, this was likely normal too, given her sociable nature.

Of course, Hikigaya knew his behavior was a bit strange, but he didn't deny it—he was still not quite used to it.

"Well, it's nothing special, right?" Kushida jumped in before Matsushita could respond. "I've known Hachiman for a while, so calling him by his first name is perfectly natural. He's just a little shy, so he only lets me call him that in private… but that's kind of cute, isn't it?"

...Uh.

Hikigaya opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Even though what Kushida said was technically true, hearing it from her made it sound… off.

And what was with that "cute" comment? Stop throwing adjectives around carelessly!

"Oh~" Matsushita dragged out the sound. "So even with an injured hand, not only does Hikigaya-kun have pretty girls visiting him, but he also has someone calling him by his first name. I guess I don't need to worry too much then."

"Wait, how do those things even connect?" Hikigaya muttered, feeling exasperated.

"Sorry, my Japanese isn't as good as yours," Matsushita teased with a grin that didn't match her words.

"Oh, is that so?" Kushida chimed in, steering the conversation again. She placed a finger on her chin, feigning confusion. "But Matsushita-san, didn't your grades improve a lot recently? You're doing much better than at the start of the term… Don't tell me you've been pretending all along?"

Matsushita remained calm. "Kushida-san, what are you implying? Why would I do something like that?"

"Ahaha, sorry, I guess I was overthinking it," Kushida replied with a lighthearted laugh, scratching her head as if in embarrassment.

"I just thought you might have been lowering your grades to fit in with certain friends, you know, the less academically inclined ones."

"How could that be? I've just been studying hard like always."

"Mm-hmm, I see," Kushida nodded earnestly. "Catching up to the top students in just one term—it's true that anyone can do it if they work hard enough."

"Well, I guess I've got a knack for studying," Matsushita smiled, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm.

Still…

For a brief moment, Hikigaya could almost see sparks flying between them.

Is this… a girl's war? Scary.

Why are they even arguing? They're practically the same. Hikigaya knew both of them were masters of two-faced behavior—Matsushita was just a little less theatrical than Kushida. The difference lay in the details.

For instance, Kushida privately badmouthed nearly everyone at school, except for her close friends Wang Meiyu and Inogashira, who she only lightly complained about now and then. Matsushita, on the other hand, reserved her sharpest critiques for Karuizawa and Shinohara, two girls who liked to think of themselves as leaders among the female students, though they could not back it up. This had caused Matsushita a lot of stress.

Still, there was one thing Matsushita excelled at—she knew how to control her emotions, often stopping after just a few sharp remarks. Kushida, on the other hand, could spend an entire hour tormenting Hikigaya.

In any case, Hikigaya hoped they would stop. If they wanted to argue, they should take it outside!

Yet, for some reason, Matsushita ended up staying for dinner, thanks to Kushida's "generous invitation."

Wait… who's the host here, anyway?

Not that Hikigaya could complain—after all, Kushida had bought the ingredients. Still, he hoped they wouldn't come over too often.

Meals like this weren't good for one's mental health.

...

Two days passed, and Hikigaya felt like he had been tormented by both of them.

His room had never been so lively. Besides Kushida and Matsushita coming by daily, Horikita-senpai also visited with Tachibana-senpai, Ichinose dropped by with Kanzaki, and Shiina continued her habit of bringing books to discuss with him.

Though Hikigaya appreciated the company in small doses, things were getting out of hand. Even Ryuuen came by once, bringing snacks and playing cards to pass the time.

All in all, it was far from the peaceful recovery Hikigaya had envisioned. He could only hope that his arm would heal quickly, so he could go back to school—where, hopefully, life would be less chaotic.

"There's nothing… hmm? What's that noise on your end?"

On the other side of the call, Yukinoshita Haruno's usual cheerful voice came through, but there was also some background commotion.

"I'm waiting for the bus right now, heading back to school soon."

"Oh, I see."

ANHS is located on an artificial island, connected to the mainland by only two bridges. Typically, students take designated buses as private cars aren't allowed.

"Wait, hold on." Hikigaya suddenly realized something was off. "Are you outside the school?"

"Yeah, I went back home for a few days for some personal matters," Haruno responded, chuckling softly.

"What, did you miss me? But wait, the school should've arranged for a substitute teacher. How come you didn't know I was away?"

"…I've been on leave the past couple of days."

"On leave?" Haruno sounded a bit surprised. It wasn't every day someone took time off without a good reason.

Though Hikigaya didn't want to go into details, there was no point hiding it from her. He gave her a brief explanation, leaving out some unnecessary parts.

"So, Hikigaya-kun got himself hurt again from fooling around?" Haruno teased.

"No, no! It was just an accident."

Hikigaya quickly corrected her misunderstanding. He didn't think he'd been fooling around at all.

"Speaking of which, you're the one being reckless. Don't call me randomly from outside school."

"Heh, well, I was bored waiting for the bus," Haruno laughed, sounding completely unconcerned. "Besides, even if I got caught, the worst that would happen is that I'd get expelled. You wouldn't face any consequences."

"That's not the point…"

Despite his protest, Hikigaya felt a strange sense of unease.

Why did it sound like Haruno genuinely didn't care about getting expelled?

It wasn't that she was particularly attached to her job as a teacher. However, her position allowed her to closely observe the students and support Hikigaya in completing the Yukinoshita family's plans, increasing the chances of success.

Could it be… she's done with this?

No, no way.

Hikigaya dismissed the thought immediately. Haruno wasn't someone who gave up easily.

But… then again, even if she didn't intend to quit, circumstances could still change... Never mind.

In the end, it was just Hikigaya overthinking things.

Sometimes, he felt like he was overly sensitive. Maybe Haruno was just talking off the cuff.

Yes, stop overthinking, stop overthinking!

Just as Hikigaya was trying to convince himself, Haruno continued on the other end of the line, "So, I guess I won't be able to meet that Kiryuin girl after all?"

"I'll give you her number. You can contact her yourself," Hikigaya suggested.

"Nope—"

Haruno refused immediately. Not that surprising; it wasn't very polite for them to ask a favor and then make the other party reach out on their own.

"Uh, then I'll tell her to contact you?"

"Nope—"

"…Should I tell her you don't want to meet her?"

"Nope—"

"…So, what do you want me to do?"

Haruno had rejected every offer. What exactly was she expecting from him?

Even though Hikigaya was tempted to shout in frustration, he bit his tongue, not wanting to be rude to his elder. With a sigh, he asked, "Alright, Haruno-san, what exactly do you want, then?"

"Hmm…" Haruno hummed dramatically for a long time, nearly testing the limits of Hikigaya's patience. Finally, as the bus seemed to be approaching, she cheerfully said, "How about this? I'll visit your dorm tomorrow afternoon to check on you. Why don't you invite Kiryuin over at the same time?"

"Wait, what?! Hold on! She has classes tomorrow!"

"Just tell her to skip."

"What are you saying? You're a teacher! Don't encourage students to cut class!"

For once, Hikigaya spoke with absolute conviction, but Haruno completely ignored him.

"Anyway, just pass along the message. I'm getting on the bus now. We'll talk tomorrow, okay?"

"Hey! Wait!"

But no matter how much he called out, the line had already gone dead.

Seriously… Haruno-san was as carefree as ever.

With no choice, Hikigaya begrudgingly contacted Kiryuin and explained the situation.

"Oh, sure. I was wondering what to do with my free time tomorrow afternoon anyway. I'll just come hang out at your place."

"…Don't you have class?"

"Huh? What class?"

"…Never mind." Hikigaya sighed. It seemed skipping class wasn't unusual for her either.

Even if it was just gym class, you should still attend!

Not that Hikigaya had much right to lecture anyone. He'd skipped a few classes himself.

But compared to Kiryuin, who seemed to just want to have fun, his own reasons felt a little more justified…

Ah, whatever.

After arranging the time, Hikigaya hung up the phone.

For some reason, he had a feeling that when Haruno and Kiryuin met tomorrow, those two would definitely get along like peas in a pod.