Hoist by One's Own Petard

After almost two weeks of being confined to his room, Hikigaya finally resolved the matter of compensation.

Just as Sakayanagi had declared, she aggressively pursued the store clerk, ultimately securing a hefty settlement of two million yen.

Considering Hikigaya's injuries were relatively minor, this was quite a high sum. The clerk, after all, had sent harassing letters to students on his own, with Sakayanagi's intervention merely to "correct" his actions. There was no fault to be found on her part.

Moreover, if the issue went to court, it would leave a permanent mark on the clerk's record, which would make finding future employment challenging. The settlement was also paid in school points rather than yen, so the real value wasn't quite as substantial.

The school contributed an additional million points as a "consolation" fund or, more plainly, hush money.

Neither side wanted the incident to escalate further, so the agreement was settled swiftly.

And so, the matter was put to rest.

For Hikigaya, though, even with a windfall of points, there wasn't much to celebrate.

He wasn't lacking in points to begin with. More importantly, he felt this situation could have been handled differently.

There had been less drastic ways to resolve it…

"Are you alright, Hikigaya-kun?"

In the student council office, Tachibana grew concerned as she noticed Hikigaya staring blankly from his chair, wondering if he was unwell.

"Perhaps you should rest back in your dorm?"

"No, it's fine," Hikigaya replied with a small shake of his head. "I've been stuck in bed long enough; I'd start rusting if I stayed there any longer. Besides, with everyone so busy in the student council, I thought I could come over and lend a hand."

With the sports festival approaching, all council members were busy preparing for their classes, leaving the bulk of the workload on President Horikita's shoulders.

With free time on his hands, Hikigaya decided to spend his lunch break helping out.

It was funny. Throughout the school year, he'd longed for summer vacation, but once it arrived, he found it too short. Now that he finally had time to rest, he felt... restless.

Perhaps it was just human nature to want what you don't have.

"There's no need to push yourself; we can manage," Horikita said mildly, though his voice was laced with concern.

Ah, so even the notoriously unfeeling president had his soft spots when dealing with someone injured.

Still… Tachibana, stop looking at him with such envy!

Hikigaya could only sigh. Normally, Tachibana was calm and mature, handling tasks with grace. Yet when it came to Horikita, she acted like a child.

If she liked him that much, why didn't she just ask him out?

Unfortunately, after nearly three years, she still hadn't made a move, probably because she couldn't gauge Horikita's feelings. It seemed like this was destined to drag on until graduation… Well, it wasn't his place to interfere.

"You could use this time to practice writing with your left hand," Horikita suddenly suggested.

"…True."

At this, Tachibana's face froze for a second before she looked at him with concern.

"After the sports festival, the—"

"Tachibana, that's enough," Horikita interrupted firmly.

School rules prohibited seniors from sharing information about past exams with younger students, though enforcement relied mostly on the students' honor, and violations were rarely detected.

Take, for example, how Nagumo had informed Hikigaya about the uninhabited island.

But Horikita wasn't the type to bend the rules—at least not on the surface.

"You're so by the book, President," Hikigaya muttered, half-jokingly, without thinking much of it.

He already knew, after all. Not every senior kept their lips sealed.

Ordinary first-years would struggle to approach their seniors, let alone gather intel from them.

However, as a student council member, Hikigaya regularly interacted with different clubs, giving him more opportunities to get close to seniors.

Both the second- and third-year Class D students were generally indifferent. Despite his complaints about the workload, being on the student council sometimes did have its perks.

Most seniors feared first-years might report them, even within the same club. Yet with Hikigaya's council membership, they felt more at ease.

It was simple—if he ever reported them, Hikigaya would only be implicating himself.

Thanks to this, as long as he offered some incentive, he could gather information from them easily.

While certain aspects of the annual exams changed, a few remained consistent.

For instance, the midterms in May tested first-years' abilities to identify patterns from the previous year's exams, while assessing their teamwork and willingness to share their findings with classmates.

Then there was the inevitable summer expedition to the island—though the specifics of the exam and the island itself varied.

Not to mention the sports festival, which remained a regular fixture.

But one major test loomed on the horizon, and it was the one that Hikigaya was most anxious about.

It was a fixed exam held every year: "Paper Shuffle."

The concept was simple: each class crafted an exam for the others to take.

This alone would be manageable, but the twist was that students had to form pairs, and if one failed, both would be expelled.

Every year, students fall prey to this rule.

Which was why Hikigaya was so nervous.

His right hand wouldn't fully heal for three months, making it useless for writing.

While he wasn't personally worried about failing, he didn't want to drag his future partner down with him. So he'd have to get used to writing with his left hand before the exam.

As lunch break ended, Horikita and Tachibana left the council room to prepare for their afternoon classes.

Hikigaya stayed behind, tackling stack after stack of paperwork.

Yet left-handed writing was proving harder than he'd anticipated… his scrawls looked like something a dog would scratch out.

Hopefully, his teachers would be able to decipher it.

He sighed and decided to take a break, running a quick test on a listening device.

The results were impressive—the sound came through crystal clear.

Well, he had to hand it to Miss Yukinoshita. She was nothing if not thorough in her craft.

Knock knock.

Just as he was marveling, the door suddenly opened with a light rap.

"Sorry to intrude."

The voice was faintly familiar.

Entering the room was Hirata.

"Hikigaya-kun? What are you doing here?"

"…Because I'm in the student council?"

"Ah, that's not what I meant," Hirata chuckled softly. "Is your arm not fully healed yet? Shouldn't you be resting in your dorm?"

"Well, the council's been busy lately, so I figured I shouldn't just sit idle."

"I see. Just don't push yourself too hard."

Hirata then held up a file folder.

"I came by to submit the soccer club's budget request for the term, though it seems like it might be bad timing?"

"No problem, I'll take it."

Hikigaya reached out to accept the folder.

"Sorry for the trouble," Hirata said with a sheepish smile. "I would have come earlier, but everyone in the class was practicing hard. Many of my classmates struggle with sports and kept coming to me for advice, so I had to come during a free moment."

"…No lunch break?" Hikigaya raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Yeah, especially Sudo-kun, who's been giving up his own time to help his classmates. Quite a few people have changed their views of him," Hirata said, a genuine smile lighting up his face.

"And Horikita-san as well," he added. "It feels odd to say this, but it's the first time I've seen her actively helping others. Even while I… during that time, her strategies for the class were exceptional. I felt I couldn't compare."

"I see," Hikigaya nodded, unsurprised.

Both Horikita and Sudo had undeniable strengths in their respective fields. Once they recognized their abilities, they could perform beyond expectation. Still, it was Hirata's transformation that intrigued him the most.

"You look a lot better now," Hikigaya noted, deliberately nonchalant. "At the beginning of the year, I worried you'd come down with depression."

"Ha, sorry for making you worry," Hirata chuckled, apparently unaffected by Hikigaya's remark or simply choosing to ignore it.

"Good thing you eventually pulled yourself together," Hikigaya continued, but inwardly he doubted Hirata's resilience. He genuinely thought Hirata was prone to overthinking and unlikely to recover on his own without external help.

And sure enough, Hirata's face turned slightly hesitant before he managed a small smile. "I wasn't strong enough to do it alone… someone saved me."

"Saved you, huh?" Hikigaya mused.

That choice of words was rather grandiose. However, its very exaggeration gave Hikigaya a good guess about who might be involved.

Hirata had many friends, yet they would likely only offer repeated reassurances, which hardly counted as "saving" him.

To truly have that kind of impact…

"Looks like Ayanokoji did a good job, huh?"

"Eh?" Hirata looked visibly startled at the mention of that name.

"Hikigaya-kun, why would you think it was him? I haven't mentioned him once."

"Isn't it?"

"...Haha, I guess you've got me figured out," Hirata admitted with a faint smile, defeated by Hikigaya's keen insight.

"My hunch was right, then," Hikigaya sighed.

"You're a scary one too, Hikigaya—able to read people like a book. I can't say I'm on your level."

"No, it's just simple elimination."

"Even so, it's scary…" Hirata laughed softly. "It's funny—our class is Class D, yet we have people like you, Ayanokoji-kun, and even Kouenji-kun. It's full of hidden talents. It'd be great if everyone could work together."

Hikigaya, however, was indifferent to Hirata's sentiment. He didn't see himself as any kind of talent—barely a stray cat, even.

After all, at least a stray could survive on its outside, while he'd likely starve in no time.

Not to mention, it was precisely because Class D had so many strong personalities that unity seemed nearly impossible.

The saying "a mountain cannot hold two tigers" rang just as true here.

"I was able to regain my confidence thanks to Ayanokoji-kun's encouragement," Hirata admitted, sincerity in his voice. "But he seems to dislike drawing attention and asked me to keep it a secret, so could I ask you not to spread it around?"

"Sure, not like I've got anyone to tell." Hikigaya had no intention of spreading it anyway—he only wanted some intel.

"Speaking of which, your relationship with Ayanokoji improved on the cruise, right?" Hikigaya asked.

"Yeah, I realized then that he's someone reliable," Hirata replied with a smile.

Reliable, huh?

Remembering the stunt that guy pulled with Kiriyuin-senpai, Hikigaya felt irritation rising.

Today, he was determined to uncover more of Ayanokoji's "good deeds."

"I remember you had an argument with Karuizawa back then," Hikigaya prodded. "I even caught her yelling at you, with Ayanokoji by your side. Were you discussing it with him?"

"Hehe, you do observe closely, don't you?" Hirata replied, though it was hard to tell if he was teasing or diverting the topic. Knowing Hirata, it was probably the latter.

It seemed Hirata was consciously protecting Ayanokoji's and Karuizawa's privacy.

Well… that was fine.

Time to prod a little deeper.

"No, I just happened to hear a few rumors."

"Rumors?"

"Yeah, about Class B—Ryuuen's class," Hikigaya said, carefully watching Hirata's reaction. "Some girls in his class, I think Manabe and her friends, were in the same Rabbit group with Karuizawa and Ayanokoji during the VIP test, and something happened between them."

Of course, this was all guesswork.

Hikigaya had no idea what actually transpired, only that Manabe and her friends had acted oddly afterward, and around the same time, Karuizawa's and Ayanokoji's relationship had taken a strange turn.

Maybe it was just a coincidence.

But Hirata's face told a different story.

"You… you didn't hear anything specific, did you?" Hirata stammered.

"Hard to say," Hikigaya replied, feigning reluctance. "Some things are sensitive… though you seem to know something too."

"I…"

After a moment's hesitation, Hirata slowly shook his head.

"In any case, everything has been resolved peacefully. There's no need to dig it up—it's better for everyone that way."

So something did happen…

"Are you sure it's settled?"

"Huh? I…"

Hirata's eyes widened, seemingly caught off guard by Hikigaya's response.

Not that Hikigaya had any particular knowledge—he was merely bluffing to get a reaction.

"Something like that doesn't just go away so easily, does it?"

"N-no, it's impossible!" Hirata replied, sounding desperate. "I've been keeping an eye on things lately, and Manabe and her friends haven't clashed with Karuizawa at all. It's definitely over!"

"I see."

So he had struck gold after all.

It seemed like he owed Ayanokoji for talking Hirata through his slump, or this information might have remained buried.

"Take it easy, Hirata," Hikigaya said, guiding Hirata to sit back down as he poured him a cup of tea.

"I've known about Karuizawa's issues with Manabe and her group for a while, though I don't know the details." Hikigaya's tone was calm. "And honestly… it wasn't hard to notice. Karuizawa doesn't seem as tough as she appears on the surface. She even asked you to be her boyfriend for other reasons, didn't she?"

"Ah…!"

Seeing the shock on Hirata's face, Hikigaya knew he'd hit the mark.

"So, to avoid any more trouble, could you tell me what happened on the cruise?"

"But… it's Karuizawa's personal matter."

"And have you never shared her personal matters with anyone else?" Hikigaya retorted.

"I…"

"You must have told Ayanokoji, right?"

"…Yes."

Under Hikigaya's seemingly "well-meaning" coaxing, Hirata's defenses gradually crumbled.

"I get it, Hirata. You only told him because you wanted to help Karuizawa," Hikigaya continued, suppressing his amusement. "But have you thought about it? On the surface, it looks like Ayanokoji solved the issue, but fundamentally, it's Karuizawa's problem."

"Karuizawa's… problem?"

"Yeah, from where I stand, she merely switched from relying on you to relying on Ayanokoji," Hikigaya pointed out.

"Ah…"

"So you can't really say this won't happen again, can you?"

Hikigaya increased the pressure bit by bit.

"Hirata, you don't want Karuizawa to get bullied again, do you?"

"I…"

Hirata's expression shifted several times before he finally gave in, revealing everything he knew.

Apparently, on the cruise, Karuizawa had a confrontation with Manabe and her friends. It seemed Karuizawa had deliberately bumped into Manabe's friend in line once and refused to apologize. During the exam, Manabe recognized her, and, with her friends, confronted Karuizawa and nearly started a fight in the hallway. Fortunately, Ayanokoji and Yukimura intervened in time to stop them.

Later that night, Karuizawa went to Hirata, tearfully asking him to "teach Manabe and her friends a lesson."

But Hirata, seeing that Karuizawa had been at fault, suggested she apologize and offered to mediate instead, so both sides could reconcile.

This infuriated Karuizawa, who refused and lashed out at Hirata—precisely the scene Hikigaya had stumbled upon.

Left with no choice, Hirata had turned to Ayanokoji for help.

"So, that's what happened…" Hikigaya muttered, deep in thought.

So that girl was getting what she deserved, huh?