Standing Someone Up

Ibuki didn't hesitate too long over this matter.

In fact, after wrestling with her thoughts all night, she couldn't hold back any longer and gave Hikigaya her answer at six in the morning.

As for why it was six…

Hikigaya didn't even bother questioning it. His precious weekend had already been ruined.

Over the phone, they arranged to meet at school in the afternoon. Hikigaya would bring Chabashira-sensei along, and all Ibuki had to do was answer truthfully and recount what she knew.

Once everything was settled, Hikigaya would cancel the contract on the spot.

After the call, Ibuki flopped back onto her bed, planning to catch up on some sleep.

But no matter how she tossed and turned, she just couldn't doze off.

"Damn it! What the hell is wrong with me?"

Frustrated, she ruffled her hair.

Her mind was exhausted, but the moment she closed her eyes, a flood of random thoughts surged forth.

She had assumed that after a whole night of contemplation and giving her final answer, the weight on her chest would disappear. But contrary to expectations, the unease in her heart only worsened.

"Why am I even agonizing over this?!"

Unable to make sense of her own emotions, Ibuki decided to go over her reasoning once more.

This deal had its pros and cons.

The downside was that some Class C students might get expelled.

According to Hikigaya, Manabe was as good as gone, though the two accomplices would likely be fine.

Was her unease… sympathy for Manabe?

No way in hell.

Ibuki dismissed the disgusting idea in less than a second.

She was a lone wolf in her class, while Manabe was the type who liked forming cliques, whispering behind people's backs.

Honestly, if that woman got expelled, Ibuki would feel nothing but satisfaction.

If it wasn't about Manabe, then was it the loss of 300 class points?

That was the sticking point she had debated all night.

Sure, 300 points weren't a small amount, but if it meant getting rid of that troublesome "X" and breaking free from the heavy chains binding Class C, then maybe it was a worthy trade.

Especially the first part...

Ibuki had a gut feeling that Ryuuen's obsessive fixation on "X" would one day drag the entire class down with him.

Even with stronger opponents like Ichinose and Sakayanagi right in front of him, he ignored them entirely, never explaining himself—only demanding absolute obedience.

Because of that, Ibuki was determined to use Hikigaya's help to get Class C back on track.

Even if it meant being branded a traitor, she didn't care.

"Tch, traitor? I was never one of them in the first place."

Ibuki sneered at her own absurd thoughts.

Thinking back, she had never gotten along with anyone in her class—especially not Ryuuen, who was the most unbearable of them all.

Still, she had to admit that, for now, Ryuuen was the only one capable of leading Class C. But even he had limits. Even he made mistakes.

To prevent disaster, Ibuki felt it was necessary to take action in advance.

Of course, everything she was doing was for herself—to reach Class A.

Nothing more.

"So why the hell am I still bothered by this?!"

She was right back to square one, and it was driving her insane.

Her gaze drifted to the clock on the wall—it was already past noon.

"…Forget it, no point trying to sleep now."

Their meeting was in less than an hour anyway, and more importantly, she wasn't in the mood for a nap anymore.

Ibuki threw on a fresh set of clothes and headed to Keyaki Mall. A cup of coffee would wake her up, and she could kill some time at the café.

But she soon regretted that decision.

"Huh? Isn't this Ibuki? What are you doing here?"

"…Tch."

"Oi, why did you turn away and click your tongue?!"

Ishizaki greeted her with his usual idiocy, only to be met with pure disdain.

"Because just looking at you annoys me," Ibuki said bluntly. "Don't talk to me. I don't want anyone mistaking us as friends."

"Huh? But we're classmates."

"As if, you idiot."

Despite Ibuki's harsh words, Ishizaki didn't seem to mind. In fact, he ignored them entirely and sat down, ordering a cold drink like he belonged there.

"Oi, why are you sitting down without asking?" Ibuki's irritation grew.

"Because I'm thirsty," Ishizaki answered earnestly.

"…Ugh."

That response was so dumb, Ibuki almost felt like kicking his head off.

Before she could act on that impulse, Ishizaki suddenly stood up and waved at someone outside the window.

"Hey! Albert! Wanna join us?"

"You idiot! Stop shouting inside the store!"

"But you're shouting too…"

Watching Ishizaki's wounded expression, Ibuki wanted to punch him even more.

To make matters worse, Albert actually came over, silently taking a seat beside them.

The hell…? At least say something!

"I can't take this, I'm leaving."

Just as she got up, Albert placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

Then, he pointed at her cup.

"…What? You're telling me not to waste it and finish my drink first?"

Albert said nothing. He simply nodded.

No choice. Since she had ordered it herself, she had no choice but to finish drinking it.

"By the way, Ibuki," Ishizaki suddenly seemed to notice something and asked, "Today is Saturday, right? Why are you still wearing your school uniform?"

"None of your business."

To enter the school campus, wearing a uniform was mandatory. Even someone as dimwitted as Ishizaki could probably figure that out.

Maybe he'd even go and report it to Ryuuen… but that didn't matter.

"Do you not have casual clothes? How about Albert and I help you pick some out?" Ishizaki enthusiastically suggested.

"Are you an idiot?! No way!"

Ibuki couldn't hold back and snapped at him.

"And besides, who asked for your opinion? Before you say that, why don't you look in a mirror and check your own sense of style first?"

"Hah? What's wrong with my sense of style?!"

To be honest, Ishizaki's fashion sense was horrendous. Yet, somehow, he was completely confident in it.

Albert, sitting beside him, wasn't much better. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt covered in various national flags, drawing a lot of attention on the way here.

Of course, not in a good way.

Ibuki suddenly found herself wondering—why were all the guys she knew such weirdos? Just looking at them was infuriating.

"Ibuki-san, hello."

Just then, someone unexpectedly greeted her. It was her classmate, Shiina.

"Do you need something?"

"I just thought this was a rare combination, so I couldn't help but come over to say hi," Shiina replied with a smile.

"They just sat down on their own."

"In that case, may I join you as well?"

"Suit yourself."

A normal girl would probably hesitate to approach people like Ishizaki and Albert.

But Shiina seemed to lack that kind of common sense. She was the same way with Ryuuen, making her quite the anomaly in Class C.

That said, the class didn't have many smart students. When it came to exams, she and Kaneda were valuable assets. Even if they didn't interact much, Ishizaki and Albert must have acknowledged her abilities.

"Then, if you don't mind."

"Why are you wearing your school uniform too?"

The moment Shiina sat down, Ishizaki asked the question that had been bugging him.

"I'm in the tea ceremony club. Sometimes, we have club activities on weekends," Shiina explained.

Unlike Ishizaki, she was smart. She had surely already noticed that something was off here.

Ibuki wasn't particularly nervous about that. If Shiina asked directly, she had already decided to answer truthfully.

However, Shiina didn't bring it up at all. She simply continued answering Ishizaki's questions about the tea ceremony club, as if she hadn't noticed anything.

Had she turned into an idiot, too?

"Um, to change the topic a bit… I'm really sorry about the sports festival. I held the class back," Shiina suddenly lowered her head and apologized.

"It's no big deal. It wasn't just your fault, and besides, we only dropped down temporarily," Ishizaki reassured her, thumping his chest with confidence.

"As long as Ryuuen-san takes care of X, our class will definitely catch up again!"

"Hah! Can you use your brain before you talk?" Ibuki sneered. "How are those two things even related? Even if you take down X, do you think Class A and Class B will just surrender?"

Ishizaki was stunned for a moment, unable to come up with a rebuttal.

Still, he stubbornly insisted, "A-Anyway! I'll just do whatever Ryuuen-san says! There's no way he's wrong!"

"Tch, you're always going on about Ryuuen-san this, Ryuuen-san that. Do you even realize how gross that sounds?"

These guys were like puppets, completely abandoning their own thoughts, believing that blindly following Ryuuen would get them what they wanted.

Thinking about it pissed Ibuki off. It made her start to hate herself, too—because she was one of them.

"We're all classmates. No fighting, okay?"

Shiina said something so sincere that it was actually uncomfortable.

"If we run into trouble, let's work together to solve it. I'll help too."

"This has nothing to do with you. Besides, I doubt Ryuuen will let you interfere with the X situation."

"That's true. I probably can't help with that," Shiina admitted with a smile. "But the exams are coming up soon, aren't they? Ibuki-san, if I remember correctly, your Japanese grades are a little risky, right?"

"Ugh…!"

Ibuki was instantly speechless.

Overall, her grades weren't bad—at least, not compared to the rest of Class C. But there were still a few subjects she struggled with.

Ishizaki groaned beside her, "Ugh, another exam already? I really don't wanna study…"

"But if you don't, you'll fail, and then you'll be expelled. That would make defeating X meaningless, wouldn't it?"

"Oh… right…"

Faced with Shiina's perfectly logical argument, Ishizaki could only lower his head in defeat.

"Anyway, if you need help, feel free to ask me. I believe our class can overcome any challenge as long as we work together."

"Do whatever you want."

Ibuki shook her head, finding this atmosphere unbearable.

Working together? What was this, a friendship game? It felt like playing pretend.

She downed the rest of her coffee and stood up.

"Alright, I'm done. Later."

"You're leaving already?"

"After dealing with you guys for so long? That's enough, don't you think?"

She had originally come here just to kill time, but instead, her mood had worsened.

If she stayed any longer, she might actually start yelling.

Before that happened, it was best to leave.

"Oh, Ibuki-san, I heard an interesting movie is coming out soon. If you don't mind, would you like to watch it together?" Shiina suddenly invited her.

"I'm not going."

"Ah, I see. Then maybe another time."

"I said I'm not going."

Even though she sometimes talked to Shiina, Ibuki still found her difficult to deal with.

A new movie, huh? Maybe she'd check it out later.

If she went, she'd go alone.

"Ibuki," Ishizaki called out as she was leaving.

"What now?"

"If something's bothering you, you can talk to us, you know?"

"...Are you joking?"

Ibuki let out a dry laugh.

"Why would I talk to you guys? Besides, there's nothing to talk about."

Until just a moment ago, Ishizaki had been acting like an idiot. So why was he suddenly being so perceptive?

Even Albert, who had been silent this whole time, was staring at her.

Shiina, on the other hand, simply smiled gently. "Ibuki-san, let's have tea together again sometime."

"...Ugh."

Ibuki suddenly understood.

These guys had approached her for no real reason—just to encourage her?

What the hell.

That was disgusting.

She couldn't stand this place for even another second.

Unable to tolerate the atmosphere anymore, Ibuki strode quickly toward the school.

But at the entrance, she stopped.

She looked up at the school building. She was supposed to meet Hikigaya at the student guidance room.

Checking the time, she realized she was already late.

She clenched her phone tightly, putting it away and taking it out again several times before finally making up her mind and dialing.

"…Hikigaya."

"Ibuki? Where are you? When are you getting here?"

His voice sounded a little impatient. Understandable—he was waiting with the teacher, after all.

Just picturing that scene made Ibuki want to laugh.

Maybe this was fine.

"Sorry, I'm canceling."

"Hah?"

Before Hikigaya could react, she spoke quickly.

"I've decided to rely on our class's strength. Depending on others isn't my style anyway. So forget I said anything. Also, like I said—stay out of X's business, or I'll spread the photos."

"Wha—"

"That's all. Bye."

She hung up.

Then, she stretched lazily and yawned.

Feeling a little sleepy.

Might as well go take a nap.

...

On the other hand, inside the student guidance office.

Hikigaya stared blankly at his phone screen, dumbfounded by the abrupt disconnection. He had the urge to call back but hesitated for a moment before giving up.

It felt meaningless.

After all, Ibuki wasn't someone who could be persuaded that easily.

Seriously, what the hell is she even doing?

Something about relying on her own strength… This isn't some hot-blooded shounen manga!

And you're not even that kind of character!

As Hikigaya silently complained to himself, he suddenly felt a sharp gaze from across the desk.

Chabashira-sensei was staring directly at him.

"Hey, Hikigaya. When is that other person you mentioned supposed to arrive?"

"Well, uh… how should I put this…"

"You better not be telling me they're not coming." Chabashira-sensei's eyes were filled with pure intimidation. "I got your call early in the morning, made my way to school on a weekend, and you even said I'd absolutely regret it if I didn't come. I trusted you as a student, so I even canceled something important to be here."

"Uh…" Now Hikigaya really didn't know how to respond.

What was he supposed to do?

He was just as desperate here!

"Wait, Chabashira-sensei, let me ask something."

As if possessed by some inexplicable force—or maybe just poisoned by the influence of a certain "masterpiece"—Hikigaya blurted out a completely unnecessary question.

"This 'important thing' you canceled… it wasn't a matchmaking meeting, was it?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it.

Crap. What the hell am I doing?

That was such a pointless question!