The Proactive Ichinose

After settling Kushida Kikyō's wariness, Hashima Hikaru slept exceptionally well that night. After all, this was a stock he could develop over the long term, and he would definitely be able to extract plenty of funds from her in the future.

When dawn broke the next day, the boy sat up from bed full of energy. Today he still needed to attend the study group organized by Class B. Since yesterday, Ichinose had been enthusiastically organizing this event in class, and delegating it to her was perfect.

After finishing his daily exercise routine and shower, Hashima Hikaru walked into Class B's classroom.

"Good morning, Hashima ! You and I are in the same group."

Someone immediately greeted him—it was the athletic boy, Shibata Sō.

"Oh, Ichinose has already assigned the groups?" Hashima Hikaru knew that Ichinose Honami's grouping approach was to match students with complementary strengths and weaknesses in various subjects to help each other fill knowledge gaps.

"Yes, after Ichinose announced the study group, everyone in our class approved. We've been divided into eight groups with five people per group," Shibata explained, very familiar with the grouping situation. "You know everyone in our group, Hashima ."

"?"

"Besides you and me, there's also Ichinose, Shiranami, and Himeno."

"..."

Are you sure there wasn't some internal manipulation here?

Hashima Hikaru couldn't help feeling speechless. He turned his head toward the pink-haired girl sitting at her desk, who seemed to notice his gaze and immediately flashed an extremely cute smile in his direction.

"...Well, that's fine. We're all studying together anyway, so it doesn't matter."

The boy patted Shibata's shoulder and returned to his seat.

"Hashima , our class study group assignments have been decided, and this is a long-term goal," Ichinose clasped her hands together, clearly very satisfied with this action. "Everyone should get along well with their team members from now on, study together, and improve their grades."

"That's great, but does Ichinose have any weak subjects?" Hashima Hikaru was curious.

"Hmm... I tend to mix up historical facts, and Japanese language too. I'm confident in everything else."

"I see. Let's work hard together then," the boy nodded, continuing, "There are several study rooms in the school, right? Everyone should be able to use them."

"Mm-hmm, some students even suggested holding study sessions in the dormitories. I think that's a great idea, so I incorporated that suggestion and set the group size at five people. Meeting in the dorms would be nice too."

"That works. After all, it's quieter in the dorms without other people disturbing us."

As a student apartment complex built with heavy investment from Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, the soundproofing was naturally excellent. From the beginning of the school year until now, Hashima Hikaru had enjoyed good sleep every night.

Besides the daytime fatigue, more importantly, no noise from neighboring rooms could be heard.

This should be counted as one of the most important benefits for students. After all, a good night's sleep allowed them to more vigorously face the next day's learning tasks and class competitions.

"Um..."

After finishing her previous comment, Ichinose immediately revealed her true purpose.

"Can our group's first study session today be held in Hashima 's room?"

"?"

Hashima Hikaru was stunned. He hadn't expected the conversation to suddenly turn in this direction and quickly looked at the girl beside him and asked: "Why? Wouldn't the study room be just fine?"

"This was suggested by Shibata. Because he's always wanted to build a good relationship with you, he came up with this idea, and the other two girls agreed after his persuasion."

Ichinose knew she was lying, but maintained a calm expression as she explained: "Of course I wouldn't object, so I approved the plan."

"..."

"If Hashima feels uncomfortable, I can tell them. I don't want to put you in a difficult position."

Despite saying this, seeing the undisguised anticipation in the girl's eyes, Hashima Hikaru didn't know how to refuse.

Hmm, why is this girl suddenly so eager?

"Fine, let's do it then. Just remember to tell them to bring their textbooks," Hashima Hikaru shrugged helplessly and said, "I haven't bought any snacks or drinks to entertain guests, so they should be prepared."

"That's fine, we can buy things and bring them over."

Ichinose was very generous, waving her hand to indicate she would take care of everything.

"Alright then."

After confirming Hashima Hikaru's consent, the pink-haired girl seemed particularly happy. She swayed back and forth, apparently thinking about what to buy later.

Seriously.

Hashima Hikaru took today's textbooks from his desk drawer, preparing for class.

The day's classes quickly ended. Before school let out, Ichinose informed the other study group members of Hashima Hikaru's answer. Everyone was delighted, as there wasn't a single student in Class B who didn't want to build a good relationship with him.

They said they would go shopping first. After confirming Hashima Hikaru's room number, the four of them left together, leaving the boy to return home alone with his bag.

"Well, having a study group is no big deal."

After all, it was all about class unity—any approach would do.

After Hashima Hikaru returned to his room, about ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

When he opened it, the first voice he heard was naturally Ichinose Honami's.

"Good afternoon, Hashima ! We're here to bother you."

The pink-haired girl smiled radiantly as she slipped in through the door. She was carrying a transparent plastic bag that seemed to contain several items.

Behind her were Shibata Sō and the other two girls, Shiranami Chihiro and Himeno Yuki.

"Excuse us for the intrusion."

After greeting him, they all entered Hashima Hikaru's dormitory. Since the start of school, there had been almost no changes here, as Hashima Hikaru didn't like decorating or shopping, so it looked very simple.

"Hey, Hashima , your room is way too plain. There's nothing here!"

Shibata was the first to rush into the bedroom, only to find the furnishings were extremely simple, without a single point of interest.

"Isn't simplicity good? That's my style."

Hashima Hikaru smiled faintly, inviting the remaining three girls to sit around the table in the middle of the bedroom. They were all carrying their backpacks and immediately took out their books.

"Shibata, where are your textbooks?" Seeing that Shibata Sō seemed somewhat dissatisfied, the boy called out his name.

"Don't rush, I plan to look around your place more first. I'll probably be coming over often in the future."

"...Whatever makes you happy."

Moving his gaze away from this unreliable guy, Hashima Hikaru looked toward the girl who was still standing in the entryway. She seemed to be carefully arranging items from the plastic bag into his refrigerator.

Not only that, Hashima Hikaru also saw that Ichinose Honami appeared to be continuously adjusting the placement of items in the refrigerator, looking thoroughly engaged in the task.

"..."

What's... this about?