Sakura was secretly staring at him, and Hikigaya noticed this but didn't pay it too much mind after some thought.
After all, what happened last night would have some impact.
However, when Hikigaya himself recalled these events, he instinctively felt a sense of shame.
Because he wasn't good at such things.
Or rather, he preferred to be passive and wasn't very proactive in helping others…
The only reason he helped Sakura was purely because her overly timid personality reminded him of his middle school self, and he couldn't help but empathize with her.
But after this experience, he swore he would never meddle in anyone else's business again!
During break time, Hikigaya casually pulled out a novel borrowed from the library and started reading. He had recently become obsessed with science fiction, finding many classic sci-fi works to pass the time. The one he was currently reading was the renowned Three-Body Problem series from the neighboring Celestial Empire.
Just as he finished the first book of the Three-Body Problem series, feeling excited by the classic line within—"The Trisolarans, who regard humanity as bugs, seem to have forgotten one fact: bugs have never truly been defeated"—a voice suddenly rang in his ear.
"May I bother you for a moment?"
"??"
Hikigaya turned his head in confusion. Before he even saw the person, his eyes first caught sight of a pair of vast, well-rounded breasts.
Almost instinctively, he identified the newcomer: Kikyo Kushida.
"Is there… something you need, Kushida?" Hikigaya shifted his gaze upwards, past the towering figure, to Kushida's smiling face.
"Yes, there's something I want to talk to you about regarding what you mentioned yesterday."
Kushida said, her eyes briefly and darkly glancing at Suzune Horikita behind Hikigaya, implying that she didn't want their conversation overheard.
"Alright," Hikigaya thought for a moment, then nodded, following Kushida out of the Class D classroom.
After leading Hikigaya into the hallway, Kushida's face immediately lit up with excitement. She smiled and said, "Hikigaya, I've already completed what you asked me to do yesterday. Yamauchi and Ike have both agreed. Now it's just Sudou who hasn't replied yet."
"That fast?"
Hikigaya was startled. He hadn't expected Kushida to act so frighteningly fast; a suggestion made just yesterday was already more than halfway complete today.
"Yes, Yamauchi and Ike both agreed without hesitation after hearing my proposal." Kushida smiled, but then a hint of gloomy helplessness appeared on her face. "Sudou, on the other hand, is still being hesitant, even after I tried to persuade him."
"That's normal."
Hikigaya had already predicted this outcome. Sudou's pride surpassed that of both Yamauchi and Ike combined.
Simple words probably wouldn't convince him.
"Anyway, you keep trying. If it doesn't work, contact me again."
"Okay."
Kushida nodded. "I hope that through this study session, both Hikigaya and Horikita can get along well with their classmates."
"Huh?"
Hearing Kushida's words, Hikigaya felt that she had somehow misunderstood something. But before he could explain, Kushida continued on her own, "This school is truly too much. If you fail, you get expelled… It's so annoying to finally become friends with everyone only to be separated because of something like this, isn't it?"
"At a time like this, when I heard Hirata say he was going to hold a study session, I truly admired him. But Horikita is even more amazing because she's been paying attention to Sudou and the others. So I thought, Horikita is looking out for the class and her friends. If I can help, I'll do anything!"
Wow, setting aside whether she truly thinks that way, just being able to say something like this is already top-tier.
Hikigaya genuinely admired Kushida and quickly explained:
"Yes, all of this is Horikita's credit. It has nothing to do with me."
"No, no, Hikigaya, you're wonderful too! Please help with the upcoming study session as well!"
Hearing Kikyo Kushida's words, Hikigaya decisively said, "No, I'm not planning to attend the upcoming study session."
"Huh?"
These words made confusion appear on Kushida's face. "Didn't you suggest helping Horikita arrange the study session, Hikigaya?"
"Yes, I just wanted to help Horikita, but I never said I'd attend," Hikigaya explained to Kushida, word for word. "If possible, I even hope you don't tell Horikita I was involved in this."
"Huh? Horikita can't know? Why?"
Kushida's face showed confusion. She clearly couldn't understand Hikigaya's reason for doing this.
"I already told you before, Horikita doesn't want my help," Hikigaya said, repeating the excuse he had fabricated earlier. "You know how she is; she doesn't want to rely on others. If you, Kushida, step in, it gives her a way out, but if she knows I was involved, she definitely wouldn't want to participate. In that case, only we would attend the study session, and Horikita would be excluded…"
"Oh? That sounds quite nice."
"Huh?"
Hikigaya had originally latched onto Kushida's desire to get close to Suzune Horikita, intending to use that to persuade Kushida.
But Kushida's words left him dumbfounded.
"Attending the study session with you, Hikigaya, wouldn't be a bad thing. To be honest, it even makes me a little happy."
Kushida said, a smile blossoming on her face.
Whoa!
What's up with this person?
She's super cute!
However, Hikigaya wouldn't be fooled by such simple tactics. He calmly said, "You don't have to comfort me. I'm not good at this sort of thing anyway. Kushida, you should focus on helping Horikita."
"Hehe, I see. Then there's nothing for it."
Kushida said, a disappointed expression appearing on her face.
For a moment, Hikigaya even wondered if the "disappointment" she showed was fake, because it was completely different from every past expression. Kikyo Kushida had truly shown some genuine dejection just now.
Huh? What's going on?
Do you want to attend the study session with me?
But that shouldn't be… Could it be that your yuri fetish for Horikita has been turned straight by me?