Inside the restroom.
Horikita sat on the toilet lid, her cheeks flushed red as she stared in disbelief at Hikigaya, who had just swallowed—her expression stunned.
"You… you actually just…"
"Is there a problem?" Hikigaya asked calmly, though his own face was a bit red.
"Don't you… find it disgusting?" Horikita's voice trembled. "And aren't you worried I might… you know…"
"You just used the restroom, didn't you? So it's not like anything's going to happen now," Hikigaya said, shaking his head. "Anyway, more importantly, we should…"
"Wait…"
Horikita grabbed his arm, head lowered, her voice hesitant. "Just… give me a moment."
"Huh? Horikita-san, don't tell me you still want to…"
"No! I just… never mind."
Blushing furiously, Horikita tried to regain her composure. "Forget about me for a second—what about you? Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb!"
Horikita shot him a look that was both annoyed and flustered.
"Don't think I didn't notice. You're clearly… not in a normal state right now."
"Uh…"
Avoiding her gaze, Hikigaya tried to sound unaffected. "I'm fine, really. No need to worry."
"As if I'd believe that! After what just happened, do you think you're perfectly fine?"
Horikita gave him a meaningful look. "You… you smell different. It's strong. Not bad, just… very noticeable."
"Smell? I don't smell anything."
"You're a guy. Of course you wouldn't notice your own scent—just like I didn't notice mine until you pointed it out earlier."
She threw his own words back at him.
"…Well…"
"You helped me just now… so it's only fair that I—"
Horikita held onto his arm, eyes serious.
"But it's not exactly—clean…"
"And I'm any better? I literally just used the bathroom!"
She glared at him.
"Boys and girls are different," Hikigaya muttered. "Guys sweat more, so we usually smell stronger."
"What, and girls don't sweat? Stop making excuses. Just—just get over here already!"
Horikita stood up, separating from the toilet lid.
"Now you sit here," she said, motioning to the seat.
"Eh? Wait, that's…"
"Come on. Sit down properly."
"Wait, wait! Isn't this a bit…"
Despite his protests, Hikigaya was made to sit down.
Horikita looked down at him; Hikigaya kept his eyes averted. Both of them were blushing furiously, and the air was thick with awkwardness.
"I'm not… very experienced with this," Horikita mumbled, breaking the silence. "It's my first time doing anything like this with a guy."
"Then maybe we should stop?" Hikigaya said, increasingly aware of how wrong this felt. In his mind, Yukinoshita's face kept appearing—this felt like betrayal.
"If we've already come this far, you want to stop now?"
Horikita pouted, "Even if you say no, I'm not letting you off that easily."
"I already have a girlfriend…"
"I know. But just for now, pretend I'm her."
"Huh?"
"You said I look like your girlfriend, didn't you? Then… for the moment, treat me like I'm her."
Even as she said it, Horikita felt conflicted. She didn't like it either, but it was the only way she could bring herself to do this.
"But…"
"What? Don't tell me your girlfriend's never done this kind of thing?"
"She has…" Hikigaya admitted, face burning.
"Then just pretend I'm her," Horikita insisted. "If I lower my head, you can't even see my face clearly—you won't be able to tell the difference."
It sounded ridiculous, but… with her face hidden, it was hard to argue.
Wait—no, that's not right.
There was still something that clearly set her apart from Yukinoshita.
Hikigaya's eyes involuntarily drifted down to Horikita's figure. The way her outfit clung to her silhouette—it was youthful, full of energy, and definitely… different.
"W-Where are you looking?!"
Horikita immediately covered herself with both arms, turning defensive.
"S-Sorry," Hikigaya looked away quickly.
"You…"
Horikita hesitated, hugging herself. But then she remembered—this guy had already seen pretty much everything anyway…
"Alright. Just… sit still now."
She lowered herself, prepared to do something beyond her comfort zone.
---
Over twenty minutes later.
The two walked out of the girls' restroom in silence.
Hikigaya looked relatively composed, trying his best to act normal.
But Horikita… her gaze was dazed, her expression blank and confused, full of awkward tension.
She glanced sideways at the boy beside her, swallowed nervously, and gently tugged at his sleeve.
"H-Hikigaya… should we go to a hotel?"
"…?!"
Hikigaya froze and turned to look at the blushing girl beside him.
"Huh? A hotel??"