In the school cafeteria, Hikigaya sat alone, quietly eating his meal.
Compared to the groups of students chatting and laughing together, he stood out—an odd one out in the crowd.
Just then, a tray was placed across from him.
"This seat isn't taken, right?"
Before Hikigaya could answer, a purple-haired girl had already sat down on her own.
Hikigaya lifted his eyes slightly, glanced at the person across from him, and continued eating without saying a word. The two of them finished dinner in silence.
Just as Hikigaya was about to pack up and leave, Kamuro, sitting across from him, finally couldn't hold back anymore and called out to him.
"Got a minute?"
Seeing Hikigaya's completely emotionless expression, Kamuro felt a wave of frustration.
"Hey, what did you do to Sakayanagi?"
Kamuro got straight to the point.
Hikigaya looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Around half a month ago, Sakayanagi went out of her way to meet you. After that, she suddenly started taking walks on the track."
Hikigaya paused for a moment. He had noticed it before, but he didn't think much of it. Lately, he'd been busy with student council work, so he didn't have time to care about things like this.
"I don't know about that. Weren't you with her?"
After all, Sakayanagi wasn't the only one walking on the track—Kamuro was always following her. Plus, there were plenty of students who walked slowly around the track as a form of light exercise.
A lot of them were girls who probably saw this as an easy way to stay active. The school's track had plenty of lanes, so it didn't really get in the way of the students who were actually running.
But a girl walking around the track while leaning on a cane? That was bound to draw attention.
Kamuro rolled her eyes. "That's exactly the problem! She needs me to stay with her!"
"She knows her body isn't strong, but she insists on pushing herself. What if something happens? In the end, I'm the one who has to deal with it!"
Kamuro grumbled in frustration.
Sakayanagi's recent behavior was completely out of character. Because of her condition, people usually avoided bringing up anything related to physical activity. Sakayanagi herself was also well aware of her limitations, so she mostly stayed in quiet places like the library or a café.
She would never go to places like the gym or the track unless she absolutely had to. So when she suddenly asked Kamuro to accompany her on walks around the track, no one said anything out loud, but internally, it was a massive shock.
After some careful questioning, Kamuro managed to find a clue—this strange change seemed to be related to the guy sitting in front of her.
"So you're actually worried about her, huh?"
Hikigaya suddenly understood.
"Huh? Me? Worried about Sakayanagi?!"
Kamuro reacted like a startled cat, puffing up in anger. "I'm not close to her at all! I'm just someone she bosses around!"
"Oh."
"Oh—my ass! Don't just brush it off like that!"
Kamuro was clearly annoyed by Hikigaya's indifferent attitude.
"So, what did you say to Sakayanagi? Spill it!"
Tch… and here I am saying I don't care about her.
Hikigaya muttered in his head.
"Don't go making things up. I didn't do anything."
"If you didn't do anything, why would Sakayanagi suddenly change? I don't believe it! She never went near the track before, and she definitely never did anything this risky!"
"Risky?"
"You don't know? Sakayanagi actually said she wanted to try taking bigger steps to see if she could walk faster!"
Kamuro got more frustrated as she spoke.
"Is she an idiot?! That's basically running! Does she not understand her own condition?! Seriously, she's not a kid anymore—why is she still so reckless?!"
Hikigaya: "…"
His eyes shifted slightly.
Because… he was starting to realize this might actually be his fault.
So, he told Kamuro what had happened that day.
Kamuro unexpectedly fell silent.
"Kamuro, I don't know if you've noticed Sakayanagi, but sometimes, the more someone longs for something, the more they avoid it. Those past few days, Sakayanagi kept sitting in the stands. I could vaguely sense a kind of longing in her eyes."
For several days, Sakayanagi had come to the stands. Maybe it wasn't just because of Hikigaya—perhaps she was also giving herself an excuse to be at the field.
"Kamuro, do you know what's most important for someone with a physical disability?"
"The way others look at them?"
Hikigaya nodded, then shook his head. "The attention and concern from people around them do have an impact. Everyone deliberately avoids mentioning her condition—do you think Sakayanagi doesn't realize that? But actually… rather than avoiding her disability, I think deep down, she'd much rather people treat her like a normal person."
Avoiding someone's disability is, in a way, a form of respect. It's also the best way to avoid hurting them.
But avoiding it altogether, in another sense, is also a kind of discrimination.
Neither approach is right or wrong. There's no saying which is better or worse.
"Hikigaya, how do you know so much about this?"
Kamuro looked puzzled.
"Well… I guess I have a friend in a similar situation. She's the older sister of a junior from my middle school."
As soon as Hikigaya finished speaking, he noticed Kamuro's face looking really weird.
"Hey, what's with that look? Can't I have juniors too?"
"Huh? How did you know what I was thinking?"
"Obviously. Your thoughts are practically written all over your face!"
"Tch!"
"You just clicked your tongue, didn't you?"
"Anyway, now that I get what's going on, I'm leaving."
With that, Kamuro got up and walked away before Hikigaya could even react.
...
In the blink of an eye, October arrived, and the annual sports festival officially began.
During the opening ceremony, surprisingly, it wasn't Student Council President Horikita Manabu who gave the speech, but a student named Fujimaki from Class 3-A.
Hikigaya stood in the formation for the Red Team. A notable point was that the Red Team was made up of Classes A and D from all three grades, while the White Team consisted of Classes B and C from all three grades.
The overall victory wasn't determined by a single grade but by the combined scores of all three grades.
There were also a few outsiders scattered among the spectators, most likely staff from nearby workplaces. The school had medical staff and event personnel fully prepared, making everything feel very professional. As the crowd applauded, the sports festival officially began.
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