"Uh, Hikigaya-kun, are you free later?"
With the additional events finished, the sports festival had officially come to an end. As everyone was getting ready to leave, Ichinose finally snapped out of her thoughts and hurried over to Hikigaya.
"Me?"
Hikigaya had been invited by Hirata to a class dinner, but he rejected it without a second thought.
At the same time, he could tell that Ichinose had something on her mind. After a brief pause, he asked, "I don't mind, but… are you sure you're okay leaving with me?"
Hikigaya glanced over at Ichinose's class area in the distance. Since her class had completely dominated the sports festival, not only had they kept Sakayanagi's class from catching up, but they had even widened the gap further. The students were all in high spirits, excitedly discussing their plans for a celebration after the festival. As the class leader, Ichinose was naturally expected to be there.
Surprisingly, Ichinose shook her head.
"I already told Kanzaki I'd be a little late, so it's fine."
She seemed determined. Hikigaya nodded.
"Alright then."
Suddenly, a strong force hit his back, nearly making him stumble. A cheerful voice rang out next to him.
"Hikigaya! You did pretty well just now!"
The tall girl with silver hair was Kiryuin—the senior he had met briefly during summer break.
"Senpai, you can't just pop up out of nowhere like that! You almost scared me to death. And what you just did counts as an attack, you know—ow, that hurts!"
Hikigaya grumbled as he turned to look at Kiryuin.
She smirked.
"I saw you chatting so happily with this girl, so I figured I'd give you a little surprise. Tsk tsk, I thought she was a beauty when I saw her from the stands, but up close… yeah, she's even more stunning than I expected."
As she spoke, Kiryuin openly scanned Ichinose from head to toe. Her bold, almost predatory gaze made Ichinose take a small step back, though Kiryuin's compliment still left her feeling a little flustered.
"No wonder Nagumo's got his eyes on you."
Her words made both Hikigaya and Ichinose freeze for a second.
"Senpai… you know Nagumo-senpai?"
Ichinose asked cautiously.
Kiryuin chuckled.
Seeing the innocent, confused look on Ichinose's face, she gave a half-smile.
"Oh, so you don't know? Well, I guess that makes sense. You first-years haven't been here long enough to learn these things."
"Senpai, could you tell me more?"
Ichinose's tone was polite but urgent. She had noticed the disdain and mockery in Kiryuin's voice when mentioning Nagumo.
Kiryuin let out a laugh as if she had heard something amusing, but a second later, her laughter cut off abruptly.
"Why should I tell you? Who are you to me?"
She crossed her arms and gave Ichinose a cold smirk. Just a moment ago, she had seemed so friendly, but now, her attitude had completely flipped. Even Ichinose couldn't help but feel a little awkward, her smile stiffening.
"Besides, instead of asking me, why not ask the person next to you? He probably knows better than I do."
With that, Kiryuin casually flipped her silver hair over her shoulder and strode away.
"Kiryuin-senpai has a… unique personality. You don't have to take it to heart."
Hikigaya spoke up to smooth things over.
Ichinose nodded slightly, but after hesitating for a moment, she finally asked,
"Hikigaya-kun… did you already know about Nagumo-senpai?"
Hikigaya fell silent, then sighed.
"There are plenty of rumors about him, especially regarding his… relationships. It's not exactly a secret. But if I say anything, it'll just sound like I'm badmouthing him to you."
There were a lot of stories surrounding Nagumo, mostly about his love life—changing girlfriends every week, sneaking in and out of certain girls' rooms, and so on. Among the second-years, these rumors weren't anything new. But at the end of the day, they were still just rumors—unproven, unconfirmed.
Even if everyone "knew" about them, no one had ever publicly confronted Nagumo about it. And no student was foolish enough to make an enemy out of him. Even Kiriyama, the vice president favored by Horikita Manabu, wouldn't bother bringing up such things because it would be pointless.
So these stories were treated like gossip—something people whispered about but never acted on. If Hikigaya told Ichinose about them as if they were absolute truth, he'd probably just come across as someone stirring up drama.
"So… you're worried about me?"
"…???"
Ichinose lowered her head slightly.
"I've always trusted you, Hikigaya-kun. You're not the type to spread rumors just for the sake of it. If even you think there's something off about Nagumo-senpai, then I'll be careful."
"Eh?"
Hikigaya was stunned. Then, panic set in.
"No, Ichinose, I—I'm just an outsider here. You should have your own opinions, your own judgment. You don't have to believe me so easily. And you definitely don't have to care about how I feel. I don't deserve that kind of trust…"
Ichinose's unwavering faith in him didn't make him happy—it just made him deeply uncomfortable. He couldn't understand why she trusted him so much.
"It's strange… even I don't really know why I 'trust' you so much, Hikigaya-kun."
Ichinose shook her head and let out a small, helpless smile.
"Kanzaki and Chihiro have both asked me about this many times. But no matter what, I just can't help but believe what you say. Thinking back to the student council interview at the beginning of the school year, I felt the same way. It's like a voice inside me is telling me that I can trust you. Maybe it's just a girl's intuition."
"..."
Hikigaya felt a headache coming on. For some reason, he was also getting a little irritated.
"What if I'm lying to you? Are you really that easy to trust people? Have you forgotten the mistakes you made before? I'm not someone you should trust!"
"So, Hikigaya-kun, would you lie to me?"
Ichinose asked him directly.
Hikigaya opened his mouth but couldn't find the words to answer.
"Hikigaya-kun, I know you mean well, but I trust my own choices. If I avoid trusting others just because I'm afraid of being lied to, then one day, I'll regret it. Since I've chosen to trust, I've also prepared myself for the possibility of being deceived or hurt."
Ichinose's expression was firm.
"…Sigh."
Hikigaya let out a deep sigh. People really shouldn't add unnecessary value to the things they care about.
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