Chapter 172: Ryūen and Ichinose Team Up
Feeling a cold wind go against the current, Hikigaya's crotch felt a moment of coolness, followed by a surge of heat.
Everyone's eyes immediately focused on him, and Sudō next to him was still laughing enthusiastically at this moment.
Kaneda: "Yo, yo, yo, little punk... Hahahahahaha!"
Albert: "Loser...."
Ryūen also immediately crowded over, staring at Hikigaya's 'old two' and saying: "No, no, no, you two idiots, you have no vision at all. This is clearly a battle-hardened veteran... even at a glance, it possesses the presence of a king."
Hikigaya's mood at this moment was a mixture of complexity, embarrassment, or something else. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. It was at this moment... he blushed, genuinely blushed.
'Seriously, he can see all that... Ryūen, do you have some special fetish in this regard?'
Sudō: "Yo-ho, bro, why is your lion lying down? Looks like it's not masculine enough."
'You try having three different girls in your room every day... and it's been going on for almost a month... with absolutely no rest. Honestly, I'm lucky I haven't died yet.'
Sudō immediately put his big hand on Hikigaya's shoulder and said in a very relaxed manner: "It's fine, bro, it's totally fine."
'I don't need comforting!'
For some reason, Hikigaya's competitive spirit instantly flared up. He really wanted to let these ungrateful guys see his prime.
The moment the bath towel was ripped off by Sudō, Hikigaya lost his last sense of shame. Perhaps at first, he was still blushing a little, but now... he was scrutinizing other people's 'old twos' like a veteran.
They were all men, what was there to be afraid of?
Hirata also walked over to Hikigaya at this time, gently touched his butt, and instantly the bromance was boundless.
"Hachiman, you're well-maintained."
Hikigaya was initially quite afraid of this guy trying something on him, but upon reflection, they were all men. Was he afraid of being bent over? And then...
Slap!
He returned a heavy strike to Hirata.
"Your butt is elastic too."
[In the chat room, although that part was censored, the rest was on full display.]
[Wang Meiyu once had a crush on Hirata, but now, she couldn't bear to watch any longer. Setting aside what kind of relationship these two might develop... her efforts for half a year weren't even as good as the butt-slapping camaraderie these two shared.]
[Shinohara: "Uh, I feel like this is a bit different from how I imagined guys bathing..."]
[Ichinose's focus was completely different. She was frowning, her usual smile gone: "By the way, what did Ryūen-kun just say? Something about the 'presence of a king'? Something about being 'battle-hardened'..."]
[Kushida said with a cold face: "Someone here jumped the gun... I felt like something was off a long time ago. This video keeps cutting out at crucial moments."]
[At this remark, Sakura instantly realized something, but she couldn't be sure, so she didn't comment.]
[Karuizawa: "Hey, hey, Ichinose, I know your intuition is usually spot on, but... don't say such scary things, okay? Maybe... maybe this guy is just not abstinent."]
[Hikigaya: "Excuse me, is this a public execution?"]
[Talking about such topics in a chat group with so many people, where was he supposed to put his face later?]
[Yukinoshita, who had been clinging to Hikigaya's shoulder like a well-behaved kitten, immediately switched to a cold posture, folding her arms across her chest and questioning him: "Don't you know what you did?"]
[Hikigaya really wanted to say: 'Aren't I just an audience member like you guys? Of course, I don't know anything!']
[But... facing Yukinoshita's aggressive demeanor, Hikigaya couldn't even utter a single word.]
[Horikita sneered: "It seems, Hikigaya, you aren't that much trouble after all..."]
[Everyone already had an unspoken understanding. Combining the previous abnormal behaviors, they probably guessed something, but they didn't say it out loud.]
[Not only were their words transparent now, but if Yukinoshita realized, given their current inability to touch Hikigaya, it wouldn't be good if she did something to him...]
[Damn it, the war between women is truly cruel.]
[Sudō: "Heh heh, I'm really curious, who's the biggest in there!"]
[Ike: "Sudō, your focus is really unique, but I'm curious too."]
[Sotomura: "Too bad I'm not there, or I'd show you what a true 'sleeping giant' is!"]
[Hasebe rested her chin on her hand, saying mockingly: "You boys just like to compare these pointless things. It's not important at all, okay? As long as you like each other, this kind of thing won't have much impact."]
[Akito immediately wagged his finger and said righteously: "No, you don't understand, Hasebe. This is a man's war. It has nothing to do with what you think. Besides... don't you girls also like to compare whose floats when you're bathing?"]
[At this remark, Hasebe's face turned slightly red, and she immediately pretended not to care and turned her head away. The other female students were also silent. It seemed that Akito had hit the nail on the head.]
[Ichinose, however, integrated quite well. Should I call her a little angel? She could even interject on a topic like this: "So, who won the final battle?"]
[Yukimura pushed up his glasses and analyzed very seriously: "Although I can't see everything clearly, judging by everyone's shock, it's probably Ryūen, and then...."]
[Wang Meiyu: "Stop, stop, stop... Can we please not talk about this topic anymore?"]
[Well, it seems the innocent girl couldn't take it anymore.]
"It's you, Ryūen, is it? You motherfer, the title of 'King' must stay in Class C!"
Victory was decided in an instant. While Sudō's face was filled with invincibility, he suddenly ripped off his white bath towel. Without any suspense, and without even needing a comparison, Sudō claimed victory.
Ryūen's face was clearly displeased. He really hadn't expected to lose to someone else in this area. After all, he had undergone different levels of training since childhood.
However, some people might be incredibly gifted by nature.
This was a battle that couldn't be faked, a battle for men, so even Ryūen had to accept the loss wholeheartedly.
Sudō: "Hehehehe, no one can beat me. And you, Ryūen, calling yourself 'King'? I am the true God!"
Yahiko: "You? Nonsense. Do you misunderstand something about yourself, calling yourself a god?"
Hikigaya: "Will someone go and strip him? His white bath towel looks like an insult to our battle."
At this remark, Kitō and Albert immediately approached him.
Yahiko instantly became terrified and kept backing away.
"Wait, wait, wait! Don't strip me! I'm not the one competing with you!"
Hikigaya didn't care about the details. Since he had already laid everything bare, these people shouldn't expect to have it easy either.
And then...
Sudō: "Hey, are you, with your little chicken egg, here to be a comedian?"
Kitō: "Hahahahahahahaha, I'm not trying to say anything... Hahahahahaha...."
Hikigaya: "Hey, Kitō, that's too much laughter. It's difficult for others, you know. Mm-hmm..."
Albert: "Boss... M3... what the fk..."
Yahiko, blushing, immediately wrapped his lower body with a bath towel, then ran to his boss's side, wailing.
"Wuwuwuwu... they bullied me..."
Katsuragi was sitting on a small stool, squeezing out shampoo and washing his hair. Yahiko was hugging his left leg, looking like a couple of gays no matter how you looked at it. By the way, were these two really just boss and subordinate? Hikigaya didn't believe it.
Sudō: "Hey, hey, stop faking it. Why are you, a little bald guy, using shampoo? That's ridiculous."
Ryūen: "Exactly. We're all men, show it if there's anything unbelievable. Let me see if it's that shocking."
Facing the crowd's taunts, Katsuragi just sighed helplessly, then slowly rubbed the squeezed shampoo onto that area.
"Hey, where are you planning to rub that shampoo? Are you insulting my shampoo!"
Kaneda, as the former 'King,' still had some right to speak.
Clearly, Katsuragi, like Hikigaya earlier, didn't want to join the farce, but Kitō inserted himself into the situation.
"You can't say that. For the dignity of Class A, we must send you to fight Sudō!"
"Wait, so that I don't embarrass myself later, let me confirm first. Wowowowowo! Not bad, not bad!"
Kitō was secretly admiring this strange huge object all by himself, his face filled with an expression of victory.
Finally, in order not to let these childish guys bother him while he continued washing his hair, Katsuragi eventually couldn't win against Kitō. He lifted his bath towel and had a face-to-face PK with Sudō.
'Seriously... were you really planning to wash your hair? What the heck? By the way, you really do keep things hidden.'
This battle had no formal judge. The previous battles were decided instantly, but now... it required someone to scrutinize carefully.
Albert sat down and inspected closely. Because the two were so evenly matched, a close-up confirmation was necessary.
Since he didn't have his own class (in this group), Albert didn't show favoritism, and the final result was, as expected, Katsuragi being slightly superior.
Ryūen: "It seems our Class D can't sit idly by anymore."
"Albert, it's your turn to enter the field."
"Yes! Boss!"
After witnessing so many battles, Hikigaya was already used to it. Even if a more terrifying guy appeared now, he would probably...
"Holy cow, what is that thing? Is this what you call a racial advantage... No matter how you look at it, even..."
Hikigaya was slightly stunned. Sudō next to him started murmuring incessantly. Under Ryūen's command, Albert instantly took off his bath towel, opening the door to Hikigaya's new world with lightning speed.
It was... truly difficult to evaluate.
Just when everyone thought the winner had been decided, Kōenji, with his beautiful blonde hair combed back, walked up to Hikigaya and asked:
"By the way, Hikigaya-boy, do you know where there's a mirror here?"
Hikigaya spread his hands. It was his first time in a place like this, how could he know such a thing...
However...
Perhaps he didn't notice it himself, but others had clearly fixed their gaze on that spot.
Sudō: "Kōenji... you're a beast."
Ryūen: "I have to say, at first glance, I thought this guy had three legs... Impressive, impressive."
Albert: "Oh my god!"
Kaneda: "This is, this is a real T-Rex..."
Katsuragi: "I say, can you guys please not show that thing in the place where I'm washing my hair?"
'I sympathize with you, Katsuragi-kun. I hope you don't end up with severe psychological trauma.'
After the war of men ended, Hikigaya thought that was it. But, that would be too boring. Since he was at the bathhouse, he definitely had to sneak a peek at the situation on the girls' side.
Since there was a decent hot spring, and the two sides were only separated by a few wooden boards, sneaking a peek wouldn't be too difficult.
And Ryūen clearly had a plan. He dragged the gradually dispersing people to the hot spring, using the simple excuse of relaxing and resting to trick Hikigaya over here.
Ryūen: "Don't say your bro doesn't look out for you. This matter is only known to heaven, earth, you, and me. I usually don't tell anyone about a good spot like this."
Hikigaya: "What are you doing..."
Ryūen: "You'll find out later."
Ryūen leaned against the wooden boards, eyes wide, trying to see something. But after a few minutes...
"Those smelly women, why aren't any of them coming to the hot spring? I've been guarding this spot for three days, and I've only seen Ichinose come once, but I haven't seen anything interesting."
Only then did Hikigaya realize what this guy was trying to do. This was outright voyeurism.
Hikigaya didn't want to keep doing these morally questionable things with this guy. From a certain perspective, he was a man with a bottom line, so...
"Let's go. What's so good about this, you battle-hardened man?"
Ryūen: "Hey, hey, that's not right for you to say. Battle-hardened is one thing, but voyeurism is completely different. The feeling of voyeurism is an art, understand?"
Hikigaya didn't know where this guy got all these twisted ideas, but... Hikigaya just couldn't bring himself to do this kind of thing.
Just as he was about to leave, Ryūen suddenly let out a joyful laugh: "Hey, hey! The prey's here! The prey's here! It's Ichinose again. Looks like it was worth the wait."
That's right. On the other side, Ichinose was using a huge white bath towel to cover her body, then gently sat down and placed her feet gently into the hot spring water.
"So warm..."
Hikigaya felt a pang in his heart. Although Ichinose hadn't had that kind of relationship with him, he had heard her confessions repeatedly. That was her sincerity towards him, and she herself was a strong and independent girl. No matter what, he couldn't let this guy, Ryūen, get away with it.
"Hey, Ryūen, I forgot to tell you, Kōenji seemed to be looking for you just now. Said something about a man's pride..."
"Hey, Hikigaya, don't say things like that at a time like this. It's such a buzzkill."
Hikigaya: "He was supposedly in a great hurry. I've never seen Kōenji so urgent."
Ryūen: "If you're lying to me, you're dead!"
Having said this, Ryūen immediately grabbed his white bath towel and headed towards the dormitory. It seemed he planned to find Kōenji to find out what was going on.
Hikigaya finally felt relieved. But that wasn't enough. Ryūen had just mentioned that Ichinose often came here alone. Although he hadn't had any success the previous times, that didn't mean he wouldn't later, so he had to remind her no matter what.
Hikigaya walked over to where Ryūen had been, then gently closed one eye, trying to see something through the gaps in the wooden boards.
However... all he saw was unbelievably white skin and that evil thing that was completely floating up.
"Holy shit!"
"Hahahaha, Hikigaya-kun, what are you doing?"
"How do you know who I am?!"
"Hikigaya, are you being silly? We're only separated by one wooden board. Of course, I heard what you were saying."
"Then, does that mean you also knew Ryūen was peeping here before?"
"Mm-hmm. That's why I've always been very careful. But I didn't expect you to come this time, too. Does Hikigaya-kun also have that intention?"
Hikigaya immediately let out a sigh of relief. 'I guess I was overthinking it. Ichinose is inherently smart.'
"No, I was dragged here by Ryūen."
"That's a shame. If any other girls had come today, Hikigaya-kun would have seen them clearly."
"I would never..."
Ichinose let out a bell-like laugh, then slowly moved her body backward. The young man's eyes blurred, seeing the smooth skin and perfect physique, but because her private areas were submerged under the water, and Hikigaya genuinely didn't deliberately look, it was truly just a casual glance before he turned away.
"How was it? Did I look good?"
"I didn't see anything."
"A man's mouth is a liar's ghost. Even Hikigaya-kun is the same."
Having said this, Ichinose murmured softly: "It's not like looking is a big deal..."
Hikigaya: "I'm telling you, since you know this is a dangerous place, don't come here."
Ichinose: "What, is Hikigaya-kun worried about me?"
Hikigaya: "No, no matter what... it's too dangerous for a girl to come to a place like this alone."
Ichinose continued her bell-like laughter: "Thank you, Hikigaya-kun. But I had a feeling, a kind of intuition, that Hikigaya-kun would definitely come here, so I've been coming here to simply soak my feet after classes every day. And sure enough, I met you today. Should I call this a long-awaited destiny, or good luck?"
Hikigaya didn't know how to answer her question and continued: "There are other students, too. You need to remember to warn them."
Ichinose revealed a faint, serene smile that no one could see: "Hikigaya-kun is so kind."
Saying this, she gently leaned her body against the wooden board, relaxing completely.
Hikigaya also followed Ichinose's example, leaning his body against the wooden board, enjoying this rare moment of free time.
Ichinose looked as if she had recalled a memory, and a happy smile suddenly appeared on her face: "Hikigaya-kun, do you know? Back then, outside your room door, I was sitting just like this. At that time... I knew you were behind the door, but I couldn't muster the courage to knock."
Hikigaya: "At that time, when I opened the door and saw a beautiful girl slumped at my door, my heart skipped a beat."
Ichinose laughed in relief: "If it weren't for you at that time, maybe Class B and I would have been completely defeated by Ryūen and never recovered... Maybe I would have even left this school by now."
"But, because of you, I had the courage to get back on my feet. Actually, after that incident, I've always forgotten to properly say one thing to you..."
"Thank you."
The sudden heavy atmosphere made Hikigaya a little unable to adapt, but... this was fine.
Calmly accepting someone else's thank you wasn't a bad thing. It was also an acknowledgment of himself, a brand new step for Hikigaya.
Ichinose continued in a relieved tone: "I cared a lot about you in the past, though I didn't know why. But whenever you were around, my eyes couldn't help but shift towards you. At that time, I thought, Hikigaya-kun, you are truly a magical person..."
"At that time, I could still control myself. In everyone's eyes, you were just one of the people I treated kindly, nothing special. But the closer we got, the more you helped me, the more clearly I felt that, truly, from the very beginning... I liked you, Hikigaya-kun."
Facing this sudden confession, Hikigaya had clearly learned to remain silent.
However, Ichinose didn't seem to expect an answer from Hikigaya and just continued: "Hikigaya-kun, I know you are a very responsible person, so..."
"After seeing my body, don't you need to take responsibility?"
"You can lie to me, but can you lie to yourself?"
...
'Damn, this cursed Ryūen, he dared to set me up!'
'And this Ichinose... is too smart...'
At this moment, Hikigaya's brain truly crashed. He finally understood that from the moment he entered this large bathhouse, Ryūen and Ichinose had communicated, and everything that happened just now, the comparisons, everything, was just their design.
As for how they reached an agreement, he had no idea... and Hikigaya couldn't possibly figure it out at this time.
(End of this chapter)