"Hey, Hikigaya—! What are you up to!?"
Ibuki Mio looked panicked as she suddenly found herself being lifted off the ground. Hikigaya had one arm supporting her back and the other slipping beneath her knees, carrying her princess-style without hesitation.
"The Captain asked me to take you to the infirmary," Hikigaya said flatly. "You don't expect me to carry you any other way in this situation, do you?"
His eyes flicked briefly downward, as if hinting at something.
"Huh?" Ibuki blinked, confused for a second. Then realization struck her, and a small, mischievous grin tugged at her lips. "Oh~ I didn't expect you to be such a gentleman."
If he carried her on his back, her chest would press against him. This dead fish-eyed guy… he's surprisingly considerate!
Hikigaya: "???"
Why do I feel like she's misunderstanding something?
What he meant was that she'd probably feel uncomfortable lying down after taking a heavy hit to the chest from that well-built upperclassman. That was all.
Anyway, it's not like there's much there to—
"What are you thinking, you disrespectful idiot!" Ibuki snapped, narrowing her eyes sharply at his expression.
"No, no," Hikigaya said quickly, "I just meant you're pretty light."
That should count as a compliment, right?
"You'd better be talking about my weight."
"What else could I be referring to?"
So difficult to read…
"..."
"..."
The martial arts club's activity room wasn't far from the infirmary.
Fortunately, they didn't run into anyone from Class D along the way. Otherwise, rumors like 'Penguin hooks up with girls from other classes' would've spread across Advanced Nurturing High School by morning.
"Ah~ Hikigaya finally made his move~~"
Hoshinomiya Chie looked up as the two entered, Hikigaya still holding Ibuki princess-style. She smiled teasingly, though a flicker of surprise flashed through her eyes.
"Ibuki, getting injured twice in one day? You're not doing this on purpose, are you?" she teased. "Trying to get closer to Hikigaya while you're at it?"
"Hah?" Ibuki scowled. "Why would I ever approach this dead fish eye?"
"Oh~ really? But you didn't refuse when he carried you like that."
"T-That's because Hikigaya was too shy to carry me any other way!" Ibuki shot back proudly, one hand on her chest.
"Yeah." Hikigaya replied tonelessly as he placed her on the infirmary bed and stepped back without hesitation.
"See? He even admits it," Ibuki said smugly, lifting her chin.
Hoshinomiya twitched slightly at the exchange. Is this guy dense or just pretending?
"Well, Hikigaya," she said with a mischievous look, "you two seem to get along quite well. How about I let you handle applying the medicine?"
She winked, pretending to encourage him, though her true intent was to test him—whether their "connection" had anything to do with cooperation between Class C and Class D.
"Uh…" Ibuki's eyes widened. The bruises on her arms and legs were fine, but letting a guy handle the ones on her chest? No way!
Just as she was about to refuse, Hikigaya spoke first.
"No. Professionals should handle professional tasks. I'll leave it to you, Hoshinomiya-sensei."
He could tell she was probing their relationship. Considering she was Class B's homeroom teacher, her intentions weren't hard to read.
This guy refuses so straightforwardly… Ibuki pursed her lips, feeling oddly irritated.
"Hey~ But it's so tiring for the teacher to do everything alone," Hoshinomiya pouted dramatically.
Pretending again, Hikigaya thought flatly.
"Yes," he replied calmly, glancing meaningfully at her desk. "As the school nurse, you seem to care deeply about the health of students… from every class."
A thick stack of papers lay there—on top of them, a personal file belonging to a Class D student.
Class B should be focused on Class C right now, so why the sudden interest in us?
"..."
Hoshinomiya froze for a moment before smoothly sliding the papers into a drawer. This dead fish eye fellow really does notice too much.
"Well then, since Hikigaya doesn't want to help, I won't force him," she said with a forced smile.
Such a clumsy change of subject, Hikigaya thought.
"Hikigaya, do you dislike me or something?" Ibuki asked suddenly, staring at him.
No, don't tell me you actually fell for that bait—
"Your silence means yes," she continued, eyes narrowing. "I thought we were comrades."
Since when?
Hikigaya looked confused. He genuinely had no idea what she was talking about.
From Ibuki's perspective, though, they'd raced each other, joined the martial arts club together—fellow practitioners of the same craft. In her mind, that made them comrades-in-arms.
In the martial arts world, injuries are inevitable. Supporting each other is part of the code.
To her, it was about brotherhood.
To Hikigaya, it just sounded… exhausting.
Alas, there's truly no mutual understanding between people.
Hikigaya decided it wasn't worth figuring out.
"Ibuki, if you don't mind," he said finally, "I can apply the medicine for you."
After all, they'd both be members of the same club now. Might as well help each other.
"Hmph~ That's better."
Ibuki's gloomy expression brightened instantly. She kicked off her sneakers, revealing a white sock on her left foot. A faint wave of body heat and the scent of sweat hit the air.
Hikigaya accidentally inhaled—and froze.
"The fat upperclassman stomped right on my foot…" she muttered. "Can you grab some ice and safflower oil? Thanks."
…Wow. Not even a hint of politeness.
Hikigaya's eyelids twitched as he glanced toward Hoshinomiya, who was watching with obvious amusement.
"Hikigaya, Ibuki's feet are your responsibility now," she said sweetly. "The teacher will handle her front. Or… should we switch places?"
"No thanks…" Hikigaya sighed bitterly.
"Hurry up, Hikigaya!" Ibuki urged impatiently, raising her left foot. "The sooner you treat the bruise, the faster it'll heal. When I recover, I'll definitely challenge you again!"
Please don't recover that fast…
With a resigned sigh, Hikigaya knelt down, carefully pulling off Ibuki's white sock.
A delicate, athletic foot—about size 36—was revealed. Her constant training had left the veins faintly visible.
Hikigaya paused briefly, his thoughts wandering.
Same size as Komachi's feet. Respect.
"Hey… what are you zoning out for?"
Ibuki's cheeks flushed slightly, and her toes curled instinctively.