"Uuuu... I'm sorry, Yukinoshita, I'm sorry, Yukinoshita, I'm so, so sorry..."
"I'm a filthy woman. I'm a sinner. I..."
"How could I lose my head like that... with your boyfriend..."
Expression blank, Kawasaki kept muttering to herself.
Hikigaya was walking beside her.
To be precise—
The two were strolling along a path in the park, with Hikigaya half-supporting Kawasaki's slender body.
"Kawasaki, really... it's me who's at fault..."
Hikigaya sighed.
"If I had just kept a cooler head... if I'd been more rational..."
"No, this isn't your fault!"
Kawasaki interrupted, flustered.
"This has nothing to do with you, Hikigaya. You... you didn't do anything wrong. In that kind of situation, if you hadn't done something, I'd be more worried that you needed to see a doctor."
"Uh..."
Hikigaya paused and stammered,
"I-I didn't expect you to suddenly be that cute."
"Huh?"
The girl froze, and her already flushed face turned bright red.
The two of them fell silent.
The atmosphere grew... subtly charged, the kind of ambiguous air that's hard to ignore.
"There's... a bench over there. Why don't you sit for a bit?"
Noticing a bench about seven or eight meters ahead, Hikigaya broke the silence.
"Alright..."
Kawasaki nodded.
She stumbled slightly as she walked.
Glancing at her thighs, Hikigaya coughed lightly.
"I'll carry you."
"Eh? Y-You'll carry me? Wait—"
Before she could finish, Hikigaya scooped her up in a princess carry, gentle and steady.
"Don't let anyone see," Kawasaki mumbled, burying her head into Hikigaya's chest in embarrassment.
"Relax, there's no one around."
Saying so, Hikigaya carried her over to the bench.
When they reached it, he slowly set her down, letting her sit.
Conveniently, there was a vending machine right next to the bench.
"Want something to drink?" Hikigaya asked.
"N-No, it's fine..."
"I'm just going to grab some juice."
"H-Hey!"
Face still flushed, Kawasaki muttered,
"...I said I didn't need anything."
Pretending not to hear her, Hikigaya bought a bottle of juice and handed it to her.
"Thanks..."
She accepted the drink with extreme caution, then nervously added,
"How much was it? I'll pay you back."
"No need. Honestly, I should be the one paying you."
"What?"
Her face turned scarlet in an instant as she cried out,
"W-What do you think I am?! I did this of my own will—no way I'm letting you pay me! Wait, this drink—is this your... your payment?!"
She stared at the juice in her hands in a panic.
...Okay.
Maybe Hikigaya shouldn't have joked around like that with Kawasaki.
"Don't overthink it. I'm just worried about you."
"Eh? W-Worried?"
"Yeah. You're probably really thirsty right now."
"I..."
Kawasaki looked down, cheeks flushed, and lightly bit her lip.
"Drink up. Don't push your body too hard."
"O-Okay..."
Hearing the almost commanding tone in Hikigaya's voice, Kawasaki could only nod obediently.
Gulp gulp gulp...
The cold drink flowed down her throat.
In an instant, Kawasaki's whole body gave a small shiver, her eyes brightened, and she seemed to come back to life.
In one go—
She finished the entire 330ml bottle.
"Feeling... better?"
Hikigaya gave a small cough and looked at her with concern.
"Um... yeah."
She nodded, her hand instinctively tugging at the hem of her gym shorts.
"I'm going to keep running. What about you, Kawasaki?"
"Me? Uh... I think I'll head home first." Feeling Hikigaya's gaze on her, her body twitched instinctively, and she quickly replied.
"Going back already? In your current state...?" Hikigaya asked, worried.
"I drank your juice. I'm good now."
Saying that, Kawasaki slowly stood up and paced back and forth in front of him—moving like nothing was wrong at all.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Hikigaya's voice still carried concern.
"Don't underestimate us women," Kawasaki huffed, annoyed.
"Alright, alright."
Hikigaya gave a wry smile and got ready to run.
Seeing that, Kawasaki quickly reminded him:
"Don't forget what I told you today. Try it with Yukinoshita sometime—find her weak spots..."
"Yeah, yeah."
Hikigaya responded and took off running into the distance.
"He still has that much energy left...?"
Kawasaki stared blankly at his receding figure, unable to snap out of it.
Because just a moment ago—cough, cough!
Honestly...
Just walking was already a struggle. Running? That'd be the death of her.
"There's no way I can handle this on my own..."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"If I pass out one day from 'training' like this... No way! I can't let that happen!"
One person's strength could only go so far.
Should she bring Kasumigaoka into this too?
"Wait! Why did I suddenly think of something so insane?!"
"No no no, there's no way the two of us could take on Hikigaya... That'd be way too much. Yukinoshita would never forgive me. That'd be totally immoral..."
She slapped her own cheeks with both hands, trying to clear her head, and after taking several deep breaths, she slowly walked toward the park exit.
---
Meanwhile—
Hikigaya kept running, putting all his effort into it.
He did his best not to think about what had just happened with Kawasaki.
I need to train!
Training is great!
Running is great!
After several minutes, he neared an open area—only to suddenly hear the sound of arguing.
Looking closely...
Huh? Why were Mrs. Yuigahama and Mrs. Sayuri arguing?
Hikigaya slowed down, curious about what was going on.
Just then, Sayuri turned to him with a cheerful smile and called out:
"Hikigaya-kun, perfect timing! Come here and help explain something."
"What's going on?"
He walked up to the two ladies and asked politely.
"Your Auntie Yuigahama thinks I went to look for you earlier. So? Did I?" Sayuri asked with a grin.
"No, I was... I was coaching Kawasaki with her running the whole time," Hikigaya replied seriously after a short pause, addressing Mrs. Yuigahama.
"I see..."
Mrs. Yuigahama sighed lightly and turned to Sayuri.
"Alright then, I must've been overthinking it."
"Heehee."
Sayuri chuckled and, perhaps unconsciously, gave Hikigaya another look.
"...!!"
A chill ran inexplicably down his spine.
Hikigaya couldn't help but notice—there was something seriously off about the way Sayuri was looking at him just now.