August 9th - The Next Day
Top-deck café on the cruise ship
Hikigaya Hachiman leaned against the railing, gazing at the endless blue sea with his signature dead-fish eyes.
Yesterday was... unexpected.
For the first time in his life, so many people wished him a happy birthday.
It felt nice.
But he couldn't ignore the possibility that Juke was behind it all, carefully timing the announcement of his birthday. By doing so, he put everyone in an awkward position. Anyone who refused to celebrate would be labeled as "indifferent."
Some, like Ichinose, were probably genuine in their wishes, but others? Hikigaya wasn't so sure.
No matter how perfect Class B appeared, such a flawless class couldn't exist. It had to be a façade.
Juke, who forced herself to fit in, was living proof of that.
Hikigaya had always abided by his three unpopularity principles:
Never expect anything.
Never create emotional gaps.
Never ask for sweet words.
People probably acted kindly because of Ichinose's influence, forcing themselves to fit an idealized version of who they thought they should be.
It was... pathetic.
But whatever. Nothing would change.
With that thought, he took out his phone and opened his messaging app. He had received direct birthday wishes from Ichinose, Himenoyuki, and Hiyori.
The first two made sense.
But Hiyori, also known as Bai Bo Chihiro, had already wished him a happy birthday in the group chat. Yet she still sent a personal message and even added his contact.
That girl was too innocent.
He sighed.
If someone extends kindness, he has to repay it. That's just how a lone wolf operates—no debts, no attachments.
For now, he'd just keep it in mind.
Elsewhere...
Kushida Kikyo peeked from behind a wall, her sharp eyes locked onto Hikigaya.
Just as she expected, he was here again today.
Good.
She smirked slightly, pulling out her phone to send a few messages before checking the time.
These foolish guys were too easy to manipulate.
Afternoon – Top-Deck Café
Hikigaya sat under a large umbrella, sipping his coffee and flipping through a library book. The gentle sea breeze mixed with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, creating an oddly relaxing atmosphere.
To an outsider, he might have looked like one of those creative types who spent all day in Starbucks.
Before, he used to scoff at those people—sitting there with their laptops, pretending to be deep in thought.
But now, he understood.
It wasn't about the coffee.
It wasn't about sophistication.
They just didn't want to be alone.
That must be it.
Because, truthfully, he was sitting here for the same reason—he had nowhere else to go.
Then—
Thud.
A soft impact.
Hikigaya turned his head.
A plump, cute-faced girl stood there, looking flustered.
Kushida Kikyo.
A phone had fallen at his feet—probably hers.
His expression immediately darkened.
Green tea.
Why was she here?
Didn't he already delete her contact information?
He quickly turned away, pretending not to notice. Hopefully, she'd take the hint and leave.
But.
He glanced back.
Their eyes met.
Crap.
Now it was too late to pretend he hadn't seen her.
Still, he really didn't want to deal with her.
He looked away again, hoping she'd walk past.
But instead—
Thud.
Kushida sat down across from him.
She placed her phone on the table, clasped her hands together over her lap, and stared at the ground.
Forcing a smile, she whispered,
"What a coincidence."
Hikigaya stared into the distance, unwilling to engage.
This was awkward.
So awkward.
Why did she have to talk to him?
But ignoring her now would just be rude.
"...Coincidence," he muttered reluctantly.
Kushida nodded slightly, her smile strained.
"Yeah."
More awkward silence.
Great.
Can I leave now?
Earlier – Poolside on the Cruise Ship Deck
At the ship's poolside, a group of Class D boys lounged around, ogling the girls in their swimsuits.
"Yamauchi, look at her. No, look at that one! She's perfect!"
"Tsk. You don't understand, Chi. That one's just got bigger boobs. Look at the one with the long legs."
"Huh? What's so great about long legs? Big boobs are obviously better."
"You guys have no experience. Only veterans like me know the appeal of long legs."
"Veteran? You? Since when?"
"Hmph. Back in middle school, I was super popular. I dated so many girls I lost count."
Ayanokouji, sitting nearby, glanced at him.
How many girls could a middle school even have...?
Then—
A phone notification.
Chi snatched up his phone, checked the message, and suddenly shot to his feet.
"Forget you losers! I'm going on a date with Kikyo-chan!"
"Ha?!"
Yamauchi Haruki's face twisted in disbelief.
"No way. No way in hell Kushida Kikyo is dating you."
Chi smirked and flicked his hair back.
"Jealous?"
Yamauchi grabbed the phone and read the message.
It was real.
"Kikyo-chan... messaged you?" he muttered, stunned.
Sudou narrowed his eyes and grabbed Chi's collar.
"You little traitor! What's going on?!"
"Who knows? Maybe she fell for my charm," Chi said smugly.
"Bullshit!" Yamauchi shouted. "Kikyo-chan is mine!"
"Huh? I thought you liked Sakura Airi?" Chi raised an eyebrow.
"Uh…" Yamauchi scratched his head. "Oh yeah. Never mind. You can have Kushida. But you owe me dinner."
"Fine, whatever."
Sudou let go of Chi, but his eyes still burned with suspicion.
"We're coming with you," he declared. "We need to see this 'date' for ourselves."
Ayanokouji, who had been silently observing, decided to follow as well.
Something wasn't right.
Kushida Kikyo wasn't the type to openly date anyone.
Especially not Chi.
Whatever she was planning, it had to be something else entirely.
Back at the Café
Hikigaya sipped his coffee.
This was still awkward.
He glanced at Kushida.
She looked hesitant, almost nervous.
Then, softly, she asked,
"...Why did you delete me?"
Hikigaya froze.
Damn.
How should he answer that?
The truth?
"I don't want to deal with two-faced people like you."
That felt too direct.
What if he was wrong? What if she wasn't actually fake?
Words could be knives.
He couldn't just throw them around recklessly.
Instead, he cleared his throat and said,
"Well... our classes are competitors. It's not like we were that close anyway."
Kushida tilted her head.
"But what about Horikita-san?"
Hikigaya blinked.
"...What about her?"
"You seem close to her."
Hikigaya smirked.
"I deleted her too."
Kushida's eyes widened slightly. Then—she smiled.
He could tell.
She was relieved.
She had been worried that Horikita had special treatment.
But Hikigaya didn't play favorites.
He deleted anyone he didn't want to deal with.
Kushida pretended to wipe her eyes and suddenly stood up.
Then—she ran away.
Leaving her phone on the table.
Hikigaya stared at it.
...Great.
Now what?
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