Chapter 123: Totsuka Saika's Invitation
"Um, are you okay?" Seeing Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly slam into the fence like a madman, Totsuka Saika looked at him with worry on his face.
"He's fine. He's just feeling extremely conflicted and depressed right now..." Taking advantage of their conversation, Zaimokuza, who had walked over from the other end of the tennis court, adjusted his glasses and looked at Hachiman with a sympathetic gaze. Another lost soul had been added to the world.
"Depressed? Why?" Completely unaware of what he had done to cause this, the very culprit tilted his head in confusion, his face showing an adorably troubled expression.
Pffft! Zaimokuza felt his blood surge uncontrollably, and then he rushed to Hachiman's side and joined him in slamming into the fence.
—A few minutes later—
"Sorry, that was rude just now..." Having stabilized the faith that had nearly collapsed inside him, Hikigaya Hachiman calmly began talking to Totsuka again.
"It's fine. After all, everyone usually mistakes me for a girl when they first meet me..." As he said that, a shy expression flashed across Totsuka's face. It was clearly a rather embarrassing topic for him.
"I think God played a massive prank when He created you." Hikigaya suddenly said something random with a very serious expression.
"Eh?"
"Nothing, I just went a bit crazy for a moment. Please forget what I just said." "By the way, why did you come all the way here to watch us play, Totsuka?"
Seeing Totsuka here alone, Hikigaya couldn't quite understand it. He and Zaimokuza had chosen an extremely secluded part of the tennis court. Unless Totsuka had come on purpose, there was no way he'd end up here by accident.
"Actually, I'm the captain of our school's tennis club..." Asked about the reason, Totsuka looked a little embarrassed.
"Since the third-year seniors are all preparing for university entrance exams, the current strength of the tennis club..." At this, a flash of sadness appeared on Totsuka's face. Last year, Sobu High's tennis club had even placed third in the prefectural tournament, but
after he became the captain, the team's strength had rapidly declined. Last month's tournament didn't even make it past the district level.
He shook his head, trying to get rid of the shadow of failure from his mind, and looked at Hachiman with hopeful eyes.
"I saw how amazing your tennis skills were earlier! So, could I ask you to join the tennis club?"
"HA?!" x2 Both Hikigaya Hachiman and Zaimokuza Yoshiteru exclaimed in unison upon hearing Totsuka's request.
"Is there something strange about that?" Seeing their shocked expressions, Totsuka couldn't understand what was so surprising.
"N-no, are you sure you're not joking? You're asking him to join the tennis club?" Before Hachiman could say anything, Zaimokuza was already clutching his stomach laughing.
Just imagine: Under the bright, cheerful sunlight, surrounded by cheering spectators, Hikigaya Hachiman steps slowly onto the court, dead-fish eyes gleaming faintly as he sweats out his youth on the tennis court...
Pffft—! Zaimokuza couldn't take it anymore and collapsed to the ground, rolling around laughing.
"Hey!" Watching Zaimokuza roll around in front of him and Totsuka, completely ignoring his dignity, Hachiman's forehead twitched with irritation. If Totsuka weren't right in front of him, he would've made this guy do another round of stretching exercises.
"Sorry, Totsuka, but I already belong to a club." Even though it was painful to refuse someone with a face like Totsuka's, Hachiman had no plans to spend his time playing tennis. And if he defected from the Service Club, both Hiratsuka-sensei and Yukinoshita would absolutely kill him.
"Eh, I see..." Hearing Hachiman's rejection, a visible look of disappointment appeared on Totsuka's face. Instantly, Hachiman felt a pang of guilt.
"In any case, I'm really sorry!" Sensing that he couldn't linger around Totsuka any longer, Hachiman apologized again and dragged Zaimokuza away like a fugitive.
—After running a fair distance—
Hikigaya Hachiman leaned against a wall and let out a long sigh of relief. A large hand landed on his shoulder.
Turning his head, he saw Zaimokuza looking at him with a sympathetic face.
"I understand how you feel." Hikigaya Hachiman: ...
.
.
.
Time without studying is always fleeting.
As the class bell rang, Hachiman parted ways with Zaimokuza and began heading back to class alone via the stairway.
"Ah..." Suddenly, a cool, surprised voice came from above.
Looking up, he saw Yukinoshita Yukino, dressed in a pink sports uniform, with one hand resting on the railing as she looked down at him.
"Good morning." After a moment of surprise, Hachiman took the initiative to greet her.
"Good morning. You had P.E. last period?"
Even though the sportswear he had on made that perfectly clear, Yukinoshita, who clearly didn't have anything else to talk about, asked the obvious anyway.
"Yeah. What about you, what will you do next?"
Just like Hachiman, Yukinoshita was also isolated within her own class. Because today's P.E. was a joint class with Zaimokuza's group, Hachiman had avoided having to train alone. But Yukinoshita hadn't been so lucky.
"As usual, I'll do it alone." Brushing her long hair behind her ear, Yukinoshita answered indifferently. Did Hachiman really think she'd be bothered by something like that after more than a year of surviving high school?
"I see." Unsurprised by her answer, Hachiman nodded. It was a choice that perfectly fit her personality.
"Hey, Hikigaya-kun! Did you just have P.E. too?" At that moment, a cheerful voice called from above.
Looking up, they saw Yurikawa Hana smiling brightly.
"You two know each other?" After glancing at Yurikawa, Yukinoshita's gaze lingered for a moment on her chest before turning her interrogative eyes toward Hachiman.
"Kind of..." Hachiman wasn't sure why, but even though he hadn't done anything wrong, running into Yurikawa in front of Yukinoshita made him feel inexplicably guilty.
"Is that so? Then I'll be going first." Hearing his reply, Yukinoshita nodded and walked past him down the stairs.
By the time Yurikawa Hana had pulled over Yotsuya Miko, Yukinoshita had already vanished.