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==============
Adjacent to the campsite was a covered cooking area. Thick smoke billowed dramatically from it.
In addition to the muggy heat, an overwhelming warmth radiated from the lit charcoal. The smell of grilling meat mingled with the boisterous chatter of the men and women gathered there.
"Senpai, your eyes are dead."
"Well, yeah..."
"Hikigaya, let's have a BBQ!" That's the message I got a week ago from Mr. Over-Enthusiastic, Nikaido.
Of course, I refused, but then the members from the previous group date contacted Isshiki, and that was the end of it.
He seemed to have gathered an awful lot of people, and so I ended up participating in a very college-student-like event: a BBQ with over twenty men and women in total.
"You're thinking you want to go home right now, aren't you?"
"If you know that, why don't you let me go home?"
"No way~. Besides, are you going to go home without eating even though you paid the participation fee?"
"Ugh..."
Indeed, that was the truth of the matter.
I had intended to eat once the crowd around the grill thinned out a bit, but there was no sign of it ever clearing.
It'd be easy if I could just jump in without a care, but if I suddenly cut in, they'd think I was greedy! Hachiman's embarrassed!
"Oh, Senpai! And Iroha-chan too."
"Ugh."
The voice that called out from behind me was Amane Sakura. I hadn't noticed her because I'd been talking only with Isshiki, but it seemed Sakura was also at the BBQ. To be able to gather people, even younger girls, Nikaido truly was the King of Group Dates. Though I really don't know if he's actually the King of Group Dates.
"No, 'ugh' isn't appropriate."
"...Do you need something?"
While Sakura spoke to me familiarly, Isshiki gave her usual cold shoulder. Or rather, she acts that way towards girls too?
"Of course I have something! I want to talk to SenpaiâŞ"
"...Tch."
Ah, did she just click her tongue? That's what I'm talking about, Irohas.
Even though these two subtly overlap in terms of character and personality, they seem strangely hostile towards each other.
Perhaps it's a case of self-loathing. Well, I might also think "what's with this guy?" if I met someone with a similar personality. But I shouldn't think that way...
"But before that,"
Sakura said that and, for some reason, grabbed Isshiki's arm.
"I'll borrow Iroha-chan for a bit~"
"What, wait..."
Isshiki was dragged away, slithering along. They were a puzzling pair, whether they were getting along or not.
"You ladies' man!"
I was about to go get a drink when I felt a slap on my back accompanied by that voice. Without even turning around, I knew it was Nikaido.
"Ow. What are you doing, you drunk?"
I didn't know how many cans of beer he had in his hand, but Nikaido's face was already bright red. Next to him, Tsuneshi was giving a wry smile, so he probably hadn't drunk as much yet.
"Hikigaya, you know Sakura-chan too?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, we work at the same place."
"And now you've got a girl on each arm, you scoundrel!"
While I was talking to Tsuneshi, Nikaido's apparently unruly curses cut in. Drunken college students, they really are the worst.
"Tsuneshi, do you know Sakura?"
"Of course I do. Among the new first-years this year, Isshiki-chan is the most refined, and if you're talking about the gyaru type, it's Sakura-chan, right?"
"Why do those two gather around you?! I can't accept it!"
Nikaido started barking again, and I felt a bit fed up. Anyway, setting Isshiki aside, Sakura seemed to be quite famous within the university too.
It's true that their makeup styles are completely different, but there's no doubt that their original faces are good. I even know Isshiki's bare face, so I can vouch for that. Though calling Isshiki "refined" feels a bit off...
"Anyway, drink up. You can't keep up with this guy's energy if you're sober."
Tsuneshi said that and handed me a can of beer. Indeed, dealing with Nikaido, who was even more overbearing than usual, was tough when sober.
I popped the tab and gulped down the beer. As I let out a sigh of relief, Nikaido spoke.
"By the way, weren't you dating Isshiki-chan?"
"Huh...? No, I'm not dating her."
"Eh, are you serious?"
He looked shocked, but I wasn't dating her, so I wasn't. I suppose it couldn't be helped if people misunderstood because of Isshiki's behavior.
"Why is that?"
Tsuneshi, who had been listening to our conversation nearby, asked in a solemn voice.
There was a reason. But I wasn't confident I could put it into words properly.
"...There's a lot to it."
"Hmm..."
He gave me a suspicious look, but there was nothing I could tell him then and there.
I don't think Tsuneshi or Nikaido are bad friends, and I've become less guarded with others than I used to be. Still, I couldn't bring myself to tell them the reason.
"But isn't that pretty cruel?"
His beer-tinged voice resonated heavily in my chest. Honestly, Tsuneshi was right.
"That's right, Hikigaya! Switch places with me!"
"Yeah, yeah. That's not what we're talking about right now."
Tsuneshi calmed Nikaido down, and his expression softened completely, a stark contrast to before.
"Anyway, let's eat some meat. You haven't eaten at all, have you?"
"Ah... Yeah, you're right."
When he said that and we started walking together, I looked back at Isshiki and the others. I could only tell they were talking about something, but I couldn't make out the content of their conversation.
"Hey, let's go."
"...Alright."
When I looked where I was called, I saw men and women gathered around the grill, chatting boisterously.
I wished someone would just bring me some meat, but I entered the circle anyway.
â-----------
"So, what do you want?"
"Eh, don't be so wary!"
Sakura-chan said with a smile, handing me a can of chuhai she had just taken out of the cooler box.
We both sat on a bench at the edge of the cooking area and popped the tabs. I didn't really understand, but I couldn't handle this without a drink.
"Alright, cheersâoh, you're already drinking!"
"No, I don't really need anything like that."
Sakura-chan was taken aback by me gulping down my drink by myself. I mean, we're not even that close, are we?
"Yes, you do! A toast is the first step to friendship, isn't it?"
"...I don't plan on being friends, though."
"Ehh... What's that? Your response is too salty."
She seemed taken aback again, but I felt like I was the one who wanted to back away.
When Sakura-chan and I met before, she declared that we were rivals for Senpai. Well, maybe she didn't go that far, but that's all I could think.
That's what I thought, and yetâ
"I actually want to get along with you~"
Sakura-chan made a genuinely sad face for a moment, then returned to a slightly mischievous smile.
Did my chest feel a pang of guilt because I had it within me?
"What's that about? Like, scouting the enemy?"
"Ahaha, that too. But the real reason is different."
"So there is one after all..." I couldn't help but retort in my mind.
As I thought, this girl is not to be underestimated.
"Iroha-chan, you're pretty popular, aren't you?"
Sakura-chan said with a confident voice after taking a sip of her lemon chuhai.
Thinking back to the past, it's true that I've been confessed to more times than I've confessed. I probably think that my past attitude made that happen.
"Well, probably more than average."
"Right? And you have a lot of female enemies."
She pointed her index finger sharply, making me flinch a bit. How can this girl tell me so accurately?
"...Mostly right, maybe."
"That's why."
Her voice became a little exasperated, as if resigned, and there was a touch of melancholy in Sakura-chan's eyes.
"It's a bit much for me to say, but I'm pretty popular too. Enough that if I think someone's a little nice, they'll confess to me."
Sakura-chan swung her legs, which extended gracefully from her hot pants, and arched her back.
I arched my back similarly, looking up at the roof of the cooking area. Beyond a sparkling spiderweb, Sakura-chan was looking at something.
"But you know, girls like that get a lot of jealousy. Iroha-chan, I think you'd understand."
"Well, yes."
"That's why this is the first time. I can fight so fair and square."
Sakura-chan said that, then looked back at me and made a fist in front of her face.
Hmm, so this girl is serious about fighting after all. And she seems like she'll be quite a formidable opponent.
"No hard feelings, no matter which of us ends up dating Senpai. How about it?"
Sakura-chan said that, displaying a defiant smile.
From her stories about being popular, it seemed she was quite confident.
But my answer to that was already decided.
"...I accept the challenge."
"Alright, it's settled!"
After touching our fists, we both clinked our chuhai cans together.
It made a dull, foolish clang, serving as the opening bell for the match.
â---------
"Huh, I was from Chiba too, but Soubu's really smart!"
"Well, I mean... You can manage if you just try really hard for the exams."
"It's amazing that you can manage!"
It was around the time when the weakened charcoal was warming the charred meat piled at the side.
I didn't know the name of the girl who was talking to me so familiarly. Ever since Tsuneshi and the others lured me into the group of party-goers, the conversation had continued without any proper introductions.
"Hey, hey, do you know Wadatsuka Akiho? She went to the Department of International Liberal Arts."
"No, I don't know her, because we were in different classes..."
Anyway, I'm bad at this kind of initial conversation.
There's an overwhelming gap between the person trying to get to know me and me trying to prevent them from getting too close. I really think this aspect of me never changesâ
"Senpai~..."
That voice interrupted my thoughts.
I looked back and saw Sakura with a troubled expression, entangled by Isshiki.
"Iroha-chan, please do something about her! This girl's a terrible drunk!"
"What's wrong, Sakura-chaaan? Always relying on Senpai~"
Ah, I see... I felt instantly sobered up. The moment I looked away, she drank again, didn't she...?
Standing next to me, Nikaido was grinning, watching the scene.
"Isshiki-chan~, you've had quite a bit to drink, haven't you?"
"Don't call me so casually."
"Oh, right. My bad."
Even drunk, she was still salty.
Isshiki withdrew her glare, then turned to me as if regaining her composure.
"By the way, Senpai~... are you eating properly~?"
Saying that, Isshiki grabbed a piece of burnt meat from the corner of the grill with chopsticks she found nearby.
"Here, ahn~"
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Iroha-chan, how dare you do that in front of me!?"
Sakura reacted with an unusually excessive response.
I had thought she was still in a proper state, butâ
"I'll grill it properly for you~"
Ah, no, this is bad. She seems quite drunk too.
Saying that, Sakura presented meat to me that she had grilled for about three seconds on each side. Do you two only know zero or a hundred?
"...I'm not eating either."
"Ehh, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Seriously. Are you saying you won't eat my meat~?"
My two juniors each grabbed a piece of charcoal and raw meat with their chopsticks and pressed them on me. Of course, everyone around us was put off. I even wanted to be put off, but I wasn't in a situation where I could say such a thing.
At this point, fleeing was the best option. I turned my body around, and there were Tsuneshi and Nikaido.
"You won't be allowed to escape."
"I won't allow it, you idiot!"
Unexpectedly, my escape route was cut off even by my own comrades, leaving me in a desperate situation.
The only option left for me wasâ
" "Senpai, ahn~" "
...Probably none.
============
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