Having just survived the emotionally charged whirlwind with Kasumigaoka-senpai, Hikigaya Hachiman's desire to interact with any member of the opposite sex had plummeted to an all-time low. Every instinct screamed at him to retreat into his shell. However, his girlfriend, Yukinoshita, had issued a direct order: get close to girls. And so, with immense internal reluctance, he found himself complying with his girlfriend's inexplicable request.
He trudged over until he was standing directly behind Eriri Spencer Sawamura, who was still futilely stretching for her target.
"Sawamura-san, let me get that for you," he offered in a flat tone.
Without any further ceremony, he easily reached up and plucked the book she was struggling for from the top shelf.
It was a manga volume.
Of course. Sawamura-san really is an out-and-out otaku, through and through.
"Uwah!"
The sudden voice from right behind her made Eriri jolt violently, spinning around like a startled kitten. Her blonde twin-tails practically stood on end.
Oh? What a cute, skittish reaction.
And she's got little fangs, just like Komachi...
Eriri Spencer Sawamura turned fully, and upon seeing Hikigaya holding out her manga, her expression instantly shifted from surprise to defensive pride. She gritted her teeth, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Y-you... are you looking down on me?! I could have reached that myself, you know! Hmph~!"
Despite her proud protest, her hand moved with honest speed, snatching the manga from his grasp. At the same time, her eyes darted around, struggling to maintain eye contact as if she wanted to say something but found the words physically stuck in her throat.
As expected of the classic blonde tsundere!
Hikigaya, a fellow social failure, understood her predicament perfectly. He knew she wanted to say 'thank you,' but for a proud tsundere like her, uttering those words was as difficult as him striking up a fluent conversation with a stranger.
"I wasn't looking down on you," Hikigaya explained calmly. "I actually came over to get a manga for myself to read. Helping you was just... convenient."
To sell the story, he proactively reached out and randomly selected another manga from the shelf. Then, without any semblance of decorum, he simply plopped down right there on the floor and cracked open the volume.
"...Eh? You... you read manga too?" Eriri asked, her voice filled with genuine surprise. Her initial defensive tension began to melt away, replaced by a sense of shared delinquency. She hadn't pegged him as a fellow slacker.
"Yeah," Hikigaya replied, not looking up from his page. "After studying for so long, if you keep forcing it, your brain will turn to mush. It's good to take a break and relax sometimes."
Hearing this, Eriri immediately nodded in vigorous agreement, finally finding common ground. "Exactly! Sitting in one spot for a whole afternoon, my butt is practically numb!"
"However," Hikigaya added in a hushed tone, "if you're going to read, it's best to do it discreetly. If Kasumigaoka-senpai finds out..."
"I know, I know!" Eriri cut him off, a scowl forming on her face. "That woman is always nagging me to study this and review that. If she caught me reading manga, she'd definitely give me another one of her long, boring lectures!"
"Well, she is the study group leader now," Hikigaya pointed out neutrally.
"Hmph~! So what if she's the leader? Does that give her the right to boss everyone around?" Eriri puffed out her cheeks in a display of pure, unadulterated pouting.
"Uh... ahem," Hikigaya coughed awkwardly, silently deciding to steer clear of this particular landmine. It was abundantly clear the relationship between these two 'sisters' was fraught with tension. The last thing he needed was to get caught in the crossfire.
Meanwhile, Eriri muttered a few more choice words about Kasumigaoka under her breath. She then hugged her manga close, shot a hesitant glance at Hikigaya, looked around furtively to check for observers, and finally made her decision. Mimicking him, she sat down on the floor as well, a respectable distance away, and opened her own book.
And so, the two began their shared session of illicit manga reading and scholarly neglect.
A few minutes later.
Hikigaya closed his manga with a soft thud and slowly got to his feet.
"Are you... leaving?" Eriri asked, looking up from her own volume. There was a hint of something in her voice—disappointment, perhaps? When you're slacking off alone, it feels awkward and guilty. But when there are two of you, it becomes a shared secret, a joint venture against productivity that makes the whole experience much less stressful.
"No," Hikigaya shook his head. Even if it meant failing Yukinoshita's bizarre friendship task, the thought of returning to the table where Kasumigaoka-senpai was sitting filled him with a special kind of dread. After all, he had just outright rejected her confession. Going back now would make the atmosphere more awkward than a funeral in a clown car.
"The plot of that one was just too generic and boring," he explained, gesturing with the book in his hand. "I'm going to find a different one." He then began scanning the shelves again, his eyes searching for a more worthy literary escape.
"Oh, that's good then..." Eriri Spencer Sawamura breathed a silent sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing. It was good that he wasn't leaving; she would have felt far too anxious and exposed slacking off all by herself.
As she pretended to flip through her manga, Eriri occasionally stole glances at Hikigaya from over the top of her pages. Seeing him still intently browsing, she mustered up the courage to initiate conversation. "So... what kind of manga do you usually like to read?"
"...Manga I like to read?" Hikigaya responded without turning around, his eyes still scanning the spines. "Shonen. Action. Especially the works by Kashiwagi Eri-sensei."
"Oh, oh, action shonen... huh?" Eriri instinctively nodded along before the name fully registered. Her body went rigid, and she barely managed to suppress a gasp.
"Huh? Kashiwagi Eri-sensei is...?"
"Hmm, you probably haven't heard of her," Hikigaya continued casually, naturally assuming a girl wouldn't know this particular, niche, male-oriented manga artist. "She's an author who specializes in shonen manga."
"..." Eriri lowered her head, her voice becoming very quiet. "Is... is this author really that good? To make you think of her work so suddenly?"
Hikigaya nodded, a rare spark of passion in his monotone voice. "Whether it's the art style, the plot development, character design, or the battle choreography, it's absolutely top-tier in Japan. It's a real shame she's still relatively niche, but I truly believe that in the near future, she'll definitely become one of Japan's premier manga artists!"
"Eh? Become Japan's top manga artist?!" Eriri's heart skipped a beat. She looked up at Hikigaya in genuine shock, her cheeks flushing a light pink.
"Of course, that's just my opinion... Uh, ahem~ Anyway, sorry, I suddenly started rambling on my own," Hikigaya quickly backtracked, his usual deadpan demeanor returning as he realized he'd gotten carried away.
Hiss! What am I doing?! Why does it feel like I'm about to add another embarrassing memory to the cringe compilation?
The truth was, Hikigaya had been diligently studying Kashiwagi Eri-sensei's works every night, analyzing the panels and dynamics, all in preparation for his future... encounters with Yukinoshita. So, when the topic of manga came up, his mind had instinctively gone to the incredibly talented and, in his opinion, vastly underrated Kashiwagi Eri-sensei.
Phew… it's a good thing Sawamura-san has no idea who that manga artist really is. This would be excruciatingly embarrassing otherwise.
"Hmm?"
Just as Hikigaya glanced down at Eriri, he suddenly noticed that the hem of his pant leg had been subtly tugged by her small hand.
"Oh, Sawamura-san?"
"Ah?! N-no, it's nothing!" Eriri quickly let go as if burned, her face now a distinct shade of red. She kept her head lowered and hummed hesitantly, "It's just... you're clearly such a loyal fan of Kashiwagi Eri-sensei, to say such high praise. I imagine that... that sensei would be... very happy to hear that! After all, she's not that well-known yet..."
"Who knows," Hikigaya shrugged, his tone returning to its usual casual disinterest.
"She would definitely be happy!" Eriri insisted, her voice firmer this time.
"Maybe," Hikigaya answered perfunctorily, turning his attention back to the shelves. I have to admit, the manga selection here at Soubu High's library is surprisingly decent!
Meanwhile, from behind a nearby bookshelf...
"Huh?"
Yukinoshita, who had been observing the entire exchange from her perfect hiding spot, blinked in surprise as she watched Eriri Spencer Sawamura's behavior.
As an exceptionally intelligent and observant girl, she couldn't help but notice the distinct abnormality in the blonde artist's demeanor.
"Hmm... what's going on, Hikigaya-kun?" she murmured to herself. "What exactly did you do or say? Why does this girl look like she's practically... throwing herself at you now?"
And back at the study table...
Looking at the two seats that were still conspicuously empty, Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned, her pen tapping impatiently on the table. "Those two... they're still not back?"
Katou Megumi, who was diligently focused on her homework, offered a casual, offhand comment without looking up. "Could it be that Hikigaya-kun and Sawamura-san ran into each other and started chatting, losing track of time?"
"?"
A single, dangerous question mark seemed to materialize above Kasumigaoka's head. The girl who had just endured the fresh, stinging pain of a rejected confession suddenly shot to her feet, her chair scraping loudly against the floor.
"What?!"
****
Yes it's shounen not doujin. I had to verify it twice...