Chapter 113 Shiina and Ichinose's First Meeting
After dinner, Hikigaya originally planned to go back to his room and continue lying down. However, he was invited by Shiina Hiyori to the deck to feel the sea breeze and bask in the moonlight.
'What's so interesting about that? Not going!'
"Um, I'm feeling a bit tired..." Hikigaya used an excuse to decline.
At the same time, he had a premonition that at this time of night, there would definitely be many people on the deck, especially those idiot couples. Living together on the deserted island had catalyzed the birth of quite a few couples.
'Seriously, why don't these normies just explode?'
"...."
The disappointment on Shiina Hiyori's face was visible to the naked eye.
'Stay firm! Must stay firm! You can't be merciful at a time like this. Otherwise, he'd be led around by the nose by her!'
"?"
"What are you 'tired' for? We barely had a chance to talk on the island, and now we finally have time—don't even think about escaping!"
Ibuki Mio grabbed his arm. She was not a gentle woman who would be considerate of Hikigaya's physical exhaustion.
"Give me a break! I just want to sleep right now and have a nice dream..." Hikigaya tried to struggle a bit.
"Hmph! With two beautiful girls accompanying you, you wouldn't even be able to dream of this!" Ibuki Mio wrapped both arms firmly around his arm.
"That's not necessarily true..." Hikigaya retorted subconsciously. It wasn't as if he hadn't dreamed about it before!
"Less talk! You must stay with us longer tonight. If you're really too tired, worst case, I'll just carry you back!" Ibuki Mio was forceful.
"Hey, hey, what kind of crazy talk is that? Having a girl carry me, what kind of conduct is that?" Hikigaya was speechless.
"What's there to be embarrassed about? You've carried me anyway, twice at that. Just consider it returning the favor!"
Ibuki Mio was stubborn, her arms wrapping even tighter around Hikigaya's, refusing to let him break free no matter what.
'Wait, brother? You really are treating me like one of the guys!'
Though Ibuki's "heart" (chest) wasn't particularly large, it was there; was she really okay with rubbing against him like this? Seeing that communication with this stubborn person was impossible, Hikigaya had to turn a pleading gaze toward Shiina Hiyori.
To his surprise, Shiina Hiyori actually secretly gave a thumbs-up, as if saying: Nice, Ibuki!
'Shiina-san? How did this pure-hearted, silver-haired girl turn dark!!'
"Etto~ This is what Ibuki-san did~~" Shiina Hiyori stuck out her tongue slightly, and her delight became visible to the naked eye.
Left with no choice, Hikigaya had to resign himself to fate and accompanied the two girls to the deck.
As expected, many men and women had already gathered on the deck. However, they were basically all in pairs; Hikigaya's three-person group immediately drew many subtle glances.
"Damned normies! Why don't they just explode?"
'Who is he talking about?' Hikigaya looked left and right.
"Alright, I believe Hikigaya-kun won't run away now. Ibuki-san can let go of him." Shiina Hiyori said with a smile.
"Uh... oh, okay!"
Only then did Ibuki Mio realize in hindsight that she had been hugging Hikigaya's arm tightly against her chest. A blush involuntarily surged onto her cheeks.
'Getting shy only now—your reflex arc is way too long!' Hikigaya really wanted to retort.
Feeling utterly helpless, he leaned against the ship's railing, looking at the shimmering surface of the sea ahead.
"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it~" Shiina Hiyori looked up at the night sky, the silver-white moonlight reflecting in her eyes.
"No matter how beautiful the moon is, it is not as beautiful as you." Hikigaya skillfully recited a folk proverb from the Edo period.
"Eh?!
Th-Thank you...!"
Shiina Hiyori seemed to have been caught off guard; her face instantly became bashful.
'Huh? Wasn't this just a routine literary dialogue?' Hikigaya was dumbfounded.
'This girl, despite having read so much foreign literature, why can't she keep up with local Japanese literature? Or was it intentional...'
"What about me then!"
Ibuki Mio looked displeased. She performed a high leg lift, resting her foot on the railing next to Hikigaya, her sharp gaze carrying an obvious threat!
'Why are you shouting so loud?'
"Wow, what beautiful leg muscles. How did you train them?" Hikigaya was forced to offer a compliment.
"Want to learn? I'll teach you!" Ibuki Mio raised her chin triumphantly.
The three of them chatted idly like this for over an hour. Blowing in the slightly salty sea breeze, Hikigaya suddenly felt that he wasn't quite as tired anymore.
The number of people on the deck gradually increased.
"Hikigaya-kun, so you were here!"
Ichinose Honami was chatting and laughing with her Class B companions when, as if by radar, she locked onto Hikigaya's position in the crowd with a single glance. After a quick word with her friends, Ichinose Honami came running over.
'Seriously, you are not built for running! Not only is the wind resistance too great, but the up-and-down movement is too lethal for boys!'
"Hmph!" Ibuki Mio suddenly stepped on his foot.
'Honestly, why do you have to be so sharp at a time like this?'
"Oh, Ibuki-san, you're here too." Ichinose Honami waved a friendly greeting.
"Uh... Ichinose-san." Ibuki Mio shrunk back a bit, her expression awkward.
She had been well-taken care of by the other girl on the island, but because of her spy mission, she had backstabbed Class B; she was truly feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it, Ibuki-san. Since it was a special exam, using some methods... is actually understandable."
Ichinose Honami truly had a broad " heart", both externally and internally. She effortlessly brushed off Ibuki Mio's spying. Then, her gaze shifted, carefully sizing up the silver-haired girl nearby.
"And this one must be Shiina-san from Class C, right?"
Though Shiina Hiyori kept a low profile, both her appearance and her grades were among the top of the grade. It was normal for Ichinose Honami to have noticed her.
"Hello, Ichinose-san. I've wanted to say hello to you for a long time." Shiina Hiyori smiled slightly and proactively extended her hand.
'Huh?' Shiina's action felt a bit strange to Hikigaya.
In his view, Shiina Hiyori's personality was similar to his—the solitary type. She wasn't used to communicating with strangers, so why was she suddenly greeting Ichinose so warmly? Was it because Ichinose's affinity was just too strong?
"Very nice to meet you, Shiina-san." Ichinose Honami was poised and graceful.
Watching the two girls shake hands with friendly smiles, Hikigaya felt like something wasn't quite right, though he couldn't put his finger on the specific reason.
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