Chapter 15: Killed by Ichinose
The seemingly perfect student made Hikigaya think of Kushida. Why would someone as perfect as Ichinose be placed in Class B instead of Class A? As someone who prides himself on being an observer of human nature, he judged that she wasn't faking it like Kushida. So it must have something to do with her past.
Kind, generous, always willing to help—Ichinose had surely heard those words enough times. Hikigaya also didn't think that's what she wanted to hear now.
There was the incident with the rumours about Ichinose last time.
If that's the case…
"Could it be that Ichinose used to be a delinquent?" Hikigaya slowly opened his eyes.
"Ah... Hikigaya-kun, you really are sharp."
Ichinose showed a relieved smile and collapsed carelessly onto Hikigaya's bed, staring at the white ceiling.
"It's not as simple as just being a bad kid. I'm a criminal…"
Ichinose's past began to flow out of her mouth.
Ichinose came from a single-parent household and wasn't well-off. It was just her mother and a younger sister. When she learned that her sister wanted a hairclip identical to one a celebrity had worn for her birthday, Ichinose set her mind on getting it for her. But no matter where she went, no one would hire her—a middle schooler—for temporary work.
That hairclip was a limited-time item, and once the date passed, it would no longer be sold. The day before her sister's birthday, even though she had no money, she walked into the store selling it. Before she realized it, the hairclip had ended up in her pocket.
But the truth couldn't be hidden. Her mother, who had been working hard to the point of falling ill, soon realized that her younger daughter had something she shouldn't. After learning the truth, she became furious, scolded Ichinose thoroughly, and dragged her to the store to kneel in apology.
Seeing the sincerity of the two, the store owner forgave them and didn't call the police, even gifting them the hairclip. But Ichinose couldn't forgive herself for committing theft.
Crushed by guilt, she locked herself in her room and refused to go to school, enduring a half-year of isolation—until she received the invitation from Advanced Nurturing High School.
"I told Nagumo-senpai about this today too. I realized afterward I was lured into it. Unlike someone amazing like him who can lead Class B toward Class A, I got caught with such a weak point so easily."
"Kanzaki and Shibata think too highly of me. They believe I'm the only one who can lead them to the top, but the truth is I have neither the ability nor the right to lead anyone to Class A. Even Chie-chan recently has been constantly urging me to bring you over to Class B."
"I wish I had the abilities of you or Nagumo-senpai. But unfortunately, I'm just a criminal who shuts herself in when she faces setbacks."
Ichinose was afraid and trying to escape—that fact became clear to Hikigaya. But he knew escaping wasn't the answer. Even someone like him, who used to run away from everything, had managed to grow in this trash heap of a school.
"Don't envy Nagumo Miyabi. He's just a petty man. In my eyes, he doesn't even come close to being worth one strand of your hair," Hikigaya said with open disdain. "And I'm not some amazing person either. Do you know about the bonfire dance?"
"I do. I've participated before. It's an event where boys and girls dance together."
"Well, the girl I got paired with said, 'We don't have to hold hands, right?' Then every other girl followed her lead. So I danced the entire night with the air."
"…"
"In middle school, I once texted a girl in my class at 7 PM. I didn't get a reply until the next morning—'Sorry, I fell asleep.'"
"I confessed to a girl in my class once, and she said, 'Have we even talked before?' That got around the class fast. But we had texted and even talked in person."
"Hikigaya-kun… you're such a good person even after all that."
Ichinose was still lying on the bed. Hikigaya couldn't see her face or know her expression.
"A good person wouldn't have taken two million personal points from his own class."
"You were the one who solved Sudo's situation, right? Hirata-kun told me. He didn't say how, but I'm sure it wasn't exactly a righteous method, was it?"
"Since I'm a petty man, I have no problem using underhanded methods."
"Then, Hikigaya, can you teach me those underhanded methods?"
"They're not suited for you. You should just do things your own way."
"…"
"But that way won't win, right? So I have to become a bad girl too."
After a moment of silence, Ichinose's voice came out soft and low. She stood up from the bed and walked over to Hikigaya. To his alarmed gaze, she straddled him directly. The wheeled chair rolled back until it hit the wall.
Her elegant body pressed tightly against his. Her hands rested on his back. Even without seeing it, Hikigaya could imagine two ample mounds being squished against him.
Ichinose's body was soft. And fragrant.
Hikigaya's brain, like a computer crashing, could only process those two simple descriptors.
Seeing his slightly reddened face, Ichinose gave a faint smile and buried her head in his shoulder.
"If you won't teach me, then… will you save this bad girl instead?"
"….."
.
.
.
In the morning, before class started, the Year 1 Class D classroom was its usual noisy self—or rather, even noisier than usual, especially around Hikigaya.
"Hikigaya, are you dating Ichinose?"
As Yamauchi Haruki asked that question, the classmates around Hikigaya all turned their eyes on him. It spread like a virus, and soon the classroom fell silent.
"Probably."
"What kind of answer is that? Didn't Ichinose come to school hugging your arm today? That's amazing. She's the school's famous angel!"
Hikigaya wanted to smack Yamauchi's big mouth. Last night, he'd been overwhelmed by Ichinose's boldness and ended up making a deal of sorts. Now, at least in name, he had a school angel for a girlfriend.
"Hikigaya-kun… is that true?"
At the neighboring desk, Sakura's eyes beneath her glasses showed clear emotional disturbance.
"It's true."
When she heard that, Sakura let out a small whimper and dropped her head onto her desk. The class erupted into quiet murmurs. Ichinose was the top popular figure of the first year. Hikigaya felt like everyone was asking, "Why would Ichinose suddenly go out with someone like him?"
"Amazing... Teach us too…"
Under Hikigaya's dead-eyed glare, Yamauchi obediently turned around and stopped talking. But judging from the looks on everyone's faces, this rumor would spread through the entire grade soon—maybe even reach Nagumo.
Just thinking about the sour expression Nagumo Miyabi would make made Hikigaya feel a little better. Ichinose had crushed him last night. But in a way, Hikigaya had also landed a blow on Nagumo.
He hadn't lost.