Chapter 141: Ichinose's Confession, A New Beginning
[Kanzaki: "Are you really planning to collateral yourself to Class C?"]
[Kanzaki looked at Ichinose before him with utter disbelief. Even if it was just a video, this matter was fundamentally inconceivable.]
[Because Ichinose had always been the soul of Class B. If she were lost, Kanzaki couldn't even imagine what the class would become.]
[Similarly, not just Kanzaki, the entire Class B had never imagined that Ichinose would handle this exam in such a way.]
[But Ichinose merely shook her head happily. Her feelings for this class were genuine, absolutely undeniable. Looking at the video before her, she merely said with emotion: "That this would happen was inevitable sooner or later. Your lives aren't limited to just these three years. If you can't continue forward without me, that would be my greatest failure."]
[This point had been taught to her by Hikigaya, and it was something she had realized outside the video as well. Moreover, even earlier, she had been very clear on one thing: Class B was united, but because of this unity, the entire Class B had some difficulty advancing. And though the classmates wanted to break this stalemate, her presence had kept them enduring it all along.]
[Class B needed unity, but beyond this unity, they also needed the fighting spirit to keep climbing upward, something Ichinose couldn't give them.]
[So, she wanted to use this method to attempt giving Class B a brand-new rebirth.]
[The girl Shiranami, who had always held good feelings toward Ichinose, was now choking up as she watched the video before her...]
["I still... can't accept it..."]
[Ichinose came before her, merely gently stroking her hair. Indeed, no matter the time, she was a little angel.]
[Not just Class B, even Classes B, C, and D could see their own class's situation in the video, and the degree of astonishment was in no way inferior to Class B's. For Horikita's class, the entire class had been completely stunned upon hearing Hikigaya's plan. In comparison, on Ryūen's side, since they knew no one would actually drop out, their moods instantly lifted.]
[As for Class A, only Katsuragi had already prepared himself mentally for dropping out. Clearly, he too believed he had completely lost to Sakayanagi, so something like that happening was no surprise at all.]
[However, his heart still harbored reluctance. After all, he hadn't yet won against that person, Hikigaya. Being dropped out now still left him with some regrets, great or small.]
...
After this weekend arrived, one student from each of the four first-year classes would leave this school.
At this moment, Nagumo once again sat in the student council room, casually propping up his legs, seemingly waiting for the girl to come seeking him.
However...
"Knock knock..."
"Come in..."
Nagumo put on a gentle smile, but the person who entered was completely not the girl he had in mind, but rather Kiriyama from second-year Class B.
As a fellow member of the student council, he seemed to be one of Nagumo's subordinates as well.
"Ichinose went to Hikigaya for help."
"What did you say?"
Unable to suppress his inner emotions, Nagumo instantly slammed the desk hard, producing a crisp sound.
Through his scheme with Ryūen, Nagumo had hoped to make Ichinose come to the student council seeking his help, but she hadn't, instead, she had gone to Hikigaya's side.
If he didn't achieve his goal, his losses would be enormous. After all, Ryūen wasn't a fool; he had long signed a paper agreement with him. And if he didn't help Ryūen, though their class's people would indeed drop out, he, as the student council president candidate, would lose massive credibility as a result.
For him, who was about to take over the student council, this was absolutely unacceptable.
In his view, Ichinose had no moves left and would definitely come to him for help. At that time, whatever demands he made, Ichinose would have no choice but to accept obediently.
But now... everything has gone down the drain.
"Hikigaya..."
After forcibly calming his anger, he completely ignored Kiriyama's presence at this moment, merely revealing a sinister smile.
He was somewhat curious now. If even a Class C student like Hikigaya could help her, then exactly what method had he used?
Perhaps... he really needed to pay proper attention to that guy.
On Hikigaya's side, the girl had already found him after school, but this time, the boy wasn't alone; beside him was Horikita, whom one would absolutely never see on a normal day.
After a period of explanation and farewell, in the end, only Ichinose herself came before him.
"Ichinose?"
Horikita's voice finally snapped the girl, lost in memories, back to reality. Even though her train of thought was interrupted, her smile remained gentle, as if nothing could shatter her heart anymore.
"Hello, Horikita! And Hikigaya!"
Hikigaya saw at a glance that this was no chance encounter, so he asked in a low voice:
"You've been waiting for us for quite a while, haven't you?"
"Not that long." Ichinose scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly.
Hikigaya's gaze fell on the backpack Ichinose had been carrying on her back; it was now piled with dust, making it evident how long she had been squatting here.
If she hadn't felt tired, someone like Ichinose would never lean against the wall.
However, Hikigaya didn't say much, merely looking at Ichinose before him, who held a smile in her arms.
"Is there something important?"
In his view, Ichinose, having ended her battle with Ryūen, had clearly grown, and he felt he could no longer help her with anything.
Ichinose fidgeted a bit, but after confirming she represented Class B, she quickly steadied her hurried breathing, merely looking seriously at Hikigaya as she said:
"I want to come to Class C!"
"Hah?!"
"What did you say?"
Both Horikita and Hikigaya were startled by Ichinose's sudden action. For her to choose to join Class C at this time was something Hikigaya absolutely hadn't anticipated.
However, Hikigaya quickly reacted. If it was Ichinose, then there was only this one possibility.
Hikigaya: "You want us to help protect your Class B classmates? And in exchange, you become a member of Class C."
Ichinose's expression held some incredulity; the boy before her had once again guessed the gist of the matter. Though the details might be slightly off, this was already impressive enough.
Just like that, Ichinose nodded without the slightest hesitation, then said in an extremely gentle tone:
"Though saying it like this might sound a bit arrogant, for the sake of Class B, I have no choice. I hope my value is worth these personal points."
She said that, but even Hikigaya and Horikita couldn't possibly come up with that many points.
However, Ichinose had long inquired about this point. While preserving a dropout required 20 million personal points, if the one dropping out, Ichinose, transferred to a lower class like Class C, it only required 5 million personal points.
Horikita: "Even so... five million points is absolutely no small amount. And moreover, the two of us can't make this decision on our own. You should know your own status, right?"
Ichinose naturally understood very well. As Class B's leader, to come to Class C, how laughable that was. It might even make people think it was just a strategy from Class B to dismantle Class C from within. But...
Ichinose's condition made Horikita tremble slightly.
"Horikita, we won't make things difficult for you. If I don't bring the appropriate value to Class C, I'll withdraw myself. And once Class B can earn 10 million personal points, we'll buy back at double the price from you."
Horikita looked somewhat at a loss toward Hikigaya; even she was hearing about this hidden school rule for the first time.
If one were to say that a student needs 20 million personal points to rise to Class A, then Class B would be 10 million personal points, Class C would be 5 million personal points, and Class D would be 2.5 million personal points.
However, almost no one would place themselves in a lower class; that was the kind of behavior only a fool would do. Yet now, Ichinose, in order to protect her Class B, had truly done so.
Though it was alarming, the AD class was indeed not within the scope that Class B should be considering.
In that case...
Hikigaya helplessly shook his head, and in the end, he only said:
"I believe your value far exceeds 5 million personal points, and I also believe that someone like you wouldn't use such a strategy to put Class C in an unmanageable situation. It's just... Horikita is indeed right; this isn't something the two of us can decide."
Ichinose naturally understood this very well, so she didn't make things difficult for Hikigaya; she only felt a slight sense of loss in her heart.
Hikigaya: "How about this: tomorrow, you come to our class again, and you explain it to our classmates yourself. As long as more than half of the votes approve of you, then this matter won't be difficult to implement."
Once again, a glimmer of hope shone upon Ichinose, making her feel that this time, she had truly found the right person.
Convincing the people of Class C might be very difficult for others, but for the leader who had unified the entire Class B shortly after the start of school, it was absolutely not a difficult task.
What she was most grateful for was the opportunity that Hikigaya had given her.
After a simple farewell, Ichinose left the sight of the two with that smile that would not disappear.
Horikita had no objections to Hikigaya's decision; she only involuntarily asked after seeing Ichinose gradually walk away:
"Is this really okay?"
"Perhaps, for Class B, this is a rebirth."
...
The next day during lunch break, Ichinose stepped into the class full of hope. Under everyone's surprised gazes, Ichinose slowly walked up to the podium.
Ike: "She, she's Ichinose the little angel! Why is she here!"
Sotomura: "Could she be here to declare war on us? Such a beautiful classmate is going to become an enemy..."
Sudō: "You two guys have something wrong with your brains, right? She hasn't even started speaking yet, and you're already imagining things."
Ichinose was the same as usual, but after coming to someone else's class, she was still more or less a little nervous. In Class B, she might be a leader, but in Class C, she was just an ordinary student.
"Hello, everyone! I'm Ichinose Honami."
Kushida looked at this little angel and only grumbled a bit unhappily:
"Tch, what an annoying guy."
Of course, her voice didn't let anyone hear it.
After all, it was out of personal reasons that she disliked the Ichinose in front of her, so naturally, she was too embarrassed to openly oppose the girl in front of her on a grand scale.
Ichinose's smile remained the same. Under everyone's expectant gazes, she retold everything about her conversation with Hikigaya and Horikita yesterday.
"I came here because of Hikigaya-kun's recommendation. If I can become friends with everyone, I'll be very happy!"
With such a closing remark, Ichinose bowed very restrainedly and then maintained that posture.
For a moment, the entire class fell silent, and what followed was the sound of discussions and murmurs.
However, only Hikigaya noticed...
'Ichinose-san, with your figure maintaining this posture, won't you really get tired?'
As for Ichinose's intentions, there were various speculations, which were obviously similar to what Hikigaya had guessed. Ichinose's identity was too special, and such behavior would definitely cause a heated discussion.
Sotomura: "I think there's no problem. Ichinose is thinking about her class, and we can help her too. Plus, we're not really losing anything."
Akito: "Sotomura, you guy, it's because you're attracted to her figure, right? You don't even know that if she joins our class, our strategies would basically become transparent. As long as she wants, she can reveal them to Class B at any time."
Shinohara: "Although I don't dislike Ichinose as a person, what Akito said is true. No matter what, she's still the leader of Class B."
Ike: "Shinohara, that's where you're wrong. How could Ichinose-san, who's so gentle and kind, do something like that!"
Yukimura adjusted his glasses. Just now, Ichinose had already made it very clear that it was Hikigaya who let her come here to explain to everyone, which meant it was Hikigaya's plan. And now... Yukimura confirmed that Hikigaya hadn't made any statements, so he analyzed very fairly: "From a value perspective, being able to obtain the leader of Class B with 5 million points is absolutely worth it, and this will also deal a huge blow to Class B. But the problem is... we currently have no way to prove that you, Ichinose, are really not a traitor."
Everyone once again turned their gazes to Ichinose, only to see her bending at the waist and saying very gently:
"After all, I'm the leader of Class B. No matter what, I wouldn't do anything disadvantageous to Class B, but I also absolutely won't reveal Class C's matters to Class B."
Kushida: "Just saying it isn't enough."
Ichinose let out a self-mocking laugh, lowered her head, and said:
"That's true too. If an absolute proof is needed, then..."
Ichinose pressed her fingertip to her lips, putting on an innocent expression:
"Hikigaya has helped our Class B and has helped me. I've drunk hot cocoa in his room, and I've worn his coat. And then..."
"If I can date Hikigaya-kun, then you'll definitely be able to believe me, right!"
'This guy...'
The class fell silent for a while, and then it instantly erupted like a flood. But this time, all the gazes were focused on Hikigaya.
Karuizawa's eyes already held killing intent: "Really?"
Kushida also looked at Hikigaya with an even colder gaze than she had for Ichinose, saying nothing.
Sakura was obviously a bit angry too; this might be one of the few times she had gotten angry in the past year.
Horikita had a face full of surprise, as if saying 'This isn't what we agreed on yesterday'...
Not only that, Ike and Sotomura both seemed to wilt in an instant, losing the hope deep in their hearts.
And Sudō had an expression like 'Bro, you're awesome.'
The rest all looked at Hikigaya with some incredulity.
They had never heard that the super popular leader of Year 1 Class B, Ichinose Honami, had actually had such things with Hikigaya.
Obviously, no matter what Hikigaya said now, he would be unable to defend himself.
Of course, the first to raise an objection was still Karuizawa:
"I oppose Ichinose joining our class!"
Ichinose smiled: "The reason?"
Karuizawa: "The reason... naturally, it's because you must be an undercover agent sent by Class B!"
Kushida: "I agree!"
Sakura: "I... I agree too!"
Horikita: "To be honest, Ichinose-san, you still need other evidence to prove your identity."
Clearly, these few hadn't spoken or expressed their stance before, yet in an instant, they all stood up to oppose her. Ichinose was a bit confused by them for a moment.
However..
Sudō: "Since she has such a relationship with Hikigaya, I think it's not impossible to consider. That's Ichinose, after all. Although she still hasn't proven her identity, think about it: if they send their own leader to another class, wouldn't Class B be afraid?"
Yukimura: "What Sudō said isn't without reason, and... you should have noticed one thing, right?"
What Yukimura meant by 'notice' was naturally the point that Hikigaya had already discovered long ago.
Ever since Karuizawa and Kushida had stepped down, the girls in the class had lost their backbone. They had always relied on Hirata, and because Hirata's condition had been low during this period, almost the entire class had lost its direction.
If Ichinose could be used by them, then for Class C, it would probably be a huge change.
The class cohesion that had never been able to unite before would also solidify after her joining.
Kōenji raised his hand: "I also agree..."
Akito: "If Ichinose likes Hikigaya-kun, then I think it's not impossible to try."
Wang Mei-Yu: "Our goal is still far away, and I think this attempt is beneficial. If we can have new growth, we'll also get closer and closer to Class A."
Ever since Ichinose had expressed her feelings, more and more people were approving of her joining.
No matter what, if Ichinose really didn't match the value of these 5 million personal points, in the end, they could still trade with Class B to get back 10 million personal points. No matter how you looked at it, Class C wouldn't be the one losing out.
However, this time, Hikigaya had truly shot himself in the foot. He really hadn't expected that the famous Ichinose who could lead the entire Class B would end up saying such words.
Dating Ichinose was something that many people dreamed of, but now it was being invited by Ichinose in this way.
Hikigaya shook his head at lightning speed, as if forcing himself to wake up, and kept explaining to himself:"That's just a tactic... don't overthink it."
In the final vote, Ichinose received 34 approval votes, while the rejection votes were only 7. Of course, Hikigaya didn't vote on either side, because no matter which side he offended, it wouldn't benefit him.
[Nagumo Miyabi watched the video in front of him, his lungs almost exploding with anger. After all, this was his, Nagumo Miyabi's, prey, and now it had actually been obtained by this guy, and it was Ichinose who actively wanted to become partners with Hikigaya.]
[This kind of thing was simply a humiliation to him, Nagumo Miyabi, simply humiliating the next student council president...]
[If the him in the video knew about this, he didn't even know what crazy things he would do.]
[On the contrary, in Ichinose's class...]
[Shiranami Chihiro looked at Ichinose with a pitiful expression: "Honami... you, could it be, you really like that guy??"]
[Being clung to by Shiranami like this, Ichinose didn't know what to say for a moment and just kept using her sweet smile to brush it off.]
[The next moment, she suddenly remembered the words that Hikigaya had once said to her, and she made up her mind to say: "I'm sorry, Chihiro, but I think I really, really like him."]
[After hearing this, Shiranami first felt a bit heartbroken, but she tried to calm her emotions and came in front of Ichinose: "It's okay... Honami, you absolutely have to let him know your feelings!!"]
[Ichinose nodded very heavily, and it was at this moment that she clearly understood that the poor girl from before had finally grown up under everyone's expectations, and that silly girl who had been looked down upon by others had finally received everyone's recognition at this moment..]
[Even if she was a thief, even if she had committed irreparable mistakes in the past, it didn't matter anymore.]
[Because no matter what yesterday was like, she had to live well today, and she had to let tomorrow arrive as scheduled.]
[Perhaps she was a silly girl, and a poor girl, but her heart had always been kind and gentle, and from now on, her heart would become even stronger, because she already had her own beloved.]
[The one that belonged only to her, that no one else could steal, the only one.]
(End of this chapter)