Chapter 143: Expelled Student, Yamauchi Haruki!
[Warm reminder: Because those under 18 cannot watch, Satō Asahi has automatically filtered it for you. Everyone in the chat room is currently experiencing a power outage crisis.]
The next morning, Hikigaya touched his waist, feeling somewhat exhausted as he crawled out of bed.
To be honest, this could indeed be considered one of his rare early-rising days. After a night of joy, the relationship between the two had obviously become closer at this moment.
Of course, not just verbally, but physically even further.
As for exactly what step their relationship had reached, one could tell just by looking at the girl who was lazing in bed and unwilling to get up.
There was still an unfaded blush on her face, and her hands tightly hugged the pillow, but her gaze remained fixed on the boy.
"Time to get up."
"Mm..."
It was originally not a sweet conversation at all, yet it made Sakura Airi's heart beat faster. After all, this kind of life was something she had dreamed of countless times in her heart.
Even if the dialogue was simple, they could no longer ignore the relationship between the two.
The morning sun broke through the clouds. The first ray of dawn light was rushing into the room at an unstoppable speed. Although the curtains only had a small gap, it still couldn't block it.
Hikigaya looked at the cute girl still lazing in bed in front of him and only patted her butt, softly saying: "If you don't get up, we'll be late."
"Let me sleep a bit more, Hachiman... I'm so tired."
"How could you not be tired? We didn't sleep all night..."
The words that reached his throat were instantly choked back by him.
However, Sakura noticed this abnormality and came to Hikigaya with a smile, teasing: "All night what?"
"Mm, just that all night."
"Which?"
"That."
Sakura Airi no longer pressed the boy, as if her goal had been achieved.
Finally, after lazily stretching her body, she rolled on the bed simply a couple times and fell asleep again.
Because there was no cover, the girl's graceful figure was completely displayed at this moment. As long as Hikigaya lightly touched, he could feel her soft flesh.
Hikigaya was about to get up and tidy up first. After all, she had indeed worked hard last night. For a beginner, this intensity was a bit much. He would prepare school supplies first.
However, just as his butt had left the bed, he was tightly pulled by the girl's hand. Because he was completely unprepared, Hikigaya was pulled back onto the bed once again.
The two looked at each other, one on top of the other, as if something had been moistened.
Sakura: "I really like you."
Hikigaya gently kissed Sakura's forehead. Their bodies intertwined again. Perhaps only the passing time was indicating that the two needed to hurry and resolve things.
...
[Iroha looked unhappy, watching the finally restored video. Obviously, she was very disappointed about missing what just happened: "What the heck, why did this crappy video just disappear? I don't even know what happened to those two later."]
[Yuigahama said cheerfully: "Hey, don't worry, Iroha. Hachiman wouldn't dare do anything. Probably just sent Sakura home and then went back to his own place to sleep."]
[Although Yukinoshita Yukino felt a bit uneasy, she also thought Hikigaya-kun wouldn't dare do anything to a girl.]
[On the contrary, Ebina looked seriously at everyone. Because of her glasses, her eyes couldn't be seen at all.]
["You guys are underestimating Hikigaya-kun too much!"]
[Miura: "Hey hey, don't scare people here, Hina."]
[Hayama also smiled and said: "I also believe Hikigaya-kun wouldn't do that kind of thing. After all, he doesn't have the guts."]
[Yukinoshita lowered her head, pressed her finger to her chin, and after confirming it was indeed Hikigaya, showed a calm smile.]
["Yes, Hikigaya-kun fundamentally doesn't have the guts."]
[Hikigaya just listened to these people guessing the video content and didn't know what to say for a moment.]
[Even he himself hadn't thought much about it. After all, it wasn't his first time sending Sakura home; this time would surely be the same as usual.]
[However, only Ebina had a premonition. Although Hikigaya didn't have the guts, that doesn't mean the girl didn't...]
[Horikita: "What a headache. Even the school's projection equipment malfunctioned."]
[Yukimura: "This might not be because of the school equipment. After all, up to now, this projection has never had problems."]
[At the same time, the same problem occurred in the three first-year classes A, B, and C. Through the chat room, everyone started discussing.]
[Shiranami: "What do you think they did?"]
[Kanzaki: "We shouldn't speculate about others. It was probably just a very ordinary night."]
[Ichinose also pretended to be calm: "Yes yes! Random guessing without evidence will only make yourself suffer in the end."]
[Yukimura: "Now I'm even more convinced that this absolutely isn't a school projection malfunction. If so, then it means in this future, there's a heavenly secret that cannot be revealed!"]
[Sudō: "What are you writing a fantasy novel for? Heavenly secret cannot be revealed, I think it's just that the scale was too big."]
[Everyone looked at Sudō like he was an idiot, and Sakura was quite embarrassed by what Sudō said.]
[Sudō immediately felt everyone's strange gazes and instantly changed his words: "No no! How could my bro do that kind of thing? I was just joking earlier!"]
[Ryūen glared at the video in front of him, his expression becoming more interesting: "Impressive, Hikigaya, you guy."]
[Hiyori seemed a bit disappointed: "Did Ryūen-kun see something? I didn't see anything.."]
[Ryūen: "Nothing..."]
[Ibuki instantly exploded in anger: "Then what the hell are you saying!"]
[Ryūen: "When a person knows nothing, a simple smile can form strong momentum. This is a strategy; you wouldn't understand, Ibuki."]
[Ishizaki felt it made sense and nodded in approval, while Ibuki looked like she had been played, with an expression like she ate shit.]
[Compared to the other classes, the other three classes were much quieter. Of course, this was because Hashimoto and Kamuro weren't speaking, and Sakayanagi didn't plan to say anything, just quietly waiting for the video to resume.]
[....]
After the simple joy, although the two hadn't slept all night and were exhausted, because the late bell was about to ring, Sakura and Hikigaya were like they had been injected with adrenaline. Their speed was simply much faster than during the sports festival.
The two held hands like this. If it were only Hikigaya, he could definitely make it back, but with Sakura, it wasn't certain.
Hikigaya had to always consider Sakura. Although her athletic ability had been improving step by step, compared to boys, it was still lacking.
Of course, a big reason was that her development was really too good. Running was simply like weighted running, completely different from Horikita's small frame.
Hikigaya had deeply experienced this last night.
Sakura panted rapidly while running and occasionally said a couple self-blaming words: "I'm sorry, Hachiman. If I hadn't been too greedy... we wouldn't be late. There are clearly many opportunities in the future..."
"It's okay. If we're late, I'll take responsibility, so it's fine."
Perhaps heaven was deliberately favoring lovers. Just before the bell rang, they actually made it, though naturally under everyone's strange gazes as they entered the classroom.
Because Sakura never cut it close, and Hikigaya would also wait outside the door two minutes before class, never in such a hurried state. And most importantly, this time the two appeared at the door simultaneously.
As agreed yesterday, after entering the classroom, Hikigaya and Sakura separated. After all, their seats weren't in the same place, and now was absolutely not the time to show their special relationship.
However, when the two walked to their seats, Hikigaya had already heard discussions from the classmates.
"Why are those two coming to school together?"
"Very unusual. I've never seen these two late."
"Do you think they're a couple?"
"I think so. After all, their relationship has been unusual since the start of school. Developing into a couple now isn't strange."
"Impossible. Although Hikigaya isn't ugly, those dead fish eyes are too much of a detriment to his image. How could a beauty on Sakura's idol level like him."
"Speaking of which, it's strange. I still remember what Karuizawa did in front of the whole school. What exactly does this guy have!"
"Yeah yeah. Although Kushida isn't the little angel anymore, her looks are top-tier in the school. Her figure is really great! But you all saw it too; a few days ago, she was so panicked because of Hikigaya. I've never seen her like that."
"However, he has helped the class many times. That can't be denied. No matter what, he's a useful person in the class. I don't understand why he is the one to be expelled..."
"Don't say that. Hikigaya-kun is about to leave this school. Although I'm reluctant, there's no way around it."
"...."
Horikita seemed to notice something. After Hikigaya sat down, she frowned and asked:"What happened between you two? You both came at the same time. It's such a coincidence."
When saying the word 'coincidence,' Horikita obviously emphasized it, as if determined to get an answer.
Hikigaya hadn't seen Horikita like this in a long time because she had been changing her aloofness and arrogance.
However, Hikigaya didn't think much about it. After all, Horikita just didn't want any mistakes in this plan, since Hikigaya was one of the protagonists of this exam.
Hikigaya shook his head. Remembering yesterday's events, a blush involuntarily appeared on his cheeks. Finally, he said calmly: "Nothing. Just discussed today's matters with her and forgot to check the time."
Horikita didn't think much about it. After all, in her eyes, Hikigaya wouldn't lie.
"That's good. But this is a bit unlike you, being so flustered."
Speaking of which, Hikigaya had never thought he would lie like this one day, but that kind of thing, how could he possibly say it out loud.
So... Horikita, just let me off the hook.
Hikigaya: "Maybe because I'm about to be on the execution platform, I'm a bit nervous."
Horikita ignored his cold joke and continued focusing on her preparations. No matter what, she couldn't let Hikigaya be expelled.
On Karuizawa's side, after seeing Hikigaya and Kushida like that, a bit of suspicion rose in her heart. But because the bell rang, leaving her seat casually would deduct class points.
So, she endured the humiliation and could only hold her breath inside, deciding to ask clearly after class.
Chabashira finally entered through the front door of Class C as usual, with a serious expression on her face. After a simple greeting, everyone waited for the special exam that was about to begin.
The rules were indeed very simple: the person with the most praise votes minus criticism votes would be expelled.
Since you only needed to write one name, that person would be ruthlessly expelled, so there was still some time for discussion before the exam started.
And Chabashira seemed to have decided to accept any outcome.
Yamauchi stood up, with a hint of shifting blame: "Although I feel sorry for Hikigaya-kun too, since he said he wants to leave this school, I think this exam will be very easy for us."
Regarding Yamauchi's words, some agreed and some denied, because they were afraid of becoming the target of expulsion, so everyone wanted to quickly decide who would be expelled.
Hirata looked at everything in front of him, powerless. He wanted to say something but only shook his head helplessly.
In his heart, no matter who was expelled, it wasn't okay. The one expelled should only be himself.
But now was not the time for him to speak.
Sakura looked at Hikigaya with considerable worry. Although the current discussion was still contentious, it probably wouldn't take long before almost everyone accepted this outcome.
Everyone would use the reason 'he wanted to leave himself' to comfort themselves and explain the guilt in their hearts.
However, for Hikigaya himself in this exam, there was nothing more he could do. After all, as one of the expulsion candidates, the more he said, the more wrong it would be, so he chose to leave everything to Horikita.
As expected, after Yamauchi finished those words, Horikita slowly stood up.
"I propose that Yamauchi Haruki be expelled."
Yamauchi obviously hadn't realized what was happening, and not just him, the entire class fell into complete confusion.
In their view, Horikita Suzune's action was simply reckless. Although Yamauchi's grades were a bit poor, he hadn't done anything wrong. If he were expelled, wouldn't it mean that in the next exam like this, other lower-ranked classmates would also be expelled because of it.
So, regarding Horikita Suzune's proposal, there was instantly a flurry of discussions.
Hirata finally couldn't listen anymore and slowly stood up.
"Everyone calm down, enough... that's enough."
Regarding Hirata's consistent behavior, everyone seemed to have gotten used to it. After all, besides this, Hirata wouldn't say anything else.
So..
Ike: "Our Prince Hirata, don't tell us to calm down anymore. You won't be the one expelled, so of course you can be calm."
Sotomura: "Exactly. No matter what, you can never be the one expelled, so of course you can calm down. But what about us? We might be abandoned like this in the next exam."
Feeling more and more people standing on his side, Yamauchi also started saying: "Horikita-san, if you think my grades aren't good enough and my athletic ability isn't enough to expel me, then you have to be careful, because one day, in some place, you might become that kind of person too."
Regarding Yamauchi's words, everyone expressed agreement. After all, they were all elites from various schools before.
Under everyone's gaze, Horikita didn't continue speaking but calmly brought up the previous exam.
"Don't you think the previous exam was overly abnormal?"
Hearing about the previous exam, Yamauchi's heart trembled, then he pretended to be calm and said: "What are you talking about, Horikita? If you think I didn't perform well in the last exam, I'll admit it. No need to bring up past things."
"Yeah yeah..."
"I think so too. After all, we lost."
Horikita shook her head, her expression still calm: "If it were that simple, it would be good. The reason I bring up the previous exam again is naturally because a traitor appeared in our class."
"Traitor?!"
" What?!"
"Who, who is the traitor!"
The class atmosphere instantly exploded, because the word 'traitor' was too big a blow to their class. In this school, if a traitor appeared, it was absolutely unforgivable.
Yamauchi felt his body start to tremble. He wanted to refute something but found he no longer had the qualification to speak.
Horikita raised her hand high, extended her finger, and pointed firmly in Yamauchi's direction.
"You are the traitor, Yamauchi Haruki."
"Slander, slander! You must like Hikigaya. I've long seen that your relationship isn't ordinary. It's exactly because of this that you want to protect him. This is complete slander. Evidence, where's the evidence!"
Yamauchi's words were intermittent. Although in Hikigaya's eyes, he had already revealed enough suspicious points, in others' views, it was just because he was scared by Horikita and couldn't speak clearly.
Horikita took out her phone. On the phone was clearly displayed the scores of Class A from the previous exam.
Yes, their scores were frighteningly high, something no one had anticipated. And even more terrifying was that their answers were astonishingly similar.
Horikita's eyes were ice-cold, this was the posture she always maintained in fight: "You leaked our test questions to Class A, right?"
Yamauchi pointed at the phone, stammering: "Class A, Everyone in Class A is originally amazing. Writing the same answers just means others had already thought of what the question setter would ask. That's your problem, and... and this picture might be photoshopped! it must be fake!"
Yamauchi was still denying it, and Horikita just shook her head.
Everyone present except her and Hirata didn't know that this test paper was made by Hikigaya. And even if Class A's academic ability was high, it was impossible to unify the answers to this extent. Although Horikita didn't know where Hikigaya got this picture from, this was the fact.
If that wasn't enough...
Horikita: "Oh? It seems you still won't admit it. Let me explain the entire process."
"That day, you were dissatisfied with being grouped with Hikigaya and met people from Class A. With mutual question leaking as the deal, you not only modified our submitted final draft through Hirata but also gave the answers to Class A. You originally thought you could show off greatly, but you didn't expect to be played by Class A, because the answers they gave you were fake."
"Someone like you can't even be a traitor properly. You don't even know how to sign a contract with the enemy. You're simply a shame to our class. This one is just a crime, and you should already leave our class!"
Horikita's words were like nails, smashing into Yamauchi's heart one by one. He hugged his head tightly, constantly roaring: "Slander, you're slandering me!"
Some quick-reacting students had already noticed, because his score last time was only 20 points, a score no one could possibly get. And if not for Hikigaya's super performance, they might both have been expelled.
Although saying this, everyone hadn't expressed their stance yet, because there still wasn't enough evidence to convict the boy.
Yamauchi was still unwilling to give up. If he were expelled like this, he might hold a grudge against anyone present.
And he didn't think he had lost yet.
Hirata still stood up. After facing everyone's sarcasm, he stood up.
His face was calm. He turned to look at everyone and said: "I don't want any of you to be expelled. Hikigaya or Yamauchi, this isn't the scene I want to see."
"So... please talk it over properly again."
Kōenji crossed his arms, with an attitude like it had nothing to do with him, and finally said provocatively: "Hirata BOY, saying that kind of thing again. You're the only one who doesn't know what's best."
"Bang!"
In an instant, the desk in Hirata's hand flew out like paper, crashing violently in the classroom and echoing continuously.
Chabashira was completely stunned, and the classmates looked at him incredulously. Only Hirata, at this moment, was looking at the ground with eyes doubting life.
He lowered his head, his eyes losing all light.
(End of this chapter)