Chapter 195: You Are My Faith
"Hey, you brat, are you seriously pretending not to see me when I'm right here?!"
Ryūen and Hiyori's figures gradually came into view. At the end of the road, Hikigaya slowly lifted his head.
"If I said I really didn't see you, would you believe me?"
"Hey, Hiyori, do you believe him?"
Hiyori shook her head… then nodded again.
That kind of ambiguous answer was exactly what Ryūen hated most.
"What the hell does that mean?" he snapped.
Hiyori replied calmly, "Judging by Hikigaya-kun's expression just now, he was probably deep in thought. So it's normal that he didn't notice us."
"But considering Hikigaya-kun's terrifying perception, even without seeing, he should've been able to sense us."
Hikigaya smiled helplessly, "Even I'm not on constant alert, you know. Living like that would be exhausting…"
"If you really had a weakness like that," Ryūen scoffed, "I would've found it long ago and slammed you into the ground. You're one hell of a hypocrite."
"Careful," Hikigaya replied dryly. "You might end up slapping yourself with those words."
Ryūen snorted, then glanced at Hiyori.
The image of her tearful expression that day was still etched clearly in his mind.
"Hiyori. Don't you have something you want to say to Hikigaya?"
Before she could respond, Hikigaya spoke first.
"Why are you making it sound so serious? It's not like I'm about to die."
"Shut up," Ryūen said. "Just listen."
So Hikigaya fell silent, and both pairs of eyes turned to Hiyori.
Being stared at like that made her visibly nervous. Her pale hair only made the warmth in her cheeks more obvious, and her gaze kept darting away, as if she were looking for an excuse to escape.
"Some chances only exist in the moment," Ryūen said bluntly.
Hiyori nodded, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
"Hikigaya-kun… thank you."
The sudden gratitude caught him off guard.
"O-oh… uh, sure."
Hiyori said nothing more. She stepped forward and handed him a carefully prepared gift.
"There's no holiday coming up," Hikigaya said, "And it's not my birthday either. Hiyori, you…"
"It's just a thank-you gift," she interrupted softly, "Just a thank-you gift, that's all."
Even so, Hikigaya didn't think he'd done anything special for her, he'd only acted according to his own values.
He glanced at the gift, then Ryūen forcibly shoved it into his hands. After asking if he could open it and receiving Hiyori's nod, he did so.
Inside the finely crafted box lay a pair of elegant black half-rim glasses.
Hikigaya didn't even need to put them on to know they would suit him perfectly. It was obvious that Hiyori had chosen them after countless considerations, tailored precisely to him.
Almost instinctively, he said, "This is too expensive. I really shouldn't…"
This time, the usually quiet Hiyori cut him off, her voice trembling with emotion.
"If it weren't for you, Hikigaya-kun… then these glasses would have no meaning at all."
"So please… accept them."
Ryūen nodded aggressively, clearly ordering him to take them.
At this point, Hikigaya said nothing more. He gently picked up the non-prescription glasses and put them on.
In that instant, it was as if time itself had stopped.
Neither Hiyori nor Ryūen could say a word. They simply stared at Hikigaya in stunned silence.
"Uh…" Hikigaya asked. "Do they not suit me?"
Ryūen finally spoke.
"Do you have any special talents?"
"Because honestly… I think you could debut."
Hiyori covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "So Hikigaya-kun was a hidden handsome guy all along."
Hikigaya felt a little embarrassed by their comments. After the initial shock passed, both Hiyori and Ryūen smiled and said: "In the future, we'll still have a long time to compete. And when that time comes, we'll definitely beat you."
"I don't think we'll lose either," Hikigaya replied.
The future was still long ahead of them. Ryūen was the first to wave goodbye before turning around and leaving.
Hiyori lingered for a moment longer, taking one last careful look at Hikigaya. Then, gathering her courage, she stepped forward and hugged him tightly, whispering softly: "I love you."
Before Hikigaya could even react, Hiyori had already turned around and left completely, leaving him standing there in a daze.
---
[In the chat room, no one seemed particularly shocked by Hiyori's sudden confession, perhaps they were already used to it. Still, just as Ryūen had said, seeing Hikigaya wearing glasses like that was… honestly unbelievable. It completely rewrote their perception.]
[Sakura joked first: "Why don't you debut with me, Hachiman? I think that'd be really fun!"]
[Hikigaya: "No matter how you look at it, I'm not cut out for that industry. I don't have any talents at all…"]
[Kushida: "I never expected that once those dead-fish eyes were hidden, your looks would undergo a qualitative leap…"]
[Karuizawa: "I always thought Hikigaya was handsome, though!"]
[Kushida: "Hey, are you picking a fight? I think so too, just not in 'that' way."]
[Ichinose was completely stunned. In fact, almost everyone watching the video froze with their mouths hanging open.]
[For someone who already liked him, the change might have felt subtle. But for those who were indifferent, or didn't like him at all, it was utterly unbelievable.]
[For example, Miura, who had just returned to the Service Club, had her eyes widened to the limit. She wanted to say something, but her trembling lips wouldn't cooperate.]
["T-this is way too handsome… Hayato, this feels like he's even better-looking than you… n-no, that's not a fair comparison. You're totally different types."]
[Isshiki nodded repeatedly and immediately chimed in: "Yeah, yeah! One's the sunny athlete type, the other's like a refined villain, but honestly, I like both. Who doesn't like handsome guys?"]
[Hikigaya: "Why do I feel like I'm being insulted here?"]
[Even Miura, watching Hikigaya on the screen, felt too embarrassed to meet his eyes directly. Only now did everyone truly notice how well-shaped his face and features were. It wasn't that he lacked looks, those dead-fish eyes had just ruined everything.]
[Hina was even more excited than anyone else. Seeing Hikigaya with such visuals only made her ship Hayama × Hikigaya harder, desperately hoping they'd get together soon.]
[Of course, plenty of people strongly disagreed with that wish.]
---
Watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, Hikigaya felt an unexpected sense of peace.
In just one short year, he had gained things he had never possessed before, things that would become his most precious treasures.
Leaving the area, Hikigaya headed back toward his room. With the long-awaited break finally here, he fully intended to stay true to himself: sleep in as much as possible, then stretch luxuriously the next morning.
However, history had a strange way of repeating itself.
The last time Hikigaya tried to fulfill such a simple wish, he ended up not sleeping at all. And this time was no different.
The moment he opened the door, he froze.
Kushida, Ichinose, Kamuro, Sakura, and Karuizawa were all sitting inside his room, chatting cheerfully about the future.
Their bell-like laughter filled the space. Even just watching them, Hikigaya could feel their anticipation for what lay ahead, a fresh start, the transformation from Class D to Class A, and the bonds that would still connect them a year later.
"Uh… can I ask why you're all in my room?" Hikigaya asked.
Kushida smiled. "That's not something you should ask too much about."
Kamuro added dryly, "You already know, Hikigaya. Pretending you don't is still just as nasty as ever."
"Wait… did I walk into the wrong room?" Hikigaya muttered.
He instinctively stepped back to check the room number, but before he could, Karuizawa grabbed him and pulled him back inside.
"Come on, everyone's been waiting for you. You didn't get the wrong room."
"…Waiting for me?" Hikigaya asked, confused.
"That's right," Ichinose said brightly. "We've been waiting for you."
Without fully understanding what was happening, Hikigaya was pulled into the center of the group and made to sit down.
The five girls exchanged a wordless nod, then each picked up a drink they had prepared earlier and raised it high.
"Come to think of it," Sakura said, "we've never really celebrated properly. After everything we went through, we finally made it this far."
"Yeah," Kushida agreed. "From Class D to Class A, it was a tough journey."
"You had it easy," Kamuro said bluntly. "We fell back to Class B."
Karuizawa hurriedly patted Kamuro's shoulder in a comforting gesture: "Alright, alright. What matters is that we achieved a complete victory in that last incident. Class rankings aren't that important anymore."
"I agree," Ichinose said softly. "I joined this class halfway through. After everything we've been through, I'm just grateful we can all be here together… liking the same person."
Only then did Hikigaya finally understand what was going on. Urged on by their gazes, he picked up his drink as well.
"Cheers."
As glasses clinked and drinks spilled slightly, it felt as though everyone had finally found the meaning of their lives in this journey called youth.
Because they'd known each other for so long, and because of the atmosphere, the conversation naturally centered on Hikigaya.
They spoke of how they had met him, how he had helped them without realizing it, and how, before they knew it, they had fallen for him completely.
Strangely enough, Hikigaya didn't feel embarrassed listening to it all. It was as if those memories had slowly softened over time.
Sakura's stalking incident.
Kushida's false smiles.
Ichinose's inner conflict.
Kamuro's missions.
Karuizawa's past.
All of it dissolved into words like smoke, becoming part of a bond that could never be cut by something as crude as worldly judgment.
Again and again, Hikigaya listened as they laughed, cried, and finally all looked at him together.
Almost in unison, without exchanging glances, they said: "Hikigaya, hold out your hand."
At that moment, Hikigaya didn't try to guess anything. He simply entrusted his thoughts to the five women who had already entrusted their lives to him.
His long fingers, framed by theirs, seemed strangely distinct.
They smiled gently. Each of them took a different finger and placed an invisible ring, called love, upon his heart.
If night was hazy, then love was dawn itself.
It illuminated a lost and uncertain man, guiding him forward along his life's path.
—
When sunlight finally touched Hikigaya's face and light broke through the darkness, everything came to an end.
Yet even so, the traces left behind by that night remained undeniable.
If all of this were nothing more than fiction… then perhaps, Hikigaya gently held Ichinose, sleeping beside him. At the very least, 'they' were real.
Because she hadn't fallen into a deep sleep, Ichinose slowly opened her eyes. Paired with her pink hair, she looked even more enchanting.
Kamuro turned over and moved closer to them.
"You two… studying again already?"
Ichinose raised a finger to her lips, making a quiet "shh."
Kushida, Karuizawa, and Sakura were all sleeping soundly, and she didn't want to disturb them.
Kamuro understood and quietly nestled in, pulling the blanket over herself and Hikigaya.
After a brief exchange of teasing, Ichinose drifted off to sleep once more.
Just as she had said, she was tired, too.
At this point, the only ones still awake were Kamuro and Hikigaya.
In the past, the distance between them had always been one in front and one behind, Kamuro was constantly sent by Sakayanagi on assignments, while Hikigaya was the target she followed.
Now, they were still positioned one ahead of the other, but their roles had quietly reversed.
"Hey, Hikigaya… you didn't sleep all night. And there were 'five' of us… and you're still that, mm, hey!"
Hikigaya didn't know how to answer her.
Maybe it was because all this time he had been quietly accumulating everything inside himself.
Or maybe this was the one moment where he finally let go of restraint, where reason was completely defeated by desire.
Of course, Hikigaya wasn't someone who would push others beyond their limits.
Afterward, he gently let Kamuro down.
Kamuro collapsed onto the bed, utterly disheveled. One hand covered her face as she gasped for breath, using what little strength she had left to weakly pound against Hikigaya.
"Y-you… you you you you….!"
"…But I love you," she said softly.
"No matter what the future brings, I love you."
It was a simple confession, but it warmed Hikigaya's heart.
After one final kiss, Kamuro finally drifted off to sleep.
---
Perhaps days like this continued for four or five days straight.
Aside from eating and showering, Hikigaya barely left the room. His mental state worsened day by day.
But strangely enough, everyone else seemed perfectly content.
Sakura sat on Hikigaya's lap, holding him tightly. Kisses felt sacred in moments like this, yet also utterly ordinary.
That was fine.
As long as it stayed like this… everything would be fine.
"Hachiman," Sakura whispered, her gaze burning, "In this school ruled by desire… you are my final faith."
Feeling the intensity of her eyes, Hikigaya responded in kind, until the world itself seemed ready to collapse.
---
A hazy afternoon nap left Hikigaya with a throbbing headache.
Within his dream, a figure identical to himself stepped forward, repeating the same words over and over.
"You should begin your next journey."
"What do you mean?"
"Standing still is never something you were meant to do. Don't worry, one day, you'll meet them again. When that time comes, you can kiss, embrace, and love as much as you want."
"But I don't want to leave."
"For your sister. For everyone you care about. You 'must' leave. And you must keep moving forward."
"…."
The dream abruptly ended, leaving Hikigaya's body feeling strangely weightless.
If his life were to end here, then in that final moment of fading consciousness, Hikigaya would undoubtedly feel happy.
Looking back on this abundant stretch of time, he had finally made up for the life he never experienced before, everything he had once missed.
If he were to board that school bus again…
If he were to stand once more in Class 1-D and introduce himself,
This time, Hikigaya didn't want to use his sister as an excuse.
This time, it would be for himself.
Only for himself.
My name is Hikigaya Hachiman.
This is my story.
And perhaps… An ending is also a beginning.
---
[At the same time, Satō Asahi finally opened the gateway to the Second World. After witnessing everything that had happened, he knew the time had come.]
[Hikigaya Hachiman, welcome to your journey into another world, Re: Zero.]
---
[Inside the chatroom, everyone felt a sudden jolt in their minds. Emotions, experiences, known and unknown, flooded into their consciousness all at once.]
[Sakura: "How could this…? Why am I here…? I feel like crying… why?"]
[Karuizawa: "I remember being in bed just now, why all of a sudden…? It feels like I have two sets of memories. Similar… but not the same."]
[Kushida: "That person said something… 'From now on, you're just observers.'"]
[All the students of Advanced Nurturing High began receiving their second set of memories, those from the video. The emotions, the experiences, all resurfaced vividly before them. And because they were the same people outside the video, they didn't disappear. They had simply gained another set of memories.]
[Some hadn't fully processed it yet, but after explanations from the Service Club, most people finally accepted the outcome. Even so… many still couldn't.]
[They had once reached the future, even if only for a moment. But those feelings could never be repeated.]
[If they weren't certain they would meet again someday… they might have gone insane.]
[Ichinose: "Where is Hikigaya-kun?!"]
[Hikigaya: "I'm here… though if you're talking about the me in the video, honestly, I don't fully understand it either."]
[A single tear slipped down Kushida's face. "I didn't even get to say goodbye properly… why did it end so suddenly?"]
[Hikigaya: "Everything you gave, I received it. I'm sure the me in that video did too."]
[Hearing this, the girls finally broke down, no longer able to hold back. Tears streamed freely down their cheeks.]
[Meanwhile, Hiyori, Asahina, Hirata, Ryūen, Sakayanagi, Kōenji, Kiryuin, Horikita Suzune, Horikita Manabu, and Nagumo all fixed their gazes on the screen.]
[What awaited him on this new journey? What kind of person would he become? For most viewers now, there was only one wish, that he would be safe… and suffer less than before.]
[At this moment, Yukinoshita, inside the Service Club, felt conflicted. Seeing Hikigaya leave those girls brought her relief, yet facing an unfamiliar world left her on the verge of collapse. When no one noticed, tears finally overflowed, crystal-clear drops falling no matter how much she wiped at them.]
["…Just how far does this world intend to push you?"]
[Isshiki let out a helpless sigh, her once-lively smile long gone. After everything had ended, the journey still had to continue. "I hope you'll be safe, senpai. If you are… then I won't bully you anymore."]
[Hikigaya: "So you 'knew' you were bullying me. I thought you were completely unaware."]
[Although now wasn't really the time for morbid humor, Hikigaya still hoped that the atmosphere at the scene could be a little better, after all, they were all worried about him.]
[After remaining silent for a long time, Yuigahama slowly walked up to Hikigaya. Her hands gently cupped the boy's cheeks, and with the last glimmer of tears lingering in her eyes, she softly said: "In this world of desire, you are my final faith."]
(End of this chapter)
(End of Volume One)