I don't know if it's fate or bad karma.
The person sitting next to Hachiman Hikigaya happened to be the cool, black-haired girl from the bus earlier.
Right now, she was holding a black-covered book and reading it intently.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment…
A literary girl, huh?
Although Hikigaya Hachiman had read that kind of book before, his motivation had been purely to show off.
The girl beside him, on the other hand, probably just liked reading.
Not wanting to disturb her, Hachiman quietly pulled out his chair and sat down.
It hadn't even been ten minutes since she had said, "I hope we'll have nothing to do with each other in the future."
Someone with a sense of humor might've joked, "Looks like fate doesn't agree with you."
Unfortunately, Hikigaya Hachiman wasn't blessed with that kind of comedic instinct.
And so, both of them acted as if nothing had happened—
Wait a second.
From the corner of his eye, Hikigaya noticed that the aloof, black-haired girl's fingers gripping the book had tensed slightly. Her supposedly calm eyes had been fixed on the same page for far too long.
Don't embarrass yourself, Hachiman.
He hastily diverted his gaze elsewhere—
—only to notice a guy with a completely expressionless face sitting diagonally across from him. The kind of person who looked… fake.
"Hello, classmate…" Hikigaya started awkwardly.
The stoic guy happened to glance his way.
"Ahaha~ What a coincidence!"
Hikigaya immediately turned his head toward the black-haired girl beside him, pretending to greet her instead.
"This line is usually used when you meet someone for the first time," the dark-haired beauty replied calmly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed softly.
"Pain and suffering always exist for great hearts."
"That might not be true," Hachiman replied instantly. "After all, humans are such despicable creatures—they can get used to anything."
"???"
The cold girl blinked, her lips parting slightly in surprise.
Her expression looked exactly like someone who'd just seen a stray dog suddenly start rapping on the street.
"Hey! Stop treating people like animals!" Hachiman snapped.
"That's not what I meant…" She looked flustered for a second before composing herself. "I just thought you were the gloomy, unmotivated type who doesn't know anything."
Hachiman's mouth twitched. "Thank you for acknowledging that I'm at least human."
"Excuse me…" The black-haired girl's momentary embarrassment vanished as she straightened her posture. "Horikita Suzune."
"Although I have no intention of socializing, as desk mates, we should at least maintain basic courtesy."
I see.
It reminded Hachiman of that one girl from middle school who occasionally nodded at him when they passed each other—but never said a word beyond that.
"Hikigaya Hachiman," he introduced himself simply.
After exchanging names, silence returned between them.
Horikita resumed reading her book.
Hachiman busied himself rearranging his school bag just to pass the time.
Is this how normal people communicate? It's harder than I thought…
Seeing no chance to butt in, the stoic guy across from them gave up on starting a conversation.
"Can I have everyone's attention for a moment?"
A boy with light-green hair and a gentle smile stepped to the front of the room.
"My name is Hirata Yosuke. Let's all introduce ourselves! I hope we can get along and become friends as soon as possible."
"How about we start before the teacher arrives?"
Preliminary impression: real person detected.
"I agree!"
A short-haired, well-endowed girl raised her hand enthusiastically.
"That sounds fun!"
Support from the resident gyaru, apparently.
"Thank you for the support," Hirata said brightly.
Hey, who exactly are you thanking? Hachiman thought, deadpan.
"Then I'll start."
"My name is Hirata Yosuke, but you can just call me Yosuke."
"I like sports and plan to join the school's football club."
"Please take care of me."
A flawless, sunny, and charming introduction.
It instantly reminded Hachiman of someone from middle school—Hayato Hayama.
Handsome, cheerful, athletic, and into football. The similarities were uncanny.
"It's my turn next!"
"My name is Kushida Kikyo, and my goal is to become friends with everyone here!"
"I want to make lots of fun memories together, so please hang out with me often~~"
Beautiful, friendly, and bubbly—she easily won over most of the class.
Hachiman, however, couldn't shake the feeling that she was acting.
Still, as the saying goes, life itself is a performance. Who can truly claim to be consistent in thought and speech?
"Next is me! I'm Ike Kanji!"
"I love cute girls and hate handsome guys!"
"Most importantly—"
"I'm looking for a girlfriend! Please give me a chance!"
No, buddy… do you think that's funny?
"My name's Haruki Yamauchi! I used to be a national table tennis player back in elementary school!"
"In middle school, I was the cleanup hitter—the ace of the baseball team!"
"I got injured during the league tournament, and now I'm recovering…"
This guy's even worse!
If the "wooden block" was the base unit of cringe, this one measured at least 2.5 blocks.
"Horikita Suzune."
Minimalist introduction. No details, no expression.
And yet, applause followed—simply because she was beautiful.
This damn world where looks decide everything…
When it came time for his own introduction, Hachiman glanced around.
There were about forty students in total. The boys were generally average-looking, aside from Hirata Yosuke and a blonde guy. The rest? Pretty unremarkable.
The girls, on the other hand, were shockingly attractive.
It almost made Hachiman think he'd entered a new ecosystem of "high-quality human females."
Based on looks alone, the class beauties were:
Suzune Horikita, Kikyo Kushida, kei Karuizawa, Chiaki Matsushita, Miu Wang, Maya Sato, Ruka Hasebe… and Airi Sakura.
Wait—Sakura Airi?
She wore thick glasses, had fluffy twin ponytails, and kept her head lowered. She looked timid and plain.
But Hachiman's intuition screamed that underneath that modest exterior was a hidden beauty—one rivaling his "future wife" from his dream.
Pfft!
Why did that dream pop up again?!
Delete it! Delete my memory!!
Hachiman buried his face in his hands, his feet curling in embarrassment.
Unnoticed, Sakura Airi shyly peeked at him. A flicker of confusion crossed her timid face.
I already dressed up a little… so why is he still looking at me?
Those with outgoing personalities had already introduced themselves.
The rest were what you might call the "unsociable" types.
"Next, you over there," Hirata Yosuke called out suddenly.
"Me?" The expressionless boy blinked, surprised.
"Um… right."
"My name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."
"Please take care of me…"
"I'm not particularly good at anything…"
"But I'll try my best to get along with everyone."
A simple, unremarkable introduction.
The room fell silent.
And stayed that way.
Then—
"Pah, pah, pah~"
Hirata Yosuke started clapping, smiling warmly.
"Thank you for your introduction, Ayanokouji-kun."
Does this guy have some kind of "Good Guy Aura" buff?
His kindness level was even higher than Hayama's.
Wait—don't look at me next!
But of course, the radiant sunshine known as Hirata Yosuke turned his gaze toward Hachiman Hikigaya, who could only sigh internally.