Time flew by, and more than half a month had passed. With less than a week left until the Sports Festival in October, the school’s atmosphere had become more and more focused on sports. Everywhere—from the courts to the fields and even open spaces—you could see students practicing.
Hasebe and Sakura had been training with Hikigaya for most of this time. While they hadn’t improved drastically, their overall fitness had definitely gotten better.
Sports were also a great way to build mental strength. For someone like Sakura, who even struggled with talking to strangers, this was an excellent opportunity to grow.
Since both of them were girls and neither had many friends in class, Hasebe and Sakura quickly became close. Within a few days, they were already calling each other "Airi" and "Haruka."
Because of the Sports Festival, Hikigaya’s workload in the student council had increased a lot, leaving him with little free time. But Hasebe and Sakura still managed to train together without him.
As for the three-legged race, after practicing once with Ichinose, Hikigaya had been using student council work as an excuse to dodge further training. Up until now, they had only practiced together three times.
With less than a week left before the festival, he finally ran out of excuses. After school, Ichinose was already waiting at Class D’s door, making it clear she wasn’t letting him escape this time.
The idea of Hikigaya and Ichinose pairing up for the three-legged race definitely made a lot of guys jealous. If looks could kill, Hikigaya figured he would’ve died countless times from the stares of his male classmates.
That being said, nobody was being as dramatic as the "monkey duo" from before, pulling off ridiculous stunts or making crazy remarks.
They found a quiet spot on the field where there weren’t many people. Ichinose immediately puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
"Hikigaya-kun, I know we’re not the main competitors for rankings, but I still want to take this seriously and get a good result. I don’t want to just go through the motions."
Hikigaya knew she was upset about how he had been avoiding practice. Since he was at fault, he didn’t argue and just stood there quietly, accepting her complaints.
"Hikigaya-kun, your hand is so stiff~"
"Hikigaya-kun, we need to match our breathing. You’re walking too fast~"
"Hikigaya-kun..."
They went through several rounds of practice, but the results were terrible. Ichinose was fuming, staring at him with frustration, while Hikigaya averted his gaze, remaining silent.
"Ichinose, maybe we should just give up."
Hikigaya sighed.
"Why? Am I doing something wrong?"
Ichinose instinctively reflected on her own mistakes.
Hikigaya shook his head.
"It’s not you. The problem is with me."
"If that’s the case, then just tell me what’s wrong so we can fix it together."
Ichinose refused to back down. Seeing her determination, Hikigaya decided to just be honest.
"I’m not used to... being this close to a girl. You get what I mean, right?!"
Silence.
Then, the next second—
Ichinose burst into laughter.
"So that’s the reason! I always thought you were such a serious guy, but I guess you have an unexpectedly cute side too."
"C-Cute?"
Hikigaya’s face darkened.
If this were an actual game, he’d be getting penalized for a foul every single time!
I’m just a normal guy!
But this wasn’t something he could explain too clearly. Otherwise, it would just make him seem perverted or weird.
Unfortunately, Ichinose didn’t seem to get what he really meant. Instead, she just assumed he was pure-hearted or simply not used to being around girls.
With Ichinose’s strong insistence, they continued practicing.
But just as they took a few steps, a sudden voice interrupted them.
"Y-You! How could you treat Honami-chan like that?!"
Shiranami Chihiro suddenly appeared out of nowhere, pointing an accusing finger at Hikigaya, her eyes practically burning with anger.
"Chihiro-chan, you’ve got it all wrong. We’re just practicing for the Sports Festival."
Ichinose quickly tried to explain.
"N-No! I’m not wrong! He—he’s totally taking advantage of you, Honami-chan! How can you still defend him?!"
Shiranami Chihiro stomped her foot in frustration, feeling both anxious and wronged.
Seeing Ichinose’s confused expression, she grew even more annoyed. She stepped forward and pulled Ichinose away from Hikigaya.
"Honami-chan, are you out of your mind? Look at your... ’there’—that guy just did something to it!"
Ichinose froze for a second. She instinctively looked down, and the moment she realized what had happened, her face turned bright red.
Meanwhile, Hikigaya stood there, looking like he had completely given up on life.
"I-I didn’t even notice..."
Ichinose stammered, her face burning.
At first, she had just found it comfortable to hold onto Hikigaya’s arm. It even gave her a strange sense of security. She hadn’t thought much about it at all. But now, she finally understood why Hikigaya had been acting strange the whole time.
She couldn’t help but sneak a glance at him—only for their eyes to meet in the most awkward way possible.
In that moment, it felt like they both knew exactly what the other was thinking.
Ichinose suddenly wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
This is way too embarrassing!
"Anyway, let’s call it a day. I have student council work to do."
To escape the unbearable awkwardness, Hikigaya quickly made up an excuse and left.
---
"Honami-chan, maybe you should just drop out of the competition. No one would blame you."
Shiranami Chihiro tried to persuade her.
She thought Ichinose would agree right away, but to her surprise, Ichinose shook her head.
"Why not? That pervert—"
"Chihiro!"
Ichinose’s face turned unexpectedly serious.
"Hikigaya-kun isn’t that kind of person!"
But as she recalled what had just happened, she felt both embarrassed and oddly amused.
"I know you might have some misunderstandings about Hikigaya-kun, but bringing personal feelings into real-life matters is really immature."
Shiranami Chihiro lowered her head, looking like she was about to cry.
"I... I just want what’s best for you, Honami-chan..."
"I understand that, but Chihiro-chan, you can’t judge people based on just one side of them.
Someone might seem like a good person to you, but they could have a bad side too. Even me—everyone in our class, including you, trusts me a lot, but that doesn’t mean I’ve never made mistakes or done anything wrong."
"No way! We all believe in you, Honami-chan!"
Ichinose smiled bitterly at those words.
---
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