Chapter 15: Kawasaki Saki
"Ah, that's right..."
Yuigahama Yui, lowering her head, spoke softly, not expecting to meet Hikigaya Hachiman in such a situation.
She then squatted beside Hachiman, holding Sabre (the dog) in one arm while putting the leash back on its neck with the other.
This time, Sabre didn't struggle but wagged its tail continuously.
Seeing Sabre wag so happily, Hachiman lowered his head curiously to take a closer look.
Then...
"Eh, what's wrong?"
Yuigahama, after fastening the leash, stood up but noticed Hachiman covering his nose with his hand.
"N-nothing..."
Hachiman stammered his reply and quickly got on his bicycle, as if fleeing the scene.
"Wait..."
Watching Hachiman's retreating figure, Yuigahama opened her mouth but didn't have the courage to call out to him.
Failed again...
Only after Hachiman's figure disappeared completely did Yuigahama, with a heavy heart, lead Sabre and walk towards home.
After the small incident on the way to school, Hachiman Hikigaya arrived at school smoothly.
As he pushed open the classroom door, the entire class fell into silence.
Everyone looked at Hachiman, and thoughts like "Is this guy really a student in our class?" popped up in their heads.
Hachiman took a quick glance at the classroom's situation, then walked straight back to his seat, hung up his backpack, took out the textbook for the first lesson, flipped to the part to be covered, and rested his chin on his left hand, beginning his daily mandatory daydreaming routine.
One class period, two class periods...
With each ringing bell, the morning passed quickly.
Hachiman looked up at the teacher who was constantly writing on the blackboard but found it utterly boring.
So, he shifted his gaze and started observing his classmates for the first time.
From the teacher's podium, his eyes moved toward the back of the classroom, first landing on some classmates whose names he couldn't even recall.
They were diligently looking at the blackboard, taking notes like model students.
Then Hachiman's gaze moved further back.
Suddenly, an extremely cute girl appeared in his line of sight.
"Eh, do we even have such a cute girl in our class?"
At the sight of this "girl," Hachiman was stunned.
His heart started pounding hard—an even stronger reaction than the first time he met Yukinoshita!
What was I doing before?
Realizing his physical reaction, Hachiman couldn't help but blame himself.
If he had noticed such a cute girl earlier in the class, he would have confessed to her already.
Though, he'd definitely get rejected and then be the subject of gossip—like "just a hopeless otaku with unrealistic dreams"—which he could explain away!
Shaking his head, Hachiman forced his eyes to move back again.
Soon, the class heartthrob, Hayama Hayato, came into view.
Skip!
Hayama's three best friends...
Skip!
Then a very ordinary-looking girl wearing glasses.
Skip... Wait!
After becoming a high-level exorcist, Hachiman's eyesight improved significantly.
He noticed the thickness of the textbooks in the glasses girl's hands was a bit unusual.
Looking at her expression, she was clearly forcing herself to suppress excitement, yet she still had to wipe drool at the corner of her mouth every now and then.
'This girl, could it be...'
Hachiman, adjusting his deadpan eyes, guessed boldly.
Just then, an eraser belonging to Tobe, Hayama's follower, rolled off the desk and fell at Hayama's feet.
Hayama naturally picked it up and handed it back to Tobe.
Seeing this, the glasses girl suddenly became extremely excited.
'So it really is like this?!'
Hachiman covered his face, mentally tagging this girl as dangerous.
Apparently, she was also someone who hung around Miura Yumiko.
Though he didn't know her exact name, he decided to keep his distance from her from now on.
After discovering a fujoshi (female fan of boys' love) in the class, Hachiman's interest in the rest of the students waned considerably.
But since everything was so boring anyway, he kept moving his gaze backward.
A girl with light blue long hair tied in a ponytail, looking like a delinquent, appeared in his view.
Just as Hachiman was about to shift his eyes again, he noticed she was looking at him too.
"..."
Hachiman said nothing and just looked away, avoiding eye contact.
But she didn't seem to give up and kept her gaze fixed on him after noticing he looked at her.
Finally, unable to bear the stare, Hachiman sighed helplessly and turned his gaze back to meet hers.
"Let's talk after class."
Seeing Hachiman look back, the girl dressed like a delinquent spoke in colloquial language, then turned her head and resumed listening to the lesson.
?
Hachiman was a bit puzzled by her words.
But he also lost interest in continuing to observe the classmates.
He kept his daydreaming posture as the third period ended...
"I have something to tell you..."
When the class bell rang and the teacher left the classroom with the lesson plan, the silver-haired ponytail girl stood up from her seat, completely ignoring the surprised gazes from surrounding classmates, and knocked on Hachiman's desk.
"What's up?"
Frowning at the gathering gazes, Hachiman disliked being watched by many people.
"Last night you were still at school after nine o'clock..."
"Alright, let's go outside and talk."
Before she finished, Hachiman's expression changed.
He hurriedly stood up and invited the silver-haired girl to talk outside.
Soon, the two arrived at the rarely visited top-floor stairwell.
"My name is Kawasaki Saki."
As if knowing Hachiman didn't know her name, Kawasaki Saki crossed her arms and introduced herself as soon as they stopped.
"My name is..."
Hachiman tried to introduce himself but was interrupted by Kawasaki.
"Hikigaya Hachiman, the legendary figure who only started attending classes three months after school began."
"That's not something I wanted either..."
Hachiman showed a trace of helplessness on his face.
"I know. I came to ask you why you were still wandering near the school after nine last night."
Kawasaki nodded to show she understood, then got to the point of why she called Hachiman out.
"So can you tell me why you were still hanging around near the school after nine?"
However, instead of answering Kawasaki's question, Hachiman questioned her in return.