COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya

Chapter 197 - 197: Ichinose’s Weakness  

"Hikigaya, you look pretty happy."

In the dorm room, Hirata asked curiously.

"Is it that obvious?"

Hikigaya quickly wiped the smile off his face.

"Wait, Hirata, why are you here? Your room is supposed to be next door, right?"

Hikigaya had just returned to the four-person dorm and found Hirata, Miyake Akito, and Hondou Ryoutarou inside. As for Koenji, he was nowhere to be seen as usual.

"I was asked to come here."

Hirata's words gave Hikigaya a bad feeling.

"Ichinose from Class B—wait, no, it's Class A now. She wants to thank you in person for your help during the island exam and invited you tonight."

The moment Hirata finished speaking, before Hikigaya could even react, Hondou Ryoutarou was already staring at him in shock, mouth wide open. Even the usually quiet Miyake Akito looked over with curiosity.

All eyes were suddenly on Hikigaya, which was exactly why he didn't want to go to Ichinose's celebration party.

Also... Hirata, why do you have that knowing smile on your face?!

Hikigaya scowled.

"Can I refuse?"

"Just as Ichinose predicted, 'Hikigaya will definitely refuse.' So she told me to pass along a message: 'If Hikigaya-kun doesn't agree, I'll come find him myself.'"

As Hirata relayed the message, the corners of his lips couldn't help but curl up.

Hikigaya: "..."

Damn. Since when did Ichinose start using tactics like this?! This is way too sneaky!

And so, following Hirata's instructions, Hikigaya arrived at a café on the cruise ship rooftop at 9 PM. The seat by the window had the best view in the entire café.

"Hikigaya-kun, what do you want to drink?"

As soon as he sat down, Ichinose enthusiastically handed him the menu, acting like they were already close friends.

"Hey, you're drinking coffee this late?"

Ichinose: "..."

Ichinose froze for a moment, then quickly used the menu to cover her face, clearly embarrassed. "S-Sorry, I didn't even think about that."

Hikigaya shook his head. Ichinose always seemed smart and thoughtful, so it was strange for her to make such a simple mistake.

After ordering an orange juice, Hikigaya got straight to the point. "Ichinose, is there a real reason you asked me to meet you? And don't use the excuse of wanting to thank me again."

"It's not an excuse!"

Ichinose quickly put down the menu and looked at Hikigaya. "I really wanted to take this chance to thank you properly, not just for the deserted island exam, but also for... for last time..."

For some reason, her voice trailed off, and her face took on a strange expression.

"Hmm? What was that? You were mumbling, I didn't catch it."

"N-Nothing."

Ichinose took a deep breath and looked Hikigaya in the eye. "Hikigaya-kun, I really do want to thank you for helping me."

"Everyone in my class is so kind to me. They're always forgiving, even when I make mistakes. Sometimes, I feel guilty about it."

Even though she had told her classmates many times not to be so lenient with her, they still forgave her every time.

A hint of sadness flickered across Ichinose's face. "People who make mistakes should be punished. That's why, when you scolded me and pointed out my mistakes that day, I was actually really happy."

Hikigaya's expression turned a little strange. Was it just his imagination, or did something about her words seem... off?

"But... even after all the help you gave me, I still made the same mistakes. In this special exam, I put my class in a tough spot again because of my choices."

Ichinose bit her lip, gripping her hands tightly. "And yet, no one blamed me. Instead, they comforted me, saying, 'It's not your fault, Ichinose. It was a decision we all made together.' But the more they said that, the guiltier I felt."

"If this is all you wanted to talk about, then you're wasting my time."

Hikigaya cut her off, his tone unexpectedly cold. "You have a brain, so use it. Stop trying to push your problems onto someone else. I have no interest in changing people. The only one who can change you is yourself."

"No matter how much you say now, all you're really doing is hoping I'll 'scold' you again so you can feel a little better about yourself, right? Just like last time. In the end, all you care about is yourself."

"If you're looking for a tool to use, sorry, but I'm not into it."

Hikigaya had started to see the real issue. To everyone else, Ichinose seemed like a bright, kind girl, but in reality, she was already halfway stuck in a deep pit.

At first, he thought she saw him as a rope to climb out, but he slowly realized that wasn't the case. She wasn't trying to escape—she was just using the rope to slow her fall. It was like she had no real desire to pull herself out.

"I..."

Ichinose stared at Hikigaya, lost for words. She could tell he was genuinely angry, and it left her completely at a loss.

"Ichinose, you didn't ask me out tonight just to say all this. There's something else—like Shiranami."

It was clear Hikigaya had already seen through her. The so-called "thank you" might have been partly true, but more than that, she had something else she wanted to know.

Ichinose didn't say anything, but her silence was as good as admitting it.

During the special exam, Kaneda from Class C had acted as a spy and successfully identified Shiranami Chihiro as their class leader. After Kaneda suddenly disappeared, Ichinose and Kanzaki had already suspected what had happened, but neither of them said anything. They simply accepted the consequences.

But when Ichinose returned to camp that evening, she found that Shiranami had suddenly fallen sick with a high fever. In the end, for the sake of her health, Shiranami had to withdraw from the exam. At the same time, this gave Ichinose's class the perfect reason to switch leaders, undoing the damage Kaneda had caused.

It all seemed so natural—too natural. Almost like... a coincidence.

At first, Ichinose thought it really was just luck.

Until she accidentally found out that Hikigaya had been at the camp earlier and had a private conversation with Kanzaki and Shiranami Chihiro.

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