Because of Koenji, Hikigaya lost interest in staying in the bath. He got dressed and headed to a nearby vending machine to buy a drink.
But as soon as he stepped out of the bathhouse, he heard an argument not far ahead.
When he got closer, he saw a group of girls.
"Enough already! I made it clear during the group discussion that I wasn't interested, and now you're blocking me here? I'm going to call for help!"
Her voice was strong, but Hikigaya could hear the nervousness underneath. It was Karuizawa.
"You were the one who bullied Rika! I told you to apologize to her, and now you're even knocking my phone away? What, you had no problem getting help from the boys during the discussion earlier, but now that no one's around, you're helpless?"
The voice was just as strong as Karuizawa's, but it carried even more intimidation.
Hikigaya recognized these girls' names. Aside from Karuizawa, the others were from Class C. From their conversation, he gathered that they were in the same small group as Karuizawa. The names matched the list Kushida had given him—Manabe Shiho, Yabu Nanami, and Yamashita Saki.
It sounded like Karuizawa had cut in line and bullied a Class C girl named Rika earlier. Manabe and the others had confronted her, demanding an apology.
With Karuizawa's personality, there was no way she would agree. That led to a conflict during their group discussion, but Hikigaya hadn't expected them to corner her afterward.
This scene felt oddly familiar to him. Did Class C students all have this habit?
"What do you think you're doing?! I—I'll tell the teacher! You'll all get punished for this!"
Karuizawa shouted.
Hikigaya shook his head. Even he could hear the tremble in her voice. It was obvious that she was scared, and Manabe picked up on it right away.
"Hah, so D-Class's Karuizawa is all talk, huh? Running to the teacher? What are you, a little kid? We haven't done anything to you. We just want to have a chat. That's not against the school rules, is it?"
Manabe sneered. Sensing Karuizawa's fear, she became even more aggressive, stepping closer and closing the space between them, using her body to put pressure on Karuizawa.
Seeing how 'skilled' Manabe was at this, Hikigaya frowned slightly.
Karuizawa's expression changed drastically at Manabe's move. She hurriedly backed away, only to bump into a vending machine.
"M-Manabe, maybe that's enough…"
The two girls with Manabe, sensing that things were getting out of hand, tried to intervene.
"It's fine."
Manabe ignored them and kept her eyes locked on Karuizawa. "You're really scared, aren't you? Is it because you've been treated like this before?"
"W-what are you talking about?!"
Karuizawa snapped back, as if suddenly angered. But her reaction only made Manabe smirk, as if she had confirmed something.
Just as Manabe was about to drag Karuizawa somewhere more secluded, an irritated voice interrupted her.
"What the hell are you all standing here for?"
Hikigaya's sudden appearance froze Manabe and the others in place.
"Move. I want to buy a drink."
Without waiting for a response, Hikigaya walked forward. They instinctively stepped aside, but Manabe remained where she was.
"Hi-Hikigaya? What do you think you're doing?"
Compared to her two companions, Manabe stayed surprisingly calm and firm.
"I just told you. You're in my way."
Hikigaya stared at her coldly.
"And if I don't move? Are you gonna hit me?"
Manabe seemed to catch onto Hikigaya's intentions. Instead of backing down, she became even more confrontational.
"I don't care about this kind of petty drama between girls."
As he spoke, Hikigaya glanced at Karuizawa. She happened to be looking at him too, but the moment their eyes met, she flinched like a startled kitten and quickly looked away.
"This isn't school, but you're still a student. Keep that in mind."
"Hah, is that supposed to be a threat?"
Manabe scoffed. "We were just chatting about the exam. It's not like we did anything wrong."
"Threat?"
Hikigaya looked like he had just heard a joke. "If this counts as a threat, I think Ryuen would be happy to teach you what a real threat looks like!"
The moment Manabe heard Ryuen's name, her expression stiffened, and her aggressive attitude immediately weakened. As expected, sometimes it takes one villain to deal with another. There's always someone who can put another in their place.
Manabe shot a cold glance at Hikigaya, then left without a word, taking her two companions with her.
Hikigaya watched Manabe's back with an icy gaze. This wasn't the first time he had heard her name. The first time he learned about her was through Sakura.
Why Sakura?
Because Sakura was very close with Hiyori. The two often met up after school or on weekends, and naturally, they talked about all sorts of everyday things. At some point, Sakura learned about Manabe Shiho from Hiyori.
Class C was a "kingdom" ruled by Ryuen. Of course, beneath the king, there were others, and among the girls, Manabe Shiho was the leader. She was aggressive and domineering in the way she did things.
Hiyori had been harassed by her many times. The reason was simple—Hiyori was a loner in Class C, with barely any friends. Yet, whether it was the midterms, finals, or study sessions, she always stood out and gained the admiration of both boys and girls.
Even though Hiyori never wanted that kind of attention, it still made Manabe furious. Or rather... it made her feel threatened. Manabe didn't dare to openly target Hiyori too much, but she constantly pulled small tricks behind the scenes, making it impossible to guard against.
Like a fly—you swat it away, but it always comes back. Annoying and disgusting.
Hikigaya had never heard Hiyori talk about this, not even once. She would always just say that everyone in class was nice and that they stood together as a team. If Sakura hadn't mentioned it by chance, Hikigaya wouldn't have known just how much pressure this book-loving girl had been enduring. Because of that, his first impression of Manabe Shiho had been terrible from the start.
Now that Manabe and her group were out of sight, Karuizawa lowered her head, trying to slip away from the area as quickly as possible.
"Hey, Karuizawa. No one ever taught you what you're supposed to say in a situation like this?"
Hikigaya's words made Karuizawa freeze in place just as she had taken a few steps.
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