COTE: Broadcast of Hikigaya Hachiman

Chapter 26:

　　He never found the real thing, but he was constantly searching for a relationship that could accommodate no lies.

　　For Sudo, perhaps he was honest enough with himself and could be called real, but Hikigaya could not do that without hiding anything, so deep down, he could not accept this relationship for the time being.

　　Maybe three years later, he still doesn't have a friend, but it doesn't matter. As long as this relationship exists in the world, he will continue to look for it.

　　Hikigaya that night had shaken Kikyo Kushida's heart too many times. Although she had never shown her true face, it still caused a crack in her heart that she could never show.

　　But it's not the right time yet.

　　If at that time, when he was being criticized by everyone, he could still speak these words for himself, perhaps Kushida would be able to truly recognize him.

　　There was no need to argue any further, time would tell. At this moment, Kushida once again leaned close to Hikigaya's ear and said:

　　"Remember, you still owe me a date."

　　After showing that meaningful smile, Kushida picked up all the garbage that had been collected and turned to leave the room.

　　"Good night, then."

　　"Bang."

　　As the door of the room was closed tightly again, Hikigaya's entire body instantly softened like plasticine.

　　"So scary... So scary, so scary, so scary..."

　　'No more single men and women in the same room...'

　　'But now I understand it better, I'm afraid that's why Kushida hates Horikita so much and wants to replace Horikita so much, and also why Horikita resists Kushida so much.'

　　More than once, Kushida wanted to completely expel Horikita from this class, and Horikita also clearly refused to cooperate with Kushida more than once.

　　Presumably, that's because Horikita already knew about Kushida's other side, so they became enemies.

　　"I am a little curious about how bad her true appearance is..."

　　Although it sounded a bit arrogant to say this, he still felt that there couldn't be anyone more annoying than someone like himself.

**

　　[Yukinoshita: "It seems that someone still has some self-awareness."]

　　[Hikigaya smiled confidently: "After all, he once topped the 'least popular' list, so this is very clear. Of course, the number one on the 'most popular' list is Hayama..."]

　　[Yuigahama: "Hikki, do you have some inexplicable desire to win on some strange list?"]

　　[Isshiki: "It's not surprising that Senior Hayama topped most popular list, but it's really scary that you topped that list."]

　　Hikigaya said with some confidence: "After all, topping this list shows that I am definitely not completely without a sense of existence, right?"

　　[Yukinoshita patted her head helplessly, and said as if to comfort herself: "You are the only one who can deceive yourself like this."]

**

　　I had a good sleep after a long time, feeling the beauty of the air. The only unpleasant thing was that the alarm clock rang on time.

　　In this school, without Komachi's morning wake-up function, it is really not an easy thing to get up. This happens even when the weather is so suitable now. I really don't know what to do in winter.

　　Hikigaya tidied up his room, put his schoolbag on his shoulders, and finally stepped out of this confined place.

　　After pressing the elevator button familiarly, Hikigaya yawned loudly again.

　　"Ahhhh…."

　　"Please don't make any strange noises so early in the morning."

　　Horikita looked at Hikigaya in front of her. At this moment, she still had that expressionless face.

　　Instead, it was Kushida who was behind Horikita, who greeted him with her angelic look as always.

　　Seeing that Hikigaya didn't answer, Horikita asked seriously:

　　"Would you like to take the elevator?"

　　"Please let me take..."

　　Although he didn't know what was going on, Hikigaya was really shocked to see these two people riding in the same elevator. This was an absolutely impossible combination... just like himself and Hayama.

　　"Good morning, Hikigaya."

　　"Oh, good morning, Kushida."

　　"Your hair is all sticky..."

　　"Don't talk nonsense, it's an heirloom."

　　"Hahahaha, Hikigaya you're really interesting."

　　Kushida showed that angelic smile, and put her fingers in his hair and kept spinning them.

　　This look would make anyone very approachable, but Hikigaya couldn't accept the fact that Kushida's true appearance was not like this.

　　Hikigaya took two steps forward and said something in a voice that only he and Horikita could hear:

　　"It's rare to see you and Kushida act together."

　　Hearing this, Horikita frowned tightly and showed an impatient expression.

　　"She was the one guarding my door."

　　"I see."

　　"Ding Dong."

　　As the elevator arrived, the students in the same elevator walked out one after another, and so did Horikita, who seemed to have no intention of staying.

　　"That's right... After all, she and I are not even friends."

　　Just as Hikigaya was thinking this, Kushida behind him was waiting for Hikigaya.

　　She moved closer to Hikigaya and put her index finger to her face, looking very cute.

　　"I thought I could go to school with her..."

　　"Don't force people to do this kind of thing..."

　　Hikigaya looked at Horikita in the distance, who was also about to embark on the terrifying journey to the classroom.

　　"Good morning, Kushida."

　　Outside the other elevator, the pink girl called out Kushida's name in high spirits.

　　The one who came forward was a girl with long pink hair, the leader of the angels that Hikigaya had briefly talked to in Class B...

　　"Ichinose!"

　　If we stand together, we will definitely be misunderstood...

　　Hikigaya thought so and took a step forward, preparing to leave.

　　But...it seems too late.

　　Ichinose arrived in front of the two of them at some unknown speed, and blocked Hikigaya's way with her plump body.

　　She looked at the boy in front of her with an innocent gaze, then waved to him with a smile.

　　"And you, good morning, Hikigaya."

　　"Ohhh... Good morning."

　　Hearing the boy's perfunctory reply, Ichinose said as if he was throwing a tantrum:

　　"You haven't forgotten my name, have you?"

　　"Ichinose-san..."

　　"Uh-huh! Bingo!"

　　Only when she heard the boy calling her name did the girl reveal an innocent smile.

　　Unlike Kushida's, this smile is absolutely genuine, without even any other emotions. This guy is a true angel.

　　Hikigaya could feel that the feeling brought by Ichinose in front of him was definitely not the same as the feeling of disharmony brought by Kushida.

　　Although this was not their first meeting, in fact, it was their first real communication.

　　"I thought you had forgotten my name."

　　"Hahahaha Hikigaya you're such a joker. You're the first boy I met in this school and we exchanged names separately. And then you caused such a big fuss in Class D. It's really unbelievable."

　　"I'm really sorry. After all, the first boy you met was such a difficult type. It must be very troublesome for you..."

　　There was no other emotion in the words of Ichinose in front of him, he was just simply repeating what happened in the past.

　　There were no deliberate movements, nor deliberately artificial words, but one could instantly feel the gentleness. No wonder... this guy could unite the entire Class B in an instant.

　　This is simply an angel descended to the earth.

　　But unfortunately, Hikigaya Hachiman doesn't buy it.

　　Kushida seemed a little surprised to hear Ichinose's words.

　　After all, Hikigaya, who had always been alone in Class D, actually met the socialite of this grade so early.

　　Although Hikigaya Hachiman was a little surprised that the girl in front of him still remembered him, he did not find it incredible. After all, as socialites, their skill is to remember the names of all the people they know without realizing it. It is really amazing.

　　In Hikigaya's own memory, even though he had communicated with that classmate Kawa, and they were in the same class, he still forgot his name in the end...

　　As expected, I am not cut out to be a socialite.

　　Just remembering the names of those real-life bastards involuntarily in my mind is already very troublesome. Remembering the names of all of them is simply impossible.

　　As if he had discovered something, Ichinose suddenly took two steps back and scratched his head embarrassedly.

　　"Is Hikigaya-san the boyfriend of Kushida-san?"

　　"Hey, don't say such a life-threatening thing with such an innocent look. How should I answer at this time..."

　　I saw Kushida laughed generously twice, then waved his hand:

　　"No."

　　"Kushida you are awesome..."

　　Ichinose: "Really? I thought..."

　　Kushida: "I don't have a boyfriend yet..."

　　Since Kushida said so, Ichinose didn't want to ask any more questions. Although the distance between the two of them was very ambiguous, it seemed that they had not yet reached that stage.

　　"By the way, did you receive any points today?"

　　Because the topic changed so quickly, Hikigaya and Kushida were stunned for a moment, and then they picked up their phones to check the points.

　　As expected...as expected, the points for this month have not been transferred in.

　　Why would you say that again...

**

　　[Hayama: "There are really a lot of accidents in this school."]

　　[Miura: "Yeah, if it were me, I would have lost my temper a long time ago. And seeing those classmates' fake looks, I got even angrier."]

　　[Hikigaya: "But in this school, there actually is a student as good at dealing with people as Yuigahama..."]

　　[Yuigahama looked around, pointed at herself in confusion and said, "Are you praising me, Hikki?"]

　　[Yukinoshita showed a very heavy expression: "From a certain perspective, it should be..."]

　　[Yuigahama saw Yukinoshita's expression and said with a pleading expression, "Yikinon, your expression is totally unconvincing."]

**

　　Chabashira: "There was a glitch just now, so the points for the first years will be issued later."

　　ike: "Huh?! Really?!"

　　Yamauchi: "This is the school's fault. Is there any compensation?"

　　Chabashira: "I can't help you much in this matter. Points will be issued once the problem is solved. Of course, the premise is that there are still points left in the class."

　　"Oh? That's interesting..."

　　They had clearly said last month that there would be no delay in issuing points, but in the second month, they had already broken the rule they had made before school started.

　　It seems...someone is delaying on purpose.

　　If it was just the first years, then that could only mean that the first years were dragged into some trouble again, and coupled with what Chabashira said... maybe the target of the blame is our class.

　　Apart from the school itself, I'm afraid the only ones who have the power to do all this are the student union and the teachers.