Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

Page 113

After all, Hoshinomiya was Ichinose's homeroom teacher, and he felt that Ichinose would be saddened if Hoshinomiya were dismissed.

"Understood, I will keep an eye on her."

On the balcony of the teachers' dormitory, Chazusa leaned against the wall, silently gazing at the dark night sky, the cigarette butt in her hand remaining untouched in the ashtray beside her.

The joy of being promoted to Class A faded considerably as she recalled the years she had been entangled with Hoshinomiya.

Although she was constantly reminded of how serious the mistakes she had made were, the existence of her friend Hoshinomiya was undoubtedly one of the reasons why she was able to stick with Class D for so many years without giving up.

"Chihui."

Softly murmuring his friend's name, Chazhu took a deep drag on his cigarette, finishing the last bit.

After standing there silently for a while, the red dot that had disappeared reappeared on the balcony.

"I think I heard Hoshinomiya-sensei's name." Ichinose said to the air in front of her after swallowing a mouthful of noodles made by Hikigaya Aio while sitting on the cushion.

Hikigaya left the kitchen door open, and she could hear him making a phone call from inside the room.

"That call was to Chabashira. Hoshinomiya's emotions have been a bit unstable lately, so I asked her to keep an eye on her."

Hikigaya, who was sitting cross-legged behind Ichinose, was using a relatively quiet hairdryer to dry Ichinose's still slightly damp long hair.

"You know that it's unacceptable for Hoshinomiya that Chabashira's class was promoted to Class A. Be careful about it lately."

"No matter what, Hoshinomiya-sensei wouldn't lay a hand on a student in her own class, would she?"

Ichinose half-closed her eyes, enjoying the warm breeze coming from behind her. The warmth on her back and stomach made her feel sleepy.

"Just a reminder, it's not good to sleep right after eating," Hachiman said gently, the laziness in Ichinose's words all too obvious.

"hey-hey."

With a smile on her face, Ichinose leaned back and nestled into Hikigaya's arms.

Chapter 216 Chocolate Tasting Contest

"Close the gate and release Horikita."

"Go to hell!"

With a cold expression, Horikita Suzune took out a pack of tissues and threw it at her boss's face.

February 10th.

When the Friends Club stormed the student council for the third time, both of the student council's top lieutenants betrayed them, leading to the capture of the then-student council president, Hachiman Hikigaya, by Asahina once again.

"Just go to any supermarket in the center of Zelkova, buy a piece, unpack it, repackage it, and say you made it yourself," Hachiman sighed.

Four days later is February 14th, a holiday he had never been able to celebrate before—Valentine's Day.

Women give men chocolates on Valentine's Day.

An advertising strategy devised by a factory to promote its chocolates gradually gained acceptance and became a tradition over time.

"Benming chocolate" is given to a man you like.

"Oath chocolate" is given to ordinary male friends, colleagues, or superiors.

"It's not really right to lie." Asahina put her hands on Yukino's shoulders. "Yukino has already agreed to be the head chef, so all you need to do is come and try the food and give us your feedback."

At someone's urging, Asahina was pushed to lead a handmade chocolate workshop, teaching girls how to make handmade chocolates to give to the boys they liked.

The purpose of this visit was to have him, a male, act as a taste tester and provide feedback.

“Unlike most guys, I prefer sweeter things, so it would be better if you found a more ordinary guy, like—” Hachiman paused.

Images of Katsuragi, Ryuen, Horikita Manabu, and other boys he was relatively close to flashed through his mind, all of whom gave him the feeling that he was not up to the task.

So does that mean he doesn't have a single ordinary male friend?

"Several girls specifically requested that a junior be their taste tester, and Shiina felt the same way."

"........"

Hiyori's there too, so I have to go.

Hikigaya's heart tightened; even if it was the chocolate Shiina had made, he didn't want other boys to taste it.

"Can I participate too, Asahina-senpai?" Ichinose interjected.

"Of course you can. If Ichinose-san is coming, then junior can't not come either, right?"

Asahina flashed a victorious smile and gently shook her head, the cute sunflower hair accessory on her head swaying with her long hair.

Hikigaya smiled upon seeing this—a somewhat bitter smile.

............

............

Shortly after the student council was disbanded.

The cooking club, which was borrowed by the friends' club using personal points, now has more students than when the cooking club was doing its club activities.

Class A of the first year consists of six students: Yukinoshita, Horikita, Shiina, Hasebe, Sakura, and Karuizawa.

Class 1-B has fewer students, with only two: Ichinose and Kushida. Class 1-D, on the other hand, consists of a three-girl group led by Sakayanagi.

"Why is the junior sweating even though he hasn't done anything?"

While everyone was learning how to make handmade chocolates under Yukinoshita's guidance, Asahina and Hikigaya were chatting while leaning against the wall near the entrance of the cooking department.

Asahina, who had already been taught how to make handmade chocolates by Yukinoshita, was looking at Hikigaya with a teasing gaze, who seemed a little troubled.

"Maybe I'm just prone to sweating," Hachiman chuckled.

If he could, he really wanted to leave this classroom. He hadn't been standing there for ten minutes when he met the gazes of several girls in the room, especially Sakayanagi Arisu's intriguing look, which made him even more uneasy.

Don't cause me any trouble, Miss Arisu.

"How about we have a competition to see who makes the best chocolate, Ichinose-kun?"

With her adorable face full of smiles, Sakayanagi instantly dashed Hikigaya's hopes.

After Ichinose agreed, Shiina also joined, and then Karuizawa joined, eventually leading to a situation where almost everyone was competing for first place, except for the three aloof girls Horikita, Yukinoshita, and Kamuro.

"I almost regret asking you to comfort Sakayanagi that day." Kamuro glanced at Hikigaya, who was hiding next to her and pretending to be busy.

Although Sakayanagi had escaped Ayanokouji's expulsion that day, she felt as if Sakayanagi had fallen into another deep pit and saw no hope of escaping.

It was Sakayanagi who pushed for Asahina to hold the chocolate-making workshop, and she didn't think it was a good thing that Sakayanagi had developed feelings for Hikigaya.

Although she didn't think Hachiman was a bad person.

However, it might be easier to handle if Hikigaya were a bad person.

"Ugh."

"Don't keep sighing to yourself, I'm the one who wants to sigh." Hachiman, always looking for trouble, picked up the chocolate mold used to hold the shape of chocolates on Kamuro's table and weighed it a few times.

Based on his understanding of the personalities of the girls present, it was no surprise that the person who initiated this craft activity was Sakayanagi.

"Hehe, I think you're enjoying it, being liked by so many pretty and cute girls."

"Leaving here is what I want most right now, sob—"

As Hachiman answered Kamuro with a wry smile, Kamuro shoved a spoon covered in chocolate sauce directly into Hachiman's mouth, the bitter taste exploding in his mouth.

Because the sweetness needs to be adjusted by herself, the raw chocolate that Asahina bought was all sugar-free.

The chocolate that was stuffed into Hachiman's mouth was this kind of chocolate that had almost no sweetness.

"You should know that running away from problems won't work, right, Hachiman?" Kamuro put the spoon away.

"Of course I know that, I will resolve it as soon as possible."

Swallowing the bitter chocolate sauce, Hachiman answered Kamuro seriously.

He will find a time to have a proper talk with Sakayanagi and cut the Gordian knot.

If he misunderstood, he could bear being mocked by her.

"That's good."

After giving a calm reply, Kamuro continued what she was doing, filling the already liquefied chocolate into a heart-shaped mold.

"No sugar at all? Usually, at least a little bit is added. My mouth still tastes bitter." Hachiman was a little curious. He used a heart-shaped mold, but the chocolate he was making was sugar-free.

Does Kamuro like guys who don't like sweets?

"I don't like sweets."

"...I thought you were going to give it away."

The heart-shaped mold led Hachiman to make a misjudgment. Would an average person choose a heart-shaped mold when making chocolate for themselves?

Besides, what's so delicious about chocolate that doesn't have any added sugar?

Sweets are justice, Kamuro!

While secretly complaining, Hachiman approached Horikita Suzune. The quickest and most efficient girl had already finished making the chocolate and put it in the freezer to speed up the solidification process.

"Is there any for me?" Hikigaya joked, trying to find humor in the situation.

With her mind filled with images of her brother's back, Horikita Suzune had no concept of romance, which was quite comforting for her.

Chapter 217 You'll Know Once You Read It

"Go back to sleep now, and you'll have all sorts of dreams."

While cleaning up the used kitchen utensils, Horikita Suzune merely glanced coldly at Hachiman before lowering her head to continue what she was doing.

She wasn't oblivious; she could tell who was behind the strange atmosphere in the cooking class.

The fact that the newly elected student council president is having affairs is a disgrace to her brother, the former student council president.

"I wish I could go back." Hachiman scratched his head. How could he possibly run away in this classroom situation?

"Deserved it."

"Yes, I deserve it. Did I report to the senior that I was promoted to Class A? What did the senior say?"

Knowing why Horikita was acting this way, he decided to find other topics to talk about to pass the time during this agonizing period.

February is already a third of the way through, and the end of March is fast approaching for the third-year students to graduate.

If the two siblings still can't resolve their misunderstandings, they'll have to wait another two years before they can meet and clear their minds.

"No, but if it were my brother, he would have known by now." Horikita's expression was somewhat somber. "Perhaps it's because I didn't play a significant role in it, so he didn't acknowledge me."

“You can be more confident. If it weren’t for your hard work, the other students’ grades wouldn’t have improved so much. You also helped a lot during the sports festival and the forest school exams.”

Seeing Horikita's weak appearance, Hikigaya felt a bit annoyed at his lack of ambition. He was usually a confident and sassy elite, but he turned into such a coward when his brother was mentioned.

She felt that she would do anything to force someone to kneel down, even if it meant threatening Horikita's reputation, and that she placed her brother's interests above all else.

She seemed to have no sense of self in front of Horikita Manabu.

"Tell me what kind of girl your senior likes." Hachiman suddenly remembered something.

In order for the two siblings to reconcile as soon as possible, he would occasionally probe Horikita-senpai while chatting with him about why Horikita-senpai had chosen to distance himself from Horikita Suzune, the cute little sister who devoted herself to him.

Naturally, he also asked how he could tell if Horikita Suzune no longer needed him to distance himself from her so she could grow up.

You'll know once you see it.

These were Horikita Manabu's words to Hikigaya at the time, which he failed to understand.

"Why so suddenly?!" Horikita Suzune stopped what she was doing, a look of surprise flashing across her face.

"Never mind that, I have my reasons. Tell me what his requirements are for the girls he wants to date."

"Ideally, she should have long hair. My brother said he likes girls with long hair."

Under Hikigaya's persistent questioning, Horikita Suzune suddenly remembered what her brother had told her when they were out of school. She also recalled that she had grown her hair long after listening to her brother's advice.

It's difficult to manage and it gets very hot in the summer. It takes almost half an hour to blow-dry your hair after showering every day, which is a huge waste of time.

With a gentle flick, the waist-length hair that she had previously disliked crossed her right arm and came to Horikita Suzune's front. The well-maintained hair, under the incandescent light, gave the impression of being as smooth as silk to the touch.

"If I'm not mistaken, Horikita, have you always liked short hair?"

Given Horikita Suzune's clean and efficient, strong-woman-like style, and considering that she often blow-dries Ichinose's hair and knows how troublesome it is, Hikigaya believes that Horikita Suzune probably wouldn't like long hair.