COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya-Chapter 203: Hikki

What the hell is wrong with you guys?!

The instant Hikigaya entered the room, it was like he had a magnetic pull—every student from the other classes turned their attention to him all at once.

Shiranami Chihiro from Ichinose's class, Kamuro from Sakayanagi's class, Ishizaki from Class C, Komiya, and the others all stared at him with a mix of complicated emotions and wariness, as if he were some kind of terrifying figure.

Thankfully, he was used to this kind of awkward atmosphere. His usual dead-fish eyes remained expressionless, even a little cold.

Shiranami Chihiro, Ishizaki, and the others had been nervous ever since they found out they'd be in the same group as Hikigaya. And now, seeing his "scary and emotionless" face in person, their anxiety only deepened.

"Eh? Hikki, what's up?"

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind him.

Hasebe, with her long blue hair, waved at Hikigaya with a bright smile, looking like they were close friends.

"Hi, Hikki?!"

Hikigaya almost tripped on the spot, a wave of embarrassment and frustration washing over him.

"What kind of embarrassing nickname is that?!"

And... why does 'Hikki' sound like a dog's name?!

We just had our first conversation yesterday, so how does she already act like we've been friends for years?!

But Hasebe didn't seem to think there was anything wrong. Instead, she looked at him in confusion.

"Huh? Hikki, why are you just standing at the door and not coming in?"

"I-I..."

Hikigaya opened his mouth, but he had no idea what to say. Before he could react, Hasebe gave him a push from behind, forcing him inside. The people in the room had different reactions.

Shiranami Chihiro widened her eyes at Hikigaya. When she thought about Ichinose, she looked even more upset. Kamuro, on the other hand, gave him a disgusted look as if saying, "What a playboy." Meanwhile, Komiya and Ishizaki were winking at each other, openly showing their envy.

Hikigaya: "..."

Later, as they sat down, Hikigaya awkwardly whispered to Hasebe, asking what was going on. That's when he learned that Hasebe had a habit of giving people nicknames when she became friends with them. "Hikki" was the one she had picked for him.

Hikigaya wanted to correct her, but when the words reached his lips, he hesitated. Then, he sighed. If she had given him a nickname, it meant she already considered him a friend. Even though they had only talked for the first time yesterday, turning down that kind of trust was harder than it seemed.

The first discussion meeting for the "Special Test" officially began, but just as Hikigaya expected, everyone was quiet and careful. It was clear that no one wanted to expose their identity.

The school had sent out emails about the special test that morning. Hikigaya had already confirmed with Hasebe and Inogashira Kokoro that neither of them was the "privileged student." That meant the privileged student was among the students from the other three classes.

"Hey, Hikigaya! Do you know who the privileged student is?!"

Suddenly, Ishizaki's voice caught everyone's attention. Hikigaya glanced at him and replied,

"Yeah, I know. Ishizaki, it's you, right?"

"I-I..."

Ishizaki's face darkened. He had only wanted to test Hikigaya a little, but now Hikigaya had turned the tables on him. Suddenly, all eyes were on Ishizaki instead.

Realizing this, Ishizaki quickly shifted his focus to Class A and Class B. That was also part of the plan Ryuuen had given them—before doing anything else, they needed to stir things up.

After that, Ishizaki started pressing Shiranami Chihiro and Kamuro for answers. Maybe he thought he could push the girls around a little, but Kamuro only gave him a casual, "Ugly guy," which almost made him snap. If Komiya and Albert hadn't stepped in to hold him back, Ishizaki would've rolled up his sleeves and picked a fight right then and there.

Even though Kamuro had fallen to Class B, she and the others weren't people Ishizaki could easily intimidate. He knew that continuing this fight would be pointless, so he turned his attention to Class A—Ichinose's class.

Compared to Kamuro's strong attitude, the students in Ichinose's class seemed a bit weak. Instead of arguing, Shiranami Chihiro and a few other Class A students completely ignored Ishizaki. It looked like they were already used to dealing with Class C's troublemakers.

After all, both Ichinose's class and Sakayanagi's class had dealt with Class C the most in the first semester, especially Ichinose's class. This passive way of defending themselves worked fine at school, where the teachers and the student council could step in. But here, in this exam, Ishizaki had a lot more freedom to cause trouble.

Seeing Ishizaki and Komiya being so aggressive, Shibata Sou from Ichinose's class couldn't hold back anymore and started fighting back. Shibata was probably the third-ranked student in Class A, right after Ichinose and Kanzaki. He was also one of the most popular guys in class, second only to Ichinose himself. As a soccer club member, he had a lot of fans across the whole grade—he was basically the "male version" of Ichinose.

Coincidentally, Satoru Satonaka from Class B was also in this group. According to an unofficial ranking that the girls had made for the most popular first-year boys, the number one spot didn't belong to Hirata but to Satoru Satonaka, who had once been in Class A before dropping to Class B.

Both Satoru Satonaka and Shibata were incredibly popular guys, the type that girls loved. When Hikigaya first saw the group list, he couldn't help but think, "Why didn't Class D send Hirata instead? That way, they could've formed a three-man idol group and debuted!"

"Hikki, it looks like things are just like you said yesterday. There's not even a chance for a proper conversation."

Hasebe whispered to Hikigaya while sitting beside him.

When Hikigaya heard her call him "Hikki" again, he had a brief urge to crawl into a hole and disappear.

"This is probably Class C's strategy."

Forcing himself to ignore the embarrassment, Hikigaya kept a straight face.

"They're trying to find out who the privileged student is through this kind of tactic."

Ishizaki's behavior was easy to understand. Ryuuen also knew that the key to this test lay in Outcome 3 and Outcome 4, so from the very start, he had focused on forcing someone to "betray."

"Hikki, who do you think the privileged student is?"

Hasebe asked curiously.

Even though yesterday was the first time they had talked, Hasebe had already been paying attention to Hikigaya. She noticed that he was in a similar situation as her, but his was even worse. Not only did he have to deal with Karuizawa's group of girls, but he also had to put up with dumb guys like Ike and Yamauchi picking on him. But instead of giving in, he had made them suffer instead.

That was something Hasebe had imagined doing countless times. But unlike Hikigaya, she never had the courage to drag everyone down with her.

This dead-fish-eyed guy had done a lot of things she had always wanted to do but never dared to.

Hasebe couldn't help but admire him a little.

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