Errand Fee

"It's okay. I'll step out for a bit."

Hachiman Hikigaya forced a smile at her, telling her not to worry about him. From the corner of his eye, he caught Horikita seeming to let out a breath of relief. Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, though he had no idea why.

Yamauchi happily helped Hachiman out of the Library. Though Horikita had given him a thorough scolding, getting two thousand points out of Hachiman made it well worth it.

At the Library entrance, Hachiman motioned for Yamauchi to stop.

"What is it?"

With an apologetic look on his face, Hachiman said, "Sorry. Horikita's words were a little harsh."

"If anyone's apologizing, it should be her. What's it got to do with you?" Yamauchi said, displeased.

Then, as if he had suddenly thought of something, his expression tightened as he demanded, "Wait, you're not dating Horikita, are you? I'm not letting you get a girlfriend before me!"

Hachiman: ...

Sometimes, these guys' train of thought was really too much for him to follow.

"No. Horikita's always so fierce. She doesn't look like the kind of person who'd ever like me."

"That's true."

"..."

"Anyway, get moving and transfer the points to me." Yamauchi stared at Hachiman and said threateningly, "Don't you dare go back on your word, or else... I'm a black belt in taekwondo."

Yamauchi wore an expression that said, You get it, right?

"I know."

Hachiman gave an awkward smile, then spotted Kushida leaving from the corner of his eye.

It seemed even kind-tempered Kushida couldn't stand Horikita's venomous tongue.

"Sorry, Yamauchi, I left something in the classroom. Could you go get it for me?"

"Huh?" Yamauchi's face was full of impatience.

"No way. I don't want to do something that troublesome."

"I'll give you another five thousand points. Consider it an errand fee."

His eyes gleamed brightly. Watching Yamauchi's eager retreating figure, Hachiman slowly straightened up, no longer looking weak at all.

Not long after Yamauchi left, someone else emerged from the Library.

"Are you okay?" Ayanokoji's exceptional powers of observation allowed him to quickly notice Hachiman nearby.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. The atmosphere in there just felt a little heavy, so I found an excuse to slip away."

Ayanokoji nodded, then prepared to leave.

"Where are you going?" Hachiman called after him.

Ayanokoji turned back to look at him and explained, "I wanted to apologize to Kushida. After all, I was the one who asked her to help, but it ended up like this."

"It's fine. I already apologized to her, so you should head back to the Dormitory first, Ayanokoji."

Ayanokoji paused. Hachiman didn't look like he was lying, and there was no need for him to insist.

"Got it."

Without any doubts, he left the Library. Whether he returned to the Dormitory or went elsewhere, Hachiman had no idea.

Watching his retreating back, Hachiman narrowed his eyes slightly.

"This is so damn annoying! Horikita, that bitch, is seriously driving me crazy! Who the hell would study with someone who acts like that? What a stupid woman!"

Kushida stood in the stairwell on the top floor of the school building, viciously cursing as she kicked the wall hard to vent the anger inside her.

Her face wore a terrifying expression, completely unlike her usual gentle self.

By this time, the students had long since gone home. Even the diligent students who wanted to study a little longer wouldn't remain in the school building.

Only under such conditions did Kushida dare to vent her emotions without restraint, fully revealing her true self.

Kushida enjoyed this. Only at times like this could she cast off her disguise and stop maintaining a side of herself that even disgusted her.

With a clang, Kushida froze. Her heartbeat suddenly sped up, a chill ran down her back, and a buzzing filled her head.

"Who's there?" Kushida suddenly turned and looked into the darkness below.

"I saw you," Kushida said in a threatening tone.

Seemingly frightened by Kushida, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

Kushida frowned. The person who had come out was Yamauchi from the Idiot Trio.

Why was he still wandering around the school building at this hour? Had he heard her?

A string of questions surfaced in Kushida's mind.

"What are you doing here, Yamauchi?" Kushida asked.

Kushida clasped her hands behind her back, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

"You've got to be kidding me, Little Kushida?"

Yamauchi looked as though he had seen a ghost, utterly unable to believe the truth he had heard.

Kushida's face immediately turned pale. So he really had heard it. He had heard what she was truly like.

"Did I do something?"

Kushida gently took Yamauchi's hand, intending to carry out the plan in her heart.

Still unable to accept what had happened, Yamauchi felt no joy at all from Kushida holding his hand.

Kushida's expression instantly turned cold as she tried to press his hand against herself.

But then...

"Yamauchi, why are you here?"

A voice came from the darkness nearby. Kushida immediately released Yamauchi's hand as Hachiman gradually emerged into view.

Both of them turned to look to the side. Hachiman looked at the two of them as well, then put on a surprised expression.

"No way, Yamauchi. Are you confessing to Kushida? That won't do. Sneaking ahead like this will make Ike mad."

Hachiman waved his hand, then grabbed Yamauchi's and said, "I'm not letting you confess to Kushida either."

"Sorry, Kushida. You don't need to feel troubled. Just pretend nothing happened."

After saying that, Hachiman dragged Yamauchi away while muttering under his breath.

He really looked like someone who couldn't accept his friend secretly confessing to a girl.

Once their footsteps had completely vanished beyond the stairs, Kushida slammed her fist into the wall and viciously bit her lip.

"What an idiot! I actually got seen by an idiot like that!"

Kushida did not suspect Hachiman at all. If the two had been together from the start, Yamauchi would never have looked surprised upon seeing him.

A ruthless glint flashed through her eyes, and the shadow on the floor stretched longer and longer.

"Hey, Hachiman, let me tell you..."

"Ah, I completely forgot to transfer your points." Hachiman suddenly realized, took out his phone, and transferred seven thousand points to Yamauchi.

"Sorry for troubling you. Keep this a secret, okay? Don't let anyone know I transferred seven thousand points to you. Otherwise, they'll all come asking to borrow points from me."

Hachiman waved his phone, then waved goodbye to the dumbfounded Yamauchi and left the school building.

Yamauchi stared at the seven thousand points displayed on his phone, mulling over Hachiman's words.

He had no idea what exactly Hachiman wanted him to keep secret.

The points? Or the fact that he had seen Kushida like that?

He didn't know. All he knew was that he wouldn't have to eat free food for a while.

But... Yamauchi's lips curled up slightly. He had thought of another way to avoid eating free food in the future.