Ichinose Is Dating Me

Ever since parting ways with Sakura a few days ago, Hikigaya had not sought her out alone again.

Constantly approaching her might create negative feelings. For a girl who had shut herself away for protection, the right approach was not to charge forward relentlessly, but to take things slowly and steadily.

That way, he would not leave a bad impression in her heart.

Still, they had been messaging each other these past few days. Though it was only about trivial little things, Hikigaya could tell that Sakura was gradually letting down her guard around him.

From beginning to end, Hikigaya had never mentioned anything related to this incident, precisely so she would not feel pressured.

The judgment would come after school next Monday afternoon. This weekend was Hikigaya's final chance.

If he could not gain Sakura's approval this weekend, expulsion would be his only remaining path.

That afternoon, the dismissal bell rang. Hikigaya packed his things and prepared to go speak with Sakura.

At that moment, he received a message from someone.

"Come on, let's go ask around again and see if there are any other witnesses."

Horikita rose wearily, pondering a way to resolve this crisis.

"Sorry, you go ahead."

Hikigaya gave her a brief greeting, ignored Horikita's reaction, and walked straight out of the classroom.

Horikita was left standing there in confusion, muttering to herself, "What a selfish request."

After leaving the school building, Hikigaya arrived at the meeting place.

In that deserted spot stood someone. She seemed to be spacing out, but when she noticed someone approaching, she looked up.

Upon seeing that it was Hikigaya, she flashed an incredibly friendly smile, raised her right hand high, and waved energetically.

"Hikigaya-kun."

Hikigaya walked over. Faced with the request of someone he had known for less than a day, he did not feel impatient.

"What did you need me for, Ichinose?"

That was right. The one who had invited Hikigaya to meet was Honami Ichinose, whom he had only met that morning.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you to help me with."

Hikigaya nodded, signaling for her to continue.

"Recently, I received something like... a love letter. The sender asked to meet me after school today."

In a situation like this, it was probably a confession, right?

Hikigaya had experienced something similar himself, though it should probably be considered a trap someone had set for him.

"Being confessed to should be something worth being happy about, shouldn't it? So why did you call me here? Don't tell me..."

Hikigaya gave her a suspicious look. "You want to brag about being confessed to and make this single guy suffer?"

Hearing that, Ichinose froze for a moment before letting out a laugh.

"No, it's not as bad as you think."

Ichinose waved her hands. "I don't actually plan on dating anyone, but I don't know what I should do to avoid hurting the other person's feelings. I thought Hikigaya-kun was so handsome that you must have lots of experience with this kind of thing, so I wanted to ask you to teach me what to do."

I see. Despite being this cute, she has no experience being confessed to?

No matter how he looked at it, that did not seem possible.

So she really was here to brag after all?

"Actually, I don't have any experience in that area either."

Hikigaya told the truth. Other than Manabe, he had never been confessed to.

"I see..."

Ichinose lowered her head, disappointed by the answer.

"But if you have an idea, I can cooperate with you."

Hikigaya added that, and Ichinose's eyes immediately lit up.

"Then I won't hold back! I actually have thought of a way."

The corner of Hikigaya's mouth twitched slightly. So this was what you really wanted all along, huh?

"Pretend to be my boyfriend?"

Ichinose laid out her plan. After giving it some thought, Hikigaya decided to agree.

"Sure."

"Great!"

Ichinose clapped her hands together and laughed happily.

"Ichinose... who is this?"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar figure appeared before them.

Hikigaya had no impression of her whatsoever. He was sure he had never met her.

Her features were rather boyish. If she had not been wearing a skirt, she would probably have looked like a very handsome girl.

"Huh? Is that Hikigaya-kun?"

Although Hikigaya did not know her, judging by her reaction, he was honored to have left an impression on her.

"Hello."

Hikigaya politely greeted her.

"Why is Hikigaya-kun here?"

Chihiro looked at Ichinose in confusion, wanting an answer from her. She had clearly only called Ichinose here.

"Ah... well..."

"Is Ichinose dating Hikigaya-kun?"

Chihiro uncertainly asked what was on her mind. A faint mist appeared in her eyes as she waited dejectedly for the answer.

Seeing her like that, Ichinose could not bear to deceive her instead.

"Yes, Ichinose is dating me."

Hikigaya answered first, giving Ichinose no chance to deny it.

"Huh?"

Ichinose cried out in surprise at Hikigaya's sudden affirmation.

The next second, a large hand wrapped around her waist, making sure Chihiro saw it clearly.

"Huh? W-Wait, Hikigaya-kun..."

Ichinose panicked, never expecting Hikigaya to actually put his hands on her.

Hikigaya gave her a look. If you want me to help you, then you have to pay some kind of price, right?

He had to admit, wrapping his arm around a girl's waist for the first time in his life felt pretty nice.

He was even a little nervous, and his palm had started sweating. That said, this uniform should be pretty thick, right? It'd be bad if my sweat soaked through the fabric around Ichinose's waist. [Epic joke (๑•́₃•̀๑)]

"Sorry, but if you don't need anything else, we're going on a date."

"I..."

Chihiro wanted to say something, but seeing how intimate the two of them looked, the flame in her heart was extinguished.

She lowered her head in dispirited silence and stepped aside to make way for them.

"Sorry, Chihiro."

Ichinose apologized awkwardly, and the two of them left together.

"Sorry, I acted on my own."

Before Ichinose could question him, Hikigaya removed his hand from her waist. Once they were out of Chihiro's sight, he promptly admitted his mistake.

The sincerity in Hikigaya's eyes seemed to say that he had not done it on purpose and had merely been helping her.

"It's okay. I'm the one who should thank you. Thank you for being willing to help with my unreasonable request."

This is what it means to have the heart of an angel. She did not blame him at all. Even though he had taken advantage of her, she was not angry.

What a wonderful girl. If only she could like me...

"To show my gratitude, let me buy you a drink, Hikigaya-kun!"

Ichinose extended the invitation, and Hikigaya nodded in agreement.