Are Masumi's Lips Soft?

"Hey, Hikigaya. You look like you got hurt pretty badly... But why's your whole face bright red?"

"Shut up. Don't bring it up."

Hashimoto, who'd arrived at the arcade first, asked with a curious look. I shot back at him. When Kamuro chased Hashimoto and me, Hashimoto managed to get away thanks to his speed, but Kamuro caught me. I tried to shake her by taking a detour, but in the end she cornered me behind the dorm and slapped me. To make matters worse, I stumbled from the impact, got my legs tangled with Kamuro's, and we both fell. As we went down, her lips landed right on my cheek. Kamuro ran off with her face bright red, but the shame of it still lingered in my mind.

"Hah—hah, what was it? Did you touch Kamuro's chest when you fell?"

"No."

I immediately denied it in the face of Hashimoto's leering grin. It wasn't a lie.

"Then her ass?"

"You should stop making sexually harassing comments. For the record, I didn't do anything."

I might have caused the accident, but Kamuro was the one who'd kissed me.

"By the way, I can't believe you just left me behind."

"Sorry, but I didn't want to die."

"Then die in the classroom tomorrow. Anyway, let's go into the arcade."

"Sure."

We walked into the arcade, and its characteristic din washed over us.

"Let's start with a racing game. Loser buys the drinks."

"Yeah, yeah."

I followed Hashimoto to the racing machines and took a seat, lining my terminal up with the steering wheel. A beep sounded, and 100 Private Points were deducted. After I accepted Hashimoto's challenge, the screen showed the cars we'd picked along with six CPU racers. The instant the countdown hit zero, I slammed on the accelerator and charged straight at Hashimoto's car, aiming to take the lead with a sideswipe. But—

"Ah!"

Apparently Hashimoto had the same idea. Our cars collided violently and bounced apart, letting several CPU cars overtake us. I ended up fifth, and he was sixth. Damn, Hashimoto, going for a demolition derby right off the starting line? You've got guts.

I clicked my tongue under my breath as I sped around the bend, hugging the curve and overtaking several cars. By the final stretch, I was in first and Hashimoto was second. But he'd passed me several times already, and the race was still up in the air. The decisive point was the bend up ahead. Once we made it through, it'd be a straightaway, so he was bound to make his move here.

Just as I focused on getting through the bend—

"Shit, Kamuro!"

"What!?"

At Hashimoto's mutter, the sensation of those soft lips came rushing back to my cheek. And she had to show up at the arcade now... Wait?

"GOAL!"

I looked around, but Kamuro was nowhere to be seen. The only thing I heard was the announcement that the game had ended. The screen showed Hashimoto overtaking me to take first place.

Ah, that bastard had played me.

"You lowdown bastard!"

I threw my canned coffee at Hashimoto, but he just grinned stupidly.

"Sorry, sorry. But you freaked out as soon as you heard Kamuro's name. Something definitely happened, didn't it?"

"Shut up."

How could I possibly tell him? Even if it was an accident, I'd been kissed on the cheek...

"Okay, okay. Still, you're not as furious as you were in the classroom. This is much better."

Hashimoto's words reminded me that I'd forgotten about being angry at Sudo. My anger was much weaker now than it had been in the classroom. It seemed that once I forgot about it, I couldn't get back to the same level of anger.

"Looks like it."

"You were seriously scary back then. I'm relieved you've calmed down. So? How do you think this is going to end?"

Hashimoto was talking about the assault incident.

"Personally, I hope Class C pulls through."

"Instant answer. You really don't care about your own class at all, do you?"

"Why would I? I only have one of my classmates' contact details saved."

And I'd only saved that because the other person wanted the whole class to exchange contacts. Otherwise, my count would've been zero. I didn't mind, though.

"One..."

"Don't look at me like I'm an alien."

"No, that's just ridiculous. How many people do you have in your contacts altogether?"

My contact list should've had...

"Class A has Sakanayanagi and Kamuro, Class B has Ichinose, Class C has Ryuen and Hiyori, and Class D has Kushida. That makes seven people, I guess?"

"You've got the big shots from every class in your contacts, so why have you only saved one person from your own class? And you've only got seven people..."

"None of your business. How many do you have?"

"Me? About... thirty-four, I guess."

"That's way too many."

"I'm in the Tennis Club, so I've got the upperclassmen's contact details too."

"You're in the Tennis Club? You?"

"Can't really argue with you there, but Kamuro's even more surprising. She's in the Art Club."

What? Kamuro was in the Art Club? That was even more unexpected than Hashimoto being in the Tennis Club. Still, Kamuro did seem more suited to a cultural club than an athletic one.

"That's surprising... Anyway, back to the assault incident. If things keep going this way, Sudo will be suspended and Class D will lose Class Points. That's exactly the outcome I'm hoping for."

That would make Sudo behave himself, and I could enjoy some peace and quiet after school. If he still didn't get his act together, I'd follow Class C's example and make him drop out.

"Sounds like there was a witness, but don't get your hopes up."

"Why not?"

"She's even more reluctant than me to interact with people. And she's in Class D too."

"I see. Since she's in the same class, people might suspect her of colluding with us."

"Plus, she didn't come forward when our homeroom teacher asked for witnesses."

If Sakura had identified Sudo when Chabashira-sensei asked, that would've helped. Claiming after the fact that she'd witnessed it would be less credible. Besides, we had no solid proof that Sakura had seen anything. Without conclusive evidence, her value as a witness was limited.

"Class D will try to get his punishment reduced, right?"

"That'd be the best option, but..."

I had a feeling it wouldn't go smoothly. Sudo didn't think he'd done anything wrong at all. He might even cause a scene at the hearing and make his punishment worse.

"Either way, it won't affect me, so I don't care what happens."

Even if our Class Points dropped to zero, there were plenty of ways to earn Private Points. Besides, if Sudo were found not guilty, he'd only get more arrogant and fail to reflect on his actions. Losing Class Points would be better.

"Forget that. Let's play a fighting game next. Best of five, and the loser buys dinner."

"Limit's a thousand points."

With that, we headed over to the game machines.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back, Hachiman. You're late today."

"I got a little carried away."

After spending the evening messing around with Hashimoto at the arcade, the Maid Cafe, and the bookstore until ten, I returned to the dorm. Hiyori, dressed in her pajamas, came to greet me. Just seeing her was healing...

"Is that so? But please don't spend too much money."

"I know. At least for July, I won't let my Private Points drop below 1.6 million."

I easily spent over a hundred thousand points every month, but to be safe, I set a minimum at the start of each month. At the beginning of July, I had... points, and I'd decided not to let them fall below 1.6 million, no matter what.

"That's good. I've already run your bath."

"Thanks. I'm always imposing on you."

I couldn't thank Hiyori enough.

"I've told you many times. I'm just doing what I want to do."

Damn, she really was healing. I wanted to kill Sudo for insulting this oasis of peace.

"Even so, I still have to thank you. By the way, I'm going to take a bath. Go to sleep if you're tired."

I'd had too much fun today, so I was planning to turn in early.

"No. If I go to sleep first, I won't get my goodnight kiss. I'll wait."

S-she actually went there... That was completely beyond my expectations.

My heart trembling, I nodded to Hiyori and headed to the changing room to get undressed. Just as I was about to put the terminal from my pocket on the washing machine, a new email came in.

The sender seemed to be Sakanayanagi. What did she want this late at night?

Puzzled, I opened the email—

"Are Masumi's lips soft?"

"Cough!"

It seemed that even the most sadistic girl in the entire school had found out about the thing I least wanted anyone to know.

"...I'm going to bed now, Hiyori."

Sakanayanagi's email had left me distracted. I'd spent my bath remembering what Kamuro's lips felt like, and now I had to sleep in the same bed as Hiyori... If my classmates found out, they'd definitely stab me to death.

"Okay. Hachiman, go ahead."

As she spoke, she tilted her forehead up and got ready.

"Okay... Good night."

Kiss.

After I gently kissed her forehead, Hiyori nodded, her face red.

"...Mm, good night, Hachiman."

Kiss.

She kissed my forehead in return, then hugged me tightly. This clingy girl... Please, by all means, cling to me even more.

No... I'm begging you.