COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya

Hikigaya had about eighty percent doubt about Shizuka's explanation, but he didn't show it and just kept it to himself. 

"What a touching teacher-student relationship~~" 

Haruno, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly decided to join the conversation. 

"I never imagined that the 'troublesome little virgin' Shizuka-chan always talks about would turn out to be so amazing. Who would've thought that the mastermind behind that whole incident was actually Hikigaya-kun? You really do surprise me~~" Haruno said with a playful smile. 

Hikigaya's face darkened. "Troublesome little virgin? You didn't just make that up, did you?" 

"Well, okay, I might have added a little personal touch." Haruno shrugged but didn't look the least bit guilty. Meanwhile, Hiratsuka Shizuka was secretly holding back laughter. 

Haruno naturally knew about that scandal involving second-year students at Sobu Middle School. On the surface, it seemed like a bullying case, but in reality, it had exposed a lot of dirty secrets. 

Because the incident had such a huge impact, even her mother had taken an interest in it. The school and certain people had restricted and concealed some information, so Haruno, like most ordinary people, only knew the parts that were made public. 

"Tsk tsk, not only did you take down a vice principal, but you also forced the dean and several teachers to publicly apologize in front of the whole school before getting kicked out. That must have been… quite the show." 

That was all Haruno knew. As for the deeper details, she wasn't aware. But she did know that quite a few people had ended up in serious trouble because of it. 

Hikigaya: "..." 

For once, Hiratsuka Shizuka's expression turned serious. "Haruno, this matter is in the past. Don't bring it up again! Even your mother wouldn't want you spreading it around." 

"Ugh, fine." 

At the mention of her mother, Haruno's expression changed slightly, then she pouted in dissatisfaction. "What's this? Now that you have a new favorite student, you don't care about your old one anymore? You're such a heartless woman!" 

Hiratsuka Shizuka's face twitched. She flicked Haruno's forehead as a warning. "Cut it out! And Yukinoshita, watch your words. At school, I'm your teacher." 

"Yes, yes, Shizu~~ka~~sensei~~" Haruno drawled in an exaggeratedly sweet voice. 

Meanwhile, Hikigaya acted like he hadn't heard a thing. 

Hiratsuka Shizuka sighed. She had two troublesome students in front of her—one mischievous and sharp-tongued, the other socially awkward and overly stubborn. Neither of them made her life easy, yet somehow, they were also the two students she was closest to. 

"I still have some things to sort out here. Want to stick around and help?" she asked Haruno.

"I still have something to—" Hikigaya hurriedly spoke. 

"You're not going anywhere, kid!" 

Before he could finish, Hiratsuka Shizuka cut him off. When he tried to speak again, she shot him a fierce glare, forcing him to make a bitter face. 

"Hehe, then I'll be off?" Haruno deliberately acted disappointed. "But Shizuka-chan, you promised we'd have dinner together~~" 

"Alright, alright, dinner's on me tonight. That's fine, right?" Hiratsuka Shizuka said helplessly. 

"Yay! Then make sure you don't stand me up, and also—be extra careful~" 

With that, Haruno took off so fast she was nowhere to be seen. 

"That girl, seriously!" 

Hiratsuka Shizuka understood exactly what she meant, but she barely held back the urge to rush out and teach that troublemaker a lesson. 

"Oh, almost forgot something!" 

Haruno suddenly popped her head back in from the doorway and winked at Hikigaya with a grin. "Hikigaya-kun, you know about the club recruitment event at the gym this evening, right? I'll be waiting for you there, so don't forget to come~" 

"Wait! Why should I—" 

Hikigaya froze, but before he could finish, Haruno had already disappeared, leaving him no chance to refuse. 

… 

In the blink of an eye, only Hikigaya and Hiratsuka Shizuka remained in the office. 

"Shizuka-sensei, I have some questions about the truth behind this school..." 

Just as Hikigaya was about to speak, Hiratsuka Shizuka seemed to already know what was on his mind and spoke first. "I know what you want to ask, but I'm sorry. As a teacher, I have to follow the rules, so I can't give you any more information about this school." 

Even though she said that, her answer itself was already a kind of confirmation. 

"So this school really does have major problems." 

In fact, her behavior in class today had already proven many of Hikigaya's suspicions. Under normal circumstances, there was no way she would ignore the awful discipline in Class D. But she had turned a blind eye, which meant there had to be a special reason behind it. 

Hikigaya's expression didn't escape Hiratsuka Shizuka's eyes. She couldn't help but be impressed by his sharp instincts. He figured things out this quickly? Maybe the saying is true—when one door closes, another opens. 

… 

Though, it's a shame the kid's got mental issues. 

Hikigaya didn't ask further. Even though he still had many doubts about this school, he didn't want to put Shizuka-sensei in a tough spot. 

Seeing him suddenly fall silent, Hiratsuka Shizuka felt a pang of guilt. A complicated look flashed across her face before she sighed. 

"Actually, there's something I need to apologize for." 

"The reason you ended up at this school… it was all arranged by me." 

"Yeah, I figured." 

"Wait, this was my fault, I made this decision on my own—" Hiratsuka Shizuka stopped mid-sentence, stunned. Hikigaya was completely calm, showing no emotional reaction at all. 

"Eh? You're not surprised or angry?" 

She had already prepared for the worst, even making sure Haruno wasn't around for this conversation. But she hadn't expected this kind of reaction at all. 

"Uh, how should I put it... actually, I already knew." Hikigaya hesitated. 

After a few seconds of silence, Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly smacked her thigh.

"Wait, so I was worried for nothing?" 

The tension on her face vanished. Feeling relieved, she casually pulled out a pack of SIXSTARS ladies' cigarettes from her pocket. Not caring that Hikigaya was right in front of her, she propped her leg up on the chair and started smoking, instantly turning back into the messy teacher Hikigaya was all too familiar with. 

"Hey! This is a school, you know! And you're indoors! Can't you be a little more careful? If you get caught, your salary's getting docked again!" Hikigaya complained while walking over to the window. He opened two more windows to air out the room, then handed the ashtray to her. 

"As long as I don't get caught, it's fine," Shizuka-sensei muttered. 

"Heh, says the person who somehow set off the smoke alarm twice in a single day," Hikigaya said, expressionless.

"That was just an accident! And besides, this is the guidance office assigned to me by the school. It's lunchtime now, so no one will find out. Don't worry about it." Hiratsuka Shizuka patted her chest, making a firm promise. 

She leaned sideways against her desk, one hand propping up her chin while the other held a cigarette. Her casual posture made her seem nothing like a mature woman or a teacher. 

"Then tell me, how did you figure out it was my arrangement?" 

"It was actually a coincidence. Funny enough... at home, I'm not very noticeable. One day, I happened to overhear my mom talking to Sensei on the phone. They were discussing this school, but at the time, I didn't really think much of it." 

Hikigaya recalled the moment. It was the second day of the New Year. He hadn't paid much attention back then and had assumed he would just continue on to Soubu High School. It wasn't until he later learned he would be attending school in Tokyo that he started to feel something was off. 

"Actually, up until yesterday, I was still doubtful. But after seeing my 'classmates' today, my suspicion jumped to 90%. Sensei showing up was just the final confirmation." Hikigaya spoke calmly. 

"After accidentally discovering the truth about this school, one big question kept bothering me." He paused, sighed, and continued, "That is, how did someone like me... even pass the entrance exam for this school?" 

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