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Thanks to my family's "good" education.
That abominable turd of a father once told me to be wary whenever I met a gentle older sister in a gallery.
It wasn't just empty advice—it came from experience.
Because of Daddy Shit and his foolishness, our family had to take on a huge debt, nearly driving my mother to her grave in anger.
Anyway.
Let's just leave first!
"I'll be heading back now. I'm full," Hikigaya said, standing up.
He had a hunch about what was coming. This girl probably planned to use their acquaintance as an excuse to invite a group of friends over, then make him foot the bill.
Nice try. He wasn't falling for it.
"Huh?"
Kushida Kikyo looked momentarily stunned.
By her logic, her performance just now had been perfect. Any ordinary person would have instantly fallen for her charm, eager to become her devoted admirer.
Not to mention—
She wasn't being arrogant, but she knew she was beautiful.
At the very least, a normal person wouldn't outright refuse her.
So why was he turning around and leaving?
"Ah..."
Juke also stood up with an exasperated sigh. "Well, I guess we won't bother you then. Goodbye, Kushida-san."
After all—
One was just a casual friend from another class.
The other was a classmate and social acquaintance.
Despite his twisted personality, Hikigaya was still a friend, so Juke naturally sided with him.
"Wait a second."
Kushida quickly stepped forward and grabbed Hikigaya's wrist.
There was definitely something wrong with this guy.
Hikigaya turned to her, unimpressed. "...Hey. What now?"
"Well..."
Kushida's eyes flickered uncertainly, and she lowered her voice slightly as if embarrassed. "My dream is to be friends with everyone in the school. Hikigaya-kun, won't you be my friend? Can we exchange contact information?"
"Eh?"
Juke blinked in surprise. "Kushida-san, so that's your dream? That actually sounds pretty nice."
"Juke, stop teasing me," Kushida said, looking slightly shy. She then turned back to Hikigaya, her large, moist eyes filled with an expectant innocence.
"This is... okay," Hikigaya said, shrugging indifferently.
Kushida secretly sighed in relief as they exchanged numbers.
"Hikigaya-kun, Juke-san, see you later! Let's have dinner together next time~"
With a bright smile, she waved them off.
Even if he was a little different, he was just another ordinary man in the end—one who couldn't escape the palm of her hand.
After leaving the café, Hikigaya and Juke walked toward the dormitory.
"Honestly."
Juke gave him a disapproving look. "You really don't care what people think, do you? That was kind of rude. You're just making the girls in class think worse of you."
"Well, I guess. My bad."
Hikigaya offered an insincere apology.
Juke rolled their eyes but didn't push the issue. "If it were anyone else, they'd probably hate you for that. You should learn to be smarter about these things."
"How?" Hikigaya stuffed his hands in his pockets. "If I had the ability to learn social skills, I'd have recharged it by now."
"Fair point."
Juke nodded. "You're already beyond hope."
"Thanks for your concern."
"Anyway," Juke continued, "why did you leave so suddenly? Are you that afraid of talking to people? You don't seem that way in class."
It wasn't fear.
Hikigaya just found fake interactions exhausting and troublesome.
That being said—
Juke was a decent person despite their bluntness.
He figured a little heads-up wouldn't hurt. Whether they listened or not was their own problem.
"Well," Hikigaya said, "I just get a hypocritical vibe from her. You should probably be careful around her."
Juke frowned. "Gossiping behind someone's back isn't exactly admirable behavior."
True, they weren't exactly best friends with Kushida, but she was a friend. Hearing someone talk about her like this felt a little off-putting.
"Fine, fine. Just listen to this," Hikigaya said.
"Most people's dreams are shaped by their surroundings.
"A kid wants to be an astronaut because they see cool astronauts on TV.
"A kid wants to be a doctor because their father is a doctor.
"In short, dreams usually have some connection to a person's environment."
Juke listened silently.
"But most dreams are just talk," Hikigaya continued. "And Kushida's dream?
"To be friends with everyone?
"That's not a dream—it's a fairytale."
Juke tilted their head. "So you think she's lying?"
"Not necessarily."
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes. "But tell me this—have you ever met someone who was actually ostracized?"
"Well... yeah."
"Then, does Kushida look like someone who's been ostracized?"
Juke paused.
"No," they admitted.
Exactly.
Someone who had experienced rejection wouldn't behave like Kushida Kikyo.
After all—
A person who was truly ostracized would probably end up... well, like Hikigaya himself.
Dreaming of befriending everyone?
That's a goal only two kinds of people would have:
Someone who had only ever been mildly left out in small social circles.
Or someone so incredibly strong and manipulative that they could navigate every social dynamic perfectly.
Kushida was neither.
So, her dream wasn't simple.
Of course, Hikigaya admitted that this was all just speculation. He had no concrete proof.
He left it up to Juke to decide whether to take his words seriously or not.
"Anyway," Juke said with a grin, brushing it off. "You sure seem to know a lot about social outcasts. So... have you been excluded before?"
"Why do I have to share my dark history?" Hikigaya deadpanned.
Not that he was ashamed, but there was a difference between willingly revealing something and being forced to talk about it.
"Come on, tell me."
Juke clung to his arm with a playful smile.
"Nope."
Feeling a soft sensation pressing against him, Hikigaya turned red.
"Aha! You're blushing," Juke teased, poking his cheek. "I thought you were supposed to be stoic?"
"Ugh, quit it."
Hikigaya slapped their hand away and quickly stepped into the elevator.
Juke followed after him, thankfully sensing that they had pushed enough and dropping the subject.
"Oh, by the way."
Juke took out their phone. "We haven't exchanged contacts yet."
"Well, okay."
Hikigaya quickly entered their number.
Phones at this school doubled as student IDs, containing personal points.
For security reasons, he made sure to keep his information private.
"See you tomorrow, Hikigaya."
Tch.
Yeah, right.
This person loved teasing him and making him embarrassed.
Their personality was terrible.
Back in his dorm, Hikigaya flopped onto his bed and scrolled through his contacts.
Spotting Kushida's name, he went straight to the settings—
Delete.
Add to blacklist.
Problem solved.
He wasn't getting involved with that kind of green tea schemer.
Meanwhile.
Midnight.
Kushida Kikyo sat on her dorm bed, wrapped in a soft white bath towel after her shower.
She picked up her phone, her face unreadable.
Maintaining trust was hard.
She couldn't afford to date—that would instantly alienate most girls.
She had to constantly nurture her relationships, allocating time to keep her network alive.
Otherwise, connections would fade.
Thinking about it, she dialed Hikigaya's number.
"The number you dialed is currently on a call. Please try again later—"
...Huh?
She tried again.
"The number you dialed is unavailable—"
A chilling silence filled the room.
No way.
He didn't just refuse her.
He blocked her?
Kushida's pretty face twisted. Her grip on her phone tightened, knuckles turning white.
"Damn it... why?"
Her expression darkened, her voice dripping with venom.
"Hikigaya Hachiman... I'll make you devote yourself to me. Then, I'll tear you apart and expose your pathetic dark history to the whole school."
Her fingers clenched into fists.
No one had ever humiliated her like this.
Blacklisting her?
Oh, how naive.
He had no idea what he had just started.
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