Chapter 252 078 Horikita Manabu: You're starting to learn "balance" now; what do you want to do in the future?

The two walked into the newly opened gym. It was indeed spacious, with brand-new equipment and a faint scent of disinfectant hanging in the air. Amikura Mako looked around excitedly, while Ichinose followed behind, her gaze landing on the row of treadmills.

She was thinking—if one day, Hachiman really married Shiina-san, would she attend the wedding? She probably would. As a friend, a colleague, and someone who had once fought alongside him.

She would sit quietly in the audience, watching them exchange rings, and then, as the event ended, she would say, "Congratulations." And then? After that, she would likely continue her own life.

It's just that Hikigaya-kun wouldn't be by her side anymore.

"Ichinose?" At this moment, Amikura Mako noticed Ichinose was zoning out.

"Sorry, sorry," Ichinose said quickly.

"Hmm. Well..." Amikura Mako wanted to say, 'Ichinose, you're hurting my arm from gripping it so hard.'

Ichinose stood next to that brand-new treadmill, her eyes fixed on the display screen of the control panel, but she wasn't really looking. Those thoughts were still spinning in her head—Hachiman asking Karuizawa out on Sunday, Hachiman marrying Shiina-san in the future, and her being just the person in the audience saying "Congratulations." She knew she shouldn't be thinking about these things, but those thoughts just wouldn't stop, ringing in her mind like background noise.

"Ichinose!" Amikura Mako's voice came from the side, "What are you looking at? Is there something special about that treadmill?"

Ichinose snapped out of it and realized her hand was actually pressed against the handrail of the treadmill.

She really seemed to have been a bit distracted.

"...Nothing. Just looking at the functions," Ichinose Honami said quickly.

"Oh?"

Amikura Mako leaned over and followed her gaze to look at the treadmill. "It's definitely nice. The screen is big, and you can even connect your phone. It's much better than the one I went to before. But, Ichinose—" she turned her head to look at Ichinose, "the look in your eyes just now didn't look like you were looking at a treadmill."

Ichinose pulled her hand back. "I told you, I wasn't."

"It doesn't matter what you say." Amikura Mako stepped in front of her, hands on her hips, "You've been zoning out since just now. Actually, I wanted to say this when we were in class; you started acting strange the moment Hikigaya-kun sent that message. Do you think I couldn't tell?"

Ichinose opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her words stuck in her throat.

Amikura Mako stared at her for two seconds, then sighed. "Ichinose, I'm going to ask you a question, and you need to answer honestly."

"What?"

"Do you think you and Hikigaya-kun are a good fit?"

Ichinose was stunned. "Why ask that all of a sudden?"

"Answer me first," Amikura Mako didn't back down.

Ichinose was silent for a few seconds. "...We are."

"Then do you think that if he watched you walking with another boy, he wouldn't feel uncomfortable?"

Ichinose's eyelashes trembled slightly. "I... I wouldn't walk with other boys."

"I mean, hypothetically!" Amikura Mako was getting a bit impatient, "Hypothetically, if you were walking very closely with another boy, do you think Hikigaya-kun wouldn't care?"

Ichinose thought for a moment. "...He probably wouldn't care."

"Why?"

"Because he has Karuizawa-san," Ichinose's voice was calm, calm to the point of being deliberate, "and in the future... he also has the person he wants to choose."

Amikura Mako stared at her for two seconds. "Ichinose, you're grabbing my arm again."

Ichinose looked down and realized her hand was gripping Amikura Mako's arm again without her realizing it. She quickly let go. "...Sorry."

"You say you don't care, but your body is being very honest," Amikura Mako rubbed the spot that had been pinched red, "So, Ichinose, are you really okay with just watching him date other girls?"

Ichinose turned her head away, her gaze falling on a set of new dumbbells. "I don't have those kinds of thoughts. I respect Hikigaya-kun's decisions."

"Respect is one thing, being willing is another," Amikura Mako's voice softened slightly, "Are you truly willing?"

Ichinose didn't answer.

The gym was very quiet, save for the low hum of the air conditioning overhead.

In the distance, a few students were trying out equipment, occasionally letting out soft laughs, but she didn't take them in.

Her mind was spinning with the question Amikura Mako had asked—Are you truly willing? She had always told herself: Hikigaya-kun has someone he likes, Hikigaya-kun is dating, and Hikigaya-kun's future is already determined.

She didn't need to think too much, didn't need to hope, and didn't need to do anything that would cause misunderstandings.

But now, being asked so directly by Amikura Mako, she suddenly realized that she might have never truly let go.

"...I don't know either," Ichinose's voice was very low.

Amikura Mako watched her without pressing further.

She walked to the elliptical machine nearby, sat on it, and tried pedaling a few times. "Do you know why I noticed Hikigaya-kun?"

"Why?"

"Because when he's with you, he's relaxed," Amikura Mako's feet moved on the pedals, her movements very slow, "When he talks to you, he's not tense like he is with other people. There's a kind of... unspoken chemistry between you two that I can't name. It's like two people who have known each other for many years; you can understand what the other is thinking without even needing to speak."

Ichinose stood on the side, her fingers tracing lightly over the handrail of the treadmill.

"That's just... because we've been together for a long time," Ichinose said in a low voice.

"It's not just that," Amikura Mako stopped and looked at her, "Ichinose, you actually care about him a lot, don't you?"

Ichinose didn't speak.

"You always say you respect his choices, always say he has Karuizawa-san, always say he has a person he wants to choose in the future," Amikura Mako's voice grew even softer, "But you never once said—that you don't care about him."

Ichinose's fingers stopped on the handrail.

She opened her mouth to say something, but found she couldn't say anything at all. Because Amikura Mako had hit the nail on the head. She had never said "I don't care," because she did care. She cared about what time he arrived in the classroom, what he ate for lunch, and who he talked to. She cared about what place he took in the sports festival, whether he was

nervous during exams, and whether he was getting into any strange situations again. She cared about too many things—so many that she even felt it was a nuisance herself.

Ichinose Honami: "...".

"Ichinose," Amikura Mako got off the elliptical machine and walked in front of her, "High school time is very short. Three years go by in the blink of an eye. If you miss things now, you might never have another chance."

Ichinose was silent for a long time. "Mako, what if Hikigaya-kun's future is already set?"

"What do you mean, set?"

"If everything he's doing now is moving toward that direction. If he's dating Karuizawa-san just to learn from experience. If he's really going to be with someone else in the future—" Ichinose's voice grew even lower, "Then shouldn't I avoid interfering? I don't want to destroy his future."

Amikura Mako looked at her. "Ichinose, whether you will be with Hikigaya-kun in the future, I don't know. But there is one thing I am very sure of."

Ichinose looked up.

"Who's to say that the future you aren't involved in is necessarily better for him than the one you are?"

Ichinose was stunned.

At the same time, she found that something in her mind had been unlocked; those thoughts she had always been suppressing at the bottom of her heart suddenly surged out. She had always been thinking "I can't destroy his future," but had never thought—that the future she participated in might also be a good future.

If she did nothing, just watched from afar, waited for him to graduate, watched him be with someone else, and then said "Congratulations" from the audience—she might regret it for the rest of her life.

Amikura Mako stood in front of her, saying nothing more. She just waited quietly, waiting for Ichinose to figure it out for herself. The gym was very quiet; sunlight poured in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting their two shadows side-by-side on the floor in silence.

After a long while, Ichinose finally spoke. "Mako."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Amikura Mako's mouth curved slightly. "Don't thank me. I just didn't want to see you regret it in the future."

Ichinose chuckled softly. The smile was more relaxed than before. "Let's go, let's walk further inside and take a look."

"Yeah, yeah!"

Amikura Mako took her arm, and the two walked side-by-side toward the strength-training area inside.

And this time, Ichinose didn't grab her arm hard enough to cause pain.

She was just thinking—Amikura Mako was right. If she did nothing, she might regret it.

And she didn't want to have regrets.

-

-

-

The next day, Hachiman went to the Student Council office alone. He didn't call Karuizawa; today was Saturday, there wasn't any urgent work, and there was no need to make her make the trip.

When he pushed open the door, Ichinose was already there.

She was sitting at the secretary's seat, several documents spread out in front of her, holding a pen, and writing something with her head down. Her long blonde-pink hair was tied into a low ponytail, revealing a patch of her fair nape. Morning sunlight poured in from the windows and fell on her, reflecting her silhouette in an exceptionally gentle way. Hearing the door, she looked up and smiled at Hachiman.

"Hikigaya-kun, good morning."

Hachiman's footsteps paused. That smile was a bit different from the one he usually saw—it wasn't that mild, polite, slightly distant smile; it was a more relaxed one, the kind of smile one has only after figuring something out.

The sunlight fell on her face, making her eyes look exceptionally bright.

It could be said that Ichinose was indeed an archangel today.

"...Morning." Hachiman walked to his seat, sat down, and placed his school bag by the table. "Why are you here?"

"Isn't there work today?" Ichinose lowered her head and continued writing on the documents, "Besides, there's nothing going on this weekend anyway."

"You could have rested."

"I wanted to come," Ichinose said.

"..."

Hachiman glanced at her and didn't say anything more. He picked up the documents on the table and began to flip through them.

The office was quiet for a while, with only the sound of turning pages and the rustling of pen nibs across paper.

There wasn't much work—mostly tables and reports that had piled up this week. The two cooperated, dividing the tasks, and finished sorting everything in less than an hour. Hachiman put the last document into a folder, leaned back in his chair, and stretched.

"Hikigaya-kun," Ichinose's voice came from the side.

"Hmm?"

"Are you free at noon today?"

"What is it?"

"I'd like to treat you to a meal," Ichinose said, "to thank you for leading us to where we are this semester."

Hachiman thought for a moment. "Sure."

Ichinose's mouth curved slightly, and she didn't say anything more.

Just then, the office door was pushed open. Horikita Manabu walked in, holding a folder, his expression the same as usual—steady, calm, with no sign of joy or anger. But when he saw that there were only Hachiman and Ichinose in the office, his gaze stopped on Hachiman for a moment.

"Hikigaya, you stay behind. Everyone else can leave."

Ichinose was stunned for a moment and glanced at Hachiman. Hachiman nodded. Ichinose packed up her things, stood up, and walked toward the door. When she passed by Horikita Manabu, she nodded slightly in greeting, and then walked out. The door closed softly behind her, leaving only Hachiman and Horikita Manabu in the office.

Horikita Manabu walked to his seat and sat down, placing the folder on the table. He didn't speak immediately, just sat quietly for a while, as if thinking about something. Then he looked up at Hachiman.

"I have already received the results of your first-year exam."

Hachiman leaned back in his chair, watching him. "Did we win?"

"What do you think?" Horikita Manabu didn't give an answer.

Hachiman was silent for a second. "We lost."

Horikita Manabu neither nodded nor shook his head. He opened the folder and pushed a sheet of paper toward Hachiman. Hachiman looked down; it was the score statistics for this exchange exam. Class A's comprehensive score was twelve points lower than Class C's. Not much, but enough to determine the winner.

"Twelve points," Hachiman said.

"Hmm," Horikita Manabu leaned back in his chair, "Class C's science is stronger than yours. Your liberal arts are stronger than theirs, but the gap wasn't big enough. Overall, you lost by twelve points. You are the class representative; what do you think of this result?"

"It's normal," Hachiman put the report card back on the table, "Class C is strong in academics; it's no injustice that we lost."

And once they lost, it meant that their class's evaluation score would be deducted by 200 points, while Class C would gain +200 points.

Therefore, the gap of over 1000 points between the two classes was suddenly pulled back to 600-something points.

"You're quite broad-minded about it," Horikita Manabu's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, "So, what do you think will happen because you lost this time?"

"Nothing will happen," Hachiman said, "Even if we lost this time, there is still a 600-point gap, and even if we lose once or twice more, the impact won't be significant."

"Is that really what you think?" Horikita Manabu slowed his voice down, but his tone became very clear, "You're actually balancing the class, aren't you?"

Hachiman's fingers paused on the edge of the table.

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