It took a few days to get back into study mode after a leisurely summer vacation. On the first day of classes, sighs could be heard everywhere.
"It's gone, just like that. Summer vacation was so long, but now it's just gone!"
"Ah, stop talking about it, I'm suffering! Why does it feel like it passed in a blink? It felt so long at the start!"
"What did you even do over the break?"
"Huh? Obviously waking up, playing games, eating lunch, playing games, eating dinner, playing games, sleeping!"
"How fulfilling."
"Yeah!"
…
Clubroom.
By the time Sato arrived, everyone who had come earlier was already busy. Clearing cobwebs from the corners, sweeping, mopping, the room was full of activity.
"Yo! Sato, you're here! Then wiping the tables is your job!"
Ritsu greeted him and started assigning tasks.
Tsk, I forgot there'd be a big cleanup on the first day. I should've come later…
Sato shook his head and muttered, "What a miscalculation."
Thud.
A heavy object hit the ground behind him. When he turned around, he saw Hikigaya Hachiman's smug expression and the bucket placed in front of him.
He raised a hand and handed Sato a rag.
"Here, come wipe tables with me. I already prepared one for you. No escaping."
"I should've come later."
Sato muttered.
Hikigaya Hachiman shrugged. "That's exactly what I was thinking earlier."
The two exchanged a glance, suddenly feeling a sense of mutual understanding.
"As men, is this all the responsibility you have?"
At some point, Yukinoshita Yukino had come over. Hearing their conversation, her delicate brows knit slightly as she looked at them.
Sato casually took the rag from Hikigaya Hachiman and sighed. "I can handle anything, but I just don't want to be tied down by these trivial chores."
Yukinoshita Yukino raised an eyebrow. "Your room seemed quite clean."
"That's necessary. I don't want to live in a pigsty. If it were possible, who would actually enjoy doing these things?"
Hikigaya Hachiman, listening to their conversation, widened his eyes in shock.
W-when did their relationship progress this far?!
Yukinoshita has already been inside Nohara's room?!
Dayum, Nohara is impressive. This is Yukinoshita, the one no one in the entire second year dares to approach!
"Hikigaya, what's wrong?"
Sato noticed his odd behavior and looked at him in confusion.
Why are his eyes so wide? Does he think no one notices how bad his dead-fish eyes look?
"N-nothing!"
Hikigaya Hachiman quickly replied, avoiding eye contact with Yukinoshita Yukino.
Her observational skills were terrifying. What if she figured out what he was thinking?
Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at him with some confusion. It felt like he was hiding something, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she turned to Sato.
"By the way, I brought some cat food. You can take it back later."
"Same brand as last time?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Nothing. I quite like that brand."
The nutritional balance of that cat food was good, and it seemed to taste nice too. Both cats liked it, and Sato was satisfied with it.
On the other side.
Hikigaya Hachiman's gaze became blank. When he came back to his senses, it quickly turned into horror, cold sweat uncontrollably forming on his forehead.
C-cat food?!
M-my god! I think I've discovered something huge!
So Nohara actually has that kind of hobby…
He swallowed hard and cautiously glanced at Sato, but Sato, with his keen instincts, immediately noticed.
Sato looked at Hikigaya Hachiman with a strange expression.
His intuitive ability allowed him to detect when someone was deliberately looking at him, and to sense the emotions behind that gaze, goodwill, hostility, killing intent, hatred, and more.
And right now, from Hikigaya Hachiman's gaze, he felt… fear?
Huh?
What's wrong with this guy today?
"Hikigaya, what's wrong?"
This was the second time Sato had asked him that today. It felt like they were talking unusually often.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"
Hikigaya Hachiman forced himself to calm down, then looked Sato straight in the eyes and declared firmly.
Huh?
Sato looked at him, baffled. What is he even talking about? Why does this feel so strange?
He seemed to have… misunderstood something?
That was the feeling in Sato's mind, so he asked directly, "Did you… misunderstand something?"
Hikigaya Hachiman's body stiffened instantly.
He's testing me! Testing whether I heard what they said just now! That has to be it!
Hikigaya Hachiman was convinced of this.
He glanced up and saw both Yukinoshita Yukino and Sato frowning, which made his heart tighten.
They're definitely thinking about whether to silence me!
"I didn't see anything! I'm going to wipe tables!"
Hikigaya Hachiman lowered his head, grabbed his rag, and quickly slipped past them, moving stiffly and nervously as he wiped tables in the distance.
Sato narrowed his eyes slightly.
He definitely misunderstood something… or could it be…
He turned to look at Yukinoshita Yukino, who also seemed confused, and asked suspiciously, "Yukinoshita, when I had my back turned just now, you didn't do anything, right?"
"What?"
Yukinoshita Yukino frowned deeply, completely puzzled. At this point, she was just as lost.
Not only had Hikigaya Hachiman become strange, but Sato was acting strange too?
So he wasn't afraid of Yukinoshita just now?
Sato raised an eyebrow at her expression, then turned to look at Hikigaya Hachiman.
In that case, Hikigaya must have misunderstood something.