Chapter 305: The Shunned Tsurumi Rumi
"......"
Feeling two sharp gazes piercing his back while looking at Totsuka Saika's "tender" expression in front of him, Hikigaya Hachiman's back instantly broke into a cold sweat.
Bad, this is very bad.
He clearly hadn't done anything, so why was he suddenly the target of all this concentrated fire?
"Ah, a Shuraba (carnage) where he's liked by both males and females at the same time? This feeling is absolutely wonderful! Slurp~"
An ill-timed voice suddenly rang in his ear.
Hikigaya Hachiman turned his head to look, and sure enough, he found Ebina Hina—the girl with the special hobby he had previously overlooked—standing beside Miura Yumiko. At this moment, Ebina Hina wasn't hiding her excitement at all; she was staring fervently at Hikigaya Hachiman, clearly looking forward to how things would develop.
But...
"How could I ever let you have your way!"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. By the time Hikigaya Hachiman opened his eyes again, the expression on his face had returned to its usual state.
.
.
.
Upon arriving at the workplace, Chiba Village, under the guidance of the summer camp teachers, Hikigaya Hachiman and the others had their first meeting with the children they were about to look after.
Contrary to Hikigaya Hachiman's previous sinister assumptions, the children at the summer camp were surprisingly well-behaved and sensible. Especially when Hayama Hayato stepped forward as the representative to say hello, he was pursued by countless elementary school students.
However, Hikigaya Hachiman's attention was not on these matters.
In fact, from the moment he saw this group of elementary students, his gaze had been fixed on one specific small group. On the surface, it was just a very ordinary group of five girls. However, if one looked closely, they would notice that one of them seemed to be shunned by the other four, constantly drifting on the periphery of the group.
Coincidentally, Hikigaya Hachiman vaguely remembered seeing that shunned little girl once before. But because so much time had passed, Hikigaya Hachiman only remembered that he had met her; he had forgotten all other details.
"Um, Hikki..."
Just as Hikigaya Hachiman was staring at that elementary student, frowning as he tried to remember where he had encountered her, his sleeve was suddenly tugged by Yuigahama Yui.
"What's wrong?"
Hikigaya Hachiman turned to ask her what was the matter, only to find everyone around him staring at him with complicated gazes.
"Um, although I don't really understand boys' hobbies and stuff, that kind of thing is illegal..." Yuigahama Yui poked her fingers together, reminding him in a small, red-faced voice.
"It's truly unbelievable..." Miura Yumiko added from the side.
She never expected that with Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui by his side, Hikigaya Hachiman would be staring intently at those elementary schoolers. Could it be that the tastes of people with special abilities were particularly peculiar?
Hikigaya Hachiman: "......"
He had been misunderstood for no reason at all!
Seeing the strange looks from everyone, Hikigaya Hachiman felt like crying inside. Fortunately, the attention of the students below was focused on Hayama Hayato. Aside from Yuigahama and the others, no one else noticed his "perverted" behavior of staring at children.
The opening speech of the summer camp soon ended. As the mountain hiking activity began, Hikigaya Hachiman was assigned the children he was responsible for. By a stroke of luck, the group he was in charge of happened to include the five-girl group from earlier.
"Eh?"
Tsurumi Rumi, wearing a pale blue dress, walked lonely at the very back of the line. Because of what had happened before, she had long since given up hope of reintegrating into the group. However, just when she thought she would have to spend the entire summer camp alone, she unexpectedly discovered that the volunteer in charge of her was an acquaintance she had met before.
"......"
Biting her lip, Tsurumi Rumi suppressed the urge to immediately rush over and talk to Hikigaya Hachiman. After all, he was such a mysterious and important figure, and she had only been saved by him once; perhaps he had long since forgotten her. If she went up to talk to him and he didn't remember her, she might be mocked by the other four.
"I guess I'll just pretend I don't know him."
After weighing the situation, Tsurumi Rumi lowered her head in disappointment and gave up on the idea of speaking to Hikigaya Hachiman.
However, the next second, a shadow suddenly covered her small frame.
"Long time no see."
The group of five was already trailing at the end of the line, and the shunned Tsurumi Rumi was at the very tail end. Therefore, Hikigaya Hachiman, not worried that his conversation with Tsurumi Rumi would be noticed, walked over without hesitation as the group began to move and greeted her.
"Long time no see..."
Never imagining that an important figure like Hikigaya Hachiman would take the initiative to greet her, Tsurumi Rumi's heart instantly became jubilant.
"Did you have a falling out with them?" Hikigaya Hachiman asked, looking at the four girls laughing and talking ahead.
Even though he had been forcibly drafted by Hiratsuka Shizuka, he still had to complete the basic work of a volunteer. Therefore, if possible, he wanted to help Tsurumi Rumi make up with the others in that group.
"Um..."
Facing Hikigaya Hachiman's question, Tsurumi Rumi hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly. She then briefly described the process of how she and the small group had fallen out.
"This really is..."
Hearing her narration, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In the past, Tsurumi Rumi had been the leader of the five-girl group, but she frequently teamed up with three of them to shun the remaining one. Not only that, but she did it in rotation. The consequence of this was obvious: the remaining four kicked Tsurumi Rumi out and formed a new group...
"Laugh if you want to. I'm already like this anyway."
Seeing Hikigaya Hachiman's reaction, Tsurumi Rumi gave up resistance as if accepting her fate. After all, her current situation was the result of her own past actions; since that was the case, she could only silently swallow the bitter fruit when faced with the mockery of others.
"No, I don't find it funny at all."
Hikigaya Hachiman hated bullies, but facing Tsurumi Rumi—who was once a bully and was now the target of bullying—he couldn't bring himself to feel hatred. This wasn't because he
felt pity because she was miserable now, but because he had already seen through the essence of that five-person group: everyone was both a bully and a victim.
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