Chapter 56: I Acknowledge You! Linking Dreams Again!
Because he decided to meet Horikita Manabu, Hachiman soon arrived at the shopping street's public bathhouse. Hachiman pushed open the door to the bathhouse.
A wave of heat rushed toward him, blurring his vision. He blinked, discovering the changing room was completely empty. Usually, at this time, there would be a few students in the bathhouse, but today there wasn't even one.
Hachiman took off his clothes and walked into the bathing area. It was also empty inside; there was no one in the pools, and no one in the shower area. The water was flowing, and the lights were on, but he was alone.
Obviously.
It was rented out.
Hachiman cycled the word through his mind. Being able to rent out the school's bathhouse at a time like this wasn't something money alone could achieve.
Horikita Manabu was the Student Council President; if he said he wanted to use the bathhouse, the school wouldn't refuse.
But he had even paid money, probably feeling that this was more appropriate.
What did he want to say? What couldn't be said outside that had to be discussed inside a bathhouse?
Hachiman rinsed off in the shower area, then walked into the sauna.
The wooden door made a slight sound when pushed open, and steam surged out from the gap, thicker than it was outside. There was only one person in the sauna, sitting in the innermost spot, his back straight, hands resting on his knees, eyes closed.
Black-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and a thin layer of fog covered the lenses, but the person had no intention of taking them off. Wearing glasses in a sauna—this was probably something only he could do.
Horikita Manabu.
Hachiman walked in and sat in the spot next to him. The temperature of the wooden planks transmitted through the towel; it wasn't scalding, but it was very hot. The two remained silent for a few seconds, with only the hissing sound of water vapor evaporating on the sauna stones.
"The President rented out the place?" Hachiman asked.
"Yes." Horikita Manabu did not open his eyes. "Some things are not suitable to be said outside."
Hachiman leaned against the wall, waiting for him to continue.
Horikita Manabu was silent for a few seconds, then spoke. "Suzune's second leg this time—you arranged it, right?"
It wasn't a question; it was a statement. Hachiman glanced at him and didn't deny it.
"She wanted you to acknowledge her," Hachiman replied.
Horikita Manabu's eyes finally opened. He looked at the wall in front of him; the fog on his lenses gradually dissipated, revealing those red eyes. They were the exact same color as Horikita Suzune's, but the things inside them were different.
"I acknowledged her a long time ago." Horikita Manabu's voice was very calm. "Not because of how fast she runs, not because of how many points she got in Class D, but because she has been working hard. Working hard to try and help her brother. I saw that a long time ago."
Hachiman didn't speak.
"She doesn't need to run the second leg to prove anything." Horikita Manabu withdrew his gaze. "But she ran it. Because you told her I was in the second leg."
Hachiman nodded. "She hoped you could see her progress."
Horikita Manabu was silent for a while. The water vapor on the sauna stones evaporated, the hissing stopped, and the room was so quiet that he could hear his own breathing.
"This is how siblings are." Hachiman leaned against the wall, his gaze falling on the ceiling. "My sister also saves me."
Horikita Manabu's eyebrows moved slightly. He turned his head and looked at Hachiman. "Saves?"
"Yes," Hachiman said. "She always feels I need to be taken care of. Although I don't think so, she doesn't think that way. She does a lot of things I don't need at all, but she says that's what she wants to do. I can't refuse."
Horikita Manabu looked at him, silent for two seconds. Then he sighed softly. The sigh was light, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet sauna.
"You used the word 'save'," Horikita Manabu's voice carried a hint of indescribable helplessness. "It shows how much your sister worries about you normally."
Hachiman did not deny it.
The two were silent again for a while. Hachiman changed the subject. "The third-year results have stabilized. Congratulations, President."
Horikita Manabu shook his head. "You saw it, right? The 1200-meter relay." His voice lowered a bit. "The students in my class aren't as strong as other classes. The first leg fell, and we were left far behind. If I hadn't chased it back, Class 3-A's ranking would have been even uglier."
Hachiman looked at him. "But the President is strong enough. Carrying thirty-nine people—that's not something anyone can do."
Horikita Manabu didn't respond. He stared at the wooden wall in front of him for several seconds, then slowly spoke. "Suzune has a flaw."
Hachiman's eyebrows moved slightly.
"She hasn't noticed her own flaw." Horikita Manabu's voice was calm, but every word sounded like it had been carefully considered. "She has been chasing my shadow. She wants to become someone like me, wants to reach a height like mine. But she hasn't thought about the fact that the path I walk isn't necessarily suitable for her."
Hachiman was silent for a second. "Do you want me to tell her, President?"
Horikita Manabu glanced at him. "As long as you understand."
Hachiman leaned against the wall.
Chasing someone's back, taking the other person as a goal—this is a psychology that many people develop. Horikita Suzune worships her brother; every reader knows this. And she came to this school half because her excellent brother is here. That's why she studies hard, saves points, and struggles to prove herself—also because of him. But, in the end, a person cannot live their life as someone else.
Horikita Suzune needs to become Horikita Suzune, not Horikita Manabu.
"The people in this world don't change that easily," Hachiman said. "People who know their shortcomings and successfully correct them are actually very few."
Horikita Manabu's brow furrowed slightly.
"However," Hachiman continued, "your sister is trying to make changes compared to when she first enrolled. You should have seen that, too, President."
Horikita Manabu looked at him. A complex emotion flickered in those red eyes. He was silent for a long time—long enough that Hachiman thought he wouldn't speak again. "So," Horikita Manabu's voice slowed, "Suzune has received quite a bit of care from you."
Hachiman's fingers paused.
Care?
He recalled that he needed to suppress Class D, so he needed a tool to attack Ayanokoji.
So Horikita Suzune was chosen.
His classmate Ichinose also wasn't aggressive enough and needed someone with a tough personality, and that person could also be Horikita Suzune.
Even.
For this exam, to completely suppress Ayanokouji, he also arranged for Horikita Suzune to take the stage.
So.
Horikita Suzune learned to strategize, to lay out plans, and to step up at critical moments. She became his tool; every exam, every strategy, had her shadow in it. Hachiman ran these things through his mind and discovered he couldn't say it out loud. He didn't have the audacity to tell the Student Council President these things.
"Horikita," Hachiman carefully considered his wording, "has her own ideas. I've just been watching from the sidelines."
Horikita Manabu looked at him without speaking. That gaze made Hachiman somewhat uncomfortable.
"You don't need to worry too much, President," Hachiman said. "Because I called her over. So she could hear the conversation just now."
Horikita Manabu was stunned.
That face, which was always calm and expressionless, showed cracks for the first time.
A sort of bewilderment appeared in his eyes, as if to say "What are you talking about?". His eyes widened slightly, his lips moved as if to say something, but he found his words stuck in his throat.
And at this moment, the sauna door was pulled open.
Heat surged out from the door gap, bringing in a cool breeze. Horikita Suzune stood at the doorway, wearing a yukata, her long black hair draped over her shoulders, her face still carrying a blush from being steamed by the heat. Her expression was calm, but something was flickering slightly in those red eyes.
She stood there, neither coming in nor leaving. She just looked at the two people in the sauna, looked at her brother, and looked at Hachiman.
"I heard everything," Horikita Suzune said.
Horikita Manabu looked at her, silent for a few seconds. Then he sighed softly—not out of helplessness, but a sense of relief, the feeling of "well, since it's like this, then let it be."
"Come in," Horikita Manabu said. "Isn't it cold standing at the door?"
Horikita Suzune walked into the sauna and sat in the spot next to her brother. The three of them sat side by side, no one speaking. The water vapor on the sauna stones evaporated again, the hissing sound particularly clear in the quiet room.
"What I just said," Horikita Manabu spoke, his voice lower than before, "you heard it all."
"Yes." Horikita Suzune nodded.
"Then what do you have to say?"
Horikita Suzune was silent for a second. She looked at the wooden wall in front of her, looked at the uneven textures on the wall, and watched for several seconds.
"I have indeed been chasing Brother's shadow." Horikita Suzune's voice was calm, but every word was very clear. "I wanted to become someone like Brother and reach a height like Brother's. I won't deny that."
Horikita Manabu did not speak.
"But," Horikita Suzune continued, "simply becoming someone like Brother is something I cannot do. It's not because my ability isn't enough; it's because I am different from Brother. I have my own path, I have my own way. I will start from myself, working hard bit by bit to become an excellent person. Not a copy of Brother, but Horikita Suzune."
The sauna room fell silent. It wasn't a silence of speechlessness, but a silence that required time to digest.
Horikita Manabu looked at her side profile for several seconds. Then the corners of his mouth moved slightly.
"Hmm." Horikita Manabu said.
Just one word. But Horikita Suzune heard what was beneath that word.
It wasn't "I see."
It wasn't "You are right."
It was "I acknowledge you."
Brother acknowledged her!
But at this moment, Horikita Manabu stood up and picked up the towel nearby. "I'm leaving first."
He walked toward the door, his pace neither slow nor fast. When he reached the door, he stopped without looking back.
"Hikigaya."
"Yes."
"I'll leave Suzune to you."
He pushed the door open and walked out. The sound of his footsteps gradually faded away and was eventually swallowed by the heat.
In the sauna, only Hachiman and Horikita Suzune remained. Hachiman leaned against the wall, looking at the closed door. Horikita Suzune sat next to him, her head lowered, looking at her hands on her knees.
Neither of them spoke.
After about two minutes, Hachiman stood up. "Let's go. Staying in the steam too long isn't good for your body."
He walked out of the sauna, and Horikita Suzune followed behind him.
Because they had both been in the sauna, they rinsed off in separate shower areas, changed into their clothes, and walked out of the bathhouse. The night breeze blew on their faces, carrying the coolness of early autumn, forming a sharp contrast with the heat inside the sauna.
Hachiman walked to the vending machine, inserted two coins, and bought two bottles of milk. He handed one of them to Horikita Suzune.
"Here."
Horikita Suzune looked at the bottle of milk without taking it. "Don't you want to ask me something?"
Hachiman looked at her. "Ask why her personality became so soft?"
Horikita Suzune's expression was slightly stunned.
"If it were the Horikita Suzune I saw when I was reading the novel," Hachiman said, "she would definitely be the type who is very stubborn, very persistent, and wouldn't bow her head until the very end. Unless she kept hitting walls, she wouldn't change."
Horikita Suzune was silent for a second. "Then what about now?"
"Now she has changed," Hachiman looked at her. "Not because of hitting walls, but because of other reasons."
Horikita Suzune took the milk bottle, twisted off the cap, and took a sip. The milk wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either—it was just right. She put the bottle down and looked at the path illuminated by the streetlights ahead.
"Probably because you came here," Horikita Suzune's voice was very light. "So I ended up on a different path than the one in the novel you know. I don't know if it's correct or not, but I feel like it's pretty good this way."
She finished speaking, turned around, and walked toward the direction of the girls' dormitory. She walked two steps, then stopped without looking back.
"Hikigaya."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
She continued to walk forward, her black hair swaying gently in the night breeze. Hachiman stood where he was, watching her back. She walked quickly with firm steps, exactly the same as when she started the second leg of the sports festival.
Not chasing anyone's shadow—it was her own path.
Hachiman withdrew his gaze, looked down, and stared at the milk in his hand. He twisted off the cap, took a sip, and leaned against the side of the vending machine, looking up at the pitch-black night sky.
There were no stars, only a crescent moon hanging in the distance, its light very faint, casting his shadow onto the ground, long and thin.
He remembered that dream. Before the sports festival started, he dreamed of a future Horikita Suzune.
She stood in front of him and asked, "Are you doing well?" He didn't know how to answer at the time. Now he knew. "It's alright." Not very good, but not bad either.
There are some things that haven't been finished, some people he hasn't met yet, some roads he hasn't walked yet.
But it's alright.
Of course, he also wanted to know who he would end up marrying in the future.
Hachiman finished the last sip of milk, threw the bottle into the trash can, and turned to walk toward the dormitory.
After a few steps, his pace slowed. The surrounding scene suddenly shook; it wasn't an earthquake, and it wasn't dizziness. It was that feeling—like someone had gently shaken the entire world and then put it back. Hachiman stopped abruptly.
It was happening again.
He looked up and found that the walkway was gone, the streetlights were gone, and the dormitory building was gone. Replacing them was a familiar dormitory room. A single bed, a desk, and that potted plant on the windowsill.
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