Hachiman’s Classroom of Strength’s Supremacy

Chapter 186: Horikita Suzune’s Disaster

Horikita was telling a story.

Then she continued, “For example, sea turtles are actually quite intelligent creatures.”

“Intelligent? Sea turtles don’t have that kind of talent, do they?” Hachiman voiced his doubt.

However, Horikita immediately interrupted him. “At least among their kind, there are always one or two that are particularly smart. But imagine if one of them accidentally flipped over—don’t you think that would be terrible? It wouldn’t be able to get back up on its own.”

Horikita really had the tone of someone telling a story, and right now, everything she said was about sea turtles.

This wasn’t much different from before.

But it was likely a metaphor—she must have done something foolish but didn’t want to admit she was being stupid.

If that were the case…

“Yeah, but your story is a little inaccurate, Horikita. While we generally believe sea turtles can’t flip themselves back over, in reality, they can usually regain balance using their long necks and limbs—unless, of course, they’re ridiculously fat.” Hachiman picked up the conversation.

“……”

But Horikita Suzune suddenly fell silent, as if the topic had been abruptly cut off.

“Horikita? Horikita?” Hachiman called her name twice, but she didn’t respond.

“No, it’s nothing. That’s all.” Horikita quickly recovered and said, “I want to sleep early tonight, so let’s leave it at that.”

It was currently noon.

And along with her words, there was also a loud clanking sound.

A sound of metal colliding with something.

“What was that sound just now?”

“No, it’s nothing. That’s all.” Horikita hastily tried to hang up.

“Even if you say that—”

Hachiman didn’t let her get away with it. “I’m already at your dormitory door. And I know you need help right now.”

“&……”

“…%”

“&*—”

From the phone, before she could hang up, came the sound of irregular breathing and her hesitant voice. “Are you sure… you won’t laugh at me?”

Laugh at her?

Would he laugh at her?

“That’s impossible. Don’t worry, my threshold for laughing is quite high… unless I really can’t help it.”

“Besides, I just guessed that you’re having some kind of trouble, so I’m here to solve it. Just think of me as a repairman. A repairman doesn’t have any personal emotions when working.” Hachiman said seriously. “And right now, you’re in trouble, aren’t you?”

For the class to rise to A-rank and complete missions, Horikita Suzune had proven useful.

She had become a handy tool for him.

Not to mention, she was extremely cost-effective—just covering her meal expenses would get her to make bento boxes for him.

With that kind of relationship, it made sense for Hikigaya to help her out.

“Yeah… I’m also at my limit physically. So… come in.”

Horikita’s voice sounded weak, as if weighed down by something.

At the same time, the door to her dorm opened.

Since her cryptic words over the phone had made Hachiman curious, as soon as he stepped inside, his eyes instinctively followed her.

Then—

He saw it.

“…This is what happened.”

Horikita Suzune averted her gaze in embarrassment and looked down at her right arm.

There, stuck on her forearm, was a small pink thermos bottle—clearly a girl’s item.

And it was completely stuck.

“I see—” Hachiman nodded. “Pfft—hahaha—!”

Perhaps she felt that letting Hachiman keep knocking outside would be even more embarrassing, so after getting angry, Horikita Suzune still opened the door to let him in.

“You said you wouldn’t laugh at me.” Horikita locked the door and immediately started complaining.

“I understand, I understand.” Hachiman raised both hands in surrender.

Based on the sudden phone call from Horikita, her story specifically emphasized that sea turtles were intelligent, which was probably an analogy for herself.

And when she mentioned that a sea turtle couldn’t flip itself over, it suggested that she had encountered some kind of problem or difficulty.

However—

He never expected that in this day and age, someone would actually get their hand stuck in a thermos bottle.

He washed his water bottle every day and had never experienced anything like this.

This was hilarious.

“Cough, cough… So how did things end up like this?”

Since it had already happened, asking why wasn’t particularly meaningful. But Horikita must have felt that getting stuck like this was incredibly foolish, so avoiding the topic wouldn’t help her. She was someone with a rather unique personality, and directly exposing the most embarrassing part of her predicament would actually make her feel better afterward.

“…If I told you that I was washing the thermos, accidentally slipped, and ended up like this, would you believe me?” Horikita said with a straight face.

Oh?

Hachiman nodded, indicating that he believed her.

As an expert in human observation, he quickly drew his own conclusions.

So, she was washing the thermos, noticed that its opening was about the same size as her hand, and then—on a whim—remembered news stories or other cases of people getting their hands stuck in bottles and thought about laughing at those people.

Then, out of curiosity, she tried it herself—only to end up in the exact same situation, unable to get her hand out.

Well, well.

Horikita was definitely someone who read too many books and occasionally did some really dumb things.

Hachiman grabbed the front end of the thermos and gave it a tug, but Horikita was pulled forward along with it.

“……”

It really was quite tight.

“If you can’t pull it out by yourself, that means it’s really stuck. Have you tried using soap and water?” Hachiman let go and asked.

“I have.” Horikita’s voice was subdued.

So that explained why parts of her clothes were wet.

When Hachiman pulled on the thermos, he inevitably came into contact with Horikita’s body, and he could indeed feel that her clothes had damp patches.

She was someone who prided herself on independence—when faced with a problem, she would try to solve it immediately. Although she had only called him a few minutes ago, that meant she had already spent a considerable amount of time struggling with this on her own beforehand.

What a pitiful child.

“Soap and water should be enough. If your hand could go in, theoretically, it should be able to come out too.” Hachiman stroked his chin.

“……”

Horikita didn’t respond, because the truth was exactly as he said.

It just wasn’t coming out.

“…Poor girl,” Hachiman sighed before suddenly saying, “But since your hand is stuck, your combat ability is pretty low right now, isn’t it?”

“What are you planning?”

Horikita’s gaze instantly became wary.

Because—

She had only now realized that with her left foot injured and her right hand trapped in the thermos, her ability to resist was essentially zero.

And right now, they were in her private dorm room, which had excellent soundproofing.

Yet the person standing before her was—

A man.

An actual, genuine man.

“I’m not planning anything,” Hachiman said. “We’re comrades, aren’t we?”

“Besides, I don’t have any impulses toward you. If we got married, you’d definitely make me work at your family’s shop, and I absolutely cannot deal with that.”

“……” Horikita.

Horikita didn’t think his response was entirely reassuring, but given who he was, she figured that rather than seeing her as a pretty girl in a vulnerable position, he was more concerned about his future.

Since Hikigaya wanted to be a stay-at-home husband, of course, he wouldn’t want to inherit her family’s business.

Horikita Suzune seemed to relax slightly.

Understanding how strong this girl’s pride was, Hachiman immediately got to work. “Since delicate techniques won’t get your hand out, there’s really only one option left—brute force.”

He lifted Horikita’s hand and examined it briefly.

“I’m going to destroy this thermos and buy you a new one. Right now, that’s the simplest solution.” Hachiman stated.

“……” Horikita remained silent.

She had already tried all the feasible methods herself, and in the end, she was left with nothing but exhaustion.

So, at this point, breaking the thermos was the only real option.

“But—does that mean we need a specialist to use a chainsaw or something?”

Horikita recalled horror movies she had seen as a child, where they used chainsaws to cut open objects. But that required extreme precision—otherwise, her hand would be in serious danger. Besides, an ordinary person wouldn’t dare use a chainsaw, right?

“Or should we use something like bolt cutters?”

Using pliers to pry open the thermos.

But with the thermos now firmly stuck around her arm, there was simply no space to use the pliers.

They were at an impasse.

“Then let’s try using soap and water again. I can tell you’re a little scared,” Hachiman said. “Besides, since you only have one hand available, you probably weren’t able to pull it out properly before.”

Horikita didn’t refuse.

When she sought Hachiman’s help, she had already considered that if this didn’t work, she might have to resort to having someone use a chainsaw. But as expected, she was a little reluctant about the idea of a chainsaw.

So she didn’t reject his suggestion. Hachiman led her toward the bathroom, but he quickly noticed that she was hopping on one foot due to her injury. And with her other hand stuck in the thermos, she had no way to balance herself. She was moving slowly, stumbling and swaying.

Seeing no other choice, he stepped back, repositioned himself, and scooped her up in his arms.

“Hey!” Horikita gasped in shock.

After all, no matter what, suddenly being carried by a boy was bound to make her nervous.

“You were moving too slowly,” Hachiman said matter-of-factly.

And, honestly, he felt like he was getting quite used to carrying girls.

Oh.

As expected, romance was something that simply wouldn’t happen to her.

That was what Horikita was thinking.

So she gave up resisting and allowed Hachiman to carry her to the bathroom. She raised her arm, still stuck in the thermos, while Hachiman first wet his hands, lathered up some soap, and began applying it to the point where her hand and the thermos met.

“It tickles—”

“Bear with it.”

After thoroughly lubricating the area, Hachiman gradually poured more water between Horikita’s hand and the thermos.

“I’m going to use some force now.” He moved behind her, holding onto her. It wasn’t about taking advantage of the situation—he was simply worried that once the thermos came off, the sudden movement might cause her to fall, especially since her foot was injured. She was in no condition to be left unguarded.

“Okay.” Suzune didn’t refuse. She wasn’t clueless—she knew that Hachiman was trying to protect her.

Bang!

Luck hadn’t abandoned them. After a brief moment of pain, Horikita’s body instinctively recoiled, but Hachiman caught her entirely.

“Phew.” She let out a breath of relief.

The thermos was finally off. Her sealed right hand was free once more.

“Gurgle gurgle—”

At that moment, the faucet made a strange noise.

“Looks like the water just got shut off,” Hachiman remarked.

Then, he carried her out again, dried her hand with a towel, and said, “You know, something’s off about what you said earlier.”

Hachiman continued, “Your arm is slightly bruised—there’s no way you got it stuck just this morning while washing the thermos.”

“…It happened last night,” Suzune admitted stiffly.

Because it was just too embarrassing.

Hilarious. Someone could actually be this dumb?

She had been stuck in a mere thermos for an entire day.

Still, Hachiman considerately began massaging her sore hand.

“Uh—” Horikita, feeling both comforted and a bit awkward by his technique, hesitated before speaking. “This time… thanks. It’s just… why are you being so… nice to me?”

Because your clothes are basically see-through right now, and I’m struggling to fight off the temptation?

Hikigaya was desperately trying to suppress his thoughts by vividly imagining a future where he was married to Horikita Suzune, forced to work as the head chef at her family’s restaurant—an utterly terrifying prospect.

But—

That wasn’t something he could tell her. He had a feeling she’d kick him with her uninjured leg if he did.

“It’s because your brother asked me to,” Hachiman said. “Remember when he had you study under me? Now that I’ve reached my goal of getting promoted to Class A, Chabashira-sensei has fulfilled her wish, I’ve earned my point rewards, and you didn’t take a share.

“So, looking after you when you do something dumb every now and then—it seems reasonable, doesn’t it?”

Oh.

That made Horikita deflate a little. Because it meant she was still seen as unreliable.

“But why did you even think of putting your hand into the thermos?” Hachiman asked, genuinely curious.

“I just thought it shouldn’t be possible,” Horikita admitted, now that the damage was done. “So I wanted to test it.”

“I get it, I get it,” Hachiman nodded. “Like when you see a label on a lightbulb that says Do not put in mouth—and you suddenly feel an urge to test it.”

“Exactly.”

“In fact, watching you do it makes me want to try, too,” Hachiman said. “Like this—”

He lifted his hand over the thermos, poised as if he were about to stick it inside.

Then he stopped midair.

“Yeah, no way I’m doing that,” Hachiman said.

Just as Horikita regained feeling in her fingers and attempted to stand up, she suddenly realized—she was still wet.

Looking down, she saw that in her earlier efforts to free her hand, water had splashed all over her.

Her clothes were completely soaked.

“……”

“……”

Wait.

She suddenly recalled—

Ever since earlier, Hachiman’s gaze hadn’t once been on her face.

She had thought he was looking at her hand, but now that she considered it…