NOVEL WEB Chapter 31
Chapter 31: The Wound Grew Wings
After Totsuka entered, Katsuragi went back to his usual posture of closing his eyes, but the occasional furrowing of his brows betrayed his inner unease.
Suddenly, the door to the student council office opened again. Totsuka came out looking dejected, and the entire process took less than five minutes, clearly indicating that the result was not ideal.
Katsuragi walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. After saying, “Don’t worry, leave it to me,” he confidently stepped into the office. Totsuka looked at him with admiration, thinking, “As expected of Katsuragi.”
About ten minutes later, Katsuragi came out of the student council office without any expression on his face. He remained as calm as ever, showing no signs of joy or frustration. His expression gave no useful information to the onlookers.
He didn’t greet anyone or engage in conversation with anyone before leaving.
Then…
“Kanazaki, why aren’t you going in?”
Ichinose quickly urged her classmate Kanazaki. Kanazaki glanced at Hikigaya, then at Ichinose. He was about to say, “You go first, I’ll wait for the next one,” but before he could finish, the girl suddenly pushed him from behind. He reluctantly entered the door.
The hallway was now left with just the two of them.
“I’m Ichinose, from Class 1B, Ichinose Honami. Please take care of me,” she said, sitting naturally next to Hikigaya on a chair in the hallway, as if they had known each other for decades. She greeted him so casually that Hikigaya didn’t even notice when she had become so familiar with him.
Hikigaya: “… ”
How dazzling…
Her sunny disposition, lively, cute, like a spring breeze, pure and kind… In an instant, Hikigaya could come up with all the adjectives to describe her. She even seemed to have a faint fragrance around her.
“Hi, I’m… Hikigaya Hachiman.”
The dead-fish-eyed boy quickly tried to distance himself, but she followed closely, completely unaware that their distance had already reached the “friend” level.
Just a moment ago, they were strangers! Why is she so familiar all of a sudden?!
Compared to the cute, blonde girl who wanted to be friends with everyone, this was on a whole different level!
“Hikigaya-kun, it seems like you and Yukinoshita-san are very familiar with each other?” Ichinose asked curiously.
“Why… no, how did you come to that conclusion?!” Hikigaya froze for a moment.
“Hehe, because I’m a girl, you know. Women’s intuition is quite accurate~ I hope Hikigaya-kun doesn’t mind,” Ichinose teased, sticking her tongue out and feeling a little proud of herself.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, Hikigaya suddenly had a heart-skipping moment.
Just a few simple words, and she had bridged the gap between them so easily, without causing any offense. There was an inexplicable sense of closeness, and this was the ability of Ichinose Honami.
As Hikigaya looked at her beaming smile, a word suddenly flashed in his mind.
Sincerity.
Although sincere words often have thorns, they are also the most powerful tool to reach another person’s heart!
Sincerity is the deadliest weapon!
Though the words seem simple, who can truly achieve this?
The simpler, the purer.
Hikigaya felt that what he was sensing from the girl in front of him was the purest form of sincerity.
“Hmm? Is there something on my face?” Ichinose asked, noticing Hikigaya’s gaze.
She wasn’t angry or upset from being stared at. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, looking at Hikigaya with eyes as bright as jewels, without any malice in them. Her gaze was as warm as sunlight. Facing this girl, it seemed that no filth should exist.
“No… nothing. I just think Ichinose-san’s heart is a little too big,” Hikigaya responded with some difficulty.
If there’s one type of person Hikigaya finds hard to deal with, it’s someone like this pink-haired girl in front of him, just like how he struggled with the teacher in the past.
Back in middle school, when Hikigaya just looked at a girl, she would naturally show an expression of disdain, as though everything he did was wrong.
“Normal girls wouldn’t act the way you do when they see my eyes. Sometimes, excessive kindness and an unbounded sense of closeness not only harm others but also harm yourself,” Hikigaya said with a cold expression.
“Huh? So, my behavior caused a bad impact on you, Hikigaya-kun?” Ichinose asked, lowering her head. “I’m sorry, I acted without thinking.”
Hikigaya Hachiman, look at what you’ve done?!
You really should cut your stomach open in apology!
But even though there was a sense of guilt inside him, Hikigaya kept his cold expression and didn’t relent.
As he said, recklessly getting close to someone’s heart is a very dangerous thing. The human heart is the most difficult to fathom, and also the most dangerous.
A gentleman speaks of actions, not hearts. There are few perfect people when it comes to hearts.
The girl in front of him treats “everything” as “kindness.” This is undoubtedly walking on the edge of a cliff, and one foot is already about to slip off!
“But I’ve never thought your eyes are scary, Hikigaya-kun.” Ichinose said with a slightly downcast expression but still voiced her honest feelings. “So, Hikigaya-kun, don’t feel disheartened. Believe in yourself. You can do it!”
The world wounded her, but the wounds grew wings.
A phrase suddenly flashed in Hikigaya’s mind.
The dead-fish-eyed boy opened his mouth but found he didn’t know what to say. Even though he had been hurt, he still smiled back.
Ichinose, seeing Hikigaya’s expression, said apologetically, “Actually, I know Hikigaya-kun is just looking out for me. I’m often advised or criticized by people, but whenever I see someone hurt, I can’t help but reach out. I’m afraid that if I reject helping others because I’m afraid of getting hurt, I might get used to it one day and become numb.”
After speaking, Ichinose stuck out her tongue and said, “Do you think I’m being too dramatic and self-important? Also, I don’t know why, but even though it’s our first meeting, I’m kind of chatty. I’m really not like this normally. It’s kind of weird, huh? I hope you don’t mind.”
“I… I…” Hikigaya thought for a long time before finally sighing. “Forget it, you only need to be responsible for yourself, and forget everything I just said.”
Hikigaya knew that the girl in front of him was the type of person who wouldn’t stop until she hit a wall, even if she knew a precipice awaited her.
She’s both a seeker of the way and… a martyr.
He had just warned her not to get too close to other people’s hearts, yet here he was, doing the same thing. Indeed, he was disgustingly double-standard!
Just then, the door to the office opened, and Ichinose raised her small fist, saying, “Let’s do our best together!” before stepping inside.