Capítulo 32: The Beginning of Swim Class — Another Mating Season
Just before stepping into the elevator, Kei Karuizawa realized she had forgotten her bag. Flustered, she rushed back to grab it. Without uttering a word, she hurried back to the elevator, behaving as if she and Hikigaya Hachiman had nothing to do with each other.
Well, that was probably for the best. This was how things were supposed to go.
Hikigaya didn't mind Karuizawa's cold attitude. In fact, he felt relieved by it. With that, he calmly returned to his dorm room.
...
Before anyone noticed, the first week of school had already flown by. The students in the class, whether boys or girls, had become familiar with each other.
Of course, there were always a few outliers—those who stood apart from the crowd, either by choice or circumstance. Among the boys, Hikigaya, Kouenji, and Yukimura Teruhiko kept their distance. For the girls, Horikita Suzune, Sakura Airi, and Hasebe Haruka maintained their solitary auras.
In short, the students who fit into groups all seemed the same, while the loners each had their unique presence.
As the flagship of the loners, Hikigaya had impressively managed to avoid interacting with anyone in class for a full week.
Truly, an achievement worthy of recognition.
What puzzled him, though, was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Hikigaya had expected someone like Ayanokoji to walk the loner path, avoiding the cliques in the class. But, by the third or fourth day, Ayanokoji had seamlessly joined forces with the class fools—Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou.
It was like watching the Hulk hanging out with SpongeBob and his friends. The absurdity of it all was almost too much.
Meanwhile, today was the day the student council would post its new member list, and it also marked Class D's first swim class. Hikigaya felt no real connection to either event.
Since his conversation with the student council president, Horikita Manabu, a few days ago, he has received no further contact from them. It was as if they had forgotten about him entirely.
Hikigaya was perfectly fine with being forgotten. The last thing he wanted was to become a lackey for the bureaucratic student council.
Aside from that, the excitement for the upcoming swim class was palpable, especially among the boys in the class. They were all acting like animals in heat, their energy buzzing from the moment the day began.
Particularly, Yamauchi and Ike stood out. These two had spent the entire first week pestering every girl in class as if trying to raise their popularity stats. Instead, their reputations had plummeted to even lower levels than Hikigaya's, something that he couldn't help but admire.
What baffled him the most was their optimism. Despite being universally disliked, they still approached the upcoming swim class as if a romantic encounter was just around the corner.
Hikigaya could almost respect their resilience.
"Doc, you're going to keep track of all the girls in swimsuits, right?" Ike nudged Yukimura, who sat nearby.
"Keep track? What exactly do you want him to do?" Sudou chimed in, half-jokingly.
"We need a ranking of the girls with the biggest chests... And, you know, if there's a chance, maybe even snap a few pictures with your phone."
"…"
Their crude conversation was out in the open, with Yamauchi and Ike grinning like fools. Although not many girls were present due to changing for swim class, the few that were cast disgusted glances at the pair. Unsurprisingly, the boys remained unfazed, laughing and planning their day.
Hikigaya couldn't begin to understand what went on in their heads. He figured anyone who willingly hung out with these two must be equally idiotic.
Then he saw Ayanokoji—the "Idiot Number One"—approaching the duo, seamlessly integrating himself into their group.
How could someone fall so far…
"You're not going to change?"
A cold voice interrupted Hikigaya's thoughts. It was a familiar one.
"There's still time before class starts. I figured I'd wait until the changing room empties." Hikigaya responded matter-of-factly, fully committed to his lone-wolf lifestyle. "No true loner would willingly enter a crowded space."
"Hmph. If anything, you're just fooling yourself," Horikita Suzune replied, her voice as icy as ever, clearly unimpressed.
"You say that as if you enjoy interacting with people," Hikigaya retorted, smirking.
"I prefer solitude. That's entirely different from your condition."
"What difference does it make?"
"Are you trying to debate abstract concepts with me?"
"No, no. I'll pass on a philosophical discussion," Hikigaya sighed, feeling once again defeated by Horikita's sheer presence. Maybe he really should hit the gym more often.
Just then, Horikita glanced out the window, her expression softening ever so slightly.
"The student council list gets posted today, right?"
"Uh, yeah…" Hikigaya hesitated. He wasn't keen on discussing this. If Horikita Manabu's words had been genuine, he might be the only first-year on the list. Given the sibling dynamic between Horikita Suzune and Manabu, the idea of this black-haired girl strangling him out of jealousy one day didn't seem so far-fetched.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter. No one from our class will make it into the student council anyway," Horikita said with a shrug, clearly dismissive of the idea that anyone from Class D could rise to such heights.
As the classroom slowly emptied, leaving only the two of them, Horikita finally stood up. With her usual calm expression, she made her way to the changing room.
Hikigaya followed suit, though as he approached the door, he ran into none other than Kei Karuizawa. The blonde, ponytailed girl had returned to grab something she had forgotten.
Unlike their earlier encounter, this time Karuizawa's demeanor was icy, her gaze sharp and cutting.
"Move!" she snapped, glaring at Hikigaya with a venomous look.
Their eyes met for only a brief second, but it was clear—she wanted nothing to do with him.
He stumbled backward in fright, retreating several steps until his back pressed against the doorframe, where he finally managed to catch his breath.
Meanwhile, Kei Karuizawa, her expression calm and indifferent, walked over to her seat, grabbed a pink towel, and immediately turned to leave without another glance.
In the hallway, they walked side by side for a brief moment, neither acknowledging the other's presence. Without a word, they turned in opposite directions, silently pretending they hadn't crossed paths.
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder