COTE: Hikigaya's Struggles as Fake elite Are Troublesome, Yet Expected

As the two of them reached Keyaki Mall, Hikigaya couldn't help but be surprised by the sheer size of the complex.

His eyes scanned the enormous building in front of him. There were many shops, cafes, restaurants, arcades—even a movie theatre? It felt like one of those massive malls you would find in a major prefecture of Tokyo. And the number of people was equally absurd: students chatting, couples walking hand-in-hand, groups carrying shopping bags and drinks like they were on a weekend outing.

'What the hell... This place is insane,' he thought, blinking slowly. 'For a school mall, this is way too extravagant. No wonder students keep wasting their points—give teenagers this much money and drop them into a mall like this, and what do you expect?'

Horikita, noticing the flicker of surprise on his face, raised an eyebrow.

"Judging by that look on your face, this must be your first time here, Hikigaya-kun."

Hikigaya shoved his hands in his pockets and let out a small sigh. "Yeah, I never really had a reason to come here. I brought clothes with me when I enrolled, and whatever else I needed I just picked up from the convenience store near the dorms."

Horikita gave him a glance, slightly puzzled.

"Still… this place is practically a landmark of the entire campus. Almost everyone comes here sooner or later. You really weren't curious at all?"

"Curious? About what exactly?" Hikigaya shrugged. "Shiny stores and overpriced cafés? Sure, it's a very fancy mall, but in the end, it's still just a mall. Nothing I haven't seen before. Personally, a vending machine and a simple convenience store are more than enough for me. Unless there's something I can only find here, I usually stay away from noisy places like this."

"...I suppose that's an efficient way to look at it," she said, her tone neutral. "Though, it's not surprising coming from someone like you."

'Guess I've become that predictable, huh. Can't even argue with that.'

They continued walking in relative silence, weaving through the crowd. At some point, Hikigaya quietly pulled out his phone, typed a quick message to someone—We're here—and just as casually slipped it back into his pocket before anyone could notice.

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Soon, they arrived at Pallet Cafe on the first floor. It was one of the most popular spots in the mall, and just as Kushida had mentioned, the place was packed—mostly with girls. The few boys there were either part of mixed groups or were couples enjoying their time after class.

Hikigaya took one look around and let out a mental sigh.

Honestly, he looked like he wanted to leave before even stepping inside.

'So, this is the sacred ground where normies draw their power… No wonder I feel like my soul is draining just by standing here.'

"There are so many people here," Horikita muttered, her eyes scanning the packed tables.

"Yeah," Hikigaya nodded. "Let's order quickly. Looks like seats are vanishing by the second."

They approached the counter, placed their orders, and soon walked away with their trays. Hikigaya had gone with a black coffee and a slice of chocolate coffee cake. Horikita, on the other hand, had chosen a simple serving of pancakes.

"Do you like coffee and sweets, Hikigaya-kun?" she asked as they scanned the cafe for a free table.

"Yeah, I mean, that's kind of the whole reason I dragged myself here. This cake and coffee are supposed to pair well together, and apparently, you can only get them at this place," he replied, as if justifying the reason.

Horikita gave a small nod, then frowned slightly. "There aren't any open seats, though."

"There," Hikigaya said, pointing toward the far end. "That side looks promising. Judging by their empty cups and plates, those students have probably been here for a while. They should be leaving soon."

She gave him a slight nod of agreement, and they began making their way over.

'Alright… let's get this over with. Hopefully she picks up on the signal.'

As they passed one particular table, Hikigaya deliberately dragged his foot against the back of a nearby chair just enough to create a sharp sound that drew the attention of all the students seating nearby.

As the scraping noise echoed briefly, a girl from the nearby table turned and gave Hikigaya a quick glare.

"Ah, sorry about that," he mumbled with a slight bow of his head. "Didn't see the chair there."

The girl didn't respond, only raising an eyebrow before turning back to her conversation.

Horikita sighed beside him, clearly displeased. "Can you try not to cause a scene for once Hikigaya-kun?"

"I wasn't trying to," he replied quietly, eyes forward. "Just… misjudged the distance. My bad."

She looked like she was about to say more until a familiar cheerful voice from nearby suddenly called out to them.

"Hey…, there Hikigaya-kun! Horikita-san!"

They both turned toward the sound.

It was Kushida who was seated at a table with three chairs, smiling brightly. Two of the girls sitting with her stood up, picking up their trays.

"Are you two looking for a seat?" she asked. "You can take ours!"

The two girls with her gave goodbyes before heading off, leaving Kushida alone at the table.

Hikigaya glanced around at the still-packed café before muttering, "Well, no point standing around and wasting more time. I don't see any other pair of free seats."

He turned towards her. "Let's just take this one, Horikita."

Horikita didn't answer right away. Her gaze lingered on Kushida, her expression unreadable but clearly tense. She didn't like this. Still, she gave a slight nod and followed him to the table.

They took the empty seats across from Kushida. Horikita remained expressionless, or rather, cold. Being in such crowded surroundings was making him a bit uneasy too. especially with what was likely coming next.

Kushida called out to them after he made that sharp sound with the chair just now, keeping up the act that it was just a coincidence and that she only noticed them because of the noise he created.

Of course, this was something Kushida and he had planned in advance. Kushida and her friends had secured these three seats earlier after class. Then, once he and Horikita left the classroom, he deliberately slowed their pace especially with that little scuffle involving Sudo to ensure they arrived well after them.

Just before they reached the café, he sent Kushida a message, prompting her to order a dessert for herself. That way, she would have a reason to stay behind when her friends eventually left.

All of it was carefully arranged to make their encounter seem spontaneous.

'Alright, Kushida. You said you could make her smile. Let's see if you can back that up now.'

"Did you come here together, Hikigaya-kun? Horikita-san?" Kushida asked.

Hikigaya gave a simple nod. "Yeah, we did."

Kushida leaned forward slightly. "So, then—"

"Aren't you going to join your friends?" Horikita interrupted, her voice calm but cutting. "Why are you still here, Kushida-san?"

Kushida blinked, "Ah, well, I'll join them once I finish this dessert. They had something they wanted to check out, so they went to a nearby store. I figured I'd just finish up here in the meantime."

Horikita didn't say anything. She simply narrowed her eyes as if contemplating something.

Kushida continued. "Hmm? Did I do something to make you uncomfortable, Horikita-san? Or... could it be—" she gave an exaggerated gasp, "Wait… don't tell me this is a date, and I'm the third wheel here?"

Horikita's expression didn't change and she didn't say anything.

She looked at Kushida with a flat, almost unimpressed look—the kind reserved for people who'd just said something so irrelevant it didn't deserve dignifying with a real response.

Hikigaya nearly choked on the coffee he was drinking. He coughed once, clearing his throat. "A date? Me? With Horikita?" He shook his head. "No offense, but I value my life too much to even attempt something so reckless."

Kushida let out a bright laugh, "Um… that's a bit mean thing to say to a girl, Hikigaya-kun."

Horikita replied to his response. "I suppose I should thank you for confirming that your standards are every bit as degraded as your sense of self-preservation."

Hearing her say he couldn't help have some sad thoughts. 'Hey, I get it my standards might be questionable. But my survival instincts don't go around insulting that? Its Top-tier, thank you very much. You don't make it this far as a loner without mastering the art of avoiding normies.'

Then she stood up abruptly and gathering her bag. "I'm leaving now."

Kushida's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of panic crossing her face. "Eh? W-wait, don't go! I didn't mean to upset you, Horikita-san. I was just joking around!"

Hikigaya asked, "H-hey wait, we just got here, though."

Horikita glanced at him. "You don't need me now that Kushida-san is here, do you? She can keep you company while you finish the rest of the items."

As he watched her rise from her seat, Hikigaya sighed internally.

'Nope, not yet. I still need to stretch this out for at least ten more minutes. Just enough for Kushida to feel like she has a shot. Whether they become friends or fail spectacularly isn't my problem. I just have to fulfill my end of the deal.'

Hikigaya watched her push back her chair, her fingers tightening slightly on the strap of her bag. She was serious about leaving.

He leaned forward slightly and spoke, his voice low but firm.

"Horikita… can't you just wait ten more minutes? I'm almost done. It would be better if we left together, don't you think?"

"If it's just ten minutes," she said, "then Kushida-san can stay and keep you company. You'll manage just fine."

"That's not what we agreed on Horikita, remember" he said. "You promised to accompany me until we finish and leave the café. If I answered the questions, you were curious about."

She turned slightly toward him now, annoyance flickering in her eyes. "Answered? You call what you said answers? All you did was give me more questions. You almost avoided everything."

Hikigaya scratched the side of his head, his gaze drifting away for a moment before settling back on her. "Maybe. But sometimes a good clue is worth more than a straight answer. Isn't that what you were really after? Or do you just wanted to hear some simple shallow answers from me."

His words stung her a bit not because they were wrong, but because they brushed too close to something she hadn't acknowledged even to herself.

"If you actually think about those clues, everything that's been happening around you... will start to make sense."

She didn't like the way he said that. Like he knew something she didn't. Like he expected her to catch up.

Horikita frowned, clearly not satisfied.

He looked at her more directly now, the corners of his mouth dipping in that familiar, tired expression of his.

"But hey, if you really want to leave, then go ahead. I just thought you were someone who always kept her word. Guess I might've been wrong. Next time, it'll be harder for me to take your words as credible."

That made her pause.

He was provoking her. She could tell by his tone and the way he looked at her calm and straightforward, like always.

And the worst part? It worked.

She hated breaking promises, even ones she barely cared about. Especially when someone like him called it out. He wasn't smug about it, but his words held a quiet sting, like he wasn't even surprised she might back out.

Her pride bristled at that.

'I've already put up with enough nonsense. What's another ten minutes?' she reasoned with herself.

And fine, maybe she had technically agreed to stay until they left together.

"Besides… it's just ten minutes, and if you leave now, it's gonna look like I got dumped in the middle of a café while Kushida-san sticks around to console me. Which is, frankly, way more awkward than anything else going on here."

"…Ten minutes," she said quietly, setting her bag back down without looking at either of them. "Make sure to finish up quickly."

Hikigaya glanced at her, a small flicker of amusement crossing his face.

'Alright then… let's see where this goes.'

Kushida gave a small, sheepish smile. "Um… I'm really sorry if I said something that upset you, Horikita-san. I didn't mean anything bad by it. I was just teasing a little…"

"I'm not upset."

Kushida tilted her head slightly, trying to read her expression. "Are you sure? Because it kind of seemed like—"

"I said I'm not upset. You're reading too much into it," Horikita cut in, her voice flat.

"…Right." Kushida let out a small awkward laugh.

Trying to recover the flow, Kushida perked up again.

"Oh, by the way," she said brightly, "this café apparently rotates their dessert selection every two weeks! That's kind of cool, don't you think, Horikita-san?"

"I don't have a sweet tooth."

Kushida's continued. "Oh, right. Um, do you come to Keyaki Mall often? There's a really good bookstore upstairs. You might—"

"I'm not interested," Horikita said, her tone unchanged.

Hikigaya quietly took a bite of his cake and a sip of coffee, while enjoying the show.

Watching Kushida fidget while Horikita calmly shot her down was proving to be far more enjoyable than he'd anticipated. In fact, the cake almost tasted sweeter for him with the tension in the air.

Kushida was clearly struggling now, having underestimated just how stubborn Horikita could be.

"Um, well..." A bewildered Kushida signaled for Hikigaya to help her somehow, but he simply offered a faint smile and looked away, as if excusing himself from the conversation entirely.

Hikigaya thought 'Oh no, don't look at me like that. I'm just here for the cake and the show now. You're doing great, really. I've already done my part. Whatever happens now is all on you.'

Kushida forced a sweet smile, but her thoughts were anything but pleasant.

'That useless piece of shit…'

Sitting there with that smug face, like he's watching some midday drama. Is that damn cake really more interesting than helping me? Seriously? He could've at least said something to break the ice. And what the hell was that faint little smile even supposed to mean? Ugh. I hope you choke on that cake and die, you ugly gloomy bastard.

She then smiled politely at Horikita after receiving another rejection from her.

'And you—ugh.'

So cold. So high and mighty. Acting like she's better than everyone, What a stuck-up bitch. Would it kill this bitch to be just a little cooperative? God, she's so damn irritating. Honestly… she can die too. Ugh.

With nothing changing, and her patience snapping—

"Horikita-san. Please be my friend!" Kushida just came out and asked her directly, no longer trying to hide anything.

"I've already said this many times. I want you to leave me alone. I have no intention of becoming friends with anyone in class. Can you not understand that?" Horikita said.

"Always being alone… isn't that a really sad way to live?" Kushida pressed. "I just want us all to get along in class."

"I won't stop you from chasing that ideal," Horikita said flatly, "but forcing others into it is wrong. I don't find being alone sad."

"B-but..."

"Besides," she cut in, "do you really think I'd be happy if you forced me to be your friend? Do you believe trust can grow from something so insincere?"

Horikita wasn't wrong. It wasn't that she couldn't make friends, but that she considered them unnecessary. Kushida wanted something, but Horikita would not reciprocate. It was bound to fail from the beginning.

"It's my fault for not being clear enough with you, so I don't blame you this time. But if you try this again, please keep in mind that I will not forgive you."

With that, she picked up her unfinished latte and rose to her feet, her gaze cutting sharply toward Hikigaya. He understood this was the end of the line. There was no point in staying any longer, not after Horikita had so thoroughly shut Kushida down.

'Ah… well so much for making her smile I suppose.'

He met her gaze for a moment, then gave a vague shrug.

"...Well, I'm done too," he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Guess it's time we head out."

"Horikita-san, whatever you say, I really want to be friends with you. When I saw you, I felt like it wasn't the first time we'd met. I wondered if you felt the same way," Kushida mumbled.

"This is a waste of time. I find everything you're saying unpleasant," Horikita said, and without bothering to look back, she began to walk away.

He glanced at Kushida her smile was faltering ever so slightly.

"Well… thanks for letting us sit here Kushida-san," he said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Maybe better luck next time."

Without another word, he turned and followed after Horikita, not looking back.

On the way, Hikigaya couldn't help but think:

Honestly, this was doomed from the start.

Someone like Horikita a sharp-tongued, isolated, and allergic to pleasantries wasn't going to accept anyone as a "friend" just because they asked nicely. If anything, a direct appeal like that would only make her back off even more.

She didn't hate people, probably. She just had no faith in the idea of depending on them.

And constant nagging like this? It didn't build friendship—it just made the already non-existent relationship plunge deeper into the negatives. He could understand that. In fact, he could relate to it more than he cared to admit.

But still…

'Why is Kushida trying so hard?'

If she is doing this all for her dream of wanted to be friends with everyone, shouldn't she start with people who were actually willing to talk? There were plenty of students in the class that she still hadn't interacted much.

A social butterfly like her should know better. She was the type to read the room, wasn't she? Then she should realize that someone like Horikita wasn't the place to start. Conquer the small fries first then go after the final boss if she really wanted to complete this conquest of friendship of hers.

So then, why this relentless focus on Horikita?

'Could it be she is jealous of Horikita?'

After all, girls had their own complicated dynamics sometimes they got close just to compete, to compare, or to quietly drag each other down. But that didn't quite fit here. Kushida didn't seem that petty. At least, not on the surface. She was more popular, more well-liked clearly the one with the upper hand in social standing.

It could also be something he just didn't know about.

Or maybe…

'Maybe Kushida actually liked Horikita?'

Not in a friendly way.

But You know, in a like-like way.

'No, seriously—why am I even thinking this? And worse, why is this utterly ridiculous thought actually starting to make sense?'

The popular, bubbly girl relentlessly chasing after the stoic, unreachable loner. The contrast in personalities. The tension. The way Kushida smiled just a little too brightly every time Horikita brushed her off, like she was challenged by it.

And neither of them ever really showed any interest in boys, come to think of it.

It was straight out of one of those yuri mangas that he used to read in middle-school. You know, the kind where the cool beauty ends up getting flustered by the outgoing girl who slowly breaks down her walls, one accidental touch and one bentos-making session at a time.

…Wait. Hold on.

'Did I… did I accidentally stumble into some kind of plotline of yuri romance? Is this my karma for all the romcoms I used to laugh at?'