SWNOVELXO Chapter 98
Chapter 98: What Is This Play?
“Ah!”
In the cold moonlight, on the quiet campus late at night, on a school path lacking surveillance, a sudden scream from a girl rang out. Given the circumstances, one couldn’t help but imagine inappropriate scenarios… just kidding!
“You idiot, what are you doing!”
The ‘drowned little angel,’ soaked in soda, fiercely glared at the boy across from her with dead fish eyes. The anger she had barely suppressed instantly surged!
Soaked through, with the cola seeping into her clothes, she felt a sticky sensation on her skin, as though some slimy creature was attached to her, continuously wriggling. From childhood to now, she had never experienced such treatment.
“I’m helping you wake up a bit.”
Hikigaya didn’t show any sympathy, even taking the opportunity to shake the soda can violently again. Immediately, the cola’s scent on Kushida became even stronger, and even her golden hair was affected.
“Ah! You bastard!!”
Kushida was on the verge of going crazy. How could this dead fish-eyed idiot not play by the rules? He must have a screw loose!
“How does it feel to be a Cola Lady? Are you a little more awake now?”
Hikigaya even handed her a tissue, an action that completely enraged Kushida. Like a little cat with its fur standing on end, she stared at Hikigaya with wide, fierce eyes.
“You dead fish-eyed jerk! I’ll go straight to the school and tell them you tried to force yourself on me! The fingerprints on my clothes…”
Suddenly, Kushida froze in place, looked down at her soaked jacket, and immediately realized something. She quickly raised her head to look at Hikigaya.
“Ha, that’s why I told you earlier… to wake up a bit.”
Seeing Kushida finally notice the problem, Hikigaya stopped pretending. “Now can you think clearly?”
“No! The fingerprints on it can still be extracted!”
Kushida was furious.
“Tsk tsk, you don’t even sound confident yourself.”
Hikigaya sneered. “Yes, the fingerprints on your clothes will last for a while, but only as long as there’s no external interference. Especially with the destruction caused by the carbonated drink, how much do you think the fingerprints can survive?”
Previously docile, Hikigaya now suddenly seemed like a different person, aggressive and moving toward Kushida step by step. Kushida instinctively took a step back.
“Heh, Hikigaya, you think this little trick can fool me?!”
Suddenly, Kushida stopped retreating, coldly sneering at Hikigaya: “Don’t think I don’t know. You’re just bluffing. If I take this jacket to the police right now, you… are done for!”
“Oh? Really?”
The boy shrugged indifferently, “Then go ahead! Let’s see if you can even extract the fingerprints. But once this thing gets exposed, even if you’re the victim, your image in everyone’s eyes will plummet.”
He chuckled darkly. “On the surface, people might sympathize with you, speak out in your defense, but in reality, they’ll be mocking you. Especially the girls who you’ve overshadowed, rumors might even spread privately saying ‘Kushida was exposed,’ ‘Kushida’s no longer pure, maybe she was trying to seduce men.'”
“Tsk tsk, by then, the once beloved, praised, and admired pure girl Kushida Kikyo will end up being excluded by the girls and seen through colored lenses by the boys. You’ll be completely socially dead!”
“You! Shut! Up!!!”
Kushida was seething with anger, almost overwhelmed by the impulse to rush forward and tear Hikigaya’s mouth off!
“Heh, why are you so angry? Isn’t this exactly the result you’re fully aware of? Although I find it disgusting, in this twisted, authoritarian society, especially when the target is a woman, the victim will always be blamed.”
“Is it ‘fish die, net break’?”
“I’m just a loner who’s been excluded, with no attachment to this school. On the other hand, you’re loved by everyone, have a bright future, and are treated like an angel. Heh, having such a cute girl accompany me to the end of this garbage youth is a perfect way to end it.”
Hikigaya’s indifferent attitude, along with his sarcastic words, were so detestable in Kushida’s eyes!
The scariest part was that Hikigaya’s words had actually started to make her waver, each sentence hitting Kushida in her most vulnerable spots.
“Moreover… let’s assume, hypothetically, that you can extract the fingerprints from this jacket. So what? As long as I insist that I’ve been slandered, or even admit that I just accidentally touched your chest, do you think the school will do anything?”
“Though you’re the one everyone loves, don’t forget, at the school level, you’re just an ordinary class D student, and I’m a student council member. Who’s worse, who’s better is still uncertain!”
“You think the worst punishment would be me getting expelled, arrested? Heh, with my current position in the student council, to avoid making a big deal out of it, the school will just downplay it and minimize the impact. The worst-case scenario is just a school-wide announcement. But to have me completely expelled? Not even close!”
“Kushida, threats are not a reminder to your enemy; they’re the triumphant victory song!”
Step by step, Hikigaya closed in on Kushida. The cold expression on his face, combined with his realistic and sarcastic words, finally made Kushida shiver. Her body involuntarily retreated.
To Kushida, the Hikigaya standing before her now was filled with an unknown sense of terror and cruelty. His once-disgusting dead fish eyes now felt like an overwhelming force, as if he could see straight through her. She suddenly felt powerless.
“What… what do you want to do?! Y-y-y-you… stay where you are! Don’t come any closer!!”
Kushida instinctively covered her chest with both hands, finally showing a hint of fear on her face toward Hikigaya.
When Hikigaya was less than a meter away from Kushida, he finally stopped. His heart was very complicated; he never expected that it would take this kind of ‘evil’ act to intimidate her.
Sigh, as expected, people like to bully the kind and fear the evil.
He probably looked like a villain to Kushida now, like a bad guy leader.
After all, even Hikigaya himself found his own words disgusting. But the effect was immediate. He wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad.
But this feeling of playing the villain… wasn’t all bad!
Hikigaya somewhat understood the feelings of that dramatic girl, Haruno. It turned out that it could indeed become addictive.
Hikigaya Hachiman, now you’re too much of a baby!
But speaking of which, it’s been this long. The backup should have arrived by now, right?
Forget it, never mind!
The boy, now playing the role of a villain leader, looked at the darkened little angel, giving a creepy laugh. Suddenly, a flock of birds flew off, and Kushida forced herself to suppress the unease, trying hard to appear more fierce and intimidating. Otherwise, she’d truly be overwhelmed by Hikigaya’s presence.
Even if she was slow and foolish, Kushida understood that the dead fish-eyed boy before her was nowhere near as simple as he seemed on the surface. The loneliness, the exclusion—those were just his disguises, the same as herself!
“You… who the hell are you?!”
“Heh heh, I’m just a passing weirdo.”
“?”
“Anyway, I won’t say anything about tonight. I’m not interested in you. But… if you keep provoking me over and over again, I won’t mind letting you, this big-breasted brainless woman…”
Before Hikigaya could finish, Kushida suddenly seemed to be provoked like a lioness: “Huh?! Who are you calling big-breasted and brainless?!”
Before Hikigaya could react, Kushida suddenly sprang up and grabbed his hand again.
Huh? Again?
The thought barely flashed through his mind when, in the next second, his palm once again felt a soft, wet, and slightly sticky sensation.
As Kushida was about to show a victorious grin, a curious voice froze her in place.
“Wow~ Are you guys playing some kind of play here?”
“…”
“…”