After leaving the locker room, Hikigaya had a serious look on his face. It wasn't because he was mad at those two idiots—he had a feeling something was going on.
He had noticed something was off the moment he entered the locker room. Ike and Yamauchi had been in there for way too long.
From the security footage, Hikigaya saw them enter, and now it had been almost thirty minutes.
So when he stepped in and saw them still there, he knew something wasn't right.
Yamauchi, Sudou, and the others had nervous looks on their faces—that alone gave them away. Hikigaya had confidence in his ability to read people. The only exception was Ayanokouji, who, as always, was impossible to figure out.
A bunch of guys, hanging around the locker room for thirty minutes, looking panicked and afraid of getting caught? There was definitely something shady going on.
"I really hope it's not what I think it is... Otherwise..."
A sharp glint flashed in Hikigaya's eyes.
Just then, someone hurried out of the girls' locker room.
Asahina ran over, looking excited. "I-I found it! My charm was really in my locker pocket! That scared me to death—I thought I'd never find it!"
"Glad you got it back."
Hikigaya was happy for her.
"Seriously, thank you so much."
Asahina looked down, embarrassed. She had made such a fuss over her missing charm, only to realize she had left it in her own pocket. And yet, Hikigaya had wasted so much time and effort helping her search for it. The thought made her feel guilty.
Hikigaya noticed her embarrassment and decided to leave, not wanting to make things more awkward.
"Wait, before you go, let's exchange contacts! I want to thank you properly later."
Hikigaya shook his head. "Senpai, this was just part of my job. No need to be so formal."
"But..."
Asahina still felt bad. She had already given up on finding it, but he had encouraged her not to. Even now, she felt warm inside, touched in a way she couldn't quite explain.
"Senpai, what if I told you I only helped you because I wanted your contact info? Would that change how you see me?"
Asahina blinked, stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond.
"That's why it's best to keep things as they are. I helped because it was my responsibility. I would've done the same for anyone. So you don't need to feel guilty or try to make it up to me. Just think of it as a normal thing, and that's the best way to support my work."
Hikigaya spoke sincerely.
He could clearly see what she was thinking.
She felt bad, so she wanted to repay him. But it was just like a patient giving a doctor a thank-you gift—at first, it was just a gesture of gratitude, but over time, it could change the doctor's mindset.
Rather than giving "money," it was better to give a "thank-you banner."
Sure, getting a pretty senpai's contact info was exciting, but for Hikigaya, it was more about staying vigilant—vigilant about himself.
His original intentions couldn't change.
That was his bottom line.
Even though he turned her down, Asahina didn't seem disappointed at all. In fact, she smiled even brighter.
Just then, Ike, Yamauchi, and the others finally came out of the locker room.
As they passed by, Ike couldn't help complaining to Yamauchi. "Haruki, if a senpai offered me her contact info, I'd be over the moon!"
"Wow, turning down a senpai who's giving you her number? No wonder some people are doomed to be single!"
Yamauchi laughed mockingly.
After they walked away, Asahina covered her mouth, trying to hold back a laugh.
Hikigaya kept a straight face, but in his head, he was cursing those two idiots.
"By the way, senpai, can you wait here for a bit? I need to check something."
After saying that, Hikigaya turned around and went back into the boys' changing room. From a distance, Ayanokouji had seen everything clearly.
Hikigaya walked over to where Ike, Yamauchi, and the others had been, carefully looking around as if searching for something. Suddenly, his eyes sharpened, locking onto the air vent on the floor. At first glance, it looked normal, but upon closer inspection, there were clear signs that the cover had been moved. The floor around it also showed some noticeable marks.
"An air vent? Could it be…?"
Hikigaya quickly went out to find Asahina.
"Senpai, I need your help with something."
Asahina nodded and went inside. About five minutes later, she came back out, her expression looking awful.
"There's… a remote-controlled car inside the vent. It has a camera on it."
Hikigaya's face darkened as well. He had suspected something, but he never thought Ike and Yamauchi would actually be bold enough to pull something like this.
And in the past thirty minutes, there had been plenty of girls in the changing room.
"Can you take out the memory card from the camera? Don't worry, I'll inform the student council senpai to handle this. Also, please don't let anyone know about this for now."
Hikigaya wanted to prevent the situation from escalating while also protecting the recorded evidence.
"It might be difficult. The vent cover is screwed in tightly…"
Asahina had already tried to open it but couldn't.
Just then, Hikigaya's phone vibrated with a message.
[Can we talk?]
It was from Ayanokouji.
Hikigaya instinctively glanced around and quickly spotted a figure standing in the shadows at a distance.
Narrowing his eyes, he gave Asahina a few more instructions before walking over.
The moment they met, Hikigaya got straight to the point.
"Ayanokouji, sneaking a camera into the girls' changing room? Do you have a death wish?!"
If it were Ike or Yamauchi, they would have been scared stiff by now. But Ayanokouji remained as calm as ever, his face completely unreadable.
"Can I say that this has nothing to do with me?"
"Nothing to do with you?"
Hikigaya let out a cold laugh.
"If it had nothing to do with you, then what did I just see? You guys sure have some guts!"
Ayanokouji let out a small sigh in his heart. He could clearly sense Hikigaya's suppressed anger. It was going to be tough to resolve this perfectly.
"I was hoping you'd hear me out. Here's what happened…"
Ayanokouji explained the situation.
"So you're saying you got involved just to stop those idiots? That's what you claim, but where's the proof?!"
Rather than believing Ayanokouji was confessing out of honesty, Hikigaya felt it was more likely that Ayanokouji was throwing the others under the bus to save himself.
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