"Ugh, that hurts!"
"Ouch!"
Hikigaya and the girl in front of him spoke almost at the same time. He was holding his chin, while she clutched her head with both hands.
"It's you again?!"
"Ibuki?!"
Again, they spoke in unison.
"Watch where you're going!"
"You did that on purpose!"
They both pointed at each other.
"You're the one blaming me first!"
Hikigaya and Ibuki locked eyes in a fierce stare.
"Just my luck!"
"Hey, stop copying me!"
Ibuki shouted in frustration.
"I'm the one who should be saying that!"
Hikigaya snapped back. He still hadn't forgotten how Ibuki had stomped on his foot back on the cruise ship. Just thinking about it made his foot ache again.
"What are you doing here?"
Ibuki glared at Hikigaya and glanced toward the nearby crowd.
"None of your business."
"You—!"
Ibuki huffed, looking like she wanted to argue more, but then suddenly froze. Without another word, she turned and quickly walked away, completely ignoring Hikigaya.
"What the heck?!"
Hikigaya couldn't help but complain. But judging by the direction Ibuki was heading, was she… going for a fortune-telling session?
For some reason, the thought of someone as tough and tomboyish as Ibuki being into fortune-telling felt strangely off to Hikigaya. The contrast was just too weird.
"But the fortune-telling line requires two people…"
He was sure that with Ibuki's personality, there was no way she'd ask a stranger to pair up with her. Just imagining her getting stuck because of that made Hikigaya chuckle.
Ding!
Just as the elevator doors opened for the next round, Hikigaya was about to step in when—
A sudden force yanked him back before he could even react!
"This is my partner! We can line up now, right?"
Ibuki pointed at the dead-fish-eyed boy beside her and spoke to the staff managing the queue.
"Wait a second! Since when was I your partner? No—when did I even agree to this?!"
Hikigaya was completely baffled as Ibuki forcibly dragged him into the fortune-telling line. Just as he was about to turn and leave, she grabbed him again.
"You're not going anywhere!"
Ibuki said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You bumped into me so hard that I got a lump on my head, so you have to make it up to me!"
"Huh?!"
Hikigaya's eyes widened. He leaned in to carefully examine Ibuki's head, but… aside from her hair, there was nothing there!
"Where's the lump?! You're totally lying!"
"It was there before, but it's already gone down, so you just can't see it now."
Ibuki averted her gaze.
Hikigaya: "…"
"Are you messing with me? I don't have time for this. I'm heading back."
As soon as he said that, he turned to leave—only for Ibuki to grab his arm again. This time, though, she wasn't as forceful as before. Instead, she bit her lip and glared at him, looking "angry" but staying completely silent.
At that moment, a staff member walked over to them.
"U-Um… are you two lining up? If not, please don't cause a scene."
"Uh…"
Hikigaya didn't know how to respond, but Ibuki immediately answered, "Of course we're lining up! Can't you see we're already in line?"
Hikigaya could only give the staff member a helpless smile as they walked away.
"Okay… can you let go now?"
Ibuki said nothing.
"I promise I won't run away, alright?"
Ibuki ignored him.
"Hey, if you don't let go, I'm gonna get mad. Like, really mad!"
Ibuki held on even tighter!
"…"
Are you freaking serious?!
Hikigaya screamed internally. Did this girl not realize how weird this looked?!
The students around them were mostly couples, so this kind of scene might seem normal in their eyes. But for him and Ibuki…
Wait a minute—!
Hikigaya seemed to notice something and spoke up.
"Hey, you're not just copying what everyone else is doing, are you?"
Most of the people in line were couples, so it was normal to see some physical contact.
Ibuki let out a snort and didn't answer his question, but Hikigaya could already tell from her expression—she was definitely doing exactly what he thought!
Because Ibuki was an idiot.
"Ibuki, haven't you noticed that everyone in line is in pairs—one guy and one girl?"
Hikigaya had basically spelled it out for her, but instead of understanding, Ibuki just scoffed.
"Anyone with eyes can see that. You really love stating the obvious!"
Hikigaya: "..."
Yep, she's an idiot.
Taking a deep breath, Hikigaya tried again.
"What I mean is, don't you find it strange that it's all one guy and one girl?"
"Huh? Isn't that obvious? Of course, it's because… it's because…"
Ibuki suddenly froze. It finally clicked. Her ears turned visibly red, and she quickly turned her head to glare at Hikigaya with a look of frustration.
Just as she was about to say something, the staff member arrived and told them it was their turn.
Annoyed, Ibuki shoved Hikigaya's arm away and stomped into the tent. Hikigaya stood there with his mouth open.
How did this suddenly become his fault?
"Welcome, you two. Each person can ask—"
The fortune teller glanced at them and suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
More specifically, when he saw Hikigaya's face, he even rubbed his eyes before looking over at Ibuki. His expression was beyond strange.
"Ah… we meet again, young man."
Hikigaya instantly picked up on the fortune teller's teasing tone. His face stiffened.
He wanted to dig a hole and crawl inside.
This was way too embarrassing!
Just a moment ago, he had been in here with Ichinose, and now he was walking in with another girl…
Social suicide.
All Ibuki's fault!
But that idiot didn't even notice.
She still kept her cool, but the excitement and anticipation in her eyes totally gave her away.
Hikigaya was honestly surprised. For someone as strong-willed and antisocial as Ibuki, she was actually into fortune-telling?
That was unexpected.
Once they finished and stepped out of the tent, Ibuki disappeared like she had completely forgotten Hikigaya existed.
Just as Hikigaya thought he could finally go back, a tall, silver-haired girl in black stockings suddenly blocked his way.
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