Chapter 37 The School Trip Begins
Time passed quickly as Hikigaya anticipated the coming days.
The destination was exactly what he had been looking forward to—Kyoto.
The meeting place was Tokyo Station.
Chiba Prefecture isn't far from Tokyo; in terms of administrative zoning, it's right next to the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
That day, Hikigaya left home a little early. He took a local train from the station near his house, transferred to the Sobu Line Express at Tsudanuma, and arrived at Tokyo Station.
As he walked off the platform at Tokyo Station, he could already see scattered students wearing the Sobu High School uniform among the crowd.
Hikigaya spotted the core members of the popular group right away.
Funny thing is, that guy named Tobe actually went to the Service Club asking for help to chase a girl—specifically, that glasses-wearing fujoshi girl, just like before.
Even funnier, just like in his old world, before the school trip, the fujoshi girl herself came to the club, asking for the exact opposite—to stop Tobe from confessing to her.
Seriously, what the hell… is this a point in time, it would have happened no matter what?
At least this time I'm not involved like before.
.
.
.
In this he brought Tamamo-no-Mae along too.
Everyone walks their dogs or cats, but who walks a fox? And not just any fox—a nine-tailed fox. Try finding another person doing that!
However… this was actually Tamamo-no-Mae's own request. In her words: "Chiyoda, huh? Hard to believe that a tiny fishing village has surpassed Heian-kyo. That's just unscientific. I absolutely must humble myself and see it."
But Hikigaya didn't believe her nonsense for a second. He thought the real reason was that she was being driven crazy at home by Komachi.
Komachi had been tirelessly experimenting with new ways to play with her, and doing the same thing over and over didn't satisfy her.
As expected, the moment Tamamo-no-Mae showed up in her fox form, she was swarmed by female students. Whether they were part of the popular group or not, everyone wanted to play with her.
Judging from the sulky expressions on the guys' faces, this was a solid flex.
Besides the fox, Hikigaya also carried several bags.
Although it wasn't really necessary to bring anything, he wanted to experience the student vibe properly.
Climbing up the stairs leading from the platform to the surface, the first thing that came into view wasn't the sun or blue sky, but a concrete jungle filled with a bustling crowd.
Hikigaya followed the flow of people toward the Shinkansen boarding area.
Ordinary folks would probably have a hard time being jostled, but this was where not being ordinary came in handy.
Even before becoming a God Slayer, Hikigaya had trained himself to weave through crowded places without stopping.
One of hi ability…Hikki stealth!
Now, it was a non-issue. People couldn't even brush against him.
Unfortunately, that didn't matter—because Hikigaya had no idea where he was going. After wandering around in circles for ages, he finally reached the Shinkansen entrance.
There were already quite a few Sobu High students gathered there.
"Yahallo, Hachiman!"
A familiar figure waved at him.
A straight, long-haired girl casually walking down the street with a dangerous weapon—Hikigaya didn't know a second person like that.
Come to think of it, Ena was a year younger than Hikigaya, yet she went out of her way to be assigned to the same grade. That must've been rough for her.
But she seemed to have been staying in Tokyo for a while now, possibly due to something related to Voban.
"Yo, you brought a lot of stuff," Hikigaya teased as he walked up. "Planning to cross ten thousand mountains in search of enlightenment?"
"No, nothing like that..." Ena seemed a bit distracted. "Lately… huh?"
Only then did she notice Tamamo-no-Mae perched on Hikigaya's shoulder. Her slightly reserved expression instantly vanished.
"A pervy fox?"
"Who are you calling a pervy fox, you flat-chested girl?"
Tamamo-no-Mae fired back without hesitation.
Heaven help her—Ena might not be "heavyweight," but for an Asian, she was really impressive. Her proportions and shape were honestly excellent.
Whether it was due to that comment or something else, Ena's face turned bright red with anger.
"Ahem... No need to get so worked up. Fights build friendships, right?" Hikigaya awkwardly cleared his throat and lightly tapped Tamamo-no-Mae on the head.
"Don't talk nonsense. She's got plenty."
Then again… maybe he should've just kept quiet.
The fuss didn't last long, because it was almost time to depart.
Each class began taking attendance.
Since they weren't in the same class, Hikigaya and Ena parted ways for the time being.
The students lined up in an orderly fashion and split into their designated groups.
Hikigaya was surprised to find himself grouped with the two core members of the popular crowd: Hayama and Miura, plus the goofball Tobe. Four people total.
He had no idea the groups had already been decided.
After a few words of casual greeting, it was time to board. Hikigaya got on the assigned train with the others.
"Amazing! Shinkansen and planes are that kind of vibe, huh? I'm getting pumped!"
Tobe strolled down the aisle, diving right into his usual antics, acting out "youth" in his own special way.
In that sense, he really was a decisively goofy guy…
"I've never flown before."
"This is my first time on a Shinkansen, too."
Two other guys tagged along with Tobe. Hikigaya often saw them hanging around the ever-popular Hayama. He noticed they had this weird notion: that by staying close to the popular group, they could become popular themselves.
That probably explains why, when Tobe was asked in the Service Club what his strengths were, he answered, "Hayama's friend."
What a ridiculous answer. Everyone struggles to live in the way they think best, and Hikigaya wouldn't mock anyone for that.
But… that didn't stop him from firmly believing that Tobe was a genuine goofball.
To stay together on the train, the two guys followed Tobe, and the other two from their group came along behind them.
But they were quickly displaced by Miura, who was followed by Yuigahama and the glasses-wearing fujoshi.
Clearly, this group wasn't going to stick to their assigned seats.
"I want to sit by the window," Miura casually said. Yuigahama eagerly nodded and chimed in right away.
"Then I'll sit by the aisle. How about you, Hina?"
The glasses-wearing fujoshi paused in thought, then looked at Hikigaya.
"Hmm… Hikigaya-kun, which side do you think is more uke? Window or aisle?"
"…."
Hikigaya broke into a cold sweat.
Meanwhile, the fujoshi actually started drooling from the corner of her mouth.
"Ebina, close your mouth."
Miura pushed her jaw shut, while Yuigahama gave a wry smile beside her.
Speaking of Miura, she seemed to only befriend attractive girls—her circle had surprisingly high standards.
Even the glasses-wearing fujoshi, if you ignored her toothache-inducing fujoshi traits, actually had pretty high looks.
Otherwise, Tobe the goofball wouldn't be trying to confess to her.
But taking forever just to pick seats was unbearable.
"Just sit wherever—it's all the same," Hikigaya said. Then he turned to the two guys still lingering around. "You two should go take your seats too, or you'll block the others."
Though he didn't mean to scold them, those two really lacked awareness. Their teammates were right behind them, and they hadn't even glanced back, just hanging around aimlessly.
Maybe sensing Hikigaya's displeasure, the two mumbled something and finally went off to sit with their group.
"Yeah, we can always switch later."
Hayama just smiled and sat in the middle.
"Then I'll take the window seat."
Miura sat on the opposite row, by the window, crossed one leg over the other in a stylish pose. Because of her short skirt and nice legs, the posture actually looked pretty good.
Then she patted the seat beside her, calling Yuigahama and the fujoshi over.
Once they were finally settled, Hikigaya sat beside Hayama by the window. Tobe happily took the remaining seat across from the fujoshi.
Then, the car gave a slight jolt, and the scenery outside began to move.