The air froze, and Kurobe Nanoka's face flushed bright red once again.
Hachiman was left speechless.
"Mr. Pervert-classmate." In his sixteen years of life, he had been called a gloomy guy, dead-fish eyes, and a loner, but "pervert" was a first.
"...You were the one who grabbed it first."
"Was I?" Kurobe Naoka looked down at her hand, then back at him, and blinked. "How co I don't rember?"
"You took the initiative."
"Oh." She nodded, thinking it over. "Then why would I take the initiative to hold your hand? Mr. Pervert-classmate?"
Hachiman opened his mouth, but he realized there was no way to answer that question normally. He couldn't exactly say, "Because your sister wanted to date you."
He glanced at Kurobe Nanoka.
Kurobe Nanoka's face was red enough to bleed. She hurriedly blurted out an explanation: "Sister! It... it was ! I asked Hikigaya-kun to help!"
"Help?" Kurobe Naoka turned to her sister. A flash of sharp insight, hard to detect, crossed her light purple eyes, though her tone remained breezy.
"Help with what? Help find a boyfriend?"
"No!" Kurobe Nanoka's voice spiked before she quickly lowered it again. "It... it was to find the hairband. The one you gave was lost, so I asked Hikigaya-kun to help find it, and then..."
"And then you had him hold my hand?" Kurobe Naoka tilted her head. "Nanoka, when did you learn this trick? Before, you wouldn't even say a word to the boys in your class."
"It wasn't like that!" Kurobe Nanoka's voice was urgent and raspy. "It's because... because you..." She couldn't finish the sentence.
"Because I what?" she asked, her voice softening. "Because I couldn't talk? Couldn't move? Just sat here like a wooden doll?"
Kurobe Naoka looked at her, and the smile on her face slowly faded.
"Nanoka." Her voice grew quiet. "What exactly did you tell him?"
Kurobe Nanoka's body stiffened.
"Everything," Hachiman answered for her.
Kurobe Naoka turned to look at him. Her light purple eyes looked deep under the streetlights, like a pool of water with no visible bottom.
"Everything?" Kurobe Naoka repeated. Her voice was very soft, but Hachiman could feel the chill within it.
"Including what?"
"Witches. Executions," Hachiman said. "And how you beca like this to protect her."
Kurobe Naoka's fingers tightened slightly. She looked down at her hand—the one that had just been holding Hachiman's. It was empty now, hanging by her side.
"Thank you," she suddenly said. Her voice was faint but sincere.
Hachiman was taken aback.
Her expression had changed from before; it no longer held any playful mockery.
"Thank you for being willing to listen to her plea for help. Thank you for not dismissing her words as madness. Thank you for helping regain consciousness."
She paused, and the corner of her mouth twitched.
"When I called you a pervert just now, I was joking. I wanted to see what my silly sister had told you. She's the type who spills everything the mont she gets nervous. I figured she must have said a lot of things she shouldn't have."
She glanced at her sister. Kurobe Nanoka had her head down, her face red enough to burn.
"Just as I thought." Kurobe Naoka sighed. "She told everything."
She turned back to Hachiman.
"So, I need to apologize to you. For getting you dragged into this. This had nothing to do with you; it was Nanoka being immature and running her mouth.
Knowing these things brings you no benefit. It will only make you live in fear alongside us. Witches, executions, governnt screenings... the more you know about these things, the more dangerous it becos."
Kurobe Nanoka looked up, tears shimring in her eyes.
"Sister... but..."
"No 'buts'," Kurobe Naoka interrupted her. "Hikigaya-kun is a normal person. He shouldn't be involved in this."
She looked at Hachiman.
"So, starting tomorrow, we will transfer schools. Don't go looking for news about us. Just act as if... you never t us, and you never heard any of this."
"Sister!" Kurobe Nanoka's voice carried a sob. "But Hikigaya-kun was able to wake you up! We need him!"
"Nanoka." Kurobe Naoka's voice was gentle but firm. "He has already helped us enough. We cannot drag him into danger because of our own problems."
She looked at Hachiman.
"I'm sorry," she said once more. "You saved , but this is the only way I can repay you. Please... forget everything that happened today and go back to your own life."
Hachiman looked into her eyes. In those light purple depths, there was apology, determination, and... a profound exhaustion.
He knew she was serious. She really intended to take her sister and vanish—to protect him, and to protect themselves.
She turned around and took her sister's hand.
"Let's go."
"Wait!" Kurobe Nanoka shook off her hand, her tears falling again. "Sister, your body isn't well yet! You just woke up; you can't even stand steadily."
"I'll be fine," Kurobe Naoka said softly. "I'll get better slowly."
"But how long will that take?" Kurobe Nanoka's voice was trembling. "You were locked away for a year and only just woke up. If you happen to..."
Kurobe Naoka looked at her sister. Her lips moved, but no words ca out.
Kurobe Nanoka grabbed her hand, clutching it tightly.
"Sister, let Hikigaya-kun help you. You woke up when he touched you. Maybe if we try a few more tis, you'll fully recover."
"No," Kurobe Naoka said softly but firmly. "We can't get him involved any further."
"But—"
"No 'buts'." Kurobe Naoka looked at her. "Nanoka, he already knows too much. If we keep going and sothing happens to him, is this how we treat our benefactor?"
Kurobe Nanoka was speechless. Her tears flowed incessantly, but her grip slowly loosened.
Kurobe Naoka watched her for a mont, then reached out to wipe away her tears.
"There now."
She took her sister's hand.
"Let's go."
"Hold on," Hachiman spoke up.
Kurobe Naoka stopped and turned her head.
"Actually, I'm a Witch too."
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