I wondered what was going to happen with Class D. Honestly, part of me felt like these were other people's problems. Back in my room, I started
to watch some kind of variety show with a feeling of complete apathy. Glancing at my phone, I saw I had a message from the group chat. The message read, Satou's joining the group. Satou was a particularly high-spirited girl in our class.
Sato paled when she realized what scene this is.
"Why are we still watching Class D?" Ishizaki complained. Students from A and C agreed. How is this supposed to help them, or what's the importance of watching some defects?
"Unless someone from their class is connected to ours." Hashimoto eyed me,
'Why is he looking? what do you want from me?'
'Gonna blackmail me to?'
Hiya! Ike-kun invited me to join when we were talking earlier.
"Oho? I never knew that you and Ike are close." Shinohara teased Sato.
Sato blushed, "There's nothing going on betweem us, swear!"
"Come on, no need to be shy." Matsushita joined in. She jab her teasingly on the side. Sato squealed in surpised.
With nothing to contribute, I didn't respond and continued reading.
I heard about what happened today. Horikita is really frustrating, huh?
"Talking about me behind my back?" Horikita raises an eyebrow, "How mature of you." She crossed her arms and glared at the four. She paused before turning to looked at me.
"And you, why didn't you tell me anything about this?'
"I didn't think it's important to tell you this, you would have just sighed." I shrugged.
"Where did you heard that?" Yume shyly asked.
Sato paused and looked at Horikita for a second, she quickly looked away and stared at Yume. "Hear and there, hehe."
I was really pissed at her. Sudou was super mad. He almost lost it. I think he would've hit her.
"I think everyone here did too." Shibata wiped an imaginary sweat on his forehead.
Sudo merely looked sheepish, scratching the back of his neck.
Hirata looked like his soul was sucked out of his body. Poor him. I pity him
If I see her tomorrow, I might hit her. I was really annoyed with her today.
"Oh? Don't complain then if you suddenly find your body with multiple holes."
Aha ha ha, it'll be a big problem if you hit her lol. That would be overkill!
Hey, I have an idea. Starting tomorrow, how about we completely ignore her?
"What a great idea." Machida sarcastically remarked.
Ha, I've always ignored her (lol)
I kind of want to hit her with some payback. Bully her a little and make her cry, you know? Do something like hide her shoes. Ha ha, what are you, kids? Lol lol lol but I do kind of want to see her squirm.
"That is against the rules." Katsuragi shaked his head.
Ichinose agreed, "The school might expell you if Horikita-san decided to report you to them."
"And hide her shoes? You need better hobbies."
"How petty."
Soon after Satou joined the group chat, Horikita became the main topic of discussion.
Hey, Ayanokouji-kun, you want in on bullying Horikita lol.
"I don't thin, Ayanokoji-kun is that kind of person." Ichinose twirled her hair, She seemed to have a high opinion of me after seeing me save Sakura from a rapist.
Nah, Ayanokouji-kun is all obsessed with her, so he probably can't.
"You and I seemed to have a different definition of obsession." I played with my phone, typing some message before sending. "And it's not like I want to be always seen with her."
Sudo tensed when he remembered this day. 'Thank God, I won't stood a chance if Ayanokoji liked Suzune too.'
Hey, whose side are you on? Ours or Horikita's?
"He doesn't have to be on anyones side, though." Hiyori put a finger on her left cheek.
I supposed everyone's irritation with Horikita was inevitable. If you treated others the way Horikita did, you'd inevitably be disliked. But hitting
her would be going too far, and I couldn't understand how anyone might condone ignoring her or hiding her things. That was bullying, and acting like that would leave little difference between them and Horikita.
"I'm sorry, Horikita." Ike apologizes, Sudo and Sato followed him, while Yamauchi remained stubborn.
Horikita sighed, "It's fine. As long as the four of you never wnet through with it."
"You're so nice, Ayanokaoji-kun." Amikura smiled at me.
"But isn't that common sense?"
Hey, you're reading the chat, right? Hey! Ayanokouji-kun, whose side are you on?
I'm on no one's side. If you guys want to bully her, I won't stop you.
"Why not?" Ishizaki asked, confused.
"He's neutral." Hiyori answered. She put aside her book, and watched with the others.
So, you're neutral. That's the craftiest answer lol.
Think whatever you want, but you won't gain anything from this. If the school learns you're bullying her, it'll cause trouble for you. Keep that in
mind.
So, you're sticking up for Horikita, huh? Ha ha.
"Is something wrong with that?" Horikita scrowled at them.
"Nothing! Nothing at all, ma'am!" The four squeaked.
Because we couldn't see each other face to face, it was easier for them to be jerks. If Ike and I were having this conversation in person, I doubted
he'd act this way. However, by focusing their anger on Horikita, the others were building solidarity. It would be a waste of time to continue pointlessly chatting like this. I decided to bring this conversation to a halt.
If Kushida heard about this, she'd probably hate you. Lol.
"That was a jerk move, Ayanokaoji." Ike grumbled.
'why do you always used me for that perverts?!' Kushida gritted her teeth, yet still smiling albeit strained.
I looked at her blankly. 'You at least deserve that after threatening me.'
"You know what? You can have her, Ayanokoji" Ike chuckled nervously, eyeing Kushida.
"No, thank you."
After I sent that message, I closed my phone. I received an immediate response but left it alone. Those guys probably wouldn't do anything stupid, and Satou likely wouldn't do anything without the others' cooperation.
I opened my window, listening to the insects buzzing from the nearby trees. Did the kubikirigisu grasshoppers make that high-pitched chirping, I
wondered? The gentle night breeze rattled my window.
"Kubukirigisu, what?"
I'd met Horikita on the day of the entrance ceremony. We'd just so happened to be placed in the same class, and then I was assigned the seat next to hers. Before I knew it, I'd become friends with Sudou and Ike. On top of that, I'd been caught in the school's trap and knocked all the way down to rock bottom. Horikita had tried to help repair our situation, but her personality had ruined everything, further pushing her into isolation. Now, other people grew excited at the thought of bullying her.
"What, you met her in this school?" Yahiko glanced between the two of us.
"Yes," I sighed, " We never met each other in the past."
Sakayanagi closed her eyes, "Yes, she indeed helped. But for her own benefit, I supposed."
I should've been at the center of this situation, and yet I felt like I was drifting past it. No, drifting's the wrong word. It wasn't a pleasant situation. I felt like I was in a haze, because I didn't know the urgency of near-expulsion. This was everyone else's problem, not mine, so it just didn't register as important.
"What do you mean by it's not your problem, Ayanaokoji-kun?" Kanzaki asked. I didn't answer him.
Ryuuen laughed. "Are you dumb or something, Kanzaki? Haven't you been watching? He's not an average guy."
"Ayanokoji-kun showed us intelligence by the way he completely understood the s system in the hint that was given to us. Despite meeting and talking with Horikita-san for a few weeks, he already grasp her personality. He displayed great observation and deduction skills in his thought process, especially when he spoke his opinion about our society." Katsuragi further explained for the students to understand.
Horikita felt uncomfortable. He read her like an open book. She doesn't like that.
"Only a fool wouldn't use his innate abilities."
'Abilities, huh?' Ryuuen watched Ayanokoji's reaction, but it remain blank.
Matsushita mentally did a victory dance. "Ayanaokoji-kun, are you perhaps- holding back?" She smiled innocently.
"if I say yes, what are you going to do about it?" I accepted her challenge.
Shinohara eyes widen, "Wait, so you are-"
I cut her off, "It's not like Koenji and I the only one holding back, am I wrong?" I waited for her to take the bait. She seemed to have realized that she have fallen in my trap. Now all our classmates looked at us confused.
"What did she ,ean by that, Chiaka-chan?" Sato asked.
Those words stuck in my head.
"A fool, huh? I wonder if that's what I am, after all."
As I closed the window, the television's cacophonous laughter pierced my past it.
I couldn't get to sleep, so I got up and left. I bought some juice from the lobby's vending machine and headed back for the elevator.
"Hmm?"
I could see that the elevator had stopped on the seventh floor. Curious, I decided to check out the CCTV, which showed what was happening inside
the elevator car. I saw Horikita, still dressed in her school uniform.
"Horikita-san?"
"Where is she going in the night?"
"It's dangerous to go outside at night, Horikita-san." Ichinose expressed her worries.
"Well, I don't really need to hide, but…"
Seeing her might be awkward right now, so I hid behind the vending machine. Horikita arrived at the first floor. Looking wary of her surroundings, she exited the building. After she'd vanished into the night, I decided to follow after her. However, I instinctively hid again after I turned the corner. Horikita stopped in her tracks. I sensed another person was with her.
"Suzune. I didn't think you'd follow me this far," he said.
"Who's that?" Ishizaki asked.
"President?" Tachibana and Nagumo glanced at the president.
'Is this the time he sparked President's interest?' Nagumo thought.
Had she left in the dead of night to rendezvous with some guy?
Sudo felt his heart break. ' am I just here to suffer?'
"There, there.' Ike consoled him, rubbing his back.
"It's okay, man. Better luck next time." Yamauchi pitied him.
"Hmph. I'm far different from the useless girl you once knew, niisan. I came here to catch you."
'that's why you never developed your own abilities and growth.' Manabu disappointedly shook his head.
"Catch me, hmm?"
Niisan? In the dark, I couldn't see the person she was talking to. Was she meeting her older brother?
"I heard you were placed in Class D. I suppose nothing has really changed in the last three years. You've always been fixated on following me,
and as a result you don't notice your own flaws. Choosing to come to this school was a mistake."
"President." Tachibama looked at the man beside her, worriedly.
"That's… You're wrong about that. I'll show you. I'll reach Class A right away, then—"
"It's pointless. You will never reach Class A. In fact, your class will fall apart soon enough. Things at this school aren't as simple as you think."
"I will definitely, definitely reach—"
"I told you, it's pointless. You really are a disobedient little sister." Horikita's brother stepped closer to her. From my hiding spot, I could
see him plainly.
"Hey, what is he trying to do?"
Horikita stayed silent.
Soon enough, the entire first year will see her pathetic side.
The one she tried to never show others, after ridiculing Sudo and the others, she felt pathetic.
It was Student Council President Horikita. He displayed no hint of emotion. It was like he was staring at an uninteresting object. He grabbed his
younger sister by the wrist—she offered no resistance—and pushed her against the wall.
"The student council president?" Yahiko looked at the man.
"Well, they do have the same surname."
"Wait, why did he pushed her on the wall?" Shinohara glared at the president.
"No matter how I try to avoid you, the fact remains that you're my little sister. If people around here learned the truth, I would be humiliated.
Leave this school immediately."
"Just because of that?" Sato asked in disbelief.
"Aren't you being harsh, President?" Ichinose had a worried look.
Nagumo laughed, "How amusing. So this is President around his sister? You can't even spare her from your judgment."
"I-I can't do that… I will definitely reach Class A. I'll show you!"
"How incredibly stupid. Do you want to relive the pain of the past?"
Multiple students whispered to themselves.
'Pain of the past?"
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"Niisan, I…"
"You possess neither the abilities nor the qualities needed to reach Class A. Get that through your head."
He moved forward, as if about to act. The situation looked fraught with danger. Resigned to facing Horikita's anger, I leapt out from my hiding space and went after her brother. Before he knew I was there, I grabbed his right arm, which he was using to pin his sister.
"Oh!"
"How did se get there so fast?!"
"I never took you for as a runner, Ayanokoji-kun"
"What? You…" He stared at his arm and slowly turned to me with a sharp gleam in his eye.
"A-Ayanokouji-kun?!" Horikita cried.
"You were about to throw your sister to the ground, weren't you? You do realize the floor here is concrete, right? You might be siblings, but you
should know the difference between right and wrong."
"Yeah, that's a man!" Miyake surprisingly yelled. Everyone paused and looked at him. He blushed furiously.
"Eavesdropping is not an admirable quality," he said.
"Fine. Then let go."
"That's my line."
"Oh"
"Man, this is intense."
"A battle between men."
"I'm getting shivers just from watching them."
We glared at each other in complete silence.
"Stop it, Ayanokouji-kun," said Horikita, her voice strained. I'd never heard her voice like that before. Reluctantly, I released her brother. Instantly, he tried to backhand me in the face. I instinctively took a step back to avoid it. For such a lightly built guy, he was a nasty attacker. He then aimed a sharp kick at my unguarded spot.
"Wow!"
"Look out!"
"Where did you learned how to fight, Ayanaokoji-kun?" Ichinose asked me.
I 'showed' a fake sad expression, "My father forced me. He said I got to be good academically, and physically so he basically controlled my life."
Ichinose mouth shaped into a O, she mumbled a quick sorry.
"Watch it!"
He had enough power to knock me out with one blow. Looking slightly confused, he exhaled deeply, extended his right arm, and opened his hand.
If I grabbed his hand, he'd probably throw me to the ground. Instead, I slapped his hand away
"Man, this is like an action movie."
"I'm getting excited."
"That seems to be the end of it, dumbass."
"Oh, my bad."
"Good reflexes. I didn't imagine you could evade all of my blows so quickly. Also, you seemed to understand quite well what I was trying to do. Have you been taught?"
After the attacks stopped, the questions began.
"Yes, I was taught piano and calligraphy. Also, when I was in elementary school, I won a national music competition," I said.
"P-piano and calligraphy?" Ryuuen for the first time, stuttered.
"You can fight that well when you practice piano and calligraphy?" Ishizaki scratched his head.
Ibuki hit him in the head, "No, idiot!"
"You're in Class D, too, aren't you? What a unique boy, Suzune."
After he let go of his younger sister, he turned to face me.
"No. Unlike Horikita, I'm pretty incompetent."
"What a surprisingly low self-confident." Katsuragi remarked.
"Suzune, is this boy your friend? I'm honestly surprised."
"He's…not my friend. Just my classmate." Horikita faced her brother fully, as if denying him.
"After he saved you?" Shibata asked.
"Ouch. That must have hurt." Sonoda winced.
"You continue to confuse independence with solitude. And you, Ayanokouji. With you around, things might get interesting."
'I'm sorry, niisan. I'm trying to improve myself this time. Please wait for me.'
He walked past me and disappeared into the night. So, that was the distinguished student council president. His presence explained some of Horikita's weird behavior.
"That's it?" Nagumo disppointedly sighed.
"I'm going to drag myself up to Class A even if it kills me," she said. With her brother gone, the night was silent once more. Horikita sat up against the wall, her head hanging low. Maybe I'd made things worse by getting involved. I was about to return to the dorms when Horikita called out to me.
"Did you hear everything? Or was it just a coincidence?"
"Oh. Uh, it was half coincidence, I'd say. I saw you when I bought some juice from the vending machine. I was kind of curious, so I followed you. However, I really didn't mean to meddle in your business."
Horikita fell silent once again.
"Your older brother is really strong. He doesn't lack ferocity."
"Yeah, no kidding." Yume giggle nervously.
Ike seemed to agreed with her, 'Almost made me wet my pants.'
'Suzune's brother.' Sudo dazedly stared at the ceiling. 'How scary.'
"He's ranked fifth dan in karate and fourth dan in aikido."
Whew, he was really strong. If I hadn't pulled away, it would've ended badly for me.
"You also practice martial arts, don't you, Ayanokouji-kun? You must hold a dan rank."
"I told you, didn't I? Just piano and tea ceremony."
"You said calligraphy before." Matsushita pointed out.
"I also did tea ceremony."
"You said calligraphy before."
"I…did calligraphy in addition to those, yes."
"You purposefully get lower test scores, and you say that you studied piano and calligraphy. I really don't understand you."
"My scores were a coincidence. I really did do piano, tea ceremony, and calligraphy." If there were a piano here, I could at least have performed "Für Elise."
"You saw a strange side of me."
"We all saw the strange side of you."
"On the contrary, I always thought of you as a normal girl. Well, not really." Horikita glared at me.
"Let's go back. If anyone saw us out here, they'd probably get ideas."
She was certainly right about that. Rumors about a boy and a girl hanging out alone in the dark would be bound to circulate. Not to mention the fact that our relationship seemed to be intensifying.
"Intensifying seemed to be a misleading word, Ayanokoji-kun." Sakayanagi eyes darkened.
'What's up with her eyes?'
Horikita got up slowly and walked toward the dorm.
"Hey. Were you really okay with how the study group went?" I asked. If I didn't broach the subject now, I'd likely never get the chance again.
"Why are you asking me? I was the one who proposed holding the study group in the first place. Besides, I got the feeling that you considered it a hassle. Am I wrong?"
"No, you're not exactly wrong there."
"It just left a bad taste in my mouth. Look, I think things are going to get worse with the others."
"I don't care. I'm used to it. Besides, Hirata-kun picked up most of the failing students. He knows how to study, he seems to get along with others,
and, unlike me, he'll be a good tutor. At the very least, they should all pass. It was pointless to try teaching the failing students myself. We would go through this same scenario for every test until graduation. It would be pointless to try making up for their failure every single time."
"Have you not thought of the demerit it may cause? We don't know the whole truth of the s system. Making sure to avoid your class point to lower is outmost importance." Katsuragi tiled his head, not understanding Horikita's reasoning.
"I-I was narrow minded that time, I only acted for my benefits. I know that now." Horikita steeled herself.
"Sudou and the others don't much like Hirata. I doubt they'll participate in his study group."
"That's their decision, which has nothing to do with me. Besides, if they're facing expulsion, they shouldn't grumble about trivial nonsense. If
they don't get closer to Hirata-kun, then they'll be expelled. Of course, my goal is to have Class D reach Class A status. However, that's for my own sake and no one else's. I don't care about anyone else. Really, if we dump the failures on this next midterm, then the better students will be left. That's what I need, correct? In that case, attaining a higher rank will be simple. Everything will work out perfectly."
"How narrow-minded. I'm having doubts about the mastermind in the 1st special exam." Ryuuen smirked. "You did not planned it, am I right?"
Everyone looked at Horikita. Especially Class D. They waited for her response.
She slowly shook her head, "No, I wasn't the one who planned it all." She turned to me subtly, but the others noticed it.
"Ayanokoji-kun?"
She wasn't wrong about that. Our conversation continued; Horikita was strangely talkative tonight.
"Horikita, isn't that way of thinking flawed?"
"Flawed? What's flawed? You're not going to give me some gibberish about how there's no future for someone who would abandon her classmates, are you?"
"It's not gibberish, Horikita-san" Ichinose frowned. her classmates agreed with her.
"Relax. I understand you well enough to know that you don't really understand me."
"Then what is it? There's no strategic advantage to helping failures."
"There are probably very few advantages, certainly. However, it does help prevent a setback."
'He perfectly understand the consequences if someone is expelled in his class early on.' Manabu applauded Ayanokoji, earning him some weird looks.
"President?" Tachibana whispered.
Poor Tachibana.
"Demerit?"
"Do you really think that the school hasn't considered this? They've deducted points for students arriving late or playing around during class time. Let's say these students are expelled because no one helped them. How many points do you think they'll deduct from us then?"
The students that didn't understand the s system well listened carefully.
"That's—" she began.
"Of course, we don't have any proof that's how it works. However, isn't it possible? 100 points? 1,000 points? They might even deduct 10,000 or
100,000 points. If that happens, it'll be very difficult for you to reach Class "We've gone down to zero points because of our infractions. We can't go any lower. If we're currently at zero, don't you think it's best to eliminate the dead weight? That would be the same as taking no damage."
Class D at this point understood that it was Ayanokoji who helped them during the 1st special exam. But of course it didn't downgraded Horikita's value. They hope that the two will work together and lead them to Class A.
"There's no guarantee that'd be the case. There could be penalties we just don't see yet. Do you really think it's okay to take such a dangerous risk? Well. I'm sure that someone as smart as you must have thought about that already. Otherwise, you would never have suggested creating a study group in the first place. You would've just abandoned the failures from the very beginning."
I was starting to sound worked up, or perhaps I was actually feeling worked up. Maybe because I'd started to, rather selfishly, consider her a friend. I didn't want Horikita to come to regret her decision.
'You say some funny things, Ayanokoji-kun.' Sakayanagi chuckled.
"Is she alright?" Hashimoto whispered to Kamuro.
The girl onlynrolled her eyes. "Since when is she alright in the head?"
"Are you two perhaps talking ill of me?" Sakayanagi glared at them.
"No, never, Princess." Hashimoto squeaked.
"Even if there are potential unknown negatives, it's better for the future of our class to abandon the failing students. Wouldn't you regret not
abandoning them when we do finally increase our points? Right now, it's a risk that we should take."
"Do you really think so?" I asked.
"Yes. Really. I'm at a complete loss as to why you're so desperate to save them."
As Horikita was about to board the elevator, I grabbed her wrist.
"Oh, how bold of you, Ayanokoji-kun." Yukimura surprisingly commented.
"uh...thanks?"
"What? Do you have a rebuttal?" she said.
"The problem's bigger than the two of us. In the end, the school has all the answers. All we can do is argue back and forth. I'm free to interpret the situation as I see fit, and you may do the same. That's all there is to it, right?"
"You're quite talkative. I never thought you'd be so loquacious."
"What… That's just because you were being insistent."
If she were acting like her normal self, there was no way she would have allowed me to keep talking. Normally, stopping her in this way would
earn me a sharp strike. However, her refusal to hit me indicated that Horikita felt the way I did. Of course, she probably didn't even realize it herself.
"The day we met, do you remember what happened on the bus?"
"You mean when we refused to give up our seats to an elderly woman?"
"Why not? She must have a hard time standing." Shibata argued.
"Someone else gave up their seat, Shibata-kun." Shibata felt silent when Kushida answered him.
"Thank you ?"
"Yeah. Back then, I thought about the meaning behind giving up my seat. Should I give it up or not? Which was the correct answer?"
"I already told you my own answer. I thought it'd be meaningless, so I didn't give up my seat. No matter what reward it might bring, there was no
real merit. It was a waste of time and effort."
"Merit, huh? I suppose that you think only in terms of gain and loss."
"Is that bad? People are calculating creatures, for the most part. If you sell goods, you receive money. If you do someone a favor, that debt of
gratitude will be repaid. By giving up a seat, you gain the joy of contributing to society. Am I wrong?"
"No, I don't think you're wrong. I think the same thing," I replied.
"So then—"
"If you keep to that belief, you'll need to maintain a broad perspective on life. You're so angry and dissatisfied, you can't see what's in front of
you."
"That's one way to describe her." Nagumo laughed. "You won't mind me talking like this about your sister, President?"
"Not at all. You spoke nothing but the truth, I can't condemn you for that." Manabu shook his head.
"Who do you think you are? Do you even have the ability to find fault with me?"
"I don't know what abilities I have, but I see what you don't. It's the one flaw of the seemingly perfect person known as Horikita Suzune."
Horikita gave an amused snort. It was as if she was saying, "If you think I have a flaw, say it."
"Your flaw is that you think of everyone else as a burden, and so you detach yourself and never let anyone come close. Isn't it possible they placed you in Class D because you consider yourself superior to everyone?"
"So in short, Our defect is the unpleasant attitude, or wrong doings in our past?" Sato asked.
'Then why am I sorted into Class D?! I only held back after finding out that I got placed into a class full of idiots!' Matsushita pondered.
"It's almost as if you're saying I'm the same as Sudou-kun and his group," she muttered.
"Are you saying that you aren't equal?"
"Yes. It's obvious if you look at our test scores. That's proof enough that they're mere baggage for our class to carry."
"That is harsh, Horikita-san" Hirata frowned, "It's not nice to think of your classmates as baggage,"
"I apologize, I was narrow-minded in the past. I solely acted based on my interests and benefits." Horikita bowed.
"If we're talking about studying, then Sudou and the others are certainly two or three steps behind you, Horikita. No matter how hard they worked, they likely couldn't overtake you. However, we know that this school doesn't only focus on intelligence. Suppose that the next exam was related to sports. The results would be different then. Am I wrong?"
"Intelligence is not the only thing that is important in the corporation world, students." Mashima-sensei lectured us.
"Having the physical prowess, communication skills, and survival skills are also important." Chabashira-sensei added.
Everyone tooked their advice and silently nodded.
"That's—"
"You're physically capable. From your swimming, I can tell you're one of the most capable girls in the class. Superior. However, we both know that Sudou's physical abilities far exceed yours. Ike has better communication skills than you. If the test took the form of a discussion, Ike would certainly be useful. Really, you'd most likely bring the class average down. So, does that make you incompetent? No. Every individual has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. That's what it means to be human."
"Thank you, Ayanokoji!" Sudo and Ike thank me.
Yamauchi on the other hand, wailed. "What about me?!"
'Useless. Garbage. Don't worry, I'll dispose of you soon enough.'
"A good argument, Ayanokoji-kun" Ichinose praised me.
"As the teachers said, having multiple set of skills that is essential in the outside world helps us to survive out there, and be successful in our chosen careers."
Horikita tried to throw my words back at me, but she looked stuck.
"This is all pure conjecture. It's nothing more than armchair speculation," she said.
"Think back on what Chiyabashira-sensei said. When she called us into the guidance room, she said, 'Who exactly decided that smart people are categorically superior?' From that, we can draw the conclusion that academic ability doesn't solely determine the rankings."
"You deduced that far back?" Chabashira stared dumbfounded. She knows that Chairman Sakayanagi told her that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is a special child, but this is on another level.
"Uh...that only need a few observation and deduction skill?" I tiredly sighed.
Horikita looked around, as if searching for an escape so she could weasel her way out of the argument. I quickly cut her off before she could get
away.
"You said you wouldn't regret abandoning the students who failed, but you would. You would feel a great deal of regret if Sudou and the others are expelled."
Horikita looked into my eyes. She still didn't seem to grasp our current situation. At least, that was the impression I got.
"You're rather talkative today, too. It's odd for someone who likes to avoid trouble to talk so much."
"I always talked that much."
"You're probably right about that."
"It's frustrating, but what you said was basically correct. You've persuaded me; I have to concede that point. However, I still don't understand you. What do you want? What is this school to you? Why did you work so hard to convince me?"
"I see. So that's what you think."
"If someone lacks persuasiveness, he or she won't be able to make others believe in their cunning theories." She clearly wanted to know why I was so desperate to persuade her that Sudou and the others' expulsion was bad.
"Cut the crap. I want to know the real reason. Is it for points? To rise up, even by one class level? Or is it to save your friends?"
"Because I want to know what a person with true merit looks like. What is equality?"
"What? Just for that?" Ryuuen narrowed his eyes.
"Merit, equality."
"Why are you obsessed with equality?" Kanzaki asked me.
I turned to him, " I said earlier that I never had a fair and normal past, remember? I want to know why did I need to experienced that. What makes me so different from others that my father controlled my life and forced me to study, exercised, suffer to death since I was young?"7
Kanzaki, no, everyone stared at me in shock.
Sakayanagi smiled at me sadly.
"Ayanokoji-kun." Horikita uttered. She felt horrible, especially after forcing him to work for her even if he didn't want to.
"Merit, equality…"
"I came to this school to find answers to those questions." The words freely spilled out of me before I could collect my thoughts.
"Could you let me go?" Horikita asked.
"Oh, sorry." I released my grip. She turned around and looked directly at me.
"There's no way that you could fool me into believing you, Ayanokouji-kun," she said. After she said that, Horikita extended her arm.
"I'll look after Sudou-kun and the others, but for my own sake. I'll make sure that they don't get left behind, but only as a strategic means of
securing an advantage for our future. Okay?"
"Don't worry. I didn't think you'd do it any differently. That's just like you, Horikita."
"We've come to an arrangement, then."
I took Horikita's hand. However, I would soon realize that I'd just made a deal with the devil.
After the worlds I slipped, everyone remained quiet. It seems they absorbing my words. I don't know what got into me. Since when did I become that emotional? Is this the logical part of me trying to save myself because this is showing them what I thought of them later?
Or is this my honest words describing the things I went through in that place?
Either way, I don't know anymore.
-x-
Previous Chapter: The Association of Failures
Next Chapter: Intermission
Word Count: 5932
Hi guys! Here's another update.
I'm just gonna clarify why Horikita is harsh on herself. So as they watched the past, Horikita's reminded of the way she think and her past actions. She's ashamed of herself, not because of the others knowing her selfishness that time. But, how narrow-minded she think in the past. The way she's so obsessed with her brother, that she neglected her own growth and development, especially when compare with the other class leaders.
In the LN, It took during in the end of the Deserted Island Special Exam that she realizes needs allies in order to win. But even after that, she sometimes falls back to the routine of not being dependent on others. She was harshly slapped back in reality by Kiyotaka during the Sports Festival when Sudo took off. Even up to their second year, she never trusted Kiyotaka.
I'm sorry for my words, Horikita simps. But this is only my opinion and take on her character. Even the Eiffel Tower wasn't built in a few months. But her character development is so astonishing! Yet, I never liked the way she approached Kushida's situation. For me, it seems to be careless and naive. Especially after being spoiled in what happened to Airi in the latest volume, and all for Kushida? Man! I don't like nor hate Airi, but for me, it's sad that happened to her. even more since Kiyotaka was the one who did it.
PS: I'm also dropping hints about how Kiyotaka slowly puts the blame on his father on his incoming words, thoughts, and actions and emphasize all the horible things he made him do. It is subtle or meh? kindly comment!
So that's all, sayonara!
Asteria_Writer