Chaoskouji

Arc 2 Chapter 2 - Strategy

Once lunch time came, our small group ended up seated in the cafeteria together. There were probably more inconspicuous locations to meet, and since we were waging a small war against another class hiding would have been beneficial, but since no one else suggested it I left it as it is.

In the corner of my eye I could see a couple of Class C students watching us, probably tasked with finding out how we would respond to the incident. Smart, to keep an eye out and be able to adapt to our plans, but I suspect nothing of importance will be deduced or decided today.

"You seem to get yourself into trouble time and time again, Sudou-kun." Horikita gave an exasperated sigh. She had been dragged here virtually against her will, unable to turn down Kushida in front of the class.

"Well, guess we don't have much choice. As your classmates, we'll help you out, Sudou." Hirata was again offering his support to Sudou, promising to give his assistance. As expected from him.

Not wanting to upset Horikita more than she already was, Sudou apologised, possibly for the first time since the incident began.

"I'm sorry, Horikita. I've caused trouble for you again. But it really wasn't my fault this time. All I did was blow up those Class C jerks' plans."

Sudou spoke to Horikita with indifference, almost as if he were describing someone else's problems.

"Sorry, but I don't feel like helping you this time." Horikita flatly refused Sudou's pleas for help. "For Class D to rise through the ranks, it's important to recover the class points we lost as quickly as possible. However, we probably won't get any more points now, thanks to you. You hindered those plans."

"Wait. You might be right about that, but I'm not the one at fault here! Those guys picked a fight with me! What part of that is my fault?"

"You keep focusing on who started the fight, but that's a trivial detail. Did you never consider that?"

"What's trivial about it? It makes all the difference! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Is that so? Well, best of luck to you." Horikita picked up her untouched tray and stood.

"So you're not gonna help? I thought we were friends!"

"Don't make me laugh. I've never once considered you a friend. Nothing makes me more uncomfortable than being around someone who doesn't recognize his own stupidity. Goodbye."

Horikita appeared more exasperated than angry. She let out a deep sigh and left.

"What the hell is her deal?! Goddamn it!"

Unable to direct his rage anywhere else, Sudou slammed his fists on the cafeteria table, spilling a nearby student's miso soup. The student glared, but when he saw how scary Sudou looked, he remained silent.

But it was fairly obvious why Horikita had that opinion. In her mind, helping Sudou was an exercise in futility. Despite saving him on the midterms, he had gone again and caused more problems. This situation would likely repeat over and over again, which was something Horikita didn't want to deal with every time. She likely believed that letting him be punished here and taking a small blow to the class points would be enough to fix his mentality.

In any case, Horikita had no intention of helping out. And I was done prompting her to do so.

"I guess it's just up to us, then."

Kushida got us back on track after Horikita's sudden departure, refocusing our attention back onto who could actually help, and the situation at hand.

"Well, I can ask some senpai's about the situation. I have some friends in the soccer club that might have some ideas, so I guess I can ask them for help."