COTE One Shots

A Silent Moment of Weakness

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka POV

This exam was quite troublesome for me. I'd planned on expelling Kushida, but Horikita unexpectedly saved her. The only thing I could do to help her was to suggest a new target, and bear the hate that would come along.

That being said, I'm interested to see what path she envisioned. Will she be able to convince Kushida? Or will her arrogance cause the downfall of class D, no, class B? 

I don't regret expelling Airi. Her growth was stagnating, too complacent with how things were. Her expulsion would lead to others' growths. That doesn't mean I enjoyed doing so.

Ding!

A text message pops up on my phone. The sender is Horikita, surprisingly. I can expect her inquiries to a certain extent, but I'm still curious to find out.

[Horikita]

Could I come over to your room?

[Ayanokouji]

Sure.

I didn't have any particular aversion to her coming to my room. It might be a bit discomforting for Kei, but she'll understand that it's related to class matters.

I got up, and went to the kitchen to prepare tea. I'm not sure if Horikita will stay here for a longer period of time, but I might as well.

Eventually, I finished preparing my tea. I was sitting on my bed, waiting for Horikita. She didn't make me wait long, though.

Knock

I went over to the door to let her in. I was surprised to see Horikita with a strange expression. She didn't have her usual determined or cold look, rather she seemed to be very worried. She came inside, and I closed the door behind us, making sure to lock it.

Horikita sat on my bed, like usual. 

"Would you like some tea?" I asked, not wanting my tea to go to waste.

"Sure." A short reply from Horikita follows.

I gave her a cup of tea that she promptly took a sip out of. Horikita had a conflicted expression, so I wanted to find out what could possibly be haunting her.

"Horikita, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer, instead taking the time to think. She didn't seem like the Horikita from before, although whether that's a sign of growth has yet to be seen.

"Did I make the right choice?"

It was obvious that she's referring to her choice of expelling Airi instead of Kushida. 

"If you're asking if one option is better than the other, then that remains to be seen."

I give her my honest opinion. It's true that right now, Kushida could be considered a liability. Her hatred hasn't gone down, and she may resort to other methods of expulsion, although the likelihood of that is low. She has no allies left, and thus she's helpless.

"I just... don't know what to do. Did I make a mistake? What should I have done?"

I didn't really expect this side of Horikita to come out. I've only seen her this vulnerable a number of times. Her encounter with her brother, the first island exam, and maybe the time her hand was stuck in a water bottle.

"I don't think you necessarily made a mistake. Maybe, in hindsight, we'd know if that's true, but as if right now, you're not mistaken in your choice."

"I see. I still feel some guilt about expelling someone innocent because of my selfishness." 

Maybe she is selfish. Her desire to be able to use Kushida caused Airi's expulsion. Kushida was one of her earliest problems, so she wanted to resolve it in an ideal way. I'm also assuming that Horikita knows about Airi's selfless nature, so Airi would accept her expulsion, unlike Ike. 

"That might be true that Airi had nothing to do with the situation with Kushida. Airi's expulsion might lead to a couple people being upset, but our loss would lead to the regret of the class. 

'Maybe Kushida could've done better...', or maybe 'Airi didn't do so good there...'The pressure on Airi to become useful would be detrimental to her mental state. The regrets will start piling on, and eventually the dam would collapse, and with it, your class collapses as well. The only thing we can do now is to treat the aftermath."

Horikita looked down at her cup, thinking about my response. She seemed unusually downtrodden. Normally, her red eyes would be determined to accomplish her goals. Now, it seems like she's questioning herself. 

"I see... Am I a good leader, Ayanokouji-kun? It feels like Ryuuen and Sakayanagi are still out of reach for me. I'm sure that you'd be a better leader than me, too..."

I walked over to her, and sat besides her. Horikita was surprised by my shoulder suddenly touching hers, yet she didn't mind it.

"If you were a bad leader, I would've made someone else the leader, all that time ago. Remember, Horikita, I made you the leader back on the Uninhabited Island Exam because I felt like you could."

Horikita made no response, silently gripping her cup. She'd already finished it by this point, but she still held onto it. 

"Horikita." I said firmly, prompting her to look towards me. I grabbed her shoulders, making her entire torso face me. She looked startled by my sudden actions.

"You're the undisputed leader of class B. Don't be so discouraged."

I pulled her in closer. I was essentially hugging her at this point, yet she didn't refuse. I could hear her heartbeat, in sync with my own. Her hands gripped the back of my shirt. We were silent, no longer exchanging words in this unfamiliar atmosphere. 

We stayed in a strange embrace with each other, not moving. I misjudged how much her capacity could take. Because her class did so well, the pressure's going to continue to multiply. The idea of failure scared her, as it scared many I've seen before.

"Continue to be strong, Horikita. When you want to be weak, I'll be here, waiting for you."

"Sorry for bothering you, Ayanokouji-kun." Horikita said, after pulling away.

"It's alright. Would you like some more tea?"

"I'd like to pass on that offer for now, I have lots of work to do."

"I see."

As I was walking back to the kitchen, I hear her unusually soft voice before she shut the door.

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun." Horikita looks back at me, a sincere smile on her face. She seemed happier than before.

"No problem."

I was somewhat astonished, yet also strangely pleased. I'm a little glad that I was able to relish in her silent moment of weakness.

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I was a little bored, so I made a short Horikita thing. Hopefully I didn't do too bad.

I've been spending my time, reading COTE stuff. I feel like I've read most of the actually good ones, although I might be wrong.

Hope you enjoyed this short one shot.