Everyone's cheers could be heard as I walked through the main building's corridors. Class 1-A should be losing in most individual competitions, but their fighting chances are solid with Class D backing them up. Well, it's not like Ryuuen would put in the effort to do that, but they can't just throw the games either.
"Oh? It seems like we have another lost one loitering about."
A female voice reverberated inside my ears. When I turned around, the face I saw wasn't at all familiar. Seeing the white bandana on her wrist, she must be a senior from Class B or Class C.
"Um, is there anything you need from me?"
"Oh, don't mind me. I just find it amusing that a couple of cute first-years are skipping out on such a fun event."
I could say the same for you.
A "couple of cute first-years", huh? I guess she saw Sakayanagi at some point, too.
"Hey now, I'm not going to bite, okay? You don't have to be that cautious. I'm just trying to create some small talk."
Cautious, is it? Wouldn't you usually think of the other person as awkward or nervous?
"I'm sorry... I just... don't know what to say."
"Ahaha, don't apologize now, Kouhai." She laughed merrily as if amused. "Are you going to keep on skipping out? If so, then why not hang out with me?"
Another unexpected question. I'm suddenly getting picked up like a girl in Shinjuku. Calling the situation "weird" would be an understatement here.
"Why me?" I asked in a calmer tone.
"Hehh... So you finally stopped acting like a nervous wreck, huh? It doesn't really suit you."
I see. That guy... He must have a reason for this.
"I understand. Then I guess we could go to the infirmary. Please head on first, Senpai."
She smirked and turned around before walking. Since we were from different teams, we can't really be seen walking together. I'm sure she knew that, as well.
We got to the infirmary in silence. There were no patients inside so far. The ones who needed primary treatment were still stationed inside the tents. I opened the door and saw her sitting on a plastic chair. I moved the curtain covering one of the beds and sat. It shouldn't be a problem since I had an actual injury.
"You got anything to say?" she asked.
"What do you want to hear?"
"Anything is fine. It's enough as long as I can figure out what sort of person you are. Think of it as a test."
I'm still in the dark, so the risk of failing this "test" isn't something I'm willing to take.
"What's your name, Senpai?"
She leaned back and shoved her long platinum-blonde hair behind.
"Kiryuuin Fuuka," she replied.
Kiryuuin Fuuka, is it? She smiled expectantly in anticipation to what I would say next.
"So, Kiryuuin-senpai. How much did Horikita-senpai tell you, exactly?"
She lit up and clapped her hands once.
"Perfect score!" she said. "How interesting... Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I thought the president was hyping you up too much, but you might not be as boring as I initially thought you'd be."
Well, if I gave you a boring answer, then it might derail my plans into something more tedious.
"Sorry, but could you please tell me what's going on?"
"I will. But first, you have to tell me what you think is going on."
How troublesome.
"I assume Horikita-senpai told you something about me. I don't think he's the type of person who would blabber without any thought, so this might have something to do with his goal of stopping Nagumo Miyabi."
She nodded with a satisfied expression.
"Mhm, and?"
"Well, that's about it. I might be able to infer more things if you tell me which class you're from."
"Oh, really? I'm from Class 2-B. Does that help?"
Kiryuuin did not even hesitate on her reply. There was no subtlety in our conversation. She's not afraid of feeding me any amount of information, answering away with a grin.
"I see..." I looked at her with a sigh. "It's seems like I've stumbled upon another strange person..."
"Hey, now. Stop thinking out loud, will ya? You can't expect me to get fooled by your compliments just because I'm a little interested in you."
So being called "strange" is a compliment now?
"I called you strange for how laid back you're acting. In the first place, you wouldn't think about messing with a first-year when students like Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi are around, right? Capable students like them should be more interesting."
"No need for that kind of prefacing, Ayanokouji. Just ask me what my goal is. That's what you want to know, right?"
That's a bummer. I thought she'd at least let me have some more info at my own pace.
I've only had an indirect interaction with Nagumo once since he was talking to Horikita, but I still managed to make a reasonable evaluation on his thought process. Based on this conversation, Kiryuuin's sharpness should stand on a similar level.
"Alright then, Senpai. What would you gain out of this?"
"That's pretty simple. By meddling in your matters, I hope I could at least receive some amount of entertainment."
"Entertainment?"
"I'm bored, obviously. That's what every excellent student tend to feel. Aren't you the same, Ayanokouji?"
"I would normally deny my excellence, but it's not like you're going to believe me at this point."
"Horikita-senpai doesn't interest me anymore, but I won't doubt his words."
"I figured," I sighed, going back on topic. "Just living my high school days in peace is enough for me. I don't really mind being bored."
"Really? Then why did you let Horikita-senpai hook you in? That Nagumo is a pain in the ass, you know?"
Her lady-like appearance didn't suit her language.
"There's benefit for me, as well. Trying to go against Nagumo-senpai is just a means to an end."
"Is that so? I wish he could hear you right now," she smirked.
Since Horikita Manabu told her about me, then she must have given her word to at least not rat me out. It'd be quite annoying if Nagumo prematurely discovers my actual role.
"I'd rather not... I'm trying to hide from him, after all."
"I know. Horikita-senpai told me. I promised not to say anything to Nagumo since Horikita-senpai's agenda would also get disrupted. But it's not like I needed to do that at all. There's no way I'd let Nagumo know about you."
"Why is that?" I asked.
Kiryuuin leaned in, scoffing as she smirked.
"Obviously, because it'd be extremely boring."
"Are you going to cooperate with Horikita-senpai, then? I thought you weren't interested in him."
"Being interested and cooperating are two completely different things, aren't they? Though, in Horikita-senpai's case, both of them don't apply. I don't really find him interesting-- or at least not anymore. And it's not my thing to "cooperate" with anyone, not even Horikita-senpai."
"So in conclusion, you're here to see what kind of person Horikita-senpai is banking on to fight Nagumo Miyabi. And you're going to assume the role of an observer, I assume."
Regarding the second half of what I said, I don't think it'd be the case at all. But it's better to lower her expectations by getting some things wrong. At least, I can afford to do that now.
"Come on, Ayanokouji. You still don't get me? You got the first one right, but just watching would bore me to death. Depending how things go, I might end up fighting you or Nagumo. Who knows? I'm sure it'll be more fun that way."
"I can only pray for things to not end up in that direction."
Before I could continue speaking, Kiryuuin shot up and stretched her arms with a moan.
"That's it for now, Kouhai. You'll probably start extracting some information on Nagumo, but it'd give you too much of an advantage which would be pretty uninspiring," she said, cutting the conversation right where it mattered.
"I'll go ahead and take back some points. I don't wanna lose too much money for slacking, after all."
Her tall and elegant figure walked out of the infirmary. After glancing at one of the cameras on the ceiling, I approached the area of the room where the medical equipment and medicine are located, and tried to treat my injuries.