Kirito - "This scene takes place after the study group formed by Horikita with the help of Ayanokouji was disbanded."
AYANOKOJI (POV)
I couldn't seem to fall asleep, so I got up and exited my room.
In the lobby, I bought some juice from the vending machine and went back to the elevator.
"Hmm?"
The elevator was on the 7th floor. Feeling curious, I looked at the CCTV monitor of the inside of the elevator. It was Horikita in her school uniform.
Ike - "What were you doing in your school uniform, Horikita-chan? -And that late at night?"
"Maybe she was going to meet her boyfriend...?" One of the students jokingly, but a little suggestively said. It was hard to tell who said it so horikita wasn't able to use her compass, but she did gave out a murderous aura by which everyone felt shivers running back in their spine; with the exception of certain students, of course.
"... Well, there's no need to hide myself, but..."
Hiyori - "That is true. Why were you hiding, Ayanokoji-kun?"
Ayanokoji - "I don't know, I just felt like it."
Miyamoto - "What kind of answer is that!?"
Professor - "I guess it's about time we will see the hidden power of the main character, as the typical plot goes..." He said, but everyone ignored him.
I didn't want to particularly face her, so I hid myself behind the vending machine. The elevator reached the first floor.
While being wary of her surroundings, Horikita exited the building. After she disappeared into the dark, I chased after her.
However, I involuntarily hid myself again after turning the corner.
Horikita stopped moving. There was another person's figure.
"Suzune. I didn't think you'd follow me all the way here."
Ike - "Who is he? You guys must be close 'cause he's calling you by your given name right? *gasp* Don't tell me you really had a boyfriend!" Ike the gossipper practically squealed.💅
Horikita - "I didn't have one back then, not do I have one now. That's my brother is all. "
Sudo felt a little happy after hearing that, though unlike him other students had a different reaction to this new information.
Shinohara - "BROTHER!!! I didn't knew you have a brother Horikita-san!"
Onodera -"Yeah! I didn't know anything about it either! Who is your brother anyway? "
Ike- "Yeah! He must be someone amazing if he is your brother! Who is he?"💅💅
Kouenji - "Do you even pay attention on what's going on in your surroundings? Don't you know someone who has same surname as horikita? And if you still don't get then try to think of former student council president." He said.
Except some students almost everyone was suprised after hearing it.
Did she leave at this hour to meet with a boy?
"Ah, I'm different from the useless me that you know. I've come here to catch up to you."
"Catch up to me, huh."
Nii-san? I couldn't see the person she was talking to, but it looks like it's Horikita's older brother.
"I heard that you are in class D; it doesn't seem like anything's changed in the last 3 years. Because you've always been looking at my back, you've never been able to see your own flaws. Choosing to come to this school was another one of your mistakes."
Kushida - "Isn't he too rude...?" Was what she said with a cute voice, but what she truly thought was 'YEAH TELL THIS BITCH TO DROP OUT! WHY DID SHE EVEN CAME HERE! DIE YOU BITCH!'
Ike - "Yeah you are right Kikyo-chan!" 💅💅💅
"That's—that's wrong. I'm going to rise up to class A. And then—"
"That's impossible. You'll never reach class A. Rather, your class will crumble before that. This school isn't as easy as you think it is."
"I will absolutely, absolutely reach class A..."
"I already said it's impossible. You're a really unreasonable younger sister."
Sudo - " Your brother is too rude Suzune! I mean I understand our behaviour in the first semester wasn't right, but it's not like we can't reach class A!"
Horikita - "What my brother told me that time wasn't wrong. He was right. I wasn't capable of doing something back then."
When she said that, students weren't able to understand what she meant.
Horikita's older brother takes a step forward. From my hiding spot, I could see his form more clearly.
It was the student council president.
There was no emotion in his expression, as if he was looking at an existence that didn't interest him at all.
He grabbed his younger sister's wrist and pushed her against the wall.
Hirata- "I don't think violence is allowed in school grounds and it's too much even if he is your brother!"
Kushida -"YEAH BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THAT BITCH!!! "she thought
Keisei -"I didn't know former president was like this at all!"😮 You learn something new everyday
"No matter how much I avoided you, you are still my younger sister. If people start to learn about you, it is me who will be disgraced. Leave this school immediately."
"... . I will, I will absolutely rise up to class A...!"
"Foolish, really. Do you want to relive the painful experiences of the past?"
"Nii-san—I will—"
"You have neither the power nor the qualifications to aim for class A. Understand that."
Horikita's body drew forward, as if he was about to take action. The situation looks dangerous.
Resigning myself to her anger, I stepped out from my corner and approached the older brother.
Before I realized, I grabbed his right arm.
Everyone - "AYANOKOJI!!!!!" !!!111!1!!!1
Ike - " How were you so fast? I mean I know you run fast but that was completly something else!" 💅💅💅💅
Ibuki - "You don't know what kind of nasty monster he is. "she thought to herself.
Ryuuen - "Kuku , so thats how they met "he thought (referring from vol 7.5 where ryuuen asks manabu when he set his eye on kiyo)
"—What? Who are you?"
Looking at his own arm, he looked at me with a sharp glint in his eyes.
"A-ayanokouji-kun!?"
"You, you were trying to throw her to the ground, right? It's concrete here, you know. Just because you're siblings doesn't mean you can do anything you want."
"It's not admirable to eavesdrop."
"Just let go of her hand."
"That's what I should be saying."
It was silent while we glared at each other.
"Stop, Ayanokouji-kun..."
She said with a strained voice. I've never seen her like that before.
Sudo - "Yeah... You sound kinda weak..."
Horikita glared at sudo in response to which he gulped
Reluctantly, I let go of his arm. At that moment, he aimed for my face with a quick backhand.
Feeling danger, I instinctively leaned backwards. A nasty attack with a thin body. Furthermore, he aimed for my vitals with a sharp kick.
"Ha!"
I understood that it had power to make me lose consciousness in one hit. With a confused look, he let out a breath and extended his right arm towards me.
If I grabbed his hand, he would probably throw me onto the ground. Instead, I slapped his arm away with left hand.
Kanzaki - "So you are good in fights too huh? How much are you hiding? You seem to be more of a trouble."
Ichinose -"You shouldn't say something like that Kanzaki-kun!"
Shibita -"Y! I guess Ichinose-san is right. We can't just go and force someone to tell us about their personal stuff. "
Karuizawa -"AH MOU, i know he is strong but that was so cool " Her fantasies are starting to run wild.
Professor -"SEE! I told you we will be sseeing something amazing!"
Hashimoto -"I heard about it from nagumo senpai anout him but i didn't find anything but these video's are saying in favour of what senpai said"he thought
"Good reflexes. I didn't think you would avoid every single one. You also understood what I was trying to do. Were you taught in some way?"
Finally stopping his attacks, he asked me a question.
"Yea, I did piano and calligraphy. In elementary school, I even got the championship in a music competition."
Ike - "Piano and calligraphy!!!!! What? Are you slaying that I will be able to do those things if I learn piano and calligrahy too?"💅💅💅💅💅💅
Shinohara - "Yeah! What are you really?"
Sakayanagi -"You ended up drawing attention even though you didn't want to? How ironic." she thought.
"Are you also class D? What a unique boy. Suzune."
Letting go of her arm, he slowly faced me.
"Suzune, you have a friend? I'm honestly surprised."
"He's... he's not my friend. He's only a classmate."
Denying his words, she looked up to her brother.
"As always, you're mistaking solitude with isolation. And you, Ayanokouji. With you, it looks like things are going to become interesting."
Walking past me, he disappeared into the night. The confident student council president. It seems like Horikita was acting strange because she met her brother.
"I'm going to crawl my way to class A even if I die. That's the only way."
After he left, the night was engulfed in silence. Horikita sat down against the wall, her head hanging in shame. I wonder if I did anything unnecessary. As I turned to return to the dorms, Horikita called out to me.
"Did you hear everything...? Or was it coincidence?"
"No, it was like 50% luck. I saw you while I went to go buy juice from the vending machine. I followed you simply because I was curious. However, I really didn't mean to intrude."
Horikita sank into silence once again.
"Your older brother is quite strong. He didn't hesitate to attack."
"He's... 5th dan in karate and 4th dan in aikido."
Akito - "What! But Kiyotaka was able to deal with it easily! So does that mean you also hold the same title or even higher than that!?"
Haruka -"Who knew Kiyopon is so strong?" she said in a teasing manner.
Keisei -"But why didn't you tell us about this? Aren't we friends?"
Ayanokoji -"It's not like I hide it. There was never any reason for me to fight someone, that's all."
Ooof, so he's that strong. If I didn't pull back it would've been a disaster.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you also do something, right? You're also a rank holder."
"I already said it, didn't I? I played piano and performed tea ceremonies."
"Wasn't it calligraphy?"someone asked.
"You said calligraphy before."
"... I also did calligraphy."
"Oh Nevermind then!"
"You purposely got low scores on your test, and you say you did piano and calligraphy. I still don't understand you very well."
"Getting those scores were only a coincidence, and I really did piano, tea ceremony, and calligraphy."
If there was a piano here, I could play Fur Elise at least.
Ryuuen - "So this monster is even good with instruments? Really, I can't think of anything which will be more fun than crushing him! kukuku" he thought
"I let you see a strange side of me."
"Rather, I always thought that you were a normal girl—not."
She scowled at me.
"Let's go back. If anyone sees us here, there will surely be a misunderstanding."
Certainly. There would absolutely be strange rumors about a girl and a boy all by themselves in the dead of night.
Not to mention, our relationship was still iffy to begin with.
Slowly getting up, Horikita walked towards the entrance of the dorms.
"Hey... Are you really ok with how the study group went?"
Thinking that I wouldn't get another chance, I called out to her resolutely.
"Why are you asking that? I proposed the study group in the first place. It's not like you cared about it in the first place. Am I wrong?"
"I have a bad feeling. Or should I say, the other students seem to be planning something."
"I don't mind. I'm already used to it. Also, most of the students with red marks are with Hirata-kun. He's good at studying, gets along with people, and can teach other people well, unlike me. This time, they should be able to barely clear the borderline. However, I judged it to be a waste of time to help them out myself. Until graduation, they'll have to repeatedly try to not fail. It'd be really stupid to keep trying to cover for their failing marks every single time."
Sudo -"Well you are saying that Suzune, but you did resume study group, right?"
Ike -" Yeah! You really are a tsundere Horikita-chan and we are working hard now, so you don't have to worry about that! We don't wanna be a burdern..."
Horikita -"That's good to hear but what I said at that moment was serious. If a certain someone wouldn't have involved themselves, then who knows what might have happend?"
Before Ike could ask what she meant the video cut him off.
"Sudou and his group took some distance from Hirata. I don't think they'll participate in his study group."
"That's what they decided to do; that has nothing to do with me. If they don't approach Hirata-kun, they'll just drop out soon enough. Of course, my goal is to get up to class A. However, that's for my own sake, and not for anyone else. I don't care what anyone else does. Rather, if cut down on people on this next midterm, only people who are necessary are left. It'll be easier to get to class A. A win-win situation."
Listening to the cold words of Horikita, many class D hung their heads low.
Hoshinomiya sensei -"Don't you think she could be like you if she chooses to be a teacher, Sae-chan?"
Chabashira sensei - "Don't spout nonsense out of your disgusting filthy mouth, you vernim. "
I don't think she's wrong. In the first place, this crisis is bad for students who got red marks. However, I couldn't help but continue the conversation with Horikita, who was strangely talkative.
"Horikita, isn't that way of thinking incorrect?"
"Incorrect? Tell me which part is wrong. You're not trying to say that there is no future for a person who abandons their classmates, right?"
"Calm down. I know you well enough that you wouldn't understand what I'm saying."
"Then why? There's no merit in saving failures."
"Certainly there isn't much merit.However, it helps prevent demerits."
"... Demerits?"
"Do you think that the school hasn't already thought of that? They're students who rack up negative points from talking during class or always being late. Say they drop out because no one helped them. How many negative points do you think we'll get?"
Ike -"Yeah! I never thought about that!"💅💅💅💅💅💅💅
Shinohara - "You're right. Even I didn't think about that really."
Matsushita -"As I thought, he is the certain someone Horikita-san was talking about. His thought process is certainly not of ordinary student" she thought.
"That's—"
"Of course, before we get any information, nothing is certain. However, don't you think that there's a fairly high possibility? A hundred? A thousand? There's even a chance that 10,000 or 100,000 points are deducted. If that's the case, you'll have a hard time getting to class A."
Sakayanagi -"Fufufu, as expected. You are the perfect opponent for me." she thought.
Kamuro -"What's with that smile? She is too creepy!"
"Our negative points from being late and talking during class can't go below 0 right now. While we're at 0 points, it'd be best to remove all the students who can't study. Isn't it the same as receiving no damage?"
"There's no guarantee that that'll be the case. There might be some negative points that we don't know about yet. Do you really think it's alright to ignore such a dangerous risk? Well... for someone as smart as you, there's no way that you wouldn't have thought of that. If that wasn't the case, there's no reason for you to do a study group. You would've abandoned them from the very start."
I was starting to get worked up. That might be because I started to regard her as a friend. I didn't want her to regret her decision.
Horikita -"Is that the only reason why he helped me back then?" she thought.
Haruka -"I knew kiyopon won't abandon his friends!" Happy Haruka noises :D
Ichinose -"He really is a caring person, and he is really amazing. If only we would have been in the same class..."she thought. Sad Honami noises D:
"Even if there are unseen minuses, it's better for the class if we get rid of the failures. When we start to increase our points, it'll be bad if we regret not cutting them out. At this time, this is a risk that should be taken."
"Do you really think that?"
"Yes, really. Rather, I am worried about you, who is trying to desperately save them."
I grabbed Horikita's wrist as she was about to get on the elevator.
"What? Do you have a rebuttal? This problem isn't something that can be solved by the two of us. The only ones who know the answer are the school, so we'll be left here arguing forever. I'll interpret it as I like, and you'll do the same. It'll only amount to that, no?"
Sudo - "Does that mean you helped us because Ayanokoji asked you to?"
Horikita -"Yeah didn't I say I'm doing it only for my own benefit?"
Okitano -"But why is he asking you to help? Shouldn't he also do something? I mean, he didn't contribute anything during study sessions, even though he could have..."
"You're really talkative. I never thought you were the type of person to talk this much."
"That's... that's because you're being insistent."
The normal Horikita would never listen to me.
If I stopped her like this, it wouldn't be strange to receive a sharp blow. However, by not doing so, it's evidence that Horikita also thinks the same way. That's why she didn't shake off my hand. Of course, she herself probably doesn't notice.
"The day we met. Do you remember what happened on the bus?"
"You mean the time we refused to give our seat up to the old woman?"
"Yea. At that time, I thought of the meaning behind giving up my seat. To give up my seat, or not to give up my seat. Which one is the right answer?"
"I already gave my answer. I didn't give up my seat because I felt it was useless. There's no merit to giving her my seat, but rather a waste of time and effort."
"Merit? All you think about is profit and loss to the very end."
"Is that bad? Humans are calculating creatures. If you sell goods, you get money, and if you do someone a favor, it'll be returned. I'll receive this thing called 'joy' from my contribution to society if I give up my seat. No?"
"No, that's not wrong. I also think that's natural."
"Then—"
"With that mindset, make sure to have a broad outlook on life. Right now, you're too blinded by anger and unhappiness that you can't see anything."
"Are you someone important? Do you even have the ability to find faults about me?"
"Whatever my ability, I can only see one thing that you cannot see. This is the only fault in the otherwise perfect-looking person known as Horikita Suzune."
Ike - "What do you mean, Ayanokoji? I mean, Horikita-san is incredible!" 💅💅💅
Hiyori -"I think Ayanokoji-kun is trying to say the same thing as her brother was..."
Shinohara -"Huh! What's that supposed to mean? Besides, if he really is that smart then why doesn't he do something himself?"
Onodera-"Yeah! Isn't it ridiculous!?"
Sakayanagi -"Fufufu, as expected of you , not one of you can see the big picture."
Ryuuen -"Kukuku, I have to agree with Sakayangi on this one."
Sudo -"Huh? What do you mean?!"
Kouenji -"Calm down Red-hair-kun! Lets say for instant if he helps the class to get through this; then wouldn't you just start to depend on him? But with what Ayanokoji-boy did, it helped horikita-girl to realise her mistakes and take a step forward even if it's just a small one."
When Kouenji said that almost all of my classmates went silent. They weren't able to utter a single word to argue against him.
She snorted, as if she was saying "Tell me if you have a bone to pick with me."
"Let me tell me you your faults. You find other people a hindrance and you don't let anyone come close to you. Aren't you in class D because you always think of yourself as superior over everyone else?"
"... It seems like you're trying to say that I'm equal to Sudou-kun and his group."
"Then, are you trying to say that you're superior to those guys?"
"It's obvious if you look at the test scores. Those are clear evidence that they're just heavy baggage for the class."
"Certainly, if you measure by scores, they're two, three times below your level. Even if they tried really hard, they wouldn't be able to surpass you. However, that's only true on top of the desk. The school doesn't only look at intelligence. This time, if the school did some kind of physical examination, the results wouldn't be the same. Is that wrong?"
Ichinose -"I understand Ayanokoji-kun is trying to help horikita-san but it's this a little too harsh?" she thought.
Kanzaki -"Ayanokoji is a really troublesome for our class! Why can't anyone see that!?" he thought
"That's—"
"Your physical ability is also good. After watching you swim, you're definitely one of the better girls. However, both you and I know that Sudou's physical abilities surpass yours. Ike has communication skills that you don't have. If there was a test based on communication skills, Ike would certainly be helpful. Rather, you would've probably dragged down the class. Well then, are you incompetent? No, that's not it. Everyone has their strong and weak points. That's what it means to be a human ."
Almost all the students weren't able to say anything. They didn't expect something like this to be said by the plain and normal looking guy like him and those fangirls of Hirata were totally shocked to see this side of Kiyotaka. On the other hand, Kei is thinking just how cool is his boyfriend and Haruka is wondering if she will be able to support Airi.
Mashima sensei- "He is really on a different level than other students. There's no doubt about that. And as a teacher of this school I have to help him from the case of tsukishiro." he thought.
Sakagami sensei -"When he fought against class A, I had a strange feeling about this kid. Ryuuen has potential, but will he be able to win against him?"he thought
Hoshinomiya sensei -"There's no reason doubt anymore... Sudo-kun has changed since last year. The reason this years' class D is different is because he helped them grow. He really is dangerous... Sae-chan~ You sure are playing unfair~" she thought.
Horikita tried to retort, but she wasn't able to say anything.
"... You have no basis to your words. All of your words are just pure guesses."
"If there is no foundation, then we have to come up with a guess from what we do have. Think about Chiyabashira-sensei's words carefully. In the guidance room, she said, "Who decided that smart people are the ones who get into superior classes?". So, the conclusion is that there is some factor other than academic ability that affects rankings."
I swiftly cut off Horikita's exit path as she looked left and right to weasel herself out of the argument. If I didn't do that, our argument would've been ridiculous.
"You say that you wouldn't regret abandoning the students who failed, but that's not true. There will be plenty of days where you feel regret if they drop out."
I looked straight into Horikita's eyes. She was not only grasping the reality of the situation, but also tied it with her consciousness. I got that impression from her.
"You're really talkative today too. Doesn't suit your principle of avoiding trouble."
"Yea, probably."
"It's really frustrating, but your words are right. You had enough persuasive power to make me think that. I'll recognize that. However, I still can't understand one thing. That is, your true intentions. What is this school to you? Why are you desperately trying to persuade me?"
"... I see, that's what you're thinking."
"If someone doesn't have any persuasive power, their theories won't be believed."
She wants to know why I'm trying to persuade her that letting Sudou and the others drop out is a bad thing.
"Without any facades, I want to know the true reason. For points? To rise up to class A? Or, to help your friends?"
"Because I want to know. What is 'a person with merit'? What is equality?"
Ichinose -"What do you mean by that, Ayanokoji-kun?"
Ike -"Yeah! What's that even supposed to mean!" ☕
Hirata-"You are always so vague; it's really hard to understand you Kiyotaka-kun."
Ayanokoji -"Just keep watching. You will understand what I mean."
"Merit, equality..."
"I came to this school to seek out answers to these questions."
Although it wasn't well organized in my head, it came out clearly in words.
"Your hand, can you let go?"
"Ah, my bad."
After I released my hand, Horikita turned around and looked at me.
"I couldn't have fallen for your smooth talking, right?"
Saying that, Horikita extended her arm towards me.
"I will take care of Sudou-kun and the others for my own sake. From now on, I'll make sure to make sure they don't drop out as an investment for the future. Is that fine?"
"Don't worry. I don't think you'll act differently. That's the kind of person you are."
"That's a promise, then."
Ike -"So you did help us because he asked you to... I guess Ayanokoji did help us even if it is way too indirect..."
Shinohara -"Well, I still don't know whether you are an idiot or not but I guess thanks for helping..." (she said that because that study group is one of the reason that Ike was saved and didn't get expelled lol)
I took Horikita's hand.
However, it wasn't until later that I learned that this was a contract with the devil.
Editor's note (please read):
There seems to be some misconception about this Reaction fiction. I AM NOT the original writer of this fiction.
By the permission of the original author, I had planned to re-upload this great old fiction which had a lot of reads in the past.
The original work was discontinued and taken down soon after, but many readers asked for it back again. As an editor, I had no right whatsoever to make changes on this fiction and even if I do, I chose to not correct the spelling errors to preserve the originality of this work, but have gotten some comments regarding this. I have tried making the grammar better but please don't hope any good. As it stands, English is my 3rd Language.
Also, do not expect me to change dialogues. That'll be the same as making a new fiction.