2 Chapter 2.1: Weak point Part 1

"I planned to... fade out, but..."

Lunch break. For some reason, I was involved with the usual group and went to the cafeteria.

The members were me, Kushida, Horikita, Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou.

It was inevitable. When lunchtime arrived, Kushida came up to me and asked, "Want to go to lunch?" with a smile. I couldn't possibly refuse right? So I said, "Sure!". .

"You seem to be involved in one problem after another, Sudou-kun."

Horikita sighed in exasperation.

Naturally, the topic of discussion was how to prove Sudou's innocence.

"Well it can't be helped, so we'll assist you as friends, Sudou."

Although he treated Sudou as a bad person at first, Ike's attitude changed. It's definitely because Kushida stepped in. Even so, Sudou apologised.

"I'm sorry for causing trouble again Horikita. However, I wasn't the one at fault this time. I was really frustrated at those class C bastards."

As though it was someone else's problem, Sudou talked to Horikita in an indifferent tone.

"I'm sorry, but this time, I don't really feel like helping."

Horikita immediately rejected Sudou's request for help.

"The most important thing to class D in order to rise up is to take back the points we lost as quickly as possible. However, because of you, we probably won't be able to get any points. In other words, you've just messed up that plan."

"Wait a second. It's probably true, but I'm seriously not the one at fault! I only hit them because they provoked me first! What part of that is my fault!?"

"You keep saying that they started the fight, but it's nothing more than a trivial difference. Were you not aware of that?"

"Trivial my ass. It's completely different. I'm not the one to blame!"

"Is that so? Well, good luck."

Grabbing her untouched tray, Horikita stood up.

"Are you not going to help!? Aren't we friends!?"

"Don't make me laugh. I've never considered you as a friend. I feel most uncomfortable when I'm with people that don't realize how stupid and foolish they are. Goodbye."

Horikita sighed, looking more exasperated than angry, and left the room.

"What's up with her!? Dammit!"

Unable to vent his anger anywhere else, he hit the cafeteria table.

I noticed the nearby student's miso soup spilling . I saw him glare at Sudou, but fall silent upon looking at his face. And I understood how he felt.

"I guess we'll have to make do with what we have"

"I knew you would understand, Yamauchi. I'm relying on you too, Ayanokouji."

Seems like I'm second to Yamauchi. Well, it's not really surprising.

"Even if you ask me to help, I can't really do much, you know?"

It's ineffective to self-deprecate whenever someone asks for help, it seems.

"You've been saying that ever since yesterday Ayanokouji-kun. Ike, say something."

"No, but... well, it's strange for Ayanokouji to say that he won't be useful. Well, it's better than not being there. Probably."

As expected, Ike couldn't come up with how I would be useful.

With a smug face, I looked at Kushida. It was though I was showing off the power of being a boring person.

"This is disheartening. I thought we got along when we were preparing for the test..."

Ike said in a disappointed tone. I saw Horikita sitting back down in the distance, looking slightly irritated.

"I don't understand Horikita at all. What's wrong with her, Ayanokouji? Why is she like that?"

I didn't know the answer to the question. What am I, a user manual for her? To avoid answering, I stuffed my face with rice.

"It's strange though. Horikita-san wants to get to class A, right? If we save Sudou-kun, the class would receive points. I wonder why she doesn't want to."

"Isn't it because she dislikes Sudou? She said she didn't think of him as a friend."

Saying that wasn't going to help..

They misunderstood what she said earlier for her dislike of Sudou..

"I don't want to think that way, but I guess it's true..."

"Kushida, Horikita is—"

I unconsciously start to speak. Kushida looked at me in interest.

"Horikita-san is?"

"Ah... It may not be relevant, but here are my thoughts on this: I think Horikita normally talks in a harsh manner. But I also think you guys are misunderstanding her."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"She won't help if there's no reason to do so... I think."

"What do you mean by, 'I think, I think'? Are you just guessing?"

Sudou bursts into the conversation. As he is aware of Horikita, it wasn't difficult to understand that he didn't like being rejected by her.

Horikita had probably realized this when Chiyabashira-sensei was telling us about the incident.

This happened for a reason. And the ending she foresaw... in other words, the probability that this would end with positive results is near impossible. Upon realizing that, Horikita purposely acted cold towards Sudou.

If it were to be said here, it would not be able to much of a difference as it'll only make them feel disheartened. Without knowing how things will end, I hesitated to reply to Sudou's outburst.

Not wanting to pour cold water onto their plans, Horikita probably didn't say anything and left.

"Well... It's a guess like you say, Sudou."

"You don't even have a reason for thinking that way?"

"Horikita's smart after all. I felt like she came to a conclusion that made her act that way."

"A conclusion? Yeah, a conclusion to forsake me."

"Let's not accuse others, Sudou. It's only natural for Ayanokouji-kun to defend Horikita, since he's always with her all the time.. She's important to him, you know?"

Ike quipped at me with an evil smile on his face.

Sudou clicked his tongue and reached out for his tray, still feeling irritated.

"If someone came up as a witness, it would be great. Since the teachers asked all the classes, this will probably be resolved quickly."

I understand wanting to think that way, but would the situation be resolved that easily?

After all, the issue was serious. It's not unreasonable for Horikita to give up. It would be checkmate if the witness, assuming there is one in the first place, was from Class C. It would be natural for class C to hide the truth in order to protect themselves. After all, this school is made up of ranks. It's unlikely that any feelings of guilt will outweigh the disadvantages the class may get.

But if the witness is not from class C, the problem is where to look.

If it was someone that was neutral and had seen the situation unfold from the beginning, the result may be different.

"Ah, sorry, I'll be gone for a bit. I'm going to go ask my senpais that I just saw over there."

Kushida stood up from her seat.

"You're doing your best for people like Sudou, Kushida-chan. It's cute."

Fascinated by Kushida's back, Ike was enchanted.

"I should seriously confess to Kushida-chan..."

"It's impossible. You think she'll drop to your level?"

"I have a better chance than you do."

The two similarly enchanted boys quarreled.

"If I dated Kushida-chan... fufu."

Drooling, Ike started to fantasise with indecent thoughts.

"Hey. Why are you fantasizing about my Kushida-chan?"

"Noo..."

"W-what delusions are you having!? Talk!"

It seems like he lost his sense of control.

"What do you mean, what? Of course I'm thinking of her nude, right next to me. In other words, cuddling."

Somehow, the whole scene was imaginable to a certain extent with those few words.

"Dammit, I won't lose! I've also thought of various things!"

Hey hey, that's neither ethical nor suitable.

"Stop it. Don't touch my Kushida-chan with your filthy hands."

In some way, Kushida seemed pitiful.

She's probably the object of several boys' fantasies every night.

"As I thought, the best part about high school are the girls. I really want a girlfriend. If I have a girlfriend during summer, I can go to the pool with her! It'd be the best!"

"It would be the best if Kushida-chan was my girlfriend... it would be the best if she was my girlfriend..."

As if it was something valuable, Yamauchi said it twice.

"But since Kushida-chan is cute, won't she get a boyfriend sooner or later...?"

"Don't say that, Yamauchi. It doesn't look like she has a boyfriend, so it's alright."

Ike replied with self-confidence, though it seemed like he was trying to reassure himself.

"Do you want to know? I bet you guys want to know."

"What? What are you talking about, Ike? Tell me."

While saying, "Well, guess I can't help it," Ike took out his phone.

"Using the phone we got from the school, we can actually track the location of registered friends."

Ike searched for Kushida's location as he said so.

Shortly after, the phone blinked with Kushida's information, showing that she was in the cafeteria.

"I've always been checking regularly, even on weekends. And then I talk to her, pretending that we met by chance, in order to make sure that she doesn't have a boyfriend."

While crossing his arms, Ike had a confident look on his face, but what he was doing is nothing more than stalking her.

It's already at the level where the police would usually intervene.

"Realistically, Kushida-chan is out of our league... she wouldn't drop to our level. Would it be possible if I aimed lower...?"

"Yea... in the first place, my girlfriend can't be ugly..."

"They've got to be at least a 70..."

It seems like the two boys started to dream about getting a girlfriend.

Their wild delusions were shattered, but they could not get rid of their high expectations.

"Ayanokouji, do you want a girlfriend?"

"Well, if it's possible."

If I was able to get a girlfriend just because I wanted one, I wouldn't have much difficulty socialising with others.

"I'm just asking again, but are you sure you don't feel anything for Horikita?"

He thrusted his chopsticks towards me while asking.

"I don't, really."

"Are you sure?"

He asked again, looking like he didn't believe me. I nodded my head vigorously to get the point across.

"...Then it's fine. I thought you were clinging onto her. I mean, that would be a bother for Horikita."

I don't remember clinging onto anyone. Especially not her.

"But are you ok with Horikita? Well, she's cute, but... she's pretty boring, right? I wouldn't be able to stand someone like her. She wouldn't want to go to the pool or go on any dates."

"I don't know. Horikita's better than Kushida."

Sudou nodded two, three times and crossed his arms while being prideful about his preferences.

"If it was someone unrelated, she would refuse the date, but if it was her boyfriend, she would probably agree, right? And she would show her boyfriend expressions that she wouldn't show any other boy."

"I see... I can imagine it too. She's cute, after all."

While glancing at Horikita, who was sitting quite a distance away, Yamauchi entered his delusions.

"But that Horikita seems to have abandoned you, Sudou."

"That's... well, it's true. Damn it, I feel sad now."

"Well, I've got nothing to say since the number of rivals for Kushida-chan just decreased."

It seems like Ike decided to look for girls around a chest size of 70 while keeping Kushida as his main goal.

"By the way Ayanokouji, if you don't like Horikita, who do you like? Sudou has Horikita, Yamauchi has Kushida-chan. Are you going to be a rival?"

"Who..."

No particular girl came to mind.

For a few moments, I thought about it seriously. If I were to choose, then... Kushida? She's the person I talk to the most, so it's inevitable. But since I know she doesn't like me, I haven't really thought about her.

"There's no one."

However, Ike and Yamauchi sent me doubtful glances.

"Do you believe that there are guys that don't have a crush on a girl?

"There's no one like that at all. Don't hide it, Ayanokouji."

"Unlike you guys, I haven't really met with many girls other than Horikita and Kushida."

"Well, I guess. I haven't really seen you talk to any other girls."

It's sad that it's true.

"Should I introduce you to some girls?"

Placing an arm around my shoulder, Ike talked with confidence.

"Isn't it sad that you're trying to introduce some girls when you don't even have a girlfriend?"

"Uu... yea..."

"Sae-chan-sensei said that we would have a vacation in the summer, right? I'll definitely get a girlfriend then. Kushida-chan if possible! Or some other cute girl!"

"Me too, me too! Even if she's the worst, I'll get a girlfriend... and then I'll have my lovey-dovey high school life!"

"...When should I confess to Horikita..."

The three of them talked about the girls in their minds.

"We should have a competition to see who gets a girlfriend first. The first person to have a girlfriend will treat all of us with food! Alright?"

It was difficult to decide if I was a true friend by participating in a competition like this.

"What's wrong, Ayanokouji? By any chance, you're not going to say that you won't participate, will you?"

"No, I was just wondering why the first person to get a girlfriend is the one to treat everyone else."

"Oh, I see. You're just being jealous, right?"

"A person who gets a girlfriend is happy. Since they're happy, they treat everyone. It's that kind of feeling."

Although they were getting excited, Sudou's problem still persists.