When I returned to my dorm after shopping at Keyaki Mall, I found Ibuki glaring at the entrance next to the elevator. I ignored her and pressed the elevator button, and she became angry as if she had been weaned.
"Don't ignore me!" She yelled at me with such force that spit flew out onto my face.
I was ready to enter a long battle with Ibuki-san, but what the hell was going on? It seems like she's going to follow me into the elevator. I had no choice but to stop and watch as the elevator doors opened to welcome her.
"Ignore you? What do you want from me?"
"This! What did you mean by this sentence? Tell me the answer." She thrusts the screen of her cell phone in front of me, glaring at me. A blinding light illuminates my eyeballs, but all I can see is white light.
"Are you stupid? It's too close to me, can you move back a little?"
"Damn it! Come on!"
She moved back a little bit , but I could read what it said right away, just by skimming through some of it.
"That's a well-written and impressive piece of writing. I'm sure it must have been written by an intelligent person."
"Don't pat yourself on the back! I mean, what's so intelligent about this?"
"Maybe if you read it out loud, you'd understand."
"Huh? If you drop out of school when I have nothing to do with it, then of course you've lost to me."
"Don't be such a dumbass. Where's the intelligence in that? No, that's enough, just tell me what it means!"
"You read it and didn't get it?"
"Not at all. I've been thinking about it all week and I didn't get it. So what?" She huffs, sniffs and crosses her arms.
I wasn't expecting her not to understand my simple advice. No, I'd rather think it could be potentially effective.
"It's not something that makes sense to ask about now. You didn't seem to have a problem with what I said, seeing as I got no response."
"What? Explain it to me in a clearer way."
She really doesn't understand things. I wonder if all she has are her athleticism and fighting sense.
"I wanted to give you some motivation to not be expelled. You aren't well liked by your classmates and could have been in jeopardy if the question during the exam had anything to do with your expulsion. To get back at me, you'd try to stay in school even if you didn't want to, wouldn't you?"
"Don't tell me you're worried about... me?" She pulled away, looking not surprised, but truly sickened.
"Don't take this the wrong way. It's just that there's a lot left for you to help with. Even if you were dismissed from the last special exam, Ryūen-kun would gain 100 points, alongside abandoning you. If you're going to leave anyway, it's more profitable to have you disappear in the exam with a penalty attached to Ryūen-kun."
She didn't look a millimeter convinced when I tried to explain.
"I think it's time for me to leave, if you don't mind."
With her silently and angrily making way toward me, I pressed the elevator button again. Then as I get inside, I notice that Ibuki is not following me.
"You're not joining?"
"I don't want to get in the elevator with you."
"Don't be silly, we've been inside together a few times by accident."
"I don't feel like riding it right now."
"Right. Then do what you want."
Pressing the close button, I head for the floor where Kushida-san lives. From here, I must continue to persist until she opens the door for me. As the elevator ascends, I wonder if I will really be able to make a breakthrough. If I don't try something else, it won't change. If that's the case, then what I'm about to do is nothing but a waste of time. I arrived at my destination floor and the door opened.
Suddenly... I can't move and I'm frozen in place. What's changed up until now that had let me talk with Kushida-san?
Time passed and the elevator closed. Before I could press the open button, the elevator started moving and began to move downstairs.
"Ugh..."
I don't think you can persuade Kushida-san to come face to face with you in her current state. I think back to the warm words from Chabashira-sensei.
The elevator came straight back to the first floor. When the doors opened, Ibuki-san, who was looking down at her cell phone, took a step forward without noticing me. She looked up when she felt the presence of someone in the elevator, saw me, and let out a slight groan.
"Why are you here? I can't say I expected any other reaction.
"You're not getting in?"
"I told you I'm not getting in! Are you harassing me?"
Shaking my head, I reached out to press the close button again. Then I saw Ibuki-san averting her gaze and felt something tugging in my mind. Just before I touched the close button, I pressed the open button and stared at her. She looks at me, suspicious that the elevator isn't closing.
A breakthrough may be lying in an unexpected place.
Maybe it's time to put Chabashira-sensei's advice to use...
"What the hell?"
"I thought I'd ask you to help me with something."
"Huh?"
It's a pretty big gamble, but it could be the ingredient to break the stalemate. An unseen breakthrough, and it might be a surprise ambush that takes us out of the stalemate we're in right now. I know this is reckless, but for now, I'll just have to try whatever it takes.
"Get in."
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not getting in?"
"Just get in."
"What the hell?"
I pushed the close button, checking on Ibuki, who got in, despite her irritation.
"There's something I need your advice on."
"Excuse me? No no no, I am definitely not helping you with anything."
"At least hear me out... Maybe it'll benefit you."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Just because you're asking me about it, I know it's bad news."
While we were talking, the elevator reached the floor where Kushida-san's room was located. I stepped out first and looked back at Ibuki-san, who was still in the elevator.
"Get off. We don't know who's listening, so stay close."
"I'm going home. I don't know what that means."
She presses the close button and tries to leave, but the elevator doors don't close.
"It looks like the elevator wants you to get off too."
"That's because you're blocking it from the outside by pushing the button!"
"Do you have any special desires? Like, things that are important to you?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Just answer the question."
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"No, uh, I don't know... I can't think of anything at all, but maybe strawberries?"
"That's surprisingly cute and cuddly for you, Ibuki-san. Enough, forget about what I just said."
"Then why the hell did you ask?"
As Ibuki-san grew unsurprisingly unhappy, I decided to cut to the chase. I realized that it would be better for her if I quickly shared my story and moved on to the next part of the plan.
"I'm going to go see Kushida-san now."
"So? Why don't you go see her on your own?"
She hit the close button repeatedly, but of course it didn't work.
"It doesn't work that way. She hasn't shown up once in this entire week. I've been to her dormitory and she hasn't shown any sign of coming out. I need you to get her out of her room. Do you understand?"
"What? Wait, why do I have to do that?"
"It's another way of helping people."
"If I don't even help my class, why would I help your class?" I've already calculated that there's no way Ibuki-san will accept my offer. But if there's a benefit, it's a different story. As the elevator is left open the whole time, the warning beeping starts.
"Fine. Then I'll give you compensation."
"I don't want it. If you think I'm money driven, you're wrong."
"I'm sure you aren't. But I'm sure my success fee will be something you strongly desire."
"I don't think there's anything like that."
Ibuki's mind is not easy to move. But if you confront her with certain things, her thoughts will change one hundred and eighty degrees.
"You can pre-register for up to five events of your choice for the sports festival. You are free to choose which events and which groups you want to participate in. The main purpose of this system is to be used to clear the required events, or to avoid strong opponents. On the other hand, it is also a system that allows you to fight against targeted opponents.
When I had explained that much, Ibuki-san's eyes, which had been unmotivated, lit up with color.
"Since it's you, you're waiting without reservation to fight me, aren't you? But unfortunately, I'm not going to decide until the last minute. Depending on the situation, there's a good chance that you'll make a move for the last slot. In other words, even if you aim and wait, your chance to fight won't come for a long time."
"So you're saying that if I cooperate, you'll fight me?"
"Yes. I'll fight you in one of the competitions of your choice. Of course, I won't go easy on you because of your class, so you won't be able to pick up any points. That is, if you're okay with it."
"Ha. That's interesting. But I'm not satisfied with just one. I'll help you if you give me at least three competitions, so we will have a best-of-three."
"Three? That's greedy..."
I make a pretense of thinking as the warning beep goes off again.
"It's non-negotiable."
She has a point, I agree that it's not clear who would be better out of one competition. On the other hand, if we play two or four rounds, there is always the possibility of a draw. It was expected from the beginning that the game would be decided by three rounds, but if you present the match at the beginning, you may be asking for five rounds.
If she's willing to accept three rounds, then we're right on schedule.
"Fine, I'll face you for three rounds and join the competition. Is that okay with you?"
"Deal. No changing your mind later." With that, she stepped off the elevator. I took my hand off the button and the elevator began to slowly close its doors.
"Of course. However... you're going to have to help me out this time until we get this matter resolved."
"Just tell me clearly what the goal is."
"Kushida-san comes to school on Monday. That's it."
"How hard can that be? I mean, what's the point if Kushida is absent? Everyone gets sick at least once in a while."
Chabashira-sensei said that secrets shouldn't matter when it comes to resolving Kushida-san's issue. The important thing is who I'm telling the secrets to.
I decided to follow that advice and tell the whole story. If Ibuki is the kind of student who would blow up and tell everyone around her, it would be my fault for not yet realizing that. I need to find a way to break the ice now, even if it means pushing myself further.
I told Ibuki-san everything about Kushida-san, I left no secrets. Ibuki-san only knows what kind of life she's been leading through shallow encounters. But I explained to her Kushida-sans true nature, her way of thinking, and every detail of her current situation. While I was talking to her, Ibuki-san was listening to me with a disinterested look on her face, looking in some random direction.
Normally, I would have been dissatisfied with such an attitude, but strangely enough, I felt saved by her method of listening. When I finished telling her the truth about why she was currently absent from school, Ibuki-san let out a sigh of exasperation.
"Whatever." Without showing any strong interest in her true nature, she nonchalantly commented on the fact.
"You don't seem surprised. Did you know anything about it?"
"Nah, I just don't believe in straight-up good guys. The same goes for Hirata and Ichinose. It's a rule that people who pretend to be good people are always dark behind the scenes."
"That's an interesting way of thinking."
She might have a surprisingly good point.
"So, in your mind, is Ryūen-kun quite highly regarded? He's not a good person on the surface but he's not a good person behind the scenes either."
"That's why I hate him more. I also dislike guys who seem harmless like Ayanokōji these days. People like that fucking piss me off."
When you go that far, on the other hand, I wonder if there exists anyone that Ibuki-san finds likable...
"Well, I don't hate the idea of exposing a person like that. I'd enjoy asking them how it feels to be exposed as a bad person."
If she goes too far, I'll have to stop her, but that kind of forcefulness is something I need to learn from.
"You want me to drag Kushida out of her hiding place, right?"
"Yes."
Seeming quite confident, Ibuki-san walked lightly to the front of Kushida-san's room.
"Are you going to do this all by yourself?"
"Just shut up and watch."
Very well Ibuki-san, let's see what you do.
When she walked to the front of Kushida-san's room, Ibuki-san suddenly held her stomach and kneeled down onto the floor.
"Oh shit! Ouch ouch ouch!" She then let out a scream that echoed down the hallway.
I couldn't understand what she was doing for a moment, and stared at the scene in amazement.
"This stomach-ache... I can't! No way I can make it back in time..."
A stomach-ache? Don't tell me this is the best you've come up with... Aside from that clichéd idea, it's devastatingly poorly acted.
To begin with, this is not the floor of Ibuki's room. Even if the floors were the same, it would definitely be faster to run to your own room.
"Uh, excuse me?! Can I use your toilet real quick?" She rapidly hit the chime on Kushida-san's door and continued to do so for about ten seconds, but there was no sign of Kushida-san opening up from inside.
It seems that asking Ibuki-san for help was an obvious mistake, I was ready to lose my head from all the pointless noise she was making. She continued to keep acting for a few dozen seconds until she got up and turned to face me with a straight face.
"I thought she was home?"
"First of all, I'm pretty sure she's in her room."
"Really? If she doesn't get caught by that act, she's quite a tough one, isn't she?"
"Yeah, I guess so." I said, motioning Ibuki-san to follow me. I instruct her to follow me quietly and open the box with the built-in electric meter attached to Kushida-san's room. "You see a disk here, right? If the speed of this disk is slow, she's probably not home. But if she's at home and using the TV or computer, the rotation speed will increase." The disk was spinning slightly faster than normal. "Now you know it's more likely that she's at home, right?"
"I didn't know you knew about being a thief?"
"I learned a lot about it last weekend while I was waiting for her. Don't abuse it."
"Of course I won't" She answers while giving me a cold look.
"Can you think of any other way? If you don't, then I suppose we should give up now..."
"We're doing it wrong."
"What?"
"It's a toss-up, but it's okay, right? I'll forcefully pull Kushida out." I feel like I should inquire further, but I see her spirit and decide to leave it to her once more. I keep my distance, and then she steps to the door again.
"Hey, Kushida. I've heard a lot about you. I heard that you've been wearing a catsuit until now, and it was exposed in the exam?"
When I wondered what she was going to do, she started blabbering nonsense. For a moment, my brain thought I should stop her, but there was no point in doing so. Even if I stopped here, it would have already reached her ears.
"That's gotta hurt... How does it feel to go from being the most popular person in the world to falling down so low? How does it feel to fall from the podium?"
The technique of stirring up agitation is much better than the deplorable acting she did earlier. Furthermore, Kushida-san might turn exquisitely angry because she's being told by an outsider, Ibuki-san. But no sound came back. I guess rough treatment wasn't enough...
Ibuki-san didn't change her expression, nor did she try to stop her words.
"I heard the catsuit went hard... Can I see it?" She slams her right toe against the door extremely hard. "I'm so stressed out because of Horikita right now, I just want to see the suit."
Honestly, that was Ibuki-san's true intention, she didn't want to save Kushida-san in the slightest. I'm sure she's on the other side of the door listening...
"Maybe kicking in the door of someone's room isn't such a bad idea. I can kind of understand how Ryūen feels."
After a few such kicks, I heard a sound from inside the room. Despite this, as she was about to unleash more kicks, the door to the room suddenly unlocked.
"It's annoying, so can you please stop, Ibuki-san?" Kushida-san, in her pajamas, finally showed herself.
I honestly didn't expect Ibuki-san's violent strategy to work... I'm a little shocked, wondering what all my efforts were for during the past week.
"There she is. See? I knew she was that type of person."
Maybe there were parts of Kushida-san's personality that Ibuki-san could relate to...
"Whatever you're trying to do is pissing me off, can you stop?"
"Are you more likable when you put on the catsuit or something?"
"I've never actually liked you, you know. I can see Horikita-san over there, that was probably the reason you're even here." Her mental state seems to be calm, judging by the fact that she used "san".
Since there was no point in hiding, I walked without hesitation to the front of Kushida-san's room.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to come inside your room. I'm getting a little tired of waiting around all the time."
"Well, it's no use trying to close it."
She can't close the door because Ibuki-san has one foot firmly inserted in the gap between the doors. Kushida-san looked down at the foot for a few seconds before suddenly, without warning, stomping on it.
"Shit!" She continues to stomp forcefully, but Ibuki-san doesn't pull her foot back either.
"Yeah... it's not closing." Kushida-san sighs.
"That's enough...!"
I try to force the door open and step in, but she only retreats and greets us with a straight face.
"Come on in, then. This may be the last time you'll see me, so take your time." She says it with an implied tone, but I guess she's been prepared to do something like that for a while. It was no small feat for Kushida-san to annoy the class by maintaining the status quo indefinitely. She must have invited us in because she's made up her mind about something. This is our last chance, I guess. I could tell at a glance that Kushida-san's room was being used in a clean and neat manner. I get the impression that she's even more solid than I am in terms of her love of cleanliness.
"Well, well, it's pretty tidy." Ibuki-san says, looking around the room with a hint of admiration and surprise.
Kushida-san saw this attitude and made a strange face.
"Ibuki-san's room looks like it's in disarray, with her undressed clothes scattered all over the place."
"Wh-what? How do you know if you haven't even seen it?"
It's clear from Ibuki-san's reaction that it's true.
"Sit down. I'm not going to offer you anything to drink or snack on, but that's okay, right?"
"Yeah, no thanks."
We looked at each other for a moment and then sat down. Kushida-san sat across from us, making it a two-on-one situation across the table.
"You've been making noise in front of my room for so long, what do you want?"
"You know what I want, don't you? You've been out of school for the past week."
"Oh..." With an absent-minded reply, Kusida-san continued. "Do you really think I'm going to go to school after what happened? I'm not really surprised, but you told this girl about me, didn't you? Is that another way to get back at me?"
"No, it isn't. She wouldn't carelessly tell anyone else."
"Do you trust her?"
"No, I don't. It's just that she doesn't have anyone to talk to."
"Hey!" Ibuki-san slammed her fist on the table and glared at me, but I ignored her. It is true after all...
"Even if that's the case, you're not thinking about my feelings, are you? I'm hurt."
"Do you really have the right to say that?"
"Even if I don't, there's no reason why you shouldn't think about how I feel, Horikita-san."
The sharp exchange of words quickly brought up new tension.
"Let's move the conversation forward. I know I have been inadequate in some respects. But you were the one who initiated the hostility in the first place. Isn't that right?"
We were just classmates, but she had always seen me as someone who should be expelled.
"I won't deny that point. But I can't help it, I couldn't stand you..."
"I don't know what I should have done. I look back on it now and I can't get a clear answer."
"I know, I know. I've thought about the same thing a few times. And I've come to one conclusion. Maybe you should have voluntarily withdrawn from school for me, because I couldn't stand your presence."
"Don't be absurd. That's not a solution, it's just your angry feelings."
"It's complicated. But it's the only argument I have."
Although she answered my questions, it was hardly a friendly dialogue. I suppose they were just her true feelings.
At first, I was trying to listen to her, but then she started to slowly stop talking and the lifeless look in her eyes returned.
"I wonder if you'd be willing to help me and put all of this behind you."
"I knew that's what you were getting at, but come on, don't make me laugh."
"You're good enough and worth it."
"I know."
She answers immediately, not even showing any pretense of modesty.
"I'd have thought you were super self-conscious..."
To Ibuki-san's muttered response, Kushida-san simply turns and stares at her.
"Did you think so? Well it's not very true. However, I wouldn't expect someone with your competence to realize that."
"Do you think you're all that? Why don't we go at it here or something?" Ibuki-san said and clenched her fists.
"You're even more of an idiot than I thought, Ibuki-san. That's not what competence means, okay? Why don't you take a look at OAA? My ability in this school is my good grades, right? I think the difference between me and Ibuki-san is more than physical aspects, don't you?" Miffed, Ibuki-san took out her phone and checked the OAA. She then compared it to her own overall strength, paled, and silently closed her phone.
"I want you to use your high ability for the good of the class. If you continue to be absent from school without permission, you will eventually lose your seat."
"It's already gone. As for you, you were prepared for the backlash and opposed my leaving the school, right? So the one who would be troubled if I'm useless is you. I can understand why you would want to desperately try to persuade me to come back."
The situation in the class must have been palpable to Kushida.
"I've lost. There's no reason to stay anymore. But the reason why I stayed quiet at the end of that unanimous special exam was to damage you as much as possible.
If I continue to be absent from school, the school will punish the class that caused the truancy, right? And the blame for that punishment will go to you."
Indeed, if Kushida-san continues to be absent, the class will be continuously damaged like a continuing poisoning. It was possible that the truancy strategy would eventually get clogged up with special exams, but Kushida-san would be able to accomplish her revenge with flying colors.
"There's no gain in it for you, why keep this up?"
"It's too late, I have nothing to lose at this point. Isn't it normal I give you a little roadblock?"
"How is it normal? Don't get carried away just because your OAA numbers are above average."
Muttered Ibuki-san from next to me.
"I invited you in just for the fun of it, but I guess I was right. You're funny, Ibuki-san. If it was just me and Horikita-san, it would have been a boring conversation. I guess I was wrong when I said it was normal. What is normal to me must be abnormal to you."
"So you admit that you have loose screws?"
"Not in my eyes. To me, I do everything right and you do everything wrong. I can't tolerate anything that doesn't suit me."
"That's disgusting."
"Whether it's disgusting or not is irrelevant, I can't just change my way of thinking... I was born that way."
Kushida-san was acting more strange than usual, trying to keep a calm image as she let her dark thoughts spill. No... maybe she found it amusing.
She was much more charming at the moment rather than when she was screaming and crying.
"I'll continue to be an issue until the school does something to force me to change my ways."
Kushida-san declares that she will continue to hinder our class with determination. I can tell she isn't lying, as she preaches to me in a matter-of-fact voice.
"What are you going to do?"
"What am I going to do? Nothing, I have no choice but to have a talk with you like this."
"You're inconsiderate, aren't you? You're very different from Ayanokōji-kun."
At the mention of Ayanokōji-kun's name, Ibuki-san lifts her head up.
"I thought I was taking advantage of him, but it seemed I was very wrong. On the contrary, he was planning to use it against me the entire time. I think he was someone I shouldn't have made enemies with."
"Ayanokōji-kun is very different. It's clear that he can see things deep into the future. It's only recently that I've been made aware of this."
"Then I suppose we're in the same boat."
"I suppose so."
A bit of silence.
"You're mostly an idiot too, Horikita-san. It would have been so much easier if you had just cut me out."
"Maybe I am an idiot. Unfounded intuition, unfounded confidence. That's what you might take me for. However, there is no doubt that you are undeniably an excellent student. Although I can understand how my knowledge about past events the past and your desire to remove Ayanokōji-kun have caused troubles, at least the reputation you have continued to contribute to the class for a year and a half remains unchanged."
Kushida-san has done well and she shouldn't be ashamed of it.
"If annoying the class is really your top priority, you might be able to succeed in your revenge if you just keep taking time off. But, is that what you want?"
"What's your point?"
"I'm asking if that's enough to satisfy you."
"I can be satisfied. I don't want anything more than that right now. No matter how many words you try to convince me, it's useless, I won't ever agree with you."
I could never persuade her. Hearing such words, I felt as if I couldn't say anything anymore. Surely I want Kushida-san to come to school as it would be beneficial for everyone, but I also want to prove that my choice was not a mistake.
Kushida-san, who is right in front of me, knows that better than anything else. In the end, it's still for my sake. It's hard to say that it's the best choice for Kushida-san to come back.
"Maybe I was wrong about you."
"What do you mean?"
"I thought I was here to 'persuade' you, but I was wrong. It was for myself and the class. I wasn't able to take your feelings into account."
"What? Now you're going to pity me?"
"I just realized that taking you out of a school that you don't want to go to is over-ambitious."
"Then I guess we're done talking. If I drag my feet, Horikita-san will automatically fall too. I'll be happy if you suffer through school without me for a long time."
"That's fine with me. But at the same time, it means you'll suffer too."
"I'll suffer? Why's that?"
"Because you still have a place to go back to and you're going to lose it."
"You've become so selfish. There is no place to go back to."
The more I think about her, the more one emotion comes to mind.
"You keep driving me crazy, don't you Kushida-san..."
"What are you on about...?"
"I try to lean on you, but you can never support me because you're a child. The point is, you've just made the wrong choice at every turn. This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't tried to get rid of me, especially since I don't tell secrets and don't actually know anything of the past. The same goes for Ayanokōji-kun."
"Even then, I just can't stand you."
"That's what kids are. You can't stand it, so you lash out. That's the same as a child."
Ibuki-san, who was hit first by my words, bursts out laughing. This irritated Kushida-san as she looked at Ibuki-san with annoyance.
"We have to put up with such an act. You're in high school, remember? All you have to do is walk to class and you're not even doing that. Don't just lie on the ground and waste your time forever, just get up and walk by yourself."
"Ha...you're right, Horikita-san. But I'm a poor, poor girl who's hurting. If I go to school now, my classmates will smoke me out, and things won't be the same as before. Isn't it cruel to try to take me out of such a painful place when you're not even close to me?"
"I'm not in a position to speak for others, but you're not looking very good right now either."
Kushida-san was at a loss for words.
"The class already knows who I am. I can't mend my ways any more. I can't fix it anymore. That's what you think right now, right? When you cried and screamed in class, you looked like a child. No, a toddler. I still feel like I'm dealing with that toddler right now."
"Don't be stupid!"
She raises her hand and tries to slap my cheek before I calmly grab her hand and stop it in motion.
"You want to make fun of me, don't you? You're nothing more than a toddler, annoying me, annoying your classmates, and making it your top priority just for your own pleasure."
"So I'm supposed to be the only one who has to suffer, put up with, and help you and the rest of the class?"
"Don't take this the wrong way. You've got solid power. Then use it for 'your own good'. It doesn't matter what's around you. If you act for yourself, and you've risen to Class A for yourself, that's unquestionably your "achievement". And you can use the privilege of Class A to do whatever you want. If you want to do the same thing, this time go someplace where no one knows about your past." Kushida-san glared at me but she didn't say anything.
"You only have a year and a half of school left. It shouldn't be that hard, should it? For the past year and a half, you've only been putting on a good front for your classmates. It's easier than that. Or is that not even possible with your abilities?"
I could feel Kushida-san's hands trembling with anger as I clenched them.
But I've come to another conclusion.
"This is the only time I will be visiting here. The rest is for you to think about. If you're still going to be my enemy after all I've told you, then I have no more treatment for you. You'll remain a child for the rest of your life."
"That means that while I'm standing still, Horikita-san will continue to move forward..."
Even if I didn't explain everything to her, Kushida-san could see where things stood now.
"You're going to be expelled. I'll be graduating from Class A and fulfilling my own dreams. It's a big difference."
Kushida-san contemplates a future in which I've won, and it's something I know she despises. School life is only a small percentage of a long life.
"Do you really think that from here, I have a chance to go back to school?"
"That's up to you. You can decide whether you want to fight with your chin up high or wallow around in sadness and anger."
Although I could still feel the strength in her arm, it was slowly fading away.
"I'll at least listen to you. Tell me what strategy you have in mind, Horikita-san."
After many twists and turns, we arrived at a situation where Kushida-san was willing to listen.
But I can't try to fix things to make her feel better. I have to convince her with a plan for her survival. I have several tentative answers, and I'll reconstruct them here to arrive at the ideal answer.
"I'm not going to spend my school life carrying you, Kushida-san."
"No, I wouldn't want that. But then, it's impossible, right? My classmates saw my true nature, and that fact can't be changed no matter what, right?"
"That's true. But in other words, there is a possibility that you can recover yourself for those who haven't seen your true nature, right?"
Kushida-san showed a slight gesture of consideration, but muttered, "I don't know."
"Up until now, there were only a few people who knew the real me, like Horikita-san and Ayanokōji-kun. That's why I didn't hesitate to mend my ways yet, but now we've got more people in our class, right? Not only are there smart people, but there are also a lot of stupid and shitty students mixed in among them."
Kushida-san had a point. But before I could react, Ibuki-san reacted.
"You're one to talk!" Ibuki-san overreacted when Kushida-san brought in other students.
"I'm not talking about you, so what does it matter?" Replied Kushida-san.
"If you can't keep your mouth shut, Ibuki-san, you can leave, okay?"
"Oh, yeah. Then I'll leave. It's okay if you keep your promise, right?"
As she tries to stand up, I tell her what I need to tell her.
"No, you can't. If you leave now, it'll be considered abandonment and I'll have the contract voided."
"Huh? What the fuck... Oh my god, then I'll shut up and you can get on with it."
"Contract? What does that mean?"
"I'm only promising to fight her during the sports festival if she'll help me get you to school."
I quickly explained the reason for Ibuki-san being willing to help.
"So that's what it was about, huh? I was wondering why it was Ibuki-san, but that explains it..."
"At least thanks to her, I was able to visit your room, so I need to thank her."
Ibuki-san had a great deal of things to say, I could see it on her face. Even so, she stayed quiet as instructed.
I admire her spirit, she's willing to be patient in order to fight with me.
"Back to the topic at hand, can I take that to mean that it's painful to continue to play the role while your true nature is known?"
"Yes, it is. You can do your best when you're acting in a meaningful way, but you can't do your best when you're acting in a meaningless way, can you?"
Up until now, if she expelled me or Ayanokōji-kun, the meaning of continuing to act would live on. However, it was nearly impossible to expel the entire class. In junior high school, when Kushida-san was in a similar situation, she brought the class down and ended it all.
She tried to do the same here, but it didn't work out.
"If you don't want that, then you don't have to hang out with your classmates like you used to."
"Huh?"
That seemed to be a surprising response not only to the Kushida-san in front of me, but also to Ibuki-san, and both of them reacted similarly.
"Even if you keep your mouth shut to some extent, there is no absolute guarantee. If that's the case, it's inevitable that the rest of the class will stand around with the assumption that Kushida-san is a two-faced and troubled student."
Kushida-san would then lose half of her effectiveness.
She can study well and play sports, but she's not top notch at either of them. Just another honor student. Even if she is superior to Sakura-san in her natural abilities, she lacks charm in other areas.
"I'm not trusted by anyone. I don't think everyone would be satisfied with me anymore. Don't you?"
"It certainly wouldn't be the same as it has been. But can I really say that I've completely lost faith in you? What do you think? Ibuki-san." I looked over to Ibuki-san, who was staring at the wall not even letting me know that she acknowledged my statement.
"Ibuki-san, answer me."
"You told me to shut up, didn't you?"
"I'll allow you to speak."
"What the hell, first shut up, then speak, I'm not your student or anything."
"You don't want to compete? Then just tell me so..."
"Oh, my God!" While scratching her head, Ibuki-san replied. "You've just been playing the good girl too long, that's all. I don't believe in the perfect good person, and I think you acted worse before. If I had to choose who to believe, the old you or the new you, I'd say the new you is more honest."
She said what she thought quickly. I guess it sounded straightforward to Kushida-san because she didn't have any tricks or wisdom.
"Hahaha, that's an interesting answer. I mean, you have an unusual way of thinking, don't you? But not everyone is as unusual as Ibuki-san. If anything, normal people would hate her hair."
"Well, she's certainly not normal, that's for sure."
"Hey!"
"But everyone has two sides to them, big or small. Ibuki-san appreciated the part of your true heart that acts for yourself above all else. That's why you'll never change your true intentions."
This talk of making her change her true intentions was wrong to begin with.
"And if you don't change the way you speak and your tone of voice to the outside world like you have been doing, it will be difficult for those who haven't seen your true nature to imagine what you really are. No matter how many words are used to explain it, a person cannot understand it until they experience it firsthand."
"What do you mean?"
"For example, Ichinose-san. She's someone you could say is certainly more of a good person than Kushida-san. But the truth is that she's really a violent, foul-mouthed person who likes other people's failures more than anything else. Would you believe her right away if she told you that?"
"That might be difficult. That girl seems like a really good person."
"You'd have your doubts, though."
"It's not about Ichinose-san, it's about the existence of good people, right?"
"Well, you'd certainly have to see it in person to know for sure. I couldn't know for sure just by hearing about it from Horikita-san."
"Isn't that right? At least for the past year and a half, Ichinose-san has been a good person. Even if someone were to make such a revelation, they wouldn't believe it. Nevertheless, if all of her classmates were to say out loud that Ichinose-san is that kind of person, we would naturally be suspicious. But I guess the image is still not completely clear, is it?"
No matter who says that Ichinose-san is ruthless and violent, I couldn't believe it. Even if I was told repeatedly, I couldn't believe it unless I saw it for myself.
"It's true that you can't understand something until you experience it. In martial arts, there are times when you are warned that a technique is dangerous, but you don't feel like it is at all. Then when you're actually hit, you understand how amazing it is."
"That's exactly it, Ibuki-san."
But as long as there are still doubts, they won't trust you completely.
"That's where your skills come in. You have to do the best you can with the way you're going. It's a fact that your fallout control and communication skills are better than others."
Whether or not she would be able to gain their trust beyond that was unknown at this point.
"Even if that's fine for the other classes, what about our other classmates? Shinohara-san, Wang-san, Hasebe-san, would probably all resent me. I don't know if I can unite with them.."
"Maybe not with all of them. But it can produce results if you use your abilities to the best."
Even if they just kept getting higher than average results, students who only got grades below Kushida wouldn't be able to complain easily.
"If the untrustworthy side of you comes out, I'll help you."
"Do you think I would honestly believe such sweet words? I'm afraid you'll betray me."
"Being doubtful is fine. I'll accept your bitterness, but I've accepted you even after you betrayed me."
For Kushida-san, there is nothing to be afraid of, as she has already done it once before.
It was all up to her to decide whether to stand up again or not. After staying quiet for a while, Kushida-san opened her eyes. Then she started mumbling something, but I couldn't catch it. Eventually, she opened her eyes, as if she had come to a conclusion.
"All right. I'll fight for a year and a half just for me, and contribute to the class. I won't fight for Horikita-san or for my classmates. That's fine with you, right?"
"I'm not complaining at all. I just want you to respond with results."
Standing up, Kushida-san holds out her left hand instead of her fist.
"Wasn't it the other way around last time?"
Kushida-san didn't respond to the hand I offered all that time ago.
"A left-handed handshake means hostility."
"Is that so? Which hand did I offer you before?"
"Left hand."
It seems that she remembered clearly, as Kushida-san answered immediately. This time, it was her own left hand that was extended. I stood up and offered my left hand in response and we shook hands.
"It's like a hostile commemoration, isn't it?"
"Don't you think that's more like us?"
"I suppose it might be."
She squeezed my hand back forcefully, and I squeezed it back. "Yes. There's one thing I've been wanting to do to you, Horikita-san, if you don't mind..."
"Please go on. What is it?"
"It's..." She smiled and slowly extended her arms towards me.
Her hands came close to my face. And as soon as she gently touched both cheeks, I felt a sharp pain surge through me.
It was immediately after that that I realized that the pain was caused by being pinched on the cheek as hard as I could.
"W-what are you doing...?"
"I really hate you, Horikita-san." She said and pinched my cheek even harder. "I've been on edge since we met today, and I'm still on edge now that we're cooperating. I just thought it would be bad stress to think that this would go on all the way from Monday. I need to let it dissipate like this for a bit." The force she put into it gained even more momentum and showed no signs of stopping.
"Is that enough?"
"No, no, no. It's not enough."
I was willing to accept a little bit of this, but Kushida-san was getting carried away and wouldn't stop pulling on my cheeks.
If she's not going to loosen up at all, I have no choice but to retaliate.
I reached out with both arms and pinched her cheeks in the same way.
"Excuse me?"
"I wonder if you'll let me go now?"
I assumed that she would stop once she felt the pain.
"Come on Kushida-san, time to wipe that frown off your face."
Without hesitating, I put all the strength I could into my fingertips and gripped back with the determination to tear her cheeks off.
It's a battle of wills and stubbornness when it comes to such a thing.
"You guys can keep going until you're both shreds, I'm leaving." Ibuki-san, who was the only one that was still calm, said that and walked out of the room first.
The battle of wills continued for two or three minutes, when the pain started to paralyze us.
We both realized that we were making each other look incredibly stupid, and we both let go of each other's face without a second thought.
When I saw Kushida-san's face turn bright red, I realized that I must be the same.
"Come to school on Monday."
"You're so persistent. Can you please just leave?"
Half-heartedly pushed out of the way, I walked out of her room and into the hallway.
"Ouch..." Stroking my aching cheek, I looked towards the elevator and saw Ibuki-san getting in.
"Were you waiting for me by any chance?"
I said and walked to her, Ibuki-san stuck out her tongue and pressed the button for the elevator.
"Maybe you have a talent for making people angry."
Even so, it was thanks to her that I got to meet Kushida-san today. I'll have to give her my all at the sports festival, just as she wanted.