章 77: Horikita, Could You Be Hiratsuka Shizuka's Sister?!
"Hey! Chabashira-sensei, don't stir things up at a time like this!"
Hikigaya stared in disbelief at his homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, completely caught off guard that she would bring up his joining the student council now of all times.
He wasn't surprised, though, that Chabashira already knew he had joined.
Although it was a little-known fact in Class D, other classes had noticed him because of it. Even Sakayanagi Arisu had tested the waters with him several times because of his new position.
As the homeroom teacher, Chabashira likely got the news right away.
However, for various delicate reasons, Hikigaya was desperate for Horikita Suzune to remain unaware of his involvement in the student council. He had a sinking feeling that something bad would happen if she found out.
So, he immediately tried to signal to Chabashira with his eyes, pleading with her to show some mercy and not mention his name.
"Chabashira-sensei, are you serious?"
On the other side, after hearing that someone from Class D had joined the student council, Horikita's expression shifted dramatically.
It wasn't so much shock as it was irritation and frustration. She looked like a child who had just found out that someone had snatched her favorite toy—angry and desperate to uncover the culprit.
"Horikita…"
Chabashira, seeing this, realized that this news had a bigger impact on Horikita than she'd expected. After a moment of hesitation, she finally said, "Forget it, I won't tell you who it is. Otherwise, if you go berserk and destroy everything in the guidance office, I'll have to demote you to Class E."
"There's a Class E?"
Both Hikigaya and Ayanokoji were visibly taken aback.
"Of course there is," Chabashira smirked slightly. "Class E stands for 'Expelled.'"
"Uh…"
Chabashira's cold joke left the three of them speechless, and the atmosphere became quite awkward for a moment.
"I'm leaving now," Chabashira said, standing up as if her time was up. "The faculty meeting is about to begin. I need to lock up here, so you three should head out."
With that, Hikigaya, Horikita, and Ayanokoji were ushered out into the hallway by Chabashira.
The three of them stood there, looking at each other, unsure of what to say.
"Um… I'll head out first," Hikigaya, as usual, opted for an escape and tried to make his way back to his comfortable dorm room.
"I'm leaving too."
Seeing the chance, Ayanokoji quickly followed suit, clearly hoping to avoid Horikita's rising tension.
The two of them were well aware that something was off with Horikita's mood and didn't dare linger around to face her wrath.
"Wait."
Horikita's voice suddenly cut through the silence.
Hikigaya figured she must be calling Ayanokoji, probably to question him about that infamous score of fifty on every entrance exam subject.
To be honest, Hikigaya was curious too. He thought Ayanokoji had to be some kind of secret genius to score exactly fifty on everything.
What kind of weirdo pulls off something like that? He's got to be a low-key freak!
Just as Hikigaya was about to walk away, however, a firm, almost painful grip seized his arm. It felt like he'd been caught in the jaws of a leopard.
"Horikita, what are you doing?"
"Who said you could leave?"
"Uh…"
Completely baffled, Hikigaya had no idea why Horikita wanted him to stay. He didn't think there was anything about him that should interest her.
Wasn't all the focus on Ayanokoji?
But Horikita didn't care what he thought. She shot him a dissatisfied glance before turning to Ayanokoji.
"Ayanokoji-kun, about your scores… was that just a coincidence?"
Ayanokoji sighed as if he had anticipated her question. "Didn't I already say it was? Or do you have evidence to prove I did it on purpose?"
"I don't have any proof, but it doesn't seem likely that something like that could happen by chance."
"It was pure coincidence."
Realizing that he couldn't fool her, Ayanokoji skillfully changed the subject. "But what about you, Horikita? You seem to have some kind of unusual attachment to Class A."
"Am I not allowed to aspire to higher education or better career prospects?" Horikita, as usual, deflected the question. "I originally thought that graduating from this school would be the finish line. But, in reality, I'm not even at the starting line yet."
As she said this, Hikigaya could feel the grip on his arm tighten.
If she kept squeezing any harder, he felt like his wrist might get crushed, just like an egg being cracked in a kitchen.
Horikita Suzune remained oblivious to Hikigaya's discomfort and spoke with calm determination:
"I'll start by investigating the school's true intentions and find out why I was placed in Class D. If, as Teacher Chabashira suggested, the school really considers me to be in Class D... then my goal will be to lead this class to Class A. No, I am determined to elevate this class to Class A."
Horikita's proactive desire to elevate Class D to Class A surprised Hikigaya. He hadn't anticipated that Suzune would come up with such a plan on her own without him doing anything.
At the same time, it made him feel uneasy because he didn't understand the source of Horikita's resolve, as if standing on a foundationless bubble, unable to believe it could last.
It seemed necessary to understand Suzune's true motivation for pursuing Class A.
Meanwhile, Ayanokouji appeared equally surprised and couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure you want to do this? You'll need to reform the problem for students, deal with Sudo's tardiness or habitual skipping, students chatting during class, and exam scores... This isn't going to be easy."
"I know. That's why I expect everyone in the class, including you, Ayanokouji, to do their best."
"That…"
Ayanokouji, beginning to understand Horikita's reasons for involving him, nodded.
Hikigaya observed their conversation and gained further insight into Ayanokouji's character. Despite his seemingly indifferent demeanor, there was an underlying strong sense of purpose or perhaps a tendency to test his surroundings.
It was, in a word, oddly unsettling.
As Hikigaya mulled this over, Suzune suddenly turned to him and spoke with a calm yet firm tone, "And you, Hikigaya, you'll need to contribute to Class D from now on. Otherwise…"
Hikigaya felt a sharp pain from Suzune's grip on his arm, almost making him cramp up.
Was Suzune always this violent?
Could it be that she's Shizuka Hiratsuka's sister?!
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