3.5

My daily life has begun to change drastically in the last week or so. Not once did the Ayanokōji Group get together, and that didn't change, or even return, when Haruka came to school. With the disappearance of the gathering that had been the norm, the way she spent her time at school was different.

During the ten-minute break, I was usually alone or talking with Kei. Occasionally, I'd have a quick chat with classmates like Sudō or Matsushita, but the chances of talking with Akito or Keisei were noticeably reduced.

My life was strange at first, but little by little my body began to accept and adapt to it. Lunch break is a similar cycle, but when Kei goes out to eat with her friends, I go to the library. It's the same as before, my own personal repose time.

It's just a shame that Hiyori hasn't been coming to the library lately and we haven't been able to talk about books.

And the sequence of events remains the same even after school. Today, Kei had told me in advance that she was going home to hang out with her friends, so I didn't have any special plans.

I decided to go back to the dormitory as soon as possible, as staying behind would be a mental burden for Haruka. However, something unexpected occurred.

"Kiyopon, do you have some time now?"

Haruka, who I thought would never come into contact with me, approached me as I went out into the hallway to leave.

Her voice was filled with a sense of urgency.

Perhaps the purpose of her coming to school after a week was to make contact in public.

Without looking back to check her expression, I answered that I did.

"I'll make time if I have to."

I tried to give off the vibe that I had plans, so I could find her true reason for asking.

"Then make time. Okay?"

She didn't seem to shy away from asking me forcibly.

"I've already talked to Horikita-san. I'll wait for you at the cafe in the Keyaki Mall first." That's all she said, and Haruka left the classroom.

Shortly after, Akito followed Haruka and came towards me.

"So she came to school to talk to me?"

"I don't know... I've never heard of it either. So I don't know what we're going to talk about. But I don't think I can take your side in this situation."

Akito apologized, but he would rather not take mine or Haruka's side.

"That's fine."

After a brief conversation that didn't raise any suspicions, Akito and then Keisei also left the classroom.

It seems that she's gathered all the members of Ayanokōji Group, and even called Horikita there as well.

Of course, it had to be about Airi's expulsion.

Horikita came up to me as the three of them left.

"I tried to make sure it was just me she called out, but she wouldn't listen to me saying that you definitely need to be there."

She seemed concerned and tried to solve the problem alone, but this time, circumstances were what they were.

The two of us left the classroom together and headed to the café.

I decided to confirm what I had been wondering about before we got into the heavy stuff.

"It looks like you succeeded in bringing Kushida back to school. I'm honestly impressed."

"Well, she's officially back. But there are still many uncertainties. It's not going to be the same as before."

"Still, you can't ask for much more than that right now."

Although Kushida's tone of voice had changed drastically, she came back with an answer that was close to the best for the class. I'm sure that Horikita's advice helped her to come to that conclusion.

Fortunately, the leaks to the other classes have been minimal. Even if it does eventually become known, it is likely that by then some time will have passed and the severity will have faded away.

"How did you convince her? I don't think you've been straightforward with just a good suggestion."

Even if the final landing point is today's statement, there must have been many twists and turns to get there. I was more interested in that than the current situation, but Horikita's expression was complicated.

"I'm too mature to do something so childish as to bribe her or something. But I've done more than I'd like to say."

From the way she avoided talking about specifics, she must have done something she really didn't want to talk about. She didn't seem likely to answer if I pursued it too deeply, so I had no choice but to give up.

"But considering the person I'm talking to, I might have made the right choice." She replied, lightly stroking her cheek with her left hand, as if remembering the details. "Anyway, it took a week, but we managed to get the whole class together."

"Come to think of it, the girls' troubles have calmed down as well."

I had told Yōsuke to rely on Horikita, so she was definitely involved.

"Shinohara and the others' case was initiated by Hirata-kun, and we gathered at Keyaki Mall on Sunday."

"You were also present?"

"I was. On top of that, we agreed to let bygones be bygones regarding the exposed secrets. Shinohara-san was protesting strongly for a while, but Ike-kun appeased her, and that was a big thing." She replied with a bare face, like it didn't mean much.

The way Horikita was talking, it was clear that Ike had played the role of boyfriend.

"So many different students are growing up without even knowing it."

"You don't seem happy about that."

"I'm happy for them, you know. It's just that it makes me look relatively pathetic. I get... anxious about whether I'm growing or not."

It is easy to evaluate others, but difficult to grade oneself. If you want to be lenient, you can be as lenient as you want, and if you want to be strict, you can be strict.

"I'm sure a third party will eventually give you an answer."

"Sure."

She needs to focus on getting the class back on track first. Her own reputation will follow on its own after that.

"I heard that you were the one who helped Wang-san, she was one I couldn't reach. Thank you."

"I was just giving her some advice. Even if I hadn't done anything, someone would have rescued her eventually."

"You helped me get back on my feet as soon as possible. I feel like I've been confronted with the fact that I can't do anything on my own."

She speaks in a rather light tone, even though she would normally be depressed.

"Oh, that's right. I'd like to give you a message from the student council president, Nagumo."

"A message? You seem to be acting like a messenger these days. What is it?"

"He said that he's open to suggestions, otherwise to accept the offer.."

"Take the offer?"

"I don't know, Ayanokōji-kun. I was just instructed to tell you."

"Fine. I'll go to the student council room later, and I'll figure things out."

This sports festival. I still haven't decided if I want to participate or not. But now that the deadline is a week away, I guess I'll just have to say yes.

I'm sure Nagumo would mind if I don't compete with him in some way sooner or later.

"Now it's just a matter of Hasebe-san. I honestly can't read too much into what she's going to say."

"Judging from the way she's been acting all day, I wouldn't be surprised if some rude words came out of her mouth."

"Just don't be caught off guard."

Mii-chan and Kushida came to school after overcoming their assignments. But the waves would be different for Haruka.

It is highly likely that she will now stand in the way as an obstacle.

"While I was waiting to meet Kushida-san, I also lightly felt Miyake-kun and Yukimura-kun a few times."

I didn't realize that she was paying attention not only to Shinohara and the others, but to the Ayanokōji Group as well.

"Hasebe-san was the one who had the hardest time with the special exam. Following you is inevitable."

Still, the expression on Horikita's face as she walked beside me didn't clear up, probably because she hadn't achieved much at all.

"The only time I've talked to her was when she showed up at my door, but she didn't tell me anything. Miyake-kun told me to leave her alone, so I decided to give her a week."

So that's what happened today. I guess Horikita didn't expect Haruka to come to school.

"Either way, Akito-kun was able to bring her to school today so I suppose something should work out."

"I hope that's the case, but... that might not be true."

Since the two of us were summoned in this way, it is normal to think that something is going on.

It's not like she's going to be working hard again from now on.

"I'm the one who nominated Airi for expulsion at that moment, and I'm the one who pushed her into it. All you have to do is listen to what I have to say."

"That's not how it works. I was of the same opinion, so I'm equally responsible. No, it's all because I made a promise that I failed to keep. I have to take it all in."

She seems to have more room in her heart now than she did then, but I'd be worried about her getting too worked up.

"It's important to take care of Haruka, but you also need to shift your mind towards the sports festival."

We've already spent a week trying to resolve our class issues. In the meantime, as long as we're starting to focus on Class A and our efforts to win, we can't afford to miss the boat on this one either.

"Right. Of course, we're thinking hard about how we're going to compete in the sports festival. I think we've got some ideas of what we're going to do."

While backing up Kushida, Shinohara, and the others, she seems to be on top of that as well.

"Then let's hear it. What's the goal for the sports festival?"

I asked Horikita about her goals in order to succeed.

"I'll go for first places, naturally. No, I will definitely take first place, I have to."

Confidence peeked out from Horikita's profile as she stared ahead.

  "There's nothing wrong with setting high goals. We've got some strong students in our class, and we're not going to lose to anyone else. So, do you have a strategy in mind? It includes a battle of all the grades, but the focus will basically be on fighting for overall points in the same grade. Sakayanagi and Ryūen can come up with strategies that you wouldn't expect."

"The rule is that if you finish with less than five events, you forfeit all your points. If it's Ryūen-kun, he could feign an accident during the competition and try to injure you and get you to leave the competition."

It's not surprising that Ryūen would try to use such a method, as he did last year when Horikita was targeted. If it was Sakayanagi, she would look at the participants of the competition and guide her classmates to the best possible outcome.

"Against all odds, what moves are you going to use?"

"Basically a straightforward one. Have Sudō-kun and Onodera-san ramp up the scoring, and then use students like Kushida-san and myself to score points. We'll just do what we need to do to win."

"If we can win with that, though, we won't have any trouble. There's also the handicap of having thirty-eight people in the class."

Horikita nodded immediately. She had expected that response from the start.

"That's why I've decided to take one risk. I'm preparing for it now."

"Risk?"

"I was wondering if you could join me tomorrow after school to talk about the specifics."

"You mean you need my help?"

"No, I don't. Just stay with me and listen to what I have to say. And finally, I just want you to give me an objective answer as to whether or not it's worth the risk."

"Are you sure that's all you want?"

"I don't need you to keep spoiling me with solutions, it's fine."

She doesn't need advice or suggestions because she already has some idea of what she wants. If that's the case, I'll just wait and see what Horikita thinks of her strategy for the sports festival.

"Alright. I'll let you know tomorrow after school."

When we eventually arrived at the café, the three members of Ayanokōji Group were seated and waiting for us.

There was no sign of chit-chat, and three drinks were placed on the table.

As long as you're using a restaurant, it's common courtesy to at least order one drink. As soon as we arrived, Haruka said and urged us to sit on the two empty seats. We individually chose our drinks at random and then started to take our seats.

"It seems like you wanted to talk to me a few times while I was resting, so I thought I'd ask you about it."

Haruka cut to the chase nonchalantly without looking at either Horikita or myself

It seems like both of them wanted to ask questions, but right now Horikita was on the stand.

"Well, the problem has sort of been solved. You were out of the school, now you're back."

"You mean you were worried because you might lose your reputation in class."

"Of course, that's not the only reason, there's a good reason why you missed a week. Don't you think?"

"I'm not feeling well. That's what I told the school, so there shouldn't be a problem, right? Miyake told me that there might be a penalty if I miss another week, so that's why I came to school today."

What's wrong with that? Without showing any joy, anger, or sorrow, Haruka answers calmly. 

"Indeed. But the reason you were absent wasn't because you were just sick, right?"

"How can you be so sure it was? It could have just been purely physical." Without denying it, Haruka took a sip from her cup.

Whether the absence was due to health problems or not, that was just the preliminary stage of the problem.

No matter how Horikita answered, Haruka would never be satisfied.

"I know you're doubting me, but it's true that I've been sick. It wasn't sickness. I just had a hard time mentally, I couldn't sleep, and because I was so stressed and tired I just couldn't find the strength to come to school."

Akito and Keisei seemed to be listening calmly, but that was not the case. They understand that although they are suffering as well, their suffering is far from Haruka's.

      So they can only listen in silence.

"Why don't you stop playing with lame words and say what you want to say?"

Rather than resorting to subterfuge, Horikita takes a strong stance.

That attitude usually has the opposite effect, but Haruka is unfazed.

It's as if she has kept her emotions bottled up deep inside. That's the impression I get from her.

By her side, Horikita felt the same thing, which is probably why she used excessive expressions.

"Are you satisfied with the fact that you got more class points from the special exam?" Haruka coldly asked Horikita. 

"I'm not satisfied, no. There's still over five hundred points separating us from Class A. Besides, if possible, it would have been ideal to aim for Class A without missing anyone, which was the goal. But there's no point in talking about it now, is there?"

No one wants to drop out of school. Only appointed Airi for a compelling reason. I've already had that validation.

"My best friend was a victim of Horikita-san's selfish decision. Are you aware of that?"

For the first time today, the words that Haruka wanted to say come spilling out.

"Yes."

It's been more than a week since the special exam ended, and Horikita has been fighting against her own judgment.

You don't have to ask her that directly, but you can tell by watching her every day.

But such things have nothing to do with Haruka.

She wont forgive her because she is working hard or if she gets results. 

"You're a great leader. You don't care what it takes to get your class to win."

"I'm not there yet."

"You know I hate you and detest you, right?"

"Of course, I know."

"Where's your promise to cut off the students who were the traitors?"

"I'm afraid I didn't look far enough ahead on that one. But since we can't pretend that the special exam the other day didn't happen, we'll just have to make use of it next time."

"There are some mistakes that can't be forgiven."

"I won't deny that either. You're right."

"Kiyopon... do you think it was the right decision to leave Kushida-san in the school?"

"I decided it was the right thing to do, so I left her, ready to face the backlash. I guess I'll have to repeat myself."

"Ah, yes."

Horikita didn't show any change in her composure, and her speech intensified slightly.

"I'm not going to make a lame apology. No matter how much you argue with me, the fact is that I changed my mind and decided that Kushida-san should stay. It's natural for you to hold a grudge, and you may suffer a painful reprisal someday. But I decided that the person who could be a more valuable asset to the class was Kushida-san. I'm slowly becoming more and more convinced of that."

"Even if Kushida-san was brilliant, there were others who were incompetent. It didn't have to be... her."

There were other people to cut.

With Horikita in front of her, who couldn't come to such a conclusion, Haruka continued.

"I don't approve. No matter how many people recognize Horikita-san in the future, I will never recognize her."

Saving her emotions as much as she can, Haruka shows no signs of trying to forgive.

"I guess I'll just have to try harder to get you to admit it."

"I told you I won't approve."

"I'm responsible for Sakura-san's expulsion. I won't deny it. I can't deny it. But that doesn't mean I should go about reprimanding it to everyone who's affected. Are you now asking me to expel you from school or something to make you feel better?"

It's not like that would bring Airi back. The 100 class points she had sacrificed for the class would be wiped out by that act.

"Or do you want me to get down on my knees? Would that make you feel better?"

Bullheadedness. A competitive spirit. That's what it looks like, but it's not. Horikita is suffering. She's suffering, but she's facing Haruka with an air of defiance.

As I sat next to her, I was able to peek into the true meaning of her wavering eyes.

"Give me back Airi."

"I can't meet your demands if you ask me to do something I can't... do."

"That's all I want. I don't care about class, I really don't care."

She grabbed a few strands of her own hair and tore them out as hard as she could.

"I made the wrong decision back then."

"If you were frustrated, maybe you should have fought." Immediately after those almost provocative words were released, Horikita followed up with more. "But it's useless. Even if you had fought, there would have been nothing you could have done to resist."

"That's true. You're right, there's nothing I could have done. Kiyopon used Airi's feelings to push her into a corner without mercy. No normal person could have done something like that."

This was the first time she looked at me with contempt.

But she didn't seem to want to talk to me, so she turned her attention back to Horikita.

"Is Kushida-san really going to act for the class's sake? She could betray us."

"I'm sure I'll regret it if Kushida-san drags the class down in the future."

Indeed, Kushida wasn't necessarily guaranteed to be useful to the class.

If Horikita made a mistake in steering the ship in the future, there might come a day when she would regret her choice to cut Airi.

"But even if I were to go back in time with my current memories, I'm sure what I would do would not change much. I'd repeat my decision to bail out Kushida-san and choose Sakura-san as my victim. The only difference is that I won't make anymore wild promises."

She reiterates that she will not change her conclusion.

"Why not. Kiyopon... what did Airi ever do to you...?"

Horikita would have answered even if I hadn't said anything, but here I decided to speak my mind.

"It's a matter of perspective. This incident has been a strong stimulus for the students whose names are in the lower ranks of the OAA. If we continue to stay low, I might be the next one to be expelled. I think it's a plus just because I now have a strong sense of such danger."

Because that was also my role in naming Airi.

"You sound like Ryūen, cutting off people who aren't good enough?"

"I suppose so. I don't know what kind of policy Ryūen's following right now, but it's true that it's almost autocratic system. Up until now, the class policy has been too vague and lax."

"It kind of reminds me of when I first started school. It's just like when we were selfish and had no cohesion whatsoever."

She may believe it's simialr but it's not the same thing.

"The situation is different from that time. Preventing damage that doesn't need to be released is a necessity, but minimizing the damage that needs to be released is what we did this time."

"But...!"

Here, for the first time, Haruka raised her voice.

"It's Kushida, but Horikita came to that conclusion because she felt that the effect she would get when she became an ally had the potential to be far, far greater than Airi. And because I could see that future as well, I respected Horikita's opinion and decided to give her a helping hand."

Basically, there is no such thing as a definite future. We can only imagine and act to grasp the future we see. People are not all-powerful.

"Airi is gone, but I've noticed the class is back to its usual routine."

"I understand your frustration, but did you feel the same way about Yamauchi-kun?"

"That guy got what he deserved. This is a different case."

"It's the same. You're just angry at your friends sacrifice."

"What's wrong with that?"

There was no clear goal to this discussion.

Strictly speaking, there is no solution other than for Haruka to snap.

"I can't accept such a reality. I can't accept it."

And if Haruka doesn't break, then there's a big problem waiting for her.

"Kushida-san may indeed have been a threat. Maybe she's ostensibly reformed now and is going to act for the good of the class from now on. But do you think I'm going to take that seriously and cooperate?"

"Yeah... when you took a week off, I felt it was going to be a longer lasting problem than anyone else."

Horikita said that while Kushida needed to be dealt with quickly, Haruka was prepared for the long haul.

Having lost Airi in the exam, Haruka was not afraid now.

"But you came to school. If you just wanted to talk to us, you can do it even if you're still not going to school. Isn't that right?"

I was grateful for the faint hope that Haruka had submitted herself to come to school.

However, the world is not so naive.

"I just came here because I don't have an answer yet."

"Answer?"

"I came to school to look for the answer that I couldn't see when I was locked in my room."

Akito and Keisei heard those words, and their eyes fell down.

"I'm looking for the answer to how I can get back at Horikita and Kiyopon."

Haruka said coldly, the coldest she had ever said.

The words that escaped from her slightly dry lips were different in nature from any kind of threat or bluff.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

Horikita was also reminded of the weight of those words.

"Because that's what I wanted to tell you today. I'm going to make sure you regret expelling Airi."

Without even touching her own drink, Haruka left her seat.

Akito followed behind her.

It was not only Horikita who looked away in dismay, but also Keisei.

"I don't think Horikita or Haruka are wrong. It's a sly way to put it, but that's what I really feel. At the end of the day, I'm fundamentally of the mindset that as long as I can save myself, that's all that matters."

As if Keisei is ashamed of himself, he still comes to tell the truth without hiding it.

"It's the same for everyone. It's not strange that you want to save yourself."

"That's why I can't understand what Haruka is feeling right now. But that doesn't mean I think I have the right to tell her to stop. Even if it's to prevent trouble for the class."

He tapped the table with his fist forcefully, and Keisei also left his seat.

"The group is already half destroyed. Still, I'll be useful to the class as I am. As long as I can't play an active role in the sports festival, I'll study harder and contribute to the class. If I don't do that, there's a... virtually no chance that I'll be cut."

Even though he is good at studying, Keisei is lagging behind in terms of athleticism and social contribution.

When it comes to the number of friends he has, it's clear that he's at a particular disadvantage.