Setting a Small Goal

"Heh, so it was dead eyes whispering strategies into your ear, Suzune."

Ryuuen smirked as if he had finally unraveled the mystery behind his defeat. The possibility that he had lost to Horikita never even crossed his mind. To him, she had always been nothing more than a studious honor student, a pawn he could toy with at will since the very beginning. She wasn't even on the same level as Katsuragi.

"No wonder you're so confident." His voice dripped with mockery. "But are you really okay with this? I had at least expected you to have some shred of pride. Instead, you've willingly turned yourself into Hikigaya's puppet. I have to say, Suzune, I'm beyond disappointed."

"...Are you talking about Hikigaya-kun?"

Horikita took a moment to process his accusation before her brows furrowed in mild confusion.

"I don't know what kind of grudge you hold against him, but you're mistaken. Hikigaya-kun had no involvement in this."

"Oh, come on, are we going to play that game?" Ryuuen's tone darkened, a subtle irritation creeping into his voice—something even he failed to notice.

Horikita shook her head. "I'm not lying. Hikigaya-kun advised me not to push myself too hard in the upcoming competitions. That's all."

"Ha! You just said he wasn't involved, and now you're admitting he gave you advice?" Ryuuen latched onto the inconsistency like a predator sinking its teeth into prey.

"Either way, there's no one else it could be but Fumoku."

His conviction wasn't baseless. In Class D, there were only two people capable of giving Horikita strategic advice—X and Hikigaya. But X didn't fit the pattern. That person operated differently, with a style that mirrored Ryuuen's own.

Back during the uninhabited island exam, Ryuuen had been intrigued by X—someone who shared his ruthless, calculating approach. Knocking out Horikita to force a change in leadership was the kind of merciless, efficient move only a true predator would make.

Of course, Ryuuen himself had no qualms about doing the same. He had, after all, just stomped on Kinoshita's leg without hesitation in his pursuit to crush Horikita.

It wasn't about who held the title of leader. Whether it was Ibuki, Kaneda, or himself, Ryuuen would've made the same choice. Victory justified any method.

That's why he was so obsessed with exposing X's identity. It wasn't logical—just a compulsion, a challenge he couldn't ignore.

Even the strategies he had employed during the sports festival had been laid as bait. He had wanted X to retaliate, to strike from the shadows with a decisive counterattack.

But Horikita's approach had been unexpected. Instead of an all-out assault, she had taken a methodical route—gathering evidence bit by bit, slowly cornering him into an agreement.

It felt... wrong.

She wasn't aiming for total annihilation. She was pushing him, but leaving a way out.

And that was unmistakably Hikigaya's style.

To confirm his suspicions, Ryuuen smirked. "Alright then, Suzune, let's set that aside for now. I'm more interested in this 'sincerity' you mentioned earlier. You were vague about it. Care to clarify?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Heh, can't say I have a 'smart assistant' to figure it out for me."

Horikita hesitated for a moment but chose not to refute his provocation. In a way, she had indeed relied on outside help—Kushida, to be precise. But that wasn't something Ryuuen needed to know.

"Ryuuen-kun, does this mean you're prepared to surrender?"

"Tch, don't flatter yourself." He clicked his tongue in disdain. "I just want to hear what kind of ridiculous demand you've cooked up. If it's not worth my time, I'll walk."

"You don't have to worry. Unlike you, I don't resort to excessive means."

Horikita met his gaze coolly, suppressing the flicker of anticipation rising in her chest.

This time... maybe she really could win.

"My request is simple—cancel the contract you signed with Class D. In exchange, I'll pretend none of this ever happened."

A silence stretched between them before Ryuuen let out a cold laugh.

"You still say Hikigaya isn't behind this?"

Even with a chance to deliver a finishing blow, she chose restraint—offering a compromise instead of outright destruction. That was a textbook Fumoku move.

"I told you, this has nothing to do with Hikigaya-kun."

"Then why are you doing this?" Ryuuen's eyes narrowed. "To be honest, that contract is useless to me. Your class is so pathetic that you have nothing to offer. Even with the amount I set ridiculously low, Class D still couldn't scrape together a single point."

The mere thought annoyed him. He had already accounted for their weak financial standing, yet somehow, they had managed to be even more worthless than expected.

"Suzune, what do you gain from this? Do you believe your garbage class has a shot at rising the ranks?"

He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"If you were smart, you'd forget about that nonsense. Start collecting for 20 million points, buy your way into Class A, and be done with it."

"No, that's not an option."

If this had been the old Horikita, she would have taken that deal without hesitation. But things had changed.

Even if she had 20 million points at her disposal, she wouldn't use them for herself. She would invest them in the class.

Her desire to reach Class A and earn her brother's recognition hadn't changed. But now, she knew that getting there alone wasn't enough. Leading her class to the top was the only true way to prove herself.

"You're right about one thing, Ryuuen-kun. Our class is full of defective products—including me."

The Horikita of a few months ago would have been horrified to utter those words.

"But that's normal. No one is perfect. Even the most competent people have weaknesses. Most of us are just... ordinary."

She owed this revelation to Hikigaya.

That day at the pool, when he had invited her along, she had seen her brother's clumsy, human side for the first time. If not for that moment, she might never have realized that even he wasn't invincible.

Had Hikigaya predicted this outcome all along?

Regardless, it had been the catalyst for her change.

"That's why we're here—to improve. It won't happen overnight, but some of us are already making progress. Take Sudou-kun, for example. He gave you quite a headache during the sports festival, didn't he?"

"Tch. If it had just been that idiot, I would've crushed him." Ryuuen scoffed.

"Of course. He had Hikigaya-kun's support."

This time, Horikita didn't deny it. There was no point—Ryuuen had already figured it out.

"But you have to admit—Sudou isn't as easy to take down anymore."

"Hmph. Don't get ahead of yourself."

Ryuuen wouldn't say it out loud, but he grudgingly acknowledged Sudou's improvement.

"That contract was my failure," Horikita admitted. "I have a responsibility to fix my mistakes. Even if our class stays at zero points, I won't give up. We'll fight until the very end."

For a moment, Ryuuen was silent. Then, unexpectedly, he chuckled.

Not a scoffing laugh. Not mockery.

Genuine amusement.

"Suzune... you've become interesting."

"You don't need to evaluate me."

Horikita showed no sign of goodwill toward him, as always.

"Oh? If you don't want my evaluation, then are you looking for someone else's?" Ryuuen smirked, his expression carrying a hint of amusement. "Could it be… Hikigaya? You've been listening to him quite a lot recently—"

"Ah?!"

Before Ryuuen could finish, a startled yelp from Kinoshita abruptly cut him off.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ryuuen frowned, turning to her.

"It's not me! It's… it's Kushida, she suddenly—"

"Kinoshita-san, is your foot hurting again?"

Kushida's face was filled with concern, yet her grip on Kinoshita's arm was unusually tight.

"If it's your foot, just tell me. Don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

"N-no, it's not my foot—"

"And one more thing, Horikita-san."

Kinoshita's protests were once again ignored. Kushida turned to Horikita, her expression darkening with irritation.

"I heard everything just now. You accused Kinoshita-san and even tried to force her to drop out… Isn't that a bit too much?"

"There's nothing excessive about it," Horikita responded coolly. "The school set strict rules for the Sports Festival, including several that could lead to expulsion. Kinoshita-san was fully aware of that, yet she still acted recklessly. The consequences are simply her own doing."

"But… b-but there's no need to take it that far, right? If you ask me, this was just an accident. Can't both sides take a step back?"

Kushida's words seemed to be a plea for leniency, but in reality, she was playing right into Horikita's hands.

"No, I've already offered terms for reconciliation. Whether or not to accept them is no longer my decision."

With that, Horikita turned to Ryuuen.

"Ryuuen-kun, if you agree, bring the contract to me after school. Otherwise, no matter how difficult it gets, I'll fight Kinoshita-san to the very end."

Leaving those words behind, Horikita flicked her long hair and walked away without another glance.

Soon, only three people remained in the now-empty hallway.

Kushida stole a glance at Ryuuen's face, secretly savoring the moment.

Hah! Even that stubborn woman Horikita slipped out of his grasp. Let's see how he plans to keep up his act in class now!

"My apologies, Kinoshita-san, Ryuuen-kun."

Deciding that she had played her part long enough, Kushida feigned a regretful expression and prepared to take her leave.

"It's unfortunate things turned out this way, but I truly don't believe Horikita-san meant to bump into you. Maybe she just said all that in the heat of the moment. Give it some time—she might cool off."

"N-no… I'm not worried about that."

Kinoshita hesitated, casting a hopeful glance at Ryuuen.

But his expression remained unreadable.

Tch, who's he trying to fool now?

Even though Kushida inwardly scoffed at Ryuuen, she maintained her sweet, concerned demeanor.

"Ryuuen-kun, this must be troublesome for you too."

"Kikyou…" Ryuuen's eyes sharpened as he fixed his gaze on her. "I have a question for you. What the hell is going on here? Why was Suzune so calm? Didn't you say the student council president was her biggest weakness?"

"That's right. Last time, when they were reviewing Sudou-kun's case, Horikita could barely speak properly in front of her brother. If you don't believe me, ask around—Isizaki-kun and the others were there too."

"…Tsk."

"If that's all, I have plans to grab dinner with some friends. I'll be off then."

With a beaming smile, Kushida turned and walked away.

Ryuuen's biggest mistake this time was assuming people would stay the same, believing that his usual tricks would always work.

But his plan was ridiculously crude. With a bit of scrutiny, anyone could spot its flaws.

Thinking back on how she had once actually chosen to work with this idiot, Kushida wondered if she had been out of her mind.

Back then, all she could think about was getting rid of Horikita—so much so that she would have even made a deal with the devil if necessary. But as it turned out, Ryuuen was far from being a devil. At best, he was just a little gatekeeping brat.

How did that worthless guy even dare to lay a hand on Hachiman?

With that lingering question in mind, Kushida felt that now was as good a time as any to finally ask.

The two of them weren't exactly at the point where they shared everything, but they weren't keeping strict secrets from each other either.

During the time Hikigaya was struggling with his mobility, Kushida had been gradually invading his personal life under the pretext of cooking for him.

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. And since she had always worked hard to hone her cooking skills in order to maintain her popularity, Kushida had initially been quite confident that she could win Hikigaya over in no time.

But after spending some time with him, she realized something frustrating—compared to delicious meals, he seemed to prefer sweet canned coffee instead.

Was she seriously losing to a convenience store drink?

Fortunately, as time passed, Hikigaya—who had initially shown some resistance—was starting to get used to her presence.

Now, even if Kushida wandered around his room at will, he wouldn't watch her with that wary, tense expression anymore.

That was a good sign.

One day, she would make sure he couldn't live without her!

But that was a goal for the future. For now, she needed to figure out a way to shake off those inexplicable women around him.

Just thinking about it made a wave of frustration rise within her.

What the hell…? Hachiman kept calling himself a loner, yet he somehow knew so many people!

And most of them were girls!

And almost most of them seemed to have… other thoughts about him.

Well, too bad for them.

After spending this much time with Hikigaya, Kushida had come to understand what kind of person he was. She felt relieved that she had staked her claim early.

Now, all that was left was to slowly erode his defenses.

But before that, she needed to set a small goal first.

Getting a spare key to his room!

"Speaking of which, where did Hachiman go?" Kushida murmured, pondering the places he might have gone. "Now that I think about it, he sometimes mentions missing that 'best restaurant'… Wasn't it somewhere near the library?"

She didn't quite understand what the library had to do with a restaurant, but she thought it would be worth checking out.

Who knows?

She might just run into him there!