Archery club and a bet with Horikita

It had been a week since Kai's first encounter with Hiyori, and they had already met several times since then to chat about books. Over the past week, he had spent most of his free time with Ayanokoji, Horikita, and Sakura, growing closer to them. Every morning, he would wake up early to go running with Sakura as promised.

Throughout the week, Kai discovered quite a few new things about the school and the system. One of those discoveries was that the rewards from the Bronze gacha were really bad. The items he got this week included: a pencil, a pair of socks, one dollar, a tie, a teddy bear, a notebook, and the only slightly decent item, which was a new pair of sneakers. Yes, the Bronze gacha was absolute trash. Unfortunately, he still had to wait three more weeks before he could use the Silver gacha again. He was even starting to consider renaming his system the Random Store Item System, since everything he received so far could easily be bought at a store.

Kai decided to stop opening the Bronze gacha daily. From now on, he would save all accumulated gacha pulls and open them at the end of each month, just before using the Silver gacha.

Another interesting thing he learned was that the school currently didn't have an active archery club. That discovery thrilled him, as it meant he could establish his own archery club, one that would only accept people close to him.

Even though it would be called the archery club, not all members would actually practice archery. The club was meant to be a private space where they could hang out away from prying eyes. Kai had already chosen the club's location, a small clubhouse with a single room that contained just two sofas, some chairs, and a table.

The clubhouse was connected to an open area about the size of a basketball court, surrounded by an iron fence. There was also a small warehouse nearby, stocked with bows, arrows, and targets. With everything in place for the club's establishment, all that was left was for Kai to gather a few people to join. 

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"What is this?" asked Horikita, looking at the archery club registration form.

Kai was smiling enthusiastically. "It's something you need to fill out before joining my archery club."

Horikita narrowed her eyes. "And why would I join your club? I'm not particularly interested in archery."

"You don't need to worry about that. We'll mostly use the club as a private place to hang out. I found us a big spot where we can do all kinds of things."

"Who else is joining this club? I don't want to be in a club with random people."

"Of course not. This club will only welcome people I'm friends with. By the way, Ayanokoji and Sakura already joined."

Horikita slowly started going through the registration form. As she reached the end, she frowned. "Why does it say we're not allowed to tell anyone what we do or talk about inside the club grounds?"

That condition had been added because Kai planned to reveal some of his secrets in the future, and the only places without surveillance cameras, besides bathrooms and dorm rooms, were the clubs. But of course, he couldn't tell that to Horikita.

"Ah, that's just to prevent any leaks of information about special exams," he said casually. "We'll probably be discussing them a lot in the future."

Horikita raised an eyebrow. "If you're worried about leaks, does that mean you're planning to invite students from other classes?"

"Yes. I already have two people in mind."

"And who are they?"

"The first one is almost guaranteed to join. She's my reading buddy, Shiina Hiyori from Class 1-C. As for the second..." Kai paused for dramatic effect. "I'm thinking about inviting your brother, Horikita Manabu."

"Pfft," Horikita laughed, almost involuntarily.

Kai tilted his head. "What's so funny, Horikita?"

She looked at him with a smirk. "You really think you can persuade my brother, the student council president, to join your club?"

"I'm one hundred percent certain I can."

Horikita's eyes gleamed with sudden interest. "Then... want to make a bet?"

"Oh? You of all people are proposing a bet? I wouldn't have expected that from you."

"It's a risk-free bet, for me of course," she said mockingly. "If, of course, you dare to take it."

"Of course I dare. State your conditions."

"If you lose, you have to follow my every command for one month."

She was betting big, so Kai figured he could ask for something just as bold.

"Then if I win... you become my girlfriend."

Horikita was stunned. "You want me to be your girlfriend?"

"What, are you hesitating now?" Kai grinned. "Didn't you say you had no risk of losing?"

Horikita took a deep breath. "Why do you want to date me?"

Kai looked at her like she had just asked the most obvious question in the world. "Don't you have any self-awareness? You're easily in the top ten most beautiful girls in the school. If it weren't for your attitude, you'd be getting love letters in your locker every day."

"Then why would you want to date me despite my attitude?"

"Because," Kai said confidently, "after just a week of spending time with you, I can already see a change. I'm sure I can turn you into the perfect, loving wife."

Horikita stared at him, her expression cold, but her cheeks were faintly rosy.

"So, are you backing down?" Kai pressed.

"No," Horikita said firmly. "Like I said, there's no way my brother is joining your club. I'll win this bet anyway."

"Okay, we've got a deal," Kai replied with a smirk. "Now get ready to be my girlfriend… and don't forget to submit the club registration form."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Horikita standing there, still processing everything.