Chapter 4: School Trip Day Two

Chapter 4: School Trip Day Two

Chapter 4:

School Trip Day Two

I T WAS NOW THE MORNING of the second day of our school trip. After we finished eating breakfast and getting dressed, we killed time in our room relaxing, waiting until the bus bound for the ski resort was set to depart. Watanabe and I were innocently watching TV. On the other side of the television screen, celebrities were reading off summaries of the morning news and providing their own innocuous, tepid commentary. After a while, the vibe of the programming suddenly changed rather dramatically as they entered a segment of the program that was a special feature on kittens.

Meanwhile, Ryuuen was in the same room, sitting in the armchair as though it was his own personal seat, while Kitou was staring fixatedly at a magazine, reading one by one through a stack of them that were available to borrow for free from the ryokan. They all appeared to be fashion magazines.

“He looks so unsettling like that. It’s hard to imagine that he’s just reading… It feels like he’s studying a manual on how to murder people,” Watanabe whispered into my ear. He had spoken in a quiet murmur so as not to be overheard, but in an instant, Kitou shot him a penetrating glare. That must have terrified Watanabe, because he averted his gaze, hiding in my shadow.

“I mean, he’s definitely done that to somebody, don’t you think?” he squeaked, terrified.

I felt my shoulders being shaken, but I wanted to concentrate on this kitten segment on TV, if possible.

“Hey, Kitou. Things ain’t clear for you either yet, right? With how yesterday’s pillow fight turned out? Have a throwdown with me today.” As though he were attempting to call forth a storm to raze this peaceful morning, Ryuuen approached Kitou and proposed they fight.

Needless to say, this was not a welcome development for me and Watanabe.

“Fool,” said Kitou. “Do you intend to jump straight into the jaws of death yourself? If you wish to feel regret, then I shan’t stop you.”

“Heh heh. In that case, do yer worst,” said Ryuuen.

“What kind of competition do you want?” asked Kitou.

“Well, ain’t that obvious? We’re gonna go skiin’ soon, so that’ll be it.”

From the sounds of it, Ryuuen was proposing a simple time trial, to see who could finish faster. Kitou might not have been a beginner, but it was clear based on what I’d seen yesterday that Ryuuen was highly skilled, at the very least. There was no need for Kitou to willingly go along with a proposal that would essentially drag him onto Ryuuen’s playing field. However, Kitou forcefully shut his magazine, the look on his face unchanging.

“You think you can beat me in skiing?” he said. “I will crush your hubris.”

Apparently, he was going to accept the challenge, not showing any sign of running from it.

“Hey, you guys shouldn’t fight, y’know? Hey, you two listening?” said Watanabe in a tiny voice.

“I’m pretty sure they didn’t hear your words of warning,” I remarked.

Watanabe had spoken so incredibly quietly that if a child heard him just now, they would probably have said something like, “Wow! An ant is talking!” I had been sitting next to him and had only just barely, ever-so-slightly managed to make out what he said.

“I’m just picturin’ you lookin’ pathetic, crawlin’ down the slopes on all fours,” sneered Ryuuen.

“Laughable,” Kitou scoffed.

As Ryuuen and Kitou traded verbal jabs, I could tell that they were both heating up. Kitou stood, rolled up the magazine that he had borrowed, and drew closer to Ryuuen while holding the magazine out as if it were the blade of a sword.

“When you lose, you’re going to be as quiet as a little kitten for the rest of this trip,” said Kitou.

I wondered if Kitou had unknowingly been influenced by the segment on cats on the TV, but that’s what he was demanding from Ryuuen.

“Huh? Well, if ya ask me, I’ve been plenty quiet already,” said Ryuuen, batting away the magazine forcefully with a slap .

“Can’t you just leave it at that for the time being, please? I’d like to watch this segment on cats,” I said, urging the two of them to keep their distance from one another and not to fight.

“W-wow, you’ve sure got guts, Ayanokouji. They might turn around and make you their target, though, don’tcha think?” said Watanabe, worried.

“Nah, I don’t think so. There’s no benefit to either of them in going up against someone like me,” I replied.

Besides, the general Ryuuen-versus-Kitou schema was going to remain unchanged, unless someone made a big show of butting in.

“Anyway, now that you two have calmed down, I can keep watching this special on—”

Before I could even finish that sentence, the cats had already disappeared from the TV. I guessed that that these things called special features didn’t last for very long, because it was over in just a few minutes.

“Sorry, that’s too bad, Ayanokouji,” Watanabe said. “You like cats?”

“Nah, not really,” I replied.

“Wait, you don’t?!”

I had just wanted to watch, more or less. I didn’t hold any particular fondness for the animal known as the cat. I would likely have felt the same way if it had been a special feature on dogs or even hippopotamuses. The people on the program had been talking about topics cheerfully, in a friendly fashion, for quite a while, but then there was a news flash.

“Now for some breaking news. Former Secretary-General Naoe, who had been undergoing medical treatment for some time, has passed away at a hospital in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Here is a comment from Prime Minister Kijima’s office—”

There were flashes of lights going off, and at the same time, a very stern-faced man was speaking.

“‘Judge a man by living with him, and try a horse by riding him.’ Those are words Naoe-sensei said to me shortly after we met.”

Just when the Prime Minster began speaking about the deceased, the screen suddenly went black.

“Time to get on the bus,” said Kitou, remote control in his hand, his finger on the off button.

“Awright, Ayanokouji, let’s get this show on the road,” said Ryuuen.

I was a little concerned about their contest, but I figured I’d still try and enjoy skiing in my own way.

4.1

W HEN WE HEADED OUTSIDE , we found a slight problem waiting for us. Apparently, the bus had gotten stuck in traffic and would be arriving about ten minutes late. There were a lot of students waiting for the bus heading to the ski resort, but if you looked back, you’d see that people were flooding the entrance, trying to head back inside.

“It’s cold, but I guess it’s safer waiting outside,” said Watanabe.

He let out a deep sigh, exhaling a cloud of white, as he looked gloomily up at the sky. It was unfortunate that we’d gotten outside a little earlier than the other students, but there was nothing we could do about that now. Even if we did try and head back to our room, we couldn’t exactly relax with only five minutes to spare. We—that is, group six—decided to wait outside the building, just under the eaves.

“Hey, since we’re waiting out here anyway, why don’t we try making a snowman?” asked Amikura, suggesting to the rest of the group that we could spend the time efficiently.

“That sounds like fun,” Kushida said. “Nishino-san, Yamamura-san, would you like to join in?”

“…Sure, I guess,” replied Nishino.

I had expected her to refuse the offer, but surprisingly enough, she seemed okay with it.

“And what about you, Yamamura-san?” asked Kushida.

“No, thank you… I’ll pass,” said Yamamura. She’d turned down the offer like I thought she would, albeit somewhat modestly.

The other three girls moved to an out-of-the-way spot and started scooping up fallen snow. From the looks of things, they weren’t planning to make a small snowman. They were hoping to make a fairly large one.

“Hey, Ryuuen-kun, why don’t you come over and make a snowman together with us?” Kushida called. “I think it’d be fun.”

Kushida had to know that there was absolutely no way Ryuuen would take her up on that offer, but she invited him anyway to show off the good-natured heart of her public-facing persona. Even the other students nearby were watching the situation with concern, perhaps because they couldn’t imagine Ryuuen working hard to build a snowman. What Kushida said just now was almost certainly payback for yesterday. It was a show of confidence, telling him that if he said something careless, she wouldn’t back down, she’d fight.

“I figured if I tried to rein her in a bit, that’d make her sit there quietly, but I guess I had the wrong idea, huh?” Ryuuen muttered quietly to himself.

It was certainly true that if this had happened before her classmates had learned the truth about her, Kushida might just have sat there and put up with whatever he said. Ryuuen must have been able to feel that there was something strange about that, but there was no way I could unravel this mystery for him. I couldn’t give out information the other classes didn’t know, like what happened in our class during the Unanimous Special Exam.

Needless to say, there was no way Ryuuen would accept Kushida’s invitation. He didn’t even react to the snowman, instead just looking far off into the distance. Meanwhile, though, a certain someone continued to gaze quietly at the snowman as it was being constructed. That certain someone was none other than Yamamura, who had been distancing herself from us bit by bit without being noticed.

“Phew…” Yamamura exhaled deeply into her cold hands while she observed Kushida and the others making the snowman. “Phew…”

Kushida and the rest building the snowman were, naturally, wearing warm-looking gloves. Even after taking a glance around the surrounding area, I noticed that none of the students outside except for Yamamura were going around without gloves. Well, that made sense. In this wintry weather, no one would go bare-handed for a long period of time unless they had a special reason. I remembered that Yamamura had been wearing gloves before, during yesterday’s skiing lessons. Even if she could rent gloves for skiing once we got there, why wouldn’t she bring gloves along to wear on the way?

If she simply forgot, it’d be fine to just go back and get them, so maybe there was some kind of reason for it. She looked dazed, staring out into space while exhaling deeply over and over. Although I was curious about Yamamura, more and more students started coming outside to wait for the bus. Then, I heard a familiar voice.

“It’s like everything is covered in a blanket of snow.”

The owner of that familiar-sounding voice was none other than Sakayanagi Arisu. She was in group four. If I recalled, Hondou and Onodera from Horikita’s class should also be in that group… And almost as if they’d been summoned, those two showed up just as that thought crossed my mind.

Sakayanagi and the rest of her group all gathered without really interacting with any of the members of group six. Since Sakayanagi couldn’t ski, she was probably going to do some sightseeing.

Not too long afterward, the bus bound for the city arrived, although the bus headed to the ski resort was still on its way. The teacher leading the students instructed them to board, and the students began to get onto the bus one by one. Cane in hand, Sakayanagi walked alone on the snow-covered path, which she wasn’t accustomed to. As I watched her, I felt a little uncertain, like it was risky… And my prediction proved to be on the mark, because Sakayanagi slipped and fell, landing gently on her backside. Fortunately, the gentle cushion of snow protected her from the impact, and she didn’t seem to be hurt.

“Are you okay…?!” Tokitou from Class C, who was also part of group four, had been walking a little behind Sakayanagi when she fell, and he rushed over to her. He seemed to hesitate for a moment over what to do, but then he offered her his hand.

“Thank you very much, Tokitou-kun,” Sakayanagi said, a little bashfully, as she took hold of his hand.

It would’ve been easy for him to just forcefully yank the diminutive Sakayanagi to her feet, but Tokitou helped her up slowly and carefully. Despite his stern face, it turned out he could be surprisingly delicate and considerate.

“You gotta be careful,” he told her. “Your legs don’t work great, after all…”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “However, fortunately enough, the snow is nice and soft, so I wasn’t hurt.”

“Is that really the issue here…?” he muttered.

As the leader of her class, Sakayanagi normally enacted strategies without mercy. But the people in her group who were from other classes were likely getting a vastly different impression of her. Sakayanagi, still holding her cane, got back onto her feet and politely thanked him once more.

“I sincerely appreciate your help,” she said.

“No big deal… Um, I mean, I’m glad that it wasn’t anything serious.” Perhaps Tokitou was feeling embarrassed, because he couldn’t seem to look directly at Sakayanagi, and averted his eyes.

“The impression I had of you was that you were a rather scarier person, Tokitou-kun,” Sakayanagi remarked.

“Huh? Me? …Well, I dunno about that, I guess.”

Sakayanagi stopped walking to talk to him. The exchange they were having now almost looked like a display meant to show off the change in their relationship.

“I mean that normally, when I pass by you in the hall, you tend to have a rather frightening look on your face,” she said.

“Wh-why would you notice that?” he sputtered.

Sakayanagi answered without a moment’s pause, a smile on her face. “Because we’re in the same grade. I know quite a lot, even about you, Tokitou-kun.”

If we were in a normal high school, and they were a normal boy and girl, then a scene like this would likely lead to a misunderstanding. However, behind that smile of Sakayanagi’s, there was always the possibility of some ingenious scheme in play. Depending on the situation, even the fall she had taken might have been calculated. Though the only students present here who would think like that were probably myself and…

Someone like Ryuuen, who was staring at them, although apparently with disinterest. Sakayanagi and Tokitou walked side by side over to the bus passenger door, and Tokitou let Sakayanagi get on first—probably so he could support her in case of an emergency, like if she were to fall backward. Whether or not there was some ulterior motive at play here, it was clear that people who didn’t normally have any contact were gradually beginning to close the distance between one another.

Just then, the bus bound for the ski resort, which had been delayed, finally arrived, taking the place of the bus that left for the city.

4.2

W HEN WE DISEMBARKED from the bus that took us directly to the ski resort, the eight of us decided not to go into the resort right away, but to explore the nearby area first. Although we hadn’t planned on it, Amikura had noticed that there were several souvenir shops and such in the area around the bus, and that was how the idea got started. It wasn’t like the ski slopes would be gone after a twenty- or thirty-minute detour.

“Ooh, Hokkaido mornings sure are freezing, aren’t they?” said Kushida, rubbing her gloves together and shivering. “It was nice and warm inside the bus, so you can really feel the huge change in temperature.”

“Yeah. I can’t believe it’s this cold when it’s still November,” said Amikura. “And there’s snow on the ground and everything; it’s so weird.”

When the rest of the group had stopped moving, Ryuuen called over to them. “If you wanna take a look around, just go do it. I bet everythin’s closed, though.”

It was still just after 9:15 a.m. The ski slopes opened at 9:30, but most of the shops in the area appeared to still be closed. It looked like Ryuuen’s only plan for today was to enjoy skiing, and he was going to just stick around and wait for us.

Among the scant handful of stores that were open at this hour was a somewhat unusual apparel store. For some reason, Kitou walked over and stared intently at the clothing in the shop. There was a lineup of rather flashy and unusual clothes on display, for sure. I wondered if he’d found something he liked. Just as I was thinking about that, though, he put back the clothes he had picked out and started looking for something else.

“Man, Kitou’s got some huge feet, huh? Those are like yeti footprints.” Watanabe compared the size of his own shoes to the footprints Kitou had left on his way to the apparel store, deeply impressed.

Kitou was tall, for sure. But even taking that into account, his footprints definitely did seem quite large.

“Come on, everybody, let’s all walk around together,” suggested Amikura, the person who had originally proposed the idea, and she started walking on ahead as though there was no time to spare.

Kushida quickly went along with Amikura’s invitation, but Yamamura apparently declined, remaining where she was. It looked like Watanabe and Nishino had both decided that they’d each go walking around on their own.

“Yamamura-san? You’re not coming?” asked Amikura.

“…Oh, I’ll stay here… Please don’t mind me. Go on ahead.”

There were only three people left here: myself, Ryuuen, and Yamamura. I did honestly want to go check things out with Amikura and Kushida, but since they hadn’t called out to ask me to come along, I guessed that meant I’d missed my chance. What should I do now? I wondered. I could walk around and check stuff out on my own, like Watanabe and Nishino, but…

Since Yamamura had declined the invitation, she was going to wait here until our group mates returned. If I left, she’d be all alone with Ryuuen. That would’ve been fine if those two were just okay being around each other, but they had practically never even met before. I couldn’t envision a scenario where they’d try to get to know each other through conversation, so I felt like leaving her with him would be a terrible idea. Therefore, even though it was frustrating, I decided that the correct answer would be to stay here, unless Yamamura or Ryuuen decided to go ahead and do something on their own.

“Oh…”

Yamamura trembled as she watched Amikura and the others walk off, their backs appearing smaller and smaller as they disappeared into the distance. The cause of Yamamura’s shivering was her hands, which she was hiding inside her coat. I was almost completely certain that she had come here without a pair of gloves. In that case, should I lend her mine? I wondered. If she refused and told me she didn’t need them, though, that would make things a little awkward.

Kitou and the rest of our group were already gone, so it was just the three of us now, Yamamura, Ryuuen, and I, and all was quiet. Yamamura seemed like she was putting up with the cold as much as she possibly could, but she couldn’t completely hide it.

While I continued to hesitate over saying something, though, Ryuuen spoke up in a harsh tone. “Hey, Yamamura. Take your hands outta your pockets.”

“Huh…?!”

Apparently, he had also noticed how cold Yamamura seemed, and how unnatural she looked with both hands thrust into her coat. I thought she’d show her cold hands, but she averted her gaze, and then…

“No.” Her voice was very small, but her response was a flat refusal.

“Huh?”

“I won’t. It’s cold.” Yamamura gave the reason, but she didn’t mention whether or not she had gloves. You could feel the cold even if you were wearing gloves out in Hokkaido, so it would be warmer to keep your hands inside your coat.

I assumed the conversation would end right there, but Ryuuen trudged over the snow-covered path to Yamamura, grabbed her right arm, and forcefully pulled her hand out of her pocket.

“Ah—!”

After he had confirmed firsthand that she wasn’t wearing any gloves, Ryuuen let go of her arm, and Yamamura hurriedly stuffed her hands back inside her coat, as though she were trying to escape from him.

“Well, yeah, course it’s cold,” he scoffed. “Where are your gloves?”

Ryuuen had proved that Yamamura was going out without gloves thanks to his power play, but she didn’t answer him. She turned her back to him, as if telling him, “Please leave me alone.”

“You’re not even good at handlin’ yourself on the slopes in the best of circumstances, and now you want to mess yourself up by letting your hands go numb?”

It was a valid point. Yamamura was still a beginner. If her hands went numb because of the cold, she wouldn’t be able to improve her skiing. On the contrary, it would only increase the risk of her taking a fall.

“If you get seriously hurt and cause a scene, that means my ski trip’s gettin’ canceled. You gonna take responsibility for that?” To my ear, Ryuuen’s emphasis on his own skiing sounded like a mixture of typical Ryuuen selfishness and awkward kindness on his part.

“No, I…” Yamamura seemed unable to respond, like it was an issue that wasn’t simply a matter of feeling.

“So, where are your gloves?” he repeated.

“…I forgot them,” she replied.

“Pft, I can’t believe someone could be this stupid,” huffed Ryuuen.

It was true that not many people would forget to bring gloves in this cold weather. Ryuuen, snickering, looked down at his own gloves. He couldn’t possibly be planning to lend her his own gloves, could—

“Hey, Ayanokouji. Lend her your gloves,” he snapped.

“…Me?”

He hadn’t shown that much development in the kindness department after all, instead throwing everything onto me.

“Even though I’m a beginner at skiing too?” I asked.

“Ain’t gonna be a problem if you get hurt,” Ryuuen replied.

I had no idea what kind of logic he was using there, but… Well, the store that sold gloves in the area didn’t appear to be open yet, unfortunately. In that case, I supposed I had no other choice but to let Yamamura borrow my gloves. There might be specialized gloves available in the ski resort, but even so, I was sure getting just ten to fifteen minutes’ worth of extra warmth now would make a difference.

“I-it’s all right. I’m fine,” said Yamamura, distancing herself from us, and already exhaling into her hands.

“You really should stop protesting and take them,” I told her. “The cold causes vasoconstriction—your blood vessels are constricting. Your body is shaking because of a reaction in your muscles, which are trying to raise your body temperature. It might be dangerous for you to go skiing in your condition. Wouldn’t it be most frustrating for you if things turned out exactly like Ryuuen said they would?”

“Well…” she trailed off.

I took my gloves off and practically shoved them into her arms.

“But…what about you, Ayanokouji-kun?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “More importantly, don’t do anything rash, so you won’t injure yourself when you go skiing.”

It wasn’t like I had a special tolerance for the cold or anything, but like Ryuuen had implied earlier, if you handled yourself well, then there shouldn’t be any problems.

“…I’m sorry…” Yamamura, though sounding very obliged and sorry for the trouble, put my large gloves on, her hands trembling slightly. Then, she thrust her hands back inside her coat pockets. They’d likely still be cold for a while, but they’d start feeling better after a few minutes.

“Go and buy a new pair of gloves in your size later,” I added.

“I will. Um, please allow me to compensate you for the gloves, Ayanokouji-kun, when we arrive at the ski resort,” said Yamamura.

“Compensate?” I asked.

“I’m wearing them now, so…I’ll feel bad when I return them to you. I’ll dirty them.”

“I’m sure they won’t get that dirty,” I said. “Don’t worry about falling and messing them up or anything; you can just return them however they are, that’s fine.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. Me wearing them has made them dirty, so…”

Was she a clean freak or something? Was that how she thought? Wait, but no, Yamamura had still accepted the gloves without fighting it, albeit with some reservations. I didn’t quite understand her way of thinking here.

“I’d like for you to let me compensate you,” she insisted.

I couldn’t imagine that she would just openly choose some cheap pair and give me those when it came time to reimburse me for the gloves. That would force her into a great expense for something that didn’t require reimbursement.

“It’d just be a waste of Private Points,” I said. “There’s no need for something like that.”

“Won’t you feel disgusted?”

I really didn’t understand what she was saying. Why would I feel disgusted by Yamamura having worn my gloves? I was sure I’d feel the same way no matter who wore them.

“It’s all right. I’d feel more uncomfortable with making a big fuss over this and having you pay me back for it.” I stated my feelings somewhat firmly, expressing my bewilderment.

“Th-then please allow me to at least express my thanks in another way.”

I didn’t think that thanks were necessary, but maybe something had to be done for Yamamura to feel better about this. If she was going to be this insistent about it, then maybe I should provide her with an option that was acceptable to her.

“Could I ask you one question to let you express your thanks?” I asked.

“…Yes?”

“Was there any reason why you weren’t wearing your gloves this morning while we were waiting for the bus?”

“I just forgot.”

I understood that it wasn’t like she was going around without gloves on purpose.

“But you had plenty of time to go back and get them,” I pointed out. “Or did that slip your mind too?”

I was curious about that point as well, so I thought I’d take this one step further and ask her about it.

“…I had that kind of feeling, I guess…” she answered.

“Feeling?”

“Like a feeling that it’d be difficult to get back.”

It was true that there’d been a huge crowd of students jamming the lobby, but it was difficult to say whether it would’ve really seemed all that difficult to get through them. Well, no, that was just my perspective; I needed to consider that how I felt about it would be different from the way Yamamura felt. Although we had only talked for a few minutes, I was able to see a little bit about the student known as Yamamura. It also made me more interested in her.

“Who do you usually hang out with, Yamamura?” I asked.

What kinds of students did a person like her have as friends? Did she make friends like herself, who were the quiet type? Or was she a part of a popular student’s social circle, like how Kushida was welcoming of anyone? Or was she the type of person who pulled away from others altogether?

Yamamura, however, didn’t answer my question immediately. Her facial expression didn’t change very much, but her eyes narrowed slightly, and she looked away, like she was feeling a little uncomfortable.

“No one in particular,” she replied. “I generally spend all my time alone.”

“Alone?” I repeated. “I didn’t get the impression that people in Class A would just neglect someone and leave them all by themselves.”

“It’s because I don’t have much presence… They don’t even notice that I’m by myself. It’s an everyday thing, so I’m not particularly bothered.”

It was true that some people just didn’t have much presence. If I had to classify myself, I would have to say that I was that same type of person, too. Comparing Yamamura and me, though, chances were high that we had completely different dispositions. Now that I thought about it, if Kushida had noticed Yamamura was so cold, there was no way she could have ignored it. But Yamamura’s almost shadowlike presence seemed to have dulled the sensitivity of even someone like Kushida, who was always concerned with other people’s reactions.

Well, truthfully, since she was so lacking in presence, I didn’t think anyone would have even noticed if she had gone back inside to get her gloves before. Her lack of presence, hm? If I analyzed that objectively, I could also see some of her true nature.

“Yamamura, do you like yourself?” I asked.

“Oh, of course not. That’s absolutely unthinkable.” She answered honestly, perhaps out of weakness at having had to borrow gloves from me.

So, the thing she wanted to hide most was herself, and that was one of the reasons why she shied away so much. If you didn’t want to show yourself, if you didn’t want to be noticed, then inevitably, you would tailor your behavior to avoid drawing attention to yourself. Even in discussions, she would hide behind someone, so as not to let others acknowledge her. It was like wearing black clothes in the middle of the night; of course you wouldn’t stand out.

She also didn’t move around unnecessarily, so it was rare for a movement she’d made to catch someone’s eye. As a result, her presence had become as scant as possible. Furthermore, based on what I’d seen, Yamamura seemed to be twice as wary of others as most people. In other words, she was afraid of other people, and refrained from asserting herself as much as possible.

I was beginning to see that this combination of factors had resulted in the creation of the student known as Yamamura, who was lacking in presence and difficult to stay aware of.

The problem, though, was that even if I could understand the cause, there was nothing I could do to immediately solve the problem. If someone like me, who didn’t normally interact with Yamamura, said something about it, all I’d achieve would be making her even more wary than she already was. It would be easier to say something if there was someone she was close to, whom she could trust.

Ultimately, my conversation with Yamamura ended there, and we both fell silent.

About ten minutes later, just before the slopes opened, everyone had returned.

“So, how are we going to divide ourselves?” Kushida said. “We don’t necessarily all have to ski together as one big group, right?”

Even though it was mandatory that we acted as a group, that didn’t necessarily mean that we had to do every single little thing together as one. With a group comprised of experienced skiers and beginners, it would be difficult or even regrettable if we were to make everyone conform one way or the other when we went skiing. What was important was balance; whether the people around us could judge it as reasonable when they saw it. We would probably need to consider splitting up the group into teams, starting with the least skilled of the eight of us.

“Yamamura and I are set for the beginner course, so what should we do? The two of us could ski together,” suggested Watanabe.

There was a gentle course for beginners at the bottom of the ski slopes, so it was a given that that the group would let Yamamura and Watanabe go there. Yamamura immediately agreed to Watanabe’s offer.

“I think it would be a good idea if someone who knows how to ski well tags along with you and Yamamura-san, though,” Kushida said. “If you don’t mind, I could—”

“Oh, it’s all right, Kushida-san,” Nishino cut in. “I’m a beginner, so I’ll do it.”

“Oh? Are you sure?” asked Kushida.

“Yeah, it’s okay, you can go ahead and ski without worrying about it. I know how to ski, but the advanced course is a little scary for me.”

Perhaps Amikura had planned on doing the same thing from the start, because she chimed in right after Nishino. “I’m not confident enough to tackle the advanced course myself either…so I think I’ll join you, too.”

And so, as it turned out, we split into two groups of four, and agreed to ski on separate courses.

“Well, if you do want to go skiing on the intermediate or advanced courses, feel free to let me know anytime,” Kushida said, just in case Nishino or Amikura were purposefully holding themselves back to go on the beginner course. “I’ll be happy to help.”

“Also, lunch is at noon,” Watanabe added. “So, let’s all meet back up at the food court at that time.”

We moved as a group toward the entrance to the slopes. I thought I heard an unfamiliar sound, almost like the sound of a horse galloping, and just then a horse indeed galloped by us, dashing quickly through the snow. While I was wondering what was going on, I realized that Kouenji was the one riding the horse. The students from the other classes appeared genuinely shocked, and even Kitou seemed somewhat taken aback. From the perspective of students who hadn’t been around Kouenji for long, this was an understandable reaction.

“Excuse me, sir—! That’s not the course—!”

In the wake of Kouenji’s hoofbeats, several panicked staff members were shouting from a distance, attempting to give chase.

“What the hell…?” Nishino gaped.

“That’s incredible…” murmured Yamamura.

The two of them simply stared at Kouenji, stunned, as he got smaller and smaller, becoming a tiny speck in the distance.

“Funnily enough, even though I’ve never seen anything like that before, I don’t feel that surprised,” mused Kushida, quietly enough so that only I could hear it.

“I guess that’s because, as his classmates, we’ve gotten used to seeing Kouenji’s bizarre behavior…”

Strangely, I felt like it wasn’t that odd for things like that to happen now, knowing Kouenji. If I were to put it bluntly, I was used to it.

4.3

W E BRIEFLY SPLIT UP so that we could get changed. Once we had finished getting ready, we gathered at the meeting place. Kushida, Ryuuen, Kitou, and I went over to the front of the lift. Since two people could ride per lift carriage, we decided that it would be me with Ryuuen, and Kushida with Kitou. We’d determined that that combination would make it the most difficult for anyone to fight. Just to be on the safe side, I let Kushida and Kitou go first and then let a few other pairs on after them. That way, Kitou and Ryuuen couldn’t glare at each other during the ride.

“Can’t you try and get along with Kitou a little better?” I asked Ryuuen.

“That’s an impossible ask, my guy,” he replied, looking out at the snow-covered mountains. “Now if it was Kitou who was askin’, that’d be a different story.”

“So, there’s not much hope there, huh?” I sighed. “In that case, I guess there’s nothing we can do about it. But really, this might be a good chance, you know. Kitou seems to hold some degree of trust from Sakayanagi, from the looks of things. I would’ve thought that someone like you would see this as an opportunity to get Kitou in your pocket. Depending on how things play out, you might even be able to make him into an ally.”

Ryuuen, sitting beside me on the lift, seemed to think that this school trip was mainly about gathering information, and he certainly wasn’t wrong on that point. In fact, I could tell that Sakayanagi was doing something similar.

“Kitou might not even fully look like a human bein’ on the outside, but the guy’s definitely got a lot of loyalty,” Ryuuen replied. “Anyway, don’t you think Sakayanagi was already on alert from the moment that Kitou got put in the same group as me? If I started tryin’ to negotiate without thinkin’, I’d just be shootin’ myself in the dick.”

“That’s rather realistic.”

Ryuuen had little contact with Kitou up until this point, and he still didn’t know very much about him. However, judging from how thoroughly he seemed to dislike Ryuuen, I had a good sense of his willingness to protect Class A together with Sakayanagi. I hadn’t heard about any problematic behavior from him, either. If Ryuuen carelessly attempted to negotiate with him and bring him over to his side, it would be like asking for information to be leaked.

“Besides, the only talent I needed from Class A was Katsuragi,” Ryuuen added. “Kitou and Hashimoto are good enough as her little dogs, but they ain’t good enough to be my pawns. It ain’t worth the risk of tryin’ to nab ’em.”

So, that was the reason Ryuuen didn’t act friendly toward Kitou, and instead continued to antagonize him. While Ryuuen did appreciate what Kitou and the other Class A students were capable of, he seemed to see Katsuragi as the only one who stood out.

Just then, the lift carriage arrived at its destination, and we got off at the advanced course. Kitou, who was waiting there already, called Ryuuen over to the starting point with nothing but a glance.

First, we’d take our time and enjoy the… Oh, who was I kidding? We weren’t going to follow such a laid-back plan of action.

“Hey, give us the signal,” barked Ryuuen to Kushida, ordering her to count them down.

“Be careful as you go down the slopes, you two,” she said.

Kushida raised her hand and began the starting countdown. Ryuuen and Kitou placed themselves a few meters apart from one another and got in position, ready to start skiing. I wondered who the winner of this competition would be.

“…Start!” shouted Kushida.

The instant that she lowered her hand, the two of them took off at almost the exact same time, getting off to a good start.

“Let’s follow after them,” I said.

“Huh?” said Kushida. “Will you be okay with that, though? Actually, I’m not sure that I can catch them myself…”

“In that case, let’s just go after them slowly.”

And with that, Kushida and I started heading down the slope, just a few seconds after Ryuuen and Kitou. The two of them were in a dead heat as they rocketed down the course, with one taking the lead and then the other, back and forth. They flew down the slope at incredible speed, drawing beautiful arcs to the right and left. My own technique, which was still incomplete as of yesterday, was now beginning to improve thanks to the examples I had in front of me right now. Here, on the longer advanced course, I could deepen my knowledge and study more carefully.

The battle between Ryuuen and Kitou was almost completely even. I’d expected that one of them would pull ahead right away, but they were pretty much neck and neck. As far as I could tell, there didn’t seem to be much difference between them in technique, and their competitive spirits were about equal in intensity. Even after they passed the halfway mark, there was still no sign of either one seizing a decisive victory. As the racers finally reached the endgame of their competition, the two gradually got closer and closer together, no longer keeping a wide space between them.

Things were about to take a turn for the worse. The two skiers were now so close that they were at risk of colliding into each other due to their positions overlapping. That wasn’t an accident, for either of them. This was a dangerous sign; either of them would try to win even if it meant tackling their opponent and trying to make them tumble down the slope. Copying both of their moves, I accelerated while absorbing almost all their techniques.

“Die, Kitou!”

“To hell with you, Ryuuen!”

I thought I sensed some voices, after a delay. Just a second before I heard their voices, though, I forced myself into the small gap between Ryuuen and Kitou. The sudden intrusion of a third party caused the two of them to hurriedly swerve to the left and right. Although both were glaring at me, I had succeeded in forcing them to keep their distance from each other. After I finished skiing down the advanced course, Ryuuen and Kitou came to a stop slightly afterward. They immediately turned around and walked up to me.

Kitou approached me with such intensity that it felt like he was going to grab me. “Why did you get in the way?” he demanded angrily.

“Because I judged that it was dangerous,” I replied. “You two were getting overzealous and trying to win through methods other than skiing.”

“No matter what form it takes, a competition is still a competition,” said Kitou. “Ryuuen understands that, too.”

“Whether your opponent understands that or not is irrelevant. You couldn’t call what you were doing a skiing competition.”

Kitou muttered some words of dissatisfaction, glaring at Ryuuen, before skiing away. He seemed to feel that the mood wasn’t right to ask for one more round. Around that same time, Kushida also came down the slope, arriving where I had stopped.

“Wow, the three of you are just way too fast,” she said. “Or, rather, Ayanokouji-kun, what you did was totally out of the ordinary…!”

Ryuuen, a disgruntled look on his face, trudged through the snow and pressed up to me. “Hey, are you really a beginner, asshole? Or were you just pretendin’?”

“Pretending?” I repeated. “No, yesterday was my first time going skiing.”

Ryuuen must not have believed me, because he spat on the ground and then headed toward the lift, alone. Well, at least we’d have some peace of mind for the time being. Probably.

“It’s kind of understandable that he’s angry, I think,” said Kushida. “Your skiing was incredible. You were kind of like the protagonist straight out of a manga, who has the sort of talent to do everything perfectly without even trying. I know Ryuuen already asked, but was this really only your second time skiing?”

Unfortunately, I was no such manga protagonist. Over the course of my life thus far, I had accumulated countless experiences in my body. Even though skiing specifically was new to me, sports in general were connected by broad strokes. I just linked those points together and skied using the information that I had gained, both verbally and visually.

“You can’t believe it’s only my second time?” I asked.

“No, it’s not like that. I do believe you. But I might not have, if I hadn’t seen the way you moved to grab Amasawa that one time.”

So, she was saying that she believed because back then, even if it had only been for an instant, I’d shown her a fight between White Room students. Did the doubts and apprehension she’d had then in turn make my improvement at skiing seem more believable?

“You’re amazing.” She complimented me once again, but I didn’t feel ready to accept it honestly.

“Nah, not really.”

“This again, huh?”

She must have thought I was just being humble, but I couldn’t help it. Anyway, the fact was that Ryuuen and Kushida were advanced skiers, and so, in this field, they were true role models for me. They likely hadn’t accumulated as many experiences as I had, either. Looking at it that way, they had more of a knack for this than I did.

“How about we head over to the lift, too?” I suggested. “There’s no more trouble here, and I want to enjoy skiing.”

“Sure, let’s,” Kushida agreed. “Honestly, though, this might be a challenging time for the people who can’t ski.”

You could say that for any activity, generally. It would be nice if everyone could have fun, even if they were bad at it, but that wasn’t how things worked. Whether video games or sports or whatever, people who aren’t good at an activity oftentimes don’t enjoy it.

4.4

A T NOON , all of us in group six gathered at the food court attached to the ski resort. We each ordered what we wanted, and then went to our seats. I was given a pager marked 32 and was told that it would ring once my order was ready; that was my signal to come get it.

“How did things go for you and the others, Watanabe-kun?” asked Kushida. “Did you improve your skiing?”

Having spent all day on the advanced course, she’d had no chance to see how things went for those four on the beginner course, so she was asking about the fruits of their labors.

“I think I can ski okay now, I’d say,” Watanabe replied. “Not as good as Nishino or Amikura yet, though.”

It was a humble reply, but I could see some self-confidence poking through, even if only a little. Yamamura, on the other hand, whose name was not mentioned, wore a dark expression and seemed lacking in spirit… So, the same as usual.

Watanabe leaned over to whisper just to me. “As for Yamamura, well… She’s not there yet.”

She hadn’t improved, then. The person in question was giving off strong “don’t talk to me” vibes, so I decided against saying anything to her. My pager started beeping, so I went and got my food. My piping hot curry soup with rice was placed on a tray, and I brought it to the table. Then, once the eight of us all had our meals, we started eating our lunch.

Ryuuen, who had ordered a smaller meal, just a hamburger, was the first to finish eating. He thrust the wrapper and tray at Watanabe. Watanabe forced a smile and then loaded Ryuuen’s empty trap on top of his own.

“Lemme talk to you in private for a minute, Ayanokouji,” Ryuuen said.

“Um… But I’m still in the middle of eating.” I had about a third of my curry soup with rice left. By the time I was finished with whatever Ryuuen wanted, my food would have gone cold.

“Hurry it up,” snapped Ryuuen.

Watanabe gave me a pitying look, bidding me farewell without a word. As for Kitou, he… Well, he hadn’t been looking at me in the first place.

“I’ll be stepping away from my seat for a minute,” I announced.

“Okay. We’ll keep eating and wait for you to get back,” said Kushida.

I left Kushida to handle things there, and I walked through the food court with Ryuuen. We finally stopped somewhere around the edge of the food court, and he took out his cell phone. He unlocked his phone with a touch of his finger, and he stared at the screen for a while.

“I knew it,” he said. “Just like I thought, that bitch Sakayanagi is usin’ her minions as spies.”

It looked like he’d gotten a report from a classmate that had confirmed his suspicions.

“Just like you, huh?” I replied. I wasn’t asking Ryuuen straight out, but I figured that he had been giving his people the same sort of instructions.

“Well, yeah. This school trip ain’t for makin’ friends. What’s important here is me rippin’ the arms and legs off first, so I can crush the head. And it sounds like Sakayanagi knows that too.”

Neither Sakayanagi nor Ryuuen could fight a class battle all on their own. So, how did you beat your opponents in a team competition where your class acted together as a unit? Improving your allies’ abilities was important, but it was also important to reduce your opponents’ strength.

Sakayanagi had particularly bad legs, so her normal range of motion was extremely limited. She generally compensated for that through Kamuro and Hashimoto. If Ryuuen was able to get a hold of their weaknesses, and held something over Kamuro and Hashimoto that would make them submit to him, Sakayanagi lost her valuable legs. Her information-gathering abilities would be dramatically reduced.

“Okay, so let’s hear the reason you deliberately called me over like this,” I said. “It wasn’t just to give me an update on this reconnaissance contest you and Sakayanagi have going on, was it?”

“Starting now, I’m gonna be issuing orders to the rest of my class to start preppin’ for all-out war against Sakayanagi,” he said. “Whether we’re doing a written test or whatever for the end-of-year exam, I’m gonna crush her by any means necessary.”

“You said something similar back on the bus. About how the fight’s already begun.”

“Yeah. But before I make my move, there’s somethin’ I gotta double-check with you first.”

Just as Ryuuen said that, my phone vibrated. I told him to hold on a minute, and then I looked down at my phone. I had gotten a short message from Kushida.

“Yamamura-san is heading your way.”

Was she heading over here to see how I was doing because she was worried about me, since I had been called out by Ryuuen? In all likelihood, Yamamura was acting on orders from Sakayanagi. It was possible that she would eavesdrop on my conversation with Ryuuen once she was nearby, but I decided to keep that information from Ryuuen. After all, that was yet another part of the battle between Sakayanagi and Ryuuen. If I did anything to help Ryuuen here, that would be to Sakayanagi’s disadvantage.

It seemed as if Ryuuen had gotten another message from someone himself, though, because he looked down at his phone. Then he put it back in his pocket, his expression unchanging, and began speaking once more.

“I’m sure you remember what I said a year ago, about me getting eight hundred million points,” he said.

“I still don’t think that’s feasible, even now,” I replied.

“Yeah. I’m sure the rest of my class would react pretty much the same way, if they found out.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Ibuki was probably the only person in his class who knew about Ryuuen’s strategy to accumulate eight hundred million points. And Ibuki had probably only learned about it by chance, and didn’t actually know the specifics.

“We’re talking about a shitload of money here. It’s way more than I could hope to get if I was doin’ it in absolute secret. I’ve only got about a year left at this school, and it’s gettin’ a little late for me to make a move.”

It was certainly true that the cooperation of his classmates would be essential if he was serious about raising the viability of that strategy. Just like Ichinose had gradually pooled Private Points from her classmates bit by bit, with their trust, Ryuuen also needed to work with his classmates if he was going to reach that target.

“When you say that you want to double-check something, are you asking me if I’ll help you with getting to eight hundred million points?” I asked.

“You realize I’ve been showin’ your class a whole lotta kindness, in my own way, right? For a while now, too, like with the Sports Festival and the Cultural Festival. And I’m even takin’ Sakayanagi on in the final exam. I got that all taken care of for you. You ain’t dissatisfied with that, are ya?”

Indeed, since we had that discussion with Ryuuen last year, Horikita’s class had been able to move about so freely that they had almost forgotten that Ryuuen was even here. If Ryuuen had remained as belligerent as he had been in our first year, things would not have gone as smoothly.

“And you sure seem to be gettin’ along good with Kushida, huh?” Ryuuen added. “Even though you were so enthusiastic about gettin’ her expelled.”

“Sorry,” I said simply. “Sometimes you have to change your policies.”

Perhaps Ryuuen really liked what I’d said, or maybe it just resonated with him, because he laughed and clapped several times.

“If I wanted to, I could destroy Kushida, no problem,” he said. “You know that, right?”

Ryuuen was one of the few students outside of our class who knew the truth about Kushida. He could have done something anytime, but he didn’t, which was likely the result of that promise.

“So, you’re asking me to fulfill that promise,” I said. “And you’re going as far as using threats. Aren’t you being pushy?”

“I don’t give a damn if I’m bein’ pushy. So, are you gonna do it? Or not?”

We had only made a verbal agreement back then, but Ryuuen was making it clear that he’d show me no mercy if I violated it.

“Before I give you my answer on that, let me ask you, what happens after you defeat Sakayanagi?” I inquired.

“Isn’t it obvious? After I defeat Class A in the finals, it’ll be a one-on-one battle with my class against yours. The way I see it, it’s all part of the story I got laid out, leading up to where I beat you.”

So, that’s what he was thinking, huh? Looking at everything so far, though, I didn’t really have any doubts.

“This sounds a little too convenient,” I said. “You stepped off the stage once before—you were supposed to have taken on the role of laying the groundwork for Kaneda and Hiyori. But now, you’re back at center stage. The point is, if you wanted me to fulfill my promise to you, you were supposed to back off. If we get to a situation where we become Class A and you become Class B, Ryuuen, then I’d be inevitably handing the win over to you if I helped you. Wouldn’t I?”

Only then could we create a situation where we could talk about working together toward the eight hundred million points.

“You don’t like it?” said Ryuuen.

“Obviously not. If your class and Horikita’s class seriously do clash, and as a result you win and move up to Class A, then we’ll be the only ones to look like fools. Or are you saying that you promise to bring the students from Horikita’s class into Class A if your eight hundred million points plan works?”

Ryuuen’s smile vanished and he shot me a sharp side-eyed look. “Absolutely not. The extra Private Points belong to me and my people, obviously.”

Those points were currency that could live on even after graduation as money, so he had no intention of using them for saving students he had no business with.

“So, if you lose, we bail you out, and if you win, you abandon us… Hm,” I said. “Yeah, that’s a proposition I don’t need to bother considering. Therefore, I can’t cooperate with you on the plan to save up eight hundred million. However, you are free to attack whatever class you want from this point onward; I have no right to stop you.”

“Heh. Guess you ain’t such a naïve moron after all, eh, Ayanokouji?”

“It’s because this issue doesn’t affect me alone.”

“Suppose I can’t argue with ya on that, then. Just have to pretend that conversation never happened and drop it.”

He had backed off much more easily than I expected. He seemed to have already known that I’d turn him down.

“Even though our negotiations have broken down, do you still plan on saving up the eight hundred million points?” I asked.

“I’m not plannin’ to change my strategy at this point in the game,” he replied. “My main goal is to save up the eight hundred million. After that, I’ll defeat both you and Sakayanagi. And if I don’t spend any of it and get to Class A, I can graduate with tons of cash. Ain’t that right?”

His plan, which could only be described as a pipe dream even in the best of circumstances, had now been replaced by another ideal scenario. All the same, Ryuuen boldly proclaimed that from here on out, he was going to try and accumulate eight hundred million points.

“I’ve been throwin’ money around so far, pullin’ Katsuragi out of his class and into mine, and usin’ those first-years, but now’s the time I start collectin’. I’m switchin’ things up to a strict Private Point system.”

If he was that eager to collect Private Points, there was going to be some risk involved. Ryuuen’s irregular, incoherent thoughts and behavior here were casting a strange shadow over my own thoughts.

“Don’t give me that look, like you’re so surprised that I let you get away without fulfillin’ your promise to me, without even pushin’ for a compromise.”

“Well, yeah, of course I’m surprised. I’m not seeing the true nature of this conversation,” I replied.

“It’s simple. It’s just that you breakin’ our contract was a foregone conclusion. I can’t crush you if I’m still partially connected to you. But if you break things off like this, well, that’s a different story. Now I can thoroughly wreck you.”

So, in other words, he was choosing a resurrected obsession with victory against me over aligning our mutual interests. He’d said something similar on the bus before; once again, he was declaring war. Even so, I wasn’t completely convinced. There was some kind of agenda in this story, though I likely wasn’t going to get an answer even if I pressed him on it here and now.

“It’s fine to look ahead to the future,” I told him, “but you’ll have to beat Sakayanagi first before thinking about a rematch with me.”

“Ha. I know that chick is clever, but that’s all she is,” Ryuuen scoffed. Clearly, he had absolute confidence in the final exam’s battle.

Ryuuen, you were defeated, and then you were resurrected. I’ll also admit that your talents have surpassed my expectations.

It was true that the success story of Ryuuen Kakeru remained steadily on track.

However…

Whether or not he could overcome the barriers at the very end was another matter. I had wondered if this discrepancy, his failure to recognize obstacles as obstacles, might eventually have an effect in the arena of battle. Of course, those omens and signs would change again, depending on how Sakayanagi perceived Ryuuen.

“You head on back first, Ayanokouji,” ordered Ryuuen, and with that, he walked toward the restrooms.

Hiyori, who had been watching us from a seat somewhat far away, noticed me and waved. Apparently her group had also come to ski. I gently raised my hand in response, and then returned to my group’s table. Yamamura had already returned as well, and she was silently fiddling on her phone with a blank, nonchalant look on her face.

“Where’s Ryuuen?” asked Watanabe.

“Seems like he’ll be coming back after stopping by the bathroom,” I replied.

“…Are you okay?” Watanabe worriedly looked me over, examining my body carefully.

“He didn’t smack you or anything, did he?”

“Don’t worry. We just talked a little, is all,” I assured him.

“I sure hope that was all…” said Watanabe.

Yamamura had finished her meal after slowly picking at it here and there; she and Nishino both grabbed their trays.

“I’ll…go put my tray away,” announced Yamamura.

She and Nishino had ordered food from the same place, so they were apparently heading back there together.

Kitou gave me a penetrating look. “Ayanokouji, if Ryuuen has something over you, don’t hesitate to talk to me about it.”

Perhaps he felt like Watanabe’s way of addressing the matter was too lax. I kind of wished he could have said that before Ryuuen had called me away, though, if at all possible. When Ryuuen returned shortly after, Kitou turned his gaze away from me to look at him.

“You’ve run away from me and decided to intimidate people from other classes now?” he said.

“What?” said Ryuuen. “Heh heh, don’t worry, Kitou. I’m gonna bring you Class A bastards down, just you wait. Sakayanagi ain’t nothin’ more than a steppin’ stone for me. I’ll show you.”

“You can never defeat Class A,” huffed Kitou.

“Heh. I wonder about that.”

Ryuuen appeared calm—or perhaps it was better to say that he was putting on a show to appear calm and confident. He might have sincerely believed he was going to win, but there was no actual evidence to back that up. Of course, it was possible he had some information that I didn’t, but in a simple comparison of their abilities, Sakayanagi was a cut above Ryuuen.

“It doesn’t have to be the final exam,” Kitou said. “Come at us anytime.”

“Kitou, you son of a bitch, you ain’t got that kinda authority,” snorted Ryuuen. “All you got goin’ for you is that you’re a loyal dog. You’ll be causin’ trouble for your master if you make careless remarks like that, y’know?”

At being called a dog, Kitou placed his large palms on the table and stood up. “I alone am more than enough to defeat you.”

“Oh? So, what, you’re sayin’ you wanna go for round three?”

Their pillow fight had resulted in my pillow getting damaged. And thanks to me interfering on the slopes before, they hadn’t been able to settle things by skiing.

“Come on, you two, get along,” Kushida cut in. “There are already rumors floating around that our group is pretty dangerous.”

Even some members of the general public in the vicinity had begun watching the standoff between Ryuuen and Kitou with curiosity. If they continued to be so showy, I supposed it was only a matter of time before the teachers heard about it.

“Come to think of it, aren’t Nishino-san and Yamamura-san taking a while?” said Kushida.

“Now that you mention it, yeah,” I replied.

All they were doing was returning their trays; it shouldn’t have taken them more than a minute. But there was no sign of them. Kushida looked around for them.

“Oh, there they are,” she said. “But it looks like they’re talking with some boys I don’t know.”

Kushida pointed toward Nishino and Yamamura across the crowded food court. They were surrounded by five guys who, judging from their age, appeared to be students. And they had a threatening air about them.

“Hey now, what’s this?” Ryuuen said. “Looks like Nishino is in trouble. Let’s go help her.”

“It’d be better not to do anything when there’s a large crowd of people around,” I told him. “If you recklessly start a fight, there’ll be trouble.”

In spite of my warning, Ryuuen and Kitou had already gotten up from their seats. Those two, who would never listen to anything resembling caution in the first place, headed over to where Nishino and Yamamura were standing. They didn’t even bother to communicate their intent to each other.

“Kushida, you and the others wait here.” I instructed her, Amikura, and Watanabe to stay put.

As I caught up to Ryuuen and Kitou, who had rushed off to Nishino and Yamamura with strong, fast footfalls, I could overhear the conversation at the scene.

“You’re not gonna apologize for bumpin’ into my shoulder?” said one of the guys. “You got ramen broth all over my clothes.”

Apparently, it wasn’t Nishino who had started the trouble here. Instead, it began with Yamamura, who had bumped into these guys.

“Aren’t you guys the ones at fault here, for not even noticing Yamamura-san standing there while you were walking?” replied Nishino.

The guys just laughed unkindly in response, mockingly touching their shoulders as if Yamamura had hurt them.

“Nah, I mean, she’s practically a ghost,” another guy said, “so of course we couldn’t see her. Right?”

“…I am really…sorry.” said Yamamura, in a tiny voice.

Most likely, she hadn’t apologized just once or twice. But the guys carried on, acting as though they hadn’t heard her.

“Hey, we’re here on a school trip from Gifu,” one of them said. “Let’s hang out. We’ll forgive you if you hang out with us.”

Nishino was standing in front of Yamamura to protect her, blocking their way. But then one of the guys forcefully grabbed hold of her arm.

“Huh? You’ve got to be joking,” she said. “Who’d wanna hang out with people like you?”

She shook her arm free from her attacker’s grasp, swinging wide, and ended up lightly slapping one guy’s cheek.

“That hurt.”

The guys had been smirking and chuckling crudely throughout this whole conversation so far, but now, the looks on their faces had suddenly changed. Immediately afterward, one of the five flew forward with great force.

“Wh-what the hell, dude?!” exclaimed one of the others.

“You took the words right outta my mouth, moron,” said Ryuuen. “What business do you got with my people?”

It was none other than Ryuuen who had driven his foot straight into that guy’s back in spectacular fashion. He quickly grabbed hold of another one by the collar.

“Don’t squawk in front of women like some stupid little bird,” he said.

“Wh—? We’ll kill you!” one of them shouted.

“Go ahead and try,” Ryuuen sneered. “Hey, if you want, I’ll let you get one shot in. How about it? You want a souvenir from your school trip, don’tcha?”

Then, Ryuuen presented his own left cheek, tapping it lightly with his finger— tap tap —as though he were offering it up.

“Heh! In that case, don’t mind if I do!” shouted the guy he’d provoked. “I’ll sure as shit take a swing at you!”

He drew his arm back, swinging wide.

“Oh, that’s—”

Don’t think that Ryuuen will actually let you punch him, I thought to myself. But I couldn’t give him that advice in time. Ryuuen watched his opponent’s grand, but ultimately futile, wind up—then grabbed hold of him by the shoulders and drove his knee straight into his stomach with furious intensity. The student from the other school doubled over, rolling on the ground in agony.

“Heh. Looks like some slightly interestin’ stuff can happen even on boring school trips like this,” Ryuuen said.

He’d started to find enjoyment in an inevitable situation. To think, I’d encountered people from another school for the first time in my life, and it ended up turning into a disturbing display of violence.

One of the guys balled his hands into fists, taking swings with his left and right. There was no way that this was going to be a one-on-one fight. It looked like they were hoping to win by outnumbering their opponent. But just then, Kitou slowly stepped in. The guys from the other school were clearly panicked and flustered by Kitou’s face and intimidating presence, which made it hard to imagine he was a high schooler.

“It looks like…he’s going to help us,” said Nishino quietly. She’d walked over to me, still holding onto Yamamura’s shoulders, protecting her.

“Kitou is Yamamura’s classmate,” I replied. “It’s only natural that he wouldn’t be able to just stand by quietly if he saw she was in trouble.”

Fortunately, both sides seemed to understand that further fighting inside the food court wasn’t a good idea, so Ryuuen and the others all walked outside, single file.

“Should we call an adult?” asked Nishino.

“Nah. Now that they’ve gotten to this point, there’s no stopping it. It’s best to just get them out of the public eye and go at it.”

From what I saw, the other side had superior numbers, but none of them looked like that much of a threat. If Ryuuen and Kitou teamed up and fought together, it shouldn’t take them much time to clean up.

About ten minutes later, Ryuuen and Kitou had returned. And they brought their defeated opponents with them. Then, they made them get down on their knees in front of Yamamura and Nishino and beg their forgiveness.

From the looks of things, they had thoroughly beaten their opponents until they broke their rebellious spirits… Well, if you looked at it that way, then it was a problem, but maybe it was necessary, for Yamamura and Nishino’s sake. The students from the other school were made to promise to never show themselves to Yamamura and Nishino again, and then they scattered.

“It’s definitely not a boring group,” said Kushida, in a whisper. Hearing her impression, I could only agree.

4.5

A FTER SKIING FOR AS LONG as time permitted, we returned to the ryokan just before seven o’clock in the evening. I hadn’t had my fill of skiing yet, but perhaps it was better to leave things there, with some reluctance to part from the activity. Our second day was nearing its end, and time continued to march steadily on through the evening. Sudou had invited me out during dinner, so we headed over to the baths together afterward and, after washing up, were enjoying a soak in the hot spring.

“Whoo! Man, this hits the spot!” exclaimed Sudou.

The hot bath might’ve been especially effective for Sudou, who worked up a sweat just about every day at basketball. Using both hands, I repeatedly scooped up the hot water and splashed my face, feeling my fatigue melt away. After we’d spent some time just lazing about in the pool, Hashimoto from Class A arrived and got in next to me.

“’Sup?” he said.

I responded with a gentle wave of my hand, and Sudou did the same.

Hashimoto looked thoroughly exhausted, rolling his shoulders and letting out a deep sigh.

“Man… I am completely, totally beat after today.”

“Did something happen?” I asked.

“If only it were ‘something,’” he replied. “It’s more like I’m rackin’ my brains over what to do about one specific problem in my group.”

I hadn’t said anything out loud, but I had been very curious about Hashimoto’s group from the start.

“Because Kouenji’s in your group, you mean?” I said.

“Exactly. You know how it’s like, in our free time, we’re supposed to be together as a group? Well, if this was a sane person we were talking about, we’d be having discussions as a group, right? But we’re basically being forced to go along with him to every place he wants to go.”

Kouenji obviously wasn’t the type of person to obediently follow along with what other people wanted, and it sounded like that hadn’t changed even when he was together with a group comprised of students from all the classes.

“It looked like your group was at a ranch today, so you could experience horseback riding,” I said. “I’m guessing that’s what Kouenji wanted, then.”

“Wait. How do you know that? Oh, hang on… Yeah, you saw that happen, so I guess it’s not surprising that you know.” Looking like he was at his wits’ end, Hashimoto submerged half of his face in the water.

“I just saw him gallop past,” I said. “Did he actually come back after that, like he was supposed to?”

Hashimoto stayed submerged for about ten seconds; then he shrugged his shoulders and surfaced.

“After about an hour or so, yeah,” he said. “The rest of us didn’t have the mental and emotional capacity to handle horseback riding, so we just stood around, waiting.”

Hearing about how Hashimoto’s group had spent their free time, it sounded like they had suffered through hellish experiences one after another since this trip had started. Sudou brought his hands together in prayer, offering his condolences.

“So, I was trying to put together plans to have lunch at this famous place that I happened to see on TV, at least,” Hashimoto said, “but Kouenji seriously had the nerve to just say, ‘I’m going skiing’ and take off. That selfish jerk just up and left before we could even argue. Now I’m so completely exhausted that I don’t even have the energy to have fun anymore. And that is how our second day has come to an end.”

If the group had ignored Kouenji and gone ahead to have lunch at that famous restaurant, or anything else, then they would’ve been in violation of the rules. What an incredibly tragic story.

“You guys are his classmates,” said Hashimoto. “I was wondering if you might know some way of dealing with him.”

We had already passed the halfway point of this trip; there were only two days left. At the very least, I was sure that his group would want to choose something they’d all like to do during their free time on the fourth day.

“He’s just uncontrollable, dude. There ain’t nothin’ you can do,” said Sudou, offering his honest thoughts. It sounded cold, but after having spent a long time with Kouenji, Sudou had given up on him.

“What about you, Ayanokouji?” asked Hashimoto.

“It’s not realistic to try and convince Kouenji,” I agreed. “Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything you can do.”

“…What a cruel reality,” said Hashimoto.

“But there might be one way, in an emergency,” I added.

“What is it? Tell me!” Thrilled by the prospect of having some hope, no matter how small, Hashimoto begged me for a way he could free himself from his situation. There was one way he could guarantee that he’d get some free time, provided he could tolerate the disadvantages that came with it.

After I finished telling him, Hashimoto nodded, seemingly convinced. “Well, I guess that’s probably the only thing left I could do.”

“You should discuss what to do with the rest of your group,” I said.

“I’ll do that. I’m seriously considering it.”

Hashimoto, lost in thought, disappeared into the water once more.

4.6

A FTER TAKING OUR TIME and enjoying ourselves in the bath for about an hour or so, Sudou and I put on our yukatas. We each took a bottle of the free mineral water from the cooler and chugged while holding our hands on our hips. I felt the water cool my flushed body as it went down my throat.

“Okay… I’m…ready for this, Ayanokouji,” said Sudou.

“So, it’s finally time, eh?”

Perhaps it was because we had spent so much time in the bath, but Sudou’s face was a little red. Or perhaps it was because he was nervous from imagining what was going to happen next. The time had come for him to formally tell Horikita how he felt about her.

He drank down about half of his remaining water in one gulp. “Urp! Okay! Let’s go!”

He slapped both of his cheeks with a smack to get himself fired up, as though he were heading off to a basketball game after this.

“So, what are you planning to do, specifically?” I asked.

It was just after nine thirty at night now. Horikita probably wasn’t asleep yet, but I was sure that many students were relaxing with their friends in their rooms. I couldn’t imagine her having fun and making noise with others, but it wouldn’t have been unusual for her to just be watching over others warmly.

“Yeah, first things first, I guess… I’ll try givin’ her a call.” Phone in hand, Sudou brushed past the curtain and exited the men’s bath. Immediately after exiting, he made the call.

The phone didn’t ring that many times before Horikita picked up, causing Sudou to panic a bit.

“…H-h-hey, it’s me. Where are you right now?” he asked, sounding flustered. “Oh, in the lobby? Okay, can you wait there for a sec? I’m, uh, heading there right now.”

Sudou hung up, breathing hard. He looked at me as he walked away. “So, y’know how there’s a part of the lobby in the ryokan where they sell small souvenirs and stuff? She says she’s there.”

“Don’t just tell her how you feel right away the second you see her there, okay?” I suggested. “People would probably be watching in the lobby. And that’d make Horikita feel awkward, too.”

“Y-yeah, I know that, dude.” Telling someone how you felt about them was a major event, one that required not only consideration for the person expressing their feelings, but for the recipient, too. “But I dunno where should I do it…”

“Nobody should be going through the corridor leading into the rear garden at this hour,” I told him. “That could be a good place, right?”

If you went from the rear garden up the stairs to the higher level, there was a little wooden deck with a pleasant view. However, since you couldn’t head out into the rear garden after 9 p.m., there shouldn’t be people around.

“Man, I knew I could count on you, Ayanokouji. You’re a good pal to have.” Sudou flashed a smile and gave me a big thumbs-up. It was a rigid, nervous smile, though. “Nice.”

Still anxious, Sudou rushed over to the lobby. Once we arrived, I noticed that Horikita was already waiting nearby, checking out the souvenirs. I moved some distance away and found a blind spot to stand in. There was one employee in the lobby, as well as several students, some of whom were browsing the souvenirs and some sitting in the chairs, chatting happily. Seeing that, I felt affirmed in my prediction that this wouldn’t be a suitable place for a romantic confession.

Somehow, albeit through the added use of gestures, Sudou successfully managed to call Horikita to come to the corridor leading to the rear garden. The two of them walked over side by side. Normally, it probably would’ve been better if I stopped following them at this point, but getting told off by Sudou would be annoying. I masked the sound of my footsteps as much as possible as I followed them in order to bear witness to his heroic spectacle.

Just as I’d expected, there didn’t seem to be any people in this corridor anymore, and both Sudou and Horikita stopped in the middle of the empty hallway.

Horikita turned back toward Sudou with a curious look. “What’s up?”

I wondered if she had just been in the bath up until a little while ago, like Sudou and I had. Her hair had a glamorous shine to it, even in the dim lighting.

“Okay, here is good.” Normally, Sudou’s confident attitude was his main selling point, but now he spoke quietly, perhaps because he was too nervous to speak up in front of the person he liked. There was only the subdued, gentle background music that played over the speakers and the quiet chatter of people at night in the ryokan, so he most likely wanted to avoid carelessly shouting in a loud voice, even in a place without anyone around. That was the right amount of consideration.

“I, uh… Um…”

Seeing Sudou act so hesitantly, Horikita cocked her head to the side, puzzled. Right now, though, she didn’t seem particularly irritated, or press Sudou to get on with it. I supposed that also demonstrated the trusting relationship that the two of them had built. Back when they had first met, Horikita would have rushed Sudou along, telling him to spit it out already, no questions asked.

Just then, my phone vibrated. Even though I had put it on silent mode, in this quiet stillness, it was still possible that someone might hear it. Therefore, I immediately powered my phone off without even looking at the screen. And it…didn’t seem like they noticed me. I was safe, for the time being.

“Hey, Suzune.” I had expected Sudou would launch straight into his romantic confession, but instead, practically squeezing the words out, he asked, “I, um… I’ve changed, right? I was just curious about…how different I am now from when we first met.”

“Are you still worried about what people think of you?” asked Horikita.

“Well, there’s that too, yeah.”

I figured he must be trying to stall until he could build up the courage to tell Horikita how he felt about her. At the same time, though, it seemed like Sudou himself remained aware of what he was doing.

“Well, let’s see,” Horikita said. “Taking an objective view, you’ve changed greatly, more than anyone. And not in a bad way; in a good way. I’ve been by your side for a long time, watching you, so no one can guarantee that more than I.”

Those were Horikita’s honest feelings. Well, no, it probably wasn’t just Horikita who felt that; I was sure most people living on campus shared that same opinion.

“Th-that so?” asked Sudou.

“But don’t be conceited. If I were to speak frankly, you started off in a negative position, compared to the people around you. Don’t think that just because I’m telling you that you’ve moved to a positive one since then, that makes you better than other people.”

The negative effects Sudou’s behavior and attitude had originally had on the people around him could bias them when they saw how he was now, making them more impressed by how he’d changed. However, just as Horikita had said, those negatives that Sudou had accumulated over time hadn’t necessarily just disappeared, either.

“Yeah. I mean, that sounds totally right to me.” Those harsh words had Sudou feeling dejected, but he nodded, accepting them completely. “God, it’s so embarrassin’. All the stupid stuff I’ve done, I mean.”

Tardiness, missing class, coming in last place on written tests, using all kinds of foul language and insults, carelessly getting physically violent—no matter how much Sudou reflected on those things, the past wouldn’t change, and he was ashamed of the path he had trod before.

Horikita nodded, and then smiled warmly, eyes creasing. “You really do have a humble heart, don’t you?” She herself might not have realized this, but she had also changed quite a lot. Her change wasn’t nearly as great as Sudou’s, though. “You don’t carelessly hurt others or cause trouble anymore. It’s okay.”

Apparently, Horikita had misinterpreted the situation, thinking that Sudou was uncertain about his past and how much he’d grown, and that he had come to her seeking advice. Sudou seemed to realize that Horikita had misunderstood as well, because he shook his head from side to side, flustered.

“Th-that ain’t what I wanted to talk to you about, Suzune.”

“It’s not?”

“I…I, uh… Well…” He must have remembered what he had declared to me earlier, because he suddenly thrust out his right hand. But his words didn’t follow; his outstretched, open hand remained in front of him, and that was it.

“What? What are— ” Horikita, unable to comprehend what was going on, tried to question the meaning behind Sudou offering his right hand, but just then…

“I like you! Please go out with me!”

Sudou had freed himself from the feelings of embarrassment that kept the words stuck in the back of his throat. He shouted too loudly, but… Well, I supposed we’d just overlook that part. In any case, even if someone did overhear, I could stand watch and protect him.

“Wha—” Horikita, who hadn’t had even the slightest expectation that someone would express their romantic feelings to her, froze on the spot, completely taken aback.

“If you do want to go out with me, I’d like you to take my right hand!”

“Wait, hold on… Are you seri…?” Horikita immediately swallowed her words. She could sense Sudou’s passion and enthusiasm, and she could tell his feelings were genuine; she knew that it would’ve been rude to ask him something like, “This is some kind of joke, right?”

She stared at Sudou’s right hand, closing her mouth. I had expected her to reply to him immediately, but she just silently stared at his hand.

After the confession he’d made, I was sure that the longer this silence continued, the faster Sudou’s heart rate would climb. This moment right now was by no means a pleasant one; it was probably painful. But even someone like Horikita should be given as much time to think as she needed. When telling someone you had romantic feelings for them, it didn’t come down to the emotions of just one person or the other.

Horikita must have eventually sorted out how she felt, because she slowly started to speak, choosing her words very carefully. “Never once in my life did I think that someone would tell me they had a romantic interest in me,” she said.

Now that Horikita had heard and acknowledged Sudou’s passionate feelings, how would she respond? Would she return those feelings? Or would she reject him? Or would she choose to put it off until later? As the silence dragged on, Sudou’s right arm gradually started trembling. It wasn’t due to his arm getting numb; it was because of nervousness and fear. And the frustration of not getting a response, whether Horikita would reciprocate or not. Sudou, believing that Horikita would take his outstretched hand, kept his head down.

“Sudou-kun. Thank you for liking someone like me.” Horikita offered her gratitude. However, she wasn’t showing any signs of taking Sudou’s outstretched hand. “But I’m sorry. I…cannot reciprocate your feelings.”

That was the conclusion that Horikita’s thoughts had led her to.

“I-I see… Um, if it’s okay, could you…maybe tell me the reason why?” asked Sudou hesitantly, his right hand frozen in the air. He still couldn’t lift his face.

“The reason… Okay. It’s not as though I’m particularly dissatisfied with you, Sudou-kun. It’s—”

Horikita stopped for a moment.

“To be honest, I must confess that I’ve never fallen in love with another person in my life so far,” she said. “Even now, I still haven’t had that feeling, and I have no idea what it’s like. I think that even if I went out with you, Sudou-kun, now that you’ve told me your feelings, there could be a possibility that I’d fall in love with you in time. But…I think that I’m probably waiting for that moment that I fall in love with someone naturally, by instinct, rather than trying to trigger romantic feelings to happen that way.”

She was expressing her thoughts to Sudou, but it seemed like she was also confirming them for herself.

That was the reason she had turned him down. She wanted to keep waiting for her first love. I was sure that was a hidden feeling that Horikita wouldn’t let strangers hear about.

“I see… Thank you,” said Sudou. “For telling me.”

Perhaps it was because Horikita had told him so much, expressed her stance so clearly, but he didn’t persist.

“You’ve really shown me your courage and your feelings very strongly,” said Horikita. With that, she hurriedly grabbed hold of Sudou’s right hand, which was right on the verge of going limp. “I’ve heard your feelings. Thank you for liking me.”

Sudou’s trembling right hand said it all.

Thinking that it was about time to go, I decided to head back. I figured that I’d hang out and look around the souvenir shop while I waited for Sudou to collect himself and return.

4.7

I T WAS THE FIRST TIME I’d visited the shop. Various Hokkaido souvenirs were lined up on the shelves.

“That reminds me,” I thought aloud. “Nanase said something about chocolate-covered fries, I think.”

I tried doing some searching, but they must not have been carried at this ryokan, because I couldn’t find any. I guessed I’d need to look for them either during our visit to the various tourist destinations tomorrow, or during our final day of free time. In the meantime, I figured I’d check on my phone and see if there was a store nearby that carried them.

“Whoops…” I muttered.

When I turned on my cell phone, thinking I’d check the local stores, I saw that I had many messages and missed calls. They were all from Kei, of course.

“Where are you?”

“I didn’t get to see you at all yesterday or today.”

“Are you busy?”

“I wanna see you.”

“I wanna see youuuuuuuu.”

And so on. When I opened the app, the messages, which had been sent seconds apart from each other, were marked as read. Then, immediately afterward, my phone rang.

“Grr—!”

I wondered if a cat’s snarl would be an appropriate metaphor to describe what that sounded like.

“Are you mad?” I asked.

“ I’m not mad, but —!”

I see. The only thing I was certain of was that she did in fact seem extremely angry.

“Can’t we be together for even just a little bit?!”

“Sorry,” I said. “We’re on a school trip, and there are lots of things I have to do.”

“I know that, but still!”

“I’ve already gotten information about group eleven from Kushida, so I know for certain that you’ve been handling yourself well, Kei. That’s why I wasn’t worried about you at all.”

“ Hmmmm? You certainly sound like you’re having fun with Kushida-san! She is cute, you know! You cheater!”

“We’re in the same group, so of course we’re going to talk. Besides, you already know what kind of person Kushida is, don’t you?”

“That doesn’t matter. She’s got big boobs, too! …Kiyotaka…you’re… Ahh!”

“I get it, I get it. I can take some time now, so let’s meet up somewhere.”

“Really?! Well then, I’ll come visit you!”

It was an extremely calculated act on her part, and once I offered to meet, her voice immediately turned cheerful.

“Actually, it’s probably better that we don’t meet in my room, don’t you think?” I said. “Ryuuen’s in my room, too.”

“ Oh… I see.”

“Where are you right now?”

“In my room, but the three other girls are probably still in the bath. I was with them until just a little bit ago. But I wanted to talk to you, so I left before they did, Kiyotaka-kun.”

Kei used to be very self-conscious about her scars, but apparently, she had managed to completely move past that.

“I have the key to my room, so I’m going to stop by there first and drop it off , ” I told her. “I’ll contact you afterward, so wait for me.”

“Okay!”

I had been waiting for Sudou at the souvenir shop for a little under five minutes now. Since there was still no sign of him coming back this way, I got curious, and decided to check the corridor leading to the rear garden. When I got there, I saw Sudou standing there alone, in the same spot where he’d stood when he told Horikita how he felt about her. There was no sign of Horikita, though, so I figured that she had already headed back.

“Sudou?” I felt bad, since Kei was waiting for me, but I drew closer to Sudou and called out his name.

“Ah, damn it!” he shouted. From what I could tell from the sound of his voice, he probably had a look of frustration on his face. “I knew it was hopeless, but…!”

I could tell that there was vexation in Sudou’s face when he turned around to look at me, but he had a bright smile. “I’m sorry,” he said to me. “I just couldn’t forget the feeling of Suzune’s hand, and I was spacin’ out.”

“So, that’s what happened.”

“You saw, right? It was a spectacular failure.”

“Even so, it was an honorable defeat that you should be proud of.”

What I saw was a truly manly expression of romantic love, from start to finish.

“Y’know, before, I thought, like, ‘Even if she rejects me, I’m not gonna give up. I’ll become an even better me next year and try again,’” he said. “Stuff like that. But I ain’t gonna do that. It’s pointless. At the very least, I realized that I just can’t reach her.”

Sudou seemed to have sensed something that I, who had been watching from a distance, could not.

“It ain’t a question of, like, if I’m givin’ up or not. I still love her, those feelin’s haven’t changed, but it’s just, I dunno, I feel like she’s this beautiful flower I long for that’s out of my reach.” Sudou couldn’t seem to sum up how he felt very well; after saying that, he laughed a bit.

“What are you going to do about Onodera?” I asked.

“Man, how should I know? Even you don’t know how she really feels. You don’t really gotta me ask me that, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Well, I guess it is what it is. Stuff will happen as it should,” he said. “Onodera’s good people, and we got the same kinda interests. Now that I’m not gonna be droolin’ over Suzune all the time, I feel like I can hang out with Onodera fairly, y’know?”

Whether or not that developed into love was a secondary concern.

“I’m just tellin’ you this now,” Sudou added, “but I’m gonna keep workin’ hard on my studies from here on out. I was doing it for someone else before, but starting now, I’m givin’ it my best for myself. My goal is to get to around Hirata’s level.”

“That’d be another pretty huge jump,” I remarked.

If Sudou did manage to get over that wall, then he’d eventually reach the top level in our grade, alongside the likes of Horikita and Keisei. It seemed like he wasn’t going to stay discouraged after being rejected, but instead, he was able to look to higher goals.

4.8

I HURRIEDLY RETURNED to my room, where I saw that Horikita was standing in front of my door.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Waiting for you,” she replied.

“For me?”

I had a bad feeling about this, so I tried playing dumb, but Horikita’s expression stiffened.

“You are a mean one, Ayanokouji-kun. You were watching, weren’t you?” she asked.

“Watching what?”

“You were in the souvenir shop earlier, weren’t you? If it was anyone else, it might have been just a coincidence that you were nearby, but with you, I can’t imagine that’s it.”

What a high-handed way of thinking. She’s right, but still. If I need to take similar measures against Horikita in the future, I’ll have to take care not to be seen.

“You’re thinking about how you’ll have to be careful not to be discovered next time,” said Horikita. “Aren’t you?”

“…Impressive.” I clapped my hands out of earnest admiration, praising her perceptiveness. “Sudou asked me to. He said he wanted me to watch him tell you how he felt.”

“Even so, don’t you think that shows a lack of consideration for the girl involved, i.e., me?”

“I suppose I can see that,” I replied.

“I see Sudou-kun still has a way to go,” she sighed. “He loses points for asking you to watch him.” Though she sounded exasperated, she didn’t seem that angry.

“So? Did you come all the way here just to complain that I was a spectator?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied, clearly and without hesitation. Then she added, “I’m half-joking. Actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. But it looks like you’re in a hurry to get inside.”

“Well, not exactly, but…if possible, could we talk tomorrow?”

“Why’s that?”

“A certain someone came to me before you did and is very demanding,” I explained. “I haven’t seen her at all in two days, and she has taken great offense.”

“I see. Karuizawa-san.” Horikita pondered for a moment. I wondered if she was thinking of telling me to put off seeing Kei until later, if this was an important matter. But she said, “All right, tomorrow night, then. I’ll forgive you if you can promise to meet me then.”

“All right. I promise.” I had no other choice at this point.

After leaving the key with Kitou, who was already in the room, I went to meet Kei. Though we were already recognized as an official couple by many, we couldn’t just go out and about anywhere we pleased, like Ike and Shinohara. We decided to meet up in the area that had multiple reservable private baths.

As soon as we met up, Kei scolded me harshly, but she immediately switched to sweet mode. After I embraced her and got her into a better mood, we spent some time relaxing together for a while.