Kamio Tatsuya could make things up as easily as breathing. He never stumbled over his words.
"I see." Kushida Kikyo nodded. "In that case, Horikita seems like a caring person too. She may look cold, but she's willing to help classmates who are having trouble."
Wait, I never said she was caring. That's all your own assumption. Don't drag me into it.
Kamio Tatsuya picked up his teacup and silently took a sip.
Still, he'd managed to throw Horikita Suzune under the bus.
Oh well. What was done was done.
It wasn't the first time he'd thrown her under the bus.
"Well, then, I'll be going."
Having learned that Horikita Suzune was a cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside sort of person, Kushida Kikyo smiled brightly as she said goodbye.
"Mm. Take care. I won't see you out."
After Kushida Kikyo left, Kamio Tatsuya finally had some peace and quiet. But he waited until bedtime and Hirata Yosuke still didn't show up.
Maybe he'd decided not to come because Kushida Kikyo had visited.
The next day, after school.
"Kikyo, want to stop by the café on our way back?"
"Yeah, I do! I do! Oh, but wait a second. I'll see if I can invite someone else."
After saying that to her female friend, Kushida Kikyo went straight over to Horikita Suzune.
"Horikita, I'm going to the café with some friends. Would you like to come along?"
"Not interested."
Horikita Suzune rejected her without hesitation.
Not only was she not interested, she was broke.
"I see. Then I'll invite you again next time."
There wasn't the slightest hint of disappointment on Kushida Kikyo's face. She was still smiling brightly.
"Don't bother. You're making me uncomfortable."
"I'll invite you again, because I think anyone who helps a classmate they've barely spoken to must be a good person."
Kushida Kikyo's smile never wavered.
But Horikita Suzune couldn't make heads or tails of what she was saying.
Helped a classmate she'd barely spoken to?
What are you talking about?
How come I don't remember doing anything like that?
Horikita Suzune was baffled, but her face remained as cold as ever.
"By the way, Horikita, are you going to see Kamio later?"
Horikita Suzune was even more confused now.
"Why would I go see him?"
"Huh? Kamio said he'd asked you to explain the key points from the teacher's lecture, so I thought you'd visit him after school."
Kushida Kikyo looked surprised.
"Did I get it wrong?"
At that, Horikita Suzune's expression shifted slightly. She packed up her things without saying a word.
"I'm leaving, then."
Some time later, Horikita Suzune stood outside Room 404 on the fourth floor of the first-year dormitory and knocked on the door.
"Why is it you again?" Kamio Tatsuya asked, looking at Horikita Suzune, who exuded a chilly air, with a sleepy, exasperated expression. "Don't tell me you're here to spout the same nonsense as yesterday?"
"Didn't you ask me to explain the key points from the teacher's lecture?"
There was nothing but coolness in Horikita Suzune's voice, along with a trace of irritation.
Kamio Tatsuya looked a little awkward.
"Come in first."
After pouring Horikita Suzune a cup of tea, Kamio Tatsuya began explaining what had happened the day before.
"So you lied to her because you didn't want her pestering you?"
"Because I think getting involved with you people would be a pain." Kamio Tatsuya glanced at her and replied flatly.
"Are you saying I'm a pain?"
That wasn't what I'd meant at first, but if you're putting it that way...
"Isn't that the case? If you hadn't come to see me yesterday—or if she hadn't caught you coming to see me—none of this would've happened.
"She came to see me yesterday because of you."
"Wait, when you made all that up, weren't you spreading rumors about me? Why are you making it sound like this is my fault?"
"But if you hadn't come to see me in the first place, Kushida wouldn't have come to see me, and she wouldn't have asked why you were here.
"If she hadn't asked why you came by, I wouldn't have had to lie and say you were helping me review the key points. So tell me, didn't this whole thing start with you?"
Horikita Suzune was at a loss for words. It did seem like that was more or less what had happened.
After a long silence,
Horikita Suzune glanced at Kamio Tatsuya, then hesitantly asked, "What do you think? Do you think I should try to get along with her?"
The moment the question left her mouth, Horikita Suzune realized she'd asked something stupid.
The way Kamio Tatsuya was looking at her as if she were an idiot had already given her the answer.
"What's that got to do with me? Whether you two become friends is your business. Just don't drag me into it. I'm not your parent. Do you really need me to decide whether you should make friends?"
What an honor for Horikita Manabu to have you as a little sister!
Damn, what a dumbass!
Come to think of it, could the reason Horikita Manabu chose this boarding school have been you?
"Even so, you really do have a way with words," Horikita Suzune said, clearly annoyed.
"What do you want me to do, sing for you? Or put a tune to everything I say?"
"No need. I hope you stay as sharp as you are forever, and that I never get a chance to catch you off guard."
Wow. She was really holding a grudge.
"Good luck with that."
Seeing how Kamio Tatsuya didn't care in the slightest, Horikita Suzune was furious.
What was wrong with this guy?
Just you wait. I hope you don't end up in my clutches.
"I'm going back!"
"Take care," Kamio Tatsuya said, yawning. "Oh, and don't come by tomorrow if you don't have anything to do."
"You think I like coming here?"
"Good. I'm very grateful."
Horikita Suzune stood up angrily, grabbed her schoolbag, and strode out of Kamio Tatsuya's dorm room.
Heh. She was just a teenage girl. How hard could it be to handle her?
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Mysterious Ayanokoji Kiyonaka
A week passed in no time. Aside from eating and sleeping, Kamio Tatsuya had also spent the week looking over his textbooks.
After all, studying was a student's first and foremost responsibility. Besides, the school's Special Exams might include written tests.
One thing was strange, though. Someone had been leaving class notes for him every day. The handwriting looked like it belonged to a girl, but Kamio Tatsuya had never seen who was leaving them.
Could it really be Horikita?
Yeah, right. Kamio Tatsuya didn't buy it.
On Monday, Kamio Tatsuya stepped into the first-year Class D classroom again.
His routine had been a little irregular over the past few days, so he arrived rather late.
As soon as Yamauchi Haruki spotted Kamio Tatsuya, he abruptly stopped bragging to the others. His gaze held a trace of fear and resentment.
Kamio Tatsuya couldn't have cared less.
But how should he put it? Something seemed off about Class D today. Kamio Tatsuya was late, relatively speaking, anyway.
At this time on other days, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike still usually hadn't arrived.
And they always had leering grins plastered across their faces.
"Did something happen today?"
Kamio Tatsuya casually struck up a conversation with Horikita Suzune beside him.
Horikita sighed, then looked at the two of them with disgust.
"We have swimming during PE this afternoon. Now do you understand?" As she spoke, Horikita Suzune gave Kamio Tatsuya a searching look.
So it was swimming class. No wonder. They'd get to see the girls in swimsuits. That was good news.
Whatever else he was, Kamio Tatsuya was a normal teenage boy, so he was looking forward to it too.
But those two were being way too obvious about it.
Ike and Yamauchi didn't hold back at all when talking about girls. They didn't even try to lower their voices. Were they doing it on purpose?
Wait.
Swimming class?
Kamio Tatsuya froze. This was the first he'd heard about it, so he hadn't brought any swim trunks.
"What's wrong? You look a little stiff. Don't tell me you're thinking something gross like they are?"
Horikita Suzune's insect-like stare nearly shifted over to Kamio Tatsuya.
"Swimming class? That has nothing to do with me." Kamio Tatsuya glanced at Horikita Suzune. "I didn't know about it, so I didn't bring a swimsuit."
Horikita Suzune understood as soon as he said that.
Swimming class was in the afternoon, and Kamio Tatsuya had skipped PE last Monday afternoon, so he really hadn't known.
"That's a shame."
"There's nothing to be ashamed of. I don't mind sitting in the stands and watching you all have fun."
Horikita Suzune promptly looked down on him.
"I thought you might be different, but you're just like them. Disgusting."
"Heh. You're the last person who should be saying that."
And so, amidst the boys' chatter in class, PE finally began.
Just as they'd heard, it was swimming class.
During lunch, Kamio Tatsuya had taken the opportunity to buy a pair of swim trunks. It was his first PE class, after all, and it would've been a shame to miss it.
Thank goodness for the school's all-purpose Supermarket.
In the Men's Locker Room, Kamio Tatsuya changed into his swim trunks at his leisure, then got ready to head out.
Since everyone was practically standing around naked, Kamio Tatsuya noticed a few boys with pretty impressive physiques.
The first was a boy named Koenji Rokosuke. He was a narcissist who would stand in front of a mirror in class whenever he had nothing to do, then occasionally shout, "I'm so beautiful!"
Before you continue