For a moment, she didn't just forget to resist—she even forgot to dodge. She simply let that restless hand roam back and forth over her supple thigh.
But soon, Kamio Tatsuya pulled his hand away.
He couldn't help it. He didn't dare touch her anymore; her body's reaction had been a little too strong.
Kamuro had also calmed down by then. The more she thought about it, the more humiliated and furious she felt, so she drove an elbow into Kamio Tatsuya's side.
The instant it connected, Kamio Tatsuya folded forward over the table, clutching the spot he'd been hit with both hands, his face twisted in pain.
Horikita, I Told You You Weren't Cut Out for This
It hurt. It hurt so much!
The pain immediately cooled the reaction his body had started to show.
But the pain came on fast, and it faded just as quickly.
"Were you trying to kill me, friend?"
Kamio Tatsuya turned his head around, his expression still a little pained.
"Who's your friend?! You lecher! Pervert!"
Kamuro Masumi's face was bright red, and she glared at Kamio Tatsuya through gritted teeth.
In truth, Kamuro was a little worried. She'd hit him pretty hard without meaning to, and that spot... Had she damaged his kidney?
As for Kamio Tatsuya touching her leg, even she found it strange that she didn't seem all that angry about it.
As for Kamio Tatsuya, he was still bent over the table. It didn't hurt as much as it had at first, but he didn't dare stand up in case she hit him again.
He'd learned his lesson this time. In the future, he'd have to wait for the right moment with this sort of thing. He absolutely couldn't force it, or he might actually end up dead.
Still, there was some good news: Kamuro didn't seem angry.
Good. It was a promising start.
A few minutes passed, and Kamio Tatsuya noticed that Kamuro's expression had returned to normal. So he stopped pretending and slowly pushed himself up from the table.
"Ahem. By the way, why did you come to the library?"
Kamio Tatsuya had no intention of apologizing. At a time like this, apologizing wouldn't be the right move.
"What else would I come to the library for? To study, obviously."
Kamuro replied irritably.
Hearing that, Kamio Tatsuya breathed a sigh of relief. So she really wasn't angry.
Then he leaned over to look at the workbook in front of Kamuro. Well... how to put it? It was a little abstract.
"Are you bad at studying?"
"What are you talking about? I'm a Class A student. I won't have you, a Class D student, say that to me!" Kamuro protested indignantly.
"Is that so?" Kamio Tatsuya didn't argue directly. He simply pointed to the workbook in front of her. "Half the answers are wrong."
It was a standard workbook, and Kamio Tatsuya had finished that page just yesterday, so he knew it well.
"What are you so proud of?"
"Uh, I'm not proud. I'm just saying I'm pretty good at science and math."
That was true. He'd learned the material once before. Even though he hadn't used it in years, relearning it was twice as easy. He felt like he was already at about an eighty-point level in science and math.
Well, the revolution wasn't over yet. The comrades still had work to do.
Kamuro Masumi looked at Kamio Tatsuya skeptically, then pushed her workbook toward him.
"How do you solve this one?"
It was a function problem. Kamio Tatsuya only needed one look to remember how to solve it.
"This one? First, draw an auxiliary line..."
"Wait. Shouldn't you first check what the question is ultimately asking for?" Kamuro asked in surprise. Kamio Tatsuya seemed to be approaching it differently from the way their math teacher had taught them.
"Oh, that? We'll get that along the way."
Kamio Tatsuya said it casually.
When it came to solving problems, nobody could beat the Chinese!
What could be more impressive than, "I don't know how to solve this problem, but I can still get the right answer"?
A few minutes later, Kamuro felt as if a light had dawned.
Kamuro Masumi wasn't good at studying because she really wasn't suited to it.
Whenever she tried to pay attention in class, she ended up with a headache.
But Kamio Tatsuya's way of explaining things didn't make her feel that way.
As Kamuro was thinking things over on her own, Kamio Tatsuya noticed Horikita Suzune arriving at the library with Ayanokoji.
When Kamio Tatsuya looked over, Horikita Suzune also spotted him and Kamuro Masumi beside him.
Horikita Suzune frowned.
She vaguely remembered that Kamuro was a Class A student, and immediately felt displeased, as if she'd been abandoned.
Did she think my teaching wasn't as good as that of a Class A student, so she went to find one to tutor her instead?
In fact, it was the other way around. Kamuro was the one being tutored.
Although both groups had noticed each other, neither intended to say hello.
"Someone you know?"
"Yeah, a classmate. I've been asking her to help me study these past few days."
Kamuro looked at Kamio Tatsuya, her face full of doubt.
"Do you really need someone to tutor you? Your grades should be good enough to pass without any trouble."
"Better safe than sorry. I don't want to get expelled over something stupid like failing a written exam. That'd be ridiculous." Kamio Tatsuya rolled his eyes.
"Is that so?" Kamuro didn't seem to believe him. "You're not interested in her, are you? Her legs look pretty nice too, you leg man."
"What the hell are you talking about? How could I possibly be a leg man..." Kamio Tatsuya shot back without hesitation. "Wait, are you jealous?"
"In your dreams! You make it sound like I like you or something."
Kamuro's familiar look of disgust returned. She didn't take Kamio Tatsuya's words seriously at all.
Tch. Whatever.
"I brought them!"
Just after Horikita and Ayanokoji had found an empty table, Kushida Kikyo arrived with a few others.
Besides the Three Fools, there was also a boy named Okitani, or something like that. Kamio Tatsuya knew his name, but had never spoken to him.
So it was Kushida. If it was Kushida, it made sense that she could gather the Three Fools with ease.
But how long could this arrangement last?
Kamio Tatsuya, who'd been tutored by Horikita Suzune, knew all too well that she wasn't actually suited to being a teacher.
He usually treated her as a tool, so the two of them got along well enough.
But those guys like Sudo, who scored only ten or twenty points in their general subjects... Tsk, tsk.
Just as Kamio Tatsuya had predicted, things soon went wrong on Horikita's side, and, sure enough, Sudo was the first to blow up.
"You nasty woman! I've been putting up with you long enough! What we do is none of your business!"
The person he was yelling at, of course, was Horikita Suzune, who wore a sour expression.
"That's true. Your future could be as miserable as possible, and it wouldn't affect me. I'd only feel sorry for you. This is why your life has been a failure up to now—you run away the moment anything gets difficult."
Oh, no. Horikita really had no idea how to be tactful. Hadn't she just created a complete conflict?
"You really have no filter. Besides, studying won't do you any good in the future."
This one was even worse: the classic "studying is useless" argument. It was already the twenty-first century. How could anyone still think that way?
"Studying won't help you in the future? That's ridiculous. You give up as soon as you face the slightest difficulty, and you think someone like you can become a professional basketball player? If a lazy cheat like you can become a basketball player, then I'll have to mourn the state of Japanese basketball."
Hearing Horikita say that, Kamio Tatsuya knew something was about to happen.
And sure enough, the next second, Sudo grabbed Horikita by the collar, his face burning with rage.
An Angel!
Get into a fight! Get into a fight!
Kamio Tatsuya watched with the sort of excitement that didn't care if things got worse. If Sudo really hit her, it'd be quite a sight.
Horikita would never forgive him. Sudo would be suspended for at least a week.
He wouldn't be able to attend club activities or go to school that week.
And there was no way he'd learn much by studying on his own.
Maybe, during that final week, he'd come to his senses and start studying hard.
But going from a score in the teens to a passing grade in just one week was pure fantasy.
Sigh. Maybe it was time to say goodbye to Sudo.
Unfortunately, just as Sudo was about to lose his temper, Kushida stood up and grabbed his arm.
"Sudo!"
Even with Sudo threatening her, Horikita's expression didn't change at all. She watched him with a cold gaze and even kept taunting him.
Tsk, tsk. Horikita really was brave. Most people would've backed off when faced with an enraged Sudo, wouldn't they?
But Horikita didn't flinch. She even had enough composure to taunt him.
In that situation, Kamio Tatsuya wouldn't have been surprised if Sudo actually hit her.
"Hey, are you really enjoying this?"
Seeing Kamio Tatsuya focus on the scene, Kamuro Masumi lightly nudged him with her foot.
"Gossip is human nature. You really don't know how to enjoy life."
"Then why don't you go stop them?"
"That's not a job for an insignificant Class D student like me." Kamio Tatsuya immediately refused. "Besides, I'd rather see them fight than stop them."
"Huh?"
Kamuro was baffled. What kind of reasoning was that?
"Horikita is in danger, but she's still provoking him. If Sudo actually hits her, maybe it'll teach her a lesson."
"You're wrong about that."
Kamuro Masumi's voice was so certain that Kamio Tatsuya couldn't help turning to look at her.
"How so?"
"That girl named Horikita must have trained in something. You can tell from her stance. That boy named Sudo is much bigger than her, but if they really fought, it wouldn't be clear who'd win for a while."
Kamio Tatsuya looked at Kamuro Masumi, who was analyzing the situation seriously, his face full of disbelief.
"Seriously? You're not joking, are you? I've seen Sudo's build, and I've seen Horikita Suzune in a swimsuit. Their physiques are worlds apart. That's not a gap you can make up for with technique, is it?"
"A swimsuit?"
Kamuro suddenly turned to look at him.
"We had swimming class. What's the problem?"
"No, nothing. Anyway, even if Horikita can't beat Sudo, she definitely won't be at a disadvantage right away."
Kamuro Masumi turned away and gave her conclusion.
By then, Sudo had let go of Horikita, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, and left.
After Sudo left, Ike, Yamauchi, and Okitani left too.
Before you continue