Kushida and Horikita

Kushida Kikyo was incredibly happy today. Horikita Suzune, a former classmate from middle school with whom she had tried every possible way to build a relationship to no avail, had reached out to her today, which was unprecedented.

"Kushida-san, do you have any free time after school today? I have something very important to discuss with you."

Kushida Kikyo originally had other plans for this afternoon—she was supposed to go out with friends from Class B. After all, being a social butterfly was part of who she was.

But as soon as she heard that Horikita Suzune had invited her, Kushida Kikyo immediately canceled her plans with her Class B friends.

Nothing was more important than meeting with Horikita Suzune.

She had to confirm the extent of what she knew as soon as possible.

She had to confirm how much she knew about that incident as soon as possible.

"So, why exactly do I have to be here?" Tsubaki Yuki asked, looking somewhat helpless.

Tsubaki Yuki, Horikita Suzune, and Kushida Kikyo were sitting around a table at Palette.

It was a gathering organized by Horikita Suzune, and she was the one paying.

Because of Kushida Kikyo, who was a social butterfly, the atmosphere remained lively as she chatted about this and that, so it wasn't particularly awkward.

"By the way, Horikita-san, we actually went to the same middle school. Do you remember?" Kushida Kikyo suddenly asked.

Horikita Suzune was clearly taken aback. "Huh? The same middle school? What class were you in?"

"Class 20. Horikita-san must have been in Class 1, where the top students were," Kushida Kikyo said, looking a bit shy.

"...I'm sorry, Kushida-san. In middle school, I was so buried in my studies to maintain my top-of-the-grade ranking that I barely paid attention to my own classmates, let alone those from other classes," Horikita Suzune said, bowing her head slightly in apology.

"I'm sorry. So that's why you kept approaching me. I apologize for how I treated you before, Kushida-san."

Tsubaki Yuki watched this version of Horikita Suzune with amazement. It seemed her "therapy" last night had really worked; the current Horikita Suzune was clearly much more normal.

"So that's how it was." Kushida Kikyo smiled, genuinely happy.

It seemed she really didn't know about that incident. Thank goodness.

Then there was no need to reveal her true colors and threaten her.

It was nice to have one more friend instead of an enemy.

"So, Horikita-san, what was it you wanted to talk to me and Tsubaki-san about today?" Kushida Kikyo picked up her coffee and took small sips.

The heavy weight in her heart had been lifted, making it hard for her to hide her joy; she even felt like humming a tune.

"Regarding that," Horikita Suzune's tone suddenly turned serious. "I want to participate in the study group's remedial sessions."

"Eh, Horikita-san, your grades are second in the class, right?"

"It's not that I need tutoring, but that I'm going to help." Horikita Suzune shook her head.

"I see! If Horikita-san is helping, everyone will feel much less pressure!" Kushida Kikyo smiled.

"Furthermore, I intend to drag those three idiots into the study group as well. For that part, I need the two of you to help me." Horikita Suzune finally revealed the purpose of her visit today.

"You mean Ike-kun, Yamauchi-kun, and Sudo-kun, right?" Kushida Kikyo said. "It does seem like they haven't signed up for the study group yet, even though Hondo-kun and the others have all joined."

"Exactly. They are the ones most at risk of expulsion, yet they are completely oblivious. It really makes one worry about their intelligence." Horikita Suzune criticized them without reservation.

"So, Kushida-san, could I trouble you to bring those three to the study group? I think only you could pull that off. As long as they show up, I will personally take charge of their tutoring."

"Of course, leave it to me!"

"You're going to tutor them? Their reputations are already at rock bottom. Wouldn't it be better to take this opportunity to get them all expelled at once?" Tsubaki Yuki said something outrageous in a casual tone.

"It's not yet certain what the penalty for expulsion is. What if a class that has had students expelled cannot be promoted to Class A?" Horikita Suzune replied.

"So, do I have to help too?" Tsubaki Yuki said lazily. "I don't want to get involved, and I don't want to teach others."

"Then please help by creating some mock exam questions, Tsubaki-san. With your level, it should be easy, right?"

"It's not easy at all, okay!"

It was all knowledge Tsubaki Yuki had learned as a child, and she had no idea what level of difficulty she should aim for now. If she wasn't careful, she would end up creating questions that were way out of the syllabus.

However, Horikita stared at her. "You drank it, didn't you?"

"Drank what?" Tsubaki Yuki's hand, holding the coffee cup, froze in mid-air.

"The coffee I treated you to." She held out her hand. "Pay me back the points."

"How much could one cup of coffee possibly—"

"One million."

"Why don't you just go rob someone!"

Horikita Suzune's expression didn't change; she didn't feel there was anything wrong with her demand at all. "My coffee is naturally my property. I can price it however I want."

"Um... Horikita-san... Tsubaki-san, why don't we all just try to get along?" Kushida Kikyo quickly stepped in to ease the tension.

"Fine, I get it. I'll help out a little." Tsubaki Yuki drank the rest of the coffee as if she were sulking.

"Then, Horikita-san, I'm going to go talk to Ike-kun and the others. Don't worry, I'll definitely bring them to the study group!" Kushida Kikyo promised, full of energy.

"Alright, thank you for your hard work, Kushida-san. Tsubaki-san and I will discuss the practice questions a bit more."

After saying her goodbyes, Kushida Kikyo left first.

Once Kushida Kikyo was gone, Tsubaki Yuki felt there was nothing left for her to do and prepared to leave as well, but Horikita Suzune called out to her.

"Tsubaki-san, the reason I asked you to come today wasn't actually about the study session."

"Then what was it for?" Tsubaki Yuki had no choice but to sit back down.

Horikita Suzune's tone turned somber. "Actually, it's about Kushida-san. I happen to know a little bit about that girl's time in middle school..."

"I'm sorry, Horikita-san, but I don't have any feelings toward Kushida-san at all, nor am I curious about her past. I have plans with Yuto, so I'm going to head out."

Tsubaki Yuki interrupted her abruptly, not giving Horikita Suzune a moment to react, and walked away quickly.

Horikita Suzune stood frozen in place, letting out a sigh. "Sigh..."

She finished her coffee and left the Palette as well.

Not long after Horikita Suzune left, a figure returned to the seat they had just occupied. It was none other than Kushida Kikyo, who had left earlier.

She looked around cautiously before reaching under her seat to retrieve her phone.

It was a phone Kushida Kikyo had left behind on purpose.

The screen was still on the recording interface; it had been recording the entire time.

As Kushida Kikyo listened to the recording, the expression on her face grew increasingly dark.

So, Horikita Suzune... she knew... and not only did she know, but she was also planning to tell other students...

Then she had no one to blame but herself, Horikita. You brought this on yourself...

It seems I have no choice but to get you expelled...

I must protect the position I have now at all costs.