Do as You Please

After the long-winded opening ceremony, some of my classmates returned to the classroom, some explored the school on their own, and others started inviting people to spend points with them, hoping to make friends.

I went back to the classroom by myself and took a seat. About half the class was there.

Horikita Suzune, sitting to my right, returned to her seat right after me. She quietly took out the textbooks we'd been given, arranged them neatly, and began studying ahead according to a plan.

She didn't seem interested in talking to me, even though I'd started off by bringing up her brother to get a conversation going.

So I decided to give it another push. I checked that no one nearby was paying attention, then spoke in a low voice.

"By the way, Horikita, why didn't you go see your brother, Manabu, after the opening ceremony? That seemed a little cold, didn't it?"

Horikita paused, then turned to me with a puzzled expression.

She hesitated before answering. "My brother and I aren't on good terms. I didn't want to go over to him and be seen by other people. That might reflect badly on him."

I smiled and gently said, "That's not true. I think Manabu would really like to see you."

Horikita's expression grew complicated. "Then you must have misunderstood. My brother and I haven't gotten along since middle school."

I listened carefully, thought it over, then said, "There must be a reason for that. You could try thinking about what caused things to get worse between you."

"The reason? Maybe it's because the gap between my brother and me kept growing, and he was disappointed in me."

"Not necessarily. By the way, did anything about you change noticeably between elementary and middle school?"

"Not much. If I had to name something, I had short hair in elementary school, then grew it long in middle school."

"Can I ask why?"

"Because my brother said he liked long hair, so I grew mine out."

"I think I might understand why things went bad between you two. But I need to check something first. I hope you'll answer my next question."

For Horikita, this was a problem that had troubled her for years, so she nodded solemnly.

"After you grew your hair long, did you also start copying your brother in other ways, like what you ate or how you dressed? Did you change a lot compared to before?"

A faint blush spread across Horikita's cheeks. She nodded to show that was true.

I looked as if I'd suddenly figured it out, then said seriously, "Then that's probably why your brother was disappointed in you."

"You lost sight of your own path and focused only on following in your brother's footsteps. That made him regret not only what had happened to you, but his own part in it, too."

"He probably wants you to find your own way again. Don't follow him—surpass him. That's how I see it."

Horikita thought over my words very seriously. They seemed to make sense to her, and she felt as if this had to be the truth.

A thought suddenly came to her: she needed to ask her brother whether that was really the case.

At the thought, Horikita smiled for the first time since arriving at Kodo Ikusei. "Thank you. I'll remember your advice."

"By the way, after all that, I still don't know your name."

I smiled gently. "My name is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. You went out during introductions, so you probably didn't hear it. I hope we get along over the next three years."

I held out my hand, and Horikita Suzune reached out to shake it.

"Excuse me, are you Ayanokoji?" A voice came from behind me. It was a pleasant-sounding girl's voice.

I turned around and saw Sato Maya. In the original story, she was the first girl to fall for Ayanokoji. Heh.

"Oh, did you need something?" I asked, pretending not to know her since Sato Maya hadn't introduced herself.

"Well, um... would you like to go eat at the Student Cafeteria together? I'd like some company." She said it shyly.

"Sure. I don't have anyone to go with, either."

"Hehe, then let's head out now. How's that?"

I nodded, then left the classroom with her.

As soon as we were gone, the classroom erupted into excited chatter.

"Whoa, Sato moves fast! Hirata was barely out of the picture, and she's already making a move on Ayanokoji."

"Don't be jealous. You should've made a move yourself."

"Man, apart from Hirata and Ayanokoji, the rest of the guys all seem like a bunch of losers."

The boys were talking about it, too.

"These girls have no taste. Don't they know how much I, Kanji Ike, bring to the table? If they don't notice me now, they'll regret it later."

"I don't need to explain the value I, Yamauchi Haruki, bring to the table. Sakura Airi in our class has already confessed to me, but she's too ugly. I'd only be interested in a busty beauty like Kushida or Hasebe."

The two of them carried on like clowns, while the girls in the class looked at them with disgust.

On the way to the Student Cafeteria, Sato kept glancing at me. Whenever I turned to look at her, she immediately looked away.

"By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Sato Maya. I hope we get along, Ayanokoji-kun."

"I hope we get along."

By the time we reached the Student Cafeteria, it was packed. I asked Sato to save us seats while I went to buy food on my own.

Soon, I returned to the table carrying two meals.

"Here." I arranged Sato's food for her, then set out my own.

"Ayanokoji-kun, you're such a gentleman."

I scratched my head and smiled. "It's my pleasure to serve a beautiful lady."

Sato's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Ayanokoji-kun, you're so smooth. You must have dated a lot, right?"

I hurriedly denied it. "No, I've never dated anyone."

"What about you, Sato? How many times have you dated?"

"Once, in middle school. But we were still pretty clueless back then. We didn't even kiss."

"Haha, is that so?"

After we finished eating, we returned to the classroom together. Some of our classmates looked envious, while others didn't seem to care.

I thought about it. Sato was quite pretty, but to me she could barely qualify as a backup option.

I glanced at the girl sitting to the front right. She had long twin tails and striking pink hair, but she herself had very little presence. She wore glasses and sat hunched over her desk, eating bread.

That was Sakura Airi. Hehe, I actually liked her a lot. This time, I'd be the one to save her, Sakura. I wouldn't let Ayanokoji hurt her.

As for Karuizawa, she could stay with Hirata for now. At first, I was worried Karuizawa might come to me and ask me to pretend to be her boyfriend. Once I had some free time, I'd make her break down. No rush—I still needed her to become the girls' leader in the class first.