As One Pleases

After the long-winded entrance ceremony, some students returned to the classroom, others wandered off to explore the school on their own, and some began inviting classmates to spend points together with the intention of making friends.

I returned to the classroom alone and sat down; about half of the students were already back.

Horikita Suzune followed closely behind me and returned to her seat. She silently took out the textbooks that had been distributed, organized them, and began to preview the material in a methodical manner.

She didn't seem to have any desire to talk to me, even though I had initially tried to strike up a conversation by mentioning her brother.

So, I decided to add a little more fuel to the fire. Seeing that no one nearby was paying attention, I whispered.

"By the way, Horikita-san, now that the entrance ceremony is over, why didn't you go meet up with Horikita Manabu-senpai? Isn't that a bit cold of you?"

Horikita paused, then turned her head to look at me with a confused expression.

She hesitated for a moment before answering, "Because my relationship with my brother isn't very good. I don't want to approach him and be seen by others; that would only tarnish his reputation."

I smiled and said gently, "That's not the case at all. I think Horikita Manabu-senpai probably wants to see you, too."

Horikita's expression became complicated. "Then you must be mistaken. My relationship with my brother has been poor since middle school."

I listened intently, pondered for a moment, and then spoke, "There must be a reason for that. You should think about what caused your relationship to deteriorate."

"The reason? It's probably because the gap between my brother and me kept growing, and he became disappointed in me."

"Not necessarily. By the way, were there any noticeable changes in you during elementary or middle school?"

"Hmm, not really. If I had to say, it would be that I had short hair in elementary school, and I switched to long hair in middle school."

"May I ask why?"

"Because my brother said he liked long hair at the time, so I grew it out."

"I think I understand the reason your relationship soured, but I need to confirm one more thing. I hope you can 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 imitating your brother in many ways—like the food you eat or your style of dress—changing significantly compared to before?"

A flush appeared on Horikita's cheeks, and she nodded to indicate that was the case.

I wore an expression of sudden realization and spoke earnestly to Horikita, "Well, that must be the reason your brother is disappointed in you."

"You lost your own direction and were only chasing after his footsteps. This made your brother feel regretful, not just for you, but for himself as well."

"He likely wants you to find your own path, not to chase him, but to surpass him. That is my interpretation."

Upon hearing this, Horikita began to think very seriously. She felt that my words made a lot of sense and that this must be the truth.

At that moment, a thought sprouted in Horikita's heart: she wanted to go and confirm with her brother if this was truly the case.

Thinking of this, Horikita revealed the first smile she had shown since entering the Advanced Nurturing High School. "Thank you. I have taken these suggestions to heart."

"By the way, after talking so much, I still don't know your name."

I smiled slightly and said gently, "My name is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. You were out when we introduced ourselves, so you probably didn't hear it. I hope you'll take care of me over the next three years."

At the same time, I reached out my hand, and Horikita Suzune reached out to shake it in return.

"Excuse me, are you Ayanokoji-kun?" A pleasant female voice came from behind me at that moment.

I turned my head and saw it was Sato Maya. In the original story, she was the first one to fall for Ayanokoji, heh.

"Oh, is there something you need, classmate?" Sato Maya hadn't introduced herself, so I pretended not to know her.

"Um, it's just that... would you like to go to the student cafeteria to eat together? I wanted to find a companion to go with," she said, looking a bit shy.

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

"Hee hee, then let's head out now, shall we?"

I nodded and walked out of the classroom with her.

Once we left, the classroom immediately erupted into a heated discussion.

"Wow, wow, wow, Sato's offensive is really fast. Hirata just went off the market, and she's already making a move on Ayanokoji."

"Don't be bitter. Who told you not to make a move yourself?"

"Sigh, aside from Hirata and Ayanokoji, the rest of these guys feel like a bunch of duds."

The boys were also whispering among themselves.

"These girls really have no taste. Don't they know the value of me, Ike Kanji? If they don't notice my existence now, they'll regret it later."

"The value of me, Yamauchi Haruki, goes without saying. Sakura Airi in our class 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 were bickering like clowns, and the girls in the class were looking at them with looks of disgust.

On the way to the student cafeteria, Sato looked at me from time to time. Whenever I turned to look at her, she would immediately turn her head away.

"By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Sato Maya. Please take care of me, Ayanokoji-kun."

"Please take care of me as well."

When we arrived at the student cafeteria, it was already packed. I asked Sato to save a seat while I went to buy food by myself.

Soon, I returned to the table with two trays of food.

"Here." I helped Sato set hers down, then placed my own meal in front of me.

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

I scratched my head and smiled, "It is my absolute pleasure to be of service to a beautiful lady."

Sato's face flushed slightly, "Ayanokoji-kun, you have such a sweet tongue. You must have dated quite a few times, right?"

I hurriedly denied it, "Not at all. I haven't even dated once."

"What about you, Sato? How many times have you been in love?"

"Just once, back in middle school. But I was so naive back then; we didn't even kiss."

"Haha, is that so?"

After finishing our meal, we headed back to the classroom together, drawing gazes from our classmates that ranged from envious to indifferent.

I pondered to myself: although Sato is quite pretty, she barely reaches the level of a backup option in my book.

I glanced at the girl sitting diagonally in front of me. She wore her hair in long twin tails, her pink hair quite striking, though her actual presence was very low. She wore a pair of glasses and sat hunched over at her desk, eating a piece of bread.

This is Sakura Airi. Heh, I actually really like her. This time, it's my turn to save you, Sakura. I won't let Ayanokoji hurt you.

As for Karuizawa, she can stay with Hirata for now. At first, I was worried she might come to me to pretend to be a couple, but once I have some free time, I'll make sure she breaks down. There's no rush; I still need her to become the leader of the girls in the class first.