Scouting the Enemy

I will correct the mistakes in this world.

What a—beautiful, noble ideal.

Yet she had overestimated her own abilities.

More accurately, she had failed to see how capable others were. She had no eyes that could see into people's hearts.

Put simply, she was naive.

If she were incompetent, her naivety would be magnified, and she would be able to see her own flaws.

But in truth, she excelled in every area. She had been praised from all sides since childhood, which only made her flaws seem smaller and kept her from noticing them.

A genius who had never been knocked down was simply a genius. The higher they climbed, the harder they fell.

And Suzune was at that stage. Unless she experienced a setback, she wouldn't change at all.

Clearly, persuading a stubborn woman like her couldn't be done with words alone.

He'd known it would turn out this way.

But that wasn't his goal anyway.

"Horikita, have you ever been in love?"

"No. I'm not interested," Suzune said coldly.

"What do you think love is?"

"..." Suzune's ears turned slightly red, as though she'd thought of something strange.

That was probably because of his influence.

"Let me explain," he sighed. "Love isn't just romance. There are two kinds of living beings in this world: men and women. Their genetic makeup is basically the same, but there are differences, too."

He wasn't talking about X and Y chromosomes, but about differences in how they saw things.

"Men and women can see the same thing in completely different ways. Horikita, do you understand boys?"

"I—"

"Wait." Eito stopped her. "You weren't going to say there's no need to understand them, were you?"

"..." Suzune closed her mouth, admitting that was exactly what she'd been about to say.

"Then tell me, Ms. Horikita: if you don't understand me, how can you beat me? If you don't understand boys, how can you know what your brother is thinking? Take that run just now. If it had been a race, you'd have lost. How can you win without understanding your opponent? Do you really think you're invincible?"

His words made Suzune fall into thought.

He'd made his point perfectly clear. If she still didn't get it, she might as well go see a neurologist.

"Then... what should I do?"

"It's simple. Date me. Dating is the quickest way to understand the opposite sex."

"Listen—" Suzune frowned. "You're not trying to take advantage of me, are you? I know I'm cute, but I still get angry when you keep trying to trick me."

So his tricks weren't working anymore. It seemed Suzune was starting to see through his routine.

It was hard to pull one over on someone you knew well.

In that case, there was no point pretending.

"Horikita, you're right. I do want to take advantage of you. But what I said just now was true, too. Dating really is a shortcut. If you don't want to improve yourself, I won't force you. Just forget I said anything."

Suzune hesitated.

"...All right."

"Huh? You actually agreed?" Eito said in surprise.

"I don't care. I'm not interested in romance, so no matter what we do, I won't fall for you. Besides—never mind."

She was a little surprised. When she heard that she'd be dating Eito, she hadn't felt any resistance. Maybe after spending so much time together, she'd gradually gotten used to having him around. Even if he called it dating, it didn't feel real to her.

Besides, she was curious about Eito's abilities. If she could use dating as an opportunity to figure him out, she'd be one step closer to her goal.

"Then it's settled. No taking it back."

"I never regret my decisions," Suzune said. "But if I find out you're lying to me, I'll never consider you a friend again."

"Okay."

Suzune sounded so serious that he believed she meant it. She really would end their friendship.

Scouting the Enemy

"So, what exactly is love?"

Suzune asked him a question that left Eito stumped.

As someone who'd been reincarnated, he was unfamiliar with the concept. Especially in this society, where everything revolved around benefits. Only naive middle- and high-school students could clearly explain what love was, right?

"Horikita, what do you think of me?"

"Average."

"Am I really that average? Don't I have any good qualities?" Her answer hit him hard.

"Your good qualities are..." Suzune looked him over and gave a little nod. "You're not bad-looking?"

"..."

He was a little pleased, but still felt defeated.

Besides, he had a feeling Suzune was messing with him.

Whatever. He'd start with the basics.

"Horikita, give me your hand."

"?"

"Holding hands is the most basic thing. Don't tell me you're afraid to do even that?"

"...All right."

Suzune hesitated, but held out her hand.

Her hand was fair and delicate, with slender, graceful fingers like a work of art.

Eito took it, feeling how smooth and cool it was, like cold jade.

"..."

A strange wish suddenly came to him: he wanted to hold this hand until he died.

"What's wrong?"

Suzune looked at him strangely. She sensed something was off and started to pull her hand away, but he held on tighter.

"Nothing. Let's go."

He pretended to be calm.

After walking hand in hand for a while, he turned to her and asked,

"How does it feel?"

"..." Suzune was quiet for a moment before answering. "It feels awkward."

"Do you hate it?"

"I wouldn't say I hate it. It's just... it just doesn't feel right for me."

Suzune frowned, staring at the ground with a distant expression.

"I see."

Even he could feel the distance Suzune kept around herself.

Everyone had their own comfort zone, and when someone else entered it, they wanted to get away.

For Suzune, physical contact like this felt as though it were shrinking her personal space. It made her uncomfortable.

Eito thought that if he let go now, Suzune would immediately pull away, and it would be even harder to touch her next time.

After a moment's thought, he stopped and faced her. He opened her palm and gently pressed it against his chest.

"What are you doing?" Suzune asked warily.

"Can you feel it? My heartbeat."

"Mm..."

"This is proof that I'm alive. Every beat of my heart extends my life. My life is in your hands now—you can take it whenever you want." He winked at Suzune.

"Who wants your worthless life?"

Suzune glared at him, then did as he'd said and felt the beating in his chest.

Humans really were amazing creatures. Just by feeling the blood flowing through someone's body, you could sense their presence.

His heartbeat was steady and ordinary, like a simple song. Its smooth melody came together into a complete symphony.

No turmoil, no passion.

Everything in the world was just like this: ordinary and peaceful.

Feeling the traces of life beating beneath her hand, Suzune couldn't help looking up at him.

Only now did she truly realize that he was there.

Although he often made her angry, more than that, he filled the dull, tedious moments of her daily life.

Sometimes she even dreamed about him, though never in a good way.

She felt a tiny crack forming in her otherwise unwavering heart.

There were things she didn't need, but if they were there, she didn't necessarily have to reject them.

"What's wrong, Horikita?"

"Nothing."

Suzune pulled her hand away.

"Um..."

"Do whatever you want," Suzune said, standing perfectly still. Her meaning was clear.

"Okay."

Eito stepped forward and took her hand.

This time, it felt much better. Suzune wasn't as stiff as she'd been before.

"Then let's go look around the other classes."

"Okay."

It felt like they were elementary-school students on a field trip, though he didn't swing Suzune's hand around. He wasn't actually an elementary-school student.

Still, he couldn't help himself. After they'd walked for a while, he rubbed his fingertips over the back of Suzune's smooth hand.

Yet all Suzune did was glare at him. She didn't say a word.

He couldn't help wondering if this Suzune had been replaced by someone else.

Thinking nothing more of it, he and Suzune arrived at Class B's territory.

Once they reached their destination, Suzune quickly pulled her hand away, much to his disappointment.

Class B really did live up to its reputation. Their tents were neatly arranged, the ground was clean, and everyone had a clear task to do.

It made Eito think that if he were in this class, he'd probably be very happy.

No worries, no arguments, and best of all, a charming class representative who was easy on the eyes.

It was the perfect place to take it easy.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the right place for him.

A life that was too peaceful would get boring after a while. Class D, where something exciting happened every day, was far more interesting.