"Don't make things up. They're siblings." Nakanishi Jiro, the first to misunderstand their relationship, immediately put his hands on his hips and told the others.
"Uh..." Everyone stared at Nakanishi Jiro's sudden change of attitude, at a loss for words. He'd been the one egging them on just moments ago, and now he'd changed his tune in an instant.
"Big sis, what did you need me for?" Horikita Etsuka asked as he walked over to the door.
"Let's go to the cafeteria first. We'll talk there." As she spoke, Horikita Suzune reached out to grab Etsuka's arm.
If they'd been at home, she would have just yanked Horikita Etsuka by the ear. But this was different. They were at school, in front of a crowd, so she was willing to spare her younger brother's dignity.
Horikita Etsuka could only let her drag him away. He raised a hand and gave Nakanishi Jiro a helpless wave. "Uh... I'm going to eat with my sister first. You can treat me next time!"
The cafeteria was still pretty crowded. Horikita Etsuka felt uncomfortable as he ate. He looked up, a little uneasy, at Horikita Suzune, who was sitting across from him and staring intently.
"Big sis, aren't you going to eat?"
Horikita Suzune didn't answer right away. She merely lifted her proud chin and said softly, "You eat first."
Horikita Etsuka glanced at his sister, then hurriedly dug into his food. After all, food was essential. Once he'd contentedly swallowed his last bite, Horikita Suzune finally spoke in a chilly voice:
"Why did you hang up on me?"
Horikita Etsuka struggled to swallow his last mouthful of food, then gave an awkward grin.
"Big sis, it was almost ten, so I wanted to go to bed early."
Horikita Suzune folded her arms and slowly nodded. Then she asked coolly, "What did our older brother say to you?"
Horikita Etsuka awkwardly scratched his cheek. "If I said he didn't say anything, would you believe me, big sis?"
"Do you think I'd believe that?" Horikita Suzune still had her arms folded, her dark eyes seeming to challenge him.
Horikita Etsuka could handle himself around anyone, but when it came to his big sister, she had him completely under her thumb.
"Horikita Etsuka, I'm giving you three seconds."
"Three..."
"Big brother said you don't understand the difference between loneliness and aloofness." The moment Horikita Etsuka heard the countdown, he immediately confessed.
"The difference between loneliness and aloofness?" Horikita Suzune was slightly taken aback. "What did he mean by that?"
Horikita Etsuka blinked. "Big sis, do you want the truth? But you have to promise not to get mad."
"Go ahead. I don't think I'm that easy to anger."
Only then did Horikita Etsuka nod and say, "My personal take is that you put on too much of an act, big sis. You always insist on doing everything by yourself. It's like you can't think straight."
Horikita Suzune's expression darkened as she reached out and pinched Horikita Etsuka's cheek, pulling it outward.
Feeling her cold fingers on his cheek, Horikita Etsuka grimaced. "Big sis, didn't you say you wouldn't get mad?"
"Oh? Did I? But I'm not angry." Horikita Suzune said sternly, "I just think my little brother is so cute. This is just a simple show of affection."
"A-a show of affection?! How is making that face affectionate?"
Horikita Suzune's lips curled into a cold, fake smile. "See? I'm smiling."
As she spoke, she squeezed harder.
"Yikes—big sis, I was wrong! I shouldn't have added my own commentary."
Horikita Etsuka immediately admitted his mistake.
Only then did Horikita Suzune let go. She put one hand on her hip, picked up her tray with the other, and stood over Etsuka.
"I'm done eating. Let's go back together."
"Well, well. If it isn't the defective Suzune from Class D?"
Before Horikita Etsuka could answer, a long-haired boy with a vicious look sauntered over, his hands in his pockets. A burly boy and a girl with short blue-green hair followed beside him. They gave off an intimidating air.
Horikita Suzune looked at the newcomers and frowned slightly. "What do you mean, 'defective'? And who gave you permission to call me Suzune?"
The long-haired boy smiled faintly.
"Heh. Suzune, please allow me to introduce myself first. I'm Ryuen Kakeru from Class C."
Horikita Suzune saw how shamelessly he acted and gave up on correcting him about her name. No matter how much she said, he'd probably keep calling her that. So she asked what she wanted to know:
"I don't know who you are, and I don't care. But what do you mean by 'defective'?"
Ryuen Kakeru lifted his haughty chin and spoke slowly.
"You really are an idiot. Haven't you noticed that everyone placed in Class D is either stupid or a screw-up? Calling you defective is already giving you too much credit."
Horikita Suzune's heart pounded. She'd considered all sorts of possibilities, but never thought the class placements might not be random. Thinking of the perverts in Class D and those girls who called themselves "gyaru," she found herself half-believing what he said.
Still, she forced herself to remain calm.
"Just because you say something, that doesn't mean I'll believe you."
Horikita Suzune wanted to get more out of him.
"Heh." Ryuen shook his head. "How foolish. Do you think saying that will provoke me into telling you the whole story? You think far too highly of yourself."
The burly boy beside him chimed in. "That's right. Defective is defective. You won't even believe the truth when it's right in front of you."
The girl with short blue-green hair said nothing. She just folded her arms and watched the show.
"Impossible." Horikita Suzune spoke with conviction. "If the classes were assigned based on ability, there's no way I'd be in Class D!"
"What's impossible about it? Haven't you realized your own flaws yet?" Ryuen Kakeru shot back.
Horikita Suzune's knuckles turned white as she gripped her tray.
She recalled what she'd just discussed with Horikita Etsuka.
"Big brother said you don't understand the difference between loneliness and aloofness."
But she quickly collected herself, lifted her head, and faced Ryuen. "So what? What are you after?"
Ryuen burst out laughing.
"Ha ha! Suzune, I'm not after anything. I just came here to eat, and I saw you, so I stopped by to say hello. That's all, right, Ishizaki?"
Ishizaki, the burly boy beside him, nodded in agreement with an arrogant expression.
"Good. At least you admit you're defective. Otherwise, if you didn't know your place and still had that much arrogance, you'd be nothing but trash."
Even in her current, level-headed state, Horikita Suzune couldn't stop herself from clenching her fists, wanting to punch them both.
Ryuen Kakeru noticed her clenched fists. He bent forward with a mocking grin.
"What? Was I wrong to call you defective? Are you going to use violence to shut us up?"
"Hey, defective from Class C. What did you just say?" Horikita Etsuka slowly rose from his seat, his dark eyes sizing up Ryuen Kakeru.
Before you continue