Kushida's Background

"Sister? Why are you here?" Horikita Etsuka spoke first.

"I have some things to discuss with you." Horikita Suzune replied, looking at the drink in Etsuka's hand: "Did that girl just buy that for you?"

"Yeah, she treated me to it." Etsuka nodded without denying it.

"Put the drink in this." Suzune said, holding up a plastic bag.

"Huh? What's this?" Etsuka said, leaning in to peek inside the bag, which contained a bottle of lemonade and some other snacks.

After taking the bag and placing the drink inside, Horikita Etsuka opened the door and gestured for her to enter: "Sister, come on in."

"Mm." Suzune crossed her arms and scanned the room as soon as she stepped inside.

Come to think of it, this was the first time she had visited her younger brother's room since arriving at the school.

She then sat down on the bed without standing on ceremony.

"Sister, what's the matter?" Etsuka asked.

"Can't I come over if there's nothing the matter?" Suzune stared straight at Etsuka, as if he had done something to wrong her.

"No, no." Etsuka quickly denied it: "Of course you're welcome here, Sister. The door is always open for you."

"Are you really welcoming me?"

"Really?"

"Then give me your spare key."

"Never mind what I said."

Suzune didn't speak, just sat there quietly, her eyes fixed on Etsuka.

Etsuka couldn't stand that gaze, so he pressed his palms together and shook them pleadingly:

"Sister, we're in college now. Give your little brother some personal space."

Suzune blinked:

"I'm just kidding."

Etsuka froze: "Sister, that's not funny at all."

"Is that so? I thought it was quite humorous."

"Haha..."

"Anyway, I actually wanted to ask you for a favor." Suzune said, crossing her legs and slowly swinging her calf.

Etsuka's mouth twitched: "Sister, favors are one thing, but please mind your posture."

"If I can't even choose how to sit in my own brother's room, then I'd rather not come."

"Fine, sit however you like." Etsuka felt helpless; sometimes his sister was as stubborn as a child, and she always had a way of justifying things to suit herself.

"I want you to help me convince Sudo and the others to join the study group organized by Hirata in our class."

"Pfft..." Etsuka had just unscrewed the cap, and the lemonade he had just sipped nearly sprayed out. He pointed at himself in disbelief: "Sister? You want me to convince Sudo to join your study group?"

Suzune nodded and uttered a single word:

"Yes."

"Sister... it's not that I don't want to..."

Etsuka was just about to explain when Suzune interrupted him:

"If I'm not mistaken, the lemonade you just drank is the one I bought, right?"

"Then I'll give you the other bottle back."

"I don't want it."

"Hiss~" Etsuka felt a massive headache coming on; even the lemonade in his hand suddenly tasted a bit off. He could only explain with a bitter expression:

"Sister, you should know that I'm in Class B, and since I kept Sudo in the dark as a pawn last time, he's definitely going to be on guard against me now."

"You're better off not saying anything. It's precisely because Sudo found out he was being kept in the dark that he got so angry; he even lost his temper at me. You probably played a part in that, too."

"He lost his temper at you?" Etsuka paused, then frowned: "Sister, he didn't say anything out of line, did he?"

Etsuka could tolerate others losing their temper at him, but he couldn't tolerate anyone losing their temper at his sister.

Seeing the look of concern on Etsuka's face, a flicker of warmth passed through Suzune's heart: "No, he was just venting his anger as a pawn. Hirata ended up bearing the brunt of his rage for me."

"That's good." Etsuka nodded first, then frowned in thought:

"If you're asking me to get Sudo to join your study group, it's almost impossible. Doesn't your class have one of those girls who is well-liked by everyone and has great social skills?"

"That..." Suzune pondered for a moment before saying: "There is one. Her name is Kushida Kikyo."

"Kushida Kikyo." Etsuka nodded, then suddenly looked up as if he had realized something: "Wait, Kushida Kikyo?"

"What's wrong, Etsuka? Did you think of something?" Suzune asked curiously.

"Ahem!" Etsuka cleared his throat. He picked up his Student Terminal and flipped to the contacts page: "I think I have her contact information."

Suzune froze, then her delicate brows furrowed: "Etsuka, how do you have her phone number?"

"Well, the last time was when we ran into each other at the restaurant..."

Horikita Etsuka recounted everything about how he and his older brother had bumped into Kushida while dining at the restaurant.

"But... Sis, if she really is as kind to everyone as you say, why not just ask her to help find Sudo?"

"Sigh..." Suzune let out a long sigh, then spoke slowly: "Kushida and I went to the same middle school."

Horikita Etsuka was taken aback; he hadn't attended the same school as his sister back then, so he knew absolutely nothing about this.

Seemingly placing great trust in Etsuka, Suzune slowly began to talk about some of the things that had happened at Kushida's middle school.

Etsuka listened with a serious expression.

"So, even though it's all hearsay, I've already planted that first impression in my heart, which is why I really don't want to interact with Kushida." Horikita Suzune let out a long sigh; she suddenly felt mentally exhausted.

"Is that so." Horikita Etsuka nodded, then looked at Suzune with a serious expression and said: "Sis, have you ever thought about asking Hirata to request help from Kushida?"

"Huh?" A flash of embarrassment instantly appeared in Horikita Suzune's eyes. She realized that she had come to find Etsuka without even thinking it through.

Could it be this sense of security that has caused me to lose the ability to think for myself?

A look of contemplation returned to Suzune's eyes.

She suddenly stood up: "You're right, Etsuka. I came to you before I had even figured some things out."

"Sis, that's more like it." Etsuka reached out and, with lightning speed, placed his hand on Horikita Suzune's head and ruffled her hair.

Her hair was instantly ruffled into a mess.

The corners of Etsuka's mouth curled up slightly.

Sis, I'm a person who holds a grudge...

The scene fell into a brief silence. Suzune stood there quietly, her fists slowly clenching.

Crack, pop, thud, thud, thud...

Noisy sounds erupted from Room 508.

Not long after, a plea for mercy echoed from inside the room.

The next day, Horikita Etsuka stepped into the classroom while rubbing his ear.

As soon as he sat down, Himeno Yuki tilted her head curiously: "Horikita, why does your other ear look so big?"

Hearing this, Hamaguchi Tetsuya also turned his head to look, and he joked: "Horikita, did you get stung by a bee?"

Horikita Etsuka: "..."

I hate anyone who solves problems with violence...