"Etsuka, what are you doing on the field? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"
In one corner of the field, Horikita Suzune sat on the steps, calmly flipping through a book as if nothing had happened.
Horikita Etsuka covered his ear with his left hand and grimaced. "I just came out to use the bathroom, and figured I'd bring you a bottle of water while I was at it. Didn't expect my good intentions to be taken for granted..."
Before Etsuka could finish, Suzune shot him a glance.
Horikita Etsuka promptly took the hint and shut his mouth.
Looking curiously at the lively crowd gathered ahead, he asked, "But, Sis, they're all playing tennis. Why aren't you joining in?"
"I don't want to." Horikita Suzune turned a page without changing her expression. "These competitions are pointless. The right choice for Class D is to avoid contact with the people from Class C as much as possible."
With that, she closed her book and gazed at the crowd from Class D in the distance.
"No matter what, these idiots are going to let things slip. Even Ryuen's lackeys can run circles around the people in Class D. There's nothing I can do anymore."
Hearing how close Suzune sounded to giving up, Etsuka tentatively asked, "Then... have you ever thought about leaving Class D?"
"Leaving?" Suzune shook her head.
"You may have misunderstood me, Etsuka. Class D is mostly full of idiots, but I believe things will gradually improve with my help. I'm not saying all this because I want to give up. I'm simply stating the facts. So I absolutely won't leave."
Etsuka smiled wryly. He really was out of ideas. Even a cautious test of the waters had met with such resistance. If he outright told her he could help her leave Class D, she'd probably say something about relying on her own strength again.
Etsuka slowly stood up and stretched.
"Fine. There's no point sitting around doing nothing. Sis, let's go take a look."
"No." Suzune refused without hesitation.
"Come on, come on. Keep me company. I don't know any of those people, so it'd be awkward to go alone."
Without waiting for an answer, Etsuka grabbed Suzune by the arm and headed toward the crowd.
"Honestly..." Suzune sighed helplessly. She tucked her book under her arm before saying, "Fine. I'll accompany you, just this once. It's definitely not because I wanted to go."
"Sure, sure." Etsuka coaxed and cajoled until he finally got his sister to come along.
There were lots of people watching the girls play tennis, nearly forming a circle around the court. Luckily, Etsuka was quite tall, a full 183 centimeters. He was practically the tallest person in the Horikita family.
"Whoa, not bad." Watching the girls play tennis, Horikita Etsuka couldn't help voicing his admiration.
Their youthful, radiant figures added a lot of fun to the school.
He'd seen this sort of thing in high school, but it was rare to see so many pretty girls gathered in one place.
"Go, Kushida! Kushida, Kushida! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!" Kanji Ike cheered like a man possessed.
After returning a shot, Kushida Kikyo even turned around to smile at the crowd. Her smile instantly captivated a large group of boys.
"Wow, she's so cute!"
"Ah... Mom, I think I'm in love," one boy said, clutching his heart.
Kanji Ike kept shaking Yamauchi's shoulder. Pointing at Kushida on the court, he said, "Did you see that? Kushida smiled at me!"
"Uh..."
Before Yamauchi could say anything, Sudo cut in.
"What do you mean, she smiled at you? She was obviously smiling at me. She must've noticed my basketball skills."
Sudo crossed his arms and lifted the corners of his mouth just enough to look confident. He even showed off his biceps to demonstrate how strong he was.
"Yeah, right." Kanji Ike pursed his lips in protest. "Kushida doesn't like ugly, oversized muscles like those."
"Kanji, you're the one who's pathetic."
Yamauchi had tried to jump in and brag a few times, but nobody gave him the chance. It made him furious.
Our king of the dark room was getting mad. The consequences would be dire.
Just then, Shinohara, wearing a tennis uniform, slapped Sudo hard on the back. "Hey, Sudo!"
The unexpected smack annoyed Sudo. He turned around and saw that it was Shinohara.
He still had some patience when it came to girls, so he replied irritably, "What is it? Do you need something?"
Shinohara put her hands on her hips, looking furious.
"What do you mean, what is it? Don't you know what you did? You gave away the Secret Key, didn't you?!"
Shinohara sounded furious, immediately drawing a crowd of onlookers. Etsuka was no exception.
Horikita Suzune wanted to see what was going on, but with her brother beside her, she could only keep an eye on Etsuka while quietly rising onto her toes to peer inside.
As the crowd began to gather, Sudo was already upset about being accused by Shinohara to his face. And since he hadn't revealed the Secret Key at all, he was furious in an instant.
Sudo's face flushed red. Pointing at Shinohara, he spat as he shouted, "Shinohara! What are you trying to say? When did I reveal the Secret Key? I've kept my mouth shut the whole time!"
The girls from Class D hurried over as well.
Seeing Sudo point at her friend Shinohara, Sato Maya rushed forward, slapped his hand away, and stepped in front of Shinohara.
"Sudo, what are you doing? Can't you talk things out like a normal person? Are you trying to hit her?"
"Hit her? When did I ever hit anyone?" Sudo's eyes widened in disbelief. He was practically about to explode with anger.
Damn, she's got some serious attack power. She came right out swinging with a huge accusation.
Sudo's chest heaved violently, as if he might lash out at any moment.
Just then, Hirata finally rushed over. He squeezed through the crowd and shouted, "Calm down! Everyone, calm down!"
As he shouted, he used his body to separate Sudo from Shinohara and the others. He was genuinely afraid Sudo would lash out again. After all, he'd seen Sudo fight before.
"Hirata..." Seeing him, Sudo managed to force down his anger. Pointing at Shinohara, he said, "She's framing me! She says I leaked the Class Key!"
"How am I framing you? You obviously leaked it, and now you won't admit it!" Shinohara had never put up with something like this before, and she immediately fired back.
"I'll—"
"Calm down! Everyone, calm down!" Hirata suddenly roared.
The people from Class D around them fell silent in an instant.
It wasn't that they listened to Hirata particularly well. They'd simply never seen him like this before...
Unlike the lively scene on the field, art class was practically paradise.
Elegant music played as everyone chatted with classmates they'd just met.
Among them, however, a silver-haired girl looked somewhat out of place.
Sakayanagi Arisu stared at the empty seat beside her, puzzled.
"Has he really been in the bathroom this long?"
It had been more than forty minutes since class started. Who spent nearly forty minutes in the bathroom? Nobody would believe that.
"Could it be that he doesn't dare accept my challenge after all...?" A hint of certainty showed in Sakayanagi's eyes.
No matter who faced her, they all fled.
She longed for a worthy opponent, but she hadn't expected him to be nothing more than a paper tiger.
P.S. I think I've got a little inspiration now. Time to get going, go, go, go!
Before you continue