The Student Council President's Little Sister

As the midterm exams drew closer, the pressure of being expelled drove students in every first-year class to study hard so they could pass. Of course, not everyone felt that way.

"The study group? We already have the answers, so why bother going through all that trouble?" Ike rejected Hirata's invitation without a second thought.

"Yeah. Even without the answers, we can just put in a little effort before the exam and pass. We don't need it at all." Yamauchi boasted confidently, despite having ranked in the bottom three of the class on the previous monthly test.

"Ugh, I've got training. Don't waste my time." Sudo spoke impatiently, then left the classroom without another word.

Watching this, Hirata wore a helpless smile but didn't take it too seriously. After all, as Ike had said, they already had the answers, so there was no need to worry about the midterm.

At the window-side desk in the last row, a long-haired girl asked her gloomy-looking seatmate a question.

"Do you think those answers are real?"

"They probably are. Horikita, do you have doubts?" the gloomy boy, Ayanokoji, replied. He had already checked the test papers with some upperclassmen, and they were indeed real.

"Nothing in particular. I just think it's disappointing that passing the exam should be this easy." Horikita answered. She was probably annoyed with herself for not having thought of this approach earlier.

"Do you really think this is a good thing?" Ayanokoji asked suddenly.

"What?" Horikita didn't quite understand what he meant. She disapproved of this kind of behavior, but what was wrong with everyone passing the exam without trouble?

"If we just coast along like this, we won't grow at all," Ayanokoji said, seeming to hint at something.

"You mean..." Horikita thought it over, as if she'd caught on to something.

Ayanokoji said nothing more, calmly observing the changes in his classmates. People kept going over to Hirata, and it was clear that after getting the test papers, quite a few students who'd originally joined the study group had decided to drop out.

At least they'd pass this midterm without trouble... right?

"I can't wait!"

"Same here!"

That afternoon, Ishizaki and the others cheered excitedly, making the girls in the class look at them with disgust.

As the weather grew hotter, the content of PE classes changed a little. That afternoon's class was being held at the swimming pool. What that meant went without saying.

"Are you looking forward to it too, Sagara?" Shiina asked, blinking, a strange blush on her face.

"I can't say I'm not looking forward to it." After all, he was an ordinary boy, so it was only natural that he'd be interested in this sort of thing.

"But I don't really want to get in the water."

"Huh?"

During afternoon PE, Sagara found a shady spot to sit, a jacket draped over his shoulders, and watched his classmates swim under the teacher's instruction. Shiina sat beside him. She had little interest in swimming—or, for that matter, in sports at all.

Sagara sized Shiina up. Just as he'd observed before, although her figure couldn't compare to Ichinose's, she was still quite well-endowed by high school standards. Perhaps because she spent so much time indoors reading, her skin was as pale as snow. Her legs were long, and her delicate feet looked like porcelain, inspiring a desire to protect her.

Noticing Sagara's gaze, Shiina's cheeks flushed. She wrapped her arms around her shins and lowered her head. "Sagara, don't stare at me like that."

"Sorry, sorry. You're so beautiful, Shiina, I got a little lost in the moment." Sagara realized he'd been out of line and apologized.

"Um, actually, I don't really mind..." Shiina murmured softly, her face buried against her knees.

"Next up, Sagara Zoya." The PE teacher suddenly called his name. Though curious about what Shiina had said, Sagara stood and went to the edge of the pool.

"Huh, I didn't expect to be in the same group as you." Ryuen looked at Sagara, who wasn't especially bulky but had clearly defined muscles.

Of course, what caught Ryuen's attention wasn't that, but the spot on Sagara's left shoulder—a conspicuous scar.

"Just as I thought. You..."

Ryuen stared at the scar. It was obviously a knife wound. A wound on the shoulder? The blade had clearly been aimed at his neck... Just who was this guy?

"So, like I said, I don't want to get in the water." Sagara sighed. This wasn't something he wanted to expose.

"Teacher, are we having swimming lessons now because we'll need them later?" Sagara turned toward the teacher, who was holding a stopwatch.

"Uh... Ah, well..." The teacher didn't understand at first, but his expression was enough to confirm Sagara's guess.

"Thanks for answering, teacher. I understand now."

"?" The teacher looked confused. Had he said anything?

"How many D-Class students came to the library to study today?" Sagara asked Shiina. Normally, he wouldn't have needed her to do this, and her personality wasn't especially suited to it.

But most of their classmates needed to focus on studying, so they could only ask the academically gifted Shiina to gather the information.

"Mm, there were a few more than before," Shiina replied. "But some of them got into an argument, and they left again not long after."

"I see." Sagara thought it over. So D-Class wasn't made up entirely of deadweight. "Do you know their names?"

"Sorry, I'm not sure." Shiina shook her head. She wasn't familiar with the people in D-Class, and had only gotten some vague information from Ryuen. She'd been able to identify them as D-Class students thanks to someone's presence. "But Kushida should've been among them."

"Mm." Sagara nodded, then ruled Kushida out. As a social butterfly, she was probably only acting as a bridge and a go-between. She wasn't that clever. "Thanks for your hard work."

"It was nothing... But, Sagara, are you sure you don't need any help?" Shiina shook her head. Compared to Kaneda, who'd been driven to distraction by Ishizaki and the others, this was hardly any trouble.

Sagara was handling the entire operation against D-Class on his own. She didn't know the details of his plan.

"No need. I've already made all the preparations," Sagara said, shaking his head. Everything was ready. "All we have to do now is wait for the results."

"I'm not the useless person I used to be. I came here so I could catch up to my brother." The girl's voice trembled slightly. The student council president had a little sister?

"Catch up...?" Manabu Horikita repeated the words. "I heard you're in D-Class. After three years, you still haven't made any progress. You're only looking at my back, and you still haven't seen what's wrong with yourself. You were already a failure the moment you entered this school."

Manabu's tone was undeniably harsh. Listening to him, Sagara could only think that it was so like the student council president. Couldn't he just say, "I'm worried about you"?

But the president's little sister seemed not to understand what he meant at all. Her voice trembled with unease. "Th-There must be some kind of mistake. I'll get promoted to Class A right away."

"Impossible. You still haven't realized what the real problem is. This school isn't that simple. You don't have what it takes."

"I'll definitely, definitely get promoted to Class A!" The president's little sister sounded even more resolute than before, as if clinging to an obsession she couldn't let go.

"Didn't I tell you? It's impossible. You really are a disobedient little sister."

A moment later, there was a thud. Had the president backed his sister into a corner? Sagara wondered, glancing at the gloomy boy standing beside him.

"You know that girl, don't you? Aren't you going to do something?" Sagara said calmly. The other boy's body had tensed for a moment just now, as if he'd been about to act, but for some reason he'd stopped.

"By all accounts, this is the perfect moment to play the hero and save the damsel in distress. If you stepped in now, you'd probably earn quite a few points with her."

"Maybe, but I think she'd be more likely to lose interest after seeing how pathetic I am." The gloomy boy sighed. "Besides, I don't have those kinds of feelings. I just want to be friends with her."

"Is that so?" Sagara didn't believe him at all. If he only wanted to be ordinary friends, why had he studied her personality so thoroughly? And secretly following her in the middle of the night wasn't exactly something a friend would do.

"Ugh." Hearing the girl cry out in pain from inside the alley, Sagara stepped forward.

"Now you've got a second chance to play the hero."

Then Sagara pulled out his phone. A burst of bright light flashed, and the scene in the alley was captured on his phone.

"Good evening, President. Do you like the way I say hello?" Sagara greeted the president, who was in the middle of disciplining his younger sister. He gave a polite bow.

"Not at all." Manabu let go and turned to face Sagara. He'd been careless. Someone had followed him, and it was a troublesome guy at that.

"Then next time, I'll greet you the usual way." Sagara looked completely serious, as if he'd really been thinking it over. "But, just as you said, I'm attacking you through your sister."

There was a hint of teasing in Sagara's words. As far as he was concerned, it was probably a joke.

But to the people involved, it was another matter.

The president's little sister clutched her stomach and bit her lip, looking at him with resentment. Sagara had no idea why she was making that face.

"It's all because of me..."

You actually believed that? Why would you think it was your fault? Sagara couldn't understand how her mind worked.

After all, the trouble had been caused by the president's domestic violence. Socially and legally, the president was the one in the wrong.

"Looks like we'll need to have a proper talk later." Even after this sudden turn of events, Manabu remained calm.

The thought of using force crossed his mind for an instant, but he gave up on it. For one thing, he was already opposed to handling things that way. Besides, he didn't think it would be easy to take care of Sagara.

"Of course. There are plenty of things I need the president's help with too," Sagara said with a smile. "But you may need to talk with more than just me."

"Hm?" Manabu frowned at Sagara's words. Was someone else here too?

"Actually, you don't have to worry about me." Ayanokoji's voice held a note of helplessness, though his expression hadn't changed at all. He still looked as gloomy and expressionless as ever.

"You..." The president's little sister looked at Ayanokoji in surprise. She hadn't expected to see him here at all.

Manabu gave Ayanokoji a scrutinizing look. "Are you from D-Class too? Suzune, I never thought you'd have any friends."

"He's not my friend... He's just my classmate." Horikita Suzune, who had collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, raised her head and argued with her brother.

"I'm Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. I happened to see Horikita heading this way while I was buying a drink at the vending machine, and I was curious, so I came to check." Ayanokoji answered Manabu's question, paying no attention to Horikita Suzune's hurtful-sounding words.

"You're still the same. You've mistaken the difference between being aloof and being lonely." Hearing her words, the president felt nothing but helplessness. He'd thought she'd made some progress...

"If you want to move up to a higher class, struggle with everything you have. There's no other way." Manabu left them with that final remark, then turned and walked away.

"I'll see you again sometime, Horikita and Ayanokoji." Sagara spoke politely, then left as well.