Chatting with Sakayanagi

Hoshino matched Sakayanagi's pace, walking slowly, step by step, out of the club building.

"Sakayanagi, there's something I want to ask you."

Thinking about how Sakayanagi still wasn't truly the leader of Class A, Hoshino couldn't help finding it a little amusing. He could barely keep the smile off his face.

"..." Sakayanagi said nothing, pretending not to hear him.

"...Sakayanagi, don't you think you're being a little childish?" Hoshino glanced at the girl, who was "concentrating" on watching where she was going, and teased her.

"I can more or less guess what you're going to ask. It's only a matter of time."

"...You're pretty confident! Are you really that sure Katsuragi won't be able to keep it up?"

Seeing how calm Sakayanagi looked, Hoshino couldn't understand where all her confidence came from.

After all, every rumor he'd heard painted Katsuragi as an exemplary student: diligent, humble, and a strong leader. From every angle, he didn't seem like someone who would be easily ousted.

"Hehe, Hoshino, I admit that Katsuragi is an excellent student, but that doesn't mean he has no weaknesses!"

Sakayanagi stopped and turned to look at Hoshino.

"...Huh? What's his weakness?" Hoshino stopped too, suddenly curious.

"That's a secret!" Sakayanagi said mysteriously, her eyes gleaming with pride. "Hoshino, you have to pay a price to dig up information!"

"...All right, you saw right through me... And the rumors do make Katsuragi sound impressive, so it's hard not to be curious." Hoshino scratched his head, feeling a little awkward.

"Rumors are just rumors! Just wait and see, Hoshino."

"..."

What was this? Why was she suddenly telling him to sit back and enjoy the show?

"Let's go."

"...Yeah..."

At Sakayanagi's request, Hoshino nodded, a little dazed. He walked stiffly, with Sakayanagi's left hand resting on his arm.

"Oh, right! Speaking of which, where's Kamuro? Shouldn't she be with you?"

He hadn't seen Kamuro at all, either earlier or now, so Hoshino asked out of curiosity.

"Masumi went to her club activity! What, Hoshino, don't tell me you're interested in Masumi..." Sakayanagi suddenly broke into a broad grin.

"...No, it's just that whenever I've run into you before, Kamuro's been with you, but this time..." Hoshino was at a loss. What was she even talking about?

After all, Sakayanagi had some trouble getting around. She was fine in everyday situations, but going out alone was rather dangerous.

"Masumi can't stay by my side all the time, after all! She has things of her own to do," Sakayanagi said casually.

"..."

Why did that suddenly make him feel sad?

"Hoshino, how have you been lately? Come to think of it, it's been a while since we last met."

"...Well, I've been... all right, I guess." Sakayanagi's sudden question caught Hoshino off guard. What did she mean by it?

"What do you think of this school?" Sakayanagi looked up, her mood seeming a little subdued.

Why did everyone love asking him that? Hoshino was speechless. Could Sakayanagi have something to do with President Horikita too?

"...It's okay... pretty good?" Unsure how to answer, Hoshino sounded uncertain.

"I think this school is a little boring! There's no one who can play a proper game of chess with me..." The first half of her sentence was fine, but Hoshino nearly lost it at the second. Who said things like that?

Sakayanagi seemed to lose her composure too and let out a soft laugh.

"...You've just been winning too much lately, haven't you? Getting a little overconfident?"

Though he was Sakayanagi's "defeated opponent," that didn't stop Hoshino from poking fun at her.

"Oh my, you noticed?"

A mischievous smile appeared on Sakayanagi's face, but it soon faded. "I do hope someone can beat me, you know! Winning all the time isn't much fun."

"..."

That was true, Hoshino had to admit. He'd played a few games himself, after all, and understood the feeling. A closely matched competition was the most enjoyable kind.

Grinding like crazy, then grinding some more. Let up for even a moment and you'd get pushed down the rankings, so you had to keep grinding whenever no one else was paying attention! At least, that was how Hoshino had done it. Those really had been the most enjoyable times.

At that thought, a curious idea suddenly came to Hoshino: maybe Ayanokoji could beat Sakayanagi!

He'd never played chess with Ayanokoji, but somehow he had that feeling.

"Hoshino, would you like to play another game sometime?"

"Forget it, I don't have that many points." Hoshino hurriedly shook his head, wary of the confident smile on her face.

As if he'd let her "mooch" points off him! No way! This woman was wicked!

After seeing Sakayanagi off, Hoshino hurried back to the club building. He quickly visited the remaining clubs, then returned to the Student Council Room.

"Here are some of the club survey forms. The club presidents for the rest weren't there, so I couldn't get the details. I asked someone to collect them for me, and they'll be returned tomorrow." Hoshino stood nervously in front of President Horikita's desk.

It was his first time doing this kind of work, and this was the only solution he could think of. It wasn't as though he could track down every absent club president—that would be ridiculous.

"Mm... Everything looks fine." President Horikita nodded, took the forms Hoshino handed him, and began looking them over.

Only after hearing President Horikita's words did Hoshino let out a long breath and return to his seat.

Come to think of it, this "division" in Class A was an opportunity. It would be best if Class A stayed in this state for as long as possible!...

"Oh, and follow up with the teachers too. Get the checks done and the forms back as soon as possible."

"...Oh, right... Sure!" Hoshino jumped, startled out of his thoughts.

"...By the way, President, could I take a look at Katsuragi's file?" Hoshino asked cautiously.

President Horikita looked up, surprised. "What happened?"

"...Nothing, I just want to learn more about my opponent. After all... he's running for the Student Council too, isn't he?" Hoshino racked his brain for an excuse.

"...I can tell you a few things, but I can't let you look through his file!" President Horikita watched Hoshino's eyes for a moment before speaking. "Their class had so many points in the first month, and Katsuragi was their biggest contributor. He's a rather diligent person who knows how to keep both himself and his classmates in line. His grades are excellent, and he has some leadership ability too..."

How should he put it? Katsuragi seemed a little too serious. Even... old-fashioned?

"Thanks, President!"

That was the only impression Hoshino had after hearing President Horikita's explanation.

Outside of school, Katsuragi would be the model student. But here, he somehow seemed... at a disadvantage. At least Hoshino thought Katsuragi didn't have much chance against Sakayanagi.