Chapter Forty-Eight: Just Make Sure Nobody Ends Up Dead?

At first, Ju Ji had been thrilled at the thought of getting 100,000 points, but Horikita Manabu's antics had completely stunned him.

"No, Student Council President. That's not how you become sworn brothers. Even people in the underworld have to share a drink first."

"What? You're dating my sister. Is calling me 'big brother' really that much of a hardship?"

Their words seemed to line up, but they weren't remotely on the same wavelength. Fortunately, Ju Ji wasn't stupid. He quickly realized what Horikita Manabu was talking about: the rumor going around class that he and Suzune were dating. He hadn't expected it to reach Horikita Manabu's ears. But it was only a rumor. Why had he actually believed it?

"No, Student Council President. That's just a rumor. Suzune and I aren't dating."

"You call her by her first name, and you still say you're not dating?"

"No, friends call each other by their first names too."

After talking with Horikita Manabu for a while, Ju Ji realized there was no getting through to him. The guy was such a siscon that once he'd made up his mind, he wouldn't budge. No matter how much Ju Ji explained, he still thought Ju Ji was dating Suzune and was just unwilling to admit it.

So he understood that the person who'd tied the knot would have to untie it.

"Hey, Suzune. Come explain things to your brother. We're not dating, right?"

"Um... I didn't expect my brother to think that... But I... Ju Ji and I... aren't dating?"

Well, now Ju Ji had finally accepted reality. He had to be dreaming. That was the only way something this absurd could be happening. A usually serious Student Council President suddenly challenged you to a long-distance race, then, after you won, wanted to make you his brother-in-law. That sort of thing only happened in fantasy novels.

But more importantly, who was this girl standing in front of him, blushing so hard she looked ready to burst into flames? And why was she looking away? That only made her seem more like she was lying. Even the way she bit her lip in frustration was too much. He wasn't some scumbag who'd dumped an innocent girl!

In short, the Horikita Suzune he knew—the one with violent tendencies, always so imposing and never willing to bow her head—could never be this cute.

After Suzune had acted like that, Ju Ji had no chance of explaining their relationship to Horikita Manabu and Secretary Tachibana. It was an impossible task.

"So give it up, Ju Ji. There's no way you can explain this now. Besides, from the looks of it, Horikita doesn't seem entirely opposed to the idea. Isn't that even better?"

At last, Kikyo came over and delivered the final blow. Ju Ji was down for the count... Just kidding.

After Ju Ji desperately tried to explain things to the two of them, and Suzune returned to her normal self after a little provocation and spoke up as well, they finally managed to believe that Ju Ji and Suzune weren't dating?

And Ju Ji's way of addressing Horikita Manabu had just barely changed from "Big Brother" to "Manabu-senpai." For some reason, though, Horikita Manabu still looked a little disappointed.

"Sorry for misunderstanding your relationship. Horikita has been following in my footsteps ever since she was little. This was the first time I'd seen someone else appear in her eyes, so I ended up believing those rumors."

"No, it's fine. Suzune and I are friends. We spend a lot of time together chatting, so that's probably how the rumor got started. It's easy to be misunderstood. Don't worry about it, Manabu-senpai."

At least it was a relief to clear up the misunderstanding. But Horikita Manabu really did lose his cool whenever his sister was involved. He was a total siscon after all. Maybe he was only so strict with Suzune because he wanted to protect her.

"Ju Ji, forget what you just saw, okay?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't see anything. Could you put away that compass? It's dangerous, you know."

"Good!"

After a long time, Suzune had finally brought out her signature weapon, the compass. Getting stabbed with one of those wasn't pleasant, and he had absolutely no desire to find out for himself.

"Sorry for causing you trouble. Now that we've cleared things up, we should be going. Right, President?"

"Of course."

Was it just his imagination, or had their relationship somehow reversed since the start? It had to be his imagination. Horikita Manabu had regained his composure, and his usual stern presence had returned.

"Ju Ji, are you really sure you don't want to join the Student Council? In my view, you'd be the ideal successor."

"No, that kind of serious work isn't for me. Suzune might be able to handle it, though."

"Suzune? She's certainly changed a lot. But it's still too soon for her."

On the surface, Horikita Manabu seemed to doubt Suzune's abilities. But since Ju Ji already knew he was a siscon, he understood what he really meant: he didn't want his sister thrown into that brutal competition so soon.

"Little Suzune, could you come over for a moment? There's something I want to tell you."

Before leaving, Secretary Tachibana called Suzune over to a corner and spoke with her privately. They were too far away for Ju Ji to hear what they were saying. He could only see that Suzune's face was a little red. Surely they weren't talking about something indecent? No, that couldn't be it.

"You're about to go on a luxurious cruise, aren't you? Here's a little tip: it's best not to treat it as just a vacation. That's all. See you later."

"Wait, there's one more important thing. Leave your parents to me. Just enjoy these last few years of your youth as much as you can. Don't hold back—just make sure nobody ends up dead."

After leaving them with those suggestive words, Secretary Tachibana departed with Horikita Manabu. Of course, Ju Ji pretended he hadn't heard her final remark. It seemed Horikita Manabu hadn't really believed his explanation after all.

"Don't worry, Manabu-senpai. I'll keep an eye on them."

"Kushida, you know the truth. Don't join in with their nonsense."

"Of course. I know even more than you do."

Kikyo and Suzune seemed to have gotten into a scuffle, but Ju Ji didn't have the energy to pay attention to it. He could already tell that his high school life from here on out was going to be a real headache—in every possible way...