"You didn't talk to that Hasegawa kid even once in all those hours, even though you spoke with everyone else, Ichinose."
After they parted ways, Honami Ichinose had thought she was in the clear, but Shiranami Chihiro suddenly questioned her.
"Huh...? That's because..." Flustered, she blurted out an explanation, then immediately regretted it when she realized she'd walked straight into a trap.
Sure enough, the moment she heard that, Shiranami Chihiro hurriedly asked, "What happened? Did he confess to you?"
Why had she jumped straight to the idea of a confession? Even though that was exactly what had happened...
Honami Ichinose was troubled, but soon came up with a way out.
"Didn't I go to an interview this morning to join the Student Council? I didn't get in, unfortunately, but Hasegawa-kun did, so I was a little jealous."
It wasn't a flawless excuse, but after hearing it, Shiranami Chihiro smiled brightly.
"That's wonderful!... Ah, I don't mean that it's wonderful you didn't get in. Ichinose is everyone's, right, Amikura?"
"Ugh, that's so cheesy!" Amikura Mako smiled anyway. "Let the past stay in the past, Ichinose. You need to look ahead!"
Let the past stay in the past...?
Honami Ichinose kept smiling as usual.
"All right, we've sung and eaten. Let's split up here."
"Don't put it in such a weird way!" Masayoshi Hashimoto chuckled, but he knew Toru Hasegawa was trying to send him off, so he waved a hand. "It's only been a week since school started. You'd better get ready for me to keep pestering you!"
"Sure. Come find me whenever you want." Toru Hasegawa nodded. No matter how you looked at it, he'd become one of the forces his friend couldn't afford to ignore.
"But for this one month, please don't bring up things like that again. Even if it's only for this short month, I want to do all kinds of things."
Masayoshi Hashimoto agreed. "Okay."
The two parted ways.
If nothing else had come up, Toru Hasegawa wouldn't have minded going for a run on the track with Masayoshi Hashimoto or something. But he really did have other things to do now.
He opened his phone, found Suzune Horikita's name, and sent her a message.
[Hasegawa Toru: I need to talk to you about something involving your brother.]
[Horikita Suzune: ?]
[Horikita Suzune: Did you forget what you promised me?]
[Hasegawa Toru: I couldn't help it. He brought it up himself, and I think it'd be better to talk about it in person. Are you free right now?]
That said, Toru Hasegawa didn't think Suzune Horikita would be busy. She was a twisted person.
Simply put, she thought friends were unnecessary, so people generally didn't invite her anywhere.
Which meant she was bound to be free.
[Horikita Suzune: Where are you now?]
[Hasegawa Toru: Behind the school building. I'll wait for you there.]
Answering a question with another question, huh? Too bad I'm not going to hand you the initiative.
Toru Hasegawa thought indifferently as he tapped open her profile. It showed her real-time location: inside the dormitory.
Looks like there's plenty of time.
Toru Hasegawa set off at an unhurried pace.
"What exactly did my brother say to you?"
Behind the school building, Suzune Horikita had already been waiting. As soon as she saw Toru Hasegawa, she hurriedly asked him.
The slight sheen of sweat on her forehead suggested she'd run over.
"Let's not rush into that. First, let me return your points."
"Huh?" Suzune Horikita looked confused for a moment, but quickly recovered. "I see. So you're the type to keep your promises? Then why weren't you here when I arrived?"
"I haven't broken my promise, but I still feel uneasy. Those points you gave me aren't much use to me now, so I don't mind giving them back. As for your other question...you ran too fast." Toru Hasegawa shrugged indifferently.
She'd been in quite a hurry. That also showed just how important her brother was to her.
Suzune Horikita had taken the bait. She'd noticed the unusual wording Toru Hasegawa had used. "What did you mean by what you just said?"
When it came to her brother, she was pretty quick on the uptake—as long as he wasn't there in person.
"That's a secret." Toru Hasegawa flashed a bright, toothy grin, but her attention soon shifted elsewhere.
After he returned the points, Suzune Horikita couldn't wait another moment.
"Do you have any other excuses now? Can you tell me?"
"Oh, now that I've returned your points, I don't have any reason to keep getting involved with you." Toru Hasegawa smiled. "Let's part ways here."
"Are you messing with me?" Suzune Horikita said coldly, blocking Toru Hasegawa as he tried to leave.
"Do you want to know so badly what your brother said?" Everything was going according to Toru Hasegawa's plan. "Then why don't you go ask him yourself? After all...you're his sister."
"I'm not going to tell you anything else. Just tell me exactly what my brother said to you, word for word." Suzune Horikita was utterly firm, radiating the sense that she wouldn't let him leave until he explained himself.
"Okay, okay, I get it." Toru Hasegawa raised both hands in a classic gesture of surrender. "You're pretty useless, Suzune."
"What?!" Suzune Horikita froze in place. "I got into this school, and my brother... How could he still say something like that? Are you lying to me?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't repeat his words exactly as you asked, but that was the general idea, Suzune. Your brother looks down on you."
Suzune Horikita took a deep breath, regaining some of her composure. "I never gave you permission to call me by my first name."
"Well, I was just repeating the way your brother addressed you."
"You..." Suzune Horikita had never wanted to hit anyone so badly, but she held back. "Is that all?"
"Don't rush. We're only just getting to the main point. After all, I've been asked to do a lot." Toru Hasegawa gave her a meaningful smile and stepped toward her, bringing them closer.
Toru Hasegawa was more than a head taller than Suzune Horikita, but she looked up at him without backing down.
"You've been failing from the very start, Suzune."
"I'll ignore your rude way of addressing me." Suzune Horikita didn't dwell on that. "Me? Failing? What are you talking about?"
"Do you still not understand? The moment you were placed in Class D, you'd already failed."
At Toru Hasegawa's words, Suzune Horikita's eyes slowly widened.
Everything that had happened since she entered the school played through her mind like a slideshow.
"What...did...you say?"
Before you continue