Horikita Manabu

Leaving the private room, Hoshida No walked along the deserted path, the moonlight shimmering on the digital recorder in his palm, the metal casing reflecting the pale glow.

He spun the device on his fingertips, whispering to himself, "Ryuen Kakeru is quite the character; I can make another profit off this."

The night breeze stirred the shadows of the trees, and a figure at the corner of the school building caught his attention.

Ayanokoji stood with his back to the moonlight, his thin frame appearing entirely out of place in the surrounding environment.

Hoshida No approached with light footsteps, raising his hand to tap the other boy on the shoulder, not too hard, not too soft: "Slacking off?"

Ayanokoji turned his head, showing not a shred of surprise at being caught, as if he had expected someone to come along all along.

He simply raised a hand to point toward the deeper shadows of the corner, his voice flat: "Horikita-san seems to be on a date with someone."

"Horikita Suzune?" Hoshida No raised an eyebrow, finding it hard to believe.

That icy girl, going on a date with someone, and at night, no less?

He followed Ayanokoji's finger and looked over, indeed seeing two figures standing quite close together in the dim light.

The moonlight barely grazed the tips of Horikita's hair; her body was half-pressed against the wall by the person opposite her, her hands hanging at her sides, showing not the slightest sign of resistance.

He chuckled and withdrew his gaze, just about to pat Ayanokoji on the shoulder to signal that they shouldn't meddle in other people's business, when the conversation from the depths of the corner drifted over, drilling clearly into his ears.

"Suzune, I didn't expect you to actually follow me here."

The boy's voice was cold and steady, yet carried an undeniable sense of oppression.

Hoshida No's hand, halfway through its motion, froze in mid-air.

This voice... He narrowed his eyes, using the moonlight to carefully examine the boy standing with his back to them. The other party wore thin-rimmed glasses, his posture was upright, and the student council badge on his collar glinted faintly in the dark.

"Isn't that the student council president—Horikita Manabu?"

Hoshida No's tone was tinged with genuine astonishment.

A thought flashed rapidly through his mind: Horikita Manabu and Horikita Suzune both share the surname Horikita... could they be siblings?

No sooner had this thought landed than a clearer sentence drifted from the corner, directly confirming his hypothesis.

"I am no longer the person I used to be; I came to this school to catch up to your footsteps, Brother." Horikita Suzune's voice carried a suppressed stubbornness, the tail end of her words trembling slightly.

Horikita Manabu's tone was even deeper than before: "Catch up to me... You still haven't realized your own flaws; choosing this school was a grave mistake."

Hoshida No caught a glimpse of Horikita Suzune in the shadows clenching her fists tightly, her knuckles turning white, her previously rigid spine trembling slightly: "I will be able to catch up to Class A soon, and then I can..."

"Impossible." The cold, three-word sentence ruthlessly interrupted what she had yet to say.

"I absolutely can!" Horikita Suzune raised her volume, her tone filled with unwilling obstinacy.

Before the words had even faded, Horikita Manabu suddenly exerted force, pinning Horikita Suzune's arm hard against the wall. A flash of impatient coldness crossed behind his icy lenses: "What a disobedient sister. I do not have a sister in Class D. Withdraw from this school immediately."

Horikita Suzune's face turned deathly pale as she lowered her head, her lips moving as if to explain something, but Horikita Manabu's hand was already raised high, his palm tensed into a sharp arc, aimed directly at her abdomen.

"You have neither the ability nor the qualification to aim for the top..."

Hoshida No's pupils constricted. He saw it clearly; the tension in the muscles of Horikita Manabu's arm was no mere show of intimidation.

He turned to look at Ayanokoji beside him, but the other boy shifted slightly, seemingly having no intention of intervening.

"Sigh," Hoshida No sighed helplessly. His figure moved rapidly, firmly blocking Horikita Manabu's arm, and he could clearly feel the force behind the strike. "President Horikita, that is your sister, after all. You didn't pull your punch at all."

"Hoshida-kun," Horikita Suzune saw the other boy's face, but still lowered her head, her voice faint. "Don't do this, Hoshida-kun."

Hoshida No paused slightly; it was the first time he had heard Horikita Suzune use such a tone, and he released the arm he was holding.

The next second, Horikita Manabu's arm swung with a gust of wind, brushing past Hoshida No's ear, his fingertips nearly grazing his hair. Using the momentum of his backward lean, Hoshida No quickly retreated half a step, landing steadily on the edge of the shadows.

"Meddlesome." Horikita Manabu's voice was frigid. He withdrew his arm, his gaze behind his lenses sharp as a blade, locking directly onto Hoshida No, the oppressive aura around him rising sharply. "It is not for an outsider to interfere with how I discipline my sister."

Hoshida No raised an eyebrow, though his feet had already adjusted his center of gravity: "Discipline? With the force you just used, President Horikita, you might have crippled her. If this got out—the student council president using violence against his sister in the middle of the night—it would cause quite a stir at this school."

Before the words were finished, Horikita Manabu moved. Without any superfluous or flashy motions, he kicked straight toward Hoshida No's chest, the wind of his leg fierce.

Hoshida No did not dodge or evade; only when the wind of the kick was inches from his clothes did he shift slightly to the side, his right hand landing nonchalantly on Horikita Manabu's ankle, using the momentum of the other's forward charge to pull him along.

Horikita Manabu's center of gravity shifted instantly, and he stumbled forward two steps before stabilizing himself. When he looked back at Hoshida No, a trace of imperceptible gravity finally colored his gaze.

"You have some skill." Horikita Manabu said in a low voice, pressing forward again, his fist wrapped in a gust of wind as he smashed toward Hoshida No's face.

Hoshida No ducked to avoid it, simultaneously raising his hand to grab Horikita Manabu's wrist, his fingertips precisely pinning the other's pressure point.

Horikita Manabu felt a wave of numbness in his arm, and most of his strength instantly dissipated.

He frowned and spun his body violently, attempting to break free from the restraint, but Hoshida No released his grip with the momentum of the turn, stepped back half a step, and calmly brushed the dust from his palms.

"The President's skills are indeed impressive," Hoshida No said, his tone as relaxed as if they were just chatting.

Horikita Manabu's expression darkened completely. He stopped wasting words, his offensive suddenly accelerating, using his full strength in the exchange of blows.

Yet Hoshida No remained at ease, his footsteps light, every dodge perfectly timed. Occasionally, when he raised his hand to block, he used only the minimal force necessary to neutralize the attack, even finding the leisure to glance at Ayanokoji, who remained a cold bystander in the corner.

Another heavy punch came flying in. Hoshida No tilted his head slightly, raised his hand to frame Horikita Manabu's arm, and with a light twist of his wrist, forced the other's arm behind his back.

Horikita Manabu let out a muffled grunt, struggling to resist, but he was firmly pinned by Hoshida No and unable to move.

"President," Hoshida No's voice was flat as he leaned close to his ear, "let's stop here."

The moment Hoshida No withdrew his force, his chest was struck by a violent impact, and he stumbled back two steps before barely managing to steady himself.

He truly hadn't expected that Horikita Manabu, as the Student Council President, would go back on his word and launch a sneak attack the moment he was released.

Before he could even adjust his stance, a fierce gust of wind from a punch bore down on his face, and Hoshida No instinctively raised his hands to shield himself.

The expected blow never landed; a hand with well-defined knuckles had firmly intercepted the space between him and Horikita Manabu, a dull thud echoing the moment palm met fist.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had appeared before him at some point, his tone laced with a hint of chill: "To think that the Student Council President would go back on his word—I've certainly learned something today."

Horikita Manabu's fist was held firmly in place, his pupils contracting slightly behind his lenses; clearly, he hadn't expected this boy, who had been watching from the sidelines all along, to suddenly intervene.

He slowly withdrew his arm, the corners of his mouth curling into a low, resonant laugh: "Hahaha, very good. You are Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, aren't you?" His gaze then shifted to Hoshida No, who had just regained his footing. "And you are Hoshida No, correct?"

The two, having been called by their full names, exchanged a subtle glance, a flicker of surprise passing through their eyes.

Hoshida No stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ayanokoji, his expression remaining as calm and rippleless as ever.

Horikita Manabu reached up to adjust his glasses, the lenses reflecting the cold moonlight, his tone carrying the composure of someone in a position of power: "I've seen the report cards from the end-of-month exams a few days ago. In the entire first-year cohort, only one person scored a perfect mark in every subject, and that person is from Class D." His gaze landed on Hoshida No, filled with undisguised scrutiny.

Hoshida No nodded noncommittally, openly acknowledging the fact.

Horikita Manabu's gaze then shifted to Ayanokoji: "The other one scored exactly fifty points in every subject during the entrance exam, and this time, for the end-of-month exams, he scored exactly fifty points once again—also from Class D."

Ayanokoji's gaze swept calmly over Hoshida No beside him.

Seeing that the other boy's eyes remained as calm as usual, showing not a hint of surprise or astonishment, it seemed his own facade had long since been seen through by the other.

He looked up at Horikita Manabu and gave a faint nod, effectively confirming it.

"One with a perfect score, one with a precise fifty," Horikita Manabu paced slowly, his gaze lingering back and forth between the two, his tone tinged with amusement. "To be at two such extremes, yet both hiding in the most inconspicuous Class D... This year's Class D is truly interesting."