Jeet Kune Do (Seeking Everything)

"Suzune, it seems you've found yourself some interesting friends..." Horikita Manabu rubbed the frame of his black glasses with his fingertips. His gaze, peering from behind the lenses, swept over Watanabe Hayabara's taut jawline, a faint, ambiguous curve playing at the corners of his mouth. He deliberately emphasized the word "friends."

Watanabe Hayabara draped his school blazer casually over his shoulder, his black tie hanging askew against his chest. He raised an eyebrow at Horikita Manabu's scrutinizing stare. "Friends? That requires certification from Horikita-san. I only intervened because I couldn't stand the Student Council President's bullying." He drew out the tail of his sentence, his peripheral vision precisely capturing Horikita Suzune's tightly clenched right hand. It was clear she hadn't recovered from the physical strain, and red welts were still visible on her wrists.

Horikita Suzune lowered her eyes to avoid her brother's probing gaze, her hair catching the cold, sterile light of the overhead lamp. "It is as he says. He... is not my friend, merely a classmate." Her voice sounded as if it had been dipped in ice water, the syllables trembling ever so slightly. Her throat bobbed unnaturally.

"Though I may not qualify as Horikita-san's friend, there is someone else here who is a good friend of hers." Watanabe Hayabara suddenly turned, looking toward the darkness behind him, a smirk playing on his lips. "Ayanokoji-kun, the problem is solved. Aren't you coming out?"

"Oh? There's another one?" Horikita Manabu's hand, mid-adjustment of his glasses, froze in mid-air, a cold glint flashing behind the black frames. His dark brown pupils acted like precision scanners, capturing every minute movement within the shadows.

Amidst the rustle of fabric, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka rubbed his neck and stepped slowly out of the shadows, looking as nonchalant as ever. Even when meeting Horikita Manabu's gaze, his ink-colored eyes remained veiled in a thin mist, as if everything happening around him had nothing to do with him.

Horikita Manabu's gaze lingered for half a second on the creases of Ayanokoji's blazer before shifting to the expressionless Horikita Suzune. "Suzune, is this your friend?" His tone dragged with a long, vibrating tremor, as oppressive as a viper flicking its tongue.

"This... is also just a classmate. Not a friend by any means." Horikita Suzune took a half-step back, her spine pressing against the cold wall, her hair falling to hide her tightly pressed lips. Her hand, hanging at her side, unconsciously clutched her skirt, kneading deep wrinkles into the pleated fabric.

[How truly pitiable.]

Watanabe Hayabara leaned against a pillar and chuckled, his Adam's apple bobbing with the sound. He pulled out a tin of mints, popped one into his mouth, and the crisp, sweet scent mingled with a faint, lingering trace of gunpowder. "Ayanokoji-kun's carefree demeanor makes it look like you just came out for a stroll from the library. It certainly doesn't look like you were watching the show with me just now."

Horikita Manabu chose to ignore Watanabe Hayabara's jest. Instead, he reached out to lift a lock of Horikita Suzune's hair, his fingertips brushing against her with a near-cruel tenderness. "It seems you are still the same, misunderstanding the meaning of pride and solitude. That is why your desire to rise is something so difficult to achieve." Horikita Manabu's voice suddenly rose.

[The tenderness beneath deliberate cruelty is quite easy to identify.]

Before the words had even faded, he spun around sharply, the cold light reflecting off his lenses pinning itself precisely onto Watanabe Hayabara's face. "You are Watanabe Hayabara, correct?"

"Does the President have any questions?" Watanabe Hayabara straightened up, deliberately slowing his cadence, the upward inflection of his tone carrying a challenge, as if responding to this silent pressure.

"To have achieved all question marks on your personal ability evaluation at the start of the term—Watanabe Hayabara, if you were to get involved, things might actually become a little interesting." Horikita Manabu let out a cold laugh, shoved his hands into his pockets, and turned to walk into the shadows.

"If you wish to promote to another class, then struggle with all your might, Suzune. There is no other way." Horikita Manabu's voice drifted from the deepening shadows, blending with his fading footsteps until it finally dissipated into the dark.

After Horikita Manabu left, the scene fell into profound silence, broken only by the chirping of insects in the night. Horikita Suzune relaxed, her body trembling slightly before she slumped down, sitting against the wall with her head bowed, motionless.

None of the three moved to break the heavy atmosphere first.

Watanabe Hayabara found the mood too tedious and had no desire to waste time. "I'm leaving," he said, before turning toward the shadows to depart.

"Watanabe-kun." Just as he was about to leave, Horikita Suzune slowly raised her head and called out to him.

"Is something the matter?" Watanabe Hayabara looked back, a smile on his face.

"Watanabe-kun, your movements are so skilled, and your close-quarters combat ability is so high. Did you study something specific?"

"Jeet Kune Do. Have you heard of it, Horikita-san?"

"I... I don't know much about it. But my brother is a fifth-dan in Karate and a fourth-dan in Aikido. I imagine whatever this Jeet Kune Do is, it must be very strong."

"Jeet Kune Do is based on Wing Chun, Boxing, and Fencing, incorporating Chinese Taoist philosophy. It focuses on intercepting an opponent's incoming strike. It treats 'no way' as 'the way,' and its movements have no fixed patterns or rules, changing flexibly. It is a form of counter-attacking martial art that refuses to be bound by fixed forms." Watanabe Hayabara patiently explained to Horikita Suzune.

Jeet Kune Do, flexible and ever-changing. So that's why I couldn't read his behavioral patterns or techniques... Ayanokoji thought to himself.

A fusion of martial arts? If that's the case, it makes sense that he could defeat my brother...

[What a deep-seated brother complex.]

"If Horikita-san has no other questions, I shall take my leave." Watanabe Hayabara said expressionlessly, seemingly indifferent to Horikita Suzune's hesitation.

Horikita Suzune appeared somewhat hesitant. She drew out her voice, as if contemplating how to respond. "Er..." This simple syllable echoed in the air, revealing her inner conflict.

Ayanokoji stood to the side, quietly observing their interaction. His gaze fell first on Watanabe Hayabara, then shifted to Horikita Suzune. After scrutinizing her for a few seconds, he turned and walked away in silence.

Watanabe Hayabara watched Ayanokoji's retreating figure until he disappeared from sight. However, Horikita Suzune remained lost in her own thoughts, head bowed, completely unaware that Ayanokoji had left.

After a long while, as if she had finally made up her mind, Horikita Suzune looked up, met Watanabe Hayabara's eyes directly, and asked, "Um... it's just, Watanabe-kun, my goal is to rise to Class A. Do you have any intention of rising to Class A?"

This question clearly caught Watanabe Hayabara off guard. He paused for a moment, then wore an expression of complete disinterest in reaching Class A. "Rise to Class A? I don't have any such plans for the time being. After all, rising to Class A doesn't bring me any practical benefits. If I were to take on so many tasks and labor just to reach Class A, wouldn't that be exhausting? Don't you agree, Horikita?"

His tone was flat, showing little yearning for Class A, which stood in stark contrast to Horikita Suzune's ambitious attitude. In truth, Watanabe Hayabara really didn't have much interest in the class system.

"But if you don't strive to promote, I fear the meager monthly points we receive—or perhaps even receiving no points at all—will make daily life and expenses very difficult in the future. Doesn't Watanabe-kun need more points?"