Nighttime Recording

The study group had been going for several days, and the results were even worse than Yuto had expected.

More than a dozen people showed up on the first day, and it looked fairly convincing. Horikita stood at the front handing out the review materials she had organized, Kushida helped make copies beside her, and Hirata was responsible for keeping order. For a while, the atmosphere seemed quite positive. Even Yuto could not help taking a second look when he passed by.

But from the second day onward, things fell apart. After studying for an hour, Ike complained that his head hurt and said he needed a break. Then he lay on the desk playing with his phone, repeatedly scrolling through the same content. Yamauchi brought a thick notebook, but after flipping through two pages, he started spacing out. When asked what he was thinking about, he said, "I'm digesting the knowledge from earlier." In reality, the page in front of him did not have a single word written on it. It was covered in doodles from when he had zoned out during class. Sudo came every day, but his patience visibly dwindled by the day. He chewed on the end of his pen while solving problems, and whenever he got stuck, his leg began shaking. In the end, he slammed his pen onto the desk so hard that the sound was startling.

On the fourth day, the conflict erupted.

It started over a math problem. Sudo stared at a quadratic function for ten minutes, writing several lines on his scratch paper before crossing them all out, then writing more and crossing those out too. Horikita went over and asked if he wanted help, but he shouted, "No." Five minutes later, he threw his pen onto the floor.

"Damn it!" Sudo stood up and kicked the desk. "Who the hell came up with this garbage problem? What's the point of learning it?"

Horikita frowned slightly. "Calm down. It's just one problem."

"That's easy for you to say!" Sudo shouted at her. "You know everything, so of course you can stand there talking like it's nothing! I've been sitting here for an hour and haven't understood a damn thing. Has any of you even bothered with me?"

Hirata spoke up beside him. "Sudo, everyone has been trying to help you—"

"Quit acting like a good guy!" Sudo cut him off. "What do people with good grades know?"

He grabbed his bag and left, slamming the door hard as he reached the entrance. The entire floor heard the huge bang. The classroom fell silent for several seconds. Ike and Yamauchi looked at each other, while everyone else lowered their heads without saying anything. Horikita stood motionless in front of the podium, her expression frozen. It was a long while before everyone gradually packed up and left. The study group ended on a sour note.

Yuto heard about it from Kushida during the break the next day.

"Horikita barely said anything all day yesterday." Kushida lowered her voice and glanced in Horikita's direction. Horikita was sitting at her desk flipping through a book, but Yuto noticed that the page in her hand had not moved for several minutes. She was only pretending to read. Her eyes were not focused on the page at all.

"What about Sudo?" Yuto asked.

"He didn't come to class today. He took leave. Hirata said he'd go talk to him." Kushida sighed. "Horikita put so much effort into organizing that study group, and it ended up like this. She must be really upset."

Yuto did not respond. He looked at Horikita's back, her shoulders drawn taut. She must be hurting badly right now. The quieter she was, the more obvious it was that something was wrong. But he would not go comfort her. Their relationship had not reached that point. He wanted to comfort her, but he also knew that with her personality, she would not accept it.

That night, Yuto stayed in his dorm room and felt strangely stifled.

Kushida had not come to see him today. The study group situation had probably exhausted her as well. There was barely any wind outside, and the room was quiet except for the low hum of the air conditioner. He sat alone for a while and flipped through a few pages of a book, but none of it registered. His thoughts kept drifting back to what had happened during the day. Those scenes tangled together in his mind and made him irritable.

He decided to go outside for some air.

He picked up the mini camcorder from the desk and slipped it into his pocket. This thing had already proven its worth—last time, he had used it to record Kamuro stealing. Maybe it would come in handy again this time.

He left the dorm building and walked around campus. Night had fully fallen, and the streetlights cast patches of light across the pavement. There was hardly anyone on the road, with only the occasional chirp of insects drifting over from afar. The night breeze carried a slight chill, clearing his head a little.

When he reached the area near the vending machines, he saw someone standing in front of one.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. He wore a dark coat and was staring blankly at the drinks inside. His presence was so faint that if Yuto had not specifically been paying attention, he might have walked right past him.

When Yuto approached, Ayanokoji turned his head to glance at him and gave a nod in greeting.

Yuto nodded back, took out some coins to buy a soda, then asked, "Want one?"

Ayanokoji looked at him. "You're treating?"

"Yeah."

Yuto inserted another coin, bought another can, and handed it to Ayanokoji. Ayanokoji accepted it without saying thank you, then popped the tab and took a sip.

The two stood beside the vending machine drinking soda, and for a while neither of them spoke. Ayanokoji was the kind of person whose presence put no pressure on anyone. Even when he said nothing, it did not feel awkward.

After a while, Ayanokoji set down his empty can. "I'll be going, then."

"Yeah."

Ayanokoji turned and took several steps away, while Yuto was also about to head back. But at that moment, he noticed two people standing beneath a streetlight ahead.

More precisely, one was standing while the other was being cornered. He knew the person being cornered—Horikita Suzune. And he knew the person blocking her path as well.

Yuto stopped walking.

Horikita Manabu. The siblings stood beneath the streetlight, several steps apart. Yuto could not clearly make out Horikita Manabu's expression in the light, but he could feel the oppressive pressure around him. He stood there like a wall. That posture alone made it hard to breathe. Horikita Suzune stood before him with her head lowered, looking somehow smaller than usual.

Yuto instinctively slipped his hand into his pocket and pressed the camcorder's power button. He knew what might happen next—this scene had been in the original work. Horikita Manabu had come to settle accounts with his sister over her performance in Class D, and when he was about to hit her, Ayanokoji stepped in to stop him.

He had not expected Ayanokoji to be here too.

Ayanokoji had stopped as well. He had seen the two of them, but he did not walk over immediately. He merely stood where he was and watched quietly, looking like someone observing a roadside drama that had nothing to do with him. Yet he did not leave.

Horikita Manabu's voice was cold as it carried across the short distance. "Suzune, is this what you meant when you said you would prove yourself? You turned the study group into that mess. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Horikita Suzune kept her head lowered. "I'm sorry."

"Is sorry useful?" Horikita Manabu's tone carried suppressed fury. "You're not a child anymore. You can't brush everything aside with an apology. Did you think your entrance exam scores meant everything? At this school, those without ability will only be eliminated."

Horikita Suzune's body trembled slightly, but she did not argue. Her hands hanging at her sides curled into fists.

Horikita Manabu said something else, his voice dropping even lower. Then he raised his hand. The meaning of that movement was obvious—he was going to hit her. His palm swung at Horikita Suzune, heavy with anger.

At that very instant, a figure stepped between them.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

He caught Horikita Manabu's wrist. The movement was small, but firm. His face showed no expression, as if he had only casually done some trivial thing.

Horikita Manabu froze for a moment, then looked down at him. "Who are you?"

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Class 1-D." Ayanokoji spoke at an unhurried pace. "It doesn't look good for the student council president to hit a girl, does it?"

Horikita Manabu stared at him for several seconds, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Move. This has nothing to do with you."

Ayanokoji did not move. He even smiled slightly. "Sorry, but I hate seeing this sort of thing."

Horikita Manabu lowered his hand, but his eyes remained fixed on Ayanokoji. The air was taut as a string about to snap.

Then Horikita Suzune took a deep breath and spoke.

"Enough." Her voice trembled slightly, but she tried her best to remain calm. "I'm fine. You don't need to concern yourselves with me."

She raised her head to look at Horikita Manabu. Her eyes were a little red, but she did not cry. "Brother, you're right. I failed to do things properly. I'll deal with my own matters myself. You don't need to worry about me."

After saying that, she glanced at Ayanokoji, then looked once toward the darkness. Yuto knew she had seen him, but her eyes did not linger.

She turned and took several steps away, but stopped halfway—because she heard Yuto's voice.

"President."

Yuto stepped out from the shadows some distance away, the mini camcorder in his hand. The small red recording light was still flashing on its screen. He had remained silent until now because he had been waiting for this moment.

Horikita Manabu stopped and turned to look at him. He recognized Yuto—the Class D student who had called out to him at the school gate not long ago. His gaze turned even colder.

"You."

"Me." Yuto raised the camcorder and gave it a small shake. "President, that part was recorded quite clearly. Even your expression was captured. Would you like to take a look?"

Horikita Manabu's expression changed, and he let out a cold laugh. "You want to threaten me with that?"

"I wouldn't dare." Yuto said, "I just want to make a deal with you. The student council president hitting his own sister—if that headline got online, it would probably generate quite a bit of discussion. What do you think?"

Horikita Manabu stared at him. "How much do you want?"

Yuto thought for a moment before naming a figure. "Two hundred thousand."

Horikita Manabu frowned. "Are you insane?"

"If you think it's not worth it, you can refuse." Yuto put the camcorder back in his pocket and made as if to turn away. "Then I'll keep it as a memento. Maybe it'll come in handy someday."

"Wait."

Horikita Manabu's voice came from behind him, carrying tightly restrained anger.

But this time, before Yuto could turn around, someone else spoke first.

"Enough."

Horikita Suzune's voice came from the shadows nearby. She had not gone far. She had heard and seen everything that had just happened. She stepped out of the darkness and positioned herself between her brother and Yuto. The night wind stirred the ends of her hair. Her eyes were still red, but her expression was much calmer than before.

She looked at Yuto, her voice quiet but every word clear. "Delete the recording. Don't use it to threaten my brother."

Yuto looked at her but said nothing.

Horikita Suzune continued, "He's my brother. What he does is my business. It's not your place to extort him."

Horikita Manabu stood behind her without speaking, his expression shifting beneath the light. He probably had not expected his sister to step forward and speak for him. He had always thought that this sister of his only brought him shame, but in that moment, as she stood before him and defended him, he saw her anew.

Yuto was silent for several seconds before saying, "Suzune, are you sure you want to stand up for your brother?"

"I'm sure." Horikita Suzune's voice still trembled faintly, but her tone was resolute. "Delete the recording."

Yuto looked at her for a while, then glanced at Horikita Manabu behind her. He smiled, and there was something unreadable in that smile.

"Fine," he said. "Then let's change the terms. Two hundred thousand, paid by your brother, but I'll delete it in front of you. That should put your mind at ease, right?"

Horikita Suzune pressed her lips together and looked back at Horikita Manabu. His expression was ugly, but he did not object—because he knew objecting would be useless. The recording in Yuto's hand was what held the deciding power.

"...Fine," Horikita Suzune said.

Yuto took out his phone and looked at Horikita Manabu. Horikita Manabu was silent for several seconds before finally taking out his own phone and performing a few actions.

Yuto's phone vibrated—two hundred thousand points had arrived. After confirming the transfer, he took out the camcorder and pressed several buttons in front of both of them. The screen displayed, "File deleted." He turned the screen toward them so they could see it clearly.

"Deleted."

Horikita Manabu said nothing. He gave Yuto one final look, and that look held anger, vigilance, and something else that was hard to describe. Then he turned and left. His steps were as steady as ever, but Yuto noticed that the hand at his side had clenched into a fist. Being handled like this by a Class D student must have been an entirely new experience for him.

Once Horikita Suzune saw her brother walk away, she turned as well, preparing to follow him.

"Wait."

She stopped, but did not turn around.

Yuto walked to the vending machine and inserted two coins, buying two cans of soda. He returned and held one of them out to Horikita Suzune.

Horikita Suzune looked down at the can but did not take it. She was silent for several seconds before saying, "You extorted two hundred thousand from my brother just now, and now you're treating me to soda?"

"Yeah," Yuto said. "One thing has nothing to do with the other. Your brother is your brother. You are you."

Horikita Suzune finally turned to look at him. Light from the streetlamp fell across her face from the side, casting half of it in shadow and half in light. Her eyes were still faintly red, but her expression had returned to its usual coolness.

"Don't you think that was too much?"

"Which part?"

"Threatening someone with something like that."

Yuto thought for a moment before saying, "I was only making a deal. Your brother wanted his image, and I wanted points. We each got what we wanted. I didn't upload the recording online, and I didn't demand an outrageous amount. Two hundred thousand is nothing to him."

Horikita Suzune stared at him for a long time, as though trying to determine how much of what he said was true.

Then she reached out and accepted the can of soda.

As she grasped the can, her fingertips brushed Yuto's fingers. It was light, but both of them felt it. She did not pull her hand back, and neither did he. After about half a second, she took the can from him.

"Thanks to you, I made two hundred thousand tonight," Yuto said. "Treating you to a soda isn't too much."

Horikita Suzune's expression shifted slightly, as though she wanted to smile but held it back. She popped the tab, took a sip, then said, "You really are infuriating."

"I know."

Yuto opened his own can and took a sip. Silence fell between them for several seconds.

"You kept that recording... was it really only to sell it for points?" Horikita Suzune asked.

Yuto looked at her. That question went deeper than he had expected. She had not asked, "Did you really delete it?" She had asked, "Did you really keep that recording only to sell it for points?"

She had not fallen for it.

Yuto did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "Are you testing me on your brother's behalf now?"

"I'm testing you for myself." Horikita Suzune met his eyes directly. "Everything you do has more to it than it seems on the surface. If I actually believed you deleted every copy, I'd be an idiot."

Yuto could not help laughing. It was his first genuine smile of the night.

"Suzune, you're much smarter than your brother."

"Don't change the subject."

"I deleted it," Yuto said. "The one in the camcorder was indeed deleted. As for anything else—you can think about that yourself."

After saying that, he turned and headed toward the dorms. After taking several steps, he said without looking back, "Finish your soda and get back to sleep early. We still have class tomorrow."

Horikita Suzune remained where she was. She watched his retreating figure grow smaller beneath the streetlights until he turned a corner and disappeared completely.