I Promise I Won't Tell Anyone About Tonight

Tatsuya Sakuya slowly walked toward the siblings.

"You really meant to hit her just now, didn't you? A girl—and even your own younger sister."

"The school doesn't allow fighting. As Student Council president, you should know the rules better than I do, right?"

"Oh? Trying to play the hero and save the damsel?"

Before he had even finished speaking, Horikita Manabu swiftly threw a punch at Tatsuya Sakuya.

"Let me see whether you have what it takes."

Whoosh!

The fist came straight at him. There was no wide, exaggerated motion; all he heard was the rush of air as the knuckles closed in before his eyes.

Seriously?

You were actually going for it?

Wouldn't that punch put someone in the hospital?

Relying on instinct, Tatsuya Sakuya leaned back and dodged the punch.

"President, was there really any need to go for the kill?"

"I'm just a passing Class 1-D student. Remember that, hey!"

At first, Horikita Manabu had only intended to scare him off, but being caught in the act had made him lose control a little.

"Have you trained in something? Your reactions are pretty quick."

"I practiced calligraphy while carrying a piano. No—I practiced piano and calligraphy."

Tatsuya Sakuya recalled a line that should have belonged to Ayanokoji.

"Is that so?"

Horikita Manabu followed up with a sweeping kick and a barrage of punches.

He wanted to test the true strength of the person before him again.

This time, his attacks were faster than before.

Tatsuya Sakuya did not simply keep dodging.

He knew that if he kept retreating, Horikita Manabu might only become more aggressive.

Horikita Manabu, if I wanted to, I could take you down within ten minutes.

No, ten minutes was a little conservative.

If I really went all out, five minutes would do.

Tatsuya Sakuya did not say those arrogant words aloud. He merely repeated them silently in his heart.

Facing Horikita Manabu's combination of punches and kicks, Tatsuya Sakuya responded with a 5A combo.

The best defense was offense.

A 5A combo: high damage from the left punch, even higher damage from the right punch. No need to learn it unless you were going pro.

Boom!

It was as though the air had been sucked away in an instant.

Horikita Manabu's attacks contained no flashy tricks. The moment he moved, he went straight for the vital points with deadly killing moves!

For defense, he used the force-redirection of aikido to withstand Tatsuya Sakuya's 5A combo.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

In the blink of an eye, they exchanged several moves in the open space.

Fists blurred and crossed, their impacts booming through the night.

With his terrifying physical ability and combat instincts, Tatsuya Sakuya fought Horikita Manabu to a standstill.

Because he had no intention of truly knocking Horikita Manabu down.

In their final clash—

Tatsuya Sakuya's right fist stopped less than three centimeters from Horikita Manabu's gold-rimmed glasses.

At the same time, Horikita Manabu's joined fingertips rested against Tatsuya Sakuya's Adam's apple.

Horikita Suzune, sitting on the ground, was completely dumbfounded.

She had never imagined that her seatmate possessed the frightening strength to stand toe-to-toe with her brother.

"Splendid."

Horikita Manabu was the first to break the silence.

He slowly withdrew the hand from Tatsuya Sakuya's throat and casually adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose.

"You are no ordinary student. What is your name?"

Tatsuya Sakuya also withdrew his right fist and casually shook his slightly numb wrist.

"Class 1-D, Tatsuya Sakuya."

"However, Mr. Student Council President, beating up your defenseless younger sister in the middle of the night does not seem to suit your position if word gets out, does it?"

Horikita Manabu snorted coldly.

"Interestingly enough, I remember now. There was a student in the entrance exam who scored forty points in every subject. That was you, wasn't it?"

Horikita Manabu looked down at Horikita Suzune on the ground, then slowly disappeared into the darkness.

"At this school, incompetence is the greatest sin. Hiding one's excellence is also a talent."

"As for Suzune... I never expected you to make a friend like this."

"If you still want to rise to Class 1-A, then struggle with everything you have."

"He... isn't my friend. We're just seatmates."

Horikita Suzune watched Horikita Manabu's departing figure.

After that, only the rustling of leaves in the wind remained.

"When did you get here? Or was it another lucky coincidence?"

Horikita Suzune asked.

"Uh, how should I put it? I guess it was half luck and half coincidence."

"? That again?"

Horikita Suzune clearly did not believe him at all.

"Yes, that's right. Ayanokoji can prove it. I was having coffee with him earlier."

Tatsuya Sakuya thought of what had happened with Ayanokoji earlier and decided to change the subject.

"Your brother is impressive."

"He used to practice taekwondo and aikido. But what about you? What have you trained in to be able to fight my brother evenly?"

Horikita Suzune asked.

"Didn't I say it earlier? I'm an athlete. I practiced piano and calligraphy."

Tatsuya Sakuya began lying.

"When did you ever say you were an athlete?"

Horikita Suzune had clearly caught the flaw in his story and questioned him.

"That isn't important. What matters is what your brother said to you, and how you plan to reach Class 1-A. Those things are more important, right?"

Tatsuya Sakuya continued changing the subject to keep Horikita Suzune from pressing further.

"I will make it to Class 1-A. I will prove my abilities to my brother."

Horikita Suzune was like someone under a spell. Whenever her brother or Class 1-A was mentioned, she reacted like a robot triggered by a keyword.

"It's getting late. Let's go back, Horikita. It wouldn't look good if someone saw a lone man and woman together at night."

"About tonight..."

"I might let something about tonight slip one day."

Tatsuya Sakuya joked.

Horikita Suzune slowly took out a compass from her pocket.

?

Seriously? Dude?

Why were you carrying a compass around?

Were you the Compass Demon?

That thing could actually kill someone, hey.

"I promise I won't reveal anything about tonight. I promise."

Tatsuya Sakuya immediately dropped the joking tone. The Compass Demon was no joke.

"The moon is beautiful tonight!"

Horikita Suzune looked up at the moon and sighed.

"The wind is quite boisterous too!"

Tatsuya Sakuya followed with a sigh of his own, unsure whether Horikita Suzune had meant something else.

After returning to Room 217, Tatsuya Sakuya began processing everything that had happened today.

Those siblings really were strange.

An inarticulate older brother.

A younger sister hopelessly immersed in chasing after his shadow.

They clearly only needed to speak honestly to each other face-to-face.

Still, he confirmed once again that as long as he grasped the bond known as her older brother, ordering his seatmate around in the future would be as easy as pie.

There had really been a lot going on today. He was exhausted.

After washing up, Tatsuya Sakuya immediately fell asleep, sleeping very peacefully. (The end, doge.)