My daily life had begun to change drastically in the last week.
The Ayanokoji group never had a meeting, and that didn't change, or even return, on the day that Haruka arrived at school.
With the disappearance of our usual gatherings, the way we spend our time at school is completely different now.
The 10-minute breaks during class were usually spent alone or talking with Kei.
At times, I would talk with students like Sudo and Matsushita, but the opportunities to talk with Akito and Keisei were visibly reduced.
At first, this new life felt strange, but gradually my body began to accept and adjust to it.
The cycle is similar at lunchtime, but when Kei goes out to dinner with her friends, I show up at the library instead.
This is a time of repose for me, unchanged from the past.
The only problem is that Hiyori hasn't been coming to the library lately, and we haven't been able to talk about books. It's a shame, though.
And this sequence of events continued after school.
Today, Kei had informed me that she was going home to play with her friends, so I had no plans.
I decided to go back to the dormitory as soon as possible, because staying behind would put too much of a mental burden on Haruka.
However, seeing my move, an unexpected development occurred.
"Kiyopon, do you have time to talk now?"
When I went out into the hallway to go home, Haruka, who I thought would never come in contact with me, approached me.
She hadn't been to school in a week.
The purpose of coming to school for the first time in a week may have been to make contact in public.
Without looking back to check her expression, I answered her as she was. "I'll see if I can make some time to talk to you."
I tried to give off the vibe that I had plans, as if to probe, but ...
"Then make please make some time. Okay?"
She didn't seem to be shying away from me.
"I've already talked to Horikita-san. I'll wait for you at the cafe in the Keyaki mall first."
That's all she said, and she left the classroom.
Shortly after, Akito followed her and came towards me "Did she come to school to talk to me from the beginning?"
"I don't know, .... I've never didn't hear say anything about that. I don't know what you're going to say, but I don't think I can take your side in this situation."
Akito apologized to me, but he needed him to be on her side. "That's fine."
After a brief conversation that was not too long, Akito and Keisei also left the classroom.
It seems that they have gathered all the members of the Ayanokoji group and also invited Horikita there.
Of course, it is certain that the conversation is about expelling Airi. Horikita approached us just as the three of us were leaving.
"I tried to make sure it was just me, but she wouldn't listen, saying it was absolutely necessary that you came."
She was trying to be considerate and solve the problem on her own, but the circumstances didn't hold up for that.
The two of us left the classroom and headed for the designated cafe.
I decided to confirm what was bothering me before we got into a serious conversation.
"I'm surprised that you managed to get Kushida out of school. I was honestly impressed."
"She's officially back. But there are still many uncertainties. It's not the same as before."
"Still, you can't ask for much more than that right now."
Although she had a very different way of speaking, she came back with a solution that was close to the best for the future of the class.
I'm sure that Horikita's advice helped a lot.
Fortunately, leaks of what happened to her to the other classes was minimal.
Even if people will eventually find out about it, some time will have passed by then and it will have faded away.
"How did you persuade them? I don't think they would have been receptive to any suggestions."
Since she was able to come to class today, there must have been many twists and turns to get there.
If anything, I was more interested in that, but Horikita's expression was complicated.
"I did something childish and unworthy of my age, something I'd rather not say."
The way she avoided talking about specifics, she must have done something she really didn't want to talk about.
I don't think she's going to answer even if I probe deeper, so I have no choice but to give up.
"But considering the person I'm talking to, I think I made the right choice."
She answered by lightly stroking his cheek with his left hand, as if he was remembering the details.
"Anyway, it took a week, but we managed to get the whole class together."
"Oh, by the way, the girls' dispute has settled down as well."
I had told Yosuke to rely on Horikita, so she was definitely involved.
"Shinohara-san's case was initiated by Hirata-kun, and they gathered at the Keyaki mall on Sunday."
"Did you also attend?"
"Yes. We agreed to let the matter of the bad language go by the wayside. Shinohara-san was protesting strongly for a while, but Ike calmed her down, which was a big help."
Horikita's words indicate that Ike played the role of her boyfriend. "So many students are starting to grow up without even knowing it."
"You don't sound happy."
"I am happy, but it makes me look relatively pathetic. I'm not sure if I myself is growing or not..."
It is easy to evaluate others, but difficult to evaluate yourself.
You can be as lenient as you want to be, but you can also be as strict as you want to be.
"Eventually, a third party will be able to give you an answer." "... I agree."
We should focus on getting the class back on track first.
Her own evaluation will come after that.
"I heard that you helped Wang-san who was out of touch. Thank you."
"I was just giving some advice. Even if I hadn't done anything, someone else would have helped her eventually."
"You helped me get back on my feet as soon as possible along with many others. I feel like I've been confronted with the fact that I can't do anything on my own."
"Oh by the way, I'd like to ask you to give a message to the president of the student council."
"Me? I'm always playing the role of the bridge... That's fine. What do you want me to tell him?"
"Just tell him I'm open to suggestions." "... Open to suggestions?"
"That's all they need to know."
"Okay. I'll go to the student council room later and I'll tell them exactly what I heard."
This sports festival. I still haven't decided if I want to participate or not.
But since the deadline is already a week away, I guess I'll just have to say I accept.
I'm sure Nagumo will feel bad if he doesn't have to compete in some way sooner or later.
"Now the rest of what we need to focus on is Hasebe's problem. I honestly don't know what she's going to say."
"Judging from the way she's been acting all day, I wouldn't be surprised if she says something."
"I think it's best not to be naive."
Mii-chan overcame her challenges and came to school. But Haruka is different.
There is a high possibility that she will become an obstacle in the future.
"While I was waiting to meet Kushida, I also briefly checked in with Miyake and Yukimura several times."
I didn't know she was paying attention not only to Shinohara and the others, but also to the Ayanokoji group.
"The one who had the hardest time in the special exam was Hasebe. It was inevitable that I would follow her."
Even so, Horikita's expression didn't clear up, probably because she hadn't achieved anything at all.
"She met me at the door, but she didn't say anything to me. Miyake-kun told me to leave her alone for a week, so I decided to watch over her."
So that's what happened today. Horikita probably didn't expect Haruka to come to school.
"As a result, Akito was able to successfully persuade her and bring her to school. It's a blessing and a blessing in disguise."
"I hope that's the case. ... But that's not possible, is it?"
It was normal to think that something was going on since she decided to come today.
It's not like she's going to do her best again from now on.
"I was the one who expelled Airi and pushed her to the edge. All you did was listen to what I had to say."
"I don't think so. I was of the same opinion, so we are equally responsible. No, this is all because I went back on my word. I have to take it all in."
"You need to shift your mind towards the sports festival, even though it's important to take care of Haruka."
It has already taken us a week to solve the class problem.
In the meantime, Class A has already started on preparing to win the sports festival, and we can't afford to miss out.
"Of course, I'm thinking hard about how we're going to fight in the sports festival. I think I have a good idea of what we're going to do."
I've heard that they're doing everything they can to back up Kushida and Shinohara.
"I'll listen to you. What is our goal line for the sports festival?" I asked Horikita about what she has planned.
"I'll aim for first place without needing to be asked. No, I will definitely take first place, I have to take first place."
Looking ahead, Horikita's confidence was evident in her profile.
"There is nothing wrong with setting high goals, and the human resources in our class are second to none. So, have you come up with a strategy? It will include a battle of all the grades, but the focus will basically be on the overall score of the same grade. Sakayanagi and Ryuuen may come up with strategies that you might not expect."
"The rule is that if you finish less than five events, you forfeit all your points. Ryuuen could potentially fake an accident during the competition and tried to injure himself and get himself ejected."
As Horikita was targeted last year, it is not surprising that Ryuuen would choose such a cowardly move.
If it were Sakayanagi, she would look at the participants in the competition and guide her classmates to the best positions.
"Against all odds, what are you planning to do?"
"Basically, it's a straight and narrow plan. Let Sudo and Onodera ramp up the scoring, and let students like myself and Kushida take care of the rest of the scoring. We just do what we need to do to win."
"If we can win with that, we won't have any trouble. There is a disadvantage of having only 38 students in the class however."
Horikita nodded immediately. It seems that it was expected from the start that I would reply with that.
"So I decided to take only one risk. I'm preparing for it now." "Risk?"
"I was wondering if you could stay with me after school tomorrow to talk about the specifics."
"Are you saying you need my help with something?"
"No, I just need you to be with me and listen to me, and finally, I need you to give me an objective answer as to whether it's worth the risk."
"Is that really all you want?"
"Like last time, I can't keep taking advantage of you."
She doesn't need my help or advice because she already has a certain idea.
If that's the case, we'll just wait and see what Horikita's strategy is for the sports festival.
"All right. I'll listen to it tomorrow after school."
When we arrived at the café, the three members of the Ayanokoji group were waiting for us at their seats.
There was no sign of chit-chat, and three drinks were sitting idly on the table.
As long as you are using a restaurant, you need to have one drink. We individually chose our drinks and went to our seats.
"Sit down."
As soon as we arrived at the cafe, Haruka asked us to sit down in two of the empty seats.
"It seems that you wanted to talk to me a few times while I was resting, so I thought I'd ask you about it."
Haruka starts off without looking at either me or Horikita.
It seems like it was both of us who she asked the question to, but right now it is definitely Horikita who is the subject.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"The problem has been solved in a way, it was because you've been absent from school for several days."
"You mean you were worried that I would start bringing down the class for being absent for too long."
"Of course it's not just that. You have had good reason to be absent for a week. Right?"
"I'm not feeling well. That's what I told the school, so there shouldn't be a problem, right? Miyatchi told me that there might be a penalty for taking a week off, so I came to school today."
"Sure. But the reason you were absent was not because you were sick."
"How can you be so sure? It could have been purely a physical problem with me."
Without denying it, Horikita put her mouth on the cup.
Whether the absence was due to health problems or not. That's just the first stage of the problem.
No matter what Horikita's answer is, she will never be satisfied.
"It may seem doubtful, but it's true that I've been sick. But it wasn't illness or injury. I just had a hard time getting up mentally, couldn't sleep, couldn't go to school, and took a day off."
Akito and Keisei may seem to be listening calmly, but they are not.
They understand that while they are suffering as well, but not nearly as great as Haruka.
So they can only listen in silence.
"Why don't you stop playing with words and just say what you want to say?" Instead of taking a backhanded approach, Horikita took a strong stance.
This attitude usually has the opposite effect, but Haruka is unfazed.
It's as if she has been keeping her emotions bottled up deep inside. This is the impression I get from her.
I wonder if Horikita felt the same way, which is why she used excessive expressions.
"Are you satisfied with the extra class points from the special exam?"
"No, I'm not satisfied, there are still more than 500 points separating us from Class A. I would have gone for Class A without missing a single student. ... But there's no point in talking about it now, is there?"
No one wants to see anyone drop out of school.
But there is no point in talking about it now.
That fact has already been made.
"My best friend became a victim of Horikita-san's selfish decision. Are you aware of that?"
For the first time today, the words that Haruka must have wanted to say fell out of her mouth.
"Yes."
For more than a week since the end of the special exam, Horikita has been fighting against her own judgment.
You don't have to ask her face to face, but you can tell by watching her every day.
However, this is none of Horikita's business.
She's not going to forgive you because you're working hard.
It's not a matter of forgiveness as long as the result is achieved.
"You're a great leader, you don't care what it takes to get your class to win."
"I'm not one yet."
"You know I'm being sarcastic, right?"
"Of course I do."
"Where's your promise to cut out the traitors, the student who kept voting for you in the first place?"
"I'm afraid I didn't see that one coming. But since we can't pretend that the recent special exam didn't happen, we have to make the most of it."
"There are some mistakes that cannot be forgiven."
"I don't deny that. You're right."
"....Do you think it was the right decision to leave Kushida behind?"
"I decided it was the right thing to do, so I left her to face the consequences. I'm afraid I'm repeating myself."
"Ah, yes."
When Horikita didn't show any sign of lowering her stance, Haruka's tone became slightly more intense.
"I'm not going to make a lame apology. No matter how much you argue, the fact is that I changed my mind and decided that Kushida should stay. It's natural for you to resent me, and I may even have to pay you back one day. But I have decided that Kushida is the one who can be an asset to the class. I am slowly becoming more and more convinced of this."
"Even if Kushida was excellent, there were other incompetent people. It didn't have to be her."
There were other people who could have also been expelled instead.
In front of Horikita, who could not come to such a conclusion, Haruka continued.
"I don't approve of this. No matter how many people recognize Horikita in the future, I will never recognize her."
She is trying to keep her emotions in check as much as possible, but she doesn't show any signs of forgiveness.
"I guess I'll just have to work harder to get you to accept me." "I've already said I won't accept you."
"I am responsible for Sakura's expulsion. Yeah, I won't deny it. I can't deny it, but what am I supposed to do about it? Do you want me to be expelled from school now?"
This is not going to bring Airi back. The 100 points she had sacrificed for the class would be wiped out by that act.
"Or do you want me to get down on my knees? Would that make you feel better?"
A strong spirit. That's what it looks like, but that's not what is.
Horikita is suffering, but she's also putting on a brave face to face with Haruka.
As I sat next to her, I could see the true meaning of her wavering eyes. "Give me back Airi."
"... I can't meet your demands no matter what I do."
"That's all I want. I don't care about class, I don't care about anything."
She grabbed a few strands of her own hair and tore them out as hard as she could.
"You made the wrong decision at the time."
"If you were unhappy, maybe you should have fought."
Immediately after the provocative words are released, Horikita gives another push.
"But it's a useless story. Even if you had fought, you would have had no way to resist."
"You're right. I don't think there was anything I could have done. Kiyopon took advantage of Airi's feelings and drove her relentlessly into a corner. A normal person would never be able to do something like that."
This was the first time she gave me a look of contempt.
However, she didn't seem to want to talk to me, so she turned her gaze back to Horikita.
"Are you really going to act for the class from now on? There are times when she'll betray us, right?"
"I'm sure you'll regret it when she drags the class down."
It is true that there is no guarantee that Kushida will be of any use to the class.
If Horikita steers the ship wrongly, there may come a day when she will regret her decision to cut off Airi.
"However, even if I were to go back to the past with my current memories, what I would do would not change much. I will repeat my decision to bail out Kushida and choose Sakura as the expelled student. The only thing that will change is that I won't make any careless promises."
She reiterates that she would not have changed her conclusion. "Why? Why Airi? ..."
Horikita would have answered even if I hadn't said anything, but I decided to express my own thoughts here.
"It's a matter of perspective. This incident was a strong test for the students who were ranked low in OAA. If you keep flying low, you might be the next one to get expelled."
It was my role to point out Airi by name.
"This is just like Ryuuen's class. If you're not good enough, you'll be cut down?"
"Yes. I don't know what kind of policy Ryuuen is following now, but it's almost like a politics of fear. Until now, the class policy has been too vague and loose."
"It reminds me of when I first started school, when nothing was coherent and we were all selfish."
"You say this is similar, but it's really not."
"The situation is different from that time. It's inevitable to prevent damage that doesn't need to be done, but in this case, we minimized the damage that needed to be done."
"But...!"
At this point, for the first time, Haruka raised her voice.
"Horikita came to that conclusion because she saw the possibility that the effect of having Kushida on her side would be far greater than that of Airi. And because I could see that future, I respected Horikita's opinion and decided to help her."
Basically, there is no such thing as a definite future. We can only imagine
and act to grasp the future we see. We are not all-powerful.
"Even when you realize that Airi is gone, this class just goes back to its normal routine."
"I understand your frustration, but I wonder if you felt the same way about Yamauchi-kun?"
"He got what he deserved. This is a different case."
"It's the same. You're just angry at the sacrifice of your own friend.
"What's wrong with that?"
There is no clear goal in this discussion.
There was no way to solve the problem except for Haruka to break down.
"I can't accept such a reality. I just can't."
And if Haruka does not break, then there is a big problem waiting for her.
"Horikita may have ostensibly changed her mind and is now trying to act for the class. But do you think I would seriously cooperate if I saw that?"
"Yes, I do. After a week's absence, I knew it was going to be a more protracted problem than most."
Horikita said that she needed to take immediate action, but that she was prepared to take the long view.
After losing Airi in the test, Haruka now has nothing to fear.
"But you were able to come to school today. If you just wanted to talk to us, you could have done it while you were still absent. Isn't that right?"
It was a faint expectation, and it would have been wonderful if Haruka had been able to sublimate it on her own and come to school.
However, the world is not so easy.
"I only came here because I don't have the answers yet."
"The answers?"
"I came to school to look for answers that I couldn't find by staying in my room."
When Akito heard these words, he lowered his eyes.
"I'm looking for the answer to how I can get revenge on Horikita and Kiyopon."
That was the coldest thing Haruka ever said to me.
The words that escaped from her slightly dry lips were different from those of a threat or bluff.
"... You're serious, aren't you?"
Horikita also noticed the weight of the words.
"That's what I wanted to tell you today. I will definitely make you regret expelling Airi."
Without even touching her own drink, Haruka leaves her seat.
As if chasing after her, Akito followed behind her.
It was not only Horikita who looked away dumbfounded, but also Keisei.
"I don't think either Horikita or Haruka are wrong. It's a sly way of saying it, but that's my true feelings. In the end, it's all about saving yourself."
As if he was ashamed of himself, he would still tell the truth without hiding it.
"Everyone wants to do that. There's nothing wrong with wanting to save
yourself."
"So I can understand how Haruka is feeling right now. But that doesn't mean I think I have the right to tell her to stop. Even if it means causing trouble for the class."
He banged his fist on the table without effort, and Keisei left his seat.
"I'm not sure what to say, but I'm still going to be useful to the class as me. If I can't play an active role in the sports festival, I'll study harder and contribute to the class. If I don't, ..., there's a good chance I'll be cut off."
Even though he is good at studying, Keisei is lagging behind in athletics and social contribution.
It is clear that he will be at a particular disadvantage when it comes to the number of friends he has.