Even though it seemed like his classmate was being bullied, Hikigaya had no intention of stepping in to help.
Ayanokouji wasn't someone who could not defend himself. If anything, Hikigaya suspected he was doing it on purpose, or maybe he just didn't care about such things at all.
But Hikigaya couldn't quite figure out what Ayanokouji did care about...
"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here? This is Class A's area!"
Hikigaya had planned to just watch from the sidelines, but unfortunately, he hadn't bothered to hide, so he was quickly spotted by the Class A students.
To his surprise, their initial hostility quickly turned to astonishment when they recognized him.
"I remember you... Hikigaya, right? What are you doing here?"
"...I'm taking a walk."
Hikigaya couldn't help but think to himself, Seriously? Am I that well-known now? It seemed like he'd become a minor celebrity, with random students being able to recognize him on sight.
"What are you guys up to?" he asked, pointing at Ayanokouji, who was silently watching the exchange.
"We're just checking to see if he's carrying any suspicious items."
"...Huh?"
Hikigaya nearly laughed at the absurdity of it all. The Class A students were something, brazenly spouting nonsense like this. They thought they were big shots.
Still, seeing the Class A students act so arrogantly wasn't entirely a bad thing. This might come in handy later.
"I suggest you cut it out," Hikigaya said with a sigh. "And those pens and paper belong to our class. Give them back."
The fact that Ayanokouji had willingly stepped into the fray... Hikigaya mused that the guy had changed.
The Class A students hesitated, then reluctantly shook their heads. "Fine, fine. Since you asked, we'll let it slide. We didn't find anything anyway."
What do they mean by 'since you asked'? Hikigaya thought, puzzled.
What power do they think I have?
"By the way, Hikigaya," one of them suddenly stepped closer, lowering his voice, "we want to make you an offer. If you tell us who Class D's leader is, we'll make it worth your while after the exam. We're with the Sakayanagi faction, so you don't have to worry about us going back on our word."
"Uh..."
Hikigaya's expression turned a bit strange. He hadn't expected these two to be Sakayanagi's underlings.
But then again, it made sense. The Katsuragi faction was busy protecting Totsuka Yahiko, their leader, so a low-success task like surveillance would naturally be handed off to Sakayanagi's group.
No wonder they were trying to intimidate Ayanokouji—they probably didn't think he was suspicious at all. They were just bored.
To think that someone like Ayanokouji, someone considered a masterpiece, was being used for amusement...
Hikigaya suddenly understood why that secret organization was so desperate to bring Ayanokouji back, even cutting their timeline short to do it. They were probably worried he'd go off the rails.
"Sorry, but I'm not trusted in my class. They didn't tell me who the leader is," Hikigaya replied. While it sounded like an excuse, it was true. He hadn't seen anything firsthand, though he had some ideas.
The Class A student didn't buy it, though, and tried again.
"It's fine. Just tell us. No one will know it was you who leaked the info. Plus, you're on good terms with Sakayanagi, right? If we succeed, she'll be pleased too."
Just as Hikigaya suspected, even students from Sakayanagi's faction weren't keen on betraying their class. Instead, they wanted to gain favor through merit, by outmaneuvering the Katsuragi faction.
That was a normal person's way of thinking.
Too bad their leader wasn't quite right in the head, always focused on internal power struggles.
"I don't know," Hikigaya said flatly. "Why don't you ask Ayanokouji? Maybe he knows."
"...Forget it."
The persistent student finally gave up, seemingly convinced that Hikigaya was telling the truth.
"Wait! Why did you mention Katsuragi's name over here?" the other Class A student, who had been interrogating Ayanokouji, suddenly yelled in frustration.
"I heard a rumor that Katsuragi is the leader of Class A," Ayanokouji replied calmly.
"Don't be ridiculous. The leader of Class A is Sakayanagi, not Katsuragi!"
Both of them looked pretty unhappy. They were probably irritated about having to take orders from Katsuragi for the past week. They were acting like children... Was this Class A, the so-called elite?
Hikigaya suddenly found himself questioning that notion.
"Alright, alright. You and Hikigaya can go now," one of the Class A students said, apparently deciding they wouldn't get anything more out of Ayanokouji.
It was almost dinner time, and Hikigaya had no plans to wander off anywhere else, so the two of them headed back to camp together.
On the way, Ayanokouji suddenly said, "Sorry for making you witness that embarrassing scene."
"...Why are you putting on an act in front of me?"
Hikigaya was exasperated by this guy's pretense. He'd seen Ayanokouji face off against the Student Council President before, so playing the underdog now was just too much.
"No, it's just that as an avoidant, I didn't see the need to get into a conflict with them," Ayanokouji responded earnestly.
"Alright, I believe you," Hikigaya said, though he didn't. Still, if Ayanokouji wanted to keep up the charade, Hikigaya would humor him.
The two of them fell into a quiet silence for a while until Ayanokouji spoke up again.
"By the way, they said you're friends with Sakayanagi. What kind of person is she? She seems to be quite famous in Class A."
"I'm not friends with her," Hikigaya said with a resigned expression.
"We just had lunch together once, and somehow that turned into a rumor. I hardly know her."
"Really? But those two Class A students seemed to treat you with a lot of respect. They must be Sakayanagi's subordinates, right?"
"How would I know? Why don't you go back and ask them?" Hikigaya shot back.
"No need. If you don't want to say, I'll drop it."
"It's not that I don't want to say—I just don't know much," Hikigaya replied, though inwardly, he was on high alert.
The fact that Ayanokouji was suddenly trying to gather information from him was concerning. In the past, Ayanokouji had been indifferent to other classes, just like Horikita, focusing only on his small circle of friends.
Could he be planning to go after Class A?
If so, what was Ayanokouji's motivation?
Could it be... to lead Class D to victory?
Hikigaya couldn't think of any other reason why Ayanokouji would target Class A. The only explanation was that he had decided to contribute to the class, which naturally made Class A the enemy.
Although Hikigaya didn't know what had caused this change in Ayanokouji, the facts were clear.
Looks like I need to adjust my plans, Hikigaya thought. He had intended to just watch how things played out, but now it seemed he'd need to probe Ayanokouji a bit.
Of course, he wasn't the one who'd be doing this difficult task.
"Ayanokouji, did you know that Sakayanagi is the daughter of the school's director?"