"Would you be afraid of dropping out as a person?"
Horikita Manabu's unexpected question made Hikigaya freeze for a mont. As a student at this school, getting expelled was undoubtedly the scariest thing. But in the grand sche of life, compared to other things, it suddenly seed rather insignificant.
"So... you're saying, President, that there's sothing even more important, or perhaps even more 'fearful' than dropping out?"
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes, carefully observing Horikita Manabu. He even felt a slight chill down his spine.
Because he had already started to sense the real aning behind Horikita Manabu's words.
Killing soone is easy, but truly defeating soone is difficult. Could it be that he's thinking...
After that, Horikita Manabu didn't seem interested in continuing the conversation. Once they finished clearing the table, the two of them got ready to head back to their dorms. The walk was silent. But just as they were about a hundred ters away from the fork that led to their separate dormitories, Horikita Manabu pointed at a nearby vending machine.
They each chose a drink. Then, after saying goodbye, Hikigaya turned to walk towards the first-year dorms.
Just then, Horikita Manabu's voice suddenly ca from behind him.
"Hikigaya, I heard you have a sister?"
Huh?
Hikigaya stopped in his tracks, turning to look at Horikita Manabu, who was still standing in place. He nodded in response.
"Yeah."
"I see..."
For once, there was a rare hint of emotion in Horikita Manabu's tone. He instinctively adjusted his glasses. In the dim light of the street lamps, Hikigaya couldn't make out his expression clearly. Then, Horikita Manabu slowly turned and walked away, leaving behind a sentence that sounded almost like he was talking to himself.
"I have a sister too."
...
A long mont passed before Hikigaya snapped out of his thoughts. Horikita Manabu's figure had already disappeared into the night.
"So... that's what it was about?"
At last, he understood Horikita Manabu's true intentions. He also finally grasped the aning behind all of his actions up until now—even tonight's eting had been arranged on purpose.
No wonder Horikita Manabu had asked him to stay back earlier...
What a cold but secretly caring older brother.
Hikigaya pressed his fingers against his forehead and let out a chuckle.
"What an unexpected, yet impossible-to-refuse reason."
Just as he reached the student dormitory, soone suddenly appeared and blocked his path.
"Hikigaya, you're finally back!"
Horikita suddenly erged from who-knows-where. The usual cold expression on her face softened for a split second before vanishing again.
"I have so questions about Sudou's fight. I need you to confirm a few things."
Horikita didn't seem used to asking for help, so her tone was stiff and unnatural. But after a mont, she realized it herself and added, almost awkwardly—
"C-can I?"
Hikigaya couldn't help but complain in his head. He had just finished having dinner with soone's older brother, and now their younger sister had co looking for him right away. Do these two have so kind of telepathic connection?
Still, he nodded, and Horikita visibly relaxed.
Then...
"Wait, why are you coming into my room?!"
Hikigaya frowned as he looked at Horikita, who had followed him inside. He had agreed to help her, sure. But wasn't it kind of inappropriate for a girl to enter a guy's room alone at night?
...Wait, why am I the one worrying about this?
"We don't have much ti, so I'll make do."
"...Tch."
Horikita spoke in her usual self-centered way, sotis without even realizing it. After all, habits and ways of thinking don't change overnight.
When she stepped into Hikigaya's room, she seed a bit surprised by how tidy and organized it was—because it looked strangely similar to a certain soone's room.
Hikigaya let out a sigh as he prepared tea.
"You have sothing to ask, right? Go ahead."
Horikita sat properly on the carpet, lost in thought for a mont before speaking.
"There are so things about this dispute that I don't quite understand..."
Hikigaya blinked in surprise, looking at the cold, composed girl across from him. It was unexpected—her confusion was the sa as his.
They both had doubts about the ruling. Without any objective third-party evidence, neither side's statents could be considered definitive proof. If the decision was based only on who got injured and appeared weaker, then in Horikita's view, the judgnt seed far too subjective.
"Of course, it's undeniable that Sudou's past behavior and bad temper made the other side's testimony seem more credible. The ruling reflected that. But at the sa ti, the school gave Sudou a one-week grace period, which shows they also had doubts about Class C's testimony. So... I wanted to hear your thoughts since you were actually part of that eting."
After carefully analyzing the situation, Horikita also sensed that sothing felt off—there were contradictions. That's why she wanted Hikigaya's opinion. At the very least, it would be more objective and thorough than whatever Sudou had told them.
"Let guess—Sudou didn't tell you guys everything, did he?"
Hikigaya imdiately pinpointed the issue.
Horikita frowned.
Hikigaya then explained the situation in detail, especially how Sudou had lost his temper during the eting and the additional punishnt that followed. The more he talked, the darker Horikita's expression beca.
"He brought this on himself!"
She couldn't help but curse in frustration.
"He really did," Hikigaya agreed.
"There were plenty of ways to handle this fight. He had room to maneuver. But instead of playing it smart, he backed himself into a corner. He fell for the trap, and instead of trying to escape, he stomped on it a few more tis for good asure. Tell that's not pure stupidity."
Hikigaya was sure Ryuen must have laughed himself half to death when he heard about this. Even he probably hadn't expected Sudou to be this dumb.
Seeing Horikita's reaction, Hikigaya recalled his earlier conversation with Horikita Manabu. He thought for a mont before speaking.
"Horikita, if you guys are still trying to help Sudou at this point, then you've been going about it the wrong way from the start."
"Do you understand what a suspension until sumr break really ans?"
"What does it an?"
Horikita was briefly stunned but quickly caught on.
"Hikigaya... are you saying... he won't be able to take the final exams?"
Hikigaya nodded, expressionless.
"Exactly. That's how the school rules work."
"Which ans... he'll be expelled?!"
Horikita's already dark expression turned even uglier. She was visibly furious.
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