Chapter 7: Second Half of the Girls’ battle - Horikita Suzune
Tomorrow the actual exam will take place. Normally right now, the students should be having a lip-smacking dinner. I, Horikita Suzune, made contact with the person inside our shared room. Since all the students should be at the cafeteria at this time, it was quite simple to get us alone together.
“You see, Horikita-san. To be honest with you, I don’t think you’re seeing the current situation.”
Before my eyes, Kushida-san looks back at me with a serious look. Still, right now we’re at a cramped outdoor school. I don’t know who’s got eyes and ears where. At the very least I cannot afford to take my eyes off Kushida-san, whose right before my eyes in her public persona.
“I’m not seeing the current situation. What exactly do you mean by that?”
“In order to keep an eye on me…or alternatively, to have me acknowledge you as a comrade by forcibly dragging me into the same group. Right?”
Always assuming that there’s someone coming, Kushida-san replied to me with an attitude that’s not far off from her usual one. But there’s a strength behind that manner of speech. It must surely be because this isn’t a situation where using tricks such as recording it with a cell phone isn’t possible. But that is also a welcome relief for me. If she keeps hiding her true nature, we’ll never get anywhere.
“I won’t deny that those objectives are part of the reason.”
‘Part’ is the word I emphasized but Kushida-san didn’t seem to care about that.
“You seem to be acting based on personal feelings but I’m just wondering how that’ll pan out into a strategy. Certainly Horikita-san and I don’t get along. But as for the group’s scores…no, if you had been thinking about the class, shouldn’t you have put aside your personal feelings?”
Kushida-san said so as she sighed and crossed her arms, declaring the righteousness of her words.
“Your priority is me and me alone, that’s why victory or defeat is a secondary concern for you. Am I wrong?”
“That’s right. I can’t deny that either.”
“So you admit it.”
As a matter of fact, I have nothing to deny it with. Ever since it was decided that the Paper Shuffle would be occurring, I have been taking action while thinking solely about Kushida-san.
That’s also the case when I invited her out for tea during the winter vacation. I’m doing things I’ve never done before in my entire life until now.
“It doesn’t matter what you do. I’d like you to get it through your head already.”
“Unfortunately, that’s an impossible request.”
Until I have resolved the problem with Kushida-san, I won’t be able to move forward.
“It’s not my place to say but have you forgotten the promise made in front of the student council president you forcibly dragged me in front of? Leaving aside my feelings, which just won’t settle down, I’ve given my word that I won’t sabotage Horikita-san anymore. I had thought you’d at least understand I wouldn’t take action carelessly. Or could it be that you thought I’d immediately break my promise?”
I couldn’t answer that question with words. In all likelihood, Kushida-san knows of my feelings as well. Half of it would be correct. Even as I held hopes that Kushida-san is the sort of person to reluctantly abide by her promise, there’s still a side of me that thinks she may be moving behind the scenes to expel me, and those two feelings are intertwined.
If I did not suspect Kushida-san, then there’d be no need for me to stick with her all day and all night. Besides, Nii-san isn’t the sort of person to reveal it to others so as soon as he graduates, the promise is as good as null.
If I am to take action, it has to be before Nii-san is gone after his graduation. There’s little time left.
“I want to be trusted by you.”
I decided to be frank with her.
“You’re being quite honest.”
Taking it head-on, Kushida-san smiled thinly. But it was not an affirmative smile. This alone, I cannot afford to mistake.
“No matter what happens, I will not reveal your past. What should I do to have you believe me?”
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