#25 Suzune Horikita

1-D Classroom...

"Kikyo-chan, do you want to stop by a café on our way back today?" One of Kushida's friends asked.

"Sure~! But wait a minute, please. I would like to invite one more person." Kushida replied to her friend and made her way towards Horikita's seat.

"Horikita-san, would you like to come with us to a café today?" Kushida asked politely with a friendly smile.

"Not interested...how many times do I have to tell you not to bother yourself with me?" Horikita said while focusing on the book in front of her.

"Alright, I will try it next time~!" Despite receiving quite a blunt and rude reply, Kushida still replied with a cheerful smile.

"Wait, Kushida-san" Horikita suddenly called out before Kushida could leave which made her turn back at Horikita with hope in her eyes.

"Don't invite me again, it's a bother to refuse every time." Horikita added salt to the wound however Kushida kept on smiling.

"I will invite you again! Iwamura-kun?" Kushida didn't give up before calling out to Yuichi who was sitting near, reading his own school materials.

"Yes?" Yuichi raised his head as his head was supported by his fist.

"Would you like to go with us to a café?" Kushida asked with a smile.

"I appreciate the invitation however I am quite busy after school, sorry." Yuichi replied with an apologetic smile.

'I wonder if she would invite even Ayanokoji if he wasn't absent at this moment. Anyway, she keeps pestering Horikita and it really gets annoying to watch. Not to mention how suspicious it is...Especially when there is Sakura who doesn't seem to have a deep connection with Kushida either, yet Kushida doesn't force her friendship on her like on Horikita.' Yuichi decided that he better keep his distance away from Kushida, she was too weird to him.

"Ah! You still need to prepare for your game in the basketball club, I am sorry for forgetting!" Kushida apologized with a bit sad expression before saying her farewell and leaving the classroom, however before they left the classroom, Yuichi could hear one of her friends' words:

"Kikyou-chan, why do you bother inviting someone who doesn't want to befriend anyone? Not to mention I kinda hate her-"

Even Horikita must have heard it however when Yuichi glanced at her, she didn't even flinch.

"What is it? Do you perhaps want to invite me somewhere too?" Horikita asked once she noticed Yuichi's lingering stare.

"So even you know how to joke, huh? It was a joke, right?" Yuichi said with a smile before asking with a surprised expression.

"...Yes" Horikita replied shortly before returning her sight towards the book.

"You know, it would be good if you could make a few friends or at least allies." Yuichi said while looking at her, feeling her lonely atmosphere around her, not letting anyone inside, except Yuichi who was already near her and most likely Ayanokoji once he comes back since he sits right next to her.

"Why would I need to make friends or allies?" She asked, flipping to another page of her book.

"You are intelligent, Horikita-san, however, there are simply things that you can't do all alone. Teamwork is also an essential asset in your life. Even the biggest businessmen need to know how to talk properly to people even if they hate it. They even have to wear fake smiles just to please someone for simple cooperation between two firms." Yuichi said while reading through his notes from classes.

"Why are you telling me this? Is this your way of saying that my teamwork is bad?" Horikita asked.

"It's not bad, Horikita-san, it literally sucks" Yuichi said casually with a smile which prompted Horikita to stop reading and raise her head at him with a frowned expression.

"You should have already realized by now that this school is completely different from any other public Senior High schools. They will definitely force us into a lot of different situations where we will have to do things we don't like. If this school were only about studying and getting good grades, it would have been the same as thousands of other schools in the entire country." Yuichi said while playing with a pencil in his hand.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Horikita seemed to accept his words but she still didn't understand the reason behind them.

"To help you..." Yuichi shortly replied with a bit bored expression.

"Why would you want to help me?" Horikita asked with narrowed eyes, full of suspicion.

"Ah, I know that look...Yes, humans are indeed selfish creatures but there are also those who help others when it doesn't cost them anything for good karma or for a good feeling from helping someone." Yuichi glanced behind him and saw Horikita's glare before replying with a smile.

"And which type of person are you, Iwamura-kun?" Horikita asked.

"Neither of them, right now I am doing it so I can get on your better side, having a higher chance of you accepting my request." Yuichi said shamelessly with a bright smile and closed eyes.

"I am amazed at your boldness to come forward with it like that." Horikita sighed and replied with a calm tone and closed eyes. She opened her eyes and stared at Yuichi as if to say "out with it".

"I would like you to go with me to the library if you have free time." Yuichi said.

"Huh? Why?" Horikita seemed quite surprised by his odd request but only now she realized that the "joke" she previously made was the truth in one way or another.

"To help me study...I am still missing a lot of things and studying alone would take a much longer time. I believe that your notes are neatly organized and with your help, it would take a shorter amount of time." Yuichi replied with closed eyes and a calm tone.

"Indeed, if I were to help you study, we would be done much faster than if you were there alone, however, why do you want to study right now? Don't you have your club activities? Not to mention that bet with the basketball club..." Horikita asked with a bit of softened expression. Maybe she approved of Yuichi's intention to improve and study seriously as far as to go ask her for help.

"I have already given instructions to my team, Sudo-kun will be there too so I have nothing to worry about. As for the reason why I want to improve my grades...it's pretty simple, students here are evaluated by their abilities. I already have quite a good physical ability but my grades are at most above average." Yuichi replied with a faint smile.

"You think that our physical abilities are of the same importance as our academic results?" Horikita asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think that in this school, they evaluate us as the whole person, they most likely even take notes of our personalities, definitely not just academic results. If it was just academic results, why would you, Hirata and Kushida, and a few others be placed in this class full of average people?" Yuichi asked with an obvious expression.

"Hmm...It does make sense, however...Hirata is physically very capable and his grades are also almost perfect, he is even a natural leader who is popular among his peers, why would he be placed here?" Horikita muttered before closing her book and stuffing it into her bag.

She stood up and took her bag into her hand.

"Wait, you didn't answ-" Yuichi thought that Horikita was about to leave so he wanted to hear her reply to his request but before he could mention it, he was interrupted.

"Let's go, I haven't got all day." Horikita said, waiting for Yuichi to get up.

Yuichi nodded his head, stuffed his things into his bag before getting up.

When they exited the classroom, Yuichi glanced at Horikita's bag.

"What?" Horikita asked with an indifferent face while looking in front of her.

"Let me carry your bag since you are going out of your way to help me" Yuichi said extending his hand.

Horikita stopped and turned at Yuichi with narrowed eyes.

"Do I appear to you as some kind of princess or what?" She asked with a harsh tone.

Yuichi wanted to immediately reply but he suddenly imagined Horikita in a fantasy-like setting in the middle ages.

"Um, I guess you would be able to fit that role pretty well." Yuichi blurted out.

"What?" Horikita definitely didn't expect this kind of response as she stared at him with her sharp eyes.

"Come on, no need to be so hostile. It was just a suggestion, I am not trying to act like a gentleman, I am trying to make you feel more comfortable since you have to spend your free time helping me study. If you don't want it then just say so, no need to get upset." Yuichi said with an apologetic smile before resuming the walk.

Horikita stayed behind a few seconds, staring at his back before catching up to him.

"I appreciate your gesture and intentions but it would only create unnecessary trouble if anyone saw you carrying my bag. Not to mention, I myself decided that I would spend my free time helping you study, if I would feel uncomfortable, I wouldn't have accepted it in the first place." Horikita replied with closed eyes and a calm tone before looking out of the windows in the hallway with a very faint smile.