Chapter 4 Part II

The next day. Horikita informed me of something when she arrived at school in the morning.

"I've decided not to consider Hirata-kun as an asset, at least for this exam."

Yesterday, even Kōenji had participated in the after-school discussion, but Hirata had just silently left the classroom.

Having witnessed this firsthand, Horikita's decision was understandable.

"That's reasonable. He's too unstable to rely on right now."

Even if we could force him to participate, it would probably only end up backfiring on us.

"It'll be fine if it's just for this exam, but depending on the situation, this behavior of his might continue for quite a while."

Her concern was not an exaggeration in the slightest.

Pretty much everyone was hoping for his recovery, but for the time being, it was unclear just how that was going to happen.

"If you think his behavior isn't going to stop any time soon, there's still the option of getting him to drop out, isn't there?"

I brought up another idea, and while she was somewhat surprised by it, she reacted calmly.

"That's… Well, that may be something I'll have to think about. It's at least a relief that he didn't throw everything away and suddenly say he wanted to become the commander this time."

The thought of Hirata nominating himself as the commander for this special exam wasn't that unreasonable.

If he had, he would've been able to lose on purpose and get himself expelled. It would've been as simple as that.

However, even if he doesn't have any lingering attachments to this school, he still wouldn't want to cause problems for others, which was why he didn't take on the position in the first place.

The reason why he was just passively doing what he had to every day was probably because the class would be penalized if he dropped out. He was looking to leave when the time was right, without stirring up trouble for the rest of us.

However, this was just how he was acting right now.

"But- That doesn't necessarily mean he'll always be acting like this, right? Who knows when he'll get desperate…?"

"Yeah."

As Horikita said, I didn't know what Hirata would do if he became self-destructive either.

I couldn't say for sure that the class would stay completely intact when he drops out.

"That's why I don't want to force him to participate right now. He's a bomb that could go off at any moment, and I'd like to unify the class so he doesn't explode on us."

Out of everything, Hirata hated internal conflict the most.

So in order to avoid causing more of it, Horikita had been taking an active role within our class since the exam first started.

"Sounds rough."

"You've taken on the responsibilities of the commander, so you're going to have it rough too."

"I'll leave all of that to you. I'm the commander, but I'm sure you'll be able to come up with adequate enough ideas."

She glared at me with an irritated look in her eyes.

"Can you beat Sakayanagi-san with that kind of attitude?"

"Who knows."

"Who knows…? I, for one, intend to win. Could I get you to be a little more involved in making that happen?"

I was well aware that there was no need for her to be telling me that.

"Are you asking me to be actively involved with the class and decide on the participants for the events or the rules about how the commander will be allowed to intervene in them? Try and imagine what that would be like."

As I spoke, Horikita's expression gradually tightened.

"…I can't imagine it at all, almost to the point where it's terrifying."

"Right?"

To the rest of the class, I was just a shadow. Even though I had become the commander, this was a fact that wasn't going to change.

People would think there's something wrong with me if I suddenly started rattling off instructions about everything.

I would take on a more active role, using the strategy Horikita comes up with as a baseline.

As the two of us were talking, I felt a sudden change in the atmosphere of the classroom.

Hirata had come to school. Although many students made an effort to avoid looking at him directly, it was clear that they were still worried about him.

"G-good morning, Hirata-kun!"

He was very nearly late for the start of school, and Mii-chan proceeded to call out to him. It was a brave decision, done in spite of the negative atmosphere of the classroom. However, her attempt to reach out was disregarded and ignored.

Hirata quietly took his seat without reacting to anyone around him.

But even so, Mii-chan's smile didn't waver.

"Who could've imagined that this would happen now?" 

"Really."

Despite Mii-chan's best efforts, Hirata's self-isolation continued.

"All things considered, she's the only one who hasn't given up on reaching out to Hirata-kun. I didn't think she had such a deep connection with him, but…"

Horikita had noticed that Mii-chan was especially concerned when it came to Hirata, and she seemed to be starting to wonder about why Mii-chan would push herself to do something like that.

"It's because she's compassionate, isn't it?"

"That wouldn't make sense unless she treated other people this way as well."

"That's fair."

If that was the reason, Mii-chan would've probably been more compassionate back when Yamauchi was about to be expelled.

That being the case, there was only one reason left that would explain why she kept reaching out to Hirata.

"Maybe it's love."

"I suppose that's the only possibility left… What a truly worthless sentiment."

Horikita crossed her arms out of exasperation and shook her head as if to say she couldn't understand. 

"Perhaps we should limit the class resources we're willing to spare on dealing with him… What do you think?"

In other words, she was saying to have everyone leave Hirata alone for a fixed period of time.

"Wouldn't that be difficult?"

"Not at all. Nobody takes the initiative to reach out to him anymore except for her."

Hirata was even choosing to ignore Mii-chan, the one who had been the most devoted to him.

Given the situation, there certainly wouldn't be very many students who'd be willing to do even more for him.

"Motive aside, I hope she forgets about it somehow."

Horikita was probably thinking about how she could get Mii-chan to give up.

"If this is as far as it goes, I'm not going to complain about it either. But it's clearly starting to take its toll on her."

"Well, it's true she hasn't really been herself recently."

Besides, the class's atmosphere worsens every time Hirata's situation comes up.

Hirata had pretty firmly disregarded Mii-chan a few moments ago, but it doesn't seem like she was discouraged by it, as she approached him a second time.

"Uhm, Hirata-kun, today at lunch-"

This time, it looked like Mii-chan had reached out to invite him to eat lunch together, but…

"Could you please leave me alone already?"

"…!"

Hirata's relatively harsh words echoed throughout the classroom.

He had flatly rejected Mii-chan's request before she could even finish her sentence.

"It's annoying."

While his words weren't as harsh as they could've been, his voice contained nothing but cold emotion.

"Th-that, I… just wanted… to eat lunch, together with you…"

Mii-chan tried as hard as she could to keep smiling, but the tense emotions eventually got to her and she just couldn't hold onto it any longer.

"I'm not eating. Not with you."

His rejection couldn't have been more explicit.

Not wanting to see Hirata acting like this, many of the girls in the classroom quickly looked away.

"Hey, hold on Yōsuke-kun. Isn't that kinda going a bit too far?"

At this point, Kei chose to speak up. No, given the situation, it may be more accurate to say she had been forced to.

I could easily imagine the scene of Kei's friends asking her if she could do something. If Hirata pulled back now, not only would Kei save face, but the class would also temporarily regain its composure.

However-

"Would you mind not calling me by my given name so intimately like that? You don't have anything to do with me anymore, alright?"

"T-that's true… Then, Hirata-kun, you went way too far with what you said to Mii-chan."

Kei corrected herself, but still confidently addressed Hirata. 

She played her role as the leader who brings the girls together perfectly. 

"Compared to how you normally talk to others, there isn't much of a difference."

Hirata's rebuttal was merciless.

"Wh…! F-for the sake of the class, I-!"

"Could you be quiet already? If you don't… You know what'll happen, yes?"

Hirata forcibly blocked Kei from trying to say anything further.

His words were a threat; If she carelessly said anything more than this, he'd expose absolutely everything.

At least, it was inevitable that Kei would take it that way, given that she had shared her weaknesses with Hirata.

"What? Ugh, how annoying. I don't care anymore."

Now that it had come to this, there was nothing more Kei could do.

She backed down, albeit reluctantly.

"How long do you plan on standing there?"

Only moments after completely destroying Kei, Hirata changed his sights back to a crying, motionless Mii-chan. Having been completely rejected, Mii-chan returned to her seat with her head hung.

Hirata must've thought that, by doing this, Mii-chan would never reach out to him again.

"The entire class is demoralized…"

"Kōenji doesn't seem to mind at all, though."

Throughout the gloomy classroom, one student was clearly unaffected by what had happened.

Even while Mii-chan, Hirata, and Kei were in the midst of quarreling, he seemed to be fully concentrated on grooming himself.

Kōenji simply made one comment.

"Why must so many problem children be in my class?"

I wanted to say that I thought he was a problem child himself, but I held myself back.