Chapter 37: Know Your Place

A/N- Certain information in the chapter is not canon. Also I'd recommend listening to some hype music while reading this chapter and don't skim through it. The slower you read the more enjoyable it gets.

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"...I can't stop you?"

Tatsuya muttered with a blank look.

Ayanokouji was surprised, he hadn't thought he could hear words like that from her. Maybe he had evaluated her wrong or maybe it was due to the influence of Tatsuya.

"Don't tell me you care about those idiots. Is this sudden determination because of me, Suzune?" 

"No. Also, you give yourself too much importance. I just wish to avoid any possible demerits that would occur due to expulsion."

Suddenly, Tatsuya let out a tired sigh.

"I know you're misinformed but the demerits aren't that bad. We can deal with it easily."

His words came as a shock to both of them.

"How do you know?" Horikita asked with an incredulous expression and Ayanokouji who had been silently listening spoke before Tatsuya could.

"Did the Student Council President tell you this?"

"Huh? W-Wait why would Niisan tell him that!?"

Tatsuya smirked, ignoring Horikita's baffled expression.

"Indeed. He had some interesting things to share."

"Can you share what this demerit would be?" Ayanokouji asked.

"100 Class Points."  

"What!? That is in no way acceptable considering our current circumstances." Horikita was bewildered by his words.

How could he say that so nonchalantly?

"If you plan to expel the three of them we will be in a deficit of 300. Do you really think that is acceptable? I can't believe your stupidity." Horikita sneered but there was an odd look in her eyes.

Ayanokouji who was observing her saw through her thoughts.

It seems like she's realized that if Tatsuya was serious about Class A, albeit in his own twisted way, then there's no way he hadn't thought about this.

But that begged the question of 'why'?

There were only two answers to that question that didn't harm the class.

Either Tatsuya was confident in reaching Class A despite the massive handicap or—

Our points wouldn't go into the negatives.

"I guess both of you have an answer in your mind by now. Yes, there's no danger of falling into negatives at the moment."

"At the moment? Elaborate."

Wow, Horikita really had the talent of pissing people off or was she intentionally annoying Tatsuya?

"Was that an attempt at provoking me? How childish."

Ouch. I didn't expect that. Her own words, the exact same, were thrown back at her.

Thankfully her expression didn't change.

I guess she's acting like that because she realises that no matter how she acted Tatsuya stopped us to give us a certain amount of information anyway.

"Tell me, if Class D which is known for being the most defective Class has several people failing due to these exams then how on earth would they compete? If the school did that it would be complete torture."

"Of course, the school leaves out options for even the worst academic students to pass but it is ultimately hard to notice. They can't be this harsh in the first semester, though that sounds odd considering they're expelling students for failing."

Horikita intently listened to him but suddenly her eyes widened.

"Wait! You mean to say that this first semester is our grace period?"

"Exactly." Tatsuya smiled softly as if genuinely happy that Horikita was able to guess the correct answer from his vague words.

This really made Ayanokouji confused.

Just what was the relationship between them?

"So? I think this situation is a win-win. We can weed out the useless people while sustaining no damage."

"I disagree Sudo is a valuable asset with his physical strength and basketball skills and—"

"Ike has great communication skills. He also told me he's experienced in camping and has quite a bit of survival skills. As for Yamauchi... I guess he should have some hidden talent as well."

Ayanokouji decided to help her out, she didn't know much about Yamauchi and Ike. Well, he stumped at Yamauchi's part as well.

But Tatsuya shook his head.

"No. Sudo is too rash. His physical skills are outstanding I admit but his personality is too rough and reckless. He'll only cause trouble. As for Ike and Yamauchi, they're both perverts that are causing a rift to grow between the boys and girls of the class. You're so stuck up in your own little world that you fail to realize the bigger picture."

Tatsuya absolutely destroyed their arguments. Even Ayanokouji didn't have a direct counter to his words. No matter what he said, it would be speculation.

As for Tatsuya, he had spoken the truth from the beginning.

Horikita winced but quickly hid it.

"Now is our only chance to do a complete cleanup. I think you of all people understand me, Suzune."

Horikita stayed silent with a pondering look on her face. It seemed like she was genuinely considering his words.

I guess this was inevitable. Horikita never actually cared about the three idiots. She only helped them because she was worried about the class getting dragged down but Tatsuya had cleared away our reasons to help them from a logical point of view, disregarding whether it was morally correct to help fellow classmates or not.

Even if she was to doubt his words it would be equivalent to showing distrust towards her own brother, which she would never do, as Tatsuya's information came from him.

Well, I guess it can't be helped.

"I refuse."

Hmm?

"I will still work to save them. They still have their use and shouldn't be discarded so hastily."

Horikita...?

Ah, I see now.

Is this your way of saying you'll never agree with him? So you'll discard all the logic behind his words just to not let your pride get hurt or do you want to destroy Tatsuya's confidence?

Do you see saving Sudo and the others as defeating Tatsuya?

Tatsuya realized it as well and he was disappointed.

Even after intentionally giving her a clear difference between the advantages and disadvantages she still refused to work with him just because of her pride.

Since there was no point in continuing this conversation he stood up.

He walked towards Horikita and Ayanokouji with frost in his eyes.

All of a sudden, alarm bells started ringing in Ayanokouji's mind.

Shhh!

Horikita's eyes widened as Tatsuya suddenly disappeared and her vision was blocked by a hand intending to grab her face.

In that short time lapse she felt the hand inch closer and closer to her face in slow motion but her body was frozen in place.

Her mind was screaming at her to move but she found herself unable to.

Just as his hand was about to reach her face Ayanokouji intervened, grabbing his hand mid-way.

Instantly Tatsuya twisted his body and kicked Ayanokouji's chest with terrifying force.

Ayanokouji's eyes unnoticeably widened as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Boom!

A thunderous sound echoed through the space as Ayanokouji absorbed the impact, but the deadly kick sent him flying a few meters away.

At that exact moment, as Ayanokouji was in mid-air, Tatsuya with inhuman speed blitzed toward Horikita who had a blank look on her face.

He lifted Horikita by her chin into the air, like a chicken that was waiting helplessly before it was slaughtered,

Her expression was distorted.

All of this happened in merely a single second.

He caressed her stomach and the violation of personal space sent a shiver down her spine.

A second later Tatsuya pulled out her phone from her side pocket.

He ended the ongoing audio recording and deleted it before letting Horikita drop to the ground.

"Never try these petty tricks with me." The look in his eyes suggested he was looking at a lowly peasant, an inferior being, "Know your place."

He tossed the phone at her and began walking away.

Ayanokouji ignored the numbness in his arms and hurried over to her side. He helped the coughing Horikita, who was watching Tatsuya's back with a grim expression, stand up.

Just as Tatsuya was about to disappear Ayanokouji spoke up, as if to confirm something.

"If you're going to act like this it's going to get dangerous for our Class Tatsuya. If we continue like this we'll never reach Class A."

"..."

Tatsuya suddenly stopped walking as eerie silence settled in.

"Ayanokouji. Horikita."

"It seems like both of you are misunderstanding something."

He didn't turn back but gave both of them a look from the corner of his eye.

"To reach Class A—"

Horikita felt a chill go down her spine. Her heart raced as the air between them solidified.

It was at this moment that both Horikita and Ayanokouji felt it.

The overwhelming aura of confidence that oozed out of every fiber of his being.

"—I alone am enough."

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