Vol. 4: Side Story Chapter 4 - A Place Next to Him

Nishimura Ryuuko

I've always been looking at him. Kikyou-chan is his best friend and the people from the Ayanokouji Group are his closest friends. Of course, since he was our class leader, Ayanokouji-kun was also very close with Class C's leader, Ichinose-san, who was arguably the most popular girl in our year apart from Kikyou-chan herself.

Ugh... Now that I've mentioned all of that, it sure sounded like he's someone unreachable. But fortunately, that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, I'm actually a good friend of his.

Ah, but don't misunderstand. Ayanokouji-kun, much like Hirata-kun and Kikyou-chan, is quite close with everyone in the class, so it's not like I'm special or anything like that.

"It's weird, isn't it? I wonder why you were assigned in Class D, initially...?"

Hearing his voice calms me down. I'm sure I'm not the only girl who shares the same opinion. It's different from Hirata-kun's gentle voice or Kikuchi-kun's mature voice.

Ah, no good, no good. He's talking to me right now. I should at least respond with the same amount of awareness.

"Hmm... I'm not saying that I'm worthy of Class A or anything, but the term "defect" doesn't really do well to describe a lot of us..." I mused. "For example, there's Hirata-kun and Kikyou-chan. The only "defect" that I could think of is that they were too kind and caring."

Chiaki's only flaw would be her lackadaisical attitude. Mii-chan was smart, so her shyness should be the problem. Not only them... Sana, Misaki-chan, Ueno-kun, or even Makida-kun. They had no obvious attitude problems and their basic specs were fairly balanced with no glaring weaknesses.

And in terms of being a model student who's too kind and caring, one might argue that those traits describe Ichinose-san, too, who was initially assigned in Class B.

Ayanokouji-kun stared at me with his seemingly all-knowing eyes.

"You're probably right. Maybe Chabashira-sensei was just exaggerating with the whole "defect" thing," he replied.

"Well... There's Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun who aren't the best and most enthusiastic when it comes to studying, but that also goes for some students in the current Class D. And when it comes to me, I guess my so-called "defect" could be my weakness in athletics."

"I see. But that should be the case for most of the girls in our class-- though I can't really pinpoint how better the girls in other classes are. Just by looking at it from an outsider's perspective, the overall abilities are well-distributed."

In the grand scheme of things, I can see why they'd describe our class as inferior. Even if there were a lot of powerhouses in our class, the others were still better on paper. There were just too many students in our class who were weak in academics, athletics, or even both.

And worst of all, our class also possessed the largest number of immature students. Though of course, that's just my personal observation.

"Maybe it's temperament...?" I said.

"Well, if it's temperament alone, Horikita shouldn't be assigned to Class D. Her temperament is bad but effective at times. And people like you, Hirata, Kikyou, and Matsushita should be in Class A in terms of temperament," replied Ayanokouji-kun.

Ah-- I got complimented.

"W-Well, me aside, I do think that what you're saying is true... Horikita-san appeared arrogant during the early months and she's still quite stern in terms of nature, but that doesn't mean she's worse than those who are just straight-out jerks."

And of course, the other three that he mentioned have extremely flexible temperaments.

And why would this school take that into account in the first place? I feel stupid for suggesting that answer now.

"Frankly speaking, each class should have the potential to become Class A, or the system itself would be meaningless. The established stigma against the lower classes must've been a huge factor in their downfall. After all, it was easy to get overwhelmed when you're in Class D or C, especially if the opponents have a considerable amount of lead in class points."

"A huge difference in morale, huh? I see... That makes a lot of sense. I mean we have the biggest anomaly in our class, which is you, so our class's morale is through the roof right now," I chuckled.

Ayanokouji-kun did nothing but stare back at me.

"You're prone to underestimating yourself, but you're obviously an excellent student. You're always saying that your poor social skills are the reason for your assignment in Class D, but the more I spend time with you..."

He interrupted me with a slightly teasing tone.

"You think they put me in Class D to compensate for the others?"

I could only meekly nod. It's like he could read the deepest parts of my mind.

"Hmm... I don't think the school knows that much. There's still a chance that everything's just a coincidence."

"Hihi, that's true."

The two of us were currently on the main deck's starboard hallway outside of the cabins. It's still more than an hour before the final class discussion, so I should enjoy this moment thoroughly. After all, this was one of the rare times when I could hang out with Ayanokouj-kun by myself.

"How are things in your group, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Horikita and the others are doing a great job. There's nothing to worry about. How about you?"

"Oh, we're just tackling the exam normally. The VIP doesn't belong in the class, so we're keeping an eye out for any possible clues." I turned my attention back to his group. "That said, you're taking a step back for this special exam, right? Given how strong the opponents are, I'm sure you'd lend your team a helping hand once they find themselves in a pinch."

"I won't. That's my agreement with Horikita."

For some reason, I wasn't too surprised by his reckless answer. Ayanokouji-kun seemed piqued by my underwhelming reaction, too.

"What brought on this agreement?" I asked.

"There's a high chance that Class B will win in this exam. Once that happens, I want the three of them, especially Horikita, to get all the glory."

"Why?" I tried to sound composed, but a tiny creak in my voice made my efforts useless.

"I'll be stepping down as Class B's leader," Ayankouji-kun spoke calmly.

Hearing his answer, I turned to look at the dark horizon and the starless night sky.

"I'm tired of being the leader, so I decided to step down once we reach Class A. I planned this a long time ago... Horikita, Hirata, and Kikyou already know about this and they agreed with my decision." Ayanokouji-kun looked at me once again. "Do you think the class would react positively?"

While he didn't look worried or anxious, it still made me happy-- that Ayanokouji-kun asked me about this. I'm sure he'd already consulted Kikyou-chan about this matter, but that doesn't make the current moment between us any less special for me.

The best I could do was answer him with a warm smile.

"Yes, I think they would. I've known our class for more than four months now. We wouldn't have stood a chance if you didn't reveal the truth about the S-System back in April. And now, we're on the verge of being Class A. If you decide to stop being our leader, none of us would have the right to complain."

Ayanokouji-kun's demeanor didn't change, I thought I could faintly see a tiny arc form from his lips.

"Ah--" 

He turned his head forward before I could confirm anything, though.

"Thanks, Nishimura."

"Ryuuko's fine."

"Huh?"

"I said Ryuuko's fine. We've been friends since the start of school, you know? It shouldn't be weird... as long as you're fine with it."

My facial expression should be perfectly fine, but I'm sure my cheeks and ears were as red as an apple right now. Thank god the sun is down.

Gosh, I didn't expect this to be so embarrassing... I'd seriously die of shame if he says no...

"Well, I didn't really have a problem with it. I was just surprised," he said. "Then, if you'd like, you could call me by my first name, as well."

"Mn," I nodded. "I'm glad we've become closer, Kiyotaka-kun."

"Same here, Ryuuko."

"Let's hang out lots during the summer, okay?"

"Sure, I'm looking forward to it."

The only thing I'm good at is studying and taking care of my friends. I thought I'd always be fine as long as I do my best on that front... But with this, I'd seriously need to work harder. My rivals are very strong, after all.