Chapter 63: Consent Doesn't Matter

A/N- Had exams, two more left but they're easy so I can upload again. Anyways, enjoy!

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"I want an explanation."

She got straight to the point, her beautiful crimson eyes glaring at me.

"Your words last night... What did you mean by that?"

It really was astounding how she'd rather clear things up than uselessly dwell over it.

She was truly something else, you know? Instead of getting all tangled up in things, she preferred sorting them out.

Just for a moment, I saw a leader in her— the future Horikita Suzune, a force to be reckoned with.

But for now, she was still too immature.

"I don't think I understand."

My response seems to have irked her if the veins popping on her forehead were to say anything.

But in the end, she sighed, "Why are you like this? Do you like confusing other people? You know what I'm talking about."

The wind gently tousled her hair, I maintained a momentary silence, "Why are you confused, Suzune?" I pressed, going on the aggressive.

Girls like her, the more you let them think it through the harder they become to break. Instead, you should repeatedly poke at their mental barrier, again and again and again till the point her mind was full of nothing but you.

To have her thoughts consumed by nothing but you.

She seemed surprised, "But..."

Her showing up here seemed a bit impulsive. The silence spoke volumes about her mental state. How was Horikita Suzune, who couldn't stand me, handling this out-of-the-blue confession?

Feeling amused, I felt a little pity. I wondered why I couldn't muster any real feelings for her or any of the other girls, just lust. 

"I'm sorry but I'll have to decline. I have no intentions of getting into a relationship with anyone till I graduate. But don't misunderstand even if I were to date during high school, it would never be you."

As her frosty words registered to me, I couldn't help it.

A low muffled chuckle escaped my lips as I hoped to have felt something from the rejection.

I never doubted that she would not accept my proposal.

But...

Was I always like this? Even before this whole multiverse journey, was I always this twisted from the beginning?

The beauty standards of fiction— was it an appropriate excuse for my inability to develop romantic emotions?

Perhaps blaming the standards set by fiction for my lack of romantic depth was just a convenient scapegoat.

"It's somewhat sad that from the entire conversation we had last night the words you focus on are the most irrelevant ones..."

"Alright, Suzune."

I said and walked past her without sparing her another glance.

It didn't matter how she felt about me from the start. The game I was playing didn't consist of a bad ending, I, the winner was decided from the start.

Your consent never mattered Horikita.

...

She stood there, just watching his figure fade away, and a storm of mixed emotions swirled within her.

His words, the audacity of that unexpected confession, and the cool rejection she'd thrown at him replayed in her mind like a chaotic movie.

"Why now?" she muttered to herself, trying to make sense of the mess he'd just dropped on her.

The clarity she usually relied on was replaced by this tangled mess of frustration and confusion.

The wind played with her hair, almost mimicking the whirlwind inside her. She wondered if his aggressive approach was just a way to mess with her head or if there was something more vulnerable beneath the surface.

The whole thing had not just thrown her off balance; it had exposed a side of him she didn't see coming.

Her rejection was supposed to be firm, but his nonchalant response and that low chuckle left her feeling uneasy.

Was he finding this amusing, or was it a cover-up for deeper emotions? Did he genuinely have feelings for her or was this just another twisted game?

"Irrelevant words...?" She pondered over it and made her way to the door, being late to class was the last thing she wanted.

It was somewhat true. She had subconsciously ignored everything he had said to her and focused on the confession part.

Or rather, she didn't dare to. The moment she pondered over his words her resistance to his actions would become irrelevant.

She would have no further reason to go against him. Becoming the leader of the class was something she didn't care about, the only thing she cared about was reaching Class A.

And since Tatsuya had opened her eyes about the true reason her brother was avoiding her it made all her efforts over the past decade seem like foolishness.

What reason was there to avoid a normal high school life now?

Maybe because it was the most unexpected way the conversation had ended it left her more perplexed about something she didn't quite understand.

Love?

She had never really thought about it.

It was a waste of time from her perspective.

But maybe just maybe... Should this love of his be genuine—

Could she use it for the class' benefit?

.

.

.

Classes resumed and everyone was settled once again. Horikita had returned to her usual self and ignored Tatsuya.

As time passed the tension in the air slowly dissipated as those from Class D noticed Tatsuya's lack of involvement in anything.

Besides attending class he did nothing.

It was peaceful but creepy.

Yet there was something more concerning.

...

Tatsuya arrived at the cafeteria and went to buy a meal ticket. Ever since he arrived in Japan, the cuisine here had fascinated him.

He had stayed in a hostel before but the food was atrocious. But ANHS being the government-funded school it was had meals that could rival fancy restaurants.

Of course, as soon as he entered almost 70% of the student body's eyes were on him. He wasn't new to this but it usually was only 20-30% with it mainly being the girls.

But now?

His eyes discreetly swept over everybody and he noticed many second-years and third-years glancing at him while gesturing to their friends.

So news spread huh...?

He didn't know who it was but someone had posted a message on the public forums of the school.

The post highlighted how a first year spent millions of points to expel three of his classmates.

Most first years still couldn't grasp the magnitude of the action that Tatsuya had taken... but the senior students?

They felt a chill crawl down their spine, immediately denying the news.

They had spent more than a year fighting each other through many hard trials. Private points were the key to victory, it couldn't be denied.

So how did he gain so many points? This was the most common reply on the post.

There was even a thread where many speculated that he must have had an extremely influential family and was abusing his status.

But that rumour was shot down as quickly as it sprung up. ANHS has been active for almost two decades now and many students who had influential students did join but here status did not matter.

You were just another common student.

The only thing that could create a hierarchy in this school was individual capabilities.

Shaking his head of useless thoughts he bought the most expensive meal and patiently waited.

Students poured in and out of the busy cafeteria and yet Tatsuya saw something interesting, a long line was held in front of the free section of food.

Tatsuya almost couldn't hold his laughter in after seeing that 70% of the students in that line were from none other than his class.

Class D.

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