The front yard.
On the vast snowy ground.
Ichinose had gathered quite a few people.
Naturally, people from Class B—most of the girls were there—and many others like Shibata and Watanabe were present.
There were also many from Classes A and C.
Ichinose's organizational ability was indeed not to be underestimated.
There were also several people from Class D standing to the side, with no intention of participating; they naturally understood why.
Originally.
Ichinose also hesitated whether to invite Class D, but after consideration, Hikigaya decided not to.
This time.
It wasn't out of some prejudice.
Hikigaya just felt it was for their own good; after all, the fact that Ichinose hesitated meant there would be awkward problems.
As a result.
Many in Class D, like Ike Kanji, felt as if they were being ostracized, their expressions looking somewhat grim.
Sensing the surrounding gazes, Horikita Suzune took a deep breath.
She naturally knew it might cause some issues and might lead to unnecessary suspicion within Class D.
Thinking carefully.
As long as she dominated Hikigaya, winning would make everything fine.
Soon.
The snowball fight began.
Ichinose didn't have any special requirements; they naturally split into two sides, adopting a free-to-join policy.
If one side had fewer people, someone would naturally act the hero and join.
Good.
Ball.
It was just for fun.
On the other side.
Hikigaya was dueling Horikita Suzune; there were quite a few people dueling like them.
With a pa sound.
Hikigaya was wrapping a snowball in his hands when he took a direct hit to his forehead.
"Dammit..."
Hikigaya clutched a snowball and threw it back without hesitation, but Horikita Suzune sidestepped and dodged it.
Dammit.
It wasn't that he didn't want to win.
The problem was he really couldn't beat her.
Having stamina was useless; Horikita Suzune was too flexible and dodged skillfully every time.
As expected of someone who practiced Aikido—it was a one-sided beating.
Forget it.
The point was to create a chance for Ibuki Mio and Horikita Suzune to duel.
No need to care too much.
At this time, Ibuki Mio was watching eagerly from the side, really not knowing why Hikigaya had to make things so complicated.
"Dammit, don't run!"
Hikigaya clutched two freshly made snowballs and chased after her; indeed, he had to close the distance to give Horikita Suzune no time to react.
Although getting hit by a snowball didn't hurt much.
It was still very annoying.
"You won't be able to beat me by charging recklessly like that."
With another pa sound.
Hikigaya took another hit to the face. Horikita Suzune quickly grabbed a clump of snow and turned to run, while making her next snowball.
Looking at Hikigaya behind her.
A smile couldn't help but appear on Horikita Suzune's face.
As expected, it was very fun.
Occasionally venting the negative emotions inside didn't seem bad; she was probably happy for that reason.
Soon.
Seeing Hikigaya's eye signal, Ibuki Mio rushed forward.
"Horikita, settle it with me!"
"I'm not interested, and can't you see I'm in the middle of a match?"
Horikita Suzune furrowed her brows, a bit displeased.
"I'm done."
Hikigaya, his face red from the cold, shook his head:
"I'm exhausted. You two play."
"Ara, Hikigaya, does this mean you're admitting defeat?"
The corners of Horikita Suzune's mouth curled slightly.
They had only been playing for less than ten minutes; there was no way he could be that tired.
This must be Hikigaya's stubborn excuse.
Rightly so.
After being one-sidedly slaughtered, Hikigaya must also clear that he was no match for her.
"Yeah, I guess you win."
Hikigaya said, feeling a bit fed up.
Even if he didn't fear failure, no matter how many times.
The taste of defeat still wasn't pleasant.
But Hikigaya could also frankly admit his defeat.
"The rest of you play by yourselves. I'm leaving first."
After saying that.
Hikigaya turned and left.
The opportunity had been created for Ibuki Mio; they were even now.
"Horikita, settle it with me."
"I just finished a match and used up a lot of stamina. Don't you think that's being sneaky?"
"Hmm? Is that so? Fine, I'll wait for you to recover. How long?"
"Ten minutes."
After hesitating for a moment.
Horikita Suzune nodded and sat on the veranda to rest, with Ibuki Mio excitedly following beside her.
Occasionally venting suppressed emotions like this wasn't such a bad thing.
Soon.
Their match began again.
However.
For some reason.
Although she still wanted to win and not lose, and Horikita Suzune was fighting Ibuki Mio with all her strength, she didn't feel as happy as she did just now.
But she still had to decisively determine the winner.
Half an hour later.
"I hit you 16 times, and you hit me 14 times. The result is already obvious."
"Dammit, so it's 4 to 3 now."
Ibuki Mio bit her lip, her face full of refusal.
"Next time I'll definitely win."
"Utterly foolish."
Horikita Suzune turned to leave, somewhat speechless.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"It's obvious, isn't it? I sweated a bit and I'm going to take a bath."
"Then I'm going too..."
Ibuki Mio quickly followed behind: "Speaking of which, why haven't I run into you in the baths?"
"I usually go right when it starts. By the time you bathe, I'm probably already done. Any problem?"
"I see. Then this time let's see who can stay in the baths longer."
"Are you an idiot? What's the point in competing over that?"
Horikita Suzune was truly speechless, but she had no reason to restrict Ibuki Mio's actions.
"As I thought."
Ibuki Mio was instead a bit surprised:
"It seems Hikigaya understands you better."
"What do you mean?"
"You seem to be competing with Hikigaya in secret, right?"
Ibuki Mio didn't think too much of it: "That guy said if he just provoked you a little, you'd definitely fall for it."
"What's going on?"
Horikita Suzune furrowed her brows, keenly sensing a problem.
"You and Hikigaya are in different classes, right? Why would you talk to him about such things, and about me?"
"Pretty much. He wanted me to be quiet these few days, so he created the chance to duel you. I didn't expect you to fall for it so easily."
Ibuki Mio said thoughtfully: "Actually, maybe I should find a chance to have Hikigaya talk to you?"
Of course.
She would definitely have to exchange something with Hikigaya.
She didn't want to owe anyone a favor.
"Eh? Horikita, why are you crying? Your eyes are so red?"
"Are you an idiot? They're just red from being frozen outside. Besides, for the rare school trip, I wanted to exercise too. It's no use finding him, and I have no desire to duel you either."
Saying that.
Horikita Suzune quickened her pace, her slender hands clenching into fists.
Her eyes were red for some reason—maybe they really were frozen from outside.
Previously, it was Horikita Suzune who didn't want to socialize, nor did she need to; being alone was enough.
Now.
She was instead being isolated by everyone—maybe that wasn't quite right, she was being rejected.
Although the situation was exactly the same, her mindset was completely different.
Originally.
She thought that Hikigaya had come to find her, regardless of the reason.
To her surprise.
It was actually for the sake of the promise with Ibuki.
Thinking of this.
Horikita Suzune pursed her lips, holding back tears from falling.
Suddenly she felt an unspeakable——————
Humiliation!
Was she really that unwelcome?
As if anyone cared.
She would never compete with Ibuki Mio again, nor would she speak to Hikigaya.
When she rises to Class A.
She will slap Hikigaya's face and definitely prove that Hikigaya was wrong!