Dormitory building.
Hikigaya and the others sat around a low table; Karuizawa peeled oranges listlessly, feeling somewhat emotional.
"That guy Ayanokouji is really incredible, I didn't expect him to be so amazing."
"Seriously."
Himeno Yuki ate an orange, also somewhat speechless.
"kei, what exactly is the deal with that Ayanokouji in your class? How can there be someone like that in the world?"
"How could I possibly know..."
"I didn't expect him to have such strength."
Sakayanagi Arisu also sighed with emotion.
Ayanokouji's strength lies not in mastering a specific field, but in his versatility and terrifying ability to learn and master things.
Although she didn't know if Ayanokouji held back last time, she still judged that she was likely no match for him.
It's just that realizing these things now is already meaningless.
Kamuro Masumi was also quite speechless.
"I give up. Hasn't that guy Ayanokouji changed at all?"
"He has..."
Karuizawa kei said with some disdain:
"Recently, Sotamura, Sudo, and the others have been revolving around Ayanokouji every day, constantly wanting to curry favor with him."
"By the way, Horikita, didn't you used to be very close to Ayanokouji? Do you know anything?"
"No... I'm not very sure either."
Horikita Suzune's expression was complicated.
The strength Ayanokouji displayed completely exceeded her imagination.
During this recent period.
Perhaps awestruck by Ayanokouji's strength, or perhaps to avoid being expelled by him.
In short.
Sotamura and the others clearly intended to curry favor with Ayanokouji.
Unknowingly.
A large group of companions gathered around Ayanokouji.
If it were before, Horikita Suzune would likely have thought so, but now it was hard to judge.
As for herself.
There was still no particular change.
Mistakes made cannot be compensated for.
No matter how hard she tried, she and the people in the class seemed like two parallel lines that would never cross again.
However.
Her efforts were not entirely meaningless.
At least Ichinose and Sakura Airi somewhat intended to accept her, but there was still no progress on Wang Meiyu's side.
There was no way.
Being in the same class.
Even if Wang Meiyu and the others wanted to contact Horikita Suzune, it would require a certain amount of courage.
Whether it was the surrounding environment or the people she faced.
The things Horikita Suzune wanted to do had no possibility of success.
"But..."
At this time.
Watching Hikigaya's calm expression, Sakayanagi Arisu was somewhat curious.
"Hikki, you seem very calm. Do you have any ideas?"
"Well, I'm not sure for now."
Hikigaya shook his head.
Although he had persuaded Katsuragi and Ryuuen, he wasn't sure how much resistance there would be to this matter.
However.
They didn't have the decision-making power anyway.
Hasebe Haruka frowned, feeling somewhat concerned.
"Hikki, are you sure you can win?"
"I don't know... if we lose, we lose."
Hikigaya shook his head, his heart also feeling somewhat helpless.
Although he had some ideas.
Ayanokouji's strength was genuine.
God knows if this was his full strength, and it was even less certain if he had any other trump cards.
If they lost, they lost.
He would just have to apologize to the class with a dogeza when the time came and try his best to compensate them after graduation.
By the bed.
Sakayanagi Arisu felt complicated.
Although surprised by Ayanokouji's strength, in her heart, she still hoped Hikigaya could win.
For nothing else.
Just to prove her choice wasn't wrong.
However.
Even she herself.
Similarly did not know how to defeat a full-throttle Ayanokouji.
She used to be too self-righteous.
Thinking that the fragment she saw was the entirety of Ayanokouji.
Only now did she discover.
Ayanokouji's strength was truly unfathomable.
Whether in team battles or individual battles, mindset, or the spiritual level, Ayanokouji possessed the strength to hold off a hundred alone.
It was precisely this level of exaggeration that made people despair.
"How about..."
Hasebe Haruka hesitated for a moment before suggesting:
"How about I just do something? Let me and kei work with you from the inside, that should surely make Ayanokouji lose..."
"Hasebe-san..."
The first to react was Horikita Suzune, who was suddenly stunned.
Although she always felt that Hasebe Haruka and Karuizawa kei were certainly time bombs for the class.
She hadn't seen the two take action for a long time.
Since she joined this group.
Only then did she discover that Hikigaya really didn't ask them to do anything, and even often took the initiative to avoid suspicion so as not to make things difficult for them.
But in the end.
Was he still going to use Hasebe Haruka and Karuizawa kei to deal with Ayanokouji?
Thinking of this.
Horikita Suzune suddenly hesitated.
So what should she do? Should she stand on the class's side, or on Hikigaya's side to become Ayanokouji's opponent?
Then what about ascending to A?
Furthermore, what was Hasebe Haruka really thinking?
"Hmm?"
Hikigaya frowned.
At the very beginning, Karuizawa and the others had also mentioned it... considering it a test of his thoughts.
Knowing he completely didn't intend to let them do anything to betray the class.
The two stopped taking it to heart entirely.
After that, everything was basically just occasional, casual chatter where they would reveal some information about their class.
He didn't expect that now.
Hasebe Haruka would bring it up again.
"haruka, why say these things all of a sudden?"
"It's nothing, just..."
Hasebe Haruka hesitated, feeling an indescribable sensation, before waiting a moment and saying with some dissatisfaction:
"I don't want to see Ayanokouji and the others graduate from Class A just like that..."
"..."
Once these words were spoken.
Hikigaya lowered his head as he had expected, and Horikita Suzune was even more stunned.
While it might be because Haruka had a good relationship with Hikigaya.
But...
She would rather not graduate from Class A herself than see Ayanokouji and these classmates graduate from Class A.
This was enough to explain the issue...
It was clear that although Hasebe Haruka didn't say anything on the surface, she was still holding a grudge in her heart.
If Ayanokouji and the others were allowed to graduate from Class A just like that.
Hasebe Haruka would always feel.
On what basis could people like that graduate from A? This was truly too unfair.
Moreover.
The closer it got to graduation, the lower the risks would become.
Anyway, Hasebe Haruka and the others didn't particularly care about the Class A position now.
Even if Ayanokouji could get them expelled, it would only be for a week or two at most.
This bit of risk.
To her, it wasn't worth worrying about, which is why she wanted to take this opportunity to assist Hikigaya and stand on the opposite side of Ayanokouji and the others.
She would absolutely not recognize Ayanokouji and the others' methods.
"No need..."
Hikigaya's gaze softened: "Don't worry, I have a countermeasure, I won't let them win. You just wait for graduation peacefully."
"Is that so..."
Hasebe Haruka pursed her lips, looking a bit unhappy, while Horikita Suzune felt relieved yet complicated.
Clearly, he had trump cards like Hasebe Haruka and the others.
Why.
Did Hikigaya just not use them?
Was it because he was irresponsible and didn't want to use them? Obviously not.
Rather, it was because he didn't want them to regret it... he hoped to leave them with better memories.
Their high school lives shouldn't be all about intrigue and calculation.