Kushida didn't beat around the bush and boldly stated her thoughts.
"I want to be friends with Horikita-san!"
Before Kushida could finish her sentence, Suzune already raised her hand to cut her off.
"I don't need friends. Besides, you make me very uncomfortable. What exactly do you want?"
Suzune furrowed her brow, completely unable to understand the motive behind Kushida's behavior.
The corners of Kushida's eyes began to glisten with tears as she showed an extremely sad and victimized expression. "Horikita-san, don't you feel lonely being alone?"
"I don't feel lonely being alone," Suzune answered immediately.
Kushida's words got stuck in her throat.
(This woman, why is she so stubborn?) she thought inwardly.
Seeing that the two of them had sought her out only for such a trivial matter, Suzune sneered curtly. "What a complete waste of my time. Could you both leave now?"
Kushida, cornered, couldn't say anything more. She looked at Ryunosuke with a gaze that was both pleading and threatening. Her look seemed to say: [Help me deal with this nasty woman! If you fail? Hehe... don't expect me to help you!]
Ryunosuke somehow managed to read so much meaning from just that one look. However, he was forced to step in and mediate for Kushida's sake.
"Horikita, just be friends with her. You won't lose anything."
Suzune glared at him sharply, then let out a long sigh. Clearly, she really didn't like this idea of making friends. Seeing this, Ryunosuke was forced to pull out his ultimate move.
"Your older brother wouldn't want to see you without friends either, would he? How about I call the Student Council President right now? I'll tell him that his little sister doesn't even want to have a single friend."
"I wonder what your brother would think of you then?"
Ryunosuke took out his phone and pretended to make a call.
Suzune immediately snatched Ryunosuke's phone in a panic. When she saw the phone screen was actually off, her expression turned annoyed.
"Are you messing with me?"
Ryunosuke spread both hands. "Just be friends already — consider it doing it for my sake... After becoming friends, you can discard her if you want."
Ryunosuke's last words truly provoked Kushida's anger.
A vein bulged on Kushida's forehead as she laughed coldly, her hand moving to pinch Ryunosuke's waist.
However, Ryunosuke quickly caught Kushida's delicate hand, signaling her not to make a fuss.
Kushida said nothing. She pulled her hand back and rubbed it on her clothes with disgust, as if she had just touched something extremely filthy.
Ryunosuke ignored Kushida beside him and waited for Suzune's answer.
On the other side, Suzune finally gave her answer. Crossing her arms over her chest, she spoke arrogantly.
"On what basis should I make friends for your sake? Who are you to me anyway?"
"Your guardian," Ryunosuke answered reflexively.
The atmosphere instantly fell silent. Suzune lowered her hands and went quiet.
Kushida blinked her large eyes, looking between the two of them with curiosity.
(Could it be these two have a special relationship?)
Because the term "guardian" sounded very subtle and meaningful to an outsider's ears. As if proving their relationship was indeed unusual, Suzune finally gave in. She let out a long sigh, losing the will to argue.
After all, what Ryunosuke said was true — she had indeed been asked by her brother to watch over her. She had no words to retort.
Seeing Suzune not arguing back, Kushida became even more convinced their relationship was special.
Ryunosuke didn't want to waste any more time. He told Suzune everything honestly, including the plan to rake in big points this time.
Hearing the process, Suzune firmly refused. Why should she sacrifice herself to befriend someone she didn't like just for Ryunosuke's plan?
To her, having just Megumi was enough.
That's right — at this point, Suzune had finally acknowledged that Megumi was her friend — even her only friend — after being persistently stuck to by that girl.
Megumi was too clever; whether it was helping Suzune out of trouble with former Class C using her beret, or taking care of her when she had the flu on the deserted island. Those things touched her antisocial heart, making her acknowledge Megumi as a friend.
Megumi truly knew how to handle Suzune.
Their levels were vastly different; in front of Megumi, Suzune was like a newborn baby.
Seeing Suzune still refusing, Ryunosuke actually called Manabu right in front of her.
The call quickly connected, and the Student Council President's cold voice could be heard.
"Hello? Secretary Akasaka, what business do you have calling?"
Suzune's body trembled hearing her brother's voice. She didn't expect Ryunosuke would actually dare to call. She suddenly had a bad premonition.
Ryunosuke straightened his tie and coughed a few times as if preparing for a performance. Taking a deep breath, he spoke into the phone in a sorrowful tone.
"President!!! Your little sister is too rebellious! I've been kind enough to find her a friend, but she instead! Huu huu~"
Before Ryunosuke could finish speaking, Suzune had already covered his mouth and snatched the phone to end the call. She shouted fiercely:
"I agree! I agree, you bastard!"
On the other end of the phone, Manabu stared at his phone in confusion. "Eh? What happened?"
He found this very strange.
Meanwhile, Suzune, with feelings of humiliation, was forced to agree to the fact that she had to befriend Kushida.
"Are you satisfied now? Now you can both leave!" She pointed toward the door, shooing them out.
Kushida was the first person to be pushed out. Ryunosuke tried to resist by gripping the door frame, but he was immediately kicked out by Suzune, followed by the sound of the door slamming shut very loudly.
Ryunosuke rubbed his sore bottom. "What a rough woman — whoever marries you in the future will surely be unlucky."
The door suddenly opened again, making him jump in fright. But Suzune only threw his phone that she had snatched earlier toward its owner, then slammed the door again. Apparently, she just wanted to return the phone.
Ryunosuke smiled faintly. "Truly a difficult girl to please..."
Right then, Kushida extended her hand to help him stand. Ryunosuke accepted it without hesitation.
This time Kushida didn't show a disgusted expression; she looked very satisfied because Ryunosuke had helped her "befriend" Suzune.
Ryunosuke straightened his clothes and brushed off the dust clinging to them, then looked at Kushida flatly.
"Now you'll help me, right?"
Kushida nodded with a sweet smile. "Of course~ Akasaka-kun has kept his promise, and I will do the same. Leave those remaining 8 people to me — I'll make them agree."
Ryunosuke nodded with relief. As long as the majority agreed, the remaining few people didn't need to be worried about.
In one class there were 40 people:
Hirata: 18 people.
Kushida: 8 people.
Kei: 5 people.
Adding himself, Ayanokouji, Suzune, and Megumi, that made 35 people confirmed to agree.
The remaining members who were uncertain were only Yamauchi, Ike, and Shimura — three companions who were somewhat difficult to manage. The rest were Airi and Haruka, but that wasn't a major problem; those two would definitely agree.
Up to this point, the problems in all four classes had been resolved. All that remained was waiting for tomorrow's exam. Ryunosuke put his hands in his pockets and returned to his dorm to rest, awaiting the exam content that would be announced tomorrow morning.