Chapter 115: Vol. 3: Side Story Chapter 6 - Troubles in Paradise
August 8th, 6:00 PM.
There were quite a bunch of girls walking in and out of their rooms on the 4th deck. That's why it wasn't too embarrassing to go here right now. A lot of guys were hanging out with their female friends (or maybe girlfriends), so there wasn't any reason for me to feel out of place.
I finally reached my destination, but before I managed to bring myself to knock on the door, the voices of Horikita and Mori reached my ears.
"Was that name really alright...?"
"It's fiiine~. It's a nice wordplay on your name, isn't it? And besides, with that name, no one would guess that the user is you. Isn't that better?"
"Well... you're right."
"See? Don't worry about it, Horikita-san. Or perhaps, are you envious of my cool name?"
"Impossible. Don't get ahead of yourself, Mori-san. I couldn't care less."
"Okay~. Whatever you say."
It seems like they're having a pretty nice conversation. I don't know what it's about, though.
*Knock*
"Hm? Who's here?"
"It must be Ayanokouji-kun," Horikita replied as she got up to the door.
I sent her a text prior so she should be expecting me.
"Yo," I greeted.
"Woah, it really is him. Did you invite Ayanokouji-kun to hang out, perhaps?"
"Hmm, strictly speaking... that would not be the case."
"I'm just here to chill. I can leave if I'm being a bother, though."
"Ah, no, no, not at all. Feel free to cuddle with Horikita-san on the bed."
"Mori-san." Horikita faced her with a sharp glare.
"Ahaha, I was joking~," she shrugged with a chuckle.
Ohh, someone finally gets her personality, huh?
"Sorry about this, Horikita. I tried my best today, you know? But socializing really is draining."
"I see. Well, feel free to sit around. I'll continue reading my book."
"That's such a loner thing to say, Ayanokouji-kun," teased Mori. "Or at least, that's what I would've said if I weren't the same."
"The same?"
"You've been hanging out with your friends since morning, right? Even an average normie wouldn't be able to do that. I'm also mentally drained today. That's why I'm here. Horikita-san's keeping me company~."
"I'm not. I was just reading this entire time."
If I remember correctly, Horikita's roommates are Mori, Rino, and Ishikura.
"Oh, you don't have to be so shy. We've talked about tons of stuff since yesterday, right?"
"I suppose that's true." Horikita sighed as she opened her book again. "Well then. Now that you have someone to talk with, I hope you can let me read in peace."
"Wouldn't our noise bother you?" I asked.
"Oh, Ayanokouji-kun's willing to have a chat!"
"I don't mind at all. Talk all you want," replied Horikita.
"We'll take you up on that offer then."
Horikita leaned against the wall while I sat on the edge of the bed, right in front of her.
"Wanna talk about Horikita?"
*Thud*
"Ow, hey!" I groaned in pain after Horikita struck my flank with a kick.
"Don't involve me in whatever gossip you're about to take part in, or else, I'll kick you again, but this time, all the way out of the room." Horikita glowered with a deep voice.
I looked back at her on reflex and my eyes were instinctively drawn to her snow-white legs. It's a good thing that Horikita was wearing shorts instead of a skirt or else my face would've been targeted by another kick.
"I'm very sorry, madam."
"Ahaha, I never knew you had this dynamic. How amusing." Mori laughed heartily after seeing our usual shenanigans.
Mori and I chatted about a lot of stuff. First and foremost, I told her the reason why I was here. It was simple. I actually wanted to rest in my own room, but Kouenji was there. The atmosphere becomes really weird and uncomfortable when I'm alone with that guy. I'm sure the same goes for Yukimura.
If it's Hirata, though... he can probably handle it.
Inevitably, I was asked about my love life. However, I also noticed that I was getting more and more comfortable with those types of topics. I must've been getting used to hearing about them.
Regardless, it was fun. She and I got to know each other better. Mori got along with almost everyone, just like Satou. She also hangs out with Ike and the other guys, which is probably the reason why she's really easy to chat with.
Time passed by pretty quickly. It wasn't long until five other girls walked inside the room: Karuizawa, Ichihashi, Shinohara, Maezono, and Rino.
"Eh-? Ayanokouji-kun?" Shinohara was the first one to react.
"Hey." I raised a hand to greet them.
"Are you hanging out with Horikita-san... or Nene-chan...? Or maybe both?" Rino asked with a smirk.
"And in the girls' room, too. Despite your seemingly harmless demeanor, you're quite the bold one, Ayanokouji-kun," added Maezono.
"Well, well. As much as I'm curious about what the deal here is, I think we have to go. The other girls should arrive in a few minutes," shrugged Ichihashi. "For now, you should rest well, Rinocchi."
"Ruri's right. It's a shame that Rinocchi can't come, though. Like, you were the most enthusiastic about this, too." teased Karuizawa.
"K-Karuizawa-san, you didn't have to say that..." Rino replied with a flustered expression.
"We'll tell you the deets on the group chat, so don't worry. Just rest if you're not feeling well," she said.
Karuizawa aloofly exited the room with a simple "Let's go." as the other girls followed— of course after briefly saying goodbye to us.
Mori and I looked at Rino, who lay down comfortably on her bed.
"We were supposed to meet up with some girls from other classes. I couldn't come with them cuz' of my headache, though," she said, sensing our curiosity.
"Ohh, that's unfortunate," said Mori.
"It's fine. I'll have lots of other opportunities next time, anyway." Rino sighed with a shrug. "How about you two? How're your groups?"
"I don't know about Ken, but the others are probably resting now, too," I replied.
"Maya might be hanging out with the other two in their room right now. I would've been there if I wasn't burnt out for the day," answered Mori.
'The other two' must be referring to Matsushita and Sonoda.
"Well, it's getting quite late, so I'll be going on ahead."
"Ehh, I just got here. I wanted to have a chat with you, too~," pouted Rino.
"Sure, maybe next time. You should rest for now."
"Bye-bye, Ayanokouji-kun! Let's hang out again next time," waved Mori.
"Thanks for allowing me to sit on your bed, Horikita."
"Just the thanks is enough." Horikita glanced at me with an exasperated sigh.
————————————————————————
August 8th, 10:00 PM.
I was currently lying on my bed... while chatting with two girls on the phone. One was my friend and my classmate; Ichihashi Ruri. The other one was also my friend but was not my classmate; Ichinose Honami.
With Ichinose:
(10:10 PM) [You sure?]
(10:10 PM) [Yep.]
(10:10 PM) [It'd leave a little scar at worst.]
(10:10 PM) [I see.]
(10:10 PM) [That's great, then.]
(10:10 PM) [By the way, I wanted to talk to you about the results.]
(10:10 PM) [Are you free tomorrow?]
(10:11 PM) [Tomorrow?]
(10:11 PM) [I don't really have any plans, so yeah.]
(10:11 PM) [What time?]
(10:12 PM) [Is 3:00 PM alright with you?]
(10:14 PM) [Yeah, sure.]
(10:14 PM) [Do you have a place in mind?]
(10:14 PM) [Is the rest area on the 6th deck fine with you?]
(10:14 PM) [Hoshinomiya-sensei and I have an appointment there tomorrow.]
(10:15 PM) [No problem.]
(10:15 PM) [I'll be there.]
(10:15 PM) [I'll ask Kanzaki-kun, too, if that's fine with you.]
(10:15 PM) [Of course.]
(10:15 PM)[Can I bring Horikita with me then?]
(10:19 PM) [That's a nice idea.]
(10:19 PM) [Kanzaki-kun said okay, too.]
(10:19 PM) [Alright, I'll see you tomorrow.]
(10:21 PM) [Yes, good night!]
(10:21 PM) [Good night.]
With Ichihashi:
(10:10 PM) [It's pretty awkward, of course, but I'm managing, somehow.]
(10:11 PM) [Being neutral is hard, but I think it fits you.]
(10:11 PM) [Really?]
(10:11 PM) [I'm not so sure about that.]
(10:11 PM) [You're probably the most mature in your friend group.]
(10:11 PM) [That's also why you haven't chosen one side over the other, right?]
(10:12 PM) [Mature?]
(10:12 PM)[Hahaha, well, my friends do say that, but I'm not that mature.]
(10:12 PM) [That's true.]
(10:12 PM) [You make childish mistakes sometimes.]
(10:13 PM) [Ugh...]
(10:13 PM) [I'm sorry, okay?!]
(10:13 PM) [Of course, I make mistakes! I'm not as perfect as Chiaki-chan or Kushida-san.]
(10:13 PM) [Though I can't help but feel embarrassed whenever I remember the misunderstanding I've caused.]
(10:13 PM) [I really thought Horikita-san would hate me forever, you know?!]
(10:13 PM) [It's fine, to be honest.]
(10:13 PM) [Horikita's not that narrow-minded.]
(10:13 PM) [And besides, anyone in your position at that time would've also arrived at the same conclusion.]
(10:13 PM) [There was no other way around it.]
(10:13 PM) [By the way, Ayanokouji-kun.]
(10:13 PM) [Do you have some time tomorrow?]
(10:15 PM) [Hmm.]
(10:15 PM) [I have all morning, then after three.]
(10:16 PM) [I see.]
(10:16 PM) [Can I talk to you around six then?]
(10:18 PM) [Sure.]
(10:18 PM) [What's it about?]
(10:20 PM) [It's a secret for now.]
(10:20 PM) [I'll tell you personally tomorrow.]
(10:21 PM) [Alright.]
(10:23 PM) [Okay, that's great!]
(10:23 PM) [Good night, Ayanokouji-kun.]
(10:25 PM) [Good night.]
Ichihashi has long been consulting me or Hirata about her problems with the girl groups. She was initially close with Kikyou and her friends but slowly hung out with Karuizawa's group more. Of course, she was still friends with everyone, much like most of us.
However, very few people were aware of the "cold war" that was happening inside the classroom— at least with the girls. As everyone's angel, Kikyou tends to be impartial with everyone. But I, for one, know how much she hates Karuizawa and her gal friends. Passive aggression and subtle verbal attacks are still among the many things that they tend to do with the other girls in class. Weak-willed girls like Inogashira and Mii-chan were often targeted. In fact, there were rare times when even Airi was on the receiving end.
If Airi didn't have the Ayanokouji Group, she might've been the prime target.
Going back to the topic at hand, Ichihashi had been stressed out by the current situation. It's a good thing that the girls had been interacting with other classes because they had more topics for conversation. After all, when they run out of things to things to talk about, they either start to gossip or make fun of other people in the class.
When I heard the whole story, Karuizawa and her friends were painted in some kind of "stereotypical high school bitches" type of image, but I knew that it was just the natural course of events, especially in the high school setting. That said, I'm not saying that their bullying, no matter how mild, is justified.
Poking fun at others was normal among any friend group. It's all about the intensity and malice, in my personal opinion. According to what Ichihashi has told me, there really weren't any malicious intentions behind their gossip so I guess that's fine. Ichihashi knows that, too.
I know that Karuizawa was just acting how a strong-willed pack leader should act. She's been slowly sharing more of her past with me in these few months, and it's become apparent that Karuizawa knew very little of how to properly handle the situations where she's required to assert her position. Karuizawa might not be aware of it, but whenever she's stuck on a dead-end, she ends up mimicking what her past bullies were doing to her.
She ends up overdoing things a lot of the time, so I should probably address that issue soon.
Ah, manga and light novels are great. My takeaways from every read aren't something that one can learn from educational or academic books. I know nothing about the social intricacies between high school girls, but I can still put things into perspective because of the stories I've read. Of course, I always consult Professor and the others to know if the scenarios I'm studying are really reflected in real life. A lot of modern mangakas are very skillful in writing them, too.
Case in point, I still have a lot of responsibilities as the class leader. If I continue to progress my social knowledge, I might just be able to do one-tenth of what Hirata can.
At first, I always thought that observing from the outside would serve me well as someone who's curious about what normal high school life is. But as time goes on, it's become apparent that being in the frontline yields so much more to sate my inquisitiveness.