Horikita's question genuinely stumped Hikigaya.
It wasn't that he absolutely couldn't answer—it was just that doing so might carry the risk of exposing too much. However, since he was the one seeking Horikita's cooperation, it was only fair to show some sincerity. Besides, he was curious to see how she would react upon hearing his reasoning.
With that in mind, Hikigaya nodded. "Yeah, more or less. Mainly, I want to test my ability to control scores."
"...Are you trying to imitate Ayanokouji-kun?" Horikita asked, her expression slightly incredulous.
Hikigaya shrugged. "I wouldn't do this just for fun. No matter how bored I might get, I'm not that bored."
"But aside from that reason... you can't seriously be preparing for the partner selection, can you?" Horikita began, but as she spoke, a thought suddenly struck her.
Yet, she quickly dismissed it herself.
"That's impossible. Back during the midterm exams, Chabashira-sensei hadn't even announced the details of Paper Shuffle yet."
"Horikita... you need to broaden your perspective a little," Hikigaya remarked.
"What do you mean?"
"Chabashira-sensei said it herself—this special exam is an annual event," Hikigaya reminded her.
Horikita had certainly grown over time. She had come to understand the limits of individual strength and had learned the importance of cooperation, compromise, and teamwork. However, in some areas, she still had a long way to go.
For instance, while it was natural for students to analyze the exam rules and formulate strategies quickly, simply understanding the test parameters didn't guarantee victory. The key to turning the tide in unfavorable situations was having more information than the opponent.
"...I see," Horikita murmured.
She was sharp—often, all she needed was a slight push to connect the dots.
"So, you already have someone in mind for your partner? Could it be... Ayanokouji-kun?"
"Yeah, that's right." Hikigaya admitted without hesitation.
He wasn't surprised that she guessed correctly. A simple process of elimination would lead to the conclusion. Given Hikigaya's usual grades, he could partner with the lowest-ranking student and still manage.
If he were concerned that his injured hand might affect his test performance, he could have just told the class directly—there was no need for such elaborate plans.
"Horikita, don't you want to see Ayanokouji's true strength?"
"His true strength..." Horikita frowned slightly. "I know he's been deliberately hiding his abilities, but when it comes to academics, there's no solid evidence that he's particularly outstanding."
She wasn't wrong.
From Horikita's perspective, the only proof of Ayanokouji's abilities was the entrance exam's mock test. Though he had only scored fifty points, he had managed to solve an exceptionally difficult math problem.
Still, one problem wasn't enough to prove anything. He could have encountered it before or seen it elsewhere. Moreover, Ayanokouji rarely paid attention in class and often seemed distracted.
So while Horikita suspected that he was intelligent, she still believed that in terms of pure academic ability, she might not necessarily lose to him.
Unfortunately, she was overthinking it.
It wasn't arrogance—she simply lacked the inside knowledge that Hikigaya had.
"There's no solid proof, which is exactly why I want to take this opportunity to find out," Hikigaya said, going along with her train of thought instead of explaining further.
"Anyway, you're curious about Ayanokouji's real capabilities too, aren't you? That guy's been playing Ryuuen like a fiddle in the shadows."
"That's true... but how exactly do you plan to do this?" Horikita asked hesitantly.
"You'll see when the time comes. First, I need to make sure we end up as partners."
He wasn't trying to be mysterious—the entire plan hinged on that one crucial step.
Then, he briefly explained his next moves.
After hearing him out, Horikita frowned. "Hikigaya-kun, are you sure things will go exactly as you expect? It seems like there's a lot of room for error."
"That's fine," Hikigaya said casually. "Every plan carries the risk of failure. Whether this succeeds or not depends on luck. But I can't think of a better alternative. And even if it fails, it won't hurt our class. We'll just take the test normally."
"...That's true."
Even so, Horikita still had her doubts.
For instance, why was Hikigaya so insistent on targeting Class B? What did that have to do with his overall goal?
Did he think that just because the opponent was formidable, Ayanokouji would be forced to reveal his true abilities during the exam?
That seemed unlikely.
For now, she set her questions aside and sighed. "Hikigaya-kun, I still think our chances of successfully attacking Class B are low. But I also understand your reasoning—great risks come with great rewards. So... I'll help you. But I have one condition."
Her tone suddenly became firm. "I want to help prepare the exam questions too. Even if you say you're confident, I think it's necessary to supervise you. Besides, if you're the only one making the questions, Hirata-kun and the others won't agree to it."
"Oh, sure."
Hikigaya agreed readily. After all, his grades weren't exactly top-tier.
If he wanted Horikita to trust the process, she would need to see things firsthand.
"In that case, if you have time, come to my room later."
"Uh..." Horikita suddenly stiffened, falling silent.
Just as Hikigaya began to wonder what was wrong, she abruptly turned around.
"Got it. Then, that's all for today. Goodbye."
Without waiting for a response, she walked off, head lowered.
Hikigaya stared at her retreating figure, dumbfounded for a moment.
...Did she misunderstand something?
As the realization dawned on him, Hikigaya felt a pang of regret and a tinge of fear.
Inviting a girl to his room so suddenly—if Horikita accused him of harassment, there would be no way to explain himself!
He had just wanted to surprise her...
Oh well. She would find out soon enough.
Regardless, securing Horikita's help meant step one was complete. Now, he needed to talk to Ichinose.
The class attack plans wouldn't be reported to the teacher until next week, so as long as he found a chance to talk to her before then, it would be fine.
Unexpectedly, that opportunity arrived first thing the next morning.
"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun!"
As he stepped into the dorm lobby from the elevator, Ichinose's cheerful voice greeted him. Her upright posture, radiant smile, and... well, her rather noticeable figure always left an impression.
If only she could lower her voice a little—she attracted far too much attention.
"...Morning."
Hikigaya responded with minimal enthusiasm. Sometimes, he truly envied her energy.
Why was she this lively so early in the morning?
"You're up early today," Ichinose noted curiously. "I don't think I've ever run into you at this hour before. Are you feeling okay?"
She leaned in slightly, glancing at his right arm with concern.
A faint citrus fragrance reached him. Perfume?
"I'm fine. Just happened to wake up early," Hikigaya replied, subtly shifting away.
In truth, he hadn't slept well. His mind kept replaying his strategy over and over.
Even though he acted laid-back, he wanted to ensure everything went as smoothly as possible.
"Mmm! That's good."
Ichinose beamed and naturally fell into step beside him.
To be honest, Hikigaya didn't dislike Ichinose. If anything, he deeply admired her character.
No exaggeration—she was someone he could never hope to become.
Even if people called her a living saint, it wouldn't feel out of place in the slightest.
But the problem was… walking alongside her came with immense pressure. From the moment they started talking, he could feel the weight of countless gazes on them.
…Forget it. Whatever.
There was still business to discuss.
"Um, Ichi—"
"Hikigaya-kun, I—"
Unexpectedly, just as Hikigaya gathered his courage to speak, they both called each other's names at the same time.
What the…? This is beyond awkward!
At that moment, he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it. While he was at it, he might as well carve out a full three-room apartment underground.
Ichinose gave an apologetic smile.
"Sorry about that. You go first?"
"No, it's nothing urgent. You go ahead." Hikigaya quickly shook his head.
Getting interrupted like that nearly made him forget his lines. He needed a moment to recover.
"Uh, actually, it's not anything too important either," Ichinose admitted, glancing slightly to the side. "I was planning to talk about the sports festival… and maybe lecture you a little. But I guess that can wait for another time."
"…Huh? I don't remember doing anything that warrants a lecture."
Barring the possibility of amnesia, Hikigaya was pretty sure he had no memory of committing any wrongdoing.
Especially during the sports festival—his cast hadn't even been removed yet. Even if he wanted to cause trouble, he physically couldn't have.
But for some reason, his words seemed to hit a nerve. Ichinose immediately fired back, "Seriously, that kind of attitude isn't okay. Even if you're a guy, you should be more aware. Your actions back then were practically aiding the enemy."
"Aiding… the enemy?"
Of all people, he hadn't expected to hear those words from Ichinose.
"Of course. I believe in the whole 'friendship comes first' thing too, but our school is a little… special, don't you think?" Ichinose had already shifted into lecture mode. "Even if you didn't mean it that way, think about how your classmates in Class D must have felt when they saw you cheering for students from other groups. No matter what, they're still your teammates. You should consider their feelings more."
"You're blowing this way out of proportion."
Sure, she had a point. But the real issue was that Hikigaya had never felt any sense of belonging to Class D in the first place.
Teammates? Yeah, right. As if.
Scratching his head, he muttered, "Besides, I doubt anyone in class cares about me. It's like… I'm that student who could take a week off and no one would even notice."
"That's not true!"
Ichinose's tone suddenly grew uncharacteristically firm.
"Not just our class—I'm sure even the people in Class D care about you. After all, Hikigaya-kun is an incredibly capable person—"
"If they only think of me because of that, then I'd rather not be thought of at all."
Before his brain could catch up, Hikigaya had already cut her off—his voice cold and unyielding.
Immediately, he regretted it.
Looking at Ichinose, whose expression had frozen and whose upper body remained motionless, Hikigaya lowered his head. "Sorry, I overreacted."
"No, no, not at all. I was just being presumptuous."
Ichinose didn't look embarrassed or angry. Instead, she smiled self-deprecatingly.
"To be honest, I don't know much about Class D's students. I just thought it would be nice if you could get along with everyone… Sorry, I didn't consider your feelings."
"It's fine… I know you meant well." Hikigaya slowly shook his head.
The atmosphere was turning awkward. If this continues, things might get even worse.
It seemed Ichinose had the same thought, as she quickly changed the topic. "Oh, right! You were about to say something earlier. What was it?"
"I wanted to talk to you about this special exam."
"Huh? That's what this is about?!"
For some reason, Ichinose looked utterly shocked.
Was that so surprising?
"I just thought you didn't care much about exams," she admitted. "But I can understand why you'd be concerned this time. We have to form pairs with other students, and if we mess up, both people could get expelled. Some students in our class are pretty anxious about it too."
Overall, Class A probably didn't need to worry about their grades.
But that didn't mean they could be completely at ease. Unexpected things happen all the time.
Even the most outstanding student could get dragged down by a bad partner and end up expelled.
"Ichinose, you're misunderstanding. I want to make a deal with you."
"A deal?"
"Yeah… If possible, could your class target Class C in this exam?"
"Huh?" Ichinose blinked in surprise before smiling knowingly. "Ah, I see. So this is what's been on your mind, Hikigaya-kun. But don't worry, we discussed it in class yesterday, and no one suggested attacking Class D. You can rest easy."
It seemed Class A was still following their usual policy—valuing everyone's opinions.
Wait, did she misunderstand again?
Hikigaya felt both amused and exasperated. "That's not what I meant… Forget it, I'll just be direct. Class B is our target. What would it take for you to back off?"
"Huh? Huh?!"
His words seemed to have completely shaken Ichinose.
Well, it made sense.
A class that was still sitting at zero points was now challenging the elite former Class A? No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like an irrational move.
"Wait a minute, Hikigaya-kun! Are you serious about this?"
"Of course. That's why I'm negotiating with you."
"You're serious… I think this is a bit reckless."
Perhaps because of their previous conversation, there was a trace of unease in Ichinose's expression as she tried to dissuade him.
"Besides, why do you want to go against Class B?"
"It's not a battle. I just want to give them a problem to solve." Hikigaya replied.
"Ah."
Ichinose seemed to immediately catch on.
She was a smart girl. It wasn't surprising she figured it out quickly—though she did tend to act a little airheaded at times.
"I see, I see." Ichinose nodded thoughtfully. "If you have a solid plan, then I won't worry too much… Alright, I'm fine with this in principle. There's no real downside for us. But I still need to discuss it with the class first, so I can't give you a definite answer right now. I hope you understand."
"Of course."
Even though she said she'd discuss it, Hikigaya was certain most of Class A would agree.
They already had a significant lead over Class B. There was no need to challenge a strong opponent just to widen the gap further.
As far as Hikigaya was concerned, this deal was already as good as settled.
It had gone surprisingly smoothly… Almost too smoothly. Was everyone this easy to talk to?
Technically, if Class D targeted Class A instead, the outcome would be the same.
In other words, he could have asked Sakayanagi to go after Class C instead and still achieved his goal.
But he hadn't done that because Ichinose was reliable.
Once she agreed, she wouldn't go back on her word. Even if something unexpected happened, she would inform him as soon as possible.
As for Sakayanagi… Even though Hikigaya had won their previous gamble and secured a promise from her, he still didn't dare to rely on it.
Who knew how that cunning, silver-haired girl would twist things with wordplay?
At that thought, Hikigaya realized once again just how terrible he was as a person.
He was completely taking advantage of Ichinose's kindness.
But at this point, there was no turning back… And he didn't want to turn back.
"Sorry for making you go along with my selfishness, Ichinose. I owe you one this time—I'll repay you in the future." Hikigaya said seriously.
"It's no problem. I don't feel forced at all."
Ichinose responded with her usual bright smile, but she kept twirling a strand of her hair with her fingers.
She didn't seem as calm as she appeared.
"And besides, you don't have to keep talking about repaying me. If anything, I should be the one repaying you."
"…I just don't like owing people," Hikigaya said flatly. "Anyway, if there's ever something you want, just let me know. I'll do anything."
"Jeez, I already said you don't— Wait… A-Anything?!"
For some reason, Ichinose suddenly panicked.
Her voice even drew the attention of people nearby.
"N-No way, Hikigaya-kun! A boy shouldn't say things like that so casually!"
Ignoring the stares, Ichinose sternly scolded him.
"Haa…"
Hikigaya sighed in confusion.
If he were a beautiful girl, then sure, saying something like that would be a problem.
But because he was a guy, it should be fine, right?
It wasn't like he was offering to rob a bank or something.
If anything, that kind of task was better left to the "masterpiece".