Ding—The elevator came to a slow stop on the fourth floor.
Feeling a faint sense of weightlessness, Horikita instinctively took a deep breath.
For some reason, she was feeling a little nervous. But logically speaking, that was impossible.
Even though she didn't have many friends, she had visited a boy's room multiple times before. Granted, it was always with a group, but that shouldn't make a difference, right?
In any case, there was no reason to be nervous.
Stepping out of the elevator, she noted with relief that the hallway was empty… No, wait, why would that even matter?
"...I'm only here to discuss the exam questions with Hikigaya-kun, and I'm in my school uniform."
There wasn't a single soul around, yet Horikita suddenly started muttering to herself, as if trying to convince herself of something.
"So, there's no reason to be nervous at all… Besides, it's just Hikigaya-kun."
"What about Hikigaya-kun?"
"It's just... Eh?!"
A voice suddenly spoke up behind her, startling Horikita so much that she completely froze.
Turning around, she saw that it was—Kushida.
…Great.
"K-Kushida-san." Horikita's voice unconsciously took on a guilty tone. "Could you not sneak up on people like that? It's quite rude."
"Hehe, sorry, I was just playing a little joke. I didn't mean to startle you."
Kushida clasped her hands together in apology, though her eyes remained fixed on Horikita, devoid of any actual amusement.
"...Then why did you call out to me?"
Under Kushida's scrutinizing gaze, Horikita felt uncomfortable and instinctively brushed back the strands of hair on her forehead, as if trying to hide her unease.
"Oh, it's nothing much," Kushida said, her smile unchanged. "I just thought it was a bit odd to see you here, so I wanted to say hello."
"What's odd about it?" Horikita asked back.
"The fact that this is the boys' floor."
If it were any other girl, Kushida probably wouldn't have put it so bluntly.
"Horikita-san, who are you here to see? Ah, could it be Ayanokoji-kun? Or maybe Sudo-kun?"
"…Why are you bringing them up here?"
Horikita sighed lightly, deciding she didn't want to continue this pointless exchange.
"In any case, I have a business to attend to. I'll be going now."
"Mm, I also have something to do. We can chat another time."
With that, the two started walking in the same direction—albeit at a frustratingly slow pace.
They were walking so slowly that they eventually came to a halt.
"Uhm, Kushida-san?"
Though Horikita had already sensed why Kushida was here, facing the situation head-on still made her uneasy.
"What is it?" Kushida asked, feigning innocence. "Oh, it seems like we're heading in the same direction. What a coincidence, huh?"
"…No, this is…"
"Ah, I've arrived."
Stopping in front of Room 402, Kushida turned to face the door. It was the same destination Horikita had in mind.
Even though it was just a short distance from the elevator, they had crawled there at a snail's pace.
"…Forget it."
At this point, Horikita saw no reason to keep up the pretense. Taking a deep breath, she decided to be direct.
"Kushida-san, I came to see Hikigaya-kun. You too?"
"Hah, did you think I wouldn't figure that out if you didn't say anything?"
Kushida's fake smile vanished instantly.
With her expression darkening, she asked bluntly, "Hey, Horikita, what are you here for?"
"I'm here to…"
Horikita suddenly faltered.
For the upcoming Paper Shuffle, to avoid drawing Class B's attention, she and Hirata were publicly in charge of the exam questions, while Hikigaya worked behind the scenes.
Other than the three of them, no one else knew about this arrangement.
If Hikigaya had told Kushida himself, that would be one thing. But judging from Kushida's reaction, she wasn't aware. In that case, Horikita figured she shouldn't act on her own.
After all, there was always the risk of information leaking.
"…Well? What is it?" Kushida pressed impatiently.
"Did… Hikigaya-kun not tell you?"
"Hah?!"
Kushida's expression darkened instantly.
—If I already knew, would I even be asking you?!
Damn it… Why does Horikita get to be ahead of me?!
A long-buried frustration surged up from deep within her, making her expression turn even more menacing.
"Look, I don't know what you're misunderstanding, but… it's not what you think."
Horikita tried to calm her down, but her vague explanation only made things worse.
At that moment, a voice interrupted them from the side.
"Hey, why are you two standing in front of my room?"
"Hikigaya-kun…"
"Hachiman!"
It was Hikigaya, who had just returned from buying groceries. Upon arriving at his doorstep, he found two girls seemingly on the verge of war.
Though… it didn't seem like his problem.
"Horikita, you're a little early. We still have about ten minutes before our scheduled time." Hikigaya greeted her nonchalantly.
"Being fifteen minutes early is common courtesy… No, wait." Horikita pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Seriously, how can you say something so irrelevant in this situation? Before anything else, can you explain things to Kushida-san?"
Just as Hikigaya was about to ask 'Explain what?', Kushida suddenly took two quick steps forward and got right up in his face.
"Hachiman, how could you?!"
"Huh? What are you—"
"Your injury hasn't fully healed yet! Why are you carrying so many bags?!"
Cutting him off mid-sentence, Kushida snatched the bag from his right hand without another word.
Hikigaya chuckled bitterly. "You're exaggerating. It's not even that heavy."
"You need to be more careful!"
"Alright, alright, I'll be careful."
Half-heartedly appeasing her, Hikigaya took out his key and unlocked the door.
"Well then, both of you… come in, I guess?"
"Why does that sound like a question?" Kushida frowned.
"I wasn't sure if you were here to see me," Hikigaya answered truthfully.
He had arranged to meet with Horikita, but Kushida had just shown up unannounced without even sending a message.
"Hmph, of course, I came to see you."
Kushida snorted and stepped inside first. Horikita, after casting Hikigaya a complicated look, followed suit.
…Why do these two seem so weird today?
Although an extra person had shown up, it wasn't a big deal. As long as the key person was here, the rest were just extras.
But to someone else, this was unacceptable.
"Hachiman, explain!"
As soon as she sat down, Kushida slammed the table and started making a scene.
This girl let herself go when no one was watching.
"Even if you want me to explain… I only called Horikita over to help draft the exam questions."
"Draft the exam questions?"
At this point, Hikigaya decided to just explain most of the situation.
"So attacking Class B was your idea, huh?" Kushida pouted. "Seriously, why did you have to ask Horikita? You could've come to me instead. I could've helped you… just like you helped me before."
"But if things got exposed, wouldn't your classmates end up hating you?"
No matter what, attacking Class B had to be done in secret. It wasn't something to be discussed openly with everyone.
Even if he somehow convinced the class, there would still be complaints and resentment.
That said, if they got unlucky with their draw, no one could say anything. They'd just have to blame their bad luck.
"Eh-heh-heh, it's fine~"
Kushida's mood suddenly lifted, probably because she saw this as Hikigaya showing concern for her in his way.
"As long as it's for you, Hachiman, I don't care if anyone hates me."
"I just don't think it's necessary."
As soon as Hikigaya finished speaking, Horikita immediately cut in.
"Wait… Hikigaya-kun, are you saying that you don't mind if I'm hated by the class?"
"Yeah, I mean, you don't care either, right?" Hikigaya responded without hesitation. "Besides, I already told you the risks beforehand. In return, I promised to help you win this exam, didn't I?"
"…That's some serious double standards," Horikita muttered under her breath.
That being said, Hikigaya didn't feel like he was being unfair.
Whenever he asked someone for help, he always took their position and needs into account.
Kushida wanted to be the most well-liked person. There was no way he could ask her to get involved in something that risked her reputation crumbling.
Horikita, however, was different. She didn't care about the class's opinions. As long as she did her part during the exam, that was enough.
Even if their plan got exposed, as long as they beat Class B in the end, her reputation would only rise. It might even be a good thing for her.
"But Hachiman, setting aside the fact that you made Horikita do something shady, why are you working together with her to draft the exam questions… just the two of you?" Kushida still seemed hung up on this.
Enough already… spare me.
Hikigaya wasn't clueless about what Kushida was implying. She was probably worried he'd try something with Horikita.
Of course, such concerns weren't entirely unreasonable. A guy and a girl alone in a room—of course, a girl should be cautious.
But let's not forget—Horikita, just like her brother, had been training in martial arts since childhood.
There weren't many guys in class who could beat her in a fight.
Not to mention, Hikigaya wasn't the type to make a move on girls to begin with. Getting labeled as a creep would be a nightmare.
"You're overthinking it. What you're worried about isn't happening."
"Then why didn't you call me? I could've helped with drafting the questions too."
"But you still have to run the study sessions, don't you?" Hikigaya sighed. "Our class is full of idiots. Just teaching them is already exhausting. At least take the weekend to rest a little."
Class D's study sessions were held twice a day—once at 4 PM and again at 7 PM, to accommodate students in clubs.
Horikita handled the first session, while Hirata took care of the second. Kushida attended both.
After all, there weren't many people in Class D who could tutor others, so she had to work extra hard.
"Heh-heh, it's no big deal~"
Kushida's face lit up with happiness.
"Hachiman… so you've been paying attention to me all along, huh?"
"Hey, don't make it sound like I'm some kind of dirty stalker."
Hikigaya's face immediately turned pale.
A painful memory resurfaced—just because he happened to take the same route home as a girl, he was labeled a stalker at school the next day.
Sometimes, he had to commend himself for still showing up to school after that.
"No, that's not what I meant!" Kushida protested.
"Anyway, it's not like I asked Horikita for help—she insisted on coming along."
"Wait a second, Hikigaya-kun?!"
Horikita was completely caught off guard by how quickly he threw her under the bus.
"Putting that aside, how can we trust you to make the exam questions by yourself?"
"Who says I'm—"
Just as Hikigaya was about to explain, the doorbell rang.
If he had to guess, the guest had arrived.
"Hold on, I'll get it."
As the two girls watched in stunned silence, an unexpected figure appeared before them.
"…Huh? This person is…"
"…Brother?"
That's right. The person Hikigaya had invited was none other than Horikita's brother—the legendary former student council president, Nagumo's sworn rival, the forever untouchable third-year, and the infamous glasses-wearing siscon—
Horikita. Manabu.
"What are you playing at?"
Horikita Manabu shot Hikigaya a cold glare, clearly unimpressed by his little joke.
"Enough nonsense. Time is short. Let's begin."
"What do you mean 'short'? It's only eight o'clock."
Unfortunately, no amount of complaining would change anything. Horikita Manabu was as meticulous and disciplined as ever.
Without sparing a glance at the others, he pulled out some reference books and exam papers from his bag.
For the record, he was still wearing his school uniform, even on the weekend—just like his sister.
Truly siblings through and through.
"Hey, Hachiman, come here for a second."
As Manabu settled down at the table, Kushida and Horikita quietly pulled Hikigaya aside near the entrance.
Horikita, as expected, was visibly uneasy. Even though she had improved a lot, she still got nervous around her brother.
Kushida, on the other hand, was just in shock.
"Why is a third-year senpai suddenly here?! And why is he just sitting there doing test papers like it's normal?!"
"What's so weird about it?" Hikigaya asked with a blank expression. "I just invited Horikita-senpai to help draft the exam questions. Surprised, Horikita-imouto? Consider it a little surprise for you."
"Can you not call me that? It's annoying."
Her words were sharp as ever, but her expression looked a little dazed.
Kushida, however, was outright panicking.
"No no no, this is totally weird! How could you ask a third-year senpai for help?!"
"But there's no rule against it."
"Well, that's true, but…"
Since every first-year had to go through the Paper Shuffle exam, upperclassmen naturally had plenty of experience with it.
While Manabu couldn't reveal anything about the test before it was officially announced due to school regulations, there were no restrictions on how the questions were created.
Students could consult classmates, teachers, seniors, or even look things up online—everything was fair game.
Which was exactly why Hikigaya shamelessly called in the strongest backup available.
And he had one more ace up his sleeve from the second-year students.
Once the test was ready, Class B was in for a nasty surprise.