Chapter 9: Horikita the Old Thief Has Lost All His Conscience
The early spring sun was warm and gentle. On the school's vast athletic field, various sports clubs were going through their own training routines. Even though it was a Saturday, the place was full of bustling energy.
"This is what youth is all about."
"What kind of old man remark is that supposed to be?"
Holding a starter pistol borrowed from the track club, Hikigaya Hachiman walked toward the starting line of the 200-meter track. Beside him was Akane Tachibana, the loyal student council secretary of Horikita Manabu.
"If you'd borrowed another pistol, you could've just shot Nagumo in the middle of the track. That would guarantee his loss."
"If starter pistols could fire real bullets, I'd shoot you first."
"I'm on your side, Secretary. Why the hostility?"
Since Horikita Manabu didn't object, the race in the bet proceeded as organized by Hikigaya, with both main contestants now standing on the starting line. Both were dressed in sprinting athletic wear, and their well-trained physiques looked evenly matched.
A large number of students had gathered along the track—far more than when Hikigaya had left. Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi were extremely popular.
Most of the girls cheered for Nagumo, while the boys supported Horikita.
"I got the starter pistol."
Walking into the inner track at the start line, Hikigaya raised his hand high with the starter pistol. As both runners readied themselves in the starting blocks, the noisy crowd grew quiet.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
Bang!
It was like hitting the play button on a movie. The noise erupted like a tidal wave, growing louder as the two runners approached the finish line, and then burst like fireworks in the sky.
Nagumo and Horikita were neck and neck for the first 150 meters. Only in the last 50 meters did Horikita pull ahead by a few body lengths and maintained the lead to the finish line.
"What was the time?"
"Twenty-five seconds," Akane said, showing the stopwatch on her phone.
"A little faster and he could be a pro athlete."
Even though Hikigaya had seen Horikita's lightning speed during the sports festival, he still couldn't help but admire his athletic ability.
Nagumo was strong, but Horikita, who had no girlfriend to distract him, was stronger.
After returning the starter pistol to the track club, Hikigaya waited for the crowd around Nagumo and Horikita to disperse. Then he dialed a number on his phone, stuffed it in his pocket, and walked toward the two.
The second condition of the bet had been fulfilled. The next was the unresolved first one.
"You won. The six million private points have already been transferred to your account." Despite losing, Nagumo Miyabi spoke in a calm, unfazed tone.
"How straightforward. As expected of the vice president."
Hikigaya quickly concluded that Nagumo was loaded. "So, what was your answer to the first question—who is the person Horikita Manabu cares most about in this school?"
"Don't underestimate me, Hikigaya. The answer is Horikita Suzune, the president's little sister."
Nagumo gave a confident smile. He had assumed Hikigaya wouldn't pick an obvious answer like Tachibana Akane. Nagumo had even gone through the trouble of checking the names of all first-year students, and upon finding Horikita Suzune, he had easily obtained her photo.
"Right, President Horikita?"
"Mm."
Horikita Manabu maintained a stern expression, as if someone had just asked him whether he'd eaten lunch. But that simple word delivered a tremendous emotional blow to the girl on the other end of the phone call.
"But I didn't expect the president's sister to be in Class D, despite her top-tier grades. Out of curiosity, I spent quite a few points to buy the interview evaluations on her from the school. It turns out she only seems similar to you on the surface."
"It's better that she's not like me. She may not be accomplished yet, but she has potential that exceeds mine," Horikita suddenly said, placing a hand on Hikigaya's shoulder. Hikigaya, who had been quietly observing, was momentarily stunned.
"President, what's going on?"
"I'll leave the task of helping Suzune grow up to you. You're the one who dragged her into this, after all. That's the only reward that would satisfy me."
"?"
Hikigaya could only respond with a confused expression. His plan had been to give all six million points he won to Horikita Manabu as a reward. Now Horikita was acting like he was entrusting him with a legacy. What was this, some kind of dramatic last request?
"President, that's your sister. As her older brother, shouldn't you be the one protecting her?"
"Just tell me whether or not you feel responsible."
For the first time, Hikigaya saw a smile on Horikita Manabu's face. He felt like he wouldn't be able to sleep again that night. His stomach was already killing him.
.
.
.
I'm dying. So sleepy.
Just like last Friday morning, Hikigaya now walked into the classroom with two dark circles under his eyes and slumped into his seat. After returning from the field on Saturday, he had slept straight through until midday. Then, since he had already slept so much, of course he couldn't sleep again Sunday night.
There were still a few minutes before class. As he prepared to close his eyes for a bit, a classmate walked over and handed him a phone.
"This is you on the forum, right? I heard you won several million private points from the vice president of the student council."
The student was Ike Kanji, considered one of the "Three Idiots of Class D" along with Yamauchi Haruki.
The phone displayed a post on the school forum, where Nagumo Miyabi publicly admitted to losing a six-million-point bet in a race against first-year student council secretary Hikigaya. There was even a picture of him holding up the starter pistol, looking like a half-baked handsome guy.
"Hikigaya, we're friends, right? I'm almost out of points—loan me a few thousand?" Yamauchi Haruki turned in his seat with a pleading look. "Didn't I stick up for you the other day and get thrown by Horikita?"
Hikigaya was speechless. He wondered where Yamauchi got the nerve to say such things when they had barely exchanged two words before. But thanks to his lack of sleep, all he wanted now was to get rid of these two as quickly as possible.
"The photo's edited. Just a rumor."
"I don't believe that. Not unless you show us your phone and how many points you really have," Yamauchi challenged.
"You don't believe me, and you still call us friends? Get lost."
Pushing Ike's phone aside, Hikigaya crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and rested his head on the desk.
Nagumo's counterattack was quicker than he'd expected. The idiots in Class D were also more easily swayed than he'd thought. Just like Nagumo was a "big spender" in his eyes, now he had become the big spender in theirs.
The silver lining was that no one had exposed the two million points he collected from Class D students for information. He had already told Hirata that it was to purchase data from the school. Now, he wasn't sure if Nagumo knew about it or not, but either way, he needed to accelerate his transfer plans as a precaution.
The students in Class D were a mixed bag and hard to unite. In a confrontation with Nagumo, they'd only be a burden. For now, Horikita Manabu was still in front taking the heat, but once he graduated, Nagumo would likely shift his attention to Hikigaya—the successor Horikita had "designated."
That sly old fox Horikita… Hikigaya had only wanted to patch things up between a brother and sister. How did he end up getting dragged into this mess?