Chapter 013 Kushida Kikyo: Look into my eyes!
"I have to admit, you've successfully caught my attention."
Horikita Suzune sat with her arms crossed, leaning back against the cafeteria chair.
"Let me clarify beforehand: if this is a confession, please give up on that idea immediately!"
Her violet eyes showed no sign of wavering, much less a shred of bashfulness.
"Why are you proceeding on the premise that I'm confessing to you...?"
Hikigaya couldn't help but retort. Even though they had correctly matched the literary references.
"Because my brother said..."
Horikita Suzune paused, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've been cute ever since I was a child."
'Wow! How can this person say such narcissistic things with a straight face?'
"What? Are you suspecting that my brother is lying?"
Horikita's gaze turned stern.
'No, is that really the point here?'
"No, please continue..."
Hikigaya's eyelids twitched. Suppressing the urge to talk back, he gestured for her to keep going.
"From childhood until now, almost every boy who approached me has developed feelings for me.
Therefore, my brother set a rule: any boy who wishes to pursue me in the future must pass his trial!"
As Horikita Suzune spoke this, a look of pride appeared on her face.
'Is that something to be proud of?'
"Sis-con?"
"You are not allowed to use such strange words to describe my brother!"
"I actually think it's quite good."
Hikigaya felt a deep sense of shared sentiment. If it were him, he would also use any means necessary to stop all harmful males from approaching his cute little sister!
"Please do not act as if you are on the same level as my brother!"
Horikita Suzune glared over again with a look of dissatisfaction.
'"Please do not act as if you are on the same level as my brother~~" This sentence scores very high! Komachi, when are you going to learn how to say that?'
"The expression on your face is truly irritating. Forget it..."
Horikita Suzune suddenly felt she had spoken too much today. After a sigh, her face returned to its usual icy coldness. "So, what exactly do you want with me?"
"Can't I come find you if I don't have business?
We are seatmates, after all."
Hikigaya spoke in a completely emotionless monotone while placing an order on his phone. "Is black tea okay?"
"Don't take initiative on your own..."
A moment later, a server brought over two cups of tea.
Horikita Suzune caught the scent of the rich black tea, and her eyes couldn't help but light up slightly. "Is this your 'heart's scale'...? I suppose it barely passes."
"To be able to get the Lady Fox to stay a bit longer, at least the points weren't wasted."
At 2,000 points a cup for Ceylon Highland black tea, Hikigaya felt a bit of a sting in his wallet.
Horikita Suzune didn't say anything, she just lifted the cup and took a small sip.
A bit of dark brown tea residue remained on her pink lips, which she subconsciously licked away with her tongue. Realizing that Hikigaya was staring blankly at her in a daze, she let out a light huff.
"See? Proof that my brother was right!"
"..."
Hikigaya couldn't help but cover his face.
In that brief moment, he had actually recalled the short-haired Suzune from his dream and her bashful agreement to a morning kiss...
This was truly terrible! Fantasizing right in front of the actual person.
Just as the atmosphere between the two was becoming cold and quiet, a voice intervened.
"Horikita-san, what a coincidence~"
The newcomer was Kushida Kikyo, wearing a friendly, angel-like smile.
She sat down beside Horikita with great familiarity, clasping her hands together and speaking cautiously: "Sorry~ I hope I'm not interrupting your date?"
"It is not a date."
Hikigaya looked up at her: Didn't you ask me to invite her out?
Kushida Kikyo: I told you to invite her out, not to go on a date with her!
"What is the meaning of this?"
Horikita Suzune was no fool; she keenly sensed the exchange of glances between the two.
"Oh, s-stop it~ It really is just a coincidence~~"
Kushida Kikyo blinked her big eyes innocently.
However, her weapon of cuteness had no effect whatsoever on the equally beautiful Horikita Suzune.
"You've been pestering me since yesterday.
I don't know what your goal is, but I have absolutely no interest in you!"
The term "social niceties" simply did not exist in Horikita Suzune's dictionary.
Such a merciless evaluation caused Kushida Kikyo's trademark smile to stiffen.
After draining her cup of tea, Horikita Suzune stood up to leave, not forgetting to glare at Hikigaya yet again.
"I won't give you the points for the tea.
Consider it the price for tricking me into coming out!"
Only Hikigaya and Kushida Kikyo remained at the table.
"Sorry, Hikigaya-kun. I ended up making Horikita-san hate you too."
Kushida Kikyo worked hard to repair her stiff smile.
"Doesn't matter."
Hikigaya shrugged. Honestly, he didn't mind being hated by Horikita Suzune at all.
In fact, it was better this way... It would break his unrealistic dream.
'Begone, Hikigaya Suzune!'
Kushida Kikyo's eyes widened. Seeing that Hikigaya had absolutely no lingering attachment to Horikita, her mood suddenly improved for some reason.
"Hikigaya-kun already did a great job~
Right, as a reward, I can still promise you one thing."
Although the plan to get close to Horikita had failed, being able to clear out the connections around Horikita wasn't a bad outcome.
"Really?
Kushida-san really is a good person!"
A flash of surprise appeared in Hikigaya's eyes. He had assumed she was just using him as a tool to get to Horikita and would discard him immediately after the failure.
He didn't expect that even though it didn't work out, Kushida would keep her promise. No wonder she was called a "little angel"!
For a moment, Hikigaya wondered if his previous groundless suspicions about her were too cynical.
"Heehee~ You'll make me blush if you praise me like that."
'Heh, men!'
Kushida Kikyo sneered inwardly. Although she didn't think Horikita would ever go for this dead-fish-eyes guy, what if? Better to eliminate any possibility!
She would strip away everything from Horikita's side!
'Come on! Dead-fish-eyes! Ask me on a date! I'm going to do it right in front of Horikita...'
"Since Kushida-san is so enthusiastic, then I'll speak plainly."
Hikigaya revealed his intention to get the contact information of students from other classes through her.
"..."
The smile on Kushida Kikyo's face froze once again.
"Wait, Hikigaya-kun?
You mean... you want me to help you get contact info for girls in other classes?"
'Are you kidding me?
Ignoring the girls in your own class and setting your sights on girls from other classes?
Do you think the girls in Class D are that bad?!'
Kushida Kikyo suddenly remembered a joke she had seen on TikTok recently.
'Answer me!! Look into my eyes!!!
Is it because I, Kushida Kikyo, am not beautiful enough?
Answer me!! Tell me why???'
Hearing this, Hikigaya instinctively nodded, then added: "Not necessarily girls; boys are fine too."
"Hikigaya-kun likes boys?"
Kushida's gaze became very strange.
"What are you talking about?"
Hikigaya quickly denied it, then started talking serious-sounding nonsense: "I—I just want to make friends... You know how it is, Kushida-san. I'm already being ostracized in Class D, so I can only look to interact with people in other classes. That's reasonable, right?"