Part 5

Monday morning soon came around, the day that our opponents ten events would be announced.

What events and rules had Class A come up with, and how exactly would the commander be involved?

On my way to the school, I happened to run into Horikitas older brother and Tachibana.

It didnt seem like they had been waiting for me. Rather, it really appeared to be just a coincidence.

Tachibana discreetly distanced herself without saying anything in particular.

Perhaps this was her way of being considerate so she wouldnt get in the way of the impending conversation.

There was no doubt that her tendency to make quick, thoughtful reactions like this had been an ongoing source of support for the elder Horikita back when they were on the student council.

Is the special exam going well?

There was something special about Horikitas older brother. Even though he hadnt gotten an in-depth explanation, he already had a firm grasp of my situation.

Thats supposed to be my line. Are you sure you can graduate as a member of Class A?

Well, thatll probably depend on next weeks results.

Whether he was worried or perfectly fine, there was no way to tell exactly how he was feeling by the look on his face.

On my end of things, your sister has been working hard. Apparently, youve had more of an influence on her than I wouldve thought.

Is that so?

Currently, Horikita was practically bursting with energy, as if she had been touched by magic.

She had taken the initiative to bring the class together in Hiratas absence.

Recently, she had also been spending her time refining the classs strategy for each and every single one of the ten events.

Shouldnt the third-years already be on break at this point?

Well, I was also surprised to find out that wasnt the case back when I first enrolled here. After all, third-year students at most other high schools would already be on break at this time of year. Of course, were just as focused as any other third-year student would be when it comes to stuff like moving on to higher education or finding a job. You just wouldnt be aware of that yet.

It sounded like the third-years had a variety of troublesome things to deal with right now.

Higher Education? Finding a job? Even though it hasnt been decided if youll be graduating as a member of Class A yet?

Youll understand eventually.

The elder Horikita left it at that, without even trying to give me a detailed explanation.

I guess there are some things he just cant say to the first and second-year students.

At the end of the day, figuring out whether or not you can rise up to Class A would have to wait until you reached your third year.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Ill tell you anything as long as its within the scope of what Im allowed to say.

That scope seems rather narrow in my eyes.

At my unexpected response, the corners of his mouth raised into a smile, albeit only slightly.

Maybe so. You can think of it as an obligation I have as a former student council president.

This probably meant he had to be careful when answering questions about the school as a whole.

Well, this is a good opportunity. Theres something Ive been meaning to ask you.

I decided to make use of this casual encounter and ask the elder Horikita a question.

Its about Horikita that is, your little sister. I think shes an excellent person. In both a physical and academic sense, she doesnt fall short in the slightest. I dont know if Id say shes topping the charts, but she had the talent to place second or third from the first day she stepped foot in this school. While she may not be on the same level as you, a former student council president, I dont think shes bad enough for you to denounce her and try to drive her out of the school entirely.

And then, there was the strangest part of all.

Either way, you and your sister are two years apart, that is, you havent seen her last two years worth of growth. With the system this school has in place, you shouldnt have been able to tell at first glance just how much shes grown up.

After all, as he was now, the elder Horikita hadnt been able to meet with her since she began her second year of middle school, not even once.

Even if he had been disappointed with her results on the entry exam, that shouldnt have been enough to make him this disappointed in her.

Back then, when I saw them meet outside the dorm, Manabus attitude toward his sister was anything but calm.

I see. Certainly, having seen what you did back then, its only natural youd be curious about this.

At that, I was reminded of the first time I came into contact with the elder Horikita.

I wasnt disappointed with Suzune because of something superficial like her grades or the class she was placed in. It had to do with maturity.

Maturity?

Suzune has changed dramatically from the way she used to be. She was the type of child who would always have a smile on her face.

She, that girl, used to smile all the time?

No, I honestly couldnt imagine that at all.

In other words, youre saying this calm, collected personality she puts forward is because of your influence?

She has been trying to imitate me for a long time now. Its a bad habit that started to rear its head ever since the upper grades of elementary school. But thinking back on it now, its my mistake for letting it happen for so long. I tried for many years to get her to improve by treating her cold and indifferently, but it actually ended up having the opposite effect on her, backfiring entirely.

As a result, Horikita continued to chase after her brothers shadow and became the kind of person she is today.

So even though you seem to be completely perfect, youve failed to communicate properly with your sister?

There is no such thing as a perfect human. Am I wrong?

Fair enough.

I couldnt possibly refute him on that.

In short, after reuniting with her once again, all it took was a single conversation for you to reach your conclusion?

Although, back then, it didnt exactly seem like they had been talking to each other for very long.

I realized it before I even talked to her. From the first moment I saw her again, I knew that in the past two years, she hadnt changed at all.

As I wondered if he had seen something in her only an older brother could understand, he continued to explain.

That girl has always been completely hung up on my every word. Study harder, exercise more, dont do one thing, dont do something else. It wouldve been fine if that was as far as it went. But, shed imitate my favorite foods and beverages, even going as far as my copying my favorite colors and the type of clothes Id wear. Shes shown just how strongly shes depended on me every step of the way.

The fact that she had gone that far was already a little alarming.

However, if you look at Horikitas behavior since she first came to this school, it made sense.

So, after reuniting with your sister at this school, you felt like this dependency problem still hadnt changed?

Unless he could read minds, there just wasnt enough information to tell what she had been through in the past two years.

Thats right. Anyone who knows what she was like as a child would be able to tell. That girl

He cut off mid-sentence, choking up on his words.

Nevermind. This is probably something I should keep secret, even from you. Id like it to be the perfect metric to determine whether or not Suzune has really changed.

I guess that means your sister still hasnt changed yet.

The elder Horikita nodded. While Horikita had shown a great deal of progress compared to how she was at the start of the year, according to her older brother, that didnt seem to be enough.

Shes been trying her best to break away from her past, but shes only halfway there.

I found myself wondering if shed be able to satisfy her brothers so-called perfect metric before he graduates.

There werent very many days left until the graduation ceremony.

But, if

The elder Horikita stopped walking for a moment and fixed his eyes on me.

For some reason, I found myself getting caught up in his powerful gaze and stopped walking as well.

If Suzune could stop chasing after my shadow, break away from her dependency, and become honest with herself

A Spring breeze blew through the air.

She would surpass me altogether, and probably become someone you wouldnt be able to ignore.

He wasnt saying this just because he was doting on her as an older brother. He truly meant it.

In a lot of ways, I also admired Horikitas high potential.

Why was that, though? Was it because of what he just said?

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. What was I supposed to be doing here, at this school?

No, what did I want to be doing? I felt like I had suddenly found the answer to that question.

But in the end, it all depends on whether she can make the change at all.

She will change.

I responded to him confidently.

Or, no, let me rephrase that.

But then, I chose to correct myself.

Im going to make her change. Not in the same way Ive gone about it so far, but for real this time.

Oh? I never thought youd say such a thing.

It felt like this chance encounter with the elder Horikita would leave a large impact on my life.

It would be a very long time before I knew whether that premonition proved to be true or not.

Say, can I ask you one more thing before you graduate? Its a completely personal question.

I didnt know if Id ever have another chance to talk to him after this.

What?

Are you going out with Tachibana?

I was well aware that it was a silly question, but I asked anyway.

Despite having moved on from the student council, the two of them were still often off doing things together.

No. Nothing of the sort.

A flat denial. It didnt seem like he was trying to hide anything either.

However, a quick glance at Tachibanas face told me it was somewhat more complicated than that.

At the very least, there was no doubt that Tachibana had some sort of feelings for him.

Ive spent these last three years thinking about nothing but school, for better or for worse.

Is that so?

But I didnt think something like this would come out of your mouth. Could it be that youre just a regular high school student?

Perhaps I had been influenced by that talk I had with Hoshinomiya-sensei.

I think Im about as regular as you can get.

Ah. Thats right. So, have you gotten yourself a girlfriend, Mr. Regular High School Student?

Even though I had been the one to bring up the topic, I hadnt expected him to turn it back on me.

Not at all right now. But if someone suitable comes along, Im accepting applications.

I feel like I could rest assured if I left Suzune to you, but I get the sense that that isnt going to happen.

Of course not.

There was no way that would happen.

T-thats no good. You do know saying something like that can become a flag, right?

Tachibana suddenly interrupted the conversation she had been attentively listening to for a while now.

Flag?

When the elder Horikita questioned her word choice, Tachibana hurriedly provided an explanation.

No, uh, I guess its like, situational irony or something? Yknow, the type of thing that happens from time to time where two people who never thought theyd get together end up going out? Its a common scenario.

The elder Horikita and I looked at each other, neither of us having understood Tachibanas explanation very well.

N-no, nevermind.

Tachibana seemed to think she wouldnt be able to get us to understand what she was trying to say, as she ended the conversation with that.