Act 14: Scene 7

For some reason, Horikita didn't want to go back to the dorms with him, so Ayanokouji had to go home without his black-haired neighbor by his side. That didn't mean he was alone, though. There were two other girls who were accompanying him on their way home to their respective dorm rooms.

"I wonder why Horikita-san didn't want to walk with us back to the dorms. She usually walks with us, right? Kinda strange not to see her around..."

"Maybe Horikita-san was just busy with something, Karuizawa-san. Or maybe she needed to go somewhere important. It's not like it's a requirement for Horikita-san to be with us all the time," Kikyo pointed out with a giggle. "Heh. I honestly like it better when that bitch isn't around. Now, if only Karuizawa wasn't here too, then I'd be all alone with Ayanokouji-kun~"

Kei chuckled in embarrassment. "Yeah, good point. It just felt a bit off for me because I was getting used to walking together with you three."

Kiyotaka thought of a possible answer to the question of why Suzune didn't walk with them as she always did but in the end, he simply shrugged it off. Kikyo had a good point about it not being a requirement for their neighbor to walk home with them. It's just that when they were about to leave the classroom earlier and Suzune told him to go on ahead without her, the girl looked completely flustered for some reason and seemed eager to get away from him as soon as possible.

Who knows what she could be thinking at that time? One thing's for sure though, he was certain that it had something to do with him... most likely what she thought of him and their relationship. Last he checked, he was halfway through the second level of Affection Points when it came to her....

"Oh, that reminds me!" Kei exclaimed, getting Kiyotaka and Kikyo's attention almost immediately. "Have you two gotten your monthly point allowance yet? I checked my balance a while ago, but I still haven't gotten it!"

"Same here, Karuizawa-san. I have no idea why, but none of us still have our points. Right, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Yeah... the school's taking a long time to fix this issue, honestly. You would think that a school as prestigious as this would be able to deal with a simple technical issue easily, right?" Kiyotaka asked them both in a half-joking, half-serious manner.

"I agree," Kikyo nodded.

It really was strange, because a simple problem with either the point system or the service that's handling their point balance should have been dealt with by now. Plus, they were promised by the administration that they would be receiving their allowance on the first of every month! They were in the right to feel frustrated and angry about this issue.

"You think there's something wrong with the school which is why it's taking so long for them to give us our points?"

"Well, what else could be the reason? It's not like we've done anything wrong, have we? Our class points for this month says so," Kiyotaka explained to her.

"Good point," Kei nodded in agreement, but it didn't stop her from feeling impatient with this whole thing.

The three continued to walk to the dorms in peace but as they reached the entrance of the building, Kiyotaka felt his phone vibrating and quickly checked if it was a text message or a call. He was surprised to see that it was a text, and he was even more surprised to see that it was from Hasebe Haruka, a classmate whom he has not interacted with up until now.

Karuizawa and Kushida were about to step inside, when they noticed that the young man with them suddenly stopped in his tracks and was just staring at his phone for some unknown reason.

"Ayanokouji-kun, what's wrong?" asked Kikyo, raising an eyebrow at him in confusion.

"Wait a moment."

His curiosity growing more and more, the young man opened the message that his blue-haired classmate sent him and read what it had to say.

(Hasebe): Are you with someone right now, Ayanokouji-kun?

Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow at the strange question, but answered her nonetheless.

(Ayanokouji): I'm heading back to the dorms with Karuizawa and Kushida. Is there a reason why you are texting me, Hasebe-san?

...

...

(Hasebe): Bring them with you here at Miyacchi's dorm unit. We're on the 8th floor, unit 814. We really need your help, Ayanokouji-kun.

"Huh..." the young man muttered as he considered what Hasebe wanted him to do.

It looks like Akito's little meeting with Chabashira-sensei was over now and just from how Haruka wanted him to meet with them, there's no doubt that it didn't go well, even though he had no idea why she would ask him out of all their classmates. Someone like Hirata would be more fitting, honestly.

Still, it was already enough for him to decide to go up to the 8th floor just like what the girl wanted so he could find out what happened for himself. However, Hasebe also wanted to bring his companions with him...

"Would you two mind it if we take a little detour to the 8th floor?" he asked the two girls that were standing before him.

Both Kikyo and Kei raised an eyebrow at him for the sudden question.

"What for?" asked Kei.

"Hasebe sent me a message just now. She told me to head up to the 8th floor of the dorms with whoever I'm with. It seemed urgent, because we're being invited to Miyake's dorm unit," he stated, giving a brief explanation of what Hasebe wanted him to do.

"Miyake-kun?" Kikyo spoke up in surprise, not expecting the reason to be their classmate who was confronted by their homeroom teacher out of nowhere. "Did Hasebe-san say anything about what happened to him when Chabashira-sensei invited him to the teacher's office?"

Kiyotaka shook his head. "No. But I have a feeling that we'll find out when we get to Miyake's dorm room."

The blonde gyaru shrugged, before nudging her head in the direction of the elevator. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go see what's up."

After a quick trip through the elevator, the trio of Class D students walked out into the hallway of the 8th floor, and Kiyotaka immediately led the way to Miyake's dorm, following the unit number that Hasebe mentioned in their conversation.

As the three stood outside of unit 814, Kiyotaka rang the doorbell and waited patiently for someone to answer. At the same time though, his eyes widened slightly in surprise upon seeing a familiar notification pop up in front of him.

[A Special Event Has Been Triggered!]

"The system's making this a 'special event'? Wonder what it'll be about this time..." Kiyotaka asked himself while dismissing the notification.

The door was then opened by a young girl with long, blue hair that reached her waist, orange eyes, and had a well-endowed body that can be compared to the likes of Airi and Honami. She wore the same uniform as them and there was a mole visible beneath her left eye.

"Yes?" the girl asked as she looked up to face him.

"You wanted me to come here, Hasebe?"

As Kiyotaka came face-to-face with the girl whom he was speaking to just a few minutes ago, he saw another familiar sight on top of Haruka's head, which he quickly understood the moment it appeared.

[Hasebe Haruka: 'Curious yet Hesitant Classmate']

[Relationship Status: ?]

[Affection Points: 0/100]

[Heroine Summary: Haruka is a highly attractive girl in your class who is also a childhood friend of Miyake Akito, ending up in the same elementary and junior high schools together and remaining in the same classes with him ever since. She isn't very open to other people but once she befriends someone, she will go out of her way to give that person a nickname to show how much she cares for him/her. She thinks you are an interesting person and wants to know more about you but at the same time, she is hesitant about approaching you because of the possibility of you being a guy who plays with girls' feelings. However, she is now depending on you to help her friend avoid the possibility of being expelled.]

"So... she and Miyake have a history together. That explains why she's in his dorm room right now," the brown-haired teen concluded in his thoughts. "I didn't know Hasebe was curious about me, but it makes sense that she would avoid me at the same time, especially after what happened last week when Kushida, Matsushita, and Karuizawa kissed me... that would be uncomfortable to watch if I was watching myself."

"Oh, Ayanokouji-kun. You actually came," Haruka smiled as she exhaled a big sigh of relief.

"Is there any reason for me not to?"

Haruka scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Hehe... to tell you the truth, I honestly wasn't expecting you to come since... well, since we've never actually talked to each other before. That text I sent was literally the first time I talked to you, and it's not even face-to-face. I feel so embarrassed..."

After she said those words, the world around Kiyotaka stopped and was void of any color. He was then given the three possible choices to choose from by the system, all of which he quickly thought about with regards to the possible effects that it might have. This thing was basically second nature to him now, and he saw it coming right after Haruka's 'heroine summary' appeared.

A. [Let's just get this over with, Hasebe.]

B. [As far as I'm concerned, classmates are supposed to look out for each other.]

C. [I always make time for a beautiful damsel who needs my help in some way~]

The first option was immediately out of the window. He didn't even need to say it to realize how it would have a tone of annoyance if he chose it. The third one, as surprising as it may be, was also out of the question. There's no way he would flirt with his newest heroine right in front of Karuizawa and Kushida, especially when the two of them had a possessive streak to them... which also begs the question of how they could get along with each other right now.

And so, by process of elimination, Kiyotaka pushed Option B as the world returned to normal.

"Hasebe. As far as I'm concerned, classmates are supposed to look out for each other. We're classmates, and we don't need to have a close relationship for you to ask help from me," he said in the most sincere tone that he could muster.

"Yeah, Ayanokouji-kun's right! We don't need to be close friends for you to ask for help, Hasebe-san," Kikyo agreed as Kei nodded happily.

The blue-haired girl stared at him in surprise, as she wasn't expecting a response like that for Ayanokouji considering what she first thought of him, before snapping out of her little trance moments later.

"Thanks, Ayanokouji-kun. I owe you one for this," Haruka chuckled to herself as she smiled at the young man.

[You gained 10 Affection Points with Hasebe Haruka!]

[Haruka Route has been Unlocked! You can now see 'Heroine Status' with Hasebe Haruka!]

[Your current status with Haruka has changed to 'A Clingy Classmate'!]

After reading through those new notifications, the young man hid a deadpanned look to himself as he noticed that particular 'relationship status' that he had with Haruka.

"Clingy? Hasebe is clingy?" he thought to himself, before sighing in defeat. He was already dealing with two girls who liked to hug him every morning for literally no reason other than to hug him, and now there's a chance for Hasebe to end up doing the same as them. "Does this mean she'll hug me out of nowhere just like what Karuizawa and Kushida do?"

Well, never mind... he can sulk about it later.

For now, he should just see what this little rendezvous between classmates was about and why exactly was he called here.