24 Chapter 24

The pair finally arrived at the building containing the locker rooms and entered, and while Hikigaya was ecstatic as he would be able to go back soon, Horikita was sweating bullets. 

She had sacrificed all her dignity just to stall him for 5 measly minutes. At this point, she could do anything but hope that Ayanokoji had acted in the small portion of time. She didn't know what it was about that guy. From coming up with the fake security camera plan to winning the trial and saving Sudo from expulsion by buying an exam point, he was clearly someone intelligent. Yet, Ayanokoji stayed in the shadows and instead gave all the credit to Horikita.

Not only was he intelligent, but she also recalled how Ayanokoji was able to face the student council president without breaking a sweat. Even through all that, he remained expressionless, but when Ayanokoji was telling Horikita about Hikigaya's sudden appearance, he seemed somewhat surprised. 

Horikita seemed to not realize that she was at fault for this as she was the one who told Ayanokoji that Hikigaya had a bad relationship with Class B.

Suddenly Hikigaya stopped a few steps from the entrance to the locker rooms. Horikita, who was lost in her thoughts, almost bumped into him, but she was able to avoid him just in time. Looking in front of her, Horikita saw that the entrance to both locker rooms was closed off with a yellow fence, and there was a sign beside that said "Cleaning in Progress" Horikita slightly rejoiced when she saw this. Had Ayanokoji acted?

Hikigaya, on the other hand, wasn't falling for this shenanigan at all. This pool was open for 3 days during the entire summer vacation, but now it was being cleaned? Why didn't they clean it the other 363 days? Even though it was probably some scheme made up by the idiots, Hikigaya couldn't enter the locker rooms without evidence.

If Hikigaya wanted to, he could probably camp outside the locker rooms as the idiots would have to come out eventually, but he didn't want to waste his precious vacation here. Ignoring Horikita behind him, Hikigaya took out his phone and called the student council president.

"What do you need Hikigaya?"

"uhh pres, the locker rooms are conveniently being cleaned by a janitor right now. It's probably some scheme, but I still can't enter without evidence."

"I'll be there in 5 minutes, stay outside the locker room until then"

Horikita watched nervously as Hikigaya took out his phone to call someone while glaring daggers at the locker room. Though she didn't hear the voice on the other side of the phone, she knew who he was talking to immediately after the words "pres" came out of his mouth.

Hikigaya slumped down against the wall and turned his attention back to Horikita.

"I'm gonna wait here until the janitor is done. You can go now"

Even after saying this, Hikigaya knew that Horikita probably wouldn't go. She had been acting unusual from the start. Rather than being cold and silent like normal, she was attempting to follow him and stall him. Though the pool tripping could be seen as a simple accident, when combined with the fact that she attempted to stall him earlier by offering to get drinks, it was clear that she was doing this on purpose.

Hikigaya could have just ended this all by telling Horikita that he was on her side, and didn't want to do the paperwork that would come from 3 idiots being caught and reported, but he was now interested in how far Horikita would go to protect Class D.

When her brother came, would she still keep up the farce in front of him and attempt to protect her classmates, or would she be overcome with embarrassment? It was like a game show.

Responding to Hikigaya's words, Horikita shook her head and pulled out her phone. While Hikigaya calmly slumped down against the wall, Horikita was panicking on her phone. Where was Ayanokoji? With her brother coming, it was only a matter of time until Yamauchi was caught in the girl's locker room. The contrast in attitudes between the two right now was like the sun and moon.

*CLASH*

In the empty building, slow footsteps could be heard heading towards the locker room. Looking up Hikigaya was surprised to see a familiar face, Sudo. Knowing that Sudo was a part of the 3 idiots, he had probably come to shoo them away from the locker room to allow Yamauchi a chance to escape.

However, Hikigaya had no intention of leaving at all.

"H-hey Horikita, Yamauchi is b-back at the volleyball courts, you two can head back now"

Horikita looked up from her phone and helplessly glanced at Hikigaya who was still slumped against the wall. Sudo also looked at Hikigaya, but Hikigaya still didn't look up from his phone.

"he-"

"I forgot something in the locker room, I'll wait until the janitor is done"

"..."

Horikita, who was with him the entire time, knew this was a complete lie, but at the same time, she had no way to refuse his statement. If she continued to stall him from entering the locker room, he would become even more suspicious and be more inclined to search the locker room.

Sudo realized that it would be useless to convince Hikigaya, so he stepped over the cones that were blocking the locker room's entrance and sat down against the wall.

Hikigaya started coughing as he barely held in laughter. This guy went straight over the "janitor's" cones and sat down right in front of the locker room. How obvious could this guy be?

While Horikita and Sudo were stressed out and on the verge of a panic attack, the cause of this stress, Hikigaya, was looking out the clear windows with his earbuds in without a care in the world. It seemed that he was actually enjoying his time at the pool, even though, it was at the expense of the two Class D students.

More footsteps broke the silence, but this time it wasn't just one person as Hikigaya could tell there were at least 3 people headed this way from the sounds. Horikita and Sudo looked towards the approaching footsteps, and Ryuen along with some Class C goons appeared.

Ryuen glanced at the 3 students sitting down against the wall and scoffed. Ignoring them, Ryuen kicked outside the cones blocking the entrance and stepped towards the entrance.

Sudo seeing that Ryuen didn't care for the "janitor's" cones immediately sprung into action. Maybe this distraction could allow Yamauchi to escape with the memory chip of the camera. Sudo gazed out of the clear windows and made some weird motions with his hands. Following Sudo's gaze, Hikigaya could a student with glasses that resembled a professor waving a white flag.

Just what the hell was going on?

After seeing the white flag waving, Sudo stepped in front of Ryuen and said.

"Hey dude, don't you see the cones and the sign? You can't enter the locker room."

Hikigaya let out a faint laugh at Sudo's words. That guy who stepped over the cones not even a minute ago was now condemning someone for doing the same thing. Not only that, he wasn't even trying to hide it as to get in front of Ryuen, he stepped over another pair of cones.

"And what are you doing here? Do you seriously think I care? I go where I want"

Ryuen scoffed and gestured to the bodyguard to the right of him. The bodyguard stepped in front of Sudo.

Hikigaya was curious if Sudo was willing to get into a fight to save Yamauchi. If Sudo wanted to do so, he could just run away and save himself while Yamauchi got caught and punished. Also, anyone looking at Sudo and Ryuen's bodyguard could easily tell that the bodyguard would wipe the floor with Sudo. Was he willing to take a beating for Yamauchi?

Hikigaya began smiling as he looked at the tense scene in front of him. Maybe, coming here wasn't so boring at all. He still wished that he had some instant ramen that he could snack on while watching the fight.

However, before the fight could start, another set of footsteps entered the building. It wasn't the president, as there were definitely more than 1 pair of footsteps, so who could be? The fight was put on hold as everyone glanced towards the direction of the nearing footsteps.

Nearing the "janitor's" cones, everyone could see a small female student with a cane approaching them with an entourage of students including a girl with purple hair.

Hikigaya had heard that Sakayanagi was no longer interested in him from Kamuro, so he wasn't on high alert, but he was still pissed that this girl interrupted the fight. Just when things were about to get interesting, the girl appeared. She really was evil.

Sakayanagi let out a quick smile and said.

"What a hideous scene. A fight between two bottom feeders is just pathetic."

On the side with the boys' locker room, there was Ryuen, and on the other side with the girl's locker room, there was Sakayanagi. And in the middle, there was Sudo, a simple dumbass from Class D. Ryuen and his entourage backed up before speaking again. Thankfully I was sitting behind Ryuen, so I doubted that they would see me.

Horikita, who had been watching the scene unfold in silence, was not contemplating. How the hell did a scheme of 3 perverts turn into a class fight between Class C and A?

"Sakayanagi, you weren't invited. Take your mangy dogs and get out of here."

"No thanks. Perhaps, I should domestic you too"

*PFFT*

I covered my mouth with both my hands and all the force I could use. Sakayanagi may be evil, but damn, that was funny. Thankfully, no one besides Horikita, noticed I was laughing.

Peeking through Ryuen's group, I could Sudo trembling in between the two classes. That guy must be dying right now. I can't blame him, there would probably be a public execution if Class C and A found out what Sudo was doing.

Sakayanagi and Ryuen glared at each other in silence until an unknown serious voice spoke.

"Oh, what's all this fuss about here?"

Everyone glanced up and saw the student council president above them.

Hikigaya sighed in relief, finally, this guy was here. His job was over. The president could take care of things from here. Surprisingly, Hikigaya didn't immediately leave as he was engrossed in the class conflict taking place right now, and he also wanted to see if the perverts would get away with their plan.

Like a bird, the president jumped from the second floor and soared in the air until he landed on the first floor.

What a showoff, he could have just taken the stairs like a normal person.

"I am aware that this place is a recreational facility, but that doesn't mean school rules don't apply. Don't forget, you're all still on campus."

Sakayanagi scoffed and responded.

"Oh, so the student council president decided to show up."

Hikigaya almost broke out in laughter again as Sudo slowly backed up. This guy had ended up in the middle of a fight between Class C, Class A, and now the student council president. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't escape now.

Though there was one person's expression I was curious to see, however, I couldn't find them. It seemed Horikita had disappeared. How was she planning to save her classmates now?