Volume 7.5, 3: Each Individual’s Way of Spending Part 1

Volume 7.5, Chapter 3: Each Individual's Way of Spending Part 1

After my conversation with Ryuuen and the older Horikita, I shifted my schedule and headed back to the dorm. Until the afternoon I leisurely spent time alone in my room, killing time by surfing the net and reading books. And then the next action I took, was to send a message to Horikita.

Having her be nominated for it by the older Horikita and having received his assurance, it's now possible for me to sound her out for the student council. For someone like Horikita, who is basically a loner, she may also be cooped up inside her room much like me.

Somehow, she seems like she'd be weak towards the cold. If so, that would make this easier.

"There's something I'd like to talk about".

Such a message I sent to her was marked as 'read' within a few minutes.

"I don't mind. But would a call suffice? Or do you want to meet in person?".

"In person, I guess. If possible, how about now?".

"I'm at a cafe right now. If you can come here, then I'll hear you out".

Contrary to the image I had, it seems Horikita is currently in the middle of an outing.

I felt slightly troubled by it, but it's better to get troublesome things over with as quickly as possible.

"I'll head over there immediately".

I replied with just that and covered myself with my coat. When I went down to the dorm's lobby, Ike and Yamauchi, and also Sudou, had gathered there. Having come down via elevator and seemingly on their way out, they didn't notice me behind them. As I began walking in the same direction as those three without calling out to them, I overheard their conversation.

"What's up with that, Ken? In the end, Horikita rejected a Christmas date with you".

"Shut up, Haruki. Leave it be".

"In the end, we're going to close off this year without having had any girlfriends, huh. I feel so empty".

"Tch. I'm going to take it nice and slow. It's not like Suzune already has a boyfriend. It's just, how should I put it, she hasn't shown any interest in things like romance yet. From now on, I'll act without rushing it".

Apparently, Sudou has been making a move on Horikita.

However he seems to have brilliantly suffered an honorable defeat.

But far from giving up, he seems to have decided to continue steadily onwards.

"You're an earnest one. Hey, Kanji, do you want to stay the night at the karaoke today? Let's earnestly, enthusiastically sing lonely Christmas songs".

"Ehh, what are you on about?".

"What do you mean what I'm on about? I'm saying we should stay the night at the karaoke today".

"No, sorry Haruki. I can't do that".

"Huh? What do you mean you can't? There's nothing for you to do on Christmas Eve right? Your only lover is your right hand".

".....even I have a variety of things to do".

Ike was obviously agitated, but he did not say the reason why he could not go to the karaoke.

"Oi, could it be, Kanji........!".

Sudou, who also seemed to have realized the bizarreness of his attitude, closed in on him.

"N-No, it's not like that".

Even though they had not asked him anything in particular, Ike said that in denial and then told them the reason.

"I'm just going out to have dinner with a friend, that's all......".

Saying that, Ike averted his gaze and the volume of his voice dropped. The fact that this 'friend' was not a male was something even I, listening from behind them, understood.

And then, a scene from yesterday came to mind.

"Who is it!? Who are you going out with!? Spit it out! Spit it out!".

Having lost his calm, Yamauchi grabbed Ike's collar as he shouted that out.

"I-It's really not that big of a deal.......it's S-Shinohara".

"Shinohara.....you mean, from our class, THAT Shinohara!?".

Having confessed that, Ike nods slightly.

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"But why Shinohara? I mean, the two of you are constantly quarreling".

Yamauchi also likely agrees with Sudou's simple question. An unusual combination.

"Like I said, it's only for dinner. There's no way I'd be satisfied with a woman like that, right? She ran into some trouble a while back, and when I saved her, she said she wanted to thank me!".

"No, no, no. I don't know about thanking you or not but it's the Christmas Eve, you know, the Eve!?".

"It's nothing really, I'm serious. Going out with someone like that, even if a cataclysm were to happen, there's still no way I'd do that!".

"I don't believe you! Let's tail them, Ken. Tail them, tail them!".

"You guys, seriously cut it out. It'll be a bother for me if rumors about me and that ugly Shinohara were to spread!".

Ike answered like that, but he didn't seem all that unhappy. Ike and Shinohara, huh? They might unexpectedly be a well-matched couple. Of course, the probability of that happening is, at this point, still an unknown number.