218: Soulmate, Shiina Hiyori
"People from Class B, you aren't welcome here!" Hirata Yousuke stood up, directly facing Ryuen Kakeru and his group, who had clearly come with ill intent.
"Oooh? Someone actually dares to step forward."
Ryuen narrowed his eyes, then said with a hint of surprise, "You, the peacemaker—why are you talking so aggressively today?"
Based on the information he had gathered in the past, Hirata Yousuke's individual ability was top-tier in Class D, but his personality was gentle and he looked like an easy target.
"For a notorious person like you, one cannot be too friendly. If you're not satisfied, we can find another place to talk." Hirata cracked his knuckles, his gaze cold as he walked toward the lectern. Seeing this, Albert instinctively stepped forward to block him.
Nice!
Hikigaya almost couldn't resist clapping. A blackened Hirata—isn't this quite impressive?
"Get out of the way!" Hirata reached out and gave a forceful shove. Caught off guard, Albert staggered back two steps. However, the latter quickly recovered, clenching his fists and preparing to test his strength against Hirata again.
"Stop, Albert." Ryuen Kakeru called him off.
"Boss?" Albert looked confused.
"Idiot, there are surveillance cameras in the classroom." Ryuen's face was grim.
'Then why the hell are you acting so arrogant?'
Hikigaya thought for a moment and understood the other party's intention. It was nothing more than trying to intimidate the people of Class D by seizing the initiative. Actually coming to blows was impossible. Class D didn't fear point deductions, but Class B did!
"I'll give it to you, Hirata Yousuke; you've got guts." Ryuen took the loss and chose to back down. However, he only yielded the space around the lectern; he didn't leave the classroom.
"Get out of my classroom!" Hirata issued a forceful eviction order.
"You!" Ryuen was instantly enraged.
"Ryuen-kun, let me handle it." From outside the classroom, a girl with long silver hair walked in.
"So pretty!"
The eyes of the Class D students lit up, and their attitude toward Class B did a complete 180-degree turn.
"These people are truly beyond saving..."
Hikigaya grumbled internally.
Upon entering, Shiina Hiyori immediately waved toward Hikigaya. Hikigaya instinctively nodded in response.
"Hachiman, what did you just say about 'beyond saving'?" Horikita Suzune, sitting nearby, cast a look of disdain.
"Hello, friends of Class D. I am Shiina Hiyori from Class B.
Before we begin, I would like to offer my apologies to everyone for Ryuen-kun and the others' rude behavior." Shiina Hiyori apologized to the Class D crowd with total sincerity.
As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. Hirata Yousuke found it hard to maintain excessive hostility.
"It's alright, Shiina-san!" The boys of Class D magnanimously expressed their forgiveness.
"No need to apologize; it's just Ryuen who has no manners," Hikigaya said truthfully.
"Tch!" Ryuen, who had retreated to the side, clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Horikita Suzune looked deeply at her, then stood up and spoke plainly: "Let's skip the pleasantries. If you have business, Shiina-san, feel free to speak directly."
"Horikita-san is quite straightforward. Then I won't beat around the bush." Shiina Hiyori smiled slightly and continued, "The reason we came here is that Class B intends to discuss a deal with Class D."
"A deal?" Horikita frowned. "If I may be blunt, given our opposing camps, I don't see what we have to talk about."
"An enemy's enemy isn't necessarily a friend. An enemy's friend isn't necessarily an enemy," Shiina Hiyori's voice was light.
"Interesting!"
'Why is it 'interesting' again?' Hikigaya turned his head to look at a certain someone.
Koenji Rokusuke had, for once, stopped combing his hair in the mirror and was looking at Shiina Hiyori on the stage with interest. "As expected of Fish-eye Boy's bosom friend; she is indeed a wonderful person."
'Holy crap! You damn blonde, what kind of nonsense are you spewing?!'
Hikigaya desperately wanted to pick up the English-Japanese dictionary on his desk and give the back of Koenji's head a solid thwack.
"bosom friend... what does that idiom mean?" Karuizawa Kei looked bewildered.
"A bosom friend generally refers to a man's intimate female confidante; a very close relationship." Matsushita Chiaki narrowed her eyes.
'Hey, hey? Melons-sister, aren't you supposed to be hiding your brilliance? Why did you stop pretending? You even know specialized idioms!'
Hikigaya didn't even need to think to know what kind of looks the class was giving him right now. His scalp felt numb!
'Shiina-san, hurry up and say something to refute it!'
"Thank you for the compliment~" Shiina Hiyori's cheeks reddened slightly, and she magnanimously accepted Koenji's description.
"Hoh!"
"Ugh..."
"Normie!" Jealous murmurs erupted from the surroundings. The last one was something Hikigaya definitely didn't accept!
"Elegant Girl's 'feminine power' is quite good. I have high hopes for you to become the final winner," Koenji continued to say things that left others confused.
For some reason, Hikigaya noticed that several girls suddenly became very angry!
"Really?" Shiina Hiyori's eyes lit up, a look of surprise on her face.
"Cough, Hiyori, business first," Ryuen couldn't help but remind her.
"Right." Shiina Hiyori composed herself and focused her attention. "I heard that the members of Class D refused to cooperate with Class A in this sports festival. I wonder if that's true?"
"How do you know?" Hirata blurted out.
'With that reaction, aren't you just handing her the answer?' Hikigaya felt speechless.
"It seems my guess was correct." Shiina Hiyori nodded with a smile. Hirata's face darkened. He thought to himself: 'This girl looks so dignified and cute, how is she so cunning?'
"My apologies, I didn't mean to pry into Class D's affairs intentionally. It's just that putting myself in your shoes, guessing Class D's goal isn't difficult," Shiina Hiyori explained softly. "Given Class D's current points, there's a slight gap between you and the other classes."
'This girl is really subtle with her words. A gap between 0 points and 1,000—you call that a 'slight' gap?'
"The points gained in this sports festival are few, but the deductions for the bottom ten are very heavy. Therefore, I judged that Class D's goal would primarily be avoiding those bottom rankings. This clearly conflicts with Class A's strategic goal of aiming high. Thus, it was unlikely you would reach a cooperation."
'See? This is what you call a professional.'
The biggest gap between people is in their brains.
"Completely seen through..." Horikita bit her lip, a look of frustration on her face. For an outsider to see Class D's situation so clearly made her feel inferior.
"Even so, that's not a reason for us to cooperate with you, is it?" Kushida Kikyo felt extremely annoyed. Even the friendly facade she usually wore was starting to slip.
'This stinking woman from another class, hmph!'
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