Horikita Route

Chapter 12 - V1

"How much did it cost?"

Horikita Suzune's voice pierced through the noise. Her tone almost accusatory and dangerous.

"It doesn't matter."

"Kiyotaka, How much did you spend for this?" Her voice, earlier anger and mad, now transformed into one laced with such worry.

"Horikita, My monetary situation is nothing to worry about."

By this time, the smarter students of the class caught on to Horikita's question. To have access to such information.... surely it costed a lot of points. These papers didn't come cheap, they are sure of it.

Hirata, the ever-humble person that he is, tried to diffuse the tense situation.

"Ayanokouji-san.... are you sure? Surely we could scrounge up a few points to pay-"

"Hirata, like I said, it's fine. Right now, most of you have little points to spend, even some of you are relying on the free meal given by the school. I have more than enough to survive till next month."

Survive.

That specific word scratched through Horikita's ears, making her worry for her friend increase tenfold. What did he mean by that? Would he barely scrape by for 20 days just because she asked for help to get to Class A? Was he secretly only eating the free vegetables of the school? Maybe that's why Karuizawa keeps going with him? It doesn't make sense...

"Kiyotaka, please... tell me how much it costs... I can he-"

Her tone, weak and pathetic, surprised the other students. They have never heard their pseudo-leader talk this way. Her eyes were filled with worry while looking at the boy in front of the class, ignoring the stares of her fellow classmates. Unfortunately for her, she would never get to finish her sentence.

"I will be fine, Horikita."

His words, although plain and simple, deeply hurt her through the core. It felt dismissive, boring, like an adult talking to a kid or a man shooing away a stray dog.

It was the same tone he used everyday, the same inflection of his voice when talking to others. She remembers it very clearly, like spring water coming down a mountain river. She'd heard this tone hundreds of times. Only this time, instead of of him talking to anybody else, he was talking to her.

He never talked to her like that before.

Every time they talked, his tone of indifference was replaced by a different one. Whenever they talked from before, he was never dismissive or as ignorable as right now. His voice was usually filled with sarcasm, filled with a teasing tone, sometimes, happiness could even be traced when they talked in the past.

But now, in this moment, he used that tone of his like she was a nobody, a nonfactor.

She knew how much of an indifferent person Kiyotaka is. She knew that, if she won't do anything to salvage what they have in this very moment, the schism in between them would only widen, no matter how close to an arm's length he was in their seating arrangement. A similar situation came into her mind, her relationship with her brother started to strain in the same way. Unlike her brother though, she has no familial ties with this brown-haired boy, making reconnecting that much harder.

Desperation entered the veins of Suzune, terrified by the thought of losing her first connection with a friend. She might not act like it, but deep inside, she truly cherished Ayanokouji's presence and support. Her gratitude for the boy was immense, thankful for showing her her own faults and giving a prideful girl like her a chance for something new.