Classroom of the Elite: Shadow puppeteer

Chapter 18: Meeting Manabu

I couldn't get to sleep, so I got up and left. I bought some juice from the lobby's vending machine and headed back for the elevator.

"Hmm?"

I could see that the elevator had stopped on the seventh floor. Curious, I decided to check out the CCTV, which showed what was happening inside the elevator car. I saw Horikita, still dressed in her school uniform.

"Well, I don't really need to hide, but..."Seeing her might be awkward right now, so I hid behind the vending machine. Horikita arrived on the first floor. Looking wary of her surroundings, she exited the building. After she'd vanished into the night, I decided to follow after her. However, I instinctively hid again after I turned the corner. Horikita stopped in her tracks. I sensed another person was with her.

"Suzune. I didn't think you'd follow me this far," he said. Had she left in the dead of night to rendezvous with some guy?

"Humph. I'm far different from the useless girl you once knew, nii-san. I came here to catch you."

"Catch me, hmm?"

Nii-san? In the dark, I couldn't see the person she was talking to. Was she meeting her older brother?

"I heard you were placed in Class D. I suppose nothing has really changed in the last three years. You've always been fixated on following me, and as a result, you don't notice your own flaws. Choosing to come to this school was a mistake."

"That's... You're wrong about that. I'll show you. I'll reach Class A right away, then—"

"It's pointless. You will never reach Class A. In fact, your class will fall apart soon enough. Things at this school aren't as simple as you think."

"I will definitely, definitely reach—"

"I told you, it's pointless. You really are a disobedient little sister."

Horikita's brother stepped closer to her. From my hiding spot, I could see him plainly. It was Student Council President Horikita. He displayed no hint of emotion. It was like he was staring at an uninteresting object. He grabbed his younger sister by the wrist—she offered no resistance—and pushed her against the wall. Looks like things will get troublesome.

"No matter how I try to avoid you, the fact remains that you're my little sister. If people around here learned the truth, I would be humiliated. Leave this school immediately."

"I-I can't do that... I will definitely reach Class A. I'll show you!"

"How incredibly stupid. Do you want to relive the pain of the past?"

"Niisan, I..."

"You possess neither the abilities nor the qualities needed to reach Class A. Get that through your head."

He moved forward as if about to act. The situation looked fraught with danger. Resigned to facing Horikita's anger, I got out of my hiding space and started walking towards them. Before he could anything to Horikita, I said.

"Horikita will reach class A, I believe her."

"A-Ayanokouji-kun?!" Horikita cried.

"What are you doing, Horikita? Didn't you learn martial arts? Can you not even defend yourself?" I said just as I reached them.

"I-I can....."

"Then do it next time when someone tries something like this," I said while patting her head and getting in between, then I looked at her brother.

We glared at each other in complete silence. There was almost no distance between us as he didn't 

"Eavesdropping is not an admirable quality," he said while letting go of Horikita and facing me.