COTE Year 2 Reimagined

Volume 7:Part 1

It was the start of the new week, and I was making my way to the school building when I saw Horikita waiting for me.

"You're late."

She got up and started walking next to me.

"Am I? Maybe you're early."

She sighed at my remarks and then started talking.

"The results of the sports festival are out. We ended up in second place."

She showed me her phone, which displayed the results and the new class distribution.

1st place=Ryuen+150
2nd place=Horikita+50
3rd place=Kanzaki-50
4th place=Sakayanagi-150

Sakayanagi's Class A:1051
Ryuen's Class B:858
Horikita's Class C:827
Kanzaki's Class D:750

Even though Kanzaki has been trying to change the class, it seems he still couldn't prevent it from falling down to D.

Ryuen and Horikita were still neck and neck while Arisu was slowly falling down. Not that she'd care either way.

"How do you feel?"

I decided to see what Horikita thought about the results.

"Second place is acceptable, but we need to do better next time. I think we could've easily placed first."

I nodded at her, but she kept going.

"You were also quite impressive in that race. I can't believe Yagami-kun was so fast as well."

She was clearly trying to pry something out of me.

"I was surprised, too."

She sighed and gave up.

"We should hear about the cultural festival today."

I decided to change the topic and ask about the cultural festival instead.

"I've been preparing, and I even have a plan with Ryuen, but I'm not sure how it will all turn out. I've got a bunch of admirable ideas, but in the end, I decided to settle on the maid café so you're in luck."

I wouldn't call that "luck."

"Speaking of which, did you make any progress?"

Horikita had asked me to manage the café and help the girls with anything they might need.

"I did ask Haruka and Airi to join, but that's probably not happening now. Kushida can probably be a maid, but Kei doesn't want to."

She gave me a suspicious look and then stopped.

"Speaking of Kushida-san. How did you get her to cooperate? I don't get it. She still won't even talk to me unless she needs to, but she seems to be quite friendly with you."

I stopped as well and looked back at her.

"I suppose it won't hurt to tell you. I had always pretended to be scared of her in order to get her to lower her guard and leave me alone. Then, during the special exam, I showcased my abilities to some degree and flipped the tables on her. The realisation that she's been lied to this while time will damage her mental state at the time and leave her vulnerable. Showcasing my abilities also helped show her how reliable I can be as an ally and how dangerous I can be as an enemy. Then, I exposed her in front of the entire class, turning them all against her and leaving her all on her own. After that, I declared that I would protect and she had no choice but to accept my help. After that, we built a relationship based on mutual interests. It was quite simple with all the preparations in place."

Horikita listened carefully and seemed somewhat impressed by what I said. Hopefully, she could put that information to good use.

"I see. I can't believe you'd manage to think that far ahead and execute this plan perfectly."

Horikita clicked her tongue in frustration and then started walking next to me again.

"You could do that one day."

I decided to cheer her up, but she glared at me.

"Are you looking down on me?"

I shrugged.

"Who knows."

She sighed once more, then started walking a bit faster, leaving me behind. I thought I might have a peaceful walk towards school, but my hopes were quickly shattered by Sudo.

"Yo Ayanokoji!!"

He moved next to me and started talking.

"Were you talking to Suzune about the sports festival?"

I nodded at him.

"We ended up in second."

He looked frustrated.

"Damn it! I can't believe that jerk Ryuen really beat us."

Sudo probably did his best during the sports festival, but it wasn't enough.

"Did you earn an individual reward?"

I decided to ask and see if he's earned any private points. I earned 2.5 million private points, and so did Nanase since we placed first.

"Yeah, I think I got 5th place. Who do you think got first?"

I expected Sudo to be a little higher, but 5th place was quite impressive nonetheless.

"Probably Nagumo. Who else would get first place?"

He nodded at me, although seemingly unconvinced.

"Yeah, I guess. He didn't look too happy, though."

I shrugged and kept walking.

"I think I'm going to college after school. What do you think?"

That was unexpected. It seems that could be the main reason Sudo came up to me.

"You won't pursue basketball?"

He shook his head aggressively.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I still want to be a pro. But I thought I could go to college to give myself some options then try to play basketball proffesionaly."

I see.

"That's definitely not a bad idea. I think you should go for it."

He nodded at me and smiled. He seemed satisfied with my response.

"I think Suzune will also say the same."

I nodded towards him.

"Speaking of Horikita. Didn't you want to confess to her?"

His face turned red at the mention of that, but he started explaining.

"Well, yeah. I think I'll do it on the school trip. It'll be the end of the second semester, and she won't be busy preparing for exams or anything like that, you know?"

That was definitely a smart choice. Not only would the atmosphere be much calmer during the trip, but Horikita's mental state will also be relaxed since she would be on vacation.

"I agree. Give it your all."

I decided to pat him on the back, and we kept walking.

On our way there, we saw Haruka and Akito walking together as well. They glanced in my direction for a second but immediately turned away.

"Shouldn't you try and talk to them?"

Sudo looked towards me.

"No, not yet. I'll deal with Haruka in time."

He seemed uneasy with my wording but didn't complain.

Haruka was definitely a problem I needed to take care of, but I wasn't worried as of yet.

Today, Chabashira will announce the rules for the cultural festival, and then I'll have to meet with Nagumo. I sighed while dreading said meeting and kept moving towards the school building.