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Chapter 64: Chapter 4 Part VIII

"Hmm? Oh. I was thinking of going to bed in a little bit. Did you need something?"

"Sakura-san\'s digital camera was broken, right? I feel like I\'m partially to blame since I made her so flustered. So I wanted to take responsibility for that..."

"I don\'t think you should feel responsible, Kushida. Not in the least. Besides, she\'s going to get it fixed, right? Since it\'s so important to her, wouldn\'t she get it repaired no matter what?"

However, as I spoke I realized it probably wasn\'t that simple. Sakura was extremely inept at social interaction, and probably lacked the self-confidence to go to a store by herself. It was probably similar to how someone might feel about dining alone in a restaurant.

It was a little hard to believe she could be that shy, but in this world there were all sorts of different people with different personalities. So it wasn\'t particularly surprising to find a person who lacked all communication skills, right?

"So, did you offer to help her then, Kushida?" I asked.

She\'d probably been proactive about establishing some common ground with Sakura.

"Yeah. She seemed hesitant at first, but then said that she\'d be fine with the day after tomorrow. I think that Sakura\'s digital camera is probably really important to her."

Kushida had done a wonderful job taking the proper first steps to earn Sakura\'s trust.

"But why are you telling me this? Won\'t it go more smoothly if it\'s just the two of you?"

"If we were just going to get it repaired, I suppose. But, there\'s another thing. I\'d like your help with it, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Do you want me to ask if she knows anything about Sudou\'s incident?"

"Horikita-san seems convinced that Sakura saw everything. After getting a bit closer to Sakura-san, I also think she knows something. But there has to be some reason why she\'s keeping quiet, since she keeps denying that she witnessed it."

While taking Horikita along would probably be the best option, it was delusional to think that Horikita and Kushida would spend their day off together. Kushida had probably chosen me through the process of elimination, as I was the least harmful candidate. If she\'d invited Ike or Yamauchi along, they would have had eyes only for Kushida.

Moreover, it was convenient. I\'d wanted to visit the electronics store for a while now. I sat up and leaned against the wall. For some reason, it felt kind of rude to make plans while lying down.

"Okay, I understand. Let\'s go."

My voice cracked with a little too much excitement. Fortunately, Kushida didn\'t seem to notice anything strange, and didn\'t press me about it. I chatted with Kushida about this and that for a little while. I didn\'t get too worked up over the conversation; it was casual, so there was nothing to be nervous about. It was proof that she could invade my personal space without causing discomfort. In my mind, I\'d firmly recognized her as my friend.

"That reminds me. It was really scary when Kouenji-kun and Sudou-kun looked like they were about to start fighting."

"Yeah. It was a critical situation. It looked like their fists were going to do the talking for them."

Kouenji always seemed laid-back, but if Sudou started taking swings at him, he would fight. If that happened, it\'d be a disaster.

"I couldn\'t even move. Hirata-kun was so amazing, though. He\'s definitely an admirable person."

"Yeah."

Hearing her praise Hirata like that made me a little jealous. I reminded myself that it was only natural to admire someone with the courage to step up in a situation like that.

"Class D was able to come together, thanks to you and Hirata. The fact that the boys and girls are separated plays a big part, too."

Sometimes, only a girl could solve another girl\'s issues.

"I\'m just doing what I normally do. It wasn\'t anything special."

"I think Hirata would definitely say the same thing."

Oftentimes, special people did not consider themselves special.

"Speaking of special, don\'t you think that Horikita-san is way more special than someone like me? She\'s great at studying and excels at sports. It makes me wonder why she\'s in Class D."

Horikita wasn\'t special. She belonged to a unique class of people. I kept quiet, though, afraid that if I badmouthed her she\'d find out about it.

"Wasn\'t she assigned to Class D in part because she\'s not very sociable?"

"But doesn\'t she behave normally with you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"You think that\'s normal?"

Based on the Horikita I knew, I\'d have to describe the way she treated others as miserable... I trembled a little to recall Ike fainting in agony.

"When I think of my relationship with Horikita, it\'s like there\'s a wall between us. Or perhaps I should say that\'s the extent of our relationship, if you understand what I\'m getting at."

"Hmm?"

She sounded amused yet slightly doubtful. I didn\'t like being misunderstood by Kushida.

"Ah, that reminds me. I wanted to ask you something. Your room is on the ninth floor, right, Kushida?"

"Huh? Ah, yeah, it is. Why? What about it?"

"Oh, no reason. Just curious."

Suddenly, Kushida fell silent. It was unexpected silence, without warning. Our conversation, which had been smooth up until now, came to a screeching halt. Usually, Kushida would resume the conversation immediately, but now she\'d stopped. Perhaps asking her floor number had been in bad taste?

I started fidgeting. Unable to calm down, I began pointlessly looking into every corner of my room. Ah, if only I were a pretty boy with excellent communication skills. I couldn\'t help but wish for that. We were so quiet that we could hear each other breathing.

"It\'s getting late. Should I hang up now?" I asked, unable to bear the silence.

It was painful to stay on the phone with a girl and not say anything.

"Hey—"

"Hmm?"

Kushida broke the silence, but then stopped talking again. Her hesitation was unusual. This was a far cry from the usual Kushida, who always tried to brighten the conversation.

"I-If... Well... I... I—"

She stopped talking again. Another period of silence followed. Five seconds, then ten seconds passed.

"No, it\'s nothing."

That sure didn\'t seem like nothing...

However, I lacked the courage to say, "Hey, what is it? Spill!" to her, so I let it go. Sorry, Kushida. If I were on the battlefield, I\'d be the sniper, the chicken who would stay far away from the fighting. Forgive me.

"Well, I\'ll see you the day after tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."

With that, Kushida ended the call. I wondered what she\'d been trying to say. I felt like it was going to be a bad, sleepless night.