"So you're a student with outstanding capabilities, then..." Suzune nodded slowly, as if she was trying to digest this information for now.
"That's right. Does that make you uncomfortable?" Knowing that this girl thought of herself as someone who is superior over others, Kiyotaka wouldn't be surprised if she stops talking to him, challenges him to a contest of some sort, or insults him for even insinuating that he's on equal footing with her.
She shook her head. "No. As a matter of fact, I would like to know the name of the school that you attended."
ραпdα nᴏνa| сom Kiyotaka was surprised with her reaction because it wasn't what he expected from her, but quickly recovered from it so he could state his answer. "I apologize, but I cannot disclose the name."
"Why not? If it only accepts those who are superior above other people, then surely it must be popular all over the country," asked Suzune, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"That's not it," he began to explain. "Let's just say the school wishes to remain anonymous in the eyes of the world because in all my years there, I was confused why the school isn't involved in the top schools of the country. Even I had no exact idea how I got enrolled in it. If I had to make a guess, the chairman or the director of the school contacts the parents of the potential students and in turn, they inform their children about being enrolled into the school."
Well, technically, he wasn't lying. His father was the creator of the White Room (who was also the one to put him there as one of its subjects) and the place was like a school, as fucked up as it was. It was a place that was designed to 'produce the future leaders of society', but Kiyotaka knew that was only a cover for what its true purpose was.
"Interesting..." The black-haired girl stared at him for a few moments, before turning her attention back to the book that she was reading. "I'll take your word for it, then."
"Really? You don't think I'm lying?"
A small smirk graced Suzune's lips. "Oh, I definitely think you are."
Kiyotaka stared at her in return, as he could tell that she had more to say.
"However, it's not like I have any evidence to prove that you are. The only way to know for sure is to see if you can back up your claims," she smirked. "You say that your former school only accepts students who have outstanding potential and capabilities? Let's put that to the test, since it's clear that we are both going to the same school."
"Are you talking about a competition between us?"
"Exactly. Perhaps with you around, things might become more interesting for me."
Just from the smirk on her face, it was clear that she was feeling amused with this interaction between the two of them, confusing the young man to no end. The way she was acting now was completely different from what was shown on her 'Heroine Summary'. Was it all natural? Or was the system making things easy for him by lending a hand in winning her over?
[You gained 2 Affection Points with Horikita Suzune!]
[You're doing well in talking to a Heroine on your own! You gained +1 in Wisdom!]
Kiyotaka dismissed the two notifications while resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Well, he had come this far, maybe he could push things even further with her. It doesn't seem like she was angry or displeased with him in any way...
"I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, by the way."
Suzune turned to him, an eyebrow raised in confusion. "Why are you telling me your name?"
"Is it not common courtesy to introduce yourself when you're talking to another person?" he said. It was almost funny that Horikita was asking him for a reason why he was telling her his name. This girl might be even more clueless in social interactions than him. "For the sake of making things easier, why don't we tell each other our names in case we meet again? You want a competition between us as well, right? How can that even happen if we don't know who the other person is?"
"Very well," she conceded. "My name is Horikita Suzune."
"It's nice to meet you, Horikita."
"So much for holding back so that I don't draw attention to myself," the young man thought to himself, while feeling disappointed that he basically ruined any hope he had left of having a peaceful high school life. "Suppose I do hold back, Horikita will either laugh at me for trying to make up a story that held no truth within or she'll feel insulted that I tried to make a fool out of her. Hm, in the case that she does figure out that I held back, she'll be angry as well because I wasn't showcasing my capabilities..."
Kiyotaka sighed. Somehow, he didn't feel that there would be anything exciting that might happen anymore, because this dating simulator was slowly draining the excitement out of him instead.
~XoX~
The bus ride itself took about twenty minutes before it arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Surprisingly, the little dispute over the priority seat didn't last long, because the old woman involved simply insisted that she can still stand on her own. However, she did praise the beige-haired girl for trying to be a helpful person towards her, something that made the younger girl smile like an angel.
After getting off the bus, Kiyotaka and Suzune agreed to walk together through the campus until the time when they would have to separate in order to head to their respective classes.
It confused Kiyotaka to no end. As time passed, it seemed more and more likely that the system itself was influencing Suzune to act like this, because she was acting completely different compared to what her 'summary' said about her. But who knows? She might just be showing signs of changes and she's not aware of it or something...
As they entered the campus, the two of them were amazed at what they were seeing. Despite it being known as a 'school', the whole place itself might as well be considered a small town due to how big and wide it is.
"People weren't kidding when they said that this school has everything," Kiyotaka muttered to himself.
"It does have the reputation of being the most prestigious school in the country. To be anything less than amazing would be a dent to that,"
After admiring the school for a minute, the two continued on their way. However, Suzune wouldn't be able to take more than five steps further when she saw a familiar person walking across the courtyard, which made her freeze in place. Kiyotaka noticed how his companion stopped moving right away and looked like she had seen a ghost, making him turn his attention to what she was looking at.
"So that's her brother..." Kiyotaka thought as he got a good look at the man whom Suzune looked up to. He was a well-built man of average height, bore short gray hair, violet eyes, and a pair of square-rimmed glasses. "He has a serious aura to him, just like his sister when I first met her earlier, but he's different. While his sister feels like someone who's been alone for a long time, he on the other hand, is the opposite. It wouldn't be surprising, since he happens to be the Student Council President."
Horikita Manabu seemed to have noticed that someone was staring at him, so he quickly threw a glare at whoever it was to make them stop. Even from a considerable distance, he immediately recognized the unmistakable form of his younger sister looking at him in shock, which was understandable. It had been two years since they last saw each other, after all.
But instead of acknowledging her presence, he simply narrowed his eyes and continued walking with the purple-haired girl who was beside him.
Suzune knew right away that she just got ignored by her brother even though they had been separated for a few years. All she could do right now was look down, feeling disappointed and dejected that she wasn't worthy of being acknowledged even after she followed in his footsteps..
"Nii-sama..."
Kiyotaka stared at her for a few moments, letting the girl have a moment to let out what she felt before speaking up. "Horikita, I don't mean to pry into your personal business, but do you perhaps know who that person was?"
"Y-Yes..." she mumbled, looking up at him with a defeated look on her face. It was a complete paradigm shift from her earlier demeanor and it intrigued Kiyotaka to no end. Did she really look up to him that much? "He's... my older brother."
"You seem strangely uncomfortable talking about him. Are you two perhaps on bad terms with each other?" he asked.
"That's..." For a moment, Suzune felt like denying what he said but stopped herself, because even she knew that it would be ridiculous to say something that is so far from the truth. "I suppose so..."
The only thing that Kiyotaka could do was listen to what she had to say, wanting to get a better picture of the siblings' relationship.
[A Special Event Has Been Triggered!]
"What the—"
The young man didn't even have time to analyze the new notification before the sound of a piano being played rang in his ears as if it was an alarm.
Almost immediately, Kiyotaka turned his head in several directions, and his eyes widened upon realizing that they weren't at the entrance anymore.
They were in a completely different place; the park, to be exact, but they were still within the campus premises.
There were wooden and marble benches all around, trees scattered across the area, a few nearby food stalls, a little spot where birds have gathered, and a student who was playing a piano in the middle of it all.
The young man couldn't help but be shocked at this turn of events.
"Is there something wrong, Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Suzune, who noticed that her companion was growing restless for some reason. Earlier, he just seemed so calm and now it looked like he was panicking.
In return, Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow at her in confusion.
What the hell? Didn't she even notice that they were now at the park instead of the entrance to the campus? How could Horikita not even see that they have suddenly changed—
Wait a second... was this dating simulator pushing him to cheer up Suzune in some way? Before they were teleported to another place, the girl was feeling depressed after getting ignored by her brother... was that what the notification a while ago meant?! Did the system transport them here for that reason alone?!
He didn't even notice that the notification from before had vanished.
No way. There's no way this was on purpose. This had to be a trick. It had to be... but then again, the damn system was bizarre and powerful enough to literally teleport both him and Horikita from the entrance to the park within the campus. For a regular person, it would scare the shit out of them but for Kiyotaka, he felt lost instead.
For what seemed like the first time, Kiyotaka didn't know what to do. He could choose to ignore this and simply go to class instead but his gut was telling him that doing so would be a very bad idea. He could also choose to give in and do this 'special event' that the system referred to, even though he didn't know what to do.
In the end, though, Kiyotaka sighed and groaned to himself. He had no experience in cheering up another person, much less a girl, and yet this dating simulator was pushing him to do so.
Seriously, the only possible benefit this 'superpower' gave him was the fact that it can make him feel defeat, something that he has never been able to experience ever since he was raised at that place. At least, that's what he thought.
Anyway, he hoped that he wouldn't make a fool of himself with this.
