Chapter 22: -22- Two unique guys
"Okay, I'll go bring the others over. Nanaya and Ayanokouji, you can meet us at the fountain square in front of Keyaki Mall!"
After getting Hori's agreement, Kushida Kikyou immediately said with a smile, then waved and ran off to invite the other friends.
Hori and Ayanokouji walked together and headed to the location mentioned by Kushida Kikyou.
To their surprise, when Hori and Ayanokouji arrived, there were already two people waiting.
"Huh? Isn't that Ayanokouji?"
"You're here too?"
These words came from two boys.
One was slightly short, with somewhat pretentious brown short hair, looking quite frivolous.
The other was slightly taller, with ordinary black hair, but had a somewhat arrogant demeanor.
Hori naturally knew these two people.
Because they were classmates of Hori and Ayanokouji, and also members of the unpopular group that Ayanokouji could join.
The slightly shorter boy was Ike Kanji.
The slightly taller boy was Yamauchi Haruki.
These two were the boys Ayanokouji mentioned earlier.
Hori even remembered Ayanokouji telling him about these two during the class's self-introductions at the beginning of the school year.
For example, Ike Kanji's self-introduction went like this.
"I'm Ike Kanji, I like girls, hate handsome guys, and I'm currently recruiting a girlfriend. Cute and pretty girls are welcome to find me anytime!"
That was Ike Kanji's self-introduction at the time.
Such a frivolous and obvious introduction seemed to be said seriously by himself, and he even looked as if he had said something praiseworthy, thinking his self-introduction was flawless, perhaps?
Unfortunately, this made Ike Kanji smoothly become the second person on the girls' blacklist. Despite mingling among various groups of girls, he was disliked by each of them. Even the boys had a bad impression of Ike Kanji for his flirtatious behavior, making him one of the unpopular students in the class.
As for Yamauchi Haruki's self-introduction at the time, it went like this.
"I'm Yamauchi Haruki. In elementary school, I played in the national table tennis competition. In junior high, I was the ace pitcher of the baseball club, with the number four jersey. Unfortunately, I got injured during the high school league and am currently undergoing rehabilitation. Please take care of me!"
That was Yamauchi Haruki's self-introduction at the time.
Obviously, he was bragging.
We all know that, right?
Leaving aside whether an elementary school student could play table tennis or whether a junior high student could be the ace pitcher of a baseball club, just the fact that he got injured during a high school league is laughable.
After all, Advanced Nurturing High School is a high school.
As a first-year student who just enrolled, how could Yamauchi Haruki have participated in a high school league right after entering school and then got injured?
Forget about the fact that there were no club recruitments at the school at that time. Just looking at Yamauchi Haruki's smug look, it didn't seem like he could be the ace pitcher in a baseball game. He was just boasting.
Therefore, Yamauchi Haruki became the third person in the class who was blacklisted by the girls, smoothly becoming one of the unpopular students in the class, just like Ike Kanji and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who spent their days coveting sweet relationships with girls without realizing they had been eliminated by the girls long ago.
In addition, the first person on the girls' blacklist in the class is a troublemaker named Sudou Ken with dyed red hair.
Although he joined the basketball club, he had a rough attitude and a hot temper. He even deliberately picked a fight during the self-introduction at the time, successfully making all the girls disgusted.
Naturally, Sudou Ken is also a member of the unpopular group, and usually only Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Ike Kanji, and Yamauchi Haruki would interact with him.
These four are in the most unpopular group in the class.
So, when Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki saw them, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was immediately stunned.
"You guys are here too?"
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka seemed to want to express his surprise, but unfortunately, his tone lacked emotion, and his expression didn't change at all. There was no hint of it.
But Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki didn't care at all.
"This is little Kushida's invitation. How could I not come?"
Gasping for breath, Ike Kanji said this.
"Sudou has basketball club activities, so he can't come. It's a pity. I was supposed to participate in the baseball club activities too, but as you know, I'm still in rehabilitation. I had no choice but to come and see."
Having wiped his nose, Yamauchi Haruki, who had already inserted himself perfectly into the role of the ace pitcher of the baseball club, said with great pride.
It seems that these two were also invited by Kushida Kikyou.
Unlike other girls, with Kushida Kikyou's gentle and considerate personality, she shouldn't reject these two, right?
Therefore, being invited by the popular Kushida Kikyou, these two must have come over joyfully.
Hori's mind could even imagine the scene of their excitement at that moment, which made him feel somewhat amused.
At this moment, Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki also noticed Hori.
"You are..."
"Are you Nanaya-san from our class?"
Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki exclaimed in surprise.
Hori just nodded.
"I'm Nanaya. Just call me that, no need for honorifics."
Although these two had many flaws, they were not bad-hearted, and Hori didn't need to be arrogant just because of their bad personalities.
However, for Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki, Hori's calm interaction seemed to be surprising enough.
"Aren't you said to be very reclusive?" Ike Kanji's words seemed to come out without thinking, "I didn't expect you to come to this kind of gathering."
"Yeah, everyone in class says you always keep to yourself." Yamauchi Haruki also said without fear of offending anyone, looking at Ayanokouji, "Are you two close? Do you get along well usually?"
"No, it's not like that." Ayanokouji Kiyotaka shook his head and said honestly, "We were just both invited by Kushida, so we came together."
"I see." Ike Kanji felt suddenly enlightened, then said as if he couldn't help feeling excited, "Kushida is indeed amazing, even inviting someone as reclusive as Nanaya. She has a kind heart."
"Like an angel." Yamauchi Haruki also said awkwardly, "It's obvious that Nanaya is so reclusive, yet she still invited him."
Seeing these two unique guys acting all lovey-dovey, Hori felt a twitch in his heart.
(These two are really something...)
Moreover, although Hori said to call him directly, without honorifics, these two seemed to take it for granted, didn't they?
And they kept saying "reclusive, reclusive," I'm still here, you know?
At that moment, Hori looked at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
The meaning expressed in his eyes was clear.
"Do you always hang out with these kinds of people?"
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka seemed to have received this meaning smoothly.
"...Sorry about that."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka could only apologize.
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