COTE : Is Talent Everything? (Rewrite)-Chapter 143 - 137: Four White Room Students

"Don't look at me like that."

Faced with their merciless verbal assault, Ayanokouji turned to me with a tearful expression, silently pleading for help. Well, Takuya was already flipping him off while glaring daggers. Oh, and he just spat on the ground.

"Both of you, knock it off."

"Eep!"

"Ow!"

I lightly chopped both of them on the head—Takuya, who was still seething, and Amasawa, who was teasing—eliciting dumbfounded yelps. They clutched their heads and turned to me.

"I don't care how you two—especially you, Takuya—feel about Ayanokouji, but don't pick fights so openly. He's technically your senpai."

"Not *technically*, he *is* our senpai...?"

I ignored Ayanokouji's correction.

Once the two calmed down, Ayanokouji and I started warming up. Today's training was going to be intense, so preparation was essential. Takuya and Amasawa had apparently already warmed up, so we quickly got through ours... though my joints definitely felt stiffer than before.

"Alright, let's get started."

"Hey hey, question~! We still have no idea what we're supposed to do~!"

Amasawa raised her hand as she asked.

"It's simple. Both of you just have to attack me and Ayanokouji. That's all."

"Attack...? Like, fight?"

"No, only you two will be attacking. We'll focus solely on dodging."

"How much force should we use?"

"Go all out. Otherwise, there's no point."

"But won't that hurt you guys?"

"We'll dodge, so don't worry."

This was the fastest way to regain my reflexes. By focusing purely on evasion, I could make up for the time I'd lost. Their physical abilities were just right for this kind of training.

"You're way too confident in us... not that I can argue with you two."

Amasawa muttered in slight disbelief, clearly not entirely convinced but accepting it nonetheless.

"Now, decide among yourselves who's targeting who."

"Okaaay~! I'll take senpai~! ♡"

"Bro, ignore Amasawa! Fight me instead! I'm definitely the better choice!!"

"Alright, alright, rock-paper-scissors then."

After calming them down as they tugged at my arms, we settled it with a quick match. Amasawa lost, so she ended up targeting Ayanokouji.

"...Am I being treated way too harshly here?"

Ayanokouji looked genuinely dejected as Takuya celebrated his victory with unbridled joy.

......

"Alright, let's take a break."

I caught Takuya's final, desperate punch and called for a halt after about an hour.

The moment we stopped, Takuya and Amasawa collapsed to their knees like puppets with their strings cut. Their ragged breathing and dripping sweat made it clear just how exhausted they were. They had been going all out against us for nearly an hour. No matter how much stamina they had, pushing themselves to the limit for that long was bound to take its toll.

"Hah... hah...! S-Seriously... not a single hit...?!"

"Ahaha! As expected... of my bro!!"

The two of them plopped onto the floor. But thanks to them, I managed to regain some of my old reflexes. Focusing purely on evasion had been the right call.

"Here, drink this and rest for a bit."

I handed them both chilled sports drinks. Before taking hers, Amasawa stared up at me intently.

"Senpai... you're not tired at all?"

"Not as much as you two. We were just dodging."

"...You guys are way too insane."

"Don't just suddenly insult me."

"Come on, isn't this kinda like... you get off on dominating a cute girl like me?"

"What the hell is wrong with your head?"

"It's full of thoughts about you, senpai~! ♡"

She grinned mischievously, cracking a joke. I got the feeling she was hiding something behind her playful tone, but it wasn't worth pressing her on.

"Ayanokouji, how are you holding up?"

"Better than before, but one session isn't enough to get back to where I was at the start of the year."

Even after this much, I was still far from my peak. Just moving my body made the difference painfully obvious.

"Wanna spar? It's been a while since we fought for real."

Ayanokouji suggested it, seemingly wanting to push himself further.

"I don't mind, but it'll take a while."

"The longer we go, the quicker we'll get back into shape, right?"

"True enough."

It had been ages since Ayanokouji and I fought seriously—no, actually, the last time was back in the White Room.

"What are the rules?"

"Anything goes, but let's keep it light. First one to land a hit on a vital spot wins. Oh, and no groin shots."

Vital spots, huh...

Once the rules were set, Ayanokouji and I faced off for the first time in forever. Even if we were keeping it light, letting my guard down would be disastrous, so I had to stay somewhat cautious.

"Do your best, senpai~! If you win, I'll do anything you say~!"

"Beat him to a pulp, bro!! Don't let him walk away in one piece!!"

"...I already feel like I've lost to Hikigaya."

Ayanokouji radiated negativity even before we started, muttering that under his breath before suddenly dashing at me. Since we hadn't set a signal to begin, he probably decided to make the first move obvious.

I ducked under the feinted jab and spinning kick, lowering my stance to evade, then reached out to grab his arm and shut down any follow-ups.

"By the way, I heard Hikigaya's involved in the Kiryuin thing too?"

"The shoplifting incident? Yeah, I'm cooperating with him on it."

Even as we exchanged blows at close range—with Ayanokouji deliberately letting me grab his arm—I still had enough leeway to ask questions.

"Then I've got a favor to ask. Can you leave this matter to me?"

"Why?"

"I can handle it alone, but this time, I want to see if Horikita can reach the right conclusion on her own."

"I see. In that case, sure. I'll pass along any useful info I find."

"Thanks."

Along with his gratitude, Ayanokouji threw a punch faster than any before. I dodged, yanked his arm to throw him off-balance, then swept his legs. As my fist stopped just short of his face, all resistance from him ceased.

"————My win."

"Yeah."

Hitting him in the face would've been too much, so I held back at the last second.

I pulled him up by the arm I'd grabbed.

"Moving like this really makes me realize how much I've regressed."

"We'll just have to take it step by step."

Setting up regular training sessions like this from now on might not be a bad idea.

"Oh, right. Changing the subject—Horikita's absent today. No response when I tried contacting her. Do you know anything?"

"...No idea."

......

"Whoa..."

Amasawa, who had been watching the fight up close, let out an awed murmur.

"And this is *light*...? Their standards are way too different from ours, aren't they?"

"Yes!! He grabbed his arm!! Now go for the eyes, tackle him down, and—DON'T TOUCH MY BRO, YOU TRASH!!"

"Takuya, shut up. You're way too unstable."

Ignoring her completely, Takuya kept cheering for his brother.

Sighing at her childhood friend's transformation into a noisy nuisance, Amasawa narrowed her eyes ever so slightly as she stared at Hikigaya—making sure no one noticed.

"...Do I... really not know much about senpai?"

Amasawa prided herself on understanding Hikigaya better than anyone. And in a way, she wasn't wrong—she was one of the few who knew his true nature. Having loved him since their days in the White Room, that was only natural.

But there was one thing she had misjudged—his strength. Plainly put, he was on a completely different level from her and Yagami. It was hard not to think that way, especially since Yagami wouldn't even be here if not for Hikigaya's intervention.

"Hey, Takuya."

"What? Bro's about to—!"

"What was senpai like... back then? Do you know?"

Ignoring Yagami's excitement, she threw out the question.

Amasawa didn't know Hikigaya's past. She knew his records, his achievements—but not the path he had taken to get here.

She had asked him directly before, but no matter how much she pressed, he always dodged the subject. The only reason she didn't push further was that she didn't want him to see her as "troublesome."

"...Why does that matter?"

"Because it pisses me off that someone else knows a side of senpai I don't. Even if it's Ayanokouji-senpai."

"Tch."

Yagami clicked his tongue in annoyance before reluctantly answering.

"Do you even know why we're at this school now?"

"Obviously. Because of senpai, right?"

"Yeah. All thanks to him. If he hadn't saved us, we'd still be stuck in the White Room—might've never seen him again."

Yagami's gaze was fixed solely on his brother.

"The past doesn't matter. What's important is that he saved us *now*. What else is there to think about besides gratitude?"

"...Yeah, I guess you're right~."

To Amasawa, Yagami's answer was perfectly reasonable.

Yet the unease in her chest remained. Deep down, she knew that unless she understood Hikigaya to his very core, she could never truly be with him.

"He did it!! Bro won!!!!"

While she was lost in thought, the match ended. Yagami cheered, pumping his fist before rushing over to Hikigaya.

In his place, Ayanokouji approached, picking up the towel Amasawa had left beside her.

"You lost~! Aren't you frustrated, Ayanokouji-senpai~?"

"It was just a practice match. Good exercise, but nothing to be frustrated about."

Wiping his sweat, Ayanokouji answered indifferently. Amasawa decided to ask him something.

"Ayanokouji-senpai... what did you think of senpai back then?"

If she couldn't get answers from Hikigaya himself, she'd try piecing things together from how others saw him.

Ayanokouji froze for a split second. Amasawa watched him quietly.

"Why do you want to know that?"

"Because I'm curious~! What other reason would there be~? He never tells me anything when I ask him directly~."

"You're as obsessed with Hikigaya as ever, huh."

After hanging the towel back up, Ayanokouji's expression shifted—just slightly, but enough to turn cold.

Amasawa tensed, but Ayanokouji spoke anyway.

**"————He was creepy."**

A single sentence—yet it brought Amasawa's thoughts to a screeching halt. None of the answers she had imagined came close to this.

"...Huh?"

"That's all. Though he's somewhat better now."

Ayanokouji's gaze shifted to where Hikigaya was calming down an excited Yagami before walking back toward them.

"What were you two talking about?"

"Just small talk. Also, Amasawa and the others seem tired, so let's call it a day."

Ayanokouji answered Hikigaya's question before glancing briefly at Amasawa. His eyes made it clear—*this conversation ends here.*

"Alright, let's get ready to leave. It's getting late, so we should grab dinner too. My treat today."

"Wait, really, bro?!"

"Of course. You two helped me out a lot today. How about yakiniku?"

"Thanks, bro! Hey, Ichinose, say thank you!"

"...Yeah. Thanks, senpai."

"Thanks, Hikigaya."

"Wow, a weirdo snuck in there."

Ayanokouji, shamelessly inviting himself to the free meal, was acting completely different from before.

Though Ayanokouji's words lingered in her mind, Amasawa decided to focus on Hikigaya for now.

"Senpai, senpai~! Since you beat Ayanokouji-senpai, you can order me to do anything~! ♡"

"Then let me use your lap as a pillow next time."

"You sure that's all you want~? ♡"

"I can do that for you too, bro!"

"I can also offer my lap, Hikigaya."

"Stop joining in. That sounds like torture."

Clearly, he had no interest in a man's thighs. Hikigaya muttered that under his breath.

......

"Eek...!?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Ayanokouji-senpai, you okay~?"

On the way to the yakiniku place, Ayanokouji suddenly let out a pathetic yelp, drawing everyone's attention.

"I-It's nothing...! L-Let's just hurry...!"

He frantically pushed Hikigaya forward while trembling in fear, his gaze fixed in a certain direction.

"What's gotten into you?"

"Bro! This guy's shaking! He must be terrified of you now!!"

"Ayanokouji-senpai, you're pale! You okay?"

......

Meanwhile, at a certain café...

"You're glaring way too hard just because he's with a girl, Shiina-san. You're scaring poor Ayanokouji-kun."

"...I'm not glaring. Now, what did you want to discuss? ————Matsushita-san."

......

To those who thought Hiyori and Matsushita were fading into the background—*you've been fooled!!!*

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