Another Like Me - Part I (CoTE x OC) ?

Chapter 32 - Double-Edged Sword

"No, Ayanokoji and I arrived at that conclusion. We were taking a leisurely stroll outside the building, and were talking about some trivial things."

"Like?"

"During the first day of school, you didn't introduce yourself, and immediately walked out of class, did you not?"

"I did. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"You talked only to Ayanokoji that day, so he was the only one who knew your name. You did not go around telling your name to anyone, and neither did Ayanokoji. In other words, your name was only known to 2 students at that time in the school, including yourself."

Horikita slightly tilted her head, and motioned me to continue.

"However, the next day, Kushida walked up to Ayanokoji and asked for help in becoming friends with you. She used the name Horikita, even though no one else in the class was supposed to know that. The only possible conclusion was that she knew you from before, or she checked the nameplate on your desk on the first day. I dismissed the second option because it was anticlimactic."

"You..... picked up on these subtle clues?" Horikita asked me.

"Not really. I wasn't very sure about this. I had to confirm with Ayanokoji because I hadn't talked to either of you on the first day."

"That..... makes sense. I'll confirm; Kushida indeed was in my middle school. But where is this conversation headed?"

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Ayanokoji walked into my room. He took the bed next to Horikita, while I spun around on my chair.

"Now that Ayanokoji's here, I'll just get straight to the point."

I unlocked my mobile phone, and navigated to the voice recorder app.

Such absolute idiots! I f*cking hate them! They keep staring at my body with such lewd expressions! A**holes! And Horikita-san! What does she think of herself? She's so goddamn irritating! Die, die, die, die, DIE!

I played the recording to both Ayanokoji and Horikita, and she did not look as surprised as I expected her to be.

"So you indeed took a recording?" Ayanokoji asked me this cryptic question.

".....? What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, perplexed.

"I opened the door to the rooftop on purpose that day, because I knew you were following me. Why would I intentionally open the door to the roof and get myself caught, when I could easily just stay hidden and listen in to her rants?" Ayanokoji explained his stance.

"So you opened the door because you knew I would take conclusive evidence about Kushida's alter personality?" I asked.

"Yes."

"I see. I guess I did a good thing turning on the voice recorder that day, or else your sacrifice would have been for naught."

"I was..... sort of aware of her other persona," Horikita said suddenly. "It's not something that shocks me anymore."

"Anymore? You mean there is something more to her that you are aware of? Something that you're unwilling to share with us?" I pressed her on.

"I only know that there was an incident back in middle school."

"An incident?" Ayanokoji joined into the conversation.

"I do not know the details, but it seemed pretty bad. The principal and the staff members could not do anything about it. I was a loner back in middle school, so I did not associate myself or bother to know what exactly happened," Horikita finished her sob story. "Where did you get that recording, by the way?"