"Don't worry, I'm here. If you're scared, just hide behind me."
Amane's words greatly reassured Horikita.
And so,
With Amane acting as a shield,
The two of them found a corner seat at the club orientation.
Ayanokoji seemed to have separated from them after being approached by three boys.
But it was fine that they separated.
Amane sat there happily, listening to the club orientation.
Watching one club after another come up to introduce themselves, then leave.
"Amane-san."
Amane suddenly heard Horikita's soft, sweet voice.
Oh, oh!!!
That voice was so lovely.
"How long are you going to hold my hand?"
Amane awkwardly released Horikita's hand that was on her shoulder.
She had just found it felt very comfortable to touch, so she accidentally... What bad intentions could a girl like her have?
The club orientation was a bit boring.
It wasn't until a cool older sister with waist-length black hair announced that she was the president of the Kyudo Club that Amane sat up straight and listened intently.
It wasn't that she was particularly passionate about Kyudo.
It was just that her bow was super beautiful!
Some boys had already started taking pictures with their phones.
Amane also picked up her phone, ready to take a picture.
"So Amane-san likes this style?"
Horikita's single sentence
Made Amane's entire body instantly stiffen.
"I just... I just..."
"Her style of dress doesn't seem very suitable for Amane-san. Although it might sound a bit hurtful, your height would probably make it difficult to pull off that kind of outfit."
Horikita analyzed seriously.
"Oh, oh! So Suzune, you were talking about the clothing."
"What did you think I was talking about?"
"Nothing."
Amane sheepishly put away her phone.
Horikita scrutinized Amane with a suspicious gaze.
They waited until almost all the clubs had finished.
Only one man remained on stage, Horikita Manabu.
He coldly scanned the boisterous first-year students below the stage.
It must be said that Horikita Manabu had a good appearance.
At about 170 centimeters tall, he wasn't particularly tall for a male, and his physique was somewhat slender, yet one could tell from his build that he maintained a fit body through exercise.
His neat short hair and stylish glasses added many points to his first impression.
Most importantly, his eyes, full of intellect, were very beautiful.
It was like... that's right!
They were as beautiful as Suzune's.
She turned her head.
Only to see Suzune's gaze fixed on the figure on stage, not moving for a moment.
Amane's gaze towards Horikita Manabu instantly changed.
Horikita Manabu frowned slightly on stage.
Just now, he seemed to feel an intense, hostile gaze.
But when he searched with his eyes, that gaze disappeared without a trace.
Could it be Suzune?
Horikita Manabu shook his head internally.
He pushed the distracting thoughts out of his mind.
What he needed to do now was to give these rookies, who had just entered this school,
A show of strength.
Seeing Horikita Manabu remain silent, the people below began to mock and cheer.
"Is he too nervous to speak?"
"Go, big brother!"
"Didn't he prepare a slogan?"
Horikita Manabu remained motionless, as if external interference had no effect on him whatsoever.
The wave of sound began to recede after reaching its peak.
Everyone looked at the man on stage with confusion.
They didn't know what he was going to do.
An atmosphere of tension and silence began to permeate the entire gymnasium.
Horikita Manabu's aura alone overwhelmed the entire first-year class.
"I am Student Council President Horikita Manabu..."
Amane didn't listen to Horikita Manabu's speech.
With her head lowered, she was the opposite of Horikita Suzune.
She tried her best to avoid Horikita Manabu's gaze.
She had lost her composure just now.
Once the orientation was dismissed,
Everyone rushed to the club recruitment booths.
With excited expressions, they either asked questions or directly filled out their information.
However, due to the school's exceptionally high requirements for clubs,
Sports clubs surprisingly did not recruit any newcomers without experience.
Amane was still curious and went up to ask.
The result she got surprised her a bit.
The basketball, baseball, football, and other sports clubs at this school were regular participants in national competitions.
And they achieved high rankings.
This naturally meant they couldn't take in inexperienced newcomers.
After all, there were only three years.
Who could guarantee that a newcomer could grow to national competition level within three years?
So, this alone filtered out many people.
Amane originally planned to just look around and leave.
Horikita, however, noticed the recruitment for the Kyudo Club.
Now that she thought about it.
Amane had just wanted to take a picture; perhaps she had some thoughts about the Kyudo Club.
And she also had experience in this area.
She might as well help her out.
"Hello, Senior, I am Horikita Suzune from First Year Class D. I have a friend who wants to join the Kyudo Club. Are you still recruiting members here?"
The other person first sized up Horikita, then looked at Amane, who Horikita was holding by the hand and looking around everywhere.
They both didn't seem like very reliable types.
"I'm sorry, although we are recruiting now, we require experience with a Kyudo Club, and for girls... it might be quite tiring, we don't have small bows here."
Horikita pushed Amane forward as if presenting a treasure.
"Eh? Suzune, what are you doing? Kyu-Kyudo Club? I-I suddenly feel a stomach ache."
"Are you sure you want to leave now?"
Horikita's voice made Amane, who was about to make a quick escape, stop in her tracks.
"I just recommended you to them, and now you're running away at the last minute. Are you going to leave me here alone to be embarrassed?"
Horikita knew that recommending Amane to others without her consent was a rude gesture.
But she still did it.
It wasn't to deliberately cause trouble for Amane.
Instead, she believed that Amane might make more friends in the club.
Strictly speaking, Horikita felt that she was not suitable to be anyone's friend.
She couldn't smile beautifully, nor could she flatter, and occasionally she would be sharp-tongued, plus her attitude sometimes wasn't very good.
Horikita was not unaware of these issues.
So she believed Amane should try to interact more with people from other classes, or even other grades, and perhaps she would also be happy to make more friends.
"Alright, I can give it a try for your sake, Suzune. You'll have to treat me well tonight."
Amane winked at Horikita and walked up to the Kyudo Club president.
"Hello, Senior, my name is Miyako Amane, and I have some experience and would like to try shooting."
"I am Fujiwara Mayu, the president of the Kyudo Club from Third Year Class B. Please fill out this form first."
"Okay."
Fujiwara observed Amane while she was filling out the form.
Her physique looked good.
As for her arms...
Fujiwara's eyes lit up.
Those were almost perfect arm lines.
The other person had clearly exercised her arms.
But why was she able to maintain such a good muscle shape?
Perhaps she had undergone body sculpting.
Then, looking at Amane's chest.
Fujiwara's heart skipped a beat.
Are first-years this exaggerated now?
Bigger than the president's; can this club member be accepted?