8 Volume 12 - Chapter 5 Part 2: Class D and Class D

(Part 4)

Although it had taken some time, thanks to Nanase's everlasting cooperation, it had been decided that we would attempt to hold a discussion with Hōsen, albeit a bit forcefully. There was no way to tell where things would go from here, but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

Shortly before 6:00 PM, my doorbell rang.

Kei arrived, donned in her school uniform instead of casual clothes, perhaps because she had only just gotten back to the dorms.

"You know, there's a lotta people around at this time of day, so I had to be like, super careful. I even used the stairs."

There probably weren't very many girls who would visit a boy's room all by themselves, and even fewer who would stay there for a long period of time.

That type of behavior didn't happen very often unless the boy and girl were in a relationship.

"Well then, how about we get started?"

"Huh? Can't we like, do somethin' else first?"

Instead of taking out her study materials, Kei voiced her desire to chat with me.

However, time was limited. The later in the day it got, the less time there would be left to study.

"If there are no problems with your academics, I'd be glad to chat with you as much as you'd like."

"Hmph…"

"To start out, we need to find out where your strengths and weaknesses lie."

"How do we find out?"

"With these."

I took out five test sheets. Keisei had created them for the Ayanokōji Group to check our strengths and weaknesses. They were extremely convenient, given how much time it would take to go and pick out questions to get everything prepared. Horikita and Yōsuke often made use of them during their study sessions as well.

"Most of our classmates have been tested with these already."

"Really…"

"There's a time limit of 10 minutes per sheet. Go ahead and get started."

"Fiiine."

Although reluctant, Kei began to work on the first sheet.

And then, 50 minutes later, she collapsed onto the table listlessly.

"I'm soooooo tired of this…!"

"Good work. Though, I'm surprised you actually manage to concentrate on normal tests."

"It's cuz I already had a full day of classes. It's not easy for me to like, switch back into study mode."

I quickly finished grading the last sheet as I listened to her complain.

"I see. I think I have a grasp at where your abilities lie."

"H-how did I do?"

She didn't seem to know what she herself was capable of, as she looked at me with eyes filled with both anticipation and anxiety.

"You'll definitely be attending Yōsuke's study sessions starting tomorrow."

"Eeeh!?"

"It's nothing worth panicking over. However, if you don't study, you'll only be a stone's throw from being expelled."

"B-but like, my partner, Shimazaki-san, has a B-. Shouldn't I be fine?"

"You need to score 501 points to pass this special exam. You haven't studied enough, but you're expected to score around 200 points. Shimazaki will get around 350. A total of 550 is hardly enough to put you into the safe zone. Furthermore, if Shimazaki hates studying just as much as you do, there's a good chance that they might score less than 300 points."

If that were to happen, the two of them would probably fall below the 501 point safety line.

"I think I'm like, gettin' a little scared all of a sudden…"

"That's why it's important that you get yourself into a position where you can score 250 points on the exam as soon as possible."

This test was designed so that even D+ students could score that well. That is, as long as they studied properly.

"Uhm, well, I've got a question for you."

"A question?"

"You're tryin' to tutor me and all, but Kiyotaka, you've got a C rating right now, right? It looks ordinary, but you can actually, like… score way better than that, right?"

"Something like that."

"You're like this with your fighting skills too. Why do you go so far to hide everything?"

"I don't want to stand out, so I don't put in the effort with my grades."

"Well then, like, how many points could you get if you got serious?"

"Who knows."

"Stop avoiding the question and tell me already~!"

She pushed my shoulder and asked me with a smile on her face.

"I'll gladly answer your question as long as you attend the study sessions starting tomorrow."

"I'll go I'll go. I felt like, a sense of danger from what you said earlier anyway."

"Instead of telling you how many points I could get, I'll tell you how many points I've decided to get."

"W-what the heck? You're saying some crazy stuff."

The exam had five subjects in total. Since one subject had to be saved for my competition with Horikita, I had no intention of cutting any corners at all.

However, if I went all out in all five subjects, my reputation among others would change completely.

"400 points."

"…Seriously? Wait a sec, 400 points is…"

"The equivalent of an A rating in Academic Ability."

Even amongst our classmates, it was a domain that only a few honor students like Keisei and Horikita could hope to reach.

To be precise, it would've been more accurate to say nearly 400 points, but I felt no need to correct myself.

"And you're sayin' you think you can score that well?"

"Of course. There hasn't been a problem I couldn't solve ever since I enrolled here."

I didn't know how many high-difficulty questions this exam would contain, but compared to what I studied back in the White Room, it seemed fair to assume the exam wouldn't be that difficult.

After noticing that she looked physically incapable of understanding what I was talking about, I decided to call Kei back to reality.

"Now that I've seen what you're working with, I want you to keep that sense of danger of yours in mind and concentrate on your studies."

"Well… I guess I'll study with you for a bit and then head back home…"

It was only just past 7:00, so I didn't think there was an issue with working hard for another hour or so.

It would probably be useful to see more so that I could tell Yōsuke about Kei's current skill level tomorrow.

"Alright. Ready to get started then?"

"Right here, right here."

"Hm?"

I had intended to get into it right away, but Kei began patting the floor right next to her with her hand.

"Come sit here and teach me."

(Part 4 End)

(Part 1)

For a little over an hour, the two of us studied together in my room as I casually gave Kei advice.

ILLUSTRATION :

All in all, I got the impression that she had a good head on her shoulders, but the fact that she hadn't been diligent with her studies up until now had held her back from reaching her full potential. Though, I had no intention of pointing that out to her.

If she had simply made a habit out of neglecting her studies ever since early childhood, then I would probably say something to her. However, in her case, she hadn't been able to receive a normal, proper education due to the bullying she faced back in her middle school days.

She hadn't properly learned some of the fundamentals that came with a middle school education, so she was having a hard time with her lessons in high school.

Taking all of that into consideration, I'd say she was doing surprisingly well.

Gently guiding her, allowing her to pursue the answers on her own was probably the correct way to go about tutoring her.

If she could get to the point where she starts to feel like studying isn't painful anymore, she would probably grow and mature a lot, just like Sudō.

"Hey…"

"What's wrong?"

Kei suddenly began staring at the floor in front of her.

And then, after what seemed like several seconds, she reached out and picked up something.

I wondered if it was just a piece of trash or some dust or something, but…

"The heck is this?"

As she spoke, she held out her arm in front of me, showing me what she had found between her index finger and her thumb.

It was a single, long strand of red hair.

"That's a hair, right?"

When I said what I thought it was, Kei's expression instantly twisted in anger.

"A red hair! A freaking long hair at that! No matter how you look at it, this is a girl's hair!"

She was right. Given the length, it was physically impossible for it to be my own hair.

And, of course, the hair type was also completely different. It's owner immediately came to mind. I had no doubt that it had belonged to Amasawa Ichika, who had come over to have a meal just the other day.

"Who did you have over!?"

She asked, probably because nobody came to mind with this type of hair out of all of our classmates.

"Is this that one thing? Jealousy…?"

"Is that a bad thing!? I'm your girlfriend Kiyotaka! I have the right to stick my nose in all sorts of stuff!"

This was my first time hearing of such a right. Either way, I should take this as a lesson.

After inviting a girl over to my room, I would make sure to clean it thoroughly from now on.

I took this knowledge to heart, and yet the disaster continued. As I was deliberating over how I should go about explaining things to Kei, the sound of the doorbell unexpectedly echoed throughout the room. After which, a video feed of the dorm's lobby was displayed on the monitor near the entryway.

Not only was I, the room's owner, curious about who it was, but Kei was as well. The two of us went over to take a look at the screen.

Thereupon, we saw none other than Amasawa, waving her hand at the camera with a wide grin on her face.

The first to react was not me, but Kei, the red strand of hair still clutched tightly in her hand.

"A girl I've never seen before with red hair…"

She looked like she was trying to solve the riddle on some children's mystery TV show.

Kei reached out and pressed the call button before I could get the chance to do so myself.

"Who is it!?"

Kei spoke through the speaker, her voice filled with undisguised anger, to which Amasawa naturally jumped back in surprise.

"Huh? Room 401… This is Ayanokōji-senpai's room… right?"

I forcefully pulled Kei's arm away and took over.

"Sorry, it's me. What do you want?"

Although this was an unannounced visitor, there was no way I could let Kei handle it like this. Amasawa aside, given the high-traffic of the lobby, it would be a problem if somebody overheard that Kei and I were together.

"Ah, do you have company? Should I come back later? I'd like to come up and talk with you a bit, but…"

I looked at Kei. Although she was glaring at me, she gestured to have Amasawa come instead of ordering me to send her away.

Apparently, she wanted to make sure that the hair was Amasawa's.

"No, it's fine. Come on up."

I pressed the auto-lock release button and moments later, Amasawa went inside the elevator.

"Are you sure you're fine with this? Letting another student find out that you're here?"

"…Whatever."

It seemed as though Kei was so incredibly mad that she had lost sight of herself.

Kei was the one who said that she wanted to keep our boyfriend-girlfriend relationship a secret from those around us right now.

If we ran into somebody in this situation, it's possible that rumors about it might start to spread.

"Well, it's too late now, right? We've got no choice but to try and trick her somehow."

At any rate, Amasawa had already heard Kei's voice, so driving Kei out before she got here wouldn't accomplish very much.

Rather, we had to consider the possibility that doing so might make Amasawa even more suspicious.

Roughly a minute later, Amasawa reached the fourth floor and rang the doorbell to my room.

"I'll let her in, so just sit here and wait for now."

"I… I get it."

I went to the front door and greeted Amasawa.

"Sorry for the sudden visit~ Ayanokōji-senpai."

She studied my expression for a moment before sending a calculating look at the shoes in the entryway.

How do I put it… Is this what was referred to as 'a woman's intuition'?

"Girlfriend?"

She threw out a straightforward question with a wide grin on her face.

"What can I do for you?"

"How perverse~ Well, to tell you the truth, I think I might've left something in your room last time I was here."

"What is it?"

"My favorite hair tie. I can't find it anywhere…"

So, after realizing that it had gone missing, she had come here to try and look for it?

"Well, come on in."

I couldn't just make her stand and wait in the hallway, so I decided to let her come inside.

Instead of making petty excuses about the hair Kei had found, it would probably be faster to have Amasawa explain it herself.

"Pardon the intru~sion."

Amasawa walked straight in, completely unconcerned about the presence of my other visitor. It seemed that she had only just gotten back from school, as she still had her school bag in hand.

And then, she met face-to-face with Kei, who was waiting further inside.

"Oh, hello~ I'm Amasawa Ichika~"

"Hello."

Kei looked obviously unhappy, but she seemed to be doing her best to endure it in her own way.

"You're a senpai, right? I'd lo~ve to hear your name."

"…Karuizawa Kei."

"Karuizawa-senpai, is it~? Ah, seems like you guys have been studying together, huh? Are you his girlfriend by any chance? Ayanokōji-senpai dodged the question a lil bit ago, but I'd still love to know."

Amasawa's ability to ask what she wanted without the slightest hesitation was a true talent in and of itself.

"That's got nothin' to do with you. What about it anyway? What's your relationship with Kiyotaka?"

Although she undoubtedly noticed that something was up given the way Kei called me by my given name, Amasawa took a look around the room.

"Hold on and I'll answer that question in a moment. Hmm, I don't see it at a glance… I'm sure that I took it off back when I was here last time though. Well… maybe it got swept under something somewhere."

At that, Amasawa knelt down and began taking a look under my bed, completely disregarding the scowl on Kei's face. As she did, the hem of her skirt went up, naturally drawing focus to the size of her rear.

"Ah… Senpai. This might be a bit too naughty for me to handle."

Still kneeling next to the bed, Amasawa turned her head and looked at me. She spoke with a voice that seemed to emphasize that she was doing this on purpose.

Kei suddenly looked back toward me, glaring.

"I'll look for it."

Trading places with Amasawa, I started off by checking to see if the hair tie had ended up underneath my bed somehow.

"Hey, can you like, not just ignore what I said!? Answer my question!"

"Hmm, Ayanokōji-senpai is my… How should I put it… My exclusive, personal chef?"

"Huh? What the hell?"

Having heard a response she couldn't make sense of, Kei turned to me again, the look in her eyes even harsher than before.

"She's Sudō's partner. We met because of something trivial and I ended up cooking a single meal for her."

"Sorry, but I don't understand what you're getting at. Why were you cooking for Sudō-kun's partner?"

Given that I had only given her a summary of what had happened, her confusion was certainly understandable.

I proceeded to re-explain it in further detail as I continued to search for the hair tie under the bed.

Shortly after I finished explaining it for a second time, Amasawa spoke up again.

"Could I go check in the kitchen, just in case? I might've taken it off when I was washing the dishes. Ah, Senpai, please just continue searching inside the room. Perhaps it's under the dresser?"

"Alright."

I didn't find anything under the bed, so I began searching the area around the dresser instead.

Unsatisfied with my second explanation, Kei came and crouched beside me, whispering to me in a low, hushed voice.

"Hang on… You said there might or might not be a hair tie here… What's that supposed to mean!?"

"I told you. I invited Amasawa over and cooked her a meal. That's it."

"I-is that really all?"

"Of course it is."

"…Really really?"

It didn't seem like I could get her to believe me with a verbal explanation alone.

"I'm gonna go check with that girl and see if you're telling the truth."

With that, Kei tried to stand up, but I forcefully grabbed her arm and stopped her.

And then, I quickly brought my index finger to her lips, subtly instructing her to keep quiet.

Quick on the uptake when it matters most, Kei kept herself from making a fuss.

"You search around here with me as well."

"I-I understand."

Even though she didn't understand my intentions, she managed to recognize that it was important and began to help me with the search.

"Ah! Ayanokōji-senpai, I found it~!"

Amasawa's voice rang out from inside the kitchen.

Together, Kei and I looked toward the kitchen, only to see Amasawa presenting us the hair tie in the palm of her hand.

"Looks like it fell into the gap between the counter and the fridge."

Amasawa grinned happily as she put it into her pocket.

"It feels like I'm interrupting something, so I'll be on my way."

"Sorry for all the commotion."

"No it's fine. I shouldn't have forgotten it in the first place. Well, sorry to have bothered the two of you~"

Amasawa immediately went to pick up her bag and put on her shoes in the entryway.

"But now that I think of it, Senpai isn't one to be underestimated either~ I didn't expect you to have such a cute girlfriend."

After saying that, Amasawa put her finger up against her cheek, making a show of thinking about something.

"Speaking of which, you know what? It's prolly not a good idea for it to just be the two of us next time you cook for me, huh?"

"Obviously!"

"In that case─ Let's have Karuizawa-senpai eat together with us the next time~ Anywho, sayonara~!"

Amasawa came and went just like a storm passing through.

"Seems like you've met an awfully cute kouhai, huh Kiyotaka?"

"You probably aren't going to listen to me no matter what I say, are you?"

The studious mood between us had already disappeared, but I still had to keep explaining the truth to her until she was satisfied.

(Part 5 End)

(Part 6)

Friday passed by, and Saturday, the first day of the weekend, had arrived.

There had been many opportunities to get involved with the first-year students these past five days, partially thanks to the influence of the special exam. There was our encounter with Amasawa, a student from Class 1-A, that had led to me cooking a homemade meal in order to secure Sudō a partner. And then, not long after, there was a discussion with Nanase to work out an agreement between our class and Class 1-D.

In other news, Kushida had managed to make connections with Yagami, a student from Class 1-B. And thanks to Yagami's help, several students, such as Kei, had managed to find partners for themselves as well. This special exam would be evaluated differently depending on the person looking at it, but it may be particularly meaningful in terms of interaction between the school years.

Many students have already learned the names and faces of the upper and underclassmen, and some even know their ratings.

Furthermore, we've found out about the different inclinations of each of the classes.

Class 1-A doesn't have a clear leader at the moment, giving off the impression that each student was free to take action on their own. One reason as to why this was allowed was the high academic capability of the class as a whole. True to its name, Class 1-A had the highest number of students with Academic Ability ratings of B- or higher. Many of the more academically capable students had taken the initiative to negotiate contracts with Class 2-A and Class 2-C for points. While the class naturally had several students with D-level Academic Ability ratings, these students still excelled in other ways, so Class 2-A had gone out of its way to pick them up as well. Of the 40 students in the class, 34 had already decided on their partner.

Class 1-B was similar to Class 1-A in the sense that no clear leader had emerged yet. Additionally, the academically capable students were also selling themselves off as partners one after the next. The main difference being that many of them had partnered up with students in Class 2-C instead of Class 2-A. This was probably due to the fact that Ryūen had offered more points than Sakayanagi, but the details of the situation were still unclear for the time being. Currently, 33 of the 40 students had decided on their partners.

Class 1-D was currently led by Hōsen, who had taken control of the class with an iron fist. It was essentially no different than what Ryūen had done with his own class last year. The most noteworthy thing about them was that they had decided upon the fewest number of partners out of all the classes. We would probably find out more once we met with them this coming Sunday.

And finally, there was Class 1-C, the one class that I hadn't gotten involved with at all over this past week. I had already memorized the names of each of the students, but I hadn't heard anything about the class, even from Horikita. The primary reason for this is that most of the Class 1-C students had signed partnership contracts with Class 2-B after attending the meet-and-greet Ichinose set up at the start of the week. Of their 40 students, 10 had yet to decide on their partners, but none of those 10 had Academic Ability ratings below a D-. In other words, as a class, they had succeeded in securing a safe position for almost everybody. Given that, Class 1-C might have some sort of class mediator who had utilized the meet-and-greet to successfully save their classmates.

Later in the afternoon, I launched the OAA app to take a look at all the partners that had been finalized as of today.

"105 pairs. Roughly 70%, huh?"

Considering the number of students who were in the library yesterday, it seems that the majority of students wanted to get this over with by the weekend. There also seemed to be more movement in Class 1-D, as now a total of 8 partners had been decided. I didn't know if the weekend had made Hōsen feel impatient, or…

Anyway, the number of students who had yet to decide on a partner was 55 for the first-years and 52 for the second-years.

If the White Room enforcer was among those 55 students, the odds of partnering up with them were getting pretty high.

In all honesty, there was no way to 100% guarantee that I'd be able to avoid choosing the White Room student.

Of course, the only reason for that is because they don't give off any scent at all. I've been prolonging the process, holding out hope for some sort of evidence that would allow me to decide that somebody was safe, but that strategy was about to reach its limit. I probably had to make my decision before my options narrowed down even further.

Even though negotiations with Class 1-D would happen soon, I felt as though I should be prepared for other options.

I decided to head to the Keyaki Mall later this afternoon to try and open up my possibilities.

(Part 6 End)

(Part 7)

Naturally, the Keyaki Mall on a Saturday evening was practically overflowing with students.

Students who had already decided on their partners for the special exam, in particular. Since they didn't need to worry about finding a partner for themselves, they were free to devote their attention to studying for next week's exam together with their friends or simply hang out and relax.

I hadn't personally made contact with every first-year student yet, but even so, I felt like if there was anybody from the White Room in the area, I would've encountered them by now. However, I didn't get that kind of special impression from anybody I had seen so far.

If I had to give an example of the impression I was looking for, the time when I talked to Nanase in the library was the first thing that came to mind. I suspected that Tsukishiro or someone with close ties to him had taught the White Room enforcer how to behave like a 'student'. Though, the problem didn't have anything to do with whether they had a certain personality or not.

The problem was that they were thoroughly hiding any traces of their true identity.

It was somewhat similar to how I was back when I first came to this school one year ago.

There were certain disadvantages and drawbacks to growing up without knowing anything about the real world.

One such disadvantage was that I didn't know what it meant to be a 'student'.

Such a thing had never been taught to us back in the White Room, as they never intended for us to attend school in the first place.

That was why, in the beginning, I arbitrarily decided to create a character and use it to put on an act.

I tried all sorts of things, like changing the tone of my voice or being more talkative than I normally was.

I took on the role of a slightly impertinent student who looked at the world a little bit differently.

Though… in the end, the acting began to feel tedious and unsustainable, so I eventually reverted back to my true self.

I had come to realize that, even if I didn't hide my true self, I could still live on as a student. However, the person who had been sent to infiltrate the school was different.

They were putting on the appearance of a normal student for the sole purpose of keeping their identity a secret from me. I had no way of knowing if those I met were just ordinary students, or were just acting like one. Either way, they probably wouldn't make their presence known to me very easily.

Anybody capable of surviving in that world absolutely cannot be underestimated, no matter their gender.

Even though I was confident that I would come out on top in terms of individual skill, I was still in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position since I was being forced to stay on the defensive. My opponent could use any means at their disposal to force my expulsion, while the only thing I could do to protect myself was try and see through their strategy.

On my way back from a quick stop at Hamming, I happened to run into Sakayanagi.

"It seems you've been quite proactive about interacting with the first-year students recently, Ayanokōji-kun."

"That's because the students with low ratings have no choice but to fight for their lives. I've just been helping Horikita find partners for Sudō and Ike."

"I see. Indeed, if one of those two were to draw the short end of the stick and match with a bad partner, I can say with certainty that they'd be faced with expulsion."

Although Sakayanagi seemed at least somewhat convinced with my excuse, she didn't stop there.

"However, is that really all there is to it, Ayanokōji-kun?"

"What do you mean?"

"In order to get you expelled, I would imagine that the White Room might send somebody… an enforcer of sorts to infiltrate the first-year students. Even if you got a perfect score, if your partner gets a zero, the both of you would be expelled from the school. That's why I've been thinking that this exam might be particularly troublesome for you."

I tried to feign ignorance, but given what she had said, it seemed as though this was something she had been aware of since the very beginning instead of something that she had just thought up out of the blue.

"There's no way you can maintain a peaceful school life indefinitely, you know? If your opponent feels like it, they may even be willing to expose your true abilities to everyone. Nevertheless, if you're still able to maintain an enjoyable school life despite that, then I suppose my fears are unfounded."

"Well, you don't need to worry about that."

"And could I get you to tell me your rationale for that?"

"I've decided to abandon my old way of thinking. I don't plan on hiding anything from now on."

For me, right now, continuing with my school life was my top priority.

If I kept being fixated on the wrong things, there was a chance that I might have the rug pulled out from under me.

"So that's how it is. You've already revealed some of your abilities to certain individuals such as Mashima-sensei, so it'd probably be more convenient to just disclose everything altogether, huh?"

Sakayanagi replied, having gladly lent her ear to my explanation.

"Back to the issue at hand; If you still haven't found a partner yet, how about I help you out and save you some time? There aren't many left, but I'm familiar with some first-years that don't have partners yet. They're not the types to cause you any trouble."

Thanks to her own investigative efforts, it seemed that Sakayanagi had gone out of her way to leave behind a couple of safe students for me.

"That's quite generous of you, but I'm afraid I must decline."

"Is it that you don't trust my judgment?"

She had already seen through me since long ago, knowing full well that I needed to make my decision soon.

"I acknowledge your abilities, but I'll decide my own fate for myself."

If I met a tragic end after entrusting my fate to somebody else, I would probably be filled with regret.

"Besides, I think I've already figured out what I need to do."

"Is that so? Well in that case, I won't say anything more. I'll be watching to see what you do from afar, Ayanokōji-kun. I look forward to the day when we can have our rematch."

With that, Sakayanagi bowed her head and walked away. She had never even entertained the idea that I might get expelled. In a sense, you could say that she had placed a great deal of trust in me.

(Part 7 End)

(Part 8)

On the way back from the Keyaki Mall…

"Uhm, do you, perhaps, have a minute?"

A somewhat lazy voice of a boy called out to me from behind.

I turned around to find a boy and girl staring straight at me. The girl, repeatedly shifting her gaze between her cell phone and myself, was Tsubaki Sakurako from Class 1-C. The boy beside her was her classmate, Utomiya Riku.

ILLUSTRATION :

"You're Class 2-D's… Ayanokōji-senpai, correct?"

I couldn't see what was on the screen of her phone from where I was, but she most likely had the OAA app open.

"I'm Utomiya, and her name is Tsubaki. Could we talk with you for a bit about becoming partners for this special exam?"

"Partners?"

"Yes. We're currently going around searching for upperclassmen with Academic Ability ratings of a C or higher who are willing to cooperate with us."

Since I had come out today in search of a partner, this development felt far too good to be true. It almost felt as if they had been waiting for me.

I didn't know whether or not I should trust an undisguised attempt at contacting me.

Well, making my decision based on timing alone would probably be the most dangerous mistake of all.

"I've been having some trouble finding a partner myself. Could you give me some more details?"

With the app, you could grasp a student's face, name, and ratings. However, you'd naturally be left in the dark with respect to their personality. This was why meeting face-to-face and talking with each other was so necessary, as it helped you determine if you could trust the other party.

Incidentally, while Utomiya had already decided on his partner, Tsubaki had yet to find one. Since her Academic Ability rating of a C- was by no means high, she probably wanted to partner up with somebody who had a C rating or higher.

That said, it wasn't clear if they were searching for Tsubaki's sake or for one of their classmates.

"Instead of standing here, how about we discuss things at the cafe?"

Spearheading the conversation, Utomiya respectfully proposed a change of location.

This certainly wasn't a topic that could be decided in only a minute or two, so I accepted his proposition.

Although it was quite crowded, the three of us took up some empty seats in a vacant part of the cafe.

"This may seem sudden, but could you please hear us out?"

Utomiya turned and looked toward Tsubaki, signaling for her to start speaking.

"Thing is, I don't like owing favors or being in someone's debt or anything. I wanna one-off kinda deal with no strings attached."

Tsubaki seemed a little aloof, looking down at her fingernails as she spoke.

Between a C and a C-, the ratings were nearly identical, more or less.

So given the similarity, neither party would really have the upper hand if they were to pair up.

"Can I ask something that's bothering me?"

"Please, go ahead."

"Most students have Academic Ability ratings at or around a C. Why didn't she find a partner earlier?"

Out of everybody in the second year, there should've been several students who would've been more than happy to team up with Tsubaki.

They wouldn't get a high score, but they'd at least manage to avoid expulsion.

The fact that she still hadn't found a partner almost a full week into the exam weighed on my mind.

"That's─"

Utomiya choked upon his words a bit.

Noticing this, Tsubaki made proper eye contact with me for the first time.

"It's my fault. I never said anything about it."

Using Tsubaki's words as a starting point, Utomiya proceeded to add on his own explanation.

"Initially, Tsubaki didn't consult anyone about finding a partner. But when Friday came around, I guess she started getting impatient… since she came and told me about what she wanted to do."

So, in a race against time, Utomiya began doing all he could to help out his classmate.

After all, most of their other classmates had already decided on their partners.

Even though they still had one more week to find somebody, a certain amount of anxiety was nothing out of the ordinary.

"With Tsubaki's academic ability, the 5% penalty might be a problem."

This seemed to be the reason why they had approached me, a student with a C rating.

If there were no special circumstances, I would've probably agreed to their proposition without even a moment's hesitation.

However, there was a reason why I couldn't make such a hasty decision. This scenario was extremely similar to the one I had imagined back when the rules of this special exam were first explained to us.

That, the students I was most likely to pair up with were those with a similar Academic Ability rating to my own.

And now, Tsubaki, a student with a C- rating, had come along in search of a partner.

This was my first time meeting both Tsubaki and Utomiya, so I needed to sound them out before I could make my decision.

"I'd like to ask you something. Earlier, you said you've been going around searching for upperclassmen. How many people did you reach out to before me?"

I decided to start by asking something simple, but Utomiya's response was rather unexpected.

"I'm sorry, the words I chose were a bit misleading; You're actually the first person we've approached."

Utomiya offered me an apology before I had the chance to probe any further.

"So, if you aren't willing to partner up with her, we'll have to search for someone who will."

"Oh, so I just happened to be the first person you reached out to."

"Actually, there's a reason why we chose to meet you first. We figured that there might be a private point requirement if we asked somebody from Class 2-A or Class 2-C."

I see. It's certainly true that, as it is now, the first-year students were being bought off by the second-year students.

Given the circumstances, it wouldn't be surprising if somebody demanded that some points be provided in exchange for partnering up with Tsubaki. However, in practice, she wouldn't be making any demands of students with high Academic Ability ratings. There were still plenty of students without partners, so she could simply pair up with somebody without paying anything. It was unlikely that they hadn't already considered this.

That said, it would be a bit strange if I told them it would be fine if they partnered up with someone from Class 2-A or 2-C even though I hadn't decided on a partner myself yet.

Objectively speaking, there wasn't even a single reason for me to reject their offer.

My options here were limited.

"While I haven't decided on my partner yet, I already have a candidate in mind. In fact, we've spoken with each other several times now about working together."

This was a half-lie, but neither of them had any way of confirming that.

Furthermore, if this was enough to make them back down, then the two of them were most likely innocent.

"So that's how it is… I see."

Utomiya glanced over at Tsubaki with a troubled expression on his face.

"Then I guess there's no use, right? Seems like it'll be faster to search for somebody else."

Tsubaki tried to back down the moment she found out I already had a partner candidate in mind.

"I'd like to ask, just for reference… which first-year student are you planning to pair up with?"

While Tsubaki herself tried to pull away, Utomiya kept on going at it.

"I can't tell you that. The only thing I'll say for sure is that they aren't in Class 1-C."

Though I didn't give any explanation about why I couldn't tell him, he should've been able to guess the reason well enough.

That, I wouldn't give information to an enemy, a rival, of the student I was looking to work with.

"Let's go Utomiya-kun. We shouldn't waste any more of Ayanokōji-senpai's time like this."

"…You're right."

I was grateful that they had reached out to me, but I couldn't make such a hasty decision.

There was far too little data on Tsubaki Sakurako.

"Just in case, here's my contact information."

Utomiya handed me a slip of paper with his contact information written on it that he had prepared beforehand.

"It's a bit self-serving for me to say this, but I might contact you if I'm turned down by the person I'm thinking of working with. In which case, if you're still willing to partner up with me at the time, then please let me know."

"Understood. Let's go Tsubaki."

At Utomiya's prompting, Tsubaki uncrossed her arms and stood up from her seat.

And then, she lightly bowed before leaving together with Utomiya, in search of somebody else to partner up with.

"Tsubaki Sakurako and Utomiya Riku, huh? I'll have to keep them in mind."

Now that I had thrown away a chance to secure my partner, my actions moving forward would be of the utmost importance.

After all, it wouldn't be very funny if I partnered up with another first-year student and ended up drawing the short end of the stick.

(Part 8 End)

(Part 9)

That same day, two girls from Class 2-D were walking together side-by-side.

There was me, Karuizawa Kei, and my friend, Satō Maya-san. The two of us used to hang out together all the time. That is, up until a few months ago. Recently, we had started seeing each other much less frequently. It wasn't like we had gotten into a fight with each other or anything. It was just that I unconsciously began to feel guilty, and it was getting difficult for me to stay in touch with her as a result.

"Sorry for calling you up all of a sudden, Karuizawa-san."

"No, it's totally fine. I've been wanting to hang out with you too, Satō-san. Anywho, it's sure been a long time since we've hung out together like this, huh?"

"Yeah, it sure has. We used to hang out together all the time back when we first enrolled here~"

"So, whatta ya wanna do? It's a little early for lunch, isn't it?"

Walking slightly ahead of her, I threw out a question about what our plans were as I lightly tilted my head in contemplation.

It was only a little past 11:00 AM.

Earlier today, Satō-san called and asked if I wanted to walk around the Keyaki Mall together with her.

However, she responded in a hurry just as we approached the entrance to the mall.

"Uhm."

"Hmm?"

"How about… we head over this way instead?"

Satō-san pointed at the path that led to the school buildings, a completely different direction from the mall.

"To school? Is there somethin' you gotta do there? But it's the weekend, and I'm pretty sure you can't go in there without your uniform, right?"

"It's not that I wanna go to the school building or anything, it's just… I wanna go somewhere without a lotta people around right now."

I furrowed my brow, unable to understand what exactly she was trying to say.

Well, I actually had a sneaking suspicion about what this would be about.

But I just pushed it to the back of my mind so as to convince myself that I was wrong.

I simply continued pretending; Acting like I hadn't noticed anything.

"What's the matter Satō-san? It's not like you to say somethin' like that. You not feeling well?"

"…I just wanna talk with you a bit, kay?"

I had a bad feeling about where this was going, but I didn't have the luxury of turning her down here.

So, I happily nodded along and the two of us split off from the Keyaki Mall, headed in the direction of the school.

We came upon a place where there weren't any other people around; A place where nobody should be able to overhear our conversation.

"Go ahead and talk. Don't mince your words either. We're friends, right?"

My words were by no means gentle. Instead, they were extremely cruel.

And even though I knew this, I couldn't hold myself back from saying them.

After all, I'm Karuizawa Kei, the leader of the girls in Class 2-D.

A selfish, self-centered person who doesn't pay much mind to the feelings of others.

If I wasn't, the image I had maintained up until now would crumble.

Satō-san probably had that very same impression of me as well.

That was why she wouldn't feel dejected or angry about how I spoke to her.

Instead, she'd jump to her own conclusions. That I, Karuizawa Kei, was the type of girl who wouldn't take what she had to say seriously. That I'd just glaze over it and stop there.

I was even hoping that, by some chance, she'd be satisfied with that.

That she'd choose to avoid souring our relationship by having this conversation with me in the first place.

However─ Satō-san didn't stop.

ILLUSTRATION :

"Karuizawa-san… Why did you break up with Hirata-kun?"

"Eh? Haven't I already told you?"

Although her question wasn't directly related to Kiyotaka, it was enough to make my heart race.

Even so, I managed to prevent it from showing on my face thanks to everything I had experienced up until now.

"I mean, yeah you've told me and all it's just… it didn't really feel right."

"Really? Well, I guess it was a bit of a waste. Wait, are you like, trying to become Hirata-kun's new girlfriend or somethin'?"

I was hoping that she would indicate that she already had lost interest in Kiyotaka.

This was essentially my way of confirming that with her. However, my question fell on deaf ears as she responded with words that came at me like an attack straight out of nowhere.

"For example, maybe you broke up with Hirata-kun 'cause you actually had some other objective in mind?"

Ah, so she was aware of it after all. About the fact that I had fallen in love with Kiyotaka, and that my relationship with him had changed…

"What the─? I don't understand what you're saying at all though?"

To this day, I had been deliberately maintaining the guise of my normal, usual self.

Even if, sooner or later, the day comes when my relationship with Kiyotaka has to be revealed, I had no choice but to turn and run away from her accusation since I had decided to keep it a secret.

No matter what she brought to the table, I was fully prepared to smooth it over before anything got out of hand.

Or, well, I thought I was.

"… Karuizawa-san… Are you dating Ayanokōji-kun or something?"

"Eh…?"

I received an unexpected blow. I didn't have the time to respond to this attack, a strike from behind.

It may have been different if I was dealing with someone else, but in the face of Satō-san, this moment of hesitation was akin to a fatal wound.

She had, as if it was completely natural, seen through my heart.

If she had only asked whether or not I liked him, I definitely would've been able to cover it up.

But her question had gone a level deeper than that.

"…So I was right after all?"

"Eh!? No no no, hold on! What makes you think that!?"

Of course, I denied it. Regardless of whether it meant anything or not, I denied it.

After all, there was simply no way I could admit to it right here, right now.

"With me, that, why…"

My words of denial trailed off as I saw the look in her eyes.

Eyes that seemed like they were about to cry, and yet contained traces of anger at the same time.

And it made sense. After all, she had trusted me enough to reach out and ask about entering into a relationship with Kiyotaka.

And then, I helped her. All while hiding the fact that I was starting to become attracted to Kiyotaka myself. If I were in her shoes, I'd probably want to slap me across the face for going out with Kiyotaka after everything that had happened.

At this point, it didn't matter what I said. She had already convinced herself that she was right.

"Were you already interested in him back when I asked you to help me get closer to him? Did you like him even before that?"

"W-wait, hold on. I…"

I had no choice but to face the brunt of Satō-san's questions.

"I… I said the same thing to Matsushita-san and the others too. I told them that I wondered if the reason you broke up with Hirata-kun was because you liked Ayanokōji-kun. But I'm not just guessing here either, okay? I'm pretty sure about it, so like, that's why I brought this up."

I had already heard that Matsushita-san was suspicious of my relationship with Kiyotaka.

There was nowhere left for me to run now.

"Please just tell me the truth. Otherwise… I don't think I'll be able to think of you as a friend anymore."

Her words were charged with strong emotion.

If anything, she was trying all she could to be my friend, up until the very end.

"Well…"

I simply couldn't turn a blind eye to that serious, earnest look in her eyes.

I didn't know where to start.

No, it'd surely be futile to try and conceal it.

I would tell her everything. Confiding in her was the very least I could do to apologize.

"I… It's just as you've said. I'm dating Ayano… No, I'm dating Kiyotaka."

Satō-san naturally had a very strong reaction upon hearing this.

Even though she had confessed to Kiyotaka and gotten rejected before, she still had lingering feelings for him.

It's only because she and I ended up liking the same person that I could understand how she felt.

"You call him Kiyotaka, huh?"

I wanted to run and hide from her cold gaze, but I couldn't.

"We got together right at the end of spring break. It really hasn't been that long."

"I mostly want to know when you started liking him."

"…I'm not sure exactly when. But, back when you first reached out to me, I had already started to think of Kiyotaka as a member of the opposite sex."

"I see…"

It didn't seem like she was satisfied with my answer.

"You're angry, aren't you?"

Up until just a moment ago, her eyes had been locked with mine, but now she couldn't match my gaze at all.

"What did you expect? You knew about my feelings and yet you went and got closer to him behind my back."

There wasn't anything I could say to refute her.

"Although, he rejected my confession, so… I have no right to be angry or anything. It's just…"

A warm spring breeze gently blew past my face.

Only after a distinct, clear sound rang out did I realize that she had slapped me across my left cheek.

"With that, we're even… alright, Karuizawa-san?"

The fact that she had slapped me went beyond my expectations.

For her, my actions were probably just that unforgivable.

"How about you hit me one more time?"

I decided that I might as well offer her my right cheek too.

After all, even now, the pain she had suffered was still far greater than my own.

"No, That… I don't think I'm brave enough for that… I'm sorry for hitting you…"

"Nope. I'm the one who's sorry. Falling for the same person as you and all…"

"It can't be helped. Ayanokōji-kun's really cool, and he's way better-looking than Hirata-kun."

Before I knew it, I found myself spreading my arms and pulling Satō-san into a tight hug.

"Wha, wait, what are you doing Karuizawa-san!?"

"…I'm so sorry!"

"I-it's fine, really…"

Although I felt overwhelmingly remorseful, I simply couldn't hold back the happiness building within that had compelled me to embrace her.

Two people falling for the same person is difficult. However, it also meant that the both of us understood his charm.

This wasn't the time to decide who won or lost.

After all, I'm sure that the number of people who fall for his charms will only continue to increase moving forward.

And I'll have to fight so that I don't lose to any of them.

If I make light of my position as his girlfriend, I'll surely have the rug swept out from under me.

Satō-san may end up becoming one of my rivals as well.

"Wanna go for some tea together?"

Still locked in my embrace, Satō-san nodded her head, agreeing to my fickle request.

(Chapter 5 End)