Monday, December 18th, the first week after the exams ended.
Although the school staff had finished grading the final exams over the weekend, the test papers and individual report cards wouldn't be handed out until the afternoon. Even Shido himself didn't know how he did yet.
However, aside from that, there was another way to find out their grades. That was the bulletin board in the first floor lobby, where the school posted the rankings of the top 100 students based on their total scores.
Unable to contain his impatience, Shido took advantage of the lunch break to head to the first floor lobby of the teaching building.
Of course, what he cared about wasn't his own score, but Tohka's.
"Yutsuki, Yuzuru, and Kaguya."
Among the students gathered in the lobby, Shido ran into Yutsuki and the Yamai sisters from Class 3.
"Yo, you're here too, Shido."
Seeing Shido, Yutsuki waved at him.
"Mhm, I couldn't wait any longer, so I ca down. Are you guys here to check your grades too?"
Walking over to the three of them, Shido asked curiously.
"Kuku—That is natural. After all, I resisted various temptations from the Demon Realm to fight this battle. Naturally, I want to know my battle record as soon as possible."
After answering Shido's question, Kaguya put her hands on her hips and proudly lifted her chin. She was clearly quite satisfied with her results this ti.
"Kuku—But I will not stop here. One day, I will reign at the top and look down on everyone!"
Looking at Kaguya laughing with her head thrown back, drawing the attention of the crowd, Yutsuki seed to feel a bit second-hand embarrassnt. She turned her head away and said helplessly.
"Well, I'm fine as long as I pass. I was just dragged here by Kaguya."
"Question. Did Shido co alone? Where are Master Origami and Tohka?"
Seeing Itsuka Shido all alone, Yuzuru tilted her head in confusion. After all, in her mory, Origami and Tohka were basically stuck to each other every single mont at school.
"Ah, those two are resting in the classroom right now."
Shido explained with a bitter smile.
It was due to the intense rebound from pulling consecutive all-nighters. As soon as the exams ended on Friday, Tohka went ho, refused to eat dinner, and went straight to bed, sleeping like a log. And she slept for a full day and a half.
Honestly, Shido was so worried this past weekend that he almost asked the Kotori to send soone over to check on her. It wasn't until yesterday afternoon, when Tohka walked into his house looking sleepy, mumbling "I'm hungry," and ate five tis her normal amount of food, that Shido finally felt relieved.
Origami's situation was similar. Although not as severe as Tohka's, she was clearly exhausted from tutoring Tohka all night. When saying goodbye, she rarely didn't tease Shido. When they t this morning, she also looked like she wasn't in her best shape.
"Well, that's normal. Those two worked the hardest before the exams, after all."
Yutsuki nodded in understanding.
"Yutsuki, do you know Tohka's score?"
"I don't. We just got here too. Only Kaguya has looked at her score so far."
"I see..."
Hearing Yutsuki's answer, Shido turned his gaze to the bulletin board on the wall, planning to look for Tohka's na.
(Yatogami... Yatogami...)
Quickly scanning the surnas on the bulletin board, Shido was disappointed to find that Tohka's na was not among the top 100.
"How is it? Is Tohka's na there?"
Yutsuki asked. Even without asking, she knew what Shido was looking for.
"No..."
Shido slumped his shoulders in disappointnt.
"Well, she just didn't make it into the top 100, it doesn't an she failed. There's no need to be so disappointed."
"That's true, but making it into the top 100 basically guarantees a passing grade... Not knowing the results right now makes incredibly nervous."
"Your anxiety here won't change Tohka's grades." Patting Shido's shoulder, Yutsuki smiled and comforted him.
"Believe in Tohka. Everyone has done their best. The rest is up to fate."
"Mhm... I understand."
Taking a soft breath, Shido adjusted his mood and nodded.
Just then, Shido suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw it was a ssage from Reine.
[It's out... Tohka's grades are out... I put all her subject report cards... in the attachnt...]
(Tohka's grades?!)
Shido widened his eyes in surprise and quickly scrolled down his screen, finding the attachnt Reine ntioned at the bottom of the ssage.
(I feel more nervous than looking at my own scores.)
Shido gulped. After preparing himself ntally, he opened the attachnt. Inside was a report card listing Tohka's grades in five subjects, her total score, and her ranking. As if knowing Shido's impatience at the mont, Reine thoughtfully marked the passing score next to each subject.
Year 2 Class 4, Yatogami Tohka:
Math: 39 points, passing score 35.3 points.
English: 42 points, passing score 36.4 points.
Japanese: 48 points, passing score 37.7 points.
Social Studies: 40 points, passing score 35.6 points.
Science: 34 points, passing score 34.4 points.
Total score: 203 points. Ranking: 126th -> 142nd.
(They're not... all passing.)
Shido's heart instantly sank.
If you just looked at the surface, others might think Tohka took a step backward. But Shido knew exactly how much effort Tohka put into getting these scores. For soone who originally had zero high school knowledge, this was already an incredible improvent.
(But... it was just a little bit short.)
Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, Shido looked again. However, that re 0.4-point gap in Science still made Shido bite his lip in frustration.
"Hm? What is wrong, my property? Such a disappointed expression?"
"Doubt. Are the results not ideal?"
Seeing Shido's depressed state, Yuzuru and Kaguya asked in confusion.
"Could it be... you're looking at Tohka's grades?"
Seemingly knowing sothing, Yutsuki frowned.
"Mhm... She failed Science."
"No way... Let see."
Taking Shido's phone, Yutsuki glanced doubtfully at its contents, then suddenly relaxed her shoulders and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew... What are you talking about? Didn't she pass all of them? You almost scared to death, Shido."
"Eh?"
Hearing Yutsuki's words, Shido widened his eyes in surprise.
"But, but, isn't Tohka's Science score 0.4 points below the passing line?"
"Co on, Shido. Don't you even know how our school calculates the passing score?"
Returning the phone to Shido, Yutsuki explained helplessly.
"Raizen High School's passing score is set at half the grade average for that subject. But if there's a decimal, they round to the nearest whole number. Even though it says the passing score for Science is 34.4 here, 34 points is considered passing."
"Uh..." A drop of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. Shido asked awkwardly, "So theoretically, Tohka passed?"
Yutsuki nodded silently.
"If you don't believe , you can check with your horoom teacher, Tama-chan sensei. By the way, I already asked her."
"Hahaha..."
Shido couldn't help but let out a few dry laughs. After a long while, he leaned against the wall, drained of all his strength.
"—You scared to death!"
"Kuku—A false alarm. How embarrassing, my property, to lose your composure over such a trivial matter."
"Mockery. This is what they call scaring yourself."
"Ah—I can't argue with that."
To Kaguya and Yuzuru's harsh roasting, Shido replied with a bitter smile.
"Alright, Tohka passed. You should also care about your own grades. If you end up failing instead, that would be truly embarrassing."
Yutsuki said with a smile.
"Mhm, that's true."
After his mood settled down, Shido nodded and once again turned his gaze to the bulletin board on the wall. Soon, he found his na in the middle.
(72nd, not bad.)
Shido breathed a sigh of relief, feeling satisfied.
In the last grade-wide exam, Shido ranked 97th, barely making it onto the list. Perhaps because he reviewed seriously this ti, his ranking went up quite a bit. Considering there were over 180 students in the second year, it was a pretty good result.
What about the others' grades? With so curiosity, Shido started looking for the other nas.
(Kaguya is 81st. I rember she was around 110th last ti. Yuzuru... went from the top 60s to 49th. She's surprisingly good at studying. Yutsuki was in the 40s last ti, this ti... Eh?)
Looking forward in the rankings, to Shido's surprise, he didn't see Yutsuki's na.
"Yutsuki, what was your score this ti? How co I don't see your na?"
"Ah..."
Hearing Shido's question, Yutsuki awkwardly scratched her cheek.
"If you want to find , you'll be faster counting from the back."
"From the back...!?"
Following Yutsuki's advice, he recounted. Soon, he found Yutsuki's na.
Ryougi Yutsuki, grade ranking 94th.
And not only that. Continuing to look forward from Yutsuki's na, Shido found another familiar na.
A na that should originally be first in the grade.
Tobiichi Origami, grade ranking 90th.
For a mont, Shido couldn't believe it. But the next instant, he felt like he understood the reason.
(The passing line is half the grade average. If she wanted to help Tohka without faking her own scores... then she had to lower the total score...)
"Yutsuki, don't tell you..."
"Haha... I accidentally got the order of steps wrong for a section of the problem-solving questions. How embarrassing."
Before Shido could finish, Yutsuki spoke with a depressed face.
Shido was instantly speechless. It was obvious that Yutsuki didn't want people to know her true purpose for doing this, so he could only keep quiet.
However—
"My comrade! You kept your solo actions from again! If you wanted to help my kin, you should have just said so, and I would have definitely helped!!"
"Angry. Yuzuru will not forgive you so easily this ti!"
Seemingly seeing through Yutsuki's intention, the Yamai sisters glared at Yutsuki angrily.
"Eh? What are you talking about— Ow, ow, ow! I was wrong! Consider wrong! I apologize!"
Just like that, with Yuzuru and Kaguya pinching Yutsuki's cheeks from the left and right, she had no choice but to honestly confess everything.
—————————
"Hah..."
Looking at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, Tobiichi Origami let out a depressed sigh.
"Hm? What's wrong, Origami?"
From a seat not far next to her, Tohka asked curiously.
"Mhm... I'm just a bit depressed. I feel like I'll be called in by the teacher for a lecture this afternoon. I didn't do very well on this exam."
Origami answered with a bitter smile. Throughout the exams, looking at questions she could almost recite backwards, Origami's heart was filled with a deep sense of guilt. She casually filled out half and then handed in the paper directly.
(Whatever... This way the average score will drop, and Tohka's chances of passing will be a little higher.)
Origami comforted herself in her heart.
"Sorry... It's all because you were tutoring , leaving you no ti to study yourself."
Realizing that she was the reason Origami's grades dropped, Tohka lowered her head in sha.
Origami quickly waved her hand and explained.
"It's fine, it's fine. It's not like I absolutely have to be first place anyway. Even if my grades drop a bit, I'll still pass. So Tohka, you don't need to mind."
"I see, that's good then."
Hearing that Origami wouldn't have to retake the exams because of her, Tohka instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
"By the way, Tohka, how did you do on the exams this ti? Do you feel like you passed?"
"Ugh... I'm not really sure, but I should be okay." Tohka rub her neck in confusion and said uncertainly. "But during the last exam, I was really too sleepy... I think I filled it out in a daze... but I don't have much mory of it..."
"Ah, Science. That can't be helped. After all, you hadn't slept for six days by then."
Origami sighed helplessly. If she had let Tohka get so good rest before the exam, this wouldn't have happened.
Watching Tohka fidget anxiously, Origami could only silently pray in her heart that Tohka would pass safely.
"But talking about it now won't help. Let's just wait honestly for the results to be announced."
"Okay..."
"Tohka!"
Right at this mont, Shido suddenly returned to the classroom. Seeing Shido calling her, Tohka imdiately stood up from her seat, ran to Shido's side, and looked at him nervously.
"Shido! How is it? Did I pass? Do I have to co to school for redial classes?"
"Mhm, you passed! You worked really hard, Tohka!"
Seeing Shido nod, Tohka couldn't help but throw her arms open and cheer.
"That's great! I passed!"
"Congratulations, Tohka."
Hearing the news that Tohka passed, the heavy stone hanging in Origami's heart finally fell, and she congratulated Tohka.
"Mhm! Thank you, Origami! It's all thanks to your help!"
Nodding happily, Tohka hugged Origami and said gratefully.
"No need to thank . You worked very hard too, Tohka."
"Umu!"
(Before I knew it, their relationship got this good?)
Watching Origami and Tohka, Shido felt a little surprised. When he and Yutsuki arranged them together back then, they just hoped they could nd their relationship a bit. This could be considered achieving their goal.
"Alright! The exams are finally over, let's relax properly tonight! Tohka, just na whatever you want to eat tonight, and I will make it for you!"
"Really? Can I have grilled at then?!"
Hearing this, Tohka's eyes instantly lit up.
"No problem! This is the reward for Tohka's hard work. I will give it 120% effort, so look forward to it!"
Gently stroking Tohka's head, Shido said generously.
"Umu!"
Tohka showed a happy smile.
(—————!)
Watching Shido and Tohka's intimate interaction, for so reason, an abnormal feeling suddenly surged in Origami's heart.
(Is, is it happening again?!)
Guessing what was about to happen next, Origami hurriedly grabbed her restless right hand, while muttering in her heart.
(Stop, stop, stop... It's rare for Tohka to be this happy... Let's just let it go this ti... Enduring it once in a while isn't a bad thing, right...)
(...)
After a mont of silent pause, the other self in Origami's heart replied like this.
(Naive.)
"Yatogami Tohka."
"Hm?"
Hearing Origami call her na, Tohka turned her head in confusion.
Staring calmly into Tohka's eyes, Origami said with a straight face.
"Have you forgotten? If you successfully pass your exams, there is sothing you must do?"
"Sothing I must do..." Tohka first frowned in confusion, then clapped her hands together in sudden realization. "Ah, right! I almost forgot,Shido!"
"?"
Under Shido's completely confused gaze, Tohka first perford more than thirty continuous jump squats in front of him, then circled Shido to the left three tis, turned right three tis, and finally did a backflip, landing smoothly.
"—Ooh! Yatogami-san is amazing!"
Although they didn't know what was going on, it didn't stop their classmates from applauding Tohka.
"Umu! Just one more step."
After finishing this routine, Tohka nodded in satisfaction, turned around, and prepared to leave the classroom.
"Wait! Where are you going, Tohka?"
Vaguely sensing sothing was wrong, Yutsuki hurriedly stopped Tohka and asked.
"The ritual to maintain my intelligence. Origami said that after the exams are over, I must do thirty jump squats in front of Shido, then circle him clockwise and counter-clockwise three tis each, do another backflip, and finally jump into the outdoor pool shouting 'I am no longer an idiot! Thank you for your help, God!' Otherwise, I will revert to how I was."
"..."
Speechlessly glancing at Origami, Yutsuki sighed and explained earnestly.
"Tohka... I can tell you very responsibly, this spell Origami taught you was completely her ssing with you."
"Wh—" Tohka first widened her eyes in shock, then glared angrily at Origami. "You actually lied to ! Tobiichi Origami!"
"Hmph, to actually believe such a lie proves you are still an idiot. Yatogami Tohka."
Origami glanced at Tohka, replied faintly, and then untied Shido's tie and unbuttoned his uniform, exposing his chest and navel.
"Eh?!! What are you doing, Origami?"
A half-beat later, Shido finally reacted to the fact that Origami was undressing him, and hurriedly covered his chest with his hands.
"According to our agreed-upon reward, I will first collect one piece of Shido's worn clothing."
Explaining calmly to Shido, Origami's hands didn't stop for a mont. In the blink of an eye, she pulled off the belt on Shido's pants.
Licking her lips, Origami's breathing gradually beca hot.
"No problem, Shido, I will take care of this very gently."
"Everything from start to finish is a problem!"
"Hurry up and get away from Shido! Tobiichi Origami!"
"Don't keep interfering with ! Yatogami Tohka!"
(Mhm... Does this count as their relationship improving?)
Looking at the still chaotic Year 2 Class 4 before her, Yutsuki couldn't help but tilt her head in deep thought.
(Whatever, it doesn't concern anyway.)
But soon, she gave up on thinking about it.
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