Late at night. anwhile, in another dormitory building.
Yamauchi Haruki lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His eyes were hollow, and his hands gripped the bedsheets so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms.
"Katsuragi Keima..." he muttered. His voice was hoarse and low.
"Kiryuin Fuuka..."
"..."
He closed his eyes. In his mind, the scene from earlier played on a loop—the way he had staggered back from a re light push by Kiryuin Fuuka. At this mont, Yamauchi felt a profound sense of despair.
Just a while ago, Yamauchi had sent a barrage of ssages to Sakayanagi Arisu. First, he pleaded, even begged her to help him so he wouldn't be expelled. But Sakayanagi had not replied at all. This caused Yamauchi to completely break down, and he sent her a string of insults. Still, there was no response.
Finally, Yamauchi chose to call her. He thought she would hang up, but to his surprise, Sakayanagi actually answered this ti. The mont the call connected, Yamauchi—who had just been frantically cursing her—instantly changed his face and begged for help.
However, Sakayanagi replied with a single sentence that plunged him into total despair.
"I know exactly what you just tried to do to Katsuragi-kun, you know? With you acting like that, do you really think you're in a position to negotiate with ?"
Her words were incredibly cold, making Yamauchi's breath nearly stop. He didn't know that Sakayanagi had actually sent Kamuro Masumi to follow Katsuragi Keima. Even if Kiryuin Fuuka hadn't intervened, Kamuro would have stepped in.
The call ended, followed imdiately by a ssage from Sakayanagi:
[Sakayanagi Arisu: Goodnight, Yamauchi-kun. Have sweet dreams~]
It was followed by a smiling emoji. That expression, under the cold light of the phone screen, looked exceptionally piercing.
"The teacher's 'expulsion for failing' must be a joke... she's definitely just trying to scare us..."
He rembered what Chabashira Sae had said at the start of the term—if anyone failed a midterm or final, they would be unconditionally expelled. But how could that be true? How could a school like this expel a student just for failing one exam? It had to be a scare tactic. It had to be!
He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.
"It's fine... even if I did poorly, at worst there's a makeup exam... it'll be fine as long as I pass the makeup..."
He comforted himself this way. But another voice in his head said: How many points did you actually get this ti?
Japanese: all guesses. Math: didn't write a single major problem. English: couldn't understand the reading comprehension at all. Physics, Chemistry, Biology: don't even ntion those...
"SHUT UP!!"
He sat up abruptly, grabbed his pillow, and hurled it violently against the wall. The pillow landed softly on the floor, lacking any lethality. He gasped for air, staring at it.
"It's fine... it's fine..." He repeated it over and over, as if trying to convince himself.
Current Yamauchi was filled with regret. If he hadn't spent all his ti talking trash about Katsuragi Keima behind his back, things might not have turned out this way. If he hadn't been selfish and hidden the matter regarding Sakayanagi, things wouldn't be like this. Only regret remained in his heart.
-
-
-
The next day. Sunlight poured through the windows, falling on everyone. Karuizawa Kei entered the room grumbling, "I'm exhausted, I'm exhausted," before plopping into her seat.
Sato Maya walked up from behind and threw an arm around Kei's shoulder. "Kei, did you see those videos in the group chat last night?"
Kei's expression stiffened. She knew exactly which videos Sato was talking about. Yesterday, Yamauchi's total lack of regard for his image while causing trouble for Keima had been witnessed by many. So had fild it and posted it on the forums.
This was actually Kamuro Masumi's doing, following Sakayanagi's arrangents. It made Kei feel even more disgusted by Yamauchi's stupidity. Moreover, with that video, regardless of whether there was official surveillance, if Yamauchi had actually struck Keima, he would have been expelled early.
"..."
"That Yamauchi is seriously insane, isn't he?"
"Who knows..."
Sato Maya lowered her voice. "Do you think Keima will be okay?"
Kei glanced at Katsuragi Keima in the corner. He still had his head down playing a ga, as if nothing had happened.
"What could possibly happen to him?" Kei pouted. "Didn't you see that Kiryuin-senpai in the video? She caught Yamauchi in an instant, like catching a chick."
"Right, right!" Sato Maya's eyes sparkled. "I have to say, Kiryuin-senpai is so cool! And she seems really close with Keima! They aren't secretly dating, are they?"
Kei's eyes flickered subtly. "What does their closeness have to do with ... and those two definitely aren't dating!"
"Then that's great! Doesn't that an I have a chance?"
"Why are you always obsessing over this, seriously!" Kei felt uncomfortable and forced a change of subject.
Sakura Airi watched from the side and couldn't help but smile. But in her heart, she was also thinking about those videos from last night. Kiryuin Fuuka—that senior had helped Keima-kun again. What was her relationship with him? Airi didn't know. She only knew her heart felt a little sour.
Even though Airi felt Kiryuin wasn't a bad person—she seed much easier to get along with than expected back at the ga center—she still felt uneasy.
Kushida Kikyo sat nearby, appearing to listen to Kei and the others. Her gaze was on Keima in the corner. He was still playing his ga.
"Kikyo?" Sato Maya's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Mm?"
"You look like you're spacing out."
"N-no, it's nothing." Kushida quickly forced a smile.
Horikita Suzune sat in the front row, flipping through her textbook expressionlessly. But she occasionally looked back at Keima. She had heard about last night. Yamauchi tried to get physical and was stopped by Kiryuin Fuuka. She didn't know what role Sakayanagi played in this, but she knew it wasn't simple.
She closed her book, stood up, and walked to Keima.
Keima looked up. "Mm?"
"..."
Horikita turned and went back to her seat. Keima watched her back, pushed up his glasses, and went back to his ga.
On the other side, Kei and the others had moved their conversation to the exam. Kei tapped her desk incessantly, muttering, "Amitabha, Amitabha... please pass, please pass..."
Airi said softly, "Kei-chan, you've been chanting for a minute..."
"Because I'm nervous!"
"B-but you did great last ti..."
"Last ti was last ti! This ti is this ti!"
Sato Maya laughed. "Kei, you're so cute like this~"
"Cute my foot! You're nervous too, right?"
"Oh?" Sato Maya thought for a bit. "I think I'm okay? Anyway, I rembered everything Keima explained, so it should be fine."
Kei pouted and glanced at Keima again. He was still playing, as if today wasn't the day the results were announced, but just any other day.
"He's not nervous at all..."
Because of the results, the classroom was filled with a thick atmosphere of tension. Only Keima's corner was a peaceful island. anwhile, Yamauchi sat alone in the corner; even Ike and Sudou, who were previously his best friends, ignored him.
After all, Yamauchi had been worried their grades would exceed his, so he had deliberately kept the exam question matter a secret. While this indirectly saved the two of them, it had created a crack in their friendship.
Just then, the door was pushed open. Chabashira Sae walked in carrying a stack of papers. The room went silent instantly—so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Chabashira walked to the podium, set the papers down, and scanned the class.
"The results are out." She paused. "First, congratulations to most of you. There has been a significant improvent in the exam scores."
Kei breathed a sigh of relief.
"Particularly so students whose grades weren't ideal before; you've made great progress."
Airi's eyes lit up.
"However—" Chabashira's tone suddenly turned cold. "There is one person who has disappointed greatly."
Whispers broke out. Who? Who is it? Although they were whispering, everyone could guess who it was. Chabashira's gaze slowly swept across the room and finally landed on Yamauchi Haruki's seat in the corner.
The class realized then that he looked even more terrible than last night—his eyes were sunken and bloodshot, his hair was a bird's nest, and his uniform was crumpled. He gave off a vibe of total decay. He clearly hadn't slept all night.
Yamauchi looked toward Keima. That look was filled with hatred. Keima didn't even look up; he continued playing. This feeling of being ignored made Yamauchi's hands shake.
Chabashira picked up the papers again. "I will now announce the results."
She began reading nas and scores.
"First place, Katsuragi Keima."
There was no change in Keima's expression; he didn't even lift his head. This ti, no one in the class even gasped. They were used to it. Katsuragi Keima was always first.
Chabashira continued. "Horikita Suzune, second."
Horikita pursed her lips. she was perpetually dissatisfied with this result, but she had no choice. Across all subjects, she had only lost two points. Keima had a perfect score, so Horikita appeared to be only two points lower. However, Horikita knew Keima only got a perfect score because the paper only had that many points to give.
Chabashira kept reading. Na after na, score after score.
"...Hirata Yousuke, fifth." "...Kushida Kikyo, seventh." Kushida maintained her smile. "Karuizawa Kei, eleventh."
Kei bolted upright. "Eleventh?! I'm eleventh?!"
"Sit down."
"Oh, right!" She sat down quickly, her face blooming into a smile.
"Sakura Airi, twelfth." Airi covered her mouth, her eyes almost turning red. "I... I..."
"Sato Maya, fifteenth." Sato pumped a fist. "Yes!"
"Hasabe Haruka, sixteenth."
Everyone in Katsuragi Keima's study group was in the top 50% of the class, almost in the top third. Except for Elsie, of course. But she had still improved; as long as she wasn't in the bottom five—this ti, she was sixth from the bottom. But she passed.
In this exam, almost everyone passed, and the grades were quite good. Ike Kanji and Sudo Ken also scraped by with passing marks. After all, Horikita's initial tutoring had worked, and she had helped them a bit afterward as well.
The classroom was filled with a joyous atmosphere. But Yamauchi's face grew whiter by the second. Because so far, his na had not been called.
Finally, Chabashira finished reading the last passing student's na. She put down the list and looked at Yamauchi Haruki.
"Yamauchi Haruki."
Yamauchi shuddered. "..."
Chabashira paused, her tone turning ice-cold. "You failed every subject. Your average score is 9." She looked at him. "Yamauchi Haruki, is there anything you'd like to say?"
Yamauchi opened his mouth, but no sound ca out. His face was pale, his lips trembled, and he looked as if his strength had been drained.
"..." he muttered. "Impossible... impossible..."
Chabashira sighed. "Yamauchi Haruki, you should rember what I said at the beginning of the school year."
Yamauchi's pupils constricted.
"Starting from the midterms, anyone who fails a formal exam will be unconditionally expelled."
"No!" Yamauchi bolted up, his chair clattering to the floor. "This isn't true! There must be a mistake! How could I score so poorly?!"
His own voice sounded weak. During the exam, he already knew how he was doing. Because he relied on Sakayanagi's answers, Yamauchi hadn't studied at all from start to finish.
Chabashira looked at him, her eyes devoid of sympathy. "The papers are right here. See for yourself." She threw a stack of papers onto his desk.
Yamauchi tremblingly picked them up. There were only a few ssy marks on the multiple-choice bubbles.
"..." His hands shook. "I clearly... I clearly morized the answers..."
The mont the words left his mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. The room went silent instantly. Everyone stared at him.
Chabashira's eyes turned cold. "You morized the answers? What answers?"
Yamauchi's face went from pale to ashen. "I-I an... I morized... morized the knowledge points..."
"Is that so?" Chabashira sneered. "Then why don't you tell us—which knowledge points did you morize?"
Yamauchi was speechless. Because he hadn't morized a single thing.
Read ahead and finish this fanfictionby supporting on buyacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting
User Comments
0 comments from readers