Yuki's Confession

The end of the month had finally arrived.

The homeroom teachers of each class entered their respective classrooms carrying the quiz papers. However, the reactions across the classes were completely different.

The students in Class A were not surprised at all. After all, this was a school, and exams were a normal part of life. Most of them had been top students in middle school, and the fact that they hadn't had a single exam in the past month had actually made them a bit uneasy, wondering how their academic progress was holding up.

The students in Class B were quite nervous because they had been informed beforehand that failing the exam would result in expulsion. However, after Hoshinomiya assured them that this was merely a mock exam and there would be no penalties regardless of their scores, everyone finally relaxed.

The students in Class C were generally not cut out for academics and were wailing in misery, feeling as if they had been dragged back to the painful days of middle school. But as soon as they saw Ryuen Kakeru, followed by Albert, Ishizaki, and the others sitting quietly, they had no choice but to calm down and prepare for the exam.

The students in Class D exhibited all the reactions mentioned above, and even added a few of their own.

Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi clutched their heads in their hands, wearing expressions of pure agony. "Ah, Sae-chan, why does this school have to have exams? I just want to graduate peacefully and get my privileges!"

"You've reached high school, don't you have any self-awareness that students are supposed to take exams? Hurry up and get ready, the papers are about to be distributed." Chabashira Sae didn't care in the slightest about the students' disrespect; it had been like this for the entire month.

Even during class, no matter how noisy it was below—with some students openly sleeping, talking loudly, or putting their feet up on their desks—she never intervened.

Everything was for the sake of the day when the results would be announced in a month, to let each class feel the gap between them.

Not yet, I have to hold it in. I can't laugh yet. Just one more day. When the new month starts tomorrow and the results are released, then I can laugh.

"So, I have a feeling that Chabashira-sensei is going to pull something big on Class D tomorrow!" While eating lunch, Tsubaki Yuki kept chattering away as she chewed.

"Are you talking about the quiz results?" Amasawa Yuto asked.

"I finished early and kept observing. Several people were scratching their heads over such simple questions. By the way, wasn't that quiz a bit weird? The last three questions were on a completely different level of difficulty, weren't they?"

The quiz consisted of five subjects with four questions each, totaling twenty questions for a perfect score of one hundred.

Most of the questions were incredibly simple, to the point where Amasawa Yuto knew the answers the moment he finished reading them.

However, the final question for math, science, and liberal arts was clearly not in the same league as the ones before it.

Moreover, the last math question involved solid geometry, which hadn't even been taught yet. Even Amasawa Yuto had to write out the equations to calculate the cosine of the spatial angle.

In short, the nature of these three questions was unclear; they didn't seem like the level of material one could master in a single month of high school.

"Perhaps that's just a characteristic of this school—combining freebie questions with advanced ones."

"What about you, Yuto? Are you aiming for a perfect score again this time?"

"I can't guarantee anything regarding the subjective questions, though."

"That sounds like a declaration of a perfect score already..."

Just then, two girls carrying lunch trays walked past them, eyeing them with curious gazes.

"Come to think of it, I've felt like there have been a lot more eyes on me lately, especially from the girls. Do you know what that's about, Yuki?"

"Ah, that? I think I have an idea. There's been a ranking of the boys going around among the girls recently."

"There's such a thing?"

"It seems like the upperclassmen helped organize it. The first-years just did the voting. It's really just a private activity among the girls."

"So, I'm on this ballot, then?"

"Hehe, Yuto, you're third on the 'Handsome Ranking' and fourth on the 'Mysterious Ranking'!" Tsubaki Yuki tapped away on her phone for a moment before showing the webpage to Amasawa Yuto.

The top five on the Handsome Ranking were Satoshi Satonaka, Yosuke Hirata, Amasawa Yuto, Shirogane Taiga, and Yoshida Kenta.

The top five on the Mysterious Ranking were Satoshi Satonaka, Kanzaki Ryuji, Shirogane Taiga, Amasawa Yuto, and Ryuen Kakeru.

Amasawa Yuto even saw headers that looked terrifying, like "Most Hated Boys Ranking" and "Boys We Most Want to Die Ranking." It was probably better not to click on those.

"It doesn't seem like the boys have anything like this."

"I'm sure they do. It seems like it started with the boys making comments and voting on the girls, and then the upperclassmen girls started a vote on the boys as a countermeasure. It slowly turned into a little tradition among the freshmen."

"At least I didn't receive an invitation to vote."

"You sound like you're being ostracized. Do you even have friends in your class, Yuto?" Yuki shot him a suspicious look.

"I do... I think."

"What's with that hesitation? Go ahead, name them for me."

Arisu Sakayanagi, Satoshi Satonaka... Sakayanagi definitely counted. Satonaka had even told him about the scars on his body, so he should count too. Kamuro probably didn't count, and Hashimoto didn't seem like he did either. Could Morishita count? Though, Morishita was really hard to judge...

In the end, Amasawa Yuto could only name Arisu Sakayanagi and Satoshi Satonaka.

"That's it?"

"I can name two from other classes."

"Me and Ichinose?"

"Yeah."

"Yuto, you..." Yuki gave him a helpless look, as if she were defeated. "You were the one telling me to make more friends when school started, so how is it that you have even fewer friends than I do now?"

"I'm not as good at chatting with people as you are, Yuki."

"Alright, alright, I get it." Yuki pressed her palm against his forehead. "Yuto, you're a good person. If you just open up your social circle and talk to more people, the number of friends around you will definitely increase. Besides, I think that since you're so outstanding, the reason people don't talk to you more might have something to do with me."

"It has to do with you, Yuki?"

"Right? To outsiders, don't we look just like a couple? Those two girls from Class C who just passed by probably thought the same thing."

"Now that you mention it, having a partner does make it harder for people around you to approach. They'd think, 'Ah, would it be rude of me to interrupt their time together?'"

"Exactly, right? It's fine among girls, and I don't really care anyway... but I do get asked often if Yuto and I are a couple."

"It's better to clarify things. After all, we aren't boyfriend and girlfriend."

Yuki didn't answer. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and stared at him, looking somewhat annoyed. "Didn't I say I—don't—care?"

Amasawa Yuto held her gaze, not backing down. Five seconds passed before Yuki finally looked away, her mood dampening. "Sorry, I must be causing you trouble..."

"Do you like me, Yuki?"

"Eh? Like is..." Yuki looked flustered.

But Yuto didn't want to let this opportunity slip. The root of Yuki's depression still hadn't surfaced, and her current emotional volatility was the perfect chance to peer into her inner world.

Yuki stood frozen, her eyes slowly refocusing from a vacant stare. She gave a small nod, tucking her petite chin into her collar like a seashell about to close.

"I... I think I do..."

Her voice was muffled by her collar, sounding like raindrops falling from the eaves.

"I like Yuto."