Yuki's Confession

The end of the month had finally arrived.

The homeroom teachers of each class entered their classrooms carrying the quiz papers. But the classes reacted in completely different ways.

The students in Class A weren't surprised at all. After all, they were at school, and exams were perfectly normal. Most of them had been good students back in middle school, too. They hadn't even had a single test this whole month, which made them feel a little uneasy. They weren't sure how well they'd learned the material.

The students in Class B were more nervous because they'd been told that failing the exam would get them expelled. But after Hoshinomiya-sensei assured them that this was only a mock exam and there'd be no punishment no matter how they did, they finally relaxed.

Most of the students in Class C weren't cut out for studying, and they complained bitterly, feeling as if they'd been dragged back to the miserable days of middle school. But when they saw Albert, Ishizaki, and the others sitting quietly, with Ryuen Kakeru at their head, they had no choice but to calm down and prepare for the exam.

The students in Class D showed all the reactions of the other three classes, and even added a few of their own.

Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi clutched their heads, their faces twisted in agony. "Ugh, Sae, why does this school still make us take exams? I just want to graduate in peace and get the privileges!"

"You're both in high school. Shouldn't you know by now that students have to take exams? Hurry up and get ready. I'm about to hand out the papers." Chabashira Sae didn't care in the slightest that her students were being disrespectful. They'd been like this all month.

It was the same during class. No matter how noisy the students got—some even slept openly in class, talked loudly, or put their feet up on their desks—she never did anything about it.

Everything was for the day, a month later, when the results were announced and each class could feel the gap between them.

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

"So, like, I just have this feeling that Chabashira-sensei is going to pull something big on Class D tomorrow!" At lunch, Tsubaki Yuki kept chattering away, her little mouth moving as she chewed.

"You mean the quiz results?" Amasawa Yuto asked.

"I finished early and spent the rest of the time watching everyone. Several people were scratching their heads over questions that were that easy. Come to think of it, wasn't the quiz kind of weird? The last three questions were on a completely different level, weren't they?"

The quiz had four questions in each of five subjects, for a total of twenty questions and a perfect score of one hundred.

Most of the questions were incredibly easy. Amasawa Yuto could figure out the answer the moment he finished reading each one.

But the final questions in math, science, and humanities were clearly on a completely different level from the rest.

And they hadn't even covered solid geometry in math yet, had they? Even Amasawa Yuto had to set up the equations to calculate the cosine of the angle between the lines in space.

In short, it wasn't clear what these three questions were testing. They didn't seem like the sort of thing students could handle after just one month of high school.

"Maybe that's just how this school does things. They mix easy points with questions designed to push you."

"What do you think, Yuto? Were you aiming for a perfect score again this time?"

"I can't guarantee that for the subjective questions."

"That sounds like you're already declaring you'll get a perfect score..."

Just then, two girls carrying lunch trays walked past them, seemingly looking at them with curious eyes.

"Speaking of which, I feel like I've been getting a lot more attention lately, especially from girls. Do you know why, Yuki?"

"Oh, that? I think I know. There's recently been a ranking of the boys going around among the girls."

"There's something like that?"

"I think some upperclassmen put it together. The first-years just vote and choose the rankings. It's just a private activity among the girls."

"So I'm on this list?"

"Hehe, you're third on the Handsome Ranking, Yuto, and fourth on the Mysterious Ranking!" Tsubaki Yuki fiddled with her phone for a bit, then showed Amasawa Yuto the webpage.

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 spotted headings like "Most Hated Boy Ranking" and "Boy You Most Want to Die Ranking." They looked terrifying, so he decided not to click on them.

"It seems like the boys don't have any votes like this."

"They probably do. I think it started with the boys voting on and judging the girls, and then the upperclassmen came up with a ranking of the boys as a counterattack. Little by little, it became a new tradition among the first-years."

"At least I haven't received an invitation to vote."

"That makes it sound like you've been left out, Yuto. Do you have any friends in your class?" Yuki gave him a doubtful look.

"I do... I think."

"What's with that hesitation? Then name them. I want to hear."

"Sakayanagi Arisu, Satoshi Satonaka..." Sakayanagi definitely counted. Satonaka had even told him about the scars on his body, so he probably counted too. Kamuro might not count. Hashimoto probably didn't count either. Did Morishita count? But Morishita was really hard to read...

In the end, Amasawa Yuto only named Sakayanagi and Satonaka.

"That's it?"

"I can name two people from other classes, too."

"Me and Ichinose?"

"Yeah."

"Yuto..." Yuki gave him a helpless look, as if she'd been defeated. "You were telling me to make more friends when school started. How come you have fewer friends than I do now?"

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

"Okay, I get it." Yuki put her palm against his forehead. "Yuto's a good person. Once you open up and talk to more people, you'll definitely make more friends. Also, I think you're so outstanding that maybe people don't talk to you much because of me."

"Because of you, Yuki?"

"Yeah. To other people, don't we look like a couple? I bet those two girls from Class C who just walked by think so, too."

"Now that you mention it, having a partner can make people hesitate to approach you. They might think, 'Oh, if I go over there, will I be interrupting them and their partner?'"

"Right, right? It's not a big deal between girls, and I don't mind anyway... But I do get asked a lot whether Yuto and I are dating."

"Then it's probably better to clear things up. We're not boyfriend and girlfriend, after all."

Yuki didn't answer. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and stared at him, looking a little angry. "Didn't I say I—don't—mind?"

Amasawa Yuto met her gaze without looking away. Five seconds passed, and Yuki was the first to avert her eyes. Her mood dipped. "Sorry. I must be causing trouble for you..."

"Do you like me, Yuki?"

"Huh? Like, as in..." Yuki looked flustered.

But Yuto didn't want to miss this chance. The root of Yuki's depression still hadn't shown itself. Her emotions were intense right now, making this a chance to glimpse into her inner world.

Yuki froze in place. Her eyes slowly refocused, and then she gave a small nod, tucking her delicate chin into her collar like a shell about to close.

"I... I think I do like you..."

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

"I like you, Yuto."