As soon as the bell rang, Hirata started pacing around the classroom with a seating chart in hand, wearing his trademark gentle smile. "Everyone, just wait a moment. I've rearranged the seats so that students who get along can sit together. That should make it easier to discuss the questions."
Shangguan Che leaned against a desk with his arms crossed, watching Hirata bustle about and secretly laughing to himself. This guy really knows how to keep the class atmosphere under control.
Once everyone had settled into their new seats, two students he didn't know very well were sitting next to him. One wore black-rimmed glasses and looked rather shy, while the other was the impeccably dressed Karuizawa Kei.
"Hello, I'm Shangguan Che," he said first. After all, a month had passed, and he still hadn't learned all forty students' names. It would be too awkward if he couldn't remember someone's name during the discussion later.
"My name is Sotomura Hideo," the boy with glasses said, bowing his head slightly. His manner of speaking had an old-fashioned lilt to it.
Shangguan Che nearly burst out laughing. "My name"? Was he pretending to be in some period drama? Could he be a secret chūnibyō?
"Karuizawa." Karuizawa Kei gave only her surname, lightly tapping her textbook with her fingertips, though her eyes kept wandering toward Hirata nearby.
Shangguan Che cleared his throat and brought them back to the matter at hand. "I've looked over our scores on the quiz. My plan is to focus on your weak subjects first, then review everything overall. If anyone in our class fails, they could be expelled, so we should avoid that if we can."
He wasn't bragging. Even though he wasn't exactly top of the class in Japanese or Japanese history, he'd scored over seventy in both, so he was in no danger of failing.
"Do you have any questions?" He looked at the two of them.
"I have no questions," Sotomura said at once, nodding, though his voice was a little soft.
Karuizawa Kei raised an eyebrow. "As long as I can pass, I'm fine with it."
"Okay, then let's start with the subjects you might fail." Shangguan Che took out his notebook, ready to write things down.
"I... I..." Sotomura suddenly started sweating, his eyes darting toward Karuizawa Kei from time to time.
Shangguan Che immediately understood. The guy was afraid of Karuizawa Kei. Her "gal" aura really was a little intimidating.
He'd just promised Hirata he'd help solve the class's problems, and he didn't want to ask Hirata to switch group members right at the start. So he patiently reassured him. "Sotomura, take your time. Don't be nervous. I'll help you."
"Thank you, Shangguan. I need help with every subject except Japanese and Japanese history." Sotomura's face turned bright red as soon as he finished speaking.
"It's fine, no big deal." Shangguan Che answered casually, though he wondered to himself: The subjects Sotomura didn't need help with were exactly the ones Shangguan Che wasn't familiar with. Could Hirata have arranged it that way on purpose?
He had no idea that Chabashira Sae had given Hirata a detailed breakdown of everyone's quiz results in each subject, and Hirata had grouped them according to their individual needs.
"What about you, Karuizawa?" He turned to the other side.
"I'm not very good at science." As Karuizawa Kei spoke, she took her math and physics textbooks out of her schoolbag and spread them across the desk.
"I see. Then let's start working on some problems. That'll help me figure out what you haven't quite grasped yet. Does that sound okay?" Shangguan Che suggested.
"Sure," they both answered in unison.
Shangguan Che didn't have any special teaching methods. He could only borrow the approach he'd used with Sakura Airi before: start with some problems to identify gaps, then explain those topics in detail.
There was no helping it. As a student himself, this was the only method he knew.
Shangguan Che glanced around the classroom. Sakura Airi was sitting quietly in a corner, working through problems by herself. She didn't need anyone's help or bother anyone else, completely absorbed in her own studies.
Ayanokoji had come too, and was sitting beside Horikita. From the looks of it, he was there to be tutored.
Shangguan Che nearly dropped his jaw. Horikita was actually willing to tutor someone? What an interesting pair.
In all of Class D, only Kōenji Rokusuke hadn't come to the study session. But given his abilities, he didn't need any help.
With nothing else to do, Shangguan Che's gaze drifted toward Hirata, and he teased himself silently: This is a real "three heroes fighting Lu Bu" spectacle.
Hirata was patiently explaining a math problem to Yamauchi, working through calculations on a sheet of scrap paper. Ike was sprawled across his desk, but his eyes were glued to Kushida, who was tutoring someone nearby; he had no interest in doing problems at all. Sudo was worse still. He'd stared at the question for ages without writing a single word in his notebook, his brows furrowed so deeply they looked like they could crush a fly.
Shangguan Che turned his attention back to the two students he was responsible for, afraid they might get distracted.
Luckily, Sotomura was bent over his work, solving problems earnestly, while Karuizawa Kei was also writing and scribbling on her scratch paper. They both seemed focused. Shangguan Che silently cheered Hirata on: Hang in there, bro!
Before he knew it, the tutoring session was over. Sotomura packed up, said goodbye to the two of them, and left first.
"Shangguan, um..." Karuizawa Kei suddenly began, then trailed off.
"What is it?" Shangguan Che looked at her in confusion.
"It's nothing. I'm leaving too." Karuizawa Kei shook her head, slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, and walked over to Hirata. She even gave him a pat on the shoulder and said something Shangguan Che couldn't hear.
Shangguan Che scratched his head, unable to figure out what Karuizawa Kei had wanted to say. But he had a vague feeling that his workload was about to increase.
The tension from the day of the quiz hadn't quite faded. Karuizawa Kei clutched her pen so tightly that her fingertips turned white. During a lull after handing in her paper, she stopped Hirata.
Looking into his gentle eyes, she hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Hirata, where did you get those answers you gave me before?"
Hirata's smile froze for an instant, and his gaze wavered slightly. After a few seconds of silence, he answered honestly. "They came from Shangguan Che. He didn't tell me to keep it from you, and I don't want to take credit for someone else's kindness."
Karuizawa Kei's heart sank. She stared at Hirata's profile, her thoughts in turmoil.
She didn't know why Shangguan Che and Hirata had done this, but since she needed Hirata's help right now, all she could do was nod and go along with their arrangement.
When the quiz results came out, she saw that the check marks on her paper matched the answers Shangguan Che had given her exactly. Her suspicions about that boy, who always seemed so casual about everything, only grew.
She remembered the day of the club recruitment fair, when Shangguan Che had suddenly leaned in and asked with a smile, "Have we met before? Do you have a twin sister?"
At the time, she'd only found it strange and felt a vague sense of unease, so she'd brushed him off and avoided him.
But looking back now, those words were like a tiny needle, gently pricking at her nerves. Did he know about her past? Had he seen the disgraceful things she'd tried so hard to hide?
Then why was he doing all this? Did he pity her, a girl living behind a mask, or... did he have feelings for her? Karuizawa Kei's cheeks warmed slightly, then immediately cooled.
She already had Hirata, a gentle, dependable boyfriend who accepted everything about her.
That was why, when Hirata had said he'd pass the answers on to her, she'd felt relieved, thinking she could keep her distance from Shangguan Che that way.
But Shangguan Che hadn't left his name off the answers. It was as if he'd wanted her to know where this "kindness" had come from.
"If anyone fails a subject on the midterms, they'll be expelled just the same." When Chabashira-sensei's words echoed through the classroom, Karuizawa Kei went straight to Hirata, an unmistakable urgency in her voice. "Does Shangguan Che have answers for the next exam?"
Hirata shook his head, sounding helpless. "He said he doesn't."
At that very moment, Karuizawa Kei suddenly felt as though she understood something.
It wasn't that Shangguan Che didn't have the answers. He simply wasn't completely sure he could help her pass. That was why he'd asked Hirata to put her in his tutoring group. That way, he could understand exactly how she was doing in her studies, then do everything he could to help her.
The realization left her with mixed feelings, as if something were lodged in her chest, making it hard to breathe.
When the first tutoring session ended, Sotomura packed up and hurried off, leaving only her and Shangguan Che in the classroom.
The setting sun poured through the window, casting a warm glow over him.
Karuizawa Kei parted her lips. The question, "Is it really worth helping me like this?" was already on the tip of her tongue. But when she saw Shangguan Che's profile as he carefully organized his notes, she swallowed the words.
She turned and walked toward Hirata. Seeing his familiar gentle smile, she gradually felt at ease.
Hirata and Shangguan Che were good friends, and Hirata was willing to help her. Perhaps Shangguan Che, who knew about her past, simply wanted to be kind.
As for the thoughts hidden behind those answers and the questions left unasked, perhaps she didn't need to dwell on them.
Having someone accept the mask she wore, someone willing to catch her when she was about to fall to rock bottom—that was enough.
Karuizawa Kei drew a soft breath, pressing the surging emotions back into her heart. Then, as usual, she turned to Hirata with a sweet smile.
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