Time slipped quietly by like sand through one's fingers amid the ebb and flow of discussion. In the blink of an eye, the last day before the midterm exams had arrived.
The Class D classroom was filled with the weight of an impending battle, a mixture of exhaustion, tension, and one final push hanging in the morning air.
As usual, Natsukawa walked into the classroom right on time. His expression remained calm, completely at odds with the tense atmosphere around him. Rather than head to his seat, he surveyed the room until his gaze settled on Kushida Kikyo, who was surrounded by several girls.
He didn't interrupt their conversation. Instead, he took out his Personal Terminal and sent Kushida a message.
Kushida had been chatting happily with her classmates when she suddenly noticed Natsukawa entering the room. She immediately turned part of her attention toward him. He walked in, glanced at her, then took out his Personal Terminal. Almost as soon as he put it away, her own terminal chimed with a message.
When the conversation moved on to someone else, she took out her terminal and checked it. The message made her a little delighted:
"Kikyo, hand out the original papers you printed earlier."
The corners of her eyes lifted slightly. She seemed pleased that all her work hadn't been for nothing. Turning to the girls beside her, she gave them an apologetic smile. "Sorry, just a moment. I have something important to take care of."
She went to her locker and efficiently pulled out the stack of original exam papers Natsukawa had ordered her to put away until the right time. Facing the papers again, she felt nothing like the eager excitement she'd had when she first printed them, impatient to claim credit.
She stood at the front of the classroom, took a deep breath, and put on her usual flawless, sweet smile. Then she clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Everyone! Could you quiet down for a moment? Before the exam, I have something to hand out!" Her voice was clear and carried a reassuring warmth.
Everyone's eyes instantly turned toward her and the stack of papers in her arms.
"I got this information from a second-year student I know, and I confirmed it—the midterm exam papers for the first semester are the same every year!" Kushida raised her voice to make sure everyone could hear. "So these are last year's midterm exam papers!"
The classroom erupted!
"Seriously?!"
"Kushida, you're amazing!"
"That's great! If we have the original papers, then we can—"
"We're saved! We're really saved!"
Their relieved cheers almost seemed to lift the roof. Dozens of grateful, admiring, and relieved gazes shone on Kushida like spotlights. Even Horikita looked up, though she quickly lowered her head again. She seemed quite satisfied with the results of her tutoring and didn't seem to care about the papers. Sudo and the others were so excited they nearly jumped up.
The papers were quickly distributed. Everyone clutched theirs like a precious treasure, as though they held a lifeline to a passing grade. "Thank you, Kushida!" and "Kikyo, you're an angel!" rang out again and again.
Yet at the center of the wave of gratitude she had sparked, Kushida Kikyo kept her perfect smile in place, replying over and over, "I'm just glad I could help~" and "Do your best, everyone!" But inside, she felt something she'd never felt before: a little empty.
The heartfelt thanks and the sense of approval that had once nourished and delighted her now seemed to reach her through a transparent veil. They sounded strangely indistinct and no longer stirred her heart as easily as they once had.
Unbidden, memories of the past week and more rose in her mind: that quiet corner of the library, where she had dropped every pretense and complained in exhaustion, even letting her darker thoughts show. And that man, who had simply listened, occasionally glancing at her as if his gaze could pierce every act and reach her core. He hadn't offered cheap comfort. Sometimes, he'd even used sharp words to expose how shallow she was. Yet every time they talked, she came away with a deeper sense of being understood.
She was beginning to fall in love with being around him. The ease of not having to pretend, of being seen completely and allowed to show her true self; the thrill of having her thoughts guided and her horizons broadened—those feelings were far more profound and intoxicating than all the superficial praise in the classroom for her angelic mask.
Almost without thinking, she looked toward the one who had set everything in motion.
Natsukawa sat at the back of the classroom, his head resting on one hand as he calmly watched the commotion his behind-the-scenes maneuver had caused. His gaze was placid, as though none of it had anything to do with him.
But when his eyes happened to meet Kushida's, he gave her the slightest nod.
It was such a tiny gesture.
In an instant, Kushida felt as though a warm hand had gently squeezed her heart. A strange warmth surged through her, mingling bitterness, elation, and overwhelming satisfaction. Her cheeks grew warm despite herself, and a faint blush touched her ears. The feeling was unfamiliar, yet powerful.
She hurriedly lowered her eyes to hide the complicated emotions swirling in them. Her fingers curled unconsciously around the hem of her skirt. All her classmates' thanks and praise couldn't compare to that silent affirmation from him. The realization left her both flustered and intoxicated—flustered that a man could sway her feelings so easily, and intoxicated by this unprecedented sense of security and excitement, as though she had finally found where she belonged.
At the other end of the classroom, Horikita Suzune quickly skimmed the original papers she had just received. After confirming they were identical to the version Natsukawa had given her earlier, she set them aside. Her gaze passed over the excited students and settled on Natsukawa, sitting serenely a little ahead of her.
So he really is relying on this kind of cheap trick. A trace of disdain flashed in Horikita's reddish-purple eyes.
She hadn't been entirely incurious before. Since Natsukawa never attended any study sessions, she had once used a trip to the other side of the library to check references as an excuse to watch him from behind the shelves. But she had discovered that the books spread before him weren't textbooks at all. They were novels like Two-Sen Copper Coin and D-Board Murder Case, and he looked so relaxed that the upcoming exams seemed to have nothing to do with him.
That only strengthened Horikita's judgment: Natsukawa Sosuke was no more than a clever opportunist who had obtained the exam questions in advance. That was why he could act so relaxed. Perhaps that was the extent of his "ability." A truly strong person should be like her older brother, crushing everything with solid knowledge, rather than relying on such underhanded methods.
She looked away and refocused on her notes. She had absolute confidence in the upcoming exam, whether she relied on the original papers or on her own preparation.
In the afternoon, the dismissal bell sounded especially heavy, yet filled them with anticipation.
The next day, the first-semester midterm exams at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School officially began.
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