Sudou's Fury

"Yes." Eito nodded. "We're bound by life and death."

"Uh..." Ayanokoji said nothing.

Chabashira continued:

"No wonder you all like controlling your scores so much. Especially you, Takeda. Do you think you're really impressive?"

"I... I guess I'm all right."

"If you really think you're capable, why not get a perfect score on every test? That would prove it even better."

"Well..."

Eito had planned to do just that, but when he actually took the test, he found the last two questions a little difficult. To avoid the possibility of not getting 100 on a later exam, he'd played it safe and settled for 66.

Now it seemed Chabashira might not understand what he'd really been trying to say.

"Never mind. You can go. There's something I want to discuss with Ayanokoji. Or would you rather stay?"

"Then I won't keep you." Eito hadn't planned on staying anyway. He already knew what Chabashira wanted to say, even without listening.

Ayanokoji's score on this exam was the same as on the entrance test: 50.

Chabashira also knew about Ayanokoji's background and his considerable abilities.

After leaving the office, Eito spotted someone he knew in the nearby corridor: Kushida Kikyo.

He was about to head off in the opposite direction when she jogged over to him.

"What a coincidence, Takeda!"

"It sure is."

Whether or not it was actually a coincidence, Eito noticed that she'd gone back to calling him by his surname.

Last time, she'd called him by his first name. The sudden change might have been meant to tell him something.

Walking alongside him, Kikyo said brightly, "Come to think of it, Takeda, you seemed to be with Horikita yesterday evening. Were you on a date?"

"No."

"But you two looked pretty close. I'm so jealous."

"Jealous of whom?"

"Of course, of you, Takeda." Kikyo circled around to stand in front of him, grinning. "You got Horikita to like you so quickly, and you even have a chance to get close to her. You're so lucky."

He was lucky, sure, but Kikyo's words had another meaning.

What she really meant was: You've already taken such a huge advantage of me, and now you're going after another girl? You deserve to die!

If he weren't so good at reading between the lines, most people wouldn't have caught it.

He said, "Horikita is certainly beautiful. I feel honored that she likes me."

"Then I hope you two get along even better."

"Oh."

Once Kikyo stopped following him, he left.

He'd gotten Suzune's contact information the previous evening.

So he used his free time to send her a message.

As for why he didn't tell her in person, there were some things that were hard to say face-to-face. Someone might overhear and get the wrong idea.

Him: Can I come to your dorm tonight? I have something to tell you.

Suzune: No.

Instant reply!

Him: It's about this class, and about you.

He waited half a minute before she finally replied.

(Okay.)

Most people might not have agreed, but Suzune wasn't like most people. She might have been confident in her ability to protect herself, so she wasn't afraid of Eito at all.

That evening, he got ready.

Since he was going to a girl's dorm, he had to make sure he looked presentable.

First, he took a shower, then changed his clothes.

He put on some perfume.

Finally, he put on his lucky underwear.

Uh... that part wasn't necessary.

It was his first time visiting a girl's dorm, so he was looking forward to it. But given Suzune's personality, he figured she wouldn't have decorated the place too lavishly.

As it turned out, it wasn't lavish at all. It was so plain it made him want to fall asleep.

"Sit wherever you like." Suzune wore a white one-piece nightgown that left a small stretch of her slender, jade-white legs exposed.

The modest nightgown hugged her figure, making her look unexpectedly sexy.

When she told him to sit wherever he liked, he immediately lay down in the spot where Suzune slept.

A faint scent of Suzune drifted into his nose.

It was so soothing that he felt he could sleep there for the rest of his life.

"Hey, if you don't get up, I'm calling the police... Hello, police..."

At that, he immediately sat up. He saw that she was already on the phone and had gotten through, so he rushed over and snatched it from her.

After a flurry of explanations, he finally cleared up the misunderstanding.

By then, Suzune was sitting in a chair reading. When she saw him finish the call, she asked coolly, "What exactly did you come here for?"

He found an empty seat and sat down, then said, "You must be pretty upset about being placed in Class D."

She didn't show it on the surface, but without a doubt, Suzune had probably taken the biggest hit from being placed there.

The girl who was so determined to prove herself to her older brother had ended up in the bottom-ranked class.

Suzune put down her book and was silent for a moment before saying, "Even if I was placed in this class, that doesn't prove I'm useless. Maybe the school made a mistake. But even so, I'll prove myself. I'll get the class promoted to Class A."

"Has your attitude changed?" Eito asked, surprised. The Suzune from the original story might have seemed more upset.

But the school hadn't made a mistake. It had done this on purpose. Without that, there'd be no competition, and there'd be no point in having four classes. They might as well just admit students into one class.

Suzune said, "I have you to thank for that. If you hadn't been testing my patience every day, I might have already started crying."

"Oh." It didn't sound much like a compliment, so Eito replied flatly.

"So..." Her voice grew a little quieter. "Thank you."

"What?"

"...Nothing."

"Mm." Eito smiled. "You're welcome."

"Do you want to die?"

"Wait, don't hit me."

Seeing Suzune pick up her pillow and throw it at him, he was surprised at first, then caught it without thinking.

It carried Suzune's faint scent.

"Well, I'll get going now. Bye~"

"Hey, give me my pillow back, you pervert!"

"Nope. It's evidence. I'm confiscating it~"

Eito ran off.

"Honestly..."

What he didn't see was the faint blush on Suzune's face.

Maybe she was just angry.

Chapter 20: Sudo's Fury

Two days later.

Suzune actually asked him for help.

Hirata was holding a study session in class to help everyone improve their grades.

But the trio of idiots had no intention of taking part.

So Suzune decided to tutor the three of them herself. Since she wasn't close to them, she asked him to help arrange it.

Her reason was that since he'd taken her pillow, he had to help her.

If Eito had the chance to do it all over again, he'd still do the same thing.

But getting those three to show up for the study session willingly would be about as hard as getting Kikyo to apologize to him.

(Eito-sama, I shouldn't have played with your feelings. Please punish me as much as you like~)

It was impossible to imagine.

Still, he had to give it a try. He hadn't returned her pillow yet, and sooner or later, you had to pay for what you did.

So he sent Yamauchi a message, telling him to bring the others over. He could make up any excuse he wanted.

After school that day, in the study room.

Suzune was already waiting.

When Yamauchi brought the others over, Ike asked in confusion, "Weren't you supposed to have something fun for us? Where is it?"

Suzune said, "Don't get your hopes up. I'm going to tutor you."

"Huh?"

Sudo said impatiently, "I'm going back. What a pain."

"Wait!"

Eito was already at the door, leaning against it after closing it.

Sudo snapped, "What are you doing? Move!"

"Sudo, I have something to say. Can you hear me out first?"

"Stop wasting time. I told you to move."

Sudo pushed him aside and grabbed the doorknob.

Just then, he heard Eito's cold voice.

"So you're just going to give up, is that it?"

"What are you talking about?" Sudo stopped turning the doorknob.