Learning Session (1)

Ring, ring...

As the bell signaling the end of class rang, Class D's first study session officially began.

Five boys and five girls walked together on the road.

"Hey... Suzuki, have you and Horikita already locked things down? And what about that girl you were carrying during the club recruitment event?"

Yamauchi, walking behind him, asked with a curious look.

"Yeah, yeah, Suzuki, you bastard, you've got way too much luck with women!"

Ike Kanji beside him wore an envious expression.

Even Sudo and Ayanokoji were equally curious.

Since they finally had a chance to ask, they hoped to pick up a trick or two.

Yamauchi and Ike were easy to convince—they were already worried sick about the end-of-month exam.

As for Sudo, Suzuki Tsubame promised to teach him basketball skills, so he agreed without hesitation.

Suzuki Tsubame glanced at Horikita not far away. She was currently dealing with Kushida Kikyo.

Even though Kushida hadn't been invited, she still showed up.

It seemed she was worried Horikita would make new friends and raise her standing in the class.

That would make it even harder for her to force Horikita to drop out.

The two were so absorbed in their rivalry that they didn't notice this side at all.

"As for me and Suzune, we haven't reached the point of confirming a relationship yet."

"As for the girl from the club recruitment event, she had anemia and nearly fell. I had no choice but to carry her to the infirmary."

He answered Yamauchi's questions one by one.

This guy was known as the Black Room Masterpiece, best at twisting the truth and confusing right and wrong.

He absolutely couldn't give him a chance to spread rumors.

"Huh? Why did she ask Suzuki-kun for help? Shouldn't there have been other seniors in the club?"

[Matsushita Chiaki] [Appearance: 9.6] [Intelligence: 9.2] [Physique: 7.7]

As the girl asked, a hint of cunning gleamed in her azure eyes.

Matsushita had suddenly approached him at noon.

She said she wanted to go study at the library with Suzuki Tsubame during the study session.

Suzuki Tsubame naturally welcomed her—he also wanted to help this girl adjust her overly "opportunistic" personality.

Because of the subtle atmosphere between Horikita and Kushida Kikyo, the other boys and girls in the group all chose to stick close to Suzuki Tsubame.

As Matsushita Chiaki hit the nail on the head, Yamauchi and the others caught on too.

"Yeah, yeah."

"There must be some special reason, right?"

With so many people in the club, how could it be that only you, Suzuki Tsubame, were the one carrying her? Because you're handsome?

"Well... actually, it's because we were playing chess in the chess club. After sitting seiza for a long time, that girl got anemic and couldn't stand up."

"There's no special reason."

Suzuki Tsubame gave an awkward smile. Sakayanagi had trouble with her body, and he was just helping out—that was all.

Matsushita smiled meaningfully but didn't ask any more questions.

The group chatted and laughed as they made their way to the library.

The library was somewhat empty at the moment. Finding a spot not far from Horikita and the others, Suzuki Tsubame called the three girls to sit down together.

Yes, because Class D had too few students who were good at studying. Aside from Matsushita, who joined on her own, the other two were chosen by Suzuki himself.

They were Sakura Airi, who feared others' gazes and had become withdrawn, and Hasebe Haruka, who had recently fallen out with the gal group.

"Sigh, walking this far is so tiring."

Complaining as she spoke, the girl dumped her entire weight onto the library desk.

Sakura sat down beside her, practically shrinking her whole body into the corner.

"Well, it can't be helped, right? After all, we're all fringe characters in the class."

The girl shrugged with a noncommittal smile, then suddenly thought of something.

"Hey... Qiuqiu, weren't you getting along pretty well with them? Why aren't you with them?"

Hasebe asked curiously, and Suzuki Tsubame was also pondering the same question.

"Because it's too much for Hirata-kun to tutor everyone alone, I thought if I could reduce the number of people he has to teach by one, it might lighten the load a little."

The girl's composed reply sounded as if she had rehearsed it countless times in her head.

If Suzuki Tsubame hadn't known her true abilities, he might have actually been fooled by her.

Beside him, Hasebe didn't notice a thing.

Letting that topic slide, Suzuki Tsubame first gave out a few simple problems to test the basics of the three.

Once he understood their foundation, he could tailor the teaching accordingly.

On the other side...

"Even elementary school students could solve this kind of simple problem, right? I'm genuinely curious—how did you even get into this school?"

Horikita set down the workbook and calmly looked at Sudo, her gaze as if asking: Is this guy really human?

Whether it was her words cutting too deep or her eyes brimming with contempt, Sudo didn't last even a second before exploding.

"Bang!"

"What the hell did you say!"

He slammed both hands onto the desk, stood up in fury, grabbed Horikita by the collar, and lifted her entire body off the ground.

"If it weren't for Suzuki, I wouldn't have come to this stupid study session!"

"Heh, even though you say that, you're actually worried about failing the exam, aren't you? With your current level, you might as well just leave by the end of the month."

Even with her collar in his grip, Horikita refused to back down, no trace of fear on her face.

Seeing that she showed no sign of being intimidated, Sudo's anger flared even hotter, his eyes bloodshot, his breathing like a bull's.

"You!"

Just as Sudo was about to lose control, a hand suddenly reached in from the side and pressed down on his arms.

"Alright."

"Sudo, let go first."

That hand was naturally Suzuki Tsubame's.

Yamauchi and Ike shrank into their seats, playing ostrich, while Ayanokoji stood by blankly watching. Kushida Kikyo could only regret that Suzuki Tsubame had arrived too quickly.

In the end, it was up to Suzuki Tsubame to mediate between the two.

"It's all because Horikita's words were too harsh."

"Yeah, yeah, if we already knew this stuff, why would we even come to the study session?"

When the tension was at its peak, those two were hiding in the corner playing ostrich, but now they jumped out.

On the other side, Kushida Kikyo didn't miss this chance to badmouth Horikita either, her expression troubled:

"Horikita-san's words really were a bit too much. We're all classmates—if there's a problem, we can talk it out properly."

"There's no need to say something so hurtful."

Her words immediately struck a chord with Ersha, and they chimed in agreement.

Horikita's expression turned sour.

When Suzuki Tsubame first came over, she was calm, but after hearing what they said, her face darkened completely.

"Alright, that's enough from both of you."

He shot a displeased glance at Yamauchi—that idiot had started it.

Yamauchi still looked unconvinced, muttering something under his breath.

Sudo's strength was considerable compared to an average person, but compared to Suzuki Tsubame, he was far weaker.

Prying his hands apart, Suzuki Tsubame reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"Alright, Sudo. Just think of it as for your own dream."

He was sure Sudo could see it himself.

In this school, he had food and shelter without worry, and could chase his basketball dream freely.

If he dropped out now, he'd have to go back home and live the kind of life where he never knew where his next meal was coming from.