Life and Death Together

"Everyone, take your seats. I have some good news to share with you."

Chabashira Sae, the homeroom teacher, walked into the classroom briskly and began the meeting.

"Could it be? Does this mean no one is dropping out after the midterm exams?"

"That's awesome! All that hard studying really paid off."

Sudo and Ike began to celebrate loudly; they had put a lot of effort into this round.

"There is one more thing. The Paper Shuffle special exam will be held soon. This is a traditional exam for first-years, and every year, one or two groups end up dropping out—most of whom are from Class D. It sounds intimidating, but for the current Class D, it shouldn't be much of a problem."

After Chabashira finished speaking, the room began to stir, with the exception of Nagami, who was already in the student council. After all, the hosting and implementation of the Paper Shuffle had to go through the student council first, so the various rules had been known in advance.

As for why he hadn't revealed it to the students of Class D, it was because the rules this time were so simple and brutal that there was no need to get a head start.

Chabashira began to write the rules of the special exam on the blackboard.

Paper Shuffle, literally translated, is a paper-based reshuffling.

1. Each class will create questions for their opponent, with a total of eight subjects and 50 questions per subject.

2. All questions must not exceed the scope of the textbook knowledge, and the subject teachers will review the questions.

3. Once the designation is successful, the opponent is bound. The winner can plunder 50 class points from the losing class.

4. The winner is determined by the total score of all subjects.

5. If the number of students in the classes differs, the class with fewer students can designate the removal of individual scores from the class with more students until the numbers are equal.

6. Two people are bound as a small group. If the average score of the two is failing, both must drop out simultaneously.

"Regarding rule number six, let me give you an example. If one person gets a perfect score and the other gets a zero, you still don't have to drop out."

Chabashira said.

"This is truly a benefit given to you by the school; compared to previous exams, it is much more merciful. The scope of the questions will be sent to you via email later, so take a good look at it yourselves."

"Pairing high-scoring students with low-scoring ones—in other words, as long as your grades aren't too terrible, you definitely won't have to drop out."

"I want to be in a group with Kikyo!"

Ike shouted with his arms raised, humming to himself at the thought of being paired with Kushida.

"Karuizawa, you're definitely going to be paired with Hirata, right?"

Sato chimed in.

"Eh, me?"

Karuizawa hesitated, lost in thought about whether she should pair up with her fake boyfriend.

"Kagami, let's be in a group together?"

"Oh, it's Kikyo. Neither of our grades is bad, so wouldn't it be more beneficial to the class to find a student with poor grades to pair with?"

On the way to the student council, Kushida initiated the conversation.

"Pfft, whatever. I just think it would be more fun to be in a group with Kagami. Taking care of babies is exhausting, and I'm not a kindergarten teacher."

Kushida smiled slightly, expressing her inner thoughts without any pretense.

"Oh! Not bad. I really appreciate your way of thinking. It feels like meeting a kindred spirit in life."

Instead of standing on a moral high ground to criticize Kushida, Nagami expressed his appreciation, which made Kushida feel even more satisfied.

"Haven't we always been good friends? Can we chat for a little while today?"

Looking at the expectant look in Kushida's eyes, Nagami helplessly agreed.

On the side of the track, some students were jogging with light steps, their earphone cords swaying gently with the rhythm; others were returning home in twos and threes, school bags slung over their shoulders, walking leisurely while discussing manga plots or after-school plans.

Some people just sat quietly in the stands, gazing at the distant mountains, the fading light of the sunset making their profiles look exceptionally soft, as if they were deep in thought.

With the carefree nature and slight bewilderment unique to youth, everyone was pouring out their passion and freedom in their own way.

"Youth is truly wonderful!"

Nagami sighed. At this moment, he and Kushida were walking on the outermost track to avoid blocking the people training.

Kushida looked at Nagami again and again, as if she were brewing something, her mouth opening and closing, but she never said a word.

"What's wrong, little Kikyo? This is definitely not a good place for a confession. There are too many people."

"Pfft, what stupid things is Kagami saying? Do you think everyone likes Tokyo hosts? Only the lowest-tier women who have failed at female competition and have to resort to spending money at host clubs to find male attention would like you. If I were to sink so low as to find you as a boyfriend, I might as well go dancing at a nightclub and rely on my assets to make money and hook a rich guy."

"Wow, that's venomous."

(Why does it feel like Kushida has awakened a new fetish?)

"It's all Kagami's fault, I even forgot what I was going to say?"

"Let me think..."

Kushida's memory returned to middle school, that unbearable dark history, the day that tore her entire class apart.

"Watashi, I have been popular since middle school. Relying on my cute appearance and gentle personality, many people liked me very quickly. Seniors and juniors alike, confessions came one after another."

"At first, I didn't think anything was wrong; I felt that this kind of life was truly blissful. And so, I made more and more friends, and all sorts of secrets came to be known by me."

"Ah, ah, can you imagine it, Kagami? I learned a secret like this: a casual friend had actually become a mistress without even realizing it, but I knew that another good friend of mine was the original partner. Both of their secrets were known to me alone. They had only told this secret to me, and I had sworn that I would absolutely keep it confidential."

"In the end, until... until one day, that classmate who was two-timing everyone actually confessed his feelings to me. Hahahaha!"

"Kagami, can you imagine that feeling? The feeling of being confessed to by a maggot from a cesspit."

"I almost threw up right then and there, forcing myself to swallow my disgust as I rejected him. I didn't even have the appetite to eat dinner that night."

"I wanted so badly to tell someone, but I couldn't. I was afraid that everyone would find out I was someone who couldn't keep a secret. Whether it was them or the others, all their dark histories would no longer have a safe place to be kept."

"Accusations and insults came pouring in, and I hadn't guessed wrong; eventually, that day finally arrived."

Nagami watched Kushida silently, listening quietly, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he couldn't help but think of a phrase: "Only novels require logic; reality does not."

(Interesting, truly interesting.)

"I had no one in reality to confide in, so I could only post about the vile behavior of that classmate on my blog, along with others from different classes."

"After I finished venting, I found that the burden on my body felt much lighter. That was all I could do at the time, right? Tell me, Kagami."

Kushida looked toward Nagami, but Nagami remained silent with a smile.

"Until that day, my classmate discovered my blog, and so he confronted me in class, asking what those comments were all about."

"I was exposed in front of everyone and called a vicious woman."

"Even though I was only telling the truth, no one understood me. One by one, they came to blame me for why I hadn't kept their secrets safe."

"I had tried so hard, yet they turned a blind eye. They really are a bunch of complete and utter scum!"

"I spilled all of their business: best friends stealing men from each other, brothers exposing each other's dark histories. After I finished speaking, no one cared about me, the one who had kept their secrets. Insults, violence, betrayal—the atmosphere in the class plummeted to freezing point, and in the end, everyone took a leave of absence, myself included."

"Kagami, do you think I did something wrong?"

Kushida slowly turned her head, her once clear and bright eyes now turned bloodshot! Tears slowly flowed from her eye sockets.

Her bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at Nagami, revealing an indescribable anger and resentment, begging for the understanding and comfort of another.

"Of course, you were wrong! Little Kikyo."