Messing with Sakanayanagi All Night Long

"Mmm... what time is it now..."

"Six-thirty in the morning. Besides that, can you let go of me now?"

"...Huh?"

Hearing that voice right after waking up, I turned my stiff neck—

"Sakanayanagi...?"

I saw Sakanayanagi, whom I had been holding tightly in my arms, glaring at me with a face flushed bright red, the corners of her eyes glistening with indignant tears.

My hazy sleepiness vanished in an instant, and I immediately understood the situation.

Yesterday, following Hiyori's suggestion, the three of us squeezed into my bed to sleep, and it turned out I had held Sakanayanagi like this until dawn.

Given Sakanayanagi's frail physique, trying to break free from my embrace was nothing but a pipe dream.

Or rather, since she had managed to maintain this position until morning, the facts spoke for themselves.

"Um... I'm sorry."

I hurriedly loosened my arms and apologized.

The girl opposite me continued to glare.

"Honestly. I woke up around seven last night, but since then, someone has been clinging to me like an octopus, forcing me to stay the night."

"I am truly, deeply sorry!"

I was completely in the wrong here.

If she reported me to the school, it would all be over.

As I lowered my head in sincere apology, Sakanayanagi suddenly narrowed her eyes.

Seeing this young lady, who was usually so composed, make such a languid expression was unexpectedly, unfairly cute.

However, if I were to say that out loud, I would definitely meet a miserable end, so I wisely chose to remain silent.

"...Are you really reflecting on this?"

"Yeah, I'm reflecting."

"Then, just like you did for Shiina, give me the spare key to your room, and I'll forgive you."

W-wait, she's pulling this move?

Although I hesitated for a moment, appeasing this young lady was the top priority right now.

I rolled out of bed, took the spare key from my desk drawer, and handed it over.

Sakanayanagi nodded with satisfaction.

"Thank you. Then, as promised, I'll let bygones be bygones regarding you forcibly holding me while sleeping, groping my butt, and stealing a kiss on my cheek last night."

"..."

Cold sweat instantly soaked my back.

Was I really that bold in my sleep?!

No, wait, the fact that she specifically mentioned it means she doesn't intend to forgive me at all, right?

"Ah, everything except for holding me tight was a joke."

"Don't make jokes that are so easy to misunderstand!"

I couldn't help but shout.

I couldn't be blamed for that, right? Looking up, Sakanayanagi was covering her mouth, laughing until she trembled; she had clearly succeeded in teasing me again.

"What's wrong? You suddenly started shouting."

The sound of an apron rustling came from the direction of the kitchen, and Hiyori walked in carrying a tray.

"N-nothing, don't worry about it."

"Is that so? Anyway, breakfast is ready."

Three portions of golden scrambled eggs steamed on ceramic plates, accompanied by freshly baked croissants and corn potage, with slices of ham neatly arranged on salad leaves.

"You even prepared a portion for me, thank you."

Sakanayanagi gracefully slid off the bed to express her thanks.

For some reason, she radiated a languid sexiness just after waking up, and the collarbone exposed by her pajama neckline was blindingly white in the morning light.

"You're welcome. But since we all slept in our casual clothes last night, we're all covered in sweat. We need to take a shower before school."

Once she mentioned it, I noticed my T-shirt was indeed sticking to my back, feeling clammy.

I definitely needed a shower.

"By the way, did Hiyori sleep the whole time too?"

"Yes. According to Sakanayanagi, Hachiman and I never woke up, and Sakanayanagi was held so tightly by Hachiman that she couldn't move."

I see, that really couldn't be helped.

I sighed and began to enjoy my breakfast.

Hiyori's cooking was truly the best in the world; thinking of those who had to gnaw on the school's free wild vegetable set meals early in the morning, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pity.

However, even if I had to risk my life, I would never give up this exclusive breakfast privilege.

***

Thirty minutes later—

"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go."

After finishing breakfast, showering, and changing into our uniforms, we met at the usual spot and walked toward the school as we always did.

"Come to think of it, today marks the start of the two-week pre-exam review period, right?"

"Yes, as long as you prepare seriously, Hachiman's class will be able to earn class points again."

"That may be true, but our class has too many slackers; just worrying about whether someone will fail is exhausting enough."

"I truly can't believe it. As long as you listen in class, getting an average score should be a piece of cake..."

Sakanayanagi looked helpless, but the situation in our class was indeed dire; most people hadn't listened seriously to the lessons in April.

The midterm exam would be held at the end of May, covering content from April to mid-May.

In other words, if they hadn't listened properly to the April lessons, they were already missing nearly sixty percent of the exam material.

Trying to review the April curriculum while previewing the May content in the remaining two weeks was an immense challenge.

Especially for those who had already developed the habit of slacking off, it was practically hell.

But I didn't care what happened to the failing group.

I had studied seriously myself, so I was fine; the most I needed to worry about was discussing reward points with the teacher.

"It's their own fault for not listening in class, so can you hold off on playing chess or going to the cafe for the next half-month?"

"? It wouldn't matter if Hikigaya-kun relaxed his studies a little, would it?"

"Better to play it safe."

After all, it was uncertain how the actual exam would go, so giving it my all was the right path.

"Then it can't be helped. You have to spend time with me properly after the midterm exams end."

"Understood. If Hiyori finds taking care of me troublesome, you don't have to come."

"No, I want to take care of Hachiman myself, so please don't worry about it."

Hiyori responded with a smile.

She was just too sensible... honestly, I even wanted her to take care of me for the rest of my life.

Carrying this unrealistic delusion, I walked toward the school.

◆◇◆◇◆

"So, this knowledge point should be memorized like this..."

Scratch, scratch, scratch...

During the last period of the afternoon, the sound of pencils writing and the voice of Chabashira explaining the lesson echoed through the classroom.

Entering the first week of May, having learned the truth about the S-System, almost everyone in Class D had stopped chatting and playing on their phones, beginning to listen to the lectures seriously.

This was how high school students were supposed to be, but it was a huge improvement compared to last month.

The only exception was Sudo.

Even though that guy knew the truth, he was still fast asleep.

None of the other students reminded him, likely fearing he would suddenly fly into a rage.

However, the vast majority of the class was indeed very disgusted with him.

Just as I was thinking about this—

"Wahhh!?"

A sudden scream rang out, and I turned to see Ayanokoji clutching his arm in pain.

"What's wrong, Ayanokoji? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, it's nothing... I got some sand in my eye..."

He was clearly lying.

Who screams that miserably from getting sand in their eye? Looking at his neighbor, Horikita, she was pointing the tip of a compass at Ayanokoji; she had definitely stabbed him.

I pretended not to see and continued listening to the lecture.

As the bell rang, the tense atmosphere eased slightly.

"That's all for today's class. Next, we'll have a homeroom meeting. Just one thing to announce: starting today, we enter the exam preparation period. There are two weeks left until the midterm exams; those who failed the quizzes need to make a special effort. Dismissed."

"Chabashira-sensei, could I ask you a question?"

Seeing the teacher about to walk quickly out of the classroom, I hurriedly called out to her.

"How rare, Hikigaya. To think you'd actually ask a question."

"You mentioned during swimming class that there would be 'point rewards for the fastest swimmers in the class.' That implies teachers have a certain degree of discretion over private points, right?"

"That's correct. Class points are untouchable, but teachers can decide on private points at their own discretion."

As I thought, confirming this firsthand was important.

"Then, if we get good results on the midterm exams, can you reward us with points?"

The classroom erupted into a commotion, and Chabashira-sensei let out a cold laugh.

"Oh? You've earned so much already, and it's still not enough?"

"Of course."

I realized back when I made the deal with Ryuen that in this school, points are everything.

I have to earn every point I can.

"Fine, but let me make this clear, Hikigaya—"

"Yes."

"You set the criteria for the rewards. If it satisfies me, I'll adopt it. But don't even think about suggesting lenient conditions like 'ten thousand for passing' or 'twenty thousand for the average score.'"

Chabashira-sensei said this while glancing at the group of students prone to failing.

She really shows no mercy.

Then...

"How about top three in the grade for individual subjects, and top five for total score?"

"That's acceptable. What about the specific point amounts?"

"Thirty thousand for first in a subject, twenty thousand for second, ten thousand for third. For total score, fifty thousand for first, forty thousand for second, thirty thousand for third, twenty thousand for fourth, and ten thousand for fifth. How does that sound?"

Actually, I had already made my trade-offs.

The midterm exams cover five subjects: Japanese, Math, Science, Social Studies, and English. The total score is the sum of all five.

I had already given up on competing in Math, Science, and the total score.

I'll focus on Japanese, Social Studies, and English, where I have a chance to rank.

Although people online say there might be rewards for high total scores, there's no chance with Math and Science dragging me down.

Even though my preparation has improved my skills, I can't beat those naturally gifted at science.

Reaching the top of the total score is basically impossible.

So, I'll focus on breaking through in individual subjects.

I'll earn points in the subjects where it's possible.

"...Fine. Class D will adopt Hikigaya's proposal for this midterm exam. Any other questions?"

"None. Thank you for accepting it."

"Don't mention it. This will also be good for boosting class morale."

Chabashira-sensei finished speaking and left the classroom.

Alright, time to study like my life depends on it starting today.