Little Soldier Ayanokouji

Seeing that the two in the tea room weren't moving, Chabashira-sensei spoke up again:

"Ayanokouji, if you don't come out, I'll have you expelled. And Takahashi, you don't want others to know about the points on your phone, do you."

Damn, how did she know? I'll delete the private photos on my phone when I get back—way too disrespectful of student privacy!

Opening the door, Takahashi smiled at Chabashira-sensei.

"Huh? What are you two doing here? And what I just said..." Horikita was a bit shocked, clearly unaware that Takahashi and Ayanokouji had been eavesdropping in the tea room.

"This wall's pretty thick, don't you think, Ayanokouji." Takahashi looked at Ayanokouji as he spoke.

"Yeah... right. This door's pretty thick too."

"Horikita, don't overthink it." Chabashira-sensei explained. "You can hear what's said here very clearly from the tea room."

"Why would you do this?" Horikita asked Chabashira-sensei.

Chabashira-sensei ignored Horikita's words. "Ayanokouji, Takahashi, come here. I'll explain why I called you." With that, she pulled out a stack of exam papers from a folder.

"Japanese, Math, English, Science, Social Studies... and of course the quiz results. All fifty points. Hmm, should I interpret this as coincidence or intentional?" Chabashira crossed her arms and looked at Ayanokouji.

"It's just a coincidence, sensei. You don't have any evidence that I did it on purpose, do you."

"Heh." Chabashira picked up Ayanokouji's math paper. "Question seven had complex calculations—few in the whole school got it right, but you did. Question ten was a freebie—few in the whole school got it wrong, but you did. Isn't that proof enough?"

"Well... that's also just chance. A coincidence."

Chabashira didn't bother arguing with Ayanokouji about these coincidences anymore. "Takahashi, you didn't take the entrance exam—basically a backdoor entry—but your quiz scores were perfect. If you watch TV often, you'd know there are quite a few high-ranking officials with the surname Takahashi giving speeches." (This novel is purely fictional; take it as entertainment.)

"Horikita, compared to you, what do you think of these two? Could they be smarter than you?" Chabashira-sensei smiled at Horikita again. "Alright, I still have a faculty meeting to attend. This place needs to be locked up, so please go out and have a good chat."

Seeing Horikita silent and brooding, best to make a quick exit.

"Those scores just now..."

"All coincidences."

Abandoning Ayanokouji, Takahashi quickly made his way to the shopping district. After picking up his custom fortune slip, he immediately gave Ayanokouji a reading—Half-Good.

Sigh~ Half auspicious, half ominous—good and bad mixed. Hang in there, Ayanokouji. Takahashi thought to himself, and mentally crossed Ayanokouji off as a benchmark for the class average.

On the other side, Ayanokouji looked helplessly at Horikita. He had refused to help her raise Class D to Class A, but Horikita claimed she heard him say in his heart that he was willing to help.

What a scoundrel.

"You don't have to specifically ask me for help. Takahashi—he got perfect on the quiz. Instead of picking me, whose exams were all coincidental fifties, why not ask him? Besides, Hirata and Kushida are both happy to help you, right."

"Takahashi won't work. I've never spoken to him, and I don't think I can control him. Kushida—I can tell she doesn't genuinely want to be friends with me. Hirata—he's like a rook in shogi; I don't need him yet. Right now, I need a pawn. And you, Ayanokouji, fit perfectly."

Ayanokouji: "..."