Although Hirata Yousuke and Kushida Kikyo had organized a study group to help the underperforming students in Class D prepare for the midterms,
it couldn't get started that quickly.
At least, today everything went on as usual.
So after school, Karuizawa Kei headed to the sports field as usual for Chihaya Rei's training.
Anyone paying close attention would have noticed that Chihaya Rei and Karuizawa Kei trained in a shady spot on the sports field after school every day.
As it happened, Kamuro Masumi had noticed.
Unlike her usual quick glances before leaving, today Kamuro Masumi deliberately sat down on some steps dozens of meters away from them.
She took out her phone and pretended to look at it, while actually watching Chihaya Rei and Karuizawa Kei from afar.
Just then, Kamuro Masumi saw Chihaya Rei lift Karuizawa Kei's lower leg, then squeeze her arm, and even pat her back along the way...
Basically, there was all kinds of physical contact.
Kamuro Masumi couldn't help feeling a little down. It had to be because the weather was too hot.
She couldn't help grumbling inwardly. What exactly are those two training for? They're so lovey-dovey.
And doesn't that blonde girl feel like she's being taken advantage of?
A hint of distaste appeared on Kamuro Masumi's face. She'd been watching for over half a month, and she was nearly fed up.
"You were... pretty impressive this morning."
After completing a set of punching moves Chihaya Rei had taught her, Karuizawa Kei's cheeks glowed red. As she wiped away her sweat, she spoke softly.
She was referring, of course, to the argument between Kanji Ike's group and Shinohara Satsuki's group that morning.
The two groups had crowded around Karuizawa Kei's seat and traded insults.
Karuizawa Kei had thought they were unbearably noisy.
Then Chihaya Rei had suddenly appeared and scolded everyone involved, even calling them freaks. Karuizawa Kei had found it thrilling to hear.
"You could do it too."
Chihaya Rei rested one hand on his hip and answered casually.
"I definitely couldn't..."
Karuizawa Kei's lips twitched.
Though she played the part of a tough gal in class, she knew exactly how capable she was.
If she had to step in and yell at people, especially when both sides were worked up...
There was no way she'd dare. Better to sit back and watch the show.
"What are you afraid of? Be confident. Don't lose face," Chihaya Rei said nonchalantly.
Karuizawa Kei's eyes lit up at that, and she couldn't help feeling a little hopeful.
"If I stepped in and they picked on me, would you help me?"
Chihaya Rei raised his eyes to meet hers and gave her a kindly smile. "That depends on the situation."
"If you were trying to break up a fight like Hirata, I'd help you."
"But if you joined the argument and just started passing the blame around like Shinohara and the others, I'd tear into you too."
"Oh, I see..."
Karuizawa Kei drew out her words with a hint of disappointment. After a pause, she glanced at Chihaya Rei and continued in a casual tone:
"I didn't know you knew someone from Class A."
Chihaya Rei gave a quiet "Mm."
Karuizawa Kei froze for a moment. Was that it?
She blinked, then tentatively asked, "What's that girl's name? I noticed she had a cane. I was just curious."
"Sakayanagi Arisu. She's a naturally evil brat."
The corner of Chihaya Rei's mouth lifted.
"Pfft!" Karuizawa Kei couldn't help laughing. "Hey, what kind of weird nickname is that?"
"And... you seemed to be having a great time chatting with her. Why would you say that about her?"
She seized the opportunity to ask.
Chihaya Rei figured it was probably because Sakayanagi Arisu always wore a faint smile, making it look to others as if she enjoyed talking with him.
He had certainly enjoyed himself, but Sakayanagi might not have.
"It's fine. She doesn't mind."
Chihaya Rei gave a soft snort and explained, "She uses a cane because she has a weak heart and isn't used to walking for long. She needs something to lean on."
"Oh..." Karuizawa Kei nodded thoughtfully. "Are you two close?"
"Not really. She just sees me as an opponent she has to beat, or an interesting toy."
"Why? What did you do to her?"
Karuizawa Kei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help wondering about what Chihaya Rei had said.
Chihaya Rei didn't answer this time. Instead, he gave Karuizawa Kei a more meaningful look. "You're pretty chatty today."
Karuizawa Kei felt guilty for a moment, but quickly covered it up. She puffed out her chest and said as if it were only natural, "What's wrong with chatting?"
Chihaya Rei clapped his hands for effect and said with an amused smile:
"Looks like Miss Karuizawa still has plenty of energy. How about we train for another hour today?"
"Are you a monster?!" Karuizawa Kei's expression changed instantly.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
After spending a month together, Karuizawa Kei had really grown a lot bolder around him.
That made sense. The training baton in his hand only hit the air and the ground now; it didn't scare Karuizawa Kei anymore.
Maybe he should tie her up with a whip one of these days?
Chihaya Rei carefully sized up Karuizawa Kei's figure, wondering whether his training baton was long enough.
For the rest of the session, Chihaya Rei didn't give Karuizawa Kei another chance to slack off. Instead, he doubled the intensity of her training to make up for the time she'd wasted chatting.
By the time the sun had turned half the sky red, the white T-shirt Karuizawa Kei wore was soaked with sweat. After a hurried goodbye, she rushed back to her dorm to take a shower.
Girls always cared about their appearance when they were out.
Chihaya Rei, on the other hand, planned to go straight to the cafeteria for dinner.
Karuizawa Kei was the one who'd exercised, while he hadn't had to move, so he hadn't sweated much and wasn't in a hurry to go back and shower.
But he hadn't gone far before a haughty face tinged with disdain appeared in front of him.
"Well, if it isn't Miss Sticky Fingers."
Looking at the purple-haired girl standing straight in front of him with her arms crossed, Chihaya Rei's brow twitched slightly as he used a deliberately provocative nickname.
Kamuro Masumi gritted her teeth. "I've gone straight."
"Good for you."
Chihaya Rei smiled, as though congratulating her on going straight.
"So, Kamuro Masumi of Class 1-A, after sitting over there watching me for so long, you finally decided to come over?"
He gave Kamuro Masumi a peculiar look and said solemnly:
"Did sneaking a peek at me make you feel all excited?"
"Oh, right. You still haven't shown me that 3,000-character reflection paper."
Chihaya Rei added one last remark.
His nonstop barrage of words made Kamuro Masumi's already sluggish brain buzz.
And Chihaya Rei had noticed her all along?
"Who would write something like that for you?!"
"Three thousand characters? What do you think this is, a thesis?"
Kamuro Masumi was so annoyed that her voice involuntarily rose.
And the fact that Chihaya Rei wanted to use her precious favor to make her write a reflection paper left Kamuro Masumi feeling rather unhappy.
She stared at Chihaya Rei and asked, "You knew I was waiting for you. Why didn't you come over?"
"You didn't come over either," Chihaya Rei said, spreading his hands helplessly. "What if you really were just sitting there on your phone?"
"..."
Kamuro Masumi took a deep breath to steady herself and decided not to dwell on it for now.
She gave a cold snort and got straight to the point. "I know everything. Your Class D didn't get any Personal Points this month, did you?"
Class D's Class Points were at zero, so no Personal Points had been distributed to them this month. Everyone in the year already knew that.
Besides, quite a few Class D students had spent all their Personal Points and didn't want to eat the Mountain Vegetable Set Meal, so they'd asked friends they knew in other classes to lend them points.
That made Kamuro Masumi wonder if Chihaya Rei had run out of points too.
If she gave Chihaya Rei some now, he probably wouldn't turn her down.
"Mm."
Chihaya Rei nodded instinctively. First Sakayanagi had come to talk to him about this, and now Kamuro had too.
"Do you need points?" Kamuro Masumi asked bluntly. "I still have plenty. I don't mind giving you some."
She said give, not lend.
Chihaya Rei looked at Kamuro Masumi with a hint of surprise.
So Kamuro Masumi was worried he had no points to spend, and had come all this way to give him some?
That was kind of touching.
When Chihaya Rei didn't say anything, Kamuro Masumi thought about how to phrase it and softened her tone even more.
"You helped me before, so consider it paying you back."
"Yeah, that's all," Kamuro Masumi said, nodding seriously.
"Kamuro, so you're a kind-hearted, sweet girl after all!" Chihaya Rei exclaimed with a sigh.
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