Matsushita, You Were Controlling Your Scores, Weren't You?

"Matsushita, I think there's something strange about your quiz scores."

Chihaya Rei suddenly nudged Matsushita Chiaki's arm with his elbow. When she looked up, he spoke with a knowing air.

"Huh?"

Matsushita Chiaki stared blankly for a moment.

She looked at Chihaya Rei with her clear eyes, surprised that he had brought it up out of the blue.

A hint of wariness crept into her heart, but she blinked innocently and asked in confusion:

"What's strange about them?"

Seeing this, Chihaya Rei beckoned her closer with a hand.

Matsushita Chiaki understood and pressed a hand to her skirt hem as she shifted closer, leaning toward Chihaya Rei.

The distance between them shrank to just a few centimeters. They could practically feel each other's breath.

For some reason, Matsushita Chiaki felt a little nervous.

Chihaya Rei tilted his head and leaned toward her small, pale ear, just visible through a gap in her hair. He whispered:

"Matsushita..."

Though a few strands of hair lay between them, Matsushita Chiaki could still feel his warm breath brush against her ear.

Her cheeks warmed, and her heartbeat quickened slightly.

She glanced at Karuizawa Kei and Sato Maya from the corner of her eye. When she saw that neither of them had noticed, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did she focus on Chihaya Rei's words. But what he said next startled her so much that she forgot all about feeling shy.

"Matsushita, you were controlling your scores during the exams, weren't you?"

The clear words by her ear made Matsushita Chiaki suddenly turn her head. Her smooth, jade-like forehead brushed Chihaya Rei's lips.

"..."

Both of them froze. Their faces remained close as they looked into each other's eyes for several seconds.

A fragrant, cool sensation—that was what Chihaya Rei felt.

A warm, slightly damp touch—that was what Matsushita Chiaki felt.

The two of them exchanged a knowing glance at Karuizawa Kei and Sato Maya. Seeing that they were still bent over their questions, they quietly leaned back.

For some reason, they both felt a strange thrill, as if they'd done something forbidden.

Chihaya Rei was more or less fine. He felt almost no embarrassment.

Mostly, he was surprised by how sharply Matsushita Chiaki had reacted. She had turned her head so suddenly that the accident had happened.

Only then did a blush spread across Matsushita Chiaki's pretty cheeks. She pressed her soft lips together several times, looking a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Matsushita Chiaki lowered her eyes and spoke quietly.

After saying it, she wondered why she had apologized.

"..."

Chihaya Rei blinked in surprise too.

Why was she the one apologizing?

Well, it wasn't completely unreasonable. They were both responsible for the unexpected accident.

And if it was Matsushita Chiaki, he didn't exactly feel like he'd come off badly.

Matsushita Chiaki was a beautiful girl too, with delicate features. Her carefully styled brown side bangs brushed just over one eyebrow, giving her the lively charm of a gyaru while still leaving her with a gentle air.

Chihaya Rei pressed his lips together as well, then gave her an apologetic smile.

"It's fine. That was just an accident. I won't hold it against you."

"..."

Matsushita Chiaki stared at Chihaya Rei for a while, her feelings complicated.

For a moment, she couldn't decide whether she wanted Chihaya Rei to hold it against her or not.

It was her first time getting so close to a boy. He'd even kissed her forehead...

She couldn't help wondering if it had been Chihaya Rei's first time too.

But judging by his looks, she didn't seem to have come off badly either.

Still, she felt as though she'd wronged Kei.

After all, Karuizawa Kei had once asked her and Sato Maya to help invite Chihaya Rei to sing karaoke. Since then, Kei had been training with Chihaya Rei on the sports field after school every day.

Matsushita Chiaki had secretly noticed all of it.

Thinking about that made her face feel even hotter.

"Phew..."

Matsushita Chiaki took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. This wasn't the time to let her mind wander.

She clenched one hand, then nervously leaned toward Chihaya Rei again. She raised a pale hand to shield her mouth and whispered:

"Chihaya, you must have misunderstood. I wasn't controlling my scores."

"Those scores reflect my actual ability."

It wasn't a very convincing explanation.

Chihaya Rei glanced at Matsushita. Still insisting, huh? He copied her gesture and said:

"50, 55, 65, 70, 75. You got those same scores on both exams."

"If that's not controlling your scores, what is? Are you going to tell me it's just a coincidence?"

Chihaya Rei felt pretty speechless.

And then there was Ayanokoji, who scored 50 in every subject.

Those two were being so obvious about controlling their scores! What kind of student got the exact same scores on every exam, right down to the last five points?!

They were practically treating everyone around them like fools.

But he had to admit, hardly anyone in Class D had noticed... All right, he admitted it: their score control was impressive.

Matsushita Chiaki's blue eyes narrowed. She replied sheepishly:

"It's not impossible for it to be a coincidence..."

"You think I'd believe that?"

Matsushita Chiaki let out a silent sigh. Then she lowered her voice and asked, "Chihaya, could you..."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

Before Matsushita Chiaki could finish, Chihaya Rei understood what she meant and nodded first.

"Thank you!"

Hearing Chihaya Rei's promise, Matsushita Chiaki smiled with relief and gave him a grateful look.

Actually, it wouldn't have been a big deal if Chihaya Rei had told anyone.

The real problem was that Matsushita Chiaki herself didn't know how to explain it to her two close friends.

She would have to find a better time.

"Still, it's too bad that Matsushita tried to play the fool to catch the tiger, only for the school to mistake her for a real fool and place her in Class D."

Chihaya Rei wasn't about to end the conversation there. The corner of his mouth curled up, and he drawled out the words, his teasing unmistakable.

"Matsushita must really regret it now, huh?"

[Torture Matsushita Chiaki, Torture Points +2290]

"I wasn't trying to play the fool to catch the tiger..."

Matsushita Chiaki's mouth twitched a few times, and she couldn't help correcting him.

Of course she regretted it. She regretted it terribly!

She'd only controlled her scores on the entrance exam on a whim. Who could have known that Advanced Nurturing High School would assign students to classes based on their exam scores?

And she'd ended up in a class full of all kinds of freaks...

If heaven gave Matsushita Chiaki another chance, she would give the Advanced Nurturing High School entrance exam everything she had.

"What are you two doing?"

Just then, Karuizawa Kei happened to look up. Seeing Chihaya Rei and Matsushita leaning so close together and murmuring, she felt a little confused—and, for some reason, a little jealous.

"Discussing a difficult question."

Chihaya Rei answered smoothly, his expression composed. He didn't look like he was lying at all.

"Oh!" Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips.

She thought Chihaya Rei was whispering secrets to Matsushita Chiaki!

I was here first...