Buying Exam Questions

There was one week left until the exams.

The study sessions continued, but some had already sentenced themselves to death.

Sudo, for example, had stopped attending the study sessions. Every day, he just went to basketball practice with his club.

Ayanokoji had gone to see him.

"Sudo, aren't you going to the study sessions? Ike and Yamauchi are attending."

"At this point, what's the use of struggling?"

Sudo had already given up.

It was Horikita who went to see Sudo afterward.

Horikita handed Sudo her study notes, hoping he would not give up.

"I'm teaching you because it benefits me.

You need to study for yourself too.

So you can keep playing basketball at this school."

Horikita's words struck deep into Sudo's soul.

Sudo did not say anything, but he attended every study session Kushida and Horikita organized afterward.

Though his attitude was good, there was no longer enough time.

Today's study session ended.

Kushida left with Shiomiya.

"Shiomiya, what do you think we can do to keep Sudo and the others from being expelled?"

"There has to be a way. Sudo and the others clearly can't raise their academic ability in such a short time.

But the school still admitted them, which means there must be a solution within the school."

"What is it?"

"Sorry, I haven't thought of one."

"You're really asking for it! Hmph!"

Kushida stomped on Shiomiya's toes again.

"Hiss!"

That really hurt!

Shiomiya was wearing sneakers today. They were light and breathable over the top of his feet, but offered almost no protection.

"There are only a few ways to pass an exam. Either you're academically strong enough yourself, or you take shortcuts—find out the exam range, get the questions, or cheat during the exam."

"See which of those they can manage."

"Right now, all you can do is help them find out the exam range."

Shiomiya stated his thoughts outright, and Kushida nodded, finding them reasonable.

"You go find it," Kushida said as if it were only natural.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you owe me. You don't have the right to refuse! Got it?" Kushida said, emphasizing every word.

With that, she left.

Shiomiya was forced to take on the task. He really did not want to concern himself with other people.

Then inspiration struck Shiomiya. He could just outsource it.

He took out his phone.

[Shiomiya: Ayanokoji, do you know how to help Sudo and the others?]

[Ayanokoji: Yeah, I have some ideas.]

Oh!

Shiomiya's eyes lit up. It looked like Ayanokoji had already figured it out. That was perfect.

Shiomiya told him his guess, and Ayanokoji agreed.

[Shiomiya: Good luck! Class D is counting on you.]

On the other side, Ayanokoji held his phone and wanted to argue, but after thinking it over, he gave up. He had promised Horikita he would help anyway.

Everything was naturally perfect on Shiomiya's end.

That settled the matter. He could just have Ayanokoji tell him the results later.

Two days before the exam.

Ayanokoji asked Kushida to meet him in the cafeteria.

"Ayanokoji, this is the first time you've invited me out yourself. There's a reason, right?"

Kushida still maintained her friendly persona in front of Ayanokoji. After all, when she confronted Horikita, Ayanokoji had fled the battlefield early.

"Can you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Mm!" Kushida nodded, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled.

Ayanokoji took Kushida to secretly observe someone.

Kushida found the scene somewhat familiar.

Was Ayanokoji going to take her along to blackmail someone too?

Then Ayanokoji explained his idea of buying exam questions and asked Kushida to help.

Only then did Kushida realize she had misunderstood.

Once their target sat down, Ayanokoji made his move.

"Let's go!"

Ayanokoji led Kushida over to a third-year student.

Ayanokoji sat beside him, while Kushida sat across from him, boxing him in.

"Excuse me, you're a senior, right?"

Ayanokoji spoke first. The senior had only just processed what was happening when he realized he had been surrounded.

"I'm Ayanokoji from Class D, first year. You're in Class D too, aren't you, senpai?"

"Ah... yes," the senior answered somewhat blankly.

Ayanokoji glanced at the mountain vegetable set meal in front of him.

"It may be free, but it doesn't taste very good, does it?"

"What do you want?"

The senior was beginning to sound impatient.

"I want to discuss something with you, senpai. Of course, I'll compensate you."

"Do you have the questions from the midterms two years ago? I'd like to buy them from you."

The senior immediately panicked and spoke nervously.

"Why did you come to me?"

"It's simple. People short on points are more likely to agree.

And you're currently eating an unappetizing free meal."

The senior fell silent for a moment.

"How much can you offer?"

"Ten thousand. That's my limit."

"I'm taking a risk too. At least thirty thousand points."

"No matter what, thirty thousand is impossible."

The senior suddenly became firm.

"Then there's nothing to discuss."

Kushida stood up then. "Please wait. Our friend might be expelled. Please, help us."

Kushida furrowed her brows slightly, tears glimmering in her eyes. She looked at the senior with that innocent, pitiable expression, even unconsciously leaning toward him.

The senior had never faced a scene like this before, and for a moment, his mind went blank.

"Ten thousand," Ayanokoji said at just the right moment.

"Twenty-five thousand."

"Ten thousand."

"Twenty thousand."

"Ten thousand."

While Ayanokoji haggled, Kushida kept staring at the senior, piling on the pressure.

Who could refuse the request of a sweet, soft, adorable junior girl?

The senior closed his eyes, not daring to look at Kushida anymore.

"I'd be losing too much this way. Besides, I often go out to eat with Shiomiya, so I'm not that short on points."

Kushida froze. She had not expected to hear Shiomiya's name here.

"Do you mean Shiomiya Yo?"

The senior was also taken aback by Kushida's question.

"You know him?"

After a brief exchange, they learned that Shiomiya often specifically invited this senior out for meals.

Kushida immediately called Shiomiya.

Shiomiya happened to be near the cafeteria, so he came right over.

When Shiomiya saw Ayanokoji and Kushida together, his expression visibly stiffened.

Did the matter of asking Ayanokoji for help get exposed?

"What do you need?"

After Shiomiya sat down and briefly learned the situation, he made a decision right away.

"Senpai, you'll have a spot at my dinner every day from now on. Give us the midterm questions and quizzes from two years ago."

Ayanokoji did not object. It was convenient not to have to spend his own points.

Doing something for the class was not like doing something for Shiomiya. There would not be reimbursement.

The senior thought it over and found it very worthwhile. This way, he could eat a feast every night.

That was worth far more than tens of thousands of points.

"Okay!"

Shiomiya did not think he was losing out either. He had to find so many people every day anyway, so keeping one person fixed was no big deal.

The dishes Shiomiya did not eat were not something one person could finish.

Once everything was settled.

The three rested on a bench beside the fountain outside.

"Is this really okay?" Kushida felt a little uneasy.

"It's fine. This is within the range the school allows," Ayanokoji explained simply.

Shiomiya nodded in agreement.

"You can tell from the senior's reaction that this kind of trade is not uncommon among students," Shiomiya added.

"Anyway, we're just looking at the exam range and giving Sudo and the others some insurance."

Shiomiya's phone rang.

It was photos of the quizzes and midterm papers the senior had sent.

Ayanokoji took out one of his own quiz papers and began comparing them.

"They're exactly the same."

"Great!" Kushida clapped happily in celebration.

"Then the midterms are probably the same too.

Let's hurry and show these to everyone."