After leaving Horikita's dorm room, Kazami began seriously considering his study plan for the midterms.
With Ayanokoji's core idea of taking a "shortcut through past exam papers," a new, workable plan also came to Kazami's mind.
But he had his own plans to carry out afterward, leaving him no spare time at all.
His earlier promise to Hirata to tutor Hasebe and Sakura was now in serious jeopardy.
Going back on his word was out of the question; it would betray his friend's trust. But what lay ahead concerned...
Kazami scratched his head as he walked, his face full of indecision. What could he do to get the best of both worlds without holding up either side?
After thinking it over, the most suitable candidate was none other than Chiaki Matsushita, who kept her abilities hidden.
The next day, Kazami wasted no time putting his plan into action and waited downstairs at the dorm building until Chiaki Matsushita came down. He was also carrying the breakfast Horikita had made herself that morning, borrowing someone else's gift to win Matsushita over and solve his substitute-tutor problem.
"Good morning, my dear friend Matsushita. I brought you breakfast."
Kazami handed the breakfast over, looking every bit the loyal friend.
Chiaki Matsushita froze. Looking at the unexpected, thoughtful breakfast, she showed not the slightest trace of pleasant surprise. Instead, deep confusion rose in her eyes. She stared straight at Kazami with an inexplicably strange look, as though studying some rare, unknown creature.
Am I still dreaming? She secretly pinched herself. Yep, that hurts. I'm not dreaming. Then why is Kazami bringing me breakfast? Could he like me... No, no way. She could see no sign of it in those clear, foolish eyes of his. She could still recognize affection and admiration when she saw them.
Uncomfortable under her stare, Kazami hurriedly waved a hand and casually added, "Oh, right, there's water too."
With that, he produced a bottle of mineral water and thoughtfully placed it in Matsushita's hand. Five-star service. Surely this will move Matsushita to tears. Getting her to help me in a moment will be a piece of cake.
Matsushita took the breakfast in one hand and the mineral water in the other, her expression growing increasingly peculiar. After two seconds of silence, she delivered a soul-searching question. "Out with it. Who do you want to kill?"
Aside from that, Matsushita really could not think of any reason for Kazami to be so ingratiating toward her. They were on good terms, but not to the point of going out of their way to bring each other breakfast.
Kazami clutched his chest as though he had suffered a devastating blow, his face filled with disbelief. "What?! Is that really what you think of me? We're close friends!"
Matsushita remained unmoved, the suspicion in her eyes not diminishing in the slightest. She was not about to believe that nonsense.
Helpless, Kazami began recalling the past, trying to salvage his kind, upright image. "Young lady, think carefully. If you round things off, I practically saved you before. Could you have a little more trust in people? Am I really that awful in your eyes?"
At that, Matsushita retorted, "...You're rounding off an awful lot."
He had helped her before, but calling it a life-saving favor was going too far. She looked Kazami up and down as he behaved so out of character. The more she looked, the stranger he seemed, and she could not resist teasing him. "If you don't want anything, then the person standing in front of me definitely isn't you. Who are you? Hurry up and get out of my friend's body. I know a thing or two about exorcism too."
Her remarks made Kazami laugh in exasperation. "I kindly bring you breakfast, and you're this suspicious of me? Where's the trust between people?!"
Beside him, Matsushita did not buy his act at all. She unwrapped the breakfast and took small bites as she continued, "When have you ever gotten up this early? And you're even bringing me food of your own accord. Come clean. Are you cooking up some shady scheme again?"
Kazami puffed out his chest and raised his head, looking utterly righteous. "I've always been a diligent, studious, kindhearted model student. You're just bad at noticing my good points!"
Matsushita stopped chewing, her face practically saying, "Do I look like I believe you?" She asked, "Do you believe that yourself?"
Exposed to his face, Kazami did not panic in the slightest. "Good company makes you good, and bad company makes you bad! No, wait, Chiaki's company makes you bad. I've spent too long under your influence, and it's rubbed off on me!"
Hearing that, Matsushita rolled her eyes and gave a haughty snort before continuing to eat. "Hmph. Even if you've poisoned it, I'll take my chances. I'm starving."
Kazami suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, you know how to exorcise ghosts too. Is your family in that line of work?"
Matsushita shook her head. "No, my family runs a company."
Kazami understood. "Oh, I get it. An Exorcism Company."
Matsushita suddenly did not know what to say. Was I not clear enough?
"No! Some heavy industries. Besides, exorcism is easy to learn. You just take a stick and give the person spouting nonsense a good beating. Once it hurts, they naturally won't dare talk nonsense anymore."
As she explained her method, she made a point of staring at Kazami.
Now it was Kazami's turn to be at a loss for words. What kind of physical approach to exorcism is that? She clearly just wants an excuse to beat me up.
Seeing that she was almost finished eating, Kazami stopped beating around the bush and finally got to the point, stating his real request.
"Actually, I really do need something from you. I promised Hirata I'd help tutor Hasebe and Sakura, but I can't be in two places at once right now. So I wanted to ask you to fill in for me and tutor the two of them for a while."
At those words, Matsushita choked and coughed hard twice, looking at Kazami in disbelief.
Once she recovered, she immediately waved her hand in refusal. "And you said you didn't want anything? Sure enough, people who are nice for no reason are always up to no good. I'm a gyaru, you know! I can barely keep my own grades afloat, and you actually dare ask me to tutor other people?"
Kazami: ...
Honestly, in Kazami's eyes, Class D's so-called gyarus hardly lived up to the name. Aside from Satsuki Shinohara, whose personality somewhat fit the gyaru image, everyone else's gyaru style was far too superficial, all looks and no substance. They could not compare at all to the genuinely difficult-to-mess-with gyarus he had met before. They were more than a notch below.
Chiaki Matsushita, standing before him, was a prime example. What kind of gyaru was so knowledgeable and had so many talents?
Kazami directly exposed her disguise. "Stop pretending. After spending so much time with you, how could I not know what you're really capable of? From our everyday conversations, you've definitely had an elite education. Your grades couldn't be that bad, no matter how poorly you did. Tutoring two classmates with weak foundations would be a breeze for you."
That was one reason. Of course, what also made Kazami so certain were some of the skills he had copied from her. Although she was not as formidable as Ayanokoji, she was still outstanding in her own right. These were two treasures he had discovered.
Faced with Kazami's analysis, Matsushita gave a few awkward laughs. "Haha, what nonsense are you talking about, Kazami? Why can't I understand a word of it? Since when was I that impressive?"
Even after Kazami exposed her, she still refused to admit it, deliberately playing dumb in the hope of bluffing her way through.
Before you continue