Suzune chose to go school earlier than usual for some last-minute studying with her group, as well as to ensure that they wouldn't be helpless when the exams begin. For that, she didn't walk with Kiyotaka all the way to their classroom as she always did, but that's fine. It was only one day and it's not like she needed to walk with him as if it was a requirement.
In Kikyo's case, as much as she wanted to continue plotting on how she would expel Suzune, she could always think about it some other time. Right now, that bitch was still useful and plotting against her would be a dumb move. Kikyo may not look like it, but she wanted to help her class too, even if it meant working with the two perverts whom she hated with every fiber of her being... which is why she also orchestrated a last-minute study session like Suzune. And for that, she chose not to walk with Kiyotaka to school because she had to get there earlier than usual.
However, both girls were unprepared for what they would see once Kiyotaka arrived.
They were on opposite sides of the room, surrounded by the students whom they were tutoring. Nobody else was there yet, because there was still about an hour left before their first period. The two were in the middle of explaining something to their classmates when they heard three voices from the door.
"For the final time, I can handle myself, okay?! What do you think I studied for?"
"It was only a question out of concern."
"You've asked me that three times in the past five minutes!"
"Never hurts to be sure."
"Uhm... I-I think you should stop shouting K-Karuizawa-san. We're finally here..."
"Tell that to this guy here, Sakura-san. He's worrying over nothing."
"I-I-I don't think Ayanokouji-kun is wrong... h-he's only worried that something might go wrong."
"Oh, you too? Look, I agree that nothing's wrong about being worried, but you're being paranoid instead. I can handle this. What, don't you have even the slightest bit of faith in me?"
"That's not what I'm trying to show."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had arrived at the classroom, and he wasn't alone. The two girls whom he was supposedly tutoring were with him, and they were all talking with each other while ignoring everyone else inside the room, as if they were left in their own world.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ The sight of the three students arriving together didn't exactly sit well with two girls in particular.
The students in her group all had their attention directed towards the three newcomers, so they weren't able to notice the look that Suzune had. She was frowning and a little pout had formed on her face, expressing her growing displeasure and annoyance at seeing Kiyotaka with two other girls.
"This is unacceptable," she thought to herself. She was almost tempted to march over to where he was, drag Kiyotaka back with her and keep him by her side until class starts, but she kept herself where she was. There's no need to act brashly out of nowhere.
But still, it felt wrong to see Sakura and Karuizawa in a position that belonged to her! It's always her who walked with him in the morning! It's been that way for the better part of two months now!
Meanwhile, Kikyo looked like she was about to explode at any moment, not even caring if her classmates saw her dropping her mask. Fortunately for her, no one could see her look of rage because they too were staring at Kiyotaka, Kei, and Airi.
"I shouldn't have gone to school early!" Kikyo shouted in her mind. She was gripping her pen tightly to the point that it could break into two at any second. Also, it appeared that she was wrong. Those two were interested in Kiyotaka too! She should have expected it since he had been spending time with them for a few weeks now.
Ugh, the love rivals just keep on increasing. First, it was Horikita, then it was followed by Ichinose, and now Karuizawa and Sakura! Who's next?! Matsushita? Shinohara? Sato? Every girl in class?!
Kikyo scoffed. She had no idea how at the moment, but she'll get his full attention again... even if she had to run over every single one of these girls to do it.
It wasn't just the girls, by the way. Two boys in particular were shaking in their seats out of rage and jealousy at seeing Kiyotaka with. It's almost like those two were his backup plan in case Horikita and Kushida weren't there.
"Ayanokouji, you lucky bastard! Not just Horikita and Kushida-chan, but you're also going to claim those two for yourself?! You're an enemy of all men!" cried Yamauchi as he started crying, because he could never have what Ayanokouji had.
"At least save some for us, damn it!" Ike added, only to shout in pain when someone smacked him on the back of his head.
"Don't make them uncomfortable, idiot!" Shinohara scolded him.
Forgetting his jealousy towards Ayanokouji for now, Ike gave the blue-haired girl a deep scowl. He had been putting up with this woman for long enough, and he was tired of being her punching bag!
"Stop telling me what to do, ugly!"
"I'll stop when you learn some common sense!"
"You could never understand how I feel!"
The two neighbors were unaware of how they were moving closer to one another because they were too preoccupied with insulting the other with various names. Their banter had even caught the attention of some of their classmates, who all sweat-dropped as they were quite used to seeing such a thing at this point.
"Dumbass!"
"Witch!"
"Pervert!"
"Hag!"
It was only after those two last insults that they finally realized how close they were to each other's faces, making them widen their eyes and blush at the same time. They stared at each other for a few moments, as if they were hypnotized by what they're seeing. Both teens snapped out of their trance quickly and separated from each other with burning red faces and their hearts beating faster than usual.
As a result, Ike was completely silent and couldn't continue his little crusade against Ayanokouji, which left Yamauchi as the only one who complained about the 'enemy of all men'.
Unfortunately for him, Kiyotaka wasn't even paying attention to anything that came out of his mouth. The young man knew that giving Yamauchi attention would only make things worse because it would prove his words to be true. So, by doing the opposite and ignoring the pervert, it would show that all he's saying is simply propaganda to make him look bad.
However, unlike him who can keep a straight face even in the direst of situations, both Airi and Kei were immediately affected by those remarks and blushed in embarrassment. Thankfully, the girls in Kushida's group have quickly dealt with Yamauchi by hitting him in the head with their notebooks repeatedly, shutting him up for good.
Despite that, the pervert's words had already taken effect. Kiyotaka decided to calm the two girls down before something bad could happen, like forgetting everything they've learned for the past weeks. Also, it's best to do it now when there aren't that many students in the classroom yet.
['To Protect Her Smile' has been Activated!]
He faced them both with a serious look that meant all-business. "Do you feel nervous about the exams today?" he asked.
The young man easily got their attention, though they still felt embarrassed because of Yamauchi's remarks. The embarrassment went double for Airi, because... well, because Kiyotaka had already claimed something of hers... the claim to be the first one to see her bare chest, that is.
"A-A-A-A little b-bit..." the redhead stuttered while turning away.
Kei was able to regain her bearings better than Airi, even though she was unable to get rid of the blush on her face. She wondered if Kiyotaka was even affected by Yamauchi's words, but the fact that he's not talking about it only shows that he truly doesn't have those kinds of thoughts in mind.
"N-Not really. I think I have a good chance of getting a really good score in everything," she said with a confident smile.
"You two will do great," he reassured them. "Don't overthink it when you get stuck on a question. If you do, you'll only end up forgetting what might be the correct answer. Stay calm and think about it carefully before you answer."
"Easy enough to do," Kei smirked and gave him a thumbs-up in response..
"I-I understand," Airi was able to give him a nod in spite of her flustered state at the moment.
"Good luck."
With that, the three students went to their respective desks. As soon as he sat down, Kiyotaka wasted no time and quickly buried his head into his arms for a little nap, knowing that he only had about half an hour of peace before the midterm examination began.
By the time the first bell rang, every student in Class D was already there, waiting for Chabashira-sensei to arrive. Some continued to do some last-minute reviewing, some felt incredibly nervous about the exam, while some were talking amongst each other as though they had nothing to worry about... oh, and there was also Koenji who was as confident and nonchalant as ever.
Once Chabashira entered the room, everyone stopped talking immediately and straightened themselves in their seats. They didn't want to anger their teacher right off the bat, especially now when it's so early in the morning and on the day of the midterms, no less.
"Good morning, everyone," the woman spoke as she took notice of the students who were present. "I see that nobody's absent today, huh? Good. At least you're taking this seriously."
"Of course we would take this seriously, Chabashira-sensei. Our life in this school is on the line, and everyone has been working hard in order to study everything that's included in the exams," Hirata spoke up, earning a nod from almost everyone in the room.
"Your optimism is commendable, but it's your abilities that will truly tell if you're worthy of remaining in this school," Chabashira smirked. "Now, your midterms will be the foundation of your academics. Your finals will take place in July. I implore everyone to do their best in order to pass because the school will be rewarding you with a nice vacation in the summer break if you do."
"A vacation?"
The idea of a vacation during their summer break immediately caught every student's attention, but they didn't react to it yet. They might only be hearing things and their teacher would definitely be mad if they assume things.
"On a beautiful island in the middle of the sea. The school will cover the expenses, of course, but as I said, you must first pass your final exams before you can even think of going there."
And with that confirmation, excitement began to fill everyone as they felt motivated to do even better. How could they not feel motivated? They were just promised a vacation if they passed their finals. While the girls simply thought about a fun vacation on an island, the boys were a little different.
It wasn't a surprise that a lot of the boys' minds instantly went to thoughts of their female classmates in their swimsuits. They may have been denied that chance during their swimming classes, but an island vacation was completely different! No one in their right mind would wear the school uniform during an island trip. They'll surely get to see babes in bikinis for the entirety of their vacation!
Even Kiyotaka wasn't safe from those thoughts despite his attempts to block it out. His mind fed him images of possibly seeing Suzune, Kikyo, Chiaki, Kei, and Airi in their swimsuits and who knows? He might even get to see Honami, Arisu, and Hiyori as well. And as much as he wanted to bury his head into the ground like an ostrich in order to forget these thoughts, the young man didn't exactly dislike the idea of seeing his heroines in bikinis.
Yep, this eroge system was changing him...
"Let's do our best, everyone!" Ike shouted at his classmates as he threw his fist into the air.
"YEAH!"
Led by Ike's enthusiasm, albeit misguided, it seemed as if the class morale had a drastic increase in a matter of moments. If they weren't motivated to do their best in the exams before, then they were definitely going to aim for a high score in all of their subjects now.
After telling her class to be quiet. Sae distributed the test papers for the first subject, which was Social Studies. As soon as they received their papers, each student went right to work with newfound resolve.
Kiyotaka scanned the exam paper after receiving his, and didn't really see anything that was remotely challenging in it. In fact, he could answer the test in less than ten minutes, give or take. The only concern he had with it is the issue of how many points he should aim for.
"Time to finish these in record time so I can sleep," he thought. "A high score but lower than a perfect one should be good. Horikita might complain that I'm holding back in that instance, but I'll tell her that it's at least better than a failing grade."
And so, after he was done with the exam, Kiyotaka was able to take a nap just like he wanted to. He did the same the next ones, ignoring the weird looks he was getting from his classmates because of how fast he had been answering each test. Some of them were even wondering if he was actually taking it seriously, but no one blurted out a word about his strange attitude.
Suzune chose to go school earlier than usual for some last-minute studying with her group, as well as to ensure that they wouldn't be helpless when the exams begin. For that, she didn't walk with Kiyotaka all the way to their classroom as she always did, but that's fine. It was only one day and it's not like she needed to walk with him as if it was a requirement.
In Kikyo's case, as much as she wanted to continue plotting on how she would expel Suzune, she could always think about it some other time. Right now, that bitch was still useful and plotting against her would be a dumb move. Kikyo may not look like it, but she wanted to help her class too, even if it meant working with the two perverts whom she hated with every fiber of her being... which is why she also orchestrated a last-minute study session like Suzune. And for that, she chose not to walk with Kiyotaka to school because she had to get there earlier than usual.
However, both girls were unprepared for what they would see once Kiyotaka arrived.
They were on opposite sides of the room, surrounded by the students whom they were tutoring. Nobody else was there yet, because there was still about an hour left before their first period. The two were in the middle of explaining something to their classmates when they heard three voices from the door.
"For the final time, I can handle myself, okay?! What do you think I studied for?"
"It was only a question out of concern."
"You've asked me that three times in the past five minutes!"
"Never hurts to be sure."
"Uhm... I-I think you should stop shouting K-Karuizawa-san. We're finally here..."
"Tell that to this guy here, Sakura-san. He's worrying over nothing."
"I-I-I don't think Ayanokouji-kun is wrong... h-he's only worried that something might go wrong."
"Oh, you too? Look, I agree that nothing's wrong about being worried, but you're being paranoid instead. I can handle this. What, don't you have even the slightest bit of faith in me?"
"That's not what I'm trying to show."
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had arrived at the classroom, and he wasn't alone. The two girls whom he was supposedly tutoring were with him, and they were all talking with each other while ignoring everyone else inside the room, as if they were left in their own world.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ The sight of the three students arriving together didn't exactly sit well with two girls in particular.
The students in her group all had their attention directed towards the three newcomers, so they weren't able to notice the look that Suzune had. She was frowning and a little pout had formed on her face, expressing her growing displeasure and annoyance at seeing Kiyotaka with two other girls.
"This is unacceptable," she thought to herself. She was almost tempted to march over to where he was, drag Kiyotaka back with her and keep him by her side until class starts, but she kept herself where she was. There's no need to act brashly out of nowhere.
But still, it felt wrong to see Sakura and Karuizawa in a position that belonged to her! It's always her who walked with him in the morning! It's been that way for the better part of two months now!
Meanwhile, Kikyo looked like she was about to explode at any moment, not even caring if her classmates saw her dropping her mask. Fortunately for her, no one could see her look of rage because they too were staring at Kiyotaka, Kei, and Airi.
"I shouldn't have gone to school early!" Kikyo shouted in her mind. She was gripping her pen tightly to the point that it could break into two at any second. Also, it appeared that she was wrong. Those two were interested in Kiyotaka too! She should have expected it since he had been spending time with them for a few weeks now.
Ugh, the love rivals just keep on increasing. First, it was Horikita, then it was followed by Ichinose, and now Karuizawa and Sakura! Who's next?! Matsushita? Shinohara? Sato? Every girl in class?!
Kikyo scoffed. She had no idea how at the moment, but she'll get his full attention again... even if she had to run over every single one of these girls to do it.
It wasn't just the girls, by the way. Two boys in particular were shaking in their seats out of rage and jealousy at seeing Kiyotaka with. It's almost like those two were his backup plan in case Horikita and Kushida weren't there.
"Ayanokouji, you lucky bastard! Not just Horikita and Kushida-chan, but you're also going to claim those two for yourself?! You're an enemy of all men!" cried Yamauchi as he started crying, because he could never have what Ayanokouji had.
"At least save some for us, damn it!" Ike added, only to shout in pain when someone smacked him on the back of his head.
"Don't make them uncomfortable, idiot!" Shinohara scolded him.
Forgetting his jealousy towards Ayanokouji for now, Ike gave the blue-haired girl a deep scowl. He had been putting up with this woman for long enough, and he was tired of being her punching bag!
"Stop telling me what to do, ugly!"
"I'll stop when you learn some common sense!"
"You could never understand how I feel!"
The two neighbors were unaware of how they were moving closer to one another because they were too preoccupied with insulting the other with various names. Their banter had even caught the attention of some of their classmates, who all sweat-dropped as they were quite used to seeing such a thing at this point.
"Dumbass!"
"Witch!"
"Pervert!"
"Hag!"
It was only after those two last insults that they finally realized how close they were to each other's faces, making them widen their eyes and blush at the same time. They stared at each other for a few moments, as if they were hypnotized by what they're seeing. Both teens snapped out of their trance quickly and separated from each other with burning red faces and their hearts beating faster than usual.
As a result, Ike was completely silent and couldn't continue his little crusade against Ayanokouji, which left Yamauchi as the only one who complained about the 'enemy of all men'.
Unfortunately for him, Kiyotaka wasn't even paying attention to anything that came out of his mouth. The young man knew that giving Yamauchi attention would only make things worse because it would prove his words to be true. So, by doing the opposite and ignoring the pervert, it would show that all he's saying is simply propaganda to make him look bad.
However, unlike him who can keep a straight face even in the direst of situations, both Airi and Kei were immediately affected by those remarks and blushed in embarrassment. Thankfully, the girls in Kushida's group have quickly dealt with Yamauchi by hitting him in the head with their notebooks repeatedly, shutting him up for good.
Despite that, the pervert's words had already taken effect. Kiyotaka decided to calm the two girls down before something bad could happen, like forgetting everything they've learned for the past weeks. Also, it's best to do it now when there aren't that many students in the classroom yet.
['To Protect Her Smile' has been Activated!]
He faced them both with a serious look that meant all-business. "Do you feel nervous about the exams today?" he asked.
The young man easily got their attention, though they still felt embarrassed because of Yamauchi's remarks. The embarrassment went double for Airi, because... well, because Kiyotaka had already claimed something of hers... the claim to be the first one to see her bare chest, that is.
"A-A-A-A little b-bit..." the redhead stuttered while turning away.
Kei was able to regain her bearings better than Airi, even though she was unable to get rid of the blush on her face. She wondered if Kiyotaka was even affected by Yamauchi's words, but the fact that he's not talking about it only shows that he truly doesn't have those kinds of thoughts in mind.
"N-Not really. I think I have a good chance of getting a really good score in everything," she said with a confident smile.
"You two will do great," he reassured them. "Don't overthink it when you get stuck on a question. If you do, you'll only end up forgetting what might be the correct answer. Stay calm and think about it carefully before you answer."
"Easy enough to do," Kei smirked and gave him a thumbs-up in response..
"I-I understand," Airi was able to give him a nod in spite of her flustered state at the moment.
"Good luck."
With that, the three students went to their respective desks. As soon as he sat down, Kiyotaka wasted no time and quickly buried his head into his arms for a little nap, knowing that he only had about half an hour of peace before the midterm examination began.
By the time the first bell rang, every student in Class D was already there, waiting for Chabashira-sensei to arrive. Some continued to do some last-minute reviewing, some felt incredibly nervous about the exam, while some were talking amongst each other as though they had nothing to worry about... oh, and there was also Koenji who was as confident and nonchalant as ever.
Once Chabashira entered the room, everyone stopped talking immediately and straightened themselves in their seats. They didn't want to anger their teacher right off the bat, especially now when it's so early in the morning and on the day of the midterms, no less.
"Good morning, everyone," the woman spoke as she took notice of the students who were present. "I see that nobody's absent today, huh? Good. At least you're taking this seriously."
"Of course we would take this seriously, Chabashira-sensei. Our life in this school is on the line, and everyone has been working hard in order to study everything that's included in the exams," Hirata spoke up, earning a nod from almost everyone in the room.
"Your optimism is commendable, but it's your abilities that will truly tell if you're worthy of remaining in this school," Chabashira smirked. "Now, your midterms will be the foundation of your academics. Your finals will take place in July. I implore everyone to do their best in order to pass because the school will be rewarding you with a nice vacation in the summer break if you do."
"A vacation?"
The idea of a vacation during their summer break immediately caught every student's attention, but they didn't react to it yet. They might only be hearing things and their teacher would definitely be mad if they assume things.
"On a beautiful island in the middle of the sea. The school will cover the expenses, of course, but as I said, you must first pass your final exams before you can even think of going there."
And with that confirmation, excitement began to fill everyone as they felt motivated to do even better. How could they not feel motivated? They were just promised a vacation if they passed their finals. While the girls simply thought about a fun vacation on an island, the boys were a little different.
It wasn't a surprise that a lot of the boys' minds instantly went to thoughts of their female classmates in their swimsuits. They may have been denied that chance during their swimming classes, but an island vacation was completely different! No one in their right mind would wear the school uniform during an island trip. They'll surely get to see babes in bikinis for the entirety of their vacation!
Even Kiyotaka wasn't safe from those thoughts despite his attempts to block it out. His mind fed him images of possibly seeing Suzune, Kikyo, Chiaki, Kei, and Airi in their swimsuits and who knows? He might even get to see Honami, Arisu, and Hiyori as well. And as much as he wanted to bury his head into the ground like an ostrich in order to forget these thoughts, the young man didn't exactly dislike the idea of seeing his heroines in bikinis.
Yep, this eroge system was changing him...
"Let's do our best, everyone!" Ike shouted at his classmates as he threw his fist into the air.
"YEAH!"
Led by Ike's enthusiasm, albeit misguided, it seemed as if the class morale had a drastic increase in a matter of moments. If they weren't motivated to do their best in the exams before, then they were definitely going to aim for a high score in all of their subjects now.
After telling her class to be quiet. Sae distributed the test papers for the first subject, which was Social Studies. As soon as they received their papers, each student went right to work with newfound resolve.
Kiyotaka scanned the exam paper after receiving his, and didn't really see anything that was remotely challenging in it. In fact, he could answer the test in less than ten minutes, give or take. The only concern he had with it is the issue of how many points he should aim for.
"Time to finish these in record time so I can sleep," he thought. "A high score but lower than a perfect one should be good. Horikita might complain that I'm holding back in that instance, but I'll tell her that it's at least better than a failing grade."
And so, after he was done with the exam, Kiyotaka was able to take a nap just like he wanted to. He did the same the next ones, ignoring the weird looks he was getting from his classmates because of how fast he had been answering each test. Some of them were even wondering if he was actually taking it seriously, but no one blurted out a word about his strange attitude.
