After the first period on Friday morning ended, Haruno Ayato turned around with a nervous expression.
"Sasaki kun, how do you feel about this exam?"
His eyes wavered as he glanced at Sasaki's face, carefully choosing his words.
After all, he didn't have any friends apart from Sasaki, and considering they were at the same academic level, it was better not to sour the mood.
So, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to ask directly.
After all, things were different now—Sasaki was not only his friend, but he was already dating Kasumi nee.
By relationship, that made him his brother-in-law.
Talking about this should be fine.
"Feels... okay, I guess? The questions were a bit tough, but even in the worst case I won't need remedial classes. What about you?"
Sasaki met the boy's gaze, thought for a second, and gave a vague answer.
He knew Ayato came to chat with him, clearly carrying some psychological pressure and wanting to vent it out.
If he said right now that he had performed great and passed everything comfortably, the pressure on Ayato would only increase.
But if he said he did badly, and then the results came out showing he passed everything, this guy might overthink it even more.
No matter what, he was his lover's little brother; he should at least consider this guy's feelings.
Hearing his steady, noncommittal reply, Ayato's expression relaxed a little.
Seeing his reaction, Sasaki raised an eyebrow and teased with a smile.
"What's wrong? Afraid I'll do so badly, Kasumi will scold me?"
"Compared to me, you should probably act a bit cuter in front of Kasumi these days. Otherwise, when the results come out, and she's not satisfied, you're the one who's going to suffer."
Although it was teasing, what Sasaki said was actually a practical suggestion.
If Haruno Ayato really did terribly this time, then his behavior over the next few days would become especially important.
If he behaved well, Kasumi might lighten his punishment at her discretion.
If not...well.
"Uh..."
Caught off guard by Sasaki's words, Ayato silently noted the advice in his heart.
But this time it probably wouldn't be needed. He was actually quite satisfied with how he performed on this exam.
He should get a pretty good score.
Both he and his "brother-in-law" were confident about their results this time...
Ayato smiled and asked.
"Did Sasaki-kun use to do this a lot? You sound really experienced..."
"Back then? My grades used to be decent. I only slipped because I was away for a long time..."
Sasaki shook his head and answered casually.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he noticed someone watching, so he turned his head and asked:
"Sa... Yasui san, how did you do this time? Think you can get the first place again?"
Hm...He had almost called her more intimately, but noticing his brother-in-law was close, and how tense she suddenly became, he remembered they were in the middle of break, other people around might overhear...
Though for Yasui Sara, what she feared most was Miwa Itsuki overhearing and misunderstanding.
Thinking about it, he shifted his gaze to the other side of Yasui Sara, toward the handsome-looking boy sitting there, and shook his head speechlessly.
Sleeping in class, chatting after class—this childhood friend really didn't pay any attention to her at all.
This was the extreme case of childhood friends.
Sasaki wasn't sure whether Miwa simply didn't care or had just not noticed her feelings.
However, toying with a girl's heart like that was asking for divine punishment.
Pulling his gaze back, he focused on the girl in front of him...the busty one with twin tails.
He had heard before that girls who liked tying their hair into twin tails were mostly tsunderes.
Sasaki used to think that statement was a bit biased, but now he felt the person who said it was absolutely right.
She clearly liked this guy so much, yet refused to admit it and waited for him to make the first move...
If that wasn't tsundere, what was?
There was also that saying: tsundere are losing dogs.
Sasaki felt that was spot on too...
Yasui Sara's current "want but cannot have" appearance was a textbook losing dog.
Being stared at by the young with that "poor losing dog" look made the latter feel extremely uncomfortable.
She really wanted to snap, "What are you staring at?", but since Haruno Ayato, who got along well with Sasaki, was also looking over, the girl could only frown and reply fiercely.
"You're overestimating me.
There are plenty of people in class who do well. I can't get the first rank."
"Huh? You got first on the weekly test. I figured you could do it again this time. Yasui san studies so hard."
"You're just saying nice things, you id..."
Before she could finish, the girl, realizing how overly intimate that sounded, paused as her soft, flushed cheeks turned even redder, and her scolding tone abruptly became stiff and distant.
"You... other classmates study hard too. It's not just me..."
As she spoke, she glanced at Haruno Ayato sitting in front of Sasaki.
Because of his presence, she could only mutter the second half of her sentence in a voice quiet enough for only herself to hear:
"For example, you've been improving a lot."
They didn't talk much usually, but they were seatmates after all.
When the results came out, a sideways glance was enough to see.
So she had always noticed his progress.
And deep down, she was happy for him.
In comparison, Miwa kun's scores on the last few weekly tests had been...
Before she could turn to look at the man she had a crush on, a sound came from his side.
"Wanting to abuse someone?"
"Miwa, your joke is kinda interesting. Tell us, what kind of abuse are we talking about?"
Leaning against Miwa's desk, a short-haired boy with narrowed eyes asked with a cheeky grin.
Miwa's expression didn't change because of the boy's teasing.
In his usual listless tone, he said. "Should I say I got influenced by a sadistic urge, or that I simply want to see someone looking pathetic... I'm not really sure. It just felt natural to want to do it."
"So, have you actually done it?" the boy asked.
"Well..."
Before Miwa could hesitate and answer, a blue-haired teacher who had somehow appeared standing just outside the back door placed one hand on her hip and repeated expressionlessly:
"Hm?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but the tone was like a cold gust of wind, making all the students in the back rows shiver in unison.
They followed the sound.
A blue-haired female teacher dressed in light gray professional attire stood at the doorway, looking at them.
In their class, there were only two blue-haired teachers who taught them.
One was Takamine Ayako, the other was Kisaragi Miyuki.
Judging by clothing habits, the one who wore dark-colored professional outfits was Takamine Ayako, while the one in light colors was Kisaragi Miyuki.
From the clothes alone, they could already identify the teacher at the door.
The back-row students immediately lowered their heads in unison, avoiding any eye contact with her to prevent getting dragged into trouble.
If it had been an ordinary teacher who overheard Miwa's words, they would have treated it as typical student banter and let it slide.
But Kisaragi Miyuki's rigid seriousness and inability to take jokes were infamous throughout the entire grade.
Getting caught red-handed by her this time...
Itsuki Miwa was done for.
Just as the students had expected, Kisaragi Miyuki kept her face cold and said in a completely emotionless voice:
"After the next period ends, Miwa, come with me to the student guidance room."
The moment those words came out, Yasui Sara furrowed her delicate brows and looked at the young man with eyes full of worry and distress.
Clearly, seeing the person she liked get scolded made her feel bad, too.
Before she could open her mouth to say a few words in defense of him,
Kisaragi Miyuki, who was standing at the doorway with her slim waist pinched, shifted her gaze toward Sasaki, who was sitting by the window.
Unlike the icy hardness she showed toward Miwa, the look she directed at Sasaki was soft and drifting, like a gentle early-spring breeze carrying a faint, almost imperceptible warmth.
But the words she spoke still carried no detectable emotion.
"Sasaki, you come too."
As soon as the words fell, the amused, watching-the-show look in Sasaki's eyes instantly turned to astonishment.
This wasn't what he expected...
Shouldn't she be avoiding him, trying to prevent him from bringing up what happened yesterday?
Why...
Seeing the surprise in the young man's eyes, two faint blushes quietly appeared on Kisaragi Miyuki's otherwise expressionless pretty face.
She wasn't stupid.
With just a little thought, she understood exactly why Sasaki was surprised.
...Pretending nothing happened would be very easy.
It could avoid a lot of awkwardness.
But this was her first time, after all...
The virginity she'd kept for years, how could she just muddle through and give herself away so casually...
Although she didn't know what to do, Kisaragi Miyuki wanted to know his thoughts about what happened last night...