Blossom High School, the most famous high school due to its top-tier school system that has managed to create countless extraordinary students. It is said that many colleges and workplaces fight to secure the school's graduates.
Thousands of students from around the world apply every year, but only a few are accepted. This is due to the school strict requirements.
"Luckily for Ren Kaito, he was able to meet Blossom High School's demanding requirements with ease. Being gifted both intellectually and physically was an insane feat. The school accepted him without a second thought.
Three years had passed since he first enrolled, and he was one of the few to achieve a perfect 9.0 GPA in five consecutive exams. Getting an 8.0 GPA was already considered a genius-level achievement, thanks to the school's extremely tough grading system. In this system, an A grade alone required a perfect score of 100 marks, while 95-99 was a B, 90-94 a C, 85-89 a D, and anything below 84 was a fail. Not only was the grading system incredibly tough, but the exam questions themselves were also extremely challenging for high school students, even some colleges considered them difficult. This explains why so many students were expelled each year.
Today is the day that will determine whether he'll manage to maintain his streak or not. The classroom was noisy as usual, with many people having conversations with their friends. Then, the teacher entered the class and slowly walked to the desk, holding a file that looked like their exam results.
"Good morning, class. I will now announce your final exam results," the teacher said.
The classroom slowly quieted down. Ren Kaito didn't change his posture. One hand rested on the desk, relaxed as always. He already knew what was coming.
"First place: Ren Kaito. With a GPA: 9.00 out of 9.00."
For a moment, there was silence. Then the room exploded.
"Of course it's him again!" "Six times in a row now!" "That guy is insane!"
His friend, Ryo patted his shoulder. "Congrats, Kaito. You're really are something else." Another friend, Sora laughed. "I studied so hard everyday and still can't catch you." Around them, girls were already whispering. "He's so amazing…" "Do you think he would accept a confession?" "No way, he rejects everyone." Someone sighed. "Even Mai Karina got rejected…" "The famous Mai Karina? Seriously?" "Yeah, they said Kaito never accepts anyone."
The class kept talking, getting louder, but Ren wasn't really listening. He was used to it. He took out his phone and opened the full ranking list. Not to see his own result—that part didn't matter anymore—but to see the senior list. Then he saw it.
One name at the top.
Perfect scores in every subject. Every term. No mistakes. No drops.
Airi Kotoko.
Ren stared at it for a while.
"…Perfect in everything...again? Even I can't do that consistently." He leaned back slightly. "That kind of result shows that she's an absolute genius." He sighed. "I wish I was like her."
Ryo, who sit next to him turned to him after listening to the gossip. "Hey, Kaito. What are you looking at?" Slowly, he took a peek at Kaito's phone. "Oh?" He smiled.
Kaito pushed his friend's head slowly. "Nothing. Mind your own business."
He fought back, trying to get a clear look. "Liar. I bet you're looking at the exam result site right?" After a moment of struggle, Kaito finally gave up and stopped pushing him. "Geez, fine."
"I didn't know you could give up too." He laughed, then he leaned closer. "…Ah, Airi Kotoko." His tone changed slightly. "She's our senior. A real genius. She's a gold medalist in the national math competition." Ren raised a brow slightly. "She even beat older students in competitions." "That sounds exaggerated." "Maybe. But her grades aren't. She got perfect scores for every term and exam." His friend grinned. "But she's also super quiet and always alone in the library. No friends." Then he added with a teasing smile, "Is she your type?"
Ren blushed. "Shut up!" He pushed him.
Ryo fell to the floor as Ren pushed him. "Ow, come on Kaito, I'm obviously joking, geez." He slowly got to his feet.
The class went on as usual.
Later that day, Ren went to the library during recess. He carefully walked, making sure nobody saw him enter to avoid people chasing him. He was popular, after all, and handling a crowd of people drained his energy. He looked around before entering the library. "Finally, no one's here."
As he entered the library, Ren walked quietly, his steps light and calm. He moved with ease, scanning the room as he made his way deeper inside. That's when he spotted someone.
A girl was standing on her toes near a high shelf, trying to reach a book. Her fingers barely touched the edge. "She's too short to grab it," he laughed softly. Without thinking much, Ren walked over and reached for the book, easily grabbing it. But as he was about to hand it over, he caught a glimpse of the book. "Adventure in Another World…?" He read it slowly before handing it to her.
"Oh, you're into fantasy?"
The girl flinched slightly, then quickly took the book from him. "I just like it…" she said quietly.
Ren nodded. "Well, it's not like I'm making fun of you."
She looked a bit relieved, looking down, avoiding eye contact with Ren.
Ren was dumbfounded by her silent behavior. He had never met anyone who acted like that around him before. Then he spoke again. "I mean, I read those too sometimes during my free time."
That caught her attention. Her eyes moved up slightly. "…Really?"
"Yeah, it's fun," Ren answered.
A short silence followed. Then Ren looked at her more carefully. Something about her felt familiar.
"…Wait."
She was startled.
Ren checked her face properly now. "Are you Airi Kotoko?" His eyes narrowed, trying to remember the face he saw earlier on his phone this morning.
Her body froze for a second. She hugged the book tightly around her chest. Then she slowly nodded. "…Yes."
"So it really is you. The genius senior everyone talks about."
She really was the quiet type, just like how my friend described her. I guess my friend was telling the truth after all, Ren thought to himself.
After a moment of silence, Ren spoke again. "I saw your results. They're insane. I respect that. How did you manage to pull off such a feat?" His face showed pure amazement.
"Thank you… I just studied a lot." She gazed down, unable to make eye contact with him.
"I study a lot too," he said. "But I can't stay perfect like that." He put his hand behind his head.
"…It's okay," she replied softly.
There was a small pause. Then Ren spoke again. "Hey, could you tutor me sometime?" He looked at her with a determined face.
She blinked. "Huh?" She was speechless. No one had ever asked her to tutor before.
Then Ren continued, "I need to improve myself, so I thought you could be a good tutor."
She remained silent, but then she said softly, "You don't need tutoring. You're already smart." She was still looking down.
"Not as smart as you, though. That's why I want to learn from you." He paused, then added with a light smile, "I'll do anything in return."
Her attention shifted, and her voice became clearer. "…Anything?"
"Yeah." He looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression.
She looked down at her book for a second. "…Then I will help you."
"Oh. Just like that?"
"But I have one condition." She then looked Ren in the eyes with a serious expression.
"What is it?" Ren looked back at her.
"…Buy me the next volume of this novel." She raised the book, pushing it closer to his face.
Ren stared at her. "That's it?" He didn't know that the return favor was that easy.
She nodded.
He blinked once, still dumbfounded by her request. "…But why that book?"
Airi hesitated. Then she quietly said, "I just...like it." She looked away.
Ren didn't respond immediately. Then he said, "…I get that."
"Tomorrow. Here," she said quickly. Then she turned and walked away, a little faster than usual. Ren watched her leave.
"…What a weird girl." He said slowly as he watched her disappear from his sight.