Endeavors of the Masterpiece.

Recruiting Kushida and meeting Ichinose.

Day of the results, 

"Kushida is well suited to that role." Ayanokouji muttered, noticing Sudo, Ike and Yamauchi crowded around her desk, thanking her for helping them pass. They had already thanked Ayanokouji before, and Hirata had also come along to congratulate them, and thank Ayanokouji for helping the three. 

"That's insulting." Horikita replied. 

"It was meant to be." Ayanokouji retorted, questioning as to why he bothered himself with her, then remembering that at the end of the day, she was Manabu's sister, and could be useful to him with her academic prowess. 

"I have to admit, I'm impressed." Sae sensei remarked. "I never thought you'd be able to get such high scores. I acknowledge your efforts. However," She said, as she made a line just below Sudo's score of 41. "You nearly failed Sudo." 

"What?" He asked. "You're kidding! How is it even this close? The threshold was 32 for the quiz!" 

"The threshold for failure on this midterm test was 40." Sae sensei responded. "The average score on this test was 79.6, divided by 2, you get 39.8. Since we round that up, you need a score of 40 or higher to pass. You may have passed this time Sudo, but remember, 1 point here or there, and you would no longer be in class." 

"Homeroom is now over." Sae sensei said, leaving the class. "Remember this Sudo, failure is right behind you. I would be careful if I were you." Silence could be heard in the class, as Kushida got up. 

"You passed this time, Sudo-kun." She said. "And if we continue to have these study groups, I'm sure you'll pass next time as well. Ayanokouji-kun and I will help you." 

 'Why must I be involved in these problems? I have other things to do.' 

"Yeah, don't be down man." Ike said. "Ayano bro will help us, right?" 

"I guess." Ayanokouji replied, as Sudo nodded. 

"Thanks again." Sudo said. "Though next time, I'll work harder, and I'll show this school what I'm made of, whether it be on the court or off of it. But for now, let's celebrate!" 

That night, 

"Cheers!!" Everyone yelled at the same time, as the party began. Ayanokouji sighed. 

"Hey, what's with the long face?" Sudo asked, having a cold drink. 

"I have no objection to the celebration party, and my participation in it..." Ayanokouji began. "But why my room?"  He asked. 

"Eh, who cares?" Yamauchi asked. "But damn, that was close! Had you and Kushida-chan not got those old test questions, we would all have been expelled from school!!" 

'I regret doing it now, at least I would've had a clean room.' 

The party went on for a few hours into the night, as celebration, jokes and conversations went around. Everyone was in a happy mood, and Ayanokouji couldn't help but draw parallels to his life in the Whiterooms. In there, birthdays were considered an important occasion, true, but they were never...happy, or lively. A birthday would usually mean that your study material would be changed, raised up to a higher level for you to learn. The instructors would also begin to get harsher, and physical education, weapons training, and combat were raised up exponentially. 

"Thanks for helping me clean up." Ayanokouji  said, as Kushida shrugged it off. 

"I should be the one thanking you for letting us use your room." Kushida replied. 

'Yes you should.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'You know Kushida, you are a somewhat likable tool.' 

"No worries."