A.N.= Here you go. And read the ending note for my opinion on the first part of this chapter in detail. Because I feel like many people would not share my train of thought.
Quietly stepping out of the room and locking the door, I guided myself towards the direction of the lift. A few meters was all I had to travel to again come to a stop, this time in front of the doors of the lift.
Feet shuffling, I waited for the lift doors to open. Running down the stairs would be a good exercise and a quick way to go down the four floors. But I was neither in a hurry nor was I an exercise freak. I was just a normal high school student waiting for the lift to come down, preoccupied with my own thoughts.
Staring at the door opening for a second, I swiftly entered the lift. Greeting me with a smile, the classmates of mine moved a bit backwards to give me space in the front to stand comfortably.
"Good morning Ayanokouji-kun."
"Good morning." Responding back with a neutral tone, I looked towards the front of the lift, effectively making the situation awkward.
Ignoring the obvious awkwardness in the lift, I lifted the phone from my pocket and unlocked it. Entering the passcode, I navigated towards the apps provided by the school. Or to be more specific, towards the Points balance app.
Ignoring the extremely high private points which had experienced a sharp increase to twice its amount from a week ago, I looked at the two digits in class points.
While 20 class points were low, it was still good from a 0. Not like I needed the extra points but they were good for a charisma boost to the students.
"Has Sensei ever told us how much we will get for the midterms?" Glancing towards the girls behind me curiously, I waited for their answer.
"I don't think she said anything except that we will get points on how we give the exams. Or at least that's all I remember."
"Just as Matsushita-san said, it will depend on the midterm results. I think that the mean marks from our class will be equal to the class points increased." Replying to the question, Miyuki shared her thoughts. Pausing slightly, she added an afterthought. "It's still a theory, though."
Getting out as the lift reached the lowest floor, I continued the conversation. "I have similar thoughts as well which lead to the conclusion that we need to have a high mean score. But knowing this school, there are always risks attached to every method of earning points."
A surprised expression flashing across their faces at my assumption, they followed me out of the lift. Looking around for a bit, the sight of a certain class leader of ours occupied on his phone greeted us.
Falling in step with us as we reached the building exit, he pocketed his phone and directed a question towards us.
"How many points do you think we will lose this month?"
Knowing our class, there's a high chance of losing all the 20 points we received. We don't even know what are the causes of deductions and how much they were deducted. It would be a surprise if we were able to get the 2000 points we had earned.
"We would probably lose all of it and then get some more points due to the exams. Knowing our class, that's the most realistic outcome. "
Nodding thoughtfully at my reasoning, he glanced around as we walked towards the school. Replying back a few seconds later, he provided a lot to think about.
"There's a chance that we might lose points in the exam too. I am pretty sure that there's a high chance of point deduction for failing in exams."
Miyuki, who was listening from beside us till then, expressed her own opinion.
"Since failing leads to expulsion, wouldn't that mean that we will lose points if we student gets expelled too?"
"That's correct Shiba-san, since the older classes haven't expelled the useless students who might cause a loss in points, that must mean that there is a rule that will make it more harmful than helpful."
Confirming her theory, I glanced towards Tatsuya who suddenly turned towards Matsushita. She had stayed silent throughout our conversation, opting to listen then speak. It's not like she wasn't smart. She just didn't like to show her intelligence.
"Matsushita-san, I need to talk to you for a bit about your exam. You don't mind it, do you?" Ending the sentence with a question made it into an innocent question asking for her permission. It was more of a hidden command than anything else, something which she quickly understood and consented to.
Glancing towards Miyuki to see her expression, she knew what her brother wanted to talk about to her best friend. Maybe it was because of her exam last Friday.
Glancing towards me to catch me looking at her, she thankfully immediately understood what I was doing. Smiling slightly as her brother and Matsushita picked the lace and separated from us, she turned towards me.
"Ayanokouji-kun knows what nii-san wanted to talk about to Matsushita-san."
It was a statement rather than a question. A confident one over that. She knew I had seen Matsushita-san during the exams last Friday.
"Is it about the fact that she was solving questions and then erasing them deliberately, hence lowering the score to an average student?"
Nodding at my answer, she continued with a rather teasing glint in her eyes. "You know that lot about how to lower the score, don't you?"
"Nothing like that. It was just easy for me to see since she was sitting opposite of me."
Mulling over her thoughts for a while, we walked in silence a few meters behind Tatsuya and Matsushita. Suddenly breaking the silence, she questioned me.
"Do you know about Miyake-kun and Hasabe-san's scores?"
"No. Is there anything wrong with their results? They looked fairly capable of studying, to be honest."
Shaking her head to deny my assumption, she continued.
"They were pretty good in all subjects except a couple of them. It's just that their answers are really similar and they weren't even cheating throughout the exam on Friday."
"Really?"
"Yeah. They both made the same mistake and did the same answers correctly. And it was all a coincidence since both nii-san and I had kept an eye on them. Also, according to nii-san, their surprise test results are like that too and they have quite a few spaces between their seats."
Huh.
That's quite a surprising coincidence. If their results were that similar, tutoring them together would be easier had they been in a smaller group. But, I suppose larger study groups were to be expected for our class.
Interrupting my thoughts, Miyuki regarded me with an innocent look that screamed the exact opposite of what it was supposed to express. "Of course, coincidence or not, they are under my suspicion. Which includes you too, Ayanokouji-kun. I still think that your marks are not some coincidence."
Playing along with her, I responded to her accusation. "It's not something I can do against anyway. Under suspicion or not, my marks will improve only if I study. Which is something that I don't. It's not like I am a genius in hiding."
Chuckling at my response, she proceeded towards the school gate, stopping and turning towards me just as she was in front of the entryway.
"I think you are pretty smart, Ayanokouji-kun. So please don't try to hide it. While some of us don't have a problem, others wouldn't like it if someone better than them hides their intelligence. And knowing our class, I fear that the backlash would be greater than normal."
Pausing slightly, she added an afterthought. "I am not telling you to do anything. Just think about it."
Giving her my farewell, I mulled over her words. Unconsciously reminding me of that person's words due to the similarities, the difference in kindness and the considerate phrasing were apparent.
'Only a fool would not use the power that they have.'
I didn't want to remember his words, but they were stuck in my head.
'A fool... I wonder if that's just what I am.'
Stepping inside the building, the laughter of unrelated students on their way to classes echoed harsher than normal.
[Timeskip]
Hearing the lunchtime bell of lunchtime, I got out of my seat with a goal in mind. Heading to the cafeteria while purposely going through the front of Kushida's seat, I successfully attracted her curiosity.
"Where are you going, Ayanokouji-kun?"
After having noticed me rushing out of the classroom, Kushida followed just as quickly. Intercepting me from the front, she leaned over and looked up to me, once again reminding me why everyone called her an angel.
"Because it's lunch, I thought I would go to the cafeteria."
"Fuun. Is it fine if I go with you?"
"It's fine, but you have a lot of other people you can ask too, you know."
"Even though I have a lot of friends I can eat with, you looked a bit alone and I got curious. Also, although you would usually talk to Horikita-san first, you haven't talked to her for about two weeks. Did anything happen between you two? Or is this about what happened during the study group because Horikita-san was not the only one at fault there."
As usual, Kushida was frighteningly observative of everyone and everything around her. Almost correctly guessing the cause of Horikita's sulking, she even tried to pardon her. Her kindness was immeasurable, uncannily so.
"You are right, although it's her who's not talking so I don't bother her. Our opinions regarding the study group were a bit different, hence the current situation."
Pausing slightly, I continued before she could interrupt me anymore.
"And, you can accompany me but will you promise not to tell anyone else, okay?"
"Of course. Keeping secrets is my strong point!"
Making our way to the cafeteria, the loud chatter greeted my ears. Entering the confusion of the cafeteria, we approached the meal ticket machine. After buying a ticket for two portions, I moved away from the ticket vending machine and didn't line up at the counter. From there, I looked at the line of students who were buying their food.
"What is it?"
Kushida looked at me in curiosity.
"There is a possibility that this will lead to an answer to what I was concerned about."
Pausing slightly to look at the line as it grew as fast it shrunk, I took a shot at the dark and asked Kushida a question.
"What motivates you to do it?"
"Eh? What do you mean, Ayanokouji-kun?" Utterly confused, she tilted her head cutely and stared at me with a perplexed look.
Knowing that I was extremely vague, I explained myself a bit more.
"What motivates you to put up with this altruistic facade you have? It must be pretty stressful for you?"
Widening her eyes subtly for a second before adopting a confused expression, she tried to cover her situation up. Although, the silver of panic in her eyes gave her away.
"What do you mean, Ayanokouji-kun? I am a bit confused, you see."
Not putting up with her act, I pressed forward.
"I don't think that you are getting what I am saying here. I want to know the reason behind your facade and your obsession behind Horikita. I am pretty curious about your devotion to keeping up the facade all the time."
Understanding that she couldn't get out of this situation and her paranoia working against her, she gave me a disarming smile as she spoke up, her aggravated words the opposite of what her face expressed.
"How did you see through it? I am pretty confident in my acting skills and I don't remember you from my previous school."
"Your obsession with Horikita even after she expressed her displeasure multiple times while you gave up being friends with a lot of loners. And the flashes of disgust in your expression whenever you talk to a certain few people in our class."
Stopping her from responding, I glanced towards a senpai who bought his meal and walked towards a table with heavy steps.
"Alright, I found my target. Let's go. we will talk about you later."
"What? Ok."
Quickly exchanging our tickets for meals, I walked over to the student and sat down.
"Um, excuse me. You're... a senpai, right?"
"...Huh? Who are you?"
Quietly looking up, he looked at me, uninterested.
"Are you a second-year student? Or third-year?"
"Third year. You're a first-year, huh."
"I am Ayanakouji-kun of class D. Senpai, you're also in class D, right?"
"...What does that have to do with you?"
Kushida looked at me in surprise, asking "How did you know?"
"Because he was restricted to the free meal. It's not very tasty, is it?"
The senpai was eating a free vegetable meal.
"What the hell, making me feel annoyed."
He tried to get up with his try, but I stopped him.
"I have something to ask you. If you listened to me, I would show my gratitude."
"...Gratitude?"
Our conversation, lost in the confusion of the cafeteria, was the only reason I didn't restrict myself in my questioning.
The nearby students were also engrossed in their conversations with friends.
"Do you still have the problems in the midterm from your first semester? Or if you know someone that has all the previous test problems, can you let us know who he is? And give me some information about the different types of exams we might have this year."
"Hey, do you even understand what you're saying?"
"It's not anything surprising. I don't think it's against school policy to use old test problems to study. And regarding the information, it's not entirely necessary, but I would appreciate it nonetheless."
"Why are you asking me?"
"That's easy. I thought it would be easier to cut a deal with someone lacking points. Honestly, the free vegetable meal isn't that delicious unlike the one I am eating right now. Of course, things are different if you actually like eating the vegetable meal. What do you say?"
"Kouhai, tone down the sarcasm a bit. And no, you can't buy me up....But, just out of curiosity, how much?"
"10,000 points. That's as far as I can go."
"I don't have any of the problems, but... I know someone who does. If you want to ask him to help, you need at least 30,000 points."
Hearing the number of points he was asking, Kushida's mouth opened in shock, thankfully refraining from making noise. Resorting to bluffs, I got up from the seat with the meal in hand.
"I guess we are done talking here, then. Bye. Come on Kushida, Let's go."
Enjoying his panicking expression, I barely took two steps until he called me out again with a nervous whisper.
"Hey! Wait, how much do you have, then?"
"...23,000 points."
"Then 20,000 points... No, 15,000 points will do. Nothing less."
"15,000 points, huh..."
"If you would go as far as to ask a complete stranger about past problems, you must be really desperate. After all, the school expels everyone who fails. I've already lost a lot of my friends. But I can't give any information regarding exams or I would be expelled. "
"I see. .... Then 12,000 for the questions papers for the midterm of the first paper and throw in all the surprise tests' papers, too."
Sighing at me extra demand, he accepted it, knowing I had the winning hand here.
"Then the deal is good. Of course, you'll have to pay in advance."
"I don't mind, but if you go back on your word, I won't forgive you. I'll make sure you get expelled at the very least."
"...Fine. I don't want any bad records. If rumors pop up that I ripped off a kouhai, I probably won't be forgiven. I'll include surprise tests' papers. Well, I think that whatever you're trying to do is useless, but sure."
It looks I got my message through to him, if the cheerful yet nervous look of his was of any confirmation.
The senpai quickly left his seat. I guess he didn't want to be noticed.
"H-hey, Ayanokouji-kun... Was that... was that really ok?"
"There's no problem at all. The transfer of points is allowed by school rules, so there aren't any violations."
"That's fine, but isn't it dishonest to get past year's questions?"
"Dishonest? I don't think so. If the school didn't allow it, there would've been something in the rules. Also, I confirmed another thing when I was just talking to the third-year senpai. It looks like these kinds of transactions aren't that strange."
"Huh...?"
"He wasn't particularly surprised, and he quickly agreed to listen to my proposal. It probably isn't his first time negotiating. He has not only the answers to the midterms, but even the mock test. There's no mistake."
Her eyes were wide in astonishment.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you were really different. I was surprised."
"It's just insurance to make sure that Sudou and the others don't get expelled."
"But this might turn out to be useless. Past questions are past questions, right? This year's test may be completely unrelated."
"The problems may not be exactly the same, but there will definitely be some similarities. The last mock exam gave me that hint."
"Hint?"
"You noticed that there were really hard problems along with easy ones, right?"
"Well, yea. Those were the last problems of each section. I didn't understand those questions at all."
"When I looked into it after, those were problems that second-years and third-years were learning. In other words, they don't expect first-years to be able to solve those problems. Isn't it useless to throw in those kind of unsolvable problems? They're probably there for a reason other than to actually test us. If the problems on the mock exam were the exact same as previous mock exams, what would happen?"
"...If I saw those problems, I would be able to ace the test."
The same thing is applicable to the midterm.
Soon after, I got a message from the third-year senpai with an attachment. It was the old tests.
First, I checked the mock test. The key question is, are the last three problems the same?
Kushida also tried to look at my phone.
"Are they? Are they the same?"
"It's completely identical. The problems, sentences, and all the words are the same."
"That's amazing! If we showed this to everyone, it would be an easy success! Don't show it only to Sudou-kun, but everyone else too!"
"No, we won't show it to Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi yet."
"W-why? You went as far as to use so many points."
"If they hear that these are the test questions, they'll lose all motivation and focus. Above all, overconfidence is the biggest problem. The midterm may not be the same as the mock test; there's a possibility the problems are different on the midterm."
It's essential to keep in mind that these old tests are insurance.
"Then what are you going to use them for?"
"Release these problems the day before the test. Then we tell everyone that these problems are roughly the same as this year's test. What would everyone do then?"
"That night, everyone would try to memorize the problems!"
"That's how it is."
The students who don't understand the basics probably can't memorize all the problems in a single day. But, it's not difficult to understand the problems beforehand. We're not trying to get the highest score possible on this next test. We're trying to avoid failing. If we ask for too much, the plan might fail.
But with this, we can probably get everyone to pass in class D.
"Hey... When did you think to get these old tests?"
"Since we learned that the test was different. However, I had an inkling that the old tests might be similar ever since the midterm was mentioned."
"Eh!? T-that early!?"
"When Chiyabashira-sensei first mentioned the midterm, she was speaking in an unusual manner. Even though she knew Sudou and the other's grades and attitudes, she spoke with absolute confidence. In other words, she confirmed that there was a surefire way to save them."
"Is that... the old tests?"
The reason why Sudou, Ike, and Yamauchi were all admitted to this school, despite their academic ability, must be connected to this somehow. If they can't get good grades by studying hard, this is a sort of escape route for them. In other words, it's possible for everyone to get near perfect scores by getting the old tests. That's how I understood it, at least.
"...Ayanokouji-kun, you're really observant, aren't you?"
Watching her expression for any difference, one wouldn't normally be able to see a glimpse of her actual emotion. But her curiosity and paranoia at her secrets being discovered shone brightly.
"Not that much. But you, on the other hand, are extremely observant, and judging by your face, curious and probably internally furious."
Smiling innocently, she replied back immediately.
"Correct on both. Now tell me how you saw through me. Nobody has been able to see through me yet throughout my middle school "
"There's nothing much to say, really. Your obsession with Horikita made me investigate you. A few observations later, a pattern could be seen where your face flashed through multitudes of expressions, mostly around the three idiots. Though I still don't understand your relationship with Horikita, the fact that you are a bit touchy about your middle school gives quite a lot to think about."
Ignoring the panicked look she had at how much she had messed up regarding Horikita, I continued.
"She probably knows about you from your middle school and if that's the case, the student council president has figured you out too."
Face shifting from amazement to happiness, she flashed me a smile. Although, her actual feelings were as mysterious as ever.
"You are pretty amazing, Ayanokouji-kun. Understanding so much from just a small mistake of mine. I guess you might understand my situation then. The feeling of elation at being the receiving end of a compliment is what keeps me going."
"That is still not worth dealing with Ike and his group's pervertedness."
Chuckling, she continued. "I guess you are not the same as me. I like to hold my friends close and their secrets closer."
"Secret? That means you could pretty much cause a civil war if necessary. "
"Yes. That also means that if I want, I could isolate you in half an hour."
Adopting a serene expression she threatened me with the same tone of a person commenting on the weather.
It was honestly scary how much control she had over her expressions.
"I suppose a voice recording would stop you from threatening me then?"
Betraying her face, a horrified expression formed as she realized that I could ruin her life faster than she could do mine.
"Yo... You couldn't have recorded me. Your phone was right in front of me when I saw the question papers. There were no recordings at that time."
"I was just giving a suggestion. I have plenty of other ways which only require a decent amount of points and are just a call away."
Calming down slightly, she took a deep breath and gazed at me.
"How I wish we weren't any place near the cameras. So, what do you intend to do now?"
"Nothing really. For now, distribute the old question papers in the class when I say so. Take all the credit for yourself and if push comes to shove, ask me what the Senpai said. I will cover a bit for you there."
"You don't want the credit?"
Ignoring her amazed look, I stopped and turned towards the window to gaze outside.
"You can take the credit. I don't need it. Become even more trustworthy in their eyes than before because that's what makes you useful to me."
Being on the receiving end of the threat for once, all she could do under the camera's supervision was to gaze at the depressingly rainy sky outside the window with repressed sorrow.
Noticing with amusement, the rain really reflected her current predicament well.
Word count = 4094
A.N.= Here's another one done. And the first part needs to be explained a bit.
My current thoughts are mostly due to the fact that she was pretty pissed at the fact that her brother was a part of the replacement in the Canon stories and that he is actually a defective in the DE universe.
And she doesn't like it when people underestimate her brother. So as his closest friend in school, she was also slightly concerned for our Mc's situation and what it may lead to in the future.
And the last reasoning I have for her behavior is plot convenience.
Anyways, do tell if you found a glaring hole in my theory. Same as before, express your opinions and don't hesitate to give ideas.
Votes are also appreciated.
And to the guy who commented on the last chapter regarding Akashi, he is being subtle about his competitiveness, something which I will explore in the later volumes. And don't worry, he will still be ruthless as ever.
I actually am really impatient to get to that part.
Angways, bye.