Part 1
"What was your reason for accepting her offer?"
Ayanokoji leaned against my bed, waiting for me to finish cooking the food. Since the start of my school life, my culinary skills have greatly improved because I was forced to cook to save as many points as possible.
"Well, if I had to give you a reason...then it would be you and Sakura."
Absentmindedly, I answered while preparing the plating for the food.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Even though you don't want to reach class A, wouldn't it be better for you to reach it? It sure is a helpful tool for your future, isn't it?"
"You aren't wrong about that, but wouldn't that be also helpful to you?"
"No, not really." I said as I picked up the plates, bringing them over to the table in the centre of my room. "I won't have any need for that."
"I see. Will you also lead some cooperation like Koenji then?"
"Me? Well, not exactly, but you could say that it's quite similar."
Tilting my head, I thought about what I would do after my school life. It depended on how this experience would impact me, but for now, I would probably go back to how I always lived. Like a shut-in with money.
"I see. Will you go back to live in isolation, then?"
I froze up. I had never told Ayanokoji about my past before, so how would he know how I lived my life?
"W..what do you mean?"
I tried to hide my initial surprise by overplaying it. For some reason, my instincts told me that I was being assessed right now and I certainly didn't like that feeling.
Ayanokoji took the plates out of my hands and put them on the table, before taking a sip from his cup of tea and a deep breath.
"You are thin, almost frighteningly so. While you mentioned your aunt once and told me she's very kind-hearted and cares about you, she seemingly doesn't feed you very well, which means that she isn't home very often.
You also mentioned that you forget about your own well-being often, meaning that you most likely only really ate, when your aunt was at home and reminded you, thus being alone most of the time. Your long-term memory is almost perfect, but you still managed to score 0 points in history and geography, which means that you probably never learned about those things.
It seems like even Ike or Sudou managed to score a few points in those subjects, as they were taught in middle school, but you, who has a better memory than them, couldn't score a single point. What does that mean? Of course, you never learnt it and that could only be achieved by not going to middle school.
You also seem to have an underlying fear of adults, which would mean that you couldn't have worked at a job. At least not in the outside world. Maybe something you could do from your room? I think tha—."
"That's enough, Ayanokoji. I get it."
Seriously, I always had a hunch that Ayanokoji was severely holding back, but his observation ability and his skills in deduction are quite frightening. It made me wonder what it would look like if he was serious and went all out against the other classes.
"Why do you keep lying about holding back when you openly show your abilities like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like everything you just did. Your showcases of observation and deduction."
"Oh." He said, before taking a bite of his food. I could hear a quiet 'it's good.' before he proceeded to talk. "Why would I keep lying to you?"
"Huh?"
"You already know about them anyway and I trust you. Trusting each other is what friends do, right? So if you have any worries, you can just tell me."
I averted my gaze before releasing a quiet, embarrassed laugh. "Yes...trusting each other is what friends do..."
The way he openly revealed the fact he had such trust in me somehow pressured me. Though it made me a little happy someone trusted me to such an extent...I think.
"I'll tell you when I have problems..."
Although I doubted there was anything I couldn't solve by myself. If I was just given enough time, I could just go through every possible plan and decide which would be the best by the exclusion procedure.
"That's good. Now eat your food. You are already thin enough as it is."
I rolled my eyes. Ever since the swimming class, he has been weirdly adamant about me eating. I didn't think I was that thin. Sure, I didn't eat very much, but it wasn't like I starved myself to death.
"Yeah yeah, whatever."
Eating together with someone wasn't someone I experienced very often. It is true that my aunt wasn't home very often, but I always assured her that it was alright. Being an international agent sure must be hard. At least I thought she is one...she never told me but there were enough clues for me to create that theory.
Some of them namely being her ability to speak almost every language there is, having the information of every criminal inside her head and the ability to analyze weapons as if she was the one wielding them by looking at a picture on the tv. The fact that she's travelling regularly also doesn't help diminish my suspicions. Well, maybe I'm just overthinking things...probably not though.
After finishing the food, Ayanokoji and I talked a bit before we decided that it was too late and he had to go back to his own room. What a shame...I enjoyed talking with him.
He was standing at the door, as he looked back.
"By the way, Sia. Although I refused Horikita's request, I wouldn't refuse yours if you asked me to cooperate with you."
Confused by the sudden mention of the cooperation request of Horikita, I raised a brow.
"Where does that even come from?"
"I just wanted to tell you."
"I see..." I nodded. Having him on my side would probably make everything easier, but on the other hand, Ayanokoji probably didn't want to take part in all of this. Is it really alright for me to ask the person I wanted to help for help?
"It's alright. I'm also doing it out of my own will." He said as if he responded to my thoughts. I didn't know what gave it away, but I was pretty sure that I wasn't so easy to read that anyone could just read my thoughts.
"I'lll be in your care then. Though it does made me wonder why you suddenly changed your mind?"
Ayanoki already opened the door, one foot of him already outside. Hearing my question, he stopped for a moment, pondering for a while before giving an answer.
"I wonder myself. Let's just call my reasoning...curiosity."
Part 2
"Thank you for your help, Hirano. Without you it would be much more difficult,"
A week or so had passed since the revelation of the so-called 'class points' and every student had bettered the behaviour for now. While this wouldn't help us gain any more points, it certainly helped with not losing our last point and maybe even more.
Again, negative class points might exist.
Hirata had immediately decided that we should form a group to study for the upcoming exam as to not let anyone drop out. However, while this was a good idea he naturally couldn't convince anyone.
Some students, namely sudou's group, Horikita and some more refused to take part in it, thus letting a big chance slip by. From what I've observed, Horikita's biggest weakness is her inability to cooperate with other people. This would've been an opportunity to form some connections, but she refused. It still seems like she doesn't understand the importance of work distribution yet.
Not only that, but she also forgets the most important thing you could gain from forming connections and creating a social network...information. The most powerful weapon of mankind is knowledge, thus refusing the opportunity to win a way to gain knowledge was foolish.
Well, she'll probably realize sooner or later.
"It's nothing." I absentmindedly responded, while looking over the shoulders of my classmates. "I don't really need to study for such things, so you shouldn't bother with thanking me for helping my classmates.—Oh, Karuizawa. The application of the formula on this exercise is wrong. You also did a sl9ght miscalculation on the last exercise."
"Ohhh, really? Mouuu, maths is sooo haaaarrd."
"It'll get easy as soon as you understand the principles behind it. After all, maths relies on logic."
Hirata formed a smile.
"But really, you're very smart Hirano. I'm glad to have you in my class."
"Are you flirting with her, Hirata?"
"No, I am just thanking her for her help."
Seeing the main couple of our class getting distracted with their conversation, I used that opportunity to slip out of the room. I was on a tight time limit, which I would've most certainly missed in a normal situation. However, as this was important, I planned some more minutes in as to not get too late.
Arriving at the library, I spotted quite a unique pair of people sitting at a long table at the edge of the library.
"You're finally here, Hirano." Kushida called out to me, when I came closer, greeting me with a wide smile.
"Yeah, sorry for being a little late."
Even though I planned more time, I still came late as I got distracted on the way here. Well, not like they were angry or something, so it was alright. It really was a mystery how I always manage to get to class on time.
"It seems like we have some unexpected faces here." I said as I looked over the current group, Ayanokoji, Horikita, Ike, Yamauchi, Sudou, Kushida and Sakura. However, there is also someone else on this table, whose name I didn't know. I've seen him in class a few times, but I never bothered to learn his name.
Okitani looked up at me with slightly red cheeks. Slender frame, blue hair, and a short bob hairstyle. I almost mistook him for a girl. Looking at his appearance now, I wonder if he was often asked out by boys.
"It's fine if Okitani-kun joins, right?"
Tilting her head to the side, Kushida spoke in a pleading tone.
"Of course it's okay. I wouldn't just throw someone who genuinely wants to study out of our group."
"Then I am glad, Hirano."
Finishing our small greetings, I sat next to Sakura, right in between her and Yamauchi. I already knew that he was sexually interested in her, so I would like to create as much distance between them as possible.
Sakura looked at me with a thankful look in her eyes to which I just nodded. Yamauchi made a sound of disapproval but didn't say anything. Good for him.
I then turned to Ayanokoji, who sat opposite of me, to thank him for making all this possible, but he didn't seem to react well to my thanks Rather than reacting well, his response was an expression of disapproval, though I am not entirely sure what the reason for that is.
"Alright, first off, I roughly wanted to measure the level of our group, so I brought some self made tests with me." I said while taking some sheets of paper out of my bag. "Please take one, everyone."
After everyone got a test, they all looked over it. I basically condensed all the lessons we had done until now into a single test to see what I would have to teach him. While there were some looks of understanding, there were also plenty of looks of confusion.
Using that time when everyone read through the test, I took out my glasses and put them on. I didn't necessarily need glasses, but all my primary school teachers wore glasses, which made them look very intelligent and 'teacher-like', so I might as well try to wear some as well.
Or in short: I just wanted to wear some.
Noticing that, Sakura whispered something in my ear, her voice sounding strangely excited.
"Now we're both wearing glasses."
"Mhm, I guess. Do you think that makes us look like best friends or something?"
Widening her eyes, she let out a quiet but excited squeal as her cheeks reddened.
"Yes, of course—!"
I responded with a faint smile, before looking over the table again.
"Man, I don't even understand the first question."
"You need 32 points to pass the test, Sudou. Do you think you'll even manage that?"
"I'll just try to pull an all nighter and see how it works out. Getting 32 points can't be that hard."
It seems like even Ike was able to understand the first question, so Sudou was academically probably the worst member of our group here.
"Why do you think that you'll need 32 points?"
"What do you mean? The teacher clearly said that everyone, who has less than 32 points fails the test."
"But how would you know that it's also the same in the next test? Isn't 32 points a suspicious minimal score?"
"..."
Everyone at the table was speechless at my question. It seems like everyone except me and Ayanokoji didn't think about this before and only noticed now that the point requirement of 32 is quite strange.
"What do you mean, Hirano?"
Kushida was the first one to break the silence, asking me a question.
"Exactly what I said. Isn't 32 points a strange requirement? Why that specific number? Does anyone have any ideas?"
"Maybe half the points of the class average?" Horikita's voice sounded unsure. It was almost like she was just throwing out a wild guess. "But that wouldn't make sense with 32 points in this test..."
"No, you're on the right track, Horikita. It's the class average divided by 2 and then rounded to the closest zero."
"Fuck! Then I gotta get more points than 32?! That's bullshit!"
"Calm down, Sudou. I'll get exactly 50 points in every subject to lower the class average, so you'll have an easier time."
Sudou was obviously riled up by the revelation that he had to get more than 32 points on the test. However, his reaction was neither unexpected nor unjustified.
"You can do something like that, Hirano?"
"It's not that hard for me."
Kushida was impressed by my statement and looked at me with bright eyes. I could swear I could see some sparkles inside of them, but when she blinked, those disappeared.
How strange...
"The first question was the question you couldn't understand, right? Let me see...'A, B, and C have 2150 yen collectively. A has 120 yen more than B does. After C gives B 2/5ths of his money, B now has 220 yen more than A. How much money did A originally have?'."
I suppressed a frown as I slowly realized how bad the current situation was. However, it was too late to give up now and I was sure that I could somehow turn this situation around.
"Let me explain it to you, Sudou."
Seeing that he needed help, I immediately went to his side and started explaining to him the situation and the way to solve it one by one and in such a way even a primary school student could understand it.
"So, now how about try solving it yourself?"
"Um... A+B+C equals 2150 yen, and A equals B+120...does that mean the answer is 710 yen?"
"That's right. Great job."
I formed a gentle smile after seeing that he solved the question correctly. Although he took way longer than expected, it was a good thing he managed to solve it. I shouldn't expect too much of him for now.
"Alright then. Please do the next question then and if you or anyone else has any questions just tell me."
"You're really smart Hirano!"
"Y-yes!"
Sakura and Kushida praised me for my display of intelligence. At the sight that even Sudou could solve a question like this, most of the other group members got fired up, feeling a sense of passion ignite in them.
Seeing that, I was sure I could just sit down again, but immediately after, somebody else called for my help.
"Hey, Sia. Could you please explain this to me?"
"Um...sure..?"
It was Ayanokoji.
I knew that they were questions he should've been able to solve, so his action quite surprised me. Nonetheless, I still walked up to him, leaning down to see what question he was talking about.
"What don't you understand?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Huh?"
"I just called you because I wanted to."
Knitting my eyebrows, I looked at him with a confused expression, which he just ignored. I released a sigh, before standing up, but was stopped by his hand grabbing my wrist.
"Sit down and teach me."
"Huh? But there's nothing to teach you."
"Then act like you do."
"..."
Although I didn't understand the reasoning behind his actions, I complied, explaining to him every question. Originally I thought that he would just be uninterested, but it was the opposite. He was strangely immersed in the questions, listening to me with utmost interest.
I raised my head to look at him but immediately turned away again. The intensity of his eyes is weirdly embarrassing for me, making it hard for me to directly look him in the face.
Overall I would say that the study session was going fine until...
"You really can't solve questions at that level? That's something even a middle schooler could do. You'll fail the upcoming test at this rate."
"Ha... that's just fine. I'm giving up. It's not because it's too difficult for me. I took a day off from my club activities, but it was a complete waste of time. Bye!"
"You're saying some strange things. Studying is difficult."
Refusing to stop, Horikita shot him a final blow. Sudoi didn't bother hiding his irritation and stuffed his textbook into his bag.
"Sorry, Hirano. I know you tried to explain this to me, but I just can't stand studying next to someone like her."
"It's okay. I thought that Horikita could lend me a hand with teaching you all, but it seems like you weren't compatible, huh?"
Even though Sudou seemed to be apologetic about his exit, Horikita doesn't show an ounce of regret.
"Tsk. For someone who's indifferent... it's pointless to care about someone like that. Even though expulsion is at stake. He doesn't have an ounce of determination to stay in school."
"I thought it was strange for someone like you who has no friends to invite people to a study group. At best, you brought us over here to call us stupid. If you weren't a girl, I'd hit you."
"You just don't have the courage to hit me, right? Don't use my gender as a reason."
The study group was going fine in the first stages, but now it seems like it would crumble.
"I also quit. Even though a small part of it is because I can't study... most of it's because I'm irritated. Horikita-san may be smart, but that doesn't mean you're above us."
Losing his patience, Ike also gave up, and following that Horikita and all the others also left. It seemed like the atmosphere was destroyed, so there was no reason to study here anymore.
Only I, Sakura, Ayanokoji, and Kushida were left, sitting at the table in silence.
"H..hey, isn't what Horikita said wrong? You don't think the same way, do you?"
Breaking the silence, Kushida uttered a question, in disbelief at the current situation.
"I wouldn't say she is necessarily wrong. Just unnecessarily impatient and harsh."
"...you might be right- Still, I'm going to do something about this. I don't want everyone to separate so quickly."
With a dark expression, Kushida packed her stuff and also left. Seeing that, Ayanokoji sighed, before excusing himself.
"I should probably go and apologize to her. After all, I'm the one who dragged her into this."
And now only me and Sakura were left. Noticing Sakura's troubled expression, I decided to talk to her.
"Is something wrong, Sakura?"
"N..no.. It's just that I've been thinking about Horikita's words."
"Yeah?"
She nodded, before raising her head, looking me directly in the eyes.
"Isn't it unfair of her to say it's pointless to care about them?"
"Sakura?"
"No, it's nothing. I think I'll think I also go home. Bye, Sia."
And at the end, Sakura also left, leaving only me behind. I think that Horikita's words have also struck a nerve in Sakura, as she had already struggled with self-confidence and self-worth.
"Really...what a bothersome situation."
I also packed my stuff, determining that the study group was a failure. With a deep sigh, I pulled out my phone before calling Ayanokoji. There was a new recipe that I wanted to try out, so I wanted to ask him if he wanted to come over.
After ringing a few times, Ayanokoji picked up the phone.
— "Hello?"
"Hey, do you want to come over right now? I wanted to try out a new recipe."
— "..."
He was silent for a while, but I could soon hear another voice in the background. The voice was more high-pitched. Probably the voice of a woman.
— "Is that Hirano?"
— "...yes, it's Sia."
"Oh, is Kushida by your side? If you want you could also ask her to come over as an apology or something."
After finishing my sentence, there was some rustling on the other side of my phone until I could hear the voice of Kushida more clearly.
— "If it's alright with you, I would gladly come over."
"Sure. Ayanokoji will lead the way. See you then."
And with that sentence, I ended the call.
"Let's just hope she'll forget this disastrous attempt of a study group..."