The Midterms (1)

"I'M GONNA BE LATE!!"

Reiji watched Haruna run around like a headless chicken, storming into the bathroom to start brushing her teeth.

"....How could you forget to charge your phone?"

"I wash tired from all the shtudying, okay?" she replied incoherently, her mouth preoccupied with the foaming toothpaste.

Her phone had died in the middle of the night, which meant she had slept through her alarm unintentionally.

She only woke up at the same time Reiji did, which was an hour later than planned, leaving her barely any time to rush back home for a shower and change of clothes.

"I'll book you a taxi, keep freshening up while I pack your things," Reiji sighed, turning to the array of books haphazardly decorating his table and couch.

"Mhm!"

So while she used his bathroom, he neatly arranged all of her objects into her backpack and used the app on his phone to call a ride.

"It's gonna be downstairs in two minutes, are you ready?" he called out.

Haruna rushed out and slipped into her shoes as fast as she could, grabbing the bag from Reiji's hands before opening the door.

"I'll see you at school, Reiji-tan!" she yelled, leaving him in the dust.

He smiled wryly at the pocket rocket that had taken off and closed the door shut, stretching as he started getting ready himself.

"Almost good to go," he muttered, testing his mind's clarity and body weakness.

The fever was almost gone, but he was still left with that annoying post-illness fatigue that would stick around for a while.

Rewrapping the wound was also a priority because he didn't want blood to leak out and stain his white uniform in the middle of the exam, so he removed the bandages.

'Not bad, healing pretty well.'

The cut was starting to dry up, but it was still a long way away from healing completely.

What was a little annoying was the fact that it would probably leave a small scar.

Following the method Haruna had used previously, he managed to wrap it much better than in his first attempt.

A quick shower and grooming later, and he was ready to leave.

'I wonder how tough it's going to be....'

***

Reiji-kun, are you ready? Because you're going DOWN!"

Airi balled her fists and started shadow boxing in front of him, her excitement drawing attention from some of the other people in the hallway.

Her dark eye bags suggested some very late nights through the weekend, and he smirked at her confidence.

"Looks like you barely slept. That's gonna be disappointing for you, since it's all for nothing."

"Hmph, I'm more confident for these midterms than I've ever been for any test before!" she snorted defiantly.

"That's not doing you any good unless you get first place, because that's reserved for me."

"Trash talk all you want, I'm gonna smoke you!"

"Sure, sure," he laughed as they reached their homeroom.

Greeny saw them enter the classroom from his desk, and he walked up to them with despair all over his face.

"I-I think I'm going to puke...." he groaned.

"Geez, are you ill?" Reiji asked in surprise.

It wasn't only his hair that was green; there was a sickly hue on his skin that made him look like a pale cucumber.

"I'm just really n-nervous.... I don't handle pressure very well."

"Oh, come on. Didn't you say that you were confident in most subjects?"

"Don't listen to him, Greeny. Let the fear take control, succumb to the darkness and allow it to contaminate your mind!" Airi grinned, a crazed look dawning in her eyes.

Reiji looked at her blankly and gave her a good whack on the head.

"OW!"

"Tell him you're joking, otherwise you know you might actually faint in the middle of the exam," Reiji scolded sternly.

"Obviously, I'm joking," she hissed, rubbing her head multiple times.

"Y-You were?"

Greeny looked back and forth between them in confusion.

"No shit, I just wanted to scare you a little so that I rank higher."

"I'm not surprised, only fools resort to such tactics," Reiji chuckled.

"You just wait! This was me messing around; I don't need anything to wipe the floor with you!"

Reiji rolled his eyes and checked his watch for the time.

There were still over 15 minutes left until the teacher would enter with the test, giving him some leeway to prepare.

He went through most of the topics in his head, checking if there was something he needed a refresher on, but nothing came to mind.

He was more or less confident and would likely be among the Top 5, barring any surprises.

'But I want to aim for the top spot.'

The entrance exam rankings were not revealed publicly, but the subsequent test results would be posted on the bulletin board in the hallway.

But to protect the feelings of those who performed poorly, they only showed the Top 50 students and omitted the rest.

'A little surprising that they'd be this compassionate.'

In most games he'd played with similar settings, they usually posted every single rank.

"I'm gonna go get some coffee from the vending machine. Do you guys need anything?" Reiji asked, standing up from his desk once he confirmed that he didn't need a last-minute cram session.

The other two, who were glued to their notes, simply shook their heads and shooed him away.

Reiji shrugged and walked out, heading for the vending machine at the end of the corridor.

To his surprise, Haruna was standing there while staring at the tall block of metal.

"Hey, when'd you get here?" he called out.

But he didn't get a response.

Haruna didn't even turn around, simply standing still like she didn't even hear him.

Reiji tilted his head and stepped up beside her, tapping her head lightly.

"Huh? Oh, Reiji-tan, when did you get here?" she asked, her eyes slightly blurry in a daze.

"....What's up with you? Why're you just standing here?"

"Oh.... Nothing, how's your fever? I didn't have time to check this morning," she said, reaching up to check his temperature. "Hmm, good, no more fever as far as I can tell. What about the bandages? Did you change them properly?"

"Okay, stop worrying about me and just tell me what's wrong. You're clearly out of it."

Haruna looked away with a sigh, her head drooping as her fingers started to fidget with her skirt.

"....What if I screw up? Then we won't be able to pay the rent," she whispered softly.

"Pfft, is that all? I thought you'd caught my fever or something," Reiji laughed.

"Wha-....What do you mean by 'that's all'? This is a big deal!"

"No, it isn't."

He ruffled her hair to snap her out of her nervousness and continued.

"You've worked your ass off, and I'm the one who taught you. If I say you can do it, then you can do it. And in the near-impossible scenario that you don't make the cut, I still have ways to make some money quickly with your help, so there's no need to freak out over this. The midterms aren't all of your eggs in one basket, so take them with a clear head and high confidence, got it?"

Haruna bit her lips and glanced down at her feet, refusing to look up.

Reiji shook his head and shifted his focus to the vending machine, pressing a few buttons and tapping his phone on the display for payment.

Two thuds echoed in the dispenser at the bottom, and he picked up the cans of iced coffee that had fallen.

"Here, drink this and wake up. You're gonna do fine," he coaxed gently.

Haruna hesitated for a moment and took the can from him, but then turned around and raced away in the classroom's direction.

"Thank you, Reiji-tan!" she shouted before disappearing into the corner, never turning back to face him.

"....What a weirdo," he chuckled.

When he cracked open the lid of the coffee and took a gulp, something moved from the corner of his eyes.

He snapped his head towards the blur and saw a boy hastily stepping back, out of sight.

'....Was that Riku?'

***

Kahawara-Sensei stormed into class, a bundle of test papers glued to his arms with a firm grip.

Reiji finished off the coffee and shoved the empty bottle into his bag, cracking his neck in preparation.

"....Good Morning, everyone. I hope you've all put in enough effort to at least be happy with your results; otherwise, you'll have no one to blame but yourself."

He slammed the papers down on his desk, his beady eyes scanning the students like a hawk.

"There have been instances of attempted cheating in the past. If you are caught, you will get a zero, no questions asked. Is that clear?"

"YES, SENSEI!"

"Good. Now, one by one, come up and draw a chit from this box. It will be your temporary seating assignment for the next two days, in case you have colluded with your seatmates in advance."

Some students were clearly caught off guard, exchanging terrified expressions with their friends.

Everyone slowly stood and lined up in front of the teacher's desk, drawing a lot from the box. Those who had picked a number immediately started looking around for who they would be sitting with, either out of curiosity or necessity.

Reiji was one of the last ones to draw one since he sat in the back, and he opened the card with narrow eyes.

'3'

'Well.... That's not going to be fun.'

That was the table right in front of Kahawara-Sensei's desk.

He looked up to see the eerie grin on the teacher's face when he noticed the number, who crossed his arms arrogantly

"Well, Yagami. I guess fate doesn't want you to succeed."

'.....The fuck?'