"Morning, Amane-san."
"Morning, Kikyō-chan..." Amane covered her mouth with a hand as she let out a yawn.
"Did you not sleep well last night? You look really tired..." Kikyō looked at her strangely.
But this was far beyond just 'not sleeping well.'
Amane was sporting a full pair of panda-like dark circles. Her mental state seemed utterly drained, completely like someone who had pushed through a severe all-nighter.
Was she even in any condition for PE class?
Kikyō's worries soon proved justified. During the 800-meter run test, Amane just… face-planted right onto the track.
It was Horikita who ended up carrying her to the infirmary.
"Hmm? I remember you, don't I… Miyako-san, was it?" Hoshinomiya leaned in, peering at Amane's face for a moment. Surprisingly, she actually managed to recall her name.
"I'm Miyako Amane…"
"Hehe, see? I told you my memory's not so bad. It's just your homeroom teacher, Sae-chan, who's always saying I have a terrible memory, boo hoo."
Watching the exchange between Amane and Hoshinomiya, Horikita, standing to the side, felt a headache coming on.
She simply couldn't fathom how a patient and a doctor could just start chatting like this.
"Hoshinomiya-sensei, could you please examine Amane's injuries?" Horikita's reminder finally snapped the teacher back to the task.
Right, Amane was supposedly injured.
"Sorry, sorry! Let me take a look at Miyako-san here… Some abrasions on the face, mental state isn't great… All in all, nothing major. Just go back and get plenty of rest."
That was the conclusion Hoshinomiya reached after her examination. As for the scrapes on Amane's face, the teacher simply stuck a band-aid on them. That apparently counted as treatment complete.
But Amane was still far from her usual lively self.
To avoid losing class points for leaving early, she stubbornly dragged herself through the entire school day, only finally beginning her slow 'crawl'… well, walk… back to the dorm after classes ended.
"Amane, are you sure you're alright like this?" Horikita watched her lethargic state, half-worried she might just keel over right then and there.
"This is all your fault, Suzune!" Amane made a weak attempt to punch Horikita's arm, but Horikita effortlessly subdued her in a couple of moves.
'Couldn't you just behave, even when you're this weak?'
Horikita had originally planned to take Amane out for the dessert they'd missed yesterday. But who could have predicted Amane would be in such a state today?
She had 'conked out' way too early. So, Horikita had no choice but to go back and take care of her.
After they'd simply finished off the leftover dishes from yesterday, Amane started clamoring that she wanted to sleep.
Then, as if it were her rightful due, she plopped her head down onto Horikita's lap.
Providing a lap pillow for too long would make her legs go numb, so Amane deliberately positioned herself leaning more against Horikita's abdomen.
For someone used to sitting seiza-style, this just meant a bit more weight on her legs—nothing too problematic.
"Suzune, I want some water."
Horikita produced a bottle of water she'd prepared earlier, unscrewed the cap for Amane, and even put a straw in it. This way, Amane could drink without having to sit up.
Seeing that Amane had settled down a bit, Horikita finally picked up the book she'd borrowed and started reading.
But she hadn't gotten through more than a few pages when she felt a tickling sensation on her abdomen. Looking down, she saw Amane nuzzling and rubbing her head there.
"Suzune, I want some fruit."
A visible vein throbbed on Horikita's forehead. But considering Amane's current state—and acknowledging she bore some responsibility for it—she could only swallow her annoyance and comply. Luckily, she had already brought some fruit over, so she didn't need to get up.
Horikita peeled a mandarin orange, separated a segment, and brought it to Amane's lips.
Nom.
Amane opened her mouth and ate the piece in one bite, chewing contentedly. Judging by the blissful expression on her face, she seemed to be quite comfortable.
Sometimes, Horikita even felt a twinge of envy for Amane's lifestyle. Not having to worry about anything, just fully enjoying school life like this…
But.
There were things she absolutely had to do. It wasn't just about proving her capabilities to her brother. She didn't want to waste these three years, either.
Once Amane had, at some point, fallen soundly asleep, Horikita carefully replaced her head with a prepared cushion. She then picked up her phone and sent a message to someone.
A reply came back not long after.
Horikita put on her jacket and slipped quietly out of the room, heading to a corner near the dormitory building.
When Horikita reached the agreed spot, someone was already waiting.
"Sorry, Ayanokōji, for calling you out so late."
"It's fine. What was Miyako-san's answer?" Ayanokōji asked, his face as expressionless as ever.
"I didn't get a chance to ask her today; she was too exhausted. But if we truly need Kushida-san's help with this, then I'd like your assistance in the matter, Ayanokōji-kun."
Back when Chabashira-sensei had spoken to them both, they had already realized it: if they wanted to reach Class A, relying solely on their own strength would never be enough.
They had to unite the entire power of Class D; only then could a 'defective' class like theirs potentially become Class A.
Originally, after Hirata announced he was starting a study group, Horikita had let her guard down.
While she had her doubts about Hirata's authority and capabilities, his grades were indeed decent, and he was reportedly quite thorough in his teaching.
This seemed like a good way to reduce the number of students failing, thereby avoiding deductions from their potential class points.
Both Horikita and Ayanokōji, being the types who didn't care much for group activities, had chosen not to join Hirata's study group.
And that one small oversight had led to a serious problem.
The people gathering around Hirata were mostly girls. Most of these girls had average grades, nowhere near the failing range.
Their purpose in surrounding Hirata wasn't really to study, either.
This resulted in the boys with poorer grades, who actually needed to study, being completely unable to integrate into Hirata's sessions.
Even worse, Hirata's approach was a 'take-it-or-leave-it' strategy.
There was no mandatory requirement to attend. Students who were already struggling usually lacked self-discipline to begin with.
Coupled with Hirata's permissive management, it meant that every time he held a session, the only ones who truly benefited were about twenty girls.
The other boys would trickle in and then gradually vanish from the study group scene.
And these were precisely the ones who needed tutoring the most.
After Ayanokōji shared his observations with Horikita, she decided a separate study group targeting the failing students was necessary to prevent anyone from failing.
But whether it was Ayanokōji or Horikita herself, to these students, they probably weren't even considered friends. Both of them were the socially challenged type.
So, when figuring out how to gather these failing students, after much thought, the only solution seemed to be… to trouble Amane a bit.
Amane's social network was easily capable of fulfilling Horikita's wish.
Though Amane herself seemed utterly indifferent to the whole affair.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.