"Sakagami-sensei... could you please explain this part again?"
Sakagami-sensei looked up from the notebook he had been checking and adjusted his glasses slightly. His eyes settled on Hikigaya, who stood beside the desk with an awkward stiffness that suggested he already knew how this would go.
Then he let out a long, weary sigh.
"Hikigaya-kun, why exactly are you back in the staff room so soon? I believe I explained the entire basic quadratic equation to you yesterday... and the day before that."
Hikigaya rubbed the back of his head, his gaze drifting toward a stack of papers on a nearby desk just to avoid meeting the teacher's eyes.
"Uh... yeah. You're right. Sorry about that," he muttered. "It's just... one of those things. When you explain it, the logic feels fine. I can follow the steps and it all seems perfectly reasonable. But the moment I sit down with a blank sheet of paper and try to do it myself, it always ends up different somehow, I guess."
Sakagami gave him a sharp, unflinching look. Hikigaya hesitated under the weight of it, then shifted awkwardly.
"...It's kinda like, you know," he added after a second, almost defensively. "It's like watching a cooking show. Everything looks easy... until you're the one holding the knife."
Sakagami tapped his pen against the desk, his expression unreadable.
"If you understand that you lack the basic foundation to apply the logic," he said, his tone firmer now, "then the solution should be obvious. Work on your fundamentals. There are plenty of textbooks in the library, and I'm sure Class D has students more than capable of tutoring you."
"And I've already guided you more than enough over the past month. At this point, you should be working through it on your own."
"No, Sensei, please! Don't send me away!" he pleaded, his voice cracking just enough to be dramatic. "Midterms are in three weeks. Three weeks! If I don't study with everything I've got, I am definitely failing this exam which I really don't want to happen. Otherwise, all the hard work I put in studying last month will be for nothing."
He shifted awkwardly.
"I'm still not there. My basics are absolutely screwed, sensei. So please... help this poor, pathetic soul standing before you just a little more."
As Hikigaya's posture began to shift downward into a full, dramatic bow, Sakagami's eyes widened behind his spectacles. He lunged forward slightly, hands hovering in the air as if to physically catch the boy's dignity before it hit the floor.
"Hey, hey! Cut that out! I told you before, don't start bowing in the middle of the staff room," Sakagami hissed.
He felt the weight of several curious gazes from the other faculty members sitting at their respective desks. From the corner of his eye, he could see Hoshinomiya-sensei leaning over her paperwork with a mischievous grin, clearly enjoying the free entertainment. Even Chabashira-sensei, usually indifferent, had paused her pen to glance over at the spectacle.
Sakagami straightened up quickly and rubbed his temple, trying to pretend nothing unusual had just happened.
"Unbelievable," he muttered under his breath, leaning back in his chair. "Does this boy really have no pride as a man? Most boys your age would rather eat their own shoes than beg a teacher this way, yet you do it so casually... it's honestly astounding."
He stared at Hikigaya, who was now standing back up with an expression that wasn't even bothered.
"I suppose I should be impressed, with an ability to act this pathetically and plead for help without looking even slightly affected... you definitely have a very bright future as a office sl—I mean, worker."
Hearing that, Hikigaya felt something inside him quietly collapse.
'...Hey, hey. You were definitely about to say office slave.' At this point, even he couldn't deny it his possible future as a corporate drone. 'Is there really no hope left for me?'
For a moment, he seriously considered curling up on the floor right there in the staff room and crying. Unfortunately, there were too many witnesses for an existential crisis.
So, he decided to save it for later.
Sakagami-sensei let out one final, defeated sigh, reaching for a clean sheet of paper and a fresh pen.
"Fine, I will explain the entire thing to you again. But this time, Hikigaya-kun, you'd better pay absolute attention. I'm not walking you through it like this again."
"Understood, Sensei,"
An hour later, Hikigaya finally stood up. His head felt heavy from the concentrated effort, His notebook was now covered in frantic, messy scribbles that looked more like a cry for help than a mathematical derivation.
"I think... I've got it now. Thank you, Sakagami-sensei. Truly," Hikigaya said, giving a small, weary nod of appreciation.
Sakagami only waved a hand dismissively, though he looked significantly more drained than he had an hour ago. "Just make sure it stays in your head this time. I have a class to prepare for."
"Right."
Hikigaya turned and began walking toward the door, his lips began moving in a faint, rhythmic murmur.
"...Move the constant, divide by the coefficient, complete the square... or just use the formula... minus b plus-minus square root of D over two a..."
He was muttering the steps like a Buddhist mantra, trying to engrave the sequence into his long-term memory before his brain decided to delete the file to free up space for something useless... like the entire block of text printed on the back of a MAX Coffee can.
"Factor... D... formula..."
Just as he reached the door—
"Hey there, Hikigaya-kun~ Leaving already? Hmm...?"
Hachiman stopped, his hand inches from the door handle. He could feel the eyes of the other teachers again. 'And I was so close to the exit,'
"Good afternoon, Hoshinomiya-sensei, yeah... I should probably get going. I've already taken up enough of Sakagami-sensei's time, and there's still a lot I need to cover."
"Working hard, aren't you? so many one-on-one tutoring... that's some serious dedication. With midterms around the corner, I suppose everyone's getting a bit nervous."
"It's a struggle," He replied vaguely.
"But isn't it tiring doing everything alone?" she continued. "I mean, I haven't really seen you with any classmates in here. Doesn't Class D have study groups?"
"There are a few, I think."
'More like I wouldn't know even if they existed. People usually don't go out of their way to inform background characters about group activities.'
Back in middle school, information had always spread through some invisible network he somehow never had access to. Study sessions, hangouts, group chats... all of it quietly organized itself somewhere just slightly outside his range of perception. If there was some kind of gathering, he usually only found out about it the next day through passing remarks like "Yesterday was fun" or "You should've come."
Which was impressive, considering no one had ever mentioned when or where "yesterday" had taken place.
At some point, he had simply stopped treating those things as options in the first place. Conversations about meeting up, studying together, forming groups... even when they happened nearby, they passed by without ever properly registering with him, unless they were absolutely unavoidable or something the school directly forced him into.
So yes, he really had no idea whether any study groups even existed in his class.
In fact, the thought hadn't even occurred to him until she mentioned it just now.
'...Just how low have I fallen if something as normal as a study group doesn't even register on my radar anymore?'
"Then why haven't you joined one? It'd be way more efficient than coming to the staff room every single day and bothering all the teachers, right?"
"...Well," he began carefully, choosing each word like he was navigating a minefield, "everyone seems to already have their own pace. I'd rather not get in the way of that."
Which sounded far more reasonable than admitting he wasn't exactly the kind of person people thought to invite in the first place.
Hoshinomiya clapped her hands together once, as if she'd just solved the world's biggest problem.
"Ohh, is that all? Then how about this if you'd like, I could ask some of my Class B students. They're quite diligent, and most of them enjoy studying together. I'm sure they wouldn't mind letting you join one of their groups. You could come study with them after school. What do you think, Hikigaya-kun?"
Hachiman's thoughts flickered with irritation the moment her suggestion landed.
'...Why am I even having this conversation in the first place?'
Somehow, the topic had drifted from a simple farewell into a full assessment of his academic lifestyle. 'Enough of this.'
"There's really no need to go that far," he said, shaking his head lightly. "I've been managing fine on my own so far, and I think I'll be alright."
He tried to kept his tone polite, careful not to sound dismissive. "Group study can help, sure, but in the end, you still have to sit down and understand things yourself. So, I'd prefer to just keep doing it this way for now."
"But thank you for the offer, Hoshinomiya-sensei I appreciate it." He shifted his weight subtly toward the door. "I should get going. I still have quite a bit left to review."
"Ehh~? You really turned me down that fast," she said with a light laugh, waving a hand as if brushing the whole thing aside. "Alright, alright. I won't bug you about it anymore today. Well, if you ever change your mind, the offer is always there.
"Yeah..."
He turned and finally made his escape, the door closing softly behind him. The quiet hallway of the faculty area felt noticeably easier to breathe in.
'That took longer than expected.'
Hikigaya let out a slow breath and started walking, hands shoved into his pockets. The echo of Hoshinomiya's cheerful voice still lingered in his ears like an annoying ringtone that wouldn't stop.
'What was that even about?' he wondered. 'Offering to drag me into Class B's study group out of nowhere... Did she really mean it? or was she trying to... probe something, maybe? Like trying to figure out why the "weird guy from Class D" keeps camping in the staff room?'
After everything that had happened recently, the idea that teachers might be paying closer attention to Class D didn't feel entirely far-fetched.
Then again—
He stopped himself. 'No... I'm probably just overthinking it.'
Hoshinomiya-sensei was known for being unusually friendly with students in general. From what little he had observed, that kind of casual involvement wasn't particularly rare for her.
Trying to read too deeply into every word a teacher said would only lead to unnecessary complications and unnecessary complications had a bad habit of turning into unnecessary responsibilities. He had enough of those already.
He adjusted his grip on his notebook and began walking toward the exit, mentally reviewing the steps Sakagami-sensei had drilled into him. As he moved further down the corridor, he saw a familiar figure approaching from the opposite direction.
It was Hirata Yousuke.
Their eyes met briefly and Hikigaya gave a small nod in greeting. Hirata returned the gesture, it with a slight smile and kept walking toward the staff room door.
Without stopping, Hikigaya kept walking in the direction of the library. After a few moments, just as he reached the end of the corridor and was about to leave the faculty wing—
"Hikigaya-kun! Please wait."
Hirata had just stepped back out from the staff room, one hand raised in a small half-wave as he called out again, a little more urgently this time.
"Could you come back to the faculty office? Chabashira-sensei wants to see you."
-------0-------
"Sensei... what did I do this time? I haven't caused any trouble or anything, right?"
Hikigaya asked cautiously as he found himself standing in front of his homeroom teacher for reasons completely unknown to him. Just moments ago, he had been on the verge of successfully escaping this entire area. Now he was back again, with Hirata standing beside him looking equally confused.
"There are many reasons I could call you here," Chabashira-sensei said calmly. "However, none of them are what you are currently imagining."
'The heck! does she mean by that?' Hikigaya thought, 'What other reasons are there to call me here? I swear I've been a good boy for the last month... oh'
The innocent faces of Ike and Yamauchi crying on the floor briefly surfaced in his mind. 'W-well... almost, I would say. But "almost" still counts, right?'
"...Huh? I don't quite understand."
She didn't elaborate immediately. Instead, she glanced at both of them, then gave a small, almost reluctant shrug.
"I wasn't planning to include you originally. But since you just happened to be here... I might as well."
'God damn it,' Hikigaya thought, irritation quietly surfacing. 'If I hadn't gotten stuck talking to Hoshinomiya-sensei I would've been long gone by now. My luck really is the absolute worst.'
"Sensei... why exactly have we been called?" Hirata said politely.
"Well, about that..." Chabashira turned on her heel. "Before we begin, please come with me."
Without another word she went back to her desk and started sorting through a few files, leaving the two of them standing awkwardly inside the room.
The moment the door clicked shut, Hirata turned to him.
"What do you think she called us for, Hikigaya-kun?"
Hikigaya leaned against the doorframe, peeking through the gap toward the staff room area.
"I don't know," he muttered. "From the way she phrased it, it sounds like I wasn't even supposed to be involved in the first place. But if I had to guess... it's probably something related to the class. Maybe class points, or the midterms. I can't think of any other reason that woman would call us both in like this."
"That would make sense..."
Through the half-open door, part of the corridor leading back toward the faculty office was still visible. A familiar figure soon appeared there.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
He seemed to have just arrived, standing quietly while Hoshinomiya-sensei spoke to him. But... wait what? She was casually caressing his cheeks while saying something strange?
"Hey, do you already have a girlfriend?"
"No... I'm, uh, not especially popular."
It was quiet enough in the faculty office that, if he focused a little, he could more or less make out what they were saying.
"Hmm? How unexpected. If we were in the same class, I'd never leave you alone. Perhaps because you're so innocent? Or do you like playing hard to get?"
Hikigaya felt a full-body shiver run down his spine.
'What the hell...? Is that really something a teacher should be saying in the middle of the faculty office?'
He was momentarily baffled, eyes narrowing as he watched Hoshinomiya lean in even closer, fingers still lightly pinching Ayanokouji's cheeks like he was some adorable pet. The tone was way too sugary, way too touchy. Ayanokouji's usual blank face didn't change, but Hikigaya could only imagine how uncomfortable the guy must feel right now.
'Luck—no Poor bastard...'
He actually felt a pang of sympathy for the guy. Nobody deserved to be on the receiving end of that kind of teacher-student interaction.
"Chabashira-sensei," Hikigaya called out, "Ayanokouji's here. You should let him in."
Chabashira, who had been sorting through a few files at her desk, raised her head slightly.
"Oh... he's here already." She set the documents aside and stepped out of the guidance room. As she walked toward the faculty office, Hikigaya turned slightly toward Hirata.
"Hey, Hirata, when you were in the staff room just now... did Hoshinomiya-sensei try to talk to you too?"
"Hm? yes... briefly."
"...If you don't mind me asking." Hikigaya continued quietly, "what did she talk about? Was she... like that with you too?"
Hirata looked momentarily puzzled by the question, but answered honestly.
"Well... she greeted me and made a lighthearted comment about how she had heard I've been helping manage Class D lately. She also asked if I knew why Chabashira-sensei had called me."
"That's all?"
"Yeah," Hirata nodded. "We didn't speak for long. Chabashira-sensei asked me to call you almost immediately after that."
"...I see."
Hikigaya looked toward the door again. "Just a word of advice... you might want to be careful around that woman. I'm getting a slightly bad feeling about her."
Hirata frowned. "...What?"
Before he could say anything more, the door opened again. Chabashira-sensei stepped inside, followed closely by Ayanokouji. The moment he saw the two of them already waiting, Ayanokouji asked,
"...Hirata... Hikigaya? You two are here as well?"
"Unfortunately, yes,"
Chabashira-sensei stepped fully into the room, her gaze moving between the three of them without any visible change in expression.
"Well then. Before we start, let's get comfortable. Please, come with me."
She briefly glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. The hands pointed exactly at nine. Without offering any explanation, she walked toward the small office kitchenette connected to the guidance room and opened the door. Inside was a compact space with a narrow counter, a sink, and a kettle placed neatly beside the stove.
With practiced familiarity, she placed the kettle on the burner.
Hikigaya's eyes narrowed slightly. 'Tea. She's making tea. Why is she making tea?'
Teachers didn't casually invite students into kitchenettes and start boiling water unless something deeply unusual was about to happen. This didn't feel like a "here, have some warm tea and let's talk about your future" kind of situation.
"I'm going to make tea. Roasted green tea is fine, I assume?" she said casually.
Just as Hikigaya was about to politely decline, Chabashira suddenly turned toward them, and gave them stern look.
"Don't make any unnecessary moves. Shut up and get in here. Understand? Don't make a sound and stay until I tell you it's okay to come out. If you don't do as I say... you'll be expelled."
"..."
The sudden threat silenced both Hikigaya and Ayanokouji instantly, but Hirata instinctively opened his mouth, unable to hide his confusion.
"Huh? What do you mean by—"
Ignoring the protest entirely, Chabashira closed the kitchenette door without another word, leaving the three of them standing in the dim, cramped space.
Silence settled heavily over the small room. After a few moment, Hikigaya slowly lowered himself to sit on the floor, back against the lower cabinet. He crossed his arms and stared at the kettle.
"...She could've at least left us the tea," he muttered under his breath. "Bare minimum of hospitality. You drag three people into a closet and threaten them with expulsion, the least you can do is leave them something warm to hold."
"That should be the least of your concerns right now, Hikigaya-kun" Hirata said quietly, glancing toward the closed door with a worried expression.
He was right, obviously. But Hikigaya still felt the injustice of it deeply.
As they sat there in uneasy silence, Hikigaya's mind began wandering in directions that were unlikely to be helpful. Just as one particularly unpleasant possibility began forming, the faint sound of the outer door opening echoed from the guidance room.
"...Ah, come in," Chabashira-sensei's voice could be heard from the guidance room. "So, what did you want to talk to me about, Horikita?"
'Horikita?' He hadn't expected her to show up here too. 'Is she here to seek some kind guidance or something?'
"I will get straight to the point, why was I sorted into Class D?" Horikita asked in a cold tone.
"I see, so you've come to protest." Chabashira responded, sounding neither surprised nor particularly impressed.
"Today, you told us that the school sorted superior students into Class A. You said that Class D is a dumping ground of leftovers. I don't believe I belong in Class D."
"I see... so you consider yourself to be a superior person."
"I solved nearly every problem on the entrance examination. I made no substantial mistakes during the interview, either. At the very least, I shouldn't have been placed into Class D."
Listening quietly from inside the kitchenette, Hikigaya had to admit she had a point.
'Well... she isn't exactly wrong. Horikita is undeniably an exceptional student. Her academics are great, her athletic ability is way above average, and compared to most of Class D... yeah, the gap is pretty obvious. Objectively speaking, her dissatisfaction with all this isn't exactly unreasonable.'
"You solved nearly all of the problems on the entrance examination, hmm? Normally I couldn't show the examination results to individual students, but I'll make an exception in this case. I just so happen to have your answer sheet here."
"You're incredibly prepared. It's... almost as if you knew I'd come here to protest."
"I'm an instructor. I understand the mind of a student, at least to some degree, Horikita Suzune. Just as you said, you did well on the entrance examination. You had the third-highest test score among the first-year students and were close to the highest- and second-highest-scoring students. You did exceedingly well. And you're right: We found no particular problems in your interview. On the contrary, we evaluated you quite highly."
"Thank you very much. So then... why?"
"Before I answer, why are you dissatisfied with Class D?"
"Who could be happy with an incorrect evaluation? Furthermore, the class rankings greatly impact our future prospects. Of course I'm dissatisfied."
"Incorrect evaluation? Perhaps your self-evaluation is far too high." Chabashira snickered, or rather, laughed outright. "I acknowledge that your academic ability is excellent. You're certainly very smart. However, who decided that smart people are categorically superior? We never said that."
"But... that's just common sense."
"Common sense? Didn't common sense create our current flawed society? Before, Japan relied solely on test scores to separate the superior and inferior. As a result, the incompetents at the top tried desperately to suppress the truly capable. Eventually, we ended up with systems based on hereditary succession."
'...And here comes the school's grand philosophy about so-called "true meritocracy." Heh.'
"Besides, think rationally. Would we have admitted someone like Sudou if we decided superiority based solely on academic merit?"
"Furthermore," Chabashira continued, "You may be too quick to claim that no one would be happy being incorrectly evaluated. Take Class A, for example. They are under immense pressure from the school, and also the target of intense envy from the lower classes."
"Tch..." Horikita clicked her tongue, unable to refute Chabashira's argument. Even so, a hint of frustration crept into her voice.
"Competing every day under that kind of pressure is far more difficult than you might imagine. There are students who are quite satisfied being incorrectly evaluated at a lower level."
'Satisfied being evaluated lower... huh.' That part, at least, sounded quite believable to him.
"You're joking, right? I can't understand such a person."
"Is that so?" Chabashira said. "I think Class D boasts quite a few students like that. Strange students who would be perfectly happy being placed at a lower level."
For reasons Hikigaya himself couldn't explain, his gaze naturally shifted toward Ayanokouji.
At that exact same moment—
Ayanokouji looked at him too.
"..."
'What the hell?' A small chill ran down Hikigaya's spine. The timing was so perfect it felt deeply unnatural, like two stray creatures had accidentally recognized each other as members of the same endangered species.
He quickly looked away and pretended nothing happened.
"You still haven't given me an explanation, was I honestly sorted into Class D? Did something go wrong with the grading? Please check again."
"I'm sorry, but you were not sorted by mistake," Chabashira replied immediately. "You are definitely in Class D. That is where you belong."
"...Is that so? Then I'll ask the school again another time."
Apparently, Horikita had no intention of giving up. She had simply decided that Chabashira was the wrong person to question.
"You'll get the same answer from anyone in a higher position, besides, there's no need to be disappointed. As I told you this morning, it's possible for one class to overtake another. You guys already managed to come close to Class C. You could conceivably reach Class A before you graduate."
As he listened, it was becoming more and more clear why Chabashira had dragged all of them here. She clearly saw some kind of potential in Horikita and was likely trying to make them see that too, so they would support her in raising the class.
He glanced at Hirata and Ayanokouji.
Hirata made sense. He had basically carried the class through the first month's evaluation. But Ayanokouji? The guy looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here.
'And me? Why the heck is she trying to drag me, of all people, into this mess?'
"I can't imagine it will be easy, though," Horikita replied, her voice carrying clear frustration. "At best we can overcome Class C. Even maintaining the points, we have now seems very difficult."
She was clearly thinking back to the pool incident and how the class had only survived thanks to Hikigaya's behind-the-scenes interference. In her eyes, even having 475 points felt hollow since they hadn't been earned through the class's own deliberate efforts.
"It's not possible that such students would be able to surpass Class A. It's simply not feasible."
"I don't know," Chabashira mused. "You alone get to decide how you head down that path. At any rate, Horikita, do you need to be in Class A for any special reason?"
"Well... I suppose that's enough for now. Excuse me. But know that I'm not yet convinced I was sorted correctly."
"Understood. I will keep that in mind."
The sound of a chair squeaking against the floor signaled that the discussion was finally over.
"Oh, that reminds me," Chabashira added casually. "There are some other people here who are relevant to you."
"Relevant to me? No, you can't mean... bro—" Horikita's voice hitched, a rare note of genuine panic or hope bleeding through.
"Come on out. It's time."
"..."
'Dammit.'
Just when Hikigaya had started enjoying the free entertainment of eavesdropping and listening to the usually sharp-tongued Horikita get thoroughly dismantled by Chabashira's sadistic tongue—
'She betrayed us.'
The three of them looked at each other in confusion.
Ayanokouji spoke first and suggested. "Wouldn't it be fine if only Hirata went out first? There's no reason all of us need to go."
Hikigaya immediately jumped on the suggestion, nodding vigorously.
"Yeah, good idea. Hirata, you're the class rep. You should take the lead here. We'll... provide moral support from behind."
"Huh?"
Before Hirata could properly resist, Hikigaya gently shoved him toward the door like a soldier being sent to the front lines. With just a little visible hesitation, Hirata opened the kitchenette door and stepped outside alone.
For approximately three seconds.
"Hikigaya. Ayanokouji. Come out. Final warning. If you remain in there any longer, I'll expel both of you."
Hikigaya clicked his tongue. 'Geez, should a teacher really throw around expulsion threats this casually?'
With a defeated sigh, he stood up and walked out of the kitchenette, followed closely by Ayanokouji. The moment they entered the room, Horikita's gaze landed on them. Her eyes immediately turned a few degrees colder when they settled on Hikigaya.
"...What are you two doing here? And were you three just eavesdropping on my conversation?"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Author's Note:
Hey everyone, this chapter is finally done, and I hope it turned out alright.
It's been a while, almost two months since the last update, so sorry about that. Exams and other real-life stuff kept me pretty busy, and on top of that, I was also focusing on my other story for a while, so I wasn't able to work on this one as much as I wanted to.
But well, I finally managed to finish this chapter and get it uploaded. I'll try not to slow this arc down as much as the previous one, though I also can't promise faster updates like I used to. Still, I'll do my best to keep working on it consistently.
Other than that, if anything in the chapter feels off, please let me know. Your feedback genuinely helps me improve as a writer.
Thank you for giving this story a chance. Your comments and encouragement genuinely mean a lot to me and honestly help keep me motivated to continue writing.
If you feel like supporting my work, a small tip here would really mean a lot.
ko-fi.com/raijinmaru_k2
Stay tuned for more.
—Raijinmaru_K2