NOVEL NEXT Chapter 54
“…Oh, this question uses this formula, huh.”
The day of the final exam had finally arrived, and Ryuichi was solving its questions more smoothly than usual. His academic ability was never low, as he’d always had a good head on his shoulders, and he was certainly better than average, but thanks to his study session with Shizuna, he was expecting even better results this time around.
Damn, now that I think about it, I’ve never really studied for a test like this before, huh. I’ve always been able to get okay-ish grades even without studying, but I guess there’s just never been a test which I actually set a target score and studied for.
As a matter of fact, since Ryuichi had had the rare chance of being taught by Shizuna, he studied hard this time around to aim for a certain score range.
He never would’ve thought the day would come when he would squander his day off to go to Shizuna’s house in the morning and spread out his study materials in her room of all things, and there were many times when they had looked at each other and laughed in wonder at the situation.
Aight, with this, I’m finally done with the test… Finally, it’s over.
With that in mind, he solved the last question on the test as well. Since he was already exhausted, he wasn’t in the mood to check his answers, and though Shizuna might scold him for being too complacent, he shrugged it off with a smile.
“All right, time’s up. Pass your answer sheets from back to front.”
Upon hearing the cue that signaled the test’s end, Ryuichi stretched his arms out toward the ceiling. After the teacher finished collecting the answer sheets and walked out of the classroom, the tension that had been in the air throughout the class quickly evaporated.
“Ah~, it’s finally over~.”
“I wonder if I’ll be okay…”
“Think you’ll get red marks?”
“Yeah…”
“Well…hang in there.”
There were varied reactions around the class; some felt that they’d done well on the test while others were anxious about whether or not they had done well enough.
Makoto and Kaname, who usually came to his desk to chat with him, were sprawled lifelessly on their desks as if they had used up too much of their concentration. Those two must’ve worked really hard, too. Ryuichi laughed.
“Good job, Ryuichi-kun.”
“Yep. You too, Shizuna.”
He exchanged words with Shizuna, who’d come up to him.
“How did you do?”
“So-so. All thanks to you.”
“Really? That makes me happy to hear.”
He wasn’t lying when he said that studying with Shizuna had been really helpful. If there was a part he found somewhat difficult to understand, she would give him the answer right away, and above all else, she was a really smart girl. She came up with answers so readily that for a moment Ryuichi seriously considered calling her “Sensei”.
“Fufu, we’re going to get together with everybody later today, so it really evens out the stress of working hard.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
That’s right, today was also the day that Chisa and Satsuki, including Ryuichi, would gather at Shizuna’s house. They had previously planned to make time to visit Shizuna’s house, and it just so happened that today was the perfect day.
Ryuichi had been worried about what kind of girls’ night out it would turn out to be, but the thought that he would be having a hot pot with everybody made him a little excited.
“Today’s Friday, and tomorrow’s a holiday… Ahh, that means I can chill and relax for the entire day.”
“Yup. Will you be staying the night at my place?”
“Can I?”
“Of course. ♪”
And so, it was decided that he would be staying at her place, too. Afterward, he sat through closing homeroom, packed his bags, and left the classroom with Shizuna.
“……?”
“Ah.”
As they were walking down the hallway, his eyes met a certain teacher’s… Hamasaki’s. These days, he didn’t talk to him anymore, and he didn’t get involved with Shizuna either, as if he had given up on advising her. Even so, seeing how he glared at Ryuichi the same way Akira did made him seem kind of childish for holding a grudge against a child, which was comical.
“He actually did try to call Mom, but of course, she got mad at him when he bad mouthed you”
“Ah, so maybe that’s why he’s acting like that now.”
Though she may have caused him to have more troublesome feelings for Ryuichi than ever before, Ryuichi still thanked her for giving Hamasaki what he deserved. Just like that, they passed by Hamasaki, changed their shoes, and went outside. They headed straight for Shizuna’s house, and when they arrived, Sakie hadn’t returned from work yet, so he and Shizuna had some alone time.
“Hey Shizuna, I’m really exhausted from the exam; can I ask you for a quick lap pillow?”
“Sure, why not?”
Shizuna sat down on the sofa and Ryuichi immediately went over to her and positioned himself for him to lie on her lap.
“You did well, Ryuichi-kun.”
“What are you, my mom or something? …Well, it’s not a bad feeling, though.”
They then stayed that way until Sakie returned home. When Sakie returned from work, she looked at Ryuichi and Shizuna smilingly, took out the ingredients for the hot pot she had prepared for the occasion from the refrigerator, and began to prepare the food.
“How was your test?”
“Ryuichi-kun and I aced it.”
“How can you say that when you haven’t gotten your results yet?”
“I just know it.”
“………”
Ryuichi was a little scared to think about what would happen in the off chance that he got a bad score. Time passed as he talked with Shizuna and Sakie, when suddenly, Ryuichi’s phone vibrated.
“Ah, they’re here. Alright, I’ll go get them real quick.”
“I’ll come too.”
He’d received a message from Chisa, and it read that she would be arriving soon, so he headed out to meet her. After walking outside for a while, they spotted the two beautiful women walking toward them a distance away, and Shizuna waved to them. Chisa and Satsuki waved back and joined up with the other two.
“Thanks for inviting us today, Shizuna-chan.”
“I’ve been really looking forward to this. ♪”
“So have I. All right, let’s get going.”
Thus, they went back home with Chisa and Satsuki in tow…and Ryuichi had to say, he felt a little regretful.
“I know, right? I think that part about Ryuichi’s really nice, too!”
“Same here. So you think that way, too, Chisa-san!”
“I think that, too~! Ryuichi-kun is such a wonderful boy~!!”
The preparation of the hot pot, which was also the main dish of the dinner, had been finished, and from there the noisy times began with the five people. Ryuichi and Shizuna, who were still minors, couldn’t drink alcohol, but the remaining three were already getting wild under the influence of alcohol.
“…I knew things would turn out this way.”
“Ahaha…”
Chisa, Satsuki, and Sakie had only just met today, yet they hit it off with each other right away. Their conversation was all about Ryuichi, and as for Ryuichi, he spent the entire time feeling uncomfortable.
He took his eyes off the three girls and quietly ate his hot pot with Shizuna. It was like déjà vu all over again for him, but he had already known this would happen once they started drinking.
“I wonder if we’ll end up like that one day.”
“…There’s a saying that goes “You shouldn’t drink without getting drunk,” but I sure as hell don’t want to end up like them.”
Satsuki was still okay, but Chisa and Sakie were really something to behold. Sakie didn’t usually drink when she was with Shizuna, so it seemed she had let loose quite a bit in a situation like this with so many people. As for Shizuna, seeing her mother like that was something she did not…not want, so it made her happy to see Sakie enjoying herself.
“This is one of the things that’s possible because you brought us together, Ryuichi-kun. It’s such a joy to see my mother enjoying herself so much, you know?”
“Mmm, Shizuna~. ♪”
It seemed Sakie had heard what Shizuna had just said, and she embraced her with all her might. She shyly accepted Sakie’s embrace, but Ryuichi did not miss her frown at the smell of alcohol.
“Ryuichi. ♪”
“Ryuichi-kuuun. ♪”
Chisa and Satsuki hugged Ryuichi from both sides, and Ryuichi obediently accepted them with a troubled look on his face. Well, it wasn’t like they would keep drinking forever, and in the end, since they didn’t want to keep bothering the two, they slowed the pace at which they drank and resumed their meal.
“There are so many girls by your side, Ryuichi-kun. Chisa-san and Satsuki-san are good girls, too.”
Putting aside whether they were good girls or not, Ryuichi agreed that they were definitely good people. At any rate, he’d known Chisa for a long time, and it was a well-known fact that he and Satsuki had formed a deep relationship with each other despite having only known each other for a short amount of time.
“Oh, right, how have you been doing since then, Satsuki?”
“Since then? …Ah, you mean my brother?”
At Chisa’s question, Satsuki replied in a completely uninterested tone, so it was clear that she held no affection for Akira anymore. He’d known this, but he felt a little sorry for Akira knowing that he was constantly glaring at Ryuichi, believing in that one-in-a-million chance.
No, he doesn’t deserve any sort of pity. Not after he tried to attack his own blood-related sister.
“Even though I haven’t really talked about it, my father and mother are starting to notice about Akira…and they’re asking me a lot of questions.”
“Oh my…”
“Is that so?”
Apparently, her family knew about it to some extent. However, because they were family, they weren’t able to take any harsh measures, and although he thought that was too lenient of them, it was a family matter, so it was difficult for him to interfere. However, it seemed no matter what happened, they wouldn’t tell Akira about Satsuki’s apartment or ask her to come back to her parents home, not even for a little while.
“I think leaving things like this is good for now. It might be optimistic of me to think that time will solve the problem, but I think this is for the best right now.”
“Hmm.”
He was sure that Satsuki must’ve had her own thoughts about things, but she seemed to have gained some courage since meeting with Chisa more often. She used to be a person who was easily influenced by others, but now she had the strength to assert herself.
“Though it’s been a long and winding journey, it’s thank to your guidance that things turned out this way, Ryuichi-kun.”
“Me again?”
Ryuichi told her he didn’t want her tying everything back to him and reached for his chopsticks. The women laughed at his effort to hide his embarrassment, and when he grumbled that there was no way that was the case, they made fun of him even more, putting him at a disadvantage.
In a sense, this atmosphere was what Ryuichi had feared, but even so, it did not make him feel unpleasant. That was probably due in part to the warmth of the atmosphere, and also because he trusted everyone.