Chapter 6:
The Ayanokouji Group’s Formation
TIME FLEW BY, and soon it was time for Yukimura’s fifth study session with Miyake and Hasebe. We’d held the prior sessions at Pallet, but we decided to gather at the café inside Keyaki Mall today. We anticipated that Pallet would be exceptionally crowded, since all the clubs had ceased activities in order for the students to focus on the final.
“Wow, it’s even noisier than I imagined,” said Yukimura.
He looked overwhelmed by the number of students in the café. We managed to secure seats, but Pallet was practically at full capacity. It was packed with students from all grades sitting in their own study groups. Despite how focused everyone was on cramming, the library would definitely have been quieter.
“We should’ve met in the library,” said Yukimura, echoing my thoughts. “Or in my room.”
“No way. It’s easier to do it here. Right, Miyacchi?” asked Hasebe.
“Yeah. Archery club is already quiet and tense enough,” replied Miyake.
Contrary to what Yukimura had imagined, the two of them appeared to be quite content with studying here. No one wanted to be stuck in a stuffy room. The modern method was to study while chatting with friends. Degenerative evolution.
“Well, you’re the ones who’ll be studying. If you say that you can concentrate, then I believe you. Here, I prepared some material,” said Yukimura.
He handed Hasebe and Miyake notebooks full of questions on the humanities. The two accepted the material indifferently. The questions were lined up closely, like food stalls packed together at a festival with a fireworks display. Yukimura looked all keyed up. These problems he’d created wouldn’t be easy to solve.
“Whoa. You really went overboard. You’re merciless, Yukimuu!” said Hasebe. Since she didn’t exactly like studying, let alone studying her weakest subject, I was sure this was torture for her. Miyake, meanwhile, looked as though he was about to vomit. He kept his hands over his stomach while he perused the notebook.
“How can you be so terrified before you even start?” asked Yukimura.
“It’s just… There are clearly way more questions here than last time, and they look harder.”
“That’s a mediocre student’s mindset. Think about what you can do first, and challenge yourself,” said Yukimura, his voice filled with passion.
“In that case, are the questions simpler than last time?” Hasebe asked.
“Of course not.”
“Yeah, I knew they’d be tough.”
Well, obviously things couldn’t stay simple forever. Honestly, the problems and tips Yukimura had come up with really were brilliant. He could probably become a real teacher someday if he tried—not that it was any of my business. He chided students, but never gave up on them, and never raised his voice or lost his patience when they didn’t understand something. Had Yukimura, like Horikita, matured? It was incredible.
In the first semester, Horikita and Yukimura had both insisted they were placed in Class D by mistake, as both were superior students. That felt like such a long time ago.
“Come on, Hasebe.” Miyake understood that there was no point in grumbling.
“Wow, you’re getting pretty gung-ho there, Miyacchi. What’s up with you? Is your blood boiling?” she asked.
“I finally got a break from club stuff, but I don’t want to spend all my free time studying. Can I head back after I finish?” Miyake asked Yukimura.
“Of course.”
Yukimura and Horikita had different teaching methods. While Horikita designated a fixed amount of time for studying, Yukimura was more flexible. His sessions lasted until the students got through all the material, and could therefore finish earlier or later than expected. The method’s effectiveness depended on who Yukimura tutored—if he tried this with lackadaisical students like Ike, for instance, it would be a bust. They’d probably just answer without thinking so they could finish early and escape. Conversely, Hasebe and Miyake could handle it.
“If you don’t have any free time, why not quit the club?” asked Hasebe.
“I want to be in the club. I just also want free time,” replied Miyake.
“Wow, selfish.”
At any rate, if they’d managed to regain their motivation, there was nothing more to say about it. If one or both of them had withdrawn from the study group, who knew what words Horikita would’ve hurled my way. It seemed that Yukimura really had a positive impact on them both. I didn’t think they had any remaining doubts about his method’s effectiveness.
“All right, Ayanokouji. Starting today, I’ll have you do these too.”
“Huh…?”
“You get good enough grades, but your partner is Satou. You’ll need to prepare and review thoroughly so you don’t both get kicked out,” said Yukimura.
“No, I—”
“Just do it, Ayanokouji-kun. Let’s all die together,” said Hasebe, dipping her head low so her hair hung down. She grabbed my hand, as if she were a vengeful spirit trying to drag me into a well.
“Welcoooome,” she moaned.
A shiver ran up my spine as I was swallowed by the terrible darkness of the humanities questions.
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