Translator: RaidenTL
Tetsuya and I have a huge gap in our grades.
If he's average or below, I'm at the very bottom.
With a difference like that, there was no way we could study together effectively.
That's what I thought, but I couldn't hide my surprise when Miyuki skillfully started teaching us at our respective levels.
She handled Tetsuya and me separately, teaching us according to our individual abilities.
She never fumbled. When Tetsuya asked a question, she answered smoothly and quickly.
While doing all that, she still made time for me, reviewing this semester's lessons in a way that was so easy to understand, even a blockhead like me could follow along.
I knew she was passionate about education and a great teacher, but isn't this basically a cheat code?
She'd be a huge success if she became a teacher in the future.
After nearly two hours of non-stop customized tutoring, Miyuki seemed a little drained. She placed her hands on the tatami mat and leaned her upper body back slightly.
"Can we take a break for about twenty minutes?"
"You're the teacher. Do as you please."
The word 'teacher' seemed to please her, as the corners of her mouth lifted into a faint smile.
A beige bra was faintly visible through her white T-shirt.
Not as big as the school nurse's, but she still has some huge jugs.
The urge to grope them was overwhelming.
I blinked once to clear my head and got up from my seat.
"Want some juice?"
"Is that okay?"
"Of course. I'm getting free tutoring, so it's the least I can do. Stop asking and just make yourself at home while you're here. Help yourself to drinks and whatever..."
My voice trailed off as I looked at Tetsuya.
I have to show this guy some kindness, too. That's how I'll score points with Miyuki.
"Miura, you too. Don't be so hesitant. Just relax."
Not that I could bring myself to say anything nicer.
Tetsuya thanked me timidly.
"Yeah. Thanks, Matsuda."
I placed three glasses on a small tray, poured orange juice into them, and carried it over to the round table.
Miyuki smiled with her eyes and said,
"Thanks for the drink, Matsuda-kun."
Miyuki brought the glass to her lips, and soon her throat began to bob as she swallowed.
Her face is the picture of innocence, but the way she swallows is so damn sexy.
No matter how many times I think about it, she has to be mine.
"Matsuda, do you work out?"
Just as I was admiring Miyuki with half-lidded eyes, Tetsuya's shitty voice broke through.
I turned my head and answered.
"I used to. Why? You want to start working out?"
"No... it's just that your arm and chest muscles look really solid."
He said no, but it was painfully obvious he wanted to.
Guess he wants to show off his body in front of Miyuki, huh?
Too bad for you, but there's no way in hell I'm going to teach you.
Go look up stuff like carb-protein-fat ratios and scapular retraction and depression on the internet and figure it out yourself.
"If you used to... does that mean you quit?"
Miyuki's question followed.
I nodded nonchalantly.
"Yeah."
"Can you tell me why?"
"It stopped being fun."
Time to put on a slightly melancholic look.
Act like there's some story behind it, but I'm being vague because I don't want to talk about it.
"Oh... okay. So, what do you do for fun on the weekends, Matsuda-kun?"
Miyuki, completely taken in by my act, changed the subject with an apologetic look on her face.
Later, when Miyuki and I get closer and she asks me when we're alone, I'll tell her.
"On weekends? I either hang out with my friends or stay home."
"Friends? You mean Watanabe and his group, right? The guys in that club... The club's name was..."
"The Supuri Circle."
"Right... Supuri... There are a lot of really bad students in there, aren't there? Are you a member too, Matsuda-kun?"
"That's right. I'm in it with Takashi and a few other friends."
"But why?"
Because the immature Matsuda Ken got famous for causing trouble, and they gave me an offer to join.
I never wanted to join.
And I'll be leaving soon enough.
Just as soon as I use it to raise your Affection Level during our event.
"I don't know. It just sort of happened."
"....Are you... proud of being a member, Matsuda-kun?"
"No. Not really."
"Then you should leave. Being there is only going to hurt you..."
"Are you saying that because you're genuinely worried about me?"
"Of course...! That's a place for students who don't give a damn about their future...! You're trying to change, Matsuda-kun, a place like that is..."
Miyuki stopped mid-sentence and looked straight at me.
Seeing my smirk, she continued cautiously.
"Of course, you might think I'm overstepping my bounds..."
"You said you were genuinely worried. I don't think that at all."
"Th-then... shouldn't you leave...?"
"It's hard to leave."
"What do you mean, hard...? Are you being threatened or something?"
"Do I look like someone who'd get threatened?"
"N-no, but... if you're having some kind of trouble, you can tell me..."
"What are you going to do? Tell a professor?"
"The Supuri Circle is already on the academy's watch list... You know they cause a lot of trouble, right, Matsuda-kun...? They might face disciplinary action soon..."
Disciplinary action? That means expulsion, right? Or suspension at the very least.
A nice little piece of info I didn't know from playing DokiAka. Thanks.
Guess I shouldn't be a part of it then, huh?
I should probably use this as soon as the vacation ends...
But before that, I need to boost Miyuki's Affection Level.
"Thanks for worrying about me."
My serious tone made Miyuki close her mouth, though she looked like she wanted to say more.
Her expression brightened slightly, as if she'd realized I'd made some kind of decision.
"Okay... If you're rested, should we get back to studying...?"
"Sure."
"I was surprised you kept up so well today."
I walked Miyuki and Tetsuya to the main gate, letting out a dry laugh at her words.
"What, did you think I'd give up after a few minutes?"
"Do you want me to be honest?"
"Nope. Just go."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
"We're doing this tomorrow, too?"
"If you don't study every day, you forget everything. It's best to do it daily until you've got the basics down, Matsuda-kun, and until Tetsuya-kun can apply what he's learned."
I scratched my head with a "what kind of person is she..." expression.
Of course, on the inside, I felt the complete opposite.
"You're something else..."
"It's tough, right? That's because you're learning from scratch. It'll start to get fun after a little while."
There are people who find studying fun?
What a fascinating research subject.
Anyway, it's a shame they're leaving without even taking a shower.
I even prepared the open-air bath and made a peeping hole and everything.
"See you tomorrow, then."
"Okay. We're leaving. Take proper care of your plants, and make sure you review, okay?"
"I got it."
"I'm quizzing you tomorrow."
"I said I got it..."
Waving my hand with a fed-up expression, I exchanged a few meaningless words with Tetsuya before closing the gate.
Then I heard Miyuki's cheerful laughter, and two sets of footsteps faded into the distance.
Peeking my head over the wall, I watched Miyuki and Tetsuya slowly walk away.
The reason I'm letting them go is because of an event.
A situation arises where Miyuki can't sleep and ends up playing alone on the swings at a small neighborhood playground. I plan to intervene.
Because she studied with me today, the future might have changed, and the event might not happen.
But I have to go anyway.
Now's the time to suck up as much of Miyuki's Affection Level as I can, so I have to try everything, right?
Having made up my mind, I checked the time.
Seven o'clock. I should wait until the sun has completely set before heading out.
And I need to call Takashi and pretend to make plans.
I'll need an alibi for Miyuki.
Houses lined the narrow streets, facing each other.
Should I call it peaceful? Miyuki's neighborhood was just as quiet as mine.
After a quick, quiet scan of the area, I headed for the playground.
The dim playground was empty.
Of course it was. The playground across the street was bigger and had streetlights.
I clicked my tongue and sat on a swing to wait for Miyuki.
A long time passed, but Miyuki didn't show up.
Was it like I thought earlier? Did my intervention change the event?
That was a definite possibility, but I have faith in the god who sent me here.
You got pissed off playing DokiAka just like me, didn't you, God?
That's why you sent me here. To become the real main character.
As I was consoling myself like that and kicking aimlessly at the sand, I heard someone at the entrance to the playground and quickly pretended to be swinging.
"....Oh? Someone's here..."
Miyuki's voice came from the entrance.
As I thought, I'm the true protagonist of DokiAka, not Tetsuya.
Cheering inwardly, I stopped the swing and gazed at Miyuki's silhouette, illuminated by the distant streetlight, before speaking.
"Hanazawa?"
"Huh...?"
Miyuki was extremely flustered.
It seemed she never expected to hear my voice in a place like this.
After a moment of confusion, she peeked into the playground and asked.
"Is that... Matsuda-kun?"
"Yeah. What are you doing here?"
Miyuki walked quickly until she was standing in front of me.
She scanned my face as if to confirm it was really me, then spoke in a surprised tone.
"What are you doing here...?"
"I just asked you that."
"Oh... well... this is my neighborhood..."
"Your neighborhood? As in, where you live?"
I feigned utter shock, and Miyuki slowly nodded, pointing to a house.
"Yeah... That's my house over there."
"Really...? I had no idea."
"Now it's your turn to answer, Matsuda-kun. What on earth are you doing here...? Weren't you resting at home?"
"I was supposed to meet Takashi, but it didn't sound like much fun, so I was heading back. This place seemed quiet, so I stopped by for a bit. Had some things on my mind, too."
At the mention of Takashi, Miyuki's expression soured with disgust, as if she were looking at a cockroach.
Poor Takashi. He should really stop acting like a delinquent.
Not that I'm one to talk... but it's pathetic.
"Does Watanabe Takashi live around here, too? Or was your meeting spot just nearby?"
"The latter, but the meeting spot is a bit farther from here."
"Oh... that's a relief..."
Genuinely relieved, Miyuki got on the swing next to me.
Then she pointed at the phone vibrating in my pants pocket.
"Isn't that your phone?"
"It's a text."
"Seems urgent. Is it Watanabe Takashi, by any chance?"
"Yep. He's whining about why I'm not there yet. I'm ignoring him. Wanna see?"
"Ah, no... I don't really want to see..."
Despite what she said, I took the phone out of my pocket and showed it to her.
And Miyuki, despite saying she didn't want to see, stared intently at the screen.
People are always curious about other people's phones.
"What's it say?"
"....It's asking why you're not at the meeting spot... Th-there's too much profanity, I can't read it..."
This should be enough to erase any lingering shred of doubt, right?
This is why you always need a backup plan.
I chuckled and put the phone back in my pocket.
Miyuki rested her arms on her knees, leaning forward to ask.
"So, what were those things you said you had on your mind earlier?"
"That? Just thinking about the future. What I'm going to do with my life... silly stuff like that."
"Oh..."
"You were just about to say, 'Even Matsuda-kun worries about things like that?' weren't you?"
Did I hit the nail on the head?
Miyuki's shoulders flinched.
"N-no, I wasn't...?"
"Yes, you were. I was spot on. You're a terrible liar."
At that, Miyuki let out a shallow sigh.
"I'm sorry if I offended you."
"Why are you apologizing? Your problem is that you're too nice."
"Really...? You think I seem nice, Matsuda-kun?"
"Honestly, yeah. The type to get scammed easily."
"Hey... that doesn't mean I'm nice, it means I'm dense."
Miyuki let out a light laugh and pushed off the ground, setting her swing in motion.
Then she continued.
"Instead of worrying about the future already, why not focus on the present? We're still just first-years. We have plenty of time."
"Isn't that what lazy people say? 'We're still young, we have our whole lives ahead of us...' and then they end up regretting it when time passes them by."
"That's not what I meant. I meant we have plenty of time to build a good foundation. If you keep doing what you need to do, Matsuda-kun, I think your future will naturally take shape."
"And what is it that I need to do?"
"Well, for now, there's studying. Did you review what we learned today?"
"Nope."
"What am I going to do with you? If you fail the quiz tomorrow, you're getting punished."
"What are you gonna do, tie me up and whip me? I'm into that kind of thing."
If Tetsuya had said something like that, Miyuki would have given him a stern look and scolded him.
But since it was coming from me, who was always making lighthearted remarks, Miyuki burst out laughing.
I wouldn't have been able to say that if we weren't close, but since the pervert incident brought us considerably closer, Miyuki easily brushed it off.
"Whatever... I could never do that."
The mood isn't bad. Let's keep this up.
I kicked off the ground like Miyuki, and we talked for a long time as we swung.
The main topic was studying, but I also threw in some lighthearted jokes that fit my image.
Just enough not to cross the line.
And thankfully, Miyuki seemed to like my jokes.