Failing even one subject on the midterms or finals would result in expulsion. This was another crucial hidden rule of Advanced Nurturing High School. The Class D senior had specifically warned him before she left: "It doesn't matter if you lose to the other classes or have to survive on the free meal plan every month. Just don't get expelled for bad grades—that would be too embarrassing."
Of course, Kiyomizu had no intention of leaving in such a disgraceful way. But this school was clearly not ordinary. What kind of high school would enforce mandatory expulsion for failing a single subject? The only good news was that the midterm exams were still over a month away. He should have enough time to cram Japanese from scratch and at least reach the passing line.
But three great mountains stood before him: modern Japanese, classical Japanese, and classical Chinese. He could barely handle modern Japanese, but classical Japanese was like a book from another world. Although it was filled with familiar Chinese characters, their combination was obscure and difficult to understand.
(It feels a lot like the classical Chinese I learned in my past life... but because it's Japanese, the difficulty has increased several times over!)
What was even trickier was that the same Chinese character could have a dozen different readings in classical Japanese, and its meaning could change completely depending on the grammatical particles attached to it. It was like facing an encrypted text, with the key hidden deep in the past.
"My head hurts..."
After the afternoon Japanese class, Kiyomizu rubbed his temples as usual, his fingertips pressing against his throbbing nerves. Japanese class wasn't like Math or English, which were overtly intimidating. Even an elementary school student could understand parts of it. But once it delved into the usage of each character and the phonetic change rules in ancient language, his brain would immediately feel as if it were filled with lead, sinking heavily into a fog.
(They're all Chinese characters... why do they look like a secret code when put together?)
As he was lost in thought, a faint voice drifted to his ear.
"U-um... Kiyomizu-kun, yesterday... thank you for speaking up for me..."
He turned his head and saw his deskmate on the right, Airi Sakura, looking down, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt. Her voice was as light as a feather. If not for his sharp hearing, he might have mistaken it for the wind rustling outside.
"It's nothing! I was just in a bad mood that day, and he's a troublesome guy who skips class all the time anyway." Kiyomizu waved his hand, his tone casual. This wasn't entirely a perfunctory response. He really had been in a bad mood, and he really had been annoyed with Yamauchi.
(After all, that guy is at least half responsible for Class D's "glorious achievement" of getting zero points. He's the one who corrupted Ike and a few other boys...)
"..."
Airi Sakura remained silent for a long time. Her gaze quietly swept over the almost brand-new Japanese textbook on Kiyomizu's desk. The spine was crisp, the edges of the pages were white, and there were barely any creases. It clearly hadn't been used much.
(So he really is struggling with Japanese...)
She parted her lips slightly as if to say something, but in the end, she just bit her lower lip and swallowed her words.
"Oh, right!" Kiyomizu said with a serious expression, lowering his voice. "Just to be absolutely sure—you really didn't confess to Yamauchi, did you?"
"...Of course not!"
This time, Airi Sakura's voice rose considerably, causing a few students in the front row to turn around curiously. She quickly covered her mouth, the tips of her ears turning as red as if they were about to bleed. Her gaze lingered on Kiyomizu's face for a moment before she quickly looked down like a startled animal.
Kiyomizu raised an eyebrow, his gaze resting on her slightly red earlobes for a moment.
(So it really didn't happen...)
(But then again, she really is the type who isn't good at talking to people.)
...
After school, Kiyomizu finished his dinner and went straight to find Suzune Horikita. He had thought she would still be angry about him mentioning her brother during PE class and might not agree to go to the office to see Teacher Chabashira with him. To his surprise, although the girl maintained an icy expression, she silently followed him.
When Kiyomizu pushed open the office door, the expected Teacher Chabashira was not there. Instead, a young woman in a light pink silk blouse was leaning casually against a desk. The hem of her blouse was loosely tucked into high-waisted shorts, outlining her slender waist. What was most eye-catching were her long legs, which looked even straighter and more well-proportioned in the shorts.
Her style was far too casual and a world away from the typical image of a teacher. Yet, she was sitting in a teacher's exclusive office chair. Normally, the standard attire for a female teacher would be a well-tailored suit and skirt with modest black stockings, like the prim and proper Teacher Chabashira. But this woman... was the very picture of a teacher who would be the subject of parent complaints. "How can you dress like that! My child is just staring at the teacher in class, and his grades are slipping all because of you!" The type of "problem teacher" who would be protested by a group of mothers.
However, in a fully enclosed school like Advanced Nurturing High School, it was almost impossible for parents to visit and observe classes as they would in a normal school. It was a mystery if they even had regular parent-teacher conferences.
As Kiyomizu was lost in thought, the female teacher keenly noticed the movement at the door. She tilted her head slightly, a lazy smile on her lips. "Oh? Two cute students. Which teacher are you looking for?"
"Teacher Chabashira," Horikita stated her homeroom teacher's name bluntly, her tone clearly suppressing her dissatisfaction.
"Eh? Looking for Sae-chan—" The woman tapped her chin with her fingertip. The overly familiar nickname instantly made Kiyomizu realize their relationship was close. "She was just in the office a moment ago~"
Seeing that she was about to invite them in to wait, Horikita immediately refused coolly, "That's not necessary."
Surprisingly, the young teacher took the initiative to walk out into the hallway. She casually pointed a finger at her own face. "Let me introduce myself. I'm the homeroom teacher for Class B, Chie Hoshinomiya. Sae-chan and I have been inseparable friends since high school! We still call each other 'Sae-chan' and 'Chie-chan'~"
Then, the teacher named Chie Hoshinomiya approached Horikita as if she had discovered a new continent. "Your aura is so similar to Sae-chan's. But why did she specifically ask you two to come here? So suspicious." She blinked her curious eyes, tapping her lips. "Don't tell me... you got into trouble?"
Seeing Horikita remain silent, she suddenly clasped her hands together, a cunning smile on her face. "Could it be—love advice?"
Horikita's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.
-------
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