"That… I don't really know if I should say anything."
On the way to school, Chacha glanced at Yaoyorozu, who was walking straight ahead with her head held high, her posture flawless. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke anyway.
"Then don't say it."
Chacha was instantly choked by that response. A black line seemed to form on his forehead as he forced out another question.
"I just feel like Yaoyorozu's relationship with Masata is kind of… weird today. Did you two have a fight?"
Ever since the three of them left the house, Yaoyorozu had been doing her best not to act unnaturally, but her heart skipped a beat.
Was it discovered that I slept in the same room as Masata last night?
"Of course not," she replied calmly, suppressing any emotion on her face. "Why would I quarrel with him? I just read too many books last night and don't feel very energetic."
Then she turned her head slightly and smiled modestly.
"Right, Masata?"
Seeing that beautiful face now filled with unmistakable killing intent, Masata had no desire to invite trouble. He nodded repeatedly without hesitation.
"Yes, yes. Momo-chan helped me with my homework yesterday. It really opened a whole new world for me."
Before he could finish speaking, Yaoyorozu's fist descended lovingly on his head.
"Ow—!"
Masata hugged his head and retreated to the corner, instantly silenced.
"Don't listen to his nonsense. Hurry up, or we'll be late."
Her expression instantly returned to gentle elegance. Like the perfect refined lady she was, Yaoyorozu smoothed her hair and walked forward gracefully, leaving Masata alone behind her, standing helplessly in the breeze.
"There's still more than a week until the final exams! But so much has happened recently—there's no time to review at all!"
Before they even stepped into the classroom, the three of them heard Kaminari's miserable wail echoing from inside.
The USJ incident, the Sports Festival, on-site internships—one event after another had piled up, leaving no one in the mood to properly review. Just a few days ago, they'd even gone through an intra-class combat exercise, squeezing what little time they had left even further.
Still, the only ones truly lamenting were Kaminari and Ashido.
Kaminari ranked last in the class, while Ashido was second-to-last. They could practically be called brothers in hardship.
"As long as you pay attention in class, there's no way you'll fail," came a cool, indifferent voice.
That line belonged to Shoto Todoroki—the aloof academic prodigy. Some people barely seemed to study, yet still handled assignments effortlessly and ranked among the top.
Todoroki was exactly that type, currently sitting comfortably at fifth place in the class.
"The written exams are actually pretty easy."
Mineta sat with one leg crossed over the other, elbows on the desk, eyes half-lidded. His grades were unexpectedly decent, and now he wore the smug expression of a villain monologuing to himself.
Unfortunately, his voice wasn't quiet at all.
Everyone knew exactly who that comment was aimed at.
Kaminari and Ashido's knuckles were already cracking.
"What—?!"
The classroom door was pushed open a bit too forcefully as Masata strode in and dropped his schoolbag onto his desk.
"Masata!!! You'll stick with me, right?!"
As if seeing his savior, Kaminari rushed over the moment he spotted Masata, grabbed both of his hands, and stared at him with tear-filled eyes.
"…."
Being suddenly grabbed by another guy sent a chill straight down Masata's spine.
Without leaving a trace, he shook off Kaminari's hands and said casually, "That's not happening. You know, I've been living in absolute hell these past two days. If I still can't make the top ten after all that, then what's the difference between me and a salted fish?"
As he spoke, Masata shot Yaoyorozu a meaningful look, silently reminding her not to forget her promise.
Seeing his almost childlike expression, Yaoyorozu sighed inwardly and nodded helplessly, responding with a determined look of her own.
"You even abandoned our group?!"
As if struck by devastating news, Kaminari dropped to his knees, clutching his chest dramatically.
"Ashido, Kaminari—let's cheer up together!" Midoriya said earnestly. "Studying together for something like this can actually be fun!"
"Yes!" Iida added enthusiastically.
The two of them ranked near the top of the class—Iida was second, and Midoriya fourth.
Unfortunately, the phrase staying together only made Kaminari feel worse.
"Watch your wording!"
Seeing how worried everyone was about their grades, top student Yaoyorozu smiled warmly.
"Why don't the two of you come to my house for tutoring this weekend? I'm quite confident in written exams. Masata will be there too—I can supervise him at the same time."
Yaoyorozu Momo had ranked first in the midterm with an average score of 4.8, dominating every written subject and leaving the rest far behind. Even Aizawa-sensei had rarely praised her back then, saying she had earned him face in front of Class B's homeroom teacher.
"Take me too!"
"I want to go as well—I really don't understand how quadratic functions are applied."
The moment they heard they could receive tutoring from the top student, the class immediately gathered around Yaoyorozu.
"See? This is what a difference in life looks like~"
Kirishima nudged Bakugo, who ranked third in the class, and laughed slyly. Aside from Kirishima himself, no one else was paying Bakugo any attention.
"Shut up! I can teach too!" Bakugo snapped. "I'll teach you how to do it the hard way!"