The next day, when Ichin arrived at school, he noticed that the entire senior year floor was buzzing with excitement.
Utaha, holding onto Ichin's arm, whispered, "Did you forget? Hiratsuka-sensei said yesterday that graduation photo shoots start today."
"Ahhh, right. That's true."
Ichin finally remembered.
He looked up at the weather—bright and sunny. Perfect for graduation photos.
Yawning lazily, Ichin and Utaha entered the classroom together.
With graduation just around the corner, they no longer paid any mind to the school's minor rules. They walked hand in hand or with linked arms whenever they came and went.
As Ichin put it: We're about to graduate—of course we need to spread some sweet couple vibes before heading off to university.
This strategy definitely got under a lot of students' skin—and even some single teachers'.
Like Hiratsuka Shizuka. Hiratsuka Shizuka. And, yes... Hiratsuka Shizuka.
Today's "Bust Shizuka" appearance: 1/1.
Since there were no more classes, the classroom was mostly empty. Aside from a few early arrivals chatting inside, most students were either still on their way or off tending to club activities.
After a quick discussion, Ichin and Utaha decided not to hang around and headed to the Service Club room instead.
As expected, the Service Club was peaceful in the morning. Yukino and Eriri wouldn't arrive until lunchtime when they'd all eat together.
Ichin opened the window a bit to let in fresh air, then pulled over a chair and sat down. Utaha smoothly pulled her ultrathin laptop from her bag and began typing away. It was time to start writing volume three of her novel.
Ichin also took out his own laptop and began writing a review on his gameplay experience with Arceus.
After typing for a while, he paused, pulled out his Switch, opened the game again to revisit the map, immersed himself briefly, then continued writing.
About an hour later, he finally finished the last line and let out a sigh of relief.
His post-play review was nearly 3,000 words long—he'd clearly and thoroughly covered all the necessary points.
"Not sure if GF will actually read all this though."
During the days he was writing the review and feedback, Ichin had also called their Nintendo contact to inquire about Game Freak's current development environment.
While the contact couldn't share too many specifics, they had hinted at a few things. So when writing his suggestions, Ichin made sure they were technically feasible for GF to implement.
Hearing him muttering, Utaha leaned slightly over to glance at his screen from Ichin's shoulder.
"That's a lot of writing. Whether they read it or not isn't up to us. Since they asked for our feedback—and even gave us the game early—we should at least do our part. Besides, now that the game's been released, even if we don't say anything, the player base online is definitely talking. I'm sure GF's seen the feedback."
"Yeah, you're right. But don't forget—GF has publicly said before that they're used to online criticism and just ignore it."
Ichin shrugged and smiled. "Honestly, that's kind of a skill in itself. But still, like you said, I'll just do what I need to do. If there's someone at GF who genuinely cares about Pokémon, they'll read it."
With that, he saved the document and closed it, then opened Steam on his laptop.
Even though he didn't bring a controller, Slay the Spire was still playable. Worst case, he could just hop on Bilibili and watch some fun videos.
Seeing Ichin getting ready to relax, Utaha quickly scooted her chair away and put on her headphones. She had set a goal for herself that morning: write 5,000 words today.
Before turning on her music, she glanced at Ichin and warned, "Ichin, don't bother me, okay? I need to focus!"
"OK, OK, I won't."
Ichin gave her a hand sign and put on his own headphones, launching his music and diving into the game.
And so, the two of them spent the entire morning chilling in the Service Club room. The only interruption was Hiratsuka Shizuka dropping by to make sure they were actually on campus—once she confirmed, she returned to her office satisfied.
By lunchtime, Yukino and Eriri showed up with their bentos.
Seeing the two already comfortably settled in, Eriri grumbled enviously, "Must be nice for you guys. Just lazing around every day, while I still have to sit through class and cram a bunch of review sessions."
Ichin took out his bento and chuckled. "Well, you're still in the final semester of second year. After spring break, you'll be seniors too. Then you'll start to feel the pressure radiating off all your classmates preparing for college entrance exams."
"Huh? That kind of pressure exists?"
Eriri looked confused as she chewed her rice. "Sounds like there's a huge difference between second and third year."
Yukino provided the answer.
"Actually, those who take their studies seriously start going to cram schools during the second semester of their second year. In my class, several people spend every weekend attending intensive prep courses."
She took a sip of warm soup and opened her freshly microwaved bento. "But that kind of pressure... it usually comes from their families."
"Weekend cram school all the time? I couldn't handle that," Eriri said, shaking her head. "Yukino, are you planning to take any prep courses?"
"No need. I can handle both studying and reviewing on my own. There's no need to go to those classes."
Yukino was confident in her academic abilities. Even without extra classes, she was sure she could outperform most students.
Her test scores from first through second year had proven that clearly.
Utaha turned to Ichin and asked, "Ichin, isn't it even more intense for students in China?"
"Pretty much. In China, most schools finish teaching the third-year content by the second year. Then the entire third year is just intense review and exam prep—like a small quiz every three days, and a big one every five."
"Ugh! That sounds terrifying."
Eriri shivered, unable to even imagine such a scenario.
Ichin looked at her and smiled. "For someone like you going into an art major, there's no need to stress. Just keep doing what you're doing."
Halfway through lunch, Hiratsuka Shizuka dropped by the Service Club room again.
"Ichin, Utaha—remember to come to the classroom at 1 PM this afternoon. It's time for your graduation photos."
Graduation photos—finally about to begin.
*
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