"God, I hate studying..."
Reiji stretched as much as he could while on the way to school, his dulled mind protesting the lack of rest the past few days.
Haruna had made a lot of progress in just the two days that he had been teaching her, and he had a good feeling about her chances of getting into the Top 5, let alone the Top 10.
'Meh, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.'
They had the cooking club's session after school today, but it was decided that they'd go straight back to her house to continue the tutoring once that was over.
Through these sessions, Reiji had gotten an even better grasp on how much more efficient and capable his intellect really was.
He knew that OG Reiji was smart, and he himself was no slouch when it came to academics, but it was a lot easier to learn and compute in this body than he was expecting.
Even Haruna was genuinely shocked to see how well he was able to explain some of the tougher theories in the textbooks.
'Whatever, one less thing to worry about.'
There was no reason to question it so he simply embraced it.
He reached the front gates, lost in his thoughts, and walked in calmly with his hands in his pockets.
"Reiiiijiii!"
A distinctly familiar voice that made Reiji stop in place with both exasperation and amusement chimed in from behind him.
He turned to see a flash of red barrel right into him, knocking the wind out of his chest.
"Urgghhh, Yui! Come on!"
He pried the perky bundle of joy off of him, laughing when he saw her cheeky grin.
They didn't notice the other students staring at them in confusion and curiosity, most of them recognizing at least one of the two of them.
"Not my fault, you barely chatted with me this weekend!" she sulked, punching his chest lightly.
"I'm sorry, but the midterms are next week, and I was tutoring a friend."
"A friend? Who?"
"...You don't know her, she's in my class."
Reiji considered hiding this fact for a split second, considering how possessive Yui seemed in the mall when that one store clerk asked for his number, but that would be counterproductive.
'The whole point is to help her overcome these tendencies. I can't forget why I approached her in the first place.'
"Her? You were tutoring a girl? Alone?"
Yui's bright eyes dimmed eerily fast, her smile replaced by trembling lips and a gloomy face that surprised Reiji even though he was expecting it.
But what shocked him even more was that it actually wasn't anger in her eyes, it was more sad than anything else.
He reacted immediately, pushing her drooping face upwards by poking her forehead softly with his finger.
He was no expert on how to deal with things like this; the best he could do was be cheerful and act as if it was no big deal, hoping that it would rub off on her.
"Oi, what happened? Why'd you go silent all of a sudden?" he chuckled.
"....Nothing," she replied, looking away once again.
But her pout only grew, and Reiji noticed the hint of expectation in her voice. Paired with the fact that Yui kept glancing back at him as she wanted him to comfort her, he couldn't help but find her completely adorable.
He reached out and ruffled her hair with a sigh, shaking his head when she leaned into his hand and smiled again.
"Your mood changes wayyy too quickly," he muttered.
"And whose fault is that exactly?" she retorted.
But before they could keep bantering at the front gate, Reiji noticed someone walking up to them from the side.
He didn't recognize the girl, but he saw the Student Council armband she was wearing and frowned.
"Yagami Reiji, the Student Council President has summoned you to the office. Please come with me ASAP, so you can return before classes start," she informed him indifferently, standing at attention next to them.
'Tch, what does she want now?' he thought internally.
"I'll talk to you later, Yui. I gotta go," he said, turning back to the red-haired girl who once again had an emotionless look on her face.
"....Alright."
Reiji nodded at the student council girl and followed her as she walked off towards the school building, leaving behind Yui, who mumbled something under her breath that he didn't quite catch.
"....That bitch is so annoying."
***
Neither of them exchanged words on the way to the office, and the entire time, Reiji was trying to figure out if he had done something wrong.
'Hmmm, I haven't really caused trouble at school... Is this about the food exhibition?'
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, thinking that was the most likely explanation. But with Noa, you could never know until the talk actually begins.
They arrived fairly quickly, and just as the girl reached for the door, it swung open on its own as a slim man with neatly groomed, slicked-back hair and rectangular glasses stepped out.
Tadano Itsuki, the vice president, narrowed his eyes when he noticed Reiji standing there, lost in his thoughts.
"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly, ignoring the girl completely.
Reiji blinked as he only now registered the man's existence.
"Hmmm? Oh, it's you. I dunno either, I was just called here by the Prez."
"Prez? Address her respectfully. What's with that ridiculous laziness?" Tadano Senpai snapped irritably.
Reiji sighed, already tired of his uptight nature.
"I don't have time for this; classes are going to start soon."
Reiji moved past him and tried to enter the office, but the vice president moved in tandem to cut him off.
"Since when do you care about classes?" He sneered.
'I swear to god I'm gonna punch him one of these days.'
His control over his temper was not the best in the first place, with OG Reiji's tendency to get easily angered still ingrained in him. A vein was throbbing on Reiji's neck, and he tried his best to push his frustration down.
"If you have a problem with me, take it up with the Prez," he hissed through clenched teeth, forcibly moving the wiry man out of the way with a light push.
"Wha- Yagami, is this how you treat the Student Council?" Tadano Senpai roared, adjusting his glasses, which had slipped slightly due to the sudden shove.
Reiji glanced back for a brief second.
"Nope, it's just how I treat you."
The vice president was about to grab his shoulder when the girl stepped in nervously.
"V-Vice President, the President has summoned him for a meeting, we can't keep her waiting any longer!" she explained hastily, trying to calm him down.
"....Hmph, I'll let it slide this time, but you will be marked down for this, Yagami," he snorted before walking away from the office with a furious look.
Reiji just rolled his eyes and continued towards the door to Noa's office, passing by the other rooms in the Student Council.
The girl jogged to catch up to him, staring at him in confusion.
"What did you even do to make the Vice President that mad?"
"You tell me. Dude has a stick up his butt," Reiji replied curtly.
"Pfft."
The girl covered her mouth quickly, looking around to see if anyone had heard her. They reached Noa's office, and she knocked on it.
"Come in."
She nodded at Reiji, indicating that he should enter, and took off with hurried steps.
Reiji braced himself for what was probably going to be another scolding and pushed the door open.
Noa was sitting at her desk, reviewing some documents, and didn't even look up. Reiji just sat in the chair in front of her and leaned back comfortably.
She put the papers down a few seconds later and locked eyes with him.
"....I asked for reports on your behavior from your teachers and clubs," she said, getting straight to the point.
Reiji raised an eyebrow, not expecting this at all.
"Ok, and?"
"I've been informed that your conduct at school has drastically improved, at least compared to the amount of problems you used to cause before. You've only been late once, and both the supervising teachers from the clubs had high praise for you."
"That's a good thing, right? Why am I here then?" he asked suspiciously, still expecting her to slide into another lecture.
Noa's fingers tapped on the wooden desk, her eyes boring into Reiji's as if she were trying to figure something out.
"There are two reasons as to why I've called you in. The first is to check if this improvement is only temporary, or if you really are trying to reform like you claimed," she responded, crossing her arms authoritatively.
"I see.... So? What do you think?"
Reiji tilted his head curiously, interested in what was going through her mind.
Noa leaned forward, placing her elbows on the desk as she clasped her hands in contemplation.
"....I want to give you the benefit of the doubt. Everything you've shown so far suggests that this isn't just a phase and you truly are starting to take your life a little more seriously. I'm just wondering what caused this sudden change, and if it has the potential to revert you back into a troublemaker," she said in a low voice, almost like she was talking to herself rather than to him.
'Sheesh.... She's really dedicated to her role, huh?'
But that was Fujikawa Noa.
Cold, rational, dedicated, and incredibly smart.
And yet, there was a trace of pity in Reiji's eyes.