May 23rd. Early morning in Tokyo was still cool.
Aoki wasn't woken by his own body clock; around six, he was jolted awake by a phone call from Hiratsuka Shizuka.
On the other end, Hiratsuka told him to get ready—he'd be taking Shuchiin High's entrance test today.
Aoki hadn't expected her to move this fast. It had been, at most, thirty hours since he'd asked for help, and already he could sit for the exam today.
He agreed, asked the exact time, thanked her, and hung up.
He gave up on the idea of dozing off again, got up to wash, and—feeling good—texted his current homeroom teacher at private Jōsei High to ask for leave.
Taking out the trash and stepping outside, he couldn't help smiling at the thought that, after today's test, he might attend Shuchiin, a school with a ridiculously strong faculty.
One step closer to the dream of getting into Todai!
(As an aside, with all the unexpected incidents these last two days, his "become a rotten politician" life goal was put on hold—he'd decide whether to continue down that path after thinking it through.)
He tossed the trash, bought a rice ball at the convenience store, ate, then rested a bit at the apartment. Around eight, he headed for the station.
Shuchiin was a ways from his current place—about twenty minutes by train. He was due at 8:30 with Hiratsuka, so he aimed to arrive ten minutes early.
Bounced around by the train for twenty minutes, he got off and exited the station.
A short walk down the street, and a long but not-too-steep slope came into view.
At the top stood Shuchiin's gate, cherry trees lining both sides.
It was the last stretch of late spring sakura. Petals swayed and sprinkled down the entire hill.
"That slope's so long… The girls here must have really thick calves," he thought, despite the postcard-perfect scene.
At the gate he checked the time, but didn't go in.
The guard wouldn't let him past—no unauthorized entry without a teacher escort.
He waited.
After a while, Hiratsuka came out from campus.
Today, she wasn't wearing the beige coat from the other day. She had on a white coat with a hem down to her knees, jeans below, and a fitted suit jacket underneath.
A catastrophically bad outfit.
He didn't even know where to start with the roast. His eye twitched, and he chose to ignore it. "Good morning, Ms. Hiratsuka."
"Oh, morning, Aoki-kun." She didn't seem aware how questionable her styling was. Waving casually, she asked, "So—confident about the placement test?"
"As long as it doesn't cover things I've never learned, I should be fine."
"That confident? Not bad…" She spoke as she turned and signaled the security booth to open the gate.
The door slid aside.
Once inside, she continued, "The test's at ten. Content is first- and second-year material. That okay?"
"Okay."
"If so, I'll show you around the school first—I'm free this morning," she said.
He glanced at her, surprised.
He'd known she was conscientious, but having her play tour guide still made him feel bad.
"Ms. Hiratsuka, no need to go to the trouble. Please don't let me keep you from work."
"I just said—no class this morning. Nothing to keep me. A lap around campus will help you get your bearings."
Without waiting for a reply, she dragged him toward the classroom building.
He had to admit—her raw strength was way above teacher standards. Simply hauling a student by the collar for several hundred meters? Most people couldn't do that.
Escaping her clutches at last and nearly strangled in the process, Aoki braced his hands on his knees, gulped air, and looked up at her "ahaha whoops" face, feeling more than a little exasperated.
Forget Todai—if he got placed in her homeroom, he wasn't sure he'd survive to year three.
He couldn't match her physically. If he wanted payback, it would have to be verbal. After catching his breath, he muttered, "M–Ms. Hiratsuka, with that grip… you don't have a boyfriend, do you?"
Pushing-30, single since birth—she offered plenty of weak points for a roast.
Unfortunately, he forgot a basic rule—
A gun will always beat a pen.
Her brow twitched. She put on what she thought was a kindly smile.
"Aoki-kun, what did you just say?"
…
After being "disciplined," Aoki dutifully followed the older bachelorette around campus.
At ten sharp, she led him to an unused classroom, where two teachers proctored the test.
As he'd expected, being first in the entire (admittedly weak) Jōsei High meant the placement test was no problem.
In less than two hours, he finished everything.
Then, with a "Go home and wait for notice" from Hiratsuka, he left Shuchiin.
He boarded the train back, swaying with the car—
—when a chime sounded in his ears.
He suddenly remembered the video he'd pinned his hopes on.
Squeezing to the side of the car, he unlocked his phone, opened YouTube, and went to the creator dashboard.
The first upload on the list: "Lemon."
Fixing his eyes on the tiny screen and counting the digits carefully, he stared a moment.
"Tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands…"
After double-checking—
"Three hundred twenty thousand?!"
-------
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