— — — — — —
After returning to his seat, Yui Yuigahama immediately turned around and stared at Oikawa with wide, curious eyes.
"What do you want to ask? Go ahead."
"I can ask?"
"If I say you can't, would that actually stop you?"
"Hehehe!"
Yui giggled foolishly, then leaned in with a conspiratorial look.
"Oikawa-kun… were you hiding your abilities before? Like that trope in novels… you know, pretending to be weak while secretly being amazing?"
"I just feel like you've changed a lot in the past month."
"The old you always seemed kind of gloomy. But now you seem… interesting. Like someone people want to be friends with."
'That really isn't necessary.'
Oikawa almost said it out loud.
Honestly, girls like Yui were the hardest type for him to deal with. He never quite knew how to interact with them.
If he put even a little too much effort into being nice, girls like this might misunderstand and think he liked them.
But he really didn't. And that would just make things awkward.
Besides, while Yui seemed much more cheerful than Kawasaki, she was nowhere near as tough inside.
"Maybe I just… suddenly grew up."
"You know my situation. I'm the only one left in my family now. I can't stay as naïve as before."
Oikawa deliberately made the tone heavier.
As expected, Yui, someone who constantly read the room and worried about others' feelings, immediately looked flustered.
"Sorry… I didn't mean to bring up something painful."
"It's fine."
Oikawa didn't continue the conversation, and Yui quietly turned back around.
"Ah, what a dummy."
Oikawa shook his head.
He never understood why some people spent their lives constantly watching others' expressions and adjusting themselves.
Didn't that get exhausting?
Then again…
Who wouldn't enjoy being friends with someone as simple and sincere as Yui?
That's how the world worked.
You gained some things and lost others.
Oikawa had no intention of becoming like Hachiman Hikigaya, sacrificing himself to make everyone else happy.
To be honest, he simply couldn't do it.
So sometimes, it was better to stay a passerby.
A little ignorance could be bliss.
At last, the dreaded Japanese class arrived.
Oikawa had the "honor" of being dragged to the front of the classroom by Shizuka Hiratsuka.
Officially it was praise.
In reality, it felt more like a warning.
"Oikawa-kun's recent progress has been obvious to everyone," Shizuka said. "He scored full marks in math and physics. His chemistry and foreign language scores also rank near the top among all second-year students."
"Even his geography and history scores improved significantly compared to last time."
"As for Japanese… well, it's a little lacking, but that's understandable."
"After all, Oikawa-kun has fallen asleep in Japanese class more than once. Even so, achieving this result makes me very pleased."
"Everyone, give Oikawa-kun a round of applause."
Scattered clapping echoed through the classroom.
The students' expressions looked strange.
No one could tell whether the teacher was praising him or insulting him.
If Oikawa had to describe it…
It was pure passive-aggressive sarcasm.
So sarcastic it was practically written on her forehead: I'm going to mess with you.
Oikawa suddenly had a bad feeling.
Life probably wouldn't be as smooth as before.
Getting along with teachers had its pros and cons.
He glanced around the classroom, mainly searching for Kawasaki.
Sure enough.
She was secretly grinning.
Oikawa glared at her.
She glared right back.
"Oikawa-kun, you must keep working hard."
Shizuka slapped Oikawa's shoulder twice with heavy force. He stumbled forward and almost fell on the spot.
A wise man didn't fight battles he couldn't win.
Oikawa returned to his seat with a bitter expression.
He tossed a note onto Kawasaki's desk.
"Enjoying this?"
A note soon came back.
"Could you stop interrupting my studying?"
Oikawa was filled with anger but had nowhere to vent it.
So he recorded the incident in his mental "diary," planning to settle the score later.
{June 4th. Oikawa Toru, remember today's humiliation.}
{Someday you must repay both the old hag and the violent woman double.}
"By the way, Oikawa. Come to my office after school."
Just then, Shizuka's voice rang out again.
...
In the teachers' office, the math teacher greeted him enthusiastically the moment he walked in.
"Oikawa! Great job on the math exam. Keep it up!"
"In a while, the high schools in Chiba Prefecture will hold a math competition. Oikawa, would you like to participate?"
Using your brain too much caused baldness.
Without hesitation, Oikawa rejected the invitation.
"Sorry, teacher. I don't want to participate."
The math teacher blinked in surprise.
He had expected Oikawa to make excuses and had prepared himself for a long persuasion battle.
Instead, he got a blunt refusal.
Shizuka stepped in to help. "Oikawa works part-time after school every day. He doesn't have time to prepare for a math competition."
"Oh… I see."
The math teacher left reluctantly.
"Thank you, Shizuka-sensei," Oikawa said sincerely. "You're incredibly understanding. Honestly, you're the most considerate teacher I've ever met."
"Having a teacher like you is truly my blessing."
"To be honest, because of you, I'm even thinking about applying to a teachers' college and becoming a kind, thoughtful teacher in the future."
A devoted flatterer.
Flatter hard enough and eventually you'll get everything.
"Haha."
Shizuka smiled faintly. "But wasn't that the same mouth that kept deleting my comments?"
"…I was wrong. At the time my mind was clouded. I was possessed by evil spirits."
When it came to admitting fault, Oikawa was a professional.
"Too late to beg now."
"The cleaning duty for the school basketball gym this week is yours, Oikawa."
Seeing the serious look on her face, Oikawa's expression collapsed.
"Of course," she added suddenly, "if you're willing to join the Service Club for a while, the cleaning duty might not be necessary…"
"No need to continue."
Oikawa cut her off immediately.
"I'll clean the basketball gym."
Was she joking?
Joining the Service Club would be worse than death.
He had zero interest in playing those childish games with the club members.
In truth, Shizuka-sensei probably just wanted him to make more friends.
Oikawa understood that. But honestly, it wasn't necessary.
After borrowing the key from the school administrator, Oikawa stopped by the literature club room to tell Kawasaki, then headed to the basketball gym.
...
"..."
"I told you I didn't need help."
Oikawa looked at the girl beside him helplessly.
"Just hurry up and clean. I still need to study."
Kawasaki rolled up her sleeves, grabbed a mop, and started cleaning.
The enormous basketball gym felt empty.
Only the two of them were there.
It almost felt like a small world that belonged to just them.
For a moment, Oikawa realized something.
The loneliness that had always followed him seemed a little weaker.
.
.
.