Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume5 The Fourth Question

2014-08-27T20:50:01Z

98.207.164.116: /* The Fourth Question */

==The Fourth Question==

'''Please indicate the accented syllable of the underlined words in the English sentence below.'''

“Don’t mind. It's your imagination. He had stayed on business in New York yesterday.”

'''Himeji Mizuki’s answer:'''

"It’s your imaginátion."

'''Teacher's comment:'''

Correct answer. Normally, words that end with ‘tion’ will have the syllable before it, so it’s best to remember it.

'''Tsuchiya Kouta’s answer:'''

"It’s your íḿáĝíńáťíóń."

'''Teacher's comment:'''

You won’t be necessarily correct if you accentuate every single letter.

'''Yoshii Akihisa’s answer:'''

"It’s your '''''imagination'''''!"

'''Teacher's comment:'''

Sometimes, I suspect if you’re really a genius, but that’s just a wrong impression.

[[Image:BTS5-Mizuki.jpg|thumb]]

I’m living together with that dangerous sister of mine under the same roof

Maybe it’s because of such a tense feeling that my senses became abnormally sharp, or is it that my precognition ability got sharper?

I suffered for an entire day yesterday, and I really felt tired because I studied, which I rarely do. However, for some reason, I opened my eyes before the alarm clock rang.

“…”

“…”

The moment I opened my eyes, I found myself holding onto a pile of cosmetics with both hands and exchanging looks with my sister.

“…Ah…erm…”

What is this person doing in my room so early in the morning?

“Good morning, Aki-kun.”

“Ah, yeah. Good morning.”

As she said good morning to me casually, I answered without thinking too much. Wait, now’s not the time to say good morning!

“Nee-san! Why did you come over to my room!? And what’s with the cosmetics? Are you thinking of bullying me again?”

Is she planning on doodling on my face while I’m sleeping!?

“What do you mean by bullying? That doesn’t sound nice. You should be saying pampering you or playing a little prank on you.”

“Ahh, whatever you say doesn’t matter! Fine, then tell me what kind of prank are you playing!?”

“Sexual related.”

“GET OUT!”

“I understand. Then treat it as revision for last night. I’ll leave if you can translate that into correct English.”

Damn it! A test at this moment? My sister’s too damned despicable! Anyway, I just need to get her out of my room.

“''Take off''!”

“Deduct 10 points.”

Damn it! Deducted again! Isn’t it like this? Let me see…’take’ has the meaning of ‘walk’ or ‘go’, and ‘out’ will have the meaning of ‘out’ here. If I match them up…

“''Take ou—''”

“Unfortunately, if you want to say ''‘take out’'', nee-san will have to take Aki-kun ‘back’ to her own room and dress you like a doll.”

“''Take ouch''!”

This is bad! Got to hurry up and get away—

“Did you say ''‘take ouch’''?...deduct another 10 points.”

—I failed again.

No no. What’s the English form of ‘get out’…what, what is it…

“Aki-kun, did you want to say ''‘take off clothes’''?”

Perhaps she couldn’t stand seeing me panicking as nee-san helped me out. This is great! I don’t know what that means, but I should be able to escape then!

“Tha, that’s right! That’s it! ''‘Take off clothes, hurry!’''”

“I understand that. If Aki-kun says so, nee-san can only give up on marriage.”

What! What does ''‘take off clothes’'' mean? Why did nee-san say that she can only give up on marriage!

“Alright, considering all the punishment from yesterday, that should be enough with the jokes.”

“Eh? Jokes? Then what about the point deduction?”

“I’m serious with that one.”

“YOU DEMON!”

In that case, I will have 240 points deducted. I’m doomed. It’s getting worse day by day…

“On a side note, ''‘take off clothes’'' is translated as ‘taking off clothing’. Really, our Aki-kun here is so perverted.”

“Ahaha, what are you saying. It doesn’t benefit me one bit even if I see nee-san’s naked body.”

“…Deduct 30 points from you.”

“YOU’RE THE DEVIL!”

There will be real problems if a younger brother is interested in his sister’s naked body.

“Speaking of which, while Aki-kun was sleeping in the morning, nee-san used the excuse of cleaning to check your room.”

“Excuse…that’s not something you can just say…”

“I found two more H-books.”

“HAAAAUUUU!!”

How did this person find those old books that even I've completely forgotten…

“So I’m going to deduct from you another 20 points.”

“Uu…so you’re deducting one book for 10 points, and two books for 20 points?”

“Nope, you’re mistaken.”

Eh? That’s not it?

“I found 6 books up till now, but none of them were about affairs with older sisters, so I deducted 20 points from you.”

“ISN’T THAT WAY TOO UNREASONABLE!?”

I already have a sister, how can I even go and buy those kinds of ero-books?! Speaking of which, since she’s my real sister, shouldn’t she feel disgusted if she saw such things?

“I might be a little bit too strict, but I hope that it will serve as a good lesson for Aki-kun. This is nee-san’s love for Aki-kun.”

“WHO WOULD BELIEVE SUCH A LAME EXCUSE AFTER YOU'VE CLEARLY SHOWED ALL YOUR PERSONAL INTERESTS?!”

“Alright, you should leave after having your breakfast. Nee-san has to go to work today.”

“Uu…I can’t stand such a life…”

How is it that living together with a relative under one roof can be such a pain?

<center>☆</center>

“That’s the case, Yuuji. So let’s have a happy study group later again!”

After school, I packed my bag at the fastest speed possible and hurriedly ran over to Yuuji’s seat.

“…Akihisa. These words sound really disgusting when they aren’t things you’ll normally say.”

“Whatever you say. I’m not bothered with thinking about what other people say.”

The more my points get deducted, the more I have nothing to do other than to try to improve my grades.

“What the heck, you got deducted again?”

“Well…nee-san tested my English early in the morning…”

Testing me just when I woke up; there has to be a limit to how despicable one should be! But I guess it doesn’t matter what the time was, since I just couldn’t think of the answer…

“Really? Then how much were you deducted?”

“In all, 290. This is bad.”

“290, huh. Looks like you have to get at least 1090 points for your end-of-term exams.”

“Yeah. Even if I’m in good condition, my maximum will be about 1000. If I can’t get more than 50 points more…”

If I can get 1100 points, it will be the average in E class. To be honest, I have no confidence in that.

“If it’s just that, you should be able to do it.”

“Eh? Really?”

“If you’re willing to work like crazy memorizing things that you have to remember, you should be able to improve your grades. In your case, world history should be your big chance. I remember it was only about 50, 60 points?”

“Un. You really remembered that.”

“I’m the class rep of F class after all.”

Yuuji would check everyone’s scores before starting a summoning war. As a commander, he definitely has to know his own class’ grades.

“It seems that the one responsible for the end-of-term test is going to be different than the one for the streaming exam - it's going to be Tanaka-sensei. This should be a good thing for you, right?”

“Tanaka-sensei…if he’s the one making the questions, it will be a lot easier to get points.

Tanaka-sensei, who’s in charge of world history, is a kind middle-aged man. As the questions he sets are very simple, he’s highly regarded amongst the students.

Normally, simpler questions wouldn’t determine how good or bad the grades are, and a test that doesn’t determine how good or bad the standard is would be meaningless.

But to me now, this is something I really need. Besides, the important thing isn’t to compete with the other classmates, but to get points.

“It should be easier to get points from subjects that only need memorizing than subjects you’re good at.”

“You're right. Even if I start studying math now, I probably won’t get any good grades.”

To me, the key to getting points on these end-of-term tests will be world history.

Just when Yuuji and I were discussing how to deal with the tests and things like that, Hideyoshi, who was holding onto his bag, came to us.

“What are you discussing about? Are we having another study group at Akihisa’s house?”

“My house? Well…nee-san’s out to work, so she won’t be around at night, so you can come along. But…”

“But?”

“It’s better to go to Yuuji’s house to study. It’s better to change places once in a while to one other than mine. And my house doesn’t have any reference books, so we can’t study if there’re things we don’t have.”

I immediately suggested that we study at Yuuji’s place.

It’s not a lie when I say that I don’t have any reference books at all, but the reason why I chose Yuuji’s place is actually because I want to drag him down. That Yuuji always has no interest in things he’s not interested in, so if I don’t do this, I will worry that he won’t teach me. He said that he would help me for the sake of the next summoning battle, but I have to be prepared.

“Can we, Yuuji? You did come over to my house forcefully yesterday.”

“Well, we did force our way to your house yesterday alright…”

Yuuji pondered for a while,

“Alright then, we’ll go to my house then. My mom’s going on a hot springs trip and isn’t at home now. That’s really lucky.”

I don’t know what’s worth being happy about Yuuji’s mother not being at home, but he agreed rather heartily. Now I can ask him to teach me today.

“In that case, can I join in too? It’s really hard to be motivated studying alone.”

“Of course it’s okay. Or rather, the same few will be gathered here, right? In that case, might as well gather them to save time.”

“You’re right. Oi, Muttsurini, Himeji-san, Minami!”

I hollered out to the other three who were waiting in the classroom.

“Yes, what’s the matter, Akihisa-kun?”

“What?”

“…Where’re we going?”

Having packed their bags, the trio carried them and walked over.

“Un. We intend to study at Yuuji’s house. If you guys are alright…”

Perhaps it was to prepare for the upcoming end-of-term exams as everyone agreed wholeheartedly.

<center>☆</center>

After a 15 minute walk from school, we arrived at Yuuji’s place, located in a corner of the residence district.

“““Please excuse us.”””

After taking off our shoes at the corridor, we entered the house one by one.

Unlike my house, Yuuji’s house is a 2-storyed bungalow and looks wider than mine. It should be easier to study here.

“Yuuji, isn’t anyone else at home?”

I walked forward and asked Yuuji who was about to lead us to his room.

“Ahh, my dad’s still working at this time, and my mom went off on a hot springs trip with her high school friends, so please don’t feel restrained and make yourself at home.”

“I see. The last time I came here, it seemed that your relatives weren’t at home, Yuuji.”

“Yeah. But it’ll be better if they’re not at home in more than one way.”

Yuuji smiled cheerily and opened the door leading to the living room, and then,

“……(Guchi guchi guchi guchi)!”

There’s a woman focusing on squeezing a bubble bag.

“…”

—BATAN!

Yuuji wordlessly closed the door.

“Yu, Yuuji? That person who’s squeezing the bubble bags that’s piled up like a hill is—”

“…Someone I don’t know.”

“Is, is that Sakamoto's mother…? Why is she squeezing so many bubble bags…”

“Ye, yeah. Aren’t there too many of them? If she wants to squeeze so many of them, it will take about 1, 2 hours.”

“…Such amazing concentration.”

“Is Sakamoto-kun’s mother's line of work squeezing bubble bags?”

All sorts of ideas appeared in everyone’s mind. What was that just now…

“Must be some patient with a psychiatric disorder. Don’t know how she got into my house, because my mom should be off on the hot springs trip.”

It’s really rare for Yuuji to make such a lie that anyone can see through. This Yuuji can cheat other people’s hearts like a professional con-man and I thought that such an evil Yuuji was no different from the devil, so I’m rather surprised by his response now.

Yuuji closed the door leading to the living room, and we could only stay in the corridor. At this moment, the voice of that so-called stranger could be heard.

“Oh my? I didn’t think it would be that late now. I remember Yuuji just went to school.”

Looks like the person inside the room has been squeezing bubble bags for almost 8 hours.

“I’ll finish the rest after I have lunch.”

And it looks like she wants to continue.

“DAMN MOM! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?”

Seemingly unable to stand this any further, Yuuji finally stepped into the living room. Really? That person’s really Yuuji’s mother…

“Oh my, Yuuji. You’re back.”

“TO HELL I AM! WHY THE HECK ARE YOU AT HOME!? DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT YOU’RE GOING OUT ON A HOT SPRINGS TRIP AND STAYING OUTSIDE!?”

“About this, it seemed that okaa-san here mistook the time. July and October look really easy to mix up on first glance. How troublesome.”

“HOW IS IT EASY TO MIX UP!? THE NUMBER’S DIFFERENT, AND ONE’S A SINGLE DIGIT WHILE THE OTHER IS A DOUBLE DIGIT! THEY’RE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!”

“Really, you, Yuuji, treating okaa-san like a naive female high school student.”

“STOP USING THAT SHAMELESS EXCUSE TO ESCAPE THE PROBLEM! YOUR GOLDEN AGE ENDED MORE THAN 10 YEARS AGO!!”

“Oh my, are these Yuuji’s friends?”

“ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!?”

We were already stunned by such a crazy conversation. A, amazing…how should I describe it? Anyway…it’s amazing…

“Everyone, welcome here. Our Yuuji has bothered you a lot. I’m his mother. Just call me Yukino.”

Aunty Yukino smiled kindly at us and said gracefully. The gentle presence that she gave really made it hard to imagine that she would have any blood relation to Yuuji.

And also, after seeing her look, there’s one thing we’re all shocked by.

“Sa, Sakamoto? Your mother’s…way too young, isn’t she?”

“Yeah…I feel that Yuuji’s mom is so young that she never gave birth before…”

“…A beauty”

“I feel that she’s more like Sakamoto-kun’s sister~”

Just like what everyone said, she looked more like an older sister who was somewhat older than Yuuji than a mother. Speaking of which, how old is she anyway?

“Ever... everyone, just pretend that you never saw my mother and head to my room.”

“U, un. Pardon us for intruding then.”

After bowing to his mother, we head over to Yuuji’s room on the second level.

“Everyone, I’ll bring tea to you later.”

A voice came from the living room. It’s great to have a young and pretty and kind mom…even though it feels a little weird.

“My room’s here. Please enter.”

We entered Yuuji’s room as he led us in.

Once we went up the stairs, we arrived at Yuuji’s room. It’s rather neatly packed, which is surprising. For a one-person room, it’s rather wide.

“Speaking of which, it’s been a while since I came to Yuuji’s house.”

“I’d say so too.”

“…Me too.”

It seemed that after I came here last autumn with Hideyoshi and Muttsurini, we never entered Yuuji’s house again.

“Eh? Don’t you normally come for a visit?”

“Normally, they would come over to my house. We hardly go to Yuuji’s house, or even Muttsurini or Hideyoshi’s house.”

“The place’s great and it’s wide. Akihisa’s house is still the best.”

“That’s because Akihisa-kun’s being too luxurious living in such a large house.”

“Other than the three meals.”

Yeah yeah, but I will have to see the grades of these end-of-term tests to decide whether I can live my luxurious happy life of living alone.

“But…with so many people inside, my room will be too small, which is troublesome…”

There were 6 people altogether. If we were chit-chatting, it would still be alright, but if we open all our textbooks and notes, the place will be rather small and hard to move in.

“Can’t we go to your living room?”

“It’s not that we can’t, but my mom’s over there. With her around, we can’t possibly study.”

Yuuji showed a thoroughly irritated look. It may be my lucky day to know this guy’s weakness other than Kirishima-san.

“Really, how can you say that, Sakamoto-kun? Treating your own mother as a form of trouble.”

“Himeji, you’re saying that because you’re not living with such a mother. If you have to live with her for 24 hours a day under the same roof, you’ll find that there’s a lot of points you have to snark at her about—”

Prrr! Prrr!

Just when Yuuji was arguing back, a certain electronic sound suddenly rang inside the room. Someone’s handphone probably rang.

“Ah, it’s my phone. Sorry, I’ll take the call.”

Minami took the phone from her skirt pocket and put it next to her ear. It was not a message but a direct call. Is there something urgent?

“Hello? Ah, Mut—okaa-san. What is it? …Un…un. I see, got it then.”

This call lasted less than a minute as Minami put the phone back into her skirt pocket.

“Did something happen, Minami?”

“Un…my mom originally didn’t need to go to work and could stay at home…but it seems that the company suddenly got something urgent, so she has to go out.”

“Ah, is that so? Then Hazuki-chan’s the only one at home, is it?”

“Ya. Sorry everyone, looks like I have to go home today. Let’s work hard together next time.”

I see. It’s a pity, but it can't be helped. Besides, it’s too much leaving a primary school kid at home.

Minami then took her bag and got ready to leave Yuuji’s room. But at this moment, Yuuji called Minami.

“Wait, Shimada. In that case, why don’t we move the study group over to your house?”

“Eh? My house?”

Minami’s house. I see, that’s a good idea.

“That’s not a bad idea too. Shimada’s little sister knows us, and Yuuji’s room is so full of people that it’s a little cramped here..”

“And we can meet Hazuki-chan too.”

“…I can cook dinner for you.”

The rest of us agreed with this proposal. Most importantly, it looks like Yuuji, who proposed this, wants to change the place no matter what.

“If you’re willing, Minami, can we go?”

“U…you, you’re right…”

That’s weird? It sounds like Minami’s not willing. I do find this a good idea.

“The, then, let’s go to my house…”

After pondering for a while, Minami agreed in the end. That’s great, now Hazuki-chan won’t have to feel lonely, and everyone can gather together and study.

“But you absolutely must not enter my room!”

For some reason, Minami stared at my eyes as she said that. Do I look like someone who’ll enter a girl’s room on my own? And to think Minami’s more wary of me instead of Muttsurini. How regretful.

“Alright. Since it’s decided, let’s hurry up and leave! That pipsqueak will feel lonely if we leave her alone at home!”

After saying that, Yuuji pushed us from behind and hurriedly moved over to the corridor. Does he really hate having his mom at home while studying?

Yuuji entered the living room while we were putting on our shoes in the corridor to talk to Aunt Yukino.

“Mom, I’m going out. There are leftovers from yesterday in the fridge, so take it out and reheat it for dinner.”

“Oh my, are you going out? I just brewed tea.”

“Sorry, there’s a sudden situation…speaking of which, why are you holding onto that bottle of noodle sauce?”

“Noodle sauce? Oh my, I thought it was coffee.”

“Mom…I won’t ask you to take note of the color or taste, but at least you should read the label on the bottle…”

What’s going on? Why do I feel that Yuuji feels even more lethargic at home than at school?

<center>☆</center>

“I’m back. Are you here, Hazuki?”

Minami immediately called into the house once she opened the door to the corridor.

“Waa, onee-chan? You, you’re back?”

A little profile dashed out from the other side of the corridor.

The girl with the almond-shaped eyes that were twitching upwards and two ponytails tied in butterfly knots is Minami’s little sister—Shimada Hazuki.

“? Hazuki? Did you come out from onee-chan’s room?”

Looks like Hazuki-chan just came running out from Minami’s room.

“Ah, auu…actually it’s because…it feels lonely being alone, so Hazuki went over to onee-chan’s room…”

Hazuki-chan sounded like she really had something she didn’t want to say, and there seemed to be something hidden in the pocket of her parka.

“Did you go to my room to get the doll? Onee-chan won’t get angry over that.”

“Re, really? Thank you, onee-chan!”

Good good. Minami patted Hazuki-chan gently on the head. I saw that their conversation has ended, and took a step forward from behind Minami and said hello to Hazuki-chan.

“Hello there, Hazuki-chan.”

“Ah! Baka onii-chan!”

On seeing that I came over, Hazuki-chan leaped into me with her arms wide open without a second word. After hugging my waist, Hazuki-chan rubbed her forehead at my waist a few times. Un un, as expected of Minami’s little sister…her forehead precisely fits my solar plexus.

“Hello there, Hazuki-chan. We came along.”

“Waah. Even pretty onee-chan is here. There’re a lot of guests here today!”

It’s really lonely for a primary school kid to be alone at home, as Hazuki-chan immediately showed a smile the moment she saw that we came here and looked extremely delighted. Such an honest kid is really suited for the term ‘innocent’.

“Okay, Hazuki, let go of Aki, or else everyone else can’t enter the house.”

“Okay, I got it. Baka onii-chan, everyone, please follow me.”

“Okay okay, Hazuki-chan, you don’t have to pull me. I’ll follow—nn?”

As I was pulled over down the corridor by Hazuki-chan, I accidentally glimpsed the inside of a room whose door wasn’t locked. There are a few dolls inside, and at the middle is a familiar large doll. The doll looks like it’s holding onto something.

What’s in the grasp of that fox doll? It looks like…a photo frame…?

“Wa, wait a second, Aki!?”

“Houe?”

On hearing Minami call me, I consciously turned around. At that moment, my forehead, nose and chin were struck with a strong force. Just when I lost my balance, the joints on my wrists were twisted with such violent force that they were dislocated.

“What are you looking at?”

I suppose right now I'm looking into the pit of hell.

“Listen! This is the room that you’re not allowed to enter!”

Minami hurriedly closed the door, and at this moment, Muttsurini too joined me with dislocated wrists. Minami then turned around and furiously pointed at me. Un, relax, I definitely won’t open this door. I know clearly that this door leads straight to hell.

“Really, what in the world are you guys doing…how have you been doing, pipsqueak?”

“Hazuki’s doing well, muscular onii-chan.”

“Really? That’s good.”

Yuuji reached out and patted Hazuki-chan’s head twice before putting his hand on her head. It seems that Yuuji likes to put his hand on Hazuki-chan’s forehead because of the difference in height.

“Oh yeah, is your living room in this direction?”

“Yes, it’s this way.”

Yuuji looks like he regained his composure and attitude the moment he left his house. If I had known, I would have mocked him further.

“Find a place to sit then. I’ll move a table over.”

Minami walked over in front of us and got ready to move a table so that we could open our textbooks and read.

“? Onee-chan? Why do you need the table? Are you playing cards?”

Hazuki-chan tilted her head in a puzzled manner as she saw Minami’s actions.

Ahh, that’s right. We haven’t told Hazuki-chan the reason why we came over to her house.

“Hazuki. Onee-chan’s school is going to have end-of-term tests soon, so onee-chan brought her classmates over to study.”

On hearing Minami’s explanation, Hazuki-chan showed a lonely expression and looked down slightly.

“Auu…so you’re going to study…Hazuki can only go back to her room and not bother you…”

I should say she either really knows how to read the mood or is very cognitive. Hazuki-chan was ready to go back to her room without us saying a thing.

This is really a response a good kid should have, but…

“Wait a moment, Hazuki-chan. If you feel bore, why don’t you study with us? You can do your homework or study.”

It’s not a good thing if a kid can really read people’s moods. She was already happy when she saw us come over. Wouldn’t it be really lonely if she were to hide back in her room alone like that?

“Eh? Hazuki can stay with everyone to study?”

Her expression immediately brightened.

“Of course you can. Right?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s teaching one or two people.”

“Yuuji, are you saying that I’m only on the level of a fifth-grader?”

“Hazuki-chan. Let’s study together.”

“I don’t think this me has anything to teach you, but I’d be willing to welcome you to study with us.”

“…If it’s health education, I can teach you.”

Muttsurini, those words of yours are just within the limit (it’s nearly an out there).

(Aki, are you really alright with that? Don’t you have to work hard for the tests this time?)

Minami kept her voice down to prevent Hazuki-chan from hearing that and whispered into my ear. She really seemed concerned with my grades.

(It’s alright. Hazuki-chan’s a good kid and won’t be a hindrance. Also, it's too pitiful if she stays in her room alone. I won’t be able to work hard then.)

Minami was really over-thinking things… of course that was my response.

(…Thank you, Aki.)

She whispered to me in a shy manner.

Minami will occasionally look at me in a gentle manner. After seeing her like this, I…well, about this…what should I say..

“Hazuki wants to study with everyone!”

“Very good. Bring your homework over then.”
“Got it!”

Tototo. Hazuki-chan scampered away. Even though she’s just studying with us, she looks really happy.

“Alright. We’re going to move the table. I’ll help.”

“Ah, there’s no need. I can do it myself.”

“Really? Yeah. If there’s a ‘photo of a certain person in the house’, of course you wouldn't wish that other people would go around, and I won’t insist on helping.”

“Wh-wha-what, what are you saying, Sakamoto!? Did you…see what’s inside that room!?”

“Nothing, I’m just joking…”

“To think that Shimada still has the heart of a girl.”

“…Sorry for using your generosity to help my business.”

Looks like Minami does go over to buy photos from Muttsurini. Muttsurini Company is really the real deal.

“Oh yeah. We can talk about the hidden things later. What about dinner?”

“…Should I cook something?”

“I don’t mind.”

It’s 5pm now. If we want to cook, we have to buy the ingredients, and we won’t be able to make it later.

“Why don’t we order pizza? It’ll take some time to cook something.”

“Yes. Akihisa-kun has to study quite a bit. We can’t waste time cooking.”

It’s great that the two girls were so kind. Besides, I do have some spare cash now, so it’ll be great if we can prioritize cooking.

“Well, I’d thought we would be able to see Shimada cook personally.”

“After last night, my confidence was thoroughly shaken, so…”

“I see. I understand.”

“Everyone, find a place to sit. I’ll move the table over.”

Minami went away, and Hazuki-chan seemed to brush past her as her arms were full of textbooks while she came over.

“Sorry to keep everyone waiting.”

“You look rather motivated, Hazuki-chan.”

“Yes. Ah, baka onii-chan, please sit here.”

Hazuki-chan put the books in her hand onto the living room table, and then put a cushion on the carpet. Is she asking me to sit on it?

“Thank you, Hazuki-chan.”

“It’s nothing much.”

I obediently sat on the cushion, and then—

“Hazuki’s seat is over here.”

Hazuki-chan then sat on my knees. I see, so that’s how it is.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ll put this table—hey, Hazuki, what are you doing?”

“Ehehe~ Hazuki wants to sit here and study.”

“No way. You’ll get in Aki’s way!”

Minami started lecturing in a way an older sister should be doing. It’ll be great if she just tells me off instead of taking action for real when she faces me…

“I’m fine here, Minami. Hazuki-chan’s small anyway.”

As compared to supporting a pile of stone slabs and being forced down hard, I don’t feel hurt at all when Hazuki-chan’s sitting on my legs.

“You’re so kind, baka onii-chan.”

It will be problematic if I have to take out my notebooks or start writing, but my main aim today is to memorize history thoroughly, so there won’t be any problems. I just need a memorization sheet to study unlike homework where I have to write.

“It’s alright if you’re fine with that…but Aki, don’t you feel weird somewhere?”

“Akihisa-kun, if there’s any strange feeling, something bad will happen!”

“Yes, ladies, I have no evil intent at all.”

With this, we’re finally able to finish our preparations. The few of us plus Hazuki-chan were finally able to start studying for the end-of-term tests.

<center>☆</center>

After about 2 hours of studying and a luxurious meal of pizza, we continued to study. It’s rare to have nothing troublesome, and time peacefully passed.

“Un? It’s so late already. Shouldn’t the study meet be over or something?”

Before I noticed it, the clock was showing 9.30pm.

“Wow, time sure does fly by fast.”

“…We were very focused.”

“It’s already pitch black outside.”

Once Yuuji said that, everyone put down their pens. I made quite a bit of progress because Himeji-san and Yuuji’s teaching methods were very easy. If I can continue on like this, I should be able to chase nee-san out back overseas, I suppose.

“That should be it for today. We should be going.”

“You’re right, thank you Minami-chan.”

“Ah, un, I should be the one thanking you. Hazuki, you should be—Hazuki?”

“Zzzz…”

“Ahaha, looks like she’s tired.”

Unknowingly, Hazuki-chan fell asleep on my lap.

“Really, Hazuki…sorry Aki. Can you help me move her onto the sofa?”

“Ah, okay, I was planning on doing so.”

Hazuki-chan was tugging at my shirt even when she was sleeping as she didn’t let go even when I carried her to the sofa. I won’t be able to go home like this.

“Oi, Hazuki, wake up. How is Aki going to go home if you continue to tug at him?”

Minami patted Hazuki-chan on the shoulder.

“Nu…”

At this moment, Hazuki-chan finally opened her eyes slightly.

“Don’t…go home…”

Hazuki-chan muttered and tugged harder at my shirt.

“Hazuki, onee-chan’s going to be angry if you say such stubborn things.”

Minami spoke with a heavier tone. At this moment, I can see that Minami is a kind and yet strict older sister to Hazuki-chan when it comes to it.

“…Onee-chan doesn’t understand…”

“Eh? What?”

“…Onee-chan can often play with baka onii-chan…but Hazuki can only be with baka onii-chan at such a moment…”

“““…”””

She’s all sleepy, which is why she said such things, but the few of us who were awake were stunned to actually hear Hazuki-chan’s true thoughts accidentally. So Hazuki-chan really admires me that much…

“Eh…Minami, if you’re not bothered, can I stay to study for a while longer?”

“Eh?”

“Yeah. Since the pipsqueak said so, Akihisa should stay behind.”

“It sure is thus. Akihisa, being a popular guy is tough.”

“…You're really popular.”

Everyone started to make fun of me as they jabbed at me, but this isn’t a bad feeling. I’m really happy to hear such words of goodwill that can ease my emotions, especially with that out-of-sorts sister of mine launching perverted attacks on me.

“Is, is that so…sorry Aki. Please accompany Hazuki for a while more.”

“Un.”

Since Minami allowed me, I should stay behind to study more. Besides, there’re some parts of the lesson today that I don’t really understand.

“Ah, well…in that case, I should…”

“Eh? Himeji-san, you can’t stay behind. It’ll be dangerous for a girl to go back home alone if it’s too late. Better get Yuuji to send you back home.”

“But I’m really worried, in many ways…”

“I understand your feelings.”

“No, you don’t understand what I’m worried about, Akihisa-kun!”

“???”

For some reason, Himeji-san seemed to be angry.

“I’ll send Himeji home. Muttsurini, bring Hideyoshi home.”

“…I accept.”

“I won’t really accept this, but this couldn’t be helped…”

As we continued to drag on, time continued to fly. Cute kids like Himeji-san and Hideyoshi will really be in danger if they walk back home alone at night. They were hounded by some malicious weird guys before in the Cool Summer Festival, so we have to take note.

“Then, I’ll…”

But even so, Himeji-san just wouldn’t agree. It’s not that I don’t understand that she’s worried about Hazuki-chan, but…

“But no matter how much you ask, no means no, Himeji-san.”

“But but…”

“No buts. There’s a lot of dangerous people outside, so you have to watch out for your own safety and go back home early!”

“Give it up, Himeji. No matter how much you say, Akihisa won’t change his mind.”

“…Uu…why did it end up like this…”

On hearing Hazuki-chan’s lonely words, kind Himeji-san definitely won’t leave her alone, but it’s very late now, so I’ll take over here.

“We’ll be going then. Thank you for today, Shimada.”

“I feel bothered for disturbing you for too long too.”

“…Thanks.”

“Thank you, Minami-chan…”

Including Himeji-san, who looked somewhat stressed out, everyone thanked Minami and headed off to the corridor.

“Everyone, see you tomorrow.”

My shirt was still being tugged at by Hazuki-chan, so I could only remain there and wait for everyone else to leave.

“Wait, I’ll send you off.”

Minami then got up and followed everyone out.

“Alright, I should be studying now.”

I sat in the living room that felt immediately empty, and reached out for the notes Himeji-san specially made. Himeji-san’s words are pretty, and it’s easy to read. The notes are really so good that I can grasp the important points of the exams. With these notes, my grades will definitely improve.

I took the highlighted notes and stuffed their contents into my brains.

“Suu…suu…”

A steady breathing sound could be heard at my knees.

Sleeping Hazuki-chan feels very warm, and it feels even more comfy with the air-con switched on in the room. No, it’s not because of the warmth, but it’s that her fawning over me like this made me really happy. Besides, nee-san’s been talking about exam grades and living lifestyles and nagging about all these recently, which made me feel that such a time is really precious.

I held onto the memorizing sheet and continued to memorize in a dazed manner, and time passed by just like that.

“Sorry for that, Aki, troubling you like that.”

Minami, who sent everyone off, soon came back.

“Uun, I don’t find it troublesome.”

“…Thank you.”

After thanking me in a shy manner, Minami sat beside me and gently patted Hazuki-chan on the head.

“Nyuu…”

“This kid’s really…”

Minami sat beside me and patted Hazuki-chan’s head, and Hazuki-chan, who was lying on my leg, seemed to twitch due to itchiness.

“Minami and Hazuki-chan are really close.”

“Yeah. It’s not bad.”

“Looking at you two, I really want to smile.”

“What are you saying? Don't you have good relations with your sister, Aki?”

“Eh? Since when! I’ve been watched by her, and everything family related ended up with me. She will even nag at me. There’s nothing good about it at all!”

“But didn’t you sister say ‘I love Aki-kun the most’?”

“…Please forget about that.”

“Uu, I feel that she was joking at the last bit.”

“Of course she is!”

Or rather, I’ll be really bothered if she wasn’t joking.

““…””

As we looked at Hazuki-chan’s sleeping face, Minami and I went silent.

[[Image:1212_169.jpg|thumb]]

“Well, Aki, that…”

“Nn? What is it?”

“That doll in my room…”

“Ahh, are you talking about the large fox doll in the room?”

“Un, that fox doll—Aki bought it for me, right?”

Nn?

Speaking of which, Hazuki-chan back then said that she wanted to buy the doll for her older sister, and Hazuki-chan’s sister is Minami…

“I see. So I helped Hazuki-chan buy the doll for Minami.”

“Eh? Don’t tell me you didn’t even realize this?”

Minami gave me a look as if she’s treating me like an idiot again.

How rude. It’s not that I didn’t notice it. I just didn’t think of it.

“Well, this can’t be helped since Aki’s like that.”

“Minami, are you actually secretly mocking me now?”

“Yeah, because you’re an idiot, Aki. It can’t be helped.”

“Minami, are you actually mocking me now?”

There’s no need to deliberately pick on it.

“After the Cool Summer Festival, I wondered how Hazuki knew about Aki, so I asked Hazuki about everything.”

“Ahh, is that so. Speaking of which, I don’t think we told you about that.”

It’s no wonder she would be wondering how her little sister who’s in primary school would know about her classmate.

“After hearing Hazuki explain it, I felt…really happy.”

“This is to be expected. You should be happy after knowing that your sister worked so hard to cheer you up.”

“…”

I’m so envious that Minami has such an understanding sister.

“Haa…really, you’re a blockhead.”

Minami sighed hard and said this to me.

Whether it’s the brain, looks or lifestyle, it looks like I have an inexplicable link to the word ‘lousy’.

“You saw that doll when you looked into my room earlier, right?”

“Ah, un. I only saw the large doll holding onto a photo frame or something.’

“That photo frame…”

“Un.”

“Don’t you want to know…whose photo I put on it?”

“Eh?”

What’s with this mysterious conversation? I suppose the photo frame has the picture of Hazuki-chan who gave her the doll, or a family photo or something like that, isn’t it...? If not, it should be the photo of someone Minami likes—

“Nyuu!”

““HYAAA!!””

At this moment, Hazuki-chan, who was all sleepy, suddenly sat on my legs. Tha, that scared me!

“Nyuu…”

And Hazuki-chan leaned back down again. Did, did she really fall asleep?

“A, ahaha…that scared me.”

“Ye, yeah. Me too.”

During this time, Minami and I could only laugh awkwardly.

To change this strange atmosphere that’s flowing between us, I suppose I should look for something else to talk about. Let me see…

“Ah, Hazuki-chan let go of my shirt when she moved.”

“Eh? Ah, really.”

Most likely, she let go when she got up. That’s good.

“I suppose it’s about time for me to go.”

I carried Hazuki-chan and laid her down on the sofa. It hasn't been long since Yuuji and the rest left, so if I walk faster, I should be able to catch up to those guys.

“Really…then see you tomorrow.”

“Un.”

I put my textbooks and notes into the bag and reached out for the door handle of the living room.

Just when I was about to open the door and got ready to step out of the living room,

“…Aki.”

“Nn?”

“…You can go over to my room…to look at that photo…”

Minami said to me.

“U, un…”

With such a ridiculous pressure, I could only nod my head.

Minami didn’t say anything much after that and silently turned her head away.

“I, I’ll be going then…”

After closing the living room door, I walked towards the corridor.

“…The photo in Minami’s room…”

Since she said so, I can’t go home directly without taking a look at it.

From the conversation just now, I can guess that the big fox doll is holding onto the photo of the person Minami admires, and there’s a chance—it’s my photo.

“…(Gulp).”

I reached out for Minami’s door with my sweaty and tense hand and peeked into the room. I checked the photo in that frame. I then put on my shoes and opened the corridor door to leave Minami’s house.

Is that so…so Minami—

“A, Aki should have seen it, right? That photo…if he sees it, even an idiot should be able to understand…in that case, I can finally…”

“Nyuu…”

“Ah, Hazuki? You’re awake?”

“I’m awake…”

“Since you’re awake, change into your pajamas and go to sleep. If you feel lonely, onee-chan will sleep with you.”

“No…Hazuki borrowed a photo from onee-chan’s room, so Hazuki won’t feel lonely…”

“Really? It’s good that you won’t…eh? Wait, photo? The photo from my room?”

“Hazuki went over to borrow baka onii-chan’s photo from onee-chan’s room, so Hazuki won’t feel lonely…”

“Eehh? The, then, the photo in my room is…”

“Hazuki replaced it with the Mr Ape that’s used as the theme for the arts lesson at school…”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

—So Minami likes apes…well, how to put it. it really shocked me in many ways…

<center>☆</center>

Being completely shocked by the shocking words of my classmate, I couldn’t help but hasten my speed. Less than 5 minutes later, I saw Yuuji and Himeji-san walking in front of me. Eh? They didn’t go far? Did they take the long way?

“Ex, excuse me. I think I left something at Minami’s house…”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t forget anything. I checked thoroughly before we left Shimada’s house.”

“Uu…no, well…I have some place I want to go to….”

“It’s too late now. Better go tomorrow.”

“Hau…the, then, I have something I have to say to Minami.”

“…That’s enough already, Himeji. You’re just wasting your time now.”

“B, but…”

“No buts. That sound came from your handphone, right? Your parents should be worried about their daughter who has been back late for 2 days, right?”

“I, I sent a message over to them. Sakamoto-kun, please, let me go back!”

“It’s not that I don’t understand your feelings. Of course I want to let you go back there if I could…”

I ran over to the duo who seemed to be talking about something.

“What are you talking about, Yuuji?”

“Kya!? A, Akihisa-kun!”

“Oh, Akihisa, you’re rather fast.”

“Yeah. Hazuki-chan woke up soon after you guys left.”

But I never expected that Yuuji and the rest hadn’t go far.

“Oh yeah, what were you two talking about?”

“Well…what do you think it is, Himeji?”

“We, well…”

Himeji-san looked around. That’s weird. Is it something that’s hard to talk about?

“Forget about that. Akihisa-kun, what did you talk about with Minami-chan alone?”

“Eh?”

The unexpected question came at me before I could even get prepared, causing me to make a weird sound.

I, I can’t say it! I really can’t tell everyone about that shocking secret thing about Minami…

“Wha, what happened?”

“Eh, erm, about this…”

Himeji-san continued to stare into my eyes, and it looked like any lies I try to make wouldn’t escape her eyes.

“Is it related…to someone she likes?”

“Ugh!”

I let out a surprised sound as she guessed correctly. Himeji-san, your sixth sense today seems to be really sharp.

“Can you please…tell me exactly what happened?”

“Ugh…”

Himeji-san’s expectant eyes really hurt me.

But no matter what she says, I can’t do it. Besides…how can I say that a girl in my class likes apes…

“Akihisa-kun…”

“Sorry…Himeji-san, I can’t say it…”

“Is that so…”

Himeji-san dejectedly lowered her head.

If possible, I really want to say it, but Minami’s too direct to say that she loves apes. I won’t talk about how people in this world will think, but no matter what, I can’t just reveal Minami’s secrets to others.

Just when I was thinking about that, it seemed that Himeji-san started thinking, and soon lifted her head with a certain amount of determination.

“Akihisa-kun!”

“Ah…yes!”

“I understand Minami’s feelings!”

“What are you saying?”

How can you understand such things?

“But I hope you listen to my feelings!”

“Ho, how can you do this! I, I’ll be troubled if you suddenly say that!”

Wha, what should I do…if Himeji-san suddenly tells me that ‘I understand that Minami likes apes, but I feel that gorillas are better’, that will definitely be more than what my brain can take! Speaking of which, why are these two people talking about such things? No matter how much they ask me, I can only introduce humans to them!

“I know you’ll be really bothered, but I hope that you can seriously consider this!”

“Se, seriously…?”

I have no idea what’s so good about such things, but since Himeji-san said so, I can’t just leave it alone. In that case, I have to seriously listen to her.

“Oi, Himeji, aren’t you thinking too much? This guy’s obviously thinking about some dumb things now.”

“Eh?”

“If it’s Japanese apes, I should be able to introduce some to you…n, no. even if gorillas are on the entertainment side, it will be tough if they’re together…”

“Akihisa-kun…why must you mention animals when I’m trying to summon my courage and say such things…”

“You’re just going to wear out your brain cells no matter how you think. Oi, Akihisa, wake up (knocks)!”

GACK! What did I do?

“Sorry, what were we talking about?”

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to think about it. Oh yeah, Himeji. Which side of this junction is your house at?”

“Ah, yes…my house’s on the right.”

“The right side? The same direction as Akihisa then.”

“Oh ya, Yuuji’s house on the other side.”

“That’s right, so I’ll hand the duty of sending Himeji home to you. Don’t think you can attack people in the middle of a peaceful night just because no one is around.”

“Understood. I’ll try my best to endure.”

“Oi, isn’t that answer kinda inappropriate…”

“I, I’ll endure too!”

“Himeji! You want to attack Akihisa too!?”

Yuuji continued to stare at both of us with a look of disbelief.

“Oh well, whatever. No amount of time will be enough to snark back at you two idiots.”

““?””

“Then, see you tomorrow.”

“Un, see you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Sakamoto-kun.”

As we waved goodbye to Yuuji at the cross-junction, Himeji-san and I walked side by side with each other as we went home.

Maybe it’s because Yuuji, who’s always being so noisy, isn’t around, but the chirping all around became extremely clear.

“Oh yeah, is your house in this direction, Himeji-san?”

“Yes. My house is actually rather close to yours, Akihisa-kun. We even studied in the same primary school.”

“Is that so? That’s true. If our primary school is the same, it means that we’re living rather near each other.”

Recently, because of the assembly, there are a lot less chances, but there were about 3 primary schools nearby. Himeji-san and I studied at Mutsuki Primary school.

It sure was memorable. It’s been over 5 years since then…

“It’s really a rare chance to walk together with Akihisa-kun slowly.”

“Eh? Really?”

“Yeah. Akihisa-kun’s always surrounded by so many people.”

“Ahaha. It’s really amazing to hear Himeji-san say that I’m really popular.”

Actually, I was being teased by those guys.

“Not at all. Akihisa-kun’s always been popular. There was a Valentine’s Day in primary school. I wonder if you remember it?”

“Valentine’s Day in primary school?”

“Yes. Almost every girl in class gave Akihisa-kun chocolates. From that point on, Akihisa-kun’s been the most popular guy amongst the girls.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know…I thought Valentine Day’s chocolates were nothing more than ordinary greetings…”

How did it end up like that…was I always just eating them…?

“Akihisa-kun’s been so dull since then.”

“Well, I was still young, so I didn’t understand then.”

“Akihisa-kun, your use of Japanese is wrong. It’s like you’re not dull now.”

“Eh? Ah, un, sorry.”

I’ll take note of those things I didn’t think through before. That’s what I actually wanted to say…

“But speaking of which, I’m really surprised that I was rather popular with the girls…I wouldn’t be wondering if we were talking about how Himeji-san is popular with the guys now.”

“Well, I can’t say that I became skinnier, but I was really fat in primary school and was often laughed at by the boys. I wasn’t popular at all.”

Himeji-san patted her stomach and grumbled.

“But don’t people normally say that boys in primary school love to tease the girls they like?”

“I suppose it’s not that they didn’t like me…and actually, they didn’t tease me to an extent. I remember they removed the ‘hime’ in ‘Himeji Mizuki’ to call me ‘plain lover’<ref>If we take out the 'Hime (姫)' from Himeji Mizuki, we get 路瑞希 (ji-mizuki), which sounds like 地味好き (jimisuki), or plain lover.</ref>. The boy who was the leader didn’t like it, and everyone didn’t call me that, right?”

Himeji-san smiled as she said to me.

Is that so? I don’t remember who was the leader of the class, and of course, I don’t remember that.

“It’s just that I was still bothered by the nickname they gave me after that.”

“The nickname after that…’Yuki-chan’?”

I searched my vague memory and recalled this nickname. But…why call Himeji-san ‘Yuki-chan’? I always called her ‘Mizuki-chan’, so I don’t really know how the ‘Yuki-chan’ nickname came about.

“Yes, it’s the ‘yuki (snow)’ from ‘yukidaroma (snowman).”

“Ah, so the ‘Yuki’ came from snowman. That’s rather cute.”

“It’s cute now that I think about it…but I was really bothered back then.”

“Eh? Why would you have been?”

“Wouldn’t anyone associate ‘snowman’ with white and fat?”

“Eh? Is that the reason why you were called Yuki-chan?”

“Ah, now. I guess it’s just the impression people have of me that created this nickname. But I was really bothered.”

Himeji-san waved her hand in a casual manner.

She’s saying it really casually now, but she must have been really bothered by such a nickname when she was young, right? Let’s forget about how it actually came about, since I definitely won’t feel happy if I imagine how the ‘Yuki-chan’ nickname came about.

“So I’m still rather bothered about my tummy even till now, especially after eating hi-calories food like pizza or biscuits.”

“Is that so? I feel that you don’t have to be bothered about it.”

OR rather, Himeji-san’s curves are way too perfect.

“This can’t do. I get fat easily.”

…If it’s just a certain point, such a figure will make people envious. Especially for girls like Minami.

“But Akihisa-kun, you’re different from me. You need lots of nutrition.”

“Don’t worry. I can’t say if it’s my normal life, but I’ve been having my meals regularly ever since nee-san came back.”

I even sacrificed my precious treasures.

“Really, how can you say such things…do you actually hate your sister, Akihisa-kun?”

“Hate? Uu…I never actually thought of such a question before.”

Coming back to meet me in a bathrobe immediately after flying back, and showing off my precious ero-books and my bathing photos in front of everyone, and even nagging away about exams and living attitudes everyone. It’s frustrating. And she will even pull all sorts of weird pranks on me…

“I suppose, Akihisa-kun, your sister must be worried about you, and she definitely likes you. If not, she wouldn’t be asking everyone about Akihisa-kun’s condition at school.”

“Nononono. There’s a reason why she would ask that…”

Himeji-san’s pure heart seemed to view nee-san’s impish attitude in a completely different manner. Himeji-san, don’t be fooled by that demonic sister of mine. She’s doing such checks to deduct points from me.

Just when I was about to explain everything to her, Himeji-san suddenly pointed at a corner.

“My house’s over there. You can just leave me here. Thank you to escorting me all the way here.”

“Hm? Ahh, don’t worry, it’s nothing.”

Himeji-san bowed at me, and I bowed back at her.

“See you at school tomorrow.”

“Nn, see you tomorrow.”

After saying that, Himeji-san scattered off with fleeting feet.

But after a few steps, she turned around as if she suddenly thought of something.

“I feel that you should notice the feelings of the people around you, Akihisa-kun. Like your sister, Minami…and me…”

“Heh? What does that mean?”

“Fufu. I’m not going to give you any more hints.”

Himeji-san gave a smile and immediately ran off to her house after that.

[[Image:1212_187a-1-.jpg|thumb]]

Speaking of which, what’s the significance of the three people she just mentioned? Nee-san, Himeji-san, Minami…

''“And Toshimitsu Kubo.”''

“What, why is there a completely unnecessary name being mentioned!? Is it the work of the devil inside me?

''“The four people mentioned here all have feelings for you. You should be able to understand now that I said so much, right?”''

So it’s really the devil, messing up my thoughts like that! What kind of common feelings would the four of them have? I have no idea at all. If there were 3, at least there’s a common point of them being the other gender…

''“Do I have to mention it? Of course it’s the feelings for Akihisa!”''

That’s the angel in my heart now. Didn’t I tell you not to come out already?

''“No, the angel’s right this time…”''

LIAR! I WON’T BE FOOLED BY SUCH NICE WORDS!

Or rather, I should say that I would rather not believe such words with Kubo-kun’s name mentioned.

''“Really, how stupid can you get?”''

Why must I be treated like an idiot by my alter-ego?

A few minutes of talking to myself later, I reached home too. The lights in the house were already switched on, so nee-san should be back.

“I’m back~”

After opening the door, I shouted out to nee-san in the house.

Immediately afterwards, I saw nee-san walk out of the living room in an apron (!?), a rare feat at that.

“You’re back. You must be tired now, having came back so late.”

“Eh? Ahh, yeah.”

Nee-san’s different attire and tone from usual bothered me. What is she planning?

“Hand me your bag.”

Isn’t this a common scene in a serial?

“Ah…”

At this moment, I suddenly noticed something.

Wearing an apron and saying such things…is she imitating a sweet romantic couple? She did mention some doctor game or something. Nee-san’s probably thinking of playing with me, right?

Speaking of which, it’s rare of nee-san to come back, yet us siblings hardly had the time to talk with each other. If we talk a bit, it’ll immediately end up being about grades or how I live my life…in that case, is nee-san just thinking of teasing me affectionately by playing newly-weds to get rid of such monotony?

Alright. In that case, I’ll play with you then. It’s rare of nee-san to think about this.

“What is it?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Here’s my bag.”

I handed my bag to nee-san with the attitude of a man who’s the head of the house.

“Alright.”

Nee-san reached her hands out and grabbed onto my bag tightly.

“Ahh~ so tired today.”

“It’s been tough on you, being busy for the whole day.”

We walked towards the living room, continuing such a conversation.

“Do you want to eat? A bath first?”

Nee-san asked me with a kind voice.

I couldn’t help but smile at such a staple line in scripts.

This really feels like a real newly-wed couple dialogue, with kind smiles.

“Or do you want to do pervy things with me?”

And there’s some weird line in there.

Nee-san probably felt that I’d be bored if she follows everything according to the script, right? She even added some teasing words besides the basic conversation. I’m rather touched by the weird yet affectionate feelings.

In that case, I shouldn’t waste my strength snarking back at her, but continue on in a humored manner.

I pondered on how to answer, and then continued this act,

“No, there’s no need for a bath, meal or pervy things.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, because—”

I didn’t finish my words as I deliberately paused before smiling, saying to nee-san, word by word in a forceful manner.

“I’ve done them all outside.”

“Minus 50 points from you…”

Nee-san took out her judging notebook. Isn’t that too unreasonable!?

'''Current score [-340 points]'''

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references />

{{BakaTest Nav|prev=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume5 The Third Question|next=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume5 The Fifth Question}}
</noinclude>

Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume5 The Fifth Question

2014-07-18T01:45:57Z

98.207.164.116: /* The Fifth Question */

==The Fifth Question==

Next, I, Yoshii Akira, will give you questions completely different from normal school tests. This does not mean that there is only one correct answer. Therefore, I hope that you guys can have more freedom and open your hearts to answer these questions. The following questions are definitely not meant to invade your personal privacy, so I hope all students can answer the questions honestly.

'''Q: Explain your association or experience with the opposite sex up until now in English.'''

'''Himeji Mizuki's answer:'''

『I have not associated with a male.』<ref>Answer is given in English in RAWs. Please don't complain of bad grammar here. It's given as such...</ref>

'''Yoshii Akira's comment:'''

Mizuki-san isn't associated with any male? That is really splendid, as a student's duty is to study.

In addition, when being used with the opposite sex, "associate" usually accompanies negative connotations. Of course it is still better than a term like "romantic overture".

'''Sakamoto Yuuji's answer:'''

『I was kissed while sleeping.』

'''Yoshii Akira's comment:'''

While the english answer is correct, I have some doubts with the content. High School students nowadays are rather bold to be kissed while being asleep. I don't know whether my stupid little brother did that. I'm rather looking forward to his answer.

'''Yoshii Akihisa's answer:'''

『I cannot answer in English.』<ref>Of course, the answer's in Japanese.</ref>

'''Yoshii Akira's comment:'''

….........

[[Image:BTS5-Yukino.jpg|thumb]]

<div align="center">☆</div>

"Himeji-san, did anything happen after you went home yesterday?"

During lunch break on the next day, we gathered together at a short table.
Of course, I prepared the bento for my sister's sake (This is all her fault).

"Actually......they were so angry that they threw tantrums......"

Himeji-san murmured dejectedly. Of course her parents would be angry... but they have the right to be angry. For two consecutive nights, their precious daughter came home late.

"Because of this, I can't go anywhere else aside from the school until the weekend......"

"Arara. That's too bad."

This is a worry I, as a boy who lives alone (although not at the moment) cannot understand. It's really tough being a girl.

"It was your own fault. Really, at least just a call would make your parents feel at ease, Himeji."

"That's right...... I regret it......"

I feel that being able to reflect on one's bad deeds is one of Himeji-san's good points.

"What on earth is this? Never mind Akihisa, didn't Yuuji and Himeji immediately go home after leaving Shimada's house?"

"Yuuji and Himeji-san were still near Minami's house when I was about to go home"

"Yeah, I wanted to send her back immediately. But Himeji was throwing tantrums like a kid at me, so I couldn't send her back."

"S-sorry......"

Himeji said while narrowing her shoulders, making her look shrunk.

"But, what about you, Yuuji?"

"Hmm? My parents didn't say anything, so I guess it was alright."

"No, that's not it."

"What then?"

"You were with girls until late at night for two consecutive days, and you were also alone with Himeji-san on the street at night, right? Isn't Kirishima-san fuming?"

"............"

Oo. I've never seen such an expression that clearly shows "I'm in deep trouble".

"W-well, it should be fine. As long as she doesn't find out."

"......Yuuji. Please explain this."

Ah. It's Kirishima-san.

"W-wait a minute, Shouko. You've misunderstood, what you're imagining did not happen. Moreover, you are not eligible to question me."

"......Ok. Let's go over there. I will slowly hear your excuses."

Yuuji & Kirishima-san left.

PiPiPiPiPi!!

After that, the mail ringtone of my cell phone resounded.

I took out my cell phone and read the mail.

[Message From Sakamoto Yuuji]

hlp

He must be trying to type "Help me". Thinking about this, my tears couldn't stop flowing out.

"Hmm...it would be difficult to have study sessions after school."

"That's right. Mizuki and Sakamoto aren't here, so no one is here to teach me."

".........(Nods)"

Yuuji still lives on in my heart. Unfortunately, the Yuuji in my heart cannot help me to revise.

"If it's like this, do we have to stop the studying session? That's too bad..."

"I'm sorry. It's all because I went out of hand yesterday.."

"Don't be silly, this isn't your fault, Himeji-san. I'm very grateful that you're willing to sacrifice your own studying time to help me study."

At her level, Himeji-san definitely won't need to panic and start cramming when exams are near. I suppose the term capable person would refer to someone like Himeji-san.

"......Yoshii."

"Uwa!"

Who suddenly called me from behind!?

"Ki-Kirishima-san? You scared me...... What's the matter?"

"......Are you worried about studying?"

"Ah, yeah. That's right."

I tried to avoid looking at the red liquid stuck on Kirishima-san. It must be tomato sauce or Tabasco that had accidentally poured on her during lunch.

"......If that's the case, I'll help too."

"Eh? Help?"

"......Everyone can stay at my house this weekend."

Everyone──stay!? In short, I can study at your house for a long time? And the smartest in our year Kirishima-san's going to teach me personally! Isn't that a super-duper awesome proposal!?

"Is it ok, Kirishima-san?"

"(Nods) …...I always want to return my gratitude to you, Yoshii."

That would help a lot! I didn't even dare to think i could obtain the best studying environment at this critical juncture where I have to spurt before the tests.

"Is it ok if everyone else come along?"

"......Of course."

"If it's next week, I should be able to make it. I'll just bother you a little. Mizuki, can you make it?"

"I-I should be able to make it. Even if I can't, I'll try my best to convince my parents!"

"......I'll join too."

Hideyoshi, Minami, Himeji and Muttsurini also decided to participate in Saturday's studying session. It looks like I'll benefit a lot this weekend.

"I wonder if Yuuji will participate?"

I don't think there's a problem, but since he isn't here, I can't tell.

After hearing my question, Kirishima answered in place of Yuuji.

"……It's ok."

"Ah, is that so?"

"……By that time, he surely would be discharged from the hospital."

"I see. I'm glad about that."

Everyone smiled as they nodded to each other, looking forward to the weekend.

Un Un. I'm glad everyone was able to participate.

………………………………Discharged from the hospital?

'''Current score [-340 points]'''

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references />

{{BakaTest Nav|prev=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume5 The Fourth Question|next=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume5 The Sixth Question}}</noinclude>

Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume1 The Sixth Question

2014-07-10T22:38:31Z

98.207.164.116:

==The Sixth Question==

'''Please answer the following question:'''

Write down the molecular formula for Benzene.

'''Himeji Mizuki's Answer:'''

"C6H6"

'''Teacher's Comment:'''

It's very easy, isn't it?

[[image:BTS vol 01 151.jpg|thumb]]
'''Tsuchiya Kouta's Answer:'''

"Ben + zene = Benzene"

'''Teacher's Comment:'''

Do you despise Chemistry?

'''Yoshii Akihisa's Answer:'''

"B-E-N-Z-E-N"

'''Teacher's Comment:'''

Come to my office later, together with Tsuchiya.

"Good job, everyone. Thanks for all your efforts in taking those tests."

Yuuji said that as he stood behind the lectern and put his hand on the table.

We had tests the entire morning. The tests finished not too long ago. Now we were getting ready for lunch. To replenish the scores we lost in all our subjects, the amount of tests we took were scary.

"We will begin the Summoner Test War with Class B this afternoon. Are you ready to kill?"

"Oooo...!"

Morale was still high, and it was our class's only weapon.

"The goal of this War is to hold the enemy in their classroom; therefore, we can't afford to lose the battle at this corridor."

"Oooo...!"

"Himeji Mizuki will be the commander there. Guys, be prepared and ready to die."

"I... I will try my best."

Himeji shyly walked out of the crowd; maybe she didn't want to shout like the boys did.

"OOOO...!"

The morale of the front line troops went over the limit since they were able to fight alongside a beautiful girl.

In conclusion, the key to this War was the battle at the corridor; if we lose there, we're finished. Therefore, from the fifty students in Class F, we sent out forty into that battle. This troop will be led by Himeji, who's the strongest student in our class and the second strongest in the whole school, so we should be able to win that battle without any hassles.

'''(?)'''

When the bell that announced the end of lunch break rang, the War with Class B finally began.

"OK, everyone, let's go! The target is the systematic tables!"

"Yes, sir!"

To successfully hold the enemy in their classroom, we must take control of the momentum.

We rushed to the corridor outside Class B at full speed.

Since a lot of the students in Class B were good in non-science-related subjects and since the Mathematics teacher Mr. Hasegawa has a larger summoning field, we picked Mathematics as our main subject for battle; in other words, if we wanted to finish the battle fast, Mr. Hasegawa would be very useful.

There was English Composition teacher Yamada-sensei and Physics teacher Kimura-sensei there on our side as well. This time, we need to increase the number of supervising teachers and finish the enemies off as fast as possible!

"I can see the Class B students!"

"They brought Ms. Takahashi!"

The Class B students walked slowly toward us, but there were only ten of them. They should be the vanguard, and they just wanted to test our ability.

"Don't let them escape alive!"

Along with this threatening shout, the War against Class B had officially started.

<center>Class B Nonaka Chounan VS Class F Kondou Yoshimune

Cumulative

1943 VS 764</center>

What!? He's too strong! It's like they're on a totally different level!

<center>Class B Kaneda Ichiyuuko VS Class F Mutou Keita

Mathematics

159 VS 69</center>

<center>Class B Satoi Mayuko VS Class F Kimishima Hiroshi

Physics

152 VS 77</center>

The difference between fighting abilities was overwhelming; our frontline troops kept on losing. If we don't send in reinforcements before their scores are reduced to zero, our numbers would greatly decrease.

Just as I was trying to see whether we had any reinforcements or whether the route was being cut off by our enemies...

"I-I'm late... S-Sorry..."

Himeji hardly caught her breath and arrived at the scene; I thought she should be running all the way to the front line.

"Himeji Mizuki is here!"

One of the students in Class B shouted. It seems that Class B already knew about Himeji not being in Class A and made appropriate investigation, I guess?

All the students in Class B were shocked when they heard that. It was very easy to see that they were scared of Himeji.

"Himeji, although you just arrived, can you please...?"

"Y-Yes. I'll go now."

Himeji immediately dashed into the middle of the battlefield. Looking at her gave you the feeling of calmness. I really feel like taking a photo right now and keeping it as a souvenir.

"Mr. Hasegawa, I am Iwashita Ritsuko from Class B, and I would like to challenge to Mathematics Himeji Mizuki from Class F!"

"Ah, Mr. Hasegawa, I am Himeji Mizuki; nice to meet you."

Himeji was immediately targeted by the enemy; maybe the enemies wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible?

"Ritsuko, I'll help as well!"

Another girl from Class B stepped forward and summoned at the same time. Two of the ten students from Class B were present here; it seems that they were really scared of Himeji.

"Summon!"

The magic circle appeared after the summoning, and the Being that we were all familiar with stood in front of us.

The enemies' Beings pointed their sword and spear at Himeji's Being, but it seemed to be very calm and just held the greatsword that we've seen before.

It was now a face-off between the three Beings with the faces of their respective owners, but...

"Eh? Himeji's Being has an accessory."

"Ah, yes. Because I'm pretty good in Mathematics..."

"You can wear an accessory in the subject you're good at?"

Himeji's two-head-tall Being had a beautiful-looking bracelet on its left wrist beside the greatsword on its hand.

"T-That's...!?"

"She's not an enemy we can handle!"

The enemies started panicking when they saw the bracelet.

Ah, this reminds me: wearing the bracelet means...

"Erm, I'm going to attack."

Himeji tightly held her hand; following her action, her Being dashed towards the enemy from its left-hand side.

"Wait a minute!"

"Ritsuko! Dodge the attack first!"

Both of their Beings jumped to the side with dramatic actions. Suddenly, the bracelet on the wrist of Himeji's Being emitted a bright light.

<nowiki>*Beep!*</nowiki>

"Ahhh!"

"Ri... Ritsuko!"

The instant the left arm emitted the light, one of the enemies' Beings that couldn't escape in time was covered in flames.

<center>Class F Himeji Mizuki VS Class B Iwashita Ritsuko & Kikuiri Mayumi

Mathematics

412 VS 189 & 151</center>

So, wearing the bracelet means that the Being is capable of using a special ability? Although I have forgotten what the requirement score for that is, I did remember somewhere in the rules stating that students who score above a certain amount are able to equip on their Beings a bracelet that allows them to use a special ability. This rule has nothing to do with me, so I totally forgot about it.

"S-Sorry. I can't be gentle on the battlefield!"

Himeji's Being stuck to the enemy that had lost control due to dodging the previous attack, and cut both it and its weapon in half, killing it instantly and winning the fight.

"Iwashita and Kikuiri have died in battle!"

"What!? How's that possible!?"

"Himeji Mizuki's scarier than the rumors say!"

The remaining eight students from Class B looked extremely shocked; it was not surprising for them to look like that.

By the way, Himeji, you're too strong.

"E-Everyone, please do your best...!"

Himeji said something that didn't sound like a command from a commander, but it was extremely effective.

"I'm going to unleash my power!"

"Himeji's the best!"

The number of Himeji believers had dramatically increased.

"Himeji, you can have a rest now!"

"Ah, yes."

The enemies' morale had significantly dropped, so it was better to let Himeji rest now. A special ability could deal a huge amount of damage, but it would cost a lot of points. Even if there was no Himeji in the fight, defeating the enemy vanguard was just a matter of time now.

"Switch with the main troop and retreat at the same time. Don't die in battle!"

And that was the enemy's command. Anyway, we've achieved our target successfully. Let the enemy step back slowly, restrict their actions in the Class B classroom, and then the battle for today should be close to the end. It was thanks to Himeji's extraordinary fighting ability that the plan's going so smoothly, thank you very much!

"Akihisa, I'm heading back to the classroom now."

"Huh? Why?"

Hideyoshi had walked towards me while I was looking over the overall situation of the battle.

"Heading back"? Did something happen to the main troop?

"The Class Representative for Class B is..."

"The guy named Nemoto."

"You said 'Nemoto'; could it be Nemoto Kyouji?"

"That's right."

The guy called Nemoto Kyouji had a very bad reputation. According to the rumors, he was a pro at pulling dirty tricks and would take whatever actions needed to achieve his goal. There were rumors about "poisoning the opposing team in a ball game", "bringing weapons when fighting others", and so on. I didn't really believe that he could be that bad, but being careful wouldn't harm us at all.

"I see, then we should head back as soon as possible!"

"Although I don't think that Yuuji will fall for his trap, we better head back just to make sure everything is okay."

After we informed Himeji about this, Hideyoshi and I brought a few men back to the classroom.

<center>☆</center>

"Wha, this is terrible!"

"I never would have imagined that they would actually do all this."

"This is so mean."

When we got back to the classroom, we saw not only holes all over the chabudai but also pencils and erasers all broken or split into two.

"This is bad; now we can't replenish our scores smoothly."

"Yeah, this might be a minor problem, but it will certainly affect our score replenishment."

By the way, I think that Nemoto is a petty coward.

"Don't worry about it too much. Although it'll take some time to repair, it won't affect our plan too much."

"Well, Yuuji, we'll follow what you say."

Something didn't seem right.

"How did the classroom get this bad, and Yuuji, how did you not know anything about it?"

There were no problems in the classroom before lunch break, so it must have happened sometime between the start of the battle and now. However, Yuuji should have been in the classroom at that time and been able to stop them, right?

"They wanted to sign a treaty with me and I went to negotiate with them, so the classroom was empty during that time."

"What treaty?"

"Well, if neither of us can win the War before 4 PM, then we will maintain the situation of the War as is and continue it from there at 9 AM tomorrow morning, and until that time, both sides cannot do anything related to the Summoner Test War."

"I see. And you agreed?"

"That's right."

"But if it comes to the point where stamina determines the result, we should have the advantage, right?"

"That's true for all of us except Himeji."

Ah, I see.

"After forcing them to stay in the classroom, the War will end for today; the true battle will start tomorrow."

"That's right. It seems that we can't take them down today."

"At that time, Himeji's fighting ability will be more important than that of the whole class."

That meant the battle would be focused on certain areas? Then it should be the same as the battle against Class D and let Himeji finish off the Class Rep, I guess?

"That's why you accepted their suggestion: to let Himeji fight in perfect condition?"

"Yes. This pact is good for me."

Is it? Good, then, if you say so.

However, I keep feeling a little bit strange about this. They destroyed our tables, and then signed a treaty that was good for us at the same time. I don't think Nemoto Kyouji is such a naive person.

"Akihisa, we should head to the front line now; they may have used some dirty tricks again."

Hideyoshi ran out of the classroom after he said that.

"Yeah. Yuuji, we'll leave this to you."

"Oh, I will go prepare new pencils and erasers."

Yuuji raised his hand and said goodbye. I turned away from him and chased after Hideyoshi.

I managed to catch up with Hideyoshi quickly without running at my full speed.

"I keep thinking that we haven't seen the last of them!"

"Yeah. I don't think they'll stop here; we better be careful."

What would be the next dirty trick they'll use? Damn, they have stronger fighting ability than us, so why aren't they fighting us face to face?

We were about to reach the battlefield.

"Remember to be careful!"

"You, too, Hideyoshi!"

After reminding each other, we went back to our troops.

"Yoshii! You're finally back!"

The person who welcomed me back was Sugawa. Huh? Wasn't Shimada supposed to be controlling the troop?

"Sorry to keep you waiting! What's the situation now?"

"Very bad for us."

"Huh!? Why!?"

The enemy's main troop never appeared, and our fighting ability is better than theirs; why are we in a bad situation now?

"Shimada was captured and is being held hostage."

"What!?"

Now they're using a hostage!? Do they really believe that they can win through dirty tricks!?

"Therefore, the enemy has only two people left, but we can't attack them at all. What should we do?"

Now my troop is confronted with the enemy because of this incident.

"Hmmm... let me see the situation before I make the decision."

"Then we should head there now. The enemy is blocking us in the corridor there."

Sugawa led the way, and I followed behind him.

After walking through the human wall formed by my troop, it was clear that the situation in front of me was exactly as Sugawa said: Shimada and her Being were being held hostage by two Class B students.

And they had the Remedial Teacher beside them as well.

"Shimada!"

"Y-Yoshii!"

Why does this sound like a soap drama?

"Stop right there! If you come any closer, I'll deliver the final blow to her Shokanju and send her to the Remedial Room!"

One of the enemies that captured Shimada stood out and restricted my actions.

Not only would they let our precious female classmate die, but they deliberately held her hostage to threaten us and lower our morale. It was a really smart strategy.

If we blindly dashed forward before we managed to defeat them, they would defeat Shimada and use the fact that she was sent to the Remedial Room to make us feel guilty.

...This is nothing at all.

"Everyone, prepare to attack!"

"Leader, are you sure about this!?"

There's no other way! There are always sacrifices in War! This is not revenge for being tortured every day; it's just one of those decisions that a leader must make!

"W-wait, Yoshii!"'''(?)'''

Even the enemy was telling me to stop; so uncool.

"Don't you want to know how we caught her?"

"It's because she's an idiot."

"I'm going to KILL you!"

Huh? What? Why does Shimada sound stronger than me even though she's being held hostage?

"This girl believed the false information about you being injured and left the troop to look for you in the infirmary alone."

What did he say!?

"Shimada..."

"W-What?"

Am I thinking too much? It seems like Shimada's face was pretty red.

"Trying to kill me while I was injured, are you a demon!?"

"That's not why I went!"

This is so scary. Now I can't have a nap in the infirmary in peace.

"Was there anything wrong with visiting you to see how bad your injuries were!? I was worried about you!"

Huh...?

"Shimada, is that true?"

"Y-Yes. Can't I do that?"

Shimada looked a little bit angry and turned her head to the side.

Really. Her, worrying about me. That Shimada...

"Haha, now you understand. So, listen to me and don't try anything."

"Everyone, attack!"

"Why!?"

Why? Do you really need to ask that?

"She is not the real Shimada! She must be an enemy in disguise!"

You guys picked the wrong person to fake! That Shimada would never be so gentle! If she were the real Shimada, she would definitely be very happy to send me to hell!

"Oi, wait a minute! This person is the real Shimada!"

Class B students, look how uncool you are.

"Shut up! You still want to keep using that dirty strategy after we've seen through it? How ugly!"

"I'm telling you that she's the real one...!"

<center>Class B Suzuki Jirou VS Class F Tanaka Akira

English Writing

33 VS 65</center>

<center>Class B Yoshida Takuo VS Class F Sugawa Ryou

English Writing

18 VS 59</center>

Defeat those two first! Deal fatal blows to their Shokanjus!

"Aaah...!"

"Help me...!"

Both of them were immediately taken away by the Remedial Teacher. This felt really good.

Then, all that's left is...

"Everyone, be careful! The enemy might drop the disguise at any time and attack us!"

This was the impostor who was trying to imitate Shimada!

"Y-Yoshii, you're so mean... I really was worried about you..."

"Stop your silly act, you second-rate actor!"

The real Shimada would never say something like that!

"It's true! I really was worried about you!"

"Surround her. Even if she is from Class B, she can't fight this many of us at the same time."

"It is true! They told me 'Yoshii saw Mizuki's panties and can't stop his nosebleed', so I got really worried!"

"Cease attack! She is the real Shimada!"

She's the only person who would fall for such an stupid lie.

"Shimada, are you alright?"

I lent my hand to Shimada who was sitting on the ground. Damn you, Class B; how dare you use such a dirty trick!

"..."

'''(?)'''

"It's good that you're okay. I was worried about you!"

"..."

"Go have a rest in the classroom. You must be very tired, right?"

"..."

"By the way, these guys really are cowards. Do they have no pride as human beings?"

"..."

There was no reaction from Shimada.

'''(?)'''

"Ah... Shimada. Actually..."

"...What?"

She finally turned her head and looked at me.

I put on an apologetic face and flashed my best smile at Shimada, who was now staring directly at me.

"I knew that it was you all along!"

She went berserk.

<center>☆</center>

"...Where am I?"

When I regained consciousness, I saw a ceiling covered in dirt. This is... ah, our classroom.

"Ah, you finally woke up?"

The cute voice came from my side. Could it be the healing voice of Himeji?

"I was worried about you. Yoshii, you looked like you were beaten up by someone and then pushed down some stairs."

Correct answer.

"Even if it is a Summoner Test 'War', there's no need to injure someone like this, right?"

No, instead of calling it a war, you should call it a one-sided slaughter...

"It's nothing important. How's the Summoner Test War going?"

I tried to sit up on the tatami, and felt pain all over my body.

"According to the treaty, we're now in a ceasefire. The War will continue tomorrow."

"And the situation?"

"We sort of attacked the front of their classroom as planned. However, our losses were greater than we imagined."

Yuuji read the damage report on the paper one by one. Although it was sort of within our expectations, this was still a huge loss. It seems that we didn't have a total win in the battle at the corridor, and since we put most of our men in there, the result was not good for our overall strategy.

"Although some accidents occurred, it seems that things went smoothly for now?"

"You could say that."

However, the opponent was that coward Nemoto Kyouji; he must have some hidden plan.

<nowiki>*knocking on the door*</nowiki>

"Oh, Muttsurini. Is there anything to report?"

Before I realized it, Muttsurini was beside me.

Muttsurini was a member of the intelligence team today, so he didn't take part in the battle. His job was to stay alert and record what was going on in the enemy troops.

"Huh? Something strange is going on in Class C?"

<nowiki>*nod*</nowiki>

According to Muttsurini's information, Class C was preparing for a Summoner Test War. If they aren't planning to challenge Class A, then there's only one other reason...

"They want to take on the easy target. They're such cowardly bastards."

As Yuuji just said, they were planning to attack the winner of this War. It is easier to take on opponents who are tired and exhausted.

"Yuuji, what do you plan to do?"

"Hm, what should I do...?"

Yuuji raised his head and looked at the clock. It was 4:30 now- not too late.

"We better sign a treaty with Class C as well. If we threaten them with using Class D to attack them, I believe that they'll give up the idea of attacking us."

"Also, they don't believe that we'll win, right?"

It shouldn't be too hard to sign a treaty with Class C.

"Okay. Let's go now."

"Yeah."

I injected power into my aching body and stood up. My body seemed to be fine.

"As a backup plan, Hideyoshi, you stay in the classroom."

"Huh? Why? Is it not okay for me to go with you guys?"

"If your face is seen, my hidden strategy that I'm saving for emergency situations won't work."

"I don't quite understand what you're talking about, but if you say so, I'll just do as you say!"

Hideyoshi stepped down obediently. But what is this emergency situation Yuuji was talking about?

"Then, let's go. It will be a little dangerous since we're short on numbers."

Without Hideyoshi, Yuuji, Himeji, Muttsurini, and I headed towards Class C.

"Yoshii, it took me a long time to wash your blood off my fingers; I'm going to make you pay for that later."

"Was it Yoshii's fault?"

While we were in the corridor, we saw Shimada, who was using her handkerchief to wipe her hand, and Sugawa, who had his bag on his back.

"Ah, Shimada, Sugawa. Nice timing. Let's go to Class C together."

Although I don't think it will happen, the Class C students might attack us, and it'd be dangerous to be going there with only a few of us. Also, we need extra people to guard Himeji. I kept on thinking and called on my two best friends in front of me at the same time.

Of course, as my best friends, they won't reject my invitation.

"Hmmm, okay?"

"Ah, no problem for me."

Now I have backup I can trust.

"Hurry up, or Class C's Rep will head home."

"Yeah, let's go!"

After Shimada and Sugawa joined the team, the six of us continued to head towards Class C.

"I am Class F's Representative, Sakamoto Yuuji. Who's the Class Representative here?"

There were still a lot of students remaining in Class C. It was just as Muttsurini reported: they were preparing for a Summoner Test War and waiting to pick off the easier target.

"I am. What do you want?"

The girl who appeared in front of us had very short hair. Wasn't Koyama the star of the volleyball club?'''(?)'''

"I am here to negotiate with you as Class F's Representative. Are you free now?"

"'Negotiate'? Huh..."

Although I don't like to badmouth girls, Koyama was so far away from being gentle and steady. After she heard what Yuuji said, she showed an evil smile on her face for some reason.

"Yeah, I'm here to propose a treaty of mutual non-aggression."

"A treaty of mutual non-aggression... What do you think, Nemoto?"

Koyama turned her head and spoke to the group of students in the corner.

Huh? "Nemoto"?

"Of course not. There's no need for that, right?"

"What!? Nemoto!? Why is Class B here!?"

The person who brought a group of people and walked towards us was our current enemy: Class B's Representative, Nemoto Kyouji. He had short hair, an unshaven beard around his mouth, and evil-looking eyes. He looked totally different from Yuuji who had a pair of sharp eyes.

"How terrible, Class F. You broke the pact. I thought we agreed that we wouldn't do anything related to the Summoner Test War?"

"What did you say...?"

"Weren't you the ones who broke the pact first? I'm just doing what you were going to do!"

After he said that, the group of people at his back started moving. The person who was hiding behind him was Mr. Hasegawa, who was short and was staying on the battlefield for now.

"Mr. Hasegawa! Yoshino from Class B wants to challenge-"

"Not so fast! Sugawa from Class F will accept that challenge! Summon!"

Just when Yoshino from Class B planned to attack Yuuji by surprise, Sugawa jumped out and accepted the challenge for Yuuji. Good job, Sugawa!

"We didn't violate the pact! This is just between Class C and Class F-"

"It's no use, Akihisa! Nemoto will definitely use the words 'anything related to the Summoner Test War' as an excuse!"

"Yes, that IS what I'll do.♪"

"Nonsense!"

"'Nonsense' is a very useful theory!"

"Akihisa, run!"

"Damn!"

Leaving Sugawa who was fighting at the back, the rest of us left Class C as fast as we could.

<center>Class B Yoshino Takayuki VS Class F Sugawa Ryou

Mathematics

161 VS 41</center>

"Don't let them get away! Defeat Sakamoto!"

Nemoto's voice and the sounds of footsteps came from behind.

Honestly, the current situation was very dangerous. Not only could we not fight Class B students face to face, but our only hope, Himeji already used up too much of her Mathematics score. Nemoto must have known that, so he called Mr. Hasegawa here. It was a dirty trick, but it was an effective one.

"Hah, hoo..."

"Himeji, are you alright?"

We were running down the corridor at full speed, but Himeji's steps were slowing down. She was not good at sports, and for a physically weak student like her, it must be very hard to run like this.

"Y-you guys... please go on ahead..."

Himeji said that while trying to catch her breath. We wouldn't be able to escape the enemy's attack with her like this, but we couldn't lose her here as well. If we lose Himeji's fighting ability, who knows what would happen in the War tomorrow. Also, I can't just leave a girl here and run for my life!

Is there nothing we can do now...?

"Yuuji!"

"What, Akihisa!?"

"Leave this to me! Yuuji, retreat with Himeji!"

I stood and looked back, and Himeji and Yuuji ran past me.

I never imagined that I'd have a chance to say some cool stuff like this. Do I look cool or what?

"Y-Yoshii, d-don't worry about me-"

"Got it. I'll leave it to you."

Yuuji stopped Himeji's words, and agreed with my suggestion. This was the Yuuji I knew, never letting his feelings affect his judgement and calmly making decisions according to the situation.

<nowiki>*stops running*</nowiki>

"Wait, Muttsurini, you need to escape as well. I think the key to tomorrow's battle is you."

Muttsurini stopped with me at the same time. I feel grateful for that, but I think he has a more important mission to accomplish; we can't lose him in a situation like this!

"Then it should be okay for me to stay. Right, Leader?"

Shimada stopped running, and stood beside me.

"...Can I rely on you?"

"Of course you can. Leave everything to me!"

'''(?)'''

"... (Good luck)"

Muttsurini gave us a big thumbs up, and then ran away from the scene immediately.

"...What should we do now? Leader?"

"Ah, I have an idea."

"Huh? Really?"

Shimada looked at me with disbelief.

Wha--- It seems like she doesn't trust me. What an impolite vice leader.

"I don't want to end up in the Remedial Room either, leave this to me!"

"Found them! Yoshii and Shimada from Class F!"

"Kill them!"

The enemies approached us quickly. Hasegawa-sensei was there as well.

"Class B students! Stop there!"

To decrease their morale, I purposely used strong language to stop them.

"You are pretty brave. Do you think you can stop us with only two of you?"

"No, before we fight I have something to say to Hasegawa-sensei."

If we showed our enemies any weakness, we would lose control of the situation, so I continued speaking strongly.

(Yoshii, what are you thinking? Are you going to complain to Hasegawa-sensei and say that they disobeyed the pact?)

(Well leave it to me, I have an idea.)

I whispered softly to Shimada who was starting to worry. Ah, she worries too much.

"What is it, Yoshii?"

Hasegawa-sensei walked to the front. She was still trying to catch her breath, maybe she needed more exercise?

"Do you know that Class B disobeyed the pact?"

If she was a teacher, she wouldn't stand beside students who were disobeying the rules. That's definitely true for someone who was responsible for being a judge.

(That cunning Nemoto must have thought of a good excuse.)

"From what I have heard, the one who broke the pact was Class F, wasn't it? If you are complaining that you got attacked because of this, before saying anything about the pact, you should check your personality first shouldn't you?"

The teacher's comment was a little rude. Nemoto must have twisted the facts when he was explaining the situation to Hasegawa-sensei, just as Shimada said.

(It is just as I imagined, so what are you planning to do?)

"..."

(I am looking forward to your strategy.)

Shimada winked.

Confronted by her expectation, I made the following reply.

"We are dead..."

"This guy's an idiot!"

How rude!

<center>☆</center>

"Sakamoto! Yoshii... Is... Is he going to be all right?"

"Of course! I can't make any guarantees about the others, but he will definitely have no problem."

"But..."

"He is not really good at studying. However, even if you get a bad result, it is not everything right?"

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"That idiot... He is not a normal Punishment Bearer."

<center>☆</center>

"Shokanju Summon!"

Four enemies summoned their Shokanjus at the same time.

We kept on running, but the corridor was full of dead ends. It was just a matter of time before we arrived in the battle area.

"Yoshii, what should we do?"

"You're asking me?"

"Then who should I ask?! Anything is fine, just think of something!"

Shimada and I were running side by side and shouting to each other at the same time.

"Okay, I got it! Shimada, you try to take them on!"

"Okay okay, and then?"

"My chances of escaping will be higher."

"I will definitely finish you off one day!"

Now we were at the end of the corridor. There was only a wall with a window in front of us.

"Shimada, summon your Shokanju now."

"Summon it?"

"Then use it to receive damage instead of me."

"Go die!"

"Wa! Why did you suddenly go berserk? Are you a berserker?"

I kept running, while dodging the punches that Shimada threw at me.

Damn. Now we were at a dead end.

I rested my back on the wall and looked forward, and saw the enemies getting closer and closer.

"You guys must be very tired of running around!"

"By the way, do we really have to chase them?"

"There is nothing else we can do. While we were foolishly playing with them, Sakamoto's group escaped."

"Then let's finish them and go back!"

When they realized we had nowhere to run, the four of them looked like they had used up all their energy and started chatting in front of us.

Since there is no reason to chase us, why not just let us go!?

"Oi, are you done chatting?!"

Shimada was angry and scolded them when she saw that they were being so impolite. Oh, in a situation like this, she was still very aggressive.

"... Ah!"

"What?"

"You really are the lousiest class."

How dare he say something like that! I must say something back!

"We are not the lousiest class! It's just the students that are lousy!"

"Yoshii, shut up!"

Huh? I was trying to fight back, why is she so angry?

"Don't look down on us just because we are Class F!"

"Oh really? What can those from the lowly Class F do?"

"See for yourself! Shokanju Summon!"

Shimada shouted out and the Chibi Shimada that I had seen many times before appeared.

"This is what I will do! I'll make you taste the difference in our ability!"

The guy from Class B who was quarreling with Shimada also summoned his Shokanju. It held its knife and dashed towards us. Although the enemy couldn't do any complicated moves, it had enough power.

"You!"

Shimada let her Shokanju rush forward.

The enemy's strong attack hit Shimada's Shokanju and---

<center>Class B Kudou Shinji VS Class F Shimada Minami

Mathematics

159 VS 171</center>

"You, are you really from Class F?"

No, they had the same ability! What's going on?

"He he, it is your fault for choosing mathematics. For this subject, it doesn't matter if I don't understand kanji<ref>The Chinese characters used in Japanese writing.</ref>!"

Oh, Shimada is so cool!

"By the way, Shimada, what's your score for Ancient Literature?"

"Just a single digit!"

She is so certain! That's also cool!

"Kudo, do you need help? You don't want to be sent to the Remedial Room, do you?"

"Damn, please help me!"

Kudo regretted it and bit his lips. It was really a shame to ask for help when fighting Class F.

The situation was looking bad for Shimada. Both Shokanjus were using their weapons and fighting with all their strength. Neither of them could leave now. If the number of enemies increased, she would definitely lose.

"Shimada, do you need help? You don't want to be sent to the Remedial Room like this right?"

"You'll just get in my way!"

"How mean!"

I regretted it and bit my lips. She's so mean!

However, this was no time for jokes. No matter how tired I was, I shouldn't just run away in a situation like this. It was time for me to join the battle.

"Shokanju Summon!"

A familiar magical circle appeared beside me. The Shokanju that had the same amount of fighting ability as my mathematics score, slowly revealed itself.

Its strong-looking face!

Its sturdy body!

Its fast and swift moves!

Its absolute strength.

"Don't worry about Yoshii! You can see he's just a weakling!"

"Pay me back! Pay me back my handsome descriptions!"

"Go away, you weakling!"

"Shimada, are you really my partner? Why are you insulting me?"

It was true that my Shokanju only had a bokutou<ref>Also known as a bokken, it is a Japanese wooden sword used for training.</ref> on its hand and looked very weak.

Now I was surrounded by enemies (one of them being my classmate)!

"Now we're in trouble."

Shimada's face was slightly twisted.

Although she could win against the enemies, the difference between the scores was small. It was obvious that Shimada had consumed a huge amount of marks.

"Farewell!"

The Class B student controlled her Shokanju and attacked; Shimada's Shokanju couldn't dodge it. Now is the time for me to show up!

"Taste my kick!"

I made my Shokanju dash forward and trip my enemy from the side.

"Ah!"

Underestimating my ability and being unfamiliar with controlling a Shokanju, the enemy tripped over easily.

"This is not the end of it!"

I used my bokuto and swung towards the enemy, hit it into the ground. Now is the time!

"Ah----"

My Shokanju quickly grabbed the back of the head of the enemy Shokanju, and thrust its head towards the ground.

Boom! It made a loud noise that could be heard anywhere along the corridor.

"Huh?"

Everyone said that at the same time.

The result of the battle was decided instantly.

<center>☆</center>

<center>Class B Sanada Yuka VS Class F Yoshii Akihisa

Mathematics

166 VS 51</center>

The score of the battle just now appeared in the air.

This is so embarrassing! Her score is three times more than mine!

"What! Sanada's score is higher right? Why was she defeated by such a weak Shokanju?"

Kudo from Class B complained to the teacher. This had nothing to do with the teacher, what can you get from her?

"Huh? My Shokanju is still alive?"

The Shokanju that was beaten into the ground stood up, the power was really not enough...

"Yoshii, what happened?"

"Ah... I guess these are maybe the few advantages of being a Punishment Bearer?"

From everyone's performance in the war against Class D, I realized that controlling Shokanju was not an easy task.

The extraordinary power and the difference in size, all made controlling Shokanju more difficult. Therefore everyone only used dash attacks or simple attack methods, and let the scores determine the result.

"What do you mean by advantages?"

"In other words, I am accustomed to controlling my Shokanju!"

As a Punishment Bearer I had summoned my Shokanju countless times, and the pain and fatigue that were reflected back at me gave me a few advantages---- it forced me to make my Shokanju perform more complicated actions. If I only knew how to perform simple actions such as "run" or "swing the knife," I could never do those extra jobs given to me.

"It must have been a fluke!"

The enemy raised its knife again and attacked me. However her terrified expression made me a little bit happy.

"Ha!"

Facing the enemy's knife, I made my Shokanju block its attack. As the score showed, our power difference was threefold. If I took the damage directly, the bokuto would definitely break into two, so I must defend the attack by diverting the enemy's attacking force.

"Ah!"

The enemy's knife was thrown sideways, and its body was open for attack.

"Haaa!"

I made my Shokanju dash forward to hit it on its waist, then gave it another hit on its head.

<center>Class B Sanada Yuka VS Class F Yoshii Akihisa

Mathematics

126 VS 51</center>

The value shown had made a few changes. Even though I bullied the enemy like this, we still had a huge gap in our power. My Syokanju is really weak!

"We better take them seriously!"

"Although I don't want to bully Class F like this, we can't just stand here and watch this mess."

The other two people at the back walked out. No matter what, this situation was just too bad right?

"Ah, wait a minute. At least make it fair, two versus two!"

"Yoshii, you are mistaken, it's not four against two anymore."

"Huh? Has backup arrived?"

"It is five versus one now!"

"Shimada, do you intend to betray me?"

Just how much does she dislike me?

"I'm coming, take this!"

Along with some useless shout, the enemies' Shokanju attacks came. I let my Shokanju duck to dodge the attacks.

"This guy!"

"The undead guy!"

Wa! The number of enemy Shokanjus had just increased by two! Was this the so called "death by dismemberment" punishment?

The enemy Shokanjus stood side by side and rushed towards me. I should avoid being surrounded before trying to defeat them.

"We should be able to kill him in one hit..."

"But none of our attacks land on him..."

"This guy is just like Metal Slime."

I am not that weak!

"Hey!"

I angrily dashed into one of the enemy and gave him a punch to the stomach, right on target!

And I hurt my hand. That was the result of the reacting force.

"Should we start now?"

"Damn! I'm retreating for now!"

Kudo realized that he couldn't win in a one on one fight so he decided to retreat. He wasted a lot of marks in the fight just now, so it was a good idea to run away. Now it became three versus two--- No, Shimada had also spent a lot of marks too, so it is now three versus one.

"Shimada, now!"

I gave an instruction to Shimada who was not being attacked by the enemies at the moment, and who was looking towards the fire extinguisher I used before.

"Roger!"

Shimada picked up the fire extinguisher and pulled out the safety switch. Now we should be able to run away-----

"..."

--but she was not moving. What's going on?

"Quickly, use it!"

"Ah, I wonder what should I do?"

She had an extremely smug look on her face.

"Sh-Shimada! What do you want?"

Shimada decided to reveal her true colors in such a dire situation! It was very hard to fight against three opponents at the same time!

"What do I want? Ah, right----"

"I will do anything you want!"

"Then, firstly, let's change how we call each other!"

"I will do it! Please!"

"Then, I will call you Aki, and you will call me Minami-sama."

"Mi-Minami-sama! Is that fine?"

"This holiday, I feel like going to 'La Pedice' in front of the station, and eating some crêpes there."

"Damn! I only live on salt water! How can you even consider such an expensive idea--- Ah! Okay okay, I will treat you, Minami-sama! Please, I will treat you, just don't leave me alone!"

"Good, and one last thing."

"More? Give me a break!"

Shimada looked really happy.

"Say you will love me forever."

What! This is like looting a burning house! I will remember this!

"You will love me forever."

I repeated exactly what she told me. Now she shouldn't have any complaints right?

"Idiot!"

(Blowing sound)

The fire went out.

We had white powder all over our bodies and barely escaped with our lives.

But why did Shimada look like she was in a bad mood?

<center>☆</center>

"Ah----I'm exhausted!"

"Y-Yoshii! Are you alright?"

Himeji opened the door and dashed out. Her bouncing breasts were really dazzling.

"Yeah. This is nothing---- Ah, it hurts!"

Shimada fiercely stepped on my foot. For some reason Shimada was really angry with me today.

"Humph!"

"S-Shimada, what did I do wrong?"

(Scary stare!)

"Ah, n, no, Minami..."

That murderous gaze was focused on me now.

Although she specially gave me permission to drop the "sama" honorific, the name I used for her couldn't be reverted.

I really couldn't get used to calling her Minami in such a short amount of time.

"Why did the relationship between you two become so good?"

"Huh? You mean us?"

If our relationship was good, she wouldn't be stepping on my feet and threatening me at the same time, would she?

"Ah, you're back? Thanks for all your hard work."

"You look fine."

"Yeah, I'm back."

Yuuji and Hideyoshi walked out as well. Muttsurini didn't seem to worry about us so much, but he also slightly nodded towards me.

"Then everyone."

"Huh?"

Yuuji looked at everyone and said,

"Here's the current situation. It looks like Class C is our enemy. Since they haven't attacked us yet, they will be declaring war on us immediately after this war ends. To be honest, we don't really stand a chance if we fight Class C immediately after Class B."

They are probably thinking the same thing. Even if we win this war, they won't give us any time to rest, and will attack us immediately.

"Then what should we do? Even if we win this war, we will only be an easy target for Class C right?"

"That's true..."

"Don't worry."

Confronted by a troubled group, Yuuji stared with his energetic wild look and said,

"Since they are going to attack like this, I will counter their attack in my way."

"Your way?"

"Yeah, I will return them a big favour tomorrow morning."

We were dismissed after that and continued the War tomorrow.

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>

{{BakaTest Nav|prev=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume1 The Fifth Question|next=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume1 The Seventh Question}}
</noinclude>