The bell signaling the end of school rang precisely on time.
Shimizu Akira gently closed his Japanese literature textbook, pausing for a moment with his fingers resting on the cover.
Finally got through most of the first week's material—looks like high school Japanese isn't completely out of reach after all.
He recalled the exam papers he'd obtained for free from Satō-senpai, though he had no intention of relying solely on rote memorization to scrape by.
After all, aside from Japanese, all his other subjects were comfortably above 90—no need to stress too much.
Japanese, though… was a legitimate weak point.
But today was only Wednesday, and the next test was still over three weeks away. No need to panic yet.
With a bit of focused study, passing shouldn't be an issue.
As he packed up his books, two figures suddenly approached his desk.
Shimizu glanced up—it was Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji, the dynamic duo of Class D's "Three Idiots."
"Shimizu-kun! Heard you've got a date with Kushida-san after school today? So damn jealous!" Ike's eyes practically sparkled with envy.
Beside him, Yamauchi had been about to chime in with his own teasing, but a quick glance at Shimizu's unimpressed expression—and the memory of his very real combat skills—made him swallow his words. He just stood there silently, though his eyes burned with poorly concealed resentment.
"Yeah." Shimizu acknowledged casually, finding Ike's straightforwardness somewhat refreshing. "How'd you know?"
Ike immediately answered, "Kushida-san posted about it! Half the class's seen it by now!"
Shimizu swiped open his phone, scrolling to Kushida Kikyō's latest social media update.
[First date ever… with Shimizu-kun from my class. My heart's racing~?]
Accompanying the post was a carefully angled selfie of the girl, her fluttering eyelashes undeniably charming.
"Huh..." Shimizu narrowed his eyes.
This Kushida-san was… eager. The date hadn't even started, yet the publicity campaign was already in full swing.
The caption—so textbook-perfect it might as well have been copied straight from The High School Girl's Social Media Handbook.
He scrolled through her past posts. Not a single trace of any prior romantic interactions.
(First date ever… Really?)
True or not, the facade was impeccably maintained.
"Hey, Shimizu!" Ike suddenly elbowed him. "You should thank us, y'know! If we hadn't brought you up in front of Kushida-san on Monday—"
Shimizu raised an eyebrow. "You two set this up?"
"Well, kinda for ourselves too!" Ike waggled his eyebrows. "Kushida-san might hold another dating contest this month. If your date goes well… we might get a shot too, right?"
He and Yamauchi exchanged knowing grins.
(Are these two… serious?)
Shimizu massaged his temples, watching the two idiots lost in their delusions, a wave of exhaustion washing over him.
Did they really think Kushida Kikyō would give them a chance?
Recalling last month's competition—Kushida had specifically sought him out to rig the results in his favor.
That alone proved she had no intention of letting anyone else get close.
From what he knew, these two hadn't even tried last time.
When tallying votes, they'd counted Sudō Ken as two people…
(With that level of effort… even if Kushida holds another contest, you two wouldn't stand a chance.)
Shimizu's cheek twitched, utterly baffled by their logic.
Still, he maintained a polite smile. "Well, thanks anyway. I did get this date thanks to you two."
(Not many people volunteer as matchmakers these days… even if their motives are downright baffling.)
Yamauchi's expression instantly twisted like he'd been punched in the gut. He clutched his chest, as if stabbed by invisible needles—no man could hear about his crush going on a date with someone else and not feel some type of way.
(This is a necessary sacrifice… a necessary sacrifice…)
(Once Shimizu's date succeeds, it'll be my turn next!)
He repeated this mantra internally, taking several deep breaths to maintain his composure.
His strained smile, however, looked painfully forced.
Ike, on the other hand, was far more transparent.
His entire face scrunched up.
"Ha… haha…" He let out a dry laugh, robotically patting Shimizu's shoulder. "G-Good luck, man…"
His voice dripped with barely suppressed bitterness—this time, he genuinely couldn't stand to see his "bro" succeed.
(Dammit! Why'd it have to be Shimizu… But whatever! He won fair and square.)
(But if even he can't pull it off, Kushida-san would never look at me twice…)
Ike scratched his head, eyes darting around.
"Uh… take lots of pics, okay?!" he blurted out, immediately regretting it.
He sounded like some desperate stalker.
Wait, if Shimizu sends pics, he'd be in them too… That's somehow even sadder!
"I won't be sending any photos," Shimizu replied without hesitation. "But Kushida-san will probably post on social media. You can check there."
He had zero interest in sending other guys pictures of his date—that was just weird on multiple levels.
"O-Oh… right!" The two stammered awkwardly before shuffling away.
"By the way—"
Shimizu suddenly recalled the intel he'd received that morning, turning to Horikita Suzune, who was quietly reading.
"Horikita, did you know Kushida Kikyō before this school?"
"...I don't." Horikita's fingers paused mid-page before she shook her head.
"I see." Shimizu nodded thoughtfully.
Horikita's reaction seemed genuine, and she had no reason to lie. They likely were strangers.
"Where'd you go to middle school, then?"
"[XXXXX]."
"Got it."
"So, you're really going on a date with Kushida Kikyō tonight?"
"Yeah, it's set."
"...What's her angle?"
"Angle? Oh, she's got one, but it doesn't matter." Shimizu waved a hand dismissively. "After all, Kushida Kikyō's been nothing but nice to me."
Did he not know what Kushida was after?
Of course he did—she wanted to silence those who'd lost last month's bet.
But so what? On the surface, Kushida Kikyō had always treated him well.
Sometimes, even the bad girls can be cute, don't you think?