Chapter 50: Paper Shuffle Exam.
"Uamm..." Yuto yawned as he strolled towards school, the soft hum of morning chatter barely registering in his mind. His gaze drifted aimlessly until it landed on Kei, animatedly conversing with her friends. Their eyes met briefly, instantly making Yuto flinch in embarrassment. Last night's display of waterworks made his cheeks warm as he noticed Kei's lips curl into a teasing grin.
She knew exactly what she was doing!
"Oh, Yuto-kun! Yahello!" Yuto turned around to see Ichinose waving at him. Yuto smiled as he waved back. Ichinose quickly joined him on his walk to school.
Of course, like last time, they stuck out in the crowd. This time, the crowd seemed convinced they were a couple.
"Haha, brings back memories, doesn't it?" Ichinose commented as she walked along with a smile.
Yuto chuckled softly. "Yeah... it does," he replied, his gaze lingering on her longer than it should have. This time, however, he saw Ichinose in a different light.
The rumors brought him a strange discomfort, but unlike last time, he didn't mind this discomfort. Back then, his heart was completely devoted—he even worshiped!—Horikita. But now, standing next to Ichinose, he allowed himself to entertain the possibility.
He couldn't say he had lost his feelings entirely, but he wanted to. He looked at Ichinose, smiling as she walked in front. She was really cute. Anyone who spent as much time as he had with Ichinose would've fallen in love with her. Except, he wasn't just anyone.
Yuto involuntarily bit his lip. He wanted to fall in love with someone other than Horikita. And deep down, he knew the disgusting reason for it too. It wasn't for the sake of falling in love. No, far from it. It was to reject his love and feelings for Horikita.
Yes.
He wanted to fall in love simply out of spite for Horikita. It was a disgusting, inhumane reason, but he wanted to regardless.
"Alright, Yuto-kun! All the best. Let's meet again after the exam!" Ichinose's cheerful voice pulled Yuto out of his rabbit hole. Yuto turned to his side and realized he was standing in front of Class-D's entrance.
"Ahh, alright. We'll meet up later! Good luck!" Yuto flashed a smile while Ichinose smiled back.
Waving each other goodbye, Yuto entered the class as everyone momentarily went silent. It wasn't for long, though.
"Yutoooooo! I'm dead, man! DEAD! I couldn't complete my English portion. What do I do?!"
Sidestepping the larger boy with practiced ease, Yuto dropped a stack of revision sheets onto the desk. "Use these. At this point, focus on what you know rather than trying to cram." Yuto said bluntly before turning to look at the class. Almost everyone was here.
He briefly made eye contact with Kei again as she wiggled her fingers in a cheeky wave, her grin wide and unapologetically mischievous.
Yuto groaned inwardly. That woman! She'd been relentless in teasing him ever since last night.
Soon, Sae entered, distributing the papers. After everything was done, she went up to the podium and announced,
"Start!"
Instantly, almost every student opened their paper. Yuto, however, took his sweet time as he perused the paper. It was easy enough; he should get a good score of 80+ with Kei as his partner. He was, however, more interested in Two-Face's reaction. The venom in his smirk was involuntary as his eyes flicked to her.
She was pale, her hands trembling ever so slightly as she scribbled answers. Her usual mask of cheerful confidence was cracking, and Yuto drank it in like a man parched.
An hour or so into the exam, Yuto was done with his paper and raised his hand to submit it early. No one was surprised—not that they had the time to notice.
'I guess it's time.'
He raised his hand again, cutting through the stillness like a blade.
"Sae-chan-sensei."
All eyes turned to him. Sae's brows furrowed slightly, sensing the tension radiating from his mischievous grin. "Yes, Kazuki? You've already submitted your paper, and as you know, the use of the lavatory is prohibited during exams."
Yuto leaned forward, his voice calm but deliberate. "I'd like to request a check of Kushida-san's uniform. I have reasonable suspicion she's cheating using chits."
The room didn't erupt, no, the room was veilled by a tense atomosphere. Heads turned subtly, students exchanging quick glances but keeping their movements restrained under Sae's watchful gaze.
A few pens froze mid-sentence, and the air grew heavy with unspoken questions. Horikita's lips went agape as she remembered Yuto's words last night. "No... Way..." she mouthed silently while Ayanokoji face was masked by his usual indifferent expression, but he too had to admit he was shocked.
Sae hesitated briefly, masking her own surprise. "Kazuki, you understand the seriousness of such an accusation? If false, you'll face penalties."
"I understand," Yuto replied, his arms crossed as he turned to see Kushida's reaction.
Kushida blinked, her expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. "Excuse me?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. Her fingers instinctively brushed the edges of her jacket as if reassuring herself of its innocence.
"Kushida-san," Sae's voice cut in. "Please stand for inspection. Your exam will be paused, and time will be compensated if you're found innocent."
Kushida didn't move at first. She glanced down at her uniform, brows knitting together in genuine bewilderment. "What…?" she murmured under her breath, her confusion tangible.
Yuto's smirk remained, but he watched her closely, knowing the exact moment realization would dawn.
Slowly, Kushida's gaze shifted to Kei. Kei's expression—momentary shock giving way to reluctant acceptance—told her everything. Realization struck her like a truck.
Kei planted them.
The color drained from her face as her breathing quickened, panic clawing its way to the surface. She bit her lip, her mind racing through scenarios, calculations, ways to salvage the situation—but every thread unraveled before she could grasp it.
"Please…" she croaked, her voice trembling as she turned back to Yuto, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. "Don't do this."
Yuto's expression wasn't unreadable, no. Even someone like Yamauchi could read his current expression. He was holding his laughter. "Get up," Sae prompted again, more firmly this time.
Kushida obeyed shakily, her legs feeling as though they might give out beneath her. Her eyes flickered to Kei one last time, looking at her pure disdain and shock. Kei looked at Kushida with pity as she mouthed:
"Sorry."
Like that would help!
As Sae gestured for a female staff member to step in for the inspection, Kushida's panic reached its peak. Her hands trembled visibly as she tried to protest again, words tumbling out incoherently. But her voice was swallowed by the suffocating silence of the room.
Hirata looked at Yuto with a shocked expression. Was this really the Yuto he knew? Sudo train of thoughts were cut as Yuto gestured him to continue with his exam. Like hell he could!
Ike and Yamauchi were shocked, not by entertaining the possibility that Kushida could get expelled. No!
They were shocked by how dumb Yuto was!
Like, how did he even think some one like Kushida could hold chits! Ridiculous!
Whisphers soon began to circulate from the back as Sae banged a table for decorom.
Yuto sat back, satisfied. He crossed his arms, his face unreadable but for the faintest twitch of amusement at the corner of his lips. In his mind, the game was already over.
Kushida's hands fisted at her sides as she whispered under her breath, a trembling mantra of disbelief: "This can't be happening… this can't be happening…"
But it was.
Her fate was sealed the moment she pissed of Yuto yesterday.
And as the staff member approached to carry out the inspection, Yuto couldn't resist leaning forward slightly, his lips moving silently as he mouthed his parting gift: "I keep my promises, bitch."
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[A/N: I mean, I bet some of you expected this from the last chapter but believe me, if you are writing a COTE fic, you would know how annoying of a character Kushida is to work with. Plus, she keeps annoying Yuto! Well, he didn't pull of some crazy big brain move here to expel Kushida but I feel that here, in this situation, simplicity was for the best.
Idk, what are y'all's opinions and where do you want for the story to take forword to.
And thank you all of you for the support and patience for keeping up with my upload sechedule. We finally broke 50 chapters! I ask you for the continution of you patience.
Also I started working on a novel I might upload on April (due to boards and I want to stock pile at least 20 chapters). So check it out when it comes. It is a fansaty story and a bit cliche. If you like very detailed, slow paced story with amazing world building, I think you will like what I am making.
Also, could someone teach me how to pace my stories as pacing and dialouge flow was always a problem for me. Still I believe if you look back to the first chapter, my writing has come pretty far and I can't say I'm not proud.
Again, thank you for all your support and this is you author-chan out!]
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