Chapter 13: A Battle of the Sixth Grade?

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Masaya Ishida stepped into the classroom, and the whispered conversations instantly fell silent. All eyes followed his every movement.

Just moments ago, he was aching all over, but now, under those gazes, the pain seemed to vanish, replaced by an overwhelming unease, as if countless ants crawled beneath his skin, the itchiness overpowering the pain.

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Naoka Ueno chatting and laughing with Kyosuke Hojo and Shoko Nishimiya in the back row.

How could this be?! Ueno, didn’t you despise Shoko Nishimiya? Why did you change so quickly?

Masaya couldn’t accept it. He had acted partly to stand up for Naoka, so why had she betrayed him so suddenly?

With his head lowered, he quickened his pace to his seat and collapsed onto the desk, tears uncontrollably streaming down his face.

Had this been before, Ueno, who sat closest to him, might have heard the faint sound of his sobbing. But now, she patted her head with a helpless expression.

“I told you, it’s ‘ka’, ‘ka’, not ‘ke’...”

Earlier, she and Kyosuke had divided tasks: Kyosuke would find sentences in “The Monster’s Epic” overlapping with the fifty-sound syllables he had already taught, and Ueno would teach Shoko how to sing them.

This was not only because songs aid memory but also because Kyosuke had overheard Ueno complaining during music class that their chorus competition would be doomed with Shoko involved.

Since Ueno cared so much about the competition, it was better to have her teach Shoko to sing. If she taught well, it would ease Ueno’s resentment toward Shoko and help Shoko integrate into the class.

Moreover, Kyosuke himself was terrible at singing—although not completely tone-deaf...

Alright, actually he was tone-deaf; only by blending into the crowd could he avoid being mistaken for another Shoko Nishimiya.

Huh? Why wasn’t Shoko like me? As long as I kept my mouth shut, no one knew I was tone-deaf.

Well, let’s just hope Shoko keeps her kind heart.

As for Shoko, who was now “besieged” by two teachers, she no longer apologized repeatedly as before but wore an apologetic smile and earnestly repeated the lyrics with Ueno.

“Alright, let’s start the lesson.”

Shan Shan Takeuchi arrived late, continuing his usual idling.

Kyosuke didn’t rush to do problems but turned to watch Masaya Ishida, beginning to contemplate.

He was stubborn, that one. After losing face so badly last time, he still dared to cause trouble today. That’s exactly why unruly kids are the worst—no one can understand what’s going on inside their heads.

Should I deal with Ishida like I did with the chubby kid last time? Nah, he doesn’t deserve that—at least he hasn’t done any real harm to Shoko yet. I’ll keep an eye on him. With me watching, Ishida probably won’t cause any more trouble.

Shaking his head, Kyosuke lowered it and resumed working on his exercise book. Although he had properly attended university in his previous life, he still didn’t take this middle school entrance lightly. After all, geniuses never cease to exist in this world.

In his past life, he saw a gaming video where a thirteen-year-old performed moves he could never hope to replicate. Since then, he knew talent was an insurmountable chasm for ordinary people.

The Tokijo Middle School, designated by Mikiko Hojo, admitted 300 students each year. Unlike other private schools, Tokijo’s admissions were purely based on entrance exam scores, without any unwritten rules about parental status or occupation. Admission was straightforward and merit-based.

Kyosuke was confident about passing, but ranking near the top would greatly ease his middle school life.

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He had already experienced this in elementary school— even public schools offered many advantages to those with good grades, not to mention Tokijo, nicknamed the “University of Tokyo Exam Factory.”

He practiced problems in class; even if some knowledge faded over time, he could easily learn just by looking at the answers.

As Kyosuke concentrated on his workbook, Shoko Nishimiya, sitting in front of him, gazed silently at Masaya Ishida lying on the desk crying. Then she clenched her small fists against her chest, silently making a decision.

After class, she would join Naoka Ueno to teach herself the fifty sounds and “The Monster’s Epic.”

Soon it was time for afternoon PE class.

“Kyosuke!”

As Kyosuke reached the door of the indoor gymnasium, a loud shout echoed inside, bouncing off the walls, and everyone immediately turned to look at him.

“You idiot!”

“Why? Don’t you have to meet up with the class?”

Seeing Sakura Yamauchi bounding over with her ponytail bouncing, Kyosuke asked.

“What does it matter? The class hasn’t started yet.”

Sakura ran too fast and grabbed Kyosuke’s arm to avoid running past him, then noticed the little girl trailing behind.

“Huh? Kyosuke, is this your new friend? I don’t recognize her.”

“As if I know all your friends,” Kyosuke retorted.

“Hahaha, of course I know all Kyosuke’s friends. There’s only me, right?”

Hearing this, Kyosuke was momentarily speechless. It was kind of true.

“She’s Shoko Nishimiya. She transferred to our class just yesterday.”

Hearing that, Shoko quickly stepped out from behind Kyosuke.

“Hello, my name is Shoko Nishimiya.”

Since it was PE, Shoko hadn’t brought her notebook and could only pronounce each syllable slowly, which sounded a bit awkward but was at least understandable.

“Hello, I’m Sakura Yamauchi, Kyosuke’s childhood friend. Since you’re Kyosuke’s friend, you’re my friend too!”

Seeing Shoko’s manner of speaking, Sakura was briefly surprised but quickly recovered and laughed heartily.

How wonderful, a childhood friend. No wonder Kyosuke’s friends are good people.

Noticing that Sakura didn’t react strangely to her different behavior, Shoko thought to herself.

“My hearing is impaired, so I’m not very good at speaking.”

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Though Sakura didn’t ask, Shoko voluntarily explained her situation.

“Oh, did you understand what I just said?”

“Mostly, yes. When we came down from the classroom, Kyosuke told me that a girl named Sakura Yamauchi would come looking for him and that you would become good friends.”

“Hahaha, Kyosuke wouldn’t be that gentle. He probably said, ‘A noisy one is coming to bother me later, so just put up with it,’ or something like that.”

“Pfft!”

Hearing Sakura mimic Kyosuke’s voice, Shoko burst out laughing, her large chestnut eyes curving like crescent moons.

“Just like what Kyosuke said earlier. You two are really close.”

Shoko said enviously.

“Of course. I know him better than anyone else. We’re childhood friends.”

“Well, it’s almost time for class. Let’s head back to your classroom.”

“Ah, so you’ve got a new friend and you’re tired of me, your childhood friend? Poor me.”

Hearing this, Kyosuke remained unmoved, but Shoko hurriedly waved her hands.

“Haha, I’m joking. By the way, do you want to come to our class with me, Kyosuke?”

“Are you an idiot? That’s impossible.”

“Then see you later.”

“Yeah.”

Kyosuke knew she meant after the group activity during free time.

“See you later, Shoko-chan.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Shoko nodded excitedly. Though Kyosuke was great, she still longed to play with girls her own age.

As for Naoka Ueno, she had already gone off to play with Miki Kawai and the others. If it weren’t for Kyosuke’s friendship, Shoko might have followed them to see if she could join in.

But now, rather than being with those who didn’t really welcome her, it was better to stay with Kyosuke—even if the two of them just sat quietly on the grass watching the clouds drift across the sky, it was happiness enough.