The Protagonist's Sister Loves Me, But She's Definitely a Yandere. - Chapter 12: Exam Prep

Chapter 12: Exam Prep

Exams. The dreadful period that drags every student straight to hell.

Sitting at a desk, staring at textbooks, and cramming endless words into your head. As someone who proudly hates studying more than anyone else, this was a reality I wanted to run away from.

“I don’t get it. I totally don’t get it. But I’ve realized I don’t get it —HAHAHA!!”

We were in a family restaurant. I shouted my declaration loud and clear.

Honestly, if I didn’t keep my energy up like this, I wouldn’t survive. Was I bothering other customers? Don’t care. Just for today, I needed them to let it slide. Please, just let me have this.

“We’re in a family restaurant, Shinji. Keep it down.”

“Screw you. You’re the last person who should be saying that…”

The reason I was forcing myself to stay hyped up was simple. If I didn’t, all my energy would drain away in an instant.

I glared at the one responsible, but he just kept his cool, acting unfazed.

“Shit, why did it come to this…?”

I propped my chin in my hand and flipped through the flashcards. But no matter how hard I tried, the words went in one second and fell out the next. It was painfully obvious that I couldn’t concentrate.

My reflection in the window looked just as miserable as I felt.

“Oh, Hii-kun, you got this part wrong. See, this is how you do it~.”

To my left, Rika leaned close to Hinata, pointing something out in his notes. The way she casually linked her arm with his was clearly intentional.

I could practically feel the rom-com vibes radiating from them.

“I see! Rika, you’re really good at explaining things. Thanks!”

“Y-Yeah! I’ll teach you anything you want, Hii-kun!”

“I’m counting on you. Keep helping me out, okay?”

A handsome guy and a pretty girl. If you only looked at them, they seemed like the perfect, lovey-dovey couple.

The problem? The guy was Hinata Ichinose —the king of harems.

…I subtly shifted my gaze to the right.

“Hinata-kun, if you use this formula, it’ll make things even easier to understand.”

“Whoa, really?! Yuri-senpai, are you a genius!?”

“Heh, you can admire me all you want.”

Yuri Himeno-senpai, our student council president, smirked proudly and ran a hand through her hair.

She was popular with both students and teachers because of her charisma. And yet, she was looking at Hinata with the face of a girl in love. Even someone like me, with no experience, could see it clearly.

“Muu, I’m better at explaining, right?! Right, Hii-kun?”

“It’s okay, Hinata-kun. Just admit that she’s not as reliable as me.”

“Come on, Rika, Yuri-senpai, what are you two even saying?”

Hinata scratched his nose, looking both amused and exasperated at their bickering.

If any normal guy did that, it would probably be annoying. But when Hinata did it, it just looked cool.

Being good-looking made life way too easy —Hinata was living proof of that.

(Ugh, I wanna go home. Why did Hinata have to drag me into this?)

After school, Runa had something to do, so I was walking home alone today. Normally, going home by myself was my usual routine, so it was just back to normal. But for some reason, it felt a little lonely. Maybe I’d fallen right into Runa’s trap without realizing it.

As I passed by the station, I spotted some familiar faces inside a family restaurant.

It was my childhood friend and next-door neighbor, Hinata Ichinose, along with his usual group.

I tried to sneak by quickly, but unlucky me —Hinata spotted me. 

Before I could even say no, I was dragged inside and stuck with them. No matter how you looked at it, I did not belong here. I was the odd one out in this harem situation.

“…Hn~.”

The members of the harem were Rika, Himeno-senpai, and… one more person.

A girl who was our junior back in middle school. She had even followed Hinata to the same high school on purpose. Her bleached blonde hair stood out, and she was twirling a mechanical pencil in her hand, looking bored and a little annoyed.

In middle school, she had been quiet. But now, she was clearly trying out a new image for high school.

Her sharp eyes, loosely worn uniform —for a new first-year student, her style was pretty bold. To someone who didn’t know her, she probably looked like a delinquent.

“What is it, Usui-senpai? You keep looking over here.”

“Nah, it’s nothing. If anything, sorry for being the one who sat here.”

“…I was sitting alone anyway. It’s fine.”

A gloomy aura radiated from her entire body, and I could practically feel it.

Unfortunately, the table was meant for five people. Until I joined them, she’d been sitting all by herself. It was a pretty sad sight. Not that my sitting next to her made things any better.

This “study session” had started out of nowhere, but the group dynamics were the absolute worst for me.

I took a sip of the orange juice I’d gotten from the drink bar. The cheap citrus smell tickled my nose as it went down my throat. But the moment of refreshment didn’t last long.

The awkwardness just kept building, and I felt a desperate urge to escape.

“Hey, isn’t it about time someone swapped seats with me?”

“Don’t ask me. Why not just jump in when the timing feels right?”

“…Honestly, that’s terrifying. I can maybe handle Sakuragi-senpai, but Himeno-senpai?”

She muttered quietly, letting out a sigh with her eyes half-closed.

This was the last member of Hinata’s harem —Mimi Ogawa. Her lips were pursed in frustration.

Happy endings only happen in manga. In reality, a harem is just a bunch of girls secretly competing for one guy. Also known as shuraba. A messy war, full of jealousy and tension, was brewing right in front of me.

“Hey, can I just go home? This atmosphere is killing me.”

“No way. If Usui-senpai leaves, it’s gonna get even more awkward for me.”

“I mean, yeah, the table’s full, but you looked dead inside.”

“Of course I did! I was excited when I heard there’d be a study session, but when I got here, Sakuragi-senpai and the others were already sitting down. And my spot was right across from them. I seriously felt like I was on display.”

With that, Mimi Ogawa flopped onto the table, looking completely defeated.

She had always been smart, even in middle school, and nothing had changed since we started high school. Her notes were perfectly organized —she definitely didn’t need a study session.

Honestly, everyone here was pretty smart. Except for me.

So if they were having a study session anyway, then… Oh, I get it now. This was probably just a cover. Rika or Himeno-senpai must have set it up so they could spend time with Hinata. It was the perfect excuse.

“They don’t even need to study. They should just swap seats with you.”

“You don’t need to study either. Better luck next time.”

“…Uee, maybe the real fun will be the sports festival after exams?”

Mimi sipped her juice through a straw. When I first heard she had “debuted” in high school, I was surprised. But her flashy new style actually suited her. She was nothing like the quiet girl she used to be.

Like she said, the sports festival was definitely a celebration for the popular crowd.

Our school had exams from mid to late May. After that, we got about a month to prepare, and the sports festival happened in late June.

The guys in sports clubs got to show off their skills, and the girls swooned over them. Then, like clockwork, new couples were formed. But for someone like me —who didn’t fit in that world— it was a pointless event. Being stalked wasn’t going to suddenly make me athletic, after all.

“Sports festival. Event committee. —This could work.”

I saw a mischievous look flash across Mimi’s face. She was definitely plotting something, and that expression was burned into my memory.