Imari Is Perceptive

“Haa…”

As I arrived at school in the morning, I let out a sigh as my first words.

Slumping onto my desk, I felt fatigue creeping over me as I stretched.

“What’s wrong? You seem tired.”

“Imari….?”

Imari, fitting snugly into her role as class representative as always, took a seat in front of me.

“Can you tell I’m tired?”

“Yeah, I can. You were sighing in a way only tired people do.”

“I see…”

Feeling the brightness of the morning sun, I managed to lift my head. Imari tilted her head as she looked at my face.

“Hmm? Miyoshi-kun, did you age or something?”

“Seriously!? Right so….. I’ve been feeling that too.”

“You were aware of it…”

Imari chuckled in amazement.

“What happened? Tell me. Despite appearances, I am the class representative, you know?”

“Despite appearances, you really are the class representative.”

“I see, I see.”

Imari scratched her cheek, seemingly pleased to be acknowledged as representative-like.

“Then all the more reason for The Imari, as Miyoshi-kun puts it, to lend an ear, right?”

“You’re really getting into this, Imari?”

“Well… It’s hard not to feel pleased when I’m told I’m acting like the head, right?”

“You’re not being very modest.”

They both laughed.

As the atmosphere lightened considerably, Imari approached once again.

“So, what happened?”

“Well, you see…”

I considered telling her about it as usual, but then I hesitated. The root of my troubles, and the cause of this lack of sleep, was undoubtedly last night’s kissing incident. 

The fact that I had been given that potent supplement played a significant role, making me unusually active in that department throughout the moment.

On top that comes the temptations of er*tic stepsister, Yukine. 

Finally, we ended up accidentally kissing, and after that my Excalibur only calmed down after a few shots. 

By the end of that, it was almost already morning and my heart was pounding so loudly that I couldn’t sleep. It was Hell.

“Oh, I see… Well, that’s…”

Unable to share the real story here, I pondered my options until Imari clapped her hands.

“Ah, could it be because of the end-of-term exams? You’ve been studying late into the night because they’re coming up, right?”

“Yeah, yeah! That’s it!”

I didn’t expect Imari to come up with such a good excuse, so I eagerly latched onto it.

“Oh, um, yeah! It’s just… the end-of-term exams are really intense… the end-of-term… huh? Oh, right… Yeah, it’s serious.”

When the term “end-of-term exams” finally sunk in,  I realized the gravity of the situation.

“(This is bad! Come to think of it, the end-of-term exams are coming up soon! I’ve been too busy with the Yukine situation that I completely forgot about it! I haven’t studied at all!)”

My high school typically released the scope of each exam about a week before the tests, but studying only after the material was given rarely resulted in high scores. It was crucial to study the potential topics based on previous exams in advance. Otherwise, it was impossible to cover all the material.

However, I hadn’t done that at all.

Feeling utterly hopeless and forgetting entirely about the upcoming end-of-term exams, I was approached by a concerned Imari, who seemed worried about me.

“What’s wrong? You look like you just remembered the existence of the end-of-term exams and haven’t studied at all.”

“Wha- no, it’s not like that…”

(She’s too perceptive, it’s almost scary!)

I thought I needed to come up with some excuse, so I quickly fixed one.

“Maybe it’s that, huh? I’m struggling quite a bit with the math topics this time, you see? I was wrestling with it yesterday, and just remembering it filled me with despair? Something like that?”

“Hmm…”

Imari looked at me suspiciously.

She’s perceptive. She might easily see through someone like me who’s terrible at bluffing.

I mustered up the best fake smile I can manage, as a feeble attempt to resist.

“Then, shall I teach you?”

Imari casually suggested.

“Huh, really? Well, if I could get lessons from the top-ranked student like you, I’d appreciate it…”

It would be helpful in more ways than one.

“It’s no big deal. It’s part of being the class representative, isn’t it?”

“The class representative isn’t supposed to do everything.”

“It’s only natural to help out when classmates are in trouble.”

Though it’s straying quite a bit from the duties of a class representative, I can’t outright deny Imari’s actions, considering how she genuinely cares for her classmates and acts accordingly. 

Imari raised her index finger as she continues.

“Since you and I are close, I’ll do this for you. I wouldn’t go this far for anyone else, but I’ll become your personal tutor, Miyoshi-kun.”

Imari chuckled softly.

Imagining Imari in a teacher-like role involuntarily, I can’t help but find it surprisingly fitting.

“Thank you so much, Imari-sensei!”

It was an unexpected offer, like a dream come true, but it’s a huge help, so I gladly accepted.

“I’m counting on you!”

Seeing Imari’s proud smile, I felt relieved in more ways than one.