Morning practice on the school field.
"Good morning, Hikigaya."
"Morning, Shiina. Did you eat yet… uh, I mean, breakfast."
"Hm? If not breakfast, then what else would I eat?"
Shiina tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled.
"N-no, nothing…"
Hikigaya quickly looked away from her soft, pink lips.
Damn it.
All because of that weird dream last night!
There's no way the elegant and pure Shiina from the waking world would ever say something that indecent!
"Wham!"
"Ow—what the hell, Ibuki?!"
"Humph!"
"Who said you could sneak off to meet Shiina without telling me?" Ibuki glared at him like he'd committed a grave sin.
"I didn't sneak off! We just ran into each other in the library."
Shiina smiled gently. "Yes, I didn't expect we'd have such similar interests. It made me happy."
"But…"
Ibuki trailed off, frowning as if something about this didn't sit right with her.
"Wait—weren't you the one who said you'd introduce me to Shiina? Why are you mad now?"
"I don't know!"
"Just… I'm mad for no reason, okay?!"
With that, Ibuki huffed, glared one last time, and sprinted off ahead.
"Hmm~ could it be… Ibuki's jealous?"
Shiina touched her chin thoughtfully.
"She wouldn't be… right?"
Still, the image flashed through Hikigaya's mind—Ibuki in a wedding dress, smiling triumphantly.
He immediately shook his head. What an absurd thought.
***
By the end of the month, the midterms were only three days away.
And now, the D-Class "ape squad" had finally realized their doom.
"W-what do we do?!"
"The exam's in three days, and I'm still failing four subjects!"
"It's your fault, Ike! You're the one who kept dragging me to play games!"
"Don't blame me—blame Ayanokouji!"
"Why am I involved?"
"Shut up! Taking the fall for your leader is common sense!"
The group of delinquents ran around begging for help, but everyone else ignored them.
Too late to start studying now, geniuses.
"Still, it's never too late to mend your ways!" declared Hirata, stepping forward gallantly.
Bro… really?
You're too pure for this world.
Hikigaya could only stare in disbelief.
"I'll help too~" Kushida added cheerfully, though inwardly she was screaming.
But to maintain her "angelic class idol" persona, she had no choice but to smile through the pain.
Hikigaya frowned but kept quiet.
It wasn't like he was close enough to comment on her duplicity anyway.
***
The next day, D-Class suddenly felt… lighter.
The panicked chaos from yesterday vanished, replaced by newfound confidence.
"What the hell happened?" Hikigaya muttered, glancing at the scowling Horikita beside him.
"See for yourself."
She handed him a test paper.
"This is… last year's midterm exam?"
It only took one look for Hikigaya to piece it together.
"This morning, Kushida claimed that a senior told her the school reuses the same midterm questions every year," Horikita said coldly.
For someone as diligent as Horikita, having the exam in advance was nothing short of cheating.
"I see."
Hikigaya nodded impassively.
"Wait—you knew about this from the start, didn't you?"
"More or less."
A month ago, Student Council President Muto had hinted at it—something vague about "the test not being limited to what's in the textbooks."
On its own, it didn't mean much.
But when he compared the number of students failing the quizzes to the number of students still left in upper-year D-Classes, the math didn't add up.
If the school really expelled everyone who failed, half the class would be gone by now.
That could only mean one thing:
There was always some loophole.
And the school wanted them to exploit it.
"You…" Horikita clenched her fists. "If you knew, why didn't you say something?"
"Why should I?" Hikigaya shot back.
He had zero interest in class solidarity.
If someone got expelled for failing, that was their problem, not his.
"Then why ask me to tutor you?"
Horikita had spent three hours every day at his dorm, quietly studying while he worked through practice problems.
"Maybe because studying is what students are supposed to do?" Hikigaya replied.
"Besides, if there's a loophole this time, what about the next exam?"
"…"
Horikita paused, then sighed. "I can't deny that's… a fair point."
She crossed her arms. "So, I take it you won't be using that leaked exam paper?"
"Of course not. I owe it to myself—and to my diligent, ever-patient tutor."
"Hmph. That's more like it."
Horikita finally allowed herself a small, satisfied smile.
***
During lunch break, Hikigaya met Shiina at their usual library corner.
Neither mentioned the leaked exam papers.
One studied seriously, the other taught patiently.
"It seems you're confident, Hikigaya," Shiina said, pleased.
"More or less. Passing shouldn't be a problem."
"Ah~ if only everyone in my class thought like you."
That one offhand comment was enough to tell him—C-Class had also gotten their hands on the midterm questions.
Hikigaya's eyes narrowed.
So the mastermind behind all this wasn't acting alone.
They must've made some secret deal with C-Class.
As for A and B-Class?
Their average scores were so high they didn't even need to cheat.
Horikita said Kushida was the one who produced the test papers,
but Hikigaya doubted someone like her could've found that loophole on her own.
His instincts told him—this had Ayanokouji Kiyotaka written all over it.
***
After school, the "D-Class study group" had all but vanished.
Only Hikigaya, Hasebe, and Airi remained, quietly studying together.
"I won't use those leaked questions," Hasebe declared proudly.
"I won't let all your tutoring go to waste, Hachi."
"Yeah! Me too!" Airi nodded earnestly.
"I'll take this test fair and square—with Hikigaya!"
Seeing the two girls' determined faces, Hikigaya felt something stir in his chest.
Maybe, just maybe… this time, D-Class had a few worth keeping.
***
Author's Note:
Don't expect the story to follow the original Classroom of the Elite plotline.
Hikigaya's early moves have completely reshuffled the balance between the three classes—
so the future will play out very differently.