An Accusation by Murasaki Shun

“Wohoo! One month left before the school festival!"

From beside the ecstatic Seira, in contrast, Minato looked disinterested. They were sitting together in the classroom, which quickly caught the other students' attention. It was quite a rare sight. Their club activities had gotten hectic lately, so they decided to work on them in between classes.

Now, they were finishing up the sketches for their book cafe.

“What’s so great about all that noise and people?” Minato complained while looking over their drawings. “Though I guess you're used to it.”

Seira shook her head and wagged a finger at him. “That won't do, Aoyama Minato. You ought to look forward to it.”

“Hey there, you two.” Kaien joined in right then, sitting across from them. “You’ve been hanging out more and more, huh? Don't mind if I-”

“Good, you're here too. Let me tell you both how important school festivals are in this world. Basically, it’s the prime season for love—first kisses, confessions, new crushes, and emotional turning points all tend to peak there!"

“...Kai?”

“Just bear with it, Minato.”

“Are you listening, Kinryuji Kaien?!”

This could be bad.

The male leads lacked motivation for the most pivotal arc in every shoujo. As they were, they should’ve been fired from their jobs already. This explained the slow progress with the heroine's romantic relationship.

“Aoyama Minato, ask Sakura Yume out on a date.”

Minato choked. “W-What's the matter with you today?”

“It’s worth trying. About time, isn't it?” Kaien urged.

“Even you, Kai? Where's all this nonsense coming from?”

“Surely, the others will also make their move, Minato. It's a big event.”

“He's right!” Seira huffed. “Don't miss this once-in-a-year opportunity, or else you'll regret it.”

“It's also quite regrettable how you yourself might miss it, Airin Seira.”

Someone spoke from behind her. Turning around, she was met with stoic, gray eyes, well-groomed, purple hair, and an attractive face framed by glasses. In his hand was a stack of papers.

It was the class president, Murasaki Shun—also, one of the male leads.

“C-Chairman?” Seira blurted out nervously, having never been approached like this by Shun before.

“Our homeroom teacher asked me to bring these to you—along with some bad news. Apparently, if you don't pass all the subjects in the upcoming exam week, you might need to take retests over the course of the school festival.”

“Exam week?! Oh, no! I forgot all about it!”

“So, you failed all our previous tests, huh?”

“Don't patronize me, Kinryuji Kaien! I've been through a lot these past months. I couldn't care less about such things. Why don't you put yourself in my shoes?”

“My feet won't fit.”

“Cut them smaller!”

“And this is why you're failing, Airin Seira.” Shun looked sternly at Seira, like a teacher scolding his student. “You let yourself get distracted so easily. On top of that, you’re a slow learner and a slacker. You'll get left behind if you keep this up.”

“Aww…”

“Isn't that a bit much?” Kaien promptly interjected, much to Seira's surprise. “I know you're just reminding her on behalf of our teacher, but that's going too far. She may be slow, but she's no slacker—at least, not anymore.”

“She should prove it during the exams, then.”

With that, Shun handed over the papers and walked away without sparing them another glance.

Seira felt touched when Kaien defended her, but she was not at all offended. The class president had always been harshly criticizing her. She admitted she wasn't academically gifted, and by the record, she performed poorly in class. Even the student council president was particularly strict on her because of this.

“Say, can you help me study?” Seira questioned. “I don't wanna miss the school festival for something like this.”

Minato's eyes widened. “You're…gonna study?”

“Ugh, that's how you also reacted when you learned I read. You saw I could. Must I show you I study as well?”

Kaien chuckled, “You and studying… An odd pair.”

“This is no laughing matter! I have to pass, so please! My mission of love is at stake!”

“Sadly, I'm not good at that either. I don't think I'll be able to teach you well, but the two of us can still review for the exams together.”

“How will that help if neither of us can solve a math equation?”

“I think it will help me, but not just with a math equation.”

“...Uh-huh, like that makes sense. And this is about me, not you.”

From the corners of her eyes, she noticed Minato smile meaningfully before saying, "'The two of us'? Are you leaving me out already, Kai? That's fine with me, though.”

“You can't do math, too?”

“I can't get in the way.”

“...Huh?”

Regardless of whatever those words and looks were, Seira had to prepare for the exams as early as possible.

So, off to the library she went. It was more comfortable to study here than in the classroom. She always caused a scene there. Their classmates would certainly treat the sight of her studying like a spectacle.

Seira and Kaien sat across from each other near the window, surrounded by peace and quiet. Bright afternoon light poured in. Small birds chirped from the trees outside.

For a while, they were completely occupied with their studies. That was until Seira caught herself glancing up. Before her was a Kaien she had been seeing more often these days.

‘He looks so serious.’

How the sunlight touched upon that lustrous, brown hair and reflected a silent fire in those golden eyes created an utterly breathtaking view. Her cheeks warmed up. She felt almost dizzy.

And her heart was pounding—hard, loud, unstoppable.

“What's wrong?” Kaien asked, noticing Seira staring.

“O-Oh, umm… Nothing. Just thinking.”

“Then, it's not ‘nothing.’”

“Can you not for once?”

“Okay, you're thinking… That's dangerous. What is it about?”

“You’re always like this,” she huffed and rolled her eyes. “Always… So, it’s strange seeing you serious, though it's been happening a lot lately.”

“...Did I look that way to you just now?”

“Yeah, as if you're the one about to fail.”

His expression softened, and a gentle smile graced his lips. She stared in awe, her breath hitching.

“Well, that's because you're working hard to be better,” he said in a voice so sweet and tender it made her heart race faster. “And seeing you do your best makes me want to give it my all too.”

Seira was still and silent for the longest moment.

Usually, she would be screaming in her head about how shoujosque this scenario was. It was romantic, but also different. It was somehow like a dream, fleeting and too good to be true.

‘Ahhh… This could be bad.’

---

Kaien studied with Seira in the library every day leading up to exam week.

He saw all her efforts, so he had no doubt she would pass the tests. When the results came, she was overjoyed to learn she did. Of course, he was glad for her as well.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be without incident.

"I'm disappointed that two of my students copied from each other,” their homeroom teacher told Seira and Shun, then pointed down at the test papers on the desk. "Though not exactly the same, you have identical ideas and concepts on this essay section.”

“What?! I would never copy from-”

"Me? Copy from a girl like her?” Shun cut Seira off with a disdainful look. “For years, I've been on top of the class, whereas she’s a problem student. The evidence is there.”

“Do you mean to say I copied yours?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? All you do is goof around, and you don’t pay attention in class, then you’re suddenly acting like you care about your grades. Isn’t that suspicious?”

“But I never cheated, and I never would!”

"Alright, I’ll give you both a second chance.” With a sigh, their homeroom teacher headed toward the door while the two continued glaring at each other. “Come to me later and take a retest.”

Kaien witnessed the entire scene along with the rest of the class.

No one dared say a word. The teacher had already left, yet the tension remained. It worsened by the second.

"Even with those glasses, you're still so blind. I didn't copy from you, so stop saying stupid things,” Seira snapped at Shun, who then retorted, “I'm just stating the obvious. Because of you, I’m being punished. You’re the only one to blame.”

“I did nothing wrong! I studied really, really hard for this!”

“How would you explain our essays being so similar, then?”

“I… I don’t know! But I swear…!”

Shun snorted and cocked his head. “Let’s take that retest, then we’ll see how unsmart it is to lie.”