Improvement Outweighs Failure

Shiori’s name was listed at the very bottom of the board. The overall score she had received was fifty-two percent.

“At least that’s a little better than what she got on the test I made…”

The crowd parted for Kurosawa as she made her way to the board. “Seventy-one… not terrible, but that’s too close.”

Yuta stared at her. “Kurosawa, don’t tell me you’re only studying to go on the beach trip.”

“O-Of course not! Athletes have to have good grades to stay on the team, that’s all. If I was excited about the beach, I would go on my own.” She crossed her arms and stalked away.

Hitomura chuckled. “She’s definitely studying for the beach trip. I know a tsundere when I see one.”

Yuta ignored Hitomura’s comment and turned back to the board. “When I gave Ozaki the custom mock exam, she scored a forty-four, so a fifty-two is not a bad thing to see. Though, I will have to speed things up if she is to get a good grade on the exam.”

Hitomura squinted at the scores. “The class average is roughly seventy-nine percent. Nearly half the class got lower than a seventy.” He fell to his knees. “My dreams will never be realized…”

“If you’re that upset about not being able to see the girls in bikinis, just go to the beach on your own time.”

“You don’t understand, Yuta!” Hitomura grabbed him by the shoulders. “The girls at the beach are always too old or too young! None of them are waifu material!”

“I don’t care what you do, as long as you don’t involve me in any of your girl chasing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to study before class starts.” He left Hitomura in the hall and walked into the classroom. He pulled out his phone to text Shiori.

‘Could we meet at your place tomorrow night?’ He sat down and waited for her reply.

‘Why not tonight?’

‘I promised my sister I would cover her shift.’

‘Okay. Why at my house?’

‘We need to be somewhere quiet. The restaurant will likely be busy tomorrow.’

A long pause preceded her response. ‘Does eight o’clock work?’

‘Yes. See you then.’ He pocketed his phone and opened his history textbook. “I’m sacrificing my own grade to help someone else’s… imagine that.” He shook his head. While the missed point deeply bothered him, Shiori’s mother paid him for teaching her.

Shiori entered the classroom shortly before the bell rang, reading the book she had bought during the shopping trip the week before.

Yuta wondered how she hadn’t finished it yet. She had it open almost all day every day. By the looks of it, she had read through the majority of it, but still had several pages to read.

…

The next day, Yuta stood in front of Shiori’s house at the appointed time. He knocked on the door, preparing himself for her overprotective mother’s hostility.

Shiori’s mother answered the door with a smile. “Ichikawa-sensei, thank you for taking your job seriously! I heard about Shiori’s grade on the mock exam. That’s the highest score she had gotten in a while!”

He couldn’t tell if she was being passive-aggressive or not. “It’s nothing, Mrs. Ozaki. If I didn’t take my job seriously, I wouldn’t be offering my services.”

“Come in, come in.” She stepped back to allow Yuta inside.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but is it just you two living here?”

“Yes, it is.” She narrowed her eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

“I was just curious, since I’ve never seen anyone else here.”

“If you must know, her father died in an accident.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Was it the same one Ozaki was in?”

Shiori’s mother sighed. “So she told you about that…”

“If she hadn’t, I might not have been as helpful as I have been. She told me the story when I visited her in the hospital.”

“Enough about the past, I’m sure Shiori is waiting for you.” She led him down the hall and opened the door to Shiori’s room. “Shiori, your tutor is–”

Shiori sat in front of the coffee table, staring at a monitor. Her face was bright red, and she didn’t seem to notice her visitors. The computer wasn’t there the last time Yuta was in her room.

Her mother took note of the scene. “Shiori… what are you doing?”

Finally, she realized the two people standing in her doorway and jumped. “I’m just playing a game… someone got me…”

“What kind of game?”

Yuta piped in to spare Shiori the explanation. “It’s an otome game, or in other words, a dating sim geared toward a female audience.”

She turned her attention to him. “Were you the one to get her this game?”

“No, not at all. I’m not interested in games. Someone else did.”

Shiori shrinked back. “It’s really nothing bad…”

Yuta approached the computer to see what had made her blush so hard. On the screen was an image of one of the male characters hugging the heroine from behind and whispering something in her ear. The text on the bottom of the screen made him cringe.

‘Did you really think you could steal my heart and run? They say an eye for an eye, but in this case… a heart for a heart.’

“That is the worst pickup line I have ever heard.” He turned to Shiori. “You actually like this?”

Her mother cleared her throat. “As long as it’s nothing harmful, then I can allow it. Remember, Ichikawa, you’re here to tutor her in academics. Nothing else.” She closed the door behind her, leaving Shiori and Yuta alone.

“What are we going over today?”

“Math. That was what you struggle with most, so I decided we should take some time to focus on that. You’ve been improving, but not quick enough.”

She hung her head. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be. Just focus on your achievements, not your shortcomings.”

Before he could begin the lesson, Shiori’s phone rang. “One second...” She answered it. “Hello? Yes, that’s me…”