What Does Yui Really Like?

In the tense exam hall, Kotomi lay peacefully on her desk, sound asleep.

The gentle rise and fall of her breathing clearly conveyed just how soundly she was sleeping, and the sight left every top student around her on the verge of breaking down.

Yuuma Matsutou was nearly seething with frustration, his blood pressure spiking to the point where he almost blacked out, feeling an inexplicable urge to cry.

This was just too unfair! While everyone else was here battling their exams tooth and nail, furiously scribbling answers for fear of running out of time, she had the nerve to be… napping?

Where's the teacher? Someone needs to do something!

Even the students sitting right next to her couldn't hide their shock. They'd come to expect Kotomi's habit of turning in her papers early, but this… this was next-level exam hall mastery.

Kotomi! At least give us a little dignity! You could have doodled on the scratch paper or something!

"Sigh…" Hiratsuka Shizuka couldn't help but press a hand to her face, though she understood Kotomi's academic level. Does she really have to flaunt it this much?

Shizuka left the podium to patrol the rows, making her way over to Kotomi's desk to gently wake her up.

As she approached, a cool breeze drifted in through a slightly open window. Instinctively, Kotomi shivered slightly in her sleep.

Shizuka hesitated, then immediately closed the window. All thoughts of waking Kotomi vanished as she quietly reminded the students nearby, "Please, keep the window closed. She's a bit sensitive to the cold."

Sensitive… to the cold?

The students sitting nearby almost broke their pens in frustration.

It was September, and far from being cold, the weather hadn't even shown any signs of autumn yet!

Also, was this woman really their proctor? Aren't proctors supposed to wake up students sleeping during exams? Or was Kotomi getting special treatment because she was so cute?

Well… she was very cute.

Seeing her innocent, childlike expression as she slept so soundly, an unbidden urge to protect her arose.

Sleep well, sweetheart. Don't let yourself get too tired; mommy's here for you.

Kotomi was blissfully unaware that her sleeping face had earned her a growing number of "mom fans" right there in the exam hall.

Shizuka couldn't bring herself to wake her, opting instead to drape her light jacket over Kotomi. She carefully brushed a few snowy strands of hair back behind Kotomi's ear, the gentleness of her actions shocking Seiko Kirigiri as she thought: Is this even the same teacher?!

The students from other classes didn't know Hiratsuka Shizuka's usual strictness, but they were also thrown by how Kotomi was being treated with such care.

What on earth could Kotomi's background be? The daughter of one of the school's major shareholders? Or maybe the principal's relative? Or even some rich heiress?

Or, perhaps… Hiratsuka's secret girlfriend?

Theories of Kotomi's mysterious identity began to spin in every top student's mind.

The bell signaling the end of the exam finally rang. After collecting the papers, Hiratsuka announced the students were free to go home.

Relieved, students cheered silently, welcoming the chance to finally unwind after a long day of exams.

"Wake up, Kotomi. Time to wake up," Yukino gently nudged her friend, rousing her from her sleep.

Kotomi opened her eyes groggily, stretching with a satisfied yawn before wiping away a little bit of drool from the corner of her mouth.

"Are we done?"

"The papers have already been collected," Yukino replied.

Seiko Kirigiri, who had walked over, laughed in amazement.

"You're incredible! From now on, I'm calling you Queen Kotomi! I mean, you're the only person in Japan who can sleep in an exam hall and have a teacher who not only doesn't wake you but actually closes the window and gives you a jacket! You have to share your secrets; I want to try it too tomorrow!"

"Jacket?" Kotomi had known she'd drifted off to sleep after breezing through the exam, but what was this about a jacket?

Did Hiratsuka really put a jacket on me? If she's not using my neck as a grip strength test, that's already a miracle!

Still not entirely awake, Kotomi shifted slightly and finally noticed the light jacket draped over her shoulders. The faint fragrance clinging to it filled her mind with all kinds of blush-worthy thoughts.

Wait… this jacket… it looked familiar.

"Well, finally awake, are we, my little genius?" Shizuka came over, amusement playing on her face as she took the jacket off Kotomi's shoulders and put it back on herself.

"This… this jacket was yours, Sensei?!" Kotomi was startled.

So Hiratsuka Shizuka, the proctor, had actually given her a jacket while she was napping during the exam?!

Kotomi instinctively reached up to touch her neck. It was thankfully still intact, untested for grip strength.

Noticing the movement, Shizuka couldn't help but chuckle.

"Do you all see me as some kind of one-punch proctor?"

"Oh, no, thank you, Sensei, for the jacket."

"Just remember, there's still one more set of back-to-back exams tomorrow. Try to stay awake this time, alright? Give the other students and test creators a little dignity—while they're fighting tooth and nail to finish, you're here treating it like nap time."

"Heh…" Kotomi gave a sheepish laugh.

"Alright, you three, head on home. Club activities are paused for today and tomorrow, so get some rest."

"Yes, Sensei. Goodbye."

Kotomi, Yukino, and Seiko left the 1-A exam room together and were greeted by Mashiro Shiina, Megumi Kato, and Yui Yuigahama waiting for them down the hall.

"Kotomi, how did the exams go?" Shiina asked, reaching her side first.

"Not too bad. How about you? Did you finish all the questions?"

Shiina tilted her head slightly and said, "The scratch paper Sensei handed out… it didn't feel very nice for drawing on."

"That paper is for solving problems, not drawing on!"

"Huh… is it?"

Shiina tilted her head with a puzzled look, as if she'd just realized the paper's intended purpose for the first time.

"When you took the exam, did you know how to do all the questions?" Kotomi replied, finding Shiina's reaction both adorable and baffling.

"I'm not really sure... but I filled up all the blank spaces with words," Mashiro Shiina replied, her tone flat.

Hearing Mashiro's response, Kotomi couldn't help but worry about her grades. Mashiro seemed to spend most of her time and energy on painting rather than her studies.

Every time Kotomi looked back during class, she'd usually find Mashiro focused on sketching in her notebook. And because Chihiro Sengoku had explained Mashiro's situation in advance, most teachers pretended not to notice her drawing, just occasionally giving her a light reminder.

But then again, perhaps there was no need to worry about Mashiro's grades at all. Her true strength lay in her art, and as long as she focused on the field of fine arts, her exceptional skill would undoubtedly lead her to a successful graduation.

Due to the exams, club activities had been suspended for two days, which left Kotomi a bit disappointed. She had finally worked out her ideas for painting Twilight Sky: Sunset, but now, she'd have to wait.

She could picture it clearly—a beautiful portrait of Mashiro Shiina standing in the golden hues of the sunset, her hair glimmering in the amber glow.

Kotomi was sure it would make a stunning piece.

At the school's entrance, Mashiro Shiina parted ways with the others to find Chihiro, who always escorted her home. Someday, maybe Chihiro would teach her how to take the train by herself.

Yukino Yukinoshita left first since she lived in the opposite direction, and Yui had to hurry to pick up Yuika from Hanamaru Kindergarten, so she left as well.

Seiko Kirigiri was waiting for her sister, Hibiki, so once again, it was just Kotomi and Megumi Kato walking home together.

"Before you came out, Yui mentioned to me that she found the questions quite doable this time. She said your tutoring helped her a lot. Otherwise, she wasn't sure she'd even be able to pass," Megumi remarked, bringing up the topic with a gentle smile.

Kotomi laughed. "A teacher can guide you, but progress really depends on the effort of the student. Yui's improvement isn't just thanks to my help; it's because she took the time to focus and genuinely review the material."

"Is that so?" Megumi mused. "I'd never have thought she'd be the type to study that hard."

"When she gets serious about studying, she can get a lot done. She breezed through practice exams, even figuring out part of a tricky question from higher-level material."

Kotomi was well aware of how diligently Yui had been studying lately. So, no matter what Yui's final results were, Kotomi planned to give her a nice reward as encouragement.

But what kind of reward would Yui actually like?

Kotomi wasn't entirely sure.

A cake?

No, that wouldn't work. Yui had already said that unlike most girls, she wasn't particularly excited about cake anymore. Growing up in a family bakery had its downsides, after all.

Apparently, after her mom tested a new recipe and it didn't go as planned, Yui ended up eating only plain cake for all three meals one day.

So, if not cake, then what did Yui actually like?

Unable to come up with an answer, Kotomi decided she'd ask Yui's mom, Tomoka. If Tomoka had any helpful suggestions, she could use them to plan a little surprise for Yui after the exams.

When she got home, Kotomi had just kicked off her shoes when she noticed her younger sister, Aimi, arriving right behind her. The third-year junior high student's schedule wasn't all that different from her own.

"Onee-chan, how were your exams today?" Aimi asked, removing her shoes and revealing her feet snug in soft white socks.

"Pretty good, I'd say. I might even get a perfect score on all subjects," Kotomi replied confidently.

"Ha! Yeah, right! If you score above 85 in a single subject, I'll be impressed," Aimi shot back with a smirk.

Kotomi's less-than-stellar performance in middle school exams was well-known.

Of course, if anyone dared to mock her sister over her old grades, Aimi would be the first to step up and shut them down—usually with her fists rather than words. A true defender of her sister's honor.

"Just wait and see!" Kotomi grinned. "I'll shock you once my grades come out."

Seeing her sister's confident expression, Aimi couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. Even though it was hard to believe Kotomi would actually ace all her exams, she sincerely hoped her sister's hard work would result in some marked improvement.

"If you say so. Well, keep it up, Onee-chan! One more day to go. Maybe you'll manage a 90 on one of your tests!" Aimi gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Ninety?

Forget ninety—she was determined to show Aimi just how wrong she was. In fact, she had changed her mind about being modest with her scores; she now wanted to score full marks across the board!

Most people would try to stay low-profile, but Kotomi had other ideas. She was going to go all out.

She imagined herself as a giant mecha charging into battle, unleashing ultimate moves right from the start.

Speaking of heroics, she was thrilled to learn that this world also had the classics—Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, and even Godzilla.

In her previous life, she'd been killed by that truck before she could buy the Z Riser or Dx Ark Drive, not to mention the Ark Driver. But with next month's manuscript royalties coming in, she would finally fulfill her inner hero dream and buy them all.

With this new goal in mind, Kotomi knew what she had to do.