The Devil Is Her Prince (Akabane Karma X OC)

CHAPTER 18: A LESSON LEARNT FROM MISTAKES, SCHOOL'S OUT/1ST TERM

Sakura:

These exams each of us takes separately, yet we still feel we are on the same boat with all these others.

Those we fight beside

Those we fight against

The cheers and jeers from the onlookers

This is almost like a roman spectacle...

'I won't lose. For the sake of assassination, and for my classmates, I'll stand victorious.'

We are assassins. And right now we're gladiators, too. Another day, another fight bell rings.

At a combined junior-senior high prep school, it's not unusual for junior-high students to start learning at a high school level in year 3. The fastest-paced subjects at our school are English, Math and Science.

But the same conditions apply to us all.

I'm confident that I'll do fine in all subjects. Except Math. 'Right. Karma-kun was suppose to help me. But after that night...' That doesn't matter now. I'll just have to do my best on this subject.

Two days of exams. Assassination, our wager-- everything was riding on how many circles we got. I do hope that we win.

Normal:

It was a day after the examinations, and the results had quickly arrived. Everyone in the E class was nervous when they see five envelopes in Koro sensei's tentacles. "Well, class, your scores in all the subjects have arrived."

The octopus can feel their nervousness and anxiety albeit their calm expressions. He finds Hime at the back, praying a lot with her eyes close which makes him want to calm the poor girl down. But he will soon enough, once he reports the results.

"Here goes. Starting with English:" An envelope is opened and he takes out a paper, reading its contents carefully. "First in the E Class and first in the grade-- Nakamura Rio and Mizuno Hime!"

The class was flabbergasted that the first victory goes to the E Class. Nakamura fans herself with pride whereas Hime feels less nervous. "Take that!"

"Phew! Thank goodness." They two girls stand up from their seats to take their test papers. "Perfect, you two. Though your motivation had a whimsical side that worried me, Nakamura-san."

"Well, there's a ten billion yen on the line! Don't forget about that tentacle, now, sir. We did it, Hime!" The blonde slings her arm around Hime shoulders with a big grin, Hime smiles along with her. "Y-Yeah, that's one down."

"Nagisa-kun, you put up a good fight, but you haven't kicked your habit of making spelling mistakes when it really counts." The papers were quickly distributed with Nagisa sighing at his clumsy mistake.

"Still, top marks in a subject mean that's one tentacle down. I'm not counting Hime-san just yet till the overall scores. Let's see if we have something to celebrate." He opens up the second envelope.

"Next up is Japanese: First in the E Class... Mizuno Hime!" Her azure eyes widens in surprise but Koro sensei cuts everyone up. "First in the grade is also you, but with Asano Gakushuu sharing the spot."

"A-A tie..." Hime mumbles as she walks to collect her papers. "A splendid job, Hime-san! You should be proud. Kanzaki-san, you did a wonderful job, and that's enough."

"Asano can really nab those points!"

"He's crazy tough! Nakamura and Hime only beat him in English by a point. Hime's tied with him in Japanese."

"That's the top of the nation for you. No chinks-- not in any subject."

"They're collectively know as the Big Five, b-but it really comes down to Asano-kun, isn't it?"