Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I own no rights to Gravitation or any of the characters, and never will, except in alternate universes entirely of my own creation. The plot is original though, and I therefore fully exercise my right to force them to do whatever I want by embellishing it. (glomps Hiro)
Author's Note: Here it is – the exam! And chapter seven. I didn't say this in the previous post, but thanks to all the readers who were patient with me even during my inexplicable absence. To any of those who actually read this further – thanks again! Keep the reviews coming, and enjoy!
CHAPTER SEVEN: THAT (DAMN) EXAM
"Matsumoto-san!" Morihiro said brightly as Shuichi entered the room. "Are you feeling better?" he asked as Shuichi took his seat. "Because you seemed really out of it yesterday…"
Shuichi shot the other boy a wan smile. "A little," he said, truthfully.
The truth was, he was feeling better. Partly because he'd taken Hiro's advice – albeit slightly reluctantly – to relax the day before, and also because this time, he'd had the foresight to go straight to Tohma to tell him that he didn't want K escorting him to the exam. This hadn't been so much a request as a kind of battle of politeness between the two.
"Why, Shindou-san?" Tohma had raised a blond eyebrow.
"I'd just prefer it if I could go alone," Shuichi had replied, matching Tohma's politeness with newfound ease.
This had seemed to unsettle the older man a little, although any feelings of unease had been quickly concealed as Tohma had schooled his features into the serene smile that he habitually wore.
"Certainly, Shindou-san," he'd agreed, to Shuichi's slight surprise. "I'll inform him immediately…"
"No, it's fine, Seguchi-san." Shuichi's tone could have made honey envious. "I'll let him know myself. However, I do want him to pick me up afterwards. So he can bring me back here." He was referring to Tohma's request that Shuichi come straight back to the N-G building after the exam, to let Tohma know his results in person. Apparently, the results were quickly tallied and given after all the participants had taken their exam.
"That will be fine," Seguchi had replied with no small amount of grace.
"In that case, please excuse me, Seguchi-san," Shuichi had said demurely. "I must return home to practice some more before the exam."
"Certainly, Shindou-san," Tohma had replied. "Oh, and Shindou-san?"
Shuichi had turned. "Yes, Seguchi-san?"
"Good luck," Tohma had said sincerely.
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Shuichi
had been slightly surprised to realise it, but K's absence had had
a startlingly positive effect on him. Without K's Magnum-friendly
threats or the way he naturally attracted attention, Shuichi had
found it easier, during the journey, to slip into the role of Kiyoshi
– quiet, well-mannered and polite. He had even managed to go over
some of the things he'd learned on the way there, and had felt far
more relaxed than he had in days.
"Where's Makiguchi-san?" Shuichi asked. He and Mori were the only ones in the room. The two were always there before him, and Shuichi had come to assume that they arrived together.
"Oh, he's coming separately today," Morihiro replied. Then he glanced at Shuichi's pale features. "You do seem to be feeling better, Matsumoto-san," he remarked. "Yesterday you seemed really…"
"I know," Shuichi replied heavily. "I just want to get this exam over with,"
"Why are you so stressed about it, though?" Morihiro's eyebrows drew together. "I mean, no matter how you look at it, it's just an exam."
Shuichi squirmed uncomfortably. "Well, I just –"
He was, thankfully, saved from speaking further as the door opened and Ryoma stepped into the room.
"You're unusually early today, Matsumoto," he remarked as he came over and sat down. "Still feel like you're going to drop dead?"
"Ryoma," Morihiro's tone was laced with disapproval. "He's just worried about the exam…"
Ryoma sniffed. "He doesn't need to be," he told Morihiro. Then he leaned over, addressing Shuichi. "Sensei thinks you're one of the best students in class."
This surprised Shuichi. "How do you know?"
Ryoma just shrugged in response. "I can tell," he said mysteriously, fiddling with his tie.
Since he didn't seem willing to elaborate further, Shuichi didn't bother pursuing the subject. Ryoma and Morihiro launched into a conversation, which Shuichi was grateful for, since all he had to do was nod a few times here and there to show that he was listening. As they spoke, the other two students stepped into the room, and at four on the dot, the door opened. Shuichi turned, expecting to see the familiar figure of Yamahata-sensei step into the room. Instead, an unfamiliar woman stepped into the room, holding a clipboard.
"Kuno Katsuhito-san, Makiguchi Ryoma-san, Matsumoto Kiyoshi-san, Nishio Eizan-san, Yamaguchi Morihiro-san, please follow me to the exam room on the second floor. Your exam will take place there." She waited as they all got to their feet, and then led them out of the room, down the stairs and into the exam room.
The exam room was far bigger than their normal classroom, although it more or less contained the same things. There was a large dining table at one end of the room, set for five people, and one section of the room was set up to look like a formal living room, where a party might be taking place. In the middle of the room, there was a long white table behind which three examiners – one of them Yamahata-sensei – were seated. Opposite them was a lone chair, and on the other side of the room, there were five chairs – presumably the waiting area. The waiting area had been arranged in such a way that it was impossible to see or hear anything that was going on where the examiners were seated. The woman led them to the waiting area where they took their seats with varying degrees of nervousness. She then instructed them to wait, and left the room.
This seemed to be some kind of cue for Yamahata-sensei, who joined them as soon as the woman left. "You will take the first part of the exam individually," she informed them. "When your name is called, you are to walk to the examiner's table, greet the examiners, and take your seat. You will be given a short interview. Marks will be given or deducted based on how you walk, sit, stand, and, of course speak.
"The second part of the exam is to test your dining habits. You will all be served the same food, and marks will be given or taken away based on how you conduct yourself while eating."
Shuichi shuddered involuntarily at the thought of being monitored while he ate. Yamahata-sensei didn't seem to notice; at any rate she continued as though she hadn't.
"The third part of the exam is to test your interaction skills. You will all be tested on how you interact with other people and how adept you are at holding conversations. You will not just be mingling with each other; several more people will be joining us for that stage of the examination. I would like to wish you all good luck, and please come forward when your name is called. Also, please do not speak or make any noise while you are waiting for your turn. Remember – a gentleman is a gentleman at all times." With that, she left them.
Shuichi's stomach was churning uncomfortably at the prospect of what looked like a very long exam ahead. Beside him, Ryoma was looking straight ahead with an unreadable expression on his face; Eizan looked decidedly more relaxed, lolling back in his chair and humming a tune to himself. What seemed like several eternities went by before the woman who brought them there returned.
"Kuno Katsuhito-san," she announced.
Katsuhito, his expression even more unreadable than Ryoma's, got to his feet. There was a pause, broken by a distant murmur of voices.
Shuichi wasn't sure how long the interview took; he didn't have a watch and didn't dare ask anyone the time. Kuno didn't return after the interview, and the woman returned, this time for Ryoma. He left the room looking completely at ease, even winking at Mori as he disappeared.
Although Shuichi didn't have a watch, he estimated that Ryoma's interview took more or less the same time as Ryoma's. He tried going over the handshakes he'd practiced with Hiro in his head, but his brain seemed to have turned to putty in his skull. All he could think about was that it was his turn next, his turn, his turn…
The woman emerged again.
"Matsumoto Kiyoshi-san," she announced, looking directly at Shuichi.
Shuichi got to his feet, trying to ignore the fact that his legs appeared to have turned to jelly, an icy feeling was trailing up and down his spine, his intestines felt like they were twisted around his stomach, and that one of Nittle Grasper's songs was playing in his head.
It was time.
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To say that the tension in Tohma's office was palpable would have been the grossest of understatements; tension hung so heavily in the air that one could practically cut it with a knife. Hiro had always thought of the room as large, but now it seemed almost unbearably small. He felt a strange mix of restlessness and exhaustion at the same time. He wanted to move around, but didn't dare to do so in case it irritated the other inhabitants of the room. He wished he had something to do, like playing the guitar. Beside him, Suguru looked equally uncomfortable, his usually calm features twisted with worry.
Had it been a normal night, Hiro would already have been home, maybe watching TV or eating a late dinner and waiting for Shuichi. However, in light of the fact that Shuichi was getting his results immediately after the exam, Tohma had decided to summon the other two members of Bad Luck to his office, along with Sakano, to await the verdict. He'd done so after K had left to pick Shuichi up, and had just received a call that he and Shuichi were on their way back. When Tohma had asked about Shuichi's results, K had said he didn't know, and that Shuichi was only going to tell Tohma once they reached the office. Tohma hadn't seemed very surprised by this. Currently, Sakano was leaning against the opposite wall. Instead of his usual worrywart antics, he was merely clutching a now-empty Styrofoam cup of coffee, staring at it determinedly as he picked at the edges. Even Tohma appeared slightly concerned; he wasn't in his usual position behind his desk, but was standing in front of it, leaning against it slightly with his hands crossed.
Hiro estimated the time frame for what seemed like the billionth time. The place was fifteen minutes away from the N-G building. K had called – Hiro checked his watch again – twelve minutes ago. By right – including trivial things like elevators and so on – the two should be here any…
The door opened and Shuichi, flanked by K, walked in, holding a manila envelope in his hand. Hiro tried to discern the verdict from his best friend's face, but Shuichi's expression was completely unreadable. Hiro tried to catch K's eye, in hopes that Shuichi might have revealed something – anything at all – to him, but K just shrugged slightly in response. Hiro was completely clueless. Had Shuichi passed? Had he not? On one hand, Shuichi would never be able to be so poker-faced if he'd accomplished something like passing an exam. On the other, he didn't usually take an hour to finish a burger either…
The tension in the room mounted considerably as Shuichi wordlessly handed the envelope to Tohma in an elegant manner. The blond president seemed slightly surprised by this, but accepted the envelope.
It seemed to take forever for Tohma to slit the envelope open. His hands were remarkably steady; Hiro had balled his into fists just to keep them from trembling. A document spilled into Tohma's hands, and he quickly held it up and read through it…
Hiro waited…
Suguru waited…
K waited…
Sakano waited…
Tohma, however, gave off no sign as to what he was reading was good or bad. He seemed to take forever to read the contents of the envelope. Then he looked up at Shuichi, both their expressions equally unreadable…
