And so begins a new chapter of a new story, I hope you all like it.

It seemed like any other day for Nishikata, he was sitting in class alongside his close friend and rival Takagi, though, there was a gloomy presence that penetrated the air around him. 'Every day, it draws closer.' He thought to himself. 'High School entrance exams.'

"Nishikata?" The girl standing next to him asked, causing him to jump slightly. "You seem ... uneasy."

"Really Takagi? Is it that obvious?" He asked. "Well even for one of the top ten in our grade, I bet you're probably just as nervous about the exams coming up."

"Oh, you mean the ones for highschool? I guess I'm a little worried about it."

"A little?"

"Yeah, I've increased the amount of studying I do per day a little, so I feel ... okay, still nervous." She admitted. "It's not really something many can feel confident about."

"Not true." Nishikata replied. "Lots of people can go in feeling confident if they don't know what's at stake."

Takagi laughed for a moment, then smiled at Nishikata. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. So any idea where you want to go for highschool?"

Nishikata shook his head. "I wish."

"Well you should probably get on that." She said as she gazed upwards. "I've managed to pick out a few, so I only need to narrow it down."

Nishikata glanced over at her as his insides began to go cold. 'Well, it's hard for me because every time I think about it, I have to think about the possibility of never seeing you again.' He turned to look back to where he was going. 'And that's a thought that I can't stand.'

They soon reached the school and began making their way inside as Nishikata began thinking about another issue he had to deal with. 'And of course, my parents are on my case about the whole thing, even threatening to take away my allowance like I don't know the stakes of these exams.'

They continued, changing their shoes, and reached the classroom without much difficulty. "Hey, Nishikata." Takagi began as they sat down. "So, when you do end up going to high school, do you plan on getting a girlfriend?"

"HUH?!" Nishikata asked. "A-a-a ... girlfriend?"

"What's the problem? You not into girls?"

"It's not that, it's ..." He blushed as he turned away. "Maybe there's a girl I like here."

"Hmm?" Takagi smiled. "If that's the case, then you had better tell her before it's too late."

"I'm ... working on it." 'It's not easy telling you how I feel Takagi.'

"Then again, maybe it would be best if you just waited till you moved to a new school. Everyone here knows just how easily you can get embarrassed from something as insignificant as an indirect kiss."

Nishikata blushed as he turned to Takagi. "I don't get that embarrassed anymore!"

"Oh?" She turned to him with a sly smile. "Care to prove it?"

He turned away again as his blush remained. "No, there's ... no point ... in proving something like that."

"If you say so."

The day continued onward for a bit, until a few hours later, when a bell sounded, signaling that it was finally time for lunch break, and for Nishikata to finally get away from Takagi's constant teasing.

'She's only teased me fifteen times so far.' He thought to himself. 'Maybe she's trying to think about those exams as well.' He soon caught up with the rest of his friends, who had also just managed to get to the table. "Hey guys." He greeted.

"Hey Nishikata." Kimura replied. Along with Kimura, these was Takao, and Hamaguchi.

"Hm?" Nishikata said as he looked around. "No Nakai today?"

"No." Takao replied. "He's eating with Mano while studying for entrance exams."

"WHY IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT THAT?!" Hamaguchi snapped. "Seriously, it's like I can't go two seconds without someone bringing it up, I'm stressed out about it enough."

"Easy dude, we all are." Nishikata replied. "But to think, it's coming faster and faster."

"Yeah, and I hate it." Takao began. "I've given my top three list to the teacher, and he said that I should think about it more. I think he doesn't believe that I can manage getting into any of them."

"And we only get one shot." Hamaguchi replied. "Unless you want to try and apply to a private school."

"Yeah, I don't think any of us are pulling that off." Kimura said as he began to dig into his lunch.

"My parents are really getting on my case about it." Nishikata began as he slumped in his seat. "They want me to get into a decent high school, or they'll take away my allowance and video games."

"But if you only get one chance, then wouldn't it be best if you tried to get into something you know you can get into?" Takao asked.

"THAT'S THE PROBLEM!" Nishikata shouted as he slammed his hands onto the table. "I need to increase my grades to the point where they think I can make it, so it's do-or-die time for me right now!"

"Man, I feel bad for you." Hamaguchi said as he began digging into his lunch. "Honestly, I'm thinking about getting a tutor, but all the teachers are already booked solid."

"A tutor?" Nishikata asked as his face brightened up a little.

"Yeah, it'll definitely give me an edge, the problem is finding one."

"A tutor." Nishikata began thinking. 'That could be just what I need, someone to explain things to me one on one.' An image of Takagi quickly popped into his head, but he quickly pushed it away. 'No, last time she helped me, she taught me things that were useless.' He paused as he thought back. 'At least, useless for that test, it did help later ... but that was probably just a coincidence.' He sighed and began eating. 'She's great at explaining things, she knows me well enough to teach me in a way that would help me the most, she would be the perfect tutor ... if she isn't already taken. The problem would be, how do I get her to actually help me, and not try and sabotage me?'

"You look like you're deep in thought." Kimura noted.

"Huh? Oh, I'm trying to think of who I can ask to help tutor me. Only person I can think of though ... didn't exactly help me the last time I studied with them."

"Well, if you're not going to have them tutor you, then tell me who they are, so I can ask them for help." Hamaguchi stated.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Takao began. "Imagen what Houjou would think if she saw you studying with Takagi."

Both Nishikata and Hamaguchi blushed. "How did you know!?" Nishikata asked.

"Who else could it be?"

"Uh ..." He turned away. "I ... guess you have a point there."

"You're probably just looking for an excuse to spend time with her anyway."

"I AM NOT!"

Hamaguchi sighed and went back to his lunch. "Takao's right, I can't ask her to teach me, I need to find someone else."

"Why not just ask Houjou to study with you?" Kimura asked.

"That's a great idea!"

As Hamaguchi cheered, Nishikata found himself thinking about Takagi again. 'An excuse to spend time with her? It might be the last time I ever get to see her ... unless we keep in close contact, but we've barely met up outside of school, and even then, it's mostly because of complete chance, so that's not a promising outcome. I mean I could just tell her how I feel and hope for the best but ... I don't have the courage to do that yet.' He let out a long sigh. 'But what I would give to actually study with her.'

He continued sitting there, silently eating lunch as his friends dreaded the coming exams until lunch came to a close, and everyone had to return to class.

The day had continued much the same, with Nishikata trying desperately to think of a way to get Takagi to spend time studying with him. 'It's the perfect situation, I get to spend time with the girl I like, and have one of the smartest girls in our school teach me. I'd gladly put up with any amount of teasing to do that.'

"Nishikata?" Takagi said from the seat next to him. "Come on, schools over."

"Oh, right." Nishikata collected his things and began following Takagi out of the classroom. 'How do I convince her to go through with it? Better question, how do I convince her to actually teach me and not waste my time?'

They continued walking out, with Takagi taking glances at him every so often as he was deep in thought. 'Damn, why does this have to be so complicated?'

"Nishikata?" Takagi began, catching his attention yet again. "You seem ... a different kind of distracted from this morning."

"I just ... have a lot on my mind."

"Does it have anything to do with highschool?"

"You could say that."

"Well like I said this morning, it's been bothering me as well." She looked up as a sad look entered her eyes. "We've made so many friends here, and it feels like we're not going to see them again for a while." She paused and looked away. "Or each other."

"Yeah." Nishikata replied half heatedly. 'I need to do it ... I need to ask her. I'd give anything, and that's just what I'll do.' He took a deep breath and stopped, causing Takagi to turn and look at him.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

'Come on Nishikata, you can't back down now.' "Takagi?" He began. 'Come on man! Just say it!' "I ... I ..." He took an even deeper breath. "I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT IF YOU HELP ME PASS MY HIGH SCHOOL ENTRANCE EXAM!"