A/N: Not mine.

"Um, Naoki-kun?" Kotoko's teeth worried her bottom lip while they waited for the bus to arrive.

"What is it?" he asked, offering a hand as the door opened.

"Jinko was talking about the tutoring you were going to give her and Satomi and me for the end-of-year tests, and some others wondered if they could join in."

He shrugged. "I can handle a few more with no trouble."

"Well, there's a little more than a few. Satomi passed around a sign-up sheet." Her hands trembled as he took the folded paper from her.

His eyes widened. "Did anyone in your class not put their name down?"

"There was one…"

"Let me guess: The Mouth."

Kotoko giggled. "That's a good name for him. Look," she pointed, "his two friends signed up too, after they came and apologized for what they did last summer. Of course, Jinko sort of made them do that before she'd let them have the list."

"Do you believe them?"

"They seemed sincere, plus they did sign up for extra classes."

Naoki sighed, "Okay then, I'll trust them until they give me reason otherwise. One thing's for sure: I can't do this myself. I'm going to have to call in reinforcements."

"All right," Naoki spoke, "is everyone who does not have their own phone or laptop seated at one of the computers?" Mr. Irie had permitted the tutoring group to use the large meeting room at Pandai headquarters on Saturdays and Sundays. Depending upon how long the subject required, they took either one or two days to get the students caught up before giving them an online practice test. "Okay, begin," he ordered.

While the students of Class F–and a few Class E stowaways–bent over their devices, he quickly conferred with his fellow instructors. "Based on their self-analyses at the beginning of these sessions, I'd recommend this breakdown for Physics."

The other three nodded at the lists before one queried, "Irie, why did you assign your girlfriend to Watanabe's group? I'd think you'd want to keep her close by." The others smirked at the comment.

"Kotoko is one of the more advanced of the students due to my earlier instructions. I'm going to have to start at the very beginning with these," he indicated the names under his, "and since I've already trod that road with Kotoko, it won't be as much of an effort as it would be for you guys."

"Okay," Watanabe agreed with a twinkle in his eye, "I'll keep my hands to myself."

"You'd better," he jibed back.

"Where are those guys?" Kinnosuke raged as he shook his phone. "Never can get them to pick up on the weekends. Oh, well, better go try my luck again for that job."

"Um, Kotoko?" Satomi and Jinko cornered her during a break in the Pandai restroom.

"Yes?" she said, while rinsing her travel toothbrush.

"Are you okay with having Watanabe as head of your group? You know, with how you feel about him and all?"

The other girl tilted her head in thought. "It's interesting," she mused, "my heart doesn't stutter any more around him. Maybe I'm over whatever it was."

"Does that mean Irie-kun has replaced him?" Jinko asked eagerly.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that." She grinned at the two of them. "It's different–I'm different–with him. I don't know," she waved a hand, "it's easier, I guess, with us being friends first."

"It looked a little bit more than friends at the festival," Satomi teased slyly. "Anything more you'd like to share?"

"Only if you want to let us know what you and Hatori-kun got up to last week when we saw you in Shibuya."

"Huh? What?" Jinko's head swung back and forth between them as if she was a metronome. "Who's Hatori?"

"Oh, was it a secret?" Kotoko mocked. "How does it feel being on the other end of nosy questions?"

"Hush, you," she chided, her cheeks pinkening. "He's one of the tennis players we met last summer. We chatted a bit after the festival and decided to go out. I would have told you," she assured an offended Jinko, "if it became serious."

Kotoko inspected her fingernails. "Looked pretty serious to Naoki-kun and me. They had their arms wrapped around each other and almost nuzzling noses. Ow!" She jumped back so that Satomi's smack barely hit her. "I'm leaving now," she called in singsong as she sped out the door.

"Why, you–!"

Satomi found her way blocked by her stockier friend. "Now, hold on right there, girl." She gave her a stern stare before relaxing. "To make up for keeping me in the dark, does this guy have any single friends?"

"This doesn't make any sense!" was the latest muttered complaint heard from the cubicle occupied by the coordinator for Classes D, E, and F. He stood. "Hakamada, Akimoto, Tanihara. Care to explain these grades? Because this isn't funny unless it's April Fool's and that's months away."

"What is it?" Yoshida, the Class D homeroom, physics, and math teacher inquired.

"Class F's average is higher than Class E's and almost to your level."

"What?" He snatched the sheet from his hand. "This can't be right."

"But it's true." Hakamada of the Class F faculty argued. "I've seen a steady increase in grades–almost across the board–for the past two months."

"Yes," Tanihara agreed, "but it started last spring, mainly with Aihara and Ishikawa, who managed to avoid summer school. Now everyone but Ikezawa has a good chance to pass their escalator tests."

"Aihara, Aihara." Sawada snapped her fingers. "That's the girl who's been seen with the Iries."

"Word has it that her family moved in with them after that house accident."

"Do you think she's cheating off Irie in some way?"

"How? Our test security is good. There's no way she snuck in any crib sheets."

"Maybe it was osmosis?" one postulated.

"That wouldn't account for her friend and the rest of the class. And, seriously, you teach history and language, so keep your nose out of science. Those X-Files reruns you watch on your phone during planning period should not be taken as factual."

"Well, it's not as if Irie was teaching them."

"Right," Tshushima, head teacher of Class A, affirmed. "My star student has better things to do with his time."

After the laughter faded, one person asked, "So why do you think that one guy's grades are stagnant?"

Kinnosuke, 'that one guy', was finding himself the sole proponent of the idea that allying with Class A in studies was treason.

"Look, it's our future," Nemoto pointed out.

"No, you look! We're Class F and proud of it." He pounded his chest, a bit surprised when that statement was not followed by a roar of approval. He continued, "We're the backbone of Japan, the hard workers, the ones who keep the country moving. And we don't need no stinking degree for that!"

Tomio stood. "Even if we don't end up in a professional field, a few college courses will still look good on a resume."

"Resume!" he snorted. "Like that lah-di-dah word's gonna get you anywhere in the real world. They're wasting their time daydreaming, ain't they?" He looked to his erstwhile friends for support.

Gintaro shook his head. "Me and Dozo've been going to those classes. Irie and his friends explain things a lot better than our teachers."

"Yeah," his friend put in, "they just lecture. Those Class A guys–and they're not bad when you get to know them–make sure you understand before starting something new."

Kinnosuke's mouth dropped open. "Guys! I can't believe my ears! C'mon, we gotta get you checked. Those bastards've brainwashed you or something."

A number of voices protested that assertion, one even cracking, "At least we've got a brain to wash!"

"Enough of that!" Kinnosuke's fist striking a desk (and knocking it over) brought a measure of silence to the room. "Now, I know those girls over there," he waved to where Satomi, JInko and Kotoko appeared bored at the proceedings, "have been swayed by Irie's pretty face, but Dozo," he grabbed his friend by the shoulder, "you know you're just going into your father's shop. Whaddya need fancy-schmancy schooling for that?"

Dozo shrugged off his grip. "And what do I need a friend who puts me down for? Maybe I will end up in the shop, but a couple business and accounting courses could help us expand. I know I won't end up with an empire like Irie, but if I can help better my family, I'm going to take the chance."

"Me too." Gintaro stood next to his friend. "Ever since we've been in the lower school, we've been told that we weren't going to amount to anything. Now we have a shot to prove all those people wrong."

"Don't try to stand in everyone's way, Kin-chan," another person joined them, "or you might get run over."

Kinnosuke gritted his teeth as he glared around the room. "So that's the way it is, huh? Well, I'll just show you what the common man can do!"

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when he stormed out of the room. "Now," Satomi snapped her compact closed, "what do you think he meant by that?"