Swallowtail: Mariposa Radiante

Academic Slumber Party

Swallowtail:

Chapter 9:

Academic Slumber Party

"Do you think he'll actually pay attention to me?" Miku asked as she looked up at Kaikane, an almost pleading look on her face. "I've been taking my studies seriously, I even got a 32 on a quiz this week."

"Yes, but it was a history quiz, and history is your strong suit. That in and of itself won't impress him. You have to pass something you find difficult, like math or science." he said, pulling a book from the shelf. He looked over the title, nodding to himself. "I've been trying to grease the wheels a bit these past couple of days but he's been hyperfocused on these exams, and I don't blame him."

The 3rd Nakano Quint grumbled under her breath, cursing the gods who created exams with every evil on the planet. Kaikane found it rather adorable, but he knew that wasn't going to get the desired results. "You remember what I said on the train back to Asahiyama? You need to be assertive."

"Assertive... yes I've been trying but he's been ignoring it."

"Then do something new. Don't just lean in close or use your breasts to wig him out. You need to be assertive in an academic way." the young man said.

"I see... so I should write polynomials on my boobs?"

"What? No!"

"Then what should I-" she was silenced by his finger, an expression of surprise on her face as she looked at him.

"Miku, you can't just do what your older sister does to seduce men. You might look exactly like her but you have your own charms. You have your shyness, your low tone, and your love of Japanese History. Those are your strong suits." Kaikane said, pausing to grab another book. "Have you played Dungeons and Dragons?"

"I have, several times with my sisters."

"Excellent, then you know how it works. Think about yourself like a DnD character, you need to do certain things to make certain checks. Right now, you have a low charisma stat, but you have a high intelligence stat. You got saving throws and you have your smarts. But that alone isn't gonna get you a D20."

"Okay... I think I understand now," she replied, giving him a firm nod. "I'll focus on certain stats and make sure I can get high rolls. When is it okay to roll for perception?"

Kaikane scratched his head, not knowing how to reply. He merely shrugged. "Depends on the situation. You could be in the right spot, or you could find a mythical sword inside a cave, get robbed by marauders, who then use said sword to steal the souls of a nearby town, forcing their duke to trek across the land in order to find the legendary vanquisher of demons. It's all up to RNGesus."

Miku tilted her head slightly, her brow quirked. "That... sounded strangely personal."

"I don't wanna talk about it. Let's just focus on schoolwork, we don't have much time before those exams start."

The pair started heading back to their table, where Futarou was sitting, pouring over some tests the girls had just finished. Ichika and Nino were missing, but Itsuki and Yotsuba were present. Kaikane set down the books his friend had requested, the man didn't even flinch. "Futarou, you doing okay?"

"Take a look at these and tell me what the issue is."

"Heh? Okay," he said, grabbing the tests. He looked them over, seeing the neat handwriting on it. Briefly looking at the name, he saw Itsuki Nakano written at the top. He looked through the questions, ignoring the correct ones in favor of looking at the incorrect ones. "Bubbles... did you seriously answer Louis the 14th for number 9?"