KNB: Stay Forever with Me (Kise Ryouta)

10 - Reward

TEN – Reward

“Two questions, and it talks about an aspect of my life. I am required to answer each question with a minimum of five minutes. Is that okay?” Sayoko plainly asked the blond teen opposite her, who in turn, showed a smile that was oozing of determination.

“It’s more than okay!” Kise replied enthusiastically, pumping his fist into the air. It was already the end of classes, and Sayoko decided that they would stay and study at the library for a short while for resources before going home. Kise is also there to stay at her apartment up until the exams end to keep a better eye on him.

She hushed him down, thanking that they were under special treatment. They are currently stationed behind the librarian’s desk, where Kise was studying at during lunch time. They were also under supervision of a student assistant. He was not Kuroko, but he agreed to keep an eye to people who potentially want to meet up with the blond model. They were practically untouchable; which was more than enough to make sure that Kise concentrates on his studying.

Sayoko handed over the sheet of paper that contained the problem set to her student. It had a total of 30 questions concerning Algebra. The deal was that he had to get 75% of the answers correct to ask two questions about any aspect of her life. He tingled with excitement. He’s been told that he had a vivid imagination and he doesn’t deny that. He started thinking about what her family, hometown, and her love life might be.

‘Seventy-five percent? It’s not that hard, right?’ Kise mumbled to himself, formulating questions that he would ask her later.

“Good luck,” Sayoko said one last time before she stood up and left him to finish the set. She was aware of the pressure of answering questions when someone is breathing down your neck, so she stayed elsewhere for the meantime. The student assistant was there to keep an eye on him, anyway.

She continued to stay at the library, sitting down at the empty chair nearby. He could still have a glimpse of Kise, so she could still monitor him. She could see him with his usual overconfident face as he jotted down answers to the paper. She only smiled to herself, thinking how impressive it is because he was trying too hard.

After making that ridiculous bet, he insisted on continuing to tutor him, even when his 15-minute break was not yet over. She refused, saying that she didn’t want to go against her word once she says it, throwing in a side-comment of his fickle decisions. She decides to get up and prepare snacks for them, only to go back to the kotatsu with him rechecking his answers from the previous problem set.

They then continued with their Mathematics session – with her asking him on the problems he encountered while answering the previous problem set. He identified it well, and he answered some of his own problems himself, which impressed her. ‘He was able to do something like that in a matter of minutes,’ she thought. They continued on with their tutoring session, with him forcing himself awake. He nodded with every point she said, but she wasn’t sure if his brain really absorbed the information or not. She would try to assess him with another problem set, but she figured to save them for tomorrow.

They studied for hours straight with the other subjects. At around 3 in the morning, Sayoko could already notice the signs of fatigue from Kise. It was probably because he was not used into doing these things. It was a result of his bad study habits, which was something the councilor wanted long gone. She decides to give him another break, but he continues to study. She got up and washed her face to wake herself for a bit. The councilor had come back, only to find out that her student was sleeping at the sofa, snoring slightly.

At that time, she wasn’t really angry or irritated at him for dozing off. She half-expected this to happen, but she still wanted him to pass, no matter what the cost. So, she approaches him and tries to wake him up. At first, she was a bit reluctant – he slept so soundly and peaceful. His head barely rested at one of the pillows, and his hands were infront of him. One of them is also holding unto a small textbook. It seemed that he was reading, and wanted to lie back and rest for a while, but ended up sleeping. Sayoko examines his face – his eyes were shut, but she could see some liquid on his eyes; caused by forcing himself awake. His breathing was stable, and that his lips were opened a bit, letting air in and out. His hair also covered half of his face, while some of the ends were stuck due to the saliva on his lips. It seemed rather attractive to her – to see this overconfident airhead to seem so peaceful yet so vulnerable.