Everyone laughed for a long time because of this, they scrambled to stand up, terrified that Sawada Tsunayoshi's excellent character would lead him to give them a princess carry as well.
After returning, Matsuda Jinpei laughed for a long time, thinking that Sawada Tsunayoshi was too naive to realize that others were just teasing him.
Sawada Tsunayoshi lowered his eyes, looking at his own hands. "I just happened to possess the power to help others, so I want to help my comrades and classmates to the best of my ability. I don't want to let them face suffering alone; what if they truly need help?"
As long as there is one person who truly needs help, I happen to have the power to help, then it's not a waste; I think it's well worth it.
Can he not see that others are joking, that they are teasing him?
He could tell, because children on the fringes are just that observant of people's expressions.
But, it's still the same old saying: what if? What if he was wrong?
I used to think, back then, if only there had been someone willing to help me.
Now that he has power, he can no longer stand to see these things.
Matsuda Jinpei heard Sawada Tsunayoshi's words clearly. The smile on his face gradually faded, in the blink of an eye, he thought of many things.
Being forced into duty by classmates and then receiving no help during times of hardship—his middle school life must not have been pleasant.
What was he just saying!
Waking up in the middle of the night, Matsuda Jinpei stared blankly at the moon outside, cursing himself for being so damn foolish!
From then on, everyone treated Sawada Tsunayoshi even better; they would save him a seat, bring him food, make sure to include him in everything they did, making certain that he truly experienced what normal classmate friendship felt like.
Therefore, Sawada Tsunayoshi discovered with surprise that starting from a certain day, various snacks would begin appearing on his desk, Furuya Rei would tell him various tips for living alone, Hiromitsu would come to talk to him about seasonal fashion outfits, Hara Kenji would tell him all sorts of jokes, Matsuda Jinpei would find him to watch movies together, Date Wataru would give him all sorts of little trinkets.
Sawada Tsunayoshi cherished this hard-won cross-world friendship, so he was also twice as kind to everyone.
Then, seeing Sawada Tsunayoshi's sincerity, they treated him even better, twice as much as before.
It sounds a bit confusing, doesn't it?
But that was the most sincere feeling between them.
Date Wataru wiped away some sweat and found a clean place to sit down. "Haha, vacation is coming up soon, so we can finally go out. Do you guys have any plans?"
Hiromitsu dazed for a moment: "I haven't decided yet. For now, I plan to focus on reviewing, I'll decide what to do after the exams are over."
Hara Kenji said lively, "I've made plans to go to a mixer with the neighboring vocational school. Lots of classmates want to go; are you guys coming?"
Matsuda Jinpei cracked his neck, making a series of popping sounds. "You think everyone is like you? I'm not going. I'm going back to get some proper rest, Hiromitsu, don't you worry either; with the classes we're taking, isn't it something we could learn even with our eyes closed? We could pass just by taking a random test."
Hiromitsu: "I just want to be absolutely certain."
Furuya Rei nodded. "Even though it's all relatively basic knowledge, one still shouldn't let their guard down."
Matsuda Jinpei: "Fine, fine, fine, you're all right, I'm the only one who's wrong."
By the way, Tana.. uh, what's wrong with you?
At some unknown point, Sawada Tsunayoshi, who had once been able to handle any kind of devilish training with composure while working hard at cleaning, now had a face full of tension, dilated pupils, trembling legs.
Because he knew one thing deep down.
Exams were his lifelong enemy.
Chapter 51: Conan Live Day 12
"Tsu?" Matsuda Jinpei shouted.
The others also saw the exhausted Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Hiromitsu asked, "What's wrong? Are you tired?"
Ahahaha, it's nothing, it's nothing, I'm not tired." Sawada Tsunayoshi wiped the cold sweat from his face and asked, pretending nothing was wrong, "That exam, was it really not difficult?
Matsuda Jinpei said casually, "Of course, with that kind of knowledge, how else could they test you?"
He casually mentioned a knowledge point: "At most, it's only this level of difficulty. It's quite simple, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Sawada Tsunayoshi felt even more guilty.
Furuya Rei stared at him for a long time before suddenly saying, "How could I have forgotten this? Tsunayoshi, can you help me recall the answer?"
After speaking, he stared at Sawada Tsunayoshi, not letting a single expression on his face escape him.
Sawada Tsunayoshi remained silent, forcing himself to say, "I can't think of it right away, let me think."
Matsuda Jinpei gave Sawada Tsunayoshi a mocking punch on the shoulder. "Haha, you blond bastard, so you have your day too! You can even forget such simple knowledge; watch out, next time I'll snatch your number one spot. Tsunayoshi, tell him the answer."
Sawada Tsunayoshi didn't say anything, only murmuring, "Let me think."
They all noticed something was wrong, even Matsuda Jinpei noticed Sawada Tsunayoshi's tension.
Sawada Tsunayoshi remained silent.
Sawada Tsunayoshi thought.
Sawada Tsunayoshi lost.
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent, Hara Kenji stepped in to smooth things over: "That last one was a bit obscure, I didn't react to it in time. I'll switch to a simpler one; everyone will definitely know this one."
He shared an even more basic piece of knowledge.
This time, Sawada Tsunayoshi had a bit of an idea, but not much; he was the type who knew he had studied it, but no matter what, he couldn't remember it and couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.
He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again, remaining silent.
He just looked at everyone with wide, watery eyes, feeling guilty, his fingers interlaced as he explained in a small voice, "Actually, I don't think I've told you all, but I've always been very bad at studying."
It was more than just being bad at it; he was being incredibly vague. Even if Reborn were standing right in front of him, staring him down with those sinister eyes and threatening him with his terrifying combat prowess, he still wouldn't be able to solve those problems.
It's not that he simply doesn't know how.
It's not that he's an idiot; Sawada Tsunayoshi just isn't interested in boring knowledge points and can't concentrate.
He remembered every single one of the various special moves taught by the Port Mafia boss and applied them with precision.
Finally, Reborn was at a loss for words, merely looking at him with that unfathomable gaze: "Should I call it talent, or is it destiny?"
In any case, the more composed he was in the physical training room over the past month, the more distressed he was with his studies. Most importantly, he had never seen any of the knowledge taught at the police academy—things like counter-surveillance precautions, a hundred and eight little tips for bomb disposal, interrogation essentials, all sorts of secret codes; studying them left him feeling dizzy and disoriented.
Furuya Rei and the others finally realized the gravity of the situation; the police academy did not allow failing grades—one had to at least pass.
Hara Kenji asked, "Then, little Sawada Tsunayoshi, how much confidence do you have that you can pass the exam?"
Sawada Tsunayoshi didn't dare look them in the eye, saying softly, "Less than ten percent."
To say too much would be embarrassing, as it would be quite awkward to say he had no confidence at all.
Hiromitsu exchanged a few glances with them, a gentle, water-like smile spreading across his face. "It's alright, you might just be overthinking it. How about this? Furuya Rei and I will put together a practice exam for you to try. You might be much more capable than you imagine."
Date Wataru laughed and said, "That's right, that's right, don't lose heart just yet. It's late today, so we'll try it tomorrow. We have plenty of time over the next few days anyway; the instructor specifically gave us time to prepare for the exam."
The group locked the door and headed out, remaining silent the whole way.
After returning to the dormitory, Sawada Tsunayoshi hurriedly pulled out his books, intending to pull an all-nighter to study in hopes that his scores tomorrow wouldn't be too terrible.
A minute later, he widened his eyes and focused intently.
Ten minutes later, Sawada Tsunayoshi's head nodded repeatedly, his vision blurring.
After twenty minutes, he had already slumped over the table, sleeping blissfully.
When the first rays of the new day's sunlight shone in and hit his face, Sawada Tsunayoshi let out a whimper. Oh no, he hadn't studied at all last night.
Soon, the five of them agreed to meet in his dormitory, bringing an exam paper with them.
Furuya Rei said, "This is a practice exam I compiled by combining previous years' school papers with my own thoughts and conclusions. I'm certain its difficulty is about eighty percent similar to the actual exam. Give it a try first."
The time is the same as the actual exam. We'll head out first so we don't disturb you.
Only Sawada Tsunayoshi remained in the room. He looked at the questions on the exam paper as if he were looking at the most unfamiliar stranger, unable to find a single trace of familiarity.
The books were right beside him, but they hadn't taken them. He stared blankly at the questions, scratching his head from time to time, ruffling his already frizzy hair until it looked like a bird's nest.
It was as if the book didn't even exist.
A long, long time later, Sawada Tsunayoshi let them in; he had already finished.
As the chief examiner and the contributor of 70% of the exam questions, Furuya Rei naturally bore the responsibility of grading the papers.
The tip of his nose brushed against the paper, making a crisp rustling sound, Sawada Tsunayoshi's heart pounded wildly, like a prisoner awaiting sentencing.
Soon, in less than three minutes, a newly graded exam paper was fresh out of the oven.
The massive score of 27 was incredibly conspicuous.
Sawada Tsunayoshi lowered his head in shame.
Furuya Rei looked serious as he made the final decision: "Let's start the tutoring."
Say no more. Each of the five people took responsibility for a section they were most proficient in, stepping up one by one to tutor Sawada Tsunayoshi.
One day has passed.
At night, Matsuda Jinpei was doing pull-ups frantically on an outdoor bar, his mind blank as he relied purely on muscle movement: "This is terrible. I'm almost unable to recognize those knowledge points anymore. Could it be that I'm really that incompetent?"
Date Wataru was doing push-ups frantically, sweating profusely: "Impossible, impossible, I've already explained this at least six times. Why am I still making mistakes? Is it my problem, or the problem with the questions?"
In the room, there was the unable-to-laugh Hara Kenji, the unable-to-warm Hiromitsu, the persistent Furuya Rei.
Sawada Tsunayoshi felt a bit guilty: "Or maybe just forget it. Everyone has worked hard enough already; I'll just leave it at this."
No!" Furuya Rei rejected him outright. "You can't just give up on yourself; I'm still persevering. Besides, you've already made great progress; you'll score at least 30 points on this exam.
Hiromitsu was also trying to persuade him, "That's right, Kenji. You can do it. We all believe in you."
Hara Kenji also let out a sigh of relief: "It's fine, just think of it as a review. I believe I can do well on this exam."
Furuya Rei continued, "My teaching methods have issues too; I might not have explained things clearly enough. I'll improve them. It's fine, there are still several days before the exam."
Sawada Tsunayoshi had just finished a set of test questions and was told he could take a break; he slumped over the desk, feeling lightheaded.
That's even more exhausting than fighting your way through Byakuran's headquarters in a single night.
Matsuda Jinpei came back, plopped down in a chair, asked curiously, "How did you used to study for exams?"
He was truly curious.
The police academy is actually quite difficult to get into; the requirements for both practical and theoretical knowledge are quite high, he is certain that Sawada Tsunayoshi is not the type of person who takes shortcuts.