It was the night before exams and Satoru was doing everything but studying. He would’ve gone to bed but he just wasn't tired yet. Satoru figured he would send Kanato a quick message, assuming he would still be awake. 

“I know it’s probably too late but don’t stress yourself out too much. I’m sure you’ll do just fine. You always get the highest marks in class,” he sent.

As expected, Kanato didn’t respond, though he hoped that Kanato at least read his message. 

He waited a little while before he was too tired and eventually fell asleep. 

The next morning he woke up, not feeling any particular sense of urgency like most would on exam day. He went about his routine as normal. 

Though the same couldn’t be said about Hiroto who showed up at his house much earlier than usual.

The fact that Satoru was still in the process of getting ready just about made him pull his hair out.

“Don’t you know what day it is!?” Hiroto said, trying to do whatever he could to help Satoru get ready faster, “I know you don’t really care about exams, but still..!”

Satoru just shrugged, “I don’t really see the big deal. We have plenty of time. It’s not like we have more time by arriving early.”

Hiroto sighed, “that’s not the point! Now hurry up! I’m not trying to take any chances.”

Satoru waved his hand dismissively, “yeah, yeah. Relax, we’ll be fine. I’m almost ready to go anyway.”

With Hiroto’s assistance they were able to arrive at school on time. To their surprise they saw Kanato running into school, barely put together. His hair was haphazardly thrown into a ponytail and his shirt was hardly buttoned up all the way.

Kanato didn’t even spare the two a greeting as he quickly changed into his indoor shoes before bee-lining it to the classroom. 

This behavior from Kanato wasn’t normal. Usually he would’ve been sitting in his seat already, flipping through his collection of flash cards preparation for their exams.

He was scrambling to get into the classroom to get himself ready.

Satoru wanted to ask what was wrong but he figured that he would wait until they were done with their exams for the day, the last thing he wanted was for Kanato to freak out more than he already was.

Kanato was digging through his bag, grabbing out all of the materials he would need. Satoru saw that Kanato’s jaw was clenched tight and his leg was bouncing up and down non-stop. Satoru couldn’t help but feel bad seeing how much pressure was put on Kanato, causing him to work himself to the bone. 

After a few minutes their teacher came into the classroom, bringing their exams. Once all of the papers were passed out their teacher gave them the okay to start. 

Going into the test Satoru felt the answers flowing from his hand, he figured it was all the studying he did with Kanato over the past few days. He could tell that he was doing much better than he was in the past. Satoru hoped that Kanato was breezing through all the questions as easily as he was. Though knowing Kanato there would be no doubt that he would achieve a high score.

After a long day the first round of exams wrapped up. They still had two more days but with at least the first day over and done with, Satoru felt some weight lift from his shoulders. Though the same couldn’t be said for Kanato. 

His shoulders were slumped and his eyes were unfocused as he stared at the ground. 

Satoru knew that couldn’t mean anything good. Typically after exams were over Kanato tended to look more relaxed but this time around he just looked defeated. 

“How did the first round go?” Satoru asked with a smile.

“I studied for so long last night yet my mind was blank. I felt like I was grasping at straws the entire time,” Kanato said, rubbing his eyes. 

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sure you’ll still get one of the highest marks in our grade. You always do.”

Kanato didn’t reply and quickly packed his bag before leaving the classroom in a hurry.

Satoru was slightly weirded out and wanted to chase after Kanato but decided against it. 

He would just have to ask Kanato about it once exams were over. No use trying to talk to him when he’s so overwhelmed. 

The next few exam days passed and each day Kanato looked more and more dejected. By the time the final day of exams rolled around Kanato looked so exhausted, like he had the soul sucked right out of him. 

Once all of their testing was over Satoru placed a hand on Kanato’s shoulder, “is everything okay? You’ve been looking pretty worse for wear these past couple of days and I’m worried about you.”

Satoru felt Kanato tense up and he started to shake, eyes turning red and watery.

“I failed. The past few days have been bad but today I wasn’t able to answer a single question, no matter how hard and long I stared at it.” He sounded so broken, not like he usually is, all full of energy.

“I don’t know how I’m going to face her… I was able to avoid her punishments for so long. I thought she was finally starting to be proud of me. I don’t know what to do Satoru…”

“Hey, it’ll be okay. If you don’t know how to face her then don’t. Just come stay at my place for a bit. I want you to feel safe,” Satoru said, helping Kanato get his bag packed up. 

Kanato took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. At first Satoru thought he was going to protest but he never did. 

Satoru gathered all their things before heading out of the classroom with Kanato, making their way towards the school gate to head home for the day. 

When they arrived back at Satoru’s apartment he took off his shoes and threw his bag and blazer on the couch.

“Alright tonight you and I, my friend, are going to relax,” Satoru said to Kanato with a wide smile.