Room 52

This is the overall fifty-third chapter of You-Zitsu manga series.

Summary
Kiyotaka wonders what comes to mind when the term 'special exam' is mentioned. He believes that it is a term usually associated with a written exam or a sports event. However, exams in his high school, on the other hand, were not that straightforward. The most recent was a game of wits vs. lies in which the students were thrown against each other while the other was about surviving on a deserted island. Such examinations had lasted all throughout their summer vacation, but finally they had earned a break from all that.

He was waiting for Karuizawa while sitting on a bench. Kei came a few seconds later and apologized for keeping him waiting so long. He also apologizes for depriving her of part of her time. She tells him it doesn't matter because she didn't have much to do on vacation because she had spent so many points having fun, and she was relaxing in her room. Kiyotaka tells her that she should get a lot of points next month because she managed to keep the fact that she was the VIP hidden during the last special exam. She admits that she is uncertain about what to do with all of the points and wonders if it was okay to spend the points she got through the exam. She then asks why the school would give so much money to high school students.

Changing the subject, he mentions that there is something he wants to ask of her. Karuizawa asks her if he should first apologize for calling her on such a hot day. Kiyotaka improvises and gives her a bottle of tea. She accepted it even though it was lukewarm. He tells her that the swimming club pool was available and some of his friends wanted to create good memories of this vacation. Karuizawa believes that they only had perverted ideas if they were planning to go to the pool. More importantly, she wonders why he told her about it in the first place. Kiyotaka inquires if the school knew about her past. She reminds him that she doesn't like to talk about it. He explains that it was necessary for him to know because it had to do with what they were going to discuss. After hesitating a bit, Karuizawa replies that she doesn't think the school knows about her bullying; at most, the school should only know about her unexcused absences. Her high school didn't want to acknowledge the bullying either; whenever she tried to ask for help, they just pretended everything was fine. Still, in a way, she was grateful to them for covering up her past since she could be enrolled in this school and have a new start. Kiyotaka replies that as much as he wanted to praise her, it was also not okay to bully others to avoid being a victim. Karuizawa understands his point and promises that she will be more careful in the future. He assures her that if she is attacked again, he will do whatever it takes to help her.

She asks if this was his true personality. Kiyotaka replies that there is nothing different about his attitude, but Karuizawa doesn't believe him. He asks her to tell him what the difference is between her current self and her usual self. She thinks that he is usually someone who is quite gloomy and doesn't talk much. However, now he was someone who was more assertive and eloquent. Kiyotaka reckons that it's just a matter of who he's talking to. He muses inwardly that if he had to give a reason, it would probably be that. However, he admits that his personality only started to form after he enrolled in this school. Back on topic, Karuizawa asks him why he mentioned the pool before. Kiyotaka explains that tomorrow Ike, Yamauchi, Sudō, Sakura, and Kushida will go to the pool, and he wanted Kei to go as well. She expresses disgust at the idea. He argues that she can't refuse, since it was something he had already decided. He hands her a paper note to read. Seeing the note, Karuizawa comments that this will cost her a whole day. He clarifies that even though he asked her to join them, she didn't have to accompany them. After reading the note, she ended up with a headache. She wants to know why she didn't ask Suzune since they were both close. Kiyotaka informs her that he can't tell her because he still didn't trust her. Besides, she was already serving as her cover and doing a splendid job. Karuizawa asks if he was just using her. He admits that. She accepts his request and comments that she at least likes being someone trustworthy. With this matter resolved, Kiyotaka asks her to come with him for a while. Karuizawa assumes that she won't be able to refuse it either, and so she agrees. The two walk away together.

Characters
In order of appearance:
 * Suzune Horikita (Visual)
 * Takurō Morishige (Visual)
 * Kōji Machida (Visual)
 * Shigeru Takemoto (Visual)
 * Kiyotaka Ayanokōji
 * Kei Karuizawa
 * Kikyō Kushida (Visual)