01x06 - The Former Couple Goes Head-to-Head 'Do You Think I'm Stupid?

[bunniefuu]

Yume-chan!

Let's go home!

Sorry.

I was hoping to stop by the study hall today.

Aw, really?

No sulking, Aki.

You'll make her feel bad.

And midterms start tomorrow, after all.

Maybe we should be the ones feeling bad.

I-I wouldn't say that

You took the top score

on the entrance exam, right?

I guess the defending champion

has to pull out all the stops.

Don't you, Irido-san?

Y-Yes

My Stepmom's

Daughter Is

My Ex

The Former Couple Goes Head-to-Head

"Do You Think I'm Stupid?!"

May

Midterms

Top score on the entrance exam.

A gifted student at the top of my year.

Midterms

This is where I belong.

It was my second year of middle school.

We'd just taken our first midterms.

For the first time ever,

I was bested on a math test,

despite it being one of my strengths

by a boy in my class named Irido Mizuto.

I was devastated.

So when it came time for finals,

I sacrificed sleep to study

more than ever before.

All in an effort to beat Irido Mizuto.

Fortunately, I was able to reclaim

my spot at the top of the class.

However, when I looked at him,

he seemed indifferent to the

way the teacher sang my praises.

He merely sat there,

staring blankly out the window.

I felt hollow.

Like I'd conjured up a rivalry out of thin air.

And yet

Do you like mystery novels?

I-I do

Now I get it. No wonder you

get such good grades in math.

Our rivalry wasn't all in my head.

He'd just been pretending

to look the other way,

when, in reality,

he was watching me all along.

And with that, for the first

time in my life, I fell in love.

Are you sure you've done enough studying?

Yeah, I think I'm ready.

Are you?

You act as though you're

taking a far easier test than I am.

This is why I always beat you.

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World

Kei Sazane

Ao Nekonabe

I wonder how good the seat

at the top of the class feels.

I'm afraid that seat is in

my name at the moment.

Then I'll just have to

reserve it for next time.

I see.

So you plan on getting

in my way again, do you?

I say go for it.

Your chances are slim at best.

Irido

You seem awfully tired.

That's none of your concern.

Is getting the top score

really so important to you?

Of course it is.

Getting the top score

on the entrance exam.

Staying at the top of my year.

These are the reasons my

life is the way it is now.

You wouldn't understand.

You're too busy pretending.

Living like you don't care about

anything or anyone around you.

A boy playing the lone wolf.

Work Diligently. Think Critically.

Strive for Excellence. Take Initiative.

Midterm Exams

Begin.

Well then

Midterms

That's the first day done and dusted.

According to my own grading,

at least I didn't do too badly.

Still

Japanese is one of his better subjects.

If he were to get full marks, six points

would be a significant gap.

That's assuming he gets full marks, anyway.

And right now, I have no way of confirming.

Why did you leave the last section blank?

There's no way you didn't know

the answer to these questions, correct?

I didn't have time.

I saw you stop writing ten

minutes before time was up!

Do you think I'm stupid?!

You're holding back so I can

get the top spot, aren't you?

Did you think that'd make me happy?

Don't be ridiculous!

What was all that talk earlier?

Are you implying that I'd lose

to you if you didn't hold back?!

Do you think I'm stupid?!

H-Hey What's the matter, Yume?

Did you really think it'd be

heroic of you to let me win?!

You're just belittling my intellect!

Like I can't win on my own!

I don't want a victory that's handed to me!

Stop!

Calm down, Yume! What's going on?

What gives?

Huh?

Getting the top spot is

important to you, isn't it?

You said so yourself.

So I left some of them blank.

What's wrong with that?

Oh no. Not you too, Mizuto-kun

Mine-kun!

It doesn't matter to me

if I come out on top or not.

Like you said, I couldn't care less

about what anyone thinks of me.

So I let you have it! Is that so wrong?!

It's not wrong.

It's just not right.

This isn't who you are.

Midterms

Forget it.

Our rivalry was all in my head after all.

It's pointless to dwell on.

Why complain when I have one less

person to contend with anyway?

If I'm to keep my new life as Irido Yume,

that top spot is my only concern.

You have no right to define who I am.

No one has the right to

define that for you either.

Say goodbye, dear little sister

to your precious life as a model student.

I think you meant big sister,

my dear little brother.

Work Diligently. Think Critically.

Strive for Excellence. Take Initiative.

Midterm Exams

Midterms

Midterms

Midterm Results

Midterm Exams

Top 50 Students

It'll be fine.

I'm certain I scored above 90

in every subject.

There's no way I didn't get first place.

Tanihara

Kuwabara

Yamashiro

Taniyama

Asuhain

Tanihara

Irido

Irido

IridoMizuto

IridoYume

Fire Hydrant

Hey, Miss Second Place.

I trust you're doing well.

Those questions you skipped on the Japanese

test were weighted pretty heavily.

You would've had to study a

lot to overcome that handicap.

Going to such lengths that isn't

It isn't who I am, you mean?

Didn't I tell you?

I wanted a little taste of

what it's like to be on top.

But I envy you.

Getting second place seems like

way less of a burden to bear.

Well, if you ever want your throne back,

there's always finals, Miss Model Student.

"Miss Model Student"?

IridoMizuto

IridoYume

AsuhainRan

Oh, that's right

I'm not the top of the class anymore.

Yume-chan!

What an amazing one-two

finish from the sibling duo!

You were so close, Irido-san!

I guess everyone meets

their match at some point.

I bet those two'll be neck

and neck for finals too.

This wasn't the reaction

I was expecting at all.

No doubt. They're basically

rivals at this point.

Not getting the top spot

No way, I think

Failing

What was I was so scared of again?

What's wrong, Yume-chan?

Now I see.

Nothing's changed at all.

The way they treat me, the way they

look at me It's the same.

All this time, I thought being at the top

of our year was what defined who I am.

But it never did.

What is it, Yume-chan?

It's okay, it's okay!

Second place is still super cool.

What Maki said! Cheer up, Irido-chan.

No, don't worry

These are happy tears.

Thanks so much, you guys.

Who else could do it but you?

I'm awkward and ineloquent

An introvert in disguise, desperate

to fool the world into thinking otherwise

And you're the only weirdo out there

warped enough to understand me!

When you do things like this, how

Just how on earth do you expect

me to live without you?

Library

Wednesday, June 1st

He's usually around here somewhere.

There he is!

Oh?

So you like that series too?

KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!

Huh?

My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex

Wednesday, June 1st

Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends

So, Higashira

Y-Yes?

What might you define as a friend?

Haganai:

I Don't Have

Many Friends

Say no more.

For this is one of the few topics

I, Higashira Isana, am an expert in.

I've never seen someone so

eager to define a word before.

This is definitely a first.

I mean, just think about it.

It all depends on where you

set the friend bar.

Consider my classmate on day duty who made

sure I turned in my homework this morning.

I could call them a friend

if I set the bar there.

Stop being arbitrary with the friend bar.

Conversely, say someone I'm

close to is getting bullied.

I could say, "Oh, we're not that close,"

and take the heat off myself!

Revolutionary, isn't it?!

I don't think someone like you will

be making friends any time soon.

But I consider you a friend, Mizuto-kun.

If you ever get bullied,

I promise to get bullied alongside you.

You wouldn't help? You're so unreliable.

Aw, I wouldn't go that far.

That wasn't a compliment.

Guess it's time to head home.

Yup.

Now then, Mizuto-kun

Could you put my socks on for me?

This again?

Don't be shy.

Higashira Isana is a friend of mine.

That said,

she's the first person I've ever clicked

with this much in my entire life.

I could also live the rest of my life and

never make a closer friend than her.

Hiya!

So you're headed out now too, Irido-kun?

Yeah, guess so.

I-It's a real-life extrovert, Mizuto-kun!

Did she just call him "Mizuto-kun"?!

Who's that there beside you?

Higashira Isana.

We met recently and hit it off.

I'm Minami Akatsuki!

I'm in the same class as Mizuto-kun.

Nice to meet you!

She's a little shy, so just try

to give her some space, okay?

It's rare to see you being

so protective of someone.

Have you already introduced

her to Yume-chan?

No, not yet.

Wait, what?

Wait up, Yume-chan!

Who's this "Yume" person?

My little sister.

Your sister?

Stepsister, actually.

Stepsister?!

Why'd you react more to the "step" part?

Why do I feel so uneasy?

Could I be jealous?

I'm not even his girlfriend anymore.

And besides

Siblings don't get jealous!

Irido

Here.

You want soy sauce, don't you?

Y-Yeah

That's my eraser.

My bad.

That's okay. It's my fault for dropping it.

School Motto

Work Diligently. Think Critically.

Strive for Excellence. Take Initiative.

Damn, I forgot it.

Here you go.

Huh?

You left your lunch at home,

so I brought it for you.

My stepsister's acting strange.

Strange? How do you mean?

She seems distant.

No

More like, I don't get annoyed

when we talk anymore.

Isn't that a good thing?

It is, but it isn't.

Why don't you just go and ask her yourself?

It's a thought.

You're quite the imbecile, Mizuto-kun.

If you ask me, you should trust your gut.

I'm sure you'll do the right thing.

Trust my gut?

U-Uh, scratch that!

I'm probably the least qualified

person to be giving advice

No, please continue.

I'll hear you out and decide

for myself whether I listen.

Each and every person has their

own set of criteria, right?

Criteria?

An ideal model for how they

want their life to be or to go.

When I feel that threatened,

I get all up in arms, you know?

People say I'm bad at going

with the flow, and that's why.

That's it! The flow!

I've just been going with the flow around her.

Huh?

Thanks, Higashira.

Talking to you really helped.

S-Sure

Also, it's important to know

how to go with with flow,

but you don't have to do that around me.

It'll be faster for me to just go with yours.

Th-Thanks for that.

This feels great.

Who would've thought just forgetting

about him would make life so much easier?

Huh?

Wha

What?!

Wh-What do you want?

Huh? What's this? What gives?

Wh-Wh-What are you—

The average human heart

beats once per second.

Yours, on the other hand,

is clearly beating twice that fast.

Does the sight of your mere stepbrother

wearing a different outfit than usual

really warrant your heart racing so,

dear little sister?

N-No fair!

So, why are you here?

I dislike the way you've been acting.

Huh?

The unreasonably calm, sincere,

and understanding attitude.

Talking to you lately doesn't

irritate me in the slightest.

Nary a sarcastic or snide remark.

You act like picking fights is beneath you.

It's infuriating on all accounts.

If something's changed for you,

I want to hear about it.

We're siblings, aren't we?

Listen, Onii-chan

What's up, Little Sis?

I think I'm jealous of that girl.

That girl?

You mean Higashira Isana?

Until the very end, I always

called you by your family name.

But she's already calling you "Mizuto."

The more I thought about it,

the less I liked it.

But we're siblings, so I don't

have a reason to be jealous.

So that's why

I get it.

Hey, can I ask you something?

What is it?

What bothered you so much about

me not being snide or sarcastic?

I don't know.

I didn't like you acting like what we

went through never happened, I guess.

The relationship I so badly wanted to forget

was the one relationship I would

truly regret forsaking.

You've always been able to articulate

what I could never put into words.

So, Onii-chan do you think it's

okay to get jealous over a sibling?

No way.

Getting jealous of your big brother's

friend is just plain creepy.

Hey!

But don't worry.

I've known you were a

creep for over two years.

You're the creep, Onii-chan.

Hey, now you sound like a real little sister.

Thanks for always hanging

out with Mizuto here.

I'm his older stepsister, Irido Yume.

Nice to meet you.

"Mizuto," she says.

Skipping the honorific to one-up her?

Not to mention that smile

You're gonna scare Higashira right

back into her shell, you know?

Yeah, r-right back at you.

Wait

D-Did I do something weird?

Hey

Just what kind of relationship

do you have with Irido-kun?

Huh?

W-We're just friends with similar interests.

Oh I didn't realize.

U-Um, am I missing something here?

Well, you see

My sister

was under the impression

that you had feelings for me.

H-Huh?!

Hey! Why'd you have to tell her?!

I'm just telling the truth.

He's ruthless.

Mizuto-kun.

This is the second time in my life

that I've wished I was born a boy.

The first time was when I got my period.

I yearn for a body that doesn't

bleed from the nether regions.

You're hearing this, right?

You really think a girl would talk

like that to the guy she liked?

That said, they sure seem

to get along, don't they?

And I was all set to help her out

if she was interested in him

You too, right?

Of course. Assuming

she was interested, that is.

Well, Mizuto-kun, I'm going this way.

Okay. See you tomorrow, then.

Right!

A-A-And a-also

F-Farewell to you too!

You did great.

So, Yume-chan

About what you just said

You're still game to help

Higashira-san out, right?

Huh?