In October, the autumn wind in Tokyo wasn't particularly cold, but Sumire felt the wind was burning hot. Yeah, that's right—it was definitely not her face burning with fever.
Everything was because of the conversation that just happened…
"What is Sensei talking about? Why do I feel like I don't understand?"
"Stop playing dumb. You just want to use blackmail to force me into doing those inappropriate things, right?!"
"Huh? Sensei, are you being a bit too narcissistic? Honestly, a flat frying pan is better than a small fried egg. There's just no way to stand up."
"!!!"
"..."
"You... you... you're insulting me!"
"No, I'm just telling the truth. If you really want to stand up, well... maybe with a little effort, it could happen, but no matter how you look at it, it's too forced and meaningless."
"You jerk!!!"
Next, Sumire completely lost her temper. Furious, she grabbed Shuichi by the collar and demanded to know if he was looking down on her, daring to deny her charm as a woman.
"If you're not forcing me into doing that, then what exactly are you talking about? Today, if you don't explain yourself clearly, you're not walking out of here standing!"
"?!? Teacher, this is a crime. Even if you're desperate, you can't go down that irreversible path."
"Bastard!!! Is that what you think I meant?!"
"Alright, alright, not exactly, okay?"
"What kind of tone is that? Unbelievable! You better explain yourself clearly right now!"
"I already said it before—it's about COSPLAY. I just want you to cosplay some characters."
"I knew it! It's those outfits with barely any fabric, those provocative poses, right?!"
"Uh... no, not at all."
"Then what kind of characters are we talking about?"
"Teacher, do you believe in anime?"
…..
...
Shuichi looked at Sumire, who was facing the wall in self-reflection, pretending to be an ostrich. Holding back his laughter to the point of stomach pain, he recalled Naomi Hajime's miraculous intervention earlier and said with a sigh:
"Teacher, is your brain out of control again? Are you replaying that embarrassing scene over and over?"
Right now, Sumire wished she could dig a hole and bury herself in it. She had assumed that Chiba was about to do something wicked to her.
But in the end... He. Didn't. Even. Find. Her. Worth. Looking. At!!!
It was like running into a flower thief, only for the thief to look utterly disgusted, snatch her wallet instead, and commit the most basic form of robbery.
"Uh, don't be upset. Life isn't just about this one moment, you know?" Shuichi comforted her.
"..." Sumire's face was full of grief and indignation.
"How about this? What if I make a truly unreasonable request? Would that make you feel better?"
Shuichi walked up to Sumire, placed a hand on her shoulder, leaned in close, and gently exhaled against her ear.
"Actually, Sensei, your long legs are quite attractive. I'm really tempted. Can I take a good look?"
However, after being teased multiple times and just now suffering another humiliating blow, Sumire didn't believe a word of it. Her ear merely tingled from the breath against it, so she turned her head away.
"No need to force it. Doing this against my will is meaningless. Well, I guess it's not too hard to accept… This is probably just how my life is."
Sumire looked utterly dejected, completely oblivious to how intimate their current posture was.
She was standing under the transom window—the same one she had just used to spy on Shuichi playing games. Now, she was being held by her own student, his arm draped over her shoulder, their faces nearly touching.
Shuichi kept pulling at her boundaries, over and over, gradually tearing apart her sense of personal space and distance.
"Really, Sensei, don't be so discouraged. When one door closes, another window opens. Sure, a flat chest might be a little unfortunate, but long legs? That's something plenty of girls would kill for, isn't it?"
"No need to comfort me. I was just too full of myself. Honestly, at least half the reason I'm still single is because my legs are too long and I'm way too tall."
Sumire sighed, thinking to herself—Kitagawa was right. Her judgment was never wrong.
Chiba wasn't some kind of pervert. He was just someone with a twisted sense of humor who enjoyed messing with her!
Why on earth had she lost her head just now? She completely forgot Kitagawa's assessment and ended up overthinking the whole situation, making up all sorts of weird scenarios in her mind—and she even said them out loud!
This is beyond humiliating!
"It looks like I really have to take action today to restore Sensei's confidence." Shuichi sighed and pulled her into his arms.
Sumire's entire body stiffened. She felt like a kettle brought to a boil, steam practically rising from her head.
"Y-You! Let go of me right now! Or I'll get mad!"
"Sensei is really beautiful… truly." Shuichi buried his face in the crook of her neck and took a soft inhale. "You smell really nice… I think my heart just skipped a beat."
"I'm serious! I'll really get mad! Let go!" Sumire was on the verge of losing her mind. How did things end up like this?!
"Alright, alright…" Shuichi sighed and released her.
The moment he did, Sumire bolted like a startled rabbit, vanishing in a flash.
Shuichi didn't seem disappointed at all. Instead, he simply called out to her retreating figure, "Sensei, don't forget—you need to become her!"
Sumire didn't reply. She stormed off, steam practically rising from her head, never looking back.
Shuichi chuckled to himself.
That strict and serious teacher of his… was actually kind of cute. The contrast made it all the more interesting.
Making her flustered just made things even more amusing.
Shuichi pulled out his phone and called Uchida. "Come back, Sensei's gone."
"Whoa! Chiba, when did you become so competent? Nagase-sensei couldn't do a thing to you!"
"Cut the crap and get back here to watch the storage room. I need to head out for a bit."
"For what?"
"Lunch."
"Hah? Lunch is with me! Where are you gonna eat?"
"I forgot—I actually brought my own bento. So you can have both meals."
"Again?! Last time, that curry nearly killed me…"
"You're at the age where you should be eating more. Just deal with it. Hurry up."
….
After successfully tricking Uchida into watching the storage room, Shuichi headed to the school rooftop to have lunch with the Akiyama sisters.
When he arrived, An was already there, but Tsuki hadn't shown up yet—probably off rinsing her mouth in the restroom.
An tugged at Shuichi's sleeve with two fingers. "Chiba-kun, I have something to tell you."
"Another confession?" Shuichi asked without even looking up as he spread out the picnic mat.
"Mhm, mhm, mhm." An nodded eagerly.
"Alright, go ahead." Shuichi paused and turned to look at her.
"Huh? Not right now. I wrote you a love letter and put it in your shoe locker. Don't forget to check it later, okay?" An reminded him with a blank yet serious expression.
Shuichi didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. "You know, love letters are supposed to be a surprise. Don't spoil it for me next time—let me find it on my own."
"Oh, okay! I'll do that tomorrow then." An nodded seriously, clearly not the brightest.
"..."
"By the way, I mentioned a few things in the letter, so don't forget to reply, Chiba-kun!" She reminded him again.
"What do you—" Shuichi had just started to ask when he suddenly heard Tsuki's footsteps approaching.
An immediately scampered over to the half-spread picnic mat, sitting down as if nothing had happened.
Tsuki took one look at them and instantly sensed something was off. She stepped forward and crossed her arms. "What were you two up to?"
"Nothing, nothing!"
This time, An remembered her past mistakes—her eyes didn't dart around, and she kept her head perfectly still.
But then, she suddenly wrinkled her little nose and sniffed the air, a puzzled look crossing her face.
Something smells… strange.
She was sure she had smelled this scent somewhere before.
.
.
.
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