I was confused, but what she’d done was obvious enough.
She’d kissed me. Nanaougi had wrapped her hands around my head and stolen my lips.
“Stop…mmph…”
“Mmm… Just shush… Smooch…”
Nanaougi was working my mouth over with the help of her skillful tongue control.
It felt weird. Like she was invading my body and swallowing me whole. Our lips were locked, but in a way that made me feel like some larger force was dominating me.
I tried to fight, but her tongue was too sensual, and I couldn’t muster any strength.
The teachers were still in the next room over. I couldn’t risk making a sound.
The tension and titillation were frying my synapses.
I could feel the heat of my breath reflecting off her face.
“Mmm… Gasp!”
After a while, her moist lips reluctantly peeled away. After several seconds of frenching, Nanaougi finally released me.
“…Whew, did that feel good?” she asked, letting herself fold up against me.
It was almost like an embrace. I could feel the weight of her breasts pressing against my chest. A dangerous notion I couldn’t let myself dwell on.
“…Where’d that come from?” I asked.
I couldn’t exactly pry her off me, so I settled for grumbling.
“You were talking too loud.” Nanaougi sat up, putting a finger to her lips, shushing me.
She kissed me to keep me quiet? Couldn’t she just tell me to shut up…?
She put her arms around me again, this time so we could whisper in each other’s ears.
“Ren, don’t worry. Everything I told them was a lie.”
“…It was? I’m confused. What’s going on here?”
“Now, now. You’ll soon find out. Just…don’t paint me as the villain yet.”
I had my doubts about her, but I wasn’t trying to make her into a bad guy.
Was she friend or foe? Was she trying to stop us or not? I had no idea, so I wasn’t sure how to treat her. But complaining wasn’t likely to make her cough up any answers.
“Okay. I’d better get going before they notice anything.” She pulled back and got up, before dusting off her skirt. “Oh, right. Ren, you keep listening.”
“…Huh? Why?”
“Well… That’s hard to say. But judging from the looks on their faces when I left, I think you might hear something interesting. Later!”
With that, she turned around and slipped out the door.
Interesting how? Throw me a bone, here!
I felt like I was being made to dance on the palm of her hand, and I didn’t appreciate it. But if I left now, I might well bump into the teachers as they wrapped up their discussion.
I figured it was best to stay hidden until the coast was clear. I wasn’t sure what I’d overhear, but I might as well find out.
I leaned back against the wall and started listening.
I heard voices—the two teachers who’d stayed behind.
“…Argh, Ms. Ookuma, Nanaougi is a top-tier student. And her parents are donating a lot. I warned you not to brush her off.”
“I didn’t…”
“You did! Nanaougi could get into any college she wants, public or private! What if this affects her exam scores? You have to treat her with kid gloves.” He was trying to stay civil, but his tone was pretty overbearing. “At least pay lip service to her requests! The way you talk to her…it’s so disrespectful. Is that how you’d speak to the daughter of an aristocrat?”
“Well… If I treat certain students differently, it’s kind of…”
“Tch… I can’t believe you. Gimme a break. Are you even listening to yourself?” The male teacher clicked his tongue and turned aggressive. “This is a private school! Our reputation hinges on which universities our students get into. Of course we bend over backward for the students who are gonna bring us bigger profits! Get that through your thick skull!”
“……”
“Nanaougi’s a prize student. That’s why we let her dye her hair blue. And when she’s got problems, I get off my ass and hear her out. Got it?”
“…Sorry.”
I could barely hear Ookuma’s whisper through the wall. But it was clear she had some thoughts about the situation. Her voice shaking, she kept talking.
“Er, um. If you’ll excuse me, wasn’t this about reusing questions from the summer textbooks on our second semester tests? If we’d been doing things properly, the school wouldn’t be in a state of unrest, and Nanaougi wouldn’t have a problem.”
“Oh my god, you are driving me up the wall! How do you not get it?!”
“Get what?”
“Students attend the summer program for the advantage on those tests. Attending forces them to study. How is that a problem? Did I say anything wrong?”
“Um, no…” Ookuma’s voice was fading out again.
“First it was creepy doll heads, then that ridiculous itemized receipt, and now it’s test booklets. What a load of headaches. I keep telling you to get this sorted! Ms. Ookuma, you’re in charge of second-year summer lessons, right? Figure something out!”
“I’m doing what I can! I set up those patrols and everything!”
“And it didn’t stop a damn thing! I didn’t tell you to try. I told you to put an end to it! You’re not a student anymore!”
“S-sorry.”
“Students shouldn’t have any doubts about the summer program in the first place! We’ve gotta keep them convinced that all they need to do is keep forking over the dough. You’ve gotta tighten the reins!”
I was ready to punch the wall. Just what did he think we students were here for? The things he was saying were completely inappropriate for a teacher.
“Ms. Ookuma, you need to hurry up and get this under control. For the midterms, make up your mind whether you’re going to rework them or talk Nanaougi into agreeing to go forward as usual. You hear me?”
“Make up my mind? How…?”
“Think for yourself! I know you’re from a third-rate college, but you should be able to manage that. What a moron.”
I heard the classroom door open, then slam shut, followed by someone stomping down the hall. It seemed the head teacher had stormed out.
…Was this what Nanaougi had wanted me to hear? I’d rather have stayed in the dark. The whole thing was deeply unpleasant. My stomach was seizing up. I felt queasy.
I wanted to run right back to Kurumi…but I couldn’t. It would be too risky to go back into the hall before Ookuma left.
Fine. Guess I’ll have to wait her out.
Just as I steeled my nerves, I heard a soft voice. It was barely audible, but it echoed strangely loud in my ears.
“Sniff… Mmm…hahhh… Urgh…”
Moaning? No. That was the wrong word. Even I knew what kind of sound this was. And that was probably why it felt so loud.
“Unh… Sniff… Ahh…wahhhhhh…”
She was crying. The head teacher had made Ookuma cry.
“Urgh…augh… Ahhhhhhh…”
She was trying to be quiet, but she was sobbing her eyes out.
Lots of other sounds mingled into the sobs: paper falling to the floor, a hand slapping a desk. I could hear her stamping her feet.
“I know damn well who’s in the wrong here…,” she muttered.
Her tears carried on for a while longer. I was stuck listening to her cry.
I didn’t know the first thing about Ookuma. But I could clearly imagine her scrunched-up, tearstained face. The pain in her voice was just that vivid.
After a while, the door opened. Her footsteps as she headed out were soft and weak, nothing like Nanaougi’s or the head teacher’s.
“……”
Before I knew it, I was leaning out the door, staring after her.
A tiny figure was trudging down the long, empty hall, vanishing into its depths. I could see her nice suit and her long, wavy hair, swinging forlornly.