“Is it just me, or has Kiryu changed lately...?” one of them whispered. “Feels like she’s nicer than she used to be. I think I dig it.”
“Right?” another replied. “It’s like she’s more approachable than before...not to mention super cute! Huge tits too!” Yup, good work, guys; that’s exactly the sort of background chatter you’d expect in a scene like this! A+ exposition! Bonus points for keeping it juuust quiet enough that they can’t hear you!
Some folks would probably be upset, of course. Her scary, prickly nature was definitely one of her distinctive traits—they’d probably argue that abandoning that and turning her into more of an ordinary girl was a betrayal of her character. They’d say that being an ever-composed, solitary ice queen was her whole appeal.
I probably would’ve been right there with them just a little while back. Between her long black hair and the overall image she put out, I thought I had her pegged from the get-go. It took me a long time to realize that she was, well, a person. And looking at her from that perspective, of course she’s a more appealing character this way. She actually looks like she’s happy now.
“You really are something, Kou.”
“Huh? Kaito?”
“Ah, y’know, just sorta popped into my head, seeing Kyouka act like this.”
“How she acts has nothing to do with me.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Kaito shined one of his usual profoundly meaningful, profoundly handsome smiles my way. C’mon, Mister Hotty Hot-Stuff, use that on the girls, not me! They’d fall for you in a second! Some of the girls already had their shipping-sails half unfurled, and if I were as hot as him, they’d probably be chattering about who’s the top before I knew it. Kou/Kaito... Makes me shudder just thinking about it.
I looked over at Kiryu again, and our eyes happened to meet. She let out a weird little grunt of surprise as if I’d just poked her or something. Then she pursed her lips tightly and stared at me in total silence. I returned her gaze, also silently, but in a more confused sort of way.
Kotou fidgeted excitedly next to her, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. She was trying to instigate something, no doubt about it. What’s going on here, and what can I do about it? Do I wait for her to say something, or do I seize the initiative and steer the conversation in a different direction?
For some reason, my mind jumped to Ayase Hikari. To the girl who’d told me she loved me mere moments before I erased myself from her memories. I didn’t understand why she would come to mind at that particular moment, and I didn’t have the time to think it through either. It feels like I’m—like we’re all always on a time limit, and that limit’s never long enough to give us the chance to properly think our decisions through.
“Okay, people, let’s get homeroom started!” shouted Daimon-sensei as she walked into the classroom. “Hmm? Why’s everyone so quiet?”
Pretty much everyone—both the students who’d been there since the beginning and the ones who walked in mid-conversation—was focused on us (well, on Kiryu, really). The atmosphere was totally silent and a bit strained, but Daimon-sensei’s entrance finally eased a bit of the tension and let everyone relax.
Not to say that she couldn’t read the room or anything! It was actually time for homeroom to start, just like always. I hadn’t quite registered how tense things were, but as the atmosphere returned to the status quo, it felt like time had started flowing once more. I heard more than one person sigh simultaneously and figured they’d been holding their breaths. Kiryu and I were included in that group, incidentally.
Throughout all of this, Daimon-sensei just looked confused. “What’s with you kids today...? And hey, Kotou, this isn’t your class! Get outta here!”
“Ah, right!” Kotou squeaked. Considering the bewildered look on Daimon-sensei’s face, she’d probably realized how weird things were in the classroom, but she drove Kotou out anyway. That was the end of the whole incident. We all sat down at our desks, and the morning went back to normal in an instant.
What was Kiryu about to say, though? It had to be something about the night before, right? From her perspective, a mysterious middle-aged man barged into my house and kissed me out of nowhere, I chased after him in a rage, and that was the end of it. Of course she’d be curious. If I were watching a movie and it ended on a scene like that, I’d be beside myself with curiosity and go far out of my way to see the sequel as soon as possible.
Kotou getting involved, however, was pretty out of left field. It threw my analysis of the situation into chaos—no matter how hard I tried, I could never quite understand that girl’s eccentric mindset. Trying to analyze her type is a waste of time and effort. Yoshiki Yuu fell into the same category, and for that matter, Kazuki Rena qualified solidly as well. Why are there so many of them in my social circle, anyway?!
Meanwhile, the quiet buzz of whispers continued.
“Y’know, I think I might go for Kiryu after all...”
“Dude, for real?!”
“She was totally looking at me a minute ago, I swear! I’ve got a shot!”
That last one came from right behind me. The little show she put on stole the hearts of some of my classmates, I guess. Asking her out, though? I’d never even considered the idea...because I’d never do it. Ever. It’d be ridiculously abrupt, not to mention insane.
In the end, my only option was to wait and see what happens. They do say good things come to those who wait, after all. I was fond of that expression—it drove in the fact that this was a world in which sleeping on your problems was entirely acceptable. What an easy world to live in, right?
In short: I’mma sleep now. Send all further correspondence to [email protected].
“Oh, and Kunugi-kun? See me in the staff room after class.”
What a shame; I was too asleep to hear my (eternally single) teacher’s words. Zzz.
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Not that it matters, but if you’ve ever crossed your arms on your desk and used them as a makeshift pillow, doesn’t it get really hot and muggy when you breathe into that space? The way the moisture builds up on the surface of the desk is pretty gross too, and it’s just fundamentally not a comfortable way to sleep. It’s like sticking your face—and only your face—into a particularly humid sauna.
Breathing in a sauna isn’t easy, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who always starts feeling like leaving long before I hit my heat limit. I bet that if you could do something about how hard it is to breathe in them, saunas would be a lot more popular across the board. Like, I genuinely believe that.
“But that’s only how I feel about ’em, of course. You ever stop to think about saunas, Sensei?”
“What the hell are you going on about...?”
“Hey, it’s rude to answer a question with a question!”
Daimon-sensei was on the spot, and I was the one putting her there. “I really don’t care,” she sighed.
“That so?” Truthfully, same, but if I said that out loud, her anger index would definitely go up by several points. I have no idea where the danger zone on that index starts, by the way. All I can say for sure is that even a few extra points on the anger index means a highly elevated chance of instant death. There was never a safe zone to begin with!
“Let’s get to the point. You’re probably wondering why I called you in here.”
“Yes?”
“How’re you feeling? All better now?”
“Bwuh?” I was so surprised, my mind totally shut down for a second.
“I heard you were in really bad shape yesterday. What, you didn’t think I’d be worried about you?” She must’ve realized how shocked I was and sighed heavily. She was right. I figured she’d have something to scold me about, at least.
“And...that’s it?”
“Hmm?”
“But... But that means you’re being nice to me!”
“Hey, inside voice, kid! This is the staff room, for crying out loud...”
“At this rate, this’ll turn into one of those scenes where a teacher’s all nice and stuff to one of their kids! That means I’ll be fertilizer for your character development, and y’know what fertilizer’s made out of? Bullcrap!”
“Okay, the volume’s better now, but your mouth’s still filthy!”
“My Captain!”
“Who’re you even talking about?!” She sighed again. She had a real combo going. “Anyway, I’m not even being that nice in the first place. I’m a teacher, so thinking about my kids every once in a while’s just part of the job.”
“Oh, jeez, way to talk yourself up... And also, calling me all the way to the staff room while I’m still recovering’s a pretty backwards way to show how much you’re thinking about me, isn’t it?”
“You’re the one who said I was being nice in the first place! Sheesh, I shouldn’t have worried. If you can smack-talk me like this, you’ve definitely recovered already.” She looked pretty darn exasperated, and I found myself shrinking away. “Well, as long as you’re all better, that’s all that matters. You would’ve been in a real fix if you’d gotten sick during the tests, but recovering right before they started wouldn’t have been much better either. Wouldn’t have left you much time to make up for all the classes you missed. You’ve already missed enough lessons lately that you’re in real danger of repeating a grade.”
“Aww, shucks, Sensei!”
“Wasn’t a compliment.”
“By the way, who told you that I was sick, anyway?”
“Your guardian.”
“Oooh...” I guess that would mean Gouki-san? Apparently I’d inadvertently caused trouble for him once again. I decided to apologize later.
While I was busy regretting my decisions, another teacher arrived to join the conversation. “Hey there, Kunugi-kun!”
“Oh, Ashikita-sensei. Long day, huh?” Daimon-sensei replied.
“Oh, the usual, Daimon-kun.” Ashikita-sensei was the school’s resident math teacher—a graying old man who was probably somewhere in his late fifties. He was a real nice guy too; he’d been married for ages and had an overall pleasant demeanor. Math teachers are usually known for making their students suffer, but his popularity among the student body made him an exception to that rule. You could just sorta tell he was a decent dude at a glance.
I was surprised, though. Being the thirtyish-and-single lady she was, I figured that Daimon-sensei would prioritize her relationships with the bachelors in the school’s faculty. My assumption was that she’d more or less ignore a married man like Ashikita-sensei, but there she was, talking to him in the most normal manner imaginable.
“You were just thinking something rude, weren’t you?” she said, reading my mind. I guess thinking about your students enough gives you the power to know what your students are thinking? Can’t a guy get some privacy over here?
“What? Perish the thought!” I lied.