Shizuka Hiratsuka froze when Kotomi Izumi suddenly appeared, wrapping her arms around her neck and pressing close against her back. She hadn't noticed Kotomi come into the office at all!
This little angel… or little witch—did she walk without making a sound?
"W-wait… isn't it class time right now?"
Shizuka was still dazed, startled not only by Kotomi's sudden appearance but also by the fact she had brought her breakfast.
After forcing herself to hammer out more than 1,000 words of her speech, her brain was still scrambled. Now, with Kotomi suddenly showing up and calling herself "your little angel," she was too flustered to react.
"Hm? Is it? I must have forgotten the time while waiting in line at the shop to buy you breakfast, ehe~" Kotomi replied with an innocent smile and an utterly guileless tone.
Pfft.
Shizuka couldn't help laughing in exasperation. This little witch clearly wanted her to know she had skipped class. Who would believe you had to line up at the school shop outside of lunchtime?
But Shizuka also knew—if Kotomi really wanted to lie, she had the wit and silver tongue to spin a thousand convincing excuses. The fact that she offered such a flimsy one meant she hadn't intended to hide her truancy at all.
"Haa… I must have no authority as your homeroom teacher at all. You even skip class so openly in front of me."
Shizuka had wanted to scold Kotomi about attending class properly, but then she remembered Kotomi had ranked first in her grade—and all of Tokyo—in both of the major exams so far. With that, she fell silent.
Back when she herself was a student, let alone first in Tokyo, she hadn't even broken into the top ten. And that wasn't because she was bad at studying. Rankings across the entire Tokyo metropolitan area only ever included the very best. Even appearing once on that list was brag-worthy until graduation.
Shizuka's grades back then had always been decently good, if not spectacular. She had kept her scores steady enough to get into a good university without trouble.
So in Kotomi's case, skipping the occasional class really didn't matter.
"How can you call it skipping class? I saw you only had one red bean bun for breakfast—it wasn't enough! So I ran to the shop to buy you sweet milk and buns. The first time I came to your office, class hadn't even started yet!" Kotomi insisted with confidence.
"Thanks for the breakfast. I'll treat you tomorrow, then?"
Shizuka accepted the food without hesitation, but when she took it from Kotomi's little hand, she accidentally brushed against her soft fingers.
Shizuka swore to the holy Lady of the Lake—she hadn't done it on purpose. It was Kotomi who had deliberately nudged her small hand into hers while handing it over.
Those soft fingers, offered so willingly, were just too unfair!
"I always eat breakfast at home before school. So this one you owe me~ Remember, Hiratsuka-sensei, you now owe me breakfast. You can't repay me with lunch or dinner—it has to be breakfast." Kotomi smiled sweetly as she spoke, still pressed against Shizuka's back, rubbing her soft cheek against hers.
One couldn't tell who should be envied more—Kotomi, or Shizuka.
"Did you come to my office for something? Don't tell me you didn't finish your homework?"
Shizuka munched on the bun Kotomi had… well, bought for her. But something felt odd. Why was the bag so large when there were only three buns inside? It looked like the kind of bag used for at least five.
Maybe the shop had run out of smaller bags… Shizuka didn't dwell on it.
"Of course not! I came to ask for permission to stay overnight for rehearsals," Kotomi explained.
Kotomi kept her arms around Shizuka Hiratsuka's neck, her little face pressed tightly against her cheek. Just a moment ago she had been swaying left and right, but now that Shizuka was eating, Kotomi obediently stayed still.
"Overnight rehearsal? You'll be staying at school by yourself?" Shizuka asked in surprise. She hadn't expected anyone to apply.
"No, Yukino and Yui too. The three of us want to apply together."
"I see. In that case, just write down the home addresses of the three of you, and you'll get permission. You can write yours first, then call Yukino and Yui over to fill in theirs afterward."
Shizuka pulled a form out of the bottom drawer. She had thought no one would apply—after all, in Class 1-F, it seemed only Kotomi and her two friends were performing at the festival. Since their rehearsals appeared to be going smoothly, she hadn't expected them to need overnight practice. She had shoved the form deep into the drawer, but thankfully she remembered where, otherwise she would have had to rummage around the office.
After writing her own address, Kotomi smoothly filled in Yukino Yukinoshita's and Yui Yuigahama's addresses as well. Doing it all at once saved them the trouble.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, I'm done."
"Okay. On Thursday, remember to bring bedding, a pillow, and your luggage. Make sure you plan your dinner ahead of time too. Once school ends, the shop closes, so don't count on buying food there. If you really get stuck, call me." Shizuka reminded her carefully.
"Come on, that's such a simple matter. You don't need to repeat it so many times. Unless… could it be you keep repeating it because you like me?" Kotomi teased.
"Go, go, go! As if I'd be interested in a brat like you! Trying to seduce me? Hah, maybe in a few more years!" Shizuka huffed, putting on a tough front.
"Some people sure act tough… even though their hearts are fluttering~" Kotomi gave her a playful glance, sticking out her tongue.
Before Shizuka could turn serious, Kotomi set down the pen and darted out of the office.
Watching Kotomi's little legs carrying her quickly away, Shizuka unclenched her fist and let out a long, complicated sigh. She picked up the form Kotomi had just filled out.
She had expected only Kotomi's address, but to her surprise, the form contained Yukino Yukinoshita's and Yui Yuigahama's as well—written perfectly, as if Kotomi knew them as well as her own.
Especially Yui's address—it was so detailed it almost seemed excessive.
It did save time, but Shizuka couldn't understand one thing.
Why did Kotomi know Yukino and Yui's home addresses so well?
...
After finishing Kotomi's… Kotomi's bought breakfast, Shizuka Hiratsuka felt a new wave of energy. She downed the sweet fruit milk and returned to the membrane keyboard, typing away bit by bit at the speech she needed for tomorrow's parent meeting.
Maybe it was because of Kotomi's breakfast, but Shizuka noticed her typing speed had picked up, her thoughts flowing more smoothly. At this rate, she could probably finish the remaining 500 words by noon.
Good, very good.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, do you have any spare red pen refills? I ran out, and the office is out of stock too. The new shipment hasn't arrived yet," said Yachiyo Kuhama, stepping into the office.
"Red refills? I think I have some." Shizuka opened her drawer and pulled out a handful. She had bought too many last time, worried about running out, and now they were just taking up space.
"Ah, I don't need that many."
"Take them. They were on sale, so I bought a box. They work fine."
"Thanks, I'll treat you to lunch."
After taking the refills and thanking her, Yachiyo's eyes fell on the form left on the desk.
"Oh? Kotomi applied for overnight rehearsals? She's going to perform at the cultural festival? I didn't expect that girl to be so outgoing. Not only did she join the sports festival on her own, but she also signed up for the cultural festival stage."
"Ahaha… yes, she's very lively," Shizuka laughed awkwardly. She couldn't admit that both the sports and cultural festivals had been things she coaxed Kotomi into.
"If only my students had half of Kotomi's drive, I wouldn't still be worrying about the cultural festival."
Yachiyo shrugged helplessly. Most students were happy to attend the festival, but the moment performing on stage came up, they'd retreat like they had used Flash Step.
Class 1-A was no different.
Since every class had to participate, Class 1-A had eventually decided on something simple—pushing carts to sell soda for the three days. The drinks were sponsored by the school shop.
The only condition was that the carts had to display the shop's advertising slogans.
The strange part was that Arisu Sakayanagi, who hadn't been involved at all before, had insisted they swap Coca-Cola for Pepsi. She didn't explain why, but since the class rep had spoken, they went along.
After all, selling Coke or Pepsi—it was still soda. Maybe some students preferred Pepsi anyway.
"You're just selling soda at the festival. What's there to worry about?" Shizuka chuckled.
"I wanted to pick some students to perform on stage. But no one's willing. Even a simple dance or song would be fine. As Class 1-A, we're supposed to set the standard, but pushing soda carts? I can't even bring myself to discuss our cultural festival plan with other teachers."
Yachiyo's tone was full of helplessness. As Class 1-A's homeroom teacher, she had always been competitive. But after her students had seen Kotomi take first place across Tokyo twice in a row, they seemed to lose their will to compete.
Fixing the problem wasn't hard—just transfer Kotomi from Class 1-F to Class 1-A.
Yachiyo herself wished Kotomi were her student.
But no matter what, Kotomi refused to switch, as if she had some private agreement with Shizuka Hiratsuka. To outsiders, it might even look like they were in a teacher-student romance.
"What about your class rep, Arisu Sakayanagi? Didn't she rally anyone to participate?"
"Sakayanagi? Unfortunately, she hasn't lifted a finger. From sign-up until now, she's completely ignored the festival. And now, with the festival starting Friday, she suddenly called in this morning to request two weeks off. Her reason for absence? None at all."
"Half a month of leave? Since when was Class 1-A allowed to grant such long absences?"
Shizuka Hiratsuka was stunned—and wary. After all, one of the main reasons Kotomi had refused to transfer to Class 1-A was its strict leave policy.
If Kotomi found out Class 1-A students could take half a month off, would she suddenly change her mind and go to Yachiyo Kuhama's class instead?
"It wasn't supposed to be allowed. I wasn't planning to approve it without a proper reason either. But what could I do when both the principal and the chairman personally called me, telling me to approve Arisu Sakayanagi's leave?" Yachiyo said with a bitter smile. In all her time teaching Class 1-A, she had never approved such a long leave before.
She had originally wanted to ask Arisu why she needed so much time off. But the call hadn't come from Arisu herself—it was from her maid. After relaying the message, the maid simply hung up.
"In the end, I had to give in. You know as well as I do—Arisu is from the Sakayanagi family, their cherished heiress. Half a month, a year—it wouldn't matter. The principal and chairman would still nod and say yes."
"You're right. Even though I think students should all be treated equally regardless of their background…" Yachiyo nodded helplessly. Since graduating and becoming a teacher, she had come to understand how the rules of society really worked.
The Izumi family, the Hishinaga family, and the Sakayanagi family—three colossal powers looming over all of Japan.
Among them, the Izumi family was seen by countless economists and rivals as the one most likely to become the "serpent that devours Tokyo."
Even though the Izumi family didn't originate in Tokyo, they had already coiled their immense body around this jewel of a city filled with treasures and wealth. With crimson forked tongue and closed golden-red eyes, they were waiting for the perfect moment.
When the time came, the Izumi family would open their blood-gold eyes, spread their jaws wide, and swallow all of Tokyo's wealth whole.
Many experts predicted that if the Izumi family ever made a move on Tokyo, the Sakayanagi family would inevitably strike back. Then the conflict between these two families would ignite from a single spark.
"Hey, Hiratsuka-sensei, do you think Kotomi might actually be the Izumi family's young heiress?" Yachiyo suddenly mused, like someone letting their imagination run wild in a convertible.
"Unlikely… Sure, her family does seem wealthy. But so what? Whether rich or not, what does it have to do with us teachers?"
Shizuka shrugged.
That GT-R50 parked in Kotomi's garage had left a deep impression on her. She could still remember how her hands had trembled on the wheel when she tried parking beside it, almost ripping the steering wheel off.
...
After leaving the office, Kotomi didn't go back to class. Since she had already skipped, she figured she might as well head over to the kendo hall and slack off there.
That morning, while packing her bag, she had found the key to the kendo hall at the very bottom. Only then did she remember—oh right, she was the kendo club's honorary captain.
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