At Kirisu Mafuyu's question, Kojima Kana lowered her voice. "It's not that I like drinking. It's just that Shirase looked down on me—he said I'd start acting drunk after half a bottle. As his elder sister, I have to make him understand that his onee-san isn't that hopeless."
What kind of weird competitive spirit is that…?
Kirisu Mafuyu could only sigh inwardly.
But then she heard Kojima Kana continue: "By the way, you and Shirase seem pretty familiar, huh? Last time I mentioned you to him—like how I'd gone over to your place for dinner and helped out—he didn't even react. It was like he already knew all about it."
Huh?
Kirisu Mafuyu's heart skipped. "Wh—what exactly did you tell him?"
"Nothing special," Kojima Kana said, a bit airily. "Just that I'd helped clean up your place and all that. He didn't seem to find it strange."
That's not 'nothing special' at all!
Kirisu Mafuyu's cheeks turned faintly red.
She'd been careless!
She'd forgotten entirely that Kojima already treated Shirase like family.
And if it's family, of course she'd talk about everything.
Feeling a bit uneasy, Kirisu's gaze darted toward Shirase running on the field. Now he probably thinks of me as… that sloppy teacher who's a total mess in private.
What a terrible image that must be!
No—wait. Even if he did find out, it's not the end of the world. Considering how close those two are, it was only a matter of time before he learned about it anyway.
Kirisu adjusted her emotions, remembering she had another reason for approaching Kojima today.
Leaning closer, she whispered, "Kojima, could you… help me out with something again?"
Kojima Kana agreed without hesitation. "We're friends, aren't we? Of course I'll help if you're in trouble."
Those words warmed Kirisu's heart; her tone softened without her realizing it. "Well… my place is messy again."
Kojima blinked, instinctively wanting to laugh—but noticing several students occasionally sneaking glances their way, she held it in. "You want me to help clean up? No problem. That's my specialty."
"N–No," Kirisu said quickly, an uneasy glint in her eyes. "This time, it's not just messy… there are also… bugs."
Kojima Kana's expression froze on the spot.
Kirisu looked at her with a nervous kind of hope.
After three long seconds of silence, Kojima spoke very carefully: "When you say 'bugs,' what kind are we talking about? Moths? Mosquitoes?"
"No, just the usual kind."
"Tss—" Kojima's face stiffened. "You mean cockroa—"
Before she could finish, Kirisu clamped a hand over her mouth. "Don't say that word."
But as their eyes met, each could see the same fear and disgust mirrored in the other's gaze.
Kirisu went slack-jawed. So you're one of us—the cockroach-fearing crowd too?
Kojima nodded awkwardly.
She was much more particular about cleanliness than Kirisu—cleaning, cooking, all of it came naturally to her.
But as a woman, there were still two things she absolutely couldn't handle: cockroaches and rats.
Knowing just how chaotic Kirisu's apartment could get, Kojima only had to imagine herself "fully armed" with a broom, storming into battle against a cockroach horde, and her calves began trembling involuntarily.
"Um… just to confirm," she asked, voice trembling, "the—uh, bugs in your house… can they fly?"
Kirisu went pale. "I—I'm not sure. I haven't seen them fly. But we can't rule it out."
Flying cockroaches…
Big ones. Disgusting ones.
Kojima fell silent.
And the sight of the two famously terrifying teachers looking so grim landed very differently in the students' eyes.
Since none of the players knew about Shirase's connection to Kojima Kana, they naturally assumed she'd been called over by Kirisu Mafuyu to supervise them.
Now, seeing the two women standing there with dark, unreadable expressions, every Soccer Club member started whispering nervously.
"Did we not train hard enough? Maybe Demon Kojima and Kirisu-sensei are getting angry."
"Yeah, I noticed too. Let's pick up the pace. If Demon Kojima catches us slacking, we're doomed."
"But she was carrying a big bag of drinks when she got here. Maybe she bought them for us? What if she's actually nice?"
"Throw that dangerous thought out right now! Back when the term started, I heard from Class 1-C that a few troublemakers made a girl cry and broke her stationery. When Demon Kojima questioned them, they wouldn't admit anything—so she used her ultimate move."
"What kind of move?"
"She showed kindness to two of the troublemakers first—bought them lunch, told them that if they cooperated, she'd only punish the others. Under her tactics, the group broke apart from within and started ratting each other out right there in class. In the end, they all got punished."
"Tss! She's that scary? Then if she offers us drinks later, we better watch our backs."
Listening to his teammates' whispers, Shirase nearly laughed aloud.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
Kana-nee, your "stick then carrot" strategy has completely backfired.
Suppressing his grin, he thought that compared to her, Kirisu Mafuyu might actually get a better reaction handing out drinks herself.
During the speed drills, not only Hayama Hayato but also Isshiki Iroha, taking notes at the sideline, noticed the change in Shirase's performance—her bright eyes flickering with intrigue.
"Your acceleration and speed are way better than before," Hayama remarked, stepping closer.
Shirase was about to make up an excuse when Hayama suddenly laughed. "Oh, I get it now."
Get what?
Under Shirase's questioning gaze, Hayama lowered his voice, smiling knowingly. "You've been holding back all this time, haven't you? I noticed before—you acted all cold and distant at school to fend off those lovestruck girls chasing you. And it's the same here—you hid your real ability because you were worried about the Soccer Club being disbanded."
Pausing for a moment, Hayama's confident smile deepened. "But now that the club's running normally again, you're finally showing your strength—to reassure the others who've lost faith. Because only when you display enough power will they feel secure. And so will I."
Shirase stayed silent for a while, then said quietly, "Didn't expect you to see through me that easily."
Hayama's smile softened. "I've been watching you all along, you know."
The mood was already so perfectly set—if Shirase didn't play along now, it'd almost feel rude.