Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Invitation and the Proposal

“To-kun, you’ll keep your promise, right?”

“…I know.”

The next day, after Toru had promised Kana that he would set a date to meet Hiyori.

When he dropped her off at the nursery school that day, his sister, who remembered the promise, made sure to remind him firmly.

He had no intention of breaking it, but the fact that she had to reiterate it showed how much she wanted to see Hiyori.

Toru smiled wryly and nodded, thinking that she didn’t need to say it in front of the nursery school teachers and other children.

After that, Toru went to school and arrived at his classroom, where Yusei, who noticed his arrival, approached him.

“Hey. Looks like you managed to turn down the confession.”

“Morning. I did, but she ended up crying.”

“That’s just how some people are. I was worried, but I’m relieved to see you’re doing okay, Toru.”

“…There’s no point dwelling on it after rejecting someone.”

“That’s true.”

Toru replied, feeling a bit awkward, to Yusei’s words, which seemed to indicate he was worried about the confession incident.

As Yusei mentioned, in the past, he would be plagued by guilt for about three days after rejecting a confession.

This time, he wasn’t feeling that way, probably thanks to Hiyori patting his head.

However, since she had asked him to keep it a secret, he couldn’t explain the details to Yusei.

He felt awkward, burdened by the guilt of keeping secrets from his friend, even if it was necessary.

Unaware of Toru’s inner turmoil, Yusei said, “I hope you have a better encounter next time,” with an indifferent tone, and then returned to his seat.

Then the first bell rang, and class started.

He tried to pay attention this time, but the thought of how to ask Hiyori about their plans lingered in the corner of his mind.

He felt a headache, thinking that without the promise to his sister, he would just be a creep.

By lunchtime, he had come up with an idea that wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

Eager to put his plan into action, Toru had lunch with Yusei and then headed to the staff room with his notebook.

He knocked, said, “Excuse me,” and entered, quickly scanning the room.

He found Hiyori, dressed plainly as usual during work hours.

Toru approached her desk with slightly nervous steps.

Hiyori, noticing Toru walking towards her, widened her eyes behind her glasses.

She probably didn’t expect him to approach her during lunch break.

Toru, who had surprised her, put on his best friendly smile and spoke.

“Good afternoon, Tsukishiba-sensei.”

“H-Hello. What’s the matter?”

“I was reviewing yesterday’s lesson and there’s something I didn’t understand, so I came to ask you about it.”

He stated his purpose to Hiyori, who looked puzzled.

Of course, it was just a pretext so as not to arouse suspicion from other teachers.

Toru opened his notebook so that only she could see and pointed to a sentence, stating his question.

The content was…

[Kana says she wants to see you, when would you be free?]

“!”

Hiyori looked up at Toru after seeing his real question.

He nodded in response to her gaze that seemed to ask, “Is that why you came here?”

After a slight hesitation, Hiyori stood up, holding the teaching materials in one hand, and smiled at Toru.

“It might be awkward to talk here with other teachers around, shall we go to the infirmary?”

“Um, sure, thank you.”

He nodded in agreement to her suggestion, and they left the staff room together.

He wondered why they were going to the infirmary instead of an empty classroom, but he followed her anyway.

They arrived in less than a minute, and Hiyori knocked on the infirmary door before opening it.

He quickly glanced inside and saw that the school nurse, Motoya-sensei, wasn’t there.

“Um, is it okay to enter even though Motoya-sensei isn’t here?”

“Kanako-chan— Motoya-sensei— told me I could use it when I’m counseling students, so you don’t have to worry, Kuwa-kun.”

“I see…”

It seemed they were on good terms, considering she called her by her first name.

While Toru was curious about that, Hiyori sat down on a chair in front of the table without hesitation.

Toru followed suit and sat opposite her.

After taking a breath, Hiyori started speaking as if getting right to the point.

“So, you were saying that Kana-chan wants to see me, right?”

“Yes. She made me promise to absolutely ask you about the schedule today.”

“Fufu. She’s quite a demanding little sister, isn’t she?”

Hiyori chuckled, probably imagining Kana acting spoiled.

“But why come all the way to school? We’re neighbors, you could have just come to my place, and I would have told you my schedule.”

“Ugh…”

Toru couldn’t help but hold his breath at her perfectly reasonable words.

As Hiyori said, she lived next door, so it would have been easy to ask her about her schedule even outside of school.

It wasn’t that Toru hadn’t thought about it.

But there was a reason why he didn’t…

“Well, um… I didn’t want to bother you at home when you’re tired from work, because of my own convenience.”

“It’s true that being a teacher is tough, but it’s not like I can’t have any interaction with my neighbors. Please don’t hesitate to come over next time.”

“…”

Seeing Hiyori welcoming him to visit anytime he needed something, Toru felt a slight… just a slight bit of dissatisfaction.

It felt like she was treating him like a child without any reservations, and he somehow didn’t like that.

So, partly to warn her, Toru pointed out the problem in a sulky tone.

“—Even if you say that, I don’t think it’s good to let a man who’s not your boyfriend into your room.”

He implied that if she carelessly invited a member of the opposite sex into her room, it wouldn’t be surprising if she were attacked.

“Huh? …!!!”

Hiyori, hearing his words, stared blankly with wide eyes.

Soon after, as if she understood what Toru was implying, her face flushed bright red.

She covered her red face with both hands and peeked at Toru through her fingers with teary eyes.

“…Ecchi”

“H-Hey, I was just saying that as common sense, I didn’t mean it like that!”

Toru, wrongly accused, raised both hands and insisted that he had no other intentions than to caution her.

Moreover, it was impossible for them to have such a relationship as a student and a teacher.

As Toru tried to soothe her, Hiyori continued to look at him with a reproachful gaze.

“Okay, I get it… but it’s kind of like you’re saying I’m not attractive, and that stings a little.”

“I didn’t say that…”

He denied her exaggeration, though he found her sulking a bit troublesome.

In fact, Toru found her quite attractive in her natural state, unlike during class.

Of course, he wouldn’t say that out loud, as it would only complicate things.

In any case, Hiyori also understood that it wasn’t appropriate for him to go to her apartment just to ask about her schedule.

So, the two of them pondered what to do.

Then, Hiyori’s face lit up as if she had a sudden idea.

“Did you come up with something?”

“Yes, something very simple.”

“Simple?”

He asked her what her idea was, but she gave a vague answer.

Honestly, Toru didn’t have high expectations for Hiyori’s ideas, considering her suggestion of patting his head as a reward.

Unaware of her student’s inner thoughts, Hiyori said with a bright smile,

“Let’s exchange contact information. That way, it’ll be easier for us to coordinate our schedules, right?”

“…”

Toru was speechless at Hiyori’s suggestion, which she presented as if it were a brilliant idea.

It was no wonder he thought it wasn’t much different from inviting him to her apartment…

“Um, Tsukishiba-sensei, is that really okay? Personal contact with a student…”

“I think it’s less risky to communicate through our phones than to keep having secret conversations at school like this, don’t you?”

“Ugh… You have a point…”

“Besides, I know Kuwa-kun wouldn’t go around giving out people’s contact information to others, right? So it’s fine.”

“Oh…”

He couldn’t say anything in response to her words that contained genuine trust.

He hadn’t expected her to trust him so much when they had only known each other for a week.

At the same time, his heart fluttered at the thought of exchanging contact information with Hiyori.

He had intended to fulfill his sister’s wish, but he had unexpectedly stumbled upon a lucky break.

Logically, there was no basis for Hiyori’s words.

But even so… the answer that surfaced in Toru’s heart was incredibly simple.

He took out his phone from his pocket and held it out to Hiyori.

“I’ll be careful not to let anyone see it.”

“!”

Hiyori’s clear eyes widened in surprise at Toru’s acceptance.

Was it surprise…? He hoped she was happy, if possible.

While harboring a wish he could never voice, Hiyori also took out her phone.

They looked at each other, feeling a bit shy, and exchanged contact information.

Seeing “Tsukishiba Hiyori” displayed on his phone’s contact list, Toru felt an indescribable joy.

He was relieved that he would be able to fulfill his promise to Kana, but just then, the chime signaling the end of lunch break rang.

“It’s already this late.”

“Time flew by, didn’t it?”

It seemed there was no time to dwell on the fact that it had been such an eventful lunch break that they lost track of time.

As they left the infirmary and were about to head back to the classroom, Hiyori called out from behind, “Kuwa-kun.”

Toru turned around, and she cupped her hand around her mouth to make her voice carry.

“I’ll contact you later. Do your best in class.”

“…Understood.”

Feeling his heart skip a beat, Toru parted ways with Hiyori.

He covered his mouth with his arm until his expression returned to normal, and then hurried back to the classroom.

He definitely wasn’t acting like himself lately.

He was confused by the changes in his heart that his mind couldn’t keep up with, but he couldn’t deny the subtle joy he felt.

—————

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