"Uh... no need. I'd better sit with my classmates," Shirou said as he looked for a seat.
At that moment, the Kyudo Club members lowered their heads and hurriedly took their seats, claiming all the surrounding spots until every seat was filled. Then, as if by mutual understanding, they put on their headphones and began playing FGO.
"Come over here!" Shizuka Hiratsuka said with a smile, beckoning to the Youth.
Shizuka Hiratsuka Was a Scam Artist
"Get over here!" Shizuka Hiratsuka walked straight over, locked Shirou's neck between her arms, and dragged him toward the inside. Had this iron-fisted teacher become capable of doing whatever she wanted on this bus?
"Could someone at least help stop her?!" Shirou, pinned down, cast pleading looks around him.
Club President Nasu turned his head away.
Wait, President! Had he forgotten what he said before?
Under the setting sun, the tall, thin man had spoken with a sincere, passionate expression.
'Shirou, from now on, we're teammates. Let's work hard together and face any hardship side by side!'
Vice President Taira, why had he buried his head under the seat?
The short, stocky man raised an arm, flexed his prized muscles, and said cheerfully.
'Shirou, you're our ace. Just charge forward—we'll do our best to keep up with you. Wherever your arrow points, we'll follow in the same direction!'
The surrounding Kyudo Club members silently lowered their heads as though they had seen nothing. Shirou could only be dragged to the rear seats by the monster teacher whose eyes glowed red.
Only when facing danger did one understand the value of dependable companions. If Mash had been here, she definitely would not have pretended not to see anything and stayed out of it like these people.
Even after being dragged to the back row and kept in a crucifix hold, Shirou helplessly asked, "Teacher, what exactly are you trying to do?"
"Can you guarantee there won't be any problems with the modern bow competition?" Shizuka Hiratsuka pressed her lips close to Shirou's ear and asked in a low voice.
"Why are you bringing that up now?" Warm breath brushed out from the woman's lips, making Shirou's ear itch. Something behind him had touched him too. This teacher was an unconsciously perverted hooligan!
"I accidentally bragged to the director of studies. I said the Kyudo Club would definitely get excellent results this time, and that you would definitely win several championships," Shizuka Hiratsuka said quietly.
"Several? I only signed up for the traditional kyudo events. I'm only competing in one individual event and one team event. For recurve, there are only the thirty-meter thirty-six-arrow and fifty-meter thirty-six-arrow events!" Shirou said.
"It's fine. I already contacted the organizers and signed you up for the seventy-meter seventy-two-arrow recurve event, as well as the unlimited compound bow friendly match!" Shizuka Hiratsuka said with a smile.
"Teacher, recurve is one thing, but I don't even have a compound bow, okay?" Shirou said. Bows that used pulleys to make things easier for the archer while improving arrow speed, control, and accuracy—aside from competitive athletes, hunters with opportunities to hunt, and people who did dirty work, hardly anyone used such things. Ordinary high school students would never come into contact with them.
"Ah... I forgot. Ehehe~!" Shizuka Hiratsuka froze for a moment, then lightly tapped her forehead with her fist and stuck out her tongue, trying to act cute.
'Ehehe? Sure, she was pretty cute, but this wasn't something an ehehe could solve.'
"It's fine. Once we get to Tokyo, we'll go buy one! Hahaha!" Shizuka Hiratsuka said, throwing an arm around Shirou's neck and laughing.
Later, when Shizuka Hiratsuka and Shirou emerged from the archery specialty shop, it was nearly ten at night. Buying a compound bow that fit him had been unexpectedly difficult. Even in Tokyo, there were not many stores that sold compound bows. They went to several places before finally selecting a suitable one in an old street in Shibuya.
The modern compound bow had the texture of a steel beast. Its body was red and black, with two bow cables connected to the inner sides beneath the cam axles, while the outermost string was black. Such a bow required less effort and was more stable, and with sights, vibration dampeners, and all sorts of equipment, it was brutal and direct.
"I already paid to buy you the best bow, but, Shirou, can you win? You can win, right? You absolutely have to win!" Shizuka Hiratsuka said seriously, gripping Shirou's shoulders with both hands.
"Hah... I'll do my best." Shirou had his bow case on his back and could only agree while being stared at like that.
"If you lose, I won't be able to get the school to reimburse me! Sob..." Shizuka Hiratsuka said with a miserable expression.
Shirou covered his face helplessly. 'Would someone please hurry up and marry this woman already? Stop letting her stay here and torment students.'
"Shirou, please! My happiness next month depends on you! If I don't get reimbursed, I won't be able to spend money on FGO next month! I already regret it... I just wanted to prove my worth at work for once. All my friends around me are married, or they're strong women. Waaah..." Shizuka Hiratsuka pressed her head against the Youth's shoulder and began to cry.
It hurt. It hurt terribly. It felt as though Caster Saber was about to leave him like this, as though his heart were about to be torn apart.
"..." The first half made him want to complain, but after hearing the latter half, she did seem rather pitiful.
'Then don't sign me up without asking in the first place. And you only graduated from university a few years ago, right? Don't actually start crying. Also... watch how this looks, okay? The people of Tokyo around us are already staring. Good thing I'm not wearing my school uniform right now, or they'd report you to the police as a female molester.'
"Waaah... No boyfriend, no career, only me left..." Shizuka Hiratsuka clung to the Youth's shoulder and burst into tears.
"I get it. Don't say painful things twice. Anyway, as long as I win, it'll be fine, right? Stop crying," Shirou said helplessly.
"Mm... thank you." Shizuka Hiratsuka wiped away her tears and raised her head.
"Pfft..." Seeing her face, Shirou held back a laugh and asked, "Teacher, did you put on makeup today?"
"Mm? Just a little light makeup. What's wrong?" Shizuka Hiratsuka asked in confusion. They were coming to Tokyo, so perhaps she might meet someone decent. Naturally, she had to dress up a little. She could not exactly go around barefaced in a white lab coat like she usually did at school.
"..." Shirou took out his phone, opened the selfie camera, and pointed it at Shizuka Hiratsuka.
"Wah!" Xiao Da, who had been hiding inside the phone and wondering whether he could sneak a look at something unsuitable for children, was so frightened that he flew back to Chaldea.
At that moment, Shizuka Hiratsuka's makeup was completely smeared, and her eyes were swollen from crying. Calling her a little tabby cat was no longer enough to describe her. She looked so ridiculous that she could no longer face anyone.
She could only lower her head against Shirou's shoulder as he escorted her to a nearby restroom.
"Tch..." The men and women emerging from the restroom all revealed startled expressions when they saw the shameless couple displaying affection at the entrance. An old man walked past while repeatedly shaking his head. Young people these days had more and more ways to show off their affection. Not only did they have to show it off at height, but also with scent? Their tastes were truly unique...
Even people who wanted to use the restroom looked displeased at the sight and turned around to leave. Of all places to show off, they had to do it at the restroom entrance!
"No one's here. Get inside already!" Shirou reminded her, patting the person in his arms on the shoulder.
"Keep watch and see if anyone comes!" Shizuka Hiratsuka hurried into the restroom and washed her face clean.
Shirou stood outside the restroom with the bow case in hand. Though it was already late at night, this prosperous international metropolis remained bustling with traffic. Still, he was a little confused. What exactly had he come here to do today?
After a while, Shizuka Hiratsuka came out with a gloomy expression. Her face was finally clean, though her eyes remained red and swollen.
"Thank you, Shirou... Looking like this, I can't go back to the hotel tonight."
If she went back looking like she had obviously been crying, who knew what people would say had happened.
A lone man and woman went shopping in the afternoon and only returned late at night. The woman's eyes were red and swollen, while the man looked awkward. Worst of all, they were teacher and student.
"Then what should we do? Teacher, why don't you find a hotel and stay there?" Shirou said.
"It's fine. I happen to have an apartment nearby. I'll stay there tonight," Shizuka Hiratsuka said dejectedly.
"I understand. Then I'll go back to the hotel myself." Shirou nodded.
"How can that be! As a teacher, how can I let a student wander around alone late at night? You're coming too!" Shizuka Hiratsuka said, grabbing the Youth and pulling him outside. In the end, they arrived beneath an upscale apartment building in a residential area of Shibuya.
Shizuka's Morning
"Mmm..." A soft moan came from the dark room.
On the snow-white bed, beneath snow-white gauze curtains, a lovely figure curled up and turned over, revealing a fair, slender arm. Beneath the blanket, her feet tangled together.
The woman was having a beautiful dream, dreaming of the little wish buried deep in her heart. One day, an ideal male who was gentle, considerate, talented, and wealthy would come marry her.
With the moon high in the sky, they would hold each other tightly, blending their feelings together until the distance between them became negative...
Then, in the morning, he would wake up half an hour before her and prepare a loving breakfast in the kitchen. When she got up, she would gaze happily at his back and wait for him to pour her a glass of milk.
During the day, he would work hard for her. When work ended, she would return home before him. Upon hearing his returning footsteps, she would run to the entryway and welcome him home.
She would say to him, "Welcome home, Master. Would you like dinner first, a bath first, or perhaps... eat... first..."
Eek~! So embarrassing! The woman excitedly swung her fist and sent her husband flying out the door.
Before she could chase after him—
"Wah!" Shizuka Hiratsuka suddenly felt the world spin. She opened her eyes in shock and discovered that she was about to fall out of bed, her head hanging over the edge while the rest of her body remained on the mattress.
The alarm on her phone was ringing beside her. Perhaps because she was not fully awake yet, or perhaps because of what had just happened, her drowsy eyes made everything before her seem covered in the warm white gauze of her dream.
After holding that nearly-falling posture for over ten seconds, Shizuka Hiratsuka's brain finally reacted, and she remembered what had happened the previous night.
Last night, she had casually made up an excuse to tell one of the usually lazy accompanying teachers that she would not be returning, while saying that she had already sent Shirou back to the hotel.
Meanwhile, Shirou had contacted the Kyudo Club president and vice president who shared his hotel room, saying that Teacher Hiratsuka had already returned. If anyone came to check rooms, they were to cover for him.
Thus, without knowing Shirou had not returned to the hotel last night, the accompanying teacher approved his leave.
And believing Teacher Hiratsuka had returned to the hotel, the students covered for Shirou.
The plan had proceeded smoothly. As long as they returned to the hotel before the students woke up the next day, everything would be fine.
Afterward, Shizuka Hiratsuka arranged for Shirou to stay in the guest room. Then she took a shower and returned to her room to sleep. From afternoon to night, they had wandered around looking for compound bow specialty shops, and then she had cried until her makeup ran and embarrassed herself. She was exhausted in every sense.
"I can't sleep anymore! I have to wake Shirou up. We need to make it back by wake-up time and meet the other competing students at the hotel." With that thought, Shizuka Hiratsuka finally woke up completely, climbed out of bed, and had just left her room when she heard sounds coming from the kitchen. She looked in that direction.
Shizuka Hiratsuka immediately froze. In the kitchen was a figure making breakfast whose back looked remarkably similar to the man in her dream. Her heart began pounding uncontrollably.
Shizuka Hiratsuka pinched her face, and it hurt. Then she rubbed her eyes hard. What was this scene that should only have appeared in her dream?
The warm veil over her eyes faded. Looking carefully, the person bustling about in the kitchen was not her student? But that back really did look so similar!
"Good morning, Teacher. I saw there were still ingredients in the fridge, so I used them. Sit down for a bit—breakfast will be ready soon," Shirou said without turning around after hearing the sound.
There were only eggs, ham, and unopened milk, but that was enough for breakfast.
"Good morning. We could have just eaten over there, you know. You didn't need to get up so early," Shizuka Hiratsuka said, stretching her arms and pretending to be calm. That racing heart just now had been caused by exercise, right?
"No, it's better to eat something before driving. Besides, I'm used to it at home," Shirou said as he flipped the fried egg.
"Oh... Do you often cook for your family? That's unexpected. Sorry, I didn't expect my guest to make breakfast for me!" Shizuka Hiratsuka said, her gaze wandering as she sat down. She found a cigarette on the table, took one out, and put it between her lips. She tried to light it, but her hands were trembling, and she failed several times.
"No, helping cook at a friend's house is pretty normal. Though this time, it's my teacher's house," Shirou said as though it were only natural.
"Is that so?" Shizuka Hiratsuka asked doubtfully as she pulled out a chair and sat down. Although she had been popular in university, she had focused entirely on her studies and rejected every confession. By the time she looked back, she had no dating experience at all, so she did not know.
Mm... Though she had plenty of experience failing blind dates now.
"Yes, so don't worry about it. Please enjoy." Shirou placed a plate with ham and two fried eggs in front of the woman. Seeing Shizuka Hiratsuka's somewhat dazed expression, he became a little concerned and poured her a glass of milk.
"Thank you..." Shizuka Hiratsuka accepted the milk with a faint blush.
Shizuka Hiratsuka kept shaking her head, trying to throw the man from her dream out of it. Otherwise, he kept overlapping with the Youth in front of her. Get a grip, Shizuka! Even if he was so gentle and considerate, he was your student! You were a People's Teacher with lofty ideals!
No one knew that from that day onward, Shizuka Hiratsuka's standards for an ideal male quietly rose several times over. At the very least, the men she met on blind dates could never measure up.
After breakfast, Shizuka Hiratsuka changed clothes, drove a car out from the garage, and headed straight for the hotel. Though it was not as easy to handle as her beloved car, the Aston Martin Virage in Chiba, it was still a Bentley and was comfortable to drive. It was only a little after six in the morning, so the roads were clear. They finally reached the hotel before the students woke up.
After that, Shizuka Hiratsuka sat at a table by the entrance of the buffet restaurant, pretending to eat a piece of bread while drinking coffee.
"Good morning, Teacher Hiratsuka. You came back early. Have you already eaten?" one of the accompanying teachers asked with a smile as she approached.
"Ahaha, I don't eat much. That was enough," Shizuka Hiratsuka said with a smile.
"..." Shirou, seated not far away, thought, 'Who is she trying to fool? Two fried eggs with ham obviously weren't enough, and she forcibly took one of mine.'
"Shirou, aren't you eating?" one of the Kyudo Club competitors came over and asked.
"Mm, you guys eat first. I'll sit for a while before eating," Shirou said.
"Then we'll go get food first." They were staying in other rooms, so they did not know what had happened.
At that moment, the president and vice president came over.
"So, did you have fun last night? Of course, we won't ask whether it was some classmate or a Tokyo girl."
"But since we were so loyal, you can handle tomorrow's team competition, right? A perfect round! Five shots, five hits—you can do that, right?"
"Hah... Anyway, I'll do my best..." Shirou owed them a favor and could only agree.
Fortunately, a perfect round in an indoor kyudo competition would not have much impact. Kyudo competitions were rather niche to begin with, and they were not judged by ring scores.
The problem was the modern archery competition afterward. Following the principle that proper shooting meant certain hits, he should aim at the center of the target.
But hitting every shot dead center from fifty meters in recurve would be a little too exaggerated. That was already world champion-level performance.
If he hit every shot from seventy meters, he would break the world record.
If he did not want to be bombarded by the media every day, he would have to be careful.
The Kyudo Competition Begins
At nine o'clock, all the participants in the international archery competition arrived at the venue on time.
After the national kyudo competition had been reformed into an international event, it had achieved significant results. The more popular modern archery events had attracted archers from all over the world. Besides Asians, there were also quite a few european, American, and African competitors studying here who had come to participate.
Today, Shirou was representing his school in the individual kyudo competition.
Because the competition had been reformed and the number of participants had increased, the rules had also changed. Groups of five would take the field together and shoot while observing kyudo etiquette. The first person to miss the target would lose.
After each group determined its first-place winner, they would leave the field.
The next group would enter.
Then the winners would compete in the next round, and so on.
Before you continue