Leave of Absence Incident

The next morning, Hoshino woke up at his usual time of six thirty.

After moving aside the arms and legs wrapped around him, the girl on the bed murmured something incomprehensible in her half-asleep state.

Hoshino got up, went to the bathroom, washed his face with cold water, then got dressed and prepared to head out for his morning run.

After the sound of the door closing, the room fell quiet. A little while later, Kushida cautiously opened her eyes to a narrow slit. Only after confirming that no one was there did she dare open them fully.

Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a voice suddenly rang out. "So you really were pretending to sleep."

Kushida jolted in fright and turned her head, only to find Hoshino sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed, smiling at her leisurely. From the bed, that spot was a blind angle.

"But..."

"You thought you didn't hear anything, right? If you pay a little attention, you can walk without making any noise."

Kushida's face reddened. It was so irritating how Hoshino copied the way people talked.

At that moment, Hoshino stood and walked over to the bed. Kushida instinctively shrank back toward the corner.

"...Uh, Kikyo, are you afraid of me?"

"..."

"I suppose that makes sense. A lot happened last night. Although I thought I'd been pretty gentle with you, you probably need some time to get used to it."

Kushida hugged the blanket tightly with both arms, half her little face hidden beneath it. Only her eyes showed as she gazed resentfully at Hoshino.

"...H-how were you gentle at all? You kept going until past one in the morning. My whole body hurts like it's falling apart..."

As she spoke, fragments of the previous night resurfaced in her mind. Shame flooded over her, and her voice grew quieter and quieter.

How could this happen? All that physiological knowledge she had looked up online was completely wrong!

Didn't they say women had the advantage in this area? She had originally intended to overpower Hoshino in bed for once. She had even considered what expression she would wear when looking down on him afterward.

Yet she had been thoroughly devoured instead, losing miserably...

Seeing that smug grin on Hoshino's face, Kushida clenched her little fists beneath the blanket.

This guy was awful! He didn't know how to cherish a girl at all! It had been her precious first time, yet it had nearly become a lifelong trauma. This was simply the worst!

But no matter how much she grumbled inwardly, she did not dare show it on the surface.

Making herself look weak and pitiful was one of Kushida's specialties. She stretched out one hand and cautiously pinched the hem of Hoshino's shirt, looking up at him with pleading eyes full of moisture.

"Akira..."

"Kikyo, do you want me to help you get used to it a little more?"

"Ah! No!" Kushida's disguise instantly shattered. Forgetting the soreness in her body in her panic, she pushed herself up and crawled two steps away from Hoshino.

Hoshino found it amusing. "Kikyo, I really suspect you're deliberately trying to seduce me."

Following Hoshino's gaze, Kushida looked down and discovered that, in her panic, she had neglected the blanket's cover. Her fair, alluring body was exposed. With a soft cry, she immediately covered her important areas with both hands, lying face-down on the bed as she glared at Hoshino with eyes full of embarrassment and indignation.

"I was just joking. But," Hoshino said with a teasing smile, "that expression you have now is the right one. The one earlier was way too fake."

"..."

Wordlessly, Kushida tried to kill Hoshino with her stare. Naturally, it had no effect. Hoshino bent down and gently pinched her cheek. "Get some proper rest. I'm leaving."

"...Bye." Kushida bid him farewell in a sullen voice.

"Oh, right. Your body... can you go to class today? Do you need me to ask for leave for you? I happen to have something to discuss with Teacher Chabashira anyway," Hoshino asked casually, as though he had just remembered.

"Mm, please..." Kushida had a clear understanding of herself and knew she could not force herself through this. "But... you're not going to tell the teacher some ridiculous reason again, are you?"

"Then should I tell her the truth?"

"That's even worse! How can you tell a teacher about something like this? No, you're not allowed to tell anyone about this!"

"Haha..." Hoshino was delighted by Kushida's flustered reaction. "All right, I'll come up with a good excuse. Don't worry."

"Considering your record, there's no way I can relax..."

Hoshino slapped Kushida's butt through the blanket, then left the room under her embarrassed, angry glare.

Though he had made it sound casual, Hoshino actually took asking for leave on Kushida's behalf very seriously.

Last time, Hoshino had stood up during the morning homeroom meeting and asked Teacher Chabashira for leave in front of the entire class. This time, he neither planned nor needed to be so high-profile. He arrived directly at the teachers' office half an hour early.

There were only a few people in the office. Teacher Chabashira was among them.

"Good morning, Teacher Chabashira."

"Hoshino?" Teacher Chabashira looked up at him, a trace of surprise flashing across her face. "What brings you to see me so early in the morning?"

"I'd like to ask for leave on Kikyo's... no, Kushida's behalf."

"Leave?" Teacher Chabashira raised an eyebrow. "What happened to Kushida?"

"She isn't feeling well..."

"Just like last time..." Teacher Chabashira stared at Hoshino coldly. "Why are you the one asking for leave on Kushida's behalf?"

"Because the two of us are passionately dating," Hoshino said without changing expression. "And her not feeling well has something to do with me, more or less."

"Oh?" Teacher Chabashira gave him a sidelong glance. "Last time, you said Kushida caught a cold after falling into the lake during an argument with you. What happened this time?"

"She strained herself because we didn't pay attention at that time," Hoshino answered openly.

"She... hm?"

Teacher Chabashira first looked puzzled, then suddenly understood. A ripple actually appeared on her usually indifferent expression.

"Teacher, don't tell me you..."

"Ahem!" Teacher Chabashira cleared her throat loudly, cutting Hoshino off. "I understand. Let Kushida get some rest first... Also... although this school does not prohibit relationships between men and women, you still need to take basic safety precautions."

"Okay~"

Hoshino secretly laughed to himself and put on an obedient act. Teacher Chabashira shot him a glare and quickly waved him away.

As Hoshino reached the teachers' office door and opened it, he collided head-on with someone.

Hoshino took a step back to steady himself while reaching out to support the other person. On closer inspection, she was a young female teacher with medium-length curly brown hair and a light pink hair clip. She wore fashionable casual clothes, giving off an adorable air entirely different from Teacher Chabashira's mature, cool elegance.

However, the young teacher's expression was full of pain. Her originally lovely features had somehow scrunched together, and her face was an unhealthy pale white.

"Teacher, are you all right?"

At first, Hoshino thought he had injured her when they collided. But then his nose caught a pungent smell of alcohol.

In the next instant, Hoshino suddenly realized something. "Hey..."

The unexpected change came even faster than Hoshino could react. The female teacher's pretty eyes widened, her little mouth opened, and with a "Bleurgh," she vomited.

"Phew... phew..." The female teacher panted heavily and wiped the filth from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. "Ah, that feels better..."

Teacher Chabashira walked over and dealt a fierce chop to the female teacher's head. "Chie, do you have any idea what you're doing? Showing up late, coming to work drunk, and even throwing up in the... office."

More precisely, Teacher Chie had not vomited in the office. Hoshino's clothes had borne what they never should have had to bear. His chest—no, his entire upper body—was now covered in vomit, an utterly miserable sight.

Pinching his nose, Hoshino looked at Teacher Chie, who was still not fully conscious, then said helplessly to Teacher Chabashira, "Teacher. I need to take leave."

Without waiting for Teacher Chabashira's approval, Hoshino took off his foul-smelling jacket, rolled it into a ball, and hurried away. Seeing Hoshino looking so bedraggled for the first time, Teacher Chabashira dropped her cool beauty act and could not help laughing out loud.