Stars scattered thousands of silvery glimmers across the deep blue sky like diamonds. The bright moon resembled a piece of translucent white jade set into the boundless heavens. Night had fallen.
The night breeze gently brushed the leaves, making them rustle, and for once, I couldn't sleep.
I tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what I did. My thoughts poured out as though someone had opened a floodgate, washing away what little sleepiness I had left.
I squeezed my eyes shut. The pain in my chest grew ever clearer, and that heart-wrenching scene from before I lost consciousness kept rising to the surface, replaying in my mind.
The overwhelming tangle of emotions left my limbs stiff but my body weak. Eventually, I began trembling uncontrollably, yet I felt trapped in a nightmare, unable to open my eyes no matter how hard I struggled.
At last, like a fish stranded out of water, I struggled free of those crushing negative emotions, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat.
"[Cleanse]." My voice was hoarse. I tried to turn over and get out of bed, only to tumble weakly onto the carpet.
"..."
"Ah~ What's Edano doing on the floor~?"
"...Satoru Gojo, why are you sneaking into a girl's room in the middle of the night?! Should I be grateful I don't sleep naked?!!!"
He sat on the windowsill in a loose, pale blue men's shirt and narrow sunglasses. At my words, he held a fist to his lips and coughed awkwardly a few times. "Ahem. Why are you still awake, Edano?" The tips of his ears looked red...
"Aren't you still awake too, Mr. Gojo?" I shot back irritably, picking myself up off the carpet.
"Hey, that's different! I'm an adult, so of course I can stay up late. But if you stay up late, Edano, you won't grow any taller!"
I took a chilled daifuku out of the fridge and handed it to Satoru Gojo. "No matter how much taller I get, I'll never be as tall as you, Mr. Gojo."
He looked at the girl before him, her smooth black hair hanging loose and tucked behind her ears. In the moonlight, her cheeks looked like a delectable dessert, enough to make his mouth water. She tipped her head up to look at him and held out the daifuku.
Satoru Gojo's gaze softened without him even realizing it, his heart melting completely. Then, whether his brain short-circuited or something else happened, he suddenly blurted out,
"Ah~ You look even shorter from here, Edano~"
He successfully earned himself an instantly puffed-up little pufferfish.
I glared fiercely at him, embarrassment turning to anger as I tried to take the daifuku back. "If you don't want it, forget it!"
But Satoru Gojo reacted in a flash, catching my wrist and using my hand to bring the daifuku to his mouth.
I watched, dumbfounded, as he wolfed down the daifuku in a few lightning-fast bites right out of my hand. "...Impressive, sir."
Satoru Gojo casually wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. "Yep, yep. I'm the strongest, so of course I'm the strongest at eating daifuku too!" That was, if you ignored his ears, which had turned bright red.
Pfft. That backfired on you, didn't it? Gojo-sensei, all attack and no defense! I'm laughing at you!
Satoru Gojo hopped down from the windowsill and made himself right at home on my bed. "Come on, come on. Tell me why you're still awake so late, Edano~"
"Why don't you guess, Mr. Gojo?" I sat down on the edge of the bed too.
"Ah~ That's a tough one~ Shoko and the others once unanimously agreed that I was the worst at figuring out what girls were thinking."
"Wow. So you actually have that much self-awareness!"
"No, no, no." Satoru Gojo wagged an index finger in front of me. "I don't agree with that assessment! At least I know you're awake because you're thinking about someone."
"Fine, I am thinking about Junpei." Giving up, I flopped backward onto my soft, spacious bed.
"What?! You weren't thinking about me, Edano?!"
Satoru Gojo lay down beside me too, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now I'm mad!"
"Huh?" I sat up sideways and jabbed fiercely at his arm. "You barged into my room in the middle of the night, and I haven't even gotten mad yet! How did you get mad first?!"
"What?! Are you bringing up old grievances, Edano?! I get it, I get it. I'm option E, I'm plan B, I'm the sixth person in the fifth row, I'm..."
"Stop-! You're option A, you're plan A, you're the first person in the first row... Anyway, you're my number one!!!"
"Wow, are you confessing your love to me, Edano? Satoru's so embarrassed~" Schoolgirl Satoru was back online, blinking his big, watery, sparkling eyes.
Looking at this shameless teacher practically surrounded by pink bubbles, I collapsed in utter defeat. I rolled onto my side and tugged at the blanket, only to find it wouldn't budge. "...Sir, I'm going to sleep!"
At that, Satoru Gojo merely shifted his backside, then crouched beside the bed, propping his chin in both hands as he watched me. "Go ahead, go ahead. I'll watch over you."
"Okay."
Maybe it was the sense of security that came from having Satoru Gojo, the strongest, beside me, but my awareness gradually faded.
As my mind grew hazy, I thought I heard a soft sigh.
"...Don't bottle everything up. Try leaning on your teacher a little..."
When I woke up, the room was empty.
I patted my head, trying to recall what had happened last night, and finally reached a conclusion. "...Satoru Gojo probably got some sleep, right?"
Oh, forget it, forget it. I'll go find Yuji and Nanami and let them know I'm okay!
Knock, knock, knock.
"Coming, coming! Just a second!" That had to be Satoru Gojo. I'd check whether he had dark circles in a moment. If he did, I was definitely going to laugh at him!
First, though, I fed my Cursed Energy into the Soul Seed.
It needed quite a lot. Anyone else probably wouldn't have been able to handle it.
With a bang, the door flew open.
"Mr. Gojo, Mr. Gojo, bend down a little." He was too tall. Standing on tiptoe would wear me out!
"Hmm?" The kitty was puzzled, but he obediently bent down anyway, letting the girl's hand touch his blindfold.
I lifted one corner of his blindfold and checked carefully that he had no dark circles and didn't look haggard. Satisfied, I nodded and let Satoru Gojo go.
Satoru Gojo patted my head in confusion. "What's wrong, Edano?"
"Just checking that you got some proper sleep."
"Oh!" Instantly delighted, Satoru Gojo turned into a giant kitty, wrapping me in his arms and rubbing affectionately against my cheek.
His hair tickled me, so I coldheartedly pushed Kitty Gojo away and tied the Silk Ribbon over my eyes while I was at it. "Mr. Gojo, is there a mission?"
"Nope. Your adorable classmates and upperclassmen want to see you!"
"Huh? Then why didn't they come straight here?"
Satoru Gojo rubbed his nose without the slightest hint of guilt. "Maybe they were worried about disturbing your rest~"
Gojo-sensei, who had stopped every would-be visitor both while the girl was unconscious and after she woke up: quietly hiding his good deeds and taking no credit.
"Okay, then let's go now! Come to think of it, I haven't seen Maki and the others in ages either. It's really been one illness or disaster after another lately."
"Hmm, maybe I should find some time to take you to the Shrine to pray!"
"You actually believe in that stuff, Mr. Gojo~?"
"It's just for peace of mind~ Better than nothing."
"Okay! Oh, should we dress more formally when we go to the Shrine? In kimonos, for example?"
"Ah~ You're the old-fashioned one, Edano. Nobody needs to dress like that anymore!"
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