Episode Fifty-Six
“Um, I’m coming in…”
“Go ahead.”
When I opened the door, Ibara was there dressed in a female teacher’s cosplay outfit.
A white long-sleeved blouse with a black pencil skirt. Thick-rimmed glasses.
Perhaps because she was used to disguises, the quality was unnecessarily high.
Meanwhile, I was a complete mess at twenty-four (approaching thirty).
I couldn’t bear it.
The real schoolgirl stared intently at the imposter who’d entered the room and let out a “Whoa!”
I wish she wouldn’t stare so much.
“It suits you, Shigure-san!”
“Enough already, alright? That’s enough! Please?”
I pleaded, fidgeting with the hem of my skirt.
“Eh? No way. It’s time for Ibara-chan’s special evening lecture, your private tutor.”
“What are you planning to do⁉︎”
I clutched my chest. Private tutor, evening, special lecture, Ibara-chan.
The phrase sounded far too suggestive.
“Now, now, just sit there for now?”
“Eeeh…”
“Right then, first question.”
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
At this rate, who knows what kind of sexual harassment might come flying out.
“G-go easy on me, Ibara-chan…”
“Question one. You roll a fair die with numbers 1 to 6 twice. What is the probability that the sum of the numbers rolled is 7 or more?”
“It’s just a normal maths problem⁉︎”
Bloody hell. I haven’t a clue.
Or rather, I chose the path of art early on, so I dropped out of high school maths completely.
“…I, I don’t know…”
“Question two. What was the fundamental law enacted by the Edo Shogunate in 1615 to control the daimyo?”
“I don’t know…”
“Question three. Which word is closest in meaning to ‘enormous’? a) tiny b) huge c) weak d) narrow”
“I don’t know!”
How could I know?! It’s been six years since I was a schoolgirl.
“Mmph, Shigure-chan is a hopeless pupil, isn’t she?”
Ibara-sensei perched her small bottom, encased in a tight skirt, on the desk.
With her fingertips, she gave my chin a little flick upwards.
Seems this is what she wanted to do all along. She even prepared questions especially…
Somehow, I’m starting to feel like I’m really being bullied by a teacher like this.
Ibara, you’ve got some acting talent, don’t you?
Tickling my jawline with her index finger, Ibara flashed a mischievous smile.
“Shall Ibara-sensei teach you with her body…?”
“Kufu.”
“Why are you laughing⁉︎”
Well, of course I’m laughing. Honestly.
“Ahaha. Where do you pick up lines like that?”
“Where? Well… manga apps and such…”
Ibara pouted, pushing out her lower lip.
She was clearly sulking. Adorable.
“Ibara-sensei is adorable, you know.”
“Hold on! That’s not what I meant at all!”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I mean, like, getting all fluttery and heart-fluttering over the little devilish charm a younger girl shows.”
“I’m afraid I’m a bit short on practice for that.”
“Oh? Is that what you say? You haven’t forgotten my previous job, have you? I used to get paid to make my fans’ hearts flutter, you know.”
“I genuinely respect that.”
“Then let me make Shigure-san’s heart flutter too. Let me make your heart race more.”
Even if you say so.
“I mean, Ibara, if I’m being honest, it doesn’t really suit you…”
“No way⁉︎”
“Objectively speaking, I think you have a face that suits the cute type, after all.”
“Well, I’m aware of that part, but…”
“You suit it way better than me in my uniform, though.”
“Eh, that’s not true. You suit it, Shigure-san. If someone told me you were a third-year senior, I’d probably believe them.”
“No way. Absolutely not.”
“It’s not a lie.”
‘Well then.’
“Right then. Why don’t you try doing what you did earlier, Shigure-san?”
“No way!”
“Ahh, I’m really hurt. I never thought Shigure-san would lie to me.”
“Kuuu…”
That really was my fault, so I couldn’t argue.
What on earth is this schoolgirl-like dialogue…
I somehow swallowed my embarrassment and stammered out.
“…Te-teacher. I’m embarrassed. Please be gentle…”
“Far too calculated. Sixty points.”
“You’re grading me⁉︎”
“I’m the teacher, remember. Now listen, Shigure-san. This is how you do it.”
Ibara placed a hand on my shoulder and gently pressed her forehead against mine.
Warm breath brushed my lips.
We were so close, just a little more and we would have kissed.
“──One more year. Will you wait for me until I graduate?”
I gasped involuntarily.
The air Ibara breathed out was drawn into my lungs.
Hiding my agitation as best I could, I said.
“…W-well, amazing. That got my heart racing.”
“So, what do you think?”
“Um. A hundred points, I suppose?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
If that’s not what you meant, then what is it?
I know the answer, really.
“You liar, Shigure-san. Will you wait for me?”
“Ibara, you’re too close.”
“Because I want to kiss you.”
“N-no.”
“No way. I want to.”
“I said no.”
“Why not? We hug every night, and we’ve already kissed. You naughty thing.”
“That’s true… but Ibara, you’re still in high school…”
Our foreheads were still touching. Ibara’s face was close.
Too close. My cheeks were burning.
“Surely a kiss is fine? It’s perfectly wholesome.”
“Even if it’s fine for you, it’s not fine for me.”
“Why?”
This little devil, how far does she intend to push me?
“…Because I’ll get carried away.”
“I can’t hear you?”
In desperation, I blurted out.
“Because it makes me feel weird! That’s why it’s no good!”
Ibara’s eyes widened.
I felt like I’d said something utterly outrageous.
Not just my cheeks, even my ears were burning unbearably.
“K-kissing you, Ibara, feels nice. That’s why it’s no good, I tell you…”
“Oh, really?”
Ibara’s lips curved into a smirk.
“Shigure-san, you get turned on from it. Kissing a high school girl and feeling good? Even though you’re an adult. That’s so naughty.”
“Uuuu…”
“Honestly, Shigure-san, you’re so erotic. Kind, beautiful, and erotic.”
“That last bit was completely unnecessary…”
“That’s why I worry, you know.”
Ibara murmured, rubbing her forehead against mine.
“Because you’re such a wonderful person, Shigure-san. I worry someone else might steal you away. That you won’t wait a whole year for me.”
“I’m not like that…”
“Take Runa-san, for example.”
“Ugh…”
“She definitely likes you, doesn’t she?”
I said, a mysterious cold sweat running down my back.
“…No, Runa’s just a friend…”
“Or that girl with the inner colour who came to your house before?”
“Ah, Haru too. Haru really is just a friend.”
“What do you mean ‘Haru too’?”
“Haru too! Haru’s a friend too!”
I made that perfectly clear!
“And then… Hiname, for example?”
“Hiname-chan?”
“Don’t know where you met her, but she’s cute, isn’t she? I get why Shigure-san would do favours for her.”
“No, no, no, it’s not like that. It’s not that sort of thing.”
“It’s not?”
She gave me a cute glare, looking up at me with probing eyes.
“Even today, weren’t you just charmed by Hiname’s cuteness?”
“It’s not like that. It’s a misunderstanding.”
It really is a misunderstanding. Probably.
I do think Hiname-chan is cute, but to me, Ibara seems more appealing.
“I’ll apologise as many times as it takes for lying. But I thought it was better for you to hear today’s talk directly from Hiname-chan.”
“For my sake?”
“Yes.”
“Not kissing me… was that for my sake too?”
“…Not just for that.”
In every sense, I don’t want to hurt Ibara. That’s half of it.
The other half is probably because I lack the courage.
I’m afraid of making our relationship something definite.
I don’t have the resolve within me to accept this girl’s bright future and time.
There’s only one thing that’s certain.
“But the most important thing is you, Ibara.”
I thought that would satisfy her.
But Ibara dug her soft nails into my shoulder.
“Honestly, it’s always that sort of thing with you.”
Her slender hand parted my hair and pressed against my ear.
“I-Ibara?”
“Sorry, just a kiss. I’ll settle for just a kiss. Please.”
“No, I mean, mmph!”
“Mmm. Mm, chuu.”
The second kiss.
Ibara’s lips bit down on my upper lip.
Enveloped by those soft, sweet-smelling lips, I was licked with the tip of her tongue.
Tickling the underside, tracing it with the flat of her tongue as if savouring it, gently nibbling with her front teeth.
Like a puppy diving into long-denied food, Ibara toyed with my lips as she pleased.
“Mmmph.”
On top of that, her tongue slipped through the gap.
Slurping and teasing my tongue thoroughly, tormenting it, before finally pulling away.
“P-phh. I-I told you not to—”
“Just a kiss, just a kiss, chuu.”
“Mmmph.”
She nibbles my lips once more, then pulls away.
This time, her tiny tongue licks around the edge of my lips.
“T-that tickles, Ibara.”
“Does it make you feel strange?”
“Tsk, you’re so cheeky, for someone younger than me.”
“It’s fine to feel that way.”
“Of course it’s not fine…”
“It is fine.”
Ibara’s tongue traced up the nape of my neck.
“N-no, stop it.”
Keeping her lips pressed against my neck, she teased the thin skin with her tongue, sucking gently.
A dull, throbbing pleasure stirred deep within my lower back.
“──No, I can’t, Ibara!”
I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away forcefully.
Ibara, her mouth smeared with saliva, had eyes melted with heat.
“No. More.”
Her small tongue licked my lips.
“Shigure-san, more.”