Episode Six: Sensei ―September 2032―

To the calmer me, Wataru spoke in what was probably the gentlest tone she possessed.

“I’ll be kind. I’ll try my best so Meisa will like me.”

How naive. Just because our bodies were connected didn’t mean hearts would open so easily.

　I know many people in this world see it as directly linked, and I shouldn’t dismiss it entirely.

But Uehara Meisa isn’t like that.

A small pride within me stirred, reinvigorating my wavering resolve.

I prioritise being myself over any euphoria or reassurance sex might offer. The thought that Wataru believed “having sex will make her like me” was unbearable.

　Kō, tall and imposing, looked down at me as I abruptly stopped walking.

“Nothing will change if we have sex. I don’t think I’ll ever like you, Kō.”

“You won’t know until you try. Come on, let’s go inside. I’ll show you just how much I like you, Meisa.”

Kō was strong. An instinctive fear washed over me – the kind that makes you realise no matter how much an ordinary woman resists, once a man pins her down, she’s powerless.

　The thought of being taken by this man now sent a chill down my spine.

Impossible. Terrifying. I don’t want this. I don’t want him touching me.

What should I do? Please. Help me. Someone, help me.

Help me, Sensei!

“This doesn’t look like consent.”

The voice I’d called out to in my mind, the voice I’d longed to hear for so very long, seemed to reach me. I reflexively turned around to find my teacher, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

“…Teacher…!”

Just seeing him like that—I don’t know why—made me feel like crying.

As she approached, my teacher grabbed Kō’s wrist, which had been restraining me.

“I cannot condone forcing oneself upon someone who is unwilling.”

The eyes behind her usually elegant glasses were sternly reproaching Wataru.

The teacher’s back, stepping in to shield me, was slender and seemed fragile at first glance, yet it gave me such a profound sense of security. I felt an overwhelming urge to throw my arms around her right then.

　But she was a woman too, after all, and couldn’t possibly match his strength. Kō violently shook her off.

“Kakei… what are you doing here? Are you always following Meisa because you’re interested in her? Stalking a female student? You’re a proper pervert, aren’t you?”

Kō taunted the teacher in a harsh tone I’d never heard before.

“I’d like to deny that outright, but I won’t take the bait. I’m here to take appropriate action as a teacher.”

“As a teacher, eh… I’m just trying to get the girl I like to notice me. So, aren’t you and I doing the same thing?”

“I’m not scaring Uehara-san like you are, Kinugasa-san.”

　Already irritated by the interruption, perhaps because he’d been called out, Kō’s face twisted visibly.

“…You’re even more rigid and boring than the rumours suggest. I get it’s part of your job, but interfering with serious relationships between high schoolers? You’re going to make yourself hated by the students.”

“Stop speaking ill of her.”

I rebuked him reflexively. Even I had seen her as a ‘boring teacher’ before the extra lessons, but hearing Kō say it was unbearably unpleasant.

Kō seemed genuinely displeased that I’d defended the teacher. He fidgeted, pleading with me.

“Why… why Kakei?! If you dated me, no one would say anything. We could walk outside holding hands, proud as punch. We could go anywhere! But… with Kakei, you have to worry about what people think. There are so many things you have to hide. It makes you feel guilty, doesn’t it!”

I knew that already. Faced with that ‘line’, I’ve been wrestling with it for so long. I just haven’t been able to make up my mind.

“…Don’t just decide things for me.”

“That kind of love doesn’t suit you, Meisa. That’s why… I want you to choose me. I won’t make you regret it. I’ll treasure you!”

He’s usually such a gentle person. But when he’s with me, Wataru’s thoughts, personality, expressions, actions – everything becomes strange.

I’m sorry, Wataru. Even though you’ve confessed your feelings so strongly, I still won’t choose you.

“I don’t care about what you said Kinugasa-kun. We need to get away from this situation of high schoolers arguing in front of a love hotel. Let’s move.”

　The teacher’s merciless words, utterly oblivious to the atmosphere, shattered the poignant mood lingering between me and Wataru.

I actually rather like this side of the teacher, but for Wataru, who seems to regard her as his sworn enemy, it apparently sparked unbearable fury.

He closed in on the teacher, fixing him with a cold, ruthless gaze I’d never seen before.

“…Listen, Sensei. You know exactly how much I know, don’t you? Why are you acting like this?”

Even Kō’s low, threatening tone didn’t faze the teacher.

“If you have something to say, say it plainly.”

“If you interfere with Meisa and me any further, I’ll spread the word that you’re a pervert teacher who drives students around at night.”

I never wanted him to use that threat.

　The teacher would stop giving me lifts. Stop letting me into her house. …She’d completely distance herself from me.

After all, the teacher took her job seriously, with responsibility and ambition. She couldn’t possibly give it up just for me.

But the teacher didn’t even flinch at Wataru’s threat.