Final Episode: I’ll Keep Telling You, Again and Again ―June 2037―

We gazed at each other for a while.

Then Uehara-san rose from her seat and stood before me.

Now away from the pupil’s desk, she was an adult woman in a suit, here at this school as a teaching trainee.

By stepping down from the lectern, by leaving her desk, it seemed we had both been thinking the same thing.

　In that instant when thoughts and feelings collided, joy overflowed from every cell in my body.

To say she had become a fond memory would be a lie. I was just putting on a brave face.

—Not a single day had passed where I didn’t think about her.

“Hey, Sensei. I’m not a pupil anymore.”

Uehara-san’s face drew closer. Still as beautiful as ever, but before I could finish that thought, she lifted my chin and kissed me.

　It was the second kiss of my life.

We were both adults, neither of us had partners. There shouldn’t have been any problem, but the fact we were at my workplace, a high school, in a deserted classroom, made it feel wrong.

…No, setting aside whether it was a problem. Was kissing even okay when we weren’t dating? Wasn’t that ethically questionable?

　Should I take responsibility? As I pondered this, Uehara-san leaned in close, peering at my face with a smile.

“You look rather preoccupied. Thinking about taking responsibility or something? It’s alright. I did it with that intention.”

Being courted by such a refined, beautiful face made me avert my gaze involuntarily.

“Wh-why are you using formal speech?”

“Well, I’m about to formally ask you out, aren’t I? Thought formal speech might be more appropriate.”

…It was a sentiment I couldn’t quite grasp, yet somehow it felt so like her that I couldn’t help but smile.

Just as I was thinking how I cherished every aspect of Uehara-san – her thoughts, her sensibilities, her words and actions – she drew her face close again. This time, I simply closed my eyes.

　Though it was merely lips touching and tongues entwining, it felt an utterly sweet, addictive act.

I found myself thinking something utterly unlike me – that if only Uehara-san’s warmth and that tingling, pleasant sensation could linger on my lips like her lip gloss.

“…Um, just one thing. Would that be alright?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

I’d perhaps got the order slightly wrong, but this was something I had to say first.

Uehara-san always possessed both resolve and courage. For years, she’d been waiting patiently for me to take that step.

Uehara-san was my ideal.

The courage of what she always did – looking straight into someone’s eyes and conveying one’s feelings – I was now experiencing firsthand.

　Breathe in, breathe out. I’m nervous. But I’ve made up my mind.

“I like you. I’ve always liked you, Uehara-san.”

Even as we grew older, even as our positions changed, my feelings have always been for Uehara-san.

“…………Wow, that was a surprise… I wasn’t prepared for that… Say it again?”

Uehara-san’s face was flushed, her eyes seemed moist.

“I like you. …It’s alright. I’ll tell you again and again from now on.”

Three years ago. Thinking of her future, I sealed these feelings away in the classroom after school.

But now that we’re adults, if she still desires me of her own free will…

I won’t hesitate anymore. There’s only one thing I need to think about now.

Just the ordinary resolve to cherish her more than anyone else, to make the girl before me happy.

　Gender or status no longer mattered there.

Uehara-san took my hand.

“Hey, Sensei. How long am I going to be ‘Uehara-san’?”

With a smile that seemed both provocative and clingy, she tilted her head.

However distant I might be, I understood her intent in asking.

“…If we’re starting a new relationship, perhaps Meisa should stop calling me ‘Sensei’ too?”

Meisa drew me closer, bringing her lips near my ear.

Then she softly whispered my name, making my earlobe burn. (End)