#73 Women's talk

"Walker-kun! I finally found you, everyone is already at the meeting place. They told me to let you know, how about we go back together?" Kei approached us and took hold of my hand, she completely disregarded the presence of Ichinose and the teachers, it also looked like she was looking at Sae-chan with a cautious expression.

Seeing this, Sae-chan frowned a bit and had a slightly confused expression for a while before looking at me. After that, she lightly smiled in a mysterious way and was no longer bothered by Kei's gaze.

"..." There was a small moment of awkward silence, maybe because everyone was surprised by Kei's demeanor or maybe because air became suddenly tense out of nowhere.

"I see, well you don't have to drag me. I am already done here so if you will excuse me, Chabashira-sensei, Ichinose-san, ...Hoshinomiya-sensei" I lightly bowed to them and turned around, ready to leave.

"Huh? What's with that pause before my name?! Are you perhaps embarrassed by what I've said earlier? There is no need to be, it's completely natural!" She tried to act angry but there was still a playful smile visible on her face.

"What is natural?" Kei sensed that it wasn't so simple so she decided to ask.

"It's nothing, Hoshinomiya-sensei was just giving me a lesson about mundane life. And Hoshinomiya-sensei, do I appear to you like a type of person who gets embarrassed by such small things?" I said with a blank expression but I realized that maybe I shouldn't have said "small things"

"Huh?" When she heard me she immediately looked at her chest and back at me.

"Hauu, are you saying that my chest is small? You are too cruel, Felix-kun!" She started to fake her sobbing once again. I guess this time it was mainly because of Kei's presence and she must have also noticed her strange behavior.

"What?!" When Kei heard her she immediately looked at me with an angry expression before quickly checking her own chest while making a few glances at Hoshinomiya-sensei's chest with a jealous expression.

"Chie-chan, can't you just end this game of yours and let them go?" Sae-chan finally voiced out her opinion with a nonchalant expression.

"*sigh* Alright, alright, have a nice day Felix-kun and...Kei-chan, if I am not mistaken. I hope to spend more time with you in the future Felix-kun, it's unfortunate that you aren't in my class..."

Now I feel very fortunate that I am in Class D.

"Now, now, just be careful what you do with him because he is still MY student" Although Sae-chan said this with an indifferent tone, her eyes were cold when she was looking at her friend.

"...Thanks for everything, have a nice day you two" She thanked me, unable to look at me in the eyes.

I guess she isn't very used to thanking someone, not to say that I look much younger than her and I am her student which must have played some role in it too.

"Um...Have a nice day!" Ichinose seemed to be still affected by her teacher's words but she still said her goodbye with a smile.

I once again lightly bowed and nudged Kei who had an absent-minded expression to go.

"What was all of that about?" Kei asked me with a confused expression and pleading eyes.

"*sigh* I was just caught up in that situation but are you aware that your behavior wasn't the best I would expect from you?" I asked her with a stern expression.

"I- I am sorry. When I saw the 3 of them around you I simply acted without thinking, that's why I didn't even greet them." She said with a guilty expression, it was apparent that she was regretting her previous actions, however, I wasn't scolding her because of her rudeness.

"There is a small misunderstanding between us. I didn't mean your rudeness but how you acted when you saw me." I said with furrowed brows.

"...Do you mean how I wasn't surprised by your scars? Does it matter? You could have shown me before going there." She asked with a thoughtful expression and with an index finger touching her cheek.

"Actually it matters because Ichinose-san and Hoshinomiya-sensei are smart and I said to them that I went here to actually find you and other classmates. If they have more than 50 IQ, they would be able to tell that I actually didn't meet with you before coming here, therefore you couldn't have seen my scars. Not to mention that Ichinose-san already saw both of us together today right in front of the dorms. Even though she acted all innocent and like she didn't even think about it being weird, she still must have thought why are we together. However, even if Ichinose-san wouldn't see us and I wouldn't tell them, they would still be able to tell just by looking at your expression. Even Ichinose-san who was aware of my scars for some time still had slightly surprised expression whenever she looked at my back while you were totally unfazed." I gave her a long explanation and she shrank a bit after listening to me.

"I am really sorry, it won't happen again, I promise!" She bit her lower lip and said with a frustrated expression. I guess she was angry at herself...maybe I shouldn't have acted so sternly.

"*sigh* There is no use crying over spilled milk, I just hope this served as a good lesson for you. Sorry for being so strict but I am doing this for your own good if you want to survive in this school and even in the outside world." I said with a more gentle expression this time.

"Mm! Don't worry about being too strict, I will never complain and do my best to meet your expectations!" Kei's expression brightened when she heard my gentler tone and looked up at me with a determined expression. She firmly nodded and clenched her fist as if to show me her resolve.

-----(Chabashira's POV)-----

"Honami-chan, where is everyone from your class?" Chie asked her student while we were observing Felix's scarred back slowly disappearing in the distance.

I've never imagined that he has such scars...how old is he? 15? How come he can be so nonchalant about them, even though I have no idea when he acquired them but he must have been even younger. Shouldn't kids have usually some kind of trauma from getting such scars? Yet he acted as if he didn't care at all.

"They should be playing around in the first section of this pool and since Hoshinomiya-sensei asked me to come here when I visit the pool with my friends, I am here" Ichinose answered with a smile, without a hint of annoyance for being separated from her classmates.

"I see, I am sorry for separating you from your friends, you should join them as soon as possible. I just wanted to chat with my favorite student and of course, use the kindness of yours for my own benefit" Chie lightly knocked her head with a fist with a silly smile, trying to act cute but considering her age, it looked more stupid rather than cute.

As I have thought many times...he is really different from everyone else. Even during his childhood, he must have been much more mature than his peers but how is that possible? Even when kids experience a tragedy, they won't mature too quickly, not to mention that most of them wouldn't be able to live their lives normally, only a few of them would be able to live through that tragedy and mature much faster than others.

"Alright, I won't bother you any longer and I will join my friends, Hoshinomiya-sensei, Chabashira-sensei" Ichinose bowed with a smile.

"Hm" I simply nodded at her with an absent-minded expression, I was simply bothered with different things right now.

"You are never a bother, Honami-chan! You can come and talk to me whenever you feel like it!" Chie waved her hand to correct Ichinose.

And when Chie asked him for help he turned her down without any hesitation however I thought when she trapped him by using me that he would refuse too but he was like a different person... Was it really because he doesn't feel comfortable around Chie or was it his way to return the favor? I should have argued with Chie more when she mentioned me but the temptation to get back at him by teasing him was too strong...Unfortunately, I didn't think that he would really do that and he even applied the sunscreen under the strings of my bikini without any hesitation...and I actually shivered...how embarrassing. I wanted to tease him yet it felt like he was the one teasing me...ugh! I should really stop trying to get back at someone like him, it always gets back at me like a boomerang.

"Sae-chan?!" Chie's shout woke me up from my thoughts.

"W- what is it?" I asked her, trying to sound cool and collected as if nothing happened.

"You scared me a bit... I have been calling out your name for some time. What were you thinking about?" She asked me with a slightly concerned expression.

"I-"

"No, wait! I know! You were thinking about your 'precious' student, Felix-kun, weren't you?" She asked me with a playful smile while pointing at me with her index finger.

"What makes you think so?" I asked her with a nonchalant expression, I was already used to her remarks when it comes to boys, if I ever acted embarrassed in front of her, it wouldn't me anymore.

"You can drop the act Sae-chan... You know how experienced I am when it comes to these things, right?"

"Hm? So tell me what you have noticed since you are so experienced" I frowned when I heard her reply but I guess it's only natural since I know her that much, she must have also noticed something off about me.

"First of all, I haven't seen you looking at any boy the way you look at Felix-kun. You look at him with respect in your eyes, you see him as someone worthy of your attention, unfortunately, I still have no idea why but even I am quite intrigued by him. I also noticed the way he was looking at you, although I would have never noticed it without Kei-chan's interference. He appears to look at everyone without any interest or maybe even with a suspicious gaze, however, he was looking at you with a gentleness inside his eyes even though he tried to hide it. When Kei-chan came here, he was looking at her the same way but it was more like he was looking at his sibling. The same gentleness but there was something missing." She explained with quite a serious expression but I couldn't bear to listen to her anymore.

"What are you trying to say, Chie-chan? He is my student and I am his teacher. Nothing more, nothing less." I stopped her from saying any more.

"Sae-chan, now you have to admit that you are behaving weirdly. I haven't said that he loves you or anything like that, just that he is fond of you and he sees you as a worthy woman. I was quite surprised that he stopped me from getting up without my top when he could have just played it off as an accident. Even though it hurts to say it aloud but he doesn't see me as a worthy woman, hauu, It hurts even more when I say it aloud" She said while looking at me weirdly as if I was the one strange here.

"*sigh* I see but what is your point? He is probably fond of me just because of the lust and temptation of dating an older woman." I indifferently waved my hand and said something that even I didn't believe in.

What is going on with me... It's all Chie's fault!

"Lust? Hah! He stopped me from getting up without my top so it definitely isn't lust. As for the temptation of dating an older woman...maybe who knows. But if you really don't care then I might as well try to take your place, after all, he is a very interesting boy, no, I should say man because he doesn't give me an impression of a teenage boy." She said with an amused and what I would call 'hungry' smile

"Chie-chan, He is my student and you shouldn't do something like that... Although the relationship between teacher and student isn't strictly forbidden but it's not encouraged either. Plus you are around 10 years older...you might be beautiful right now but what about another 10 years? Would he still think of you as beautiful?" I warned her with narrowed eyes and then asked her with a dubious expression.

"Heh, you know me too well, I wouldn't be able to stay with anyone for more than 10 years but at least now I know what's worrying you. Who gives a fu*k about age differences? He looks like someone who knows what he is doing. If he wouldn't mind dating someone 10 years older, why should you?" She said with a serious expression as if she was trying to help me.

"*sigh* Look Chie-chan, this conversation is getting weirder each second, please let's stop now." I said with a tired expression Chie also noticed that I was being serious here.

"Alright, I am sorry for bringing it up but at least try to be more friendlier with him, I only mean the best for you. After all, your romance records aren't that long or impressive. It's really waste when you are so beautiful, unfortunately, your personality is too cold for anyone to approach you, hehe" She sounded sincere at first but then you turned to her playful side and even made fun out of me.

"You! Bah, whatever..." I turned my head away to show that I was no longer paying any attention to her.

Should I really try to be more open around Felix? Actually, when he was helping me apply the sunscreen, my heart was beating a lot faster than usual but...sigh

-----(Chabashira's POV END)-----