Confession

'What's going on?!' Hajime mildly panicked as he tried to remove Akamine-sensei's arms around his neck. What he got in return though was a tight squeeze that discouraged him from attempting an escape.

Grunting, Hajime conceded, letting Akamine-sensei take the lead as the two of them walked towards the convenience store which was only a minute or two walk away from Hajime's residence.

"So, how was it? My surprise, I mean." Akamine-sensei's lips curved upward as she subtly pointed behind her.

That's right, she and Hajime actually knew from the start that Megumi and the others were following them.

"I don't... is this payback for what happened three days ago?" Hajime sighed, his shoulders drooping as Akamine-sensei gave his neck another squeeze.

"Payback? What do you mean payback?" Akamine-sensei asked, pretending to be clueless as her face softened. With a slight hesitation, she finally reluctantly let go of Hajime's neck, matching her pace with him while putting her arms back. She was basically hinting that Hajime was free to go. If he wanted to run away and get out of her sight, he was free to do so. Nothing was stopping him anymore.

Of course, Akamine-sensei knew that he wouldn't do such a thing. After all, he owes her a favor—

— a favor from three days ago.

"So you were the one who sent the three of them to disturb me?" Hajime was socially exhausted, but it's not like he disliked the company of everyone. For the first time, he actually experienced what company felt like, and the dinner over that is the icing on the cake. In the end, Hajime couldn't help but smile.

For once, his house actually felt like home. It was exhausting, yes, but it felt like home.

"Disturb you? No," Akamine-sensei chuckled. "Then again, I didn't expect the three of them to come at the same time. It's a pretty nice coincidence, to say the least."

"And somehow, you seem to be enjoying every bit of it," Hajime commented.

...

When they arrived at the convenience store, Akamine-sensei stopped walking, gesturing towards Hajime that the two of them should look back. "Let's see how they'll react."

It sounded like fun so Hajime went with the idea. After standing in front of the convenience store for a couple of seconds, the two of them looked back, which prompted Megumi and the others to steer clear from their line of sight.

Without a second thought, Megumi impulsively hid behind one of the electric posts nearby while Franz just stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at Megumi as if she was some kind of idiot.

"Franz-san?! What are you doing? You should hide with me!" Megumi hissed, waving her hand back and forth at Franz in a panic.

"I thought we were going to follo— ehrmm," Franz didn't bother arguing with the young miss. Even though Hajime and Akamine-sensei already saw him, bright as day, he still hid just as Megumi instructed him to.

As for Fuuka and Natsumi, they were both more careful and sneakier than Megumi. Cautiously, they were slinking by the underbrush on the side of the road. When Akamine-sensei and Hajime turned around, all they needed to do was duck and they were out of sight.

It took every cell in Akamine-sensei's body for her to suppress her laugh. Hajime had an indifferent reaction though since he was exhausted for the day. Adding to that, his ribs still hurt so he couldn't really laugh that hard even if he wanted to.

Slide.

Clink.

Clink.

The cold gust of air conditioning blasted right at Hajime's face, giving him a slight burst of energy and causing him to sneeze.

"Welcome," The convenience store worker greeted in a routine manner as he continued arranging the items on the shelf.

"Is there anything you want to buy aside from ice cream, Hajime? My treat," Akamine-sensei offered, grabbing Hajime by the hand as she shivered in the cold. She didn't expect the convenience store to be this cold at night, probably because she always wore her tracksuit every time she went here.

Now that she thought about it, this was the first time she entered the convenience store while wearing her teacher uniform.

Hajime, in response, shook his head and offered his hoodie to his sensei. "I've troubled you enough, sensei, but thanks for the offer." He continued.

Through the window, Megumi and the others watched Akamine-sensei and Hajime talking to each other. They couldn't bring themselves to go inside the convenience store even though their cover was already blown. It was just too embarrassing for them. Hence they resorted to watching through the window.

...

At that moment, Hajime handed Akamine-sensei his hoodie, Fuuka started biting her nails in frustration. She wasn't the only one with a violent reaction, however. Natsumi and Megumi were ready to throw some punches as well— not because they were jealous, but because Hajime was getting too familiar with their teacher.

"Grr... this is not fair, big sis," Fuuka grumbled.

Muttering a soft thank you, Akamine-sensei graciously accepted Hajime's hoodie and snugly wore it. It was a tad oversized which made her look a lot smaller but she wasn't complaining.

At the very least, she wasn't cold anymore.

"So, what happened after that? And why didn't you call your parents?"

"I uh... sigh~" Hajime sighed. Akamine-sensei did ask the right question but Hajime was afraid if he could answer it or not. But then again, it's not like a handful of people doesn't already know about it.

"What happened to you, Hajime... it's dangerous. You know that. If I weren't there..." Akamine-sensei trailed off before she heaved a sigh with him. "Look, at least let your parents know what you're going through. I'm sure they'll hear you out. At the very least they'll accompany you in your place. These parts of town are dangerous, you know, they should be aware of that."

"Actually— "

"Mm?" Akamine-sensei wondered why Hajime's voice cracked.

"Actually they're dead, sensei." He continued as his eyes began to water.

.....

Meanwhile, right outside the convenience store,

"Um, question. Did the two of you lock the door?" Megumi asked out of the blue.

"Yeah," Fuuka confidently answered.

"And did you bring the keys with you?"

The two of them shook their head. "Didn't Hajime bring the keys with him?"

"What? No, he didn't!" Megumi lightly exclaimed.

"..."

"..."

"WHAT?!" Fuuka and Natsumi simultaneously screamed in response after they stared at each other.