I opened the front door to find Kohaku standing there.
âUWAA?!â
That surprised me⌠I didnât expect Kohaku to be here. Even though she promised she wouldnât âtry to get aheadâ to Akari yesterdayâŚ
No, I canât be sure of this yet. There might be a good reason.
âWhat are you doing here?â
âI thought Iâd give you a good-bye kiss.â
ISNâT SHE REALLY TRYING TO GET AHEAD?!
âWe shouldnât kiss.â
Iâm tempted to kiss Kohaku, but⌠I donât think we should kiss. That kind of thing is what you do between lovers.
âY-Yeah. I know. I was just kidding.â
Really? Iâm pretty sure you were seriously going to kiss me if I accepted.
âThen what are you doing here? âŚIf youâre planning to go to school with me, thatâs impossible.â
Kohaku is the center of attention. Whether we commute to school by train or by car, if I go to school with Kohaku, students will see us and ask, âDo those two have a special relationship?â They will look at us with suspicion.
âI know. Itâs not right for a teacher and a student to go to school together. As I promised yesterday, Iâll try not to be too close to Touma-kun in public.â
But then Kohaku grabbed my hand. Her soft hand is holding mine and I can feel my heart pound.
I donât remember Kohaku being this aggressive. Kohaku was shy and never said she wanted to kiss me, even jokingly. And I was always the one asking to hold handsâŚ
Maybe sheâs become a bit naughty in the time I havenât seen her.
âNow that itâs just the two of us, itâs okay if we get along a little bit, right?â
Perhaps this âget alongâ has an erotic meaning. I get nervous when I think so.
âYes, itâs just the two of us, but itâs not a good idea to get along outside, is it? Look, Akari might come here too, you know?â
Kohakuâs here, so itâs not surprising if Akari is thinking the same thing. If she saw Kohaku wooing me, they would start arguing again.
âItâs fine. Letâs go somewhere where no one will see. âŚWill you follow me?â
Kohaku asked me anxiously, as if she was afraid that I would reject her.
How can I say no to a woman I like when sheâs making a face like this? Besides, Kohaku had come to see me even at the risk of being discovered by Akari. I can feel that she really loves me.
âOkay. I want to talk to Kohaku too.â
When I said this, Kohakuâs face lit up with happiness.
I got into the elevator with Kohaku and we were taken to the underground parking lot where we stopped in front of a minivan.
The black-painted minivan is quite intimidating. It looks as if a scary older guy might come out of it at any moment, and there is no image of a petite, pretty woman like Kohaku driving it.
âIs this Kohakuâs car?â
âYeah. I really wanted a minicar. But my father told me to buy a bigger car so that I wouldnât feel cramped.â
When we were dating, I was told that Kohakuâs father was a very cautious man.
She had a strict curfew, so we couldnât go out on long-distance dates. Also, he would often call Kohaku during our dates, and I would hold my breath every time he called.
If the anxious and restrictive uncle found out that Kohaku was dating a guy, he might even sneak up on him. And if he found out that the guy was five years younger than her, he would surely object to her relationshipâAmber thought so and decided to keep our relationship a secret.
Perhaps Kohakuâs decision to go to a university far away from here was to get away from her father..
In her early years of college, she would sneak back home and go on overnight dates with me, but⌠We spent more time not seeing each other than we did when we lived in our local area, and as a result, we broke up.
âHow could that Uncle allow you to live alone?â
Itâs a reasonable distance from Kohakuâs parentsâ house, but itâs not impossible to get there. In fact, Kohakuâs sister goes there every day.
âHe was against it at first, but in the end he allowed it. If it had been any other school, I donât think he would have allowed me to.â
âAny other school?â
Yeah, she nodded,
âMy father, heâs our principal.â
âŚSeriously?
The principal, who has a reputation for being strict and once expelled a student, who was crying and apologizing, without question, is Kohakuâs father?
If thatâs the case, if my relationship with Kohaku comes to light, wonât I be sentenced to death and expelled from school?
N-No, letâs think positively here! Kohaku knows more than anyone how scary her father can be. Under his supervision, she will behave as a normal teacher. He will never find out about the relationship!
So I reassured myself and got into the back seat of the minivan. The interior of the minivan was quite spacious with the aroma of sweet aromatic herbicides wafting through the air.
âItâs so spacious!â
âItâs going to get cramped sooner or later.â
Kohaku sat down next to me and said.
âWhat do you mean?â
âIt means Iâm going to have a lot of Touma-kunâs babies. Letâs make a volleyball team!â
âWhat are you talking about?!â
âWould you have preferred a soccer team?â
âThatâs not what I meant! And a soccer team would be over-capacity!â
âYouâre right. How about we buy a bus?â
âDonât?!â
âWell I guess buses are expensive after all.â
âIâm not worried about the price! Iâm just puzzled by this sudden talk about future planning!â
âItâs better to decide on these things early.â
âThatâs true, but⌠I hate to say this, but I havenât decided to get back together with KohakuâŚâ
Squeezing me, Kohaku wrapped her arms around mine.
I could feel something soft pressed against my arm.
I was thrilled by the sensation of the touch for the first time in a while, and Kohaku smiled at me.
âI love you, Touma-kun.â
âYeah, thanks.â
âWhat about you, Touma-kun? Do you like me?â
âYes. I like you.â
âMore than Akamine-sensei?â
ââŚI like you two just as much.â
I told her honestly. I donât feel comfortable saying this to her face, but I donât want to give her any satisfaction from lying.
Kohaku gave me a glimpse of a sad face, but soon her face became beaming.
âThank you.â
ââŚWhy are you thanking me?â
âYou still like me even after I rejected you so horribly. Iâm happy just to be able to chat with you like this.â
But, she said with a determined look,
âI wonât lose to Akamine-sensei for sure. By the time you graduate, Iâll make you like me even more than you like Akamine-sensei. Will you get back together with me then?â
âYes. Iâll get back together with Kohaku then without hesitation.â
When I promised, Kohaku beamed happily.
âI canât wait to get back together with you, Touma-kunâAh, thatâs right!â
Kohaku clapped her hands as if she remembered something and took out a bento box from her bag.
âI was going to give this to you, Touma-kun.â
âYou went to the trouble of making this for me?â
âYeah. I put a lot of your favorite dishes in it, so I hope you wonât leave any leftoversâŚâ
âI wouldnât leave any. I really like Kohakuâs cooking.â
If I were asked what I would like to eat on the last day of my life, I would answer âKohakuâs home-cooked mealâ without hesitation.
After all, Iâve been eating convenience store lunches all my life. My father and mother were both workaholics and carefree, and on top of that, they were lazy cooks.
I still cannot forget the shock and awe I felt when I met Kohaku in the spring of my first year in junior high school and had a home-cooked meal with her.
I fell in love with Kohaku not only because of the delicious taste, but also because of the way she cooked for me.
She cooked for me at my house on weekdays, and on weekends, she would bring bentos with her to our dates.
Since she went off to college, I havenât had as many opportunities to eat home-cooked meals as I used to, but for me, Kohakuâs cooking is the taste of home.
âIâm glad. Iâll cook for you every day.â
âOh. Please!â
The thought of being able to eat Kohakuâs home-cooked meal every day like in the past filled me with joy.
âWhat should I do with the box?â
âIâll pick it up after school.â
âOkay. Call me before you do just in case.â
I had Kohaku and Akari unblock my number yesterday.
I put my lunch bag in my bag,
âWell, Iâd better get to school.â
âBefore that⌠Can I give you a good-bye kiss?â
Kohaku joked again. But⌠The mood is different from before. Her eyes are feverish and moist, her cheeks are flushed, and even her voice is seductive.
My ex-girlfriend, who exudes a mature sexiness, is making me nervous.
âN-No, we shouldnât kiss. Weâre student and teacher.â
âItâs just the two of us now.â
âWell, thatâs true, butâŚâ
Honestly, Iâd like to kiss her too. But once I do, I donât think Iâll be able to stop myself. If kissing becomes a routine, weâll run the risk of someone seeing us. Even though we are in love with each other, we are not back together, and we should avoid doing things lovers would do.
Kohaku seemed to understand and,
âThen⌠What about fondling my b***s?â
She didnât understand at all!
I want to fondle it, though! I really want to! But no! I canât! Weâre not lovers!
ButâI canât say, âNo way am I going to fondle them,â because Kohakuâs face was bright red.
She suddenly held my hand, begged me to kiss her, and even tried to make me fondle her b***s⌠I thought she had become erotic after not seeing her for a while, but thatâs not the case.
Kohaku is just holding back her embarrassment. Sheâs just trying to act brave and aggressive to get back together with me, whom she loves.
I canât say no to a woman I like after she has done so much for me.
Fortunately, itâs just the two of us. I canât fondle her b***s every day, but I have to fondle her at least once for the sake of Kohaku who mustered her courage.
ââŚAre you really okay with that?â
âY-Yeah. I want you to touch me like you used to. Ah, but⌠Itâs been a while since last time, so donât hurt me, okay?â
Kohaku bit her lower lip as if to suppress her embarrassment, and her body became stiff with nervousness. To such ex-girlfriend, I reached out to her chest andâ
Pockpock, a knock came from the window.
âŚAkari was staring at us through the window.
âUWAAAA!!!?â
I quickly pulled my hand away. âWhatâs wrong?â Kohaku said and followed my gaze, before noticing Akari. Beckoned by Akari, we got out of the car.
Akari glared at Kohaku and,
âShirasawa-sensei⌠Youâre trying to get ahead?â
âI wasnât trying to get ahead. I was just handing Touma-kun his bento.â
âIn that case, I will start making him a bento tomorrow. Itâs the duty of a school nurse to take care of the studentsâ health.â
âNo, please leave the bento making to me, the home economics teacher.â
Neither party is willing to compromise. Itâs unlikely that this argument will ever be settled.
âYou donât have to decide whoâs in charge of cooking. Iâll be happy to eat it if you both cook for me.â
âBut⌠Wonât you get a stomach ache if you eat that much food?â
âI canât let Touma push himself too hardâŚâ
âDonât worry. I have confidence in the size of my stomach. I can eat as much as I want, so donât hesitate to cook for me.â
Kohaku looked happy at my words. Akari, on the other hand, looked somewhat uneasy, but still nodded her head.
After quelling the argument, I left the parking lot with the two of them seeing me off.
â â â
Fourth period that day.
We were supposed to have a physical fitness test on the field, but due to rain, we had to play volleyball in the gymnasium.
The team we are playing now has the ace and captain of the volleyball team, and the boys are excited to see the high-level game.
In the midst of all this, Iâm sitting on the corner, thinking about something.
My problem is my ex-girlfriends.
Kohaku and Akari are ready to get back together with me, and I love them both. But I canât go out with them because I love them both equally. And since I canât have a two-timing relationship, I have to choose either one of themâŚ
Should I get back together with Kohaku, my first girlfriend?
Or should I get back together with Akari, the last person I dated?
âWhat should I doâŚâ
ââWatch out!â
Bang! Suddenly, a powerful blow was delivered to my face, and a sharp pain shot up to my nose.
âUgh!â
âI-Iâm sorry, Nijino-kun! My serve went off the railsâŚâ
The boy who hit me with the ball apologized to me. The girls who were playing on the other court are looking at me with concern.
âN-No, donât worry about it. It was my fault for being absent mindedâŚâ
My classmate, who had been scared by my intimidating demeanor and hitting me with a ball, looked relieved when I forgave him.
If I can use this as an opportunity to dispel the scary image of myself, it would be a great success.
âWhoa! Nijino-kun, blood! Blood!â
âWhatâAh!â
Liquid spilled from my nose. When I rubbed it with the back of my hand, I found that it was covered with blood. While I was holding the nosebleed with my hand, the gym teacher came to me,
âNijino, are you okay?â
âYes. Itâs only a nosebleed. Can I go to the bathroom?â
If I stuff toilet paper up my nose, it will eventually stop.
âI donât mind if you go to the bathroom, but why donât you have Akamine-sensei check it out?â
Iâm pretty nervous having close contact with Akari on school grounds, but⌠She will surely behave as a teacher when sheâs at school, right?
Deciding to follow his words, I left the gym.
âExcuse meâŚâ
When I visited the infirmary, I found only Akari in the room. Akari was sitting on the chair at the desk, looking over some papers. When she turned around and looked at me,
âAra, whatâs wrong?â
She said with a dignified face.
Thank God. She seems to act as a teacher properly. Itâs just the two of us now, but I have to act as a student too.
âI got hit in the face with a ball and my nose started bleeding. Do you have a tissue?â
âYes. Use as many as you like.â
I received a box of tissues and sat down in a pipe chair. I roll up the tissue, stuff it up my nose, and wash my hands to remove the blood.
âHave you finished stopping the bleeding?â
âYes, Iâm done.â
âI see. Then come here.â
Akari stood by the bed and beckoned to me.
ââŚWhy?â
I have a bad feeling about this. Sheâs not going to start doing something erotic in bed, is she?
âWeâre going to do a procedure.â
âIf itâs a procedure, Iâve already done itâŚâ
âThatâs not enough. Come here quickly. If you canât move, Iâll move the bed over there.â
Akari is strong. And sheâs not the joking type. Sheâs already grabbing the foot of the bed, and can really carry the bed.
As expected, she would refrain from doing anything erotic at school. Here, I decided to follow Akariâs instructions quietly.
As I was heading to the bed, Akari opened the futon.
âGo to bed.â
âBut itâs just a nosebleedâŚâ
âDonât underestimate it just because itâs a nosebleed. You need to rest until the bleeding stops.â
ââŚI understand.â
Deciding to abide by the school nurseâs decision, I took off my jacket and lay down on the bed. Then, Akari closed the partition curtain and came to bed with me.
Sheâs doing something erotic!
âWhat are you doing?!â
âIâm sleeping with you.â
âI can see that!â
âAnd hereâs a hug.â
âWhy the hug?!â
âHugging promotes a sense of security. Anxiety can make a disease worse.â
âRather, youâre making me nervous! I really think you should get away now!â
When I told her with an informal tone, Akari lowered her well-shaped eyebrows and her eyes shook with sadness.
âYou donât like sleeping with me anymore?â
âN-No, itâs not like thatâŚâ
I love sleeping with Akari.
When I look back on my memories of our relationship, I remember sleeping with her at every opportunity.
One of the most memorable moments is when we went to a hot spring resort during the winter holiday in our first year of dating.
We went to an outdoor hot spring, I saw Akari naked for the first time, and we made out in the futon after a hot bath. We didnât just sleep together, but embraced each other like we were just born. I still clearly remember the softness and warmth of Akariâs skin at that time.
âThen, how about the hug? Do you like hugs too?â
ââŚYeah. I love it.â
The first time Akari hugged me was on the day of the funeral of a distant relative.
I was in a corner of the funeral hall, fretting because I couldnât get over the sorrow of my lost love, when Akari hugged me anxiously and comforted me.
At that time, I was in the third year of junior high school and Akari was in her second year of college. Even if someone was crying, I wouldnât hug a junior high school boy whom Iâve only met for the first time. But Akari couldnât leave me alone and comforted me with hugs.
When I explained that the reason for my fretting was not because I had lost a relative, but because I was heartbroken, she invited me out to play as a distraction.
At that time, I thought to myself. I wondered what if I had a sister like this. From that day on, I came to adore Akari as my older sister, and she took care of me like a younger brother.
We played together often, she took me to the aquarium and the zoo, and I fell in love with her the moment she, who was always so dignified, showed me her smiling face.
Then, after the day we became lovers, Akari began to show me her different face.
I became the only person she could talk to honestly about her problems, as she had been raised by two respected parents, a doctor and a teacher, and she didnât want to disappoint them. Whenever Akari had a problem, she would hug me and ask to be pampered.
So maybeâ
ââŚSomething on your mind?â
When I probed her, she shivered and trembled.
ââŚHow could you tell?â
âItâs because I like Akari. I can tell when thereâs something wrong with a girl I like. If youâre having troubles, donât hesitate to tell me.â
ââŚIs that okay? Even though Iâm not Toumaâs girlfriend⌠I wonât bother you?â
âYouâre not a bother. Even though Akariâs my ex-girlfriend, thereâs no lie or falsehood in my feelings for her. If a girl I like is in trouble, itâs natural to want to help her, isnât it?â
Besides, Akari saved me when I was depressed because of my broken heart. I donât mean to thank her for what she did back then, but I have no intention of abandoning Akari.
Akari gazed at me with slitted eyes and confided in a faint voice,
ââŚThe home-cooked meal I had yesterday from Shirasawa-sensei was delicious. Itâs hard not to like someone who cooks such delicious food⌠Compared to that, I canât cook.â
Indeed, Akari is a terrible cook.
I was treated to a home-cooked meal while we were dating, but it was undercooked, smelled fishy, seasoned uniquely, and served in a messy manner.
I ate it all in front of Akari, but I had to fight a stomach ache afterwardsâAkari then apologized to me profusely.
In addition to cooking, Akari has a lot of other things she isnât good at, such as cleaning, washing, and sewing. She is the complete opposite of Kohaku, who is extremely skilled in housework.
She even has a complex about it, and she was depressed when I praised Kohakuâs cooking.
âIâm not going to make lunch for Touma. Itâs obvious that Touma will get a stomach ache and I wonât be able to beat Shirasawa-senseiâŚâ
âDonât be discouraged. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.â
âBut Iâm not good at anythingâŚâ
âThatâs not true. Akari is a good driver and a good singer.â
âBut Iâm not as good as Shirasawa-sensei. Now that you and Shirasawa-sensei have found out that you two still like each other, I wonât be a choice, wonât IâŚâ
âNo, thatâs not true.â
ââŚWill you get back together with me?â
âThatâs⌠I canât say anything yet⌠But I love Akari as much as I love Kohaku. The moment I saw her smile, I fell in love with her. So donât look so sad.â
When I consoled her with sincere feelings, Akari beamed with happiness.
âThank you, Touma⌠I love you too. That rotten thieving caâ⌠I wonât let her have you.â
You almost said rotten thieving cat, didnât you?! You blended ârottenâ and âthieving cat,â didnât you?!
Iâm worried about her hostility towards Kohaku and that theyâll argue every time they see each otherâŚ
ââExcuse me.â
My heart immediately tightened.
Whoâs here?! If they see me here like this, theyâll misunderstand!
âW-What do we do?â
âC-C-Calm down. I-I-Iâll do something about this.â
She looks really shaken up and doesnât look like she can manage itâŚ
âIf youâre going to fret, donât even ask me to sleep with you in the first placeâŚâ
âIâm sorryâŚâ
âDonât apologize. I donât blame you.â
âThe truth is, you shouldnât lie down when your nose is bleeding.â
Itâs not something you should apologize for now, is it? Is that how distraught you are? I wonder if she can respond calmly in such a situationâŚ
âExcuse me, Akamine-sensei? Are you here?â
Hmm? This voice, could it beâŚ
âIs that Kohaku?â
âYouâre right. If itâs Shirasawa-sensei, I will be able to handle it no problem.â
Akari suddenly became very confident.
What a steel mentality. And of course, even if Kohaku finds out about this, Akari wonât be exempted from the job, but thereâs nothing good about being found out, is there?
But I have no choice but to leave this situation to Akari. If Kohaku finds out that Akari and I are together, sheâll think weâve been seeing each other. I have to hide in here and erase my presence.
Leaving me on the bed, Akari stepped out from behind the curtains.
âAkamine-sensei, so youâre here. Why were you in bed?â
âI wasnât feeling very well, so I was having a nap.â
âWere you two sleeping together?â
ââŚI was sleeping alone.â
âAlone? âŚThen whatâs this smell?â
âItâs perfume.â
âIt smells like Touma-kun.â
Kohakuâs sense of smell is scary!
âI donât smell anything like that.â
âI can tell. Donât underestimate the sense of smell of a home economics teacher. âŚSniff sniff. I knew it, I can smell Touma-kun. Akamine-sensei⌠You slept with Touma-kun, didnât you?â
âIs that wrong?â
Why did you admit that?!
With a whoosh, the curtains were thrown open and Kohaku appeared.
âDid you do naughty things with Akamine-sensei?â
âT-Thereâs no way Iâd do that!â
âBut, Touma-kun, your nose is bleedingâŚâ
âI didnât get excited and got a nosebleed. I just got hit in the face by a volleyball.â
Kohaku withdrew her suspicious eyes and looked worried.
âA-Are you okay?â
âIâm fine. The pain is gone now.â
Kohaku exhaled reassuringly, looked at Akari, and said in an accusing tone,
âSleeping together is not fair. Arenât you trying to get ahead of me?â
âIâm not trying to get ahead. Me sleeping with him was for the purpose of âtaking care of an injured person.â If I am to be blamed for this, then Shirasawa-senseiâs case with the bento should be blamed as well.â
âT-That may be so, but⌠Sleeping together is not fair. I also want to sleep with Touma-kun, soâŚâ
Kohaku stared at me.
âTouma-kun⌠Will you sleep with me today?â
âInstead of sleeping with Shirasawa-sensei, you should sleep with me. Iâm a better snuggler than her.â
âThatâs not true. Iâm a better snuggler than you. When we were dating, I even slept naked with Touma-kun. At that time, he looked so comfortable.â
âTouma slept with me too. We held each other naked, and Touma looked really comfortable.â
Kohaku and Akari reminisced about their naughty memories with me.
I donât think thereâs anything superior about the two of us sleeping together, but if I donât let them sleep with me for now, theyâre likely to continue arguing.
âWell, how about the three of us sleep together next Saturday?â
At my suggestion, the two of them suddenly stopped arguing.
âEh? Sleep together?â
âTouma. Are you serious?â
âI am. Just the three of us. Is that okay with you two?â
âOf course~.â
âThatâs fine with me.â
They both said with happy faces. Then, as the conversation came to a close, Akari recalled,
âBy the way, why is Shirasawa-sensei in the infirmary?â
âIâm here to get some bandages.â
âKohaku, are you hurt?â
âMhmm. I have a cooking class in the fifth period, so I decided to have it ready in case one of the students got hurt by a knife.â
âWhy couldnât you wait until lunchtime?â
Akari, who was interrupted, sounded unhappy.
âI thought lunch break would be a busy time to get ready for class. Now that I think about it, my sixth sense may have kicked in.â
Kohaku seemed somewhat proud that she was able to stop Akari from sleeping with me. Akari looked frustrated, but took a bandage from the cupboard and handed it to Kohaku.
Kohaku received the bandage, and,
âHow long are you going to stay in the infirmary, Touma-kun?â
âItâs time I go back to the gym.â
Iâve stayed a little too long. When I pulled out the tissue stuffed in my nose, the nosebleed had completely stopped.
So I left the two of them and went back to the gym.