Chapter 32: Showdown
Night fell, and Kazama Chiba arrived as promised at the izakaya called Tsukuyomi, with Kerberos hidden away.
Just hearing that name told you it was a place with excessive alcohol content. Kazama, who didn't drink, frowned the moment he entered at the overwhelming stench of alcohol that assaulted his nostrils.
He circled through the hallway and finally found those two teachers in a private room, already drinking.
The air here was considerably fresher than outside, carrying a faint scent of incense.
But the scene wasn't much better than outside.
"So I'm telling you! Today's students are getting harder to manage each year! That teaching director is brain-damaged too! Always staring at my skirt length! What's wrong with wearing short skirts? It's fashion! Fashion, understand?!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka was sprawled across the table, the sake cup in her hand waving around like a conductor's baton, spilling clear liquor all over the table.
Her face flushed with that characteristic redness of excessive drinking. Two buttons at her collar had come undone, revealing a large expanse of pale skin. She had none of her usual dignified teacher demeanor.
Across from her sat Ougihoshi Kaguya.
Kaguya had changed from her usual professional attire into a dark purple modified kimono, exposing her slender neck and rounded shoulders.
That color suited her complexion perfectly, making her look like a night-blooming moonflower.
"Indeed, indeed. Such men who don't understand romance aren't worth bothering with."
She smiled and agreed, but her hands didn't stop—refilling Hiratsuka Shizuka's not-quite-empty cup with more sake.
"Shizuka-sensei works so hard. Come, have another drink to relieve the stress."
"Mm... you're the best, Kaguya..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka mumbled drunkenly, raising her cup and downing it in one gulp.
"..."
Kazama Chiba stood in the doorway watching this scene, unsure whether he should still enter.
"Ah! Kazama!"
Hearing the door open, Hiratsuka Shizuka jerked her head up.
Though the alcohol made focusing difficult, she still recognized that figure.
"You little... finally here... *hic*!"
"Quick! Come here! Have a drink with sensei... *hic*..."
She swayed unsteadily to her feet, trying to pull Kazama over. But the moment she took a step, her high heel twisted.
Like a demolished building, she toppled straight toward Kazama.
"Hey!"
Kazama Chiba instinctively shrank back a step.
But he quickly realized that if he let this teacher fall badly, tomorrow's school life might become hell.
So he reached out and reluctantly caught this body reeking of alcohol.
Soft.
Literally soft to the touch.
But that incoming fermented alcohol smell, combined with the crisis sense that she might vomit at any moment, prevented him from having any improper thoughts whatsoever.
"Don't throw up on me. I just washed this uniform."
With a disgusted expression, Kazama Chiba pushed Hiratsuka Shizuka away like handling a bomb that might explode, forcibly pressing her back onto the sofa beside them.
"Ow..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka mumbled nonsense about "I want sweet romance too," hugging a cushion and curling into a ball, completely losing combat capability.
"Whew..."
Kazama Chiba breathed a sigh of relief.
He brushed off the nonexistent dust from his body, then raised his head to look at that woman across from him who'd been enjoying the show.
"Oh my."
A light laugh came from across the table.
Ougihoshi Kaguya set down the sake bottle, those pale purple eyes watching this scene with interest.
"Kazama-kun really doesn't... know how to cherish beauty. Though Shizuka is a bit older, she's still a beautiful woman, isn't she?"
"Beautiful women are still creatures that defecate."
Kazama Chiba pulled out the chair farthest from Hiratsuka Shizuka and sat down, pushing the tableware in front of him aside to mark a clear boundary.
"Besides, I don't consider getting puked on by a drunk person any kind of enviable benefit."
"Hehe, what an interesting answer."
Kaguya didn't get angry. Instead, she laughed as if she'd heard an amusing joke, her shoulders shaking.
She picked up a fresh sake cup and placed it before Kazama.
"Want something to drink? The plum wine here is quite good. If you can't drink alcohol, they have milk too."
"No thanks."
Kazama Chiba didn't sit down.
"Kaguya-sensei, or should I say Miss Ougihoshi."
"You went to such trouble getting Hiratsuka-sensei this drunk and specifically calling me here—surely it's not just to buy me juice?"
"Who knows?"
Kaguya rested her chin on one hand, her fingers tapping lightly against her cheek.
"Maybe sensei simply wants to bond with a promising student?"
"Bond?"
Kazama Chiba glanced at the hostage beside them already snoring, then immediately retreated by advancing—suddenly standing up.
"Since it's just bonding, looks like I misunderstood."
He walked to Hiratsuka Shizuka's side and grabbed her arm.
"Then I'll take Hiratsuka-sensei home first. After all, if she sleeps here all night, tomorrow's school gossip will be unstoppable."
"My, my."
Kaguya released a light sigh.
"Such an impatient person."
"Leaving before hearing everything out is quite rude, you know—dear Clow Cardcaptor."
After she stopped acting, Kazama Chiba's movements froze for a moment, his brain racing at high speed.
Having his identity called out wasn't within his expectations, but it wasn't unacceptable either.
After all, Kerberos had been caught by her at school that day, and when he'd captured cards at Misaki Mori Tower the commotion hadn't been small. Any perceptive person or someone with special abilities could deduce it.
But deducing it didn't necessarily mean she was one of "them."
In this world, plenty of people had watched Cardcaptor Sakura. Maybe she was just some psychic with perception abilities who happened to be an anime fan?
Take a gamble.
Kazama Chiba blinked, his face showing perfectly measured confusion.
"Clow Cardcaptor?"
"Isn't that from a girls' manga? That elementary school student named Kinomoto Sakura? I didn't realize Kaguya-sensei also enjoyed watching cartoons for children. Didn't expect you to have such a childlike heart."
"Pfft..."
Kaguya couldn't help but laugh aloud.
"What are you laughing at?"
Kazama Chiba asked.
"I'm laughing at how adorably naive you are."
Kaguya's smile faded.
She drew a folding fan from her sleeve, gently opening it to cover half her face, revealing only those amused eyes.
"Kazama-kun, by mentioning the anime, you've completely admitted it."
"What do you mean?"
Kazama Chiba's heart sank.
"I mean—"
Kaguya extended one finger and gently shook it.
"In this world."
"All manga, anime, merchandise, and even online discussion posts about the work Cardcaptor Sakura..."
"Have completely disappeared."
"For ordinary people in this world, this work never existed at all—like a deleted segment of code."
"Therefore—"
She narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharp as a blade.
"Someone who remembers this work, who can name 'Kinomoto Sakura,' who even knows the title 'Clow Cardcaptor'—"
"Besides the person actually using the Clow Cards—"
"Who else could it be?"
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