Chapter 16: Going to Work Together
The morning sun had just begun to rise, peeking over the eastern horizon. It was currently eight in the morning.
Didi! Didi!
The alarm clock by the bed beeped incessantly. After three minutes, a hand reached out from under the covers and slammed down on the device.
Clack!
The alarm ceased to function.
Five minutes later, a mess of black hair emerged from the blanket, followed by a clean, beautiful face.
"Ugh... what happened? Did I get drunk again yesterday?"
Shizuka felt like her memory had a gap. She vaguely recalled Chishima Akishin calling, but after that, everything was a blank.
"So, did I climb into bed by myself?"
She saw her white lab coat placed to one side, then noticed her bunny slippers neatly arranged under the bed. Since she rarely experienced memory loss from drinking, Shizuka couldn't be certain what she did in that state.
"Seems I still know my way to the bed even when I'm trashed."
That was the only logical conclusion. It wasn't like someone would come over in the middle of the night just to move her to bed. She didn't have any friends that close.
Despite feeling odd, Shizuka fixed her messy hair, got out of bed, put on her slippers, and prepared to wash up.
She grumbled about having to work. It felt cruel for a single woman, especially one nursing a hangover.
She opened the door and stepped out, only to see a perfectly tidy living room. Every manga magazine was neatly stacked. The curtains were halfway open, letting in the morning light.
The table was spotless, and three large bags of trash were sitting on the floor.
Shizuka walked past the table instinctively, but her footsteps came to a dead stop. She was shocked by how clean the house was. She was drunk yesterday, so why was the table this clean?
Normally, every time she woke up after a drinking session, the living room looked like a war zone.
She turned and saw the comics she usually never bothered to organize.
Shizuka's eyes widened. She heard the sound of light breathing. She slowly crept past the coffee table and looked toward the sofa. Chishima Akishin was sleeping there, covered by a spare blanket from her bedroom.
A single woman, a hangover, and a man who appeared in her house for unknown reasons. All these things merged in Shizuka's mind like a scene from a manga.
Suddenly, a surge of anger flared in her chest. She glared at Akishin and screamed at the top of her lungs: "CHISHIMA AKISHIN! WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE!?"
...
Ten minutes later, Shizuka and Akishin sat facing each other with the coffee table between them.
After hearing Akishin's explanation, Shizuka finally remembered venting her anger last night. However, everything that happened afterward remained a blur.
But Akishin didn't seem to be lying. She felt fine, and her clothes weren't messy—just a bit wrinkled from sleeping.
Because of this, Shizuka felt a wave of embarrassment. What was worse was that in her earlier rage, she had swung a kick at the sleeping Akishin. If he hadn't dodged in time, he probably would have ended up back in the hospital.
She was well aware of her own strength. That angry kick had been delivered with full force.
Akishin was also feeling a bit annoyed. While he was sleeping soundly, he'd suddenly felt a bad premonition. Without thinking and before even opening his eyes, he had instinctively jumped away and rolled into a defensive stance. Then, he heard Shizuka's loud scream.
It was an instinctive reaction forged from his career as an assassin in his previous life, but it had saved him.
"I'm sorry, Chishima-sensei."
Shizuka immediately admitted her mistake and apologized sincerely for mistaking his good intentions for something sinister.
To many students, Shizuka might seem like a selfish teacher, but it was always for their own good. As an adult, she knew when to be polite.
Akishin was a bit irritated, but seeing such a formal apology, he quickly responded:
"No, it was also my fault for entering your home without your permission."
Even though Shizuka herself had opened the door, she was heavily intoxicated at the time. Entering someone's home in that state could technically be considered trespassing.
Even though he didn't take anything and had actually moved Shizuka to bed and cleaned the house, he had still entered without explicit consent.
Shizuka didn't want to dwell on it further. She changed the subject and checked the time on her phone. "Chishima-sensei, work is about to start. We need to get to school immediately, or our bonuses will be cut for being late."
With that, Shizuka ducked into the bathroom while fixing her hair.
Akishin sat on the sofa and sighed. He had originally planned to practice Kendo, but that fell through. He had arrived at Shizuka's place at two in the morning. By the time he'd cleaned the living room and organized the comics, it was already three.
Honestly, he was still sleepy.
He thought about not opening the shop today and just having a long nap after work.
But then he thought—what if the customers were disappointed?
As an izakaya owner, he briefly considered being lazy on only the second day of opening. But then he remembered how many customers yesterday had praised his cooking and promised to return.
After thinking for a minute, he decided to open anyway. At the latest, he would close by ten tonight.
Inside the bathroom, Shizuka covered her face. Her clean face turned bright red. She felt mortified that Akishin had definitely seen her in such a mess while drunk.
Once she finished cleaning up, Shizuka returned to her usual self, though her face was still a bit flushed.
After putting on her shoes and white lab coat, she and Akishin left the house together.
Shizuka wasn't driving her sports car today, but rather a business van that could seat several people. She owned a few different vehicles.
Neither of them brought up the events of last night. As adults, as long as nothing bad happened, they considered it buried.
As for breakfast, Shizuka bought six pineapple buns. She claimed it was a token of thanks for Akishin's help, though it was really just to break the awkward tension.
...
Upon arriving at school, the two walked toward the faculty office together. No one paid them much attention, though a few teachers gave Akishin slightly different looks.
No one went out of their way to cause trouble for him. Shizuka watched the teachers glancing at Akishin for a moment before she left with her textbooks for her first-period class.
Since he didn't have a teaching schedule yet, Akishin organized his documents. He checked the classes he was responsible for, one of which was an international education class where ninety percent of the students were girls. Yukinoshita Yukino was in that class.
That class had very few P.E. hours, a far cry from the regular classes. Akishin hadn't taught there yet and didn't have a schedule for them today either.
Akishin noted down the student names, then asked a nearby teacher for the location of the library. He borrowed several books, most of which were original Chinese texts.
As a prestigious school, the library had a fairly extensive collection of such works.
On his way back, he took a detour to see the sights. As he passed a quiet corridor where the storage rooms were located, a door suddenly swung open. A beautiful girl with long black hair stepped out.
"Yukinoshita-san?"
Akishin was surprised to run into someone he knew there. Classes were technically still in session.
Even if the period was almost over, it was still study time.
He suspected Yukinoshita was skipping class.
As a teacher, Akishin's expression turned a bit stern. If she truly was cutting class, that was a serious behavioral issue. He felt he needed to guide Yukinoshita Yukino back onto the right path.
In his mind, skipping class at a young age only hurt oneself, especially in Japan where academic background was everything. Clearly, Akishin hadn't seen Yukinoshita's actual grades yet.
"Chishima-sensei?"
Yukinoshita Yukino also didn't expect to see Akishin there, as this area was rarely frequented by others.
Akishin approached with his books in hand and said in a serious tone, "Yukinoshita-san, class is still in session. Skipping is not the right thing to do. Even if studying is difficult, don't give up. There's still plenty of time in the future..."
"What are you talking about, Sensei? I'm not skipping."
Yukinoshita Yukino's brow furrowed slightly. This was the first time she had ever been accused of cutting class or being a "delinquent" student.
Akishin, inexperienced in dealing with students, took her answer as mere self-defense. His expression grew even more serious.
"Yukinoshita-san, let me say it one more time: return to class now. If you want to play, do it after school hours are over."
"I beg your pardon, Chishima-sensei." Yukinoshita Yukino, who possessed a strong personality herself, felt a prick of irritation at being misunderstood. However, since she was addressing a teacher, she tried to speak calmly:
"It seems you've misunderstood. I am not skipping, nor am I a poor student. My deviation value is the highest in the entire grade. I simply forgot something and obtained permission from the teacher to return to the club room to retrieve it. You are welcome to confirm this with our homeroom teacher immediately."
The highest deviation value? That meant she was the top student. Akishin realized that made sense for a member of a prominent family. He fell silent for three seconds, then took a step back.
"I apologize, Yukinoshita-san. I was mistaken."
The speed of Akishin's apology caught Yukinoshita off guard. She replied politely, "I know Sensei only had my best interests in mind, so there is no need to apologize."
Akishin didn't say anything more. The bell marking the end of the period rang, and Yukinoshita Yukino quickly took her leave.
Akishin watched the door she had closed, then looked at the nameplate on the room. His brows furrowed.
"What is this? The Service Club!?"
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