Chapter 413: Iroha Again! (Bonus Chapter)

Back at Fumino's house:

Rei Ao gently placed Fumino Furuhashi onto her bed.

He pretended not to notice her obviously irregular breathing.

He removed her shoes, then took off her white socks.

A pair of feet as fair as jade was now exposed to the air.

For a moment, her small toes tensed like those of a startled rabbit.

Rei Ao paid it no mind.

He glanced briefly at her still odorless feet, then tucked them back into the covers. He pulled the blanket over her and went to her bedside, fiddling with something there before disappearing from the room.

…

Several minutes of silence passed.

Doing her best to keep her breathing steady, Fumino opened her eyes.

Confirming that Rei Ao was gone, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She had actually woken up earlier – she'd just been feigning sleep while in Rei Ao's arms.

So she'd listened tensely to his every move, especially when he was undoing her shoes and socks. She could practically feel his gaze on her bare feet, and it made her blush to think that he had touched them.

Luckily, he hadn't done anything else to her.

After calming herself, she remembered that Rei Ao seemed to have left something near her bed.

Turning her head, she saw a small note stuck to her alarm clock. It read:

"I've set the alarm for your class time – you can rest a bit longer."

"!!!"

Fumino's eyes widened.

"He knew I was pretending to sleep?"

Thinking it over, of course he'd notice her faking sleep – it was impossible to fool him.

"Ugh!"

Feeling overwhelmed, she hid her face under the covers, shame flooding through every inch of her.

…

Meanwhile:

Half awake, Mafuyu Kirisu drowsily sat up.

"Where… am I?"

Everything felt unfamiliar. This didn't seem like her house. As the fog of sleep began to clear, her memories gradually sharpened:

She was currently at Rei Ao's place.

More importantly, she remembered how she'd completely lost her composure during Rei Ao's massage, losing the dignity of a teacher in front of him – though in fact, that dignity had already been shattered.

"What time is it now?"

She planned to open the curtains to see how light it was. But the moment she tried to move, she froze in place.

Peering down at her pantyhose area…

"…"

Mafuyu Kirisu fell silent for a while. Her tights had a certain…sticky problem. Because of Rei Ao's "massage"…

Her heart pounded hard.

"Rei Ao… he wouldn't notice…would he?"

"Notice what?"

"Kyah!!!"

The voice behind her startled Mafuyu enough to let out a shriek.

"W-why are you creeping around behind me like that?!"

Caught red-handed, Mafuyu tried covering her lower half with the blankets. Rei Ao only shook his head with a faint smile.

"Kirisu-sensei, no need to hide. You might as well hurry home and shower. Otherwise, you'll be late for class."

"???"

Mafuyu stared in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Sigh… Kirisu-sensei, do I need to spell it out?"

Rei Ao lifted his hand in a calm gesture.

"I'm quite confident in my massages. It's only normal for you to have certain… after-effects. Rather than covering up, why not face it honestly? We both know exactly how things are."

"Ah!"

Mafuyu's mind went blank. Her sense of authority as a teacher had completely crumbled. She scrambled to flee. Watching her flustered figure vanish, Rei Ao couldn't help musing:

"She's had more intimate experiences with me than that, but she's shy about this? So adorable, Kirisu-sensei."

…

In truth, Mafuyu Kirisu felt not only shy but profoundly ashamed.

"How could I have done this?!"

Once she got home, she collapsed onto the floor, burying her face in her hands.

She could fool Rei Ao, but not herself.

Her physical "problem" wasn't solely caused by Rei Ao's massage.

If that had been the only reason, it would've cleared up overnight. Instead, the stickiness she felt that morning was caused by… an unspeakable dream. The dream had been hazy, but she vaguely recalled Rei Ao and herself, the massage continuing down an immoral, off-limits path, which had left her in a messy state. A prime example of "daytime thoughts yield nighttime dreams."

She knew her thoughts had strayed – which was unacceptable to Mafuyu Kirisu.

"Such thoughts about my student… I'm unworthy to be a teacher!"

She felt lost.

…

While Mafuyu was in the throes of her own moral dilemma, Rei Ao was indifferent, unaffected – such was his heart, or rather his liberal approach. He resumed his usual school routine.

Walking down the hallway, he once again "happened" across Isshiki Iroha.

"Ahem!"

In reality, Isshiki had coughed lightly to attract his attention first. Seeing Rei Ao's gaze on her, her eyes lit up. Following her "script," she gave an expression of "surprise."

"Rei Ao-senpai! What a coincidence!"

Coincidence indeed. She had clearly been waiting there for him, and he could see it. Though he didn't know what Iroha's goal was in approaching him, he didn't mind playing along for the moment.

"Isshiki-san, about yesterday's—"

"I'm really sorry about yesterday! I was so flustered; I was running late and… so…"

Isshiki Iroha put on a pitiful, vulnerable look, a typical cutesy-kouhai act that seemed designed to evoke sympathy. Unfortunately for her, Rei Ao was all too aware of her real nature – which only made her performance more amusing in his eyes.

"No need to apologize; it's hardly worth it for a small matter. Besides, you're quite petite, so there's no risk of hurting me."

He sounded gentle but deliberately referenced something mortifying for Isshiki:

"And by the way, Isshiki-san, we sort of ended up kissing by accident yesterday. I wonder if that might have been your… first kiss?"

"If so, I'd feel really guilty," he said.

"Uh…"

Iroha was at a loss, mouth slightly agape, temporarily unsure how to respond.

~~~

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