"Please make us your disciples!"

Gojima just blankly stared at the boys bowing in front of him while making such a weird demand.

"...Disciples? You mean students? You can apply—"

"No, Uncle—no! Shishou!" Takeshi said with an intensity never shown before, "we want to be your disciples!"
"Yeah! We want to be cool like you!"
"Hm hm! I want to drift my bike just like you!"

Gojima said nothing for a few seconds, then sighed.

"Listen, kids. What I did was extremely risky and could have gotten me killed. There is nothing cool about it."

"Eeh~ but that was so badass! The way you swung yourself to the other side of the train! That was just like a video game! I wanna learn to do it too!" one of Takeshi's friends said with glittering eyes!

"I know, Shishou! I don't wanna go that far! I just want to learn the secret to 180-degree drift!" said another boy.

"Please, Shishou!"
"Please!"
"Please!!!"

Gojima felt a headache brewing. How was he supposed to convince them to not do something stupid!

Sigh, teenagers...

"Okay, kids. I will teach you what I know—"

"Yeah!"
"Yippie!"
"Yoshhha!!!"

"—HOWEVER!"

The boys stopped their cheering and looked at Gojima who had a really menacing look.

"However, your body and mind is not prepared to handle the harsh training. You must fulfill some requirements."

"...Requirements?" Takeshi asked.

"Yes, requirements. You need to be able to run for at least ten—no, five miles everyday. You are too young to accomplish something like that."

"F-F-F-Five miles?!"
"T-That's a little..."

"Not only that, you need to synchronize both your body and mind. So, you need to learn proper marshal arts."

"I-I'm in the karate club!"
"I-I'll learn Judo!"

"Not just learn martial arts, you will have to be the best. Get black belts at least."

"B-Black belts?!"
"T-That's..."

"And no more video games, they will dull your body."

"E-Eh? N-n-n-n-no more video games?!"
"That's too much!"

Takeshi said nothing, but silently watched Gojima making unreasonable demands (he was definitely doing it on purpose, wasn't he?) and his two friends giving up the idea little by little.

"...I'll do it."

"Ha?"
"Wha?! Takeshi, you!"

His friends stared at him as if he were completely mad. He was willing to give up on even video games?!

Takeshi, however, remembered the despair he felt when Sayuri pushed both Miki and Ruri towards him and almost sacrificed herself, or when they were pushed around by the other students running in frenzy in the pandemonium.

And the man who saved the day was in front of him. He finally saw the true power this man possessed.

In video games, you could kill the demon king and save the world with just pressing enough buttons. How do save your dear ones in the real world?

You needed to be stronger.
Stronger and sharper.

"O-Oh, I just remembered something I have to do."
"M-Me too. Bye Takeshi, bye Uncle."

His friends left the place as he looked at a dumbfounded Gojima with crystal clear eyes.

"You might think it is impossible, but I'll do it. I will obtain true strength."

Gojima had to say he was impressed. Takeshi knew that he was trying to deter everyone and make them lose interest in their temporary passion. But why is he still here then?

"...And why do you want that strength?"

"To protect my loved ones."

Gojima said nothing and just stared at the young boy in front of him.

'To protect my loved ones, huh.'

For a moment, his wife and daughter's faces flashed in his mind. Maybe if he had been stronger...

"Fine. I'll teach you what I know," Gojima said. He was not exactly what Takeshi thought of him. Most of the things he managed to do was thanks to Ubs after all.

But it did not mean that he had no skills whatsoever. He was a skilled psychiatrist, and he was good at reading people. He was not exactly good at marshal arts or parkour, but he could at least guide him on his path—about what to do and what not to do.

Takeshi beamed. "Thank you, Uncle—no, Shishou!"

"...Uncle is fine."

"Hehe..." Takeshi took out his phone and asked Gojima, "Uncle, can I have your mail address? I will ask for some pointers from time to time!"

"Asking over phone even when I am only one floor below? Being lazy already, Takeshi?"

The boy just blushed in return. He actually did think that climbing stairs everytime would be annoying!

"S-Sorry, Uncle, I—"

"Just kidding. You will not always find me in my home either. Give me the phone."

The boy embarrassingly gave him the phone and Gojima entered his mail address. He was not willing to invite a young boy regularly in his house and give birth to strange rumors either.

Gojima took a deep breath after Takeshi left. The young boy would definitely grow up to be a fine young man in the future. He would make sure that happened.

It was a teacher's oath.

"You sure have a lot of admirers," both Dr. Mizushima and Nurse Honda amused.

Gojima could only shrug in return.

 

---

 

"Aunty! P-Please help Ruri chan!! She... she will die!!!"

Fuyumi tried to remember who Ruri was. She did meet Gojima's neighbors in the school festival after all. There were three kids if she remembered correctly, only two of which were girls.

Since the girl who was hugging her leg while crying had twintails, the other girl must be the short-haired tomboyish one.

Oh no, was she in any danger?!

"Where is she?"

"I-In the park toilet..."

"Take me to her."

"Um!"

Miki took Fuyumi to the stall inside the public toilet where Ruri was.

"R-Ruri chan! Are you okay?! I bought an adult lady, just as you asked! Please respond!" Miki shouted with teary eyes in front of the toilet door.

"Good job, Mi-chan." Miki was relieved to hear Ruri's voice. She continued, "and its the pretty aunty we met at Gojima uncle's school!"

"Hello, Ruri chan. I am Okada Fuyumi, Gojima sensei's colleague. I believe we have met during the school festival," Fuyumi continued, already having some suspicions, "your friend brought me here, saying that you were in danger. Are you okay?"

"I—I'm okay... well, not okay. But I am not dying," Ruri replied.

"That's good to hear. But there is something wrong, right?" Fuyumi asked.

"I—I'm bleeding... down there."

"Oh. So that's how it is."

It was just as she suspected, when she arrived here.

"Is this the first time this has ever happened?" Fuyumi asked.

"Y-Yes." Ruri replied from the other side.

Fuyumi sighed. This was an awkward situation every girl had to go through at some point of their life. Usually these things were supposed to be taught in the schools during sex education, but she knew very well that many schools were kind of reluctant to discuss these topics with the children, especially the co-ed ones.

In her case, she was prepared well by her mother before her periods began, and in her sister Haruka's case, she herself fulfilled that role.

She was not stupid enough to ask if Ruri's mother did not teach her anything. Everyone had their own circumstances.

Fuyumi thought about what to do. She herself used tampons, and she always had a few spare underwear with her, just in case of emergency. But as a first timer, Ruri might finds tampons to be incomfortable.

"Uh... wait for a few minutes, okay? I will just go to a nearby convenience store and grab some things that will help." Fuyumi decided to buy pads and fresh underwear for her. And maybe a few painkillers.

Then she would have to teach her about these things. But she was tired.

"Ruri chan, after I come back and help you, I would like to meet your guardian—or anyone you trust—and discuss some things," Fuyumi said, "I would prefer talking with a woman, if possible. Would that be okay with you?"

As she was tired, she would rather talk with a woman who would realize everything with just a word. Then she would just leave the little girl under her care.

"I-Is Ruri chan going to be alright? She won't die, right?" Miki asked Fuyumi with teary eyes. She just smiled in return and patted the young girl's head.

"She is going to be alright, don't worry." Miki finally smiled, still teary eyed though.

Ruri thought over it for a moment. She did not really want to discuss it with her uncle at this moment. Koharu san would probably be outside. Then that left only one person.

"Please take me to my neighbor Sayuri san after this."

 

---

 

Sayuri was tired. Really tired.

She just came back home from Misaki's interrogation. Even now, she felt irritated by her ever growing smirk.

"Oho~ so that happened~"
"E-Eh?! CPR! Really!"
"Oooh, so apple pies are his favorite, huh?" Nudge Nudge

"That idiot Misaki! I-It's not like that! Pro—No! It's not!"

She was tired. Maybe she should take a nap, and then call Satoshi? Yeah, she was married and had a husband. She should talk with him regularly, keep him in her mind—

Ding Dong!

She flinched hearing the sound of doorbell. Who was—

"Sayuri chaaan!" It was Mi-chan's voice. Oh, both Satoru and Koharu san would be late they said.

She opened the door.

"Ah, Miki chan! Ruri chan... and..."

"Hello, Hanazono san, if I remember correctly. Can I have a little talk with you?"

 

---

 

"Oh, so that's what happened," Sayuri said.

"Yes," Fuyumi affirmed, sipping from a cup of tea Sayuri provided. It was a good decision to come here. She really needed homemade tea right now.

"Ow, poor Ruri chan! You must have felt scared, right?" Sayuri just hugged Ruri. She remembered how scared she was during her first period. Her Mama had gone to the neighborhood association meeting, and no one was home, and she thought she would die alone—

"Fortunately, Ruri chan was smart enough to send Miki chan to find an adult woman nearby," Fuyumi said, "that is how I actually found them."

"Thank you for helping them," Sayuri bowed to her.

"Please, I only did what should have been done, as a human and a woman," Fuyumi bowed as well, "but right now maybe we should teach these young girls about these things. Their school definitely did not do its job properly, so I guess its upto us now."

Sayuri sighed. "You are right, Okada sensei. Now then, Ruri chan, Miki chan."

"Hm."
"Hmm?"

Sayuri continued, "now I will be teaching you girls about something really important. Pay attention, okay?"

The girls nodded. Sayuri took a glance towards Fuyumi, who also returned an affirmative nod.

It was not bad, Sayuri thought. It kind of felt like she was teaching her own daughter about the challenges of puberty. Maybe if she ever has a daughter like Ruri in the future, she would be doing this again?

It would be a good practice, right?