Horuu

It's been quiet a long time!! and I'm back! not yet.  I can't promise I'll be able to upload as frequently as I used to, but stay in touch!

Weeks have passed, and now, I'm experiencing incoherent, usual discord in my chest particularly in this heat. Probably worried cos sensei hasn't shown up in a while.

I just woke up and in sweating profusely, As if I ran a mile at top speed. Wait... Did I turn off the air conditioning last night? Turning my head, locating where my air conditioning was and it was off. No green light to be found. Did my beautiful lovely sister turn it off? Another possibility was a power outage.

Lazing around wasn't an option since I'm drenched in sweat. Taking a bath would be my best option. So I stormed out of my room and ran to the bathroom.

It took me half an hour to take a bath. Haaah!... Man that was refreshing! I should've stayed but time wasn't on my side. Precisely at 7 am, I have another half-hour for breakfast, during which I could leisurely play with my phone

A creek of a chair could be heard as I pull it backward so I can sit. Bread could be seen in the table, thinking it wasn't enough I stood up to blend a coffee.

Checking my phone, expecting a text from sensei, but nothing was found. yesterday a teacher asked me to pay a visit to sensei's apartment. Giving me her address sounds awesome but in this situation, I'm not thrilled to have such valuable information. Also I'll bring Kurisu with me. Are they that concerned to Tachibana-sensei? Would she even open her doors for me? Why am I thinking of such self-depreciating thoughts so early in the morning? Ugh...

If sensei truly requires assistance and yet she refuses to let me in, I will force my way in. As long as I don't get caught by police it will somehow work, I guess? This is making me sounds like a criminal.

Finishing my breakfast, I grabbed my bag and left my apartment. Someone called my name as I was walking to the station. Definitely Rui, based on the tone of the voice, would be sweet yet enticing.

"Good morning Aki. Did you get a good night's sleep?"

Right, Takanashi Rui. The scene that unfolded onthe rooftop is still vivid in my mind. How she broke out in tears when she told me her past which she overcame on her own. I didn't really do anything special and just listened. Her affection towards me was genuine, I don't have a single doubt for it. So I'm wondering if the Rui in front of me is the new Rui who triumphed over her past. I wonder what changes she went through but I would love to see and hear it from her. Kurisu forcibly took me and left her crying, doesn't mean that she was being heartless but she wouldn't let anyone steal me from her. Her possessive nature which I don't hate at all. I wish they could get along but I'm afraid I'm asking for the impossible.

"Uh... How do I put it. It wasn't that good."

"Eh? You've had a nightmare or something?"

Looking perplexed, showing a cute clueless face. I can see a question mark right above her head.

"Nah, not something like that. I awoke drenched in sweat."

"Oh, there was a power outage last night around 1 am."

I knew it! Damn... How disastrous. Well, nothing I could do about it now.

After that brief conversation, we continue walking to the train station. Few minutes passed and we began talking about our daily lives. It has been a while, it feels nostalgic, hearing her voice kinda soothes me of the bad morning I've had. She avoided me after that rooftop scene anyway. Well, understandable given that she needed a significant amount of time to recover. I'm just glad she reached out to me again and talked like we always do.

"Aki... What happened to you suddenly becoming quiet?"

"I wasn't expecting you'd reach me again. I miss casually talking to you like this."

"Uh... Yeah, I- sorry. It took me a span of time to recover myself."

Yep. Looking down she softly whispered those words which only I could hear. Her face flushed with embarrassement.

"I see..."

Haaah... She continued to speak after heaving a long sigh.

"So how far have you gone with Marika-san?"

"Eh? Uh-... Not much."

"Eh? Seriously? Are you being serious now?"

"What did you expect to hear from me?"

"Hmm... Something along the lines of kissing her."

"Ah! I kiss her, though accidentally..."

"Wow... You're a jerk Aki!"

"Wha- Why? How could you call someone a bastard?"

"I mean... It means she didn't give you her consent. Did she slap you?"

"No. She didn't."

"Lucky bastard!"

"Oy!"

"Hahaha. Alright moving on!"

While she's having fun I'm getting stressed all of a sudden. If I recall correctkyRui likes me. Why is she happy knowing I kissed Kurisu... accidentally... Ugh. Moving on to what? She still has spare questions for interrogation.

"Have you touched Marika-san's boobs?"

She dropped a bomb! How should I answer?

First option: Tell Rui I did and it was an accident as well. That is unlikely to work. She will start looking at me with pure disgust, thinking I was taking advantage of her. But it was an accident for God's sake!

Second and safest option: Feign ignorance. Just simply say 'No' without hesitating and maintain a calm demeanor. She'd never notice! It will undoubtedly work!

"Ah-... N-no I didn't..."

".... So you did?"

Fuuuuuck! Why did I even stutter? Wasn't I supposed to keep my cool? I mean... Kurisu's boobs was really soft, a nice feeling softer than anything in this world. Even beneath her undergarments and thin clothes. How would it feel if I touched it directly? I-.... What am I thinking?

"Like I said. I didn't."

"Heh... Alright then you can touch mine if you want Aki."

I'm not sure how she could say that with straight face. Is she even serious? Well, she did it before, I, on the other hand, would love it though.

"Yeah, Sure."

"Eh?"

She flushed unexpectedly. With a beet red face, she moved a few inches away from me, her arms covering her chest. Oy! Aren't you offering me to touch your boobs? Don't look at me with those eyes!

"Eh?" So I retorted with an 'Eh' as well.

We locked gazes, a few moment passed and we burst out laughing like idiots.

"Haha! Aki you Pervert"

"No, I'm not."

We continued walking through the station together. Thanks to her this dark swirling feelings inside me had vanished.

Arriving at the classroom, Kurisu is already sitting on her seat.

"Good morning Aki."

"Yeah, Good morning."

Tilting her head she asked.

"What's the matter?"

"Ah- Nothing..."

I'm wondering if Tachibana-sensei is coming. She's been gone for a while now. I couldn't help but worry about her. Perhaps she's getting through something she couldn't tell to others. But being away for an extended period of time makes no sense.

Today after school, as class representatives, i was tasked to visit sensei's apartment to check on her. Kurisu has decided accompany me. I'm hoping everything goes well. Whatever is bothering Tachibana-sensei, I would love to help to the best of my ability.

Since it has been weeks, even the teachers are worried, yet they can't poke their heads into Tachibana-sensei's issues. I doubt the school administration would fire her due to consecutive absences without a word coming from Tachibana-sensei herself. As I've been wondering this is becoming serious, this could be interpreted as negligence from work which would be bad for her image. Sensei would never let that happen without any serious problems, or so I thought.

Class started and I was left staring outside, watching a never-ending, never-changing landscape in front of me. It feels like something is missing. I couldn't put it into words but this feeling of restless is bothersome. I'm having trouble focusing on my studies. I'm barely paying attention in class lectures. Turning my head sideways, Kurisu was enthusiastically listening and writing down lectures. Wish I could get that motivation she have.

Ping pong~

That's the bell ringing to signal the end of class for the day. We had a math quiz last period, so when the bell rang everyone breathed a sigh of relief. That must be a nightmare for them, a difficult quiz before the day retires. As for me, it wasn't that hard since I studied the lessons in advance. It wouldn't be a surprising if I ever got a perfect score.

Kurisu hurriedly stuffed his notebooks and pen inside her bag, she glancing at me who was at a dazed the whole time. Tilting her head in confusion, she spoke.

"I wonder what's wrong with you the whole day but, we need to go Aki."

"Visiting Tachibana-sensei was a little out of the way."

"What? You got any problems with it?"

She must have asked that assuming that was the reason I'd been dazed the whole day.

"No, not really. You could say I'm worried I couldn't help but wonder what's wrong."

"I see what you mean. We'll find that out later."

"I hope so."

Giving me such stare urging me to move my ass, I started tidying up my belongings and left with her. I noticed Rui glancing at me as I walked outside of the classroom, but I don't think I should bring her because this is a duty assigned to class representatives. Also a possibility, she couldn't stand being with Kurisu yet. Maybe soon I can help her with that, there are few ways and I don't think Kurisu would hate the idea.

Leaving Karakura high, getting closer to the gate. Of course as expected, there's no way this rich girl would ride a train but what if I asked her to ride a train instead, would she agree? Definitely not, one reason was that it is faster having her Butler drive us to Tachibana-sensei's apartment. One more advantage is that the likelihood of becominglost is quiet low. This high-spec butler must've been Informed of our destination, so there's no need for me to say anything unnecessary.

Took us 30 minutes to arrive at Tachibana-sensei's apartment. From here on out, we'll unravel the mystery circling surrounding Tachibana-sensei's absences.