"Already living together?"

  Eriri's voice stammered as she struggled to process what Tomoya had just said.

  Utaha, oher hand, stopped tiptoeing and stood straight with a dark, cold expression on her face. "Living together?" she echoed, her voice icy. "So what you're saying is, you used us to help you create yame, but now that you've moved in with some irl, the club is meanio you, and you want to kick us out. Is that right?"

  Eriri's thoughts finally caught up, and she realized the implication of Utaha's words. "You... yoing too far!" she excimed, her twin ponytails boung as her frustration grew.

  Uhe two girls' heated reas,Tomoya remained calm, almost indifferent. "I've said what I wao say. I'm going to find Ellie- now." Without waiting for their responses, he turned ahe .

  Silence filled the room for a moment before Megumi, who had been mostly absent-minded until now, quietly stood up. "Sihe club is disbanded, I'll be leaving as well," she said simply. Without another word, she walked out of the , leaving Eriri and Utaha to stew in their frustrations.

  ---

  "Sensei!" Ryuji called as he opehe door to Hiratsuka Shizuka's offid walked in casually.

  "Ugh!" A quick, startled cough followed. Shizuka, caught off guard, hurriedly put out the cigarette she had been smoking. Even though she had a tough, rebellious side, she still wao maintain her professional image as a teacher.

  "You... shouldn't you be eating lunch right now?" she asked irritably, still a little flustered. She had been hoping to rex for a bit, but Ryuji's sudden appearaerrupted her rare moment of peace.

  With a shrug, Ryuji smiled and said, "I figured it would be better to e see you sooner."

  "..." Shizuka eechless for a moment. He had said the right thing, leaving her with no room to scold him. After posing herself, she looked at him seriously.

  "Aren't you going to have a proper talk about the bullying i?" she asked, folding her arms and giving him a stern look.

  Ryuji, however, didn't seem fazed. "What's there to talk about?" he replied nontly.

  "You broke three people's bones!" Shizuka excimed, still somewhat in disbelief. She couldn't uand how this seemingly normal, if somewhat rebellious, student had taken on three bullies by himself.

  "Did I? I didn't really pay attention," Ryuji said, his tone pletely rexed.

  "..." Shizuka couldn't help but roll her eyes. His casual attitude was both frustrating and oddly amusing.

  "Listen, if something like this happens again, e to the teacher first," she warned, her tone more firm this time. "You 't just handle everything by yourself. What if ime there are more people? You 't fight off aire group alone!"

  "You haven't joined a club yet, have you?" Shizuka suddenly asked, shifting gears.

  Ryuji raised an eyebrow and answered holy, "No, I haven't."

  "Would you like to..."

  Before she could even finish her sentence, Ryuji interrupted her with a swift, "NO."

  Shizuka blinked in surprise. "I didn't even say what I was going to ask yet! How do you know what I was going to say?"

  "Your thoughts are written all over your cute face, sensei. It's not that hard to guess."

  Shizuka narrowed her eyes and stood up, walking around her desk to stand in front of him. "You think yood at reading women, huh?"

  She was about to challenge him further, but something he said earlier hit her, and she froze. "Wait... what did you just call me?"

  Ryuji mentally kicked himself for letting his thoughts slip out. "Uh... I called you cute, sensei."

  "..." Shizuka's face twitched. She was almost 30, and this was the first time a stude alone a boy had called her "cute." And he said it so casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  "Sensei calm down!" Ryuji quickly said, hoping to soften the impact.

  "Bang!"

  Before he could react, Shizuka's fist shot toward him. Fortunately, Ryuji had quick reflexes, and he raised his hand to block it just in time.

  "Successfully tacted the target: Hiratsuka Shizuka! The purple entry has been triggered. Do you want to load it?"

  A purple entry? That was just oep below a golden one. Ryuji's mood improved instantly, but he decided to save looking at it for ter.

  Meanwhile, Shizuka was gring at him. "What did you call me?!"

  Ryuji shrugged, trying to appear i. "I just said you were cute, sensei. I didn't mean anything by it."

  "You still said it!" She wasirely sure how to hahis. She had been single for 30 years, and the idea of a student calling her cute while fttering also felt entirely wrong. She quickly found an excuse to mask her fusion. "I just wao firm if you really beat up those three guys by yourself."

  As she tried to pull her hand back from his grip, she realized with shock that she couldn't. "Why 't I move...?" Shizuka was strong, certainly strohan your average person, but Ryuji's grip was far beyond what she had expected from a student.

  Seeing her surprise, Ryuji quickly released her hand. "Sorry, sensei. It's my first time holding a girl's hand. I guess I got carried away."

  Shizuka blushed slightly, caught off guard by his casual flirtation. No one would believe that she was almost 30 with the way Ryuji treated her. She knew she was attractive for her age, but hearing it from a student made her heart ra a fusing way.

  "If you keep talking nonsense, my fist will meet your face," she warhough her voice cked its usual fieress.

  Ryuji immediately raised his hands in surrehough a pyful smile danced on his lips. "So, sensei, do you have any pns after school today?"

  Shizuka was somewhat immuo his pyful tone by now and looked at him curiously. "Why? Are y to ask me out on a date?"

  Ryuji smirked. "I know a noodle shop nearby that's pretty good. I was w if I could treat you."

  Shizuka froze. It wasn't every day or any day that a student asked her out. In fao one had asked her out in a long time. She was momentarily thrown off bance.

  Subsciously, a small part of her felt eted. See? I get asked out too! Even if it's by my student...

  But she quickly snapped back to reality. Wait, no, that's weird!

  "You're out of your mind, brat. You're not my type," she said, crossing her arms.

  "How you be so sure if you don't give it a try? Besides, sensei, I'm not as young as you think," Ryuji shot back with a wink.

  "Get lost!" Shizuka finally said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Go have lunch before I knock you out!"

  Ryuji ughed and stood up, giving her a mock salute. "Alright, alright. But seriously, let me know if you ever ge your mind, sensei!"

  As Ryuji left the office, Shizuka watched him go, feeling both amused and flustered. She had to admit, the boy had guts. Young people these days... so bold.

  _________

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