[author] Slowly getting back into swing of things. Had this on the back burner for a while so it's a normal chapter length, but future chapters will be shorter. Mostly to just get into the habit of writing for this story.[/author]
"Morning, Ren- Huh?" I blinked and stared at the bandages wrapping up his arms and the bruise over his left eye. "What the heck happened to you?"
He sighed and adjusted the bag around his shoulders. "Onee-chan wanted to let off steam."
'Ooh! Kinky.'
I did *not* need that mental imagery, Sys-chan.
'How nice! You're finally calling me your sister!
That's not what I- You know what? Sure. Whatever you say, Sissy.
'You mean like how you look?'
...I hate you.
'Love you too!'
Celes walked beside me and then frowned. Glancing over Ren, she said, "Are you fine to walk, Ren?"
He waved his hand and said, "I've had worse. Right, Kimura-san?"
"Yeah. Don't mind him, Celes. A few bruises is nothing compared to being thrown down a staircase."
Celes gave a serious nod and then said, "Understood, Sen."
Ren blinked and then looked between me and Celes. "Huh."
I looked back at him and tilted my head. "What?"
"...You two seem different. Not by yourselves, but in the way you're together..."
Celes blushed and stammered. "N-Nothing of the sort has occurred!"
"Y-Yeah!" I felt my face heat up and said, "N-Nothing's happened!"
'What happened to that acting skill?'
Shut up!
'XD'
How are you sending emoticons by voice?!
'Magic~!'
Ren chuckled. "Fine, fine." He rolled his shoulder and started walking. "We shouldn't keep Sensei waiting too long. There's only a few days left with her." He frowned and said, "...I hope Sensei sorted out her situation."
I shook my head and said, "Sensei will be fine, Ren. I'm sure of it."
"Oh yeah." Ren looked at me and said, "You were helping her get a job, right? How did that go?"
I stared off into the sky, remembering Sensei's selfishly selfless nature and the state of her finances.
"...Painfully."
"Oh. But she's fine now?"
"She's fine. But I feel sorry for the person who had to hire her."
'Self-pity isn't healthy.'
Neither is having a voice in your head providing live commentary, but here we are.
'Love you too Sennie-poo!'
I sighed and focused on the walk to Sensei's place.
Celes happily walked on my right, leaning against me with a bright smile.
Ren walked on my left, lost in thought... and wincing about every three steps.
I frowned and said, "Are you *sure* you're fine too walk, Ren?"
He laughed and said, "Don't worry, Kimura-san. I know my limits. A few hours of rest and I'll be good to go."
"...You do realize that Sensei's probably going to make you lie down when we get there, right?"
Ren blinked. And then he frowned. "I forgot about that. Sensei's probably going to worry, huh...?"
Celes glanced at Ren and said, "Should I help carry you?"
'Ooh? NT-'
Finish that and I swear to god I will find a way to end you.
'Geez! Yandere much? Chill, chill. I ship you two first anyway.'
Ren blinked and then waved his hand. "I'm fine, Celes. I know you're strong, but I need to build up more pain tolerance anyway."
Celes tilted her head. "Pain tolerance? You have training to increase pain tolerance?"
Ren nodded. "Of course. Using martial arts beyond your limits breaks your body apart, so it's important to be able to handle the pain."
"Hoh..." Celes looked impressed and said, "The mystical lands of the East truly deserves its glorious reputation. To willingly endure pain to be able to surpass your limits... In the United Kingdom we simply make prayers to the divine and beseech their strength."
Ren's eyes brightened and he said, "We do that too. It's mostly asking our ancestors for strength though." He paused. "Unless you're someone like Uncle Hajime who's strong and self-confident enough to overcome everything."
I rolled my eyes and said, "Enough talking about religion for now. The real question is what we're going to be doing this year... Are you finally going to be part of the Karate club, Ren? Or are you still joining the 'Go-home' club?"
Ren laughed and said, "I might try out. Father mentioned that there are going to be a few interesting transfer students entering our school, so I want to test the waters a bit." He paused and then said, "Speaking of transfer students..." He looked at Celes and said, "Did you finally decide your situation, Celes?"
"Yes." She nodded and let out a bright smile, hugging my arm. "I will attend your academy alongside Sen."
I coughed and looked away, scratching my nose.
'Somebody's happy, huh?'
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't.
'Kyaaa! Cute! You admitted it!'
I felt my face heat up and decided to ignore Sys-chan.
And then I noticed that Ren was staring at me.
"What?"
He looked at me. Then he looked at Celes. And then he let out a long sigh. "It's going to be a noisy year."
I tilted my head.
Ren laughed and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Kimura-san. Now come on, we're going to be late."
-VI|IV-
"Sensei! We're here!" As always, Ren announced our presence and then tossed his bag to his seat.
"Excuse our rudeness." Celes entered after Ren and bowed her head.
And then I walked through the door and shut it behind me. "Hope you haven't been working too hard, Sensei." I turned around and said, "Make sure to..."
Before I could finish, I found myself trailing off.
'Oh my.'
Ayumi was sitting behind her desk as usual. But she was different.
Her usually messy hair was neatly combed, and the plain green blouse she usually wore was substituted by a tailored gray suit and dress. Not only that, but she was wearing black tights and heels.
In short...
'SEXY TEACHER! *pantpant*'
STOP.
'BUT SHE'S HOOOOOOT!'
It seemed like I wasn't the only one who noticed... Though you'd have to be blind not to notice.
Ren blinked and then rubbed his eyes, as if he wasn't sure he was seeing things right.
And Celes... She instinctively stepped towards me and grabbed my arm.
Ayumi noticed and then let out an awkward laugh, her face a bit red. "I-I guess this is a bit much, huh?"
'Not enough! Unbutton the first button and let those babies loose, Sensei!'
I walked over to my desk with Celes at my side and said, "A little, yeah." Ignoring Sys-chan again, I set my bag down and settled in. "Did you have something special planned?"
Ayumi shook her head. "No. But since there's only a few days left... And since I finally have some extra cash I thought I'd dress up nice for my students before you all leave for school."
Ren finally recovered and then clicked his tongue. Staring at Ayumi, he said, "That outfit's no good, Sensei."
"E-Excuse me?"
Ren swept his gaze up and down Ayumi's body.
She flinched and instinctively covered her chest.
But Ren ignored it. Instead, he said, "The coordination is all over the place. If you're going for sexy, you should have gone with a suit a size smaller and unbuttoned the first two."
"Y-Yes?"
Ren hummed and said, "The tights are good. Sensei has a good figure, so having those hug your curves draws the eyes. But that's a bit too vulgar. If you wanted to..."
I cleared my throat.
Ren stopped talking and then his face turned red. "A-Ah." He blinked and quickly took his seat. "S-Sorry, Sensei."
"N-No." Ayumi blinked and said, "I-It's fine. But... I didn't know that Ren-kun was such a fashionista."
Ren sighed. "It's my mom." He clicked his tongue and said, "She keeps ranting about this sort of stuff so I've got it stuck in my head... Sorry. Anyway, what are we learning today?"
Celes leaned over to me and whispered, "Is Ren speaking the truth?"
I nodded and whispered back. "Yeah. His mom, uh... REALLY takes fashion seriously."
"I see."
Ayumi clapped her hands together and said, "In any case... Let's get to work! There's only a few days left, so we'll work hard and send each other off with a big smile, okay?"
-VI|IV-
And like that, time passed.
We spent our days with Sensei as usual.
I spent the nights working on commissions and managing the YouTube channels while streaming with Celes.
Dad... was in and out of the house doing something or another and brushing it off as work.
And then it was Monday. August 30th... And the return of school.
'You ready, big boi?'
"No." I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror and adjusted my school uniform. "Absolutely not."
'Well, tough. Because from what I can tell, life's going to get pre~tty exciting for you soon.'
I sighed.
"Sen?" Celes called out to me from outside and said, "I am finished preparing! Shall we leave?"
"...Well." I stared at my reflection again.
It was mostly the same. Still the usual girly face and deceptively delicate looking body. The only difference was that my expression was sharper. Something in the eyes, maybe?
'Keep telling yourself that, Sennie. Maybe it'll come true someday?'
I snorted and headed towards the bathroom door. "Just you wait-"
[Career Mission
Zenkai Academy has recently received an influx of new students! Establish the pecking order and go network to make new friends!
Reward: ??? Achievement Points, ???, ???
Failure: You don't want to know.
...
'Um. T-That wasn't me?'
I pinched my nose to stave off the budding headache and then let out a deep sigh. "Whatever. Let's just get going and see what other levels of crazy my life will reach today..."