One man and one cat walked along the road.
As they passed by the Ogata Udon Noodle Shop, Homura had initially intended to keep walking, but the shop's door was open, and Rizu happened to spot Homura not far from the entrance.
"Ahh, Minamiya-san!" Rizu jogged a couple of steps to reach the shop's doorstep. "Are you heading to Fumino's house?"
"Umu, I agreed to go and see your teacher, after all." Homura nodded.
"Just wait a moment! I'm coming too."
Rizu ran back inside to change her clothes, leaving behind her father, who had already put on an astonishingly terrifying expression.
"..." Homura stayed silent.
"Well, well, if it isn't Young Teacher!" Rizu's father cracked a smile, yet not quite a smile. "You've come to visit my daughter again, eh? You look just like an antagonist with that smile, you know!"
"...Well, I'm just helping Ogata-san catch up on her schoolwork." Homura chuckled, not bothering to counter the old man.
He hadn't really planned to seek out Rizu in the first place; it just happened that she saw him and suddenly wanted to join, so he wasn't at fault here. Moreover, he also understood what consequences if he sought her out.
For example, Rizu's father would shout something like, 'What?! Are you saying that my Rizutama started this thing? What a joke! As I thought, I should've turned you into udon, kid!'
Such a situation could easily occur, so to avoid any unnecessary complications, it was better to just go with the flow.
"To be honest... I'm really grateful to you." Rizu's father suddenly spoke seriously, his face momentarily softening. "I've seen her improvement in her grades, and I know it's thanks to you, Young Teacher, but..."
His face quickly reverted to its previous state.
"If you did anything you shouldn't—Aghhh!"
Rizu's father suddenly clutched one foot, hopping around on one leg.
"Dad, you're really..." Rizu sighed tiredly. "You've started again when I wasn't paying attention... Let's go, Minamiya-san."
She pushed up her glasses and immediately set off.
Homura looked at Rizu's father and, after bidding him farewell with a "Goodbye, Uncle Ogata", he quickly turned and left.
Rizu's father could only shed tears as he watched his daughter's fading figure.
===
"Minamiya-san can you persuade Kirisu-sensei?" Rizu suddenly asked as they walked along the road.
"Whether I can persuade her or not doesn't really matter, does it?" Homura smiled.
Hearing that, Rizu stayed silent and waited for his explanation.
Homura shrugged his shoulders and continued, "Even if I don't persuade her, won't you and Furuhashi-san still continue to pursue your dreams no matter what?"
Rizu's pupils contracted, clearly surprised.
He was right; whether or not he could convince Mafuyu today, it wouldn't change anything. Even if she remained unconvinced, their situation would stay the same. However, if she were persuaded, they would gain an additional supportive teacher at school.
In other words, whether Mafuyu was convinced or not, what was the difference? As long as they remained firm in their beliefs, nothing could stop them!
"Thank you, Minamiya-san..."
"Well, you don't have to thank me... Even if you hadn't come to a realization, you'd still continue down the same path, no?"
At his words, Rizu hesitated.
"Although that's true... I still feel like I should thank you."
"Okay, I accept your thanks." Homura smiled.
Rizu nodded and stayed silent, choosing not to continue the conversation. Perhaps she was preparing herself to meet Mafuyu?
===
"Welcome~!"
Fumino welcomed Homura, Rizu, and Haru, into her house. Although she was a bit surprised that Rizu had also arrived, she didn't say anything.
"Ogata-san, Minamiya-san, good afternoon."
Mafuyu, who was already waiting at the entrance, greeted Homura and Rizu before turning to Homura.
"Thank you for your help the other day."
"Good afternoon. You're too kind, Kirisu-sensei." Homura nodded.
After greeting each other, an awkward silence enveloped the area; no one knew how to break it.
If Mafuyu weren't here, Fumino would have naturally invited Homura and Rizu into her room, but now, if she did that, she would probably get a lecture from Mafuyu, something about casually inviting boys into her room.
Meanwhile, Rizu had no idea what to say in this awkward situation.
As for Homura, he didn't plan on speaking if Fumino and today's main character, Mafuyu, remained silent.
In the end, while Mafuyu had talked to her two students before, their lack of mutual understanding meant that their relationship hadn't worsened but hadn't become any closer either.
And so, the silence persisted for a while.
"Meow~? (What's going on?)" Seeing the bizarre silence, Haru tugged at the cuff of Homura's pants and asked.
Since Haru had opened the conversation, Homura decided to break the ice.
"It's nothing." Homura answered before crouching down and picking Haru up, introducing her to Mafuyu. "Kirisu-sensei, this is my cat and family member, Haru."
"O-Oh!" Mafuyu, who was awkward for a moment, leaned closer to Haru, with her hair brushing against Haru's ear. "Hello, I'm Kirisu Mafuyu."
Fumino: "..."
Rizu: "..."
Homura smiled, then lowered his head to Haru. "Little one, this is Kirisu Mafuyu-sensei, the teacher of Ogata-san and Furuhashi-san. She's saying hello to you."
"Meow~? (Teacher? Like Tora-neesan?)" Haru thought for a moment and asked.
"That's right, just like Tora-neesan."
"Meow~! (Oh... Hello!)" Haru nodded and raised her paw to wave at Mafuyu.
Seeing this bizarre scene, Mafuyu was stupefied for a moment before turning her head to Fumino.
"Question, am I dreaming?"
"Answer, you're not dreaming, Kirisu-sensei." Fumino replied with a smile.
As soon as she received Fumino's answer, Mafuyu quickly looked at Rizu.
"Is the cat saying hello to me?"
"I think so... Haru and Minamiya-san can understand each other, so yes, she is saying hello to Kirisu-sensei." Rizu nodded calmly.
"Oh..." Mafuyu nodded, feeling as though she had forgotten everything she had wanted to do today, as the image of Haru waving a paw at her kept replaying in her mind.
However, this confused state of hers unknowingly made her look very adorable to the others!
Homura was very satisfied to see Mafuyu's behavior. As for Fumino and Rizu, they were surprised once again, feeling like they had learned a bit more about their teacher.
*Cough* *Cough*
Mafuyu coughed and snapped back to attention, her expression coming back to normal.
"Disrespectful, my apologies for my distraction. Let's talk, Minamiya-san."
Is it finally time to get down to business?
Everyone also became serious as Fumino led them to the living room.
After preparing some water, their conversation officially began.
"Minamiya-san, do you know what Ogata-san and Furuhashi-san excel at in school?" Mafuyu asked in a solemn tone, her eyes fixed on Homura's eyes.
"Yes, it's as clear as their names." Homura nodded with a smile.
"Their names?"
Mafuyu blinked in confusion and, after a moment's thought, she understood what he meant by 'their names'.
"Surprising, I think this is the first time I've learned about this!"