Chapter 7: Unmarried Older Women
"By the way, did something happen to you yesterday, Fujii? Missing the first day of school like that is unusual."
Noticing Shunsuke's awkward expression, Megumi Kato smoothly changed the subject.
What surprised Shunsuke a little, though, was that she directed the conversation towards his personal matters.
In Japan, surface-level friendships were just that—surface-level. Asking such a personal question meant that the person had to be at least on the same level of familiarity as Yui and Miura.
It wasn't shocking that Megumi could tell he wasn't opposed to discussing the topic with her, but the fact that she was willing to talk about it—was her initial impression of him really that high?
"I get the feeling you're thinking something rude about me, or is that just my imagination?"
Her completely neutral question, spoken in a calm, expressionless voice, carried a surprisingly sharp impact.
Pushing aside his thoughts, Shunsuke straightened up and said seriously, "I accidentally overexerted myself and passed out, ended up going to the hospital. But it's nothing serious."
"Stayed up too late watching some anime?"
"No, I awakened my Stand."
"Oh, I get it—chuunibyou?"
"I'm not lying, it's true."
"Wow, Fujii, you're amazing," Megumi said, her voice as flat as ever, making it easy to mistake her words for sarcasm.
"But it's good you're okay."
"Thanks for your concern, Kato."
"Fujii and Ka... Kato, are you two done yet? Do I need to ask the class to wait for you to finish?"
Shunsuke was startled. Even someone as violent and cute as Shizuka could dish out the classic teacher lines when students weren't paying attention in class.
He almost felt like he was being pulled back into reality.
The other students turned to look, their expressions blank. They weren't upset—they were just wondering where this "Kato" had suddenly come from.
"Miss Hiratsuka really is a great teacher," Shunsuke sighed.
"Do you think it's too much to judge based on whether I can remember the name, Fujii?"
"Haha, don't mind it."
Swoosh!
A piece of chalk flew swiftly toward him, and Shunsuke deftly caught it between two fingers in a cool, practiced motion.
"Fujii, come to my office during the break."
"Yes, ma'am."
Shunsuke sighed. Unmarried women of a certain age were tough to deal with.
From afar, a bespectacled science girl quietly observed.
....
During the break, Shunsuke arrived at the office.
"Fujii, come here."
Shizuka sat at her desk, lighting a cigarette in a way that was more reminiscent of an old man than a teacher.
"Shizuka, I think it's best if teachers don't smoke in front of students," Shunsuke said, keeping some distance as he summoned his Stand, Star Platinum, to furiously fan the smoke away from him.
As expected of his invincible Stand—he'd just discovered another handy trick for daily life.
"I've told you not to call me Shizuka at school," she said, taking a deep drag before begrudgingly stubbing out the cigarette.
"Got it, Shizuka. Understood, Shizuka."
"...Do you know what this is?" Hiratsuka asked, raising a fist the size of a small boulder.
"A fist."
"If you hadn't just been discharged from the hospital, it would already be making close contact with your stomach. You understand that, right?"
"I understand."
Shunsuke nodded on the surface, though inwardly, he felt a bit disappointed.
He was actually curious to see how the legendary invincible punch, said to be the peak of human strength, would fare against his Star Platinum.
As for The World? Nah, better not try that. After all, it's made of plastic—what if it gets smashed?
"Haah—" Shizuka exhaled a cloud of smoke leisurely, resting her right arm on the chair and crossing her legs.
"Actually, I didn't call you here just for that. I mostly wanted to understand what happened yesterday."
"Izumi didn't explain things clearly—something about getting hit by a car, then falling unconscious, and after that, no further contact. It scared me half to death. I almost thought you were a goner. I barely got any sleep last night because of it."
"Aunt Izumi can be a bit unreliable about things like that," Shunsuke said, covering his face in mild embarrassment. He glanced at the dark circles under Shizuka's eyes, which even makeup couldn't hide, and felt a wave of guilt.
To think that someone he only knew from eating ramen together would care about him to this extent.
Come on, someone marry her already! If no one steps up soon, I'll do it myself!
"So, what exactly happened?"
"The specifics are a bit complicated. To put it simply, let's just say I was scared unconscious by a speeding car. Nothing serious happened; I didn't even get a scratch. Otherwise, I wouldn't be back at school so soon," Shunsuke replied.
While he could joke around and tell the truth when talking to Megumi, doing the same with Shizuka would be disrespectful. He didn't want to lie to her either, so he resorted to vague explanations.
As he spoke, Shunsuke bounced around to show that he was perfectly healthy.
Shizuka frowned, wanting to say more, but was interrupted by a fit of coughing.
"Why is it that all of your cigarette smoke is coming my way, Shizuka?!" a female teacher dressed fashionably and heavily made-up suddenly started coughing in the corner of the office.
Shunsuke glanced quietly at his diligent Stand, Star Platinum, without saying a word.
As teachers, as pillars of society, their existence might just be to sacrifice themselves for the future of the nation. The secondhand smoke is strong—take a few more breaths.
"Oh? Sorry about that, Chihiro," Shizuka quickly apologized, waving her hand to disperse the smoke.
Chihiro Sengoku, another older unmarried teacher like Shizuka, was a close friend of hers. They often drank together, consoling each other over their woes.
What a pitiful bond.
Chihiro had also been classmates with Mrs. Izumi. Back then, the two had shared dreams of becoming painters and cheered each other on. They had been the best of friends.
Now, one had become an art teacher, another a teacher by day and a manga artist by night, with a thirteen-year-old child. The other was still single and desperately wanting to get married. Truly, life takes unexpected turns.
Shunsuke had known Chihiro for quite a while because of these connections, though their relationship was not as close as the one he had with Shizuka, whom he had only known for a year.
Compared to Shizuka, perhaps because Chihiro had definitively crossed the age threshold into her thirties, the two of them couldn't be compared in terms of decorum.
Shunsuke never dared to let his "father" meet Chihiro alone, fearing that one day, he might suddenly end up with an inappropriate stepmother.
And yes, as absurd as it sounded, there was a real chance Chihiro might pull something like that.
Once the smoke finally cleared, Chihiro flashed a mischievous smile and draped her arm over Shizuka's shoulder. "If you're really sorry, how about you let me borrow Fujii for a bit?"
Tap, tap, tap...
Even with the invincible Star Platinum by his side, Shunsuke instinctively took three steps back without hesitation.
Shizuka's eyes widened. "Chihiro, are you seriously so desperate that you're going after students now?"
"Huh? What are you talking about, Shizuka? What's going on in your head? I have real business to attend to!"
Chihiro, flustered and embarrassed, lunged at Shizuka as if to shut her up. "Besides, I'm only twenty-nine plus five months! Who's desperate here? You're almost thirty yourself—don't think I don't know what goes through your mind!"
"Uh... Ms. Sengoku, as a teacher, I don't think this is very appropriate," a visibly uncomfortable Hina Tachibana said as she entered the office. "Also, your voices are really loud. People in the hallway might have heard everything."
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•Chihiro Sengoku [Sakurasou No Pet Na Kanoujo]
•Hina Tachibana [Domestic Girlfriend]
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