"Misaki, are you having trouble sleeping?" Ren came into the bathroom and saw Shokuhou Misaki yawning nonstop, dark circles under his eyes obvious.
"Mind your own business." Misaki continued washing up.
Soon, Ren finished washing up as well and started preparing bento for the two of them.
"We're having this today." Misaki took some beef out of the fridge.
"Got it."
Once ready, the two of them left together.
"Ren, don't come with me." Misaki began shooing him away.
"I'm a teacher at Tokiwadai Middle School, don't worry. Just think of me as your older brother." Ren said with a smile.
"Go to hell…" Misaki opened the car door and got in.
Naturally, Ren drove, heading toward Tokiwadai Middle School.
At school, some girls noticed a young man following Misaki and grew curious. After all, this was an all-girls school, and usually only teachers could enter.
But this man looked so young that they instinctively ruled out that possibility, especially Misaki's friends, who wanted to ask her about him.
"Misaki, see? They're jealous of you because I'm so handsome." Ren whispered as he walked beside her.
Misaki desperately wanted to get away from this shameless man, but her stamina was limited, and she couldn't escape him.
"Alright, I'm going to report first. Misaki, let's have lunch together at noon."
"No." Misaki refused decisively, already realizing the trouble she would face next.
After reporting, a female teacher led him, introducing as they walked: "Mr. Ren, you'll be responsible for the Genius Class. They tend to be more troublesome, so it will be busier."
"No problem. This is the classroom, right?" Ren pushed the door open.
Seeing such a young man enter, the girls couldn't help but feel curious.
"Hello everyone, I'm your new math teacher, Ren." While introducing himself, Ren observed the girls and noticed a familiar hairstyle. He hadn't expected this popular girl, Mikoto, to be in his class.
The girls were surprised but didn't say much. They were elites, both in ability and academics, and if there were problems a teacher couldn't solve, they could report higher up.
Being a teacher at Tokiwadai Middle School had its challenges, and professional competence had to be strong.
Ren didn't waste time. After confirming progress with the class representative, he started teaching.
Luckily, he could handle everything at the middle school level. When the bell rang, Ren finished on time and returned to his desk to work.
"Mr. Ren, what's this?"
"Some research work that needs handling." Ren replied.
"You're doing research and still applied to be a teacher?"
"Yes, I'm a bit concerned about my sister." Ren smiled.
"Sister? Who?"
"Shokuhou Misaki."
"Eh!?" The female teacher was immediately surprised. She hadn't expected that the famous lady actually had a brother. And from what she could tell, he was a genius.
After chatting with his colleagues for a while, Ren used his computer to organize all the data on Dolly. A clone.
Thinking about it, she was an experimental subject, so she had many defects.
Surviving with those parts was very difficult. Cloning again? Transplanting memories?
He quickly dismissed the idea. What would this way of existing be any different from that clown in RE0? But those damaged organs couldn't last long. He felt the doctor had been very conservative in his assessment.
Dolly might survive for two years, but in her final period, she would basically have to spend all her time in bed.
Fortunately, all the experimental data had been preserved. He knew all of Dolly's problems, and not a single one of them was minor.
At noon, Ren found Shokuhou Misaki. The girl immediately blushed, and her companions were very curious about their relationship.
"Good afternoon. Is Misaki's lunch prepared by you, teacher?"
"Yes. I have an extra portion here. Would you like to try it?"
"In that case, teacher, you can have mine. I haven't started yet." The purple-haired girl pushed her luxurious lunch forward.
"Score."
Ren forcibly joined Misaki's circle. Her lunch was well-balanced, specially prepared, and tasted decent, though not as interesting as the afternoon lessons.
Using numbers, Ren drew a picture for the girls, made entirely of 0s and 1s. The girls were fascinated. They wanted to be as skilled as Ren.
It immediately sparked their interest in class. After the lesson, there were no further classes. Homework was light, which made things easier for him. When school ended, Ren waited at the entrance. At this time, Shokuhou Misaki still didn't live on campus.
"Misaki, what's wrong? You look so gloomy."
"Someone knows the reason." Shokuhou Misaki felt her head ache.
After walking a while, she realized, "This isn't the way back."
"We're going to the hospital to pick up Dolly," Ren answered truthfully.
Shokuhou Misaki was silent. She didn't know how to face her.
"Misaki, just be yourself. Dolly won't mind." Ren said this while driving.
"Mm." Normally high and mighty, the center of her middle school, at this moment she felt insecure. She felt like she was stealing someone else's friendship.
They arrived at the hospital.
"Dolly, I'm coming in." Ren went in first.
"Researcher brother, you're here." Dolly smiled happily.
"Look who's here?" Ren said with a smile.
Dolly looked curiously toward the door.
"Why are you so nervous?"
Shokuhou Misaki fidgeted with her skirt, clearly uncomfortable.
"Misaki, how long are you going to keep hiding?" Ren shouted.
"Is that Mi-chan?" Dolly's voice was filled with excitement.
Shokuhou Misaki walked in. Dolly was still the same Dolly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her, completely ignoring what had happened before.
Seeing Dolly like this, Misaki clenched the hem of her skirt and apologized.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you. I wasn't really Kouzaku, but I used her identity to be friends with you…"
Hearing Misaki's long apology, Dolly stopped her. "Misaki, it's okay. You already explained it to me, right? Can we still be good friends? Brother researcher said he'll take us to see the sea."
"Yeah." Misaki couldn't help but rush forward and hug Dolly. In that moment, all the emotions she had been holding back—losing a friend, the lies, the lab's plans—burst out. After all, she was just a first-year middle school girl.
Ren recorded everything with his phone, thinking it would be meaningful for Misaki to see later.
After letting out their emotions, Misaki noticed Ren holding the phone and immediately lunged at him, ignoring her usual noble demeanor.
"Give it to me!"
"No way. Such a memorable video can't be deleted."
Misaki quickly grabbed a remote and pressed it toward Ren. When she saw him freeze, she hurriedly snatched the phone, but it had already been sent to the computer. Deleting it was useless. Feeling a bit down, she deactivated her ability.
"Hehe." Ren naturally went along with her. Ever since he shared with other selves, he could resist Misaki's ability, but right now, there was no need to oppose the girl.
**********
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