Setting aside—for the moment—whether he should bite the bullet, quit his part-time jobs, and try entering PVC's original rock band project, Aoki Suke was still wavering despite how tempting it sounded.
So, after bookmarking that video, he temporarily shoved the whole "Be original / Rock Band Project" to the back of his mind.
After finishing his shifts at the convenience store and the bar, Aoki trudged back to his apartment through a light rain.
He washed up quickly, hung his half-soaked uniform to dry, and finally crawled into bed.
Night passed without incident. The next day.
After the rain, Tokyo felt a bit less muggy; even the temperature seemed a touch cooler.
Still, as last night's drenched victim, Aoki carried a little grudge against the weather.
Yawning, grudge in tow, he stepped into Shūka Private Academy.
Turns out most fairy-tale romcom stuff in light novels is a lie—two days in a row, arriving right on time, and Aoki hadn't once bumped into Kita-chan or Bocchi-chan at the gate.
It wouldn't be so bad if it were just "no chance encounters," but both mornings he'd instead run into Hikigaya Hachiman.
The gods must be mixing up their "chance encounter" target and Hikigaya… No, mixing it up two days straight is unlikely—maybe the gods are actually a troll like Sakata Gintoki…
His sleepy brain was meandering. While spacing out, Aoki yawned and glanced at Hachiman walking not too far away.
He hesitated, then, figuring "we are technically desk neighbors," called out to the not-so-familiar classmate in front.
"Morning."
Up ahead.
Hachiman was mulling over which bread to get for lunch when a short greeting hit his ear.
He paused, but didn't turn; he kept walking.
"No subject in the sentence—sounds like how you greet someone you're close to. I'm not close to anyone at school, therefore that greeting wasn't for me."
Thought processing at lightspeed, Hachiman concluded.
"Although, that voice is kind of familiar… who was it again? Ah… right, that guy who looks like he has social anxiety but is actually a super normie: Aoki Suke."
He thought another moment, remembered, then, wondering who this normie was greeting, glanced sideways with his dead-fish eyes toward the corridor.
And locked eyes with a puzzled-looking Aoki.
"Morning," Aoki repeated.
"Geh—!? Is he one of those people who get buddy-buddy instantly? If he asks me how many people are in my family, how do I answer…"
"Uh, morning," Hachiman nodded back.
Aoki nodded too. Conversation over.
Hachiman mentally wondered why Aoki suddenly greeted him the whole way until they reached the classroom door.
He figured that was that—until, right as they stepped inside, Aoki suddenly spoke again.
"Hikigaya-kun, tell me… why is it that even though I've been at this school a while now, I've never bumped into any first-years on my way in?"
"…?"
This time the sentence had a subject. Hachiman blinked, then shot Aoki a look that said, "What are you talking about?"
"Second-years and first-years arrive twenty minutes apart. What are you talking about?"
Aoki paused mid-step, blinked, and nodded seriously.
At the same time, deep in his heart, he sincerely apologized to most light-novel authors and to the gods.
...
Even with the sincere apology, the gods still punished him.
That morning: clear skies.
After third period ended, Aoki planned to rest during the break. He had just lowered his head onto the desk when finger taps rapped the desktop by his ear.
A familiar voice followed.
"Hey, Aoki. Come with me to the office."
He hadn't slept much after spending ages hanging laundry last night, so he was a bit cranky.
Considering that Hiratsuka Shizuka could knock him out with one punch and that the gods were, for the moment, safely intangible, he decided it was safer to silently complain about the gods' pettiness a few times.
Mind wandering, body dragging, Aoki rose and followed Hiratsuka out of the room.
Keeping about a meter behind, he had a clear view of the older teacher's back.
If you looked closely, Hiratsuka actually had a striking figure—slim waist, superb proportions, legs like art… basically a sculpture in perfect ratios.
If you ignore her bad taste in clothes, bad tolerance for alcohol, love of smoking, habit of pairing chocolate with booze, fondness for combat manga, lack of femininity, being an indoor nerd, ramen obsession, total disregard for her image, violent temperament, age being a bit… etc., she'd actually make a surprisingly decent romantic partner.
After carefully itemizing her "flaws," Aoki reached a conclusion.
Then, Hiratsuka suddenly glanced back with an expression that said, "Were you just thinking something rude about me?"
He drew a deep breath and ignored it.
And immediately overturned his own conclusion—
Just the "violent" part alone is a complete disqualifier!
...
They reached the staff office.
For some reason, no other teachers were there. Taking her seat, Hiratsuka looked at Aoki.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, what did you need me for?" he asked.
She arched a brow, expertly tore open a fresh pack of Seven Stars, lit one, didn't put it to her lips yet, and said,
"Listen, Aoki-boy. The student council, the parents' oversight committee, and the faculty review board are all cracking down lately. About your… situation… I'm running out of ways to cover for you."
She was stating facts, but it somehow carried the vibe of "Aoki-kun, you wouldn't want me to fail at covering for you… would you?"
Aoki's mouth twitched. "Hiratsuka-sensei, no matter how thirsty you are, going after a minor is illegal. Threatening me by leveraging my weakness—"
"…"
A kind smile tugged at her lips.
Before he could finish, she clenched her right fist and swung it past his ear.
"Whoosh—!"
The punch wind howled by.
She withdrew her fist as if nothing had happened. "Back to business. Those groups are strict now. Certain special students require periodic visits and checks. You, for instance… so—"
"So?" Aoki asked.
"I've got an idea, but you'll need to free up two days a week from your jobs." She continued, "Shūka has a club called the Service Club. I'm the faculty advisor, so I can probably… grease the wheels a bit…"
"Hiratsuka-sensei, I'm still a student. Telling me about back-room dealings isn't very appropriate," Aoki couldn't help but quip.
She rolled her eyes and plowed on, "You'll be a member in name. Just show up Thursdays and Fridays during inspections by those committees, then… the rest of the time is yours. How's that?"
Aoki took a breath.
Mind back on track, he thought it through.
This was probably the best solution Hiratsuka could devise.
Honestly, he was grateful—to her agreeing to help him transfer, processing everything fast, and now, coming up with a workaround.
Weird temper aside, she was absolutely a responsible, good teacher.
But, setting aside her responsibility: his jobs—
Even the nicest boss wouldn't let an employee take two fixed days off every week, let alone that stingy convenience-store owner.
He hesitated, mind flashing back to the video he watched yesterday afternoon.
Backed into a corner, huh…
An idea formed. Thinking of that "Rock Band Project," he made up his mind.
If he failed, worst case he'd go hungry for a while. When he first came to Tokyo, he'd literally eaten wild greens from roadside planters; he wasn't going to be scared now.
Dealing with Hiratsuka would be tricky, though—
If he refused, she'd probably keep finding ways to protect his bar job. If he explained honestly, this responsible teacher would worry and offer help…
He didn't want to burden her more. After a moment, he asked,
"Every Thursday and Friday? How long would I need to be in the club?"
"That I can't say for sure…" She thought, then answered, "But probably under half an hour."
"In that case… no problem."
It wouldn't take much time, and being in the Service Club would also let him get close to Yukinoshita Yukino. If finals forced him into a corner, being in the club would give him more chances to poison—kidding.
He paused, then, thinking of Yukino, asked,
"Speaking of… Hiratsuka-sensei, did the club president agree to me being a member in name?"
"…"
"Ahahahaha…"
"…"
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (390 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (166 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (190 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (150 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (120 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (160 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (50 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (100 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it