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V2 Chapter 9: Hoshino Definitely Likes Me!
🕑 Added 2025-09-25 06:12:58 +0000 UTCWhen I got back to Hoshino's place, I was changing shoes at the entryway when a video I'd seen a couple of days ago popped into my mind.
Imitating the scene from it, I muttered to myself:
"I'm home."
To my surprise, a teasing voice answered right back:
"My, my... Then I suppose this oji-san should say: welcome back~"
Wearing an apron and thick oven mitts, Hoshino emerged from the kitchen, smiling brightly.
"So, is it dinner first, a bath first, or maybe a nap first?"
I blinked. Honestly, I thought with Hoshino's lifestyle she'd be napping at this hour, not awake, and certainly not cooking.
But that wasn't the part that mattered most.
"At this hour, you can't call it a nap anymore."
I even raised my wrist and checked my watch for emphasis.
The so-called nap expert, Hoshino, corrected me with confidence. "Don't let common sense hold you back. If you want, a nap can be taken anytime, anywhere~"
I didn't quite get it, but I nodded seriously. "I see. Wise words indeed. Then I'll take a bath first. Rode bikes with Shiroko all afternoon, still drenched in sweat."
As I walked past her toward the bathroom, I didn't notice her expression flicker, her lazy smile fading just slightly.
Even after the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom, Hoshino's mismatched yellow-and-blue eyes remained fixed in my direction.
At last, she turned back toward the kitchen, murmuring under her breath:
"…With Shiroko-chan, huh?"
—
After showering, I soaked in the bath, thinking about the little scene we'd played out at the entrance earlier.
It had felt almost like a newlywed couple...
The small, adorable young wife preparing dinner at home, waiting for her tired husband to return from a long day at work, filling the house with warmth and sweetness…
What should we name our second child, I wondered?
…But then I remembered what I'd been doing with Shiroko that afternoon. The script needed some adjustment.
The wife could never imagine that her husband hadn't been working at all, but sneaking away to rendezvous with her underclassman instead, working up a sweat in an entirely different sense…
Hiss.
My guilt ticked up slightly.
But my joy skyrocketed!
When I finally stepped out of the bath, all traces of fatigue from the day's "intense exercise" had vanished. Feeling completely refreshed, I joined Hoshino at the dinner table.
Only to be greeted by… two reheated supermarket bentos, price tags of 480 yen still attached.
I stared at them in disbelief, then looked across the table at Hoshino, who was still dressed like she'd been cooking.
She tilted her head innocently.
"What's wrong? Not a fan of pork cutlet bento? Then let's switch, you take my fried chicken one."
"…It's not that I don't like it. I just thought… you'd be cooking."
Scratching the back of her head in embarrassment, she admitted, "Ah~ I did plan to at first... But it turned out to be more trouble than I expected, so I gave up."
A perfectly Hoshino-esque excuse.
That said, even supermarket bentos turned out tastier than I'd expected.
—
After dinner, Hoshino geared up to head out on patrol. I asked if I could tag along.
There wasn't any special reason, I just wanted to see firsthand what her usual patrols were like, and get a sense of the area.
She seemed surprised, but agreed.
So we walked shoulder to shoulder down the empty, silent streets, chatting idly.
"It's been a long time since I patrolled with someone else."
"That so? Why not call the others along?"
"They're busy with other things. Abydos barely has the capacity to manage as is… so this is just something I do on my own. Hm, call it habit, maybe. Couldn't sleep anyway, so I might as well walk around."
By the end, she was almost making excuses, as if embarrassed by her own sense of duty.
But it was obvious: she wasn't patrolling out of habit. She was doing it to protect Abydos.
"I see. Hoshino really is amazing."
At that, she tensed slightly, gripping her arm uneasily.
"Sensei~ Saying things like that to an oji-san like me, you've picked the wrong target, you know?"
I only smiled in response.
A while later, she spoke again, as if casually:
"By the way, Sensei… Do you talk to Shiroko like this too?"
The question caught me off guard.
"Eh? Uh… Am I too frivolous with my words?"
"…No. It's just… Shiroko, and the others too, they're all innocent, sweet kids. If they heard you say those things, they'd probably react in a very cute way~ After all, you've helped us so much. We all ought to be grateful."
Her words left me silent. The air grew heavier, the atmosphere oddly strained.
And then she pressed further.
"Speaking of which, this afternoon… you went out with Shiroko, didn't you? Hm…"
She suddenly stopped walking.
I took two steps more before realizing, then turned back to face her. Her expression was completely blank. My heart tightened with unease.
But that blank expression only lasted a moment, gone so quickly it felt like I'd imagined it.
Scratching her cheek, Hoshino gave a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, Sensei. I said something weird. Beating around the bush doesn't suit an oji-san like me, so I'll say it plainly.
"Sensei, allow me this selfish request: I want you to keep some distance from Shiroko, and from the rest of the Foreclosure Task Force."
"There's no reason behind it, it's just my own selfishness. You don't need to answer, and you don't have to think too much about it either."
And in that instant, I understood everything...
Hoshino absolutely liked me!
Well, maybe not liked liked me yet. More like… she was interested. She cared.
Who would've thought the lazy Hoshino could get jealous? And in such a roundabout, awkwardly adorable way! Her charm level just skyrocketed!
Hoshino! I feel your desire! I know your heart!
I immediately raised my right hand and swore solemnly:
"Rest assured. With Shiroko and the others, it will only ever be the ordinary bond of teacher and student."
Hoshino gazed at me quietly for a long moment. Then, at last, she nodded. "Mm."
—
The next morning, at dawn.
In a secluded grove on Abydos campus where no one usually set foot.
Fresh from her morning run, Shiroko's face was flushed, her eyes hazy, as she let out a sweet cry in my arms.
"S-Sensei, at least… at least let me wipe off the sweat with a towel first…"
But with righteous conviction, I refused.
"No need. In fact, it's even better this way."
Such is the ordinary teacher-student relationship… in Kivotos.
My conscience is clear!
—
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