“This guy…”
Watching his powerless, dejected back, Tsukimi Ryuune felt an inexplicable twinge of concern.
Especially after what he had just said. It sounded like the kind of thing someone who had suffered a major setback would say. But had anything like that happened recently? She didn’t know. And precisely because she didn’t know, her curiosity refused to settle.
The thought of his earlier offense only made her even less willing to let him walk away like this.
“Hey!”
Kagami Yuto had only gone a short distance when he heard the call from behind. He stopped instinctively.
“…What is it, Ryuune?”
Tsukimi Ryuune walked up to him, her expression as cold and arrogant as ever. Only when she stood right in front of him did she raise an eyebrow in clear displeasure.
“You think a casual apology is enough to settle what happened earlier, teacher?”
Kagami Yuto froze. The incident had been so sudden that the sensation still lingered in his palm. When Tsukimi Ryuune noticed his reaction, a flush of humiliated anger spread across her face. Her gaze looked ready to cut him into a thousand pieces.
“Then what would be an acceptable apology, Ryuune?”
Even though he knew it hadn’t been intentional, Kagami Yuto still felt he owed her.
“As a teacher, I shouldn’t have had that kind of inappropriate contact with a student. It was my fault. I failed to maintain proper distance.”
His eyes were full of sincerity.
Tsukimi Ryuune hadn’t expected him to give up defending himself so easily. His lack of resistance only made her more irritated.
“How very textbook.”
“So this is your idea of sincerity toward the victim, teacher? You think this is enough to earn forgiveness?”
She pressed on relentlessly.
“Then what do you want from me?”
“As your teacher, I can resign out of responsibility, or you can report me to the police. Either way, I’ll cooperate fully. Would that satisfy you?”
Kagami Yuto sighed, already mentally preparing for his teaching career to end here and now. He had been planning to resign anyway, but the outcome still left him deeply disappointed in himself.
“And what about the trauma you left in my heart?”
Tsukimi Ryuune stood on the landing, looking down at him.
“Trauma…? I…”
“I hate being touched by the opposite sex more than anything. And you’re the first man who’s ever laid a hand on me.”
Her golden eyes filled with deep disgust, as if she were looking at garbage.
Kagami Yuto felt awkward. If he had known this was her absolute taboo, he probably wouldn’t have… No, he still would have. He couldn’t have just watched her get hurt right in front of him.
“Even so… if I went back to that moment, I’d still do the same thing.”
“What?”
“Because if I didn’t, you definitely would have been injured. So why did you jump from that height in the first place, Ryuune?”
“I… That’s none of your business!”
Tsukimi Ryuune clenched her teeth in frustration. She hadn’t expected him to turn the question back on her. To be fair, she often forgot that her body was different from ordinary people’s, and anyone who happened to witness her special side had long since had their memories erased. Because of that, she rarely worried about exposure. She never imagined it would create such an absurd entanglement with him.
“You’re not fit to be a teacher, you perverted creep!”
“Fine… You can call me whatever you want. I’m resigning anyway. I know you hate me, so I won’t appear in front of you again.”
“Resign? Resign from what? Who gave you permission to resign?!”
Furious, she stepped forward and grabbed his shirt collar.
Kagami Yuto was stunned. What surprised him even more were the words that followed.
“If you dare resign, I’m not letting you off! Don’t think acting all pitiful and honest will get you forgiven—don’t even think about it!”
“Ryuune…”
The scene was undeniably embarrassing, yet for some reason, her words sent a small wave of warmth through his chest.
From that moment on, he realized his feelings toward the girl in front of him had begun to shift. They hadn’t shared any deep connection, but at the lowest point of his life, she had become the reason he wanted to keep going.
“Never mind… Could you let go of me first, Ryuune? If any students walk by and see us like this, it won’t look good.”
Tsukimi Ryuune released him at once. While Kagami Yuto straightened his crumpled collar, he spoke with complicated emotion.
“Thank you.”
“…?”
“You probably don’t know this, but before now, I had already completely lost confidence in myself.”
“What do you mean?”
Kagami Yuto gave a small smile. The complicated events of the past few days had been weighing on him for too long. Right now, he felt an overwhelming need to talk to someone who might understand.
“I… recently had a student come to me for help. His name was Matsushita You.”
“Matsushita You…”
“Yeah. Do you know him, Ryuune?”
Tsukimi Ryuune didn’t answer. She simply looked up and saw the hopeful, almost desperate light in his eyes.
After a long hesitation, she shook her head.
The light in Kagami Yuto’s gaze gradually dimmed.
“What Matsushita You? I’ve never even heard that name.”
She turned her face away, her voice cold.
“…I see.”
“I asked so many people, and they all gave me the same answer as you. But the thing is, I clearly remember counseling a boy by that name. He was being bullied at school. He came to me when he had nowhere else to turn. I gave him advice and hoped he could get out of that situation… but now he’s vanished without a trace. It’s like he evaporated from the face of the earth. I really… can’t help worrying.”
He paused, a trace of confusion and daze crossing his face.
“Ryuune… do you think I’ve gone crazy?”
“I’ve been searching for someone who doesn’t exist. Honestly, I wish he didn’t exist either. But he’s real in my memory. A pitiful kid who was being bullied, who came to me for help when he was at his wits’ end. I wanted to see him overcome it… but now he’s gone. I really can’t stop worrying.”