Chapter 87
[118]
Futaba sat in her room with her feet up on her desk, doing what she usually did around this time of night. Eating instant yakisoba while gaming in three different windows simultaneously and listening to music or podcasts, these sessions usually lasted from around 7pm to 3am the next day. Sure it might’ve been an unhealthy lifestyle, but she was on this earth for a good time, not a long time.
After winning her 8th consecutive chess match in a row, Futaba noticed a strange voice on her headphones interrupting her music. Closing out of her tabs, she finally found the source of the voice. It was coming off of the live feed from Ren’s bedroom from the camera she’d installed while Ren was on his school trip.
The camera was, of course, strictly there for security reasons. Afterall, what if someone tried to break in? She definitely did not have a folder full of videos of Ren coming back from the bathhouse and/or changing into or out of his clothes. That was something that creepy stalkers did, she wasn’t a creepy stalker, she was the cute little sister type!
Was Ren aware of this camera? No. Should he be? ...That really wasn’t what was important right now.
What was important right now was the grown woman in the French maid outfit who just entered Ren’s room with him.
“Ren you dog! I never suspected you to be that type of guy.” She said to herself, casually pressing the record button. For...research purposes.
“So this is where you actually live huh?” Kawakami asked, sitting on the bed and looking around the room that Ren called home. “Gotta say, for an attic it’s actually pretty nice.”
“Thanks, now can we get to the actual reason that you’re here?” Ren asked impatiently. A lot had happened today and he honestly just wanted the day to end already.
Kawakami looked away shamefully. “I...I need cash. I’m behind on some payments so I was hoping-”
“Wait. Are you, a teacher, seriously blackmailing one of your students!?”
“No!” Kawakami yelled before looking down and poking her fingers together. “I wanted to maybe...work out a deal with you? Look, how about I give you an A on your next 3 homework assignments if you keep calling me over?”
“Wow.” Ren crossed his arms.
Meanwhile, watching with interest from her room, Futaba continued to snack on her yakisoba. “This is some pretty weird foreplay.” She commented before slurping up more of the noodles.
“Please!” Kawakami pleaded, getting on her knees. Ren turned away with flushed cheeks, embarrassed by their current positions. “You’re the only one I can turn to who knows about this side job! I promise I won’t tell a soul about you and nurse Takemi, I just need the extra cash before the end of the month!”
“Me and nurse-Huh?” Ren turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. “What about us?”
“Huh?” She looked up, confused. “Aren’t the two of you...y’know?” She made a certain gesture with her hands.
“What!? No! Why would you think that? Is that what people are saying about us?”
Now embarrassed even more, Kawakami stood up and looked away. “Well...I’ve heard some rumors about the two of you being seen together...and you had your shirt off. Not to mention, that time I came over to clean, I asked a resident about the apartment’s owner and they said it was a woman with short blue hair. Sound familiar?”
Ren rubbed his temples, annoyed. “Oh my God! Are you serious!? That’s not who...I can’t believe this.”
“Wait, was I wrong?” Kawakami’s eyes widened. Somewhere, deep down, the teacher was relieved by this fact. But not for the reason a teacher should have been. “Um, we can still make a deal! How about the next 5 assignments are all A’s?” She desperately tried to make a deal.
“Here.” He said, handing her 20,000 yen. It was nearly all of the money he had at the moment, but the woman in front of him clearly needed it more. “I don’t know who or what this is for, but take it.”
“You...You’re just going to give this to me?” Kawakami was stunned. “But...why?”
“It seems like the right thing to do.” Ren replied, placing the cash into her hands. “You’ve helped me out before, so I figure I owe you.”
While that may have been true, Kawakami distinctly remembered getting paid for that job, not to mention the meal he’d cooked for her as well. This boy...he made no sense to her. Why was he so nice? And after she tried to blackmail him!
“You’re really not who I first thought you were Amamiya.”
“Thank you?” Ren raised an eyebrow, unsure if that was a complement. “So then...Are we good?”
They were more than good in Kawakami’s eyes. Thanks to him, she could make her payment to the Takases this month! And possibly get a little sleep in as well! This was honestly too good to be true!
Much to Ren’s surprise, he suddenly found his teacher wrapping her arms around him, standing on her toes so her arms could reach his shoulders. Even more surprising was when he felt a sudden peck on his cheek. Were teachers allowed to do this sort of thing?
“Wow.” Kawakami breathed out as she released him. “You are solid.” She suddenly shook her head, ridding herself of any naughty thoughts. “I promise I won’t forget this Amamiya! Thank you so much!” With that she bolted down the stairs and out the door.
“You’re...welcome.” Ren said more to himself than anyone else.
Someone else did hear however. Back in her room, Futaba, who had just been preparing for a different kind of session crossed her arms as the French maid left the cafe.
“Dammit! Softcore?” She asked disappointedly. “Lame!”
The next morning, Ryuji Sakamato sat back in his seat with his eyes closed and his arms behind his head with a big smirk on his face.
“What has you in such a good mood this morning Sakamoto-kun?” Haru asked her friend curiously.
The two of them, as well as Makoto Niijima, Ann Takamaki, and Morgana Philemon all sat in the student council room. The student council president had called them in for a ‘special meeting’ before school, but the nature of the meeting had yet to be revealed. According to Makoto, she wanted everyone in the group to be present before they began. Besides Futaba and Yusuke, who were not Shujin students, they were only missing one member now.
“Well Haru, since you asked.” He gained a smug look. “I just asked Hifumi out to the dance. And she said yes!”
“Took you long enough.” Ann mocked, but at the same time she felt proud for the boy.
“What about you guys? Anyone ask you yet?” He asked the room.
As if on cue, the three girls in the room each looked down with a blush, eyeing the empty seat at the table.
“I’ve gotten plenty of requests.” Morgana chimed in before turning to the person next to him and getting on one knee. “But my heart belongs to Lady Ann alone!”
“Give it a rest Mona. Not interested.” Ann replied boredly. “Go with someone else.”
“What is taking Ren so long?” Ryuji changed the subject, turning towards the door. “Was there like, a robbery or somethin’ last night?”
“Speaking of Ren. Has anyone noticed how strange he’s been acting lately? He’s been...closed off.” Haru stated sadly.
“Ren…” Makoto was about to explain, but decided it wasn’t her place to say. “He’s been through a lot lately. I can’t imagine the toll it’s taken on him mentally.”
“...”
“...”
“Why don’t we do something fun?” Ann broke the silence. “We’ve all been having a pretty stressful year.” She touched the scar on her forehead. “I think we’ve all earned a break.”
“Aw hell yeah!” Ryuji said excitedly. “Let’s go somewhere fun! Somewhere we can party!”
Haru raised her hand. “Isn’t the dance coming up soon? Couldn’t we just do that?”
“Nah! We’ve gotta pre-game! Do something outside the box! Something Ren’s sure to enjoy!” He stood up. “I’ve got it! Let’s go to a club! A cool club with dancing and drinking and karaoke!”
“Doesn’t Ren work at a club?” Haru asked. “Wouldn’t going there just make it feel like work to him?”
“Not to mention,” Makoto interrupted. “Some of us aren’t the appropriate age to go clubbing.” She stated with a glare at Ryuji.
“I’m sure we can find an appropriate one.” Ryuji assured her. “After all, we’ve got an expert at the table.”
“We do?” Ann asked. “Oh yeah!”
Suddenly, all eyes turned to the youngest student at the table.
“Oh I get it.” Morgana rolled his eyes. “Just because my family owns a nightclub, I must know about all the hotspots in the city.”
“...”
“...”
“Okay fine, I know a place.” He stated reluctantly.
“Then it’s set! We are going clubbin’!” Ryuji cheered.
Just as he said that, the door behind him opened to reveal a familiar face. Sporting a serious case of bedhead with a steaming cup of Leblanc coffee in his hand, Ren Amamiya finally arrived at the meeting.
“Sorry I’m late guys. I slept in.” He lied. In reality, he was still struggling to sleep after Minato’s death. His dreams were plagued with scenes from the bridge that night, and what he could’ve done.
“That’s okay.” Makoto responded, taking out a stack of papers. “Now we’re ready to start.”
“Are you finally going to tell us why we’re here?” Ann asked.
“I have to admit, I’m curious as well.” Haru added.
“Well...How do I put this?” Makoto wondered aloud. “As you all know, the Halloween dance is coming up next week. Now originally, the other student council members were assigned the task of buying and setting up decorations in the gymnasium. However,” She looked away awkwardly. “After a team outing, the rest of the student council has come down with a bad case of food poisoning and are sick at home for the next few days. With the dance less than a week away, we’re in need of a new team. That’s where you all come in.”
“Aww come on!” Ryuji sighed. “First I’ve gotta come in early, now I’ve gotta stay late too?”
“It’s only for a week Sakamoto-kun.” Haru replied, clapping her hands together. “I think it sounds fun!”
“I’ll help out.” Ren stated, taking a sip of coffee. “As long as it doesn’t go too long.”
“That’s great to hear!” Makoto said cheerfully. “Because I’ve already signed you all up.” Suddenly, a knock came from the door and Makoto lit up even more. “Right on time!”
As she walked over to the door, she began to explain further.
“The students aren’t the only ones helping out on the dance committee. We have some volunteers among the staff as well!” She opened the door and three figures entered the room. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the team, Professor Fuuka Yamagishi, Doctor Tae Takemi, and Doctor Takuto Maruki!”
“Hello kids!” Dr. Maruki waved his newly grown hand.
“Let’s make this the best dance ever!”
[Bonus]
After the school day came to a close, Haru and Ann were given the job of buying decorations while the others worked on food and setup. Haru was excited to be given such an important task. Ann was less so.
Nevertheless, the two scoured Shibuya in search of decorations for the dance. When they finally arrived at a shop that sold the items they were looking for, the two were shocked to learn that the cheap decorations had all been sold out.
“Sorry, you two are a bit late.” The clerk apologized. “All we’ve got left is the big stuff nobody wants to spend the money on. I don’t know why we stock up on it each year, people seem to prefer the cheap stuff that’s easy to clean up.”
“That’s okay.” Haru said, pulling out her wallet. “We’ll take it all.”
Ann turned to the girl with her mouth gaping.
“Do you think you guys could deliver it to Shujin Academy?” She asked as she handed the clerk a pink debit card.
“S-Sure thing Miss.” The clerk replied, shocked.
The clerk inserted the card, only for a buzzing noise to come out of the machine. Raising an eyebrow, the clerk pulled out the card and tried again, only to receive the same result.
“I’m sorry Miss, but your card has been declined due to insufficient funds.” He handed her the card back.
“What!?” Haru opened her eyes in shock. “It shouldn’t have done that! What was the balance?” She asked.
“Zero.”