Chapitre 77: Test Of Courage

"Hello? Hajime, are you inside?" Another familiar voice could be heard from the outside.

'Great, another one,' Hajime said to himself, heaving a sigh.

It was none other than Akamine-sensei, and judging from her outfit as she invited herself in, she had just come from school.

"Big sis!" Fuuka amicably greeted while everyone slightly lowered their head in the process. With a wave, Akamine-sensei greeted back, all-smiling. Her relief was evident on her face as she saw that Hajime was doing well despite missing school for three days.

"All of you seem to be heading outside, where are you going?" Akamine-sensei couldn't help but ask.

"We're getting some ice cream," Fuuka answered.

"I see, well, all of you can stay. I'll go with Hajime here." Akamine once again wrapped his arms around Hajime as she dragged him against his will out of his house. Her actions were too blunt, too sudden that no one reacted at all.

By the time they got back to their senses, Akamine-sensei and Hajime were already out of sight. There was nothing they could do but exclaim in frustration as they waited for the two to come back. After all, they were still wary of each other, that's why they didn't make any move. It was clear that whoever goes after Hajime and Rie Akamine would be misunderstood. There was nothing they could do about it except wait.

'The convenience store is near and all... but why would Akamine-sensei do that? She just arrived here and yet she already made a move on Hajime... wait, don't tell me— no, that's impossible. A teacher and a student?! No way!' Megumi let her thoughts run wild, prompting her to vehemently shake her head while she denied her own thoughts.

The more she thought about it, however, the more she was convinced that Akamine-sensei had a thing for Hajime. For one, she invited him out to lunch when he first attended her morning classes. While that might be an act of goodwill from Akamine-sensei to Hajime, Megumi persuaded herself that it was just a cover to get closer to him.

There were also those times when Akamine-sensei tried to protect Hajime or sided with him when it wasn't even clear if he was in the wrong or not.

But the thought that brought Megumi to a conclusion wasn't those things. But rather, the thought of her wrapping her arms around Hajime's neck. While it might be a way for a teacher to get close, literally speaking, to her student, it was something that gave Megumi a bad idea. (She's really thinking too into this.)

"I'm heading out." Megumi didn't care anymore. Without waiting for the other two's replies, she called for Franz to accompany her while she tailed Hajime to the convenience store. 'I won't allow this. There's no way I won't allow such a thing.' She muttered inwardly even though nothing was proven just yet.

Creak.

Shut!

"Wai—" Natsumi voiced out, extending her hands as if to reach towards the door that was closed shut in front of her and Fuuka. "Sigh~ and now they're gone."

"Yeah, I guess so," Fuuka responded.

Eh?!

Natsumi turned around to get a clear picture of Fuuka's expression just then. Even though what she said was supposed to be of disappointment, she seemed rather excited. There was a certain lightness and enthusiasm in her voice when she agreed right there, and this caught Natsumi by surprise. Initially, she thought that Fuuka would act awkwardly toward her since there were only the two of them left alone in a guy's house. To her utter bewilderment, however, Fuuka was just as thrilled as they come.

With eyes sparkling, Fuuka walked towards the door and gave the doorknob a twist. "I'm sure Hajime's got his keys with him." She muttered to herself, propping the door open as she did so.

"W-where are you going?" Natsumi was genuinely confused by now. Not only did Megumi leave, but Fuuka as well?! What are they thinking?!

"What do you mean? We're going to follow them, of course." Grabbing Natsumi by the hand, she dragged her out and locked the door behind her. "Now this is getting exciting!"

"What do you mean exciting?" Natsumi hissed, the coldness of the night touching her bare skin as if to caress her. She shivered, blaming the thin fabric of the shirt she wore. "It's already late. We shouldn't be outside right now!"

"Don't sweat out the small details. We'll be close by so if anything happens, we can just call out to them, you know." Fuuka pointed out while twirling her index finger in the air. "That's why I dragged you out here. I'm afraid to go out alone at night too, you know."

A sigh left Natsumi's mouth as she went along with it. For one, the door behind her was already locked, and second, the two of them were already outside. If anything, the only thing they could do was tail Hajime and the others while remaining out of sight.

"Doesn't this feel like a test of courage?" Fuuka squealed, her eyes sparkling under the starry cloudless skies.

Natsumi couldn't tell if it was false bravado or not but one thing's for sure, Fuuka was really looking forward to such an event. "This is something a stalker would do, you can't compare that to a test of courage."

"A couple, going into the night together while their circle of friends followed them. Don't you think that's a pretty good setting for a test of courage?"

"So you're implying that... Akamine-sensei and Hajime are a couple? Is that it?" Natsumi returned, causing all the colors to drain from Fuuka's face as she gasped in an exasperated manner.

Gan~! She exclaimed as her jaws dropped to the ground.

"..."

"Natsumi-san..."

"W-what is it this time?"

"..."

"...I've made up my mind. We're going to rejoin with Hajime and big sis. I can't allow such an unacceptable thing to happen!" Fuuka gritted her teeth, quickening her pace.

Grab!

"What are you doing? I thought we were just going to follow them?" Natsumi couldn't tell if Fuuka was messing with her or not but there's a good chance she was determined to go through with joining them. She just had to grab her by the hand and stop her no matter what, lest their cover be blown.

"Hajime's mine. I set my eyes on him first. Big sis can't steal her from me," Fuuka muttered.

"That's what you're concerned about?" Natsumi sighed a second time, resting her palm on her forehead.

'Wait...'

'... did Fuuka really claim Hajime as hers just now? This girl.' Since Natsumi was already holding onto Fuuka's arm, to begin with, she decided to give it a good squeeze, just for an added measure in case she tried to struggle.

"Ow~! What was that for?" Fuuka cried out of impulse.