"We five sisters, we've been foolish since we were little. Even though our mother was a high school teacher, our academic achievements were always below par."
"We were very aware of the fact that we were foolish, but our lives were very happy at that time. Even though my family background wasn't good, I didn't have any idea how to improve my grades. I just enjoyed my life. Mother's gentle encouragement, rewards, and gentle reprimands from time to time."
"With a perfect mother and sisters as foolish as me, there was no need to change our lives like this."
"That's what I thought until my mother passed away. Even though I was foolish, I was still a happy fool."
Itsuki spoke slowly, her eyes reflecting the color of the stone pavilion.
Mafuyu stood there, listening to her words in silence.
"After my mother passed away from illness, I was sad and confused for a long time."
"I didn't know what I could do, and I didn't know what could make me as foolish and incompetent as I was. Inheriting my mother's responsibilities and taking care of my sisters well was the only motivation I relied on to move forward at that time."
"Several years have passed, Ichika has found her dream, Nino has made many friends, Miku is immersed in her own world, and Yotsuba has become a sports club ace... I'm the only one who has nothing, and can't be anything, just watching them go further and further, and I'm left behind, and even my only motivation is gone."
Itsuki's voice was firm, yet every word and sentence contained the confusion and loss of the past, sincerely conveyed to Mafuyu's heart.
"Before I was transferred here, I always wanted to improve my grades, because it was one of the few hopes I thought of to catch up with them... However, I found that no matter how hard I studied and how many nights I stayed up, No matter how many test papers I wrote, I couldn't even surpass my sister who was just as bad as me, let alone other students in the class."
"Sensei, I don't have talent for 'studying'."
She smiled gently, but that smile made Mafuyu's heart ache a little, and involuntarily she wanted to say something.
She had just opened her mouth, but her throat was too dry to utter the words. If it's about not having talent, isn't it the same for her?
She truly wasn't qualified to comfort her, Mafuyu understood this fact.
"In front of my sisters, I will pretend to be a hardworking and strong person. No matter how many dead ends I encounter, I will never give up. No matter how bad my grades are, I will not be disappointed. I will just stand up after falling. Even if I pretend, I will make myself qualify alongside them."
"When I'm alone, I'm sad, crying while hugging my blanket, feeling worthless and born purely to make lucky numbers... I have a lot of negative thoughts. But I can only force myself to work hard, and keep working hard."
"If I don't do this, I'm no longer Nakano Itsuki."
"Not the hardworking fool everyone thinks of, but the incompetent person who is seen everywhere."
"Even if my mother is gone... I still want her to know me."
The last tone suddenly felt more trembling.
"I..."
Itsuki's calm expression gradually changed, she he seemed like she was about to cry, but she held it back.
She continued her thoughts firmly with interrupted words.
"I... am still here, I am still Itsuki."
"It doesn't matter if I fail, just cry. My mother is waiting for my performance."
"It doesn't matter if I fall behind. Just keep working harder. Everyone is waiting for me to catch up."
"Even if I'm disappointed, don't despair or give up... because someday, maybe I will be able to fulfill my hopes."
Seeing Mafuyu, Itsuki cried and smiled.
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, put Mafuyu's hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and calmed her voice.
"Sensei, the notebook you asked Asada-kun to send earlier has helped me a lot."
"Sensei, we all saw the hard work you've done at the forest school."
"Sensei, you always scolded us with a serious face, but you were never really angry."
"Sensei, you never said how worried you were about us, but you often asked me to sleep early, helped me plan my studies, and used your own time to relieve my stress."
"Sensei, you didn't want to encourage me or tell me the truth of life."
"But you taught me a lot through your actions, and gradually I understood what else I could do besides 'working hard' and which way I should move forward."
Itsuki blushed slightly and smiled: "Sorry to say, but you're very similar to my mother. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I admire you?"
"This 'foolish' story still continues to this day, and finally there is hope for change."
"So, Kirisu-sensei, thank you very much!"
With a satisfied smile on her face, Itsuki said word by word:
"I'm so glad to be your student!"
The heartfelt words fell to the ground.
Mafuyu seemed to have lost the ability to react, staring blankly into her clear and bright eyes.
After a few moments, she bit her lip and whispered.
"...The person you should be thankful for is the one over there."
Itsuki blinked and looked at Shinichi.
Without raising his head, he glanced at his phone and said, "I'm busy chatting with a pretty girl, don't look for me."
Wide-eyed, Itsuki pointed towards him and said to Mafuyu incredulously:
"Sensei, do you want me to thank someone like that?"
Mafuyu fell silent.
Seeing her rare expression of not knowing what to do, Itsuki sighed.
Kirisu-sensei currently resembled herself in the past.
"You're joking, of course I'm very thankful to Asada-kun! But the help you've given me is different, so I'll just thank one by one."
Itsuki said casually: "Now, the person I want to thank is Kirisu-sensei. Are you at a celebration party, afraid to accept my gratitude?"
There was silence for a few moments.
"...You should investigate."
Although it was a question, Mafuyu said it in agreement.
"In the past. The 'mistake' I made... Even though I didn't tell anyone, and it wasn't something big known to everyone, if it's Asada-kun, he must have known the truth for a long time."
Itsuki nodded slightly, proving that she was right.
"In that case, you should understand."
Mafuyu pulled away from Itsuki's hand.
"I'm not a good teacher. The closer I am to my students, the easier it is to hurt them."
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