"Rei Ao! What are you doing? Let go! My students are still—"
Mafuyu kept her voice low, struggling in a mix of shame and panic.
But up against Rei Ao, her strength might as well have been an ant pushing a tree.
Fumino Furuhashi and Rizu Ogata stared, dumbstruck, watching their beloved Kirisu-sensei get pulled into the shadowed corner of the hallway in a way that looked almost like she was being spirited away.
"…"
They both opened their mouths, but in the end didn't dare make a sound.
They just stood there, stiff, trading complicated looks.
Was… wasn't this getting a little too… adult?
In the shadow at the bend of the hall, the light was completely cut off.
"Rei Ao-kun! Are you insane? Fumino and Rizu are right outside! You—"
Mafuyu was pinned to the cold wall, her back pressed to the wallpaper. Shocked and furious, she glared at the man inches away, her lowered voice trembling.
She didn't get to finish.
Rei Ao lowered his head and, with a hint of "punishment," sealed the words right off her lips.
"Mm…!"
Mafuyu's pupils snapped tight, her mind going blank.
That forceful kiss unraveled every bit of her resistance and speech.
She reflexively tried to push him away, both hands braced against his solid chest—like shoving a steel wall. He didn't budge.
…
Time lost its meaning in the dark.
Only when Mafuyu felt the air in her lungs about to be wrung dry, her consciousness going fuzzy,
did Rei Ao finally ease back,
ending that long, domineering contact.
They stared at each other in silence, swallowed by the dark.
Mafuyu's body was still trapped between the wall and his chest,
her whole body weak, barely able to stand.
She couldn't make out his expression,
only feel his searing gaze still locked on her face, carrying a satisfied, dangerous aftertaste.
"Now."
His voice came low and faintly hoarse, filling the narrow space.
His fingertips, not quite finished, stroked her burning earlobe.
"Still mad?"
"You—"
Mafuyu panted fast, chest heaving, her cheeks in the dark so hot it was scary.
Humiliation and anger tangled together, but all her strength and bravado had been stripped away.
She could only bite her kiss-swollen lower lip and glare at his blurred outline, unable to force out a single word.
Mad?
Of course she was.
But even more than that was a hollow, helpless sense of being completely at his mercy—a mix of shame and some secret, unsettling pleasure.
Rei Ao seemed very pleased with that reaction.
He released his hold on her,
took a step back, and smoothed the slight rumple out of his shirt.
"Alright. I'm heading out."
His voice slipped back into its usual calm, as if the man who had just plundered her in the dark wasn't him at all.
He turned and walked out of the shadows at an easy pace.
Light from the living room washed over them again.
Fumino and Rizu were still frozen where they stood.
They watched Rei Ao stroll out from the corner, composed as ever, his face unruffled.
Right after, Mafuyu followed with her head lowered, her steps a little unsteady.
The flush on her cheeks hadn't faded—if anything, it had deepened, running to her ears and down her neck.
Her red hair was messier than when she'd gone in, a few strands stuck to her damp temple.
The collar of her loungewear looked slightly tugged askew, exposing the faintest hint of a suspicious red mark.
Her lashes were lowered and trembling hard; she didn't dare look at anyone—especially not her students.
"…"
Fumino and Rizu let their eyes flick between Rei Ao's calm face and their teacher's very-obviously-been-bullied look.
CPU: overheated—again.
Those few minutes in the dark hallway… what on earth had happened?
They didn't dare imagine it,
but their brains sprinted there anyway.
Mafuyu could feel their curious, gossipy stares.
The shame nearly drowned her.
She snapped her head up and shot Rei Ao a glare steeped in grievance, as if to say, "Will you just leave already?!"
Catching the look, Rei Ao's mouth curled into a knowing, pleased smile.
He lifted a hand, and with languid ease, his long fingers brushed his lower lip—
the very place that had just left Mafuyu's soft mouth.
Like a lightning bolt, that little motion struck all three women at once.
Fumino & Rizu: "!!!"
Mafuyu Kirisu: "!!!"
Boom.
It felt like all the blood in her body rushed straight to her head; she was about to explode on the spot.
"Go. Now!"
Mafuyu couldn't hold it together anymore. Mortified and furious, she shoved him hard.
He rocked back a step, unbothered—then chuckled low.
"Then I'm off."
He didn't linger. He turned for the entryway, opened the door, stepped out, and shut it—clean and swift.
Just before the door closed,
he glanced back into the apartment with a layered look that made Mafuyu want to sink through the floor.
Thump.
The door clicked softly shut.
A strange quiet fell over the place,
leaving only the jackhammer thud of three hearts and air so awkward it felt solid.
Mafuyu stood there, frozen, for a full three seconds.
Then she drew a deep breath, forcing down the heat in her face and the tidal shame in her chest.
She turned without daring to look at her students' expressions.
Head down, she forced her voice into something like calm—even if it sounded like a last-ditch act. "A—alright. Fumino, Rizu, come see the room you'll use tonight."
Everything had happened so fast she hadn't even had time to tidy the guest room.
All Rei Ao's fault.
She spoke, then practically fled, striding toward the guest room first.
Even her back looked flustered.
Fumino and Rizu watched their teacher's hurried retreat.
They glanced at each other again,
and saw the same cocktail in each other's eyes—shock, gossip, and, somehow, a dash of sympathy.
"I think… tonight had way too much to process. I might need a minute," Fumino said, pulling a strained but polite smile.
"Same…" Rizu nodded gravely.