Leaving the physics prep room, Shichen returned to the office and bumped into Tamae-sensei, who had just finished class.
The moment she saw him she grew tense, frightened and flustered, averting her gaze.
Fortunately Tamae-sensei was easy to talk to, so Shichen managed to clear things up without much effort; she was a veteran teacher after all and was used to students teasing her.
(Though, to be honest, her naïveté may have been the real reason.)
As a P.E. teacher Shichen had plenty of free time and didn't need much lesson planning. He spent the entire morning scrolling on the phone Kotori had given him—which already held three contacts: Kotori, Reine Murasame, and the newly‑added Tamae-sensei.
At noon Shichen and Reine headed to the staff cafeteria for lunch, with Tamae-sensei joining them. Because she was there, Shichen and Reine kept their conversation light.
After lunch, instead of going back to the staff office, Shichen and Reine went to the physics prep room again.
Someone was already waiting inside.
"Shichen-nii, you're here~!"
As soon as the door opened Kotori came flying over, leaping into Shichen's arms.
"Kotori? What are you doing here?" Shichen asked, puzzled, looking down at her twin‑tails and the white hairbands.
"I'm here to keep an eye on you, of course."
"…You still came anyway?"
"Who told you to turn down our special training this morning?"
Kotori and the others had suggested "special training" earlier, which Shichen had flatly refused.
"The targets you picked just don't work for me," he said.
"Your standards are way too high! We already chose the very best girls in this school."
They had selected the top candidates—beautiful, talented and from excellent families—but Shichen wasn't interested; he only cared about girls he already knew.
Among those he knew, only Origami Tobiichi and Tamae-sensei were on the list—and neither presented any challenge.
Not to brag, but Tamae-sensei was practically no challenge at all. She was too innocent, already thinking about marriage at her age; if someone even vaguely pleasing came along she would probably agree immediately. Shichen had plenty of confidence in himself.
As for Origami, she was basically a freebie; Future‑Him was going to jump back five years and win from the starting line.
Training without difficulty wasn't training.
"So what can I do? I can't force myself to fall for someone, right? I'm not going to turn into some playboy for the sake of practice," Shichen retorted, smiling at Kotori.
"Well, that's true," Kotori nodded. "So what type of girl do you like?"
"I already like you, don't I?" Shichen ruffled her hair.
"Heh‑heh~ I like you too, but that won't work—the challenge would be zero."
"It doesn't have to start from scratch—we could jump straight into date‑practice, couldn't we?"
"Mm… still no. Any date with you would satisfy me completely; it wouldn't train you at all."
"Talking big, huh? I'll cook something nice for you tonight."
"He‑he‑he~"
"So, what do we do about the special training?" Reine, half‑asleep from listening to their flirting, finally asked.
"Well… how about you help out, Reine? I think you'd be a great candidate. Dark circles aside, you're pretty—and you've got a nice figure."
"Reine is indeed an excellent woman," Shichen agreed.
"Mu‑…" Reine made a tiny sound.
"Oh‑ho? Reine, don't tell me you're interested?" Kotori teased.
"Uh… a little," Reine admitted honestly.
"Seriously? You're interested in Shichen? Well, can't blame you—it is Shichen."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"He‑he‑he~ Nobody knows how amazing Shichen is better than I do. It's normal for Reine to notice. But you might not know, Shichen, Reine has never dated anyone before; ordinary guys don't even make her radar."
"I see."
"Sounds challenging, doesn't it?"
"A bit."
"So are you interested now?"
"I am—but not today. I already have a date."
"Eh—You've got a date already? With that Origami girl?"
"No… you'll find out this afternoon."
"Hiding things from me? You don't love me any more," Kotori pouted.
"As if," Shichen said, hugging her. "You're the one I love most."
"Wow, you're starting to smell like a scumbag."
"He‑he‑he~ Setting up a date yet holding me like this—if that's not scummy, what is?"
"Quit talking nonsense." He flicked her forehead.
"Ow… that hurt~"
"Serves you right… Anyway, Reine, sorry about that," he turned to her.
"It's fine," Reine replied lazily, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
…
During the afternoon P.E. class, Shichen didn't teach anything serious—first period was for introductions and a game to break the ice.
Still, a few students couldn't resist asking about his relationship with Origami Tobiichi—nosy little gossip‑mongers.
The ones asking about Origami were the boys; the girls pestered him for his age and home address.
He could understand curiosity about his age, but his address? Were they planning to drop by?
Bold, much?
Thankfully he was tight‑lipped and revealed nothing—not even about Origami. It wasn't like they had anything going on anyway.
Origami herself never approached him, but those calm eyes of hers kept staring his way, making him uncomfortable.
And besides her, another pair of eyes watched from afar.
After school, Shichen clocked off on time. Instead of leaving with Reine, he walked alone. A short distance from the school he turned into a narrow alley. Before he could say a word, a figure shimmering like a dream dropped in behind him.
Clang—
Armored skirts clinking, a girl clad in a spirit‑like battle dress landed behind him.
"We meet again," Shichen said, turning around with a smile at the girl he'd met yesterday.
Nothing about her had changed—still that breathtaking, almost violent beauty.
"Mm." She nodded lightly, staring straight at him. "I came to find you. What do you have to say?"
Wariness and suspicion glinted in her eyes.
Unbothered, Shichen said gently, "First, you haven't left this world since yesterday, have you?"
"How did you know?"
"Remember? When you slip into this world, you trigger a spatial quake."
"Oh… I didn't mean to." Guilt flashed across her face.
"Relax, I'm not blaming you."
"Really? B‑but those people keep attacking me."
"I'm not one of them, and I don't have what they carry."
"That's true…"
"Will you trust me?"
"Trust you about what?" she asked, puzzled.
"Trust that I won't hurt you."
"Um…" Her cherry‑petal lips pressed together; she didn't answer.
"I know it's hard—we barely know each other. But we could start by getting to know each other."
"Get to know…?"
"Become friends."
"What… is a friend?" she asked blankly.
"Simply put, someone who'll protect you and never be your enemy."
"Are you… serious?" She stared in disbelief.
"I don't expect you to believe me right away. We can take it slow."
"Take it… slow?"
"Why don't you stay? I can show you around this world properly."
"I… can I really stay?" she asked uneasily.
"Of course."
"But…"
"Did you forget what I just said? If we're friends, I'll protect you. I won't let them hurt you."
"R‑really?"
"Really."
"Really really?" she confirmed again.
"Really really." Shichen answered patiently, smiling gently.
"Really really really?"
"Really really really."
"Hmph—f‑fine, I'll believe you… for now." She suddenly went tsundere, folding her arms and looking away.
"Great." Shichen gazed at her dotingly.
"Your—what's your name?" she began, but he cut in:
"I'm Shichen. Come to think of it, I don't know yours. What's your name?"
"I don't have such a thing," she shook her head.
"Is that so…?"
"What would you like to call me?" she asked all of a sudden.
"Hm?" Shichen froze.
"You… you're the first person willing to talk to me, who carries a familiar aura, and who's willing to be my friend… s‑so I'll make a special allowance and let you give me a name," she explained awkwardly, pretending to be haughty.
"Really? You want me to name you?" Shichen laughed.
"Forget it if you don't want to—"
"No, no, I'm thinking."
Grinning, Shichen savored her bashful awkwardness, feigning deep thought. After a moment he said, "Do you know what day we met yesterday?"
"What?"
"Yesterday was April tenth. How about the name 'Tohka'?"
"Tohka…" she murmured.
"Yeah—Yatogami Tohka. That'll be your name."