Chapter 59: Shizuka's Lovely Morning
"Uungh…" A soft moan escaped in the darkness.
On a white bed, within white gauze curtains, a graceful figure curled up and turned over, exposing slender, pale arms.
Beneath the covers, her legs were slightly tangled together.
The woman was dreaming—a beautiful dream born from the depths of her heart. A small, cherished dream: that someday, a kind, gentle, talented, and wealthy ideal man would come to marry her.
Under the moonlight, they would hold each other tightly, hearts and minds intertwined, closing even the tiniest distance between them...
In the morning, he'd wake up thirty minutes before her, preparing a warm breakfast in the kitchen. When she awoke, she'd gaze blissfully at his back, waiting for him to pour her a glass of milk.
During the day, he would work hard for her sake. In the evening, she'd get home just a bit earlier than him. When she heard his footsteps at the door, she'd run to the entrance to greet him.
And she would say: "Welcome home, Danna(husband/master). Would you like dinner first, a bath first… or maybe… me… first?"
Eeeek~! So embarrassing! The woman waved her fists in a fluster and punched her husband right out the door!
Before she could even chase after him—
"Waaah!" Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly felt the world spin and snapped awake to find herself nearly falling off the bed. Her head was dangling over the edge while her body barely clung to the mattress.
Her phone alarm was ringing off to the side. Still dazed from sleep, her vision was shrouded by the lingering warmth and soft, white haze of the dream.
After maintaining that precarious "about-to-fall" posture for over ten seconds, her brain finally caught up—and she remembered what happened the night before.
Last night, she'd casually made up a reason to a normally lazy chaperone teacher, saying she wouldn't return to the hotel and that she'd already safely dropped Shirou off.
Meanwhile, Shirou had contacted the kyudo club president and vice president—his roommates at the hotel—and told them that Hiratsuka-sensei had already gone back. If there was a bed check, they were to cover for him.
As a result, the teachers—unaware Shirou hadn't returned to the hotel—accepted Hiratsuka's excuse. And the students—thinking Hiratsuka had gone back—were helping cover for Shirou.
Everything was going according to plan. As long as they returned to the hotel before the students got up, there'd be no issue.
After settling Shirou into the guest room, Hiratsuka had taken a shower and gone to bed. It had been a long day—from wandering all over looking for a compound bow shop, to crying her makeup off, to emotional exhaustion in every possible sense.
"I can't keep sleeping! I have to wake Shirou up! We need to get back before the others wake up and gather at the hotel!"
Fully awake now, she climbed out of bed. Just as she stepped out of her room, she heard sounds from the kitchen. She turned toward the noise—
—and froze.
In the kitchen, there was someone with a familiar back—so similar to the one in her dream—making breakfast. Her heart thumped wildly without her consent.
She pinched her own cheek. Ouch. Rubbed her eyes hard. What was going on? Was this dream scene showing up in real life?
As the dreamy haze faded, she looked closer—and of course, it was her student standing there in the kitchen.
But that back… really did look like him.
"Good morning, Sensei," Shirou said without turning around. "I saw there were still some ingredients in the fridge, so I used them. Just sit tight—breakfast will be ready soon."
There were only eggs, ham, and an unopened carton of milk. But that was more than enough for breakfast.
"Good morning… You know, we could've just eaten at the hotel. No need to get up so early," Shizuka said, pretending to stretch nonchalantly. This pounding in her chest—was definitely from the exercise! Definitely!
"Nah, we're driving soon. Better to eat something first. I'm used to this back home anyway," Shirou replied, flipping a fried egg.
"Heh… So you cook often at home? That's unexpected. Sorry—I didn't think I'd be making my guest prepare my breakfast!" Her gaze wandered as she sat down. She grabbed a cigarette from the table and popped it
between her lips, trying to light it—but her hands were shaking. After several failed attempts, it still wouldn't ignite.
"It's no big deal. Helping out at a friend's place is pretty normal, after all. Even if it's the teacher's house this time," Shirou said casually.
"Is that so…?" Shizuka said, a bit uncertain as she pulled her chair closer and sat down.
Back in university, she'd been quite popular, but she had always focused on academics and rejected every confession.
Now looking back, she realized she had no romantic experience at all. Hmm… Well, at least she had plenty of experience failing blind dates.
"Here you go—no need to overthink it. Enjoy." Shirou placed a plate of ham and two eggs in front of her. Seeing her dazed expression, he poured her a glass of milk too, a bit worried.
"Thank you…" Her face reddened slightly as she took the milk.
Shizuka shook her head vigorously, trying to banish the man from her dreams. Otherwise, he would keep overlapping with the boy in front of her.
Pull yourself together, Shizuka! Even if he's so sweet and attentive… he's still your student! You're a teacher—a noble educator with ideals!
What no one knew was that from that day forward, the standard for her "ideal man" quietly rose by several levels in her heart—far beyond what any blind date candidate could reach.
.
.
.
After breakfast, Shizuka changed clothes, then pulled out a car from her apartment's garage. It wasn't as smooth as her beloved Aston Martin Virage back in Chiba, but it was still a Bentley, and a comfortable ride nonetheless.
Since it was only a bit after 6:00 a.m., traffic was light. She made it back to the hotel just in time—before any of the students had gotten up.
Later, she sat at a table near the entrance of the hotel's buffet dining area, acting nonchalant with a small piece of bread and a cup of coffee.
"Good morning, Hiratsuka-sensei. You're back pretty early. Already had breakfast?" one of the chaperone teachers asked with a smile.
"Haha, yeah—I don't eat much. This is plenty," Shizuka replied with a smile.
"…" Not far away, Shirou thought silently: 'Liar. She had two fried eggs with ham, and still wasn't full—ended up stealing one of mine.'
"Shirou, aren't you eating?" Some of the kyudo club members came over and asked.
"Go ahead. I'll join you in a bit," Shirou said calmly.
"Alright then, we're heading over to grab food." Since they'd been in different rooms, they didn't know what had happened last night.
At that moment, the club president and vice president approached.
"So? Had fun last night?" the president grinned. "We won't ask who it was—whether a classmate or a Tokyo girl."
"But since we covered for you like true bros, you're going all in for tomorrow's team match, right? Full marks? Five arrows, five hits—no less!"
"Haaah… I'll do my best," Shirou replied, having no choice after owing them a favor.
Luckily, since the kyudo event was held indoors, even a perfect score wouldn't draw much attention. After all, kyudo wasn't mainstream, and the competition wasn't scored by rings but by hits.
The real issue would come during the modern archery competition. Following the principle of "true shot, must hit," he was supposed to aim for the bullseye.
But in a 50-meter recurve competition, getting a perfect score—every arrow in the bullseye—was already at the level of a world champion.
If he were to perfect a 70-meter round, he'd be breaking the world record.
If Shirou didn't want to be harassed by the media every single day afterward, he'd need to hold back—and be very careful.