^Read the above post.
PSYCH.
APRIL FOOLS!!!
Yeah, that was probably really mean of me. and fail. major fail.
But I felt like playing a joke... so yeah, I hope you all enjoyed my fail joke.
NO, i shall NEVER give up writing. It's part of my life now, and I won't ever be able to leave the keyboard
Now, as apology for the fail april fools joke, here's a long chapter for the long wait!
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Chapter 45 The evening sky was clouded with darkness already, but the streetlamps and bright lights from the chain stores illuminated the sidewalk. There were still people bustling around, although there wasn’t as much as during the day, since it was already dinner time. But the size of the crowd was just enough for the two women, now a couple, to blend in without standing out too much.
There was talking everywhere in the public streets, but the two ladies walking were engulfed in the silence that only they could hear. Risa slowly looked up a little at the beautiful woman walking next to her, who had a satisfied and confident expression on. It almost felt as though their roles had switched; the bean had always been the energetic one, trying to hold her feelings towards her teacher. However, it seemed now that Ai was the more confident one while Risa was being shy. And just as well as Ai may be more confident, now that her shoulders felt light since she completely let all her worries go. She had decided to no longer lie to herself and hurt the one she truly loved and cared about. Yes, the painful secret would continue on, but at least the bean would not be going through it alone anymore. Ai would be there from now on to share that burden with her. And no matter how heavy the burden, they were both determined to be happy as long as they were together.
The teacher blinked and turned her head towards her student. Risa immediately flipped her head the other way as her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Had she been caught staring again? They had decided to be honest towards each other’s feelings now but ironically enough, things seemed even more awkward than before. But perhaps it was just the bean who felt that way…
Suddenly, a warm sensation surrounded the young girl’s hand, holding and caressing it. Risa turned and looked at her hand and followed the arm with her eyes until she met her lover’s warm gaze.
“Isn’t it better this way?” Ai smiled, squeezing the bean’s hand. “It’s a bit more intimate than just walking together, isn’t it?”
“Ah… un…” Risa nodded, looking down as she blushed with joy. She bit down on her bottom lip to prevent herself from grinning too widely. Today just seemed like the most perfect day. Other than the fact that her teacher accepted her feelings, they had shared a kiss, a couple touches, and now a hand-holding. And before that, Ai had offered to walk her home, claiming that it was irresponsible of her as a teacher to send her student off home when it was already so late but also confessing that it was partly an excuse to stay with her just a little longer. There had to be a better word than “perfect” because that word wasn’t enough to describe Risa’s mood at the moment.
“Gaki-san? Did you hear me?”
“Huh?”
“I said,” Ai repeated, chuckling, “which building is your apartment?”
Risa finally looked up to realize that she and her teacher were already at the gate of the apartment complex, away from the crowded streets. So perhaps time wasn’t about to let “perfection” reign forever.
“It’s, um, this way,” the bean mumbled, pulling the older woman to the right. She continued to march down the sidewalk, passing a couple buildings on the way. She wanted to stay pleasant, but couldn’t hide the regret and disappointment at already arriving at her home. Time had been ruthless.
“Hey,” Ai smiled, pulling the bean to a stop and forcing her to make eye contact. “You know today isn’t like any other day. What happened today is going to change us for tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that… and I can promise you that we’ll be together in the future as well. So don’t think that our time is too short, because it’s about to continue for a very long time.”
“You read my mind just like that?” Risa asked, smiling a little.
“Your face is easy to read,” the teacher grinned, “especially since you’re not very well guarded with your emotions today. I could feel pink beams just bursting out of you while we were walking here.”
“I did not have pink beams bursting out of me!” the bean argued, embarrassed.
“Yes, you did,” Ai laughed. “But you don’t need to be shy about it. I had the same aura but I was just better at hiding it.”
“Mou~ Sensei!” Risa whined, puffing up her cheeks.
“There’s the Gaki-san I know,” the teacher winked. “Don’t be so uncomfortable, okay? I want you to be happy when you’re with me… as happy as I am when I’m with you.”
Risa grinned as she returned the smile that her lover was showing her. If she had pink beams bursting out before, now it was bubbly hearts. And she wasn’t all that embarrassed about it this time. However, the bubbles were popped by the sharp voice that echoed down the sidewalk.
“Risa! Is that you?”
The bean looked up as well as her teacher, and turned to the voice. A middle-aged woman was standing there, wearing a blouse and pants. Her long, curly hair was pulled back into a low ponytail while her makeup concealed her old age well. She had similar features to the bean; the same warm brown eyes as well as the round face.
“Mama?” Risa yelled.
“Your mother?” the teacher mumbled.
Risa’s head immediately turned to her hand, being held by her teacher-gone-lover. She subtly let go of the hand and skittered over to her mother’s side. “Mama! Uh… what are you doing, standing out here?”
“Well, I got home from work and you weren’t in your room, so I got worried…” the older Niigaki explained. “Don’t worry Mama like that, Risa!” She pinched her daughter’s cheek as she scolded her gently.
“Ow! Mama, itai yo!” the bean said, pulling away. “Stop that, you’re embarrassing me…”
Only then, did Mama Gaki turn to the teacher who was approaching the mother-daughter pair. “Who is this? Your friend?”
“No, no, no, this is—”
“Please excuse my rudeness, Mrs. Niigaki, I haven’t introduced myself yet,” the teacher said politely, bowing. “I’m Niigaki’s homeroom teacher, Takahashi Ai. Hajimemashite.”
“Ah, domo, hajimemashite, Sensei,” Risa’s mother replied just as politely, also bowing. “We’ve talked on the phone before, haven’t we? When Risa was stuck at your home because of the rain? I never got to thank you for that either, I appreciated you taking care of my daughter very much.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Niigaki,” Ai smiled. “Risa always helps me as iinchou; it was the least I could do.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you from my daughter; she enjoys your class very much!” Mama Gaki continued, “And I’m sorry for my mistake; you looked so young that I thought that you were my daughter’s classmate!”
“You are too kind,” Ai laughed softly. “I’m afraid I must apologize for my irresponsibility. I was the one who kept Niigaki this late at school; I’m afraid I’ve taken the meaning of ‘class representative’ too harshly. I’m very sorry for worrying you, Mrs. Niigaki.”
“Oh no, Sensei, it was Risa’s responsibility in the end, since she has a cell phone but hadn’t thought to even leave me a text,” Mama Gaki said, smiling, as she narrowed her eyes at her daughter in a joking manner.
“I was busy, Mama…” the bean mumbled.
“Too busy giving your teacher more trouble, Risa?” the mother grinned.
“Too busy doing chores… and stuff,” the bean mumbled.
And too busy kissing… “She wasn’t trouble at all, Mrs. Niigaki,” Ai smiled pleasantly. “She is always of great help to me. You’ve raised an extraordinary daughter.”
“Maa~ To say such kind things, Sensei…” Mama Gaki gushed, grinning as she slapped her daughter’s back a little harder than she meant it to be. “Arigatou gozaimasu!”
“Mama, shouldn’t we let Sensei be on her way now?” Risa said through her teeth, trying to force a smile.
You’re creeping her out! “Actually, Sensei, why don’t you come in to have dinner with us?” Risa’s mother suggested. “I heard that you just moved to Tokyo; I’m sure you’d like some fine, homemade cooking, yes?”
“Oh no, I couldn’t impose on you like that,” Ai said.
It wouldn’t be too good to have a conversation with my girlfriend’s mother so soon… “Mama, I’m sure Sensei already as plans…” Risa muttered.
Please don’t let Mama freak Sensei out, please! “Nonsense, you must absolutely come in, Sensei!” Mama Gaki insisted. “Come along now, come on!”
Before anybody else could protest more, the older Niigaki took both her daughter’s and the teacher’s wrists and pulled them towards the apartment building. She clicked on the elevator button and the doors slid open right away. As she entered the elevator and flipped around to press the button for the correct floor, Risa and Ai also entered on either side of Mama Gaki, and stood a little bit behind.
The machine started moving and Risa’s mother started to chat on and on about something funny that had happened at work. Her daughter nervously laughed along as she slowly leaned back a little to make eye contact with her teacher on the other side. The teacher noticed this and also did the same.
Sumimasen! the bean thought as she mouthed the words.
I’m sorry I got you involved in this… Daijoubu, Ai mouthed back with a warm smile.
Just trust in me. Although the student was still quite nervous, she did believe that her teacher would be perfectly fine in front of her odd mother. She would definitely be able to keep an act up in front of Mama Gaki while keeping the secret about their newly created relationship.
The elevator made a soft chime sound, indicating that it had arrived at its destination. The three women walked out as the doors opened. The older Niigaki opened the door and invited her guest in with a warm smile.
“Douzo, Sensei!” she said.
“Shitsureshimasu,” Ai said, bowing a little bit. It was quite difficult for Risa to believe that this perfect lady actually used to be a delinquent when she was younger.
“Dinner is already made, so please sit down, Sensei,” Mama Gaki said, grinning, indicating to the kitchen table. “Let me just get another bowl of rice for you. You sit down too, Risa.”
“I see where you get your cute smile from,” Ai whispered under her breath as she sat down, allowing her lover to blush.
“Stop that, Sensei,” the bean mumbled, eyeing her surroundings nervously. “Mama will hear you…”
“Douzo!” Risa’s mother announced, placing a bowl of rice in front of her daughter’s teacher. “Fresh from the rice cooker!”
“Ja, itadakimasu!” Ai said, clapping her hands together.
“Itadakimasu!” Mama Gaki also said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Itadakimasu…” Risa muttered, still not feeling comfortable with the current situation. Her mother was sitting right next to her while her teacher was sitting across the table: that could not be a good sign. Especially when that teacher was her lover now… It was never a good idea to bring your significant other back home on your first day of going out.
“Oishii!” Ai exclaimed after taking a bite out of the beef that Mama Gaki had pushed towards her. “Did you make this, Mrs. Niigaki?”
“Yes I did, I’m glad you like it,” Mama Gaki laughed.
“Uso,” Risa accused, scowling. “I made that and you know it! All you did was put it on the frying pan.”
“It was just a joke, Risa, please, Mama was in a good mood,” the older Niigaki grinned. “She’s right, Sensei. Unfortunately, I’m not a very good cook, unlike my daughter.”
“Well, your daughter is certainly quite skilled,” Ai nodded, “especially with bentos.”
“… How did you know Risa was good at making bento?” Mama Gaki asked, cocking her head to the side.
Risa’s eyes shot open as she bit down on her lips and stared at her teacher. Ai stopped moving her spoon through her rice bowl, realizing her slip-up. Of course, she was very familiar with the bean’s lunch boxes, since she had been given the honor of eating them every day. But she couldn’t very well tell that to the woman sitting in front of her.
“… I’ve seen it before, it was very pretty,” Ai quickly said. “Her friends, like Kamei, tell me that it tastes even better.”
“Ah, you are Eri’s homeroom teacher as well?” Mama Gaki asked, clapping her hands together.
“Mama, we’re in the same class,” the bean muttered, rolling her eyes. “It’s been like that since kindergarten, remember?”
“Ah~ Souda, souda!” the mother said, tapping her head. “Mama forgot. Gomen~!”
“Stop doing that, it’s weird,” Risa mumbled, fidgeting in her seat, “and rude.”
“No, it’s perfectly fine,” Ai smiled. “Dinner has never been more enjoyable for me.”
“Well then, you should come over more often, Takahashi-sensei!” Mama Gaki suggested. “We’ll have dinner together again, since usually it’s just me and my daughter.”
“Or maybe she doesn’t need to come over again,” Risa mumbled, feeling more and more embarrassed by the second.
The bean’s original nervousness about having her secret revealed was no longer her primary concern. The more dominant emotion now was purely shame of her own mother. Yes, she loved her dearly and yes, she appreciated that her mother worked very hard to make a living for both of them, even though she was only a single-parent. She was definitely warm and sincere but sometimes, she just carried it too far and became so immature. Having this side of her mother being revealed in front of her teacher and love made Risa feel as though her perfect iinchou image was crumbling.
“Risa, that’s rude!” Mama Gaki scolded. “You shouldn’t say that to your Sensei!”
“It’s fine, I believe Niigaki is just tired from a long day,” Ai said. “I’m sorry I held you for so after school, Niigaki.”
“It’s okay,” Risa sighed, standing up with her rice bowl. “Gochisousama deshita.”
“You’re already done eating?” her mother asked.
“I’m not very hungry.”
“Well then, will you do Mama a favor?” the older Niigaki requested, looking up at her daughter with big puppy-dog eyes. “Run down to the drug store and please get some more vitamins? Mama ran out~”
“Now?” Risa frowned. “When we have a guest?”
There’s no way I’m leaving Mama alone with Sensei… “Please, please, please?” Mama Gaki whined. “I can keep Sensei entertained. Mama needs it for tomorrow and the store will close soon. Please?”
“But—”
“Please?”
“I just—”
“Please?”
“Can’t you—”
“Please?”
“Fine!” the bean groaned, glaring at her mother. “I’ll do it so… stop being a baby.”
“Arigatou, Risa!” Mama Gaki crooned. “While you’re gone, Sensei and I’ll be gossiping about your grades a little bit, nee?”
“Then I’ll be back quick since that conversation probably won’t last long,” the bean mumbled. She knew her grades were perfect anyway.
As she turned to leave the kitchen and ultimately the home, Risa quickly made eye contact with her teacher, trying to convey her panic and apology. But her lover still seemed perfectly at ease, winking so that the bean’s mother would not notice. Sighing, the student quickly ran out of the apartment, determined to return as fast as she can. Ai turned her attention back to the woman sitting in front of her, smiling pleasantly.
“I would just like to say that your daughter is right, Mrs. Niigaki, this conversation isn’t going to last very long,” Ai grinned. “Your daughter is the next best thing to perfect—”
“Oh, I know that,” Mama Gaki laughed. “That girl really can’t stand being second in anything. Rather, there was something else I wanted to discuss with you.”
“Yes?”
“… I guess I’ll just cut to the chase,” the mother said, turning a bit more serious. “Your relationship with my daughter… isn’t a casual one, is it?”
Ai paused as she blinked once. “I’m not sure what you mean—”
“I mean, you’re not just her teacher.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Niigaki, I—”
“I mean, it’s a deep relationship, isn’t it?” Risa’s mother rephrased. “You and my daughter… are going out.”
“… How could that possibly be, Mrs. Niigaki?” Ai said, chuckling a little. “That kind of thing… it couldn’t be allowed, could it?”
“Well, if you two decided it, who could stop it from going on?”
Ai’s smile disappeared as she stared at the woman in front of her. All of a sudden, that immature and playful mother seemed like a responsible and serious parent. Her eyes seemed to scrutinize her and fort the first time, the teacher noticed the wrinkles on the woman’s face. She suddenly seemed a lot older than what she seemed originally.
Realizing that she had already lost, Ai stood up from her chair and bowed deeply towards her lover’s mother.
“Sumimasen deshita!” she said, apologizing. “I have behaved irresponsibly towards your daughter. Please believe me when I say that your daughter had nothing to do with this; I was the one who initiated—”
“How could Risa not have anything to do with this?” Mama Gaki said, laughing a little. “A relationship occurs between two people, Sensei, not one. And please, raise your head and sit down; you have no need to apologize.”
“But I—”
“I am not disappointed towards you, nor towards my daughter,” the woman said calmly. “Please, sit down.”
After a longer pause, Ai straightened her back and sat back down. She dared not look into the older Niigaki’s eyes but she could tell that the woman wasn’t lying when she said she was not disappointed. She seemed perfectly calm. Pleasant, even.
“Please believe me when I say that I really am not angry about this, Sensei,” Mama Gaki started. “I won’t say I’m ecstatic about my daughter going out with someone, but what parent is happy about that? The truth is, I trust my daughter enough that I leave her own decisions to herself.”
“You… are not concerned that I am her teacher?” Ai asked quietly. “And the fact that she’s a minor but I’m an adult?”
“How old are you, Sensei?”
“I’m 23 years old this year.”
“Oh, six years isn’t that bad,” the older woman shrugged. “I’ve seen people who have the same zodiac sign get married. That’s 12 years.”
“It does not disturb you that I’m… also a woman?” Ai asked again, still confused.
“I don’t discriminate people that way, Takahashi-sensei,” the older Niigaki smiled. “I judge people by their heart, not their gender. And I can tell right off the bat that you are a good person, Sensei.”
Good person… That was what Risa had said as well, wasn’t it?
“In a way, I’m glad that you’re much older than my daughter,” the mother sighed, smiling sadly. “You’ve probably figured out by now that Risa is more of an adult than I am. I’m a very immature Mama.”
“You don’t seem very immature right now,” Ai said, smiling a little.
“Well, yes, I suppose it’s because Risa isn’t here,” Mama Gaki answered, chuckling. “You see… my husband passed away when Risa was very young. I had to start working to support the both of us, so Risa was always left alone to figure out life for herself. She grew up far too quickly, Sensei. My one regret in life is that I cannot and will never be able to give my daughter back her childhood. So I suppose I unconsciously slipped into a child-like character, hoping that it may rub off on Risa, but maybe it even had the opposite effect… You seem like a very mature person, Sensei, so perhaps it might be nice for Risa to be babied once in a while.”
“I understand,” Ai nodded. She didn’t say more, but she felt that maybe she was already affecting Risa in a different way. The girl was such an uptight iinchou before, but recently, she had been acting rather girly. The bean was the dominant when she was by herself but when an opposing factor appeared, she quickly backed away. That was her nature. And Ai would be on the other side of that balance from now on, to let Risa be dependent for once.
“I know you’re a responsible person, Sensei, and I trust my daughter with all my heart,” the older Niigaki continued. “Please take good care of my little girl.”
“Thank you for putting your trust in me,” Ai said, bowing her head a little. She smiled comfortingly. “I want you to know that I do sincerely care for your daughter and she is first and foremost in my life right now. I will protect her with all I have.”
“That puts my heart at ease,” Mama Gaki laughed. “Thank you.”
“Tadaima!” the bean announced, kicking off her shoes and sliding into the kitchen. She dropped the plastic bag with the vitamin bottle on the counter and whipped around to the two women at the table. “Did I miss anything?”
“Okaeri,” Mama Gaki grinned, her eyes turning playful and loving again.
“You didn’t miss much,” Ai said, smiling. “But your mother was telling me—”
“—about that time when you were a toddler and ran all around the house with a towel around yourself, naked, yelling, ‘I’m Super Omame’!” Mama Gaki interrupted, smirking.
“Chotto, Mama!” Risa yelled, her face turning bright red. “Don’t say weird things like that to Sensei!”
“Oh, you were so cute back then~” the mother cooed, pinching her daughter’s cheeks. “Chou kawaii~”
“Mama—itai— Stop that!” Risa complained, backing away.
As the teenager rubbed her cheeks and mumbled something about being so embarrassed, the teacher looked at the parent with confused eyes. Mrs. Niigaki put a finger to her lips and winked, asking her to keep silent. Ai supposed that she just didn’t want Risa to know that her mother was aware of their relationship. It probably would make things more uncomfortable for the bean. The mother truly was caring, in her own way.
“Well then, I think I should take my leave now,” Ai said, standing up. “Thank you very much for the warm meal; it was delicious.”
“No problem,” Mama Gaki smiled. “Please stop by again sometime.”
“I’ll do that.”
“No, you won’t,” Risa grumbled, walking towards the front door and opening it. “Mama, I’m going to show Sensei out of the apartment complex; it can get confusing for her.”
“Yes, go do that,” Mrs. Niigaki agreed. “Sensei, it was nice meeting you.”
“The pleasure was all mine,” Ai said, bowing. She and the parent exchanged a knowing glance with each other, communicating each other’s gratitude silently. Then, Ai followed her lover out of the apartment.
“I’m sorry about my mother,” Risa mumbled, clicking the elevator button and entering it. “She was probably really annoying.”
“No, I thought she was a very charming woman,” Ai disagreed, as the elevator doors closed. “We had a very pleasant conversation while you were out.”
“What did she say?” the bean interrogated. “She didn’t find out about us, did she?”
“Nope, not at all,” the teacher grinned. “I told you everything was going to be okay.”
“We should still be pretty careful,” Risa sighed. “Mama really likes to dig into secrets and stuff.”
“I think we’ll be fine,” Ai laughed. “You’re mother is a very kind person. You’re lucky to have her.”
“I know that,” Risa answered, shrugging. “She’s really childish but… I guess we’re pretty close.”
“It’s a good thing, Gaki-san,” Ai lectured. “You should definitely keep it that way.”
“I don’t plan to change it,” Risa said nonchalantly.
In no time, the elevator reached the first floor again and the two lovers walked out into the night street, illuminated with lamps. Risa walked her teacher all the way to the main gate of the apartment complex, so that Ai could easily find the way back to the main town area.
“Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ai said, waving a little.
“Mm-hm.”
The teacher turned to leave as Risa bit down on her lips. Without thinking twice, she grabbed the older woman’s sleeve, stopping her in her motion.
“Ano!” the bean yelled, looking down to hide her face.
“Yes?” Ai asked, turning back. “What is it?”
“Um… I just thought that… well…” Risa hesitated. “We… we’re going out… right?”
“That’s right,” Ai chuckled.
“And… uh… we’re going to be honest with each other now… right?”
“I suppose so.”
“Then can I ask for…!” Risa stopped, feeling very nervous and embarrassed. “Um… the thing… uh… from back at the classroom… uh…”
“… I’m sorry, Gaki-san, I’m not really catching on…” Ai said apologetically.
“N-nevermind!” Risa said, shaking her head and letting go of her teacher’s sleeve. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”
With that, the bean quickly turned around to go back to her apartment. But Ai grinned, as she pulled her lover back by her sleeve this time. As twirled back into her arms, the teacher pressed her lips gently against her lover’s, catching her off guard. She traced the edges of Risa’s lips with her tongue a little before backing away with a smile. Her younger girlfriend, of course, had her eyes wide as ever with cheeks dyed rose red.
“You know, all you had to do was ask,” Ai whispered, chuckling. “It’s not that hard to do.”
“Y-yeah…” the short-haired girl mumbled, smiling shyly. “I guess so…”
This is what it should be like, the older woman thought.
This is what a normal 17-year-old girl is supposed to be like… I want her to be able to depend on me more now. Please don’t rush to grow up, Gaki-san… As she secretly made her wish, Ai pressed her lips against Risa’s forehead, as though it was to give her good luck. The bean looked up at her teacher with a huge smile, still not fully believing that so much happiness could be carried within a single day.
Please, if there is a god, Risa prayed silently,
please don’t let these happy days end… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And so, Arc 2 has officially kicked off!
The next chapter is a bit of SayuJun, which won't be too long, but I'll try to make it good (or just update faster)
Topic: Chigatte mo Iin da yo! ~Mainly TanaKame, TakaGaki~ [FINALE - Ch. 93 - (1/30)] (Read 409770 times)