Disclaimer: I don't own Raildex
"Yes, I'll do my best, Komoe-sensei, he said as he closed the door to the teacher's lounge, and started walking.
The hallways were quiet, a rare occurrence in this school, His footsteps tapped on the floor as he passed by empty classrooms. The students enjoying after school hours were muffled behind the windows.
Later tonight, there will be a concert by a rising idol on the new mall in District 15. It was an opening celebration, and he wanted to be one of the first to arrive. It would be a waste pass the opportunity, but...
He brought up the papers he held. New Year's is in a couple of weeks, and the preparations for the class party were behind in schedule. He had postponed the work day after day for more entertaining things to do, but it was time for him to finish it. *Can't be helped,* he thought.
The evening sky bathed the school hallways with orange light, shielding him from the cold outside. His body relaxed as he took in the warmth.
He saw Class 7's door, and sighed. *Time to get to work,* he thought as he slid the door open, and stepped inside. "Oh?"
There in the corner of the classroom, Fukiyose Seiri was sleeping. Stacks of papers and other school materials were neatly positioned on the tables pressed to her desk. As he approached, he noticed they were work that he left unfinished and paperwork needed for the preparations.
He sat across her and placed his papers on the desk. As always, she went on and did the work for him even though he hadn't asked for help. She had overworked again and fell asleep.
He remembered the days just before Daihaseisai. At school, she would spend her time going through the preparations. At night, as he strolled around the city, he would see her carrying boxes by herself, talking to staff members in charge of the event. The next morning, she would show up in the morning with bags under her eyes before going back to her usual self.
"You really do care about everyone, don't you?" he said. He enjoyed himself for a moment, watching her sleeping face. She looked so different from when they first met each other that day in the park. She became happier since then. He didn't know why, he never asked, but he was glad she was. If she was happy, he was.
A strand of hair dangled on the middle of her face. Her moe points went up by 5, but he wanted to watch her more, without anything getting in between. So he leaned forward, and with a finger, put the strand of hair back where it belonged.
Despite the amount of effort she puts to making everybody's school lives enjoyable, no one had gone to her and said their thanks. It seems no one in class knew how much effort she puts to make their school lives as enjoyable as possible. He knew, and that made him worse. He could have gone up to her and said 'Thank you' but he didn't. It would make her so happy, and would deny it and say something along the lines of 'It's my duty as...', but he chose to let her do everything by herself.
When he faced the window, it was already night time. He had been having more fun than he thought watching her. "Wait, wait, wait, I just sounded like a stalker for a moment there," he said.
She was still asleep, and didn't show any signs of waking up soon. Just how tired was she? It would be troublesome to leave her as is so he would just find something to kill time, and wait for her to wake up. Maybe he would even get a nice reaction in return.
He focused on the school PA, and thought of a song that she liked. Moments later, piano strings came out from the speakers, Claire de Lune played inside the room.
Minutes go by, and he nodded to himself as he made a decision. He wouldn't leave her alone anymore. He wouldn't let her feel her efforts go by unnoticed. From now on, he would be by her side, supporting the good things she would do.
There were no stars outside. Academy City had too much life even compared to a major city in Japan, so it was impossible for there to be a beautiful scenery like that. But it was enough for him.
He felt something touch his hand. Fukiyose had her hand on his, a warm smile on her face as she dreamt.
"From now on, leave everything to me."