"Aaaah!" Ochi Misato let out a loud, happy groan as she stretched her stiff shoulders. "School day is FINALLY over! And I need coffee." Not even bothering to pack up her things (that could be done later, once she was sufficiently caffeinated), she strode out of her classroom and straight towards the teachers' lounge, where her beloved Hello Kitty mug and caffeinated bliss awaited.

The halls were unusually empty for afterschool. Then again, the students did have a tendency to forego afterschool activities the day before vacation began. Only the most dedicated students remained when there was such fun as karaoke, getting drunk, and collapsing into bed awaiting them. The same thing could be said of the teachers.

Of course, it was no surprise to find Kagine still lurking the halls of the school, adorned in his usual gym teacher outfit. Really, just because the man was a gym teacher didn't mean he had to dress like he was going to run a 50 kilometer race in the Alps every day. Didn't the man have any aesthetic sensibilities? Every time she saw him Misato wanted to take him home and give him a make-over so he'd look more like a man and less like the gym teacher from hell. And what was he doing? He always looked cranky, but rarely with such...focus.

"Yo! Kagine-sensei!" Misato called out, giving the man polite warning before she popped over to see what he was glaring at. Something inside one of the classrooms. It's Inoue and Ishida! And a few other students – it looked like the sewing club students were indeed dorky dedicated enough to remain.

"It's pink," Kagine growled softly.

"Hm?" Kagine jerked his head towards the dress in Ishida's hands.

"And frilly," he added.

Misato forced herself not to giggle. Really, Kagine's macho pride was far too amusing.

"That it is," she agreed cheerfully. Completely oblivious to the two observers, Ishida handed the dress to Inoue, who then took and inspected it with admiration. Unnoticed by the girl, the boy flushed with pleasure.

"The boy's setting himself up for heartbreak," Kagine said softly. Misato did a doubletake, completely caught off-guard. Had the Macho Male actually said something sensitive? Or was this a hallucination induced by caffeine deprivation?

Kagine glanced sideways at her and snorted. "Don't look at me like that. You know it just as well as I do." In the classroom, Ishida began inspecting Inoue's own work, making little suggestions and helping her fix stitch problems. "The girl's all gaga over that idiot Kurosaki," Kagine continued. "She'll never give Ishida a second look."

Misato sighed softly, leaning against the doorframe as she too stared inside. "True," she agreed. Inoue's infatuation with Kurosaki was well-known to all the teachers in the school, partially because of how obvious it was, and partially because they all cared enough to watch. With a student as sweet and intelligent as her, it was hard not to take a keen interest in her life. "But girls get over things like that. Maybe Ishida will be the person to get her to let Kurosaki go."

"Life doesn't work like that," Kagine said bitterly. "Especially with Inoue. The girl doesn't know how to let go."

Even brutes can be insightful, Misato mused. Life never ceases to be surprising.

"Ah, buck up, Kagine-sensei!" she said, clapping the man on the back. "They're teenagers. Their bodies aren't the only things that're growing."

Kagine crossed his arms, scowling and obviously not impressed. Chuckling wistfully, Misato turned her head back to the classroom. They really do make a sweet picture, she thought. Ishida was such a different person around Inoue – how could the girl be so oblivous to it? His cool exterior thawed, and he showed himself capable of being more than just "arrogant." Misato was hardly the girly, romantic type, but even she had trouble refraining from squeeing every time she watched the two. They were just so cute. "It'd be nice if they'd work out," she said softly.

Kagine snorted. "It'd be nice if there was something anchoring Inoue to earth," he said grumpily. "I don't understand how that girl manages to function." Misato laughed at that.

"Friends, Kagine-sensei," she answered. "Very good friends."

"She needs to get married," Kagine asserted stubbornly. "A toddler or two will bring her down to earth real quick."

Inoue...with children. Misato couldn't hold back a bark of laughter. They'd be just as weird as she is. Oh goodness, poor Ishida. "That'd be one helluva family to raise," she said. Still snickering, she pushed herself off of the wall and grinned up at the other teacher. "C'mon, Kagine-sensei. Let's leave the poor kids alone. I need a cup of coffee."

Kagine gave one last glance to the two teenagers, snorting once again. "You shouldn't drink so much coffee," he said sternly, following Misato towards the teacher's lounge. "Water is much better for you."

"Yes, yes," Misato said, sighing. Figures I'd get this lecture from the gym teacher. "Leave me my sins, Kagine-sensei. We're highschool teachers, not saints."

"It's not about being a saint!" Kagine snapped. "It's about taking care of your body!"

Somehow I wish we were still talking about Ishida and Inoue.