Disclaimer: I do not own Ib or any of the elements in the game. They belong to their respective owner, Kouri; I am merely using them for my own creative amusement.

Honne; Tatemae

(n.) the contrast between a person's true feelings and desires, often kept hidden to oneself (honne) and the behaviour and opinions displayed in public to satisfy society's demands (tatemae) (Japanese)

Ib had always been quiet; she had always been a tad shy.

Despite that, she was the exemplar student for her schoolmates. She was the one who always finished her homework or work first; excelled in everything she did and claimed the number one spot in all their exams. She was an honour student; she wouldn't act on impulse, disgrace herself, nor put her family's name in jeopardy.

Despite that, she wanted to hug him. She wanted to pull him close and breathe him in, feeling the warmth of a nearly forgotten dream materialising in front of her. Ib wanted to smile and laugh, cry and scream exactly how much she's missed him, how much she's searched for him the past seven years to no avail.

"Nice to meet you all; I'll be your new home economics teacher starting today."

The students whispered amongst themselves, an array of hushed arguments about his lavender linguistics, his lavender hair, or the way that lavender sweater fitted him beautifully. They would accept him easily enough eventually. Her back was rigid; her entire posture frozen in time as she listened to his introduction in the classroom. Her chest twisted with excruciating pain as he glanced by her direction, but didn't pause at all.

And in the course of a month, she deduced that he doesn't remember her at all.

Ib sandwiched her final, finished macaron together and stepped back to admire her handiwork. Her bench partner whistled low in awe at the neat rows and attracted the attention of the entire class. They cooed and crowded around her, giving out praises and claims of envy. Garry stepped into the circle to inspect her work and Ib arrogantly assumed he would smile, that calm and praising Garry smile that he reserved for exceptional students in his class, as he always did the past few lessons.

He didn't. He stood very still, gaze transfixed. Ib turned her head and scuffled her feet, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

"Sensei, do you like them?"

He turned to her slowly. Something in his demeanour changed, his eyes held a spark of...

She breathed in.

...Recognition.

Garry lifted a faintly trembling hand towards her cheek, the tips brushing softly against the long ends of her fringe. He blinked. The hand moved down quickly, away from her face. He awkwardly patted her shoulder once and took a step back. The murmurings of the class finally clicked in her own mind. He admired the colourful French treats nonchalantly, nodding to himself.

"G-Good job, Tachibana, fantastic as always."

"Thank you, sir."

He clapped his hands twice, ushering the other students back to their own work benches. For the rest of the class, and then for the rest of the week, Garry wouldn't even look at her in the eye. Ib greeted him whenever she could, tried to attract his attention being dangerously clumsy, and yet he refused to give in.

"Good morning, Tachibana."

"Be more careful, Tachibana."

"Tachibana, see me after class." She stopped in her tracks and looked back at the handsome teacher by the window.

She stepped away from the door and let the others pass. He briefly flipped through the pages of the students' reports while waiting for the room to clear. Her right hand fiddled with one of the buttons on her sweater, while she discreetly wiped her other damp palm against her skirt. She looked up at his face and bit back a choking sob at his smile. It was the warm, gentle, genuine, Garry smile that she often dreamt of, comforting as a child, rewarding for her now.

"Ib." He rubbed his glossy eyes with the back of his hand, turning away once his shoulders started trembling.

She walked to him slowly, experimentally wrapping an arm around his waist. She grinned in relief when his arms tightly wrapped around her, comforting and tender. Yes, he finally remembered her.

"Garry."

AN: 650 words. I can't seem to stick to limits, hm. So how is everyone? I'm dying from exam prep, dying from some personal issues and holy crap there is a new sexy, leng zai, quailo sensei who doesn't even teach me in my school. Have fun translating that strange little sentence. I'm having fun... somewhat. Hope you liked this chapter, it ended on a sweeter note compared to the last one. Share your thoughts and take care! x