Chapter 4

It had been six days since a long-haired teacher and a short-haired student began embarking on their journey throughout the Japan and they traveled to seventeen cities or towns and found no voluntary recruit. On morning they now arrived at a town called Tomoeda. As they stepped on the platform from the train, Fuuko asked with a quite loud yawn, "Which schools should we start in this Tomoeda Town, sensei?"

"First, we start at the high schools and colleges, then the junior high ones and lastly the elementary ones," replied an exasperated Hibiki. "Fuuko-chan, you told me earlier that you have an aunt who is living in this town, so at first, we are gonna go to your aunt's house."

"Yeah, it'll save us a lot of hotel expenses," yawned she in agreement. The taller man nodded and asked, "But you need rest, don't you? It seems you didn't get a good night's sleep last night."

"It's because those bunk beds in the train cars are uncomfortable," complained the fifteen-year old grumpily. He sighed. "I know, Fuuko-chan. We should have slept at a hotel but you insisted that it would be faster if we slept on a traveling train."

"Of course it was my idea, but you could at least let me share a bed with you," debated the girl, shooting a serious glance up at him.

"But each bunk bed has room for only one person," her teacher countered.

"Sensei, then you should let me sleep on top of you." The teacher stared at the young but bold student with speechless shock. His bewildered eyes were as big as saucers. She noticed his speechless expression and explained, "You let me hug you on other nights in the hotels, remember?"

"Hugging me tightly to yourself is one thing but to have your body on top of mine is another. That's wrong!" Speaking his words in a stern tone, He leaned his face a few inches closer to Fuuko's.

"Whhhyyyy? Because I'm heavy, aren't I?" pouted Fuuko, looking slightly offended by her own suggestion.

"No. it's that I could feel your body heat.…uh….rather intimately if we were to do that."

She smirked. "What do you mean? You're afraid of getting hot and sweaty if I get to sleep on your chest, aren't you?"

Hibiki wasn't sure how to respond to his student's question. 'She is quite a lot weirder than she was last year,' He recalled. 'What happened to the shy, clumsy and timid fourteen-year old girl I knew? Now she's fifteen years old and she has become a lot bolder and more direct, not to mention that she enjoys teasing me as well. Her enthusiasm is really murdering me.' He shook his head. "If that's what you mean, Fuuko-chan, I suppose so," he finally said.

"But tonight, promise me, sensei, that you'll let me sleep on your chest."

Hibiki's eyes widened once at this girl's brazen demand more than at anything else. He then shook his head, not looking her straight in the eye.

"You've really changed a lot, Fuuko-chan."

"You've said a similar thing already on the other days," giggled Fuuko.

He sighed wearily. "let's go to your aunt's house, then." As the duo started to walk from the station, he asked, "did you call your aunt earlier?"

"Yeah, she's expecting us, sensei."

"Then tell me again, Fuuko-chan, how far is her house from here?"

"About half a kilometer from here,"

"Then, Fuuko-chan, do you mind if we gotta take a walk instead of riding in a cab? We have to save money."

"Of course, I understand," she smiled at him, flashing her puppy eyes at him.

Minutes later, when they arrived at the aunt's house, they were warmly greeted by an attractive, petite woman with long brown hair and ruby eyes, at the doorstep in front of them, Hibiki noted that the older woman appeared to be in early thirties. "Greetings, Fuuko-chan. It is good to see you again," The girl suddenly rushed into her jovial aunt's arms.

"Same to you. I've missed you, Aunt Rei," she greeted back, hugging the older woman tightly. Releasing Fuuko from her hug, the woman looked straight at Hibiki. "You must be Amawa Hibiki-sensei, whom Fuuko-chan has told me about."

"Er….yes, ma'am," he said softly.

"My name is Hattori Rei, the younger sister of Fuuko-chan's mother. Nice to meet you, Amawa-sensei."

"Pleasure is all mine, Hattori-san."

"Please call me Rei," she chuckled. "No need for formalities. Any boyfriend of Fuuko-chan is my friend as well."

"Wait a minute…I am her teacher, not her boyfriend," he protested aggravatedly as his cheeks reddened.

"I know, sensei. She told me, you aren't officially a couple," the amused woman giggled at his crimson blushing cheeks. Hibiki sighed in exasperation.

She informed him with a broad smile. "From now on, call me Rei."

"Certainly, Rei-san. And then please call me Hibiki,"

"Agreed, Hibiki-sensei." Rei glanced back and forth from Hibiki to Fuuko. "Both of you, come inside."

As the hostess showed them the way around to the living room inside her house, she asked, "Hibiki-sensei, Fuuko-chan told me you re searching for new teachers to recruit, aren't you?"

"Yes, we are currently doing so, Rei-san," he confirmed passively. "Well, do you know of any schools in this town?"

"Yes, there are a very few schools, because it is a very small town."

Fuuko inquired. "Aunt, you've lived here for five years. Has Tomoeda been to your liking?"

"Yes, in spite of all these weird occurrences, Tomoeda is quite a nice and hospitable town."

"Weird occurrences?"

"Yes, I don't know what kinds of things exactly happened around here. Neither does anyone else. For example, the statue of the giant penguin in the park has been flipped upside down. In another case, a lot of elementary schoolers claimed they saw a ghost while walking through the forest . And a lot of other things I couldn't care to explain anymore. It's still a mystery."

Hibiki noticed sweat drops on Fuuko's forehead. "Did you say 'ghosts'?", gulped the younger woman.

"That is what they said." Startled by Rei's little speech, Fuuko shut her eyes, covered her ears, bristled and cried like a frightened kitten.

"You still scared of ghosts?" Hibiki asked, giving her a slight smile.

"O-of course. They….they give me shivers." came her shaky response.

"Now I know one part of you haven't changed at all," remarked the chuckling teacher. He remembered that the kid had been so scared of ghosts that she would rather be peeked at by a man than a ghost. 'Of course, Fuuko-chan thought the intruder that had been peeping at her was a ghost' Hibiki recalled. But later both he and Fuuko learned the culprits were Toufukouji and Morikouji all along.

She was red with embarrassment, while scolding him. "Please don't laugh at me, sensei."

She fixed her irritable teacher with an irritated look.

"But Hibiki-sensei is right, Fuuko-chan," laughed Rei. "You say you have grown up but you're still scared of ghosts."

Looking at her niece, Rei then reassured her, "Don't worry about it. They were just gossips and rumors."

"O-o-okay, aunt."

"By the way, Rei-san, can you tell us where the schools are?" asked Hibiki.

"Is it fine that I guide you to them?" she suggested.

"Sounds okay for me."

"And for me, too," Fuuko added with a wide grin, recovering from her shock .

"By the way, Have you got the rooms ready for us?" the teacher asked.

"Rooms? Who told you to live in more than one room? "

"Two rooms, each for one of us," he replied. Then he suddenly saw a smirk forming on the woman's face that worried him.

"Unfortunately, we have only three rooms. Two of them are occupied by me and my daughter. That leaves the third one to you two."

"A room for us to sleep together alone?" uttered a bewildered Hibiki, whose dropped jaw was stretched so wide it hit the floor with a loud CLUNK. He stared at her as if she had grown another head. "Sensei, you've made a jaw-breaking record," mused Rei, who delighted in seeing his jaw dropping to the ground.

"For real?" exclaimed the girl.

"Yup, Fuuko-chan." Rei smiled at her niece and gave her a congratulatory wink at her as well. "It can't be helped, since my daughter and I are using the other two rooms all by ourselves."

"In that case, why can't you let Fuuko-chan sleep in your daughter's room?"

"My daughter is still just 9 years old and usually snores as loudly as a drunken elephant when she is sleeping. As a hospitable hostess, I don't want her to bother her cousin Fuuko while sleeping together."

"And can't you let her sleep in your room?" he asked Rei further.

"With her uncle? I don't think my husband would let her sleep with us while we both still need our…uh…privacy." Hibiki realized that this couple were still having lovemaking sessions night after night, even though she was in early thirties. Fuuko nodded and he wondered whether his student understood her aunt's vague explanation. He was startled by the eager girl's inquiry directed at him. She begged vigorously, "Sensei, please accept aunt's offer!"

"Well, I don't know," he admitted. He turned to Rei with a bewildered look. "Would you trust your fifteen-year old niece to sleep with an older man?"

"No, but she assured me you would never do anything to hurt her. I believe in my favorite niece and trust her judgment." Hibiki narrowed his eyes at the strange aunt but offered no contest to her decision. "Any objections?" she queried him. He shook his head slightly. "Then it's settled," declared Rei judiciously.

"By the way, when are Uncle Yoshio and Cousin Shiho coming home?" asked Fuuko.

"Oh, Uncle Yoshio will be coming home late from work, so it's probably ten o'clock or so but Shiho is coming home this afternoon."

"Can't wait to see her. I haven't seen her since last year,"

"Fuuko-chan, you haven't visited here last year, either." laughed Rei.

"Um, excuse me, Hatto--" Hibiki almost blurted her last name but quickly changed his sentence. "--I mean Rei-san, but can you please show us the local schools?"

"Certainly, but first we put your luggage in the guest room. In the meantime, please take a look inside the guest room, unpack your luggage and wait while I change my attire."

Both the teacher and student agreed to her advice.

In the meantime, the visitors unpacked their luggage while their host was preparing to get dressed. Noticing Fuuko pull out and tidy her lingerie, especially bras and panties in front of him, 'At this rate, I'll go crazy if she keeps doing things like that,' Hibiki thought. He then complained with a heavy sigh, "It's okay to display your underwear in front of another girl but you should hide it from a man's eyes."

Fuuko shot him a dry glance. "So? You wore lingerie before, so why can't you get used to it?"

"That was my lingerie, not yours." pointed Hibiki.

"But you were a woman, weren't you?"

"Now I'm being my real self. I'm still a man and also a teacher, dammit."

"Yeah, sensei, but you are part of my life." Hibiki rolled his eyes but somehow felt a surge of pride creeping into his heart as well as his cheeks flustering while hearing Fuuko's words. In other words, he realized that he felt more honored than irritated, considering that he was her teacher after all. Fuuko smiled at him, noticing the blush on his face when she said those words.

"All right, but don't put them like they're on display. Just please keep your lingerie in the drawers."

"Sure. I wouldn't want to offend our hosts," she smiled as she just started to stuff her underwear in the cabinet drawers, much to Hibiki's relief. But his relief changed to surprise as he saw that Fuuko pull his underwear out of the baggage. "What are you doing?" he demanded. She didn't respond but instead put his underwear inside the drawer along with hers. The shocked teacher's eyes became as wide as saucers at his student's action. He stuttered trying to protest. "W-w-w-wait a second. You…..you cannot seriously mix your own underwear and mine in the same drawer."

Fuuko pouted her lips and shot him a look of mock offense. "What's the problem?"

They were interrupted when both guests heard the sound of the door creaking open. Both persons looked to the door and saw a smiling Rei dressed in a formal attire, consisting of a white blouse, black mini-skirt and blue jacket. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Fuuko-chan, Hibiki-sensei."

"Not at all," said Hibiki and Fuuko aloud at the same time. Rei smiled back warmly. "Then shall we go now?" Her guests nodded and obliged. By the time the trio was already outside the house, they heard a familiar cellphone ringing come from Fuuko's pocket.

"Excuse me." the fifteen-year old sighed. "It must be from Fujio," She saw a puzzled look on her aunt's face and added "One of my friends", in order to create less confusion for Rei. Then she turned around, pressing the phone to her ear. "Hey, is that you Fujio?"

"Yup, Fuuko-chan, it's me. How's the volunteer search going?" came from Fujio's familiar voice.

"Not so good, Fujio-chan," she answered. "What about you? How are you and others? What's new?"

"Now that you have asked it, speaking of news, do you know Miho-chan has officially gone out with Aoki-kun recently?"

"Seriously? I always had the impression that Miho prefers, ah, 'sophisticated' guys and Aoki-kun never strikes me as sophisticated. Besides he likes older women," laughed Fuuko.

"I guess neither Miho-chan nor Aoki-kun has got what they wanted, so they ended up with each other," said the other girl. "If you can't get the best thing, you can at least get the one that's most available for you, even though that one doesn't live up to your expectations."

Fuuko laughed again, "So true."

"Speaking of which, Fuuko-chan, tell me, Is sensei the best thing you're going after?"

Fuuko smiled and closed her eyes, still cradling the phone to her ear. "That depends on his gender. The female Hibiki-sensei was the best thing I'm chasing after and the male Hibiki-sensei was the second best thing," she noticed the baffled teacher stare at her with a weird look. The fifteen-year old girl turned around again to avoid his gaze. "Hey what about Shyoichi-kun? Last I heard he was still chasing Seiko-chan."

"The way things are going, I suppose Shyoichi has much better luck trying to win a dog's heart," Fujio giggled. "What a loser."

"Poor Shyoichi," Fuuko agreed. "What about the vice-principal? Yesterday, you've told me that she's still recently bothering the students about our whereabouts."

"Yeah, but she had to stop her interrogations after we reported to the principal." Without waiting for Fuuko to respond, she continued, "I don't know what changed the principal's mind but I don't care as long as she's on our side. "

She sighed curiously. "Maybe but I wonder it sometimes and it rather bugs me."

"So how are things going with you and sensei?" Fujio inquired Fuuko softly. The short-haired girl considered quietly and reminisced herself. After persuasive talks via cell phone over several nights during Fuuko's journey, she had gradually admitted to her friends that she loves Hibiki-sensei but her advances weren't getting to him. She also assured them she was still in high spirits as long as she was with him.

"Still the same as ever," Fuuko admitted softly.

"I thought so. Looks like Shyoichi would take solace in not being the only person who doesn't have a significant other in their life."

"Hey, Fujio-chan, you're so mean!" she giggled aloud rather than cried, laughing at Shyoichi and feeling sorry for him at the same time. "Yeah, that was mean of me," agreed Fujio.

Glancing at the anxious-looking Hibiki and a patient Rei, Fuuko said, "Hey, I've got to go now for a tour with sensei and auntie. Bye-bye."

"Ok, hear you later," replied the other girl. Then Fuuko deposited the cellphone inside her pocket again. "Let's go," she announced to her companions.

An half-hour later, they arrived at Tomoeda Elementary School on Rei's recommendation. "This is Tomoeda Elementary, huh?" quizzed Hibiki, staring back and forth at the building and at Rei.

Rei nodded. "Hibiki-kun, do you want to go ahead and recruit those male teachers there?"

He replied. "Well, seeing how things were hopeless since we've started our mission, we've got nothing to lose except our time." The two female companions just smiled and started to walk ahead, Fuuko grabbing her teacher's right hand.

At Seito Sannomiya Academy

When the mathematics class was over, Fujio, leaning against a chair, sighed, "I wonder how they are doing with their mission right now."

Standing from her desk, Miho looked at her with a small smile. "You mean Fuuko-chan and sensei?" Seiko stared at Fujio, too.

Getting up from her desk, too, she replied without looking back at Miho and Seiko, "Yeah, I meant them." She had contacted Fuuko about a few minutes before the mathematics class started and also shared the conversation with Fuuko to her classmates.

Remaining here, Akira, Aoki , Shyoichi were standing and looking at their female classmates. Aoki said, "Do you girls think they'll manage to accomplish it when they have nothing to offer to the male teachers except jobs with low salaries?"

"I wouldn't know for sure," Miho said. "But I hope they will succeed."

"As do we," agreed Akira. "After all sensei's job depends on the success of his mission."

Fujio noticed the genuinely sincere tone in her boyfriend's voice when he said that. 'This is the same guy who had a crush on Fuuko-chan, isn't it. But of course he knew it would not work for either of them since Fuuko-chan likes sensei, so he accepted it, didn't he?' She knew Akira certainly did give up on his crush. After all, he drove on a bike as fast as possible with Fuuko on it, trying to catch a speeding train, all to let Fuuko see the teacher for one last time.

Miho sighed.. "Anyway, I also hope Hibiki-sensei brings some cute male teachers to the school."

Looking shocked, Aoki stared at the redhead . "Hey, you still have me. You're not going to dump me, are you?"

"I was half- kidding," she giggled.

"What is that supposed to mean, Miho-chan?" he demanded.

"It means I am half-serious. Don't worry, Aoki-kun, I still like you and you're still my boyfriend," assured Miho. "But honestly, I think that if any male teachers are like Hibiki-sensei, they'd make school an interesting place as he did, anyway."

"Miho-chan might be….no, is right," Seiko added. "After all, Hibiki-sensei proved that men can be good teachers." Her fellow classmates, one by one, nodded unanimously.

"Provided that he has found the required 10 volunteers," reminded Shyoichi. "I mean, what kind of teacher would want to work for 50,000 yen a month? The principal sure is very demanding."

"A teacher who would teach us, not for money but for our betterment," answered Akira.

The other kids stared at him. As he noticed their expressions of confusion, he explained, looking away, "Well, a good male teacher is one who believes teaching is its own reward and sees it as more than a mere job. He sees it as a duty of some sort. Also, a teacher would have to be thoughtful in order to understand us kids." He looked them again straight in the eye and they looked all sort of amused with his answer but each of them also gave him a serious face and approving nod as a sign of their agreement.

"Well said", lauded Miho.

"Well, I was really hoping or a female teacher but as long as they are as good as Hibiki-sensei, I'm okay with it," lamented Aoki

Shyoichi added, "Me, too but only if none of them are too good-looking."

Aoki agreed, "That's right, I hope sensei doesn't recruit good-looking men,"

Miho responded with a wry laugh, "Actually, I am hoping he would bring nice-looking male teachers to this school,"

"Miho-chan," whimpered Aoki, staring at his own girlfriend.

Seiko joined in, "I am with you, Miho-chan, however I am hoping that he recruits male teachers for their gentlemanly manners and likable personalities, not just their looks." Uttering her last syllable, she cupped her own cheeks in her hands, blushed slightly crimson and her eyes formed into slits.

Turning away from his classmates, Shyoichi clasped his hands in front of a window and whispered with some tears, "Hibiki-sensei, please don't bring us boys some competition. Please, sensei!" Miho and Fujio laughed quietly at his pathetic prayer. Seiko and Akira pitied him. Only Aoki consoled him, for he mutually shared his friend's fears. "I know how you feel, Shyoichi-kun. I'm joining you." He stopped then and looked at his very unconcerned classmate over his shoulder on the left, "Hey, Akira-kun, why aren't you joining us? Do you wanna lose your girlfriend to a handsome older man?"

"Doesn't matter. I don't care," came his callous response.

"Just like you didn't care that you lost Fuuko to him?" Aoki didn't need to tell his friend about the name. Just the words "Lost Fuuko to" in connection with the masculine pronoun had sent a clear enough message to the enraged Akira.

"Aoki-kun, that is unca--" Fujio began to scold, then stopped in shock, as her boyfriend suddenly grabbed the surprised speaker's tie and raised a fist.

"Shut up," the rash youth yelled. "Akira!" cried Fujio with panic in her voice, jumping to grab his shoulders. Fortunately, he snapped out of his trance and looked back and forth at each equally shocked classmate surrounding him. "Sorry," he said, placing a hand on his own forehead and closing his eyes. They weren't sure whether he was addressing just Aoki or the whole group here.

Recovering slowly, he stared the latter sternly in the eye. Aoki looked nervously. Neither spoke a word. Nor did the others. Then Akira warned. "Don't rub this on me ever again."

"Akira-kun," blurted Fujio. Not looking at her, he responded, "Please leave me alone. I'm not feeling well,"

Then he left the classroom quietly. The last thing he heard from the classroom before walking out of his hearing range was Miho's words in a concerned tone, "Akira-kun still has feelings for Fuuko."

He shook his head and thought bitterly at their lack of understanding. 'They don't get it, do they? They don't understand that I'm really perfect with sensei and Kuzuha as a couple. I could not think of a better pair than them. But what upsets me is that falling in love with her was the worst mistake of my life. To think that I could fall in love with someone and never could win her heart…..'

Akira silently relived his past memories of his rigorous martial arts training, school studies, and numerous fights. 'Since I was a child, trained feverishly in martial arts and focused with my studies, I really hate losing. I hate it very much. I had lots of fights since elementary school, though I rarely picked a fight with anyone at this school because there are very few bullies here and it's not my style to pick on someone weaker than me. Also, I had studied so diligently that I've become an A+ student and on top of that, I'm on top of my class.' Then he felt a surge of anger burn in his heart. 'Sure I've lost a few fights, but I never liked to lose any kind of fight especially in the romance area, because I picked the wrong girl to fall in love with. On top of that, I gradually knew I was never the right guy for her.'

He calmed down and shed a couple of tears, 'And I don't think Kuzuha was the right girl for me, either." His classmates may think he was angry at sensei but he consciously felt no malice for Hibiki. The one he hated was himself. He hated himself for picking the wrong girl and losing her to another man who gave her so more love than him. He also blamed it on his own hesitation and cursed himself for confessing his feelings too late. 'For not admitting my true feelings in front of Kuzuha, I am really unworthy of her love. Maybe I deserve her rejection. Maybe a broken heart is all I deserve.'

He was so absorbed in his own self-pity. clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, being unaware of his own surroundings. Clearing his mind, he realized what was right and wrong in the picture., 'Even if I confessed to Kuzuha and won her heart before sensei came to school, I would still lose her to him because he loves her more than I do.'

He slowly remembered Hibiki's actions such as helping Fuuko-chan complete her first 50-meter dash, accompanying her to her mother's grave, rescuing her from the fire that injured him and brought to the hospital which eventually led the exposure of his true identity by the vice-principal. 'He helped her when I didn't. He stood by her side while I did not. He protected her while I could not. He supported her while I didn't. When Kuzuha was the only one who did all the volunteer work and wore bloomers while the other girls refused to wear bloomers, he inspired the other classmates to stand by her side while I did nothing to help her nor even to scold other lazy classmates on her behalf.'

Akira stared up blankly and leaned against a wall, 'I could have supported Kuzuha all the time but I didn't. I was very self-centered and never bothered to notice she needed help and support, let alone helped her. The reason I lost Kuzuha was not because of the man who taught her better than I could do, but rather because of my lack of genuine love for her. If I truly loved Kuzuha, I should have helped her and stood by her all the time when she needed it. Unlike me, Hibiki-sensei didn't tell Kuzuha he loves her. He showed her that he loves her, by teaching, protecting and supporting her all the time.' He finally realized that he just wanted her but not loved her.

He stood up firmly and thought grimly. 'I'm a sore loser in the area of romance and I deserve it. Well, there is so much I need to learn. I really need more training in love. Maybe I could learn Hibiki-sensei's style and show my girlfriend Fujio the same kind of love instead of telling her. This time, I won't lose another fight of love because of my inexperience.' Akira Fukae started to walk away with new confidence.

Author's note: To Akira x Fuuko fans, I keep reading that everyone says "Akira x Fuuko is better." But I honestly think it seems like that only because of their similar ages and Akira's confession. If they're going to be a couple, then you need a good reason to explain why. Sorry to burst your bubble, but this story tells you what you haven't realized in those episodes. A simple confession doesn't show your true feelings to your crush. In real life, many people have confessed their feelings to their lovers but they didn't love them as much as they tell them. You simply make a confession in order to get a girlfriend/boyfriend. But to prove your love for someone, you need to do a lot more than just telling them you love them.