Well, I've been living up to my name and basically slept through the last 6 months. Considering my track record, this is pretty much normal.
But whatever - here's another chapter of A Lesson They Won't Forget, brought back by unpopular demand. Figuring that I've already written it and it's just sitting in a doc somewhere, I may as well post it.
So here you go. Hope that you enjoy the chapter.
Chihiro found herself alone for the first time since she'd come in, but rather than finding calmness in the quiet, her fingers continued to drum on the desk to create some noise and give her antsy hands something to do.
The same hand that had touched Keima's…
The same hand which she'd been touching herself with in front of his hungry eyes.
God, in hindsight, this was so damn embarrassing!
She could hear the hammy voice in her head groaning 'why?', but she full well knew the answer. He needed a hand learning more, and she loved him enough to show him that.
Oh fuck, she'd told him that too… that anguished yell in her head sounded again and she slammed her fingers down on the wood.
Chihiro pressed her head on the desk, but she knew the answer too… he'd been honest first, and today was a special day.
And hey, he didn't even react all that badly when she said that either. Chihiro felt her face glow as his words played in her head.
"You're a very precious girl to me… "
Not quite a confession, but it was heartwarming to hear that she was something to him too. Still, she wouldn't be surprised if this was the way that he felt about every girl in this lesson.
Chihiro let out a sigh and her chin fell into her palm. No wonder that she wasn't able to make up her mind about what she wanted to do with Keima before – how was she ever going to do anything memorable to a guy who had so many other options?
There were so many girls here, and there were at least a couple who she suspected were in love with Keima and would want to give their virginity to him. Despite her feelings for him, she didn't really want to join that line.
"Somethin' on yer mind, Kosaka?" Chihiro looked up to see the orange-head Nanaka standing next to her. The seated girl glanced at her for a moment in surprise and shrugged.
"Not really," Chihiro responded before breathing out heavily, "I'm just thinking that I may end up skipping my individual time with Katsuragi…" Nanaka looked at her curiously, but Chihiro shook her hand, "in any case, you probably wanted to talk about something else."
"I did, bu'…" Nanaka scratched her chin, "I don' see why yer need to be skippin' it. Do ya not like 'im like dat?"
"I mean, I do…" Chihiro glanced at her fingernails to appear nonchalant, "I just…" she trailed off, "actually, can you give me some advice, Haibara?"
"O' course," Nanaka nodded, pulling a chair over, "or I'll try, a' least."
Chihiro took a breath. She couldn't quite explain why she wanted to share this, but she really could use the help… Chihiro didn't want to be a hypocrite for not turning to others after chiding Keima for that reason.
"I do really like him," Chihiro scratched one thumb with the other, "I just don't want him to take my… you know… when there's so many other people who would have the same idea…"
Nanaka gathered her remaining brain cells and thought about it.
"When ya say 'taking yer… ya know', ya mean… poppin' yer cherry, right?" Chihiro grew a bit darker but nodded.
"But you get it, right?" Chihiro asked in a hushed tone, "why today wouldn't be an ideal day for something like this?"
"I think I geddit," Nanaka nodded, "he must be tired… like dis is prolly more girls than a regular person would sleep wid in their whole life, and he'll dun dat in a day."
"Exactly!" Chihiro exclaimed, "how can I make an impression when there's so many girls who are prettier than me!?"
Nanaka shrugged.
"I wouldn' think about that, ya know," the orange-head folded her arms, "today's tha only chance we're gonn' get, so ya don' wanna miss out on it, right?"
"I mean…" Chihiro paused with her finger in the air, "yeaaaahhh…" she deflated.
"Yer don't need ta be so worried about dem other girls," Nanaka patted her arm, "jus' do what ya wanna do. E'rryone else who likes Keima can go jump."
Chihiro laughed at that last jibe and sat up straight, seemingly more energetic.
"Thanks for the advice, Haibara," Chihiro smiled infectiously, which Nanaka matched.
"No problemo," Nanaka got up, "yer managed to convince Katsuragi to come back, so one good turn deserves 'nother… or sumtin' like that," Chihiro scratched her chin, sheepishly.
"It was my pleasure," Nanaka looked at her curiously, and Chihiro blanched for a moment, quickly changing the subject, "s-so anyway, I think you're right and there's no point overthinking it," Nanaka nodded and started climbing from her chair, "there's only like… six… girls who have a vested interest in Katsuragi… maybe seven, if you count Haqua-san."
Nanaka paused, her head tilted.
"Whatcha getting' at?"
"You know, everyone has their own reasons for being here," Chihiro shrugged, "but I think it's only the goddess hosts who would want to pursue Katsuragi for real. Everyone else is just chilling and playing around."
"Ya may have a point there," Nanaka laughed, "them's the ones who remember Katsuragi from before, right?"
"Yeah," Chihiro laughed as well, "those lucky bums get to remember everything, so they still love him."
"Tha's pretty lucky, yeah…" Nanaka mumbled. Chihiro paused in her seat, scratching her ear.
"That's probably why Kanon-chan confessed…" Nanaka's ears piqued up.
"Wha' was tha'?" Chihiro was surprised at the sudden interjection.
"W-well, Kanon-chan has one of the goddesses… Apollo, I think."
"But you said tha' she confessed?" Nanaka was on her feet, hands splayed on Chihiro's desk, "to Keima!?"
"Y-yeah," Chihiro looked at her, bewildered at the interest, "during one of our midterm exams last semester," it took another moment for her to get suspicious, "why do you care?"
Nanaka blanched, only comprehending how her curiosity was coming off now with the brunette watching her.
"N-no reason," Nanaka answered, not exactly sure if that was a lie, "I just di'nt expect tha from her."
"Oh yeah, I totally get that," Chihiro nodded, "it's pretty baffling to think how much history everyone has with him, and how little we know."
Nanaka let out a slight breath of relief.
"Ya said it," she smiled, "though we prolly hafta figure out our own history, 'fore we dig on the other girls," Nanaka heard her phone beep and she glanced at it, her stomach clenching.
"True true!" Chihiro laughed, "maybe I'll use this time to find out about that."
"Tha's an idea," Nanaka agreed, slipping her phone back into the pocket, "but I gotta go."
"Sure, no problem," Chihiro nodded, "thanks for the chat."
After a goodbye and the orange-head exiting the classroom with a wave, Chihiro oozed back on the desk, once again left to her thoughts. Nanaka was right… she really shouldn't think so much about what other people were doing… just what she wanted.
But she'd had her fun in the bathroom…
Maybe she should skip her time and give Keima one less person to worry about… somehow, even though that would be her last chance, it didn't feel like that.
As Tsukiyo returned into the room, she couldn't help but feel irritated and confused. Even if she did (begrudgingly) accept that she was a little bit interested in girls, what would she do with that information? What was Shiori even getting at, asking to kiss her?
What did that even mean? Was she baiting her the same way she'd done with that lesbian porn? Or was she just trying to get Tsukiyo to realise that was what she was feeling?
Or was she serious?
Tsukiyo suddenly stopped in her tracks but realised that Shiori had spotted her. The blonde's heart started beating louder in her chest as Shiori first waved, then started approaching as the shorter girl made no further attempts to move closer.
"H-hi," Shiori spoke as she got into ear reach, "are you okay?"
"Ummm…" Tsukiyo looked away, noticing that the taller girl was trying to catch her eyes, "y-yes, I'm all good. Just needed some air to think."
"That's good to hear," Shiori took a breath, "I was worried I'd gone too far… with that website search."
"I-it's alright," Tsukiyo sighed, "I know you were coming from a good place in trying to get me to realise something important," Shiori's face darkened a little.
"E-even still…" Shiori gulped for air, "I-I know I did it the wrong way," Tsukiyo waved the words away.
"You don't have to worry about it anymore," Tsukiyo grinned unusually wide, "come on, let's go read some books."
Tsukiyo started to turn away, but a tug on her sleeve pulling her back. She turned back to a quiet Shiori, mouth opening and closing and her face red. The shorter blonde's eyes trailed down to look at her friend's hand holding onto the flower sleeve of her shirt.
"Shiori?" the librarian quickly pulled back her hand, her cheeks brightening.
"C-c-can I tell you something?" Shiori struggled out. Tsukiyo felt her stomach sink. She was going to bring up that kissing question again, wasn't she?
Anything but that! Tsukiyo didn't know how she could even answer a question like this!
Despite every bone in her body telling her to leave before she did more irreparable damage to their friendship, she just couldn't say no when it was clear how Shiori was struggling with this.
"Okay," Tsukiyo said, ignoring the mental screams in her brain. Shiori floundered around for a few moments, slight noises coming out of her mouth. Tsukiyo could feel her heart beating faster as well.
What was this weird mood?
Shiori seemed aware by how tense Tsukiyo was for the moments where she couldn't speak, so she took a deep breath and let out a torrent of words.
"im so sorry about trying to make you realise how you felt through that stupid website the truth was that i wanted you know for yourself so you would figure out that you were interested in me without me having to admit out loud that i was interested in you and that was cowardly and manipulative and im ashamed that i resorted to that rather than just telling you the truth like how im telling you now and"
Shiori took a sharp breath of air and the words caught up with her, brightening her already pink face. It took a little longer for Shiori's no-punctuation sentence to set in through Tsukiyo's head, but she didn't blush.
'What did she just say?' Vulcan asked in her head, but Tsukiyo ignored it, her bemusement going from shock to… what is this even!?
"Let me get this straight," Tsukiyo spoke through clenched teeth, "you wanted me to realise… that… so I'd tell you that I liked you."
"Y-you don't have to like me," Shiori shook her hands and head, "I-I just hoped… for today you'd be willing to try something… with me."
'You've got a lot of nerve asking after that!' Vulcan piped up again, but Tsukiyo squeezed her eyes shut. She needed to think, goddamn it!
This made so much sense now… Shiori asking if they could kiss… the whole stupid porn situation… of course it was in the librarian's interest for Tsukiyo to figure out her feelings before they could try something…
"Okay…" Tsukiyo sighed, "Does this mean that you like me?" Shiori struggled to find the words for a few moments.
"I do…" she nodded, "i mean, i don't know if its in that sense but youve always been patient and kind and understanding of how i think and speak and youre still my best friend so youre the person who id be the most comfortable with which is why im hoping that youll have me even if it is for today"
This tirade settled in Tsukiyo's brain much quicker, and she felt that urge to run right back to the balcony and jump off.
Logically speaking, this should be the dream, right? She had been thinking of kissing Shiori, and Shiori had all but said that she was interested in that too. Just, she knew what rash decisions like this led to… her mum and dad got married in Vegas, and she knew exactly how well that ended.
She understood why Shiori had chosen such an underhanded way of figuring out her feelings, and she wouldn't hold it against the librarian… but was it even worth it risking their friendship over something which would maybe last a few hours?
Tsukiyo shook her head.
"I'm sorry…" Tsukiyo whispered, and she watched Shiori visibly shrink, "I don't think I can do this."
"Y-you can't forgive me for this, can you?" the brunette's voice shook, "I really am sorry about how I acted there."
"I don't doubt that," Tsukiyo tried to sound assuring, "I know why you did this, so I'm not angry."
No… Tsukiyo wasn't angry… but she was hurting… for what a hasty decision she'd made, both options had her damned, and she couldn't stop herself from looking at Shiori's face one last time.
Any second, Shiori was going to turn around and go away to lick her wounds, and Tsukiyo would be back to second guessing herself.
She was going to stick to her guns though.
"Nee, Tsukiyo-chan?" Shiori spoke softly, "Did you decide… if you were into girls?"
"Yeah…" Tsukiyo nodded slowly, "I'm not."
If you asked Tsukiyo why she chose that hill to die on, she might have had some excuses… maybe she wasn't ready to admit it out loud… maybe she thought it might make it easier for Shiori to accept that rejection… or maybe she was still irritated about how she was forced to make a decision on it, and she sure as hell wasn't going to share it with her.
Either way, Shiori went off to go find a book, and Tsukiyo drifted to a desk somewhere, where she pressed her head down.
'You always were a lunatic, nee, Tsukiyo…' Vulcan murmured.
"Shut up!"
Minami opened the door of the classroom, a weird feeling settling in her stomach… had she really been here ten minutes ago? Feels like months…
"Hey, Ikoma-chan," Ayumi greeted her, "you've changed!"
"I-I have?" Minami thought about it… actually, that did make sense… what with her talk with the Senpais and how she'd jumped into the pool and wrecked her phone… she actually had changed a bunch.
"I think so," Ayumi tilted her head, "you're wearing a tracksuit now."
Minami face-faulted. Of course Ayumi was referring to that!
"O-oh yeah," Minami climbed to her feet, her face burning, "I… fell into the pool while I was there."
"You fell?" Ayumi looked concerned. Minami twiddled her thumbs sheepishly.
"I can be a bit clumsy is all," Minami laughed nervously.
"If you say so…" Ayumi indicated to her slightly big tracksuit, "did someone lend that to you."
"O-oh yes," the swimmer clapped her hands, "Terada Miyako-senpai did…" Ayumi's eyes widened and Minami remembered, "oh yes, she mentioned that she was in your class."
"She is," Ayumi nodded, a bit bemused, "though she's also my friend and we're in the same clubs."
"Eeeh," Minami wondered out loud, "Ishikiri-senpai as well?"
"You met her too, huh?" Ayumi smiled, "talk about a small world."
"You said it," Minami laughed, "in any case, I have to go give Nikaidou-sensei her salt."
Ayumi waved her off and Minami went on her merry way, a little happy that she was finding it easier to talk to the girls here… or at least that she was stuttering less.
And good time too… Haqua and Nikaidou were talking together, so Minami approached them both after taking a deep breath.
"Nikaidou-sensei… Haqua-san… I got the salt," she pulled out a handful of the salt crystals from inside a pocket in her bag, "is that enough?"
"Looks good," Haqua nodded, "so two down, and a bunch to go," Minami smiled, glad to be done with that.
"I know that Rimyuel is on her way back now, but no clue where Jun and company are…" Nikaidou stood up, "just going to call them real quick," Haqua nodded and stood up as well.
"May as well start prep my side," the purple-haired devil agreed, "do you want to help as well, Minami?"
"Sure… though I probably won't be able to do much."
"Oh, no problem… if you know a bit about cooking, it's basically that with more Hellish incantations."
Minami looked a bit worried, but Haqua waved her down with a gentle laugh.
"Don't worry, you don't need to learn a new language for this," Haqua walked over to some desks near the back where she'd set up her workstation… well, if two desks pushed together could be called a workstation, "please put down all your rock salts here," she motioned to a spot, where Minami obliged.
"Is there any prep needed here?" the short brunette wondered at loud, seeing that there were only only two ingredients and nothing else.
"There are a few crystals which are a bit too big," Haqua separated some of her hagoromo which she fashioned into a knife, "I figured that we could talk while I cut them down."
"O-okay," Minami agreed, "I can take over if you get tired… I cut a lot of vegetables for my mother," Haqua smiled sweetly.
"The texture is quite different from human foods, but I do appreciate the offer," she started selecting the biggest rocks from the pile Minami had made, "wanna grab a chair?"
Minami pulled an empty chair over and sat down, a bit nervous at the opportunity she had here.
"Thank you," she put her bag down next to her, "I'll get up if there's anything you need help with."
"Shouldn't be anything for now," Haqua smiled, "though it would be nice to know why you aren't in your school uniform anymore."
Minami blushed…
"I fell into the pool when I was there," she sighed, "don't worry, I'm fine though."
"You fell on accident," Haqua's eyes narrowed, "that doesn't really seem like you."
"It wasn't an accident," Minami admitted and Haqua looked at her with piercing eyes. She gulped and continued before the devil tried to draw her own conclusions, "there was someone drowning, so I dove in to help pull them out."
"I see…" Haqua nodded her head and looked away, "that kind of selfless heroism is more like you," Minami blushed and hid in the collar of her tracksuit jacket.
"P-please don't tell anyone about it…" Minami begged, "I don't want to bring any attention on myself," Haqua nodded.
"That's fair," she agreed, "and if there's no lasting damage, then I don't se–" Haqua paused as she noticed Minami's expression change again, "what happened?"
Minami retreated deeper into her jacket at the frank question.
"My phone… it won't turn on because I had it in my jacket when I jumped in," Haqua let out a sound of displeasure, but that was unheard by Minami, who had another thought occur to her… her parents were going to be waiting for a call to come pick her up, and now she wouldn't be able to do that.
That wasn't even the worst issue… she could likely borrow someone's phone and call… but how would she explain to her parents why her phone was out of commission and her school uniform was soaked when she was supposed to be at a year end pool party, where she'd likely be in a swimsuit?
"Oh no…" Minami groaned as all these thoughts hit her one by one.
She had to get home now… her mother was going to kill her… then she was going to kill Keima when she figured out the truth, like she always did.
"Will you get in trouble about breaking your phone?" Haqua asked.
"My parents will figure out that I was lying about my plans for this afternoon if I come back home with a broken phone…" Minami slid to the floor, "then there will be hell to pay for it…"
Haqua ducked her head to hide her smile, but she didn't need to. Minami was way too in her head to give that any mind, plotting any fantasy to try and get out of her pending punishment from her parents.
"Maybe I can say that my friends decided to play hot potato with my phone and someone threw it in the pool? But my clothes are wet, and I don't want to get Akko and Saitou in trouble… or I can pretend that my phone was stolen? But then I'd never be allowed to stay at school late ever again… Or what about –"
"What about asking the magical beings in the class if they maybe have a solution?" Haqua piped up, and Minami paused her freakout for a moment.
"That… could work…" Minami sat up properly, "is there a way to save my phone?"
"I think so," Haqua nodded, "just gotta wait for Rimyuel to bring in my equipment."
"Oh my god!" Minami stood up so fast that the chair toppled from the momentum, "please save my phone… I'll do anything you ask," Haqua laughed out loud.
"You don't need to go that far," Haqua said kindly, "just a 'thank you' will be good enough," Minami opened her mouth, but Haqua held up a finger, "once… I fix it, not now."
Minami closed her mouth and nodded.
"Are you sure that you don't want anything in return?" the swimmer asked. Haqua shook her head. With a sigh, Minami yielded. Not because she didn't want to give her something… she'd just need to find out a different way.
Despite Haqua's reluctance to talk about herself, Minami did get more of a feel of her character as a certain ponytailed brunette entered their conversation… the younger Katsuragi sister, with a bit of a sheepish look on her face.
"Hi, Haqua," Eri greeted, scratching the back of her head. Haqua greeted her back more coolly, but it didn't really surprise the former devil.
It did surprise Minami, however, who had gotten more used to Haqua's cordial tone from when they were chatting. Admittedly, she didn't know the first thing of how these two knew each other… only that it had been quite a while since they'd spoken.
"Hello, Eri-senpai," Minami greeted, "h-how were things with the Kasuga sisters?"
"It was nice," Eri gushed, "Hinoki-san knows so much about what feels good…" both girls turned to Haqua, who did not seem impressed at all. So Minami tried again.
"W-what about you, Haqua-san?" Minami turned to her, "do you have anything that you'd want to do to feel good?" Haqua just looked at her, "like maybe you could learn with us too… or individual tutoring…"
The blue-haired girl's stare got harsher, but Minami couldn't stop herself from shoving her foot deeper in her mouth.
"Geez, don't get mad at her, Haqua," Eri started swinging her broom on the floor frantically, "she just wants to include you in the conversation."
"Then could we just talk about anything else," Haqua turned to look at Eri, "like who the hell you are, for instance."
Minami was happy to have the heat off her, so she slunk away, figuring that this was more of a conversation for those two anyway. She'd figure out something else.
So there you have it. It was actually a pretty low-key chapter, but I do have to progress somehow to get to the fun stuff.
I am hoping to post the next chapter fairly soon, seeing that it's basically prepared too, but you guys will know.
Thank you all for reading, stay safe, and I hope to see you in the next chapter. Bye bye