Sixth chapter here, and yes, I'll try to work on my sense of direction... meanwhile just bear with me, 'kay? Beta-ed by shirlynn - thanks so very much! Ja, read on!
Chapter 6
Tezuka frowned at his book, his brows furrowing in concentration as he tried to absorb all the knowledge contained on that page. Maika, seeing how focused he was, curiously leaned over to peek over his shoulder, and quite nearly died laughing.
"The reproductive system?!!"
He looked up to see her convulsed in fits of laughter, and his frown became a whole lot more pronounced.
"It's in the syllabus," He replied curtly.
"But - the - reproductive - system!"
He gave her a disapproving look. "I like to keep ahead of my classes," was all the explanation he gave before turning back to his book.
Maika barely managed to keep a straight face the next time she saw Tezuka reading a book.
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"Class, today we will be looking at Chapter 4. Please open your books to page 56."
There was a rustling of papers all around the class before a moment of complete, shell-shocked silence as the whole class stared at the page. Maika was the first to break it.
"Oh-h-h..." She looked at Tezuka.
"You will be presenting this in pairs, that is, with your seating partner."
She looked at Tezuka, and Tezuka stared back at her.
Shucks...
The teacher was giving out the topics, and without further ado, sensei graciously told them theirs.
"Ah, Tezuka-kun. Could you present the scientific explanation from the moment of penetration to the Fallopian tube? From there," The teacher moved on to the pair behind them. "Kiyato-san and Karu-kun will take over."
What?!
There was a short, uncomfortable pause.
"Uh... do you really need any help on that, Tezuka?"
"It's pair work." He told her up front, secretly amused at how she was trying to weasel out of it. "Unless I do all the research, and you present it to the class."
She turned a rather striking green. "Thanks, but I'll pass."
He shrugged, and was about to turn back to his book when she interrupted him once again. "When is this due?"
The teacher heard her, and answered her question for the whole class. "Ah, yes! The presentation will be the next Science period, which is.." There was a small pause as she checked her timetable. "Day after tomorrow."
"What?!"
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"We need to work on that Science project, but my mum will be having visitors over today. So..." She left it hanging.
He sighed. "My house, then. Three pm sharp."
"Oh, okay." She walked away, leaving him to ponder just how much he disliked bringing guests home.
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She had noticed the stress he put on 'sharp', and was there at exactly three in the afternoon. As she waited for someone to answer the doorbell, she looked around. His house was really quite nice. A bit on the small side, but otherwise very much more cosy than her own home.
A middle-aged woman opened the door. "Yes?"
"A-ah, konbanwa! I'm looking for Tezuka-kun."
"Just hold on a second." The lady went back in.
Moments later, Tezuka appeared in front of the door. "Aa. Come in."
Unfazed by the cold greeting, she stepped in. The interior of the house only served to confim her first impression of the house. Definitely homey and cozy... I wonder how it would be like to live in such a place...
He walked straight to his room, which apparently doubled up as his study room. When she entered his bedroom, she was struck by the sudden sparseness and neatness of his room. What a paradox...
Maika seated herself on the bed, which was the only other place to sit besides the chair which Tezuka had so obviously been occupying moments ago.
He handed her the encyclopedia, and she nearly staggered under the weight.
"Oof! It's heavy!" She plonked the book down on his bed. "What do I look under?"
"Human reproduction." he answered shortly before taking out a similar-sized reference book.
She flipped through the pages, idly looking at the various articles printed in the book unil she came to the correct page.
Human reproduction, eh? She flopped over to lie on her stomach before starting to read the article. She read until the halfway mark before suddenly emitting a strangled noise like a dying cat.
Tezuka looked at her questioningly.
"They actually described it!!!"
He gave her a strange look. "That's the whole point, isn't it?"
"But... in detail?!"
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"List down all the important points," He handed her a sheet of paper and a pen. "We'll write it out in marker later on."
His mother came in, bearing a tray of drinks. "Here, have some."
He accepted the cup with a short thank you, and Maika did the same.
"I'm so happy Kunimitsu finally found a girl to suit his taste." She beamed brightly at both of them. "Such a well-mannered and polite girl, too!"
Tezuka choked on his cherry juice, and Maika was suddenly seized with a violent coughing fit.
"Kaa-san," Tezuka said, having been the first to recover. "She's not my... girlfriend." He had a little trouble getting that word out.
"Don't worry, Kunimitsu. Your father won't mind. In fact, I think he'd be very pleased with your choice." Aside to Maika, she whispered, "Don't mind him. I know he's a little shy sometimes..."
"But - "
"But nothing, dear. Just drink up, and enjoy yourselves!" Tezuka's mother exited with a wink, closing the door pointedly behind her.
There was an awkward silence.
"Well, back to reproduction."
And for once in her life, Maika was actually eager to study science.
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She stood in front of the class, her face burning as she tried to explain the mechanism by which babies were produced.
"So the sperm," That word alone was enough to make her wish the ground would swallow her up, "swims through the cervix, and all the way to the Fallopian tube. If it does not reach the egg, it will die within forty-eight hours of ejaculation."
Tezuka simply looked on, rather amused at the scarlet colour of her face. Who knew that she was such a conservative about such things?
Flashback
"T-tezuka... I really think you should do this by yourself..." She stammered.
He took the proffered paper and scanned through it. "Why? You seem to have done quite a thorough job."
"I'm just not... comfortable talking about this..." She was turning a rather sickly green. The thought of presenting the whole thing to the class was just too much to handle, apparently.
"Toilet!"
At Tezuka's inquiring glance, she repeated herself. "I - need - the - toilet!"
She rushed to the door he pointed at, and sounds of retching were soon issuing from the open door. He walked over and leaned against the doorframe, looking at her.
"I suppose becoming a doctor is not one of your highly-sought after ambitions," was his only observation.
He was darned right.
End flashback
She sank into her seat gratefully, greatly relieved that the whole ordeal was over. She would never, ever give a presentation on such a topic again. Not even if the teacher threatened her with knives and a slow roasting over the furnace.
She was startled from her reflections as Tezuka slid into the seat next to her.
"You baka! You left me to explain all the difficult parts!" She fumed at him.
He looked at her and replied calmly, as was his wont, "I did not see any need to step in. You were handling it quite well by yourself."
If they hadn't been in class under the teacher's eagle eye, he would have found himself on the receiving end of a resounding slap. Sometimes she wondered if there was a gene in the Y chromosome that caused an individual to grow into a mule-headed, recalcitrant, stiff-necked and totally annoying boy. It would explain a lot of things.
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So how was it? Review, ne?