Morning. Trinity General School.
Sensei and Yume were currently busy cleaning one of the classrooms in the building lent to them by the Tea Party. Sensei was wearing a white apron on top of a simple white with blue shirt and jeans. Yume herself was busy moving around stacks of boxes that were already there. Said boxes were there as a result of Trinity using the building for storage before it was lent to Sensei.
"I feel like I'm getting stronger…" Yume muttered in astonishment after she moved another stack of boxes. "Sensei, I think I'm—"
Yume stopped when she saw the relaxed expression on Sensei's face as he cleaned the windows.
"Guess I'll tell him later." She giggled as she took a picture of Sensei cleaning the windows while standing on top of a chair with her newly bought phone before she sent it to the Foreclosure Task Force's group chat.
Shiroko: [Sensei really has a well-toned body.]
Serika: [W-Why is that the first thing that you notice?! …Not that I disagree.]
Hoshino: [Uhe~ It seems Sensei's really enjoying himself.]
Serika: [Shouldn't Trinity have enough manpower to handle the cleaning though?]
Nonomi: [Knowing Sensei, he probably didn't request for help so he can actually do the cleaning himself.]
Ayane: [Sensei does have the tendency to go and do things by himself even when he could ask for help.]
Shiroko: [Nn. Just like how Hoshino sometimes disappears.]
Everyone sent varying emotes that showed that they agreed with Shiroko's statement.
Hoshino: [E-Eh? Where did this come from? A little help here, Yume?]
Yume: [Hoshino does work really hard for Abydos, after all!] ️
Hoshino: [Uhe~! Not you too!]
Yume giggled as she read a few more replies before she set her phone aside. She couldn't let Sensei do all the work after all!
"Gotta change the water in the bucket…" Yume heard Sensei's words.
"I'm on it, Sensei!" Yume exclaimed as she grabbed the bucket and went to the nearest bathroom to refill it.
"Thanks, Yume," Sensei said with a smile.
This was how Sensei and Yume spent the next hour or so before they had to clean up to prepare for the first class of the Make-Up Work Club.
…
…
…
While there were rumors of SCHALE being haunted by a ghost, Yume's status as a spirit was known only to a small number of students that frequently visited SCHALE. At most, people sometimes see a cyan haired student floating, to which many attributed to some sort of device that came from Millennium that allowed her to do so.
Sensei was thankful that the Engineering club was actually attempting to build one after they saw Yume in action, so Yume could now use that as an excuse.
Regardless, in Trinity the only ones who knew about her situation were Hasumi and Suzumi. Sensei was a little worried that Trinity students might have a negative reaction to the idea of a student being a ghost based on his past experience with the Holy Church of his world, but it seemed that both of them didn't seem to mind.
Still, a bit of caution was warranted so at the moment Yume was currently walking next to him as they made their way to the classroom where the Make-Up Work Club would meet. Rather than floating as she usually did whenever they were alone or with others that already knew about her ability to fly.
"Is your arm okay, Sensei?" Yume asked as she saw Sensei move his left arm a few times.
"Don't worry, it won't interfere while I'm teaching," Sensei replied with a smile.
"I'm asking whether you feel pain or not," Yume clarified.
"It's really fine, Yume," Sensei said. "Millennium's technology is amazing. I'm actually contemplating on whether to keep wearing it even after my arm fully recovers."
"Hehe! Well it does match your uniform. Maybe if you wear a matching glove on your other hand…" Yume said with a smile.
"I'll keep it in mind. Though for now this is fine," Sensei replied.
"Hifumi aside, I wonder who the other students of the Make-Up Work Club are?" Yume wondered out loud.
"They're a…colorful bunch, I'll give you that."
"Are you holding back from saying something rude?"
Sensei didn't agree or deny Yume's statement, but he did continue his explanation.
"They have their own circumstances, but I believe they're good people," Sensei said sincerely. "If you feel that you can trust them with your situation, then feel free to tell them about it."
"Understood, Sensei!" Yume exclaimed, before she smiled as she added, "Shirou-sensei, once again, thank you for giving me this opportunity."
"It's nothing. If anything I should be apologizing for springing this on you suddenly," Shirou replied. "I just thought it'd be good for you to interact with other students in a classroom setting."
Unfortunately Yume still hadn't quite gotten the hang of moving around without him for more than a day, so she couldn't attend classes in Abydos, which was a fair distance away from SCHALE. This was why when Nagisa brought up her request to have him teach a group of students, he thought it would be a good idea if Yume were to also join in.
After that, they eventually arrived in front of the door to the classroom. Sensei told Yume to wait for his signal before entering as he knocked at the door three times before he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Sensei noted that everyone more or less already chose a seat for themselves as he stood next to the teacher's podium.
"Good morning, everyone," Sensei said with a smile, to which everyone else returned.
"Sensei~! I have a question!" Hanako raised her hand.
"Hmmm? What is it, Urawa?"
"You can just call me Hanako, you know~?" Hanako replied with a giggle.
"Maybe. But right now we're in class, and some level of formality is to be expected."
"You're a serious one, aren't you, Sensei? Not that I mind!" Hanako said before she turned her attention to the extra desk and chair in the classroom. "Still, I was under the impression that there are only four students in the Make-Up Work Club, but why is there a fifth desk? Is there another student joining us at the last minute?"
"That's correct," Sensei said with a nod. " I was already tutoring a student from another school before I accepted the request from Nagisa, so I saw it fit to request that she be able to join us too. In any case, after she comes in, I'd like for you all to introduce yourselves to her. Okay, you can come in now."
Yume peeked a little inside before pulling back out.
This is a lot more nerve-wracking than I thought! Sensei heard Yume's thoughts. It's like I'm a transfer student or something!
Come on, it'll be fine, Sensei reassured her in his mind. Remember to walk and not float, okay?
"U-Understood!" Yume took a deep breath before she stepped inside and stood next to Sensei. He noted that Hifumi showed a bit of a surprise as she recognized Abydos' uniform. Hanako herself had a confused expression when she heard Yume's next words. "Nice to meet you! I'm Kuchinashi Yume, a third year student of Abydos High School! I look forward to working with you!"
"A third year from Abydos? Could you be Hoshino's classmate, Miss Yume?" Hifumi asked.
"I never really thought about it before, but me and Hoshino are classmates now…" Yume made a nostalgic smile that only Sensei understood. "Still, thank you for helping Hoshino and the others that one time, Miss Hifumi."
"A-Ahahaha…There's no need to thank me for that…" Hifumi was a little embarrassed as she was reminded of the events in the Black Market district and the subsequent bank raid. "W-Well, you might already know me, but just to make it formal, I'm Ajitani Hifumi, a second year high school student of Trinity General School. Nice to finally meet you, Miss Yume!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Yume," Hanako said with a smile before she tilted her head. "Um, this may sound odd, but did you have a penpal from Trinity two years ago?"
"Pen-pal…? Ah, yes, I did! Though I'm not exactly sure if pen-pal is the right word considering…" Yume muttered before she widened her eyes in realization. "Wait, does this mean she's still in Trinity?!"
Hanako nodded. "Unfortunately, she's currently on leave on account of her health."
"Yeah, she did mention having health problems…" Yume muttered. "Still, I'm glad to hear about her after all this time."
"Yume, you had a penpal from Trinity?" Sensei asked her using their mental connection.
"Well, that's what she made me call her, but it's a bit more complicated than that," Yume replied as she smiled. "I'll explain it to you later."
While Sensei and Yume were having a telepathic conversation, the other pink haired student wearing an oversized JTF uniform raised her hand.
"I-I'm Shimoe Koharu, a first year and an elite of the Justice Task Force!" Koharu introduced herself. "Please remember that!"
"You are part of the Justice Task Force, after all!" Yume said with a smile, causing Koharu to blush a little.
"T-That's right! Only the best can join the Justice Task Force, after all!" Koharu puffed her chest proudly.
"I'm sure there's a story as to how an elite like her ended up in the Make-Up Work Club," Hanako giggled.
"S-Shut up! You're here too!"
The two pinkheads bantered, with Hanako teasing Koharu while Hifumi tried to step in to stop them to no avail, with Yume smiling for a bit before stepping in to help Hifumi.
"Now now, settle down you two," Sensei said. "We still have one more student yet to introduce herself…Though she seems distracted. Shirasu?"
The silver haired student turned her attention from the window to Sensei when she heard her name before she stood up to introduce herself. "Shirasu Azusa, a second year student of Trinity."
"Is something wrong, Shirasu?"
"I saw someone suspicious outside that was watching this classroom, so I was keeping an eye on her," Azusa said as she turned her attention back to the view outside the window. "Ah, she left."
Sensei reinforced his eyes out of curiosity and saw the familiar back of a certain vigilante. "Ah, don't worry. I know who that student is. Maybe she saw me and wanted to say hi."
"I still find her suspicious…" Azusa muttered as she returned to her seat.
"It's good to have an awareness of your surroundings, but right now I would prefer if you were to concentrate in class."
"Understood," Azusa said with a nod.
"Now then, before I can proceed to teaching you, I'd like to assess your current knowledge in Science, Mathematics, Language, and History," Sensei said as he distributed exam papers to everyone, including Yume, who had taken a seat during his exchange with Azusa.
"Eh? I have to answer the History portion too?" Yume tilted her head. "Well, I guess that's fine too!"
"It'll be fine. Wouldn't you like to know how you'd fare in Trinity exams?" Sensei said with a smile.
"Hehe, I guess I am a bit curious!"
"I'll be blocking my thoughts for the duration of the exam so I don't accidentally give you the answers," he added, using their shared mental connection.
"Good luck."
For the next hour or so, he walked around the classroom to check on his students' progress starting from Hifumi, whose expression seemed to indicate that she was doing relatively fine, if stuck on a few questions from time to time. This was in contrast to Koharu, whose panic was clear in her face as she had trouble answering a single question. Then there's Azusa, whose eyebrows furrowed a little as she read every question and supplied an answer to the best of her ability. As for Yume—
"This is pretty nostalgic...I read about this one when I was younger…" He heard Yume mutter as he passed by her desk. He made a quick glance at her test paper and saw that she was doing quite well.
After Yume's 'resurrection', as part of her rehabilitation to re-integrate herself in society, aside from teaching her the basics of Magecraft, he also took the time to teach her different subjects. He learned that Yume was quite fond of History. While she knew Abydos history best, she also had a decent knowledge of other districts including Trinity. Her Language and Math proficiency were above average, while her weakest subject was Science.
Then there were the dream cycles. Sensei saw Yume's memory from two years ago where the girl claimed that she prepared for the position of President for quite some time before she announced her candidacy. If merely basing on what he'd seen from her so far, it was clear she was being truthful. A hard worker in every sense of the word.
Sensei made a small smile as he turned his attention to the last student in the classroom. Her hands weren't even making the effort to answer the test as she instead watched everyone else struggle with the exam.
In an effort to better evaluate the members of the Make-Up Work Club, Shirou had Arona pull up their grades. Two things quickly stood out to him as odd. The first was that Azusa's records had evidence of being tampered with, which he recognized due to having experience with profiling targets in the past, but he didn't pry further as his role was to teach them.
The second was Hanako's grades in her previous years being extremely different when compared to her grades as a second year. Just last year, her grades were extremely high, with a consistent A in almost every subject but PE, where she did a bit worse. He quickly realized that Hanako was an intelligent girl, perhaps even a genius.
This made her performance during her first and second year as a high school student increasingly suspect. Slowly, but surely her grades fell, until they reached the point where she was sent to the Make-Up Work Club.
Did she neglect her studies…? Sensei thought as he glanced at her test paper, where the answers were mostly blank. The most she did was answer the last questions in each section, which also happened to be the hardest ones—and they were all correct.
Hanako then erased two of the answers, which left her with only two correct answers as she wrote wrong answers for everything else before she noticed Shirou's gaze and gave him a smile before returning to what she was doing.
Shirou was at a loss. He had seen similar behavior during his time studying in the Mages' Association, where some of his classmates intentionally did worse than they otherwise could have in exams to keep their abilities a secret. Even he had to do so to keep the particulars of his magecraft under wraps, but even then it was never to the extent that he'd intentionally fail his class.
Between Azusa's forged records and Hanako's odd behavior, Shirou could already feel a headache coming as he thought about what to do.
It seems I'm going to have to adjust my schedule for the next few weeks, Sensei thought as he internally groaned.
Author's Note:
Happy New Year everyone!
Now on to the chapter itself. As Yume is still new to being a familiar, at the moment it's still necessary for her to spend a lot of time close to Sensei. Considering she does need to relearn how to be a student after spending two years being a spirit, having her join the Make-Up Work Club classes is a great opportunity to interact with other students while also allowing Sensei to work on Nagisa's request.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.