Wh-what! - 18
It didn't take long for me to come back to my senses.
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Thinking about it, it wasn't that shocking.
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Sensei is a workaholic night owl who eats, sleeps, and breathes work, and my body has always been weak, so it was only natural.
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Still, I can't accept that I'm falling behind Sensei.
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"Here, if this substance reacts with this substance-"
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The class is pretty bearable.
Yeah...
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The class was pretty good.
if it weren't for the fact that Sensei was the one teaching it, it would have been perfect.
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And thanks to the coffee I had earlier, I'm not sleepy.
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In fact, I'm holding up better than the tired Sensei right now.
It's only natural, of course.
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Time passed, and around 6:40 PM,
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"Alright! Let's stop here for today. Good work!"
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"Yes..."
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The class was over.
I'm hungry, so I should go buy something from the convenience store.
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"Teacher, you don't have to come with me, okay...?"
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"Uh... I'll rest a bit. Can you go by yourself?"
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Of course I can go by myself.
Does he see me as a little kid?
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"...I'll go by myself."
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"Okay~."
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As I headed towards the convenience store, I saw the sunset through the window.
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...It's pretty.
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Seeing Sanctum Tower in person is definitely different from seeing it in the game.
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Hmm... Should I come here later to kill time?
Even if it's not for class.
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Lost in thought, I arrived at the convenience store.
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"Nito! Welcome!"
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"Hi."
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"Yes...!"
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I think I've gotten pretty close with Sora now.
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Anyway, what should I eat today?
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They don't sell sushi at the convenience store...
And it probably wouldn't taste good anyway.
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I just grabbed a cup of ramen.
This is convenient~.
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"Thank you for your patronage! Nito, come again!"
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"Yeah, take care, Sora."
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"Yes!"
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Leaving Sora behind, I came out of the convenience store.
The sunset had almost completely faded, and it was getting dark.
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I headed back to Schale, looking at the night view.
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I slipped inside and saw Sensei sleeping.
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He must be tired.
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Leaving the sleeping Sensei alone, I poured hot water.
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I closed the lid of the steaming ramen and waited a bit, the ramen cooked quickly.
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Slurp-
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"Haaah, heeup, ha."
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It's hot...
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Did I suffer from the typical intelligence drop that comes with a gender swap?
I burned my tongue on coffee earlier, and now I'm burning it on ramen...
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"Hoo... hoo..."
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Slurp-
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I managed to blow on it and eat it properly from the second bite.
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It's delicious.
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Blowing on it as I ate, my stomach soon felt full.
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I finished it all.
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I should go now.
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I got up from my seat.
Sensei was still sleeping.
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Hmm... I'll just leave him like this.
I don't see the need to wake him up just to say goodbye.
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The sleeping person would like it better.We're not that close, are we?
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Making all sorts of excuses in my head, I went outside.
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It was completely dark outside.
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Maybe because of my previous experience, the night streets felt even more eerie and scary.
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Hmm...
Let's go quickly.
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I headed home diligently. But shortly after I started,
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Rattle-
Thump-
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"Eek?!"
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Wh-what was that sound?
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I heard a strange noise in the darkness.
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Clang-
Clink-!
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"Ugh?!"
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The strange noises continued.
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I ended up running back to Schale.
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"Huff... huff..."
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What was that just now?
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As I entered the building, my tension eased.
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"Haaah..."
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"Nito?"
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"Gah?!"
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Sensei suddenly appeared.
My legs gave out, and I collapsed.
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"What are you doing here...?"
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"Hiccup!"
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I started hiccuping.
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"W-well... Hiccup! S-strange s-sounds... Hiccup!"
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I tried to explain, but the hiccups kept coming.
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"Hiccup!"
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They continued even after I finished explaining.
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"Hmm... Then, Nito, I'll go with you."
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If it were the usual me, I would have refused in horror, but now I could only nod.
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So, the two of us went outside and started walking down the street.
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The dark street scenery made me feel uneasy again.
My desire to rely on Sensei and my caution towards him began to clash.
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Then,
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Rustle-
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"Eek!"
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The strange noise from earlier started again.
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"Hmm...?"
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Sensei seemed to have heard it too.
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"Nito, I'll go check it out."
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"Ch-check? Th-then..."
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"You can stay here alone, right?"
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I tried to say I could.
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But I failed.
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"..."
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"Hmm... sorry, I'll check as quickly as possible. Just wait a moment."
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"Okay..."
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In the end, Sensei disappeared into the darkness to check the source of the sound.
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Left alone again, the eeriness of the street washed over me like before.
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In fact, maybe because I had been with Sensei until just now, it was much scarier than before.
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As I trembled, I saw something in the darkness.
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It was...
A light floating in the air.
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"Aaaaah?!"
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The light came closer and closer. My heartbeat grew louder in response.
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Finally, as the light emerged from the darkness, I saw,
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Sensei holding a cat.
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"Ah..."
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"There was a cat inside."
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Once I realized what it was, relief washed over me, and I sighed.
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And then, shame washed over me for showing such a pathetic side to Sensei.
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I couldn't lift my head.
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"Come on, let's go, Nito! I'll take you home."
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Unable to answer because of my shame, I just nodded.
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The walk home wasn't scary at all.
The shame and embarrassment were much stronger.
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"By the way, Nito~ were you scared of that?"
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Flinch-
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"If you're scared again, tell me! I'll listen to anything our cute Nito-chan says!"
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Flinch-
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"I, I wasn't scared... you know..."
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I made a feeble protest against Sensei's teasing. But what came back was...
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"Yeah, yeah! It's okay! There's nothing to be ashamed of about being scared of the dark!"
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Sensei was happy to have found another thing to tease me about.
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"Uwaaah..."
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In the end, this incident ended in my defeat.
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I opened the door to my house and went inside.
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Like yesterday, I changed my clothes haphazardly and lay down on the bed.
Or should I say, collapsed?
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Lying on the bed, I thought.
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Ah, I probably won't be able to sleep well again today.
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