Chapter 33: The Future You

Chapter 33: The Future You

“All right, then I’ll leave this class in your hands, Teacher Sakuraba. If there’s anything you need, feel free to ask me at any time. I’ll cooperate with your work.”

“Thank you, Group Leader Takamiya.”

“Mhm.”

Takamiya nodded, then narrowed her eyes as she examined the somewhat restless boys and girls below.

“And as for you lot, don’t bully Teacher Sakuraba just because she has a gentle personality. Anyone who doesn’t behave will be transferred into my class. Understood?”

“Got it!”

Takamiya nodded toward Sakuraba Yuki, then walked out of the classroom.

Not long after Takamiya left, the bubbling excitement in the classroom could no longer be suppressed.

“Teacher Sakuraba, you’re so beautiful!”

“Wow, I’d dare say there isn’t a teacher in the entire school prettier than you! No, there isn’t even a female student prettier than you!”

“Impossible! I’m a devoted guardian of Princess Asagiri. How dare you ignore Rin!”

“Teacher, teacher! My grades have been terrible lately. Could you give me private tutoring after class?”

“Get lost. I suggest you just drop out. Don’t wear out our Teacher Sakuraba.”

At this age, the quiet students were extremely quiet and particularly fond of feeling that they alone were awake while everyone else was drunk. The noisy ones, meanwhile, were extraordinarily bold, practically social terrorists.

Yet this female teacher, who looked young and seemingly inexperienced, showed neither panic nor flattered surprise.

The gentle smile on her face never disappeared. She even thoughtfully looked at every student who spoke to her.

When the noise finally quieted somewhat, she adjusted her glasses and spoke softly.

“No matter how beautiful a face may be, it will grow old with time. But the knowledge you learn will still benefit you when you’re old. So I hope your attention remains on your studies. Besides, when you truly meet someone who understands and likes you in the future, you’ll discover that whether someone is beautiful or not isn’t actually that important.”

A boy immediately raised his hand boldly.

“Teacher, do you have a boyfriend?”

Sakuraba Yuki’s smile remained polite and graceful.

“That’s a private question and shouldn’t appear in the classroom.”

“Eh, does that mean you do? Damn, I’m so jealous.”

“All right. If everyone keeps chattering like this, Teacher Takamiya might come back. Open your English textbooks and prepare for class.”

Simple and direct.

She did not immerse herself in the students’ topics, which were filled with novelty and curiosity.

She seemed to enter her role very quickly.

If there was anything special about her, it was naturally her appearance, smile, and temperament.

But slowly, all the students would discover that no matter how beautiful a teacher was, she was not going to date them. Nor would she reveal her personal life one detail at a time like a celebrity being interviewed.

Class was still class.

The content still came from the textbook.

Nor was she like the fantastical teachers in films and television dramas who used particularly interesting metaphors or amusing stories to spark your interest.

Just like those wildly popular games on the market. No matter how beautiful the UI or character art, their true purpose was still to empty your wallet and get you to spend money.

Miura Akihiko’s enthusiasm, however, remained strong.

Unable to help himself, he spoke to Yatsuno Gen beside him, who had already opened his textbook.

“See that? This is all thanks to me!”

“Does it have anything to do with you?”

Yatsuno Gen asked with amusement.

Miura Akihiko nodded vigorously.

“Of course it does. This is the reward for my praying day and night and abstaining for an entire week.”

“The fact that you endured that long really does make you a remarkable man.”

Yatsuno Gen sighed sincerely. It was not that he particularly enjoyed manual labor himself, but for someone at this age, such restraint truly was not easy.

As for him, he did not have such habits.

Would it overflow automatically... apparently not.

After cultivating the Ultimate Formless Art to the second layer, he had already become capable of controlling some of those instincts.

Even erotic dreams hardly appeared anymore.

“I feel like my life is filled with rose-colored happiness once again.”

Miura Akihiko revealed a dreamy expression.

Without needing to think, one could tell exactly what this young man, whose mind was full of beautiful girls, was imagining.

Yatsuno Gen said quietly,

“Don’t you like pretty girls? You’re not even letting the teacher off the hook?”

Miura Akihiko looked at Yatsuno Gen seriously.

“I am a very devoted person.”

“Oh?”

“I only like beautiful ones.”

“...As expected of you.”

As soon as Yatsuno Gen finished speaking, he caught a faint fragrance.

It felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

When he raised his head,

a figure was standing beside him.

She did not look at him first.

Instead, she looked at Miura Akihiko.

“This student, what is your name?”

Miura Akihiko froze for a moment.

The instant he met her gaze, he embarrassingly blushed, and could barely speak clearly.

“T-Teacher, I... I’m M-Miura Akihiko...”

His stammering voice made the surrounding classmates chuckle.

Sakuraba Yuki merely nodded gently.

“A very nice name. Teacher will remember you. But you need to pay attention during class. Don’t affect yourself, and especially don’t affect others. Understood?”

“I... I understand...”

The same Miura Akihiko who had just been boasting and claiming credit before Yatsuno Gen immediately lowered his head obediently and opened his textbook.

One glance was enough to see that even his ears had turned red.

Yatsuno Gen, meanwhile, showed no particular expression.

Until she looked over.

His face was reflected in her lenses.

And he also saw the gaze with which she looked directly at him.

“And this handsome male student, what is your name?”

Only then did Yatsuno Gen raise his head to look at her.

Before he could answer, voices had already begun shouting around him.

“Teacher, this is Yatsuno Gen, our school’s prince charming!”

“Teacher, isn’t he more handsome than your boyfriend?”

“Hahahahaha!”

The classroom erupted in laughter.

Yatsuno Gen was not the type to blush easily amid such teasing.

He merely replied calmly,

“Teacher, my name is Yatsuno Gen.”

Sakuraba Yuki smiled and nodded.

“A very beautiful name.”

On this sunless day, her smile seemed to replace all light itself.

At least, that was how others saw it.

But in Yatsuno Gen’s eyes, whether it was this conversation or the way she was looking at him now, it all felt as though time had been crossed and an old story was being reenacted once again.

A classic old film being remastered and shown anew.

Even every syllable she pronounced felt so familiar.

Yatsuno Gen had already forgotten what expression he himself had worn back then.

He did not know what kind of chapter of life an unexpected reunion after a long separation would represent.

At this moment, he merely revealed the most natural expression possible and responded with a smile.

“Thank you.”

She nodded, smiled, turned around, and continued teaching normally.

The conversation just now seemed like an ordinary little episode, one commonly found in a place called a classroom.

There was no other meaning behind it.

Naturally, it did not attract any special attention from the other students.

Yet when Yatsuno Gen occasionally caught sight of her moving through every corner of the classroom from the corner of his eye, he still found it unbelievable.

He had long understood that no matter where you went, you would meet many, many people.

Some would leave no impression at all.

Some would be stunning enough to be remembered.

But most would simply meet you briefly before brushing past and disappearing into the sea of people.

He had prepared himself as though every meeting might be the last.

Yet he seemed never to have considered the possibility of reunion.

What a mess, Yatsuno Gen.

“A-Gen.”

“Hm?”

Lunch break.

Having chosen to eat in the school cafeteria rather than bring a packed lunch, the young man and young woman sat together.

Yatsuno Gen and Kazama Sakura had always been a combination that attracted attention whenever they appeared together.

Naturally, this led to endless speculation about their relationship.

At first, Kazama Sakura had been somewhat embarrassed and had perhaps even tried to avoid it.

But after realizing that Yatsuno Gen seemed completely indifferent to it all, and was not secretly enjoying it either, she began frequently accompanying him around the school, cafeteria, and even study rooms.

Whether out of spite or for some other reason, no one knew.

Even though nothing might actually happen between them, that position seemed to have become firmly occupied by her.

Seeing Yatsuno Gen look up in confusion, Kazama Sakura said with a slight blush,

“You agreed last time. I can call you that.”

Yatsuno Gen smiled teasingly.

“Didn’t we say in private? Does this count as private?”

Indeed, the cafeteria at Shoujitsu Private High School, with its excellent food quality, was packed almost every day.

The girl protested unwillingly.

“There are only the two of us at this table. There isn’t anyone else.”

“So that’s what counts as private. All right then. In the future, if we run into each other in the bathroom, call me that too.”

“What do you mean, in the bathroom?!”

The girl irritably stretched out a foot beneath the table and lightly kicked Yatsuno Gen.

It did not hurt.

Not because she lacked strength, but because she did not actually want to kick him hard.

Once again, her tone and her actual force failed to match.

“You’re kicking people now?”

The young man pretended to be angry.

Kazama Sakura naturally was not fooled.

She immediately lifted her beautiful neck and shot back,

“I am. So what?”

“If you kick me again, I’ll grab your foot and take off your shoes and socks.”

“What are you trying to do? That’s so perverted...”

“What are you thinking? I’ll tickle you. It’s not like I have a foot fetish.”

“Who said you had a foot fetish? You’re confessing without being accused!”

“Ah, that’s bad. So you discovered it. You’re surprisingly sharp.”

“Oh honestly, you...”

When faced with a young man like Yatsuno Gen, whose skin was thick and defense was incredibly high, whoever brought up inappropriate topics would always be the one who suffered in the end.

Fortunately, Yatsuno Gen did not continue.

He was skilled at stopping while ahead.

“All right. What were you originally trying to say?”

After calming herself down, the girl asked softly,

“What do you think of the new Teacher Sakuraba?”

Yatsuno Gen thought for a moment.

“Her voice sounds nice, and she’s very professional in class. She feels better than Yamazaki.”

“Then do you think she’s pretty?”

Kazama Sakura asked cautiously.

Yatsuno Gen nodded firmly.

“Beautiful. Extremely beautiful.”

The girl’s little face immediately puckered with dissatisfaction.

“Do all you boys like this kind of mature, intellectual, gentle older-sister type?”

“You could say that.”

As soon as Yatsuno Gen said those words, before Kazama Sakura could react, he had already picked up his finished tray and stood up.

Smiling, he looked at the girl staring at him eagerly.

“But I’m more looking forward to the future Sakura.”

“...”

The girl looked up in astonishment.

By then, Yatsuno Gen had already left with his tray.

She slowly lowered her head.

Yet the corners of her brows and lips could not stop rising wildly.

The final class of the afternoon ended as usual.

As the new homeroom teacher, Sakuraba Yuki naturally held a brief meeting.

Fortunately, it did not last long.

The topics were the usual discussions about studies and safety.

It seemed everyone had already quickly adapted to the fact that their new homeroom teacher was such a young and beautiful woman.

The discussions surrounding her would naturally continue for some time.

But the novelty of youth was always like this.

Once something felt distant, once it became familiar, it lost its flavor.

When Yatsuno Gen stood up, ready to leave with his schoolbag, a voice suddenly came from the doorway.

“Student Yatsuno, would it be convenient for you to come to my office for a moment?”

Standing at the podium while holding teaching materials, dressed in a suit jacket and pencil skirt, wearing black stockings and black high heels, Sakuraba Yuki adjusted her glasses and asked with a smile.