"Nakura-sensei, wake up."

"Shin!"

Shin gasped and panted heavily as he felt Sumire shake him awake. She called his name so loudly, leading to him breaking free of the nightmare that plagued his subconscious.

He felt his body trembling, his heart pounding, and the blood rushed to his ears. His nails dug into his palms, leading to blood.

He tried to calm down as his hands moved away from the clenched position to cover his mouth.

"Sorry about that. But you wouldn't wake up so." Sumire hesitated.

"You appeared to be having a nightmare too. So I couldn't just leave you here." Sumire suddenly reached over and placed her hand on his forehead. "You're really sweating a lot. Even though we should be heading back now, I don't think we should go with you in that condition. Ah, I know I still have some water."

Now though, the true reason had come to light--he still hadn't gotten a reign on these nightmares and didn't want to give her any reason to worry.

Well, there went that plan.

He accepted the girl's water bottle, and his hands were still shaky. Shin used the first two mouthfuls to wash the bile from his mouth before he gulped down the rest of the water.

"Did you drink it okay?"

"Y--yeah."

Or rather, he just realized that he drank from the girl's bottle. Shin shook his head. He isn't a child; how can he get embarrassed over something like this?

"Why are you here?"

"Asami-chan asked me to find you. Sensei, you know, even when it's break time, some students still want your help with work. They value your input as a teacher even if you are a bit of an airhead at times."

That's right. He was in school; he almost forgot about it. He is completely out of it today, huh?

His gaze flickered onto the girl's back to see an envelope sticking out of her pocket. "What's that?"

Sumire pulled a face like she almost forgot about it and quickly took it, "Uh… it's nothing."

Hmm? Why is she acting all suspicious about it? Or rather how odd, she seems to be unusually nervous today.

"I am surprised you know where to find me."

"That's because there was that time you were acting strange and you told me about this place. Gee sensei, if you're going to try to find a place to ditch, you shouldn't be telling your student about it."

She suddenly rambled on and on.

During this entire time, she hasn't been facing him at all, not that he minded having a view of her back.

"Ah…you don't seem well at all, I'll tell Asami-chan that we're going to be late for a bit…"

He watched her get out her phone.

But she was acting all clumsy and not being able to write her message properly. Come to think of it, he heard about it from her friends a while back.

'Did you notice it? When Sumire starts rambling on and on about things. It means she's either embarrassed or nervous. It's always the perfect method to get juicy stories about her and Terashima'.

He wondered if it would work if it were him. There is only one way to find out.

As Shin thought that the brown hair girl's phone rang, yet before she could answer it, he grabbed hold of her hand, lacing their hands together. This led to her dropping her phone.

"S--sensei? What are you doing?" Sumire stuttered.

Oh, she is stuttering. Shin blinked, surprised at this behavior. She usually is so calm and composed. Could it be that the direct approach works on her?

Shin doesn't hesitate to pull her down until she sat on his lap.

"Wait a second. What are you…"

Indeed, he could see it now. Her face was turning redder by the minute. So the theory is correct.

"You're the one who gave it to me, and yet you're the one being all embarrassed over it." He stated calmly.

"Stupid, anyone would be embarrassed over this situation."

"Is that so? Then, we can stay this way for a while."

Shin bent down and brushed his lips against her neck to prove his seriousness.

At that comment, he felt the girl shiver. "H--hold on a second. Sensei, if anyone finds us...."

"Then, is it fine if nobody finds us?" Shin challenged.

She seemed baffled by his words.

He chuckled at the girl's reaction. "Relax. I feel drained of strength right now. So I won't do any more than this. Just for a while, stay here like this with me."

Although this is the first time he acted out on his feelings for her, he wanted to watch this situation longer.

Why is he suddenly doing a complete turn on his feelings despite saying he would keep it intact? It must be because of this sudden weakness of his, and he has no strength to think rationally.

Yeah, that's clearly what this is. Or it may because of the words Ryou told him. Somehow it inspired him or something like that. Because he could relate to it, for sure later, he will regret this. The only reason Sumire trusted him was because she knew he would never act on his feelings.

But for now, he wants to remain this way, and he wants to bask in her scent and the feeling of her in his arms.

...

However, he doesn't have any luck. At least not in the same way Ran or the other guys in Quatro light and the lucky souls in nanairo feather do. The moments he has with her like this when he isn't acting rationally usually don't last long.

If it were just the girl's phone, he would probably just leave it be and carried on, nuzzling his face on her neck. But it wasn't, the announcement came from the intercom.

"Can Ibuki Sumire-cha--I mean -san. Rather Sumire-chan, please come to the student council room...Yuhi is scary!"

His eyes twitch in annoyance; hey, kids shouldn't be messing around with the intercom so easily. Then again, that voice is from the student council president, isn't it?

However, that must have caused the brown hair girl to snap out of it since she suddenly pulled away from him.

"Sorry, I have to get going." Sumire apologized.

"Yeah."

"I-f you're still not feeling well, then you should stay here. I'll leave this water with you too...So ....um...."

It was rare for him to see her acting so nervously like this. So this is her weak point, huh? She isn't good with love. If people confront her directly, she does not know what to do. That surprises him, considering the number of people who like her.

Sumire turned to walk away when he grabbed hold of her arm, leaned over, and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah, thank you for taking care of me. Have a safe trip."

At that action of his, she bolted away from him immediately and bows.

"Excuse me."

Shin watched her retreating figure, and he noticed that the envelope she had been carrying had dropped out of her pocket. Shin walked over and picked it up; this is... His gaze darkened, so that's what this was about. In the end, to her, he is still nothing. But he already knew that from the beginning.

It is fine as long as he can protect her, isn't that right, Tsueno?

Shin recalled the words, the last ones Tsueno Mamoru told him, and they were words that stabbed at his consciousness.