"Sano," Penelope called out. She extended a bag out. "I got given these as gifts, but I can't eat them all. If you would like."

Sano was about to reject them, judging from his expression, but he suddenly looked at her. "Have you eaten?"

"No-" Sumire stopped her words mid-sentence when she realized what he was about to do. "Sano, it's fine-" but he had already taken the bag from Penelope and passed it to her.

She stared at the obviously handmade pastries with an awkward expression.

"Eat those, for now. I will get you something better later."

Uh, can this guy not read the mood? What given as a gift, these are clearly handmade! Moreover, does he have to behave so sweetly towards her in front of his fiance? Damn his low eq. Penelope suggested that they became friends, but already she must regret saying those words.

Sumire genuinely felt bad for the girl since it seemed like she actually liked Sano. There is such a good girl in front of him, and yet he still chose her? There must be something wrong with his head.

"Then I will get going; it was nice chatting with you, Ibuki-san." With those words, Penelope left, and Sano brought her to his office.

He immediately laid her down on the couch and placed a blanket around her.

"San, did you have to do that?"

Sano didn't turn around as he rummaged through the cabinet. "I had to; otherwise, she won't understand. She has been good to me, however, so I don't want to brutally turn her away."

She understands that point but, "This can also be cruel."

"If you think that way, then as the one responsible, you should take responsibility."

"Responsibility?"

Sano sighed deeply. "Don't talk to her again if you see her."

"She was the one who started talking to me."

"That's, even more, the reason."

She seems like a nice girl, though, so why is Sano behaving oddly? Sumire erased that thought out of her mind when she felt a wincing pain in her right eye. Forget it; right now, she should take on Sano's offer and rest before she headed over to the school. Sumire felt that it wasn't a simple career talk.

She closed her eyes, but it was not easy to fall asleep, so she tossed and turned. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps approaching, Sano was right behind her. He didn't lay next to her, but he simply sat down.

"You know, no matter how you take this, but you're still so defenseless around me."

It's not that she is defenseless but more to do with the fact that she knew she could beat him up whenever she wanted. Still, she could play along with him- Sumire shook her head. No more messing around; she doesn't want her dearest darling to get the wrong idea again.

Even though Yuhi acts tough on the surface, he surprisingly has a weak side. She wants to protect him.

Her thoughts broke off when Sano turned her around. He placed a wet towel on her forehead. "Do you have to go to school?"

"If you talked to them, you should know why I have to go."

"Career plans for the future, huh? Now that I think about it, there was a time where I went through that too."

"So basically, you're admitting your old."

Sano sighed. "You know, back when we dated, I was sensitive about the age gap."

Sumire blinked, surprised at his words. This is the first time she is hearing something like this. It never occurred to her that Sano cared about such a thing.

Sensitive huh? So even this person back then behaved in a way a typical human would. If she reanalyzed their relationship from before then, perhaps she will find more examples. But for now, this was enough.

….

At Iro Road High School, a few hours later.

Sumire arrived at a time where there were still lessons ongoing, so the courtyard and hallways were empty. She nervously looked at the staff room nearby and sighed.

The last time she randomly took leave from school like this was last year. Mamoru's illness was becoming worse, and her time to see him after school was so short because of visiting hours. That was why she sacrificed her hours in school so she could be with him longer. At some point, even the day hours became too short for her, so she used her power a little and ended up permitted to stay overnight.

For some reason, she couldn't trust anybody else to take care of him.

Her thoughts broke off when somebody hugged her from the back.

"Take a deep breath, one, two.."

Sumire followed the person's instructions and eventually settled her nerves. She laughed lightly when she felt his lips on her neck. "Did you cut class Yuhi-san?"

"More like I didn't attend at all. I saw you from the rooftop and almost jumped down."

Sumire rolled her eyes. "If you did that, we would have another person in hospital."

"You can't blame me; what is with your outfit?"

She wore an off-shoulder red-colored dress with pale peach-colored transparent sleeves. "Sanos taste?"

"Damn him."

She chuckled, hearing his muttering. "Or maybe I dressed up because I wanted to impress a certain someone?"

"I wonder who that someone is."

Before Yuhi and her could exchange any more words, the doors to the staff room opened, revealing all her teachers. Sumire sweat fell. It seems they rushed out because they heard the commotion, but what is with this odd tension in the air.

The reaction when she took leave last year was awful. They almost expelled her on the spot. If Aki-san didn't pull some strings, surely they would have gone through with that.

So what is the verdict-- her thoughts broke off when the teachers suddenly kneeled on the ground. Some of them had grabbed hold of her hand. Sumire could only stare at them dumbfounded. Why did they all look like zombies? What is with the eyebags?

"Welcome back, Ibuki!"

Uh, what is this? Sumire immediately realized there was something off. Even if they do not dislike her for this, shouldn't they at least scold her? Instead, why are they happy?

"We are so glad you are back," an old lady with grey hair started sobbing into a handkerchief.

They are? While the teachers here are indeed nicer, Sumire wasn't going to let her guard down. She stared at them cautiously.

"Um, what is going on?"

A familiar person stepped out of the staff room. Like the rest of the teachers, he looked exhausted. "Shin?"

Shin looked over at Yuhi. "That is the culprit."

Sumire turned to Yuhi, who was innocently whistling.

"Just because you weren't around this guy made our lives a living hell."