Our Teacher is a Yakuza Princess

Chapter 14

And the warmth and light of the Oedo house faded, his smile faded as well. He reached his apartment, turned on the lights, and headed to his daybed. Sitting down, he took a moment to compare his apartment from the house he had just left. All the colors here were black or white, not the warm wood tones or bright cream of their traditional sliding doors. It was quiet, not loud with the sounds of cheerful banter or friendly slaps to Minoru's head. Shin felt a pang of jealousy. He wanted a place where the only fights were about a piece of meat in a hot pot. Where people were genuinely concerned about him, not their own reputation.

He sighed, then resolutely put those thoughts out of his head. He had chosen this life, for himself and for Natsumi. There was no room for regrets.

Shin awoke the next morning from a dreamless sleep. Today was the last day of parent-teacher conferences, and since he had no parents' schedule to work around, he had opted to take the last slot of the day. He came in through the back door of the classroom just as the front door closed and saw Yankumi race to the box of treats on the table.

Completely lost in her sweet, creamy vision, Shin decided it was time for a bit of payback for all those times she had snuck up on them. He walked slowly and quietly down the stairs and slid into the seat across from her. Being as clueless as she was, she was busy talking to herself and didn't see him.

"Sawada is the only one left…" Yankumi thought aloud, then dived into the box. "It's a bit early, but I'll consider it a reward for my work." She declared happily, then opened her mouth to eat the giant cream puff whole.

Before she could stuff it in her mouth, she finally realized he was there.

"Sawada!" She shrieked in surprise, then looked at the cream puff guiltily, and hid it behind her back.

Hiding it doesn't work if I've already seen it, He criticized her silently.

Still trying to cover up her misstep, she spoke very quickly and formally. "It's unusual for a frequently tardy guy like yourself to be on time. It's commendable!" She ended with a nervous smile.

Had this been a normal situation, he might have given her a 'baka' or tried to hide a grin, but he was waiting for her to notice the obvious and ask the stupid questions that were on the packet. After a few more seconds, she finally caught on.

"Uh, where's your parent?"

He rolled his head to the side. "Not coming."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Eh?"

"I said they're not coming." He spoke a bit louder and faster, trying to tell her to drop the issue.

Being Yankumi, she didn't. "Did you not tell your parents?"

Annoyed that she guessed that right away, he took a breath and told her, "My career path after graduation is presently undecided. That's it. End of discussion." Before she could dig any deeper, he quickly got up and headed for the door.

"Oi, Sawada!" She yelled after him, but he just kept walking. He didn't need her of all people asking about his family situation. Especially because he felt that if she asked, he might actually tell her.

Later that night, while he was deep in a book, he heard a knock at his door. He looked up in confusion. None of his friends knew where he lived, and he never had guests over, so maybe it was a neighbor or the landlord.

"Yes?" He asked the door.

"It. Is. Meee!" The door answered in a very cheerful, annoying, and familiar voice. Shin sighed and rolled his eyes. How in the world did she figure out where he lived? With a muttered curse, he remembered that his address was on file with the school. Nosy busybody, he thought as he stuck a bookmark between the pages and went to open the door.