My Roommate Is My Sensei [Tobirama x Reader]

Part 14

To say teaching your siblings is tough is an understatement.

It's a bloody nightmare.

My siblings are cute and all, but they're the worst peeves when it comes to helping out with their studies. Whenever they ask me a question, they expect me to show up with an immediate solution, like how magicians pull rabbits from their hats. What makes matters worse is that they don't even pay close attention to what I say, then they ask about something that I've already explained at an earlier step. If I tell them I've already said that, they're going to complain about how I always make things complicated. Alternatively, if I just brush on that point, since I assume they all know what to do anyway, they're going to say I don't make things detailed enough. Either way, at the end of day it's screaming and yelling all over the place.

Not to mention I've got upcoming finals.

The first semester passed in a blur, mostly because of all the things I've had to do. I hardly had time to socialize, but I still got on good terms with Naruto, his boy squad, and Kurama's team. Sakura, apart from dating guys, has taken all the chances she could get to take me out to eat at different places, go see different things, and discover new spots to revisit.

It's been great, but it'll be even better if I finish the finals.

We only have one week to revise. How crazy is that?

I sigh as I down some kumquat juice. There's simply too much to remember.

Maths is going on great, with Tobirama right next door. Chemistry, yes. Biology...well, there's quite a lot, but for the first semester, there's not too much to remember just yet.

I'm looking at some more main points I need to get to my head before I quit revising. And when I say quit, I mean quit. No more revising after that. My brain needs to reboot before the big day.

All right. Finished!

I close my textbooks and give myself a nice, long stretch.

Then I sprawl out on the desk.

I spend a few minutes allowing myself to relax, then get up to check my supplies. Candidate ID, pens, pencils, erasers, calculators, rulers—all on board. 

Nice job, [y/n].

A glance at the clock tells me it's 8:30PM.

All of a sudden, a wave of fatigue washes over me.

Might as well hit the sack anyway.

***

Luckily, my little sister and brother are reasonable enough to understand I've got big-ass tests headed my way. They've gone quiet for the week.

As for me, tests have been going well. I'm rather confident in how I slayed Maths and Chemistry, and I can say I didn't flunk Biology. 

And guess who's marking my Maths test?

Yes.

Tobirama-sensei.

I've never been curious about who he grades—I'm not a nosy person, and I don't have the need to know.

In fact, he's the one who broke the news to me.

***

I was having breakfast this morning when he came out of his room with a piece of paper, red pen in his hand.

"Grading assignments again?"

"Your test."

I stopped chewing on my sandwich. "Excuse me?"

He finally looked up at me, amused. "I said I'm grading your test."

I almost choked on my breakfast. "What the—" My esophagus contracted, a little too fast, and I ended up coughing my lungs out. "Is it...did I...?"

Well...just forget about what I said about slaying Maths. Things are way different when you know your roommate, a.k.a. your sensei, is grading your test paper directly.

Still amused, he turned the side with the total score, written in red, towards me. "Come take a look for yourself."

I swallowed the rest of my sandwich nervously before closing in. The numbers became clearer and clearer, and—

"100/100?!"

"Well done." He smiles.

I was speechless for a moment.

"I can't...I can't believe it."

"Never got an 100/100?"

"No. It's always above 90, but never 100."

"Congratulations, then." He smiled. "I guess I don't need to pass out your test next week."

"Thanks, Tobirama-sensei!"

"And we're having Thai food tonight as a celebration."

"Ooh, I love the sound of that!"

***

The Thai restaurant is just three blocks away, on the other side of the street. I sing my favorite song at an acceptable volume as Tobirama leads the way. "'Cause you're a sky, you're a sky, full of stars."

"Good singing."

"Thanks. Picked it up from my cousin."

"Oh, you're close with your cousin?"

"No. I mean, we used to. Until drama broke loose in the paternal branch of the family. Everyone was all good with each other the first minute, then the next my dad ha the entire world against him. They had a hell of a dispute over who inherits which part of my grandfather's property. My aunts accused Dad of being selfish and all that shit while Dad just wanted to keep the house he'd rightfully inherited for our family...you know, so that we could at least have a place to stay. We made the decision to break clean off from that mess, though. It's been hard, but we had to do it."

A pause. "Sorry."

I shake my head. "Not your fault." Then I give an amused, genuinely curious puff of breath. "Why do you keep saying sorry when it has absolutely nothing to do with you?"

We pause before the doors to the restaurant, and he fixes me with a gaze that says he's empathetic, and that he's dead serious. "I understand how hard it must have been. I'm sorry that life has kept throwing obstacles your way and not the sweetness someone like you deserves."

I'm so dumbfounded I've forgotten the next line to the song.

"I...Tobirama, you really..." I break off mid-sentence in a soft chuckle. "I don't know what to say other than...thanks a million. You know, for hearing me out, and saying what you just said. I...I feel lucky to have you as a roommate."

"Not because you can drop by anytime to get me to talk Maths problems through for you?" He raises an amused eyebrow.

I laugh. "Of course not! I do know how to appreciate people, Tobirama, don't be so sarcastic. But yeah, I really mean it. Thanks for your support. In terms of being my roommate, my sensei, and my emotional advisor."

His features relax in a smile. "I'm honored. You're a great roommate as well. I feel comfortable being with you."

I smile back.

Everything would have been rather sweet and cozy—

—until my stomach growls angrily.

I look up at him, embarrassed. "Uh..."

He laughs. "Come on, let's get dinner."

Blushing slightly, I follow him into the restaurant.