"Sensei."
After placing his and Kasumigaoka Utaha's carry-on luggage into the overhead compartment, Kasumigaoka Touji turned and extended a hand toward the urban beauty standing beside him.
"Arigatou." Kojima Kana did not refuse his assistance and handed over the garment bag she was holding.
Putting aside his… philandering tendencies, she had to admit that Kasumigaoka Touji seemed like a decent young man. At the very least, he showed great respect for his teachers! For a moment, it made her—the 'Kojima Kana' who struck fear into the hearts of countless students—feel a sense of genuine comfort.
While the two were stowing the luggage, Kasumigaoka Utaha had already slipped into the window seat.
As a student of Toyosaki Private Academy herself, she naturally felt a degree of instinctive wariness around Kojima Kana. Furthermore, since the teacher was her brother's homeroom instructor, it wasn't her place to claim the seat next to him in terms of closeness.
What?
Are you suggesting a parent and teacher should sit together?
Appropriate, my foot!
As a fellow student, she certainly couldn't be considered a 'parent.'
As for whether Kojima Kana was a great beauty and whether that posed a potential 'threat'…
Kasumigaoka Utaha hadn't lost her mind to that extent. No matter how outrageous her brother might be, he probably wouldn't go so far as to 'ride the teacher.' The famous, fearsome 'Kojima Kana' of campus lore likely wouldn't stoop to seducing her own student either. On this point, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt relatively at ease.
Kasumigaoka Touji finished with the luggage and immediately saw Kasumigaoka Utaha settled by the window. It felt perfectly natural, completely reasonable—so he took the middle seat without a second thought.
Kojima Kana naturally sat to his right, on the aisle side.
The space in economy class was limited, but fortunately, none of the three were large-framed, so sitting together was still comfortable—especially with the faint, elegant fragrances drifting from both sides, mingling pleasantly at his nose. Kasumigaoka Touji found the sensation quite agreeable.
A downward glance offered a view of two pairs of beautifully curved, shapely long legs, both sheathed in semi-transparent, sheer pantyhose.
It was simply magnificent!
Maximum in-flight experience!
Of course, one of those pairs belonged to his teacher. Feeling it would be improper to stare, Kasumigaoka Touji took out his phone to distract himself. First, he sent a quick message to the family group chat saying they'd boarded the plane, then switched to chatting with Kani Nayuta.
Beside him, Kojima Kana was also on her phone, seemingly texting someone—perhaps the classmate getting married, or an old friend she was about to reunite with.
As for Kasumigaoka Utaha—after settling in, she glanced out the window briefly before pulling out a light novel to read.
"..."
Time passed quietly.
Soon—
Graceful, sweetly smiling flight attendants moved down the aisle, checking everyone's seatbelts one by one. The announcement came that the plane was about to take off, requiring all electronic devices to be set to airplane mode or turned off.
Kasumigaoka Touji and Kasumigaoka Utaha chose the former option. Kojima Kana did the same.
Touji had brought a light novel to pass the time as well, but just as he pulled it from his bag, a soft but distinct grumble grumble sound came from his right.
He looked over in surprise to see the voluptuous, well-proportioned Kojima Kana pressing a hand over her stomach, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. A rare look of embarrassment graced her delicate, doll-like features. He offered a kind smile.
"Sensei, are you hungry? Dinner service should start soon."
"Mm, a little," Kojima Kana admitted, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly as she spoke apologetically. She knew she should have bought a snack at the airport earlier. Now, she was mortified! She internally regretted her oversight.
Kasumigaoka Touji seemed to remember something. He picked up his shoulder bag, rummaged inside, and pulled out a small paper bag, which he handed to her. "Taiyaki… This is the last one. Sensei can have it to tide you over."
"Eh? No, no, you and Kasumigaoka-san should have it," she said, genuine surprise flickering across her doll-like face as she instinctively waved a hand in refusal.
Kasumigaoka Touji simply placed it directly into her hand. "Utaha and I ate quite a bit this afternoon. This is just leftover. Please, sensei, don't stand on ceremony."
"Sensei, please go ahead and eat it," Kasumigaoka Utaha added from the window seat, looking up from her novel.
"Then… I won't be polite. When we're back in Tokyo, I'll treat you both to a proper meal." It was hard to refuse when the gift was pressed into her hand—plus, she was genuinely hungry now and dreaded another embarrassing stomach rumble…
Kojima Kana hesitated for only a moment longer before accepting their kindness with gratitude.
She carefully opened the outer white paper bag, extracted a beautifully shaped, golden-brown taiyaki from the inner greaseproof paper, and brought it to her rosy lips for a delicate bite.
The exterior was pleasingly crisp, giving way to a soft interior. It wasn't the traditional sweet red bean paste filling, but a chestnut paste. The crispy shell, fragrant with the scents of egg, honey, and wheat, harmonized perfectly with the soft, dense, finely textured chestnut filling. The overall taste was sweet but not cloying, offering a refreshing and delightful sensation.
Kojima Kana held the taiyaki between her slender fingers, taking small, elegant bites. The sweetness lightened her mood, and some of the fatigue and mental strain she carried from school seemed to lessen.
Kasumigaoka Touji then appropriately offered her a bottle of grape juice he'd brought along—having already accepted one gift, it was less difficult to accept a second.
Kojima Kana let out a soft "Ah," followed by another "Arigatou." She lowered her tray table, placed the remaining taiyaki and the bag on it, twisted open the bottle cap, and tilted her fair, slender, gracefully curved neck back, taking several long gulps.
"Fuu—!"
"If only all the students in my class were like you, Kasumigaoka-san," Kojima Kana sighed, screwing the cap back on and placing the bottle on the tray. Her tone was wistful.
Kasumigaoka Touji guessed she was referring to the Akizuki Yuna incident and its aftermath. Studying his teacher's delicate profile, he asked curiously, "Speaking of which, I haven't seen Inohara-san or the others since they were called out this morning…"
"Hmm… They've already been expelled," Kojima Kana paused, her tone carrying a complex weight, before delivering the news.
Less than a month into the school year, and four students from her class had been expelled for various disciplinary reasons.
Who could possibly understand the depth of her psychological trauma?!
"..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha looked up from her light novel upon hearing the word 'expelled,' though she didn't comment.
Kasumigaoka Touji smacked his lips slightly. "It's probably for the best that they were expelled… Those few were nothing but trouble."
He could still vividly remember the incident where they'd deliberately stolen Kani Nayuta's umbrella. In short, he had zero fondness for them.
Kojima Kana glanced sideways at Kasumigaoka Touji, picked up the remaining taiyaki, took another bite, and said, her voice holding a hint of warning, "They certainly were trouble… And you. You absolutely must not play around with girls' feelings, understand?"
"…Even if it's you, sensei, that's still slander!" Kasumigaoka Touji protested immediately, his expression one of wounded innocence.