The bell shrieked through the halls, and just like that the fragile silence between me and Rika shattered. Students poured out of classrooms, footsteps echoing, chatter spilling everywhere like static.

Rika straightened instantly, mask back on, the ever-composed teacher. No one would guess she'd just been trembling against me, whispering promises into my chest.

But I saw it. The tightness at the corner of her eyes. The way her hand lingered at her skirt hem like she wanted to reach for me again but didn't.

"Renji." Her voice was calm, but softer than usual. "Go. You'll be late."

I opened my mouth to push back, but stopped. Not here. Not with half the school shuffling past the hall. I gave her the faintest nod, the one that meant I heard you, I'll remember.

When I slipped into the hallway, Kai was waiting like a damn golden retriever. He leaned against the lockers, eyes wide, grinning like he'd just caught me with porn in my hands.

"Yo. Don't even lie. Something happened."

I glared at him. "Shut up, Kai."

He laughed so loud heads turned. "Oh my god, you're not denying it! You did....wait.....don't tell me it was with her."

I stopped dead. "Her?"

Kai wiggled his eyebrows. "New history teacher. Miss Hoshino. Bro, you disappeared after class and didn't come back till now. Don't play dumb."

My jaw tightened. "You think every woman who looks at me wants me."

He smirked. "Not every woman. Just the ones with tits. And, uh!" he leaned in close, whispering, "she was staring at you. Whole class saw it."

Before I could shove him into the lockers, Aki walked up, books under one arm, eyes flat, sharp. He didn't waste time.

"You know her."

The words cut clean, no hesitation.

I forced a scoff. "You're imagining things."

Aki's stare didn't move. His voice lowered. "No. I see the way you look at her. Like she's not a stranger."

The hallway noise faded under the weight of his words. For a moment it was just his eyes on me, dissecting me, dragging answers I didn't want to give.

Kai broke it with a laugh, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Man, relax! My boy Renji's just flustered 'cause hot teacher called his name out in front of class. Ain't that right, bro?"

I forced a grin, but Aki didn't buy it. His gaze lingered on me, sharp as knives, until the warning bell rang and we had to split for class.

But even then, I could feel it....

Kai buzzing like an idiot at my side.

Aki watching me like a hawk.

And Saki's eyes from earlier, burning in the back of my skull.

---

Lunch couldn't come fast enough.

Kai was already halfway across the cafeteria, waving like an idiot with two trays in his hands. "Renji! Bro, I got you curry bread before it sold out. You owe me your soul!"

I dropped into the seat across from him, trying not to look like my head was still full of Rika's trembling voice and Saki's impossible smile.

Kai shoved the bread toward me. "Eat. You look like you just got out of war."

If only he knew.

Aki slid in next, quiet as ever. His food untouched, his eyes steady. He didn't bother with small talk.

"You're hiding something."

Kai choked on his rice. "Bro, not again! Can't we have one normal meal without Detective Conan over here?"

But Aki didn't blink. He leaned in, voice low, cutting through the cafeteria noise. "She knows you. The new teacher. And you know her."

My jaw tightened. "Drop it."

Kai's eyes darted between us, nervous but curious. "Wait. Wait. You do know her?"

"Eat your food," I muttered.

Aki didn't move back. His stare was sharp, patient, like he was waiting for me to slip. "You're carrying yourself differently. Like she's not just a teacher to you."

The System's voice slid into my ear, velvet and smug:

> [Mmm, he's good. Sharp little bastard. Careful, soldier-boy. One more push and he'll peel you open.]

I crushed a piece of curry bread in my hand without meaning to. "She's just a teacher. End of story."

Kai whistled low. "Damn. You got defensive real fast. Kinda sus, bro. Kinda sus."

I shot him a glare. He grinned wider, unbothered.

Before Aki could press more, the cafeteria shifted. Heads turned, whispers spread.

Saki had walked in.

She carried herself like she owned the room, poised, confident, that white blouse hugging her curves just enough to shut down every conversation around her. A tray in her hands, glasses glinting in the light.

The air tightened. Every guy pretended not to stare. Every girl whispered about her hair, her skirt, her everything.

And me?

Her eyes found mine. Instantly.

She didn't smile this time. Just a flicker of acknowledgment, sharp, deliberate. Like she'd been looking for me in this sea of students, and now she'd found me.

The System purred, throaty, taunting:

[Ohhh, there it is. That stare. That hunger. She's not here for lunch, Renji. She's here for you.]

My pulse spiked. I forced myself to look away, but it was too late, Kai had already caught it.

"Yo." He jabbed my side, whispering like a maniac. "Why's she looking at you again? Bro, are you sure you don't know her? Because that's not a normal teacher look. That's like....'fuck me after school' look."

I almost broke his spoon in half.

And Aki?

He didn't say a word. But his eyes stayed locked on me, dark and calculating, like he'd just found his next lead.

Saki didn't sit with the other teachers.

No! She walked straight to the far end of the cafeteria, tray balanced in one hand, and took a seat alone. Calm. Composed. Untouchable.

Except her gaze never left me.

Every bite of curry rice, every lift of her glass, it was deliberate. Slow. Like she was testing how long I could stand it before breaking.

Kai was practically vibrating. "Renji. RENJI. Look at her. She's....oh my god. She's staring again. Bro, I swear if you're not hitting that already, you're a bigger idiot than I thought."

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you."

He grinned, unbothered. "So you are hitting that—"

"Kai." My voice dropped sharp enough to cut.

He blinked, then backed off with a laugh, though the gleam in his eyes said he'd never let it go.

Aki, meanwhile, hadn't touched his food. His gaze flicked from Saki to me, silent and heavy, like he was threading invisible lines between us.

"She's dangerous," he murmured.

Kai barked a laugh. "Dangerous? Bro, she's just hot!"

Aki didn't look away from me. "No. I don't mean for us. I mean for him."

The System cooed in my skull:

> [Mmm, soldier-boy, he's sharper than the rest. You'll have to decide soon—keep him in the dark or drag him into the fire. Either way, it'll burn.]

I forced a smirk, biting into my bread like nothing was wrong. "You two really love building soap operas around me. Relax. She's just a teacher."

But the words felt thin even as I said them.

Because across the room, Saki finally smiled.

Small. Private. Just for me.

And then she stood, gathering her tray. She didn't look at anyone else, didn't acknowledge the whispers or stares. She just walked past rows of tables until she reached ours.

The cafeteria went silent.

Kai's jaw dropped. Aki stiffened.

And me? My pulse went off like a bomb.

Saki stopped at the edge of the table. Her perfume hit first, warm, mature, devastating.

"Renji," she said softly, just loud enough for the three of us to hear.

Every head in the room snapped toward me.

"Come with me."

The cafeteria didn't breathe until Saki walked away.

Her heels clicked against the tile, each step slicing the silence, carrying her out through the staff door without so much as a glance back.

Only when the door swung shut did the chaos return—whispers, gasps, laughter, half-choked shrieks.

"Holy shit."

"She just—she literally—"

"Did she call him by name?"

"No way, no way, no way—"

Kai clutched my sleeve like I'd just been chosen for execution. Or the lottery. "Renji. BRO. What the actual fuck was that? The hottest teacher in the school just walked up to our table, in front of EVERYONE, and said come with me?!"

I shook him off, jaw locked, but the weight of a hundred stares pressed against me.

Aki was quieter, but no less sharp. His eyes followed the staff door long after it had closed. "She didn't call anyone else. Just you."

Kai barked a laugh, too loud, trying to cut the tension. "Dude, forget Batman—this is some James Bond shit! Tell me you're gonna follow her. Please. If you don't, I will. I'll switch seats with you for life!"

I didn't answer. My tray might as well have been empty because my appetite was gone, swallowed by the burn in my chest.

The System purred like smoke curling through my skull:

> [Mmm, the seeds are planted. The whole school saw it. The whispers, the gossip, the envy, this is how legends start, soldier-boy. She's not just your ghost anymore. She's your claim.]

I clenched my fork until the metal bent.

"Renji," Aki said suddenly, voice low, steady.

"Be careful."

For a second, his gaze softened. Not suspicion. Not rivalry. Something else. Like he already knew this wasn't just about a teacher, or a crush.

Like he saw the shadow under it.

Kai broke the moment with a howl, throwing his hands in the air. "Careful?! Bro, the only thing Renji needs to be careful about is lasting long enough if she drags him behind the staff room desk."

Laughter rippled across nearby tables, sharp and merciless, feeding the rumors already burning.

I stood, tray untouched. "I'm done."

The cafeteria parted around me, whispers nipping at my back, Kai yelling after me, Aki's silence heavier than both combined.

But no matter how far I walked, the echo followed.

Her voice. Her eyes.

"Come with me."

[P4/5]

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