Nao didn't tell anyone else about what happened in Yashio, neither did Kao. Of course, the guys were eager to find out, but they had to accept Nao's silence. The atmosphere on Monday at school was gloomy anyway. Okuma and the others still refused to participate in Yankumi's job hunt sessions. The teacher did her best to encourage everyone to write application letters and to practice for job interviews, but she had a cold and was not as hyper as usually.
"I bet she got ill from running around all night", Kuraki whispered as Yankumi was constantly coughing while trying to explain some formulas.
"What do you mean?", Ichi asked. Kuraki leaned in with a conspiratorially look on his face:
"I saw her the other day. She was running around different workplaces, begging them to let her students introduce themselves."
"Now way, what is she up to this time?", Kengo wondered.
"She only wants the best for all of us", Ichi answered, "she's the craziest yet the best teacher we ever had."
"That's right, Yankumi cares for us a lot", Ren agreed, "that's why it's really annoying that some people here don't seem to get her good intentions." He glared at the guys who they quarreled with, the day before.
"Don't forget that we were like that in the beginning to", Ichi reminded him.
"Guys, stop talking!", Yamaguchi- sensei exclaimed as her eyes scanned the classroom.
"And you over there, don't sleep during lesson", she pointed at a guy in the back of the room. He was lying on his desk with his face down and veiled in a blue hoodie. He didn't even react when the teacher called out to him.
"Oi, I'm talking to you", she impatiently tapped her finger on her desk, but he still didn't react.
"He doesn't even wear his uniform. Do you know who this is?", Yankumi asked her class. Everyone shook their heads.
"I didn't even know that someone was sitting over there", Kengo admitted. Yankumi seemed to be perplexed.
"Could it be that I forgot about another student again?", she whispered to herself, "no, no, that can't be. I carefully checked the class list this time. Maybe, my eyes are getting worse." She took off her glasses and cleaned them with the hem of her jacket.
"Don't worry your eyes are still the same, just like your ignorance", the boys sleeping in the back seat started to move. He lifted his head and stretched his arms while having a good yawn. In the process, his hoodie came off and uncovered a bunch of messy, red hair. His facial features were really defined but still manly. Even as someone not interested in men, Nao had to admit that he was quite handsome.
Yankumi's mouth was wide agape while she just stared at him dumbfounded.
"Who is this?", someone asked.
"Dunno", his neighbor shrugged his shoulders "never seen him before."
Nao sized the red-haired guy up. She also didn't know him. He wasn't a student nor a teacher at this school. He looked tired as if he didn't get a lot of sleep last night.
"Sa- Sawada?", Yankumi finally uttered in disbelief. She blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing right.
"You know him, Yankumi?", Yamato questionably looked at the teacher. Yamaguchi didn't answer, but a warm smile formed on her lips:
"You should've told me you were coming, Sawada. I'm always happy to see my cute, little students all grown up."
Sawada frowned:
"You know, I'm not your student anymore."
"Of course, you are", Yankumi exclaimed and walked over to him to ruffle his hair, "you'll always be my student, Sawada." However, he stopped her by clutching her hand. The look on his face suddenly was more intensive and demanding than before.
