For a moment, I almost took back what I said about wanting to win Kanazawa-sensei’s heart honestly.
The clear outline of her body momentarily clouded my mind, shrouded in a fog of raging desire, making me even forget to breathe for a moment.
Through her thin camisole, my eyes were drawn to the peaks of her twin mounds and I saw her two clearly visible nipples. I blinked several times as I tried to keep my face calm.
‘This is dangerous.’
My normally steady heartbeat raced as Sensei’s footsteps drew closer, causing her breasts to sway. My body began to heat up as blood rushed to my groin.
“Kanzaki?”
The woman, who had arrived beside me, tilted her head. Her long, still-damp hair was tied into a bun, revealing her white, smooth neck—as if inviting me to suck on it and leave a mark of ownership.
A hint of soap and her natural scent blended together, creating a fragrance that made my pants twitch as if telling me, ‘Did you call me?’
‘No, no, It’s too soon, bud!’
Not wanting to arouse suspicion, I shook my head slowly and stood up. I pulled my jacket down, being careful not to reveal the bulge in my pants.
“Sensei, in that case, I’ll go take a shower first. Thank you.”
“Go ahead.”
I quickly left the room and went into the bathroom near the kitchen.
But as I stepped inside, the desire I tried to suppress with a cold shower came back to bite me. My nose twitched, catching the scent of Sensei’s womanly sweat wafting from the basket on top of the washing machine.
I swallowed hard; inside were a black sweater and a tight beige skirt she’d just worn on our ride home.
From the pile, I faintly made out a pink lace bra. My hand unknowingly reached out, trying to grab the item with trembling, cold fingertips.
I pulled out the garment that supported Sensei’s two large breasts and said,
‘Thank you for your hard work; it must be heavy for you to carry that all day.’
Without realizing it, those words slipped out of my mouth. I held the cup, my eyes widening as I realized just how huge this thing was—it didn’t even fit in the palm of my hand.
The scent of her body lingered heavily in this single piece of clothing; it was both alluring and poisonous, like sweet nectar.
I swallowed hard, bringing the bra closer to my face, but paused for a moment, realizing how warped my thoughts were.
‘No, no, I can just enjoy the real thing.’
I pulled my face away from that pink thing, but my hand betrayed me, bringing the used bra to my face as I took a deep breath.
“Ah, damn it.”
After I had my fill of the scent, I put the item back, feeling crestfallen.
I didn’t know when I became such a pervert; my behavior was that of a virgin, a title I had clearly shed long ago. I shook my head, took off my top, and was about to toss it into the same laundry basket.
This time, my dark eyes fell on another piece of pink fabric—a pair of pink panties with lace.
“Kanzaki!”
My body tensed when I heard my name being called; then the bathroom door swung open, revealing Kanazawa-sensei stepping in and chuckling as she saw me standing there, covering my breasts with my hands.
“Sensei, what’s up?”
“I forgot to tell you where the towels are.”
The woman walked closer without a care in the world. She opened one of the cabinet's twin doors mounted on the wall over the washing machine, and took out a thick white towel that felt soft to the touch.
“Here. Your clothes are in this cabinet.” Sensei pointed toward the other door, then continued.
“Also feel free to use the soap and shampoo, so take your time.”
Kanazawa-sensei walked out and gently closed the bathroom door. A second later, my legs began to tremble.
I rested my hand onto the machine to keep from collapsing. My heart was pounding so hard that the sound of it was actually echoing in my ear.
‘Phew, that was a close call...’
I took a deep breath and stayed still for a moment until I felt calm. Then I took off my remaining clothes and walked into the bathroom with my head down.
‘Wait, Sensei didn’t see my erection, did she?’
Now another worry was starting to gnaw at my mind. Well, forget it—I had to figure out how to complete my mission instead of getting distracted by other things.
I spent my shower time using cold water; it proved effective at cooling down my body and making my erection subside for a while.
Soon, I stepped out of the bathroom, wearing the pink pajamas Sensei had prepared for me.
The door behind me closed with a “thud,” and my calm expression suddenly furrowed as I caught the sharp scent of alcohol wafting through the room.
My gaze fell on the source—in the living room, sitting on the sofa, Kanazawa-sensei was holding a can of beer in her hand; the atmosphere around her seemed somber, even gloomy.
My feet moved on their own, walking closer to the woman who seemed to feel as though her life in this world was filled with nothing but loneliness.
“Kanzaki, are you done?”
Before I could call out to her, the woman greeted me in a soft tone.
It was different from before, when she had been staggering. But this time, I didn’t see any of that at all.
Kanazawa-sensei was the picture of a sane person with strong reasoning; I even saw a hint of cold rationality beneath her suppressed anger.
At first, I wasn’t sure what to do, but when I spotted a glass of iced barley tea on the table, I sat down next to the woman.
“Sensei, is something bothering you?”
Not wanting to drag the conversation out, I cut straight to the chase, hoping to win her over.
‘I hope this approach works.’
***
(Iroha’s POV)
Iroha paused for a moment, her left hand twirling the can she’d taken from the fridge. The cold biting into her skin had the perfect effect of suppressing her jumbled emotions.
Lately—no, perhaps for quite a long time now—her husband, who was supposed to be home, had stopped coming. His excuse was that he was busy at the office.
She knew her husband was a fairly successful businessman, and his company was quite large. At first, she thought he was working on a new long-term project, which was why he was rarely home.
But what started as just two days a week turned into three, then four, and eventually stretched into months.
‘Two months, huh,’ Iroha thought, chuckling to herself.
“Sensei?”
She startled when a soft, worried voice came from beside her.
Iroha glanced at her student, who had changed. She thought; ‘Why did I bring this girl to my house?’
She remembered when they first met; this girl had seemed timid and obedient, with a gentle smile.
Then, the woman heard that someone was bullying Kanzaki on campus, but because she didn’t have proof of it and never saw it herself, her hands were tied and couldn’t do anything to back her suspicions.
The verbal abuse her student endured gradually turned her once gentle expression dark. And that made her feel guilty as a professor.
Iroha tried various ways to cheer her up and kept encouraging Kanzaki every time they met, but something had changed inside the girl.
For some reason, her reserved nature had reversed. She had become a firm person and even dared to stand up to others in an attempt to protect someone.
Recalling what had just happened brought a smile to her stiff face, which looked as cold as a lifeless doll.
“It’s nothing, really—I’m just thinking about something.”
Iroha shook her head. The problem she carried wasn’t something to be shared with others; let her bear the burden alone.
She brought the beer can to her mouth, took a few sips, and then set it down.
“Could this have something to do with Sensei’s husband?”
A ‘crack’ could be heard in the silent room; Iroha realized it came from the beer can she was clutching tightly.
Her frozen heartbeat—chilled by the loneliness enveloping her—began to beat again, reawakening the emotions she had long held back.
She didn’t know when or how the news could have reached a student. Even among the other professors on campus, only Kagura-sensei—her friend—knew. No one else did.
So how could a student who had absolutely no connection to Iroha’s life possibly know?
Slowly, the pounding in her chest ignited a fire of anger that had long been contained; now it blazed wildly, even ferociously, burning away her common sense.
Her hand clenched into a fist, producing a ‘crack’ as the can crumpled. A sharp glint flashed in the woman’s eyes, signaling cold fury. And she directed it at her student.
Seeing Kanzaki flinch, Iroha’s expression slowly hardened, and she opened her mouth.
“Don’t you dare continue this conversation.”
Saying this in a cold tone made her chest feel tight, as if it were being squeezed by guilt for venting her anger on someone else.
Iroha blinked several times, returning to calm. She let out a long sigh, her stiffened body loosened its tension. She bit her lip and spoke in a soft, regretful tone.
“I’m sorry for raising my voice.”
She took a deep breath, then looked up, trying to put on a cheerful face and a small smile.
“Listen, Kanzaki, you shouldn’t say such strange things… oh, right, what about the assignment Sensei gave you? Did you…”
Before Iroha could finish her sentence, Kanzaki took her hand. She could feel the warmth she had longed for—the presence of another person in her life.
“Sensei, I’m sorry for saying hurtful things. But I can’t stand by and watch someone so important to me. Someone who’s always supported me through hard times, suffering right before me.”
Kanzaki’s warm hand squeezed hers tightly, causing Iroha to choke up and look down.
“What are you talking about? Sensei is just fine.”
Iroha felt as though the words she had spoken had turned into a knife that sliced through her own heart.
Ever since her husband left her, she had kept asking herself: Why? What was wrong with her? Was she not kind enough, or was she too demanding?
All those questions swirled in her head, creating a black tornado that slowly sucked her emotions into a bottomless abyss.
That was why, lately, Iroha had often been drinking heavily with Kagura-sensei in an attempt to forget this loneliness.
However, forgetting doesn’t mean healing; in fact, the hole in her heart keeps getting bigger and wider. And she doesn’t know what to do about it.
“That’s a lie. Then why is Sensei crying right now?”
Kanzaki’s words snapped her out of her reverie. Iroha looked up, realizing her vision was blurry and feeling tears streaming down her cheeks.
She blinked a few times, causing the tears gathered in her eyes to fall and wet her face.
“Areeh, why? Why am I crying?”
Without any warning, Iroha felt her body being pulled hard by Kanzaki. She was buried against the girl’s chest.
The woman’s eyes widened, unsure what had made her worthy of such a hug from her student.
She intended to pull away, but her hands betrayed her own thoughts, clutching Kanzaki’s clothes.
“Sensei, listen to me. Back when I was being bullied on campus, you were the only one who tried to comfort me. Even though it was my own fault for not having the courage to speak up.”
Iroha gasped in shock. It turned out that Kanzaki had indeed been bullied in the past, and the culprits must have been members of that certain group.
“Back then, I was so grateful to you. Thanks to you, I still had a reason to keep living, going to college to learn from you, working part-time to support myself, and to keep fighting...”
She felt Kanzaki’s hand around her back tighten; the warmth of their bodies melding together began to melt the ice that had frozen her heart.
Kanzaki’s rapid heartbeat felt like a soothing melody, and its rhythm began to resonate with her own.
Iroha’s hand pulled Kanzaki closer, as if craving more than just this comforting warmth.
“So, Sensei.”
Iroha shifted her head slightly, peeking up from her student’s chest and watching Kanzaki smile broadly.
“Sensei isn’t alone, so be cheerful as usual. I love how Sensei is strict with students yet warm at the same time. It makes me excited to come to your class and happy to listen to your talk for hours on end.”
Kanzaki added that last sentence in a joking tone, which made Iroha chuckle softly. She then pressed her face against her student’s modest chest.
‘Why? Why, why, why?’
That word kept repeating in the woman’s head. For years she had been a good wife and tried everything to please her husband. But all she had received in return was betrayal...
‘...Mou, …I don’t care anymore.’
Iroha whispered those words to herself, as if cutting the ties that bound her to her husband, and for the first time, she felt free.
Iroha let the beer can slip from her grasp, landing on the carpet with a dull ‘thud’ and spilling its contents.
The dam holding back her emotions burst, causing her to cry loudly in her student’s arms until, at some point, she could no longer remember what happened next.