Chapter 1 – Hiratsuka Suzuna

Is this… maybe not a dream after all?

The location was the student guidance room after school. A cramped little space of barely six tatami mats. Sunset light filtered through the closed blinds, and from somewhere outside came the voices of students caught up in their club activities.

What could be heard was the scratch of a pen racing across notebook paper, my heart pounding like it was about to burst, and then—

“How are you feeling? Takamura-kun?”

It was only the voice of the girl right in front of me—Hiratsuka Suzuna.

“Uh… yeah, I’m fine…”

“I see. That’s good. Let’s wrap this up quick so we can head home, okay?”

Saying that, she flashed a bright smile. I hurriedly looked down. I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes directly.

Hiratsuka had a beautiful appearance.

Long brownish hair that flowed all the way down to her waist.

Healthy, firm, supple skin. Even through her uniform, you could tell how full and voluptuous her breasts were, paired with legs as lithe and graceful as a gazelle’s.

Large, sparkling eyes and a straight, elegant nose.

She wasn’t quite at the level of an untouchable peerless beauty, but she had the kind of looks that made plenty of guys turn their heads.

That was Hiratsuka Suzuna.

On top of that, she had top-tier grades, outstanding athletic ability as a member of the track and field club, and she was kind to everyone without playing favorites—bright, friendly, and easy to talk to. She was the school’s idol.

In contrast, I—Yuichi Takamura—was the complete opposite.

I was more the gloomy type, not great at socializing. My grades were average at best, I wasn’t in any clubs, just your classic go-home club member. The kind of ordinary 16-year-old second-year high schooler who goofed around with a small circle of friends and called it a day.

That was the full extent of who I was.

Compared to Hiratsuka, I was worlds apart—the top of the school caste system versus the very bottom. The gap was huge.

The reason someone like me ended up alone with Hiratsuka in a place like this had a deeper story behind it.

It all started the day I got called out by Onizuka Chizuko-sensei, the English teacher.

The reason was simple: I’d scored a failing mark on the midterm.

My grades were never great to begin with, but English was on a whole other level of terrible. Not just below average—failing was basically guaranteed. I was the top contender for dead last in the entire grade.

This time, my score was especially dismal, so I received a personal summons straight from Onizuka-sensei herself.

Onizuka-sensei was over thirty but still single, with an intellectual face that looked great in glasses, an air of mature composure, and a voluptuous figure. She had a huge following among guys who were into older women.

And that same teacher had suddenly announced she would be holding special remedial lessons. I actually got a little hopeful.

But what was waiting for me went way beyond anything I could have imagined.

After school, I headed for the classroom she’d designated—the one called the Special Guidance Room. The name sounded fancy, but it was really just a small classroom tucked away in the rarely-used North Wing, far from the main building. The inside was pretty much identical to any normal classroom.

The North Wing didn’t get much foot traffic, so it was the perfect isolated spot for one-on-one tutoring like this.

I arrived right on time.

I took a deep breath and stepped inside.

And there were Onizuka-sensei… and Hiratsuka Suzuna.

“…Ah, I’m done.”

I looked up and handed her the printout. Hiratsuka took it from me, scanned it over, and started marking ○ and × with a red pen.

“Yeah. I think this is fine for today. Good work.”

Hiratsuka smiled brightly as she showed me the graded sheet.

I took it back, doing my best to look calm.

She was filling in for the busy Onizuka-sensei and sitting in on my remedial sessions. That was the current situation with Hiratsuka.

I’d work on the assignments Onizuka-sensei handed out, and Hiratsuka would grade them. She was acting as both substitute teacher and supervisor.

The deal was for five days of these sessions. Do them properly, and I’d get the credits.

She was supposed to be busy with track practice, yet just because we were in the same class, she’d taken on this extra role.

Was she trying to score points with the teacher? Or was it just her good-girl image? Any cynical thoughts like that vanished the moment she smiled.

It was one of those moments that made you realize Hiratsuka Suzuna really was the perfect honor student.

And now I was completely alone with her.

There wasn’t a guy alive whose pulse wouldn’t race in this situation.

“Well then, I’m off to the club. See you tomorrow, Takamura-kun.”

“Ah, yeah…”

Of course, someone like me was nowhere near her league, and whenever she was right in front of me, I’d freeze up and stumble over my words.

“Tomorrow’s the last day, so let’s give it our best!”

With a smile, she waved, then left the special guidance room.

“…Sigh… Tomorrow, huh…”

But tomorrow this blissful time would be over. The remedial only ran until tomorrow. Once it ended, we’d both go back to our normal lives.

Still… Hiratsuka had been really cute today. And I could have sworn I caught a nice scent coming from her…

I started getting ready to head home, thoughts like that drifting through my head.

…

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“How is he?”

“…Just as you said, Sensei, I think he has the aptitude.”

“Then we’re doing it?”

“Yes. Tomorrow. I’ll test him out.”

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