Chapter 541: What’s a Good Name for the Kid?

Chapter 541: What’s a Good Name for the Kid?

“No, wait… I think I’ll just wait till Shizuka finishes her bath— Wait?!”

Before Himekoji could finish his sentence, Mama Shizuka had already, without pity, unlocked the bathroom door and shoved him inside.

The bathroom door had a lock, but there was a key outside that could open it…

Mama Shizuka was clearly prepared for this!

A loud PONG.

Himekoji stumbled inside, tumbling in, then immediately heard the sound of the door being locked behind him.

“Aah! Nngh…”

The Female Teacher clearly did not expect such a terrifying turn of events. Her startled yelp was quickly muffled by her own hand thrown over her mouth.

Probably because she was afraid Mama Shizuka outside might hear and suspect something about her relationship with Himekoji.

“Aah! Nngh…”

Himekoji’s reaction was almost identical to the Female Teacher’s. Eyes wide, he also clapped both hands firmly over his mouth.

“Instead of your mouth, cover your eyes first!”

Hiratsuka Shizuka glared at Himekoji, her wet hair plastered to her shoulders, her face beet-red. She looked like she wanted to gouge his eyes out.

“Oh! Oh, right! Good point!”

Himekoji, ever agreeable, moved the hands covering his mouth upwards to shield his eyes, leaving only a tiny peephole. Then, remembering something, he shot back,

“Sensei, why are you talking to me? Look at yourself! Aren’t you forgetting something? Instead of your mouth, there are other places you should be covering right now!”

His words jolted her awake!

Yes! Cover her chest! Cover her lower half!

Belatedly realizing this, Hiratsuka Shizuka scrambled to put it into action.

“Oh no! I don’t have enough hands!”

The pair up top were quite large. Covering them meant she couldn’t cover downstairs. Covering downstairs meant she couldn’t cover upstairs. She was frantically trying to cover all points, overwhelmed.

“Do you want to borrow my hands?”

Perhaps seeing such an intense view had fried his brain. Himekoji, as if possessed, made the suggestion and helpfully extended both his hands.

“Thank you! You can help me cover my chest then— Wait! Obviously not!”

Sensei Hiratsuka’s brain didn’t seem to be functioning well either at that moment, as she actually almost agreed!

Snapping back to reality, she realized her mistake. She whipped around, her back to him, furious that she had almost fallen for Himekoji’s trick.

“Hurry up and cover your eyes again! Do you want to die?!”

“Oh, okay.”

Slightly disappointed that he hadn’t succeeded, Himekoji obediently covered his eyes once more.

Well, for him, he had already managed to successfully collect “CGs” (mental images) from both the front and back views anyway.

“That’s right! You! Why didn’t you turn around?!”

Hiratsuka Shizuka drew new inspiration from how she herself was currently facing the wall.

Why not make Himekoji turn and face the wall too?!

“……”

Himekoji had to admit it was a good solution. Squinting through his fingers wasn’t going to work anymore.

All that was left was to listen to the sound of his teacher’s shower and imagine the scene himself…

It definitely tested his imagination.

…

“Sensei.”

After standing facing the wall for a while, Himekoji accidentally discovered a secret. He wanted to tell the Female Teacher about it. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, Sensei Hiratsuka cut him off first—

“Don’t talk to me while I’m showering!”

“……”

Fine, fine, you’re the teacher, you win.

Actually, the secret Himekoji wanted to tell Hiratsuka Shizuka was—

The wall he was facing in the bathroom… looked like it had a mirror hanging on it…

Which meant Sensei Hiratsuka, currently showering… was being reflected in it… incredibly clearly!

Fortunately, Himekoji was a gentleman.

He solemnly resolved deep in his heart not to look at that mirror at all!

Hmm…

Sensei’s figure is really amazing…

…

Taking a shower while someone of the opposite sex was nearby, and that someone being one of her students… this kind of nerve-wracking experience was definitely a first for Hiratsuka Shizuka.

Absolutely unprecedented!

Of course, whether there would be a ‘next time’ was unknown.

Her usual shower time of at least half an hour was ruthlessly compressed into a few minutes.

“Alright! Your turn!”

The Female Teacher tried hard to appear calm as she swapped places with Himekoji.

“Mhm, okay…”

Himekoji thought for a second. Better safe than sorry. He decided to shower with his back to Hiratsuka Shizuka.

Hiratsuka Shizuka focused intently on the wall. Perhaps because she’d just showered, or maybe from embarrassment, her entire body was flushed a rosy pink, looking soft and warm like fresh powder.

She stared blankly at the wall. After a few seconds, she suddenly noticed something was off—

Himekoji’s figure while showering… was reflected on the wall?!

No, reflected on the mirror attached to the wall!

The bathroom mirror! It was the bathroom mirror!

In her earlier state of utter mortification, she had completely forgotten the most essential fixture in any bathroom— the mirror!

It was a top-quality, imported German brand she had chosen herself! Excellent in every aspect: waterproof, rustproof, fog-proof! It offered crystal-clear, lifelike, brilliantly bright reflections!

In the mirror, she could see Himekoji… including clearly counting how many leg hairs he had…

Which meant…?

As that terrifying possibility dawned on her, Hiratsuka Shizuka felt her vision go black. It was as if the entire world was spinning.

She…

Was she afraid that… her entire showering process… might have been clearly visible to Himekoji?!

Her modesty as a woman! Her dignity as a teacher! Gone! All gone!

“Hi-me-ko-ji!”

Himekoji, guilty as sin, trembled violently the moment his name was bellowed.

“S-sensei?”

“I didn’t notice it before, but there’s actually a mirror here.”

Hiratsuka Shizuka stopped facing the wall. By now, any trace of rationality had vanished, replaced by furious embarrassment. She turned around, glaring daggers at Himekoji’s back and… lower regions.

“Eh? Mirror? What are you talking about, Sensei? Is there a bathroom mirror hanging? Oh, I had my eyes shut facing the wall, guess I didn’t see it, haha… Sensei has better eyes than me, clearly.”

Himekoji tried to bluff his way out.

“If you didn’t know there was a mirror, why on earth did you choose to shower with your back to it?!”

“I… uh… well, I just don’t feel comfortable pointing my… gun… at my teammates.”

Himekoji was scrambling desperately for excuses, sweat pouring down his forehead.

Sensei Hiratsuka, of course, didn’t believe a word of it. Believing that would be insane!

“Okay! So you don’t like pointing your gun at your teammate, huh? Then I’ll confiscate it right now!”

Himekoji was convinced Sensei Hiratsuka had lost her mind. Because after saying that, she actually launched herself at him!

Himekoji dodged frantically to the side, protesting loudly.

“It’s not my fault! Really not my fault! I didn’t hang the mirror! And! I actually wanted to tell you about it at the beginning! Remember? You said not to talk to you while you showered!”

Wasn’t this just unfair? Unfair?!

Unfortunately, Hiratsuka Shizuka didn’t care one whit about how ‘unfair’ it was.

Hah! Women! No matter how old they are, they never outgrow the habit of being unreasonable!

All Himekoji could do was scramble to the bathroom door and bang on it desperately, crying for help—

“Mom! Shizuka and I are done bathing! Open the door! Open the door! Open the door quick! Someone might die in here if you don’t!”

Mama Shizuka heard Himekoji’s shouting. She picked up the key and walked over. Then, just as she approached the door, she caught the second half of his desperate plea. Her footsteps suddenly halted.

“Someone dying… that sounds rather good. Very good.”

Murmuring this twice, Mama Shizuka smiled lightly. She turned and walked calmly back to the sofa. Settling herself back in place with the serenity of a sage, she continued cracking sunflower seeds and watching TV.

Her mind drifted casually to thoughts of—

What would be a good name for Shizuka and Akito’s kid…?

…

…