COTE : Backed By Black Technology System

After leaving the student council room, Kanda Shuichi returned to the dormitory and saw Katsuragi Kohei sitting on the sofa in the lobby, sighing.

When Kanda Shuichi came in, Katsuragi immediately stood up.

"I've been waiting for you. Sorry for making you do strange things today."

"No, it's fine. I said it was an apology." Kanda Shuichi shook his head. "But are you just going to give up?"

"I have no choice. Since the school doesn't allow it, I have to give up." Katsuragi shook his head. Although he was unwilling, he decided to follow the school rules.

What a rule-abiding student. That's why he and Ryuen teamed up to mess with him so badly.

"Let's not talk about that. Katsuragi, what do you think of Mashima-sensei?"

"Mashima-sensei?" Katsuragi was surprised but started thinking and answered, "Mashima-sensei is very honest and cares a lot about students. He's a good teacher."

Cares a lot about students, huh? That should work.

"Can you contact Mashima-sensei?"

"Are you asking me to seek help from Mashima-sensei? That's impossible. Mashima-sensei would never help students break the rules."

After thinking it through, Katsuragi immediately rejected Kanda Shuichi's suggestion.

"What's the harm in trying? Besides, I didn't say we should ask Mashima-sensei for help. Just don't tell him what it's about yet, just arrange a meeting first."

Kanda Shuichi smiled, making Katsuragi Kohei feel uneasy.

But thinking of his lonely sister, Katsuragi took out his phone and made the call.

"Mashima-sensei, this is Katsuragi. I'm very sorry to bother you during the holiday, but actually..."

A few minutes later, Katsuragi had arranged a meeting with Mashima-sensei, but as Kanda Shuichi requested, he didn't mention what it was about.

"How did it go?"

"Mashima-sensei asked me to meet him at school at 10 AM tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll go with you to school tomorrow."

Katsuragi hesitated, then nodded, not refusing.

After a day of running around, Kanda Shuichi collapsed on his bed, not wanting to move. If Kushida hadn't knocked on his door in the evening, he would have stayed in bed until dinner.

"Looks like you've had a tiring day."

Seeing Kanda Shuichi flop back onto the bed after opening the door, Kushida Kikyo sat on the edge of the bed without hesitation and looked at him.

"Yeah, you could say I walked all day. It feels like I've walked more today than I have since I got back."

Kanda Shuichi said weakly.

"Really? Did you gain anything?"

"Well, sort of." Kanda Shuichi turned over, lying on his side to look at Kushida sitting on the bed. "Katsuragi's gift isn't for a love interest, but for his twin sister outside of school."

"His twin sister? Outside of school?"

Kushida looked surprised, maybe because she didn't have siblings close in age, so she was curious about this relationship.

Seeing Kushida like this, Kanda Shuichi also started to wonder. Come to think of it, I don't know much about her family either.

"Yeah, he's been wearing his school uniform these past two days, right? It's actually to see if the student council president can help him send a gift to his sister through the school, but unfortunately, it didn't work. The school rules can't be broken."

Kushida nodded silently, then looked at Kanda Shuichi.

"So you're planning to help him?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

Kanda Shuichi looked surprised. How did you guess that?

Are you a mind reader?

Or do you have a time-traveling TV?

"After all, you're the most gentle guy in Class D." Kushida squinted and smiled. It was sweet, but it didn't feel fake.

But, what's going on with you?

Are you trying to win me over?

"Yes, you guessed it." Kanda Shuichi sighed. "Actually, I have a sister too. Although I've never met her, I felt a connection when Katsuragi talked about his sister."

"Shuichi, you have a sister?"

This was the first time Kushida heard Kanda Shuichi talk about his family.

"Yes." Kanda Shuichi smiled and then sat up. "Alright, let's get ready for dinner. What do you want to eat tonight?"

Since it was already dinner time, he decided to treat Kushida to a meal.

Seeing that Kanda Shuichi didn't want to talk about his family, Kushida had no choice but to change the topic to dinner.

"I'm fine with anything."

Anything, huh? That's the hardest choice, you dummy.

"Can you eat spicy food?"

"Spicy? I think I can handle it."

Kushida tilted her head and gave an uncertain answer.

"Then let's make something simple, like green pepper beef rice."

It turned out that Japanese peppers weren't spicy at all. At least, the ones Kanda Shuichi bought weren't spicy.

After dinner, Kushida helped Kanda Shuichi wash the dishes and then left, making Kanda Shuichi feel like something was missing.

Oh, right.

She didn't complain about Horikita today.

The next morning, Kanda Shuichi met Katsuragi in the dorm lobby, and they headed to the school again.

The meeting place was the counseling room.

Yes, the same place where Chabashira-sensei had called him before. The main difference from the teacher's office was that there were no cameras.

This meant that Mashima-sensei had already considered that what Katsuragi wanted to discuss might be sensitive, so he chose this place.

"Knock, knock! Excuse me!"

After knocking on the door, Katsuragi spoke loudly.

"Come in, Katsuragi."

The voice of Class A's homeroom teacher, Mashima Tomonari, came from inside.

With permission, Katsuragi opened the door and walked in, with Kanda Shuichi following closely.

"Mashima-sensei, I'm sorry to bother you during the summer break."

Upon seeing Mashima, Katsuragi immediately bowed apologetically.

"No need to apologize. It's a teacher's job to help students with their problems." Mashima Tomonari shook his head. "But why is there a student from another class here?"

"Actually, I have a favor to ask of Mashima-sensei."

Kanda Shuichi stepped forward, bowed to Mashima-sensei, and smiled.

"If you have a request, you should go to Chabashira. Given how much she values you, she probably wouldn't refuse as long as your request isn't excessive."

Mashima Tomonari shook his head, directly rejecting Kanda Shuichi's request.

"No, I just want Mashima-sensei to listen to a story."

"A story?"

Mashima frowned, and Katsuragi looked puzzled.

"If Mashima-sensei is willing to listen, I'll start."

Mashima Tomonari nodded. Listening to a story shouldn't be a problem, right?

Then Kanda Shuichi began.

"Once upon a time, there were twins. The brother was named Katsuragi Kohei, and the sister was named Katsuragi Yukie..."

As soon as Kanda Shuichi started speaking, Mashima looked at Katsuragi Kohei, who was frowning, clearly not expecting this turn of events.

Kanda Shuichi continued his exaggerated storytelling, but Mashima's expression grew increasingly strange.

"Later, the twins' grandparents and parents passed away one after another. The siblings stayed with relatives. To lessen the burden on their relatives, the brother went to a tuition-free school.

But the school's rules were very strict, and he couldn't contact the outside world. He couldn't even send a birthday gift to his sickly sister..."

At this point, Kanda Shuichi deliberately glanced at the shopping bag in Katsuragi's hand.

"But when the brother was feeling very sad and disappointed, his very caring homeroom teacher somehow found out about this and secretly sent a birthday gift to his sister..."

Fake, too fake!

Has anyone ever told you that your acting is over the top?

"Ahem, Mashima-sensei, my story is over. What do you think of it?"

Not much!

Mashima wanted to shout, but the person the story was based on was standing right there, so he couldn't say it out loud.

And are you trying to morally pressure me? Katsuragi is too honest to come up with such an idea.

Mashima immediately realized that this plan was Kanda Shuichi's idea.

The goal was to get Mashima to help voluntarily.

As a teacher, he could move freely.

And as a teacher who cares about students, it's normal to help when he knows a student is in trouble, right?

No matter the country, there are always teachers with high moral standards.

So, getting Mashima-sensei to help wasn't hard, as long as he knew about it.

Because Katsuragi couldn't ask for help, and Kanda Shuichi couldn't directly ask Mashima-sensei for help, or even mention it.

If Mashima voluntarily cared for the student and sent a birthday gift to the student's sister, no one could find fault with it. The school might even give him an award for being an excellent teacher.

But if Katsuragi asked Mashima for help, it would be different—it would be a teacher helping a student break the rules.

So, it all depended on Mashima-sensei's response.

"The story is touching but too cliché." Mashima stood up. "And I had planned to sent Katsuragi's sister's gift before Katsuragi told me."

Moral pressure successful!

But anyway, Mashima-sensei, you are a good teacher.

Katsuragi pursed his lips and bowed silently to Mashima, clearly understanding that some things couldn't be said out loud.

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