Chapter 6: Emergency Staff Meeting: The Harem Rumor

Faculty Room – After School

The mood was grim. Like someone had died.

Except, no one was dead — unless you counted Takeshi Zakaki’s patience, which had flatlined about ten minutes ago.

He sat slouched in a leather chair at the center of the long faculty table, shirt wrinkled, cigarette dangling unlit between two fingers. Around him sat half a dozen teachers, all looking at him like he’d burned down a shrine.

At the head of the table, the Vice Principal — a balding man who smelled faintly of cheap cologne and power trips — cleared his throat.

“Zakaki-sensei,” he began, voice heavy with unnecessary drama, “do you know why we’ve called you here?”

Zako exhaled slowly. “Because you love my company?”

Murmurs rippled through the room. A male P.E. teacher slammed his palm on the table. “Don’t get smart with us! The entire school is buzzing with a rumor that you—”

“—are running a harem of second-year students,” finished the Vice Principal, eyes narrowing.

Dead silence.

Zako blinked once. Then twice. Then rubbed the bridge of his nose and muttered, “…God, I hate teenagers.”

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Meanwhile – Outside the Window

Three heads popped up behind the half-open window, hidden poorly by the curtains.

Mitsumi whispered furiously, “H-HAREM?! Who started that rumor?!”

“You, probably,” Minami murmured, adjusting her glasses. “Leaving love charms in lockers tends to trigger gossip.”

Chihiro smirked. “Don’t forget your little ‘Forbidden Desires’ stunt, Miss Ice Queen.”

“At least I didn’t flash a love confession across my boobs,” Minami shot back, voice cool but sharp.

“Girls!” Mitsumi hissed, cheeks red. “Focus! Sensei’s in trouble!”

They pressed closer to the glass, breaths fogging it slightly as they watched the storm brew inside.

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Back in the Meeting

The Vice Principal steepled his fingers like a budget Bond villain. “Care to explain why three of your students are acting… unusually familiar with you, Zakaki-sensei?”

Zako took a long sip from his coffee can, unbothered. “Kids have imaginations. That’s why they’re kids.”

“Imagination doesn’t write I ♥ Takkun on a gym shirt!” barked the Math teacher, his face turning tomato-red.

“Nor does it plant personal items in your locker,” added another.

Zako yawned. Actually yawned. Right in their faces.

“Look,” he said lazily, “I’m flattered. Really. But I’m too tired to seduce anyone. You want me to seduce someone? I need, like, three naps and a nicotine patch first.”

Several female teachers stifled giggles. The Literature teacher actually bit her lip, whispering, “...God, he’s shameless.”

Male staff, however, were practically vibrating with rage.

“This is serious, Zakaki!” the Vice Principal thundered. “If this gets out, the board will—”

“Relax,” Zako cut in, finally standing. His height and calm aura immediately silenced the room. “If I were actually doing something inappropriate, do you think I’d leave witnesses? I’m lazy, not suicidal.”

A stunned beat of silence followed.

Then, as if to nail the coffin shut, he added, “Also, if anyone here genuinely thinks I have the energy to juggle three teenage girls, you’re giving me way too much credit.”

One of the younger female teachers burst into laughter. “He’s got a point.”

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The Bluff

Zako leaned forward slightly, voice dropping just enough to sound serious. “If this escalates, the media eats us alive. The school loses funding. Enrollment drops. Parents riot. You really want to risk all that over a rumor?”

The Vice Principal opened his mouth. Closed it. Sweat trickled down his forehead.

“...Well,” he coughed, “as long as you maintain… distance.”

“Done,” Zako said, already heading for the door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a cigarette waiting for me and a strong desire to ignore all of you.”

He left without a single glance back.

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Outside the Window – Ecchi Chaos

“Whoa…” Chihiro whispered, eyes sparkling. “Did you see that? He’s like… a mafia boss. So hot.”

Mitsumi clutched her chest. “Damn it, why does he have to sound so cool even when he’s in trouble?!”

Minami’s lips curled into a faint smile. “He handled it well. But this means they’ll watch him more closely.”

“And us too,” Chihiro added cheerfully. “Guess we’ll just have to get better at hiding~.”

“Or,” Mitsumi snapped, “we could stop doing stuff that gets him in trouble?!”

“Boring,” Chihiro said.

Minami adjusted her glasses, voice soft as frost. “It’s not over. This changes nothing. If anything…” Her eyes gleamed dangerously behind the glass. “…the game just got harder.”

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Rooftop – Later

Zako stood at the edge, cigarette glowing faintly against the setting sun. The city spread out like a sea of dying embers.

He took a slow drag and muttered, “…Kids are going to kill me.”

Footsteps behind him. Three sets. He didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

“Sensei,” Mitsumi started, voice sharp but laced with something else. “We heard everything—”

“Not surprised,” he said flatly. “You three are louder than a damn brass band.”

They froze.

He exhaled smoke without looking back. “Whatever stupid rivalry you’re cooking up? Stop. I’m not playing referee in a love triangle.”

“Square,” Chihiro corrected, grinning.

Zako’s eye twitched. “...Square, triangle, pentagon, whatever. Just behave.”

And with that, he walked away, leaving three girls simmering under the orange glow of sunset.

Mitsumi clenched her fists. “Ugh! He’s so infuriating—why does that make him hotter?!”

Chihiro giggled. “Because forbidden love is spicy.”

Minami whispered to herself: You’ll understand soon. You’ll belong to me.

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