Just I want to recover my normal student life!

Ayumu stopped in front of the bus station doors, carrying his luggage. His eyes locked onto Masami, who was leaning against the wall next to the automatic glass doors. She showed him a sad smile.

‘It seems like this is where we say goodbye,’ she said.

‘Have you been waiting here?’ Ayu asked, puzzled.

‘Well, I have little to do today. Classes have been suspended because our teacher got beaten up,’ she snickered lightly. ‘Besides, I’ll probably get expelled for helping a certain guy.’ A thought flashed through her mind. ‘Oh, right!’ she asserted, rummaging in her pocket and pulling out Ayumu’s phone. ‘There’s someone who’ll be glad to know you’re in one piece.’

‘I thought I had lost it!’ Ayumu reached out and took his phone.

‘Ayuuuu!’ Ai whimpered. The female avatar was crying profusely, and both of them looked at her. ‘Thank goodness you’re okay.’ She said through sobs. ‘If something had happened to you, I... I...’

‘Okay, okay... I’m fine, as you can see,’ Ayumu snickered weakly.

‘Mom was right!’ She raised her voice in anger. ‘I won’t allow you to leave home again! You do not know how worried you’ve made me! I almost had a heart attack when I heard something might happen to you!’

‘Well, I’ve already told you, I’m fine,’ he reiterated. Sakai clapped his hands, drawing their attention.

‘I know I promised you, but at least...’ Masami’s expression turned sour. ‘Are you heartless!?’

‘I haven’t kept my promise,’ Sakai admitted.

‘What?’ Ai looked confused.

‘What promise is he referring to?’ Ayumu also asked, perplexed.

‘I promised that if she brought you out safe and sound, I’d stay with her temporarily,’ Ai notified him.

‘Yes, but it wasn’t me who got you out safe and sound.’ Sakai stepped away from the wall. ‘In the end, it was you who saved me from those two…’ she said, leaning in to give Ayumu a gentle kiss on the cheek. The boy blushed, and Ai got angry.

‘Hey! What do you think you’re doing!?’ Sakai smiled and backed away with closed eyes. ‘Come back here, I haven’t finished arguing with you!’

‘Yes, yes... He is all yours,’ Sakai responded teasingly.

‘Of course, I won’t lose him again!’ Ai stuck her tongue out. Ayumu touched his cheek and turned to Sakai, who was slowly walking away.

‘Now that I think about it, I wonder what happened to Akina and Haruna.’ She pondered aloud. ‘Oh well, I’m sure they’re fine. All foolish people have luck.’ Masami’s voice faded into the distance as she walked away. Ayu remained motionless, watching her until Ai cleared her throat.

‘You’re not thinking of cheating to me, are you?’ Ai commented suspiciously. ‘You damn womanising pervert... And here I am worried about you... You are an idiot.’

‘But...’ Ai disappeared from the screen, and then a typing indicator appeared: Ai is typing.

‘Idiot, idiot, idiot!!!’ flooded the screen again. Ayu sighed and turned off the phone.

‘And here we go again...’ he said out loud. The bus driver's smoking and leaning on the counter surprised Ayumu at the bus station. Ayu glanced at him but just sat down.

‘Well, young man...’ the driver said. ‘Only a few hours have passed, but it feels like a lifetime...’ He burst into laughter.

‘Did you know?’ Ayumu seemed to hesitate.

‘I know many things, kid.’ After noticing the hand mark, the driver took a drag from his cigarette before speaking to the boy again. ‘Nice tattoo... maybe a bit too visible, don’t you think?’ He snickered again. ‘It’s usually worn in a more subtle way. Seems like you’ve met someone interesting, huh?’

‘Perhaps too many people,’ Ayumu acknowledged seriously. The driver showed a somewhat sinister smile.

‘You know, the other day I saw a stunning girl with unruly black hair and amber eyes, wearing a striking red bow on her head, leaving her in tears.’ the driver’s eyes flashed, looking warning. ‘Seems like she was deeply disappointed with a certain pervert.’ He paused for a moment and then asked, ‘Was it you, by any chance, who made her cry, Ayumu...?’ The room felt unsafe. An eerie silence filled the space between them. Ayumu glanced at the glass door, calculating his escape time. The driver disappeared, and with the threat gone, he looked back at him.

‘Onii-chan was planning to leave without fulfilling his promise,’ Natsume’s childish voice resonated in the air. Ayu turned astonished towards the girl with long silver hair. Natsume pouted. ‘You’re so rude, Onii-chan!’

‘When did you...?’ Ayu seemed perplexed, but then he remembered where he was and shook his head. ‘Well, never mind...’

‘Eh?’ Natsume looked curious. ‘What doesn’t matter?’

‘You’re a witch, right...?’ Ayu asked.

‘Oh!’ Natsume acted surprised. ‘I see... Yes, despite my appearance, I’m the most powerful witch of them all!’ Natsu stood in the seat. Ayu smiled at her playfully.

‘Of course, you’re the most powerful witch!’ he spoke as if talking to a child. Natsume frowned.

‘Don’t believe me?’ She looked away. ‘Well, I’ll prove it, but then you have to keep your promise and play with Natsu, okay?’

‘What are you go...?’ A magical circle appeared beneath Natsume, and a powerful flash of light made the young man close his eyes to avoid being blinded. He felt something soft on his lap, and his hands touched it, trying to figure out what it was. Then it wrapped around his neck, and the light faded. Ayu opened his eyes to see the adult body of Natsume, causing him to blush and close his eyes again. His hands were on the soft thighs of the headmistress, who laughed mischievously.

‘What’s the matter, Onii-chan?’ she taunted. ‘Aren’t we going to play? I know a very fun game...’

‘What… the hell… are you doing?!’ despite the fatigue, the words could escape from Yuuko’s throat, after running to the scene. ‘I knew this would happen!’

‘H-Help me, Miss Serizawa...’ Ayu recognized his teacher’s voice.

‘Oh, Yuuko, you can join us. Three’s not a crowd,’ Natsume said, and Yuu blushed.

‘What on earth are you thinking, you old pervert?!’ Yuuko reproached her, and Natsume averted her gaze.

‘The pot calling the kettle black...’ Yuuko approached the headmistress and her student, trying to grab Natsume.

‘That wasn’t that help I asked you for!’ Yuuko and Natsu started wrestling, inadvertently trapping Ayumu’s head between their chests.

‘Hey, one thing doesn’t exclude the other, right?!’ Natsume recriminated.

‘Ayuuuu! You can’t leave...!’ Yumiko entered the scene, looking worried. The girl with the bow turned pale when she saw the situation, while Yuuko and Ayumu felt embarrassed, and Natsume was just confused. ‘Eh?’ Yumiko took a few steps back, standing behind the glass doors, and took a deep breath. ‘Pervert! Disgusting Womanizer! You are an idiot!’ She left the scene weeping.

‘That’s enough! Just I want to recover my normal student life!’ Ayumu denounced.

***

‘Help me, Sayu!’ Noriko seemed agitated, hitting the table. ‘He hasn’t been in touch for a while. What if something happened to him? What if some real floozy has taken him away from my arms!?’ She covered her face with her hands. ‘They could do this or that to my poor boy! I don’t even want to think about it!’ The blonde woman with an angelic appearance and purple eyes set her teacup on the table and raised an eyebrow.

‘Are you sure you’re not exaggerating, Nori?’ she exhaled. ‘I’m sure he’s glad to have got away from such a... mother...’

‘So, what?! Finish your sentence, please...’ Nori gave her a threatening look.

‘Look, Nori, you know I appreciate you a lot. You’ve been my former master, and you’ve taken care of me ever since I met you,’ she tried to reason with her. ‘But you’re a bit much with Ayumu...’

‘Ayumu is all I have left!’ Noriko became saddened.

‘I know, I know...’ Sayuki got up from her chair. ‘I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise anything, alright? The Court has me overwhelmed.’

‘Really!?’ Noriko’s face lit up. Before Sayuki could respond, a magic circle appeared on the table. Surprising both of them, a letter appeared, and they recognised the Himemiko family symbol. ‘But...’ Nori and Sayuki looked bewildered. Mrs Nonomiya reached out, touched the envelope, and took out the letter. The sender was Aki Himemiko. Noriko glanced at the letter, completely perplexed, just like Sayuki.

‘It can’t be. We’re supposed to be dead... Has Aki found out about us?’ Sayuki’s face turned pale. Noriko stood up from the table. ‘What’s going on? They can’t know we’re still alive, you know, right?!’ Nori didn’t say a word; her face was serious, almost angry. She headed towards the hallway. ‘Hey! Where are you going!?’

‘To Nankaina...’ Noriko stated in a dry tone.

‘What?! Are you crazy?!’ Sayuki reacted, running after Nori. ‘We can’t...’

‘I have to bring my little one back home!’ Noriko gave Sayuki a look that made her step back. ‘Don’t worry, Ayu, your mommy is going to rescue you...’