Chapter 14: What IF (Afterward): It's Awkward

Continuing the previous chapter, the non-canon what IF scenario. In the raw this is supposed to be chapter 20, but I just forwarded it here to keep the timeline consistency.

What If (Afterward): It's Awkward

I did it.

I fucking did it.

"Hmmm."

Glancing to the side, I see Tachibana-san sleeping peacefully.

Up to this point, I could still just about make an excuse, but...

"Naked, One Out"

Tachibana-san and I are both naked. There's no way I can say nothing happened. No questions asked, it's One Out.

No, we're not just naked, are we?

Maybe I could justify it by saying we both like to sleep nudist! Well, even I don't know about the fact that I'm a nudist.

And next. 

"A mess of a bed, Two Outs."

It's winter, so it's dry, so the sheets and comforter seem to be relatively dry, but it's still obvious at a glance that they're soaked. To put it in words, they're super soppy, super sticky.

Soothing, super sticky, super sticky.

I said it twice because it's important, yes, I said it twice.

This is terrible. Everywhere you look, it's stained with some kind of liquid, the source of which I don't really want to think about.

...But... I still have an excuse. I can't think of a good one, though!

Next.

"...My memory of last night. Three Outs."

The game's over, already.

I remember it. It's like I remember it.  I remember getting really drunk at a family restaurant last night and flirting with a student and asking her out for sex! I also remember inviting her over to my house!

I even remember kissing her first!!

Conclusion.

No excuses allowed!

No matter how hard I try, I can't force another possibility. If there was someone who could do that, they'd be a great detective. But if they went through many twists and turns and arrived at a completely different truth, they'd be a questionable detective, not a great detective.

Ah, seriously, what should I do?

I was aware that I was letting my sexual frustrations get the better of me, but I never thought I'd make a move on a student. And a student of the same sex at that...

Is this really what it's all about? Disciplinary dismissal? Wait, are you serious? Really? 

I have a lot of things to pay, like credit card withdrawals and taxes, right?

On top of that, I made a move on a student and was dismissed, so there's no hope of finding another job...

Oh no, seriously, what should I do? My life is over. I thought I'd lived a pretty honest life, but is this the end? I couldn't control my lust, so I brought a student over and had sex with her, and now I'm ruined?

"...Ah."

No good. The more I think about it, the deeper I sink.

Actually, there are various ways to do this. In the end, if Tachibana-san doesn't tell anyone, it'll be our secret, and then no one will judge me.

Tachibana-san seemed pretty excited yesterday, so maybe if I told her, she won't tell anyone, right?

... 

"Haha, I'm such a wretch."

To think for even a moment that I'd let a student become an accomplice in a crime.

Even if dismissal was inevitable, I was still a teacher. Clearly, there was only one choice.

But before that, I had to properly apologize to Tachibana-san.

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Then, when she woke up, I apologized profusely, and after a series of twists and turns, we became teacher-student lovers, and then, after a series of twists and turns, we started living together.

But that was still a story for the future.