valor, thy name is education

Woo I did a sketch before this day passed!

“Usually he shows up when I call for him, so I’m surprised he hasn’t appeared yet. I’m actually becoming worri-…” Shinya trailed off and stopped walking at the sight of a white cat sitting on the sidewalk just a bit ahead of them. The man looked towards Yui and smiled, looking a bit embarrassed. 

“Miss Shishido, there’s my little trouble maker.”

The cat still sat and began to lick his own paw, looking a bit smug for causing such a fuss. Byakkomaru didn’t resist when Shinya came forward to retrieve him and cradled him. Bringing the cat close to Yui, who was a stranger, made the cat attempt to struggle but a couple of pats placated his uneasiness.

“This nice lady looked all over for you, don’t be rude Byakkomaru.”

 Of course Shinya wasn’t really scolding his furry friend, it was just a weird habit to pretend the cat understood.

    She was about to reply when he stopped speaking, and she looked forward. There was an adult white cat up ahead, just sitting on the sidewalk without a care in the world. Yui felt a flutter of excitement upon spotting the cat--that had to be him! Sure enough, the man confirmed it was Byakkomaru before approaching the feline. Thankfully, the cat didn’t take off--oh, that would’ve been fun.

    Byakkomaru looked very satisfied with himself as he brought him over, and Yui shook her head in amusement as he talked to his cat, telling him to behave, another habit she could relate to.

    “So you’re the one who sent us on a little adventure,” she said as the man stood by her side again. “I finally get to meet the elusive Byakkomaru-chan. Oh, aren’t you a pretty kitty!” Yui was just enamored with those lovely blue eyes of his. His owner proceeded to hold him out a bit for her to pet, which delighted Yui as she’d hoped he’d do that. She put her hand near the cat for him to sniff before stroking him from his head to his shoulders. Byakkomaru blinked slowly and she got him purring in no time as she scratched behind his ears.

She repressed the urge to yawn in front of the teacher - fearing it to be considered unpolite thing to do and straightened her spine, to have a clearer look at her. That wouldn’t have been the case, however, with Yui. she would have never scolded Ayumi for a thing like that. It was true some things never seem to change with time, for the girl - it didn’t matter, although Ayumi and her friends had always  considered Yui Shishido something more than a mere professor and homeroom teacher. A dear person, a close friend, part of the group once and for always - an adult confidant they could have always trusted. And things had remained unchanged even after their “adventure” inside Heavenly Host and their escape – which was, already, a sort of miracle! Maybe that sickening tiredness she was feeling lately had begun after that horrible episode, maybe not… she had always been weaker than the rest of the others because of her anemic conditions after all, she could not exclude that possibility too.

«  Yui-sensei.  »   her voice was still weak and feeble - not to mention hoarse - so she quickly let the corner of her mouth curl to show her a little smile. A quick glance at the clock on the class’ wall,   «  I had… had fallen asleep all of a sudden and without noticing it, it seems, after the student council meeting. You didn’t scare me though; so thanks for having woken me up; I would have probably remained here - sleeping without a clue on this desk - till dinnertime, for what I know, haha… »

    However, it didn’t feel she should try and make light of the atmosphere this time, so she dropped it quickly. “It is nice to see you, though! I mean, outside of class. I haven’t seen you around much lately.”

    Yui paused for a moment, thinking over her choice of words. It wasn’t like her to have to think twice about what she wanted to say, but with Heavenly Host happening recently, everyone was out of sorts, herself included. “You seem tired, Shinozaki-san...” she prompted softly, knowing that she was tired from the sames things she was. It certainly wasn’t easy to get a good night’s sleep when you were plagued with nightmares. “How are you doing lately?” she asked, feeling tentative almost. 

❝   still - my dear - who cares about  bullshit  like that, right?!  

     bring it on!  

She shouldn’t have been there, at that time, no less!  She had entered the classroom just to collect her few remaining things and finally move to the entrance hall, take her shoes and leave, calling it a day at school and then simply return home to her mother. The idea wasn’t as appealing as it would have sounded a while ago; that had made her hesitate. Ayumi had seen all the others leave the building together after their last class; it was her duty that late afternoon, as a class-representative, to attend the student council – a very boring attempt to manage the school’s resources, with other students and a couple of teachers.

She had waited - painfully waited for boring the meeting to end, went to the restroom for a moment and returned there, in her own class. It was rather strange seeing it so empty, so silent… that place used to be so crowdy and and bright during the morning, with all the others. What had happened next? She had hesitated indeed: with a quick glance at the windows and the red setting sun outside, Ayumi had taken her usual seat, then leaned heavily on the wooden desk, closing both of her eyes.

Tired… she felt that unpleasant yet recurring sensation hitting her out of nowhere. It wasn’t that rare nowadays; only lately she had found herself falling asleep like a rock at night, always in dreamless, long and deep sleep, that still did not seem to allow her to feel well rested the next morning. Maybe the setting, the silence, the soft light outside… she didn’t know why closing her eyes and resting there was so strangely comforting. On the verge of sleep. Not awake… not fully asleep either… until a sudden heavy thud made her jump on the chair, forcing her to open both her eyelids and look around. She thought of being alone inside the classroom!

    Not that she was losing her teaching passion or anything, no, no. At the end of the days, when everyone had left and she had a moment of respite, she just suddenly didn’t feel as energetic anymore. Of course, she knew why she felt like this, though she tried not to think about it while she was at work. She was sure it’d pass anyway. It had to, right?

    She stopped at the slightly open door of her homeroom, and hesitated when she noticed someone still in there. Even from a distance, Yui would tell it was Ayumi Shinozaki, sitting head down at a desk. What was she still doing here? Student council got out a bit ago...

    Yui sighed at the sight. She wasn’t the only one who felt more tired lately, she’d noticed. Even though Ayumi was still just as efficient with her duties as always, the events of Heavenly Host had taken an obvious toll on her as well, as she seemed much less energetic these days. Yui stepped into the room and the door shut behind her, causing Ayumi to startle awake in her seat. It made her heart tug, seeing how worn out she was.

    ”Sorry, Shinozaki-san! It’s just me,” she said. She paused for a moment. They really hadn’t... talked outside of class since the events had transpired, though it’d been a couple weeks. Not only that, but Yui missed talking to Ayumi.

Corpse Karuta: Daily Language “う”

after everyone SURVIVES heavenly host and graduates and even when ms. yui isn’t their teacher anymore, they all stay close friends with her and frequently see her! morishige took the pic.