Hot For Teacher (Mature)

It was like she'd just been shot. His words reminded her of their situation, and that she couldn't be playing like this. She felt disappointed and ashamed at the same time. She immediately shut her mouth, and looked down at her hands, biting her lip. "R-right... I'm... I'm sorry... that... god, I can't believe I did that..." She shook her head quickly. "F-forget I said any of that. I'm so, so sorry. You are absolutely right, I was being completely inappropriate... I... I hope you can forgive me Mak- ah... Mr. Wright..."

"Eh...? Ah..." Makoto was finally able to lift the book from his face; it had regained its natural color. She's... apologizing? Had he finally struck a successful blow? He hadn't been entirely serious with that last comment, but it seemed to have worked. The way she suddenly changed her speech didn't make him feel any better, though... He sat up and crossed his arms to hold firm. "W-well, it didn't bother me terribly, but it's fine... Really. There's no need to apologize as long as you understand." That didn't feel like a victory at all. In fact, he felt like he was burying himself. 'Agh... what the hell am I doing?'

Karin shook her head again, taking a deep breath. "No... no. I've been too lax. I'm your teacher, and I need to remember that... I'll just have to set some boundaries..." She paused, then looked down at herself. "...Can you leave the room so I can put some clothes on, Mr. Wright?"

"Yeah... no problem." Makoto stood to leave the room, closing the door behind himself. This was definitely no victory. Where she was once comfortable around him, now she'll be reserved and more professional. It's like he'd taken a big step back. Makoto shook his head frantically. 'NO! It's not a step back from anything! This is how it's supposed to be, right?! Now neither of us run the risk of getting in trouble.' That was a somewhat sad thought. Makoto shook his head again. 'That was NOT a sad thought!!'

It took several minutes, but Karin soon came out of her room, dressed in jeans and a sweater, even wrapping a scarf around her neck. "I need to keep warm. Anyway, if you need to go into work, let's go ahead."

Makoto nodded while suppressing the rising urge to be disappointed. "Okay. Just let me grab my stuff." He retreated to his room to grab the duffel bag containing his utensils and uniform. She sounded alright and was walking well enough, so he wasn't going to make a fuss. On their way out, however, he did ask if she was doing alright. "Are you sure you're feeling well enough to go out, Sensei?"

Karin waved him off. "I'm fine. I'll get back to bed as soon as we get back, and I'll be right as rain in the morning, just in time for school. I haven't managed to make a plan for a lesson.. hm, I'll make a call, have someone I know give a presentation." She led the way to her Vespa, and climbed on. Once Makoto was on board, she took off and, with his directions, drove him to work.

...This felt different. Makoto did his best to put it out of his mind as they traveled to his job. He wasn't very successful, but tried his best. Upon their arrival, Makoto first caught sight of a short, older woman struggling to heave a heavy trashcan to the dumpster. "Ah! Hold on, Boss!" He ran over to retrieve the bin from her.

"Oh! Makoto-kun! Thank you..." As soon as he lifted the garbage can, she grabbed the rolling pin from her apron and promptly bonked him on the head.

"Owowow..." Makoto almost dropped the can.

"That's for not showing your face around here for two solid weeks! Such a bad child..." She sheathed her 'weapon'.

"S-sorry, Boss." The woman shrugged and reached up to pat him on the head.

"Oh, it's alright. As long as you come back. Hm?" She noticed Karin behind him. "Oh, and you must be the friend he mentioned over the phone!"

Makoto hoisted the garbage into the dumpster. "A-ah. That's Littner-Sensei, my bodyguard and teacher."

"I see. Well then, my name is Hoshiyaki Sena. My husband and I run this restaurant. I must thank you, Littner-san, for protecting our foolish Makoto-kun." She said with a bow. Makoto sighed in the background.

'Why doesn't anyone ever have anything good to say about me...'

Karin smiled weakly, bowing as well. "It's not a problem, Mrs. Hoshiyaki. Unfortunately, I'm a bit sick at the moment. Is there somewhere I can sit where I'd have a good view of him at all times, without being in the kitchen? I don't want to be around other people's food while I'm sick, and I'm sure you want the same."

Sena brought a hand to her cheek. "Oh, poo. You poor girl; being dragged away from rest by that terrible child." She was joking, kind of. "Come with me. We'll set you up with a seat near the kitchen." She led her inside. "Makoto-kun? Hurry up and get dressed!" She called to him. Makoto grumbled to himself as he followed.

The size of the restaurant's interior wasn't anything special. There were short tables lining the outer walls, boxed in by even shorter chairs. At either end of the restaurant, there were sliding doors that led to private rooms. A bar-like counter lined with stools stood in front of the kitchen, allowing full visual access to the cooks. Makoto was just on the other side of the divider, busily preparing orders to be whisked out to their respective destinations. Normally he'd be off in his own little world, letting his body cruise on autopilot as he worked. His cooking wasn't affected, but his typical smile had become a flat, inexpressive line.

After a short while, Sena approached Karin with a tray. "Here you are, Littner-san." She set a warm cup of tea in front of her. "It's my own recipe. It's not the same as medicine, but it'll give you a little more kick for the time being. I hope you feel better soon." She said with an apologetic smile.

Karin nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I don't normally get sick, but when I do, it hits me hard. Never fun..."

Sena's smile became warmer at that. "Of course. Just be sure to take care of yourself while you're down." She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Makoto was within earshot. "And if that boy gives you any trouble, you let me know. I'll give him a good thump!"

"Aw, what?!" Makoto's outcry was silenced as a rolling pin was abruptly pointed in his direction. "Kuuuuh..." He threw himself back into his tasks.

Sena giggled to herself; she'd retained a strange playfulness in her age. "I won't keep him here too long, so you just focus on relaxing. Okay?"

Karin nodded again. "I will, thank you. I should be mostly over this by tomorrow, so I can get back to teaching, and get him back in school, and into work more often."

Sena seemed to think for a moment before responding. "That will be best for all of us." She stood up straight and stretched her back. "Hoo! Okay, enough gabbing. There's work to be done... Makoto-kun?" He perked up his head just in time to catch a rolling pin to the forehead.

"OW!! Why?!" He rubbed the sore spot on his head. Sena simply smiled at him with a not-so-genuine smile.

"Make sure to prep the order for our reservation. They'll be here soon." Sena picked up a few readied trays and made off with them toward the customers. With a sigh, Makoto pushed onward through his work.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A couple hours had quickly blown by before he noticed. Makoto was engrossed in washing dishes when his head was suddenly struck for the third time that night. "Oh, you're still here?! Makoto-kun, you terrible boy!" Sena had snuck up behind him.

Makoto rubbed his head and blinked. "What? What time is it?" He was confused, having lost track of time completely due to being lost in his own concerns.

"You've been here long enough for today. Go change and get your teacher home so she can rest! Shoo!" She started pushing Makoto out of the kitchen.

"Okay! I'm going!" He quickly gathered his things and changed back into his normal clothing. "Sorry about that, Sensei. How are you feeling?" He asked when he was ready to go.

Karin looked miserable, really, but she didn't say so. "M'fine... let's go..." She stood, and made her way to the Vespa. She drove slower than normal on the way home and, once inside, she mumbled a 'good night' and disappeared into her room. She was asleep before she hit the mattress.

Makoto sighed to himself as her door shut. "...Night.' He murmured to no one in particular. He made his way to his room and set his bag on the desk. Makoto dropped onto his bed after dressing for the night. Now that he was home, he didn't have any distractions to keep his mind off of how listless he felt. Was that it...? No, that wasn't right. He rubbed his temples. It wasn't that he didn't care about anything; he didn't care for how things were at the moment. Something was missing. A lot, actually. He rested his head on his pillow, but that's all. It was pretty hard for him to fall asleep that night.

The next morning, Karin was actually up before Makoto. She seemed to have a small case of the sniffles still, and looked a bit tired, but otherwise fine. She'd even made breakfast, and it was waiting for Makoto when he woke. She was dressed in her usual teaching attire, and was just getting off the phone with someone. When she saw Makoto, she smiled. "Good morning, Mr. Wright."

Makoto was pretty tired when he woke up; he'd only been out for a couple hours. He nearly jumped out of bed, kicking himself for sleeping in. As he ran out to hurry and make breakfast, he was greeted by his teacher. And breakfast. "...Eh?" This was a first. A double first. He was frozen for a moment. "...Ah. G-good morning." For a moment, he honestly wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. "You're looking a lot better." He said as he sat down to eat.

"Well, I feel better. Not 100% yet, but getting there. And don't look so shocked, I do this every so often. Now sit and eat, don't want to be late." She sat down with her own plate, digging in.

"R... right..." Makoto started eating. That same feeling from the night before crept up on him. He ate in silence, unsuccessfully trying to shake the feeling. Toward the end of the meal, he finally spoke. "I'll be the students will be excited to have you back. Were you able to figure something out for class today?"

Karin nodded. "Mm. I've called in a favor with a friend, they'll show up to give a presentation. I figure the best way to make up for my absence, and putting them through a boring sub, that I can manage at my current health, is to bring in a celebrity."

"A celebrity?" While Makoto did wonder who it was, he wasn't about to spoil the surprise. "Sounds good to me. I can't wait." He stood from his seat to get dressed for school. "Good to go, Sensei." Something was still nagging at him.

She stood as well, nodding. "Alright. Let's go then Mr. Wright."

~~~~~

Once at school, Karin stuck with Makoto wherever he went, as expected. However, she barely joked with him, if at all, though was as nice as she always was.

As the day wore on Makoto was becoming more and more restless. He didn't think it would bother him his much. Things were way too different. Alarmingly different. It was as if he had an ordinary bodyguard following him around all day. It was certainly a lot more normal, but that wasn't... it was difficult to describe. His responses came with a delay and his concentration appeared distant. 'What... the hell...' Makoto's legs carried him from class to class without though, he held short conversations with his teacher. By the time her class rolled around, he seemed to be in a different world altogether.

"....... de...... Dude? Earth to Makoto!" Makoto realized where he was.

"H-huh? What's up?"

"Dude. What is up with you? You've been like this all day."

Makoto shook his head lightly. "Nothing... It's nothing." Takuya watched him from behind with a concerned expression. Class was starting, so he decided to ask more from Makoto afterward.

Karin coughed slightly into a handkerchief as she sat at her desk, sighing. "First of all, I want to apologize to everyone for my absence, and sticking you with what was undoubtedly a very boring substitute. So, for my first class back, I thought I would try to make it up to you with a celebrity presentation; the former number 1 Hunter in the world, until being replaced by my older sister Ignis, my father, Vargus Littner." As she said this, the door opened... and a great big bear of a man squeezed his way in. He kind of had to, being that he was 7'2". He looked out at the class, and grinned.

"Hey, how are you all doing? Not giving my daughter any trouble, are you?"