As he walked down the mountain path, Chiba turned to look behind him; thankfully, not a single person was in sight. He also turned back to look at what was before him once again. He could recognise Hara and Fuwa from a distance, but they were too far from hearing range.
Seeing that the coast was clear, he leaned down slightly and cleared his throat. “Hey, Kurahashi.”
From his right, Kurahashi, who had been strangely quiet the whole time, perked up at her name. “Yeah?”
Chiba shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t say anything earlier…” He dug his hands into his pockets. “Mostly to not ruin the mood, but…”
Slowly, he turned to look at her and was nearly taken aback by the solemn expression Kurahashi was wearing. But he shouldn’t be really surprised. Today hadn’t been a very good day for the usually bubbly girl, after all.
Chiba decided that there was no need for him to hold back.
“But when Okajima told us earlier that training with Takaoka-sensei might actually be fun because he’s super friendly and all that stuff- unlike Karasuma-sensei, apparently.” He rolled his eyes sarcastically at the last remark. “That actually compelled me to trust him even less, for some reason.”
He let out a scoff. “Not that I trust him in the first place. Just something about the new teacher puts me off. Maybe it’s the obnoxiously jolly attitude he had going on. Who knows?”
Chiba looked around as he talked, making sure that there was still nobody nearby.
“Whatever it is, I just can’t find myself easing up to him anytime soon- at least, that’s just how I feel.” He quickly added the end bit, not wanting to give off the wrong impression that he was being hateful for no reason.
“Me too, actually.” Kurahashi finally spoke up, looking at Chiba with unease visible all over her face. “I also didn’t say anything earlier, though I honestly want to…”
She lightly fiddled with the straps of her bookbag, kicking a small stray pebble away. “But I was kinda hurt when Oka-chin began saying those… things about Karasuma-sensei, all to basically prove that Takaoka-sensei is the better teacher for us just because he’s friendlier.”
“Which is a stupid thing to say, to be completely honest.” Chiba crossed his arms with a frown. “Forgive the lack of filter, by the way. But as distant and serious as he is, when Karasuma-sensei praises us for doing well in training and tests, he says it as it is. And when he sees that someone isn’t doing well, he’ll call it out just like that. He might sound harsh sometimes, but I like that he’s being blatantly honest with us.”
“Right!” Kurahashi nodded at him furiously. “His praises felt more well-earned because he’s typically distant. And I like that he takes us seriously, even if it’s just for training. Not many people do…”
Chiba hummed softly with a smile. “Do you think he’ll start leaving critiques on our next aptitude test results?” He grinned when saw Kurahashi’s eyes practically twinkling in delight.
“Oh, I hope so!” Kurahashi bounced in her steps. “Cause it means he’d point out the things he noticed from us, right?”
“Yeah! And you’ll know to what extent he’s paying attention to you.” Chiba added. “Like, yeah sure, I’m the top scorer in the shooting department. But will he then also point out the things I take into account to get that good at what I’m doing?”
His soft smile widened as he leaned down slightly.
“...Do you think he’ll also point out things I didn’t know I had in me all along?”
Kurahashi giggled, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. “It’s starting to sound like to me you’re just wanting to get Karasuma-sensei’s attention. Back off, Chiba-chan. I call dibs on him first and I don’t share~~”
“Alright, alright. I’m backing off…” Chiba huffed out a laugh, rubbing his shoulder. Playful as she supposedly was, Kurahashi went a bit… too strong with the slap. It kind of hurts. Not that he’d admit that out loud, though. “Anyways, don’t pay attention to what Okajima said earlier, Kurahashi. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Karasuma-sensei is a great teacher. The only reason Takaoka-sensei is taking over our PE class is that he’s gotten extremely busy.”
“Right! He said it himself!” Kurahashi agreed with a huff. “I think the cake just won Oka-chin over and that’s why he’s being biased earlier!”
Chiba nodded with an amused smile. “Speaking of cake, wanna head down to the cafe near the school campus? I saw that you also didn’t touch any of the sweets Takaoka-sensei brought with him.”
“Ah, yeah..” Kurahashi slightly faltered. “I kinda lost my appetite the second he said he spent all his money on those…”
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Chiba frowned at the reminder. “Cause if I’m gifting people things they like out of the goodness of my heart, I wouldn’t tell them how much money I spent since that will definitely make them feel bad about it.”
He turned to look around them once again to make sure nobody was within hearing range and was pleasantly surprised to find that even Hara and Fuwa disappeared from his sight. Maybe he and Kurahashi took their time walking down the mountain path, it seemed.
“I know he said it wasn’t the case, but do you think Takaoka-sensei was really bribing us with the sweets?” Kurahashi hesitantly asked as she peered at him, her voice low and whispery.
Chiba bit off a scoff. “If he has to clarify that when he doesn’t even need to, then he’s definitely bribing us for sure.”
Kurahashi looked away, her head low, seemingly contemplating his answer.
They walked in silence for a bit. Not wanting his restless brain to overthink from the silence, Chiba decided he found the afternoon glow of their surroundings rather interesting. He could hear some distant chirps and leaves rustling, likely from the wind he found a bit too warm for his liking. Tea and cake inside a cosy, air-conditioned cafe are starting to sound like bliss to him. He kind of doesn’t want to go there alone, so he was hoping Kurahashi would take his offer.
“I don’t like Takaoka-sensei.” Kurahashi solidly declared, instantly pulling Chiba away from his thoughts.
He looked at her, eyes wide open, pleasantly surprised at the blatant honesty.
“I’m with you there. I don’t like him either.” Chiba replied with a frown. “Whatever his deal is, he better not suck at his job, at the very least. What is even the point of getting along with your students if you can’t teach them anything?”
Kurahashi nodded repeatedly at him with a hum.
“So,” Chiba gave her a soft smile, “cafe near the school?” He offered once again.
“Your treat?” Kurahashi smiled back, her eyes twinkling rather cheekily at him.
Chiba breathed out a laugh in pure amusement. “Fine! I guess your company is a good enough exchange itself…” He trailed off teasingly.
“Ehh~ It’s gonna be my treat next time we go out, don’t worry!” Kurahashi playfully elbowed him on the chest and… ouch.
It’s a shame that the afterschool tea plan with the rest of their classmates had to be cancelled. Kurahashi herself looked to be the most excited about it. So, Chiba hoped this would be a good alternative in the meantime.
Maybe Karasuma will join them the next time they plan an afterschool outing together.
Navigation: Calendar Mark Masterlist
I wrote this whole thing because of this page:
I personally find it extremely interesting that Chiba and Kurahashi were literally nowhere to be found the whole time Takaoka was getting along well with their classmates, both the first and second time. Like, not even a single background cameo in any of the panels, even though both tend to have a lot of background appearances in the manga.
And the only time we've ever seen them after Takaoka's introduction was them being visibly unsure about having Takaoka as their new PE teacher... which was then brushed off.
Considering that Kurahashi and Chiba were still not shown in any panel while Takaoka was getting along with their classmates the next day... until he showed his true colours, that is, it's safe to assume that their feelings about him still hasn't changed, even if their concerns were intially brushed off by their classmates.
