CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: CAUGHT IN OUR SEXY ACT?

Morning light leaked through the curtains, soft but merciless. Rika stirred beside me, hair messy, lips swollen from everything we did last night. Her body was curled against mine like she didn’t want to let go, yet her eyes were open, staring at the ceiling as if it held her sins carved into plaster.

"Stop overthinking," I murmured, brushing a strand of hair off her cheek.

She blinked and looked at me, eyes laced with panic. "Renji... what if someone saw?"

I smirked, stretching lazily. "Then they saw a masterclass in pussy-eating. Not exactly a crime."

Her hand slapped weakly against my chest, but it was trembling. "I’m serious. The window, the noise, the way you!" She stopped, biting her lip. "I couldn’t hold it in..."

System (sing-song, smug):

"Mmm, she was moaning like a concert speaker on max volume. Neighbors probably thought an exorcism was happening."

Apparently, the system.... chose when to be naughty and when to be serious!

I laughed under my breath, pulling her closer until her head rested against me. "Relax. Nobody cares."

But she wasn’t convinced. Her nails grazed my skin as she whispered, "I’m your teacher, Renji. If this gets out..."

I tilted her chin up and kissed her slow, making her body arch against mine again. "If it gets out, I’ll handle it. You? You just keep looking hot in those tight skirts."

Her cheeks flushed, but fear still lingered in her gaze. I could feel the way her body wanted me again, yet her mind was tangled in paranoia.

System (teasing purr):

"Ooooh, scandal spice. Forbidden love always tastes best when someone might be watching..."

I kissed her forehead and rolled out of bed, stretching like the morning was mine.

"C’mon, get ready. We’ve got class. You’re still my teacher, remember?"

She sat up slowly, hugging the sheets around herself, watching me with that mixture of shame, desire, and dread. And for the first time since last night, I wondered if maybe, just maybe...someone had been watching.

The morning halls buzzed louder than usual. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe instinct, but I could feel eyes on me. Whispering, laughter that died the second I turned my head, the kind of attention that only meant one thing..rumors.

I strolled down the corridor with my usual cocky swagger, hands in my pockets. Rika entered from the opposite side, wearing her fitted blouse and pencil skirt, her hair pinned up tight like she wanted to erase every trace of last night.

The moment she stepped in, the whispers doubled.

"Isn’t that...?"

"Looks tired."

"Her lipstick looks smudged..."

I grinned, resisting the urge to lick my lips just to make them squirm harder.

System (snickering):

"Yup. Someone definitely saw. The streets don’t whisper like this without fire behind the smoke."

Rika walked quickly, heels clicking, eyes darting anywhere but mine. She passed me like I was a stranger, but her fingers twitched at her side, like she wanted to grab me, drag me somewhere, demand if I noticed what she noticed.

In class, it got worse.

The boys glanced at me too often, smirks plastered across their faces. The girls whispered behind their hands, some giggling, some glaring. Rika stood at the board, her voice shaky as she wrote equations, but every so often her eyes flicked to me, pleading, warning, begging me to behave.

And of course, I didn’t.

When she bent to pick up a piece of chalk, my grin widened. The skirt hugged her ass, and I didn’t even pretend not to look. Half the class caught me staring. Half the class followed my gaze. And suddenly, Rika straightened too fast, cheeks burning, dropping the chalk again just to cover it up.

The whispers turned sharper.

System (mock gasp):

"Ohhhh, they know. They know."

But I didn’t care. Let them suspect. Let them choke on their jealousy. I leaned back in my chair, eyes never leaving her, silently daring anyone to say it out loud.

And then, the classroom door slid open.

A figure stood there, another teacher. Coach Mayumi. Arms crossed, eyes narrowing at the scene before her.

Her gaze locked on me, then on Rika, then back to me. And for the first time, I felt a jolt...not of guilt, but of thrill.

Because the look she gave us wasn’t clueless. It was knowing.

And it meant shit was about to get even messier.

The classroom tension thickened the moment Coach Mayumi stepped in. Her presence was sharp, broad-shouldered, toned from years of training, and radiating the kind of authority that silenced even the boldest students.

Rika froze mid-sentence, chalk trembling against the board. For a heartbeat, the entire class sat in suspense, eyes darting between the two teachers.

"Sorry for the interruption," Mayumi said, her voice calm but laced with steel. "Rika, could I borrow you for a moment?"

The class erupted in whispers as Rika’s face drained of color. She stammered something about continuing the lesson, but Mayumi’s gaze left no room for refusal. Reluctantly, Rika placed the chalk down and followed her out into the hallway.

I smirked. This was better than drama on TV.

System (teasing):

"Ooooh, mama bear caught the cub sneaking out of the den. You’re so screwed—or maybe about to get luckier than you think."

I leaned back, watching through the glass panel in the door. The hall wasn’t empty, students passed by, sneaking glances, pretending not to eavesdrop. And there they stood: Mayumi, arms folded like a drill sergeant, and Rika, trying not to crumble under her scrutiny.

"What’s going on, Rika?" Mayumi’s voice was low but firm. "Don’t play dumb with me. The whole school is buzzing."

"I—I don’t know what you mean," Rika whispered, but her eyes betrayed her. She glanced back at the classroom door...at me.

Mayumi followed her gaze.

Her eyes narrowed.

For a split second, it felt like her stare pinned me to my seat.

I didn’t look away. Hell, I tilted my head and gave her the faintest grin, just to see if she’d flinch.

She didn’t.

Instead, her lips curled into something unreadable—a mix between disapproval and... interest?

System (snickering):

"Oh boy. Looks like Mayumi isn’t just a bystander. That’s a hunter’s look, Renji."

Rika tugged at Mayumi’s sleeve, whispering frantically. But Mayumi’s eyes never left me.

Finally, she spoke again, her voice low enough that I could only catch fragments.

"...dangerous... reckless... can’t hide forever."

And then, louder:

"We’ll talk after school, Rika. Privately."

Rika’s shoulders slumped as if she’d been sentenced.

When they came back in, Mayumi’s expression was neutral again, but her gaze flicked toward me once more, like she was sizing me up, memorizing me.

I just smirked and winked.

The corner of her mouth twitched before she looked away.

Yeah. This wasn’t over.

The rest of the day dragged on with a tension that clung to every hallway I walked through. Rika kept her head down, burying herself in her lesson plans as if sheer paperwork could erase her guilt. Meanwhile, Mayumi didn’t let her eyes wander too far from me—especially during lunch when I passed her in the courtyard.

It wasn’t the gaze of a teacher watching a delinquent.

It was the gaze of a predator considering if she wanted to play with her food.

System (purring):

"Three down, seventeen to go, soldier boy. You’re making them sweat without even trying."

I grinned to myself, but deep down I couldn’t shake Rika’s pale expression from earlier. She wasn’t built for this kind of pressure.

After the final bell, Rika practically bolted, trying to avoid both me and Mayumi. I let her go, deciding not to corner her just yet. If she needed space to breathe, fine. I’d claim her again soon enough.

I was about to head out when I noticed something strange.

Tucked into the side of my shoe locker was a folded note. No name. No flourish. Just plain white paper, the kind anyone in school could get their hands on.

Curious, I unfolded it.

My smirk faded instantly.

"I saw what you did with Sensei. Meet me on the rooftop tomorrow. Come alone."

My pulse spiked, not from fear, but from the rush. Someone had caught us. Someone had proof.

Mayumi? No, too obvious. She wouldn’t play with scraps of paper like a gossiping brat. Her confrontation had been direct, almost protective in its own twisted way.

This... this was different.

This was the work of someone who wanted leverage.

I stared at the note a moment longer before slipping it into my pocket, laughing under my breath.

"Guess the game just got more interesting."

As I walked out of the school gates, the late afternoon sun bled across the sky, painting it red like a warning. Rika was already gone, Mayumi was probably waiting somewhere for her "private talk," and I... I couldn’t stop thinking about who had been watching us from the shadows.

A student?

A rival?

An admirer?

Whoever it was, they had just stepped onto my battlefield.

And they didn’t even know it yet.

System (whispering, almost gleeful):

"Careful, Renji... Sometimes prey bites back."

I grinned, my heart hammering with anticipation.

Tomorrow, on the rooftop, the game would begin.