Yoshitaka followed Phonic out of the teacher lounge and towards the stairs, but in the flood of students, he got separated from the woman. He didn't have a class during the first period of the day so he technically didn't have to be in his classroom when the bell rang again, but he probably should.

The waves of students seemed to dwindle as he made his way to one of the staircases. The staircases were always the most crowded because people were going up and down them and it was just a mess if it wasn't portioned out (which it wasn't).

As he waited for the crowd to move away from the stir he noticed someone near the bottom. They were holding onto the stairwell with one of their arms and their backpack and churches with the other. He looked around and no one else was going to help the poor boy so Yoshitaka went other to him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The student, who looked like a freshman, moved his gaze from the backpack that he had in one of his hands to the teacher. "Yeah...well, no. I thought that I knew where my English class was but it's not on the first floor." The boy grabbed a piece of paper that contained his scheduled and handed it to Yoshitaka.

Sora took it and looked at which class he had. It couldn't be his, but maybe if he had Inokori then he could see him today. He didn't find it strange that he didn't see the man in the teacher's lounge but maybe he went to the place retailer and they just missed each other.

The boy's first class wasn't Inokori's class but Phonic's instead. Sora was disappointed but didn't let the student see. "You are in E-1, Miss Phonic's class," he told the student. "Just for future reference, the English classrooms are all upstairs to the left." He gave the slightly crumpled piece of paper back to the boy.

"Okay, thank you" The boy put the piece of paper back. Then struggled to put the full bag on his back. Yoshitaka took some pity on the kid and grabbed it for him. He gave a curt laugh as he got his crutches. "Thanks."

"No problem," Yoshitaka replied. They had wasted about two or three minutes with their conversation and he would problem be late with his impediment. "I'm a teacher by the way so if are late then I can write you a slip if you would like.

"You don't have to worry about that, before I broke my ankle, I was the fastest runner on my team. They don't call me 5-minute Miko for nothing." Miko smiled as if he just won a race.

"Nice to meet you, Miko. My name is Mister Yoshitaka and I teach English in E-3." They made quick work of the stairway and now they were on the second floor.

Miko went a little quiet before he dared to tell a sliver of truth, "No offense Mister Yoshitaka, but I don't really like English. I like to believe that my achievement will speak for themselves."

Yoshitaka chuckled at Miko's words. I was sort of true for himself. He himself didn't really English that much, but "sometimes you won't like something until you find something to motivate you to like it."

Miko looked at him weirdly but didn't say anything. Yoshitaka walked him to the door and slid the boy's backpack on his back. After opening the door for him the boy said, "I don't get it but okay." He walked into the English class just as the bell rang behind him.

As he began to walk to E-3 he passed Inokori's door. He couldn't help himself as the door was a crack open and it would be so easy just to take a peak. He stood outside of the classroom as he was inches away from the wooden surface.

Yoshitaka could see the students who didn't take to each other, all of their heads were looking forward presumably at Inokori. They are so attentive and well behaved, he noted.

He could hear soft shuffling that sounded like paper. He moved to the left to see the front of the classroom and that's when he saw him—Mister Riku Inokori. He was so sharp and elegant and just lovely to look at. It took all of Yoshitaka's being not to enter the class, but he didn't want to interrupt his crush.

After he stopped moving his papers he stood up and started the class. Yoshitaka waited with excrement in the shoes to hear those words that he never forgot.

"Now Class, do you like your teacher or not?"

Huh?

The choir of 'yeahs' followed but something sounded wrong with them as though they were fake. Something felt fake about the whole ritual, it was as though no one's heart was in it; that it had become a routine and not something fun that they would do to distract them from the academic aspect of New Hope.

But the routine had not ended—no—apparently Inokori had added more. "Anybody holding back or didn't nod
I'll see you when school is done."

He took a piece of paper and wrote down a few things: names of students whom he had just given detention to. Yoshitaka did a 180 as he pushed his back onto the nearby wall. Slowly, he fell down to the tile floor.

What happened to Inokori? How could he have changed so much? What happened to his happy smile, now he is so strict and everyone hates him.

It was at that moment that Yoshitaka realized who Miss Phonic was talking about when she said, "Mr. Detention." She was talking about Mister Inokori. It was so obvious. There was only one other English teacher except for the two.

Yoshitaka somehow made it to his classroom down the hall and sit in his seat before anyone saw him. He had one thing on his mind to think and query about for around an hour and a half.

Mister Inokori.