Epilogue
This chapter was translated by minib0ss and yuugs, and proofed by yuugs, kuririn, and dei-hime!
In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since the incident with Serizawa-san.
Harada-sensei took great care of me during that year. He protected me with all he had, body and soul. He protected me from the public's prying eyes, so that even when we met up in public, I never had to endure others’ prying eyes. I felt safe, shielded behind those broad shoulders. And then, at last, the day of my graduation arrived…
Hakuo Academy's cherry blossom tree was in full bloom. It was a warm, beautiful day, without a cloud in sight.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Haah..."
Chizuru Yukimura: "What is it, Nagakura-sensei?"
This year, my homeroom teacher had been changed to Nagakura-sensei.
Shinpachi Nagakura: "How do I put it… I was just thinking about how you're graduating this year, and I just got so, you know..." He seemed so deeply moved that I felt my own expression soften. "It's weird. I feel like your dad, or like your older brother or something. You've been through a lot these past three years, being the only girl in the school, huh? Whenever I think about you graduating, I just get all weepy."
As he stood there, teary-eyed, I was overcome with the need to express my gratitude to him.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Thank you for everything, Nagakura-sensei. It makes me happy to know you're thinking of me."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "You've been super anxious, right? Well, it looks like I'm more nervous than the graduates right now, though.."
Chizuru Yukimura: ?
Shinpachi Nagakura: "We basically just keep the same homeroom teacher from year to year around here. It's weird that you guys had someone else take over....So there's no way I can let that guy down, you know?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "......" I had never seen him look so serious before. I gave him a small smile and a nod in return. The two of them must be truly good friends. "...Thank you so much for everything you've done for me, Nagakura-sensei."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "If anything ever happens, you're always welcome back here, got it? Anytime you need advice, I'll be here for you."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Yes, sir!"
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Oh, yeah, that reminds me! I'm really happy for you, but there's another guy around here somewhere who's just as excited as I am for your graduation～"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Eh? What do you..."
Shinpachi Nagakura: "Oops, it's already time for the graduates to make their entrance. Let's go! Line up in the hallway, guys!" Nagakura-sensei cut our conversation short with a laugh, ushering all us students into a line in the hallway. We began moving out for the gym.
The graduation ceremony went by without a hitch, but today, the most nerve-wracking part was seeing the board chairman, Serizawa-san.
The moment his eyes met mine, I thought I thought I saw a faint smile on his face. He was back to his usual grumpy face right after, though. I wondered if that meant he'd forgiven me. I got the feeling I wasn't seeing the whole picture, though… I'd kept the promise we made to him all this time. That's why I decided to believe that Serizawa-san would keep his end of the promise, too.
After, Kondou-sensei stood up and gave his speech, and powerful emotions welled up in my chest.
I left the gym side-by-side with my classmates, and was on my way back to the school building, when suddenly, I spotted a familiar figure in the corner of my eye.
Sanosuke Harada: "That was a good graduation ceremony, Chizuru."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Sa―...Harada-sensei! Why are you here...!?"
Sanosuke Harada: "My school had its graduation ceremony yesterday. I took the day off and came over."
Classmate A: "Oh! Harada-sensei!"
Classmate B: "Wow, it's been forever...! I can't believe you came!"
The rest of my classmates noticed him, and all at once there was a joyous uproar. Nagakura-sensei just watched over us with a satisfied grin on his face.
Sanosuke Harada: "Come on, you lot. You only have one Homeroom session left; go back to class and finish things up," he chided everyone, giving them a wry smile― And then his voice dropped to a discreet whisper, speaking so that only I could hear. "...I'll see you later, Chizuru."
I gave him an equally discreet nod―
We met up and took a leisurely stroll through the courtyard after Homeroom.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Now I really understand just how much everyone loved having you as their teacher."
After our final homeroom ended, he had been swamped by a ton of students and endured a barrage of questions. It was clear that I wasn't the only student here Harada-sensei had had a big impact on in our first year.
Sanosuke Harada: "March is a busy month for us teachers. We haven't had much time to see each other lately, right? So… I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss this milestone in your life, at least."
Chizuru Yukimura: "It's been so long since we could meet… I'm really happy to see you."
His eyes crinkled in what seemed like relief at my response, and he rewarded me with a radiant smile.
Sanosuke Harada: "Congrats on your graduation, Chizuru."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Thank you so much." It was kind of a strange feeling. It had become natural that he wasn't there at the academy. Even though I thought I'd gotten used to it, being able to have him there, watching over my graduation, made me unbelievably happy… but. "Um..."
Sanosuke Harada: ?
Chizuru Yukimura: "You're off today, aren't you? So, what are your plans after this...?"
Sanosuke Harada: "First up, I'm going to the staff room. Got to say hi to Kondou-san and Hijikata-san."
Chizuru Yukimura: "......" If he had some extra time, I wanted to be together. It had been such a long, long time since we'd been able to meet in this city, let alone at the academy. I fell silent, and he gave me a smile like he could hear my thoughts.
Sanosuke Harada: "Today's your graduation ceremony. It's an incredibly special day, right? So… You can be a bit of a bad girl today, don’t you think?"
A smile naturally came to my lips as I remembered what I’d said on that memorable Valentine's Day. This time around the words came much more easily.
Chizuru Yukimura: "After you take care of your errands, I'd like to take up some of your time, if possible…… Would you mind?"
When he heard those words, he gave me a nod, and a thoroughly satisfied smile came to his face...
My father was still away working on a remote island. Coming home to an empty house was always lonely. That was why I'd taken a chance, and invited Harada-sensei over for dinner, but… Honestly, I would never have imagined that I'd end up showing him into my bedroom.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Good thing I usually keep my room neat and tidy..."
Sanosuke Harada: "Hm? Did you say something?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "Nothing!"
I had actually planned to stay in the living room and chat with him until dinner time. But he’d said that he really, really wanted to see the room I studied in…In the end, I couldn't deny him, and we ended up flipping through the graduation album I'd received earlier that day in my room.
Sanosuke Harada: "You're in a lot of these photos. You really did play a big part in a lot of major school events. Just like Shinpachi said."
Chizuru Yukimura: "N-No, not at all. I'm sure Nagakura-sensei was just exaggerating..." As I turned the page, his large hand suddenly touched my own.
Sanosuke Harada: "...Seems like a lot happened while I was gone."
Our eyes met, and I quickly became flustered. But his eyes, warmーno, hot, somehowーheld mine.
Chizuru Yukimura: "...It's, um, it's about time that I got started on dinner," I said as I stood up abruptly, trying to escape from that gaze of his.
He wordlessly caught hold of my hand, Andー
(CG get!°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°)
Chizuru Yukimura: [gasps softly]
Sanosuke Harada: "...You still feeling shy?" As always, his whispered words seemed to voice everything in my heart.
Chizuru Yukimura: "N...No, that's not..."
Sanosuke Harada: "You haven't used my first name very much today, you know."
Chizuru Yukimura: "......"
We were always careful to meet up, when we went out, in neighbourhoods where no one knew us. He had pointed out that that effort would be wasted if I continued to call him 'Harada-sensei'. That it would sound suspicious. So I wouldn’t call him “Sensei” when we were out in public together, but… It wasn't that I was still shy. I just wasn't used to it yet.
Sanosuke Harada: "...Well, not that it’s technically new for us... But, from tonight on, we officially won't be 'teacher-and-student' anymore, you know?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "S-Sanosuke-san..." That may have been true, but in my mind he really was still 'Harada-sensei'...
As I slipped away into my own thoughts, I felt his strong arms wind around me, as if to pull me back, to protect me from losing myself to worry.
Sanosuke Harada: "...Do you remember, on our first Valentine’s Day together, when I told you I was yours?"
I gave him a small nod. Of course I remembered. There was no way I could forget something so important.
Sanosuke Harada: "Tonight… I want to make you mine. All of you," his hot, sweet breath brushed against my ear.
And I... I found myself giving in, relaxing into his arms and entrusting my everything to him...
From then on, a new period in our lives began. And that 'teacher-student' relationship that had once trapped us truly ended, in every meaning of the phrase.
From that moment on, I could spend more time with Sanosuke=san than ever before…
Ahead of us both lay a bright future: a life spent alongside the person we loved most.
...With that certainty in our hearts, we spent that first spring night together. And, from then on too, I was sure that happiness would accompany us forever...
So many things had happened since I first enrolled in Hakuo Academy. These three years had really passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already time to bid my high school life goodbye…
Even having graduated, I found myself wishing I could have stayed even a little bit longer. I was very happy to have graduated, but I also couldn't quite shake a sense of loneliness that had taken hold of me. If I were asked what had had the biggest impact on me from my time at the academy, it'd have to be...
...Being able to meet Sanosuke-san.
He had to leave the academy during the spring of my second year, but even so… His influence was incomparable to any other. As a teacher, as a human being, as a man...
The day after my graduation ceremony, Sanosuke-san officially proposed to me. He'd always watched over me, offering encouragement and support along the way. He was the kindest, most considerate person I'd ever met, not to mention incredibly mature… He never showed off, and could always maintain his composure when needed. But at the same time, he had a hidden passionate side. He had a lot of self-control, but from time to time he said he couldn't hold himself back anymore…
I think he might've even been going easy on me because he thought I was still just a kid…
After I graduated from the academy, I started college with the goal of becoming a preschool teacher.
It seemed that seeing the way Sanosuke-san had had an impact on his students had made me want to become a teacher as well at some point. I wasn't really confident that I could become a universally beloved teacher like Hara― I mean, like Sanosuke-san, but… I wanted to get as close to his level as I could. To me, he was the gold standard among teachers. I thought that if I kept following his lead, I'd be able to get there someday. I had no doubt in my mind I would. So I didn’t hesitate.
...But first...
I couldn't really get started until I convinced my father to let me marry him while I was still a student, I guess...?
But just as Sanosuke-san said I would, I had developed an independent spirit at Hakuo Academy. So I thought that no matter what obstacles the future brought, I'd be able to overcome them.
The End
(Yuugs: What the heck is up with his seppuku scar still being there!? The game never even explains it…)
(Dei: ...I guess...he had a really bad case of appendicitis? I mean it can’t be from a Caesarian, right?)