"Kirisu-sensei! Can you please talk? What's going on?!"
Homura dashed along the road, shouting as he ran, attracting curious glances from passersby.
Even though he was unclear about what exactly had happened, since the call hadn't ended and he hadn't heard another voice, it couldn't have been an assault from some stalker.
What kind of accident could've caused Mafuyu to scream like that?
He suddenly felt a déjà vu.
"Cock... roach..."
Although barely audible, Mafuyu's voice still relieved Homura, who then chuckled wryly.
"Seriously, you scared me... You know, if it were someone else, they wouldn't even understand what you're saying."
"...Minamiya-san, can you help me kill it?"
Perhaps now that the cockroach was out, it was easier for Mafuyu to speak, though still in a low voice.
"I'm on my way to you, but... don't you have insect spray or something?" Homura wondered.
Mafuyu might've been scared of bugs, but she was also a strong woman, after all.
"It's on my clothes... If I use insect spray, I won't have any clean clothes left..." Mafuyu replied, sounding on the verge of tears.
Homura, on the other hand, was a bit puzzled.
'On her clothes? Weren't they just washed... Oh, it gotta be on other clothes then. Couldn't she just scare it away from a distance?'
Even though Mafuyu was afraid of bugs, surely she could just throw something at it to scare it off, right?
Unless it was in a very difficult-to-chase-away place.
Like the drawer where she kept her underwear?
She wouldn't dare touch the whole drawer if it was there, would she?
Moreover, the cockroach inside wouldn't easily crawl out.
"Kirisu-sensei, hang on, I'm almost there."
"...Mm."
Another faint response, indicating she was probably feeling embarrassed about her earlier reaction.
===
Homura arrived at Mafuyu's apartment, quickly went upstairs, and knocked on the door.
*Knock-Knock!*
"Kirisu-sensei, I'm here!"
In the next moment, the door swung open, and a hand pulled him inside before the owner of the hand quickly threw themselves into Homura's arms, burying their head in his chest.
Homura froze, looking dumbfounded.
As the door shut behind them, he didn't know where to look or what to do with his hands.
"Kirisu-sensei, why are you wearing just a towel? Good thing no one else is here..." Homura said with a twitching eyebrow, then muttered, "Otherwise, I'd be having thoughts of murdering them..."
Mafuyu, who had been nervous about the cockroach moments ago, couldn't help but smile at his muttering and hugged Homura tighter.
"That thing is in the place where I keep my underwear..." Mafuyu said softly.
"Okay..." Homura sighed, sweating a little. "But your underwear... Are they the clean and washed ones, not the ones you just wore?"
"Yeah..."
"You're really messing with my heart right now..." Homura chuckled slightly, then took a few deep breaths. "Let's just find that cockroach first."
Feeling Homura leaning in slightly, Mafuyu seemed to understand something as her face flushed instantly. She silently released her hold on his chest but didn't move away—instead, she hugged one of his arms tightly.
She stole glances at Homura from time to time, then quickly averted her gaze, but couldn't resist sneaking another look.
Homura, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief.
Mafuyu's charm was making it hard for him to stay composed. Although he could still vividly feel the sensation of her touch on his arm, it was much milder than the intense feeling earlier, when her soft chest had touched his.
"Kirisu-sensei, can you show me where that cockroach is?" Homura asked while wiping his sweat.
"Eh?"
Mafuyu, who had been stealing glances, quickly turned her head upon hearing his words, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, follow me..."
Taking Homura step by step to the drawer, Mafuyu couldn't help feeling nervous again just by looking at it.
Sensing her unease, he understood that this was the place.
"Don't you need to stay further away?"
Homura asked as he turned his head to Mafuyu, who shook her head in response.
Seeing this, Homura gave a slightly mischievous smile.
"But if you're with me, what if the cockroach flies toward you?"
Upon hearing this, Mafuyu's body stiffened a bit, but after a moment of thought, she shook her head again.
"I'll just close my eyes!"
Seeing her pitiful reaction, Homura decided to drop the topic.
"By the way, Kirisu-sensei, do we have disposable paper cups or something? We could use them."
"I remember... there should be some with the takeout."
Mafuyu began scanning the room, but it seemed more like a glance than any real intention to act.
Homura also glanced around, but what he saw was a mess, making him shake his head in resignation.
Spotting a few paper cups on the table, they both went over, grabbed them, and finally made it to the drawer.
Looking at the half-open drawer filled with various underwear, Homura didn't feel particularly interested.
It was only natural.
Whatever wasn't worn didn't hold much appeal for him.
Nevertheless, where was that pesky little bug?
Turning to the tightly shut eyes of Mafuyu, Homura asked, "Didn't see it. Do you know where it went, Kirisu-sensei?"
"Don't know."
Mafuyu replied quickly, her eyes still shut tight.
"Okay..."
Homura instinctively wanted to shrug, but with Mafuyu closing her eyes, it was useless.
"If it's not gone, it gotta be hiding underneath, but... Kirisu-sensei, is it okay for me to search your underwear?"
"It's fine! We have to find it!"
A quick response without a second thought!
Even though it was embarrassing for a boy to rummage through her underwear, the important thing was that terrifying creature!
Moreover, all of her underwear had to be thoroughly washed.
Just the thought of that thing crawling around on her underwear made all the hairs on her body stand on end.
*King called me to patrol the mountain~*
Just as Homura was about to act, an incoming call interrupted him.
"Well, I rushed over, so everyone gotta be worried about you, Kirisu-sensei..."
Glancing at the name 'Katou Megumi' on the phone screen, Homura spoke to Mafuyu before answering the call.
"Homura-kun, what happened? Is Kirisu-sensei okay?"
Megumi's speed of speech was surprisingly fast, showing genuine concern.
"Don't worry, everything's fine. Nothing serious happened."
After saying this, Homura heard several relieved sighs from the other end.
"Thank goodness... But what exactly happened?"
Hearing this, Homura glanced at Mafuyu.
How exactly was he going to explain?