Chapter Text
It had been just another day, sunlight streaming in through the classroom window as Sano only half listened to the rowdy youkai around him. Mame's comforting weight settled in his lap took most of his focus while the tanuki excitedly told him how the mandragoras almost doubled in number recently. The brief bit of worry that crossed the smaller boy's face earned him a small smile from Sano. The reassurance that he would protect Mame should the mandragoras amass an army to take over the island left his best friend sighing in relief.
Shaking his head, Sano glanced around the room. Zashiki and Hijita were engrossed in a conversation he thought was about videogames. Nyuudou looked to be on his last nerve already with Mujina laughing next to him, only Akisame helping reign in his temper for the moment. And frankly he couldn't care less about what the others were up to, their conversations either too dull or too far away for him to listen to.
Just as he was about to turn his full attention back to Mame, a voice cut through the classroom. "Hey, where's sensei?" The talking died down to a soft murmur as the students glanced around the room. Sano himself followed Mame's curious gaze to the lectern where their teacher usually stood, that annoying strand of hair on top of his head bobbing with every move he'd make. But he was absent. Sano glanced towards the source of the voice, the cute girl with big doe eyes and her dark hair pulled into a ponytail tied with a bow. Utagawa, the resident gashadokuro, kept glancing between the lectern and the clock with worried eyes.
Following her gaze he looked at the clock. It had been thirty minutes already since the first bell rang and their homeroom teacher had yet to show. Though it was...odd...for the man to be so late, he didn't think much of it. Everyone had off days. For all he knew there had been a tv special on sailor uniforms in the morning and their idiot teacher had been too distracted to remember he had a job. Still, something gnawed at the back of his mind and weighed heavy in his gut. The feeling that something was wrong.
It made him shudder, the tremor unnoticed by all but Mame who was still seated in his lap. The tanuki had gotten strangely quiet as he watched the door expectantly. Whether it was to reassure himself or Mame, Sano didn't know, but still spoke up. "I'm sure he's fine. At worst the idiot chased a sailor uniform and ended up lost."
"Oh yeah! That's true." Akisame piped up, his ears shooting straight up and twin tails swishing. The unease on his face seemed to disappear to an extent, but he still seemed a bit unsure. It wasn't that long ago that they barely managed to save the man from dying in a fire. If he got into another incident like that…
"I can check the faculty lounge." Nyuudou offered as he stood from his seat with a sigh. He froze in place just as he took a step forward, head snapping to the open classroom door.
It wasn't their teacher who walked in though. The silver hair covering his right eye and single horn on his head could only belong to Miki-sensei from the class next door. He seemed put off for a moment with the class's collective attention pinned on him, but the fault in his steps was quickly covered as he approached the lectern himself. Now, Sano knew he would give them an explaination. He really did. But he couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "What did that idiot do now?" Mame peered up at him, knowing well enough that it was a show of concern. He avoided the tiny tanuki's gaze though and stared down the oni who came in their teacher's place.
"Ah, don't worry about that! He didn't get into any trouble. He's just feeling a bit under the weather today and opted not to come in." Miki-sensei waved a hand dismissively as he spoke, but the tension in the man's shoulders showed his worry for his the other. This went unnoticed by a lot of the class, their shoulders sagging as they slipped back into a more relaxed atmosphere knowing their teacher was not in immediate danger.
"I understand why Seimei-kun isn't here, but what about Ebisu-sensei?" Mame asked, standing in Sano's lap and waving his hand around in the air. For a brief moment, Sano thought he'd caught a hint of suspicion in Mame's tone but it passed so quickly he wasn't sure it had been real.
Without missing a beat, Miki added, "Abe-sensei took the lesson plan and your worksheets home last night so once we realized that, Ebisu-sensei had to go get them from the faculty dorms. He should be here in time for class." The explaination seemed to satisfy the boy as he plopped back into Sano's lap without much complaint. There was a long silence where Miki was left standing at the lectern awkwardly as the class watched him. It finally broke when he spoke again. "Well, if you have any questions feel free to find myself or another teacher. Abe-sensei will return to class shortly so there's no need to worry yourselves." And with that said, he returned to his own class.
Slowly the chatter returned to the room, with new bits popping up about their teacher. Should we make a card for him? Maybe get a gift? Is it contagious? Would it be safe to visit? The questions floated around the room until Zashiki spoke up loudly. "Ya think he'd get better instantly if we gave him a sailor uniform? He always does any other time sooo…" She waved her hand in a circular motion as Hijita nodded beside her in agreement.
"I know he's weird but I'm pretty sure a sailor uniform won't cure an illness," Nyuudou pointed out bluntly. "I say just make a card for now and if you want to try giving him gifts or sailor uniforms later then go for it." He shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn't such a big deal for him but the furrow of his brow as he chewed his lip said all they needed to know.
"It's probably just a bad cold anyway. If it was that big a deal, we would have known by now." Sano added, though the usual bite to his tone when he talked about their teacher was lost in his unease. His natural sense for misfortune was usually handy in times like this but it wasn't acting up yet. Though it may be a good sign, Seimei had been known to have a complete 180 turn in his natural misfortune. That alone was reason enough to worry.
Part of him itched to voice that worry, but Mame had relaxed now and was excited to make a card for Seimei. He didn't want to rain on his best friend's fun. It would hurt his heart to see those happy eyes dull and shoulders slump with worry over their idiot teacher. He would just wait until Seimei was back in class to rip him a new one for making them concerned for him. It wouldn't be that long, right?