Hi everyone. I hope that you've all been well over the last month, and I'm happy to be back with another chapter of... this. Though it's kind of meaningless in the bigger picture of what has happened in the world in the time I was gone.

I'm going to go on a bit of a tangent here, so feel free to skip to when the chapter begins.

Honestly, things seem to have gone from bad to worse in the US, and I really hope that all of you are alright. The protests and lootings are scary, but as a country, I think this is necessary so that minorities are heard. They go through enough fear in their normal lives with police brutality that I can't even begin to imagine it.

Things have to change... the rich have more money than they know what to do with it, and social programs get nowhere near the funding they need and their medical system is a farce, while the police have fucking tanks.

America has to face that they have failed their people. Not just ethnic minorities and LGBTQ people... they've failed everyone.

I know I'm an outsider to this all, but this is a painful and necessary time that America is going through. Things have to change, and it has never happened through peaceful protests.

A lot of people have been arrested, and some with legitimate crimes like looting and defacing property, but until you can put yourself in that person's shoes... understand that their lives are in danger every day from police... understand that the system has been designed for them to fail from the beginning... understand that society has overlooked them time and time again... can you really say that you wouldn't be doing the same thing that they are doing?

So everyone, please support the Black Lives Matter movement. If you want to protest, please be safe about it by hiding your identities, and if you don't want to protest, at least understand why it is important and don't snitch on those who do.

Of course, Coronavirus is still here, so stay safe, wash your hands, keep those masks on, and be on the right side of history.

Thanks for listening to my Ted talk, and please enjoy the chapter...

"O-okay" Jun unfurled the list which they'd been using while shopping, "let's run through this once more to see that we've got everything…"

"Yeah," Sumire and Mio nodded. They had gone to a more secluded aisle of the supermarket with their half-filled trolley after they'd picked up everything that they needed. The two teens were leaned over the metal, pulling out everything as it was called out to them.

"Honey?" "yeah…"

"Apples?" "yep."

"Red chillies?" "right here."

"Walnuts?" "yeah."

"Avocados?" "got it."

"Bananas?" "I see it."

"Chocolate?" "I think we got more than we needed, but it's here."

"And cherries," "there it is…"

Jun nodded and looked down at the trolley.

"Great, that's the most of it," she sighed, "unfortunately, we also need to get some champagne and some lubricant, so I'm going to need to pay for all of this alone."

"That makes sense," Sumire nodded, "you don't want to be seen talking to teenagers when buying alcohol."

"You can give us the car keys and we'll wait for you there," Mio agreed, "though do you have to pick up the other things from the kiosk, or do you need to walk around a little more?"

"I can get them around here, but I wanted to wait till I was alone," Jun pulled the keys out of her purse, "you two go on ahead and I'll see you outside in ten."

The two girls nodded and headed for the entrance, except Mio stopped in her tracks suddenly. Sumire paused.

"Did you forget something?" Sumire peered over her shoulder.

"I just had a thought…" Mio glanced around for a moment.

"Hope you didn't have to strain yourself too hard…" Sumire earned a glare at that, but she just laughed it off, "so what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that we should get something for Katsuragi… something that he might like."

"That's a sweet thought, but what can we get? I don't think we even know much about him… other than that he likes games," Sumire mused.

"I don't imagine we'd find games here though…" Mio sighed.

"But I agree… I'm sure we'll be able to find something around here."

The two of them walked around for a couple of minutes, when something caught Sumire's eye. She quickly dragged Mio over.

"How about that?"

"That…" Mio thought it over, "is actually an amazing idea."

"Of course," Sumire glowed, "and everyone will be able to contribute to it… am I a creative genius or what?"

"I mean, you did come up with the sweet ramen, so obviously you are…" Mio responded, and Sumire threw her arm over her shoulder.

"You're so nice, Mio-chan!"

"Yeah, don't get used to it," Mio responded in a flat voice as she picked up the card, "now let's go pay, or Nagase-sensei will beat us to the car."

"Alrighty," the ramen connoisseur hung onto Mio as the two of them headed to the express till, "I'm so glad to have met you today, Mio-chan," she exclaimed in a sing-song voice.

"Well, I'm not…" Mio replied sourly.

"Aww, you know you love me," Sumire nudged her teasingly.

"I assure you, I do not…" Mio insisted, "now get off me so I can get my purse."

"Aww, let me pay…"

"No, you already spent all that money on food for your s–"

"Wait!" Mio stopped, alarmed at the sudden change of tone as they reached the front.

"What is it?" Sumire wordlessly pointed to the kiosk, where Jun was paying for her things. The thing which was very off was the man who was leaning on her shoulder jovially.

"Something's wrong there."

Jun couldn't help feeling a little anxious as she got the final two items for the potion, but she tried to shake it off… it wasn't like she hadn't bought alcohol at a shop before, and it wouldn't be anything weird for an adult to be buying KY Jelly, even if she'd never bought it in the past. She was probably nervous at being judged.

Still, as she got to the kiosk to pay, the feeling didn't go away as each of her items got scanned by the sleepy cashier.

"What, you're going to get lube without condoms?" a voice came behind Jun, who sighed.

"Will you please mi–" Jun bristled as someone's arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Honey, I think you should get condoms as well."

"Who are you calling 'honey'!?" Jun tried to move away, but the grip only tightened. Jun winced, feeling the moisture of his armpits on her shoulder.

"Aww, don't tease the cashier like that," the guy spoke cheerily, "please put a ten pack in there."

"Wait, I do–" Jun's throat closed as she noticed the guy's other arm below the counter level, a knife enclosed in his hand, just inches away from her stomach. The cashier, of course, was none the wiser as she pulled out a small box of Trojans which were hanging behind her on the shelf.

"May I add this to your purchase, Ma'am?" Jun winced as the knife moved closer.

"Y-yes," the terrified teacher squeaked. The knife moved away again.

"Alright then," the cashier yawned as she scanned them through, and put it into one of the bags, "that will be 5 540 yen, please."

Jun trembled as she bought her card to the card reader, yet the habit was still strong enough that she used her other hand to cover the numbers and hide the pin. A growling near her ear made it clear that this action was noticed.

She couldn't get her brain to start… how the hell did this happen!? Jun barely heard the cashier's closing script over the loud rush of blood in her head, but she was acutely aware of the weight of her shopping bags in her hand and her sluggish walk as she felt each step on the tiles.

"So honey…" the sick bastard drawled in her ear, "how about me and you make a stopover at a love hotel to test out those new condoms."

"What do you want?" Jun spoke, her voice strained, but otherwise steady.

"You know what I want," he responded, one hand cupping her asscheek and massaging it, "money would be great, but a body like yours is fucking priceless…"

Jun felt her eyes tear up as this man felt her up. Her brain felt as disgusting as this unwashed fucker, yet her body was reacting to his touch. She hated this so fucking much.

"Please let me go," she spoke through clenched teeth, "I'll give you the money."

"Oh, I'll get the money too…" he whispered in her ear, "but I'll get what I want first…"

Jun wanted to escape, but her legs felt wobbly and were barely holding her up, and he was so close that she could feel his erection on her ass… she needed to focus and stay calm.

"I'm not alone here," she warned, slowing down her walk, "my boyfriend is watching and calling the police now," the man laughed mirthlessly.

"Oh, I know you're not alone," he smirked, "you've got those two teenaged bitches with you too."

Jun's eyes widened. He'd been watching them.

"I don't mind if they join, you know," he drawled, "I'd love to loosen those tight cunts of theirs…" Jun could feel the rage building up, but she waited, "though ten condoms might not be enough for them."

He laughed and gave her ass a slap. Jun didn't make a sound as she quietly prepared herself.

"So, where's your car?" he bought them both to a stop as they entered the main parking lot, "I want to see blondie and her friend with the great tits."

Jun gently placed down her shopping and took a breath… she was only going to get one chance with this.

When she'd braced herself enough, she slammed the back of her heel on the fucker's shoe and ducked, just in case he tried swiping at her head. Then, with the most force she could, she punched him where it would hurt, sending him down on his knees, the knife flung out of his hand and spinning on the tar, feet away from him.

"Don't you fucking talk about my students that way, you…" Jun's finger pointed at him trembled with adrenaline and rage as she tried her hardest to think of a name as vile and repulsive and worthless as this waste of oxygen was "… you… you…"

Through the blood pounding through her ears, she heard loud footfalls as the store guard ran up to them, followed by a hysterical Mio and Sumire. Jun felt herself calm down as both girls threw themselves at her.

"A-are you alright, Sensei?" Sumire asked, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"It took us longer than we hoped to find the store guard," Mio said shakily, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Jun rubbed both their hair, "I managed to deal with it somewhat, and the shop will take it from here."

"Yes," the shop guard grunted as he restrained the man on the floor, "I deeply apologise for how long it took us to get outside," he bowed low, "we'll be calling the police, and management will get back to you on how to reimburse you for all the pain that this has bought you."

"It's fine," Jun held up both hands, "if you just deal with this man and make sure he's handed to the proper authorities, I don't need to be reimbursed."

"But ma'am…"

"I was still able to get away without getting hurt," Jun's eyes hardened, "you came in time before this could escalate, and I'm grateful for that."

"I understand, Ma'am…" the guard responded, "can I just have a number to contact you if management needs it?"

"Of course…" Jun pulled a business card which she kept in her breast pocket and gave it over, "I'd just like to do one thing before you take him away."

Mio and Sumire watched the teacher dig through one of the bags and pull out a small box and open it and hide the contents in her fist.

"Hey, maggot…" she ducked in front of the guy, taking a good look at his grey, stubbled face, "you're a piece of shit, you know that," he didn't respond, "I have something for you."

Before he could respond, she shoved the condoms into his mouth, wrappers and all, leaving him sputtering and choking and trying to spit it out.

"You're right," Jun stood up, her voice cold as ice, "you might need more than ten condoms."

With that, she turned away, tossing the box into the closest bin as she started walking to the car.

"Let's go, you two," Mio and Sumire looked at each other before they grabbed the two bags of groceries and gave the guard a polite bow and followed Jun.

"I don't know if it's just me, but that was the coolest thing I've ever seen," Mio whispered to Sumire.

"No kidding," Sumire responded, "I think I'm in love."

Mio rolled her eyes, but she was a little grateful… when Sumire was making stupid jokes, she knew that things would be alright.

Back in the group, Haqua had earned herself a lot of attention, and Kanon was glad to be out of it, sitting to the side. Honestly, she knew that there were things in her brain that she really should be working through, but something caught her eye from the balcony: the little blonde girl whom she'd nearly hit as she'd left the room before.

No, she didn't know Tsukiyo… yes, she was still concerned about why she was outside… she glanced around for a moment, and it seemed like she was alone in that concern. Trying not to think too hard about it, she got to her feet and slunk off to the balcony, not thinking of what she'd even say to this stranger of a girl.

"Kujou-san," she greeted as she passed the door frame. Tsukiyo turned towards her for a moment, before turning her head away, "do you want to come in and join everyone?"

"Not particularly," Tsukiyo scoffed, "it's too rowdy there."

"I don't blame you for thinking that," Kanon laughed, "people have many questions for Haqua-san, and I don't think she'd prepared for that."

Tsukiyo didn't respond. Kanon took a deep breath and tried again.

"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked cautiously.

"It's not my property," Tsukiyo answered simply. It was a non-answer, but Kanon stepped out towards the railings and leaned back on it, tucking her skirt between her legs.

"Is everything alright, Kujou-san?" Kanon asked softly. Tsukiyo clenched her teeth.

"I don't want to talk about it," she responded sullenly.

"That makes sense, considering you don't even know me all that well," Kanon shrugged, "maybe you can talk to Keima-kun… or your librarian friend?"

"Butt out of it!" Tsukiyo lashed out at the mention of Shiori, her eyes harsh when they fell on Kanon. Her teeth clenched into an iron grip with fists to match as she remembered the situation she'd seen the girl in earlier. Kanon frowned, turning to look at the fields below her.

"I'm just trying to help," Kanon folded her arms on the railing, "you don't need to be so mean about it."

"I don't need help," Tsukiyo pushed off from the metal, "especially not from the likes of you."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Kanon swung around, but Tsukiyo was suddenly stopped when a hand slammed on the plastic of the door. Kanon's eyes widened.

"Tha's not how ya talk ta a person who's worried about ya," Nanaka spoke evenly, but her face was the angriest that Kanon had ever seen it, "apologise!"

"She should have left me alone," Tsukiyo retorted, "I didn't ask for thi–" she suddenly stopped in her tracks as Nanaka's angry face got within a few inches of hers.

Tsukiyo's gritted teeth fell into a frown, and her rebellious eyes fell to her feet. She didn't ask for this at all…

She didn't ask to be unimpressed by Keima's naked body when she'd seen it before… she didn't ask to see Kanon and Chihiro making out… she didn't ask to see Jun and Hinoki either… she didn't ask for all the degenerate thoughts about Shiori that had corrupted her mind…

Who was she kidding? It wasn't anyone's fault. This was just who she was all along.

"Just leave it, Nanaka," Kanon put a hand on the Shougi girl's shoulder. The two traded a look that made Tsukiyo's heart squeeze painfully, but Nanaka dropped her arm, and Tsukiyo stumbled away, not quite the cool beauty that she normally was, with her heartbeat all over the place.

"Yer a lot nicer than I am," Nanaka turned to Kanon, who shrugged, "what gives?"

"I think she's working through something," the idol replied simply as she walked into the classroom, "she can apologise when she wants to."

"Izzat so…" Nanaka wondered as she trailed behind Kanon, "though wait, I wanted ta talk to ya."

"Let's do it later," Kanon turned around, "I'll go to the bathroom in a few minutes and message you."

"Tha's fine," Nanaka agreed, "lemme know whenever…"

Nanaka strolled past, and Kanon covered the lower half of her face, trying to hide the giddy smile that was threatening to take over.

Even if Kanon wasn't so insanely happy that Nanaka had tried to defend her, there was something she'd noticed when Nanaka had backed Tsukiyo into the doorway…

Those widened eyes… the sudden freezing… the blush… the dizzy stumble as she'd walked off… that was definitely a reaction Kanon could relate to.

Sumire and Mio sat in silence in the backseat while Jun took them back to the school – the car only filled with the sound of the radio – neither of them knowing what to say to the teacher. They should probably try to distract her from thinking about what happened before, but both were too rattled to even think about anything else… and if they were this way, just being bystanders who spent most of the time trying to find security personnel in the shop, that had to be nowhere near the trauma that Nagase had experienced.

Sumire squeezed her hands into fists… this wasn't supposed to happen… Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, for fuck's sake! There shouldn't have been any perverts here… even if there was, they shouldn't have stalked Jun… and even if they had, the guard shouldn't have taken five fucking minutes to find!

But there was… and they did… and it did… and there was no going back… all she could do now is see if she was okay.

Except for every time she turned to the teacher, the question died at her throat.

To Sumire, Jun looked okay. Her fingers drummed on the steering wheel and she hummed along to the song on the radio. She was acting the same as she did on the ride here, and it was… offputting, somehow…

"Nagase-sensei," Mio piped up next to Sumire, "if you're doing this for our sake, please stop."

The ramen connoisseur turned to her in alarm, but Mio looked forward determinedly.

"Doing what?" Jun looked over her shoulder, "should I stop humming?"

"You don't have to act if everything is alright," Mio spoke.

"But everything is alright," Jun turned back, "nothing happened."

"That wasn't nothing," Sumire argued, "that was enough to shake anyone up."

"I wouldn't speak for everyone," Jun squeezed the steering wheel, "he's gone and we won't ever see him again. There's no need to keep thinking about that anymore."

"He was still there!" Mio interjected, "keeping all your bad feelings in isn't good for you!"

"Even if you are a teacher, you are allowed to feel things around us," Sumire added.

"Stop it!" Jun slapped her hand on the wheel, inadvertently setting off the hooter and silencing the girls, "I'm fine."

Sumire, who was in the best position, tried to look at the teacher's expression. It had gone from cheery to outright stormy, and her knuckles were white from gripping the wheel.

They'd done it…

Jun really hadn't wanted to show anything at all. In the end, it was alright… but it was alright because those girls had been there.

She was ashamed… for all her beliefs in ideals and strengths, she had shown none of that at the time she needed it. Jumbo Tsuruma had shown her twenty-odd ways of dealing with fuckers like him, but she'd done none of them as he walked her to the car park… as he fondled her… and she would have let him continue…

The only thing to snap her out was her students, and how she'd protect them if it was the last thing she did.

It was over… he wouldn't be back… the best thing she could do is just put it behind her. She took a breath

"Girls," she spoke, and she felt their attention on her, "we were lucky that nothing happened," she tried to smile, "so let's keep this a secret between us."

"Of course," Mio agreed.

"No, I won't," Sumire replied, not hesitating. It was Mio's turn to look at her like she was nuts.

"Why not!?" Mio demanded.

"Why should I?" Sumire countered.

"Nagase-sensei obviously doesn't want to keep reliving it."

"And I don't want the others to worry about us when it's over and we're fine," Jun added.

"No, we're fine," Sumire indicated to her and Mio, "you can say that you're fine, but you can't even look us in the face when you say it."

Jun gritted her teeth.

"It's fine if you don't want to talk to us… I won't tell any of the girls, but I'm going to tell Nikaidou, so you can talk to an adult."

"It's not for you to decide, Uemoto-san," Jun said coldly.

"Don't be like that, Sumire," Mio whispered to her, "there's no need to make it harder for Nagase-sensei."

"So you want her to keep all those bad feelings in?" Sumire grumbled.

"I don't, but it's her decision to make."

"Well, sometimes the easy decision isn't the right one," Sumire responded stubbornly, "and I'll make my decisions as what I think is right."

"So I guess we're at an impasse here…" Jun muttered.

"Not really," Sumire laid her head back, "I'll keep quiet about that scum if you promise that you'll talk to someone about it whenever you're ready to."

"Oh…" Jun thought about it for a moment, "I can think about it, but I won't make any promises."

"Then I won't either," Sumire shrugged. Mio smiled.

That was probably as good as it was going to get, considering how headstrong Sumire could be.

Through rereading this, I can say one thing... this actually was not a very enjoyable chapter at all. It was actually pretty tense, and I don't know how that happened.

Though admittedly, in my document which I have this whole story in, the order of scenes was somewhat different. I changed how I wanted to post this because I didn't want to end off on that bitter note for a whole month. Though in any case, I am back now. I'll hopefully post again in two weeks, but I don't have any backlog at all to fall onto, so I guess we'll see.

So reviews now and I need to respond to the one from the last chapter...

Xellos540: Thank you for reviewing both chapters. They always bring a smile to my face, and I can tell that you spend a lot of time on it, and I like seeing your thoughts as you read each part.

Lol, and obviously you like that name, seeing that it's your forum name. I'd say Shiori had a pretty great idea as well :)

The part with Eri, Hinoki, Kusunoki, and Keima was quite fun to write... there are so many little details to add, and I'm happy to let my brain go hog wild on the document.

In your second review, I kind of see your point. I imagine that the girls, even if they don't watch it, do have some kind of thoughts about it. Though this is very much the internal arguments my brain used to have in high school. And of course, Yui thinks porn is hot: even with her overprotective mother, this girl is gonna watch it once in a while.

Lol, if Tsukiyo said that she was going to the bathroom, I think that the whole group would know what that means. :P

Ah, Minami meets Miyako and Izumi. I kinda enjoyed the dynamic and I miss Miyako... but yeah, we can't involve her this time... :P

Also, don't worry too much about the phone. I have plans xD

Gonnabe Writer: Thanks for the review and I really appreciate it... that being said, given the content of this story and the fact that I know you in real life... I'm really hoping that you don't make it far enough into this story to read my response xD

Though if you do, the compliment is appreciated :)

That's it for me for now. Stay safe and keep being awesome. Hopefully, I'll see you for the next chapter :)