Chapter （Health Class）
Health Class
The next morning, Shintarō emerged, not looking the slightest hung over. A smug smile split his face as he sauntered into the kitchen, stretching his arms over his head.
“Oi, Kazu.”
Kazuki barely glanced up from his soup. “What?” he retorted none too gently. Pushing Elyna out when a nice, cosy evening awaited them left him resentful. The miso soup tasted so bland without her; she’d burrowed into his life so easily!
But Shintarō ignored his gloomy mood as he tossed something onto the counter. Delicate red lace almost landed in his soup. Kazuki froze, bowl halfway to his lips.
Kuso!
Shintarō leant against the counter, looking entirely too entertained. “I found some interesting stuff in the bathroom.” He held up the delicate fabric between two fingers and slanted his head. Then, an infuriating smirk bloomed upon his lips. “Have you been a naughty flatmate while I was gone?”
A battle of wills ensued, neither stubborn man willing to back down. For all his apparent wild ways, Shintarō wasn’t gullible. Kazuki’s eyes narrowed; he was a dragon guarding his hoard. Desperate and fierce. He couldn’t lose, this was too important, too sensitive to reveal.
There was only one way out of the stalemate and his pride would take a hit. But better his pride than his secret. Kazuki snatched the offending garment from Shintarō’s grasp. “OK, it’s mine. You happy?”
Shintarō froze, eyes going wide; for a moment, Kazuki could see the wheel grinding in his friend’s mind, wondering if his long-time flatmate was that type of man. Then he bent over the table, invading his personal space.
Close, too close, enough for the remnants of alcohol in his breath to be uncomfortable. “Really? So … you’re into that?”
Kazuki didn’t even blink, miso soup sloshing in his bowl. Shintarō smirked, tilting Kazuki’s chin up with a finger. “So, mate,” he murmured, voice low and seductive. “Wanna have a round with me?”
Kazuki banged his bowl on the table. “Shut up!” he shouted in his best impersonation of Makoto’s storms. Shintarō just laughed, walking away with an easy wave. Kazuki heaved a great sigh.
I’m gonna kill him someday.
January 7th, 2019
Kazuki set up the demonstration with methodical precision, trying to forget the grilling he’d just suffered in the staff room. Rumours had run wild after Katayū Makoto’s had interrogated him about the woman’s voice he’d heard on the phone. Which, of course, Shintarō had confirmed with glee.
Fortunately, none of his colleagues had an inkling of the identity of said secret girlfriend; Elyna was safe.
And currently watching him arrange some peculiar material purposefully, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
Around him, the classroom shifted with tension.
There was no avoiding this awkward moment; he knew it, his students knew it …
and his mischievous teaching assistant was enjoying every second of it.
Kazuki breathed in, and out, the wall of professionalism snapping into place.
The few snickers bubbling up in the back row ceased the moment his hands stilled over the teacher’s desk.
Many eyes refused to lift, some staring very intently at their bags as if they contained the secrets of the universe.
Another boy was already flushing red before the demonstration had even begun. In the background, a pencil tapped an anxious rhythm against wood. At the front, Daichi had chosen to use his textbook as a shield.
Anticipation built in the air, almost thick, like the moment before a performance that nobody wanted to watch but everyone had to.
An itch bloomed at his ankle. Sharp and insistent. An itch that called his eyes back to Elyna, just for a breath. To think she would have to translate this lesson in English and help with the practical exercises … erm. Man up. It’s not like you haven’t done this already.
Five years he’d taught this class. But it was the very first time his lover was in the room while he rolled a condom onto a demonstration model. Kazuki took a deep breath, and reached for the bland-looking penis.
Thirty-eight pairs of eyes tracked his movements, all intensely aware that their homeroom teacher was about to make them acutely uncomfortable.
The great majority of his students were still virgins.
Kazuki set the model deliberately on the stand, where the overhead light caught every anatomical detail.
“Well, then, say hello to Koken. He and Okamoto[21] are really, really close.”
A few snickers greeted his joke, and he caught one wisp of a smile on Elyna’s lips. Of course, teenage boys being teenage boys, comments shot around the class. Mostly revolving around size, others more colourful—literally.
“It seems like Koken-san is pretty sick, Sano-sensei.”
“It’s not nice to wave around a dead man’s private parts, ne, Haruki-kun?”
Ah Shūji. Always good for a laugh.
Kazuki lifted the model penis, veins and all.
“Sensei, it looks anaemic.”
Ah, interesting. He pointed the dildo to Masaru. “Ten points to Gryffindor for remembering paleness involves lack of iron. And five more for the technical term.”
The Harry Potter joke landed true; Sako and Ayumi didn’t seem as mortified as they were five minutes ago. As for Elyna, she caught his eye with triumph, as if saying, ‘I told you Harry Potter jokes would work.’
“Now,” Kazuki added. “This is a model. Not an actual body. And since we’ve covered its colour condition, let’s concentrate on actually dressing Koken-san before he meets Okamoto-san.”
He set it down on the desk, and the room went dead silent; his students were holding their collective breath to the point of passing out.
“Sensei?” a boy asked, looking conflicted. “Will we have to … erm…”
Kazuki raised an eyebrow, patiently awaiting. But Shūji piped in: “Put a condom on this tragic little thing?”
Another round of laughter greeted that dramatic statement, but his student was still looking green at the gills. Kazuki doubted he’d ever kissed a girl. He wasn’t the only one; more than eighty percent of his class had probably not reached the partner stage, let alone thought of sexual intercourse.
All the more reason to teach them about consent, and proper technique. “It depends on how attentive you are to the demonstration.”
The boy nodded frantically, and the class settled.
“Now pay attention,” he commanded. The itch upon his ankle kept returning, the result of a kitty samurai embroidered with clumsy stitches on brand new socks.
Lopsided whiskers or not, he would wear Elyna’s Christmas present to death, and beg for more.
Kazuki subtly brushed his shin over it to scratch at the skin.
Then he picked up the foil packet and held it up so the class could see. “Before you open it, check the expiry date. Right here.” He pointed to the corner of the wrapper. “Expired condoms are brittle and tear easier.”
He opened the foil, taking great care not to look at Elyna; he could feel her presence all the same, a weight in his peripheral vision. The young woman who’d attempted to embroider cats on his socks was watching him demonstrate how to roll a condom onto a dildo.
How wonderfully romantic!
“Right,” he began, his professional armour feeling frail. “The key is to pinch the tip first. This removes any air and leaves space for the semen. If you’ve done things right, that is,” he added, his tone dry.
A few students laughed, grateful for the break in tension.
“You hold the base while you roll it down,” he continued, demonstrating with careful movements, as cautious as if he was defusing a bomb.
Tanaka raised his hand. “Sensei, what if it slips?”
“Then you stop immediately and use a new one. Never reuse. Never continue. The whole point is protection for both partners.” The words were automatic, a script he’d perfected over years of teaching.
Shūji leant towards his favourite target, his voice carrying across the classroom. “Ne, Elyna-chan, you’re not even looking. Don’t be shy!”
Confusion rippled in the room as she glared at Shūji. Someone whispered something that didn’t quite reach him, but the tone was clear enough. Kazuki’s hands tightened on the model. The latex stretched under his grip.
“The lubrication matters too,” he went on, forcing his voice level. “Most condoms come pre-lubricated, but additional lubricant can reduce friction and the chance of tearing. Water-based lubricant only—oil-based will degrade the latex.”
Not that we’ve needed it, with Elyna being so eager… Heat prickled across his cheek as he chased the intrusive thought away, oblivious to the whispers at the back.
Kazuki took a deep breath, and rolled the condom further down. His jaw tightened as fragments reached him. “...don't they all use pills though, right?” “Europeans don’t…” “...maybe she’s already…”. Straining his ears, he finally understood when he caught Elyna’s mortified gaze.
“Isn’t she, like…” A pause, then a whisper, “into women?”
Kazuki’s blood ran cold; his fingers tightened on the condom as he fought for control. Don’t overreact. Put them in their place without…
“Are we seriously doing this?” Shūji exclaimed, voice sharp as he stood to glare at the gossipers.
“Onishi-kun…” Kazuki warned his student.
But Shūji wouldn’t be Shūji if he listened.
“What?” he spat, balancing on his chair like an acrobat. “You’re so desperate that you’d gossip…”
“Shūji-kun!” The threat was firmer now, but there was no stopping the boy once launched at full speed. “ … about the only person who’s probably already got laid? That’s just sad. Maybe you can keep your virgin energy to…”
“Shūji!” Kazuki bellowed. The condom snapped, speared by the dildo. The room fell silent for a heartbeat, Kazuki’s fingers curled around crumpled latex.
As he fished a new condom from the box, Kazuki exhaled slowly. “Onishi-kun,” he said, not looking up. “Out.”
“But sensei! I was defending…”
“Now!” Kazuki’s voice didn’t rise, but his tone was unyielding. “Go to Sōhma-san and tell her she’ll be giving you a personal sex talk. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to cover what I missed.”
The class rippled with huffs and restrained laughter. A few students gave the boy a thumbs up, hissing a lucky you behind concealed smiles. It was no secret they found the school nurse stunning, but her unsettling personality saved her from boys swarming her office.
Shūji blanched at the innuendo, sending back a resounding “Shut up! You’re disgusting!”
Kazuki bit back a smirk. Keiko would surely make the boy pay for being kicked out of class with a far too detailed demonstration. Shūji probably doesn’t want to know what goes on in his father’s bed.
Sweet revenge—one that went both ways. The school nurse always insisted her colleagues ‘had the sex speech covered’ to avoid teaching it.
The class was getting out of hand now; Kazuki stood straight, levelling them with a disappointed look. “That is enough. I want an essay on respect for next Monday. Double length. Understood?”
Stunned, his students fished out their agenda to note down the assignment. As Shūji reached the door, his gaze dropped to Kazuki’s ankles.
“Ne, Sano-sensei,” he drawled. “There’s a loose thread in your socks.”
“Out!” he exclaimed, out of patience with the troublemaker. The boy slipped out into the corridor, face flushed.
Kazuki took a quick peek at his itching ankle, only to spot a pale pink thread loose from the sock. He couldn’t help it; his eyes found Elyna’s across the room. She looked slightly sheepish, because she knew exactly why that thread was loose.
But her eyes sparkled with suppressed laughter. This was so absurd. Particularly the lesbian rumour; he knew exactly her likes and dislikes. As well as the reason why they’d not used condoms—it had nothing to do with being European, and everything to do with AIDS tests and the pill.
His mouth quirked despite himself, the reminder of pleasurable activities branded in his mind.
For one heartbeat, he allowed his eyes to smile.
They couldn’t touch, couldn’t kiss, couldn’t even hold a proper conversation without straining their ears, but he could grant her that.
A heartbeat to tell her how much she meant to him.
Then Kazuki dropped his gaze back to the demonstration before he could start elaborating new plans to see his golden lady properly.
Let’s survive condom-day for now.
Aksel: Oi sister, all banged up?
Elyna: …
Aksel: Can you walk?
Elyna: I can even kick your balls, you dolt!