Attack Of Parasites

The bell rang to signal the end of Ms. Tamiya's class. As the students gathered their belongings and prepared to leave, Ms. Tamiya said, "Quiet."

"Izumi, please come to the guidance office later. Agreed?" she added with a sharp glance before leaving the room.

Everyone in the classroom remained silent for a moment after she left, all eyes turning toward Izumi.

"Did you do something?" asked one of the girls.

"She must like you, Izumi," said another.

"I'm feeling jealous," chimed in someone else.

"It seems her taste doesn't match her beauty," added another student.

"I would love to have a private lesson with someone as beautiful as Ms. Tamiya, but unfortunately, I think she only teaches boys like Izumi," said one boy.

Izumi had clearly heard enough. The last student, unfortunately, found himself on the receiving end of Izumi's frustration. Izumi lunged at him, wrapping his hands around the student's neck in an attempt to choke him and shouted angrily, "What are you talking about? You have no idea!"

"Calm down, Izumi..." Murano intervened, trying to defuse the situation.

Izumi released the student and stormed out of the classroom, leaving everyone stunned by his violent reaction.

"Did he really say, 'What are you talking about?' You're the one acting clueless! Why were you chosen then?!" one student remarked, commenting on Izumi's outburst.

Dikim followed his friend Izumi as he headed toward the guidance office to meet Ms. Tamiya.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Dikim asked.

"No, just be around in case something surprising happens. Is Hidari awake?" Izumi replied.

"Yeah," Dikim said.

"And what purpose do you serve? I'm not your personal guard! What a joke!" Hidari chimed in, raising his left hand in mock rejection.

"Why do you think Ms. Tamiya called you?" Dikim wondered.

"I don't know, I don't know. Things are happening too fast," Izumi said, expressing his unease about the situation.

"Izumi!" Megi called out.

"She's about 10 meters away," Megi added.

"Are you awake now?!" Izumi said, annoyed at Megi for sleeping through the entire class.

"Right on time," Megi replied.

Izumi knocked on the door and placed his hand on the doorknob to open it.

"Please come in," Ms. Tamiya said, sitting alone at a rectangular table with several empty chairs around her, without looking at Izumi.

With heavy steps, Izumi approached the table and stood waiting for Ms. Tamiya to allow him to sit, but she didn't.

"I assume you know who I am," the professor said condescendingly.

"Yes," Izumi replied.

"Yes!" she said, giving him a sharp look that indicated her displeasure with one eye, while the other was partially covered by her hair.

"I see you've gotten used to me! That's not the appropriate way to speak to your teacher, is it?" Ms. Tamiya added.

As Izumi stood there, staring at her in silence, Ms. Tamiya said with a mysterious body language that was hard to interpret, "No need to be tense; your right hand should realize that I have no intention of killing you."

"Besides, if we were to fight in a closed space like this, it would end up harming many of the attendees..." she added, her eyes half-lidded as she analyzed Izumi's body language, which tensed as he heard her words.

She closed her eyes for a moment and continued, "I want to talk to you. You can set aside some time for us to meet after school today."

"Okay," Megi suddenly stretched himself to Izumi's eye level and said without hesitation.

Annoyed by Megi's acceptance of the offer, Izumi replied, "What if it's a trap? I don't want any part of this..."

Ms. Tamiya let out a sigh after a while, expressing her annoyance, and said, "Why do humans act so irrationally?"

"What?" Izumi said angrily, feeling insulted.

The professor gently pushed her chair back to stand up, causing Izumi to take two steps back in fear of her reaction.

"I already said there's no need to be tense. I could have killed you already if I wanted to," Ms. Tamiya said as she turned toward the window, presenting her back to Izumi.

"I'm curious about you; you two are the first cases I've encountered like this," she added.

"You two?!" Izumi exclaimed in surprise.

"You and Dikim are the same case, which is why I want to gather more data. I wish to exchange information and discuss the future with you," Ms. Tamiya turned back to Izumi and said confidently.

"The future?!!!" Beads of sweat began to form and trickle down Izumi's forehead.

"That's all I wanted to say," Ms. Tamiya said as she walked toward the door.

"Bring your friend with you," she added as she exited the room.

"Ms. Tamiya..." called out a professor from down the hall as he approached her.

"Yes?" Ms. Tamiya turned back and replied.

"Do you have any plans for today? I would like to invite you to dinner," the professor said shyly.

"Yes, I will visit my mother at her house; I apologize," Ms. Tamiya said before continuing on her way.

Izumi approached his friend and detailed everything that had happened with Ms. Tamiya, including the appointment that Megi had agreed to. Dikim also accepted the suggestion, especially since the place the professor had proposed was a public café. If her intentions were to harm them, she wouldn't have asked for a meeting there. Izumi continued to ponder and formulate hypotheses about what Ms. Tamiya had said at the end of their encounter regarding the future...

On their way to the agreed location, Dikim wondered, "Could it be that the professor is on the side of good, like we are?!"

"I don't think so. As you know, her situation is different from ours. The parasite has taken over her brain, and all the similar cases I've seen tend to lean toward violence and feeding on humans mercilessly," Dikim replied.

"Her words were clear and not open to interpretation. She wants to understand what happened regarding us and how it occurred. If she finds us useful for her interests, I'm sure she'll do everything to keep us on her side and avoid any conflict with us." Dikim stopped walking and said.

"And of course, we won't say anything about the iron bag and the glass cup, or how we ended up like this," he added.

"Well said. We won't disclose anything, no matter the cost. Don't forget, we are the root of the disaster that has befallen our country; no one knows the truth about what happened," Izumi said, appreciating Dikim's conclusion about the necessity of keeping the secret and not revealing it.

The two boys arrived at the café and chose a table somewhat out of sight...

"Izumi, I'm hungry..." Megi said.

"I'm hungry too..." Hidari chimed in.

Eager to keep them awake, the boys had no choice but to satisfy the cravings of the parasites, Megi and Hidari, by ordering pastries and eating while they waited for Ms. Tamiya to arrive.