SSS-Class MILFs And Their Yandere Daughters, I Want Them All!

The classroom hummed with the low, steady cadence of the teacher's voice as he paced at the front, chalk in hand. On the blackboard, diagrams of layered landscapes filled the space, notes about the varying atmospheres and ecosystems that could be encountered inside different portals.

Students hunched over their desks, scribbling every word as though their lives depended on it. In a way, they did. Even though most of them had bought their way into the support class, that didn't mean they could slack off.

Solaria Beyond Academy had no patience for dead weight, anyone who failed to keep up would be expelled without hesitation.

The tension in the room was palpable, every head bent down, every pen scratching frantically. Every head, except two.

Maria, chin resting lightly on her hand, twirled her pen lazily between her fingers. Her notebook remained blank. This subject was old news to her; she had dissected material like this long before she stepped foot in Solaria.

To her, this lesson was little more than a dull drone in the background, the teacher's words passing through her ears without meaning. She exhaled softly through her nose, bored out of her mind, until her eyes slid sideways to the boy beside her.

Mika, as always, was not paying attention in the slightest. Not only was he ignoring the lecture, but he wasn't even pretending to take notes like some of the other slackers did. Instead, he was fully immersed in something resting on his desk. Her brows arched the moment she realized what it was: a puzzle.

Of course.

Maria wasn't surprised. Mika always found some strange little project to occupy himself during class.

Once, she caught him rigging together a tiny rune-powered robot no bigger than his palm, claiming he was trying to see if he could sync its movement with his thoughts.

Another time, he had been carefully mixing a collection of reagents in a vial, only to proudly declare he was "inventing perfume."

And then there was the day he smuggled in a glob of translucent slime from a minor realm, poking it with his fingers while explaining that it "massaged your hand back if you pushed deep enough."

Every time, Maria was equal parts baffled and amused. More often than not, she found herself ignoring her own textbooks just to watch whatever bizarre thing he was up to. It was more entertaining than any lecture could ever be.

But today's distraction was different. Today, he had a puzzle sprawled out on his desk. Not a normal puzzle either.

Her eyes narrowed. The puzzle board was small, two feet by two feet at most, but it looked like it held more than a thousand tiny pieces, scattered in irregular heaps.

Each piece was oddly shaped, no neat corners or predictable edges. And stranger still, the pieces weren't static. Their surfaces shifted constantly, like little screens that flickered between images and colors every few seconds.

One moment a piece showed the swirl of a galaxy, the next it became a solid crimson blotch, then it shifted again into what looked like a rune fragment.

Her fingers twitched around her pen. Intrigue pricked her boredom like a needle.

Without warning, Maria raised her hand. "Excuse me, sir." She said, her tone polite in a way that immediately made the hairs on the teacher's neck rise. "I forgot to bring my textbook today. Would it be alright if I shared Mika's?"

The room froze.

The teacher turned stiffly, eyes darting toward the back corner where the infamous duo sat. Mika, the cursed devil boy. And Maria Deveste, the Whisperer of Death.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, imagining the cold slice of her stare turning on him if he dared to refuse. "O-Of course, of course!" He stammered. "Anything you want."

Maria's lips curved ever so slightly. "Thank you."

She dragged her chair across the floor with a sharp scrape and slid it right up against Mika's, close enough that her shoulder pressed into his arm.

"What exactly are you doing?" She asked.

Mika didn't even glance up. "It's a puzzle, Maria." His fingers moved easily over the shifting pieces, slotting one into place with a quiet click.

"I can see that." She replied dryly, tilting her head. "I'm asking why this puzzle looks so damn weird." Her eyes scanned the restless board. "The images are changing every second. One moment it's a picture, the next it's just colors. And the shapes..."

She frowned, picking up one of the irregular fragments between her fingers

"...these outlines don't even make sense. Even if the pieces weren't shifting, this thing would still be a nightmare to complete."

"That's the point." Mika smirked faintly, still not meeting her gaze. "A normal puzzle would be boring. This one keeps me awake."

Maria's brows drew together, her pen now forgotten between her fingers. "Explain what exactly is going on here."

"You see..." He began, his tone maddeningly calm for someone doing something so complicated. "...this isn't exactly a puzzle you'd normally see. It's not like the ones where you have a still image and just match the pieces together until you get the full picture. This is closer to a game."

Maria tilted her head, intrigued despite herself. "A game?"

"Mm." He nodded slightly, still not taking his eyes off the pieces. Click. Another piece was placed. "Think of it as a constant 'odd-one-out' challenge. The board always has 1024 pieces on it. The objective is to place all 1024 pieces in the correct order, one by one, until the very last piece clicks into place and the final image is revealed."

"There's no guesswork about where the piece goes, the board builds row by row automatically as long as you choose correctly."

Maria's gaze flicked between his face and the puzzle board. The pieces were flashing rapidly now, images shifting every two seconds.

A wolf. A bowl of soup. A purple sky. A sword hilt. Random shapes, solid colors, even strange sigils she couldn't recognize.

"Then how the hell do you know which one is correct?"

"That's the interesting part." Mika said with a faint smirk, slotting in yet another piece as if it was the easiest thing in the world. "Every two seconds, every single piece on this board changes into something new."

"It could be a picture of an object, a creature, a person, just a color, or even a completely random fractal pattern. But here's the catch, every single piece will always have some sort of connection to at least one other piece on the board."

"Connection?" Maria repeated, her brow furrowing.

"Yeah." He gestured briefly toward the puzzle. "Say one piece shows a tree, and another shows soil. You can link those two together, trees grow in soil. Or maybe one shows a red demonic beast and another is just a splash of red. You can still link them by color."

"There's always a way to form a chain, to make a connection that ties them together logically or visually. Except..." He paused, his fingers hovering over a piece before plucking it out with certainty and sliding it into the empty slot on the row "...for one single piece."

Maria watched, utterly focused now, as the piece locked into place and the board shifted again, every tile flashing with a new image.

"That single piece..." Mika continued. "...is the odd one out. No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to connect it to any of the other 1023 pieces on the board. It just doesn't fit. And that's how you know that's the piece you're supposed to play next."

Maria narrowed her eyes at the puzzle, lips pressed into a thin line. She watched the tiny flashing images shift again, plants, clouds, buildings, symbols, until Mika plucked one tile from the chaos and locked it neatly into place.

"I see." She murmured finally. Her gaze flicked sideways at him. "So...how many pieces have you placed so far?"

"Three hundred eighty-three." A soft click echoed as another fit. "Three eighty-four." Another two seconds, another piece. "Three eighty-five."

Her brows drew together, curiosity edging her voice. "And what happens if you choose wrong?"

That earned her a crooked smile. He set another tile down before answering, tone almost smug.

"Then the whole thing resets. Every piece, gone. Back to zero. Hours of progress wiped in an instant." He shrugged lightly, as though it were no big deal. "All of my progress would vanish just like that. Poof. Gone in an instant."

Maria stared at him for a beat before dragging her hand down her face with a long exhale.

"Freak." Her voice was flat, dry as dust. "You're an absolute freak, you know that?"

"Why do you say that?" Mika chuckled under his breath, clearly pleased at her irritation.

"Because this is the kind of thing even the most powerful supercomputers in the world would choke on." She gestured sharply at the puzzle. "Every two seconds, you're forced to analyze over a thousand pieces, connect them logically, spot the one anomaly, and act instantly."

"The pieces aren't even consistent images, they're random. Sometimes abstract, sometimes colors, sometimes creatures or objects. And you're telling me you can do all that in your head? In two seconds over and over again?"

She gave him a look like he wasn't human.

"Only a freak could manage something like that."

Unbothered, Mika slid another piece home with a tiny click.

"Oh, Maria...is it really that hard?" His smirk was maddening. "Once you get the rhythm, it's easy. Difficult at first, sure, but it gets simple as you go along."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. He was making her feel stupid, and she hated it. Without a word, she lifted her hand and waved it in front of his eyes, blocking his view of the board.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Mika snapped, twisting his head to try and see around her hand. "I'm playing here!"

"I know." She said coolly. "That's why I'm sabotaging you. I refuse to sit here and watch you do something I couldn't do in a thousand years. No way I'm letting you have that satisfaction." She pressed her palm more firmly in front of his face, cutting off his line of sight completely.

Mika only smirked wider. "Oh? If you're going to play dirty…" His free arm shot out, hooking lightly around the back of her neck.

In one smooth pull, he dragged her close until her shoulder pressed into his chest, her face caught just inches from his. It looked almost like he was hugging her, but the challenge in his eyes said otherwise.

"Now what? You can't do anything, can you? Not with me holding you like this."

Maria tilted her chin, meeting his gaze without flinching. "Maybe. But you've only got one hand left now."

"Only one hand is more than enough." Mika countered easily. His remaining hand darted to the puzzle, another piece clicking into place as though to prove his point. "The puzzle isn't the hard part. The real challenge…" He leaned closer, his breath brushing her ear. "…is doing it with you here trying to mess me up."

Maria didn't fire back immediately. Instead, he felt her shift slightly against him. Then, faintly, shockingly, he caught her inhaling. Sniffing at his shirt.

"…Maria." He drawled, voice low and teasing. "Are you sniffing me?"

Maria tilted her head just slightly, her eyes fixed on him with that same calm sharpness. "It's not what you think. It's just...you smell different than usual."

"Different?"

"Yes." She went on, her voice almost casual, though her face betrayed a faint frown. "It's much more floral. Fragrant. Softer somehow. It doesn't smell like you normally do."

"Of course it doesn't." He gave a small shrug, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I've been staying at Yelena's place. She uses different shampoo, different soap. I figured it was only natural I'd end up smelling a little different."

Maria's frown deepened, and for once, she didn't bother hiding it. "Well, I don't like it." She said flatly.

"…You don't like it?"

"No." She said firmly, eyes steady on his. "It doesn't feel like you. Right now, it feels like I'm sitting against a completely different person. I'd much rather have your old scent back."

He leaned back just slightly, studying her. "And what, exactly, did I smell like before?"

Maria's lips curved faintly, as if she hated herself for admitting it but couldn't resist.

"You smelled like sunshine. Warm. Like jumping into a bed that's just been washed and dried in the open air. It was...nice. Comfortable." She shook her head, wrinkling her nose lightly. "This floral nonsense? I hate it."

For a moment, Mika just looked at her, the corner of his mouth twitching. Then he let out a soft chuckle, squeezing the back of her neck just a little.

"Well then. If you dislike it so much, I could let you go. As long as you promise not to bother my puzzle anymore. You'll sit quietly, behave, and not touch a thing."

Maria's eyes flickered with mischief instantly. She shook her head without hesitation.

"Not happening." She leaned in just slightly, her voice low, taunting. "The second you let me go, I'll disrupt your game. Maybe I'll flip the whole puzzle over, just because it pisses me off that I can't do it. If you don't want that happening...you'd better hold me tight."

"I see. If that's what you want, I don't mind."

But before his arm could even tighten, Maria tilted her face up to him, her expression calm but her words deliberate. "Even tighter, Mika. Hold me closer. If you loosen even a little, I'll ruin everything. I'll mess it up completely. I promise."

His eyes glinted, amusement dancing there.

"Fine, fine. Have it your way."

His arm shifted, wrapping her in fully, dragging her firmly into his chest with a brazen certainty. His other hand kept working at the puzzle, each click punctuating the closeness between them.

Maria's lips curved into the faintest smile, rare and quiet, as she simply let her head rest against him. Her eyes softened just slightly, though her voice didn't return.

Instead, she stayed perfectly still, perfectly content, watching him play as though the closeness alone was its own victory.

The rest of the classroom, of course, had noticed. It was impossible not to.

Their classmates shifted uneasily in their seats, sneaking glances at the scene unfolding so openly before them. The teacher paused mid-sentence, gaze flicking toward the pair with a faint twitch of his brow, but after a moment he carried on as if this sort of spectacle was nothing new.

Because, in truth, it wasn't. Everyone had grown accustomed to the strange dynamic between Maria and Mika.

The same Maria who kept the entire class at arm's length, who dismissed others with cold looks and venomous words, for some reason allowed Mika closer than anyone. Closer than close.

She had been seen sitting pressed against him without hesitation, even lounging on his lap from time to time, speaking to him in a casual manner she never granted to anyone else.

Still, even by those standards, this was bold. Mika holding her so tightly in class, arms wrapped around her in what could only be called an intimate, almost passionate embrace, it made more than a few of the girls flush with embarrassment just watching. They averted their eyes quickly, cheeks warm, yet curiosity made them peek again only to catch Maria's icy stare.

The look she gave them was cutting, a wordless warning: Don't even think about it. And just like that, they dropped their gazes back to their desks, unwilling to tempt her wrath.

Satisfied, Maria shifted ever so slightly, pressing herself even closer into Mika's hold, her expression unreadable but her actions clear. She wasn't letting go. She wasn't letting anyone else interfere.

And so she simply stayed there, head nestled against him, watching his hands move over the puzzle with quiet satisfaction. For her, this was better than anything the class had to offer.