Confrontation

"Agh!" I slightly winced in pain while I was checking the damage inside my mouth in front of the mirror.

I intended to make it look more serious but damn I went overboard with this. Well, more like I was a bit unlucky and careless.

There are a lot of CCTVs inside the library, since I didn't even push him or do anything visible on the CCTV that would provoke a fight, he would be the only one in trouble if I were to report this to authorities.

I even spit some blood on my napkin to make it look a bit more serious, with this, Sudo might learn a lesson not to act without thinking. In addition, if I ever need Sudo to do something important for me, I can always use this incident over him and if he won't feel sorry for it, I can blackmail him instead of appealing to his guilt. I, after all, know the most how important his basketball career is to him.

"...When did I become so twisted?" I muttered as I was looking at myself in the mirror with a faint smile before I spit a bit more blood into the sink.

*sigh* "I will most likely have an explaining to do tomorrow" I frowned as I touched the bruise on my right cheek.

Before I went to sleep I made sure to photo both the bruise and injury inside my mouth and record the date and time when Sudo hit me. With each day from the incident, its severeness would most likely diminish but it was enough for now. Sudo isn't exactly intelligent but even if he did say the school wouldn't care much and they would definitely want to know the reason why I haven't reported it sooner, I could always say that he was threatening me not to.

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The next day I arrived in the classroom, I received a lot of stares, most likely everyone's to be fair. I wasn't sure whether it was just due to my bruise or because somebody spread the rumor about what happened. I would place a bet on the latter seeing how everyone instantly looked my way as if they were waiting for me to arrive.

I just calmly arrived at my seat ignoring the uncomfortable silence I issued with my appearance.

I noticed that Sudo was looking a bit uncomfortable in this situation and he even seemed as if he wanted to say something to me but his pride didn't let him do it.

The moment Chabashira walked inside the classroom and noticed strangely silent, she scanned the surroundings just to notice my face.

"What happened to you?" I couldn't feel any concern in her tone so I was led to believe she just asked for the sake of appearance. Everyone glanced my way the moment they heard her question, waiting in anticipation for my answer.

"I tripped on my way upstairs. Clumsy ol' me" I replied with a smile but my lips slightly winced in pain.

"...Is that so? Fine" She almost looked relieved that she didn't have to get involved in something troublesome.

"I am touched by sensei's concern, no need to be so worried, I barely feel any pain now" I pressed my right hand to my heart and added with a peaceful smile which made several people in the class chuckle.

'Am I truly nothing to you! What kind of teacher are you?!'

Despite my words aimed at her indifference, she continued with the lesson while ignoring me, further irritating me but I decided to drop the matter and focus on the lesson.

The moment period ended, everyone started whispering without approaching me but I noticed them not so secretly peeking at me from time to time. I was actually left completely alone, not even Yamauchi dared to approach me and act as if nothing happened.

'What an awkward situation.' I got up from my seat and decided to take a short walk through the school corridors.

*beep* I heard a notification sound from my phone so I turned it on and saw a new message from Inogashira.

[Ino Koko: Are you alright? There is a rumor you had a fight with Sudo-kun yesterday]

'That's what I call a friend! Seems like she is still too embarrassed to hang out with me in public but it suits my situation plus its kind of interesting to message my "secret" friend'

[I wouldn't call it a fight, more like a massacre. But seriously now, do you have any idea who spread the rumor?]

[Ino Koko: Don't even joke about it, I can't even imagine you fighting someone like Sudo-kun. As for the source of the rumor, I think some people from our class saw it but ultimately it was Yamauchi-kun who brought it up, they just confirmed it and started discussing it which garnered everyone's attention.]

[Ino Koko: Do you plan on telling me what exactly happened?]

[Just a little argument]

[Ino Koko: There is another rumor slowly spreading that you were actually protecting Horikita-san when Sudo got angry at her. Is that the truth?]

What kind of bullshit rumor is that? Though, if Yamauchi was the one who spread the word, I wouldn't be that surprised since despite slightly changing my behavior, I still appeared to be a timid boy on the outside and why else would I try to "fight" someone like Sudo other than a girl?

That's probably what Yamauchi thought but I should reply to her before the delay between our messages gets suspicious.

[What, are you jealous?] Just to make sure she understands I am just joking, I added a few laughing emojis.

[Ino Koko: As if, I just don't think Horikita-san is worth getting beaten up for. I doubt you would even have a chance and if you are wondering why I am so mean, it's just a payback] I received her reply filled with a few pouting emojis.

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The day continued without any interesting things happening before the school periods ended.

'Finally free to go training!' I stretched my arms and got up from my seat, ready to burst out of the classroom before someone stopped me.

"Hey, can you spare me a minute?" It was Horikita who stepped in my way.

"Uh, suuure?" I replied with an unsure tone, afraid of what should I expect from her.

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We moved to a better place to talk

"Is that bruise fine?" Horikita asked unexpectedly but I knew why she asked.

"Look, if you want something please be direct, no need to fake your concern for me but it's alright, thanks for asking." I didn't want to spend my time on pointless talk so I asked her for her intentions.

"Can you get Sudo-kun and Yamauchi-kun to attend the study group again? I promise I will hold back on the insults this time." She said with an honest expression but it was visible she was feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Do you think I can do that? They didn't even interact with me today. What makes you think I can make them attend and why should I even do it?" I tried to sound a bit sour as if I minded their today's behavior.

"Aren't they like, your friends? Don't tell me you believe they will pass with those miserable quiz results"

"Maybe we aren't friends after today, who knows?" I replied half-jokingly but it seems like she took my answer seriously. Her next question caught me slightly off guard.

"Then aren't you aiming for class A?"

"Why should I? What even makes you think somebody like me has any intentions of aiming for Class A?" This was my honest to core answer.

"Because of your recent behavior." She replied instantly while frowning at me.

"Excuse me?"

"The way you act in front of others doesn't match up to what you have done at the library. When Sudo grabbed you by your collar yesterday, I could see mockery and disgust in your eyes which made me believe those are your true feelings when it comes to Sudo. Even after getting punched, you barely groaned in pain, that's not a typical reaction of someone who doesn't know how to take a hit You also keep referring to yourself as an idiot despite being more than smart enough in math and English, though I can't seem to understand why you are making yourself look to be good only in math and English."

It seems like she was more observant of me than I thought...Nah, I was probably just too lax because I know of the future events. How do I explain I am not acting and I am truly an idiot when it comes to the other subjects?