Time flew by, and soon the bell rang for the end of class. Kanade Himuro gathered her textbooks, turned on her heels, and walked out in silence, the sharp click-clack of her high heels echoing through the room.
Once she was gone, the classroom exploded into chatter. Fei-yu hesitated for a moment before standing up, preparing to go to Himuro's office to write that 250-word apology.
"Fei-yu-kun... I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. If I had told you yesterday, Ms. Himuro wouldn't have scolded you..." Yui Aono looked up at him, her grey eyes filled with guilt. Her mind had been so full of their kisses that she'd completely neglected her duties, and seeing him in trouble made her heart ache.
Fei-yu smiled gently, noticing her nervous, fidgeting hands. "It has nothing to do with you, Yui. Don't overthink it. Just head to the art room for your next class."
"But..."
"Go on. It's really not a big deal," he reassured her, patting her head.
Deep down, he knew that getting caught copying was only a problem if your grades sucked. He planned to show off a bit during the first midterm—a little "He-style shock"—to shut Himuro up. That comment about him being "useless in society" had rubbed him the wrong way. Better to let results speak than waste breath arguing.
As he walked toward the door, he passed Natsuha Shininomiya. He thought he saw the purple-haired girl's lips twitch as if she wanted to say something, but she remained silent. He shrugged it off and picked up his pace; he didn't want to give Himuro another excuse to lecture him for being late.
However, as he rounded a corner in the hallway, he was blocked.
"What do you want?" he asked coldly.
Izumi Nogami stood there, arms crossed over her chest, chin tilted up defiantly. Her face was a mask of smug satisfaction, looking down her nose at him like a petty palace official from a historical drama.
"Say what you have to say or get out of the way," Fei-yu said. He knew exactly why this gyaru was here. She couldn't touch him normally, so she was jumping at the chance to kick him while he was down.
The redhead smirked. "Oh? Who do we have here?"
"That's Fei-yu He," the tanned gyaru beside her chimed in, playing along. "The one who just got trashed by the teacher."
"Oh, I remember now! The idiot who was too stupid to even copy homework correctly and got yelled at for two and a half minutes!~" Izumi drawled, her voice dripping with fake realization.
The two of them went back and forth like a comedy duo, while the more refined Minako Sanada stood back, wearing a helpless, slightly pained smile.
Fei-yu's expression didn't change. Their "attacks" were too weak to penetrate his defenses. It was like a straight-A student failing one test and being mocked by the class failure; the top student doesn't care because he knows his own worth.
"Finished? Then move. I'm busy."
"You!" Izumi gritted her teeth, her joy evaporating at his lack of a reaction. She wanted to see him humiliated, angry, or desperate.
"Move it." Fei-yu didn't wait. He reached out, grabbed Izumi's shoulders, and physically moved her out of his path. He walked right between them without a backward glance.
Izumi stood frozen, her long eyelashes fluttering as she squeezed her eyes shut. If it weren't for her shitty personality, she'd be quite the beauty.
"Tch, look at him acting all big," the tanned girl, Sae Hinata, spat.
Minako looked at Fei-yu's departing back and sighed. She had a feeling that if Izumi kept pushing, she was eventually going to fall hard into Fei-yu's hands. After all, his name was the only thing Izumi talked about lately.
"Izumi? Are you okay?" Minako asked, stepping forward.
"Did that bastard do something to you?" Sae added.
"No... it's nothing." Izumi snapped out of it, but her heart was pounding. She was furious at herself. The moment Fei-yu reached for her, her body had instinctively remembered the sensation of his hand striking her bare ass, and she had flinched in fear.
Am I really that scared of him? Am I never going to get my revenge? she wondered gloomily.
"Don't worry, Izumi," Sae encouraged. "He'll slip up one day, and we'll make him crawl on his knees and lick your feet!"
Izumi visualized the scene and felt her energy return. "Yeah!"
Nearby, leaning against a wall, a girl watched them with a seductive, knowing smile. She held an ancient-looking, thick book—something out of a movie about witches. She stroked the cover, and a faint pink light glowed from her palm.
"Hehe... I suppose the Queen should give you girls a little help."