Chapter 28

Syl who was keeping an eye open on the situation smirked when he saw this before walking in a certain direction.

"Captain! What are you doing here?" Syl asked with an annoying smile plastered to his face.

"Kukuku! I'm liking my nickname more and more." Ryuuen responded.

Syl chuckled. "Good, good! I'm glad. Hey listen, now that you're class A, why don't you keep your hands off Class D? Eh?"

"Kuku! And why would I do that?"

Syl shrugged. "It was worth a shot, besides, our class leader can be a real bitch when she gets mad! She's like an ice queen! I'm just trying to warn you for your own good!"

Ryuuen laughed. "Are you saying you're not the leader?"

Syl looked genuinely shocked. "Me? Really? What gave you that impression? Do I really seem that amazing?!"

Ryuuen was stunned. This guy didn't even realize his own legacy at this school? He was the only person to ever score better than perfect, he had openly insulted the student council vice president, he had saved half his class from failing by procuring test answers for the midterm, he was the student who figured out what class points were within a day of being at school and forced the school to change the rules to punish any infractions by 10x the original amount, and now this basketball game!

He really was an Anomaly!!

"Kukukuku! You're a funny guy." Ryuuen just walked away while laughing.

Syl smiled. "I know right?!"

Syl turned away and met up with Sudo and his classmates.

"Yo! How'd you enjoy the show?"

A few of them clapped and gave congratulations.

Kushida smiled. "You were amazing! It was so cool!"

Syl laughed. "Yup! It's a bad idea to pick a fight with me!" He gave her a knowing look when he said this, obviously implying something.

Kushida's smile never faltered. "Hehe! You say that like you'll always win!"

"Cause I will! I don't even know what losing means! Haha!"

Kushida pouted cutely. "Don't be too proud, I don't want to see you get hurt because you were too arrogant. I've heard some pretty bad rumors about Ryuuen, he might just beat you."

Syl laughed. "Thanks! You're my angel! I would be screwed without you!" He said as he gave Kushida a light hug.

Ike and Yamauchi grit their teeth when they saw this.

Syl backed off quickly and raised his hands in defence. "Woah! It was platonic! I swear! If you guys are mad at this you should have seen what Ayanokoji did!"

Suddenly two deadly auras erupted as the two focused their eyes on Ayanokoji, like predators and prey!

Ayanokoji sighed. "You guys are misunderstanding. Nothing like that happened."

Ike smiled. "Then we can have a nice long chat later about 'nothing' happening. Isn't that right Yamauchi?"

Yamauchi nodded. "I can't wait to hear all about it!"

Ayanokoji just pretended to hear nothing and looked at Syl. "How did this game even happen? And why were you playing for private points?"

Hirata and Horikita nodded along when they heard this. This was the most important thing!

Syl scratched his head. "Uhh… Why was it again? Oh! Right! They wanted to pick a fight with Sudo, they took him to an abandoned building and then started insulting him, then one of them punched Sudo. But I stepped in and stopped Sudo from fighting back and proposed a basketball game instead. Right, Sudo?"

"Ah? Uh, Yeah! I totally forgot that happened!" Sudo was pulled away from his conversation with a cute girl in the crowd and was annoyed at the interference.

"So, that's about it. It was probably Captai- I mean Ryuuen's idea to mess with us." Syl just shrugged.

"Why did you just call him captain?" Ike asked.

Syl smiled. "Can you believe he wanted to be called snakeman instead of dragon boy?"

"No way! That's like Luffy!"

Syl chuckled. "I know right! Plus he's an idiot just like Luffy! So I called him Captain!"

Ike and Yamauchi laughed. "Hahaha! Nice one!"

Syl tilted his head up and puffed out his chest. "I know right! I'm a genius!"

Ike and Yamauchi bowed down on the floor. "All hail the genius! The lord of the flies!!!"

At this scene Horikita cut in. "Can you please stop this? It's embarrassing."

Syl scoffed. "What are you, my mom?."

Horikita countered. "Maybe it would be helpful if I was. You act like you don't have one."

Syl froze. "... Yeah, I guess. I'm gonna go… See you all later." He said in a disheartened tone.

Everyone watched him walk away slowly, his back seeming a lot smaller than usual.

Everyone glared at Horikita.

"What?" She asked.

Ike and Yamauchi sneered.

"Really? You went too far, Horikita." Ike said as the two walked away from the group.

Kushida took this opportunity. "How mean! I can't believe you would say something like that!"

Horikita was genuinely shocked. "... What?"

She didn't even know what she did wrong!

Hirata nodded with a solemn look on his face. "That was too far…"

He looked hesitant for a moment before walking in the direction Syl left.

"Like, I can't believe you would say something like that! You're the worst!" Karuizawa spoke up before following Hirata.

Everyone else started leaving one by one, until it was only Horikita and Ayanokoji.

Horikita turned to her classmate. "What is everyone talking about?"

"You didn't know? Syl's parents died a few months before he entered this school." Ayanokoji asked.

Horikita was shocked. "What?! Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"Well, it's not really something you talk about often. Plus, everyone already knows this, if you had just talked to people at the start of school instead of shutting out your classmates you would have also heard."

Horikita furrowed her brow and walked off in the direction of Syl.

"Where are you going?" Ayanokoji asked as he followed her.

"I need to tell him I didn't know… and apologize."

"Don't."

Horikita didn't even turn to face him as she kept walking forward. "I have too."

"Stop, just listen for a second."

Horikita froze and turned to face Ayanokoji with an annoyed look on her face. "What?!"

Ayanokoji stopped walking as well. "Leave him to Hirata and Karuizawa for now. You're the last person he wants to see right now.

"But I have to apologize." Horikita said simply.

Ayanokoji sighed. While she was getting better at trying to be a good person and engage with other people, she still didn't understand certain basic human emotions…

"If someone insulted your dead mother to your face, would you want to see them?" Ayanokoji asked.

"No. I'd punch them in the face. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Then what do you think Syl feels right now?"

"...What?"

"You just did that to him. You are probably the last person he wants to see right now. Leave him alone for the rest of the day. You can apologize tomorrow."

Horikita snorted. "How annoying, I just tried to apologize."

She walked away, in the opposite direction Syl left.

Ayanokoji sighed. That's one disaster avoided… But how would the apology tomorrow actually go? Would Horikita actually apologize tomorrow? Would it even matter to Syl, whose dead mother was insulted?

"How troublesome…"