"Oh! Bernis! Look!" Ashley was walking through the corridor when she saw students flocking to the quad. When she turned her head, she instantly recognized one of the people surrounded by this thickening crowd.
Ashley jumped to the window, planting her hand on the windowsill while her other hand was over her brows.
"Woah!" her bubbly face brightened up as her eyes twinkled. "Seems like our new friend caught the eye of that piece of trash!"
"Not my new friend," Bernis corrected, stopping behind her, eyes shifting to the crowd in the school's quad.
"I'm so envious!" Ashley pouted, seething in envy. "I should've forced him into a duel."
Bernis glanced at Ashley's side profile, holding the strap of his bag that was over his shoulder. "Let's go. We still have a meeting…"
"Later!" she raised a hand in front of him, grinning. "Aren't you curious about how this duel will turn out?"
Bernis didn't reply because deep down, he was curious. Aside from Ike's face and his arrogant personality, there was nothing special about this guy. However, Bernis couldn't shrug off the inexplicable vibe he would sense from Ike from time to time.
"Don't worry." Ashley grinned from ear to ear until her little canines were showing. "I'll take full responsibility for our tardiness. Besides, the student council is quite boring nowadays since Yama is stuck in the training camp."
"It's better to see what Ike can do before I recruit him to our club," she added, eyes glinting with excitement and anticipation.
"I'll go on my own."
"Don't you want to see how that piece of trash loses face in front of everyone?"
Bernis just turned around when Ashley spoke again, looking back at her, only to see her smiling at him.
"That guy had been pressing your nerves, thinking that he is better than you just because he is ranked above you," she continued, wiggling her brows. "This will be a satisfying fight!"
Bernis maintained a poker face, but he didn't move from his spot. After a second, a helpless sigh slipped past his lips, marching to her side while saying, "hopefully it is."
"Oh, come on!" She elbowed his side playfully. "Want to bet?"
"No."
"Eh? Why?"
This time, Bernis didn't say anything further, keeping his focus on the quad from the third floor. Ashley pouted but didn't push her luck, cupping her face as she set her focus on the growing tension in the quad.
"I will put my bet on that piece of trash," mumbled Ashley, making Bernis raise a brow as he glanced at her. "Don't misunderstand. I just have a feeling that our classmate isn't as boring as that piece of trash… hopefully."
****
"I told you. I'm extending my patience and, as part of my generosity, I want to teach you a thing or two about the school you transferred in."
Pin-drop silence followed Desmond's remarks, allowing the soft gust of wind to fill in the brief silence. Desmond kept his pair of cold eyes at Ike, snapping his fingers to signal someone.
Ike blinked, seeing someone from the corner of his eyes step in. He turned his head in the student's direction, only to see a chubby student — trembling — as he took another three steps closer to the vacant spot between Ike and Desmond.
'This guy…' Ike thought, recalling the one Holly's group was making fun of the other day in the hallway. '... I see.'
"Ple — please. Hand me your IDs so I can register this duel with me as a referee," the chubby student stuttered, holding his tablet that shook under his grip.
"Heh. How pathetic." Desmond sneered, tossing a small card in the referee's direction, which landed on the ground. The latter gulped and hurriedly picked it up, almost tumbling out of nervousness.
The students snickered while others laughed, throwing snide remarks to make fun of the referee. Some bystanders didn't join the fun and sported dismay at those who made fun of this duel's referee, but they weren't any less cruel. Doing nothing bore the same weight as the perpetrator.
At least, that was the case for Ike.
"Uhm… excuse me… your…"
"Ike." Ike kept his eyes on Desmond, but this time, his expression turned solemn.
"What?"
"You don't need my card, right?" Ike glanced at this duel's referee with an air of nonchalance.
"Uh… yes, but I will need your name …"
"Ike Lobo." Ike cut him off with a calm voice, which their referee didn't catch due to the unnecessary buzzing around.
"Pardon?"
Ike drew a deep breath, shifting his eyes back to Desmond. His gaze moved to Holly, who was being held by some students to the side, looking back at him with wide eyes.
"Ike Lobo." This time, he stressed his name loudly. "That's the name."
"Lobo?" Desmond gazed at Ike from head to toe with malice. "I know someone with the same name… or was it the same name?"
"I told you," Ike smirked, observing Holly's reaction from the corner of his eyes. "My points were quite messed up."
Desmond didn't speak for a moment, assessing the person before him. The person standing before him didn't look like the Ike Lobo he knew, but then again, staying in the hospital after a fatal accident would force a person's body to shrink.
"Hah… hahaha!" a wave of laughter escaped Desmond's mouth, holding his stomach until he was hunching in. His series of laughter made the crowd look at each other with the same confusion on their faces before they set their eyes back on Desmond.
"Interesting!" when Desmond uncurled his back, he pointed a finger at his opponent. "You… ahh… Holly, you little bitch."
He turned his head in Holly's direction, only to see her blank expression. Seeing her expression didn't anger him. If anything, Desmond found it hilarious.
"I didn't know you have such an interesting side of you." He faced Ike once again, sneering. "Ike Lobo — what a fun turn of events."
Ike shrugged nonchalantly before they heard the meek voice of their referee saying, "Uhm… I registered the duel."
The bullied student who was forced to be the referee darted his eyes between Ike and Desmond. He clasped his tablet closer to his body, unaware of what to do next.
"So... the duel… begins…?"
Desmond glanced at the referee and smirked. "The hell?" was the only comment he said, licking his lips like a predator ready to eat his prey.
"Now, I have more reason to beat the hell out of you, piggy," he hissed, balling his hand into a tight fist while the aura surrounding him thickened. "I'm going to send you back to that hospital, Lobo."
Desmond twisted his foot, almost creating wind underneath it, and in a blink of an eye, he leaped toward Ike. He was just as fast as a bolt of lightning and only a few caught what happened.
The rest? All they saw was when Desmond appeared right in front of Ike, launching his fist straight at Ike's face.