"Are you really okay?" With her beautiful golden eyes looking at me with concern, tears threatening to fall, she asked gently while massaging my left shoulder.
"I'm fine, Ashlyn. Go help the others," I replied with a smile, looking at her.
"B-but—"
"I'm fine," I interjected, making her look at me with a conflicted expression.
"Call me if you need help," she mumbled before standing up and walking towards the other injured students.
[Can't believe you got lucky there.]
'.....my upper arm bone is partially out of the socket, and you call that lucky?'
[It's better than a few broken bones.]
'....Fuck, you're right.'
As I leaned against the chair, I let out a tired sigh.
The game had already ended, and I was the winner.
But I paid the cost as well... My fucking shoulder hurt like hell.
"Sigh..."
With another sigh, I looked at Ashlyn, who after helping me, was attending to the other injured students.
Coincidentally, she was helping Ethan right now.
[....Can't you just directly tell her you are the boy she met in childhood?]
'I can't. It will fuck up everything.'
"Urgh..."
With a grunt, I stood up from my seat and walked towards the raven-haired boy who had an ice pack placed on his jaw, his eyes closed.
"Hey, Oily," I said as I sat beside him, snatching his ice pack before placing it on my shoulder.
"Argh... AZ," he grumbled, opening his eyes. "You know, there's an extra bone in males every morning."
".....Who the fuck starts a conversation like that? I just sat down," I snapped back at him, my irritation clear in my tone.
Oliver let out a tired chuckle in response.
"My jaw hurts like hell," he grumbled, rubbing his jaw in discomfort.
"I was going to hit you with my hammer, be glad I didn't," I replied dryly as I leaned back in the chair.
"Thank you for your consideration, your holiness," Oliver replied with a slight bow, his tone serious.
"You are excused, my lowly subject," I retorted with a wave of my hand, and Oliver chuckled again.
"AZ," he called me in a serious tone, making me look at him. "Don't ever hurt Miley again."
"..... Fucking simp," I replied, closing my eyes again as I gently lowered my dislocated hand. "And I don't like either her or her brother."
"Amair likes her, so deal with it," Oliver replied with a tired sigh.
"....What about you?" Glancing at him, I asked, "Don't you like her as well?"
"Someone had to back off, and unfortunately I am the older one," he replied with a smile, looking at me.
"And when is that tsundere going to propose to her?" I asked, closing my eyes again.
"Next festival," Oliver replied.
"Guess the dress competition?"
"Yep."
"....Of all the ways, he had to choose the hardest one, huh?"
"Hahaha," Oliver chuckled at my words.
[...What are you talking about?]
'Every year, there is a festival held in the empire, and in one of the competitions held in school, boys have to guess what type of dress the girl is wearing including the accessories. If the guess is correct, you can propose to the girl.'
"....If I am alive until then, I will be there to give him my shoulder to cry on," I replied, eliciting a frown from Oliver.
[Azaria—.]
'It's fine, and I am seriously not sure if I will be alive until then.'
"Don't be so negative."
"I bet my left hand he will get rejected."
"....So you use your right hand for that?"
"For what?"
Instead of replying, he gave me a creepy smile that made me look at him with disgust.
"...Fuck off."
"Yeah, yeah, I want to talk with that boy as well," Oliver said, standing up and walking towards Ethan.
And just like that, I was left alone.
'You know, it's kinda ironic,' I thought as I looked at Ethan.
'In the game, whoever is close to me has a higher chance of dying, while whoever is close to him has a higher chance to survive.'
[It's not the game, Azariah.]
'...Yeah.'
Click.
The door of the class clicked open as a mahogany-haired woman entered the class with a nurse following behind.
"Please treat the students," Lauryn said to the nurse before turning her gaze to me. "Azariah, come out."
"But he is injured as well," Ashlyn's voice trailed off as Lauryn glared at her.
"Urgh.."
With a grunt, I stood up, supporting my dislocated shoulder as I walked towards Lauryn. She glanced at me once before walking out, and I followed behind her.
[Are you sure she won't kill you?]
'No, she takes her job seriously, and right now I am her student, and she is bound by the rules of the academy.'
[...Just be careful because all I see in her eyes is hate.]
I silently nodded my head as I followed behind her until we reached her office.
"Come in." She opened the door and motioned for me to enter.
Inside, her office was plain, with only a large table and chair, scattered with various books and maps.
"Sit down." She took her seat behind the desk and gestured for me to take a seat opposite her.
Without a word, I sat down.
"So, what do you want?" she asked, her tone curt.
"Train me—."
"Denied. Ask something else."
"Train me," I repeated firmly.
"I said Denied! Don't you understand?" Her voice rose, her eyes flashing with irritation.
"That's my only wish," I replied, meeting her gaze evenly.
"And I am not going to fulfill that wish. If you don't have anything else, then get out," she growled, her eyes filled with disgust.
"Lauryn," I called her name calmly, locking eyes with her, "why are you acting so high and mighty now?"
"What?" Her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Did you forget?" I continued, a crooked smile playing on my lips, "how you bowed your head and begged like a bitch in front of me."
"AZARIAH!"
"STOP SHOUTING!"
As she stood up and so did I as my shoulder hurt again but I ignored it.
"Stop shouting," I repeated firmly, as her chest heaved with each breath, her glare intensifying.
"Get out of here before I do something that I will regret," she replied through gritted teeth, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.
"No, no. What can you do, Lauryn?" I leaned in closer, refusing to move away. "I want to see what you can do."
"Azari—."
"You can't even touch a single hair on my mother's head," I cut in, my smile widening. "And here I am, standing right in front of you. You can't do anything to me either."
She didn't reply, just glared at me.
"Even after all that happened to you, you still can't do a single thing about it."
Crack...
Her fingertips dug into the table breaking a chunk of it, the sound echoing in the room.
Snap, snap.
"How many died that day?" I snapped my fingers twice, my tone mocking. "I don't remember. Tell me, how many died, Lauryn?"
Her eyes turned red..... tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I do remember your parents, though. Pretty sure they died that day," I continued, rubbing my temples. "Wasn't there someone else, too?"
"Yeah, right. Your broth—argh!"
Slam!
Before I could finish my sentence, she grabbed me by the throat, slamming me against the wall.
"I... I have... already lost everything, Azariah," she said, her voice trembling as she tightened her grip around my throat. "What makes you think I won't kill you right here?"
"Arghhhh...Fuck!"
I let out a groan as she grabbed my injured hand with a dislocated shoulder.
"Wasn't your left hand injured that time as well?"
"Fuck,stop."
"Tell me, Azariah, do you have any idea what I have been through?" She asked as she stretched my hand, slowly taking out the joint from the socket.
"Y...You had the choice to save them." She glared at me, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "I..prayed, I begged you for help but you didn't. Why?"
"I...huff...huff....I had to choose, either innocent life or valuable life." Gasping for breath, I replied, locking eyes with her. "And I chose the valuable life."
"You and your mother both are sick in the head," she retorted, glaring at me as she continued to stretch my hand, almost completely dislocating it.
"That's why I...I am g..giving you a chance, Lauryn," I struggled to speak through the pain, making her pause. "The chance to take your revenge."
"Cough...Cough..."
She loosened her grip as I fell down, coughing violently.
"How?" Cleaning her tears, she asked.
"I want to get stronger," I replied, meeting her gaze as I slowly stood up. "Train me until I drop dead, torture me if you want, but make me stronger."
"Why should I?" She retorted, her glare intensifying.
"It's a good deal, Lauryn," I grunted, straightening up and facing her.
"After all....you are getting me under you: the sinner who killed your family."