When he woke up the next morning, except for some swelling in a few places on his back, Itsuki's body had basically recovered.
He glanced at the system panel and found that the mall had not yet refreshed.
He was actually looking forward to the skills and props that would be refreshed next Monday.
But that was next week.
After getting up and washing up in the bathroom, Itsuki changed his clothes and went downstairs with his bag.
In the living room on the first floor, he packed the lunch box into his schoolbag and also took a boiled egg and an instant sandwich from Ai.
As soon as I walked out of the house, he heard the sound of a bicycle bell coming from the gate of the yard.
"Good morning, Fujii-kun."
Saki sat on the bicycle seat with a shy yet polite smile.
Itsuki looked at Saki with a hint of surprise: "Ogihara, how long have you been waiting?"
"I just arrived."
"Have you had breakfast?"
As he spoke, he handed over the sandwich he had taken from Ai.
"Fujii-kun, I've already eaten."
She held onto the bicycle and said in a somewhat tepid tone, "Get on the bike, Fujii-kun. Your injury is not healed yet. I'll take you to school."
After hearing her words, he sat on the back of the bicycle with a sandwich in his mouth and did not tell anyone about his recovery.
"Hold me tight, Fujii-kun."
Feeling the weight behind her, she pedaled, and the bicycle slowly moved out of the alley where Fujii's house was located.
After exiting the street and turning a corner, there is a river right beside them.
The river was calm in the morning, and the cool morning breeze gently brushed across their faces.
Saki slowed down the bike and looked at Itsuki's handsome face through the rearview mirror.
"Don't look at me; look at the road."
"Ah?"
The sudden sound from him startled her, and the steering wheel tilted, and she almost lost her grip.
Itsuki couldn't help but smile at this.
"Be careful. Even though there are railings, there is still a risk of falling into the river."
"Yes, I'm sorry."
Her face was red, and her voice was low. She could only pedal hard to relieve the embarrassment in her heart.
"Saki, what are you doing?"
"I was caught peeking at someone else!"
"He caught me red-handed, leaving no room for excuses."
Although she did not say a word, she was scolding herself in her mind.
If the world was a giant Whack-a-Mole game machine, she felt like she was the stupid mole that got hit on the head by a hammer just after sticking its head out.
However, people always forget the pain once the wound heals.
Saki subconsciously glanced at Itsuki in the rearview mirror again.
Seeing that his eyes were fixed on the calm surface of the river, she retracted her gaze, pretended nothing had happened, and looked at the road ahead.
"Fujii-kun, are you thinking about what happened yesterday?"
"Um."
"So many people saw it at the scene; the school should take care of it, right?"
"Who knows?"
He shook his head and acted indifferent.
"Don't worry, I am a victim. I was attacked by criminals just after school. Everything I did was just self-defense."
"Even if the police come, there will be no problem as long as we tell them everything."
Although his tone was so light, Saki's eyes were still filled with deep worry.
Focusing his eyes on the handsome face reflected in the rearview mirror, she made a silent decision in his heart.
She tilted her head slightly, her expression serious and her eyes determined.
"Fujii-kun, no matter what happens, I will always stand by you."
Turning his gaze away from the surface of the Sumida River, Itsuki's heart was slightly touched.
The corners of his mouth raised, revealing a smile.
"Thank you, Ogiwara."
…
After entering the school, the two people riding along attracted the attention of many students.
Although most Japanese schools do not prohibit students from dating, and there are many couples walking together on campus, it is rare to see girls riding bicycles and giving boys a ride.
Even the teacher on duty at the school gate couldn't help but look sideways.
He didn't notice anything about it. On the contrary, Saki's face had been rosy since she entered the school gate, and her ears and neck were also stained with a thin layer of red.
With a blushing face, she rode all the way to the garage, locked her bicycle, and walked shoulder to shoulder with Itsuki towards Class B, carrying her school bag.
When she walked into the corridor, she discovered that Fujii Itsuki, who was pale and limp yesterday, unable to move, was now walking briskly in front of her.
It was as if everything that happened before was just a dream; nothing had ever happened, and Itsuki had never been hurt.
"Fujii-kun, are you no longer in pain?"
She looked at Fujii Itsuki in surprise.
"It was alright last night; what's wrong?"
Turning around in the direction of the voice, he answered softly.
"Then...why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
"But when I…"
"Someone volunteered to give me a ride on his bike, but I didn't say anything."
He smiled slightly.
"Oh, okay."
"It seems that I didn't ask."
"But why do I feel like something is wrong?"
Biting her lip, Saki looked up at his back.
"He must have done it on purpose..."
"But I have no evidence."
…
As class time approaches, the classroom is still noisy.
Even standing in the corridor, you can hear the bustling noise inside.
"Hey, are you sure? Was that guy really Fujii yesterday?"
"Of course, I was there yesterday."
"I never thought that Fujii, who is usually dull and gentle, would be so fierce in a fight."
"More than that, it was simply brutal!" The male classmate who claimed to be at the scene said vividly, "You didn't see it. At that time, Fujii was so powerful that he slapped Chiba-senpai unconscious with one slap, and he kept slapping her until she knelt down and called her Otou-sama."
"How can she call him Daddy when unconscious?"
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, he slapped her hard."
The brawl at the school gate yesterday afternoon has become known to everyone after fermenting overnight.
Campus life is sometimes like this: good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels far and wide. Any little disturbance can become a topic of discussion among teenagers.
Itsuki walked into the classroom from the back door carrying his schoolbag.
As if he had a spell of silence, the moment he appeared, all the discussions stopped abruptly, as if he had pressed the mute button in the classroom.
Everyone in the class turned their eyes to him, as if his handsome face held some kind of magical power.
As for Saki beside him, she was automatically ignored by everyone.
It was not until Itsuki put down his schoolbag and sat down that everyone began to discuss cautiously.
Occasionally, when they talked about something interesting, they would secretly cast their glances towards him.