I put my uniform back on after spending the month in recovery. I hadn't seen Sira since I first woke up which made me a little sad, but I'm sure she had her reasons. On my way back to the dorm, the doctor catches me and tells me to be careful about the process since its all theoretical. I thank him and eventually arrive at my dorm. I open the door, and a chair flies in my direction forcing me to catch it. The room quiets down where moments before there was a big argument going on.
Sira looks at me with relief.
Arc doesn't meet my eyes
Levey just looks down.
"Are you guys that hopeless without me around?" I say jokingly.
Sira dashes towards me and embraces me. I hug her back and ask, "Does anyone want to tell me what happened?"
Sira looks up at me and says, "They kept calling you a reckless useless idiot the entire time you were gone. I got fed up with it and got into an argument with him."
I turn to Arc. He nods to confirm what happened. I sigh and go lay down on my bed. "Sira. Let them say whatever. They are entitled to their own opinions. Just like I am entitled to ignore them."
Arc clenches his teeth and yells at me. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH DAMNIT! Why wontcha get mad! I'm sick and tired of you BELITTLING yourself! It makes me sick to see such a talented guy like you demean himself with his woe is me attitude! GET OVER YOUR FUCKING SELF! YOU ARE STRONG. I DON'T DOUBT YOU COULD TAKE DOWN THE ENTIRE SCHOOL!"
I don't say anything in response to this. Arc raises his fist to punch me, but Sira steps in and grabs it. She attempts to crush it before I sternly say, "Sira. That's enough."
Arc rips his fist away and slinks out of the room, emanating an intense aura.
"Kazu? Are you alright?" asks Sira
Without turning her way, I say, "Never better."
Levey speaks up to say, "I think I'm on Arc's side with this. It makes me angry when you belittle yourself. It feels like you're making fun of us."
Arc doesn't return that night.
The next few days are wrought with difficult classes and training. This doesn't give me a chance to talk to Arc. My mind feels clouded and my chest feels heavy. I hate it.
While on my way to combat training, I see Arc slinking across the court yard. When he sees me, he angrily frowns and walks away. I go to call for him but... Huh? My voice won't come out. Why did what he say bother me so much? Scenes of the night play out in my head and I continue walking with a deep frown on my face.
Everyone has been avoiding me more recently than ever before, including Sira. I feel more like an outsider than I did when I was a kid. I'm summoned to the instructor's office after class. I walk in on Sira saying, "...What a damn useless idiot, that Kazuhiko."
I grit my teeth and say coldly, "Sorry about that." I then slam the door and stomp away. I hear Sira calling to me from behind, but I ignore her. Damnit. Why am I so pissed off?
I'm in the bathroom and when I look at the mirror, I notice tears flowing down my cheeks. I can't believe Sira was the final straw to make me cry. I splashed water in my face and look at the mirror.
"Damn. Arc was right. I am pathetic."
I suddenly feel a sharp pain across my cheek and am knocked on the bathroom ground. I'm yanked by the collar, and I see Arc looking down on me with tears flowing down his angry face. He hits me again and again. It's painful but feels gratifying for some reason.
After he is done, I spit out some blood and say, "Did that make you feel any better?"
He looks down and weakly says, "Damnit man. Why does such a pathetic man look so cool even in this situation?"
"Hey Arc?" I say after a few moments. "Thank you and I'm sorry. I don't think I will be able to stop thinking of myself as poorly as I do right now, but I'll try to start now."
"If you're pathetic, then I'm Garbage."
"Sira is probably really mad right now. I would sleep with one eye open."
People start flooding into the boy's bathroom and we both start laughing.
Sira walks in on the scene and freezes. She suddenly rushes towards Arc to punch him, but I pull him out of the way and Sira punches me instead. She looks at me with shock and horror in her eyes. I stand up and say, "Don't worry about it anymore. Everything has been resolved." I smile at her through my beaten and bloody face. She collapses on her knees and starts silently shedding tears. I bring her into my embrace and try to comfort her. The instructor arrives but I give her a look to stay back. To my surprise, she complies and tells everyone to clear out. The two of us sit in each other's embrace for the next hour.
Two men are sitting in a dorm room talking to each other. One is kneeling respectfully towards the one on the bed. "Good work kid. You performed admirably." The guy with shoulder length curly hair says to the man kneeling before him "Let's discuss our next move before she makes another move, shall we?"