Chapter 154 - Rotten To The Core - Part 1

Naoto's POV

Looking at me were the cold eyes of the underclassman, who appeared to be a completely different person than what he usually was. An indifferent expression, void of any emotions that sent a shiver down my spines. His eyes were sinister.

I couldn't see him clearly because of the tears forming in eyes. Without saying a word, he just kept looking at me.

What the hell is wrong with him?

I should have never associated myself with this creep!

Aoi, where are you!?!!!

All I could remember was him throwing a rock towards Aoi with his full might, but I managed to dodge it somehow. But Aoi got hurt in the process. Her yell full of agony was still ringing in my ears.

The more I was thinking about it, tears were forcing their way out of my eyes.

I hate this!

I hate this so much!!!

Many thoughts were flowing wildly in my mind like a dam broke. I couldn't think of anything except for the fact that Aoi was hurt, and she was gone. Why the hell would really throw that rock at her!? She didn't even do anything to him!

With anger overwhelming me and a sense of frustration, I glared at him, but he was as unfazed as ever. I never expected he would do something like this. It was all my fault! I should've been on my guard! Aoi got hurt because of me!

Why am I like this!?

Why do I end up hurting those who are close to me?!

Every single time! I'm sick of this! I want to run away somewhere. I don't want to deal with this.

Clenching my fist, I tucked my head into my chest as I let out an irritated grunt. In the corner of my eye, I noticed the tiny figure of Aoi walking slowly towards Sakamaki again.

Instantly looking up towards her, I saw the tiny ginger ball of fluff, rubbing herself against his legs as he was also tickling her near the ears. A sudden rush of relief washed all over me, and my heart felt like it stopped beating at that moment.

An instance of joy surged through me, as my legs felt weak enough to give out. I was standing still, looking at Sakamaki who was staring into eyes as if he could look through me.

Showing me his left hand, the pebble was still clenched between his fist, as he dropped it and with a plain tone, he asked, "Why did you fake your injury?"

His composure was calm, as if he didn't just try to kill a cat a few moments ago. I was shocked beyond belief that words wouldn't form in my mouth. My brain was running wild at that time and it was a mess.

The only thing I could utter out loud was a lame, "Huh?"

Sakamaki was playing with Aoi, as he said, "I wouldn't have done this if you didn't play dumb with me."

Play dumb? I couldn't make sense of his words in that instance as the only feelings I could direct towards him were those of despise and hatred.

His dark eyelids shifted towards me, as he said, "Don't take me for an idiot senpai, I'm not like your friends."

Somehow those words felt more like a threat. Sakamaki was completely different from what I imagined him to be. He was a fucking psycho. His eyes didn't show a single hint of remorse in them as he was spouting those words.

"I…" After a lot of contemplation, I finally got a grip over the situation in my head and finally decided to speak, only to him cutting me off with, "The injured leg sure moved fast… didn't it?"

He was pointing towards my legs, as I looked down and realized what his deal was. I was standing perfectly on both of my legs, as if my leg was never injured in the first place. 

A smile formed on his face, rather it was a smile of superiority that he felt from seeing me in that situation. Just to prove himself right, he would do anything. He resorted to ways that a normal person like me would never have thought of.

A ton of questions were bombarding my head, but the only thing I could say was,"What do you want?"

"See, I don't want anything… I just want you to stop being stupid." He closed his eyes slowly and let out a sigh that evinced his irritation.

"Eh? You have no right to say that after what you did!" I attacked back, as he instantly replied with a sharp, "And… what did I do?"

Is he playing with me? How dare he ask such a question? I glared at him and yelled, "You tried to hurt Aoi! You dumbfuck!"

My fists were clenched tight, and my heart was beating fast every time I heard his raspy voice, "Is that so? Neither is Aoi hurt, nor do I see any ways I could've hurt her."

A frown formed on my face as I pointed to the piece of rock lying next to him and said, "Yes... but you had the pebble…"

He tilted his head with tensed eyebrows. He said in a tone which pissed me off terribly, "And?"

My anger for him slowly rose up as I walked towards him, and he stood up from his crouching position to match my eye level. I was staring into his cold eyes, and a sudden urge to slap him overwhelmed me.

"You…" Raising my left, I swung it towards his cheeks, but he grabbed my arm by my wrist, and his grip tightened as he leaned towards me and said, "Shut up Senpai! You talk too much!"

"Huh!?" His tone was disrespectful enough to make me lose my cool.. I was looking at him with pure contempt in my eyes, which I knew he could tell because by now even I can tell that he was quite a perceptive person.