Chapter 134 - 133 - Reluctant Cooperation

Well, it was nice while it lasted, but sadly, my week off from classes is now over. I may or may not have used Save and Load to relive the last couple of days a handful of times in order to extend the break for as long as possible, but there's no point in delaying the inevitable anymore. 

I can't keep running away from this crap, I'll have to deal with it sooner or later, and I'd rather do so sooner. Otherwise, the pressure and stress around the whole situation is gonna keep piling up and drive me crazy. 

No matter how much Tairo's attitude towards me changes, I'll still treat him the same as I always do. I mean, he's only sucking up to me because I revealed that I'm an Anomaly, if not for that he'd have never apologized to me or stopped screwing with me.

I'm not accepting such a shallow apology and I never will. And besides, even if it had been a heartfelt apology, after everything he's put me though, I still wouldn't accept it. It's no exaggeration when I say that I thoroughly despise him. 

But dealing with him is still easier said than done, and I can say with confidence that I'm not looking forward to seeing him again. He's the absolute worst.. 

That said, he isn't the main problem right now...Bytra is. Since I'm forced to be on the same team as her till the next set of exams, I can't exactly avoid or ignore her...what a pain, I'm really dreading this. 

Bottom line is, I don't want to interact with her at all if possible. Every time I see her, I get this impulse to insult her and stuff. Petty, I know, but hey, give me some credit for resisting that impulse most of the time.

And besides, she always looks so meek and miserable all the time that I'd probably look like the bully if I constantly harassed her. Ever since we ended up as classmates again here at the X-Warrior Academy, her default mood has been gloomy and downcast. 

Anyway, today is the 3rd of October, 2116, and I was currently walking up the stairs leading to the entrance of the Academy, a sense of reluctance about me. Well, no sense in dragging my feet, let's just get through this and try to survive. 

I entered the building and then headed up to my classroom, letting out a quiet sigh of relief as I noticed that I was getting far fewer stares than I did before. I mean, people still glanced my way and their eyes lingered for longer than I'd like, but still, it's not as bad as the intense, shameless staring I've had to deal with since after the tournament. 

I then reached the classroom and opened the door, walking in and shutting it behind me, before I headed for my seat, surveying the rest of the class with a quick glance...looks like most of everyone's here...unfortunately, including those two. 

"Hey, welcome back," Greeted Suri, as I sat down in my usual spot next to her, "You feeling better?" 

Huh? Ohh, right, I told everyone that I was feeling under the weather and that's why I was absent. Almost forgot about that for a moment. 

"Yeah, I'm good, thanks for asking," I replied, as Katie and Mitchell turned around from the row in front of me and greeted me too. 

Kiran, who was on Suri's other side, was asleep, and the other person usually in the row in front of mine, Seila, wasn't here yet, from the looks of it. As I chatted with the three of them, I let out an internal groan as I spotted a certain figure heading this way from the front row. 

"Hey, look who's coming this way, it's your best friend," Teased Mitchell, the corner of his mouth twitching a bit as he tried to keep a straight face. 

"Shut up," I sighed in reply, as Asshole walked up to my row. 

"Kilzachs, it's good to see you! I heard that you were sick, how are you feel-?" He began to ask, his eyebrows furrowed with concern...or at least, that's what it looked like. 

"Fuck off," I interrupted icily, "I'm not going to play nice with you just because you had a sudden, shallow change of heart. As far as I'm concerned, you're still the same asshole that ruined most of my childhood, so get lost."

"I-...," He began, before trailing off and averting his gaze, then adding after a brief silence, "Okay, I...I won't bother you anymore."

With that, he walked away with a forlorn expression, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. 

"Wow, I almost feel bad for him...if I was a stranger looking in with no context, you'd have probably looked like the bad guy in that exchange," Remarked Suri, as he went back to his own seat. 

"Yeah, well...I don't care, and if anything, I was too nice, I should have been harsher," I replied bluntly. 

I, uh...I have to admit, when that sad look appeared on his face, I kinda liked it...it's not the same as before, but I still hurt him, and realizing that fact was a pretty satisfying feeling. 

This shallow, abrupt change of his, as ridiculous as it looks to the rest of us, he himself seems to be taking it seriously. Huh, he probably needs to see a therapist. Maybe a psychiatrist too. But I hope he doesn't...because I just realized that his suffering is my satisfaction and pleasure, and I want to see him suffer a lot more... 

"You have an evil expression right now," Remarked Katie in her usual monotone. 

"You said it, talk about a sadistic face," Added Suri dryly. 

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed with a roll of my eyes. 

It wasn't long before everyone else had arrived, and the first session of the day began. Usually, this is my least favorite class for the day since it's all written stuff and therefore boring, but today, it was the combat class that I was most dreading. 

Because I'll have to work with my temporary team for the next combat exam, which is a little over three weeks away...I hate everything sometimes, fuck this... 

... 

For once, the first session felt like it absolutely flew by, since it's usually so boring that I'm constantly on the verge of falling asleep...and now it's time for the second session. Combat training. Except that for the next month or so, it's going to be more like a secondary teamwork training class. 

"Attention, students!" Exclaimed Instructor Annika Mikhailova, with a loud clap of your hands, "Please join up with your temporary teammates and then head for the assigned training hall, which you should receive on your I-Watches any minute now, along with the details of the training exercises you'll be carrying out!"

She's the strict, no-nonsense type and can be pretty intimidating, but every time I see her, I can't help but get distracted by her rainbow-dyed short spiky hair, it's just so...loud. Like the dyed colors were really bright, I bet you'd be able to see them in the dark.

"Hey, what did you do during these sessions last week, when I was absent?" I asked Kiran, as I walked up to him. 

"It was...very awkward, to put it lightly," He replied with a sigh. 

Yeah, I bet. I was glad that he's one of my temporary teammates, it would have been a nightmare if I'd gotten stuck with two teammates that I don't like. Speaking of which... 

"U-um...," Stuttered Bytra, as she approached us, her gaze darting about nervously. 

I let out a sigh of exasperation as I considered the situation...this won't do, if we have such a tense atmosphere like this, we'll fail this exam for sure. Overall, I'll probably still be fine even if that does happen, but...I'd rather not let myself get dragged down because of her. 

Okay, I've made my decision, as much as I hate this, I don't really have a choice if I want to pass...and besides, learning to tolerate working with someone I hate could be a useful skill to obtain, I suppose. She flinched as I met her gaze and stepped forward, before I addressed her... 

"Let me be clear, I hate you with a passion and always will...but I'm not going to let that get in the way of me passing this exam, so I'll reluctantly cooperate. So you better cooperate too, and at the very least, don't get in my way. Got it?" I stated bluntly. 

"I, um-...y-yes, okay...I-I got it," She replied timidly, averting her gaze. 

We then received notifications on our I-Watches, specifying which training hall we'll be using and instructions on what kind of training to do. 

We made our way to Training Hall 03, where we were assigned to, and once we were in, I read out the instructions...this seems to be a pretty simple exercise, should be easy enough. 

"So, we're supposed to go ten minute rounds against combat androids as varying pairs, with each pair going twice each...that means we spend a maximum of an hour doing this, though most of the rounds will probably end before ten minutes. And then, for the remaining time, we fight the androids all together...simple enough, I suppose," I remarked...I'm guessing this also doubles as a test of the capabilities of the combat androids. 

These things are all over the exterior of the Sanctuary dome, laying dormant unless and until an unidentified organism is spotted by the many sensors or cameras...looks like this will help them determine whether these androids are good enough to competently deal with any real threats that approach us. 

Now, then...I suppose we ought to begin the training session... 

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