Chapter 33 - Half-Naked

"Hey Gray..." Sato sent a message. "Did you do something to my school card?"

"Ah. Yeah. I added a little money to your balance. You had only 10 dollars left." Gray casually said.

"100000 is little to you?? I think even after I graduated, I would not be able to use finish it..."

"It's alright." After seeing Gray's nonchalant reply, Sato gave up asking. I don't understand the mindset of rich people, Sato thought.

"So was it actually from the general that let you stay at his house?" Ming asked.

"Yeah, it was from him..."

"Wow. You got yourself a sugar daddy."

"Sugar my ass! Eat your food." The two chatted about gossips and news that Sato missed in school as they ate their meal.

"Last week, the Sport's Planning Council has decided that they are going to hold the university sports day on the first friday next month . Every department has to participate. For your case, you will be in the Engineering department as both your subjects are under engineering"

"What events are available this time round?" Sato asked.

"This year I heard that the event is bigger than last years as there are several VIPs attending that day. So the event choices go beyond just the track and field activities. Almost all of the school sports are included this time."

"Wow that is impressive. I wonder who is coming."

"Yeah I wanna know too." Ming said. "Also, I wanted to ask you this just now. Are you planning to come back to our club?"

"I will not be going back." Sato decided without hesitation. "After all that Tyron did to me and you, I will not be joining that club anymore. You should quit too! You do too much for that club without getting the recognition you deserve."

"Oh... I don't think I will quit just yet. I do not have very good gear at home, so it is better to just use the school's to play."

"Mmm, makes sense. I can always let you use my V2 helmet if you'd like. Besides I do not need it right now."

"Really? Thanks man! I appreciate it."

"Yeah, it is no problem. I'll bring it to school for you to take tommorow."

After the meal, Sato left for a mathematical analytics lecture, while Ming went back to the library to study. 3 hours later, the Sato left the school gates with a tired mind.

Unlike mechanical engineering, where Sato had Ming, in computer science, he was all alone. 2 weeks of no lessons made Sato lag quite far behind the other students. He had to pay extra attention, while flipping through the materials of the previous classes. It was extremely taxing to his brain.

A car turned into the pick-up point just as Sato reached. Rolling down the window, Gray looked at the tired Sato.

"Hop on. Let's go home." Gray's heart ached as he saw how exhausted Sato was. Why do you always push yourself so hard?

"Mmm." Sato nodded as he went in and sat at the front.

"Was computer science hard?" Gray had memorised the boy's schedule.

"Yeah. I had a friend that kept me updated for engineering. As for computer science, I was left in the dust by everyone."

"Why don't you make some friends in that class then?"

"Well, I did try to make friends. However, in a society where everyones social standings is determined as soon as you are born, it is quite hard to find a friend."

"Are the people in computer science too snobby?" Gray's tone grew colder as he heard Sato's predicament.

"Yeah. Unluckily enough, in my batch of students, there was no other student that entered computer science under a financial scholarship."

"They aren't great people, Sato. They can't see you for who you really are." Gray spoke from his heart. He wanted Sato to hear his thoughts. He wanted him to remember...

"Thank you for that Gray." Sato once again felt warm on the inside."You are a great person too. And I will not dissapoint you when it comes to schooling."

"I know you won't."

When the two got home, Sato took a nice warm shower. The water sprinkled on him from all directions as it massaged his tired body. Drying up his hair, Sato left the bathroom half-naked, only to find Gray standing in front of his wardrobe looking through his clothes.

"Wha.. What are you doing here?" Sato panicked. He wasn't wearing his shirt. His bony body with his pale skin made him look rather sickly. Gray turned to examine the boy's body. He walked forward to the puzzled Sato. Sato crisscrossed his arms over his body as his boss came closer.

Gray grabbed the Sato's arms as he pulled them apart. He leaned the boy in on the wall as he looked at everything infront of him. Sato's jawline, down to his clean-cut neckline, down to his hairless body, his ribcage slightly showing, no pectoral or abdominal muscles present. Sato felt very naked.

"St... Stop it." As Sato spoke those two words, Gray snapped out of his concentration.

"Sorry." Gray realised he had grabbed Sato too forcefully. He had been overwhelmed with too much emotions when he saw Sato's body. After all these years... He had grown too skinny. You have been through too much by yourself, Sato.

"I was shocked at how skinny you were." Gray told him half of the truth.

"Oh... Well, its alright. I'm doing quite fine regardless." Sato accepted his reason half-heartedly. Even though he may be dim-witted at times, he knew that Gray was hiding something from him. Something big.

"We got to work on this."

"Ha? Work on what?"

"Your body. I am going to make you healthier than you think you are." Gray nodded as he spoke while thinking. "Right now, I can probably snap you as easily as I can with a twig."

"It's that serious?" Sato said.

"Yes. We shall get to it now." Gray looked towards the door. "Potter?"

"Yes Master Gray?" Potter came in from outside of the room.

"Prepare the grill. We will be eating barbecue for dinner."