Rumor

As usual, Lou went to school, the lessons as always, the thing is that it's a little higher from what he learned from his school, it was totally normal since the instructors were just reviewing the materials for the first and second level exam.

There was however a slight change to his usual school life, the usual or, mostly, silent Kyōka was actively trying to talk to him, always starting a conversation whenever she had the chance to, Lou didn't see any harm in just talking with her, she was interesting to have a casual talk with, so he joined the conversation.

Kyōka was surprisingly a talkative person and had many interesting topics to talk about, they would often talk for half an hour at a stretch, the talks were never boring when it was done with her. He found out that Kyōka didn't talk much simply because she wasn't interested to do so; a simple but logical reason.

This however was truly unusual, normally she shouldn't be acting like this. Lou was, unfortunately, a super-dense today, it wasn't to the point that he could be comparable to a legendary being but he still could be considered as dense as this, when it came to relationships.

But he wasn't dense enough to not notice the slight hints Kyōka was dropping for him in those conversations, mostly he noticed because Kyōka wanted him to, he realized that fact; it was relationship related hints. It wasn't that hard to figure out that she was interested in him in a romantic light and that she wanted to know about his relationship status, of course he tried to actively dodge it but occasionally some slips did occur.

But still it's confusing, Kyōka can easily find his current status by asking his mother just like how Meru investigates him.

So at one point he informed her the truth to prevent her being hurt or expecting something. He was hoping that this would dissuade her interest in him, the reality however was, as always, something he didn't expect. Kyōka for one didn't care as long as he wasn't in an immediate relationship and was still very much interested in him, moreover, it seemed that she became even more invested after hearing about his interest in another girl.

'What an interesting girl,' Lou thought.

There is also another problem he noticed today when he came this morning.

As soon as Lou entered, the previously lively classroom turned eerily silent. Everyone's gaze was laying on him. For some reason, all of their gazes held some expectation and hoped for something to happen.

There were myriads of expressions of scorn, disgust, embarrassment, astonishment plastered on their visage but everyone was united by the expectation they held, a huge expectation directed towards him. A stark contrast to the curiosity and interest-filled expressions they held of him yesterday.

What Lou is curious about is, what do they expect from him?

Their reactions made him both confused and extremely awkward. Their gazes entail their thoughts and transfer to him as if they are giving him a hint, a super dangerous hint that Lou should not ever try or else a huge problem will occur.

It was as if they were thinking of them like a hungry predator in front of prime prey, the prey being Lou, his selves, at least that's what their expressions expressed to Lou.

At the end, Lou cant stand it so he ask

Lou smiled awkwardly as he inquired in earnest and confusion. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?…"

He paused and joked a bit, in a playful tone, to relieve the tense atmosphere but the result is a huge mess.

A moment of painful silence ensued, some girls were swayed a bit by his humor, evident from the chuckle they were withholding, but it seemed that nobody was really willing to break the tense vibe, something was still holding them back.

In the midst of this status quo, a girl looking timid and fearful mustered her courage visibly and spoke in a quivering stuttering tone; it signified that she was fearful but didn't want to isolate him like the rest and be a voice of reason.

"T-Takasui-kun! Is it true that you defeated Kyōka-sama and afterward you stripped her bare and y-y-y-you did her in the infirmary?!"

She blushed strongly after she finished that sentence, eyes locked on one part of his body with strong interest, albeit shyly, as she waited for his reply.

Lou's jaw simply dropped from his mouth at the absurdity of her accusations, he tried to calm down but the eyes of the girls seem to show their true motive, they really are prey making Lou's hair all over his body stand up straight.

"No it's not that-"

"Wu-" THe girl who asked him suddenly burst into tears, she even held back while covering her mouth, she tried not to cry but her tears started to overflow from her eyes.

'Why did she cry?' Lou inward through.

"My bad stop crying please you look like being bully by me,"

"A-Are you angry?"

"Nope, don't worry, and as for the reason and others, I never did it to Kyōka. Where did you even hear that? I assure you that those rumors are completely false, they're trying to slander my morality. I'm innocent. What happened, in reality, was that Kyōka invited me to a fight and after I defeated her, she felt pain and uncomfortable at our last exchange of blows. So, I simply carried her to the infirmary to get treated. If you don't believe me, you can ask the infirmary nurse of the happenings, she'll surely assure you of my innocence and clear this misunderstanding."

His earnest and gentle tone, along with his pleading gaze and convincing explanations lessened the tense atmosphere of the classroom. They still had their doubts but mostly they believed him and many sighed in relief.

"I-is that so? I'm sorry! I shouldn't have trusted those rumors! I hope that you forgive me Takasu-kun!"

"We're sorry too Takasu-kun!"

Most of his classmates apologized to him, but for some reason, I felt the regret they showed is for some other person.

When he looks at Kyōka and asks her opinion.

"What do you think?"

"W-We never did it!! We are still young and studying is more important!! M-Maybe in the future if ever i accept Lou!"

"What do you mean to accept?"

"N-No it's nothing!"

".....?"

...…

The period concluded, it was the last one and the school for today had concluded with it. As usual, he rapidly approached the exit to his classroom, outside the door, however a very familiar origin of his annoyance for past days was yet again blocking his door, making him frown tiredly. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to see you!"

"Come to see me?" Lou is confused, his target actually comes for him, he asks," Why?"

"To challenge you so that you can leave my Onee-chan alone"

"Whut?"