Challenger

"Damn, bitch!! She's a fucking Banshee!!" Rizor roared as he covered his ears in pain.

"What should we do?!"

"She can't scream if she doesn't have a tongue!!"

"Don't you dare touch her!!" Jeffrey shouted at Rizor and his group as he struggled to free himself.

Personally, I found Rizor's thought process intriguing. It was so brilliantly simple: 'She couldn't scream if she didn't have a tongue.' But still, the best way to shut her up was a nice fist to the throat. It was efficiently simple, and you wouldn't have to bother reaching into her mouth to pull out her tongue. I was starting to think that Rizor was sorta cool; the only problem with him was his hot-headedness.

"Sin!!" I was pulled out of my thoughts by Jeffrey suddenly shouting my name. "Stop zoning out and help her!!"

Oh, that's right. I had orchestrated all of this for a reason, didn't I? What was it again...

Remembering my Wing Chun training from yesterday, I went into the Goat Stance. I delivered a straight punch right into the center of the face of one of the guys holding down Jeffrey. Before the other guy could react, my fist met his throat. His eyes widened before he plummeted to the floor, gasping for air.

"What the—"

Rizor turned to see his classmates keeled over. I tried to surprise him with a fist to the face, but he dodged and followed up with a kick, which I managed to block.

"Candle boy, is that really you?" Rizor asked, his confusion evident.

"What did you say about Class D being weak before? You walk around boasting about being the strongest with nothing to show for it. To me, all of you are nothing but frauds."

"You wanna see my strength? No problem."

"Now's not the right time."

"Wha— you call me out and then start getting cold feet? You Class Ds are a special type of stupid. Whatever, I'm not playing your game."

"I'm not interested in a back-alley brawl; I want to beat you where the whole school can see."

"Big talk coming from someone only proficient in melting candles."

"If that's what you think, why don't we have a contest? The interclass hand-to-hand competition is coming up in two weeks. How about you and me have a one-on-one match?" I paused, waiting for an answer.

"Continue."

"If you win, I'll make sure my classmates cooperate with you, and I'll be your slave for the remainder of my time here at school. I'll even get your family crest branded on my face for all to see."

"That sounds interesting. And what will happen if you win?"

"Nothing. I just want to beat you where everyone can see."

My classmates looked at me as if I had finally lost my mind. The room was filled with murmurs as they whispered among themselves. Some even looked worried about me. Meanwhile, Rizor just stood there in complete silence. I knew he wouldn't refuse; his pride wouldn't let him decline a challenge from someone he thought to be beneath him.

"Fine, I accept."

Good, all of this had played out just as I expected it to. Once I convinced Jeffrey to start spreading the rumors, I knew Rizor would come here to cause a scene. All of this was so that I could personally issue a challenge to him.

"Are you sure about this, Sin? I appreciate your help, but you're not strong enough to beat someone from Class A," Jeffrey interjected.

"It would be best if you stayed away from our classroom until we finish our match," I said to Rizor, ignoring Jeffrey's comment.

"Whatever. But if anyone from your class tries to pull another stunt, you're all as good as dead. Remember that," Rizor said. "Come on, guys, let's go!" he called out to his classmates, who were still nursing their injuries from my earlier attack.

After Rizor left, the class huddled together to discuss what had just happened. I, on the other hand, left them to it and returned to my seat to finish eating my sandwich. Once I was done, I took out my phone to message a certain someone. I expected an immediate response, but unfortunately, I didn't get one. Just then, someone approached me while I was sitting in my seat.

"Can we talk?"

It was Zane Greyrad, my partner for Wing Chun training.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"Let's go outside; people are staring."

I followed Zane as he exited the classroom. As we walked along the corridor, we resumed our conversation.

"Are you serious about fighting Rizor?"

"How could I not be after everything I said to him?"

"True. Well, if that's the case, I'll help you. I have more experience practicing Wing Chun than you. I could be your sparring partner and teach you all I know."

"Why are you so willing to help me?"

"Rizor is not just your problem. This affects everyone in the class. I mean, the only reason I practice martial arts is because of guys like that," Zane said, irritation creeping into his voice. "Will you accept or not? If you won't, that's fine by me."

"I'll accept any help I can get, so thank you."

"Well, good. Give me your contact info so we can arrange a time to meet."

After exchanging contact with Zane, he headed back to class. I planned on going back with him but changed my mind at the last minute when I saw the person I had messaged earlier chatting amongst a group of girls. Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to approach her. As I got closer, we made eye contact, and I called out to her.

"Mia."

On cue, her entire group turned to look at me.

"Who's he?" one of them asked.

"Wait, don't tell me he's your boyfriend."

"No!! He's not!!"

"I texted you earlier but didn't get a response. Can we talk for a moment?" I continued, addressing Mia, ignoring the others.

"I'm sorry, but I'm a little busy right now. Can we talk another time?"

"Sure, how about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow isn't good either."

"Okay... We can talk over text; it won't take long."

"Dude, just take the hint. She's not interested."

What's the matter? Is she worried about Rizor? They promised to help deal with him.

"Look!" One of the girls pointed a finger in my face. "You're a decent-looking guy. If she's not interested, go find another girl and stop bothering us."

Another girl, huh? It didn't have to be Mia specifically, anyone from class A would do, as long as they're willing to talk.

"What about you?"

"Wha— we don't even know each other's names!"

"I'm Sin Tenshi. What's your name?" I said, holding out my hand.

"My name's Ava Morel."

Hesitantly, we shook hands after she told me her name.

"Just message me again tonight; I'll make some time," Mia said, interrupting us.

"Oh, okay. I'll text you again."

Having received a satisfying answer, I left them and went back to my classroom.