Fate DxD

Fate DxD Vol.7 Chapter 34

"Okay, so let me get this straight, overnight your arm got burned just like that?" Usui asks, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Pretty much yeah..."

"Hmmm, you've done a stupid thing mostly."

"If you want yes."

"Well, I can see I wouldn't get anything else out of it, so we'll move on." A mischievous smile spreads across his face. "So it's true, then? You and the Ryogi girl went out?"

I nearly turn the lemonade in my mouth into a projectile because of what Usui has just said. I have a coughing fit after nearly choking, but it gives me a few seconds to scan the classroom for anyone who may have heard what was just said. Everyone seems to be minding their own business at lunchtime.

"What do you mean?" I finally manage to say after swallowing my drink.

"Don't play dumb with me." Usui's face seems to want to shift the blame from himself. "It's no secret that you're leering at Ryōgi. Besides, judging by the reaction you just made, it looks like the only ones who don't realize it are you two."

I can't see myself, so I can't really tell, but I think I may be inadvertently making the most disappointed frown I've ever made in my life.

The icy winds and low temperatures show that we're in the middle of winter, which means it's been 4 months since I first met Shiki. The time and our tendency to hang out together must have given people the wrong impression.

"I'm sorry to say we misinformed you," I said finally. "We're just friends, if you can call it that."

"Is that a fact?" His persistent incredulity exasperates me. "You're on a first-name basis," He continues. "She doesn't seem like the kind of girl to let that go without warning."

"Shiki really hates being called by her last name. I called her 'Ryōgi' once, just to see what would happen, and she looked at me like I'd just killed her pet dog or something. She insisted I wasn't being formal with her, so I ended up calling her by her first name. Pretty boring, huh?"

"Yes, I suppose so," He finally concedes after a sigh and a five-second delay. He looks genuinely disappointed, and I wonder what kind of rocky story he was expecting. "So your appointment last time at the school entrance didn't work out either? It's a waste of time, man, talking to you waiting for details. I should have kept my mouth shut and eaten my lunch in the classroom."

"Wait, go back. How the hell do you know about this?"

"I told you, boy, you and Ryōgi are famous. Mostly because of Ryōgi, but whatever. Your rainy-day encounter is the talk in the hallways. Since it's about Ryōgi, every mouth in the damn school has been talking."

I let out a frustrated sigh and cast a dark gaze skywards, silently hoping that this mess wouldn't reach Shiki's ears. She'd kill me.

"They say this school has a lot of successful students, don't they? I'm beginning to wonder if the people here are really that smart," I say, half-joking.

"Well, if it's any consolation, at least some of the upperclassmen have found jobs at this school," He replies in a neutral tone. "Seriously, there's one thing that doesn't sit right with me: of all the girls in this school, why Ryōgi? However you interpret it, it doesn't sound like you at all."

I remember a discussion with him and the rest of the guys. They had told me that a more down-to-earth girl would suit me better, with the not-so-subtle insinuation that Shiki was altogether too strange. The words are different but I recognize the same kind of subtle insinuation in what Usui has just said, and it makes me a little angry.