Teacher

Chapter 18: Shuichi VS Shinichi

Shinichi pounced at Shuichi, almost uncharacteristically determined. He knew that Shuichi was not a person who liked to joke around, and whatever he said meant something. That was one thing that he understood. Another thing he knew was that there was only one way he was going to get out of the door away from Shishio and Shuichi, and that was to land a punch on Akai without getting unconscious first.

He swung his hand forcefully at Shuichi, but he just dodged it effortlessly and slammed his fist in Shinichi's stomach. Shinichi coughed and spluttered, slamming on all-fours on the ground. Akai just stood above him, wiping his cheek dryly. " Was that the best you could do, Kudo?" he whispered. " Do you want me to make you fall into unconsciousness like what I did to you on the rooftop when we first met?"

Flared with unknown anger, ignoring the fact that he probably had three ribs already broken, he slammed his fist at Shuichi's face, in which he dodged it, staggering backwards. Shuichi looked at his smarting arm before looking back at Shinichi.

Shinichi got ready in his stance.

" Let's roll." he whispered.

Akai glared at him before nodding.

" Yeah." he said. " Let's."

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" It's a beautiful night, is it not?"

Shiho noticed Yoro standing beside her at that moment. Pondering whether she should answer him or now, she decided to ignore him, and continued to look at the stars in silence. He smiled to himself and took another step towards her, ignoring her flinch. Heaving a sigh, he looked up at the stars, mimicking her movements for a moment until he heard her sigh.

" Kudo Shinichi confessed to me." she said.

He didn't look at her, but a small smile played on his lips.

" Yeah." he said knowingly. " I know."

She didn't expect herself to tell him anything, let alone speak or acknowledge his presence. But there was something so peaceful and distinctly familiar about this person that made her just confess it to him. She bit her lip and sighed once more. " I never thought that he was in love with me. . .all this while." she said.

He blinked.

" Really?" he asked, unable to stop his voice from having a hint of amusement. " I thought you were Shiho Miyano, the woman with an IQ of 200."

" Oh, shut up." she snapped. " I'm not at all good with human emotions, alright?"

" What do you mean by that?" he asked.

" Well. . ." she said hesitatingly. " I never had any friends. I was always a loner. Girls hated me because I never shared my homework with them or shopped for clothes and talked about boys like many others. Boys hated me because they thought I was too stuck up for my own good. . ." she stopped and flushed red, as though the words had spilled out of her mouth on their own will, and looked at Yoro embarrassingly.

But her embarrassment faded as she saw him smiling warmly at her. " It's nothing to feel ashamed about." he said softly. " I was an outcast too."

" You?" she asked, eyes wide. " Really?"

" Yeah. . ." he said, pausing for a moment, his head looking up at the skies once more, as thought reminiscing. But at the sound of a girl laughing with her friend behind them, his eyes snapped open and looked back at Shiho, grinning almost sheepishly. " Sorry about that." he said. " Forgive me for asking. . .but did you. . ."

" Reject him." she finished, sounding gloomy. " Yes I did."

" Ah."

They stayed in silence for a moment.