Stars | Ishigami Senku (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Fifteen

"Uh, Senku-kun?"

"What?"

Ogawa Yuzuriha hesitates, pursing her lips. Unsure on how to address the obvious, she glances at Oki Taiju who sat across the cafeteria table, although he was quite busy staring at Senku as well.

To Yuzuriha's relief, Taiju finally asked the question that has been itching at the backs of their minds all morning.

"What happened to your face?"

Senku's said face scrunches up, as if that mere inquiry brought back sour memories. The scratches scattered across his cheeks and forehead was properly bandaged, and they slightly fold as his expression shifts. He was particularly not fond of the bandaid across his nose, but it was the one that had been bleeding the most. Senku recalls the moment he face-planted on the ground and almost flinches. 

Seated beside Yuzuriha was the culprit of his wounds, and it was obvious with the way you feigned tiredness by resting your head in your arms that you were covering up your laughter. Senku was close to slapping your head, but he refrains. Yuzuriha would piece his actions altogether and figure out what exactly had happened.

Senku scoffs. "It was an accident. A wild animal suddenly jumped at me last Friday," he vaguely responds, concentrating on his lunch. While Taiju and Yuzuriha processes this information, you finally look up and fix him with a subtle glare.

"Is it true, (Y/n)?" Taiju asks, blinking. "You walked with Senku. What kind of animal was it?"

Senku tilts his head away, and you barely saw the small smirk on his lips. This only prompted you to infuriate him further.

"A cat," you answer at the same time Senku replies with, "a feral tiger."

This time you didn't bother to hide your angered gaze. Senku doesn't relent as he stares back at you with an impassive look, daring you to try harder.

"Which animal is it? I didn't know tigers were allowed in a neighborhood!" Taiju says with a smile.

Yuzuriha was sweating at the obvious unresolved tension lingering in the air, but Taiju (ever the oblivious sweetheart he was) just switches his curious eyes between you and Senku.

"There was no tiger, Taiju," you say, smiling apologetically when you see his disappointed frown. "What happened wasn't an accident and was clearly Senku's fault."

"The only fault I see here is your statement," Senku retorts, his tone flat. "Clearly, it's you who misunderstood."

Yuzuriha was thankful that your table went by unnoticed. The students nearby were too engrossed in their own lunches and conversations to eavesdrop. But with the way you constantly try to aggravate Senku was bound to catch attention. Whatever happened last Friday was bad enough for you to ignore him until lunch.

Yuzuriha gazes at the two of you worriedly. This wasn't right. She had seen firsthand how close you and Senku are. If ever the two of you would argue, it was always for petty reasons and purely for a friendly banter. The longest grudge you held against him was when he criticized your homework for arts. It lasted for about thirty minutes until Senku gave you your favorite drink from a nearby vending machine.

Your relationship with the scientist was often perceived as rocky and even unhealthy to a majority of your schoolmates. Yuzuriha could see their reasons for this, but that still didn't excuse their assumptions when they only saw the surface. If anyone listened in on your argument now, just how far will the rumors go about your supposedly toxic friendship? There was only so little she could do to prevent gossip. 

"Really? Because from what I can recall, you had done something to provoke it," you respond with biting hostility.

Yuzuriha finds herself wincing at your words. You rarely use that tone unless you were really angry about something. Taiju slowly realizes the situation he was in afterwards, only now noticing Yuzuriha's worried expressions and your glare.