"No way...the Dud actually beat Tairo," Remarked Makoto in disbelief.

Oh, that's right...this fat fuck is the same as Asshole.

​​

"What, you wanna challenge me too?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Hah, I-I've got better things to do than humor you, Dud."

"Y'know, I was expecting that to be one-sided, but not by that much, holy shit...also, you were enjoying yourself way too much, dude, you should've seen the look on your face...in fact, you can see it...here, I took a picture," Said Mitchell, showing me his I-Watch holoscreen.

Woah...that smile looks kinda evil...did I really look like that while I was fighting? Hm, I should be more self-aware.

"Well, what can I say, I've been waiting to do that for a really long time," I replied with a sheepish smirk, before stopping by Bytra and adding, "Hey, I'd absolutely love it if you challenged me to a fight too...in fact, I encourage it."

"N-no, thanks," She responded, shrinking back.

"Alright, alright, cut it out, Zax, don't push it," Sighed Kumar, "I made an exception here because, frankly, he was getting on my nerves too, and I was confident that you could shut him up. Still, I wasn't expecting you to beat him up so much, I'm probably gonna get in trouble for okaying this...no regrets though, that was great."

"Heh, favoritism much, instructor?" Inquired Lin with a laugh.

"If you're asking me if I like some students more than others, then yes, guilty as charged. Someone take Tairo to a Healing Pod, try not to be seen by another instructor if possible. Everyone else...let's get back to class. And if anyone asks...I don't know, just make up something convincing," He instructed with a shrug.

...at this rate, he'll lose this job...well, not that it matters, since he's literally an Ace X-Warrior. As I headed back to the classroom with the rest of my classmates, much to my chagrin, a few of them walked up to me to talk...

"Dude, you've got, like, a real violent streak, I can relate," Grinned Taayin, smacking my shoulder.

...I don't want to relate to you, though. I'm not that violent...am I? Wait, am I?

"You look like you're just realizing that," Observed Zoya with a smile.

"Uh...I mean, it's not like I'm indiscriminately violent, just against people I hate," I replied with a sheepish shrug, "And besides, I wasn't all that violent, was I?"

"You hit him in the face so hard that a tooth got knocked out," Pointed out Katie, in her usual emotionless tone.

"Oh, so I did...guess maybe you guys have a point..."

...

...

"Hey, you guys free after this?" Inquired Mitchell, turning around and asking me and the other two in the back row with me.

"Why do you ask?" I responded curiously.

"A few of us are planning on hanging out at the Entertainment District in the North Quadrant, so if you guys are free, the more the merrier, I'm asking whoever's not busy."

Hm...I'm not all that interested, but I guess I could give it a shot...I've never hung out with a group of people before, it won't hurt to experience it at least once, I suppose.

"Sure, why not?" I replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, I'm free too," Added Suri, after mulling it over.

"I'm out, I've got something to do today," Kiran turned him down.

"Aw, that's too bad. Well, I'm gonna go ask the rest of the class," Responded Mitchell, standing up and walking by each desk one by one.

Wow, I could never do that...watching an extrovert in action is quite fascinating, where do they get the courage to just walk up and initiate a conversation so casually?

As it turned out, eight people accepted the invitation, for a total of nine, namely, Andre, Seila, Lin, Zoya, Mitchell, Katie, Suri, myself...and Bytra. Great. All but four of my classmates...Asshole was in the infirmary, Taayin and Kiran were busy, and Makoto had already left.

"I'm surprised that you're tagging along, you usually only hang out with the douchebag and that sleazy fat guy," Suri said to Bytra.

"W-well, I..."

"She just wants to be in with the popular crowd, and she'd gladly cut off someone she's close to if that'll ensure that," I remarked icily.

"Huh, is it just me, or does it sound like you're speaking from personal experience?" Inquired Mitchell with an intrigued look of curiosity.

"It doesn't concern you," I responded bluntly.

"Come on now, play nice, everyone. We've been classmates for over half a year now, we should all try and get along," Interjected Andre amicably.

"I agree, we shouldn't have any conflicts amongst ourselves," Added Zoya with a nod.

"No need to be so uptight, it's boring without a little drama every now and then!" Argued Lin with a laugh.

"So, um, what are we going to do in the Entertainment District?" Seila asked Mitchell.

"Heh, just leave it to me, I've got it all planned out!" He replied with a grin.

"Well, no time like the present...why don't we get going?" Suggested Andre.

With that, we headed out, taking a shuttle bus to the Teleportation Point that's connected to the North Quadrant, and from there, teleported straight to the Entertainment District. Every time I've come here, it's usually been by myself...I've been here a few times with my sister when I was younger, and there was THAT time at that amusement park.

Never expected to come here with classmates. For most people, the term 'classmates' is probably associated with friends or at least friendly acquaintances. However, for me, it was the opposite. It's a lot better now, at the X-Warrior Academy, most of my classmates were far from unpleasant.

But that was most certainly not the case in the past...at best, I was ignored and left alone, and at worst, I was treated like shit for something that I didn't even do. So, naturally, I never had a group of friends to hang out with or whatever. It's probably something that's perfectly normal to most people, but I've never actually experienced it.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it doesn't bother me or anything like that, but there are times where I find myself wondering what it would be like if I'd had people that I could get along with when I was growing up. The only person I could lean on was my sister, my father was, well, you know, and my mother was indifferent at best.

I'm not really sure what exactly I'm trying to get at, this is just a situation that I'm not used to, it's a total first for me. A part of me was hoping that I wouldn't enjoy this, because that would mean that I didn't miss out on anything growing up...but if I enjoyed myself, then it'd mean that while most people experienced this on a regular basis, I missed out on it.

...what? I may be pretty heavily pessimistic and cynical about life in general, and I'm probably on the cold and blunt side too, but it's not like I'm a robot, you know. As cliche as it sounds, I have feelings too.

I guess I'm thinking about this so much because, well...I'm realizing for the first time that I'm not an outcast amongst my current classmates...I may not be especially close with many of them, but I'm a hell of a lot closer than I'd ever been with any of my classmates from my school days.

"You good? You look kinda spaced out," Remarked Suri, stepping up beside me near the back of the group, as Mitchell led the way.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine...nothing to worry about," I replied, snapping out of it.

"You sure? Well, if you say so."

Anyway, I wonder where Mitchell is taking us...wait a sec, I know this route...

"Hey, I was wondering, are we going to the area where all the casinos are?" I asked Mitchell, tapping his shoulder.

"Wha-...not cool, man, you ruined the surprise. And how did you know?"

"I've just been down this route a few times, so it seemed familiar," I replied with a shrug.

I got paid pretty well for that last Mission, so I won't need to visit the casinos for a while, but I still can't exactly say that I've been relying on the casino slot machines to get myself a source of income for the past six years or so.

"Huh, really? You come here often?" He asked curiously.

"No, not really."

"Man, you're so hard to read...you should be more transparent, you know, since we're going to be in the same team and all."

Oh, right, I almost forgot...I'm in a team with this guy, Suri, Seila and Katie.

"I'm not trying to be difficult to read, maybe you're just illiterate," I responded with a huff.

"...we're gonna have some annoying friction between us, aren't we?" He remarked with a wry smile, "Well, I'm not gonna complain, it could be a lot worse."

"Funny, I could say the same thing in regard to you...but no, if there's someone who can justifiably complain about his teammates...it's this guy," I remarked, nodding at Andre.

"Huh, me? What makes you say that?" He responded in bemusement.

"What, are you kidding me?" I replied incredulously, "Your team is literally the three worst people in the class put together, plus you, the person who's most likely to be able to tolerate them."

"Damn, that's pretty harsh...so far, I haven't had any issues though."

"Yeah, well, it's only been a few days, give it time," I assured him.

"...your confidence unsettles me," He sighed with a wary grin, "Uh, also...you do realize that one of my teammates is here, right?"

Yeah, I know, her presence almost made me reconsider tagging along for this.

"So, what? If I have something to say about someone, I'll say it regardless of whether they're within earshot or not. But I guess you have a point, it's bad to hurt people's feelings or whatever," I remarked in an exaggeratedly serious tone, before turning to Bytra and adding as she flinched, "I totally meant everything I said, but...no offense. Also, I don't mean that, I very much meant offense...but, you know, no offense."

"I-I, um...," She began, before trailing off and averting her gaze.

"Okay, I'm very curious about the beef between you two, but let's hold that thought...we're here!" Grinned Mitchell, as we arrived at a casino.

Huh, I've never been in this one before, I avoided it because it looked too swanky and intimidating to approach. Well, guess there's a first time for everything. Alright, then, let's see how this goes...

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