Kizhashi's POV

I was standing on the side of the tennis court with Reina and Tomose while Kana was playing. I was over with my selection, but the thing that was reserving my mind at that time was what happened with Uyeno. Seeing her again, and then what she did, was really weird for me to accept.

I was a bit skeptical about the entire ordeal because first of all I don't trust that girl at all and the way her eyes were looking; it seemed like she wasn't really apologetic about it but was just saying the words. Her words didn't carry any weight, but it seemed more like desperation.

"Hey!" Reina shook me by my shoulders and called out my name.

'Wha… what?" Returning from my thoughts, I turned my gazes at her, as she was looking at me with concerned eyes.

"You good? You look a bit pale." She said with tensed eyebrows.

"Yeah… don't worry."

"Come here for a bit…" She narrowed her eyes at me and then grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the court a bit.

"Eh!?"

"Are you worried about Uyeno-san?" She came closer to me and said in a low voice. It looks like she didn't want Tomose to overhear our conversation.

"To be honest with you, it was weird." Looking at her for a moment, I answered in a hesitant voice.

"I know right! Bitch is crazy." She rolled her eyes, and there was evident annoyance in her voice. I knew she didn't like Uyeno at all.

"Sure, she has some of her screws loose." I chuckled softly.

"Yeah… like, what was she even on about?" She asked about the entire scene earlier. Of course, I knew what context Uyeno and Isobe were talking about, but I can't tell that to Reina.

"No idea to be honest…" I shrugged and said in a laid back tone. She thinks that Uyeno was apologising for accusing me of cheating with Haruka, but the matter was different. But it's best if she keeps this misunderstanding.

Reina turned her gazes at me again, and said "Listen… just be careful around her... even if she tries to talk much with you… just tell her to fuck off."

"Reina…" I really appreciated the fact that she was genuinely concerned about me. But then, thinking about our friendship, which was growing on a foundation of lies, I couldn't help but feel like a piece of shit. I don't know what kind of expression she'll make if I decide to tell her all the truth about myself.

"What!?" She said in a confused voice and her dark eyes blinked quickly.

"Nothing… I'll be careful… don't worry." I awkwardly laughed as I fiddled with the racquet in my hand.

"Yeah… if she does something… tell me immediately!" She said in an assertive voice that made it feel more like an order rather than a warning.

"Hai Hai." I nodded my head up and down.

Her eyes narrowed and, keeping her hands on her waist, she practically started scolding me, "Don't Hai Hai me. You're a really gullible person, Koi. I don't want you to get in trouble."

I was looking at her saying nothing and she got pissed and asked me in a louder tone, "You understand me, right?"

"Ooof, stop acting like my mom." I threw my hands in the air and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please…"

The selections were good as from our class both me and Kana got selected. Though she wouldn't stop trash talking me, and it annoyed me so much. Also, the rest of the time, several thoughts came into my head, but one of them was actually plausible and it intrigued me.

I waited impatiently for the school to get over because I needed to talk to him. If anything, he is the only person who would've done something. It didn't strike me at that time because I was too baffled, but it must be Sakamaki's doing. That jerk.

Since I had made an agreement with him to not talk too much in school, I sent him a text telling him to wait for me outside the school. He said nothing, but only replied with thumbs up emoji.

After seeing Reina and Gaisen off, I walked outside the campus and searched for him. My eyes wandered farther from the main gates, and there he stood, with his hands in his pockets and scrolling through his mobile.

I was approaching him slowly and hearing my footsteps; he looked up from his mobile and our eyes met. He had his usual bland look on his face and he put his mobile back in his pocket and started walking off.

"You needed something?" He asked, looking back at me with a dry tone.

"Huh? What's with the attitude?"

"..." He didn't say anything, just kept looking at me with anticipation.

I don't know why, but every time he stares at me, it feels like his dark eyes are piercing through me. Averting my gaze from him, I said, "You did something, didn't you?"

"What?" He asked in a confused tone.

I looked back at him, and he was still gazing at me. God, it's so weird. His eyes are just so cold and empty. It feels like he is a stone who can talk like humans. We're walking in silence, as I asked again, "With Uyeno-san… you did something, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. You got a problem with that? Huh?" He shifted his gaze towards the road in front of him and answered in a rough tone.

Startled by his sudden outburst, "Ooof… chill, why are you always so pissed!?"

He looked at me for a few moments and replied awkwardly, "No, actually it came out like that… I didn't mean it rudely."

What is wrong with this dude for god's sake!? What did I get myself into? I'm so regretting meeting him now. "Jeez… you need to work on your tone, dude."

"Anyways! What did you do?" I asked, as he admitted doing something, but what particularly.

"See, you don't have to know anything… just know that, Uyeno won't ever do anything to you again." He sighed and said in a laid back tone, but his words carried weight as if he was damn sure about it.

"Wha… what?"

"See Kizhashi-san, I told you I'll give you the protection you need. In return, be useful to me."

There was an awkward silence between us, as both of us looked at each other and I commented, "I don't trust you at all. You're… mad weird."

"..." He tilted his head and blinked in confusion without uttering a single word.

"You are." I nodded with a nervous smile.

"Well, that's one way to thank me." He shrugged.

"Why should I thank you? It's our deal, right?"

As I said that, a small smirk formed on his face. Looking at me, he said in a casual tone, "Heh… yeah."

After that, we parted our ways. I turned back once to watch him walking off in the distance while putting on earphones. Even though I didn't know what he did, or even if it's for the better or worse, I found my school life starting to change because of him.