"Alright, students. I will now be handing back the results of your midterms. Remember, it is worth 40% of your final grade."
The thirty students sitting within that class all shared a similar feeling in their guts. The feeling that their intestines were being ripped out dropped into a blender, the pain still somehow transmitted through a sick Bluetooth connection.
Only one student retained the ability to eat food without throwing it all up.
For some reason, he expected to see clear skies or the beauty of nature. Instead, the face of a 10-year-old angel filled his gaze.
(Great… And for a second, I almost forgot about you.)
He was only gone for half a day, but Akuma felt like ages had passed. In the first place, why had it left? It's not like it didn't harass him in the confines of his home before until midnight. Thinking back, it was gone then too. The moment he approached Wujing for the first time.
That moment was the start of it all. The moment his speculations of gods, goblins and dragons became more than just speculation but still less than non-fiction.
He didn't really get it and probably wouldn't even if she explained it all from start to beginning. After all, this was a completely ordinary world. Fundamentally speaking, it was impossible for gods, goblins, and dragons to exist. The only thing slightly abnormal was him. But he'd already chalked that up to the hellish training he went through since he was child.
Apparently anyway. Since he didn't remember anything from his childhood, he could only go off what his father and older brother told him. Not to mention how the experience was practically infused into his body's muscle memory.
"The Constellation Arts..." Those words slipped out while he thought back on his father and brother. And the conversation from last night. "To think that I'd meet someone else with that power."
Akuma sighed. He realized that the slightest thing had somehow brought Wujing back to his mind. Was it possible that he actually liked her company? Enough to think about her in the middle of class?
The apparition grimaced and spun violently. His body language seemed to indicate he wanted Akuma's attention. But Akuma had already turned his gaze to the students celebrating around him.
Some took pictures and sent them to group chats. Others leaped out of their seats and huddled into group hugs while tears flowed freely from their eyes.
"Oh my god, I passed! I freaking passed!" A random student blurted out, jumping out of his seat in elation.
They all seemed lost in their own world. A world where he simply didn't exist.
"Akuma!"
"!"
His posture straightened while he jolted from the sudden voice. Slowly, almost mechanically, Akuma's head turned.
"Finally. Geez, that was my third time calling you."
For a moment, he could've sworn a cherry blossom tree was standing in front of him. The classroom had disappeared, his hard plastic seat replaced with the comfort of grass.
"Beautiful…" He muttered, captivated by the girl sitting in front of him.
"What was that?"
"Huh? Oh, ah nothing. What were you calling me about?"
"Well, I was trying to get you to guess what score I got. But you were too busy staring at other girls."
Indeed, the students crying and huddling were mostly girls. But her tone suggested that he was the kind of pervert who enjoyed watching girls jump around in pleated skirts.
"I–It wasn't like that! I wasn't gawking at them. I was just… I… I…"
Akuma's mind froze. How depressing would it sound if he told her the real reason he was staring at them?
"…I was staring."
"Mhm. I knew it. You are a guy after all."
He could only clench his fist and carry on with a fake smile.
"But anyway, you remember how I told you I got a bad score? Or I thought I got a bad score?" Alice probed him, her chest puffed out in triumph.
"Yeah…?"
Handing him her test paper, Alice revealed a high score of 82. Believe it or not, it was 10 points higher than 3rd place, which would of course make her 2nd place.
"It pains me to say this, Akuma. But it looks like I've finally surpassed you. It was a fun race, but all good things must come to an end. Just make sure not to cry—it'd hurt to have to comfort you."
Again, 2nd place.
Staring at her for a brief moment, Akuma then turned over his paper revealing a perfect 100.
Alice's expression froze instantly.
"Oh wow. Would you look at that. And here I was thinking I got the last two questions wrong."
"H…How…" Alice breathed. "All of this month and last month, I've been secretly studying nonstop. I crammed textbooks into my head like a library."
"And why exactly was that a secret? Wait, I thought you said you didn't like using textbooks?"
"I only said that to make you lower your guard! I wanted you to think I got a bad score so I could surprise you and then brag."
"That is… surprisingly shallow."
Pressing her hands against her face to hide her eyes that were beginning to swell, Alice sniffled. Even Akuma started to feel bad.
"C'mon, Alice. These things happen. If it makes you feel better, I really did think I was gonna miss those last two questions."
"I even cheated."
"…What?"
"The midterm…" Her voice trembled. "I cheated on the midterm. Since Paul's class took it before ours, I asked him to give me a few answers. So even though the score says 82, I really got a 50."
"Wow… That is… wow."
"Akuma, I think the universe hates me. These kinds of things always happen to me. I mean nothing ever goes my way."
"Dang, I didn't know it meant that much to you…"
He may not have shown it, but he really was concerned for the girl named Alice. Not just because he was in love with her, but because he appreciated how she treated him like a human being with feelings.
When they first met, he assumed she was the type who pretended to act friendly with the quiet kid before embarrassing him in front of the whole class. Even when she asked for his number, he figured it was charity work. Or an "enticing treat" to keep the quiet kid on a leash.
How wrong he was.
Looking at her now, he wanted to punch himself for ever thinking that about her.
"…Hey, Alice."
"?"
"Do you… wanna make a bet?"
"Hm? What kind of bet?"
"A game of rock, paper, scissors. If you win, I'll tutor you."
Pulling down her hands that were pressing against her face, Alice revealed the red streaks under her eyes that practically announced she'd been crying.
"And what if you win?" She asked, her voice now steady but still a bit low.
"Um… I guess I won't tutor you? Sorry, those terms aren't exactly fair, are they?"
"No, it's perfect. I accept."
"You don't have to agree if you don't want to."
"I accept!"
"…Ah. If you say so, I guess."
Coiling back their fists, there was only one thought racing through Akuma's mind.
(Please. If God really does exist and really is watching over me, then please. Please, let me lose this. For once in my damn life, let something not go my way.)
"Rock. Paper. Scissors!"
"!"
"!"
A rock and a scissors. Those were the two hands that played. And he was the one holding the rock.