Chapter 43: Persistence
Yuuto, his interest piqued, decided to follow Sato. He maintained a discreet distance, weaving through the empty hallways of the school. To his surprise and growing curiosity, Sato's destination coincided with his own intended one - the infirmary.
'Hm? What's he got to do there? He ran so quickly, I doubt he has any pains... Diarrhea?'
Slipping into the infirmary just behind Sato, Yuuto quickly scanned the room. His gaze settled on a scene that caught him off guard. There, lying on one of the beds, was Kiriko. She appeared exhausted, her features drawn and pale. Beside her, showing obvious concern, was her boyfriend Yukito, gently caressing her cheeks as she looks deeply into his eyes, calm and relieved despite her fragile condition. Standing a little apart, yet equally worried, was Sakura, her eyes fixed on Kiriko with a mix of concern and confusion.
'Tsk. Of course, she'd go here. Idiot of a boyfriend, take her to a hospital and get that drug checked out... Well, I got that covered, but I had truly thought the school system wasn't that flawed... The world would truly have been lost without me,' Yuuto thought, his ego the size of the moon.
'A mere moon cannot possibly equate to the size of my brains,' He thought with a sigh as he walked into the infirmary unceremoniously. The nurse sitting on her desk, filling out and writing notes.
"Ah, Sakurai. Back already?" she called out, seated comfortably with her legs crossed in her crisp white uniform, a small white hat adorning her head. A nametag on her chest displayed her name and occupation.
At the sound of his name, Sakura's heart skipped a beat. She kept her eyes focused on Kiriko, feigning indifference to Yuuto's entrance.
"I couldn't concentrate with this pain. That Shiyon character sure packs a punch," Yuuto muttered, gently caressing his bandaged hand as he walked toward an unoccupied bed.
Kiriko, despite her weakness, was the only one who noticed Sakura's subtle reaction to Yuuto's voice, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"I think I should let it rest," Yuuto added, settling onto the bed.
Sato turned from the ailing Kiriko, looking over his shoulder.
"Oh, Sakurai-senpai! If I'd known you were headed here, I would have waited!" Sato exclaimed, his eyes briefly darting to Yuuto's bandage. Meanwhile, Yukito, Kiriko's boyfriend, remained deeply focused on his frail girlfriend.
'Pretending to care so much... Yuck. I can sense your insincerity, just shut up, hero.' Yuuto thought as he lay nonchalantly on the bed, gazing upward.
"That looks pretty bad. What happened?" Sato asked, his voice filled with innocent concern.
"Your senpai thought it was a smart idea to challenge the returning school idol to an arm-wrestling match after provoking him. Seems like Shiyon-kun held back when he beat you, Sakurai," the nurse commented, rising from her seat and approaching Yuuto's bed. She sat down nearby and began examining his arm.
"Sharing without my consent, dear nurse?" Yuuto taunted.
"My clinic, my rules. Besides, if it's Shizume-kun, it's alright. He's a good boy." She replied, her voice tender.
'Pesky nurse.'
"Haha.. Thank you miss.." Sato scratched his head, his face a bit red from embarrassment. "But... Ehh... You provoked Shiyon-san?" Sato asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice, yet underlined with a knowing tone.
"I just mispronounced his name. Sue me. Besides, it looks like everyone else took more offense to that than he did. Talk about a school full of brainwashed morons," Yuuto replied, oversimplifying the actual events.
The nurse frowned at Yuuto's words but continued her examination, her body obscuring Yuuto's torso from Kiriko, Yukito, Sakura, and Sato.
Sakura, Yukito and Kiriko all frowned at that statement, showing obvious disapproval of Yuuto's words.
"You shouldn't say that, Sakurai-senpai. None of us are brainwashed idiots. That's not nice, and I think you should take that back," Sato said, standing up and walking over to Yuuto, his expression now noticeably tenser.
Yuuto chuckled, arching his head to look past the nurse's shoulder at Sato's tense gaze. "Even YOU can't maintain your saintly act when I talk about your idol like that. What did he do to make all of you follow him like cultists?"
Sato took a deep breath, his expression softening slightly. "I'll tell you his story," he said, a hint of reluctance in his voice.
Yuuto's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. 'Should've provoked this fool right from the start. Just insult Organ Harvester in front of his blind admirers, and they're eager to defend him,' he thought, a sly smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, hidden from view.
"...But only if you apologize to us," Sato added, his gaze firm and his tone steady as he leaned down to meet Yuuto's eyes, who lay on the bed.
"Make me, main character," Yuuto retorted defiantly, his eyes locking with Sato's.
They held each other's gaze, a tense silence hanging in the air.
"...Apologize," Sato insisted, his voice unwavering.
"No. If you want an apology, give me a valid reason. As it stands, I see no reason to believe you're not all brainwashed," Yuuto countered. The frowns deepened around the room, and Sakura's initial excitement faded into frustration.
"I said, apologize. Even if you think we're brainwashed, there's no excuse for being rude," Sato insisted firmly.
"Well, I said, I won't apologize without a good reason. So, tell me the story," Yuuto persisted.
'I won't bow down to you, manipulator. You want my attention? Earn it, or better yet, pay 10,000 Yen.'
"Sakurai..." the nurse began, her focus on his arm, "Being this stubborn and immature isn't going to help your final year be any smoother," she advised calmly.
"Sorry, but threats won't work on me, nurse," Yuuto responded with an informal tone, glancing briefly at the nurse before his eyes returned to Sato. "Just tell me the story, and we can all move on with our day," he suggested casually.
"It wasn't meant as a threat..." the nurse muttered, her resignation palpable.
Taking a deep breath, Sato closed his eyes briefly. "Then I won't tell you," he declared, opening his eyes. He turned and walked back to Kiriko's bedside.
"Fine," Yuuto replied swiftly, undeterred.
'I'll just ask other students. Surely someone will crack—'
"I..." Sakura began, drawing everyone's attention, "I'll tell my friends not to share the story with Sakurai-senpai either. Don't worry, Sato-san." She spoke with nonchalance, her eyes fixed on Sato.
'...Damn it!! THIS BITCH!'
"Some people just aren't worthy of knowing about Shiyon and why he's so revered," Sakura added, her gaze shifting to the window, turning away from everyone.
'You... You manipulative little bitch... How dare you...?!!!' Yuuto seethed inwardly, his mind racing. As Sato remained silent, affirming Sakura's stance, Yuuto felt cornered, while the nurse, still focused on his arm, bore a knowing smile. 'Fufu... Interesting...' she thought to herself.
The room fell silent.
Yuuto inhaled deeply, narrowing his eyes as he gathered his resolve.
'I need that story.' He thought as he gulped. 'There might be crucial details about how he lures his victims...'
'It's just an apology. A means to an end... It doesn't change what I feel about this school of numb nuts... It. DOES. NOT.'
Swallowing hard, Yuuto started, "I... I take back... what I said about brainwashing and the people at this school. Though, I can't promise I'll keep that opinion after I hear his story," he said, his voice faltering and trailing off.
Sato sighed softly as a smile cracked on his face, as Sakura, Kiriko and Yukito couldn't help but chuckle quietly.
"I'll take it, then, Senpai!" Sato said in excitement. "I'll tell you the story about Shiyon-san, and why everyone here love him." He said as he turned around and walked over to Yuuto.
'.....'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Hazy_0832
Hazy_0832 Sorry for the late and rather short chapter. The past two weeks almost killed me with exhaustion and I almost lost my job, so I had to stay overtime almost every day. Hope you all are doing well, and I'll try to make next chapters a bit longer.
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