I hastened my morning routine, combing my hair and putting on some deodorant while on auto-pilot. I grabbed my toothbrush and after I wet the bristles under the water, I shoved it into my mouth. The icy feel of the paste tingled my gums. I entered the bedroom and walked to the closet. It occurred to me as I grabbed a new shirt from the closet that I'd have to change up my routine. I could feel Kuro's eyes on me as I pulled out a fresh pair of pants, and I kept my eyes downcast as I grabbed my discarded jacket. My skin crawled as his eyes lingered on my body, and I held back a sigh. With my clothing sorted, I re-entered the bathroom, closing the door behind me and letting out a breath as it clicked shut.

I wouldn't be able to change in front of Kuro anymore, he'd see the marks. I grabbed the toothbrush in my mouth and started scrubbing my teeth. I'll have to think of an excuse to give him. Maybe something about wanting alone time after everything that has happened? He'd buy into something like that for a short time, but I'd have to work on something for the long term. I spat into the sink and rinsed my toothbrush, setting it back into the nearby cup and wiping my mouth with a hand towel.

My reflection stared back at me and I discovered how disheveled I looked. My eyes were slightly bloodshot, either from the lack of sleep, or my incessant crying yesterday. Under my eyes, the beginning of shadows have formed. My skin was void of any warmth, my typically pale skin holding no blush. Even after I rubbed my cheeks, the blood that rushed there looked forced and - if anything - made it look more like I had been crying. I exhaled audibly, giving up on my pathetic appearance and getting dressed.

Once finished, I rummaged through the first aid kit, pulling out a new role of dressing a replacing the slightly soiled bandage on my hand. Anxiety bloomed in my chest at the thought of being exposed for what I had done. I knew Yukio wouldn't spread this around to anyone, but then again, I also thought he'd never try to shoot me. I grunted and rebound my palm, going farther and replacing the bandage around my wrist. I had two gym classes today, and the uniform wouldn't cover the cuts, so I'd have to make my excuse buyable.

When I opened the door, Kuro wasn't around. I paid no mind to his absence and collected my schoolwork, shoving them into my bag and making my way down the stairs. I skipped past the cafeteria and exited the dormitory. I'm sure Yukio was eating at the moment, and I didn't know if I could face him. I'd grown used to skipping breakfast recently, my appetite was non-existent in the mornings. I had to attribute most of that to my nightmares, but recent events played a major role in it, as well.

.oOo.

My day classes droned on without much issue, and sooner than I had hoped, I found myself making my way to cram school. The day had passed without too many incidents. A handful of my classmates questioned me about my bandaged hand, but I simply said I had cut myself while doing the dishes. Technically, it wasn't a lie, but it was also nowhere close to the truth. As I pulled my key from my pocket, I recalled how I'd passed Izumo in the hallways between periods. At first, I'd been nervous, hoping she wouldn't be scared of me and cause some sort of scene. However, when she caught me looking at her, she told me to mind my own business and continued on her way. A small huff escaped me as I unlocked the door and pushed into the ornate hallway. I should've known better, Kamiki-chan kept to herself and expected others to do the same. She was smart enough to realize I wasn't going to flip out in the middle of a crowded hallway. I reflected on that as I trekked toward the gym class. She might not outwardly show any fear, but that didn't mean Izumo wasn't afraid of me. I'm sure she was.

I scoffed at myself as I entered the boy's locker room. After yesterday, everyone had the right to be scared. As I stripped off my uniform and threw a t-shirt over my head, I recalled the memory of the night prior. I had to admit it, I may have deserved what I got. I remembered how I'd wanted to rip Bon's throat out and feed it back to him. A shiver ran up my spine and I closed my locker, treading back toward the gym. I'd certainly let my emotions get the best of me. In that heightened state, I had less control over myself and my flames. In a room full of pissed teenagers, I was a liability.

"Good afternoon, Okumura-kun." Tsubaki-sensei greeted me from a few feet away, I gave him a nod as I passed. "You're here early, are you feeling alright?" He laughed to himself and I accepted the verbal blow, pharmaceutics wasn't the only class I was tardy in. I expected him to be finished with his little lecture, but he surprised me. "Should I get my hopes up and expect you to give me a little effort today, too?"

I deserved that blow, as well. I simply sighed and leaned against the nearby wall, running my hand through my hair and starting to stretch. "Think what you want, Sensei. I'm here, and I'll do what I can." I was aware that my classmates were filtering into the room, a few of them coming out of the locker rooms and taking up similar positions as I was.

"Oi," my teacher interjected, suddenly serious. "What happened to your hand?"

I paused my movements, scanning my surroundings. My classmates seemed intrigued by the question, as well. They were in the loop, however, and I knew they were curious about how I would manage the situation. I turned my gaze to Ol' Sideburns and shrugged. Yukio must've kept last night hushed, at least for the time being. I decided to go along with it. "It's nothing, Sensei. I just cut myself while doing the dishes." His expression turned skeptical, and he questioned the amount of wrapping on my wrist. I simply shrugged, "I'm a kid, not a doctor. I didn't know how much to use." He hummed in response, apparently satisfied with my answer as he began to walk away. He addressed the class and began on the lesson plan, and I sighed in relief.

.oOo.

The rest of Tsubaki-sensei's class rolled on without much of a hitch, albeit I was sweating by the time the bell rang. Even my next class rolled on, uneventfully. Adachi-sensei had a game planned for us, and I found myself fairly enthralled as we answered demon history trivia on our phones. I became surprised when the end of class came around and the scores were tallied. I was ranked fourth, below Izumo, Bon, and Konekomaru. Maybe I wasn't as dense as I thought, and maybe I should apply myself more. I'll be in the top three next time.

When the bell rang, I collected my things and made my way toward Yukio's class. I heard footsteps tapping behind me and I shot a glance to the side. Someone fell into step beside me, and I hid my surprise when it was Suguro. "Okumura-san," he'd stated it as more of a question, but I didn't answer him - caught up in the fact that he was suddenly using honorifics with me. "Oi, Okumura-san, are you ignoring me?"

I sighed, "what do you want?" He was silent for a moment, and we both pushed our way into our last class. Yukio was standing at the podium, eyes downcast at the papers he was holding. It was probably a recap of what we would be covering in today's lesson. I pulled out my chair and sat down, digging through my bag and bringing out the necessary items for the class. I noticed that Bon was standing next to my desk, and I sighed. "Well? Spit it out."

He drew in a deep breath, "Listen, I'm sorry about yesterday." I adverted my gaze to my textbook, flipping it open and turning to our current section. "I shouldn't have said all those things. I was pissed, and trying to get a reaction out of you." He finished his apology and the air became still, the only sound being the flipping of pages between Yukio and me. "Hey, are you even listening to me?"

I rolled my eyes, scanning the page in front of me and clicking my mechanical pencil. "Yeah."

My classmate huffed, annoyance laced in the action. "That's all? I just said I was sorry, okay? Are you able to forgive me?"

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, folding my arms over my chest and glaring at him. "I'll forgive you when you're actually sorry."

His face contorted in confusion, "what the hell does that even mean? I just apologized."

"I know, I'm not deaf." Quite the opposite, actually. "It's just, if you truly thought what you did yesterday was so horrible, you wouldn't have done it in the first place." The other students started to show up, and I watched as they eyed our little exchange. I turned my attention back to the rooster head. "When someone apologizes, that usually means that a mistake was made on their end. However, you just told me you meant to piss me off, it was your goal to get into a fight. That's not a mistake," my eyes bore into his own, and I saw when he figured out what I was implying, his shoulders slumping. "You're not sorry, you just feel guilty."

I wasn't going to forgive him just to clear his conscience. That was his problem to deal with. He seemed to understand that and it wasn't long before he turned and walked to his seat. The air in the room was tense, most of my classmates having heard my little speech. Good, I hoped they all felt guilty over what happened yesterday. None of them interrupted us, and no one came to my rescue when Suguro told me to go off myself. They must feel the same if that's the case. That's fine, they were dead to me, anyway. I didn't give a rat's ass about their opinions anymore.

Our lesson started and we discussed the levels and classes of demons. After a while, Yukio asked us a question, "who can tell me why you shouldn't be in close proximity to a demon of Astaroth?" I peeked through my bangs just as Yukio turned away from the board, waiting to call on any raised hand. However, after a few quiet moments, he realized that no one knew. "Moriyama-san? Any guesses?" When she didn't answer he turned to another student, "Ryuji-san?" A few more seconds passed by and I chewed on my lip.

"King of Rot," I murmured.

Yukio turned his attention to me, "what was that?"

I sighed and sat a little straighter in my chair. "Astaroth is the 'King of Rot.' Therefore, all of his demons are considered impure, and going near one could get you infected with a miasma." I blew upward, moving my bangs out of my eyes. "Astaroth's miasma is far harder to cure than most others. So, it's best to exorcise his demons from a distance." There was silence and I found myself chewing on my lip, second-guessing myself. "Uh, it was covered about two chapters ago, in section three."

Suspense filled the air, but it was broken by a chuckle. The sound slowly grew louder as Yukio gripped the podium, a wide smile on his face. "Ha, so you have been studying?" He held a hand to his stomach and took a deep breath, but the smile never left his lips. "Alright, you're correct."

I clenched my fists, feeling some irritation well inside of me at his smirk. "I'm not as much of an idiot as you think I am, Okumura-sensei." My comment was accompanied by a low growl that emitted from my chest. The room fell silent, and Yukio's expression fell. My mind flickered back to the night prior and I calmed my growls. There you go again, scaring everyone.

There was a knock on the door, and before Yukio could speak, it was shoved open, the handle bouncing off the wall. Shura came walking in and her fuchsia eyes flickered over to me before centering on our teacher. "Oi, Chicken. Something came up, so I'm stealing your brother early today. Give him his homework later" She tossed the Kurikara at me, and I shot up in my seat, snatching it before it could hit the floor. A bit of glee sparkled in my heart as I held onto it. She took it away from me a while ago, was she finally giving it back? Were we going to spar with actual swords now? "Hey, brat." My eyes moved up to meet her's and I saw her motion me over. "You've had a few days off, you better not have gotten soft on me. I'll be sure to kick your ass."

A smile spread across my lips and I made my way toward her. Yukio snarked back from behind me. "Could you try not to break my door down, next time?" Shura simply shrugged, throwing her arm over my shoulder and ushering me out of the room. Before we were out of view, she turned her eyes back to Yukio, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Chicken. I'll bring your precious Oni-chan back in one piece."