Cardfight!! Vanguard: Generations Volume 2 [Zyriot War]

- Part 6

For the final periods of today, I sat in my seat while burying my swollen cheek in the crease of my elbow, or covering it with my hand. I didn't want anyone to find out I got punched in the face, as it would draw unnecessary attention onto me. Sitting at the back of the class also helped me stealthily hide it.

"Is it just me, or did Takanori-san smell like a dead rat after lunch...?"

"There was a weird fungi scent that lingered around him, de gozaru..."

Even though Mitsuba and Tanaka thought they were out of earshot from me, I still overheard them talk about me behind my back as they left the class.

I'll admit, after those guys in D Class kicked me around like a rag doll, I noticed an unpleasant odour coming off me. Their dirty shoes must've rubbed some nasty stuff on me. When I get home, I'm taking a long bubble bath.

As I was about to go meet up with Zyriot, Matsushita walked up to me with a pleasant smile.

"Takanori-san, thanks again for helping us out. You're really reliable."

Ah, if only I was a girl. Those words would've really made my heart skip a beat. Matsushita was too charming for his own good.

"I would've gotten Zyriot-san myself, but me and Akihiro-san need to go to an emergency club meeting, so I'll see you there?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

Since Matsushita was a good person, I decided to come out and ask him about what was preoccupying my mind.

"By the way... do I smell weird?"

Matsushita raised his eyebrows. He looked apologetic giving me a response.

"Well... how do I describe it... you do smell more sour than you did this morning."

"I see..."

In other words, he confirmed I stunk. I wanted to bury my head in the table in defeat, but my hand was currently covering my cheek to hide the swelling from Matsushita.

Noticing my diminishing self-confidence, he took out a can of deodorant from his bag.

"Don't pay attention to what anyone else says. Here, you can use this."

"Oh... thanks."

I took the deodorant from Matsushita and sprayed it on me with one hand. I hoped this would mask the scent a little. I even put on more than I would usually do.

He looked at me a little strangely, but it wasn't a judgmental look. It was more curious than anything.

"Are you hiding something?"

"No, not at all."

That was a lie. It seems Matsushita's caught on. I handed him his deodorant back.

"Your hand... it's been on your cheek this entire time."

"Yeah."

"Did something happen to your face?"

I needed to come up with a good excuse.

"I... uh... have a rare medical condition that... makes my head droopy, so I need to... use my hand to prop it up."

Ah, I failed. Matsushita covered his mouth and laughed slightly. He must think I'm an idiot.

"Seriously though, did anything happen?"

"No, don't worry about it."

"I see... if something did happen, you know you can talk to me about it. I'm here to lend you an ear."