Kazuichi looked towards the front of the classroom, trying his best to keep his act together, which meant looking like he didn't understand a word of it. Although many people thought he was an idiot, no one knew, (save the teachers) that he was actually one of the smartest in his grade, he couldn't be the Ultimate Mechanic if he didn't understand maths or science afterall, though he made sure no one would know, always hiding his test scores and reports from everyone, pretending he got a bad score.
Kazuichi was snapped out of his 'daze' when there was a knock at the classroom door, it was the headmaster, Jin Kirigiri"Hello everyone, I'm sorry for interrupting," he said, in that authorative voice of his, "but I came to drop off your test for the midterms."
Kazuichi didn't know why, but he felt his stomach drop to the darkest pits of hell as he heard this, but it was fine, he thought, just as long as they don't...
"Now, please remain seated as I read out your name and scores," Jin (the headmaster) said as he got out his checklist. Kazuichi sat frozen in his seat, mouth open and his whole body tense.
"Close your mouth Souda, wouldn't want you to catch flies~!" Came a smart remark, he looked around and saw the Ultimate Traditional Dancer, Hiyoko Saionji, snickering behind her kimono, "we all already know what your test scores will be like anyway!"
"S-shutup you m-midget!" Souda stammered out, hoping it was a passable response for his character.
Kazuichi looked down at the ground in embarrassment as about half the class started laughing at him, it had worked, thankfully.
"Now now, pay attention please," Jin said, "I will start calling out the names."
Souda clenched his hands that were resting on his knees.
"Sonia nevermind, 97 points for english, 96 for history, 79 for maths and 88 for science."
Sonia looked proud of herself and smiled in pride, Gundham gave her a thumbs up and Kazuichi gave a half hearted smile, she worriedly looked at him in return.
'As expected from a princess,' Souda thought to himself, 'to get such high scores...'
'Surely his results....can't be that bad?' Sonia thought to herself, giving him a reassuring smile in hopes that it would calm him down, they were friends after all.
"Gundham Tanaka, 60 points for maths, 70 for history, 90 for english and 67 for science," Jin continued.
Gundham frowned a bit at his scores, but was still happy nonetheless, after receiving his score sheets, he stuffed them inside his bag without looking at them, probably in a bit of embarrassment. He watched as Souda gave him two thumbs up and a crooked smile.
Gundham cocked an eyebrow at the pinkettes strange behaviour but nodded at him in gratitude nonetheless, was he feeling sick or something?
Although Kazuichi thought of Sonia and Gundham as his friends, he knew that they were only friends with his other self, the mask that he used everday. He knew that if they found out the truth, his true self, they would leave him, just like his mother did, how his past friends betrayed him and bullied him.
"...85 points for science and 84 for maths," continued Jin, "Souda Kazuichi" Jin said, smiling at the boy.
Kazuichi held his breath and started shaking slightly, just waiting for the accusations and pointed fingers, sure to come his way, to be called a nerd and loser just like in middle school.
"Now...lets see, your points for maths ar-" Jin was cut off before he could say anymore by two students who yelled at the same time.
"Stop!" Exclaimed Gundham and Sonia at the same time, they had both known Souda for about half a year, and they had never seen anything spook their friend as much as these test results did.
Kazuichi had his mouth open and closing, trying to express his words, but finding he couldn't.
'Are....are they.. worried about me?!' He thought to himself, he had never had anyone defend him before, it made him feel...special and....wanted.
"We will not allow you to share something that is not yours to share!" Sonia exclaimed, holding her hand out as if it was a stop sign to help further her argument.
"The Dark Queen is right, the shark mortal does not feel comfortable about his scores from the dark trials that he partaked in" Gundham added on.
Jin looked at them both with surprise and then moved his eyes to the subject in question, who was still looking down at the ground, red-faced and sweating from the embarrassment and attention directed his way.
"V-very well then, because you are so adamant about it, I shall not divulge you any information about his scores without his consent" Jin said, placing his score sheet face down on his desk, after reading the rest of the classes scores out he moved towards the front of the class.
"I am sorry for the interruption, I must be on my way now, have a good afternoon" he said, before leaving the classroom and closing the door behind him.
As soon as he left, everyone started talking, their teacher, Chisa Yukizome, doing nothing about it, for lunch was soon to start.
Gundham and Sonia finally sat down, looking at the friend in concern and curiosity about his test results, which had been left face down on the desk.
Kazuichi nearly jumped out of his seat when the bell rang, thinking up a plan fast so he could give them a viable reason why he didn't want his tests to be said.
As he watched everyone leave the room, he could feel his two friends stares stabbing him in the back.
Kazuichi turned around and smiled at Gundham and Sonia, "thanks for the help guys! I really appreciated it...though I didn' need yer' help!"
Sonia and Gundham stared at him in shock, "I had it totally under control so you didn' need to do that!" He exclaimed, giving off a face of anger, so as to make his friends get angry with him.
The reason he did this was because he knew they would be better off hating him, like everyone else, he didn't want them to get in trouble for his sake, nor did he want them to be deemed the ones who hung out with the 'weirdo' of the school.
"W-what? But we were trying to h-help you Souda!" Sonia exclaimed, even more confused then ever.
"Well I didn' ask for it did I! W-who needs help from a perfect princess and a stupid animal lover anyway?!" He shouted, feeling guiltier with every word, even though he knew it must be done.
"She is right! We try to help a fellow mortal and what do we get in return?! Harsh words and insults!" Gundham said, his voice gradually becoming louder as he finished talking.
Kazuichi decided it was time for the final blow, "pfffft, friends?!" He replied, "who the hell even said wer' friends in the first place? Who would want to be friends with people like you?!" He shouted, turning his back on them to hide the tears gathering in his eyes.
"Y-you're a horrible person Souda Kazuichi! I can't believe I ever thought we were friends!" Sonia shouted, tears slowly falling down her cheeks as she ran out of the classroom.
"I-I am very disappointed in you, shark mortal... to know there was a demon hiding behind this facade of yours the whole time..." Gundham said slowly and quietly, hiding his wet eyes behind his scarf as he made his way out the door to chase after Sonia.
Kazuichi stared at his test papers, tears slowly rolling down his cheeks as he began sobbing in the empty classroom.
He knew it had to be done, but it was still so hard losing his friends, and it was purely his fault this time too, he truly felt like an asshole.
"I-Im so s-sorry Gundham and Sonia...but it's for the best..." he said to himself, hoping he had made the right decision.
As he turned over his test his eyes widened in surprise at his scores, , 60 points for maths, 70 for history, 90 for english and 67 for science...?
Were these correct?
He knew he had gotten a better score than that, so why...?
Kazuichi's eyes widened in horror as he looked at the name on the tests; Gundham Tanaka
Did the heademaster give the tests to the wrong person?! Kazuichi whipped his head around, drying his eyes as he searched for Gundhams bag, where the said boy had stuffed his score sheet in.
...
His bag wasn't there, Gundham Tanaka had his test scores in his bag and they just had a massive fight. Kazuichi knew that Gundham would spread his scores around the whole school if he didn't get those scores back.
Kazuichi pulled his beanie down even further down his face, shadowing his eyes as he raced out of his seat, hoping to god that Gundham hadn't looked in his bag and seen his score sheets, because if he did, his whole facade would shatter...
...and everyone could find out...