After the start of lunch break, Adrian rose from his seat, stretched lightly, said his goodbyes to Yukiko, and made his way toward the rooftop. As he walked through the hallways, snippets of whispered conversation drifted into his ears.
"…I heard he sent all the guys from the soccer club to the hospital with their legs all broken…"
"…No, from what I know he brought a knife and started stabbing them and that's why they got hospitalized…"
"…Oh and Coach Tougou from the baseball club was apparently put down to his knees because he happened to be a witness…"
"...Poor Coach Tougou…"
Adrian raised an eyebrow and a faint amused smile tugged at his lips.
The rumors had gone from exaggerated to completely absurd. At this rate, people would probably be claiming he was the secret son of a yakuza boss by the end of the week.
Though, he didn't feel that annoyed at the rumors anymore.
If anything, he found it rather entertaining. High school students really did have far too much free time.
With his hands tucked in his pockets, Adrian simply kept walking, letting the whispers pass by without paying them much mind.
By the time he pushed open the door to the rooftop, the noise of the school faded behind him. A cool breeze greeted him immediately, carrying with it the fresh air of the open sky.
Kurumi was already there, sitting on the ground with her back resting against the chain-link fence. A book lay open in her lap, while a half-eaten lunch sat beside her.
She glanced up when she heard the door open, her expression remained calm when she saw him.
"You're late." She said simply.
Adrian walked over and sat down next to her.
"Sorry. I stopped to listen to a few rumors. According to one of them, I'm practically a criminal mastermind." He said with an amused shake of his head.
Kurumi tilted her head slightly and closed her book. "Ah, the rumors." She let out a quiet breath through her nose. "People are surprisingly creative when they don't know what actually happened."
"Yeah. Apparently I killed the entire soccer team and made Coach Tougou cry."
"Anyways, I didn't expect your reaction to be this… unworried." Adrian said whilst leaning back against the chain fence with a faint smile.
Kurumi blinked once. "About the rumors?"
"No." Adrian tapped the side of his head lightly. "About this."
Her gaze briefly shifted to the faint scar near his temple before returning to him.
Kurumi gaze stayed at him for a moment, then shrugged lightly as she picked up her chopsticks.
"Why would I be worried?" She asked, voice calm and a matter-of-fact. "You're walking around normally and you don't look like you're in pain. If you were seriously hurt, you wouldn't be up here cracking jokes about the rumors."
She took a bite of her lunch, chewing thoughtfully before continuing.
"Besides, you've been neglecting me for days now. You can accept a little revenge for that, can't you?"
Adrian let out a soft laugh, genuinely amused by her attitude.
"But still, take care of yourself, okay?" Kurumi murmured, lightly poking him on the nose before pulling her hand back.
Adrian simply showed her a smile.
A comfortable silence settled between them afterward. The breeze drifted across the rooftop as Kurumi finished the last of her lunch.
Adrian gazed out over the school grounds below, his mind still turning over everything that had happened this morning.
Eventually, he broke the silence again.
"Hey, Kurumi."
"Hm?" She glanced over while packing away the remains of her lunch.
"Do you think people are inherently selfish?"
Kurumi paused. "That's a random question."
"Just answer me." Adrian said, his tone light but serious.
She studied him for a moment, then said. "You're talking about everyone suddenly avoiding you, Isn't it?"
Kurumi paused again, she set her lunch box aside and began to think about the question. Soon after she turned to face him properly.
"Yeah, I guess people are kinda selfish." She said casually.
"I mean… everyone looks out for themselves. It's not like you can go around worrying about every single stranger you see. You'd go crazy."
She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as the wind picked up.
"Like… how can you really care about someone you've never even talked to or known to deeply care about? You don't know them and they don't know you. It's a normal thing to care more about your family, your friends, or people you hang out with than acquaintances. That's just how it is."
Kurumi glanced at him.
"When we first met, I'm seriously disgusted by you. You threatened me, blackmailed me, and made my life annoying as hell. I thought you were the worst."
Adrian let out a short laugh. "Brutally honest as always." He shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. "But when you put it that way, I guess I don't really have much room to complain."
He gave a small shrug and put his hands behind his head, looking above the blue skies.
"Forget I asked."
Watching him, Kurumi let out a soft laugh.
Adrian glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
"Hmm? Nothing. I just didn't expect you to suddenly act all soft. You're always scheming or pinning me down… so seeing you like this is kinda strange."
Adrian blinked, then let out a low laugh, clearly caught off guard by her blunt teasing.
"Soft, huh?" He repeated, amused. "I guess that's true."
She poked his arm with her fingers lightly.
"Don't get me wrong. It's not bad. Just… unexpected."
Adrian shook his head, still smiling. The cool metal pressed against his back while the breeze ruffled his hair. For a moment, the rooftop felt peaceful.
Kurumi returned to the book she set aside, seeng Adrian not wanting to continue the conversation.
Adrian closed his eyes for a second.
'Soft, huh…'
The word stuck with him.
Maybe she had a point.
He had been spending his time caring what a bunch of high school kids thought about him. An amused smile showed on his face.
A few weeks ago, his biggest concern was how to use his knowledge and power to get girls, make money, and build power as quickly as possible.
Now here he was, having philosophical conversations because he was worrying with people suddenly turning their backs on him.
He had gotten comfortable.
Way too comfortable.
His gaze then drifted toward the rooftop door.
Still… nothing Kurumi said changed the core of who he was. He still manipulated people when it benefited him. He still lied without hesitation when needed. He still took what he wanted.
The only real difference was that this world had given him enough breathing room to also enjoy the kinder parts of himself.
A small, self-aware smile tugged at his lips.
'Hazuki Yuu was probably still struggling to sit down properly right now.'
The thought amused him more than it should have.
'Yeah… I'm definitely not a good person, and I probably never will be.' The thought came easily this time. Finally understanding himself.
'And being kind wasn't the issue either. Reassuring Yukiko, sitting here with Kurumi, even those small moments of ease is not wrong and shouldn't ever become an issue.'
His eyes narrowed slightly as the breeze passed over the rooftop.
'What matters is… having everything under control."
The rest of their lunch break passed easily.
They mostly spent their time talking about random things and Adrian becoming at ease with everything.
When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of lunch, Kurumi stood up and stretched, smoothing out her skirt before brushing it off.
"Don't stay up here too long," she said, glancing back at him. "And seriously… take care of yourself. Even if you heal fast, it's still annoying to see you get hurt."
Adrian gave her a cheeky smile. "Yeah. No promises."
Kurumi paused for a second, then lightly flicked his forehead with her finger before turning and walking toward the door.
"Idiot." She muttered under her breath, though there was no real bite in it.
Adrian watched her leave with a faint smile on his face. He stayed on the rooftop for a few more minutes, letting the breeze clear his thoughts.
Eventually, Adrian stood up, stretched his arms above his head, and reached for the phone in his pocket. He planned to skip classes today and focus most of his energy on the things he needed to prioritize.
He messaged Takashi about it, then called Azuma. The contractors were set to begin preliminary work this afternoon, so he just needed to make sure everything was in order.
==========
AN: So yeah, a bit more character growth and philosopical things. I feel like I should've put it in the past chapter but I only started thinking about this after I re-read the past chapter and felt that it would be too abrupt to suddenly switch up to the council thingy that will happen later.
Then again I guess it's better this way so that I don't have to drag out his development, even though it's super fast... Anyways I just don't want Adrian to turn edgy if you get me. So yeah nothing much happened here, other than characterization.
Anyway's have a nice week!