'What the hell? Being kicked alone was enough to give me 12000 Points... And I don't even have to suffer for it!'
With her 'Pain Control' active, there's absolutely no way a brunt force such as a kick could possibly cause her to tremble in pain.
It was all merely an act to gain sympathy! Sometimes, in order to extract points, you would need do the unthinkable! You need to sacrifice something in order to gain something!
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world!
In spite of the way she was clutching her stomach, her face was smiling.
"Gah... An ant could deal a lot more damage than whatever the hell you just did. You think you tough? Picking on some children?"
"...Tsk. Your provocation almost worked. Don't think that you could hide the trembling of your arms behind those cape." The adult spoke through the mask.
Cough! Cough!
Pressing a hand on the ground while the other one was still clutching her stomach, Kasuka caught her balance.
Slowly, she stood up.
"Fuu.... Th-that didn't hurt at all. Come on, what a weak adult you are." Although she said that, the other children around them could easily tell that she was merely putting on a brave front.
A couple more [Points Gained] notification appeared in her peripherals, but she ignored them and decided to put her all in acting as the brave child in front of a monster.
As the adult took a step closer, Kasuka didn't flinch this time. Knowing full well what was going to happen to her, she faced them head on.
What she didn't expect was the fact that the kick that arrived would land precisely on her temple, causing her head to land roughly on the ground.
'Woah, relax there. That actually caused me quite a bit of pain even with 'Pain Control' active. Can't believe you would actually put your full power into kicking a child!'
Kasuka laid still on the ground, all action was ceased. The children around looked at her with wide eyes, afraid of the aftermath of this mess.
"Now that you're concussed, can't seem to think straight, can you? That's what you get for disobeying orders." Seemingly satisfied, the adult turned around and began to walk towards Azusa.
But before she could even take 3 whole steps, the sound of a small thud echoed from behind her as she felt a small rock hitting the back of her head.
"..."
Slowly, she turned her head around. And then, she saw it. The face of a small child with brown hair and black pupils, a very rare combination.
Right beside her eyebrow were a gash of wound, possibly from the impact of her head colliding against the tough concrete earlier.
The blood was trickling down her cheek, but she stood tall.
This time, her legs were visibly shaking.
Her breathing were uneven. It was clear that the child wasn't in her right state of mind.
But even then, she stood.
Seemingly never to fall down, it was a very unusual sight inside the Arius District.
Most children wouldn't even dare to speak loudly in fear of facing consequences. But this child, she was actively seeking that danger.
What was the reason?
That doesn't matter. Everyone here knew what kind of fate would befall her now that she had provoked an instructor to this point.
"...I'll admit it. I didn't expect this." As the adult muttered loud enough for Azusa to capture, she made her way towards Kasuka, thinking of finally ending the fiasco using her own hands.
Azusa knew what was about to happen. In fact, everyone does. Due to that, she tried to stand, trying her best to support the girl that had helped her and taken away the attention from her.
But before she could move, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Swoosh!
A streak of black and blue quickly made their way across the room, stopping just right between the adult and Kasuka.
"Stop!" Her hands was stretched to the sides, trying to stop the advances of the adult against Kasuka.
And it succeeded.
"...Saori."
"Please, I'll teach her myself. You don't need to spend any more energy on a waste like her, right? It's alright. I'll make it my responsibility to teach her the way of this place. Please, spare her."
Although she was bowing her head, the girl was taking precautions to make sure that the instructor doesn't do anything overboard against the brown haired child.
"Really? You want to take responsibility for her? Then, if I tell you to starve for a week to repent for her mistake, would you agree?"
Saori exhaled slightly and hesitated. Her face contorted a couple of times, fully showing off the dilemma she's currently going through.
But it didn't take long before she nodded her head.
"I'll accept the punishment with full grace."
Hearing this, the instructor snorted quietly and turned around. She began to walk away from the scene, a single sentence echoing in the distance.
"I'll look forward to her future. Take good care of her, Saori... Though, I'm sure it wouldn't be long before you show me how incompetent you can be."
With that, the atmosphere became less tense as the only adult had left the building.
The other child also began to disperse, some giving a few more glances towards the brown haired girl who was brave enough to stand against the instructor.
Of course, most of them didn't even give as much as an attention and left the place in a hurry.
Saori's hand limped to her sides as she exhaled a breath of air in acceptance once again.
"Hah... I'll have to starve myself again. Whatever." She brushed off the punishment with a flick of a finger.
After all, feeling the emptiness growl from deep inside her empty stomach was a daily occurrence. Doing it for 7 days might cause a bit more suffering, but it's not unbearable.
She turned around and noticed the white haired girl actively calling out to the brown haired one.
"Ah... I'm sorry... Because of me, you..." But as she got closer, she noticed that above the brown haired girl's head, there was no Halo.
She was unconscious.
Even while fainted, she was still standing.