Bah! Scumbag

Finally, Nebula Kotetsu's eyes lit up.

He spotted the green figure in the corner, sitting and performing dumbbell curls with single-minded focus.

Having found his target, he reached out and shoved the pretty face blocking the doorway aside.

Muto Ayaka: !!?

The onlookers: "(ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´(ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´(ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´)!!!"

Many of the boys felt their hearts tighten in an instant; seeing their goddess treated so roughly, they longed to rush forward and comfort her. If they weren't at school, some might have already taken action to "uphold justice."

The girls, meanwhile, had their eyes wide open, wearing expressions of excitement as if they had just witnessed a massive scandal. A few even looked on with envy.

Why wasn't it me being shoved aside?

What would Muto Ayaka do? Explode? Or fly into a rage?

None of the above.

Muto Ayaka stood frozen in place, silently dazed.

In this moment, she finally understood.

So, in the heart of Nebula Kotetsu, she held no real weight at all.

The treatment she once enjoyed as his girlfriend had ceased to exist the moment they broke up.

Pah! Scumbag!

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Nebula Kotetsu had already arrived in front of Might Guy.

The man was clad in a green bodysuit, legs spread, one hand braced on his knee, performing dumbbell curls with absolute focus, completely indifferent to the chaotic noise of the outside world.

It wasn't until a pair of feet appeared in his field of vision that he reacted.

Might Guy looked up without stopping his movement.

When the face of Nebula Kotetsu entered his sight, 0.05 seconds later, his eyes widened and his pupils constricted sharply!

Immediately after, the massive shock caused his butt to spring off the bench, accompanied by a high-pitched, distorted shriek.

"Ghost!!~"

Nebula Kotetsu's face darkened with irritation.

Stepping back half a pace to dodge the falling dumbbell and watching Might Guy, who had jumped three feet into the air, he finally understood why the man had run off that morning without saying a word.

However, he still couldn't comprehend it.

"You're the ghost!"

He had been mistaken for a spirit or a demon many times, but being called a ghost was a first.

As he spoke, Might Guy, who had landed back on the bench, shuddered again. He then snapped back to reality, looking at the speaking Nebula Kotetsu before him, then at the astonished gazes of the surrounding students. After a long while, he finally realized a reality.

"You... you're a person?"

Nebula Kotetsu: "...Of course I am."

"And, how exactly do I look like a ghost?"

Might Guy let out a long sigh of relief. He reached up to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead before speaking.

"If you aren't a ghost, why did you go out so early?"

"Your face was so pale, it's no wonder I took you for one."

Nebula Kotetsu's eyelid twitched: "That's called cool-toned pale skin!"

"Do you even know what cool-toned pale skin is?"

Might Guy shook his head as a matter of course: "Don't know."

Nebula Kotetsu choked on his words.

"Fine, let's not talk about that. The reason I went out this morning was actually to... to train."

Might Guy: "(￢_￢)"

Nebula Kotetsu: "What's with that look?"

Might Guy: "Suspicion."

"I have an intuition that you weren't out training." Stretching your arms and legs—even the old man at the village entrance has a higher intensity than you.

He stated with conviction: "Besides, there isn't a single flame of youth on you."

Nebula Kotetsu: "..."

He never expected that this guy, Might Guy, wouldn't be so easy to fool.

Looking into those clear, wise eyes, he frowned, suddenly realizing a problem.

"You... don't recognize me?"

Might Guy: "Should I know you?"

Nebula Kotetsu was speechless.

As the most famous dead-last student in the Ninja Academy, with girlfriends and ex-girlfriends in every grade, and regarded as a public enemy by nearly all his male peers, how could there possibly be anyone in the school who didn't know him?

A moment later, looking into the still-clear eyes of Might Guy, Nebula Kotetsu realized with resignation.

Fine, there really was someone who didn't know him.

The reason he was known by all his classmates was that the girls coveted him, while the boys hated and envied him. But these things seemed to have nothing to do with Might Guy.

The other's world was almost completely insulated from things like "physical attractiveness" or "romantic relationships."

Besides, he remembered that Might Guy seemed to have a bit of face blindness.

Seeing him like this, Might Guy became the confused one instead. He crossed his arms, pinched his chin with one hand, and carefully searched his brain's storage.

After searching through it once, he discovered—he didn't know him.

He asked in confusion, "Where have we met?"

"You are..."

Nebula Kotetsu gave up on the idea that the other would recognize him.

"I am Nebula Kotetsu."

Might Guy had a sudden realization: "Oh~"

"So you are Nebula Kotetsu."

Only then did Nebula Kotetsu feel things were normal. "You've heard my name?"

"Yes, that's right." Might Guy nodded. "When I'm at school, I always hear people saying 'let's beat up Nebula Kotetsu together,' 'let's take out Nebula Kotetsu,' or 'kill Nebula Kotetsu.' I thought I was hallucinating. So, Nebula Kotetsu is you."

Nebula Kotetsu let out a dry laugh: "That's right, it is indeed me."

Might Guy: "Right, what did you come to find me for?"

"Is it just because I didn't recognize you this morning?"

Nebula Kotetsu shook his head and said, "That's not it."

For a fleeting moment, he wished he actually knew the Youth Quotes. If he had mastered the 1000 Words of Youth Quotes in advance, perhaps becoming friends with this guy wouldn't have been such a roundabout process.

He thought for a moment, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck. Looking at the crowd of onlookers, he leaned into the other's ear and whispered.

Might Guy was confused at first, then his eyes lit up.

"You want to challenge me!?"

His surprised voice nearly carried out of the classroom.

The next second, Might Guy realized that since the other had spoken in a whisper, he probably shouldn't have been so loud.

Just as he was about to apologize, Nebula Kotetsu waved his hand powerlessly.

"Forget it."

"No need to say more."

"After school, I'll be waiting for you at the same place as this morning."

Might Guy nodded, then extended a thumb and flashed his white teeth.

"Don't worry, for something like this, I'll definitely be on time!"

Nebula Kotetsu left before the class bell rang.

After he left, Might Guy excitedly fantasized about the duel after school, not noticing that the light around him was growing dimmer.

By the time he realized what was happening, he found himself surrounded by girls.

"W-what are you all doing?" Having never been stared at by so many eyes, Might Guy felt a bit nervous.

"Speak!" a girl with a decent appearance asked first. "Where is that 'same place'?"

"Right! Tell us quickly!"

"Tell us!"

A cute girl leaned in front of Might Guy, showing a gentle smile she had never displayed to him before, and said in a sugary voice, "Please, won't you tell us?"

Might Guy: "(°▽°)".

While he was at a loss, a two-hundred-pound girl slammed a palm onto Might Guy's desk.

"You are not allowed to lay a hand on my Kotetsu!"

"Also, tell me the 'same place' in secret, and I'll go fight him in your stead."

Might Guy shivered in fear.