54. Itona Horibe: Non-Dependence (88/26)


September 22, Itona's first day in class after joining permanently

There's no lunch box on my desk. This is annoying. I used to always have my meals provided for me. I forgot that I'd need to make my own. I glare at my desk as I think on what to do about this.

"Oh, Itona-kun, did you not bring anything to eat?" The large girl who sits in front of me and one seat to the left asks.

"No, I didn't." I say flatly. When I turned my head towards her, I noted her eyes tick up to the bandanna I'm wearing. It hides the bald spot left over from where the tentacles were rooted into my scalp and skull.

"Well, you can have some of mine. I always make more than enough in case I have a reason to share." She holds out her bentou to me.

I glance down at it. It looks too healthy for my tastes. Also, I'm uncomfortable getting food from a random person.

"You should accept, Itona-kun." The artificial intelligence next to me vocalizes. "Hara-san's cooking is rated significantly above average."

I consider its words. I've known it for about as long as I remember anything. It was the closest thing I had to a friend in those days, in the same sense that Andromeda is the closest neighboring galaxy to our own. It may have a human face, but it is far from passing as one.

I find it a little funny. I still have all of my technical and trivial knowledge, but I didn't even know my name was the one I was given at birth until these guys told me.

"I'm fine." I say, rising from my seat and moving towards Terasaka's group. I detect a flare of killing intent behind me when I do. Unimportant. Ignore.

I snatch a seaweed roll from Terasaka's lunch and pop it in my mouth. Not bad. Tastes like mild pepper and radish inside. Cheap, but edible. Of course, he squawks incoherently for a while, but it's his fault that I'm here in the first place. He should accept the consequences of that.

The large girl is talking again. "So, you won't accept my offer, but you'll just steal food from them?"

"Of course." I respond. "Being offered something and taking it are two completely different things."

She blinks in confusion. "I... see. Well, at least you're not taking food from Muramatsu."

I glance to the next seat forward, where the blond is looking back at me warily. "I'll get around to it. Though I could crap a better meal than he makes." That gets her to laugh triumphantly. Muramatsu gives me double middle fingers, but he backs off after a second and holds his box out to me.

"Well, if you want some of mine, you can take it. Go ahead. Just not the greens, okay?"

...I know what reverse psychology is. I grab a chunk of breaded chicken despite his words. Still, he doesn't look dissatisfied.

"You know, I heard you're on your own right now. I could put you up for a few days... if you stop insulting my cooking."

"I'd rather not." I respond immediately. Not because of the insulting thing. No amount of gratitude that has ever been possessed by a sapient being could make me stop that. But the government gave me an apartment. It's almost empty, but that doesn't matter. I'm fine on my own, and I don't need their pity.

"Is there a problem here?" The brown haired class representative girl has joined us, one hand on her hip.

The scraggly-haired Hazama gives her a lazy, amused drawl, saving me the trouble of having to answer. "Nah, we're just messing around. Nothing you need to worry about. You can head on back to your domain in the front."

The representative quirks an eyebrow at her, before looking back to me. "Well, I know you said you were feeling bad about losing your power this morning, Itona-kun, but I just wanted to check in to see how you were really doing right now."

My eyes narrow ever so slightly. "I have a headache. Yesterday, that octopus gave me tests all day. It was a pain in the ass. Also, less than thirty-eight hours ago I had brain surgery." I'm on a mild painkiller, but the small holes in my skull are quite sore without the tentacle cells filling them. Supposedly they'll heal shut over time. I'll look forward to that.

She looks amused at my directness. "Right, of course. If you need to take any time off from PE class, you just have to tell Karasuma-sensei, and I'm sure he'll understand."

"I think you're confusing me with someone else." I tell her. Let a little twingy skull and a few stitches stop me from getting stronger? Never.

She smiles, but her forehead is pinched. "If you say so." She says with stiff cheer. "If you change your mind, the option's always open. I'd offer to help you get caught up too, but Koro-sensei will be handling that, I think."

I hmm at her. All this helpfulness is awkward. I don't fear them, or anything they might do. I simply feel opposition to the idea of relying on others. Living is complicated. I have a lot of things to keep track of now that I'm living on my own. One thing I did like about my former life was the simplicity of it. Goals, orders. I didn't have to think and plan for a long future. If I could go back, betrayal aside, would I? Yes. But that's... not good. I can't go back, and wishing for it is pointless and dangerous. If I have to learn to live, I'll throw all my tenacity into that goal. If I have to accept their help, I will. But if I don't, I won't.

...My forehead is itchy.


Still no class E vs. the government yet. I've been too busy with holiday stuff, but soon. Soon.

I didn't expect this chapter to be so short, but Itona is really terse and direct, so it just ended up that way. He certainly doesn't mince his words. He speaks his mind, and doesn't hold back. Of course, another way to say that is he's an ass, but that's part of his charm. I admit, I enjoy it when he casually throws insults around as much as everyone else seems to. Here, strength and growing stronger are still important to him, but they aren't the be-all and end-all they used to be. That desire hasn't completely disappeared either, though.

This is another one of those chapters where people don't just get over their issues right away. Itona has decided to join class E, but for them to truly earn his battered trust will take time. Of course, this is right before that little incident with the remote controlled tank, so those social links will be leveling up soon.

I have a story arc planned for Itona, culminating in an explanation for why he wasn't there the day Koro-sensei was assassinated. Suffice to say, he's gonna need a hug. The last line of this chapter is not a throwaway.