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The topic was good; Beckman discussed it clearly, but some idiots would really find discussing cells boring, right? And that idiot is ruining the discussion with his stupid questions and remarks.
"I saw Makino-chan coming out of your office last night." The statement implied something that startled the whole class, even Mihawk, who’s too focused on taking notes.
There was an awkward silence, and Beckman, the professor, inhaled sharply, the muscles on his jaw twitching, and Mihawk could tell he was clinging to the last remnants of his patience.
"Shanks… you are aware that I am mentoring her for the upcoming tournament, right?" There was a hint of growling in the professor’s voice, and all the students watched as the tension threatened to envelope the whole classroom.
"Mentoring in what field, exactly?" There was that teasing tone again, and Mihawk gritted his teeth.
He is serious about his education, thank you very much, but this redhead, who’s lazy and just draws every time, must be in the same strand as him and interrupt his favorite subject with nonsense that, if he’s not careful, could lead to Beckman getting fired.
After all, affairs with students and professors are strictly forbidden.
As he was just sitting there, watching Benn cling to his sanity, listening to the clock tick by, being wasted by those small banters, and feeling his blood slowly boil, Mihawk realized he couldn’t just sit there and not get involved.
Sure, the redhead is bulky; it would be hard to threaten him, but Mihawk knows how to handle swords, and Mihawk has something better. If this is all teasing, then he doesn’t mind joining.
"Careful there, Red Hair. It almost sounds as if you’re jealous that Beckman has been spending more time with this particular student than you." He drawled out, his mouth twitching into a smirk when the redhead’s eyebrows creased.
Benn was thankful for the diversion, but the professor’s eyes snapped to him and said, "That’s Sir for you, Dracule." He scrunched his nose up; he doesn’t like being called by his last name.
"Don’t butt in, Dracule-san." It’s funny how the redhead’s polite tone contradicted his words, and he can feel every student in the room dreading and pitying him. Because he has caught the attention of Shanks, the greatest prankster, or soft word for bully.
"You’d butt in the discussion first, and I’m not allowed to? As far as I know, this school doesn’t favor anyone. Now if you would just shut up, we could’ve finished the lesson hours ago, and you could’ve gone back to your pranking." His voice was calm, but everyone knew he was ranting.
There were a few sighs of relief because he knew everyone felt like the redhead stepped over the line when he mentioned the girl. Who was she again? Damn, he’s not good at remembering things when he’s irritated.
"Yeah? Are you sure they don’t want the discussions to be interrupted? I mean, I could fall asleep because of how boring these classes are." The jerk shrugged, and Mihawk smirked.
"Apparently, not everyone feels the same way. Don’t lump them in with the likes of you." That was a low blow, and Mihawk knew it, so when the redhead stood up to attack him, he braced for the impact.
But Beckman was there to hold the back of the boy's collar, like holding a pouncing cat by the nape to keep it from moving.
"Enough! The two of you, in my office." The professor growled and dragged Shanks out of the room, and when Mihawk didn’t make a move to follow, Benn turned back and growled, "Now."
With an irritated sigh, Mihawk stood up and followed. This is why he hates getting involved. He sounds high and mighty calling the redhead lazy, but he is a lazy one himself. He is more bored, though. He’s bored talking to people and bored in this world, and Beckman’s classes were the very few things that captured his attention, so when the boy interrupted them, Mihawk felt like he needed to get involved.
This isn’t the first time that boy has ruined the class, after all.
"You are being a little shit."
"Because your classes are boring!"
"Or the boy was right? That I’ve been spending too much time with Makino, and you were starting to get jealous?"
Oh, Makino was her name. Mihawk mused in his head.
"Don’t make it sound like we’re having an affair, my God."
"Or you might get caught?" He chose that time to interrupt, and if he were any other man, he would have run away with the glares he received.
"Don’t worry; I won’t tell if that’s what you’re worried about." He raised his arms in the air as a surrendering gesture, a playful smile on his lips as the heat in their gazes intensified.
"Shut up. Just… shut up; I’ll deal with you later. Now, as for you, let’s go ask those things to Makino if it eases you. She’s in my office." Benn then dragged Shanks again, and Mihawk was about to escape when Benn’s other hand shot up to grab his collar also.
"Hey, let go! I am not a feral cat; I will go on my own; you don’t need to drag me." Mihawk voiced his distaste, but Benn’s grip remained tight even if he struggled.
"Stop it; it’s no point; he won’t let us go." Shanks said, and Mihawk sighed, giving up on letting Benn go unless he wanted to rip his shirt.
"This is partly your fault anyway." The redhead spat, and Mihawk glared daggers at him.
"It is all your fault; the lessons were interesting if only you paid attention and stopped disturbing them for once." Mihawk spat back, looking at the redhead, who was being incredulous with his sulking pout.
"Oh, Beckman, great. You have the two of them. There is an upcoming tournament for swordsmanship; they’re our best swordsmen in the Engineering and Sciences department. And hmm... maybe Roronoa from elementary; I heard there are some that are good in other departments too." They bumped into Sengoku on the way, and Benn finally stopped gripping their collars.
They glared at each other, and they would just know that there was no way in hell they would train with each other.
And sure enough, with the competition of swordsmanship, they battled each other for the championship even though they were from the same department and fighting for the same school.
Mihawk won, though, with a dirty trick: he batted his eyelashes on Shanks, and that was the redhead’s downfall—a split second of distraction. Because it was obvious that with all the denial, insult, and argument they have, there is an underlying lust that needs to be quenched.