Chapter 186: Grounded
The night had passed, but not without leaving its weight behind. For over an hour, I had sat outside under the moonlight, scribbling notes and carving ideas into my book. Binding vows, theories, and sketches of spider-threads and how I could make my red stitch into threads like that with binding vows... At some point, the moon dipped lower, my eyes stung, and my hand cramped. I finally stood up, stretched, and quietly made my way back toward my dorm.
The hallway was quiet, silent enough that I could hear my own shoes against the floor. When I slid open the dorm room door, Maki was already asleep—or so I thought. I lay down on the blanket spread across the wooden floor, staring up at the ceiling, and let my eyes finally close.
By morning, everything had gone to hell.
"YOU WENT WHERE LAST NIGHT?!"
Gojo's voice nearly broke my eardrums.
I blinked awake to the sight of him lounging in my dorm room like he owned the place, his tone so shrill it could have been mistaken for an angry father scolding his teenage daughter. He leaned forward in his chair dramatically, blindfold tilted back just enough that his glowing eyes widened in theatrical shock.
I didn't even look at him. Instead, I turned my head toward Maki, who sat at the corner of the room with her arms folded and lips tight.
'Ugh, so she was awake last night after all… She didn't stop me from leaving, but she went straight to Gojo and tattled. Why? Is this about Mei Mei? Is she that annoyed?'
Gojo stood, pointing at me like a prosecutor. "ANSWER ME, young man! Where did you go, huh?! Not only that, but Maki told me you didn't listen to her! You just left! How dare you disobey Maki!"
I stared at Maki again, searching her face. She just huffed, looked away, and said nothing.
'When did she tell me not to leave last night? She didn't say a word. And since when does she straight-up lie like that?'
On her side, Maki's fists tightened on her knees. 'Hmpf… serves you right, idiot Ren. Already moving around so fast, sneaking off, hiding things… you're not noble at all. And you didn't even tell me you're dating someone already…'
I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. If this was how they wanted to play… fine.
I stretched my arms, feigning nonchalance, and spoke casually:
"I went to Mei Mei's place. She needed help with plumbing. For some reason she always calls me to clean her pipes."
The silence that followed was explosive.
Gojo froze mid-motion, his mouth dropping open as a blush spread under his blindfold. His thoughts were already plummeting into dirty double meanings. "WOAH, what the hell!! He's cleaning her WHAT?!"
Maki, on the other hand, clenched her fist so hard the window frame rattled. Her mind was more innocent but no less furious. Her jaw clenched, her brows furrowed, her whole body stiff.
'He went to her? To clean her… pipes? Help her with plumbing?! What the fuck?! Why is he being such a good boyfriend?!'
Meanwhile, I kept my face blank, but inside I was laughing. 'Ha. I can lie too, you know? And my lies are more effective than any of your pathetic attempts. Double meanings always work…'
Gojo stood up, pointing a dramatic finger at me.
"YOU—are grounded, young man!"
His voice boomed like thunder in the small room.
"No more leaving your dorm! Not for walks, not for moon-gazing, not even to buy chips from a vending machine! You're staying put, you hear me?! And also—no adults are allowed inside your dorms anymore. Not near your dorms, not above, below, sideways, upside down, or in disguise! Do you understand me?!"
The absurdity of his voice made me want to laugh, but I held it in.
For the first time, Maki nodded sharply, agreeing with Gojo. Her lips pressed together, cheeks a little pink, but she nodded anyway.
I just shook my head and smiled faintly.
'Grounded, huh? I wonder what he thinks I did at Mei Mei's place. I phrased it that way on purpose just to mess with him. Well, Gojo, if you're going to keep screwing with me, I'll keep screwing with you back.'
The day moved forward. Gojo eventually stormed out of the dorm room, still muttering under his breath about "children these days," leaving me behind with Maki's glares.
By midday, the torture began. Not only was I forced to sit in classrooms, pretending to study theory I already understood, but Gojo also dragged me into training with the others. Push-ups, sit-ups, laps around the campus—the most basic crap imaginable. Panda, Maki, and Inumaki all went through it with me, sweat dripping, clothes sticking.
By lunchtime, we finally sat down, and I twisted open a water bottle.
"Yo, Panda, why is everyone working out so hard all of a sudden? Even you're pushing yourself more than usual, right? Or has everyone just gotten better since I was gone?"
Panda chuckled, patting his chest proudly. "Well, yes and no. We have gotten better, but don't you know? The Interschool Evaluation is coming up next month. Pretty big deal."
I raised a brow. "Interschool Evaluation?"
Panda tilted his head. "Oh, wait, you don't know, huh? It was announced kind of out of nowhere. It's like the Kyoto Goodwill Event, you know? Oh wait—right, you missed that too!"
He laughed, scratching his cheek. "The Kyoto Goodwill Event happened two months ago while you were gone. It happens every year, but for some reason it's happening twice this year. Anyway, good for you, right? Since you missed the last one, now you get another chance!"