[Third Person Pov]
As the colossal wave of newly melted arctic water finally receded, Clark groaned in pure annoyance, staring at the breathtaking devastation his uncontrolled heat vision had wrought across the frozen landscape. Towering glaciers had been reduced to steaming craters, vast rivers of water now carved through what was once solid ice, and thick clouds of vapor still rose lazily into the crisp polar air. "Ughhh," he muttered, running a hand through his drenched hair. "Please tell me I don't have to go through that again."
"No," Sol replied calmly but seriously, his voice steady and professional within Clark's mind. "I'll be monitoring your condition much more closely from now on—something I should have been doing from the very beginning once we realized your abilities were increasing so rapidly. I'll adjust your solar energy intake accordingly to prevent another loss of control. This was a failure on my part… I'm sorry, Kal-El."
"For what…?" Clark sighed deeply as he pushed himself up from the shallow, churning water, brushing the icy droplets from his face and attempting to fix his matted, soaked hair. "This isn't your fault. Things got out of control, it happens. It was a surprise to both of us."
"My job and purpose is to monitor you and ensure your safety at all times—" Sol began, the weight of guilt evident in his tone.
"And you've been doing a great job of that," Clark cut him off gently, rolling his eyes with a faint, tired smile. "I'm still safe, aren't I? Things could have gone much worse, but they didn't—because you were on top of things when it mattered most."
"I…" Clark paused for a long moment, the cold wind whipping around him as he collected his thoughts. "I'm sorry for snapping at you like that back in the classroom," he said sincerely, his voice softening. "You didn't deserve that. I know I can be somewhat of an asshole sometimes, but that doesn't excuse it."
"Thank you for your words, Kal-El. I promise to do better," Sol replied, the guilt in his voice easing slightly.
Clark's lips curved into a warm, amused grin. "Most of the things we've accomplished so far, we've done it together. So you best believe that isn't going to change now"
…
Clark quickly returned to school at super speed, slipping back into the classroom with a calm, composed demeanor. By the time he entered, his clothes and hair were already completely dry thanks to the rapid trip and a quick burst of controlled heat. Lala and Komi immediately shot him concerned glances from across the room, but he offered them a subtle, reassuring nod and a small smile to ease their worries.
"Did you have to go and poop?" Risa, one of Lala's lively friends, asked loudly with a mischievous, teasing grin plastered across her face.
Most of the class snickered and stifled laughs at the bold question. Clark froze halfway to his seat, his expression hardening into a glare. He turned toward the teacher and raised his hand casually. "How long would my suspension be for committing murder?"
"You'd be expelled," the female math teacher replied, her voice sounding somewhat amused despite her attempt at sternness. "And the authorities would most certainly have to be called."
"Tsk," Clark clicked his tongue, looking away before turning back to Risa with the same glare. "Look at that—you live to see another day."
"Lucky me," Risa replied sarcastically, sticking her tongue out at him in defiance.
"Alright, you two, settle down and let me continue with the lesson…" the teacher reprimanded lightly, though a hint of a smile tugged at her lips as Clark finally returned to his seat.
As he sat down, Clark noticed Itsuki discreetly sliding a small piece of paper under her arm toward his desk. Curious, he unfolded it and read the neatly written message: 'Are you feeling unwell? You've been acting strange—well, more than usual.'
'Is she… actually concerned about me?' Clark thought, hiding his amusement behind a neutral expression. A strange mix of emotions swirled inside him. 'After all the teasing and practically bullying her, she's still worried? Is she a masochist or something?'
Despite the entertaining thought, a small part of him was surprisingly touched by the simple, genuine gesture. He quickly shook his head to clear it and scribbled a brief reply before sliding the note back.
…
When lunchtime arrived, Clark strolled up the stairs while texting on his phone, a juice box in his other hand. He sent a quick message to Lois: *If you're planning to wait for me, don't. I have something to do.*
Lois responded almost instantly with a frowning emoji, followed by a thumbs-down sticker and the text: *Lameo.*
She then sent a photo of her appetizing lunch with the caption: 'What you're missing out on.'
Clark let out a faint grin, rolling his eyes, entertained by her antics, before pocketing his phone. He entered the quiet library, where the librarian immediately fixed him with a stern, unblinking stare directed at the drink still in his hand.
"What—Oh right… Forgot," Clark said sheepishly. He downed the rest of the juice in one swift gulp, tossed the empty container into the trash, and walked toward a table where someone was already waiting.
"So it looks like it's just you and me today," Ichika said with an awkward but friendly smile as she looked up at him.
"I'm not bothered by it if you aren't," Clark replied smoothly, pulling out the chair across from her and sitting down.
"Really?" Ichika asked, glancing at the empty seats beside her. "Wouldn't you consider it a waste of time to be tutoring only me?"
"No, why would I?" Clark answered calmly, leaning forward and getting comfortable. "My job is to be a tutor, not to hold their hands and force them to participate. I'm here as long as at least one of you wants to learn and improve. At the end of the day, they're only cheating themselves. I have nothing to lose."
Ichika just stared at him with a hint of genuine astonishment shining in her eyes, her lips slightly parted. "Honestly, you surprise me. I fully expected you to dust your hands clean of this whole thing and just walk away, seeing it as completely pointless with only one person showing up."
Clark only smirked as he leaned back slightly in his chair. "You wish, you lazy bum. You can't get rid of me that easily."
Ichika giggled softly, the sound light and melodic as she pulled out her notebook and flipped it open on the table. "You got me there. And here I was, looking forward to a nice, relaxing lunch break," she said, joining in on the easy banter with a teasing smile.
Clark immediately dove into the tutoring session with focused energy. It didn't take long, however, for Ichika to feel like ripping her hair out in frustration. She gripped her long locks tightly with both hands, staring down at the notebook in front of her with wide, exasperated eyes. "This is all so pointless! I'm going to be a movie star—I have no need for any of this stuff!"
"You seriously want to be known as the movie star who has no education and couldn't even commit to her studies?" Clark scoffed, gently lowering her book and leaning in to study the problem she had gotten stuck on. "How do you think that's going to look on your resume?"
"I'm not too worried," Ichika replied with mock arrogance, flipping her hair dramatically over one shoulder. "I'm beautiful enough that it's all pretty much covered."
Clark simply stared at her with a completely straight face for a long moment before deciding to inwardly shrug and play along. He launched into a detailed, deadpan lecture, his voice steady and matter-of-fact. "I won't deny that you have a point there, but you're going to be constantly underestimated by your peers and directors. That's all you'll ever be to them—just a pretty face. Your words will hold no real value, and they won't take you seriously. You might someday come up with a creative idea you'd like to share, but that won't matter to them. Since you didn't bother to finish high school, they'll dismiss it as subpar. Then you'll plateau. You'll age, grow older, and eventually you won't even be a pretty face anymore. You'll just be some actress who's been in the industry here and there. They'll start offering you lesser and lesser roles, until you're struggling even to appear as an extra. You'll be forced to look for regular jobs to make ends meet, but that will prove difficult because no one wants to hire someone without the standard education. The same plague from before will follow you everywhere. In the end, you'll have no choice but to rely on your sisters for support because no one else will hire you. All of that could have been easily avoided if you had simply stuck to your studies."
Ichika had been looking down at her notebook during his speech, but now her lips began to quiver. Tears started streaking down her cheeks, splashing onto the pages below. She sniffled loudly, her shoulders shaking as she gripped the edge of her skirt tightly with trembling fingers.
"Fuck…" Clark muttered, his face immediately dropping as his heart sank straight to his stomach. A flicker of guilt crashed over him thinking he might have taken things too far. "I-I didn't mean—"
"Heh." Suddenly, Ichika smirked and looked up with a bright, mischievous smile, the tears still glistening on her cheeks. "Your first mistake was thinking my beauty was all I had. All I said was that my beauty had me covered—not that it was all I had to offer."
Clark blinked in surprise, then let out a short laugh as realization dawned on him. "Honestly… fair fucking play," he said, nodding with clear respect. "You completely had me there."
Ichika smiled wide and proudly, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. "Thank you."
She then sighed softly, picking up her notebook once more. "But I'll also admit… you did make some fair points, even if they were extremely harsh. So I guess I really don't have much of a choice but to buckle down."
Clark suddenly glanced behind Ichika as she finished wiping her face. She turned around curiously as well, only to be surprised when she saw Itsuki making her way toward their table with a determined expression.
"I'm not late, am I?" Itsuki asked with a straight face as she pulled out a chair and joined them at the table right beside Ichika.
"What are you doing here?" Ichika asked, her eyes widening in complete surprise.
"Well, I just realized Clark is being paid for this," Itsuki explained matter-of-factly as she adjusted her red-framed glasses. "Our dad is going to be wasting his money on Clark if we don't attend his tutoring sessions. So I might as well take advantage of it so that all that hard-earned money isn't wasted on nothing."
Clark and Ichika simply stared at Itsuki in silence for a few seconds, saying nothing. The prolonged gaze made her cheeks grow warm with a faint blush.
"Wha—Wait a minute, have you been crying?" Itsuki asked suddenly, her voice shifting to one of genuine concern as she noticed the tear stains on Ichika's face.
"Yeah, she realized how stupid she was and started to weep like a baby," Clark said casually, resting his chin on his hand with a smirk.
Ichika immediately started to pout and didn't hesitate to kick Clark lightly in the shins under the table, playfully glaring at him.
Itsuki couldn't help but notice how close and suddenly familiar the two of them seemed with each other. A burning, hot, and uncomfortable feeling began to settle deep in her stomach as she watched their easy interaction. "Can we focus on our studies please?" she said, sounding noticeably annoyed. "This period isn't particularly long."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Clark replied, waving her off lightly but with a good-natured tone. "Just take out your books. I want you to focus on the subjects you're best at—" He began filling her in on the approach he had used when tutoring the sisters previously, smoothly shifting the session back on track.
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