After showering and changing into a fresh set of his uniform, Jabari retraced his steps to Aziz's accommodation, following the same route as the day before.
Along the way, he noticed dozens of his classmates heading toward one of the larger buildings in the distance, a mouth-watering aroma drifting from within. The food hall, he guessed.
He also noticed something else.
His classmates were staring at him.
Some whispered behind cupped hands, while others openly gave him odd looks. It wasn't hard to guess why. His repeated offences against the Supreme Elder had likely made him infamous.
But Jabari was in too good of a mood to care.
That was until someone stepped directly into his path.
Looking up, he found himself face-to-face with Gichinga, who was staring at him coldly.
Jabari sighed, already exhausted by the inevitable conversation. "Can I help you?"
Gichinga's voice was sharp as ice. "Did you think I'd just let you walk away after tainting Young Miss Chantelle's stellar reputation with your blatant lies?"
Jabari raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything to taint her reputation. Just yours." He shrugged. "And honestly? I doubt what I said was a lie."
Gichinga's face twisted in outrage. "Of course you lied! How dare you suggest I want Young Miss Chantelle to-"
Jabari tilted his head, feigning deep thought before interrupting. "Oh? So you don't like her? My mistake. I didn't realise you thought you could do better."
His voice carried a sincere tone, but his volume gradually increased with every word.
By the time he finished speaking, nearly everyone in the area had heard him.
A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd.
Gichinga visibly trembled with rage. "Shut up! Stop twisting my words! That's obviously not what I meant!"
Jabari's expression remained completely neutral. "So you do want her to spread her legs?" he asked, his voice laced with genuine curiosity.
The sheer audacity of the question made several students choke on air.
"I've had enough of your rotten mouth!" Gichinga snarled, his patience finally snapping as he lunged forward, reaching to grab Jabari by the collar.
Jabari, having anticipated the move, easily sidestepped the attempt.
Then, to everyone's surprise-
He stripped off his top.
Gichinga paused mid-step, startled.
And then-
Jabari continued stripping.
Within seconds, he was completely naked.
The crowd froze in pure shock.
Gichinga's face twisted in absolute confusion. "What…
What the hell are you doing?!" he stammered, visibly backing away.
Jabari smirked. "Didn't you want to attack me? Why are you backing away now?"
The playful challenge in his voice made Gichinga's blood boil. Every fibre of his being desperately wanted to beat Jabari into the ground, but he wasn't about to touch a naked man.
Seeing Gichinga hesitate, Jabari lunged toward him.
Gichinga's instincts kicked in, and without a second thought…
He ran.
The crowd erupted into stunned silence.
"Hahaha! Look at the mighty knight in shining armour fleeing from a mere slum rat like me!"
Jabari's shameless taunts echoed across the training grounds, fuelling Gichinga's rage. His fists clenched, his face burned with humiliation. Unfortunately, no matter how badly he wanted to strike, there was no way he was laying a hand on a naked man.
"Put your damn clothes on, you shameless scumbag!" Gichinga roared, torn between fury and utter frustration. His desire to fight clashed violently with his sheer unwillingness to engage under these… circumstances. It was enough to make him want to cry.
Jabari, of course, only laughed, continuing to gleefully chase him around like a lunatic.
The gathered students could only stare.
The situation was so bizarre, so absurd, that no one even knew how to react.
At some point, even August had arrived, silently watching the spectacle unfold.
He, too, had no idea how to process what he was witnessing. So, in the end, he simply observed… from what he deemed to be a safe distance.
"That's enough!"
The voice rang out with authority, bringing the entire spectacle to an abrupt halt.
The Deacon – the very same one who had "escorted" Jabari to his accommodation upon arrival – strode forward, his expression twisted in irritation.
Jabari and Gichinga stopped immediately, though Gichinga kept a wary eye on Jabari, ready to bolt if necessary.
"What do you think you're doing?" the Deacon demanded, his sharp gaze fixed solely on Jabari. "Don't you know that students are forbidden from fighting unless supervised by a Deacon or Elder?"
Jabari sighed internally. 'Of course, he's only looking at me.'
"I think you're mistaken," he replied smoothly, making no attempt to cover himself – much to the discomfort of nearly everyone present.
More than a few students averted their gazes, unwilling to accidentally make eye contact with his little brother.
The Deacon's face darkened. "Mistaken? How exactly am I mistaken? Everyone here witnessed you chasing one of your classmates."
Jabari shrugged. "Yeah, I was chasing him. But only because we were playing a game of tag. Not because I wanted to attack him."
The sheer audacity of the excuse made the crowd struggle to suppress their reactions.
The deacon's eye twitched. "Tag? Do you really expect me to believe that?!"
Jabari nodded solemnly. "It's true. You can ask anyone here – I never once actually attacked him."
The Deacon ground his teeth, but there was nothing he could say to refute it.
For one, there wasn't so much as a mark on Gichinga.
And second, as much potential as Jabari had, the current difference in ability between the two was vast. There was simply no way Jabari could force Gichinga to flee if they were truly fighting.
The Deacon had wanted to use this as an excuse to punish Jabari. But seeing how shamelessly he had flipped the situation, he knew there was no way his plan would work.
Especially since he already knew what had happened between them yesterday. It didn't take a genius to realise that Gichinga had likely started this confrontation – only for Jabari to use a… creative method to prevent himself from being attacked.
The Deacon exhaled sharply. "If that's the truth, then I won't escalate things further. However, consider this a warning – the institute does not permit unsupervised fights. If you truly wish to settle things, you may issue an official challenge at the monthly assessment."
Gichinga, still humiliated from the whole ordeal, immediately seized the opportunity.
"Jabari!" he declared, stepping forward with renewed bravado. "I, Gichinga Omondi, officially challenge you to a battle at the next monthly assessment!" His voice carried an exaggerated humility. "I know that, as a mere ordinary student, I stand no chance against a seeded student such as yourself… But I still hope you'll grant me this opportunity."
The crowd instantly understood what was happening.
The Deacon's warning had been meant for Gichinga – yet now, by framing himself as the underdog, he had placed Jabari in a difficult position.
If Jabari accepted, he would undoubtedly be beaten and humiliated, but if he refused, it would look like he was too afraid to accept the challenge.
It was a truly shameless tactic.
And yet, no one dared to step in on Jabari's behalf.
Well… almost no one.
August took a small step forward, about to say something-
But before he could, Jabari's voice rang out.
"Not interested."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Every student's head snapped toward Jabari in unison, expressions frozen in pure disbelief.
Gichinga himself looked stunned.
Jabari, meanwhile, stood with his arms stretched behind his head, his body still completely bare, looking as unbothered as humanly possible.
At this point, no one knew who was more shameless – Gichinga for issuing such a blatantly manipulative challenge, or Jabari for rejecting it so casually while standing naked in front of an audience.
Gichinga recovered quickly. "Don't you care about your dignity as a seeded student?!" he asked, his frustration overriding his earlier discomfort.
Jabari gave him a baffled look as if he were the one saying something ridiculous.
"Dignity?" he repeated. "Where's the dignity in fighting someone stronger than you just to become their punching bag?"
Gichinga's mouth opened – then closed.
He had no response to that.
Jabari clicked his tongue and muttered, "Idiot," before rolling his eyes.
Without another word, he walked over, picked up his uniform, and made his way through the crowd.
No one stopped him.
Like the Red Sea parting, the students stepped aside, allowing him to pass without resistance.
Then, without so much as a glance back, he headed toward his mentor's accommodation – leaving behind an utterly stunned audience and a furious Gichinga.
Jabari seemed to have forgotten his dress state as he made his way toward Aziz's accommodation, seemingly in an emotionless daze.
He was oblivious to the wide-eyed stares of Elders, Deacons, and students alike. The murmurs, the pointed fingers, the outright gawking – none of it registered.
What was going through his mind was a mystery.
It wasn't until a familiar voice snapped at him that he finally woke from his trance.
"Put your damn clothes on, you shameless brat!"
Jabari blinked, suddenly aware of his surroundings.
'Oh.'
Only now did he remember that he had been walking utterly naked through the institute. Not that he particularly minded.
Back in the Umeme Tribe's slums, everyone had seen him naked at one point or another. Even some of the main tribe members had.
Still, with an indifferent shrug, he slipped back into his uniform before striding toward Aziz, who was eyeing him with an amused, yet curious, expression.
"I brought nudity to a fistfight," Jabari explained, seeing the unspoken question in his mentor's gaze.
Aziz chuckled. "Did it work?"
"I didn't get beaten up."
"But…" Aziz prompted, noting the hesitation in Jabari's voice.
Jabari exhaled, his expression shifting slightly. "But I didn't win."
Aziz's smirk widened. "You mean you lost."
Jabari's head snapped up. "I-"
Before he could argue, Aziz continued.
"If you don't feel like you won, then you lost."
Jabari froze.
The words bounced around in his mind, echoing louder with every repetition.
He stood still, processing, as realisation slowly set in.
Finally, he let out a sigh. "I don't like losing."
Aziz simply shrugged. "Then work hard so you don't lose again."
With that, he turned and walked inside.
A fire lit up in Jabari's eyes.
He followed.
It was strange – he didn't know when it started, but he hated losing.
Even back in the slums, when the adult hunting parties stole the food he had hunted for Inayah, he felt furious.
At the time, he thought it was just because they were stealing from her. And while that was certainly true, there had also been another reason.
He hated the feeling of someone getting one up on him.
That frustration had lingered, even after he developed his "nudity tactic" and successfully defended his food.
It was only now – confronting his emotions – that he realised just how deep that hatred ran.
Back then, it had been easy to ignore. As long as he could keep Inayah alive, nothing else mattered.
But now?
Now, he knew.
He hated bowing his head. He hated being weak.
And now that he had acknowledged that piece of himself, there was only one thing left to do.
Train.
So that he never had to feel like that again.
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