My Counterattack System After Reborn

Chapter 18: Waiting For Caleb Stone

Todd grabbed the blond boy’s wrist, and he was just about to snap it when something very stupid happened: Fatty stepped into the middle of everything. He looked at the other boys in their group and shouted, “Damn you all! Is Todd the only one willing to stand up for the ladies in our class?”

“He’s right!” someone agreed. “We have them outnumbered!” Immediately, he stood beside Fatty, and soon the rest of the class came forward. They surrounded the other boys, and they began to taunt them.

Fatty laughed and said, “You’re not so big now, are you?”

Todd groaned. He had everything under control, regardless of how it might have looked. But now the situation was chaotic, and there was no way of knowing how it would turn out.

The boy with the blond hair released Todd's neck. He forced himself to calm down, and then he said, "Damn it! Don't you want to get to school safely? My boss is Caleb Stone, so I advise you to consider your next move carefully so that you don’t regret it later. What do you say?"

"If Caleb wants to see me, then I will see him,” Todd replied. “But I am not free during school hours. Go back and tell him to wait for me at the school gates after school ends."

“That works,” the leader said. He turned to the other boys and nodded. “Let’s go.”

Once they were gone, the fat girl that had helped Eve turned to Fatty. “Wow!” She exclaimed. “Fatty, you're so handsome! And brave too!"

The other girls in the class also agreed, and Fatty’s shy face turned red. He smiled, touched his chubby face, and said, "My mother said that fat people are powerful, and since I am fat, I must protect girls."

“I didn’t realize that this is where your strength came from…” Todd patted his friend’s stomach and said, “Now that I know, how could I ever deny you a few extra steamed stuffed buns?”

Todd looked at the classmates who had to help him, and his heart warmed. He had not realized how many people had his back. He was not the kind of man that hid behind his friends, though. This meant that he would have to face Caleb sooner or later, and he would have to do it alone.

In his previous life, it wasn’t until much later that Todd discovered that Caleb was Zachery’s number one healer. Thanks to his rebirth, he was prepared to change the future that had already been written for him. And with everything that had been changed already, that future had been decimated.

Because Caleb didn’t know about what had become of Jared and Zachery, it made sense to him to confront Todd. As far as he was concerned, everything was right on schedule.  

Todd was no longer interested in this kind of thing, but he could not tolerate someone bullying him or his friends. After what had happened to him in his previous life, he was determined to stand up for himself and those that he cared about. 

***

By the time that the last bell rang, Todd’s appointment with Caleb was all that anyone was thinking about, and his friends were very worried about him. In fact, Fatty was so frightened that he threatened to tell a teacher if the fight was not called off.

Todd would have been angry if he had not known that his friend meant no harm. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I can handle myself. You have to trust me, okay…”

Fatty thought about it, and then he said, “Alright. I trust you. But maybe the boys in our class could go with you… What do you think?"

Before Todd could answer, one of the boys turned to him and said, "Todd, we are all brothers. If you need us, we will accompany you." A few of the other boys nodded and said that they too had Todd’s back.

"Don't worry,” Todd said. “I can handle this. You should all go home."

The boys saw a confident smile on Todd's face, and it led them to believe that he did not need their help. So, they left – everyone except for Fatty and Eve. So far Eve had not said anything, and even though her brain was telling her to go, she was too worried about Todd to leave.

Eve had mixed feeling about Todd. On the one hand, he skipped classes, got into fights, and bullied others. On the other hand, though, he often bought snacks for his classmates, and he occasionally sponsored class field trips. Furthermore, in the past, he had shown her favor.

As she waited to see what would happen, she tried to make herself seem as invisible as possible by shuffling through her papers. Todd had a keen eye, though, and once the other students were gone, he walked over to her. "What's wrong?” he asked. “Do you need any help?” 

“Ah… N-No, th-thanks,” Eve stuttered. Her face turned red from embarrassment. “I c-can handle it my-s-self." She picked up her workbook and quickly walked towards the front of the classroom. As she reached the door, though, a thought occurred to her and she froze in place.

“Is something wrong?” Todd lifted one eyebrow.

Eve turned around slowly, and Todd noticed that she was trembling. “Don’t go to Caleb Stone,” she begged. “It is too dangerous. Please. Talk to a teacher.”

Without waiting for a reply, Eve turned back around and left the classroom.

Todd smiled as he watched her go, and as he sat at his desk, he thought – Do not worry, my future wife. I will definitely come back in the piece.

Fatty frowned. “Aren’t you going to meet him at the gate?” he asked.

“I will wait for him here,” Todd replied. “He has set a trap for me there, with a multitude of people in full gear. If he wants to do this, I have no problem accommodating him. But the fight must be fair.” Although he had learned Proficient in Fighting Skills, he was still just an ordinary high school student. He was 1.76 meters tall and he weighed 70 kilograms, which meant that he was not invincible. If enough people with iron rods or kitchen knives rushed towards him, he would be overwhelmed, and a good outcome could not be guaranteed.

“Why did you tell him to meet you at the gate if you knew that he would set a trap for you?” Fatty asked.

“I’m just having a bit of fun with him,” Todd replied. “It will piss him off, and if he is angry, he will be off his game.”

“What if he brings all of his men with him?”

“If that happens, I will see it coming, and I will be long gone before he gets here. Then he will see that I will not be drawn into an unfair fight, and he will look foolish in front of his men.”

“You are a brilliant man.” Fatty blushed as he said this. “So, what do we do now?”

“Now…?” Todd grinned and he said, “Now, my friend, we wait.”