"Weren't we in the canteen a minute ago?" I asked Rahul.

"It's already past 6 o'clock. You have been unconscious for the last 4 hours. You got knocked out in just one punch. Hahaha. For a moment I thought that you could win. I guess not." Rahul brought his face close. He wore a worried expression, "You have got a black eye and a bruise on your cheek too. Does it hurt?"

My right side of the face had swollen up from that monstrous punch and the cold sensation was due to an ice pack placed on it.

Knocked out in one punch by a human. This is gonna leave a scar on my demon king pride. It looks like I still have my quick reflexes but this human body is not that strong. It seems that the boy I was reincarnated into never trained his body.

"How did I get here?"

"I was worried, you know. Losing my only friend on the first day itself. So I carried you to the clinic."

He carried me to the clinic. Why would he go that far? Does he really think that he can achieve something by helping me? I got up and sat on the bed.

"What about the lectures?" I inquired.

"After handing you in the nurse's care I went back to the class. Don't worry, I told her that you fell down the stairs. After the lectures ended I came here to check up on you."

"What is your motive in helping me? What do you expect to gain from me?" I asked ardently, my cynical nature taking control of me.

"What are you talking about? What motive? My friend was lying passed out on the floor. Of course, I would help."

Friend. Does he truly consider me as his friend with no ulterior motive? No. There's no way that he would waste his precious time on me instead of studying. Everyone has a hidden motive, patiently waiting for the right moment to betray.

"What are you looking at? Don't tell me you are angry with me."

That might become possible if he doesn't stop talking.

"You wanted me to fight that monster for you? I wouldn't even last a second against him. I want to do so many things before I die. I don't even have a girlfriend yet."

I think I finally know what he wants from me. He wants to destroy my soul with all his blabbering. I got up from my bed and stepped out of the clinic.

"Hey! Don't ignore me." Rahul grabbed his bag and followed me. "Wait for me."

I was on my way home but one thing was bothering me. "Stop following me?" I yelled at Rahul who was walking behind me. I increased my pace.

"This is called walking home together. Were you an introvert in school?" He increased his pace to match mine. "This will be fun." He muttered.

"By the way. What was that thing you said about hell? A cold shiver ran down my body hearing you speak. I thought that you might have some trick up your sleeve. But after seeing you getting passed out after just one punch, I realized, it was all a bluff. Hehe." he said wryly.

'I wasn't bluffing' was what I wanted to say but I didn't. A few minutes later he parted ways towards his home with a 'See you tomorrow, Friend'. One reason not to wake up tomorrow.

I reached home. The lights in the living room were on, visible through the light coming through the peeping hole. The mother doesn't come home till midnight. Is this a robbery? I stealthily entered the house.

"Welcome home Asura" I saw the mother sitting on the sofa in the living room chopping vegetables. She didn't even lift her head. How did she know it was me?

I don't know why but I had an instinctive feeling that I shouldn't reveal my swollen face to her. I started steadily walking towards my room.

"Asura come here." She called out my name before I could enter my room.

"What are you hiding?" She asked while keeping the knife and the plate of vegetables aside.

My legs froze and sweat ran down my face. She can use it too!?

"What are you hiding?" She asked calmly.

"N..nothing"

"Why are you still standing there? Come here."

I slowly stepped towards her. Is this why Rahul was afraid of his mom? Are all moms that dangerous? I couldn't tell because I was an orphan.

She slowly moved my hand that was covering my eye. "What happened to your face?" She gasped.

"I fell down the stairs." I said with a straight face.

"Don't lie to me. You got in a fight, didn't you?" 

What? How is her guess so accurate? I knew it. She isn't a normal human.

"Wait here." She ordered. She took the vegetables and the knife into the kitchen. Is this the part where the mother beats the child more after they show up injured? Now I understand what Rahul meant by the word butchering. I sat down on the sofa.

The mother came out of the kitchen with a small cylindrical box in her hand. An ointment.

She sat down on the sofa "Come here." She tapped on her lap. I quietly laid down on her lap. It was soft and warm. Different from the fluffiness of the bed. It is surprising how her lap was more comforting than the sofa itself.

With a swift swabbing moment, she took out some ointment using her middle and index finger. "Don't worry, I won't ask about the fight." She said, while carefully applying the ointment to my swollen face.

"How can you say that it was a fight?" I asked.

"Of course I can tell. I am your mother." Being a mother gives you psychic abilities. That's interesting.

"Tell me. How was your first day of college? Did you make any new friends?"

"It was a normal day." Not 

I didn't know if I would ever consider anyone as a friend. The face of Rahul came to my mind.

She wore a big smile on her pale face. It had a soothing effect to it.

"Mothe..mom."

"Hmmm?"

"Why am I preparing for this entrance?"

She took a few seconds to answer.

"Your dad and I didn't have many facilities growing up and we didn't receive higher education. As a result, we struggled to survive on a daily basis. But if you pass this exam you can have a better education. Which would make things easier for you in the future. I have already lived my life by sacrificing many things, but I want you to have whatever you want. Your dad wanted the same for you."

I wouldn't say that I understood everything she said, but I somehow got what she was trying to say. What I wanted to ask was, whether it was the only way to have a good life.

"But the lectures were so borin…ah..ng" before I could complete my sentence my ear was twisted around by 180°.

"You have to study. There is no other option!" She commanded with furrowed eyebrows. I guess there's no changing her mind. Well, I was reincarnated with the purpose to crack this exam.

"What happened to your second shift in the evening?" I asked.

"My boss sent me home. He said that I looked ill. He worries too much. You don't have to worry about anything. Just put your mind into studying."

"But I don't have the textbooks yet."

"Ohh. I completely forgot about it. Sorry, I don't have cash with me now. I will give it to you by tomorrow." The smile she wore was now gone.

My head was still a little dizzy and the warm comfort of the lap was making me all the more sleepy. My eyelids turned heavy. Through my hazy vision, I saw the mother counting money in her purse with low sullen eyes. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.