Rescue

The gym back warehouse was filled with the damp smell of rust, and the setting sun slanted in through the broken windows, casting long shadows on the cement floor. D Class's plan was reaching its conclusion just as they had envisioned.

Horikita Suzune stood at the top of the stairs, her gaze piercing like an ice pick toward Ishizaki Daichi's trio from C Class. On the wall above the warehouse—a brand-new "surveillance camera" blinked with a faint red light, its lens aimed unerringly at the spot where the conflict had occurred.

"How can this be? If you're going to frame someone, you should pick a place without cameras." Just as the three from Ishizaki's group were stunned, Ichinose's playful voice rang out.

"Wh—why is there a camera! Aren't there no cameras on the other floors? It's too weird to have one only here, right!" Ishizaki turned his head as if seeking agreement from his companions.

"We did check back then," the other two replied, wiping sweat as they spoke in low voices.

"It's true that the school building corridors generally don't have monitors. But there are a few exceptions where cameras are installed. That's the staff office and the front of the science classroom. The staff office goes without saying—there are a lot of valuables inside, right? And the science classroom stores many chemicals. Since this floor has the science classroom, installing a monitor is only natural." Ichinose continued applying pressure.

"Why don't you look behind you? There's more than one camera, you know?" Ayanokoji added, following her words like the final straw.

"Th-this can't be... How? We... we confirmed back then..."

"This is the third floor. Did you really check the third floor? Could it have been the second or fourth? In fact, there are cameras installed here."

"And you've already slipped up. Ordinary people wouldn't care so much about where the cameras are. So! You three are the bad kids who lied!" Under Ichinose's words and Ayanokoji's occasional interjections, the trio finally couldn't hold out. But Ishizaki still tried one last resistance: "Even if that's true, why don't you just report it to the school to convict us? So this must be something you set up yourselves."

"No, we have our own reasons. If we report it, we can prove you struck first, but Sudo isn't completely blameless either. The school would decide whether to punish everyone. Our punishment would be lighter, but it would still leave a bad mark on Sudo. And you might get expelled—is that really worth it? So withdrawing your complaint is the best choice. It benefits both sides." Horikita's words shattered his last illusion.

"Hah... let... let me make a call." Ishizaki tremblingly pulled out his phone to dial, but Ichinose stopped him.

The final result ended the confrontation with the trio from C Class agreeing to withdraw their complaint.

Watching the backs of the three from C Class as they slunk away, the tension in Horikita Suzune's jaw finally eased a fraction. She turned to Ichinose and Ayanokoji, her voice still cool but with a bit less chill: "Next, we go to the student council office to make sure they follow through on withdrawing the report. Ichinose-kun, Ayanokoji, you..." She paused, as if choosing her words.

"I'll wait here for your good news." Ichinose smiled understandingly, knowing Horikita needed to handle the final step herself—taking the C Class trio to withdraw the report was both supervision and deterrence. Horikita nodded without another word, then gestured to Ayanokoji toward the monitor above, turned, and led the conflicted-looking C Class trio away toward the student council with a resolute stride.

The corridor fell silent in an instant, leaving only Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Ichinose Honami.

Ichinose watched the direction Horikita had gone, let out a light sigh, and showed a relieved smile: "Phew... it's finally over." She turned to Ayanokoji beside her. "Yeah," Ayanokoji replied calmly. "By the way, today your class only sent you to 'watch the show'?"

"Oh?" Ichinose blinked, a playful smile on her face. "I did invite Shimiya-kun to come along, but he said he had other things to do today, so I came alone as the audience."

Ayanokoji's gaze seemed to flicker slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.

Ichinose seemed in high spirits. She turned to Ayanokoji, her face beaming with a bright smile, even carrying a hint of smugness: "Ah—what a thrill! Thanks for letting me play this important role. It feels great~" She was referring to how, during the confrontation with C Class, she and Ayanokoji had played a double act while Horikita took on the key role of silent pressure.

Ayanokoji glanced at her and deflated her with a flat tone: "Rather than me letting you, it's more like you just took the lead on your own, didn't you?"

"Ahaha, is that so?" Ichinose didn't mind and laughed heartily. "But either way, things have come to a close now." Her smile was genuine and bright, genuinely glad the storm had settled.

"It's finally come to a close," Ayanokoji echoed uncharacteristically, though his tone remained flat.

"And thanks for lending us the points. Otherwise, we couldn't have afforded such an expensive item." Ayanokoji looked at the monitor he had just removed.

"Oh, right." Ichinose, as if suddenly remembering something important, added, "About that monitor prop—do you still need it? Shimiya-kun asked me to check. If you don't, I can take it back. He said you only need to pay half the points. So it seems... we still came out ahead?" She tilted her head, showing a slightly sly yet embarrassed smile.

Ayanokoji bagged the monitor and turned to hand it to Ichinose: "We probably won't need it. Better leave it to you." Then he continued, "Halving the depreciation is a big help. We'll return the points as soon as we can."

Ichinose was a bit surprised but still took the device, which was quite heavy: "Mm. No rush on that. So what now? Wait for Horikita-san and the others in front of the student council office?"

Ayanokoji didn't answer immediately. In his mind flashed the image of Sakura Airi fleeing in panic not long ago, her words carrying immense courage yet deep fear: "I'll muster my courage and try my best!" A strong sense of unease suddenly seized him. Almost instinctively, he pulled out his terminal and quickly operated it. On the screen, a certain signal representing Sakura was moving, and its location... was somewhat remote.

"I just remembered something urgent—I'm going ahead!" Ayanokoji threw out these words without even waiting for Ichinose's reply, then spun around and practically ran toward a secluded area outside the school building!

"Huh?! Ayanokoji-kun?" Ichinose was completely caught off guard, holding the heavy monitor, but seeing Ayanokoji's sudden urgency, a bad feeling surged up. Without a second thought, she carefully set the monitor against the wall and immediately chased after him: "Wait for me! Ayanokoji-kun! What happened?"

Ayanokoji ran fast, and Ichinose struggled to keep up. The two burst out of the school building, crossed the courtyard, and headed toward a green belt area near the back of the old school building, surrounded by tall trees and rarely visited. As he ran, Ayanokoji kept his eyes fixed on the terminal screen—Sakura's signal was just ahead.

No, he no longer needed the terminal.

A high-pitched female voice, choked with tears and filled with extreme fear and despair, came clearly from behind the dense bushes ahead:

"Please stop contacting me...! I'm begging you... leave me alone!"

"Airi-chan... don't say that... I just like you too much..." A low, greasy male voice, carrying an unsettling obsession, responded.

As the two rapidly approached, the terrified pleas and nauseating harassment grew clearer and closer:

"Don't... don't come near! Ah—!"

"Don't be scared, let me have a good look at you..."

Suddenly!

"Kyaaaaa—!!!" A heart-wrenching scream of ultimate terror from a girl burst out! Almost simultaneously!

"Bam—!!!"

A heavy, dull sound, like something slamming violently into the ground or a wall, rang out fiercely! It shook one's heart!

"It's Sakura-kun!" Ichinose gasped, her face turning pale instantly.

Ayanokoji sped up, charging through the last bushes blocking his view! Ichinose followed close behind, her heart nearly leaping into her throat!

The scene before them made both stop in their tracks, pupils contracting:

Sakura Airi sat collapsed on the ground, her back against the cold brick wall, trembling violently like a sieve. Her pink hair was disheveled, plastered to her pale, tear-streaked, and dirt-smudged face. Her large, clear eyes were wide open, filled only with boundless terror and the daze of a narrow escape. Her school bag lay at her feet, and even more shocking was the ground around her—scattered like snowflakes were numerous letters, their envelopes adorned with twisted heart stickers, the handwriting bizarre and frantic.

And in front of Sakura Airi, a middle-aged man in a wrinkled, old suit with greasy hair and a lecherous, wretched face lay on the ground in an extremely twisted posture. One of his arms was bent behind his back at a professional and cold angle by Shimiya Kuki, whose other hand pressed down on the man's head, forcing his face into the cold ground, allowing him only to emit pained "huh-huh" sounds and futile struggles.

Shimiya slightly lowered his head, his bangs covering part of his eyes, his expression unreadable. He maintained that standard, oppressive grappling hold, his movements clean and efficient without a single wasted motion, exuding a cold aura utterly different from his usual indifference in the classroom.

He lifted his eyes slightly, looking at the rushing Ayanokoji and Ichinose, his gaze calm and unwavering. Beneath him, the man who had just tried to lunge at Sakura now lay like mud, unable to move.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Only Sakura Airi's suppressed, intermittent sobs, the pained groans of the man on the ground, and the rustling of wind through the leaves echoed in the dead silence. The sudden intrusion of Ayanokoji and Ichinose did not seem to break the icy, absolute domain of control that Shimiya Kuki had brought.