In Kushida's room, Ayanokoji and I sat on the tatami, looking across at her with helpless expressions.
Those two were seriously unlucky. They'd happened upon an iconic scene at just the wrong time. Kushida had kicked the railing, and they'd tried to leave, but she wouldn't let them.
Across from us, Kushida wore a gloomy expression. The gentle, virtuous facade she'd always shown was gone, replaced by a bone-chilling coldness. She looked at the two people who'd stumbled upon her little secret and cursed under her breath.
"Damn it! Of all the people to see this, it had to be those two. How am I supposed to handle this...?"
Kushida racked her brains, trying to figure out how to deal with the witnesses. Then inspiration struck. She grabbed both their wrists and tried to force their hands against her chest.
Holy crap! Akasaka's heart lurched. He hurriedly tried to yank his hand back with all his strength.
Ayanokoji slipped free with ease and quickly made it to the door. While Akasaka and Kushida struggled, he opened it and pulled a real sneaky move—he ran off first.
Watching Ayanokoji make his escape, Akasaka cursed inwardly. You son of a bitch! You ditched your friend and ran off first! Just you wait. I'll pay you back for this someday!!!
In the end, Akasaka gave up resisting and obediently touched the minefield, feeling like he was about to cry.
Damn it, Ayanokoji! Just you wait! Next time, I'll sell you out and make you count the money for me.
Seeing that she'd gotten what she wanted, Kushida stopped moving. Her eyes were icy as she said, "This is a secret between us."
"If you dare tell anyone, I'll use the fingerprints on these clothes to get you expelled."
"I'm sure the school has zero tolerance for boys who harass female students, right?"
Kushida abruptly changed her expression, revealing a smile as pure and cute as the Black Angel's.
But Akasaka didn't find Kushida Kikyo cute at all. Instead, she made him feel sick. I couldn't help sighing. I could only swallow the loss. Who told me to go wandering around in the middle of the night when I had nothing better to do?
Ayanokoji, just you wait! I'll make you pay me back for this!
After enduring Kushida's humiliation, I started to get up and leave, but she called me back. Once again, she put on that pure, adorable look and spoke to me in a coquettish voice.
"Akasaka, can we be friends now?"
As she spoke, she took out her phone and held it out to me, as if she had me right where she wanted me. And, well, she did have me right where she wanted me... I could only accept the loss. I took out my own phone and added her as a friend.
After receiving my friend request, Kushida looked delighted. Smiling broadly, she ushered me out the door. Then, after saying, "See you tomorrow," she slammed the door shut, leaving me alone outside, feeling rather resentful.
Still, it wasn't a big deal. As long as Kushida Kikyo didn't get in the way of me making money, she could do whatever she wanted. Whether she betrayed her class or made an enemy of Ayanokoji, as long as she didn't interfere with my money-making, I couldn't care less.
I turned to head home, but my phone began ringing. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw that Horikita Manabu was calling. Then I pressed the answer button.
"Hello, President. What do you need? Just so you know, I'm already off work. If you want me to do something, you'll have to pay overtime."
Horikita Manabu replied from the other end of the call, sounding annoyed.
"Come help me put on an act. I'll give you 100,000 points afterward."
With that, he hung up and sent me a location pin by text. I was left completely baffled.
What was Horikita Manabu up to?
Wait...
Oh, I see. It was Horikita Suzune...
That meant this was the iconic scene where Horikita Manabu scolded his little sister. But did he really think he could brush me off with just 100,000 points? Wasn't that a little too cheap?
Akasaka wore a mischievous grin. Just as he was about to head over, he thought of that bastard Ayanokoji and came up with a plan.
Great. This way, I could make some money and get revenge at the same time.
With that, I went to Ayanokoji's room again. After coaxing, deceiving, and threatening him, I finally managed to get him to come with me.
On the way, Ayanokoji followed close behind me and said helplessly, "I admit, it was wrong of me to ditch you earlier. I'll help you out this time to make up for it. Is that okay?"
"Of course!" I agreed without hesitation.
That had been my plan all along: to trade that one favor for Ayanokoji's help. There was no way I could face Horikita Manabu by myself.
We arrived in an alley, where we heard Horikita Manabu and Horikita Suzune's voices.
"Brother! I'm not the useless person I used to be! I can definitely be of help to you." Horikita Suzune spoke stubbornly.
Horikita Manabu sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you? Suzune, you're not suited to This School."
"But I..."
"There's no 'but.'"
Horikita Manabu rubbed his eyes in frustration, his expression stern. "Suzune, withdraw from school right now. Leave This School."
"No!" Suzune refused loudly. "I can help you, Brother! That's why I came here. Please let me be an asset to you!"
"How many times do I have to tell you? You're not suited to This School..."
Horikita Manabu was about to say something harsh when he sensed someone approaching from behind. Knowing it was me, he immediately started acting. He pinned Horikita Suzune's hands against the wall, drove his knee into her stomach to keep her from moving, and warned her again.
"Suzune, withdraw from school right now, or I'll have to teach you a lesson."
As he spoke, his free hand moved to strike her in the stomach. Akasaka leaped out of the bushes, grinning as he held up his phone.
"Aha! I got it all on video! President, you'll need to pay at least 500,000 points if you want to settle this privately."
The commotion drew the siblings' attention, and they both looked at me. Horikita Manabu's mouth twitched when he saw the recording on my phone.
"This guy..."
But he kept his expression calm and said, "Akasaka Secretary, hand over the camera."
Even Horikita Suzune, who'd just been bullied, hurriedly spoke up in agreement. "Akasaka, give my brother the camera. Don't do anything that could hurt him, or you'll regret it."
Akasaka Ryunosuke...
Come on, little girl. I'm obviously on your side, aren't I? What's with stabbing me in the back?
I couldn't help rolling my eyes inwardly. Then I looked at Horikita Manabu and reminded him again.
"President, if this video gets out, you'll probably lose your position, right? How about 500,000 points to keep it private?"
Horikita Manabu was about to agree. After all, 500,000 points wasn't much to him, especially since he had 30 million points in his personal account. But just as he was about to accept, Suzune loudly stopped him.
"Akasaka Ryunosuke! Even if you release this video, I'll find a way to prove my brother's innocence."
"Oh my god! For crying out loud, whose side are you on?" Akasaka completely lost it.
Faced with Akasaka's accusation, Suzune only snorted and turned her head away, throwing a little tantrum.
Just as Akasaka was about to say more, Horikita Manabu seized the opportunity to release his sister and immediately charged at me, aiming straight for my phone.
I jumped back and shouted, "Ayanokoji, get him!"
Ayanokoji stepped forward reluctantly and blocked Horikita Manabu's path. With a blank expression, he said, "Sorry, President. I owe him one, and I need to pay him back by helping this time. Could you let this slide? I'd rather not fight."
Horikita Manabu didn't understand what Ayanokoji meant by that, but he understood his stance. He took up the opening stance of the Eight Level Fist and attacked at once.
Ayanokoji tilted his head slightly and dodged. He caught Horikita Manabu's punching arm by the wrist, twisted it with the momentum, and threw him over his shoulder.
Horikita Manabu stumbled, braced himself on one hand, and performed several dazzling backflips before slowly getting to his feet and adjusting his glasses.
"Oh? I didn't expect Class D to have so many talented people. Have you studied martial arts?"
"Your movements and coordination are excellent. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were an Olympic athlete."
Ayanokoji twisted his waist and stretched his arms, warming up. It had been a long time since he'd fought, so he was a little stiff. When he heard Horikita Manabu's question, he answered calmly.
"Not at all. Comparing me to an athlete is an exaggeration, President."
"I don't think it's an exaggeration. If anything, I underestimated you."
Horikita Manabu's tone was exceptionally serious. For the first time, he couldn't gauge how strong someone was. It looked like he wouldn't be getting Akasaka's phone, so he could only give up.
In the end, the Student Council President obediently transferred 500,000 Personal Points to Akasaka. Before leaving, he warned him, "You'll be working twice as much tomorrow, Akasaka Ryunosuke."
Akasaka had been delighted that he'd just gotten back the 500,000 points he'd spent. But when he heard those words, his face twitched. Still, he had no choice but to agree.
Who could blame him for swindling the President out of 500,000 points? Still, this worked out fine. He'd just spent 500,000 points, and now he'd earned them back. Working a little overtime was no big deal.
Horikita Manabu gave Suzune a well-meaning reminder.
"If you really want to climb higher, rely on those two more. In This School, trying to go it alone won't get you anywhere."
At her brother's reminder, Suzune only lowered her head and remained silent, not daring to argue with him at all.
If she'd argued even once, Horikita Manabu might have seen her in a new light. Before leaving, he looked at Akasaka again, then glanced at Ayanokoji beside him.
"Is he one of your men?"
Akasaka was happily counting his points and answered distractedly, "Yeah. He's my right-hand man."
Ayanokoji looked rather helpless. "When did I become your right-hand man?"
"I see... You've found yourself a great fighter. I'll leave my good-for-nothing sister in your care."
"Oh, as long as the money's right, I'll do anything you ask. Even help your sister surpass you."
"You sure have some nerve, Akasaka Ryunosuke..."
"I'm not bluffing." Akasaka stopped counting his money and looked Horikita Manabu straight in the eye, his expression serious. Then he reminded him again, "As long as the money's right, there's nothing I can't do in This School."
Horikita Manabu met my gaze, as if trying to figure out what lay behind it. In the end, he gave up.
He couldn't tell whether the man before him was serious or not, but he knew that if Suzune wanted to climb higher, she'd need his help.
Horikita Manabu eventually left.
Only Ayanokoji, Akasaka, and Horikita remained.
Horikita Suzune hurried over to me and held out her hand, asking for my phone.
"Give me your phone! I'll delete the video myself to make sure you don't have a backup."
I handed her the phone. In front of me, she deleted the video, then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now I won't cause any trouble for my brother..."
Then she returned the phone to me. "Thanks for helping me today, even if your method wasn't very good."
As she spoke, she stepped on my foot, apparently venting her displeasure with me.
"That hurts... Suzune."
"Don't call me Suzune! We're not close."
Horikita Suzune said viciously, pressing down harder on my foot until I grimaced in pain. Then she let go, went over to the vending machine, bought two bottles of cola, and handed one to me, completely ignoring Ayanokoji.
Ayanokoji said helplessly, "If there's nothing else, I'll head out, Akasaka. See you tomorrow."
With that, Ayanokoji left, leaving only Horikita and me.
Horikita and I sat on a stone bench, drinking our sodas without saying anything. We simply sat there in silence.
We were both taciturn by nature, so neither of us had much to say.
Horikita Suzune sighed, breaking the silence.
"Tell me, Akasaka, is there something going on between you and my brother that you're hiding from me?"
"I don't think your being here today was a coincidence, either."
I paused while drinking my soda and replied, feeling a little exasperated, "Why don't you seem this sharp and clever when you're talking to your brother?"
"Or do you just turn into an idiot whenever you see him?"
Horikita's face flushed bright red. She abruptly stood up from the stone bench, hurried over to me, and tried to step on my foot.
I jumped aside to dodge, then taunted her.
"Come on, try to step on me, idiot!"
"Think you can catch me? Hey, I'm back again. Come on, try to step on me, idiot!"
"Huh? Wait, what are you doing?"
"Hey, don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! I'm warning you, don't hit me! This is a school, don't come closer!"
"Ahhh, let go! Let go! My arm's going to pop out of its socket! Ow, ow, ow!"
Horikita grabbed me with a joint lock and pinned me against the wall. She glared at me angrily and said, "I've trained in karate, grappling, and all kinds of martial arts. Don't think I can't beat you just because I'm a girl."
Before you continue