Ibuki Mio, the Human Adhesive

Ibuki Mio ignored the trio of boys nearby and caught up to Makoto's pace.

"Aren't you worried they'll use the fight against you? After all, the wounds on your body are real enough."

Hearing Ibuki Mio's words of concern, Makoto looked helpless:

"I have a recording."

Makoto pulled his phone from his pocket and gave it a shake; it was proof of his innocence.

Besides, even if Ryuen Kakeru truly lost his mind and tried to frame him, Teacher Hoshinomiya was on his side anyway.

Who is it that dares to accuse the official in his own court?

He wasn't Sudo Ken; he didn't act without considering the consequences.

"If you only chased after me to say that, you can leave now."

Makoto wanted to dismiss her; he still had to go jogging with Honami and Kei later!

"Do you have something else to do later?"

Ibuki Mio clasped her hands behind her back, eyeing Makoto with suspicion.

She didn't know much about the man in front of her.

"Yeah."

Makoto paused his steps and casually blocked Ibuki Mio's sudden strike, glancing at her sideways:

"Please don't test my patience."

"Tch."

"A girl like you won't have any boys who like her."

"Mind your own business!"

Ibuki Mio curled her lip; she had no interest in being popular with boys.

She only cared about people stronger than herself.

Although she couldn't beat Ryuen Kakeru, she hadn't admitted defeat and had always held a grudge against him.

Or rather, most people in Class C currently held a grudge against Ryuen Kakeru.

"Forget it, are you still coming?"

Makoto decided to use an aggressive approach to force Ibuki Mio to leave on her own.

"Sure, why not!"

Ibuki Mio seized the opportunity, sticking to him like a piece of adhesive plaster.

"Fine, come if you want, though you'll probably just find it boring at this stage."

Makoto brought Ibuki Mio to the track, where Honami and Kei were waiting for him while doing warm-up exercises.

"Isn't this that student Ibuki from yesterday...?"

Honami tilted her head in confusion, her movements subconsciously coming to a halt.

"That's right. She insisted on following me, so I had no choice but to bring her along."

"Are you two... going for a run?"

Ibuki Mio could tell at a glance that the two were doing pre-run warm-ups. Besides, they were at the track; if they weren't running, were they going to practice long jumps? That would be too strange.

"I told you it would be boring for you. It's not too late to leave now~"

Makoto didn't want to run with Ibuki Mio, fearing she might launch a surprise attack on him along the way.

Even he found that a bit hard to handle.

"I was planning on working out anyway. What's the harm in letting me join?"

Ibuki Mio said in a very annoyed tone.

Makoto didn't know where he had offended her, so he shook his head and stopped paying attention to her.

Whatever! Do whatever you want!

The pace required for Honami and Kei to warm up felt more like a warm-up for Makoto himself.

Ibuki Mio actually kept up, running behind the three of them without falling behind.

Her stamina was truly impressive; he wondered if she had been keeping up with training since arriving at this school.

"Come to think of it, I haven't introduced you yet."

Mid-run, Makoto introduced the other two to Ibuki Mio.

"The one with the strawberry-blonde hair is my girlfriend, Ichinose Honami, and the one with the honey-colored hair is Karuizawa Kei. They are from Class A and Class D respectively. With me from Class B and you from Class C, we have all four classes of the first year represented."

"As expected of someone with the nickname 'scumbag,' reaching out your demonic hands to girls from other classes."

Ibuki Mio sneered while running, not caring whether Makoto could see the expression on her face or not.

"Is this what they call 'a rabbit doesn't eat the grass by its own burrow'?"

"That's slander, pure slander!"

"Pfft—"

Makoto shouted, and Honami, standing behind him, couldn't help but let out a laugh, which completely disrupted her breathing rhythm.

Seeing this, Makoto stopped talking, and the group quietly ran five laps counter-clockwise followed by five laps clockwise.

"Hmm, Honami and Kei can both keep up with this level of exercise now. Not bad, not bad."

Makoto nodded in satisfaction, deliberately ignoring the murderous glare coming from a certain blue-green-haired girl.

"Due to time constraints, we'll pick up the pace starting tomorrow. Increasing the distance further isn't really feasible."

"Understood."

Honami and Kei nodded gently.

"I'm coming tomorrow, too."

Ibuki Mio's strategy was to be thick-skinned; she was determined to find Makoto's weakness.

"I, of course, welcome Ibuki-san to join us."

Honami let down the hair she had tied up for the run, her waterfall of gold-pink hair cascading down, the scent of shampoo mixed with sweat wafting toward them.

"I don't mind."

Kei was concise; her stance was actually similar to Ibuki Mio's, and sometimes she couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt toward Honami.

However, there was no helping it.

"It seems the rumors are true; you really are a hopeless case."

Ibuki Mio voiced her sarcasm. Could this be considered a weakness?

She refused to admit that she was the one who was the weakness.

"Ahem, by the way, will you be alright for the midterms? I don't think I've seen you in the library."

Makoto cleared his throat, trying to change the subject, and swore to himself that once he finished dealing with Sakura Airi's situation, he would never flirt with trouble again.

"Passing the cutoff line won't be a problem, at least."

Her academic ability was at least a C; she wouldn't fail the very first midterm of the first semester.

"Even so, you still need to study hard."

Honami took on the role of a mother, and Makoto felt as if he could see maternal love radiating from her.

"..."

Faced with Honami's kindness, Ibuki Mio fell silent.

Are they all bleeding hearts here? It made her, coming from Class C, feel a bit out of place.

"...Fine."

It was all due to the pressure of the situation, Ibuki Mio told herself inwardly.

Returning to the classroom, everyone was frolicking as usual; horseplay outside of class hours didn't have any impact on the Class Points.

There was already enough tutoring during lunch breaks and after school, so early morning became a rare time for relaxation. Those who wanted to memorize their books chose to do so in their dorms before coming in.

"Is it today?"

Kanzaki Ryuji turned his head to ask.

"...Suit yourself. You can decide that kind of thing on your own."

After a slight pause, Makoto realized Kanzaki Ryuji was referring to the past exam papers. To be honest, he hadn't given it much thought; once he handed them over, he had basically pushed the matter to the back of his mind.

"Hmm... I think we should still try to score as high as possible."

Kanzaki Ryuji had been thinking about this since last night, and after turning it over in his mind, he realized it was already a dead end.

Class D was one thing, but Class A also had these past papers. If he didn't use them, he would inevitably fall a step behind Class A in the upcoming exams.

This is the competitive spirit of a man!

I won't bury my head in writing anymore; time to cultivate a bit.