Take the Best

Competition existed wherever people gathered. Violence was just one form of it, and the purest and simplest one at that.

"Oh?"

As Ryuen listened to the information Ibuki whispered to him, the disdain in his eyes gave way to keen interest.

If he could see through Ibuki's intentions at a glance and had the skills to toy with her, then Class D wasn't entirely made up of useless fools. It had someone interesting after all.

Looking again at Eito's handsome appearance and the calm composure he'd maintained even after entering their class, Ryuen's interest in him deepened.

But wasn't he a little too relaxed? He'd actually picked up their class's food and started eating it.

Interesting.

Ryuen sat down opposite him and said with interest:

"You're Takeda, right? Interested in working for me?"

At that, Ibuki grew anxious. "Um... he's from Class D."

"This has nothing to do with you. The loser should keep quiet." Ryuen rebuked her without a hint of courtesy.

"Tch—what a boring guy." Ibuki glared at Ryuen, then went to sit somewhere else.

Ryuen paid her no mind and continued:

"Don't worry, I treat my own people pretty well. If you're willing to spy on Class D for me, I'll transfer you 300,000 points every month. And—" Ryuen glanced at Ibuki and grinned. "I'll give Ibuki to you, too."

Ryuen spoke without restraint. Ibuki, standing nearby, gave him a contemptuous look when she heard that.

"But..." Eito said, looking troubled as he ate a banana.

"Do you even need to think about it? You can't accomplish anything with that bunch of losers in Class D. Your talents shouldn't be wasted on them. I'm the one who can help you realize your potential."

"Wouldn't that be wrong? I do have friends in Class D, at least."

"Hahaha! How much is friendship worth? When trouble comes, no one can be relied on. Only self-interest can hold people together."

Ryuen laughed loudly, as if he'd heard a joke.

Ryuen had always been alone. Even Ishizaki, Yamada, and the others who obeyed him were tools to achieve his goals, and they were willing to be used.

He didn't need affection to maintain his rule.

People were driven by self-interest. As long as he offered enough in return, they would willingly let him use them.

Eito neither agreed nor disagreed with Ryuen's words.

He didn't object, but he didn't agree, either.

More than self-interest, what he longed for was a peaceful high school life.

Besides, he didn't need any of that.

Still, how long was he going to keep up this act?

He'd been thinking of sparring with Ryuen, to experience what extreme violence was like and what made fighting between men so romantic.

But Ryuen wasn't giving him a chance. He kept trying to win him over with boring things, which was starting to disappoint him.

He couldn't just punch Ryuen right now. That would make him seem too impatient.

There had to be some ceremony to it.

After a moment's thought, he said:

"Ryuen, didn't you just say you'd give Ibuki to me? Then it wouldn't be unreasonable to have her massage my legs, would it?"

"You heard him, Ibuki. Get over here and massage his legs."

Ryuen sat in his chair with one leg crossed over the other and spoke arrogantly.

Ibuki stood up and glared at him.

"Do it yourself. I'm busy, and I have no reason to listen to you."

Although they'd outwardly reached an agreement, Ibuki wasn't the sort to obey other people. If it weren't for Class C, she wouldn't even give Ryuen a second glance.

Ryuen said:

"Looks like the lesson I taught you last time wasn't enough. I won't hold back this time. Yamada, you two, grab his arms."

"Yes, boss!"

There was no way Ibuki could escape two tall men. They seized her and brought her before Ryuen.

Ryuen slapped her, leaving a bright red handprint on her fair cheek.

"You still don't understand your place. This is Class C. Anyone who goes against me will regret it. Ibuki, I'm giving you one last chance. Are you going to do as I say?"

"I'd rather die than massage this guy's legs. If you've got the guts, just kill me, you bastard!"

At that, Eito sighed. She'd rather die than do such a little thing. Just how much did she hate him?

At the same time, he sensed something was off.

Something had felt wrong for a while, especially the way Ryuen and Ibuki were acting. They were being so over-the-top, almost as if...

They were putting on a show.

He was just some nobody from Class D. No matter how much Ryuen valued him, he wouldn't hurt one of his own class's assets for his sake.

Eito was still in Class D. Ryuen didn't even trust his own classmates, so why would he trust Eito? Hurting one of his own people just to please him made no sense.

By the time he realized it, Ibuki was already on the ground, clutching her stomach and groaning.

Ryuen's punch must have hurt.

Ryuen glanced at her, unimpressed, then said:

"You can take care of this woman. Do whatever you want with her. As for your answer, you can tell me later. I'll be waiting for good news."

With that, he left with his men.

Then Eito helped Ibuki up and let her lie against him.

"Now that the person you could rely on is gone, what are you going to do?"

"None of your business."

"You've got no place left in Class C. Why not work with me? I'll protect you."

As he spoke, his hand wandered over Ibuki's body, then slipped beneath her clothes to gently touch her injured stomach.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked softly.

"Mm."

Ibuki blushed and tucked her head against his chest.

"Heh."

So that was it.

He finally understood Ryuen's plan.

First, he'd made Eito an offer, then stirred up trouble between Eito and Ibuki. He'd beaten her right in front of Eito, leaving her with no choice but to follow him.

Ryuen and Ibuki were probably both acting. By doing this, Ryuen could make Eito like him more, while also making Eito feel sorry for Ibuki and completely lower his guard.

Ryuen had probably come up with the plan because Ibuki had already told him Eito was a pervert. They were taking advantage of that.

What a perfect combination of playing the victim, using a beauty, and feigning indifference to make someone chase after her.

Since they wanted him to fall for it, he'd just pretend to take the bait. Ryuen liked playing games with him, and he liked playing games with Ryuen.

If they were in the same class, the two of them could probably have become very good friends.

Heh.

Taking the Best of Both Worlds

"Let's head back."

After eating his fill, Eito stood up.

"Mm."

Ibuki murmured softly and turned her face away.

Taking Ibuki by the wrist, he left Class C's territory.

Ibuki didn't say a word on the way. She let him lead her along with her head lowered, lost in thought.

Looking at the girl like that, he couldn't help finding it a little amusing.

Was this an act, or was this how she really was?

Maybe he'd tease her a little.

"Look, a snake!"

"Eek—"

Ibuki jumped in fright and hid behind him, gripping his clothes tightly.

When she realized he was joking, Ibuki gave him a cold look but said nothing.

There was the Ibuki he knew.

Much better.

"So you're afraid of snakes."

"I'm not. I just don't want it to bite me."

"So you hid behind me. You're not worried I'll get poisoned?"

"With a thick face like yours, you probably wouldn't die."

"Uh..."

Still, no matter how thick his face was, that had nothing to do with the skin on the rest of his body.

And so, they returned to Class D.

When he got back to Class D, he noticed Ayanokoji was gone, but didn't bother looking for him.

And Suzune...

He'd go check on her.

She was lying asleep in the tent.

Sleeping in the middle of the day. Surely she wasn't—

Sure enough, after touching Suzune's slightly warm forehead, he concluded that she had a cold and a low-grade fever.

Because of the butterfly effect, he wasn't sure when Suzune had started feeling unwell. Fortunately, her condition wasn't serious yet, and with Hirata's permission, Eito used points to exchange for some cold medicine.

But then he ran into another problem.

He could look after Suzune during the day, but not at night. Although Suzune repeatedly insisted she didn't need anyone to care for her, he still asked Sato for help.

Sato readily agreed.

But things didn't go very smoothly.

He could tell that Sato didn't seem to get along with someone like Suzune. They sat one behind the other in class, but never spoke. In particular, perhaps because of him, Sato seemed hostile toward Suzune.

He could see that the two of them couldn't communicate normally, but he had no one else to ask. As for Kikyo, although she was friendly on the surface, he was genuinely afraid she'd take the opportunity to poison Suzune. Suzune looked even more displeased whenever she was around Kikyo.

Fortunately, after he worked hard to smooth things over, Sato and Suzune were finally able to have a normal conversation.

A day passed. By the fourth day, Suzune had almost completely recovered.

"Um... thank you,"

Suzune said.

"Are you embarrassed?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just expressing basic gratitude." Then she looked at Sato. "You too... thank you for taking care of me."

"It's no big deal. Eito was the one who asked me to." Sato smiled. "But Horikita, I didn't know you could thank people. I thought you were the kind of cold person who wouldn't care even if she took something from someone else."