Class C's Aesthetic of Violence

Ibuki blushed and nodded before leaving first.

Kiyotaka stared ahead, his eyes unfocused, as though lost in thought.

Everything was still under control. Now all that remained was to wait for the fish to take the bait, right?

Horikita, how would you handle the difficulties ahead? Don't disappoint me. You're one of my most important assets in battle. Only if you continue to grow can I take complete control of Class D.

The C Class's Violent Aesthetics

When Kiyotaka returned, Manabu Horikita's event was just getting underway.

And Manabu Horikita claimed first place without a doubt.

"Just as I thought, he's really fast."

"He's strong, so he comes first in everything."

Horikita said proudly, then glanced at Kiyotaka.

Seeing no particular emotion on his face, she continued.

"If anything, you're the one who's been hiding your abilities. I know you went toe to toe with my brother."

"Oh, did I? Maybe he was holding back."

Horikita rarely pouted, but she did then.

"You were the one holding back. You ran as slowly as a turtle."

Kiyotaka simply pretended not to hear her.

Once the entire grade's 100-meter races were over, they moved on to the first scoring session.

The Red Team had 2,110 points, while the White Team had 1,891.

It was a slight lead, but still a good start—a promising sign.

The second event was the hurdles. Kiyotaka couldn't understand why, but due to a mistake during the physical fitness test, he was still on the roster, and this was his event.

Kanzaki was standing beside him.

"What a coincidence. We're up against each other already."

"Ah... please go easy on me. I'm really not good at this."

Kanzaki gave Kiyotaka a curious look.

"Really? Ichinose said you were very fast."

Kiyotaka fell silent for a moment, wondering where he'd slipped up, then said,

"She must have gotten bad information. I gave it everything I had and barely managed to place third in the 100-meter race."

"Is that so? You didn't look like you were giving it your all."

"Come on, this is an official Sports Festival event. What would I be saving my strength for?"

"Who knows? You're one of the calmer people in your year. That alone is pretty scary."

Kanzaki shrugged, as if to say, whatever you say.

Ichinose seemed to have been watching me closely. Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes slightly. He'd been spending too much time with Ichinose lately. No matter how well he covered his tracks, some things were bound to show. He'd have to find a chance to deal with this potential problem.

While Kiyotaka was thinking, the race began. He ran at the same pace as he had in the 100-meter race, looking as though he was giving it his all, and managed to finish third.

When Kiyotaka returned to the tent, Airi hurriedly shoved a bottle of water and a towel into his hands, then awkwardly ran toward the gathering point.

"Airi, relax."

Kiyotaka cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, his voice just loud enough for Airi to hear.

Airi smiled and nodded before continuing on her way.

It seemed she had a hurdles event too. Like Kiyotaka, she was being sacrificed.

And she was in the same group as Horikita.

"Horikita's group doesn't look great."

"What do you mean?"

Hirata glanced at the other classes' lineups and immediately got a sense of their abilities.

"I heard the two fastest runners in Class C, both members of the Track and Field Club, are in her race. It'll be a hellish challenge for Horikita."

Hirata furrowed his brow, unusually worried about Horikita's race.

"I see," Kiyotaka replied calmly.

As Hirata had predicted, Horikita bit her lip and ran and jumped with all her might, but the two girls from Class C shot past her like rockets and pulled ahead. She never had a chance to catch up, and finished the race in third place.

After hearing the results, Hirata turned his gaze toward me for some reason. He looked puzzled, as though he'd noticed something strange about the groupings.

And soon, Hirata's unease only grew.

The next event was the Pole Toppling Competition, a simple, brutal team event with a dangerous edge.

"Waaaah! Get fired up! We have to win!"

Sudo shouted with enthusiasm, rousing the boys from Class D who were taking part.

On the other side, facing off against Sudo, were Kanzaki and Shibata from Class B, as well as the members led by Ryuen from Class C. In particular, several of them had fought Sudo before and were former delinquents. There was also Yamada, a Japanese man of mixed Japanese and Black descent. His massive frame was like a wall.

The rules were simple: the first team to knock down two flags lost. Hirata and Katsuragi had discussed all sorts of possible strategies.

"Hey, don't worry! Even if I'm the only one, I'll knock all our opponents down!"

Sudo declared aggressively.

"You're supposed to knock the flags over, not the people," Kiyotaka offered as a reminder.

"I can't promise anything. That Koenji guy's got me so worked up right now."

The match began. Classes A and B were on defense, while Classes C and D were on offense. Since the rules prohibited the attacking teams from colliding with each other, Sudo led Class D's men in a fierce charge against Class B's defense.

Sudo proved as good as his word. His large frame tore through much of the defensive line Class B had put up.

"Stop Sudo!"

Seeing this, Kanzaki immediately issued orders.

Sudo's unstoppable assault was brought to a halt almost at once.

"What are you doing? Attack!"

Sudo shouted furiously at the people behind him.

Class D's weakness was immediately apparent. Besides Sudo, they had no real offensive power, especially with slackers like Kiyotaka and people with no fighting ability like Doctor on the team.

Kiyotaka had considered doing something, but when he saw Sudo surrounded by six or seven people, he gave up.

"Uh-oh, Yamada's leading the charge and has Class A in disarray!"

Ike glanced behind him and said.

"What!"

Sudo turned around at the words and saw that their red flag was already tottering.

Kiyotaka also took a quick look and spotted Ryuen standing leisurely outside with his hands in his pockets. The other members of Class C were pouncing on Class A's defense like hungry wolves. A few of them, led by Yamada, took their brutal tactics to the extreme, charging recklessly through Class A's defensive line. Before long, the red flag fell.

The referee blew the whistle to end the match.

"Argh! Damn it! What the hell are you doing?"

Sudo glared angrily at everyone from Class D.

"Don't say that about us. We got hurt too. I even scraped my hand. It hurts, it hurts!"

Ike spoke up.

"So what if you scraped your hand? You have to fall on the ground!"

Sudo angrily punched the ground, as though trying to vent his frustration.

"All right, it's our turn to defend next. Let's do our best."

Hirata stepped in at the right moment to comfort him.

"Tch... This time, we defend to the bitter end. Got it?"

Sudo bellowed.

The only response was a few scattered voices.

Class D's shortcomings were probably their lack of cooperation and motivation. Even Kiyotaka was among those who seemed to have no real enthusiasm. They all looked listless.

"Kiyotaka, you're ranked second, so you'd better defend that flag with your life, even if you have to go down!"

Because of his ranking, Kiyotaka had been placed closest to the flag.

Even if Kiyotaka wanted to hold back this time, he couldn't.

"Class C! Come on, attack us! Class C!"

As Sudo muttered, the whistle sounded. Everyone from Class D except Sudo prayed that Class C wouldn't be the ones to attack, because their physical strength was terrifying.

But praying wouldn't change anything. At the sound of the whistle, the members of Class C approached with hostile expressions.

"Good! Bring it on!"

Sudo beat his chest like a gorilla and shouted.

At the back of Class C, Ryuen ambled over. With a casual wave of his hand, several boys led by Yamada surged forward like a pair of scissors, tearing through the front line with ease. They charged straight toward Sudo without slowing down.

"Hold them back! Fill the gaps, quick!"

Sudo's cries were answered only by Class D's wails. Class C's members repeatedly threw elbows, skirting the edge of foul play, and soon made it to the center.

Meanwhile, Katsuragi was slowly leading Class A's team into the fray. Now it was a straight race against time. Would they make it?

"Ugh."

Sudo groaned as he braced the flag. Standing in front of him was Yamada, a human wall. In sheer size, even Sudo was slightly outmatched.

"Who's hitting me in the stomach?!"

Amid his groans, Sudo let out an angry roar.

It seemed someone had attacked him during the rush. Judging by the situation, it had happened more than once, but the attacks had been drowned out by Class C's crowd and shouts.

"It hurts, it hurts! You bastard!"

Sudo dropped painfully to his knees, his face twisted as if he'd taken a devastating blow.

Even so, his hands remained tightly wrapped around the flag. He refused to let go, and Kiyotaka couldn't help admiring his determination.

Then someone stepped barefoot onto Sudo's back and stomped down hard like a king claiming his throne.

Crack! The sharp, unmistakable sound of a vicious blow from a blind spot.

Sudo stared with bloodshot eyes at the man grinning before him.

It was none other than Ryuen, the ruler of Class C. Sudo fell, and the flag was toppled with him. The Red Team had suffered a crushing defeat.

Even after the match ended, Sudo continued to glare at Ryuen.

"Hah... hah... You're breaking the rules!"

"What? You were on the ground? It was such a mess, I didn't even notice."

Ryuen replied casually, then turned and walked away without a hint of remorse.

"You bastard!"

Sudo wanted to get up and chase after him to punch him, but the pain in his back made him curl up on the ground.

"Is your back okay?"

"I'm fine... I can take it, but I'm definitely going to beat him up!"

"And then have that happen again?"