I'm Going to Backstab Your Sister

"So you're the vice president's girlfriend. Sorry to bother you."

The senior recognized Aoyama, gave a slight bow in apology, and wisely decided to make a quick getaway.

Aoyama didn't think, You've got a death wish, and pursue him relentlessly. After all, Japan had its own particular social customs, and there were plenty of people who liked to approach strangers.

"Thank you... Aoyama."

"What's there to thank me for? Come on." Aoyama gave their joined hands a little shake. "My princess for the evening."

"Calling me a princess is so embarrassing."

"Then how about my queen?"

He casually glanced around and spotted Kusuda, who wore an angry expression. Smiling faintly, Aoyama took Sakura's hand and set off.

They walked slowly down the bustling street. The farther they went, the quieter it became around them. The figures passing by grew fewer and fewer until they eventually disappeared altogether.

"It's so quiet."

"Yeah, it is. It feels like something could happen and nobody would know."

They reached the railing along the shore and stood side by side, facing the sea with their hands resting on the rail.

The moon wasn't quite full yet, but the silver disk in the sky was already growing round. Its cool light spilled across the sea, making for a beautiful sight.

Sakura's profile as she hesitated over his hand, seeming to want to hold it again, was every bit as lovely as the view.

"Do you mind if I get a little more affectionate, Sakura? The fish I'm trying to catch still seems to be hesitating." As he spoke, Aoyama took her hesitant little hand and gently stroked the soft, pale back of it.

Tonight, he planned to make the situation look serious. It was essential to push Kusuda into such a rage that he lost control.

If he didn't make himself look a little worse for wear, how could he squeeze a payout from the school?

"Um... I don't mind."

Sakura lowered her head, her voice full of shyness. The ear not hidden by her red hair had turned bright red, too.

"Then I'm going to make my move."

Aoyama turned Sakura to face him, placing one hand on her slender waist and the other behind her head.

In those wide, beautiful ice-blue eyes, he slowly lowered his head.

As their faces drew closer and closer, Sakura closed her eyes with a tremble, her heels lifting slightly off the ground.

Just then, a sea breeze swept by, sending the twin tails of the cute girl with puckered lips dancing in the wind. It was a beautiful sight.

"That's enough. The fish has taken the bait." Unable to resist, Aoyama brushed his cheek against her flushed, delicate face. Then he immediately let go of Sakura and turned around.

Amid hurried footsteps, Kusuda charged at him with a ferocious expression. As a fanatical admirer, he considered Sakura his for the taking.

"Shizuku is mine! Don't touch her!"

"Sorry, sorry. But I already did. And honestly, she's so soft."

Savoring the feel of Sakura's tender cheek, Aoyama wore an expression as irritating as his tone.

Just as expected, Kusuda rushed at him even faster. Judging by the force behind his swing, he was no weakling.

That was one punch Aoyama definitely didn't want to take to the face.

Aoyama shifted to the side and took the punch to his right chest. Then, as Kusuda looked on excitedly, he didn't dodge the next one either, taking a weaker punch to the face.

He let himself fall backward and rolled twice, leaving his once-pristine clothes looking rather worse for wear.

"My turn, you little punk." Spotting a figure rushing out of the shadows, Aoyama endured the pain and sprang to his feet.

As Kusuda looked on smugly, Aoyama threw a punch full of anger.

Perhaps emboldened by landing his first two hits, Kusuda didn't try to dodge and threw a punch of his own.

Then he learned what it meant for longer reach to have the advantage.

He also learned what it meant to take a fist the size of a sandbag to the face.

"Why aren't you laughing now?"

"Not having fun?"

Aoyama punched the other, unharmed side of Kusuda's face as he staggered from the first blow.

Then came the classic Ultraman double-footed flying kick, sending Kusuda flying.

By the time he hit the ground, two burly security guards had arrived. They pinned him down, one on either side.

The joints in Kusuda's arms cracked as he was held down. Aoyama could tell the guards were using plenty of force, and Kusuda was definitely in pain as he shouted.

[Horikita President, your beloved vice president has been attacked. Come at once.]

"Teacher Mashima, I was followed and attacked by an employee from Keyaki Mall. I nearly ended up at the bottom of the sea."

Aoyama took out his phone and immediately texted Horikita Manabu, then called his homeroom teacher.

"You're lying! I wasn't following you. I... I just happened to come here for a walk."

Hearing Aoyama's accusation, Kusuda turned pale and started making excuses, trying to downplay the situation.

"Don't worry. I'm fine." Aoyama ignored Kusuda completely and first comforted Sakura, who had stepped in front of him with a worried look.

He had chosen this spot for the attack because it had a concealed camera.

Kusuda had followed him all the way here and then attacked him of his own accord. That made it a criminal case, and there was no getting around the school's serious negligence.

No matter how much Kusuda tried to make excuses, there was no way he would get off lightly.

"Shizuku, it's me! I'm your fan, the one who leaves you messages every day! I only attacked him to save you from being bullied. You have to speak up for me!"

"I became your fan the moment I saw you in that magazine two years ago, and I still am!"

"I did all this for you!"

"For you!"

When he saw that Aoyama wasn't even looking at him, Kusuda turned to Sakura in desperation, hoping she would excuse his crime because he was a loyal fan.

"I didn't ask you to do any of this!"

"You only did it for yourself! Those disgusting messages, too—I hated them."

"You hurt someone who matters most to me. Just having you around disgusts me."

Sakura looked down at Kusuda, who was craning his neck to look up at her. Her ice-blue eyes were filled with cold fury.

She hated it.

The person who had hurt her dear friend was a fan of hers, and he had the nerve to claim he did it for her.

One look at his lecherous eyes was enough for Sakura to understand why this bastard who called himself her fan had attacked Aoyama.

"You bitch! You tramp! How dare you—!"

"Shut up, you loser."

Aoyama stepped forward and stomped hard on Kusuda's raised head.

When it came to people with no self-awareness, if he could settle things with his fists, he preferred to do just that.

Afterword

The editor told me the book was going on sale tomorrow, Friday. I'm really sorry, but I haven't prepared any backlog at all, and I'm still working on today's second chapter.

I'd planned to save up some chapters this week so I could post more, but my father had a stroke on Monday. I've spent the past few days staying overnight at the hospital to look after him, so I haven't had much time to write.

All I can say for now is that I'll try to start posting three chapters a day tomorrow. I'm sorry.

I'll work hard starting next month. O(≧口≦)O

Chapter 62: I'm Going to Backstab Your Sister

The moment Kusuda opened his mouth, Aoyama stomped hard on his head.

After a few times, Kusuda got the hint and played dead, lying perfectly still.

Amid hurried footsteps, Teacher Mashima appeared in the distance, looking tense.

"I'm fine. I was pretending." Aoyama whispered to Sakura, then leaned against the railing and held his forehead, putting on an expression that suggested he was suffering from a terrible headache.

"Then let me help, too."

Sakura had an idea and stood beside Aoyama, letting him drape an arm over her shoulder so it looked as if she were supporting him.

As she put an arm around Aoyama's waist, Mashima came up to them.

"Are you all right, Aoyama?"

"I'm not. I'm very much not—not physically, and not emotionally."

Speaking weakly and acting half-dead, Aoyama began to complain to Mashima.

He said that as Student Council Vice President, he took pride in the school and wanted the school to take pride in him. Yet today, one of the school's own employees had attacked him, nearly killing him and robbing the school of the chance to be proud of him.

He understood that in a school as large as this one, there would inevitably be some lapses in management. But understanding that didn't mean he shouldn't receive compensation for medical expenses, emotional distress, and lost wages.

Mashima's stern expression darkened. "You're a student. How could you have lost wages?"

Teacher Mashima studied Aoyama carefully and saw that his clothes were a little dirty, but he had no cuts or bleeding anywhere.

"Teacher Mashima, what are you talking about? Isn't there a saying that a student's job is to study? With my body and mind injured, my studying efficiency has dropped dramatically."

"Besides, I've already spent two hundred thousand personal points just to hire Mr. Sanada and Mr. Tanaka to follow and protect me."

Aoyama pointed at the two security guards who had been following Sakura ever since she went out. He was practically spelling out what he wanted.

Money. Plain and simple.

"...I can do my best to apply for compensation, but don't get your hopes up too high. The school generally doesn't hand out large amounts of personal points outside of Special Exams." Aoyama had already spent two hundred thousand points up front, so Mashima knew he had a big appetite.

But this wasn't gambling. The more you invested, the more you stood to win.

Mashima didn't even dare promise that the school's compensation would exceed two hundred thousand personal points.

Seeing that Mashima had misunderstood him, Aoyama shook his head. "I'm not asking, Teacher Mashima."

"If the school doesn't show enough sincerity, I might let a few things slip. Rumors like 'a school employee tried to kill the Student Council Vice President' or 'a stalker randomly spawns at school at night' will spread across the entire school in no time."

"Maybe I'll miss more than a week of classes because of a concussion, then stay shut in my room because of the trauma. The student council vice president who ranked first in the whole year on the exams could turn into a useless shut-in."

He'd seen through the school's hidden rules in his first week, ranked first in the year on the Midterm Exam, and was the Student Council Vice President. Thanks to those accolades, he'd drawn plenty of attention.

For the sake of its reputation, the school wouldn't want to let the matter get out of hand. After all, this was the school's failure.

"Doing that won't leave the school with a good impression of you," Mashima said seriously.

As the one being threatened, the school obviously wouldn't be pleased with Aoyama's actions.

"Maybe it'll leave them with a better impression. The school trains people to be leaders. If they can't even stand up for their own interests, how can they stand up for the people under them?"

Smiling faintly, Aoyama turned down Mashima's chance to back out. It was only real if he got the money in hand. As for what the school thought of him, he'd just have to accept the consequences.

That wasn't what mattered right now.

After waiting a few more minutes in the cool breeze, Horikita Manabu finally arrived, his expression cool and his straight posture radiating authority.

Aoyama gave him a brief account of what had happened, then asked him to help demand an explanation from the school. He'd take whatever he could get.

It would look better coming from the Student Council President than from Aoyama himself.

"Reason?"

"During the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, I'm going to backstab Suzune and show her how cruel people can be."

"Fine."

Horikita Manabu didn't ask how Aoyama knew where the next Special Exam would take place. After considering it briefly, he accepted Aoyama's offer in exchange for his help.

Dealing with the school was nothing unusual for him.

"I'll leave it to you, then." Aoyama waved as he said goodbye to Mashima and Horikita Manabu, who were taking Kusuda away.

Before long, the shore was quiet again under the moonlight.

The two of them, who had been standing so close together, also put a little distance between them.