Ryuen Kakeru

"That was quite a show."

Suddenly, someone began clapping. A boy appeared behind Manabe.

"R-Ryuen..."

"Manabe, maybe I underestimated you before. You've got quite a bit of nerve, don't you?"

Manabe was the first to react to his arrival. The boy named Ryuen rested a hand on her shoulder and watched her through narrowed eyes.

Manabe looked like a small animal caught in a snake's gaze. Her fear was unmistakable.

"I told you all to keep your heads down for now. Don't you think naughty kids who don't follow instructions deserve to be punished?"

"I-I'm sorry, Ryuen, but..."

"Quiet. I'm talking to our friends from Class D."

Ryuen let go of Manabe, put his hands in his pockets, and walked up to the Class D students. He had slightly long black hair and was a little shorter than Hoshino. With a sinister gaze and a cold smirk, he looked them over.

"You're Hoshino, right?"

"Hey there, Ryuen."

Hoshino greeted him calmly.

"Looks like you've been taking good care of the girls in my class."

"Don't mention it. Chatting with girls is a hobby of mine."

"Hmph. The school year's barely started, and you've already picked up three girls? I've got to hand it to you, pretty boy. You're quite the player."

"Ryuen, you should try asking Manabe and the others out too. I think they'd be delighted."

"Hmph, you sure have a sharp tongue. That smile of yours really rubs me the wrong way."

"I'm probably still caught up in the excitement of being a new student. But you're a lot more talkative than you look, Ryuen. Are you planning to become a stand-up comedian?"

Faced with Ryuen's aggressive attitude, Hoshino showed no fear and traded barbs with him.

"Heh. It's been a long time since I met someone with guts like yours."

Ryuen sneered, stepped forward, and held out his left hand to Hoshino.

A friendly handshake? Hoshino dismissed the idea in less than a second. The concept probably wasn't even in this man's vocabulary.

Without showing any reaction, Hoshino held out his left hand and clasped Ryuen's.

The moment their hands met, Ryuen tightened his grip and yanked Hoshino's arm toward him.

It was meant to throw his opponent off balance. Most people would struggle to react in time to such a sudden burst of force.

At almost the same moment, Ryuen swung a powerful right hook at Hoshino's face. If it landed, it would surely cause serious injury.

But Hoshino met the pull with almost precisely equal force, as if he'd calculated it in advance. His body didn't lose balance. A split second later, he leaned back slightly, and Ryuen's right fist missed his face by a hair's breadth.

"Ryuen, you certainly have an enthusiastic way of saying hello."

Hoshino spoke with unruffled ease. Seeing how calm he was, the girls who'd nearly screamed let out a small sigh of relief.

Ryuen's expression darkened. After a moment, he finally grinned. "You're pretty good. I was wrong to call you a pretty boy."

"No worries. Being a pretty boy and living off a rich woman was one of my dreams, after all."

"Hmph. I didn't expect Class D to have a guy like you. Heh, this school life is starting to get interesting."

Ryuen let go and swept his gaze across the Class D students. Under his venomous stare, the three girls instinctively edged behind Hoshino.

Ryuen then turned to look at the girls in his own class. Manabe and the others didn't dare meet his eyes and all lowered their heads.

"We're heading to karaoke. Want to come along, Ryuen? Manabe?"

"...Hmph. Boring."

Ryuen put his hands back in his pockets. Without looking at anyone else, he turned and walked away.

Manabe and the others glanced nervously at Hoshino, then hurried after him.

"Ryuen from Class C. He's a pretty dangerous guy. He'll probably become a formidable rival to Class D."

Hoshino looked thoughtfully in the direction Ryuen had gone and muttered to himself. Then he noticed Karuizawa looking as if she wanted to say something.

"Karuizawa? What's wrong?"

"Um... Huh? Uh, well... your hand..."

"Hm? What about it?"

"H-how long are you planning to keep holding my hand?"

Karuizawa's face was bright red. Before Ryuen had appeared, Hoshino had taken her hand to lead her past Manabe, and he still hadn't let go.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize I was still holding it."

"Um... it's fine..."

Hoshino lied without batting an eye, gave her small hand a lingering, gentle squeeze, then finally let go. Karuizawa backed away two steps, her face still flushed. Sato and Matsushita came over, and judging by their laughter and Karuizawa's expression, they were teasing her.

Hoshino gave a light cough to get their attention.

"Um, I think we'd better cancel today's plans."

"Huh? Why?"

"Our clash with those Class C students drew quite a bit of attention from all sides."

Matsushita picked up on Hoshino's point naturally. She was much more observant than the other two, and her thinking was more rational.

"Yeah, I think it'd be better to get away from the center of the conflict as soon as possible."

Hoshino considered it for a moment, then decided to give them another reason they might find easier to accept.

He raised a hand and pointed in one direction. The girls followed his gesture and saw a black device mounted on the wall not far away.

"Is that... a surveillance camera?"

"That's right." Hoshino nodded. "Hadn't you noticed? There are surveillance cameras like these all over the school, including in the classrooms and entertainment areas."

"I did see some in the classrooms..." Sato said hesitantly.

"There are four cameras in each classroom, actually, though they're a slightly smaller model."

Matsushita was the first to catch on. "So most of the public areas in this school are under the administration's surveillance."

By now, even the slowest of them understood.

Although the confrontation with the Class C students hadn't escalated, they couldn't be sure how the school would judge what the cameras had recorded. The Class C students had already left, so staying here wouldn't be wise.

"Besides, I'm feeling a little tired," Hoshino added.

"Ah! That was really dangerous just now! Hoshino, are you hurt?"

"We should definitely get some rest. Honestly, after all that, I'm not in the mood to go out anymore. What a drag."

Sato and Karuizawa agreed with Hoshino. They went their separate ways.