Unforeseen Event

"Hey! Sudo, you actually think you can become a regular on the basketball team? Don't make me laugh!"

The sudden provocation disrupted their plans to leave. Uesugi Hara turned his head and saw Sudo Ken being shoved by three boys as they walked toward them.

He immediately pulled Sakura Airi, who was beside him, to hide behind a nearby wall.

"Shh," Uesugi Hara signaled for silence.

Airi hurriedly covered her small mouth and nodded at him, mimicking his actions by poking her head out to nervously watch the scene.

"What do you guys want! Get lost!" Sudo Ken roared, his fists clenched tightly, though he was still forcing himself to hold back from throwing a punch.

Uesugi Hara recognized one of them immediately—Ishizaki Daichi from Class C, whom he had played games with before.

Was Class C deliberately looking for trouble with Class D?

"Heh, what do we want? We just don't like you hogging such a big court all by yourself." Ishizaki Daichi laughed arrogantly and reached out to shove Sudo again.

"If you want to play, why don't you go somewhere else? There are empty courts over there!" Sudo suppressed his rising anger.

"We want this court, you got a problem with that?" As soon as he finished speaking, Ishizaki slammed Sudo hard against the wall.

"You guys!" Sudo finally lost his patience and threw a punch. The four of them instantly tangled into a brawl, the dull thuds of fists hitting bodies making one shudder.

"Kids shouldn't watch such violent scenes." Uesugi Hara covered Airi's eyes with one hand, while his other hand was already holding his terminal, quietly recording the incident.

"O-okay..." Airi's voice trembled as she gripped the corner of Uesugi Hara's shirt tightly. She wanted to leave, but the exit was completely blocked by the group.

Seeing that he had captured the key information, Uesugi Hara stopped the recording and reached out to pat her head to comfort her.

Looking back at the scene, although Sudo was alone, he was pinning the other three to the ground and beating them, completely gaining the upper hand.

"Heh, Sudo, do you think... you can walk away from this unscathed?" One of the boys managed to prop himself up into a sitting position, his voice trembling but still trying to sound tough.

"How hilarious! Three of you attacking at once and you're still in such a pathetic state. You guys are really weak." Sudo grabbed one of them by the collar and brought his face right up to the other's, their noses almost touching. The boy was intimidated by his presence and hurriedly looked away.

"Tch, cowards. Do you think you can beat me just by having more people?" Sudo sneered, let go, picked up his bag from the ground, and turned to leave.

He clearly had no interest in these three people who had lost their fighting spirit.

After Sudo Ken walked away, the three from Class C helped each other up.

"The task Ryuen-san gave us is finally done."

"It hurts like hell! Take it easy!"

"The price was just too high; I don't know if it met Ryuen-san's requirements."

"It should have, right? We got beaten up this badly."

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry back to report, or Ryuen-san will get angry."

"Ouch, easy, it hurts!"

"Stop being so dramatic."

"I was the one who took the most hits just now, how can you even say that?"

The three of them limped away, supporting each other.

Seeing that it was over, Uesugi Hara said to Airi, "Alright, it's over. Let's go too."

"...Mm."

"U-um, Uesugi-kun, could you... help me walk..." Airi said with a blushing face, feeling embarrassed. Because of the fear, her body felt somewhat stiff.

Naturally, Uesugi Hara was more than willing.

Uesugi Hara: Sigh~ Such a nice date, and it had to be ruined by these people.

On the way back.

Uesugi Hara pondered the purpose behind Class C's actions.

Weren't they supposed to be looking for trouble with him? Why did the incident fall onto Class D?

Strange.

"Airi, are you okay?" He turned to look at Sakura Airi following behind him and noticed her face was a bit pale.

Sakura Airi was panicking inside; she realized her camera had accidentally captured the fight, and she didn't know how to handle it.

Hearing Uesugi Hara's voice, she hurriedly turned off the camera in a fluster and said intermittently, "I-I'm fine... let's go quickly!"

Uesugi Hara looked at her suspiciously, feeling she was hiding something, but he didn't press her, only cautioning, "You must tell me if you're feeling unwell, okay?"

"...I know." Airi kept her head down, her bangs obscuring her expression, so Uesugi Hara couldn't see anything unusual.

He recalled the conflict from earlier and added, "If anyone bullies you in the future, come to me immediately, understand?"

Seeing that Airi didn't respond, Uesugi Hara reached out and tapped her small head with his index finger: "Airi, did you hear what I said?"

Sakura Airi jumped at the touch, snapping out of her daze: "Ah?"

She was a bit confused; what was she supposed to know?

"I said, if Airi gets bullied, just tell me, and I'll deal with them." Uesugi Hara said, striking a cool pose with a hint of comical confidence on his face.

"Pfft~" Airi was amused by his antics, and most of her earlier tension vanished as she lowered her head and giggled secretly.

Uesugi Hara scratched his head, looking bewildered—was there something wrong? Why was she laughing?

Still, she looked really pretty when she laughed, heh.