Emerging Rules

Horikita Etsuka had been listening and pondering for a long time on the sidelines, and he had reached a conclusion: the other party was trying to provoke his sister to goad Horikita Suzune into making a move.

As for why they wanted to provoke her, Horikita Etsuka glanced lightly at the security cameras in the cafeteria.

Are they trying to find dirt on the class? It seems they have already figured out some of the rules.

Ryuen Kakeru looked at Horikita Etsuka with interest: "Oh? What, are you from a higher-ranked class?"

"Class 1-B, Nakanishi Jiro."

Behind him, Horikita Suzune watched Horikita Etsuka's back with a look of accustomed resignation.

Ryuen Kakeru crossed his arms and said arrogantly: "Nakanishi Jiro, huh... No wonder. What? Are you going to start mocking us now just because you're from a higher-ranked class?"

Seeing that the situation was turning sour, Horikita Suzune quickly grabbed Horikita Etsuka's arm and said: "Etsuka, let's go. Don't pay any attention to them."

They hadn't walked more than a few steps when Ryuen Kakeru, hands in his pockets, spoke up again: "How about that? Has Class B started associating with the defective products of Class D now?"

Horikita Etsuka stopped in his tracks. He gently pulled Horikita Suzune behind him and gave her a reliable smile: "Don't worry, Sis. I'll handle this."

He then turned to face Ryuen Kakeru directly.

Ryuen Kakeru looked surprised: "Yo? Why did the stupid little bug stop running?"

Ishizaki said with an arrogant expression: "Heh, even if someone from Class D hangs out with someone from Class B, they're still just defective products."

Horikita Etsuka didn't speak. With lightning speed, he swung a punch toward Ishizaki.

"Etsuka, don't!" Suzune called out to stop him.

Ryuen Kakeru's furrowed brows slowly smoothed out.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Ishizaki's eyes widened as he immediately dodged backward.

Horikita Etsuka's fist stopped right beside Ishizaki's head; Ishizaki could only feel a strong gust of wind brush past his face.

Horikita Etsuka flicked Ishizaki's hair with his middle finger and said with a smile: "Look at you, there's dust on your hair."

Seeing the move Etsuka had pulled, and then looking at the bewildered expression on the other guy's face as he dodged, Horikita Suzune couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Ishizaki reacted immediately. Seeing the mocking gazes around him, his face flushed with heat.

"Damn it, you bastard!" He rolled up his sleeves, intending to grab Etsuka by the collar.

"What are you doing!!" Nakanishi Jiro, who had been eating nearby, saw this scene and sprinted over at top speed to stand in front of them.

He spread his arms and glared at Ishizaki: "Who are you people? You want to start a fight in the cafeteria?"

He then turned to look at Horikita Etsuka: "Etsuka, are you hurt?"

Kanzaki Ryuji, who had been eating with Nakanishi Jiro, also walked over. He looked at Ryuen Kakeru with a deep, inscrutable gaze but said nothing.

Seeing the crowd gathering, Ryuen Kakeru shrugged: "How boring. We were just here to say hello. Ishizaki, let's go."

"But..."

Ryuen Kakeru glared at Ishizaki with sharp eyes: "Do you want to defy my orders?"

Only then did Ishizaki clench his fists in frustration and reply in a low voice: "Yeah."

The three of them then slowly walked out of the cafeteria entrance.

Kanzaki Ryuji looked at Horikita Etsuka and asked: "Horikita, what's going on? Why would Ryuen Kakeru from Class C come to cause trouble for you?"

Horikita Etsuka shook his head: "He's not here to cause trouble for me; he's here to cause trouble for my sister."

Only then did Kanzaki Ryuji notice the girl with long, black hair. She did indeed look quite similar to Etsuka; he hadn't seen her clearly at the classroom door earlier.

Kanzaki Ryuji nodded slightly and looked at Horikita Suzune: "Hello, I am Kanzaki Ryuji from Class B."

Seeing that he was her brother's friend, Horikita Suzune nodded politely and said coolly: "Class D, Horikita Suzune."

She skipped over the words "Class D" as quickly as possible, as if she had already confirmed that this was a class divided by comprehensive ability.

Kanzaki Ryuji said: "Since you are Horikita Etsuka's sister, is there anything we can help you with?"

Horikita Suzune shook her head: "No need. This isn't a personal vendetta."

"Not a personal vendetta?"

Horikita Suzune nodded: "Ryuen Kakeru from Class C must have scouted out every one of our classes, and he has likely figured out the school's rules in advance."

Although Horikita Suzune was quite prideful, it was undeniable that she was sharp and quick-witted. This must have been the Horikita family genes at work.

"The school's rules?" Kanzaki Ryuji looked at Horikita Etsuka instinctively.

Horikita Etsuka rubbed his chin and nodded:

"That's right. Based on the current situation, they want to provoke people from other classes into starting a fight, though it seems they picked the wrong target this time."

Kanzaki Ryuji replied thoughtfully: "So you mean they have already launched an offensive, and we just need to make sure we don't get provoked, right?"

Horikita Etsuka nodded. He looked at Horikita Suzune and asked: "Sis, does your class have anyone with a particularly short temper? The kind who explodes the moment someone says something?"

Horikita Suzune paused for a moment: "Now that you mention it, we do have someone like that." She thought of a boy with red hair.

"Go back and tell that person to be careful and control their emotions. All of this might just be someone else's trap."

Horikita Suzune nodded seriously this time: "Understood, I will notify them."

"Alright, then hurry back, Sis, and tell the people in your class, especially the ones whose words carry the most weight."

"Mm." Horikita Suzune nodded, then picked up her tray and left.

Nakanishi Jiro looked at the pensive Horikita Etsuka and asked: "What do we do now?"

Kanzaki also looked toward Horikita Etsuka.

Etsuka raised his head, a strange light flashing in his pitch-black eyes.

"Call Ichinose, tell her to gather the people in the class who have a say, and have them come to the Western restaurant at 5:30 this afternoon to discuss some things."

Kanzaki nodded: "Got it."

Nakanishi Jiro felt a slight sense of excitement; he had a feeling the other side was about to pull off something big.

Inside Class D of the first year, it was exceptionally lively; those playing games were playing, and those acting like monkeys were jumping around. The entire classroom was like a marketplace.

After returning to the classroom, Horikita Suzune immediately found Hirata Yosuke and told him about the matter.

"Is that so?" Hirata Yosuke nodded, indicating he understood, then looked at Horikita Suzune with an apologetic gaze: "You've really worked hard, Horikita-san."

"It's nothing, I'm just doing what I should do." After saying this, Horikita Suzune walked back to her seat.

Hirata Yosuke slowly walked to the podium, clapped his hands, and said loudly: "Everyone! Could you please quiet down?"

Given Hirata's influence, the noise in the class died down slightly, but they didn't return to their seats, instead standing where they were and looking at Hirata.

Hirata didn't say anything else, just continued: "Just a moment ago, Ryuen Kakeru from Class C brought people to try and provoke our class's Horikita Suzune."

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, who had been staring out the window, moved his eyes slightly, focusing his gaze on Horikita Suzune's face.

Kei raised her hand and said: "Eh? Why would the other side want to provoke Horikita?"

"The other side seems to have already figured out the first rule, which is to provoke people from other classes to make them throw the first punch," Hirata said.

Yukimura Teruhiko adjusted his glasses and said calmly: "Rather than calling it the first rule, it's more like the most basic school regulation. Regardless of anything else, throwing a punch at someone is wrong."

"Exactly." Hirata Yosuke nodded: "That's why I came here to notify everyone; from now on, any attempt to provoke you might just be a scheme of theirs."

"How could we possibly be provoked?" Yamauchi Haruki put his feet carelessly on his desk: "If you ask me, the best defense is a good offense. We could also send people to provoke them."

Afterward, he scanned the surrounding reactions with his small eyes to see if any girls were looking at him with admiring gazes.

Hehe, if it goes like this, a lot of girls will probably like me, right?

But in the end, no girl showed an admiring gaze, which left Yamauchi Haruki very disappointed.

"Anyway, what I want to tell everyone is to be careful lately, especially to keep your tempers in check," Hirata Yosuke explained patiently.

The red-haired Sudo Ken slammed his hand on the desk, making a huge noise: "What kind of joke is this? Are we just supposed to endure it when they come to provoke us?!"

What others didn't know was that he had already been provoked by them two or three times, and he had already decided that if they dared to provoke him again, he would throw a punch without mercy.

Kushida Kikyo smiled slightly, her hands crossed on the desk: "Hmm... there aren't really any other methods right now. Personally, I'm also more inclined to take defensive measures."

Hearing Kushida say this, Sudo Ken could only mutter: "Geez, how annoying."

Kei turned her head to look at Sudo Ken and said:

"Sudo Ken, don't you realize they're talking about you? Look at you, you can't even control your temper right now. What if you actually get provoked by them?"

"Are you talking to me like that?" Sudo Ken kicked his desk, causing a loud banging sound that made everyone's hearts jump.

He grabbed the bag next to him and walked toward the door:

"Do I need you to worry about me? Instead of sitting here discussing this and that, I'd rather go to my basketball club practice."

With that, he slammed the door and left.