Horikita Etsuka had been listening and thinking for a while. He came to one conclusion: the other side wanted to provoke his sister into throwing the first punch.
As for why they wanted to provoke her, Horikita Etsuka glanced at the few people peeking out from the cafeteria.
[Are they trying to find leverage against our class? Looks like they've learned about some of the rules.]
Ryuen Kakeru looked at Horikita Etsuka with interest. "Oh? What, are you from an upper-ranked class?"
"Class 1-B. Nakanishi Jiro."
Behind him, Horikita Suzune watched Horikita Etsuka's back with a look she'd long since grown accustomed to wearing.
Ryuen Kakeru folded his arms and spoke arrogantly. "Nakanishi Jiro, huh... No wonder. What, are you going to mock us because you're from an upper-ranked class now?"
Seeing things take a bad turn, Horikita Suzune hurriedly grabbed Horikita Etsuka by the arm. "Etsuka, let's go. Ignore them."
They had barely taken a few steps when Ryuen Kakeru shoved his hands into his pockets and called after them again. "What, is Class B hanging out with the defective products from Class D now?"
Horikita Etsuka stopped. He gently pulled Horikita Suzune behind him, then gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Sis. I'll handle this."
Then he turned to face Ryuen Kakeru.
Ryuen Kakeru looked surprised. "Oh? Why isn't the stupid little bug running away?"
Ishizaki said arrogantly, "Heh. Even if someone from Class D hangs around with someone from Class B, they're still a defective product."
Horikita Etsuka said nothing. In a movement too fast to follow, he swung a punch at Ishizaki.
"Etsuka, don't!" Suzune called out to stop him.
Ryuen Kakeru's furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Ishizaki's eyes widened as he immediately dodged backward.
Horikita Etsuka's fist stopped beside Ishizaki's head. Ishizaki felt a strong gust of wind sweep past it.
Horikita Etsuka flicked Ishizaki's hair with his middle finger and said with a smile, "Look at you. You've even got dust in your hair."
Watching Etsuka's antics and Ishizaki's dumbfounded expression as he dodged, Horikita Suzune couldn't help laughing.
Ishizaki quickly realized what had happened. As he noticed the others laughing at him, his face flushed.
"Damn it, you bastard!" He rolled up his sleeves and reached for Etsuka's collar.
"What's going on here?!" Nakanishi Jiro, who'd been eating in the distance, saw what was happening and sprinted over like a hundred-meter runner, stepping in front of them.
He spread his arms and glared at Ishizaki. "Who are you people? Are you trying to start a fight in the cafeteria?"
Then he turned to Horikita Etsuka. "Etsuka, are you hurt?"
Kanzaki Ryuji, who'd been eating with Nakanishi Jiro, came over as well. He stared silently at Ryuen Kakeru, his gaze inscrutable.
Ryuen Kakeru looked at the growing crowd and shrugged. "What a bore. We were only here to say hello. Ishizaki, let's go."
"But..."
Ryuen Kakeru glared at Ishizaki. "Are you going to disobey my orders?"
Only then did Ishizaki reluctantly clench his fists and mutter, "Fine."
The three of them slowly left through the cafeteria doors.
Kanzaki Ryuji turned to Horikita Etsuka. "Horikita, what happened? Why would Ryuen Kakeru from Class C come after you?"
Horikita Etsuka shook his head. "He wasn't after me. He was after my sister."
Only then did Kanzaki Ryuji notice the girl with long, straight black hair. She did look somewhat like Etsuka. He hadn't gotten a good look at her earlier by the classroom door.
Kanzaki Ryuji nodded slightly and addressed Horikita Suzune. "Hello. I'm Kanzaki Ryuji from Class B."
Seeing that he was her younger brother's friend, Horikita Suzune nodded politely, then said coolly, "Horikita Suzune, Class D."
She practically rushed through the words "Class D," as though she'd already figured out that the classes were assigned according to overall ability.
Kanzaki Ryuji said, "Since you're Horikita Etsuka's sister, is there anything we can help you with?"
Horikita Suzune shook her head. "No. This wasn't a personal attack."
"Not a personal attack?"
Horikita Suzune nodded. "Ryuen Kakeru from Class C has probably investigated every class and figured out the school's rules in advance."
Horikita Suzune was certainly proud, but there was no denying she was clever—quick on the uptake, too. Perhaps the Horikita family genes were finally kicking in.
"The school's rules?" Kanzaki Ryuji instinctively looked at Horikita Etsuka.
Horikita Etsuka rubbed his chin and nodded.
"That's right. Based on what we've seen so far, they're trying to provoke students from other classes into throwing punches. Though it looks like they picked the wrong person this time."
Kanzaki Ryuji replied thoughtfully, "So they've already launched their attack, and all we have to do is avoid taking the bait. Is that right?"
Horikita Etsuka nodded, then turned to Horikita Suzune. "Sis, is there anyone in your class with a particularly short temper? The kind who blows up at the slightest provocation?"
Horikita Suzune paused. "Now that you mention it, there is someone like that in our class." She thought of a red-haired boy.
"Go back and tell him to watch his temper. This might all be part of someone else's scheme."
This time, Horikita Suzune nodded seriously. "All right. I'll let him know."
"Okay. Then hurry back and tell your classmates, especially whoever has the most influence in your class."
"Mm." Horikita Suzune nodded, picked up her tray, and left.
Nakanishi Jiro looked at Horikita Etsuka, who was deep in thought. "What do we do now?"
Kanzaki also looked at Horikita Etsuka.
Etsuka raised his head, an unusual gleam in his dark eyes.
"Get Ichinose to invite the people with the most influence in our class. Tell them to meet us in the Western restaurant at 5:30 this afternoon to discuss things."
Kanzaki nodded. "All right."
Nakanishi Jiro felt a little excited. He had a feeling the other side was planning something big.
Class 1-D was in an uproar. Some students were gaming, while others hopped around like monkeys. The whole classroom was like a marketplace.
After returning to class, Horikita Suzune immediately found Hirata Yosuke and told him what had happened.
"Is that so?" Hirata Yosuke nodded to show he understood, then looked at Horikita Suzune apologetically. "I'm sorry for the trouble, Horikita."
"It's nothing. I was only doing what I should." Horikita Suzune returned to her seat.
Hirata Yosuke slowly walked to the podium and clapped loudly. "Everyone! Could you quiet down for a moment?"
With Hirata's influence, the class quieted down a little. They didn't return to their seats, though, and instead stood where they were, watching him.
Hirata didn't comment on it and continued, "Just now, Ryuen Kakeru from Class C brought some people over and tried to provoke Horikita Suzune."
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's gaze, which had been fixed on the window, shifted slightly. His eyes focused on Horikita Suzune's face.
Karuizawa Kei raised her hand. "Huh? Why would they try to provoke Horikita?"
"It seems the other side already knows the first rule: provoke students from another class until they throw the first punch," Hirata said.
Yukimura Teruhiko pushed up his glasses and said calmly, "Rather than the first rule, it's more like the most basic school rule. No matter how you look at it, hitting someone is wrong."
"That's right." Hirata Yosuke nodded. "I came here to let everyone know that from now on, anyone who tries to provoke you might be doing it as part of their scheme."
"How could anyone possibly get provoked?" Yamauchi Haruki rested his feet carelessly on his desk. "If you ask me, the best defense is a good offense. We could send someone to provoke them, too."
Then he glanced around with his tiny eyes to see if any girls were looking at him admiringly.
[Heh heh, all the girls will like me after this, right?]
But not a single girl looked at him with admiration, which left Yamauchi Haruki disappointed.
"Anyway, I just want everyone to be careful for a while and, in particular, keep your tempers in check," Hirata Yosuke explained patiently.
Red-haired Ken Sudō slapped the desk hard, making a loud bang. "What kind of joke is this? They can come and provoke us, and we just have to take it?!"
No one else knew it, but the other side had already provoked him two or three times. He'd decided that if they tried again, he'd punch them without holding back.
Kushida Kikyo smiled faintly, her hands crossed on the desk. "Hmm... We don't have any countermeasures yet. Personally, I think it's better to play defense for now."
Hearing Kushida say that, Ken Sudō could only grumble, "Seriously, this is so annoying."
Karuizawa Kei turned to Ken Sudō and said:
"Ken Sudō, do you even realize that they're talking about you? You can't even control your temper right now. What if they actually provoke you?"
"Are you talking to me like that?" Ken Sudō kicked the desk with both feet, making it bang loudly and startling everyone.
He grabbed the bag beside him and headed for the door.
"Do you really think you can control me? Instead of sitting here doing nothing and discussing this and that, I'd rather go to basketball practice."
With that, he slammed the door behind him.
Before you continue