Forced Mediation

"Are you kidding me? Why are you so arrogant!"

In another part of the library, Sudo shot to his feet, his face burning with anger. He looked like he was about to lose control.

"Sudo, calm down. You're disturbing everyone." Hirata put a hand on Sudo's shoulder, seemingly trying to comfort him.

"Don't touch me!" Sudo swatted Hirata's hand away and pointed at him. "You're no saint yourself. You were largely responsible for what happened last time!"

Hirata didn't get angry when Sudo knocked his hand away. He listened to Sudo's scolding without replying, only lowering his head slightly.

Karuizawa Kei put an arm around Hirata's shoulder and looked at him with concern. Then she turned angrily to Sudo. "What's wrong with you, Sudo? We're all worried you'll get expelled."

"Stay out of this, woman," Sudo cursed.

"You..." Stung by his harsh tone, Karuizawa clung even tighter to Hirata's arm.

"Sudo, you idiot! We're trying to help you. Why can't you appreciate it?" Horikita Suzune frowned, crossing her arms as she faced him.

"Don't you know you'll be expelled if you fail the next exam? We've gone to all this trouble to help you, and you're still complaining?"

"I'm complaining? Your teaching methods are the problem!" Sudo snapped.

"What's wrong with our methods? Everyone else understands these questions. Why don't you? Isn't that your problem?" Horikita Suzune said sternly.

"You call that teaching? If that's how you're going to talk to me, I'd rather not study at all!" Sudo grew angrier with every word. He pointed at Kushida. "If Kushida hadn't invited me, I wouldn't have come in the first place! Who would willingly come to this lousy study group?"

With that, Sudo picked up the basketball from the floor. "Seriously, I'd rather spend this time playing basketball."

"What would it matter if someone like you trained hard enough to become a professional basketball player? You'd still be a hopeless case."

"Idiot!" Sudo hated when anyone used the basketball he loved against him. His chest heaved as he snapped, "Why do you always have to meddle in other people's business? Stay out of mine! Even if I get expelled, it has nothing to do with you!"

"Sudo... That was a bit much." Hirata glanced anxiously at Horikita Suzune. "Horikita's only trying to keep you from getting expelled."

"Hirata," Horikita Suzune said coolly, "if he doesn't want us to interfere, then let him be. Even if he gets expelled, it has nothing to do with us. We've tried so hard to teach him, and he still acts like he knows everything."

Then Suzune looked at Sudo with pity. "Someone like him doesn't deserve our sympathy."

"But..."

"You bastard!" Sudo cut Hirata off and grabbed Suzune by the collar. "Why do you always act so superior? What makes you better than us?"

Suzune didn't answer. She simply stared at him impassively.

Hirata hurriedly reached out to pull Sudo away. "Sudo, please calm down."

But the difference in their strength was too great. Even with all his might, Hirata couldn't pry Sudo's hand loose.

The veins in Sudo's neck bulged as he held tightly to Horikita Suzune's collar, showing no sign of letting go.

"Horikita, apologize to me."

"No. I won't apologize. I don't think I said anything wrong." Horikita Suzune remained perfectly calm.

"Horikita... You should apologize. Sudo doesn't look like himself right now," Kushida said worriedly, tugging at Suzune's sleeve.

Horikita Suzune gave Kushida a cool glance. "I can't admit I'm wrong when I don't believe I've done anything wrong."

Kanji Ike saw that things were getting out of hand and hurried over to break up the fight. "Sudo, it's no big deal. There's no need to get angry."

Yamauchi had already packed his things and was about to leave. Seeing Kanji Ike step in, he couldn't help muttering, "Seriously, why are you being such a busybody? We can just leave. Who cares if they fight?"

Apparently, Kanji Ike didn't hear him.

Yamauchi Haruki waited around, bored, but his eyes drifted to Horikita Suzune's legs.

Sudo had lifted Horikita Suzune slightly off the ground, leaving her up on her tiptoes. A glimpse of pale skin showed on her thigh.

It gave Yamauchi a devious idea.

If I go break up the fight and accidentally touch Horikita... That'd be totally understandable, right? They'd probably even thank me for stepping in.

Thinking this, Yamauchi slowly swallowed. He spoke up, adding himself to the conversation for no reason. "Is everything okay?"

Then he started walking toward Horikita Suzune, putting on an anxious expression. "Hey, Sudo, don't be angry. Horikita didn't mean to say it like that."

"Excuse me. Please move."

Just then, a tall, handsome black-haired boy shoved Yamauchi aside with a little force.

"Ow! Watch where you're going!" Yamauchi grumbled. But when he saw that the boy was taller than him, his tone softened. "Seriously, be more careful next time."

The boy gave Yamauchi a slight nod in acknowledgment, then reached out and grabbed Sudo's hand.

"Etsuka..." Suzune was startled to see her younger brother suddenly appear.

"U-Un... upperclassman?" Kushida covered her mouth, her eyes wide with surprise.

Karuizawa Kei looked at the handsome newcomer in confusion.

"Don't get involved in what's between me and her!" Sudo snapped angrily, taking him for some random passerby trying to break up the fight.

"Let's talk about it once you've calmed down." Etsuka began applying pressure to Sudo's hand, slowly prying his fingers loose.

Sudo felt as if his hand were caught in steel pincers, his fingers being peeled away one by one. He used all his strength, but couldn't resist.

At last, Sudo gave up trying to overpower him and gradually relaxed his arm. He felt that if he kept resisting, he might pull a muscle.

But instead of getting angry at being stopped so forcefully, Sudo felt relieved.

Just moments earlier, while he'd been locked in a stalemate with Suzune, he had suddenly regretted grabbing her by the collar.

He'd realized that if he actually hit her, he'd surely be expelled. He might even end up in prison...

The reason he hadn't let go was that he had no way to back down. So when a boy he'd never seen before stepped in to stop him, he'd already decided to release her.

He just hadn't expected the other boy to be so strong.

"Are you okay, sis?" Horikita Etsuka asked Suzune with concern.

Horikita Suzune straightened her clothes before replying, "I'm fine."

"S-Sis?" Kushida froze. Her cute, girlish face filled with curiosity. "Upperclassman, aren't you in a higher grade?"

Horikita Etsuka waved a hand dismissively. "We'll talk about that later." Then he turned to the tall, muscular Sudo. "For now, let's talk about what happened between you and my sister."