A Pledge of Allegiance

That was the Black student who'd knocked out the red-haired guy who looked like a gangster with one punch yesterday. Apparently, his name was Yamada Albert. He seemed like a pretty mild-mannered guy, and had stepped up to fight that delinquent named Ryuen Kakeru to resist him.

The two of them didn't know each other to begin with, so naturally they didn't talk. They each found a stall and settled in.

In the innermost stall, Mikage Touji adjusted himself into the most comfortable position, took out his phone, put on his headphones, and tapped play.

A melodious tune played, as if transporting him to the ancient continent of Africa, where he felt the wind in his face as he sped down a dirt road on a heavy old bicycle.

"This Black brother has it so rough. He has to work to make ends meet and take care of his five wives..."

Meanwhile.

Ryuen Kakeru, his face covered in bruises, quietly appeared at the entrance to the restroom. He looked at Yamada Albert's stall and smirked.

Albert was currently the biggest obstacle to Ryuen's rule over Class C. His mixed heritage had given him an incredibly strong body, and Ryuen knew he couldn't beat him in a head-on fight.

But Ryuen believed in one thing: no matter how many times he lost, as long as he got back up and won once in the end, victory would be his!

By any means necessary!

You couldn't exactly stay on guard while using the toilet, could you?

Holding a wooden stick he'd taken from a broom in class, Ryuen slowed his steps and moved toward the stall next to Albert's. He planned to launch a surprise attack from above on Albert, who was immersed in his own world, beat him into submission, and make him his underling. Then he'd take over all of Class C and spread his violence throughout Kouiku.

He silently climbed onto the edge of the toilet in the stall. His thighs tensed, and he kicked off hard, leaping into the air with the stick raised high.

At that moment, he seemed to see Albert's dark face, hidden behind sunglasses, contorted in panic.

"Yamada Albert, die—"

Before he could finish, an indescribable object hurtled toward him and smacked him right in the face, knocking him out of the air!

With a thunderous crash, Yamada Albert, who had witnessed the shocking scene, quickly wiped himself down and pushed open the stall door.

He turned and saw Ryuen, sprawled on the floor in his blinded field of vision, clutching his waist with one hand and wiping his face with the other as he struggled.

"OH! SHIT!"

Albert cried out and clenched his thick, dark fist, about to fight back. But he immediately stopped, because Ryuen was in an invincible state at that moment.

"Yamada Albert, I'll kill—"

Albert raised his foot and kicked the maddened Ryuen back onto the toilet. Faced with an enemy he couldn't possibly defeat, he turned and bolted from the restroom.

"Aaaah!"

Having lost his target, Ryuen's sanity plummeted to zero, and he went berserk, kicking the stall partition again and again with all his might. The entire restroom shook.

After kicking the stall door crooked, Ryuen's anger subsided a tiny bit. He hurriedly washed the sticky, foul-smelling, indescribable stuff off his face at the sink.

He picked up the fallen stick and went after Yamada Albert.

Violence, ruling the class, school rules—he didn't care about any of it anymore!

He, Ryuen Kakeru, was going to kill Albert! Right now!

As Ryuen's murderous footsteps gradually faded into the distance, the restroom returned to its usual quiet.

Years later, as Ryuen faced Kouiku's final exam, he would remember that distant noon when he'd gone after Albert with a stick...

At that moment, in the innermost stall.

Mikage Touji huddled in the corner and patted his chest, still shaken. Good grief! What kind of school was this, with all these freaks?!

Ambushing a student while he was taking a dump—this was beyond ordinary freakishness. Someone needed to give him a good beating!

Before that...

He took out his phone and made a call.

"Hey, Katsuragi, are you free? I've got a bit of a problem. I'm in the innermost stall in the restroom east of the classrooms. Come save me, quick!"

The voice on the other end immediately turned serious. "What happened? How many people should I bring? I'll be right there!"

"My legs have gone numb from squatting. Bring two people to help me up."

"..."

After a long silence, Katsuragi Kōhei's slightly weary voice came through. "Wait a moment."

After hanging up, Mikage Touji wiped the bead-sized drops of sweat from his face, grabbed the water pipe beside the wall, and struggled to his feet, trembling.

Using two skills at once was still too much. When would he be able to use Heavenly Obstacle Star-Crushing?

It felt as though his body no longer belonged to him. Even lifting a foot was a struggle.

Of course, Odubiao was still great to watch. He'd watch it again next time.

After struggling for a while, Mikage Touji gave up. He was completely out of strength now and could only wait for the Class A students to come rescue him.

Before long, rhythmic footsteps approached. From the sound of them, there were two people.

"Wow! Whoever did this is in for a rough time with their class."

One of the newcomers whistled loudly and spoke with a teasing tone.

The restroom door was knocked on twice. A deep voice came through. "Mikage, we're here."

The door creaked open, revealing the faces of the newcomers: Kito Hayato and Hashimoto Masayoshi.

Seeing Mikage Touji's pale face, Hashimoto raised an eyebrow and stepped forward to support him. "Mikage, you don't look like your legs just went numb. Should we take you to the infirmary?"

"I'm just a little drained. I'll be fine after resting. Why is it you two?"

Kito Hayato came up and helped support Mikage as well. "Katsuragi's over at the Student Cafeteria. We happened to be free, so we came over ourselves."

The two helped Mikage out of the restroom. As they passed the first and second stalls, Hashimoto asked curiously, "Did something happen here earlier?"

"Hashimoto, didn't you say before that there's someone in Class C named Ryuen Kakeru who's trying to unite the class?" Mikage asked, suppressing a laugh.

"Just call me Hashimoto. Yeah, that guy seems to like using violence. Some of the students in Class C are resisting him. Did Ryuen do this?" Hashimoto replied enthusiastically.

Mikage gave him a meaningful smile. "I got my hands on something good. It might let us widen the gap between Class A and Class C all at once."

In the corridor after lunch, not a soul was around. Sunlight streamed through the windows, stretching long patches of light across the floor as the three students' footsteps echoed rhythmically.

"So, do you need my help? You can assign me a task, too," Hashimoto offered again.

"I can help with things as well," Kito Hayato chimed in.

"Hashimoto, something's been bothering me," Mikage said, voicing a question he'd had for the past few days. "Why have you been gravitating toward me instead of Katsuragi, even though I've repeatedly made it clear that I don't want to lead the class?"

"Well, of course it's because I want to graduate from Class A."

"Couldn't Katsuragi do that, too?"

"But I think I have a better chance if I choose you, Mikage."

"You're willing to turn to me without hesitation just to slightly improve your chances of graduating from Class A?"

"Haha, I really do think that having you lead Class A would give us a better chance of graduating from Class A."

"Just you, though, right? Your own chance of graduating from Class A would be better?"

"...What's the difference?"

"If you're willing to abandon Katsuragi to slightly increase your odds of graduating from Class A, it wouldn't be surprising if you betrayed us in the future, either."

Only the three of them's somewhat heavy footsteps echoed through the empty corridor.

Kito Hayato's expression immediately changed. When he looked at Hashimoto again, he was no longer as friendly as before.

Hashimoto gave a wry smile.

"Hey, Mikage, that's pretty hurtful. I mean, I've at least done my best for Class A."

"Have you?" Mikage replied, unmoved.

"I wouldn't betray the class, would I? What would I have to gain from that?"

"And what would you gain? Didn't I just tell you?"

The corridor fell silent again for a long while. Hashimoto let out a deep sigh.

"As expected of you, Mikage. I can't hide anything from you."

"...Maybe that really is a possibility. I might try to find myself a way out, since graduating as a member of Class A is my ultimate goal in coming to this school."

Hashimoto's words about "finding himself a way out" were like a stone thrown into a still lake. The ripples spread silently through the empty corridor.

"You—"

Kito Hayato was just about to speak to Hashimoto when Mikage pressed a hand down on his. "Kito, calm down. Isn't this normal? People have to find a way out for themselves. I don't like this approach, but at worst, he's just a jerk. Of course, he might end up pleasing neither side. In a conflict, you cut down the fence-sitter first."

"Hey, no need to insult me that badly."

"But Hashimoto, are you sure it's wise to reveal your principles so easily? You're not the kind of person who'd show your hand right away."

"I had no choice," Hashimoto said helplessly. "You're different from Katsuragi. You're too wary. Without a pledge of allegiance, there's no way to get close to you."

"I've also looked into the other capable students at this school over the past few days. They've all performed well, but somehow, I can't help feeling they don't measure up to you."

"There it is—the fence-sitter's special skill: flattery!" Mikage said out of the blue.

"Tch... I'm beginning to think you've got a bit of a nasty personality," Hashimoto drawled.

Even Kito Hayato, who'd been quiet all this time, let the corners of his mouth lift slightly.

"What about you, Kito?" Mikage turned to look at him.

"I just think..." Kito Hayato's voice was hoarse, and he spoke a little slowly. "You're the best choice. Compared to Katsuragi, I'm more inclined to side with you."

"I see..."

Mikage lowered his eyes and thought for a moment.

"All right, then."

Mikage stopped walking and leaned against the nearest corridor wall. Hashimoto and Kito stopped as well, watching him.

He took out his phone and swiped smoothly across the screen. A moment later, Hashimoto's phone vibrated.

Hashimoto opened his phone in confusion and tapped play. His eyes widened. "This is... Pfft! Hahaha!"

"Is this... Haha... Ryuen? Hahaha!"

The muscles in his face stiffened with confusion at first, then, as if a dam had burst, wild laughter poured out of him. He bent over, clutching his stomach with one hand and slapping his knee with the other, gasping for breath.

"Heh, heh, heh..." Kito Hayato snatched the phone from Hashimoto and couldn't help laughing either. His low voice carried a suppressed intensity, and for some reason the corridor seemed colder in the middle of the day.

Once they'd recovered from their laughter, Mikage spoke. "Hashimoto, here's your pledge of allegiance. Spread this around as widely as possible. Don't let anyone find out you did it. In return, you can play both sides if you like. As long as your classmates don't find out, you can even betray me. But you only get one chance."

Once the video was sent out, Ryuen Kakeru would likely suffer social death. By letting Hashimoto handle it, Mikage was asking him to use the video to thoroughly antagonize Ryuen. If he refused or messed it up, that would mean either his attitude or his ability was lacking. Either way, his value in Mikage's eyes would drop considerably.

Hashimoto stopped laughing and retied his ponytail, which had come loose in his fit of laughter. "Understood."

"I'll help, too. And..." Kito Hayato stepped forward, his eyes fixed on Hashimoto like a wolf's. "I'll keep a close eye on you."

"Sure, sure!" Hashimoto raised both hands in surrender. "I told you, that's only the most extreme possibility. At least for now, I can't think of any reason to betray you."

"Mikage, you really did get your hands on something that can kill with one hit. With this, there's no way Ryuen Kakeru can unite Class C anytime soon." Hashimoto looked at the video on his phone and couldn't help laughing again.

"I'll leave it to you."

Mikage had said everything he needed to in one go. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, unwilling to say another word.

Using Detection and Psychokinesis at the same time was still too much. In just a few seconds, Mikage Touji's mind had been completely drained.

Detection alone was manageable. It only extended his awareness outward, and as long as he kept the range small, he could now maintain it for more than ten minutes. But psychokinesis took far too much energy, creating force out of nothing.

Still, this was proof that Mikage Touji's training had been effective. At first, he'd barely been able to make a petal by the roadside move.

"Hey, Mikage, are you sure you're okay? I'd hate to join your faction only for my lord to immediately keel over." Seeing Mikage's face grow paler as his weight gradually slumped against the two of them, Hashimoto panicked.

"Let's take him to the infirmary."

Kito Hayato made the decision at once, swung Mikage over his shoulder, and ran down the corridor in long strides.

"There's no need to make such a big deal out of it. I'm just a little drained."

Feeling himself lifted into the air and bouncing along, Mikage reluctantly opened his eyes.

Unfortunately, neither of them listened to his explanation. He didn't have the strength to struggle free, so he could only watch as they ran toward the infirmary with him.

In no time, the two of them had covered the distance from the classroom to the infirmary.

"Teacher! He doesn't look well!" Kito Hayato's deep voice reached the infirmary before they did.