A Wild Flurry of Punches Brings Down the Old Master

Damn it! He must have used some despicable trick to mess with my head! I'm absolutely loyal to Katsuragi!

"Why's Mikage here? Want some snacks?" Katsuragi Kōhei greeted Mikage Touji warmly, picking up some snacks from the table and offering them to him.

"Katsuragi, I'm here to criticize you."

Mikage Touji straightened his face, clasped his hands behind his back, and slowly paced beside Katsuragi Kōhei, like a middle-aged official in a Zhongshan suit lecturing a young man who'd made a mistake.

"Everyone in class is having a wonderful time. As our class leader, how can you sit here with such a serious expression? It'll make everyone feel too self-conscious to sing their hearts out. You need to set an example and take the lead, fully exercise your initiative, and strengthen the class's unity. That's how we'll maintain stability in the increasingly fierce class competition ahead."

"But..."

A bead of cold sweat slid down Katsuragi Kōhei's forehead as he tried to explain. "Actually, I've never tried singing at karaoke before. I'm not very confident in my voice."

"How do you know you can't do it if you've never tried? Ichinose told me she hardly ever went to karaoke before, but now she's completely at ease with it, isn't she?"

Faced with Mikage Touji's Ichinose-based persuasion, Katsuragi Kōhei looked more flustered than ever and waved his hands frantically. "I think I'll pass. I—"

"No need to explain. The road of life lies at your feet. How can you give up the stars above just because you fear what lies in the distance? Go, Katsuragi! We're with you!"

Mikage Touji spoke with stirring passion, then picked up the microphone and called out emotionally to everyone:

"Classmates! Let's welcome Katsuragi Kōhei to sing a song for us!"

The room fell silent in an instant. Everyone turned to look at Katsuragi Kōhei, then burst into enthusiastic applause.

"Katsuragi! Katsuragi! Katsuragi!"

Totsuka Yahiko and Mikage Touji once again formed a united front, waving their arms and cheering wildly for him.

Their enthusiasm quickly spread through the crowd.

"Katsuragi! Katsuragi! Katsuragi!"

As Katsuragi Kōhei watched the Class A students closing in around him, he tried to shut his mouth, which had fallen open. His throat bobbed a few times as his brain went blank. The gleaming baldness of his head slowly turned red, until it was practically glowing.

"Can you hear them? That's the voice of your classmates. Come on, let's step into the unknown together and find new sights."

Without giving him a chance to refuse, Mikage Touji shoved the microphone into Katsuragi Kōhei's hands and pushed him toward the giant screen in the middle of the karaoke room. Katsuragi stumbled twice before finding himself in the center of everyone's view.

As for Mikage Touji, he turned and left the noisy scene behind him. He had come quietly, and he left quietly, without leaving a cloud behind...

Katsuragi Kōhei came back to his senses. He looked at the microphone in his hands, then glanced left and right. He was all alone on the stage, surrounded by his Class A classmates.

We... Where had the "we" gone?

He frantically scanned every corner of the room, trying to find the culprit who'd pushed him up there—Mikage Touji—so he could call him up to keep him company.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Mikage Touji's retreating back in the distance. He was just about to call out, "Mi—"

"Katsuragi, I've already picked a song for you. 'The Only Flower in the World' is perfect for you. Come on, show the whole class what you can do!"

Totsuka Yahiko rushed over excitedly and pushed down Katsuragi Kōhei's hand, which was still raised in midair.

"..."

Katsuragi Kōhei stared blankly at the excited Totsuka Yahiko, then suddenly said solemnly, "Yahiko, let's sing it together."

"Huh?"

A moment later, amid the whole class's laughter, two halting, bashful voices rang out in the middle of the karaoke room.

After ending one battlefield, Mikage Touji strode off proudly toward another without pause. A new storm had appeared—how could he stop moving forward?

In the game area, the class heartthrob Satonaka Satoshi was playing a board game with a group of girls, including Nakajima and Hoashi. A few friends who often played with them were there, too.

Damn it! He was so popular with girls!

Elbow! Let's burn him!

After a mere 0.01 seconds of hesitation, envy solidified Mikage Touji's resolve. He would bring some justice to this world that celebrated youth!

Once his mind was made up, Mikage Touji launched a Don Quixote-style charge at the class's biggest social butterfly.

They'd just finished a round of Werewolf, and Mikage Touji made his grand entrance. "Count me in. I'm not very good at this!"

"Eh, Mikage, you want to play with us? Sure!"

The social butterflies welcomed Mikage Touji and even brought him drinks and snacks.

Mikage Touji gulped down half a bottle of orange juice, making it clear that he would never give in.

The game soon began, with everyone taking a seat around the table.

On the first day, Mikage Touji didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately claimed to be the Seer and started bending the truth.

"I'm calling it: Sato's a werewolf. I saw it with my own eyes!"

Huh? Me?

Satonaka Satoshi sneakily checked his card to make sure he really was the Seer and not a werewolf. He'd investigated Mikage Touji last night, and the result was that Mikage was a werewolf—but that guy was the Hunter?

Since Mikage Touji was so trusted by their classmates (and his influence was just too great), Satonaka Satoshi couldn't get a word in edgewise. His claim that Mikage Touji was the Hunter was far too ridiculous, and in the end he died unjustly.

A villager died during the night. On the second day, Mikage Touji kept steering the conversation, using the power of "I just have a feeling" and supplementing it with shifty eyes and incoherent explanations. He successfully got a werewolf eliminated.

On the second night, the Witch went all out and took a werewolf down with her.

How dare she steal his kill?

Was he supposed to just put up with that? Mikage Touji promptly bent the truth again.

The Witch clutched two iron bars and protested her innocence as loudly as she could, but she still couldn't stand up to Mikage Touji's righteous demeanor. She was voted out.

This time, everyone noticed that something seemed a little off. Their gazes toward Mikage Touji turned strange.

On the third night, the werewolves struck again and took out another villager.

During the day, everyone stared gloomily at Mikage Touji.

Stare~

"What're you looking at me for? I'm an honest villager! Trust me, I'll lead you to victory," Mikage Touji said, his expression unchanged.

Unfortunately, truth was always in the hands of a minority. Faced with the overwhelming will of the people, Mikage Touji stood firm and refused to yield, but was ultimately voted out with honor.

The young warrior fell at the final moment before dawn. Mikage Touji used Heaven and Earth Longevity to take the last werewolf down with him.

"Phew—"

After winning the game for his side, Mikage Touji wiped sweat from the top of his head, though there was none there. "That was a truly exhilarating battle."

"Only for you, maybe!"

The other classmates, still completely bewildered, all called out in unison.

Having finished his final campaign, the aged Mikage Touji set off on the road back to his hometown.

When he was young, he'd vowed to travel the world with a sword. He'd taken the finest sword in the village, said farewell to the village chief, and set out into the martial world.

Now he'd made a name for himself and earned a reputation far and wide. It was time to hang up his sword and retire from the martial world.

Following the scent of rice in his memories, crossing the field ridges and passing the haystacks, Mikage Touji returned to that little village. His old friends were still there.

"I'm back from my wild adventures."

Morishita Ran looked at Mikage Touji, whose hands were empty.

"Where's the stuff?"

Mikage Touji fell into a long silence.

"I forgot..."

Wild Punches Beat the Master

As five o'clock in the afternoon approached, the dazzling laser lights in the karaoke room went out, leaving only a few dim wall lamps on the ceiling to cast a meager glow over the empty booth area. There were only a few students left.

An hour earlier, Katsuragi Kōhei had announced that they were breaking up. Most of the Class A students had gone home, leaving only a few people with nothing else to do hanging around.

Yes, the people with nothing else to do were Mikage Touji and the others.

Morishita Ran, who'd been sitting in her seat not long ago, had now dragged Yamamura Miki over to the big screen. She was eagerly swiping through the song selection screen, humming an off-key tune as she went. It looked like she was about to play a song she liked.

Kamuro Masumi stared at the microphone on the table, her expression uncertain. Perhaps she still wanted to see if there was any hope for her tone-deafness.

With nothing to do, Mikage Touji sank into the soft sofa and fiddled with his phone.

After two days of targeted bombardment from Cha Cha, Mikage Touji had noticed that some of the things she sent seemed a little off.

What did she mean, Horikita's a bitch, and she actually told me to drag those pigs from our class to extra lessons? Go die already!

What did she mean, Sakayanagi Arisu is a pretentious brat, and she actually ordered me to run errands for her? If her legs are broken, can't she run herself?

What did she mean, Hirata Yousuke is a damn goody-goody who plays peacemaker in class every day, so I can't even isolate them like I want to?

Cha Cha, what exactly do you take me for?

Just because I'd chatted with you a little here and there over the past two days without exposing you, you thought you could get more and more brazen?

The most unbelievable part was that some of the messages even contained information about Class D. Mikage Touji had no choice but to patiently read through Kushida Kikyou's stream of insults.

Could this have been part of your plan all along?

Still, he couldn't let her get away with acting so cocky. He had to take her down a peg.

[ Jiji Fu Jiji: ? ]

Three seconds later...

[ Everyone Is Good Friends: Did you hit your head when you came downstairs? ]

[ Everyone Is Good Friends: Question mark? Question mark? What's that supposed to mean? Or has your brain regressed to that of an ape, so you can't even type words anymore? ]

[ Everyone Is Good Friends: Judging by how slowly you type, you must've spent too much time doing that stuff in some dark room. Anyway, the disciplinary committee's here. Come upstairs and face your death! ]

Mm... She'd arrived on the battlefield at lightning speed, as always.

[ Jiji Fu Jiji: I don't mind us insulting each other, but why are you dumping your garbage on me? ]

[ Everyone Is Good Friends: Huh? Aren't you garbage? Isn't it only natural for garbage to stick together? ]

[ Jiji Fu Jiji: Aren't you worried I'll delete you? You might never be able to find me again. ]

The other side seemed to fall silent for a moment before a new message appeared on the phone screen.

[ Everyone Is Good Friends: Aww~ I was only joking with you... You wouldn't really delete me, would you? Pouty.jpg ]

That speed of switching faces, like a Sichuan opera performer...

That lightning-fast change in her tone from one message to the next...

No wonder Kushida Kikyou, who claimed she wanted to be friends with everyone in the whole grade, had mastered the art of telling people what they wanted to hear.

Still, Mikage Touji thought it was kind of fun how her personality could switch forms like an Ultra—Ultra. He decided to tease her some more and see if he could bring out her Inner Kushida side again.

[ Jiji Fu Jiji: Don't say things like that. Show me some sincerity. ]

"Hehe~"

A gentle laugh, accompanied by the faint, pleasant scent of shampoo, came from beside his ear. Her breath brushed his earlobe, making it tingle.

When he turned, he saw that Shiraishi Asuka, who'd gone to the bathroom, had somehow returned without a sound and was sitting beside him.

Shiraishi Asuka elegantly held down her skirt as she sat shoulder to shoulder with Mikage Touji. The soft sofa sank slightly beneath them, and their arms nearly touched, warmth passing between them.

Leaning toward the phone screen, her golden hair fell forward and brushed the back of Mikage Touji's hand. Shiraishi Asuka asked curiously, "Is this... Kushida from Class D?"

"Does Shiraishi-san think something's off about her too?"

Mikage Touji hadn't minded Shiraishi Asuka reading the chat. He was just a little surprised she'd figured out the other person might be Kushida Kikyou from the messages alone.

"Because the information says that some of the students in Class D are defective products. She added Ryoko and me as friends before, and her behavior seemed a little deliberate."

Shiraishi Asuka pointed at the screen and added with a smile, "And from these messages, it looks like she's pretty popular in her class."

"As expected of you, Shiraishi-san," Mikage Touji said sincerely.

"Are you interested in her, Mikage?"

"I wouldn't say I'm interested. She's just kind of fun."

Mikage Touji shrugged and held the phone closer to Shiraishi Asuka so she wouldn't have to bend over to see it.

The next second, the phone vibrated.

A photo arrived on Mikage Touji's phone, and he instantly froze. He'd just been about to show Shiraishi Asuka Cha Cha's outrageous antics.