Defecting from Class D

"Ha... to be called a plague by someone in my own class, even I feel sorry for myself now."

The moment I finished that sentence, the air in the classroom froze instantly. It was only natural for everyone to be shocked; I was usually taciturn, yet I had suddenly spewed such biting words while Sudo was standing right there. Although many people talked behind Sudo's back, they all feared his explosive temper and only dared to gossip when he wasn't around.

Amidst the frozen air, a look of pure rage surfaced on Sudo's face.

"What did you say? Say that again if you've got the guts, you bastard!"

"Huh? You can't hear me from this distance? It seems you have problems not just with your brain, your character, and your face, but with your ears too. You really are a lost cause."

If it were the usual me, I would never say such things, but hearing someone mock Hiyori made it impossible to keep my mouth shut. It was the same when I signed the agreement with Ryuen; whenever Hiyori was involved, I tended to lose my cool.

"You bastard... don't get too cocky!"

Sudo kicked his desk away and flew into a rage, but I didn't care at all. Today was the day I would completely break him.

"I'm not being cocky, I'm just stating facts."

"Ah?! What did you say?!"

"What's there to be angry about? You've been late every day since April, chatting during class, and getting into conflicts with upperclassmen from other classes. While you aren't the only one causing point deductions for the class, you are the biggest burden. And now, because of you, our class points are about to hit zero again. If I don't call you a plague, what else should I call you?"

If Sudo hadn't enrolled, our class points should have remained at nearly 100 by May 1st.

"Fine, let's see if I don't tear that stinking mouth of yours apart!"

"That's enough! Both of you, calm down!"

Hirata, acting as the class representative, tried to mediate. I felt a bit sorry for Hirata, but since I had decided to break Sudo, I had no intention of stopping.

"I'm very calm right now. The one who isn't calm is that plague over there. By the way, plague, your existence only brings trouble to the class; why don't you just drop out?"

"Hikigaya-kun, this is not the time for internal conflict, stop it!"

"Request denied. Oh, and plague, remember to go to Aokigahara Forest for a quiet suicide after you drop out. That way everyone will be happy, how about it?"

I gave him the middle finger with a full smile on my face. Sudo was definitely going to explode now; as long as he made the first move, I would win.

Just as I was thinking that...

"You're fucking dead------!!"

As expected, Sudo swung his fist and charged at me.

(Yes, hit me. As long as you make a move, you'll be expelled.)

Having already faced potential long-term suspension from the previous conflict with Class C, Sudo would surely be expelled immediately if he hit someone again. That would mean I win.

Although I would suffer a bit, I was willing to pay that price if it meant getting rid of the plague in front of me.

Just as I prepared myself to take the hit...

"Stop!"

"Ugh!"

Horikita suddenly grabbed Sudo's wrist and twisted it, pinning him down. This meddlesome person...

"You'll be expelled immediately if you resort to violence while already facing potential suspension. Besides, there are people outside the classroom waiting to capture evidence."

I looked in the direction Horikita was pointing...

"Oh, discovered? It would have been interesting if Hikigaya had been beaten just now."

Hashimoto was grinning, pointing his phone camera toward us. I hadn't intended to use someone else's surveillance, but it seemed Hashimoto just happened to run into Sudo about to hit me.

"Hashimoto? Do you need something?"

"Yeah, I heard the arcade got some new machines, so I wanted to invite you to play. I just happened to see you provoking Sudo, so I helped record it while I was at it. A shame it got interrupted."

"What did you say, you bastard!"

Sudo was about to lash out, but Horikita kept a firm grip on his wrist. Watching Sudo struggle, Horikita turned to ask Hashimoto:

"Choosing this specific moment to help get Sudo expelled... are you from Class C?"

"No, I'm from Class A. Like I said, I was just here to invite Hikigaya to the arcade, and since I saw Sudo about to hit someone, I just collected some data along the way."

"Collected data?"

Facing Horikita's questioning, Hashimoto nodded and said:

"Yeah, data on what kind of punishment is dealt after an expulsion. Sudo is just my lab rat."

The classroom plunged into freezing temperatures again. This guy really was cut from the same cloth as Sakanayanagi.

"I'm a lab rat?! Are you kidding me!"

"He's right. Lab rats have more brains than you; calling a plague like you a lab rat is an insult to rodents."

"You fucking----?!"

"Hikigaya-kun! Stop it!"

Hirata raised his voice, but honestly, I really felt that hamsters were smarter than Sudo.

However, since Horikita was holding Sudo down, it was impossible to goad him into expulsion, so I might as well give up.

"Fine, fine, I get it. Hashimoto, lead the way to the arcade; I need to vent some stress."

In truth, the anger from Hiyori being humiliated had not yet faded, and I truly needed to play some games to blow off steam.

"Alright, let's go!"

"You trying to run away, you bastard?!"

Sudo was still shouting; did this guy have any idea that causing a scene right now was digging his own grave? Honestly, even a hamster was smarter than him.

"The one who needs to go home is you, you jinx. Seriously, it would be better for everyone if you just dropped out."

Leaving those final words behind, I ignored the roar echoing from behind me and walked out of the classroom.

"Geez... I'm so pissed off."

"I understand how you feel, but what happened today? I really didn't expect you to be the one to start a fight."

"Well, I can probably understand what Hashimoto meant. Even though I'm famous, I never sought it out; it just happened naturally... Hiyori was insulted."

"I see. Then there was no other choice."

"Yeah. There really was no other choice."

We nodded to each other as we paced down the hallway. It seemed I really did need to get Sudo expelled. Both to vent my own anger and to eliminate the crisis of losing class points. There were likely quite a few people in the class who secretly agreed with my perspective.

"It seems you really are furious. In that case..."

As Hashimoto spoke, he suddenly shoved his terminal screen in front of my face—

"Be~come delicious. Moe~moe~ kyun?"

"Pfft-ha!"

He was actually showing me that video. Oh, no, this is bad! In a situation like this, I almost...!

"? What's wrong, Hikigaya? You were just laughing, why did your face suddenly turn pale?"

Hashimoto asked with a look of pure confusion. It seemed he hadn't noticed yet...

"...Behind you."

"Hm? Behind me, you mean... Whoa?!"

The moment Hashimoto turned around, he saw Kamuro standing behind him, her face flushed red with veins popping out on her forehead. At the same time, I immediately realized that my irritation from a moment ago had instantly transformed into pure terror.

And so...

"Run, Hikigaya!"

"Oh!"

We started sprinting at full speed.

"STAY—RIGHT—THERE!"

A murderous, angry aura came from behind us, but we didn't dare look back. If we looked back, we would definitely meet a miserable end.

"Damn it! That bastard!"

After Hachiman left the classroom, Sudo, having just broken free from Horikita, kicked the classroom wall to vent his frustration. Most of his classmates cast cold, indifferent gazes toward him.

In reality, they were either keeping silent or agreeing with Hachiman's point of view in their hearts. Although everyone bore responsibility for what happened before May 1st and understood that they had caused trouble for the class, Sudo was indeed the biggest dead weight right now. After all, he was still frequently late, and he was the only one in the class who kept getting into conflicts with other classes.

"Stop spouting nonsense, you weakling!"

Though no one wanted to become the target of Sudo's venting, so they remained silent.

But unexpectedly, the sharp blade came from an unforeseen direction.

"As Hikigaya-boy said, wouldn't it be better if you dropped out? Your existence has no aesthetic value; one could even call it ugly. When I heard the term 'jinx,' I couldn't help but nod in agreement, Red-Hair."

Koenji, the class outlier, whispered this while toying with a hand mirror. Sudo, having found a target for his rage, immediately glared at him.

"Huh? Say that again if you dare, you piece of trash!"

"Repeating the same thing is so tedious. It seems that not only are your brain, face, and conduct problematic, but your ears are useless as well."

Koenji continued to spout Hachiman-style remarks while fixing his hair in the mirror, not even bothering to look at Sudo. Doubly rejected, Sudo finally reached his breaking point.

With a loud "bang," Sudo kicked an empty desk in the aisle and closed in on Koenji.

Although the students all wanted to leave, they were too afraid to move, fearing they might provoke Sudo further.

"That's enough, you two."

At this moment, the class leader, Hirata, stepped in to intervene.

"Sudo-kun, you'll be punished if you start a fight here. Koenji, please stop saying provocative things as well."

"I was born not knowing what a 'mistake' is; that is merely your own misconception."

"Just what I wanted! I'll beat you until you're on your knees begging for mercy!"

"S-stop it already! I hate it when friends fight!"

This time, even Kushida joined in the mediation. Koenji, however, let out a scoff and swaggered out of the classroom.

"Damn it! What the hell is this!"

Following Hachiman, Koenji also slipped away before he could be retaliated against, leaving Sudo with nowhere to vent his anger but to kick Hachiman's desk violently.

However, Hachiman's desk was completely empty, so aside from the desk being overturned, no real damage was done.

"I won't let you get away with this next time..."

"Damn it, if that guy Hashimoto thinks I'm going to let him off after this..."

In a blind spot behind the dormitory with no surveillance cameras, I was cornered by Kamuro. Hashimoto, with his superior athletic ability, had long since abandoned me. That guy has to die.

Just as I was thinking that, Kamuro suddenly closed the distance—

"If you make a joke about that meme again, I'll...!"

Smack!

A loud slap landed on my face. It hurt...

The unexpected pain made me stumble to the ground, but it triggered an even more unexpected turn of events.

"Huh? Wait..."

My foot accidentally tripped Kamuro, causing her to fall down with me—

Smooch.

A soft sensation touched my cheek. Hey, this isn't what I think it is, right?

Looking up, I saw Kamuro covering her mouth, her face bright red...

"..."

She quickly stood up and hurried away. After watching her disappear from my field of vision, I let out a long sigh.

That scene just now... I hope Sakanayanagi didn't see it, right?

"Oh my, oh my... I really did see something interesting."