"Ha... When the class's jinx says that about me, even I start to feel sorry for myself."
As soon as I finished speaking, the air in the classroom froze. After all, I was usually quiet, so it was only natural that everyone would be shocked to hear me make such a cutting remark with Sudo right there. Plenty of people talked behind his back, but everyone feared his short temper and only dared to gossip when he wasn't around.
In the frozen silence, Sudo's face twisted with rage.
"What'd you say? Say it again, if you've got the guts, bastard!"
"Huh? You can't hear me from this close? Guess it's not just your brains, manners, and face that are defective—your ears are bad, too. You're a lost cause."
Normally, I'd never say something like that, but once I heard someone mocking Hiyori, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. It had been the same when I made that deal with Ryuen. Whenever Hiyori was involved, I tended to lose my head.
"You bastard... Don't get so full of yourself!"
Sudo kicked a desk aside and flew into a rage, but I didn't care. Today, I was going to crush him completely.
"I'm not full of myself. I'm just stating facts."
"What?! What did you say?!"
"What's there to get mad about? Since April, you've been late every day, chatting in class, and picking fights with upperclassmen from other classes. You're not the only one who's cost our class points, but you're the biggest burden. And now, because of you, our class points are going to be wiped out again. What else would you call a jinx?"
If Sudo hadn't enrolled, we probably would've still had close to a hundred Class Points on May 1.
"Fine! I'll rip that filthy mouth right off your face!"
"That's enough! Both of you, calm down!"
Hirata, our class leader, tried to intervene. I felt a little bad for him, but I'd decided to crush Sudo, and I wasn't going to back down.
"I'm perfectly calm. The one who's not calm is that jinx over there. Hey, jinx, you're only making trouble for the class by staying alive. Why not just drop out?"
"Hikigaya, this isn't the time for infighting! Stop it!"
"Rejected. Hey, jinx, after you drop out, remember to go kill yourself quietly in Aokigahara Forest. Then everyone will be happy. How about it?"
I grinned at him and flipped him the bird. Sudo was bound to lose it now. If he laid a hand on me, I'd win.
Just as I thought that...
"You're dead, you son of a—!!"
Just as I'd expected, Sudo charged at me with his fist raised.
(That's right. Hit me. If you do, you'll be expelled.)
After the fight with Class C, Sudo was already at risk of a long suspension. If he hit someone again, he'd definitely be expelled. That meant I'd win.
I'd take a beating, but if it meant getting rid of the jinx in front of me, it was a price I was willing to pay.
Just as I steeled myself to get punched...
"Stop!"
"Gah!"
Horikita suddenly grabbed Sudo's wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, pinning him down. What a busybody...
"If you start a fight when you're already at risk of suspension, you'll be expelled outright. Besides, someone's waiting outside the classroom to catch you in the act."
I looked in the direction Horikita indicated...
"Oh, you caught me? It would've been hilarious if Hikigaya had gotten punched just now."
Hashimoto was grinning as he aimed his phone camera at us. I hadn't planned on having someone film Sudo, so it seemed Hashimoto had just happened to catch him about to hit me.
"Hashimoto? Did you need something?"
"Yeah. I heard the arcade got a few new machines, so I came to ask you to go play. Then I saw you provoking Sudo, so I figured I'd film it while I was at it. Too bad someone butted in."
"You bastard, what did you say?!"
Sudo was about to explode, but Horikita still had a firm grip on his wrist. Watching Sudo struggle, Horikita turned to Hashimoto and asked:
"You deliberately chose this moment to help get Sudo expelled... Are you from Class C?"
"No, I'm from Class A. Like I said, I came to invite Hikigaya to the arcade. I just happened to see Sudo about to hit someone, so I figured I'd collect some data."
"Data?"
At Horikita's questioning look, Hashimoto nodded.
"Yeah, data on what kind of punishment they give you after you're expelled. Sudo's my guinea pig."
The classroom plunged into another deep freeze. This guy really was cut from the same cloth as Sakanayanagi.
"I'm your guinea pig?! What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Exactly. Guinea pigs have way more brains than you. Calling a jinx like you a guinea pig is an insult to rodents everywhere."
"You son of a—?!"
"Hikigaya! Stop it!"
Hirata raised his voice, but honestly, I really did think hamsters were smarter than Sudo.
Still, since Horikita had Sudo pinned down, there was no way I could provoke him into getting expelled. I'd better give up.
"Okay, okay, I get it. Hashimoto, lead the way to the arcade. I need to blow off some steam."
I was still furious about Hiyori being insulted, so I really did need to unwind with a game.
"Sure thing. Let's go!"
"You think you can just run away, bastard?!"
Sudo was still shouting. Did he really not understand that causing trouble now was like digging his own grave? Hamsters really were smarter than him.
"You're the one who should go home, jinx. Seriously, everyone would be better off if you dropped out."
After tossing out that last remark, I ignored the roars behind me and walked out of the classroom.
"Damn... I'm so pissed off."
"I get how you feel, but what was that about today? I never thought you'd go out of your way to start trouble."
"Well, I think I get what Hashimoto meant. I'm famous, but I never went out of my way to get famous. It just happened naturally... Hiyori was insulted."
"I see. In that case, it couldn't be helped."
"Yeah. It really couldn't."
We walked down the hallway, nodding to each other. It really looked like we'd have to get Sudo expelled. That would let me vent my anger and eliminate the threat of losing Class Points. I figured plenty of people in the class agreed with me in private.
"You really are furious. In that case..."
Hashimoto abruptly shoved his device's screen in front of me—
"Be~come delicious. Moe~moe~heart-throb?"
"Pfft!"
He showed me that video. Oh no! In a situation like this, I almost burst out laughing...!
"Huh? What's wrong, Hikigaya? You were just laughing. Why'd your face suddenly turn pale?"
Hashimoto asked, looking confused. It seemed he hadn't noticed yet...
"...Behind you."
"Hm? What do you mean, behind me... Whoa?!"
The moment Hashimoto turned around, he saw Kamuro standing behind him, her face bright red and her brow twitching. At the same time, I realized that my irritation had turned to fear in an instant.
So...
"Run, Hikigaya!"
"Right!"
We took off at full speed.
"Staaand riiight theeeere!"
The murderous fury behind us was unmistakable, but we didn't dare look back. We'd be dead if we did.
"Damn it! That bastard!"
After Hachiman left the classroom, Sudo finally broke free from Horikita and kicked the classroom wall to vent his anger. Most of the class looked at him coldly.
In fact, some stayed silent while others privately agreed with Hachiman. Everyone knew they'd all been responsible for what happened before May 1 and understood they'd caused trouble for the class, but Sudo really was the biggest drag on them now. He was still often late, and he was the only one in class who got into fights with students from other classes.
"Then keep your mouth shut, weakling!"
No one wanted to become Sudo's next target, so they stayed quiet.
But, unexpectedly, the next blade came from an unexpected direction.
"Just as Hikigaya boy said, wouldn't it be better if you dropped out? Your existence has no beauty whatsoever. In fact, you could even call it ugly. When I heard the name 'jinx,' I couldn't help but nod in agreement, Red-Hair."
Koenji, the class oddball, murmured as he toyed with his hand mirror. Sudo immediately glared at him, having found a new target for his anger.
"Huh? Got something to say, trash?"
"Repeating the same words is so dull. It seems it's not just your brains, face, and manners that are defective. Your ears are bad, too."
Koenji adjusted his hair while looking in the mirror, continuing with a Hachiman-style remark without even glancing at Sudo. With two people insulting him, Sudo finally reached his breaking point.
With a bang, Sudo kicked an empty desk in the aisle and advanced on Koenji.
The other students wanted to leave, but they didn't dare make a move in case they provoked Sudo.
"That's enough, you two."
Just then, Hirata, the class leader, stepped in to stop them.
"Sudo, you'll be punished if you start a fight here. Koenji, please stop provoking him, too."
"I was born without knowing the meaning of 'mistake.' That's merely your misconception."
"Fine by me! I'll beat you until you're begging on your knees!"
"E-enough already! I hate it when friends fight!"
This time, Kushida joined in to mediate. Koenji only scoffed and sauntered out of the classroom.
"Damn it! What a joke!"
After Hachiman, Koenji had slipped away before Sudo could retaliate. With nowhere else to vent his anger, Sudo kicked Hachiman's desk.
But there was nothing in Hachiman's desk, and aside from knocking it over, Sudo didn't do any real damage.
"I'm not letting you get away with it this time..."
"Damn it. I'm going to kill Hashimoto next time I see him..."
In a blind spot behind the dormitory, where there were no cameras, Kamuro had me cornered. Hashimoto, who was incredibly athletic, had abandoned me long ago. That guy was as good as dead.
Just as I thought that, Kamuro suddenly closed the distance between us—
"If you ever joke about that again...!"
Smack!
A loud slap landed on my face. That hurt...
The unexpected pain made me stumble and fall, but what happened next was even more unexpected.
"Huh? Wait..."
My foot accidentally caught on Kamuro's, making her fall on top of me—
Smooch.
Something soft touched my cheek. Wait, could that have been...?
When I looked up, Kamuro was bright red and covering her mouth...
"..."
She quickly got up and hurried away. I watched her disappear from view, then let out a long sigh.
She hadn't been seen by Sakanayanagi, had she?
"Oh my, oh my... What an interesting sight I've just seen."
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