Ryuen's Methods

In the dead of night, Ayanokoji followed the sounds into a dark alley.

Before long, a pair of dull, lifeless eyes peeked out from beside a wall at the corner. There wasn't a trace of the excitement a snoop ought to feel.

In the direction he was looking, a purple-haired young man had pinned an ordinary-looking boy against the wall. Except he wasn't pressing the boy against a wall, but against his shoulder. The boy's face bore a few bruises, though they weren't very noticeable, hidden beneath or along the edges of his hair.

Compared to the boy pinned against him, the purple-haired young man was undeniably well-built. But beside the dark-skinned, burly man silently standing behind him, he looked like a newborn calf.

Ayanokoji leaned forward a little farther, hoping to make out what they were saying.

"Hey, Kaneda."

"I remember telling you to use your points sparingly, right?"

"..." The black-haired boy couldn't find the words.

"Your silence means I did tell you. I'll give you a chance. Tell me why you went against me."

"If your reason has any merit I can accept, then I'll consider... going a little easier on you."

?

Bullying. This was absolutely bullying!

"I..." The black-haired boy began to speak with a tremble, but whether from fear or something else, his voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Ayanokoji couldn't make out a thing. Curiosity drove him a little closer.

Why not just walk over and watch openly?

Because that would probably affect what the people involved did next. He wanted to observe a little longer before deciding what to do.

It definitely wasn't because this was more thrilling!

"That's enough, Ryuen!"

"Don't go too far!"

Ayanokoji's brow twitched. Only then did he notice a girl standing beside the burly man. She was so small, and so thoroughly blocked by the dark-skinned man, who was as big as a mountain, that Ayanokoji hadn't noticed her at first.

"Oh? Ibuki, do you want to take his punishment for him?"

"Don't forget the pain just because the wound has healed!"

The purple-haired young man's eyes were sharp, his authority brooking not the slightest disrespect.

The dark-skinned man behind him was like a general, guarding the authority he had established.

Under Ryuen's glare, the girl didn't dare say anything more. She only clenched her teeth in anger, her small fists balled tight.

Ayanokoji noticed a few scars on the girl's face, too. It seemed she'd been through the same thing, and the fact that she was standing here suggested she'd already submitted to Ryuen.

Boring. Much more boring than he'd expected.

He'd thought he'd see something like a clash of titans. Instead, all he'd witnessed was one person bullying someone weaker, with help from his lackeys.

Ayanokoji sighed softly, regretting his decision to come watch the show. The drink in his hand was going to get warm.

Just as he was about to turn around and head back, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder from behind.

Ayanokoji's eyes widened for an instant. His body reacted as if by reflex: he grabbed the hand, lowered his shoulder, and threw its owner in a smooth shoulder throw, sending the dirty old hand's owner tumbling right in front of him.

Thud!

"Ow, what the—!"

Ishizaki hadn't even had time to warm the ground beneath him before he was thrown down in one swift move, letting out a miserable scream.

The loud crash drew the attention of the few people in the shadows.

"Hey, Ishizaki, what the hell are you doing?"

Ryuen said, looking displeased.

"Bro Ryuen, there's... there's someone spying!"

Clutching his backside, Ishizaki pointed at the boy standing in front of him. The pain made it hard for him to speak.

Ryuen scoffed and lifted his head disdainfully. At the boundary between light and shadow stood a boy with a blank expression and unfocused eyes, looking utterly dull-witted.

He glanced down at Ishizaki, and his expression turned thoroughly contemptuous.

Seeing this, Ibuki finally couldn't hold back and charged forward.

She'd been looking for some poor sap to take her anger out on for ages. Ryuen had just left her fuming, and she'd been itching to let off steam!

Ayanokoji was still mulling over his exaggerated reflexes in response to the sudden situation. When he looked up, he saw the short-haired girl rushing toward him.

Only now did he realize she wasn't actually all that frail. She merely looked small beside the dark-skinned man.

Her build was well-proportioned, with some muscle on her arms and calves. It was clear she exercised regularly, and her attack showed she knew what she was doing.

Maybe she was trained in martial arts!

Ayanokoji was still admiring her when the short-haired girl closed in. She wound up a whip kick from behind, then spun around 180 degrees. It was about to hit Ayanokoji in the kidneys when some unseen force pulled her back just before her foot made contact.

A large hand reached out from behind her and wrapped around her waist, pulling her back a step.

Ayanokoji narrowed his eyes. It seemed Ryuen wasn't all brawn and no brains.

Ibuki struggled a short distance in front of him, shouting at the dark-skinned man behind her to let go.

"Idiot! Look at where he's standing!"

Ryuen finally lost his temper. Veins showed on his forehead as he shouted, "Are you trying to be the first person kicked out of this school?"

Ibuki froze and looked toward the boy. Only then did she realize he'd somehow positioned himself within the surveillance cameras' range.

Damn it, she'd almost fallen for the trick!

Now that she'd calmed down, Ibuki Mio felt a chill run through her. She'd almost gotten herself expelled.

Ayanokoji, standing in the distance, pursed his lips and looked a little regretful.

Looking at the drink in his hand, now warm from being held, he didn't want to stay another moment. He shook his head slightly to show he didn't want to get involved, then turned to leave.

But Ryuen's voice rang out behind him again:

"Hey, what class are you in? You look like a first-year, too."

Ayanokoji sighed. He didn't want to answer Ryuen.

He raised a finger behind him, then walked away without looking back.

"Bro Ryuen, shouldn't we keep him here and shut him up?"

"Do you think that's necessary?"

"An accusation without evidence is slander."

Ryuen said coolly.

On the first day of school, he'd walked all over campus, looking for places without surveillance cameras or corners the cameras missed. He'd done it to make it easier to enforce his violent rule and make everyone submit to him, obey him, and follow his decisions.

He didn't know whether the school's promise of a hundred percent employment rate was true. He didn't know why someone like him had been selected for admission, either. But now that he was here, he had only one conviction:

He would defeat everyone in his way and graduate as one of the school's elite.

And, while he was at it...

If he could, he'd make sure his foolish followers could benefit from that hundred percent employment rate, too.

To achieve his goal, Ryuen would stop at nothing to climb to the top.

Come to think of it, though, what exactly had that poker-faced boy meant by that gesture?

One corresponded to the letter A. Could he be from Class A?

Before he'd even begun his grand plans, Ryuen Kakeru had already run into his first mystery.