Ryuen's Revenge on Kujo

Ever since the rooftop incident, Ryuen had gone several days without making any major moves.

After saying goodbye to Hiyori, Kujo felt relieved, but also a little regretful.

It was a strange feeling.

To get rid of that nagging feeling, Kujo decided to go bully Ryuen.

After all, in the original story, Ryuen had fallen apart after Ayanokoji defeated him and willingly given up his position as Class C's leader.

If he lost the will to fight now, then everything Kujo had done up to this point would be for nothing.

He didn't want to babysit Class C.

Even though Kujo now had all the wonderful things a popular guy could want,

the essence of this school was still class competition.

Ryuen was an essential main course on the table.

"So you came all the way here just to see me for some crappy reason like that?"

Ryuen stared hard into Kujo's eyes.

If looks could kill, he would have sent this lazy piece of shit straight to hell without a second thought, so he could spend his next life as the most disgusting thing imaginable.

"I just came to check whether you were planning to drop out and run away. Seeing that you're still as hard to kill as a cockroach is a relief."

Ryuen cursed under his breath and kicked at an invisible stone by his foot.

Could the Kujo standing in front of him possibly be a decent person?

He had just started dating a girl from his class.

The very next day, she called in sick and skipped class.

What kind of person did that?

"You've been hanging around with people from Class D lately. What, are they the tough opponents you were talking about?"

Kujo figured Ryuen meant Ayanokoji and Koenji.

That was right.

They were the troublesome guys from Class D Kujo had specifically mentioned to Ryuen before.

Was Ryuen planning to take them on?

If so, Kujo could only mourn for him in advance.

To spare Ryuen another defeat, Kujo offered him a friendly warning:

"Given your matchup, I'd recommend you choose Class B as your opponent, like I said before. They're all honest people."

So honest people were the ones to pick on?

Ryuen rolled his shoulders and said impatiently to Kujo:

"Why do you think I'm definitely going to go after the other classes?"

Kujo was confused.

Because you're Ryuen Kakeru?

The despicable, shameless, no-holds-barred, utterly bottomless scumbag from the original story?

Kujo assessed him with complete objectivity in his mind.

Ryuen knew Kujo had to be bad-mouthing him internally.

It was precisely because he could tell that Kujo was cut from the same cloth.

No.

As Ryuen saw it, Kujo was even more shameless than he was, and better at reading people.

Since that incident, even his underlings Ishizaki and Albert had started to see Kujo differently.

It wasn't just because they respected his strength or because his way of doing things was similar to theirs. It was also because of how he had berated Albert that day.

It was clear that Kujo understood them very well.

Just then, the instant Kujo looked ready to speak again, Ryuen seized his chance and threw a punch.

Kujo had chosen a stairwell in a camera blind spot.

Ryuen launched a sudden surprise attack.

Kujo neutralized it simply by taking one step back.

Ryuen then lifted his foot and swung a side kick, aiming to strike Kujo's lower body while he strengthened his upper-body defense.

But Kujo took another step back, foiling Ryuen's plan.

"Just how little do you trust me, you bastard?"

Kujo shrugged.

"Always? Yeah. I've never trusted you. More to the point, if you want to ambush me, you should be ready to drop out. You shouldn't challenge me in a place I chose. Got it?"

Ryuen clicked his tongue and turned to leave.

He still had class to attend.

Skipping class would cost Class Points, too.

Watching Ryuen's back, Kujo reminded him again:

"Wanting the entire class to move up is a fine goal. Just don't pick the wrong opponent."

Kujo didn't know whether Ryuen had heard him. He had only meant to kindly warn him not to provoke Class D.

But Kujo never expected that his repeated warnings would lead Ryuen to a strange misunderstanding.

Ryuen returned to the Class C classroom.

Without meaning to, he began analyzing Kujo's every word and action.

That gloomy guy was already dating Shiina.

That meant he would surely learn about Ryuen's grand plan to move the entire first year up a class.

It was only a goal, but it was impossible for anyone to remain unmoved by it.

Kujo was a troublesome opponent, but Ryuen also knew that he had information unavailable to ordinary students and an uncanny ability to see through people.

So why had Kujo repeatedly warned him not to pick the wrong opponent?

Come to think of it, Kujo didn't seem to be planning to take his position as Class C's leader.

That could only mean Kujo had even greater ambitions.

A stage bigger than Class C?

The entire first year?

Don't pick the wrong opponent?

Who were the first-years' opponents?

The second-years?

The third-years?

Ryuen kept running through scenarios in his mind.

If he were Kujo, what would he do?

Use points to plant a spy in an upper-year class? Use points...

Wait.

Ryuen had looked into the two first-year Class D students Kujo was close to.

That guy Koenji seemed to be on good terms with upper-year students.

Could he already have made a move?

The more Ryuen thought about it, the more afraid he became.

Once he started considering upper-year students as the enemy, more and more possibilities flooded his mind.

Could that guy Ayanokoji also be a piece Kujo had put in place?

Who was around Ayanokoji?

Horikita?

The surname Horikita...

This year's Student Council president was Horikita Manabu.

There were a lot of people with the same surname in Japan, so few people would assume they were siblings just because their names matched.

But when he considered how Kujo knew so many things ordinary first-years didn't, Ryuen felt sure his guess couldn't be wrong.

That guy Kujo had definitely extended his reach into the school's Student Council and the upper years.

Ryuen felt a sense of danger.

No wonder that guy Kujo didn't want to lead Class C.

That bastard had way too much ambition.

No.

He was going to get the better of Kujo.

Where was that kid Ishizaki?

You want me to go after Class B, Kujo?

You want me to go after the upper years?

Fine. I'll give you what you want.

After school.

Outside the Class B classroom.

Ishizaki from Class C straightened his sleeves. He was about to round up some people from Class B to discuss a possible partnership.

On Ryuen's orders, he had come to meet with Class B's leader.

This school had a special system of class competition.

Since Ryuen had deliberately spread anxiety, every class had organized core leadership groups, both openly and behind the scenes.

To deal with people from other classes who posed a threat, Class B had chosen Kanzaki Ryuji as their representative.

Kanzaki Ryuji came from a prominent family and was well-traveled. He had accompanied his father among the great families of Japan since childhood.

In the original story, Kanzaki was one of the few first-years who had met both Ayanokoji's father and Chairman Sakayanagi.

"Can I help you, representative of Class C?"

Kanzaki stepped out of the classroom and extended his hand, apparently intending to shake hands.

Ishizaki returned the gesture and said:

"I'm here on behalf of my big brother, Kujo Makoto, the leader of Class C, to ask Class B to form an alliance."

Kanzaki frowned. He immediately got to the heart of the matter and asked Ishizaki:

"Then where is Kujo right now?"

Prepared with a response under Ryuen's instructions, Ishizaki answered:

"He's negotiating with Class D."

By now, Kanzaki had learned a little about the rumors surrounding the school from social media.

The rumors online couldn't be trusted, but it was clear that this school had a system of competition.

So, if all of this was true...

Was Class C trying to ally with both Class B and Class D?

Was their target Class A?

Kanzaki thought this kind of cooperation was unreliable.

After all, Class A wouldn't sit back and do nothing if Classes B, C, and D allied.

If they were thinking rationally, Class B would be better off working with Class D.

Class C didn't have the best reputation, after all.

A class full of delinquents might turn on its allies at any moment, wouldn't it?

It just went to show that prejudice between people was as imposing as a mountain.

Kanzaki folded his arms and asked again about the essence of the proposed partnership:

"So, what are the purpose, terms, and duration of the alliance—and who will guarantee it?"