"We've already notified Sudo and the others to come help. Karuizawa, how long did the teacher say it would take to get here?" a short-haired girl who had just run out of the classroom asked urgently.
But as soon as she finished speaking, the girl froze. She couldn't believe her eyes: Karuizawa, usually so brazen, was huddled in a corner, clutching her head and trembling.
"How could even Karuizawa... What on earth happened?" The timid short-haired girl was so anxious she nearly burst into tears. Fortunately, several fairly burly boys, including Yamauchi and Ike, had already charged out behind Ken Sudō, which gave her some reassurance.
"Hey! Who said you could swagger around in our Class D? Looking for a fight?"
As they spoke, Ken Sudō and several other burly boys rushed forward in an instant, glaring down the two who were standing guard.
Unfortunately, because of their height, Ken Sudō ended up facing off against the stronger of the two, Albert.
"You?"
"Tch." Albert glanced at him disdainfully, then took a powerful step forward and easily shoved Sudō back with his dark, muscular frame.
It was as if he didn't take Sudō seriously at all.
"Damn, you've got some strength. But we should settle this with our fists." Sudō patted his chest, his fighting spirit surging.
"Tch, then come on. Why are you still talking?" As he spoke, Albert, perhaps deliberately, casually spat a glob of saliva onto Sudō's newly bought sneakers.
At the sight of that, Sudō could no longer hold back. His face twisted as he roared and swung a heavy punch straight at Albert's face.
"I'll fucking kill you!"
"Damn it, you two are asking for it! Brothers, let's get them!" Seeing their leader insulted, Yamauchi clenched his fists, eyes wide with anger. He gave a sharp shout and was about to charge in with the others.
At that critical moment, however, a fair hand suddenly thrust itself in front of Ken Sudō's oncoming fist. If it had been anyone else, Sudō, in his fury, might not have stopped.
But when he recognized the cool, otherworldly face of the person blocking him, his eyes widened. He was stunned—and more than that, terrified.
"Everyone, stop!"
"Ugh!" A muffled groan followed the shout as pain shot through Sudō's arm.
To stop a full-force blow at such close range, Sudō had to put everything he had into it. Though he managed to redirect the force at the last moment and avoid hitting the girl, he inevitably struck his own opposite shoulder.
He hadn't even had time to feel relieved when Horikita Suzune's emotionless voice reached his ears.
"Sudō, how much longer are you and the others going to fool around?"
At her words, not only Sudō and the others, but everyone behind them was left dumbfounded.
"Horikita... I was only thinking about how to protect you all. I really wasn't fooling around," Sudō tried to explain.
But when he met her icy gaze, he couldn't help shrinking back.
"Sudō's clearly trying to protect our class. What are you talking about, Horikita?"
"Yeah, I just saw her get hurt trying to dodge when you suddenly stopped him." Seeing Sudō's wounded expression, several girls who couldn't bear it any longer began to speak up.
Hearing them, Horikita Suzune couldn't help giving a self-mocking shake of her head. If Ayanokoji hadn't warned me earlier, I might have thought the same way they do.
To prevent the situation from escalating, Horikita, who rarely spoke much, could only patiently explain things step by step.
"First, tell me what Ryuen Kakeru and the others did. Why were you all standing guard, glaring at them? Why were you calling over classmates to fight and summoning a teacher?"
"Horikita Suzune, are you stupid?" Sato Maya, who was crouched in the corner comforting Karuizawa Kei, couldn't help snapping, "They barged into our class in broad daylight and attacked people! Can't you see that?"
"Are you sure you saw it clearly?" Horikita Suzune swept her long hair behind her and spoke calmly. "Did you not notice that Ryuen Kakeru had stayed right at the boundary of Class D the entire time? Are you sure he trespassed into our class?"
"Think carefully. Did he actually hit anyone at any point?"
"Wasn't Hirata-kun forced against the wall by them?" Sato Maya demanded indignantly.
"And then? Did he hit anyone? Or did one of his followers?" Horikita Suzune pointed toward Ryuen Kakeru, her voice cold, as if reminding everyone: "Look at him now. Is he still standing the same way he was before?"
"Did he actually attack anyone afterward?"
"If we'd started fighting just now, the teachers would have seen it on the surveillance cameras and ruled that Class D had started a group assault. The minimum punishment would be expulsion, and it could even affect the entire class. Do you understand now?"
At that, Sato, Ken Sudō, and the others fell silent.
But not everyone could understand. Sure enough, the next moment, a Class D girl asked in a trembling voice, "B-but Ryuen Kakeru and the others provoked us first, and they forced Hirata against the wall. Shouldn't they be the ones at fault?"
Seeing this, Horikita Suzune shook her head helplessly. After all she'd said, some of them still hadn't carefully considered how serious the situation was.
There was nothing for it. Horikita Suzune sighed and filled in the details. "Think carefully. Even if there's footage of Ryuen Kakeru forcing Hirata-kun against the wall, if Hirata-kun's medical report shows no serious injuries, then all they have to do is insist they were just passing by and joking around. At most, he'll be judged to have violent tendencies and lose a few points. That'll be the end of it."
"But what about us? How many of our classmates might be expelled over one so-called joke from the other side? Have you thought about that?"
Silence, a dead silence. This time, no one disagreed.
But was that really the end of it?
"Clap. Clap. Clap."
A slow round of applause sounded again, but this time it was heavy and oppressive.
"Very well said. I'd like to know who taught you that."
As he spoke, Ryuen Kakeru had somehow approached Horikita Suzune without making a sound.
"You... You've crossed the line." Facing the tall, imposing man, a bead of sweat appeared on Horikita Suzune's forehead. But to keep from being intimidated, she kept her voice as cool and steady as ever.
"Oh? You didn't hear what I said, did you?"
There was no mistaking the killing intent in his voice. Horikita Suzune hadn't expected her words to make Ryuen Kakeru want to kill her in that very moment.
Looking up at Ryuen Kakeru's towering figure as he closed in step by step, Horikita Suzune wanted to retreat in fear, but her legs had gone numb.
In the end, Horikita Suzune was still just an ordinary girl. Most people would have already been reduced to tears on the spot.
But under that oppressive pressure, even she couldn't stop cold sweat from breaking out all over her body as she clenched her teeth.
She wanted to warn him not to do anything reckless, but his fierce expression—like he was prepared to do anything if he didn't get an answer—made it clear that there was no point.
She instinctively sought help from her classmates. But when she looked around, she realized that Ryuen's two top henchmen had somehow driven them all far away.
As the man before her drew closer and closer, a faint sense of dread and oppression crept into her heart. Before long, she felt the wall at her back. With nowhere left to retreat, Horikita squeezed her eyes shut. She was panicking—truly panicking.
With Ryuen Kakeru's demand closing in, her thoughts fell into complete disarray for the first time in her life.
Sell Ayanokoji out?
Name a random classmate and frame him?
Or just sit here and wait for it to happen...
No... None of those will work!
After rejecting every idea that came to mind, Horikita Suzune took a deep breath. Relying on the exceptional martial arts skills she had honed over the years, she believed that if she landed a hit, she could at least injure him.
At that moment, she was like a rabbit fighting for its life. She fixed her gaze on a vulnerable spot and waited for the instant his foot touched down and left an opening. Then she suddenly kicked with all her strength, giving him no chance to react.
"Thump!"
A sharp whoosh split the air. Just as Horikita thought she'd landed her hit, the faint cloud of dust cleared—and she saw that the solid thud had come from his palm blocking her kick.
"How could this be...?"
"Ah!"
Before she could think any further, an immense force surged up from her foot. With a forceful twist of Ryuen Kakeru's hand, Horikita was thrown to the ground.
"Why... is he so strong, when I..."
Faced with the overwhelming difference in strength, the girl stared in disbelief. Her leg had been scraped until it was streaked with blood, yet she seemed not to feel it. She muttered to herself, her pupils shrinking as she sat frozen in place.
Memories of the past came rushing back, and a glimmer of tears appeared in her bright eyes.
"I worked so hard for so long to catch up to my brother, but in the end, was it all for nothing...?"
"I can't even beat a man whose file says he's never trained in martial arts..."
"Heh..."
For the first time, Horikita Suzune laughed aloud, her cold face breaking into a smile. But the sound was full of self-mockery and disappointment.
Before you continue