Stirring Things Up

"Humph, I can't be bothered to waste my breath on you."

"But I'll warn you, Koenji. Are you sure you want to get involved in this?" Ryuen Kakeru said darkly.

At once, the boys from Class C subtly surrounded Koenji, readying themselves to fight.

Outnumbered more than ten to one, Koenji should have been overwhelmed by their numbers. Instead, he suddenly covered his forehead and chuckled.

"Heh heh heh..."

His strange laughter was accompanied by an expression utterly devoid of fear.

Everyone was left baffled. Ryuen, ever cautious and suspicious, even told his men not to rush in, thinking Koenji might have some unknown trick up his sleeve. But the next moment, everyone's faces twisted in disbelief.

Koenji's laughter abruptly stopped. He tossed his flowing hair, revealing a peerless masculine face that seemed to emerge like a lotus from the water under the faint glow of the streetlights.

He raised a small mirror high, then cried out in a clear voice tinged with sadness, "Ah, why must someone as dazzlingly charming as me be tainted by the smoke of this world, or touched by a group of filthy people? Is even Heaven jealous of my beauty~?"

"All right, come on, then. Let me feel just how much you yearn for the embodiment of beauty."

"Damn it, after all that buildup, this is it?" Ryuen ground his teeth, suddenly feeling like he'd been made a fool of.

Fuming, he kicked a stone across the ground and barked, "Shit, he's just a lunatic. Give him a good beating, boys. The cameras can't see this spot!"

"Yeah!"

"Get him!"

The group had already been itching for a fight, so they didn't hesitate. They threw everything they had at Koenji.

In an instant, Koenji was swallowed up by the crowd.

Seeing this, Ryuen turned away as if he'd expected it, then looked coldly at Kushida Kikyo, about to make her see what happened to anyone who defied him.

But the next moment, amid the fierce sounds of fighting, a few aggrieved cries suddenly rang out. They were brief, almost like an illusion, but Ryuen knew something was wrong. He turned around, and his eyes immediately blazed with anger.

"You idiots! Watch where you're hitting!"

The group had been beating someone for a while, only to end up hitting one of their own. Koenji was already lounging gracefully against the trunk of an old tree, watching in silence.

"Damn it! When did he get over there?"

Though puzzled, the group quickly rushed toward him.

They thought Koenji had nowhere to run this time, but then they watched, dumbfounded, as he sprang off a branch with the elasticity of Tarzan, leaping several meters before landing steadily in another tree.

Even Ryuen couldn't help clicking his tongue at that absurd jumping ability.

He'd never imagined that a small fry from Class D could be hiding someone so powerful. Though surprised, his eyes suddenly filled with murderous intent.

That's right. Now that he, Ryuen Kakeru, had discovered someone who could one day threaten Class C, he had to eliminate him tonight, no matter the cost, while he was still an insignificant Class D student. That was Ryuen's uniquely direct and simple way of dealing with things.

"Boss, we've taken care of things over there!" Albert's voice rang out from a distance.

Ryuen was delighted. Perfect timing.

Albert, drenched in sweat from head to toe, exhaled softly and loosened the muscles across his bare upper body. A dense series of cracking sounds followed.

"How was it? Did you enjoy the fight?" Ryuen asked.

"Haha, that kid could take a beating. But I couldn't use any lethal moves, so it wasn't much fun."

"Is that so? No matter. See that guy over there?"

Ryuen pointed at Koenji in the tree, his expression turning cold. "I'm allowing you to use any lethal move you want on him. Try to finish him in one blow!"

"Are you sure that's all right?" Albert asked hesitantly, seeing Ryuen wear such a terrifying expression for the first time since their enrollment.

"It's fine. As long as you take him out, I'll handle the aftermath."

"But this guy isn't ordinary. His body's probably as tough as yours, so don't let your guard down."

"Got it. That's all I needed to hear, boss!"

At that, Albert clenched his fists. If even the boss had singled this guy out for a warning, he wouldn't underestimate him.

"But when it comes to toughness, I'm the strongest!"

Albert's low, cold voice rang out. Brimming with fighting spirit, he took a deep breath. The next moment, a deep, beastlike rumble sounded in his throat.

For the first time, he unleashed the extreme state he'd only entered before enrollment, back when he'd fought in death matches.

Seeing this, Ryuen smiled with satisfaction. That was exactly what had made him choose Albert as his right-hand man.

"Clap!"

Albert brought his hands together, and the muscles throughout his body visibly began to swell. As the cracking sounds grew denser, an eerie black sheen appeared on the surface of his skin, and he seemed to grow a size larger.

"Ready to die?"

His warm-up complete, Albert felt his strength reach its peak. He loaded his back leg and stepped forward.

"Boom!"

A burst of air erupted. Albert's body exploded into motion, giving no one time to react. He charged forward, knocking two classmates who hadn't reacted in time aside, then took several incredible steps up the sloping trunk of a tree and leaped into the air.

His deadly, powerful elbow shot straight for Koenji's head.

"Oh~ Where did the school find a gorilla?" Koenji squinted. He clearly hadn't expected someone who looked like a gorilla to make it up here.

"Heh heh, that's some decent force, but your technique has no beauty at all, so I refuse to accept it."

Facing such a powerful blow, Koenji wasn't foolish enough to take it head-on. He simply dodged to the side.

"Damn it! Fight me head-on if you've got the guts!"

Unwilling to give up, Albert attacked again. But every time he thought he could reach Koenji, Koenji slipped away by the narrowest margin.

The feeling infuriated him. They looked to be about the same build, so how could this guy be so absurdly agile? He seemed to have no weaknesses at all.

From a distance, Ryuen watched Koenji exploit Albert's weaknesses and toy with him. If Albert kept wasting his strength like this, then even if he could win in a direct clash now, he'd inevitably lose later.

Just then, Ryuen suddenly thought of his hostage, Kushida Kikyo. If I use her... Heh~

But when he turned around, all he saw on the ground were two unconscious lackeys. No one else was there.

"Damn it! When did she...?"

Ryuen's eyes widened in disbelief. The hostage had been barely a meter behind him. How had she knocked out two of his men and escaped without him noticing?

Frustrated, he realized that if he had no other choice, he'd have to resort to some ruthless measures.

"Kaneda, give me the bag."

The boy beside him, who wore glasses and had a somewhat lecherous face, held the dark-colored bag and asked hesitantly, "Boss, this is our last resort. If we expose it just like that..."

"Enough. Hand it over. Stop talking."

"Look around. Besides Koenji, is there anyone else here?"

Kaneda looked around and confirmed there was no one, but for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. It made him deeply uneasy.

Of course, Ryuen, now holding the bag, didn't give it much thought. Since he'd decided to take Koenji out, he believed anything went.

"Heh heh. How about this?"

Ryuen chuckled as he pulled a black tranquilizer gun from the bag. He signaled his men to distract Koenji while he stealthily circled around behind him.

"That guy... I knew he was crazy."

Ibuki Mio's furious whisper came from a dense patch of bushes in the distance.

Hearing her, the boy who seemed to have emerged from thin air in the dark smiled faintly. "What, did you already know what was in that bag?"

"Master, n-no. I'd only heard it contained some items that violated school rules."

"I just didn't expect there to be a gun inside."

"Hmph. He doesn't care about the class at all. If this gets discovered, Class C will fall apart." Ibuki's eyes were full of disappointment.

"Oh~ Looks like you really do like your class."

"Mm..."

"What about you, Kushida?" Rinya suddenly turned to her with an amused smile.

Kushida had been silent, still thinking about Koenji's outrageous hidden strength. She clearly hadn't expected her master to ask her something like that. But after a brief hesitation, she reflexively nodded and answered, "Mm."

Hearing the two girls' answers, Rinya smiled knowingly and said nothing more.

He shifted his gaze to Koenji, who still hadn't noticed the danger closing in. There was no concern on his face; instead, he was growing more and more expectant.

"Will he prove worthy of making me step in~?"

"Koenji~ Show me what you can do. I'm looking forward to it. Heh heh heh..."