Riot (5)

Watching the boy vanish into the stairwell the moment he finished speaking, Kushida sighed slightly, reflecting on her behavior over these past few days.

Perhaps what he truly needed all along was that courageous and resourceful version of me... is that it?

Her vacant gaze drifted toward Horikita Suzune, who was currently being pranked; had this been the past, she would have been gloating with immense schadenfreude.

Yet, for some reason, the hatred that once occupied her heart had now faded as thin as water.

Conversely, at some point, a boy she found herself wanting to chase after day and night had completely filled her thoughts.

On the other side, the situation was critical, for the rampaging entities this time were not to be mentioned in the same breath as before.

By the time Ayanokoji rescued Mashima Tomoya of Class A, the other rampaging entities had already caught the scent and were surging from the stadium toward the jungle.

Although everyone cooperated well under the joint command of the two homeroom teachers, no one had fallen behind or shown abnormalities in the early stages.

After all, everyone understood that the pursuing entities posed a lethal threat; who would dare delay even while fleeing for their lives?

However, chaos was bound to erupt once a crowd grew large enough, and as they passed a fork in the road, someone from one of the classes spoke up.

"A dignified Class B homeroom teacher, besides dragging us down with the wounded, is actually so useless at a critical moment that we have to rely on a homeroom teacher from the weakest Class D to lead the escape. It's truly shameful."

Once these words were uttered, they instantly ignited the emotions of everyone present.

Class A, inherently arrogant, was naturally the first to stand out. After sarcastically mocking the other three classes, they insisted that having their own leader, Katsuragi, take the lead would be the most appropriate course of action.

Although Katsuragi explicitly refused and reprimanded his classmate for the remark, his approach caused Hashimoto Masayoshi, who had been standing by his side and intending to follow his lead, to shake his head in secret.

His way of handling things is a total failure. Not only will this lose the hearts of his class, but it will also make the other classes feel that Class A is even more pretentious.

As for the usually united Class B, it went without saying that when they heard someone daring to take the opportunity to insult their class, the collective fury of the group—had it not been for the all-out efforts of Ichinose, Kanzaki, and their homeroom teacher Hoshinomiya to stop them—might have sparked another riot right then and there.

As for Class C, they were the calmest of the lot; perhaps because Ryuen Kakeru's tyrannical rule had briefly ended, everyone, deeply influenced by Shiina Hiyori's guidance, remained as silent as usual.

As for Class D, because of Kushida, the other three classes did not dare to say much; after all, their strength and reputation were well-established.

Moreover, it was rumored that a few upperclassmen had recently broken various school sports records after listening to the secret teachings Kushida had imparted back then, and one of them had even publicly declared war on Ryuen Kakeru.

Although that person was still in the hospital, that level of courage combined with such a confident demeanor made him the only one in the school to do so at present.

Thus, while the four classes were stable enough not to resort to violence, the open bickering continued unabated.

Just as Chabashira Sae was working hard to calm things down, Hoshinomiya, who was carrying the wounded, took a deep breath, her eyes reflecting a major decision.

Looking at the students who seemed unwilling to let the matter rest, she realized she had to do something to prevent the rampaging entities from catching up and to ensure no one discovered the dark side of her personality.

"Quiet, everyone!"

Hoshinomiya let out a rare, sharp shout, the slight chill in her voice instantly silencing everyone.

Seeing the mixed gazes of praise and criticism cast her way, Hoshinomiya reverted to her usual gentle and quiet demeanor, saying in an apologetic tone.

"Perhaps you are all right. At such a life-or-death juncture, I haven't shown the leadership expected of a homeroom teacher, and instead, I've held everyone back by carrying the wounded. I am truly very sorry."

"But as a qualified teacher, I cannot bring myself to abandon them, and I believe many of you feel the same way."

"Chie, are you planning to split up?" As old classmates who had walked this path together, Chabashira immediately guessed what was in her mind.

Hoshinomiya smiled faintly but did not reply to her. Instead, she paused and continued: "So, I have thought of a win-win method. But before I say it, I hope those who have always respected and cared for me will not refute me, okay?"

As she spoke, she swept her gaze, filled with a hint of pleading, toward Chabashira and the rest of the Class B students she had always considered friends.

Seeing them nod silently, Hoshinomiya then said: "I will take the wounded from the group and go down another path, while Sae will lead you all along the second main road."

"The destination for both is the seaside pier. We will meet up there. No problems, right?"

Once she finished, the people who had just been arguing fell into silence, bowing their heads. After all, humans are not made of wood or stone; who could be without feelings? If they weren't fleeing for their lives, no one would have thought that way.

Moreover, everyone knew that whoever was the first to voice support would definitely be disliked by others later on.

Hearing the sounds of the rampaging entities growing closer, and seeing that no one was willing to take the blame, Chabashira rubbed her forehead and spoke up helplessly: "Fine, I will agree on behalf of everyone for this operation."

Hearing that it was the usually cold and indifferent teacher Chabashira who took the lead, the crowd felt a myriad of emotions.

"You take the patients and go first. I will leave with the others later and see if we can lure them onto the other path."

Upon hearing this, Hoshinomiya nodded silently with a look of gratitude. The others had no objections, feeling instead that this was the right thing to do.

And so, the group split into two teams and began their respective escapes.

"Boss, the plan has been executed according to your instructions, and the team has been split in two."

"Well done. Provide location updates at any time."

"Understood."

After hanging up the phone with Sadokura, Rinya let out a meaningful smile and muttered, "Another day full of fun, heh..."