Ryuen Kakeru was like a raging python suddenly pinned at its weakest point. He had all that ferocious strength, yet he couldn't move in the face of his opponent's hands, which didn't look particularly powerful but were frighteningly steady.
"Gah~"
"Dragon Boy, you dared challenge me without understanding the difference in our strength. You don't have even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of winning."
Kitagawa Kai lowered his head slightly, looking at Ryuen Kakeru, whom he had pinned down. Ryuen's face was twisted with humiliation and pain, but Kitagawa's expression remained unchanged.
"I..."
Ryuen's breathing suddenly grew ragged. His face turned the color of pork liver from extreme humiliation and rage, and his teeth ground together with a clatter.
Kitagawa stopped looking at him. His gaze swept over the stunned Ishizaki and Yamada as he delivered his final warning:
"Take your people and get lost."
"Don't let me see you again where you don't belong, doing things you shouldn't."
Then Kitagawa let go.
Ryuen staggered backward several steps. His face flushed red, then pale, as he glared fiercely at Kitagawa.
"Kitagawa Kai, I'll remember you. Just you wait."
After saying that, he jerked his head around and headed for the library entrance.
"Boss!" Ishizaki and Yamada came to their senses and hurried after him.
After their initial stunned silence, the students from Class B quickly gathered around. Shock still lingered on their faces, but concern was more apparent.
"Kitagawa, are you okay?" Kanzaki Ryūji asked first, carefully looking Kitagawa over as if trying to confirm whether he'd been hurt in the scuffle.
"I'm fine." Kitagawa shook his head.
"Damn, Kitagawa, those moves just now were so cool!" another fairly muscular boy couldn't help exclaiming in a lowered voice, excitement and lingering fear on his face.
Shibata Sō squeezed to the front, his eyes shining as he looked at Kitagawa. "Kitagawa, I had no idea you could do that. That move just now, locking his arm and taking him down-it was so clean. Teach me sometime, will you?"
The boys from Class B around them, especially a few who were also interested in sports and combat, looked at him expectantly.
Clearly, the efficient display of force Kitagawa had just shown had deeply shaken them. After facing the threat of an enemy firsthand, they had also developed an urgent desire to become stronger.
Surrounded by everyone, Kitagawa looked over his classmates' excited faces and chuckled. "They aren't complicated moves. You should start by practicing the basics at the gym. I'll teach you a few moves in our next PE class."
"Really? That's great!" Shibata Sō was the first to cheer, his joy plain to see.
"It's a promise, Kitagawa!"
"I'll definitely warm up properly before PE next time!"
A few of the boys murmured excitedly, as if they could already picture themselves easily subduing an opponent someday.
"All right, all right," Ichinose Honami said gently. She lightly parted the crowd and walked over to Kitagawa.
Color had returned to her cheeks, but the worry in the depths of her blue eyes hadn't entirely faded.
"Don't all crowd around here. Let Kitagawa-kun catch his breath."
Once the crowd had thinned a little, Ichinose immediately turned to Kitagawa and, without giving him a chance to refuse, took hold of the edge of his sleeve and led him toward the seats where they had been studying earlier.
Through the cotton fabric, her fingertips conveyed a faint warmth and a barely perceptible tremor.
Kitagawa didn't resist. He let her lead him, seeing her straight back and pink ponytail swaying gently with each step.
Back by their seats, Ichinose let go and gazed up at Kitagawa, her eyes full of earnest concern.
"Are you really all right, Kitagawa-kun?"
Sitting beside her, Kitagawa lowered his head to meet her worried blue eyes. He moved both hands, tilted his head to either side, then moved his torso around. There wasn't a sign of injury.
A silent but thorough demonstration of his functionality.
Only after doing all that did he look her in the eyes again. "Really. He didn't even touch me."
"That's good. I'm starting to believe you really did beat up the student council president," Ichinose said with a sigh of relief.
Time passed slowly amid a subtle, unspoken understanding. The students from Class B said goodbye to one another and left in small groups.
Kitagawa left the library, planning to head straight back to the dorm and enjoy Horikita Suzune's cooking.
As he passed a vending machine, Kitagawa suddenly slowed down.
In the soft daylight, Yamamura Miki stood quietly in front of the vending machine.
She wore the same uniform as any other student. Beneath her neatly pleated white skirt were two slender, well-proportioned legs in clean, light gray knee-high socks.
Kitagawa stopped a few steps away from her and greeted her lightly. "Yamamura, long time no see."
"Ah!"
A familiar, gentle voice sounded from behind her. Yamamura Miki turned around, her bright, clear almond-shaped eyes widening at once. "K-Kitagawa-kun, good afternoon."
"Are you choosing a drink, Yamamura? There are so many options here. For someone who has trouble making decisions, it's practically torture." Kitagawa's voice was as gentle as ever, with a note of inquiry.
"I... I'm not choosing a drink." Yamamura lowered her head a little and said softly, "I just like standing here."
She was standing right there.
Yet the people passing by seemed to naturally overlook her.
Forgotten by the world.
She had gotten used to that feeling over the years.
"All right, I think I understand." He took his Terminal out of his pocket and walked around to the front of the vending machine. "Since you're standing here, you can't just do nothing, can you?"
His gaze swept over the drinks before finally settling precisely on the cutest package: strawberry milk.
"Then I'll buy you some milk. You can take it as proof that I saw you." His gentle tone left no room for refusal.
With a beep, the strawberry milk dropped down.
Kitagawa bent down to pick it up and placed the cool bottle directly in her hands.
"Thank you..."
Yamamura Miki gripped the bottle of strawberry milk tightly.
"Won't you try it? If you keep holding it, it'll go from cold to warm." Kitagawa casually changed the subject.
"Warm strawberry milk isn't bad either, but in weather like this, that first cold sip should feel better, right?"
"Ah! O-okay!" Yamamura came back to herself and fumbled a little with the cap.
She took a small sip. The sweet, fragrant strawberry liquid slid down her throat, easing its dryness.
"Have things been all right in Class A lately?"
Yamamura Miki's body stiffened slightly. Her fingers tightened around the bottle of milk.
In Class A, everyone seemed to have their own aura, a clear place and presence.
"It's all right, but no one really notices me. How are things in Class B, Kitagawa-kun?"
Though she and Kitagawa had had no contact since enrolling, she'd occasionally heard bits and pieces about Class B from other people, especially about him.
"Me? I go to bed on time every day, get up on time, keep drinking milk, take notes in class, and do my homework after class. When I don't have lessons, I might go to the library or head back to the dorm to read."
"When the weather's nice, I go out for a walk too, just like now."
Kitagawa wore a warm smile and spoke lightly.
"But, Yamamura, I'm really glad I ran into you today."