A Sudden Turn

After the Student Council meeting ended, only Horikita Manabu, Tachibana Akane, and Kazama In remained in the room. The heavy atmosphere had yet to fully dissipate.

Horikita Manabu folded his hands and fixed his sharp gaze on Kazama. "Kazama, you handled this incident rather efficiently. Were you the one who found Sakura Airi's video testimony?" Though phrased as a question, his tone was certain.

"Yeah." Kazama didn't deny it. He continued gathering his papers without pausing. "Keeping Class D stable was necessary."

Tachibana Akane added, "As for the recording that turned everything around... although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka submitted it, both its timing and contents were crucial. Vice President Kazama, was that part of your plan too?" Her eyes were probing.

Kazama looked up, his ink-black eyes calm and unreadable. "The chain of evidence needed to be complete. I only pointed him in the right direction. Ayanokoji handled the rest. He did well." He took no credit and revealed nothing more.

Horikita Manabu gave a slight nod, seemingly unsurprised by the answer. Then he changed the subject, lowering his voice a little. "How are the preparations for the election? The votes from Class C..."

Kazama took a photocopy of a contract from his folder and slid it over to Horikita. "It's settled. Ryuen signed it. All of Class C's valid votes will go to the candidate I choose." He didn't say who the candidate was, but Horikita clearly knew.

Horikita picked up the photocopy and glanced at Ryuen Kakeru's aggressive-looking signature. The faintest smile tugged at his lips. "Very efficient. It seems my position will be in good hands." He handed the copy back to Kazama. "Go ahead. The Student Council needs someone who can keep the whole picture under control."

"Understood." Kazama put the copy away and nodded slightly. "President, Secretary Tachibana, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

The corridor lights seemed a little cold as Kazama left the Student Council Room. He had just closed the door when he saw several people waiting outside: Ken Sudō, Horikita Suzune, Hirata Yosuke, Karuizawa Kei, and Sakura Airi, who was hiding behind Hirata, her face still pale.

"Kazama!" Sudō was the first to rush over, his face showing disbelief and an awkward sort of gratitude. "You... you're actually the vice president?! Damn! You really kept that under wraps! But... thanks for earlier! If you hadn't spoken up at the end, those three bastards would've been expelled!" Though rough around the edges, he understood that Kazama's final "plea" had given them a way out, sparing everyone a complete falling-out and whatever trouble might have followed.

Hirata stepped forward too, smiling sincerely. "Kazama, we really owe you one. You not only resolved Sudō's crisis, but also helped Class D get a fair hearing. Thank you!"

Karuizawa had her arm linked through Hirata's. As she looked at Kazama, there was less of her usual arrogance in her eyes and more curiosity and awe.

Horikita Suzune said nothing. She simply studied Kazama with her cool, almond-shaped eyes, her expression complicated: shock, scrutiny, and a trace of displeasure at having been kept in the dark. At last, she understood why Kazama always seemed to know what was coming and why he was always so certain. His position as vice president... the information gap had been enormous.

Hiding behind Hirata, Sakura Airi sneaked a glance at Kazama. Her cheeks flushed faintly, and her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but her overwhelming shyness held her back. She quickly lowered her head, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes between her fingers. I want to thank him... but... he's so scary... the vice president... She was torn inside.

Kazama took in everyone's reactions without changing his expression. He simply nodded. "It was my responsibility. If that's all, I'll be going." He had no intention of explaining himself further and walked straight past them.

In the evening, Kazama met Ichinose Honami at a small park near campus. She was already waiting on a bench, the sunset casting a warm golden sheen over her pink-gold hair.

"Kazama!" Ichinose waved happily as soon as she saw him, patting the spot beside her.

Kazama walked over and sat down. They talked about the Student Council meeting that afternoon. Ichinose understood why he had handled the three students from Class C as he had. "You did the right thing, Kazama. It might've felt satisfying, but if three people were expelled at once, Class C would've retaliated like crazy. This was the safer approach."

Kazama gave a quiet "Mm" and said no more. They enjoyed a rare moment of peace, and the conversation drifted back to everyday matters and schoolwork.

Just then, a familiar figure approached from the other end of the park path. It was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"Ayanokoji-kun?" Ichinose spotted him first and greeted him warmly. "What a coincidence!"

Ayanokoji stopped and glanced at Kazama and Ichinose, his expression as calm as ever. "Good evening, Ichinose-senpai, Kazama." His gaze lingered on Kazama for a moment before he nodded slightly. "Thanks for this afternoon." He meant that Kazama had vouched for the recording during the Student Council's final ruling and had guided the way the case was handled.

Kazama simply replied, "You're the one who found the evidence."

Ichinose was about to say something when a shrill ringtone suddenly rang out from Ayanokoji's pocket, breaking the park's quiet.

Ayanokoji pulled out his phone. The screen displayed "Sakura Airi." He had only just pressed answer and hadn't even raised it to his ear when Sakura's voice came through, full of terror and choked with tears, nearly a scream:

"Ayanokoji-kun! Help—"

The sound cut off abruptly. The call had been forcibly ended!

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression darkened in an instant! It had lasted only a moment, but the despair and fear in Sakura's voice had been unmistakable!

Ichinose Honami and Kazama both caught that something was wrong almost as soon as Sakura screamed! They stood at the same time and fixed sharp gazes on Ayanokoji!

"Ayanokoji-kun! What happened?" Ichinose asked urgently, her heart leaping into her throat.

Kazama stared at Ayanokoji with ink-black eyes. "Something happened to Sakura?"

Ayanokoji lowered his phone, his voice graver than ever. "She was calling for help. The location... it should be near the employee entrance of the large electronics store in the shopping district." He had quickly worked it out based on what he knew about Sakura's part-time job.

"Let's go!" Kazama set off without hesitation!

The three of them rushed as fast as they could to the back alley of the electronics store in the shopping district. The moment they turned into the dim employee passage, Ichinose sucked in a sharp breath!

Sakura Airi was pinned against the cold wall by a fat middle-aged man in a greasy work uniform! Her uniform was disheveled, her face streaked with tears and terror. She struggled desperately, but couldn't budge him at all. The man was the store's owner. His face twisted with lust and savagery as he spewed obscenities. "Stop pretending to be innocent! You should be grateful I'm interested in you! What's wrong with taking a few pictures for me?! Just do what I say..."

"Stop!" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shouted. He quickly raised his phone, and with a sharp click, its blinding flash captured the man's assault in all its ugliness!

The obese store manager flinched at the flash and whipped around. Seeing the three students, especially the phone in Ayanokoji's hand, he looked briefly panicked, but his fear quickly turned to rage. "You little brats! What are you doing?! Give me that phone!" He let go of Sakura and charged at Ayanokoji like a furious boar!

Without his support, Sakura Airi crumpled to the ground, sobbing in terror.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka calmly stepped back. His voice was cold as a knife, every word striking at the man's weakest points. "I've already called the police. This photo, along with the store's surveillance footage"—he pointed to the inconspicuous camera above the passage—"is enough to put you in prison for years. Attempted sexual assault, violent coercion, unlawful confinement... with all the charges combined, do you think you'll still be able to run a store on this street?"

The store manager's obese body went rigid! He looked up at the inconspicuous camera, then at the photo on Ayanokoji's phone, as damning as ironclad proof. The color drained from his face, and his arrogance deflated like a punctured balloon, leaving only fear and panic. "No... it wasn't like that! She was coming on to me! She..."

"Shut up!" A voice rang out, suppressing a fury vast as the heavens and cold as the depths of hell!

It was Kazama In!

The moment he had seen the fat man pinning Sakura against the wall, Kazama's mind had gone blank with a buzzing roar! The filthy scene before him overlapped with the nightmare he least wanted to revisit: that rainy night, the dim alley, his mother's desperate cries, the assailant's savage face... The gentle smiles of his parents in the pocket watch seemed to be torn apart by the filth of reality! His hand clenched the watch in his pocket so tightly that the cold metal nearly dug into his palm. His body trembled with unbearable rage. He fought to suppress the urge to destroy everything, but each time he looked at the bastard, his agitation and murderous intent surged.

Ichinose Honami keenly sensed that something was wrong with Kazama! His eyes were terrifyingly cold, devoid of warmth, yet seemed to hold back a volcano on the verge of erupting! She immediately reached out and grasped his clenched fist, its veins bulging. The warmth of her palm carried silent concern and comfort. "Kazama... calm down..."

But the store manager was terrified by Ayanokoji's words and wanted only to escape. In his panic, he charged straight toward Ichinose and Kazama, trying to shove past them!

Just as he was about to hit Ichinose—

"I can't take it anymore!"

Kazama growled, his suppressed fury bursting like a dam! He wrenched himself free of Ichinose's hand—carefully avoiding hurting her—and darted forward like a phantom!

Kazama's left hand clamped precisely around the store manager's thick wrist and twisted it in one smooth motion! His right hand shot down onto the back of the man's neck as Kazama tripped him with a deft sweep of his foot!

"THUD!!!"

The obese manager hit the ground like a heavy sandbag, slammed down by Kazama with blinding speed! He landed face-first, hard against the cold, rough concrete!

"Ugh—!" The manager let out a piercing scream as blood gushed from his nose!

But Kazama wasn't finished! He planted one knee heavily on the man's lower back, pinning him firmly to the ground. His hands worked like precision instruments, wrenching the manager's arms behind his back and locking them upward at an excruciating angle!

"Ahhh—! Let go! My arms! They're broken! They're going to break!" The manager howled like a slaughtered pig, his flesh quivering violently with pain.

Kazama lowered his head. His dark, tousled hair hid his expression, leaving only his voice, so cold it seemed stripped of all human feeling, ringing out like a sentence of judgment:

"Infatuation? You think you have the right to talk about that?"

"To sully someone else's dignity with such a despicable trick?"

"Scum like you deserve to eat dirt!"

Before he had even finished speaking, Kazama's hand on the manager's neck shoved his face—covered in blood and dust—hard into the rough, filthy ground again and again!

"Eat it! Taste the filth you love so much!"

"Ghk... pfft... cough, cough..." The manager rolled his eyes as he choked, his mouth full of dirt and grit. Even his screams had turned to muffled whimpers.

The scene was brutal and merciless. Even Sakura Airi forgot to cry, staring wide-eyed in terror. Ichinose Honami covered her mouth; she had never seen Kazama like this... terrifying. Only Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remained calm, quietly recording Kazama's actions too. It was necessary evidence of self-defense.

Before long, the shrill wail of sirens drew closer. The police arrived and quickly took control of the store manager, who had gone limp, his face covered in blood and grime.

Kazama stood and brushed the dust from his hands, as if the violent Arbiter from moments earlier had never existed. But his presence remained cold, and a trace of fury still lingered in his eyes.

"Officer, we're witnesses and friends of the victim." Kazama's voice had returned to normal. He gestured toward Sakura Airi, who was sitting on the ground, and Ayanokoji, who held the evidence. "This is the victim, Sakura Airi. The other student took the crucial photos. As for this man"—his cold gaze swept over the manager, who was being helped up by the police—"he attempted sexual assault and used violence and coercion. There was an attempt at unlawful confinement. We have surveillance footage, eyewitnesses, and physical evidence."

After hearing what had happened, the police handcuffed the manager and took him away. They also needed Sakura Airi, Ayanokoji, and Kazama and Ichinose, as important witnesses and the people who had stopped the assault, to go to the station and give detailed statements.

"I'll go with you." Kazama didn't hesitate. He glanced at Sakura, still shaken, then at Ichinose beside him, whose face was pale too. "Ayanokoji, sorry for the trouble, but could you take Sakura home?"

Ayanokoji nodded. "Sure."

Just as Kazama and Ichinose were about to follow the police, Kazama stopped. He turned and walked over to Sakura Airi. Sakura flinched in fear, but Kazama only reached out and patted her trembling shoulder. His movements were stiff, but he tried to be gentle.

"It's over." His voice was still cool, but seemed a little softer than before. "Be... more careful from now on."

He didn't linger. He got into the police car with Ichinose. Its lights flashed as it carried them to the station, taking them away from this eventful night. Ayanokoji watched the car disappear, then looked at the sobbing Sakura beside him, calmly assessing the situation. Kazama In's loss of control stems from deep trauma. Ichinose Honami's comfort was effective. The incident involving Sakura Airi was unexpected, but it's been resolved. He helped Sakura to her feet. "Come on. I'll take you home."