The Necrotic Arm

Bound by the contract, Shiraishi Makoto could only simplify the matter into him having leverage over Class C, signing a contract beneficial to the class, and hoping Ichinose Honami would help persuade the classmates.

"But is this really okay?" Ichinose Honami's brows furrowed with a hint of reluctance.

Shiraishi Makoto knew this was her inner kindness refusing to stand idly by in such matters.

Yet Shiraishi Makoto still intended to hold Ichinose Honami back, not just because of the contract's demands.

The incidents since the start of the semester were only appetizers; Ichinose Honami had to establish a mindset of prioritizing class interests from now on.

"The classmates haven't weathered many storms. I'm worried they haven't truly grasped the cruelty of this school," Shiraishi Makoto explained.

With Shiraishi Makoto blocking the open attacks and hidden arrows from the outside, and Ichinose Honami uniting the class within, the ordinary students of Class A had been too well-protected at the Advanced Nurturing High School. Their understanding of class competition was still limited to comparing discipline and academic performance.

Letting Class A witness this incident fully and truthfully would be very helpful in changing their perspectives.

"Besides, Class D has some formidable figures. Class C is underestimating them too much."

After meeting Ryuen Kakeru, Shiraishi Makoto confirmed one thing: he had no idea Ayanokoji Kiyotaka existed.

Though Ichinose Honami was curious about who the "formidable figure" Shiraishi Makoto mentioned was, seeing that he didn't continue, she tactfully fell silent.

She trusted Shiraishi Makoto's judgment of the situation deeply, so she could only convince herself that Class D could overcome the crisis on their own. She also understood clearly that everything Shiraishi Makoto did was for Class A, leaving her with no grounds to blame him for standing by.

"Then I'll go talk to the classmates and make sure they don't interfere with your plan." Ichinose Honami nodded lightly, choosing to side with Shiraishi Makoto.

The next day, Class A.

Since Sudo Ken had also filed a complaint with the school, with both sides insisting on their own versions, the school, in search of witnesses, instructed each homeroom teacher to relay the details of the incident to their respective classes.

Ichinose Honami later added a reminder, urging the classmates to stick together, prioritize self-protection, and focus on preparing for the final exams without getting too involved in other classes' disputes.

In Class D, when the students learned that Sudo Ken was involved in the fight, not only were they unsurprised, but few even believed he was the victim.

However, under Kushida Kikyo's persuasion and driven by class interests, everyone decided to temporarily help Sudo Ken look for clues.

Although Sakura Airi wasn't involved in this incident, and Sudo Ken didn't say, "I feel like there were witnesses during the fight," like in the original story, Class D still pinned their hopes on other witnesses coming forward to testify, just like in the original.

After school, two teams led by Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo began asking around the school for witnesses. As for Horikita Suzune, she seemed uninterested in participating in this incident.

Thus, Kushida Kikyo approached Horikita Suzune.

"It's your freedom to run around for Sudo-kun, and I have no right to stop you. But if you need help, can you find someone else? I'm very busy." Horikita Suzune seemed completely unwilling to listen to Kushida Kikyo.

"Very busy? Even after school, you can't find anyone to hang out with, can you?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, standing nearby, couldn't help but mutter.

Horikita Suzune shot Ayanokoji Kiyotaka a glare, as if warning him not to meddle. "Being alone is also an important part of my daily routine. I don't like having that time taken away."

That's an excuse too... Ayanokoji, though he could tell Horikita Suzune had just made up an excuse, said nothing more.

"Besides, even if I help him out this time, he'll just repeat the same mistakes, falling into a vicious cycle."

"But Sudo-kun is the victim, isn't he?" Kushida Kikyo seemed not to understand Horikita Suzune's point.

"Even if the Class C students started the trouble, the situation escalating to this point has a lot to do with him. Calling him a perpetrator isn't an exaggeration." Horikita Suzune looked helpless.

Sudo Ken was that kind of person. His deeds included, but were not limited to: cheerfully recounting his middle school fighting experiences in class, detailing which spots to hit for maximum pain; violently grabbing a classmate from another class by the collar after bumping into them in the hallway; maliciously cutting in line in the cafeteria, then flying into a rage and cursing when called out.

After the midterm exam's old test incident, Horikita Suzune realized Sudo Ken was Class D's weak point. If Shiraishi Makoto could exploit it, so could other classes.

If Class D were compared to a poor family, Sudo Ken would be a nearly necrotic arm. Though strong, it was constantly bleeding out.

Horikita Suzune didn't know how to choose either—whether to gamble the meager resources on healing that arm or to amputate it directly.

For now, seeing no clear connection between this incident and Shiraishi Makoto, she chose to wait and see.

As time passed, Class D's willingness to save Sudo Ken was steadily weakening.

"We can't find any witnesses at all..." Ike Kanji sighed.

For the past two days, they had been running around with Kushida Kikyo, even asking upperclassmen, but still found no leads.

"Are you sure you're not the culprit?" Yamauchi Haruki looked at Sudo Ken and asked again.

"How many times do I have to say it? It was self-defense." Sudo Ken said, looking troubled.

"Actually, whether there are witnesses or not doesn't matter." Horikita Suzune, who had been silent, spoke up.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't think such a serious violent incident would only cost a few dozen class points. Besides, with our class's current situation, we don't have many points anyway. Losing them wouldn't hurt much." Horikita Suzune seemed to have been holding back for a while, letting it all out in one go.

Sudo Ken was furious at her words, but what angered him more was that the other classmates all looked like they agreed.

"Why does this always happen to me? You're all useless." Sudo Ken growled in frustration.

Horikita Suzune looked at him coldly, her tone laced with sarcasm. "That's an interesting thing to say, Sudo-kun. Haven't you realized it's all like a boomerang?"

Even Kouenji Rokusuke, who had been watching from the sidelines, was amused by Sudo Ken's ridiculousness. "Wouldn't it be better for you to drop out? Your existence is far from beautiful—no, I'd call it ugly, Red Hair-kun."

"What did you say? Say that again?" Sudo Ken could barely tolerate Horikita Suzune's criticism, since she had helped him greatly during the midterms and later tutored him seriously, but he absolutely couldn't stand Kouenji Rokusuke's condescending mockery and belittlement.

"Repeating myself is too inefficient. Is your comprehension really that poor? If you have some kind of disability, I wouldn't mind repeating it with an explanation." Kouenji remained in his usual nonchalant, arrogant manner.

"Bang"—the sound of a desk being violently kicked echoed through the classroom.