"You bastard!"
At that moment, Sudo's anger finally boiled over. He grabbed Chiba Yu by the sleeve and yanked him out of his seat with astonishing speed.
"Sudo!"
"Sudo!"
Everyone nearby watched the tense scene in alarm. Some of the more timid students were too scared to breathe, and everyone stared at them, breathing rapidly.
"What, did I hit a nerve? Are you so embarrassed that you want to take a swing at me?"
Even as Sudo held him up, Chiba Yu looked completely unafraid. He even kept on taunting him.
At this rate, Sudo was bound to snap and attack. What would you do then? Let's see.
Finally, after Chiba Yu had provoked him again and again, Sudo could take no more. He clenched his right hand into a fist and swung furiously at Chiba Yu, determined to teach him a lesson.
Just as his fist was about to make friendly contact with Chiba Yu's cheek, Chiba Yu... caught Sudo's punch with his bare hand, right before the whole class's stunned eyes!
Chiba Yu had Sudo's fist locked in his grasp. No matter how hard Sudo struggled, he couldn't pull free.
At that moment, not only were the rest of the class stunned—Sudo himself was, too.
"I told you I don't like trouble. But you keep 'provoking' me, again and again." Chiba Yu's voice was frighteningly cold. His usually indifferent eyes now brimmed with utter contempt. "I don't mind teaching you a lesson."
"Sudo! Let Chiba go first. We can talk this out!"
"Yeah, Sudo, let Chiba go."
At last, under Chiba Yu's 'threat' and the rest of the class's urging, Sudo lowered his head and clicked his tongue before letting go of Chiba Yu's collar. Chiba Yu released Sudo's fist, and they separated in an instant.
"Chiba, are you okay...?"
"Hirata, I have somewhere to be. I'm heading out."
Without waiting for Hirata to say anything else, Chiba Yu slung on the bag he'd already packed and walked straight out the door without looking back, leaving the class in a heavy silence.
"Teacher, can I ask you something?"
"A question?"
On the rooftop of the school building, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Chabashira Sae stood facing each other. When Ayanokoji began to speak, Chabashira's hand, holding a cigarette, suddenly paused.
"Do you think Japanese society is equal?"
Chabashira smiled at Ayanokoji's seemingly sudden and rather pointless question. "That's a bit out of the blue. What would be the point of answering?"
"This question is important. Would you please answer me?"
"From my perspective... of course this world isn't equal at all."
"I think so too. The word 'equality' is inherently hypocritical. But we humans are thinking creatures."
Chabashira took the cigarette from between her lips and crushed it in the ashtray she carried with her. "So what are you getting at?"
"In other words, we have to make the rules look fair on the surface."
"Huh?"
Ayanokoji held up his terminal for Chabashira to see. She smiled with interest.
"So you want me to sell you the point Sudo lost on his English exam? Hahahaha!"
"How interesting. This is really interesting."
The next moment, Chabashira gave a sly grin. "Sure. If you can pay me 100,000 points on the spot, I'll sell you Sudo's point. How's that?"
"You're really mean, Teacher."
"I'll pay those points too!"
Just as the situation was reaching an impasse, Horikita Suzune appeared behind Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, bringing a glimmer of hope to his seemingly hopeless situation.
"Horikita..."
"Honestly, you two are both quite interesting. Fine, but... I've changed my mind. Since there are two of you, you'll have to pay me 150,000 points on the spot. Then I'll revoke Sudo's expulsion penalty, and if the school holds you accountable later, I'll vouch for you. How does that sound?"
The moment Chabashira finished laying out her terms, Horikita Suzune's heart skipped a beat, and her voice grew agitated. "What do you mean? Didn't we just agree?"
"Heh. What I said before applied to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka alone. Now that there are two of you, naturally the rules are different. That's the school's policy, too."
"Tch! I want to ask you again, Chabashira-sensei. You won't change those terms again later, will you?"
"Of course not. These are my final terms, and I guarantee I won't change them. But can you really come up with the points?"
Under Chabashira Sae's teasing gaze, Horikita Suzune looked at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in frustration.
"Ayanokoji, how many private points do you have left?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka immediately displayed his remaining point balance for Horikita Suzune.
"Over 60,000... Even if we add the points I have left, we'll still be 30,000 short. Tch!"
The hope that had seemed within reach vanished in an instant, and Horikita Suzune's face filled with frustration and helplessness at Chabashira's sudden change of heart.
Knock, knock, knock!
Footsteps echoed on the rooftop stairwell, making all three of them turn around.
"If what Chabashira-sensei just said is true, I think I can help."
Chiba Yu came up the stairs, casually swinging his terminal in one hand.
"But before we make a deal, Chabashira-sensei, I have a question for you. Is that okay?"
"Oh? You have a question, too? Interesting. Very interesting. Go ahead."
"I want to ask you: do you think this society is really equal?"
As soon as I asked, Chabashira-sensei's expression turned momentarily dazed, then changed drastically. Soon, even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, standing beside her, looked at me with a hint of disbelief.
Then Chabashira Sae quickly came to her senses. "What's the point of me answering a question like that?"
It was the same response she'd given Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Chabashira Sae couldn't understand why Chiba Yu and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had both asked such seemingly empty, abstract questions.
"Since you won't answer, Chabashira Sae, I'll tell you what I think."
"This society is fundamentally unfair. People in power can sit in their offices and issue orders, while their subordinates have to work themselves to the bone to carry them out. Then, if the boss shows even the slightest dissatisfaction, you have to tear it all down and start over."
"No matter how capable you are, you'll still end up working yourself to exhaustion like a beast of burden, stuck in the same position until you drop dead on the job. And no one will care."
"Isn't that just like what's happening now, Chabashira-sensei? You're the powerful boss here. One casual remark from you can make all your students' hard work amount to nothing. It's exactly the same, isn't it?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Chabashira Sae seemed irritated now, and her tone toward Chiba Yu was no longer as calm as before.
"I just think..." Chiba Yu slowly raised his terminal in front of his chest and lifted his head. His colorless eyes gave off an inscrutable air as he stared silently at her.
"Society as it is now..."
It's a complete mess.