Kanon stormed into the infirmary at a pace that left the four trailing far behind, her voice thundering the moment they arrived.
"That was clearly over the top! Punishment should fit the crime. From what I heard, this girl was just holding a hacking tool. Was knocking her out really necessary?"
Erika fired back, undaunted. "Just holding a hacking tool makes her dangerous enough, don't you think? Or are you saying it's fine if she trashed everything Kei-senpai and Tatsuya-kun have been working on, Chiyoda-senpai?"
"That's not what I'm saying!" Kanon snapped. "She hadn't even used the tool yet. Attacking her before she did anything is what's wrong here! Tatsuya-kun was already talking her down, wasn't he? Why didn't you just leave it to him?"
"Tatsuya-kun's a disciplinary committee member, sure, but he's swamped with Thesis Competition prep," Erika retorted. "Don't you think it's a bit unfair to dump everything on him?"
Though not outright enemies, Kanon and Erika were far from friends. Kanon resented Erika's closeness to Kei, while Erika had no interest in playing nice with Kanon's overbearing attitude.
"You were talking about punishment earlier," Sayaka interjected, her tone measured. "But we weren't trying to punish her. We were trying to save a classmate from being used by shady adults."
"Save her by attacking her?" Kanon shot back. "She hit her head, you know!"
"She pulled out a hidden weapon!" Erika countered. "How were we supposed to subdue her gently? If Tatsuya-kun hadn't stepped in, she would've thrown what looked like a flash grenade. Isn't that reason enough to act?"
"Alright, alright, let's cool it," Leo said, unexpectedly stepping in. He grabbed Erika's arm, still bristling with agitation, and pulled her toward the infirmary door. "Chiyoda-senpai, we'll leave the rest to you."
Kanon sighed as Kirihara, Sayaka, and Tomitsuka lingered. "You three can go too. And try not to cause any more trouble, okay? I appreciate the escort, but if you're just going to stir up problems, I'd rather not have you around. Tatsuya-kun might start saying he doesn't need escorts at all."
"Tatsuya saying that? Yeah, sounds like him," Kirihara said with a wry grin.
With bitter smiles, Kirihara and the others left the infirmary. Only Kanon and the school nurse, Remi Yasutake, remained.
"Could you let me know when she wakes up?" Kanon asked.
"Sure, but don't complain if she slips away," Remi replied. "I've got zero combat skills."
"As if you'd let an injured student escape, Yasutake-sensei," Kanon said with a tired smile, heading for the door.
Remi called after her. "Should I contact you about this, Chiyoda-san?"
"Who else would you call?" Kanon asked, pausing.
"Well, from what I heard, it sounds like Tatsuya-kun's involved too," Remi said. "Thought he might need to know."
Kanon considered it. "Tatsuya-kun's busy with Thesis Competition experiments. And, like Chiba said, piling everything on him isn't fair."
"Got it," Remi said, a fleeting hint of disappointment in her voice before her usual demeanor returned.
"I've got to get back to guarding Kei," Kanon said.
"Go get 'em," Remi replied with a wave.
As Kanon left, Remi gazed at the unconscious Chiaki, her expression complex. "First her older sister, now her… Tatsuya-kun's got it rough."
Remi knew Tatsuya had visited the counseling room over Koharu's issue. She'd been looking for a chance to lure him to the infirmary, but seeing how much he was dealing with, she'd held back. She hadn't expected Chiaki to drag him into another mess.
"Maybe she's got a thing for Tatsuya-kun too…" Remi mused. Regardless of the hacking tool's purpose, she couldn't shake the feeling that Chiaki's actions were a desperate bid for his attention.
Back on guard duty for Isori, Kanon saw something that made her blood boil. That infuriating underclassman was causing trouble again. A male student was scolding Erika, who was whistling and staring off into space, completely ignoring him.
"Tatsuya-kun, what's going on over there?" Kanon asked, spotting him nearby. Truth be told, she wanted nothing to do with it, but as disciplinary committee chair and Thesis Competition escort, she couldn't ignore it.
"Seems Sekimoto-senpai doesn't appreciate Erika and the others wandering around," Tatsuya said. "It's getting in the way of his guard duties."
Kanon rubbed her temples, an uncharacteristic gesture, and turned to face the situation. "Sekimoto-senpai, what's the issue?"
"I'm just saying," Sekimoto replied, "people who aren't on the disciplinary committee or chosen by the club alliance shouldn't be loitering around. It's interfering with our escort duties."
His reasoning sounded valid, but Kanon wasn't buying it as his true motive. Why did this senior always seem eager to stir up trouble? Her head throbbed at the thought.
"There's no rule against first-years observing experiments for next year's prep," Kanon said sharply. "If they're interfering with your duties, I'll handle it. Besides, Sekimoto-senpai, you didn't volunteer for this escort detail, so why not leave it to us? And you lot," she added, glaring at Erika and the others, "go home for today. Depending on how you look at it, what happened earlier could be seen as four-on-one bullying."
Erika and Leo exchanged reluctant glances but nodded.
"I'm heading out," Erika said. "See you tomorrow, Miyuki."
"Same here," Leo added. "Later, Tatsuya."
Their compliance felt oddly quick, but Kanon let out a relieved sigh as the troublesome underclassmen left. She sidled up to Isori just as a call came through on her device.
"It's from Yasutake-sensei," she said. "Let's go, Kei."
"Wait, Kanon!?" Isori protested, scrambling after her. He'd been monitoring data from the experiment on his device, but abandoning his post mid-task drew no criticism. Instead, those around him cast sympathetic glances at Isori, clearly at Kanon's mercy.
"Isori-kun's got it tough," Suzune remarked.
"No kidding," Tatsuya replied. "Chiyoda-senpai's a handful."
The two shared a quiet moment of commiseration, their words never reaching Isori's ears.
Kanon's got a one-sided grudge, doesn't she?
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