The time was just past 8 p.m. No matter how long the summer days were, the sun had completely set. As if to corner me, a downpour and a raging wind hit my face. Without a light, I couldn't see more than a few meters ahead.
In the midst of all this, I had to get Horikita-san back from the four students surrounding me.
"Regret? No way, I can't believe you'd say something so grand in this situation, Ishizaki."
This must be a preliminary test. Ryuuen-kun pointed at me with his chin.
"You're a smooth-talking bastard!"
As if to avenge the Sudo incident the other day, Ishizaki-kun swung his fist from the back left. I'd heard he was used to fighting, but is this all he's got?
I instantly moved toward Ishizaki-kun, dodged his widely-swung right arm, put one hand on his jaw, and swept his leg.
"Gah...! Ow!?"
Even though the ground was soft and muddy, it must have hurt to fall on his back without breaking his fall. He was groaning in pain.
Without paying any attention to Ishizaki-kun, Ryuuen-kun hummed happily.
"I thought you were just a serious athlete, but you can move surprisingly well. I didn't expect you to handle Ishizaki so easily with one hand."
...I see. The reason he gathered these martial arts students just for me was because he'd looked into my evaluations in P.E. and my results in competitions. In that case...
"You. How much did you anticipate?"
It was an abstract question, but Ryuuen-kun seemed to understand the intention. The cheerful attitude from before disappeared, and after clicking his tongue, he started talking.
"Everything from the morning of the fifth day was unexpected. All because of the guy who moved the underwear into your bag."
"...Hah. So it wasn't Ibuki-san after all."
When I scratched my head and muttered in agreement, Ryuuen-kun's eyes widened in surprise. He probably thought that either me, Horikita-san, or both of us had conspired to do it.
"Oh? So there's someone else acting alone besides you and Suzune. Did someone who hates you just happen to do it, or..."
Ryuuen-kun placed his hand on his chin, as if thinking. Moving Karuizawa-san's underwear into my bag seems simple enough, but it's a feat that couldn't be done unless you had judged Ibuki-san to be a spy from the start and anticipated her movements.
Furthermore, the unnaturalness of not confronting the person on the spot after catching them in the act.
────I only know one person who would do something like that.
"...Who knows? I have no idea."
After saying that, I dropped the bag I was holding to the ground and clenched my fists. Ryuuen-kun seemed to have nothing more to say and cracked his knuckles.
He'd already seen my skills from our previous exchange. The other three wouldn't let their guard down. So... what should I do?
"Hehehe. The first thing is to rescue the hostage, right?"
I first headed toward Ryuuen-kun, or to be more precise, toward Horikita-san, who was unconscious next to him.
However, a well-built black student got in my way, as if to say it wouldn't be that easy.
"Get out of the way."
Unlike Ishizaki-kun's careless punch from before, a right straight with a twist was thrown from a boxing stance.
If I took a hit, I'd definitely be knocked out, so I moved to the lower right as if to enter his space, and in less than a second, I struck his solar plexus, throat, and chin.
It's pretty difficult to accurately aim for vital spots, but this is a good result for not having done it in a while.
"What! Alberto was taken down in an instant..."
"Be careful, Ibuki! He's really used to fighting!"
With the simultaneous attack on his vital points and the concussion, the student called Alberto wouldn't be able to stand for a while. Ryuuen-kun, who had a cheerful smile on his face until just now, now had a tight expression on his face as he watched the exchange.
"I know you looked into my background. You can find it easily with a quick search online... But you're making one mistake."
"Huh?"
Perhaps not understanding the meaning of my words, Ryuuen-kun glared at me suspiciously.
"The fact that you think you can beat me with just four people means you've underestimated my abilities. ────I've played countless sports... but in the end, the thing I'm best at is punching people who piss me off."
After all, it's the only form of exercise I've been doing since my previous life... I'll add the disclaimer that it's not a form of domestic violence.
While thinking such things, I ran toward Ryuuen-kun once more.
"You guys! Don't just stand there!"
"Y-yes!"
In front of me was Ryuuen-kun, and behind me were Ibuki-san and Ishizaki-kun. It was an easy choice to take down one of them.
I dodged a middle kick with his left leg, grabbed his leg, and threw him toward the two behind me.
"Tch. What a brute."
Ryuuen-kun managed to break his fall before colliding with Ibuki-san and the others. As expected of someone used to fighting, his physical abilities seemed to be high.
He was still on alert as he placed a hand on Horikita-san, who was lying on the ground... This is bad. Her fever is coming back.
"If you back down now, I won't chase you... Well, you wouldn't do that, so you wouldn't have started this in the first place."
"You know me well. Hey, you guys, don't go alone."
He must have realized he couldn't win in a one-on-one fight. Instead of surrounding me, he decided to reposition his team to cover each other, probably because he didn't think I'd try to run away and leave Horikita-san behind.
He seemed to be wary of my moves, perhaps due to the exchange with Alberto from earlier.
"What's wrong? It's three against one, isn't it?"
"Don't underestimate me...!"
Ishizaki-kun and Ryuuen-kun fell for my cheap provocation and closed in from the left and right. They must have thought they could win if they came at me at the same time... but they're the ones underestimating me.
Ishizaki-kun threw a punch, just like before, but this was probably a feint.
"Let's go!"
With my attention drawn to the left, Ryuuen-kun charged at me from my blind spot with a low tackle. It was a dirty tactic, but it was the best solution for a fight against multiple opponents.
"What!?"
He probably planned to take me to the ground and have his way with me, but unfortunately, I haven't trained so softly.
I hit the now-stopped Ryuuen-kun with a few knee strikes and kicked him in the face.
"Ryuuen-sa─ "
"Don't look away."
"...!?"
He must not have expected me to break his defensive stance in an instant. I grabbed the flustered Ishizaki-kun by the collar, head-butted him in the nose, and threw him with one hand.
"Gah, ahhhhhhh!?"
I adjusted the force so it wouldn't break, but... I'm sure it was still a blow to the fighting-savvy Ishizaki-kun.
"Saito...!"
Ryuuen-kun, his face covered in blood and rain, came at me with a thick tree branch he'd gotten from somewhere.
Even though his vision and consciousness must be hazy, his toughness is truly frightening.
"You should use that toughness for something else."
I didn't take a hit from his wobbly attack. Instead, I body-blowed him as I passed, then slammed him into a large tree.
"Gah────!"
There was a loud thud, and the leaves shook. Ryuuen-kun, who had been slammed with such force, expelled all the air from his lungs and sat there, looking down.
"...Hah."
I scratched my head and looked at Ibuki-san, who was glaring at me without moving.
I took a step, and Ibuki-san seemed to have lost strength in her legs, collapsing on the spot.
"Hmph!"
...Am I that scary? That's a little shocking.
I picked up the bag I had placed on the ground and, with my back to the completely defeated Ibuki-san, walked over to Horikita-san and gently picked her up.
"Mm...!"
She must have woken up due to the unfamiliar feeling of being held, letting out a small voice.
I gently wiped the mud from her face and hair with a towel I took from my bag, and Horikita-san slowly opened her eyes.
"Saito-kun...?"
She seemed to have lost her memory of the recent events, muttering blankly with hazy eyes.
"...My head, it hurts..."
"Your fever is coming back. Don't push yourself, just rest."
"Are you... Are you okay, Saito-kun?"
Even in this situation, Horikita-san was worried about me, who had been called out here. Her state was so heartbreaking that I hugged her without thinking.
"Ugh... It's a little tight, Saito-kun. But, it's warm..."
With that, Horikita-san started sobbing.
"Ugh... hic, I was scared... I was so scared...!"
"It's okay now. I took care of all the bad guys."
I rubbed her back for a while, and her crying gradually subsided. When I looked at her face again, Horikita-san was sleeping peacefully, unlike before.
"...I'm sorry. Just wait a little longer."
I leaned Horikita-san against a tree where the rain wouldn't hit her and gently placed my jacket over her.
"This is a shitty school, it really is."
────My muttering was drowned out by the strengthening sound of the rain.
---------
"Come out, you piece of trash."
Tsugumi's voice echoed through the rain-filled forest... I knew this would happen, but it can't be helped.
To answer the words that were probably directed at me, I slowly came out from behind the bushes.
"Let's get this over with quickly."
Without showing any surprise at my appearance, Tsugumi walked over to Ryuuen, grabbed the unconscious Ryuuen's hair, and shook his head from side to side.
"Wake up, Ryuuen. Our deal isn't over yet."
"...Huh? You're..."
Though he had just woken up, Ryuuen looked around calmly. He seemed to have noticed I was here.
When I took out the digital camera from my pocket, Ryuuen seemed to have understood everything, and he laughed in broken phrases.
"Heh... I see. You're not the kind of idiot who would come here alone, are you?"
"That's right. I have only one request. The contract we made six days ago: 'cancel the monthly payment of 150 CP worth of private points and tell me who the leader of Class C is'."
He probably wanted to make it seem like he did this under Tsugumi's orders. Ryuuen continued to laugh cheerfully as Tsugumi spoke in a displeased tone.
"'In the event of violent acts, theft, or destruction of property against other classes, the student's class will be immediately disqualified, and the private points of the person in question will be completely confiscated.' As you know, if it becomes known that you systematically and intentionally ganged up on a single student, you shouldn't think that this is the only punishment you'll receive."
"Heh, heh heh... What happens if I accept the deal?"
"Nothing happens. Everything that happened here will be forgotten."
Tsugumi seemed to understand everything I wanted to do and explained it perfectly to Ryuuen. This was the first time I regretted his astuteness.
"Fine. I'll take the deal. I'm the leader of Class C. The key card is right here."
I thought Ryuuen would hesitate a little, as everything he'd done would be for nothing, but he surprisingly agreed right away.
After confirming this, Tsugumi threw a key card next to him and gave Ryuuen a look of contempt.
"You'll have to deal with your own classmates blaming you, so─ "
"Don't get the wrong idea, Saito."
" ...Huh?"
Ryuuen interrupted Tsugumi and stood up, his body battered.
"This time, I lost. I'm completely defeated. I never thought you'd be a guy who's this smart."
"..."
With Tsugumi silent, Ryuuen continued to talk loudly.
"But what about next time? When you're sleeping? When you're peeing? When you're flirting with a girl? I've already figured out your weakness."
"...I don't know what you're talking about. Don't beat around the bush."
Tsugumi didn't even try to hide his irritation. With his next words, I understood what Ryuuen was saying Tsugumi's weakness was... or perhaps it's more accurate to say, I'd come to understand it.
"You're dead wrong if you think you can live a peaceful school life from now on. Let's see... a girl you're close to... ────I could go for Sakayanagi in Class A, couldn't I? I bet she'd make a great scream...!"
"Tsugumi!?"
Tsugumi grabbed Ryuuen by the collar and swung his right fist. ────At that moment, I trusted the chill I felt and moved to the side with all my might.
Just in the nick of time, the punch grazed Ryuuen's ear and hit the tree behind him. The blow, which tore a chunk out of the tree's trunk, was something no normal person could have produced. With blood dripping from his right fist, Tsugumi glared at me as if asking why I'd stopped him.
"If that had hit you head-on, I don't know if you'd have gotten away with just a broken bone. Don't fall for cheap provocations."
"...Tch."
After clicking his tongue, Tsugumi turned his back on Ryuuen and slowly lifted Horikita and held her in his arms.
"Let's go home."
"...Yeah."
Ryuuen seemed to have finally run out of energy and sat down with his back against the tree. Ibuki and Alberto, who had suffered relatively minor injuries, were watching us, but they didn't seem to have any intention of fighting any further, perhaps because of the evidence.
Having judged that there was no more threat, I silently followed after Tsugumi. For some reason, he was holding Horikita with his left arm, not his dominant right.
"I'm sorry."
For the first time ever, I felt uncomfortable with the silence between Tsugumi and me, and though I knew it was unforgivable, I apologized.
"You're apologizing to the wrong person, Kiyotaka."
"...Yeah."
────It was the first time he had called me "Kiyotaka," but all that was left in my heart was a feeling of emptiness.
"────Hah, I'm the worst... I wanted to believe that I had changed a little."
It was a good thing it was raining. Thanks to that, the Tsugumi walking in front of me couldn't hear me.
"You're a better person than most."
============
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