"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!"
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR".
"….What?" perplexed Hajime as if he was done with everything when he saw Ibuki imitating a lion while holding a cardboard ring. Why was she doing that in the first place, only she knew.
"Oh, did you like my impression?" asked Ibuki as she stopped acting like a big cat, wondering what the rest of the class at that time felt of her imitations. They were just as confused, or at the very least intrigued as the ahoge boy was.
"….What even was that?" asked Hajime with squinted eyes.
"Oh, you don't know? Then...let Ibuki tell ya that she is feeling like a total lioness today!" Ibuki elaborated, Ibuki style, that during that day, she felt her inner cat needed to be let out. Since this was Ibuki talking, reactions were expected.
"...You do you, Ibuki." sighed Hajime, once again having to let Ibuki just be Ibuki, since protesting her would end up nowhere. For a while, it seemed like it would be a normal morning for Hope's peak.
But it wasn't.
Meanwhile, outside of the academy, a certain feline gangster was sneaking through the bushes. Infiltrating more like a spy than a cat, Tom looked for any possible entrances to sneak through. One of them was the outside entrance of the dining room, with him checking it to see if he could go in. Unlike with his half Bosnian half Japanese colleague, that time Hope's peak folk hasn't forgotten to lock the door. Not that it stopped Tom, since he used his claws to cut a hole in the glass door, licking his finger to gently place the glass circle away as he sneaked in. He placed the circle back before he took a look around in the dining hall. Just like he imagined, it was empty. It only gets full during breaks. More than enough time for Tom to get the full view. Knowing that dining hall wasn't particularly useful, he decided to inspect other parts of it. First thing he inspected was the kitchen, to which, much to his surprise, was already used. Like a snake, he hid himself amid the furniture as he observed the chef preparing himself for the day.
"Hmm, yes….Today I will make….lets see what's on the list." Teruteru mused to himself before he checked the papers, wondering what would be that day's lunch. It turned out that it was something simple rather than something grandiose, latter which he prefers to prepare. "Oh, a stew! Very well then, lets get sensational!...After I do something first.".
He went out of the kitchen, going to his class to join them for their day. Unknowingly, this allowed Tom to investigate it. The usual stuff of kitchen seemed pretty inconspicuous, but then it dawned upon him once he accidentally stepped on a certain tile. It sounded much hollower than usual, immediately gaining his suspicion. He knocked on it, just to be sure. As it echoed, it confirmed that there was something suspicious behind that tile. With just one hand, he gently tore the tile away, revealing an entrance. With a satisfied yet malicious grin on his face, Tom jumped like a swimmer diving into the pool as he traversed through the tunnel rapidly.
Meanwhile, at the core of the underground complex that was oddly not used that much ever since they moved to the garage, penguins were packing their remaining stuff, moving it to their current hideout instead.
"You know, I sometimes wonder why did we even build the base here." Private was the first one to admit that their underground base was sort of useless in the long run.
"Well, to be fair, we didn't expect them to get on our side so easily. It could have been, you know, the usual "AAAAH PENGUINS GET THEM" schtick or something like that." Skipper rationalized his decision as he was moving his stuff away. He didn't imagine he would get Hope's peak folk so quickly on their side, but due circumstances, he was deep down pretty grateful for it.
"If anything, it is fortunate that they found out about us after they found out about Herman. It made our cause much more believable." added Kowalski, while also expressing a scenario where they wouldn't know about Daft Capo, although he still found it hard to believe that it would go so easily. Perhaps they were lucky that Gundham was the first person they talked to and not someone else.
"Yeah, and thankfully most of them are not hippies, although that afro dude is certainly suspicious…" Skipper suspected certain fortune teller of being part of a certain movement most known for their protesting actions in the 60's, just from his appearance alone.
"Judging from his belief about occult, I can certainly say that he's-" Kowalski was about to confirm his suspicion, but then something happened which other three penguins were put on alert quickly, but Skipper, due to him facing back from the event, took a while.
Tom's head popped out of the hole, immediately spotting four antarctic birds. From an angry looking feline face, a smug grin appeared on it, just waiting everyone to notice him before he would start hunting them down.
"Uh, Skipper. Behind you." Private pointed at the feline in fear.
"What is it, Private? What could be my behind-" Skipper asked with somewhat decent level of confidence before he managed to turn around, witnessing the cat by himself. Tom wiggled his eyebrows, just to taunt him. Such event made his beak shut as he turned back, with shrunken irises.
"Tom?!".
"Tom!" Rico gave out a final alert as the penguins lads dropped their stuff, beginning to run away from the unexpected cat menace.
"Strategic retreat, boys!" Skipper gave out an order as they began sliding on their stomachs, going through the exit on another side. Like a steam locomotive, Tom rolled his legs and began dashing towards them, their morning started with the chase. Penguins kept sliding through the tight tunnel, but the end of it was getting larger, thanks to Tom's limbs drilling through it like a true mean drill machine.
Penguins managed to jump out of the exit, from a seamless bush as they started to think about where to go. However, Tom soon followed, emerging out of it like a zombie on speed. Dirt was still falling from him, but that didn't stop him from pulling out the seamless bush with his one hand, roots and all out. Then he threw it at penguins in order to stop them, but the penguins managed to leap just in time to dodge the bushy projectile. Seamless bush was no more, and Tom killed it. Out of haste, penguins just forcefully opened academy's door and slid inside. Tom just slammed in with his entire body, not even giving a damn as he had his eyes locked on penguins. He was no longer just running, he was going full steam ahead.
"How did he find out, Kowalski?! That was supposed to be super top secret!" Skipper attempted to quickly discuss about how did he out of all people find out their place.
"I am not sure, but lets spare energy to try about defeating this menace!" Kowalski advised as Tom was just inches away from swiping and capturing them. Penguins were only just a little faster and even then they needed boosts.
"Right, priorities first!" Skipper followed his advice as they continued sliding around the hallways, hoping to find some time to think of a plane to stop the chasing menace. Tom was getting considerably closer to them, even sometimes trying to snatch them, only for them to dodge it in a second. During the chase, Rico attempted to spit out anything he had, from mere tacks to even a jackhammer, but Tom, due to his experience in chasing, manage to evade them just by zig-zagigging his way of running. Thus, those animals ran around Hope's peak, with each having different goals in mind.
Meanwhile, Mikan was just carrying her medicines, transferring them from nurse's office to her class, just so her class could have some first aid. Even with all the things happening, Mikan was getting more comfortable with her class as the days went by, although Hiyoko seemed to be an exception for her.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm, I gotta do it like Miss Yukizome said-" Mikan hummed along the way, but she got startled once she saw four black and white blurs pass by, not knowing that it was penguins.
"H-huh? Penguins in our school? That's odd, since they usually-" wondered Mikan on what caused her bird colleagues to operate in the school at such early times. It was usually reserved for special cases only. The thing was, it was a special case, just that she had yet to see it.
And then she saw it, a determined looking cat breaking while making a turn like a car, running on two legs.
"W-wha?!" yelped Mikan, just being too little too late from stepping aside from the speeding cat, but Tom didn't care, he just ran over her like a relentless muscle car driver would just plow through a moose on the road. She was sent in the air, just for a bit, before he back met the solid surface of the floor, with a sound accompanying her fall. "O-ow!" Owie...that hurts….".
Then, for some reason, Tom returned, looking at her with the same determined expression as he had before.
"I-I am sorry that I was in your way, kitty-" trembled Mikan as she laid on the floor, fearful of the bipedal cat. However, Tom did not care, he just grabbed her by her hips and lifted her in the air. "K-kitty, what are you doing?".
All Tom simply did was to slam her on the floor, straightening her out before he picked her up again, using her entire body as a spear. Like an ancient warrior, his legs started to spin once again, following the penguins at the very least from the memory. Due to his sheer speed, he was already catching up to her.
"W-w-w-what's goooooing oooooooooooooon?!" Mikan yelped, powerlessly letting herself be carried like a spear. Once he got himself into the visible range of penguins and with straight enough hall, he threw her, proudly like a Hellenic warrior throwing the projectile at their enemy. He twisted his hand just enough that it would cause her to spin midair, with his angled throw making it just enough that Mikan would land in front of penguins, not directly in them. Penguins only realized that a thrown human was flying above them once they saw shadow on themselves, spinning in the process. Mikan's back once again met the hard floor, with her spine being the epicenter of agony. She yelped in it, even more so when penguins accidentally bumped into her with their beaks. It took them a while to realize what even happened.
"Human projectiles, seriously? Have you went that low, you crazy cat?" Skipper condemned him for using their colleagues as a projectiles, but all Tom was doing was sprinting right at them. "Shrimp! He's coming right at us! Kowalski, Rico, take the left flank! Private, you with me!".
Penguins split up, leaving the scene with Tom having to choose on which group to chase. After thinking about it in haste, he decided to go after Kowalski and Rico. As he went off, Mikan picked herself up, carrying the burden of back pain. She stretched a bit, just to make it a little less unpleasant.
"W-what just happened? What even is that cat?" Mikan kept perplexing at the sheer existence of such a being. Since she just managed to get a glimpse of Tom, she followed him as the chase went on.
Another hall entered, that one being slightly more equipped with furniture than usual ones. As both penguins kept sliding, Rico spotted a random cupboard, already receiving an idea on how to use it against Tom. The penguin of few words slid towards the cupboard, leading Kowalski to it.
"Eh eh?" Rico pointed at the object, suggesting to drop it right when the cat comes.
"Now that is a devilish idea, Rico" Kowalski approved with a devious smirk on his face. Both of them placed themselves, so that they could just simply push it on Tom. Speaking of him, he was just about to sprint, when both penguins pushed the cupboard right on him. A loud crash followed, squashing the hostile cat in the process. It was just large enough that Tom was fully covered. Kowalski and Rico gave each other a high five as they left the scene. Unfortunately, the nurse saw the whole incident.
"C-cat?! What happened to you?! Did you-oh no...no no no no…" Mikan ran towards him, begging for it to not be killed by the fallen cupboard. She even went on her knees, trying her best to lift the object up. "The cat couldn't be-"
Contrary to her expectations, Tom just squeezed out of it like a crab coming out of a hole, flat as a pancake. Then he just bit him thumb, blew in it and inflates himself back into his proper shape. Not even bothering to pay attention to Mikan, he just dashed off, chasing the penguins instead.
Meanwhile, Mikan's eyes started to twitch, feeling like she's gonna have a stroke any second. Her sanity was dropping harder than an anvil thrown from a considerable height.
"W-WHWWHWHAHWAHWAHAT?! T-that's not medically possible! Not scientifically possible! Not eve-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Mikan lost her shit as she started to pull her hair out of reasons only known to her. She ran away to her class, with a huge urge to report what her eyes witnessed.
In the mean time, Kowalski and Rico returned to the remaining penguin colleagues, with confident smirks on their face, now that Tom was slowed down.
"Hehe, you did us a good work, Kowalski. Now Private, get ready!" praised Skipper as they went sliding in advance, preparing a plan to stop the cat menace.
As they planned, Mikan finally reached her class, opening the door with all of her strength she had.
"G-guys! G-guys, y-y-you h-have to k-know t-this!" Mikan started calling out, desiring to report the event she witnessed just few minutes ago. She immediately became a center of attention as
"Urgh, spit it out already, Porky!" Hiyoko, in her own way, said to cut it and just let it out.
"T-there's a-" Mikan just wanted to say her thing, but in the mean time, penguins prepared a rope on one of halls, just waiting for him to trip over, so that they could smack his paws with hammers they were carrying. And such, it happened. Tom fell over the rope and then...
SMASH!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!".
Resonance of the scream utterly obliterated every single window that Hope's peak had. Penguins were knocked back, sent right into the wall. Even some people in classes got knocked back by it, such as Ibuki, who fell on the floor upon hearing the agonized roar of a beast. Not the only one who was on the floor, in fact, most of the class was at the very least under the table.
"...W-what the FUCK was that?!" Fuyuhiko attempted to stand up, wondering what could make such a scream that could break windows.
"My hearing just went kaploey!" Ibuki's mind became mush for a brief, seeing stars as everything sounded rather dim to her. Suddenly, an unexpected guest barged in, with a very furious expression on his face.
"Which one of you imbeciles is responsible for this?! Was it you, or you?" Byakuya demanded to know who caused school-wide ear destruction.
"Uh, not me. I have an alibi!" denied Nekomaru, to which he was right. Others shook their heads as well, being as surprised as Byakuya was.
"What did you say? I can't hear ya!" Ibuki put her hand on her ear, so that she could hear better, since her hearing seemed to be genuinely damaged. Byakuya slapped his forehead, feeling done with what he felt like were their shenanigans.
"Stop wasting my time and tell me which one of you is responsible!" Byakuya demanded as he clenched his fist, visibly frustrated at that point.
"…..No one. It came from outside." Chiaki quietly defended her class while also assuming that it came from somewhere else. After thinking about it, Byakuya decided to see if there could be any other culprit.
"If it truly isn't you, then….that. That class." Byakuya scowled even more upon even thinking about that class, stomping away as he decided to pay a visit to his least favorite place in the whole academy.
"I swear, if I ever hear class 69 ever again, I'll make sure that-" Byakuya grumbled to himself, before he glanced over, seeing four black and white blurs speeding through. He immediately recognized them as penguins, but he was still surprised by their presence.
"...What? Penguins? Shouldn't they be-" wondered Byakuya before the inevitable arrived.
Tom himself, once again, gained the attention of a Hope's peak student. Just like the unfortunate girl before, he felt like he was going to have a stroke, witnessing a cat running on two legs, even breaking like a car.
"WHA-!" exclaimed Byakuya, but before he could do anything, Tom just plowed through, knocking him out in the process. He fell on his back, picking himself up quickly, but the image was already in his mind. The confident Byakuya was essentially having a crisis.
"T-there was….t-there was….no...it...can't...be….a….cat….it was a...cat…" stammered Byakuya as he slowly returned to his class, opening the door as he was greeted with concerned looks of his classmates. Even though he was nearly universally seen as a stuck up bastard (notable exception being Toko Fukawa, who saw him as a sex god), they could feel there was something wrong.
"Byakuya? Whats wrong? You look...unusual today." Makoto was the first one to ask.
"T-there's...a...cat….a...cat in the school….a cat in the school…" Byakuya tried to explain the best way he could, but his mind was still melting from witnessing Tom.
"A...cat?" Kyoko raised her eyebrow, perplexed on why was so much emphasis put on a mere cat. At least, that's what she thought.
"Uh, why is it such a big deal? It's just a cat, Byakuya…" questioned Aoi, not understanding the whole deal, even though no one was aware with who were they dealing with.
"It ran on two legs! Have you ever seen a cat run on two legs before in person?!" Byakuya further explained in almost panicky tone.
"I mean, the first enemy was a land based octopus, so…." Yasuhiro, out of all people, reminded them of their first dealing with a Daft Capo member.
"Yeah, why would a bipedal cat be that outlandish?" Hifumi completed the question for him.
"Byakuya, I thought you were the last remaining sane one in this school…." sighed Celestia in disappointment as she sipped her tea made by Hifumi.
"I. Literally. Saw. it. With. My. Own. Eyes!" Byakuya started to get frustrated, putting in jumbled words as he tried to rationalize how a bipedal cat is causing havoc in the academy.
Meanwhile, Mikan finally managed to say it that there is the feline causing chaos in the school. They were not really as shocked compared to their impression of Herman, but they still wondered about the cat, especially how it defied common sense and if it, maybe, even was aligned to a certain group. However, one girl already knew what to do the moment the word "cat" was uttered.
"So, what are you saying is...there's a cat problem at Hope's peak?" Ibuki crossed her arms, closed her eyes and gave a smirk, already cooking up plans on how to catch the cat.
"Y-yeah and it-" Mikan confirmed, but she was quickly silenced when Ibuki put her index finger on her lips. Not out of malice, but because that's all she needed to hear.
"Tsk tsk. Say no more...because what this school needs is an expert! And luckily, you have an expert right here!" boasted Ibuki, with her suddenly growing a Pinoccio nose, with some wondering how the heck can she do that.
"What exactly are you talking about? Do you even know how to handle a feline beast?" Gundham already began suspecting her deceit, that she was just bluffing.
"Oh, Ibuki sure does!" winked Ibuki before she started spinning like a ballerina. In her mind, the entire school turned into a pink, sparkle infested background. She closed her eyes, suddenly gaining MayQueen NyanNyan cat ears, as she let her inner cat manifest. Whiskers, done with a marker, appeared on her cheeks. A tail popped up as well, with a thin white paper representing it. Once she got it all, she struck a pose before opening her eyes, revealing to she transformed.
"NOW PRESENTING….IBUKI MEOWDA!"
"Nyaaaaaa!~".
A dumbfounded silence followed, with only Chisa, Chiaki and Sonia giving her an applause for such performance. Others ranged from confused to reactions which would require some explaining to do.
"My goodness! It's a true magical cat girl, just like in anime!" Sonia's eyes startled to sparkle upon being graced by her cat girl classmate. Seldom a reaction like that was had.
"….Oh god…." Hajime's soul could feel flashbacks of another cat girl. Understandably, since Ibuki was her colleague.
"Hey, Peko? Am I going to have a stroke?" Fuyuhiko leaned towards his swordswoman classmate to whisper and assure if he's going insane.
"But...she's kinda cute about it, though." Peko quietly admitted that she sort of enjoyed Ibuki being a cat, even though she was very embarrassed to admit it. Meanwhile, one student had a particularly noticeable reaction towards his classmate turning into a cat.
"ADJURE TE, SPIRITUS NEQUISSIME, PER SUPRA DOMINOS DE FASTIGIO OMNIPOTENTEM! ADJURE TE, SPIRITUS NEQUISSIME, PER SUPRA DOMINOS DE FASTIGIO OMNIPOTENTEM! ADJURE TE, SPIRITUS NEQUISSIME, PER SUPRA DOMINOS DE FASTIGIO OMNIPOTENTEM!" Gundham stepped back, made a cross with his fingers as he started chanting in either utter bafflement or anger upon seeing such heresy against nature. Not a single one understood his reaction, not even Hajime, the one with cat girl phobia.
"It's just….it's just Ibuki with cat ears and….drawn whiskers…." Mahiru tried to explain to him that there was nothing to fear, but Gundham insisted with chanting.
"Nyaaa! Thank you all for your meownderful feedback, nya! Now, Ibuki Meowda must go, to catch that silly cat! Only one kitty shall remain, nya!" Ibuki fully embraced her inner cat, even talking like if she was Ibuki Nyannyan instead of Ibuki Mioda. She stormed off, leaving the class completely baffled, although some people did enjoy her performance. The ahoge boy was not among them.
"...There's...there's no coming back from this…." uttered Hajime, with his irises shrunk.
Thus, Ibuki started inspecting hall, looking for the cat while also acting like one. She even crawled on the floor, just to be even more feline like. In terms of cat levels, Ibuki was unstoppable among Hope's peak folk.
"Meow! Meooooooow!" Ibuki started to act like she was a female cat looking for a partner, hoping that it would attract the cat if it was male. However, as she crawled on the floor, even stretching to relax herself, she encountered her avian friends. The penguins were utterly baffled at the sight of a musician woman acting like a cat.
"Wha….what are you even on, woman?!" ask Skipper in pure perplexity.
"Don't worry, my penguins friends! Ibuki's got a plan! Ibuki knows how to deal with cats." Ibuki elaborated as Ibuki does while also boasting about her prowess as a cat catcher.
"But this ain't no cat! It's Tom!" warned Skipper that she wasn't dealing with an ordinary cat.
"Just because he's Tom doesn't mean Ibuki is gonna be afraid of it!" Ibuki didn't heed his warning, still confident in her cat abilities.
"You don't know what you're dealing with, Miss!" Skipper insisted that she should be cautious
"I mean, what can a single cat do? It's not like it's a tiger, it's a kitty cat! Though, tigers are kitty cats, just big, so….yeah, still gonna do it!" Ibuki's head was hard to crack, so their only option was to just let her have it.
"...Okay. So….in the mean time, we gotta alert others about him! Kowalski, Rico, go to Class 77-B, me and Private-" Skipper wanted to initiate another plan, but they heard car like breaking coming closer. Penguins had to evade, changing their plans. "Abort, abort! Change of plans, boys!".
Meanwhile, this was the perfect opportunity for Ibuki to unleash her plans.
"Hmmm, alright! Now comes the first step of catching a cat!" Ibuki confidently smiled to herself before she let out a sound that was, in theory, supposed to attract cats. "Pspspspspspspspps.".
Surprisingly, that noise did actually get Tom's attention, only for how weird it was. He wasn't attracted to it at all, just confused by it. In the mean time, once she gained his attention, Ibuki quickly crawled to the kitchen. She observed it and luckily enough, she found a yet to be cut raw steak on the plate. Even at that moment, she refused to drop her cat mode as she jumped on it, snatched the meat with her mouth and carried it back to the halls. The cat in human form placed the steak on the floor as she hid herself behind the corner.
"Hehehe, Teru won't even notice! Now comes the second step: juicy meat!" Ibuki thought to herself, having a rather mischievous grin on her face, eagerly waiting for the cat to take the bait, so she could leap at him and capture him. "And then, when the cat snatches the meat, I'll snatch the cat! Ibuki's genius...is another level! The kitty won't know whats coming!".
Little did she know Tom came from the very corner she was hiding from, sneaking just behind her. Ibuki was way too invested in observing her bait, that she didn't even notice that the very target she was looking for was right behind her. Since she was on all fours, her butt was lifted up, imitating sort of a prepared stance for the leap. Before he did anything, Tom took a look at her booty with great interest, with his expression going from the good old determined one to a very curious yet seduced one. What his colleagues were saying was right, she did have the posterior of a goddess. He even wiggled with his eyebrow, just enjoying the view like an artist enjoying a painting of a nude woman. At one point, she accidentally shook her butt, giving Tom an idea on what to do with her. Too busy to notice him, Tom prepared his arm, placed it near her butt and then swung it a little to the side like a golfer. Then, the moment was right.
SMACK!
Tom slapped her ass so hard, she was flipped over, making a roll on the floor. Tom pumped his fist in satisfaction before he ran away, not because of fear, but just so he could do a following thing.
Meanwhile Ibuki was on the floor, face down, ass up, completely red in her cheeks as she was feeling a burning sensation in her behind. All she did was blankly stare at the floor, before she touched her butt, feeling the heat of it.
"Ma….ma bootey…..ma bootey got smacked?! Again?!" stammered Ibuki while thinking about all the instances her buttocks received physical force, not counting where she did it to herself. She picked herself up, like a normal being, only to notice Tom looking from the corner, extending his tongue as he made some really annoying noises. It made Ibuki realize who was the one who gave her the spank.
"Hnggggh! Silly cat, you won't go away with tarnishing the booty of goddess! Only lovers can spank each other as their hearts content!" Ibuki vowed revenge on him, shaking her fist as she clenched with her teeth, storming off to think of a new plan.
Later on, Ibuki cooked up a new plan. Coming from the warehouse, she threw a large box on the floor, then placed smaller ones near it. Penguins noticed her actions, even wanting to ask her about it.
"Now, no cat can't resist boxes! This will definitely work!" Ibuki raised her index finger as she answered a question that wasn't even said out loud.
"How's it going, cat master?" Skipper asked another question, with obvious doubt leaking from his voice.
"The first plan flopped! Now this one, this one will definitely work!" Ibuki slouched with her shoulders, hesitant to admit that her usual tactics did not work on Tom.
"What exactly do you plan to do with a box?" piqued Kowalski, observing the boxes.
"It's a bait, so I can snatch the cat!" quickly elaborated Ibuki, putting her arms on her hips as she smiled proudly.
"But why boxes?" innocently asked Private, unaware of any cat related thing.
"Because every cat, from a tabby to a tiger, loves boxes! It's a stone cold fact!" Ibuki explained, pompously as ever. She seemed to be especially proud of such fact.
"True, that is an undeniable fact." Kowalski confirmed as well, somehow knowing about that fact.
"Well, if you need help, call us ASAP. We gotta-by three thousand shrimps, he's coming there!" Skipper offered her help, but they had to evade, due to the incoming menace. However, that meant for another opportunity for the Meowda.
"Aha! Perfect opportunity, where my booty won't get smacked!" Ibuki hid herself behind the corner, observing if he would take the bait. Tom, upon arrival, immediately noticed the boxes. He put his hands on his hips, not amused by how obvious the bait was. He pretended that he fell for it, by placing his one foot in the box.
"Mreeeow, gotcha now, kitty!" Ibuki suddenly leaped from the corner, but Tom just stepped away, letting her land in a box. The less amused cat then picked up smaller boxes and threw it right at her, essentially "stoning" her with boxes in the process. Ibuki was once again shocked that Tom failed to take the bait. He ran off, leaving her in the box.
"...A cat that resist boxes? Impossible, this is getting out of hand!" Ibuki's irises shrunk, realizing that she needs her master or "meowster" in the words of cat enthusiasts. "Alright, I need back up! The true master of cats!".
Ibuki picked up her phone and called the one who makes all cats bow down to her.
Meanwhile, class wondered on her progress, waiting patiently as the window to outside was open, just letting fresh air in.
"S-so...how's Ibuki doing?" Mikan was the first one to ask.
"She knows how to handle cats, so she must be doing good…..I think." reassured Chiaki, fully believing that she more or less took care of it. Ibuki was her friend after all, in a lot of ways more skilled than Chiaki.
"Bah! I bet she's jobbing at it!" Hiyoko immediately dismissed her claim, grumbling while also feeling she's taking a long time to deal with just a cat.
"Are you saying that just to be a contrarian?" Hajime raised his eyebrow, poking a little fun at her.
"I mean, are you blind or something? That's how you deter every single cat in the city possible!" fumed Hiyoko, still feeling that "Ibuki Meowda" is one of the most ridiculous things she has seen that day. Little did she now that someone sneaked in through the window, infiltrating the class like a ninja.
"I mean, I've seen worse…" said Hajime while unaware that a certain someone was just behind him. Rest of the class looked at him and that person with intrigue, although one was kind enough to alert him of that person.
"Demon behind you, my minion!" warned Gundham as he pointed at the menace behind him.
"What?" asked Hajime before he was just too late when he heard a soft, seductive whisper. A rather familiar one at that.
"I am coming for ahoge, Haji-nya~."
"WHA-" Hajime was just about to have flashbacks when the menace by the name of Faris Nyannyan jumped at him, slapping the heck out of his ahoge. Both of them fell, with Faris being on top of him, still slapping his ahoge where as Hajime screamed in fear. Multiple emotions were had in the class, from relief to absolute bafflement. Some of them even giggled at the screaming Hajime, bullied by a petite cat girl. One of his students decided to aid him, with Gundham going to the sink, wetting his hand with water and upon returning, spraying Faris with water like a Pope blesses or in that case, commits exorcism.
"Begone, Feline Fatale!" shouted Gundham, with Faris obeying his order and getting off of Hajime, whom she utterly embarrassed in front of everyone. Since most of them were already familiar with her, they weren't too shocked with her. However, one was, with her grimacing through hell and back upon seeing her. If Ibuki Meowda was ridiculous, the OG Nyannyan was another level.
"...W-what creature are you?!" stammered Hiyoko, horrified by her cutesy appearance. It was like cringe was running through her blood.
"What am I, meowstress? I am the true master of cats, nya! Ibu-nya called upon me! She said that this cat is a real deal!" Faris pompously introduced herself before she ran off, without any elaboration, going to deal with the cat menace instead. "I must go now, nya!".
The rest of the class was left in dumbfounded silence, not even sure what to say at that point. Hiyoko was still grimacing from witnessing the Nyannyan.
"Get...get used to it." Fuyuhiko warned her that things like that will be a common occurrence. At that point, the class waited for them to deal with the cat menace.
Meanwhile, Faris ran through halls, looking for her musician friend. Didn't take her a long time to find her feline enthusiast.
"Faris!" Ibuki immediately hugged her on the spot, to which Faris gladly returned the favor as well. She even spun around like a ballerina while hugging her. After letting go off each other, Faris wanted to tell her about the plan.
"Ibu-nya, as I was arriving to Hope's peak, I already have come up with a plan!" Faris already popped off, revealing that she formulated it on the way already.
"Oooh, the Great Faris! Thank you for your presence! Now please, tell me how to defeat this cat!" Ibuki went on her knees and bowed down to her "Meowstress" so to speak.
"Alrighty, nya! First thingy-" Faris wanted to say her plan to her, but soon enough, penguins joined once again, chased by the cat menace. Tom was still far away, so they could have some time to chat.
"Feline Fatale? What are you doing here?" Skipper asked out of a surprise.
"Ibuki needed some back up, so I'll let the Meowstress do it!" Ibuki explained her cat colleague's presence at Hope's peak academy.
"First thingy, Contractors, is that I'll need you as a bait. Then me and Ibu-nyan will corner him! This time, it will work, nya!" Faris immediately included them in her plan, while also concluding it within such short amount of said words.
"Oh, that's a good idea!" Ibuki happily agreed with her plan.
"Pronto...you cat people. You do your...cat things while we will lure him in!" Skipper just went through, even though he was completely baffled by them. However, the sound of rolling legs could be heard, indicating one thing: Tom was coming. Faris and Ibuki quickly hid themselves as penguins intentionally placed themselves as bait, sliding on the floor as Tom chased them down. They didn't pull off any trick, they just led Tom to the best possible place for cat allies to strike him down.
After running through the halls again, penguins intentionally placed themselves in the corner, just waiting for Tom to be close enough. Once he was, all they did was smirk confidently, with exception of Private, who was just confused.
"Now boys, it's their time." announced Skipper as Tom just reached the desire distance. They slid away just near him, fast enough that he couldn't react. Suddenly, the first ambush happened.
"Hai-meow-yah!" Ibuki jumped out of her corner, cornering him in the process. She even made those motions with hands that she will grab him.
"Nya! Gotcha now, kitty!" Faris soon followed the suit, double cornering him. Tom looked more confused than scared, just wondering what could these two girls do to him.
"Hah! Now we got you! You were a crafty one, but you are no match to Queens of Cats! Now get ready for-" boasted Ibuki, but her confident facade quickly lost guard when she noticed that Tom was looking at his wrist, not even being intimidated by those two. "Aha..ha...Mr. Tom? Why are you checking your arm as if you had a clock?".
Once he did that, Tom gave them one last malicious grin, signifying that something will happen. Then, he started spinning, obscuring his presence as if he was a tornado. He spun so fast that only thing cat girls could look at was blue blur.
"Nya? What is this?" Faris tilted her head, curious on what exactly was Tom doing. Ibuki wondered the same, she has never seen a cat spin so fast before. But then, he stopped spinning….
『 』
Suddenly, he wore a white, glittering zoot suit, accompanied with a fedora. His back was facing them, with him looking at his palm. He didn't even turn, only glanced at them with a threatening glare. It was no longer just a silly cat, but a bonafide Daft Capo member.
"W-wHWAH? H-how...H-HOW DID HE CHANGE CLOTHES OUTTA THIN AIR?!" screamed Ibuki in utter fear upon witnessing such event. Faris was at loss of words, she has never seen a being like this in person. Suddenly, without hesitation, Tom turned towards them and immediately grabbed Faris' twintails.
"N-NYA?!" screeched Faris before she received a knee right in her stomach, so powerful that it immediately put her out of the fight. Ibuki could only tremble with fear, but Tom was not done yet. He started spinning the unconscious Faris with his one hand like a lasso before he focused his attention towards the fearful musician. Ibuki could only run away, but before she could even do that, Tom smacked her with Faris' body, sending her to the nearest wall. Then, he proceeded to beat her up with it, not stopping until she was rendered unconscious. After being finished with Ibuki and Faris, he threw them across the hall, just to put salt on the wound. Tom slowly walked away, determined that anyone he would encounter in the academy would suffer the same fate. One obstacle appeared right in front of him: penguins, who were absolutely shocked by his changed appearance. While there were only theories before, it has been confirmed that Tom is a Daft Capo member.
"T-Tom is a Daft Capo member?!" shrieked Private upon such revelation.
"Much to our surprise, it seems so." answered Kowalski with perplexity in his voice. Then, they saw their fallen comrades across the hall, horrified by the damage done by Tom.
"You...you dastard! They were a bunch of cat obsessed freaks, but they're OUR cat obsessed freaks!" Skipper shook his flipper at him as all of them took a battle stance. All Tom did was to glance at them, with the same stoic, yet determined expression on his face. "There's no time to waste, lets get that feline menace down!".
However, what they did not expect was Tom already running towards them, not like a locomotive, but more like an athlete doing his best to be the fastest one in the race. Before they could even strike, Tom kicked private like a football, sending him flying. It all seemed reminiscent of their defeat in Denmark, giving them flashbacks.
"Private, no!" Skipper called out for him in despair, echoing the same words as he called out for him when Fritz kicked him. However, they accidentally left the opening, leaving Tom to snatch both Kowalski and Skipper and slamming them on the wall. It was so hard that they were rendered unconscious. Tom couldn't kill anyone thanks to the rules of engagement by Daft Capo, which he seemed to disagree with. Rico was spared, for some reason. Despite fearing his prowess, Rico still insisted a fight.
"U-uh...blergh!" Rico spat out a spatula, hoping that it would hit him right in his nose, but Tom already caught it midair, grabbing the end of spatula.
"Oh…" Rico realized that this was a fight he couldn't do by himself as he tried to slide away from it, but Tom managed to snatch him before Rico even realized it. A flurry of spatula induced slaps were induced on Rico's head, enough to render him dizzy, but not unconscious. Rico started to see the stars before he felt a forceful squeeze. Tom, after he pulled out a duct tape and glued his flippers, just so he couldn't escape, demanded that he would spit items that he would wish to use
"Nuh uh!" Rico shook his head, but such response made Tom put his heard in his mouth, threatening that he would bite it off if he doesn't comply. Since Rico already felt the pressure of Tom's sharp teeth, he fearfully complied. Another obstacle down as he started strutting towards his next target.
As Tom patrolled the hallway, the class 77-B was starting to get concerned about lack of Ibuki and Faris' presence, just being there while their thoughts were started to get influenced by all sorts of worries.
"Ibuki and Faris have been absent for a long time, haven't they?" Mahiru pointed out that it took them unusually long time to get rid of what was a deemed as a silly cat.
"Yeah, perhaps this cat is more cunning than we thought." wondered Sonia as well, just why would such a cat cause them so long to get rid of. However, the one to first crack under pressure was Chisa, who, for some time supported her chin with her arm, decided to inspect what was going on.
"...Hold on, guys. I'll just go...check something…" quietly announced Chisa as she stood up and left the class. The teacher started to look everywhere for Ibuki and Faris, only to find them in the position that could only appear in her nightmares: lying on the floor, unconscious. Chisa gasped upon seeing a student and a friend completely hurt, falling on her knees as she got closer to them, even cradling both of them at the same time, hoping that they'll wake up.
"W-who….who did this to you?" Chisa's voice cracked as she checked their pulse, slightly relieved that they were still alive. Her hands were trembling as she was cradling both of them, but she let go off from them, letting out a little gasp when she heard footsteps. She hesitantly looked over, only to see the culprit: Tom, in the zoot suit, cracking his fists. Suddenly, her fearful begging expression changed into one that could be only described as the wrath of thousand suns.
"You...you have laid your dirty hands on my...my student….and I'll make sure I'll inflict the same pain to you as you did to my dear student!" hissed Chisa at him before she started sprinting like a furious rhino, wanting to utterly beat the living hell out of him. However, even though the wrathful teacher was sprinting at him, Tom just kept strutting slowly, knowing that whatever happens, he will know how to handle it. He didn't need to rush, Tom was the inevitability.
Just when she reached him, she was about to punch him right in the face, only for him to only move his head an inch away, dodging the entire punch in the process. Chisa pulled her arm back, not quitting to attempt delivering a punch right in his stoic face, even though he always dodged it with just slight body movements. Then, it was Tom's turn to punch back, but Chisa surprised him when she crouched and swiped him with a kick, causing him to fall down.
Once he was on the floor, she pinned herself onto him, looking directly in his eyes with her soul crashing glare of pure fury. Just for fun, Tom let her have one punch, which he evaded anyway, leaving a rather noticeable crater on the floor. When she was about to do the second one, Tom responded with kicking her with two feet, sending her in the air, which allowed him to roll away. Chisa landed on all fours somehow, ready to pick herself up after getting kicked right in the stomach. She noticed that Tom was about to kick her right there again, managing to evade just in time to deliver a chop on his leg. Where as normally he would let out an ear destruction scream, he just felt sensation in that form, with the chop powerful enough to send his leg back. In a way, Tom was impressed that she was able to put up a fight.
Both of them stood in the hall, like a sheriff and a bandit ready for a shoot out. Chisa's heart was still filled with never ending wrath, hyperventilating, where as Tom kept it cool all the way. Both of them glared at each other, waiting for any move the enemy would make. Chisa clenched her fist where as Tom just slightly put his hand in the pocket.
The first move was set, with Chisa sprinting towards him to punch him right in the face. However, one thing completely startled her: Tom pulling out Rico out of his pocket, squeezing him. First projectile to be fire was a tennis ball, just slightly hitting her forehead. Then, a baseball followed, causing her to flinch. The decisive blow was done with a spat out shot put, launched at the exact speed that would cause Chisa to be knocked out, but not killed. Chisa fell on the floor, with severe pain in her head due to the impact.
Tom then grabbed the fallen Chisa by the hair, dragged her a bit and placed her in such way that her butt could be kicked with ease. The intended direction of her destination was a pile of Ibuki and Faris. Tom imitated a rectangle with his hands, just to calculate the power he needs to pull out. After doing that, knocked out yet still conscious Chisa received a powerful kick in her ass, sent flying towards the pile and rightfully landing on it. A crash like sound was made on the impact, heard by class 77-B itself.
"Um, what was that?" Sonia wondered as she started suspecting that something much bigger was happening at the school. Due to lack of all three of them, class was started to get even more worried. The first one to crack that time was Chiaki, who was already increasingly worried when Ibuki was gone for a long time, but for Chisa to take so much, her heart started to beat unnaturally fast.
"Hold on...I'll go check it…" murmured Chiaki as she quickly stood up and dashed outside, checking to see if her teacher and friends are alright.
"Nanami, hold on a-" Hajime wanted to warn her, but he was to late, she already made her decision on haste. He was getting worried that she would throw herself in danger again.
"Let us go after her! This...this might be more than we imagined!" Gundham suddenly stood up and let out a command, to which all of them followed. They wanted to see what even was the deal with that cat, if it truly was just silly or was it something else. Latter interpretation was getting more widespread.
Chiaki started to inspect the halls, to which she found out truth soon enough: a pile of three women, Ibuki, Faris and Chisa, all lying on the floor with two of them being unconscious and one barely hanging on. Chiaki felt like her heart stopped upon seeing not only two of her friends, but the person she felt safest at to be completely hurt. She fell on her knees, trying to repress herself to not panic too much, even if her heart was beating at alarmingly fast rate. Chiaki could feel her head burning upon seeing it. Even though she was hiding it just in case, she couldn't stop taking heavy breaths as her thoughts became overcome with anxieties.
"W-who….w-who did this to you, guys?!" Chiaki knelt down on the floor, begging them that they will be alright. She even thought about carrying them to the nurse's office, to safety, but she was soon surrounded by her classmates, equally appalled to what they saw.
"D-don't tell me that this is a doing of that fucking cat-" stammered Fuyuhiko, thinking that it has to be the work of that feline. It all got confirmed when Gundham glanced over, seeing that Tom was already observing them. However, Tom pointed directly at him, with a more curious expression on his face. Gundham, for once in his life, felt genuine fear in him. There something more to Tom, he felt. Something far more than anyone else could comprehend. Yet, he felt some kind of connection to Tom, as if they had something in common.
"Everyone, scatter across! This….this is no mere Daft Capo member we're dealing with! This is someone on a higher level!" Gundham ordered them to retreat on sight, knowing that even for a Daft Capo member, Tom was something else.
"Do you perhaps know him?" Impostor raised their eyebrow, remaining calm in such situation, where everyone else felt fear.
"I can sense it! The malicious ambition, the thirst for battle….it's...it's beyond-HE'S COMING RIGHT AT US!" Gundham tried to explain, but then he saw Tom seemingly charging right at them, causing all of them to start running for their lives. Well, with exception of two.
"….Not before he pays for what he's done to Miss Yukizome, Ibuki and Faris!" quietly threatened Chiaki as she had the same wrathful expression as her teacher had when she found Ibuki and Faris like that. She remained behind, ready to face the seemingly charging Tom. However, unlike her teacher, someone stopped her.
"Chiaki, not now!" Hajime begged her to not throw herself into danger, grabbing her hand as he tried to pull away from Tom, joining in the escape. Even though Chiaki initially resisted, since she not only wanted revenge, but also to protect others, Hajime managed to overcome and drag her towards the running group. "Not now, please!".
One person was dragged away, yet one remained.
"What, this funny looking cat is gonna make us run? Not on my-" Akane scoffed at the idea that a mere cat could be that powerful, ready to fight him, but she was soon forcefully pulled away be her coach.
"QUICK! NO TIME TO WASTE!" warned Nekomaru as all of them started running. However, Tom charging at them was a bluff, he was confident enough that he would get them eventually. He returned to strutting, albeit like a fast walk, knowing that their meeting with him will be inevitable.
As they ran, one of them was not blessed with any luck, as she tripped right at the most inconvenient moment.
"A-ah! I t-tripped! W-wait, please wait!" squeaked Mikan as she fell on the floor, begging someone to pick her up. Chiaki and Sonia were just about to do that, but then Tom appeared right at the worst possible time, causing both of them to be pulled back from the group, even though they had to leave one of their classmates. They were feeling guilty for it, but it was better one out than entire group out. Tom was just about to crack his fists, preying on the Mikan on the floor, when he suddenly head a voice.
"Hey, fuckin' bastard cat! Look over here!" threatened Mondo as he cracked his own fists. It seemed like class 78th heard about the cat gangster as well. Tom just looked at him, with the same stoic expression on his face. Rest of the class 78th stood back, even Sakura wasn't too sure of fighting Tom. However, the biker dude had a colleague with him.
"That's right! Bro will stop your rampage and show you the power of justice!" Kiyotaka gave out moral support to him. Mondo then started sprinting towards Tom, ready to punch him right in the face. Tom didn't even move, just waited him to come close enough.
"I have one thing to say to you: Fuck you-" Mondo let out his words, ready to punch him in the face, only for something to happen that no one did expect: Tom performed an uppercut right on his chin with such power that it made a hole in the ceiling. The punch itself sounded less like a punch and more of a 2000 lb bomb going off. With exception of Celeste, who remained in the class, all of class 78th was beyond shocked upon seeing it. Even Sakura and Kyoko were shaken to the core, to see such power of a cat. Mikan screamed upon witnessing it and Kiyotaka froze in utter terror. At that point the rest of the class had to run away, there was zero chance anyone could take him down either alone or unorganized.
"H-how?! H-HOW?! Bro is like the strongest-" perplexed Kiyotaka, only to be punched right in the face by Tom, knocking him out. Then the cat turned his attention towards the lying nurse, who begged him to spare her. Tom didn't care, he slammed her on the floor again before he bashed her head against the floor, knocking her out as well. After done with that, Tom decided to strut again, chasing two classes at once.
At one point, they had to go through a longer straight hall. Tom just spotted them and got an idea. Squeezing Rico, he spat out a bowling ball. The cat then did the rectangle fingers again, calculating how much force does he need to throw the ball. With right calculations, Tom then started running, before he rolled the bowling ball right at them. It was traveling in the perfectly straight line, free of any deviations. It was so fast that some couldn't even evade. Those unfortunate ones were Sayaka, Chihiro and Makoto, who got their feet hit by the bowling ball. Others managed to evade it, either by luck or quick reaction time. Upon seeing that three people were on the floor, although still conscious, Tom decided to sprint towards them, like a titan looking to crush the rebellion of mortals. Luckily, Sakura was the one that could rescue them.
"Do not worry, I'll carry you!" Sakura picked all of three people and started sprinting in advance. Others followed, trying to get with their lives away from Tom. Upon noticing, Tom slowed down, strutting once again. As they ran, a hand popped out of the dining hall, inviting them to go in. They followed the instructions of the hand, that one being of Gundham. They were all gathered in it, but they needed to get out of school.
"We're not safe here! To the hideout!" Gundham ordered as all of them, no objections indeed, ran out of the dining hall, to the outside, going to the direction of that garage. However, Tom soon caught up. They were lucky that no one was in the dining hall anymore, but Tom already saw the rustling outside, suspecting them they were going to somewhere. Somewhere where they operated.
Utilizing their secret path, they managed to reach their hideout, the garage, only to encounter one huge issue.
"Hold on a sec….who has the remote again?" Makoto was the one to point out that they need a remote and penguins usually had it. The problem was, not only were the penguins out of the fight, the one that did have the remote was under Tom's command. All of them froze in fear, upon realizing that their hideout was secret no more.
"Wait…..oh...oh no…." Impostor's irises shrunk, expecting possible the worst answer to their question.
Meanwhile, Tom was just squeezing Rico to see what sort of gadgets does he have. Then, Rico accidentally spat out the remote for a garage door. Tom immediately became curious of it and tried it out. He pressed one button to see what it does.
The door of garage opened just a little bit, immediately answering them the worst possible outcome.
"This hideout is no longer available, I'm afraid." cautioned Kyoko, still rather calm, although she was just as in shock as others.
"Take any shit that's important, we're leaving here. We gotta find another place now!" Fuyuhiko suggested in haste. The gap was too small for anyone to enter, so Nekomaru just forcefully opened the door with all of his strength he had.
"Get in! Do it quickly!" advised Nekomaru as all of them stormed in, grabbing anything useful they had, from the laptop to the files of Daft Capo. However, some other businesses needed to be taken care of.
"Hajime, there's a task you must do!" Gundham ordered as he pointed at the ahoge boy while also pointing at the direction of the exit, the one that led to the hall instead of outside.
"W-what? What do you need me for, Gundham?" Hajime perplexed on why Gundham needed him.
"Convince the landlord that the penguins no longer wish to operate this building!" Gundham gave him out a task, confusing him in the process.
"W-why me, out of all people?!" Hajime pointed at himself, doubting his abilities to do so.
"I believe in your persuading abilities. You have proved it on Avians of The Faraway Blizzard. Now, do not waste any more time!" Gundham gave out his argument on why he should do it. Considering that they had no time, Hajime had no choice but to accept.
"A-alright, I'll go!" Hajime rushed off, taking care of one business. Another person had business as well.
"I'll have to split up. There's business I need to take care of." said Impostor as he also went to the same direction as Hajime, being much more secretive about it.
"But you can't go alone! What if that cat finds you?" Sonia cautioned, not wanting to go in the danger.
"No, let him be. He knows what he's doing." Chiaki defended their position, knowing the truth behind it. Another moment that made Impostor realize that Chiaki is the reliable one.
"Trust me. I can handle myself." reassured Impostor, just seconds away from leaving the garage.
"I don't think it's a good idea to-" Mahiru advised to go against it, expressing the same fears as Sonia did.
"We don't have much time. I really have to do this." Impostor calmly warned as he left the garage, taking care of his business. After everything was done, all of them ran out, looking for another hideout while also hoping that they would come up with a plan to take down that cat.
Later on, Tom arrived, seeing an open, yet empty garage. Tom immediately guessed they have evacuated it, nothing useful was there. He picked up his phone, to call his colleague Wile E Coyote about it. Since both were legally not allowed to talk, they had to resort to messages. Tom simply typed out that he made the enemies run away.
"Oh, you have driven then out? Splendid! How many of them have you beaten up so far?" said Coyote's message while also asking him of how many people did he take down. Tom did as his colleague said, he typed out all names he recognized, including penguins.
"Oh, the teacher as well? Brilliant! I should ask about it. I'll update you on that, but now, lets have some student season, shall we?" Coyote gave him a compliment while also announcing that he will discuss the plan with the boss of Elite Bois. Their conversation concluded with that, with Tom maliciously grinning as he went on to search for students. He won't be the only one, since Coyote is already on patrol, observing the city while being on the roofs of skyscrapers.
Meanwhile, back in school, Kizakura was just wandering in the halls when he suddenly spotted a hole on the ceiling, accompanied with two people lying on the floor. Such sight gave him quite a shock.
"W-what? What happened here?" Koichi perplexed as he further explored the hall, only to find a worse sight: three women, one of them being his colleague Chisa, lying on the floor as well. Chisa was the only one who still was clinging on conscience. Koichi ran towards them, checking on what happened.
"Yukizome! Who did this to you?" Koichi crouched down, intending to carry Chisa to the school's very own hospital. To see her in such state was something he never imagined nor wanted.
"….Ki….Kizakura….please….take.." Chisa pleaded him to take care of all students hurt by the gangster, barely mumbling as she still kept going strong.
"Yukizome! We'll get you-" Koichi promised her, then he took a proper sight on remaining two girls. It was pure luck that Tom's rules of engagement prevented him from killing, only just knocking them it. Koichi realized that he won't be able to handle this alone. "Oh god, what the hell even happened here?"
"Anyone! I'll need help!" Koichi called out for anyone nearby. Luckily, someone did come to help.
"I can assist, if wanted. Dark times are ahead, Mr. Kizakura." cautioned janitor as he offered his help.
"Just gather anyone you can!" requested Kizakura while also carrying Chisa like a wounded soldier. "Is this...is this the work of that mafia?".
The janitor nodded as he also assisted in taking everyone wounded to the hospital. Tom has already left an impression on Hope's peak academy, but the very fight itself was far from over.
====TO BE CONTINUED====