The next day, Kumagawa Misogi became known as the infamous transfer student that caused trouble and went toe-to-toe with one of the Elite Four. Because of this, people started avoiding him like the plague. As he walked towards the academy entrance, he could sense several students giving him a mixture of dirty and fearful looks.

Yep, this was to be expected. This is how it was in his previous schools as well.

"Good morning!"

Mako greeted Kumagawa as she ran up to him.

"『Good morning, Mako. Slept well, I hope.』"

"Hardly. Yesterday was a nightmare. I get wanting to pull pranks, but Lady Satsuki isn't someone to be taken lightly. Honestly, you remind me of my brother in that regard."

"『Ah, you mentioned that you and your family lived in the slums, I remember.』"

Mako nodded. "My dad's a doctor, and you think that would make us rich, but he only treats patients that no other doctor will accept. And they usually pay very little for his services."

Kumagawa's normally jubilant smile twisted into a subtly darker grin. "『Maybe if I send some more patients down his way…』"

"Nuh-uh. Violence is strictly forbidden. I don't want to see my friends getting hurt or hurting others."

"『I kid, I kid. I, Kumagawa Misogi, promise to be a good student from here on.』"

Mako gave him an expression of doubt, akin to an older sister chastising her little brother.

"『Honest.』"

"Good, because I-"

Before she could get another word in, a tennis ball suddenly hit Mako in the face.

"『Wow, that looks painful.』"

"-can't bear to see my friends-"

Suddenly, a volley of tennis balls started systematically destroying Mako's face.

"-getting hurt."

"『And now it looks like it's on purpose.』"

"There you are!" shouted an unfamiliar voice.

Mako and Kumagawa turned to a blonde girl holding a giant Tennis racket-esque object. With a skirt adorned with Tennis balls, her uniform appeared very much like a Tennis uniform worn by women who play Tennis.

"『Ah. 』" Kumagawa slammed his fist into his other palm. "『A baseball player.』"

"Not even close," replied Omiko Hakodate. "Anyway, Mankanshoku, do you have any excuse for missing practice yesterday?"

"Aw, crap! I totally forgot. U-uh, I mean, the student council took me hostage. Yeah, let's go with that."

"That same tired excuse. This is why I hate slackers more than anything. All you do is take up resources without giving anything back. Honnouji Academy doesn't need people like you."

"『Now, now, as a fellow member of the Going Home club, I find that remark incredibly offensive.』"

"Kumagawa," Mako said, her eyes glowing with the pride of sloth.

"『True, but still offensive.』"

"And who's this?" asked Omiko. "Your friend?"

"『My name's Kumagawa Misogi. I transferred here from Suisou. But please, call me Misogi.』"

"Wait, you're that transfer that caused the ruckus yesterday!?" Omiko scanned him from head-to-toe. "I heard that Ira put you through quite the wringer, but you don't look any worse for wear."

"『Mako's father is a very good doctor. Patched me up good as new. I hear that injuries are quite common in sports. You should give him a visit the next time you get hurt. 』"

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway…" Omiko snapped her fingers, prompting her subordinates to appear behind Mako. They then proceeded to tie her hands and lift her up. "You're coming with me. I'll set that slacker mentality of yours damn straight."

"Wait, no- Kumagawa, please help me!"

"『Enjoy your Tennis practice, Mako!』" Kumagawa yelled to Mako, who was being carried away by force.

"You're not going to try to rescue your friend?" asked Omiko.

"『Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine. You people take things way too seriously here.』"

Omiko thought back to what the Student Council Athletic Committee Chair, Uzu Sanageyama, told her and the rest of the club captains.

"Right, so Lady Satsuki told me to tell you about this new transfer. If he tries anything funny, report it directly to me. Don't try to fight him or anything of that sort."

She wondered how a mere no-star could get such a personal call-out from her boss' boss. From the corner of her eye, she could spot the boxing club's captain. As Uzu kept speaking, she noticed a fearful expression on the Takaharu's face.

After the speech was over, Omiko approached him.

"'sup, Taka. I hear you got involved in yesterday's incident."

"Ah. Yeah. That."

"To think that Ira himself would get involved. This Kumagawa fellow must be quite the troublemaker." Omiko's grin widened, showcasing her set of shark teeth. "Makes me want to see for myself what all the fuss is about."

"Do not get involved in this, Omiko," Takaharu bluntly requested. "Please."

Omiko's eyes widened. This was the first time she had seen Takaharu expressing such worry. If that no-star was so dangerous that he could even make Takaharu flinch, then she absolutely had to see him for herself.

However, back to the present day, she could find no indication of what exactly made this Kumagawa Misogi so fearsome. To her, he looked like just your average no-star—average beyond reason. And cowardly, to boot, going by the fact that he wasn't making a single move to rescue his friend.

"Disappointing," she said, huffing. "Perhaps I must've heard wrong. You don't seem like anyone we have to worry about."

"『I'm glad you feel that way, Hakodate. I strive for comfort and safety amongst all other things.』"

"Then, if you know what's good for you, you'll be a good boy and not cause any more trouble. Got it?"

As soon as he made the "okay" sign, Omiko turned around and left. Talk about a disappointment. If these were the kinds of people driving the discussion at this school, then perhaps it was time for a change in management—though, she would never admit to such things aloud.

There were several students tied to a pole at the back of the school club building, waiting to be lynched. Amongst them was a tied up and bound Mako Mankanshoku. All their heads were wrapped in bags, cutting off their sight and hearing.

"Alright. We've got several slackers here that need thorough discipline. Time to dole out punishment. Number 7, hand over my balls."

"Uh, ma'am?"

"What is it, Number 7? Can't you see that my serving arm is getting tense?"

"I think you need to see this?"

Annoyed, Omiko walked over to the ball carrier. Immediately, her face turned pale upon seeing what had happened to her precious tennis balls.

"What the- I don't understand." The rest of the henchmen joined in. "Why are they all screws!?"

"『You don't need to resort to violence to resolve every situation.』"

Omiko turned around.

"『Now that you don't have your balls, how are you going to punish my friend exactly?』"

"Kumagawa," she growled. "Ha, if you think this tasteless prank is going to save you or your friend, you have another thing coming!"

Her thoughts went back to what Takaharu had told her. She remembered him saying that Kumagawa could pull screws of varying sizes from thin air. That she had to be extra careful, as it felt as if merely touching them would cause something worse than death to happen to anyone who wasn't Kumagawa.

"You're not the only one who can pull objects out of thin air," she proclaimed, launching several balls from her skirt. "Let's go, ladies. 110 Million Cannbonbal Serve!"

"『Eh? Are you really going to shout out your attack name like th-』"

Before he could finish his sentence, Kumagawa was showered by high-velocity tennis balls. The attack's weight followed by the insane speed in which they came caused him to catapult straight into the wall, leaving noticeable cracks upon his collision.

"How'd you like that?"

Omiko turned around. She would have to find a way to replace all these balls, which shouldn't be too hard, but still tedious. At least she managed to exterminate a thorn in the Student Council's side. She might even get promoted. The thought of Uzu praising her efforts excited her to no end.

"Alright, ladies. Take that corpse and throw it into the slums where it belongs. We have a practice to get to."

As she began making her leave, a voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"『Your serving's a little sloppy.』"

"What!? How-"

As soon as she turned around, her heart skipped a beat and her face turned flush pale. Strewn around the court were her henchmen. In a single instance, all their bodies had been penetrated by large screws, leaving seemingly fatal wounds. The chances that they were still alive were null.

Omiko felt the need to vomit but kept herself in check. Standing amidst the carnage was a completely uninjured Kumagawa. That pleasant smile on his face provided a stark contrast to the hellish scenery that formed around him.

"Oh my god, you killed them!"

"『It appears I have.』"

"You monster!"

"『Now, now, that isn't fair, Omiko.』"

The tennis club captain froze as soon as Kumagawa cut the distance between her and him within the blink of an eye.

"『Any normal person hit with such a flashy attack would've sustained internal bleeding and died in a hospital. So I don't see anything wrong with my actions. They were all in self-defense, so it's not my fault.』"

Omiko took several steps back and pointed her racket at Kumagawa. "I can see why Takaharu was so wary of you. You're not a normal student. You're not even human!"

"『Now, that's just mean. I'm plenty human.』" Grabbing one of his screws, he proceeded to impale it straight into his head, much to the shock and horror of the one standing before him. "『See? I feel pain when I get injured, just like everyone else.』"

After five seconds of having a screw lodged in his head, within the blink of an eye, the damage had been completely erased, leaving a perturbed Omiko questioning her sanity. As Kumagawa walked past her, she couldn't even move an inch.

Kumagawa untied Mako and proceeded to remove the bag from her head.

"Kumagawa, is that you?" she asked. "Ow, my head hurts. Hey, that's the Tennis club captain, right? Oy, oy, what's wrong, why're just standing there?"

Why? Could that stupid girl not see the bloody scene behind her. Omiko turned around, only to find her subordinates completely unharmed. Unconscious, but still alive. She then turned to Kumagawa, who flashed her an innocuous smile.

She had desperately wanted to get the words out. To tell Mako to get as far away from that man as humanly possible, but she couldn't let a single syllable escape her throat. She was frozen completely still, both physically and mentally.

"『Well, if that's all for the lynching, I think we'll be taking our leave. We have a class to attend. Right, Mako?』"

"Eh, wait up for me!"

Watching the two silhouettes grow more and more distant, Omiko fell to the floor. Despite them being so far away, the expectation of death still hung over her head like a sadistic guillotine.

This man—whatever he was—was not someone to be trifled with. That, Omiko now knew for certain.

It was just like what happened before. Kumagawa killed them (apparently), but they didn't die. Not to mention, he cut the distance between himself and Omiko with inhuman speed. And those screws of his that seemed to be endless…

Aikuro had been observing the entire exchange from his vantage point within the club building. Just another day of reconnaissance and pretending to be an innocuous teacher. Since meeting Kumagawa for the first time, his time has been spent on studying him. Trying to learn his past and his abilities without getting too involved.

Suffice to say, the case for extending a Nudist Beach membership offer to him was growing harder to justify with each passing moment. Even if he wasn't a disguise made up by their enemies, and not affiliated with REVOCS in any way, shape, or form, this man was far too dangerous all in his own to be trusted with the fate of humanity. On the other hand, allowing the opportunity for his enemies to seize such a powerful potential asset would spell doom for Nudist Beach's efforts. Despite Kumagawa's reality-warping powers, Aikuro knew that Ragyo had ways of "convincing" people to join her cause.

It would only be a matter of time until he appeared on her radar.

Satsuki was having thoughts of a similar fashion. She had issued a request to Rei Houomaru, her mother's personal secretary, not too long ago. It was the one request she thought she would never make.

She asked for the Grand Couturier to visit her.

As risky of a move that was, having two people in front of her would confirm that they were indeed separate individuals. And even if the Grand Couturier could clone herself, her clones were far too weak to be able to withstand a beating from Ira Gamagori, so the thought that Kumagawa was merely a disguised clone was basically implausible.

If it did turn out that they were different people, well… She wouldn't know what to make of it. It was terrifying enough having one of these things walking around, but two? She shuddered at the thought.

But, with any luck, the second purpose of her plan would come into effect. Namely, when two people with similar personalities meet, one of two things is bound to happen: they will either come to hate one another or become the best friends. Whichever the case, it would give her ample opportunity to work behind the scenes while they distract each other.

In the face of both her mother's ambitions and whatever intent Kumagawa has for coming here, she will use every resource in her arsenal to ensure that she alone becomes the sole victor of this war.