Despite the warnings from Kurogane, Gekka and the rest, our five "Canon" boys have started their "Operation Peeping". However, could a doubtful Kiyoshi bring this whole scheme to ruin? And what will Ryuichi's fate be now that he's decided to try and personally stop the boys?
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights of any franchise presented here. All rights are in possession of Akira Hiramoto, Studio Fantasia and Hari Tokeino.
On the school's rooftop
The boys were now proudly standing on the rooftop, letting the wind blow past them as they eyed the open window, which that will be the base for their "Operation: Peeping".
Though Kiyoshi was still a bit confused as to why did Gakuto ask Andre to temporally separate from the group on the way there, and bring a heavy rock from the school's yard.
"Everyone! 'Operation: Peeing' seeks your cooperation and volunteer!" Gakuto told the others, standing in front of them "The mutual support of our mind and body is required in order for our bodies to regulate perfect coordination!"
However, Kiyoshi wasn't paying attention to it, instead debating about his current options
"… I definitely want to see naked girls! The set of boobs, ass and pussy… I want to see it all!" He pondered with a pensive stare, holding his chin.
"But the problem is…" And now his main cause of doubt popped into his mind, her innocent smile beaming just as in real life "Chiyo-chan! The first girl I ever talked to since enrolling here!"
"I also promised to go with her to see the local sumo competition!" Now he started to panic, remembering he had make a promise to her, which was, for all intends and purposes, a date "Luckily these guys don't know that part, and Kurogane wasn't there to witness it"
"B-But now… we're going to take a peek at the girls from 1-1 class, which is mine and… Chiyo's class!" He tightened his fist until his knuckles turned white "I want to see naked girls too, but… I don't want these guys to see Chiyo naked!"
"In other words, to put it simply…" Gakuto was now finishing his speech, turning to eye at each one of the boys "Traitors..."
"DIE" Finished Shingo, Joe and Andre, with a nervous Kiyoshi simply looking the other way in fear.
"Also, don't move on your own, if what information we got at our foolish companions' room is true, there might be patrols around, and there's a chance Kumagai-dono already informed some sort of authority figure about our secret operation, so we must be quick"
A collective groan escaped the boys' lips, Shingo cursing the kind boy for being "A cowardly fucking rat"
"Also, don't move on your own, if what information we got at our foolish companions' room is true, there might be patrols around, and there's a chance Kumagai-dono already informed some sort of authority figure about our secret operation, so we must be quick"
A collective groan escaped the boys' lips, Shingo cursing the kind boy for being "A cowardly fucking rat"
Now they came a bit closer to the roof's edge, and their first problem became apparent.
"So, uh… Tell me, how the hell are we gonna peep from here?" Shingo was the first one to point out the obvious. The open window they were supposed to use for peeping on the girls was over 10 feet below them, and impossible to reach from their position. However, this didn't seem to bother Gakuto, as he simply gave a smirk after something caught his attention for what little could be seen of the bath from his position.
"Really? Well that's unfortunate! And here I thought we were gonna see naked girls!" Kiyoshi said with a very unconvincing look of disappointment "So, let's call it a day-"
"Never fear, Kiyoshi-dono!" Gakuto interrupted him as he pulled out two smartphones, presenting them to him "Be at ease, for yours truly has prepared a contingency for this predicament" While he sounded rather proud of himself for thinking about this, his stare was rather creepy with how full of himself he looked.
"These have recording videotape functions!?" Kiyoshi exclaimed, taking a closer look.
"Indeed! We lower this phone with a rope over the skylight window, and tie it the other end to this heavy rock" He declared while Andre proceeded to do just that "At first yours truly thought about simply sitting here and enjoying the stripping from the rooftop, but with the new information we gathered and the possible threat of intel leaking to the enemy, I decided that it was indeed too dangerous to remain here"
The boys looked rather happy about Gakuto coming up with this idea on the spot, but Kiyoshi just kept getting more and more nervous as he talked.
"So we leave the phone hanging there, and camouflage it into the flowerpot yours truly just identified inside the changing room. The rope is indeed thin enough to be practically invisible, so we can safely leave it in there, relish the view of the girls' bath from the commodity of our very room, and pick up the smartphone tomorrow at the first hour of the morning!"
The boys gave a collective roar in delight at the idea of peeping at the girls without even getting out of their rooms, but the blue-haired boy tried to voice his objections once again.
"No, no, no! That's too risky guys!"
"Indeed it is! However…" He now adjusted his glasses, his demeanor changing into a somber expression "This is our rite of passage into true manhood. A 'one in a lifetime' chance for us!"
With that said, they proceeded to slowly lower the phone into the skylight. Once inside the changing rooms, they took notice of the same flier Gekka and Kurogane had showed them, but completely ignored it as Gakuto carefully positioned the phone into the flowerpot by the window, trying to make sure it was well hidden from view as the other boys tried to peek over his shoulders, hoping to catch a glimpse of any girls inside.
"Hey guys, let's stop this okay! Or our parents would get really sad right!?" Kiyoshi tried to lamely dissuade them of this whole operation, but it proved fruitless as Gakuto was almost finished positioning the phone among the leaves of the plant.
"There's no way I'm going to let these guys see Chiyo-chan naked! Absolutely no way in hell! But…what can I…" Sweat sliding over his face, his body moving almost completely in automatic, Kiyoshi took a decision, an extreme one, but as of now, it was the last thing he could do to protect Chiyo-chan's purity "For great problems, great solutions, right?"
Just as he finished positioning himself behind the boys, he started to walk forward with grim determination, his arms extended "I… have to push them over the ledge!" That was it. The last card he had to play in order to protect Chiyo "Mom, I'm sorry your son will become a murderer, but I just… I can't-!"
Before he could though, a familiar figure caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He turned to see two girls talking and walking in the opposite direction of the changing room, one of them which he recognized all too well. Brown hair. Rosy lips. And the air of pure innocence radiating from her very visage.
"C-Chiyo-chan! But… why is she walking away from the bath? Is…she leaving already?" His whole face changed from a complete nervous wreck into a look of realization unnaturally quick "Then, that means…" Now his whole demeanor did a 180°, his mind flooded with the many, many girls that would be now naked in the room just below his very feet
"This…this is…is…fucking wonderful!" He almost exploded in happiness at the thought of peeping at the girls without involving Chiyo "I can complete my rite of passage along with the rest and not defile Chiyo-chan in the process! This is the best! Really!"
Now he started to compose himself while preparing to address the other boys, deciding to take the lead in hiding the phone so they could safely peep at the first year girls "And not only that, but I still have my date with her be a complete secret! Really, this is the best outcome I could have ever wished for!" He gave a confident smirk at the thought of becoming a 'true man' while still protecting Chiyo "I will become a real man, and she will still see me as a kindred spirit, a soulmate! She-!"
"She trusts you"
Suddenly, his body went rigid. Unaware of the boys arguing about the phone either not being well hidden enough, and the leaves blocking too much of the view for them to see.
… And how there were still no girls at the changing room yet
All Kiyoshi could do was look ahead, far away on the distance, at nothing in particular. Gone was his confidence and elation at completing his rite of passage into 'true manhood', for three simple words were able to violently rip the boy away from those feelings, leaving him conflicted, ashamed, stricken.
"That's right, she… trusts me. Chiyo-chan trusts me" The somber remainder of the bond he had managed to create with her, born from a long conversation about something he didn't even had a real interest into, pushed its way into the front of his mind "And yet, I…I don't deserve her trust. For I…I-"
"You lied to her"
Slowly, more a more pieces of the confrontation between both groups of boys engulfed his mind, numbling himfrom any external sensation.
"But, she doesn't have to know, right!? I can still become a man by peeping at the girls, and she would never know about it!" He desperately tried to convince himself "Yes! YES! That's it-"
"The fact she doesn't know you did something wrong doesn't mean you didn't do something wrong"
"You'd be betraying her trust in you, Kiyoshi-kun"
"She trusts you, Kiyoshi"
… Nothing. No self-justification for his actions, no passionate resolution for 'transcending' into the bounds of adulthood. Just silence.
"Hey! Please stop shaking the rope! If we don't hide the phone among these leaves we'll indeed be in problems!"
"But what about our view!? I mean, that's why we are here in the first place, right!?"
"Calm down Shingo-kun, there's no girls inside there yet, so we can take our time"
"*cough* I want to *cough* see pussy already"
At least silence inside his own head.
Now having taken a bitter decision, he slowly walked up to the other guys, his head hung down in shame and sadness.
"Umm… guys"
"Wait, there it is! The perfect position! Not a single leaf blocking the view of the phone's camera, and yet it is completely hidden among them! Now all we have to do is run back to our room and bask in the sight of naked women! This is indeed our sacred garden-"
"I quit"
As if a bolt of lightning had just struck them, they turned their heads at Kiyoshi so fast that it could've easily snap their own necks. Their eyes burning through him while he seemed to shrink under their gaze. The shock of their faces slowly evaporated and each of them now carried different expressions. Shingo was supremely annoyed, Andre was sad and Gakuto was somber, for Joe it was impossible to know for his hood seemed to hide even more of his face than usual.
"W-What did you say?" Andre was trembling at this point, while Kiyoshi refused to look up at them, keeping his eyes glued to the floor.
"Indeed Kiyoshi-dono. Yours truly wants to give you a chance to explain yourself. However…" Now he took a few steps forward, his voice laced with somber yet determined resolution "You do know what will happen if your answer is what we all believe it was, do you?"
"…" Nothing. Kiyoshi didn't reply to his words, instead simply limiting himself to nod his head.
"Very well then" Adjusting his glasses, he asked the million-dollar question "Do you really want to abandon our rite of passage into 'true manhood', Kiyoshi-dono?"
"I… I really don't want to!" He yelled inside his own head, eyes bulging out "I want to see naked girls too, to witness the marvels of the female form just as much as any of you! But…" The visions of naked girls dissipated from his mind, replaced by the one girl that had send him into this inner turmoil "I have… greater things to aspire to. A girl a befriended, a sumo competition to attend to. A DATE!" He tightened his fist, unaware that the very same girl he was thinking about was undressing in the room just below him.
After a minute or so of intense internal debate, he slowly lifted his head, shame and sadness overcoming his face before he gave his answer.
"Y-Yes… I'm… not gonna rat you guys out. Operation: Peeping is still a secret until Kumagai decides to divulge this information" Shingo growled under his breath at the mention of the kind boy, looking the other way
"Damn no balls coward! Doesn't he know how lucky he is!? He has a hot gyaru for a childhood friend, is enrolled into an all-female school, and still is too much of a goody-two-shoes to become a real man and peep at the girls!? Just what the fuck is wrong with him!"
"But…" Now Kiyoshi continued to speak "I…I can't do this!" He yelled with tears bursting off his eyes "I just can't! Even if Chiyo-chan never finds out about this, I would be a peeping tom regardless! I wouldn't be worthy of her!"
"Ehh? Oh, come on man. We already told you: What she doesn't know can't hurt her"
"It will!" He snapped at them, catching them off guard "Even if she doesn't know it, I'm still a scumbag! I could never look at her again!"
Andre tried to calm him down, but Kiyoshi swatted away his hand. Now in front of 4 very upset boys, he trembled, waiting for his fate now that he decided to not peep on the girls. So invested they were about the whole thing, none of them noticed the huge murder of crows flying in circles just above them.
Gakuto pondered about this for a while, his glasses obscuring his eyes from view. It didn't help matters for Kiyoshi that Shingo and Joe were whispering into Gakuto's ears, encouraging him to carry the "death penalty" for becoming a traitor now that they're so close to achieving their dreams.
Finally, he took a decision
"As Operation: Peeping is almost complete now, your judgement for your actions shalt be postponed until tomorrow"
Kiyoshi perked up at this, while the boys looked shocked at him. Was he really letting Kiyoshi off the hook!?
"However…" Now he came closer, until he was almost nose to nose with Kiyoshi, his expression a creepy glare "Even yours truly must take the decision of 'Executing Ma Su in tears'* depending of your actions from now on. So please be wise when picking your choices, Kiyoshi-dono" Then he turned to the rest of the boys "As for us, let's go back to our headquarters. The sight of naked girls awaits us!"
With that, the 4 of them raced down the stairs, disappearing from view as they ran back to their room, leaving Kiyoshi on the rooftop by himself. The blue-haired boy stood there for a few seconds before slowly walking away, dragging his feet on the floor as he left the phone hanging behind him, still peeking into the girls' changing room.
"Did… Did I take the right choice?"
"Kiyoshi, if you want to quit from this whole fucking shit storm, you know where we are"
He gave at mirthless laughter at the memory "Yeah, that could be an option. But… after how I treated you guys, I don't feel I can go back to your room right now"
He closed the roof's door behind him, his mind almost completely blank except for small flashes of guilt and temptation that died almost as quick as they were born.
Hachimitsu's dorms
The boys ran across the building, barely able to conceal the excitement of finally being able to witness the wonders of the female naked form first hand. However, Gakuto had enough sense to still be cautious despite his own lustful desires clouding his mind. He guided the boys through the yard in order to avoid any girl that might be either patrolling or just passing by, and took turns to scout ahead before moving forward.
"Gentleman, we're almost there. The sights of naked girls await us just ahead of ourselves"
The boys gave a collective war cry as they broke into a full sprint, their room just in front of them on the second floor
"To heaven!"
But just as they were about to enter the building again, a crow flew right in front of them, almost hitting Gakuto. The boys came to a halt, the glasses boy falling on his butt.
"What the hell was that?" Shingo asked, before realizing there was another one laying on top of Andre's head "Hey man, you have one on your head too!"
Andre took notice of it and desperately tried to swipe it away.
"Hey guys, the crows…" Joe got the boys attention as he pointed upwards, only just then realizing there were dozens upon dozens of crows flying in circles above them, their squawking becoming louder and louder. And suddenly, without any warning, all of them dive bombed on the boys, their terrified screams drowning by the squawking of the crows.
Dorms' hallways
"I need to find them, and quick!"
Ryuichi was running through the hallways, trying to find any clue that could guide him to the other boys. But as of now, he had make no progress on it, he can't find the baths anywhere, and the very few girls he encounters along the way didn't want to speak to him, simply walking away the moment he approached them.
"No one wants to talk to me… Just as Kurogane-kun and Homura-kun said, but… there's gotta be someone!"
As if on cue, his phone started ringing as he climbed the stairs to try searching on the third floor. Looking at the caller, a small smile graced his lips.
"Hello-"
"Please tell me you're not trying to stop those perverts by yourself, Ryu"
Ryuichi let out a soft, nervous chuckle at his friend's obvious concern, which seemed to annoy her even more
"So, I guess Risako-san told her everything, right?"
"… I think you already know the answer, right?" Her exasperated sigh was more than enough answer for him.
"Yeah, Nagisa told me what those assholes are planning, the chairman and faculty also do. In case you want to know, the baths are right in the middle"
"Huh?"
"You do know that the dorms look like a giant 'H'. Well, the baths are on that short line in the middle. But…" He didn't need to see her to know what she was about to say, her voice already giving it away "You're not thinking about peeping on the girls too, are you? Because then Kotaro and I would be really sad"
Ryuichi was too much focused on his pursuit of the boys to take the time to be flustered by what she was insinuating
"Kotaro's pureness can't be tarnished by knowing his beloved onii-san is a peeping tom, because then I would have to take some serious actions to prevent it" While normally such a threat would be muttered with a clear hostile intend, her voice was nothing but playful and non-serious, perfectly aware this was not the case
"And besides, you already have ME to gaze at. Am I not enough for you~?" Now this actually got a reaction out of him, laughing in genuine amusement. Her small groan at the other end of the phone indicated she was pouting in mock anger.
A few seconds later, he arrived at the spot Torimi indicated the baths are, which turned out to be the one for the third years, but there was no trace of the boys or any kind of equipment they could have left behind in order to record the whole thing.
"I'm on the 3rd year bath, but… they are not here. And I don't see anything they may have left behind either". He heard some noise coming from the other side of the door, before hearing some knocking on it.
"I'm actually in here, but I don't see those bastards anywhere" Came her voice from both the phone and from behind the door.
"Oh, Ooh! I see. You could've told me about that before, I would've known there was no need to look for them here" He sounded somewhat disgruntled at this, but before he could continue, he heard some commotion from behind the door before it opened.
Torimi was standing there, with track pants and a white shirt, with a towel wrapped across her shoulders. She crossed her arms under her bosom while eyeing her childhood friend with a judging stare, with Ryuichi slowly sinking back under it.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, she sighed, closing her eyes "Maybe the girls here think you're some sort of knight in shining armor, but I'm gonna be straight with you: This is goddamn stupid Ryu" She opened her eyes once more "You have other things to worry about now, and simply running around when the people in charge already know what's happening is not necessary. You're putting yourself in danger for nothing now"
Ryuichi didn't have anything to say to that, instead just looking the other way with an embarrassed blush, which she took notice of. Her classic cocky smile made its way back to her face, now seeing an opening for her trademark teasing, which considering her scolding him right now might be the best way to dissipate the tension.
"Ohh~. There's no need for blushing now Ryu, you've seen me wearing far less than this, and I told the other girls back there to leave us alone for now, so there's no naked girls around"
Now it was his turn to be somewhat angry, pouting at her while Torimi laughed "This is a serious problem, Torimi-san! Those guys could be around anywhere"
She just continued to laugh for a moment, before taking a small breath and turning serious again "I know, but this is not something you have to involve yourself with" She took a step forward "As I said, everyone in charge is aware of what's happening, and I also told the other girls about it too, so there's no need to get caught in the crossfire Ryu"
He deflated somewhat at her words, remembering the words of Kurogane back at their room "K-Kurogane-san actually said something similar" She tilted her head in curiosity at the mention of the tall boy's name "Something about the… U-USC, and how they could think w-we are part of their crimes too if they saw us out of our rooms"
Torimi's eyebrows twitched at the mention of that group, and this time she didn't even try to hide her disdain for them "Yeah, the 'Prude Bitches Patrol' would likely take any excuse they can find to throw any of you in prison, regardless of what you've done, or what you didn't do" One could hear some gasps in the background after she said that.
Now it was Ryuichi's turn to look at her in curiosity. By the way she spoke about them, it was clear she at least knew them on a personal level, and her opinion of them seemed to be very poor, for not saying that she downright hated the USC for some reason.
Ryuichi knew his friend was someone who didn't like to talk about her problems, and usually deals with them by bottling them up. He had heard Risako-san scolding her several times for this bad habit, and actually confided in him more than once for being pretty much the only person she would actually talk to about them.
He didn't want to make Torimi uncomfortable, especially after everything that has happened with both their families, but that didn't stop him from trying to reach out to his friend
"Torimi-san" He lifted her eyes at him "I don't want to intrude, and you can just not answer if you want, but… Did you have some troubles with the USC before? You never spoke about them before I came here, but it looks you know them pretty well. And not for the right reasons"
"…" The tall, tan girl didn't respond immediately, but instead she turned the other way, biting her cheek. Whatever memories this particular group seemed to steer into her mind, it was clearly unpleasant ones, and for a moment Ryuichi felt that she wasn't going to answer at all.
However, after some seconds of indecision, she finally did.
"Listen, Ryu. I really wanted them to be something I should never discuss with you, just a footnote of school life I wouldn't have to think about them any longer after graduating" She didn't break eye contact with him during her speech
"I guess you've already seen the fliers around here, right?" At his confirmation, she sighed before gripping his shoulders, looking even deeper into his eyes "You don't need to know more about them that what the flier tells you: They don't like boys, they are disgusted that you're all here, and don't want you to interact with the girls, that's it"
Ryuichi didn't say anything, simply trying to assimilate his childhood friend's words.
"Don't let them fool you with some sweet-talk, they will use ANYTHING they can put on you to give you some kind of punishment, and convince the girls to stay away from you" She scoffed "Hell! Anything they can put on you to expel you"
Now this was something he didn't expect. While he would usually ask if she wasn't exaggerating things, her eyes made it clear she was being 100% serious about it.
"Whatever you do, stay away from them" The urgency in her voice put him on edge, for it was really rare when something seemed to scare her so much "Whatever issue you have with those assholes, tell me or Nagisa right away. Don't try and reason with them, they won't hear shit of what you say"
The was no more words exchanged between them for a good while, with the tall girl staring deep into his eyes, as if wishing to drive her message home at any cost.
This seemed to work, as the kind boy released a breath he didn't know he was holding, and stared back at her.
"Okay, if you think they're not good people, I will try not interacting with them" She narrowed her eyes at his choice of words "But I think I should also have the chance to judge them myself-"
"No Ryu. Stay away from them. They're not good people, and they're not to be trusted"
This was something new for him. He had never seen Torimi so angry and, even, scared. However, she wasn't scared of the USC specifically, for she expressed more disdain for its members. No, she was actually scared for him, or better said, what could happen to him if he interacted with that group.
Torimi could see that her friend was conflicted, for he wasn't someone to judge people unless he has meet them in person. While she's aware that this is just a part of his character as a kind person, she didn't want to risk any chances either, so she chooses the only compromise she could think of at the moment.
She closed her eyes and faced the ground in defeat "Look Ryu, if you want to judge them yourself, I won't stop you, but just promise me one thing…" And with this, she opened her eyes once more "Don't face them without me or Nagisa by your side, okay? The last thing I want is them being alone with you"
The kind boy just stood there, looking at his friend with confusion. Just what was it with this USC group that put her so much on edge? But despite his own doubts about the reasons for her behavior, he knew she wouldn't do this without a reason. And for now, the best option was to trust her.
"…Okay, Torimi-san. I will trust your advice then" And with that, she gave him a hug, which was quickly reciprocated.
"I swear to God, Ryu. If it weren't for them, I would've loved for you to be here too" She then parted from him a little "But right now, it's not safe. So please go back to your room, and let us handle this, okay?"
With a final nod, he turned around and started the trip back to his room. After he was out of view, she gave a heavy sigh and closed the door, being quickly confronted by a group of other 3rd year girls.
"What the hell was that for!?" One of them, a girl with white hair and brown eyes, yelled at her "Why would you speak like that about them!?"
"Yeah, she's right Morinomiya!" Another one, with long brown hair and eyes, chimed into the discussion "The USC are the ones who protect us from perverts… even though some of us can handle things ourselves" As she said this, the white-haired girl flexed her right arm as if to drive the point home
"Exactly. Not to mention they're among the most popular girls in this academy, for not saying the most popular" Declared a girl with short red hair "Going against them so openly and rudely isn't the best course of action-"
"I don't give a flying fuck" She cut them off with a glare "Yeah, they actually do their work, but can you really say they don't have a strong bias when it comes to men, in general?"
The girls seemed to ponder on this for a few seconds.
"Well, it is true they are not very inclined to trust men, even when our current chairman is male"
"Yeah, but come on! Those perverts they deal with on a daily basis have it coming! So why don't you just accept they're not the bad ones-"
Torimi quickly got into the white-haired girl before she could finish what she was saying
"'Not the bad ones?'" She parroted back at her "Well, let's see how much longer that lasts with our new additions"
The three girls shared a look before Torimi raised her hands "Okay, okay, I'll admit it. Half of them really are creeps who shouldn't be here in the first place. But that doesn't apply to every of them, we have some very good guys joining us now, but I'm sure those bitches only see more enemies for them to crush"
The three girls fought back to urge to ask if her opinion wasn't 'slightly' biased itself considering one of those 'new additions' was a friend of hers, knowing very well it would end badly for them.
"So yeah, if some of them get in trouble for whatever reason, then I guess I'll just sit back. It's within their duties to handle those things, so nothing I can do about it anyway"
But then, before the girls could relax a bit at Torimi actually putting her disdain for the USC aside, if even for just a moment, her expression darkened in a way they've never seen before, accompanied with a voice straight from the grave
"But if they lay even a single finger on Ryuichi, then they better get the fuck outta this school, and pray I never find them"
Hachimitsu's dorms
"What is it with these crows!?"
"Argh! Get away! Get away!"
The four boys tried in vain to drive the crows away, flailing their arms and screaming at the top of their lungs as said birds kept poking at them with their beaks, scratching them with their talons, and so on, to the point their suits were being torn apart, leaving them half naked.
Their relentless attacks stopped however, when two figures stepped from the darkness, standing tall above the boys.
"W-Who goes there!?" Gakuto yelled in horror, laying on the floor with his friends. It didn't take them long to identify the figures though "W-Wait… That hair, t-those clothes, those… boobs! Its…Its THEM!"
Indeed, two members of the USC were now standing right in front of their eyes, confirming their existence beyond all shade of doubt to the four boys
And their reason for being here was more than clear.
Dorms' hallways
Kiyoshi kept mindlessly walking through the hallways of Hachimitsu's dorms, not knowing where he was going, and not caring either. His mind was instead busy wandering off, at war with itself on whether he took the right decision by ditching the boys and their "Operation: Peeping" in favor of upholding his own personal worth for the sake of his date with Chiyo.
"Chiyo-chan… she's worth much more than a nameless naked girl I don't even know about"
"Even DOZENS of naked girls, all just for you?!"
The distant echoes inside his head, almost like rushed whispers far off in the distance, would remain a mystery to any person who may happen to witness him wandering through the halls, as his face betrayed nothing of this inner turmoil, for there was nothing but a pleasant smile on it.
So immerse he was in his thoughts, he didn't notice the great commotion just outside the window. The squawks of crows swallowing all the noise of the night, the terrified screams of his former "companions in arms", and the current mayhem slowly building up outside.
When he finally seemed to be coming back to his senses, a scream from just around the corner luckily spelled out the whole situation for him without any need to investigate any further.
"The boys are peeping!"
"With that single phrase, his whole demeanor changed. He froze in place, his once placid expression slowly morphing into one of pure shock. He peeked around the corner just behind him, and caught a girl with long, light brown hair tied into a ponytail, with to strands of hair falling to the sides of her face. She was standing in front of an open door, and despite the fact he couldn't see exactly which room that was from his position, he quickly deduced it must be…
"T-THE GIRLS BATH!?"
As if his luck couldn't be worse, in his mindless drifting through the dorms' hallways, he had unknowingly walked by the girls' bath, and didn't even realized it at the moment. But there were more pressing issues at hand now, for the girl wasn't done yet.
"It seems the boys were caught trying to peep at this very same bath! The Underground Student Council has caught them, and put them in the quad! Everyone, gather there NOW!"
And with that, there was a loud commotion coming from inside the changing room. Despite the distance, he could hear some of the girls cursing at the boys, and when squinting his eyes a little after the girl was out of the door, he could see that some of the girls were now rushing to get dressed and join the USC in the quad.
However, most of them were either in their underwear and putting on their uniforms, or completely naked and barely even starting putting on their underwear, clearly in a rush to get dressed as soon as possible.
He hid around the corner, his mind now in a different kind of turmoil. He, who had forfeit peeping on the girls for the sake of being worthy of going on a date with Chiyo, was now the only one among his friends to actually succeed at seeing the first years naked. And by complete accident at that!
"Why!? After I threw away my own chance at true manhood, and even my companionship with Gakuto, Shingo, Andre and Joe, I still get caught into this!"
While in a deep state of panic and fear for what could be currently happening to the others, he couldn't resist peeking around the corner once again. The door was wide open, so it wasn't like he was invading the girls' privacy when they just left it like that, right? He caught sight of their ample chests, their ever alluring pink nipples right at the center, their plump butts and even, with some effort, their "down stairs area".
"This… is heaven"
He had to quickly run and hide behind a small trash can just a few meters from him when the girls finally started pouring out of the changing room. Luckily, they rushed pass the hallway where he was, and their single mindedness of getting to the quad as fast as possible, combined with his black suit made him all but invisible to the girls.
Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about a lone crow standing on the window frame, looking intently at Kiyoshi before flying away, his squawks drowned under the voices of the girls.
In the school's courtyard
Right in the middle of Hachimitsu's main facilities, punishment was being served to the four peeping toms that have just been caught. Shingo, Gakuto, Joe and Andre were tied up to large wooden sticks, their black skin-tight suits torn by the crows as rows of angry girls surrounded them carrying baseball bats, brooms and even slippers. Anything they can find to hit them with.
However, their lynching had been temporarily postponed as now the two members of the USC stared them down: Shiraki Meiko and Midorikawa Hana.
"Where is the other one?" The vice president asked, glaring daggers at the boys.
The boys were actually willing to give away that Kiyoshi was the last member of their group, but before they could voice that, Gakuto stepped up.
"There is no other one! We were the only ones who peep!" He was quickly smacked in the groin with a whip by the fierce vice president, screaming in pain.
"Hmph! I know that's not true" The fierce buxom girl replied "Hurry up and speak for the sake of your junk" She then proceeded to smack his privates with her whip multiple times. When he didn't say anything, she stopped and took a few steps back before addressing the all-female mob behind her.
"Let them have it"
"Alright!" Hana said as she stretched her arms, and led the mob of girls at the boys, ready to unleash karmic justice on them.
However, among them, a lone brown haired and cute girl who showed no intention to give the boys any punishment, and was instead looking at them with shock at realizing there was only four of them there
"Kiyoshi and the others… are not there! So that means…"
Unbeknownst to her, the same boy that was on her thoughts was at the dorms' rooftop, looking at the scene far off in the distance with horror.
"W-What's happening out there?" Kiyoshi thought out loud as he saw the girls practically lynching his roommates. "Are…are those-"
"They are the Underground Student Council" A voice spoke right behind him, and when Kiyoshi turned around, his blood turned cold. He spotted Mari with a soft smile "Hello. You're a new student, right?"
Already knowing who she is, he made a mad dash to the nearest door, only to be blocked by a murder of crows, who all but engulfed him in a tornado of squawks and claws. He was now on his knees, covering his head in fear as the crows continued to assault him, until he heard a voice right by his ear, this time in a cold tone and laced with spite.
"So you know who we are, do you? Perfect, that makes it easy for both of us"
That was the last thing he heard before he felt himself being grabbed and roughly thrown on the ground.
Dorms' hallways
Ryuichi was walking through the halls with a pensive look on his face. While he was upset that he couldn't really help stop the boys, Torimi's words got him to see this was not something he shouldn't be involved with.
"I've never seen Torimi-san like that. Just… what happened between her and that 'USC'?"
He stopped when he looked outside the windows, and released a soft chuckle. It turns out he had taken the wrong turn… again. So deep he was into trying to make sense of Torimi's behavior he had gotten lost a few times along the way back already, but he was now thankfully only one floor away from his room. He just needed to turn around and head for the stairs at the other side of the hall.
As he made his way back, he heard a loud commotion coming from just above himself, mostly the loud squawks of crows.
He jumped ever so slightly when he heard one of them just by his side, standing on the window frame. He barely had time to turn around when one of Kurogane's vultures descended on it, engaging the crow in an aerial battle.
Soon, more crows and vultures joined in until Lautaro got between both groups, at which point the crows scattered in all directions.
The kind boy was left there, completely speechless about what he had just witnessed. However, he could feel there was something wrong going on, and so he made a mad dash to his room.
He didn't make it far when someone tripped him when he turned around the corner to the stairs.
He fell hard on his side, grunting in pain as he slowly looked up to see a dark figure towering over him. For the lack of light in the halls at this hour, he couldn't distinguish any features of said figure, except that it was female, and that she seemed to be dragging something large behind her.
"So, it is you"
Her voice was cold, dripping with venom and a certain degree of spiteful satisfaction
"You know? It doesn't surprise me in the slightest. No matter how pure you present yourself as, you are nothing but filthy scum. Just like all your kind"
As if on cue, about a dozen crows barged into the hallway through an open window, before she shut it right when Kurogane's condor was about to enter as well
"The nerve of him to bring those ghastly birds here" She said through gritted teeth before turning too Ryuichi, the poor boy being swarmed by the crows, incapable to stand up.
As his eyes had grown accustomed to the dark by now, he could distinguish more things about his aggressor. Mainly her piercing blue eyes that looked at him with disgust
"In the end, you just made this all too easy for us. Now, when I show her what you really are, she will let go of those sadly foolish delusions and embrace the one and only truth there is. That all you men are trash"
And with that, a foot made contact with his face, and everything went black
Hachimitsu's courtyard
As the four peeping toms were given their just punishment by the very girls they tried to see naked, Chiyo was instead walking away towards the dorms, having no intention to participate.
"Eh? Chiyo-chan, where you going?" A voice came from behind her. Turning around she saw a girl with short brown hair and eyes, darker than her own.
"I'm sorry Mayumi, but I can't stand to see that" She eyed the boys being lynched by the girls with a hint of distaste. Her friend turned back to look at the scene, then back at Chiyo with a sympathetic look. Considering her kindness and innocence, it didn't surprise her she wasn't privy on witnessing this display of violence.
"So you gonna miss the show?"
Both girls looked to the side when they heard a husky female voice to their right. Torimi was there, looking at the scene with a frown, her arms crossed under her breasts.
"Hello Kurihara, Tanaka" Both girl made a small bow when realizing it was her
"Ah! Morinomiya-san! We didn't expect to find you here!" Chiyo said, giving the tall girl a beaming smile.
"I should say the same thing about you two. Never struck me as a girl who liked anything beyond sumo wrestling" Torimi teased her, earning a puffed cheeked grunt from the girl, who made a point of not looking at her
"It sounds mean when you say it like that"
Mayumi looked at her friend with a nervous smile. Really, only when the topic of sumo wrestling is involved Chiyo would act like this instead of her natural sweet self.
The tall girl chuckled under her breath before sparing a look back at the boys being given their punishment by the mob of girls.
"Well, it's pretty much the guys I expected to do something like this. Though it seems to be one missing…"
Both girls followed her line of sight, with Chiyo unaware of who she was talking about. Her friend however had a good idea of who that boy was.
"Do you mean Kiyoshi?"
"Eh? No, there's no way Kiyoshi-kun would do something like that"
Torimi gave the sweet girl a doubtful look, clearly aware by their conversation at lunch that he was as much of a pervert as these four. But she decided it wasn't the time to tell her this, so instead she decided to change the topic.
"That guy Kiyoshi is in your class right?" Chiyo nodded in response, though her questioning gaze told that she was curious as to how did she deduced that "For the way you speak about him, it seems that you know him"
"Oh! Yes, I do! We met at the end of class, and we had a long talk. It turns out he loves sumo too!"
Mayumi pretty much sweat dropped as Chiyo went on detailing their conversation, and while Torimi was suspicious at first about the blue-haired boy's sincerity, it seemed that he at least had a deep enough knowledge of sumo to keep up with Chiyo. At least from what she was telling them.
"And then, after I told him about Hakuhō Shō's undefeated tournament championships, we talked about his great rivalry with Asashōryū Akinori. Even if they were not from Japan, sumo wrestling can bring together people from all over the wor-"
"Madam president!"
The yell from the USC's vice president interrupted her ramblings, and even the mob of girls stopped dead on their tracks, looking at a lone figure walking towards them, from behind the boys currently tied to the wooden poles.
Mari had a satisfied smirk on her face, carrying two boys behind her. Above her, a murder of crows was involved in a huge battle with Kurogane's vultures and lone condor. She wasn't sure, but Mayumi got the impression the larger birds were trying to get at the girl, with the crows protecting her.
By her side, Chiyo gasped in shock after recognizing one of those boys
"Kiyoshi-kun! But… why are you here? And, who's the other one-?"
She didn't have time to finish this though when she felt herself being shoved to the side, with her friend catching her before she could fall to the ground. After stabilizing herself, she saw Torimi walking away, her eyes hidden by her hair. However, even if she couldn't see her face very well, the murderous aura surrounding her told her something bad was about to happen.
The stern girl roughly threw both boys in front of the other four, the boys looking down at them in horror.
"Kiyoshi-dono! Kumagai-dono!" Gakuto yelled after realizing who those beaten bodies lying on the floor were.
"Impressive as always, Madam President" Meiko praised her with admiration.
"All boys are perverted scum after all" She answered casually.
Hana stomped on the blue-haired boy's head, looking at the boys with a judging stare "Hey, hold on" She said, catching the attention of the other members of the USC "There were 10 boys in this school right? There's four missing here"
Mari looked at the boys, crossing her arms "You are right. However, for what I understand, they haven't leave their room"
Meiko and Hana looked at her, incredulous.
"Don't worry, these scum was trying to peep at the girls using phones to record them. That way they wouldn't have to be present. Those back at the dorms are likely complicit in this despicable scheme, but for the moment, lets focus on these ones. The others can be dealt with tomorrow"
Both girls gave a firm nod, preparing to let the other girls beat them to oblivion as they had down with the others. Kiyoshi, who at this point was semi-conscious, could only cry in despair as he saw Chiyo among the girls.
"Chiyo-chan… I'm so sorry"
However, before the new additions could be lynched too, there was a commotion among the girls, catching the attention of the USC.
It wasn't long before Torimi came to stand before them, have roughly shoved her way through the crowd. Now her eyes were clearly visible, and while her expression was for the most part completely neutral, the very air around her was filled with such murderous intent, the girls backed away in fear to her presence.
Sensing the dangerous aura emanating from her, Mari gave Meiko a nod. In turn she yelled at a group of girls standing close by, which came to stand between them and the tall girl. They immediately adopted a fighting stance, already sensing things were about to get bad, carrying different weapons that ranged from baseball bats, wooden sticks, and even steel chains.
The USC eyed her from behind the girls with a judging stare. Mari in particular, was particularly disdainful of the tan girl.
"I must say, I expected you to come here the second I caught this miscreant" She said, motioning to Ryuichi, who was unconscious on the floor.
"We will give you one chance. Turn around and go back to your room, now" Meiko declared in a commanding tone. However, Torimi didn't react to her at all, instead simply taking a few steps forward. The group of girls reacted in kind, approaching her with cocky grins.
"Now, now, Torimi-chan, there's no need to do this" The apparent leader of the group, a beautiful girl with bright pink hair, spoke with an overly sickly sweet tone, edging closer to Torimi.
She patted her in the shoulder in a comforting manner, which again got no reaction from the girl in question "Come on. Let's forget about this whole issue, okay~?"
This time she did get an answer, in the form of Torimi slowly turning to look at her with the same emotionless stare. The girl was a bit caught off guard by this, but nonetheless chuckled and shook her head in amusement
"Please, do not make this more difficult than it should be-"
She didn't have time to finish when Torimi's fist was brutally smashed against her face, sending her flying off. Just as she landed on the floor, all hell broke loose.
The remaining six girls launched onto Torimi, the tall girl simply standing there, waiting for them to come.
A girl with reddish brown hair in a messy mullet-like cut launched a few punches at her which Torimi easily dodged, at one point crouching down to avoid a sucker punch before unleashing a devastating uppercut right into the girl's stomach, sending her flying in the air before grabbing her arm and finishing her with a punch to her cheek. If one looked closely enough, a tooth could be seen flying off her mouth. Torimi then threw her into three of the other girls, the brown haired girl already unconscious.
A hit in the back of the head made her stop dead on her tracks, looking over her shoulder to see the pink haired girl she had punched first standing there, with a wooden stick in hand. The girl then attempted a few more strikes, all of which were dodged before getting a punch to her liver, and another one to her face, this time down for good.
A pair of arms wrapped themselves around Torimi's waist, pinning her arms. A girl with short black hair was holding her in a bearhug from behind, while another with long dark blue hair approached her from the front with a baseball bat.
Before she could take a swing though, Torimi launched a high kick to her chin, and when the other girl tried to wrap one of her arms around her neck, Torimi launched a back kick directly between the girl's legs after stabilizing herself. The short haired girl just stood there, dazed, as Torimi grabbed her head and roughly threw her to the ground, finishing her with a punch to the face
The other girl was shaking her head, trying to regain her focus before swinging the baseball bat at Torimi. After three missing swings Torimi spun around and kicked the bat out of her hand, before jumping in the air and slamming her knee into her nose.
However, she didn't have enough time to move out of the way before a girl with ocher short hair whipped her on the side with a steel chain. Torimi staggered a bit, grunting in pain when was whipped again on her tight, and then the girl wrapped the chain across her fist before sending a punch into her gut.
Torimi managed to avoid it by jumping back, and blocked another punch with her arm despite hurting herself. She managed to grab her arm after her third attempt, kneeling her in the gut, continued with a punch and a roundhouse kick to the face. The girl however was still on her feet, and unwrapped the chain, trying to whip Torimi with it again.
But this time, Torimi was prepared, stepping on the chain when the girl tried to hit her with it in a downward motion. Torimi then kneed her in the face and knocked her out with a kick to her stomach.
Another girl with light brown hair in a bob cut didn't even had time to throw a punch when Torimi's knuckles slammed hard against her throat. The girl immediately went stiff, her body falling rigidly to the ground, struggling to breath.
The final girl, with long dark brown, grabbed the baseball bat from one of her fallen friends and made a mad swing at Torimi. She sidestepped her and kicked her in the back of the knee, temporarily paralyzing her leg, finishing her off by hitting her in the back of the head with her elbow.
Torimi was left panting, with blood covering her eyes for the previous hits she took. She was badly beaten, but didn't seem like she was going to quit any time soon. The USC just stood there, the secretary and vice president looking at the half dozen beaten girls with anger and outrage, while the crow master herself crossed her arms under her bust, her eyebrows twitching.
However, the tall enraged girl in front of them wasn't their only concern. The four boys, having seen the whole fight in shock, were now wiggling on their ropes, trying to escape from their punishment now that the girls were distracted.
Gakuto managed to slid off the wooden stick and onto the floor, but didn't made it far when Mari stepped on his head, stopping his escape attempt. For doing that however, she had to leave Ryuichi and Kiyoshi behind herself, laying on the floor. Torimi took notice of this, and started coming closer, with Hana and Meiko taking their own battle stances until they heard Mari's voice behind them.
"Meiko! Go and take care of the wounded girls! Hana, you keep Morinomiya away from the boys! I will keep this scum from escaping"
Both girls turned to look at their president, but didn't voiced any complains as the amazon beauty sped pass Torimi, and started dragging the unconscious bodies of the girls away from the battle zone, while Mari was in the back, keeping an eye on the boys in case any of them tried to escape.
Leaving the secretary, Hana, to face the enraged tan girl.
Both girls stood there, facing each other without saying anything. The blonde girl didn't move a muscle, simply staring at the taller girl with both anger and a bit of apprehension seeing her current looks.
Torimi's uniform was dirty and torn, exposing a bit more of her red lingerie bra than usual, the upper side of her face covered in blood from the hit she took in the back of the head with a wooden stick. Her face was no longer emotionless, as her gritted teeth and knitted brows gave her a feral look.
Hana started circling her, with Torimi doing the same in kind. She could make a run for it, grab Ryuichi and get back to her room now, but it was clear she would be hunted down if she tried it, and in her current state she wasn't sure if she could make it to her room before getting caught.
So instead she played the USC secretary's game, walking in a circle while eyeing each other.
"You know there's no way you're getting out of this, do you?"
The tall girl didn't say anything, simply glaring at the secretary. Kiyoshi for his part, cling to whatever remains of consciousness he had, took on the scene in front of him
"T-That's… Torimi-san. She came… But, why?" He then took notice of the other boy laying on the floor right next to him, his eyes bulging out in panic "Kumagai-kun!? You… You were trying to stop us, didn't you?"
Horror and guilt slowly started to build inside of him, not only had their peeping operation gotten themselves publicly lynched, but an innocent boy was caught in the crossfire and suffered the same fate for trying to stop them.
Meanwhile, the tall girl continued to walk in a circle around the secretary, glaring daggers into her eyes.
"You have one last chance to fuck off, Midorikawa. This is none of your beeswax" Torimi finally spoke, her voice laced with venom. Hana for his part simply shook her head
"Not now. And not ever"
After circling each other for a while, both girls finally started slowly approaching, their bodies tensed and fire burning on their eyes.
* Hana threw the first punch, which Torimi answered to with a jab to the stomach and two punches to the face. The secretary staggered a bit back, but managed to block the fourth punch, answering in kind to the tan girl: A jab to the stomach and two punches to the face, succeeding in making Torimi fall to the ground.
She quickly brought her knees to her chest and leapt off the floor. Now both girls were engaged in a rapid exchange of kicks and punches, with neither of them managing to connect a decisive strike on the other. Hana was the one to achieve it though, with a strong punch to Torimi's jaw, the tall girl falling to her knees with her back on Hana.
When the USC secretary tried to finish her off with a high kick, Torimi quickly spun around and kicked her on her other leg, but Hana managed to put her hands on the floor and jump back to her feet in time. She was now again behind Torimi, but when she tried to get closer she was received with an elbow to her nose, and a sucker punch to her jaw sent her to the ground.
The secretary tried to get back on her feet, but was received with a kick to her mid-section, and then another punch to the face, sending her right back to the ground. Hana was now tasting something metallic in her mouth, and the other two members of the USC were supremely enraged at seeing their secretary get beaten up. But with them being busy at tending to the other wounded girls, and the boys STILL trying to wiggle out of the ropes during the whole fight, there was nothing they could do now.
Torimi grabbed a chunk of Hana's hair and for the secretary to look at her, a small string of blood coming from her mouth "I told you bitches before the school even started" She declared while panting heavily "You touch Ryu, and you die!" She punched her in the face once again. Before she could continue, Hana threw a handful of dirt into her face, allowing her to take the upper hand once again. She pushed her to the nearest wall and started beating her up with punches and knees.
Torimi blocked one of her punches though, and grabbed her head before smashing her against the very same wall. She gave a roundhouse kick that made Hana spit a mouthful of blood, and then tried to get her in a chokehold. Hana violently resisted, at one point grabbing Torimi's hair and trying to throw her over her shoulders. She succeeded, but the tall girl refused to let her go, and both girls fell roughly to the floor.
Hana was the first to recover, and tried to get on top of Torimi to start pounding her fists onto her face. Before she could, the tall girl grabbed her hand and bit on her fingers hard. Hana screamed in pain, rolling off her and holding her hand. Torimi now reversed the situation, with her now on top of Hana and digging her fists onto her face. After about half a dozen punches the USC secretary managed to grab her arm and pull her hips up, throwing Torimi off balance and rolling to the side.
Hana now had her mouth filled with blood, and left behind any semblance of finesse by grabbing Torimi's head and smashing it against the ground over and over again, at one point getting some of her fingers inside her mouth and her left eye. The tall girl screamed in pain before performing the same trick Hana had done before, pulling her hips up and pushing one of Hana's legs away when she was off balance, sending her rolling to the side.
Now with both girls at the limit of their stamina, Torimi used the last of her strength to climb on top of Hana, raising her body up and pulling one of her legs back, before snapping her weight back down and slamming the hardest, boniest part of her knee into Hana's groin. The secretary yelled in pain, with many of the girls witnessing this wincing in sympathy. But Torimi wasn't done yet, as she repeated this action twice, thrice, again and again. When she did it for the fifth time, she had to stop, not because she thought it was enough, but because she was out of stamina. She clumsily crawled off Hana, the girl covering her privates in pain.*
Mari looked at the whole scene with gritted teeth, her blood boiling in rage. How dare she do that to her friend! Meiko was pretty much the same, accidently squeezing the arm of a girl she was trying to help stand up a bit too much.
Torimi did a superhuman effort to stand up, limping towards her friend who laid there on the floor, a few meters away. She didn't make it far when she was swarmed by a murder of dozens of crows, their beaks and claws digging deep into her skin. Regardless of it she pushed forward, occasionally sending one of the birds flying away with a punch or grabbing them by their necks and throwing them at the others. She managed to by less than a meter away from Ryuichi when she felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around her neck, being quickly flipped on her back and into the floor. Looking up she could see an outraged and absolutely furious Mari.
"How dare you… hurt the crows like that!" She yelled, as if hurting the birds was an unforgivable sin, Torimi simply scoffed at her, earning even more ire from the girl.
"Fuck you… and your f-fucking birds" She managed to spit out
Mari finally seemed to have enough, brutally punching the girl in the face over four times. Torimi barely reacted to it, simply glaring at her through it all.
When she was done, she lifted her eyes to see Meiko helping Hana stand up, the blonde girl barely able to move her legs by this point. They came to Mari's side, both looking somewhat ashamed of themselves.
"I-I'm sorry Madam President" Hana managed to croak out "I was supposed to stop her so y-you didn't have to d-dirty your hands, but I… I fail-"
"No. I am the one who should apologize" Mari cut her off, earning a shocked expression from both girls "I was too focused on keeping this scum from escaping, that I didn't consider she would use such dirty tricks to get the upper hand on you. I should have intervened sooner on your behalf"
She then bowed to them, holding her head down "I apologize"
Both girls just stood there, looking at the girl in shock before they hastily tried to reassure her she did the right thing, and that she had no reason to apologize to them. Meanwhile Torimi just shifted her body slightly to the side, looking at Ryuichi who was still unconscious.
"Ryu… I'm so sorry" She softly began to cry, looking at her friend in regret "I swore that, after what happened with our parents, that I would protect you and Kotarou to my last breath" She began sobbing quietly "But... I couldn't…I…couldn't protect you from them"
She finally passed out, a flush of memories of the both of them, alongside Ryuichi's then baby brother flooding her mind. Memories of happier days, when they both had a family…
Morinomiya residence
Risako Nagisa was unable to sleep right now. She had just informed her aunt about the peeping toms at Hachimitsu, and the former chairwoman of said boarding school was beyond furious. But while she too shared her anger at the boys for tarnishing the decision of male inclusion from the get go, her main concern wasn't them, but a certain, kind boy who might get caught in the crossfire for doing the right thing.
"Ryuichi-kun. Please, don't get in trouble. Much less ones you have nothing to do with"
She was pacing back and forth inside her room, constantly checking her phone to see whether he or Torimi had called her with any updates about the whole fiasco. So far, it has been only silence on their part.
Giving a heavy sigh when realizing how late it was, she sat on the bed right beside a sleeping Kotarou, the 2-year-old toddler having drifted into a peaceful sleep after hearing his brother's voice over the phone. She gently caressed his cheek with the back of her hand, remembering how she received a call from Ryuichi warning her about the boys' intentions, and then letting the kind boy speak with Kotarou so he could give wish him a 'good night' despite not being physically present. The toddler was clearly sad about not being with his older brother, but Nagisa managed to calm him down enough for him to actually go to bed.
"I wish you had call us for something else, to be honest" She thought with a humorless chuckle
As usual she was wearing nothing but lingerie panties to bed, and as she pulled the sheets over herself and the child right next to her, she couldn't help but feel something had gone terribly wrong at Hachimitsu. Nonetheless, there was nothing she could do at the moment, not until tomorrow when she and her aunt would make a surprise visit to Hachimitsu in order to personally assess the situation.
"Mari, I know you have your reasons for your heart to be so misguided, and what your work entails you to do doesn't help matters"
As she laid on her side facing the sleeping toddler, she held her index finger up, softly placing it on one of his hands. Kotarou instinctively grabbed a hold of it while in his sleep, earning a warm smile from the older woman. However, the smile quickly disappeared, as her train of thought finally made a full turn
"But as the current legal guardian of both these kind boys, if you overstep your boundaries, I shall show you as much mercy as you show them"
With this in mind, she drifted into a restless sleep, cuddling the toddler close to her body. She knew tomorrow would be a difficult day not just for her, but for everyone else as well, so she needed as much energy as possible to confront this challenge.
And most importantly, keep both boys safe, just like she promised to her lifelong friends
…
Well, there it goes. This was by far the fastest chapter I've ever written, and also the shortest. You may notice that the pace is actually faster than the 3 previous ones, which was in fact my intention. After the three first chapters went on to give too much details, I decided to try something different here, mainly because the actions here don't need so much explanation.
So now we have seeing the punishment of our five 'canon' boys for their peeping operation, and Ryuichi has been caught in the crossfire, just like Torimi feared. Speaking of her, she's been caught into this whole mess too, and the consequences of her actions might put her in more trouble than she's ever imagined. But does she care? And what do her aunt, Risako Nagisa, and her grandmother, former chairwoman of Hachimitsu, have to say about this whole situation?
We'll see, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Also, I know some of you will not be too happy that despite deciding to listen to his consciousness, Kiyoshi's fate is still pretty much the same than canon, nor that Ryuichi was beaten so badly for trying to do the rigth thing and without being in any way involved in the boys peeping operation. Ryuichi's situation will be clarified in the next chapter, and as for Kiyoshi... well, let's just say that his actions here have some implications I plan on using in the future.
That's all for now. Take care, and see you in chapter 5.
* For those curious, the fight scene between Torimi and Hana was inspired by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper's fight with Keith David, in "They Live", as well as the South Park parody of it in "Cripple Fight" *