Season 2 Episode 11
Class 1-D Homeroom...
"The call between me and Kiyotaka..." Karuizawa thought to herself remembering it. They did talk about some personal agendas and other things but one thing that worried her is the part where he'll stay in the background and no longer needs her. Even so, she felt sad that they can't contact each other anymore. As she thought of it, Ayanokouji arrived as, "Ohayo."
"Hey." His greeting is simple and dull as he went to talk with Akito while Karuizawa watched. Still worried and concerned about him.
Time skip to after classes...
Discussions took place among some of the students while others used their phones to check on something.
"BAM!"
From the front door, Ryuuen and his followers are outside their class as he stepped in. "What the hell ae you doing here you assholes!?" Sudou demanded to know as Yousuke stopped him. "Do you have any business here Ryuuen? If not, you better leave us be. We don't want any trouble." He ordered sternly.
"Do I need a special reason to visit another class in my grade level?" Ryuuen asked as he, Ibuki and Albert strolled in some more while Ishizaki, Komiya and Reo waited outside for further instructions. "I'd say you're all jumping at shadows."
"In most schools, you won't. But circumstances are different at this school." Yousuke replied remaining stern but preparing his fists in case and likewise, Sudou.
"I just think it's time we start being a bit friendlier. Starting with the Paper Shuffle since you guys beat my class. So congrats for that." Ryuuen replied when he caught sight of Kouenji leaving the classroom. "Ishizaki."
"On me!' He ordered Komiya and Reo as they followed him. The other 3 then left the class as, "Hey is it just me or is Ryuuen gonna doing something insane?" Ike asked Yamauchi. "Oh man! You think he's gonna do something dead serious to Kouenji?" Yamauchi asked back and their conversation made Chiaki, Karuizawa, Shinohara and Satou extremely worried.
"They have a point for it seems to get worse soon enough." Horikita stated to Yousuke and he nodded to her in agreement.
"Kiyotaka. We better it check out. With many people involved, Ryuuen may try something aggressive." Akito suggested.
"Very true. Having no cameras around is no guarantee." Ayanokouji agreed to it.
"I'll go with you guys. Too dangerous to send just a few." Yukimura chipped in as he and Akito left first. Noticing this, Horikita and Sudou also joined them as, "Hirata. It might be best for you to stay in the classroom." Ayanokouji suggested. "If instigators like Ike and Yamauchi go, it might make the trouble worse."
"Wakata. But make sure you take care of yourself and the others." He replied as Ayankouji left the classroom.
Outside...
Kouenji is already surrounded by Ryuuen and his followers when, "Hold it right there!" Horikita called out as she, Ayanokouji, Sudou, Akito and Yukimura arrived just in time the show's about to begin.
"Why so concerned? As you can see, we haven't done anything." Ryuuen assured to the group when Kouenji made his move. "What brings you to me? Have I done something to warrant your interference?"
"I'd like to speak to you. Blonde Weirdo." Ryuuen began with a little insult.
"Weirdo? Is it I, as a perfect existence whom you're referring to?"
"Who else could I mean?"
"Pure poppycock, I assure you but I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Kouenji replied calmly. "A sign of my boundless magnanimity. But as I do have a date coming up!" Swiftly, he drew out his expensive hand mirror and comb and got into a pose. "I wonder if we might keep this brief."
He then groomed his hair while smiling in the mirror and that annoyed Ryuuen. "I'd appreciate it if you'd delay those unimportant plans." He took the hand mirror and smashed it onto the ground with force.
"How terribly lowbrow! Are you aware of how much this mirror costs? I even bought the same type as a birthday present to one of my classmates!" Kouneji exclaimed as he checked his damaged hand mirror. "Oh right...that mirror..." Ayanokouji thought remembering it.
"Do I even give a damn about something simple and valuable such as this trashed trinket?" Ryuuen asked coldly when, "That's enough Ryuuen-kun! Don't make things worse between our classes!" Horikita warned him. "Pipe down Suzune. I have nothing to do with you and I'm having a game with this blonde weirdo Kouneji right now. So be a good girl and stay out of this. And that applies to those with you as well." He replied when, "Oh my. I thought I heard something brewing." At that moment, the Sakayanagi Faction showed up. "What a curious combination of characters." Sakayanagi described as all faced their right to see the group of 5.
"Sakayanagi. It almost seems like you knew this was about to go down." Ryuuen spoke to her.
"We just happened to be passing by." She replied as Hashimoto nodded in support and Miki is using her phone in the background.
"Bah! Don't make me laugh!" He replied in annoyance.
"Discussing plans for a Christmas party? I would like to have some fun in that." Sakayanagi asked taunting him.
"Get lost Cripple. I'm not dealing with you just yet."
"Oh don't be that way! Won't you let me join in the discussion?" She asked ignoring the cripple insult as Ayanokouji observed the new tension.
"Fine you can stay if you like. Just don't interrupt Cripple." Ryuuen warned her as Kitou growled and clenched his fists being unable to tolerate the cripple insult on his leader but Sakayanagi made him stand down and he complied.
Now back to the main tension, "I'm more than happy to perform for a larger audience, but could you make your point quickly because I'm afraid I'll have to leave for my date if you don't." Kouneji stated.
"Then let's get down to the brass tacks." Ryuuen replied with seriousness.
"My interference is thus: Someone in Class D has been interfering with your plans. You're trying to find out who that is." Kouneji stated as a start for the main tension.
"You got that right." said Ryuuen.
"Then I assure you, you have no quarrel with me." Kouenji replied confidently. "I'm incapable of caring how any classes end up. Even though I put in little or some...particular effort. What could you possibly get out of confronting me?"
"Your crappy story doesn't quite add up." Ryuuen replied and he brought this up. "What about that special exam on the ship? I know what you did there."
"A mere exercise to kill time. And it freed me from participation easily."
"Then I can't be assured you didn't participate in any others." Ryuuen concluded. "In other words, there's no guarantee that you don't control Class D. Correct?"
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Correct indeed!" A satisfied Kouenji replied. "But if you're the kind of person that would come to such a conclusion, it merely shows the limits of your own brainpower. Stupid is what I might call that behaviour."
Calling Ryuuen, 'stupid' shocked Ishizaki, Komiya and Reo as they stared at Kouneji and their leader as he smirked. "Fair enough. If you're telling me the truth, then that makes you entirely irrelevant to me."
"Yes and I appreciate that quick wit of yours...Dragon Boy."
That was enough for Sakayanagi to smirk in amusement as, "And if I choose to pursue an unjustified resentment and attempt to dominate you through violence?" Ryuuen asked.
"What a nonsensical question. You won't make that decision. Certainly not here." Kouenji warned him with awareness.
"I'm afraid I'm capable of anything even in inconvenient locations. Whether it earns me something or not." Ryuuen replied boldly.
"Naruhoto. Then I'll give you my answer. If you do make that decision, then in order to protect myself and my pride as a perfect existence, I'll take down all who come after me even if they gang up together, I'll mop the floor clean off them all!"
"You think you can defeat me alone?"
"I'm failing to imagine a reason why I couldn't."
"And I'm failing to imagine that you're completely insane! In a different way than me! I think that's all it is."
Silence filled the atmosphere for a few seconds. "Glad to have that misunderstanding resolved." Kouenji began. "Then tell me Kouenji, if it's not you, who is it? Is it a member of a congregation here?" Ryuuen asked. He thought a bit. And then, "I wouldn't dream of stealing your fun."
"Then may I ask a question?" Both of them looked at Sakayanagi who decided to make her move now. "A little bird once told me that Dragon Boy-san was indeed looking for a particularly clever member of Class D. Is this all true?"
"I told you to stay out this Cripple." Ryuuen warned her. "And next time you call me that, I'll kill you."
"Aw you don't like it? After all, it's a tit-for-tat solution. You called me Cripple so I called you Dragon-Boy back in return. Plus, it's a lovely name."
"So be it." Ryuuen thought as his mind snapped and he charged at her and unleashed a power spin kick.
"What the hell?! Is he serious?!" Sudou exclaimed.
"He wouldn't dare..." Akito also exclaimed.
"This is now getting out of hand!" Yukimura exclaimed along.
But at that moment, Hashimoto made his move by blocking the kick with his arm but fell down also. "My, did that really upset you?" Sakayanagi asked. "You never took my warning seriously." Ryuuen answered glaring at her.
"Stop this at once! Your behaviour right now is becoming a huge problem!" Horikita called out.
As for Kouenji, "You never seem to surprise me Tennis Boy-kun. Matter of fact, you still got the reflexes!" He helped him up as they shared a light laugh. "Thanks Kouenji. And you got guts to face an adversary without backing down or having your pride shattered."
"Ha! Ha! A perfect existence like me is always something!" Kouenji boasted.
"Say, wanna hit the tennis court one day?" Hashimoto asked.
"Sure. One day if I have the time. After all, we tied in our first match."
Sakayanagi smiled at their interaction as, "Do you see it Horikita-san? That's all it was."
"Sheesh...there's something wrong with all of you..." She muttered to herself.
"And I apologize if my teasing went too far." Sakayanagi apologized to Ryuuen as she and her faction took their leave. Kouenji also took his leave as he hummed to himself. "Are you sure you want to let him go?" Ishizaki asked.
"If he'd been the one I was looking for, he wouldn't be going anywhere." Ryuuen answered.
"He still looks very suspicious to me. Not to mention that smug and proud look on his face." said Ibuki. "He's also really hard to get a read on and it's entirely possible that what he said was a lie to throw us off easily."
"Our thought processes don't match up. Does he seem like the type that would be scheming with Horikita?" Ryuuen asked.
"It's certainly hard to imagine." Ibuki answered. "But then, why did you go after him in the first place?"
Instead of answering her, Ryuuen called out to Class D. "Yo! What do you guys think of Kouenji?"
Instead, Sudou got easily pissed threatening to fight him but, "Ryuuen-kun. Your behaviour is so erratic that I can't even understand it at all." Horikita spoke to him. "Well that suggests I'm doing something right." Ryuuen replied calmly. "By narrowing down my candidates today...as to who it was that's hiding behind you."
"I have no interest in whatever you're doing. But I do feel comfortable asking you to stay away from my classmates from now on!" Horikita demanded strictly.
"I'm not obligated to stay away from anyone. I haven't broken any rules also. But this game will end soon so you can look forward to the finale." After saying these words, Ryuuen gave the signal and he and his followers departed.
That night...
In the dorms, Ayanokouji is drinking a cup of tea and pondering about today.
"Honami has shown interest in me already and soon, Sakayanagi. But if I start working now, I should be able to fade out. The only remaining issue is...Ryuuen
At the same time, Ryuuen is sitting on a park bench resting his mind while Ibuki and Albert stood behind him. "He never showed his hand and because of that, my first little fox hunt turned up empty."
"Ha! How gracious of you admitting defeat. Are you throwing in the towel now?" Ibuki asked cynically.
"No. I will crush him. He didn't show his hand today but my attempts to corner him will work. The hunt continues." Ryuuen declared. "In addition after the Paper Shuffle, I assigned watchdogs to observe Class D students. This will sow unease and tension throughout the whole class. Over the course of 2 weeks, I'm sure the mastermind's feeling it. The kind of person who would remain in hiding Suzune..."
Flashbacks were played out revealing all this. The first one reveals Rika and Kinoshita sitting on a bench reading books and quietly observing Shinohara and Kayano passing by. The second one reveals Ishizaki and 4 other boys observing Yousuke in the midst of his soccer practice with Shibata who then pointed out the goons from a distance and he took notice of it. The third one reveals Reo hanging around the locker area as he observed Yukimura passing by and the last one reveals Komiya and Kaneda leaning by the wall observing Akito walking down the stairs as he took notice of their presence.
"So why are you doing this?" Ibuki asked.
"Because I'm enjoying myself." Ryuuen answered her. "The truth is, my heart's racing. An exaltation akin to first love." He then checked his phone that has many messages sent from his classmates in his message history.
The next day...
After classes are over, Ryuuen, Ibuki, Albert, Ishizaki, Komiya and Reo are heading to an unknown location. The weather today is very dark so expect heavy downpour. "So tell me, what are you planning?" Ibuki asked. "Worried?" Ryuuen asked. "I just want to know what I'm going along with." She replied. "You'll find out soon for you see, I've called the bait here." He replied. "At the same time, I've sent an email to the mastermind."
"You think he'll buy it?" She asked.
"In the worst case scenario, neither showed up. But that would be enjoyable in it's own way." He replied.
"So concretely, what's your angle?" She asked regarding the worst case scenario.
"I'll crush the bait or I'll crush the bait and the mastermind." Ryuuen answered.
"But you can't do that much with these security cameras around." Ibuki stated.
"No worries. We are near the location. Let's go." Ryuuen ordered as they headed on and soon enough, they arrived and it's under construction.
Inside the unknown location which might be some shelter, the boys got to work setting the place up for the bait. "Brrr...it's so damn cold..." Ibuki shivered from it as, "Now no one can see us." Ryuuen stated.
"But won't we get punished for this?" Ibuki asked.
"Relax it's just a prank. Any punishment won't be severe." Ryuuen assured to her and he began giving out orders. "Albert. Take your place. If the bait shows up, let it through. If anyone unexpected shows up, call me or message me."
Albert nodded and handed a heavy bag to Ishizaki. "Damn that's heavy!"
"You gotta work out more bro." Albert told him.
"Very funny..." Ishizaki mumbled as he set the bag down while Albert left for his assigned guard duty. "I hope you're right about this plan especially when the bait shows up." Ibuki stated.
"Oh she will." Ryuuen assured to her. "The card I hold is a life-or-death for her. And with that, we wait."
It then cuts to the scene as Karuizawa who's at the lobby at the dorms reading it. She trembled with worry for a moment when, "Karuizawa-san!"
"Ah! Oh Ichinose-san!" As the girls met up, "Say, you feeling alright?" Honami asked.
"Uh...I'm fine! Yeah, I'm okay! And I gotta go! We'll talk again!" Karuizawa hurried her way leaving Honami concerned. "She seems off in her behaviour. I wonder what's gotten her so angst? I better check on her in case. I can't bear to see my friend like this. Hopefully nothing goes wrong."
Soon enough...
As time passes, rain drops began falling until the downpour begins. And inside the shelter, "You came alone?" Ryuuen asked.
"Yeah! That's what it said in your email right? I did as you asked." Karuizawa replied as she shivered a bit from the cold. "But what the heck was that email about anyway?"
"Seriously, do you really need further explanation?" Ryuuen asked.
"I don't know how you forced Manabe and her peers to tell you everything but in fact, I have no idea what they're talking about!" Karuizawa replied.
"Then why didn't you ignore it?" He asked.
"Well...I just don't anyone even you to spread unfound rumours." She answered.
"Is that all?"
"What's that suppose to mean?"
Ryuuen then nodded at Ibuki as she walked to her. "Just give up already. Everyone here knows that before you reinvented yourself for high school, you were a constant victim of bullying for 9 years."
"W-Wait...what are you-" Before anything can happen, Ishizaki appeared behind Karuizawa and bound her wrists with some restrainer and forced her onto her knees. And then, Ryuuen got a text message. "What the..."
"What's wrong?" Ishizaki asked.
"Albert texted me. He caught a pink rat snooping nearby."
"Pink rat...could he mean-"
"Ichinose?" Reo guessed right surprising Komiya and soon enough, Albert showed and threw Honami onto the ground. "Thanks Albert." Ryuuen thanked him as he went back to his post.
"Well what do we have here?" Ibuki asked as Ryuuen grabbed Honami on the collar. "What's the meaning of this Ichinose?" He asked in anger.
"What were you and your cronies doing? This is against school rules!" She replied when Ryuuen threw her onto the wall! "BAM!"
"Ittai..." Honami groaned from the impact as, "Ichinose-san!" Karuizawa called out as Komiya and Reo took action. They forcefully restrained her wrists and gagged her mouth to prevent her from screaming for help. "This wasn't according to plan but knowing that she's trying to foil us, better keep her here." Ryuuen ordered and then, remember something. "Kaneda's statement...right." He thought and so, "On second thought, I'll just make you an audience and when I'm done with her, you're next."
Honami struggled in horror as Reo forced her onto her knees and kept watch.
Now back to the main business, "Just what do you want and what do you get out of threatening me?" Karuizawa asked.
"I'm just killing time."
"If you do anything to me or Ichinose-san, I'll telling the school!"
"Go ahead but I don't think you can't. You came here alone after all despite Ichinose trying to expose us." said Ryuuen as she became silent. Honami can only look at her friend as, "Now Karuizawa. Tell me who's pulling the strings for you and Suzune. Do that and I won't reveal your past to anyone else."
"Past?" Honami thought in wonder when, "I don't know what you're talking about." Karuizawa replied. "The mastermind saved you from being bullied by Manabe and the others." Ryuuen revealed. "I still don't know what you're talking about and I've never been bullied." She replied. "Is the mastermind that important to you?" He asked. "Ask me all you want but the answer will always remain the same! Now untie now! It's seriously cold in here" She replied and demanded.
"You denial is way too much for me to hear. You also think that I can't expose your past? For that, you left me no choice." Ryuuen is starting to lose his patience. "All the relations you built in this school, are you brave enough to abandon them?"
She said nothing for a moment. Then, "It's not like I'm stupid okay!? You think there's someone pulling my strings so you came after me because you can't them yourself! If I'm your only chance, you won't just throw that away."
"I see...well, this is why I'm getting the info from you, right here and now. Don't underestimate me..." He then walked away to stand a little further as, "Ishizaki. Begin Phase 1."
"Wakata." Ishizaki dug into the bag and took out 2 large bottles of water. "Wh-What are you doing now?" Karuizawa asked when, "You said just now it's seriously cold in here." Komiya brought up with Reo nodding in agreement and soon enough, Ishizaki opened the first bottle and emptied out the liquid onto Karuizawa. She shivered from the wetness as Ryuuen smiled in amusement.
At first glance, this school appears governed by rules. But it's not. Not really. Forceful methods are permitted, to a degree. Surveillance cameras, bribing upperclassmen, behind-the-scene trades with other classes and the hints to realizing that are all around us in our daily lives. Anyone with any brains will be testing out the boundaries through trial and error. This is part of that
"Ishizaki, Phase 2."
He obeyed and first, placed a cloth on her head and emptied the other bottle onto her wetting the cloth also. Honami can't bear to watch all this so she looked away until it's done. "The nature of trauma is that experiences trigger it faster than words." Ryuuen stated as he removed the wet cloth off her and grabbed her hair. "I'll break you down, slowly and thoroughly."
Meanwhile...
Outside a cafe, Ayanokouji just exited the place. "The carbonara was pretty tasty. The cream sauce is top quality and likewise, the sliced chicken, chopped onions and the pasta." He thought when, "Kiyotaka!" He looked to his left to see the Ayanokouji Group waiting for him and Hiyori is with them. "Wanna go somewhere together? We've got some time to hang out with Hiyori as part of her initiation to our group." Haruka invited him as, "Say, where do you want to go?" Sakura asked her. "Hmmm...the library is closed now...karaoke?" Hiyori requested.
"Sounds good to me." said Akito with Hamaguchi nodding in agreement.
"We survived the second term after all so a little something to celebrate such as this." Yukimura agreed as, "What about you Kiyopon?" Haruka asked as he joined the group. "Sounds good and welcome to our study group Hiyori."
She smiled from it as, "C'mon! We better get going before the downpour gets worse." said Beppu as they left for karaoke.
And back to Class C...
"St-Stop it...please..." Karuizawa begged.
"Ha! Ha! I love you this way Karuizawa. And now it's time for phase 3." Ryuuen now has a large bottle of water as he emptied out everything on her. Once again, "Ishizaki. Prepare for the final phase." He got to work as, "I'll ask you again. Who is the mastermind?"
"There is no...mastermind...you bastard..." She replied. "There isn't...at all!"
"That is some backbone you got and someone accustomed to bullying can endure a whole lot more than that eh?" Ryuuen exclaimed as he took out a knife. "I've had it with you now." He grabbed her arm and started dragging when, "Hey. Better finish the job fast because once we learn the identity, I'm leaving to get a hot bath and the cold is becoming more unbearable now." Ibuki spoke up.
He just walked past her while dragging Karuizawa and Honami knowing what he's gonna do trembled in horror.
For the sake of my own pleasure, I will destroy Karuizawa Kei and after that, Ichinose Honami
Violence is truly a weapon to wield in the dangerous hands.
Remember the ikeman list in chapter 8? If you guys remember, Hashimoto and Kouenji are no.1 and 2 and here, it reveals a good friendship between them.
And Honami tags along with Karuizawa in secret but got caught by Ryuuen and his gang which includes Komiya and Reo compared to the anime. What will happen to the 2 girls? Meanwhile, Hiyori is being initiated into the Ayanokouji group. Sounds like fun unless Ayanokouji realizes that the 2 girls are in serious trouble.
Private Points List
Class 1-A
1. Arisu Sakayanagi-736,870
2. Kohei Katsuragi-1,117,673
3. Yahiko Totsuka-610,104
4. Masumi Kamuro-612,479
5. Masayoshi Hashimoto-608,296
6. Hayato Kito-607,437
7. Takuro Morishige-1,114,382
8. Koji Machida-1,139,990
9. Shigeru Takomoto-1,135,177
10. Miki Yamamura-614,985
Class 1-B
1. Honami Ichinose-3,275,300
2. Ryuji Kanzaki-875,316
3. Chihiro Shiranami-397,885
4. Yume Kobashi-797,332
5. Mako Amikura-381,218
6. Sou Shibata-418,207
7. Tetsuya Hamaguchi-887,313
8. Ryouta Beppu-904,557
9. Sayo Andou-844,538
10. Norihito Watanabe-363,446
Class 1-C
1. Kakeru Ryuuen-745,070
2. Mio Ibuki-762,137
3. Hiyori Shiina-357,075
4. Albert Yamada-206,379
5. Daichi Ishizaki-213,504
6. Kyogo Komiya-227,495
7. Reo Kondou-236,072
8. Satoru Kaneda-253,221
9. Shiho Manabe-732,072
10. Nanami Yabu-735,057
11. Saki Yamashita-736,047
12. Rika Morofuji-214,990
13. Minori Kinoshita-203,411
Class 1-D
1. Soshi Miyamoto-129,716
2. Satsuki Shinohara-140,527
3. Kokoro Inogashira-142,525
4. Nene Mori-141,638
5. Teruhiko Yukimura-621,695
6. Yosuke Hirata-593,487
7. Kei Karuizawa-539,629
8. Kayano Onodera-160,486
9. Kikyou Kushida-640,559
10. Ryotarou Hondou-138,523
11. Hideo Sotomura-450,787
12. Chiaki Matsushita-140,586
13. Rokusuke Kouenji-473,320
14. Haruka Hasabe-134,402
15. Haruki Yamauchi-108,517
16. Akito Miyake-120,705
17. Wang Mei Yu-119,629
18. Kyousuke Okitani-110,939
19. Maya Satou-89,730
20. Kanji Ike-128,152
21. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji-659,965
22. Suzune Horikita-601,448
23. Wataru Ijuin-156,983
24. Airi Sakura-118,739
25. Ken Sudou-109,778
Class Points
A-974
B-753
C-442
D-395
This update sure took some time. In the midst of writing. I became COVID+ and have to quarantine for several days. After that, I recovered in good condition so with that, I can work on the next chapter. See ya and stay healthy!