Night Flower
Written: 7/17/2023
The sport's festival is really something interesting to write in my opinion. The amount of stuff that goes on is really something. As for the plot with Ryūen, there will be not much different compared to the actual novel. I do intend on keeping it the same.
As for Munfurawa's own role, he is more of a reconnaissance kind of person, involved in the overall strategy. Once again, the difference is that Munfurawa is more aggressive, while Ayanokouji is meticulous, even though both wait for retaliation. I do want to make this difference known as Munfurawa isn't just an Ayanokouji copy. He's meant to be someone Ayanokouji respects, even if he doesn't completely match him.
Once again, for the love interest, I do have something in mind, with a perfect execution.
Chapter 19: Sports Festival – Injury and Fight Back
"If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so sever that his vengeance need not be feared." – Niccolo Machiavelli.
Third Person POV
With the tug of war and capture the flag events over for the boys, with a win for the red team on both, it seemed that the red team was on streak for a clear and decisive victory.
After all, even the 1st year girls of the red team had managed to perform well in their own events.
However the red team and white team were closer than anticipated. Mainly due to the fact that the second and third years of the red team were not perfoming as well as the first years.
It was rather disappointing for those in the first year to have to pick up the weight for supposedly stronger students, but they digressed.
It was impressive they still were winning. For the respective class, Class B and D were close to each other, fighting for the first place of the year, while Class A was catching up to Class C. However it was an overall close race individually and by year.
The only year that seemed to be oppressive for one side was the third years, which were oppressive for the red team. The second years weren't bad, but they could be doing better.
For now, the obstacle course was commencing, with Sudo once again being first.
Already straight off the bat, Munfurawa could tell something was occurring. Sitting alongside Ayanokouji after the tug of war, the two remained in their spot, as the next events occurred. Horikita, and Kamuro were still with them, but they were quiet due to the two girl's silent but hostile nature towards each other.
"Do you see that?" Munfurawa asked, pointing to Sudo's group.
"Yes, he is facing off again the weaker individuals from Class C." Ayanokouji pointed out, answering for Munfurawa.
Horikita looked on, "And what is the significance of that?" She asked, clearly a bit confused on why they were focused on that.
Munfurawa sighed, "Then it means that Ryūen is saving himself for me theoretically."
Horikita turned to face Munfurawa with suspicion, "And why do you say that?"
"It makes sense, it is too much of a coincidence for one to get the same member of another classroom multiple times." Munfurawa pointed out, "Besides, it seems you are paired among Kinoshita and Yajima, again."
Horikita looked surprised, and Munfurawa added, "Doesn't that seem suspicious that you are once again paired with the same individuals from Class C?"
Horikita nodded, "It is…"
Ayanokouji looked on, clearly focusing on the race Sudo was about to get in, "He sees you two as a threat, perhaps the biggest threat in Class D at the moment."
Munfurawa faced himself to Ayanokouji, who was still focusing on Sudo. "It does make sense, he does like to try and rile me up. It would also explain why he is not even acknowledging Sudo. He doesn't care for him because he could be easily riled up."
"Indeed." Ayanokouji nodded.
"So are we agreeing with our previous suspicions? That there is a traitor within our group?" Horikita asked.
Ayanokouji nodded, "Yes, there is without a doubt a traitor within this class, who had leaked the participating sheet."
Kamuro looked on, "And who do you think this is?"
Munfurawa shrugged, but he already had a certain person on his mind, "For now, we have no clues, and we cannot really do anything at the moment."
Kamuro sighed, "Then what's the point…"
"It's happened before at the zodiac exam, as a result we cannot let this individual continue their acts." Ayanokouji stated.
Before they could ponder further, the first round started for the obstacle course race.
Immediately the signal was raised, and Sudo had begun to spring off, with a respectable dashing speed. It seemed that Kanzaki was racing against Sudo. While he wasn't as fast as Shibata, he was respectable in his own aspects.
And likewise, Kanzaki was behind Sudo by a second, while the other's were far off in the dust. The first obstacle was a balance beam. The narrow balance beam did seem to show a bit of a struggle for Sudo, due to him being quite the big guy.
By contrast Kanzaki had easily gone through, being a lot slimmer and smaller than Sudo.
Sudo cursed his physique for the first time ever, probably, before he pushed himself through. While he was through, he was now in fourth due to that brief struggle.
Complimenting that was the nervousness many within Class D were showing suddenly, seeing their ace fall behind due to that. Even if Sudo was strong, he wasn't able to squeeze through as easily as the others, an act that ironically made Sudo's physique a liability this time.
However, he began to push himself forward, knowing he had some catching up to do as a result. He didn't spend most of his time cursing or raging considering he still had to finish.
The second obstacle involved crawling through a net placed on the ground. Once again, this was going to be more difficult for Sudo rather than Kanzaki, due to his larger physique. Likewise, he found himself getting caught in the net, which hampered his progress somewhat. It wasn't as bad as the balance beam, but he still had slowed down rather considerably.
Eventually he made it through, to the final area, the bean bag.
"What the hell is the purpose of the bean bag?" Munfurawa asked no one in particular, "Is it just meant to make us look stupid while hopping?"
Kamuro gave a small chuckle at the comment, while Horikita and Ayanokouji focused more on the race, though Horikita looked back with a serious glare to Kamuro when she laughed at Munfurawa's joke.
The last, wit the bean bag was a sack race. Thankfully, Sudo had managed to catch up to Kanzaki, and they had begun to hop simultaneously. It was a somewhat hilarious site for Munfurawa, who had never seen people hop in bags before.
Thankfully, Sudo had managed to clear the lead, with the final last sprint having Sudo lengthen his new lead over Kanzaki.
By a margin of three seconds, Sudo had scored first in his round of the obstacle race, Kanzaki finishing second.
From here, they all could tell Sudo was panting and breathing relatively heavily.
"I hope he didn't push himself too much." Munfurawa commented.
Horikita scoffed, "Don't worry about him, he is capable to know when to stop."
"Does he?" Munfurawa asked, thinking back to capture the flag, where he wanted to go despite a relatively moderate injury to his spine.
Horikita sighed, "When are the two of you going?"
Munfurawa looked on, "I'm in group 4, with Ryūen and Albert…"
Ayanokouji sighed, "Group 3 with Shibata…"
Horikita looked on, "Well you both better do well and give it your all."
Munfurawa nodded, "Yes captain ice."
Horikita sighed, "That isn't as good as ice girl." She seemed a bit shocked and annoyed from the new nickname Munfurawa had come up with.
"Alright ice girl, see you." Munfurawa said as he went down with Ayanokouji.
"Why did you want to come down with me?" Ayanokouji asked.
Munfurawa looked on, "Give Shibata a run for his money."
Ayanokouji looked dumbfounded, "What, you want me to go all out?!"
Munfurawa shook his head, "Just rival him, that's it. You can decided whether you want to beat him or not."
Ayanokouji looked on with a bit of hesitance, which was hard to see since his eyes were always clouded by a wall.
"Alright…" Ayanokouji stated, as he left to run his relay race with Shibata.
Ayanokouji's round went, and he dashed forward surprisingly fast for what he was expected of. It briefly shocked those who were watching, but Shibata caught up to him relatively quickly.
"So he did that to make people think he started with a strong dash, smart…" Munfurawa thought as he saw Ayanokouji make the balance beam relatively easy. Well, much easier than Sudo. Still, he was somewhat behind Shibata, but he was respectable in how he performed.
"Damn, Ayanokouji is actually catching up to Shibata…" Sudo mumbled.
Munfurawa nodded, "I know, he might actually beat him."
Sudo looked to Munfurawa a bit confused, "What are you implying?"
Munfurawa shrugged, "I'm implying his potential is infinite." He replied, seeing Ayanokouji make his way smoothly underneath the net, catching up to Shibata who accidentally got himself caught.
"He's making it through the overall course faster than I am…" Sudo commented.
"Well that's because you are taller than him, so you have a tougher time squeezing through, right?" Munfurawa asked, and Sudo sighed.
"You make a good point there." Sudo mumbled, unaware that Sakura had decided to check up on him.
"Still, you got first place." Sakura's voice hit Sudo's eardrums, and he whirled around, accidentally hitting Munfurawa in the process.
"Ugh…" Munfurawa mumbled as he shrugged off the pain, while Sudo was excited to see Sakura.
"Thanks Airi, it was difficult." Sudo mentioned.
"I saw, you were panting relatively seriously after." Sakura mentioned.
Munfurawa decided he did not want to feel third wheeled, so he left and decided to hit his own post early.
It seemed he was with Miyake, who was a respectable individual on the sport's field.
He turned to see the results, and saw that Ayanokouji had scored second, being barely behind Shibata.
Munfurawa saw Ayanokouji approach him. "Good job." Munfurawa called out to him.
"Thanks, he's pretty fast." Ayanokouji stated, which intrigued Munfurawa at that.
Most would say he is incredibly fast, or beyond fast when describing Shibata's speed. However, Ayanokouji had used a simple term.
It seemed that even in his grammar, Ayanokouji wanted to appear average in what he said, and how he talked.
Overall Munfurawa gave him a nod before he went off, while Munfurawa himself had prepared for the course. In truth, he wasn't sure how to proceed with it. He didn't know how to actually perform the maneuvers to get past these.
Well, the first and second would be fine, but the third he was embarrassed to do. he was going to be hopping like a bunny.
"Well, we meet again." Ryūen's voice echoed into Munfurawa's ear, and he turned to see him and Yamada.
"Indeed, it's almost like you planned this meeting." Munfurawa replied, clearly implying to Ryūen he knew of his plan.
"Kukuku, indeed, I even brought Albert with me, you know him very well."
Yamada nodded, "I will not forget the individual who had managed to beat me down in three hits, to do that is impressive."
Munfurawa shrugged, "You were just caught up in the entire commotion regarding what was going on. I just got the sneak on you."
Yamada hummed, "Sure, but even I saw your attack, and yet I was unable to defend myself from your strikes. You are stronger than you show yourself to be…"
Ryūen chuckled, "Indeed, remember the summer vacation when he held your strikes?"
Yamada seemed to remember, "Oh yeah, so it wasn't just a lucky occurrence, you really are a fighter."
Munfurawa shrugged, "I'm in the martial arts club, I thought this was knowledge right now."
Ryūen smirked, "True, but even Albert here acknowledges that your methods of fighting is not as noble to that of a trained martial artist."
"Indeed." Albert added, "Some of your moves were foul."
Ryūen continued, "Your morals don't match, and your actions clearly deceived me into thinking you were moral. In fact, you are just like me."
Munfurawa didn't care for their own investigations on him, all he cared about right now was beating them. "Well good luck finding out about me."
He said, he turned back.
However, it was clear Ryūen wanted to aggravate Munfurawa.
"Maybe you won't tell us, but maybe Suzune will. With some methods I can get her to talk." Ryūen taunted with a tone that made Munfurawa disgusted.
He took a deep breathe, knowing he was trying to taunt him, "You would be disappointed to know she doesn't know anything. If anything she knows less about me."
Ryūen sighed, "Is that so? Hmm, that's a shame. I can still use her for my own purposes, though."
Munfurawa eyed Ryūen with his eyes. They held no emotion now, but behind the clouded expression held a deeper meaning and expression. One that Albert Yamada and Kakeru Ryūen couldn't see.
"You better realize the significance of cameras within the school. Besides I would highly discourage you from seeking Horikita for your own selfish desires." Munfurawa stated with a dead voice.
Ryūen could tell he was aggravated, it was working. But what Ryūen had activated was something more than what he could handle. The clouded expression showed Ryūen he was holding in quite the amount of secrets and thoughts.
Sinister thoughts that he wanted to absorb, and corrupt. Twist it for his own use. And it seemed that Horikita was a way to get him to activate that.
"Well, what if I still go ahead with my plans?" Ryūen asked.
Munfurawa looked on, "Ice girl can take care of herself for what I know. But, if it involves you, then I will do what is in my power to keep her safe."
Ryūen chuckled, "By the way you describe that, it shows me that you might already be dating her or something."
Munfurawa shook his head, "That is not the case, but she is my friend, and thus I will defend my friends from you. You will not have your way with us. I will find out what you are planning."
Ryūen chuckled, "Very well, Munfurawa, but I will warn you. I will be coming with you through any means possible."
Munfurawa looked on, "That's what you have been saying since I got here, and so far, none of your plans seemed to have worked. So tell me, what makes you think this time, it'll be different?"
Ryūen smirked, "Because records are meant to be broken, and walls are meant to fall down. Even the most symbolic walls can be broken down with time. There will come a time when you can only handle so much, that your own wall will eventually deteriorate. And when that happens, you will only be able to watch me take my stance."
Munfurawa looked on, it was clear to him that Ryūen had planned to continue on this path. What was worse, was the implications. One might think Ryūen was taunting and threatening Munfurawa, but the boy knew he was already planning something.
He had to be cautious and quick to act for whatever happens. Specifically, because it probably will involves Horikita. He would have to keep an eye out for her after all. As for the ice girl herself, he didn't understand or know why he got that way when Ryūen had mentioned her like that.
A similar thing happened during the deserted island exam, when Ryūen made an inappropriate comment about Horikita, which resulted in the delinquent getting a foot straight in his chest, and falling off his chair from Munfurawa.
"Very well, but bring all the artillery you will need. For this wall isn't just capable of defending. You saw me before, I will not hesitate to fall to your tactics for my own benefits." Munfurawa warned Ryūen and Yamada, before he went off.
Munfurawa chose to ignore the two for now, as he went to Miyake who looked somewhat surprised.
"You alright?" Miyake asked.
Munfurawa nodded. He hadn't really talked to this specific individual at all, so it was weird meeting a new person.
For now, he got into a position. He knew that with Ryūen and Yamada he couldn't necessarily hold back. They already had their suspicions on him, and thus they were expecting some form of resistance.
But the thing that Munfurawa promised them, was the resistance he would give. Thus, he had to live true to his words.
He took a deep breathe, ignoring the stare from Ryūen and Yamada as they were trying to analyze him, clearly plan on something.
To his discomfort, he seemed to have been placed right next to Ryūen, which made the situation even worse for Munfurawa.
Still, he had something to do, and that was beat Ryūen and Yamada soundly in this current race. Who knows, maybe if he did so, he could put them in their place.
Therefore, when the race started, Munfurawa started with a somewhat poor start. Ryūen and Yamada were second and first respectively, while Munfurawa was third.
Munfurawa sighed as he slightly increased his pace to catch up to Ryūen. However, once he got near, he felt like he was going to slip.
He looked down and noticed Ryūen had purposely gelled his hair and the likes, getting it all over the track area to mess up multiple runners. He quickly looked behind and saw the others running at a slower pace because of Ryūen's tactic.
"So, he already planned something sinister, this asshole…" Munfurawa mumbled, as he continued his assault to advance onto Ryūen.
Eventually, he was near him, and he made sure to avoid anything else of Ryūen's tactics. For now, it seemed that he had barely taken second place against Ryūen, but Yamada was still in first.
It did seem however he got through the balance beam with ease.
As for Munfurawa, he and Ryūen were on the similar pace, getting through the balance beam. Munfurawa then decided to do something equally as sinister.
Spreading his arms wide, he waited for Ryūen to take the bait.
He did, and in an attempt to catch Munfurawa off balance, he grabbed Munfurawa's left hand.
However, both weren't expecting what happened next.
Munfurawa had kept himself on, using his strength that he kept hidden, to catch Ryūen off balance, and making him fall off the beam balance. Munfurawa was able to keep his own balance, but now his left hand was hurting from the impact.
It seemed that Ryūen was using his entire strength as well. This was the first time Ryūen had experienced Munfurawa's total strength, and what he was capable of, and it was clear he was shocke,d but also angry that he had fallen down.
Munfurawa smirked, looking at Yamada, knowing he was the last obstacle. He knew in particular that Albert Yamada would struggle with the next two. The net, and the bean bag race thing that Munfurawa didn't bother remembering.
His large stature made it hard for him to actually sneak under the net, and he was also big to the point some of the bags may not fit him. Thus, Munfurawa knew he could easily win this.
It seemed that the bigger statured people were going to struggle overall in within this specific event. Overall, it's looking good for Munfurawa.
Getting off and running to the net, where Yamada was halfway finished, trying to carefully maneuver himself through the net without catching himself, Munfurawa had taken that opportunity to catch up to him.
Said individual clearly increased his pace realizing Munfurawa had caught up, and that Ryūen had fallen miserably behind. He quickly looked back, seeing Miyake was somewhere between third and fourth, while Ryūen was sixth. He wanted to chuckled at his current predicament, but he focused on catching up to Yamada.
By the time he had made it halfway to the route of the bean bags, he had passed Yamada, who clearly was cursing in frustration. They had probably planned to sabotage Munfurawa and his chances to win. Unfortunately for them, Munfurawa was prepared, and he was willing to fight back with equal disrespect.
It made it more satisfying that he had made Ryūen tumble through his own fault in front of the others. This added to the already multitude of times Munfurawa had disrespected Ryūen. But then again, Ryūen did say he would only fight harder and with more vigor until Munfurawa's walls had crumpled. He was bringing as much artillery as he could.
Eventually, he found himself slightly embarrassed by the fact that he was hopping in a bean bag. It felt weird, for Munfurawa, and he felt there were simpler ways to move rather than hopping in the bag. Just what was the point of this?
Eventually, he finished, Yamada surprisingly not too far behind him. Most, by contrast were either on the route to the bean bag race, or currently performing it.
As of right now, Munfurawa made his way to the finish in a final push, to make sure Yamada didn't get the surprise on him.
Cutting through the red tape, Munfurawa was notified by the sound that he had finished first place.
Munfurawa took a bit of a breathe, considering it was actually tiring.
"That bean bag race is so stupid… It's a waste of energy…" Munufrawa mumbled, as Yamada finished second.
Miyake had finished third while another student was just in front of Ryūen.
It seemed that he and Ryūen were racing to finish fourth. Unfortunately for Ryūen, he was a millisecond behind the other, and finished an appalling fifth place.
Munfurawa could see the clearly pissed look Ryūen was giving him.
"I told you, you want to place disrespectful, I will gladly play with and equal amount of tone you play with." Munfurawa warned.
Ryūen for once didn't laugh or say anything as Munfurawa walked off, Miyake not too far behind him.
"Ryūen?" Yamada asked, making sure Ryūen was feeling better.
"I'm fine, we will get those Class defects to know their own place. It'll take time, but the greater they resist, the harder they fall." Ryūen stated, as he walked back to his own post, clearly deciding another strategy, and what to do, not just for Munfurawa, but also for Horikita.
"Dude! That was amazing!" Sudo exclaimed, respecting Munfurawa. "You even embarrassed that Ryūen punk into falling hilariously in the first obstacle! That was peak!"
It was clear to Munfurawa that Sudo was in a good mood at the moment, and it made Munfurawa smile at bit at how infectious it was.
"Thanks, now I want to get some muscle reliever and a wrapping, Ryūen did a number on my hand." Munfurawa pointed out.
"Oh no, is it okay?" Hirata asked clearly concerned, "I did see it, by the looks of it Ryūen was pulling your hand aggressively, no doubt would that hurt."
Munfurawa nodded, "Yeah…"
"Will you still be able to participate in the other events?" Sudo asked, having mellowed down a bit from the news he was receiving.
"I don't know yet…" Munfurawa answered, "We'll see after."
As he began to apply some spray to assist with his now aching hand, he noticed Ayanokouji looking at him.
"You showed your strength." He stated.
Munfurawa nodded, "Yeah, I wanted to embarrass Ryūen, and it worked spectacularly."
Ayanokouji sighed, "It certainly did. Being able to hold onto your balance while a full teenage boy is trying to pull you down, don't you think that would cause an uproar?"
Munfurawa shook his head, "I think the idea of Ryūen falling clumsily will make a bigger uproar rather than what caused him to fall like that."
Ayanokouji pondered, "You make a fair point there, however be careful with what you are planning with him."
"Affirmative, Ayanokouji, we are alike after all." Munfurawa pointed out.
Ayanokouji sighed as he gave Munfurawa some more spray, "Hope to see you in the other events. Make sure your hand is feeling better."
"Thanks man." Munfurawa thanked Ayanokouji. It was clear to Munfurawa right now that he was missing the rest of the obstacle race, as he was busy healing his own hand.
In truth, he hadn't expected it to hurt that much, nor did he expect Ryūen to actually commit to such a dangerous action. But then again, that did describe how Ryūen was with his actions.
Cunning, smart, calculated, and dangerous. He was willing to play it risky, with his strategy to bring them both down, or at least Munfurawa, and he was certainly cunning with putting jell around the area.
Munfurawa sighed, before he realized Horikita had joined him.
"Oh hey." Munfurawa greeted.
"How's your hand?" Horikita asked.
Munfurawa nodded, "It's fine, Ryūen put more commitment into that action than I had anticipated."
Horikita looked on, "It did work, most of Class A and D laughed when Ryūen tripped."
Munfurawa smirked, "Indeed, it worked out in the end."
"But what about you hand?" Horikita asked, clearly worried.
Munfurawa sighed, "It will heal, but if I cannot use if for the remaining of the Sport's Festival, then it had served its purpose."
Horikita sighed, a bit in frustration, before he got up. Before Munfurawa could ask what she was doing, she came back with some wrappings and spray.
Munfurawa looked in shock, as Horikita began to wrap up his own hand. He had never expected an action like this from her out of all people. Sure there were people who would help others in such a caring way, but you never expect the words caring and Horikita to go together.
She was serious, cold, and antisocial. Yet, she wanted to cooperate with others to achieve a goal of hers. The motivation, acknowledgement from her own brother. One may think it's too much, others may encourage her.
However, regardless of the circumstances that was against Horikita, one could not help but feel bad for her. She had openly gone out of her own comfort zone, of being a loner, to talk and cooperate with others, just for her own goal.
That's how committed she was, and Munfurawa felt a bit saddened with her. In a way, she was somewhat tragic in her nature. Did she bring it upon herself, sure, but regardless, one could not help what could happen is she was this open about her own faults.
Yet, here she was, helping Munfurawa with his sprained hand. Sure, to someone it was rather insignificant, but for someone like Horikita, it meant a lot. Munfurawa knew that this meant that their connection was strong.
"You know why I did what I did to Ryūen?" Munfurawa asked.
Horikita looked on in confusion, "And why did you go with that?" She was clearly upset with Munfurawa for putting himself in such a vulnerable state willingly, just to drag and embarrass Ryūen like that. Even if Horikita hated the guy, she was confused as to why he had done such a foul move on Ryūen.
"He was talking bad about you." Munfurawa stated.
Immediately, Horikita got flashbacks to the desert island exam, when Munfurawa had kicked Ryūen in his chest for making a sexual comment towards Horikita. At the time, she felt a bit touched that Munfurawa had retaliated for her, because Ryūen had talked bad about her, and in an appropriate manner.
Now, hearing he had done it again, a foul move to embarrass Ryūen, for her, made her once again question everything.
"Why?" Horikita asked. "Why do you always retaliate whenever Ryūen talks about me."
Munfurawa shrugged, "I just don't like how he refers to you as an object, especially its my friend he's talking about."
Horikita sighed, once again he was being genuine, at least as genuine as he could be in her opinion, as well as caring and looking out for her. It was strange for her, and thus she tried to respond in kind.
"Uhh, thanks, a lot…" Horikita said, with a clear uncomfortable tone in her voice.
Munfurawa sighed, realizing that Horikita had finished long ago fixing his hand, and was now holding it in her own. "It's no problem, it's what a friend does, I think…"
As Munfurawa looked at Horikita, seemingly in thought and frozen, he got a good look at Horikita's own hand, which was placed on top of his own. They felt incredibly soft, and he didn't know if it was because of the wrapping she had put on for him.
Her nails were relatively long, but not overly so as the other girls would style them to be. They were left to their own natural colour, and Munfurawa couldn't help but realize, that despite Horikita seemingly modest, she did have a lot of feminine qualities. Even if they weren't as apparent as some other girls, it had it's own unique quality coming from Horikita.
"Ice girl?" Munfurawa asked. It seemed to have gotten Horikita out of her own thoughs.
"Y-Yes…?" Horikita stuttered, which caught Munfurawa off guard.
"Good luck on your obstacle course." Munfurawa stated, giving Horikita some needed motivation.
She gave a very nice smile to Munfurawa, "Thank you, Munfurawa-kun."
She looked very pretty with that smile, and it made Munfurawa wonder why she didn't smile like that a lot more.
Regardless he wasn't done. When Horikita was beginning to leave, Munfurawa used his right hand and caught it in hers.
Immediately, Horikita stopped, and was blushing madly, though Munfurawa couldn't see.
"I-Is there a-anything else y-you ne-eed Munfurawa-k-k-kun?" Horikita asked, clearly stuttering and unable to get her words done properly.
Munfurawa took a deep breathe, "Watch out for Ryūen, and Class C in general. When he was down there he was talking a lot, and he implied he had a plan to, quote on quote, 'put us in our place.' So be careful of them, got it?"
"But it could be others…" Horikita replied.
"Perhaps, but he kept referring you, and thus I feel you are the most at risk at the moment, so try and keep if safe, okay?" Munfurawa stated, clearly warning Horikita of the circumstances.
Horikita looked at Munfurawa, the blush still evident on her face, but knowing the severity of the situation, sighed. "Very well, I will, since I trust you on this."
"Thank you, ice girl." Munfurawa thanked as Horikita walked out.
He took a bit of time to rest before he himself got out and decided to watch the girl's obstacle course.
"This'll be fun to watch." Ike commented, and Yamauchi was agreeing.
"Time to see some poses!"
Poor Ayanokouji was near them hearing their hormonal influenced decisions. Munfurawa wanted to chuckle somewhat at the circumstances he found himself in.
"How's hanging out with the horny boys?" Munfurawa asked.
Ayanokouji looked at Munfurawa with an emotionless expression, before replying. "Shut up."
Munfurawa chuckled a bit before he focused on the rest of the competition. For the most part, most of the girls from Class D performed well. Either gaining or losing points, or most likely not contributing to gaining or losing points.
That was fine by his standards, especially for those like Yukimura and Sotomura. Overall, the girls performed decently.
Kushida placed third in her group, which made Munfurawa confused as to what side she was truly on. Karuizawa was paired with her and placed fifth. Matsushita, Onodera, and Hasebe all scored fourth,
Sakura and Mei-Yu Wang both scored seventh and sixth respectively, and Munfurawa looked on to see Horikita and Azuma in the same race. They were both paired with Yajima and Kinoshita. This round in perhaps the most intense of the bunch, considering the participants within Class C and D.
With the two athletes from track and field, Horikita herself was athletic, while Azuma was a well know martial arts club member. As a result, there were four noticeable individuals racing within the same group.
Whether it was truly because Ryūen had leaked information of Class D representations for the specific event or not, it was a significant part of the event.
The race in general was amplified by the suspense, with many within the white and red teams, for first year paid attention.
Eventually, they went, and the four individuals sprang forward. Overall, being athletes, Yajima and Kinoshita were on the track team, they had the advantage from experience. However, Horikita was not the type to lie down upon one hurdle, and thus she pressed forward. Azuma was more hesitant, but she was capable in her own right.
The two girls from Class C crossed the balance beam easily, with Horikita and Azuma not too far behind.
Still, it seemed that both Horikita and Azuma were skilled in overall running, and they managed to catch up to them by the time they performed around the net.
With Horikita and Azuma making their way through the net, they were officially within the same distance overall, as they approached the sack race.
However, what was interesting was the fact that Kinoshita messed up in the net, getting herself caught. This made her fall back a bit, with Horikita in third place.
For now, it seemed that the race for first place was occurring between Yajima and Azuma.
Once the sack race came on, Yajima and Azuma were competing closely for the placement. So much so that the two were completely on par with each other's space. Azuma had superior endurance, while Yajima was more experienced.
However, while those two were being seen as competition for first place, the competition for third place was between Horikita and Kinoshita. For some odd reason Horikita had slowed down, looking back briefly to Kinoshita.
By the time both had finished the sack race, both Horikita and Kinoshita were neck and neck, or side to side.
However, what happened next, caught most people by surprise: Horikita and Kinoshita seemed to have been caught in a tumble. It seemed that Kinoshita had leaned herself a bit in towards Horikita, and the two fell together, with other racers taking the opportunity to pass by them.
In the end, while Azuma had finished first, Yajima finishing second. Unfortunately, by the time Horikita got up, she finished seventh. Second last to Kinoshita who appeared to be limping in her run, before she collapsed and clutched her left leg in pain.
Munfurawa looked on with a bit of suspicion already. On the one hand, there was no way a trip could have caused that much damage and injury, unless Horikita pressed her full weight onto her, which didn't happen. On the other, how was she able to run before collapsing? If her injury was so bad than she highly likely wouldn't have been able to finish the rest.
She calls herself a member of the track and field club, yet acts like this when she tumbles into someone? What kind of bullshit was that?
"That's concerning…" Ayanokouji mumbled. It seemed that he caught onto what Munfurawa was thinking.
"Indeed, ice girl isn't the type to let someone get to them." Munfurawa commented, not seeing Azuma approaching Munfurawa with a giant smile on her face.
"Munfurawa-kun! I got first!" Azuma cheered.
Munfurawa nodded, "I'm glad, but we have a situation."
"A situation? What happened-" Azuma was asked before he saw Horikita getting yelled at by someone from Class C for hurting Kinoshita. Even from this area, one could see Horikita rebuking the claims.
It seemed that drama was already brewing. Azuma noticed, "Oh no…" Azuma mentioned.
Munfurawa sighed, as he got up.
"I'm going to check and ask ice girl about this." Munfurawa stated as he got up.
Ayanokouji got up, "Same, this situation is already getting ridiculous. It's a relief that we have an hour to solve this."
"I'm coming to check on Horikita too." Azuma stated catching up to the two, feeling a bit guilty. Munfurawa nodded to let Azuma know they heard her.
Shortly thereafter, both boys met up with Horikita.
She seemed upset with the results, considering she ended up getting near last place.
It seemed that she was walking in a weird fashion, and Munfurawa noticed her face was echoing an expression of pain, clouded behind a wall.
"You're hurt." Munfurawa called out. Horikita turned back, flinching a bit.
"No, I'm not, I'm fine." Horikita stated.
Ayanokouji looked on, "The two of us were able to see when you had a fever during the island exam, we know when you hurt yourself."
To further prove the point, Munfurawa leaned down and gently touched her thigh, noticing the scratches, from scraping her leg.
"Your leg is scratched up, and I saw you limping slightly on your way back." Munfurawa stated at last.
Horikita sighed, clearly knowing she couldn't hide it from the two.
"Horikita, what happened?" Azuma asked.
Horikita turned to Azuma, not impressed, "Shut up, while I'm glad you got first place, that doesn't excuse you boasting or worrying, not off."
Azuma clearly looked upset at what Horikita stated, "And there's a problem with checking on the health of a participant?"
"You have no reason to look out for those under you in the results, now yield and follow what I said or else I'll go off myself." Horikita coldly told to Azuma.
Said girl sighed, "Fine, see you later…" She was clearly upset with being poorly treated by Horikita, but she kept her façade up before she was no longer seen by the three.
Munfurawa took a sigh, he would have to confront Horikita about her behaviour later on. For now, he had more pressing matters.
"So, what happened?" Munfurawa asked. Horikita looked confused when he asked that.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
Ayanokouji specified for Munfurawa, "The reason you kept looking back at Kinoshita. It isn't like you to look back on others, unless it is your own brother."
Horikita sighed, "She kept calling for my name… I didn't care until, I felt her body ram into me. I don't know what she was planning, or why everyone in Class C is quick to blame me. All I can vouch is that she crashed into me on purpose."
Munfurawa took the statement in, before he nodded. He was rather quick to pick onto things, considering the warning he was given.
"Ayanokouji, help Horikita to the tent. I need to check something, and then I'll come back and check on her." Munfurawa bluntly stated before he left.
Horikita could tell from that statement, that Munfurawa was mad at her, judging by the fact he had called her Horikita this time.
She turned to Ayanokouji, "I will get the medicine, but I will crawl if I need to if it means racing…"
Ayanokouji sighed, "How the hell does Munfurawa put up with her…"
"What did you say?!" Horikita asked with a bit of anger. Ayanokouji merely sighed knowing he wasn't going to have fun for a bit.
Munfurawa was right now busy, heading over to the camp of Class B and C.
It was clear that the participants were staring at the intruder. Immediately, someone from Class C came up to him. It was Ishizaki.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you are doing here?" Ishizaki asked with a will to fight. Munfurawa wanted to chuckle.
"First off, I don't even know you. The only memorable moment I know with you is when Ryūen threw warm water at you." Munfurawa commented.
Ishizaki recoiled and flinched from the comment, before he recovered, "That didn't answer my question."
Munfurawa sighed, "I'm here to talk to Ryūen himself. Isn't that a good enough excuse?"
"And why would Ryūen want to talk to you?" Ishizaki commented, clearly not believing it.
Munfurawa chuckled, "Since you really like to look at him like your admirer, then you saw him and Yamada approaching and talking to me."
Ishizaki flinched, which confirmed to Munfurawa that he in fact did. Realizing he was stuck, he sighed, allowing Munfurawa to pass by.
"Also, we need some muscle spray. Your brutal tactics in capture the flag made us use them out." Munfurawa pointed out, quickly taking some muscle spray, garnishing a quick rebuttal from Ishizaki, who desperately tried to follow him further into the tent.
Quickly making his way into the bed, he was followed by Ishizaki who desperately tried to stop him.
"Why are you so frantic? It's like you are trying to hide something from us." Munfurawa asked, before he quickly made his way to the room.
Upon entering, Munfurawa noticed that Ryūen was accompanying the "injured" Kinoshita.
Ryūen for his part looked shocked, before a panting Ishizaki came through.
"Sorry, Ryūen-san, I tried-" But he was merely forgotten about.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ryūen asked, surprised about the whole ordeal and the fact that Munfurawa had openly approached them.
As Munfurawa looked straight at Kinoshita, he completely ignored Ryūen's question.
"Seems Kinoshita is fine." Munfurawa eyed Kinoshita, as it was obvious that her lower body, was in fact uninjured. She didn't show any signs of pain whatsoever. "So this was your plan that you warned me about?"
Kinoshita quickly turned her face to create the illusion she was in pain, but it was no use.
Ryūen gave a giant smirk, before he laughed, "Kukukuku, you never fail to amaze me, Munfurawa. Finding out so quickly, I commend you."
Munfurawa looked on, "Indeed." He stated, before he grabbed some muscle spray. "Your underhanded tactics in capture the flag caused us to use out our muscle spray, you can ask your homeroom teachers for more." He stated offhandedly before he returned his attention back to the main reason.
Ryūen kept his smirk, "I seriously thought I could get away with this, and get Suzune involved, with my plans, but once again you seem to gather quickly on what happens… As for your assumptions, Kinoshita's injuries are staged, faked, and she is uninjured."
Munfurawa looked on, "So this is what you were warning me about, when you said you wouldn't stop. And once more, you brought ice girl into your bloody plans…"
Ryūen chuckled, "Indeed, for she is the best way for me to test your barricade. After all, how can I let the guy who managed to take Albert down within mere seconds from three strikes. I cannot beat you via a simple attack to defender, I need to be tactical and dirty with my strategies, or else you may kill me."
It seems that even though he was ever so cocky regarding his own self, even he had a limit to how high he could boast, it seems.
Then Ishizaki looked at Munfurawa with wide eyes before he got mad, "You! You were the one who attacked Komiya, Kaneda and I! Do you realize how much you hurt them?!"
Munfurawa seemed apathetic to Ishizaki, treating him nothing more than the air he was encompassing.
"Once I again, I told you this before and I will tell you again, but if I am being attacked by an] tactic, I will retaliate with an equal tactic, no matter the foulness. If you play the cards bringing such dirty tactics to win, I will not hesitate to perform so as well." Munfurawa told Ryūen, reiterating his point he made from their last interaction.
Ryūen chuckled, "Very well Munfurawa, but do not expect me to be done with you. Both you and Ayanokouji will be toppled with time. And the key for you is that Suzune girl, I just know it."
Munfurawa merely stared at Ryūen and Kinoshita. The track athlete for her part remained silent, feeling ashamed as if her plan had been thwarted, which for now, it was. Ryūen had openly let Munfurawa get away with this, and all she could do was feel embarrassed that someone called out their bluff that easily.
Ishizaki, by contrast, was more upset. He decided to take matters into his own hands while Munfurawa was not looking.
Noticing his hand was wrapped around, he utilized it and yanked his left hand, pulling himself down as he brought himself upon Munfurawa.
"What the…" Was all Munfurawa could say before felt an excruciating pain envelope his already injured left hand. He quickly got Ishizaki off his back by falling to the ground, using Ishizaki as a cushion.
The poor boy felt his spine hit the floor uncomfortably. Munfurawa got up and looked at Ishizaki.
"I could beat you to a pulp right now, and I will. You all are truly scum, attacking someone while they're not looking? I should've expected less from delinquent scums like you all." Was all Munfurawa stated, before deciding to stomp onto Ishizaki's stomach, making the boy groan in pain.
"I think further injuring an opponent while they are down will show everyone here how low I am willing to stoop for my own benefit…" Munfurawa responded, an unusually calm tone hitting his voice.
"R-R-Ryūen d-do something…" Ishizaki gasped, begging for others to do something.
"Oh please, even Ryūen himself knows the disciplinary customs and honour in not telling a higher figure. Like how I won't tell anyone about you and Ryūen spraining my hand, Ryūen will not tell anyone about this. Even those witnessing this will be ordered by Ryūen to not expose this…" Munfurawa smirked to the now gasping Ishizaki.
Kicking him over to lie on his stomach, he grabbed Ishizaki's hair, pulling his face up to meet Munfurawa's, "After all, I'm just as much as a delinquent scum as Ryūen himself, so he understands the agreement, now. However, as for this incident you brought Kinoshita and ice girl in, don't expect me to back down."
As Munfurawa left, kicking a muscle reliever spray to the fallen Ishizaki, he looked towards Ryūen, who held a surprised and dumfounded look.
"I'll warn you one more time, Ryūen. If you play with the people I associate with, and myself, to such levels, then expect a retaliation on a similar scale. I hope this shows you what I am capable of."
Ryūen looked on at Munfurawa, purposely avoiding and ignoring the gasps and moans from Ishizaki.
"Ryūen-san, what do we do?" Kinoshita asked.
Ryūen looked on, clearly torn on what he should do. One the one hand, he really got to see another example of Munfurawa's own ruthlessness. However, he wanted more, and he felt he would get it.
"We will keep the deal running. I am intrigued to see what Munfurawa may do if this information becomes public…" Ryūen commented, before staring down at a scared Kinoshita.
"W-What are y-you doing R-Ryūen?" Kinoshita asked, as her eyes widened when he raised his foot just above her left leg.
"It's all part of the plan, Kinoshita, just endure it." Was all Ryūen replied, as he began to stomp on Kinoshita's leg repeatedly. He had purposely covered her mouth to not attract noise. All the while Ishizaki was still lying on the ground in pain.
As Munfurawa made it, he saw another person, this time from Class B he was looking for.
"Shibata, Kanzakia." Munfurawa called out, even if he was somewhat reluctant to ask a favour from a Shibata, he needed to use them.
The two looked at the boy, "Oh, hey what do you need?"
Munfurawa sighed, as he began to tell them of Kinoshita's true condition.
"She isn't injured, this is a dirty attempt by Class C." Munfurawa stated.
"Uhh, no offense Munfurawa, but how can we trust you?" Kanzaki asked.
Munfurawa nodded, "I knew you would say that, and I took a secret recording. Take a listen."
The two boys listened on to the conversation until they heard correctly by the delinquent…
"I seriously thought I could get away with this, and get Suzune involved, with my plans, but once again you seem to gather quickly on what happens… As for your assumptions, Kinoshita's injuries are staged, faked, and she is uninjured."
"I see..." Was all Shibata stated.
Kanzaki sighed, "I don't mind being a witness, as with this evidence, the accuser has admitted to the falsification of the crime.
"If you want to check further she's in that room in the tent." Munfurawa notified, "Anyways, I need to go now, it was a pleasure working with you."
Kanzaki and Shibata nodded, "Don't sweat it, Ichinose talks a lot of good things about you. As for this, we will back your case if this is brought up."
Munfurawa nodded, "Thank you guys." He hated Shibata So, but at least was able to use him, as revenge for how that girl used him back then.
With that finished, Munfurawa went back to the camp to check up on Ayanokouji and Horikita.
A.N / Wow, a lot has happened so far. The funniest thing is that the largest event has yet to happen yet! The Sport's Festival is seriously such a dramatic and interest part of the Light Novel.
I personally think I make the interactions between Munfurawa and Ryūen very interesting. In many and no ways, they complement and conflict each other, and I find that amazing. I also like the conversation with Ayanokouji and the girls, but making it with Ryūen made me feel interested in typing the conversation.
As for my favourite assessments so far, they would go as the following:
Sport's Festival
Deserted Island
Sudo's Assault Case
Midterm (Involving Sudo's risk of expulsion)
Zodiac Exam (I like it, just felt not much happen personally).
Let me know about any other rankings you would want from me. See you for Chapter 20.