Sakayanagi's sudden arrival naturally caught the attention of both Class C and Class D.
"Are you all gathered here to plan a Christmas party? Count me in! After all, the more, the merrier."
"Our parties tend to be a bit intense. Not sure if your little body can handle it."
That was Kanda Shuichi's response. It was his way of warning Sakayanagi—this situation was dangerous, and she might be better off just watching from the sidelines.
Ryuen immediately responded, "Get lost. Don't get in my way."
"Heh, I would never do anything to embarrass the organizers."
With that, Sakayanagi actually took a seat on a nearby bench and quietly watched the scene unfold.
Seeing that Sakayanagi wasn't pushing her way into the situation, Ryuen shifted his focus back to Kounji.
"Now that we're done with the interruptions, let's get back to business."
"Business?" Kounji paused as he was fixing his hair, then let out a soft chuckle. "Judging from the situation, I'd say you're looking for whoever planted a bug where you put yours, right?"
"That's right."
"Well, that's unfortunate. Placing bugs in other classes is far from elegant—completely against my style. So, you've got the wrong guy, Dragon Boy."
"Pfft."
Sakayanagi, who was sitting nearby, let out a laugh at the nickname Kounji had given Ryuen. Clearly, she found it amusing.
"Do you have proof it wasn't you?" Ryuen didn't seem to care about the nickname or Sakayanagi's laughter.
"I don't, but… I do have a lead on this matter."
"Mind if I interrupt for a moment?"
Just as Kounji was about to continue, Sakayanagi, still seated on the bench, cut in.
"You weren't about to say Kanda, were you?"
"Of course not. If it were him, he would've admitted it already." Kounji ran his fingers through his silky hair and smiled.
"I won't deny that. A real man owns up to what he does. But don't even think about pinning something on me that I didn't do."
Kanda Shuichi glanced at Kounji in surprise. *He really does understand me, huh?*
"I see. That means I need to be careful too. After all, if even Dragon Boy can't figure out who it is, that person must be pretty impressive."
"Sakayanagi, didn't I tell you to shut up? And if you call me that one more time, I'll kill you."
"Oh my, you don't like it? I actually think it suits you quite well, Dragon Boy."
The moment those words left her mouth, Ryuen charged straight at Sakayanagi. As soon as he got close enough, he swung his leg and aimed a powerful kick at her.
"Oh—!"
Seeing Ryuen's sudden attack, Hashimoto quickly stepped in front of Sakayanagi, using his left arm to block the kick.
But the force behind it was so strong that he was instantly sent flying, landing hard on the concrete ground.
At the same time, Kito and Kamuro immediately got into fighting stances, while the Class C students stood behind Ryuen, ready to back him up.
The atmosphere became tense in an instant.
Sakayanagi's actions left Kanda Shuichi speechless.
*A wise man doesn't stand under a crumbling wall.* Ever since getting burned once at the shopping district, Kanda Shuichi had become much more cautious.
That's why he couldn't understand what Sakayanagi was trying to do.
Was she really willing to put herself in danger just to stir things up?
Just to stop Ryuen from finding Ayanokouji?
Well, that was pointless. She probably had no idea that I already told Ryuen about Ayanokouji.
Seeing through Sakayanagi's little scheme, Kanda Shuichi felt a sense of satisfaction. *Looks like I beat her again without even trying.*
But looking at the situation in front of him…
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So this is the so-called tyrant of Class C who rules with brute force, Ryuen? Not very impressive. You didn't even take someone out with a single kick. What a disappointment."
As he spoke, he glanced at Hashimoto Masayoshi, who was casually getting up from the ground as if nothing had happened.
"Shut up, Kanda. Do you want to eat one of my kicks too?" Ryuen turned around and shot a fierce glare at Kanda Shuichi.
"Oh no, I'm so scared." Kanda Shuichi playfully dodged behind Miyake, not giving Ryuen the slightest chance. "If you're so strong, why don't you take down all of Class A?"
The moment Ryuen showed any sign of making a move, Kanda Shuichi would take off running without a second thought.
Besides, Miyake, Sudou, and Horikita wouldn't just stand by and do nothing. And even if he couldn't escape, he'd at least have enough time to put on his black belt.
Seeing Kanda Shuichi's antics, Ryuen scoffed in disdain.
"Someone who only hides behind others shouldn't be talking so much."
"Heh, I just wanted you guys to fight. If you manage to trigger Sakayanagi's heart condition, you'll get expelled after the police take you away, and Sakayanagi will be stuck in the hospital. That way, Class D can sit back and reap the rewards. Am I wrong for thinking that?"
What a nasty guy.
That thought immediately crossed everyone's minds.
But Sakayanagi, having dealt with Kanda Shuichi many times, simply ignored his taunts. Instead, she turned to Ryuen with a smile and said, "What's wrong? Did I upset you?"
"I believe I told you, if you call me that again, I'll kill you." Ryuen spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.
"That's enough." Horikita finally stepped in, unable to watch any longer. "All of you, cut it out. If this keeps up, things are going to get out of hand."
Horikita directed her warning at Ryuen, who had just resorted to violence, but the one who stopped was Sakayanagi.
"Did something just happen, Hashimoto?"
"No, I just tripped."
Hashimoto casually dusted off his clothes and replied as if it was nothing.
"You heard that, Horikita? That's what he said." Sakayanagi said with a cheerful smile.
"Ugh... You and Ryuen are both so abnormal."
Horikita was at a loss for words. She already found Sudou troublesome enough, but compared to these people, he was practically a model student.
Not only did they have no problem with violence, but they also gave off an aura that said, "Fighting? No big deal."
"Hey! Are you guys fighting or not? I've been waiting forever! Our Class D is all set to enjoy the show. And don't worry about getting hurt—if anything happens to you, I'll make sure to burn some paper money for you."
Ryuen: "…"
Sakayanagi: "…"
There's a saying that in a fight, the first ones you take out are the ones interfering and the ones trying to stop it.
But what do you do about the one egging it on?
Clearly, with Kanda Shuichi stirring things up, there was no way Ryuen and Sakayanagi were actually going to fight.
As for beating up Kanda Shuichi instead? Yeah, right.
This guy had been trying to provoke him into making a move all day. If anyone here wanted a fight the most, it was definitely him.
Since that's the case, there's no way I, Ryuen Kakeru, am going to let him get what he wants.
Seeing the two groups settle down, Kanda Shuichi felt a little disappointed. Is my ability to stir up trouble really that bad?
"So this is Class C and what's left of Class A? Man, what a bore. I was hoping you guys would actually fight, just like that sickly boy over there."
But now that things had calmed down, it was clear he wasn't going to get a rise out of Takoyanagi.
"You're calling us boring? What's that supposed to mean?"
"You really don't like me calling you that, huh, Little Girl?"
"Pfft!" Kanda Shuichi immediately burst into laughter. "Koenji, I have to admit, your naming skills are impressive!"
"I think it's pretty good too."
For once, Ryuen and Kanda Shuichi were on the same page.
However, Sakayanagi didn't seem too pleased with the nickname.
"Your name is Koenji, right? Your English is wrong. I'm not a little girl."
"Hehehe, that's not for you to decide—it's for me. This isn't incorrect usage. As long as you fit the age and body type of a girl, I'll call you that."
"That's exactly what's wrong. Linguistically, 'Little Girl' is only used for elementary school kids. The world won't let you do whatever you want."
"Not being bound by common sense is my style."
With a smooth motion, Koenji brushed his hair back.
"Well said... Mmph—"
"What are you doing?!"
Just as Kanda Shuichi was about to praise Koenji, Horikita suddenly covered his mouth.
"Are you really trying to start a fight?"
Removing her hand from his face, Kanda Shuichi shrugged and returned to his usual self.
"Yeah, honestly, I kind of hope a fight breaks out. That way, I can test the limits of the current student council president."
He turned to Ryuen. "So? Ryuen, want to do me a favor? I'll pay you a million private points. You and your guys take on Class A. You've got four guys, and they only have two. No way you'd lose."
"Heh, a million points? Are you trying to throw scraps at me?"
"That's true. Ryuen gets 800,000 points from Class A every month. A million isn't much at all."
Sakayanagi nodded, completely unfazed by the thought of her people getting into a fight. After all, from her perspective, it wasn't a problem at all.
But this time, she was clearly mistaken.
Not only had Ryuen lost all his personal points, but even the contract he had won from Katsuragi had ended up in Kanda Shuichi's hands.
Of course, Ryuen wasn't going to spread that around. Plus, it wasn't time to renew the contract yet, so Sakayanagi had no idea that starting next month, Class A would be paying tribute to Kanda Shuichi instead.
"Then how about two million?"
"Three million?"
"Five million! Not a single point more!"
Kanda Shuichi's constant bidding made Ryuen's eye twitch.
"Enough! You—"
"Enough? Then why haven't you made a move yet?"
"I said enough! If you're so eager to start trouble, why not have Miyake do it? He's been in plenty of fights since middle school."
"That won't work. Akito is my last resort for protection. I can't just send him off to fight."
Kanda Shuichi shook his head and firmly rejected the idea.
"Tch! Coward!"
Ryuen let out a mocking laugh, then turned and left with his group.
After all, he had a date to get to later.
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