Her irritated little mannerism was oddly endearing.
Without thinking, Kaoru poked her cheek—the puffed-up balloon of her frustration instantly deflated.
At the same time, Airi's eyes widened slowly, a flush creeping up her face.
"Seeing Sakura-san like this reassures me. I'm sure people will want to be your friends." Kaoru nodded approvingly, as if he hadn't just poked her cheek.
Airi wanted to deny it, but she had already said so many discouraging things before.
If she kept it up, Kaoru might start disliking her.
After hesitating, she murmured, "Thank you..."
"No need for thanks. We're friends, aren't we?" Kaoru shook his head. "If you keep this up, I'll feel guilty—especially since I still don't know who's been harassing you."
Airi quickly interjected, "That's not true! Mitoma-kun has always helped me so much!"
Kaoru only smiled before changing the subject.
"If anything's bothering you, tell me. No matter what it is, I'll help you, Sakura-san."
"Mm!"
Airi felt happy, but then a pang of guilt struck her.
Someone as hopeless as her kept troubling Kaoru—she really didn't deserve it.
Maybe… she really needed to make up her mind this time.
But the moment she thought of that stalker harassing her, her newfound courage evaporated instantly.
She had no guts to face the doxxing.
How awful.
She never thought she'd be doxxed one day, even though she always tried so hard to disguise herself.
"By the way, are you going to keep practicing?"
"I should."
"Alright, I should get back to my own training too."
His words left Airi feeling a little lonely, but she didn't dare show it.
Instead, she forced a smile and bid him a quiet farewell.
In the girl's eyes, Kaoru was always surrounded by people—someone far more important than her.
He couldn't possibly stay by her side all the time, and she couldn't shamelessly cling to him either.
With a heavy heart, Airi resumed her practice.
Before long, her teammate Kokoro Inogashira returned, ready to practice the three-legged race with her.
Not only that, but the two teammates for the horseback battle also approached her, agreeing to practice together in tomorrow's P.E. class and simulate battles with other groups.
The sudden turn of events left Airi Sakura stunned for a while.
Though she didn't understand how it happened, it seemed she wasn't left out anymore?
Thus, for the next half month, Airi Sakura was no longer isolated.
*****
By the time Kaoru finished handling Airi Sakura's situation, today's practice was almost over.
Since he had asked Kushida Kikyo for help, she smiled and extended a finger towards Kaoru, symbolizing that the master now owed his little dog a favor.
Kaoru's face darkened, but he reluctantly agreed.
After all, as the master, he had to be magnanimous sometimes.
The joint practice between the two classes ended.
While everyone was packing up, Kaoru left the indoor gymnasium.
On his way back to the dorm, he took out his phone.
"Today, we've already started gathering information from Class A and Class D, getting close to the students, and sending people to observe their practice sessions."
This was a message from Kiriyama Ikuyo.
Scrolling further up the chat history, he had sent Kaoru a message yesterday—the notification sound Horikita Suzune had heard.
"Does Nagumo know yet?"
"It's unclear for now, but he'll find out sooner or later."
Kaoru pondered for a moment.
Both Katsuragi and Kiriyama had given him news that wasn't too bad.
Nagumo Miyabi hadn't personally arranged the participation lists for each class, instead letting them handle it themselves.
Katsuragi interpreted this as Nagumo emphasizing his own strength, intending to openly crush the recent rumors and undercurrents targeting him.
That wasn't wrong, but Kaoru was thinking about what Nagumo would do next.
Taking such measures meant Nagumo didn't believe there would be challengers among the second-years—or at least, no students who could threaten him.
Because of this, Nagumo didn't react particularly strongly.
For him, his current goal was likely to face Horikita Manabu and satisfy his own desires.
However, Kaoru doubted Nagumo would simply let him off the hook either.
Aside from Horikita Manabu, Nagumo would probably prioritize targeting him.
Thus, while Nagumo remained indifferent toward the second-years, he might already be focusing his efforts behind the scenes on Kaoru or Horikita Manabu.
Setting aside Horikita Manabu, if Kaoru were in Nagumo's shoes, how would he deal with Class A in the sports festival?
Since he wouldn't let his own class suffer losses, strategies like Kaoru's 'kill a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own' were obviously impossible.
Moreover, Nagumo would never personally intervene across grade levels.
The simplest method, of course, was to kill with a borrowed knife.
Among the first-years, which knife was the sharpest?
Kaoru first ruled out Class D.
Between the remaining two, Class B was too honest—leaving only Class C.
Ryuuen wasn't a greatsword, but more like a dagger hidden in the wrist—short, small, fast, and sharp, capable of striking unexpectedly and ending the fight in one move.
Especially when combined with the participation list, the effect would be even better.
"If he finds out, let me know immediately."
Soon, a reply came.
"Got it. But won't that risk alerting the enemy?"
It was evident that Kiriyama Ikuyo had many concerns.
The strength of their rebel faction was too weak to stand against Nagumo and now they were practically forcing themselves to assist Kaoru Mitoma.
"It's fine. We must let Nagumo know."
Kaoru's idea was simple.
Rather than letting Nagumo operate in the shadows, it would be better to lure him onto his own turf—a familiar battleground where they could face off directly.
Moreover, he was deeply intrigued by Nagumo's ability to control situations.
How long would it take for this news to reach Nagumo's ears?
"We must let him know?"
Kiriyama Ikuyo found it hard to comprehend, but out of respect for Horikita Manabu and Mitoma's past actions, he decided to suppress his doubts.
"Can your people keep a close eye on Nagumo?"
"We should be able to... but I can't guarantee it. Usually, he's the one keeping tabs on us."
"What about Kiryuin-senpai?"
"She won't get involved."
"In that case, have your people monitor his subordinates—like Tonokawa and Mizoaki. They might not be as vigilant."
"I'll do that."
Kaoru put away his phone just as the sun dipped below the horizon, its fiery hues burning through the clouds in a dazzling, warm spectacle.
Strange—he hadn't caught sight of Sakayanagi.
Had she gone to Class C?
He hesitated but chose not to use the tracking function.
He figured the frail little girl should be able to deduce what he was up to.