The Next Morning.
Kenji walked down the hallway with a newfound intensity in his steps. Gone was the naïve expression from days before—his face was now marked with bandages and light bruises, proof of recent fights. Determination burned in his eyes.
There was no mistaking it.
He was serious about conquering this school.
Suddenly, a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Hey, Kazama," said Minami Oosawa, their club advisor, standing with arms crossed. "I've been hearing rumors. You've been getting violent lately. I won't be able to cover for you if you keep this up."
Kenji didn't flinch. His voice was cold and distant.
"So what? "
Minami sighed and shook her head, muttering, "Kids these days are so troublesome…"
Meanwhile, in the clubroom...
Clatter! Clatter!
Thud!
"I'm now advancing to Eromelon! That gets me 300 volumes of porn mags! " Roka shouted, triumphantly pumping her fist.
Following the turn order, Sakura rolled next.
"I get another 200 volumes. And I'm on the last planet," she announced. "I don't have many turns left… Can you even catch up to me? "
"Tch…" Chitose clicked her tongue in annoyance and took her turn. She rolled the dice, aiming to land on Planet Matador—a space that granted rare porn magazines to close the gap. But to her disappointment, she missed by one.
"Now it's your turn," the three said in unison, turning to look at Takao, who was tied to a chair like a hostage.
"LIKE HELL I'LL PLAY THIS GAME! " she shouted. "And why am I tied up anyway!? Let me go!! "
"Well, we needed a fourth player," Chitose explained with a shrug. "Kazama's stopped showing up for some reason, and your brother's been busy lately."
"I don't care! Don't give me that crap! And there's NO WAY he'd play this perverted game! "
"Perverted? " Chitose grinned devilishly. "Well, yeah. The game is about forcing cute and shy girls to say erotic lines! "
"That's the crappiest concept ever! " Takao snapped, still struggling against the ropes. "LET. ME. GO! "
Chitose leaned in with a wicked grin. "Hmmm? If you keep resisting… I'll have to tie you up in a more erotic way."
Takao's imagination ran wild. Shivers crept down her spine as she imagined herself in that situation.
"Q-Quit fooling around! I'm not taking part in this! "
"In the first place," Chitose said, narrowing her eyes, "why were you sneaking around here anyway? "
Takao stiffened. "W-Well, I heard some rumors… about Kazama."
"Ohhh~? So that's it," Chitose teased before Takao could finish. "You're finally realizing your feelings for him, huh? "
"No! That's not it!! " Takao immediately denied, her face turned red.
"Then what is it? "
Takao sighed and looked down. "Kazama is a friend of my brother. If there are rumors involving him… they might involve my brother too."
"I see..." Roka nodded thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, Kazama-san really hasn't shown up lately."
"So it's not just a tsundere act... He actually quit? " she added, looking slightly disappointed.
"Why'd he leave so suddenly anyway? " Chitose asked. "He joined because of Shin, and Shin's still here."
"Did we do something wrong? " Roka wondered.
Sakura suddenly raised her hand.
"Umm… I think it's my fault."
The room went silent.
Without hesitation, Roka rushed behind her and threw a sack over her head. At the same time, Chitose tightened the ropes around her, making sure escape was impossible.
"You did something troublesome, huh…" Chitose muttered, eyeing her.
"Go on," Roka said. "Explain."
"Well…" Sakura began sheepishly. "Remember when Kazama-senpai said he wanted to conquer the school? I told him it's not good for him to stay in this club... So... He left."
"I see…" Chitose crossed her arms, understanding the situation more clearly now. "If it's his decision to chase his goal, then we can't exactly stop him."
"Let's just wait for that idiot to come crawling back," she added. "The real issue is Shin's involvement. If he's part of this, that's a whole different story."
BANG!
The clubroom door burst open with a dramatic crash.
Ataru stood in the doorway, panting.
"Emergency! " he shouted. "Kazama and the others got captured by the 14 Orchestra of Evil, and now Shin is fighting them! He's heavily injured! "
"Huh!? Everyone!" they yelled at once.
"That's ridiculous…" Chitose muttered. "If Shin's involved… that's unexpected."
"What exactly happened, Ataru? " she asked calmly.
"We were confident we could take them one-on-one," Ataru began, adjusting his glasses. "But things turned into a group fight."
"So you guys picked a fight." Chitose narrowed her eyes. "But why would Shin get involved? He doesn't fight unless provoked."
"And he's not someone you underestimate."
"Well…" Ataru cleared his throat. "Kazama and the rest got their asses handed to them. So Shin came to rescue us. He could've handled it, but someone hit Yokoshima with a metal pipe. He couldn't protect us and fight at the same time… so he took the hit instead."
Chitose frowned.
"And what about you? "
Puffing out his chest proudly, Ataru declared, "My mission was to survive and call for backup. Now that I've done that, I'll rejoin the battle! "
"…How troublesome."
"Hey, can you untie me now? " Takao asked with frustration, concern written all over her face. "If my brother's hurt, I can't just sit here! "
"Fine," Chitose said, untying her. "Ataru, take us to their hideout. We're ending this."
[Meanwhile, in the lair of the 14 Orchestra of Evil]
Kenji found himself tied up, slumped against the cold concrete wall. His face was battered with bruises, and some parts of his body were swollen—clear signs of the one-sided beatdown he took after picking a fight with delinquents.
Behind him, Nagayama and Yokoshima lay motionless on the ground like discarded puppets. They were the first to fall, essentially acting as cannon fodder in the chaotic battle.
Despite the overwhelming odds, Kenji had managed to take down three of the notorious group's members—leaving eleven still standing.
"Damn... I didn't think they'd actually be this strong," he muttered bitterly, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. 'Shin said I could take them on—if it was one-on-one. He even warned me not to go in recklessly. But no… I just had to act tough because I thought they were a bunch of weirdos.'
"Fufufu…"
A low, mocking laugh echoed through the room.
Kenji looked up to see one of the members approaching. The guy was built like a truck, with his uniform sleeves cut off to show off his bulging arms. His shirt collar was open, exposing his chest like some B-grade gangster boss. But what truly stood out was his receding hairline, swept so far back it was practically clinging to the back of his skull.
A visible bruise rested on the man's left eyebrow—probably a parting gift from Kenji, a sign that he at least tried to fight back.
Every member of the 14 Orchestra of Evil had some strange quirk or eccentric trait.
One sat silently behind the group's leader, with the distinct appearance of a kappa—bald on top with only tufts of hair clinging to the sides of his head. He even had a towel draped over his shoulders, as if he'd just come from a hot spring.
Three others shared identical features, chubby-faced with serene smiles, eerily resembling Buddha statues. Many mistook them for triplets—even though they denied any relation.
Kenji gritted his teeth.
'What the hell is this freak show…? '
He was starting to understand. These guys weren't just a delinquent gang—they were theatrical, chaotic, and most of all, dangerous.
"Your group name… Kazama Gang, was it? " the man sneered.
He leaned in closer, his thick lips curling into a sly grin, hovering uncomfortably near Kenji's face—almost like he was about to kiss him.
"You underestimated us too much, boy," he continued smugly. "We're not just ordinary gamers. We've trained our fingers every day, mastering rhythm and coordination through music games. All to achieve one goal—to stand atop Fuju Academy! "
But Kenji wasn't listening. Not even a little.
His mind had wandered elsewhere—drifting back into the past. Back to the moment he decided to become a delinquent.
He hated the idea of living in fear. The idea of bowing down to someone stronger than him made his blood boil. That's why he always picked fights, even if it meant getting his ass kicked. Again. And again.
The anger, the frustration—it all stemmed from one thing.
Powerlessness.
'That was then,' he told himself. I don't care about the past anymore. I'll beat anyone who pisses me off—even if it kills me.
"Do you understand—"
BOOM!
Before the pompous thug could finish his speech, the warehouse door exploded open, sending dust and loose debris flying.
The entire lair shook with the force of the impact, like it was being raided by the CIA.
"Wha—?! Who the hell's stupid enough to cause trouble in our lair!? " he shouted, spinning around.
Kenji's head snapped up.
He recognized that aura immediately.
"…Tch. Took you long enough, idiot," he muttered under his breath, a faint smirk creeping onto his face.
A young man with girlish features stepped into the warehouse as if he owned the place. The wind from the broken door swept in behind him, blowing through his shoulder-length brown hair, making it sway smoothly like strands of silk. The light from outside cast a soft glow on his milky skin, highlighting the gentle contours of his face and the calm sharpness in his brown eyes, which scanned the area back and forth, analyzing the situation like a seasoned tactician.
He spotted the fallen bodies, then Kenji—bruised but still breathing.
"So… you managed to take down at least three? " he muttered, his voice smooth and composed. "That's not bad."