The mist around Mounagiri Gakuen finally thinned.
The crimson barrier on the terrace dissolved like smoke.
Eiroh lay flat on the silvery-thread rooftop, staring at the endless sky. The fight still echoed inside his cold eyes.
That moment — when Tamara turned his raging crimson spear into a blooming spectacle —
It replayed in his head like a glitch.
What the hell was that? he wondered.
And the memory of her voice, "Come to class, crimson idiot," brushed his mind like an accidental warmth he didn't know how to process.
Tamara hurried down the terrace steps.
Her thoughts ran straight to Kodo and Tom in Shizumanam.
Were they still safe? Were they awake?
Eiroh finally sat up, wiping dust off his palms. A thin, crooked smile escaped him. "This isn't over," he murmured. The smile sharpened. "I'll have my laugh next time."
The Mounagiri Gakuen bell rang across the hills — clear, crisp, rustling even the lush green trees.
Tamara quickened her pace through the corridor and slid into the classroom just as the previous period ended.
Instantly, she was surrounded— a flock of classmates from every angle.
Krish stepped forward, anxious blue threads swirling around him.
"Tamara, what about Tom? Is he okay?
What did the Inimainashi sisters say?
Is he awake? Is he stable? What—?"
The blue threads grew heavier and heavier, pressing around her.
And beneath all that, hardly anyone asked about Kodo.
The Anukan effect struck her like a wave.
All those threads, all that worry, all that sympathy,
She felt it crush her chest.
She sat down, breathing unevenly —
not from the battle with Eiroh
but from this emotional weight.
Suddenly, a group pushed gently through the crowd.
Her Tamara Idol Club.
They formed a protective ring around her.
"CAN'T YOU SEE SHE'S AFFECTED TOO?" one snapped.
"And what about Kodo? Anyone thinking about him at all?"
Another classmate scoffed with blue violet threads snapping out.
"Why should we? Tom almost died because of Kodo."
The red threads began to pulse sharply. A serious fight was moments away.
The Idol Club flared back:
"Are you even listening? Tom himself said Tamara and Kodo helped him!
Or were your ears blocked?!"
Someone yelled,
"Impossible! Only Kodo, Tamara, and Eiroh weren't in class when we found Tom!
Who else could it be?!"
Another voice cut in from the club, trembling but firm:
"If Kodo wanted to hurt Tom, would he stand there and get beaten by all of you without a single punch back?
Would he thank the classmates for standing up for her friend?
Would he save us from getting expelled when the teacher interrogated him?!"
The red threads exploded upward like a storm ready to break loose.
Tamara forced herself to stand. She could not bear the sight any longer.
Her golden threads reached out like warm light, trying to swallow the chaos.
"It's alright," she said softly.
"Tom is in observation. He's safe.
Kodo… Kodo is also… okay." A small sob slipped out of her.
The accusation against him hurt more than anything.
"Please, my friends… Tom wouldn't want this.
Kodo wouldn't want this.
Let's go visit them after school, okay?"
The red threads slowly faded into green..
Right then, Eiroh walked into the classroom.
He saw the crowd, saw Tamara, saw the fading tension—
And smirked. He saw the perfect opportunity to strike.
His crimson threads flickered and surrounded.
"She lies," he said calmly.
"I heard the sisters say Tom is in critical condition."
Instant explosion. The red, raging hot threads ruptured.
The class erupted again, this time worse.
Children shoved and hit each other.
A scratch here, a bruise there, chaos flickered everywhere.
Tamara forced her threads to glow brighter, steadier. Please glow my threads luminate. They pulsed not like the sun but like small campfires, gentle and warm.
"Everyone STOP!" she shouted.
"I promise you — they're okay.
We will visit them. You will see yourselves."
Slowly, painfully, the red threads faded.
The class settled just as the teacher entered, horrified.
"ALL OF YOU — SIT DOWN.
Detention. Entire class.
Write 'WE WILL NOT TROUBLE' one hundred times."
Groans filled the room.
At the back, Tamara and Eiroh exchanged a stare sharp enough to slice the air.
After school, everyone headed to Shizumanam.
Inside the waiting area, the Inimainashi sisters welcomed them gently.
Tamara and her club went in first.
Inside the special wing—
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
WELCOME TO THE THUMB WRESTLING FEDERATION!"
Tom shouted dramatically.
Across from him, Kodo held up his thumb like an athlete.
"This is Tom the Ripper — special attack: Buckhold!"
Tom declared.
"And Kodo the Spacer — special attack: Knockout Choke!"
Kodo added proudly.
The disciples panicked.
"PLEASE settle down! You two just got treated—"
"Huh? It's just a thumb fight," Tom shrugged.
"Right, Kodo?"
"Right," Kodo said, still pumped following Tom's frenzy.
"Come on, disciples, join us! Let's make it a whole tournament!"
Tamara burst into laughter, but little red.
Her Idol Club howled behind her.
Kodo froze, embarrassed.
"W-what? Why are you all—?"
Tom nudged him.
"See? Player. Shameless," he teased.
"ME?? You're the one who started—!"
Soon, the rest of the class rushed in, shocked that Tom and Kodo were acting like childhood friends already.
"Tom," a classmate gasped, blue threads trembling,
"We were so worried! And you're here playing with this loner? He causes trouble. He's cursed."
Tom blinked. Then burst into loud laughter.
"Come ON, guys! Join us! World-level thumb wrestling tournament!
And Kodo? He's one of us now, isn't he?"
Kodo's throat tightened.
He nodded quickly, eyes shimmering.
Tamara saw the blue threads dissolve into warm yellows and golds. She smiled a little.
And then, the exhaustion hit her like a falling stone.
She collapsed.
Kodo and Tom leaped toward her, panicked. The Idol Club screamed.
Inimainashi sisters rushed in, lifting Tamara gently, placing her on the bed.
Outside, in the corridor, Eiroh leaned against the wall, saw everything, smirked once, and walked away whistling.