During the first class break, Kenji rushed out of the classroom. He had already packed his things minutes before class ended, and his current destination was the same group of people he had encountered that morning.
It took at most one minute for him to find Saki talking with Daiki and Yume. She seemed angry about something. More importantly, they were back to the disheveled appearance they'd had in the morning, probably to retaliate against Kenji. Since he was still far away, Kenji couldn't hear what they were saying, so he began approaching them in a way that wouldn't make them notice and run.
Unbeknownst to Kenji, they were talking about him.
"Why don't we attack that bastard together? I don't think even he could handle all three of us," Yume said.
"No, I'd rather lose than win that way. And while I hate to admit it, that bastard does have some fighting skills," Daiki replied, putting his hand on his chin in a thinking pose.
"Shut up!" Yume replied in a deadpan voice.
"Don't fight among yourselves. We don't know much about him yet. Let's keep an eye on him for now," Saki intervened.
Just as Saki finished speaking, Kenji approached them, having only heard the "keep an eye" part of her plan. "Keep an eye on what?" he said, standing right beside Daiki as if he were part of the gang too.
"What the fuck!" Daiki suddenly exclaimed, whipping around to look at him. Saki, Daiki, and Yume all took a step or two back.
"Why the hell did you come here? Haven't you heard of personal space, you bastard?" Saki said angrily.
'Oh, sorry,' thought Kenji before saying, "Fix your appearance."
"This shit again!" Saki said and tried to turn and run away, but Kenji was already in front of her.
'Did they already forget the warning from this morning?' thought Kenji before saying, "Have you forgotten about the complaint I mentioned?"
"...Fuck it," Saki said before complying. The other two also fixed their appearance.
"Now get the fuck out of here, asshole," Saki spat.
'Why does she swear so much at me ;-;' thought Kenji as he turned around and started leaving.
◆◇◆
Almost the same thing happened during the second break. In the subsequent breaks, Saki's gang tried to hide from Kenji but were easily found. The main thing that changed was Kenji's nickname—a different curse word each time. Soon, it was time for lunch break.
Due to his morning confrontation and supposed victory against Saki's gang, many boys approached Kenji, trying to talk to him and eat lunch together. However, Kenji simply took out his lunchbox from his bag and left his classroom. He easily located Saki's group in a quieter area of the school grounds, chatting.
They had already messed up their appearance again, but Kenji sat down at a spot where he could observe them and started eating his lunch, planning to fix their appearance after he finished. It took him at most five minutes to finish eating, after which he quickly returned to put his lunchbox back in his bag.
When he came back, however, he saw exactly what he was afraid of. Saki's gang had moved to an even more secluded place, and...
'SHE'S HOLDING A CIGARETTE!!!' Kenji shouted internally before rushing toward Saki.
"Instead of that, I prefer—" Saki stopped abruptly as she saw Kenji approaching—or rather, practically rushing toward them. She screamed to her friends in a hurry, "Hide it! That motherfucker is here!"
Within moments, they had hidden the cigarettes. But they knew Kenji had probably seen them. Kenji stopped in front of them, staring at them—Saki specifically—with his cold and indifferent eyes showing a glint of anger.
"Are you stalking us or what?! Get out of here! We were just going to fix our uniforms," Saki said while buttoning her shirt, trying to hide the cigarette incident.
"Yes, we'll fix it. No need for you to say anything," Daiki said, and Yume nodded, both also adjusting their uniforms. However, Kenji just continued staring at them.
For a moment, they stood in silence, staring at each other. Then,
"I saw it," Kenji said in a voice that sounded like a whisper. This made all three of them flinch.
"W-What are you talking about?" Saki said, trying to act confused, but her face was a dead giveaway.
"The cigarette pack in your shirt pocket, Tanaka-san. And the lighter in your pocket, Kimura-san. Give them to me, and I'll let it go with just a warning this time," Kenji replied.
Saki clicked her tongue and spat, "No, fuck you! You think you can control us or something? If that's what you think, you're wrong. Go kill yourself."
'Not punishing them will only encourage this behavior,' Kenji realized before saying, "It's been escalated to detention. However, I won't mention the cigarettes this time. Do you really want to risk suspension?"
Hearing this, Saki took out her cigarette pack from her pocket and threw it at Kenji's face. He caught it smoothly. Daiki then also threw the lighter at Kenji, who caught that as well. Just as they were about to turn around, Kenji continued.
"There's one left in your pocket, Tanaka-san. The one you were about to smoke."
"Ah, this moron. What proof do you have that I was going to smoke it?" Saki said before giving Kenji the middle finger.
"What else do you do with a cigarette? And..." Kenji paused for a second before continuing.
"Do you want to die?"
Internally, Kenji was genuinely worried for Saki and even her friends. However, his face conveyed a completely different message to Saki. To her, this sounded like a threat.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!" Saki screamed and charged at Kenji with her fist. He caught it effortlessly before replying, "Don't," as he released her hand.
Saki, now humiliated and brimming with anger, took out the last cigarette from her pocket and threw it at Kenji's feet before turning around and storming off. Yume and Daiki shot one last angry look at Kenji before following Saki.
Kenji picked up the cigarette and threw it along with the entire pack into a nearby trash bin after crushing them. After that, he returned to his classroom.
◆◇◆
During the remaining breaks, Kenji did check on Saki's gang, but he didn't approach them after seeing that they hadn't messed up their appearance. Instead, he focused on monitoring other students as well. Soon, classes ended.
After classes and final checks, Kenji went to the Student Disciplinary Committee office.
"I heard you had quite a fight this morning?" Ayaka said as Kenji entered.
"That's an exaggeration, senpai. It was nothing more than a small sidestep," Kenji replied.
"Well, I have videos, but whatever you say. So, how is it going?" Ayaka said with a grin.
"...I don't believe I comprehend the hidden meaning of your last five words, senpai..." Kenji replied, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Oh, you know exactly what I mean. The usual."
"...I guess she hates me?"
"Hmm, so it's a long way to go. Well, at least you don't hide it anymore."
"...Anyway, here are all the reports. Also, a request for detention for Tanaka-san and her friends due to misbehavior."
"Oh? I thought you were soft-hearted."
"Some things need to be done."
"Well, whatever. Best of luck," Ayaka said, stretching her arms before starting the paperwork. Kenji also began finishing his remaining work before heading home.