Chapter 389 Acting Chairman: Expel Hikigaya!
"Huh? The 'Going It Alone' card?"
"In other words, Hachiman-kun doesn't plan to team up with us for the exam anymore?" Karuizawa and the other two complained.
"I actually feel that this might not necessarily be a bad thing." Horikita Suzune's eyes flickered slightly as she cast a meaningful glance at Hikigaya beside her, her clear, cold voice slowly ringing out: "At least it avoids a conflict that cannot be mediated!"
"True, the pre-exam teaming limit is exactly three people." Kushida Kikyou agreed for a rare change: "There is only one Hachiman, so no matter what, there isn't enough of him to go around."
"Tch~ But Hikki matched perfectly with me and Airi."
"Humph! Wishful thinking!"
"I will absolutely not let you have your way!"
The girls stared at each other with wide eyes, none of them willing to back down.
Being at the very epicenter where all their gazes converged, a few drops of cold sweat could not help but break out on Hikigaya's forehead. He suddenly felt very fortunate that the school had issued him the 'Going It Alone' card. No matter what kind of conspiracy lay behind it, it at least allowed him to get through the predicament right in front of him for now.
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The Acting Chairman's Office.
In the spacious room, there were only a few people, and the atmosphere felt somewhat oppressive. Acting Chairman Tsukishiro Tokinari sat squarely in the main seat, First-Year Class D Homeroom Teacher Shiba Katsunori stood to one side, while four students—Amasawa Ichika, Yagami Takuya, Housen Kazuomi, and Nanase Tsubasa—stood below. This group of teachers and students, though seemingly a discordant lineup, all belonged to the White Room camp or were closely related personnel deeply connected to it.
"The internal investigation regarding Chairman Sakayanagi has finally entered its closing stages."
Tsukishiro Tokinari crossed his ten fingers, lightly clapping his hands together. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly as his calm gaze swept across everyone present, his tone flat yet carrying an undeniable weight: "The time I have left to stay in this school is already short. Therefore, before I depart, I intend to thoroughly complete all established goals!"
"Tch! Ultimately, the target is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, right? Just completely crush him directly and force him to drop out!" Violence surged within the depths of Housen Kazuomi's eyes as he rubbed his hands together, eager to try. He had always believed in the supremacy of violence, habitually solving everything with the most direct physical force!
"That won't do, Housen-kun." A clean, harmless, sunny smile hung on Yagami Takuya's face, yet the words coming out of his mouth carried an extremely strong sense of possessiveness: "Ayanokouji-senpai is my prey."
"Huh?" Housen Kazuomi's eyelids twitched violently, and a fierce light instantly erupted from his eyes as he glared fixedly at Yagami Takuya: "You want to snatch this 20 million bounty from me? We might as well settle the score right here first!"
Faced with Housen Kazuomi's naked threat and provocation, Yagami Takuya remained composed, showing absolutely no intention of backing down, the smile on the corner of his lips unchanging: "I would be glad to accompany you to the very end!"
"Stop it, Housen-kun!"
Nanase Tsubasa hurriedly stepped forward to urge them to stop, her tone earnest: "Since everyone's goal is identical, we should cooperate fully; there is no need for internal strife."
"Shut up!" Housen Kazuomi sharply rejected her: "This great me has no intention of sharing the bounty with anyone else!"
According to the terms offered by the school side, as long as they forced Ayanokouji Kiyotaka to drop out, they could obtain a 20 million point reward.
"Hoh!" Before his voice could even fade, Housen Kazuomi suddenly lunged forward, his fist enveloped in a sharp gust of wind smashing straight toward Yagami Takuya's face! Yagami Takuya's expression remained unchanged as he calmly raised his hand, his hand-knife thrusting out sharply with a vicious and tricky move aimed directly at the opponent's vital throat area!
"!!" Two dull sounds of impact rang out almost simultaneously. A tall and straight figure unexpectedly intervened between the two, firmly locking down both of their offensives using nothing but his bare hands, forcibly halting this conflict.
"Yagami, Housen, what kind of place do you take this for?" Shiba Katsunori's voice was low and heavy, carrying the overwhelming aura and power of an adult. A cold pressure instantly blanketed the entire room, forcefully suppressing the two restless students!
"If you understand, then disperse quickly."
"I will not... Yield to violence."
"My, my~ To actually dare to make a move right in front of the instructor, that's a bit too foolish, isn't it?" Standing to one side with her arms crossed, Amasawa Ichika's eyes were filled with schadenfreude, a mocking smile curving up the corners of her mouth.
"!"
Perceiving the wide disparity in their respective strengths, Housen Kazuomi and Yagami Takuya each restrained their offensives, withdrawing their movements resentfully, both of their eyes hiding unwillingness. The combat capabilities of the two belonged to the pinnacle tier among teenagers of the same age, but when facing an adult martial arts instructor in his prime, they still could not be mentioned in the same breath.
"Alright. I am well aware that all of you are full of drive." Tsukishiro Tokinari narrowed his eyes, speaking with a thoroughly amiable expression: "I am also greatly looking forward to your performances in this upcoming deserted island exam.
However, on top of that, I want to add a new target to the task I am giving you." As his voice fell, Tsukishiro raised his hand to control the projector, and two student profile pictures along with their information instantly surfaced on the pure white screen.
[Second-Year Class D, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka]
[Second-Year Class D, Hikigaya Hachiman]
"Wait a moment?" Nanase Tsubasa's pupils constricted, and she abruptly stood up from her seat, raising a question with a face full of confusion: "Why... why would Hikigaya-senpai appear on the expulsion list?"
After a semester of observation and understanding, she believed that Hikigaya-senpai was a very responsible senpai. As the Public Morals Committee Chairman of the Student Council, he personally took the lead in handling conflicts between students. Moreover, he was fair and just, treating everyone equally whether he was facing upperclassmen or his own classmates.
A brief silence fell over the meeting room.
Amasawa Ichika's brows were tightly knit as she lowered her eyes, remaining silent and quietly watching from the sidelines. On the other hand, Housen Kazuomi and Yagami Takuya exhibited completely opposite reactions, an excited glint instantly bursting forth from their eyes.
"Ha! That damn dead-fish eyes!
This grand me has wanted to deal with him for a long time already!!"
Housen Kazuomi clenched his fists tightly, making his knuckles crack loudly. Aside from the temptation of the high bounty, his hostility toward Hikigaya Hachiman was even greater than that toward the primary target, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka!
"Hikigaya-senpai..." The sunny smile on Yagami Takuya's face remained, yet a touch of cold, sinister ruthlessness quietly seeped in: "I also want to have a good contest with him."
Previously, he had deliberately approached Kushida Kikyo, attempting to get a handle on her dark secrets to keep her under his control and pave the way for his own plan. Yet every single deployment had been completely nullified due to Hikigaya's intervention!
Not only did the plan fall through, but Yagami Takuya was also reverse-engineered by the opponent, being slapped with the terrible reputation of a "human walking artillery" out of nowhere.
To this day, students of the same school year looked at him with a hint of strangeness in their eyes, and rumors had never ceased, which filled the proud and arrogant Yagami Takuya with immense annoyance and frustration.
It wasn't that Yagami Takuya cared so deeply about his own reputation. Rather, as the "strongest student" painstakingly cultivated by the White Room, he considered the outside students to be nothing more than a bunch of low-grade small fry.
Being plotted against and humiliated by small fry was a stain that his proud self absolutely could not tolerate!
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