Chapter 199: Ryuen Kakeru: Is Shimizu Akira pulling the strings from behind?
At 4:10 PM, inside the Student Council discussion room. There were ten people present, divided into three groups:
Student Council (Neutral): Student Council President Horikita Manabu, Student Council Secretary Tachibana Akane. Class 1-C: Komiya Kyogo, Kondo Reo, Ishizaki Daichi, Sakagami Kazuma (Homeroom Teacher). Class 1-D: Kushida Kikyo, Horikita Suzune, Sudo Ken, Chabashira Sae (Homeroom Teacher).
After Secretary Tachibana Akane finished reading the opening remarks, she turned her gaze toward Class 1-D and spoke seriously: "Based on the circumstances mentioned above, we hope to determine which side's claim is the truth." Her eyes fell on Sudo Ken as she continued, "Komiya-kun and his companion from the basketball club claim that they were called to the Special Annex by you, Sudo-kun, and were unilaterally provoked and beaten there. Is this true?"
Beside her, Horikita Manabu sat with his hands crossed beneath his nose, his cold gaze scanning everyone present. Sudo Ken immediately retorted, "That's wrong! They're the ones lying!"
"You're the liar! You're the one who called us out!" Komiya Kyogo countered instantly.
Kondo Reo chimed in as well: "Exactly! This guy has been jealous of me in the club for a long time!" Sudo froze for a second, rage flooding his face.
"What did you say?! You're the ones who called me out!"
Next to him, Horikita Suzune felt a mounting headache.
Sudo was truly brainless, letting his emotions be toyed with by a simple provocation.
What made it worse was that her brother was silently observing the expressions and behaviors of both classes, which made her feel deeply embarrassed. She rubbed her throbbing temples.
"Could you please just shut up? Think with your brain before you speak. Stop letting your emotions lead your tongue and say something useful for once, will you?"
"What? Horikita, why is your mouth so foul!" Sudo's temper flared instantly, veins popping on his forehead.
"I knew you were just here to cause trouble! If it weren't for Shimizu's sake, I wouldn't have asked you to come!"
Beside them, Kushida Kikyo lowered her head, but her shoulders were trembling uncontrollably. How hilarious, these two.
'Go ahead, keep fighting. The more you argue, the better.'
Only when they were in complete chaos could she more prominently display her prowess as a mediator.
Chabashira Sae watched the bickering pair and the suddenly bowed Kushida with a cold gaze, as if watching a farce that had nothing to do with her.
Even though her own students were falling into internal strife before the hearing had even properly begun, she remained expressionless.
She had clearly decided to be a bystander, not intending to waste a single word.
'Are these people here for a comedy routine?!'
Across from them, Class 1-C's homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma, felt a surge of secret satisfaction.
No way? Is this it? He had received word from the Student Council a few days ago that Class D had found a witness on Thursday, and his heart had skipped a beat, fearing they might be counter-attacked.
The result? Less than a minute into the start, they were already fighting among themselves.
That Sudo Ken was just mindlessly shouting; that expressionless girl, Horikita Suzune, spoke with zero emotional intelligence.
He knew Kushida Kikyo was good at making friends and expected her to mediate, but she was just looking down, lost in thought.
The funniest part was their teacher—Chabashira Sae. Despite this being a crucial hearing for her class, she looked indifferent, as if she were a spectator.
She fit the "useless homeroom teacher" persona perfectly, just like in previous years. Sakagami felt certain: We've won!
'I can't laugh, I have to hold it in!'
Sakagami pursed his lips tightly, suppressing the overflowing triumph. He watched the D-class internal collapse with great interest.
"President," he suddenly spoke, his voice carrying just the right amount of concern. "It seems the students of Class D are emotionally unstable. Should we take a ten-minute recess to let them calm down? In this state, it might be difficult to properly state the facts."
This seemingly considerate remark was actually meant to highlight D-class's dysfunction to the Student Council.
Before Horikita Manabu could respond, Horikita Suzune shot a cold glance over.
"No need. We will handle our own class affairs. Class C needn't worry."
"Oh? Is that so?" Sakagami raised an eyebrow mockingly.
"But I believe I just heard Sudo-kun say... he wouldn't have let you come if it weren't for Shimizu-kun's sake? It's a bit inappropriate to say that at a Student Council hearing, don't you think? It seems you two have a personal grudge."
He had a faint impression of the name "Shimizu."
If he remembered correctly, wasn't the person fighting their class's Yamada Albert in the boxing match none other than Shimizu Akira? Could it be the same person?
"Speaking of which, that Shimizu-kun is participating in a boxing match at seven," he added, his voice dripping with fake concern.
"I believe they start entering the ring around six-thirty. I wonder what the outcome will be! I really wish I could go see their condition right now!"
In his heart, he was already certain of the answer—Yamada Albert would win. You could tell just by looking at their physiques. He brought it up solely to disrupt their concentration. The more flustered they were, the better the chance for Class C.
However, the moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.
He saw Sudo Ken's angry expression freeze as if he had just remembered something important.
Horikita Suzune blinked, instinctively checking her phone for the time. Even Kushida Kikyo looked up, her eyes showing genuine anxiety. Even the indifferent Chabashira Sae retracted her wandering gaze.
"Entry is at six-thirty? I don't want to miss Shimizu's match!"
"This farce needs to end!"
The tension was suddenly replaced by a strange sense of urgency. The attention of everyone in Class D was seized by the words "boxing match." They looked at the Class C group with a gaze that said, 'Hurry up and finish this so I can get off work; I have serious business to attend to.'
Sakagami was stunned.
This change was too fast! They were just at each other's throats, but mentioning the name Shimizu Akira made them act with unprecedented unity?
'Wait! What do you mean 'this farce needs to end'?! You're the defendants here! These people are too arrogant! You are the challengers!'
Before Sakagami could voice his indignation, Horikita Suzune spoke: "First piece of evidence: Since Class C claims they were 'called out' by Sudo, the scenario should involve Sudo Ken walking in front with Komiya Kyogo and Kondo Reo following behind, correct? President, please pull the security footage from near the Special Annex to verify."
Sakagami's heart skipped a beat.
The opponent was using the relative positions in the footage to determine who initiated the meeting. This line of thought was much clearer than he had anticipated. Horikita Manabu looked at his sister for a moment, a trace of imperceptible praise flickering in his eyes.
"That makes sense. Tachibana, retrieve the footage."
The Student Council Secretary quickly operated a tablet.
"President, I have the footage," Tachibana Akane said, handing the tablet to Horikita Manabu.
"The camera on the main path to the Special Annex captured the scene." Horikita Manabu played the video.
The screen clearly showed the day's events: Komiya Kyogo and Kondo Reo were walking in front with deliberate smirks, while Sudo Ken followed behind them with an irritated expression.
Anyone could see who had called whom out.
Cold sweat began to form on Sakagami's back. He never expected them to tear a hole in the lie from such a subtle angle.
"Ahem! Even if we called him out, wasn't he the one who threw the first punch in the end?" Sakagami tried to pivot to the outcome to salvage the situation.
"I don't have time to waste on your nonsense! Let's end this quickly, I have a match to see!" Sudo Ken slammed the table.
"I request to summon the witness, Sakura Airi."
"Granted," Horikita Manabu said concisely.
Sakagami suddenly felt something was off—was Horikita Manabu also in a hurry?
He had noticed the President glancing at the wall clock several times.
At that moment, a timid-looking girl walked in.
"I am Sakura Airi from Class 1-D. I saw the struggle that day. I can prove that the Class C students provoked him first."
"Wait! This is collusion and perjury!" Sakagami couldn't help but shout.
"Why only come forward now? Where have you been?!"
"T-That was due to an unavoidable accident... otherwise I would have..." Sakura Airi's cheeks flushed with obvious embarrassment.
"What 'unavoidable accident'? What could possibly delay a statement until Thursday!"
Seeing her timid demeanor, Sakagami grew more certain she was lying and hardened his tone.
"That was the school's responsibility," Kushida Kikyo interjected immediately, not even looking at him as she turned to the President.
"Please have the Student Council explain."
"Upon verification, this was indeed an error on the school's part," Tachibana Akane added.
"Sakura-san's decision to testify on Thursday is completely reasonable."
"But..." Sakagami tried to argue.
"This is the joint conclusion of the school, the Chairman, and the Student Council. It was a school error," Horikita Manabu interrupted coldly.
"U-Um... actually, there is a photo in my camera that proves I was there."
Sakura Airi carefully pulled a photo from her pocket. Sakagami's eyes landed on the photo. It clearly captured the moment of the dispute between the four people. The timestamp in the corner and the evening glow in the background were unmistakable. The words he was about to say caught in his throat.
'We messed up! We completely miscalculated!'
The opponent didn't just have a witness; they had physical evidence that even corroborated the details of Class C initiating the trouble. In that case, Class C's accusation against Class D was absolute nonsense!
Before he could even mention withdrawing the complaint, Chabashira Sae spoke: "Our side requests to summon Ichinose Honami of Class 1-B and several other students as supplementary witnesses."
The door opened again, and several students from Class 1-B walked in.
Ichinose Honami, who usually wore a gentle smile, looked serious. Her calm gaze swept over the room as she spoke clearly: "Several students from our class were maliciously harassed by Class 1-C during the second month. Among those involved in the harassment were these three.
Therefore, we believe there is a possibility that Class 1-C is intentionally framing students from other classes.
We hope the Student Council will investigate this thoroughly."
This was the final straw that broke Sakagami's mental defenses.
He saw the unwavering determination in the eyes of the Class B students behind Ichinose; he turned to see the three Class C students next to him, their faces pale and their spirits broken. At this moment, he realized—this hearing was destined to end in a crushing defeat for Class C.
Horikita Manabu checked his watch.
"Tachibana, record this. Regarding the matter of Class C's malicious harassment and framing..."
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When the three Class 1-C students slunk back to their Karaoke box, Ryuen Kakeru was already sitting on the sofa.
The tyrant's brow was furrowed; he had clearly been waiting for a long time. One look at his three classmates, who looked like wilted eggplants, told him the result. Ryuen's face darkened instantly. "Judging by your pathetic looks, you blew it?"
"U-Um... Boss Ryuen..." Komiya Kyogo stammered.
"We're honestly confused too..."
"Yeah!" Kondo Reo added hurriedly.
"Everything was going fine! Those Class D people were fighting with each other when they first entered! Who knew..." Ishizaki Daichi scratched the back of his head and bowed ninety degrees.
"I'm sorry! Boss Ryuen! We were useless! We never expected Class D to not only find a witness but also pull Class 1-B in as allies!"
Ryuen's eyes turned cold. Before the three could finish, he stood up and kicked each of them hard in the shins. The dull thud of the impact echoed in the room, accompanied by pained groans. Their heads hung even lower. But he wasn't done yet. He kicked them again, hard. The three stumbled forward but didn't dare complain.
"Go to the corner, face the wall!" Ryuen's voice was burning with rage.
"I'm tired of looking at your stupid faces!"
"Yes!" the three answered in unison.
They scurried to the wall, standing in a line, not daring to breathe.
Ryuen sat back on the sofa, his knuckles cracking. He grabbed a Coke and took a large gulp, the liquid trickling down his neck.
"Class D... witness... and... Ichinose Honami..." He whispered the names, his teeth grinding. "Very interesting. It seems I underestimated these pieces of trash."
He thought that with Class D's strength, framing them would be easy.
He never expected they'd find a witness, let alone involve Ichinose Honami.
In that case, losing the hearing was inevitable. After all, he had moved against Class B last month, and the ones sent to do the job were these three idiots currently "reflecting" against the wall.
Ryuen's fingers pressed hard into the armrest.
'Had that woman been planning revenge all along?'
But on second thought, it felt wrong. He had been monitoring Class D. In the first few days, everything was as expected—Class D was no threat. Hirata and Kushida were frantically searching for witnesses, looking like fish on a cutting board. But since Thursday, the situation had changed completely.
Hirata and Kushida stopped searching for witnesses and reported a new key witness to the Student Council.
Clearly, whatever happened on Thursday was the turning point.
Ryuen narrowed his eyes.
'Did this sudden witness and Ichinose's intervention all tie back to Thursday?'
"Hey! Ishizaki! Give me the recording pen in your pocket!"
Ryuen shouted. "Y-Yes! Boss!"
Ishizaki scurried over and handed the pen over with both hands before running back to his spot against the wall.
Ryuen spun the pen between his fingers. He hadn't told Ishizaki to bring it to record "key evidence"—how much private info could there be in a public hearing?
He did it because Komiya and Kondo were too stupid to remember details or speak in complete sentences; he wanted to review the events himself.
He wouldn't bother asking Sakagami. The man was a teacher; even if he allowed Ryuen to rule Class C with violence, he wouldn't necessarily be honest about the details.
Ryuen pressed play. The recording captured the noisy dialogue of the hearing, Sudo's roars, Horikita Suzune's cold words, and Sakagami's futile counter-arguments.
He leaned back, listening with his eyes closed. The three at the wall didn't dare move as the recording unraveled their defeat bit by bit.
When he heard Horikita Suzune request the footage, Sakura Airi present the photo, and Ichinose Honami expose the harassment, Ryuen's finger stopped tapping his knee.
He snapped his eyes open.
However, the turning point of it all started from the moment Sakagami mentioned the boxing match—saying that a student named Shimizu was also competing and that entry started at 6:30.
"So, the reason these guys were able to counter-attack one after another was because they were in a rush?!" Ryuen stared at the recording pen and let out a low laugh, though there was no mirth in it, only a chill from being played. He thought Class D had set an elaborate trap.
He never expected that the reason the evidence chain was so tight and the class so unified was... "fear of missing a boxing match"?
This was more infuriating than losing the hearing itself. It was like a carefully planned hunt where the prey only escaped because they were rushing to get to dinner.
Ryuen stood up and walked to the wall, looking down at the three idiots.
"When you were at the Student Council, did you see this Shimizu Akira at the door? Was he the one whispering in their ears behind the scenes?"
The three were taken aback. Komiya Kyogo shook his head frantically: "N-No! He never showed his face!"
"We did hear Sudo shout his name several times though..." Kondo Reo added timidly.
Ryuen sneered.
'Controlling the situation from behind the scenes, turning a disorganized Class D into a tight fist—was this a deliberate move or a lucky accident?'
If it was the former, this person was a major threat—the hidden leader of Class D. If it was the latter... it meant this person's prestige in Class D was perhaps even more terrifying than Ichinose Honami's in Class B.
"Shimizu Akira! You again!" He remembered the name. Last time Class C had a meeting, he was thinking about moving against this man, but both Yamada Albert and Shiina Hiyori had opposed him.
Looking back, Shiina Hiyori's attitude was clearly strange. It wasn't just opposition; it was a form of secret protection.
'Could the shift in Class D since Thursday really be Shimizu Akira's doing?'
But isn't the guy just a boxer? Since when did he become a strategist? Not to mention, he was a "defective" placed in Class D. Ultimately, it was all speculation.
The priority now was to find someone from Class D whose mouth wasn't so tight—ideally someone he could talk to naturally, and preferably a timid girl. That would make it easier to pry information out. He already had someone in mind.
"Hey! You useless trash!" Ryuen ordered.
"Get over here! Do you want to go watch a boxing match?" His voice was unreadable, but the three jumped like they'd been pricked by needles, scurrying over and waiting before him. They couldn't understand why the boss suddenly wanted to watch boxing.
Was it to see if Shimizu's skills were the real deal? To them, it was good news—after all, they had wanted to go too.
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After school, Karuizawa Kei realized she couldn't go to the supermarket with Shimizu just yet. Suddenly, several people contacted her wanting to buy tickets. She figured it was because the match was starting soon and tickets were becoming scarce. She messaged Shimizu to wait and that she'd be there soon.
She got caught up in the busywork, running back and forth. By the time she realized it, it was almost 5:00 PM. She sat on a school bench and checked the Class D group chat. The notifications were flooding in. Curious, she tapped in. The first message was from Kushida Kikyo—the results of the hearing were out. Class 1-D had won.
The details followed: Sudo Ken was safe, while the Class C students involved were suspended until the start of summer break, and 100 points were deducted from their class points.
Class C losing 100 points was massive news for Class D. In the current rankings, Class C was their most direct rival. Instead of losing points, Class D had counter-attacked and closed the gap.
Karuizawa couldn't remember the exact point difference, but it was definitely much smaller now.
The group chat was exploding with celebrations.
Karuizawa's lips curled upward. If Class D did well, her personal points would increase too. Just then, a message from President Sato popped up: "Since it's close to start time, you can lower the prices. Basic seats for 2,000, VIP for 15,000."
Immediately after, her phone rang. She met the person and offered the discounted price. "Great! It's so much cheaper!" The girl was pleasantly surprised.
"Um... there's a condition for the discount," Karuizawa said, putting her hands together. "When Shimizu Akira takes the stage, could you please shout his name and cheer for him? Okay?" She asked with a playful plea. The girl blinked and then nodded with a smile.
"Sure, no problem."
Karuizawa smiled happily and handed over the ticket, planning to tell Shimizu about this later. Since school ended, she had asked at least ten people to do this. After building up his popularity like this, he had to at least buy her a drink. No! A drink wasn't enough! It had to be a meal—a luxury set from the cafeteria!
She was calculating her rewards when her phone rang again. This time it was a man, his tone filled with undisguised arrogance: "Karuizawa... right? I'm buying every ticket you have left. Meet me at the first floor of the school cafeteria right now!"
"...Who are you?" Karuizawa was stunned. That bossy, commanding tone reminded her of an unpleasant past, causing her brain to lag for a second. "...Hmph, you'll know when you get here." The person didn't bother to answer and hung up.
Karuizawa frowned. The person's attitude was repulsive, but they wanted to buy all the tickets... She hesitated but decided to go. It involved a lot of personal points, and she wanted to see who had such a big mouth. She brushed off her skirt and sent another message to Shimizu.
Karuizawa Kei: Something came up at the cafeteria, I'll be a bit later, wait for my message!
She walked toward the cafeteria, intentionally taking a route with many students. For some reason, her heart started racing nervously. The cafeteria wasn't crowded. A few students were eating curry. As she entered, she spotted a red-haired boy sitting by the window. Opposite him were three boys with bandages on their faces—they clearly had just been beaten.
The red-haired boy noticed her. His eyes locked onto her like hooks, scanning her without disguise. The gaze wasn't friendly; it was like he was inspecting merchandise. Karuizawa instinctively took a half-step back.
"You're Karuizawa Kei from Class 1-D? The boxing club manager! Right!"
The boy spoke with the same commanding strength as on the phone. "Sit."
She didn't move. She thought for a second and asked from where she stood, "Who are you? Why do you want to buy all the tickets? Do you really have that many points?! VIP tickets are 15,000 each!"
"Ryuen Kakeru from Class 1-C."
The boy pointed to the chair opposite him, his tone becoming impatient.
"Stop wasting time. Where are the tickets?"
Karuizawa realized—someone from Class C? Alarm bells rang in her head as she instinctively stepped back. The group chat just said Class C had been punished for framing them.
Why was he here? Was he looking for a way to get even?
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