Rai walked down carefully so he wouldn't fall. His mind was still occupied by a single thought: how he could face Lyube directly again.
"If I think about it… what he said earlier does make sense," Rai muttered.
When he reached the second floor, Xeno suddenly came rushing toward him, looking exhausted from running.
"Rai… Ms.Zera told you to take the room heater from the sports equipment storage," Xeno said, panting.
Rai let out a long sigh. "You're the one who was told to do it, right?"
"This is bad… this kid can really read people's movements," Xeno muttered in shock.
Having no other choice, Rai hurried toward the sports storage room. However, when he arrived, he noticed that the door was slightly open, which left him confused.
"Hm? Who's inside?" Rai said quietly.
Rai peeked through the gap in the door. His eyes widened when he saw Aveline being slapped by three female students from Percival Class. Seeing that scene, Rai moved closer by entering through the side window without being noticed by them.
After successfully getting inside, Rai immediately hid behind a tall stack of mattress arranged inside the storage room.
"What's wrong? Why are you just staying silent?" said one of the Percival Class girls.
Aveline remained silent while holding her right cheek, which was already starting to bruise. But that wasn't enough. One of them kicked Aveline in the face, sending her flying as her head slammed against the wall.
Aveline collapsed helplessly. The three girls burst into loud laughter when they saw Aveline lying there, unable to resist.
"As long as you're still studying here, we'll keep hurting you!" one of them said.
The three of them spat on Aveline's Opportunis Class uniform and hurriedly ran away. From behind the mats, Rai stared sharply at them as they ran past him, unaware that he had been watching.
"They're lucky the rules here allow bullying," Rai muttered as he clenched his phone tightly.
Rai slipped his phone back into his pocket and quickly went to help Aveline, who had fainted. He carried her and rushed toward the UKS, worried about her condition.
Meanwhile, Xeno had been watching from the classroom window. He was confused when he saw Rai enter through a window instead of the front door.
"What is he doing? Something feels strange," Xeno said.
Suddenly, Xeno was shocked when he saw Rai coming out of the storage room with Aveline on his back.
"See?!" he exclaimed.
Xeno immediately rushed out of the classroom, leaving his classmates confused. He ran down the corridor and headed to the first floor after seeing Rai running toward the UKS.
"Damn… what's going on with that new kid?" he muttered.
When he arrived at the UKS, Xeno saw Rai laying Aveline on the bed and asking the nurses and doctor to check her condition immediately.
The medical staff quickly took action and told Rai and Xeno to wait outside. Xeno, who had just arrived, protested when he was pushed out.
"Hey! Hey! I just got here!" he complained.
The UKS door was shut tightly, leaving Rai and Xeno standing there in silence.
"What actually happened, Rai?" Xeno asked.
In a cold tone, Rai replied, "You should already know what happened to her."
Xeno recalled what he had seen earlier—before Rai came out carrying Aveline, he had seen three female students from Percival Class running while laughing.
"Don't tell me…" Xeno said.
"She was kicked until her head hit the wall," Rai replied shortly.
Xeno immediately grabbed Rai by the collar. "What do you mean, huh?! You were there! Why didn't you help her?! She's our classmate!"
Rai let Xeno hold onto his collar. "I was too late to help her."
Xeno released him and slammed his fist into a nearby pillar in frustration.
"Come with me and teach those trashy girls a lesson," Xeno said angrily.
Rai looked confused. "Do you want to hit women? You'll just be breaking another rule."
"So are you just going to stay silent while our classmate gets bullied like that?" Xeno shot back.
Suddenly, the bell rang. Rai placed his hand on Xeno's shoulder.
"Next time," he said.
Xeno finally understood the situation. The two of them returned to class. However, while climbing the stairs, Rai received a message from Ryuzaki Lyube, asking him to meet at the soccer field behind the school after classes.
Rai stared at the phone screen for a moment before putting it back into his pocket. He continued walking with Xeno, who still looked irritated.
When the dismissal bell rang…
Rai went to meet Lyube, who had been waiting in the middle of the field. Lyube smiled when he saw Rai approaching.
"I didn't think you'd actually come," Lyube said.
Coldly, Rai replied, "Don't waste time. Get straight to the point."
Lyube looked surprised. "Wow, after beating my score in my favorite game, your arrogance has really gotten worse, huh?"
"I don't like small talk with someone like you. Besides, your score was easy to beat," Rai said seriously.
Lyube started to get annoyed. "You're lucky I wasn't serious back then. Now look at whose score is higher."
"I don't care about scores. I just want the point," Rai replied.
Lyube clapped his hands slowly. "I already heard it from Liora. I heard you asked me to remove the free-bullying rule, didn't you?"
Rai simply stared at him.
"But unfortunately, I will never remove that rule, bro."
Rai stepped forward. "How about a one-on-one fight? If I win, you must grant all my demands."
Lyube frowned. "Huh? Are you looking down on me, kid?"
"If you're afraid, then you're not worthy of being the Head of the Security Division," Rai said flatly.
Meanwhile, Aveline began to regain consciousness. She was startled when she saw Xeno sitting beside her.
"You're awake?" Xeno asked.
Aveline held her head. "What happened to me? Where are we?"
"We're in the UKS. Rai brought you here," Xeno answered.
"Where is he?" Aveline asked.
Xeno sighed. "That kid is probably fighting the Head of the Security Division on the soccer field."
"What?!" Aveline exclaimed in shock.
Meanwhile, on the field, Rai and Lyube prepared themselves for the fight.
"If I win, you have to become my subordinate for one year!" Lyube said.
"No problem," Rai replied expressionlessly.
Lyube attacked first, dashing forward and throwing a punch. Rai dodged it with ease and kicked Lyube in the stomach, forcing him to stumble back several steps.
"Damn, your reflexes are good. Have you trained in martial arts or something?" Lyube asked while holding his stomach.
"Just Taekwondo," Rai replied.
Lyube began to understand why his stomach kept hurting after those kicks.
"This is bad… this kid's kicks are way beyond my expectations," Lyube muttered.
Without giving him any time to recover, Rai dashed toward Lyube at incredible speed, causing Lyube to panic.
"Hey! Wait a second!" Lyube shouted.
But it was too late. Rai struck Lyube's face repeatedly until his body was sent flying and crashed onto the grass of the soccer field, completely unable to get back up.
-- End Chapter 9 --
Notes: UKS This is the name for the room where students are treated when they are injured or sick. Every school in Indonesia must have this room :)