Ichika attempted to play dumb once again. She tilted her head to the side, wearing an expression of pure, unadulterated ignorance.
"Akasaka-senpai, what are you talking about? I don't understand at all."
Having finished bandaging her hand, Ryunosuke had no interest in entertaining this junior any longer. He prepared to stand up and head to school.
Seeing herself ignored, Ichika didn't get angry. She simply trailed behind Ryunosuke with light, airy steps, clinging to him like a newborn chick following its mother.
Ryunosuke halted his stride, his patience finally snapping.
"What exactly do you want?"
Ichika chose to double down on her innocence. She tilted her head, putting on her cutest face.
"I just want to walk behind Senpai."
"Is that not allowed?"
Ryunosuke didn't want to waste another second. He took a long, deep breath and narrowed his eyes.
"You're the one who stole the fruit knife from my bedroom, aren't you?"
At the question, the corners of Ichika's mouth curled into a peculiar, feline smile. Without breaking her facade, she countered.
"Senpai, if you're going to talk like that, you need proof. Do you have any?"
Ichika had executed everything perfectly; not a single hair or fingerprint remained. She had left Ryunosuke with absolutely no leverage.
Ryunosuke's eyes slitted. He knew with absolute certainty she was the culprit, but he lacked the "receipts" to bring her down. Ichika maintained that smile, acting as if the entire incident had nothing to do with her.
Ichika extended her hand.
"Let's shake hands and make up~ Akasaka-senpai~" she cooed sweetly.
Without hesitation, Ryunosuke gripped her hand. While screaming "you damn brat" in the depths of his mind, he forced a smile onto his face, even as a vein throbbed visibly in his temple.
"Don't let me find a single weakness of yours. If I do, I'm going to personally tan your hide."
Ichika playfully covered her rear and took several steps back, putting on a forced, bashful expression.
"Oh, how scary~ Akasaka-senpai~ If you actually do that, you'll have to take responsibility, you know."
"Don't you worry, I'll take responsibility! Responsibility for getting you expelled from this school!" Ryunosuke kept smiling, but the sheer malice in his eyes was no longer hidden.
Ichika returned the look with a twin smile of her own, the dark intent in her gaze just as clear.
"My, I'm actually looking forward to it."
"I'd love to see how Senpai plans to kick me out?"
Ryunosuke decided to end the small talk. He whipped out his phone and displayed his balance—240 million private points—right in front of the girl's face.
Ichika's pupils dilated instantly. She knew the new school rules by heart: with 20 million points, a student could nominate one person for expulsion. This meant the man in front of her had the power to delete her from the school twelve times over!
Reflexively, Ichika lunged for the phone, but Ryunosuke dodged with agile grace.
Ichika's gaze turned dangerous. This man was truly intending to expel her; she had to stop him!
She pounced on Ryunosuke like a hungry tiger, completely abandoning her "polite schoolgirl" persona. Ryunosuke dodged again, a sinister smirk playing on his lips.
"Little girl, you think you can handle me?"
"Losing 20 million to get rid of you feels like a bit of a waste, but compared to the headache you'll cause in the future, it's a bargain."
Ryunosuke calculated that Ichika's future meddling would cost him far more than 20 million points, making this a sound investment.
Seeing he was dead serious, panic finally flickered in Ichika's eyes.
If she lost in a fair fight, she could live with it. But losing to an "outside attack" like a point-buy expulsion? It was unfair! She wouldn't accept it!!!
Finally, Ichika managed to tackle Ryunosuke, causing the phone to skitter across the floor. The two wrestled on the ground, pinning each other in a stalemate where neither could move their limbs.
Ryunosuke used his chin to slowly crawl toward the phone. Ichika, struggling, managed to wrap her legs around his neck, halting his progress. She smirked triumphantly.
"Ha! Let's see how you grab the phone now?"
To her surprise, Ryunosuke's face shifted into a cunning grin. He looked at her with an exaggerated Ahegao expression reminiscent of Marik from Yu-Gi-Oh!, his long tongue practically flicking out.
"Too naive!"
"You think this can restrain me?!"
Ryunosuke extended his tongue toward the phone, which was just within reach. First, he managed to swipe the passcode, then rapidly tapped the screen. Ichika was genuinely horrified.
"What kind of tongue is that?!"
Ryunosuke didn't care. Using his tongue like a fifth limb, he tapped the screen frantically until he managed to hit the contact for his future father-in-law, Sakayanagi Narumori. As soon as the call connected, he bellowed:
"Help me, Father-in-Law!"
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
A short while later...
Narumori arrived at the scene. He found the two of them tangled on the floor in an incredibly bizarre position. For a split second, he suspected his future son-in-law was cheating. Ryunosuke and Ichika were gripping each other's hands with intense "intimacy," and Ichika's legs were still firmly scissored around Ryunosuke's head.
To any onlooker, they looked like a couple in the middle of a heated lovers' quarrel. Ryunosuke patted Ichika's hand, which was gripping him so hard he felt his bones might creak. He looked up at the Chairman with an annoyed huff.
"What are you staring at?!"
"Help me already!!!"
A few minutes later, the three of them were in the Chairman's office. Narumori sat at his desk, while Ryunosuke and Ichika stood before him like children being scolded for a prank gone wrong.
And children they were—one was the Chairman, the other a student. Ryunosuke massaged his wrist, which Ichika had nearly twisted off, thinking to himself:
(I forgot Ayanokouji said I couldn't beat the White Room's top three.)
And Ichika was the strongest after Yagami, making her number two—well within that danger zone. It was only natural he couldn't overpower her physically. He really needed to ramp up his training; he wasn't about to be put in a headlock by a girl again...
Narumori didn't scold them harshly, only giving them a firm warning not to cause a scene on campus. Ryunosuke couldn't resist raising his hand to interrupt.
"Father-in-Law, there's something I need to discuss."
Narumori glared at the brat.
"Don't call me that in a professional setting. We are talking officially; don't even think about using the back door."
Narumori had already guessed what the boy wanted: to use his authority to wipe Ichika from the student roster. However, Narumori had already promised Ichika's father that he would let her remain at the school peacefully for three years. Ryunosuke's cunning plan had hit a total dead end.