Arisu realized immediately that her visitor hadn't come to play nice, so she kept her guard up like a fortress. She wasn't like Honami; she wouldn't be baited by sweet talk or leading questions.
No matter how Ichika tried to fish for information, Arisu remained a locked vault. She didn't leak a single tactical detail. However, she was strikingly firm about one thing: she proudly claimed the title of Ryunosuke's girlfriend.
It wasn't something she could hide anyway, and given the simmering rivalry between Arisu and the other girls, she wanted the world to know exactly who he belonged to. While she felt a sense of victory in the declaration, she didn't forget to drop a chilling warning to the junior standing before her.
"My man isn't someone you can handle easily. You'd better weigh your own capabilities before you try anything foolish."
Arisu's gaze was glacial, an open threat. To target her man took guts, she'd give her that—but it also showed a suicidal lack of self-awareness.
Ichika merely spread her arms, looking the picture of martyred innocence.
"I'm a victim here too, you know. Akasaka-senpai is the one who wants to make a move on me. Shouldn't I prepare some countermeasures first?"
She stood up, smoothing her skirt as she prepared to leave.
"Well then, see you around, Sakayanagi-senpai~"
Ichika waved a breezy goodbye, her tone dripping with that signature White Room arrogance. To those who emerged from that place, everyone else was just a background character in their play.
Arisu sat perfectly still, her cane resting across her knees, her eyes tracking Ichika like a hawk.
"If you lay a single finger on him, I'll make sure you pay the price in full."
Ichika felt a genuine flicker of surprise. Is he really worth all that? she wondered. She couldn't wrap her head around it. With a shrug, she finally vanished from the room.
Meanwhile, the "actual" leader of Class B, Asuna, was still face-down on her desk, dead to the world.
Between her Student Council duties and her steady salary, Asuna had spiraled into a gaming addiction with zero self-control. Frequent all-nighters had turned her into a classroom ghost who only manifested to sleep.
Masumi walked up to Arisu's side, her voice blunt. "I hate that underclassman's type."
Even Miki, usually the shyest of the bunch, showed a rare spark of hostility. "I hate her too..."
Arisu let out a weary, knowing smile. "You only hate her because you're afraid she'll become another rival for his affection, don't you?"
Caught red-handed, Masumi and Miki went dead silent. Arisu shook her head. "Don't worry. For now, she seems to be standing on the opposite side of our man."
That's why she came here for intel, Arisu thought. A romantic rival is unlikely... for now.
But even Arisu felt a twinge of uncertainty. She knew exactly how "dangerous" her man could be. She couldn't guarantee that today's enemy wouldn't become tomorrow's competitor in the war for Ryunosuke's heart.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
After leaving Class B, Ichika bypassed Class C entirely and headed straight for the bottom of the barrel: Class 2-D. Why skip C?
She wasn't stupid. Class C housed both Ryunosuke and Ayanokouji. Ichika had no desire to walk into a lion's den where two apex predators were waiting.
Instead, she headed for the territory ruled by the dragon, Ryuen. She pushed the door open, her face a mask of sunshine and cheer.
"Is Shiina-senpai here? I have some business with her!"
She looked so innocent it was almost sickening. One would never guess the dark schemes swirling in her head just moments ago.
Ryuen, sitting with his legs crossed, looked up with an expression of pure annoyance.
"Where did this brat come from? Scram!" He waved a hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.
Ichika ignored him, stepping boldly into his inner circle.
Ryuen's brow furrowed. Every delinquent has a sense of territory, and he was the king of his. Seeing someone trespass so casually made his blood boil. As Ichika walked past, he shot a leg out to trip her.
But Ichika didn't even break her stride. Like a butterfly caught in a breeze, she spun gracefully, dodging the trap with a hair's breadth to spare. Ryuen realized instantly this was no fluke. That kind of fluid movement only came from professional training.
Being a man, Ryuen felt it was beneath him to test her personally, so he cut a glance toward Ibuki. Woman to woman—no complications.
Ibuki didn't need a second invitation. She stood up, her fists clenched and a feral grin on her face. She could tell this junior wasn't ordinary. This was the perfect chance to see if the brutal lessons she'd taken from Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei were actually paying off.
Ibuki launched a high kick without hesitation. Ichika, with her back turned, didn't even bother to look. She simply dropped into a low crouch. In the same motion, she executed a lightning-fast leg sweep against Ibuki's standing leg.
Ibuki's world tilted instantly. She slammed into the floor, the breath leaving her lungs. Before she could recover, Ichika's foot was pressing firmly against her throat. Ichika smiled thinly; with one sharp stomp, she could easily crush the delicate life out of her.
It happened so fast Ryuen hadn't even finished standing up. By the time he lunged forward to intervene, he found himself eating floorboards too. It was a humiliating realization: Ichika was leagues above both of them.
Ibuki hissed through her teeth, clutching her swollen ankle. "Dammit... that hurts!"
She couldn't stand. The sheer power behind that kick was impossible to reconcile with a girl a year younger than her.
Ryuen wasn't doing much better, staring at the ceiling and questioning his entire life. Is this school a monster factory? Ayanokouji and Ryunosuke were one thing, but now even a random underclassman could wipe the floor with him?
He felt a burning, agonizing sense of insult. His fists shook.
I swear! I'll pay this back ten times over!
Yukino, who had been sitting quietly nearby trying to ignore the chaos, finally closed her book with a sharp thud. The noise had finally killed her mood for reading. She stood up and walked toward Ichika, her long black hair swaying behind her. She crossed her arms, her expression one of stern disapproval.
"Junior, don't you think you're being a bit too presumptuous—"
She never got to finish. Ichika shifted into a predatory, yandere-like smile and lunged.
Yukino's eyes narrowed. She raised her arms to deflect—a standard grappling defense. She caught Ichika's wrist, intending to use an over-the-shoulder throw. But Ichika was ready.
Borrowing the momentum of the throw, Ichika wrapped her legs around Yukino's neck. Using her hands as a pivot on the floor, she countered the throw, sending them both tumbling.
Yukino rolled several times to dissipate the force, eventually coming to a stop and brushing the dust from her forehead. She was slightly disheveled, but unharmed.
The first round was a draw, but there was a glaring problem: Yukino's stamina was notoriously poor. If this turned into a war of attrition, she was in serious trouble.
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