After classes ended, Ryuga packed his bag in a heartbeat, eager to head home.
Until his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw Daichi's name flashing on the screen. He picked up and placed the phone to his right ear.
"Sup, what happened, homie?"
"You remember the first years we made that bet with?"
"Yeah… something up? They still holding their ground or something? You showed them the proof, right?"
"Yeah, we did but they refused to believe it. Heck, they even started arguing with us. They used their brains at full throttle and came up with some lame excuses like 'you used a drone,' 'this video was edited,' or 'that's not the same place.'"
"I mean, yeah. They can argue with that logic. We can't exactly show them a dead body to prove our point, right?"
"Hmm, true. Everything would've been fine… but there's a problem."
Daichi's voice over the phone sounded rough. Not like he was in pain or panicking, just… irritated.
"What happened, Daichi?"
"Haaahhh… Fuyumi started fighting with the first years. I guess the whole adventure took a toll on her, and them outright denying our tour just… triggered her."
"Okay, I get it. Where are you all? The philosophy café?"
"Yup, we're here. Get your ass over as soon as possible."
"Kk, I'll be there in a minute."
Without wasting time, Ryuga made his way to the philosophy café—a small campus spot known for its so-called intellectual debates.
It was a place where people of differing interests and opinions often clashed. Sometimes the fights were mild and verbal; other times, they got heated but still stayed verbal.
It took him about seventeen minutes to reach the café. And, fortunately or unfortunately, it didn't take him long to spot his friends.
"Oh shit…"
Right outside the café, two groups were seated around a round table, locked in an argument that had clearly crossed the line from verbal to physical.
Well, the fight wasn't between 'two groups' but rather one person against a group. Both groups consisted of three people, while a single petite figure with snow-white skin, short brunette hair, and emerald eyes fought against three other girls.
The petite girl was, of course, Fuyumi. The other two with her were Daichi and Sayo. As for the ones she was fighting with—
'They should be the kohai.'
Smack!
"Now tell me, who's the scaredy bitch! I'd love to see you spit words with your tiny little mouth!"
Fuyumi slapped a short girl with black hair and eyes, the kind who looked cute and quiet.
From the slap, a deep red mark bloomed on the young girl's face.
"Oh, fuck! She's furious!"
Ryuga didn't wait any longer. He immediately jumped between the first years and Fuyumi before she could reload her hand and deliver another slap.
He caught Fuyumi's raised hand and pushed it aside. "Enough! Get your head in the right place, girl, they're kids. Even if they said something wrong, you don't slap them!"
His voice was deeper and darker than his usual sweet and innocent tone. A shiver crawled up Fuyumi's spine at the sound of it.
She stepped back involuntarily and sank into her seat. Daichi and Sayo joined her, handing her a glass of water.
"What were you two doing just standing there while she slapped a junior?"
Daichi and Sayo smiled, though their smiles were strained. Scratching the back of his head, Daichi answered,
"Ahm… Fuyumi told us not to interfere with her problem. And uh… you know, we didn't want the fight to escalate, so we stayed out of it. Honestly, none of us thought she'd actually slap her."
Sayo quickly added, "Yeah, and the 'fight' was pretty normal before you showed up. She just suddenly started throwing hands. You know… she's got temper issues. Maybe she just couldn't control her anger."
"That's still her fault, she shouldn't just slap people like that. No matter how angry she is, accompany her back home. I will deal with the situation."
Ryuga ruffled his hair, and slowly turned. Behind him were the instigators of the whole 'haunted' mansion incident.
And the culprits, the first years, were a group of 3 girls. One was the black haired girl whom Fuyumi had slapped, her friends the other 2 were frightened into the corner.
One of them was a tall girl, she had tanned skin, bleached blonde hair, and blue eyes. She was the gyaru type.
While the other was also a tall girl with slightly short white hair, her eyebrows were also white, and so were her eyes. She was an albino.
"Ahm, first of all. I'm sorry… really really sorry for what happened just now. Just so you know, she didn't mean to hit you. She is usually a cheerful girl but sometimes she just loses her temper. I hope you don't take it too seriously.
"Well… fuck, what I'm even saying. She just slapped you out in the open, of course you are hurt and angry. You surely wanna slap her too right? Of course, you do! Don't even need to say it out loud. And you know what, this senior of yours will make that wish come true. So, how about tomorrow? You come back here, and slap that angry girl like she slapped you? Huh? Is that a deal?"
The black haired girl was taken aback by his response. And so were her friends. They shared a look among each other before the blonde girl came up to talk.
"Y-you don't need to do all that. We all crossed some boundaries we shouldn't have. It was our earnest mistake too, and we wouldn't want to shame our senior like that either. So, how about we patch things up and be friends?"
"Oh, that's nice of you. Such good kids are rare these days. But I can't just hold you out like that… How about having a cup of coffee as a consolation? It will make me feel a little better."
Ryuga's voice had considerably softened, it was the much sweeter and calmer voice, his usual voice unlike the one he used to stop Fuyumi.
Before, he had created a fearful image of himself in the girls eyes. But as he continued talking, he quickly changed into a helpful and considerate senpai.
The blonde girl accepted the offer earnestly, and they sat together for the coffee. After a moment, the gathered crowd sensing the matter had been resolved had also dispersed.
Ryuga passed the menu to the girls, "Ahm, you can order whatever you want. Just tell me, I will get it."
They were still a little apprehensive of him. Their eyes wandered around, and didn't settle on him once. They also shared looks among each other a lot of the time, even their sitting position was jarring. The three were grouped together in a hemi sphere while Ryuga was like the pointed part of the cone on top of the hemi sphere.
Eventually the girls decided on their drinks, two matcha latte and a cup of black coffee.
"Kk, I will get it in a jiffy, please wait."
12 minutes later, Ryuga came up with the drinks. While he himself had taken a cup of cold coffee.