"Screw you!!"
Sudo suddenly slammed his backpack hard into Horikita's face.
Horikita, who had been standing with her arms crossed, was caught completely off guard. The blow sent her sprawling to the floor. Stationery and books spilled out from her bag, scattering everywhere.
Not satisfied, Sudo grabbed a chair, ready to bring it down on Horikita next.
"Sudo, calm down!" Ayanokoji moved swiftly, grabbing Sudo's arm.
"Get off me!" Sudo roared, violently shaking his arm, but Ayanokoji held on tight, not budging an inch.
Frustrated and enraged, Sudo threw a brutal, basketball-style illegal elbow strike. It connected squarely with Ayanokoji's head.
THUD!!
Ayanokoji had seen the attack coming, but he never expected Sudo to hit so hard. Blocking with only one hand, Ayanokoji was thrown backwards onto the floor, crashing into Yamauchi behind him.
"Waaah! Sudo-kun, please calm down!" Kushida shrieked in panic. The situation was spiraling far beyond her control. If this continued, someone was going to get seriously hurt.
"Shut the hell up, Kushida! If it weren't for you, would I be here getting humiliated by that waste of space, Horikita?"
Hiss———!
The moment she met Sudo's bloodshot, murderous eyes, Kushida stumbled back two steps and fell onto her rear.
She admitted it. She'd been clever, stoking the conflict between them. But she never imagined it would escalate to this. What should she do now? Right! Call Chabashira-sensei!
Kushida fumbled for her phone, but her trembling fingers couldn't press the right buttons.
Her vision blurred, mind in chaos, she couldn't even see the keypad clearly. In a fit of frustration, she angrily hurled the phone to the ground.
This was the first time in her life anyone had ever screamed at her like that.
No matter the situation, she had always been the object of everyone's trust and approval. Even when she'd done things that shattered the class, people just hated each other. There were always those who still believed in her.
Her flawless social skills and ability to win others' trust were her greatest weapons.
No matter how excellent someone else was, no matter their grades or physical prowess, they all paled in comparison to the power of public opinion.
There was a time she'd arrogantly believed she just lacked the right stage. Given the proper platform, she could easily control an entire school without breaking a sweat…
But today! That gorilla-like trash actually dared to blame her! How dare he!!!! Sudo—Ken! She had to make Sudo Ken understand just how formidable she could be. That's right. She was formidable.
"Kushida-san, are you okay?" Yamauchi, who had temporarily joined the study session, saw Kushida clutching her head, her eyes wide and terrifyingly furious.
He quickly crouched down to check on her.
Ike, standing nearby, finally snapped out of it.
Watching Yamauchi's actions, he felt a twinge of jealousy.
If only he had been the first to notice something was wrong with Kushida. But… if he could stop Sudo, wouldn't that make Kushida see him in a new light?
No time to waste! Ike ran up to Sudo, who was now looking for something else to hit Horikita with, and shoved him hard.
"Sudo, you bastard, you scared Kushida-chan! Picking on a girl, what kind of man are you? If you've got guts, come at me! I'll protect Kushida-chan—"
SMACK!!!
Blinded by rage, Sudo wasn't listening to anyone.
He backhanded Ike across the face with tremendous force. The slap sent Ike flying, his feet leaving the ground briefly before he crashed heavily onto the floor.
"Who the hell do you think you are, trying to stop me? You've got a death wish, you idiot!"
Sudo spat on the fallen Ike. The unrestrained use of violence was inflating his confidence. Was there no one in this entire room who could stand up to him?
What use was studying? That bitch Horikita was top of the class, and look where it got her, laid out…
Wait. Horikita?
Sudo suddenly realized the Horikita who had fallen earlier was gone.
"Carelessness loses one the kingdom," a voice said coolly from behind him.
There was a sound of something cutting through the air. Sudo turned on instinct, just in time to catch Horikita's fist square on his eye socket.
His already somewhat dark eye socket began to swell visibly. But surprisingly, Sudo didn't even let out a cry of pain, which Horikita found rather incredible.
"That little love tap just tickles. You think basketball is some kids' game? Countless falls, countless intentional fouls, countless elbows, trips, even beatings…" Sudo sneered.
"All that crap you think is worthless taught me how to get used to getting hurt. Did you learn what pain feels like from a book? Did you master that? Let me show you what real pain is."
Sudo's arm shot out. His punch was so fast that Horikita, trained in formal combat drills, couldn't react in time.
The sheer force of the air carried by his fist alone stung her pale cheek. The following punch landed mercilessly on the bridge of her nose.
Horikita went down.
Drip. Drip.
Blood trickled from her nostrils. Sudo's last punch had been too vicious, exceeding what her body could withstand.
"How does the pain feel? Did the books teach you that? Go on, act all high and mighty for me now, you bitch!!! Where's that condescending attitude you had when you were lecturing me? I'm begging you, put on a show for me!"
Sudo planted his foot on Horikita's leg.
"…"
Despite the pain, Horikita stubbornly glared up at Sudo with rage. Not a single sound of pain escaped her lips. The corner of her mouth even curled up slightly, as if mocking him.
"What the hell is that look for?" Sudo grabbed Horikita by the collar.
"You know, don't you? Thinking you can change how people see you just by using violence… you're really so childish. Heh."
Horikita's words pierced Sudo's heart like a sharp thorn. He was trying to use force to refute her accusations, to make everyone see him in a new light. But…
Horikita's mockery, Ike still unconscious, Kushida's fear, Ayanokoji crouched in the corner wiping blood from his mouth, his gaze fixed intently on Sudo, who knew what he was thinking…
Why? Why wasn't anyone looking at him with newfound respect?
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Rapid footsteps sounded from outside the door.
Amane shoved the door open.
"Suzune? What are you… Sudo?"
"None of your business." Sudo's bravado wavered slightly.
Amane's eyes held pure hatred.
Why! Why was everyone like this…
Step.
Step.
Step.
Amane walked slowly towards Sudo.
"You asked for this!" Sudo moved away from Horikita. Repeating his old trick, he launched an elbow strike aimed at Amane's head.
"Amane, look out!!" Horikita, having seen this move take down Ayanokoji in one hit, couldn't help but cry out.
THUD!
Amane blocked the elbow strike with an identical move.
"Th-that's impossible?!" Sudo stared in disbelief at Amane's slender arm.
His elbow strike was trained to the point where even a 200-pound man would be laid out on the ground for hours. But Amane was just a girl. How could she…?
"You just directed killing intent at me, didn't you?"All expression vanished from Amane's face.
The moment his eyes met hers, Sudo felt as if he'd been plunged into an ice cellar.
That elbow strike, if it had connected with an ordinary girl, a concussion would have been the least of it; it would most likely have caused brain death.
In other words, the out-of-control Sudo had just used a move on her capable of killing.
"Since you've already unleashed the intent to kill upon me, anything I do to you in response is justified, Sudo-kun. Do you have any words you'd like to say to your family right now?"
--+--
T/N: Mans is finished
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.