Bonus chapter!
***
It didn't take long for Yukio and the others to find the 'blonde girl from Class D' that Manabe was talking about. She seemed to be waiting in line, idly playing with her phone, apparently without companions to chat with at the moment.
Indeed, she was a blonde girl, her hair tied back in a lively single ponytail, hanging energetically down her back.
She wore a blue version of the school uniform shirt, styled in a spicy manner, with a red jacket tied around her waist, accentuating her slim figure.
A respectable bust strained against two buttons, and her legs, hidden beneath white knee-high socks, formed a slightly provocative curve.
"It's her!" Manabe glared at the girl with evident disgust: "A lot of girls in Class D seem to follow her lead. Her name is Kei Karuizawa."
"But she's nothing special, just riding on the coattails of her boyfriend, Hirata. Without him, she's just a tramp, nothing at all!"
Manabe wasn't initially so resentful, but unable to take her anger out on Ryuen, she had redirected all her frustration towards Karuizawa.
"Bring her over," Yukio instructed from a distance, motioning Manabe to handle it. With so many people in the cafeteria and under surveillance, it wasn't wise for them to act directly.
With Yukio's command, Manabe confidently approached Karuizawa, said something to her, pointed towards Yukio's location, and Karuizawa, recognizing Yukio, followed reluctantly, unable to refuse.
Forced to walk to a less frequented side of the cafeteria building, Karuizawa asked, "What do you want to do?"
Even surrounded, Karuizawa maintained a contrived posture, arms wrapped around herself, inquiring about the reason for being called out.
But her slightly trembling legs and the faint fear in her sapphire-like eyes didn't escape Yukio and Ryuen's notice.
Yet neither of them said anything. A girl, no matter how tough, would naturally feel intimidated when faced alone against so many.
"What else could it be? You need to apologize to Rika!" Manabe snapped impatiently: "You just cut in line and nearly knocked her over. Don't tell me you've forgotten already?!"
"Oh, then I'm sorry." Karuizawa's apology was as impatient as Manabe's accusation, more so, in fact. She merely nodded slightly without bending her waist, acknowledging Rika, who hid behind Ryuen.
"Hey! What kind of attitude is that?" Manabe was full of resentment, displeased with Karuizawa's nonchalant manner, and stepped forward to grab her beautiful blonde hair.
The classic move in a girls' fight appeared: pulling each other's hair!
"Ah! It hurts! You!" As if her hair connected directly to her scalp, Kei Karuizawa cried out in pain, unable to free herself from Manabe's violent tugging.
Her weak state resembled a kitten bitten at the nape of the neck, completely devoid of any resistance.
"What are you playing at?! I've been annoyed with you for a long time!" Emboldened by Yukio's presence behind her, and believing Karuizawa wouldn't dare to retaliate, Manabe freely vented her dissatisfaction, causing Karuizawa to show a painfully distressed expression.
Nanami Yabu also stepped forward with a critical eye, glancing at Karuizawa's face: "Tsk, Manabe, look at her. Isn't she ugly?"
"It's sickening. Might as well scratch up her face."
"How... stop, stop it!" Karuizawa, hearing the mention of 'scratching her face', was thoroughly terrified. Tears suddenly flooded from her eyes, and she seemed to lose all strength to resist.
She could only plead pitifully, her face pale as death, trembling so violently she couldn't stand steadily. The moment Manabe let go of her hair, Karuizawa collapsed, kneeling on the grass.
Yukio raised an eyebrow at the scene, not expecting to catch a big fish in this unexpected turn of events.
Ryuen also seemed to recognize something. His expressionless face now showed disinterest, and he even started playing with his phone, almost ready to leave for a meal if not for Yukio's presence.
Yamashita, who had followed, looked at Karuizawa in disbelief: "Why is she so scared?"
"Fear is natural," Nanami Yabu said with a smug look, as if she knew the answer: "This bitch must care a lot about her ugly face. Just the threat of scratching it terrifies her."
"Hehe." Manabe, as if finding a justified outlet for her resentment, said: "Since that's the case, let's scratch it up for real. My nails are sharp, I just got them done two days ago."
"No, no, please, spare me..." Karuizawa, staring at the sharp nails almost piercing her blue eyes, was panic-stricken, her limbs rapidly growing cold.
She seemed to have fallen into a frozen spring, her body numb, muttering pleas for mercy without sense, completely losing her previous arrogant and impatient demeanor.
"Hahaha, Keep up that overconfidence now!" Manabe relished seeing Karuizawa in such a state of despair, laughing wildly and unrestrainedly.
Nanami Yabu also joined in the bullying: "We're just helping you, you see. Such an ugly face doesn't deserve to exist in this world, right?"
"Scratching it up a bit, making it look worse might accidentally make you more popular!" They seemed to be driven by the sense of security from having Yukio and Ryuen behind them, and the thrill of tormenting someone else.
Unable to control themselves, consumed by brutality, they only thought of how to torment Kei Karuizawa, seeking a sense of psychological conquest and achievement: "How about this?"
"You kneel down and bow to us, grovel in the dirt. You must be pretty good at that, right? Do it, and we'll let you go."
"Hey, that's not bad, Manabe!" Nanami Yabu continued to support Manabe, agreeing with every suggestion she made, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes.
They seemed to have completely forgotten about Rika Morofuji, the overlooked member of their group, and the initial purpose of bringing people out here, which was to make Karuizawa apologize to Rika. They were just venting their inner displeasure and aggression.
"How ugly." Ryuen spoke in a low voice, turning his head to glance at Rika: "Whether it's Manabe or that Nanami, both are ugly. Do you want to become like them?"
"..." Under Ryuen's pressure, Rika immediately shook her head, seemingly unable to accept such a scene, quickly expressing her refusal.
Ryuen then nodded, seemingly satisfied as if teaching a lesson to a child.
Yukio yawned leisurely, as if the whole scene bored him: "You should head back now. You've made enough noise, and her friends might come looking for her soon."
"Eh? Why stop now?" Manabe was clearly unsatisfied: "Yukio-kun, just give us a little more time. We'll slap this wretch a few dozen times, shave her head, and then leave!"
"?" Yukio glanced at Manabe with curiosity, his eyes filled with surprise: "Do my words no longer matter?"
"!" Realizing whom she was trying to bargain with, Manabe shuddered, chilling memories of Yukio headbutting Albert and waterboarding Ryuen flashing through her mind.
She also recalled the incident where she nearly caused someone from Class D to get expelled without realizing it. Manabe quickly bowed her head: "No, no, we're going back now!"
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400 power stontes = 1 extra chapter
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