Chapter 4: Reckless.

Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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“I’ll stop by your classroom after class then, Akito.”

“Mhm.”

With the talk over, we both left the office. Saki locked the door behind us with a click before turning to me.

“I’ll just drop by the staff room first, so see you later. Ah, and don’t fall asleep while the teacher’s teaching, okay?” She added one last nail to my bolted coffin.

“‘Kay, I’ll do my best,” I said before parting ways.

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As soon as I opened the classroom door, all eyes pierced me like darts. Ignoring their glances, I took my seat. Matsuyama didn’t wait for a second longer before rushing and grabbing me by the collar. If looks could kill, I’d be dead.

“Guh!” I could only grunt.

“Oi, creep. You embarrassed me in front of everyone, didn’t ya? What are you going to do about it, huh?”

“I-I dunno. I mean, I didn’t do anything wrong…”

“Oh, getting cocky, aren’tcha?” He scoffed. “Don’t get carried away just because Saki’s covering your stinky a*s, capiche? Besides, you’re a super troublemaker, so that’s why she’s obligated to take care of you. Do you understand?”

“I-I do…”

The chairman’s son had completely lost himself in anger and looked as if he’d strike at any second. Our classmates were bewildered at the situation but didn’t do anything about it. Instead, they watched the situation unfold from afar.

Suddenly, our classroom door rattled open.

“Order, order~! Hmm? What’s wrong with Matsuyama?” As luck would have it, it was time for our afternoon classes.

From where we were though, the teacher couldn’t see his bear grip on my clothes. But in the blink of an eye, he let go and turned to the teacher, smiling as an affable honor student would.

“Nothing. I was just encouraging Akito to do his best not to fall asleep in the next class. Isn’t that right, buddy?” He called me as a friend would, feigning his usual act of a top student. This snap acting left me more bewildered than frightened, and I found myself unable to react.

“As expected of the chairman’s son. To be encouraged by such a good friend… Iwaki, you ought to get a grip. Will you?”

“Yes, teacher,” I managed.

“Your words are on point, but what good are they without action? Do better.”

“Yes, teacher…”

“…Fine. Just be prepared for a lot of trouble if you don’t do well on your tests, okay?”

My seemingly ambiguous answer left him thinking his sermon to be futile. With that, he implicitly threatened to expel me under his last words. As if that wasn’t enough, Matsuyama joined in with his own two cents. Or more.

“Teacher! We are the ones who will help Akito! ‘One for all, all for one’ is our class slogan, after all, so we’ll never abandon him! Right, guys?!”

“Yeah!” A chorus resounded behind him, composed of my classmates.

Needless to say, the teacher was moved by his Oscar-worthy acting.

“What a nice class… Iwaki, you are lucky to be around so many good people, you know? Just hang in there.”

“…Yes… teacher,” I nodded with what strength I could muster.

With all that said, the class had begun. Meanwhile, I could only sneer inwardly, This isn’t ‘one for all, all for one’… It’s just Matsuyama.

Shaking these thoughts aside, I fought tooth and nail to stay awake during class, as I’d promised Saki.

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“So, Iwaki-kun… If you have any excuses or arguments, I’ll listen to them. Go ahead.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Despite fighting so hard, I still ended up falling asleep. Hence why I found myself crouching and being lectured by Saki at the center of the class. It was scary to see her looking down on me with such stern eyes.

“You’re not. I mean, aren’t you bothering Saki with all this?” Matsuyama, who had just been an observer, joined in on the sermon. Then everyone in class followed suit and started to verbally criticize me.

“Matsuyama is right!”

“Yeah, he is!”

“Stop taking advantage of Mizumoto-san!”

“You’re using your position as a problem child to get close to her, aren’t you? You’re filth!”

Ironically, the same classmates who boomed and rallied as if to fight against the teacher for my sake all fought against me, an outsider in their eyes. In addition, their aggressiveness was off-the-charts, spiced up by their jealousy and animosity fermented against the boy who “had Saki all to himself.”

“What a hassle…” Saki clicked her tongue.

“That’s right. Iwaki, think of the trouble you’re causing Saki.”

They were not on the same page, however. “All I had to do was get him out of the classroom. Now, I have to deal with a heap of brainless scum… Would you mind not being a gum on my shoe?”

“Huh?”

Matsuyama and his cronies, who thought they were providing cover for Saki, froze like toy robots whose power ran out.

“Saki, if I didn’t mishear you… Did you just call us scum?” The chairman’s son asked as if he heard something ineffable. Our classmates also weren’t expecting to be in the line of fire, which resulted in everyone looking at her agape.

“Yes, you heard me correctly. Heap of brainless scum. Sorry, I should’ve been clearer,” her apology was as far from one as possible, instead serving as fuel for fire.

No one would stand still at being called that out of nowhere.

“Cruel!”

“You said too much!”

“We were helping you, Mizumoto-san!”

“Is your heart coal?!”

“I didn’t know you were this kind of girl!”

“I know, right?”

All the angry voices who shot at me earlier had their sights set on her instead. Saki, you’ve gone too far! I screamed inside, shooting her a meaningful glance, which she ignored entirely.

“Hearing insults from people less capable than me doesn’t even itch. On the contrary, it’s ridiculous to even consider them,” she threw more firewood into the bonfire.

My classmates seemed to have forgotten about me by now.

“Everybody, quiet,” Matsuyama’s growl was low, but everyone around stood still and quiet.

Seeing this, Saki continued, “You all sound like obedient dogs to their owner. Well, it can’t be helped since the owner is also a lowlife.”

“Saki, I’ve been holding back quite a bit, but isn’t this too much of a quandary? Will you be able to become president in the next election though?” He threatened her. “However, if you apologize now, I’ll forgive you.”

“Matsuyama-kun…”

“Matsuyama…”

He tried to sway her by adopting a higher moral position, one of forgiveness. Adding a cherry atop his fake cake, he held out a hand… Honestly, I think she needs to apologize here as well. There is no need for her to suffer due to my own powerlessness.

“F*cking pieces of sh*t.”

The expression on her face was enough to make everyone flinch, even me. Her eyes glinted as though they were knives pointed at the very world itself, bellowed by hatred. I had never seen Saki show so much emotion at once… An unnoticed bead of sweat trickled down to the floor.

Then, with a sigh, she covered her face for a moment and she was back to the usual ice-cold demeanor she usually showed.

“Let’s make a bet, Matsuyama-kun,” her next words were ice.

“A-a bet?” He stammered.

“Yes,” she grabbed me up by the arm. “If Iwaki-kun and I take the top two places in our grade, you must get down on your knees and apologize to him.”

What are you saying, Saki?!

“Ha?” For a moment, Matsuyama didn’t understand what she meant. Then, in a flash, he glinted blue. “Oi, Saki… You’d better stop playing with me, okay? There’s no way I’m losing to that Creepy Panda you’re holding. Even if it’s against you too.”

Though frustrating, he was right. Matsuyama was second only to Saki in our grade, so it was impossible for me to beat him.

“Sa… Mizumoto-san, how reckless can you be? Let’s not do that…” I stammered desperately.

“Akito shut up,” she halted my complaints before turning to Matsuyama. “Of course, I will pay the price for the bet. If we lose, we will get down on our knees and ask forgiveness right here, in the center of this class, and to the scummiest of the earth. Okay?”

“—!”

Her provocation turned the whole room blue. Then, Matsuyama glared back, taking the bet.

“…You can’t walk back on your words.”

“Of course not. Ah, yes, don’t get involved with Akito during the test period. I don’t want to waste our valuable time dealing with you scum.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

As soon as he heard the other side of the bet, Matsuyama looked relaxed and even excited. He must’ve been convinced he would not lose by any means. The classroom filled to the brim with cheers, and I was completely left in the dust, even though I was directly involved in the whole thing.

“Then, the next time we’ll see each other will be after the fact. You two should practice getting down on your knees together,” he shot.

“F*ck you,” Saki gave him the straightest middle finger before turning and grabbing me by the arm. “Let’s go.”

“Hey, wait!”

We then slipped out of the bustling classroom.

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T/N: Holy crap, this escalated quickly… Also, I like how unapologetic she is lmao. Makes it interesting.

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