"Katsuragi?"
Thirty minutes before the "incident" occurred, Ayanokouji, who was standing by outside the broadcast room, encountered an unexpected visitor.
However, the other party quickly clarified their purpose.
"I see… So you brought him in as well."
"Yeah… I'll be leaving the rest to you guys."
"Understood."
After finishing his call with Hikigaya, Ayanokouji returned the phone to Katsuragi.
Then, using his keycard, he opened the broadcast room and asked, "Katsuragi, do you know how to operate this?"
"Ah, yeah. I was in the student council back in middle school. No need to worry."
"Good."
"By the way, what exactly do you guys plan to do to the student council president?" Katsuragi glanced at him. "And the fact that you're actually cooperating with Hikigaya… That's quite unexpected."
"I just have my own circumstances to consider."
Ayanokouji put on a look that discouraged further questions.
"As for what Hikigaya intends to do, I'm not too sure about the details either. In any case, we'll find out soon enough."
"I see… You're not coming in?"
Katsuragi stepped into the broadcast room, but when he looked back, he saw that Ayanokouji remained standing at the door.
"No, I'll wait outside." Ayanokouji shook his head and casually shut the door.
From his perspective, his only role was to ensure that no one interfered.
That was probably why Hikigaya had asked for his help… Sigh, what a hassle.
The thought of that guy calling him "the undisputed champion of martial arts" made Ayanokouji feel a little suffocated for some reason.
Was that supposed to be a compliment?
Leaning against the door, Ayanokouji patiently waited for Hikigaya to act.
From what he could tell, all of this was meant to weaken Nagumo's influence.
And seeing Katsuragi being brought in further confirmed that suspicion.
Ayanokouji had done his own investigation and had to admit—Nagumo's hold over the second-years was rock solid. Many of them even supported him voluntarily.
Even after breaking his agreement with Horikita Manabu in public, Nagumo showed no concern about how others perceived him.
However, there was a flaw in his rule.
Nagumo's reforms only benefited the second-years, giving them an exclusive path to Class A.
If Hikigaya really managed to tarnish Nagumo's reputation, the second-years, for their own sake, might choose to turn a blind eye. But the first-years had no such obligation.
And in a few months, a new batch of students would enroll—giving them an immediate negative first impression of Nagumo.
This would effectively prevent Nagumo from expanding his influence within the school, restricting him to ruling over just his own grade.
That said, even though Ayanokouji agreed with Hikigaya's plan, he still felt it was a bit premature.
Next month would mark the final special exam for their grade. Even if this scandal broke out now, people likely wouldn't have the time or energy to care.
It would've been better to act after the exam… Oh well, not my problem.
[I doubt it, though? Nagumo doesn't seem like the type to care about his subordinates… Ah, though I suppose Ichinose is an exception.]
At that moment, a voice echoed through the school's speakers.
So it had begun.
Ayanokouji only needed to listen for a few seconds to understand Hikigaya's strategy.
Just as Sakayanagi had suggested the other day, that guy was indeed using Ichinose as his weapon.
Nagumo had invited Ichinose to join the student council. Whether she had intended it or not, in the eyes of others, she was undoubtedly one of Nagumo's trusted aides.
If people found out that Nagumo treated even his own subordinates like this, even those first-years who didn't care about Ichinose would at least have to consider the opinions of those around them.
Reputation mattered.
It was like how many directors in the entertainment industry engaged in shady dealings—it was an open secret.
But once exposed, it became a whole different matter.
Some things could be done but not spoken of.
Especially when it came to relationships. Once they were dragged into the open, anyone could stand on the moral high ground and stomp on Nagumo.
"This just proves that women really are troublesome."
Ayanokouji wasn't uninterested in romance, but if it could be used as a weakness against him, then it was something he needed to consider carefully.
Even someone like Nagumo—who fundamentally didn't care about Ichinose—was still vulnerable to Hikigaya's attack through her.
No wonder Hikigaya hadn't dated anyone yet… That kind of self-restraint and clarity of mind was worth learning from.
As Ayanokouji analyzed the situation, another commotion arose from the broadcast.
It sounded like Hikigaya had just smashed Nagumo's phone.
…So that's the plan.
Since the broadcast was going out live, it would inevitably cause a huge stir among the students.
Nagumo's subordinates would definitely try to call him.
Hikigaya had anticipated this, which was why he provoked Nagumo and then destroyed his phone.
Of course, that wasn't the end of it.
With no way to contact Nagumo, his subordinates would have no choice but to seek him out in person.
Normally, they would head straight to the student council office, but since it was located on the top floor—and today happened to be the day the elevators were undergoing maintenance—every lift in the school building was shut down.
In other words, rather than climbing all the way to the top floor, they were more likely to rush to the second-floor broadcast room instead.
It wasn't a guarantee, but at this point, it didn't really matter.
The moment Nagumo failed to answer his phone, he had already lost.
Just then, footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Ayanokouji turned his head and saw two male students sprinting toward him—both of whom he recognized.
Nagumo's loyal subordinates, and fellow student council members—Gokyou and Tonegawa.
So they did come.
Now that he thought about it, Ayanokouji had messed with these two before. He'd used a wild boar to injure them, causing Nagumo's team to fail the exam—and one of them had even been on the verge of expulsion.
Did he feel guilty about it?
Of course not.
There was no point in apologizing if there were no benefits.
"You—you're Ayanokouji!"
The two of them recognized him at the same time.
They were confused as to why he was here, but now wasn't the time for questions.
"Get out of the way!"
Tonegawa impatiently reached out, trying to shove Ayanokouji aside.
However, even after pushing, he didn't budge an inch.
"Oi! Move!"
Tonegawa tried again, this time using all his strength.
Yet, Ayanokouji remained as unmoving as a statue.
"Damn you! What the hell are you trying to do?!"
Tonegawa, sensing something was off, shouted in frustration. "Are you working with Hikigaya?! You better think carefully about what happens when you piss off a senior!"
"It's not like Nagumo-senpai was planning to let me off easily anyway," Ayanokouji replied flatly. "He's been having you guys follow me, hasn't he? Or are you going to deny it?"
"Ugh…!"
"Tch, you first-years sure think highly of yourselves."
Tonegawa was visibly flustered by the accusation, while Gokyou grew impatient and charged forward.
"Enough talking! Move!"
He didn't hesitate—he raised his fist and swung straight at Ayanokouji.
At this moment, stopping the broadcast was their top priority.
However, in their blind rush, both Gokyou and Tonegawa had forgotten one crucial fact.
The intense pain from his right hand was nearly enough to make him pass out.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Let go!"
Seeing this, Tonegawa panicked and, without thinking, threw a punch as well.
Naturally, he met the same fate as Gokyou.
"Agh! It hurts! Let go of me!"
"W-Wait, stop it!"
At this moment, the two of Nagumo's followers looked like cooked shrimp, bent over at the waist and forced down onto their knees on the cold ground by Ayanokouji, one in each hand.
They desperately clutched Ayanokouji's arms, trying to pry themselves free, but it was completely useless.
"Senpai."
Ayanokouji's voice was devoid of any emotion as he looked at them impassively.
"Are you sure you want to fight me?"
As he spoke, he casually swung his arms and tossed both of them aside.
It was only then that Gokyou and Tonegawa suddenly recalled Ayanokouji's legendary feats.
Even though he had ultimately been punished with a school-wide announcement and forced to write a reflection letter, there was no denying that he was someone capable of taking on four opponents at once.
"You two should just leave," Ayanokouji advised indifferently. "The broadcast room isn't exactly accessible right now. You could always come back later if you insist."
"Tch… Let's go!"
Gokyou shot Ayanokouji a sharp glare, but seeing that the latter had no intention of stopping them, he quickly dragged Tonegawa toward the stairwell.
The priority right now was to find Nagumo—dealing with Ayanokouji could wait.
But Ayanokouji wasn't concerned. The hallway was monitored by security cameras, making it clear that he had only acted in self-defense.
After dealing with the two small fries, the broadcast suddenly changed.
[…! Hikigaya, ahhh!]
Nagumo's furious roar rang out, followed by a burst of indiscernible noise.
…A fight?
Ayanokouji's mind stirred, and he immediately took out his phone to send a message to Chabashira-sensei.
Then, he opened the door to the broadcast room and called out, "We're good, Katsuragi. It's about time we left."
There was no need to stay—Hikigaya could handle things from here.
"…Ah."
Katsuragi, seemingly shaken by what he had just heard on the broadcast, hesitated for a moment before nodding.
As they walked out of the broadcast room, he finally spoke in disbelief, "Ayanokouji… is what's happening inside real or not? Did you know all along?"
"What do you think?" Ayanokouji replied calmly.
"…Yeah, there's no way it's fake."
With that, Katsuragi let out a deep sigh, no longer in the mood to discuss the matter further.
He needed time to process everything.
Having been the 'model student' that other parents always compared their children to, Katsuragi had always held himself to high standards.
When it came to friendships, he didn't care much about grades—what mattered was a person's character.
Even someone as arrogant as Yahiko was, at most, just unpleasant in attitude. He would never stoop to anything truly immoral.
But now, the thought that Nagumo—the kind of person he was seeing now—was the student council president of Advanced Nurturing High School.
Even though he knew this was a school where strength ruled, it was still a shocking blow to his worldview.
Even Sakayanagi only backstabbed her classmates for the sake of power. Even Ryuuen extorted and fought people to establish his dominance.
But none of them crossed the line the way Nagumo did.
His actions were undoubtedly beyond the bounds of morality.
If that was the case… then siding with Hikigaya was only natural.
Katsuragi silently felt relieved that he had made the right choice.
—
Meanwhile, the student council office was in chaos.
In a fit of rage, Nagumo had punched Hikigaya, but that was all. His forehead was only slightly scraped, and a band-aid would be enough to cover it up.
Just then, Gokyou and Tonegawa burst into the room, panting.
Ignoring Hikigaya, who was still on the floor, the two hurriedly reported what had happened outside.
That was when Nagumo realized he had fallen into a trap.
Still, he didn't panic. He even had the leisure to sneer, "Hikigaya, I'll give you some credit—you're a bit clever. But so what if you've exposed me?"
"Nothing much. Just letting everyone see your true colors."
Hikigaya didn't bother wiping the blood from his forehead. Instead, he simply stood up.
He knew that Nagumo wasn't just bluffing—he truly had the confidence to back his words.
As long as he held the key to promoting others to Class A, the second-years would never abandon him.
Compared to the divided first and third years, Nagumo, who had complete control over the second years, undoubtedly held the most power in the school.
That was precisely why Hikigaya had chosen not to rely on an eavesdropping device… er, an in-car recording system.
If he had simply recorded the conversation and released it later, it would have meant engaging in a public opinion battle with Nagumo.
At that point, Nagumo could easily order his subordinates to spread false rumors—claims that the recording was fake, edited, or even an attempt by Hikigaya to frame him.
If that happened, Hikigaya would be dragged into an endless, bottomless swamp.
When it came to prestige and reputation, there was no way he could match Nagumo.
So, he had to use this method—announcing it over the school broadcast—leaving no room for anyone to make excuses for Nagumo.
Even those who wanted to step forward and speak on his behalf would have to consider the risks carefully.
While this might not be a fatal blow to Nagumo, as the saying goes, a dike a thousand miles long can collapse from an ant's nest.
As long as he kept chipping away at it bit by bit, even the most solid regime could suddenly collapse one day.
Hikigaya wasn't in a hurry. Everyone could take their time...
That was his original plan, at least. But now, things had taken an unexpected turn.
He hadn't expected Nagumo to deliver such a grand gift to him on a silver platter.
"So what if you know?"
Nagumo remained oblivious and sneered. "I'm still the student council president of this school, still sitting on Class A's throne. Do you think people's evaluation of me will drop because of this? Hikigaya, your little tricks might work against Sakayanagi, but they're useless against a truly formidable opponent."
In a way, he had a point.
Hikigaya was able to use a recording to bring down Sakayanagi, but the key wasn't how outrageous the recording itself was. It was because their class had once dropped to Class C.
Had Sakayanagi managed to maintain Class A's advantage, then Hikigaya would have been the one branded as a fool instead.
To put it bluntly, those people would have just held their noses and accepted it.
What else could they do?
No matter how extreme Sakayanagi's actions were, life had to go on. And nobody would want to lose the privileges of being in Class A.
However, this time, Nagumo had made a miscalculation.
"Nagumo, I'd advise you not to celebrate too soon."
Hikigaya took out his phone and snapped a selfie with his injury.
"Putting personal ethics aside, the fact remains that you attacked me in the student council office... Funny, I never expected you to lose control just from a few words. Seems like your mental fortitude isn't all that great."
"…Hmph, don't forget, there are no security cameras in this office."
Nagumo slightly regretted his outburst the moment he struck, but it was too late to take it back.
From an emotional standpoint, he truly wanted to teach Hikigaya a lesson.
Women didn't matter to him—whether it was Asahina or anyone else, they were just childhood friends at best.
But he couldn't stand Hikigaya bringing up Horikita Manabu.
Especially when Hikigaya seemed so smug about outmaneuvering him in that regard...
"What's wrong? You think being student council president makes you immune to punishment?"
"Say whatever you want. You can report me to the school."
Nagumo remained unfazed. A fight without solid proof was easy to brush off, as long as he wasn't caught in the act.
Besides, Hikigaya's injuries weren't serious. At worst, he'd just have to compensate him with some personal points.
But just then, the student council office door suddenly burst open.
"What on earth is going on here?!"
The person who walked in was Mashima-sensei, the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B.
Before Nagumo could react, Mashima-sensei ignored him completely and went straight to Hikigaya, who was now slumped in a chair. Bending down, he asked with concern:
"Hikigaya, how do you feel? Are you alright?"
"...Sensei..."
Hikigaya stared at Mashima-sensei for a moment before weakly replying:
"I feel... I feel dizzy. Nagumo hit me… I might have a concussion."
"Uh..."
The entire room fell into an awkward silence.
Nagumo cursed in his mind—This bastard was perfectly fine a second ago, and now he's playing dead?!
That tiny injury? If he waited a little longer, he'd probably recover on his own!
But Mashima-sensei was a responsible teacher. Since a student had voiced such a complaint, he wouldn't just ignore it.
"In that case, I'll take you to the infirmary immediately."
"No... no need to trouble yourself." Hikigaya weakly waved his hand. "I just need a little rest… But don't forget, Nagumo hit me."
"...Understood."
Even Mashima-sensei seemed exasperated, but this was still something that needed to be investigated.
He momentarily set Hikigaya aside and turned to the others. "Hikigaya claims that you were the one who hit him, Nagumo. Is that true? Or were all three of you involved?"
Hearing this, Gokyou and Tonegawa flinched.
They had only just arrived to report the situation and didn't know anything else. If they were mistaken for accomplices, they'd be in serious trouble.
Neither dared to speak rashly, instead looking at Nagumo anxiously.
Nagumo, however, remained calm and said in a low voice: "Mashima-sensei, I did it."
Since a teacher was involved, denying it would be pointless and would only backfire.
It was better to just admit it outright—after all, it wasn't a big deal.
"But I had a reason—Hikigaya provoked me first."
"And by 'provoked,' you mean what he said on the broadcast? Is that right?"
"That's... not entirely true."
Nagumo hesitated for a long moment before squeezing out a meaningless excuse.
Against students, he could do whatever he wanted—nobody could touch him.
Nagumo couldn't be so arrogant when facing a teacher.
Even though the teachers at Koudo Ikusei didn't play a major role in the exams, they were still present, and Nagumo didn't want to offend them unnecessarily.
Although Mashima-sensei didn't say anything outright, he strongly disapproved of Nagumo's actions.
If necessary, he would have liked to give this guy a proper lesson on school discipline.
However, that was something the homeroom teacher of Class 2-A should be concerned with, and it wasn't his place to interfere.
But now, Nagumo had been caught red-handed hitting someone, and Mashima-sensei felt it was his responsibility to get to the bottom of it.
Just then, a weak and listless voice came from behind him.
"Sensei, don't be too hard on Nagumo… If anything, I share some of the responsibility for this. It's not entirely his fault."
"You're saying we should just let this go?"
Mashima-sensei frowned.
It wasn't that he wanted Hikigaya to pursue the matter, but rather, he was surprised that Hikigaya wasn't doing so.
Otherwise, why would he be putting on this act?
Not to mention, Hikigaya had been the one to message him and call him over—there was no way this would simply end here.
Thinking about the current mess in his class, Mashima-sensei suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for Nagumo.
Sure enough, Hikigaya continued, "I think we should just forget about any punishment. It was just a moment of impulsiveness… So as long as Nagumo holds a reflection meeting and apologizes to me in front of the entire school, we can call it even."
"...What?"
"But it has to be a sincere one."
Hikigaya completely ignored Nagumo's murderous glare and even kindly offered him some advice.
"Do you remember the four key elements of writing a reflection that I mentioned before? If you're struggling, you can always ask Ayanokoji for help—he's quite experienced in this area."
[T/N: Well, reflection letters have an infamous history in this fic!]