Chapter 5: I'll Just Wash the Kelp Directly
Tristan saw Hayato shaking the Camera, and spoke up with some concern to remind him: "Hey, Kobayashi-kun, I went out of my way to borrow this from Miho-kun. Be careful with it, hold it steady, don't break it."
"You're even calling her Miho-kun now, looks like someone's quite interested in Nosaka-kun, huh?" Hayato said casually, but it made Tristan, who usually gave off a "fierce" impression, blush. Clearly, his feelings had been exposed. "Whoa, you're blushing! I guess you really don't get it~"
Ignoring Tristan, who was about to be cornered, Joey Wheeler shook his somewhat tired hand, grabbed Fujita's collar, and asked: "You bastard, I've never seen you around the School. Tell me! What were you going to do to Yugi Mutou!"
"_(`」∠)_ (I didn't want to do this, really!)" Fujita was dizzy from Joey Wheeler's rough handling, and his slurred speech seemed to be getting worse. "(ω)ノ (The Director made me do it.)"
"Director?" Joey Wheeler listened to Fujita's mumbling words, and it took him a while to barely make out a single word, which he repeated to himself repeatedly.
Before he could understand what "Director" Fujita was talking about, someone suddenly stood up from the nearby bushes, interrupting Joey Wheeler's train of thought: "Enough! Let go of him!"
Joey Wheeler turned his head to look in the direction the voice came from. The hand grabbing Fujita's collar subconsciously loosened, and Fujita, who hadn't reacted in time, fell heavily onto the ground again, letting out an "Ouch."
The Director, wearing a baseball cap backward, stood up from the bushes with a gloomy expression. He said to Fujita, who was lying on the ground: "Alright, alright, you worked hard, Fujita. You can step aside now."
"Director..." Fujita rubbed his backside. First, he looked at the Director's expression, then confirmed that Joey Wheeler had no intention of hitting him, and quickly scrambled up from the ground, running back to the bushes where the Director was.
"You're the Director planning to target Yugi Mutou?" Joey Wheeler furrowed his brow, his fists clenching with a "crackling" sound. He looked ready to strike immediately if the Director's words didn't satisfy him.
"Heh, don't get so worked up, kid. I was originally planning to put your friend on television." The Director said with a gloomy face.
"Using punches and kicks? That's really something. How about I give you a set too?" Hayato let go of Tristan, who was as lame as Binbin, and stepped forward with the Camera to stand alongside Joey Wheeler.
"What a shame. I could have gotten some pretty good Footage originally. 'Short Kid Gets School Bullying' - I bet that would attract the attention of a lot of overly sympathetic people, right? Too bad you guys ruined it." The Director shrugged and said with a sinister smile,
"But hey, the Footage I've gathered now isn't bad either. 'Staff Member Undercover in School Gets Bullied by Delinquents'. Although it won't be as profitable as the previous plan, as a bonus, you guys are going to suffer. That makes me happy, even if I earn a little less."
"What do you mean?" Joey Wheeler didn't understand the Director's meaning. Hayato explained: "It means he plans to film a program related to 'School Bullying'. Before, he chose Yugi Mutou, and now he's chosen you. The thing is, if this program airs, you, as the 'bully', are very likely to be expelled, Joey Wheeler."
"How could that be?!" Téa, who had explained the current situation clearly to Yugi Mutou, was quite surprised. "Didn't the Camera record what happened before? Yugi Mutou is the victim, and Joey Wheeler was just protecting Yugi Mutou."
"What an innocent little girl, completely ignorant of the world. There's a technique called Editing, you know?" The Director said with a sinister laugh. "With just a little simple manipulation, I can even twist black into white. Honestly, you kids are so naive, bullying you is just completely unsatisfying."
"You bast—" Joey Wheeler angrily wanted to rush forward and punch the annoying Director, but he had only taken one step forward when the Director suddenly called out to him: "Hey, wait a minute."
"You mean you actually know fear?"
"No, no, no, just a friendly reminder, kid." The Director had an unpleasant smile on his face as he strolled towards Joey Wheeler, pointing his hand towards the Cameraman behind him. "The Camera is still rolling right now. If you want to show off your violent behavior even more to the entire nation, go ahead and lay a hand on me?"
Joey Wheeler looked in the direction of the Cameraman. Just as the Director said, the Camera was still on. If he were to lay a hand on the Director, he would only be giving this annoying guy in front of him more evidence.
Walking up to Joey Wheeler, the Director took the Paper Tube in his hand, which was squeezed out of shape, and lightly tapped Joey Wheeler's face with it: "Are you really angry and frustrated, kid? This is exactly the expression I was hoping for, that look where you want to kill me but can't, hahaha—"
"Um, didn't you consider that there might be Surveillance Cameras here?" Hayato, standing beside Joey Wheeler, watched the Director's actions and put on a nerdy facade. "Surveillance Cameras record everything. Your crimes can't escape the constraints of the law."
"That's why I say, you kids are really adorably foolish." The Director glanced at Hayato contemptuously. "Did you think we adults would act impulsively without considering the consequences like you kids? Naive! I specifically chose this spot after investigating your School thoroughly. There aren't any Surveillance Cameras here."
"Oh, no Surveillance Cameras, huh?"
The weak-willed feeling on Hayato's face vanished instantly. He exchanged a look with Joey Wheeler beside him, and both simultaneously revealed a strange smile.
Just then, Joey Wheeler moved swiftly, instantly delivering a raised-leg knee strike. His hard knee collided with the Director's soft abdomen. With a single blow, he subdued the Director, who had been so smug just moments before.
"No Surveillance Cameras, and you still dared to be so arrogant?!"
The moment Joey Wheeler made his move, someone sprinted out from behind him. His bullet-like hairstyle announced his identity – it was none other than Tristan. Having gotten into fights with Joey Wheeler since middle school, he could guess what Joey Wheeler was thinking just by seeing him stick out his butt.
There wasn't even a need for a signal. Tristan rushed over to Fujita, who had just escaped Joey Wheeler's grasp, and slapped the other half of Fujita's face that wasn't swollen, helping his face become symmetrical.
The Cameraman was a bit flustered.
This isn't right. These students aren't playing by the rules. Everyone else tries to avoid being filmed, but these guys are practically shoving the evidence right in front of the lens. What's going on here?
Watching the Director being yelled at by Joey Wheeler – "Bastard! Damn it! Bastard! Hit him!" – and Fujita being shaken by the collar by Tristan while shouting "Muda Muda", the Cameraman started thinking about turning around and running away.
And just then, a hand landed on the Cameraman's shoulder.
Turning his head with a fearful heart, the Cameraman saw Kobayashi Hayato's rather "kind" smile: "Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Cameraman bro. It's not often you visit our High School, so you should at least do a question before you go, right?"
"Question: 1000 - 7 = ?"
(End of Chapter)