36 - Checkmate

"Have you finished posting it?"

It had been a day since I asked her for help. I was curious— had she completed her task yet?

If she had, I could move on to the next step immediately.

The girl on the phone took a moment to answer. "Yes... It should take some time for him to silence the media, especially since the star of the rumor is at school right now," she replied formally.

"Rion shouldn't be able to do anything at the moment. This is a vulnerable time for him," Ayase continued.

Just as I had predicted. At least, as long as he was still at school, he held no power.

"Alright. After all, I planned to strike him now," I responded.

"Thanks a lot, Nagi-kun."

I let out a relieved sigh upon hearing her reply. With a small laugh, I replied playfully, "You don't need to be so formal, Ayase-san. We're on the same team, aren't we? Besides, I should be the one thanking you."

"Thanks to your popularity, we were able to spread the rumor— so, really, thank you for helping us, Ayase-san," I added.

"..."

"Yeah, you're welcome."

The girl hung up right after our business with Rion was done.

I scratched my head awkwardly.

What a cold girl...

Well, we were just using each other anyway. It was surprising enough that she even bothered to thank me.

I had asked for her help based on information from Akane: Katou Ayase was Rion's ex-girlfriend from middle school. I figured she might still hold some grudges against him.

So, I contacted her a day ago for assistance. Honestly, Chiharu alone as an influencer would have sufficed. But Ayase’s involvement was helpful. Despite having similar popularity levels, the two girls worked in different fields.

Chiharu was more of a model, while Ayase was a content creator. Ayase's influence slightly outweighed Chiharu’s. Naturally, that would allow us to move more freely.

It was like a chess technique called the "Fork", where I forced my opponent to face attacks from two directions at once. Rion had no choice but to either move forward foolishly as I wanted, or surrender in despair.

"Well well well. It's time for you to take the bait, Rion-san," I murmured while closing my phone and slipping it into my pocket.

The sound of heavy footsteps, accompanied by the distant screams of some girls, echoed through the hallway.

"So, he’s the type of guy who can't control his emotions, huh?" I leaned against the wall, my eyes fixed on the CCTV and the sports equipment storage room.

After a moment, Rion finally appeared before me. His footsteps were heavy, his sharp gaze locked onto me, and his fists clenched tightly. I noticed faint traces of blood on his knuckles, though it wasn't too obvious.

Yikes.

I swallowed nervously. "Hmm... What is a boy named Rion doing here?" I asked awkwardly.

Rion stopped in his tracks as soon as he was in front of me. For a moment, he glanced around, scanning left and right, then lifted his head. It seemed he had noticed the CCTV recording him.

"I know all about your dirty tricks, Nagi!"

He grabbed my collar tightly. His jaw clenched, and he stared at me with an intimidating look, as if trying to scare me.

"Oh no...!? Damn, has my plan been exposed?" I blurted out.

Rion kept gripping my uniform collar without any sign of letting go.

"Well... Can we talk this out peacefully?"

Ignoring my plea for peace, Rion roughly tugged at my uniform, his grip tightening. Without hesitation, he threw me with all his strength into the sports equipment storage room.

My body hit the rack at the back hard, causing stacks of shuttlecocks to fall and hit my head one by one. "Ugh..! Damn it, ow, ow!"

Rion cracked his knuckles a few times while glaring at me disdainfully. "Let’s hear it then. WHY DID YOU DARE TO SPREAD THAT RUMOR?"

"DIDN’T I TELL YOU NOT TO CAUSE TROUBLE? UNLESS YOU WANT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN TO AKANE-SAN?!" he shouted angrily. His eyes were full of rage. I was certain that in his current state, no words of mine would reach him. So, I decided to stay silent.

"Nagi. Aren't you worried about your childhood friend? WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HER NOW?" Rion pressed, emphasizing his last words.

Of course, I wasn’t worried. After all, Akane was with Yuichi and the others right now. Even if something happened, I could rush there immediately.

I stared at him sharply. "Oi! Rion. What exactly are you planning to do to Akane-san because of my actions spreading the rumor?"

Rion's lips curled into a twisted grin, exposing his oddly sharp teeth.

"I'll teach her a lesson because of your foolishness— and then… THEN..! I’ll give her a bonus lesson for insulting me every time we meet." Though he seemed to be responding to my question, Rion looked as if he were talking to himself. His pupils darted aimlessly, and his breathing grew heavier.

"And AFTER THAT! When she’s weak and defenseless... I'll play with her body until morning," he continued.

Is this guy a psychopath? What a lunatic.

"Ah—! I almost forgot about you." Rion snapped out of his wild fantasies and yanked my hair roughly. The force he exerted made me stand up unwillingly; I had no choice unless I wanted my hair to ripped out.

Our faces were now inches apart. I could only glare at him sharply, gritting my teeth.

Seeing his face this close made my hands itch with the urge to punch him. But now wasn’t the right time…

"Watch your gaze," Rion said curtly.

BAM!

"UGH!" He punched me with all his might, sending me stumbling backward. My cheek reddened from the impact, and blood began to drip from my nose.

Hold it... Hold it…

In the midst of the tension, Rion suddenly asked, "Her name is Ueda Yuichi, right?"

Huh..?

"Your girlfriend's name," he said casually, followed by a small laugh.

Hearing that, I instinctively straightened my posture. My anger slowly rise. Without realizing it, my fists clenched tightly, and my gaze fixed on Rion with unyielding focus. "Don’t drag her into this. Yuichi has nothing to do with this."

Rion smirked mockingly. "Nonsense. I know you're in cahoots with her. That's why... I'll also teach her an extra lesson too— just like the one I’ll give your precious friend, Akane."

"Don’t you wonder what your girlfriend’s reaction will be— when I punch her in the face?" Rion continued. He said it so casually, as if he were used to hurting others. Slowly, Rion tilted his head upward, glaring down at me. Did he still think he had the upper hand?

Rion, you’ve crossed the line. No— since the beginning, you were out of line. I won’t forgive you for bringing Yuichi and Akane into this.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I carefully rolled up my sleeves. Wiping the blood from my nose, I tightened my fists.

Checkmate.

"CUT!" I shouted loudly.

"Huh? Have you lost your mind?" Rion asked, confused.

What an idiot.

Does he still not realize that his actions have been recorded all this time?

"From here on, my actions will count as self-defense, okay? You hit me first." I raised my clenched hand.

Rion froze for a moment, his laughter breaking out when he saw me adjusting my stance.

But in a split second, that laughter vanished. Thanks to his arrogance, I quickly gathered all my strength into my hand and struck him squarely in the jaw, knocking him out cold in one punch.

His body slowly crumpled to the floor, his expression pathetic.

"Mhm." I nodded in satisfaction as I watched him collapse, foam spilling from his mouth. "Kaito, you can come out now."

Hearing my cue, Kaito threw off the box he had been hiding under. "Ugh, it’s so hot in there!"

"How’s the video?"

"Perfect." Kaito gave me a thumbs-up. But his expression faltered when he noticed the blood streaming from my nose. "By the way, are you okay? Your nose is bleeding a lot."

"Doesn’t it hurt?" Kaito asked again.

"OF COURSE IT HURTS, YOU IDIOT!" I yelled in frustration.

Kaito quickly covered his ears. "Geez! No need to shout!"

"Sorry. I guess I’m just a little sensitive today."

"By the way, how was my acting?" I asked eagerly. Did you notice? I was pretending to be scared to lure Kaito into the storage room, you know? I kept up the act until I yelled CUT.

"Pretty good. Take a look," Kaito replied, carefully showing me the recorded video.

I nodded in satisfaction.

"Still, why didn’t we just go with my plan?" Kaito asked, puzzled.

"Too barbaric oi!" I replied curtly.

Initially, Kaito had suggested a different plan— kidnapping Rion or knocking him out on the spot, then interrogating him afterward. However, Akane argued that such an action was far too excessive.

Akane was right— if we followed through with that plan, the Yamamoto family might have a chance to counter-strike our attacks. After a long discussion, we decided to stick with the acting plan instead.

"But… did we really have to sacrifice my face for this?" I muttered while carefully rubbing my aching nose.

I then gave a faint smile, exhaling a sigh of relief.

Well, at least we had the evidence in hand now. With this, we could proceed to the final step of our plan to take down Rion.

"Oh yeah, I need to send a message to the spiritual club group. If I recall correctly, Chiharu-san is part of this group, right?"

"Oi. Rion’s knocked out now— anyone want to take turns punching him?" As soon as the message was sent, three members immediately read it: Akane, Yuichi, and Chiharu.

A few minutes later, the three of them arrived at the scene after sprinting at full speed. They stared at the unconscious Rion with blazing eyes, their fists clenched tightly.

Poor guy.

WHACK!

WHACK!

WHACK!

"Wait, I haven’t had my turn yet!" Kaito signaled the three girls to step back before delivering the final blow to Rion’s already battered face.

BAM!

TO BE CONTINUED.