Chapter 23: The Hidden Camera Plan

The dimly lit café at night cast a warm glow on the three students seated in a quiet corner. Ibuki sat stiffly, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable.

Since childhood, she had developed an aloof personality, disinterested in socializing. Enrolling at Advanced Nurturing High School, she hadn't cared much about class rankings or school politics. She had simply hoped for a straightforward path to graduation.

However, on the very first day of school, she encountered a man she absolutely could not stand—Ryuen Kakeru.

Ibuki didn't particularly care about who held the position of Class C's leader, but she despised being coerced into decisions she didn't agree with. More than anything, she detested being forced into submission.

So, when Ryuen challenged her, she had not hesitated to strike first.

Despite her small stature, she possessed martial arts experience and had honed her own unique combat style—a focus on powerful kicks.

She had initially thought that putting Ryuen in his place with her superior technique would be enough. However, she soon realized her mistake.

Ryuen wasn't necessarily the strongest fighter—his skill was average at best. But he had one dangerous quality that set him apart from others.

He didn't fear pain.

Even after being beaten to a pulp by Albert, he refused to concede. He simply took time to recover before jumping right back into the fight.

Ibuki had never encountered anyone quite like him.

She knew it was only a matter of time before Ryuen managed to wear Albert down, eventually securing control over Class C. Not that she particularly cared—until now.

Hearing Hikaru claim that the class representative had authority over everyone's Private Points, she felt a surge of frustration bubble inside her.

The thought of that disgusting man controlling the financial lifeline of their entire class made her stomach turn.

Her voice was laced with icy disdain as she finally spoke. "What do you want me to do?"

"Simple. Ryuen hasn't fully seized control of Class C yet, which means he isn't the official class representative," Hikaru said, recognizing that she had taken the bait. His plan was already halfway to success.

Observing Ibuki's expression, he continued in a coaxing tone. "You might not be afraid of Ryuen, but let's be real—others will eventually cave to his tactics. If he manages to consolidate power, he'll force a class-wide vote. And when that happens, you'll have no choice but to accept his rule. I'm guessing that's not a future you want to see?"

"Tch… Damn right it's not," Ibuki muttered, her annoyance palpable.

She didn't care who led Class C—but Ryuen definitely wasn't an option.

"Ichinose-san, explain our plan to Ibuki-san," Hikaru prompted. "We need to set things in motion as soon as possible."

Ichinose nodded with a gentle smile. She had spent the afternoon building rapport with Ibuki, which had been no easy task. The girl had been outright hostile at first, refusing to trust her in the slightest.

But Ichinose had persevered, using her experience as a former class president to slowly break the ice. After repeatedly emphasizing that she had something important to discuss, Ibuki had begrudgingly agreed to this meeting.

"The plan is simple," Ichinose began. "We need you to lure Ryuen into a situation where he's forced to attack you. We'll be nearby, recording the whole thing."

She paused before elaborating, "Once we have video evidence, we'll submit it to the Student Council for review. That will guarantee that Ryuen gets suspended."

Ibuki frowned. "That's it? Suspension isn't permanent. He'll just come back."

"You're right," Hikaru interjected smoothly. "But that's not the whole picture. We need him out of the way because we're planning something big with Class C. And since we've seen how he operates, we can't trust him. This is the only way to move forward."

Ibuki narrowed her eyes. "You're planning something with my class?"

"That's a conversation for another time," Hikaru replied cryptically. "Once Ryuen is suspended, Ichinose and I will visit Class C in person to discuss the details. Trust me, it'll be worth your while."

Ibuki leaned back in her chair, contemplating his words. "...Tch. Who knows what you're really up to."

She didn't trust Hikaru in the slightest.

But she hated Ryuen more.

"I assume you don't just want me to beat the crap out of him, right?" she asked, her voice tinged with sarcasm.

"That's right," Ichinose chimed in. "Even though you can win against him, we don't want the video to show a fair fight. We need footage of him acting as the aggressor—him being the bully."

"So you just want me to dodge?"

"Exactly."

Ibuki scoffed but ultimately nodded. "Fine. I'll play along."

"Great." Hikaru's smile deepened. "Now, when do we set this up?"

"Hmm…" Ichinose tilted her head and turned to Hikaru. "What do you think, Hikaru-kun?"

"The sooner, the better."

Hikaru glanced at the café's clock. It was nearing closing time.

"Ideally, tomorrow. We can't give Ryuen time to react. Ibuki-san, do you think you can challenge him to a fight tomorrow?"

"Easy. I'll tell him I refuse to acknowledge him as our leader. That should be enough to piss him off."

"Good. Let's exchange contact info. Keep an eye on your class tomorrow. Once you find a good moment, tell him." Hikaru's eyes gleamed with determination. "Everything depends on timing—we can't afford any slip-ups."

Ibuki snorted. "Yeah, yeah. I got it."

After exchanging numbers, they wrapped up their meeting and left the café.

Under the soft glow of the moon, Ichinose walked beside Hikaru, her expression tinged with melancholy.

Hikaru, who had come to recognize her subtle shifts in mood, asked, "Is this about earlier? Because I asked you to lie?"

"Yeah…" Ichinose's voice was quiet, uncharacteristically subdued. "I know it was necessary to convince Ibuki-san, but… lying still feels wrong."

"You're overthinking it," Hikaru said gently. "Look at it this way—we're reducing the amount of violence on campus. If we take Ryuen out of the equation, fewer people in Class C will get hurt."

He paused before adding, "But if you still feel bad after everything's done, we'll apologize to Ibuki-san together. We'll explain why we did it."

Ichinose fell silent.

After a long moment, she lifted her head and met Hikaru's gaze. Her striking blue eyes shimmered under the night sky.

"Hikaru-kun… Will you ever lie to me?"

"…"