Chapter 316: Brotherhood Begins to Warp

"In short, this incident showed you another side of Rinji. A weird one, sure, but still a part of him," Sagara said with a chuckle. "But from my perspective, the fact that he's willing to participate in group activities is already a huge win."

It was indeed a good thing. Not just because Rinji was opening up, but also because when in girl-mode, he was far less likely to cause trouble.

However—

"Just to confirm, is Rinji still wearing the girl's outfit?"

"No," said Ishigami. "He changed already."

"Ah… that's… not ideal."

"What do you mean, Sagara-sensei? Will something happen?" Shirogane asked.

"It's not like something bad will definitely happen, but... it's complicated."

Sagara rubbed her temple.

"Although he was dressed up from a young age, as he grew older, he started to understand that it was inappropriate and developed a sense of shame. Since the personality changes happen unconsciously, once the outfit is off, all the shame hits him at once. And then..."

"And then what?"

"He becomes aggressive."

---

BOOM!!

CRASH!!

"AAAAAGHH—"

From a dojo behind Shuchiin Academy, loud crashes and screams erupted. A student wearing a judo gi and a black belt flew through a broken window.

Inside the dojo, the remaining judo club members surrounded Rinji, all in defensive stances and visibly sweating.

The judo club captain—also part of the student union council—was drenched in cold sweat as he watched Rinji calmly standing in the center.

Everyone had been going about their usual training when Rinji suddenly barged in and said he wanted to "take on ten."

The club captain initially didn't want to allow it, but Rinji baited them with, "If any of you can land a hit, your club budget next semester doubles."

That got the boys fired up, and they accepted the challenge.

Then...

BAM!

One student rushed at Rinji and was immediately knocked out by a single spinning kick.

Counting the student who flew out the window, the floor was already littered with more than ten unconscious members.

"Next," Rinji said coldly.

"..."

Nobody dared move. The heat of their earlier resolve was gone. Now they just stood there, circling him, paralyzed by fear.

Rinji was full of suppressed rage. He needed to do something.

Something only a true man would do.

He recalled something his father once told him.

—

Flashback:

Years ago, young Rinji and his father had gone to the movies.

The film was the classic martial arts movie named Ip Man.

When Master Ip said, "I'll fight ten," and knocked out ten Japanese officers, Rinji's father, munching popcorn beside his son, leaned over and said, "Son, you see that? That's what a real man looks like."

"Hm?"

Little Rinji swallowed his popcorn and blinked his red eyes.

"But Dad, I could beat a thousand of those guys."

"No, it's not about that. It's about having the courage to face certain death and never back down. Understand?"

"Uhh… I think so?"

—

But clearly, Rinji didn't understand.

He had never faced true desperation before. What stuck with him was just that iconic line—"I'll fight ten."

Now, post-crossdressing shame and aggression welling up inside, he went straight to the judo club to boost his "manliness" stat by beating up ten people.

BAM!

With one final punch, no one in the dojo was left standing.

Rinji pulled out a tissue and calmly wiped his fists. He turned his gaze to the judo club captain, whose sweat was now forming a puddle beneath him.

"Your turn."

"Wait, me too!?"

"Obviously."

"But you've already fought ten people!"

"'Ten' was just a number. I plan on fighting many more."

"..."

The judo captain knew—there was no escape today.

---

"Phew…"

Rinji leaned against the wall outside, lighting a cigarette, feeling fully refreshed after the beatdown.

Today had been unusually frustrating.

Ever since he wore that girl's outfit, everyone in the student council had looked at him differently.

He'd always been the tough, iron-willed type. Why did a brief costume switch completely change how they saw him?

Was appearance really that important?

He didn't get it.

"Ah, Rinji, there you are."

While Rinji was smoking, Ishigami had just walked out from the student council office. The moment he stepped out, he saw Rinji leaning against the wall with a cigarette in his mouth.

Rinji noticed him, took a drag, flicked the cigarette to the ground, crushed it underfoot, and waved him over.

"Hey, Ishigami, come here for a sec."

"Uh..."

He had heard from Kaname that Rinji was extremely irritable these days. Thinking back to how Rinji willingly crossdressed, he couldn't shake the feeling that if he went over, he might get punched.

Still, he walked over in the end.

"Rinji, I really don't think you need to get angry about this. After all..."

"Relax, this was the cheer squad's idea. Blame goes where it's due."

"That's good."

Hearing that, Ishigami let out a breath of relief.

But just as he relaxed, Rinji suddenly grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him right in front of him.

"Ishigami, how exactly do you see me? What kind of image am I in your eyes?"

"Uh..."

Ishigami tried to come up with an answer, but being this close and thinking about what just happened made him blush a little.

"The hell? Why are you blushing?"

"I didn't mean to..."

"I mean, we're supposed to be brothers, right?"

"Of course."

"Then why do I feel like... our brotherhood is starting to turn weird on your end?" Rinji narrowed his eyes.

"You're overthinking it."

Ishigami averted his gaze, not daring to meet Rinji's eyes.

"I've always seen you as a brother."

"And this is how you treat your brother?"

"You said it was the cheering squad's idea," Ishigami muttered. "Besides, crossdressing doesn't look bad on you. You looked beautiful and gentle back then."

"What did you just say!?"

"No, I mean—Rinji, think about it! I joined the cheering squad with you."

"So what?"

"So if you have to crossdress, then I have to too. That makes sense, right?"

"...I guess that makes sense."

"Exactly. As brothers, we should go through tough times together," Ishigami declared. "That's what I'm doing, so our brotherhood hasn't changed."

"...That kind of makes sense."