Third Person PoV

Hello everyone! PoV-chan here!

It's been a while, huh? Lumine was seriously considering on letting this fic silently die and disintegrate to dust...

I mean, I thought Lumine would pull through with it! But Lumine didn't!

And for what?

Just because of some random wattpad comment in this fic's early chapters? Seriously? That easy? You've gotta be kidding me. I wonder what comment revived Lumine back into this fic because that's pretty absurd since Lumine isn't that easy to sway--

FINE!

No need to be rude!

Hmph.

Anyways...

" A....Ayanokoji...?" Ibuki said in shock as her eyes locked on the boy who'd just entered the rooftop.

Huh? What? This fast?!

We're already at the rooftop scene?!

For Kamipon's sake, slow down--

" Ayanokoji-kun,,,,y-you....actually came?" Manabe, who was on the ground spoke in shock. Her manga year 1 hairstyle was completely redone by Ryuen himself. Yep, our not-so-friendly neighborhood tyrant threatened and bullied Manabe by cutting her hair and shaving it down to the hairstyle you see in Classroom of the Elite season 2!

Kiyopon takes out his notebook and begins writing.

it said.

Manabe squints her eyes.

" What the hell does that say?! YOU THINK I COULD READ THAT FAR????" She exclaims in disbelief.

Kiyopon widens his eyes a bit in realization. Indeed, it was not right for him to assume that Manabe could read his notebook from his distance. A mistake on his end.

" kUKUKU!" Ryuen drops the scissors in his hand. The metal landing on the floor as it made a 'clanking' sound. " Well, well! Isn't this a suprise. " the magenta haired dinosaur smirks and glances towards Manabe. " You were quite lucky, Shiho. I didn't think X would actually come and save you....seeing as how he ratted your identity without a care earlier." He says in an amused tone.

' Ayanokoji-kun....why did you.....' Manabe thought to herself in confusion. She wondered why he'd come after having ignored ( she assumed ) her messages for weeks......until this moment.

" W-Wait.....this SKINNY GUY is X?!" Ishizaki finally says something.

" Oh I don't know Ishizaki." Ryuen chuckles, " Maybe he's just some random fodder that X sent in his place."

" Oh? really? Phew, that's goo-"

" OF COURSE THAT'S X , DUMBASS!" Ryuen barks as he slapped the back of Ishizaki's head.

" Ow!" Ishizaki yelps in pain.

Meanwhile, Ibuki was the most shocked out of them all. She clenches her fists and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she couldn't believe it. Not one bit.

" No...you're not X, Ayanokoji..." She mutters and Ryuen hears it. He turns to her. " Oh? What makes you say that, Ibuki?" He asks her and gauges her expressions.

Ibuki turns to him, shaking her head vehemently in denial, " It can't be him. It just CAN'T!" She then points to Kiyopon. " This guy wouldn't hurt a fly! I'm telling you. "

" Oh spare me the denial." Ryuen chuckles. " Nah, it's him. "

" No! Listen to me for a second--"

" Oh for god's sake, what the hell do you intend to come up with, Ibuki? You in love with this bastard or something?" Ryuen asks bluntly.

Ibuki ignores that. " This guy must've been sent in X's place. Think about it, why would X HIMSELF come here? If X predicted your previous moves till now, then wouldn't he have also had readied some precautions in case you'd force some sort of physical confrontation? If he's some big brain mastermind , wouldn't he be prepared to send a decoy in his place?" Ibuki tries to reason, and Ryuen had to admit that she does share a few valid points there.

However,

" Fishy as this may seem, " Ryuen wasn't convinced. " This guy is indeed X. I've had my eye on him for a while now, his connection to Horikita, his connection to Karuizawa. And the fact he was present during our interrogation with Koenji.....not to mention the fact that this guy had been absent from his class for a month or so." He enumerates his own reasons.

" For someone to disappear just like that, isn't that suspicious?" Ryuen asks Ibuki with a smirk.

" But--"

" Tell me, Ayanokoji." Ryuen takes a step forward, still keeping the distance between himself and Kiyopon. " Are you X?" he asks straight again.

" No." Kiyopon responds.

His eyes weren't focused on Ryuen at all, instead they've always been gazing at Manabe.

" I'm just a friend of Manabe that's going to rescue her from this situation." His eyes finally look at Ryuen. " Even if it means taking all of you down."

Kiyopon spoke softly and calmly. He was on the point with Ryuen with absolutely no reason to hide his intentions.

"...Pft...Kukuku!" Ryuen begins laughing hysterically. " Really now? Kukuku! " Ryuen and everyone else in the roof top was caught off-guard by Kiyopon's answer. Manabe's lips quivered, fighting the urge to cry and another urge to smile. Maybe Kiyopon didn't mean it, maybe it was just his false side speaking those words.

She couldn't tell.

But it doesn't matter. The fact that he called himself her ' friend'. She recalled the time when he told her how this would end, during that time, she wanted to ask him.

' When this is all over....could we be friends?' Call her insane, but that's what she wanted from him. She wanted to talk with him freely, without having to act under the pretense of a task assigned by him. She wanted to discover his real self....she wanted him to be comfortable around her with his real self.

A selfish wish, but it's what she wanted.

" Taking us all down? Now that's a funny and interesting statement to hear from you, Ayanokoji. But before that, it seems Ibuki is especially insistent on having you leave unharmed. Mind filling in the blanks and confirm that you are the bastard behind everything?" Ryuen says.

" I'm telling you, he isn't--"

" Whether or not I elaborate the proof you need...to confirm the person you deem me to be. It doesn't matter." Kiyopon interrupts. " I just want to take back Manabe. That's why I came here."

" You can expose my so-called identity as the mastermind behind Class D's victories, and I'd be fine. However, if you harm Manabe any further, or harm any of the people within my class...." he trails off, his eyes slowly turning sharp as he glares at the tyrant of Class C.

" You'll pay for it dearly, Ryuen."

Ryuen's smile drops.

" So you're really not here to humor for even a second? After everything I set up for this confrontation to happen, you're going to ignore all of it? Just to save Manabe and play the role of Hero?" Ryuen deadpans.

" B-Boss...why don't we just give Manabe back-"

" Shut up, Ishizaki." Ryuen says, gritting his teeth. He was starting to feel pissed off with the way this situation is turning out. This isn't how this was supposed to go, everything is supposed to be in HIS favor and Ayanokoji should be feeling trapped like the prey he is.

And yet...with all the odds stacked against him, he still has the gall to threaten him on the enemy's side of the battlefield. Not willing to entertain the war and making it seem like Ryuen was the only truly invested while the other guy merely saw it as a task needed to be done or some sort of game to pass the time.

No, this can't be how this ends. At least, that's what Ryuen believes.

He walks towards Manabe, and Manabe shivered as she looked at him approaching her, her mind quickly identified a bad premonition that's soon to take place. Ishizaki and Ibuki looked towards Ryuen, wondering what he's about do but knowing his nature, they already had an idea in mind.

Their boss is stubborn, but never angry like this.

" So you came for this girl, huh, hero?" Ryuen says as he looms over Manabe's figure.

Kiyopon didn't respond, only stared at him silently.

" If that's the case...then...."

He grabs her by back of her head, gripping her hair tightly. He yanks her forcefully to make her stand up.

" A-Ahh! S-Stop it! " She yells in pain as she reluctantly takes a stand with Ryuen's grip still on her hair.

" Ayanokoji, what do you think is the most powerful force in this world?" He asks him.

Again, Kiyopon doesn't bother responding. This time, he refuses to communicate whatsoever.

Ryuen grins, hiding his secret irritation. " It's violence. Extreme violence can make anyone heed to your will, as long as you remain on top then the people at the bottom will follow you. That's how the idiot good-for-nothings in Class C continue to follow my orders no matter harsh the treatment I give them."

" Ryuen! Enough!" Ibuki finally spoke, snapping out of her trance. She only cooperated with Ryuen for class points sake, but now this was unnecessary. " Let her go. There's nothing you can do-"

" AHHH! L-LET ME GO!" Manabe cries.

" RYUEN!" Ibuki takes a step forward but immediately halts once Ryuen gave her the look which told her that if she tries to get in his way....that there'll be far harsher consequences.

Ishizaki watched this happen, his body feeling rigid. The situation is spiraling out of control. He's spiraling out of control. What is with Ryuen's obsession of conquering the mastermind?

" Ishizaki." Ryuen calls out to his subordinate. The latter is alarmed and quickly looks at Ryuen. The magenta-haired boy only narrowed his eyes and gave a single nod and Ishizaki immediately understood what he needed to carry out. But should he do it?

He doesn't want this.

Especially in the physical state Kiyopon is right now. What the hell happened to him?

However, Ishizaki has no choice but to follow. He forms a fist as he approaches Kiyopon.

" Ayanokoji, no hard feelings. You shouldn't have come here." Ishizaki decided to say.

" Don't you dare hold back, Ishizaki!" Ryuen warns.

' Damn it.' Ishizaki thinks as he prepares to seriously punch the silent boy before him. He doesn't want to do this, this is wrong but what can he do?

" Ayanokoji-kun!" Manabe screams.

Bam!

Fist meets head contact, Ishizaki held nothing back as he threw his strongest right hook. But something was amiss...

The punch did land successfully....but that's actually the root of the problem.

" Y...You didn't dodge....?" Ishizaki asks out of shock.

Kiyopon absorbed that punch completely, his face was turned to the other side due to the momentum. A visible mark was left on Kiyopon's cheek, he slowly turns his head to look at Ishizaki with an expression that showed no visible sign of him feeling pain.

" What the..." Ishizaki subconsciously takes a step back.

" I-Ishizaki?" Ibuki stutters.

" Ishizaki, what the hell are you doing. Didn't I tell you to not hold back?!" Ryuen roars.

Something uncomfortable tugged Ishizaki's heart strings as Kiyotaka stared him down. He couldn't tell what it was that was scaring him, but he figures that something bad will indeed happen if he chooses to punch him again.

" Get him, Ishizaki!" Ryuen orders.

" But boss, I don't think-- AGH!"

Suddenly, Ishizaki was met with a palm strike to the chest which knocked the air out of his lungs, it prevents him from breathing for a few seconds due to the shock. But Kiyotaka didn't stop here, he began palm striking Ishizaki's face as well which stunned him and dazed his vision till eventually Kiyotaka ended the quick combo with a punch to the jaw, knocking Ishizaki out cold completely.

Ibuki was stunned by the speed of Kiyotaka.

' Ayanokoji...?' Manabe thinks in shock. She didn't think he could take down Ishizaki that fast, and his striking speed was too blurry to catch on.

Ryuen paused, processing what had just happened. But a small grin began forming on his lips as the excitement finally rises. This is what he wanted to see.

" KUKUKUKU! NOW THAT'S IT! FINALLY, SOMETHING WORTH THE DAMN WAIT!" He laughs even more.

Ibuki gets into a fighting stance as she glares at Kiyotaka. " I don't want to hurt you. But..." She trails off, not knowing what to say. This was too much for her to understand.

Is this guy....this innocent guy really the one Ryuen is after?

' No. This isn't the time to question it. This is Ayanokoji's fault for coming here, whether he's X or not. He didn't take the chance to leave. I'll just knock him out quick and get this over with.' She resolves herself in her thoughts.

Kiyopon takes off his blazer and drops it on the ground as he got ready into fighting stance. His eyes betrayed no emotion, just pure concentration on the task at hand. He knows what Ibuki is capable of, and unlike Ishizaki, the girl in front of him possesses actual skill in fighting due to her martial arts background proven by what happened during the island exam.

" ! " Ibuki rushes forward and proceeds to try and hit him with a flying kick. Kiyotaka evades it and steps to the side, making sure some distance was kept between them for now.

But as soon as Ibuki landed on the ground, she proceeds to throw more kicks towards him. Roundhouse. front kicks, spinning kicks, the list never ends as her stamina seemed endless. Kiyotaka blocks most with his arms on guard while also looking out for the possible low sweep kicks she might do.

He also caught a glimpse of her panties but that didn't really matter.

After a minute of having to endure her relentless attacks, Kiyotaka finally sees an opening when she telegraphed her huge roundhouse kick. Timing it perfectly, he does a low sweep to defenseless foot and tripped her on the ground.

" Augh!" Ibuki's eyes widened in suprise. She immediately tried to get back up but Kiyotaka had already followed up with an attack of his own. Before she could even try to dodge, he had already striked her nerve points on both of her arms, rendering her mobility for the time being.

" Just stay down." he says to her, softly this time.

" You-" But the words got caught in her throat once she noticed that look in his eyes. He didn't want to hurt her, nor did he want to hurt Ishizaki.

A realization begins forming itself within her mind.

" Ayanokoji...you..." Before she could finish what she wanted to say, Kiyotaka quickly dodged a huge right hook from Albert's massive arm.

And now, the battle moves to Kiyotaka versing the most intimidating figure in Ryuen's group. Kiyotaka could see his own reflection from Albert's black shades.

With the way, Kiyotaka's physical state is right now. Absorbing a serious punch from Albert will be a game-ender. Not only that, but the problem also lies within his own ability to dish out the damage necessary to put Albert down. This requires extra care.

Kiyotaka immediately dodges a jab thrown by Albert, followed up with a powerful straight, to which Kiyotaka also dodged. Kiyotaka finds an opening and punches Albert on the body, but it had little to no effect. Kiyotaka's current physical state was finally showing in this fight. Even at peak condition, Kiyotaka would still have to be careful around a guy as huge as Albert.

Kiyotaka begins distancing himself while evading Albert's jabs and straights. Kiyotaka has a plan in mind in order to take Albert down. He just has to lead Albert towards a certain spot on the rooftop and deal with him there.

Albert doesn't seem to be aware of what Kiyotaka is doing at this moment, even if he did, he never would've predicted what Kiyotaka was about to do. Albert throws another huge right hook and Kiyotaka finally takes the opportunity to duck and grab his blazer from off the ground.

He tightens it up. This action confused Albert a bit and made him wonder about what Kiyotaka was trying to do. But he didn't let such thoughts stay in his mind for too long as he proceeded to continue his onslaught of attacks to which Kiyotaka keeps dodging over and over again, even throwing some counters of his own ( But again, it doesn't affect much even with his current full strength due to his physical status ).