In the end, he couldn't resist.
On their way back, Kaoru kept reflecting on his actions while pretending not to hear whatever Airi was muttering beside him.
Earlier, he had tactfully suggested she adjust her skirt, and she had finally punched him—with no less force than anyone else could muster.
Now, Airi was clutching her skirt tightly, terrified of accidentally exposing herself again, her gaze full of wariness as she glared at Kaoru.
Though she was the one who took the initiative to invite him—an act that could be called bold and audacious—she now stared at Kaoru as if he were a criminal, leaving one at a loss for words.
After leaving the special teaching building, Kaoru glanced at the sky.
It was nearly evening, and few figures could be seen on the road.
"Airi, I think even Karuizawa and the others would be interested in your photography."
Worried that Sakura Airi might misunderstand his words, Kaoru added, "Scenery like this—I think they'd like it too."
Airi was always running around alone with her camera.
After the incident with the shop clerk and now with Haruki Yamauchi popping up recently, Kaoru felt it was dangerous for her to continue like this.
If it were anyone else, he wouldn't be so concerned, but the problem was that Airi's personality made her inherently bad at handling such situations.
"I... I understand."
Airi didn't seem as resistant anymore. "Will... Kaoru come too?"
"I'll drop by when I'm free. Besides, the student council won't have as much work in a few days."
Kaoru couldn't help but think of Nagumo Miyabi.
Rumor had it he was recruiting new members and had even set his sights on Kiryuin Fūka.
Airi felt a little happy and followed behind him.
Though they were the same age, his back inexplicably gave off a tall, imposing presence.
His slightly slender shoulders carried a youthful air, and as she slowly matched his pace, she could secretly steal glances at his profile—the sharp, masculine line of his jaw, the Adam's apple brimming with masculine hormones—everything made Airi's heart race.
Before she knew it, Airi found herself staring at his hands—knuckles distinct, fingers slender and long—stirring a restless feeling within her.
Kaoru was completely unaware.
He thought he was the one with improper thoughts about Airi, but in truth, Airi harbored the same improper thoughts about him.
"Wh-why are you two together?!"
Someone suddenly shouted.
Airi flinched and quickly hid behind Kaoru, timidly peeking out to see that it was Haruki Yamauchi.
"Damn it, don't you already have a girlfriend?!"
Haruki Yamauchi glared at Kaoru with a fierce but hollow expression.
"If you keep bothering Sakura, I-I'll tell her right away!"
That said, Haruki Yamauchi was panicking.
He hadn't been able to catch up to Airi earlier and had lost sight of her on the road.
Only after asking a few passersby did he barely manage to figure out where she had gone.
To his shock, the moment he arrived, he saw Kaoru leading Airi out of the special teaching building—especially with Airi blushing furiously and clutching her skirt.
At that moment, Haruki Yamauchi, who was already prone to wild imagination, immediately conjured up countless scenarios in his mind, his face turning pale.
"Tell Honami?" Kaoru looked puzzled. "Are we even close to you?"
Haruki Yamauchi wasn't actually planning to tell Ichinose—he didn't even dare approach such an overwhelmingly popular girl.
The reason he brought it up was to warn Airi that this guy was a scumbag with a girlfriend.
There were already rumors in class about him being involved with Karuizawa and Kushida.
"N-none of your business! Sakura and I are good friends, you know!" Haruki Yamauchi's expression softened a bit.
In his imagination, his relationship with Airi was naturally quite good—they often managed to converse.
Moreover, he was even planning to confess his feelings to Airi.
Even if it wasn't mutual affection, at the very least, they were in that ambiguous "more than friends, less than lovers" stage!
Thinking this, Haruki Yamauchi urgently looked toward Airi Sakura, who was hiding behind Kaoru, and said anxiously.
"Sakura, this guy is dangerous! Come over here quickly—I'll hold him off!"
Though he didn't know what was going on, Haruki didn't want to dwell on it too deeply.
In fact, he even suspected that Kaoru might be threatening Airi.
After all, Airi's figure was so indecently alluring—if he were in Kaoru's place, he'd definitely seize some leverage over her and have his way with her.
Kaoru stayed silent for a moment.
Though he had anticipated this, the way some people perceived his reputation was downright exaggerated.
Haruki Yamauchi saw himself as the heroic savior, rescuing his princess from the clutches of the harem tyrant, Kaoru.
There was no helping it—if he didn't hype himself up like this, Haruki might have turned tail and fled immediately, surrendering his woman without a fight.
However, Airi ignored him.
Instead, she recalled what Kaoru had said earlier, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.
So this was the suspicious person he had mentioned—Haruki Yamauchi?
"What's wrong, Sakura? Hurry up and come here! He already has a girlfriend, and he's constantly flirting with other girls, you know?"
Haruki tried to warn Airi further, but instead of the reaction he hoped for, she completely hid herself away, not even sparing him a glance.
"You care about Airi that much?" Kaoru smirked faintly.
"O-of course! We're friends! We make eye contact in class every day, and we talk all the time!"
Haruki Yamauchi lied without batting an eye or blushing—or perhaps he had even convinced himself it was true.
Airi tugged lightly at Kaoru's sleeve and whispered in protest, "L-lies… I've never… even spoken to him…"
"If you're friends, then what do you like about Airi?" Kaoru asked calmly.
Haruki instinctively thought of her enormous breasts.
To be honest, aside from her being a gloomy girl with glasses, those were the only thing that left an impression on him about Airi.
But of course, he couldn't just say that outright. He stammered for a while before finally blurting out.
"A-are you even friends with Sakura?"
"Yeah, of course I am." Kaoru answered matter-of-factly.
"Oh ho? Then what do you like about Airi?"
Haruki retorted smugly. "You're just after her body, aren't you? Guys like you—popular, playboy types—I've seen plenty. You get bored with one girl and move on to the next. What, Ichinose's chest not enough for you anymore?"
Kaoru stared at him for a moment before suddenly stepping forward.
It happened so abruptly that even Airi didn't react in time.
In an instant, Haruki's face paled with fear.
Realizing something was wrong, he turned to run—only to feel someone grab his shoulder before he could take a single step.
"W-wait! If you lay a hand on me, I'll report you to the school! Violence and bullying are strictly forbidden!"
When Kaoru raised his fist, Haruki Yamauchi nearly lost his footing.
He didn't have Sudou's physique—aside from boasting, he was just your typical underachieving student.
But when Kaoru stopped, Yamauchi thought there might still be a way out.
"Go ahead, hit me if you dare! I'll make sure you get expelled!"
Yamauchi wore a smug expression, as if victory was already his.
Thud!
Kaoru punched him, leaving his face bruised and his vision blacking out.
Yamauchi couldn't believe it—had he actually struck him?
"You bastard! You're dead! I swear, you're getting expelled for this!"
"I am the student council."
Kaoru said calmly, "There are no cameras here, no witnesses. What exactly do you expect me to investigate?"
Yamauchi froze, only to take another punch.
His earlier confidence turned to terror as he tried to fight back, but Kaoru easily overpowered him.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
After taking over a dozen hits, Yamauchi finally begged for mercy.
When Kaoru asked why he was here, he hesitated before finally confessing.
"I-I wanted to confess to Sakura… I wanted her to be my girlfriend, so I couldn't help but follow her."
Airi, who had been stunned by Kaoru's violence, slowly snapped out of it and stared at Yamauchi in disbelief.
How could he possibly like me?
"What exactly do you like about Airi?" Kaoru threatened him with his fist.
Yamauchi stammered, "H-her… chest! Don't let the glasses fool you—she's definitely got a dirty side, and her body's top-tier!"
As he spoke, he grew more and more excited.
Kaoru punched him again and said flatly, "Just admit you're a pervert. What makes you think Airi would ever accept your confession?"
Yamauchi shot Kaoru a resentful glare.
Of course a normie like him wouldn't understand.
"I-I could never compare to someone like you! You can have Sakura!"
Yamauchi groveled, "There's another girl in our class, Hasebe—she's just as dirty as Sakura! I'm close with her! If you let me go, I can set her up with you! You can do whatever you want with her!"
Kaoru suddenly lost all desire to hit him.
Yamauchi was nothing but a compulsive liar.
Sure, teenage boys often had some twisted thoughts, but someone as rotten as him was rare.
"Get lost."
Too disgusted to bother with him, Kaoru simply let him go.
Yamauchi blinked, then scrambled away in a mix of terror and relief.
After running for a while, he glanced back to make sure Kaoru wasn't following.
When he saw that Kaoru wasn't chasing him, a shadow flickered in his eyes—but he quickly fled.
"Kaoru…?"
Airi cautiously looked at Kaoru. This was the first time she'd seen him resort to violence.
"Sorry, I lost my temper for a second."
Kaoru spoke the words, but his mind was already working on how to arrange Yamauchi's expulsion.
"Did I scare you?"
Airi didn't answer.
Instead, she stepped closer and gently touched the hand he had used to hit Yamauchi.
"Being... being looked at with such lewd eyes by that kind of person is disgusting... but... but I wouldn't mind if it were Kaoru... I'm... I'm happy..."
The girl's words left Kaoru momentarily stunned before he silently flicked her forehead.
"Oww..."
"Don't say things like that again. I might lose control."
"..."
As for what kind of loss of control he meant, Kaoru didn't elaborate, and Airi Sakura didn't ask—she simply lowered her head, her face flushed.
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