"You don't know?"
Yokoshima asked, rubbing his chin with a smug, almost greasy confidence. His eyes practically gleamed with mischief. He didn't say it, but they all knew exactly what he meant.
"I thought we could check out what games they've got and, y'know... 'borrow' a few."
"Y-You're a bad man..."
Kenji muttered, letting out a deep, dramatic sigh. But the act lasted less than a second—his ego slammed the accelerator. Puffing out his chest, he smirked.
"Well, with someone as popular as myself here, they'll probably just hand the games over! I'll volunteer to take one for the team."
"You're being narcissistic."
Yokoshima and Nagayama gave him the same blank, unblinking stare.
"Hey!"
Kenji bellowed, announcing their presence to whoever was inside. Without waiting, he ripped the door handle off and slammed it open with unnecessary force.
"Sorry for the intrus—!"
Before he could finish, a thick wave of smoke billowed out, followed by the harsh, pungent scent of something burning.
"F-Fire!!!"
Kenji shrieked, tripping over his own feet as he recoiled, arms flailing wildly like a marionette caught in a hurricane.
"No, it's not a real fire, just an illusion,"
Roka said. She's a short blonde-haired petite girl, barely looking up from adjusting a fire extinguisher.
"Bullshit! It's way too hot to be an illusion!!"
Kenji snapped back, his tsukkomi role firing on all cylinders.
The girl merely shook her head, unfazed.
"That just means it's a really good illusion."
She then casually pointed toward the far side of the room—toward a crudely drawn 2D bird taped to the window.
"Observe that bird beyond the window. Also an illusion."
"You're so damn stubborn!! This isn't the time to admire birds!"
Kenji shouted, stomping toward the petite girl. He snatched the extinguisher from her hands.
"Right, give me that!"
"Ah. That fire extinguisher is also an illusion," she said flatly.
"Oh, is that so!?"
Kazama finally snapped, his patience breaking like a twig.
"Stop with the weird act just because you've got outsiders watching! Think about your gimmick later!"
The girl only gave them a cold, blank stare.
"I see... 'think about it later,' huh..."
But Kenji ignored her nonsense, turned toward the flames, and began spraying. Whether real or fake, the fire fizzled out in seconds. It wasn't a big one to begin with—but somehow, putting it out together gave them a weird sense of camaraderie. For a brief moment, they found themselves celebrating.
However, that moment didn't last.
A sharp tingle crawled up his spine. Kenji's instincts screamed. He glanced backward and saw Yokoshima jolting like a live wire, steam practically coming off him as a taser connected.
"Yokoshima!!" he wailed in terror.
Sweat rolled down his temple, but before he could process what was going on, another scream jolted him.
"NAGAYAMA!!"
Kenji shrieked.
Nagayama was already flat on the floor, a metal bucket perfectly crowning his head, completely still save for a trickle of (comically censored) red liquid seeping out.
"Y-You... What the hell are you guys trying to do!?" Kenji demanded, visibly rattled.
"What's that? I'm a lightning element!" said the girl with long black ponytail hair, spinning a taser in her hand.
"And I'm a water element."
The pink-haired girl chimed in, smiling sweetly like a villain in a magical girl anime.
Kenji looked at her, dumbfounded. Expecting her to explain, he got nothing.
Just in time, the petite girl stepped forward.
"Don't worry. It's just a little shock to help them forget, you know, reset the memory a bit."
Her voice had that eerie calm, similar to what makes killers in horror movies terrifying.
"As for you..."
She pointed at Kenji.
"You'll forget... in the hands of the fire element!"
"...Wait a minute... Did you just say fire?"
Kenji suddenly caught on.
"So you're the one who started the fire!? Hey hey, stay away! Don't come closer!"
While trying to protect himself, Kenji found himself surrounded by everyone. He gave unconscious Nagayama and Yokoshima a final glance, weighing the pros and cons. Kenji ran away without hesitation.
"I'm sorry guys, you're on your own!"
However, just as Kenji reached the exit, another girl appeared from the hallway and knocked him clean out.
"Earth punch!—"
His body rolled, landing beside Nagayama. Kenji clutched his face while wailing in agony.
The new arrival was Chitose, a girl with purple waist-length hair and purple eyes. Specializing in the Earth element, she intercepted him with ease.
"Where do you think you're going?"
This time, there was no way out for him. Kenji was tied to a chair. Roka was about to bag his head when the door suddenly opened, interrupting them.
"Oh..."
Shin, who pushed the door open, noticed them tying Kenji with sinister smiles. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. While making eye contact with everyone and realizing the situation, Shin took a step back, closing the door slowly.
Kenji screamed at him.
"DON'T ACT LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED!"
Shin wanted to close the door, but the woman on the other side forcefully pulled the edge. Engging tug of war, If he used more force, it could potentially break the door. Reluctantly he let go.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chitose grabbed his wrist to prevent him from running away and dragged him.
"Ho oh, now that you've seen it, we cannot just let you go! Go inside."
Shin frowned, feeling her sudden touch. He asked in a somehow polite tone,
"Can you not hold me casually?"
Chitose was dumbfounded.
"Huh? did you say something."
Before she could process anything, she felt a stinging sensation, causing her to subconsciously let go and hold her bruised arm.
Feeling the pain, Chitose protested,
"That hurt! What are you doing?"
Shin casually rubbed his wrist with a handkerchief getting rid of bacteria. and shot her a look of disdain.
"I've already issued a warning. I don't like being touched. Especially by women..."
He explained.
"Originally, I came here on behalf of the student council to extend an invitation for the upcoming club competition..."
Shin cut his next words intentionally, his eyes scanning the club room. Starting from the burnt corner of the room, then to the unconscious Yokoshima and Nagayama.
"...however, it seems some horrifying events have unfolded here. Delinquents invading the club, and club members igniting fireworks inside the club room—not only that, but misconduct as well. All I can say is, this club is as good as dead."
Giving his judgment, everyone felt tense, especially Kenji.
Shin declared without hesitation,
"I'd say the lightest punishment for everyone involved is expulsion."
Hearing this, one of the club members protested.
"Wait! Our club is precious to us. It's the thing that reunited our group in this school. If someone is going to be expelled, then it should be them."
Sakura cried out, pointing at Kenji.
"What the hell?? How come you're putting the blame on me!? You're also at fault, damn it!"
Despite their reasoning, Shin remained firm.
"No matter what you say, expulsion is something you cannot avoid."
Negotiations broke down. Everyone gritted their teeth and clenched their fists.
Chitose declared.
"If that's the case, we'll just have you die here! If the envoy of the student council disappears, there will be no witnesses!"
They surrounded him. Sakura locked the door. Kenji, feeling the tension, struggled, hoping he could leave the place and not get dragged into their affairs.
"Damn, why was the rope tied so well?"
Seeing them, Shin just chuckled.
"Now then, this is self-defense. I'll have all of you die here..."