The next day, Ishikawa Hayabusa walked into the classroom.
Seeing his desk scribbled all over with insults, he couldn't help but smile with genuine delight.
Stepping forward, he confirmed their handiwork: Pervert, trash, nerd, die, worthless existence.
The students at this school really needed to improve their vocabulary.
Ishikawa Hayabusa sighed and shook his head.
Calling him a pervert—wasn't that supposed to make him even happier?
Fortunately, it was him experiencing this. If it had been an ordinary student, they probably would've felt fear, or at least pain.
After all…
He swept his gaze across the room.
No one explained a thing. Inside this classroom, every single person looked like an enemy.
There was even some kind of strange liquid on the desk. Could it be water from the toilets, or glue, or something worse?
Ishikawa Hayabusa couldn't be bothered to care.
These past few days, he had been observing. By now, he had a rough idea of who had done it, and who among them would stoop to such things.
He grabbed the desk with one hand and began walking toward his target.
"Bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The moment the "script" didn't go the way certain people expected, someone jumped up to stir trouble.
Nakamaki Ro stormed over, his steps kicking up air behind him as if to crush any sign of resistance with sheer force.
His reaction sent ripples of unease through the classroom. Several students looked this way, tension creeping into their expressions.
Idiot.
Ishikawa Hayabusa didn't even bother greeting him. He simply controlled his strength and kicked.
Boom.
Nakamaki Ro, who usually only bullied kids too afraid to fight back, had no time to react. The kick slammed into his stomach with solid force, driving him back step after step before he crashed hard into the wall.
Though it didn't look like he'd taken that heavy a blow, his body suddenly doubled over. Stomach acid surged up his throat, spilling out along with saliva he couldn't stop from drooling.
"Ishikawa!!"
Seeing their comrade hurt—and their own social standing threatened—another boy from the same club, Shigeno Ryo, rushed over. But he didn't attack. He simply stopped a few paces in front of Ishikawa Hayabusa, radiating sharp menace, as if to say: Take one more step, and I'll kill you.
"Alright, alright, calm down. We're all classmates. Don't fight. Ishikawa, just put the desk back."
Breaking into the scene was Kawakami Satoshi.
Ishikawa glanced at him. He was from the same club as the other two.
Kawakami spread his arms, pretending to mediate, like he was trying to convince the two sides to shake hands.
But as he drew close to Ishikawa Hayabusa, his hand suddenly shot out, aiming to smack the back of his head.
Ishikawa Hayabusa had been watching him the whole time. Naturally, he didn't miss the move.
Such a petty trick. He had seen others humiliated like this before—ganged up on, mocked, and smacked on the back of the head.
He once asked one of them afterward how it felt.
The boy had said it was like his brain went foggy.
To think that even in high school, there were still people playing such childish games.
Ishikawa Hayabusa swung his free hand and struck back hard.
"Uuuaaaahhh!"
Kawakami Satoshi let out a blood-curdling scream. He clutched his hand and collapsed to the ground, rolling in agony.
Ishikawa gave Shigeno Ryo a sidelong glance. The boy, who had just started to move his foot, froze in place and simply stood there, dumbfounded.
Completely stunned.
Finally, Ishikawa Hayabusa walked toward the real mastermind—the one who had scribbled all over his desk.
Her name was Kuroda Aya. She sat trembling in her seat, clearly terrified by what he had just done.
"Ishikawa… what do you want?" she stammered.
"Can we switch desks?"
Ishikawa Hayabusa asked with a calm, gentle tone.
But that gentleness seemed to give her courage. She suddenly sprang to her feet.
"I don't have any obligation to switch desks with you!"
"But this is what you left behind, Kuroda-san. It won't hurt to swap, right?"
He continued, still speaking kindly.
"That's your own fault! Trash like you should just die!"
Believing Ishikawa wouldn't dare hit a girl, Kuroda Aya exploded, shrieking like a shrew. She jabbed her finger right at his nose, unleashing words as if they alone could kill him.
Ishikawa Hayabusa got exactly the response he wanted.
In the next moment, under her horrified gaze, he grabbed her and hurled her to the ground.
She crashed down hard, stunned for several seconds before her terrified eyes locked on him.
"I don't go easy on anyone—male or female."
Ishikawa Hayabusa patted her desk and smiled as he reminded her.
Then, with his other hand, he lifted her desk and placed his own back in position. Not even the liquid on the surface spilled.
"Kuroda-san, you'd better sit properly at your desk later. Otherwise, don't blame me if I hit you—and don't cry when it hurts."
"I've trained. I know exactly how to make it hurt."
Leaving those words behind, Ishikawa Hayabusa carried his desk back to his spot, set it neatly in place, and pulled out some paper to wipe it down in disgust.
…
As he returned to his seat with the desk, Kita Ikuyo walked in.
She took in the scene at a glance and immediately understood what had happened.
So that's how it is…
Her mind flashed back to that morning after the photoshoot, when she had gone back to STARRY. Just as she was about to leave, Manager Hoshika had stopped her with a question.
"Kita, you're in the same class as Ishikawa, right? What kind of student is he at school?"
His expression was as impassive as usual, but Kita Ikuyo had felt a heavier air than normal.
Manager Hoshika really cares about Ijichi-senpai…
She thought about it. Though the school year had barely started, Ishikawa Hayabusa's reputation was already full of colorful labels.
"He's a serious student, I guess. Ishikawa-kun doesn't really talk to anyone. Even when people invite him to lunch, he always refuses."
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Nijika, who had been eavesdropping nearby, let out a surprised little cry.
"Hayabusa-kun is like that?"
She was so used to seeing him clown around, bringing energy and chaos, that she couldn't wrap her head around it.
"Mm." Kita nodded firmly. But when she noticed Ryo-senpai also listening, she hesitated.
"Well, actually… my friend dug up some things about Ishikawa-kun's past."
"It's not really good or bad… and maybe it's not right to bring it up privately. But since we're all in the same band, it should be fine to share…"
Her eyes flickered with hesitation, but under the others' serious stares, she drew in a sharp breath.
"You all know about bullying in schools, right?"
The three nodded slightly. Hoshika frowned, Nijika looked worried, while Ryo's face remained unreadable as she watched.
"Ishikawa-kun went to a rough middle school, full of delinquents. In his first year, he did something—he turned the tables and bullied the entire class back."
As their faces showed shock, Kita continued.
"It started when one student was being bullied. Ishikawa stepped in and beat up the guys tormenting him."
"After that, they didn't dare touch Ishikawa, but they kept targeting the boy. More and more people even joined in on it."
"So Ishikawa retaliated against all of them. Some of the worst ones ended up in the hospital…"
"Isn't that kind of… cool?" Nijika asked, wide-eyed.
"Not everyone in class thought so," Kita admitted with an embarrassed bow of her head.
"That's their problem," Ryo said flatly, siding with Ishikawa without hesitation.
"And there's more…" Kita went on.
"He once kicked down the door of the girls' restroom to protect a girl being bullied inside. He even got into street fights. He founded an anti-bullying student group, and supposedly, even people with influence supported him."
"No one knows why he transferred to this high school, though…"
"You're seriously talking about Hayabusa-kun?" Nijika asked in disbelief. She just couldn't reconcile the silly, mischievous boy she knew with the terrifying figure being described.
Kita nodded firmly. Seeing that none of them seemed to dislike him for it, she pulled out her phone and showed them the reports and details she had saved.
"Amazing," Ryo said with clear admiration after reading.
"So he's actually a good guy." Manager Hoshika finally let out a sigh of relief.
…
And now, watching the scene in front of her, Kita Ikuyo felt like she was witnessing the reality of everything she had once described to Ijichi-senpai and the others.
So that's what he meant when he said those things to me that time…
But still—if everyone in class already knew what Ishikawa had done in the past, why did they dare try this anyway?
As the classroom gradually filled, Ishikawa Hayabusa seemed to sense the timing was right. With commanding presence, he strode steadily up to the podium, carrying the weight to subdue the entire room.
"Well then, everyone, sit down. I have something to announce."
"Starting today, every one of you here—and every student in this school—will be under my protection."
"If you're ever bullied, you can come to me. I'll make sure those responsible suffer twice as much pain, and then I'll force them to bow their heads and apologize to you."
"This is not an empty promise. My words are backed by the principal and a prestigious law firm. They will provide me with full support—both legally and within the school."
"So let's spend our school life together happily and peacefully."
"That's all."
"From a so-called pervert, in a world without fairness, who simply hopes to live happily."
…
"In other words—a truly perverted declaration."