After class ended and the noise of students filing out filled the corridors, Rindou straightened her uniform and walked with steady steps toward the student council room.
The rhythmic sound of her shoes echoed faintly along the polished floor, every step measured and composed.
Her posture, upright and dignified, reflected the image she always maintained before the entire school.
To everyone, she was the model of discipline, the perfect student council president.
When she opened the sliding door to the council room, the faint smell of polished wood greeted her.
The room was spotless, sunlight filtering through the blinds in clean, slanted lines. But it was empty.
Not a single member of her team was present.
She sighed quietly, her expression softening with exasperation.
"Figures," she murmured to herself, setting down her bag. "Probably still chatting around or helping their clubs again."
She walked toward her desk, planning to organize the reports left from last week's club inspections, when she stopped mid-step.
A brown envelope lay neatly in the center of her desk, her name written across the front in careful handwriting. There was no sender written, no explanation.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"What's this?" she said under her breath.
Maybe one of the members dropped off some documents or suggestions. She picked it up and carefully opened the flap, sliding out the contents.
Her breath hitched.
Inside were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Her own image filled every one—her walking to class, practicing kendo, even drinking from a water bottle during lunch.
Some were from angles that made it clear they were taken secretly, without her knowledge.
Her sharp blue eyes scanned through each one, her grip on the photos tightening. Her face, which was usually composed and firm, hardened with fury.
But what angered her the most were the photos of her changing, leaving her in her underwear.
And there were several of them! Her face was even perfectly captured!
Someone had been following her. Watching her. Taking pictures of her in secret.
Her pulse quickened, though her face remained still. She flipped through the last few photos until something else slipped out from between them—a folded letter.
She immediately opened it and read.
The contents were simple. A message written in a tone that made her jaw clench.
"Meet me at the back of the school building after seeing these. Come alone."
For a moment, her body stiffened. Her mind screamed at her to storm out immediately, track down whoever dared to do this, and make them regret it.
She could already imagine confronting them, pressing the tip of her shinai against their neck, forcing them to explain what they were trying to pull.
Her anger burned, sharp and hot, but her rationality soon returned.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"No," she muttered softly. "Not like this."
Charging in recklessly would be stupid.
If this was a trap—and she had every reason to think it was—then she would be the fool walking right into it.
Whoever did this might have planned for her reaction, expecting her pride and temper to take control.
She carefully gathered the photos and the letter, slipping them back into the envelope. Evidence. That's what this was now. If things went wrong, she'd have proof.
Her hand brushed against the wooden surface of the desk as she straightened up, her face cold and resolute.
She glanced toward the corner of the room, where her shinai leaned against the wall, the faint sheen of its grip reflecting the light.
Her hand reached for it.
She couldn't use it effectively with her injured hands, but that didn't matter.
She didn't need to fight. Sometimes, intimidation alone was enough. And her glare had made even the most troublesome delinquents back away before.
"Not everyone is Kageyama who can stare me in the eyes and smile," she whispered to herself with a thin smirk.
Sliding the shinai under her arm, she turned toward the door and walked out, her expression cold, her steps silent.
Whoever thought they could toy with her was about to learn that Kobayashi Rindou wasn't someone who cowered.
She was the Student Council President, and she dealt with problems head-on.
Still, as she made her way through the quiet hallway toward the back of the school, a faint unease crept into her chest.
There was something about this whole thing that didn't feel right. The timing, the wording, even the location.
But it was too late to back down now. She tightened her grip on the shinai, her eyes sharp.
If someone was waiting to trap her, then she'd face them directly. And heaven help them if they thought she would go down quietly.
*
*
*
Rindou soon arrived at the spot. And just as she expected, there were eight students waiting for her there.
One look and she immediately recognized them. They were no good third years who couldn't care less about their future.
They skip class, cause trouble, harass students, and some even suspected them of taking illegal drugs.
When Rindou was elected as the president, the first thing she did was to clean up these people and prevent them from causing trouble.
Now, she once again stood in front of them, her breath steady but her heart pounding beneath her chest.
The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the back of the school building, painting the scene in shades of orange and gray.
The eight delinquents all looked at her, their grins crooked and full of malice. Cigarette smoke drifted lazily between them, the air thick with the stench of cheap tobacco and arrogance.
Their leader, a tall boy with bleached hair and a scar above his eyebrow, tossed away his cigarette and smirked.
"So the student council princess actually came," he said, his voice oozing confidence. "Guess all that pride of yours makes you real easy to bait."
Rindou glared, her blue eyes sharp as blades.
"You sent me those photos." It was not a question.
"Who else would?" The boy said, spreading his arms. "I got to say prez, who knew you are packing behind that uniform of yours? What's your size, E-cup? And you're just a high schooler."
The other delinquents laughed lewdly, blatantly staring at Rindou's chest as if trying to see through the layer of clothes.
Rindou took a firm step forward, ignoring their looks.
Even injured, her posture was unyielding, the stance of someone who had faced down worse before.
"Give me all the copies of the photos you have," she said coldly. "Now. Before you regret it."
Her tone made some of them flinch. But the leader only laughed, a cruel sound that made the others follow.
"You can barely hold your shinai, President," he said. "You're not scaring anyone today."
Rindou's hands tightened around the hilt of her shinai, the bandages straining. Her palms burned, but she refused to back down.
"Try me," she said.
That was all the provocation they needed.
The leader motioned at his underlings, "Go. Pin her down for me."
One of the boys lunged, another followed, shouting as they moved in to grab her.
Rindou, knowing the futility of shinai, tossed it aside as she ducked low, kicking the first one square in the ribs.
The second tried to grab her from the side, but she twisted and struck him in the knee, sending him stumbling back.
For a moment, it looked like she might actually hold them off.
But numbers were merciless. A third boy caught her from behind, yanking her by the collar.
Another swept her legs. She hit the ground hard, her injuries already began to bleed when she tried to cushion the fall with her hands.
Someone tried to pin her down, but she kicked out again, her foot connecting with a jaw and she quickly stood up.
"Hold her!" the leader barked. "She's done!"
They swarmed her again, and this time, her injured hands betrayed her. Her grip failed, her strength faltered. She was forced onto her knees, still struggling, still snarling defiance.
"Enough!" she hissed, her voice cracking. "You bunch of good for nothings! Fight me one on one if you dare!"
The leader crouched down in front of her, his grin wide.
"You talk too much." He reached out, grabbing her chin, forcing her to look at him.
Rindou tried to pull away, but his grip tightened. For a brief second, her eyes flickered with genuine fear.
"Hehe, let's see what you're hiding here." The leader grabbed her uniform and ripped it apart.
Her breast, hidden by a white bra, were exposed at this moment.
The delinquents cheered.
"Holy crap! Hahaha! That's definitely an E!"
"Look at that pair!"
Tears of humiliation started to fall from her eyes, but she still glared at them, gritting her teeth in defiance.
The leader simply grin, not minding her glare at all.
"Prez, because of you, we can't find any girl to relieve our tress. You are always breathing down our necks that it was suffocating."
The leader stood up, looking down at her, "Prez, we have been pent up for a long time. Why don't you use your body to apologise to us?"
Ptui!
Rindou spits on the leader's face, "Go fuck yourself. And stop grinning, you have so many gaps in your teeth it looks like your tongue is in jail."
The delinquents pinning her down almost let out a loud laugh, but held it in.
The leader glared at her, gritting his teeth as he raised his hand, "You bitch!"
And slapped Rindou on the face.
The leader grinned seeing the red handprints on Rindou's face, "Hahaha! How'd you like that?"
Rindou faced him, eyes cold and expressionless, "I've been hit worse by a better man."
Compared to Kageyama's, this slap was like a love tap.
"You...!" The leader cannot even form any words. He can only glare at her as he ordered his underlings, "Lie her down and spread her legs. Let's see if she can still act so rebellious after I'm done with her."
The underlings obeyed as they pinned Rindou down to the ground.
"Stop! Stop!" She struggled as they tried to spread her legs. "You bastards! I'd rather have Kageyama take my virginity than some fuglies like you!"
"Oh? If so, follow me to my house tonight and offer yourself to me, prez."
Everyone froze. There wasn't supposed to be anyone but them in this part at this time. They made sure of it.
So who?
The leader's eyes widened as he stared in front. He took a step back in fear, pointing at the figure that appeared just now.
"Y-You...You are...Kageyama Seijirou..."
"Congrats for getting my name. Unfortunately, there is no prize."
Even the delinquents trembled in fear and they unconsciously released their hold on Rindou, only staring at Seijirou in terror.
Kageyama Seijirou.
The King of Shinju High, now stood before them.