Chapter: The Breaking Point
It was a late evening, and Suzune sat on the couch in the dimly lit apartment she shared with Kiyotaka. Her phone buzzed incessantly on the table beside her. It had been like this for days now — Ryuen, the leader of Class C, had become increasingly persistent with his texts. What had started as the usual taunting and attempts to undermine Class A had turned into something far more invasive and personal.
Suzune glanced at her phone again, her patience wearing thin. She scrolled through the string of messages from Ryuen, each one more persistent than the last:
"Hey, Horikita. Why don't you answer me?""You think you're too good for Class C?""Come over to my room. We need to talk... or maybe more than talk.""I'll make it worth your while, trust me."
Her eyes narrowed as she read the final message that had crossed a line. Ryuen wasn't just trying to manipulate her as Class A's leader anymore; he was trying to intimidate her on a personal level. Suzune could handle verbal threats and school-related games, but this was different. He was making it personal, and that was something she couldn't ignore.
"Kiyotaka," she called, her voice calm but tinged with frustration.
Kiyotaka, who had been reading a book on the opposite side of the room, glanced up at her. "What's wrong?"
Suzune turned her phone towards him, showing him the barrage of messages. "Ryuen won't leave me alone. He keeps texting me, and now he's asking me to spend the night in his room."
Kiyotaka's expression remained neutral, but Suzune could see the subtle tightening of his jaw. "What do you plan to do about it?"
"I don't know. I tried ignoring him, but it's only getting worse. I don't want to give him any more attention, but if this keeps up, it could become a real problem."
Kiyotaka considered her words for a moment before responding. "You should ask him directly what he wants. Maybe if he knows you're not afraid of him, he'll back off."
Suzune nodded, feeling a little more confident with Kiyotaka's calm presence beside her. She quickly typed out a message to Ryuen:
"What do you want, Ryuen? Why do you keep messaging me?"
The response was almost immediate:
"You know what I want, Horikita. Come to my room tonight, and we can work something out. I promise it'll be worth it for both of us."
Suzune's face twisted in disgust. She had never liked Ryuen, but this was a new level of low, even for him. She set her phone down, not bothering to reply.
"I said no," she muttered. "But I don't think he's going to stop."
Kiyotaka's eyes darkened slightly. "We'll deal with it if he doesn't. You don't have to worry."
Suzune felt a wave of relief wash over her. Kiyotaka always had a way of making things feel manageable, no matter how tense the situation became. She trusted him completely, and that trust gave her the strength to remain calm even when Ryuen's harassment pushed her patience to its limits.
The Next Night
The following evening, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the wind whipped against the windows of the apartment. Suzune was lying in bed, exhausted from a long day of classes and dealing with the constant barrage of texts from Ryuen. She had blocked his number, but she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something was about to happen.
