Chapter 279 Morishita Ai: Come to My Dorm for a Meal
Listening to Morishita Ai's merciless correction in front of everyone, Fuyashi Nishijima's face turned beet red. In a fit of humiliated rage, he finally tore off his usual mask and screamed at her, "Morishita! You ungrateful b*tch!"
At the same time, he swung a heavy palm toward her face.
"Ah?!"
Morishita clearly hadn't expected him to actually resort to violence in public.
She froze in terror and closed her eyes.
However, the expected impact never came.
Instead, she heard a cry of pain from her attacker.
Opening her eyes cautiously, she saw a large hand firmly gripping Nishijima's wrist.
Under the sunlight, Hikigaya's arm didn't look particularly thick, but the clear muscle definition provided a profound sense of security.
"Harassing and hitting a girl? I think you're looking to pack your bags and get kicked out of this school."
"No, it's not..."
Hearing Hikigaya's blatant threat of expulsion, Nishijima panicked.
"I—I just wanted to scare her! I didn't actually plan on hitting her!"
As his anger receded, his IQ returned to the chat. Nishijima began trying to downplay his actions to save himself.
"Do you think I'm blind?" Hikigaya mocked coldly.
"Morishita-kohai, for the sake of being in the same club, please forgive me!!" Nishijima bowed deeply in a plea for mercy.
"Honto ni sumimasen!!!"
It was the classic Japanese tradition: commit a fault, bow and apologize, and implicitly demand the other party's forgiveness.
However, Morishita unexpectedly chose not to forgive him.
"If apologies worked, why would we need the police?
And after you failed to harass Yamamura Miki last time, you spread disgusting rumors about her behind her back..." Morishita's gaze was resolute as she refused to compromise.
"I don't believe for a second that a piece of trash like you would truly repent!"
Yamamura Miki was her friend in Class A—a quiet girl who wasn't good at communicating. To escape Nishijima's harassment, Miki had eventually quit the Calligraphy Club.
"Damn it!"
Seeing that pleading was useless, Nishijima snapped his head up and switched to verbal threats: "Hey, you brat from the Disciplinary Committee! Do you really want to burn this bridge? Nagumo won't let you off... Gwah!"
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes and used an arm-lock technique to force the upperclassman to his knees.
"Publicly threatening the Student Council? I suppose you don't understand what 'Meritocracy' really means."
The surrounding crowd looked on with varying expressions.
At the Advanced Nurturing High School, the Student Council's power often exceeded that of the teachers.
Hikigaya clearly had the strength to suppress a senpai, but the key issue was that the current Student Council President, Nagumo Miyabi, was the leader of the 2nd-year Class A.
As the saying goes, "one must look at the master before hitting the dog." Hikigaya's move was a blatant challenge to Nagumo's authority!
"Eek, the Student Council is here!"
A cry went up from the crowd, and people instinctively parted to create a path. Nagumo Miyabi, followed by two lackeys, strolled toward them with an air of supreme confidence.
"Hiss—Nagumo-boss, save me...!" Nishijima groaned in pain.
Nagumo narrowed his eyes, scanning the scene. He quickly deduced what had happened.
He didn't rush to interrogate; instead, he maintained the posture of a superior, waiting for Hikigaya to report to him.
'Waiting for me to make the first move? This guy certainly has a poker face' Hikigaya thought, glancing at Nagumo but remaining silent.
If the subordinate reports first, they effectively hand the power of defining the incident to the superior, putting themselves at a disadvantage.
The two entered a silent standoff, but the other two members of the Student Council couldn't keep their cool.
"Hikigaya! What are you doing?!"
"Let go of Nishijima this instant!"
Kiriyama Ikuto questioned him loudly. Hikigaya gave him a deadpan look.
This guy was from the 2nd-year Class B; logically, he should be in a competitive relationship with Class A. If he had any ambition at all, he wouldn't miss this chance to kick Nishijima while he was down.
Yet, he chose to side with Nagumo.
It was truly pathetic.
Perhaps feeling the contempt in Hikigaya's eyes, Kiriyama reacted like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.
"What's with that look?!"
"Kiriyama-senpai, as the Vice President of the Student Council," Hikigaya replied coldly, maintaining his grip on Nishijima, "is it appropriate for you to indulge someone violating school rules without even asking for the reason behind the incident?"
"You... are you trying to tell me how to do my job?" Kiriyama's expression stiffened, but he maintained a forceful front.
"If you don't understand the school rules, Senpai, feel free to ask me for a lesson." Hikigaya didn't give him an ounce of face.
"Huff!" Kiriyama's eyes widened, his chest heaving.
His tightened fists looked ready to smash Hikigaya's punchable face, but he wasn't entirely brainless; his logic managed to restrain his impulse.
"Hikigaya, explain yourself," Nagumo said. His emotional management was significantly better than Kiriyama's.
"What happened here?"
"Let me tell you instead." Morishita Ai stepped forward, seemingly not wanting Hikigaya to go head-to-head with the President alone.
She explained the situation clearly.
"Nishijima, is it true that you harassed a first-year kohai and attempted to use violence?" Nagumo put on a mask of impartiality, glaring at Nishijima.
"... It was a moment of impulse... I am willing to accept punishment!!" Nishijima immediately prostrated himself in a standard dogeza.
"Hmm. Your attitude in admitting guilt is sincere enough. Considering this is your first offense, I believe we can be lenient. You will be suspended for one week." Nagumo turned his gaze toward Hikigaya.
"Disciplinary Chairman, what do you think?"
"President Nagumo's punishment is too light. It won't act as a deterrent to others who might break the rules," Hikigaya countered.
"Then, in your opinion, how should we handle it?"
"Expulsion."
The surrounding students gasped.
'Good grief, he goes straight for expulsion over a disagreement? That's brutal!'
Even the victim, Morishita, looked at him in surprise. While she loathed Nishijima, she hadn't intended to hurl him out of the school entirely.
"Bakayaro! You dead-eyed bastard!!" Nishijima was both terrified and enraged, jumping in place.
"Shut up, Nishijima." Nagumo stopped him with a single look.
"While Nishijima violated the rules, looking at the outcome, it was an attempted act. Furthermore, he admitted guilt proactively. Even from a legal standpoint, we should be lenient." Nagumo's explanation was logical, and the onlookers nodded in agreement.
"That may be true," Hikigaya admitted, "but Nishijima-senpai harassed a girl in public and just now openly threatened the Student Council. President Nagumo, surely you must protect the dignity of the Council?"
Hikigaya knew it would be hard to force an expulsion with these charges alone, especially with Nagumo protecting him.
However, there was room to maneuver.
Nagumo frowned. He could argue about school rules all day, but when Hikigaya mentioned the Student Council's authority, he had to be careful.
His reign over the second year relied heavily on the prestige of the Council. If that authority was damaged, his own power weakened.
Nagumo valued his own interests far more than those of a classmate.
"Fine. Let's take a middle path..." Nagumo's attitude softened, signaling a compromise. "Nishijima will be suspended for one month and will pay 100,000 Private Points in compensation to the victim, Morishita-san."
Hikigaya looked at Morishita, who nodded.
"One more thing," Hikigaya added coldly.
"Nishijima must issue a public written apology. If he offends again, he will be summarily expelled!"
"..." Nishijima's face turned pale. A public written apology? That was social suicide. Simultaneously, it would be a blow to Class 2-A's reputation.
"Hikigaya, don't push it too far." A cold glint flashed in Nagumo's eyes.
"I stand by my recommendation," Hikigaya said, refusing to back down. "If President Nagumo finds it unreasonable, we might as well report this upward. I'm sure the school administration will provide a fair and just verdict."
'Report upward? Let the school leaders decide? Bullsht!!*'
Nagumo's face turned dark.
Based on his knowledge of the school, if the administration stepped in, they likely wouldn't expel Nishijima anyway—it had nothing to do with "fairness" and everything to do with the school not wanting to lose an elite student from Class A.
However, school intervention would severely undermine the Student Council's authority.
The philosophy of this school was to let the students handle things. If the President couldn't handle a simple dispute, the school would doubt his ability.
That was something Nagumo could never accept.
"Haha~ As expected of the Disciplinary Chairman. You've thought it through. We'll handle it your way!" Nagumo gave a fake, skin-deep smile.
"President Nagumo overpraises me. I'm just offering suggestions; the final decision still rests with you." Hikigaya shrugged nonchalantly.
The conflict was resolved. Nagumo and his group dragged Nishijima away like a dead dog.
"Disciplinary Committee, that was awesome!" The bystanders gave him thumbs-up before dispersing.
'I bet by tomorrow, all sorts of weird rumors will be flying around' Hikigaya thought with a headache.
"Thank you, Hikigaya Hachiman." Morishita Ai had a peculiar habit of addressing her peers by their full names.
"It's fine, Morishita Ai." Hikigaya used her full name in return, matching her style.
"Just call me Morishita," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Then call me Hikigaya."
"...Stingy guy."
"I was just respecting your habits, wasn't I?"
"That's my personal style."
"An 'interesting character setup'? Are you some light novel side character?" Hikigaya joked.
"Why am I a side character?"
"Who knows."
"...You're such a riddle-man. No wonder Sakayanagi Arisu likes you so much."
"Is there anything to be happy about, being liked by a 'loli brat'?" Hikigaya shrugged.
Morishita raised a finger and pointed behind him.
"Sakayanagi Arisu"
"Hikigaya-kun, speaking ill of someone behind their back lacks the grace of a gentleman." Arisu Sakayanagi approached slowly, leaning on her cane.
"Sakayanagi, why are you here?" Hikigaya raised an eyebrow. Then again, given her habit of keeping tabs on everyone, it wasn't surprising she'd heard the news.
"I heard something interesting. Unfortunately, I seem to have arrived late." Arisu sighed with mock regret.
"I missed the showdown between the Disciplinary Chairman and the Student Council President."
"The way you talk is really..." Hikigaya clicked his tongue, looking disgusted.
"Hehe~ I should really thank Hikigaya-kun for helping Morishita-san from our class." Arisu smiled.
"I was just maintaining public order," Hikigaya replied calmly.
"Regardless, you helped me. That's a fact. I'll remember this favor... Hachiman." Morishita paused, dropping his surname for the first time.
'Hey, omitting the surname makes it easy for people to misunderstand. Look, the loli brat next to me—her eyes have already changed!'
"Don't go to all that trouble," Hikigaya said, wanting to settle the debt quickly.
"If you feel bad about it, Ai, just treat me to a meal sometime."
"That's a bit of a problem..." Morishita tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"I'm not good at cooking."
"Wait, I didn't ask you to cook personally!" Hikigaya was speechless.
'This girl's logic is bizarre.'
"But it shouldn't be a big deal..." Morishita nodded seriously.
"I'll just ask Yamamura Miki to teach me."
'Hey! Why aren't you listening to me?!' Hikigaya's forehead was covered in black lines.
"Alright, it's a promise. This Saturday, come to Dorm 707." Morishita spoke to herself and then turned to leave coolly.
"Hey—" Watching her walk away, Hikigaya didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Going to a girl's dorm for a meal..." Arisu stared at him with a strange expression.
"It seems your reputation as a 'Great Demon King' is well-deserved, Hikigaya-kun."
"Hey, don't talk nonsense. I just met Ai today."
"Meeting for the first day and already calling each other by given names..." Arisu delivered a sharp retort.
"Even a 'Netorare' protagonist wouldn't move that fast."
"I was just respecting her character setup!" Hikigaya argued righteously.
"In that case..." Arisu intentionally elongated her voice, sounding somewhat coy.
"Ha-chi-man~~ Can you call me A-ri-su~~?"
'This girl... she's acting again.'
"Stop doing that 'moe' voice. You're giving me goosebumps." Hikigaya's mouth twitched.
"How cruel. And here I am, a dignified and elegant lady." Arisu looked indignant and tapped his shin with her cane.
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