The moment Ryunosuke had brushed past Ichika earlier, he knew exactly what she was: a White Room assassin. Having "read the script" of the original world, he was well aware their true target was Ayanokouji, so he had no intention of sticking his neck out.
(Not my circus, not my monkeys. Whatever.)
Unbeknownst to him, Ryunosuke's train of thought was perfectly synced with Ayanokouji's. The two of them truly were brothers-in-arms—the kind who would sell each other out for a corn chip. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, especially when they're both vultures.
Both were currently nursing the same devious plan to use the other as a sacrificial lamb. Ayanokouji's internal monologue was a mirror image: Their target is Ryunosuke, so what does this have to do with me?
8:30 PM.
Ayanokouji met up with Ryunosuke and Suzune, and the trio began making their way back to the dorms for dinner. On a stretch of road bathed in the amber glow of streetlights, they crossed paths with Housen and Yagami.
That wasn't the problem. The problem was the object in Housen's hand: a fruit knife. Specifically, the knife that bore the fingerprints of all three of them.
Ryunosuke and Ayanokouji locked eyes, and in an instant, their composure vanished. Only Suzune remained standing there like a statue, her brow furrowed, not yet grasping the sheer gravity of the situation.
Yagami wore a look of pure, manic triumph, looking for all the world like Uchiha Madara.
(I've waited so long for this moment!)
If Yagami could engineer the simultaneous expulsion of Ryunosuke (whom the Boss ordered removed) and Ayanokouji (the ultimate Masterpiece), he would finally prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the apex of the White Room.
Yagami looked truly unhinged, throwing his head back and laughing at the sky like Uchiha Sasuke in the throes of a breakdown.
"Hahahaha! Ayanokouji-senpai! Starting today, I will prove to everyone that I am the pinnacle of the White Room!"
Yagami spread his arms wide as if trying to embrace the entire world. Ryunosuke and Ayanokouji, however, had zero time to indulge someone suffering from a terminal case of chuunibyou. They exchanged another look; without a single word, they knew exactly what needed to be done.
Housen leveled the fruit knife at Ryunosuke.
"Ryunosuke Akasaka, don't think for a second you're getting away with what you did to me last time."
"There weren't any cameras back then, so I lost. But things are different now."
Housen pointed toward a security camera mounted on a nearby streetlight.
"This time, there's a camera. And its field of vision is locked on you, not me..."
"As long as there's proof you were here, while I stay in the blind spot, all I have to do is stab myself with this knife—the one covered in your prints. You won't have a leg to stand on!"
Hearing this, the realization finally hit Suzune. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Ryunosuke reached out, silencing her by covering her mouth while thrusting his school bag into her arms.
Suzune opened her mouth to protest, but Ryunosuke cut her off with a sharp command.
"Get your phone out, Suzune. Record everything that happens from this moment on."
"Move!"
Suzune reflexively obeyed, pulling out her phone. Ryunosuke's expression had turned deadly serious. Beside him, Ayanokouji dropped his bag to the pavement and began a brief warm-up, rolling his wrists, coiled and ready to strike.
Opposite them, Housen let out a cruel, mocking sneer, barking out a declaration of victory.
"Don't even think about running! I'm going to make you understand the true meaning of 'consequences'!"
"I am your retribution! Get ready to pay the price, Ryunosuke Akasaka!!!"
Housen's rage had reached its boiling point. He raised the fruit knife high, intending to drive it deep into his own thigh.
In that split second, Ryunosuke and Ayanokouji moved!
Ryunosuke grabbed the Stardust Dragon card hanging from his neck—encased in a slab of hardened tempered glass—and hurled it like a projectile at the security camera, shattering the lens instantly.
With the official "eye" blinded, the only remaining evidence would be the footage in Suzune's hand. That was Ryunosuke's endgame. Suzune's recording could be edited later to show only what benefited them. His next task: keep Yagami busy so he couldn't interfere with Ayanokouji.
Ayanokouji's job was to stop Housen. Ryunosuke's was to intercept Yagami. He had to buy Ayanokouji time; even if he wasn't sure he could win, he had to hold out for at least thirty seconds.
Ryunosuke wasn't confident he could actually defeat the strongest fifth-generation graduate of the White Room, but he just had to stall him. In this moment, he let his own chuunibyou persona flare to full power.
On the other side of the clash, Ayanokouji flung his school bag directly at Housen's face to obstruct his vision. It forced Housen to raise an arm to swat it away, buying Ayanokouji the precious seconds he needed to close the gap.
He appeared before Housen in a flash. His palm shot out, reaching upward toward the blade that Housen was already driving toward his own leg.
Ayanokouji's mind worked with cold, mathematical precision.
(This knife has my fingerprints on it. If he succeeds, I'll be expelled on a charge of attempted murder.)
(The only logical move is to flip the script. I have to make it look like HE was the one attempting murder so that HE is the one expelled.)
(There is only one answer.)
*SQUELCH!*
The sound of a blade piercing through a palm echoed in the quiet street. Fresh blood sprayed. Housen's pupils shrank to pinpricks; he never imagined his opponent would do something so reckless.
Ayanokouji had calculated this move down to the millimeter.
(Wrestling the knife away isn't realistic with Takuya Yagami lurking right there. I have to end this instantly so I can back up Akasaka.)
(I can't waste time. This has to be decided in a heartbeat.)
(Through precise calculation, I've avoided the major nerves and arteries in my palm to ensure there is no permanent bone or structural damage.)
(Avoid the major vessels, let only the capillaries take the hit.)
Such feats were elementary for Ayanokouji. While Housen was still paralyzed by shock, before the reality of the situation could even register, Ayanokouji used his free hand to deliver a devastating punch to Housen's jaw.
With a blank expression, Ayanokouji watched as Housen crumpled, knocked unconscious instantly. Without so much as a flinch of pain, Ayanokouji yanked the blood-slicked fruit knife from his own palm and turned his gaze toward the other battlefield.