By the time we arrived to B Class, we were too late.

Inside, Sakigamiya was currently surrounded by the Machida faction. In particular, she was locked in an argument with Machida, the two of them viciously barking at each other.

"You're going to pay for all the damages you've done to our class! Both you and Ritaka!"

Strangely, no one from Ichinose's faction was present. Either they were part of the crowd outside E Class or haven't come to school yet.

However, I did know for a fact Machida's faction usually don't come to school this early. They probably anticipated this was going to happen and woke up early just to see our reactions.

"And who's gonna make me?"

Machida, who was sat on a desk and looking down on Sakigamiya, laughed brazenly in her face. Sakigamiya gazed at both him and Ritaka with complete disgust in her eyes.

"Sweetie, don't look at me like that. I was doing your class a favour, really."

Ritaka, with a cocky smile, stalked over to Sakigamiya and threw an arm around her shoulder casually.

"I mean, if all your equipment is broken, maybe the school will finally upgrade your cruddy tables!"

This time, all of the Machida faction laughed at Sakigamiya as Ritaka made fun out of our classroom.

"I can't stand these guys..."

Taiga muttered as we watched from outside the class. Nora turned to me with anxious eyes.

"I-I don't think we should go in..."

"We'll intervene if things get dicey. I think Sakigamiya-san is holding her own fine for now."

I turned back to B Class, where Sakigamiya shoved Ritaka away in reflex.

"Don't touch me!"

Ritaka chuckled, wolf whistling.

"Damn, aight, I like feisty women."

Ukishima snickered at Ritaka's crude comments, causing Sakigamiya to bark at him next.

"Shut up!"

"Shut up~"

Ukishima mimicked Sakigamiya, using a whiny high pitched tone to mock her. The rest of Machida's crew laughed alongside him.

"Get a better argument than mocking me."

"Wasn't even arguing with you in the first place, but okay."

While Sakigamiya and Ukishima were blabbering away at each other, Machida finally noticed our presence outside the class and turned his attention to us.

Casting his snake like gaze our way, Machida's terrifying stare made Nora retreat behind me. Clutching onto my shirt with shaking hands, Nora whimpered.

"Oh crap, he's coming our way." Taiga uttered with a gulp.

Slowly, Machida got up from the table and shoved Sakigamiya out of the way.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?!"

Sakigamiya was clearly unhappy with his behaviour, but Machida ignored her as he stomped towards us.

"What's wrong with you~"

This time, it was Ritaka who mocked her. Sakigamiya looked like she was ready to slap him.

Since our involvement was now unavoidable, I opened the door to B Class and stepped inside with Taiga. Nora stayed behind the two of us, his eyes squeezed shut in fear.

"Taiga-san, Nora-chan, Takanori-san? What are you three doing here?!"

Sakigamiya was surprised to see us confront B Class like this.

"We felt the same as you obviously, Alice-chan!" Taiga exclaimed.

"You guys should go while you still can, talking to these guys is giving me a headache."

"The best cure is to give head, so c'mere baby!" Ritaka interjected by pointing at his crotch.

"I'm going to rip your ballsacks off!" Sakigamiya threatened.

While the rest of the Machida faction was laughing at Sakigamiya's reaction, Machida stepped in front of me with a scowl.

"Ah, the man of the hour finally showed up."

Then, Machida looked over my shoulder and narrowed his eyes.

"Or should I say girl of the hour? Freak."

"Yuu-kun, watch out!"

Taiga tried to warn me, but it was too late. Machida shoved me out of the way effortlessly to reach Nora.

"M-Machida-san..."

Nora, who lost his grip on my shirt, was now trapped between the wall and Machida.

"Hope you liked Ritaka's gift. That's gonna be your head next if you keep scoring well, you stupid E Class reject."

Nora shrunk away, unable to say anything as a comeback. Taiga growled and forcibly put herself between him and Machida.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!"

"Huh? Follow your own advice, pipsqueak."

Machida then swatted Taiga away. I caught her as she was flung into my arms.

"My arm..."

Taiga hissed in pain as she clutched onto where Machida had hit her.

"Machida! Leave my classmates alone!" Sakigamiya exclaimed.

"Shut up unless you want to be next."

Machida warned her before grabbing Nora by the shirt and lifting him up.

"Tell me, dumbass. How did you get those grades?"

Nora whimpered, shaking his head wildly. He started to panic and grabbed onto Machida's wrist to try and free himself desperately.

However, due to their difference in strength, Machida didn't even have to worry about someone as fragile as Nora from breaking free.

"Huh? Stop spazzing out and answer me!"

Machida shouted in his face, loud enough for even people in the corridor to hear.

"I..."

Nora managed to choke out one word, but the rest were stuck in his throat, unable to come out.

I could painfully relate to how the fear and intensity of being threatened paralyses your ability to speak. I had experienced the same thing when Yamaguchi, Terasaka, and Hashimoto ganged up on me on the day I was falsely accused of being a woman beater.

"Let go him!"

Taiga bounced back to her feet and tried to get Machida to let go of Nora.

"Ukishima."

However, under Machida's orders, an eager Ukishima leapt from his seat and grabbed Taiga from behind, restraining her.

"You're not interfering with anything, Demiza."

Machida firmly warned Taiga, while still pressing Nora for an answer.

"Ukishima-san...! Let go!"

Ukishima laughed as Taiga struggled in his bearhug.

"If you want it so badly, beg for it."

"I refuse!"

"Then I'm keeping hold of you."

With a grin, Ukishima tightened his grip on Taiga, making her shriek in pain. Hearing this, Sakigamiya reached out to her.

"Taiga-san!"

"Ritaka, Kasai."

Just as Sakigamiya rushed forward to help Taiga, Machida ordered those two to restrain her. Without missing a beat, Ritaka and Kasai grabbed one of Sakigamiya's arms each and reeled her back.

"Let go of me!"

However, it seemed Ritaka and Kasai had underestimated her, as a few moments later, Sakigamiya escaped without much protest. Unfortunately, she was subsequently caught again by a reflexive Ritaka, who this time locked his arms under her armpits.

"Gotcha!"

"You pervert, I said let go!"

"Hey Kasai, look! I'm grinding myself on her sweet ass!"

Ritaka completely ignored Sakigamiya in favour of molesting her. Kasai laughed and grabbed hold of Sakigamiya's flailing arms.

"There, now you won't escape for good."

"You guys are the worst! Just wait until Yukimura-kun comes! He'll beat you all into submission! You'll regret touching me like this!"

In a frenzy of panic, humiliation, and rage, Sakigamiya started screaming frantically at the top of her lungs.

"That brute Yukimura isn't gonna come for a bitch like you." Koishi said.

"Nah, he definitely will, that guy's a mega simp for her." Kasai snickered.

"If he comes rushing in, I'll start groping you." Ritaka cackled.

"It'll be just like the NTR doujins!" Ukishima laughed.

"Someone shut her up, I can't concentrate on getting this trap to speak."

Machida spat coldly, now physically trying to shake an answer out of a silent Nora.

"Can do!"

Ritaka wasted no time in using his hand to cover Sakigamiya's mouth.

"Woah, I can feel her tongue fluttering against my hand! Something tells me she's skilled at sucking, eh?"

Kasai and Ukishima laughed hysterically at Ritaka's continuous inappropriate jokes.

"I mean, she's the biggest whore in our year. What's your rate, Sakigamiya? I'd like a piece of you." Ukishima said.

"Nah, the biggest whore has to be that dumb gyaru, what's her name?" Kasai asked.

"Who, Fujimura? Both of them can be huge sluts together! I'd do both of them!" Ritaka laughed.

As those three continued to talk crudely about the girls based on their appearance, I felt a shadow loom over me.

"Machida-san, should I take care of him?"

Koishi's deep voice boomed behind me. Machida took his eyes off Nora for a second before returning to shaking him.

"Go on. Let's see if that loser will retaliate."

Koishi swiftly grabbed me from behind put me in a choke lock. I didn't even get a chance to do anything...

"You feeling the burn yet, Takanori?"

"...just about."

It was really uncomfortable being choked, but after experiencing being dragged around by my tie, thanks to Machida no less, this was nothing.

"No one's going to interfere you now, so go ham boss!" Kasai encouraged.

"Give that whiny trap hell!" Ukishima exclaimed.

Now that all of us had been restrained, Machida no longer held back and suddenly slammed Nora onto a desk.

"Oi, are you even listening to me?!"

Machida's powerful voice silenced everybody.

Not even his faction uttered a word.

They too recognised how genuinely angry he was.

Nora slumped onto the floor hunched over.

Machida forced him back to his feet and shoved him again.

"Answer me, you stupid waste of space!"

Nora's body couldn't even stand up straight.

He was shaking far too much to stay upright.

Tears streamed down Nora's empty face.

He stood motionless as Machida waited for a response.

Machida slapped him across the cheek.

"Wake up! Or do you want me to hit you more, huh?"

Nora managed to shake his head no.

"If you can hear me, then say something!"

Machida slapped him across his other cheek.

"...y-you jackass, leave him alone!"

Ultimately, it was Sakigamiya who found the courage to speak up.

"Didn't I tell you guys to make her shut up?"

"Ah, sorry Machida-san! She bit my fingers while I covered her mouth..."

Ritaka whimpered, showing Machida his bitten hand.

"And I'll bite you again if you try that again!"

Instantly regaining her confidence, Sakigamiya hounded Ritaka before returning her attention to Machida.

"What did he even do to you to deserve this? You're insane, Machida!"

Machida smiled thinly.

"You have guts, woman."

"Answer my question..."

Sakigamiya's confidence started to falter when it came to dealing with Machida. She was probably scared of him hitting her in retaliation, as bruises formed on Nora's cheeks where Machida had slapped him earlier.

"It's simple really. He's been a pain in the ass."

"You're a pain in my ass too, but you don't see me slamming you into a table!"

"Ha, I'd like to see you try."

Sakigamiya snarled and gritted her teeth.

"What did Nora-chan ever do to you? He's never gotten in your way! So why are you being so... so cruel to him?!"

"Ritaka, if you can't shut her up properly, then I will."

Machida left Nora to rot on the floor and turned towards Sakigamiya.

"G-go right ahead, boss..."

Ritaka and Kasai subserviently shuffled out of the way.

"If you hit me, I'll report you for it!"

"I'm so scared."

Machida raised his hand.

"The surveillance camera in this room has been spray painted by yours truly." Ritaka said.

Then, a slap flew across Sakigamiya's cheek.

"Understand?"

With that single blow, Sakigamiya understood perfectly.

Her eyes were widened with shock while her cheek started to bleed.

She couldn't utter a single word after that.

"A-Alice-chan..."

Taiga was horrified by what she just witnessed. I was too busy trying to reserve my depleting oxygen to take any action towards Machida's pigheaded violence. However, I did feel Koishi's arm tense up when Machida hit her.

"You saw that, didn't you?"

Nora hesitantly nodded in response to Machida's question.

"If you don't want to receive a blow like that to your head, then I suggest hurrying up in telling me how you cheated on the exams."

Was this Machida's goal? To get a confession that Nora cheated?

That was going to be impossible, since Nora didn't cheat at all.

"I refuse to believe that scum like you could not only beat me, but get in the top ten as well!"

Slowly, I began to understand the situation clearly. Machida ordered his faction to trash our classroom in revenge for Nora's grades on the midterm. That would explain why his seat was the most targeted one in the class.

"Come on, tell me!"

Machida raised his hand again, warning Nora that, if he didn't speak now, he'd suffer the consequences.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Just as Machida was about to swing down with a chop, the door to B Class was kicked wide open.

"My best friend!"

Mikitaka charged in, head-butting Machida without a second thought.

"Huh—?!"

Machida caught Mikitaka by the head and threw him to the wayside.

"Takenaka, what the hell are you doing here?"

As Nora raised his head, his eyes widened.

"...M-Mikitaka-san?"

For the first time in this classroom, Nora managed to properly speak.

"I'm here to save Takayuki-san! And Sakigamiya-san, and Demiza-san, and Takanori-san too!"

"Put a sock in it. You won't be saving anybody."

"Give it up, Machida! Now that the great hero Takenaka Mikitaka is here, you can't win!"

Mikitaka grinned dangerously, cracking his knuckles. Machida smirked and grabbed Nora, putting him in front as a human shield.

"Go ahead and punch me. You'll be harming your precious little best friend if you do."

"Huh? You think I wanna throw hands? Heh, surely you know that I've changed, haven't you?"

"You look like the same old idiot delinquent to me."

"Think again, sucker! Chabashira-sensei!"

At that moment, Chabashira-sensei entered the room with Toujou-sensei tailing her. A couple of students outside were trying to peer inside to see what was going on.

Once the teachers arrived, Koishi let go of me immediately. The same with Ukishima, Ritaka, and Kasai. I rubbed my sore neck a little bit and took a deep breath.

"I see you've had a lively morning." Chabashira-sensei coldly addressed Machida.

"Machida-kun, what have you done to these four?!" Toujou-sensei exclaimed in shock.

"Especially to... Nora-san?"

Chabashira-sensei broke her poker face when she laid eyes upon the way Machida had treated Nora.

"Ah, that was Koishi-san's handiwork."

Casually, Machida passed the blame onto his own faction members. Koishi nodded in agreement, corroborating Machida's lie for some reason.

At this point, I would expect someone like Sakigamiya to speak up against it, but she was still ridden with fear from Machida's earlier slap. Since Taiga was also too shaken up to say anything, I guess that it was up to me to say something.

"Actually... the one who beat up Nora-san that badly was Machida-san."

When I said that, Sakigamiya and Taiga nodded their heads frantically in agreement. Mikitaka did as well, reading the atmosphere in the room.

"That's right. When I came in, Machida was about to slap Takayuki-san!"

"Slap him? I was only gonna help him up after being beaten up so much by Koishi. Ain't that right, Nora?"

Nora didn't want to respond. Instead, he quietly got up with the help of Chabashira-sensei and clung onto her desperately to support himself.

"Toujou-sensei, I'm going to take him to the teacher's lounge. Could you take care of things here?"

"Can do."

"Sakigamiya-san, Demiza-san, Takanori-san, Takenaka-san. You four should also leave."

Chabashira-sensei gave us those instructions as she left the room with Nora.

"Right... c'mon, guys."

Quietly and bitterly, Sakigamiya led the rest of us outside. Mikitaka pat me on the shoulder encouragingly.

"You did well, brother."

After giving me that compliment, he went ahead of me to support the two girls, who were more downtrodden than I was.

"You five have a lot of explaining to do."

"Yeah, yeah, sensei."

As we left the class, I heard Toujou-sensei begin to sternly discipline the Machida faction.