Chaos Mate ~Revenge In This Chaotic Academy~

Chapter 38: A Classmate’s True Feelings

During lunch break, I head to the D-Class classroom.

Usui warned me it’s a dangerous place, but to get info on this case, I need D-Class’s help.

As soon as I step inside, the air feels heavy, like I’ve entered another world.

“Excuse me, I’m Tsubaki from E-Class. I need to talk about Utsumi Kagetora… Is that okay?”

I put on a friendly fake smile and ask, but a guy in a knit cap leaning against the door swings his arm at me without a word. I catch it with my right hand.

“Rough welcome, huh? I don’t mind—it’s easier this way.”

I twist his arm behind his back to pin him, but a chubby guy behind me swings a metal bat down at me. I duck, and the bat hits the knit cap guy’s head instead.

“Hey, you fatass!! What the hell!?”

“Who’re you calling fat, huh!? It’s your fault for not dodging!!”

“Both of you, bickering in front of me? That’s not gonna fly, is it?”

I punch both idiots in their weak spots above the stomach with my fists, and they collapse, unconscious, onto the floor.

I look around at the D-Class students, frozen from watching the scene.

“I don’t have time. If anyone’s got a problem with me, come at me all at once. I just wanted answers to one or two questions and to leave, but if I have to beat every one of you in a fight to get them, I’m game.”

I grab the hair of the two knocked-out guys, showing their faces to the crowd. Everyone in the room looks horrified.

This is a warning: waste my time, and you’ll end up like them.

I won’t take lives, but I have zero mercy for anyone who gets in my way.

One guy flinches when our eyes meet, his shoulders trembling.

Guess my eyes must look pretty damn scary right now.

After 20 seconds, no one steps up to challenge me, so I let out a relieved breath.

“Looks like you’re ready to talk. Anyone, answer my questions.”

I hold up two fingers.

“First, where’s Utsumi Kagetora right now? Second, has anyone seen him in contact with someone up to today?”

My questions stir a low murmur among the D-Class students.

Getting irritated, I slam the blackboard hard, making a loud bang.

“Just answer already, I don’t have time…!!”

I’m not actually in a rush, but acting desperate makes it clear I’m in a bad mood.

It gives them a sense of crisis—that they don’t know what I’ll do next.

Then, a bob-cut girl, standing out as different in this room full of delinquents, approaches me.

“I’m Kijima Eri. I’ll answer. Utsumi-kun is currently under house arrest in the D-Class apartment, under 24-hour strict surveillance by the student council. What do you need with him?”

“Someone in my class, Kikuchi, might’ve been killed by him yesterday. I need to talk to him.”

“You could talk to him, but it’d be pointless. He can’t leave that room.”

“Why not?”

“His room is rigged. The moment he tries to leave, a sensor triggers, and a surveillance camera sends an electric shock. Even he’s learned by now.”

“So, it’s impossible for Utsumi to leave his room?”

“That’s right. Satisfied, ex-soldier?”

“No, one more question. How does the lock on Utsumi’s room work?”

“Like all dorms, you tap your phone on the door panel. But only student council or teacher phones work… or maybe a close friend’s phone.”

“…Got it. Thanks. And tell those two passed-out guys I’m sorry for the trouble.”

I leave the D-Class room, and Kijima pushes up her glasses.

“Tsubaki Madoka. Quite the intriguing aura… Things are about to get interesting.”

The lunch break end chime rings right on time.

※

After school, as I’m about to leave the elective classroom, Kawanami and some other guys block the door.

Their faces show a mix of anger and distrust.

“Hey, can you clear the way? I wanna go home.”

“First, go back to your seat. We need to talk as a class.”

“…Fine.”

I return to my seat and look around. Reine’s standing at the podium.

Mogami, behind me, mutters under her breath.

“…Bad vibe.”

“Yeah.”

The classroom falls silent, and Reine speaks with a serious expression.

“Today, Kikuchi-san passed away. I think we’re all sad. I’m really sad too. But if we keep grieving, we can’t move forward. So, I was thinking we could hold a funeral to find closure… What do you think?”

Most of the class agrees with Reine’s words.

A funeral…? Huh? What the hell…?

I don’t get it.

I mean, I understand what Reine’s trying to say.

But doing that now?

There’s something more important we should be doing…

I’m about to stand up, fuming, when Mogami, looking pissed, stands up first.

She scans the room, then narrows her eyes at Reine.

“Burying the dead is fine. I’d even support it. But isn’t there something more important we should be doing?”

“…Mogami…san? What’s with you all of a sudden?”

Reine tilts her head, and Mogami grips her cardigan sleeve, trembling.

I can tell right away her shaking isn’t from fear of being outnumbered—it’s pure rage.

“That… ‘What are you talking about? I don’t get it’ look… It pisses me off!! She was our classmate, right!? Don’t you want to avenge her!?”

“Doing that won’t bring Kikuchi-san back, will it?”

“But it could prevent another victim like her…!!”

“We don’t know if there’ll be another victim, and revenge just creates a cycle of sadness.”

“That’s the kind of righteous talk adults love. But emotions aren’t something you can just brush off with logic, are they?”

Mogami directly challenges Reine’s reasoning.

“I don’t know what kind of person Kikuchi was or her personality. But during this first term, didn’t you all have your own feelings or bonds with her? No one thought of her as a friend? No one found her reliable? No one was helped by her!?”

Mogami pleads with the class, but Kawanami’s unexpected response cuts through.

“If we try to find Kikuchi’s killer… I might be the next one killed.”

“…What?”

“Mogami… you might be right. When a murder happens, someone should find the culprit. But there’s no police or detectives in this academy!! If the whole class starts hunting for a killer, it’s guaranteed another victim will come from this class!! Instead of that, turning a blind eye to the culprit means less risk of dying!!”

“Can you really call that living?”

Mogami glares at Kawanami with hostility, and Sakano glares back at her.

“Mogami-san, aren’t you afraid of dying? We are!! If you want to hunt the killer, do it alone!! Don’t drag us into it!!”

Voices of agreement with Sakano echo around the room.

Even hearing this, Mogami’s eyes don’t waver with resignation.

“…Fine. You’re right. But… I can’t forgive whoever did this. And I’m different from you all… Living in fear of a murderer, doing nothing, is way worse than fighting that fear and living on.”

Mogami slings her bag over her shoulder and leaves the classroom. Angry voices directed at her fill the air.

“What’s her deal? She doesn’t know anything, acting all high and mighty!!” “Who does she think she is? There’s nothing we can do!!” “So annoying, she should’ve died instead of Yuka!”

…What the hell is this?

Mogami’s words didn’t get through at all.

She’s really bad at talking. What you wanted to say didn’t come across.

Guess I’m the only one who got it… I’ll say it for you.

I slam my fist against the window and stand up, scanning my classmates’ faces.

Then I let out a deep sigh.

“You guys… how long are you gonna stay herbivores? How long are you gonna be okay with being prey, putting up with it?”

“Tsubaki…? What’s with you too? You’re acting weird.”

Kawanami’s face twitches.

I know I’m not acting like myself.

But I can’t accept this.

“Yeah, I’m weird to you guys, huh? But… living in fear of something forever, scared of death… that’s not for me. So I’ll become the predator, even if it’s just me. Even if it means devouring your flesh, I won’t stop fighting.”

That’s how I’ve lived.

“If you despise me for it, that’s fine.”

I’m used to it.

“But no matter what anyone says, no matter how much I’m obstructed, I’m not changing who I am now. If you want to stop me, you better be ready for the consequences.”

This is my declaration of war against anyone in this class trying to sabotage my revenge.

I sling my backpack over my shoulder and leave the classroom.