I Was Blackmailed Into Accepting Bullying Using My Childhood Friend as Leverage, But When I Found Out My Friend and Bully Were Together, I Abandoned All Compassion and Swore to Take Revenge with Everything I Had - Chapter 24: Iketsuki and the Gang's School Raid

Chapter 24: Iketsuki and the Gang’s School Raid

Note: This work contains depictions of violence and sexual content, but it does not promote any of these actions.

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The next morning, after eating the breakfast Sumie-san had prepared and getting ready, I was driven to school again, dropped off near the gate. 

When I opened my shoe locker, several letters were stuffed inside…

Without bothering to check their contents, I tossed the stack of letters straight into the trash can.

“Using my locker as a trash bin… What a nuisance.”

As I made my way to class, the students around me whispered and stared, unsettled by my return. Ignoring them, I opened the door to my classroom, sat down at my desk, and scanned the room with just my eyes.

Iketsuki and his lackeys… still haven’t shown up. My former childhood friend… of course, she wouldn’t be here either.

I tuned out the quiet gossiping of the students sneaking glances at me and focused on my book as usual.

Even though most of the students had arrived, Iketsuki and his group were still missing. But I knew why. (Heh, of course.)

Right as the bell rang, our unreliable homeroom teacher walked into the classroom.

[Crash!] “Kyaaahhh!!!”

Suddenly, the classroom window shattered, and a smoke grenade was thrown inside.

“Ahhh! Fire!” Panicking at the sight of the smoke, the useless teacher abandoned the students and ran out of the classroom first.

The smoke detectors on the ceiling reacted, and the entire school rang with an intense warning bell.

[Crash!] [Crash!]

More smoke grenades were thrown in, filling the room with thick smoke. The smoke detectors in the ceiling triggered, and loud warning alarms blared throughout the entire school.

In a panic, students and teachers from other classrooms also started rushing out, scrambling to escape. The hallways turned chaotic, and the staircases became jammed with people. Shouting and crying filled the air, making the situation even more out of control.

(What’s the point of having fire drills if this is the result?) I thought with a smirk. 

Covering my mouth with a handkerchief, I kicked out the broken window from the inside, freeing the frame. Then, I tore down the curtain, tied it to the drainpipe outside, and used it to climb down, landing safely in the schoolyard.

“Ahh,” I sighed, dusting off my hands. I looked up at the sky, grinned, and casually walked toward the school gate.

Near the gate, there was a group of nearly ten men wearing flashy clothes and sporting tattoos on their arms. Among them, Iketsuki was standing beside a large, muscular man who seemed to be the leader, grinning at me.

“Hey, mutt! You’re heading home early, huh? Did you get scared and run out of the classroom first?”

The rough-looking guys around him laughed obnoxiously at Iketsuki’s words. The leader, who had his arm around Iketsuki’s shoulders, turned to me and grinned as well.

“Hey there, you must be Fudo-kun, right? My buddy Ryusei here told me all about you, and I thought I’d come down and join the fun. That’s why I went out of my way to visit today♪”

“How do you like the smoke grenades, courtesy of the great Benimaru? Gyahahahaha,” he added with a laugh.

The rest of the gang joined in, laughing loudly along with him.

“Hey, mutt! You’re done for! Benimaru Ryuzaki-san of the Red Dragon is going to finish you off right here!”

“Red Dragon? Benimaru Ryuzaki? What is that, some anime character? How lame, haha!”

My taunt hit its mark as Ryusei was shoved aside, and Ryuzaki stormed toward me, his face red with rage, veins bulging. The rest of the gang seemed uneasy, standing back behind the furious Ryuzaki.

“Hey, that guy’s dead meat… Benimaru-san hasn’t been this mad in a while.”

“Iketsuki, you better round up some girls later to smooth things over with Benimaru-san.”

“I-I got it! I’ll handle that…”

I ignored the seething Ryuzaki right in front of me and pointed to the gang behind him.

“Hey, did you hear that? Your buddies are saying you’re as good as dead!”

“So, you’ve got guts… or you’re just an idiot. Either way, die!”

[Thud!]

Ryuzaki’s punch slammed into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. As I hunched over, he followed up with an uppercut to my jaw, sending me flying backward to the ground.

“Kyaaahhh!”

“Somebody call the police!!”

“Ha! Serves that cocky loser right!”

“Yeah, take out that trash for us, Benimaru-san!”

The distant onlookers were shouting, making a scene.

As I struggled to get up, Ryuzaki kicked me in the face, sending me flying again.

“Woo-hoo! Serves you right! That mutt looks better crawling on the ground!” Iketsuki was clapping his hands in joy, thrilled to see me getting beaten.

“Wow, so this is the guy Iketsuki begged us to deal with? I thought he’d be tough, but he’s just a weakling. Benimaru-san didn’t even need to get involved.”

“Yeah, seriously. Hey, Iketsuki! We’ll take care of the rest!”

“Y-Yes! Please do it!!”

With that, the gang members started kicking and punching me while I lay on the ground in front of Ryuzaki. I glanced up at the sky.

…It should be about time now, heh.