Double School Rivalry

"Congratulations, Akabane, for receiving the highest score in this class with 100%!" The teacher applauded as she handed him back his test paper. Nodding a polite thank you, Karma suppressed the triumphant smirk that threatened to make an appearance as he tucked it away inside his bag. Once again, he ignored the jealous glares from the classmates around him. It was their fault for not being as clever and sly like him after all.

Having gym next period, he made sure to grab his sports bag from the locker as he made his way down to the changing rooms. But, just before he could reach his destination, he was stopped by a certain someone who sported blonde hair. "Full marks? That's pretty impressive. No-one has ever gotten the same score as me before…" Gakushu smiled in a mocking way, leaning in forwards in the red-head's direction.

"…Unless of course, you had cheated."

All color seemed to drain from Karma's face as he slowly opened his mouth, not knowing whether to protest against it or just go with the flow. However, he made an assumption that Gakushu was probably expecting him to be surprised and break down, so he decided to go with the second option. Letting out a nervous, shaky laugh, he tucked away a stray piece of hair that had been covering his eyes and responded with, "And what about it…?"

This earned him a glare from the other male, leaving him satisfied with his reply. Still feeling a little awkward with the conversation though, he made an attempt to get away and hastily added in, "Ah, you see… I really have somewhere to be right now, so if you would excuse me…" He took a step backwards and was about to walk off when his rival suddenly grabbed onto his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "Not so fast, Akabane."

A photo was thrust into Karma's face, and he could see that it was of someone crouching in front of the teacher's desk. It was quite blurry, but anyone could see that it was him if they looked close enough. Horrified, he tried to grab it out of the other's hands, but Gakushu seemed to know what he was thinking and held it high out of reach, switching it to the other hand every time Karma was close to getting it off him.

"Give it to me, you bastard!" He snarled, growing more and more panicky with each second the photo remained in its current owner's hands. If he failed to get it now… Who knew what it would be used for in the future? Blackmail seemed to be the most likely possibility.

"Bastard? Then I guess that means you're a cheater. Although that already is true." Gakushu smirked in reply, tauntingly waving it around in the air. "Hm… How about we make a deal?"

"A deal?" That word sounded like bad news to Karma as he stopped jumping up and down unsuccessfully like some sort of idiot. But then again, almost everything that came out of the other male's mouth was bad news. And besides, making a deal with that kind of person would surely have a negative outcome in the end, no matter what sort it was.

The principal's son smiled cheerfully, even though to Karma's eyes, it seemed more menacing and sly. "That's right. How about you turn yourself in so he doesn't get hurt?" Once he had finished his sentence, he clicked his fingers together and the door behind the two of them opened. Inside, there was a boy with a knife held up to another's neck, the weapon dangerously close to coming in contact with the skin.

"R-Rentarou!" Karma gasped, instantly hurtling himself forwards in an attempt to rescue his senpai. However before he could come close to doing so, he was violently jerked back and almost tripped over his feet. His friend must've somehow gotten caught by the blondie's followers while trying to get the photo back for him. And now Rentarou was in that sort of situation with his life on the line…

"He has nothing to do with this!" The redhead snapped furiously, immensely guilty with himself. It was his fault that this had to happen, so he was the one who had to solve and fix it without dragging along unnecessary people.

"Is that so? Then tell me, what was he doing rummaging around in my locker and looking triumphant when he found… this?" Gakushu waved the photograph around again, seeming to enjoying mocking the other male before him.

Karma was left with no reply, and it wasn't like he had been there at the scene during the time, so there was only one thing left to do now. With a yell, he somehow got himself free from his rival's grasp and dashed inside the classroom, surprising the enemy that was keeping his senpai hostage. Now that the grip on the knife was loosened, he was able to fling it away and push the boy down onto the ground. Seeing that he was free, Rentarou gave one sympathetic glance to his savior before fleeing the room, past a scowling Gakushu.

The hero seemed to not have noticed that little act just then, as he was too busy throwing kicks and punches at the enemy, swearing at him in between each one. "To hell with you two! I'll never forgive you both!" He cursed, landing one final hit at his target before slumping down onto the ground, too exhausted to move any longer.

"What's going on in here?"

Although that voice made Karma instantly freeze, he forced himself to slowly look up to face his teacher. "I… Uh…" He turned the other way to see Gakushu's follower lying on the ground in a bloody heap. He wasn't dead of course, but anyone could see that he had taken quite a beating.

"It was Akabane who did it." The blondie spoke up, making his ways towards the teacher and handing her the photo. It was already obvious what was in the photo, and now that she seen it, it was too late for the redhead to redeem himself anymore.

The worried look on the teacher's face instantly transformed into one of anger and hurt upon seeing the proof. "Akabane? What have you got to say about cheating in the test and hurting a fellow student?" She asked in a stern voice, hands on hips as she gazed down at him in an imitating manner.

"Gakushu–" Opening his mouth, he tried to explain just what exactly what happened, but to no avail as his teacher simply wouldn't listen to him upon hearing the principal's son's name. He supposed it was one of the privileges of being who Gakushu was, if money and bribing was involved.

"Because of your actions, you are to no longer be in my class. You are to be suspended for 2 months and move down to Class E during your return."