The orange-red flames surged upward, not only illuminating the darkening night sky but also casting light on Horikita Manabu's ashen face.
They could no longer fight the fire. With the firefighting equipment mysteriously sabotaged, he had no choice but to lead the third-year students and workers in a full retreat. Thick black smoke slowly drifted upward, as if declaring its ruthless cruelty to the world.
Even from a distance, one could feel the oppressive heat and the suffocating, lung-burning scent of charred wood.
Since Takahashi's Yukata Shop was entirely made of wooden structures, once the fire had started, it spread rapidly. The blazing flames had already climbed over the rooftops.
Like demons from hell devouring life and property, they danced menacingly under the moonlit sky.
With a loud *bang*, a sudden crash startled everyone. It was a large beam inside the building, collapsing under the force of the fire!
"Fall back, everyone, fall back!" Horikita Manabu stared intently at the burning building but could do nothing except hope the fire department arrived soon.
Aside from that, the only thing left was to retreat. As much as it pained him, for the safety of the students, he couldn't order anyone to rush inside for a rescue.
He could only direct the third-year students to slowly move away from the workshop, keeping them safe from harm.
"What are you retreating for? Get in there and put out the fire!" Suddenly, a voice, completely opposed to Horikita Manabu's cautious approach, rang out over the orange-red fire scene.
Everyone looked on in astonishment. Who would suggest going in to fight the fire now? Were they sure they weren't just running into danger?
They saw Ishizaki from Yukio's class emerge from a nearby light industrial workshop, carrying a fire hose. The long hose trailed behind him as he rushed in and began spraying water at the fire.
The hose twisted and filled up with water, and soon a powerful stream gushed into the blaze, instantly extinguishing part of the flames. The fire sizzled loudly as a large cloud of visible white steam rose into the air!
"You third years, don't just stand there! Go find usable fire equipment nearby and help out!" Almost simultaneously, Nomura rushed out as well, carrying a fire hose and working with Ishizaki to extinguish the flames.
Then Albert, Oda, Komiya, and other boys from Yukio's class appeared, clearly having borrowed fire equipment from nearby workshops: "Horikita President! Don't let your people just stand there dumbfounded. Come over and borrow some fire extinguishers!"
"For crying out loud, this is ridiculous! All the nearby buildings are light industrial workshops. If yukata shop burns down, it'll drag them down with it! Of course, they'll be willing to lend you fire equipment! Get over here and lend a hand! Why are you just standing there watching? Move it!"
"Seriously, do you high school seniors have any sense of action? If Takahashi's Yukata Shop burns down, you'll all get zero points!"
This was probably a case of "you become like those you associate with." The boys from Yukio's class, having spent so much time with their leader, had developed a certain level of boldness.
After all, chances to rightfully scold senior classmates like this were rare. So naturally, all of Yukio's class, whenever they could, threw in a jab or two, regardless of whether it was justified—just get the scolding in.
Horikita Manabu and the third years were left dumbstruck, completely speechless as they were berated. But the boys from Yukio's class had a point, didn't they? Why were they just standing there? If the fire equipment at Takahashi's Yukata Shop had been tampered with and rendered useless, shouldn't they have gone to borrow equipment from the surrounding shops?
"Yes, yes, that was my oversight. To think it took our juniors to point it out... I really am a terrible senior. I'll go right away!"
"And me! Sorry, juniors, we didn't think this through. Hang in there! We'll borrow some extinguishers and come right back to help!"
"Be careful! The fire is still raging, and just using the hoses won't be enough to put it out. Make sure to stay safe!"
"Damn it! We can't let the juniors outshine us like this! All third-year boys from Class C, follow me! How can we let our adorable junior boys stand on the front lines of a fire all by themselves?!"
"Poof!" Ishizaki, who was spraying water to extinguish the fire, couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing the comment from the senior student, especially that third-year girl from Class C.
"Hey, Ishizaki!" Komiya next to him immediately scolded, "What are you doing? Be serious! We're putting out a fire here!"
"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't hold it in." Ishizaki struggled to keep the hose steady with both hands. "Honestly, they can't hear us anyway, this hose makes such a loud noise."
"It's just too funny, isn't it? The third-year seniors... getting scolded by us like that, and not only did they take it, but they were so excited to thank us afterward and tell us to stay safe. Pfft."
"Shut it!" Komiya reminded, mindful of Yukio's instructions. It's fine to tease the seniors a bit, but don't cause any real trouble. If someone actually hears us, we'll have a hard time explaining it.
Ishizaki understood, nodded his big head, and fell silent, focusing on putting out the fire.
While everyone was busy taking action, Horikita Manabu stood frozen in place, staring at the overwhelming blaze ahead.
Tachibana approached him with concern. "President?"
Horikita Manabu snapped out of it for a moment, leading his classmates to borrow more firefighting equipment. His dark expression, if seen by an outsider, would have made them think he got hit in the face with burning debris.
Tachibana had never seen Horikita Manabu look this severe before. Even his usual cold demeanor wasn't this intense. "President, did you... realize something?"
"Yukio..." Horikita Manabu clenched his teeth, squeezing out the name through gritted teeth as if forcing out toothpaste, muttering in a low voice, "It's all him. This was all planned by him!"
"Huh?" Tachibana, who trusted Horikita Manabu completely, instinctively covered her mouth and nose. "The fire... President, do you mean? The fire was... them?"
She hesitated to even finish the sentence. How could this be?
"It must be!" Horikita Manabu was utterly convinced, even though he had no proof. "Their whole class was stopped by Takahashi from taking orders!"
"The salespeople with no orders to fill have basically been playing around outside all day. They haven't even set foot in the workshop throughout this whole special exam! So why, all of a sudden, at the end of the day, do they come rushing in from nearby to put out a fire?"
"Did they have a sudden change of heart? Decided to start working at the workshop? Then why didn't they show up this morning? Who starts work at the end of the day?"
"He's too bold! Does he even understand the seriousness of what he's done?"
Horikita Manabu's voice was kept especially low. Even though he was surrounded by his fellow third-year classmates, only Tachibana could hear him. The gravity of the situation was too immense to share with others. Who knows what kind of massive upheaval would result if this leaked?