A pair of slender, fair hands, tinged with a hint of pink, gripped the doorframe, and a heaving chest rose and fell with slightly labored breathing.
It was Hamazaki Reina, who had rushed up from the first floor.
She exhaled sharply and hurriedly said:
"Don't, don't…"
"…"
But the scene she had expected—students fighting—wasn't there as she blinked her emerald eyes in confusion.
Then, noticing the bloodied boy struggling to stand, she couldn't help but gasp.
His face was in such bad shape—was he going to die here?
Seeming to read her thoughts, Sasaki gestured to the two guys cowering against the wall and instructed:
"One of you, take him to the infirmary for first aid and stop the bleeding.
After that, get him to a hospital."
"Oh, and by the way…" Sasaki reached into his pocket and handed a business card to the long-haired boy helping Morishita,
"Go to this hospital and find this doctor.
Tell him Sasaki sent you, and the treatment will be free."
"O-okay."
Without thinking too much about it, Higashikawa took the card and helped the groaning Morishita out of the classroom.
Looking at the mess left behind, Sasaki turned to the remaining boy and said,
"You clean up here. Any problem with that?"
"No, no problem."
Not expecting him to be so ruthless, Uchida quickly started setting the overturned desks and chairs back upright, then grabbed a mop to clean the dirty water stains on the floor.
Picking up his backpack from the chair and the drink bottle from his desk, Sasaki gave the blonde girl who had approached him a strange look, then nodded toward the hallway:
"Let's go. We can talk outside."
"Sure."
Once outside in the hallway, before he could say anything, Hamazaki Reina nervously scratched her soft, tousled light-yellow hair and said awkwardly:
"Um, thanks for speaking up for me."
"You heard that, huh?" Sasaki replied, a bit surprised.
If he had been paying close attention, he could have heard her footsteps coming from downstairs, but the sound had been faint.
And he had been too focused on the guys scheming against him to notice any noise from below.
Fortunately, he hadn't said anything bad about her, or he might have made a terrible impression.
"Yeah, I heard someone mention me when I was downstairs, so I quietly came up to the stairwell," Hamasaki Reina nodded, feeling both happy and embarrassed to be defended.
She was well aware of the rumors about her at school.
Many believed the worst of her, but this was the first time she had heard someone speak up for her.
She had always thought she didn't care about those rumors, but hearing this boy defend her, she felt a sudden, unfamiliar urge to cry.
However, the feeling passed as quickly as it had come, replaced by a growing curiosity about him.
From the tone of those guys, it seemed like this boy, who shared the same surname as Yukina, didn't even know who she was.
She was relatively well-known at school, especially in the neighboring class, so it was surprising that he didn't recognize her.
Ah!
She remembered Yukina and Ruri mentioning that there was a new, handsome boy in Class B. So, this must be him.
Her drifting gaze settled on Sasaki's face as Hamasaki Reina tried to regain her usual confident demeanor, studying his features closely.
Now that the bloodied boy had been sent to the infirmary, Reina, having calmed down, noticed just how tall this boy was.
As a fashion model, she was used to towering over most girls with her height of 172 cm.
But even she had to tilt her head slightly to look at his face.
He must be nearly 190 cm tall...
His appearance was impressive—no wonder Yukina had praised him.
In the sunlight streaming through the window, his brown hair gleamed as brilliantly as her own golden locks.
His slightly wavy bangs fell over his brows, beneath which a pair of calm eyes reflected her image.
His nose was high and well-defined, and his lips were thin and subtly tinted with pink.
His face was sharply contoured, yet not so angular as to appear harsh; there was a softness in his features that made him look particularly approachable.
Being a fashion model like Yukina, Hamazaki Reina had seen plenty of handsome men.
But most of those were made-up looks, and their true appearance was often underwhelming.
Now, suddenly face-to-face with a guy whose natural good looks far surpassed those of the male models she'd known, and who had also stood up for her, Hamasaki naturally wanted to get closer.
After her initial words, without waiting for Sasaki to respond, she continued:
"Um, your classmate—he'll be okay, right?"
"No worries, I just broke his nose a bit. He's not going to die,"
Sasaki reassured her, fully aware of the strength he'd used.
He was certain Morishita wouldn't die, though ending up in Fujitsubaki's hands would still be quite an ordeal for him.
Relieved by Sasaki's answer, Hamasaki Reina finally let go of her anxiety.
Then, somewhat shyly, she began twirling a strand of hair that hung by her face with her delicate fingers:
"Sorry for causing you trouble because of me."
Sasaki shook his head and smiled, replying,
"I didn't like what he said, and he tried to hit me first. I just hit back.
It had nothing to do with you, so you don't need to feel guilty or worry about him."
"Heh~"
Hearing his words, the girl laughed brightly, casually slinging her bag over her shoulder and placing a hand on her hip as she waved off his concerns:
"I'm not worried about that guy; I was worried about you.
If something had happened to you, I'd feel guilty for a long time."
"Besides, you stood up for me, so I owe you one."
"Do you have some time later? Let me treat you to a meal."
Sasaki checked the time on his phone and politely declined,
"No, I have to go work at the library soon, and then I have a shift at the convenience store."
"That's okay, I can wait. I don't have much to do at home anyway."
Handsome, tall, and protective of her—especially that last trait, which made him one in a million. Hamazaki Reina definitely didn't want to let such a boy slip away.
Sasaki felt the same way about her.
Besides, he wasn't exactly a saint, and since she was offering, he wasn't about to turn her down with more excuses.
"If it doesn't interfere with your plans, Hamasaki-san…"
"It doesn't, it doesn't."
Seeing that Sasaki had accepted her invitation, Hamazaki Reina's face lit up with a smile, realizing that his earlier mention of work wasn't just an excuse to avoid her and happily nodded in agreement.
She then took out her phone and held it up to Sasaki:
"Let's exchange contact info, then."
"Sure."
"Contact me after your shift, and I'll come find you."
"There's no need to go through all that trouble. We can just meet up somewhere."
"Alright…"
They agreed on a small food street that wasn't too far from the school and then parted ways.
"Bye-bye."
"Bye."
As Sasaki watched Hamasaki head back to her class, he turned to the boy still mopping the floor and said:
"I'm leaving now. Make sure you clean up thoroughly. If the teacher notices something tomorrow, you'll be in trouble. Got it?"
"Got it, got it."