COTE: A Mute Guy

Vol. 4 Chp. 5: Headstrong

'Italic': Notebook
'Underline': Phone's A.I.

I met up with Sakura when she gave me unexpected news.

"My group has ended..."

I checked the mail on my phone. It simply said:

The test for the Cow group has ended. Members of the Cow group are no longer required to participate in the exam. Please make sure not to disturb the other students.

It was the exact text sent after the Monkey group's exam ended.

Sakura looked at me with uneasy eyes, "Have I... done something wrong?"

I shook my head, 'Someone in your group reported the target to the school.'

I know that none of my classmates in the Cow group were the VIPs.

"I will see you later, Kagurazaka-kun."

Sakura left while swinging her hands cutely from side to side.

3rd POV

Boiler Room

"What's going on? There's no stupid signal here," the designated time was almost upon us.

Once Karuizawa set her phone aside, she leaned against a wall.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Karuizawa trembled at their arrival.

"We happened to see you come here, so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to see if Rika-san remembers you," Manabe said.

Rika was forced to stand inches away from Karuizawa.

"Hey, Rika-san, is this the person?" Morofuji timidly nodded.

Manabe faced Karuizawa, "Apologize."

"I haven't done anything wrong," Karuizawa was trembling, but she stood firm, believing she didn't do anything wrong.

An amused smirk appeared on Manabe's face, "I find your behavior rather strange. You seem frightened."

Manabe let out a fake gasp, "Don't tell me you've been bullied before?"

"What...?"

"It looks like I'm the winner and hit the nail on the head," Manabe continued.

"You're wrong!" Karuizawa tried to refute, but her breathing became ragged, and her words were weak.

"If you kneel and beg, we might forgive you. What do you say? You're good at groveling. Being on your knees?" Manabe mocked her.

"N-no, I won't! I've never done that before!" Karuizawa shouted.

Karuizawa attempted to break from the girls surrounding her, but Manabe caught her by the hair and threw her back into the wall.

"Ow, ow!"

Manabe drove her into Karuizawa's stomach before slamming her against the wall, "I want to beat you until you turn black and blue..."

Manabe grabbed Karuizawa by the hair, "Rika-san, I'll allow you to deal the final blow."

"H-huh?" Morofuji looked scared and confused.

"She lied and hurt you," Manabe said.

"O-okay..."

Slap

Morofuji hit her with a weak and pathetic slap.

Manabe groaned before releasing Karuizawa, "Whatever, we are leaving."

Kagurazaka's POV

I noticed something strange when I saw Manabe and her friends leaving the boiler room.