Chapter 6: The Tiger in the Cage

I'm done following. I'm done waiting for her to slip up.

I'm going straight to the source.

I skip the last class of the day. My teacher marks me absent. I don't care. My ribs are still a constant, dull ache, but my mind is clear.

I walk through the quiet halls of Shinjin High, my footsteps echoing. I'm heading to the one place I know she'll be. Her "lair."

The Student Council Room.

I don't knock. I slide the heavy wooden door open with a loud thud.

And there she is.

She's sitting at the head of a long, polished table, a stack of paperwork in front of her. The late afternoon sun streams in through the tall windows, making her look like a painting.

She looks up, and her eyes show zero surprise. It's like she was expecting me.

"Minatawa-kun," she says, her voice even. "You are skipping class. That is another demerit for your file."

"Cut the crap, Katsumi," I say, sliding the door shut behind me, sealing us in. "I'm tired of this. I want answers."

"Answers?" She delicately puts her pen down on a blotter. "Regarding what, precisely?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" I slam my hand on the table, wincing as the impact jars my ribs. "The hospital! The men with steel pipes! Yesterday! What is going on with you?"

Ayako just sighs, like I'm the one being difficult.

"I fail to see how this concerns you," she says, her voice dipping into that cold, formal tone. "I have already explained. My family has private security."

"Security that you commanded," I shoot back, stalking closer. "Security that carries weapons and beats ten guys unconscious in under a minute? That's not 'security,' Katsumi. That's a goon squad."

Her eyes narrow. Just a fraction. "You are making wild accusations, Minatawa-kun."

"And you're dodging every question!" I'm right in front of her desk now, leaning over it. "You knew I've been in fights for years. You critique my style like a professional. You defend me to a teacher, not to be nice, but to... what? Show your power? And yesterday..."

I point at her. "Yesterday, you didn't even flinch. You weren't scared. You were waiting. You were waiting for me to step in, weren't you? Because you couldn't fight them yourself and blow your 'perfect student' cover!"

I've got her. I know I'm right.

She stares at me for a long, silent moment. The air is crackling.

Then, she stands up.

She's almost as tall as I am. The power dynamic shifts instantly. She's not a girl behind a desk anymore.

"You were in my way," she says, her voice flat. "If you had not 'stepped in,' as you put it, I would have been forced to handle the situation myself. It would have been... messy. You provided a cleaner, more efficient solution."

My brain stalls. "A... a cleaner solution? I'm your janitor now? I clean up your messes?"

"You are a mess, Minatawa-kun."

She steps around the desk, and I instinctively take a step back. She's... intimidating.

"You're a tiger in a cage," she says, her voice dropping to a whisper. She's circling me now, like a predator sizing up prey. "You pick fights with hyenas and street dogs, thinking you're a king. You fight for 'justice' and 'righteousness.' But you don't even know what a real predator looks like."

She stops in front of me, so close I can smell her faint, clean, soap-like scent.

"Those men in the alley two days ago? Low-level trash. The men who saved you? They are... different."

"And you?" I whisper, my throat dry. "What are you?"

She stops, right in front of me. She's so close. "I am the Student Council President."

She lifts a hand. I flinch, thinking she's going to hit me.

Instead, she just taps me. Right on the chest, right over my fractured ribs.

I gasp and wince.

"And as president," she says, her eyes absolutely freezing, "I am advising you. Stop looking for fights you can't win. Stop digging into things that will get you killed. Your 'justice' is just noise. It's... inefficient."

Rage boils up. I'm tired of her riddles, her coldness.

I grab her wrist. "Stop talking in circles and just tell me—"

It happens so fast I can't even process it.

There's a twist. A snap of motion.

My grip is broken. My arm is wrenched behind my back. Pain explodes in my shoulder, and I'm forced forward, my face slammed down onto the polished surface of the council room table.

I'm completely, totally, humiliatingly helpless.

"Don't," she whispers, her voice ice-cold, right next to my ear. Her other hand is pressing my head down. "Touch me. Again."

I can't move. I can't even breathe. My heart is hammering against my ribs, not from pain, but from sheer, primal shock.

This isn't a high school girl. This isn't a normal person.

She holds me there for one, two, three seconds...

Then shoves me away.

I stumble back, clutching my arm, my mind completely blown. I'm staring at her, breathing hard.

She, on the other hand, is perfectly calm. She smooths the non-existent wrinkles on her uniform skirt. She walks back to her chair, sits down, and picks up her pen.

She looks at me, and I'm just a bug.

"Now, if you are quite finished with your tantrum, I have a budget report to file for the Kendo club. And you have a demerit to serve for skipping class."

I can't even form words.

I just... back out of the room. I pull the door shut, and the last thing I see is Ayako Katsumi, the perfect student, writing on her paperwork as if nothing in the world is wrong.

The goddess is a monster.

A beautiful, terrifying, unbelievable monster.

And I think I'm in serious trouble.