Honda saw Hayato shaking the camera and, quite concerned, warned him, "Hey, Kobayashi, I borrowed this from Nozaka. Be careful with it and hold it steady, don't break it."
"Calling her 'Nozaka' already? Looks like someone's quite interested in Nozaka, huh?" Hayato's casual remark made Honda, who usually appeared 'fierce', blush. Clearly, his secret was exposed. "Oh, you're blushing! I see you really don't get it~"
Ignoring Honda, who was about to be 'Muda Muda'd', Jonouchi shook his slightly tired hand, grabbing Fujita by the collar and asking, "You bastard, I've never seen you at school! Tell me! What are you going to do to Yugi?!"
"I-I didn't want to do this, really." Fujita was dizzy from Jonouchi's abuse, and his slurred speech seemed to be getting worse. "The director made me do it. I didn't want to..."
"Director?" Jonouchi listened to Fujita's mumbling and, after a long while, barely made out one word, repeating it to himself.
Before he could understand what "director" Fujita was talking about, a person suddenly stood up from the nearby bushes, interrupting Jonouchi's thoughts: "Enough! Let go of him!"
Jonouchi turned his head towards the source of the voice. His hand, gripping Fujita's collar, subconsciously loosened, and Fujita, caught off guard, fell heavily to the ground with an "Ouch."
The director, wearing a backward baseball cap, stood up from the bushes with a gloomy expression and said to Fujita, who was lying on the ground, "Alright, alright, you've worked hard, Fujita. You can step down now."
"Director..." Fujita rubbed his backside, first glancing at the director's expression, then confirming that Jonouchi had no intention of hitting him. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran back to the bushes where the director was.
"You're the director who plans to deal with Yugi, are you?" Jonouchi's eyebrows furrowed, and his fists audibly cracked, looking as if he would immediately strike if the director's words displeased him.
"Heh, don't be so agitated, young man. I was originally planning to put your friend on television," the director said with a dark expression.
"By punching and kicking? That's really something. Want me to give you a taste?" Hayato let go of Honda, who was as useless as Bin Bin, and stepped forward with his camera, standing alongside Jonouchi.
"What a pity. I could have filmed some excellent material: 'A short boy being bullied at school.' I'm sure it would have attracted the attention of many overly sympathetic people. Too bad you guys ruined it," the director said with a shrug, then sneered, "But, the material I've gathered now isn't bad either: 'Staff member undercover at school being bullied by delinquents.' Although the profit won't be as high as the previous project, you guys will suffer for it, and that makes me happy, even if I earn a little less."
"What do you mean?" Jonouchi didn't understand the director's words. Hayato explained, "It means he plans to make a 'school bullying' related show. Before, he chose Yugi, and now he's chosen you. However, if this show airs, you, as the 'bully,' could very likely be expelled, Jonouchi."
"How could that be?!" Anzu, who had just explained the current situation to Yugi, was quite surprised. "Didn't the camera record what happened before? Yugi is the victim; Jonouchi was just protecting Yugi."
"Such an innocent little girl. There's a technique called editing, you know?" the director sneered. "With just a little simple manipulation, I can even twist black into white. Really, you kids are so naive; bullying you provides no feedback at all."
"You bas—" Jonouchi angrily wanted to rush forward and punch the annoying director, but he had only taken one step forward when the director suddenly called out to him, "Hey, wait a minute."
"You mean you're scared too?"
"No, no, just a friendly reminder, kid." The director had an annoying smile on his face as he walked towards Jonouchi, pointing his hand towards the cameraman behind him. "The camera is still on, you know? If you want to show off more of your violent acts to the national audience, go ahead and hit me, then?"
Jonouchi looked in the direction of the cameraman. Just as the director said, the camera was still on. If he were to hit the director, it would only provide more evidence for this annoying guy.
Walking up to Jonouchi, the director took the crumpled paper tube in his hand and tapped Jonouchi's face: "Are you very angry and annoyed, kid? That's the expression I'm looking for, that expression of wanting to kill me but not being able to, heh heh hahaha—"
"Um, didn't you consider that there are surveillance cameras here?" Hayato, standing next to Jonouchi, looked at the director's actions and put on a nerdy facade. "Surveillance cameras record everything. Your crimes cannot escape the law's grasp."
"That's why you kids are so adorably stupid," the director sneered, glancing at Hayato. "Do you think we adults act impulsively without considering the consequences like you kids? Naive! I specifically chose this spot after investigating your school. There are no surveillance cameras here."
"Oh, no surveillance cameras, then."
The weak-willed expression on Hayato's face vanished instantly. He exchanged glances with Jonouchi and simultaneously showed a strange smile.
Jonouchi moved swiftly, instantly raising his leg for a knee strike. His hard knee collided with the director's soft abdomen. One blow was enough to subdue the director, who had just been so smug.
"No surveillance, and you still dare to be so arrogant?!"
The moment Jonouchi made his move, a person darted out from behind him. His bullet-like hairstyle announced his identity: it was Honda. Having fought alongside Jonouchi since middle school, he could guess Jonouchi's intentions just by seeing him stick out his butt.
Without even needing a subtle hint, Honda rushed to Fujita, who had just escaped Jonouchi's grasp, and slapped the unswollen side of Fujita's face, helping his face become symmetrical.
The cameraman was a bit flustered.
This isn't right. These students aren't playing by the rules. Others try to avoid being filmed, but these guys are practically shoving the evidence in front of the camera. What's going on?
Watching the director being pummeled by Jonouchi's "Bastard! Damn! Bastard! Hit!" and Fujita being shaken by the collar by Honda while he yelled "Muda Muda," the cameraman had the idea of turning and running away.
And just then, a hand rested on the cameraman's shoulder.
Turning his head with a fearful heart, the cameraman saw Hayato Kobayashi's quite "kind" smile: "Don't be in such a hurry to leave, cameraman brother. It's rare for you to visit our high school. At least solve a problem before you go, right?"
"Question: 1000 - 7 = ?"
