It was rather fortunate that he heard Rena’s yelp after he had put out all the fires and roused most of the club members. Yes, if anything needed to be added to Aki’s “Bullshit I’ve Had To Deal With Today” list, it was the potential kidnapping of a yakuza heiress. He turned quickly enough to see Kaede speeding out of the room with a shocked Rena in tow. 

There was no doubt that the purple haired girl wasn’t the type of person to let someone push (or rather, pull) her around, she seemed too proud for that. She wasn’t being taken away because of Yamamoto’s physical prowess either; a kendo and judo practitioner like her would be able to wreck that spindly caffeine addict in two seconds flat. Those rumours had to be based on some truth, right? Therefore, the logical explanation was that Rena was being taken along by her own will.

But what if she wasn’t? What if she looked back and didn’t see Akihito chasing after them? It would be seen as a betrayal or a sign of cowardice, which would not put him in her good books. And when she would inevitably free herself from Yamamoto’s grip, Aki could NOT have her react unfavourably to him.

To Aki, Tatsuya was not a friend. She was merely someone that he needed to establish as a non-threat, to himself and his club members. The best way to keep her away from the Art Club members was to direct her attention to Aki himself. Rumours were rumours, but Tatsuya was undeniably dangerous. The best way to declaw her was to befriend her, gain her trust and slip past her defences. That’s why he needed to go after them. He wasn’t a track team standard runner but if he went now, he might be able to catch Yamamoto and Tatsuya, no, “Rena” as she would continue to be referred to, since she set foot into the Art Studio.

Any signs of smoke or reignition had been put out already. Woken club members were already attending to each other. The worst remaining hazard was shattered glass from the spotlights, which the drama kids could easily deal with. Aki ran.