"C'mon senpai, if they're doing this in the front courtyard then we need to get moving now!"
With that in mind, you need to gather the gang together and coordinate a plan. The problem is that you only have ten minutes to work with before they start, and you can tell from Moka's expression and body language that she's letting the time limit get to her.
"So we hurry to get there," you reply while deliberately standing still to get her attention, "and then we do what, exactly?"
Moka falters, all but tripping over herself in her haste to get going, but your question does seem to take hold. "I... I don't know," she admits in frustration.
But you can see tears starting to bud in the corners of her eyes, and even though you're on the same page that she is, the desperation in her voice still pierces into you like a knife.
"But I can't just stand here and let them kill him! I have to do something!"
You start to reach for a cigarette, only to realize that you left them in your dorm room. Nothing to do for it but sigh out your annoyance.
"You're preaching to the choir," you begin with a certain forced amount of patience. "But apparently Morioka's been trying to get you guys to lay off the Protection Committee. And if that S-class slimeball is afraid, then it means they're seriously bad news."
Moka steps back with a grimace, and while you can see that she's paying attention to what you're saying... you're still worried she might go and do something stupid.
And then you hear a string of words that you never realized could sound so beautiful to your ears, just for how welcome they are in the current situation.
"...what do you have in mind?"
You sigh in relief that Moka's stepped back from running in blindly, and take that as a cue to start walking. "If there's a 'public trial'," you begin, "then that means the Committee want to make a show out of this. It might not be much, but it is a little extra time we can use to make a plan."
Narrowing her eyes in consideration, Moka moves to follow as you pass by, although from the sound of her footsteps she has to hold a much quicker pace to keep up with you. "...you're not sure if we can take them all on by ourselves," she asks-as-a-statement with realization.
"We don't know enough about them," you reply honestly. "But if we coordinate with the rest, we'll have better odds."
"A lot of people resent the Committee," Mizore says as she steps out from behind a pillar to join you. "Maybe we could start a riot and get Tsukune out in the confusion."
"Okay, I have two problems with doing that." Moka sounds agitated. Even without hearing her reasons, you can tell readily that she's very much not a fan of that idea. "First, even if we end up fighting the Student Protection Committee, I don't want to drag other students into it if we can help it."
Mizore pulls her empty candy stick out of her mouth with an exaggerated pop... but you feel, more than hear, the tsk of agitation she was covering up with it. You're not convinced that she particularly cares about the well-being of anyone outside her immediate social circle, which... well, it is what it is. And from what you can remember of her mother, you're not sure if that's some kind of genetic trait, or just how Mizore was raised.
"Second," Moka continues, "just because we manage to pull Tsukune out of the fire today, doesn't mean they'll stop targeting him."
You turn slightly to watch Mizore's reaction, and see her narrowing her eyes. "...fair," she admits. A moment later: "...we could all transfer somewhere else together?"
It sounds like a decent idea on paper, but... "It'd take at least a week to get the paperwork dealt with," you point out, "and that's if we could find a school that would accept a half-dozen transfers from the same place at the same time."
Because if Tsukune were to leave Youkai Academy, then Moka, Kurumu, and Yukari would unquestionably go chasing after him. And while you'd otherwise be quite confident in your ability to survive this place on your own, your plan to interfere in the coming proceedings would almost certainly put a huge target on your back, if the administration even let you stay afterward. And if you got pushed out, then paperwork or no, you have reason to suspect that Mizore would cut her own arm off if it meant being able to follow wherever you went.
Logistically, it isn't feasible for everyone to 'just leave'. Certainly not on such short notice.
Not to mention that it feels a lot like throwing in the towel, and after everything you've been through since arriving here -- both alone, and with your friends -- the notion of giving up, of letting those monster supremacist bastards win, fills you with contempt.
As you approach the front atrium where the shoe lockers are, you see a determined Kurumu and Yukari coming to join you from the opposite hallway. They're back in their usual styles of attire now, having changed out of their maid uniforms.
Whatever it was that made Yukari seem so adorable before is now gone. You think it's because her mashojo getup annoys you.
"There's no way we can let those creeps win," the bluenette says, echoing what you were just thinking.
...fuck it -- you're in the mood for a smoke, and with classes over for the day and a crowd forming outside, there's no one around who would report you. With just a little intent backing up your desire, you find a carton of cigarettes in your hand. Retrieving a lighter from your coat pocket, you take a moment to indulge yourself as the succubus continues.
"And since I'm pretty sure we're all in the mood for a fight anyway, the only way I can think of to protect Tsukune in the long term is if we beat the Student Protection Committee at their own game."
Moka's reaction is... intriguing. On the one hand, you can tell at a glance that her interest is piqued... but she also looks like she can guess what she's about to hear, and is dreading it. "Beat them at their own game? You're not saying we --"
You sigh a cloud of smoke, savoring the calming effect you get from your habit. "Crush the Student Protection Committee so completely they never rise up again."
It's a tall order, no question. It's obvious that they've got your group outnumbered. And while you've observed that everyone you're standing with seems to be at least above-average in power, skill, or both, you have no information about the makeup of the SPC's forces. Except...
"We know Keito's a chump," Mizore begins, "and it looks like she can boss around the minions however she likes."
Yukari grins. "And since even the clubs who don't go around causing trouble usually concentrate authority in their strongest or most experienced members, if we consider her to be an administrator, then at most they probably only have a handful of people on our level."
You blink at that statement, not so much from disagreement with Yukari's assessment of the enemy, but rather the notion of a little girl who looks half your age and a third of your size claiming to be anywhere near 'your level' when it comes to fighting. And not only that, but the knowledge that she probably isn't wrong.
While you're still young yourself, it bothers you that a kid Yukari's age should be so accustomed to fighting for people's lives.
You take a look around your friends.
Kurumu and Yukari want a fight, Moka doesn't but is willing to go there if you need to, and Mizore will go along with whatever you say.
So.
What do you say?
[]Wait for an opportune moment, and spring an ambush. Take them out hard and fast; as long as you can get Tsukune out safely, you'll address whatever comes next as it happens.
[]Challenge the Student Protection Committee openly, but give the other students an opportunity to GTFO if they so choose.
[]You really, really, really don't have any belief that this is going to work... but take the moral high ground and make at least a basic attempt to resolve this peacefully before you start bashing heads.
)
