Chapter 33
Chapter
What happens when three men and five women clash?
Especially if there’s quite a weight class difference.
Generally, most people would think that the men would have the advantage. When a well-trained person’s fist connects with a smaller person’s face, it must be hard for them to withstand.
Conversely, if a smaller person were to hit someone larger, the impact likely wouldn’t be that significant. They might hurt, but it wouldn’t result in a one-hit knockout, right?
…of course, that’s usually the case when there’s nothing in hand.
While the student bags assigned by schools might differ, the one designated by Hanagawa was one that seemed like it belonged to a working adult—a leather bag.
It could be carried by one hand, or slung to the side with a strap, resembling a sturdy briefcase.
And inside, there were textbooks.
Even if the opponent was a high school girl, wielding a bag with all one’s might would be too cruel to just take it with one’s bare body.
“Gah!”
Especially if it involved four girls during school hours.
“Damn…!”
Cursing escaped from the mouth of the man.
As I grabbed the yellow-haired guy’s hair and yanked, he screamed.
Slip.
My hand slipped back as my fingers dug into his wet hair, but it still had an effect. It was so tightly pulled that some hair broke off and stuck between my fingers.
Honestly, it was a bit gross, but this definitely wasn’t the time to be picky about that.
Miura darted in, punching the guy in the stomach. It was a perfectly executed uppercut.
Somewhere along the line, he’d taken off his glasses. His face looked serious, but honestly, he didn’t seem as scary as the furious Yamashita. However, maybe due to that serious look, the punch he threw landed with quite an impact, and the man bent his body in a U-shape.
Maybe he had taken karate lessons as a kid?
Fukuda was grappling with the bald guy. When the man raised his fist, Fukuda immediately drove his nose into the man’s forehead. Blood flowed from the guy’s head.
But that didn’t stop him from swinging.
Fukuda took a hit to the head and staggered slightly.
“Harumi!”
Yamashita called Fukuda’s name and charged at the guy, grabbing his waist and pulling him back. After regaining his balance, Fukuda kicked the bending man’s stomach.
Just behind Yamashita, a school bag flew in, landing a clean hit. The dazed man stumbled before collapsing to the side.
Truly a Yōkai hunter. Well, from Yuuki’s perspective, these guys weren’t very scary at all. They had never really fought for their lives, after all.
As one man dropped, our odds seemed to swing in our favor, but that didn’t change the fact that we were still in a brawl.
The rain was getting heavier.
Yet, people passing by surrounded us, and considering the weather, it was oddly populated for a day like this.
Hmm.
No avoiding those rumors.
While contemplating, I mechanically tore out more hair from the man. The guy was now faced with Yuuki charging him too, Mako still hammering punches into him, and a situation where he might soon have a patch on his head.
The yellow-haired guy moved.
It appeared he chose to deal with me first, considering I was the one pulling his hair from behind.
However, as the guy turned around, Yuuki’s kick landed right in his side. Miura didn’t seem to care about that man’s spine as he threw a punch.
At this point, I was a bit curious about Miura’s track record. Yuuki was obviously used to this, but Miura… Oh, perhaps he could hang out with those two gyaru friends because, among the three, Miura might have been the strongest physically?
The man staggered a bit, but it seemed he was someone who worked out, as he soon regained his balance and swung his hand at me.
I bent down to dodge, but—unfortunately, a sailor uniform has way too many places to grab.
He held my collar, lifting me back up again.
My face dangled up there, burning. My right cheek felt extremely hot. It seemed I had somehow taken a punch without realizing it.
I tasted iron in my mouth.
One more time, my face heated up, and the right side buzzed. Then, I collapsed onto the wet floor.
A sound erupted from the crowd surrounding us. The man suddenly realized he had become the spectacle of the audience.
Hmm. A high school girl getting beaten up by a boy. People must love this, right?
Well, not that anyone was openly booing.
Yuuki blew on the guy’s head.
“Kurosawa!?”
Miura rushed to me.
“Are you okay!?”
I figured I was probably fine.
Turning my gaze, I saw Yamashita and Fukuda dealing with the bald guy. Both the man and Yamashita were staggering, but it looked like the bald guy had taken the worst hits. Blood was dripping from his nose, and there were scratch marks all over his face, yet he was barely standing.
Yuuki was—
As the yellow-haired guy swung at him, Yuuki slipped back deftly. The reach difference was significant, yet Yuuki’s strikes were all landing, while the guy’s swings were all expertly dodged. Is this what a fighting shoujo is?
“Cough… cough…”
When the ragged breaths escaped the yellow-haired guy’s mouth, sirens could be heard in the distance.
The sound of police cars. I recognized that sound too.
The sirens quickly closed in, and the man’s face turned slightly pale.
“Hey! Stop it!”
Someone shouted from among the crowd. Car doors opened and closed loudly.
“Excuse us for a moment!”
A young woman yelled, and people rustled to clear a path.
Finally, navigating through the crowd, a middle-aged man in a police uniform and a younger woman emerged.
“Hey! You there! Stop!”
As the police shouted, the yellow-haired man breathed a sigh of relief, a smirk creeping on his face.
Then, his eyes looked at us, like he was saying we were finished.
Looks like he had some backing behind him.
After all, a guy dating a well-bred girl couldn’t be from a lesser institution. This is… a common trope, right? A backed-up lowlife.
But what’s this?
We had our own backing here.
*
At the police station, the hospital.
It was something I had never even considered in my previous life to be popping in and out of such places due to fights.
I often visited the hospital, but the reasons were never because of brawls.
A life of never throwing punches at anyone, now in a different world, especially being a high school girl—it’s strange how karma works like this.
“Ah, I swear, it wasn’t my fault!”
“Yeah, yeah. Everyone has contacted their parents, so for now, just wait here.”
The yellow-haired man raised his voice like he was wronged while the police officer in front of him continued typing away on the computer, unfazed.
They must have thought our fight was just ‘kids fighting’. Or maybe they recognized our school uniforms. It didn’t seem like they would take us in and write any formal charges immediately.
After all, assault is a crime that can be dropped under mutual consent. As long as both parties agree, it could all just disappear, but since everyone here was a minor, discussions among guardians were almost essential.
For reference, I had given them my phone number. They had said they needed ‘parents’. Even if Suzuki-sensei showed up, I doubt much could be done.
But…
[Don’t come.]
As soon as I got my phone back, that’s what I texted.
I didn’t want to reveal the existence of Kurosawa Kagami when I was either alone or surrounded by adults, but with friends, it was best to keep a low profile.
For now, they viewed me as something somewhat mystical, and it seemed they were giving me some sort of worship, so I thought they might actually listen to me—
“You’re acting up again?”
“……”
I looked at Kagami absentmindedly.
Despite the address being in Saitama, she was the first parent to arrive.
Her outfit was just like I had seen last time—sloppy. The skirt was short, exposing her belly button and shoulders. The fabric was gaudy, decorated extravagantly.
Buzz.
When my phone vibrated, I checked the screen, and a mail had come from Kagami herself.
[I’m going to hit you a little.]
What?
Before I could properly process that mail,
Whack!
Something swished past my head.
It wasn’t painful or shocking. What in the world was that? But it made a ruckus instead. My wet hair got tangled and pulled back, bringing strands forward. I didn’t even need to look in a mirror to know my hair was in utter disarray.
“Mom!?”
The nearby female officer gasped and tried to stop Kagami, but her tirade continued without pause.
“If you didn’t act up properly, this wouldn’t have happened! Just like last time!”
“Last time?”
Yuuki muttered from beside me.
I looked at my phone. The mail I had received not long ago had another line alongside the threat of hitting me.
[Just keep your head down.]
Ah.
So, the implication was if I acted wronged and kept my head down, she’d take care of it.
That was fine by me. I was already struggling to keep my expression in check. Honestly, Kagami’s outfit was terribly embarrassing from my perspective.
I thought it’d be best if she didn’t come at all, but now that she was here, it was best to have her deal with the situation.
With that in mind, I kept my head low.
“After all, now that you’re on your own, you bring a guy home?”
“……”
Um…
I felt the gazes of those around me bearing down.
No, well, I understood Kagami’s thoughts. I got it, but the problem was that there was someone here who had a huge misunderstanding about my circumstances.
Miura thought I was a victim from the last incident.
But if you say something like that, what does that make me? Well, Kagami didn’t know about that incident, anyway.
“……I didn’t.”
And, I still had a school life ahead of me. I didn’t want any undue misunderstandings. After all, Yamashita and Miura had already seen the marks on my wrist.
I stood up from my seat, looked up at Kagami from between my hair, and said,
“……That guy just followed me shamelessly.”
“Wait, Kurosawa?”
Yuuki’s voice sounded horrified from behind.
I hadn’t told anyone about that stalker yet. It seemed Kagami had handled it well behind my back, and he hadn’t appeared since then.
I noticed Kagami’s eyes moving rapidly. It wasn’t confusion; she was swiftly assessing the situation. Looking at my face, then at my startled friends, at the police, and back at me.
Ah.
I thought I could see the shapes of her lips moving.
Kagami raised her hand and poked my forehead with her finger.
I stumbled back, then righted myself to look at Kagami again.
She seemed to be adjusting her behavior to match mine. Well, if she suddenly said “Sorry, I misunderstood” right now, that would make the atmosphere super awkward.
“This is,”
My forehead was pushed again. I stumbled and steadied myself.
“Who do you think you’re talking back to? Who taught you that attitude, huh?”
Kagami’s tone shifted. It subtly changed from my behavior to questions about my manners.
“Ma’am!”
Even the officer who had been sitting down staring at her computer stood up to restrain Kagami.
“Because you act that way, I don’t want to raise you. You should be thankful if I didn’t erase what I could!”
“Excuse me!”
And it was an unexpected voice that interrupted her tirade.
It was Miura, who had pushed his chair back and stood up, looking slightly confused as he gazed at Kagami.
He seemed startled as if he didn’t even realize he had stood up from his seat.
Once Kagami’s gaze turned to him, Miura flinched slightly.
But he appeared at a loss for words. He may have seemed like this person, but for now… Well, since I’m designated as her ‘mother’ in the narrative.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
Kagami turned toward the police.
“Uh… so…”
The officer replied with an incredulous expression.
“In a little while, the parents of these children will arrive. You need to talk and come to an agreement on this matter—”
“Agreement? What agreement? Who did you hit?”
“……”
“I told you, didn’t I? If you hit someone recklessly, it’ll only end up costing money for no reason, so don’t engage in such pointless acts. You’d be better off just getting hit and receiving a payout, honestly.”
Yuuki exhaled as if he couldn’t believe it.
“And—if it’s going to be so half-hearted, then you should have just gotten rid of it altogether.”
“……”
Kagami’s gaze turned back.
The expression that had been so menacing a moment ago vanished in an instant, and her emotions evaporated in an instant.
With a piercing gaze capable of freezing even ice, Kagami turned her stare toward the yellow-haired man.
For a brief second, I recalled when Kagami had first visited my house.
“Ku, Kurosawa-san?”
“What?”
When a nearby female officer cautiously tried to speak, Kagami’s expression returned to more of a delinquent’s demeanor.
“Just calm down—”
“Yuuki!”
But that officer’s words were drowned out by another voice.
A rough-looking man was striding toward us from a distance.
From his hairstyle, he looked like a businessman. His hair was split perfectly down the middle with hair gel, creating an almost textbook example of a ‘2:8’ haircut.
Yet, his clothing was anything but ordinary.
The shirt inside was a vibrant blue silk, tucked into a white suit jacket. He even buttoned all the buttons on that double-breasted suit.
His shoulders were wide, reminiscent of a deliberately drawn triangle shape.
His skin was tanned; if his eyes had the slight lift reminiscent of Yamashita, he was at a striking contrast against Yamashita’s more refined classical beauty.
While Yamashita seems to carry a cooler demeanor, this guy radiated warmth, almost burning hot.
“What’s going on?”
Approaching… it seemed Yamashita had quickly grasped his surroundings.
Yuuki kept his head down.
Well, that made sense. If I were him, I would be advising my father to wear a different outfit too.
Moreover, Yamashita was not alone. Several more men that looked quite similar to him trailed behind. The police were utterly shocked and staring in that direction.
“Oh, Miura, it’s been a while.”
“Ah, yes… It’s been a while.”
“Hello, sir.”
“Harumi, it’s been a while! You’ve grown up beautifully!”
“Dad…”
Hearing Yamashita speak like that to Fukuda made Yuuki mumble shyly. It was clear to see that Yamashita paid no mind to it.
Hmm…
I began to really understand the story Yamashita had recounted to me.
I thought Yamashita’s father was in trouble with some femme fatale, but now, looking at the situation, it seemed like it was likely the other way around.
Even if he had his daughter and another girl about the same age with him, that image was easy to conjure.
… It was curious he hadn’t brought alongside his wife.
On the left collar of the white suit, there was a gold badge that read 山下 in vertical lettering, wrapped in a long oval shape.
“Yamashita Kai…!”
Someone inside the police station murmured that.
Sanhwa-kai? Of course, the ‘Yamashita’ at the front was attributed to the leader’s name.
Yamashita lowered his head, covering his face.
Yamashita’s gaze turned toward us. The pale-faced yellow-haired man seemed to be utterly disinterested.
Scanning Yuuki and me briefly, he turned to the yellow-haired guy—
“Wait, Kagami?”
Yamashita’s face broke into a joyful smile.
“Kagami, what brings you here?”
His voice was strikingly softer than expected and held an atmosphere similar to when he spoke to his daughter’s friends.
“Hello, Chairman.”
Kagami greeted him with a deep bow and then pulled me next to her, giving a gentle nudge.
It wasn’t a motion to go forward but rather a signal to bow.
I understood that much.
It wasn’t so much ‘I want to introduce you’ but rather a demonstration of ‘let me present my daughter to the Yakuza leader’.
“It seems my daughter has caused some trouble and landed us at the police station.”
“Hmm.”
Yamashita glanced at Yuuki and me, who still looked quite disheveled, then surveyed the three men seated.
Then he spoke.
“I would like someone to explain what happened.”