My Girlfriend is an Evil Woman

After the intense struggle, Kitahara Hideji’s arms might have gained a bit more strength from his dedicated training in this lifetime, but it was the quick and decisive actions that made the difference. His blows were swift and precise, alternating between forceful strikes and defensive maneuvers. In a matter of moments, Ota Tsugawa’s appearance had transformed into that of a battered and unrecognizable figure, his face bearing the marks of Kitahara Hideji’s relentless assault.

Kitahara Hideji’s past experiences of being bullied in his previous life, coupled with his determination to never allow himself to be victimized again, fueled his resolute actions. He was not about to let himself be pushed around any longer, and certainly not when it came to protecting Ono Yoko. This time, he was willing to stand up for himself and defend his sister.

Despite the brutal intensity of the situation, Kitahara Hideji’s heart softened when he saw Ono Yoko’s tear-streaked face. Her fear and distress moved him deeply, reminding him of his responsibility as her older brother. He understood that his actions might have shocked her, revealing a side of him she hadn’t seen before. His initial anger now gave way to a protective and caring concern for her well-being.

When Ono Yoko rushed forward and tightly clung to his arm, pleading for him to stop and not put himself in danger for her sake, Kitahara Hideji relented. He realized the impact his actions were having on her, and he cared deeply about her feelings and her future. He stopped his assault on Ota Tsugawa and leaned in close to the disheveled figure, issuing a low, authoritative threat directly into his ear.

“You live on this street, don’t you? If anything happens to Yoko in the future, no matter who’s responsible, I’ll come looking for you. You can imagine the consequences, can’t you?”

Ota Tsugawa, dazed and disoriented from the barrage of blows, managed to comprehend the gravity of Kitahara Hideji’s words. Despite his swollen eyes, he nodded vigorously and mumbled his agreement through swollen lips.

With his message delivered and his point made, Kitahara Hideji tossed Ota Tsugawa aside. He glanced around, picking up his fallen schoolbag and then turned his attention back to Ono Yoko. She clung to him, trembling with emotion. Kitahara Hideji gently embraced her, offering reassurance and comfort.

“It’s alright, Yoko. Don’t worry. Everything’s okay now.”

Ono Yoko held him tightly, tears still streaming down her face, and nodded in gratitude.

“Thank you, Onii-san.”

“Let’s go home,” Kitahara Hideji stood up, ready to leave the scene quickly. While the safety in this area wasn’t the best, there were still police around, and he wanted to avoid any unnecessary trouble, like getting involved with law enforcement.

Ono Yoko nodded vigorously, her grip on Kitahara Hideji remaining tight. “Yes, let’s hurry back home, Onii-san.”

She held onto him as if she never wanted to let go, feeling a sense of security and reliability that she had never experienced before in her life.

…….

The location of the fight wasn’t too far from the apartment, and Kitahara Hideji quickly brought Ono Yoko back to the building. However, Ono Yoko showed no intention of going to her own home. Instead, she clung to the corner of Kitahara Hideji’s clothes and followed him into the apartment. Hyakujirou greeted them enthusiastically, but upon seeing the tear stains on Ono Yoko’s face, it became agitated and began to circle around her, sniffing anxiously and displaying signs of distress.

Kitahara Hideji gestured for Ono Yoko to sit down and then went to the bathroom to prepare a damp towel to wipe her face. Her tear-streaked face was a mess from wiping with her hands, a true depiction of a tearful situation. Ono Yoko held Hyakujirou close to her, feeling its warmth and finding some comfort in it. She also noticed Kitahara Hideji’s torn school bag, feeling a mix of heartache and guilt. She pulled the bag closer and attempted to mend the tear with her hands, though it was futile. The bag had taken a beating as both a makeshift weapon and a shield, and even a good-quality bag wouldn’t have withstood such abuse.

Kitahara Hideji returned with the damp towel and gently nudged Hyakujirou aside, who had been playfully licking Ono Yoko’s hand. He then carefully dabbed at Ono Yoko’s face, being gentle to avoid causing any pain. As he cleaned her face, he noticed the crisscrossing marks on her cheeks, two swollen spots, and a cut at the corner of her mouth. It pained him to see her hurt like this, and he couldn’t help but softly inquire, “Yoko, what happened?” Ono Yoko had just stopped crying, and though she was still catching her breath, she managed to regain some composure. However, Kitahara Hideji’s gentle inquiry caused her tears to flow once again. She lowered her head, sobbing softly, and said, “I’m sorry, Onii-san. I’ve caused trouble for you. I’m sorry.”

Kitahara Hideji gently patted her head and reassured her, “It’s okay. Big brother doesn’t mind the trouble.” He knew that many children who faced difficulties outside often hesitated to share with their parents. Though he didn’t fully understand the underlying psychology, he empathized with her. To get to the bottom of the situation and provide appropriate support, he asked once more, “No matter what happened, it’s alright. Big brother will find a solution. Are you willing to talk to big brother about it?”

Of course, Ono Yoko was willing. Choking back tears, she nodded and softly recounted the incident of throwing disinfectant in someone’s face from the previous day. After sharing, she seemed both embarrassed and anxious. She tightly held onto Kitahara Hideji’s sleeve and expressed her unease, “I didn’t mean to provoke them. I’ve been trying my best to avoid them. They wanted to hurt Hyakujirou, and that’s why I… I’m sorry, Onii-san. I truly am sorry. I didn’t intend for things to turn out this way. I didn’t mean to cause you trouble.”

She had frightened herself quite a bit, and Kitahara Hideji quickly reassured her in a gentle tone, “It’s okay, Yoko. It’s not your fault.” After all, they had initiated the confrontation, and getting splashed with disinfectant was just a consequence of their actions. Moreover, it wasn’t a major issue; as long as the disinfectant was promptly dealt with, permanent damage to the eyes was unlikely, although it might be painful for a couple of days.

However, getting into another fight might not be as straightforward. Troublemakers like those delinquents were like a bad odor that lingered long after you stepped on them. Kitahara Hideji needed to come up with a plan.

“But the people from the Ota Family are really aggressive. What if they come after you, Onii-san?” Ono Yoko remained quite uneasy, her concern for him outweighing the pain on her face. She clung to Kitahara Hideji’s sleeve, worried about his safety.

Kitahara Hideji chuckled and patted her hand gently, soothingly saying, “It’s just a fight, nothing to worry about. Don’t worry… What’s the deal with this Ota Family?”

Speaking in hushed tones, Ono Yoko explained, “They live at the end of this street. The high school student who confronted us earlier, Ota Tsugawa, is the eldest in their family. He has a younger brother named Ota Teppei; we used to be in the same elementary school. He’s the one who wanted to hurt Hyakujirou yesterday. Their father is Ota Tateyo, and he’s really mean, a heavy gambler. They have several uncles and brothers living nearby, all involved in shady activities. They’re all tough fighters. People around here are afraid of them. Whenever something happens, they go to someone’s doorstep demanding money. Everyone’s scared of them.”

Street bullies, it seemed. Kitahara Hideji nodded in understanding. He had a better idea of the situation now. However, he found it strange that Ono Yoko knew so much about them. He couldn’t help but ask, “Have they caused trouble for your family before?”

Keeping her head down, Ono Yoko whispered, “Over two years ago, I accidentally knocked over their bicycle. They came to our house and demanded compensation for the damage to their bike…”

“And then?”

“My mom was really angry. She made me kneel down and apologize to them, and she even slapped me a few times. But the Ota Family was still upset. Eventually, we had to pay them some money. Since then, I’ve been avoiding them and trying not to go out. But today, I was being cautious and took a different route home. Still, they managed to corner me nearby. I had only taken a few hits when Onii-san came. Otherwise, Teppei would have forced me to steal money from my mom to pay them back.”

Kitahara Hideji found something off about her story and couldn’t help but ask, “Your mom made you kneel down and apologize? And she hit you?”

It couldn’t be true! Did Yoko misspeak?

Ono Yoko didn’t dare to lift her head, only whispering, “I don’t have a father, and my mother is afraid to provoke them.”

Kitahara Hideji was taken aback. Two years ago, Ono Yoko was only around seven or eight years old. Imagining that situation, he felt a pang of sympathy for her—being confronted by a group of adults and having her only family member refuse to stand up for her. How frightened and distressed must she have felt, kneeling there?

He instinctively tightened his grip on Ono Yoko’s small hand, trying to convey warmth to her. He spoke softly, “There won’t be such incidents in the future, Yoko. You may not have a father, but you have a big brother who will protect you.”

Ono Yoko’s hand twitched, but she resisted the urge to squeeze back. She hesitated and said, “I don’t want to cause trouble for Onii-san. Onii-san and I are different. You have a promising future ahead…”

Kitahara Hideji chuckled softly and said, “Living means constantly facing challenges, Yoko. Don’t worry about causing trouble. Life is a choice between being like a turtle, hiding inside your shell, oblivious to the world, and letting others step on you and insult you, or sharpening your claws and teeth so that when trouble comes knocking, you can bite back hard and make them think twice before bothering you again.”

Ono Yoko didn’t quite grasp the analogy, still consumed by her self-blame. Kitahara Hideji gently half-embraced her, comforting her with soothing pats on her back. He spoke earnestly, “Yoko, don’t think too much about it. You’re still young and don’t have the ability to protect yourself right now. That’s why big brother is here to protect you. When you grow up, you’ll have to rely on yourself. Understand?”

Ono Yoko looked up at Kitahara Hideji’s face, meeting his serious yet gentle gaze. Feeling his indulgent tone, her nose tingled, and she quickly lowered her head to hide the tears that were wetting his clothes. Choking on her words, she said, “Thank you, Onii-san! I’m sorry, Onii-san!”

Kitahara Hideji held her frail shoulders gently, allowing her to cry quietly. After a while, he guided her a little distance away, still holding onto her shoulders, and smiled, “Alright, wait at home for a bit. I’ll go out and buy you some medicine to apply on your face.”

Ono Yoko held onto his hand, refusing to let go. Sniffling, she said, “It’s not necessary, Onii-san. I don’t feel any pain now.” She even managed to force a smile towards Kitahara Hideji.

Seeing her like this tugged at his heart even more. He ruffled her small head and said with a smile, “It’s still better to apply some medicine, just in case. We wouldn’t want your swelling to get worse tomorrow.”

He did have a skill called 【Medical Skill】 that he had acquired for the sake of attribute points, but it was only at an Initial Rank of level 5. He hadn’t devoted much effort into studying it, making him slightly better than a Mongolian doctor but still far from an expert at level 10. He had an active skill called 【Observation, Inquiry, and Discernment】 that could assess injuries and prescribe medicine, but without tools or ingredients, and considering that Medical Skill wasn’t magical, he couldn’t simply snap his fingers to reduce the swelling. Buying medicine from outside was the most practical solution.

As he was getting up, he heard Hyakujirou suddenly barking loudly at the door gap. Whenever Ono Yoko was around, he would make sure not to close the door fully to avoid making her afraid. Hyakujirou was usually very well-behaved, almost like he knew that Kitahara Hideji disliked noise and kept quiet to avoid being kicked out the door. It was a rare occurrence for him to bark like this. Curious, Kitahara Hideji headed straight to the door, and Ono Yoko nervously followed right behind him.

As they stepped out of the door, they saw a burly middle-aged man at the stairwell. He had a smug expression, his shirt unbuttoned, revealing a hairy chest. Behind him, someone mumbled, “Dad, this is the place. That kid and the meat seller are neighbors; they both live here.”

Ono Yoko’s face turned pale with shock. Reacting quickly, she dragged Kitahara Hideji back into the apartment and locked the door behind them. She leaned against the door, anxious, and asked, “What do we do, Onii-san? The people from the Ota Family are here. Should we call the police?”

Kitahara Hideji’s expression grew cold. He walked further into the apartment and replied, “No need, Yoko. Calling the police won’t help.” In situations like this, involving the police usually led to more complications. They couldn’t just have these people arrested and sent to jail, and as an outsider, Kitahara Hideji might end up on the losing side.

The police were there to maintain order, not necessarily to uphold justice. Even if they managed to shoo these people away temporarily by involving the police, they would likely return the next day. Worse still, they might cause more trouble, especially for Yoko.

This was a confrontation that was bound to happen sooner or later, and they couldn’t afford to show weakness. It’s a universal truth that kind-hearted people are often taken advantage of, no matter where you are in the world. Ota Family, the neighborhood bullies? Fine, let’s see who’s more ruthless today, and who will end up intimidating whom!

As Kitahara Hideji opened the cupboard, they heard the door being pounded on loudly, creating a resounding noise that seemed to shake the frame. There were shouts and curses from the other side. Even Hyakujirou was frightened, taking a few steps back and hiding behind Ono Yoko, his tail tucked tightly, afraid to make any noise.

Ono Yoko hesitated for a moment, then her expression suddenly became resolute. She turned to Kitahara Hideji and made a request, “Onii-san, please don’t speak for a moment. Let me apologize to them!”

She blamed herself for this entire situation and couldn’t allow Onii-san to be dragged into it!