It’s not like I’m trying to say I’m any different from those delinquent idiots.
All I’m doing is taking down guys I can’t stand.
So, there’s not much difference between me and those delinquent idiots, no matter what people say.
But even so, being lumped in with that guy is the one thing I absolutely refuse.
“Arai… this time, you’ve really crossed the line…”
Stumbling along the riverside road on the edge of town, Karin spat out the words.
Having rushed out after seeing the LINE message and photo, she wasn’t wearing a mask or holding a pine cigarette in her mouth.
Looking back, Arai had been a scumbag since Karin’s first year. Despite his gifted physique, he was a filthy jerk who’d do anything to win.
Back when faction fights were more direct, Arai deliberately involved normies, launched sneak attacks like it was nothing, and picked fights to put them at a disadvantage, even with his overwhelming numbers.
As a result, Chiaki was isolated and beaten by Arai, and even Touka, who rushed to help, nearly got taken down. Finally, Karin’s patience snapped, and she sent Arai to the hospital.
Since then, he’d been quiet, so she thought he’d learned his lesson. But now this. Her patience wasn’t just snapped—it was obliterated.
The guys Karin couldn’t stand most were scumbags who smugly trampled on those they knew wouldn’t fight back.
This school was full of such scumbags, but Arai was the worst of them all.
Not content with targeting Haruno, who clearly couldn’t fight, he stooped to kidnapping her and holding her hostage—a crime that made him the scum of scum.
“I’ll definitely crush you…!”
Forcing her weakened body to move with sheer anger, Karin kept walking… until she finally reached the abandoned warehouse.
In the back, Arai sat on stacked pallets like a throne, flanked by a handful of his faction’s delinquents.
“You actually came alone, huh?”
Arai’s condescending tone was met with Karin’s mocking smirk.
“Yeah. Unlike someone.”
“What’d you say!?”
A low-ranking delinquent reacted to Karin’s taunt, but Arai raised a hand slightly, silencing him instantly.
“Your underlings need better training.”
Though she taunted, Karin inwardly clicked her tongue at the fact that there were fewer than ten delinquents in the warehouse.
The Arai Faction had over fifty members. Such a small number here was proof they didn’t think they needed more, and there was only one likely reason for that.
(I figured Arai would pull something like this, but as expected, Haruno’s not here… Damn it.)
They were probably holding Haruno in a far-off location, with most of the faction guarding her.
If so, Chiaki and the others might have been called there, or possibly to another place entirely, separate from Haruno’s location.
The latter seemed less likely, though, since finding a convenient hideout to hold someone wasn’t easy.
Either way, expecting help was a bad bet. As her fight-sharpened mind raced, Arai stood.
“The reason I went through the trouble of taking a hostage to call you out, Kohinata… is to have a one-on-one with you.”
She barely swallowed the urge to say, What a joke.
Apparently, Arai’s pride was deeply wounded from her beating him senseless last time.
Instead of demanding surrender with a hostage, he wanted to crush her in a “fair” one-on-one —though targeting her while she’s feverish made his pride cheaper than a clearance sale.
But this was a golden opportunity. If she could beat Arai before he changed his mind, the hostage situation would be irrelevant. His underlings wouldn’t dare continue a crime like kidnapping after their leader was taken down.
(The problem is Arai’s freakish toughness from his huge physique.)
Last time, Karin did thrash Arai, but it took considerable time to bring him down. She wanted to finish him before he used the hostage, but in her current weakened state, it was undeniably tough.
(Still, I’ve got no choice…!)
With a fearless grin, she threw a blatant taunt at Arai.
“Fine. I’ll thrash you just like last time.”
“Try it. If you can!”
Echoing the words Karin used before, Arai charged.
His massive frame closed the distance with surprising agility, throwing a jab-like punch as swift as an arrow.
On top of his appearance-based power and toughness, he had deceptive speed.
For any delinquent facing Arai, his overwhelming physical ability meant a future of being helplessly crushed.
Unless they were the Empress—Kohinata Karin.
“Too slow.”
Half-turning to dodge the punch, Karin struck Arai’s extended arm with the tip of her closed iron fan.
Instantly, Arai’s face twitched slightly.
She’d hit the Seirei acupuncture point, three fingers above the inner elbow—a vital spot that sent numbness through the arm.
“Damn it!”
Thanks to his toughness, Arai swung his numbed right arm forcefully, but Karin had already ducked, slamming her iron fan into the Shōmon acupuncture point on his exposed side.
Using her petite frame to her advantage, she attacked vital points with her iron fan without letting her opponent touch her. Combining Kohinata-style fan techniques with her fight-honed experience, this method had made Karin the top of St. Lukimantz Academy.
But now, she was—
“It ain’t working!”
As if the moment after her attack was the perfect chance, Arai swung his left fist down.
His extreme toughness was part of it, but her fever had thrown off her aim, missing the vital point and allowing a counterattack.
Karin, cursing her condition, jumped back to dodge.
Though not as fast as her, Arai reacted quickly, kicking the ground to close the distance.
He followed with a right straight, using his long reach. Karin spun to evade, striking his medulla with her fan boosted by centrifugal force, but—
“!?”
Whether her body was weaker than she thought, the impact of the strike made her right hand lose grip, and the fan flew off.
Arai noticed, and despite just being hit in the medulla, he moved with uncanny precision to block the path between Karin and her fan.
Unlike Kawato and his gang, Arai’s fight experience let him calmly make the moves his opponent hated most. That was another of his strengths.
“What’s wrong? You look pale.”
He threw the obvious question with a mocking sneer.
“Looking at your face is enough to make anyone pale.”
She scoffed back, feigning confidence while inwardly sweating.
Losing her fan from the impact meant her grip strength was severely weakened.
Grip strength tied directly to attack power. Whether punching or striking with a fan, a weak grip reduced impact significantly.
Worse, it increased the risk of injuring her hand, and indeed, her right hand still throbbed with pain.
(This is seriously bad…)
In this state, not only was beating Arai before he used the hostage impossible, but defeating him at all was a tall order.
(Even so, I’ve gotta do it!)
Reaffirming her resolve inwardly, she steeled herself.
If Chiaki and Touka were her comrades, Haruno was her precious junior. That junior was suffering because of trouble tied to her. No room for complaints.
For now, she’d fight with her left-hand fan while looking for a chance to retrieve the other.
After that—
(It’ll just have to work out!)
Determined to win and save Haruno, Karin threw herself into a fight with no clear path to victory.
◇ ◇ ◇
With Karin at the edge of town, chasing her on foot wasn’t realistic.
So, Chiaki and Touka grabbed a salaryman-looking guy passing by on a bike, “borrowed” it in exchange for a certain favor, and forced Shiki onto it to send him off.
For that favor, Touka disappeared into an alley with the man.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Chi-chan~!”
A few minutes later, she returned alone to the main street.
Recognizing her, Chiaki tossed a pack of sanitizing wipes from under her skirt.
“No idea what you touched, so wipe your hands for now.”
“Oh? Just my hands~?”
Wiping her hands, Touka licked her lips. Realizing what she’d done with the salaryman, Chiaki clutched her head.
“Just confirm you didn’t go all the way, alright?”
Trying to stay calm, she asked, but—
“Oh my~! Your face is getting red, Chi-chan~!”
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and Touka’s smirk widened. To hide it, Chiaki smacked Touka’s butt with a whack.
“Ahh♥ So intense♥!”
“Don’t moan. So, how was it?”
“Of course I didn’t~! There wasn’t time, and I need to save energy for what’s next. But, well, I left him pretty satisfied♥.”
Understanding too much again, Chiaki clutched her head, fully aware of her burning cheeks.
Not wanting to be sidetracked, she moved on.
“I looked up that building’s basement on my phone. Seems the floor they’re using as a base has only one entrance.”
“So, we’ve gotta charge straight through against guys holding a hostage~?”
Touka’s grimace made Chiaki snort.
“Don’t worry. They’re up against girls and outnumbered. Their pride won’t let them pull a lame ‘What about the hostage?’ move right off the bat.”
“But that pride seems pretty cheap, huh?”
“So, it’s a race against when they ditch that cheap pride.”
Ironically reaching the same conclusion as Karin fighting Arai in a one-on-one, Chiaki and Touka nodded to each other and headed for the building’s entrance.
On the way, Chiaki warned with unusual seriousness:
“…Touka. One thing—don’t lose it.”
“Hm? What do you mean~?”
Her overly typical response made Chiaki sigh in resignation.
“Fine. Like always, I’ll stir things up, and you use the chaos to save Haruno.”
“Got it~!”
◇ ◇ ◇
The basement floor of one of the Arai Faction’s bases.
In the hall beyond the entrance where the stairs and elevator met, through the only door, over forty of the Arai Faction’s fifty-plus members gathered.
Eguchi and Tamura, Kawato’s usual lackeys, were among them, smoking lazily like the others, waiting for the Empress’s allies to barge in.
“Hey, Tamura.”
“What, Eguchi?”
“Where’s Kawato?”
“Oh… apparently Orifushi headed toward the Empress, so he took a bike to chase him.”
“Man, he’s obsessed.”
“He’s super pissed about Orifushi getting the better of him. Won’t rest till he gets payback.”
“Sounds like him. Still can’t believe Kawato lost to Orifushi.”
“Hey, don’t say ‘lost.’ Kawato would flip if he heard you.”
“My bad, my bad. But, like, Orifushi’s weaker than us, right?”
“Don’t call us small fry. That’s depressing.”
“Deny it, you jerk!”
As they bantered lazily, they noticed something.
The floor was getting oddly smoky.
Other members noticed too.
“Hey… isn’t it kinda smoky?”
“No way… a fire!?”
“Calm down! It doesn’t smell like burning!”
Voices of panic rose from all around.
“Eguchi… could this be…”
“They’re here!? Kohinata’s faction!?”
Immediately, the only entrance door was kicked open, and several smoke bombs rolled into the hall. Simultaneously, a small figure slipped in, scattering more smoke bombs from under a long skirt, filling the hall with white smoke.
“It’s Kohinata’s faction! They’re barging—!?”
“Where are they—!?”
“To the entrance—!”
Angry shouts were cut off one by one with a zap.
“Hey, Tamura! Something’s bad!”
Eguchi’s near-scream got only a zap and the sound of a body hitting the floor in response.
Tamura’s down!? Before he could think, a shock hit his back, and Eguchi’s consciousness plunged into darkness.
Just before blacking out, he glimpsed Tsukiike Chiaki’s small figure, wielding stun batons in both hands, vanishing into the smoke.
◇ ◇ ◇
In a partitioned room at the edge of the basement hall, the unconscious Haruno and Arai Faction Number 2, Oosako, stood.
Hearing the commotion outside and seeing smoke seep through the partition gaps, Oosako was certain.
“Kohinata’s faction is here. But this…”
The shouts and screams of his underlings told him they were being thoroughly overwhelmed.
“Ten to one, it’s Tsukiike’s doing… We put most of our guys here at Arai’s request, and this is the result. Are underlings just too much for them?”
Worst case, I’ll handle it myself, he thought with a sigh, glancing at the room’s only entrance.
Right on cue, the door opened.
“Hey there, Oosako-senpai.”
As expected, Hiyama Touka strolled in with a casual greeting.
“So it’s you bastard, huh?”
“Calling a girl ‘you’ like that? That’s no way to talk~.”
As she spoke, Touka’s sharp gaze shifted to Haruno, unconscious in the corner.
“And of course, treating a girl like that is just as bad.”
Unlike her, who dropped her smile, Oosako grinned ferociously.
“Sorry, I like handling girls roughly.”
“That’s why you’re single.”
“Don’t need to be popular. Force works just fine.”
“You’re truly the worst…”
Touka spat, stepping forward with her left shoulder and leg, hands slightly open—judo’s left natural stance.
Her flippant demeanor belied the threat of her judo-honed skills.
Knowing not to let her grab his clothes or body easily, Oosako stayed on guard. But her first move caught him off guard.
As Touka stepped forward—
“!?”
A blow to his nose made him reel.
She’d punched him.
As if she’d seen through his focus on grappling.
(Don’t panic…! That’s barely any damage…!)
Indeed, despite the hit to his nose, there was no blood, and the pain was minimal.
It was a punch sacrificing power for speed, meant to land.
No matter how many of those hit, it’s fine— But as Oosako thought this, he realized Touka had vanished from his sight after he’d closed his eyes for a split second.
(If that punch was to set this up…!?)
Before he could react, she grabbed his right wrist, yanked it back, twisted it to hyperextend the joint, and locked his upper arm with her side.
As Touka leaned her weight into it, excruciating pressure hit his shoulder and elbow, forcing Oosako to his knees reflexively. Had he resisted, a joint would’ve dislocated.
Arm lock side hold—a high-risk judo technique, often penalized for its danger. In this state, throwing one’s body is considered a foul.
But in a delinquent fight, “foul” was a meaningless word.
Familiar with martial arts, Oosako foresaw his fate and pleaded.
“Wait, Hiyama! My bad! I give up, let me go!”
“Oh? What’s that you’re saying?”
Touka’s voice turned ice-cold, evoking her surname.
Her sharp eyes opened slowly as she spat:
“Kidnapping my friend and attacking her while she’s sick—don’t you think it’s a bit late for that?”
Immediately, still locking his arm, she fell from his right shoulder—a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the room.
◇ ◇ ◇
Knocking out the last delinquent with her stun baton, Chiaki scanned the hall as the smoke cleared.
About thirty bodies lay scattered.
Fewer than expected for the Arai Faction, but considering some fled in fear of the smoke and unknown attacks, and others might be with Arai, it was more than enough to call it a wipeout.
Wiping sweat from her forehead, Chiaki sighed wearily.
Even for someone skilled in group fights, taking on this many alone was exhausting. She wanted to rest before joining Touka, but hearing Oosako’s screams from beyond the partition multiple times meant she couldn’t dawdle.
As feared, Touka was furious.
Chiaki didn’t care what happened to Oosako, but she couldn’t let Touka get suspended or sent to juvie for going too far.
Whipping her tired body, she jogged to the partitioned room.
Opening the door, she saw Touka strangling Oosako on the floor—sleeve choke, was it?—and gently called her name.
“Touka.”
Snapping back, Touka turned her unusually wide eyes toward Chiaki.
“He’s already out. Keep going, and he’ll die.”
Pointing at the convulsing Oosako, Chiaki prompted Touka to slowly release his neck.
Rolling the unconscious Oosako aside, Touka slumped to the floor. Chiaki approached slowly.
The moment she got close, Touka hugged her from a kneeling position.
Unfazed by the sudden embrace, Chiaki patted Touka’s head, lower due to her kneeling.
“…I love everyone so much.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“But, like, not as lovers, but as friends. Love can fade, but friendship doesn’t, right?”
“I’d love to agree, but does love fade that easily?”
Smirking and tilting her head, Chiaki let Touka continue.
“These guys tried to hurt our friends, and I couldn’t forgive them.”
“I get it, but don’t go too far. I don’t wanna graduate without you.”
“…Sorry.”
“Good enough.”
Patting Touka’s head again, Chiaki gently pulled away.
Perhaps feeling she’d embarrassed herself or truly snapping back, Touka hid her flushed face, running her fingers through her long hair.
Smirking again, Chiaki recalled her first year, when Arai beat her.
Karin wasn’t the only one who got furious over it.
Touka was just as enraged.
Though she nearly got taken down, both she and Karin getting that angry for her sake still made Chiaki happy, though her stubbornness kept her from saying it.
Deepening her smirk, she approached the unconscious Haruno, untied her bound hands and feet, and lightly slapped her cheeks.
“Hey~! You okay, Haru—…”
Chiaki stopped calling and slapping.
Because—
“Zzz… zzz…”
Haruno was letting out the most peaceful snores.
Even Chiaki felt a bit annoyed.
“Wake! Up!”
Pinching Haruno’s soft cheeks with both hands, she shouted.
That woke even Haruno, who looked at her with sleepy eyes.
“Chiaki-senpai…!”
She clung to Chiaki, sobbing.
“What, you too!?”
Chiaki yelped, but Haruno kept crying.
“I… I… got invited by friends… went to meet them… and scary people… surrounded me…!”
“Oh, come on! There, there! Stop crying, stop crying!”
Patting Haruno’s head vigorously as she wailed uncontrollably, Chiaki tried to soothe her.
They needed to get out of here fast before the knocked-out delinquent idiots woke up. They had to ensure Haruno’s safety and inform Shiki. Even though they’d entrusted him with the task, they couldn’t leave Shiki to bear the burden alone—they had to hurry to Karin’s side. There was a pile of things to do.
But for now, nothing could be done until Haruno stopped crying, so Chiaki kept patting her head with all her might.
◇ ◇ ◇
As the western sky began to burn with a vivid crimson hue, Shiki pedaled frantically on the bicycle Touka had “borrowed” from a salaryman, heading toward the edge of town.
To be honest, borrowing someone’s bike like this made him uneasy, but the urgency of the situation forced him to shove his guilt aside for now.
After pedaling for a while, he reached the riverbank road at the town’s outskirts and stopped to launch the GPS app on his smartphone.
Needless to say, Shiki hadn’t shared location data with Karin.
The phone he was using was a spare one borrowed from Chiaki.
Between owning multiple phones and hiding an arsenal of weapons under her skirt, Shiki wondered if Chiaki might actually be some refined young lady from a good family. Pushing aside such stray thoughts, he checked if Karin’s location had updated.
“This is…”
The pin marking Karin’s location pointed to a spot just off the riverbank road, a short distance from where he stood. Given that it had barely moved since he last checked, it was almost certainly the place where Arai had called her out.
“Which means… if I head there, I might end up in a one-on-one with Arai-senpai in the worst-case scenario…”
Imagining that future sent a shiver of dread through his entire body.
He still remembered that lunch break a month ago when he faced Arai alongside Karin.
The overwhelming intimidation radiating from Arai’s massive frame had dried his throat, made his body tremble, and filled him with primal fear.
If it came to a one-on-one, he had zero confidence in winning.
But still,
“That’s exactly why… I can’t let Kohinata-san fight him…! I can’t…!”
When he’d escorted Karin home, she’d said, in her flat tone:
Make sure you protect me, got it?
Those words might have been meant to spur him on, since he still saw himself as someone who needed protecting.
But having been told that, he had to follow through.
Biting his lip so hard it bled, he pushed his fear of Arai to the back of his mind.
He couldn’t shake it completely—pathetic, he knew—but he resolved to own his weakness.
Finally steeling himself, Shiki started up the slope to the riverbank road to make up for the time wasted on hesitation. That’s when it happened.
The sound of an approaching motorcycle roared from behind.
It was moving fast. Surely it wouldn’t run him over, he thought, but an inexplicable unease gripped him. Turning around, he saw—
“Kawato-kun!?”
Kawato, helmetless and charging on a motorcycle, came barreling toward him. Without a second thought, Shiki dove sideways, executing a breakfall. Chiaki’s danger-sensing lessons and Touka’s breakfall training both paid off.
Meanwhile, Kawato spectacularly smashed into the abandoned bicycle, running it over before finally stopping.
(…What the…?)
Realizing he’d have met the same fate as the bike if he hadn’t dodged, Shiki’s heart pounded like a drum.
He’d always known Kawato would come for revenge someday. But he never dreamed Kawato harbored such hatred that he’d resort to running him down with a bike.
Though this sparked a different kind of fear than Arai, to Shiki right now, it didn’t matter.
“Why…?”
The words slipped out unconsciously, and Kawato, dismounting, scowled and snapped, “Huh?”
“Why? ‘Cause a nobody like you dared to cross me, that’s why!”
“That’s not what I’m asking! Why now?!”
Shiki couldn’t help raising his voice.
Startled by Shiki’s outburst, Kawato’s eyes widened briefly before turning it into humiliation, responding with palpable irritation.
“Why now? You’ve been hiding behind the Empress all this time, and you’ve got the nerve to ask? For me, now—when you don’t have the Empress as your shield—is the perfect chance to mess you up. It’s now or never!”
“Then… I’ll face you any other time, as much as you want… but now… just now, let me go! Kohinata-san’s in danger!”
Desperately pleading, Shiki watched as Kawato snorted with a “Pfft!” and burst into laughter.
“Puhahahahaha! Man, I never thought you had a knack for comedy! Kohinata-san’s in danger, so what? You seriously think you can save her?”
His words made Shiki falter for a moment.
Kawato was right—a nobody like him going to save Karin was laughable.
But still,
“…Yeah… I’m going to save her…”
Which is why he couldn’t waste time dealing with a scumbag like Kawato now.
“…Get out of my way…”
The words that erupted from deep within, fueled by raw emotion, didn’t sound like him at all.
“Huh? A nobody like you dares to—”
“I said get out of my way, Kawato!!”
Was it rage from years of bullying?
Frustration at being blocked from saving Karin?
Letting impulse take over, Shiki’s roar made Kawato visibly flinch.
◇ ◇ ◇
(Don’t screw with me…!)
Kawato mentally cursed, ashamed of flinching even briefly against Shiki.
(That punk Orifushi has zero talent for violence, the lowest of the low on our side. And he’s got the gall to yell at me…!)
He spat those words internally, too.
Too rattled to say them aloud, he didn’t even notice his own hesitation.
“If you won’t move… fine.”
Glaring at Kawato, Shiki advanced.
As if ready to force his way through.
(Come on… a nobody like Orifushi thinks he can pick a fight with me?)
And those eyes—brimming with confidence in victory.
That pushed Kawato over the edge.
“Don’t underestimate me, Orifushi!!”
Fueled by hatred to erase his hesitation, he swung—
“!?”
A searing pain shot through his left thigh, forcing Kawato to his knees.
The cause: a right low kick from Shiki, timed perfectly to his movement.
(Seriously, what the hell!?)
Thinking back, it was the same during their last one-on-one.
(Again… that punk landed a kick right as I attacked!?)
At the exact moment of attack, when defense and evasion are hardest.
And unlike last time’s mutual hit, this time it was before Kawato could swing.
Even if he’d improved under the Empress’s guidance, this was too much for just a month.
He must have had that talent all along—there’s no other explanation.
Facing Shiki, who looked ready to deliver a finishing high kick, Kawato felt despair.
(No way… is he one of them?)
On the same side as the Empress or Arai, with a talent for violence?
A nobody like Orifushi?
(I won’t accept it… I won’t…!)
His mental scream was cut short as Shiki’s high kick connected with his temple, knocking him out cold.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Huff… huff… huff…”
Breathing heavily, Shiki looked down at the unconscious Kawato, felled by his high kick.
“I… I won…”
And decisively, at that.
“I’m really… getting stronger…”
What Karin and the others taught him was probably just the basics.
Yet he’d become strong enough to completely dominate Kawato.
That fact alone gave Shiki a small but significant boost of confidence.
Of course, beating Kawato, whom Karin said wasn’t used to fighting, didn’t mean he could take on Arai, whom she openly feared.
Checking the GPS again, Karin’s pin hadn’t moved a millimeter.
He had to hurry. Feeling a twinge of guilt for leaving Kawato and wrecking the salaryman’s bike, Shiki ran.
As he climbed the slope to the riverbank road, his own phone vibrated. Checking it while running, he saw it was Chiaki calling and answered immediately.
“Tsukiike-san! Did you save Momozono-san!?”
Yeah, we got her and sent her home. We’re heading your way soon, so go all out.
“Isn’t this where you say ‘don’t overdo it’!?”
Oh? You’re calm enough to quip, so you’re not that scared, huh?
“What kind of test is that…?”
Exasperated, Shiki asked,
“Did you tell Kohinata-san about saving Momozono-san?”
Nah, we didn’t. She’s probably in a one-on-one with Arai or maybe a group fight with his goons. If we call and distract her, creating an opening, it’d be bad news.
“So we can’t risk anything reckless.”
Exactly. So until we get there… take care of Karin, alright?
Her voice was strained, almost pleading. Shiki, who rarely made promises lightly, couldn’t let her down.
“Got it. Leave it to me.”
He answered firmly, and Chiaki said, See ya later, before hanging up.
He kept running, veering off the riverbank road down a side path, where he spotted what looked like an abandoned warehouse.
Confirming it matched Karin’s GPS location, Shiki prayed for her safety and sprinted toward the warehouse.
◇ ◇ ◇
A shrill clank clank echoed through the abandoned warehouse. Karin’s iron fan, struck against Arai, flew out of her hand again, her grip weakened by fever.
Arai, positioning himself to block her from the fan, spoke with the confidence of victory.
“That’s it for your weapons, huh?”
“Huff… huff… is it… now…?”
Her bravado came in gasps, strained by her ragged breathing.
The fight with Arai had spiked her fever, her body burning, her head foggy.
Standing alone was exhausting, and even when she held the fan, it felt unbearably heavy.
“Let’s find out!”
Perhaps careless without her fan, Arai threw a wildly exaggerated punch, unlike his earlier precise strikes.
Seizing this as her last and greatest chance, Karin dodged, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it with the punch’s momentum while sweeping his leg. Using Kohinata-style aikijutsu, she sent his near-two-meter frame flying through the air.
Normally, she’d follow with a strike, but her exhausted body struggled. Throwing Arai was so taxing that her legs gave out, and she fell. Meanwhile, Arai, falling on his back, executed a breakfall and sprang up.
“Pathetic, Kohinata,” he sneered.
“Picking a one-on-one… with a sick girl… you’re the one… who’s pathetic…”
Even her defiant retort was broken, but she struggled to stand. Arai, refusing to let her, launched a kick.
“Ugh…!”
Too ill and poorly timed to dodge, she blocked with both arms, but the size difference was insurmountable, and she was sent sliding across the floor.
Flat on her back, Karin tried to rise again, but—
(…Huh?)
Her body, like a dead battery, wouldn’t move an inch.
The fever had finally pushed her to her limit.
“What’s wrong? Not getting up?”
Arai taunted, but realizing she truly couldn’t move, he snorted dismissively.
“I’d have preferred to finish you with my fists, but whatever. A win’s a win. The title of the academy’s top ends today.”
“That title… I never… claimed it…”
As they bantered, the lowlife delinquents watching the one-on-one gathered around Arai.
“Arai-san… the fight’s over, so we can do whatever we want with the Empress, right?”
A green-haired delinquent, speaking for the group, asked. Arai, losing interest in Karin, replied indifferently.
“Hmph, do what you want.”
At those words, the delinquents approached Karin with sleazy grins.
She instantly understood their intent but couldn’t move her body.
As they closed in, four of them pinned her limbs.
The green-haired one, taking the lead, straddled her in a mount position while the others aimed their smartphone cameras at her.
“You get what we’re about to do, don’t ya?”
The green-haired delinquent’s smirk deepened, and Karin snorted.
“Try it… if you dare… I’ll make sure… this nasty cold… infects you… completely…”
“Oh, that sounds fun!!”
Grabbing her uniform blouse roughly, the green-haired delinquent tore it open.
As her white bra was exposed, the delinquents erupted in cheers and whistles.
Karin nearly screamed but, refusing to show weakness, bit her lip to hold it in.
(Damn… it…)
She cursed inwardly.
Unlike Touka, Karin had no experience with this kind of thing.
Her first time was about to be taken by the worst scum in the worst way.
She tried to resist, but her body wouldn’t budge.
So she prayed, at least, that Haruno wasn’t suffering the same—
“Get away from Kohinata-san!!”
An angry shout rang from the warehouse entrance. A boy in St. Lukimantz Academy’s uniform charged toward them.
The delinquents pinning Karin’s limbs and filming scattered like roaches, terrified by the boy’s unexpected ferocity.
“W-Wait!?”
The green-haired delinquent, left behind, was literally kicked away by the boy, rolling across the floor and passing out.
Karin, in disbelief, forced her unresponsive body to lift her head and look at the intruder.
(It’s really Shiki!)
Surprised but not questioning, she knew this was just like him.
He’d saved Haruno despite knowing the consequences.
When she suggested sparring, he refused to hurt a girl, even knowing he was weaker.
At first, she only stuck by him out of obligation, but now she liked his ways—guy or not, she was fine hanging with him.
So it wasn’t strange he’d come to the warehouse; it felt natural.
But—
(No way! Shiki’s gotten stronger, but he’s not ready to face Arai! Why did Chiaki and Touka let him come alone—?)
She reconsidered.
Thanks to her Kohinata-style training from her jerk of a master, she knew every vital point, but Chiaki and Touka lacked the weapons to take down Arai’s unmatched toughness.
So they must have pinned their hopes on Shiki’s kicking power and gone to save Haruno.
It was just a guess, but Karin was certain Chiaki and Touka would do exactly that, sending Shiki with heavy hearts.
Knowing this, she couldn’t say “Don’t come” or “Run.”
Let alone “Save me.”
Just—
“…Shiki…”
His name slipped weakly from her lips.
◇ ◇ ◇
When Kawato blocked Shiki from saving Karin, he felt a rage he could swear he’d never felt before.
He thought he’d never feel angrier.
But seeing the delinquents trying to violate Karin ignited a fury that made his earlier rage seem trivial.
“Doing that to Kohinata-san… you think you’ll get away with it?!”
He roared, his throat nearly tearing.
Perhaps because he’d just sent the green-haired delinquent flying, the others backed off, intimidated.
All except their top—Arai.
Glancing at the unconscious green-haired delinquent, Arai approached Shiki with calm steps.
“I thought you were just a small fry, but seems you’ve got some skill.”
As he closed in, Arai’s massive frame radiated overwhelming intimidation.
Despite his heart blazing with anger, Shiki, a natural herbivore, couldn’t help but gulp.
But that same anger kept him from backing down pathetically.
Arai stopped within striking distance. Facing him, Shiki keenly felt the child-to-adult height difference.
He knew it already, but standing, his high kicks wouldn’t reach.
If Arai was as tough as Chiaki said, a front kick to the stomach was risky—it could be grabbed.
Following Karin’s teachings, a low kick to cripple his legs and lower his head was the best option.
Resolved, Shiki glared at the giant before him.
“Not backing down? Fine. I’ll teach you the difference in power.”
Arai pointed at two delinquents, ordering,
“You two, move Kohinata.”
To Shiki, he added, “No objections, right?”
Fighting near Karin would risk hurting her, so Shiki nodded reluctantly.
The two delinquents grabbed Karin’s shoulders, dragging her away. Arai warned them,
“Hold her tight. Knowing her, she’s probably waiting to recover just enough to make a move.”
A tongue-click from Karin confirmed he’d hit the mark.
Once she was far enough, the delinquents pinned her firmly, positioning her to watch Shiki and Arai’s one-on-one.
As if to show the Empress her man getting crushed.
“Ready to start?”
With those words, Arai’s intimidation peaked.
The next moment, acting on a gut scream of Now!, Shiki slammed a low kick into Arai’s left thigh, but—
“!!?”
A brutal impact hit his left cheek, sending him flying. Unable to take a breakfall, he tumbled across the floor, his mind flooded with questions.
The low kick landed perfectly, yet Arai countered unfazed!?
Tsukiike-san called Arai a tough guy, but this is ridiculous!
How can he not even flinch!?
Bewildered by the incomprehensible, Shiki struggled to stand. Arai, staring at his right fist, looked displeased.
“What did you do?”
“What… are you talking about…?”
Finally standing, Shiki, clueless about the question, asked back. Arai clicked his tongue irritably.
“Tch, if you don’t get it, forget it.”
As if dismissing Shiki’s existence, Arai closed the distance in one step, unleashing a roundhouse kick aimed to take his head off.
The kick, impossibly sharp for a near-two-meter giant, couldn’t be dodged. Shiki blocked with both arms, but the force—beyond his imagination—smashed through, hitting his temple and knocking him down.
“Shiki…!”
Karin’s cry rang out, but too weak to shake off her captors, she couldn’t even rattle them.
“That felt normal… looks like it hit hard!”
With a triumphant “Ha!”, Arai stomped on the fallen Shiki.
The blow to his back, incomparably heavier than Kawato’s, made Shiki feel his life was in danger, curling up like a turtle.
Arai kept stomping, again and again.
No good!
I can’t win!
Beating Kawato doesn’t mean I can take this!
Despite knowing it wouldn’t help, Shiki kept curling up, protecting himself.
No matter how much he trained with Karin, he was still just a weakling—
“Please… stop…”
Karin’s pleading voice froze Arai’s foot.
“The fight’s… over, right…? So… please stop…”
Her tearful plea made Arai snort.
“I had a hunch, but it seems you’re the type who’s more hurt by others getting beaten than yourself.”
Lowering his foot, he turned his back on Shiki, as if done with him.
“But your begging’s off. You don’t seriously think saying ‘please stop’ will make delinquents like us stop, do you?”
“…What… do I have to do…?”
“Hmm…”
As Arai pondered, the two holding Karin made a vile suggestion.
“How about this, Arai-san? The Empress strips in front of us.”
“Sure, it skips the fun of ripping her clothes off, but her hating every second of it? That’s the good stuff.”
Arai snorted, dismissing it as trivial.
“Well? What’ll it be?”
Biting her lip until it bled, Karin answered in a trembling voice, resigned.
“I’ll… do it…”
Hearing those words, Shiki’s mind went blank.
The faint ember of anger in his heart erupted into a blaze, consuming him.
What am I doing?!
I knew I had no chance from the start!
Yet I got scared just because he showed his power!
Letting Kohinata-san say something like that!
Remember!
Tsukiike-san saying, Take care of Karin!
Hiyama-san saying, Please, help her!
Even if it’s my own convenient take… Kohinata-san saying, Protect me!
And my own promise to protect her!
No more cowering! No breaking! No giving up!
The Kohinata-san who saved me from bullying hell!
Now, I’ll save her!!
“RAAAAAHHHH!!”
Roaring with soul-shaking fury, Shiki stood.
Karin’s eyes widened in shock, the delinquents froze in disbelief, but Arai alone sighed, turning back with annoyance.
“Didn’t think you were that big an idiot, not seeing the power gap.”
Shiki knew that gap better than anyone.
Arai’s size, strength, freakish toughness, and swift moves.
His grit to swing through pain, his overwhelming violence heedless of others—unlike Kawato, he was a seasoned fighter.
In ability and experience, Shiki had no edge.
But—
“So what…?”
Glaring at Arai, Shiki spat words unlike his usual reasoned self.
“If I can’t win, I’ll win even if it kills me!”
“Then die.”
True to his word, Arai threw a punch at Shiki’s face.
Not as fast as Karin’s, but Arai’s fist was too quick for the battered Shiki to dodge.
So he didn’t hesitate to abandon dodging.
“…!”
As expected, the punch sent him rolling across the floor.
“Shiki…!”
Karin’s weak, scream-like cry echoed.
It should’ve been satisfying for Arai, yet his face showed blatant displeasure.
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to mimic me.”
Exactly. As Arai’s punch landed, Shiki had slammed a low kick into his left thigh, just as Arai had countered his earlier kick with a punch.
Fueled by resolve or anger, adrenaline dulled Shiki’s cheek pain. He stood slowly, flashing a fierce grin.
“What if I am?”
To his bold words, Arai said nothing, only fixing him with a glare.
That gaze spoke louder than words: I’ll crush you.
Seeing it, Shiki thought—crazy as it was, this mutual strike might be his breakthrough.
(I can’t win straight-up. So…!)
As Arai swung, Shiki threw another low kick, ready for mutual damage.
It’d at least hurt Arai—except,
“Moron.”
Arai halted his punch, pulling back to dodge the kick.
Stunned by the unexpected evasion, Shiki took a full-force punch to the face, tumbling across the floor.
“Think anyone’d fall for an obvious mutual strike?”
He was right, but Shiki’s fierce grin deepened.
Arai had dodged the low kick.
That proved he feared it, and the two kicks Shiki landed had hurt.
The only way to beat Arai was mutual strikes.
But if he wouldn’t take the bait, it was pointless.
What to do? Then Shiki remembered.
At that empty parking lot, when Karin saved him from Kawato’s beating and he ended up in a one-on-one with him, Karin tried to give advice. Kawato objected, and she laughed, “Pfft, heh heh!” and said:
What’s that? Scared? Of the guy you’ve been bullying? Just from a little advice?
That taunt provoked Kawato’s pride, letting her advice Shiki openly.
(Arai-senpai sees me as a weakling… I’ll use that!)
Not knowing how to sneer, Shiki kept his fierce grin and spoke.
“Scared of my kicks, huh?”
“…What?”
Arai’s voice and expression dripped with unprecedented displeasure.
Sensing an opening, Shiki deepened his grin and taunted further.
“You dodged my low kick, didn’t you, Arai-senpai?”
“I told you, no one’s dumb enough to fall for an obvious mutual strike.”
“But you dodged.”
His stubborn retort made Arai’s irritation spike, marked by a tongue-click. Still, he wasn’t biting.
Needing one more push, Shiki noticed Arai glance at his goons and realized—
For delinquents, something hurts more than pride: their reputation.
“Did you hear that?”
He spoke not to Arai but to the delinquents behind him.
“Your boss is scared of my kicks. I’m letting him punch my face, but… oh, I get it. Losing a face-for-leg trade would be embarrassing, right?”
His words stirred unease among the delinquents.
They didn’t say it, fearing Arai, but their looks showed doubt about his refusal to engage.
Seeing this, Shiki could almost hear something snap in Arai.
“…Fine. I’ll bite your cheap taunt.”
His tone was calm, but his voice, expression, and gaze burned with rage at having his precious reputation tarnished.
In the delinquent world, where being underestimated is the end, reputation often matters more than pride.
For Arai, the two were linked, and he took the bait despite the risk.
Now, Shiki’s zero chance of winning became a one.
All that was left—
(Just keep kicking!!)
Shiki glared at Arai with resolute eyes.
Arai, visibly annoyed, glared back.
The next moment—
Shiki slammed a full-force kick into Arai’s left thigh, and Arai smashed a full-force punch into Shiki’s left cheek.
◇ ◇ ◇
Arai, wincing slightly at the pain in his kicked thigh, sent the nobody—whose name he didn’t even bother to remember—flying with a punch.
The sight of the small fry tumbling spectacularly across the floor was almost comical, but the pain in his left thigh and the unsettling sensation from his fist kept Arai from laughing.
As long as that sensation persisted, the punk would probably keep getting up. Proving his hunch, the small fry stood again.
Not giving him a moment’s rest, Arai swung, only for the punk to counter with a solid kick, tumbling across the floor yet rising once more.
At this point, even the lowlife delinquents watching the one-on-one noticed something was off, their murmurs spreading like ripples.
This toughness was absurd.
If the punk had Arai’s massive build, it might make sense.
But the guy in front of him was utterly average.
At least, his appearance showed no hint of toughness.
That meant the secret to this freakish resilience lay in the odd sensation Arai felt when punching him.
It was a subtle detail, noticeable only to someone like Arai, who’d beaten countless people.
In fact, Kawato, who’d bullied and battered this punk, never mentioned anything about such a sensation.
But knowing there was a sensation didn’t reveal its cause.
Trying to figure it out—
“…!”
For the umpteenth time, Arai sent the punk flying, but the pain from a simultaneous low kick forced him to grimace.
The kick’s power, unthinkable from such an average build, made it impossible to analyze the sensation calmly.
He wanted to follow up on the fallen punk, but the pain in his left thigh—after just two low kicks—was severe enough to hinder running, forcing him into this absurd mutual strike contest.
(This small fry’s too much for goons like Kawato…!)
He even wondered if Oosako could handle him. Pushing that thought aside, Arai glared at the zombie-like punk rising again.
◇ ◇ ◇
Meanwhile, Karin, pinned by two delinquents but watching the one-on-one, had figured out the secret to Shiki’s freakish toughness.
Observing the eighth mutual strike—where Arai grimaced from a low kick and Shiki tumbled from a punch—Karin was certain.
(No doubt about it. That guy Shiki’s insanely good at taking hits.)
In boxing, there’s a defensive technique called slipping away.
The concept is simple: at the moment of a punch to the face, you turn your head with the punch’s direction to reduce its force or dodge it entirely.
But executing it to reduce force, rather than dodging, requires significant practice and experience.
Despite lacking both, Shiki had been doing it since Arai’s first punch.
On top of that, by letting himself get dramatically knocked back without resisting Arai’s power, he further lessened the impact.
These weren’t skills you could master overnight, especially not for someone like Shiki, who’d never fought or trained in martial arts. Terrifyingly, he was using these techniques unconsciously—a feat only possible through sheer talent.
(…No, it’s not just talent…)
When it came to his stomach, Shiki was likely more used to being hit than anyone in the academy.
Enduring daily punches from Kawato’s bullying, Shiki had unconsciously learned how to take attacks with minimal damage.
Applying that experience instinctively, he could keep standing despite Arai’s relentless blows.
(Thinking back, I didn’t notice Shiki’s bullying partly because his talent kept it from becoming a big deal.)
Kawato probably thought he was going easy, but a guy too clueless to notice the sensation of hitting Shiki wouldn’t know how to hold back.
Whether Shiki tensed his abs, relaxed them, or subtly pulled back at the right moment, Karin didn’t know.
But his skill at taking hits meant that, over a year of bullying, he never ended up in the infirmary or vomiting—nothing that would’ve caught Karin’s eye.
Combined with the freakish leg strength honed as an errand boy, the irony was that bullying had awakened Shiki’s fighting talent—a bitter twist for both him and Kawato.
(But no matter how much he reduces damage, his opponent’s that giant Arai. There’s no way face punches don’t hurt…)
Seeing Shiki rise slower after the tenth mutual strike, Karin’s face twisted in anguish.
Now—trying to shake off her captors—
“Hey! You!”
“Stay still, damn it!”
Unable to break free, Karin clicked her tongue.
She was painfully aware she had no strength left.
(Shiki…)
She whispered his name in her heart, watching him stand shakily.
Pathetic as it was, all she could do now was pray.
So she prayed.
For Shiki’s safety. For his victory.
◇ ◇ ◇
The eleventh low kick gave Shiki a solid sense of impact.
Finally, Arai’s massive frame tilted.
But Arai likely felt a similar impact.
The eleventh punch to Shiki’s face sent a shock that, unlike the earlier glancing blows, pierced his core.
Tumbling spectacularly and lying flat, Shiki thought for the third time he couldn’t stand.
Indeed, his limit had been surpassed at the ninth mutual strike.
But—
(Kohinata… san…!)
She probably didn’t realize it herself.
She’d surely deny it angrily if pointed out.
But since their mutual strike contest began, Kohinata-san had worn a tearful expression.
That strong girl, looking as frail as any other, on the verge of tears.
It was all his fault for making her look like that.
Kohinata-san, so kind, worried about him like it was her own pain.
That made him unbearably happy—and unbearably pained.
Because—
(I didn’t want to make Kohinata-san look like that!!)
With that sole conviction, he forced his already broken body to stand.
“Still standing…!”
Arai’s voice, laced with something akin to fear, spat out.
“I’ll stand… as many times as it takes!!”
With a shout, Shiki slammed a kick into Arai’s left thigh.
Arai smashed a punch into Shiki’s left cheek.
Immediately—
Shiki slid across the floor, and—
“Guh…!”
Arai, groaning in pain, dropped to one knee.
As the goons panicked, Shiki, meeting Karin’s tear-blurred gaze, stood.
Step by slow step, he approached Arai, still on one knee.
“Wait! I waited for you to stand every time! So you’re obligated to wait for me—”
“No lying, Arai-senpai.”
Cutting him off with a sharp tone, Shiki continued.
“You didn’t wait for me to stand. My low kicks hurt so much you couldn’t follow up when I was down. Knowing that, I got up as fast as I could.”
It was just a hunch, but Arai’s startled expression confirmed it.
Taking Haruno hostage and forcing a one-on-one on an unwell Karin proved this guy had no sense of honor.
“If you won’t stand, I’ll kick you. Same spot.”
“Damn it!”
Still on one knee, Arai swung. His height let the punch reach Shiki’s face, but it was a weak, arm-only swing, merely pushing Shiki back a few steps.
“Here I go, senpai.”
He declared deliberately.
As Arai’s face twisted in despair, Shiki landed a high kick to his temple.
Arai’s massive frame began to collapse, but—
“Don’t underestimate me!!”
Taking the hit, he unbelievably swung back.
Shiki, staggering but enduring, slammed another high kick into Arai’s temple.
“Gah…!?”
Even Arai’s unmatched toughness couldn’t shrug off two direct high kicks. He teetered, but still held on, roaring—
“Damn it all!!”
His furious punch caught Shiki’s face, and his body, beyond its limits, began to fall—
“Shiki…!”
Karin’s voice—praying, pleading, desperate—rang out. Clenching his teeth to the breaking point, Shiki held his ground.
Arai, stunned that he didn’t fall, stared at him like he was a monster.
“RAAAAHHH!!”
Squeezing out strength he didn’t have, Shiki roared.
And for the third time, he slammed a high kick into Arai’s temple.
Arai’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed in the direction of the kick.
The unthinkable defeat of their top sent the lowlife delinquents into a panic.
“H-Hey!? Arai-san lost!?”
“W-W-What do we do!?”
“W-Wait!! He’s barely standing—we can take him—”
“Wanna try?”
Panting heavily, barely upright, Shiki glared at the delinquents.
His unnerving intensity made them all gulp and fall silent.
“I’m asking if you wanna try!!”
His roar was the trigger.
“I-I’m out!”
“This wasn’t part of the deal!”
“Wait, you idiots! If Arai-san finds out you bailed, he’ll kill you later!”
Two of the delinquents hoisted Arai and fled the warehouse like rabbits.
Watching them go, Shiki felt relief flood his heart.
(It… worked…)
Honestly, he was barely standing.
He was truly, utterly at his limit.
His uncharacteristic intimidation was just a bluff to scare off the delinquents without a fight.
Even if it hadn’t been, if they’d used the pinned-down Karin as a hostage, Shiki couldn’t have done anything in his state.
(It’s… okay now, right…?)
With the certainty that no enemies remained, the thread of tension—and Shiki’s consciousness—snapped.
