Chapter 393: Affection Blooms Even in a Shitty Game's Event #2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 393: Affection Blooms Even in a Shitty Game's Event #2
“What’s going on?”
I could see the expressions on the three men’s faces change.
They seemed a little intimidated by the man approaching them, who was a head taller and significantly larger.
They didn’t show it much, though. It was as if being in a group gave them courage they didn’t have alone.
“Matsuken! Those guys were hitting on us...!”
Hiyori quickly hid behind me, pulling Miyuki and Miho with her.
She was fuming, pointing at the men. It was cute, but a little dangerous in this situation.
“Hey, what the hell are you talking about...”
One of the men, scowling, took a step toward Hiyori.
But he froze when he saw me standing in his way, and his fury found a new target.
Me.
“Who the hell are you? Her guardian?”
Ah... it’s been a while since I’ve felt this kind of childish tension.
It reminded me of the incident when I quit the club at the beginning of last semester.
I had a gut feeling that the slightest provocation would make fists fly.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Why don’t you just leave?”
I tried to send the men away peacefully.
Miyuki hated situations like this.
Of course, fighting back against people who started a fight was within her range of tolerance.
She didn’t say much when I fought with the Judo Club at the start of this semester, either.
Even now, if they threw the first punch and I fought back, it would probably be fine.
Still, it was best to avoid a physical confrontation if possible.
I didn’t want Miyuki to have to watch it.
But my attitude seemed to have emboldened the men.
“Fucking idiot...”
A harsh curse spilled from the mouth of the biggest guy in the group.
He must have mistaken my composure for fear.
“What, you crazy bastard!? Are you a complete piece of trash?”
The problem was, while I was fine with being insulted, Hiyori was not.
She was so enraged she started pointing and yelling furiously, her voice so sharp and clear it almost made my head spin.
“Just because you have a mouth doesn’t mean you can run it like that! You’re fucking ugly!”
Hmm. Objectively, he wasn’t ugly—he was actually on the handsome side. But with that adverb attached, he really did sound hideous.
I figured his pride would take a little hit.
“You wanna die...”
The man’s face flushed with anger at Hiyori’s personal attack.
It might have been different if she’d said it quietly, but her voice was loud enough for everyone around to hear, and the public humiliation must have added to it.
Were things about to get dangerous?
Just as I was thinking that, the man raised his arm.
“Eek...!”
Hiyori flinched back, frightened by the large hand coming toward her.
But the man’s hand was faster. As if he’d learned boxing or something, he tried to snatch Hiyori’s wrist with incredible speed.
And my hand was even faster.
I quickly grabbed the man’s arm and squeezed, putting all my strength into my grip as if I were testing a dynamometer.
“Ah...!”
A pained gasp escaped the man’s lips.
“Aaaah...! Aaaaaaaah...!!!”
Soon, it turned into a scream filled with agony.
His arm bending against his will, his knees buckling on their own, and his scream rising in a crescendo...
It was pathetic, but also kind of funny. This might be the perfect move to use on Tetsuya.
I looked down at the man, who was shrieking without even trying to pry my hand off, then turned my gaze to his friends, who were hesitating.
“Just go.”
“Hey... you have to let him go first...”
Seeing them turned into meek lambs, all their earlier bravado gone, made me want to click my tongue.
This is why a strong body is more important than a sharp mind. If I’d been even a little smaller, a full-blown fight would have broken out. But now, things were proceeding rather peacefully.
Overwhelming power is the best.
Thump.
As I resolved to train my body even more, I pushed the man’s arm back—he was now just groaning in pain—and let go.
“Hnngh...!”
The man, who had tumbled gracelessly onto the sand, examined his arm.
His wrist was bright red, in stark contrast to his palm, which had turned white from the lack of blood flow.
Seeing the trembling limb, he ground his teeth and turned away.
At least he had the sense to retreat quietly out of embarrassment.
I bet Tetsuya would’ve started talking about a lawsuit.
“Matsuda-kun, are you okay?”
Miyuki asked, having been in the middle of a call.
When she saw me nod lightly, she put her phone away.
It seemed she was about to call a teacher, or maybe the police.
“Haa... my heart was pounding...”
Miyuki let out a sigh of relief and took a long sip of the fresh fruit juice I’d bought.
She placed a hand over her chest; she must have been incredibly tense.
After walking to the water to quickly wash the sand off my hands, I went over to Hiyori, who was still glaring at the men, now just tiny dots in the distance.
“What happened that made you act like you were ready for a fight?”
“We were just getting ready to play our game again when those guys came over and asked to hang out with us. When Hanazawa-senpai said no, they thought she was just playing hard to get and tried to plop their dirty asses down on our mat. So I got mad, and they just acted even more sleazy.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Miho and Hanazawa-senpai told them firmly not to sit, but they wouldn’t listen. He even tried to eat the fruit we were saving for you, senpai. If Hanazawa-senpai wasn’t on the student council, I would’ve kicked him in the crotch.”
I barely managed to hold back a laugh as I watched Hiyori kicking forcefully at the empty air. I replied nonchalantly.
“You’re just bluffing. You wouldn’t actually do it.”
“True.”
“But what does kicking him in the crotch have to do with Miyuki being on the student council?”
“She can’t get demerit points. She already got two yesterday.”
Hiyori wasn’t just similar to Miyuki; she was similar to me, too.
Calling someone else’s body parts dirty, getting angry when a stranger does something weird...
The difference was that she expressed her anger outwardly, like a sensitive chihuahua, but I felt we had fundamentally similar temperaments.
“Miyuki can be flexible in situations like this... but it’s admirable that you’re thinking that far ahead. And didn’t I tell you to speak more nicely?”
As I got to the main point and started to scold Hiyori, she lowered her gaze slightly.
At first, I thought she looked remorseful... but on closer inspection, that wasn’t it at all.
“Kay.”
Unlike how articulately she’d just explained the situation, her reaction was now very suspicious.
Her answer was half-hearted, too.
“Are you even listening to me?”
“Kay.”
“Are you an idiot?”
“Kay.”
“So you were an idiot?”
“Kay.”
“A moron?”
“Kay.”
Normally, she would have snapped back with a “no,” but now she was just going along with it.
Even when I waved a hand in front of her face, her eyes remained unfocused.
Her mind was elsewhere.
Wondering what it was, I followed Hiyori’s gaze and saw she was looking at my arm.
Her slightly dazed eyes held an explicit interest. Was she impressed by my forearm, with the veins popping out when I squeezed that guy’s arm?
I wondered if she had a fetish for this sort of thing.
I should test it.
Flick.
I lightly flicked Hiyori’s ahoge. Only then did she shake her head as if snapping out of a trance and look up at me.
“What? Are you going to lecture me?”
“I just did. You didn’t hear me?”
“What did you say? Something about not talking like that?”
“You know perfectly well.”
“I thought it was okay since you were here, senpai.”
“Don’t make excuses. You’ve always been like that.”
“Ugh, but they kept pestering us! What was I supposed to do?!”
Why did Hiyori look so cute, burying one foot in the sand as if to show her frustration?
She looked like a weak little monster, huffing and puffing because its attacks weren’t working.
“I’m not saying you were wrong, I’m saying you need to control yourself. Do you even realize you almost got hit by those guys just now?”
“I almost got grabbed, not hit.”
“Same difference.”
“But you stopped him, senpai.”
“What would you have done if I wasn’t there? Shouldn’t you have tried to prevent it from happening in the first place? By calling a lifeguard, or calling a teacher right away.”
“Can I touch your arm just once?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“If you let me touch it, I’ll answer without changing the subject.”
“No.”
“Is now a bad time? Then I’ll touch it when Hanazawa-senpai isn’t around.”
What a bold thing to say.
I glanced at Miyuki, who was talking with Miho with a serious expression, and then gently pushed Hiyori’s forehead with my finger.
“Anyway, speak nicely.”
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a no.”
“Oh, you’re just shy, right? I get it.”
“Sure... think whatever you want, but your words...”
“I’ll speak nicely. But today really wasn’t my fault. You have to be harsh with guys like that for them to listen.”
“Like I just said, I’m not saying you were wrong. I’m just saying you shouldn’t charge in headfirst.”
“I get it.”
“Don’t just say you get it all the time.”
“So you want me to say I don’t? Isn’t it better to say I get it?”
“Now that you mention it, you have a point. Anyway, that’s a promise, right?”
“Yes.”
After finishing my simple lecture, I saw Miyuki gesturing for Hiyori to come over.
“Asahina!”
She was telling her to eat some watermelon.
She must have felt both sorry for and grateful to Hiyori for drawing the aggressive man’s attention to herself.
Hiyori took the watermelon Miyuki offered, a "what's with her?" look on her face.
She opened her small mouth, bit into the edge of the slice, and the corners of her lips turned up, seemingly pleased by the sweet taste filling her mouth.
However,
“Listen while you eat. About what just happened... you were too harsh. I’m not trying to blame you, but you can’t just rush in recklessly. If Matsuda-kun hadn’t been here, something terrible could have happened. Didn’t you hear the teacher yesterday when he was handing out the room keys? He told us to contact him if anyone bothered us. Besides, the hotel is right behind us, all you had to do was call...”
The moment Miyuki’s quiet scolding began, Hiyori’s mouth fell slightly open, and her eyes darted toward me, where I was sitting on the mat eating fruit with Miho.
She looked dumbfounded that Miyuki was saying almost the exact same thing I had.
It was nice to see Miyuki relentlessly instilling her values in Hiyori, and Hiyori pretending to listen with a fed-up expression.
With that thought, I speared a well-cut piece of peach with a fork and offered it to Miho.
“You went through a lot. Here.”
“Me? But I didn’t do anything...”
“Then just eat it.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you...”
Miho, who accepted the fork with both hands while still offering a simple thanks, was cute too...
But most of all, I was happy that Miyuki’s wariness toward Hiyori seemed to have lessened compared to usual.
People really do get closer when they overcome hardship together.
If you were to ask me if this was going to be a fruitful day, I think I could answer yes.