Chapter 83: A Woman's Friendship
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 83: A Woman's Friendship
We walked along the promenade built by the coast and then returned to the parking lot where we had started.
The pamphlet said it would take forty minutes, but since we took our time looking around, it ended up taking about ten minutes longer than expected.
Next, just as Rika had wanted, we went to the marine museum next to the observatory to see the exhibits.
"Wow, so there's something called a nautilus."
"It looks so strange."
Rika and Karen were pressed right up against the glass of a giant aquarium, completely absorbed.
I’d noticed it when we went to the aquarium before, but both Rika and Karen had a strangely childish side to them.
Unlike Rika, who was exceptionally developed for her age, Karen was small-bodied and could almost pass for a middle schooler at a glance.
Sasha, on the other hand, didn't seem very interested in the museum and was just fiddling with her smartphone.
Curious, I asked her.
"What are you doing?"
Sasha looked up with a "Hm?" and waved her hand as if it were nothing.
"I was just curious if Kumamon got back to the zoo safely, so I looked it up."
Ah, she was right. It wouldn't be strange if news about it had already hit the web portals by now.
After all, the Asiatic black bear that had escaped the zoo had returned after three days.
"So, what happened?"
"Looks like he made it back safely. That's a relief."
Sasha said with a small smile, then suddenly stared intently at me.
Wondering what it was, I looked back, and she pointed to the area around my eyes.
"Have you always had those wrinkles under your eyes?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. To be precise, they appeared after I started working out intensely."
Was it because of the sudden drop in my body fat percentage?
In a way, it was one of the main reasons my face didn't look like a teenager's.
"Hold on a second."
Sasha said, reaching her hands out to me.
She used her index fingers to cover the wrinkles, then broke into a wide grin.
"You definitely look more handsome without them."
I was completely stunned by her sudden, blunt remark.
Then, realizing how embarrassing the situation was, I took a step back.
"Wh-what's with you all of a sudden?"
Sasha just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Just a simple whim."
With those words, she clasped her hands behind her back and announced she was going to check out the gift shop for a moment before walking away with quick steps.
Startled by her sudden advance, I couldn't take my eyes off her retreating back until she was out of sight.
*
After we finished our tour of the marine museum, we headed to the front of the observatory to meet up with the other members of Group D, as we had planned beforehand.
"Over here, guys!"
Satoru, whose mood seemed to have completely changed since we parted ways, waved his arms enthusiastically.
From the looks of it, he had succeeded in his desperate search for a partner.
Well, he wasn't a completely hopeless case in terms of looks, so I guess it was to be expected.
As our group approached, Satoru asked with a slightly surprised look.
"What, were you all hanging out together without me?"
"Pretty much," I said, nodding with a playful grin. Satoru muttered, "You lucky bastard," and nudged me in the side.
"Where are the others?"
"They should be here soon. We still have some time until one o'clock."
As I said that and looked around, I spotted Sakamoto and Yaguchi walking toward us in the distance.
"Speak of the devil."
Seeing them sticking so close and acting all lovey-dovey, they were practically a married couple, just without the official papers.
Considering Sakamoto was originally the protagonist of 「Scramble Love」 and was supposed to be living a turbulent life, this moment seemed incredibly peaceful.
"So, is it just the class president left?"
"Looks like it."
It was truly a rare occurrence, considering Ayase was always punctual.
"…She's not coming."
We stood in front of the observatory waiting for her, but even well past one o'clock, she hadn't arrived. We decided to look around for her.
*
Ayase Satsuki was in a rather difficult situation.
"Hey, hey, why are you all alone?"
"Wow, I've never seen such a model student type before."
"Heh heh, don't be like that. She'd probably look decent without the glasses."
"Is Ichijo Academy filled with nothing but nerds?"
She was currently surrounded by students who looked like they were from another school.
The type commonly known as delinquents.
The type she despised the most.
"I'm sorry, but I really have to get going."
Ayase stated her case firmly and tried to get away from them as quickly as possible.
She was already well past the time she had promised to meet her group members.
But the thuggish-looking male students blocked her path, refusing to move.
"Whoa there, we've got business with you. Don't be like that."
"Hk…! Let go of me!"
One of them suddenly grabbed her wrist, and unable to use her strength, she was pulled back to where she stood.
The blond male student with an earring, who appeared to be the leader of the delinquents, chuckled and said, "It's nothing much. I just heard there's a Zainichi named Kim Yoo-Sung at your school. Word is the bastard messed with my friend."
"…I don't know anyone by that name! I really don't!"
"Really? For someone who doesn't know him, you seem to know him pretty well. You hesitated before answering."
The student leaned in and took a long sniff of Ayase's braided hair.
"……!"
A shiver ran down her spine, and she instinctively slapped the student across the cheek.
Smack!
The student, his head turned from the impact, licked his lips with his tongue and muttered as he looked at her.
"For some reason, I've always liked a feisty bitch."
Then, he violently grabbed a handful of Ayase's hair.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
It was at that exact moment.
"What do you think you're doing to our class president!"
A sharp voice cut in as someone stepped between them.
"Huh? What's this now?"
The male student, who had let go of Ayase's hair in his surprise, stared wide-eyed at the blond girl who had suddenly appeared.
A full chest, delicate features, and flamboyantly painted nails.
A typical gyaru.
Seeing they were wearing the same uniform, he figured they were probably classmates.
'And here I thought Ichijo Academy was full of boring girls.'
As he smirked to himself at this unexpected prize, Rika glared at him and demanded, "You! Are you a gangster?! Why are you messing with students from our school who haven't done anything wrong!"
Seeing her act like a hissing cat, the other female students behind the boy snickered.
"Ooh, so not scary~"
"Look at her, playing the hero~"
Their mockery was filled with blatant malice.
But Rika didn't back down and shielded the class president behind her.
Sasha and Karen, who arrived a moment later, saw the scene and their expressions hardened.
"Сука блять."
"Those sons of bitches."
The two of them charged toward the delinquents almost simultaneously.
*
"Hey! Hey! Yoo-Sung! The class president and the others are over there! It looks like they're in trouble!"
It was a little past 1:20 PM when we, who had been wandering around the marine ecological park, finally found them.
Satoru and I rushed over to where the girls were gathered.
The scene that unfolded before our eyes was the magnificent sight of Sasha and Karen brawling with a group of delinquents from another school.
"Gaaah!"
Sasha, wearing sneakers, landed a sharp kick, sending a male student flying backward as he clutched his stomach.
"Kuhuk!"
Karen, wielding brass knuckles instead of a bamboo sword, smashed a powerful straight into the jaw of a student with a buzz cut, knocking him out cold.
Despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered, the two of them were tearing through the crowd like wolves let loose among sheep.
Perhaps flustered by the unexpectedly fierce performance of the two girls, who were far stronger than their delicate appearances suggested, the one who seemed to be the leader of the delinquents screamed at the top of his lungs.
"How is this embarrassing! There's only two of them! Everybody, stomp 'em!"
Sasha, who had taken down three or four male students with kicks alone, and Karen, who had similarly downed two with just her fists, stood back-to-back.
"You okay, Big Nose?"
"Of course, Monkey."
"Who are you calling a monkey!"
"Your tendency to get excited easily is similar."
After catching their breath while trading light banter, Sasha clicked her tongue at the large number of delinquents still remaining and asked Karen, "How many more can you take?"
Karen scanned their surroundings with a cold gaze and replied, "Two or three more, maybe?"
Sasha nodded and opened her handbag.
"That should be enough."
What Sasha pulled out was a black pistol.
Seeing the sleek, shining black metal body, the delinquent leader flinched, but he quickly regained his confidence and shouted, "Don't be scared! It's just a toy!"
Bang!
But as the gunshot rang out and a rubber bullet grazed past his hair before falling to the ground with a dull thud, he could no longer smile.
"A toy is a toy. It just hurts a little when it hits you."
Seeing this, Satoru muttered with a horrified expression.
"She was going to shoot me with that?!"
"Shh."
I warned Satoru, who couldn't read the room, to be quiet.
He shut his mouth with an aggrieved look on his face.