Night Raid
Mori Masahiro called every circle member together and laid out the situation.
Discontent sat plain on every face, but no one voiced it outright. Japan was reeling under typhoons and earthquakes. Complaining about a natural disaster you couldn't stop wouldn't change a thing.
"The one bright spot is we won't have to deal with quakes or flooding here. We just need to sit tight until things settle down."
Mori Masahiro offered what silver lining he could. Empty talk. Everyone here had homes in the city. The studio apartment I'd rented would be a wreck by the time I got back. Just thinking about the cleanup made my head throb.
Then it happened. The fluorescent lights flickered — and died.
Click. Click. Click.
Wada Kyoshiro kept flipping the switch, but the dead tubes showed no sign of coming back.
Broad daylight, and the living room was still dark — courtesy of the newspaper taped over every window.
"Ugh, what the hell? A blackout?"
Nakagami Risa, a third-year and the oldest of the girls, muttered with open irritation.
"Yeah. Looks like the power's out… Well, these things happen. I'll go talk to the villagers and see if there's anything we can do."
Mori Masahiro said it, but he didn't look like he expected much. Odds were the typhoon had knocked out the whole village. In that case, all anyone could do was wait for the storm to pass and for professionals to come fix it.
Other places are dealing with casualties… Given how slow Japanese bureaucracy moves, it might take months before the power comes back.
Mori Masahiro headed outside. Fudo Jun wandered off to his room with a vacant look on his face.
Tanaka Hiroshi and his two thug buddies closed in on Hagawa Ryoko and the other girls like they'd been waiting for this exact moment.
"We're bored. How about a board game? I brought a few when we came out here."
Nakagami Risa shot to her feet. Her face, lit by her phone screen, was pure irritation.
"Hey, Tanaka. Cut the crap and do what you're supposed to."
Her intervention stiffened Tanaka's face for a beat. Then he plastered on a casual smile and tried to play it cool.
"What I'm supposed to do? Senpai, what exactly is there to do right now? All we can do is kill time and have a little fun. You're bored too — can't even charge your phone. I'll grab some beer. Why don't you join us?"
"Don't you watch the news? The wind's going to get worse tonight. We need to prepare for the worst."
"Come on, senpai. Why is that our job? That's the landlord's responsibility."
"The landlord isn't even in the village — that's the problem. If you don't want to sleep getting blasted by rain and wind, you'd better prepare yourselves."
Nakagami Risa turned away as if the argument was over and looked at me and Wada Kyoshiro.
"You two. Help get the girls' lodging ready."
"Y-Yes!"
"Understood."
Wada Kyoshiro and I answered at once.
Tanaka Hiroshi's face twisted into something ugly. He looked ready to spit something out, then sighed, pulled on a raincoat with the other thugs, and headed for the door.
"Tanaka-senpai! Where are you going?!"
"Wada. Do I look like a kid to you? Do I need to report even going for a walk?"
"N-No — I'm sorry, senpai. But a walk… in this weather…"
"Shut it, you little shit."
Bang!
Tanaka Hiroshi flung the door open and stormed out. Nakagami Risa glared daggers at the back of his head, thoroughly fed up.
The thugs weren't really going for a walk.
Their real purpose wasn't hard to guess.
Women, obviously.
The village had a population of about a hundred and fifty. From looking around on the first day, most residents were elderly — but there weren't zero young people. Teachers at the school, nurses at the hospital, that sort of thing.
When I looked around yesterday, there weren't any particularly outstanding beauties in this village.
My targets were still Hagawa Ryoko and Nakagami Risa.
The "shrine maiden" the villagers kept mentioning was a mild curiosity, but I had no idea whether she was beautiful or not.
Just because a woman holds a special position doesn't mean she's automatically a beauty. I'll get a chance to see her later.
Wada Kyoshiro and I headed over to the women's lodging. Nothing steamy happened. We spent the rest of the day until evening repairing the place and preparing for the typhoon.
And that night, the three thugs never came back.
Just as Nakagami Risa had said, the wind grew fiercer. The howling was so loud it was hard to fall asleep. On top of that, something — pebbles, maybe — kept pelting the walls without pause.
I got up from my spot.
"Seong-san?"
"You were awake, Wada?"
"Too loud to sleep. You too?"
"Same. I'm hungry, so I was going to grab a cup ramen. Want one?"
"I'm good. Don't like eating at night. Tanaka-senpai… still hasn't come back, has he?"
"Worried about those guys?"
"Don't call them 'those guys.' I know Tanaka-senpai and the others aren't good people, but… they're still our seniors."
"A senior has to act like a senior to be one. If just being older makes you a senior, then who in this world isn't one? If you're that worried about them, try calling."
"I don't have their numbers."
"…Those guys will be fine on their own. They're not kids."
I closed the door and stepped outside. Just in case, I didn't head straight for the women's lodging — I stopped by the kitchen first, then made my way over.
The rain and wind were so fierce that even a raincoat did nothing. I was getting soaked through.
If I'd brought an umbrella, it would've flown away on the wind.
There was one upside, though. The storm erased my presence completely. I looked at the lodging door. Naturally, the front entrance was locked. I pulled out a wire and jammed it into the keyhole. Click. Click.
In manga they pick locks so easily… Not working.
After about three minutes of trying, I shook my head and tossed the wire aside.
Plan B it is.
I moved past the front door to the window.
The women's lodging had the exact same layout as the men's. Meaning the window in front of me corresponded to the room Wada Kyoshiro and I shared on the other side.
The one using this room is Hagawa Ryoko.
I couldn't see inside. Newspaper and tape had been applied from within. Originally we'd planned to board the windows with wood planks, but we'd used them all reinforcing the lodging, so newspaper and tape it was.
I pressed my right fist against the glass. The smooth surface registered through my knuckles. I waited like that for a moment.
The instant a powerful gust rattled the window, I pulled my fist back and drove it forward with force. A one-inch punch — also known as cun jing. In this world, a master's technique. In the world I came from, parlor-trick level.
A crack spiderwebbed across the glass. My force control was perfect. I applied pressure gradually, quietly shattering the window. The newspaper stuck to it muffled the sound somewhat.
I reached through the broken pane, unlocked it, and climbed inside. Stepping carefully onto the tatami, I closed the window behind me. I stripped off my raincoat and top and roughly stuffed them into the broken hole. Rain and wind stopped coming in.
Hagawa Ryoko was sleeping against the wall-closet side. She'd laid out a thick futon and pulled a thin blanket up to her shoulders.
So this is yobai. What an incredible culture.
My heart was bouncing at this magnificent traditional Japanese custom.
I stripped completely — pants, underwear, even my wet socks. I approached Hagawa Ryoko. The thin blanket revealed every curve of her body.
About an E-cup, I'd say.
Hagawa Ryoko. What kind of moans would this traditional Japanese lady of virtue let out once she was pinned beneath me? Anticipating what was about to unfold, I closed in. I grabbed the thin blanket with one hand and yanked it away.
In that instant, Hagawa Ryoko's eyes snapped wide open — as if she'd been waiting.
"……!!"
She shoved the blanket hard into my face. My vision went dark. Simultaneously, a dagger thrust in from the left side of the blanket.
A cold, perfect ambush. Except it wasn't — not against me.
I hadn't let my guard down for a second when I went for her. I'd fallen for countless honey traps in my time. I knew instinctively what to watch for when embracing a woman. And this was rape. Of course she'd resist.
I just hadn't expected her to resist like this.
I pulled back, dodging the dagger, and wrapped the blanket around my hand to seize the blade and wrench it free.
"You filthy Chosenjin…!"
Hagawa Ryoko grabbed another knife she'd hidden under her pillow and swung it at me — aimed precisely at my throat. The complete lack of hesitation made it clear she was no ordinary woman.
I blocked her attack with the dagger I'd taken.
Clang. Claang.
Came for yobai and ended up in a knife fight. Who would've thought.
Hagawa Ryoko wasn't attacking wildly. Knowing I had no intention of killing her, she boldly pressed her body in. Her blade found every gap the moment I let my focus slip even slightly. She'd clearly been trained professionally.
Not just an ordinary college student, then?
But I could see her shortcomings.
Combat experience.
She'd practiced a lot, but she'd never fought with her life on the line. Proof of that came when I mixed a feint into my attack and she fell for it immediately — evidence that excitement had narrowed her vision.
I deliberately left an opening, and Hagawa Ryoko's blade lunged for it like she'd been waiting. Instead, I stepped in hard. I trapped her dagger between my forearm and armpit and drove a fist into her stomach.
"Guh!"
Hagawa Ryoko staggered. Her trembling legs barely kept her upright. I twisted her wrist and took the dagger. I shoved her onto the bed and put the blade to her throat. My left hand pinned both her wrists; my legs locked down her lower body.
"Done? Or do you have more weapons stashed somewhere?"
Hagawa Ryoko pursed her lips and spat at me. Not saliva — a needle. I jerked my head aside and dodged it. I patted my chest. If my reaction had been even a fraction slower, that needle would have been buried in my right eye.
"That's beyond just feisty."
I took the knife and tore open her top. Her blue bra resisted, then snapped. Her breasts bounced free, gravity pulling them apart.
"You despicable Chosenjin…!"
Hagawa Ryoko's mouth opened as she sucked in air to scream. Before she could, I discarded the knife and forced her mouth shut.
"I was going to do this the nice way, but that won't work."
I started restraining her. I tore strips from the blanket, gagged her, and bound both wrists.
"Those armpits are hot."
I ran my hands over her pale underarms. Bound and helpless, she glared at me with a face twisted in shame, looking like she wanted to kill me.
Before taking her, I checked her belongings.
I was curious about Hagawa Ryoko's true identity.
Figuring out who she really is will make this even hotter.