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Chapter 101 – Go Forward and Break Through
A few days have passed since we began our daily practice.
In the meantime, I got used to my new course’s schedule. Since I took the science course, I had to deal with physics along with chemistry and my head was hurting most of the time during classes. Luckily, Intelligent Takazou was also in the same course as me, so I could ask him anything that I didn’t understand.
I felt bad asking for his help every time but, when I told him about that, he went ahead and gave me a speech about how teaching someone could deepen his understanding and whatnot, so I guess that meant he didn’t mind teaching me.
After I finished my course’s classes, I went back to my classroom and found the blackboard filled with random historical gibberish. It seemed to be related to political economy or some sh*t, but I didn’t know, didn’t care, didn’t want to look at it. Ew.
“Sui~ Can you do me a favor?~”
“I refuse.”
Suddenly, Tsuru approached me and asked me. I knew that she was up to something bad, so I immediately refused her.
“I haven’t even said anything!”
“I don’t want to become the student council’s lapdog again, I’m busy.”
“Eh~ C’mon~ It isn’t like you’re busy or anything, right?”
“I am. Just ask Arina.”
Tsuru approached Arina, who was dozing off.
“Arina, is Sui busy?”
“He’s as free as a bird. Just take him away.”
“Answer her when you’re awake, please, Missy.”
She rubbed her eyes sleepily. The girl was probably exhausted from the daily practice. It was obvious from the way she had been laying her head on the desk.
“Woah, she looks so sleepy. So you were serious about winning the relay, huh?”
“Of course. Why did you think otherwise? We’re pros, we’re serious about everything!”
“Masao is going to join your team, right?”
Masao was our classmate. A guy who sat near the window and spent all his time reading books. He wasn’t being bullied or anything though, the dude just loved to be alone.
“Yes. He’s a good catch.”
“Who else is on your team?”
“Nakamura Takazou, Shimano Eiji and Hayasaka Rion.”
“Ah, I know Rion.”
“You don’t know Takazou? He gets a good head, only second to you. He should be the runner-up in the rankings.”
“I know his name, but I don’t know him personally…”
“Really?”
“I mean, there’s no need to know the mongrel who can’t even surpass me.”
Before she got carried away, I got rid of her by chanting random words loudly. When that girl would start boasting about her grades, nothing good would come out of it. Trying to race green turtles would be more productive than hearing her boasts.
*   *   *
After we finished our mock exam, we resumed our practice. I didn’t know how well I did in the mock exam, but after I checked my answers with Arina and Tsuru, I concluded that I probably did okay-ish.
There was some time left before the festival, so we could still get in more practice. After doing it for a while, our overall time and coordination had dramatically improved from back when we first started. We were getting closer to our goals, I could feel it.
Time passed, it was now a week before the D-day.
Last night, I borrowed my dad’s blood pressure cuff to measure my blood pressure and found out that it was higher than average for my age. Was it because I drank too much tomato juice? Because of that, I’ve been drinking a lot of water in place of the tomato juice I’ve been drinking. Thanks to that, I’ve been going back and forth to the toilet, I’ve probably peed everything that I’ve drank today.
I was on the way to the toilet while hiding from the deranged pervert Kaya, when I saw Intelligent Takazo being surrounded by a bunch of boys. Was this the bullying thing I’ve heard so much about?
“What? Do you seriously think that you can win?”
“Of course, I won’t fight a losing battle. Based on my calculation, our winning chance is high. It was hopeless at the start, but we improved at a quick pace. As long as we keep at it and perform well during the D-day, we’ll be able to win.”
“What are you on about?”
“Seriously, is his brain working properly?”
“Dude, you need to stop studying and take a look at reality more.”
“I know that my performance is not as good as the others in my team but, according to our practice results so far, I won’t be a liability. Besides, it isn’t like we can back down at this point. No matter what you guys think or say, you guys can’t change the fact that we’re going to participate.”
“Blah blah, all talk.”
“Cheap provocation.”
“What?”
Woah, things just went downhill.
I wanted to help him, but my little guy was about to burst out down there, so I had to take care of it first. I should just pretend to not see him for now, hopefully he could solve his problem on his own though.
“You loser from going-home club–”
Now, what was that?
I stopped walking.
There were four guys there. Their heights should be around 167cm, 172cm, 169cm and 175cm. Judging from their physiques, one of them should be a member of the basketball team, one from the baseball team and the rest of them should be from the football team.
In conclusion, they were no match for me.
“Hello, everyone. How are you? What are you doing here?”
My sudden arrival made them raise their eyebrows. Well, of course they would do that. A 180cm tall weirdo smiling at them with his hands folded behind his back called out to them. If I were in their shoes, I would immediately call the police.
“You… You’re Sakaki, right?”
“Yes, a member of the going-home club.”
I smiled at them. It wasn’t an ordinary smile though, the deathly smile that I inherited from Arina.
Those who didn’t recognize me started to realize who I was, but I didn’t care about their reactions. I didn’t stop smiling. The staffs over at a certain hamburger chain restaurant should start learning from me. Of course, this smile of mine wouldn’t be free. They would pay it with their blood.
“You’re dating Hiwa, right? I’ve been wanting to tell you this. Break off with her.”
Huh? What the hell was he on about? I was going to talk about that remark he just made, not this.
“I’m not. I can’t break up with her even if I want to.”
“Then, stay away from her. Why are you sticking to her anyway? Did you blackmail her or something? No wonder she can’t get rid of you. What a f*cker.”
“The hell are you on about? Besides, we aren’t talking about her right now. What were you about to say just now?”
“You garbage from the going-home club should just disappear. You too, disappear from Hiwa’s sight.”
Now, that was cute. I could feel my blood starting to boil.
“I’m feeling generous today, don’t try to make me mad, kiddo.”
“What? You mad, Bro?”
As he said that, he pushed my chest heavily. This Hobbit dare…
I gave him a glare strong enough to kill a tiger. That made him and the rest of his group flinch. Of course they would, small-fries would be scared of someone that was clearly more superior than them. I knew that threatening those curs wasn’t a gentlemanly thing to do, but f*ck that, there was no need to be considerate to them.
People were beginning to gather. The weirdo picking a fight with those guys probably took their attention.
At that moment, Berserker Masao came forward.
With his overwhelming presence.
Bringing an overwhelming sense of despair.
Everyone knew that he wasn’t an ordinary human being from a glance.
He didn’t do anything, but his existence made everyone tremble, including me.
After seeing his big arms trembled and his thick chest heaved, the four small-fries shut their mouths.
“S-Stop fighting…”
I knew it. This guy was scared too. He was a timid person at heart, but look at him now, trying to take a step forward to change himself.
That was his goal for joining the rally. Among everyone, his enthusiasm was the highest and he worked harder than anyone else. The fact that he was able to do this meant that he managed to gain something from our practice. The dude was slowly moving out of his comfort zone.
Seeing him, I felt like an idiot for getting mad at those small-fries.
“Well, let’s just stop here. Violence won’t solve anything.”
“A-Are you going to run away?”
“Look, I’m trying to be merciful here. Well, if you wanna have a bout with Masao, feel free.”
“T-That’s…”
I knew I wouldn’t want to, he would flatten me in mere seconds. They should just throw away their pride and back down here. If Maso went berserk, even I couldn’t stop him. Wait, actually, I probably could if I gave him some mango parfait.
In the end, those guys eventually left without saying anything. I let out a deep sigh.
“Sorry, Sui, Masao. It seems that I made unnecessary enemies. I lack the power to help you guys. I’ll try to study harder about the law so I can restrain them properly in the future.”
“No, no, stop, you’ll just make more enemies that way. Also, I didn’t do anything, give your thanks to Masao.”
“Right. You were hesitant to help me until the very end. Masao, thank you very much, I appreciate your courage.”
Masao refused his thanks while waving his hands awkwardly.
“No, I can’t just ignore your deed like that. Believe me, when I reach a high position in the parlement, I will talk about this incident in front of the masses. Your kind act will not be confined to this small community. I give you my promise.”
Takazo grabbed Masao’s hand and shook it. This handshake would go down in history for sure. It would be perfect if Takazo didn’t desperately try to let go of his hand while saying, ‘My hand is breaking, it’s breaking!’ though.
After that, Heartbreak Rion approached us.
“I’m so proud of you, Masao! Hahaha! I know that you have it in you! In comparison, you Skinny Takazo… Why were you so pathetic?! This is why you can’t get a girlfriend.”
“If you use love as a criteria to judge someone’s character, then you are even more pathetic than me. How many times have you confessed your love and got rejected? How many times have you been dumped? You never succeeded in that regard, you said it yourself, that’s why you went on trying to become a heartbreaker, someone who’s irresistible to people and dumped everyone who tried to hit on you. In other words, you want to be an idol. Like Hiwa Arina.”
“O-Of course not! What kind of disgusting thing are you spouting?!”
“Let me tell you something. It’s no use trying to become someone like Hiwa Arina. Just be yourself. You have some good qualities in you, so try to improve it. Like me, for example, I’m good at studying, so I study to make myself better.”
“T-Takazo, did you just give me a compliment?… Ehe…”
“Your brain works like a toddler’s.”
They started fighting again after that, so I left the place with Masao. ‘The more they fight the better they get along’, that saying applied here too, right?
I returned to my seat to take a breather and suddenly someone kicked the leg of my chair.
The culprit was Arina’s long, beautiful legs.
“I’m an idol, huh?”
She said with the corners of her mouth raised.
“You saw that?”
“Yes. That was interesting.”
“Then, why didn’t you butt in? If you had said something, everything would have ended quicker.”
“I’m trying to improve my image. I don’t want to be called the girl with a venomous tongue forever. If I were to butt in, it would be counterproductive.”
“Things were easier when you still had your venomous tongue.”
“I see. So you prefer that me, after all.”
The mood suddenly turned depressing, so I quickly replied to her.
“Of course not. I like you the way you are.”
“Is that so? I’m glad. One day, when all my memories come back, I’m going to badmouth you a lot.”
After she said that, she got up and headed toward Tsuru’s seat.
Who knows when that would happen. High chance it would be after she graduated.
She would remember everything by the time we reunited. She would be drunk and badmouth me in a quiet voice so that only I could hear her. After all, I didn’t want anyone else to hear her rejection toward my confession.
TL: Iyo
ED: Dodo